Blackjack Shuffle Tracking

Shuffle tracking is something used by some advantage players
while playing blackjack or other casino table games. These
players try to track how the cards are put into the discard tray
and shuffled so they can predict the next cards to be dealt
after a shuffle.

At a very basic level shuffle tracking works like this:

If you open a new pack of playing cards, split it perfectly
in half for two stacks of 26 cards, and shuffle it perfectly,
you can accurately predict the order of cards. If you split it
into two 26 card stacks and shuffle it perfectly again you can
determine the order of cards again.

As long as you know how the cards started, the cards are
split into two 26 card stacks, and they’re shuffled perfectly,
you can determine the order of the cards.

Even a perfect situation like the one we just described has a
variable though. You need to know which stack has the first card
land on the bottom to make an accurate prediction. But after you
see the first few cards off the top of the new shuffle you can
determine which of the two deck halves started the stack.

If you’re playing a casino table game like blackjack and you
know the order of the cards do you think you can win? It’d be
like playing with all of the cards face up. You’d always know
what the dealer has and what cards are coming next, so you could
bet big when you’re going to win and bet small when you’re going
to lose.

Of course real life creates all kinds of issues with tracking
a shuffle. Even if the dealer is hand shuffling a single deck
they rarely have two stacks of 26 cards and almost never make a
perfect shuffle where exactly one card from each stack lands on
the final stack in an every other card order.

But some players are able to track certain cards or clusters
of cards through a shuffle well enough to gain an advantage
against the casino. But shuffle tracking is one of the hardest
skills to master for advantage players, so many who attempt to
do it end up losing money instead of making it.

Hand Dealt Games and Automatic Shuffling Machines

Games that are shuffled by hand are difficult to track, but
many dealers are lazy enough that they don’t shuffle well or
shuffle enough times, so it’s possible to find profitable
situations. But what about games that use an automatic shuffling
machine? Can they be tracked?

This is the only area on the page where we move from
verifiable information to conjecture. A few players claim
they’ve been able to get their hands on an automatic shuffling
machine and learn how it works well enough to track a shuffle
through it. We can’t verify this is true, but a mechanical
machine has to operate in a set way over and over again, so it
sounds like it’s possible.

So if you want to explore this advantage play focus on being
a master at the hand shuffled games before attempting to
transfer your skills over to an automatic machine. You may be
able to do it, but it can be a costly learning curve while
you’re trying.

And if you want to try to beat the automatic machines you
need to figure out how to get your hands on one or more of them
so you can determine how they work. This may sound simple, but
the companies that make the machines are smart enough to protect
their designs so getting one can be quite difficult.

Is Shuffle Tracking Profitable?

If you learn how to do it well and are able to adjust the
size of your bets when a group or slug of high cards is coming
then shuffle tracking can be profitable. But if you misjudge
where the set of high cards is and raise your bets at the wrong
time you’ll end up losing more than if you simply flat bet and
use basic strategy.

The bottom line is if you can do it well shuffle tracking can
be more profitable than card counting and many other advantage
play methods. But doing it well takes a great deal of practice
and work and can cost you a great deal of money, so the long
term profit comes with a real price.

One area where normal players don’t recognize a chance to
reduce the house edge when using shuffle tracking is insurance
at the blackjack table. You may know that when you’re using
basic strategy that insurance is never a good bet. But if you
know you’re in the middle of a group of face cards and the
dealer has an ace showing it can be profitable to take
insurance.

The insurance bet is basically a bet that the dealer’s down
card is a 10 valued card or not and pays 2 to 1. If the odds are
better than this that the dealer has a 10 valued card it’s a
good bet. In a situation where the down card is random the odds
are worse than 2 to 1, but if you know that the odds of a 10
value down card is higher because of tracking the shuffle you
can take insurance.

Can You Do It?

Shuffle tracking is one of the hardest advantage play methods
used by casino players. It’s more difficult than counting cards
and few people ever truly master it. But the only way you can
find out if you’re able to do it is by giving it a try.

Even if you aren’t able to use shuffle tracking like the
professional advantage players you may still be able to use the
same basics to get a quick advantage from time to time.

Unless the dealer does a strong job of shuffling you can
expect this group of face cards and aces to come out of the deck
shortly after the ace of diamonds. Simply by knowing more high
cards are coming than low ones gives you an edge over the house,
so you can raise your bets.

As you get better at recognizing situations like this you’ll
be able to start tracking two or three cards at a time. In the
previous example you might see the ace of diamonds is on top,
the next card is he king of spades, and the third card down is
the jack of hearts. This gives you even more information to work
with.

You can also attempt to track a slug of cards like the one
just described through the shuffle. If you know roughly where
the slug of high cards is located you can cut the cards so
they’re at the top of the deck. This way you can bet big off the
top of the deal and either reduce your bets or quit paying after
the high card slug is gone.

So even if learning to be a full fledged shuffle tracker is
too hard for many players, if you pay attention and are always
on the lookout for an advantage you can use shuffle tracking
techniques to gain an edge from time to time.

The nice thing about a game like blackjack, that offers a
house edge as low as a half percent with good rules and proper
strategy, is you don’t need to find a small edge too often to
break even against the house.

You might think that a 2% edge over the house is high in
these situations, but if you do a good job recognizing these
situations it can be much higher than this.

Out of every 100 hands you play, do you know how many you
need to play with an advantage to break even?

100 hands at $20 per hand with a loss of a half percent means
you lose $10. His basically means you lose 10 cents per hand on
average. Every hand where you bet $100 with a 2% house edge wins
$2 on average. This means that if you can find one hand out of
every 20 on average with an advantage you’ll be able to break
even in the long run playing blackjack.

Over the short term your results will vary quite a bit, but
if you understand the math and are able to grab a profitable
situation from time to time it’ll help your bankroll
considerably.

Other Advantage Play Methods to Consider

Casino players have been trying to figure out ways to beat
the casinos for as long as casinos have been operating. Methods
range from outright cheating to using your brain power to
legitimately beat the house. Here are a couple other real ways
that players have found to beat the casinos other than shuffle
tracking.

Card Counting

By keeping track of the ratio of high cards to low cards
players can predict when the remaining cards have more high
cards than low cards. By raising your bets when the deck is rich
in high cards you have a chance to overcome the house edge and
play with an advantage.

Counting cards isn’t as hard as it sounds. You don’t have to
keep track of every single card, just the ratio of high to low
ones. This is done by adding and subtracting a number, usually
one, from a running count as you see cards. You can learn more
about counting cards on our main card counting page.

Hole Card Play

Some casino dealers are sloppy and flash the value of their
down cards to players sitting at certain seats at the table.
This means that sometimes you might be able to see the dealer’s
down card while playing blackjack. Or if you play a game like
Let It Ride you might be able to see the value of one or more of
the down cards used to make your final hand.

This can be quite profitable, but it’s difficult to find
these dealers. Most players don’t pay enough attention to spot a
sloppy dealer, but if you’re always on the lookout for one
you’ll run across one from time to time.

Conclusion

While it should be clear after reading this page about
shuffle tracking that it isn’t for everyone, you should also
realize that you don’t have to be a full fledged shuffle tracker
or advantage player to be able to see a situation where you can
decrease the house edge from time to time.

Keep your eyes open and see if you can track a slug of high
cards and aces through a shuffle the next time you play
blackjack. You might find it’s easier than it sounds. And even
if it isn’t easy, you may find that with a little practice
you’re able to predict a big win every once in a while.