I can tell you that if I’m given the option of playing at a casino with an automated shuffler or one that doesn’t, it’s a no-brainer for me. I’m going to choose the one with the auto shuffler every time. The one big exception would be the WSOP in Las Vegas. During the WSOP they have hundreds of tables open at the same time in Rio and I am sure it is not profitable to put a shuffler at each of those tables. You really see the difference in game speed when the dealer shuffles compared to the auto shuffle.

Cash games vs. tournaments

Most of the casinos on the Las Vegas strip have the automatic shuffler for cash games. The best thing for the casino is to invest in the machine because it pays for itself in the long run. The bottom line is that the more hands that are dealt, the more rake you will lose and that is how the house makes money. Many times I have noticed that when certain casinos have tournaments they don’t use the machine. At Caesar’s Palace, for example, the dealers do all the shuffling even though they use the machine for cash games. The Venetian for its part, uses the automatic shuffler for its tournaments. Many players will choose Venetian tournaments over Caesars for this reason alone. The automatic shuffler is faster, cleaner and leaves no doubt that the cards are shuffled correctly.

Hands per hour with automatic shuffler vs. live dealer

Asking most people will tell you that live dealers average between 20-25 hands per hour. Of course, the fastest ones can deal 30 hands per hour on average. The automatic shuffler increases that number to about 35 hands per hour. It might not sound like a lot, but if you play a session of 8-10, that can really add up, especially over the course of a week or even a month.

Game Integrity

I don’t think you have to worry as much about this on the Las Vegas strip, but in some smaller casinos around the country I’m not so sure. Anytime you introduce the human element, there will be mistakes and dishonesty when it comes to money. Today’s computerized automatic shufflers are programmed to shuffle cards as randomly as possible. They don’t have friends at the table or certain regulars who know they’ll tip better if they win a big pot. Live dealers, on the other hand, have these temptations every day. It would be easy for a live dealer to manipulate the mix to help certain players if they wanted to. Trust me it happens in certain places. Also, the machine is not distracted. Always shuffle the cards in the same way. I admit that if a dealer had the motivation to cheat, then the automatic shuffler will not stop them. It just makes it more difficult.

games at home

It used to be that you were out of luck if you wanted to put one of these high dollar machines on your own table. The reason is that the technology is so valuable that the manufacturer would not sell you one. I would only lease them to casinos. I knew I could make more money that way. In 2008, an entrepreneur set out to build his own and came up with a version that cost less than $500. You can read about it on CardPlayer.com here Shuffler for Home Games

In summary

There are two main advantages to the player while playing poker with the automatic shuffler. One is that the game progresses much faster, so you can see more hands and, ideally, win more money. The other reason is that the auto shuffler does a better job of shuffling the cards than a live dealer which makes the cards more random. If you are a dealer, the more hands you deal, theoretically the more money you will earn in tips, since that is your main income.