Professional players commonly use two techniques to beat Blackjack: the basic Blackjack strategy and card counting. While the basic strategy is direct, card counting is dynamic. The more you dig deeper and practice, the more you discover there is more to it. There are advanced forms of card counting, one of which is called Shuffle tracking.
The technique arguably came to limelight through a man named Kenneth S. Uston. He was one of the first few players to get banned from casinos for his incredible Blackjack skills. He earned millions of dollars, putting various casinos at risk of bankruptcy.
A few years after Kenneth died, Arnold Snyder, a professional Blackjack player, published The Blackjack Shuffle Tracker’s Cookbook, popularizing the technique. George C, a professional gambler, also released a book titled Shuffle Tracking for Beginners in 1996, bridging the gap between pro and new players.
In this casino news piece, we examine what shuffle tracking in Blackjack is all about and how it can benefit your gameplay.
What Is Shuffle Tracking in Blackjack?
Shuffle-tracking in Blackjack means watching how a dealer mixes up a playing card deck and mentally noting where clusters of cards are in the shuffle. The idea of shuffle tracking is that it is often impossible for the dealer to reshuffle the high and low cards in the deck completely. This same concept also applies to Ace Sequencing, which we will soon discuss here at this all-encompassing Slots Paradise Casino article.
With shuffle tracking, you can predict where high and low cards are in the deck of cards. This way, you can also know when either will be dealt in shuffle gambling. However, the level of certainty is low. Also, this strategy only works in tables where a manual shuffle has to be done. At online casinos, it’s impossible to track shuffles, though.
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How Shuffle Tracking Works
Before shuffling tracking starts, a player must have been card counting during the game. Let’s say in a six-deck shoe Blackjack, the dealer has used about four and a half. With card counting, you can comfortably predict whether the cards left are high or low. When the dealer is ready to shuffle, players focus on the clump of high or low remaining cards and track them. When this is done, place your bets accordingly.
Another thing that must be noted is the dealer’s shuffling routine. If there is a consistent pattern, you can predict more accurately where the high or low cards must have fallen in the deck of cards.
What It Takes To Be Excellent At Shuffle Tracking
First, Blackjack card counting practice is a must. You have to understand how to keep count of the cards in subsections called slugs. What you will be doing is calculating whether each section is positive or negative.
A good example would be to look out for clusters of 10s and aces. Next, you must place bets. You bet high when the card concentration is high according to your calculations and bet low when the card concentration is low.
Pros To Mastering Shuffle Tracking
Shuffle tracking has its pros if you look at how it’s designed to work. It can be hard for casino operators and security to speak against it. They know shuffle tracking exists, but is card counting illegal? No, it’s not.
There’s no known way to detect when a player does these things during the game. All the house can have is a hunch, making you next to invisible when practicing it and winning a lot of money. However, if there is an in-house rule, you can be banned.
There is no law against shuffle tracking and card counting at the federal level.
Cons of Shuffle Tracking
Like everything with benefits, shuffle tracking also has its major drawbacks. One big setback is that it is an extremely difficult skill to master. Also, if done incorrectly, you can lose a lot of money. You would also need to start again, which can be tasking.
Shuffle Tracking vs Ace Sequencing
Shuffle tracking, as we mentioned, is an advanced card-counting method. The focus is identifying “clumps” of low or high cards through the shuffle. On the other hand, Ace Sequencing is a form of shuffling gambling. Instead of targeting a group of cards, you focus only on aces. In some card-counting movies, Ace Sequencing is shown.
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In a Nutshell
Shuffle tracking is an advanced Blackjack strategy that aims to detect where the high and low cards cluster, even after the cards are shuffled. This gives you the perfect opportunity to milk the house and win huge rewards. However, it’s also a delicate strategy that requires a lot of careful calculations and observations if you want to prevent losses. Also, it is now usable at online casinos.
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