Question of the Day - 21 October 2017

[Editor's Note: For this answer, we turned to the inimitable Arnold Snyder, among the world's greatest blackjack and table-game experts.] 

First off, if this shuffle machine is on any table game in a Nevada casino, it would be unlawful to program it with a "set-percentage" payout, as truly random shuffles are required by law.

If you found this machine in a casino outside the U.S. or possibly in a state other than Nevada or New Jersey, you'll often find more lax regulations on how equipment can be rigged. For instance video poker machines in some countries (and possibly some U.S. states) are considered the same as slot machines and payout percentages can be set regardless of the player's strategy. It wouldn't surprise me if jurisdictions that allowed these scam machines also allowed other types of rigged equipment.

For a shuffle machine to perform as you suggest, however, would be a true marvel of programming and engineering, at least for a game like blackjack where players make their own decisions on how to play hands, the number of players at the table can change at any time, and the number of hands any individual player has in action can change according to player whim.

Some casinos started using shuffle machines that could read the cards as dealt as a house safety measure. It prevents a player or dealer from "sneaking" cards into the game via sleight of hand, as the machine will recognize a card that is improperly coded.

Using a shuffler like this on a table that can read where each card lands (and such tables will also read the players' bet sizes via RFID tags in the house chips) allows the casino to analyze individual players' strategies, which can be useful in detecting card counters or other advantage players.

But for a shuffle machine to actually gaff the shuffle itself to direct how the cards are delivered to the players would require a much more complex program and mechanical system. If the cards have to be removed from the shuffler and placed into a dealing shoe, then the device has no more control over how the cards are dealt. A card order that might work for three hands in play would be useless if a player exited the game after the deal had begun. A single player misplaying a hand could wreck the order of delivery.

And though it would definitely be possible for someone to invent a card shuffler that also acted as the dealing shoe, and was mechanically designed to pull cards from anywhere in the shoe as needed in order to make or break hands, it's unlikely anyone would devise such a device, as it would never pass the device inspections required by most gaming boards.

Plus, there are easier ways to gaff a shoe for cheating. Dealing shoes have been devised that allow the dealer to peek at the next card to be dealt; this allows him to deal the second card from the top if he wants to hold back the top card in order to make his own hand or bust a player, etc. This type of device requires no programming, no special type of shuffle, and it would in itself act as a license for the casino to steal.

But I highly doubt any legitimate casino in the U.S. would attempt to use such a device, as it would jeopardize the casino's license if they were caught. If you're playing in private (illegal) games or in third world countries where corruption is common, you might run into a device like this.

The type of cheating you're describing would be much more doable on a video blackjack game than a table game.