Shuffle Tracking at Blackjack

 

Card counting in blackjack is not very easy to learn or master. Card counting works quite well at blackjack though. In blackjack history there have been several successful players who have counted cards and have managed to win considerable amounts of money at the casinos without ever getting caught.

What is Shuffle Tracking?

Basically shuffle tracking is a type of advantage technique in blackjack where the player would have to track the sequences of cards or certain cards through a series of the shuffles.

The method is typically used in blackjack though it can also be used in other types of card games. Games where there are simple shuffles are easier for shuffle tracking rather than the ones where complicated shuffles are used. For this reason, shuffle tracking is generally done in blackjack games with six or eight decks since they have simpler shuffle when compared to the pitch games.

Shuffle tracking is a relatively new technique which is used in blackjack. It is considered to be an offshoot of the card counting system and is often known as cluster tracking. Once a player masters the technique it can give him/her considerable advantage at the game.

Shuffle tracking is somehow connected with such a technique as ace sequencing at blackjack.

How to Succeed at Shuffle Tracking?

A player can be good at card counting as well as shuffle tracking. However, in order to be good at shuffle tracking a player would need a few qualities. He/she would have to be a keen observer. Shuffle tracking is believed to be much more complicated than card counting since it requires longer time and more focus. When used with card counting it can make for a very effective strategy. When you play blackjack online, a random number generator is used to draw numbers, but in cards, the outcome can only come from 54 unique cards that players can keep track of.

If a player is a good card counter and is in a multi deck game, he/she would have an idea when the face cards are still to be played in the game. However, if the player can also find a way to track the cards which are left in the shoe visually during the shuffle and monitor where the cards would end up while they are being shuffled, there would be a considerable advantage. However, it is more difficult than it sounds to be.

Casinos fear shuffle trackers and while they have already learned how to deal with card counters, casinos are still looking for measures to deal with shuffle trackers. Shuffle tracking involves tracking the clumps of face cards and tens and then monitoring them during the next shuffle round. The cards with a value of ten increases the chances of the dealer busting and thus giving the player better chances of winning the hand. Once the bunch of the face cards and ten emerge from the shoe, the shuffle trackers would then increase their bet sizes.

When it comes to online casinos and online blackjack, shuffle tracking is quite useless. This is because in online blackjack the cards are shuffled after every round. Also, there is no real shoe or shuffling which goes on in online casinos since it is all managed by computer software.