Shuffle Tracking

Shuffle-tracking is the mathematically-based technique of following specific cards or groups of cards through the shuffling process. The main idea behind Shuffle Tracking is that shuffles are non-random (statistically speaking, a deck of cards has to be shuffled at least 20-30 times to achieve a random dispersion). This means that in an ‘incomplete’ shuffle, cards tend to cluster or group together in certain parts of a shoe and the location of these groups of cards are (to some degree) predictable.

Shuffle-tracking involves keeping track of the count (see Card Counting) in different groups of the deck during the play of the shoe and following these groups through the card shuffling process for the purpose of:

• Knowledgeable cutting: removing low cards from the play (or keeping high cards in the play);
• Modifying playing and betting strategy (according to the information of the regions) when those cards come into play.

Card counting is necessary to rank the different groups of the played cards, so that these groups may be tracked through the shuffle.

Unlike card counting, shuffle tracking is difficult to detect, thus having the additional benefit of fooling the casinos since the shuffle tracker could be betting opposite to how a straightforward card counter would.

The Blackjack Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook by Arnold Snyder is an excellent source on shuffle tracking. Included in this book are numerous practice and testing methods for players who want to learn shuffle tracking, methods for analyzing and comparing the profit potential of various shuffles, and much more.