1. Counting Csm Blackjack Training
  2. Counting Csm Blackjack
  3. Counting Csm Blackjack Cheat
  4. Counting Csm Blackjack Rules
  5. Counting Csm Blackjack Test
  1. The card counting system outlined here is called the 'HI-LO' method, and is the most commonly used card counting system in blackjack. Each card is assigned a value of 1, 0, or negative 1 as follows: Cards 2-6 = +1. Cards 10-Ace = -1. As the cards are dealt, a running count is kept.
  2. If it is indeed operating in CSM mode then counting will not work. Hole-carding however does seem possible with an accomplice. There are some positions you can stand and briefly see the hole card but it's not easy. Sometimes you can determine if it's a face card or a very low card by how much ink you see.
  3. Basic hit/stay soft 17 strategy, Google it. You can't count csm's though. Better to pray to the RNG gods and socialize a lot. Oh make sure to get free drinks to make up for the obscene house edge;).
  4. Card counting has been the most-popular advantage gambling method since the 1960s. It gives virtually anybody a chance to gain an edge casino in blackjack. A skilled card counter can beat any hand-shuffled game over time. However, you may find it impossible to beat tables that use a continuous shuffling (CSM).

Counting CSM Blackjack (+EV)

A few people have asked me about the countability of blackjack dealt from a constant shuffle machine (CSM). I’m a big advocate of counting the CSM, especially for card craps, because of the ease of the windowed count. Even if the dealer collects no muck (i.e., immediately shuffles completed hands back into the CSM), you’ll still be +EV more than 8% of the time for good BJ rules. It’s a lot easier to count a CSM than a shoe. I call it counting for the ADHD crowd. All you have to do is pay attention to the last 16 cards (or the collected muck) fed into the CSM before the hand is dealt. Plus, you’ll probably never get backed off from CSM blackjack, even when wildly varying your bets.

EV vs. Windowed Count

I use my model of the ShuffleMaster 126 (source) CSM in the blackjack simulations for this post. I’ve talked in detail about this model before, in my posts on card craps. Basically, there’s a buffer of at least 16 cards in the chute (so the dealer never waits for a card), which introduces state into the system. If the dealer collects no muck, you simply use the running count of the last 16 cards fed into the shuffler. Use the simple hi-lo count (2-6 are +1, 10-A are -1). If the dealer collects a lot of muck, and feeds it all into the shuffler right before the next hand starts, then use the count of the entire muck.

Counting Csm Blackjack

For these simulations, I used 6 decks in the CSM, and typical-good H17 blackjack rules (3:2 BJ, late surrender, re-split Aces 3-times, double-after-split). My blackjack analyzer calculates the ideal EV for these rules at -0.445% for 6 decks. I ran the simulator head’s up against the dealer, and kept track of the 16-card windowed count and the subsequent hand outcome. I plotted the next-hand EV vs. the windowed hi-lo count in the graph below.

The reason the CSM causes the house edge to go down ever so slightly is because of a phenomenon known as the “cut card effect,” which slightly increases the probability of getting tens and blackjack when a CSM is used. Now before you rush out and play blackjack on a table that uses a CSM, pay attention to the rest of the story.

Training

The graph shows a very linear relationship between the 16-card windowed hi-lo count and the EV of the next hand. When the running windowed count is +5 or more, the next hand from the CSM is +EV. The windowed count is ≥ 5 about 8.2% of the time.

Frequencies of 16-Card Windowed Counts
CountFrequencyApprox. BJ EV
011.5%-0.44%
110.8%-0.34%
29.36%-0.24%
37.46%-0.16%
45.46%-0.05%
53.67%+0.04%
62.25%+0.14%
71.25%+0.22%
80.627%+0.29%
90.280%+0.43%
100.111%+0.49%

Conclusions

Serious card counters will tell you you can’t count a CSM. But the data above shows that a CSM goes +EV more than 8% of the time. Plus, it’s infinitely easier to count a CSM than it is to count a shoe. You can lose track of the count for a hand or two. As soon as you regain attention, you’ll know what the count is. You can probably vary your bets wildly without attracting any attention or interest from the floor. You can probably even Wong hands when the count is bad. Or less than +5.

Counting a CSM is great for the casual counter. It’s basically short-attention span counting. If you see the last 16 cards into the CSM prior to the deal are low (have a running count of 5 or better), then you’re +EV for the next hand. Even if you just see a net +3 count for the last 16 cards, you still know the next hand will be better than average. You can start/stop paying attention on a per-hand basis (unlike a shoe, where you have to wait for the next shoe if you lose the count).

At it’s simplest, CSM counting will tell you when the next hand will be better-than-average (half the time), or worse-than-average (half the time). So, if you Wong half of the time, you’ll only play the better-than-average hands (EV better than -0.45%; the above curve to the right of count=0), and miss the bad hands. That’s a quick way to reduce the house edge from 0.45% to 0.22% (only play 53% of the hands; wait until the count is ≥ 0).

Continuous shuffling machines are a mainstay in the casino game of Blackjack. The game’s basic components contributing to your outcome is luck of the draw. Shuffling of cards automatically can affect both the odds of the players to win and the house advantage.

Whilst this factor used to vary quite significantly depending on the shuffler of a game, with the advancements in technology new methods to shuffle cards have emerged, enabling a fairer game wherever played. Most casinos will not manually shuffle cards. Rather they will use machines which are called ‘continuous shuffling machines.’

Understanding the Shuffling Machine

Shuffling machines are used across the casino industry to create more efficient randomisation of cards for any game in comparison to shuffling manually. Since their invention, different variations of card shuffling machines have emerged, such as automatic shufflers and the continuous shuffling machine (CSM).

The continuous shuffling machine facilitates a type of automated shuffling used by most, if not all, casinos in an attempt to stop card counting in games. Continuous shuffling machines work by randomising the deck of cards, thereby allowing the game to be played at a quicker rate, (not having to wait for the dealer to shuffle and deal), whilst providing a fairer game through a more thorough, entirely objective shuffling system.

How Continuous Shuffling Machines Work

Typically, five decks of cards are placed into a CSM, with the machine throwing out and putting back in cards from each deck at random. The shuffling, as the name suggests, is going on continuously, with cards already used in the game having the chance to show up in subsequent hands. This makes attempts of card counting less likely to be successful than games with a traditionally shuffled deck of cards.

Counting Csm Blackjack Training

The original continuous shuffling machine uses an elevator-type system in which a shuffler will insert cards into the device’s shelves at random as the machine moves up and down. The Shuffle Master then randomly picks a deck for the game and places it into the dealing shoe. There are numerous different types of CSM, all providing a casino game with an effective, thoroughly random shuffle.

How Continuous Shuffling Machines Affect Player Strategies

Whilst playing a game of Blackjack that involves a CSM, there are a few things to consider in order to develop an effective gaming strategy, and to further yield the best possible outcome:

  • Cards that have been used are placed back in the deck at random throughout the game. Therefore, counting cards throughout a game with a CSM will be less likely to work, if not impossible altogether
  • Apart from card counting, games involving CSM will not change other basic Blackjack strategies, as these are almost always concerning elements of the game outside the shuffling of a deck
  • Shuffle tracking could possibly be done if the CSM is integrating cards already used in the game back into the dealing shoe. Through this, players may be able to predict what cards are likely to be grouped together
  • In a game of Blackjack with a CSM, the distribution of cards used is weighted in favour of the larger cards
  • The fewer the decks of cards a CSM is set up for, the better the advantage for the player

Consideration of the above factors can help a player significantly whilst working out how to get the best possible outcome during a Blackjack game that uses a continuous shuffling machine.

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Can Continuous Shuffling Machines be Beaten in Casinos?

Counting Csm Blackjack

It has been claimed that Blackjack is the only game players can learn to beat regularly. Those that learn basic strategy techniques are much more likely to win a game, and with experience under their belt, move on to card counting to further increase their chances of winning.

The implementation of continuous shuffling machines within most casinos has drastically restricted the lengths to which card counters can go to. There are still various things that can be done to put an advanced player’s skill set to good use!

There are many different types and models of continuous shuffle machines, one of which is made by leading manufacturer Shuffle Master and is the One 2 Six Machine.

The One 2 Six types of the shuffler, similar to most of the basic layouts of continuous shuffling machines, have cards inserted into it at random and throughout the duration of the game, and then presents a predetermined, thoroughly shuffled, number of cards into the dealing shoe for use in the game.

Counting Csm Blackjack Cheat

Although players cannot know the exact cards distributed, what can be determined is that the cards in the game will not be dealt for a few hands. Therefore, this provides players with a move accurate guess as to what will be in this new pack of cards by filtering through what is least likely to be in it.

Counting csm blackjack rulesCounting csm blackjack practice

However, each type of continuous shuffling machine will slightly vary in its techniques, being able to hold different amounts of decks within the shuffling process. The higher the amount of decks involved in the shuffling machine, the harder it is to estimate what is in the deck and therefore the lower the advantage for the player.

Counting Csm Blackjack Rules

Shuffling When Playing at Online Casinos

When playing Blackjack at a live online casino, determining what shuffling technique is being used is a bit more difficult as simulations and algorithms are used for the most part.

Therefore, to help guess what type of shuffling technique is used and adapt player strategy accordingly, here’s what to bear in mind with online casinos:

  • They often use a random simulation program in its shuffling technique to avoid bias
  • Shuffling is typically done after every hand
  • If you see the same card twice in a game, the casino is not using traditional methods, and rather is much more likely to be using CSM-styled shuffling

Counting Csm Blackjack Test

While continuous shuffling machines have made it harder for the more experienced Blackjack player to win, they level the playing field. Adapting your strategy towards beating the shuffler through a good knowledge of how your shuffling is done, and what this means for the hands dealt in a game.

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