No. of Hand-Shuffled vs. ASM Games (don't care about CSM)

First off: This is a question about automatic-shuffling machines (ASMs), not continuous-shuffling machines (CSMs), which are of no concern here. Let's see if we can have a thread about ASMs without anyone confusing them with CSMs. Yes, I dare to dream ...

I have a hard time making sense of the presence/absence of automatic shufflers at the places I've been. Low-roller places will have ASMs at all their shoes, while higher-limit places will have a few or none. It's most puzzling when one place has ASMs for some shoes, but not for others.

What is going on with these machines? I assume that low-budget casinos can't get well-trained dealers, so they eat the cost of the ASM for peace of mind, but why do some places only get them for some of their shoes?

Are they leased, and then not always replaced when they break down?

My motivation here is - duh! - shuffle tracking. I think there are enough hand-shuffled games to make it worth my while, but it would be nice to make sense of the casinos' motivations in purchasing or not purchasing these things.

My observation on ASM's is two fold: cost vs. cost:laugh:

Casinos are marketed heavily by Shuffle Master and told about all the advantages to shuffle machines such as more hands per hour, less wear on the cards, the machine will tell you when short a card and anti-ST. The casinos see the potential increased revenue and buy/lease machines. I'm not sure if they offer both options or strictly lease the machines.

After casinos give the machines a try, they learn about the disadvantages of the machines like frequent malfunctions, ploppys don't like them, the cost of more decks of cards and dealers who don't like not having a break from dealing and slow their pace down. After that it is just a business decision regarding whether the machines are making or costing the casino money and we all know what great business decisions casinos make.:grin:

I believe that these are the reasons ASM's are so hit & miss. Some markets have nothing but ASM's and others have none.

ST'ing is not like cc'ing. I could take a year off from counting, go into a casino and pick up where I left off like no time had passed. If I take a few days off from tracking, it's like reinventing the wheel. The amount of physical precision required is so great that it takes constant tuning and practice.