Shuffle policies are an important consideration for players - and this applies
to live casinos just as it does to traditional terrestrial casinos. By
shuffle policy I am not talking about the thoroughness of the original shoe
shuffle - this is taken as a given. What I am referring to is what point
during a deck(s) / shoe deal does the re-shuffle take place. That is,
where does the casino direct its dealers to insert the cut card?
Why is the cut card important?
The point at which a reshuffle takes place or where the cut card is placed is
critical to players ability to effectively count the cards and bet to that
count. This is not so much a consideration for baccarat, which is widely
considered not to be a countable game (including by counting systems gurus Peter
Griffin and Edward Thorp) but it is very relevant for blackjack.
Effective
blackjack counting strategies enable players to gain a mathematical edge
over the house. But the extent to which this advantage may be gained will
be dependent on how deep into the shoe the deal goes. Where the cut card is
placed in the back third or quarter of the shoe, counters are able to penetrate
deeper into the shoe with their count than where the cut card is mid shoe or
even towards the front.
So in light of the above, the obvious question becomes where do live casinos cut
their deck(s) and re-shuffle?
Where do live casinos place their cut card or shuffle marker?
Set out below are the shoe size and shuffle policies of some of the major platform
providers and their licensee casinos.
Platform provider
Shuffle / Cut card / marker policy -
from house rules
Relevant Casinos
Evolution Gaming
Blackjack -
"This version of blackjack is played with 8
decks of cards, which you will see the dealer shuffle at regular intervals."
Baccarat -
"The game is played
with 8 decks of cards, which are shuffled regularly by the dealer."
"In Blackjack and Baccarat CWC uses 8 decks, and 4 decks are used
for playing; once the 4 decks are exhausted, the entire 8 decks (the "shoe")
is shuffled. For all card games, the cards are shuffled when the
yellow 'shuffle marker' card is dealt, which is generally after 4 of the 8
decks have
been dealt."
