Essential Strategies in Blackjack: Shuffle Tracking
Compared to the relative fame of blackjack strategies like basic strategy and card counting, shuffle tracking is not that widely exposed to blackjack players. If the strategy is used at all, one can be pretty sure that the one using it is a veteran player who is enlightened to the effectiveness of shuffle tracking in the game.
This is unfortunate as shuffle tracking can be a worthy addition to anyone's arsenal of blackjack tactics and strategies especially if one invests the time and commitment in mastering its ins and outs.
Granted, shuffle tracking is an advanced technique that needs much practice to master which may be the explanation as to why the said strategy is not that widely used particularly by casual players but this must not deter those who want to learn the technique as one does need anymore time mastering this strategy than the one spent on other blackjack strategies.
So what is shuffle tracking? In essence, shuffle tracking is a technique that exploits the premise that shuffling a deck of cards does not absolutely randomize the order of the cards included in it. Hence, this lack of absolute randomness of shuffling makes the cards predictable since one can track a group of cards that are clumped even after a shuffle since shuffling does not guarantee complete randomizing of the order of the cards in the deck.
As said earlier, learning to shuffle track is by no means a walk in the park. This makes it important for one to know the essential things to remember before committing one's self to the practice of the technique.
Shuffle tracking can be an effective tool in blackjack but it is vital to remember that it is not applicable to all forms of blackjack, specifically in online play.
This is because shuffle tracking is founded on the principle that shuffling does not completely randomize a deck, something which is true only when shuffling is done by an actual human dealer since the shuffling done by the computer in online games really does randomize the order of cards in a deck with every shuffle. Bottom line: shuffle trackers should avoid online gaming.
It is also important to use memorization techniques to remember the different information that are important to effective shuffle tracking. Like in other techniques, it is helpful to use counting systems in tracking cards. Veterans of the strategy are also using their own chips to help them commit to memory the bits of information that are important to the strategy.
Shuffle tracking is a technique that does not elicit much attention compared to other strategies in blackjack. This does not mean that it is any less effective though, as it will be a worthwhile skill to learn since it also helps in assessing the probability of certain cards coming up much like what the more popular strategy that is card counting does.