The shuffler brand that invented a table game to sell its machines
Models we carry
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DeckMate 2
Fully refurbished · confirm quantities available
Shuffle Master's single-deck shuffler for live poker, also used for single-deck blackjack and hand-pitch specialty games. It was unveiled at G2E Las Vegas in October 2012 as the successor to the 2002 Deck Mate, and shuffles in 22 seconds, half the time of the original. Optical card recognition verifies the deck and shows the result on the dealer's remote touchscreen; a built-in timer lets the floor call the clock, and it can sort a deck back into suit order.
Decks / games
Single deck: live poker, single-deck blackjack and other single-deck hand-pitch specialty gamesMFR
Shuffle Master's batch shuffler for shoe games such as blackjack and baccarat, holding up to eight decks at a time. It reads each card as it passes and warns the dealer if a card is missing or one has been slipped in, and an optional built-in printer can hand the pit a deck-check receipt. It arrived in 2011 as the replacement for the MD1 and MD2.
A continuous multi-deck shuffler for shoe games such as blackjack, baccarat and Casino War. Casinos Austria's research company (CARD) introduced it internationally in 2002, and Shuffle Master took it over when it bought CARD in May 2004. It holds up to six decks and keeps four, five or six in continuous play, checks the card count at the first fill, mounts flush with the table and logs its own use. The later one2six Plus added a camera that reads each card.
The original Deck Mate, Shuffle Master's single- or double-deck shuffler, introduced in October 2002 for poker and for blackjack dealt from one or two decks. It sits in the table or mounts flush, takes paper or plastic cards in poker or bridge size, and a warning light tells the dealer when a card is missing or extra. A message display guides dealers and pit staff.
Decks
One or two decks; paper or plastic cards, poker or bridge sizeMFR
Games
Poker tables and single- or double-deck blackjack (sold as Deck Mate Poker and Deck Mate Blackjack)MFR
Mounting
In the table or flush-mounted: on a poker table in front of the dealer, or on an extension to a blackjack tableMFR
A single-deck shuffler for specialty table games: it identifies each card's rank and suit and deals the cards out in groups. It mounts flush with load and unload ports, has a built-in discard rack and a touchscreen, and can be set up for several games.
The second generation of the i-Deal, Shuffle Master's single-deck shuffler for specialty games such as Three Card Poker. It keeps the original's card recognition and speed, and adds a screen on the front for the game's logo, the table limits, pay tables and videos; a security card that keeps the hole card from being flashed; a printer built in, which brings back a winning hand and prints it for checking at the table; and a short-hand mode. Scientific Games showed it at G2E 2015.
Type
Single-deck shuffler for specialty table games (Three Card Poker and others)MFR
Light & Wonder's current continuous shuffler for multi-deck games. It takes four to eight decks and keeps shuffling while the game runs, so play never stops to reload a shoe. It sits low and flush in the table and deals straight out of the unit, up to three cards a second. Two built-in cameras read every card and keep a live count of what's inside, and misfeed detection stops loading jams.
Shuffle Master's multi-deck batch shuffler for shoe games such as blackjack and baccarat, introduced in September 2003. It shuffles two to eight decks on a patented platform-and-gripper mechanism that counts the cards, runs quietly and is gentle on them. It mounts flush in the table, with separate chambers for loading and unloading and a message display for the dealer. Fitted with the optional card recognition, it reads and checks every card. The MD3 succeeded it.
Shuffle Master's second-generation single-deck shuffler, introduced in January 1999 for single-deck stud poker and pai gow poker games. Instead of riffling, it drops each card at random onto one of nine shelves of a moving elevator, then chooses at random the order in which the hands go out. It counts the deck before any card reaches a player, takes paper or plastic cards in poker or bridge size, and logs its cycles and hands dealt. Its successor is the i-Deal.
A card-reading dealing shoe from Shuffle Master for multi-deck games such as baccarat: it deals, it doesn't shuffle. It holds up to eight decks and moves the cards up to the front by itself, which eases the dealer's work. As each card is dealt, optical recognition reads its rank and suit, with any brand of card and no special markings, and the results can go over Ethernet to a table display or the casino network. It pairs with a batch shuffler such as the MD3.
Type
Card-reading dealing shoe with automatic card feedMFR
Source tags: MFR = the manufacturer's published documents · REG = a regulator's document · press / dealer = not yet confirmed by the manufacturer.
1983Founded in Minneapolis
1992First casino sale, Bally's Las Vegas
$1.3BBought by Bally Technologies, 2013
SGParent company (Scientific Games)
About Shuffle Master
John Breeding, a Minneapolis truck driver, started Shuffle Master in 1983 after reading about card counting. His reasoning: if every hand comes off a freshly shuffled deck, there is nothing to count. He borrowed $30,000 to build the first machine, and in January 1992 the company sold its first automatic shuffler to Bally's in Las Vegas.
To sell more single-deck shufflers, Shuffle Master invented a game to put them on. Let It Ride was approved in Nevada in 1993, and within two years it was earning the company more than the shufflers did. Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and Three Card Poker came later, and the company moved its headquarters to Las Vegas in 1998.
The company was renamed SHFL entertainment in 2012 and bought by Bally Technologies in 2013 for about $1.3 billion. Scientific Games acquired Bally the following year, and when Scientific Games became Light & Wonder in 2022, Shuffle Master stayed on as its shuffler brand.
Key dates
1983John Breeding founds Shuffle Master in Minneapolis.
1992First automatic shuffler sold to Bally's Las Vegas; the company goes public.
1993Let It Ride is approved in Nevada.
1995First multi-deck shuffler, for 4, 6 or 8 decks.
2002The original DeckMate poker shuffler arrives.
2011MD3 multi-deck shuffler replaces the MD1 and MD2.
2012DeckMate 2 launches.
2013Bally Technologies buys the company.
2022Parent Scientific Games becomes Light & Wonder.
Specifications come from published manufacturer and trade-press sources; confirm the exact configuration of any unit with us before you buy. Brand names and logos belong to their respective owners.
