Questionable techniques

Sequential shuffle tracking

A possible source of profit from baccarat lies in what is known as card tracking and it is based on the non-randomness of human shuffling.

In sloppy shuffles, there is a tendency to preserve the card order of the last round of play i.e., the cards are not broken up as thoroughly as they should be. Consequently, the post-shuffled deck may contain the same sequences of cards as the pre-shuffled deck. This is particularly the case with eight decks of cards, as they are very difficult to randomise by shuffling alone.

A card tracker analyses the cards not as they are dealt, but as they are put into the discard pile. He watches for sequences of cards that are unbroken by the shuffle in order to predict which card will appear next.

If for example, he sees the king of spades, followed by the ace of hearts and the queen of diamonds, removed in order in the pre-shuffled deck, and then and then sees the king of spades, followed by the ace of hearts appear consecutively from the post-shuffled deck, he can reasonably assume that the following card will be the queen of diamonds.

Warping

In casinos where decks are not changed regularly, after a while, certain cards may get bent, cut and generally “warped.” An observant player can use this knowledge to his advantage if he notices these characteristics when the cards are dealt to his opponent. It should be noted that this is not he same as “card marking” which is illegal.

Card steering

In some cases you may be lucky enough to find a sloppy dealer and often, a player seated to the far left or right of the dealer can spot the identity of the card at the bottom of the pile when it is shuffled. If he is dealt the cut card, he may be able to bring this card to the top, or estimate the value of a card before it appears.