Going to stay out of the debate
@Forty4. As a player who spent several years playing in casinos before the arrival of the deckmate #2s, all I can say is that I’ve seen a difference in the “action” created amongst hands dealt when a dealer hand shuffles vs it being done by a deckmate #2.
I WILL NOT ever play cards in a casino that uses these specific shufflers for many of the reasons mentioned in other posts. People want to argue with you and say your not being cheated but you really can’t prove that you aren’t.
A lot can be done when you introduce technology into anything. My theory is the casinos use the machines to create MAXIMUM RAKE and maximum hands per hour.
The bigger the pots, the more rake that is usually pulled in per hand.
Also, if the machine can read the cards and put the deck in a set order, why couldn’t it choose a seat to deal more winning hands to?
Anyways, I‘ve spent enough time playing pre deckmate#2 and after to see the difference with my own eyes.
Call me crazy, a conspiracy theorist or what ever you like, DON’T CARE! You will never see me sitting at a table that is deckmate#2 shuffled and dealt.