joseywales
Straight
What I knew about shufflers in July wouldn't cover the tip of a Q-tip and my interest in them was even less. Today, I know more than enough to maybe cover the head of a pushpin and I could be considered a frustrated novelist, so please bear that in mind and use the next 10 minutes of your time accordingly.
@minedelta was selling some Deckmates, but also listed this I-Deal, which I thought was a nice compromise financially. Also, our game is Hold 'em, so no need for Baccarat etc. For the price and his excellent support, as well as @Carnth's, shufflers from PCF are tough to ignore. Lastly, I run an octagon table, so while Deckmates offer a cleaner look, etc., I simply can't take advantage of that. If I had an oval, I'd be in a predicament because Deckmates are awful tempting. But I digress...
My objective: first, I'm a gadget guy, so there's that. I also wanted to speed up our social game, increase Hands Per Hour (HPH), while maintaining a socials aspect (no whip cracking).
My concerns: Noise, how loud would any shuffler be? The I-Deal wheel, as you see in the picture, it's not flat like other table mounted shufflers, so how would that be aesthetically? Will it work well with bridge size cards? By adding the I-Deal and running a second deck, I'd like to see ~ 10 more HPH. The idea being that players will see less flops and wait for better pocket cards.
Aesthetics: I run an octagon table, so no shuffler would be mounted on the table. Materials On Hand (MOH) is also critical to every mission in the joseywales household. Wife claims I hoard and will grimace with each yard sale score of a tool, cabinet, whatever. I have a box full (free) of various angle irons, etc. for hanging medium to large items, so I was able to use those inside the cabinet and easily support the weight of the I-Deal. Moreover, I wanted to be able to easily remove and install the unit, should that be necessary. I mounted the I-Deal in the top, leaving a ton of space inside the cabinet. I cut a desk mat to fit the top of the cabinet, and actually hung a leftover piece over the screen to keep it dirt free when not in use.
Cabinet: I can't stress enough how handy 10 to 20 gallon oak aquarium cabinets can be in tight spaces. They are 11-14" deep, near counter height, are wide open internally, have an open back cabinet, and hold plenty of weight, obviously. So off to Facebook Marketplace I went (actually, my first stop was the basement because I have a 10 gallon stand there, which I need to employ for another purpose in my recently updated game room. That 10 gallon stand would have been fine and I thought I was buying another on FB, but it turned out to be a 20, so a bit larger. This actually worked better, since I'll use the top for more than just the shuffler, I collect $.25 per flop for a High Hand payout so that space helps.
Not only was the cabinet bigger than I expected, but it wasn't painted black at the factory (I should have known that, because they are all natural oak cover). It still had the $79.99 tag inside, but for $20 it was a deal. To dress it up a bit, I used a textured spray paint from Home Depot. It's stupid easy and hides all sins. For example, suppose you painted the cabinet in the driveway and let it fall over, while wet, and dozens of grass cuttings and dirt stuck to the cabinet door. Well, if you were that stupid, the texture paint hides most of it for you. Anyway...
Two things concerned me with the cabinet: temperature and noise. I figured I would line the inside with acoustic foam (garage) to abate the noise and that might cause the unit to get hot.
I-Deal: what you really care about. Mike shipped the unit well packed. In fact, there were some old socks stuffed in there for good measure. Unit was clean and ready to shuffle without issue. Apparently, Mike spent a good deal of time putting together a detailed manual on shufflers. I know the manual was for my shuffler, because I read the cover, thoroughly... It must be a generational thing, but I'm typically not holding a manual until DEFCON 2. Usually too late.
The I-Deal came preprogrammed by Mike for 100 brands/styles, none of which were what I wanted. (Desjn Bridge Jumbo). I couldn't get any of the bridge options to work with my cards, but it turned out to be a simple ID10T error. This now repetitive error can be annoying and I was still pissed about the grass cuttings to be honest... Anyway, once I realized the guy in the mirror was supposed to set the card order (as the screen clearly displayed), PRIOR to asking the I-Deal to identify and program the deck, it was smooth sailing. In my defense, part of the reason for the I-Deal purchase is that I'm giving my room a facelift, so it's a disaster in there...and I'm busy!
Fun fact, I thought the unit's USB might have power, to supply a PC fan, etc., but it does not. It's simply for loading data to the unit, as far as I can tell, but clearly by now you know the guy you should ask to confirm that, or anything I've written quite frankly.
Operation/Noise, etc. I finally insulated the cabinet and ran the machine and the abatement worked exactly as I expected...not at all. The reason is simple, the noise emanating from this shuffler is mostly from the wheel, which is above table level. While running the I-Deal to format it for the Desjn cards, I realized the foam wouldn't work, but didn't want to spoil the surprise for you all. Still, I needed to confirm it. I tested the unit with, and without, sound abatement and there was zero difference in noise level. So how do I know that and exactly how loud is the I-Deal?
Using the Decibel X iPhone app and setting the phone in the middle of my poker table:
Empty room noise 27
I-Deal on standby 39-40
I-Deal shuffling 59- 60, peaked at 61.6
I-Deal stacking deck 50-52
Clicking of a pen 48-50
One person talking 65ish
Me sneezing 72 (that was a quiet one for me. I normally break 100)
Tower fan on the lowest setting without oscillating 41-42.
We always have a sports game playing no the TVs one of which has sound on, so I doubt we'll hear much noise from the shuffler.
Based on the results above, performed in the most stringent laboratory settings, with state of the art equipment, the I-Deal on standby proved to be quieter than a tower fan set to the lowest setting.
Maiden Voyage: I meant to post this before my game last night, but time got away from me. The players were impressed. They asked how loud it was, but once fired up, the noise wasn't mentioned again. it simply wasn't an issue on any level. Between the talking, TV, and a small fan I run it was really just white noise at best. And shuffling takes place, while guys are rehashing the last hand, so they're talking way above the I-Deal level.
The shuffler did not do as well as we did. It missed a complete deck...once! It reported a card was missing. I reran it and the deck was fine. We, however, never once mixed up cards or lost one, while changing out two decks all night. And, at one point, we introduced a brand new deck and it was the same color, so we ran two red decks. I honestly can't believe we didn't screw that up, but we didn't. We ran about 80 hands for the night, in 4 hours.
The I-Deal is an excellent, idiot proof unit. Although one player was concerned that it put more work on me, it wasn't bad, especially once we got the kinks out of passing the cut card, etc. I ran two cut cards, then just dropped to one card. We also increase our starting stacks, so cut down on y workload of buyins, change, etc. Lastly, we did increase our hands per hour by ~ 4. I expect that to increase, since there were distractions last night: Phillies playing, new two deck process, novelty of the shuffler and talk about room upgrades, etc. Maybe 100 hands in 4 hours, we'll see. The gadget factor is off the charts. One guy had cut his hand at work, so he was especially thrilled, but they all were impressed with the I-Deals ability to sort the cards back to "new" order, spot and identify a missing card, etc.
Overall, it went very well and I'm happy.
The socks, however, did not fit.
@minedelta was selling some Deckmates, but also listed this I-Deal, which I thought was a nice compromise financially. Also, our game is Hold 'em, so no need for Baccarat etc. For the price and his excellent support, as well as @Carnth's, shufflers from PCF are tough to ignore. Lastly, I run an octagon table, so while Deckmates offer a cleaner look, etc., I simply can't take advantage of that. If I had an oval, I'd be in a predicament because Deckmates are awful tempting. But I digress...
My objective: first, I'm a gadget guy, so there's that. I also wanted to speed up our social game, increase Hands Per Hour (HPH), while maintaining a socials aspect (no whip cracking).
My concerns: Noise, how loud would any shuffler be? The I-Deal wheel, as you see in the picture, it's not flat like other table mounted shufflers, so how would that be aesthetically? Will it work well with bridge size cards? By adding the I-Deal and running a second deck, I'd like to see ~ 10 more HPH. The idea being that players will see less flops and wait for better pocket cards.
Aesthetics: I run an octagon table, so no shuffler would be mounted on the table. Materials On Hand (MOH) is also critical to every mission in the joseywales household. Wife claims I hoard and will grimace with each yard sale score of a tool, cabinet, whatever. I have a box full (free) of various angle irons, etc. for hanging medium to large items, so I was able to use those inside the cabinet and easily support the weight of the I-Deal. Moreover, I wanted to be able to easily remove and install the unit, should that be necessary. I mounted the I-Deal in the top, leaving a ton of space inside the cabinet. I cut a desk mat to fit the top of the cabinet, and actually hung a leftover piece over the screen to keep it dirt free when not in use.
Cabinet: I can't stress enough how handy 10 to 20 gallon oak aquarium cabinets can be in tight spaces. They are 11-14" deep, near counter height, are wide open internally, have an open back cabinet, and hold plenty of weight, obviously. So off to Facebook Marketplace I went (actually, my first stop was the basement because I have a 10 gallon stand there, which I need to employ for another purpose in my recently updated game room. That 10 gallon stand would have been fine and I thought I was buying another on FB, but it turned out to be a 20, so a bit larger. This actually worked better, since I'll use the top for more than just the shuffler, I collect $.25 per flop for a High Hand payout so that space helps.
Not only was the cabinet bigger than I expected, but it wasn't painted black at the factory (I should have known that, because they are all natural oak cover). It still had the $79.99 tag inside, but for $20 it was a deal. To dress it up a bit, I used a textured spray paint from Home Depot. It's stupid easy and hides all sins. For example, suppose you painted the cabinet in the driveway and let it fall over, while wet, and dozens of grass cuttings and dirt stuck to the cabinet door. Well, if you were that stupid, the texture paint hides most of it for you. Anyway...
Two things concerned me with the cabinet: temperature and noise. I figured I would line the inside with acoustic foam (garage) to abate the noise and that might cause the unit to get hot.
I-Deal: what you really care about. Mike shipped the unit well packed. In fact, there were some old socks stuffed in there for good measure. Unit was clean and ready to shuffle without issue. Apparently, Mike spent a good deal of time putting together a detailed manual on shufflers. I know the manual was for my shuffler, because I read the cover, thoroughly... It must be a generational thing, but I'm typically not holding a manual until DEFCON 2. Usually too late.
The I-Deal came preprogrammed by Mike for 100 brands/styles, none of which were what I wanted. (Desjn Bridge Jumbo). I couldn't get any of the bridge options to work with my cards, but it turned out to be a simple ID10T error. This now repetitive error can be annoying and I was still pissed about the grass cuttings to be honest... Anyway, once I realized the guy in the mirror was supposed to set the card order (as the screen clearly displayed), PRIOR to asking the I-Deal to identify and program the deck, it was smooth sailing. In my defense, part of the reason for the I-Deal purchase is that I'm giving my room a facelift, so it's a disaster in there...and I'm busy!
Fun fact, I thought the unit's USB might have power, to supply a PC fan, etc., but it does not. It's simply for loading data to the unit, as far as I can tell, but clearly by now you know the guy you should ask to confirm that, or anything I've written quite frankly.
Operation/Noise, etc. I finally insulated the cabinet and ran the machine and the abatement worked exactly as I expected...not at all. The reason is simple, the noise emanating from this shuffler is mostly from the wheel, which is above table level. While running the I-Deal to format it for the Desjn cards, I realized the foam wouldn't work, but didn't want to spoil the surprise for you all. Still, I needed to confirm it. I tested the unit with, and without, sound abatement and there was zero difference in noise level. So how do I know that and exactly how loud is the I-Deal?
Using the Decibel X iPhone app and setting the phone in the middle of my poker table:
Empty room noise 27
I-Deal on standby 39-40
I-Deal shuffling 59- 60, peaked at 61.6
I-Deal stacking deck 50-52
Clicking of a pen 48-50
One person talking 65ish
Me sneezing 72 (that was a quiet one for me. I normally break 100)
Tower fan on the lowest setting without oscillating 41-42.
We always have a sports game playing no the TVs one of which has sound on, so I doubt we'll hear much noise from the shuffler.
Based on the results above, performed in the most stringent laboratory settings, with state of the art equipment, the I-Deal on standby proved to be quieter than a tower fan set to the lowest setting.
Maiden Voyage: I meant to post this before my game last night, but time got away from me. The players were impressed. They asked how loud it was, but once fired up, the noise wasn't mentioned again. it simply wasn't an issue on any level. Between the talking, TV, and a small fan I run it was really just white noise at best. And shuffling takes place, while guys are rehashing the last hand, so they're talking way above the I-Deal level.
The shuffler did not do as well as we did. It missed a complete deck...once! It reported a card was missing. I reran it and the deck was fine. We, however, never once mixed up cards or lost one, while changing out two decks all night. And, at one point, we introduced a brand new deck and it was the same color, so we ran two red decks. I honestly can't believe we didn't screw that up, but we didn't. We ran about 80 hands for the night, in 4 hours.
The I-Deal is an excellent, idiot proof unit. Although one player was concerned that it put more work on me, it wasn't bad, especially once we got the kinks out of passing the cut card, etc. I ran two cut cards, then just dropped to one card. We also increase our starting stacks, so cut down on y workload of buyins, change, etc. Lastly, we did increase our hands per hour by ~ 4. I expect that to increase, since there were distractions last night: Phillies playing, new two deck process, novelty of the shuffler and talk about room upgrades, etc. Maybe 100 hands in 4 hours, we'll see. The gadget factor is off the charts. One guy had cut his hand at work, so he was especially thrilled, but they all were impressed with the I-Deals ability to sort the cards back to "new" order, spot and identify a missing card, etc.
Overall, it went very well and I'm happy.
The socks, however, did not fit.
