Home game Casino Grade Card Shuffler (1 Viewer)

[Thruon]

How much would you be willing to pay for a Casino grade , GLI certified , 52 card shuffling machine with a 1 year guarantee ? Table flush Mount or table top (half the size of the Deckmate 2). Anyone think there is a market for serious home gaming?

 

[LotsOfChips]

Are you offering one for sale?

Used ShuffleTechs sell here for $450-700 depending on age and condition. Used Deckmates are in the $10k range, and most people here wouldn’t shell out that type of cash for a shuffle machine.

Unless you provide some details (make, model, age, price, previous use, who provides the service, some kind of track record to show that you’re not just going to take the money and run, etc), I’m guessing most people won’t be too interested.

if those details were known, and it was affordable and good value for the money, then there is probably a market for that.

 

[T_Chan]

Used deckmates sell for $8-12k in my experience. Depends on condition. They do get bought for the serious "home game" from time to time.

 

[Thruon]

Are you offering one for sale?

Used ShuffleTechs sell here for $450-700 depending on age and condition. Used Deckmates are in the $10k range, and most people here wouldn’t shell out that type of cash for a shuffle machine.

Unless you provide some details (make, model, age, price, previous use, who provides the service, some kind of track record to show that you’re not just going to take the money and run, etc), I’m guessing most people won’t be too interested.

if those details were known, and it was affordable and good value for the money, then there is probably a market for that.

Trying to understand if there is a market for a new shuffler as described above but more like in the 3k-5k price range.

 

[LotsOfChips]

Trying to understand if there is a market for a new shuffler as described above but more like in the 3k-5k price range.

It sounds like you may have an idea or a prototype, and are trying to figure out if it is worthwhile spending the time and resources to move forward with the idea. I'm no marketing expert, but I could think that you have two ways to proceed:

• You can conduct extensive market research, identifying target markets, conduct surveys/focus groups, etc. before developing the product and launching it with selective marketing campaigns (trade shows, web sites, publications, etc.). Expensive path.
• You could develop the product first (based on feedback from Beta testers, interested groups such as this one and other home poker sites), and then start to sell a few units at a time, building a reputation and a following. Less expensive path.

Out of the total home poker market, you must realize that the number of hosts willing to shell out $3000-$5000 for something that they can do (and have been doing) themselves is somewhat limited. The vast majority of home games still use cheap plastic chips (total cost < $75), paper cards (<$5) and a wooden or plastic surface table - maybe with a table cloth or a sheet over it ($0). These people are not your target market.

There are however a number of relatively committed and arguably affluent hosts who appreciate the ability to emulate a casino environment for their home games, and will spend thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars for multiple sets of casino grade clay chips, hundreds of dollars for multiple sets of casino grade plastic cards, and more thousands of dollars on custom built poker table(s). These people are your target market.

This forum includes members from both groups, plus a lot who are somewhere in the middle. Some are here because they want to "up" their home game, and will frequently start with a small commitment of a few hundred dollars in lower quality chips, and slwly build their way up, aspiring to someday being able to afford to spend tens of thousands on their home game setup. A few arrive at the site and throw money around as if it were inconsequential. Many fall somewhere in between, having enough disposable income to acquire a nice set of chips (or 5-6 nice sets of chips), and a nice table (or 2-3 nice tables).

I'm at the low end of the latter group (one large set of casino used clay chips, one larger set of middle of the road "China Clay" chips, one custom cloth basic Chanman poker table, multiple decks of various plastic cards). Personally if I was to spend another $3000-$5000 at this stage of my poker hosting journey, it would probably be on another custom table and a couple of sets of custom chips. The shuffler would probably come after the rest of the hosting equipment was fully in place.

I wish you good fortune in pursuing the home shuffler idea. There is definitely a number of people here that could afford one and would give one a try. I think that one thing you need to do is establish a name for yourself here. Tony Chan (aka Chanman - posted above as @T_Chan) has built a worldwide reputation here as a builder of high quality custom poker tables, based on several years of "word of mouth" promotion among members. He now has so much business from this site that there is a backlog of many months to acquire a table from him (and well worth the wait). I think that if you can get a few members here to try out your shufflers, and if your product and service is top notch (or grows to be such in response to user feedback), then you can probably follow Tony's path to success.

Best of luck! And if you want a Beta tester, I'd be happy to try one out and provide feedback for improvements.

Cheers!

 

[LotsOfChips]

Another couple of thoughts...

There is already a "Home Game" automatic shuffler - Shuffle Tech ST1000. Retail cost new is $650 new (surface mount adapter is another $140). It performs a couple of different basic functions (3 riffles including a strip or 7 riffles including a strip), but is nowhere as sophisticated as a Deckmate. It has a reputation as being noisy, somewhat slow and prone to jamming. The vendor has a reputation for less than fantastic customer service. Market penetration here is pretty low.

Yours would have to offer several compelling advantages over the ST1000, considering that you would be asking 5-8 times the price. I think that you might also have an uphill climb to overcome the perception that automatic shufflers aren't worth the money, based on people's experience with that particular product.

 

[mashoo]

Trying to understand if there is a market for a new shuffler as described above but more like in the 3k-5k price range.

3k and you have my interest

 

[Tanagra]

I completely agree, your target audience is extremely limited.

In my experience, for many (most?) home games you BYOB and everyone takes turns shuffling and the atmosphere is super lighthearted and play is often loud and drunkenly (albeit super fun).

Then there are more 'formal' games where there is a dedicated dealer, food and booze is provided and the mood is 'quieter', more subdued, a bit more serious... These games usually include a custom poker table, custom clay chips, slot machines, and legit cash drop boxes and POSSIBLY a casino-grade shuffler (although those are QUITE rare).

I started off hosting BYOB poker nights after the Moneymaker 2003 poker revolution and over the years slowly converted to the latter, slowly adding to the atmosphere over time... I was the very first person in Michigan to get the ShuffleTech ST-1000 with flush mount and it worked 'o.k.' except for the LOUD cow-like 'MOOOOooo' noises and the frequent jams. It doesn't hold a candle to the real-thing. I looked HARD at the Shuffle King 2 and the ShuffleMaster for years before pulling the trigger. A new King was the same price as a used eBay DeckMate - I went with what I knew... That ShuffleMaster Deckmate was the VERY last addition to my setup.

Build a quality, maintenance-free, jam-free, quick, and quiet flush-mounted automatic shuffler - but you are probably 20 years too late as the craze isn't what it used to be. I am the only person I know who would have purchased your shuffler. You might be better off to patent it and sell to legit casinos.

 

[mcguiles]

I completely agree, your target audience is extremely limited.

In my experience, for many (most?) home games you BYOB and everyone takes turns shuffling and the atmosphere is super lighthearted and play is often loud and drunkenly (albeit super fun).

Then there are more 'formal' games where there is a dedicated dealer, food and booze is provided and the mood is 'quieter', more subdued, a bit more serious... These games usually include a custom poker table, custom clay chips, slot machines, and legit cash drop boxes and POSSIBLY a casino-grade shuffler (although those are QUITE rare).

I started off hosting BYOB poker nights after the Moneymaker 2003 poker revolution and over the years slowly converted to the latter, slowly adding to the atmosphere over time... I was the very first person in Michigan to get the ShuffleTech ST-1000 with flush mount and it worked 'o.k.' except for the LOUD cow-like 'MOOOOooo' noises and the frequent jams. It doesn't hold a candle to the real-thing. I looked HARD at the Shuffle King 2 and the ShuffleMaster for years before pulling the trigger. A new King was the same price as a used eBay DeckMate - I went with what I knew... That ShuffleMaster Deckmate was the VERY last addition to my setup.

Build a quality, maintenance-free, jam-free, quick, and quiet flush-mounted automatic shuffler - but you are probably 20 years too late as the craze isn't what it used to be. I am the only person I know who would have purchased your shuffler. You might be better off to patent it and sell to legit casinos.

how quiet is the King?

 

[Tanagra]

how quiet is the King?

Not sure, I have never seen one live...

They have a video on their website (with loud background music perhaps to muffle the noise). --> https://www.casinoshuffler.com/subdom/shuffleking2/

It is super cool and super expensive and I'd be happy to have one, but like the DeckMate 2, it actually READS every card and *could* be programmed to stack a deck any way imaginable.

I'm still super happy with my DeckMate 1, in all these years it hasn't failed me for a second. What did surprise me was having to wash (soap and water) the cards every 16 hours or so - I think the oil from people's hands were causing failure to feed situations which were easily corrected by washing.

 

[mcguiles]

i’ll be investing in one in the next year or so, i think deckmate is the way to go too

 

[Tanagra]

Just to follow-up,

The Shufflemaster Deck Mate 1 is still functioning FLAWLESSLY - we only have games in the winter and are starting them back up now...