Shuffle tracking is an advantage gambling technique where a player tracks certain cards or sequences of cards through a series of shuffles. Shuffle tracking is typically done in blackjack games, although it can be done in other card games. ^{[citation needed]} Games with simple shuffles are generally easier to shuffle track than games with complicated shuffles. Thus, shuffle tracking is usually done in 6 or 8 deck shoe-dealt blackjack games, as these tend to have simpler shuffles compared to pitch games, due to the time required to accomplish a complicated shuffle on 6 or 8 decks of cards. ^{[citation needed]}

Shuffle tracking

Shuffle tracking is an advanced form of card counting. There exist many types of shuffle tracking.^[1] Generally, the player, or a team member, keeps track of the count (high cards versus low cards) of one or more subsections of the cards as they are played. The selected sections may or may not be predetermined by observing and mapping the shuffle. These sections are referred to as tracking zones. The player may attempt to follow slugs of cards through the shuffle, or have a good idea of the final location by previously analyzing the shuffle. After the shuffle, play zones exist which contain most of the cards in the tracking zone as well as other cards. The player can then cut zones with high cards into play, or with low cards out of play, thus changing the normal composition of the shoe. Betting can then be altered to reflect the altered composition.^{[2] [3]}

Ace sequencing

Another form related to shuffle tracking is called ace sequencing, because it involves attempting to determine when an ace is about to be dealt. If a player knows that he will be dealt an ace as his first card, he gains a 50.43% advantage.^[4]. This is because a player has a 30% (4/13) chance of getting a blackjack and a good chance of making a strong hand if he is not dealt a blackjack. First the player should know what segments the discards are likely to appear relatively intact after a shuffle. He then observes aces as they are placed into the discard tray within a segment. He then remembers the two or three cards placed on top of the ace in the tray. These are called key cards. After the shuffle, the player looks for the key cards. The ace is likely to follow these cards and the player may be able to raise his bet in anticipation of receiving the ace.^[5]

Card steering

Another advanced form of card counting refers to controlling where a known card lands on the table. For example, suppose that when you are offered the cards to cut, you see the bottom card. If you place the cut card such that an exact number of cards, say 52, are cut from the bottom and moved to the top, you will know what the 52nd card is. It doesn't really matter how many cards, as long as it is known. If it is an ace, and you can see that it will land in your hand, you will raise your bet knowing that you are likely to receive a good hand. If it looks like it will not hit your hand, you can also attempt to force it into your hand by hitting or standing incorrectly or playing multiple hands in the previous round. This is known as steering. If the known card is a ten, you may attempt to steer it such that it is the dealer’s hit card, increasing the chance of a dealer bust. In European no hole card, you may also attempt to steer a bad card into the dealer’s hole card.

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