From Cowboy Boots to Gucci Loafers
Computer use in casinos has certainly come a long way since the days of card counting computers hidden in cowboy boots.

The first generation of gaming computers were fairly large, required a substantial battery pack and relied on radio transmission as a signaling medium. Using off-the-shelf radio frequency detectors, it was relatively simple for casinos to detect them.

Today’s gaming computers utilize: -

• tiny microprocessors no bigger than a postage stamp
• speech chips or pre-recorded sound files for feedback and instruction
• induction or digital burst technology for input/output
• small 9 volt batteries
• upgradeable software

Other devices commonly used in conjunction with computers are: -

• miniature video cameras
• cellular telephones
• micro transmitters and receivers
• wireless miniature ear-canal receivers
• wireless VHF receivers

A Word About Shuffles
Today’s computers have extremely sophisticated software that is the result of thousands of hours of computer programming. Programs that rely on shuffle information can learn an individual dealer’s unique shuffle style and modify their own tracking algorithms for accuracy. By entering a unique dealer ID prior to inputting cards, modern computers can build a database of dealers that is being constantly updated.

The majority of computer applications make use of the shuffle information to some extent. A truly random shuffle is difficult to achieve; it has been said that you could get close by: -

“throwing an infinite number of decks off the top of a multi-storey building in a hurricane in the dead of night and have them picked up by a blind inebriate”

If a casino’s shuffle process does not approximate this then the chances are it is not random and therefore trackable to some degree.

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