The Shuffle Master machine

this is the machine that constantly shuffles the cards being put into it after each round of play. it shuffles all the decks inside continually. does this machine permanently eliminate the chance of winning, even long term, with basic strategy alone? i'm guessing that there would be no point in keeping a card count because of the percent of error each count would provide.
also, i live in los angeles and the casinos here use this machine. does anyone know if the shoes in vegas all use this type of machine, or do they just use regular shoes?
thanks for any advice.

From the glossary at left:

Continuous Shuffling Machine
A machine used by some casinos in Blackjack games to shuffle the cards after every round. The dealer inserts the cards dealt in the round into the machine, which then mixes them up with the rest of the cards, supposedly at random. (Some teams claim to have exploited inherent non-randomness in CSM shuffling.) Although the Basic Strategist fares better in CSM-dealt games, due to the elimination of the Cut Card Effect (see entry), the Card Counter and the Shuffle Tracker can no longer beat the game. The casinos also benefit from the absence of down time associated with regular, dealer shuffling. Recent simulations, notably, show that the casinos' bottom line is adversely affected by the use of CSMs, under certain realistic assumptions. [Not to be confused with an Automated Shuffling Machine - see entry]

Some casinos use CSms for some of their games, others do not. I have seen them side by side with regular games- look close before taking a seat. The CSMs I have seen can be identified by their snail-like appearance.

The question you ask about who uses what and for which games could be best answered by picking up CBJN available through this site- check the online catalog. Generally speaking you should be able to find plenty of playable non-CSM games in Las Vegas.

Sentry

Although the Basic Strategist fares better in CSM-dealt games, due to the elimination of the Cut Card Effect (see entry), the Card Counter and the Shuffle Tracker can no longer beat the game.

I disagree with the glossary entry. See this passage from the Shufflemaster King patent: "Randomness is determined in part by the recurrance rate of a card previously played in the next consecutively dealt hand. The theoretical recurrance rate for known continuous shufflers is believed to be about zero percent. A completely random shuffle would yield a 13.5% recurrance rate using four decks of cards. "
The sims that were done showing how the elimination of the cut-card effect helps the casinos assumes that the recurrance rate is 13.5%. That is not true for any brand of csm currently in existence. Even the King, by far the most advanced device on the market, has a recurrance rate of 4.3%.

What actually happens in practice is that 0-14 cards can be kept out of play at any one time. You could say that translated roughly to a cut-card effect of only 7 cards! (In fact, it is a little more complicated since the exact rate of recurrance is determined by the speed playing decisions are made at.)

I see no compelling evidence basic strategists benefit from these devices due to the cc's elimination.

due to faster game speed than they might gain by any reduction in cut card effect.