To understand Shuffle Master, you need to understand the history of the company. In fact, today we will talk about how this small company became such an important part of iGaming. Let’s start with the name of the company. Shuffle Master is simply known as SHFL entertainment, Inc. in 2019.

Back in the day, SM was one of the main suppliers of land-based casinos looking for slot machines and table games. So, the company started in Paradise, Nevada when it was founded in 1983 – as Shuffle Master.

Providing some of the best games for a decade, SHFL increased its visibility and eventually caught the eye of Bally Technologies. Bally didn’t hesitate and made an offer to acquire SM. This success was thanks to the company’s commitment to gaming excellence.

And so, in 2013, Bally Technologies became the new owner of Shuffle Master. With it, the entity underwent a name change, adopting its present-day name of SHFL entertainment. Bally is owned by Scientific Games, and even to this day, SG uses SHFL’s products and advertises them as cutting-edge achievements.

Shuffle Master managed to pull off many great table games, including Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, Casino War and more. In fact, throughout the years leading to its acquisition, Shuffle had teamed up with bigger companies and began to form partnerships with IGT and Bally. Put simply; the supplier needed their distribution networks.

In the 1990s, Shuffle Master developed a number of great titles, and they all made headlines. Because of their success, Shuffle put forth a number of more great games, including Honeymooners, Press Your Luck and Let’s Make a Deal.

However, Shuffle struggled with the slot games business, facing stiff competition from the entire iGaming spectrum. Unable to turn a profit, the company sold its slot making arm to IGT who gobbled it up gladly.

Later, Bally would make a $1.3 billion offer for SHFL which the company would accept. The deal was completed on November 25, 2013.

Best Shuffle Master Titles

To find out the best Shuffle Master titles, you will need to understand the company’s business and here is how. First, they tried to develop a selection of slot machine games that would put them on the map. The company succeeded and developed a number of memorable and worthwhile games, including Dancing Drums, MONOPOLY Grand Hotel, Very Fruity, and a handful of others.

Many still wonder why the company sold its slot business first. Let It Ride, a popular game by Shuffle was an immediate blockbuster in the iGaming sector in 1995. Yet, with the focus moving on table games, Shuffle decided that it was time to concentrate its efforts and sold their slot business to IGT instead.

That gave the company enough time to perfect the technology after which it was named, and it succeeded. Between 1995 and 2013, Shuffle was perfecting “card shuffling systems” that are today sold with the help of Scientific Games as part of Bally Technologies.

In fact, if you have ever been at a casino floor in Las Vegas, chances are you have been dealt cards with one of Shuffle Master’s specific tools. So, if you have played baccarat or blackjack, or Sic Bo, you have seen the card shufflers in action.

Let’s have a closer look at some of the best games created by the company, which include:

  • Baccarat (Dragon Bonus, OneUp!, Pair Plus)
  • Blackjack (Royal Match 21, Tri Lux, King’s Bounty)
  • Craps (Fire Bet, Sharp Shooter, Repeat Bets)
  • Hold’em (HIC Hold’em, Texas Hold’em Bonus, Cover All Side Bets)
  • Progressives (Bet the Set “21”, Four Card Poker, Hit and Run)
  • Pai Gow (EZ Pai Gow, Fortune Pai Gow Poker, 6 Card Fortune Pai Gow Poker)
  • Specialty Games (Casino Wars, Let It Ride, Snake Eyes)

Caribbean Stud

Caribbean Stud is an exotic variant of the traditional game. Shuffle Master acquired the rights to develop a table game like this in the 1990s, and the poker game turned out to be an immediate success. Caribbean Stud is part of the Scientific Games portfolio, and the company promotes it as the most exciting version of poker you could be playing.

Let It Ride

This Shuffle Master’s classic lives on with SG. This table game allows you to have full control over most of your bets. Similarly, you can adjust the size of your bets and choose how much to stake at any one point. SG has definitely taken very good care of Shuffle’s legacy.

Three Card Poker

Three Card Poker could play as both a progressive game and a regular game of poker – the only difference is that you have three cards and you need to meet a few extra conditions. Nowadays, SG continues to feature this game as their own. It’s worth remembering that it was SM studio that pioneered and developed the original. An upgrade of the three-card version is, of course, Four Card Poker.

Monopoly Grand Hotel

The emphasis on igaming when it comes to Shuffle Master is on table games, but this shouldn’t stop you from exploring the far more exciting slots. Take, for example, Monopoly Grand Hotel, which is an excellent game. Thanks to SG, Shuffle Master’s game lives on, and it has been fully optimized for HTML5. In other words, you can play right away without installing any software on your preferred device. The game comes with 5 reels, and you can stake at least $0.25 per spin, plus there is a 5x multiplier to help you with the profits.

There are other features that allow you to boost your winnings between 5x and 20x of your original stake. Meanwhile, the grand jackpot can provide you with 1,000x of your original bet, which is quite a significant sum.

What are the best Shuffle Master casino?

You can find SM’s games all over the place. Now, you do need to ask yourself whether you prefer brick-and-mortar properties or online games. Nearly every iGaming operator online who has SG as their main supplier also provides Shuffle Master titles. Some of these
companies include:

  • LeoVegas
  • Casimba
  • Casino.com
  • CasinoJEFE

In honesty, Shuffle Master’s online offer is ubiquitous thanks to SG. So far as brick-and-mortar properties go, the brand powers nearly every venue in Nevada and around the world, giving the company a very strong foothold in the sector.

Today, Shuffle Master’s electronic tables remain an absolute hit. In addition, they come in two specific models, the Fusion and i-Table. All of this contributes to some of the best offline and online casino experience.

Make no mistake, even to this very moment, SM continues to deliver new game vari