Brybelly Casino 6 Deck Automatic Card Shuffler with 6 Decks

Background:Many of my Hand and Foot friends have some version of this type of shuffler, so I was familiar with the mechanism drawbacks of card jamming, cards caught vertically along the side of the pile, and the plastic rack/door vibrating out when not held. We decided to use our old cards until they wore out completely, and so we know that the cheaper, smaller decks work in the device. We have NOT unwrapped the six new decks that were included. We have not run down our first set of batteries yet either, so using good quality batteries, I assume you'll get as much or more than we've gotten out of one set.Opinions:Other reviewers have mentioned the mechanical jamming as I said above, but those are easily remedied and not too much of a drawback compared to the fast and thorough shuffling for the inexpensive price.When we got this, we did not see ANYWHERE about what size batteries it takes -- not on the device, not on the box, and there were NO inserts/instructions for this. Had to come back and find on some reviews where we THOUGHT it said it takes AA batteries, and I wrote the following review accordingly: It takes four AA batteries [Wow am I embarrassed...I must've looked at a different model, because I just went through the whole page here again. Everybody who mentions the battery size, in both the reviews and in the questions sections, say it ***takes four C batteries, not AA ones.*** Funny thing is, the AA ones work, when they stay in place.] Of course, you can tell that it takes four batteries when you see the housing assemblage, but the size is not clear because the housing is a very odd configuration. You open the panel and can see that there is a LOT of room behind and between the batteries for AA's, but not enough to easily actually hold the battery while you put it in. There is just not enough space between the batteries and the walls for large, thick fingers. However, the amount of space around each battery, and the long springs for the negative ends, and the open plate for the positive ends, all contribute to the fact that the AA batteries have to be inserted precisely right for the shuffler to work.This part I wrote after two weeks, using the "wrong size" AA batteries:"We have had this for less than two weeks, and have played at LEAST 24 games, so we've used it over 90 times, shuffling three decks at a time. We put the cards through it three to four times, so have used it for well over 300 shuffles. In the time we've used it, we have had the batteries vibrate, and/or otherwise get knocked, loose five or six times. Each time, they are extremely difficult to all get back in correctly. While the mechanism of the shuffler itself is great for people with problems such as arthritis, I sure don't know how they would be able to maneuver this battery issue. I also expect that the negative-end springs will eventually break because of all the failed attempts of getting them in correctly. While there was nothing about the batteries on the box or on the item itself, and there was no instruction sheet included, there was, on the box, a minimal description of how to use the shuffler, but it's pretty straightforward anyway. We are currently trying a jerry-rig fix by using (trimmed to fit) foam pedicure spacers inserted into the housing to support the batteries, ha. I'll come back and edit this if it does, or does not, work."NOW, after having had the item a month, I'd estimate we've run cards through the shuffler over 700 times. We are still using the same original four AA batteries, and the pedicure spacers are working great! When the AA batteries give out, I'll try the C batteries that everybody else says this item takes.

There aren't any 6 pack shufflers available at this price point, much less with 6 playing card packs included. I read a number of reviews on this product. Most that find fault seem to have issues with the cards "spitting" out from the sides, which it admittedly can do. However, in most cases this can be avoided by taking an extra second or two to pack the decks in at either side to ensure they are all neatly stacked. The shuffler only spits out at the bottom of the deck, once the weight of the cards above is already shuffled. The most I've had to pick up is six and they can just be inserted randomly into the shuffled deck, or added to the shuffler a second time. Again, a couple of seconds, and I am now after a few games getting near perfect at avoiding this completely by stacking the decks neatly in the first place.The shuffler and card combo could almost be packaged as a Hand & Foot Canasta game. I like the fact that you can continuously feed the shuffler during scoring (shuffle the unused discard deck first then the scored cards as they are discarded also. We then usually perform a full shuffle and begin playing again. Works great like this.Some caveats: I suspect those reporting a more extreme version of the problem in the first paragraph may be using old cards, cards shuffled by hand often and therefore curved slightly (this happens over time and the shuffler does not seem like it will have much tolerance for this) or a defective shuffler. Perhaps the shuffler will get more unreliable over time. I'll post an update if it does, but for now, though it has a mild issue, for the price, it's a five star product.

I bought this item not expecting too much and I wasn't disappointed. It works...sort of. It does indeed shuffle up to six decks of cards and does a good job at the shuffle part. But at least 25% of the time it makes a little mess doing so. Some cards actually fly out backwards out of the shuffler instead of into the mixing hopper. Not a lot, but a few. A few cards that go into the hopper wind up flat against the walls of the chute instead of neatly in a pile. That said, it's not too much trouble to just shove the few cards that go astray into the shuffled deck. This gadget does a better job of shuffling than I could and does it faster too. The six decks of Bicycle cards are of excellent quality. The only shufflers better than this one are the "Pro" shufflers and they start at around $500, refurbished. You can see what you'll be buying already, can't you? :)Service from this seller was outstanding. Shipped fast and packed very, very well.

I took it out of the box and unpackaged it.I added batteriesI put cards into the shuffle mechanism.I hit the shuffle pedal.The shuffler operates.Both of feeder tray's don't grab cards.The machine sits on my table, spins and doesn't actually accomplish anything. If I manually re-angle the cards tipping the out side of the cards up it will kind of grab cards and shuffle. However this involves me manually feeding cards and requires three hands to do well. God only gave me two hands so you can see the issue.-This machine has a singular job for which is is specifically designed. It does not even remotely accomplish that specific job.-I think you should look at a different machine and/or manufacturer.-This is one of those things that will sit on my shelf for a few years before I finally give up and throw it away or donate it to Goodwill where I'm sure it will annoy the next person that buys it just as much.