ShuffleMaster Inc. is the casino industry’s largest purveyor of proprietary table games, but it has roots firmly embedded in the development of automatic shufflers. Therefore, it was only natural that at the Global Gaming Expo in November at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the company would be showing off its new games while using its iDeal shuffler. The latter is a single-deck shuffler that’s likely to get its heaviest casino use in poker-type games in which cards are shuffled after every hand. Indeed, ShuffleMaster’s newest felt games all were of that type --- No Flop Pineapple Hold’em, Fortune San Lo Poker, High Five Poker, Dealer Bluff and Rabbit Hunter.

More intriguing for a blackjack player was that the iDeal was being used at ShuffleMaster’s iTable demonstration. I sat down, played a few hands, and could see where the combination of iDeal and iTable would be attractive to casinos. From the players’ side of the table, it could even be attractive to those of average skill, but not at all to advantage players.

The iDeal is a card-reading shuffler, identifying both rank and suit of each card as it’s dealt. It can be used with either one deck or two for double-deck games. Used with two decks, one deck is shuffled while the other is played, meaning there’s never any shuffle break. That leads to more hands per hour.

There is no shoe, and the dealer never holds the deck to deal. With a random shuffle on every hand, that leaves a very fast game that can’t be counted.

At an iTable, no chips are used. Each player has a touch screen to make bets. Combined with the iDeal, it opens up all kinds of possibilities for the casino. Every card is known, and every wager is recorded electronically. It’s easy to track the skill of the player, along with their betting patterns. At my demo, my screen showed the size of my bankroll. With a quick touch, the dealer showed me what it had been 10 hands ago.

Shuffle Master touts iDeal advances in game speed and security. Part of that security, of course, is in foiling advantage players, with an untrackable shuffler, halting card counting, and the iTable’s electronic bet tracking that stops comp wizards from disguising average bet size. Payouts are made automatically, so there are no dealer mistakes.

So what’s in it for players? For those who like to make side bets, the demo tables were loaded with Royal March and Bet the Set 21. Another side bet was offered after the initial cards were dealt. With a 17 against a dealer’s 8, I was offered odds on whether I would win the hand. Not true odds, of course, but enticing enough that average players will give the game a little extra action.

On top of that, the electronic betting pad can be configured to warn players when they’re about to make a really bad play. With plays close to the borderline, such as standing on 12 vs. 2, there is no warning, but if you’re about to split 10s, you’ll be asked if you want to proceed.

For those who play below basic strategy level, that’s a plus. For advantage players, well, there’s no advantage here.

Away from the ShuffleMaster booth, there were a few options and side bets of interest to blackjack players. Joe Awada’s Gaming Entertainment Inc., which usually has some interesting wrinkles, didn’t have a booth this year, but companies including Galaxy Gaming and Score Gaming picked up the slack.

Score Gaming introduced Second Chance Blackjack and Three Card 21. Three Card 21 starts you off with three cards, pays bonuses on hands of Ace-Ace-10 value and Ace with two 10 values, and gives options to split your starting hand into a two-card start and a one-card start, or even three one-card starts if your original hand includes a pair. It was interesting enough to demo, but the house edge was listed at 1.44 percent, making this a recreational game rather than an opportunity for skilled play.

Second Chance Blackjack brings to the table a side bet that makes the game a combination of blackjack and poker. If you make the Second Chance wager and bust, the card that busts your hand is used along with four additional cards dealt to make a five-card poker hand. Winners are paid according to a pay table that starts at even money for a suited pair of 2s through 10s and tops out at 250-1 for a royal flush. House edge is 5.28 percent, meaning the best play for strong players remains to focus on blackjack and not the side bet.

Galaxy Gaming moves to make blackjack betting a three-part extravaganza with Blackjack Attack. It’s played with eight Spanish decks --- 48-card decks with the 10-spots removed. As usual in games played with Spanish decks, there are a number of positive rules to partially compensate. Any player 21 automatically wins, as do six-card hands of 21 or less. Players may double down on any number of cards. And if the dealer has a suited blackjack, insurance pays 5-1.

You bet in three parts. Place your first bet, then after you see your first card you may place a Second Attack bet equal to the first. Then after you’ve seen your first card and the dealer’s up card, you may place a Third Attack bet, regardless of whether you’ve made the Second Attack.

With a specially adapted basic strategy, house edge is about 1.2 percent, again leaving a recreational game rather than an opportunity.

Triple Attack comes with three optional side bets. The Bonus Jackpot is a $1 side bet on a progressive jackpot. Payoffs start at 5-1 on two pair and rise to the progressive payoff on a Royal Four of a Kind --- four Jacks, Queens, or Kings of the same suit. As in other progressive games, the house edge is variable, depending on the jackpot amount. Other side bets are Triple Match, with the big payoff of 150 on a suited three of a kind but payoffs down to 2-1 on any pair, and Suited Royals, paying 2-1 on two suited cards, 10-1 on two suited face cards, and 40-1 on a suited king and queen. That leaves a house edge of 3.1 percent on Triple Match, and 5.7 percent on Suited Royals.