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WSOP Card Shuffler Produces Same Hand on Back-to-Back Deals

Card shufflers are supposed to make the game fairer for all parties involved. However, according to players at this year’s World Series of Poker, a card shuffler dealt the same cards on back-to-back hands.

WSOP Card Shuffler Malfunctions

The World Series of Poker is one of the biggest poker events in the world, but this year’s tournament ran into a major issue.

WSOP bracelet winner Dario Sammartino took to social media last week to raise concerns about a statistical anomaly at the event. According to Sammartino, the automatic card shuffler at his table dealt the same cards on back-to-back hands.

The big blind (J5), cutoff (A7), and button (K6 suited) received the same cards on both hands. Also, the board for both hands was the same.

Loni Hui, who was also at the table, confirmed Sammartino’s story. She also added that the decks were switched between hands, which indicates a problem with the shuffler itself.

Were the WSOP Shufflers Hacked?

No, the WSOP card shufflers were not hacked. Card shuffling machines can be hacked, but the most likely explanation for what happened at the WSOP is much simpler.

Card shufflers generate a random card order and deal it accordingly. They also have a sort function that deals cards in order. If the sort function were left on by mistake, then the cards would have been shuffled in the same order, resulting in the same hand being dealt to each position at the table.

A 2-3-4 flop, followed by a King and a Jack, would fit this narrative. The order is missing an Ace and a Queen, but these cards would have been in position to be burned by the dealer.

Other DeckMate Shuffler Issues

If you are a poker fan, you know this is not the first time DeckMate card shufflers have come under fire. The shufflers were a key part of an illegal, fixed poker scheme uncovered by the FBI in 2025.

In that scandal, the people running the game modified the DeckMate 2’s built-in camera to allow them to track which cards were dealt to each player. They also used pre-marked cards, custom contact lenses and eyeglasses, and hidden cameras in chip trays to read cards.

The use of DeckMate shufflers in that illegal poker scheme is a major reason the identical hands at the WSOP raised so much concern. Luckily, it appears to be a simple mistake rather than another poker cheating scandal.