Automatic playing card shuffler and other card-handling devices configured to detect marked cards and method of using the same

A card-shuffling device for shuffling playing cards comprising:

• a mechanism for automatically moving individual playing cards from one or more decks of playing cards located in a card input position to randomly reorganize the one or more decks of playing cards, said one or more decks of playing cards comprising at least 52 cards;
• one or more illuminators configured to emit light off playing card backs as said mechanism moves and randomly reorganizes said playing cards;
• one or more spectral filters configured to filter emitted light or light reflected off said card backs such that undesired markings not visible under normal light conditions are rendered visible;
• an image capturing device configured to capture images of said card backs and said visible markings through said spectral filter;
• one or more sensors positioned proximate one or more edges of said moving playing cards to view sides of said moving playing cards to detect card bends, waves or snakes associated with said playing cards;
• and
• a processor configured to cause a comparison of captured card back images for each card back against captured card back images for each other card to identify undesirable visible markings associated with any of said playing cards within said one or more decks of playing cards.

A card-shuffling device for shuffling playing cards comprising:

• a mechanism for automatically moving individual playing cards from one or more decks of playing cards located in a card input position to randomly reorganize the one or more decks of playing cards, said one or more decks of playing cards comprising at least 52 cards;
• one or more illuminators configured to emit light off playing card backs as said mechanism moves and randomly organizes said playing cards;
• one or more spectral filters configured to filter emitted light or light reflected off said card backs such that undesired markings not visible under normal light conditions are rendered visible;
• an image capturing device configured to capture images of said card backs through said spectral filter;
• and
• a software application for creating a normal range, based on captured images of each of said playing cards in play at a live game across one or more game tables, for purposes of comparing captured images against one another to identify undesirable visible markings outside of said normal range, including one or more of the following:
• smudges, nicks, scuffs, edge demarcations and/or asymmetric patterns.