There are quite a few people out there who fear that one day, they and their job will be replaced by self-sufficient machines that can do the same work even better and at just a fraction of the cost (long-term). And even though this may put people out of work and be bad for the economy, companies are willing to do this kind of stuff to make a profit. You might even see this trend more often in the poker world.

That’s because there’s a new card table called the [[X10_(industry_standard)|X10]] Ten Player Automated Table that has claims of being able to run a poker game all by itself. This table, which seems like something out of a bad science fiction movie, acts as a dealer and chip counter all-in-one. As implied by the name, up to ten players can be seated at the X10.

It also provides a 12.1″ Touch Screen to each player and this is where their hole cards are dealt to them. The way they see the cards is by touching the screen thereby peeling back the cards so only the player can see them. In the middle of the table is the 27” LCD screen where the community cards are dealt and the chips are kept track of.

Besides being able to deal and count chips the X10 also is advertised as being mistake-free, deals 50 hands per hour, and it doesn’t bitch when you don’t tip it after winning a hand (although they could add this feature at some point down the line). In addition to poker, the machine also deals [[Blackjack|blackjack]] out to players too.

Right now though, this machine just isn’t in the price range of the average consumer as it carries a price tag of $29,950. Basically, at this point, it’s really something for casinos and bigger card rooms to take a look at. But you never now as, someday in the future, these machines could drop considerably in price as the manufacturers find better ways to build it. It’s happens all the time with less pricey electronics like PlayStations 3’s, [[IPod|iPod’s]], etc.

If it ever drops in my price range I wanna get it! But honestly, that could be decades down the road.