diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer.go b/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer.go
index f830b44f8ed..80486695a5b 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer.go
@@ -89,9 +89,6 @@ converge on the desired balanced query load.
 type TabletBalancer interface {
 	// Randomly shuffle the tablets into an order for routing queries
 	ShuffleTablets(target *querypb.Target, tablets []*discovery.TabletHealth)
-
-	// Callback when the topology changes to invalidate any cached state
-	TopologyChanged()
 }
 
 func NewTabletBalancer(localCell string, vtGateCells []string) TabletBalancer {
@@ -136,6 +133,9 @@ type targetAllocation struct {
 	// Allocation routed to each tablet from the local cell used for ranking
 	Allocation map[uint32]int
 
+	// Tablets that local cell does not route to
+	Unallocated map[uint32]struct{}
+
 	// Total allocation which is basically 1,000,000 / len(vtgatecells)
 	TotalAllocation int
 }
@@ -175,27 +175,18 @@ func (b *tabletBalancer) ShuffleTablets(target *querypb.Target, tablets []*disco
 	}
 }
 
-// TopologyChanged is a callback to indicate the topology changed and any cached
-// allocations should be cleared
-func (b *tabletBalancer) TopologyChanged() {
-	b.mu.Lock()
-	defer b.mu.Unlock()
-
-	b.allocations = map[discovery.KeyspaceShardTabletType]*targetAllocation{}
-}
-
 // To stick with integer arithmetic, use 1,000,000 as the full load
 const ALLOCATION = 1000000
 
 func (b *tabletBalancer) allocateFlows(allTablets []*discovery.TabletHealth) *targetAllocation {
-
-	a := targetAllocation{}
-
 	// Initialization: Set up some data structures and derived values
-	a.Target = make(map[string]int)
-	a.Inflows = make(map[string]int)
-	a.Outflows = make(map[string]map[string]int)
-	a.Allocation = make(map[uint32]int)
+	a := targetAllocation{
+		Target:      map[string]int{},
+		Inflows:     map[string]int{},
+		Outflows:    map[string]map[string]int{},
+		Allocation:  map[uint32]int{},
+		Unallocated: map[uint32]struct{}{},
+	}
 	flowPerVtgateCell := ALLOCATION / len(b.vtGateCells)
 	flowPerTablet := ALLOCATION / len(allTablets)
 	cellExistsWithNoTablets := false
@@ -326,6 +317,8 @@ func (b *tabletBalancer) allocateFlows(allTablets []*discovery.TabletHealth) *ta
 		if flow > 0 {
 			a.Allocation[tablet.Tablet.Alias.Uid] = flow * flowPerTablet / a.Target[cell]
 			a.TotalAllocation += flow * flowPerTablet / a.Target[cell]
+		} else {
+			a.Unallocated[tablet.Tablet.Alias.Uid] = struct{}{}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -334,15 +327,28 @@ func (b *tabletBalancer) allocateFlows(allTablets []*discovery.TabletHealth) *ta
 
 // getAllocation builds the allocation map if needed and returns a copy of the map
 func (b *tabletBalancer) getAllocation(target *querypb.Target, tablets []*discovery.TabletHealth) (map[uint32]int, int) {
-
 	b.mu.Lock()
 	defer b.mu.Unlock()
 
 	allocation, exists := b.allocations[discovery.KeyFromTarget(target)]
-	if !exists {
-		allocation = b.allocateFlows(tablets)
-		b.allocations[discovery.KeyFromTarget(target)] = allocation
+	if exists && (len(allocation.Allocation)+len(allocation.Unallocated)) == len(tablets) {
+		mismatch := false
+		for _, tablet := range tablets {
+			if _, ok := allocation.Allocation[tablet.Tablet.Alias.Uid]; !ok {
+				if _, ok := allocation.Unallocated[tablet.Tablet.Alias.Uid]; !ok {
+					mismatch = true
+					break
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		if !mismatch {
+			// No change in tablets for this target. Return computed allocation
+			return allocation.Allocation, allocation.TotalAllocation
+		}
 	}
 
+	allocation = b.allocateFlows(tablets)
+	b.allocations[discovery.KeyFromTarget(target)] = allocation
+
 	return allocation.Allocation, allocation.TotalAllocation
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer_test.go b/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer_test.go
index 318ee6b2776..1eb9e69fadf 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer_test.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/balancer/balancer_test.go
@@ -350,13 +350,11 @@ func TestTopologyChanged(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Run again with the full topology, but without triggering a topology change
-	// event to cause a reallocation
-	tablets2 := allTablets
+	// Run again with the full topology. Now traffic should go to cell b
 	for i := 0; i < N; i++ {
-		b.ShuffleTablets(target, tablets2)
+		b.ShuffleTablets(target, allTablets)
 
-		allocation, totalAllocation := b.getAllocation(target, tablets2)
+		allocation, totalAllocation := b.getAllocation(target, allTablets)
 
 		if totalAllocation != ALLOCATION/2 {
 			t.Errorf("totalAllocation mismatch %s", b.print())
@@ -366,28 +364,8 @@ func TestTopologyChanged(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Errorf("allocation mismatch %s, cell %s", b.print(), allTablets[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell)
 		}
 
-		if tablets2[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell != "a" {
-			t.Errorf("shuffle promoted wrong tablet from cell %s", tablets2[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell)
-		}
-	}
-
-	// Trigger toplogy changed event, now traffic should go to b
-	b.TopologyChanged()
-	for i := 0; i < N; i++ {
-		b.ShuffleTablets(target, tablets2)
-
-		allocation, totalAllocation := b.getAllocation(target, tablets2)
-
-		if totalAllocation != ALLOCATION/2 {
-			t.Errorf("totalAllocation mismatch %s", b.print())
-		}
-
-		if allocation[allTablets[0].Tablet.Alias.Uid] != ALLOCATION/4 {
-			t.Errorf("allocation mismatch %s, cell %s", b.print(), allTablets[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell)
-		}
-
-		if tablets2[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell != "b" {
-			t.Errorf("shuffle promoted wrong tablet from cell %s", tablets2[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell)
+		if allTablets[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell != "b" {
+			t.Errorf("shuffle promoted wrong tablet from cell %s", allTablets[0].Tablet.Alias.Cell)
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/tabletgateway.go b/go/vt/vtgate/tabletgateway.go
index 1c1efe47546..ce8c12019d5 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtgate/tabletgateway.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/tabletgateway.go
@@ -191,19 +191,6 @@ func (gw *TabletGateway) setupBalancer(ctx context.Context) {
 		log.Exitf("balancer_vtgate_cells is required for balanced mode")
 	}
 	gw.balancer = balancer.NewTabletBalancer(gw.localCell, balancerVtgateCells)
-
-	// subscribe to healthcheck updates so that the balancer can reset its allocation
-	hcChan := gw.hc.Subscribe()
-	go func(ctx context.Context, c chan *discovery.TabletHealth, balancer balancer.TabletBalancer) {
-		for {
-			select {
-			case <-ctx.Done():
-				return
-			case <-hcChan:
-				balancer.TopologyChanged()
-			}
-		}
-	}(ctx, hcChan, gw.balancer)
 }
 
 // QueryServiceByAlias satisfies the Gateway interface