Shoe
A plastic device used to hold and dispense multiple decks of playing cards at casino table games.
Detailed Explanation
A shoe (dealing shoe) is a rectangular box-shaped device placed to the dealer's left that holds multiple decks of shuffled cards. The dealer slides cards from the front of the shoe one at a time during play. Standard games use 6–8 deck shoes in baccarat and blackjack, reducing the impact of any single card on the deck composition and making card counting more difficult.
Shoes vary in design: traditional plastic shoes are open-topped, while 'continuous shuffle machines' (CSMs) mechanically reshuffle cards after each hand is discarded, eliminating penetration entirely and rendering card counting ineffective. Casinos use CSMs specifically to counter advantage play at blackjack tables.
The number of decks in a shoe has meaningful implications for basic strategy in blackjack: fewer decks slightly reduce the house edge. A single-deck blackjack game dealt to 75% penetration offers the best conditions for card counters.
Related Entries
Table Game Terms
Ante
A mandatory bet placed before any cards are dealt to initiate a round.
Table Game Terms
Burn Card
A card removed face-down from the top of the deck after a shuffle before dealing begins.
Advantage Play
Card Counting
A blackjack technique that tracks the ratio of high to low cards remaining in the shoe to gain a mathematical edge.
Table Game Terms
Color Up
Exchanging a stack of lower-denomination chips for fewer higher-denomination chips of equal total value.