![Dealer Shoe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Dealer_Shoe.jpg)
A dealing shoe or dealer's shoe is a gaming device, mainly used in casinos, to hold multiple decks of
playing cards. The shoe allows for more games to be played by reducing the time between
shuffles and less chance of dealer cheating. In some games, such as
blackjack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
(where
card counting is a possibility), using multiple decks of cards can increase the
house edge.
History
Prior to 1961 in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
casinos, all blackjack was being dealt from a single deck.
John Scarne
John Scarne (; March 4, 1903 – July 7, 1985) was an American magician and author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, g ...
proposed to the
Nevada Gaming Control Board that a state ruling be enacted such that Blackjack must be dealt from a shoe (Scarne's invention). While no such ruling was ever passed, most Nevada casinos now deal from a multi-deck shoe.
As gaming advisor to the
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. Hilton
Hilton or Hylton may refer to:
Companies
* Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc., a global hospitality company based in the United States that owns several hotel chains and subsidiary companies containing the Hilton name
** Hilton Hotels & Resorts, fla ...
, Scarne also introduced the shoe to
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. The device is so named because the earliest versions of it resembled a woman's high-heel shoe, and were often painted red or black in color.
Usage
Dealing shoes come in many colors and sizes, depending on the number of decks they are capable of holding (2, 4, 6, or 8 decks).
When the cards are placed in the shoe, the dealer will insert a brightly colored blank plastic card. When this card is drawn it indicates that the current game is the last one before a new shuffle. This helps mitigate player advantage via card counting, as a significant portion (usually about 25 percent)
of the full inventory of cards never comes into play. The percentage of cards that are dealt is sometimes called the ''penetration''.
References
Bibliography
*{{cite book, title = Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling, edition = Rev Upd , last = Scarne, first = John, date = August 7, 1986 , publisher = Fireside, isbn = 978-0-671-63063-8
Gaming devices
Playing cards