In blackjack, a shoe is a device used to hold multiple decks of cards, typically containing four to eight decks. This setup is commonly found in brick-and-mortar casinos and is designed to facilitate the dealing process.
Mainly, the shoe allows dealers to draw cards from multiple decks without having to shuffle and hold each deck individually. This helps maintain the pace of the game and reduces the potential for card counting by players. Modern shoes are usually made of plastic and can accommodate several decks stacked together. The term “shoe” originates from the early designs that resembled women’s high-heeled shoes.
You will typically see live casino dealers utilising shoes for live blackjack and live baccarat games along with other live casino card games.
Before being placed in the shoe, the decks are shuffled, and players often have the opportunity to cut the decks. This cutting process involves inserting a card (often a red card) into the shuffled decks to determine where the next shuffle will occur.
Using a shoe can make it more challenging for players to count cards effectively, as the continuous shuffling and multiple decks complicate tracking high and low cards.
