Shoe (cards) Shoe (cards) 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 (where card counting is a possibility), using multiple decks of cards can increase the house edge. Prior to 1961 in Las Vegas casinos, all blackjack was being dealt from a single deck. John Scarne proposed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board that a state ruling be enacted such that Blackjack
Master of the Playing Cards other manuscripts and other works of art, mostly but not all German. The cards have typical suits for Northern European cards of the period: flowers, birds, deer, beasts of prey and wild men - so five suits in total. Each symbol (or "pip") on a card is different, so the quantity and difficulty of the engraving is far greater than found in a modern set of cards (and, equally, rapid play must have been very difficult as there are no numbers depicted on the cards). Engraved sets of cards are few; they must have been much more expensive than those