The cutter is the player to the left of, or opposite, the dealer who cuts the shuffled pack into two packets, which are then reassembled by the dealer in reverse order. This gives the cards an additional shuffle and ensures the dealer does not cheat. The cutter is usually given the option of "knocking" instead of cutting. In this case, the talon is placed down first and then four stacks of twelve cards are counted out next to the talon. The players – starting at the right of the dealer – choose any stack as their hand.