If you’ve been playing baccarat for a while, be it at trusted baccarat sitesor land-based casinos, you might have heard of a baccarat shoe. And you might wonder what does this refer to - surely it’s not some kind of footwear used exclusively for this casino game, is it? Well no, rest assured that no, nothing relating to one’s feet is involved with baccarat shoes. Instead the term “shoe” here refers to the device used at casinos and live game tables to quickly and easily shuffle cards. After all, many casino card games, including baccarat, are played using multiple decks of cards, making easy shuffling a priority. With this in mind let’s take a closer look at the shoes involved in baccarat and learn all there is to know about them!
So What is a Baccarat Shoe?
The game of baccarat is played using anything from three to eight decks of cards, which are to be shuffled thoroughly by the dealer. To make this easier a device known as a shoe is used to hold all these decks. The shoe was invented by John Scarne, a professional magician and playing card expert who was the first to propose the use of shoes for blackjack to the Nevada Gambling Control Board. The device was dubbed a shoe because its earliest incarnations looked like a high-heel shoe, thus the association!
Nowadays shoes, whether they are used for baccarat or blackjack, are essentially plastic or acrylic boxes sized to hold the required number of card decks. Once all cards are inside the shoe the dealer uses a brightly coloured plastic card for a cut. This plastic card is then inserted in the shoe. Its position will indicate to the dealer that this card is the last one before a new shuffling, helping prevent players getting an advantage via card counting.
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How the Shoe Works in Baccarat
The use of the shoe has an interesting twist in at least one of the versions of baccarat, specifically punto banco. Punto banco is the version of baccarat that’s most played in the US, and is considered a game for high rollers. This is why the game takes place in roped off areas or private rooms in casinos, with minimum stakes that can reach the hundreds of dollars and multiple croupiers running the game.
These high stakes games have something unique - the shoe is passed between players. Well, first off the cards are shuffled and inserted by the croupier, who then instructs one of the players on how to deal the cards. Once the round is over the shoe is passed on to the next player, typically either in a clockwise order or to the player with the biggest win, depending on the casino’s traditions. Once the aforementioned plastic card shows up the dealer takes the shoe and refills it!
Baccarat Shoe Variations
Baccarat Shoe Variations
Punto Banco is not the only form of baccarat, as there are other two popular variants of this game. These are Chemin de Fer and Baccarat Banque. Wonder how the shoe varies between these different versions of this classic game?
As we mentioned above, punto banco is the most popular baccarat variant. The house takes the banker role, with the cards dealt either by the croupier or by a player depending on how the casino operates. The shoe here can consist of anything from six to eight decks.
Chemin de Fer is a baccarat variant played with a shoe consisting of six decks. This game is played around an oval table, with the players arranged in random order together with a dealer who takes care of shuffling the cards. This is because here the shoe is also passed between players in a counter clockwise order around the dealer. Here the player dealing the cards is known as the “banco,” while the others are “punters.”
Our final baccarat variant is Baccarat Banque. Here the banker is even more prominent, as this role is acquired via auction to the highest bidder. The croupier sits opposite to this first banker, with the discard pile between them. This baccarat variant is played with a shoe of three decks, which are shuffled by the croupier then reshuffled by the players to the croupier’s left before they are cut by a random player.
Now you might ask about online versions of baccarat. In this case the dealer always takes care of the shoe, since of course it cannot be passed on virtually to the other players. With live dealer baccarat you’ll see the croupier shuffle the cards and fill the shoe, and you’ll even notice the plastic card that indicates when it’s time for a fresh shoe. In the case of online, non-live baccarat the shoe and its shuffling are handled by a random number generator (RNG) that ensures cards are dealt randomly every time.
Put on Your Baccarat Shoes for a Spot of Play!
The shoe is another interesting aspect of the classic game of baccarat. This is an old game with plenty of unique traditions for each of its different variants. Admittedly punto banco is by far the most common baccarat game available online, although sometimes you might bump into a baccarat banque or chemin de fer table. So make sure to check them out whenever you find them! Have fun playing baccarat online and, as always, remember to always play responsibly.
