Deck

A deck is the standard set of 52 playing cards used in most casino card games, divided into four suits of thirteen ranks. Blackjack, baccarat and casino poker variants are usually dealt from several decks combined — commonly six or eight — which are shuffled together and held in a shoe. Some games change the composition: certain poker variants strip out the low cards, while a joker appears in a handful of table games. The number of decks in play shifts the mathematics of a game slightly, which is why it is stated on the rules board and in the paytable. Many tables now use automatic or continuous shuffling machines, so the deck is remixed far more often than in the past. Knowing how many decks are in use tells you which version of a game you are actually sitting down to play.