Playing card shoe or shuffler with raised dispensing platform

摘要

A playing card holder 11 has a delivery aperture 8 for manually dispensing the cards, and a delivery platform 12 extending from the delivery aperture for supporting cards being dispensed. The platform 12 is shaped and of a sufficient height to allow the dealer to position a finger or thumb under the corner of a card being dispensed. The platform 12 may be rounded when viewed in plan from above. The platform may have at least one truncated or cut-away corner, and/or may have a rounded or chamfered edge profile 13. The holder preferably has a width at the delivery aperture which corresponds to the length of the short side S of a playing card, with the cards being positioned within and dispensed from the holder in a portrait orientation. The holder is preferably disposed on a playing card table, and the height of the platform is preferably 1-2.5cm. The delivery platform is intended to allow the dealer to grasp and deal the card without unnecessarily bending the card upwardly, thus assisting in hiding the identity of the card (see figures 12-15). The holder may be a card shoe or card shuffler (see figure 20).