If, for example, there are relatively few low cards left in the shoe, the player is at a disadvantage and should lower the bet or even take a timeout.

FORBES: Playing to win

The Los Angeles-based footwear brand Creative Recreation makes a shoe that, with a little unzipping and unlacing, goes from high-top to low-top.

WSJ: 'Transformer' Men's Outerwear: Action Figures

Soles4Souls controller Tim Deats, a former shoe-industry manager, told Forbes his charity values gifts at estimated manufacturing cost, a low figure since most shoes are imported from China.

FORBES: Charity Eyes Quarter-Billion-Dollar Write-Down In Value Of Goods Handled