There are a lot of shuffling styles, including Riffle’s method, the method of Hindi, shuffling Faro, the grandma method, and stack shuffling. Each player picks the one that is most convenient for them.
What is a card shuffling? Card shuffling is the action of mixing cards to get a random order of them in a deck. Shuffling is a fairly important skill - it looks cool, and all the cards have to change their order to prevent cheating, which can negatively affect the outcome of the game.
It is also important to keep track of the participants who are currently shuffling the deck, as you can face situations where the cards are mixed in a certain way to help several players win the game effortlessly.
So, let's take a look at the most famous card shuffling styles and how to shuffle the magic cards.
Shuffling Styles And Techniques
The following are the best ways to shuffle magic cards:
- Shuffle cards from above;
- Riffle’s Method;
- Method of Hindi;
- Shuffling Faro;
- The Grandma Method;
- Stack shuffling.
There are both fairly simple mixing styles and complex ones among them. We recommend you start with the easiest practices and then complicate the task for yourself.
Let's consider each method separately.
Shuffling Style 1 - Shuffle Cards From Above
Shuffling cards from above is the most popular style of mtg shuffling techniques. To do this method, follow this:
- Hold the cards face down with one hand;
- With the thumb of your other hand, grab a small number of cards and drop them back into the deck;
- Do this until you have completed the entire stack of cards.
This style of card shuffling is not the most efficient, as it simply forces out a large number of cards during the shuffle. However, this is the most common deck shuffling method and you should be able to do it.
By the way, magicians quite often use this style of card shuffling to demonstrate magic numbers, which looks quite impressive.
Shuffling Style 2 - Riffle’s Method
The Riffle shuffle is also one of the fairly popular styles used for mtg. Among the advantages of this method is that it is difficult to cheat while shuffling the cards, unlike the previous method.
To shuffle cards using the Riffle shuffle, try the following method:
- Divide the deck into two equal parts and take them into different hands.
- Repeat identical actions with both hands, collecting packs of cards together.
- Slowly move the sides of the packs with your thumbs.
- Overlap the corners of the cards so that they intertwine with each other.
- Push the cards into each other when you're done shuffling.
When you learn how to perform this technique of shuffling cards without errors, it will look quite impressive and also ensure the fairness of the shuffle and the randomness of the chosen cards.
Shuffling Style 3 - Method Of Hindi
The Hindi method is also one of the popular shuffling techniques and is quite popular in Asian countries. The technique is very similar to shuffling the cards from above. However, in this variation, the cards are shuffled along the direction of the long edges, instead of, and not parallel to, the short ones.
To shuffle playing cards using the Hindi method, follow these steps:
- Take the cards from the top of the deck, and grab them with your thumb along the long edge and with two fingers along the second long edge;
- Remove the stack of cards from the top of the deck so that they fall into the hand with which you hold the stack with your thumb and forefinger.
The advantage of this method is that it is fairly easy to learn and looks professional.
Shuffling Style 4 - Shuffling Faro
Faro shuffling is perhaps the most difficult method. It takes a lot of practice and perseverance to be good at shuffling cards this way.
To perform card shuffling in this way, you need to:
- Divide the pile of cards into two halves and take them into different hands;
- Connect these two decks;
- Starting from the corner, blend them so that they are perfectly intertwined with each other.
You need to achieve such a result that the cards will fit perfectly between each other one by one without any obstacles.
The Faro method is one of the most used MTG cards shuffling methods.
When you manage to perform this card shuffling without falsehoods and hitches, think about how you can complicate your task; for example, try to shuffle the cards with only one hand.
Shuffling Style 5 - The Grandma Method
Grandma's method of shuffling playing cards is also one of the easiest methods. To shuffle cards in this way, place the cards face down on the table and shuffle them randomly.
Everyone is probably familiar with this method; you can definitely do it! You can start your shuffling practice with this method, and do not worry about a penalty from the judge.
Shuffling Style 6 - Stack Shuffling
Shuffling MTG cards in a pile is an elementary method for shuffling a deck, perfectly suitable for beginners.
To shuffle cards in a stack, follow these steps:
- Deal all cards one card at a time into different piles randomly;
- Put the stacks together.
After some time of practice, you will be able to master this method of shuffling and move on to more complex techniques. Don't forget to make it harder and shuffle the cards with one hand. Show everyone that your mastery is the same as those from the Now You See Me movie.
Ways To Learn How To Shuffle MTG Decks
For those who enjoy books and like card games, The Amazing Book by Joshua Jay may come in handy. It includes not only diagrams on how to shuffle cards correctly, but also a disk with video training.
Another option for learning card shuffling techniques is to review the lessons from magic shuffle teacher Robert Jobby, which are included in his Card College course.
And of course, the most widespread and easy ways are watching YouTube tutorials and reading forums like Reddit, where thousands of card-lovers discuss the most important questions and share opinions and tricks.
We can also advise you on video tutorials from channels such as 52Kards, The School of Cardistry, and lotisinhand's Cardistry Bootcamp.
You Definitely Want To Practice Shuffling Your Deck With Your Own Custom Card Sleeves Design
Remember that feeling when you finally buy the exact deck you’ve been dreaming about for 10 months, collecting your pocket money, avoiding any expenses? Delightful, yeah? You put your long-awaited treasure somewhere no one could breathe on it. You want to shuffle, to play, but the fear of scratching and damaging them haunts you. To play for fun and keep cards safe from damage, people use card sleeves.
We would like to offer you Your PlayMat’s products, namely quality and demanded individual card sleeves. Ordering such an envelope from us is a great way to decorate any deck of cards with a custom design.
Advantages of card sleeves made by us:
- Chic design: matte back with a white border or custom choice, whatever you desire;
- Transparent facade and white interior;
- You can choose the quantity: 60, 100, 200 pcs;
- Availability of both standard and Japanese sizes;
- We use high-quality brightest coloring that is safe for your health;
- Dependable material that will allow you to shuffle your cards in any way as many times as you need.
On our site, you can upload the image you want to add to your card sleeves, then select the number of sleeves, specify the editing style you want, and optionally add text that we will put on the sleeves.
Visit our website, where you can place your order for individual sleeves for cards, as well as see our ready-made sleeves for sale.
Also, there is a blog tab, where you can find many interesting and helpful articles.
FAQ
How Many Times Should I Shuffle The Cards In A Deck?
Keen players and home professionals advise shuffling the cards about 7 times. This will give you the best results. However, if you are just new to card shuffling, you can shuffle your cards up to 20 times to make them random.
Is It Worth Re-shuffling The Cards?
If you are playing with other players, you can have another round of card shuffling. This will help achieve complete randomization of the drawn cards.
What Is The Most Efficient Style Of Card Shuffling?
We can’t pick the most efficient style of card shuffling. Every style has its own features. For example, an overhand shuffle keeps groups of cards together, and a single riffle shuffle keeps the basic order of each half of the deck.