A Method for Shuffling Large Decks

[Trogon]

Since I was having trouble shuffling a new deck (the edges couldn't take a faro shuffle or a riffle), I had to come up with something else. Then I remembered a method my Dad had taught me many, many years ago when teaching me to play poker. The thing is, it's excellent for large decks or fragile because it does not require much flexing of the cards and doesn't cause wear on the edges.

 

See the attachments for examples to go along with the instructions;

 

1) Holding the Deck; Hold the deck in your dominant hand, face down between your thumb and fingers. I tend to hold the deck by the top & bottom, but if it is too large for you this way, it works just as well to hold it by the sides.

 

2) Peeling; With your other hand, using the thumb on top of the deck and your fingers on the bottom, slide the top and bottom cards off together and lay them in a new pile.

 

3) Cutting; Between shuffles I will cut out 1/4 to 1/3 of the deck from somewhere in the middle and place it on the top of the deck (or the bottom if that feels more "right"). Since I use reversals with almost all of my decks, I also rotate this cut-out portion 1/2 way to induce reversals (any already reversed cards would be changed back to upright in the process, thereby mixing the reversals as well).

 

4) Repeat as many times as you feel necessary. I usually shuffle 3 to 5 times before a reading.

 

This may seem a little slow at first, but you'll get faster (and smoother) with practice. And, as you can see, there is no wear and tear on the edges of the cards this way.

 

I hope this is of some help for those who have trouble handling larger decks, or who have decks (like mine) with fragile edges.

[EmpyreanKnight]

Thanks for this, Trogon! Once I buy some new Bicycles, I'd try this out. I'm not very dexterous tho, but I'd try my best. :)

[Trogon]

Thanks EmpyreanKnight. ;D  Actually, I didn't feel this took much more dexterity than regular shuffling methods, though it is a bit slower. But I have gotten a bit quicker with it as I practiced.