Why do people shuffle more than one time?

[page of wands]

How many times do you shuffle? Why that number?

I'm brand new to this, so I'm really curious to know.

 

[Laura Borealis]

For me it's about randomization. Speaking purely of riffle-shuffling, one shuffle isn't nearly enough to mix the cards. I shuffle probably a dozen times, to make sure they are randomized.

Seven times is supposed to be enough to disorder a deck of 52 cards - someone proved that mathematically. I don't know exactly how many you need to disorder a deck of 78, so I just go with a dozen or so.

 

[page of wands]

For me it's about randomization. Speaking purely of riffle-shuffling, one shuffle isn't nearly enough to mix the cards. I shuffle probably a dozen times, to make sure they are randomized.

Seven times is supposed to be enough to disorder a deck of 52 cards - someone proved that mathematically. I don't know exactly how many you need to disorder a deck of 78, so I just go with a dozen or so.

What is riffle shuffling? I've been shuffling like you would playing cards.

 

[Laura Borealis]

You're probably riffling. Many people use an overhand shuffle instead.

There are several different ways to shuffle, actually! It can be a hot topic around here, with some swearing that riffling bends the cards, and others testifying that overhand damages the edges, and so forth.

 

[page of wands]

You're probably riffling. Many people use an overhand shuffle instead.

There are several different ways to shuffle, actually! It can be a hot topic around here, with some swearing that riffling bends the cards, and others testifying that overhand damages the edges, and so forth.

Do you make the little snow globe thing afterward too? I could never do that, might dad would do it and i thought it was magical. xD

 

[Laura Borealis]

I wish! I never learned to do it. It does look magical.

 

[Barleywine]

Neither my riffle shuffling nor my overhand shuffling is proficient enough (especially with larger cards) to randomize the deck in a reasonable amount of time, so I've been using Grizabella's method of dealing out the deck into several random upright and reversed piles (she uses four - I'm not sure if she uses reversals - and I've been using seven), then overhand shuffling a few times before cutting. If I were any good at riffling and all decks were flexible enough and durable enough to support it, I would probably do that all the time. I wouldn't bridge them though; that seems like asking for trouble.

 

[Cocobird55]

I read somewhere that it takes seven shuffles to completely randomize the deck again. So I usually shuffle seven times.

 

[Grizabella]

I do use the method that Barleywine mentions. It takes less time and works much better than the 7-riffle or overhand method alone. I deal the cards into the four or so piles and then when the deck is re-assembled, I do two or three overhands just because it feels like the right thing to do. The piles are a way to make sure the deck is truly randomized after the last reading and then the few shuffles after that puts the deck into the specific order that will answer the questions the sitter has.

Also, I deal into piles after each sitter. That makes sure the deck is completely cleared of the last sitter's reading. Some people rap the deck on the table a time or two instead, or rap their knuckles on top of the deck before each sitter. The dealing into piles method seems to be more sure and expedient for me, though, so that's what I do. That removes any question of whether I shuffled enough times or if the cards appearing are just cards that weren't randomized well enough after the last reading.

 

[Maru]

I shuffle until it feels adequate. No real science to it really.