How Do You Shuffle Your Boltcutter Light/Dark Decks?

Please describe how you shuffle your Boltcutter (Oblivion) Light/Dark decks.

After you have voted, please share how you voted and why.

This poll assumes the original, unlaminated cards.

If you are going to make a copy to laminate or laminate your original, please state whether you would shuffle the unlaminated original.

If you have said you would shuffle "gently" with this deck, please qualify your statement by saying what shuffling method you would use.

Thanks!

Fyi

This link gives the definition for both an overhand shuffle and a riffle shuffle.

Nice link

Overhand for me, and gently. But then I handle all my cards very gently - I would hate to hurt a single one of them.....

Wendywu said:

Nice link

Overhand for me, and gently. But then I handle all my cards very gently - I would hate to hurt a single one of them.....

Click to expand...

Thanks, WendyWu!

When you say "gently" do you mean you would shuffle it fewer times, as in maybe only allow the complete deck one "pass" in an overhand shuffle? Or did you mean you would slightly alter the technique to make the overall effect more gentle on the cards? (I know how I would change a riffle shuffle to make it gentle but am not that familiar with how to make an overhand shuffle gentle.)

I sort of tip the hand that "receives" the cards so that the cards are held very loosely and there are gaps in between them - then the cards are allowed to fall from the upper hand and if they slide into the gaps all well and good - if they don't, I tip more to accommodate them. Yes, I have to shuffle for slightly longer, but not much.

Also I can very much control how many fall to one side of the body of the deck in the receiving hand, and how many to the other. If I want to I can pass them so that I get one to the front of the receiving pack and one to the back...

I'm not slow doing this - but cards fall into the other hand, they aren't specifically dealt, and no card is ever, ever forced into a gap it won't naturally just slide into. I always tip that receiving hand to make the deck very loose in the hand.

Thanks for that, WendyWu!

That all sounds quite clever. I am certain I couldn't manage it. I never did learn how to do a proper overhand!

I can make a riffle shuffle gentle by not making it a "true" riffle shuffle; i.e., I am still holding half the deck in my lefthand and half in my right, but instead of pressing down on the deck backs with my index fingers I will instead just allow the two halves to very gently fall into and toward each other, finding the gaps as you said.

I can't get it as precise as to be able to make the cards fall wherever they want in that type of "gentle" riffle shuffle. They fall more in big clumps. In that case, I might mix it up by cutting the deck a few times.

I deal cards into 7 stacks or is it 6? Anyway, that's the method I use most often for all my decks, no matter what size or card stock, because I figure if I pick up the piles randomly, put them back together, cut and lay them out in piles enough times the cards are well distributed and don't worry about getting clumps of cards that seems to want to stick together.

I tend to get clumps in the over hand style and drop them or they flip or fly. Those other styles ... neato, but I'm all thumbs.

Oh! I likey!

I've been worrying about these cards too, I'll try this way I think.

Thanks WalesWoman.

WalesWoman said:

I deal cards into 7 stacks or is it 6? Anyway, that's the method I use most often for all my decks, no matter what size or card stock, because I figure if I pick up the piles randomly, put them back together, cut and lay them out in piles enough times the cards are well distributed and don't worry about getting clumps of cards that seems to want to stick together.

I tend to get clumps in the over hand style and drop them or they flip or fly. Those other styles ... neato, but I'm all thumbs.

Click to expand...

I would not shuffle these decks (or combined deck as I intend to use them) as is. I riffle and bridge and I know these decks wouldn't stand up to that kind of shuffling. I've adapted my shuffling method/developed other shuffling methods for other decks (my double deck Transparent and SE Legacy of the Divine both come to mind), but hadn't come up with a good alternate method for these decks.

I use a variation on WalesWoman's technique for mixing up the cards in an ordered deck (deal into 6 piles, shuffle into 3 piles and then shuffle into 2 piles then begin my shuffling method for the reading), but it never occurred to me to use the "randomly deal into piles and gather into a deck" method as the main mixing method for the decks. I'll have to give that a try!

Rodney

By doing a light riffle shuffle all is fine so far. It is a deck to be handled with a bit or care but I so am enjoying the take on the RWS art. Still thinking I might want to make a work copy of them. Not sure how well it would turn out but maybe I'll work on that next week