How do I know when to stop?

As an experiment once, I turned the first card in a tarot deck face up, and began shuffling. I shuffled until that upright card became the last card in the deck. Total transit time: 12 riffle shuffles. So, at least for me, 12 shuffles mean every card has had the opportunity to travel the entire deck. It's up to the cards themselves as to where they decide to be when I lay them out.

I am a Reiki practitioner, so I can feel the Reiki energy and heat coming from my hands as I shuffle the cards. When the energy levels out, that is when I stop shuffling. Or, as nisaba posted, "when the deck feels done". Yes, this is quite woo-woo, but that is my method.

We can all describe our various methods, but you should do what feels right to YOU. If you can't feel "when the deck is done", then maybe just adopt some simple rules that you follow each time. The first tarot book I ever read suggested riffle-shuffling five times; I followed that method for years, and it worked just fine.

As for cutting the deck, I cut once for a single question and twice for a past/present/future spread. I don't use any particular hand.

I was the same when I first started with reading cards didn't know what method to use, now I just shuffle till I feel the cards stick when shuffling and then cut it with my right hand as my left hand is my dominant hand, place the first card down then I'll repeat the shuffle cut again and keep doing that for every card I need,

If reading for someone else online I'll ask for a number and count down that many from the top of the cut, when reading for someone who is physically in front of me after I tell them to shuffle and cut till they feel the cards are ready I'll just repeat my normal method, so far it feels the most natural why to shuffle for me, when cards are to large I'll overland shuffle till a card pushes its self out, it took me time to find a shuffle method that felt natural and not forced for me.

So just take your time and experiment with different ways till you start to find a method that comes naturally to you without thinking too hard about it, just trust your intuition to guide you for what's right for you as by all the other posts you can see we all have different ways to shuffle.

I grew up around casinos, so I treat my deck more or less like a poker pack (which is considered sacrilege by some). I riffle shuffle--eight times, which is the number of shuffles necessary with a 78-card deck in order for the order of the cards to be sufficiently randomized--and then cut the deck before dealing from the (new) top of the deck.

Thunder said:

I repeat the question in my head while I am shuffuling. Then I cut. I do this three times in a row and I am good to go. Sometimes I get the feeling that this is not enough shuffuling and I repeat one or two times more.

PS: Sometimes I feel my cards cold and that's when there is an important question at hand.

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My cards always feel cold to the touch to me. Whether I am using them or not.

Padma said:

Myself, I shuffle till I feel the question is really in the deck - I concentrate on my question till it loses focus, then I stop shuffling! (as in, the very second my mind wanders off from the question, I stop). I then cut my deck into three piles with the left hand (the hand of the heart) and to me, the furthest pile to the left has to do with the past, the middle is the present, and the third pile is the future.

So, I restack the deck with whichever pack is relevant to my question on the top - so if what I am asking has its roots in the past, the one furthest left goes on top; and if it is about something in the present, I put the middle pack on top, etc.

But in the end, you have to do things the way that feels right to you you will evolve your own rituals, that feel natural to you! This happens over time, and with practice.

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Yes, I know it does, but being new, I am just trying to figure out different ways I could maybe try. I like the way you do it, though. I may give it a try sometime and see how it feels to me.

Obsydian said:

I used to overhand shuffle until it felt right, and still do with the bigger decks, but now that I've started to favor riffle shuffling I do that 4 times (the ancient Egyptian number of completion) and then cut.
I trust the cards to fall correctly when I do it a set number of times pre-specified.

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I do riffle shuffle to. I didn't even think of shuffling it any other way when I started. It just came naturally to riffle when I started doing Tarot.

rwcarter said:

I shuffle 21 times as three groups of 7, cutting the deck into 3 stacks to my left with my left hand. I hover my left hand over each stack with my eyes closed. Whichever stack attracts my hand is the one I chose. I put the other two stacks under that from the right to the left.

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I like the idea of the 21 shuffles for the meaning behind it. I tried doing the closing my eyes and letting the stacks attract my hand, but I don't think that part can work for me because in my minds I, I can still see the cards. I don't think it is my intuition choosing, but just the fact I can still see the cards. I tried clearing my mind doing it. Maybe with practice I could do it.

JackofWands said:

I grew up around casinos, so I treat my deck more or less like a poker pack (which is considered sacrilege by some). I riffle shuffle--eight times, which is the number of shuffles necessary with a 78-card deck in order for the order of the cards to be sufficiently randomized--and then cut the deck before dealing from the (new) top of the deck.

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I prefer this method.

Although it is 7 times (for a 52 card deck) according to mathematical modelling. Overhand shuffling requires 2500 shuffles to achieve the same degree of randomization.

Good question. I tend to just shuffle overhand until I feel the deck is ready, but this doesn't always work if I've had a long day or just am not feeling switched on. When this happens, I switch to asking the question out loud three times, much like Thunder said earlier. It really helps me concentrate.