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Shuffling a deck of playing cards is usually the first step to playing any card game. There are several different ways to shuffle cards, from a simple overhand shuffle to the more advanced Hindu shuffle or riffle shuffle. If you want to know how to shuffle a deck of playing cards like a professional, just follow these easy steps.
Steps
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Hold the deck of cards horizontally in your dominant hand . Place your pinky, ring, and middle fingers on the side of the cards facing away from you, and place your thumb on the end of the cards that is closest to you. Use your index finger as support on the top side. [1] X Research source
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Place the bottom edge of the deck in the palm of your other hand. Make sure that the cards in the deck are aligned.Advertisement -
Lift about half of the deck from the back while placing your free thumb up over the top of the front of the deck. Your thumb should be gently pushing up against it, but ready to move away.
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Release a portion of the lifted deck into the front of the deck. Your thumb should move away when the deck comes down, and then spring back to push down the portion of the deck. Lift up the remainder of the original lifted portion and bring it down at the front of the deck again as you lift your thumb again. Lower your thumb again to guide another portion of the deck down again. Repeat this process until you've shuffled all of the lifted deck into your hand. [2] X Research source
- Remember to shuffle the cards with a light touch. If you grip them too firmly with the shuffling hand, it will be difficult for them to be gently released into the palm of your other hand.
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Repeat this process a few times. Continue to do the overhand shuffle until you've reshuffled the deck at least five or six times. As you become more comfortable with this method, you'll be able to do it more quickly. [3] X Research source
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Hold the end of the deck with your thumb and middle finger. [4] X Research source Place your thumb and middle finger on opposite sides of the long side of the deck. You can lightly place your index finger on the deck for additional support.
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Place the deck above the palm of your other hand. Use your free hand to lightly grasp the side of the deck with your thumb on one side, and the middle and ring fingers on the other. The index finger should stay out in front. [5] X Research source
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Gently pull some cards off the top of the deck with your bottom hand. Use your bottom hand to grab several cards -- around ten or so -- and leave them in the palm of the hand.
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Move the deck away from the bottom hand. Move the deck just a deck's length away from the small stack of cards in the palm of the other hand.
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Repeat the shuffle until all of the cards are in your palm. Move the deck back to the palm of the bottom hand, take a few more cards away from the deck, move the deck away, and bring it back again. Continue this process until all of the cards in the deck are in the palm of the bottom hand. You can pick up the deck and repeat the entire shuffle a few times to shuffle your deck as well as you can. [6] X Research source
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Split the deck in half. Hold half of the deck lengthwise in your right hand, and hold the other half of the deck lengthwise in your left hand.
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Grip both halves of the deck. Each hand should follow the same position. To grip each half of the deck, place your thumb over the top edge and use your middle and ring fingers to support the bottom edge. Place your pinky finger on the back edge of the deck. Your index finger can go on the front edge or it can hover over the deck for support. [7] X Research source
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Gently bend each half of the deck. Use your thumbs, index finger, and hands to bend each half of the deck a bit so it becomes concave, with the middle of each deck bending inwards.
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Riffle the deck with your thumbs. Bend the half-decks back a bit more and use your thumbs to move slowly up the edge of the cards. The cards in the two halves of the decks should riffle together, creating a shuffled deck. [8] X Research source
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Do the cascade finish. Bend the cards towards you, in the opposite direction that they were bent before. Keep your thumbs on the top to keep the cards in line. Then, release your thumbs and the cards should "cascade" downward. [9] X Research source
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Repeat the riffle shuffle (optional). If you'd like to shuffle the deck even more thoroughly, just repeat the entire process.
Community Q&A
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QuestionWhich is the easiest method?NatureCat333Community AnswerThe overhand shuffle is the simplest type of shuffling, and can be learned quite easily, whereas rifle shuffling looks the coolest but is the toughest to learn.
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QuestionDo this kind of shuffles damage the cards?Community AnswerIt actually "breaks" the cards, which means makes them looser and easier to shuffle.
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QuestionIs it okay to just smear the cards around?Community AnswerYes. Some people have difficulty with other methods of shuffling, so if you take time and smear the cards very thoroughly, they will be well shuffled. However, it's helpful to learn other methods too, because sometimes there may not be space to smear the cards.
Video
Tips
Things You'll Need
- A deck of cards.
References
- ↑ https://magictricksforkids.org/easy-card-tricks-for-kids/overhand-shuffle/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/3QKdcn_4wIg?t=80
- ↑ https://youtu.be/3QKdcn_4wIg?t=100
- ↑ https://www.magicalapparatus.com/shuffling/hindu-shuffling-controls.html
- ↑ https://youtu.be/3xPwS43mWfg?t=60
- ↑ https://youtu.be/3xPwS43mWfg?t=120
- ↑ https://youtu.be/f6ZD1lDbW3M?t=23
- ↑ https://youtu.be/f6ZD1lDbW3M?t=70
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjyXVRIjv1E
About This Article
To shuffle a deck of playing cards, try doing the overhand shuffle. First, grip the short ends of the deck with one of your hands, and place your other hand below the deck. Then, lift up part of the deck, letting the rest of the cards slide down into your hand below. Press the cards you lifted up back into the deck at a new location to shuffle them. Repeat several times to fully shuffle the deck. For a more advanced technique, try the riffle shuffle. First, grip the short ends of the deck between your thumb and the rest of your fingers. Bend your index finger and press it down into the center of the top of the deck. Next, place your other hand face-up under the bottom of the deck, and slowly lift up your thumb that’s gripping the deck to release some of the cards into your bottom hand. Once you’ve released half of the deck, separate the 2 piles so you’re gripping one in each hand using the same grip you did at the beginning. Now, angle the 2 piles so the top ends are next to each other, and press down with your index fingers to bend them. Slowly lift up your thumbs to release cards in each pile and shuffle them together. To do a bridge finish, first place your thumbs on top of the deck where the two piles meet, and bring your index fingers down so they're under the deck. Then, bend the short ends of the cards in toward each other with your hands. Finally, move your fingers away from each other slightly to loosen your grip on the cards so they shuffle down into one pile. If you want to learn how to riffle shuffle your deck of cards, keep reading the article!
Reader Success Stories
- "I learned how to shuffle cards in three different ways. #soskibidi!"
