Five ways to shuffle
- Overhand: hold the deck in one hand and drop small packets into the other. Gentle on the cards and easy with large decks.
- Riffle: split the deck and let the corners interleave. Thorough but hard on card stock; bridge the cards gently or skip this with precious decks.
- Washing: spread the cards face down on a table and swirl them around with both hands. Mixes thoroughly and turns cards both ways, which creates reversals.
- Piles: deal the deck into three or more piles and stack them in a new order. Calm and methodical; good for building a ritual.
- The fan: spread the shuffled deck in a line or arc and choose cards by hand, rather than dealing from the top.
When is a shuffle done?
When it feels done. Some readers count a set number of shuffles; others stop when their attention settles or a card jumps out. Many cut the deck into three and restack it as a final step.
Shuffling for reversals
If you read reversals, turn part of the deck around before shuffling, or wash the cards on a table. Overhand shuffles alone rarely reverse cards.