shuffling

Bhavana

I like to riffle, but agree that it can be damaging - and have found that even one riffle shuffle can be brutal, especially to cardstock like that of the Wildwood deck, that sort of stiff non-pliant cardstock. The Sharman-Caselli deck is the same. One riffle, and I have cards with creases. And I am very careful, so it doesn't take much.

What I have found is that I was riffling too much - no need to do it 5 times. Twice is more than enough, with some lacing in between, and lots of lacing after, if i feel the deck needs it. When I do riffle, I try to do it on all sides, and with the cards held vertically, so the deck gets worked over evenly.

To avoid letting someone else shuffle my cards, I do the shuffling, then spread the cards out and ask them to choose the amount necessary.
 

JDisTheBest

A guy on YouTube made a point about riffeling that I liked. He said that riffling was loud and fast and disrupts the meditative mood that's set by lacing.

I've always laced but I liked the way he put it.

My cousin came over once and wanted a reading. And him being the guy that he is, grabs my deck, laces a few times and says lets do this, he bends my cards in half a few times to warm them up or something and riffles them. I was like ".........."
 

GryffinSong

Wow, that faro shuffle is very cool! I'll have to find an old or cheap deck on which to practice it. Oh, wait, I have a few partial decks ... they'll work great for practice!!! :)
 

jema

GryffinSong said:
Wow, that faro shuffle is very cool! I'll have to find an old or cheap deck on which to practice it. Oh, wait, I have a few partial decks ... they'll work great for practice!!! :)
Click to expand...

yeah it can be hard to get right so you don't slice up the card stock at first. just I learnt it when I was like 5 years old and done it all those years, it is second nature. Very stiff and sticky decks are impossible to Faro shuffle though, or well, nothing is impossible, with well applied violence you can solve anything :p

It's all just muscle memory really. The finger know how to do it. Kind of funny how my whole family shuffles like this and how my stepdad started to conform after about 25 years of card playing with us :-D
 

Lazaria

I'd say I'm more of a lace type. Though I can riffle somewhat fine, my deck doesn't seem to like it as it just ends up not shuffling right for me. Its a lot easier for me to just lace the cards together.
 

bonebeach

Riffle. I love the sound and I find it much more meditative than lacing. I also sometimes bridge, hahah. However, I do riffle carefully and just at the corners...and try to bridge as gently as possible. Rarely I also faro shuffle, though I didn't know it was called that until just now, reading this thread.

Most of the time if I'm not in a hurry I will riffle--lace--cut deck--riffle--deal cards from top.
 

SunChariot

nexyjo said:
i remember a discussion about shuffling and the different ways that people use to mix up a deck. my boyfriend used to work in a casino, and happened to mention the "proper" names for the two different types of shuffling that i'm aware of, so i thought i'd pass along that info.

what i would consider "normal" shuffling, the way you typically see a regular deck of playing cards shuffled is called riffling - "to riffle", pronounced like the firearm. that's when you divide the deck in half, one half in each hand, and bend the corners, and let the cards slip past your thumbs, effectively piling back the two halves of the deck, in alternate order from each half. sheesh, that's a confusing description - i hope it's clear enough. anyway, there are several styles of doing this, but it's all the same as far as shuffling. i see this method as pretty hard on a deck - it bends the cards, weakening them to some degree, and i believe causes some wear and tear.

the other common shuffling method is called "lacing" - "to lace", pronounced exactly as you'd think, like the trimming on my night gown. in this method, i hold the deck in my left hand, and with my right, grab most of the deck, and let several cards fall out of my hand, placing them in the front of the cards still in my left hand. i keep doing this until all the cards are back in my left hand. in the past, i incorrectly refered to this as "hand over hand" shuffling.

i think lacing is much less hard on a deck - my robin wod deck is shuffled every day with this method, for about a year and a half, and shows virtually no signs of wear. it's the only way i shuffle a tarot deck.

so, which method do you use? or do you use another method, like spreading the cards on a table, mixing them around, and piling them back up? or all three? or something else all together?

luv and light,
nexy
Click to expand...

I guess I tend towards lacing most. But I don't keep adding the cards to the top of the deck (front). I alternate, first I add them to the top, then the bottom, then the top, then the bottom....I can't imagine rifling my deck. I'd be too concerned it would cause damage over time too. I have most of my decks almost 10 years and I have no real damage yet to speak of. All are far from being retired. :grin:

Babs
 

MaryHeather

I think, in the end, how a deck can be shuffled depends on the cardstock. I have a couple of decks that are 20ish (jeez) year old that I have riffled and bridged almost daily. They still have plenty of snap and the edges are just fine.

If I were to buy current copies of those decks- I think neither have been OOP since I purchased them in 1990ish- I doubt they would fare well with my daily abuse. I also think that thick, high-gloss cards are pretty, but a complete pain in the ass to shuffle without damaging.
 

Rosewater

I lace, always. For two strictly personal reasons. One is that my hands don't t have the right dexterity for riffling and I'm scared of damaging the cards. Also, to me it evokes poker players hunched over card tables under bare light bulbs in smoky rooms, and the sharp riffling sound isn't conducive to the atmosphere I prefer for Tarot. Lacing, on the other hand can be meditative, almost light trance inducing, and lets me listen for when the cards say 'ready.'
 

ritual

nexyjo said:
i remember a discussion about shuffling and the different ways that people use to mix up a deck. my boyfriend used to work in a casino, and happened to mention the "proper" names for the two different types of shuffling that i'm aware of, so i thought i'd pass along that info.

what i would consider "normal" shuffling, the way you typically see a regular deck of playing cards shuffled is called riffling - "to riffle", pronounced like the firearm. that's when you divide the deck in half, one half in each hand, and bend the corners, and let the cards slip past your thumbs, effectively piling back the two halves of the deck, in alternate order from each half. sheesh, that's a confusing description - i hope it's clear enough. anyway, there are several styles of doing this, but it's all the same as far as shuffling. i see this method as pretty hard on a deck - it bends the cards, weakening them to some degree, and i believe causes some wear and tear.

the other common shuffling method is called "lacing" - "to lace", pronounced exactly as you'd think, like the trimming on my night gown. in this method, i hold the deck in my left hand, and with my right, grab most of the deck, and let several cards fall out of my hand, placing them in the front of the cards still in my left hand. i keep doing this until all the cards are back in my left hand. in the past, i incorrectly refered to this as "hand over hand" shuffling.

i think lacing is much less hard on a deck - my robin wod deck is shuffled every day with this method, for about a year and a half, and shows virtually no signs of wear. it's the only way i shuffle a tarot deck.

so, which method do you use? or do you use another method, like spreading the cards on a table, mixing them around, and piling them back up? or all three? or something else all together?

luv and light,
nexy
Click to expand...


I like to mix the cards. I dont like being harsh with my decks.

regards
~ritual
 
World Tarot Day May 25 Mercury in Retrograde