How big are your hands?

With sooo many people saying they can't hold/shuffle big decks, yet big publishers keep on producing these 'decks for giants', I thought I'd do a bit of market research to find out how big the average hands are. What is the biggest deck you can shuffle, holding lengthways?

I had to have the Vampire Tarot by Place trimmed

A lovely ATer not only gifted, but first trimmed, this deck because it was just too big (and the pointy edges made it worse) for me to shuffle. So decks as big as the Vampire Tarot, too big. Even trimmed, it's a bit of a stretch. And I have fairly long fingers, small hands, but fairly long thin fingers and it's still a bit much.
So I think for me the question is more how big is too big of a deck for one's hands. That one would be mine!

earthair said:

With sooo many people saying they can't hold/shuffle big decks, yet big publishers keep on producing these 'decks for giants', I thought I'd do a bit of market research to find out how big the average hands are. What is the biggest deck you can shuffle, holding lengthways?

Click to expand...

I have very small hands. I just measured lengthwise to the tip of the longest finger (middle). My hands are 16cm. The only deck I can shuffle lengthways is the Hanson Roberts. I have large decks because the artwork just pops. But yes, it is a pain in the @$$ at times.

i need to go see...

...but i also would like to mention, it is not just the SIZE of a deck that makes it
difficult to shuffle, but the thickness and/or overly glossiness of a deck.
Schiffer decks are very thick and glossy as an example--and VERY difficult
to shuffle...

Without a 'standard' here:

From the fold in the wrist where the heel of the hand meets your arm/wrist to the tip of my middle finger is 19.5 cm; Spreading my hand open - from tip of thumb to tip of little finger is 22.5 cm ...

From tip of thumb (open-handed) to tip of middle finger (measured in a straight line) is 20.5 cm ...

I just shuffled my Medieval Scapini - so I clicked that on the poll.

I put a poll at the top of this thread too- just been through my collection with a ruler and discovered that decks bigger than 12.5cm gather dust and now I know why
From the tip of my thumb to tip of middle finger is 18cm

I have VERY small hands (and currently no means to measure them). I actually can't do a proper overhand shuffle with the Shadowscapes deck- too much card for not enough hand, they end up slipping and falling everywhere. And I don't think the Shadowscapes is even that big, by comparison. Lots of people complained about the cards being too small, but it'd be hell for me if they were even bigger.

That said, I simply support the deck on the table when I shuffle, that way I don't need to actually hold them.

Shuffling style has got to be a factor. I've never met a deck I couldn't riffle, because I riffle the corners.

I don't do centimeters. I don't understand them, so I couldn't vote, but the decks that are perfect for my hands are Wickwillow, Hanson Roberts, Halloween in a tin, etc. I overhand shuffle those usually, although I can riffle cards Morgan Greer size at pretty much the max. Lo Scarabeo decks like the Pirate Tarot, Sacred Sites, and their other decks of that size I can riffle.

I absolutely do not like thick card stock. It's like shuffling floor tiles. If they're a larger size, I can't overhand them OR riffle them and I don't like to "smoosh around" shuffle. The Gilded Reverie Lenormand and the Bonefire Tarot I overhand shuffle just fine. Any that are bigger than that I can't.

To answer the question---my hands are very small.

I can shuffle the large-format Thoth and the Druidcraft holding them lengthwise, but not very elegantly. I have to hold the deck like a sandwich in my non-shuffling hand and pick up a small number of cards at a time to shuffle. Not very slick, but functional. My shuffling hand measures approximately 7" (18 cm) from the ball of the thumb to the ball of the little finger when spread, the two farthest-apart "pinch points" for cards when you're picking them up to shuffle. The two decks measure just under 5-3/4" (just shy of 14.5 cm) the long way. I couldn't handle anything bigger. I don't riffle because I make dog-earred cards that way.

Just realized my ruler has a metric side, so I added centimeters in parens.