Big cards, little hands!

[nisaba]

I can just barely hold the deck across!

So try my method. It works.

 

[irisa]

I cropped my Druidcraft best thing I ever did - you can buy corner rounders for a couple of pounds to give that rounded edge so no sharp corners But for larger cards I use either the overhand method or a very ladylike version of 78 card pick up

irisa

 

[willowfox]

I have simply trimmed my cards to a manageable size.

 

[kaesrel]

So try my method. It works.

I'm sorry nisaba, but I don't really understand what you meant by turning it ninety degrees. Thanks for the advice!

 

[PAMUYA]

Hello all!

Just wondering if anyone had any tips on shuffling - I love the larger size of the DruidCraft cards as there's so much more detail to absorb, but it does make shuffling very difficult for those with smaller hands. Plus I have both arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis so manual dexterity is not exactly my strong point.

Usually I end up swirling them all up in a heap, but that doesn't feel either very professional or respectful towards the cards.

I know that some people crop their cards and I'm tempted to try that, but then I'll end up with sharp corners which is something I *hate* on cards, and the corners will no doubt get worn/bent/split in time too.

Any tips or thoughts much appreciated!

Of the five packs I have, the DruidCraft is by far the one I feel most drawn to, though possibly that has something to do with being a member of OBOD. I'm really looking forward to exploring all the threads in this study group and gaining even more insight from the wonderful images.

I have RA and sometimes I can barely pick up a card for my hands are stiff and sore, I just swirl them on the table top or in my lap, sometimes I let my cliet pick out their cards from the heap of cards. There is no right or wrong way to mix your cards. I would never crop my decks, but that is me.

 

[rwcarter]

I'm sorry nisaba, but I don't really understand what you meant by turning it ninety degrees. Thanks for the advice!

If you think of your cards as a stack of 8-1/2 x 11 paper, most folks shuffle their cards in landscape mode with the shorter edges being shuffled together. If you rotate the cards so that they're in portrait mode, you would then shuffle the cards with the longer edges together.

Does that help?

Rodney

 

[kaesrel]

If you think of your cards as a stack of 8-1/2 x 11 paper, most folks shuffle their cards in landscape mode with the shorter edges being shuffled together. If you rotate the cards so that they're in portrait mode, you would then shuffle the cards with the longer edges together.

Does that help?

Rodney

Oh now I understand! The thing is though, I've always shuffled in portrait mode where my fingers are on the long side (shortest distance across the cards) and the deck is still too big for me.

Thanks though, I really appreciate it! =)

 

[rwcarter]

Hmmm, in that case try splitting the deck into two piles and turning the left pile ~ 30 degrees to the right and the right pile ~ 30 degrees to the left and then shuffle the upper right corner of the left pile in with the upper left corner of the right pile. Check out "The Riffle" at ~ 2:00 minutes into this video.

Rodney

 

[53rdspirit]

I love large cards, so I've learned to adapt and shuffle them in a combination of three ways (like Grizabella, I want to feel "in the groove" when shuffling the cards):

(1) I have the cards in two piles, held in my hands like this [][]. I hold them close, as if doing a regular shuffle, however, let them fall, one on top of another, on the table, then push them together. Pick them up and do it over and over again. It is practically like a riffle, just a bit looser.

(2) the way nisba suggests, i.e., turned 90 degrees "...use a longer, slower stroke-movement of pull, pull, pull, like taffy.

(3) another way is where I have both of my hands palm up, cards in my right hand and my left hand empty, and I slide a few cards into my open left hand, and keep doing that over and over, card(s) on top of card(s) until all the cards are transferred and mixed from my right hand to my left. []~[]

The cards are thoroughly mixed after doing and/all of the above. I wish I had a video camera to show you --it's quite easy with a little practice.

 

[Fawsley]

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my post with so many thoughts and suggestions, though I have no idea at all what taffy is or how you pull it!

I've been practising the longways shuffle though it's still proving rather difficult for my paws so I am going to go down the trimming route - thanks to my husband's handy guillotine and the newly acquired cornerpunch! I don't really like the white borders anyway so I think that all in all it's the way to go for me.

Then I just have to work out why I've been drawing Wands every morning and every evening for the past fortnight! *g*