a physics query (???)

[punchinella]

Hi everybody. A phenomenon has come to my attention lately, & I'm wondering if anybody else has noticed it, or has an explanation. When I pull a deck from its bag & go for a card (e.g. card of the day) I just let the deck fan open naturally, & then pick whichever card seems to pop out at me (generally the card behind the 'openest' spot--if you know what I mean . . . ??) The thing is--I've realized that I need to stop doing this, because unless I shuffle beforehand (something I don't like to do more often than I have to, since it damages cards) the deck naturally 'opens' in exactly the same place it opened yesterday, or the day before, or last week . . . that is, just whenever I had it out last. I wind up pulling out the same cards over & over again . . . the same cards, the same cards. Now, I'm quite open to the possibility that this is the universe's way of shouting in my ear, but at the same time I'm a bit suspicious. It's just too predictable, it happens pretty nearly every time I pick up a deck. I'm to the point where I play a guessing game with myself: I think, now, hmmn, Vision Quest, I had this out Wednesday & drew the 6 of Wands--& then I draw a card, & presto! Sure enough, the 6 of Wands it is. This can happen even when I jiggle the cards around (move cards from the back up to the front, cards from the middle to the back, etc. etc. . . . ) I'm wondering whether it might have something to do with pockets of air getting trapped between cards, or with static electricity, or something? --Any physicists out there??

If no one knows anything about this, that's fine too. But I am curious to hear about other people's experiences in this respect. Does anybody else have this 'problem', or is it just me?

P.

(Oh, & just for clarification, this is NOT about pulling the same cards out of different decks . . . I KNOW that's legit . . . mmmmn, doesn't it just send shivers up the spine every time though, mmmmmmmmn . . . )

 

[Alissa]

This happens to me a lot too, as I often will do a daily draw simply by splitting the deck and looking at a card. I "wiggle" the deck like you said, up and down, and then back and forth, to remove any "splits" that were already there, but still often get the same card.

Whenever I feel "disturbed" by the feeling that I'm gonna get the same card ("not 5 pents, please, i got it 3 days in a row now") I shuffle them quickly before drawing. And yes, sometime I *still* get the same card, but then I figure I'm still in the same energy of that card, and haven't moved beyond it yet.

I often get the same rune for days and days as well, and there's no way to explain that with "splits" or physics.

I just got 3 cups 3 days in a row over the weekend as my daily draw, even after shuffling. It just makes me smile when that happens though, I like it.

 

[skytwig]

There's an old trick, where a book will open to the page it was last read at.... has to do with the bend of the paper and binding.... but it works.

I'm sure that is true with cards too.... hand grease probably has alot to do with it.

That's part of the reason I shuffle like crazy, then deal from the top....

 

[Umbrae]

Quote:Originally posted by skytwig
I'm sure that is true with cards too.... hand grease probably has alot to do with it.

There?s a reason that Poker players call for a new deck every so often ? the paper has ?memory?. And if you don?t shuffle enough, the deck will break at the same point, some cards stick together?it?s the nature of the beast.

On a side note, a deck must be shuffled at least 7 times in order to correctly randomize, or mix the cards.

As to not shuffling your deck so it does not wear out? Some decks will last 30+ years with normal shuffling and ?poor? care.

 

[Jewel-ry]

I find that even with some of my decks, there seems to be a natural break in them and the same cards come up. When cutting the deck I have to consciously make myself cut it elsewhere.

J

 

[mzmystic]

That's very interesting about shuffling 7 times, Umbrae. I didn't know that.

I don't worry about shuffling damaging a deck. I just shuffle "mindfully" and they seem to do okay. Even if they do get broken in, that's a good thing, in my opinion. If I were a person to worry about the shuffling, I'd just get two of each deck and not use one. Shuffling and using a deck gives it character and adds to its readability, in my opinion. It becomes an extension of yourself if you use it a lot.

 

[ros]

Hi,
After I shuffle the deck, ( I spread them in a fan or straight line)wherever the break or open spot(s) is in the fan that is the card(s) I pick. I know it's just a habit but it's easy. Then I think about what card I want.

 

[punchinella]

Okay, okay, I guess I have to break down & shuffle more (yiiiikes)--I just . . . don't like to (you know how it puts a bend in the middle of the cards unless you shuffle from the front side as well, in which case you can see where everything is going??) Okay, well, yes I know I'm anal, & a Virgo 3 times over . . .

Good to know that cards work this way for everyone else as well. It's not just a private weirdness thing that happens in my house only.

Skytwig, thanks for mentioning that books do this too--I would never have thought of it, but of course they do! It's a given, as natural as milk & mush . . . So why should cards be any different? Thanks (everyone), I can live with this.

Punch