How To Shuffle | Reid Duke

New to paper Magic or just a bit rusty? Magic pro Reid Duke has got your back on how to shuffle just in time for the upcoming MTG Vegas!
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[@mysticalpotato447]

Reid is such a great person to teach this kind of stuff. He's basically what everyone should aspire to be when it comes to being a good opponent. Love it

[@ConfettiHunter98]

I have been playing for 12 years but I’m here cause Reid

[@chemset475]

I love learning from Reid. His approach to magic etiquette is what I try to emulate, god knows if everyone did magic would be a much more pleasant game. Thanks Reid great vid and discussion!

[@MrPeteJahn]

Speaking as someone who has judged nearly as many Worlds and Pro Tours as Reid has attended, I'll just say "do what he said." Reid got this one exactly right.

[@nbs6386]

This is really important for magic players to understand those things. I once went to a prerelease and as my opponent shuffled my deck before game 1 and he suddenly commented about one of the cards I had in my deck (he looked at the deck while shuffling).

[@CliffWalrus]

Why is your opponent shuffling your deck? They should cut it and that's about it.

[@anaphysik]

@@CliffWalrus You should always shuffle your opponent's deck. At some rules levels it is even mandatory.

[@TheKaijudist]

@@CliffWalrus Always shuffle your opponents feck

[@DGMouro]

Why he looked at the deck…? ¿?

[@killjeffrey]

@@CliffWalrus Serious?

[@itchyarchibald7760]

Most importantly, stare deeply into your opponent's eyes the whole time you shuffle. It will intimidate them, giving you a distinct gameplay advantage.

[@bensaylor9093]

This pro gets it.

[@Ghost_on_Toast]

It wont intimidate, itll create fierce, distracting sexual tension

[@TheCanad1an]

What an insanely plain and simple video.... AND the most useful video that I have seen in a long time!

[@MagicMetalMoney]

I now know I can watch Reid discuss how paint dries and still be entertained! But really, great information 🙂

[@MachineKing1313]

Some players get angry when you pile shuffle before the hand shuffle because they claim it is too time consuming. I also enjoy pile shuffling once, a judge may give you a slow play warning if you try it a 2nd time in the same game. When I am doing the overhand shuffle after the pile shuffle, I look at the floor away from the top of my deck to show my opponent I am not looking at the bottom card of my deck. Good video to help newer players!

[@darksteel913]

That's because it is. It's also not shuffling. As he said right after calling it shuffling it is a way to count your cards. If you were to pile count multiple times as your shuffling method and present that would not be considered sufficiently randomized. You can save a significant amount of time by just counting in stacks of 10 or 20 , if something is off fixing it. The way pile counting is done is showing your opponent that you have the correct number while checking it yourself. If that's not why you are doing it then yes you are wasting time. Practice double checking your deck between rounds if you can. Not only will this help with potential violations from forgetting to deboard but it will safe both players precious match time to actually play the game and let it reach its natural conclusion. Also this is not a dig at you, or anyone who does it. If anything this is judge's (myself included) not being strict enough with slow play enforcement or informing players what qualities as randomization enough. It unfortunately leaves room for bad actors to take advantage of the clock and leaves players frustrated at people who do not know better.

[@killjeffrey]

One pile shuffle is straight up allowed.

[@ChronepsisTV]

@@darksteel913 and this is why you are only allowed to pile shuffle once now, section 3.9.

[@lvl1cpu523]

I'd love some tips and tricks for organized play. Lots of people rarely go to events, especially after the pandemic, so refreshers are always nice. Also for all the new people who learned on Arena.

[@jessoftherocks]

Also when you shuffle your opponents deck,make sure to keep the cards facing the same direction.

[@luzzy00]

Something so simple but a video like this is important and informative 👍

[@dojirob]

I wish Reid was my opp staring into my eyes. I feel like I would try my best to play but my soul would have already conceded.

[@yeahcomeon32]

This is the proof that Reid could make cuisine content and I would still watch it.

[@anaphysik]

Doing more than one pile 'shuffle' is not only a waste of time, but against Magic Tournament Rules. You are currently allowed only a single one, before the game begins (to enable players to double-check number of cards in deck, as Reid suggests, which is always a good thing to do regardless of how you go about it). The (randomizing) shuffle that Reid is doing here is better referred to as a 'mash shuffle', not an 'overhand shuffle' -- although as Reid says, hold the deck halves loosely, don't "mash" them despite the name, as holding too tight can do a lot of damage/warping to your sleeves. Mash shuffling is mechanically equivalent to riffle shuffling and is the best method when playing with sleeves (as riffle shuffling a lot can warp the cards themselves, although Magic cards are more resistant to this than cards from other games). When unsleeved (gasp! but it happens), riffle shuffling is better because it avoids damaging the card edges (although riffling with the axis going horizontally across the card is better, something that's also not really doable with sleeves). The actual 'overhand shuffle' is an insufficient method of randomization that involves moving chunks of cards from the bottom of the deck to the top of the deck -- a method that most people will be familiar with from magic tricks or from casual card gaming, but which doesn't actually do proper randomization (and as in magic tricks, can be abused).

[@jasperdare312]

This was so wholesome and just solidifies you as my favorite player/content creator.

[@selkokieli843]

I would like to ad that the time shuffled isn't the same as how thorough the shuffled is. There's a certain number of overhand/rifle shuffles that should be sufficient, based on a mathematical proof. If I'm not mistaken, 7x times for 52 card decks, 10 times for 100 card decks should be about enough, 8 should be close for regular magic decks of 60 cards. Ad an extra shuffle or two or a differnt method to make sure. Especially helpful info for neurotic shufflers like me who tend to shuffle extra long because I feel like I can't be sure if it's shuffled properly

[@anaphysik]

The original work was by Dave Bayer and Persi Diaconis (Trailing the Dovetail Shuffle to its lair, Annals of Probability 2, 1992). Interestingly, despite the commonly-quoted number, later commentary (as quoted at the end of the American Mathematical Society article 'How Many Times Do I Have to Shuffle This Deck?') suggests 11 or 12 times as more appopriate for actual strong randomization of a 52 card deck.

[@TheJohtaja]

@@anaphysik Indeed, thank you for the info! Being an ex-croupier, I've scoffed at opponents fiddling with shuffles, and had taken the old article as a definite guideline to stop me stressing about my randomization at all. To quote the article you mentioned: "Ultimately the question of how many shuffles suffice for a 52-card deck is one of opinion, not mathematical fact. However, there exists at least one game playable by human beings [Solitaire] for which 7 shuffles clearly do not suffice. A more reasonable level of total variation distance might be around 1 percent, comparable to the house advantage in casino games. This threshold would suggest 11 or 12 as an appropriate number of shuffles."

[@yowsky0]

@@anaphysik The linear algebra was a little over my head, but the paper essentially defines randomness as the ability of a person with prefect memory to guess cards drawn from the top of the deck. For a perfectly shuffled (completely random) deck of 52 cards, we would expect the number of correct guesses to be 1/52 + 1/51 + 1/50 . . . + 1/2 + 1/1 = 4.54. For a cut deck of 52 cards riffle shuffled 7 times, their monte carlo experiment yielded an average of about 4.97 correct guesses, which means the deck is still a little bit ordered. For 10 shuffles, it went down to 4.57, which imo is more than good enough for all intents and purposes. They recommend 3/2 log (n)/log (2) shuffles for n cards, which gives you about 9 shuffles for a deck of 60 cards. If you're really worried about it, go with 7/4 log (n)/log (2). That gives you about 10 for a deck of 60 or 11 for a deck of 80

[@JohnGusdoinit]

Suggestion for video in a similar vein - how priority/phases are passed in person. I've played a lot online, but only a handful of times in person and am frankly unsure about what you say to pass phases/priority. Like, when they say go you can say "on your end step . . ." but what about on other phase passes? Do you say "before declaring attackers" or is it appropriate for the person whose turn it is to say something about priority being passed at the end of begin combat phase to give the opportunity to make a play before the game moves to declare attackers? Just outlining the etiquette/procedure appropriate for a tournament setting would be helpful. Thank you!

[@LibertyMonk]

You've pretty much got it. There is a section of the Magic Tournament Rules for Shortcuts, it outlines that the AP passing priority in the main phase means the non-active player is assumed to be acting in the beginning of combat step, unless they're specifically trying to effect things that trigger on the beginning of combat, in which case it's just before. The same thing is true in the post-combat main phase, NAP is assumed to receive priority during the end step when AP says "go ahead" or similar, unless NAP is trying to effect an EOT trigger, they can say "end step, X" or similar. Also, priority is assumed to be passed after every spell cast or ability activated, unless otherwise stated. Activating several abilities at once or similar, unless priority is held, it's assumed the player waited for the stack to empty before adding a new ability to the stack. If you cast a Leyline Binding and say "Binding, targeting the token" (or similarly make a choice earlier than you should) that's locked in once the spell resolves, unless the other player responds. If you cast it, and the other player asks "targeting what?" (or otherwise asks about choices that aren't made yet) the other player passed priority, so the spell has already resolved. There's also a shortcut that attacking creatures are assumed to be attacking the player, rather than any planeswalker or battle unless otherwise stated. And one that X is assumed 0 unless otherwise stated.

[@Kadus27]

Thanks so much for this Reid! This is an invaluable guide as we get back to in-person magic. The less time we have to worry about messing up something like this and the more time we have to concentrate on our plays and enjoy the game, the better :)

[@Kayametra]

I believe they added a rule saying that you could only pile shuffle once per game, either due to it being too time-consuming or it leading to decks getting stacked.

[@tunicoberno]

This is correct, and it is actually called pile counting, the term "pile shuffling" although commonly used, is not a shuffling method. If you pile count more than once per game, that is slow play. At competitive REL events, you get a penalty for it.

[@semigloss]

I dig how Reid keeps eye contact with the camera (opponent) to model good shuffling etiquette.

[@800mls]

The best part is this feels like something they'd post for an april fools joke but he's total genuine

[@briankohlman227]

Do you have any tips for Yorion deck shuffling?

[@cassandrasibley228]

Keep a loser grip. Your off hand could be close to flat. Same idea as edh

[@roofb1612]

@@cassandrasibley228 ok Cassandra damn

[@cassandrasibley228]

@@roofb1612 oops. Looser not loser 🤦‍♀️ i'm sorry 😭

[@Jchmcom]

"The first rule is dont show the card faces to either player." *Trevor Humphries*

[@RarecuisineGaming]

lmfaoooo

[@undergroundhead5]

Also, I read somewhere that in a pack of 52 playing cards that are completely ordered, it takes roughly 12 riffle shuffles to truly randomize the deck

[@nickj8551]

ASMR Reid Duke suffles your library and compliments your sleeves

[@Murgledoo]

I must of missed at what part I was supposed to mana weave

[@wesley147208]

"Is this your card?" "Is this your card?"

[@-asrial-]

Make sure to pay attention to the cut and mash you do, as it's easy to leave cards un shuffled if you aren't noticing that you're doing it.

[@kuiperkineticliterature7586]

Next: How to Flick Cards

[@xunclekevinx]

Pretty sure Kibler made that video already many years ago.

[@DrewskiTheLegend]

As loudly and quickly and constantly as physically possible.

[@mdchiesi]

Lovely. Now what about 100? I still feel awkward shuffling in Commander lol. doing 2 stacks of 50, splitting and making 2 other stacks of 50 seems good in the beginning but fetches ... eesh

[@Dantehhhhh]

Reid Duke is literally the Keanu Reeves of Magic.

[@onethreeify]

Great video! More of Reid pls!

[@steviedalla-zuanna6200]

Hey Reid super relevant for so many people :D Good vid.

[@askehansen8620]

how much longer do i need to shuffle a commander deck.

[@NotALoli_]

I thought rift shuffling damages cards. Is that not the case if they're sleeved?

[@joshphinney9454]

Pile shuffling is only allowed once per match in comp REL and it has to be 6 or 8 piles not 7.

[@killjeffrey]

I encourage you to try shuffling with your lands in one color sleeves and non-land cards in another color. You'll be horrified to see you never shuffle the top or bottom card. So, its' best to add a few cuts.

[@wonderboy8917]

Please make a video on how to shuffle 80 card Yorion decks and 100 card Commander decks.

[@ryangarvey8207]

golden number 3 is when u see a sol ring while shuffling put it to the top, and then scream at your opponent if they try to cut

[@kimjansson1093]

Some strip shuffles should also be done in between overhand shuffles.

[@killjeffrey]

The most underrated comment here.

[@XenoGuru]

Ah yes riffle shuffling. I remember doing that with no sleeves on a rough concrete or wooden table with cards like dual lands and power 9 cards 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@harrumphy]

Says more about WHY shuffle than how to…. There’s no mention that this kind of shuffling is only possible with sleeved cards, especially in heavy sleeves like the old Deck Protectors. I would be furious is someone tried that “riffle” shuffle with my cards, though. But the “falling into place” part is a good description and that method is just as effective.

[@RarecuisineGaming]

never riffle an opponents deck when randomizing the opponents deck

[@timw9745]

Yup, damages the cards

[@ItsMeowgie]

@@timw9745 False

[@timw9745]

@@ItsMeowgie tell that to all the people with cards with riffle shuffle damage. It’s well known.

[@des111113]

As is often the case, 'it depends'. Done properly a riffle shuffle doesn't cause any damage, but lots of people don't do it properly (it's not dissimilar to the mash shuffling caveat Reid gives). I learnt it for poker years ago but in a match setting I'd personally avoid it to not stress opp out, after all they can't know whether I know what I'm doing or not.

[@MrStrangechange]

Wait they print physical cards now? /s

[@lovelylemonfactory]

ASMR wtih Reid

[@masterplayer2017]

Please don't make eye contact w me opponent lol. Your the man Reid

[@lvl1cpu523]

It's a good time to be like "hey how's your day/matches." Probably avoid staring at them silently though.

[@jordanlawlor89]

Bridge shuffle. Next!

[@undergroundhead5]

The overhand is functionally identical to a riffle

[@renamedguy]

Can we get a Commander version cuz my pile of ninety nine is usually flying around while I shuffle

[@JesseKerson]

I got into the habit of doing a quick cut as my opponent handed me back my deck. It was something that was done at my LGS so it kind of became muscle memory. Never had an issue until I went to a SCG tournament and an opponent got offended / upset by it. Any feedback on the legality / etiquette of this?

[@3nriks]

I think according to rules you can't do that.Your opponent has to be the last one to cut/shuffle your deck.

[@refreshdaemon]

I believe your opponent's cut/shuffle should be the last word on the order of your deck, to prevent cheating on your part, so you're not supposed to be manipulating your deck after they complete their part. Cutting after your opponent hands you back your deck also might suggest that you don't trust your opponent fairly manipulated your deck, so I could see why an opponent might find it rude. For casual games among friends, this shouldn't matter, but I would advise against doing this in any sort of formal tournament settings or when playing with strangers.

[@stayslapped1568]

That’s a super weird thing to do, not sure why that flies at your LGS

[@scavanger1000]

I still don't understand any of these videos, I hold it loose but the cards just don't slide together and I end up having to jam them in with my thumb

[@scavanger1000]

they just bind on each other no matter how loosley I hold them

[@coldturkey5333]

Get better sleeves

[@PhilipXanderMusic]

Honestly y'all could upload a half hour video of Reid discussing the socio-economic status of carpenters in feudal Japan and I'd watch the heck out of it.

[@dillonv5345]

Ok yes but also that sounds fascinating lol

[@chrisroos3207]

This video is so wholesome

[@bensaylor9093]

Extra pro tip: bridge shuffle hard enough to trigger the entire table, while maintaining eye contact with your opponent.

[@MammothMD]

DO NOT RIFFLE SHUFFLE ANYONE'S DECK

[@Nomeemuso]

this. thank you

[@Zii_Vii]

Ok Reid that's cool and all, but why you lookin at me like that damn bro you makin me feel things.

[@CeleryMuffin]

beautiful

[@nicholasbower17]

Next level- how to properly shuffle your hand.

[@stayslapped1568]

I would love to riffle shuffle, but cards are just too expensive

[@TheGoldenHorncall]

I LOVE THIS!!

[@HelloImMrBubbles]

Find a girl that looks at you the way Reid looks at the Camera while shuffling

[@Rev0care]

great asmr vid

[@cheezybred]

You would think that the card face down thing is common sense, but you’d be surprised

[@TRU3OGR3]

I fetch on average 4-8 times per game. At lets say “a little bit short of 60 seconds” - call it 50 seconds, that’s gonna be like 300 seconds or 5 mins per game, imagine my opponent does the same, that’s like 10 min per game. So a 3 game match is 30 mins shuffling. I love magic, but fetching is one of my biggest gripes.

[@killemdeader1189]

50 seconds of shuffling is a bit excessive on every fetch, idk. I would be very irritated if my opponent took that long on every fetch in a modern game

[@d0nutwaffle]

Encouraging pile shuffle? I think Mr Cedric Phillips is going to hate this video lol.

[@theDJOcho]

Didn't think I needed to learn how to shuffle, but I was wrong

[@NCISfreak123]

No Reid!! Don’t suggest the pile shuffle! I can’t have more of that idea out there in the world :(

[@ivosrotir8962]

Huge fan Reid. However, I would not recommend to anyone to look up the ceiling while shuffling. If you do so, you have no idea what is your opponent doing with your or their deck. Are they scouting (if shuffling yours)? Are they manipulating (their or yours)? It is just… some players are like that. In general, always watching your opponent should be the right thing to do in the tournament. Unless you are playing against you best buddy.

[@killjeffrey]

I agree. Elsewhere he's said to watch what they're doing.

[@timlozoya1573]

Pile shuffling is not sufficient randomization on it's own and outside of initial card counting is a mathematically pointless action. At the start of a round to ensure proper de-sideboarding, done quickly to count, can be a safeguard but shouldn't be done again during the round since it isn't needed to sufficiently randomize a deck.

[@RoadToTendrils]

ok i'm ready. Can we have a game ?

[@curreypasuco7281]

Arena needs to program some Reid into and learn how to shuffle.

[@Mokidekey]

Always aggressively look at your top card and never present for cut for, uhhh, better luck?

[@alexsanzphoto]

I though pile shuffle more than once a game was not allowed

[@matthewworley5302]

or make sure you dont leave two street wraith on the table during a grand prix

[@marcantoniosavelli1710]

I would suggest avoiding riffle shuffle while playing vintage.

[@dicarosmith8681]

I'll watch any video with Reid Duke in it. Such a fantastic human being.

[@MrMatt6362]

Listen man, I cant with the deadpan stare...

[@lking778]

Some Sleight of Hand:-)

[@ogolthorp]

ALWAYS CUT YOUR OPPONENTS DECK. It’s the easiest way to prevent cheating.

[@pete5795]

Cant cheat in a digital format :)

[@bauman921]

I cringe at the riffle shuffle lol

[@WolfLink64]

Now show us how tf to shuffle a cube lol

[@WolfLink64]

My method is to split the cube into two towers, then take approximately equal chunks from each and riffle them one at a time and stack them on top of each other until I have one big tower. (I don't actually stack them as towers lol, they sit sideways in a long box with card faces facing away from me.) Then rinse and repeat. Mathematically speaking, according to the formula (logN/log2)*1.5 that I read about, 13 riffles should be appropriate for a 540 card cube.

[@boonofcheese]

There is no such thing as a pile shuffle. You are performing a pile sort or pile count. The cards are placed fully deterministically and pile sorting DOES NOT RANDOMISE your deck. It is a useful way to ensure you have 60 cards but that's it.

[@SnapD24]

This needs to be up top.

[@Vlad2.47]

Well… it’s meant to break up the pattern of the unshuffled deck, and the piles are randomly put back together…

[@lvl1cpu523]

If you start with a random condition it does indeed randomize it more. But yes you do need another method on top of that.

[@boonofcheese]

@@lvl1cpu523 Incorrect. The randomness does not change in any way by pile sorting.

[@boonofcheese]

@@Vlad2.47 If pile sorting results in a more even distribution then it's cheating. You're not allowed to sort your deck, only randomise it.

[@odoacredacalcutta5085]

why does every pro in mtg always have a copy of the art of read the bones attached to his wall ?

[@ChannelFireball]

Reid has it because he’s Reid the Bones Duke. No idea why anyone else does.

[@Smorehead13]

Sad to see you encouraging pile “shuffling” to people…. It’s only counting. So a waste of time otherwise, or if it does anything it’s cheating. End the pile shuffling madnesssss.

[@lvl1cpu523]

This is a nonsense take and I don't know why it's being repeated.

[@Smorehead13]

@@lvl1cpu523 Has to be repeated because people think wasting time isn't the nonsense take. If if it anything besides counting its either useless or cheating.

[@lvl1cpu523]

@@Smorehead13 Come on, you heard once that it's not a valid replacement for shuffling (which it isn't) and just assumed it's useless. You couldn't answer me before so you have to keep repeating yourself because you don't understand why.

[@Smorehead13]

@@lvl1cpu523 Huh? I literally answered you as to why its being repeated. You have a different question that you didn’t write? If its not a replacement for shuffling its a useless time waste. Or its cheating. There isnt an inbetween lmao.

[@MikhailKaminsky299]

Sorry. I didnt get a thing you said. I got lost in your eyes.

[@Crypt4l]

Is it April fools?

[@AIMLESS-NAMELESS]

Fyi the “overhand shuffle” is technically called a farro shuffle. Not a knock against the vid, just sharing information

[@Khan_mlln]

Fiiiiirst

[@RarecuisineGaming]

Thanks for the vid but anyone who watched Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid already knows how to shuffle.

[@stevendefeo8424]

Did he just riffle shuffle?!?! WTF!!! I would slap the hall of fame status right out of this guy. Pile shuffling like he said is only to count cards. So you don’t pay attention to your deck while you play? I never need to count my deck because I there’s already 99 in the deck or 60. Nobody counts their commanders. He showed only one good way to shuffle. Bad video