How to table riffle shuffle without card bending

This method eliminates most, if not all, bending of cards during shuffling. Suitable for board games with un-sleeved or sleeved cards
Update 2020: it has been mentioned in the comments that one key not emphasized in the video is that the palms DO make contact with the top of the cards during shuffle. Hope that helps!

[@tima3687]

This is amazing! To those practicing, it took me a while to realize the thumbs are sideways, i.e. parallel to the table surface, and the palms are in contact with the cards. Once I made those adjustments I could do it perfectly every time. It's fast, shuffles wells, and really doesn't bend the cards at all.

[@jimc6144]

You're right. The video doesn't emphasize that enough. Also this type of shuffle works a lot better with the 100% plastic cards. They just don't have the stiffness as the paper ones. KEM, Copag and now Faded Spade are good examples. ♠️♥️♣️♦️

[@ThePixelPodcast]

Thanks for pointing this out to me I wasn't getting any results before.

[@jjudge001]

this comment should be pinned and maybe even included in the description. the thumbs are super important, but I'd also like to stress the "PALMS ARE IN CONTACT WITH THE CARDS". Before I read this comment, I had a really hard time getting the cards to drop where I wanted them to. After re-positioning my hands, I could use my palms to guide the cards to where I needed them to go.

[@ryanking32]

@@jjudge001 I added the palms part to description :)

[@WateryIce54321]

Thank you. I think many people who don't want to hurt their cards rely on overhand shuffle because they're worried about the bending that most people do during a riffle shuffle. But, you've shown the correct way to do! This is good because the overhand shuffle sucks at randomization.

[@Intrepid_Insomniac]

Thank you! I came here because I hate bending my tarot cards. I knew there must be a better way! 🙏🏻💕

[@bandagewastingmachine386]

Same. I just got my first deck I don't want to bend them.

[@lilgorgo]

@@bandagewastingmachine386 hello and welcome friend! 🖤

[@Filmsmith129]

You probably don't mean this kind, but I just got my first deck of Tarot Nouveau cards for playing French Tarot (the card game that Tarot cards are originally from) and I had the same thought since a good deck for that game needs to be imported for like 25 USD.

[@owen8417]

I know that this video is 5 years old but gotta give props to you. My buddy was a trained blackjack dealer and recently gave a quick tutorial on the basics. This video cleared up some of the holes in his presentation. THANKS!!!

[@Eljuez13]

I've watched a lot of card tutorials and noone ever mentions this. It looks a lot more professional this way. Thanks so much!

[@_mawburn]

This is so crazy simple, I can't believe it's taken me decades to realize I could do this! I bet I could even teach people who don't know how to shuffle poker cards (bending) how to do it using this method.

[@rickl.461]

Great demonstration. Thanks! I was able to do it immediately, just not consistently because I've shuffled the other way my whole life. My consistency is improving as I practice. It's wild how much less stress I can put on my cards and still get a quality shuffle.

[@skylinekh]

Awesome! This is a great shuffle to learn. When done right this gentle no bend shuffle is incredibly satisfying. Thanks.

[@evra91]

Thanks, this was very useful! I was scared of shuffling my expensive cards due to bending them, but with this I will shuffle all day long!

[@donaldallen3905]

Thank you for creating this video, Ryan! I'm happy that you also showed this method with card sleeves :)

[@Death4nchor]

Ryan, Thanks for this video! I always looked for ways to shuffle sleeved cards, but drop shuffling is all that seemed acceptable, but with this video I can do this a few times and drop shuffle and it will be a good shuffle.

[@Fabregas200788]

that's what I've been looking for to shuffle expensive MTG cards (CCG) thank you, Ryan!

[@chtitmog]

Great video! Though I love the esthetic and efficiency of the Riffle Shuffle, it breaks my little heart to bend my precious cards so this tutorial is wonderful for me. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@mm678]

“This seems like an all right guy that knows what he’s talking abou-“ (pulls out his Netrunner deck) “-and now this video just went to level 20.” Best game ever. Thanks for the tips!

[@mjbriones1310]

YOOOOOO thank you for giving the tip of shuffling at the edge of the table, it's my first time doing a decent riffle shuffle!

[@Deathreapergrl]

Thank you for this! I play magic the gathering and am not satisfied with my shuffling but also don't want to bend my cards. This technique looks great - I haven't mastered it yet but I'll keep practicing!

[@ryanking32]

Of course! Always happy to see people are still getting use from this video…it’s wild!

[@FabioBrachtPlus]

@@ryanking32 Another new person you helped 10 years down the line. Wild!

[@1objection]

Thank you! I can finally shuffle cards without bending them! It took me like an hour to figure it out, but after I got it the first time, I've started picking up speed and can get about 4 shuffles a minute using this method.

[@NeoTrggrTheGammer]

I could never shuffle cards for the life of me, found this video and now I'm pretty good at shuffling

[@ab-zg8pt]

uggggh!!! THANK YOU!!!! I was going crazy with over hand shuffling for my thick tarot cards!

[@Sangreal333]

My main problem in doing a "standard" card game shuffle is that I have ridiculously tiny hands and I literally can't get them into my palms and reach my fingers around the edges! I have Tarot cards that I don't want to ruin by bending, so this is pretty perfect, both for preserving my cards, and for coping with my weeny child hands : ) Thanks - I'll practice this technique.

[@RobertBallMagician]

Nice, that's something I have a rough time with because of my arthritis.

[@MrChozo]

Nice video. I was just thinking about how to accomplish this shuffle, and it conveniently popped up in /r/netrunner!

[@dancinswords]

Beautiful. You're just feathering them together. Now I can hopefully use my nice cards without fear of ruining them

[@MiBSuM]

THIS is what I was searching for since... well, ever. :-D

[@galaxycaptain672]

I'm late to the game but this is an improvement over the "Gamblers Riffle Shuffle" that I have been using. Thank you I DID subscribe. Better late then never. Thank you.

[@a3lorenzo]

Thanks for the technique!

[@baz_wtf]

Great video. Super helpful :)

[@stevenisonline]

Thank you very much for this!

[@jamesonmassey5259]

I am having trouble doing the slight lapping of the corners. I feel like i'm getting that slight lap but i'm just going straight down and none of the cards are mixed. if i get any closer i'm hitting the other deck and theyre mixing in clumps. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

[@katelyn3047]

Thank you so much! :D I'm a "mint condition" freak about game pieces!

[@Jathcas]

Excellent video

[@lafayettemclaren5195]

Appreciated lesson! I use tarot and it hurts to have degradation outside of just regular edge wearing

[@analuisahering2149]

Great video ! Thanks! How do you deal with cards that are thick not to damage the borders when they're getting put back together in the pile ? I don't shuffle playing cards but Tarot thick ones...

[@ryanking32]

Ana Luisa Hering the shuffle already interlaces the cards, so the ends shouldn't be jamming together. You'll see in the video I missed once and DID jam them together. Typically, that won't be happening...they are already laying on each other by the corners.

[@Jnote222]

THANK YOU very much kind sir! This helps alot with pokemon cards I dont want to bend 😁

[@salmanqaisar7377]

This is a truly wonderful video, if only I had watched this a few years ago, would have saved myself loads of money on sleeves! I'm steady getting better but it took a lot of practice. But I still get clumps of cards, rather than 1-1 interlacing, so do you have any tips to reduce that? Regards and thanks, Salman

[@benrayner17]

What would you say is the best angle for the bevel? The cards aren't quite falling right for me.

[@jimc6144]

I've been practicing it and am getting better quickly. Only way to shuffle..♠️♥️♣️♦️

[@Mikekan13]

WHY CANT I DO THIS!?

[@BrodyLodmell]

don't the card corners from the left occasionally enter the top of the sleeve on the right?

[@BasementDweller_]

Nice tips.

[@thrazznos1]

Very Impressive.

[@tennisphotography]

Thank you so much

[@dilipkhednah]

I find it difficult to shuffle cards when you have to bend them. This looks really good to do, i just hope i can do it.

[@Ratatosk80]

Good video. Always used the shuffle method shown in the beginning of the video. Haven't got this new method completely down yet but getting there. I wasted some time first trying it with to much bend. If you grip the cards right, lift them up, and hold them with the fingers like he shows, you can do it with zero bend basically. Also it's easier the higher you lift the cards up. Just check the max lift you can do without the cards being visible and use that. Found it also being easier if I had my middle finger very high up, close to the corner of the card.

[@avantek774]

do you get pain in your pinky fingers when putting the deck back at 5:35? I get pain in my tendons after 5 or so quick shuffles but im not sure if maybe im doing the riffle shuffle with too much pressure so the cards are more compressed and harder to push together

[@ryanking32]

Can’t say for sure, but def shouldn’t hurt and the shuffle when done “lightly” is rather “air-y”, if that makes sense..?

[@Aldrenean]

I've been a pianist for over a decade and this video is making me feel like the most hamfisted idiot on the planet. I cannot do anything but drop the two piles on the table next to each other -- the corners just will not mesh!

[@shrimpandwings7865]

Aldrenean what's being a pianist got to do with this

[@Mushnp]

yo yo manual dexterity

[@mindartis4081]

Great video this is very helpful thanks

[@DapperDano]

When I try this the ends/corners run into each other and get dinged up

[@sirik7767]

Thx!

[@ClunytheScourge1]

It took me about six weeks of practising a little every day whenever watching KZbin videos, etc., but I can basically do this now about 70% of the time.

[@sajtiasalvatore357]

Thanks.

[@ethanboyd7843]

Question! Usthis method, how many goof faith completed shuffles per minute can you complete. I'm practicing and improving quickly but I need an attainable but hard number to shoo for. Thank you for the tip!

[@ryanking32]

1 every 3 seconds is good. Do the math from there :)

[@ethanboyd7843]

@@ryanking32 Awesome thank you!

[@ethanboyd7843]

@@ryanking32 1 every 3 seconds, got it already! ;)

[@akp2333]

Good video

[@sskullee]

Thanks man my cards looked like shit but now my new deck has no bends

[@tamary.leitmotiv]

i'm so exhausted, it's benn three days i'm trying, I just couldn't manage to do it without the bend and by just letting them drop. also, there is ALWAYS a bauble on the wring side of the cards, and I just can't stack them properly because of that. help me please, there is something i'm missing (it happens when I have my palms touch the cards)

[@ryanking32]

Hard for me to say, but my advice is practice with a normal card deck and do the bend. As the muscle memory kicks in, you will drop the bend. You may benefit from written instruction-I learned this from card magic books so google around for that and you may pick up a point or two that you’re missing. This shuffle can be picked up in a couple days of fooling around with it. Good luck!

[@Bromon655]

Ah yes. Just like every other shuffling method I’ve tried. Looks easy but it’s actually impossible.

[@fnbeast2780]

Made this on my bday

[@nathanmarrocco7995]

Amazing!!!!

[@stitchincrime]

Can you do this with 2 decks? This seems so much easier to me as a black jack dealer

[@ryanking32]

You can, but larger the stack the harder it is.

[@gradyturner595]

I’ve been shuffling for the past two hours now and I’ve completely given up on playing.,.. I just wanna keep shuffling now

[@r00ster84]

Great video! I was wondering if you could post the forum link you mentioned at the beginning of the video. Thanks!

[@kieran8291]

I still can’t get the cards to come off my thumb properly. Whenever I bebble the deck, it goes all over the place and falls out of my hands

[@tylerb4252]

My biggest challenge with this method is trying to get the cards to interlace and the two sides of the deck to join. At least one card ends up meeting head on and then instead of having a slightly bent card, I have a card with a damaged top.

[@domesticbear704]

wondering what the "video above" was, i need to learn how to push the riffled cards together but it hurts my pinkys and/or takes too long.

[@leostrelle6281]

same here...

[@leostrelle6281]

closest thing i've found that works for me is at 1:40 on this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaevdpKDeLOCm5Y

[@evorock7477]

idk why but this doesn't work for me cuz I can't get my thumb to glide over the edges of the cards like that, they always jsut end up coming down in smaller piles

[@ryanking32]

That’s why you “slope” the cards. Do it exaggerated at first. Should only take a few days and then you have a great skill for rest of your life-though you’ll always be made to shuffle when you play games 😅

[@memesxy95]

how big can the deck be when shuffling with this method?

[@ryanking32]

You can do a large stack as I show in the video, but it’s hard and I would suggest just faro’ing them at that point (google it or see I do it on video). Or, shuffle smaller stacks back and forth. Good luck!

[@brendanriley5145]

INCREDIBLE. More exciting than when I discovered the better way to open bananas.

[@laserwave6012]

Nope! Doesn't work. How long did it take you to learn?

[@sheepchemical3024]

THIS COMMENT IS SUPER LATE BUT WHATEVER. Thank you soooo much for showing proper shuffling technique. Every time someone abuses their cards i cringe. People can do with their property what they want of course, but i play tcgs and i tend to treat my cards very gently because they're usually quite valuable. I can't be the only person who's really careful not to bend my cards right?

[@sheepchemical3024]

The one criticism i have for this video is: nobody likes having half their cards upside down. The best way to do it imo is length-ways on the longer side of the cards rathr than the shorter side. The bottom of sleeves are more pointy and rigid than the top where you insert the card. I know from experimenting with different techniques that cards tend to get stuck inside each other, or rip cheaper sleeves, if you don't do it with the bottom of each stack facing each other. So really, do it length-wise, on the left hand the bottom right corner of the pile and in your right hand the bottom left corner of your pile

[@scottwatts6603]

I always end up with the same card on the bottom.

[@danielgwillim8220]

that's why you always use two different shuffles to exact true randomness. My preferred method is 2 riffles, then a few rounds of drop shuffling to muddle up the order of the deck sections, then two more riffles. Takes about ~45 seconds and is ideally random, for my purposes

[@RvLeshrac]

One thing people never note with this is that you need an expensive deck of a specific card thickness for this. Not linen? Not gonna work. Thin cards? Not gonna work. Thick cards? Not gonna work.

[@jdb6026]

I still don't get it. 😭

[@LilBoyHexley]

This seriously feels impossible

[@nickbaxter4628]

We can't see your thumb. That is very important

[@saltozpotrojnymwyskokiem]

I dont get it

[@utilizator500]

Doesn't work with cheap low quality cards

[@TheBigHaus]

Why is this so hard to do?

[@ryanking32]

It's just knack-y. A few days practice and you'll be able to do it forever :)

[@berserk7407]

This is so hard to do with sleeves while the two halves are facing each other, one side of the sleeve always enters the other then you end up with a split sleeve. I can do it pretty well in the more exaggerated position, then the sleeves don't end up in one another.

[@ESUTERURE]

Impossible with tarot cards

[@ryanking32]

Esuterure2006 not at all. More awkward, but very doable. I would learn how to do the normal sized cards first, though. It will be much harder to start with oversized cards.

[@house9lot10]

Can confirm. It's easier to do with a smaller pile of cards.The cardstock also matters. I've been practicing this technique on a new small Tarot deck. It's pretty sweet to see.

[@Criminal_Turtle]

Thank you very much! I got my first Yu-Gi-Oh Deck but I really don't want to bend them.

[@misanthrope4life]

Holy shit. Thats a weird coincidence. I love Netrunner and have been researching new shuffling patterns. Nice liberated accounts by the way. Netrunner for the win.

[@robertleescott79]

I'm going to use this shuffle for tarot.

[@strahinjatodorovic8516]

I think you do a rifle shuffle a little bit too exagurated,no one bends the cards that much,just a little bend is enough,and it doesnt damage the cards,i have done riffle shuffle alot and it doesnt bend the cards,if you know the right tehnique of course.But both are cool.

[@ryanking32]

That shouldn't happen. The corners are slightly lapped so they already have a path to follow when they slide in. It may happen during your initial practice, but after should be a non issue.

[@Sciansci]

1:00

[@saintsocramnymaia5511]

It feels criminally wrong to shuffle so softly 😅

[@irwienjuddieanto7547]

I dont undarstand

[@Seawolf159]

Doesn't work

[@rigo117x7]

Under 5 min... it's 8 tho

[@calvingrace2538]

Sleeves on ur cards?... -.-

[@austinbuhler4775]

I use kmc hyper mattes and this did not work at all. period. i split several sleeves, and kmcs are not known to split.

[@ryanking32]

Try with a normal deck of cards. Once you can do it like that it will translate to sleeved cards. It involves a light touch, sleeves should never split. As a side note, I would look into FFG sleeves. They do not get "sticky" like KMC does. In my years of sleeving cards, I've found FFG to be superior in every way. Good luck!

[@austinbuhler4775]

+Ryan King wow, that was fast! thanks for the advice, will do!

[@austinbuhler4775]

+Ryan King I have my mtg deck double sleeved, and the cards kept going into the other sleeves, because I wouldnt be able to stand having my cards backwards when i pick them up into my hand, I can do it with playing cards, but a double sleeved 60 card deck just destroys the corners of the sleeves.

[@ryanking32]

+Austin Buhler the cards going into each other is a common problem when starting out. Just focus on your corners overlapping properly and it you will eliminate the problem. They are going into each other because they aren't overlapped as well as they need to be. Just integrate the shuffle into your normal routine here and there, and when you push in, if you feel the slightest pressure then stop and correct. After a bit you'll be able to do it without card going into each other's sleeves, as in the video. It really is worth the trouble to learn, IMO. Anyway, you're problem is common for beginners, so don't fret!

[@austinbuhler4775]

Practice makes perfect i guess!

[@jimc6144]

It certainly is not as simple as your video makes it look. When it comes to me I have about 10 thumbs.

[@imshooktaf758]

man that's just because you have NEW deck of cards Tip: Old Decks are more flexible so you can bend them easily

[@erenayicoz4226]

Title: shuffling WITHOUT BENDING Video: 20 seconds in aight imma fuck this up

[@stevesplace7230]

I absolutely cringe when I see a hand riffle followed by the riffle shuffle and again followed by the nonsense insane totally worthless bridge (non)shuffle. That's right. Let's just bend a perfectly good deck of cards three times before you have to either gather them back up from the table or stoop over to the floor to grab your cards. ARGHHHHH!

[@klorify9838]

Dislikes from little kids with small hands

[@christophermcleod-gilmarti1343]

They are still bent. Might be fine for a basic deck of cards but any MTG cards or other cards of that type of card game and you pretty much ruining your cards. If anyone did that to my cards i would do it to their fingers one by one, and revel in their pain.

[@pastuh]

Sorry, but this shuffle for kids, not for man who wanna show for everyone how he shuffle cards.

[@salmonblox]

It's a shuffle for kids who don't want to bend their cards. You shuffle to show off? I do it because it's necessary for most games.

[@Sinzari]

To be fair, proper cards don't get bent when you shuffle them.

[@pastuh]

Ye, got Texas Hold'em JU90033 cards. Amazing