24 full minutes of watching someone shuffle Just like my oppenents at tournaments..

this style is optimal because your opponent will be on tilt whenever you shuffle

If anyone ever riffle shuffles my deck I'm charging them 20$

In favor of the mash shuffling technique, as a commander/EDH Magic: the Gathering player, trying to ruffle a 100 card deck is quite painful and slow. As well as it's an unspoken rule to, while mash shuffling, to look away from the decks while shuffling

You should've sleeved half the deck in different colored sleeves to give a better example. Besides that, awesome video and awesome hints to spot those fake cheat shuffles.

I've been exclusively Mash Shuffling for well over a decade. As some people have already pointed out, it's an unspoken rule to just look away while mash shuffling. Also, to avoid 1 card over another situation, allow the bottom pile to spread out a bit before mashing in the upper half. This should make it so that some cards stick together, adding to the randomness of the technique. Doing this 7-8 times should be enough to give you a good randomized deck. As for when it seems like your opponent didn't shuffle well enough, I always ask for me to do a final cut, where I divide the deck into 3-4 piles before putting it back together. I do not claim by any means that these steps will guarantee a fully randomized deck, but they're what I do to avoid riffle Shuffling and damaging my cards or my opponent's.

As a collector this video breaks my heart.

I believe that the study was made on a 52 card deck

YAY! THE SHUFFLE VIDEO! What a great birthday present!

As a semi-competitive Yugioh player who is looking at videos from other Tcgs it’s actually very interesting to watch this. In Yugioh Riffle shuffles are frowned upon and are the sign of the heavy casual. Pile Shuffling is the only competitive form of shuffling. No one wants to bend their 60$ Ash Blossoms or their 80$ Infinite Impermanences. Also you mash shuffle upside down, that’s why you can see the whole deck, if you shuffle Sleeve-Side up you can’t actually see your cards

I'd call myself a casual player, I do sell cards that I'm not currently using in my deck. So condition is kind of a priority for me. What I do, is I put my thumbs on the top corners of the sleeves and riffle shuffle, and I haven't had any problems with damaging my cards since! The only thing to be careful of, is at longer tournaments, and doing that over and over, I usually leave with scratched up thumbs.

5:27 With that extended "Sooome" my head instantly filled in "body once told me the world was gonna roll me" Now I have that meme of a song stuck in my head.

So I was watching how my cards slipped together during a mash shuffle and the interleave seemed to vary. Sometimes 1-1,1-2 or even 1-3 interleave. I'm at a loss as to how this is different from riffling since that seems to be the main thing riffling has going for it. I keep my cards fairly loose when I do it, so that's probably why I was seeing such variety in interleave.

Awesome coverage, Thanks so much!

Thank you Mahone for the amazing Christmas gift! At last I can stop being a turtle while shuffling

12:55... My heart broke. My Opponent: "You should really riffle shuffle... Its the best way to get proper randomization" Me: "You should eat a hot plate of shut the hell up"

This was something I never considered thx so much for the info andrew!

love the sound of riffle shuffle

Finally thank you so much for this video andrew!!!

Ripple shuffling is so painful to watch 😂

Thanks man I was really curious about this

I recommend practicing this with normal playing cards for poker or such so your cards dont get destroyed while you learn the tequnique!

7:51 when that happens, what you do is take the group of cards that didn't get mixed in, and push/shuffle that pack down into push them into the main chunk the same way. If you do that, it becomes more random even faster than riffle shuffling.

Thank you, Andrew. I just start playing 3 months ago and next weekend will be my first tournament. Shuffling has been very difficult to me and this video helped me a lot

These are the kind of videos that no other channel can do as well as you guys. More of these would be amazingly helpful. Maybe a possible topic would be optimal deck building or even calling the meta of a larger tournament.

If I may allow myself, it is 7 shuffles for a normal deck of 52 cards. So 7 kind of makes sense when you have 60 cards at the beginning of the game, less when you reach the end

Doesn’t riffle shuffling suffer from the same problem as mash shuffling if you have uneven piles? It’s probably less susceptible to it and only really would happen if they were super uneven, but still would be an issue. Also, you can still stack the deck with riffle shuffles, so it’s something to watch out for. It’s super easy for someone to always have the bottom card drop first or the top drop last, which allows them to keep it there.

Great video. Painful to watch, but still a great video. Thank you for all the videos you do.

You should explain the positives and negatives of double sleeving (perfect fits and regulars or outer sleeves too) and the effects it has on shuffling.

Good video, took two minutes before I saw any shuffling. But I like watching your videos. You always sound like you know what you’re talking about

So I've been thinking about this a bit and here's my 2 cents in favor of both riffle and card preservation. If Pokemon produces cards that they know are going to have high after market value because they are required to play at a high level but also want to encourage fair play (at least through proper shuffling) and accessibility, then why don't they allow proxies for those cards if you can present them as being in your possession? Make is so you have to check the cards in for them to hold so people don't just keep presenting the same physical cards over and over again. It seems like you could use the Lele from the Worlds decks to proxy for the real thing as long as you use sleeves with opaque backs.

I typically dont riffle because of the card damage potential but also because I use Ultimate Guard sleeves and they dont really riffle well at all. I mass shuffle but I always have my deck face down and I typically dont look at my deck when I shuffle.

Thanks for the video. Where did you get that play mat

i think it also comes to what kind of sleeves you are using. some sleeves are good for mesh, some good for riffle, etc.

Thanks for your insight.

I've just started the game and I mash shuffle. I shuffle big piles, smaller piles, and half piles. I try to keep it as random as possible and I always look away from my deck. If someone riffled my deck I think I would cry.

yay a shuffling video! thanks for the tips Andrew! PS nice job at Memphis!

Could you do a vidio on sleeves I prefer eclipse sleeves but I want to know which is say, smoother shuffler, protects the cards etc. and your opinion.

When I mash shuffle, I do a cut, mash then I take about 1/3 of the top and mash into the middle, 1/3 off the bottom and mash, then cards from the middle and mash, then cut mash one more time. While I mash, I always do so into my left hand with the cards facing to the left and tilted downward so no one can see the card's faces. As far as riffle, goes, yes I want to preserve my cards, but mostly, despite practice, I can't seem to do it without flinging cards everywhere.

The riffle looks great and is the best for randomizing but I will never do it, I want to protect my sleeves and cards. I didn't invest in a deck of cards only to have them destroyed. Especially when some of them cost so much.

I’ve often wondered, like especially for the big tournament settings like worlds, why isn’t there a 3rd party shuffler?

i mash shuffle to not damage my cards, and don't really care what my opponent thinks because they are always free to shuffle my deck instead of cut. i always shuffle my opponents deck so i'm not stacked against.

Thanks for this video, many months later. I grinded this shit out and learned to riffle in one week, just in time for my first regional

Great vid Andrew! What do you think about Alolan Nine tales/Zoruark?

This has been a great video! Still trying to get the riffle shuffeling down tho ... I tried the bridge, but I'm still not sure how that works ...

Hey Andrew, whats your opinion on hindu shuffling? Do you feel its a shady way to shuffle? Do you feel its an effective way to randomize your deck? Im curious what your take is on it

I mash shuffle but I grab from the bottom first then the top then the bottom and so on so on about 5 to 6 times. I'm very picky about shuffling and I have to know that it's being randomized

Hey, first, I love this vid! It helps so much since I'm getting into the TCG. Second, 7 riffle shuffles might be best, but that number is based off a 52-card deck. Just worth keeping in mind since most of the time people will be shuffling a sub-46 card deck (7 in hand, 6 prizes, 1 first turn draw) so 7 would be sufficient. However, at the very beginning of the game, it might be that 8 riffle shuffles achieves sufficient randomness on a 60-card deck instead of 7. I'm not sure what the difference is between 8 and 7, but since riffle shuffles increase "randomness" exponentially, it's worth keeping in mind that at a bigger card count, an extra riffle might be necessary.

Another legit video as usual, best competitive Pokémon channel on KZfaq by far. Thanks for this. I’d love to see a intro to strategy type video..stuff you wanna do to set up and how to look into the future turns...stuff like that.

Great video. Got a lot of interesting pointers on shuffling. Not sure if I like the idea of Riffle Shuffling, due to card damage. If it was other type of cards I wouldn't mind doing Riffle. Great hints on Cheat Shuffles. Now I know what to avoid and be aware others can cheat during shuffle.

Curious how he does the move with his hand of cards while playing, where he brings each card on top of the other very quickly.

Good job Andrew

This helped me a lot. I'm preparing for my first tcg regionals and I'm trying to learn whatever I can before I get there.

Love that playmat

I riffle shuffled my pokemon cards like playing cards and my opponent looked at me weird. (I dont have sleeves) ps. I regret doing this

Nice video thank you

where can I buy that playmat in the background of the video?

Many people have full arts in their decks so I would never riffle shuffle. It's pretty painful to watch specially if kids have full art lele's. I mash shuffle and then offer my opponent to shuffle as well.

Shuffling cards is a very rare time where imperfection is perfection. I feel like a freaking poet

I'll pile shuffle and take each pile, mash shuffle it, and introduce a new pile one at a time into the mash. I make sure to hold the bottom of the deck toward my hand as to not look at the cards and watch the back closely in the off chance that I drop one or flip one upside down by mistake.

love this vid. so much information!!

Nice shuffling 👍😊

Can anyone explain the bridge a little better? I can get them bent the right way, but they just stick there and don't "spring up" as it was mentioned in the video. What am I doing wrong here?

Where do you buy that kind TCG plastic case for pokemon cards

We have been waiting for this video for so long that I've sorta taught myself to riffle but I mean it is a good video

mash shuffle with the back of the card facing away from your palm so you can't see the bottom card, and do it at a downwards angle so the stack you pick up isn't visible at all either

What sleeves are you using? Looking to buy some.

If riffling 7 times is perfect randomization does that mean the bottom card of the deck on shuffle 1 is as likely to end up on top of the deck as anywhere else? Cuz I don’t see how it can get there

this makes me cry dat Turanator is so beautiful and to see it in pain it just breaks meh heart

If you're not interested in preserving the quality of the cards, what're sleeves for? Just shuffle feel?

I had seen yourvShining Genesect /Venasaur vs you Buzzwole/Lycanroc match. In that match you shuffled like a BOSS! I hardly play matches so I just do the normal sideways shuffle. (I don't know what's it called)

Hello! :) Where can I get that cards sleeves? Thank you! :D

I can only do the matte shuffle, because I have a disability that affects my coordination, so I cannot riffle shuffle. What would you suggest for someone like me?

which sleeves would you consider the easiest to shuffle?

5 years later and this thumbnail still gives me agita

I haven't played the physical Pokemon TCG in years and haven't played Yu-Gi-Oh as often as I would've liked, but I don't use riffle shuffling on trading cards because I'm paranoid of damaging the cards themselves too quickly.

I dont riffle because i suck at it and dont want to bend my cards. I mash only but i do understand its limitations. To combat those limitations I mash a couple times quickly then cut a few times then mash a couple times then cut a few times etc then present my deck to my opponent.

Mash shuffling is my preferred method because it’s effective without damaging my expensive deck. When a Modern deck cost well over a grand I’m not about to bend my cards period. Mash shuffle faced down 10 times is good enough for me.

Rip attempting to riffle-shuffle a 100-card Commander deck in mtg with my tiny hands.

I’ve been wanting to learn to how to riffle shuffle for a while now. The video was very useful thanks mahone! Good luck to you during your competitions!

You make it look soo easy but I’m still struggling trying to nail this lol

i didn't know ultra pro has card sleeves in that color? link?

I remembered a segment on sleeves

Thank you so much

Man I can't riffle shuffle to save my life. So if we play in Dallas feel free to riffle my deck for the cut or what not. Not gonna hurt my feelings or cards.

You might look into how casinos riffle shuffle as it results in less bending of the cards, better keeps secret the bottom card of the deck, and is easier with larger numbers of cards.

If I ripple shuffle them with both piles coinciding with each other, is that still as random?

When I heard the magic number 7 I know it is EXACTLY that video lol😂.

Andrew Mahone, THANK YOU for being the best player i know

That riffle shuffle *hurt*

I wonder what are your card sleeves!

In casino we spread cards all over the table and mess them all up for 30 seconds per deck that we shuffle. collect them in then riffle shuffle twice, then strip thr cards take quater like a 6th of the deck from top and put it down then 6th from bottom then 6th from top then 6th from bottom etc. Then riffle twice again.

I mash shuffle but i dont push the cards down (putting them 1 by 1) i "open" the bottom pile and let the top pile fall into the bottom pile, moving my hand from top to bottom. This has more randomness than pushing them, and does not damage them. I agree that you can cheat by looking at your deck.

where did you get those sleeves

When you mash shuffle you can have your deck face the other way so you don’t see any of the cards. It is possible to mash and not see anything.

_Why Riffle Shuffle when I can Riffle Stack_ Also, that's a Shotgun Shuffle, it fucks up your cards, and unlike Yugioh and Magic, knowing what your cards are through the sleeves (From the bends) can in fact give you information that you shouldn't have, and influence your plays and (what should be) random decisions

My only question is have you had to replace any of your cards due to the damage from riffing if so how long did they last?

I am more of a collector and usually would rather mass shuffle but you made since with what you said. So I am going to start riffle shuffling to be not courteous to other players. Also try to buy the cards I like to keep.

Not to necro an old video but did anyone notice how often that fire energy card is on the bottom?

I hope Professor K is watching this because he is the Worst Shuffler in the World.. no, that's a lie.. in the universe ...and the upside down from Stranger Things... and wherever Giratina lives