Ok, this might sound insane, but I needed to post this thread.

In which manner do you guys shuffle your deck. In all honesty, I am asking.

Is there a preferred method?

Do you randomly toss your cards into a pile and then gather them and start shuffling?

How many times do you shuffle before passing the deck over to your opponent for him/her to cut the deck?

When you mulligan, do you start the process over again?

When you mulligan, do you look at the deck and rearrange the cards before shuffling?

etc.

Sorry, but I needed to ask this as my group believes that there must be a way to "foolproof" one's shuffling method, but we haven't arrived at one yet.

FFG does not proscribe any particular way to shuffle, other than it must be done by hand and that it must be done so that the deck is "sufficiently randomized" to the satisfaction of both players.

Most people that I have observed do a serious shuffle before each game, starting with a "pile shuffle" or two (dealing the deck into 6-8 piles, face down, then putting the piles back together) followed by a bunch of "fan shuffles" (anywhere from 5 to 15 times; depends on the player). After a mulligan or if required to shuffle their deck during the game, they usually only fan shuffle a bunch of times rather than starting over with the pile shuffle.

Between matches, people might rearrange cards in the deck before starting their own shuffling procedure. (There's nothing wrong with this provided a sufficient shuffle takes place afterwards; if only a half-hearted shuffle takes place after someone rearranges the cards in their deck, they are liable to be accused of stacking their deck.) I almost never see this happen after a mulligan because most people consider it "bad form" for an opponent to look through the entire deck after deciding to mulligan based on their opening hand.

If your group needs to find a "foolproof" way to shuffle, I'd suggest doing a little research on line. I'm sure there is more than enough information out there on how to "sufficiently randomize" a standard 52-card deck of playing cards.

There were some great videos shared recently in my Netrunner groups about the science of shuffling. I'll try and remember to cross-post them later.

FFG does not proscribe any particular way to shuffle, other than it must be done by hand and that it must be done so that the deck is "sufficiently randomized" to the satisfaction of both players.

Most people that I have observed do a serious shuffle before each game, starting with a "pile shuffle" or two (dealing the deck into 6-8 piles, face down, then putting the piles back together) followed by a bunch of "fan shuffles" (anywhere from 5 to 15 times; depends on the player). After a mulligan or if required to shuffle their deck during the game, they usually only fan shuffle a bunch of times rather than starting over with the pile shuffle.

Between matches, people might rearrange cards in the deck before starting their own shuffling procedure. (There's nothing wrong with this provided a sufficient shuffle takes place afterwards; if only a half-hearted shuffle takes place after someone rearranges the cards in their deck, they are liable to be accused of stacking their deck.) I almost never see this happen after a mulligan because most people consider it "bad form" for an opponent to look through the entire deck after deciding to mulligan based on their opening hand.

If your group needs to find a "foolproof" way to shuffle, I'd suggest doing a little research on line. I'm sure there is more than enough information out there on how to "sufficiently randomize" a standard 52-card deck of playing cards.

I do this for all games that require a random deck, from Magic TG, to Warhammer Quest treasure deck and now WH40K Conquest

Pile shuffling isn't actually random. It creates an illusion of randomness whilst actually moving your cards from one ordered set to another predictably ordered set.

Mash shuffle master race

Can't figure out how to embed the video into the post, but you can check out a very good video explanation here .

I do a five pile divide, shuffle the individual piles, stack them together in a random order, do a single stack shuffle, then a simple cut to finish things off.

I don't Mulligan often but if I do I usually just do a single shuffle + cut and then draw again.

I don't Mulligan often but if I do I usually just do a single shuffle + cut and then draw again.

Super. That was going to be my follow up question. (how do you shuffle your deck after a mulligan)

I shuffle the cards - like, a regular 'ol shuffle like one would with playing cards - about 3 or 4 times. I then shuffle the top half and then the bottom half and then shuffle the 2 haves back into one whole.

A mix of mash and riffle shuffles. 7 to 10 times. I do the same after a mulligan.

If my opponent doesn't do the same, I'll riffle/mash shuffle theirs 3 to 5 times before handing it back to them.

If my opponent doesn't do the same, I'll riffle/mash shuffle theirs 3 to 5 times before handing it back to them.

Is this allowed?

I mean, I thought you could only "cut" the cards once the deck is given to you, and then hand it back to your opponent.

I start with a 6 pile shuffle and do a thorough overhand shuffle afterwards. In case of a mulligan I distribute the cards into the stack and do another overhand shuffle.

If my opponent doesn't do the same, I'll riffle/mash shuffle theirs 3 to 5 times before handing it back to them.

Is this allowed?

I mean, I thought you could only "cut" the cards once the deck is given to you, and then hand it back to your opponent.

It is. Couldn't find the exact section it says so about the initial shuffling, but the Mulligan explanation in the tournament rules (page 2) states:

Mulligan Rule

During setup, a player may re-shuffle his opening hand into his deck, pass the deck back to his opponent for additional shuffling or cutting, and draw a new starting hand from the same deck.

like hell i'm rifle shuffeling my CCG/LCG cards... those cards cost money.

like hell i'm rifle shuffeling my CCG/LCG cards... those cards cost money.

Card protectors/sleeves.........

I'm using those, those are good for normal wear and tear and greasy fingers, not for some math prof bending and almost folding them double...

Is there any re-course for a player if his/her opponent abuses your cards during their part of shuffling? Like even if it's not deliberate, if they're being heavy handed and it damages them or w/e, can you ask them to stop?

I should hope so. I'n the few magic tournaments I've been in, I have occasionally asked my opponent (who I saw rifle shuffling his cards) not to rifle shuffle my deck before cutting it. All of them were very understanding and shuffled in a more carefull way.

(If I ever catch some guy deliberatly damaging my cards, they'll get my steel tipped boot to their shins. Whoops leg cramp sorry! * grins evily* )