[Captn_All_In]

Deckard you are the man! I bow to your greatness!!!

[ky70]

WOW...great info!!!!

Be careful with that video link...it tried to take me to a "naughty" site.

[smoore]

a couple notes:

RDeckard has THE MOST randomized cards in all of poker. I wash (scramble) the cards every orbit or so and do: riffle, riffle, strip, riffle, cut when I deal. A strip is only three sections for me. That's how they do it in casinos but the more you mix them, the more random they are. The reason casinos only do it three times is for speed. speed = rake. This is a bare minimum procedure.

When you are learning how to riffle, concentrate on making NO noise with the deck. You don't need to use any pressure, simply lift the cards with your thumbs and let them fall. Once you can do this you can apply a little pressure to the cards and speed it up a little.

[Fins]

Originally Posted by R Deckard

So here we go, shuffling, R Deckard-style...

Nice job... well done.

FWIW... here's some old info which pretty much repeats what you've said though there is a link to reference with regard to shuffling and also describes pitching...

SHUFFLING:
Poster unknown

riffle-riffle-box-riffle-riffle-riffle-box-riffle-box
Riffle:
1. Line them up long edge to long edge.
2. Left hand grips left side of left deck with pinky and ring, while index and middle fingers are on top of the deck and thumb is on the inside, lifting the half of the deck.
3. Right thumb is on the inside of the right deck below the left thumb, lifting the right deck, index finger on top of right deck applying pressure, other 3 fingers stabilizing deck on right side.
4. Lift inside of both decks with thumbs while applying inward force with all outer fingers
5. Rotate deck 90 degrees to re-cut into two stacks, repeat.

Box:
1. Cut off the top 15 cards or so and place them off to the right as a new stack.
2. Cut off another 10-20 cards repeatedly and place atop the new stack until complete.


DEALING:
Posted by smoore

For right handers:
- Hold deck in left hand with the front edge slightly downward and push a card to the right with your thumb. You need to be able to get exactly one card. As you practice the card will push off very consistently. Practice sliding it off and back on a few times.

- Now when you slide your card off, pinch it between the right thumb and index finger while laying your middle finger along the right edge.

- In one motion, lift the left thumb and extend the right middle finger without moving your hands. *bing* The card just flew like a frizbee (we hope).

Do this slowly and deliberately at first to practice the push/straighten/release motion. Make sure you keep the "nose" of the deck pointed slightly downward. Do not let your hands change position relative to each other. At first, pitch straight across from yourself. Then, set up your poker table and practice pitching to piles of chips. As you move around the table, "walk" it with your shoulders so you don't have to move your hands/arms much. Add beers, smokes, ashtrays... whatever is normally there as you get better. Once you can do that you'll be able to entertain yourself and small children by pitching cards across the room into a hat. By this time you'll probably be the dealer for your home games and you'll be sick of it. This is when you should learn how to second and bottom deal. Then show your friends you can do it. Then you don't have to deal any more.


More info...
From The MCU Library:

14.03 THE SHUFFLE AND CUT.
After each hand the dealer shall scramble the cards and shall shuffle them at least three times and box them at least once, in either of the following orders: Shuffle/shuffle/box/shuffle or shuffle/box/shuffle/shuffle, then cut. The shuffle shall never begin or end with a box, always with a riffle, and the dealer shall never box twice in a row. To box the cards, the dealer shall pull about ten cards off the top of the deck and set them on the table, continuing four or five times until the entire deck has been re-arranged, always protecting cards from flashing. After the shuffle/box procedure, the dealer then shall place the deck on the table, clearly and obviously release it, and then cut it onto the cover card with one hand.

[smoore]

I get to take credit for the pitching section!

[R Deckard]

Fins,

Wow, you found them! Great posts--I remember reading and internalizing the information in those several months ago.

And the pitching technique has saved me from having sore arm muscles after a night of dealing--so easy with just a flick of the fingers.

And ky70, I think your NetNanny is set too high! The video URL is http://www.pokerology.com/images/cards/video/strip.mpg and something on your 'puter must not like the word "strip", or you've got some weird spyware running. It is only a video of a strip shuffle, nothing more.

[bolgenmod]

Originally Posted by R Deckard

jojo, Ten. . . smelling another article here. . . yes, no?

here, chippy, chippy.

At least a sticky -- unlike other problems, shuffling is EVERY HAND. I would love to see it done right! (BTW, I am terrible at shuffling -- don't know why, but I can't square the deck and shuffle without exposing the bottom card, so maybe this is a personal view!)

[R Deckard]

Originally Posted by bolgenmod

(BTW, I am terrible at shuffling -- don't know why, but I can't square the deck and shuffle without exposing the bottom card, so maybe this is a personal view!)

If you're talking about exposing the bottom card while squaring the deck after the scramble (aka "wash"), then no problem--that's what you are supposed to do--you square the deck on edge, cards facing away from you (it is a big no-no to square the deck with the cards facing yourself--that is the beginning of stacking suspicions). But that should be the last time anyone sees any cards. During the riffles and boxes you should be keeping the deck flat, on or close to the table.

[panthershutch15]

Hey R, any tips on how to square up the deck fast after riffling them? I do everything good but it seems like I take sooo long to square the cards back up in a nice stack.

[R Deckard]

Originally Posted by panthershutch15

Hey R, any tips on how to square up the deck fast after riffling them? I do everything good but it seems like I take sooo long to square the cards back up in a nice stack.

If you're talking about my Step 6. . .

• Slide the two piles together and square up the deck:
  

. . . then here's some further details:

• After the riffle, shift your pinkies to the outer short sides of the two piles (If your hands are big, you may be able to shift your ring fingers also to help). You should then have each pile secured on three sides by your fingers: middle and ring along the outboard long edges, pinkies along the outer short edges, and thumbs along the inboard long edges.
  
• Make sure that you no longer are pushing down on the cards with your index fingers (to allow the cards to slide freely), then slide the two piles together, using your pinkies as the driving force and your other fingers and thumbs as the guides. You may have to exert significant pressure with your pinkies to get the cards completely shoved together, and the inner edges of your pinkies may start to get worn out. But if you practice enough, you will develop more strength and calluses that will help.