Shuffling is essential in any poker game. Its purpose is to randomize the order of the cards so that no player can predict what is coming next. A fair shuffle eliminates patterns, protects against cheating, and keeps the game running smoothly. In a home game, we focus on methods that are quick, effective, and easy to perform.
This shuffle is used on new decks that have been sorted, to give them a good mix to begin with, but won't be used again except in specific situations. The chemmy involves spreading all the cards face down on the table, mixing them thoroughly by pushing them around with your hands, and then squaring the deck back up. It is the most thorough way to mix up the cards.
Note: Poker dealers pick up the cards and square them up facing away from themselves to reduce the plausibility of manipulation.
The overhand is the minimum standard shuffle used in most casual games. Cards are transferred in small packets from one hand to the other, breaking up sequences quickly and with little effort. It’s fast, simple, and gives reasonable randomness when performed a few times. Every player should at least be comfortable with the overhand shuffle.
Done correctly, the riffle shuffle produces a quickly and effectively shuffled deck. It consists of 3 riffles and a strip, in the sequence: Riffle, Strip, Riffle, Riffle. The exact sequence isn't critical, so long as you start with a riffle, end with a riffle and do at least one strip somewhere in between. Here's how the two procedures are done:
The Riffle
The riffle shuffle is one of the most common and effective ways to mix a deck of cards. It works by interleaving two packets of cards, creating a high degree of randomness. In home games, we keep this shuffle straightforward, done flat on the table, no fancy bridges or waterfall flourishes that can lead to mistakes or flashing cards—just keep it fast, secure and random.
Place the deck face down on the table.
Split the deck into two roughly equal halves, one in each hand.
Hold each packet firmly with your fingers along the outer edge and your thumbs on the inner edge.
Bend the inner corners of both packets upward slightly with your thumbs.
Release the pressure from your thumbs gradually so the cards fall and interleave with each other.
Once fully interleaved, push the two packets together until the deck is squared up.
The Strip
Stripping is a technique used in conjunction with riffle shuffling to improve randomness and reduce the risk of patterned distribution. By breaking the deck into blocks and re-stacking them, it interrupts potential sequences before the next shuffle.
Hold the deck face down in your dominant hand.
With your other hand, lift approximately one-quarter of the deck from the top. Place this packet onto the table directly in front of you.
Repeat the action for the next two quarters of the deck, placing each successive packet neatly on the table in sequence.
You will now be left with the final quarter in your dominant hand. Place this last packet on top of the others to complete the strip.
Note: A stripped deck can also refers to a deck that has had cards removed (32 card deck) and is unrelated to this shuffle technique.
Place the riffled deck on the table in front of you and put the cutting card in front of it. With one hand take a packet of cards as close to 50% as possible and place them on the cutting card. With the same hand, take the remaining cards and place them on top of the rest to complete the cut.
Note: Cutting the deck is the start of the hand. The dealer must start dealing without delay.
Why Aim for a 50% Cut?
A good cut takes the deck roughly in half. The goal isn’t to be exact, but to avoid cuts that are too shallow (just a few cards) or too deep (leaving only a few cards on the other side). There are three reasons for aiming for the middle:
Maximizes Randomness – A near-half cut moves a large block of cards from bottom to top, ensuring that no portion of the deck stays in place. This keeps the shuffle from being undone by a token cut, that does little to disturb the order of the cards.
Prevents Manipulation – Shallow cuts can allow “stacked” cards at the top or bottom to remain together. A deeper cut makes it much harder for anyone to control or predict the next cards.
Fairness and Consistency – When everyone cuts about halfway, it sets a clear and fair standard. It shows the table that the deck is genuinely randomized, not just going through the motions.
Neighbor Cut:
In some home games it's not uncommon for the dealer to offer the cards to the player on their right to cut. It's usually fine to decline the offer in favour of a faster game, but to do it, just take half of the cards off the top and put them on the table, and the dealer will complete the cut placing the remaining cards on top and secure the cutting card under the deck.
Locking a Shuffled Deck:
After shuffling is complete but before the cut, the deck can be locked with a button/chip to indicate it has been shuffled but not cut. A dealer may want to lock the deck to attend to other matters before the hand begins, or it may be shuffled in advance by someone not the dealer (see below). Once it has been cut however, the dealer must start dealing or will need to shuffle again.
Two Deck Games (Tournament Only):
I've actually only done this once in a game with dealers and players, and it worked pretty well. The event was a team based tournament in which we wanted to keep hands per hour as high as possible. Essentially the cutoff would shuffle up the deck that they had just dealt and lock it. when the current hand finished they'd pass their shuffled deck to the new dealer who would just take the button off, cut the cards and start dealing. The last dealer would now be in the cutoff position and would shuffle their deck for the following game, and so forth.
This isn't necessary in cash games, but can significantly increase the number of hands you can have in a tournament, where blinds increase at timed intervals.