Overheard a guy at the game store lecturing his friend on how to shuffle correctly

I was browsing the used game shelf at Dragon's Lair last Saturday when this dude in a wool vest starts telling his buddy he's shuffling wrong. Like there's a right and wrong way. He went on for a solid 5 minutes about how riffle shuffles need at least 7 passes for proper randomization. His buddy just stood there holding a deck of Catan cards looking totally lost. I almost jumped in to say it doesn't matter if you're just playing with your family over pizza. But then I thought about all the times I've lost a game of Dominion because my opponent's shuffle was clearly stacked. I guess the guy had a point even if he came off as a bit much. Has anyone else run into a stranger giving unsolicited shuffling advice at a store?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_reed5d ago

Actually it's 7 riffle shuffles for a standard 52 card deck, way less for a Catan deck that's maybe half that size. Still, that guy definitely needed to read the room.

ninaowens5d ago

Wait, I have to gently push back on the card count thing. A Catan deck is way bigger than half a standard deck, it's actually 95 cards total with the resource and development cards combined. So it's not that much smaller than a poker deck. But yeah, I agree the guy was probably still right about needing multiple riffles for randomness, just not seven exactly. I mean, if you're just playing with your family, does it really matter if the shuffle is perfect? My brother shuffles by dropping the deck on the table and stirring it around like soup, and we still have fun. Maybe it's just me but I feel like that store lecture was more about ego than helping his buddy enjoy the game.