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3 months ago ::
Feb 23, 2013 - 7:14AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Jan 22, 2013
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OK, I'm sure it's all happened to us. You sit down for a game of Magic and after the first or second turn, you draw ten lands in a row. Now, this is obviously because a lack of properly distributing the cards evenly throughout the deck, even though we may shuffle repeatedly. I know with me, since I have sleeves on everything I'm unable to "bend" the cards together in a stack like you would in Poker.
So, although a fairly simple concept, does anyone have any really good shuffling methods between games that provide better distribution? A friend showed me a way of counting the cards out into seven or eight piles and then putting them back together, but that seems time consuming.
Anyone have any good tips of the trade to ensure you don't get landed screwed/or flooded?
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3 months ago ::
Feb 23, 2013 - 7:22AM
#2
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Date Joined:
May 21, 2010
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At the end of the day, there is no real way to stop it from happening from time to time.
Your shuffle is supposed to randomize your deck. A truly randomized deck with screw/flood from time to time.
The real thing to do, is to properly balance your deck builds and utilize muligans to minimize the impact.
Note: if your friend "pile shuffles" as you describe, but does not do additional shuffles afterwards, their deck is not truly randomized. There are ways to cheat like this, not that your friend is, but ppl do do this. In an organized play setting, you are allowed to shuffle an opponents deck before they draw their hand, partially, if not entirely, for this reason.
:For autocarding, write [ c ] card name [ / c ]
You can also do [*c=lightning bolt]'Bolt[/c*] to get 'Bolt
sigged because I always forget to do it
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3 months ago ::
Feb 23, 2013 - 7:39AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Oct 11, 2005
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Or, you know, you can actually accept that getting 10 lands in a row is an actually random event I know this happens to everyone on occasion, and I'm tested with numbered cards, just to see how things play out, and sometimes, you just get land wanting to be together.
I tend to think of it as String Theory in Action, and just move on.
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3 months ago ::
Feb 23, 2013 - 8:46AM
#4
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- Volunteer Community Lead
- blame me for the weather
Date Joined:
Feb 27, 2002
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Now, this is obviously because a lack of properly distributing the cards evenly throughout the deck, even though we may shuffle repeatedly.
Random != evenly distributed.
There is definitely a certain knack to shuffling with sleeves. If you are using a standard sleeve shuffle like in this video, you should be fine.
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3 months ago ::
Feb 23, 2013 - 11:12AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Oct 12, 2010
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OK, I'm sure it's all happened to us. You sit down for a game of Magic and after the first or second turn, you draw ten lands in a row. Now, this is obviously because a lack of properly distributing the cards evenly throughout the deck, even though we may shuffle repeatedly. I know with me, since I have sleeves on everything I'm unable to "bend" the cards together in a stack like you would in Poker.
So, although a fairly simple concept, does anyone have any really good shuffling methods between games that provide better distribution? A friend showed me a way of counting the cards out into seven or eight piles and then putting them back together, but that seems time consuming.
Anyone have any good tips of the trade to ensure you don't get landed screwed/or flooded?
Step 1: Put your deck into five piles. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
Step 2: Arrange them one on top of the other.
Step 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2.
Step 4: Present to opponent.
Step 5: Get DQ'd.
Step 6: Spend rest of tournament bawwwing about how you were only "randomizing" your deck when there was nothing random about it.
No, you can't use special shuffling techniques legally. Because if you want a more even distribution of lands, you're manipulating your deck to produce a non-random distribution (not counting cards that let you do that  ). Also known as cheating.
The best advice I have is riffle a lot. I can riffle over 60 times in the alotted time in a tournament.
Clever deduction Watson! Maybe you can explain why Supergirl is trying to kill me.
----
Autocard is your friend.
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] = Lightning Bolt 
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3 months ago ::
Feb 23, 2013 - 11:31AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 19, 2011
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After all my games are done, I like to shuffle all the cards I use in a seperate pile. This shuffles your lands that would normally be together. I find doing this helps minimize land screw.
I find mash shuffling works the best. I like to hold my cards on the table, split them in half and then push one half into the other half. I repeat the 10 or so times until I feel comfortable. (Basically the way that Bubba's video shows.)
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3 months ago ::
Feb 24, 2013 - 12:18AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jun 26, 2012
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Now, this is obviously because a lack of properly distributing the cards evenly throughout the deck, even though we may shuffle repeatedly.
Random != evenly distributed.
There is definitely a certain knack to shuffling with sleeves. If you are using a standard sleeve shuffle like in this video, you should be fine.
Thats how I do it but much slower to keep the corners nice. But that can lead to excessive piling, so what I do is take the second half and split it in 2 or 3 and only shuffle that much into one spot, then pile again. That way more cards get distributed evenly.
Wish I could take video but my tablet suckssssss.
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3 months ago ::
Feb 24, 2013 - 12:46AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Nov 18, 2012
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Now, this is obviously because a lack of properly distributing the cards evenly throughout the deck, even though we may shuffle repeatedly.
Random != evenly distributed.
BUT SILENTBOBUS
I don't have an egosig because I'd rather my ideas be judged on their merits than on mine. Catpoints: Spoiler:
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What are catpoints?
A way of measuring how much I love you.
How do I get catpoints?
1: participate in my forum games/contests.
2: make awesome posts.
3: destroy Carthage.
What can I do with catpoints?
You can ask favors of me. I may or may not agree to your favor, depending on how big the favor is and how many catpoints you have.
Who has how many catpoints?
shadowchu: 100
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kips: 50
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everyone else: 0
Keeperofmanynames: -100
Morgothra: -100
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3 months ago ::
Feb 24, 2013 - 12:58AM
#9
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As a judge, I can't help but laugh every time there's a shuffling thread, because there's always people proclaiming that their shuffling method "minimizes mana screw" or "breaks up the land clumps" or "distributes [cards] evenly", as though deliberately shuffling your deck in such a way as to improve your draws somehow isn't cheating. Even better is when someone says something like "I'm not stacking my deck, I'm just making sure I don't get mana [screwed/flooded]!"  It's downright hilarious the mental gymnastics will people go through to avoid realizing (or having to admit to themselves) that what they're doing is, basically, trying to cheat.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real.
--Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
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3 months ago ::
Feb 24, 2013 - 4:03AM
#10
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I don't really know if it's fair to say that. People's intuitive understanding of randomness is wubbish.
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