Cardistry move

How to do the riffle shuffle and bridge

Updated October 2026 · Beginner skill · Also used to break in a deck

What the riffle shuffle and the bridge look like

The riffle shuffle is the ordinary card-room shuffle: you cut the deck in two, let the cards of both halves drop together so they weave into one another, and push the halves together. The bridge is how the woven cards are closed. The cards are bent up into an arch and then let go, and they settle back into one neat pile, so you do not have to push each one in by hand. The two are done together, so this page treats them as one skill.

This is not a faro shuffle. A faro shuffle is a precise, controlled weave in which the two halves go together exactly one card from each. The riffle shuffle is the ordinary one, which aims to alternate the cards but does not promise it. Some pages mix the two names up, so read them with that in mind.

Why do cardists care? Two reasons. First, a new deck is stiff and slick, and our beginner guide lists riffle shuffles in the common routine for breaking in a deck. The beginner plan puts a few of them in Day 1, with the edge rubbing and the gentle flexing. Second, a bridge is a clean way to finish a shuffle when you are holding the deck in your hands rather than on a table.

Before you start

• The deck. Use a regular, full deck of standard poker-size cards. A new deck resists bending, which is the reason to break it in.
• Two ways to do it. Sources describe the shuffle with the cards on a table and in the air, held in your hands. The steps below are the in-hands version, and the table version comes after them.
• Left-handed? Everything here is written for a right-handed person. Mirror it.
• Small hands? You can work with a smaller packet while you find the feel. No guide we read treats small hands as a barrier.
• Where to practice. Over a bed or a sofa, so a loose half does not scatter.

The steps

Read the steps, then look at the three pictures. The first is from above. The other two are from the end of the cards, where the two halves are tinted differently so you can follow how they weave. The letters mark where the thumbs and fingers touch.

1. Split the deck into two halves of about the same size and hold one half in each hand, with your thumbs toward the middle. In one how-to the deck is held in a deep Biddle grip with the first finger curled in, and half the cards are riffled off into the other hand, which holds them in a straddle grip.
2. Turn the two halves so they match: the same grip on each, side by side, with the corners that face each other close together.
3. Let the cards go off your thumbs so the two halves drop together and the cards interleave. Aim for them to alternate, one card from each half in turn.
4. Curl your other fingers in tightly while you do this, so the cards stay in your hands.
5. To bridge, press your thumbs on top of the cards where they overlap and curl your fingers under the woven packet. Bring the knuckles of your middle, ring and little fingers toward each other, so the cards bend up into an arch.
6. Slowly ease the pressure off your curled fingers. The cards flow under the arch until they are all back in one pile.

On a table. Wikipedia gives a second way to finish. Set the two halves flat on the table with their rear corners touching, lift the back edges with your thumbs, and push the halves together. That also closes the shuffle, and it is a gentler place to start.

Common mistakes

• Letting your other fingers loosen. The curled fingers hold the cards in your hands. If they relax, the packets slip.
• Rushing to the bridge. The bridge acts on the woven packet, so a riffle where the halves did not interleave leaves it nothing to close. Get the riffle working first.
• Forcing the bend. A new deck resists, so bend gently and break it in. If it hurts, stop.

Practice tips

• Start with the table version or a smaller packet, then try it in your hands.
• Practice the riffle until the halves weave smoothly before you add the bridge.
• Use the shuffle as part of breaking in a deck: the beginner routine rubs the edges, does a few riffle shuffles, and flexes the deck in both directions.
• One forum thread in our beginner guide says the spring and the riffle shuffle tire a beginner's hand muscles. Take breaks. This is hobby advice, not medical advice.

Where guides differ

Three sources agree on the outline: Wikipedia's article on shuffling (half the deck in each hand, thumbs inward, the cards released by the thumbs so they interleave, then a bridge to put the cards back into place), the How to Shuffle Cards site (the in-hands version with the curled fingers and the knuckles coming together), and the Howcast video listing (thumbs press while the fingers buckle the cards, then pressure is released and they bridge together). Details differ. Wikipedia describes a table version, the other two describe the in-hands one. The how-to site flips one half over before the shuffle, and it names which fingers curl, where the others only say fingers. A fourth guide, on the Deck of Art blog, describes the bridge as pressing the cards together and bending them inward so they interlock, a looser account that does not match the rest, so we did not use it. Many pages that come up in searches copy each other, so we left them out. Our confidence in these steps: medium. Three sources agree on the outline, but none of them is a dedicated cardistry teacher, and we did not watch the video.

Questions people ask

What is the bridge in a riffle shuffle?

It is a finish. After the halves are riffled together, the cards are bent up into an arch with your thumbs on top and your fingers curled underneath, and then you let go. The cards flow under the arch and back into one pile. Wikipedia says it “puts the cards back into place.”

Is a riffle shuffle the same as a faro shuffle?

No. The riffle shuffle is the ordinary shuffle, which aims to alternate the cards but does not promise it. A faro shuffle is a controlled weave of two equal halves, one card at a time. Some sources use the names loosely.

Why do cardists riffle shuffle a new deck?

Guides say a new deck is stiff and slick. The common break-in routine rubs the edges and flexes the deck with riffle shuffles, fans and springs, turning it end for end and upside down so it bends evenly in both directions. Guides disagree on which moves to start with, and some decks work fine straight from the box.

Can I do the riffle shuffle without a table?

Yes. Wikipedia describes the version where the cards fall to a table, and the how-to site and the Howcast listing describe an in-the-hands version that ends with the bridge. The curled fingers hold the cards in your hands while you do it.

Watch it done

This is free. We have not watched it ourselves. We opened the page and confirmed what it covers from its title and description. The link goes to another site and opens there, and nothing from it loads on this page.

• Riffle shuffle and bridge, from the New Deck Order's School of Cardistry beginner series (about 2 minutes)