Washing

Washing is a way of shuffling in which the cards are spread face down on a table and stirred around with both hands before being gathered back into a pile. It is sometimes called smooshing. It mixes well, is easy on large or fragile cards, and suits small hands. Because the cards turn freely, washing turns some of them upside down, so it produces reversals; readers who do not want reversals simply turn every card upright as they gather the deck. It needs a clean, flat surface and a cloth if the table is rough. Many readers combine it with a cut. See how to shuffle tarot cards.