Ness
Member
In the interest of fairness I feel obligated to report several methods of cheating that were employed by players at this year's Pokémon TCG World Championships. I have chosen not to implicate anyone, but rather to educate the player base so that we can maintain fairness and the integrity of the game.
Here are five methods (all of which should be considered cheating) that were used at this year's World Championships:
1) The fake pile shuffle
I've briefly warned against this before, but it wasn't until Worlds that I was told players were actually doing it. I never saw this firsthand (as there actually is no way to tell if someone is doing it), but a fake pile shuffle consists of the following: The cheating player arranges his or her deck in a method so that while he or she appears to be pile shuffling, the deck is actually being stacked in a deliberate order. What might look like arbitrarily placing cards into piles to mix them up can actually be nothing more than stacking the deck in a perfect order.
2) Arranging supporters
I found it quite disappointing to listen to a fellow Worlds contestant brag about his brilliant deck-arranging strategy in which he would intentionally place his Professor Juniper above his other supporters. His logic was that since he usually preferred to reveal a Professor Juniper with Random Receiver, placing Professor Juniper directly above another supporter would artificially increase his odds of revealing it. Brilliant idea? Yes. Fair? No. A thorough shuffle would of course negate this, but he would deliberately shuffle inadequately or fake shuffle (discussed below) to guarantee or at least increase his odds of retaining this order.
3) Manipulating opening basics
The same player explained his favorite trick to not open with the dreaded lone Shaymin. He would sandwich his Shaymin between two other basics. Combine this with an intentional inadequate or fake shuffle and it's actually impossible to cut someone into a hand that would contain Shaymin as its only basic.
4) The weak riffle
In order to have a higher chance at maintaining the artificial order the player that stacked his or her deck creates in situations #2 and #3, he or she would intentionally do what I call "weak riffles," that is, he or she would riffle in a way that would hardly disturb the order of the deck. Certain sleeves which have a sticky effect are harder to do a "perfect riffle" (where each card is placed next to a new card after the riffle), and help retain the artificial order of cards created. Combine intentionally poor shuffling form with certain types of sleeves, and what looks like a riffle shuffle is really only changing the order of a few cards.
5) The fake overhand shuffle
Perhaps the most easily-spotted method of cheating involving shuffling is the fake overhand shuffle. I saw this more times than I could count at Worlds. I see it so often that I can only hope that at least some of the players doing it do not even realize what they are actually doing. The fake overhand shuffle involves a player taking the bottom half of his deck, slapping it on to the top of his deck, then taking the new bottom half, and slapping it on top of the deck. In this process, the order of not a single card has changed. When done imperfectly, the order of only a few cards change. No matter how many times this is done, when it is done an even number of times, the order of the cards in the deck will remain unchanged (or slightly changed, depending on the inaccuracy of the shuffler).
So what do I do if someone is shuffling in a suspicious manner?
No matter how well your opponent has stacked or manipulated his or her deck, everything he or she has done can be undone by simply shuffling it thoroughly.
Now, let me be clear: just because someone has pile-shuffled before doing any other kind of shuffle doesn't mean it's an attempt to cheat. In fact, from my experience with the Pokémon TCG, I would say the odds a player who is doing this is cheating are very low. One thing you can do as a pile shuffler to reassure your opponent you are shuffling fairly is to do some other kind of standard shuffle before pile shuffling. That way, your opponent can rest assured knowing your cards were in no artificial order before you pile shuffled. Or, if you prefer, you could pile shuffle, but then still complete a series of riffles & overhand shuffles afterwards. Or best yet, don't even pile shuffle! (I don't!) Too many players preach the sophism that it is necessary to pile shuffle a deck to randomize it. It is not! Even an amateur shuffler can randomize his or her deck with riffles and overhand shuffles.
Of course, no one's under any obligation to shuffle as I tell him or her to. Rather, all I can do is suggest ideas in the interest of fairness. If you still feel compelled to pile shuffle, do so, but please never use pile shuffling to replace the need for a good riffle/overhand shuffle. If you're playing against someone who pile shuffles, but does not do much other shuffling, play it safe by offering some supplementary shuffling of their deck.
Closing Notes
A few bad apples popping up should never discourage the rest of us from enjoying the card game with the most honest, sportsmanlike player base in the world. If you have any suspicions about your opponent, you can never do any harm by giving his or her deck a thorough shuffle when he or she is finished shuffling (or pretending to). And if you have a knowledgeable judge, don't be too timid to ask him or her to watch your opponent shuffle, either. I spoke with a veteran Worlds Judge about these issues and was pleasantly surprised to find out the Worlds judging staff was well aware of these types of cheating.
Here are five methods (all of which should be considered cheating) that were used at this year's World Championships:
1) The fake pile shuffle
I've briefly warned against this before, but it wasn't until Worlds that I was told players were actually doing it. I never saw this firsthand (as there actually is no way to tell if someone is doing it), but a fake pile shuffle consists of the following: The cheating player arranges his or her deck in a method so that while he or she appears to be pile shuffling, the deck is actually being stacked in a deliberate order. What might look like arbitrarily placing cards into piles to mix them up can actually be nothing more than stacking the deck in a perfect order.
2) Arranging supporters
I found it quite disappointing to listen to a fellow Worlds contestant brag about his brilliant deck-arranging strategy in which he would intentionally place his Professor Juniper above his other supporters. His logic was that since he usually preferred to reveal a Professor Juniper with Random Receiver, placing Professor Juniper directly above another supporter would artificially increase his odds of revealing it. Brilliant idea? Yes. Fair? No. A thorough shuffle would of course negate this, but he would deliberately shuffle inadequately or fake shuffle (discussed below) to guarantee or at least increase his odds of retaining this order.
3) Manipulating opening basics
The same player explained his favorite trick to not open with the dreaded lone Shaymin. He would sandwich his Shaymin between two other basics. Combine this with an intentional inadequate or fake shuffle and it's actually impossible to cut someone into a hand that would contain Shaymin as its only basic.
4) The weak riffle
In order to have a higher chance at maintaining the artificial order the player that stacked his or her deck creates in situations #2 and #3, he or she would intentionally do what I call "weak riffles," that is, he or she would riffle in a way that would hardly disturb the order of the deck. Certain sleeves which have a sticky effect are harder to do a "perfect riffle" (where each card is placed next to a new card after the riffle), and help retain the artificial order of cards created. Combine intentionally poor shuffling form with certain types of sleeves, and what looks like a riffle shuffle is really only changing the order of a few cards.
5) The fake overhand shuffle
Perhaps the most easily-spotted method of cheating involving shuffling is the fake overhand shuffle. I saw this more times than I could count at Worlds. I see it so often that I can only hope that at least some of the players doing it do not even realize what they are actually doing. The fake overhand shuffle involves a player taking the bottom half of his deck, slapping it on to the top of his deck, then taking the new bottom half, and slapping it on top of the deck. In this process, the order of not a single card has changed. When done imperfectly, the order of only a few cards change. No matter how many times this is done, when it is done an even number of times, the order of the cards in the deck will remain unchanged (or slightly changed, depending on the inaccuracy of the shuffler).
So what do I do if someone is shuffling in a suspicious manner?
No matter how well your opponent has stacked or manipulated his or her deck, everything he or she has done can be undone by simply shuffling it thoroughly.
Now, let me be clear: just because someone has pile-shuffled before doing any other kind of shuffle doesn't mean it's an attempt to cheat. In fact, from my experience with the Pokémon TCG, I would say the odds a player who is doing this is cheating are very low. One thing you can do as a pile shuffler to reassure your opponent you are shuffling fairly is to do some other kind of standard shuffle before pile shuffling. That way, your opponent can rest assured knowing your cards were in no artificial order before you pile shuffled. Or, if you prefer, you could pile shuffle, but then still complete a series of riffles & overhand shuffles afterwards. Or best yet, don't even pile shuffle! (I don't!) Too many players preach the sophism that it is necessary to pile shuffle a deck to randomize it. It is not! Even an amateur shuffler can randomize his or her deck with riffles and overhand shuffles.
Of course, no one's under any obligation to shuffle as I tell him or her to. Rather, all I can do is suggest ideas in the interest of fairness. If you still feel compelled to pile shuffle, do so, but please never use pile shuffling to replace the need for a good riffle/overhand shuffle. If you're playing against someone who pile shuffles, but does not do much other shuffling, play it safe by offering some supplementary shuffling of their deck.
Closing Notes
A few bad apples popping up should never discourage the rest of us from enjoying the card game with the most honest, sportsmanlike player base in the world. If you have any suspicions about your opponent, you can never do any harm by giving his or her deck a thorough shuffle when he or she is finished shuffling (or pretending to). And if you have a knowledgeable judge, don't be too timid to ask him or her to watch your opponent shuffle, either. I spoke with a veteran Worlds Judge about these issues and was pleasantly surprised to find out the Worlds judging staff was well aware of these types of cheating.
Last edited:
