Manual Card Shuffler

works smoothly. I bought the same model several years ago which lasted quite a while. Eventually the little wheel impeller that pushes the cards wore down. I tried a couple of other cheaper models, which did not work as well. I returned them both and spent slightly more to get this same model.

Okay it is plastic. Not sure I would have kids operate it. It does mess up a bit - randomly when you first shuffle. Overall it does an excellent job. Far less tiring on the hands and wrists. You get a very nice and even shuffle. I alternate putting small stacks in each side as I load in order to further get a good mix. This is the second unit I got, the first was not working on one side. We played a 4 some last night and everyone loved that I used the machine and did all the shuffling. For the money, give it a try.

My brother and I have recently started going back to playing card games and board games. We both enjoy playing card games, but we both have a slight problem - neither of us can shuffle cards by hand very well. (Actually, I can't even do it at all - unsteady hands.) I decided to see if I could get a mechanical shuffler to solve this problem. I found several automatic shufflers, but a vast majority had received poor to mediocre reviews. A common complaint was the cards getting jammed and becoming damaged as a result. Then I found out about old fashioned hand crank shufflers, which were said by many people to be much more reliable than their electronic counterparts and were just as affordable. Upon learning all this, I chose this hand crank shuffler. The other people were right. This shuffler works beautifully. Because you have to crank it manually, you have much more control over how it handles the cards. It can be turned as slowly (or as quickly) as you like. If the cards should jam, all you have to do is stop turning the crank and your cards will be spared any damage. This is a big plus in my book, as the deck of cards I own is one I've had since childhood and thus has a lot of sentimental value. The manual operation also means that it doesn't need batteries, which is another big plus. This particular model also includes a spare handle in case one becomes lost or broken. Very clever. There is really only one thing that I don't like about this shuffler: The fact that it's no longer being made. Seriously, why on earth would you discontinue it? It's just as cheap as the automatics, it doesn't need batteries, and it works great! I'm not a business expert, but something just doesn't seem right about that. If there's a petition somewhere to bring these old shufflers back, somebody point me to it so I can sign. In the meantime, if you want a good, reliable card shuffler and don't mind having to do a bit of muscle work, this is the way to go. Just get it now before it's gone.

After thoroughly reviewing half a dozen products on Amazon for card shuffling, I concluded just like others that a manual shuffler was the way to go for odd shaped, bent, mangled cards. I personally use mine for Munchkin. I've got the first four decks so I'm around 600 cards and shuffling gets tiring. I very thoroughly shuffled my Door and Treasure cards earlier today and I only had one card fall sideways and maybe a handful of jams, all of which were resolved immediately by just cranking in reverse. The only snag is if you reverse it too fast, you can shoot the cards back out the sides to the point where they can't catch the rubber so you have to stop cranking for a moment to give each side a nudge to get them back in place. As far as durability is concerned, I noticed some people complaining about the crank itself. I didn't realize right away, but you have to apply a lot of pressure to get it to snap in all the way. At first mine was sliding out of the shaft until I realized I wasn't pushing it in far enough to lock in in place. Furthermore, on the off chance you manage to break the crank, the manufacturer was nice enough to include a second crank hidden on the bottom of the shuffler, which has its own slot it snaps into for safe keeping. I rated 5* since it's performing better than I expected. My only complaint that can't be resolved is the physical size of the device, but I suppose as you go higher in capacity, you also increase the rate of jamming, cards turning upside down, and/or getting stuck in the chute vertically. It's just a tiny bit of a hassle to constantly cut my large card decks and feed them in bit by bit, but it's still a lot easier than doing it all by hand. Much better for the cards too! Final thoughts: If you want your card shuffler to just plain work and not be a hassle, skip the batteries, high speed jams, and upside down cards and get yourself a manual shuffler! Besides, it's more fun this way!