Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Hindu shuffle

A Hindu shuffle is a card-shuffling method where you repeatedly lift small packets from the top of the deck and drop them into your other hand, so the packets end up in reverse order.

Also called
Indian shuffle, Indian cut, Kattar, Kenchi, Kutti shuffle14
How it works
Hold the deck face down. Draw a packet from the top into the other hand. Repeat until the whole deck is transferred.1
Result
The deck is reordered packet by packet, with the top packets ending up at the bottom.13
Common use
Widely used in Asia for card games and as a false shuffle in card manipulation.12

Key points

  • Packets are drawn off the top of the deck into the other hand, one after another.1
  • The final order reverses the sequence of the packets taken.1
  • In card manipulation it can be performed as a false shuffle, keeping the deck order unchanged.2
  • The technique is also known as the Kattar, Kenchi or Kutti shuffle in some regions.4

How to perform a Hindu shuffle

  1. Hold the deck face down in one hand, gripping the bottom half with your thumb and fingers.
  2. With the other hand, draw off a small packet from the top of the deck.
  3. Drop that packet into the receiving hand (or onto the table).
  4. Repeat steps 2–3 until the entire deck has been transferred.1

Common questions

Why is it called the hindu shuffle?

The name comes from its widespread use in India and other parts of Asia, where it is a common shuffling method in card games. It is also known as the Indian shuffle for the same reason.1

Where this term is used

Card games Riffle shuffle Divides the deck into two halves and interleaves them. Card games Faro shuffle Perfectly interleaves two halves, one card at a time. Card games Overhand shuffle Lifts small packets from the top and drops them onto the other hand. Card games Bridge shuffle A riffle shuffle finished by arching and releasing the cards. Card games Casino riffle shuffle A riffle shuffle performed with a bridge finish, standard in casinos. Card games Overhand shuffle control A technique to keep a specific card or packet in position during an overhand shuffle.

Sources

  1. Shuffling en.wikipedia.org Defines the Hindu shuffle, its alternative names, and the step-by-step method.
  2. Card manipulation en.wikipedia.org Describes the Hindu shuffle as a false-shuffle technique in card manipulation.
  3. Card game en.wikipedia.org Confirms the Hindu shuffle as a common shuffling technique in card games.
  4. Confidentiality in a Card-Based Protocol Under Repeated ... arxiv.org Lists alternative names such as Kattar, Kenchi and Kutti shuffle.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.