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The Best (and Worst) Ways to Shuffle Cards - Numberphile

Numberphile

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  • Recommended by 3 people: 3 on Hacker News.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2015 to 2026.
  • Presented by Persi Diaconis, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Stanford University

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

2.2M views11 years ago3 recommendations

Computer scienceAlgorithmsMath for programmers

Persi Diaconis explains the mathematics behind card shuffling, demonstrating why it takes seven riffle shuffles to randomize a deck.

Persi Diaconis (Stanford University) on card shuffling. See full description for links to additional videos and detailed papers. More links & stuff in full description below ↓↓↓ EXTRAS FROM THIS INTERVIEW --- 1/3: youtu.be/1jfm42Qd7Qw --- 2/3: youtu.be/c_Hunaf0tWw --- 3/3: youtu.be/RIGJH12vVCY Cards and shuffling videos: bit.ly/Cards_Shuffling PAPERS Trailing the Dovetail to its Lair (7 shuffles)): bit.ly/1xU6uPI Shuffling Cards and Stopping Times: bit.ly/1FR0ca1 Overhand Shuffles: bit.ly/1LNBSuU Discuss this video on Reddit: redd.it/300rkr BOOK Magical Mathematics by Persi Diaconis and On Graham: bit.ly/MagicalMath COIN TOSSING youtu.be/AYnJv68T3MM Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/numberphile NUMBERPHILE Website: numberphile.com/ Numberphile on Facebook: facebook.com/numberphile Numberphile tweets: twitter.com/numberphile Subscribe: bit.ly/Numberphile_Sub Numberphile is supported by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI): bit.ly/MSRINumberphile Videos by Brady Haran Brady's videos subreddit: reddit.com/r/BradyHaran/ Brady's latest videos across all channels: bradyharanblog.com/ Sign up for (occasional) emails: eepurl.com/YdjL9 Numberphile T-Shirts: teespring.com/stores/numberphile Other merchandise: store.dftba.com/collections/numberphile

Why it's here

3 people recommend this

What people say. Recommended as an engaging and clear explanation of the mathematics of randomness and shuffling by a leading expert.

shuriuon Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Coin Flip: A Fundamentally Unfair Proposition? (2009)”

This video from Numberphile goes in depth about this: link . The guy talking, is Persi Diaconis, is the main author of the paper this article is based upon. He also has done research on the randomness of shuffling cards: link to this video . Pretty cool stuff!
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evanbon Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Math of Card Shuffling”

There's a great numberphile with Persi Diaconis all about shuffling: link to this video The extra footage is fantastic, too.
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fisianon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Seven Perfect Shuffles Randomize a Deck of Cards. But How Many Sloppy Ones?”

Numberphile has a video with Persi Diaconis about the seven perfect shuffles. It gives a lot of insight and anectdotes in addition to the central theorem: link to this video
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trcollinsonon Hacker News • Mentions

On “The mathematics of shuffling”

One of my absolute favorite mathematicians is Persi Diaconis who is mentioned in this paper and was the original basis for this area of research. Well worth learning about. He was a runaway. Then a magician, trained by Dai Vernon and worked along side people like the late Ricky Jay and Richard Turner. He went on to get PhD from Harvard and got a MacArthur Fellowship. He is a legend. Ricky Jay talking about his childhood friend Persi: link Persi on Numberphile: link to this video A great lecture: link
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