Firm, 100% plastic playing cards are the best starting point for LeShuffler. Owners have tried a wide range of decks, and their experience points to the same thing: stiffer cards feed best.
Two tables, twenty-three decks
On 16 March 2026, two LeShuffler beta testers each posted a list of the cards they had used on the community Discord. These were tests with their own decks at their own tables, not controlled comparisons. The first tester focused mainly on loading and shuffling during his home poker games.
His list, poker size unless noted, was: Ramino, Modiano, Bullets, Aces, Aces 2.0 (bridge size), Faded Spade (poker and bridge size), Faded Spade FSX, Sig, Copag (poker and bridge size), PokerStars (bridge size), Kings, Triton, Classic, Bicycle, KEM, Gemaco and Slowplay.
The second tester, who runs the Swiftor Casino stream and mainly uses Copag cards there, tried Lazar (poker size), Copag (bridge size), KEM (bridge size), Fournier (bridge size) and Bicycle Prestige (bridge size).
Together, the lists name twenty-three decks from seventeen brands. They cover both poker-size and bridge-size cards.
What owners found
The first tester was particularly clear about the feel of the cards:
The stiffer the cards were (such as with Faded Spade, Classic, Slowplay, and Gemaco), the better it worked!
— Ned, beta tester
He also reported good results with plastic cards:
However, it did an excellent, almost flawless, job with all of our sets of plastic cards.
— Ned, beta tester
He noticed a difference with slipperier cards, including KEM, although he said those brands generally worked well.
The second tester reported no difficulties with any of the decks on his list, including KEM:
No issues with any of them, although like Ned said, stiffer cards tend to perform better…
— Andrew Herber, Swiftor Casino
In May 2026, a third LeShuffler owner, who also sells cards, posted a similar observation on PokerChipForum, unprompted:
I had always used KEMs for hand shuffling but this thing prefers stiffer/grippier cards. The Classics from thepokerstore.com are extremely cheap and work just right.
— Daniel Brown, Burn Card Shop
In practice
Our recommendation is 100% plastic cards. A quality deck of 100% plastic cards is included with LeShuffler.
Both poker-size cards (3.5 × 2.5 in) and the narrower bridge-size cards (3.5 × 2.25 in) work. You can switch between them without making an adjustment. LeShuffler shuffles decks of 2 to 54 cards.
Choose cards that retain their shape and feel. Old, heavily bowed cards are worth avoiding. One tester specifically cautioned against significantly curved KEMs, as a precaution rather than a problem he had encountered. Warped, sticky, soaked or torn cards cause problems for any card machine.
Sleeved cards are not supported.
The FAQ covers card sizes, recommended cards and sleeves. If you're choosing a fresh deck, firm 100% plastic cards are the place to start.