Shuffling Techniques

I don't know if this'll sound like an excuse, but when I duel it seems that half the time I'm not drawing the cards I need because I don't shuffle properly. Sometimes I'd get a hand full of spells or traps when I need monsters. Is there any way in particular that I should shuffle to make sure I get a bit of everything? My cousin places his cards in combos and stacks them up so when he shuffles he always gets something good but is that cheating sort of?

they do that in tourneys all the time ( i think), theres nothing unlegit about it, all anyone is doing is maximizing their chance for a better draw, so theres nothing wrong with it imo.

I still don't feel right about it. I usually rely on the heart of the cards anyway. Even though that's kind of corny. xD

What i usaully do is split my deck into 4-6 small piles placing 1 card in a different pile till im out of cards. After im done I then gather up the piles and cut the deck in half. This usually a good method of shuffling, but remember it is still possible to get bad hands even if you shuffle well. It all depends on the consistency of your deck and chances

This is what my little brother did when we played YGO a few years ago.

Tell your opponent that you have a "secret" and "unique" way of shuffling that you would like to keep private.

Turn around and stack your deck.

I never even questioned it...

The term for shuffling cards into a pile and then combining the piles into a deck is called (power shuffling) it truly randomizes ur opening hands. Another major contributor to non-randomized hands is often the cards sleeves are starting to stick together. My friends and I often change sleeves every 2-3 weeks. Pros who that often attend major events always bring like 2-3 extra packs of sleeves to resleeve their decks. 1st pack for day 1; 2nd pack for day 2; last pack for top 8