I’ve been a little concerned that some of my decks may stick or clump in subtle ways even when shuffled, because of irregularities in the cards that may be too slight for me to notice but not so slight that my fingers don’t grab the same edges over and over. So I’ve decided that I’ll shuffle (usually riffle and some overhand), cut (usually sliding the deck partially open in my hands and choosing a break point, rather than cutting on the table), and then I will draw off eight cards and pull the ninth for the reading.