Towome Automatic Card Shuffler, Card Shuffler Machine for 1-2 Decks

Why it's worth it

A compact USB-C rechargeable shuffler that mixes one or two decks in a few seconds. It's the gift for the group where one person shuffles badly and everyone else waits, which is most groups.

Watch a home game closely and you'll see the same bottleneck every hand: somebody fumbling a riffle while five people stare at the table. This shuffler handles one or two decks in a few seconds. It sounds like a small thing. Over a four-hour session it's the difference between playing poker and waiting to play poker.

For the money, it's the most immediately useful thing on this list. Auto and manual modes cover both hands-off shuffling and a longer mix when someone wants it. The side wings adjust to fit most card sizes, so it also handles UNO, bridge and blackjack decks — useful if your recipient's game night isn't strictly poker.

From our review of 7 gifts for poker players

What we like

• +Watch a home game closely and you'll see the same bottleneck every hand: somebody fumbling a riffle while five people stare at…
• +For the money, it's the most immediately useful thing on this list
• +The rechargeable battery is the practical upgrade over older shufflers
• +It's also cheap enough to work as a secondary gift

What to know

• –It's a consumer-grade shuffler, not a card room machine
• –Owner feedback on this category of shuffler is uneven — most people report smooth operation, but a minority run into jams or…