PyPro #11 Shuffling a deck of cards (using Lists)

Shuffling a deck of cards (using Lists) in Python

Shuffling a deck of cards (using Lists) in Python

Python script to shuffle a deck of cards using lists.

## SHUFFLING A DECK OF CARDS
## A deck of cards has 13 cards each of 4 suits: heart(♥), spade(♠), diamond(♦), club(♣).
## THOUGHT PROCESS: Construct an unshuffled deck by using two lists, one for suits, another for cardValues -> Shuffle the deck by iterating over all cards one by one using their indexes, and swapping the index with any random index.

import random 

suits = ["♠", "♥", "♦", "♣"]
cardValues = ["2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "J", "Q", "K", "A"]

# initializing an empty deck
deck = []

# CONSTRUCTING AN UNSHUFFLED DECK
for suit in suits:
    for value in cardValues:
        deck.append(value + suit)
# printing the unshuffled deck
print("The original deck of cards:\n\n", deck)


# SHUFFLING CARDS: iterating over all cards one by one using their indexes, swapping the index with any random index
# Iterate over all cards one by one using their indexes
for index in range(0, len(deck)):
    randomCardForSwitching = random.randrange(len(deck))    
    # Swapping indexes
    temporaryIndex = deck[index]
    deck[index] = deck[randomCardForSwitching]
    deck[randomCardForSwitching] = temporaryIndex
# printing the shuffled deck
print("\nThe shuffled deck of cards:\n\n", deck)

See also:

• Python 101
• Object Oriented Python
• Design Patterns in Python
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• 60+ Handy Third Library Modules
• 50+ Tips & Tricks for Python Developers
• 50+ Know-How(s) Every Pythonista Must Know