The FDH optimality conjecture for m-shelf shuffles
Let be the th harmonic number, and let denote the expected number of correct guesses made by the strategy for a deck of cards subjected to an -shelf shuffle. Assume that is not too small. FDH optimality conjecture. The strategy discussed by FDH should be optimal in a high-probability case, and its expected number of correct guesses satisfies
The source motivates this as a generalization of the one-shelf result and notes its applicability when the ratio of cards to shelves is not too small, but the meaning of “high-probability case” and the approximation are not made precise in the supplied statement.
References
Primary source
Alexander Clay, “Guessing Strategies for Shuffling Machines”, arXiv:2507.10294 (2025).
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