Abstract: A card guide for holding a stack of cards to be separated, and a card picker for separating a single card from a stack of cards at a first location and moving the separated card to a second location, where each card has substantially the same thickness and substantially the same periphery. The card guide is includes a frame having a periphery sufficiently larger than the card periphery to permit the cards to readily enter the frame while remaining substantially aligned. The card guide has an open front face and an open rear face. The card guide frame includes a bottom member having a card support area with a rear edge and includes a side member having a notch extending substantially the full height of the open rear face and extending from the card support area rear edge toward the front face by a distance at least as great as the thickness of the cards. The bottom member has at least one air hole through it.