Set up a Custom Practice session

Practice Due follows the schedule. Custom Practice is for everything else: a cram session before an exam, a short due-only pass on a commute or a drill through one stubborn deck. Swiftflip builds the session in one sheet on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Open Custom Practice

Long-press a deck on iPhone or iPad, or right-click it on Mac, and choose Custom Practice. It also lives in the practice menus, so you can start from the library without picking a deck first.

The sheet opens with your previous choices filled in. Adjust what needs adjusting and start.

Choose the scope

Pick one deck, several decks or a Smart Deck. A Smart Deck scope practices the cards it currently matches, which is useful for rule-based collections like cards you often answer incorrectly.

Scheduled session or drill

Due Cards Only decides what kind of session you get:

• On: the session limits itself to new cards and cards ready for review. Grades update each card’s next review, the same as Practice Due.
• Off: the session drills every matching card. Due dates stay unchanged, so a heavy cram does not distort the long-term schedule.

Swiftflip states which kind you configured before you start.

The options, one by one

• First Side: which side each card shows first. Front → Back, Back → Front or random per card. In a scheduled session, cards follow the side that is due; see practice in both directions.
• Session Size: how many cards the sitting includes, with an estimated session length.
• Card Order: newest first, oldest first or shuffled.
• Study Focus: when the session cannot fit every matching card, bias the selection with More New or More Review. Balanced keeps the mix even, and the option only matters when cards are being left out.
• Repeat Incorrect Cards: bring missed cards back later in the same session, so you end on a correct answer.

The sheet shows how many cards match your choices, so you know the session’s real size before starting.

Three sessions worth stealing

• The night before a test: the two relevant decks, Due Cards Only off, shuffled, Repeat Incorrect Cards on.
• The commute: Due Cards Only on, Session Size matched to the ride.
• The stubborn deck: one deck, Study Focus set to More Review, Back → Front first.

Everything else still applies

A Custom Practice session grades, animates and completes like any other. It carries across Handoff exactly as configured, and its results appear in Insights with the rest of your practice.