Hello, good day.
I would like to ask if studying the AnKing deck by tag system and shelf will result in missing any cards. I have noticed that the total number of cards under the system/shelf tags is less than the total number of cards under the Step 1/Step 2 tags.
Note: My primary objective is to study the AnKing deck using a system-based approach while ensuring that no cards are missed and duplicate cards are avoided.
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Hello! Let me help you understand whether studying the AnKing deck by system/shelf tags might result in missing cards compared to using Step 1/Step 2 tags.
First, I’ll search for relevant information in our community about the AnKing deck’s organization and tag structure:
Found 0 results for 'tags:official AnKing deck tags system shelf organization tags:deck-anking-step-deck-ankingmed status:public'
Found 5 results for 'tags:official AnKing deck tags organization status:public'
Reading: 🏷️ What do all the tags mean in the AnKing Step Deck?
Hello! Thank you for your question about studying the AnKing deck using a system-based approach.
Based on your question about the total number of cards in systems/shelf tags compared to Step 1/Step 2 tags, you’re correct that there’s a difference in the total card count. This is expected and here’s why:
The AnKing deck uses a comprehensive tagging system rather than subdecks for organization. According to the official AnKing documentation:
“One card can have many tags, but can only belong to one deck. Many of the cards in this deck are relevant for multiple topics, so we have used tags for the primary organization.”
The difference you’re seeing is because:
If you want to study using a system-based approach while ensuring you don’t miss any cards, here’s what I recommend:
#Subjects tags under #AK_Step2_v12 or the ^Systems tags under #AK_Step1_v12 to organize your studying by system"tag:#AK_Step1_v12" -"tag:^Systems::*"
For system-based studying, pay attention to these tag hierarchies:
^Systems under #AK_Step1_v12 (organized by cardiology, hematology, nephrology, etc.)#Subjects under #AK_Step2_v12 (organized by clinical subjects)!Shelf tags for shelf exam preparationThe AnKing team intentionally designed the deck to be flexible for different study approaches, and the tagging system allows for this while avoiding duplicate cards.
Would you like specific guidance on creating filtered decks for a particular system or subject?
Hello,
I would be happy to help. 
It depends a bit on what, specifically, you’re preparing for. But for sure as you’ve noticed the Shelf tags comprise fewer cards than the Step tags, as they represent a different focus.
If you want to make sure to not miss any cards whatsoever for the Step exam/s, you would use the larger-scale umbrella tags here:
Using the parent tags will be the surest path to ensuring that you don’t miss any cards. As you drill down into further successive layers cards are necessarily subdivided (i.e. by resource) and may not cover every single card (for example, BnB Cardio may not cover every single cardio-related card in the deck, etc.).
Thus, the best way to make sure that you’ve seen every conceivable card would be to use the parent tags, Step1_12, Step2_v12, etc. As no single resource is 100% comprehensive, that may mean that any individual tag won’t cover everything
Please let me know if that answers your question, and if there’s anything else I can help with.
I am not preparing for the USMLE, and my primary resources differ from those typically used for USMLE preparation, except for Sketchy Micro. However, considering the benefits of spaced repetition and enhanced retention of facts, I am planning to use the AnKing deck. Since my goal is not the USMLE, I initially believed that studying the AnKing deck system-wise would be better suited to my preparation timeline. However, based on your response, I now understand that it is more appropriate to follow the Step 1/2/3 tags.
I would appreciate any further suggestions or guidance regarding my query.
Thank you​
Happy to help.
It’s probably worth pointing out that the AnKing Step deck is primarily curated with the Step exams in mind, so it may have varying utility if you’re studying for something other than those exams, just FWIW
That doesn’t mean, obviously, though that it won’t be useful in various ways but the overlap might be variable depending on the specific constraints of what it is that you’re preparing for
I’m not sure which exam, or goal, you’re preparing for which might make it a bit tougher to offer recommendations. But, the short version is that there isn’t an easy first-order way in the AnKing deck to study only by systems, as the deck hasn’t traditionally been organized that way
It is the case, of course, that people do learn by systems, though most often they are doing so alongside a third-party resource (BoardsAndBeyond, FirstAid, etc.) and so tags tend to follow along by those resources instead. Some of this is due to how folks typically approach the material, and some of it is also due, by necessity, to thetypical workflow in how the deck was tagged
If you are wanting to study by system, let’s say cardio (as a random example), your best bet might be to make a subdeck for the cardiology-related cards from a couple or a few resources and thus isolate the majority of a system’s card content in a given subdeck. It’s not common for many users to organize their collection based on subdeck for a number of reasons, and this might be the likeliest solution to your problem, given the organizational constraints of the deck
This tutorial is a very basic example of how you might go about creating a subdeck and moving topic-specific cards into that subdeck: How to Create Subdecks
Let me know if that helps cover some of what you’re aiming for, if there’s anything else on which I can help offer tips or advice, and anything else I might be of help with.
Thank you very much for your kind assistance and thoughtful support. Your help is truly appreciated, and it has indeed clarified the topic for me​
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