diff --git a/public/app.js b/public/app.js
index 3a1abaa..80f9f72 100644
--- a/public/app.js
+++ b/public/app.js
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ const state = {
   soloMode: false,
   deck: [],
   deckIndex: 0,
+  loadingMore: false, // a deck top-up request is in flight
+  deckExhausted: false, // server has no more titles to add (pool at its cap)
   ws: null,
   pendingCode: null,
   lastSwiped: null, // { card } for undo
@@ -409,6 +411,8 @@ async function loadDeck() {
     state.deck = res.cards || [];
     state.deckIndex = 0;
     state.lastSwiped = null;
+    state.loadingMore = false;
+    state.deckExhausted = false;
     updateUndo();
     $("deck-loading").classList.add("hidden");
     renderCard();
@@ -417,6 +421,29 @@ async function loadDeck() {
   }
 }
 
+// Top up the shared pool when running low, so the deck feels endless (until the
+// server-side cap). Idempotent-ish: guarded so only one request is in flight.
+const TOPUP_THRESHOLD = 5; // fetch more once ≤ this many cards remain
+async function maybeTopUp() {
+  if (state.loadingMore || state.deckExhausted) return;
+  if (state.deck.length - state.deckIndex > TOPUP_THRESHOLD) return;
+  state.loadingMore = true;
+  try {
+    const res = await api(
+      `/api/rooms/${state.room.id}/deck/more?user_id=${encodeURIComponent(state.userId)}`,
+    );
+    const more = res.cards || [];
+    if (more.length) state.deck = state.deck.concat(more);
+    else state.deckExhausted = true; // pool at its cap — nothing more to add
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error("deck top-up error", e);
+  } finally {
+    state.loadingMore = false;
+    // Refresh only if we're on the loading/empty view; don't disturb a shown card.
+    if ($("card").classList.contains("hidden")) renderCard();
+  }
+}
+
 function syncMediaToggle() {
   document.querySelectorAll("#swipe-media-toggle .toggle-opt").forEach((b) => {
     b.classList.toggle("active", b.dataset.media === state.mediaType);
@@ -467,10 +494,20 @@ function renderCard() {
   resetCardTransform();
   if (!card) {
     el.classList.add("hidden");
-    $("deck-empty").classList.remove("hidden");
+    if (state.deckExhausted) {
+      $("deck-loading").classList.add("hidden");
+      $("deck-empty").classList.remove("hidden");
+    } else {
+      // More may be on the way — show a loader and make sure a top-up is running.
+      $("deck-empty").classList.add("hidden");
+      $("deck-loading").textContent = "Finding more titles…";
+      $("deck-loading").classList.remove("hidden");
+      maybeTopUp();
+    }
     return;
   }
   $("deck-empty").classList.add("hidden");
+  $("deck-loading").classList.add("hidden");
   el.classList.remove("hidden");
   $("card-poster").style.backgroundImage = card.poster_path ? `url(${TMDB_IMG}${card.poster_path})` : "none";
   $("card-title").textContent = card.title;
@@ -503,6 +540,7 @@ async function swipe(direction) {
   state.deckIndex++;
   updateUndo();
   renderCard();
+  maybeTopUp(); // proactively fetch more as we near the end (seamless refill)
   try {
     const res = await api(`/api/rooms/${state.room.id}/swipe`, {
       method: "POST",
diff --git a/src/lib/deck.ts b/src/lib/deck.ts
index cfa967f..cba2df2 100644
--- a/src/lib/deck.ts
+++ b/src/lib/deck.ts
@@ -13,9 +13,26 @@ const MAX_SEEDS_PER_USER = 3;
 
 const TOP_GENRES = 3;
 const MIN_DECK = 5;
+// Hard cap on the shared pool. The deck tops up on demand (extendDeck) but never
+// past this — keeps TMDb calls, KV writes and D1 row size bounded on the free tier.
+const MAX_DECK = 120;
+// Pages pulled per top-up call (20 titles/page). Small → cheap, cache-friendly.
+const TOPUP_PAGES = 2;
+// Rotated across generation slices + top-up rounds so the pool isn't all "popular".
+const SORTS = ["popularity.desc", "vote_average.desc", "primary_release_date.desc"];
 const DECK_CARDS_KV_PREFIX = "deck-cards:";
 const DECK_CARDS_TTL = 60 * 60 * 24 * 7; // 7 days
 
+/**
+ * Where the next top-up should read from. Derived from the current pool size
+ * (~20 titles/TMDb page) so we don't re-fetch pages we already have, and the
+ * sort rotates each round for variety. Pure → unit-tested.
+ */
+export function topupCursor(poolSize: number): { startPage: number; sortBy: string } {
+  const startPage = Math.floor(poolSize / 20) + 1;
+  return { startPage, sortBy: SORTS[startPage % SORTS.length] };
+}
+
 async function loadProfile(env: Env, userId: string | null): Promise<Profile | null> {
   if (!userId) return null;
   const row = await env.DB.prepare("SELECT * FROM profiles WHERE user_id = ?")
@@ -113,7 +130,7 @@ async function generatePool(
         genreIds: combineTopGenres(a, b),
         avoidGenres,
         platform: room.platform_filter,
-        pages: 1,
+        pages: 2,
       }),
     );
     // Recommendations aren't genre-filtered by the API → enforce avoid_genres here.
@@ -125,17 +142,19 @@ async function generatePool(
   }
 
   // No applicable seeds → union of genre slices (per-user tastes + common ground).
+  // Each slice uses a different sort so the pool spans popular / acclaimed / recent.
   const slices: number[][] = [topGenresOf(a)];
   if (b) slices.push(topGenresOf(b));
   slices.push(combineTopGenres(a, b));
-  for (const genreIds of slices) {
+  for (let i = 0; i < slices.length; i++) {
     addAll(
       await discoverTitles(env, {
         mediaType: room.media_type,
-        genreIds,
+        genreIds: slices[i],
         avoidGenres,
         platform: room.platform_filter,
         pages: 2,
+        sortBy: SORTS[i % SORTS.length],
       }),
     );
   }
@@ -244,6 +263,80 @@ export async function getDeckForUser(
   return { ...deck, cards };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Top up the shared pool on demand: fetch the next TMDb page(s) of the common-ground
+ * slice, dedupe against the existing pool, persist the extended pool (D1 + KV), and
+ * return ONLY the new cards for THIS user (their swipes + Overseerr ids excluded).
+ * Capped at MAX_DECK so the pool — and TMDb/KV/D1 usage — stays bounded on the free tier.
+ * Both users share the same extended pool, so matches remain possible.
+ */
+export async function extendDeck(
+  env: Env,
+  room: Room,
+  userId: string | null,
+): Promise<DeckResult> {
+  const base = await getOrCreateDeck(env, room);
+  const existingIds = new Set(base.cards.map((c) => c.tmdb_id));
+
+  const empty: DeckResult = {
+    room_id: room.id,
+    media_type: room.media_type,
+    generated: false,
+    cards: [],
+  };
+  if (existingIds.size >= MAX_DECK) return empty; // pool already at the cap
+
+  const [profileA, profileB] = await Promise.all([
+    loadProfile(env, room.user_a_id),
+    loadProfile(env, room.user_b_id),
+  ]);
+  const avoidGenres = unionAvoidGenres(profileA, profileB);
+  const { startPage, sortBy } = topupCursor(existingIds.size);
+
+  const fresh = await discoverTitles(env, {
+    mediaType: room.media_type,
+    genreIds: combineTopGenres(profileA, profileB),
+    avoidGenres,
+    platform: room.platform_filter,
+    pages: TOPUP_PAGES,
+    startPage,
+    sortBy,
+  });
+
+  const added: DeckCard[] = [];
+  for (const c of fresh) {
+    if (existingIds.size >= MAX_DECK) break;
+    if (existingIds.has(c.tmdb_id)) continue;
+    existingIds.add(c.tmdb_id);
+    added.push(c);
+  }
+  if (added.length === 0) return empty; // deep pages exhausted or all duplicates
+
+  const allCards = [...base.cards, ...added];
+  const ids = allCards.map((c) => c.tmdb_id);
+  await env.DB.prepare("UPDATE rooms SET deck = ? WHERE id = ?")
+    .bind(JSON.stringify(ids), room.id)
+    .run();
+  await env.TMDB_CACHE.put(DECK_CARDS_KV_PREFIX + room.id, JSON.stringify(allCards), {
+    expirationTtl: DECK_CARDS_TTL,
+  });
+
+  // Serve the new cards to this user, excluding anything they've already swiped/requested.
+  let cards = added;
+  if (userId) {
+    const [{ results }, requested] = await Promise.all([
+      env.DB.prepare("SELECT tmdb_id FROM swipes WHERE room_id = ? AND user_id = ?")
+        .bind(room.id, userId)
+        .all<{ tmdb_id: number }>(),
+      getRequestedTmdbIds(env),
+    ]);
+    const seenByUser = new Set((results ?? []).map((r) => r.tmdb_id));
+    cards = added.filter((c) => !seenByUser.has(c.tmdb_id) && !requested.has(c.tmdb_id));
+  }
+
+  return { room_id: room.id, media_type: room.media_type, generated: false, cards };
+}
+
 /** Find a card in the room's deck cache (for the match screen). */
 export async function getCardFromDeck(
   env: Env,
diff --git a/src/routes/rooms.ts b/src/routes/rooms.ts
index d33fc56..9c2a4be 100644
--- a/src/routes/rooms.ts
+++ b/src/routes/rooms.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import type { Env } from "../types";
 import { genId } from "../lib/ids";
 import { uniqueJoinCode, userExists } from "../lib/db";
 import { mapRoom } from "../lib/mappers";
-import { getDeckForUser, getCardFromDeck, resetDeck, buildMatchReason } from "../lib/deck";
+import { getDeckForUser, extendDeck, getCardFromDeck, resetDeck, buildMatchReason } from "../lib/deck";
 import { getWatchProviders, getImdbId, getTrailerKey, getTitleDetails } from "../services/tmdb";
 import { getOmdbRatings } from "../services/omdb";
 import { createRequest } from "../services/overseerr";
@@ -138,6 +138,31 @@ rooms.get("/:id/deck", async (c) => {
   }
 });
 
+// GET /api/rooms/:id/deck/more?user_id=... — top up the shared pool on demand.
+// Extends the SAME pool (both users converge), capped at MAX_DECK for the free tier.
+// Returns { cards: [...only the new titles for this user...] } — [] when at the cap.
+rooms.get("/:id/deck/more", async (c) => {
+  const id = c.req.param("id");
+  const userId = c.req.query("user_id");
+  const row = await c.env.DB.prepare("SELECT * FROM rooms WHERE id = ?")
+    .bind(id)
+    .first<Record<string, unknown>>();
+  if (!row) return c.json({ error: "room_not_found" }, 404);
+
+  const room = mapRoom(row);
+  if (userId && userId !== room.user_a_id && userId !== room.user_b_id) {
+    return c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const deck = await extendDeck(c.env, room, userId ?? null);
+    return c.json(deck, 200);
+  } catch (e) {
+    const detail = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
+    return c.json({ error: "deck_topup_failed", detail }, 502);
+  }
+});
+
 // GET /api/rooms/:id/rating/:tmdbId — OMDb ratings (IMDb/RT/Metacritic). Best-effort.
 rooms.get("/:id/rating/:tmdbId", async (c) => {
   const id = c.req.param("id");
diff --git a/src/services/tmdb.ts b/src/services/tmdb.ts
index ae093d8..e58b191 100644
--- a/src/services/tmdb.ts
+++ b/src/services/tmdb.ts
@@ -126,19 +126,25 @@ export interface DiscoverOptions {
   avoidGenres?: number[];
   platform?: string | null;
   pages?: number;
+  /** First TMDb page to fetch (default 1) — lets the deck top-up read deeper pages. */
+  startPage?: number;
+  /** TMDb sort_by (default popularity.desc) — varied across slices for a diverse pool. */
+  sortBy?: string;
 }
 
 /** discover /discover/{movie|tv} for RO; returns deduplicated cards. */
 export async function discoverTitles(env: Env, opts: DiscoverOptions): Promise<DeckCard[]> {
   const pages = Math.max(1, Math.min(opts.pages ?? 2, 5));
+  const startPage = Math.max(1, opts.startPage ?? 1);
+  const sortBy = opts.sortBy ?? "popularity.desc";
   const cards: DeckCard[] = [];
   const seen = new Set<number>();
 
-  for (let page = 1; page <= pages; page++) {
+  for (let page = startPage; page < startPage + pages; page++) {
     const params: Record<string, string> = {
       language: TMDB_LANG,
       region: TMDB_REGION,
-      sort_by: "popularity.desc",
+      sort_by: sortBy,
       include_adult: "false",
       "vote_count.gte": "50",
       page: String(page),
diff --git a/test/unit.test.ts b/test/unit.test.ts
index e1fb328..458ac32 100644
--- a/test/unit.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { genJoinCode, genId } from "../src/lib/ids";
 import { mapProfile, mapRoom } from "../src/lib/mappers";
+import { topupCursor } from "../src/lib/deck";
 
 describe("ids", () => {
   it("genJoinCode is 6 chars from the safe alphabet", () => {
@@ -38,3 +39,17 @@ describe("mappers", () => {
     expect(bad.prefs).toEqual({});
   });
 });
+
+describe("deck top-up cursor", () => {
+  it("advances the start page with the pool size (~20/TMDb page)", () => {
+    expect(topupCursor(0).startPage).toBe(1);
+    expect(topupCursor(19).startPage).toBe(1);
+    expect(topupCursor(20).startPage).toBe(2);
+    expect(topupCursor(45).startPage).toBe(3);
+  });
+  it("rotates sort_by across rounds for a varied pool", () => {
+    const sorts = [0, 20, 40, 60].map((n) => topupCursor(n).sortBy);
+    expect(new Set(sorts).size).toBeGreaterThan(1); // not always popularity.desc
+    expect(sorts.every((s) => typeof s === "string" && s.includes("."))).toBe(true);
+  });
+});