German noun gender feels arbitrary because English does not mark every noun in the same way. There is no single shortcut that predicts every article, but a combination of reliable patterns and sentence exposure greatly reduces the memory load.
If you store Tisch first and try to retrieve its gender later, you have created two separate memory tasks. Store der Tisch as one unit from the beginning. When you review it, say and write the article as part of the word.
These groups are valuable because they shrink the number of items that require individual attention. Treat less dependable patterns as hints and verify new words in a dictionary.
A nominative list cannot teach you how the article changes. Compare sentences such as Der Mann kommt, Ich sehe den Mann and Ich spreche mit dem Mann. The repeated noun makes the relationship between gender and case visible.
Put one short sentence on each review card. The front can contain a meaningful prompt or image; the back should include the noun, article and sentence. This trains retrieval for communication, not merely for a vocabulary quiz.
An incorrect article usually does not destroy the entire message. Notice the correction, repeat the correct article-noun unit and continue speaking. Frequent contextual encounters gradually make the correct form feel familiar.
See articles inside real sentences: LingoDecoder keeps each German word in context and makes the relationship between sentence parts visible.