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Playing Cards ReviewsPlaying Cards DimensionsBridge Cards are 58mm by 88mmPoker Cards are 63mm by 88mm Everyone knows that bridge cards are not as wide as poker cards. The difference is only 5 millimeters but it is quite noticable when the 2 types of cards are stacked next to each other. Playing Cards Brands
Our card tricks forum has quite a few threads on the advantages of certain brands of playing cards. The biggest names for paper cards are Bicycle Cards, Bee Cards and Tally Ho Cards. The biggest names for plastic cards are KEM Cards and Royal Cards
Posted by Andy3825 on August 23, 2005 at 00:02 I opened up a new deck of Bikes 3 days ago, and I've been using them constantly since. Now, they're alreay pretty sticky and clumpy. I don't know if it's the humidity or maybe I should wash my hands before using them or whatever, but it seems like a really short life for a deck. Is this normal? Any suggestions for keeping it's life longer? Posted by larrylum on August 23, 2005 at 01:24
It have been alot of topic on this.
Posted by Shadow on August 23, 2005 at 04:26
Humidity is very important. If you want to keep a deck in a good condition for a long time you should wash your hands everytime before you use it. It's also good to store decks in a dry place.
Posted by Mr. Marvelous on August 26, 2005 at 14:37 I agree about the tip for bent cards. Practice all of your moves with the deck in both directions. Many of the things you do are for "muscle memory" and your fingers wont care which way the deck is facing, but it will help extend the life of your deck. The other good tip is to always work with clean hands. Even small amounts of oil and dirt will start to build up rather quickly. Posted by cardcontroller on August 26, 2005 at 15:29
Just get 50 decks like me and you wont have a problem. Posted by Nathan on August 26, 2005 at 16:26
yeh that could cost a lot of money after awhile lol...but yeh that is true about washign your hands...cuzz it DOES work, i ahve tried it but...i RARELY wash them lol so yeh my cards arent that great, it sucks tho cuzz i bought my btd (black Tiger deck) and i never washed my hands and they started to clump up fast..and to top it off i have lost them so i cant use them at all lol...it sucks..o well
Posted by niiro13 on August 26, 2005 at 17:04 Yes, losing the deck is also a factor of short deck life. Posted by marpenothi on August 26, 2005 at 22:38
Here's a few tips from what I've learned from my mistakes:
Posted by fattyonadiet on August 27, 2005 at 03:49
washing ur hands is all well and good, but i have a deck of cards with me most of the time. i dont intentionally sit down just to train, i'll just practice while i'm doing something else.
Posted by deathorglory on August 27, 2005 at 04:37
Good grief no, there is a much lazier way to powder them, get a big paper bag, sprinkle a little powder in it, then spring the cards into the bag, shake it up, let the powder settle, rearrange the cards and give it some riffles, slaps, springs to get the extra powder off.
Posted by fattyonadiet on August 27, 2005 at 05:35 wat is with these running on sentences? wat r they? r they good or bad? i'm confused! Posted by marpenothi on August 27, 2005 at 11:35
It's different if you have a run on sentence and it makes sense...nearly all of Nathan's are so long they become unintelligible and I have no idea what he's trying to say. Enough with those...
Posted by DeadPeopleAllOver on August 28, 2005 at 18:55
Another way to improve the longevity of your cards is to make sure your floor is clean. For example, I have dogs and cats and my rugs are covered with hair and dirt. Yes, I vacuum the carpets constantly. Anyway, if you drop cards on the dirty floor, your cards are obviously going to get nasty, hence shortening the life of the cards. So make sure you practice your flourishes (or whatever you specialize in) over a clean area.
Posted by fattyonadiet on August 29, 2005 at 00:57 is there a wat of cleaning ur card? like could u wipe them with a damp cloth then dry them? would that help? Posted by jonjo on August 29, 2005 at 05:36
Fatty
Posted by fattyonadiet on August 29, 2005 at 07:55 yeah i guess. but those card carriers in Australia are like 40$.... i could just buy like 15 packs on the internet for that. Posted by m88tow on August 29, 2005 at 08:45
If you get a clip, go with the Porper Card Clip. I love mine Posted by Maverick on August 29, 2005 at 11:47
after washing my hands and drying it off i ice my hands and wrist then dry off, it improves my grip on the cards and i get sweaty hands alot,
Posted by endeffects on August 29, 2005 at 18:56
Ice works good, I don't usually need it though. I used to have the same problem with cards getting sticky and clumped up from moisture and dirt. Best way to keep em clean I've found is extra strength grease fighting dishsoap. The soap dries out your hands enough to preserve the cards, the grease fighter takes away dirt and your hands are perfect for controling cards, the texture is IMO perfect. But that is just what I've have learned for doing doubles and card handling for magic. Jerry talks about card care a lot in his material. Posted by Maverick on August 29, 2005 at 19:28 thers a way i clean my cards, i get a tooth brush, wet it, dry it off and brush the sides of the cards off. it usually gets like dirt and the all small stuff, it helps a bit Posted by Nathan on August 29, 2005 at 19:51 like on the flat, face part or literally the sides? Posted by niiro13 on August 29, 2005 at 20:31 Fanning powder is zinc steric. Posted by ace_o_spades on August 29, 2005 at 22:35
Wow...seems like it would take a while to clean every single card... Anyways my cards ususally last me for quite some time...can't think of anything I'm doing differently than any of you guys tho Posted by Maverick on August 29, 2005 at 23:14 on the sides of the whole deck itself not teh faces or the back and i do it in middle of breaking in the deck Posted by larrylum on August 29, 2005 at 23:56 this kind of work.. i will perfer to buy a new deck in the end. Haha!! Posted by Tom Ace on August 30, 2005 at 08:39
1) Do not perform on a balcony when it's windy.
Posted by Sreename on August 30, 2005 at 08:53
@ T.
Which Cards Do You UsePlastic cards are good for poker and paper cards are good for magic. That said, everyone has their own preferences. Click Here to add your thoughts to the topic below:Posted by Shadow on January 20, 2004 at 13:37 I use plastic cards - Fournier Vitoria - now. But I am going to try Bicycles and Tally Ho. I read somewhere, that these are best for tricks... Posted by Eric on January 20, 2004 at 14:34 I use Bicycle cards both for playing and for card tricks. They are stiff at first but once they get broken in they seem to work fine. They don't last forever so I buy them in bulk(a dozen decks at a time). A lot of times when we have home games people like to break out new decks. Posted by dizzle on January 21, 2004 at 22:13
Hi, this is my first post and I was reading about the cards you people use. I recommend the kem plastic cards. Although they may be a bit pricey, they cannot be bent (dog-earred for marking) and will last forever (pretty much). My friend brought some over when I was hosting a game of hold-em and I fell in love with the cards because they were so easy to shuffle and to play with. I bought mine off of Ebay for $18.95. Here are the kem/kembacks.htm" target="_blank">designs they make. Hope this helps Posted by Eric on January 22, 2004 at 01:59
dizzle,
Posted by Eric on January 22, 2004 at 02:13 You don't have to go to Vegas to get the casino cards. I found cards from Bellagio, Bally's, Ceasar's, Circus Circus, Excalibur, Flamingo Hilton, Hardrock, Harrah's, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM, Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York New York, Palms, Paris Casino, Tropicana and Venetian at http://www.wedoitallvegas.com/cards.asp?kbid=1047. Posted by Shadow on January 22, 2004 at 10:05
I ordered Bicycle cards yesterday. I will try them once they arrive. Then I will tell you what do I think about them.
Posted by Shadow on January 28, 2004 at 14:25
I am back again Posted by Shadow on March 13, 2004 at 14:27 It's also a question of hardness. As far as I know Bees are harder than Bicycles and Tally-hos are hareder than Bees. So if you need soft cards then choose Bicycles and if you need extra hard card choose Tally-hos. And if you want something between them choose Bees. Posted by Anonymous on May 06, 2004 at 11:24 I have Bee's and Bicycles and they are just the same, only difference is the back design, bee's are excellent for bottom deal stuff because there is no border on the back design... Posted by IanKendall on May 06, 2004 at 15:03
Hello all,
Posted by tokkaloshman on May 06, 2004 at 16:32
What do you do with you over worn decks of cards? I keep a few worn decks for springing and I also gave a deck of old bikes to my friend so he could learn the card spring Posted by mattitude on May 07, 2004 at 04:50 In comparison to store bought cards, are cards from the casino good quality or expensive? Theres a casino near my place, but the cards they sell have a hole punched in them. I might just buy them for practicing tricks,but only if their a good price and fairly good quality(so im used to them when i use my good cards). Posted by IanKendall on May 07, 2004 at 07:14
I have huge piles of old cards, but I do a lot of tricks that tear up cards, so very few of my decks are complete. In the end my kids get hold of them, or they end up as bookmarks...
Posted by tokkaloshman on May 07, 2004 at 16:35
It depends if the store bought cards are a decent make or not (Bicycle, Tally ho, bee, avatar, steamboat etc) If that's the case then you're probably better off just sticking to them. However if your store bought cards are cheapy plastic cards then give the casino cards a shot. As for the quality - the cards should be in near new condition (although most casinos only cut a bit off one of the corners, punching a hole in them is a bit extreme.) Another quick thing - using casino cards can be a good conversation piece for getting a game of cards together or showing some magic tricks or flourishes. To sum things up - buy a deck of the casino cards, and try them out, see how they handle.[/quote"> Posted by mattitude on May 07, 2004 at 22:18
Ok,thanks for the advice. i'll give the casino cards a try, but i doubt i will use them for anything other than practice (because of the hole) Posted by TuTone on May 09, 2004 at 16:03 most casino's only use the cards for a short period so they are still in pretty good condition...the casino i work at they just mark the cards with markers and sell them 12 for $4...i know some casinos punch holes in them because i've had a few decks like that...they should be fine for doing most tricks though although i don't think you could throw them very well due to the hole Posted by Kathy_Norville on April 29, 2007 at 05:16
I just bought a deck of Fournier Vitoria online.
Posted by Shadow on April 29, 2007 at 05:52
It depends on what you want to do with them. They are really good for playing poker and for some flourishes. Because they are plastic you can bend them a lot and they will still remain flat. That means they are good for learning tricks where you have to bend the cards – springs, riffle shuffles, card shooting etc. But they are not as good as Bicycles for tricks where you have to spread the cards, so making a nice fan would be probably a hard task. Posted by termonte on April 29, 2007 at 12:19 regular fournier are a bit thick.you can't do easily seconds...i prefer regular bee's and red Tally's...... Posted by Asperitas on April 29, 2007 at 14:53
You might wanna check out spinetti's unbelivable offer on casino decks and then thank me for finding this link (;
Posted by -Shade- on April 29, 2007 at 21:36
bikes and Tallys only, due to the cost. If i had more cash, id spend it on arccos or Jerry's. Plastic cards make me sick Posted by termonte on April 30, 2007 at 03:28 i also prefer regular cards....some tricks are made only for regular decks like when you have to bend them...they are a lot cheaper also.... Posted by Asperitas on April 30, 2007 at 07:55 Has anybody ever tried GEMACO cards, my second choice after Bicycle. A little thinner and not as stiff as Bicycles. But they still got a nice spring to them. GEMACO cards are the longest lasting paper cards I know. twice as long as Bicycles Posted by tmacandcheese on April 30, 2007 at 21:01 i usually use any cards i can find, usually cheap... they're decent but i keep wondering how good these Bicycle cards really are... lots of times since i have so many cheap decks i end up using decks i lose to do tricks like warp one where i plain ruin the card... i have one main deck, but im not sure which brand it is... Posted by tmacandcheese on April 30, 2007 at 21:39 lol fast response again... but yea i jsut got back from walgreens to try a deck of Bicycles, best cards ive used so far XD Posted by Shadow on May 01, 2007 at 05:54
Yea, they are definitely worth trying 
Posted by termonte on May 01, 2007 at 06:00 is there any site where i can see the design of xd's.....? Posted by Shadow on May 01, 2007 at 06:05 Probably not because "XD" is just something like ":-)" http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/e/emoticon.htm Posted by tmacandcheese on May 01, 2007 at 17:03 yea XD is a smiley... i was saying Bicycles are the best ive used so far... with a smiley after it lol Posted by termonte on May 01, 2007 at 17:08
sorry...i'm not that good withthis type of writing.....by the way does anybody knows where can i find aristocrat cards....?
Posted by tmacandcheese on May 01, 2007 at 18:21 kk np lol... and no srry i dont knwo where, never even heard of them Posted by fervid on May 07, 2007 at 19:20
I like them a lot, I had a phase, when I used little else, they handle well and last a long time.. Although the only real reason I used them was because I'm a fickle, slightly obsessive type prone to hero worship and Lennart Green used them when I saw him lecturing. Best Type of Card DeckIt is said that Bicycle Cards are the best paper cards and KEM cards or Copag cards are the best plastic cards. Our forum members have their own thoughts too. Click Here to add your thoughts to the topic below:Posted by dutchfan on August 28, 2004 at 14:49 What type of cards should i buy for cheap. Nothing like a 10 dollar card deck or anything, but just something a little bit better than the Bicycles i have now. I have seen some "black" Bicycles that look pretty cool, but i would rather buy from a store than off the internet? Posted by CLM on August 28, 2004 at 15:10
Tally Ho's are supposed to be a bit better than the bikes, but I can't tell any big difference. And the black tigers are around $10 shipped, so I guess that's out of the question..
Posted by Shadow on August 28, 2004 at 15:25
Tallys are really good. The main difference is, that they last longer. They are also good better with fanning powder than Bicycles.
Posted by dutchfan on August 28, 2004 at 15:27 Tacticles eh..hm..never heard of them, ill try to search for them Posted by lazynator on August 28, 2004 at 15:32
You can usually find Tacticals on ebay. They a bit better than bikes, the only difference I've heard of was that they are "weather tolerant" or something of that sort. You can tell they are Tacticals because they are either black or green with a Bicycle design.
Posted by Shadow on August 28, 2004 at 15:48
Has anyone tried WPT cards? Posted by smerX on August 28, 2004 at 16:10 i <3 Bees so hard ^.^ Posted by MikeMan91389 on August 28, 2004 at 16:52
i have WPT ones, haven't opened the deck yet.
Posted by dutchfan on August 28, 2004 at 16:57
where do you get the wpt ones?
Posted by MikeMan91389 on August 28, 2004 at 16:59
i got the WPT ones off ebay....
Posted by Shadow on August 28, 2004 at 17:05 Do the kem fan well? I had one plastic deck and it didn't fan as well as Bicycles... Posted by stom on August 28, 2004 at 18:17 Id go with kems, or torcellos. They're alot cheaper in the long run, but i do think bikes fan alot easier the kems. Posted by CLM on August 28, 2004 at 22:48
I should add that my favorite card is the Bee Club Special. There is a sort of side design that looks nice for tricks, and it feels like a bike deck. It's a bit more expensive but only by a dollar per deck or so.
Posted by lazynator on August 28, 2004 at 23:38 Where would you be able to find Bee decks? Posted by SM373 on August 29, 2004 at 00:27
I got mine at Eckerds Drugstore
Posted by lazynator on August 30, 2004 at 01:10
I just bought my packs of Bee's(3 packs) at Sav-On, for about 3 bucks each. They're a higher quality than bikes and are more flexible, it's easier to riffle shuffle the cards. They have a more slippery surface, which helps in strip-out shuffles. I also found out that you get more control when you are riffle stacking compared to Bikes. The pattern on the back has no border, which has its pros and its cons, such as making false deals more deceptive or making it harder to conceal cards on certain effects. I suggest you get Bee's if you practice a lot of gambling routines.
Posted by rickzter on August 30, 2004 at 05:49
Hello,
Posted by Shadow on August 30, 2004 at 07:05
Hi rickzter Welcome to our site. I think Bicycles or Bees would be ok for you. They are one of the best quality cards. You can train with Bicycles because they're slightly cheaper I think. Piatnik aren't very good I think. I had few decks but I didn't like them at all. It's almost impossible to fan them (the only way how to do it is probably the side spring fan). I never tried Dal Negro. I hope this will help you Posted by Chipmaster on August 30, 2004 at 13:47
Dude, the kems if the worst recommendation possible. They are total garbage for any kind of flourishes or magic....they are just not meant to that type of thing. They are designed to stand up against abuse like bending and not getting saturated with sweat. Stick with Bikes, Tallys, or Bee's....for flourishes and manipulations. If you want a deck to last long in a poker game then get the kems....although I would still prefer to just buy a new deck of Bikes every time I play....just don't really like the way the kem type of card feels. Posted by rickzter on August 31, 2004 at 09:02
Thanks for the advice Shadow. I bought the Bee's since they were as expensive as the Bicycles.
Posted by Dr. Venkman on August 31, 2004 at 11:20
Nice to see another Dutchman on the forum, WOOHOO!!!
Posted by Pinekonez on September 04, 2004 at 09:12
hey ricktzer, the bee's are really good cards to practice with, because they won't wear down as much as bikes through extensive use. If I were you, though, I'd use Bikes for actual performances (assuming you're doing magic and not just flourishes). Not having a border on your cards (e.g.) with a Bee deck makes it a real pain to say . . . hold 2 cards at once without getting noticed. Just beware Posted by 2cAnnons on September 04, 2004 at 21:25 Copag are also good. they are just like kem cards. Posted by BoxerKA on March 13, 2006 at 10:07 Truly, these cards are second to none. While not cheap (I prefer the PVC), I think that they are worth every penny. I believe what differentiates these cards from any other is that they have a unique texture. This texture prevents them from unnecessarily slipping and sliding. Plus, they stack on the felt nicely, without toppling or requiring a push to expel air. Finally, the art is crisp and bright, unlike Copag (for example), which uses a specific type of dye in their PVC cards, which hinders their clarity (they are aware, but refuse to change their formula). I host many home games, and these cards have garnered many more compliments than any other deck. Again, they are impressive. Posted by barnzee on March 13, 2006 at 11:40
OMFG!! this thread is like 2 years old dude.... Please check the age of a thread before you post in it. Posted by marpenothi on March 13, 2006 at 16:04
Like I said in the other post...I'm going to Rome this spring break so I might have to grab one. However, in spite of you, I will go see the deck and purposely not buy it. Marp Posted by An0n on March 14, 2006 at 01:33 jesus there are a lot of the "best deck" posts. |
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. I've received 
One other thing, it's always a good idea to hold on to a worn deck for when you need to give the cards to a spectator cos there's nothing worse than when someone messes up your brand new deck 
