First off, the type of cards you are using makes an enormous difference. Cheap, (typically) Chinese-printed cards most of the time are not physically capable of faroing due to the way they are made. United States Playing Card company's brands are usually good for faros, but lately I have purchased some cards from supermarkets that will not do it at all; namely, Bicycle Plumas and the green and purple peacock-themed Bicycles. I also have purchased Bees recently (again from a large chain store) that will not faro at all.

Another factor that has an influence on your faros is which direction you do the weave. Generally, USPC decks will faro from backs to faces - I find that quality cards will usually weave either way. Another very important tip: always use a deck with very smooth, worn edges to practice with. The shuffle is much easier with worn cards.

The cards should not peel regularly from faroing. That is just a result of your learning the shuffle - I'd say it would take a few hundred faros before the cards get worn enough to peel (assuming good technique). Both packets generally should remain perfectly square the entire time. If either of your pockets come unsquare, it's better to start over than try to force them to weave. The pressure on both packets should be very light, and you shouldn't have to slide the packets back and forth to weave them. Keep in mind that the weave happens at the corners that are closest to you. I would show you what I mean by that last sentence but I do not have a camera on me at the moment.

Cuts are all practice practice practice. There is no other secret.

Hope this helps a bit - I've been doing the faro for almost ten years.

Cameron

Taco,

The most important part of keeping your cards clean is washing your hands every time before you pick them up (or rather any time they are dirty). Aside from that, all you can do is buy a Porper and keep several decks in rotation - use a deck for an hour or two and then put it in the Porper.

Since you are a beginner, I would recommend purchasing some performance/practice cards that are cheap and abundant, so you don't have to worry so much when you ruin them. Save your money and buy a dozen decks of Bicycles instead of several custom decks that cost $7-$10 apiece. I would recommend eBay - you can find a brick with shipping included for about $25.

Buying cheap cards in bulk allows you to just throw away a deck of cards when it becomes unusable, and then open up a new one without having to feel the guilt of opening a $10 custom deck of cards.

Just my 2 cents,

Cameron

Hecrob,

First of all, if you are concerned about your tuck box, the Porper clip is NOT for you. Anything embossed on the face or back of the box will be flattened, and the longer the box spends in the clip, the more it will get beaten up. This is true for all Porper clips.

In my opinion, the regular black and silver Porpers are worth the money. They pay for themselves in a matter of weeks if you go through cards quickly and a matter of months if you do not. Almost all of the clips with precious inserts/ leathers and whatnot are grossly overpriced and I would never buy one, but this is a personal thing.

That said, the abalone clips (and all the clips with inserts) are put together well. You will not run into problems with them unless you put them through an unrealistic amount of stress. With that said, the leather requires no real upkeep. Proper leathers rarely do.

From what I understand, the carbon fiber is purely aesthetic. You will lose a very small amount of aluminum (where the inserts are laid), but the clip is still almost entirely aluminum base even still.

Hope this helps,

Cameron

Don,

My mistake! I made that reply from my mobile on the go and I do believe I was a victim of autocorrect. I will have to make a thread in the introductions section. Thanks for the welcome!

Cameron

The Bicycle logo tech arts and Bee tech arts were made in roughly equal runs - however, I have always heard that the Bicycles are slightly more scarce. Both are routinely sold for $15-20 USD on the secondary market and have been for years.

Cameron