My head is spinning!

[Anthony]

Hey everyone, 1st off thank you for all your help over this 1st week of hanging out with all you fine folks....well, most of you anyway.   I gotta tell ya my head is spinning with all this information. I did have a question, now I've taken the time to go searching through numerous threads, watch a ton of reviews and googled a bunch more.

So coming at this as a laymen, what are the selling features of a deck? Strip away the design and artistry and what makes one better than another? I'm not a cardist or magician, I can feel the difference between some decks when I hold them. The quality of the cards and tuck box are somewhat noticeable to me. But I'm looking for your opinions to start to get a better understanding of the product. Maybe this is irrelevant since I'm not a "professional" but I would still like to know.

Handling, weight, viscosity, MPG  Why do you like what you like......remember, BLANK cards!

[Alex Willis]

Is your question directed at the very specific selling market of magicians and cardicians, or are you asking about collectors?  If you are wanting to sell to the "masses" of which a very small percentage is the magician and cardician, then the question of weight, finish... is not as important to how it looks and who makes it.  People buy decks they can relate to, to perform either a want to collect or to play a card game.  The true mass market doesn't care as long as a king looks like a king and an ace of spades looks like a standard ace of spades.  Some of the true mass market might like one design back versus another, but otherwise give them their decks in pure vanilla.  A smaller subset of the true mass market is the collector market.  Those folks are likely to buy many decks and their decisions are first based on interest in the subject matter and then specifity to brand (Bicycle).  A smaller minority of collectors only care about subject matter.  A safe bet for collectors... Bicycle branded, air cushioned as a standard.  However, sometimes the design supercedes all else and people just want the deck (The Name of the Wind & Federal 52).  You could have made those cards in india with parchment paper and people would still have bought them.  But that kind of popularity is rare.  Attainable, but rare.

[Anthony]

I apologize if my question wasn't specific, I think that's because, again, I'm new to all of this and trying to gain some understanding. None of my questions have to do with selling anything, it's truly just to get a better understanding of playing cards.

[MrMollusk]

Traditional cut is always a nice feature to have. The way the cards are "stamped" out of the uncut sheet (At least I think that's how they're cut) makes it easier to faro shuffle. Like this.



More recent methods of cutting the cards make it easier to chip the edges and harder to get an even faro.

Cards can also be textured (Air Cushion finish, Cambric finish, etc.) or non-textured (Smooth finish, Ivory finish, etc.). Whether you like your cards to have texture really depends on a personal preference. I prefer textured, but some prefer smooth.

The stock and finish probably play the most important role. We have tons of topics talking about different finishes and stocks. You should check them out.

http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/ivory-finish/msg16980/#msg16980
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/linen-vs-magic-finish/msg45095/#msg45095
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/question-regarding-stock-and-finishes/msg41888/#msg41888
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/question-on-ellusionist-finishes/msg61835/#msg61835
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/(poll)air-cushion-vs-magic-finish-handling-preference/msg41425/#msg41425
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/the-best-finish-and-stock-876/msg13645/#msg13645
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/casino-finish/msg9306/#msg9306
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/card-stock/msg44033/#msg44033

This is entirely personal preference. But people seem to unanimously agree that the Jerry's Nuggets's Chemical finish is far superior to others.

Finally, manufacturer. The USPCC makes 90% of cards that handle well. There is a factory in Taiwan that made the Legends decks and Fatboy decks, and those both have stellar handling.

The Global Titans and Nautical deck are made in Shanghai, but I'm not sure how those feel.

Hope this helps!

[Anthony]

Great info MrMollusk, very much appreciated 

...and thank for the links, Ill check them out too.

[Don Boyer]

Great info MrMollusk, very much appreciated 

...and thank for the links, Ill check them out too.

As you should the "Fact or Fiction" sticky topic in the PCP...

BTW, MrM.: The difference between a traditionally-cut (face-down cut) and a modern cut (face-up cut) deck is that the traditionally-cut deck will table faro smoothly while FACE-DOWN, while the modern cut will faro smoothly while face-up, thus revealing the cards.  In addition, the face-down cut allows for smoother, easier shuffling.  While the traditional cut is rarely seen in decks these days (having something to do with the face-up cut being more efficient in card manufacturing), casinos insist on getting traditionally cut decks for their game rooms.

And none of that makes a difference when a deck is really broken in - it'll faro easily either way when it's been used enough.

[MrMollusk]

Great info MrMollusk, very much appreciated 

...and thank for the links, Ill check them out too.

As you should the "Fact or Fiction" sticky topic in the PCP...

BTW, MrM.: The difference between a traditionally-cut (face-down cut) and a modern cut (face-up cut) deck is that the traditionally-cut deck will table faro smoothly while FACE-DOWN, while the modern cut will faro smoothly while face-up, thus revealing the cards.  In addition, the face-down cut allows for smoother, easier shuffling.  While the traditional cut is rarely seen in decks these days (having something to do with the face-up cut being more efficient in card manufacturing), casinos insist on getting traditionally cut decks for their game rooms.

And none of that makes a difference when a deck is really broken in - it'll faro easily either way when it's been used enough.

Ohhh. That makes sense. Thanks!

[Rob Wright]

Don, do you know if USPCC will do a traditional cut on custom orders?

[Don Boyer]

Don, do you know if USPCC will do a traditional cut on custom orders?

Zenneth Kok inquired.  He told me that they could do it but that they advised against it.  USPC says that there's something about the new cutters in Erlanger that causes trad-cut decks to have rough edges.

To me, it's a ridiculous claim.  If I ordered a deck where the backs were on the front and the faces were on the back of the sheet, that would come out traditionally cut, easy peasy, no extra steps required.  What makes this so impossible?