Best stripper deck?

[bruh man]

Looking to buy a stripper deck, never owned one and was wonder what you guys recommend in terms of quality and hard to detect decks. 

David blaine has his learn magic set that comes with a stripper deck, marked deck, and Svengali deck just not a fan of the marking system used though would buy the set if the other two are of good quality. 

Dan and Dave are selling pair's of their tobacco brown ace fulton casino decks or steamboats (either red or blue) that come with a stripper deck and a matching pair regular deck.

 Any recommendations?

[Curt]

I would recommend just getting a standard bicycle stripper deck. If you perform with a deck that already looks different from what your spectators may use normally.. this is an easy way to cause suspicion. Quality wise, it's not a very complex gimmick, and the decks you mentioned are all made by USPCC so quality should be the same.

[bruh man]

I would recommend just getting a standard bicycle stripper deck. If you perform with a deck that already looks different from what your spectators may use normally.. this is an easy way to cause suspicion. Quality wise, it's not a very complex gimmick, and the decks you mentioned are all made by USPCC so quality should be the same.

Thanks for the reply, I think that I might end up doing that. I usually prefer to perform tricks with a regular deck but figured I'd give a stripper deck a shot finally.  There are certain performances I would like to try out with it.

[Don Boyer]

Actually, Curt, there may be a difference between USPC-issue and strippers from Dan and Dave.

I've purchased a few D&D stripper decks.  They use a VERY shallow cut, making the stripped edge nearly impossible to spot visually, especially while used in a performance, but something like that is professional-grade, not a good deck to use if you're still learning how to use strippers in the first place.  Assuming their new decks are of the same grade as the old ones, I'd say buy them if you're experienced and have a sensitive touch (or are at least willing to develop such a touch).

The typical USPC-made stripper has a deep cut, one that's deep enough that the inverted card will actually leave a shadow that can be spotted when under a light source strong enough for reading.  You can fool some of your friends and they're perfectly fine for practice and learning about how they work, but strippers are common enough that some laypeople know about them and a sharp eye will see that shadow if you're well-enough lit and you hold your hands still enough!  The D&D-grade ones that I bought would fool a magician!

[bruh man]

Actually, Curt, there may be a difference between USPC-issue and strippers from Dan and Dave.

I've purchased a few D&D stripper decks.  They use a VERY shallow cut, making the stripped edge nearly impossible to spot visually, especially while used in a performance, but something like that is professional-grade, not a good deck to use if you're still learning how to use strippers in the first place.  Assuming their new decks are of the same grade as the old ones, I'd say buy them if you're experienced and have a sensitive touch (or are at least willing to develop such a touch).

The typical USPC-made stripper has a deep cut, one that's deep enough that the inverted card will actually leave a shadow that can be spotted when under a light source strong enough for reading.  You can fool some of your friends and they're perfectly fine for practice and learning about how they work, but strippers are common enough that some laypeople know about them and a sharp eye will see that shadow if you're well-enough lit and you hold your hands still enough!  The D&D-grade ones that I bought would fool a magician!

That is good to know Don, I'm going to order from Dan and Dave since it's better quality.  I don't mind spending the time getting used to handling them.  Would you recommend the steamboats or ace Fulton casinos?

[Curt]

Thanks for the heads up Don,

I didn't actually think about the shallowness of the cut, makes sense though. I may actually pick one of the D&D one up some day to play around with then.

[Don Boyer]

That is good to know Don, I'm going to order from Dan and Dave since it's better quality.  I don't mind spending the time getting used to handling them.  Would you recommend the steamboats or ace Fulton casinos?

Thanks for the heads up Don,

I didn't actually think about the shallowness of the cut, makes sense though. I may actually pick one of the D&D one up some day to play around with then.

Now I have to caution you both - D&D received a number of complaints on their earliest stripper decks from people who found them too hard to work with.  But the complaints were the same ones you would have heard from a kid who recently learned to drive with an automatic transmission when you sell him a stick-shift racing car.  It's like going from a go-kart to Grand Prix, and yes, the decks require a sensitive, delicate touch to get them to work for you.

The original decks were HAND-CUT by an expert using specs obtained from an illegal poker room that wasn't entirely legit.  In fact, it was the remaining stock from a convention - the cutter used was the ORIGINAL Porper machine (not the second version, which is said by some to be clunkier and not as good), of which only 10 exist and it's considered state of the art for creating custom-cut decks; even when brand new, that machine sold for thousands of dollars - today, you'd likely pay more for a well-tended second-hand machine.  (I wish I could remember the name of the man who operated the machine, but unfortunately I can't.)  The newer decks are cut by USPC themselves.  I've seen the older decks and they're AWESOME.  I have NOT seen the newer decks.  The older decks were also a good deal more expensive, over $20 a piece as I recall, and they didn't have the cheesy sticker seal with a stripper on a pole nor did them come with an extra deck of the same type/color - mine are Bee Diamond Back (I think it's red) and Expert at the Card Table (dunno if it's v1 or v2).  I kicked myself in the ass for not getting the blue Bees.  At least I was smart enough to buy two of EACH!

My point, to summarize: the Bucks may have bowed to consumer pressure to make a deck that's easier to use and has a less-shallow cut.  I honestly can't speak for the current batches they're circulating.  I remain hopeful that they're still a better cut than your typical Bicycles, but it remains to be seen.

BTW: it's been said that for the Bicycle Rider Back strippers made by USPC for I think Magic Makers, the red decks have a deep cut but the blue decks are more shallow.  Food for thought.

Back to the D&D decks - Bruh Man, I was never a fan of the Ace Fulton decks.  I've heard that the decks have a hidden marking system, however.  Curt, perhaps you know about this?

If it was me, marked or not, I'd choose the Steamboats in either (or both) colors.

I'm still itching to buy a stripper jig.  A fellow in Ireland came up with a hand-held device that when used with an ordinary single-edged razor blade can be used for your own custom cut-work.  it takes a little practice, I'm told, but it's effective and far cheaper - the last time I checked the currency conversion, it was around US$800-850.

But...a quick Google search for "stripper jig" actually turns up not just this device but also the page of a magician who doesn't just make and collect card cutters, he gives you instructions to make one of your own, simle but accurate, for about $20 worth of parts!  Maybe I won't be buying that jig after all...

[Magicman29]

I find that dan and dave stripper decks are fantastic.

Also they come with one regular deck and one stripper deck with your order