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Messages - Wild Joker

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1
Playing Card Plethora / "New" Maverick Tuck Cases: Vintage? Import?
« on: June 11, 2019, 06:46:20 PM »
While I was browsing around in Walmart today, I was surprised to see Maverick cards now come in a tuck case with a design that differs from their usual design:


(The back of the case is similar to USPC's current Standard Face Bicycle cases).

I got curious about this and decided to look into this, because even Bicycle's official website doesn't show this different design, and most of what I've been able to turn up seem to suggest this design is either international imports or a revival of a more vintage design - which I wouldn't be too familiar with.

Anybody else seen these cases in the stores lately?

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Cartamundi buys USPCC.
« on: June 11, 2019, 06:40:53 PM »
I was really, really hoping this was some kind of April Fool's joke, but I can't believe this is for real! I don't even know what to think of this, but this sounds like such a downgrade, if you ask me. I know a lot of people have been saying USPC's cards have been going down in quality ever since they moved to Erlanger . . . this seems like they would be going down in quality even more since Cartamundi's stuff tends to be really cheap . . . even their US cards have rather flimsy stock that wear out quickly.

I'm just . . . disappointed in this news.

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Where to buy playing cards in person?
« on: September 06, 2017, 08:15:25 PM »
I find that almost all of our local and regional grocery store chains tend to have a decent selection of USPC cards (most locations having Bicycle, Aviator, and speciality decks), usually in display cases at the end of the wine or party supply aisle.

Of course, department and big box stores like Walmart usually have a selection of cards in the toy department (usually the same aisle where they have board games and such).

Then there's book stores such as Barnes & Nobel and Books-a-million, you'll find a variety of different decks from different companies like USPC and Cartamundi that you can't normally find anywhere else.

Lastly, Dollar General seems to always have Cartamundi decks like Classic and Ace.

4
I've added a few new additions to my arsenal since my previous posts (of which I see I'll have to modify, now that Photobucket has screwed everybody over):





But, since I already went into detail about the bulk of my decks in previous posts, I'm just going to concentrate on my newer additions:



Now, when I started buying playing cards, USPC had already changed Bicycle Rider Back to Standard, so when I found Rider Back decks in a grocery store, I wasn't sure if these were the real-deal - like backstock that hadn't been sold yet, or possibly fakes, since I know Bikes (and Bees) are victims of counterfeiters. Nevertheless, I figured I'd grab them anyway, but never intended on opening the seals. After some inquiring, Don was able to identify these as not Bike's standard 808 deck, but rather their 807 deck made specifically for magicians who prefered the classic box design. Still don't think I'll open them, though.

The Maverick decks I was advised against by a few on this forum for their low quality (especially since USPC moved to Kentucky), but I suppose I was a glutton for punishment, and since Walmart had them at the dirt cheap price of 88 cents each, I figured I could afford to throw money away over that. So, I have to say that IMHO, these Maverick decks are really not too different from the Streamline deck I have in terms of quality and handling . . . but I think I'd venture to say that I think the Maverick decks are actually better than the Streamline deck, if only by design: the Hoyle royalty is certainly a lot more pleasant to look at than Streamline's eye-sore royalty, but that's just me.

This SEINFELD Festivus deck was a gift I had gotten for my birthday this year, because I'm a SEINFELD fan and am apparently a playing card collector now, lol. The deck is cool and all, and I like the royalty design, but I'm not sure this is an officially licensed product: it's by a Canadian company called Aquarius, and the deck is made in China; the cards themselves have a very thin and flimsy stock that you can actually see through, but have the dimpled finish you've come to expert from Bikes and Bees; and while the overall artwork is nice, the use of characters look like low-quality JPEGs that were simply Photoshopped in (especially very telling with the shot of Frank Costanza on the front of the box, and the backs of the cards). Because of their flimsiness, I'm not sure I would use this deck for any kind of gameplay, but like with my Limited Edition Ace deck, I'd say this is pretty nice for looks.

The Bicycle Stargazer deck I just recently picked up, and it's beautiful: the artwork is amazing, the dark-colored cards with the lit royalty is a nice contrast, and the handling is great - they spread and fan perhaps the best out of all the decks I have. Definitely worth the purchase!

5
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Bikes Warping for No Reason - Why?
« on: June 03, 2017, 01:19:27 PM »
You know what? I think I'm going to go with the suggestion that it must be humidity. After all, it is summer, and summer down here in the deep south (and spring too, for that matter) is always condusive to humid conditions. Because it turns out, it's not just the Bike deck: I pulled out one of my Bee decks, and the same thing happened, the cards began warping.

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Playing Card Plethora / Bikes Warping for No Reason - Why?
« on: May 24, 2017, 11:32:39 AM »
I notice one of my Bicycle decks has been warping on me lately for no apparent reason: whatever card happens to be on top of the deck apparently just warp overnight, and I've never experienced anything like this before with any deck of cards (not even older Bikes). It's not that old a deck  either, just got it a couple of years ago - I find it odd too, considering USPC explained when John Ratzenberger visited how they always make sure the stock doesn't warp.

7
My current deck of red Bikes has an oddity to it that I don't recall seeing on in a deck before, but specific cards in the deck (in this case, Ace and 9 of Clubs, 2 and 10 of Diamonds, 6 of Hearts and 7 of Spades) have a slight dark smear (appears to be blue in color) down the left side of the face of the card. It's faint, but it's noticeable - especially in a bright, or well-lit room. Again, this was in a 2-pack that came with a red and blue deck, but it appears only the red deck was affected by this, and not the blue.

And like I mentioned in another thread, my Chinese-made, imported Streamline deck has terrible misalignment with the printing on the court cards.

I also wouldn't chalk up off-centered backs as misprints or manufacturing errors - with the exception of my Limited Edition Ace Authentic deck, I haven't come across any other deck that doesn't have off-centered backs (unless you count Bee, but like Don once said, even Bee can be affected by off-centered backs).

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: February 11, 2017, 08:31:52 PM »
Remember when I said a few posts back that I saw that the Ingle's store I was at had some Rider Back decks among the Standard? Well, I was there again today, grabbed two of these Rider Back decks, and want to see if anyone here can figure out if these are fo real or if they're fake:

I would think they're real because the boxes have gold accents, the black USPC seal, and have Made in U.S.A. . . . But they're dated 2014 and have the Erlanger address on them . . . which I find odd, because didn't Bikes adopt the new Standard box design since the move to Erlanger? You guys be the judge:

And for the record, I've no intentions of actually opening or using these decks, I got them strictly for the old-school Rider Back boxes.

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: January 10, 2017, 08:58:37 PM »
Ace is really braching out more and more beyond dollar stores. Food City had an entire display case of them directly across the aisle from their USPC display case; I'm guessing Cartamundi is wanting to broaden their sales territories, because up until the last year or so, just about the only place you could find Cartamundi brands (Classic, Ace) was only dollar stores (except for those specialty and limited edition decks they had at bookstores).

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: December 06, 2016, 12:30:00 AM »
I can follow-up on my previous spotting record, I was shopping at an Ingle's location today, and here's what I can confirm as far as brands they sell:

Pretty much their selection is the same as Kroger's selection - Bicycle, Aviator, and the specialty decks like The Dog, Coca-Cola, even Jack Daniels. They also still have Cartamundi's Eagle deck ironically alongside them. Unlike other places (excluding Walmart), their Bikes are sold in individual decks, or in the two-deck red and blue pack like Walmart has . . . but, oddly, they also had old Rider Back decks . . . not sure if they've had them for so long that they're backstock, or if perhaps they're fakes, I don't know, I didn't check the boxes to see.

So, to basically sum up one of the points I brought up in this thread initially, it would seem that Aviator does now, indeed, have a much wider availablity beyond airports and bookstores now if all of the major regional grocery store chains in my area have them. I just still find it a little odd, however, that given that it's essentially USPC's number two brand, that Bee is hard to come by.

Oh, and, heh, Walmart is now carrying Maverick decks, and if I thought the imported Streamline decks at Food City at a little over a dollar was dirt cheap, Mavericks at Walmart are even dirtier cheaper at only 88 cents.  ;D

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Mavericks are cheap-ass dollar-store decks made in China, the worst product in USPC's line.  Fine if you want to have them just for the design or something pretty to look at or whatever, but don't expect anything exceptional or great about them in any way beyond that.
Yeah, that's pretty much the purpose my Limited Edition Ace already serve. Yeah, I think I'll definitely pass on Maverick.
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If you like cards for performance or quality, you're better off drawing pictures of cards on paper towels...
I could draw a Queen of Hearts that looks like Grace Kelly on a napkin. :P

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Tour of USPCC with John Ratzenberger
« on: October 05, 2016, 11:08:50 PM »
A visit to Cartamundi's factory in Belgium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDO9oAi6b7M

The video is dated, otherwise they're clearly not quite up to par if they have to print both sides separately, and cut off the corners after they cards have been cut (which may also explain why their rounded corners aren't always perfectly even).

13
If I managed to get a Streamline deck that was actually made in Erlanger, my opinion probably wouldn't be as poor as it is - if they handle and feel similar to Aviator, as you say, my opinion would probably be a little bit higher. Makes me wonder though, when it comes to design and such, do the pips differ on U.S.-made Streamlines from China-made? The reason I ask is because there's certainly a difference with Cartamundi's pips: my Classic deck (China) has rather chunky spades, really pointy diamonds, clubs with odd spaces inbetween the cloverleaves, and lanky shapeless hearts; Limited Edition Ace (U.S.A.) has better looking pips, though they're a tad smaller in terms of print size.

I also forgot to mention that Aviator's AoS is rather distinct as well: I know the horizontal lines are supposed to be jet stream/chemtrails, but somehow the AoS design, to me, looks like looking through at a giant spade through venetian blinds.

I'm still debating whether or not I should grab a couple of Mavericks from Big Lots, but the bad rep they get really convinces me not to even bother with them.

14
I know my collection (if you can call it that) is probably not as impressive as what most people here have, but then again, I'm just not as much of a collector as I was when I was younger.

But, at any rate, as I previously mentioned, the first time I bought a deck of cards was about eight years ago, and I just needed a deck for a party - I was already at Party City getting supplies, and a dollar store was right next door, so I grabbed a deck of Classic by Cartamundi. A year later, I misplaced the deck, so I decided to grab a pair of Bicycle decks at Walmart, and it was then I realized what real playing cards are like. Even more years after that, I found Bee decks after only seeing them in older shows and movies, and I liked them even more (the way they appear on film doesn't do the cards justice). Since then, I'll grab a deck if it peaks my interest, and now, here's what I have:




So, here's my personal rundown of the decks I have:

Least Favorites:
Overall Deck
Streamline. I know Don said some nice things about them recently in another thread, but I clearly got the short end of the stick with this Chinese-made, Canadian imported deck: they plastic coating is terrible (and smelly), the handling is poor, and the design is just wonky.

Design
At the risk of running it into the ground . . . once again, Streamline. The pips look like they belong on cheap, off-brand decks; the face cards look stoned and are poorly printed; the back design is so-so, but I do like the shade of blue. Aviator to a lesser extent for its back design - it's plain (no pun intended) and simple, but it's not horrible.

Ace of Spades
That distinction also goes to Streamline: it's just too bland and plain.

Handling
Classic and Streamline tie because they're plastic decks, which I don't particularly care for in comparison to paper decks: they don't really fan, spread, or shuffle well at all. Less pressing for my Limited Edition Ace and Hoyle decks, mainly because their stocks are so thin and flimsy, they clearly won't hold up in the long run.

Most Favorites:
Handling
Aviator. Even though it doesn't have that nice air-pocketed finish like Bicycle's Air Cushion or Bee's Cambric, the smooth and slick finish it does have makes it excellent for handling: fans, faros, spreads, and shuffles great.

Ace of Spades
Bee. I always love an AoS where the design takes up almost the entire card, and when the design is also very distinct and eye-catching, and Bee's AoS meets both of those criteria.

Design
For back design, Limited Edition Ace: the two-color back design just pops, and I also like biplanes, so that catches me as well (I will say the face design is better than other Cartamundi decks). For face design, just USPC Standard in general. I have a special place in my heart for Bicycle's standard Rider Back.

Overall Deck
Bee. When it comes to regular use, Bee is definitely the way to go - the sturdy stock and air-pocketed finish makes for durable playable playing cards, and the diamond back design is a nice change of pace from your typical bordered designs.

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: September 17, 2016, 12:41:06 PM »
Don't sell the Streamlines short.  The later-model US-made ones from Erlanger are at least as good as Bicycles in terms of quality of the paper and the lack of embossing actually makes the paper stiffer.  They hold up nicely for such an inexpensive deck.
If I managed to snag one of those as opposed to the plastic-coated, cheaply-made China imports, I may hold a different opinion - but again, these plastic imports just plain suck.

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Mavericks dropped in quality because of all the USPC brands, they're the only ones not being made in Erlanger.  They moved manufacturing to China and they've been a "dollar store" deck ever since, regardless of what they were previously.  The quality is the lowest USPC offers.  (I should also add that USPC doesn't make their own mini decks, either - those are farmed out to China, regardless of brand.)  They're more common than you think - as you mentioned, they're found in dollar stores like Big Lots, Family Dollar and Dollar General.
Well, again, Dollar General (at least the DGs where I live) tends to stock only Cartamundi decks like Classic and Ace. Like I said, I wouldn't swear to seeing Maverick in another dollar store, but I do know they're definitely sold at Big Lots.
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Tally Ho are good-quality decks, though they were better once.  They used to have their own unique stock, but no longer - USPC is down to exactly two kinds of stock, Bicycle and Bee Casino.  Today, they're on par with Bicycles - which is unfortunate, because Bicycles have also gone down a bit in quality (I'm referring to "general issue" Standards, not custom decks).
I do believe that even I can tell a difference in Bicycle stock since the move to Erlanger - seems like the stock has gotten a tad thinner and flimser than it once was . . . but I've still handled worse (like Hoyle). 
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The last decks of Tally Ho I bought were better than the ones before that - those had off-centered die cutting AND inconsistent color shades on the card backs!
I've noticed a lot of people complaining about that, and I must admit, that too is a quibble of mine about any decks I get that have off-centered printing on the back. Maybe that's one reason why Bee tends to be my favorite deck, because it doesn't even really have that issue, but man, my current Bikes are pretty off-centered (my last decks, the red was off-centered, but the blue was fine), but the Hoyle deck I have is perhaps the worst: two thick borders on one corner, two thin borders on the other. Surprisingly, of the decks I have with bordered backs, the only one that's perfectly printed is my Limited Edition Ace: the borders are thin, and the design is centered. Other than that, I've yet to come across any other deck with perfectly centered backs.
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The overall variety of decks from USPC has been reduced, aside from Bicycle - Bee only comes in standard width with standard and jumbo index; Aviator comes in standard width with standard and jumbo index cards and a standard index pinochle deck; Tally Ho comes only in standard size/index and two back designs; Hoyle comes in standard width with standard and jumbo index, bridge width with super jumbo index, "slice" half-standard width and two plastic decks (one clear, one standard).  Bicycle has more varieties than you can shake a stick at, including dominoes and super jumbo bridge and standard decks - even a jumbo index pinochle deck is available.  (Again, not counting any mini decks.)  There was more variety across the board, once - I own some bridge-sized Bee and Aviator decks.  Congress and KEM decks have been reduced in variety as well - they used to come in several different back designs, but now they have fewer than a half-dozen available at any given time.
Some of these I haven't even seen either - of course, it could also be that I haven't paid that much attention. Other than what I mentioned previously about the Hoyle decks, I don't believe I've seen Aviator in anything other than standard size and face, but I can certainly atest to the different varieties of Bicycle. Come to think of it, I think Bikes are the only ones I see being carried in Bridge sizes. And, heh, I've heard about the mini decks, but I've also heard about giant decks that are four times the size of standard decks.

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: September 16, 2016, 04:49:06 PM »
Actually, I think I have a theory as to why I'm suddenly seeing more brands at grocery stores as of late: because they're selling wine now. Typically, it was fairly common to find Bicycle decks in a grocery store usually at the check-out lines, or dangling from a shelf down whatever aisle had chips and/or liter bottles of soft drinks - but now that stores are allowed to sell wine, there's usually an end-cap display case full of USPC brands of cards (and occasionally, so others as well) at the wine aisle, I've come to notice.

Now, to answer your question specifically, here's what I can give you as far as a break-down of the brands:
* Bicycle - They're everywhere. Number one product, so it makes sense. Now, while I usually just see Standard Size/Face in most stores, one regional chain down here called Food City carries additional decks, such as Jumbo Index, Pinochle decks, and Bridge-sized decks. I'll also occasionally see a special deck, such as a pink breast cancer deck. Walmart almost always has the Shark decks
* Bee - Surprisingly, for this to be USPC's other top brand, I only see these at Food City (it's where I got mine), I never see them anywhere else. I also see them in Jumbo Index.
* Hoyle - I used to see these almost exclusively at book stores like Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble, but another one of our regional chains, Kroger (despite being headquartered in Ohio, is a mostly southern chain) has been carrying the traditional Shellback decks - usually in a two-pack of red and blue (as Bicycle often comes in), but as of late, Kroger has also been carrying plastic Hoyles as well, including the clear ones. Interestingly, one time, I saw a Jumbo Index Hoyle deck at Hobby Lobby, of all places.
* Aviator - Like Hoyle, I used to generally only see these at the book stores, but as of this summer, I began noticing them alongside Bicycle and Bee at most Food City locations; now, they're also popping up at Kroger alongside Bicycle and Hoyle as well.
* Streamline - Food City's the only place I've seen these, and as I mentioned in another thread, they appear to be (at least the deck I purchased anyway) Canadian decks imported from China . . . how they ended up down here in Tennessee is beyond me. They don't see to sell well though, there's usually very few of them in the case, and they're usually always dirt cheap (like a dollar or so) compared to the usually higher Bicycle or Bee decks. Even Aviator decks are selling for like two dollars. So yeah, I can see what you mean about them being a "discount" deck. Of the few decks that I own, it's perhaps my least favorite.
* Maverick - I can confirm they are down here in the south, but I can also tell you that they're not very common either. The only place I've seen them in any kind of regularity is Big Lots, usually in their own miniature cardboard case hanging at the end of a toy aisle). I think I may have also seen them in a Family Dollar at one point, but I can't say for sure, I rarely, if ever, shop at any dollar store other than Dollar General, where they at least have brand-name products. I don't own a Maverick deck, but I have noticed the consensus among most enthusiasts out there is that it was an okay/decent deck until USPC moved to Erlanger, and they've apparently gone straight downhill since. Guess I'm not missing anything.
* Tally Ho - I can also confirm this must be a regional deck, because I've never seen a Tally Ho deck first hand in any store anywhere. I generally hear good things about the deck, though.
* KEM - Never see them.
* As for those novelty decks that you mentioned (Coca-Cola, America, The Dog, etc.) Yup. All at Kroger.
* Congress I've actually never heard of before.  :o But, based on the information you've given, I guess I could see why (same with KEM).

I should also mention that Food City, in addition to carrying the certain aforementioned deck brands, also carry Bicycle accessories, such as dice, and plastic poker chips.

Interestingly enough, I've noticed that Cartamundi brands are starting to branch out beyond the dollar store chains. Both their Classic and standard Ace brands are being sold alongside the USPC brands at Kroger now, which is really odd - the Classics are sold individually, but the Ace decks are sold in a pack that comes with both red and blue, as well as dice. As I said previously, Classic had pretty much disappeared from dollar stores in favor of standard Ace for a while, but both are being sold again; dollar stores also have Limited Edition Ace decks, but not like the ones we discussed in another thread - dollar store Limited Edition Aces are usually either purple or green. Eagle seems to be exclusive to another regional chain called Ingle's - and likewise, they too are sold ironically alongside Bicycle at check-out. Then again, I haven't shopped at an Ingle's location in a long time (they're not as progressive as other grocery store chains that have long since adopted the whole "super center" layout, but that's not necessarily a bad thing), so I don't know if they've started carrying other brands - if I ever find myself at an Ingle's, I may check for curiosity sake.

So, in short - as far as USPC brands go, Bicycle (and its novelties), Bee, and Streamline remain common; Hoyle and Aviator are becoming more widespread; Maverick is dwindling; the others are virtually nonexistent in these parts. Meanwhile, Cartamundi brands like Classic and Ace are also becoming more widespread.

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Tour of USPCC with John Ratzenberger
« on: September 14, 2016, 07:46:21 PM »
Here's this one as well, where this guy tries to figure out the exact number of people it takes to make a deck of cards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Kt7CHA8ug

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: September 14, 2016, 04:09:48 PM »
Must be special order then, as I said, they're popping up more and more just in regular grocery stores now alongside Bicycle, and whatever other brands that are carried, which depends on the store itself.

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: September 14, 2016, 12:08:18 AM »
Like I said, this was just something rough I whipped up while goofing off. But otherwise, wow, never seen that before, but looks really nice.

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Playing Card Plethora / My Ideal Aviator Box Design
« on: September 13, 2016, 03:33:14 PM »
I see Aviator brand cards are becoming more widespread and easier to find, as opposed to just exclusively a bookstores, so although Aviator may be growing in popularity, I still feel that it could be more eye-catching hanging from the racks among other playing cards - the box design, in my opinion, could certainly use an update and a little modernization, so I got to playing around in Fireworks, and this is what I came up with what I think would be a better box design for Aviator (keep in mind, this isn't anything serious, just something I piddled around with). The back of the box description was paraphrased from Bicycle's website, since Aviator already lacks any kind of description on their boxes other than "Poker Size Playing Cards." And this is really, really rough, so I apologize for the lackluster quality.


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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Ace limited edition card questions
« on: September 11, 2016, 10:38:13 PM »
So like Streamline then, a "step child" deck, I see. Well, that certainly would explain why the royalty did not look like USPC standard; certainly nowhere near as bad as Streamline's royalty (and at least Hoyle's pips are almost identical to USPC standard), but they do have a rather cartoonish look to them. But I wasn't aware that Hoyle wasn't an original USPC brand. Never seen Tally Ho firsthand, so I wouldn't know what that brand's like, but I hear a lot of good things about it, but mostly from magicians. Come to think of it, I think Vinny used a Tally Ho deck at one point in MY COUSIN VINNY.

I checked the box, this deck was printed in 2014, so it's a relatively recent one then.

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Ace limited edition card questions
« on: September 10, 2016, 04:57:00 PM »
I mean these cards have a stock that is even thinner and flimsier than Bicycle's stock since moving their factory to Kentucky . . . not really sure how Cartamundi believes that's "maximum durability." The box doesn't note any kind of finish, but it's rougher and more coarse than Bee's finish. The cards themselves are like almost the entire opposite of what Cartamundi says on the box.
Just picked up a Hoyle deck and was actually surprised that the stock is virtually the same as the Ace deck I got: thin, flimsy, not durable, with a coarse finish - despite saying "plastic coated" on the box. I expected more from a USPC deck.

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Tour of USPCC with John Ratzenberger
« on: September 05, 2016, 03:07:11 PM »
"My mother always said I was a card."

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Tour of USPCC with John Ratzenberger
« on: September 04, 2016, 06:07:54 PM »
I found this video on YouTube - not sure if this has been shared here already or not, if so, disregard this thread.

But anyway, here's a brief little visit to the USPCC's headquarters when it was in Cincinnati, as hosted by actor John Ratzenberger; we're treated to a very brief oral and visual history of the company and playing cards from the company's CEO, a look at how decks are manufactured, and John even indulges in a little friendly game of poker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlVSyhg8g3s

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Playing Card Plethora / Two Plane Decks
« on: September 03, 2016, 12:37:24 AM »
I never really intended to ever start "collecting" different deck brands and such - not only am I not really the crazy collector type I used to be when I was younger, but I was always pretty content with having just my pair of Bicycle and pair of Bee decks (and, yeah sure, I'm still holding onto that old, cheap, dollar store quality Cartamundi Classic deck). But I don't know, as of this year, I've felt compelled to get other decks for the sake of collecting: as I've mentioned previously, my newest additions this year have so far been a (Canadian) Streamline deck (blue), an Ace Authentic deck (limited edition red), and an Aviator deck (blue) (I plan on also picking up a blue Hoyle deck - do they come in paper, or just plastic?).

But this review is mainly for my Ace and Aviator decks, but they are interestingly both similar and distinct from each other at the same time.

As I said before, I picked up an Ace Authentic Limited Edition deck at Barnes & Noble back in the spring - based mainly on what I have seen of it, I wanted to grab the deck mainly for looks, as I really like how the two-color back design just pops, as opposed to the plain (no pun intended) one-color back design of the standard Ace decks you find at the dollar store. As I also mentioned, the Ace deck I picked up for looks is essentially only good for just that: looks. Cartamundi seems to pride itself on durability for their cards and claim that theirs are prefered by both novice players and "the most discriminating handlers," which just makes me laugh, because my Ace deck is anything but that: the stock they used is so thin and flimsy, they clearly wouldn't hold up in the long run . . . even when I first opened the deck, one of the cards was already warped (then again, I'm certain this was a used deck, as it wasn't shrink-wrapped, the seal had already been torn, and the cards were already shuffled). The finish is very similar to Bee's Cambric Finish, but feels even rougher and coarser to the touch. I will say that the face designs and the pips are a slight improvement over the Classic Cartamundi cards I have (which are plastic). And as Don and I both have mentioned, the Limited Edition Aces come in a really nice box - very eye-catching. So, in conclusion, as I said, this deck I got mainly for looks (I also really like biplanes, too) - it definitely wouldn't survive any kind of card games.

Now, as for the Aviator deck I recently got, even though it's similar to Ace with its airplane theme, everything about it is virtually the exact opposite of the Ace deck. Now, just for starters, I'm clearly reviewing an older Aviator deck: when I got it, the box was covered in dust (who knows how long it's been on the shelf), and the box also notes the Cincinnati address, rather than Erlanger. Aviator isn't exactly an attractive, eye-catching deck: the box design almost looks more like an off-brand deck rather than USPC (it doesn't even print any kind of information about the deck on the back of the box), the back design is nothing too special, and the pips and face design are USPC standard like Bikes and Bees (that I don't mind, because I'm fond of their standard designs) . . . but the way they feel and handle is quite a different story. Clearly Aviator isn't exactly an upper tier USPC deck - it doesn't have a nice, dimpled finish as Bicycle or Bee, but this so-called "slick" finish it does have gives it a really great feel and handle: the stock is thin and flimsy, but the slick finish gives the cards a nice slippery, almost laminated feel to them that makes them fun to handle - of all the cards I have, I find that my Aviator deck is the best at faro shuffling and riffle shuffle; I've never exactly been the best shuffler, but with practice, I can do passable riffles with just about any of my decks (well, except my plastic Cartamundi and Streamlike deck), though I've never been able to faro until I got this Aviator deck.

In closing, as I said, Ace and Aviator are certainly similar in their plane themes, but they're polar opposites in all other departments: Ace Authentic Limited Edition is good for looks, but not for handling; Aviator is not much on looks, but handles great.

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