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Topics - Wild Joker

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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 / 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.

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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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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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Playing Card Plethora / Fake Streamlines?
« on: August 19, 2016, 03:32:02 PM »
I bought a Streamline deck today (don't know why, just a whim, I guess) . . . I'm fairly certain that this deck might be fake. It says USPC on the box and the Ace of Spades, but they contradict themselves: the Ace of Spades says Cincinatti, OH, but the box says Erlanger, KY; not only that, but the box also says "Made in China." The deck itself is plastic (according to the box, "Plastic coated with smooth finish") very much like Cartamundi's plastic cards (with that same, awful smell), and the card designs are terrible: the pips and royalty look nothing like USPC standards. The spades look okay, and I don't mind the hearts, but the clubs are really small and squished, and the diamonds are really large and fat; the face cards look as though they were designed by an art school dropout - even worse than Cartamundi's royalty. Yeesh.

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Another Deck ID Request
« on: May 10, 2016, 01:32:50 AM »
This time, I kind of how a feeling this wouldn't just some cheap, generic, off-brand deck, considering they look really stylized, but is it possible for anyone (admist the old black-and-white, distortion, and compression) to identify this deck that was used in this memorable scene from I LOVE LUCY?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7ox7uoYcEM

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Playing Card Plethora / My Two Decks of Bees
« on: May 07, 2016, 10:41:07 PM »
Me again! I mentioned a while back in another thread about how I purchased two decks of Bee cards (one red, one blue) from a local/region grocery store chain called Food City, but lately I've been reading up about all of these different kinds of counterfeit Bees that are out there, and how some of them are actually pretty convincing that some people weren't even aware they had fakes. One thing I've noticed regarding counterfeit Bees is that most people who were duped in buying them say they bought them in local drug stores, dollar stores, and yes, grocery stores (apparently the drug store chain CVS was stocking these counterfeits for a while).

So, because I bought my decks at a grocery store, I'm wondering if mine may be counterfeits, or if they're the real deal. I'm pretty sure they're real, but I just want to be make sure. Here are some of the details I can provide:

- The price of each deck was over $3 (a lot of these counterfeit stories say the decks are usually $1 each, or both for $1).
- Some of the box details are as follows:
-- They mention the USPCC address as being Erlanger, KY, not Cincinatti, OH.
-- Mentions of a cambric finish
-- Has USPCC seal on the box.
-- Barcode number: 73854 00092
-- Top flap includes trademark information for USPCC (I've seen some counterfeits that include such information in broken English).
- Some of the card details are as follows:
-- The Ace of Spades does say "Made in U.S.A." and has the number 4814-T1113 on it, however, it doesn't include "Fabrique aux E-U," which I notice some Bee Ace of Spades have. Also, the "Bee" logo is the same design as on the box, and not all uppercase, like I've noticed on some Bee Ace of Spades.
-- The front designs of the cards, including the court cards, are virtually identical to Bikes.
-- Speaking of which, the cards' finish also looks like Bikes, however, the finish is slightly rougher than Bikes (you can really feel the tiny little pores in the finish), the stock feels slightly thicker than Bikes.
-- Terms of handling, the fans and spread beautifully, and the finish is nice and slick without being too slippery.

Like I said, I'm pretty sure my Bees, in spite of where they were purchased, are the real deal, however, I do want to be 100% sure, since, again, in some of the counterfeit stories I've read, some of the counterfeits out there are apparently convincing enough until they discover certain little tip-offs. I've even heard of this so-called "green sticker" that's a clear give-away that the deck is fake . . . I don't know what this "green sticker" is, unless its the sticker seal on the box, in which case, the sticker seals on my are black (again, like Bikes). If I need to provide pics, I can.

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