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Messages - zincy7

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Conjuring Arts Decks - Pre-2012
« on: June 08, 2017, 10:55:46 AM »
Would Bill and the team at EPCC be able to tell me if my design is too close in similarity? I have the basic shapes of the cards laid out, and while the back is beautiful, I want to follow those patterns, but make it my own. Personally, I just want to make a deck of cards that people would love to use as a set of workers, and while I think Superiors are great, they don't have that "IT" factor that bikes, tally's, Tahoes, and Studs have.

Also Don, thank you for always responding. It's one of the best things to actually get to talk to someone of your caliber.

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Playing Card Plethora / Weed and Playing Cards - A Case for Hemp
« on: June 02, 2017, 03:02:22 PM »
I don't really care if you smoke weed or if you don't like drugs or whatever. Just here me out.

Hemp paper was used to make the Gutenberg Bible. Hemp paper was used to write the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence. Hemp, the stalk of the plant that has been the center of the drug war for a century, is finally reaching a point where it can have an impact.

I want to ask what you all think about the idea of taking hemp paper, with fibers that are noticeably stronger and longer lasting than normal paper from trees, and using them as part of card stock. Has anyone thought about the potential use it would have? Not only is it a negative carbon footprint, but it also offers for the potential to control the process of playing card manufacturing even further.

Think about it. With recent developments, paper thickness has become a varying degree to such an extent that you can get custom made Bees with the thickness of Bikes, and vice versa.

So I ask, is this a future that we could see?

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Conjuring Arts Decks - Pre-2012
« on: June 02, 2017, 02:48:27 PM »
DANG IT!!!

Thanks for the response Eddie. I actually saw a post on here a few hours ago on the Stud and JN stocks, and I was kind of sad to find out they're not out there currently on the market. I really like the fact that the Studs and JNs are getting some justice in the modern era, and the fact that EPCC is doing it means its gonna be top grade stuff.

I have a few questions tho, especially considering you've got some experience with the stocks.

1) What's your current opinion on the EPCC vs USPCC debate (ie which one do you really think puts out the best quality material)? I hear a lot of people saying that the Turner Gold Seal's are the best cards you can get for the cheapest, and while that may be true for now, I think EPCC's attention to detail is starting to edge out for me.

2) With the Stud stock, how close is it to the feel of the original studs? And are designs currently being accepted to print on those stocks?

3) How's the durability on these decks? I know that everyone talks about how long the JNs would last (and even get better) over time, and I think it's a factor that I would take into account, especially with how quick I go through Bikes.

4) Are the designs for future decks getting revamped? Are they sticking to the Superior back design? I wasn't the biggest fan of the design, personally, as I think the border thickness was too small and the swirls of the design to be too simple. I think the benefit of the USPCC is that they've had generations of card designs come and go, and they've had time to adjust to iconic designs. It's why I love the Steamboats and Arrco Tahoes and US. Reg.

5) Is there a way to sign up for news on when new decks like this would come out?

thank you again

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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Conjuring Arts Decks - Pre-2012
« on: June 02, 2017, 11:30:09 AM »
Sorry for such a late reply.

I remember that Skull & Bones deck. The Ivory finish (god help us find some more Ivory in the future) was the first time I had felt a smooth playing card and It was marvelous. I wish I had had more money to invest in buying more, but alas, being 13 has its downside.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense. A lot of the decisions that have been made by the USPCC have been rather atrocious.

Steamboats, Studs, Arrcos, and even Hoyle and Maverick cards are all but lost, too expensive, or just plain crap. Even the stock from Bicycle has suffered, with some brand new decks from Walmart coming out of the box with a click, and edges so rough, I could shave with them.

It's weird. I found an old Rider back in my house from when I was really young, and I noticed the registration was perfect in comparison to the new decks I would buy. And it actually ended up infuriating me because it was the first moment I realized that playing cards were taking a downturn. Then, Conjuring Arts comes out with the tan and green Bee Erdnase Squeezers (I actually liked the blue color that the century old deck had), and then it came out with the Professionals and Acorns and other Erdnase decks, and it felt like some civility had returned to the quality of what playing cards should feel like.

Now hearing of the crap that Bill had to go through, I actually respect his decision. He gave up a lot with those original decks that he produced, and admittedly, I would have liked for him to reproduce another run of Arrco Tahoes, but he's doing his own thing. I'm actually trying to work on a workers design based on the Arrco Tahoe, and I plan on sending it through the EPCC. I love playing cards, and to hear that someone like Bill Kalush took a stand for us is really encouraging.


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Playing Card Plethora / Re: Damask Finish
« on: June 02, 2017, 11:12:26 AM »
Just FYI, EPCC has a couple of new finishes.

JN Finish:
The new JN Finish. This represents our constant efforts to duplicate the venerable Jerry's Nugget Casino cards from the '70s. Probably we, nor maybe anyone else, can get closer. These are very similar to the Master Finish cards that are so popular but these are crushed .01mm thinner and you can feel it.

Stud Finish:
Our new Stud Finish. Very soft and pliable. We think they are the softest high quality cards on the market today.

This just piqued my interest.

are there any decks out there that have these finishes? I bought the red les melies voyager deck back on kickstarter (wish I had bought more than just 1 deck) and I thought the deck was a little weird to break in, but I liked it cuz it gave me a challenge for my fingers.

I'm guessing the new Stud Finish is EPCCs attempt at recreating the (RIP) Studs that used to be put out by Walgreens. I don't know who's decision it was to stop production, cuz those cards were SO GOOD. Those were probably the first decks that I would have called 'broken in right out of the box' before all these new stocks and finishes came out.

Is there a way I could follow any news on this?

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Playing Card Plethora / Conjuring Arts Decks - Pre-2012
« on: April 16, 2017, 08:34:12 AM »
I'm a magician that loves playing cards. They're some of my favorite things to use when doing magic, and there's often something about a great deck of cards that makes you want to practice and use them that's indescribable.

Yet, today's market doesn't offer that quality you once had in the days of Vernon and Miller.

Which is why I'm so curious as to why Conjuring Arts stopped making decks through USPCC.

Red, Green, Black Acorn Backs, with the choice of Cambric and Ivory (my personal favorite being Ivory), along with amazing cards like the Erdnase 216s, Professional Bicycles, and the original Skull & Bones, Conjuring Arts was a powerhouse in pushing out great decks. Bill Kalush was a monster with his releases.

So why did they stop? Those decks were incredible. The Professional Bikes makes sense, as Richard Turner took over that market with a cheaper deck, but those other decks were great. I'm sure they could have done more runs of those decks and they would have sold out. Even decks like the Exquisite Bolds were groundbreaking when they came out.

I know that CA works a lot with ECC and Legends, and a lot of their new decks are great (lookin at you Superior Brand), but those old decks.....I miss them.

Anybody else feel the same way? Anyone know what happened? Thanks ahead of time.

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The Conversation Parlor / Re: Whatever Happened To DealingDeuces
« on: April 16, 2017, 06:43:09 AM »

Well, if you're looking for "old school" Magic Castle decks, go REALLY old school and get the ones from USPC.  Someone wrote a good article on here a while back about the Magic Castle decks in the old design - you should search for it.  The final printing of that design was from Cartamundi and isn't even worth the paper it's printed on - the cards have a plasticky feel to them and have a terrible habit of clumping together badly after very little use.  The USPC ones are HARD to find - many of those decks were bought up and either hoarded by collectors/tourists or used by magicians.  There were a few other print runs from other companies, as I recall - to my knowledge, it's the Cartamundi ones that aren't worth the time of day.

Darn it. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. Personally, I hold older generations of cards to a high standard, given how decks like the Studs, Aristocrats, Tahoes, Nuggets, and Magic Castle decks all managed to capture the attention of the great card men of that era.

Maybe I'm just buying the hype of "they used it, so I should too", but even today, I have a huge frustration with modern Bikes. I live in a place with humidity, so they generate "clicks" insanely fast, and even then, the quality of the cut isn't all that great. The registers are off, the sides feel like sand paper, and they just don't hold up like I need them too.

Honestly, this is why I invest in more expensive playing cards. Dan and Dave (albeit extremely expensive now that they've shifted sites), put out some GREAT decks of cards, even though they cost twice as much. The Dealing Deuces reprints were also great cards, and I'm actually wondering if people would be interested in a reprint of the old Black and Inverse designs that DD brought out several years ago.

I actually wanted to ask your opinion on this, Don. What do you think about cards today? Do you remember the quality that used to be put out? What do you think companies like Dan & Dave and Conjuring Arts are doing that makes their decks that much better?

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The Conversation Parlor / Re: Whatever Happened To DealingDeuces
« on: April 10, 2017, 09:14:38 PM »
I have been saving up literally hundreds of dollars to buy the Arrco Tahoe reprints they were selling, and I just searched them and their website isn't showing up. Does someone know something I don't?

I'm asking because I've wanted the Tahoe Black and White decks for years now, and being a 15 with no job didnt really help.  Now that I have one, I've been wanting to buy their stock of Tahoes for myself, as well as the other decks they had to offer.

Can anyone help me out here?

DealingDeuces was a rather expensive place to buy cards for the most part.  He fell into disrepute over a scandal, which possibly cost him enough of his business to cause him to fold shop.

He were looking for ways to inflate prices on some of his decks.  One method he used was to foil wrap his Arrco Tahoe reprints and give them serially-numbered seals, making them look like some kind of factory-issued set - they were the same decks one could purchase individually for significantly less money.

But what really got him in hot water was when he was taking "Ace Fulton" decks made by Dan and Dave Buck, wrapping them in gold foil and applying some kind of clear sticker to the foil with the "Ace Fulton's Casino" logo on it and charging a small fortune for them.  People were freaking out, trying to find out if, as was claimed by Dealing Deuces, it was some kind of special edition that wasn't previous available from the Bucks, but one of the Bucks came out publicly and said they never made them in that way - it quickly became clear to collectors that he was trying to re-wrap the decks to make them appear to be far more valuable than they actually were.

Almost immediately after that happened, he stopped posting to his account here on this forum and wasn't heard from again.  People started doubting the veracity of a lot of his claims in regard to the very expensive collectible decks he was offering for sale on his site - I recall a casino deck he was selling that was in the four figures, royally expensive, making it supposedly more valuable than a "Holy Grail" deck like the original Bicycle War Series from 1918.  It would appear that the scandal cast a long-enough shadow on his business that it tanked.

Here's the topic where the whole thing came out in the open.  http://www.playingcardforum.com/index.php?topic=3543.0

Thanks so much for the thorough response Don. You're probably my favorite playing card enthusiast cuz you really have your head in this game. I personally loved the Arrco Tahoe reprints, and I was hoping to snag some old school magic castle decks from that website, but knowing whats been going on, it seems as though DealingDeuces really lost its credibility on this one.


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The Conversation Parlor / Whatever Happened To DealingDeuces
« on: March 19, 2017, 10:45:16 AM »
I have been saving up literally hundreds of dollars to buy the Arrco Tahoe reprints they were selling, and I just searched them and their website isn't showing up. Does someone know something I don't?

I'm asking because I've wanted the Tahoe Black and White decks for years now, and being a 15 with no job didnt really help.  Now that I have one, I've been wanting to buy their stock of Tahoes for myself, as well as the other decks they had to offer.

Can anyone help me out here?

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