Tally ho fan back or circle back ??

[Jin Jian]

HI HI HI lol i am planning to get the tally ho deck the normal one not the viper .. any suggestion?? should i get the circle back or the fan backs .. which one you all prefer pls comment

[loldudex2]

I personally prefer the looks of the circle backs.

[Jin Jian]

I personally prefer the looks of the circle backs.

ya same but people say that circle back look boring in fan or fan back look good in fan and since this is not the viper edition the fan back faces and circle back circles are the same

[phantom1412]

Just get both...

[Evan]

Definitely get both... but I prefer Circle Back

[CDXX]

blue circle backs ... all you will ever need.

[KPopFever605]

For me, the fan back sells it for me, it's just something about it.

[austin]

I would have to go with CDXX on this one also, blue circle back. You should get both though.

[MrLukeCarroll]

I'd probably go with the Fan Backs (Seems to be a pretty fair 50/50 split of opinions here)

[Don Boyer]

I like the circle backs a bit more myself.  But there are different reasons for liking each back.  Magicians tend to like the circle back more because it's a less busy-looking design (the fan backs look vaguely like the old DeLand automatic decks).  A design that's overly busy can make a spectator think it's a "special" deck, even when it isn't.  XCMers like the added flash of the fan back, though some would go for circle backs, I imagine.

It boils down to your preference - the quality is 100% the same on both.  My personal favorites of the four possible combinations would be blue circle backs.  A lot of gaffed decks come in red-only, so I see more red than blue around, and I like the simpler back design over the fans.  But my tastes to be 180 degrees away from yours for all you know.

If you're looking for standard red/blue, the cheapest ones I've found so far are through T11.  If you find them cheaper, let me know where, please!  I'm not in the market yet, though - I recently snagged some freebies (including traditionally cut Bees!) from USPC for doing them a favor.

If you have the extra ducats, consider springing for a black deck or two.  They look really cool while still appearing familiar enough to not scream out "LOOK AT ME, I'M A SPECIAL MAGIC DECK!!!"  But remember those are limited-edition collectibles - not the kind of deck you wanna drag through the mud.

I really wish USPC would branch out with the Tally-Hos a bit more.  USPC considers Tallys a regional brand, sold almost exclusive either online or in the NYC Metro area (there's a few mom-n-pop stores in my area that sell them and Bees, no Bikes).  Most national chains won't touch a brand that isn't instantly recognizable anywhere in the country that it's sold.  If USPC pushed it more it could be a national brand, and with increased volume in sales perhaps even come down in price.

[CDXX]

People need to stop saying that because they're not bikes people are going to think it's a gaffed deck ... it all comes down to how you present yourself and your effect.

[Marcus]

People need to stop saying that because they're not bikes people are going to think it's a gaffed deck ... it all comes down to how you present yourself and your effect.

+1. The whole 'Regular bikes are the only decks that work' thing is so silly. First of all, USPCC themselves have printed a ton of different designs, and apparently most of the time all of those are considered OK, but as soon as it's something designed outside of USPCC, it'll be 'suspicious'. I call bullshit. Hell, USPCC's decks are quite rare in a lot of places outside of USA - I don't think I've ever seen one for sale in Sweden for example. Does that make people suspicious? Nope, it's just a friggin' deck of cards.

I've never been asked if one of my custom designed decks is a trick deck. Probably because I don't treat it any differently.

Sometimes you'll come across the claim that you never see professional magicians use custom decks because of this. Once again, I call bullshit. The reason for this is that they use a LOT of decks over the course of a year, and purchasing custom decks for that is a lot more expensive than buying bricks of regular Bikes at Target etc.

It all comes down to you. Stop blaming the props.

(This wasn't directed at any person in particular.)

[Kanped]

Combine that with the simple fact that it's easier to get gaffed rider back decks and individual cards than it is with any other brand in existence and I agree that argument is really weak.

[John B.]

Combine that with the simple fact that it's easier to get gaffed rider back decks and individual cards than it is with any other brand in existence and I agree that argument is really weak.

lol knapped that made my day, i never have used one so most people dont think my deck is tricky, one guy caught it the one time i did.

[Don Boyer]

Yes, it's true there's a lot of tricked-out decks with Bike backs, so you can easily fool someone.  Yes, it's true that many deck designs raise no eyebrows whatsoever and could easily pass for a "normal" deck, whatever that means these days.

But there are also some decks that truly look like "magic decks" due to oddities in their design.  I've seen marked decks that were clearly different from card to card on the back - you might fool a four-year-old, but not anyone else.  I've also had the DeLand Automatic Deck - that wacky pattern on the back was the fishiest looking thing I ever showed someone when attempting an amateur magic trick over twenty years ago.  And yes, my spectators picked up on it.  If someone showed me an ordinary deck that looked somewhat like the DeLand Auto, I'd be suspicious as well, even before I started taking magic seriously in the past year.  (Thanks to Ellusionist, by the way, Marcus...it was what got me motivated to give it a try!)

It's far from impossible to whip out a "stranger" deck on someone and raise no suspicions at all, gaffed or not.  But the point is that Tally Hos, in either back design, don't have the obvious wackyness of the most out-there gaffed decks or anything similar enough to it that would raise eyebrows.  The designs are classy and old-school.