In a professional card game the general idea is to only expose as much of the card as you need to in order to determine the suit/value. Often times in games like Texas Hold Em' you will see players not even pick up their cards, but merely bend them a little, give them a small spread, and put them back down, for fear of other players catching a glimpse of the card. The indices (or indexes, I'm pretty sure both are correct) being further from the edge of the card requires players to expose more of the card to determine it's suit/value, which runs a higher risk of flashing your cards to the other players.
That sums it up nicely, thanks. As far as the plural for index... If you're being traditional, indices is the proper plural, just like matrices is the proper plural for matrix. But in modern usage, many people don't stick to the traditional pluralization because they simply don't know it, and they find that adding -es is easier, since it sounds like it should be correct. Some might even call it an old-fashioned usage to write indices, just as you never hear the word datum very often, but you do hear the plural form, data, often being used as the singular form as well.
Despite mankind's many efforts to pin down, classify and define language, the fact remains that it's a living, breathing, moving target, highly elusive and forever evolving to suit the needs of the current users. If a native English speaker were to read an "Old English" letter written in the time from the Dark Ages up to the Renaissance, you're likely to barely even recognize it as your own language. Most people only barely know Renaissance English usage because of the unflagging support for the works of William Shakespeare.
But I digress...
Reagan - SMALL, angled indices in the right corners, with pip to the right of value, is the standard for a Poker Peek index. All indices need to be pushed out as close to the edge of the cards as is permissible without causing registration/alignment errors when it's time to cut the card sheets. The only time I don't see an index pushed out is when it's so freakin' huge that it dominates the card, like the bridge-sized Hoyle Super Index cards or the poker-sized Bicycle Lo-Vision.
The issue about taking small peeks from a turned-up corner is also the reason why bridge-sized cards have become the norm in professional poker games. Smaller cards are easier to conceal under your cupped hands when peeking. Plastic decks are more popular than paper not only because they last longer, but also because they're more difficult to mark and crimp. Simple back designs are more popular than complex ones because there are fewer places to hide a marking system.
Now I'm really thinking you should be paying me to be your consultant!
I just caught that last post - the shadow around the heads is a bit large, but otherwise I really like this design. Make the shadow circle small enough that just a few of the longer details (furthest from the center of the circle) are actually sticking out of the shadow. My tuppence.
