Excited about this sweet addition to the collection!

[Paul Carpenter]

Check this out! My wife just FOUND these cards in a cabinet. I didn't even know we had them! Look how well they fan! The paper exists, and they can be held in your hand. The box is white, and the cards have ink of them! And the back art! HOLY COW, it is so totally art on the back. Like, I am SO lucky I can barely stand it.


My rating, out of 5 lumps of poo is totally a 5!


 


But seriously, to make this topic worthwhile, what decks would you consider to be a "must have" for a decent collection? There are so many amazing decks, but if you had to pick a handful that any respectable collector would have on the shelf, what would they be?

[Kanped]

In this day and age, I don't think there really are 'must have' decks for a collection.  there's so many out there that you can easily let practically anything slide.  Like, Jerry's would have been an obvious choice a few years ago but I know my collection doesn't have them and I think it's still pretty respectable.  I think that holds true for any deck in the world.  I would say that you should have at least one Bike, Bee and Tally-Ho in your collection (plain standard versions thereof).

[Don Boyer]

Check this out! My wife just FOUND these cards in a cabinet. I didn't even know we had them! Look how well they fan! The paper exists, and they can be held in your hand. The box is white, and the cards have ink of them! And the back art! HOLY COW, it is so totally art on the back. Like, I am SO lucky I can barely stand it.


My rating, out of 5 lumps of poo is totally a 5!


 


But seriously, to make this topic worthwhile, what decks would you consider to be a "must have" for a decent collection? There are so many amazing decks, but if you had to pick a handful that any respectable collector would have on the shelf, what would they be?

What the hell is that deck promoting?  I looks like...well...super cheap.

In this day and age, I don't think there really are 'must have' decks for a collection.  there's so many out there that you can easily let practically anything slide.  Like, Jerry's would have been an obvious choice a few years ago but I know my collection doesn't have them and I think it's still pretty respectable.  I think that holds true for any deck in the world.  I would say that you should have at least one Bike, Bee and Tally-Ho in your collection (plain standard versions thereof).

I'm in agreement here.  "Mandatory?"  Nothing you can't buy in a corner drug store is mandatory, if you're planning to use them.  If you're planning to collect, that's a different ball of wax.  In that case, mandatory is whatever strikes your fancy - people collect any particular deck for a specific reason, generally that something about the deck drew them to it.  Could have been the design, or the handling, or the artwork - or even just because it's rare and nothing else.  I've bought decks to use as trade fodder to get other decks I want.


I recently fell in love with the two MSM decks, especially the Watcher deck - totally awesome appearance, and the cards themselves have a radically different feel to any deck I've ever touched.  They're only hit or miss for fanning, but they're absolutely gorgeous.  They were more expensive than any standard deck I've bought before, above my usual rule of thumb for purchasing a deck, but they were worth it to me.


Are they "mandatory" to me?  Not at all.  But do I enjoy having them?  Without a doubt.  Very little of my every-growing collection is "mandatory" but they give me pleasure and I enjoy having them and using them.


If you want a must-have deck for appearance and performance, something a magician and a cardist can love, I'd pick a handful of decks, most of which are commonly available now.


* Tally Ho
* Bicycle Professional Rider Backs (CARC)
* Bicycle Gold Seal Rider Backs (Richard Turner)
* Bicycle Mandolin Backs
* Streamline - they're cheap as hell, but of decent quality and they're the cheapest usable deck with Arrco faces out there, and have an attractive back.
* Bee - any casino-grade deck, preferably traditionally cut.  NOT a canceled casino deck.  Magicians like them for gambling demos, while I'm not sure how cardists like them - the backs are practically an optical illusion in a spread.  Standard off-the-shelf Bees aren't traditionally cut.


That's a pretty good place to work from.

[xela]

It depends on the kind of collection you're keeping. I started out collecting various finishes and stocks, so that my collection would have the most diverse spectrum of handling.

Now I collect the rarest of the rare decks. This ranges from vintage decks to modern "limited" decks. For a brief moment in my collecting, I was grabbing whatever I could get my hands on but I quickly realized I'd get bankrupt soon.

I think any respectable collection that touts "rare" decks should have at least one deck of Jerry's. They may be $200-300, but it's a one time purchase and boy does it look great on display.

Any collector that tries to obtain the best handling decks is a fool if he or she does not grab some Virginia Slims and Absolut Vodka decks. Those are the only two decks I use for practicing cardistry of any kind.

A magician & collector shouldn't be caught dead without a pack of sealed White Ghost 1st edition or UV500 from Ellusionist. That's the real deck that started it all since it's the only deck from their early line up that felt "crisp" in handling, and looks fairly standard, yet still sleek and custom.

I think cancelled casino decks, airline decks, and promotional gimmicky decks are the ones that any collector should avoid. Cancelled casino decks always tout how rare they are, but they are sold by the thousands here in Vegas. For example, the Golden Nugget decks everyone adores that sell for over $100 now are sold en masse at various gambling stores, but they're cancelled. Besides, what's so cool about using a deck handled by people that walk into casinos?

[Don Boyer]

It depends on the kind of collection you're keeping. I started out collecting various finishes and stocks, so that my collection would have the most diverse spectrum of handling.

Now I collect the rarest of the rare decks. This ranges from vintage decks to modern "limited" decks. For a brief moment in my collecting, I was grabbing whatever I could get my hands on but I quickly realized I'd get bankrupt soon.

I think any respectable collection that touts "rare" decks should have at least one deck of Jerry's. They may be $200-300, but it's a one time purchase and boy does it look great on display.

Any collector that tries to obtain the best handling decks is a fool if he or she does not grab some Virginia Slims and Absolut Vodka decks. Those are the only two decks I use for practicing cardistry of any kind.

A magician & collector shouldn't be caught dead without a pack of sealed White Ghost 1st edition or UV500 from Ellusionist. That's the real deck that started it all since it's the only deck from their early line up that felt "crisp" in handling, and looks fairly standard, yet still sleek and custom.

I think cancelled casino decks, airline decks, and promotional gimmicky decks are the ones that any collector should avoid. Cancelled casino decks always tout how rare they are, but they are sold by the thousands here in Vegas. For example, the Golden Nugget decks everyone adores that sell for over $100 now are sold en masse at various gambling stores, but they're cancelled. Besides, what's so cool about using a deck handled by people that walk into casinos?

Funny you should mention that - I recently won an eBay auction for 17 decks, all but one still sealed, of vintage airline decks!  They appear to go back to the '70s and '80s, and many are USPC-made.  I think they're all bridge-sized - narrow cards fit better on a tray table!  Many of the airlines are now defunct or part of another airline company.


If I bought a Jerry's, I'd want to use it.  That's a lot of cash for one deck.


And you mentioned promotional decks - aren't both the Virginia Slims & the Absolut Vodka decks promotional? 

[Paul Carpenter]

Some interesting thoughts here. I honestly have never even looked for promo decks like Slims or Absolut but now I'm intrigued. Jerry's, yeah that would be cool but man, they are pricey items.

You guys are right though, there are so many great decks that you have to be choosey unless you have unlimited budgets.