One of few addictions that doesn't destroy families or tissue boxes?

[Mydnyghte]

I blame the Ultimate Deck from D&D.
It was the first deck I saw that caught my eye, and I only saw it because I frequent theAwesomer.com where they had a post about it. Little did I realize that after picking that deck up, there were so many more awe inspiring decks out there.
Playing cards has always been one of those things that i never paid much attention to, because none of them had ever raped my eyeballs before. Today, maybe a month later, I've managed to get my hands on a little over 60 decks, which include purchases from Encarded (plus a few from Paul Carpenter, who is one hip cat), Ellusionist, T11, a brick from danbaer on here, and numerous Kickstarter campaigns. I stumbled into this place by noticing a blurb about it on Tuckcase.com, at which point I found the Trade forum, at which point some money went missing. But cards showed up at my house a few days later, so I didn't complain.
After the first few grabs, I found myself amazed by the things I've seen people do with playing cards. So I have, in the spare time my 2 month old and 18 month old allow, been trying to learn a little cardistry. Reason being, it seems half hearted for me to own something that I can't properly use. So that is it in a nutshell. Or tuckbox......
Oh and my name is Caleb, I live in Mills River, NC, and I have become addicted to playing cards.

[Fred]

First and foremost, welcome to the forums Caleb (: It really is an addiction and i'm never really sure whether this forum rehabilitates or pushes you even further 'over the edge'. =s Either way, im in!

If you're keen on learning cardistry, i think i have something special that i can help you with . Drop me an email at epical_feefee@hotmail.com if you're interested!

[Don Boyer]

Hey, Caleb, welcome.  My mom lives in NC, near the Piedmont Triad.  You'll find we're a pretty friendly bunch, passionate about cards, and we don't usually bite! 

[Anthony]

Welcome Caleb! I know exactly how you feel, I havent been at it as long as you, but pretty much ended up here via the same route you did.

...On a side note, Froggo, I would love to gather some tidbits on cardestry, is the email offer open to anyone? 

[ronyo_faukx]

Hi Caleb,

Welcome to the forum, as Don has said, this is a really friendly bunch of people.

Also, with regard to spending alot of money on decks of cards in a short space of time to feed a now apparent card-collecting addiction ...

... I know that feel, bro.

[xela]

Welcome! As for doesn't destroy families, there was a guy a year ago who got a divorce because of his addiction.

[Don Boyer]

Welcome! As for doesn't destroy families, there was a guy a year ago who got a divorce because of his addiction.

Who the heck was that - YOU? 

[Mydnyghte]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I've been lurking on this board for awhile now, and just yesterday or the day before did I finally get the opportunity to create an account. Ever since the addition of our second child, free time has been measurable in the time it takes t......its gone. Its actually taken me about 20 minutes to make this post in between child rearing, stopping to glance at Gravity Falls (best show on Disney. All other opinions on this are wrong) and keeping my daughter from eating/grabbing/hitting random things/her brother.

Froggo, THAT is awesome man, I will be sending you an email at some point. There are a ton of videos I've got lined up in my head to watch, but then we get back to that whole free time thing.

Don I've been impressed with the tight ship you run. It is AWESOME to be on a messageboard where I don't have to wade through post after post of "Cool!" or "That is nice!" or "I'm suicidal" or any other needless post-padding replies. My wife and I both were raised in Greensboro, in what area does your mom live?

I've been slowly cataloging my collection today, and my wife came through a few minutes ago and said "Have you got enough decks?" To which I replied "Define enough"  It is insane how many awesome decks there are, and also how many I still want. And Kickstarter hasn't helped at all.

A divorce? Man, guess this isn't safe as I thought. I bet he really went overboard if she, out of spite, ended up with half his collection. If I start selling off parts of my house to supplement my addiction, that will be a red flag. Well, I have started selling off part of my 1/6 scale figure and statue collection. But that means nothing. Nothing I tell you.

[Don Boyer]

Don I've been impressed with the tight ship you run. It is AWESOME to be on a messageboard where I don't have to wade through post after post of "Cool!" or "That is nice!" or "I'm suicidal" or any other needless post-padding replies. My wife and I both were raised in Greensboro, in what area does your mom live?

I've been slowly cataloging my collection today, and my wife came through a few minutes ago and said "Have you got enough decks?" To which I replied "Define enough"  It is insane how many awesome decks there are, and also how many I still want. And Kickstarter hasn't helped at all.

Mom lives about a half-hour outside of Winston-Salem, not far from the Tennessee line.

Just wait until you're collection reaches the proportions of some of the others around here.  My best guess is that I have 1,700 decks right now, and it's small compared to some (though admittedly not most).  My wife has something in common with the Queen of England - she, too, is not amused.    Hundreds of open decks...hundreds more still sealed...  But I don't go crazy and buy by the brick these days, not that I did much before.  I'm actually on a buying hiatus until we get a new car...

[bhong]

Don, it begs the question, how much space that 1700 decks of cards take up?

Welcome Mydnyghte! Good luck with the cardistry. I honestly thing it's just practise, practise and some more practise. Anything yet you've learned that you're proud of?

[Rob Wright]

Welcome aboard Caleb. You'll have to take a picture of your collection and post.

Don, it begs the question, how much space that 1700 decks of cards take up?

I would say Don better get a car with a big trunk.

[Don Boyer]

Don, it begs the question, how much space that 1700 decks of cards take up?

Well, there are these collector boxes designed to hold 5,000 baseball cards - they can also hold about 125 decks each.  I have eight of those for the sealed decks.

For the open decks and some miscellaneous magic gear, I have two (formerly) portable plastic shelving units from Staples.  each is stacked with eight drawers on the top and two double-sized drawers on the bottom.  Each standard drawer holds 45 decks when packed to the gills.  I think I have over 70 stripper decks alone...  And there's a plastic tub of stuff to be sorted, which holds about as much as three drawers.  It's not all decks, but enough of it is.

Y'see, Caleb, this is what you have to look forward to...  My collection could probably put one of your kids through a year or two of a state or local public college...

[Mydnyghte]

I get kind of nervous when I think about it, because this is definitely, when looking at it on a unit by unit basis, the cheapest hobby that I've got. However, when looking at it based on items available that I would like to have, that goes out the window. Where I might have $500 wrapped up in 2 or 3 1/6 scale figures,  that could be 40-50 decks of cards (figuratively). However, when looking at the decks available I want versus the figures available I want, it's like a fat kid on a seesaw with a skinny kid, or a vegan.
Don it sounds like you've got plenty of material to build your own dog house if it ever came down to it...
Right now all my stuff is sitting on the dining room table, as there's not a suitable case for my stuff to reside in. Hopefully I will be able to make room soon in one of my cases to give everything a proper display.
Right now the only thing I've gotten decent with is the card spring. Still working on increasing the distance between my hands, but overall I can do it pretty well. I've quickly discovered that hand and finger exercises would be very beneficial. I doubt my wife would find that a legit reason though.....

[Fred]

Think again. Im sure your wife will appreciate and benefit from the increased finger dexterity

[Fred]

Sparkz, sure buddy. Drop me an email.

[Anthony]

Think again. Im sure your wife will appreciate and benefit from the increased finger dexterity

Well played sir.........LOL

[Don Boyer]

I get kind of nervous when I think about it, because this is definitely, when looking at it on a unit by unit basis, the cheapest hobby that I've got. However, when looking at it based on items available that I would like to have, that goes out the window. Where I might have $500 wrapped up in 2 or 3 1/6 scale figures,  that could be 40-50 decks of cards (figuratively). However, when looking at the decks available I want versus the figures available I want, it's like a fat kid on a seesaw with a skinny kid, or a vegan.
Don it sounds like you've got plenty of material to build your own dog house if it ever came down to it...
Right now all my stuff is sitting on the dining room table, as there's not a suitable case for my stuff to reside in. Hopefully I will be able to make room soon in one of my cases to give everything a proper display.

It's worse than you think - some individual decks, depending on the deck, rarity and vintage, can go for anywhere from $50 to a few hundred - right up to a few thousand for the rarest of the rare.

For storage...check out the first five or six items on this page:
http://www.staples.com/portable+storage+drawers/directory_portable+storage+drawers?

Forget the wheels, they're useless with enough weight on top of them.  These drawers are stackable and interchangeable, allowing you to make custom configurations to suit your needs and your collection size.  I use two units, with eight short drawers and two taller ones each.  A short drawer holds up to 45 poker decks, depending on how efficient you are at placing them.  There's "pull-stops" to keep the drawers from sliding and falling out accidentally, but the drawers are also easily removed for full access to the contents.  And that's just for the open decks...

For the sealed decks, I like these:
http://www.bcwsupplies.com/products/trading-card-boxes/super-monster-storage-box-5000-ct.htm

A box this size, meant to hold about 5,000 baseball cards, will hold 125 standard poker decks; 25 per column.  I have eight of them.

Like I said, she is not amused... 

[Mydnyghte]

Froggo, finally got around to dropping you an email. I appreciate the offer!

Don I remember seeing you post about your storage containers in another thread. I really dig those divided boxes. I've been toying with the idea of building a display cabinet, but again, free time. I've got a nice glass case that I think I will use for now, courtesy of IKEA. Once  we get finished with our home renovation and my nerd cave is birthed, then things will change, I can feel it.

I've been pretty lucky, my wife has been pretty patient with my hobbies. Though it helps most everything is boxed up and hidden away. Like caging a tiger man....

[Don Boyer]

Froggo, finally got around to dropping you an email. I appreciate the offer!

Don I remember seeing you post about your storage containers in another thread. I really dig those divided boxes. I've been toying with the idea of building a display cabinet, but again, free time. I've got a nice glass case that I think I will use for now, courtesy of IKEA. Once  we get finished with our home renovation and my nerd cave is birthed, then things will change, I can feel it.

I've been pretty lucky, my wife has been pretty patient with my hobbies. Though it helps most everything is boxed up and hidden away. Like caging a tiger man....

I used to display as much of the collection as I could.  But it just grew too large and was difficult to organize for easy access.  The drawers and the boxes are a much more efficient use of space.  Should you try the drawers like I did, don't go higher than twelve standard-height stacked drawers or the equivalent - it's an impressive amount of weight, more than you'd think, and even at twelve it's a challenge to move them.  I had to give up the wheels pretty fast - they couldn't handle all that paper on top of them.  The boxes are great as well - but truly heavy.  I'm glad I built some muscle practicing martial arts or I wouldn't be able to manage moving them.

Stack all this stuff in the middle of a wood house's floor, you'll bow it over time...

[Mydnyghte]

Froggo, you are the man. Wow, very cool of you. From here on out, I will preface all posts here with "Froggo is the man, I heart him". Unless that is too much too soon...

For now, boxes and cases will have to suffice. I have a rough idea in my head of a cabinet setup and a picture frame-ish case I'd like to build for display purposes, but a suitable room is needed before such things are created. So they will remain ideas for now.

I was impressed with the weight of the box after I loaded it up with everything I have so far, I swear it feels like 4 or 5 reams of paper are kept inside. So I can easily see how consideration would have to be taken as far as storage goes!