(Part 3) Top products from r/playingcards

No paper cards are going to hold up to years of use, a lot of home poker games end with throwing away the deck and casinos throw out cards constantly. If you want a deck that lasts you will need to look at plastic cards. The most famous brands are Kem and Copag and both are nice for different reasons (Copag feels more like paper but with IMO uglier faces, Kem are also more expensive.) You can see them both here:

https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Bridge-Standard-Playing-Cards/dp/B000T61ZY0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482168466&sr=8-3&keywords=kem+black+and+gold

https://www.amazon.com/Copag-Bridge-Regular-Index-Playing/dp/B0023S1H40/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482168496&sr=8-3&keywords=copag+black

This said, it also depends what you are doing with the cards. If it's for magic/flourishes you will not want to use plastic cards but if it's for card games then they are what you want. If you are using paper cards it's best just to buy in bulk and understand they will not last with any amount of handling. If you want exceptional quality paper cards that are cheap enough to buy in bulk, generally Tally-Ho are considered a high-quality standard:

https://www.amazon.com/Tally-Ho-Playing-Cards-12-Count/dp/B007P17LKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482168622&sr=8-1&keywords=tally-ho+playing+cards+12

Casinos themselves use Bee cards which are also of good quality and affordable in bulk.

https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Playing-Cards-Colors-vary/dp/B00TYTSJHO?th=1&psc=1

Monarchs and the like are beautiful but these are more like collector's items, paper absorbs oils and moisture from the skin, corners separate and wear and cards are easily bent. While Monarchs and this class of playing card are printed with special inks and foils making them very attractive, at the end of the day it does not make them significantly more durable than a standard deck of Bikes.

TL;DR: Paper cards will show wear after only hours of use, for applications besides cardistry one must consider plastic cards such as Kem or Copag.

Sorry I'm late, others have given you great ways to have a good deck produced, they can be a little bit expensive, if you goal was to simply print one deck for a card game.


If you really just want to print one deck for a drinking game, but have it on something more resembling a deck of real cards, you can simply print the cards on a good quality linen finish cardstock:


https://www.amazon.com/Southworth-Cotton-Coverstock-inches-Z550CK/dp/B00125JBX4/


If you are just printing text, than a good quality home printer should produce an acceptable quality. If you want to throw a few more dollars at the project, take it to staples and have it printed on a high quality laser printer.


You'll have to cut the edges on a basic straight edge paper cutter, unless you have access to a die-cutter to perform the nice rounded corners you find on a deck of cards. They can be rather expensive and not worth-while for a project of this small scale.


One tip, I can offer is to use a whole punch to clean the corners. A 90 degree angle corner on a card is likely to get bent and deformed over time. Carefully running each corner into a hole punch will "die-cut" each corner into a inverted arc. Not as good as a real die-cut, but a nice little finish, if done accurately. It will take some experimenting to set up guides on the whole punch that you can align each corner into to get a symmetrical even punch each time. If you mess it up, the deck will not stack straight on the corners.

EDIT - Never mind, looks like corner rounders are now pretty cheap!

https://www.amazon.com/Aidox-Angle-Eater-Corner-Rounder/dp/B00161Q13C

There are quite a few of the traditional regional European decks that have borderless designs. I'll see if I can post a couple of examples of the kind of thing I mean.

Some common patterns are squiggles and
checks. Note though that such decks may not be standard 52 card decks ... it's quite common to find abbreviated decks and/or different suits. Seeing as they are standard decks produced in huge quantities they are pretty cheap though.

This is a different kind: a style of back with a fancy full bleed area surrounding a different central design. This is a standard French deck, but such back patterns are typical in Spain and Italy.

In terms of modern custom decks, I'll just mention that Jackson Robinson produced a couple such designs in recent months. I don't know whether you'll be able to get hold of either of these though, as one is limited in a finished Kickstarter campaign, and the other is exclusive to members of his club. They are quite pretty though, and I think a bit different from what he usually does. Equinox and Tigers LE.

Anyway, yes I like this style of backs a lot, and I try to use them in my own work if I can as well!

Cheers and thanks. The Queen of Hearts is included as an extra gaff card (e.g. you could do a colour changing deck routine).

It's hilarious reading some of the negative reviews on Amazon for this deck (link). Lots of buyers didn't realize it's extra card (and that the deck does have a red-backed Queen of Hearts as well), and put in complaints that something was wrong with the deck! I've posted some good examples in another thread on Reddit (here).

Oh awesome for sure! Check Goodwill if you have one in your area. That is where I came across mine that had the same exact deck opened, I do believe, and a sealed silver deck with the green case and was only 4.99. the unopened ones I have come across on Ebay, some sellers want 34.99 for them, if not higher. Something else that you may like are these https://www.amazon.com/Centennial-Collection-Collectors-Micromini-Playing/dp/B004K34T0U and there is also a Winter one as well, but I have the Summer one as in the link and its awesome. Maybe pick one up one day to add to your collection

Here's the mat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BCK7BM/

It has a good amount of cushion so it's easy to pick up cards off of it.

Currently unavailable here: Amazon | Drinxx by Umbra -- Designed by: Jason Nip / Chris Barnes

I don't know if Umbra was the seller. It seems like more of a home furnishing kind of place and doesn't show the cards on their website. If you search for "umbra drinxx playing cards" you get a bunch of different waterproof cards scattered around Ebay, etc. but not these. Jason Nip is a product designer.

also on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Bicycle-Specialty-4-Deck-Bundle/dp/B08239QCYG/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EVA4EX82BZHKK8R65K0J

Bicycle Reverse Yellow

https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Makers-Yellow-Bicycle-Playing/dp/B000K229DO

No problem.
BCW Super Monster 5 Row, Corrugated Cardboard, Storage Box https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K41E7E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rVKLybG23ZKPJ

https://www.amazon.com/CUSTOM-SAMPLE-Bicycle-Playing-Ellusionist-com/dp/B000LVEU3G/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1494469332&sr=1-5&keywords=tally+ho+viper

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001GN1H0M/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519671838&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX140_SY202_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=knight+playing+cards&psc=1

It is the Black Scorpion Deck by Magic Makers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001U1V3RW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1381694739&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

The five crowns deck is probably closest to what you want since stardeck isn't around anymore. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000IV35/

I have a vintage eagle deck from uspcc and those can still be found, but will cost at a bit and not really for playing due to more collectable. Decket and monster deck would fit the bill, but more full alternative suits. Rage game may work for you too.

There are also a number of similar custom decks with 5 or 6 suits on game crafter.
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/playing-cards

Also, see here https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/173496/upper-decks-card-games-alternative-playing-card-sy