A Question to the card guys

[JBA Janson]

Have to replace my old deck of cards and prepare a new one. (I use bicycle cards.)

You card specialists - what to you do nowadays to your brand new deck to get it in working condition from day one?

Appreciate your tips and comments. :)

[Guest]

If I am practicing, I open a deck and give it a slight bend (similar to a pressure fan but not as heavy on the bend). Then I do 8 faros with the cards face down, 8 faros with the cards face up. Since the deck is in new deck order after the faros, I do the Si Stebbins secret from Darwin Ortiz's "At The Card Table". Then the cards are broken in. This whole process takes about 2 minutes. I have been doing this for several years.

If I am performing with a new deck, I go right into performance. The only thing I do is the slight bend in the deck.

Personally I prefer brand new cards. If they are broken in too much, I stop using them (or I practice the mercury card fold or card warp with it).

[Richard Kaufman]

Jan, I always beat the hell out of a deck before I can do anything with it. My handling of the Pass needs soft cards.
So, I do very heavy riffle shuffles (really bending the cards) both face up and face down. Then about 100 Riffle passes, with the cards face up and face down.
Then I wipe the face and back of every single card against the cloth of my trouser leg a few times. (No Joke! The only reason I'm giving this away is because no one will do it!)
The the deck is broken in.
P.S. Your goodies arrived in the mail and I'll bring them to Los Angeles.

[Bill Duncan]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
...Then about 100 Riffle passes, with the cards face up and face down.

Richard,pray tell which riffle pass? ;)

[ October 29, 2001: Message edited by: Bill Duncan ]

[Guest]

I do some moves that require the cards to be rather cozy with each other. For that reason I use beaten decks. The kind card guys give you funny looks for using.

To break in a new deck I do just about everything one should not do with cards. Stopping short of soaking them in wine and nailing them to a board of course.

I'm trying to work up to a lighter hand on the cards but, old habbits...

Cheers,

Tom Cutts

[Carl Mercurio]

A few faros and a few pressure fans work best for me...

[Pete McCabe]

This may only work for the amateurs here on the forum, but I open a new deck and then practice with it for a few days. I do every card trick in my repertoire each day, which frankly doesn't take all that long.

When I can do my whole repertoire several times through without any card-related problems I know the deck is ready to go.

However if I were a professional I suspect would take the exact opposite tack: I would only ever practice and perform with a brand new deck. That's the only way you can be sure you're working with the same type of deck every time.

Martin A Nash, who begins every show by opening two brand new decks of cards, once said "A deck is only good to me for about an hour."


Pete

[Guest]

I usually do Paul Lepaul's spread a few times.
But a friend of mine gives his new deck to an other person and ask him to show him a trick or to play with it... This is a self breaking deck ;)

[walkinoats]

I usually break in a deck by doing alot of springing of the cards, and alot of riffle shuffles. I always break in deck before I perform.

[Jim Morton]

I usually do a few faros first, to see how the deck behaves. Then I'll do some pressure fans and spring the deck a few times.

If I'm using Walgreens Stud cards, I don't do anything. They are ready to go right out of the box. Studs are softer than other cards. They practically faro themselves. They wear out really quickly though.

[Guest]

it is good to have well broken in decks but in my humble opinion it is good to be able to to most of your stuff with a deck right out of a sealed box, when I am learning somthing I do it with a brand new deck and I do it with old decks and different brands of decks, it is nice to have the confidence to know I can do my stuff with almost any deck. Just stupid thoughts from a fool

Noah LEvine

[Robert McDaniel]

This is not a new idea, but I buy 12 new decks and open all of them. Then I deal each deck of cards onto the table face-up, face-down, face-up, face-down, and so on. And then I place the entire deck (including jokers, advertising cards) back in the case.

When it's time for a new deck, the cards are usually perfectly flat or unwarped. I've heard that some people place the cards in the refrigerator to hasten the process, but I've never tried it. After the decks are "cured", I remove the jokers and advertising cards and perform table faros and riffle shuffles to break in the cards.
Robert McDaniel

[Ryan Matney]

Hi Guys,

I like to peel off the plastic, then I break the seal and finally I throw away the advertsing cards. Then it's ready and I start doing tricks! :D

Ryan

[Andy Hurst]

If you don't like using new cards you can buy all my old worn out decks off me. I really trash em up good. $5 a deck plus s&h

[Some cards might be signed, torn or missing] :p

[The Grate Amazmo]

Sometimes I have the client supply the cards. I never know what I will get. I have tricks with new cards, cheap cards, used cards. I take whatever is given to me and make the most of it. If I get a good new deck I do a few effects that keep the deck in order then stack it using Darwin's Si Stibbins Secret.

[Countelmsley]

When I open a new deck of cards these days, here's what I usually do; I practice a couple of Brian Tudor flourishes I havent mastered yet and when I' ve dropped the entire deck 20 or 25 times on my carpet, I do a few faros to keep in shape and eliminate the bends in the cards. Just trying to be funny... Have a good day!