Must-Have Features of a Deck of Your Dream

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
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cardlover
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Must-Have Features of a Deck of Your Dream

Postby cardlover » September 12th, 2015, 11:44 am

Hi, magician! We are running a new playing cards. Could you please give us an advice – What are the features the hypothetic deck 'of your dream' should contain to be suitable for most spectacular tricks? Any thoughts and deck examples based on your experience are welcomed!

In order to be more specific:

We've just completed the artwork for a new deck of cards. Our deck is suitable for playing and collecting and it contains standard set of playing cards. But we are going to add some magic features and to improve the design of cards to be interesting for magicians of any level.

We are wondering – what design details are important for magicians in existing decks (what are often used, most wanted, personally liked or rare).

1) what are the most important, popular and actual design details of decks used by magicians, e.g. elements or examples of the back and face design etc.

2) most used kinds of gaff cards etc. and what types of gaffs/gimmicks the deck should contain out of the box (e.g double-backs, double-faces, blank+back, double-blank etc.)

Thank you in advance!
Last edited by cardlover on September 13th, 2015, 7:09 am, edited 4 times in total.

performer
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby performer » September 12th, 2015, 12:42 pm

The must have feature for me is that loads of people waste their money on purchasing it thus filling my pockets with the Ill gotten gains. I already have a deck like that. I have written about it in some magic magazine or other.

Leo Garet
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby Leo Garet » September 12th, 2015, 1:13 pm

performer wrote:The must have feature for me is that loads of people waste their money on purchasing it thus filling my pockets with the Ill gotten gains. I already have a deck like that. I have written about it in some magic magazine or other.

Is this the one I bought sometime back in the dark days of the 20th century at Blackpool. From a guy called Ricky or Ronnie or Rooney or Mac or something?

performer
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby performer » September 12th, 2015, 1:21 pm

Indeed. Serves you right. You should never give money to strangers.

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby I.M. Magician » September 12th, 2015, 1:58 pm

Oh boy, here you go again! I bought one of those decks about a million years ago and I learned to use it quite well.

Everyone who buys a trick deck from you does not get ripped off by purchasing a deck they will never be able to use. Now cut that out! :roll:

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby I.M. Magician » September 12th, 2015, 2:01 pm

Wait a minute. Should I have said "there" or "here" you go again?

performer
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby performer » September 12th, 2015, 2:23 pm

You did not buy the deck from me. If you had I would have made sure that you were ripped off. I honestly would not be able to sleep at night if I thought people were getting value for money.

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby I.M. Magician » September 12th, 2015, 2:28 pm

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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cardlover
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby cardlover » September 12th, 2015, 3:12 pm

Thank you for keeping the discussion up! :D
In order to be more specific: We've just completed the artwork for a new deck of cards that's why we wonder:
1) what are the most usable, popular and actual features of trick decks, e.g. subtle one-way design of back etc. (we going to improve the design of cards to be interesting for magicians of any level) and
2) what types of gaffs/gimmicks the deck should contain out of the box (e.g double-backs, double-faces, blank+back, double-blank etc.)
Last edited by cardlover on September 13th, 2015, 6:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

David Nethery
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby David Nethery » September 12th, 2015, 3:48 pm

cardlover wrote:What are the MUST-HAVE features the 'ideal' trick deck should contain to be suitable for most spectacular tricks? Any thoughts and deck examples based on your experience are welcomed!


A clean, fool-proof method of switching out the gimmicked deck for an ungimmicked deck.

.

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby Jonathan Townsend » September 12th, 2015, 4:04 pm

cardlover wrote:Hi! Let's discuss – What are the MUST-HAVE features the 'ideal' trick deck ...


ready access to non-trick versions of the same pack design so the working performer has discretion about having cards signed, torn ...
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Mr Hurley
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby Mr Hurley » September 12th, 2015, 4:25 pm

For me, the best tricks with a gaff deck would be anything using double blank gaff decks along with a cohesive routine.

Not too much a fan of the plain face cards. Plus you can have the audience sign their card to indicate 'identity', draw pictures, etc.

They are really the only deck I'd want to use for performing

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby cardlover » September 13th, 2015, 6:33 am

Mr Hurley wrote:Not too much a fan of the plain face cards.


Mr Hurley, could you please explain what do you mean saying about "plain face cards"? Thank you!

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cardlover
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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby cardlover » September 13th, 2015, 8:55 am

David Nethery wrote:
cardlover wrote:What are the MUST-HAVE features...


A clean, fool-proof method of switching out the gimmicked deck for an ungimmicked deck.

.


Wise advice, thank you! Are there those examples exist? Did you mean those methods for preparing standard decks by sorting in the special way, or using asymmetrical design of backs and faces?
Last edited by cardlover on September 13th, 2015, 9:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby cardlover » September 13th, 2015, 9:08 am

Jonathan Townsend wrote:
cardlover wrote:Hi! Let's discuss – What are the MUST-HAVE features the 'ideal' trick deck ...


ready access to non-trick versions of the same pack design so the working performer has discretion about having cards signed, torn ...


Let's talk about the one edition of deck. Did you mean that there is no reason to include any gaff cards (with standard set of cards) into the deck designed for magicians but suitable for card games?

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Smurf
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Re: Must-Have Features of a Deck of Your Dream

Postby Smurf » September 14th, 2015, 6:53 am

There are three aspects of a deck that are critical to making it appeal to me for use in magic and I think many other magicians would agree with these.
1. A white border on the back.
2. White faces
3. The faces need to match the standard decks magicians work with: Bicycle Rider Backs, Tally-Ho Circle or Fan Backs, Bee, Bicycle Mandolin, Cardshark Phoenix decks and Aviator playing cards.

Now, with #3 it is granted that the ace of spaces and jokers for the various decks are different, but the other faces and the shade of red they use are all the same. That makes incorporating cards from different decks into tricks much easier.

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Re: Must-Have Features of 'Ideal' Trick Deck

Postby Jonathan Townsend » September 14th, 2015, 8:07 am

cardlover wrote:...Let's talk about the one edition of deck.
Did you mean that there is no reason to include any gaff cards (with standard set of cards) into
the deck designed for magicians but suitable for card games?


Do you expect anyone plays cards to buy a "my trick pack" set and expect his buddies to use such for their recreational poker games?

If it's supposed to be an ordinary pack of cards as far as the audience is concerned then it's cheap, disposable and mundane in design. It's supposed to be the pack of cards people use to play games. Recall that MnM's commercial with the chocolate fingerprints on cards. Add dirty hands, beverage stains...

Cards tend to get signed, torn... introduced into other packs.
Be compatible and accommodate the basics such as forcing packs ... -this is basic foundation for card magic as you can see from Robert-Houdin, Hoffmann, Hofzinser all the way to Hoy's Tossed Out Deck.

About borrowing a pack ... Harry Lorayne can work that way. It's no great surprise when you really do borrow a pack that you get proffered something stained, sticky, incomplete and probably with gold borders and a cute watercolor of a cat or flowers. The folks writing Expert Card Technique presumed you could get a nice pack of playing cards. Written in the days when you could also borrow a half dollar coin for a trick. The magic shop sold Fox Lake Bridge cards to match the standard bridge sized Aviator cards which were popular with the Bridge playing set. Be nice and they won't find an UNO or Old Maid pack in a drawer and ask you to do a trick.

Card to wallet (signed), Card Warp (two torn cards)... try performing for a few weeks and settle on what works. Even the Oil and Water trick has evolved into something that benefits from a little work in the cards - and something else which uses specially printed cards. Both good BTW.
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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cardlover
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Re: Must-Have Features of a Deck of Your Dream

Postby cardlover » September 16th, 2015, 1:55 pm

Jonathan, thank you for such detailed information and references!

Smurf wrote:There are three aspects of a deck that are critical to making it appeal to me for use in magic and I think many other magicians would agree with these.
1. A white border on the back.
2. White faces
3. The faces need to match the standard decks magicians work with: Bicycle Rider Backs, Tally-Ho Circle or Fan Backs, Bee, Bicycle Mandolin, Cardshark Phoenix decks and Aviator playing cards.

Now, with #3 it is granted that the ace of spaces and jokers for the various decks are different, but the other faces and the shade of red they use are all the same. That makes incorporating cards from different decks into tricks much easier.


Smurf, thank you!

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Re: Must-Have Features of a Deck of Your Dream

Postby cardlover » September 16th, 2015, 1:56 pm

Dear All. Your experience and opinions are invaluable to us, I will take them into account during designing my deck of cards. I was very glad to meet you here!


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