Faded Spade Cards (18 Viewers)

[SplitPot_44]

Been using regular playing cards for a while and they’re starting to get to that point again where I’m looking to get another new set. Anybody use these faded spade cards? I’m liking the 4 colour set and am wanting to place an order.

 

[TankingRowlet]

Been using these since they launched.

They are super stiff and really hard to hand shuffle. I've used them exclusively in a Shuffletech and maybe a little bit of hand shuffling. If you're dealing the whole time, it'll be a real hard time. Recommend the older versions (FS 3.0) if you can find them for hand shuffled games.

 

[Pippa]

Been using regular playing cards for a while and they’re starting to get to that point again where I’m looking to get another new set. Anybody use these faded spade cards? I’m liking the 4 colour set and am wanting to place an order.
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Stiff cards
Very hard to shuffle
I had a bad experience with that cards
Cards split 3 times
I can suggest better cards
Modiano
Dal negro
Fournier
Angels
Kem ( expensive now)
Cheap cards
Broken arrow
Copag
No bad for the price

 

[Jers28]

Same recommendation. Love them to death, but I have Deckmates in my tables. If I had to hand shuffle these, I’d not like them nearly as much.

 

[SplitPot_44]

Been using regular playing cards for a while and they’re starting to get to that point again where I’m looking to get another new set. Anybody use these faded spade cards? I’m liking the 4 colour set and am wanting to place an order.
View attachment 1574918

Thanks for the replies, sounds like if I wanted to use these cards it’d be recommended to have a deck shuffler for them. I’m thinking of buying a poker table with a shuffler in a few months and maybe I’ll pick up these cards then. Anybody have bad luck with shufflers in poker tables?

 

[sheikh617]

Thanks for the replies, sounds like if I wanted to use these cards it’d be recommended to have a deck shuffler for them. I’m thinking of buying a poker table with a shuffler in a few months and maybe I’ll pick up these cards then. Anybody have bad luck with shufflers in poker tables?

I'd recommend if possible to having your shuffler in a side cart or some other furniture then your poker table. If it needs service it leaves a hole, its noisy when its up top (shuffletechs), cards can snag on it and chips can get damages on it. So for me its a no brainer to have the shuffler in a side cart or little side table that next to the dealer. I have mine built into a drink cart.

 

[SplitPot_44]

I'd recommend if possible to having your shuffler in a side cart or some other furniture then your poker table. If it needs service it leaves a hole, its noisy when its up top (shuffletechs), cards can snag on it and chips can get damages on it. So for me its a no brainer to have the shuffler in a side cart or little side table that next to the dealer. I have mine built into a drink cart.

That’s actually great advice, thanks! Do you have a shuffletech shuffler?

 

[AlbinoDragon]

If you look around enough, you'll find folks who love them, and others who feel they are over-promoted and average at best.

I've used (but not owned) FS cards, and I didn't care for them in a hand-shuffled situation. After an hour of a "dealer shuffles behind" game, we were mostly over them and put a different setup in play.

I really like Fournier and Dal Negro cards as a nice compromise between card flexibility for shuffling purposes but also for durability of printing and general card handling properties.


Unfortunately, card preferences vary wildly here. You can look up "favorite card" threads here to see how all over the map preferences are. A lot comes down to just that, personal preference, but you will also see plenty of folks dislike FS between they way they market their cards, their customer service and how they are clearly made for automatic shuffler machines and not hand-shuffling.

 

[cpac54]

If you look around enough, you'll find folks who love them, and others who feel they are over-promoted and average at best.

I've used (but not owned) FS cards, and I didn't care for them in a hand-shuffled situation. After an hour of a "dealer shuffles behind" game, we were mostly over them and put a different setup in play.

I really like Fournier and Dal Negro cards as a nice compromise between card flexibility for shuffling purposes but also for durability of printing and general card handling properties.


Unfortunately, card preferences vary wildly here. You can look up "favorite card" threads here to see how all over the map preferences are. A lot comes down to just that, personal preference, but you will also see plenty of folks dislike FS between they way they market their cards, their customer service and how they are clearly made for automatic shuffler machines and not hand-shuffling.

This. Like chips, everyone has their preferences.

Personally, I love the previous version of Faded Spades (3.0?) but haven't tried the new FSX yet. Personally, I like the poker sized FS better for my hand-shuffled game. Honestly though, the design of FS is half of it for me - no better card art out there imo.

OTOH, KEM is my all-time favourite, and they couldn't be more different than FS.

In the end, try them out for yourself, see what you like.

 

[Eriks]

This. Like chips, everyone has their preferences.

Personally, I love the previous version of Faded Spades (3.0?) but haven't tried the new FSX yet. Personally, I like the poker sized FS better for my hand-shuffled game. Honestly though, the design of FS is half of it for me - no better card art out there imo.

OTOH, KEM is my all-time favourite, and they couldn't be more different than FS.

In the end, try them out for yourself, see what you like.

Yep, card preferences are all across the spectrum so it’s hard to go by recommendations. Luckily, cards are way cheaper than chip sets, so it doesn’t hurt that much to buy a few different kinds and try for yourself.

To contrast the opinions so far, I absolutely loathe FS. I think they suck to handle (too stiff to comfortably hand shuffle and too slippery) and I don’t care for the design at all. The absolute low point is their ”classic series” that has their URL printed on the ace of spades (just like they did back in the good old days?).

/End rant

 

[Kam]

I have quite a few of their setups and I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum to Eriks.

I like them, we rotate the dealer /shuffle behind so it’s not a big deal to me that they are stiffer. If I was permanently dealing for a 5-6 hour game then yeah it’d make a difference and would definitely prefer anything else. The artwork and super crisp white background are the main sellers for me (some other setups are more offwhite/ almost ivory).

My players couldn’t give a shit about my cards, so it’s what you prefer. I’d agree with @Pippa try Fournier or some of the newer Broken Arrow group buy cards - both are cheaper and just as good/better to handle. Search on the forum for tips/buys for those - rest are all good. Copags are the easiest to buy, but their ink is known to fade pretty fast.

Faded Spade charge a premium to cover their streaming advertising budget deals - most of the other setups will be $8-19 vs their $35. KEMs are double Faded Spade and not worth it at all.

If you have the money, buy one set of Faded and another on the list and see what you prefer.

If you want this thread to get to 5 pages, ask Bridge or Poker, regular or Jumbo…

GL!

 

[Tight_Lay_DOWN]

Faded Spade FSX decks - no complaints. Been using the same 2 decks for 7 months now and those are mixed games.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...n-and-four-color-restock.133436/#post-2719562

Even played multiple HeadsUp matches that were self dealt, 2 players 2 decks, No problems with too much stiffness. These are stiffer than other cards, (that's what my players like about these) but they seem to last much much longer. Time will tell.

Never had one problem with any card.

If I had one complaint, it’s a Faded Spade issue. They haven’t released these new decks in a variety of back colors like the earlier 2.0 and 3.0 versions. I’ve got several setups of the 3.0s in purple, great color. This new FSX line feels a bit limited in that department. Guess I’m just spoiled by having options… kind of like chip collecting—once you’ve seen a large variety of color variations, it’s hard to go back to standard chip color denominations.

Like I always say, your mileage may vary...and so do opinions (experiences)...


Cards in action...
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/official-home-game-pics-thread.4135/page-828#post-2765992

 

[SplitPot_44]

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I have quite a few of their setups and I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum to Eriks.

I like them, we rotate the dealer /shuffle behind so it’s not a big deal to me that they are stiffer. If I was permanently dealing for a 5-6 hour game then yeah it’d make a difference and would definitely prefer anything else. The artwork and super crisp white background are the main sellers for me (some other setups are more offwhite/ almost ivory).

My players couldn’t give a shit about my cards, so it’s what you prefer. I’d agree with @Pippa try Fournier or some of the newer Broken Arrow group buy cards - both are cheaper and just as good/better to handle. Search on the forum for tips/buys for those - rest are all good. Copags are the easiest to buy, but their ink is known to fade pretty fast.

Faded Spade charge a premium to cover their streaming advertising budget deals - most of the other setups will be $8-19 vs their $35. KEMs are double Faded Spade and not worth it at all.

If you have the money, buy one set of Faded and another on the list and see what you prefer.

If you want this thread to get to 5 pages, ask Bridge or Poker, regular or Jumbo…

GL!

I will probably end up going this way and try out the faded spade cards and another pair from somewhere else. Personally, I think the poker size would be better because my eyesight isn’t the best, but do you guys think it would be worth it to get one of each set, a poker size and bridge size, or just get 2 poker size sets?

 

[Kam]

If you just play hold ‘em (2 cards in the mitt), I prefer poker.

If you play mix/circus games with more than 2 cards in your hand, then bridge is better.

Also personal preference and I’ll start name-calling some Roca dude soon over Bridge Regular vs Poker Jumbo etc. they both work, some prefer easier shuffle of bridge etc.

You will get 16 different responses and we’ll all disagree

 

[SplitPot_44]

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View attachment 1575048

I have quite a few of their setups and I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum to Eriks.

I like them, we rotate the dealer /shuffle behind so it’s not a big deal to me that they are stiffer. If I was permanently dealing for a 5-6 hour game then yeah it’d make a difference and would definitely prefer anything else. The artwork and super crisp white background are the main sellers for me (some other setups are more offwhite/ almost ivory).

My players couldn’t give a shit about my cards, so it’s what you prefer. I’d agree with @Pippa try Fournier or some of the newer Broken Arrow group buy cards - both are cheaper and just as good/better to handle. Search on the forum for tips/buys for those - rest are all good. Copags are the easiest to buy, but their ink is known to fade pretty fast.

Faded Spade charge a premium to cover their streaming advertising budget deals - most of the other setups will be $8-19 vs their $35. KEMs are double Faded Spade and not worth it at all.

If you have the money, buy one set of Faded and another on the list and see what you prefer.

If you want this thread to get to 5 pages, ask Bridge or Poker, regular or Jumbo…

GL!

I honestly thought Poker cards were Jumbo and Bridge cards were regular.

 

[Kam]

I honestly thought Poker cards were Jumbo and Bridge cards were regular.

Bridge vs Poker is the width of the cards.

Regular, Blackjack, Jumbo etc is the size of the font (there’s a few other alternatives as well):

 

[SplitPot_44]

Bridge vs Poker is the width of the cards.

Regular, Blackjack, Jumbo etc is the size of the font (there’s a few other alternatives as well):

View attachment 1575138

That makes way more sense, thanks!

 

[Snarespectre]

I recently got a few sets of the FSX 4-color and I really like them - they’re among my favorite cards out of the 15+ different varieties I’ve tried. The card stock is a nice, bright white, the ink of the 4 colors is very strong and easy to see, and the design of the court cards is my favorite of any brand I’ve used.

There is no denying these cards are very stiff. I think they shuffle well if you’re willing to put some muscle into it, but I can understand they wouldn’t be for everyone. If you’re doing the “dealer riffle shuffle” where the cards stay face down, it’s really not a problem. It’s when you do the classic “grandma” shuffle that the stiffness rears its head. The stiffness can also mean less experienced shufflers will have a few card explosions throughout the night. They do break in and start shuffling better after a few hours of use.

Just this last Friday I hosted a 6-hour cash game with 7 people and introduced these to the guys for the first time. One person did NOT like them at first because of the stiffness, but got accustomed to it throughout the night. Another regular player disliked the 4-color aspect, but that’s just a preference thing and he can deal with it since I’m hosting. . Everyone else was indifferent.

There are several other card stocks that I prefer shuffling over these FSX cards; however, for me the premium look and feel when not shuffling is outstanding. Since I’m only shuffling one out of every 6-9 hands in a game, these cards are worth using for me and I plan to keep using them as my main cash game cards.

 

[SplitPot_44]

I recently got a few sets of the FSX 4-color and I really like them - they’re among my favorite cards out of the 15+ different varieties I’ve tried. The card stock is a nice, bright white, the ink of the 4 colors is very strong and easy to see, and the design of the court cards is my favorite of any brand I’ve used.

There is no denying these cards are very stiff. I think they shuffle well if you’re willing to put some muscle into it, but I can understand they wouldn’t be for everyone. If you’re doing the “dealer riffle shuffle” where the cards stay face down, it’s really not a problem. It’s when you do the classic “grandma” shuffle that the stiffness rears its head. The stiffness can also mean less experienced shufflers will have a few card explosions throughout the night. They do break in and start shuffling better after a few hours of use.

Just this last Friday I hosted a 6-hour cash game with 7 people and introduced these to the guys for the first time. One person did NOT like them at first because of the stiffness, but got accustomed to it throughout the night. Another regular player disliked the 4-color aspect, but that’s just a preference thing and he can deal with it since I’m hosting. . Everyone else was indifferent.

There are several other card stocks that I prefer shuffling over these FSX cards; however, for me the premium look and feel when not shuffling is outstanding. Since I’m only shuffling one out of every 6-9 hands in a game, these cards are worth using for me and I plan to keep using them as my main cash game cards.

I ended up placing an order for the 4 colour set, hopefully nobody minds the stiffness too much but it shouldn't be too bad since we usually take turns shuffling. I think the way these cards look kinda make the stiffness worth it anyway, especially since I'm sure the stiffness helps with the durability of them too.