Old State, are you saying you confirmed that the Fournier Bridge 2826 (Jumbo Index) is the exact same as the Bicycle Bridge Presitige? Holy crap - the Bicycle Bridge Prestige cards are made in Spain just like the Fourniers.
I've now tried various decks - Modiano Bridge, NPT Poker, Fournier Poker, Copag (garbage) Poker, KEM Bridge & Poker; Faded Spade Poker; 2013 WSOP Official Tourney Cards made by Fournier for Bicycle (Bridge). I have not tried Desjgn yet - I'm having trouble getting past those Diamonds, nor the soon to be released Faded Spade Bridge Size Cards.
Best Feel - KEM, but they can have warping issues, obviously. Really nice and buttery smooth once you get used to them. As I suspected, the softness works better with the bridge size
than the poker size. NPT had a nice feel to them too, but stiffer than KEMs & Fourniers. The 2013 WSOP cards are pretty sweet, but very slick and firmer than both the KEMS a
and other Fournier cards. I like them alot though. The Faded Spade Poker size felt a bit clunky to me. Modianos are stiff but have a razor-like narrowness to them.
Best Index Size - I LOVE regular index for cards in my hands and I LOVE KEM's ridiculously large jumbo index for seeing the community cards. However, Modiano Bridge Jumbo
- larger than standard, but narrower than Fournier. It's quite nice. The KEM Jumbo index is, as noted, just ridiculous. The Fournier Jumbos are smaller, but the edge goes goes to Modiano here. I have not yet had a chance to check out Desjgn (I really struggle with the Diamonds on these things) or the soon to be released Faded Spade
Bridge Size cards.
Personally, I am somewhat torn between Jumbo vs Regular index. The cash games at Mohegan Sun where I play, are played with reg. index KEMS. The tournaments are played w Jumbo index KEMS. I haven't had a problem seeing the board in the cash games, but I do appreciate the standard index at crowded tables where less card
is required to be exposed to see your hand.
Best All Around - I have to go with Fournier 2826 Bridge Jumbo Index. The feel is not as buttery smooth as the KEMS, but take 2nd in that regard. That combined with a more moderate
Jumbo index that strikes a better balance between regular and ginormous KEMS, as well as better durability make them (and I guess the Bicycle Bridge Prestige) the best
all around deck for poker on a traditional 10 person oval table.
I will need to check out Desjgns in light of the rave reviews (if I can get past those wacky diamonds), as well as the Faded Spade Bridge decks when they come out. And I guess I'll have to pick up some Bicycle Bridge Prestige cards, rather than having the Fourniers shipped to me from Lithuania.
Oh, did I forget to mention Copags? That's because the suck. Within 3 games I had a card in each deck permanently crimped on the edges. I doubt my home game players are "marking" cards, so this was disappointed. They now belong to the kids.