Playing Card search in 2024... (1 Viewer)

[MrWookie69]

I should preface this by stating, I normally don't give a big rip about cards. I'll play with whatever people have on hand without complaining. Our family Euchre tournaments over the holidays showcase the best cards you can purchase at any local convenience store. I even brought a few nicer cardboard decks from home, and no one seemed to care. Ok! That's not entirely accurate. Last year someone grabbed a handful of decks from the dollar star, and a few of the hardcore Euchre players complained. Regardless, all those cards are crappy cardboard set-ups that play through spills and food encrusted fingers, and they end up getting tossed at the end of the night. Even the decks I brought a few years ago...

.....Sooo.... with the new chips on the way... I felt like it was also a good time to up the playing cards. The cards I mentioned above? ...I have a tiny bin with old cancelled Gemaco decks from various WI and MN casinos - they're plastic coated cardboard - pretty much blackjack decks. Really stiff, and which can be a bitch to shuffle. I had never really given a thought about plastic playing cards until I started searching for cards a few weeks ago.

...FFFFF... This is another damn rabbit hole.... One I never really thought I'd give a rip about (Sorry, Cratty - I do care a bit more now ).

I've ordered a few sample decks to see if there's anything I prefer. Copag 1546 2-pack set (purple/blue - Poker standard), Copag Elite single (purple - Poker/jumbo), Modiano Texas Poker (purple - Poker/jumbo) ...you'll see a theme here for deck color ... KEM Arrow (Black/Gold - Poker/standard) - I just had to see what the fuss was all about with these cards. Likely the only set of KEMs I'll buy.

Other set-ups I'm looking at
Dal Negro Royal Plastic - single deck - Poker/standard - red
Dal Negro Texas HE - single deck - Poker/Jumbo - blue
Dal Negro Virgolone - single deck - Poker/jumbo - blue
Guild - Bridge/jumbo 2 pack - Bridge/jumbo - black/gold

OK! If I can avoid the typical "red/blue" set-ups, I will go out of my way to do it. Come On DN? Live a little and switch it up a bit...

I've looked up other Modiano, Da Vinci, Angel, Desjgn....

Angel is already off my list, as they seem to be a PITA to get ahold of - so why even bother?

I'm not a fan of Desjgn's "Court" artwork. ...wish they offered a "classic design" like Faded Spade, who offers both a "classic" and "modern" design.

Modiano will likely be off the list: Even though I like the Texas Poker cards, they seem scarce. I bought my pack new from an eBay seller in Minnesota for dirt cheap. I won't get that price again I guess, and is it worth spending $5 for a single deck with $10 shipping?

Oh! And here's a conundrum. On one site I read, the Texas Poker cards were Acetate, and on another site, they said they were PVC - more on that in a second.

Don't really feel like paying $45 for a 2-pack set of Platinum Acetate? Plus $10 shipping? Kem pricing...

And I swear, Modiano are only available in Lithuania... And it's $10 to ship a single deck or a 2-deck set-up... Ffffft!

What I find frustrating, is trying to find out what substrate the cards are made out of... PVC or CA... rarely do the websites specify, and most times, the card's website isn't unhelpful. They just list 100% plastic.

.....
In my hands at the moment, I have the Copag 1456 and the Elite, as well as the Modiano Texas Poker. Between the three, I've already gravitated to the Modiano, as they have a more velvety feel that seems easier (or more pleasing) to handle. The Copags are so bloody smooth and slippery - which is good and bad. ...and the Copag PVC stink... it's friggin' legit. I'd prefer NOT to open another pack of Copags for that reason alone. Woooofff!!!!

I would LOVE to know what the difference is between the Copag Elite and the 1546 beyond the artwork style on the back. They feel identical. Between the two, I prefer the artwork of the Elite. Artwork wise, between the Copag and Modiano, I prefer the Copag Elite. But Modiano is pretty damn nice as well. I prefer artwork of Modiano over everyone else BUT Copag...

Dal Negro and Guild - you need purple and green card colors.

That's all I have for now. I'll come back and chime in as more set-ups arrive.

 

[btbmason]

Not sure if they’re still out there somewhere but a long time ago I picked up some Bicycle Prestige Bridge Jumbo in green/brown backs. I know the red/blue is a lot more common which doesn’t help you, but at some point the other colors were out there.

Good luck with your search! I narrowed my collection down to the Bicycle Prestige mentioned above, Fournier Congress, and some casino-issued KEMs after having probably 15 different setups at one point.

It is indeed another rabbit hole, but you’ve made the right first step in getting samples.

 

[upNdown]

Not sure if they’re still out there somewhere but a long time ago I picked up some Bicycle Prestige Bridge Jumbo in green/brown backs. I know the red/blue is a lot more common which doesn’t help you, but at some point the other colors were out there.

Good luck with your search! I narrowed my collection down to the Bicycle Prestige mentioned above, Fournier Congress, and some casino-issued KEMs after having probably 15 different setups at one point.

It is indeed another rabbit hole, but you’ve made the right first step in getting samples.

Those were the best, both in terms of quality and price. But they’re long gone.

@MrWookie69 you’re right about the Copag PVC smell; it’s stunning.
As far as acetate cards go, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are just VERY few of them on the market. It’s safe to assume everything is pvc unless you’re sure they’re acetate.

 

[MtyingPkts]

I agree with the Copag smell, but I like the cards other than that.

 

[surfik]

Dal Negro Virgolone - single deck - Poker/jumbo - blue......look no farther, they are quite cheap at Spinettis

if you looking for anything in particular from Modiano, let me know, maybe I will be able to help

 

[GeeOhVee]

Some of my favorite cards are the Dal Negro Freedoms (I've seen them listed as Statue of Liberty) and they come in green and brown setups, as well as red and blue.

 

[Thomacetti]

paging @JMC9389

 

[davefr]

I'd try some Fourniers. They are nice cards.

When it comes to Acetate, I think these are the only ones:
KEM
Angel Poker (my favorite)
Modiano Platinum
Guild (but they are unlike most other Acetate cards and some say they are PVC Acetate vs. Cellulose acetate)

 

[JMC9389]

paging @JMC9389

Thanks for the tag buddy.

Welcome @MrWookie69 !

So if I have it right, you're looking into plastic cards outside of the standard red/blue back colors. That pigeonholes you a bit, but not too much. Desjgns are out for you based on their font. Which is fine, but you're missing out on some good quality cards. If you like the Dal Negro Virgolone deck you get, the newest desjgns are on the same stock. Fingers crossed desjgn has some new stock soon, but we'll see what happens there.

As some replies have already indicated, I highly encourage you to check out Fournier. They're often expensive, but shipping from the guy in Lithuania is often reasonable if you don't mind waiting a couple of weeks to get them via snail mail. There are poker size, jumbo index Fournier cards with green/orange backs if that works...

This seller often has a similar deal but for the green/orange decks that comes out to about $28 shipped to your door per two deck set up, or you can buy one for $31 and change https://www.ebay.com/itm/2664536460...bcFayTtyg8KVDIla7CbdXdTrM=|tkp:Bk9SR66KjLKoZA

@justincarothers also has purple and orange poker jumbo decks available on his vendor page on this site. The price is great and the card stock is very good. Best bang for the buck out there currently, IMO.

The only place I know of to get the Dal Negro Virgolone cards is on kardwell.com, whom just about everyone that has bought from them has had bad experiences with. Customer service sucks and they shorted me a deck on an order once, but my 4 of my 5 transactions with them have been great.

Kardwell also has yellow/green NTP Blackjack poker jumbo cards for $8.50/deck. Also a bargain but as with the Dal Negro cards above, the sellers are not reliable. If you're going to order from Kardwell, I'd make one big order with them.

There's always Faded Spade that will have their 4.0 line coming out this month with what appear to be black and gold backs, but I don't have much good to say about them, but YMMV.

Outside of that, the Modianos have been difficult to find (fuck them, I hope they're going out of business, that's a story for another time) and other options only have red/blue backs.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[MrWookie69]

Thanks for the tag buddy.

Welcome @MrWookie69 !

So if I have it right, you're looking into plastic cards outside of the standard red/blue back colors. That pigeonholes you a bit, but not too much. Desjgns are out for you based on their font. Which is fine, but you're missing out on some good quality cards. If you like the Dal Negro Virgolone deck you get, the newest desjgns are on the same stock. Fingers crossed desjgn has some new stock soon, but we'll see what happens there.

As some replies have already indicated, I highly encourage you to check out Fournier. They're often expensive, but shipping from the guy in Lithuania is often reasonable if you don't mind waiting a couple of weeks to get them via snail mail. There are poker size, jumbo index Fournier cards with green/orange backs if that works...

This seller often has a similar deal but for the green/orange decks that comes out to about $28 shipped to your door per two deck set up, or you can buy one for $31 and change https://www.ebay.com/itm/266453646004?itmmeta=01J51J30MH1JKPN3PR92M2K7J0&hash=item3e09dffab4:g:Zm4AAOSwOstc3ptb&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA0P+i6QofKFzy7UALC4RYDwoqI/sAqAgRwj37l/CalkD0soCS2vywKlHL0yDKnTdx9RlI3iZOnS3nkN46oSrTdVCwi3Xxq3i04uukO2ILsm0RBeXRGniOV9teMwv6tfgJQ2NoSJBbLVEhOryamNnX8lr45CBbT8cj7DPO4sOlqnR1rYOi1t4GcW512eKWkGGEd/2oGBR8ETFP5ITQJQpQGcv/cy6CPOd8TkOWMUFD3boT7Uc+Y3iIinlCtSf2WDbcFayTtyg8KVDIla7CbdXdTrM=|tkp:Bk9SR66KjLKoZA

@justincarothers also has purple and orange poker jumbo decks available on his vendor page on this site. The price is great and the card stock is very good. Best bang for the buck out there currently, IMO.

The only place I know of to get the Dal Negro Virgolone cards is on kardwell.com, whom just about everyone that has bought from them has had bad experiences with. Customer service sucks and they shorted me a deck on an order once, but my 4 of my 5 transactions with them have been great.

Kardwell also has yellow/green NTP Blackjack poker jumbo cards for $8.50/deck. Also a bargain but as with the Dal Negro cards above, the sellers are not reliable. If you're going to order from Kardwell, I'd make one big order with them.

There's always Faded Spade that will have their 4.0 line coming out this month with what appear to be black and gold backs, but I don't have much good to say about them, but YMMV.

Outside of that, the Modianos have been difficult to find (fuck them, I hope they're going out of business, that's a story for another time) and other options only have red/blue backs.

Have fun and good luck!

Fantastic reply, thank you. I won't ask about Modiano...

In general, I tend to gravitate towards the Purple and Green color backs. Am I going to hang my hat on that? No. I have red and blue Dal Negro setups in a cart ready to buy tomorrow...

Wish it was easier to get ahold of the "good mid-priced Italian and Spanish-made cards", rather than ordering on eBay and shipped from Europe. LOL I would think there's a big market to be had here, and they'd sell a good number.

Desjgns are out, as I don't like the artwork (pips and face card art - it's a total "me thing"...), couldn't care less about the font. If they came out with a classic face card design (more like - I don't know how else to describe it - (in Purple and Green ), I'd be all over it.

What is the big difference between FOURNIER 2800, 2818 and 2826? There just isn't a whole lot of info on the differences of cards, even within a brand family.

 

[MrWookie69]

I agree with the Copag smell, but I like the cards other than that.

Agree with you on that - they stink when the box/packs are first opened, but in play they seem OK. They're solid cards. They're a bit slippery compared to what I'm used to, but they shuffle nice. Very easy to weave these cards. Top few cards float a bit, but meh. I love the artwork on Copags - backs and face cards on both the Elite and 1546 versions.

Best of all - they're easy to get.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

What is the big difference between FOURNIER 2800, 2818 and 2826? There just isn't a whole lot of info on the differences of cards, even within a brand family.

Based on the cards I currently own:

Fournier 2800 Titanium are poker size/jumbo with a geometric-type pattern on the back. The cards themselves have 2818 on the Ace of Spades (AoS) and have a darker red ink for the hearts and diamonds.

Fournier 2818 are poker size/jumbo with a fancier pattern on the back. The cards themselves have 2818 on the Ace of Spades (AoS) and have a darker red ink for the hearts and diamonds.

Fournier "Branded" (EPT, WSOP, WPT) are 2818 poker/jumbo custom cards. The cards themselves have 2818 on the Ace of Spades (AoS) and generally have a lighter red ink for the hearts and diamonds. The pips also use a "bold" font. One exception to this are an earlier run of EPT branded cards from the early-to-mid 2010s that use the darker red ink.

Fourner 2826 are bridge size/jumbo cards. Wide variety of backs. The cards themselves have 2826 on the Ace of Spades (AoS) and have a darker red ink for the hearts and diamonds.

 

[TAG_Cowboys]

What is the big difference between FOURNIER 2800, 2818 and 2826? There just isn't a whole lot of info on the differences of cards, even within a brand family.

C

Post in thread 'Fournier 2800/2818 Question'

Jun 7, 2023

Not the world's best photographer and I did this very quickly, but I have a few varieties of these.

Left to right
Fournier 2800 - jumbo index, index is not bold, security red, AoS states 2818
Fournier 2818 - jumbo index, index is not bold, security red, AoS states 2818
WPT 2818 - jumbo index, index is bold, bright red, AoS states 2818
EPT (new) 2818 - jumbo index, index is bold, bright red, AoS states 2818
EPT (old) 2818 - jumbo index, index is bold, security red, AoS states 2818

I can't feel any real difference in the card stock in my hands.

• CdnBeerLover

• 

 

[Phyffe]

Hey, Mr. Wookie sir!

Welcome to the rabbit hole of poker chips and the cards we play with!

OK, right off the bat, you seem to have ordered a good set of cards to begin with.

COPAG -

The Copags are always a great place to start to get a frame of reference since they give good value for money. If you start off from there, you will be trading off some things, card stock feel, durability, maybe design aesthetics. To me, Copags shuffle nicely and have a good feel. They are in the middle when it comes to durability and I don't overly like their face design. I also think their colors look washed out.

Can't say anything about the Copag Elite since I haven't ordered them yet.

Modiano - OK. A lot of people hate them. Near as I can tell, the guy who started Desjgn got screwed over by them (I'm sure Modiano has their own side but since when did anyone care what a bunch of people in Italy feel, right?). Add to the fact that they cost more than US cards and you've got a good recipe for a good old fashioned vendetta (which, ironically, is an Italian word...). I myself love their top of the line Modiano Platinums. They have the second best feel IMHO next to Kems. They have cheaper lines as well as Da Vincis, which is a subsidiary brand. They cost in the region of Copags and while I like their Jumbo indexes very much, the non-Platinums just dont have that top level feel.

KEM - Great cards if you are willing to pay the price. If you shuffle and deal a lot you will love these cards. IMHO only the Modiano Platinums come close in feeling as good as KEMs, people will say European Fourniers/Carta Mundi or Dal Negro Freedom are just as good, and they probably are. I have those decks too so I know how damn hard they are to find.

Guild - My initial impressions were their quality and feel were on par with Da Vincis, so good aesthetics with good, not great feel.

Desjgn - I'm sorry to hear you don't like their card face design. I'm not a big fan either but I DO love their card stock feel. This alone makes Desjgn my best value for money decks.

Faded Spade - A little over hyped IMHO. Feels stiff for me, and the design is hit or miss. If you like it great, if not, give it a miss.

 

[Eriks]

Some great cards:

Angel club poker - definitely worth the hunt

Modiano alpha - one of my favorites

Trefl - only available in poker size but good enough to let that slide

NTP - awesome cards, and available in other than red/blue

Fournier - not crazy about the design but great feel.


Honorable mentions:
Dal Negro grand slam
Gemaco super flex

And also:

 

[davefr]

Agree with you on that - they stink when the box/packs are first opened, but in play they seem OK. They're solid cards. They're a bit slippery compared to what I'm used to, but they shuffle nice. Very easy to weave these cards. Top few cards float a bit, but meh. I love the artwork on Copags - backs and face cards on both the Elite and 1546 versions.

Best of all - they're easy to get.

Enjoy the artwork as soon as you can because it'll be gone in just a few months of use:

 

[SwissChip]

You mean a few hours of use…!

 

[davefr]

You mean a few hours of use…!

Probably around 20-25 hours of actual play time to get to this state. Broken Arrows are just as bad but my other decks with similar play time show negligible wear.

 

[SwissChip]

Probably around 20-25 hours of actual play time to get to this state. Broken Arrows are just as bad but my other decks with similar play time show negligible wear.

Ok thanks!
I‘ll receive some Trefl to try out.

 

[Thomacetti]

View attachment 1371599

I starting to think my card collection is worth more than my chip collection....
I bulked up on the right moment....

Once i'm done with shaving chips, I might open a box or two to see if there are some decks I will not be missing

 

[Eriks]

I starting to think my card collection is worth more than my chip collection....
I bulked up on the right moment....

Once i'm done with shaving chips, I might open a box or two to see if there are some decks I will not be missing

Dibs!

 

[SwissChip]

Once i'm done with shaving chips, I might open a box or two to see if there are some decks I will not be missing

Sounds interesting!

 

[Machine]

Angel is already off my list, as they seem to be a PITA to get ahold of - so why even bother?

Because they are some of the best cards on the planet.

Modiano

Fuck Modiano, they made a mistake and basically screwed over a beloved Site Vendor and this community. They have 1 product line that is okay but I wouldn't support them.

Don't forget to post them over on the Card thread - https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/official-card-pron.102080/

 

[surfik]

Dibs!

Double dibs!

 

[MrWookie69]

Because they are some of the best cards on the planet.

Cool - not doubting that. If I could find a place where I could even look at the cards for purchase, I'd consider it. As it is, every time I do a search for Angel, it's a mess somewhere between nothing, or a vintage pack for $220. So for now, I'll leave them all for you. ...Enjoy 'em if you got 'em...



Fuck Modiano, they made a mistake and basically screwed over a beloved Site Vendor and this community. They have 1 product line that is okay but I wouldn't support them.

Guessing they fucked over Desjgn.... Doesn't matter who they fucked over, it still sucks. Even worse, Modianos are still easier to get than Angel.




Don't forget to post them over on the Card thread - https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/official-card-pron.102080/

 

[Thomacetti]

Double dibs!

Auction it is

 

[SwissChip]

Double dibs!

Triple dibs!!!

 

[Coyote]

Modianos and Dal Negros are very good cards. I don't know if they are the best, but they 're still very good and come in all possible variants: jumbo and normal index, poker and bridge size, 2 and 4- indexes.
For some reason, they are dirt-cheap in Greece: 4E per deck, average, with the exception of the Platinum Acetate ones (10E per deck).

 

[upNdown]

I don’t know if this is useful - it sounds like maybe you’re looking for a new rabbit hole - if so, so be it.
But after owning all of the following brands (off the top of my head; there are probably others) I have come to two conclusions:

1) cards are consumable and thus a stupid thing to waste money on, if you’re actually playing them, and
2) they’re almost all sufficiently playable, and the factors separating one from another are mostly subjective and somewhat subtle.

I’m now using cheapo setups from Amazon branded Lot Fancy which I actually prefer over many of the pricier brands. Long story short, premium plastic cards are a big waste of money.

Kem
Modiano
Fournier
Piatbik
Bicycle prestige (bicycle)
Bicycle prestige (Spain)
Copag
Cartumundi
King
Desjgn (at least 3 different stocks)
Dal negro
Trefl
Broken arrow
Davinci
Angel aristo
Gemaco

 

[SwissChip]

Always in search for available, high quality cards under 10bucks a deck. (EU/CH)
Dal Negro do it best for now, imo.
At least for the poker size Texas.