Theory 11 Cards? (1 Viewer)

[Nathanman123]

From my thread the other week, I'm a newer player. I plan to definitely get a set of Copags to go with my Majestic chips once the micro 5c/25c pieces come back in stock.
However, I randomly came across this brand that seems marketed more towards magicians, but man do these cards look breathtaking, especially compared to the yawn-inducing plastic sets (Faded Spade looks really dope but I've read bad reviews)
Does anyone have experience with Theory 11 cards? Here's an Amazon Link to one deck that really looks nice. They just look gorgeous! Thoughts?

 

[trever]

They look nice, but they are paper cards, so don't expect them to last very long.

 

[TheBigTater]

Paper cards. (n) :thumbsdown:

There are lots of really nice paper cards out there from a design aspect, but most poker players won't bother with paper cards as they won't hold up for single night of play before they will need to be trashed.

 

[Klobberer]

$10 for paper cards sounds a little steep to me.

 

[RocAFella1]

Most poker players prefer the feel than the aesthetics but that being said I prefer a cleaner look for easy viewing.

 

[kmccormick100]

Also, skip the Copags, so many other good cards for the same price out there...

 

[ruskba]

Theory 11 cards are geared towards magicians and cardisrty. I have some, they are not well suited for poker.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Beautiful, but as mentioned - paper.

Holdem is a game where you are constantly peeling up a corner to look at your card. Paper cards "hold" this bend, while plastic cards revert back to flat.

Around here, you can find pro-China Clay or Pro Paulson arguments, Pro Big Blind Ante or Pro no-ante discussions, Pro Speed-Cloth or Pro Gaming Felt debates, nobody is Pro Paper cards. There is a reason for that.

 

[JustinInMN]

Theory 11 cards are geared towards magicians and cardisrty. I have some, they are not well suited for poker.

There are other reasons I would be uneasy about playing with decks for magic.

 

[Nathanman123]

Also, skip the Copags, so many other good cards for the same price out there...

Any recommendations then? Everything else is much more expensive from what I've seen.

 

[kmccormick100]

Any recommendations then? Everything else is much more expensive from what I've seen.

Bicycle Prestige are unbeatable for the price

 

[Nathanman123]

Beautiful, but as mentioned - paper.

Holdem is a game where you are constantly peeling up a corner to look at your card. Paper cards "hold" this bend, while plastic cards revert back to flat.

Around here, you can find pro-China Clay or Pro Paulson arguments, Pro Big Blind Ante or Pro no-ante discussions, Pro Speed-Cloth or Pro Gaming Felt debates, nobody is Pro Paper cards. There is a reason for that.

That is a very good argument! Haha, thank you. Maybe I'll get a deck for special occasions when we want a more premium aesthetic

 

[Nathanman123]

Bicycle Prestige are unbeatable for the price

How would you say that Bicycle Prestige are better than Copags?

 

[Nex]

Quality paper cards, printed by Bicycle.
Sold at premium prices because of the custom design.

If you're looking at it from an utilitarian perspective, it's a shit deal obviously, as paper cards don't last very long during regular poker use.
If you want to play with awesome looking cards every now and then and don't mind paying something like 3-4 times the price of regular paper decks, go ahead.

I have a small collection of various designer paper decks, some Theory11 among them too. I even like just looking at the cards. Don't even have to play with them.

There are other reasons I would be uneasy about playing with decks for magic.

These are 100% legit poker decks with no hidden markings or anything like that. They are being catered to magicians and cardists only because of their looks, especially the visual effects you can get with the special design card backs, but that's about it. So far I've only seen one single brand of deck that was actually marked, and it was openly marketed as such.

Theory 11 cards are geared towards magicians and cardisrty. I have some, they are not well suited for poker.

I'd use a different wording here: They are suited for poker just as much as any other paper cards.

 

[Nathanman123]

Quality paper cards, printed by Bicycle.
Sold at premium prices because of the custom design.

If you're looking at it from an utilitarian perspective, it's a shit deal obviously, as paper cards don't last very long during regular poker use.
If you want to play with awesome looking cards every now and then and don't mind paying something like 3-4 times the price of regular paper decks, go ahead.

I have a small collection of various designer paper decks, some Theory11 among them too. I even like just looking at the cards. Don't even have to play with them.


These are 100% legit poker decks with no hidden markings or anything like that. They are being catered to magicians and cardists only because of their looks, especially the visual effects you can get with the special design card backs, but that's about it. So far I've only seen one single brand of deck that was actually marked, and it was openly marketed as such.


I'd use a different wording here: They are suited for poker just as much as any other paper cards.

Thank you for the informed response. After reading some reviews it seems that only the Aces and (sometimes) the face cards are redesigned. Any recommendations for "designer" decks that are classy and fancy? Thanks.

 

[RichMahogany]

How would you say that Bicycle Prestige are better than Copags?

Don’t misunderstand, Copags are decent cards, but they have some issues that are insurmountable to some. For one, the ink tends to fade over time. They feel decent and shuffle well IMO, but I think there’s much better out there for the money.

Forum favorites around here are the aforementioned Bicycle Prestige which can be found on Amazon for decent prices and Desjgn cards which are top notch in quality and feel. Dal negro and Fournier cards are very popular as well.

Stay away from Modiano cards, they’re a bunch of jerks

 

[RichMahogany]

Forgot to add that Dal Negro is manufactured by Modiano, so I personally wouldn’t get them.

The Prestiges are made by Fournier and are really the best deal around

 

[Poker Zombie]

DesJgn (pronounced J-Design) have a fancy look to them. Quite good cards too.

 

[Nex]

Thank you for the informed response. After reading some reviews it seems that only the Aces and (sometimes) the face cards are redesigned. Any recommendations for "designer" decks that are classy and fancy? Thanks.

My favorites among my collection - not all of these may still be available, or only at crazy prices, much higher than what I paid when I bought them:

• Bicycle Dream (multiple variants - I like the looks of the silver one best)
  Fully custom. My fave is .
• Bicycle Starlight Black Hole
  Multiple Starlight variants were released, but this one is the most useful one by far. (Another variant didn't even have two different colors for Spades/Clubs and Hearts/Diamonds!) They also started a similar-looking mass production run called Stargazer, I have these too, other than the back design that doesn't look quite as good and some slight (for the better though) color tweaking on the faces, they're basically the same.
• Pressers
  Nice retro style. Absolutely love the layout of the number cards and especially the typeface. Court cards are also quite dapper. My favorites are .
• Uusi Pagan
  Fully custom deck, very old-looking, with beautiful watercolor art (even the pips!). Fucking expensive but this one is 100% good for never playing and just admiring the art on every card. faves. The same company also offers the even more expensive Bohemia deck. I sadly don't have a copy but to be honest I like that one even more than the Pagan.
• Babel
  German designer. Industrial look, simple yet beautiful. The court cards not so much (slightly modified standard ones) but the aces and all the number cards. DIN font for the indices.
• Mana No. 3 Sybil Livida
  Medieval look. Metallic inks. The card stock is a little weird (printed by Expert Card Co who are located in Taiwan, not Bicycle) but feels sturdy.
• Luxx Original
  Fairly vanilla faces, but some nice ornament, also the court cards are 4-color. Made by Legends Playing Card Co, based in Hong Kong afaik but printed in Taiwan.

 

[Nathanman123]

My favorites among my collection - not all of these may still be available, or only at crazy prices, much higher than what I paid when I bought them:

• Bicycle Dream (multiple variants - I like the looks of the silver one best)
  Fully custom. My fave is .
• Bicycle Starlight Black Hole
  Multiple Starlight variants were released, but this one is the most useful one by far. (Another variant didn't even have two different colors for Spades/Clubs and Hearts/Diamonds!) They also started a similar-looking mass production run called Stargazer, I have these too, other than the back design that doesn't look quite as good and some slight (for the better though) color tweaking on the faces, they're basically the same.
• Pressers
  Nice retro style. Absolutely love the layout of the number cards and especially the typeface. Court cards are also quite dapper. My favorites are .
• Uusi Pagan
  Fully custom deck, very old-looking, with beautiful watercolor art (even the pips!). Fucking expensive but this one is 100% good for never playing and just admiring the art on every card. faves. The same company also offers the even more expensive Bohemia deck. I sadly don't have a copy but to be honest I like that one even more than the Pagan.
• Babel
  German designer. Industrial look, simple yet beautiful. The court cards not so much (slightly modified standard ones) but the aces and all the number cards. DIN font for the indices.
• Mana No. 3 Sybil Livida
  Medieval look. Metallic inks. The card stock is a little weird (printed by Expert Card Co who are located in Taiwan, not Bicycle) but feels sturdy.
• Luxx Original
  Fairly vanilla faces, but some nice ornament, also the court cards are 4-color. Made by Legends Playing Card Co, based in Hong Kong afaik but printed in Taiwan.

Wow, thank you so much! They are all fantastic, but with price in consideration I really like Pressers and Babel and Mana. I think that Babel is my favorite, but unfortunately they are out of stock on their site and I had a hard time locating them elsewhere. Do you know if they are out of production?

 

[Nex]

I'd assume they're out of print then. I originally got them through a 3rd party seller on Amazon.de but I've just checked and there's only like two sellers from the US now that appear to be private listings, i.e. only single decks, no large quantities - and also at a fat markup.

 

[aa7]

Thanks guys for the info. Was planning to buy Theory 11's decks , but just learned they are not suitable for poker.

 

[Quicksilver-75]

Pretty interesting read guys. Nice write up, too @Nex . I have been looking at new cards for a while now. Wanted to really read up. Turns out we have a pretty good Cards resource to boot.
I stumbled upon these cards after some browsing. I can’t say how disappointed I am they don’t have plastic cards because I flippin love the designs and art on these. I was coming here to see if anybody owns these and what they think. Now I’ll just go watch hockey and have a few more pops and feel better about my purchase from @T_Chan Chanman Tables who also sells Desjgn cards.

https://store.theory11.com/collecti...zk9D3w6Bt7y8-AgMEzsT2_JiGLi9beZhoCPacQAvD_BwE