Copag playing cards. You gotta be kidding !!!! (2 Viewers)

[Trihonda]

I always play with two decks... Once in a while, I get a nay-sayer, but when I explain the benefits, they often come around...

Avg shuffle time from a non dedicated dealer is 1 min
Avg time per hand is 2 mins

Having two decks allows for 50% moar pokerz

 

[atomiktoaster]

I always play with two decks... Once in a while, I get a nay-sayer, but when I explain the benefits, they often come around...

Avg shuffle time from a non dedicated dealer is 1 min
Avg time per hand is 2 mins

Having two decks allows for 50% moar pokerz

60 seconds for riffle, strip, riffle, riffle, cut? Seems excessive even for a novice. Still, two decks is the way to go.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Cards wear out. The condition of your table's felt makes a world of difference. A tiny bit of dirt or grit will produce a surprising amount of wear.

Cards get dinged up by the players faster than they wear out most times. I have had decks with less than five hours play showing marks from card protectors. This makes extra work because I feel obligated to see which cards get dinged just in case the dings aren't an accident. I have never found a problem but I still check when a newer deck gets marked up somehow.

I try to have duplicate decks from the same production lot to build a merged deck from two decks with problems. {note to self - be sure not to bring the "bad" deck into play.} I also rotate decks between games to spread out wear and deter anyone thinking about bringing in their own cards. Paranoid? Perhaps, but better safe than sorry.

So yes, you will need more than one set-up even if you buy high quality cards. But they aren't expensive relative to chips. My set ups never cost more than $25 and average more like $17.

This, as if it were typed by my own fingers. I also check every deck post game. I look to see if the damaged cards appear intentional. I replace the damaged cards from a different deck along with a few others just to keep the amount of wear on the replacement deck in line with the old deck.

I used to replace 1-2 cards per night, then banned a player for "personality conflicts". He was loud (his nickname was Loudmouth Jeff). He had a harsh personality that could fit in if the group was different. I've had only 1 damaged card since then.

Short story: I use Copags because they can be easily (cheaply) replaced. Depending on the group, you may not need to replace cards very often, or it might be a routine thing.

 

[Trihonda]

60 seconds for riffle, strip, riffle, riffle, cut? Seems excessive even for a novice. Still, two decks is the way to go.

Omg, I've been in self dealt games where it's painfully long... Yea, ten riffles minimum... Like really?

 

[CdnBeerLover]

I rarely play in games that have two decks, but i do have a set of copags that one is green and the other burgundy.
It makes me wonder about a color blind buddy of mine that plays with us.

He is always mixing up green and red chips. For instance he makes really odd bets only after a hand that he just scooped a pot. Sometimes the bet wont even be the minimum amount. lol
I bet he would hate a two deck game with burgundy and green and wouldn't say anything. I will have to remember.

I have this issue, and our tourneys switch to 2 decks if a player volunteers to be a dedicated dealer. If the decks are too close (and I have a few setups like this from Bicycle and Four52), I make sure they aren't in use. Red /blue or yellow / black are best imo. And for someone completely colour blind, different backs would help.

 

[BGinGA]

Omg, I've been in self dealt games where it's painfully long... Yea, ten riffles minimum... Like really?

Educate 'em, bro. Standard casino shuffle consists of riffle-strip-riffle-riffle-cut or riffle-riffle-strip-riffle-cut. Anything more is excessive and unnecessary. Let 'em know (nicely) that they are only wasting time that could otherwise be spent playing poker.

 

[10centguitar]

I always play with two decks... Once in a while, I get a nay-sayer, but when I explain the benefits, they often come around...

Avg shuffle time from a non dedicated dealer is 1 min
Avg time per hand is 2 mins

Having two decks allows for 50% moar pokerz

We always have a dedicated dealer at most of the games i play in.

But when a game requires that everyone deals, 2 decks is absolutely best. But still way too slow imo.

When you pass the deal, someone usually most of the table sucks at it. They are way too slow and they cant do simple tasks well, like tidy pots from the end of the table (oval tables), mucking cards, and letting everyone make their own change from the pot etc.

They handle the deck poorly, exposing cards when they shuffle, and everyone always mixes the burns with the muck.

Not hard to follow a card (or several) through the deck when someone shows them to you and they shuffle like my little sister.

I have called an exact card or two on the flop for side bets (usually beers or dollars) more times than I can count. So when im with folks who shuffle granny-style I have to look away so I dont know what will come out. Very annoying.

A max10sec casino shuffle (riffle, riffle, box, riffle) is not hard to get with a little practice.

 

[10centguitar]

In some tourneys, you will see the blinds go up before the button gets around lol.

I usually offer up dealing services in a game where folks pass the deal.

 

[Trihonda]

Educate 'em, bro. Standard casino shuffle consists of riffle-strip-riffle-riffle-cut or riffle-riffle-strip-riffle-cut. Anything more is excessive and unnecessary. Let 'em know (nicely) that they are only wasting time that could otherwise be spent playing poker.

I try, but always get some response like "it's a habit or the way I've always done it"

 

[10centguitar]

Educate 'em, bro. Standard casino shuffle consists of riffle-strip-riffle-riffle-cut or riffle-riffle-strip-riffle-cut. Anything more is excessive and unnecessary. Let 'em know (nicely) that they are only wasting time that could otherwise be spent playing poker.

its so funny when folks riffle mindlessly. If you watch the deck when they shuffle you will notice with almost every case, the leading hand ( the one that lets go first will alway dump like 5-8 cards sometimes more) So the same 5-8 cards stay on the bottom in the exact order, no matter how many times they shuffle.

Then they ask the person next to them to cut, as if it really matters with such crappy shuffling, and some clown always wants to be mr. sheriff and hollywood the cut like he is circumventing some fraudulence at the table. Ridiculous.

As you can see I have a hard time sitting at a really slow table. lol

Some tables can be really good about passing the deal though. Most will shuffle decently and efficiently and when someone sucks they ask someone else for help etc.




I always (riffle riffle box riffle) then cut at least 1/3 no more than 2/3 the deck. Wash every 5-10 hands or so depending on how whiny the table is.

 

[Mental Nomad]

60 seconds for riffle, strip, riffle, riffle, cut? Seems excessive even for a novice.

You need to include time for, "oh! No, I didn't realize I should shuffle..." or for ten seconds spent awkwardly getting the muck into a deck.

And then for spotting the old hole cards still on the table.

And then for a whole lot of high-bridge riffles exposing the bottom card every time...

 

[10centguitar]

You need to include time for, "oh! No, I didn't realize I should shuffle..." or for ten seconds spent awkwardly getting the muck into a deck.

And then for spotting the old hole cards still on the table.

And then for a whole lot of high-bridge riffles exposing the bottom card every time...

Will make or break a game for me. If there is too much of this, and they arent the worst players in the world with money to burn, im through the door almost before cashing out.

 

[Mental Nomad]

I always (riffle riffle box riffle) then cut at least 1/3 no more than 2/3 the deck. Wash every 5-10 hands or so depending on how whiny the table is.

That was the most common house shuffle I used/saw. It's harder to track a card through a box than a strip.

I like to do two riffles, a box, and two riffles - the extra riffle is very quick. Also, I do a quick semi-wash as I gather the cards; in fact, when I drop the stub, I spread them on the table and bring the burns/discard into them, and when the hand ends, it's very easy to give the whole mess a semi-wash. Virtually no extra time.

One thing I see people do that's weird - especially if they're stripping - is breaking the strip into over a dozen moves. It's totally unnecessary, and begins to defeat the purposes. Stripping (or boxing) with just three grabs will lose the top, the bottom, and the center of the deck. Three is enough, five grabs is plenty, it's time to riffle again.

 

[10centguitar]

That was the most common house shuffle I used/saw. It's harder to track a card through a box than a strip.

I like to do two riffles, a box, and two riffles - the extra riffle is very quick. Also, I do a quick semi-wash as I gather the cards; in fact, when I drop the stub, I spread them on the table and bring the burns/discard into them, and when the hand ends, it's very easy to give the whole mess a semi-wash. Virtually no extra time.

One thing I see people do that's weird - especially if they're stripping - is breaking the strip into over a dozen moves. It's totally unnecessary, and begins to defeat the purposes. Stripping (or boxing) with just three grabs will lose the top, the bottom, and the center of the deck. Three is enough, five grabs is plenty, it's time to riffle again.

Like it. I like the semi-wash too, I also spread the stub when finished, but I keep the burns under the chips until I pass the pot.

I will sometimes add in an extra riffle at the end depending on how wacky the coordination of flops and hands are going. (usually when people start moaning about a wash because they got bad cards.) I seem to get tipped more when I riffle and wash more at points like this if Im just dealing.

 

[links_slayer]

wait a minute. is it "strip" or "box"?

 

[10centguitar]

In poker the box is 3-4 roughly equal chunks of cards.

Same thing for the strip except the strip has way more chunks taken off. Some places they do this in blackjack dealing. Ive seen both.

However most everyone uses these terms synonymously.

 

[bogart]

Just picked these up from the PO today!

 

[Mental Nomad]

wait a minute. is it "strip" or "box"?

If you strip off in four packets, or you box the deck in four packets, you've done the exact same thing to the cards - but the mechanics of how you did it are slightly different.

To strip:

You hold the deck in the air with one hand. The deck will not move; it will stay there. The other hand reaches up, takes about 1/4 deck from the top, and quickly brings them to the table, Repeat three more times; the deck has been stripped.

To box:

You hold your empty hand on the table, with your thumb and forefinger outstretched and the other fingers resting on the table, as if cradling a card box. This hand will not move; it will stay there. The other hand holds the deck; you slide the whole deck most of the way into the "box," the empty hand grabs about 1/4 deck from the top, and the hand holding the deck pulls the rest of the deck back out. The "box" hand drops the 1/4 deck on the table. Repeat three more times; the deck has been boxed.

The difference:

The effect on the cards is the same, but the mechanics create subtle differences:

1. It's easier for a card mechanic to cheat while stripping the deck than while boxing. (False shuffle.)
2. It's easier to follow the cards while watching a dealer box than while watching a dealer strip.
3. It's a little faster to strip than to box, which matters if you're going to strip a lot of small packets.

In blackjack, the casinos are not worried about their dealers performing false shuffles... but they do worry about shuffle trackers trying to win money at the tables. In blackjack, the whole stack of 8 decks doesn't get many riffles, and shuffle trackers only need to know which zones are a little "rich" to take advantage. So they strip.

In poker, that doesn't matter as much - the single deck gets many riffles, and people can't really use shuffle tracking. In poker, the dealer also couldn't cheat "for the house," but they might cheat for a particular player... so using a box makes it easier for all the other players to see that the shuffle is fair. At home, boxing instead of stripping has the same effect; it lets the dealer show they're being fair.

The same goes for the single overhand cut onto a cover card; it's very hard to cheat while doing that. Cutting with two hands allows for a variety of false cuts.

I'm thinking of making a video...

 

[Mental Nomad]

Just picked these up from the PO today!

The Prestige come with a nice box. I just wish I could find them in Jumbo Index. A have a setup of Standard Index that we use in non-poker games (bought on sweet sale in a Walgreens!).

 

[bogart]

The Prestige come with a nice box. I just wish I could find them in Jumbo Index. A have a setup of Standard Index that we use in non-poker games (bought on sweet sale in a Walgreens!).

Looks like they are on Amazon right now.

 

[bogart]

Looks like they are on Amazon right now.

Oops. I'm wrong. Amazon has the Modianos jumbo.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

The Prestige come with a nice box. I just wish I could find them in Jumbo Index. A have a setup of Standard Index that we use in non-poker games (bought on sweet sale in a Walgreens!).

I believe playingcardsandmore.com sell 2-deck setups of the jumbo green/burgundy Prestige in both bridge and poker size. Trident cards on Amazon also have them.

Trident: http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Prest...=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1432773657&sr=1-1

Playingcardsandmore : http://www.playingcardsandmore.com/bicycleprestige.aspx

Red/Blue jumbo are available in Europe and eBay (shipped from Europe) in standard paper boxes.
Red: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BICYCLE-PRE...803?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cdec7ad8b

Blue: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BICYCLE-PRE...796?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cdbc185ec

 

[Trihonda]

Just picked these up from the PO today!

Thoughts? Review?

 

[CdnBeerLover]

Just picked these up from the PO today!

And so it begins. Would definitely love to hear your opinion of the cards.

 

[OklahomaBill]

I fixed your post...

You were right.

4 decks of Copags
4 decks of Kems
2 decks of Bicycle Prestige
2 decks of Fourniers
2 decks of Cartimundi
2 decks of Modianos
2 decks of Gemaco
2 decks of Ace Casino

 

[bogart]

And so it begins. Would definitely love to hear your opinion of the cards.

I'm a big Modiano fan! I like the tougher flex of them and the way they feel.
The Prestige I find too slippery while I'm shuffling.
I use the Kems from time to time as well. I don't quite understand why they are not liked by many(probably the whole pre-USPC thing?!?)

 

[Mental Nomad]

Just to have it in the thread - Da Vincis are Modianos. I love mine.

 

[sleepypiggly]

I had the same first reaction to COPAG cards. Whoa, such great deal, such variety, and feels great!

Until the print on the cards started to bleed. Was it the humidity? Not sure, but my KEMs / ZEROs never did that.

 

[spikeithard]

just grabbed a pack of Modiano Club cards today in bridge size. They are pretty sweet. Very crisp and nice texture to them.

I am selling my 7 setups of 2011 WSOP Bicycle cards because the difference is HUGE. like going from a Benz to a Ferrari.
Oh and also I just recently found out there is a very oh so slight manufacturing marking on the 2011 WSOP cards and thats why they changed em out half way and are selling them now for 10 bucks a set up at straight poker supplies.

 

[sleepypiggly]

Took some pics of the bleeding COPAGs. Moisture does this.