Help Me Create A Premium Deck of Poker Cards! (15 Viewers)
- Thread starter AHPC
- Start date
ekricket
Royal Flush
I think this has a lot to do with how they are cut at the factory - face up or face down. When are cut a tiny bevel is produced on the edge from the downward force of the blade (the stock is held tight, but the blade edge flexes as it encounters resistance).
When you encounter this, turn your cards over and see if it’s better.
RocAFella1
Royal Flush
BRIDGE OR BUST
Cleaner more legible font would be preferred.
Cleaner more legible font would be preferred.
sweet
w00zie
Flush
I dig the Imported green back design!Thanks @Cratty - Yes I will post a few photos of my playing cards for anyone who is interested
I am aware that a plastic Casino Poker deck would be bolder, more basic design-wise etc. but these are the types of decks I create for collectors and magicians.
You could reach out to Piatnik, they might do custom orders
More than acetate I value printing technique.....I consider Fournier second to none (although I think their graphic sucks)
* First thing is that I would never buy paper cards. Never ever.
* As the host of a game which goes off about 20 times per year, durability is a real plus. Back when I used cheaper big box store plastic cards I would typically have to replace 1-2 cards during the game every session; and inspecting them between games would kick out another 1-2. This involved everything from creases to dings to scuffs. So lots of turnover.
* I have mainly used COPAGs and Faded Spades in recent years. Both hold up decently but the FS seem especially durable. (I say this knowing that a lot of people here hate on FS, but my experience has been good.)
* Both as a designer myself and also a writer who has been paid to write about design, I strongly believe that four-color decks are a significant improvement over two. Black-and-red decks became standard not because it was ever a good usability choice—on the contrary, they encourage errors. Two colors were used because of ink and printing setup costs centuries ago. Many players resist any change from what is familiar, but my regulars got used to four-color very quickly. I would never go back.
* As a host in his 50s, whose eyesight gets worse and worse, and whose regulars are only getting older, I again prefer jumbo indexes.
* For the same reason as above, I use poker sized cards, not bridge. I have heard people constantly claim that bridge sized cards are better for four-card games like PLO, but I don’t find the size of poker cards a problem when I spread non-hold ’em games.
* As far as the backs of cards, while I feel that edge-to- edge (full bleed) printing looks a lot cooler, I think in practice it may create more problems. A white border makes it harder for the ink along the edges of each card to get visibly marked or scuffed. That said, there is room for creativity within a “classic” card back design. (For example, I don’t see why there has to be a hard line around the pattern.)
* Whenever I have looked at fancy paper cards, my first thought is “These are for very casual, very occasional players of card games.” They’re good for a vacation home or holiday gatherings, and that’s about it… So while I often appreciate the creativity of the designs, usability, game security and lifespan need to come first.
* As the host of a game which goes off about 20 times per year, durability is a real plus. Back when I used cheaper big box store plastic cards I would typically have to replace 1-2 cards during the game every session; and inspecting them between games would kick out another 1-2. This involved everything from creases to dings to scuffs. So lots of turnover.
* I have mainly used COPAGs and Faded Spades in recent years. Both hold up decently but the FS seem especially durable. (I say this knowing that a lot of people here hate on FS, but my experience has been good.)
* Both as a designer myself and also a writer who has been paid to write about design, I strongly believe that four-color decks are a significant improvement over two. Black-and-red decks became standard not because it was ever a good usability choice—on the contrary, they encourage errors. Two colors were used because of ink and printing setup costs centuries ago. Many players resist any change from what is familiar, but my regulars got used to four-color very quickly. I would never go back.
* As a host in his 50s, whose eyesight gets worse and worse, and whose regulars are only getting older, I again prefer jumbo indexes.
* For the same reason as above, I use poker sized cards, not bridge. I have heard people constantly claim that bridge sized cards are better for four-card games like PLO, but I don’t find the size of poker cards a problem when I spread non-hold ’em games.
* As far as the backs of cards, while I feel that edge-to- edge (full bleed) printing looks a lot cooler, I think in practice it may create more problems. A white border makes it harder for the ink along the edges of each card to get visibly marked or scuffed. That said, there is room for creativity within a “classic” card back design. (For example, I don’t see why there has to be a hard line around the pattern.)
* Whenever I have looked at fancy paper cards, my first thought is “These are for very casual, very occasional players of card games.” They’re good for a vacation home or holiday gatherings, and that’s about it… So while I often appreciate the creativity of the designs, usability, game security and lifespan need to come first.
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Note: By “usability,” I mean all the practical aspects of cards, as opposed to aesthetics (looks).
Do they slide, gather, shuffle and handle well?
Do they hold up well?
Are they easy to read?
Could they be easily marked by cheats without anyone noticing? Or will such marks be relatively obvious?
Do the designs help minimize mistakes, or make mistakes more likely?
Do they slide, gather, shuffle and handle well?
Do they hold up well?
Are they easy to read?
Could they be easily marked by cheats without anyone noticing? Or will such marks be relatively obvious?
Do the designs help minimize mistakes, or make mistakes more likely?
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Durability.
We played Copags, they fade after a few hours of play.
What about Trefl, do they custom PVC cards?
I can always ask..
I left Gemaco and Angel off of my list of vendors on purpose. I didn't even mention them because as far as I know, they'll only do business with casinos.
One thing I forgot to mention, though. Matsui Europe's HQ is literally down the street from you in Manchester. I and a few other folks bought some manufacturing sample decks from them years back. Angel was their print house. Always worth a shot!
https://matsuieurope.com/product-category/playing-cards/
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i asked about Angel's last time ordering from Matsui. They do not carry Angels any more
SixSpeedFury
Full House
I am assuming it would be custom made to appeal to the masses, since that would make the most sense cost wise. How about individual made to order customs based on their chip sets or designs? A lot of PCFers would love to have that option without having to purchase 40+ decks. The closest thing is MPC, but their stock is beyond stiff.
Old State
Full House
- Joined
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- 3,970
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Definitely Bridge
A smaller Jumbo or Blackjack size index
Kems are the gold standard for me as far as feel but they are acetate and can bow if you are not carefull. The best feeling cards outside of that were the Modiano stock Desjgn used in his Turk and Caicos Casino cards….but they screwed him…so as close as you can get to that
Simple casino style backs and colors
Full color face cards and cream center number cards
Opt thinner than thicker
Stay classic in design….NOT like Faded Spade…the ugliest and worst feeling cards ever created
A smaller Jumbo or Blackjack size index
Kems are the gold standard for me as far as feel but they are acetate and can bow if you are not carefull. The best feeling cards outside of that were the Modiano stock Desjgn used in his Turk and Caicos Casino cards….but they screwed him…so as close as you can get to that
Simple casino style backs and colors
Full color face cards and cream center number cards
Opt thinner than thicker
Stay classic in design….NOT like Faded Spade…the ugliest and worst feeling cards ever created
Too used to Bridge size to go back. A jumbo index similar to Faded Spade would be nice where it doesn't seem like it sacrifices that much space for the larger index. A classic back design with borders would look nice with a dark teal and maroon setup. I could go either way with 4 color or 2 color, but prefer 4 color
OP
OP
Hey! Yes I literally discovered this yesterday and noticed the same thing (their euro HQ) it still says they use angel on their website however @surfik mentioned that they don't use angel anymore. Anyone know what they do use now? It appears as though gemaco was an option, albeit with a large MOQ, but very little in the way of customisation options. It's a shame I was warned off modiano because they replied straight away with a pretty reasonable set of specs for custom printing.
OP
OP
Yeh I am looking to literally create the best possible poker deck that I can (in terms of attributes and aesthetics) and then get it made on a highly regarded stock. It would be generic/classic for anyone to use.
I do offer to design custom decks for home games, groups, poker rooms etc. I am in the process of formulating a package I can offer to interested parties to keep things simple, as I have had a couple of enquiries already, but I would be delivering the graphic elements on print templates and then it would be up to you to take that to a printer (I'd be able to help, but I wouldn't be able to be any more involved than a customer with the print phase). MPC springs to mind for home games due to their low/non-existent MOQs, there is also another printer I use that does pvc with lower minimums but I think it's still 100+, so not as low as MPC, I am also unsure of their pvc quality (their paper cards are premium though).
I am working on a package deal to offer atm and will post it in the Deals & Offers section asap
Last night we played with Bicycle Prestige (Poker size). I kept thinking they'd be second only to Angel Acetate if they came in bridge size. They're made by Fournier and so far there have been no problems with them. I really like the classic look of Bicycles but I think it's the same card stock as Fournier 2818.
Fournier 2826 would be their bridge size offering.
You might want to head down to Spain and suck up to Fournier to see if they'll produce your cards unless Angel comes thru.
Handling is so important. Artwork is way down in priority IMHO.
Fournier 2826 would be their bridge size offering.
You might want to head down to Spain and suck up to Fournier to see if they'll produce your cards unless Angel comes thru.
Handling is so important. Artwork is way down in priority IMHO.
OP
OP
I am waiting to hear back from Fournier. Piatnik just responded this morning, and Bicycle have referred my query to their custom dept. Starting to collate responses.
Agreed about the handling, although of course from my standpoint the artwork and aesthetics of the deck are important too Like, once you've chosen good stock, you might as well make the cards look nice as well! Cheers
Agreed about the handling, although of course from my standpoint the artwork and aesthetics of the deck are important too
Like, once you've chosen good stock, you might as well make the cards look nice as well! CheersI agree 100%. It's just that there have been lots of example of beautiful cards on poor quality cardstock. Artwork is also very subjective.I am waiting to hear back from Fournier. Piatnik just responded this morning, and Bicycle have referred my query to their custom dept. Starting to collate responses.
Agreed about the handling, although of course from my standpoint the artwork and aesthetics of the deck are important too
I like the design choices (artwork, beige center, erc), but the back colour combinations shown would be a non-starter. I've been burnt twice on red/green combinations that looked good on screen but were unusable in person. Green/purple is also problematic.View attachment 1483543
Started sketching. So far focussing on a strong, classic casino theme with a touch of elegance, blackjack size index, a border around the back... I went with the cream fill inside the rectangle for this Ace concept, I think it works well on BJ index casino style cards and I notice a lot of guys around these parts like this design element. It also reminds me of an old deck of Fournier 818 that I had when I was younger that I really liked. This is also the first Ace of Spades I've ever drawn up that doesn't have a spade as the central motif, but I think it looks quite cool!
Just getting some ideas down at this stage. Unsure whether to opt for 2x decks in separate tuckboxes or 2x decks loose in a shared box. Any preferences on this front? I was probably leaning more towards a shared box, even though I drew up separate tucks.
Thoughts/ideas/suggestions?
Still just sketching down concepts so nothing hard and fast yet. The Courts will be classic and instantly recognisable, and plan on making the red suits a bright red as per @CdnBeerLover suggestion. Everything bright and bold and legible and clean, and printed on good stock.
Let me know what you think
@Split posted this very interesting thread about Kuo Kau, the company which he pretty convincingly argues is producing or at least providing the stock for Faded Spade:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/demystifying-faded-spade-3-0.108044/
As I recall they have other (less thick) stocks and will take orders, albeit only much larger than what individual buyers would need:
https://www.kkplayingcard.com/en/product-c159287/Custom-Playing-Cards.html
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/demystifying-faded-spade-3-0.108044/
As I recall they have other (less thick) stocks and will take orders, albeit only much larger than what individual buyers would need:
https://www.kkplayingcard.com/en/product-c159287/Custom-Playing-Cards.html
They got 6 thickness levels of PVC sheets - wow
RocAFella1
Royal Flush
Only 2 of them are viable for poker though.
OP
OP
Suggest colour combos guys! We have red/blue (trusty) - what others would work well? Picking the right colours for the job should be easy enough if we get a consensus. I have already decided to avoid yellow.
You raise an interesting point about printing as well. I need to go somewhere right now but will add my thoughts on this later (ha!)
Thanks as always - hopefully more sketches soon
You raise an interesting point about printing as well. I need to go somewhere right now but will add my thoughts on this later (ha!)
Thanks as always - hopefully more sketches soon
RocAFella1
Royal Flush
Blurple and blaze orange
I like no-line-borders as these:
Purple/orangeSuggest colour combos guys! We have red/blue (trusty) - what others would work well? Picking the right colours for the job should be easy enough if we get a consensus. I have already decided to avoid yellow.
You raise an interesting point about printing as well. I need to go somewhere right now but will add my thoughts on this later (ha!)
Thanks as always - hopefully more sketches soon
Black/red
Purple/green
Green/orange
Light blue/orange
Avoid red/green together as color blind folks can't tell the difference.
OP
OP
I love both the black/red combo and the purple/green combo personally
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