If you're a card brand snob & refuse to acknowledge that cards other than your particular brand of choice should even be allowed to exist, you can skip this post.
This post is for the other end of the spectrum. Someone that wants/needs cheap cards that won't break the bank, yet aren't so slick (as cheap plastics usually are) that shuffling is a bigger challenge than keeping an all you can eat buffet stocked with Rosie O'Donnell & Micheal Moore in attendance.
In my case, it's supplying cards for a local charity tourney. Or the guy that's hosting the Sunday game day/College dorm room cash game where the flat beer & stale pizza will be in abundance & the cards conspicuously in harm's way. Ditto the home game with the regular one or few usual suspects that can't help but abuse the cards to death.
I basically spilled the beans on this post's contents in another thread 'cause it came up by coincidence. But... here's the jist of it if you didn't see that one....
I buy the cards for a local charity tourney. Now, I deal the final table & always break out a couple of my quality decks for that (90% of the time that means Desjgns). However, for the play up to that point where the players are doing the shuffling & dealing there's two issues there.
First being cost. Spending the money it would take for 4 tables (or more) worth of premium cards isn't in the budget.
Second... Even if it were remotely possible budget-wise, I'm not sure I'd want to be buying that many decks I know are likely to be mistreated & need to be replaced far sooner than would otherwise need be.
Hence, I'm always on the lookout for cards that fit the budget.
My usual modus operandi in this endeavor is anytime I'm ordering on
Amazon & don't have a total over $25 to qualify for free shipping. I'll then search for cards & order a cheap deck or set to get me up to 25 bucks or better.
In that process, I've come up with a few options....
First up is a brand called "
Slowplay".
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RY6SVLK
You could consider these something of a poor man's heavy-duty Copag poker size jumbo index. If you made a thick & stiff Copag, you'd have a deck of these. Not to mention they're 3 bucks a set cheaper & come with a free cut card per deck. And, unlike the cheap Caramundi/Ace/Ritz/Royal lot, they have a smooth yet flat finish that's not as slick.
Next up are a group of 3 decks all made by the same (probably Chinese) company. You'll find them listed as CLM Imports, Neasyth, Bird, & Rungood.
Now, while they are all made by the same company, they are all uniquely different as well.
First up is
Bird 888 also listed on
Amazon under the "
Neasyth" brand.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFF5X41/
Pretty much the same as the Slowplay cards listed above, except that they're thinner & softer (Yet still stiffer than a Copag). Also, they're the only set of the 4 that doesn't come with free cut cards. They are however the cheapest set of the lot at $8.99/set. However, unless you're an
Amazon Prime member you'll need to buy 3 sets to get the cost down to $4.50/deck. At that cost they are right on par with the cheapest plastic cards you can get without the slippery as eels glossy finish. You can actually shuffle & deal these things with relatively reasonable ease. So, if cheap is what you're looking for & have cut cards already, these might be right up your alley.
Now, if you want something that feels more expensive with some texture to 'em....
I'm going to call these
CLM Texas Hold'Em. Reason being, there is apparently absolutely no one wishing to claim credit for making 'em. Either on the boxes, the Jokers, or the Ace of Spades. The only thing on the boxes are the words, "Texas Hold'Em - 100% plastic - Jumbo Index - Poker Size"... that's it. However, they are "by"
CLM Imports according to
Amazon.
Amazon Link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KFP7GQR/
If you compare the backs & face card design of these with the Bird 888 above, & then compare the boxes with the Rungood below (also Rungood & Bird share the same Joker & Ace of Spade design as well) you'll see the relationship between all 3.
These are the thickest & stiffest of the lot. In fact, they now top the stiffness list with a flex rating of only 11 degrees. Beating out Faded Spade by a full degree. No small feat there. But, with a thickness of 0.0135" of PVC, you can understand the stoutness. Durability, is not likely to be an issue.
Now, in spite of my aversion to stiff cards, I will say that these things deal out like a dream. Reason being they have a similar "coarse" texture to the new Dal Negro stock Desjgns on the backs, yet have a smooth face finish. That combination makes dealing just a single card off the top of the deck reliably a no-brainer. Unlike Faded Spade that make separating the top card from it's neighbor harder than taking away my dog's favorite toy.
If you need cheap cards that can take a beating, these have your name written all over 'em. And, a free cut card in each box too.
& finally, my actual favorite of all 4....
Rungood
Regular Index:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GNP6VFG/
Jumbo Index:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GNQY1R2/
If you want cheap cards that don't
look like you've got cheap cards, here's your out.
These have the look & feel of more expensive decks. Well, on the backs at least. The back design certainly has a more expensive look. & while the faces are the same smooth finish of the above, the backs have a matte finish that's damn close to being able to call it "linen". It's not quite there, but, no where near "smooth" either. Like the above no-names, this makes 'em actually pleasurable to deal out. They are on the stiff side shuffling-wise though, being right between Faded Spade & Bullets in flex.
& these also have a free cut card in each box as well.
There you have it.... if you're so tight in the wallet you squeak when you walk, or you need to buy more than a couple sets without resorting to armed robbery, and, you don't want the shuffling process to occasionally resemble a recreation of Mount St. Helens, there's a few choices for you.