Why does everybody use expensive decks? (4 Viewers)

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TheRealStephen12

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I have been reading this forum very heavily since I joined, and everywhere I loom, everything costs very large amounts of money. For quality poker chips, I understand the cost to manufacture them is high, but are decks which cost $10 per deck (COPAG prices or more basically) really worth it? Sure I'm a college student, but I can go on Amazon and by 12 decks of Brybelly plastic cards for $12.99+tax, and I can't imagine what makes these cards several times better than generic plastic decks. Is it security, do they last for 200+ hours of play, how they feel, or something else that causes everybody on the forum to use them? (And no, I have not held them, otherwise it's probably obvious why they are and I just don't get it.)
 
Can't speak for these, but ultimately it's a combination of durability, quality control, and choice. Players tend to abuse the cards which can lead to 'marking' intentional or not. More expensive cards tend to hold up better ime. For a casual game, any cards will do same as chips really. People also enjoy playing with the best quality that makes sense to them which they can reasonably afford/justify.
 
This thread has some good reviews from members trying out cheaper-than-Copag decks from Amazon: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/amazon-decks-poker-size.101352/

If you're a poor college student, stick with your budget, and don't get the Copags if they are too expensive for you. A lot of folks here consider Copags cheap (both in price and quality), and have setups that cost the same per deck as an entire Copag setup (or more). KEMs, Fourniers, Dal Negros, etc.

There's definitely value cards out there. You can level up your cards (and chips) as you can afford them. I started out with Bicycle paper decks, then went to Copags, and I still like using them, but these days I'm mostly using Fourniers, Dal Negros, and Desjgns. They are more durable than Copags, but my Copags have held up fine.
 
Play with different types and try it. I dont like them just because they're expensive, I like them because they hold their shape after many shuffles and pitches, I like how they slide on a nice table, I like how I can quickly edge shuffle, I like them because I'm sensitive to the little bends and marks that show up on paper cards within an orbit. Copags are a huge step up from paper Bicycles, and Fournier/Desjgn are a large step up from Copags. There's levels. Lot of lateral movement in size, texture, feel, all that, but there's an upper echelon for a reason.

The cards are more important than the chips to me, they keep the game fair and move around the table more. Im not opening a new setup most games but Ill switch them out if there's any doubt, and I strongly prefer plastic cards. They shuffle better, deal better, hold their shape better, and I LIKE THE PRETTY COLORS.
 
I have 30-40 decks from as far back as the 1950's and have only had one card get damaged (a Copag that the company replaced free of charge)...a deck that needs to be replaced over and over again is much more expensive than a deck that you only need to buy once. And, they feel better and look better...
 
Klobberer said:
I have 30-40 decks from as far back as the 1950's and have only had one card get damaged (a Copag that the company replaced free of charge)...a deck that needs to be replaced over and over again is much more expensive than a deck that you only need to buy once. And, they feel better and look better...
Click to expand...
Agreed. I have a setup of KEMs from 1962 that are the smoothest shuffling cards I’ve ever handled.
 
TheRealStephen12 said:
I have been reading this forum very heavily since I joined, and everywhere I loom, everything costs very large amounts of money. For quality poker chips, I understand the cost to manufacture them is high, but are decks which cost $10 per deck (COPAG prices or more basically) really worth it? Sure I'm a college student, but I can go on Amazon and by 12 decks of Brybelly plastic cards for $12.99+tax, and I can't imagine what makes these cards several times better than generic plastic decks. Is it security, do they last for 200+ hours of play, how they feel, or something else that causes everybody on the forum to use them? (And no, I have not held them, otherwise it's probably obvious why they are and I just don't get it.)
Click to expand...
There’s no making sense of it. Cards are like chips - you can get a decent setup of plastic cards for ten bucks. Or you can pay $20 or $30 or $50 for a setup that’s marginally better. It’s no different than paying $10!apiece for leaded Paulson THCs, when functionally, they’re marginally better than $1 Paulson RHCs.
(I don’t know what you’re talking about with Brybelly - at that price I assume they’re plastic coated cards, which is paper cards, which are really no good for poker because they’re so easily marked. )

Different plastic cards behave differently, in terms of gathering, shuffling, and pitching. But you don’t need to pay through the nose to find some that perform acceptably well. My current favorites for their price are probably the Broken Arrows for $7.50/setup (though shipping hurts) or Lot Fabcy on Amazon for $10 per setup. So yeah, you do need to pay $4-$5 per deck for a decent deck of plastic cards, but you can stop the madness right there at that price point.
 
Quality.

Harder to bend/mark cards, intentionally or not.
 
joeyshin said:
Why do we use expensive chips?

Why do I only buy honeycrisp and cosmic crisp apples

Why do I refuse to get the cheap toilet paper?


quality of life my man
Click to expand...
Why people buy mechanical watches when quartz are cheaper and more precise, and you may check time with smart phone.

Why they buy knives with powder blade steel that cost few hundred bucks that they mostly use to open packages from Amazon...
 
Thank you for all the responses! I just like reading about these things and wanted to know your reasons, since it took quite a while for a card to get damaged. Then again, we try to avoid damaging cards, so maybe they just hold up for us where other people try to avoid damaging them. I'll probably stick to cheaper decks for now since I only play infrequently, but maybe once I'm out of college and can afford a down payment and mortgage on a house (which is a while away but it's the goal) that I'll look into getting all of the higher quality stuff.
 
When I was in college, I thought Jack was quality bourbon, Absolut was quality vodka, and something like Guinness or Bass Ale was the shit when it came to beer.

Don’t get caught up in the fact that many of us now have far more money than you (AT THIS POINT). Go get drunk and play some poker with whatever alcohol and cards you have on hand!!
 
1) I used cheaper plastic Hoyle decks for years, and was constantly having to replace cards and retire decks. They got dinged easily and the backs faded quickly.

2) I now prefer four-color decks (don’t come at me bro) and there just aren’t many options for those besides higher-quality decks.

3) For two-color poker sized decks under $5 each, check out these:

https://www.thepokerstore.com/produ...s-poker-size-jumbo-index-12-decks-of-2-colors

I’ve played with them in two different games, and thought they were pretty solid at the price. The backs are plain but attractive with their edge-to-edge design.
 
I've had some plastic decks start to lose the printing on the faces from wear after 30-40 games. A good quality card will last for a very long time if washed and cleaned regularly. It's a minimal cost for extended wear. We pay piles of money for chips, 20 extra bucks for two decks of cards is nothing.
 
joeyshin said:
cosmic crisp apples
Click to expand...
Episode 8 Nbc GIF by America's Got Talent
 
If anyone has a few decks of cards that don't meet their standards for use (damaged or missing a card is fine) or if you have decks that your players don't like or wont use and would be willing to send them out (at my cost). I would definitely like to try to get introduced to some of these quality cards to see what's out there. A sample of a few would definitely help me evaluate the feel, of them, how they shuffle, slide, etc. So, I know where I want to enter the market at.

Also, where are the best places to be buying cards from?
 
DZPoker said:
When I was in college, I thought Jack was quality bourbon, Absolut was quality vodka, and something like Guinness or Bass Ale was the shit when it came to beer.

Don’t get caught up in the fact that many of us now have far more money than you (AT THIS POINT). Go get drunk and play some poker with whatever alcohol and cards you have on hand!!
Click to expand...
Bass Ale WAS the shit...the original IPA! That was my special Xmas beer in the 80's.
 
@Colquhoun is what we mean when we talk about community here.

@PokerSenpai send me a DM and I'll hook you up with a few playable options (i.e. rejects by my high casino-grade standards but totally workable for most home games.)
 
Quality

Nothing wrong with cheaper decks, they just won’t last as long / get bent / marked much faster.
 
There are plenty of alternatives to expensive decks without much sacrifice.

LotFancy at about $10 setup.
The eBay 2011/2012 WSOP cards at around $25 for two setups. (Fournier and KEM and they are like new)
Angel 100% plastic at <$5 deck (amazon.jp)
 
TheRealStephen12 said:
I have been reading this forum very heavily since I joined, and everywhere I loom, everything costs very large amounts of money. For quality poker chips, I understand the cost to manufacture them is high, but are decks which cost $10 per deck (COPAG prices or more basically) really worth it? Sure I'm a college student, but I can go on Amazon and by 12 decks of Brybelly plastic cards for $12.99+tax, and I can't imagine what makes these cards several times better than generic plastic decks. Is it security, do they last for 200+ hours of play, how they feel, or something else that causes everybody on the forum to use them? (And no, I have not held them, otherwise it's probably obvious why they are and I just don't get it.)
Click to expand...
Hi, I am also a college student, only from Belgium. What do you guys/girls (idk) typically play? Pokerwise ofcourse
 
CincinattiKiddo said:
Hi, I am also a college student, only from Belgium. What do you guys/girls (idk) typically play? Pokerwise ofcourse
Click to expand...
I only learned any strategy for NLH, so I taught them and we started playing that. We are genuinely competitive enough to play for no stakes and have a running leaderboard of everybody's scores.
 

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