What card finish/type is best for cardistry?

[Blaustein]

So, I've been doing cardistry for a few months now and I've been through a couple decks so far, my favourites being Antler and Tally-Ho; both have a nice stock and are quite comfortable to handle, and apart from the Tally-Ho's rough edges in the first day or so, they are both quite reliable sets of cards.

I've bought a few other decks, such as Absinthe and Moonshine, Killer Bees and Purple Artifice. I've used the latter as one of my workhorse decks, until I really used up the deck and realized that compared to my favourite decks, it was actually harder to pull off cardistry moves such as Legolove or Gunslinger with that deck, mainly because I felt less in control, that the cards were more slippery.

I started to think that black/coloured cards might be like that - more slippery, and therefore less adapted to cardistry, until I remembered they were all covered by protective layers and that the amount of ink used on them was probably irrelevant to how they handle (please tell me if I'm wrong on this one).

So, to finally get to the point: I'd be interested to know what makes a set of cards better or worse for cardistry, what stock/finish/other specificity makes a deck non-recomandable and why.

 

[Ramke_99]

I recently brought a black deck, but honestly couldn't spot a major difference between it and the other decks which I have. although I haven't actually broken in any of my better decks out of fear of ruining them. so it will be interesting to know which would be the best type of cards. I've heard that it mostly comes down to preference provided they are of high quality.

 

[Blaustein]

I've heard something like that too, I just ordered 3 Joker and the Thief decks, which seem to have the kind of handling I like, but it would be nice to know if there's a way not to buy decks at random, and to know what I'm looking for in the deck's components.

 

[Ramke_99]

I think it was united cardists that I read that there wasnt really any way to tell how each deck behaves for you as everyone has differing preferences, but you can go off of reviews to get some idea of what it should be like. Doesn't really help for decks not many people have used yet.

 

[Oldfalguy]

Gentlemen,
I am no magician or car master at all but have felt I hd a handle on them...untilI met a KEM deck. They have not been mentioned above nor do I think think they should be except as cards which spread across a table very nicely and may be ridden with a card back and forth.
You can tell I do not understand any of the nomenclature and appreciate learning from you.
I have ordered about 8 various decks to see which I can work with best. Right now I am TnRing all of my pathetic decks to pieces -learning ain't cheap HUH
Have a great week folks

Mark

 

[leumas1960]

Slippery decks are best for spreads, non-slippery (or just very worn) decks are best for packet cuts. However, it takes more skill to practice with slippery decks, so if you can handle a fairly slippery deck (but slightly broken in, otherwise it's just unrealistically difficult to flourish with) then you become more skilled than if you practiced with easier, less slippery decks.

 

[lolhammertime]

Here's my list of personal favorites for cardistry

For Durability: Bee decks (especially Bee Wynn's), D&D Smoke & Mirrors, Virtuoso
For Aesthetics: Virtuoso decks. Hands down
For Availability: Tally-Ho's, Aladdins
For Packet-Cutting: Aladdins (or any plastic-coated deck for that matter), Bee Wynn's, Absolut Vodka

I know some of the decks are rare and otherwise hard to find, but they're really good. Hope this helped!