Cards for Poker: What Are The Best Brands?
Introduction: The Best Brands of Cards for Poker
There are cards for poker, and then there are real cards for poker. If you’re going to be playing the casino table game for cash then you want the very best tools at hand. So throw out those dog-eared cheap playing cards and get yourself something that’ll stand up to the wear and tear of a professional game. Yes, of course, you can have a perfectly great time with a cheap deck of cards, but it’s not something that we’d recommend.
The right tools for the job at hand are important. Cheaping-out is going to affect the overall experience. We can’t understand why people can’t see this, as it’s absolutely true. For one thing, if you’re playing with rubbish quality cards, that says something about you to other players. It shows that you’re not taking betting with real money seriously. It’ll distract people’s thoughts from the game. Yes, it sounds kinda crazy, but it’ll make your jackpot games less enjoyable.
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Take Your cards And Your game Seriously
Talk to any professional poker player and they’ll all speak of the “elegance” of the cards. Playing with high-quality cards should be one of the first things a poker player notices. So that makes branding an important factor. Maybe you should try and see this as if you were going out to eat. If you’re sitting in a nice joint, then you’ll already have certain perfectly reasonable expectations. All those little things designed to make your experience even better and more enjoyable.
Now, in this situation, many people would expect you to make some effort in dressing up. If you turned up to a nice restaurant and saw someone waltz in with a tee shirt and sandals, you might be a bit miffed. In just seeing someone dressed like that can pull you out of the moment. Essentially, you’re not getting what you paid for. Well, it’s the same concept when playing with nice cards. Quality matters. Just see the look on the faces of your fellow gamblers when you start to hand out your Dollar Store $1 cards. If you think about the rate at which casinos go through decks of playing cards. Sometimes several decks within a single game. And then notice if they’re the cheapest cards to be found. Nope!
So though casinos could make considerable savings by buying in rubbish cards, they choose not to. There’s a reason for that.
Respect The Cards Shows Respect For The Game
So if you’re going to be hosting a poker tournament from your home, then the cards that you’ll be handing out will say a lot about you and a lot about your attitude to games in general. It’s not a snob thing. It’s just basic common sense and good manners. Like knowing the rules of poker, it shows the level of respect you have for the other players as well as for the game at hand. There are a huge number of brands of playing cards to choose from. But today, we’re going to go over just a couple of them. These are probably the best card decks that money can buy. But let’s face it, a decent pack of cards isn’t going to break the bank.
Cards For Poker: Bee Playing Cards
These are some of the popular cards in the US, with many casinos playing with the brand Bee Cards. You can find these in general stores like Walgreens, Walmart, and other large retail outlets. These cards come from way back in 1892 when they were called Consolidated -Dougherty. In fact, on today’s deck of cards, you’ll find a tiny “92” written on the top corner of the Ace of Spades. This is a reference to the very first cards. Soon after this, the printing moved over to the US, and the United States Playing Card Company would take over the production of Bees playing cards. A little known fact is that this company is responsible for printing virtually all the different playing card brands in the US.
Cards For Poker: Open With Care
When you have a box of Bees Cards in your hands, you’ll need to open the seal. This is a band that runs around the box. Be extra careful when pulling on this, as it’s easy to rip the actual box in the process. As with all things, take your time and do it right! Ripping the box is really the pits of the universe. That’s because a ripped box will let in dust and dirt. And it’s those two factors that will affect how the cards handle when being played. Dirty cards tend to stick together. Also, no one wants to play with cards for poker if they’re grubby. In the casino environment, there’s another reason for maintaining clean cards apart from the aspects of hygiene. And that a psychological one, whereby you play for longer with cleaner cards.
They won’t increase your jackpot winning chances but will make you feel better about playing. Also, we should mention that the printing of Bee’s cards is on the much thicker card than other brands, which gives them more of a weighty and quality feel. All clever stuff!
A Durable Deck of Cards
You want your new deck of cards to last. So the durability of the materials is of utmost importance. A single deck of Bees cards should easily last for over a decade, even with more or less regular usage. Now you’ll see that the majority of Bees Cards come with either red or blue backs. If you’re at the casino playing with bees cards, then you’ll notice that the backs are customized with the casino’s own logo. Another difference from many playing cards, like the Bicycle brand, for example, is that Bees Cards lack the white border.
It must be mentioned that Bees Cards are lovely to play with. They are slippery right out of the box, but the quality really starts to shine through after a couple of hands. If you shuffle a new deck a few times, it removes this slipperiness. As we previously mentioned, there’s a weightiness to the cards which makes them feel more substantial and gives a feeling of quality to the game being played. On a final note about Bees cards, is that is you watch any Hong Kong-based movies and there’s a scene involving playing cards for poker, they will inevitably be Bees.
Cards For Poker: Tally Ho Playing Cards
If you happen to be at the casinos to win the jackpot, you’ll find many casino card game aficionados swear that Tally-Ho cards are the very best cards for poker in the world. They are certainly in a league of their won when it comes to quality card decks. Many claims that the cards are exactly the same in feel and weight after over 10 years of playing. Also many will point out that they are the most beautiful deck of cards you’ll ever see. Bold claims indeed!
The design is remarkable. But when you first handle them, you’ll be forgiven for mistaking them for a lesser brand like Bicycle. They have the same red or blue backs, a white border, and a similar card face design for the jack, queen, king, and ace. But on closer inspection, you’ll see that they are far superior in every way. One of the major factors is the finish of the cards themselves. Most card dealers and players, along with card magicians, will tell you that the cards in their grasp are Tally-Ho cards, just by the feel alone.
Different Finishes
The finish on many cards is what’s known as an “air cushion” finish. This makes for a deck that spreads easily. This is the most common finish from the United States Playing Card Company. But Tally-Ho cards have a completely different finish. They use what’s known as a “Linoid” finish. Also, Tally Ho cards have a different design on the backs which is both intricate and adorable at the same time. There are stacks of “fans” as well as a “circle” back designs.
Andrew Dougherty introduced these cards to the US in 1885, the same year that Bicycle introduced theirs. In 1907, the United States Playing Card Company bought out Dougherty, thus introducing the Tally Ho brand across the US. There are some other brands of cards that have a great finish, but Tally Ho is considered head and shoulders above everyone’s best efforts.
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