talkmagic.co.uk

Why do so many magicians use Bicycle playing cards? I include myself as a user.

I bought a deck (ok, 12 decks - very cheaply on ebay) to find out why so many magicians use them. And I love them. Much smoother to spread than my original favourites, Waddington's Number 1 linen finish. They smell good, too. But I did have to practise some card forces as the Bicycle deck is wider than I am used to.

But my fear is that because the cards are so popular amongst magicians, as soon as a "member of the public" sees the design, they will assume there is something dodgy about them.

What do you think?

Ken

I think that magicians use Bicycle cards because in America, they are as common as the Waddington's cards in the UK.

So, whereas you pondered on the notion that the public may consider them 'dodgy', they're actually used by American magicians so that they are considered anything but.

There's been numerous discussions on this forum about people seeing one of the many custom card decks out there, and assuming they must be 'trick' cards, and that's probably more likely than someone just calling you out on a normal deck of cards.

As to why we use them here....there's many trick decks done in the red Bicycle design, so if you needed to do a deck switch no-one's suspicious.
Also, you said so yourself, they feel good to use.

The reason the deck feels wider is because you now have poker size cards, whereas the Waddington's are usually bridge size.

^Everything Grimshaw said.

Also note that Waddington's do come in Poker size, and Bicycles do come in bridge size, but both are unusual.

Waddington's ARE playing cards to me. The Waddington's No1 Ace of Spades and Joker ARE what AS and joker look like - to me.

BUT I do use both. When I was performing titbits of card magic in the lunch areas and canteen of the factory where I worked I would plant/donate my old worn out Bicycle decks on to the tables surreptitiously so the guys were used to seeing Bicycles around by the time I was producing an ID. Maybe that's just overkill, but it also meant there would always be a deck or two around in reasonable condition - most of the decks in use were so knackered it was like trying to shuffle a sliced white loaf.

I agree Waddington's do have the nicest Ace Of Spades and the Joker looks like a joker is supposed to and they glide nicely, sometimes they glide a bit too much when you open a new box, but its much better than being stiff. I think the awful black and white picture of a king riding a bike looks totally cheap and naff on a Bicycle deck. And I much prefer the geometric white roses on the back of a Waddington's deck, nice and geometric and it means something.

But I think magicians tend to use the American cards because you can get very cheap rigged decks for a few pounds that appear to match a normal unrigged deck. Waddingtons don't sell rigged decks as they consider trustworthyness is one of their selling points. You'll notice what is stressed in the small print on the security seal when you buy a new Waddingtons deck even today.

Ken Bunnyman wrote:Why do so many magicians use Bicycle playing cards? I include myself as a user.

I bought a deck (ok, 12 decks - very cheaply on ebay) to find out why so many magicians use them. And I love them. Much smoother to spread than my original favourites, Waddington's Number 1 linen finish. They smell good, too. But I did have to practise some card forces as the Bicycle deck is wider than I am used to.

But my fear is that because the cards are so popular amongst magicians, as soon as a "member of the public" sees the design, they will assume there is something dodgy about them.

What do you think?

Ken

In the United State's, Bicycle cards are THE MOST COMMON playing cards found just about anywhere, even in the corner drugstore.
In my experience, the 'general public' here in the State's would be more suspicious of the cards if they ARE NOT Bikes.
My personal preference are Tally Ho's Fan Backs.

Thanks, guys. That's explained it. I had no idea there were different sized cards for Bridge and Poker. But as I play neither game, that's hardly a surprise.

Between Waddington's and Bicycle, I think that i prefer Bicycle purely because they seem to glide more easily, and I can fan them from both direction, whereas with Waddington's I can only fan adequately in one direction. (I clearly need to practise more.)

I agree that the Waddington's joke is perfect. Not so keen on the Ace of Spades. I would prefer it to look just like the other aces without the oversized symbol.

Ken

Try some other cards too, Fourniers are nice. I think that main reason for the popularity of Bikes is because there are so many gaffs that use that back design.

I just did a google image search for Fournier to see what they looked like.
I don't recommend it, probably quite NSFW...

I'm liking Bees just now though, look very casino-ey...

Always wondered though, is there any reason to have different sized cards for poker and bridge? Or is it really just British and American sizes?

kartoffelngeist wrote:Always wondered though, is there any reason to have different sized cards for poker and bridge? Or is it really just British and American sizes?

You get dealt a 13-card hand in bridge.

Watch any American tv show where they play a game of cards (except in casinoes) and they are useing Bicycle cards. Friends, Two & a Half Men, Entourage, it's always Bicycles.



Edit, I may be getting Entourage mixed up with the movie Smoking Aces.

Eddy was using Bicycle cards in 'Hustle' last Friday. It was possibly the magic consultant's choice!

I suspect this is really a non-issue. Performer A uses Bikes and someone says, "Are those special cards?" Is this because they are Bicycle cards, or because it is that person's default reaction to a card trick? Performer A assumes it is the former and that therefore people suspect the cards.

Years ago, I performed 'Dead of Night', by Andy Nyman to some work friends. One of them asked if I could do it without the special cards. He could not have seen anything wrong, and it was just a guess.

If you are familiar with cards, you will know that there are lots of brands, and quite possibly know that Bikes are a famous make. If you are not, then you will not immediately suspect the cards just because of the back design. The possible exceptions are really, really odd looking cards (black card faces, or no red on hearts or diamonds), or is there is such a clearly dominant brand locally that any other would really seem out of place (as The_Outlaw mentioned).

In the UK, I don't think that there is such a dominant position for any manufacturer any more (if indeed there ever was). I know Waddington's cards used to be very common, but I am far from sure that they were ever so common as to preclude the use of another brand.

kartoffelngeist wrote:I just did a google image search for Fournier to see what they looked like.
I don't recommend it, probably quite NSFW...

Not safe for work? Not safe for you sanity more like ...

Part of the problem is that people don't really buy cards in the UK. When you do see them on sale, they tend to be really poor quality decks with a nondescript back, but they still retail for a pound or more.

I quite like cards with pictures as it means my children can follow daddy's attempts to be clever.

aporia wrote:Part of the problem is that people don't really buy cards in the UK. When you do see them on sale, they tend to be really poor quality decks with a nondescript back, but they still retail for a pound or more.

You're spot on aporia, most decks I remember right from childhood had back designs advertising Sealink or British Rail. As kids we wouldn't have dreamed of spending hard earned pocket money on packs of cards (quite apart from them being a ticket to hell, The Devil's Cards we called 'em), it's why ruining cards by tearing or having them signed seems lavishly extravagant to me even now

Waddington's playing cards have declined in popularity since Woolworths closed down. They used to be the main seller as far as I could tell. I don't really know of another retailer who stocks these cards in quantity.