talkmagic.co.uk

I wonder what the lifespan of a pack of bikes is? (or other card of course!)

I have found that after a couple of weeks of manipulation the edges are furred and the pack becomes sticky.

I see clips for about £8 available and have wondered about buying one, but I don't know if it would help.

What do people also think about the spray you can get to refresh the packs - is it worth it in the long run or is it just as cheap to buy fresh packs and use the old ones for learning/developing new stuff.

Or even learning certain card folding sleights?

Try putting a deck in the fridge for an hour and see how they handle then. It has a tendency to "crisp" them up a bit.

...dont bin them, use them as experimental packs for torn and restored or other such things...

I don't thow them away either, I usualy give them to family and friends, it is a phsycologial thing for me, I find it usefull to get them used to seeing Bycicle cards and exepting them as the norm. My wife plays solitaire with them and friends play poker with them. So when I get them out they are comfortable with me using them.

And as abraxus said, use them for certain tricks that require duplicate cards.

yeah...more mention was made of this at http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic9927.php

Thanks for the tips!
Good link posting too. Missed that one somehow.

use your old sticky packets to practice cuts!
easy as!

Life span really depends on how you use the pack of course. Strangest thing, I've always found that regular Bee decks last so much longer than bikes. However, I've tried World Poker Tournament Bees, but they seemed to wear out as fast as the bikes. This may have been an isolated incident. So for manipulation practices (cuts, displays, etc), I tend to keep a deck of bees near my desk. I don't find it too much of a hassle to transition from bees to bikes when doing them, so no harm done . I'm not sure about Tally-Ho's, as I'm too afraid to touch the few packs that I have, lol.

If by clips, you mean card guards, I suggest you buy one. It keeps them from warping and straightens them out as you carry them around. It really won't help the cards from getting sticky though, as that's mostly due to grease and dirt on hands.

Also, I found that working with close up pads makes the cards last longer as well.

why don't you just add fanning powder.

i think that the perfect pack is pack that is very old and fans like neww

now there's a dream

krazy ace wrote:why don't you just add fanning powder.

i think that the perfect pack is pack that is very old and fans like neww

now there's a dream

Funnily enough I noticed that there was a kind of 'sweet spot' about 10 days after I had been putting in some serious work whereby the edges were still pretty sharp, the cards not too sticky, but the board had lost some of its rigidity. It lasted about 3 days and then it started going down hill.

Now if a manufacturer could create a pack of prestressed cards .... a bit like prestressed jeans?

Aha - I have the idea! Use your old bikes until they hit the sweet spot, then sell them as pre-broken in packs for twice the original value!

Any buyers?

hahahahahahaha

I find that cards go a bit nasty after a couple of days of use It's probably partly the clumsy handling, and partly the moist hands.

Now if a manufacturer could create a pack of prestressed cards .... a bit like prestressed jeans?

Aha - I have the idea! Use your old bikes until they hit the sweet spot, then sell them as pre-broken in packs for twice the original value!

i like your thinking and i maybe should work on the "perfect deck" it will be worth millions

haha

tonight i was on my quest for the perfect deck so i decided to wet my deck and put it in the freezer and so i wet each card and froze it hoping for it to become one solid. when i took it out it lasted two minuites and went soggy in my hands

the moral of the story is...

Don't wet your deck and freeze it

Can I also suggest experiments not to try:

1) soak in cooking oil and bake for 30 mins at gas mark 4 for 15 minutes
2) chop into pieces and feed to the dog.
3) bury in soft peat for three months and recycle as fire lighters

I haven't tried these, but suspect all of them will also ruin your deck (and possibly your dog)

A little light chilling is all it takes... Nowt drastic!