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Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 23rd, '20, 15:19
by TStone


Nikola Arkane would like to hear your opinions regarding playing card sizes.
Please fill in her survey here:
https://arkaneshop.com/journal/here-i-go-again/


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 24th, '20, 00:06
by mark lewis
Oh, bloody hell! Are you here too? I bet you will get a better response towards Bridge size. After all this is a British forum. Bridge cards are how we won the Empire. I am quite sure that Poker cards are the reason we lost it. We did keep the Isle of Wight though..............


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 24th, '20, 10:54
by Mandrake
Hi Tom, welcome back! I suspect it's not so much the card size as what is being sold and promoted. Poker size seem to have a very wide range of gaffs and packet tricks so it would look odd if you suddenly produced a bridge size deck for part of a set or routine. I recall that Paul Daniels only used Waddington's No 1 bridge size cards and he seems to have been rather successful with them.


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 24th, '20, 16:57
by mark lewis
I actually have a ton of bridge sized gaffed cards left over from decades ago. Mostly from International Magic but also a few from Piatnick that Magic Christian put out years ago. I think International got Waddingtons to print them specially. I far prefer bridge cards but being stuck in Canada they are not quite as available as they are in the UK so I have to use poker size a lot whether I like it or not. The main disadvantage I find is that I can't do various fancy one hand cuts that I have done for years with bridge cards.


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 26th, '20, 22:10
by Barry Allen
I've replied to the survey as follows (not quite sure why it asked for your gender at the end - is that now law?):

"Bridge size over Poker size any day - but I'm biased, because I'm a Brit.

In the UK, you do NOT generally see Poker size decks. UK Magicians may say Poker decks are popular - but they clearly don't get out much.

Fox Lake used to be my preferred card every time. Oh what happy days.

Using the Aristocrat Banknote back design would be pretty cool - I'd buy a brick instantly! When will they be available? Do you take PayPal?

However, please print them blue and RED......not the awful bloody brown colour back design that the USPCC used, when they reintroduced Aristocrats 10 years ago.

Nor indeed the very dark casino red ink on the pips. In far from ideal lighting conditions that we often work, 5 minutes spent performing Out of this World can fall flat on its *rse with the visually impaired".


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 27th, '20, 14:24
by Barry Allen
mark lewis wrote:I actually have a ton of bridge sized gaffed cards left over from decades ago. Mostly from International Magic but also a few from Piatnick that Magic Christian put out years ago. I think International got Waddingtons to print them specially. I far prefer bridge cards but being stuck in Canada they are not quite as available as they are in the UK so I have to use poker size a lot whether I like it or not. The main disadvantage I find is that I can't do various fancy one hand cuts that I have done for years with bridge cards.

Ahhhh the good old days of International Playing Cards - printed I believe by Waddingtons (who bought up Alf Cooke in 1970) but with Ron MacMillan Holborn London on the Ace of Spades.

I've still got some packs of these cards (Sven and Stripper) that I love using from time to time. I've also got a Devano in these cards; which still works brilliantly - particularly when compared to the dross that has found it's way here from across the pond; including the apparently wonderful Martini Rising Card Decks, made by Marty Grams. Utter junk.

Piatnik was an excellent brand as well Mark - the print quality and cut of their cards and gimmicks, was superb. Unfortunately, with the arrival and increasing popularity of magic video tapes from the mid-80's and throughout the 90's, UK Magicians appeared to become brainwashed into believing that using Bikes, Bees and Tally Ho's would transform them into an overnight Erdnase, Martin Nash or Richard Turner. I remember speaking to Morley Budden of Kaymar Magic about this; and him relating that interest in the once popular Magic Christian Piatnik range had diminished beyond belief; and only accounted for around 10% of his card trick-related sales.

A few years ago, I performed a Joe Riding lecture at my local Magic Club. One of the younger guys said to me at the interval "I didn't think it would be any good because at the start, you took out two decks of Waddingtons cards". Having admonished him by telling him quite clearly that Waddingtons still come in PACKS, I asked the barman in the Working Man's Club, if he had any cards behind the bar. Along with a few crib boards, you can guess the manufacturer of cards that he showed to us. I think it proved a point to the guy. We all have to learn.

Many newer magicians have this perception that something can't be very good, if it's using Waddingtons Cards, which I think is a very sad indictment of Magic these days. If only they had seen Rovi or Joe Riding work.......or of course, Mark Lewis! :wink:


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Nov 29th, '20, 12:31
by TStone
Barry Allen wrote:I've replied to the survey as follows (not quite sure why it asked for your gender at the end - is that now law?):

Law? I doubt that's the case. My guess is that Nikola was curious to see if only women like herself was interested in narrow sized card, or if the need is more universal than that.

The results are out:
https://arkaneshop.com/journal/bridge-cards-survey/


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Jun 10th, '21, 08:20
by Barry Allen
Reading through the results and feedback was quite interesting; albeit I'm sure that I read somewhere within, the usual myth from someone saying that 'if you use Poker size packs, you can then instantly do anything with a Bridge sized pack'. Absolute codswallop!

I'd take a little bet though that despite this survey, irrespective of the results, absolutely nothing whatsoever will come of it.

Modern-day 'Magicians' do love to be sheep and follow the trend. I'm reminded of an incident about 20 years ago, at a particular one-day convention in Haywards Heath. Whilst chatting to a guy I knew, a young guy (early teens?), who was attending along with his Mother but who also knew my friend, came up us to show us some card tricks. He was using a pack of Tally-Ho's. After an absolute botched and bungled version of Twisting The Aces, I politely (honest!) suggested that maybe be should try and use Bridge size cards; as he was clearly struggling with his handling. Thereupon, I received a tirade of abuse from the Mother; for not being amazed at what her 'talented little angel' had done; and what did I know anyway! My/our mutual friend was :oops: but for me, it was the highlight of the day. :lol:


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Jun 11th, '21, 17:48
by mark lewis
Mothers are like tigresses in defense of their young. It is frightening and awesome at the same time. I have always found it an incredible sight to behold!

Oh, that reminds of something while I am typing away! I once met the mother of Paul Daniels! No kidding---I really did! Someone there remarked to her that I was a most wondrous magician which of course I naturally silently agreed with. I thanked him for the compliment but for some reason the motherly instinct was aroused and she was very offended by this innocent remark. Her most illustrious son wasn't mentioned in the conversation but for some reason she took great umbrage at the remark saying, "There is no better magician than my son, Paul Daniels" and went quite red in the face in the saying of it! However, nobody said there was anybody better than Paul Daniels and he hadn't even been mentioned in the conversation.

The moral of the tale is to be careful what you say in front of the mother of a magician! Oddly enough Paul's dad was there at the time and he seemed to be quite amused at the conversation!
In fact I knew Paul Daniels slightly and always got on well with him!


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Jun 11th, '21, 20:11
by Barry Allen
I'm not surprised Mark.

People from Yorkshire do generally appear to have 'Delusions of Grandeur'......as well as having short arms and deep pockets. I actually drink with one (he always buys his own)! :wink:


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Jun 11th, '21, 23:25
by mark lewis
I agree about Yorkshire but I think Paul was from Middlesborough. Mind you, I am not sure where his mother was born! Mind you, Paul once mentioned me on Twitter in connection with a video interview I did. He called it "pure gold for magicians". Just as well his mother didn't see it otherwise she would have been furious!


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Jun 12th, '21, 01:24
by Barry Allen
Oh of course he was Mark!

Sorry but apart from Blackpool, my knowledge of most places 'ooop North' is somewhat limited.

I'm a Cockney by Birth but have moved to The Midlands (purely to keep 'er indoors' happy).

Going anywhere further North than this just isn't on my bucket list, for some reason. As I've said, there's a Yorkshireman that drinks in my local. One's more than enough!


Re: Card size survey

PostPosted: Jun 12th, '21, 03:14
by mark lewis
The less I say about Yorkshire the better! No doubt there are members here from Yorkshire and I have always been renowned for my tact and diplomacy. I shall merely say that traders in Blackpool would dread Yorkshire holidaymakers because they wouldn't spend anything! They used to descend on the town during the "Yorkshire Wakes" weeks. In fact they had a saying in Blackpool. "When Yorkshire wakes Blackpool sleeps!".

Anyway I rather think this video will give you an idea about Yorkshire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg