UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards.

Hello,Im now to cardistry and magic tricks and i want to buy a good quality deck,but i dont know what to buy.Can someone help me?Thanks.

You could do a lot worse than standard bikes whilst you're learning.

However many cardists like big bold designs so you might like to consider the Virtuoso decks for showing off with. The truch is there are SO many to choose from!

Welcome to UC, Ceasar15! Sometimes a deck good for magic won't be so good for cardistry, so you'll probably be looking for different decks for those two different purposes.

For magic, you want a deck with fairly wide borders on the back to facilitate double lifts and other sleights, and that is not desirable in a cardistry deck because you'll have boring fans. For magic, you probably want to stick with a common, recognizable design so you don't arouse the suspicions of your audience, whereas you probably want something bold and flashy for cardistry that accentuates your flourishing.

For magic, I would start with Bicycle Rider Backs. Not too sexy, but it will serve you well, plus you can easily find many gaff cards for Rider Backs, as well as many different color variations for color changes. For higher quality than standard Rider Backs, I'd consider Ellusionist's Master's Edition Rider Backs (discontinued, but still easily found) or Richard Turner's Gold Seal Rider Backs. I think Tally Ho's are a good choice as well. If you want something flashier, then any Ellusionist deck should be good due to most of their decks having useful gaffs included, as well as may different reveals on the cards and tuck boxes.

For cardistry, you need something durable for your card stock because you'll be physically putting your cards through a lot (springs, riffles, faros, aerials, etc..). You want a slippery, even finish to facilitate uniform fans and spreads. You want bright colors or bold designs in the back so spectators can see your moves, or so that your cards show well in performance videos. If you're new to cardistry, you should practice with Rider Backs, Tally Ho's, or Bee's first because they're available everywhere (in the U.S.) and they're not too expensive. You'll be dropping and tearing up a lot of decks early on as you're learning. Once you get a little better, then you can move on to fancier (and more expensive) decks. Like Montecarlojoe said, there's tons of great custom playing cards to choose from, its really just up to you and your personal taste and style. As long as the deck has a quality stock and finish, go with whatever design appeals to you.

Welcome! sinjin7 had perhaps the greatest single explanation of what you would want and why for each area with proper explanations, I got nuthin on that! Good luck!

I will buy a rider back deck.Now,can someone give me some tutorials for cardistry and magic tricks?Thanks a lot.

i raelly like the pro xcm deck.how good is it?(i saw only pictures of it)