Magic Question: How to Take Care of your Playing Cards? 

Let me teach you some FREE MAGIC TRICKS ru-vid.com

"never drop your cards" Me who practices cardistry:👁️👄👁️

"So microscopic that you can't even see it." Wow. That's quite microscopic indeed!

Great advice! Thanks. During cold winters when the house is filled with heat, I store my decks on my window sills. The cool dry air around the windows really goes a long way in preservation.

David, I practice with used casino decks I buy at the local dollar store. I have learned to recognize USPCC Bee decks by the diamond pattern on the back. Because casinos retire the decks fairly often (to prevent cheaters from marking them with scratches) they have a lot of life left to them. Usually the dollar stores have two or three dozen near each check stand and I can search the closed lanes and find five or six very quickly.

I keep my cards in the freezer and then just put one in the fridge in the morning if I'm planning on using it that night. No, wait, that's what I do with my steaks.

The one reason i (kind of) disagree with your advice on practising on basic bicycles is motivation. Sometimes it's super helpful for motivation if you're practising with an awesome deck of cards that you love. Sure, maybe don't *always* practice on with a pack of brand new designer cards, but at the same time don't be afraid to practice with a fancy deck of cards just because you're going to wear them out eventually. If it makes practising more enjoyable, then it's usually worth it. Our brains remember things better when we're enjoying ourselves. And it often helps us to get into "the zone", which is where we often stop overthinking things and just start playing around and experimenting and discovering new things of our own! The most important thing to remember is not to think that you *need* fancy cards to practice, or to perform. Thinking you need fancy cards is just an excuse to not practice/perform.

Another tip is to buy 'Bicycle Seconds'. They are the USPCC factory seconds and can be bought at a very low price. These cards may have minor printing defects (i.e., the cards may be printed slightly off-centre). However most of the decks are more than usable and if not are perfect for practicing.

Drinking Game: Take a shot every time he says paper

I prefer Bicycle Riders mainly because they are very recognizable, everyone knows Bicycle. I also love the fact that they're still made in the U.S.A.

Great video! I'm glad you brought up the whole extremes of temperature. I thought I should mention that moisture also deals damage to paper and cards. I lost some collectible cards that way. Having a desiccant in your storage box can help reduce moisture content and extend the life of paper products.

On suspicious-looking decks that magicians use: For tricks I only use blue bikes. Pull them out anywhere in the US and nobody thinks twice about them... people buy them at Walmart. Nothing precious about them, when a deck gets too far gone it becomes materials for making gaffs, or for throwing practice, or for tricks that involve burning or tearing cards. But in Europe, everyone was ultra-suspicious of unmarked, ungaffed, vanilla Bicycle cards. The pattern on the back looked 'busy' and they were certain there was some sort of markings that were The Secret to the tricks I was doing... I always have a marked deck in my pocket, which I only use after establishing beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is nothing suspicious about the cards I am using, but I never got to that point because people were always focused too keenly on the legit cards. In England and France, people have been semi-familiar with Bicycle cards since WWII because soldiers had them... but younger people who have seen them on RU-vid saw them watching magic tutorials, and are *way* too eager to burn you... the cards might as well have the words 'FOR MAGIC TRICKS ONLY' printed on the back. In Germany everyone plays Skat (pronounced like 'scot'), and every deck of Skat cards has the same back design, simple orderly geometric shapes, so bikes look suspiciously ostentatious. And Europeans always find it so quaint when Americans point out how long something has been around... pointing out that Bicycle cards have been made with similar back designs since 1885, when doing tricks in the lobby of a building that was mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086), doesn't do much to establish credibility.

I love collecting playing cards if I go to different areas around the world. I keep my playing cards all in virtical stacks on a shelf next to my computer desk and another stack on my wood coffee table next to a Rubix cube and a official Bicycle brand Cribbage board

When you get a new deck in the plastic seal, just take the top bit of the plastic off and leave the rest of it on the box gives the box some protection :)

The thing is if I practice cardistry I also want to use designer decks or decks wich I really like because if you break in the deck they are not too slippery and just a little bit sticky so packet cuts work better. You have to find out the perfect middle between a bit slippery and used or sticky :)

I store mine in seal tight food containers with 3-5 bags of silicagel. It removes the humidity after your hands, and decks are in perfect condition

Just helping out the algorithm. Thanks, Gef

Another informative and entertaining video full of tips, I love this channel!

Awesome Video! I have a tip for you, don't look at the viewfinder, stare at the camera's Aperture. Gives the viewer a sense that you're talking to them! Again Thanks for an awesome video.

8:34 TL:DR like this so more people see ;)

I knew alot of the things that where talked about in the video, but the storage is really cool. thank you!

Funny thing is that before watching this video, I had dropped my Noc's outside in dirt at least 10 times. But, that's why I bought them, so I have a durable deck to practice Cardistry with.

Question. I have seen a lot of people storing their decks in paper boxes like you. Others in their drawers and others displaying them on their shelves. I don't have a very big collection, so I like to keep my decks stacked (if this is the right word) on my shelf. It's a nice display especially when you have multiple items of the same deck. My question is, what is the best of these 3 ways to store your decks? I live in a very warm place. Is that really affects the sealed decks that i have on my shelf? Thanks.

David can you show us your deck collection please😊😊😊😊😊

one tip aside from using regular bikes is that if you get tons of bikes, get the jokers and ad cards out and keep them everytime. eventually you will get 52 jokers that you can use for practice. another is if you are like me who likes to collect decks, just get a few of the same and only use them for performances. although breaking them in before a performance is essential. use one of the similar deck for practice just so you can get a feel of them. then put that in a clip after then rotate your decks so it gets longer life. for street magic though, just use bikes or tally ho or something like guardians. i envy you if you use monarchs everyday for street magic.

Another thing to keep in mind is to never keep the same deck of cards in your pocket for multiple days. Your body heat will warm up the cards to ridiculous temperatures (at least for me) I had a Tally-Ho deck in my jeans pocket that I forgot about for 4 days, and when I got back to it, 6 cards were already warped.

Keep your individual decks in their own card cases for protection.

Gaaaah. So jealous! I see a brick of green gatorbacks! I want a deck so bad!

You rock & your answer to "What is the best deck of cards for Magic?" was spot on my friend :)

Thank you sir

I totally agree regarding practicing with standard Bikes. However.... The coatings, compression and other add ons with the performance decks make them visually strong if you not only do magic but also are a good card-manipulator. For practice, use Bicycles. For performances, if you're serious, use cards designed for flash....they are made and handle very differently. I have used nothing but Bicycles for years. Three days ago I was in a magic shop and picked up and handled a new, opened deck of Monarchs. The feel was much different from a new deck of Bikes....it felt magical! I bought my first performance cards right there. An entire brick!!!

Totally agree with ya with everything you said

I used to practice my card my on my living room floor carpet. I won't be doing that again. After watching this video it's made me hesitant now to buy marketed packet tricks and card tricks. The cheapest cards for me are Waddingtons number one cards. £1.99. They do me as I'm only a hobbyist. I keep all my gimmick decks in old shoe boxes. I think I'll be working from books from now on after watching your video. There was a lot of useful information in there I wouldn't have thought about.

Stumbled upon this early this morning.... awesome.... being new to playing card deck collecting, I needed this... thank you!!!! Time to pamper my decks..... stay caffeinated....

this is really helpful thanks for the tips

Thanks so much !!

Thanks David. This is really helpful. Good video.

What’s the deck in the thumbnail ? Someone pls. Also awesome channel

Awesome video. It was really cool to see how you store them. Very organized. I've got slight OCD. lol

Thank you! Helped a lot

Hey David, that's a very nice looking deck of playing cards. What's the name of this cards? Very informativ video btw. Thanks Jan

I will use Black Rounders as my daily practice/play cards.. DM Martyrs for playing with others.. and Bicycle Cobalt and Crimson Luxe for.. whatever else lol

Where would you suggest buying storage boxes for your cards?

Thank you wise man

Yeah, I used my new decks a lot for 2 days ever since I got them.

Ok got it. But what are cards made of? 😜

Do you use a card press to keep your most used decks in shape ?

Best video about taking care I even learned a few things and I thought I took care of my cards

Red bikes for the win! Sometimes blue if I get the half/half box from Costco. Putting those social media links in the about section would make it more helpful.

Autobike no1 are my favorite every day cards, cheap but feel better than rider backs IMO. However my favorite deck so far is theory 11 NPH, i only use them every now and then so i dont mess them usp. Same with my orange squeezers.

What cards are used in the thumbnail? They look sick!

Where do you buy those boxes you keep your decks in

Hey David can you please do a review of the hellions playing cards

Great video David!

One time me and a few of my friends were playing card games with the deck I use to perform. My friend grabbed a card and after he ate some Doritos and now that card is permanently stained. It happened like a week ago and I’m still mad every time I see the card.

where you buy boxes for youre cards I mean those big boxes for multiple decks

Useful vid 👌👌👌

That was helpul

Cool intro.

deck used in the beginning?

Well. I'm a terrible person. I have at least 20 decks of cards in my car on any given day.

Does it matter how you store them? Like records and comics? is it ok to store them flat?

Where do you buy your cardboard boxes?

very nice video, it will turn out useful for the next cards ill buy! would you mind if i ask you what cards are the one in the thumbnail (and if they actually exist, cause ive never seen anything similar to those)?

My collection would probably fit into 2 or 3 of those long boxes. Where did you get those?

I bought bicycle black tiger after 2-3 days on the border I see white spots any advice am I doing anything wrong pls respond

Where did you get the boxes for your cards?

0:05 thanos snap

What about plastic cards??

I got a wooden treasure chest for christmas would that be OK?

How long can COVID-19 survive on cards?

Ok so just to get this straight, they are cards and made of paper?

Where do you order all of your cards?

Pro tip: 1) carry a little bottle of purell. 2) do your card routine before your coin/money routine , or anything not card related. Money is dirty. Everything you own is dirty.

heyya ..I usually keep my cards in box with all add cards. in my wardrobe.but when I take them out the next day the cards usually get stuck to each other and form something like many small packets of cards.is it usual or something that can be rectified.

Very informative !Just got a 12 pack of Bicycles for $16 + tax Amazon

"its so microscopic you cant even see it" - David LOOOOOOL I didn't know that . Great vid. Thanks.

what is the best way to clean my playing cards

lol. I just boutht a deck of theory11 citizens and have been using them for the past month, every day for multiple hours.

Hi David. I know this video is old, but I would love to know what those deck boxes are called. I also collect comic books, and I know the whole short box, long box thing. Being in South Africa, there is literally only one store here that brings in those boxes for our comics. I have tried Googling for the card boxes, but I keep getting sleeves (Like for MTG).

not sure if you'll be replying since its an old video but would you recommend getting more than one of the same deck if you'll be using it as your "weekend/ special occasion" performance deck?

Emm,if I live in a all day hot place,can I store my cards in the fridge?

the problem i have is that I want to keep my cards so clean that i never touch my cards. how long should a bycicle deck last normally if im using it for like 2 hours a day?

Where did you get them cardboard storage boxes?

can i put cards in fridge in summer

ONE QUESTION- i bought green noc 2months back...but now the deck width increased and the deck now does not fit into the turquoise* or wharever....can u help me out...why did this happen n can i fix it...????

Am perform with bycicle or phoenix's and when they are old just throw away them in bin and get some new one

Hello really liked ur vid i subbed and can you advice me on how to grow a youtube channel with teaching magic tricks?

whaaat are u serius!! how much decks u got in those boxes xD you are free to send me a few ^^ i don't even have afford to order because the shippings are so expensive... and in finland i think we got like one magic shop...

Hello Sir, Thank you for the info. I have a question that has been bothering me, I store all my playing cards in plastic clips. Some of them are unopened ( factory sealed ) and some of them are opened ( I used it ) is this okay or is it not ? That is all, thank you very much

Him talking about every trick it breaks down Me that has no talent and just collects them for fun: :/

Is it ok if I put a couple of books on top of my playing cards for a few hours to keep them flat? #begginerquestions

In this video you sound like you're talking about why doing drugs is bad.

.75 speed seems most natural.

I just clicked on this to find out what deck is used in the thumbnail. ???

i have really sweaty hands for some reason sand i tend to ruin my cards like that any tips

Nice idea I keep them in the freezer

i prefer tally ho cards, same price but im a half flourisher so i always use "cardestry decks" no matter what

u can use plastic cards because they are resistent to water ant they last for ever

Why do you always look to the side lol