What is your favorite brand of poker cards?

[DRW]

i like the feal of kems myself

 

[WVHillbilly]

My list would be:
1. Dal Negro
2. Modiano Elements (great price and a bunch of colors)
3. Desjgn (smaller newer company with great face designs)
4. Copag

Hate new KEMS.

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

As long as they say "Made in China" on the back, and cost less than 50p a packet, they're fine by me.

 

[WVHillbilly]

As long as they say "Made in China" on the back, and cost less than 50p a packet, they're fine by me.

You need to step up to something at least decent. #2 on my list above are ~$5/deck. I know you can get 10 decks of your cheapo paper cards for that price but 1 deck of good plastic cards last 20 times longer than paper (one night and done as far as I'm concerned if they make it that long).

 

[aloevera]

I've always used the "Bicycle" playing cards, but then again I've never played live poker

Anything plastic coated works for me.

 

[JblackII]

No matter the brand, I play so much with cards that they get ruined real fast with me.

Im sure nice cards last alot longer. But when you play alot of poker, its only a matter of time before you switch to back to cheapys.

 

[OzExorcist]

No matter the brand, I play so much with cards that they get ruined real fast with me.

Im sure nice cards last alot longer. But when you play alot of poker, its only a matter of time before you switch to back to cheapys.

Actually, that could be your problem. If you spend a bit more for 100% plastic cards (completely different to "plastic coated" cards) then they should last for years.

Both companies that I deal for use Copags, so that's what I've got at home too.

 

[t1riel]

I like Kem cards. They are a bit pricey ($12-$15) but well worth it. They are unbendable, unmarkable, washable and they shuffle like butter.

 

[bertoXIV]

good site to buy from?

 

[icemonkey9]

Dude I am the absolute expert here with this topic.

My favorites are the jumbo Copags. Why?

1. Unbelievable quality. They WILL last 20 times longer than those regular bicycle decks!

2. If you are playing a home ring game with 8 or 9 people chances are there will be people that will say things like "I can't see the cards!" and do stupid things to adjust themselves because the dealer is at the other side.

3. You get 2 decks in pack, one green and one red. That way you can run the game with 2 decks and get in more hands.

LINK : Las Vegas Casino and WPT poker playing cards

This guy is super reputable and ships right away. Prices are awesome. He has a coupon too:

Enter coupon code "april5" during checkout
for an additional 5% off already low prices.

 

[zachvac]

I've got Copags, they've worked really well for me so far. Like them a lot.

 

[WVHillbilly]

I generally order from Buy playing cards at Trident Cards . A poker chip forum I frequent offers a 10% off code there and their prices are really good anyway. Not sure if posting their code here is OK (for CC or them).

 

[joos]

use ur fpps on ps to get some kems

 

[aliengenius]

cards

From this thread:

I am a certified poker dealer and have investigated all the plastic cards on the market (as far as I know).

Here are my findings [note that the two main brands are Kem and Copag]:

Kem: the best of the best, IF you get a deck that isn't "bowed"-- sometimes the deck has a bend, either, down or up (down is better if you have to pick, as you will be riffling the deck "up", which should compensate in the long run; but you don't get to pick, the cards come as they are). Highly recommended with the caveat of getting a good deck.

Copag: the best as far as price to value; best consistency in that I have never gotten a set up (two decks, diff. color backs) that has been bowed one way or the other (vs. kem). Print/color is the weakest of any. Highly recommended as an into plastic deck. You are guaranteed not to be disappoinited (vs. a perhaps bad Kem deck), but they are not the "best".

Gemaco: I found these to be a bit too "stiff" for professional dealing. If you shuffle/riffle your cards like most home games do, I am sure they would be fine. Price might be a consideration, as they are less than Kems. Not recommended.

Del Negro: by far the stiffest of the brands, almost unusable with the professional riffle. Good color/ink. Same consideration as Gemacos if you are not using the professional deal/riffle. Not recommended.

A-Plus: I would suggest these as the best "off" brand plastic card (Kem and Copag being the established). I thought the print on these was superior to the Copag (but no one can compete w Kem's ink job). They are slightly stiffer than either of the two main brands, but not so much so that they are bad (vs. Gemaco and Del Negro). Recommended.

Hope that helps....

Ok, I got a set up of the following, so I want to add reviews:

Modiano: recommended; these are nice cards, they shuffle very well; nice back designs. Also, they use a lot of blues in their court cards, even on the hearts and diamonds, I think it looks good.

Fourneir (Spain): recommended; nice cards, on par with A+ and Modiano, maybe even the best of the three as far as feel and shuffle. The only criticism I could give is that they tried to give the court cards flesh colored faces, and I don't think it works all that great.

NPT (ace of spades reads: "Long Life Player's Cards"): these are ok, but not as good as A+, Modiano, or Fournier. A little be harder to shuffle than the three mentioned.

Royal (Taiwan): by far the least expensive of all the plastic decks (at around $5 each). They are ok, but they have a very slick gloss feel to them. This makes them "stick" a bit to your finger during the pitch. If you are just a home game (vs. professionally trained) dealer it probably wouldn't be a problem, however. Another nice thing is that the decks all come with individual plastic carry cases, something I have only been able to find with Kems (usually the carry case if for two decks together, know as a 'set up'). I am just using the cases for the other brands!

Summary:

Recommeded:
1. Kem. But only if you don't get a bad deck that is bowed, or an older (pre US Playing Card's purchase of Kem brand) deck that is defective.
2. Fournier.
3. (tie) A+
3. (tie) Modiano
4. Copag-- could be three (tie), or maybe even two (based on shuffablility alone), but I am going to give the other brands a slight edge because of looks/print faces. Also, Copag is so common that everyone has them, and who wants to be like everyone else, right?

Not recommended (mostly based on professional riffle/shuffle and pitch only; these would probably all be fine durable cards for home games, etc.);
1. NPT
2. Royal
3. Gemaco
4. Del Negro

Of course these are just my opinions, everyone will have their own idea of the aesthetic of the court cards, the feel of the decks regarding texture and stiffness, etc.

I have a review of two more plastic decks:

1. Piatnik (made in Austria). These have a decent riffle and pitch to them, comparable to the level of A+ or Modiano, so they are recommended on that level. However, the ink/print is less than desirable: the red in the hearts and diamonds is more of a sickly orange color. Also, they are 'four indexed'-- so the little rank and suit that usually appears in the upper left and lower right of the card is on all four corners. Some players thought his made the card too crowded looking. Also, I noticed that not all the diamonds were of a consistent shape: some were curved in, others seemed 'bloated' out. Weird.

2. Stud King. I got these here. These have a GREAT riffle and pitch, and might be one of the best out there. HIGHLY recommended. Next to Royal these are the least expensive plastic cards out there, at $13 per set up (two decks). The price to quality ratio is fantastic on these, so if you have been considering investing in good cards, scoop these up while you can!

 

[bungle]

I've got a nice set up of COPAGs (Bridge size, Jumbo index) that I've enjoyed playing with, and they're good value for money too. Especially compared to the plastic coated ones that would struggle to last a month of regular use.

I agree that the print isn't the most vibrant, but I've never struggled to read them in the home tournaments and such that we've run.

It's difficult to get hold of 100% plastic cards in the UK - there are only a few online outlets and I'm yet to see a B&M shop that sells them. I couldn't imagine playing without them now.
​

 

[bertoXIV]

I'm thinking about picking up these KEM's (KEM Arrow Black and Gold Plastic Playing Cards) and these Modianos (Modiano Golden Trophy Plastic Playing Cards) simply because of the closeout price.

 

[DRW]

i have the arrows they are great i thought i would be using the blacks but i ended up loving the golds. the only thing i did not like about them is they came in a set so there were no individual boxes for each deck.

 

[glworden]

MODIANOS are GREAT.
I've tried several brands over many years and always come back to the Modianos. The guy who said buy cheap because all cards wear out doesn't understand that plastic cards will last thousands of times longer than paper. We've been playing with the same deck of Modianos for three or four years now.
Here is my ranking:
1. MODIANO - Great feel, durable, stays clean, four corner index.
2. GEMACO - very nice cards. A little stiff.
3. KEM - thinner feel than the Modianos, but very good.
4. COPAG - I was a big Copag fan for a long time, but we've had a couple decks where the face of one card bled into the back of the card in front. COPAG didn't back up or replace the cards in complaint. Implication is that we stored them improperly or something. However, this has not happened with any of our other cards - and we store them all in the same room. I want to like COPAG. They play nice. But colors shouldn't bleed onto another card.
5. Dal Negro - nice Italian cards that I liked initially, but they don't stay clean. They accumulate little flecks of dirt on the backs, essentially marking them. Since they're plastic, they can be washed. But why use them when you can play under the same conditions with Modiano or KEM and not have that problem?

Some of the other posts here have me interested in A+ and Fournier.

I usually shop on eBay. I've also had excellent service at caragails.com.

My cards receive hard use and I know what I'm talking about. Bottom line recommendations:
Great: Modiano
Good: Kem
Stay away: Copag, Dal Negro

Gary

 

[pitter22]

i bought 20 decks of royal 100% plastic cards off ebay for $25 and ive sold about half of them for $5 so ive already made money off them.. and there great cards. i play a lot of drunken games so we spill a lot of drinks and i used to ruin a lot of decks which now doesnt happen cuz you can clean them off and there perfectly fine.. i havent used any other 100% plastic cards so this is my #1 and i got a great deal

 

[Famand]

Maverick for sure!

 

[Edgerik]

In my country Fournier is the most popular brand, you can get them even in pharmacies.

 

[freestocks]

Bicycle.

 

[Phoenix Wright]

Dude I am the absolute expert here with this topic.

My favorites are the jumbo Copags. Why?

1. Unbelievable quality. They WILL last 20 times longer than those regular bicycle decks!

2. If you are playing a home ring game with 8 or 9 people chances are there will be people that will say things like "I can't see the cards!" and do stupid things to adjust themselves because the dealer is at the other side.

3. You get 2 decks in pack, one green and one red. That way you can run the game with 2 decks and get in more hands.

LINK : Las Vegas Casino and WPT poker playing cards

This guy is super reputable and ships right away. Prices are awesome. He has a coupon too:

Enter coupon code "april5" during checkout
for an additional 5% off already low prices.

Hey thanks, I'll check this out. I've probably got more decks of cards sitting around my room than most people. I'm into card magic and some cardistry as well as card games like poker.

 

[Pokerstudy]

I buy used casino cards off eBay

 

[hartmann2508]

I never played live poker, it would be great to formulate a concrete decision, until then I could not claim the best card option ...

becycle would be a good option, but that considering testimonials ...