Playing Card Manufacturer: Shuffled Ink

The vast majority of custom decks of playing cards are produced by big printing companies like the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC), European-based Cartamundi, and Taiwan-based Expert/Legends Playing Cards. But there are some lesser known playing card manufacturers, and there are some good reasons why you should know about these smaller players in the playing card industry. Buyers will want to know what they can expect in terms of quality and handling of a deck printed by a lesser known publisher. But this will especially be of interest to creators of custom decks, because you will want to know what options you have for producing your decks besides the usual candidates. These smaller companies will especially be of interest to designers wanting to print a small run of prototype decks, or a number of decks of your own design for family or friends.
Companies like USPCC or EPCC/LPCC typically require a minimum order of 600-1000 decks, which quickly becomes out of reach if you're just printing a prototype or making a custom deck for relatives or workmates. As a result many designers typically turn to MakePlayingCards.com (MPC) for smaller scale projects like this. MPC is a printing and production company based in Hong Kong with a factory in China, and their strength is that they take small sized orders. Even if it's just half a dozen decks that you want printed, they'll do it for you. MPC's playing cards don't match the quality of a Bicycle deck in terms of handling, but they do offer playing cards with an embossed air cushion finish, and the quality is superior to budget printers like Artscow. As a result they are the printer of choice for many designers looking to print a dozen or so decks, since for many creators they are the option they know about.
So what about if I told you about another printer that offers a similar service? That playing card manufacturer is called Shuffled Ink, and it's even based in the United States. So let's find out more about them, and see if they are a viable alternative for those who might otherwise use MPC for printing their decks.
​
https://preview.redd.it/vab027z8ltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56e7085af1732f76b005f614a00cc416f0072eed

The Shuffled Ink company

Shuffled Ink was previously known as QPC Games (Quality Playing Cards & Games) ahead of a rebranding that happened in 2016. Based in Orlando, Florida, the majority of their playing card products are printed at their United States printing and manufacturing facility. This makes them of immediate interest to North American consumers, because it means that there's real potential for reduced costs in shipping and delivery time. Some of the other things they produce (e.g. board games) are outsourced to China and shipped to the US for assembly, but aside from extremely high volume orders, nearly all their playing cards are printed directly in the United States. They also boast that they create products that are environmentally safe, since their materials are all safety-certifiable - something that can't always be said of the competition.
They have been in the business of professional printing and manufacturing for many years, with Charles Levin beginning the company on his dining room table in 1999. From there it grew into his three car garage the following year. After initially outsourcing all production, eventually in 2013 the move was made into the 8,000 square ft manufacturing facility that it is today, with over 20 employees. Growth continues, and there are plans to open a 17,000 square ft facility in the middle of next year. It's a family run business, with Charles taking care of marketing and sales, and his son Matthew running all domestic operations. Their clients include big names like Barclays, Verizon, T-Mobile, Disney, Google, Walmart, and World Poker Tour, so we're not talking here about a backyard operation run out of someone's garden shed, but about an established and respected printer. They describe their strengths as including the following: "An emphasis on our customer service, communications and responsiveness are huge added values when combined with our quality, best prices and turn around times."
Reports that I came across about the game components that Shuffled Ink produced under their QPC Games label were very positive. Printing custom board games is something they've been doing for around 20 years now, so they have a lot of experience in this area, and they've fulfilled many projects funded via Kickstarter. It's not just the game itself that they can handle, because their services also include taking care of producing any accessories that a board game might need, including tokens, dice, chips, spinners, timers, instruction books, mats, and boxes. This even covers custom pieces, so clearly they have access to a very broad production range. They're also moving more and more into providing fulfilment for customers as well.
But besides customized board games, Shuffled Ink also print cards, and that's especially my area of interest. I should mention that their printing of cards this isn't limited to traditional playing cards, because they also produce custom card games, custom flash cards, and custom tarot cards. In other words: anything card related, and they'll print it. Not surprisingly, they've manufactured millions of custom card games for customers and Kickstarter campaigns, along with whatever accessories and customization these needed. I didn't know there was a big market for flash cards, but apparently I'm wrong - it turns out that flash cards are very popular for many educational purposes, and are used for things like training employees, teaching new languages, educating children, or study purposes.
Tarot cards are a large but niche market that is somewhat separate from regular playing cards, but in the interests of completeness I'll mention that Shuffled Ink also produces fully custom tarot decks, using your own artwork or photography, with a minimum order size of ten. They are a member of the American Tarot Association, which gives them access to official tarot resources and materials, to ensure a thoroughly professional job. The printing on some sample Tarot decks that I looked at was clean, crisp, and impressive.
​
https://preview.redd.it/tv16rxy9ltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3cda9074123fd450cc449aa61857d0526daeb19

Shuffled Ink decks

Currently board games account for about 10% of Shuffle Ink's business, card games for 20%, tarot cards and flash cards for 20%, and a custom playing cards for a whopping 50%. These custom decks of playing cards that they print and produce is of special interest to me and most of my readers, so let's find out more about that.
Just about every option you can think of is available, and that's because Shuffled Ink caters to a wide range of customers with different needs. It turns out that it's not just collectors, card players, cardists, and magicians that like playing cards. Custom decks are extremely popular, and while they are sometimes produced as personalized items for the gaming industry, they are also printed for a range of other purposes including promotional giveaways, corporate and charity events, trade shows, wedding and anniversary gifts, and for all kinds of special occasions that a custom deck might commemorate and celebrate. Unlike other printers which have the requirement of an order size of 500 or more decks, Shuffled Ink lets you print as few as 5 decks.
Design
Given the diverse needs of their customers, it won't come as a surprise that Shuffled Ink offers lots of options for designing a deck. You can keep things very simple, by having standard faces, and using a single custom photo or graphic design of your own on the reverse of the cards. Or you can go fully custom, with individual personalized images on the front and back of each and every card. Using standard faces simplifies the process, because then it's just a matter of uploading your own design or photo for the card backs, which can be customized with additional text as needed.
If you want to do your own artwork from scratch, they provide a number of different templates for different sized cards, depending on whether you want to go with a poker-sized (2.5” x 3.5”) or bridge-sized (2.25” x 3.5”) deck. Templates are also provided for making the tuck box, which can also be a fully custom design of your own. If you need help, Shuffled Ink offers your first hour of graphic art support for free, and typically only charge for extensive work after that; for the most part their graphic support staff make themselves available to assist clients at no cost.
Stock
Several different options are available for the card stock, as well as two main options for the finish. As a magician, cardist, and collector, I'm mainly interested in paper cards, so I'll leave out the PVC and Plastic options that they offer, besides noting that these range from 28mm to 35mm in thickness, and have a 500 deck minimum. There's no such minimum for the two main paper stock options for playing cards, which are the 300gsm Premium Paper Stock (Smooth finish) or the 310gsm Casino Paper Stock (Linen finish). Most people with experience with playing cards will realize immediately that a smooth finish is the best for printing high resolution detailed artwork. A linen finish, on the other hand, is the one to opt for if you actually plan to use the cards for shuffling and games, because it has a textured and embossed surface that results in much better card handling, especially in spreads and fans.
You can get sample decks from Shuffled Ink to get an idea of what their playing cards look like, and the 310gsm stock is slightly denser and thicker. But both paper stocks have a black core to prevent you seeing through the cards when they are held up in the light. The 300gsm stock was more than adequate for a printed deck, but I'd definitely recommend going with the 310gsm stock if the deck is going to be shuffled and used extensively. The range of samples I had opportunity to check out included some cards with 330gsm stock. This is much thicker, and only suited to larger sized decks like Tarot cards and larger flash cards. Especially with the smooth finish, these certainly look great and feel snappy and durable, but for obvious reasons its not an option for a regular sized deck of playing cards.
Packaging
The range of different specialty packaging choices was much bigger than I ever expected. All decks come standard with the cards wrapped in cellophane inside the box - something that will be familiar to anyone who has opened a Cartamundi deck. If you want to go with something plain, you can opt for an ordinary white windowed tuck box or for a clear hard-plastic case (classic or jewel) which showcases the cards inside. The sample decks in plastic cases that I checked out were all packaged in a cardboard sleeve for added protection. Another option is a semi-clear soft-plastic gel case. Custom options include a completely custom printed tuck box, consisting of one piece, or two parts, as well custom painted tins.
Most of us will prefer a plain white tuck box if we're really looking to cut costs and just want to trial some cards. But for a more formal project, we'll likely opt for a custom tuck-box that incorporates our own design. Some of the sample boxes I looked at were very impressive, not just in terms of the custom printing, but I especially liked some of the solid two-piece cardboard boxes used for Tarot boxes.
​
https://preview.redd.it/tzyqq69dltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58b9217c28a606e8fb4930b402d02d0f530b164b

My own experience in printing a deck with Shuffled Ink

The ordering process
So how about giving a complete first-hand account of an actual printing experience with Shuffled Ink? I did a collaboration with BottledMagic, who is a passionate cardist who makes impossible bottles, and had come up with a design for his own cardistry deck. Featuring a combination of orange and purple colours, and a low-poly art style, the deck was entitled Amberthyst Playing Cards. The name is an obvious play on amber and amethyst, the two main colours of the deck. He did all the design work, and my contribution was mostly going along for the ride, because we were both keen to see this deck in print, and see how it looked.
The process for getting a deck printed went fairly smoothly. First of all we had to create the files in the right format. A minimum resolution size of 300DPI was required for image files like JPEGs, but art created in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator can be sent in its native format. Since our artwork was all created in Adobe Illustrator, we could just send the original files.
It's important to realize that printing uses the CMYK four-color process, which is typical for commercial printing. The RGB color mode you see on most computer screens is a three-color process that has to be converted to CMYK for printing. Where exact colours are essential, Shuffled Ink encourages you to send a physical sample of the colors required, so that they can attempt to color match as best as they can.
After finalizing the graphics files, we sent them off via email. Using a file-sharing service like Google Drive or Dropbox is another option that can be used to share the files. Within a couple of days I received an acknowledgement that the files had been been received, along with the promise that their art department would be in touch with proofs the following week.
​
https://preview.redd.it/wznjcgneltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e613e76e20cf06888f32716b7386900cc1ecaf1c
Sure enough, a few days later, an email arrived with a final press proof for our order. We had to check this carefully and approve it, before our order would move into production. Attached were several PDFs, one with a mock-up of the tuck box, and two with mock ups of the cards. Why two? It turned out that our artwork had strayed slightly outside the recommended safe area, so there was a risk that the die cutting process would interfere with the art. The company thus provided two proofs, one showing the art exactly as provided, and a second proof with our art resized to fit within their specs. It was our choice to go with either, and we were grateful that we didn't need to re-do all the artwork because they'd done this for us already, so we went with the adjusted version they recommended.
Once we gave our approval, we became fully responsible for the accuracy of our proof in every way, which is completely understandable. Within a day we'd received email confirmation that they would proceed with the adjusted art as we had indicated. Now we just had to wait for the deck to be printed and shipped.
That's when a minor hang-up happened, because there must have been some internal miscommunication or oversight, and the decks didn't get sent out. After some time elapsed without receiving any kind of shipping notice, I inquired to see what the delay was, and their records didn't clearly indicate whether or not the decks had been shipped. Thankfully they promptly (re)printed them, put them in the mail with a rushed delivery, and our package arrived soon after.
​
https://preview.redd.it/4rbf4qgfltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3e392b3637e5c0b52846f5cb85136a394fb653e
The printed deck
So how did the deck turn out? Quite fine, thank you very much! We ended up with about one and a half dozen of our Amberthyst decks. The tuck box was a straight forward cardboard one, but having our own custom design on it made for a far more impressive presentation than a plain white box, and made the result look immediately more professional. We were even able to have printing on all the flaps, including the two side flaps which we used for a card reveall.
​
https://preview.redd.it/ocf17pkhltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15683a5dc72d68d699ef6c3b0f9a0763a0c47441
There was even a thumb notch at the top of the box. There were also multiple fold lines enabling the main top flap to be folded backwards below the top of the box, making it much easier to get the cards out. This is standard for a high end playing card manufacturer, and playing card enthusiasts like me will be gratified to see this kind of attention to detail.
The cards themselves were fully wrapped in cellophane plastic inside the box - which is apparently standard practice for all decks produced by Shuffled Ink. Again, this makes for a more professional presentation, especially if you're giving a deck away as a gift.
​
https://preview.redd.it/amxb9ywhltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c64ee9129ccad492f1df5fbae70d17f41766a538
The cards were very crisply printed, and the print registration was right on, with consistent and even borders all the way around, corresponding exactly to the original design. There are few things worse for a playing card enthusiast than opening a USPCC printed deck and finding misaligned borders, so it was pleasing to discover that there was no issue with that here. The colours were accurate, and the printing was very clean, with no signs of smudging or blurring.
The edges of the cards were cleanly cut, resulting in a smooth feel that matches what you'd expect from a deck printed by Taiwanese printers like LPCC/EPCC, and not the somewhat rough feel of a USPCC produced deck. Close examination showed that the edge of one of the cards was slightly more ragged, presumably from the cutting process, but this didn't really matter since it was the bottom card (a Joker), and it was only obvious when looking very carefully. This was only noticeable with some of the decks, and only seemed to affect the very bottom card in a minor way.
​
https://preview.redd.it/196rkdliltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebd0d80fb7bbb0f0fa7aba6c9a8d6a38c1ed5ff6
There are multiple printing options, and we had opted to print our deck using the 310gsm cardstock with Linen Finish. The main reason for this choice was because the 310gsm is the premium cardstock, and the 300gsm was a little too light for our personal requirements due to the cards being thinner, which is less than ideal for a deck used for card flourishing. I have seen some sample decks that used the 300gsm cardstock, but have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised, because the cards weren't as flimsy or thin as I was expecting. In fact those are probably fine for a novelty deck that you're mostly going to be looking at and not using intensively, but it's not ideal when you want decent handling and performance, especially for cardists.
We'd also had a few smooth finish decks printed as part of our order, so we could compare them. These smooth-finish playing cards are certainly fine for average use, but just won't spread or fan quite as nicely as the cards with the linen finish. But if looks are your most important criteria, and you're not too worried about fanning and spreading the cards, then the smooth finish produces the best visual results.
The cutting process must be different than what is used by the major playing card manufacturers, so don't expect to be able to do faro shuffles with a deck like this. But the cards have a pleasant thickness, and enough snap to be able to do a satisfying spring with no difficulty. The embossed linen finish was very pleasing, and is of a quality that matches that of MPC produced decks. Spreads and fans were fairly smooth, although I wouldn't be surprised to notice some clumping after extended use. Packet style card flourishes worked very smoothly, and riffle shuffles and overhand shuffles were more than comfortable. While this deck won't live up to the very highest and demanding standards required by an expert cardist, the performance and durability was more than acceptable for the needs of card games, and on par with a typical MPC printed deck.
The quality of our printed decks was certainly much higher than your typical souvenir deck. In fact the linen finish and 310gsm cardstock produced a quality that was above the components I've seen in many professionally produced board games and card games. It's certainly ideal for prototypes or for getting your own custom deck printed in cases where you're not in a position to mass produce a thousand or more decks with a big name playing card manufacturer.
​
https://preview.redd.it/g3hk9dyjltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ef3ab09c98dbaf68841aa257de7666917ca51a0

Reports from others who have used Shuffled Ink

In terms of what others think, I've seen some mixed reports of experiences with Shuffled Ink, so I contacted a few other creators of custom playing cards to see what their experiences were like. Bear in mind that since many of these creators demand the very highest standards, which are often well above what the average person might consider acceptable.
Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Project has printed with Shuffled Ink a couple of times. In the case of two projects, some reprinting proved necessary since the initial results weren't as expected, but there were positive reports about the final product. He personally favours the easy-to-use design interface of MPC and their speedy turn-around time.
Another large creator that I'm in correspondence with used Shuffled Ink to print prototypes for a large Kickstarter project. The decks weren't all sealed as requested and there was some damage to the tuck cases in transit. Some effort was needed on his part to get a good outcome, and this resulted in a somewhat lukewarm experience overall for him.
A different designer who used Shuffled Ink for producing three sets of prototypes indicated real satisfaction with the quality, turn-around time, customer service, and pricing. He reported that the cost of $3500 for 1000 decks with tuck cases was ideal for getting some momentum for projects with a smaller funding goal, and he was very pleased with the end product and the process.
The experience of yet another creator was also positive. He has printed several prototypes with Shuffled Ink, and reported being very happy with the response time of their communication, and the speed of delivery. In his view the quality of the prototype deck they printed compared very favourable to MPC printed decks. According to him, Shuffled Ink might well prove to be a better choice for US-based creators.
So there you have several other personal experiences to compare with my own first-hand report. If you have experiences with Shuffled Ink that you're willing to share, by all means comment below, to help ensure that other prospective customers are well-informed about what to expect. Overall in my estimation Shuffled Ink compares quite favourably with MPC, including their pricing, and the absence of many extra fees.
​
https://preview.redd.it/vg2itl2lltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e6278942cd4456bbb1abe1ba86f4d9bbeeda022

Printing your own deck with Shuffled Ink

So why might you want to consider printing a deck with Shuffled Ink? Firstly it should be mentioned that the quality of playing cards produced by Shuffled Ink won't match the high quality of decks produced in high volumes by industry leaders like the United States Playing Card Company, makers of the famous Bicycle brand. Magicians and cardists will notice that Shuffled Ink decks won't handle as smoothly, and you will notice this right away when shuffling, or attempting spreads and fans.
But the quality isn't terrible either, and it certainly is much better than what you'll get at your average printer. Unless you're planning to print 1000 or more decks, Shuffled Ink and MPC are your best bets for printing a decent quality product that won't look or feel cheap. Obviously it won't handle as smoothly as a top of the line cardistry deck printed in high volume by USPCC, and the cards won't slide quite as smoothly and cleanly. But it will handle much better than your typical souvenir deck, and last longer than your average grocery shop cheapie. What's more, you can expect the colours to look good, the print registration to be excellent, and the card stock to feel quite durable. It's a professional product in look and feel, and it's really only serious magicians and cardists who will demand the higher level of quality and handling possibly only with mass produced decks from the big playing card manufacturers.
Perhaps most important of all, with Shuffled Ink you can print a small number of decks, and for lower volume orders, these decks are about as good as you get anywhere. If you want to print a couple of dozen prototype decks, that quickly becomes an impossibility for most big publishers like USPCC and EPCC. At the very least getting them to trial a small number of copies will be an extremely costly business to the point that it's not worth bothering to do it. That's where printers like MPC and Shuffled Ink come to the rescue, because they'll let you print a few decks, while ensuring a reasonable turn-around.
Especially if you prefer to use a US based company, Shuffled Ink is ideal for the hobbyist creator. Perhaps you have a big project and want to scrutinize some prototypes before dropping large amounts of cash on a huge print run, or perhaps you just want to make a small number of decks for friends or family. Either way, Shuffled Ink is perfect for those situations. What they offer is a product that is of a quality that you won't find with your average printer, and yet that won't break the bank or only be possible with a minimum order of thousands of decks.
​
https://preview.redd.it/e7zcrfumltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af6afc70017fae1c9ffc0cf19ae56caf1c5c3dd3

Final thoughts

Overall I'm impressed with the large range of options that Shuffled Ink has available, and despite a small glitch in the mailing process, my personal experience in printing a custom deck was positive, and the quality was good. It wouldn't be fair to expect the same level of quality and performance from a Shuffled Ink produced deck that I'm used to with a USPCC-produced deck. The main area where you can expect to notice the difference is in the handling. But if it's not a deck that's going to see intense use, this doesn't even really matter. Shuffled Ink would probably not be my printer of choice for decks geared for heavy usage or to meet the demanding needs of card flourishing or card magic. But they'd certainly be fine to use for card games, or for producing a novelty deck for collectors, or for a special event.
For those active in the playing card industry, the real strength of Shuffled Ink is their ability to produce small print runs and prototypes at a very low cost. That makes them a good alternative to MPC, which otherwise tends to be the printer of choice for people wanting to print their own playing cards in lower volume. The fact that they are based in the United States will also be a significant point of appeal for many people. With the help of printers like Shuffled Ink even you can become a playing card designer, and create your own decks to give away as gifts, or to add to your own collection as a one-of-a-kind piece!
NB: I do have a few extra copies of the Amberthyst deck available, so contact me privately if you are keen to have one for relatively cheap.
Where to learn more? Head to the Shuffled Ink website here, or check them out on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest).
​
https://preview.redd.it/l2v2qz1oltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=680bc8e81a797f2490700f28719d0e39d3c7c45b

You're probably familiar with a popular nursery rhyme that goes something like this:
"What are little boys made of? Snips and snails, And puppy-dogs' tails, That's what little boys are made of." "What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice, And everything nice, That's what little girls are made of."
Maybe you know what little boys and little girls are actually made of. But do you know what playing cards are made of? Most readers likely own playing cards made out of paper, and chances are you even know something about the process involved in making them - especially if you've read my previous article about this.
But did you know that decks of playing cards exist that been made out of many other materials besides paper? Let's check out some of the more common and less common materials that have been used to make playing cards.

Paper

By far the majority of playing cards today are made out of paper. Paper has been used for making paper playing cards for centuries, and some of the oldest decks in existence today are all made of paper. And it's still one of the most popular choices for making playing cards in our modern era.
Perhaps the most recognizable deck of playing cards today is the Bicycle rider-back deck, which is produced by United States Playing Card Company. Bicycle branded decks make up a large part of the playing cards that USPCC produces, and along with their other well-known brands like Bee and Tally-Ho they are almost always made out of paper. Two sheets of paper are stuck together with a black coloured glue between them, using the help of a special laminator, and this opaque card stock then goes through a printing press where plates apply quick drying ink. Uncut sheets of multiple cards are then cut by precision cutting machines to make the individual cards that comprise a deck. The exact process can vary somewhat, but other publishers like the European based Cartamundi and the Taiwan based Legends/Expert Playing Card Company all produce embossed paper playing cards by means of a similar method.
​
https://preview.redd.it/41or2dmdan631.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5410f427266e1bc693e29f9a721ee20f13f8fefe

Plastic

So what about plastic cards? Strictly speaking, many of these plastic decks are made out of a synthetic substrate like PVC or semi rigid plastic. With the popularization of Poker - televised games contributing significantly to its growth and success - these plastic playing cards have enjoyed a real boom in the last decade.
Unlike paper playing cards, plastic playing cards are much less likely to become marked or wear out, and they also won't crease, bend, or tear as easily. They are also often water-proof, whereas moisture is usually the big enemy of a paper deck. Card shuffling and flourishing is not as pleasant or smooth with a plastic deck, mind you, because plastic cards can clump together and make manipulation difficult. That is why cardists and magicians still prefer a traditional deck made out of paper in order to perform card sleights and fancy twirls and flourishes. But a deck made entirely out of plastic will often be the deck of choice for the serious poker player looking to get a lot of mileage out of a single deck. For a poker game, a paper deck might last a single game, and will likely already then start showing some signs of wear that give it the very real potential of becoming a marked deck, whereas a 100% plastic deck can go the distance for multiple poker games.
But plastic cards aren't just for getting serious, they also make great novelties, and there are some very fun all-plastic decks that have been designed to be played in a swimming pool or spa. Bring on those bubbles and soap suds!
https://preview.redd.it/3kpvmnaean631.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94cdb9fea55bacffe172cb689830e01f6b2edd69

Wood

While paper and plastic are easily the materials of choice for functional cards, when we venture into the area of novelty, we'll find a range of other products used, wood being an obvious choice, especially for the craftsman.
A fine example is the creative deck that Donald Corey has designed for Areaware, which is made out of plywood. This deck makes no secret about its novelty factor, and has been designed so that the cards can also be connected together by means of eight different slots that have been cut into edges of each playing card. These inter-locking grooves enable you to combine cards and assemble them into towers, and even build the castle of your dreams! For once, you can produce a house of cards that won't collapse at the first gust of wind, because there's no doubt that these unique cards will offer some real structural integrity. Priced at $36 over on Art of Play, it's not even something that will break the budget!
https://preview.redd.it/6pubchpean631.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eab5dba37515edbefd6352dcfde83f45081c4387

Metal

Now let's take our deck of cards to the next level, by upgrading from wood to metal! It's obvious that a deck made entirely out of metal is going to require some seriously specialized methods of production, and so it probably won't come as any surprise to learn that a decent metal deck is going to cost you upwards of $100. On the other hand, you will probably be the only person in your city with a deck remotely like this, so it will give you some serious credibility!
Several metal decks have been created, and the leading creator here is Home Run Games, which has produced a range of different metal decks from different metal materials, including stainless steel (Forever Stainless, Stainless Steel Bear, Stainless Steel Lion, Stainless Steel Gryphon, Stainless Steel Hippo, Stainless Steel Griffin), copper (Completely Copper, Copper Eagle, Copper Unicorn), brass (Brass Stag, Golden Dragon, Golden Goat), and even titanium (Titanium Stallion). These decks typically weigh over one and a half pounds each. Usually printed in a limited print run of only 500 copies each, and accompanied by a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity, they have proven very popular and successful.
Not only are these expensive, but they're are not very practical - you can expect the cards to slide all over the place if you actually try to stack them and use them for a game of cards. But they sure have a major coolness factor, and will be a fabulous addition for the collector! The Copper Unicorn is a fine example, although my personal favourite is the Titanium Stallion, which is the heaviest of the lot.
https://preview.redd.it/0h01iqcfan631.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b547e74aa42738d8446f76f27ea92852322e8477

Carbon Fiber

Home Run Games is also responsible for the amazing Carbon Fiber Wolf deck, which is also available in a very limited quantity. Unlike the metal decks, which have little flex and can't really be shuffled, the carbon fiber cards have some handling properties in common with paper cards, and can bend and be shuffled. Being carbon fiber, they are also much lighter, coming in at around a quarter of a pound for the entire deck.
Made from 3k twill carbon fiber, the Carbon Wolf features printing that uses four colours on the card faces: white, blue, yellow, and red, while the back has a design inspired by heraldry in white. The cards faces look much like a standard Bicycle deck, but are printed on black, and with white where you'd normally expect black. I suspect that actual usage might cause the pain to chip and show signs of wear, but at least this is something you can do more with than just have it as a collector's item.
https://preview.redd.it/noxk4grfan631.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b24195365f56d6f444c64bcf71d795059a5c13dc

Other Novelties

If you like novelty decks, you might also want to take a look at Kikkerland's Pixel Playing Cards and Space Invader Cards, as well as the X-Ray deck. The cards are described as having a "pixelated design that creates an optical illusion when moved. The pixels are separated by a transparent grid that produces the optical effect." They have a unique perforated print style with actual holes, creating a see through design that lets you look through the cards in both directions, but only you can see the value and suit.
But if you really want to impress while staying on a budget, it's hard to look past the $100 Bill Gold/Silver Foil decks that are surprisingly inexpensive. These are readily available, and are typically billed as being made out of gold foil. Many of them even come with an official sounding Certificate of Authenticity, which states "Laboratory Test Report - Gold Certificate 99.9% pure 24 Carat Gold". Does that sound too good to be true? Someone has given them a scientific analysis, and it appears that they have a plastic core, with a metallic foil layer on the surface, but there's no traces of actual gold (see this outstanding video by a chemical expert).
But they certainly are very classy looking and impressive, and even if it's not real gold, they are very unique and eye-catching. Do be aware that these are typically bridge sized rather than poker sized, and that they aren't intended for heavy use because the "gold" foil will start to wear with repeated shuffling.
https://preview.redd.it/p3tqwkcgan631.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fab6dc1c35ec2fd24784af04c0df0c3b94e0a228
Author's note: I first published this article at PlayingCardDecks.com here.

When you start immersing yourself into the world of playing cards, you'll soon discover that it has its own language. Before you know it, you'll be using terms that don't even exist in the average person's vocabulary! You'll find yourself talking about various cards sleights and flourishes, and the finer details of crowdfunded decks, which are purchased in "bricks", and can include "interior printing" and "embossing" courtesy of "overfunding" and "stretch goals." Fans, spreads, and shuffles are relatively easy to understand, but do you know the difference between a riffle shuffle, hindu shuffle, overhand shuffle ... and a faro shuffle?
Ah, the faro shuffle. I've always been fascinated by this technically difficult move, which involves making the halves of a deck interweave perfectly. But it's not just the name of a shuffle, because it is also the name of a popular gambling game from the 1800s. Where does this name originate from, and are there more "faro" related terms in the world of playing cards? Let's find out!
​
https://preview.redd.it/22qxa9sgyt531.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51f101250cbd6091eb7931009c8279e39b669acb

The Faro Shuffle

Of the faros that we'll meet in today's article, the faro shuffle is probably the most well-known today, so let's start there. The faro shuffle is the most common way of referring to it, although in some places it is also called the weave shuffle or the dove-tail shuffle. It's a very impressive move, and it can be combined very naturally with some other flourishes like a waterfall or a cascade for a dramatic visual display.
The faro shuffle involves splitting the deck into exactly two equal halves of 26 cards each, and then interweaving them perfectly so that the cards from each packet alternate exactly, coming together much like a zipper. The new order of the cards after a perfect faro shuffle should always turn out exactly the same each time you do it, but this does depend on where you start the weave, and there are two different methods for this. An out-shuffle keeps the top card and bottom card in those positions, while an in-shuffle moves the top and bottom card to second from the top and bottom respectively. An interesting fact about the faro shuffle is that eight perfect out-shuffles using the faro will restore the deck to its original order exactly. You need to be a skilled card handler to do this, because you only need one tiny mistake and it won't work! Meanwhile doing 26 consecutive perfect in-shuffles will reverse the order of a complete deck, which is even harder to do without error!
Let me warn you: the faro shuffle is not an easy thing to learn! The hardest part is where the cards get weaved together, which requires pushing the cards against each other with a small amount of pressure and at just the right angle, causing them to interweave smoothly just like a zipper. It's one of those "knacky" things, that all of a sudden you'll just master, much like learning to ride a bike. Riding with training wheels can help, but in the end, you just need to launch off and hope for the best. And perhaps you'll wipe out a bunch of times, but then all of a sudden you'll figure out the knack of keeping your balance, and off you go, and you'll never look back. For many people, that's what learning the faro shuffle can be like, and that's certainly how it was for me. There are a few decent tutorials online, and I've included some links to a number of these below, including the free one by Howcast. I watched a few tutorials online, and the one I personally found the most helpful turned out to be the paid tutorial from The Virts, which included instructions for how to do the beautiful cascade as an immediate follow-up to the faro shuffle.
The type of deck you are using can also make a difference as to the ease or difficulty of doing a faro shuffle. A new deck tends to work best, while a very worn or cheap deck will often be very difficult to faro smoothly. The direction in which the cards weave together also is important, because this depends on the "cut" of the deck. This in turn is a result of how the cards were punched, which creates a tiny bevel on the edge of the cards, and the direction of this bevel will affect the direction of how the cards can be best faroed. Most Bicycle decks have a modern cut, which will faro best face down, whereas a deck with a traditional cut will faro best face up.
​
https://preview.redd.it/by98xy0hyt531.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a83be09f5a7dc619857fdd043ed615fb20a317f6

The Faro Game

The game of Faro does bear some connection with the faro shuffle, the relationship being this: when a game of faro ends ends there are two equal piles that have to be combined for the next game. The method of interweaving the cards perfectly as described above was traditionally used for combining these piles, and one source says that it was originally called the "faro dealer's shuffle". If true, it means that the faro shuffle originated with the game, and only later came to be associated with card magic as we know it today. So what is this card game about?
As it turns out, Faro is a casino gambling game that originated in France in the late 17th century, and was a derivative of the gambling card game Basset (also known as Bassetta in Italian), also known as Barbacole and Hocca. The name was apparently first Pharaon, and was likely a reference to the Pharaoh picture on some French playing cards. It's not too difficult to surmise how this title later became Pharo, and eventually turned into Faro.
During the 18th century the card game of Faro was very popular in Europe. Faro was mentioned multiple times by 18th century Italian adventurer and writer Casanova in his autobiography. It also received mention in many important films, plays and novels, including Tolstoy's War and Peace. It eventually made its way to the United States, and was commonly played during the Gold Rush era, although by this time it had largely disappeared already from Europe. When gambling became legalized, Faro enjoyed great popularity in American casinos, with some even describing it as "the national card game". It appears to have been the main attraction at many gambling houses.
Faro did go out of style by the 1950s, eventually being overtaken by Poker, so it's not at all very well known today. But during its hey-day in the wild west, it was one of the most played games in the country. So if you found a group of cowboys playing a card game in a saloon, there was a good chance they would be playing Faro. It was reportedly the favourite card game of well-known 19th century names like lawman Wyatt Earp and gambler Doc Holiday. Travellers in Nevada can still visit the famous "Suicide Table" upon approaching Virginia City, which is an old faro table from the 1860s that is now a tourist attraction. This legendary table apparently led to the death of three of its owners by suicide, including "Black Jake", who gambled away his lifelong savings of $70,000 in a single evening.
So how do you play? I won't describe all the rules in detail, but you can find them in some archived websites here and here. Only one deck of cards was used, and the key moment of a game was when the banker turned up cards to match cards that were already face-up. Often called "faro bank", one player served as the banker. A standardized betting layout corresponded to the 13 values of an entire suit, and other players would bet on these values using money or chips.
The dealer would always turn up two cards at a time, and the first card turned up represented a loss for that value, while the second card always won. Players were effectively betting whether a card would lose or win, although there were some special rules and situations. Bets would be paid and collected immediately, before dealing another two cards. Losing cards would form one pile, and winning cards another - these would then be shuffled for the already mentioned "faro dealer's shuffle" at the end of a game.
Cheating was common, often leading to fights, and occasionally weapons were even pulled out and used. But there is also a non-gambling variant of Faro, called Stuss.
​
https://preview.redd.it/9dbqp9whyt531.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88504f9f7020560694c15acc23334b6e61cc8b80

Other Faros

Are there other card-related Faros? I was able to find a few more, and perhaps there are others that readers can tell us about.
The Faro Playing Card Company attempted to crowdfund three custom decks in 2013, but judging by the Kickstarter pages for these projects, these didn't end very happily for the majority of customers.
Much more positive things can be said about the Faro deck which was crowdfunded by noted designer Stockholm17, and released this year. This stunning deck is a companion to his Cartomancer deck, and together these two decks make up the House of the Rising Spade set. The Faro deck is inspired by old gambling decks from the 1800s, and features cards with a one-way design and no indices, and of course fully customized artwork in Stockholm17's inimitable and classy style. Indices were a development that occurred at a later date, so at the time when the game of faro was popular, cards would typically have been indexless just like this particular deck is.
Also worth mentioning are the Faro Playing Cards from the Parnell Playing Card Company, which specializes in authentic faro playing cards and games from the Wild West. Besides selling felt faro layouts (which come with game rules), they also make available a faro deck, each packaged with a picture of a legend like Wyatt Earp. Like the House of the Rising Spade deck, these cards do not have any indices, and are intended to look like the cards from the Wild West era in which the game of Faro was popularized.
Produced more recently are Will Roya's Bicycle Edition Faro Playing Cards. This deck has Bicycle standard faces, except that in true faro style all indices are absent, creating a very satisfying, pure, and clean look. The card backs have the familiar rider-back artwork, and the cards feature the usual quality of an USPCC-produced air cushion deck.
https://preview.redd.it/xzwm4ogiyt531.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2aada501a85f1e7267170f62a59dee9f636a097a
Do you want to try the game of Faro, or are you perhaps looking for a vintage deck of playing cards that looks as if it hails from the Wild West era? Consider picking up the House of the Rising Spade Faro deck, or check out the other Vintage decks on offer.
Do you want to learn how to do the faro shuffle? Besides the instructional video from Howcast, there are plenty of other good tutorials teaching this difficult shuffle, including ones from Chris Ramsay, 52Kards, Cardistry Academy, Hester23BearsCH, Ekaterina, School of Cardistry, and lotusinhand. Don't give up too easily - it's well worth the effort required to master this classic and rewarding shuffle!
Author's note: I first published this article at PlayingCardDecks.com here.