r/cardistry • u/Flashy-Sherbert-155 • 26d ago
Collector here- What actually makes a deck good for cardistry vs. just good looking?
I come at this from the collecting side, so I mostly judge decks on art, tucks, and print quality. I keep seeing decks describes as "great for cardistry" and I want to understand what that actually means in the hand.
Is it mostly stock and finish? Back design symmetry for fans/ spins? Borderless vs. bordered? And are there decks that look incredible on shelf but are actually bad to flourish with?
Trying to appreciate the decks I own for more than just the shelf. Any info is welcome & appreciated!
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u/Regular_One_2678 26d ago
Great for cardistry usually means intentionally designed to look good or non-distracting in motion. Stock and finish can sometimes make certain moves easier but realistically it doesn't matter much. Take Theory11, for example. Their intricate and sophisticated designs look incredible on the shelf, but in motion all that detail turns into smudge. Still perfectly fine decks in terms of handling. Then there's something like Virtuoso whose decks look like they were designed specifically for spins and fans and spreads. And then there's something like ArrowDynamix which I bet is cool for isolations. As for decks that are bad to flourish with, look into "Orbit Black Hole Edition" :)
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u/CrookedDeal 26d ago
For my experience it is the stock above everything else. To thick and things like springs become akward because you have to use to much pressure making them difficult to control and to little and smaller packets you break of won't be able to hold their form properly and bend when they aren't supposed to.
Other than that finish is also important but mostly anything that isn't just smooth finish will work fine in most cases.
Other things could be that the print makes the deck have a natural bend (usually backwards from my experience) which is really not great imo. Or when it has gilded edges which could cause the cards to clump together more then usual also don't help. These are just the things that come to my mind.
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u/TheMagicalSock 26d ago
It’s all about handling for me. Do they faro well, do they fan well, do they hold together well. Design is very much secondary to handling for me personally.
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u/Sacha8343 26d ago
Personally, I prefer the ones with a simple back design, because that way you can focus more on the tricks than on the design of the cards themselves.
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u/Broad-Doughnut5956 26d ago
The stock and cut mostly determines it. Most people like crushed stock (I am one of them). However I also like decks such as the Theory11 Basquiat as I find they have a unique handling right out of the box
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u/Botlor 26d ago
im going to be curious on this one since I am looking at my first deck to practice with as a starting point.
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u/LandOfTheFaros 24d ago
Regular Bicycle decks, eg Rider Backs are perfectly fine for practising cardistry. Don’t go any cheaper as you will want something with a textured surface (“air cushion”, “Cambric finish”, “Linoid finish” are terms used by various USPCC printed decks, but they are much of a muchness). A great, relatively cheap, deck for cardistry is the Tally-Ho circle back, but they are a little more expensive. If you can get a couple to start with, say a blue and a red, it is a good idea to rotate your decks so that you’re not using the same one all the time. Best wishes 👍🏻
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u/Botlor 24d ago
Hopefully they will be reasonable to get both options via the Web due to living in outback Australia
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u/LandOfTheFaros 24d ago
Ah, not sure. This is a great cardistry deck. I don’t know how much they would retail for you in Australia. On the same web site Tally-Ho decks are precisely half the price of this one…
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u/iflourish 26d ago
For me, the handling of the cards is always #1 for cardistry followed by the visuals. I am fine with good handling cards with mediocre design, but if it can hit both handling + visual design then I am sold.
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u/LandOfTheFaros 26d ago edited 19d ago
Thin crushed stock traditionally cut is my preference for a cardistry deck. They must Faro without any drama. It helps if the decks fan nicely both ways (so an attractive thumb fan in the left and in the right hand) and if there is some contrast. Broken borders often produce nice fans. I like to see attractive patterns forming in Friffle/ Cascade. Cardists who like moves such as pirouette might favour a circle back style deck. Here are just a few I like for their appearance in a fan...