What does your deck say about you?

Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Cool thread, I was actually thinking about this the other day.
I usually wear some sort of hoodie and some normal jeans,and portray myself as a normal person,and therefore use Tally-ho fans, or normal bicycles.

If I happen to have a different style that day, meaning more dark clothes/light clothes I'll choose a different deck. I'll use Guardians for dark, and I usually stick with Fan backs for lighter colors.

I agree that different decks give spectators a different vibe about the performer.
They often take me more seriously if I'm using Guardians with the same self image.

However, I've found that even though I act the same, alot of the time the spectators will still react the same way and still become just as open with me as they would if I had another image.
Sorry if this didn't make sense.
Just my two cents.

It made perfect sense :) As long as the image is consistent and congruent within a single performance, it'll work.

Deffinitely the most interesting read in a long while.

I am a surfer and a snowboarder/outdoorsman. Using the greatest casino deck does nothing to parallel my personality. In fact, It hinders it greatly. I wear Sanuk Sandalsyear round as it it simply who I am. Using a black ghost deck would be attempting to put a square peg into a circle hole. In the past year, I found the deck to work with my personality. The earthy color blends with my style, the standard design makes them simplistic, and the feel is what I am used to. It is the Bicycle Eco Editions.

I never gave them much thought, other than when I saw them I thought, "those are me," until now. This thread has simply explained in language the mental processing that was going on upstairs unbeknownst to me. Just thought I'd share as I thought I picked up the meaning that you so brilliantly shared through this topic.

All the best,
-Chase

Thanks for sharing Chase, that's exactly what I mean. And I smiled as I read about the deck you chose - it certainly does sound exactly like you. :)
 
to be honest i don't collect these really kool type of cards, because i do card magic where i write on them...tear them...fold them...and all that other nonsense, so i just by the cheapest cards alive...i'm not really a card worker...i do some card magic..but nothing to the point that warrants me to collect cards....

my deck would scream: "get em away from this pyscho!!!!!"

i destroy my cards...so yeah...
 
Nov 10, 2009
39
0
Smoke&Mirrors are truly beautiful decks, i do have other decks that i like, but Smoke&Mirror are my favorites. Sadly, even though they are my favorites, i choose not to buy them or use them for a reason. It's becuase i want something that will last very long.

In my case, when i found Smoke&Mirrors 2nd Eddition(my favorites, not the 3rd Eddition), they were completely sold out, and shortly after, i found that Smoke&Mirror are decks that can be only up for a short time, and i don't like the 3rd Edditions.

So, i decided not to get my favorite cards, i mean, even if i buy some from ebay or from anywhere, how long will that last? The 2nd Eddition will run out eventually, i want some thing that will last very long for example like the Splitspades Lion, cause i can get them very easily, i know that they are not my favorites, but still better than using my favorite deck for limited time and be sad when i can't get them =..(, also btw, i hate to collect decks. Any bros got the same feeling?

I know this is kind of a off topic reply, but this is how i feel about the deck that suits me.
 
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Nov 28, 2009
9
0
I go with the tally-ho's for a particular reason though, I look for cards that are easy to get are priced right for the amount of time they will last. Tally-ho's fit just right for that balance. How ever I just got a few split spades to try (people rave over them) and I love them how ever for the price and the fact that I can only get them online, makes them impractical. Bikes cost about the same as the tallys but in my opinion tallys last longer, so my choice is tally-ho's. I guess they say I'm cheep.
 
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I agree. I wish that these specialty cards were more attainable and less expensive. I would love to use them regularly, but I destroy decks when I work an all day gig. I have to return to my case to get extra packs. My go back point is usually when a spectator says "Why do you only have half a deck"

I do a lot of signed card effects, that end with a mercury card fold. When I can buy a case of bikes, for the price of 3 or 4 ghosts or smokes, it just doesn't seem cost effective. I do own a pack of each though, for display and conversation starters.
 
May 8, 2008
1,081
0
Cumbria, UK
Reading this thread made me think of Lennart Green, or any other magician that acts/has acted clumsy with cards to lessen the suspicion of sleight of hand. This especially applies to mentalists, in fact. Now if these people turned up to their next show with a deck of black ghosts or shadow masters, it would be like an actor dressed as a king and playing a beggar. If you don't want to appear overly familiar with a deck of cards, turning up with the-latest-top-quality-super-cool-sexy-awesome-with-all-new-jokers deck from E is giving the wrong impression from the very start.
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Reading this thread made me think of Lennart Green, or any other magician that acts/has acted clumsy with cards to lessen the suspicion of sleight of hand. This especially applies to mentalists, in fact. Now if these people turned up to their next show with a deck of black ghosts or shadow masters, it would be like an actor dressed as a king and playing a beggar. If you don't want to appear overly familiar with a deck of cards, turning up with the-latest-top-quality-super-cool-sexy-awesome-with-all-new-jokers deck from E is giving the wrong impression from the very start.

Mmm, good point Randomwrath. I've got a new thread topic in mind which will be posted over the next few days sometime along this topic. But for now, I'm content to see that not everyone has missed the point of the thread.
 
Sep 10, 2008
915
3
QLD, AUS
My deck says im gay. MY girlfriend bought me...pink..bicycles..

pink bikes win.

my favoured deck for performances are pink ribbon bikes.
i'm not even kidding. My main presentation style is trying to make myself look as laidback and as relaxed as possible when i perform, i try to make it look like i haven't reheared the trick for hours on end. The pink just adds a flavour of spontanaeity to my presentation and my tricks.
 
Jan 16, 2008
379
0
I like my Aquamarine Bicycle Deck. I fell in love the moment I saw them, and although quite pricey, they reflect my mood; not purely extreme (blue bikes are a tad on the dark side for me, and red bikes scream too loudly), but sitting comfortably right where I want it. It's also quite a rare color of deck, which tells the spectators I am not the typical magician.
Just giving them a taste of the extra-ordinary.
 
Sep 26, 2007
591
5
Tokyo, Japan
I am not a frequent poster, but I tend to like what Prae has to say. He is quite direct, and in my honest opinion, blunt and to the point is quite necessary on these forums.

Anyway, back on topic. Although I like the content of the original post, it might be a tad bit over thought. Let me explain why.

I think the idea of one's image is quite important, but it is only as important as the spectators ability to not only perceive this image, but how much they are going to let that perception waiver their opinion of you, as a performer.

For example, when I do a show and when I am preparing for the show, of course I have to decide which cards to use. I must say that since my "image" is something that I generally always give a subconscious thought to, my first train of actual thought goes to something like, "will blue cards be viable in the lighting provided by the venue?" and "will red cards provide a better visual for the venue?" I would never want to sacrifice that simple aspect of a show so that I can use the cards that I think best suit my personality / image.

I completely understand what you said about why you choose to use Smoke and Mirrors, and I am glad that you are stand by your conviction. And, if you were to session with other magicians, than I see no fault in sticking with those cards.

However, when it comes down to a show, and your job is to entertain a group of laymen, your interests and desires get put on hold (so to speak).

If you watch the TV show "So you think you can dance", you might sometimes hear the judges saying, "it isn't the technique that will win you this competition, it is how you portray yourself to the audience." As a performer (both dancer and magician), you have to think about what the Audience knows, expects, is able to understand, what they might doubt, and what they might question. Having said that, the safest and ultimately most logical choice, would be red or blue bikes, and maybe tallys. And if a magician were to choose a different choice, he or she maybe creating a small hurdle for themselves.

I am not saying that performing with any other type of deck is completely wrong, as I have seen great magicians use other cards (I saw Fujii Akira perform with Cents, in person!). However, there will always be that small added percentage of "am I being deceived by the cards themselves?" when using cards that are not mainstream.

Anyway, because of this small simple fact, I think that the original question itself is a little bit of a paradox and could simply be re-written as, "what cards do you think match your image, but not necessarily saying you would perform with them?"
 
split spades are great because the feel is like soft but a bit more thick-ish idk. i use bikes because i can get 12 decks for cheap haha xD and i like Aviators too because they last forever and fan for a long time lol and i can do the simple switch really good with that deck ... better then bikes ;x
 
Feb 4, 2011
5
0
Seattle, WA
My preferred deck is anything the spectator has on them. I find that if you can do something magical with someone else's personal deck of cards, that they bought and can trace to that point in time, you can eliminate all doubt in their mind that you're using "one of those funny magic decks". Manipulating what they know to be so real can have some pretty astonished reactions. As far as image goes, for me it's hard to beat that kind of magic.

However, since there are very few people that carry around decks of cards, I usually keep a deck of black tally ho fan backs in my pocket. Mainly because they just feel right. :) It still doesn't stop me from asking people if they have cards, haha. Sometimes it's even a good ice breaker, but other times it leads to a lot of funny looks. If I ever see some stranger finishing up a game of cards, I know I've found the perfect opportunity to create something special.
 
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