Consistency of cards
Hi, all.
As a newcomer to performing magic and flourishes with cards (but as a longtime collector and poker player), I hope you'll indulge my newbie question:
Do you find that specific brands/styles of cards are consistent in terms of performance? *Really*?
In general, it seems to me that quality is relatively consistent within brands/styles, but I find on these threads that some people find this style deck is thinner than that style, while others swear it's the other way around. Some find one brand fans/flourishes better than a second brand, while others insist it's visa versa. "Tallys are better than Ghosts for fanning," and "Ghosts are better than Tallys," etc., etc.
I'm away from my card collection at the moment (out of town, so all I have is a lone deck of Tally Hos and a lone deck of red bicycles), but i seem to recall that the Guardians have the same finish (Air Flow) as the Bicycles, and the same card stock. Am I mistaken? They felt the same to my newbie hands, if I recall correctly. What stood out for me was the different design -- the muted, murky color palettes of the Guardians and Centurions look great.
But when you say they're "thicker"... really? Thicker than standard bikes?
To get back to the original question: I had cut a deck of Guardians and left the room on a hot and humid day, and came back to notice that the top card I'd cut to had warped slightly. I restored the deck to its box. Opened them the next day. You'd never know that there was ever an issue. No bowing, no sign at all.
So far (I've only had my new decks for a week or two), the Guardians and Centurions I have seem quite resilient. Any card will get a little warped in humid weather. Any decent card can easily recover with a little time and a little kindness -- and the Cents and Guards fall into that category.
Have any of you tried a true "blind test" to see if you can tell the difference between a new deck of Tallys and a new deck of Centurions, etc., blindfolded? I'd be curious as to the results.
--Allan
PS: with all that being said, since my unpracticed hands don't feel the difference between the Guardians and the Bicycles and the Tally Hos, I wish I'd have brought my Guardians with me on this trip. They're just so much more fun to look at while I practice the flourishes I'm learning.
