Bulldog Squeezers
Where to buy: http://www.kardwell.com/page/KII/CTGY/SQUEEZERS
Price: $6.50 for 2 decks
For more information about my reviewing methods and a list of other reviews: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=156760&p=1224367#p1224367
Video Review Suppliment: http://vimeo.com/19881338
Initial Impressions: WOW! This is probably the nicest quality stock and finish combination I have come across with a mid range USPCC card! The thing that immediately stands out with this deck is likely just the quality control used on this deck. I would pit the quality control up against most USPCC custom cards I have tried and well beyond what I generally find in most “off the shelf” USPCC cards. The borders are perfectly aligned and the edges are cut almost flawlessly. This deck excels in all forms of faro shuffling.
History:
I added this section specifically for this deck as it does have quite an interesting and long history. The Squeezers were a term added to several cards from the New York Consolidated Playing Card Company and at one time came with many different back designs. The one I’m reviewing is the No.58 back and it is the one with two dogs printed on the back with the quote, “The tie that binds,” printed across the bottom. This deck was originally minted in 1877 to commemorate the merger of the N.Y Consolidated (maker of the Bee brand) and the A. Dougherty(Maker of the Tally-Ho brand) playing card companies. Each Bulldog has a name printed on its collar. One saying Trip the other saying Squeezer. N.Y. Consolidated printed cards under the name Squeezer which referred to the way card players could cup and squeeze there card in order to see the pips. A.Dougherty printed a line of cards called “Trips” which stood for triplicates which in-turn stood for the way in which the card was printed with a large center image and miniature images printed in opposing corners. Incidentally both of these innovations, Squeezers and Trips, were the first time cards were printed with what today would today be called corner pips. Prior to this cards were printed with a single image design. Each dog was chained to their respective dog house which symbolized a shady business deal between the two companies by which each would sell their brand of cards on their “turf” and not undercut the others business. So, essentially, these cards represent a market fixing scheme that dated back to the 1870s. (Important to note, that type of market fixing was probably not illegal at the time) Eventually the two companies merged into “Consolidated Dougherty” which was bought out by the United States Playing Card Company. Why USPCC still prints a commemorative deck that represents a merger of two companies that it eventually bought out is a mystery but I am glad they did. Word on the street(specifically from a forum post by J.Bayme from T11) is that USPCC has no intention of discontinuing the Bulldog Squeezers anytime soon.
For a further look at the history of these cards you may want to check out these two websites. Most of the information above was gleaned from these two sites.http://whiteknucklecards.com/history/dougherty.html
http://www.stevensmagic.com/gemini/Mike ... lldogs.htm
The Look:These cards come in red and blue backs and usually will be found in sets with one red and one blue. As already mentioned in the history section the backs of these cards are a picture of two dogs, Trip and Squeezer, chained to there respective dog houses barking at each other. In the upper right is a sinister looking smiling moon. The upper left has a “REGISTERED 1877” printed on the roof of Trip’s dog house. On the bottom of the picture is a quote that says, “There is a tie that binds us to our homes.”
The Ace of spades is also a commemoration of the consolidation of the two companies. The central pip is similar to the wheel pattern used on the Tally-Ho AOS minus the N.9. The artwork surrounding the AOS is similar to the artwork that surrounds the Bee AOS. It has the same flower and bee design except that on the lower banner “Squeezer” is printed instead of “Consolidated Dougherty.” The Jokers are the same as the Tally-Ho Joker and the court cards are all standard USPCC.
Card Construction: This card has about the same thickness and stiffness as Tally-Ho cards. They come in about 15.2 mm for a stack of 52 cards making them on average 1 or 2 cards thinner than a Bike but overall these are a tad stiffer than the 808 stock. You will likely find these a bit more tricky to split than 808s as well. My thought is that perhaps a higher grade glue accounts for extra bit of stiffness but for the most part they will feel quite similar to most medium stiffness USPCC cards. Where you really feel the difference is in the quality controls. As said before the cutting used on this deck is very precise. The deck feels very smooth along the sides and edges and the corners or perfectly rounded. Also the borders are perfectly aligned, something that I have found increasingly more uncommon in Bike and Tally-Ho brands.
Handling: While on initial inspection you won’t notice any major difference between Bulldog Squeezers and most other USPCC cards you will begin to notice the quality difference as they break in. To give you a basic idea I would say that these cards are almost a combination of the best qualities of the Bee(smooth fans and faro shuffling) and the Tally-Ho(just a tad more stiff and springy than a Bike 808)
Fanning: OOB: 9
1st Week: 9
2nd Week: 8.5The fanning of the Bulldogs seems about as good as most USPCC cards out of the box but what strikes me is how well it maintains itself over the long haul. I’m close to the end of the second week and I just now have noticed a slight reduction in the overall evenness of the fan. I have had absolutely no clumping issues what so ever.
Spring Energy: OOB: 7.5
1st Week: 7
2nd Week: 6.5While this deck starts out feeling very much like a Tally-Ho it seems to maintain it’s stiffness longer. My rough guess on that is that the corners being cut so smoothly means that the cards don’t take as much “unintended” abuse and this seem to last a bit longer. Though I rarely do the spring flourish myself(and this category is not necessarily meant to equate to that flourish) the combination of the smooth fan and stiff snappy feel of the deck ought to make this an ideal deck for that flourish.
Dribble: OOB: 8
1st Week: 9
2nd Week: 9While it doesn’t dribble as effortlessly as the Bee brand, once it breaks in performs dribbles quite well.
Crimp Hold/Recovery: OOB: 8
1st week: 7 (hold)/ 8 (recovery)
2nd Week: 7(hold)/8(recovery) This is what so far has made this deck stand out. Squeezers seem to hold a crimp about as well as Bikes but they recover from crimps almost as well as many of the super stiff European cards(Piatnik, Fournier.) A good example of this is the concave or convex shape that most decks develop after a while due to the type of shuffles commonly used(table riffle or in hands riffle.) The Squeezers after almost two weeks have still not developed a concave/convex shape. Also, the deck has developed very few unintentional crimps. This has certainly helped keep the deck feeling “almost new” even at a point in the review where most USPCC cards have either been retired or are close to being retired.
Single Card Glides: OOB: 7
1st Week: 8
2nd Week: 8I would say this attribute is about on par with most USPCC cards. Once broken in it performs these techniques slightly above average but a small break is still recommended prior to a top card glide.
2+ Card Obfuscations: OOB: 8
1st week: 6
2nd Week: 6Though the added stiffness of the deck helped it to feel a bit above average OOB as soon as the stock loosened a tad the smooth nature of the cards took over and some of the two card displays began to be a bit more problematic. Another thing that may hinder this deck’s doubling performance is ironically the stocks natural resistance to bends. Techniques that bend two cards in order to “seal” them momentarily together are less effective with these cards than most other cards. So while many USPCC cards may start out average and get better as they age I am finding the reverse to be true with the Bulldogs.
Continued....
Where to buy: http://www.kardwell.com/page/KII/CTGY/SQUEEZERS
Price: $6.50 for 2 decks
For more information about my reviewing methods and a list of other reviews: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=156760&p=1224367#p1224367
Video Review Suppliment: http://vimeo.com/19881338
Initial Impressions: WOW! This is probably the nicest quality stock and finish combination I have come across with a mid range USPCC card! The thing that immediately stands out with this deck is likely just the quality control used on this deck. I would pit the quality control up against most USPCC custom cards I have tried and well beyond what I generally find in most “off the shelf” USPCC cards. The borders are perfectly aligned and the edges are cut almost flawlessly. This deck excels in all forms of faro shuffling.
History:
I added this section specifically for this deck as it does have quite an interesting and long history. The Squeezers were a term added to several cards from the New York Consolidated Playing Card Company and at one time came with many different back designs. The one I’m reviewing is the No.58 back and it is the one with two dogs printed on the back with the quote, “The tie that binds,” printed across the bottom. This deck was originally minted in 1877 to commemorate the merger of the N.Y Consolidated (maker of the Bee brand) and the A. Dougherty(Maker of the Tally-Ho brand) playing card companies. Each Bulldog has a name printed on its collar. One saying Trip the other saying Squeezer. N.Y. Consolidated printed cards under the name Squeezer which referred to the way card players could cup and squeeze there card in order to see the pips. A.Dougherty printed a line of cards called “Trips” which stood for triplicates which in-turn stood for the way in which the card was printed with a large center image and miniature images printed in opposing corners. Incidentally both of these innovations, Squeezers and Trips, were the first time cards were printed with what today would today be called corner pips. Prior to this cards were printed with a single image design. Each dog was chained to their respective dog house which symbolized a shady business deal between the two companies by which each would sell their brand of cards on their “turf” and not undercut the others business. So, essentially, these cards represent a market fixing scheme that dated back to the 1870s. (Important to note, that type of market fixing was probably not illegal at the time) Eventually the two companies merged into “Consolidated Dougherty” which was bought out by the United States Playing Card Company. Why USPCC still prints a commemorative deck that represents a merger of two companies that it eventually bought out is a mystery but I am glad they did. Word on the street(specifically from a forum post by J.Bayme from T11) is that USPCC has no intention of discontinuing the Bulldog Squeezers anytime soon.
For a further look at the history of these cards you may want to check out these two websites. Most of the information above was gleaned from these two sites.http://whiteknucklecards.com/history/dougherty.html
http://www.stevensmagic.com/gemini/Mike ... lldogs.htm
The Look:These cards come in red and blue backs and usually will be found in sets with one red and one blue. As already mentioned in the history section the backs of these cards are a picture of two dogs, Trip and Squeezer, chained to there respective dog houses barking at each other. In the upper right is a sinister looking smiling moon. The upper left has a “REGISTERED 1877” printed on the roof of Trip’s dog house. On the bottom of the picture is a quote that says, “There is a tie that binds us to our homes.”
The Ace of spades is also a commemoration of the consolidation of the two companies. The central pip is similar to the wheel pattern used on the Tally-Ho AOS minus the N.9. The artwork surrounding the AOS is similar to the artwork that surrounds the Bee AOS. It has the same flower and bee design except that on the lower banner “Squeezer” is printed instead of “Consolidated Dougherty.” The Jokers are the same as the Tally-Ho Joker and the court cards are all standard USPCC.
Card Construction: This card has about the same thickness and stiffness as Tally-Ho cards. They come in about 15.2 mm for a stack of 52 cards making them on average 1 or 2 cards thinner than a Bike but overall these are a tad stiffer than the 808 stock. You will likely find these a bit more tricky to split than 808s as well. My thought is that perhaps a higher grade glue accounts for extra bit of stiffness but for the most part they will feel quite similar to most medium stiffness USPCC cards. Where you really feel the difference is in the quality controls. As said before the cutting used on this deck is very precise. The deck feels very smooth along the sides and edges and the corners or perfectly rounded. Also the borders are perfectly aligned, something that I have found increasingly more uncommon in Bike and Tally-Ho brands.
Handling: While on initial inspection you won’t notice any major difference between Bulldog Squeezers and most other USPCC cards you will begin to notice the quality difference as they break in. To give you a basic idea I would say that these cards are almost a combination of the best qualities of the Bee(smooth fans and faro shuffling) and the Tally-Ho(just a tad more stiff and springy than a Bike 808)
Fanning: OOB: 9
1st Week: 9
2nd Week: 8.5The fanning of the Bulldogs seems about as good as most USPCC cards out of the box but what strikes me is how well it maintains itself over the long haul. I’m close to the end of the second week and I just now have noticed a slight reduction in the overall evenness of the fan. I have had absolutely no clumping issues what so ever.
Spring Energy: OOB: 7.5
1st Week: 7
2nd Week: 6.5While this deck starts out feeling very much like a Tally-Ho it seems to maintain it’s stiffness longer. My rough guess on that is that the corners being cut so smoothly means that the cards don’t take as much “unintended” abuse and this seem to last a bit longer. Though I rarely do the spring flourish myself(and this category is not necessarily meant to equate to that flourish) the combination of the smooth fan and stiff snappy feel of the deck ought to make this an ideal deck for that flourish.
Dribble: OOB: 8
1st Week: 9
2nd Week: 9While it doesn’t dribble as effortlessly as the Bee brand, once it breaks in performs dribbles quite well.
Crimp Hold/Recovery: OOB: 8
1st week: 7 (hold)/ 8 (recovery)
2nd Week: 7(hold)/8(recovery) This is what so far has made this deck stand out. Squeezers seem to hold a crimp about as well as Bikes but they recover from crimps almost as well as many of the super stiff European cards(Piatnik, Fournier.) A good example of this is the concave or convex shape that most decks develop after a while due to the type of shuffles commonly used(table riffle or in hands riffle.) The Squeezers after almost two weeks have still not developed a concave/convex shape. Also, the deck has developed very few unintentional crimps. This has certainly helped keep the deck feeling “almost new” even at a point in the review where most USPCC cards have either been retired or are close to being retired.
Single Card Glides: OOB: 7
1st Week: 8
2nd Week: 8I would say this attribute is about on par with most USPCC cards. Once broken in it performs these techniques slightly above average but a small break is still recommended prior to a top card glide.
2+ Card Obfuscations: OOB: 8
1st week: 6
2nd Week: 6Though the added stiffness of the deck helped it to feel a bit above average OOB as soon as the stock loosened a tad the smooth nature of the cards took over and some of the two card displays began to be a bit more problematic. Another thing that may hinder this deck’s doubling performance is ironically the stocks natural resistance to bends. Techniques that bend two cards in order to “seal” them momentarily together are less effective with these cards than most other cards. So while many USPCC cards may start out average and get better as they age I am finding the reverse to be true with the Bulldogs.
Continued....
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