New cards or old ?

[SpitFire]

When u guys practice flourishing and magic, do u guys use newer cards or older ones. I find that old cards handle better and that I have more control over them, whereas new cards tend to slide all over the place alot. What do you guys think ?

 

[n0va_jason]

I think theres an in between thing that I enjoy the most. Just like new cards tend to be slippery and hard to use, old cards may have warped over time and clump badly, and once again resulting in not so amazing feel. The peak period for me would be about after 1 week into using the deck, and it's broken in, so it's no longer too slippery nor so stiff. This makes flourishes much easier to do and by then, I'd have a good feel about the cards as compared to when I just opened them up, and hence able to handle them better than before.

 

[onimushalord89]

I find that for flourishing, the deck really makes a difference. The reason you like an older deck is because it holds together better. I would suggest getting a deck that will do that right out of the box. Any S&M deck will do that and there are some news one coming out. I have also found that ellusionist decks are very good for flourishing. Their thick stock stops them from warping, and the finish feels like a broken in deck of card and will continue to feel that way for quite some time. Just my thoughts.

 

[canadamagic]

I think that it depends on the flourish your doing, if you I am performing a flourish that involves any arials than an older deck may be the way to go. If I am performing a flourish where cards are being stripped here and there and it has fans than I may want a newer deck. Overall I think that you should be able to do any flourish with any deck, regardless of the quality. That way at any time, you're good to go despite whatever cards you may have.

 

[JetEyeNight]

I prefer a deck that has been broken in. I definitely prefer a well-used deck to a brand-new deck. Especially because I like to do aerials and arm spreads.

 

[Zevaka]

i think i really need to switch from bycicle standart to S&M or ellusionist decks... because they live so short, in the beginningwhen it's new, cards slide too much, then there's short period of time when deck is perfect, but after several days it's already so old that you can do only flourishes based on cuts, not some fancy faning or pivoting...

or maybe you, guys, can suggest some cards (doesn't matter how bad they look) that will be good for practice but relatively cheap?

 

[canadamagic]

i think i really need to switch from bycicle standart to S&M or ellusionist decks... because they live so short, in the beginningwhen it's new, cards slide too much, then there's short period of time when deck is perfect, but after several days it's already so old that you can do only flourishes based on cuts, not some fancy faning or pivoting...

or maybe you, guys, can suggest some cards (doesn't matter how bad they look) that will be good for practice but relatively cheap?

Tally-ho's are probably what you would want then

 

[Tarvi]

It really depends on what you want to do.

I'll never use new cards to do the Cobra cut. It's neigh on impossible. However, if I want to do fans, spreads or Anaconda, I need newer cards, for the low friction, and straight edges.

Hope this helps a bit!

 

[AlexanderB]

I always do not like to use new cards, because they are very slippery, it makes my handling of a cards a little bit awkward (and I tried to fix it so many times, the same result) and they are kind of hard to control. New cards are only good for fans and some moves, such as the Push Through False Shuffle. Also, I do not like to handle old cards (I assume that you understand why). So, I like when the cards are in between those two conditions. By the way, it's really fun to watch some videos (including David Blaine's) where magician puts the deck on the table or in the spec's hands and they slide so bad because they are new, and it takes time to square them up and hold them together.