I actually don't find them to be too horrible. But, as an alternative to Rider Backs... I don't think so...
I noticed the differences quickly and prefer the 808's. The standard gaffs (blanks, doubles...etc) don't alter the back design, which is what the issue was all about, so they will continue to produce standard gaffs for magic dealers to sell.
I don't use enough gaffs to worry about needing to switch, and have been using cards less and less throughout my sets.
On a slight side note:any magician serious about using a marked deck (raises hand) shouldn't mind taking 20 minutes (I know you have 20 minutes...) to mark each new deck they use (takes less time with practice) or even taking an hour one night to mark 3-4 decks for use.
Not enough of a market, I think, to really make such a big project out of it.
Although magicians are a very small demographic, but behind casinos, businesses with souvenir decks etc., we're probably the biggest consumer of playing cards. Think about it, the average person buys one deck, and uses that deck for the next 20 years. A magician buys one deck, uses it for a week, throws it away, and then buys another, or even buys cards in bulk.
Just look at this thread:
http://forums.theory11.com/showthread.php?t=27772
26 decks, 36 decks, 350 decks, 1,000 decks, 4,000 decks for one person! Magicians are huge consumers of playing cards. It makes sense for the USPCC to target them.
USPCC's distribution in retail outlets like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, etc - including that of the Guardians - forms the bulk of their business.
Quick Question Mr.Bayme
how come you have never made a pre-marked deck?
Cuz if you gaff Bikes yourself and then use it in the public, you'd be infringing on the UPSCC's copyrights on the Bicycle Rider Back design. I think.
imo, you're doing something wrong if you take out your deck and the first thing someone says is, "Is that a trick deck?"
Not necessarily, I would say. Anyone that performs regularly of course comes across spectators that think they know everything. Most people know that magicians sometimes use trick decks and things of that nature, and some people - not all - will vocalize those assumptions in performance. I don't, however, believe it to be a sign of a weak performer when spectators speak up. Often, those are the audiences we can learn the most from, as they are the ones that say what everyone else is thinking.
Tough audiences are a fact of life. Just last night after Steve Cohen's performance at the Waldorf Astoria here in New York City - a five star hotel - one of the audience members came up to Steve and rather forcefully attempted to grab the deck of cards that was in a box behind him. I assume he wanted to look macho in front of his girlfriend. This was one audience member out of 100 in the room that felt some strange, burning desire to do that. It was rude, and certainly nothing in Steve's performance hinted at use of a trick deck.
In fact, Steve only does two card tricks in his 90 minute act. After the first, he gives the deck to a spectator to take home and examine. And at three parts during the second card trick (the finale), the cards are handled by random spectators, not Steve - he barely touches them. Thus, I have concluded that this was not the fault of Steve - he is a stellar performer. It's simply the fault of the spectator for - to put it lightly - being a royal jerk.