card mechanics
 

Is it easier for a mechanic to perform his tricks with a new deck or an old, worn out deck (considering standard bicycle type cards, not plastic Kems etc)?

Re: card mechanics
 

Just have someone OTHER than the dealer cut the deck, and use a cut card and that won't be an issue

Re: card mechanics
 

This is really more of a theoretical question. I did have some questions about a private game I sat in on last night, but as the night progressed it was pretty clear to me that there wasn't any funny business going on.

Re: card mechanics
 

It's easiest with perfect cards. KEM > New Bee > New Hoyle > Old cards.

Re: card mechanics
 

If you're good with cards...then you're good with cards. The deck really doesn't make any sort of difference.

I have spent a long time working on knowing how to slight, so I can always recognize it if I should suspect something.

Cut cards help. Having someone else cut doesn't always do it. It's very easy to falsify a cut with a simple pass.

Newer cards are nice...but it's the technique that is most important.

sv

Deliberate vs. \"accidental\"
 

I'm assuming that a really diabolical card mechanic can ruin any game and any deck - unless people are very careful about the cut.

But in terms of weird stuff that can happen, an old deck can bring a lot more headaches. I was playing in a small-town Nevada casino last year with a deck that looked like it originally belonged to Wyatt Earp. Almost every card was creased, wavy or sticky. Sure enough, pairs of cards got slightly stuck to each other -- and KEPT SHOWING UP on the flop, again and again. 66x. random. 66x. 66x. And in all cases, the six of diamonds and the 6 of clubs.

The next night they played with the other deck (just as bad) and the Qs stuck together. I hit a one-outer when a Q came on the river -- on a hand that I really shouldn't have been in -- so it wasn't as if they were fleecing me. But it made for an eerie playing environment.

Everyone else was either loose/passive or loose/sloshed, so it didn't seem to bother them.

Re: Deliberate vs. \"accidental\"
 

card tricks are best done with new bicycle/bee decks, namely the non-plastic cards with air cushioning. KEM cards make it hard to perform these tricks because they are rather rough and make noise during slights.