I ordered a few dozen Richard Turner Gold Seal decks in the summer of 2016, and most of them warped after not much usage. I thought maybe it was because they had sat in the mailbox for a day during one of the hottest summer days we had that year; but after I went through them all I ordered another batch and had the same problem. Months later after going through those, I ordered a bunch of regular Bicycles which just arrived the other day, and by God if the first pack I opened didn't warp within 10 minutes of usage. I've lived in upstate New York for 11 years now, and although I've had decks warp on me over the years, I've never experienced anything like this wholesale warpage during the last year and a half or two years. It is so demoralizing -- takes away the pleasure of doing card work. Has anyone else experienced a tendency for Bicycles to warp lately more than in previous years?

I know there are methods (refrigerator, etc.) that people advocate, but I am skeptical about them -- wouldn't the deck just warp again ten minutes after you take them out of their box?

Maybe I just have to give up Bicycles. In your experience, are there other decks (Phoenix, etc.) that I should switch to that do not easily warp? Thanks.

"Most" warping is related to moisture. The freezer removes the moisture. If you put decks in the freezer, and in a card clip if the deck is already opened, they should come out fine. If you are in a high humidity environment, yup... they will probably warp quickly. When I lived in Miami a deck would grow 30% in thickness in one day of heavy use. Now Im in Dallas and a standard Bicycle deck lasts a couple of weeks.

Thanks Scott. I never tried the freezer. I'll give it a shot.

I drove truck for over 20 years and have had many decks “warp” as in the center seems like it popped up a bit. You can push down and hear and feel it “click” and it would do the same if I pushed back up. I did notice that it happened 100% of the times I left a deck on the dash with the hot sun beating down or toe heater on and blowing on it. As for decks not on the dash, I have had some warpage in hot humid weather. I never noticed it in cold weather (unless they were on the dash with the heat on).

I have tried card presses and refrigeration but have never been able to “fix” a deck once it has warped. Even though they are still “usable” there are some moves that become problematic so I rather use them when practicing my MCF or torn card effects. (But mostly, I just grow them away when they get too bad. I keep several bricks stored in a cool dry place.

I have had the same problem with Bicycles. It really is annoying. I have had that problem with the last few decks of Turner's I have purchased. I tried switching to Phoenix's...same problem.

The last deck I have tried is NOC. The original NOC's were fine except that I thought the cards were too thick. The newer NOC's are thinner but they are warping. I noticed that the new NOC's are printed by USPCC. Is it a coincidence or is USPCC the common denominator?

My favorite brand is Bee. However, I do prefer a white border. I guess one can't have his cake and eat it.

I've had cards warp when the air is too dry as opposed to humid with notably bad warping while on planes.

I really haven't had the problem that often. When I did I just would riffle shuffle face up & face down several times. Spring the cards face up and down as well as placing the cards back in the box with every other card facing the oposite way.
(Face up/ face down for a day) It's worth a try instead of throwing them away.

Gosh, I thought I was the only one having this problem. I'm in NYC and I notice when the weather is cold, my decks start to buckle like what you guys describe. It's so annoying. I was wondering, will card clips help with this problem?



Roberto

I am constantly having this problem

Im in Oregon and my bikes are warped straight out of the brick. It's ok for certain effects involving double lifts but I bought this brick to make invisible decks and are pretty much useless. Kind of disappointed.

Sometimes it's related to a change in humidity, the cards can sometimes 'adjust' after a while on their own.

I bought some cards that came from Las Vegas recently (I'm in northern Cali), the first couple of packs I opened the top and bottom card started to warp really strongly and the cards did have the click.

After sitting for a couple weeks, I opened another pack and it's much less noticeable. Cellophane is somewhat permeable to moisture, so with some time, the humidity can equalize.