I think that in the great majority of times, this does not have much to do with the back design of the cards.



Yup!



I don't agree that a different back design screams anything. Much more likely a suggestion to some people who are looking to find something to be suspicious about, anyway.



I haven't found this to be true at all...but I don't think the reverse is true, either.

All my own experience, of course.

The assumption that lay-people have a traditional style of "non-suspicious" deck design in mind when witnessing a card trick is ...STUPID!
Only those who perform magic for other magicians temper this illogical perception.

Be natural, don't wake sleeping dogs. A normal bicycle is the best choice IMO. Tally-Ho are quite good too. When I was a newbie I fell in love with this kind of deck, they're so beautiful but very suspicious. Keep it simple. See you!!!

Just my opinion, but I think a Blaine Split Spades deck could be pulled out of a regular bike card box under know suspicions from an ordihary spec. I have never heard anyons say "Hey...
how come your cards don't match your box. Reply : this is Bicycles new style cards.


Mike























Miker

Blaine's Split Spades deck are really good. The have a great quality. They aren't suspicious, but they are expensive, kkkkk.

Once again I haven't read all the posts so if I'm repeating what has already been said I apologize.

A magician by his very nature is special. So why wouldn't he use a special deck of cards? These cards would be of great importance to the magi and be used for more than just the standard "pick a card" trick. If one was to impart a divinational aspect to the cards then why shouldn't there design be of significant importance as well. Or perhaps the cards themselves were obtained from "Jack Scratch" himself explaining why they are black or red. But you seem to handle those paste boards in a mysterious manner? Well this is of course the "ritual" with which I do homage to the cards, so that they may afford me vision into the unknown. Strange things happen as "like seeks Like" as did the demons of yore and medicines of the past.

The point as with all magic is that it make sense. As P T Barnum said "give em a story and they'll pay you for anything". It doesn't take much to have them buy the story of how you came to own these strange ones. One of the things I have liked so much about Bob Cassidy's presentation of his Chronologe is his explanation of the cards significance as a calendar. How great when in fact using a pocket calendar as your deck. An invisibly pack appearing from nowhere might have well come from the pits of hell, if not some other place like a dream world, and if so would it not look different than one coming from our own dimension?

So worry not about your decks, just give good cause and they will fly by as a tool of you empowered imagination.

Cheers.

Whoa, some good reading here. I agree on the 'unusual-cool-looking-card' thing. It could somehow build a disbelief of the effect itself, and they will start to think it's a very special deck even it is not. It might be just a regular Tiger Deck or Arcane Deck.

I, myself never use any of the custom decks. Regular Bikes is more fun.