Alright, I'm lazy to list out what decks I've tried, so I'll just summarize them and mention the good decks.

I can say almost ALL plastic coated decks are fannable. but they can't be bend.

CERTAIN non-plastic coated cards are pressure-fannable. It depends really, I can't say which brand, because it depends on your pressure fanning skill, and how you handle the cards. Why I say "how you handle the cards" ? Because... if your decks is dirty and dusty, they can act like fanning powder. Yeap, I'm serious!

If they're quite dirty/dusty, you can actually pressure-fan them. If they're left untouch or drops often/exposed to the environment for a long time, they're almost "powderish" (which I believe is, dust) and they are... thumb fannable.

If the decks are pressure-fannable, they can be ribbon spread nicely. Else, it'll turn out in blocks of cards.

And now, the GOOD DECKS (none of them are plastic coated)

RUMMY KING 001 (NOT Rummy Queen 002)
-thumb fannable after sometime of usage (i'm not sure if you call that breaking in the cards)
-handles quite good
-quite rare nowadays

Genting 101 Playing Cards
-note there is TWO editions.
-the earlier edition are really sticky, they stick like a block of cards, can't even be pressure-fanned.
-BUT the NEW editions, really smooth. THUMB-FANNABLE RIGHT of the BOX!
-not sure how it'll turn out after being used.

128 Fantes
-now this is my favourite. thin, soft, non-plastic coated, and most importantly, THUMB-FANNABLE RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX! though at times they can't be thumb-fannable, depending on how you handle the cards. But the cards are not really durable, as they get those "wrinkles" after spring the cards too many times.
-pressure-fannable and ribbon spread perfectly no matter how and when you use it.
-aladdin 1001 design rip, and the Ace of Spades, is a mentol (it is oil lamp for the aladdin)

Fantes SAGA
-now this is something cool. sells at RM3, and I think it's the rarest.
-it says "Cambric Finish" on the box, and as always, I don't believe it. Though from the quality of 128 Fantes, I wouldn't be surprised for the better quality. Before I open it, it weighs pretty heavy. And actually it's the same weight as a Bicycle deck!
-I opened it, and.. OMG! It has those surface/finish like Bicycle cards! Really smooth, and thumb-fannable right out of the box.
-the only drawback is it's borderless cards. Meh..

Though it has that "finish" on it, I'm not sure how it'll turned out after being used over time. Because during the CNY, I saw this blue Tiger beer deck, and it has those finish on them too. I wasn't sure if they're the same (i think it was like punches of dots instead of gridlines like those bicycles), but IT'S NOT FANNABLE, PRESSURE NOR THUMB. they stick real bad although it has those surface. it was really soft and durable though. But for that Fantes SAGA, it has those gridlines surface like bicycle. Haha.

So there you have it. Of course I'll prefer Bicycle decks, but if you need cheap decks to perform, or can't afford to "sacrifice" bicycle decks for practice...

Those 4 decks I've mentioned is you best bets.

Hey did u forget about jaws deck??? :P

Ermm..how much are those decks especially the genting 101(new edition) and fantes Saga.

Where can i get them since i can only find jaws decks in Muar here.What about the price??

Thanks...

Jaws. Nah, they're plastic coated. (And there is a lot different versions of them!)

If you want plastic coated, I suggest Royal 828. Good for fanning. =D But please note, they are not fannable right out of the box. You got to do some shufflings and keep thumbfanning... eventually they'll fan smoothly.

Oh, I've forgotten about the so-called best local deck, the Carlsberg 2007 CNY deck. They are really smooth and thumb-fannable, ribbon spread extremely nice... but in my opinion, they don't feel good. Not suitable for magic. Furthermore it's one way and borderless... It does start clumping (a little) when you use it over time..

The Genting 101, the price on the box is RM2.80, but the shop sells it for RM2.50. And please note on this deck, there is no significant difference on the box design or price or whatever. I was surprised when I bought one, because I ran out of decks to practice, and when I took it out it fans like butter. And in my head I recall it was extremely sticky... so I experiment, try choosing an old deck from the shop (from the faded colours and dusty feeling) and bought it. Yep the old ones are sticky like hell. Till now I still can't differentiate between the new ones and the old ones... and I don't know I am just lucky to have one super smooth deck, or all the new ones are smooth. Haha.

The Fantes SAGA is RM3, honestly I don't know where to get it. I got it from a grocery store in here, Kajang. The shoplady didn't even put the decks there. I was being informed about that deck when I was buying Fantes 128 in bulk and she told me got better deck, which is the Fantes SAGA and she took them out from... I don't know where. Haha...

Maybe I'll get some pictures on the decks soon. =)

The pictures!

The four good quality decks (RUMMY KING 001 Not included in pic, but it's comparable to 128 Fantes)




Fantes SAGA surface/finish



Ribbon spread



The old Genting 101 vs The new Genting 101 (incase you're wondering, both are right out of the box)



p/s the transparent pad... was bought from Ikea, measures 24x18 inches if i'm not mistaken, and i'm not sure if it can be used as close-up pad. Not very suitable in my opinion.

Btw,i really hate the feeling of jaws decks......uncomfortable to use.

Now i am really interested in getting those decks....Rm3 for a deck thats cheap!!

Just the problem is where can i get them????

Btw...are those decks air cushion decks??

Haha. Well I don't know where else can get them... I've hunted a lot of shops to test out various local decks and found these decks.

About air-cushion or not, that I really have no idea. It says on the box "cambric finish", that's all.

which local deck has cabric finish? gonna try it out...

Fantes SAGA, as mentioned above (you may look at the pictures as well). I'm not sure if it's really cambric finish though.

Hey Ken, first of all great post!

Yeah, I used to play with Local decks last time, especially with JAWS. They are slightly smaller but plastic coated. Not too bad I guess... but like u said.. they crack up and small bits fall off the card.

Looking at ya pics... I like the one similar to Aladdin 1001, Fantes Saga. I like decks with white boarders.

Anyway cool post dude.

I'd like to get a few next time I go back to Msia. B)

Thanks.

Erm, I think you've mistaken... the one similar to Aladdin 1001 and with white border is 128 Fantes.

The Fantes SAGA is the red, borderless deck.

oh ok... 128 Fantes then.

One should do a flourish vid and promote these decks then. haha... then sell on Ebay to make some profits... ROFL... ;)

But yeah... all in all USPC decks.... Tallys (esp circle backs) are still my favs

Alright, I just got myself a real 1001 Aladdin (I think it is the non-air cushioned) deck, and I would say the 128 Fantes really tried their best to match the real Aladdin deck (Oil lamp AoS become mentol AoS, the joker is also same, rabbit, easter egg)...

So I think I can say 128 Fantes is the lower (but still good) quality clone of 1001 Aladdin deck. ^_^

And Fantes SAGA... BEE's lower quality clone? Perhaps. Haha..

UPDATE~!

Found 2 more decks, both have the "grid pattern thingy"... but not smooth, not fannable, can't ribbon spread. I've mentioned a blue Tiger beer deck that has the same "grid pattern" but is not smooth. These two decks I've just found are the same. Both I've gotten for RM1.80 and it seems like they're pretty old stocks. Only left few decks, and are quite dusty.

Natural 9 (Bee rip-off) and untitled Playing Cards, by Syarikat Duasama. (Aladdin rip-off, although the back design is totally different. And this is kinda same with 128 Fantes, from the Ace of Spade; mentol, and 4 extra cards; 3 easter joker and 1 gurantee card)

Anyway... here are the pictures..

Box, back and face:



"Grid pattern surface":


Bee rip-off (is it just me, or that flower-like thingy looks like a crab?) :unsure:


Adinda Ace~ & The D.S Playing Card Co. (Syarikat Duasama) :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info Ken.
Im currently using rummy king 001 too. This is what I think about Rummy king 001 after using it:

Pros.
-very cheap..rm1.80 here in Malacca..
-Thinner than bike.(pro or con..you decide)
-The back design is quite nice. Thin border.
-can do very nice fans, under pressure and lepaul spread.
-I've been using it to make gaff cards and gimmick decks.(cuz i don't want to split my bike cards....pain in the heart...) :lol:

Cons.
-It's kinda oily. I can stil feel abit of the oil on my hands after I use it.
-can't perform cuts very well.too slippery
-problems with DL....

overall, I think its a good deck. I enjoy using it :D

Totally agree with the pros.

Regarding the cons.. The oily feeling.. same goes with some other decks. But I guess that's due to your hand.. sweat+some other chemical thingy.. haha.

Can't perform cuts very well and problems with DL, IMHO, it has nothing to do with the deck, rather, one's skills. ;)

What i mean by cuts is card flourish. Yes I agree that the man makes the flourish great, not the cards, but I don't agree flourish cuts have nothing to do with the deck. The quality of cards sure will affect your performance when you flourish. If any deck of cards is good for flourish, flourishers won't be crazy for Jerry's Nuggets. ( I don't like JN's back design, but its the best card for flourish) ^_^

Its just that I don't feel nice doing cuts with RK001 compare to USPCC cards.
Maybe its just me but its a bit too slippery for me. :D

Wil, u dont like JN back design? wat? They loook awesome to me man... haha. I love cards with solid backs.

Ok, abt wat u guys were discussing.... here's my opinion:

Skill > quality of cards (definitely)

But...

Skill + good quality cards = Easier and Nicer looking performance, giving a soft gentle touch.

Skill + lousy quality cards = Harder and need to make lots of adjustment to get used to the lousy cards, U cant perform ya best with it. Thus, performance not spectacular.

On the other hand...

No skill + good quality cards = Lousy, messy, keep dropping cards, heart pain when drop cards...

No skill + lousy quality cards = hmmm... may be easier to control in terms of cuts but there's only limited amt of things one can do it it.

So yeah... I suggest getting the best quality decks if u are seasoned and love to flourish person. U feel so much better flourishing with a good quality deck.

As for Magic wise....
Different quality cards does affect the easeness of card sleights.
Bad quality decks dont slide, thus affects gliding, certain counts etc etc. Hard to pinky or thumb count and do multiple counts.

But again, it is a bonus if u can get used to a few local cards so that if any tom,dick and harry passes u a deck (it surely wont be USPC normally), u have no problems with it coz u have practiced with it... :)

Hehe...about the JN, maybe I never see them in reallity and touch them physicaly so i currently think the back design doesn look nice. I only see them thru DnD dvds and youtube. I cant afford to get one. I would love to get one in the future. I might change my point of view if i lay my hands on it. :D

Haha.. yea.

JN back design, a bit ugly IMO. <_<

Wynn FTW~ :P

Quality wise... sigh. lol.. Haven't got the chance to own any yet. -_-

Okay... no wonder that Duasama really sounds familiar. I've just found out what other decks that company made.

It's the same company that makes 128 Fantes, and I suppose it's the same for the Fantes SAGA

And some note I think I should mention.

Red 128 Fantes fan and spread better than blue. I'm not sure when, but blue deck can't really be fanned right out of the box.. like the Wynns... red/blue feels different.

what was the deck that our lecturer used on last year MMF convention ?
I remembered before I get bikes, i I always used them.. the cards have a thin plastic layer covering the paper and it feel nice and fan well.. :unsure:

i guess that deck is jaws deck

it's not Jaw for sure..

oh my bad ..my bad ha.. but is a red deck right.. then diamond shape at back 1?

Hey guys, just wanted to ask, the jaws quality deck can be a substitution for the bicycle deck??because bicycle deck is expensive and hard to find.. but i think jaws deck can buy from petrol station like Bhp or Shell right?? :lol:

Actually.. Fantes 128 will get sticky after a while, no joke. Mines now sticky like the first edition of Genting 101. It used to be real smooth.

So it's like, can't fan.. but easier to do flourishes.

And.. Jaws are simply terrible. They're much too soft, and when I opened my first one ( I bought 3 for the fun of it ), there were black spread markings on some of the cards.. so the Jaws I just use for torn & restored effects, and other card crushing effects that would otherwise be a pain in the heart if Bikes were used.

how about trojan deck?? it cost about 1.80 ringgit... Its much cheaper than Jaws deck.. but no idea whether it is ideal for doing card magic anot..

guys, as long as u know that u are confident in your own skills, any you use will be fine, maybe if the deck cant be fanned, then dont fan it, stuff like that

go get some alladin cards....best value for $$$

guys,

where u all buy the fantes saga deck? any idea where to get it in klang?

i want to get it for training use... and add to my deck collection