I like Bee Club Special cards.
I like Hoyle and Bicycle.
Among my group of friends- definitely Bicycle.
I like Kem. They seem to be indestructible. The set I have (two decks) is the same set my parents used when they were still married (very early 70’s) and played bridge. Hell, the cards may be older than I am, but I don’t remember if my mom said she got them prior to 1970 or not, but either way they are over 30 years old and look new still.
Kem cards, hands down. Take a licking and keep on… uh… dealing. Or something.
Anyways, my only Kem complaint is that brand new Kem cards are almost too slick - I prefer a little friction between my cards. A little bit of handling breaks them in pretty quick.
Other than that, I prefer whatever the local casino is selling cheaply. You can get some good quality cards for $.25 a deck that way.
(As a kid, I loved cards and in those pre-casino, pre-money days, I had to make do with either the adult cast-offs or the cheap-o drugstore paper ones that stuck together like glue. One Christmas, I asked for ‘Good Cards’ and my aunt took pity on my and bought me two Bicycle decks. I was in heaven and didn’t play with anything else over Christmas.)
I typically like Bicycle “Rider Backs”. They are relatively cheap, but very well made. I’ve used “Tally-Ho” brand before. Most magicians I know swear by them, but I don’t see the difference between them and the Rider backs. IMHO, Hoyle brand is fine for playing cards, but for doing any kind of card magic, they suck big time.
Ah…a subject dear to my heart. Ever since I started collecting playing cards, I’ve liked the ones put out by Ferdinand Piatnik und Sohne, especially the historical decks. Kem cards are nice too, though a little pricey. The nicest deck I have is one manufactured by the UK games company Waddingtons (by appointment to Her Royal Majesty, of course).
Where can Kem cards be purchased? My mother is a fanatical bridge player, and the whole family likes pinochle and poker. They’re always complaining about the cards wearing out, and the difficulty in finding pinochle cards for sale.
StG
I have to put in another vote for Kem cards. My grandmother has had the same set for over fourty years. I remember the first time I played gin with them. I couldn’t get over how nice they felt in my hands. A few years later, she got me a double deck for Christmas and I still can’t get over how nice they feel.
StGermain, Kem cards can be purchased online at www.kem-cards.com. You can also buy replacement cards there. They’re a bit more expensive than regular playing cards, but, as near as I can tell, they last forever.
-Mosquito
As a magician, Bicycle Rider Backs are my standard. I couldn’t tell you how many decks of them I own. I like Bee cards a bit better for card manipulations and for just playing cards, but they have properties that make them less than ideal for a lot of card magic (which I won’t go into).
Kem cards are the standard in just about every poker room I’ve been in, because they can’t be marked and they last forever. If I had a regular poker game, I’d probably invest in a couple of decks.