# Favorite Brand of Playing Cards Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447 "2004-03-31T01:48:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Star\_Was](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Star\_Was](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Was)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/1 "2004-03-31T01:48:51Z")
I like Bee Club Special cards. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/2 "2004-03-31T02:19:15Z")
I like Hoyle and Bicycle. ---
**Author:** ![Sketch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Sketch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sketch)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/3 "2004-03-31T04:28:41Z")
Among my group of friends- definitely Bicycle. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/4 "2004-03-31T15:04:58Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![unixrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3ec8ea/32.png) [@unixrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unixrat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/5 "2004-03-31T15:53:13Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/6 "2004-03-31T17:32:38Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/7 "2004-03-31T17:36:02Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/8 "2004-03-31T19:42:07Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/9 "2004-03-31T20:46:25Z")
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](http://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 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-brand-of-playing-cards-poll/237447/10 "2004-03-31T21:32:54Z")
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.