Price$16.50
Media TypeDeck of Cards
CategoryGeneral, Close Up, Collectibles
Date AddedAug 01, 2015
No 17 Playing Cards
Stockholm17 Playing Cards
(Based on 1 review)
"No.17 Playing Cards" is a custom designed deck of playing cards (poker size), printed by United States Playing Card Company (USPCC), Bicycle® branded.
There is no specific theme in this deck, it's quite eclectic. The diamonds have clearly an Egyptian resemblance, but overall they belong to a parallel world. There is a thing that connects all the court cards: the text circling the background is a part of the Aeneid, a Latin epic poem written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.
•Poker size
•Printed on Bicycle paper
•12 illustrated courts
•4 decorated giant aces
•custom pips
•2 jester for jokers
•2 gaff cards
•custom designed tuck-case
•custom seal
The Bicycle® branded version has a cherry red back. The unbranded version has a back in beige/white with red accents.
All the court cards are illustrated, the aces are giant and decorated. The pips have a custom design and placement.
The Bicycle® branded box has the jester printed on the front. The unbranded version has the No.17 with the red feline (red foiling and embossing, no ink).
Reviews
(Top ▲)
PROS
This is a beautiful deck!
The Jokers are jesters. What is really great about it is one is red and the other is black. This makes the Jokers a perfect addition to an out of this world routine. It also makes the Jokers a good possibility for a version of Dr Daley's Last Trick.
The court cards are unique and very cool looking. The Aces have a super large pip in the middle, very ornate. The spot cards have unique very small pips.
The deck comes with two gimmicked cards. One, I think is tremendous as it could be used in a great transposition from, say a Queen of Diamonds to a Queen of Hearts.
CONS
The other “gimmicked card” is disappointing to me. It is a Jack-O card that looks somewhat like the Joker cards, but resembles a Jack-0-Lantern with a raven on his head. The disappointment is I think they could have included a more useful gimmick card, such as a double backer or a blank face card.
In fact, since I’m on a mini-rant, I would say that all custom decks should include a double backer, a blank face card, and perhaps an additional gimmick card, like a mis-pipped card of some sort.
There is no suicide King. The Kings all face sideways, the Queens all face forward, and the Jacks all face sideways.
I have been using this deck for a while now, and I see another thing I don't like. I do an invisible deck routine with a regular deck of cards and the backs don't stand out well enough from the fronts, particularly with the face cards.
VERDICT
While it is a beautiful deck, I think they fell short in thinking through how to make a deck that could be used for the most magic possible. If it is only for collectors, then why include any gimmicked cards, and if it is for magicians, then why not maximize the magic potential?
This is a beautiful deck!
The Jokers are jesters. What is really great about it is one is red and the other is black. This makes the Jokers a perfect addition to an out of this world routine. It also makes the Jokers a good possibility for a version of Dr Daley's Last Trick.
The court cards are unique and very cool looking. The Aces have a super large pip in the middle, very ornate. The spot cards have unique very small pips.
The deck comes with two gimmicked cards. One, I think is tremendous as it could be used in a great transposition from, say a Queen of Diamonds to a Queen of Hearts.
CONS
The other “gimmicked card” is disappointing to me. It is a Jack-O card that looks somewhat like the Joker cards, but resembles a Jack-0-Lantern with a raven on his head. The disappointment is I think they could have included a more useful gimmick card, such as a double backer or a blank face card.
In fact, since I’m on a mini-rant, I would say that all custom decks should include a double backer, a blank face card, and perhaps an additional gimmick card, like a mis-pipped card of some sort.
There is no suicide King. The Kings all face sideways, the Queens all face forward, and the Jacks all face sideways.
I have been using this deck for a while now, and I see another thing I don't like. I do an invisible deck routine with a regular deck of cards and the backs don't stand out well enough from the fronts, particularly with the face cards.
VERDICT
While it is a beautiful deck, I think they fell short in thinking through how to make a deck that could be used for the most magic possible. If it is only for collectors, then why include any gimmicked cards, and if it is for magicians, then why not maximize the magic potential?