Enrico passed me a pair of these beauties. These are apparently traditionally cut decks that are supposed to handle the way 'real' cards should handle. Richard Turner is one of the world's foremost authorities with the pasteboards and it's probable that he is second to none when it came to handling a deck of cards. With all the hype on different decks out there in the market (thanks to Ellusionist) - most of which are (in my most humble opinion) trash that are only fit for juggling - it is good to see somebody who still has his head screwed on right.
My initial reaction when I heard that Richard Turner came up with his own deck (his 3rd version if I'm not wrong) was one you could expect - skeptical and mostly cynical. Do we really need another deck in the market? I mean: enough cashing in on the poor hobbyist already! Haven't 'professionals' done enough damage to the market?
I personally felt that the first turner deck was a disaster. It was a one way deck with a print of some old gunfighter (that was supposed to resemble him) using BEE casino stock. The deck handles just as well as any BEE deck but the backdesign really - for lack of a better word - SUCKED. I liked the white border, but that wasn't enough to offset the damage of the horrifying back design.
Then he came up with the Traditionally cut BEE decks. They were BEE. What else needs to be said? They were the best of the best and the cutting made them very easy to faro and shuffle. The linoid finish just turned a prestige deck into a luxury deck. I loved them, but I won't use them because they were all round back designs - not exactly a great choice unless you work exclusively with gambling demonstrations. And the average card player doesn't even know the existence of BEEs in Singapore - most of them have not even set foot into a Casino.
Now, Mr Turner has released the traditional cut on the Bicycles. It's probably the best thing that he has ever done for the magic community! Dubbed the GOLD SEAL BICYCLE CARDS, they are probably the best investment you can make if you're a card worker.
According to his website: "Unlike most of the cards manufactured today, the cutting blade used in traditionally cut cards starts at the face of each card and punches through to its back. As a result, a sharp edge is created on the backside of each card and a rounded edge, which facilitates a flawless weave during each shuffle, is formed on the card’s face. Traditionally cut cards ensure that card men and magicians can easily interlace the cards to produce crisp, clean shuffles, especially with some of the more intricate shuffling techniques like the one-handed shuffle, and the faro shuffle, both in-hand, and on the table."
I decided to put that to the test the moment I got my hands on one of these babies.
Every deck has a 'gold' seal and a sticker that reads "Traditionally cut for the Professional".
Each deck comes with two identical jokers (which is a really great plus - I hate to have to work with the 'guarantee' joker; a blank card for customised effects (perhaps?); and an advertising card for Richard Turner.
The deck is smooth as any linoid finish deck even though it says 'air cushion' finish. The cards are cut out of standard casino stock - just the right thickness for extended and optimum use. The quality of the cards are unparalled - they feel really slick; they are crisp to the snap; and they'd make anyone who handled this deck drool. False deals are wondrously smooth and easy - you can spoil yourself silly with this one. Seconds melt right through the top; bottoms slip right off with little resistance; even centres are a breeze - there is barely any noise as the card makes its way past the offending blocks that imprison it.
But the real tests - the shuffle tests - are the ones that Mr Turner claimed were what made these traditionally cut cards better.
Fresh out of the box, I tried the Tabled Riffle Faro.
Check it out. The cards literally collapsed into position - it was like putting a hot knife into butter - they melted into position with no resistance. Possibly the EASIEST tabled riffle faro I had ever performed. And this was at the FIRST attempt on a NEW deck!
I was damn BLOODY impressed!
Having seen the quality of the cards with a tabled riffle faro, I decided to try the one handed faro shuffle immediately after. The results were astounding.
The corners of the cards just slip right into one another with no resistance at all. The one handed faro shuffle you see here is performed immediately after the tabled riffle faro and is the SECOND shuffle I performed using a brand new GOLD SEAL deck.
There is no question about it - the traditionally cut cards are truly better suited for faro work and shuffle work. What about the rest of the shuffles that we so love? The pull throughs and the push throughs and the zarrows and the what nots? I went on to try a few blind shuffles and cuts, all of them handle exactly the way they should.
In conclusion, the Gold Seal Bicycle decks are a card worker's dream come true. I must thank Mr Turner for probably the single most valuable contribution EVER made to the card magic community. He has almost (if not totally) perfected the tool of our trade.
Once again, I want to thank all the performers for taking the plunge (I know I had to twist a few arms but hey – you guys were really sporting! It felt good right!?) and making this a truly memorable SMC gathering!
