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    • Home  / Card Craft
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    July 17, 2022 2 min read 8 Comments

    So how did I get into the world of playing cards? Well, it all started with magic and not playing cards per se. In fact, because playing cards were so common in magic, I focused on coin magic for a very long time. My first magic book was Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. That book was my companion for many years as I learned everything in the book from cover to cover. 

    It wasn't until about the year 2000 I started getting more into card magic and exploring what was out there. In a future post, I'll talk about the influence of Sleight Club and the amazing magicians who are part of that group, but my obsession with playing cards started with early decks from The Blue Crown and Dan & Dave. Below are a few pictures of decks from those early days.

    Fulton's Casino - Produced by Dan & Dave 2012

    The Vaudeville Deck (Act I) - Produced by The Blue Crown

    Magic Con - 2012 - Produced by Dan and Dave

    My obsession with card magic took precedent for a number of years with collecting being a passive hobby. Then in 2018 I decided to design a deck of playing cards for the Carolina Close-Up Magic Convention (TRICS) for the 10th Anniversary. You can find out more about the convention at www.tricsconvention.com. 

    TRICS 2018 - Designed by Chris Hage - Printed by The United States Playing Card Company

    That early process of creating a deck for the magic convention was the catalyst to create more decks and share the many cards in my personal collection. Eventually, the early TRICS deck evolved to be Wonder Playing Cards which is in its third printing. We're nearing the fulfillment of our third Wonder Playing Cards Kickstarter project and are planning one more release of this design.

    To thank you for being part of this playing card journey, we're doing a giveaway! Here's how to enter.

    Comment on this post to let me know the first deck of playing cards you purchased, your favorite deck in your collection, or anything you'd like me to cover in a future article. It's that easy!

    I will select THREE lucky winners to receive a Magic Con 2012 deck, Original Signed TRICS deck, or an Original Signed LTD Black Tuck TRICS deck. You have until August 1, 2022 to comment. Free shipping for winners in the United States. 

    Until next time,

    Chris

     

    Update: 8.7.22 - Thanks for all the great responses to my question in this post. It's always interesting to hear how folks got started collecting. I'm feeling generous today, so five of you who replied to the post will get a free signed deck and one of you will get the Magic Con 2012 deck. Be on the lookout for a shipping notification with tracking information in the next day or so! 

    8 Responses

    Tom knox
    Tom knox

    October 29, 2022

    Package received! Much appreciated. Thank you!

    Jens
    Jens

    July 23, 2022

    I’ve been collecting everything to do with the Universal Monsters for a long time. That’s how I found the Bicycle classic Monster decks. From that point on it went very quickly to have a nice collection of decks. I don’t really have a favorite deck, but the LEGENDARY DRACULA trilogy is ahead.

    i also really like the beautiful design of the wonder decks, that’s why i have the complete line here too, and i’m looking forward to hopefully getting the royal and ukraine edition soon.

    Mike
    Mike

    July 23, 2022

    The first deck I bought was the black tuck variant of The Parlour Deck by The Gentleman Wake and Stockholm 17. I always loved cards, playing games, dealing if I was out, shuffling, I just always loved them. When I saw videos online about collecting I was hooked on the art.

    Paul
    Paul

    July 19, 2022

    The first deck I remember buying was a Deland Automatic Deck and I still think it is one of the best decks around. I fooled everyone I used them on (though my parents might have just been humoring me but I hope not). I still have several of them around and still use the Stebbins setup in other decks.

    Richard
    Richard

    July 18, 2022

    It started this year around early March when I was watching a bunch of Chris Ramsay videos. I was influenced by his top 5 playing cards videos and kept rewatching his knowledge and his take on playing cards was very educational. So much so that his V3 deck started an impulse to buy custom playing cards.

    It wasn’t easy to find the V3 by Chris Ramsay but I did get a hold of them on eBay. From there it grew to have 3-4 custom playing cards to now 200 + from various artists. It had only been 4 months since then but this new hobby. This addiction is fun and awesome to be part of the playing card Community.

    It’s not only just to play games but also to collect, cardistry, and an investment. Who knew a deck of cards can be this much fun beyond playing them.

    David
    David

    July 17, 2022

    I started similarly with magic when I was very young and eventually ended up in my HS Magic club. While I had been around cards most of my life it was not until I got a free deck of legacy tigers from E with a magic order that I was exposed to something so different that it made me take a look at what else was around. I think the first custom deck I purchased with the intent of collection over use was probably tragic royalty. The Blacklight feature ticked the nostalgia box, the changing faces just kicked it over the top so I had to do it. From there it got bad quickly and I am now about 6 years in, 500+ unique and closing in on 1K total.

    William Domanski
    William Domanski

    July 17, 2022

    I’ve bought the wonders blue, first edition, and keep to collect and follow them :)

    I love the design , and i was touched by the Ukraine series..

    Feel free to let us know about your future projects, inspiration, and new designs

    Tom knox
    Tom knox

    July 17, 2022

    Interestingly about a year and a half ago I decided to rekindle my interest in magic. Somehow I wound up reading an article about collecting decks of playing cards. I did a little research and was absolutely floored by the amount of various decks being produced all the time. After narrowing in on several card designers deck suppliers I became hooked on hobby. The first company I did business with was theory 11. I recall the Contraband deck being one of my favorites early on. Since then I have spent way too much money on this very addictive hobby. Recently I’ve enjoyed researching the history of playing cards in this country. Very much looking forward to your blog. Keep up the good work

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