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The best practice decks and gear for cardistry
A beginner needs very little for cardistry: an ordinary deck, a spare and a soft place to sit. Everything else here is optional. If you have not started yet, read Cardistry for beginners first.
How we pick
We have not handled these products ourselves. The picks come from the makers' own information and from independent guides, reviews and forums, and each pick says where its drawbacks are. Several of the guides we read are written by shops that sell decks, so we looked for points that more than one source made. We show no prices, because they change. Amazon decides what is in stock and who sells each listing, so check the listing before you buy.
Practice decks
Buy one ordinary poker-size paper deck with a textured (air-cushion or similar) finish, and expect to wear it out. The beginner guides we read name a standard Bicycle deck first and Tally-Ho next. Avoid plastic decks, dollar-store decks and the narrower bridge size, and practice over a bed, sofa or carpet. Buy a spare once the first deck starts to clump or lose its spring.
Bicycle Rider Back
Best deck to learn on
Nearly every independent beginner guide we read names it first. It is easy to replace and has the textured surface that lets cards slide. It is an ordinary deck, not one made for cardistry.
Gives up: the Rider Back pattern is busy, so long fans and spreads look cluttered on camera. The listing sends red, blue or black at random.
Tally-Ho Fan Back
Best value once broken in
Independent guides name it as the usual second choice for cardistry. It has a linoid finish, and its fan-shaped back looks neat when fanned. One shop's guide says it handles the same as a Bicycle, because both are made by the same company.
Gives up: one forum tester found it a little stiffer than a Bicycle deck, and sources disagree on how long its soft paper lasts. The listing is a single red deck.
Tally-Ho Circle Back
Best if you like a round, symmetrical back
Two independent guides name the Circle Back directly as a beginner cardistry deck, because a soft paper and a symmetrical back suit the hobby.
Gives up: the same soft paper as the Fan Back, so it can feel stiff when new, and the listing sends a random color. Most of the praise for it comes from shop and hobby blogs.
Bicycle Rider Back, twelve-deck pack
Best if you already know you will keep practicing
A shop guide says cardists often buy decks by the dozen, and a hobby blog notes that Amazon sells Bicycle decks in twelve-packs. It saves you reordering as decks wear out.
Gives up: twelve decks is more than most beginners will wear out, with the same busy back, and half are red and half blue. Buy one deck first.
Decks to graduate to
Move on once your first deck is worn out and you know which moves you keep practicing. These decks cost more because of the back design, the thinner paper and small print runs, not because they let you do moves a Bicycle deck cannot. Many named editions are limited runs that sell out, and popular decks get copied, so check the listing and who is selling it. For the best-known deck made for cardistry, Virtuoso, see the best cards for cardistry.
Bicycle Neon Orange Bump Cardistry Deck
Best cheap deck made only for cardistry
A deck made only for cardistry by Bicycle itself, so it sits between a Rider Back and the pricier named decks. The maker and retailers say it has the usual Bicycle air-cushion finish, and that every face has the same design with no numbers or suits, so a fan or spread shows as one pattern.
Gives up: it is not a playable deck (the listing says so), so it cannot be used for games. The praise comes from the maker and retailers, not independent cardists, and we found no independent check of how well it is cut.
Practice mats
A mat is optional. Start over a bed, sofa or carpet so dropped cards do not get bent. A close-up pad, which has a fabric top and a non-slip rubber back, helps once you practice at a table, mainly for spreads that slide along the surface. Most of the advice comes from magicians, not cardists, and forum members disagree on whether practicing on a pad helps or turns into a crutch.
Murphy's Magic Standard Close-Up Pad (16 by 23 inches, black)
Best flat surface for spreads and table work
The best-documented close-up pad we found. Magic and cardistry shops stock it, one retailer describes a thick cushion, a fabric top and a non-slip rubber back, and a magicians' forum member calls it solid and thick with no slipping.
Gives up: it takes desk space and is only needed once you practice at a table. Other sizes and colors exist, so check the listing.
Cases and clips
A cheap practice deck does not need a case. Its own box is enough, and independent guides call clips optional. A card clip is a clip that holds a deck flat. It is for a deck you want to keep in good shape, or for pressing a warped one back flat, and a good one has a strong spring (very cheap soft-metal clips will not do the job). We have not confirmed a clip or case listing well enough to recommend one, so there is no link here.
Books and courses
Honest answer: we found no widely respected, in-print beginner's book on modern cardistry on Amazon. The best beginner teaching is free video, and our list of free tutorials starts there. The paid courses we found are sold elsewhere, not on Amazon.
Be careful with the word: a book that is simply titled “Cardistry” may be an older book of card tricks, which used the word in an older sense.
The Hinged Deck: Cardistry, by David Crofts
Best book for someone who has the basic cuts and wants a new family of moves
A short book about one family of moves, hinge cuts, with over 160 hand-drawn illustrations, according to the listing. The author's own site lists it among his cardistry books. It is the only recent in-print cardistry instruction book we could find from a named author.
Gives up: it is short (about 53 pages per the listing) and about one family of moves, drawn by hand rather than shown in photos or video. We found no independent reviews, and it is not a first book.