Most people are familiar with paper cards for poker, bridge, and other face card games. We don’t blame them. Most of the time this is the cards we see for various card games. Paper cards have been around since the 1300’s. Card manufacturers didn’t start adding plastic coatings to the cards until the 20th century. This dramatically increased the durability and longevity of the cards. 100% PVC cards take this longevity and durability even further with plenty of other added benefits.
The Big Difference
Paper playing cards traditionally are made from a card stock or thin cardboard and then a coating or finish is added to the card. Even with a finish on them, cards experience a lot of friction against one another. During shuffling and moderate use in card games, the cards can begin to warp, fade, get caught on one another and you end up with cards that become identifiable by their bent or separated corners, creases and scratches through the center of the card and even tears. This often leads to card game enthusiasts to switch to plastic playing cards.
Unlike their paper rivals, 100% PVC playing cards have many advantages. Because they are plastic, wear and tear on the cards is significantly reduced. When using paper cards there are numerous ways to mark a card if you are playing with people who like to make the cards more readable in their favor from across the table. With plastic cards there is a much lower chance of this happening. Plastic cards do not bend or crease easily. A poor shuffle doesn’t end in cards rubbing up against each other in the wrong way causing the layer of cardstock or cardboard to become exposed because it is all a single layer of material. Snacks at the card table become less of an issue because the cards don’t absorb oils.
What about Shuffling
If you have never used plastic playing cards, shuffling might be a little bit of a different experience for you. Depending on the quality of paper card you are used to, shuffling can be very difficult or downright impossible with a full deck and you have to split the deck in order to get a quality bridge. This is caused by cards having different weights so they are more stiff, or different coatings that don’t slide as smoothly against one another. With plastic playing cards you do not run into these same issues. Plastic playing cards are very flexible even in a large stack, so even a novice shuffler finds them to be easier to handle after just a couple tries. When you are shuffling with them for the first time they may feel a little more slick than you are used to with paper cards. The more you use them the more you will wonder why you hadn’t made the switch before. 100% PVC cards shuffle very smoothly with very little friction.
Flexible Without Becoming Creased
We have all run into someone that we play cards with who can’t help but bend their cards. Whether that is because they hold them too tight and curve them, brush their hands over the top, or just seem to not be aware that they are bending them, the bending just seems to happen and then you need a new deck of cards. As card enthusiasts this is one of the biggest pet peeves that we run into when playing cards with other people.
When a bend appears in a deck of paper cards it is permanent and becomes more prominent as you continue playing with the card. PVC cards are long lasting playing cards because they are difficult to bend. The cards themselves are very flexible but creases are easily prevented compared to paper playing cards. This can prevent cheating by tagging the corner of the ace of spades and prevents your deck of cards from becoming compromised for a longer period of time.
Plastic Cards can be Washed
One of the beauties of plastic playing cards is that they are also waterproof playing cards. With plastic playing cards you can encourage snacks at the card table. You don’t have to worry about the playing cards getting ruined because of greasy fingers, if they are dropped, or a drink spills onto the deck.
Try Our Copag Card
Copag has 100% plastic playing cards. With our cards, you are not only able to reap the benefits stated above, but also choose from a variety of colors. Shop our cards today!