What are the best cards to use for your home game?
It depends.
What cards to use can vary greatly based on what type of game you're hosting and the level of stakes you're playing.
Factors
The type of cards you pick depends on:
- What game you're playing
- The stakes
- How often you plan on hosting
- and whether players may have any visual impairments
Options
The above factors will determine:
- The card width
- The index type
- The material
- The suit colors
Card Width
The type of game you're playing is a huge factor in what size deck to use.
By default, you should use a Standard Width or Poker Width deck. This is the standard size you'd find online and even grocery stores, so if you don't go out of your way, this is what you'll probably get.
The only reason for getting something other than Standard Width is if you are playing any Trick-Based Games or other 13-card Games.
A standard playing card is \(2 \frac{1}{2}\) inches wide by \(3 \frac{1}{2}\) inches in height.
Trick-based games would include Bridge, Hearts, Spades, and Pinochle. Of course, if you play Pinochle, you're probably already well schooled with what cards to get, because you're probably already buying the 48-card Pinochle deck.
But for the other 52-card games listed above, you probably want to get a Narrow Width deck. This is also called a Bridge-Sized deck, for obvious reasons.
Narrow sized cards are also best for 13 card games like Chinese Poker and Big 2.
Narrow sized cards are usually 2 1/4" by 3 1/2".
The narrow width of the cards makes them a lot easier to hold, especially if you're trying to fan out 13 cards at a time (the starting deal for most trick-based games).
Index Size
And for these games, it's always best to use standard index instead of Jumbo index. When you use Jumbo index, it becomes nearly IMPOSSIBLE to fan out a 13-card hand.
Jumbo index cards have a larger font in the upper left and lower right corners of each card. This makes reading the card easier, especially from a distance.
Jumbo Index is best for poker, where players might need to see a player's cards or community cards from across a long table.
Suit Colors
And if you have older players who really have a hard time seeing the cards, you can even go for Lo-Vision cards, which eliminate pips altogether and only display the card rank in a super large font.
These cards also use suits in 4 different colors as well. The Spades are black, and the Hearts are red, but the Clubs are green and the Diamonds are blue.
J♠ A♥ J♣ A♦
Lovision cards are also the preferred choice for many online casinos that use live dealers instead of a digitized deck and Random Number Generated (RNG) shuffles.
Material
There are really only 2 options for materials used for poker cards: Plastic Coated, and 100% Plastic.
The 100% Plastic cards are more durable and can last for YEARS without much sign of wear and tear.
But this comes at a price. A normal deck of plastic coated cards can cost as little as $2 when bought in bulk, but a set of 100% plastic cards can be as much as $40 for a 2-deck set.
The 100% Plastic brands I've had the best experience with are Kems, Copag, and now Faded Spade.
Since these cards can cost you a pretty penny, it's best to buy them if you plan on hosting home games often and/or if you run a higher stakes game where the cost of the cards is somewhat negligable compared to the buy-in.
If you play often, the cards will pay for themselves pretty quickly. They're also good for upping the level of your game.
What Should You Get?
So if you want to know what deck is the best for you, just make sure you have everything you need using this handy table!
| Brand | Deck | Width | Index | Plastic? | Colors | Est. Cost | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Standard Poker (808) | - | - | - | 2 color | $2-5 per deck | Buy (12) |
|
|
Jumbo Index (88) | - | Jumbo | - | 2 color | $2-5 per deck | Buy (12) |
|
|
Bridge Sized Poker | Bridge | - | - | 2 color | $6-8 per deck | Buy |
|
|
Lovision | - | Lovision | - | ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ | $4-8 per deck | Buy |
|
Standard Poker | - | - | 100% | 2 color | $20 per set | Buy |
|
|
Jumbo Index Poker | - | Jumbo | 100% | 2 color | $20 per set | Buy |
|
|
Bridge Sized Poker | Bridge | - | 100% | 2 color | $20 per set | Buy |
|
Standard Poker | - | - | 100% | 2 color | $40-50 per set | Buy |
|
|
Jumbo Index | - | Jumbo | 100% | 2 color | $40-50 per set | Buy |
|
|
Bridge Size Poker | Bridge | - | 100% | 2 color | $40-50 per set | Buy |
Do you have decks that aren't on this list that you like to use? Let me know!
