New Cards -- But Are They New & Improved?

[JJBuffone]

Whoever made those cards should be shot. Seriously.

[robracing]

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perhaps there are better cards somewhere, waiting in the wings?



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According to Phil Gordon on the ESPN Poker podcast, Kem have donated 30k decks of these cards for the series, so no, they ain't gonna be changing them!

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1)They're Bicycle cards, not Kems.
2)If enough players complain, they might think about it.

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Actually, they are USPC KEM's!

From the Official WSOP Media Guide :

"WSOP participants will enjoy a new Official Tournament Playing card from The U.S. Playing Card Company. In another first for the WSOP, every day every table of every bracelet event will start with a new setup of cards made of USPC's KEM stock, widely considered the finest playing-card stock in the world."

[lgkeeper]

My dad was visiting Vegas and went to a store that said these things were the greatest card invented and that they were flying off the shelves. He, of course, grabbed a couple of packs to send to me back in NY.

Looks like I have 104 new coasters.

[52s]

I played the casino employee's event (and went busto) and they still used these cards for that event and it was a major pain.

Not only were the 6 and 9 confusing, but for some people ditto the Ace and 4, and on top of that spades from clubs and hearts from diamonds.

If a board came out uni-color nearly everyone in the hand leaned forward and squinted to differentiate suits. And forget it if the board came out all black or red.

[wisehandpoker]

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It's truly amazing this can happen at the World Series of Poker. Wow.

Harrah's is doing their best to ruin the reputation that the WSOP has built up over the decades.

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Wrong. US Card Company screwed up by trying to create a different kind of playing card in the hopes it would take off. The attempt failed, and WSOP managed to fix the problem six hours into the first event, when a new shipment arrived and was put in play. That's one hell of a reaction time.

They'll be getting the rest in the next day or two, which is why the employees were forced to use the bad batch.

[youtalkfunny]

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It's truly amazing this can happen at the World Series of Poker. Wow.

Harrah's is doing their best to ruin the reputation that the WSOP has built up over the decades.

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Wrong. US Card Company screwed up by trying to create a different kind of playing card in the hopes it would take off. The attempt failed, and WSOP managed to fix the problem six hours into the first event, when a new shipment arrived and was put in play. That's one hell of a reaction time.

They'll be getting the rest in the next day or two, which is why the employees were forced to use the bad batch.

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You're saying that USPC forced Harrahs to use these cards? And Harrahs did a remarkable job of minimizing damage caused by USPC's poor judgement???

[chicken10der]

Harrah's ordered those specific cards. It's not like they called up USPC and said "give us 30k decks of whatever" and then USPC decided to send them these terrible cards.

[*TT*]

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It's truly amazing this can happen at the World Series of Poker. Wow.

Harrah's is doing their best to ruin the reputation that the WSOP has built up over the decades.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong. US Card Company screwed up by trying to create a different kind of playing card in the hopes it would take off. The attempt failed, and WSOP managed to fix the problem six hours into the first event, when a new shipment arrived and was put in play. That's one hell of a reaction time.

They'll be getting the rest in the next day or two, which is why the employees were forced to use the bad batch.

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You're saying that USPC forced Harrahs to use these cards? And Harrahs did a remarkable job of minimizing damage caused by USPC's poor judgement???

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Not only is that the buzz from the people in the know on the floor, its also totally logical.

I would assume that the USPC's deal was a barter trade, the USPC's value in the barter would only be if they could launch their new poker peek design cards. I assume it was USPC's hope that if the poker peek design caught on it would encourage card rooms to replace their old setups with the new design. This is of course just an educated guess, but anyone who has experiance with sponsorship would probably agree that I'm likely very close to being correct at worst.

Its possible Harrah's might have seen this possible outcome in advance and knew the course of action to take if something went wrong. Either way we gotta give Harrah's credit for doing something right for the players, even if it embarrasses their sponsor.

[youtalkfunny]

TT, please explain this to me, because I don't understand.

Are you suggesting that "the buzz from the people in the know on the floor" is that Harrahs agreed to use these radically re-designed cards, but that they didn't see, know, or approve the new design beforehand? Are you saying that when the players saw these cards for the first time, that was the same instant that Harrahs saw them for the first time?

It seems like that's what you're saying. Harrahs was just an innocent bystander while USPC perpetrated this outrage. Harrahs had no idea that the cards were going to look like this.

Is that your meaning? Because that's how I'm taking what you wrote.

[afish]

Clearly USPC thought they were going to make a bundle on these things, and clearly the poker press is a bunch of shills. For example:

Bodog article

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What’s that you say? No room for improvement on the standard playing card? We beg to differ.

Bicycle, the world’s largest maker of playing cards, is launching the new Bicycle Pro "PokerPeek" playing card at the 2007 WSOP. The PokerPeek is designed to prevent people from having to lift the corner of their poker cards up too high when checking to see what they’ve been dealt. By installing the cards appropriate icon in each of the four corners players nedd only peel it up an inch or so to see what you’re holding.

"Poker continues to be America’s number one card game," said Rob Clendening, Bicycle Brand Manager. "Bicycle Pro with PokerPeek is the first significant face style change for playing cards in decades. The card itself also delivers technical superiority and the highest quality paper card suitable for professionals, now available to anyone who is serious about the game."

It sure will be fun to watch Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier trying to read those things. They’ll have to pull out those wallet-sized magnifying glasses that all the hip folks of their generation are using to read restaurant menus. You can witness the spectacle yourself by qualifying for the WSOP and winning one of Bodog’s $12,000 WSOP prize packages.

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Poker Pages article
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New Bicycle Pro 'PokerPeek' Playing Card Design Debuts at 2007 World Series of Poker
by PokerPages.com
Sun, May 20th, 2007 @ 12:00am

Bicycle, the leading playing card brand from the United States Playing Card Company (USPC), is planning to introduce its 'Bicycle Pro' cards at the 2007 World Series of Poker June 1, 2007 which will feature the innovative new 'PokerPeek' face design.

For USPC, who is an official supplier to the annual World Series of Poker, the release will be the biggest consumer product launch in the company's 120-year history. The new face style is the first significant poker card innovation since the 1960's introduction of jumbo face cards.

pipBicycle Pro are premium playing cards for serious competitive and social card players. The new Bicycle Pro cards with the 'PokerPeek' face design will be available for retail sale simultaneously with its introduction at WSOP.

The exclusive PokerPeek design features a smaller, diagonally positioned corner marking (pip) to discreetly view and identify the card (see photo) as well as a jumbo-like face positioned lower at the center of the card, making the cards easier to identify when revealed.

Developed with input from the world's top professional poker players, Bicycle created the PokerPeek face style as a solution to problems experienced in competition. Less experienced players were peeling up too much of the card edge, compromising security. Bicycle Pro provides more privacy for individual players, and better visibility for all players when the cards are face-up.

"Poker continues to be America's number one card game," said Rob Clendening, Bicycle Brand Manager. "Bicycle Pro with PokerPeek is the first significant face style change for playing cards in decades. The card itself also delivers technical superiority and the highest quality paper card suitable for professionals, now available to anyone who is serious about the game."

The premium Bicycle Pro playing card is made of a durable, custom blend of cotton and paper, and features ProCut edges, a barely visible beveled edge that gently grips fingers for better control during shuffling.

The card back design is a new variation on Bicycle's famous Rider Back, inspired by the custom cards specially developed for the 2007 World Series of Poker. Cards for retail sale will carry the same edge border as the WSOP cards, but swap out the WSOP logo and Jeffrey Pollack's signature in the center for the trademark cupid on a bike (see photo of the two cards).

Tournament cards used at the World Series of Poker will be the exclusive KEM brand with the PokerPeek face and a Bicycle branded card back design. KEM is a super-premium card printed on cellulose acetate, a blend of paper and plastic, used in 80 percent of casino poker rooms. It joined Bicycle in the U.S. Playing Card brand portfolio in late 2005.

For more information about these high quality cards, visit www.usplayingcard.com.

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