Dal Negro Playing Cards
The Dal Negro family took over an Austrian company in 1928. The company they took over began operations in 1756. The modern Dal Negro makes playing cards and game sets. The playing cards include poker and bridge setups, cards for traditional Italian games, and Tarot cards. The games sets made by the company include Backgammon, Chess and Roulette. They are also a licensee of Walt Disney.
The company website is Dal Negro.com
I picked up a deck of their plastic "Freedom" series cards with Jumbo Index faces and red or blue backs. The cards were poker size (2 1/2" x 3 1/2"). If you have a deck in your hand, and look closely at the card backs, you can see that the design includes the Statue of Liberty.
The cards come in decks of 55, which includes 2 jokers and a company crest card.
The item description on the website I ordered the cards from stated that the red would be a security ink red. I didn't find that to be the case. I have decks with security red ink, and it's difficult to distinguish the red from the black cards at times. With the decks I received, it was easy to tell the difference.
To the website's credit, they did have product pictures. And sure enough, in the product pictures the red was the security ink. I'm happy with the regular red ink on my cards.
Dal Negro Freedoms New In Box
I like the cardbox. The lid is easy to remove, and the box itself is an artistic use of cardboard and silkscreening.
The cards I ordered were Jumbo Index because we play Holdem. Since most of the cards in a Holdem hand are placed face up in the middle of the table, the larger print makes it easier for everyone to see what's on the board.
Jumbo Index - Ace and Face Card - Red and Blue Backs
The cards were billed as having a "unique texture" to them. And, I agree. If you hold them in your hand they feel very much like a high quality paper card. I think a deck of Dal Negros would be ideal for card games like gin, rummy or even draw poker where players hold their hands.
Oddly however, the cards are the most slippery I've come across when it comes to shuffling. These cards were so slick out of the box that I watched a deck just slide off of itself. It changed from a pile of 52 cards to a thin layer of cards all over the table, as if the table were on a lean like the Tower of Pizza.
They slid across our plastic tables as if the word friction was never coined. Players constantly caught their cards, or they would keep travelling like the stone in a curling match. Of course, I haven't tried the cards on a felt, so there is a chance that what is overkill in one situation is perfect for another.
I measured a deck of 52 cards at .6550 inches. That makes them slightly thicker than Copags and KEMs, but I don't believe it's noticable. They are certainly less flexible than the other two brands, but they are so much more flexible than paper cards that I hesitate to make anyone think they are not a step above them.
Overall, I do not think the backs are as beatutiful as KEM Arrows or the Copag 1546's. I do think the face sides have a certain artistic character. The jokers certainly are unique, and the compay does have a long history of artisanry.
There is a distinct feel to the cards. I can easily see some people becoming fans of this make of cards because it's unique and may suit some people's tastes perfectly. For me, the slickness of the cards is a problem in my current playing environment. I'll be placing the Dal Negros on the shelf behind the Copags and bringing them down for "hands-on" games, but reaching for KEMs or Copags on Holdem nights.
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