Prestige Pro Plastic Playing Cards
These are the "eBay special" cards that I picked up. Right now (and this will pass) there is a Buy It Now eBay option that will let you pick up a dozen decks of Prestige Pros for $3 a deck including shipping. That's paper card pricing.
The cards I bought came in a professional storage box much like the Dal Negros. The lid slides on and off the box easily, and the silkscreening makes for a pretty presentation.
Prestige Pro New In Box
The cards themselves were nearly bridge-sized. They were just as wide as bridge cards, but slightly shorter than most playing cards. I measured a set of 52 cards at .6331 which makes them roughly as thick as Copags and Kems. Although they were the same thickness, they were much stiffer.
Black Nine - Suicide King - One-eyed Jack - Red Back
Despite being stiff, the cards had the flexibility that you expect to find in plastic cards. They required more effort to bend, and snapped back into place with more gusto, but they withstood the same kind of awkward handling that leaves its mark on paper cards.
The stiffness did, however, make them shuffle more violently.
The cards were not exceptionally slick. A standing deck would not simply slide off of itself. If these cards were exceptionally slick, the stiffness would make shuffling them quite the experience. Thankfully, the cards did not seem to wish to fly all over the place. They slid well enough.
These cards may suit the tastes of players who are drawn to nice stiff cards that have a lot of "snap" to them.
I haven't seen these cards at retail websites, and they really were a bargain purchase for me. Taking that into account, they would certainly fulfill the same needs that a deck of Royals would. And they'd do it for the same price, if not cheaper.
Because they are bridge-sized cards, they are not suited to my regular playing environment. I'm not sure how they would stand up to regular tournament use. But, considering how much more effort it takes to bend the cards, I would almost be surprized to see these cards live as long as most other plastic cards. I would expect to see corners snapping off of these cards well ahead of schedule.
That said, they don't have the same weaknesses as paper cards, and for the same price as a deck of paper cards, they do offer a viable alternative.
I'll be taking these cards and putting them on the shelf next to the Royals. They will make good cards for picnics and camping trips where dirt and moisture can damage paper cards. I wouldn't consider them premium playing cards, and I won't be pulling them out for any Holdem games as long as my Kems, Copags or Dal Negros are in working order.
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