New hobbies: Poker Card Collection

Hey there guys, Endblade here.

Some updates on my current hobbies, I've transitioned from playing card games like Yu-Gi-Oh, Cardfight Vanguard and Duel Masters years back to something fresh and new: collecting cards. I used to buy booster packs or singles to complete decks and play with friends, but having grown older, you realize that the amount of people in your age group playing trading card games dwindle quite a fair bit and it can be difficult to find people to play one a regular basis.

Plus, decks do cost quite a bit to create, and constant releases make older decks phase out of the 'meta' and make them obsolete due to power creep. Meaning the vicious cycle repeats itself all over again: you buy new cards to update you deck or replace it entirely in order to keep up with the changing environment. Costly and ineffective unless you own a card shop and have access to cheap singles. Another issue I have with such TCGs is the fact that most older cards (with the exception of flagship characters or games like MTG or Pokemon) usually fall in value quite a bit to about less than 50% of the original price, such that it is actually not financially sustainable in the long run.

What I found attractive about card games was always the art and the design of the artists, which I greatly appreciate the time they put into illustrating the cards.

So to find a hobby which is related to cards, focused on the art and somewhat financially sustainable (no requirement to buy every months to 'keep up' and having at least a slight chance of price appreciation over the years) was not something that came automatically.

However, while browsing YouTube about a year back, I chanced upon a video about Texas Hold'em Poker. After watching it, I was taken by how strategic some of the decisions are made during the various stages of a hand (pre-flop, post-flop, turn and river) and the cards used - I now know were Jumbo Index in the game that I watched, intrigued me.

You see, where I'm from, poker cards usually were normal index (which meant that the lettering was small and the pips (the diamonds, hearts, spades, clubs) were regular-sized. Below is a picture for reference:

Left: Jumbo Index / Right: Regular or Standard Index

I told myself: I need to get the Jumbo Index cards. Another thing I found out while researching back then was that some of the brands printed their cards on plastic stock! Amazing, isn't it. You can play your drinking games (not condoning drinking, don't drink if you're underage and even so, drink responsibly!) and not be afraid that your cards might get soaked due to an accident.

My very first deck. Picture not by me

Above is a picture of a plastic deck, similar to the one which I got a year back. Really sturdy, waterproof and easy to shuffle! Might feel a little weird if you haven't shuffled plastic cards before, but it is totally different from the usual paper stock poker decks.

Here the sad part: I went to the store which supposedly sold the Jumbo Index cards, but sadly they ran out of stock. But I did manage to get the plastic ones, and the intricate back of the playing cards really got to me. They looked so different from the usual depressing patterns of your dollar-poker card decks. 

Thus began my love for poker card collecting. I don't actually open most of the decks that I buy or get, but those that I do open and review, I share the unfiltered experience with you guys. You can check out my Youtube here (shameless plug), leave a comment there if you came from my blog here!

That said, moving forward on this blog, I might be posting new content related to some of the reviews that I do on Youtube for poker cards in the near future. Do look out for them! 

Until Next Time,

Endblade