Best Deck for Double Deck Pinochle??

[KJL]

Hi guys
Just wondering what folks feel is the "best" Pinochle Deck
As a newbie (even with fairly big hands) I find 20 cards a bit to handle

I made, (what was for me) a mistake in buying and overpaying for
"Stingray Pinochle Cards" Which were not 100% Plastic and overpriced for coated paper with a "special" index font.

Their "specially designed Pinochle Index" turned out to be a Jumbo size index that actually requires a larger fan out because the side pips are wider so the 20 card fan out is 20n increments wider.

I thought I would want a plastic 2.25", Bridge width" Pinochle deck. Doesn't seem to be many of them? Then I noticed the decks with the
"Texas Holdem Peek Pips, 4 corner pips and even 4 suit color pips.

All seem usefull (I'm sure Not so to a purist) but I think they might help me hold my cards better and avoid making some dumb misread errors and focus more on learning the play logic.

In retrospect it seems plastic cards are best for durability, but a regular index is preferable to Jumbo or Wide indexs for holding. The jury is still out on 4 corner pips, and or Texas holdem Peek and even 4 color indexs.

I'm still not sure Poker or Bridge card widths effect the fan width as much as the width of the corner pips themself. And it may be easier to shuffle and deal Poker size cards?.

Bottom line I'm surprised there isn't a deck for sale that actually seems to be designed to address these "Double Deckers issues".

I know these issues might seem trivial to those who have become experts regardless of them, but I figured I'd ask for the benefit of your experiences anyway.

Thanks in advance for your input and opinions
KJL

[rakbeater]

I have always bought 2 standard pinochle decks, and then removed the 8s and 9s. Just make sure the two decks you buy have the same color and design on the back.

I have found they work the best. Then it just takes time to get used to holding them in your hands and arranging your hand so that you can see all the corners. That is just experience.

[ToreadorElder]

I think jumbo vs. regular index, is largely personal preference, and with experience, I agree with rak, you'll get to the point where you don't need to see much of the corner, and your error rate will drop.

I also don't think I'd pay a premium for, say, a 4-color deck...altho playing poker online, I use that format and it is useful. On a monitor, it costs nothing. Do some searching on the web; I found, reasonably quickly a 12-pack of Bicycle pinochle decks for $30, including shipping. (Brybelly cards are lower priced, but draw a fair rate of bad feedback due to lack of durability.) I rather doubt you'll find any semi-specialty deck style being common enough to create price competition.

[FLACKprb]

(07-17-2013, 03:54 PM)KJL Wrote:  Hi guys
Just wondering what folks feel is the "best" Pinochle Deck
As a newbie (even with fairly big hands) I find 20 cards a bit to handle

I made, (what was for me) a mistake in buying and overpaying for
"Stingray Pinochle Cards" Which were not 100% Plastic and overpriced for coated paper with a "special" index font.

Their "specially designed Pinochle Index" turned out to be a Jumbo size index that actually requires a larger fan out because the side pips are wider so the 20 card fan out is 20n increments wider.

I thought I would want a plastic 2.25", Bridge width" Pinochle deck. Doesn't seem to be many of them? Then I noticed the decks with the
"Texas Holdem Peek Pips, 4 corner pips and even 4 suit color pips.

All seem usefull (I'm sure Not so to a purist) but I think they might help me hold my cards better and avoid making some dumb misread errors and focus more on learning the play logic.

In retrospect it seems plastic cards are best for durability, but a regular index is preferable to Jumbo or Wide indexs for holding. The jury is still out on 4 corner pips, and or Texas holdem Peek and even 4 color indexs.

I'm still not sure Poker or Bridge card widths effect the fan width as much as the width of the corner pips themself. And it may be easier to shuffle and deal Poker size cards?.

Bottom line I'm surprised there isn't a deck for sale that actually seems to be designed to address these "Double Deckers issues".

I know these issues might seem trivial to those who have become experts regardless of them, but I figured I'd ask for the benefit of your experiences anyway.

Thanks in advance for your input and opinions
KJL

I may be just old school ... Use two standard 48 card Bicycle Pinochle decks and throw away the pesky 9s. Usually purchased at Walgreens or local store equivalent. Very cheap. (Definitely don't buy the jumbo "easy to read" version if you've got small hands.) I've usually bought two red and two blue packs to make up two double decks. When we play, one deck is shuffled by the next dealer and set aside while the other is dealt. Keeps the game moving along. Alternate colors keeps the decks easy to separate if they get mixed.

Tried the plastic card approach once thinking durability, but soon discarded those as they were too slippery. More difficult to hold and tended to drop out of hands and fly across the table during play.

I'm fortunate to have big enough hands to hold 20 comfortably (anything less feels odd!). Only played with one guy over the years who had small hands. He is an avid card player, playing many different games, and adjusted somehow since he stopped complaining after the first time. (Good player too, he'd consistently ruin my backup suit gambits

[rakbeater]

(07-18-2013, 11:22 PM)FLACKprb Wrote:  I'm fortunate to have big enough hands to hold 20 comfortably (anything less feels odd!).

This made me LOL for some reason.

[FLACKprb]

(07-20-2013, 09:29 PM)rakbeater Wrote:  

(07-18-2013, 11:22 PM)FLACKprb Wrote:  I'm fortunate to have big enough hands to hold 20 comfortably (anything less feels odd!).

This made me LOL for some reason.

Laughter is good! Lowers blood pressure.