Pictorial Review: Occults Playing Cards (Gamblers Warehouse)

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Pictorial Review: Occults Playing Cards (Gamblers Warehouse)

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Introducing Gambler's Warehouse

Gambler's Warehouse is based in Texas, and while they have close connections with the gaming industry in Las Vegas, they are especially serious about playing cards. You only need to visit their subsidiary website PlayingCards Dot Net, to get some sense of the enormous selection they have available for sale. They have been part of the playing card industry for more than two decades, and are passionate the design, production, and use of decks of cards. They have gained a very positive reputation in assisting many designers of playing cards make their playing card projects a reality via crowd-funding, in part due to the strong relationship and connections they have with well known printer, US Playing Card Company.

But Gambler's Warehouse also produces high quality custom playing cards of their own design, and that's what this series of reviews is all about. In a previous review, I have taken a close look at the Alloy series of Playing Cards that they produced - you can see that review here. I was super impressed with these decks, and they quickly became among my personal favourites. Now it's time to look at some of the other playing cards they have produced in-house. The Occults deck was one of their earlier projects.

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Occults Playing Cards

The Occults deck is another creation by artist John Powell.

In this case the unbranded deck is a limited edition, while the branded Bicycle edition is the standard deck.

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The Ace of Spades features an intricate design that bears studying and appreciating.

The card backs have an impressive full-bleed style artwork. Shown here is the standard edition (the Limited edition has the same design with an altered colour scheme).

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Each court card of the Occults deck has different symbols and hidden geometry waiting to be discovered. Designer John Powell has a fascination with secret societies, and the stories behind their marks, symbols, and logos.

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As such, the Occults deck draws on the symbolism and imagery that hints at secrets and significance beyond what the human eye normally sees. Those who are concerned with dark occultic overtones need not fear, because the word occult is primarily intended here in its less sinister and more basic meaning, namely "beyond the range of ordinary knowledge or understanding; mysterious", "secret, disclosed or communicated only to the initiated", and "hidden from view." Each of the court cards has a secret or two, with nods to genres or works that John has been interested in. For example, the King of Diamonds has a Klingdon symbol.

The borderless card backs especially look stunning when spread and fanned.

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The number cards have a custom arrangement of pips and stylish circle that looks very appealing and adds to the thematic shape that is also present on the card-backs.

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A gaff card is also included as an extra bonus.


Conclusions

Occults deck: While this deck certainly has a number of secrets waiting to be discovered in the court cards, one of the real strengths of this deck is the beautiful and colourful borderless backs, which really come to life when fanning or spreading the cards. Even the number cards have a very stylized and custom look. But those who enjoy studying fine details will appreciate the secrets and symbols that lie hidden in the courts, which have a very classic look, yet feature intricate line-work and detail that just begs to be explored and carefully studied. Suitably symbolic!

Card quality: All the decks that I've looked at and own that have been produced by Gamblers have been outstanding quality, and are typically produced by United States Playing Card Company or Expert Playing Cards. The Double Black decks I've reviewed above are USPCC produced decks. These have a high quality card stock and finish, that ensures both durability and good handling, and is exactly the kind of quality that most people will be familiar with from a quality Bicycle style deck. And in every case, the cards are packaged in an appropriate and attractive tuck box, which is very true here as well, especially with all the gold and silver foil, which makes an instant positive first impression!

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Recommendation

I continue to be impressed by the decks produced by Gamblers Warehouse. In an earlier review, I gave a glowing report about their Alloy deck, which featured remarkable iridescent foil on both the back and the front of the cards - an industry first, and a remarkable achievement. Not only can you purchase their own decks at their subsidiary playingcards.net website, but they also have a wide range of other quality playing cards for sale there too.

In addition to this, Gamblers Warehouse also acts as a fulfilment company for a lot of other card designers, who rely on their expertise and experience. Clearly, these guys know what they're doing, and I know that if I was producing my own deck via crowd-funding, I'd definitely be considering them as a partner to assist with this. If my positive experiences are anything to go by, this is a reliable and a good choice to consider as a source for quality playing cards. I can certainly recommend their products highly.

Want to learn more?
Gamblers Warehouse: http://gamblerswarehouse.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Playing Cards Dot Net: http://playingcards.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Direct link for the decks featured in this review:
- Occults Playing Cards
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