Fanning Powder - When and Why?

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Flinston
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Fanning Powder - When and Why?

Unread post by Flinston »

Hello fellow Cardists!

This is actually my first post on this group :D
I was wondering at what point of using the cards should I be putting fanning powder on them. Should it be right away after I open a new deck of cards or should it be when they show visible marks of extensive use (visible bending, a little dirt on the corners etc.)?
Thanks in advance.
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Re: Fanning Powder - When and Why?

Unread post by MagikFingerz »

I would say that's a decision based on preference. Some people prefer exclusively handling decks with fanning powder, so they put it on straight away (and the amount they use is also based on preference). Others enjoy how the cards behave when they are new, so they might wait until the deck starts to perform less adequately before they apply fanning powder.

Another factor is that decks from different printers will have different finishes, and thus have different feel. So you might like using new decks from printer X, but will prefer to instantly powder decks from printer Y.
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sinjin7
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Re: Fanning Powder - When and Why?

Unread post by sinjin7 »

Flinston wrote: should it be when they show visible marks of extensive use (visible bending, a little dirt on the corners etc.)?
I think one of the misconceptions of fanning powder is that it improves the cards to make them more "slippery". In fact, the effect is the opposite. The correct application for fanning powder is usually for new cards that are too slippery fresh out of the box. Cards get their "slip" from the dimple patterns in the finish. These dimples break up the surface area of the cards, thus lowering the coefficient of friction between them so they slide easier against each other. But sometimes new cards are too slippery and hard to control for certain types of fans. The fanning powder fills in these dimples to make them less slippery, and thus easier to control and keep together in a consistent manner.

A secondary application for fanning power is for cards that have uneven finishes so they don't fan consistently even, or are clumpy. Clumpy fans happen when some cards slide against each other well, but other cards don't slide as well against each other and "stick", so the spread of the cards in the fan are all over the place instead of at a uniform distance from each other. You see this in new decks with lower quality finishes, or with used cards. Here, you have dimples that aren't uniform in depth and/or shape (as seen with new decks with a crappy finish), or some dimples that are unevenly filled with dirt, oil from your hands, or other grime (as seen with used decks). The use of fanning powder in these cases cause the uneven and inconsistent dimples to be filled in and evened out by powder so all the cards have the same consistent glide against each other.

The key to fanning powder is to use as little as possible while still meeting your need for consistency in the spread of the cards in your fans, and to apply that amount of powder as evenly as possible to all your cards. This typically requires you to break in your cards after powdering with a huge amount of faro shuffling to really spread out the powder evenly into all the dimples.

At this point, it should go without saying that fanning powder should not be used in cards with a smooth finish (finishes that don't have dimples).

I hope this info helps. There's not many things more satisfying in cardistry than busting out a perfect fan where all the cards are exactly symmetric and equal distance apart from each other. Good luck.
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Re: Fanning Powder - When and Why?

Unread post by rousselle »

As a practical matter, beyond cardistry, fanning powder (or, non-scented baby powder) is also useful to rejuvenate a deck that has been put through its paces in regular game play and has taken on a bit of clumpiness and warpedness as a result of heavy use. It's also very helpful to rejuvenate decks that are getting clumpy because of excessive humidity in your playing environment.

I realize cardists (and my fellow collectors here) may scoff at the notion of trying to keep an old deck going, but when you're out at the campgrounds and pulling out an old deck for another round of Euchre and the cards are kinda sticking to each other because its been so rainy... yeah, this trick comes in handy.

In this scenario, an easy way to apply the power is to simply sprinkle some on the cards all spread out in the middle of your table and then do a table shuffle/mix to spread it around. Leave a little bit of the power in the middle of the table; regular game play from that point on will ensure that the powder is distributed evenly and thinly. Issues (like warping and stickiness) related to moisture in the air will noticeably dissipate, as will the clumpiness from heavy use.

So, there's another when and why for you. :)
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