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Bicylce Clear Plastic Card Deck

I have some confessions to make in my next few posts directed at two decks of modern Bicycle Playing Cards. First off, I really like these cards though the scans, both with the scanner lid closed and open, don't do justice to their transparent nature. Basically, just imagine that all of the white bordering around the colored parts of the card are see through. It's a damned good look. While you might think that they'd be inconvenient for poker or any strategic card game, they are transparent but not thin and none of the suit bleeds through. At least not in the dimness of my basement. Maybe in heavy sunlight they would but it doesn't seem so.

Now for the confession. I hate the Bicycle mascot. I just can't stand to look at his frivolous ass! It's like when you see a guy with a mustache and just naturally want to catapult him into outer space. I'm talking a solo 'stache with no other hair attached. Not that I like goatees either but I can understand them a bit better than a caterpillar 'stache. I mean, if you're going the mustache route then at least wax and curl it or something. It won't make me like it any more but at least it gives off the impression that you are a bit unhinged and can't help yourself whereas a mustache alone screams of a compulsive deviancy born of utter malice. Anyway, back to the cards.

The throwback Goddess of Liberty emblem from the old Bicycle Ace of Spades is a classy look and enhances this card greatly, especially when seen in the proper transparent light. The open-lid scan of the alternate Joker below better showcases the see-through window aspect of the card despite appearing in negative form:

There is one more curious aspect to these cards which has nothing to do with the deck itself. It involves the estate sale that I purchased the pack at. I originally went with the intent to buy a rather expensive and rare book, which I did, for a rather cheap $2. Having arrived early to get a good line number I ended up getting lucky number 13 on the back of a 5 of Clubs. 

Which, if you read the previous post, could serve as an omen in conjunction with the found 4 of Clubs. While I'm not superstitious at all I will always pay attention to so-called signs and the fact that somebody chopped a playing card in half to pass out as a line number for a sale is prophetic enough for me. That I got my desired pile of playing card-magic books and the clear deck as well reaffirms the belief that 13 is a lucky number. At least for me it is. What the succession of Clubs means is still to be determined.


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