Deck View: VISA (Blue/Silver Edition) Playing Cards

Travel. Asia. Exploration.

First realeased in 2016, VISA Playing Cards is a collaboration between Alex Pandrea and Patrick Kun. The deck is inspired by travel  and features an elegant metallic silver back design with Japanese artwork representing Asia. 

The face cards include simplified standard court cards with metallic ink accents along with custom Ace of Spades and Jokers. All neatly housed in a high-quality custom tuck box. Also, the deck includes a pass users can register and pass along, tracking its journey globally.

Printed by the United States Playing Card Co.

Alex Pandrea Retires: The Last NOC Deck Released

Alex Pandrea of House of Playing Cards has announced in a recent email that he is officially retiring. After over a decade of designing and producing some of the most iconic custom decks, Pandrea is stepping away from the world of playing cards to pursue new ventures. To mark the end of this chapter, he is offering one final release: the NOC Private Reserve deck.

Pandrea launched his career in 2011 with The Blue Crown, a platform that taught magic and sleight of hand through video tutorials. In 2012, he founded House of Playing Cards, which sold over 1 million decks across 300+ designs, generating over $10 million in sales. Over the years, however, his passion for the playing card business began to wane, leading him to take a break in 2022 after the birth of his first child.

Pandrea is offering his followers a parting gift—the last deck of cards he will ever be involved with, the NOC Private Reserve. This limited-edition deck was secretly printed in 2022 for personal use, and now fans have the chance to own it.

A limited number of hand-autographed decks are also available for those looking for an extra-special keepsake. The deck features advanced hot foil printing on the back design, a luxurious 300gsm matte-finish tuck case with 3D embossing, and Thin Crush card stock by USPCC. Available now for $22 on House of Playing Cards.

MYNOC 6: Tiger Playing Cards

Pink. Striking. Standard.

House of Playing Cards‘ MYNOC: Tiger is sixth in the MYNOC series. The Tiger deck sports a striking electric pink colorway on the tuck box and card backs. The face cards are pretty much standard except for the Ace of Spades and Jokers.

Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on Classic Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com. 

NOC3000X3- The Final Playing Cards in the NOC3000 Series

On Black Friday this year, Alex Pandrea released the final deck in the futuristic NOC3000 series. Continuing the story, the NOC3000X3 decks have arrived from the year 3030 and are available now from houseofplayingcards.com.

Like the previous editions, the decks feature a minimal back design with thin borders with overlapping bleed designs on the top left and bottom right.

The futuristic design and contrasting colorways make the cards look outstanding with card flourishes. The face cards are standard with an updated color palette to match the futuristic theme of the deck.

Two versions are available for this edition- Human (orange/black colorway) and A.I (with teal/silver colorway). Printed by the United States Playing Cards Co and are available now for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com.

Noctober Playing Cards

Two years in the making, House of Playing Cards‘ Noctober deck features a cut-out Jack-O-Lantern tuck design and an eye-catching neon orange colorway with black border card backs to bring that Halloween vibe to the deck. Noctober is one of our top Halloween decks of 2022.

The coolest feature of using neon colors in playing cards is the magnificent glow when shined under black light on both the back design AND faces! Like previous NOC’s the cards are marked for clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds.

Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on thin crushed stock. Available now from houseofplayingcards.com for $13.

Summer NOC Pro's Released!

Alex Pandrea has just released the Summer NOC Pros. Similar to the previous summer NOCs released, there 3 stunning color variations: Sunrise Teal, Sunset Orange, and Limited Edition Pink (only 1000 printed). The NOC series features a minimal design and is defined by its simplicity and elegance. The NOC Pros have been upgraded. The card back design has been upgraded with an added inner border that brings an elegant vibe to a simplistic deck. Crafted for magicians, the Summer NOC Pros are FULLY MARKED for both suit and value! Printed by the United States Playing Cards Company on Bicycle Premium Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available now from houseofplayingcards.com for $10.

Leaf Playing Cards

Fall. Orange. Leaf.

House of Playing Cards‘ MYNOC Deck 7: Leaf continues the MYNOC series. The Leaf deck sports a leaf texture on the tuck box and card back in fall colorway. The face cards are pretty much standard but recolored to fit the orange color palette and theme of the deck. 

Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on Classic Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com. 

MYNOC Deck 9: ICE Playing Cards

MYNOC Deck 9: Ice continues the MYNOC series. Each deck in the series comes with a different design inspired by submission using House of Playing Cards' MYNOC Stickers. Hence, each deck will have a different design inspired by the community.

The Ice deck features a geometric low-poly design on the tuck box and card back in  cool winter colorway. Like the previous release, the face cards are pretty much standard but recolored to fit the color palette and theme of the deck. 

You can submit your photos with the hashtag #mynoc on Instagram. Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on Classic Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com. 

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The NOC Luxury Collection Unlocks Rose Quartz Edition

Late last year, Riffle Shuffle and HOPC launched the NOC Luxury Collection and raised over $287k! This year, the highly collectible series is back on back on Kickstarter with 5 New Editions- Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Aquamarine and Rose Quartz.

Each deck is elegantly encased in a Premium FOILED tuck case of their respective colors finely infuses Two Hot Foil stamps and 4 Levels of state-of-the-art 3D embossing! 

The front of the tuck case displays the embossed NOC on a reflective metal plate design, giving it a luxurious look. The back of the tuck box comes with decorative spade patterns that are blind embossed.

Each Luxury Edition comes with a beautiful foiled Numbered Seal, which is perforated to align with the opening flap of the deck. When opening the beautiful tuck case, you will notice the FULLY FOILED inner tuck case. The tuck case doesn’t just look luxurious, but it also FEELS luxurious.

The face cards of the Luxury Collection follow the classic design of the previous NOC decks, but there are small details that differentiate all three editions from the Luxury Collection to make them all unique!

The NOC Ruby Foiled Edition utilizes a bold, eye-catching Red color with Premium Pantone Gold Metallic Ink. The NOC Sapphire and Emerald Editions, on the other hand, utilize Blue & Green Pantone Colors with the shimmering silver and bronze metallic ink. 

All three editions keep the traditional red and black inks throughout the suits. The overall design for the faces are a good balance so that it is not too overwhelming, but also differs from the common court card.

The iconic Aces have been updated with Pantone ink to follow its elegant theme. “Riffle Shuffle x House of Playing Cards” is beautifully written below the aces.

To tie the whole deck together, the Jokers feature the new medallion look of the NOC Logo design, similar to the first Luxury Collection. Each edition comes with 2 identical jokers, which are printed with their corresponding red, blue, and green Pantone ink to add that nice finishing touch to the deck.

NOC Playing Cards are well known for their suit marking system. For this series, the decks come with a FULLY Marked Marking System. Once you know the secret, you will be able to easily identify the suit and value of any given card without hesitation given its revolutionary system. 

The NOC Luxury Collection is the first NOC deck printed by professionals at Cartamundi on the well-known Slimline Paper Stock, finished with B9 True Linen Finish.

Also, the NOC Holographic Foil Edition Edge Gilding is available as an addon. Only 500 Holographic Gilded decks are available NOW as an add-on! Pledge starts at $18 on Kickstarter. 

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NOC's Beach Bar Playing Cards

Alex Pandrea continues to mix things up with the colorful NOC's Beach Bar playing cards. The deck is a beach-inspired deck that is looking to bring some summer vibes into your home. According to the product page,

NOC's Beach Bar is the utopian place where it's always summer, where you can hear the ukulele playing in the background while holding the perfect cocktail deck in your hand.

Like the NOC Diner, the new addition to the series sees the card backs at its most vibrant and enticing. Rather than conform to the usual static colors of the usual NOCs, the deck is fully highlighted in a beautiful gradient summer colorway. 

Everything from the tuck box and the card backs are designed with a bright color pallet throughout. The face card is pretty much standard but comes with an exclusive custom Ace of Spades and Joker. 

 

Printed by the United States Playing Cards Company on thin crushed stock. Available now Vanishing Inc Magic for $12. 

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NOC's Diner Revealed In 1950’s Pastel Colorway

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the NOC's, Alex Pandrea continues to push the boundaries of minimalist playing cards design. And the latest deck to hit the series is the NOCs Diner. 

Unlike the other NOCs, this iteration sees the card backs at its most vibrant and enticing. Rather than conform to the usual static colors of its predecessor, the deck is fully highlighted in a 1950’s pastel color pallet inspired by the old-time diners. 

Everything from the tuck box to the card backs and courts is designed with a tasty color pallet throughout. The face card is standard but comes with an exclusive custom Ace of Spades and Joker. 

Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on thin crushed stock. Available tomorrow (30th May) at 1pm EST on houseofplayingcards.com.

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MYNOC Deck 4: Brush Playing Cards

MYNOC Deck 4: Brush - the fourth in a series of MYNOC decks. The deck sport a brush-stroke tuck box and card back. Like the previous release, the face cards are pretty much standard but recolored to fit the color palette of the deck. 

Each deck will have a different design inspired by submission using House of Playing Cards' MYNOC Stickers. You can submit your photos with the hashtag #mynoc on Instagram. 

Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on Classic Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com.

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Alex Pandrea Respond to House of Playing Cards' Mystery Brick Controversy

The House of Playing Cards' Mystery Brick has begun to arrive for those who managed to purchase them last month, during the holiday season. Many took to Reddit to express their disappointment about the brick's 'rare' decks. Here are a few examples: Card Card To put these comments into context, here's the description on the original product page:

LIMITED BRICKS AVAILABLE. GUARANTEED RARE DECK(S) INCLUDED. ONCE SOLD OUT THAT'S IT

You’ve NEVER seen a mystery deck deal like this one! We hunted down some of our best and most requested inventory and set aside some EXCLUSIVE decks just for you! This holiday season, we want to save you from the insane aftermarket prices of sold out decks! So we set aside limited quantities of rare decks, sold out decks, best sellers and a few surprises if you’re lucky! Savings are great, but why not save in style?

Some of accused Alex Pandrea of false advertising as the photo used on the product page does not reflect reality: Card Card Here is a snippet of Alex's response. Full Reddit thread here. Alex on HOPC:

First off, I want to start by saying that in my 10 years of producing playing cards my number 1 goal was to provide good quality cards at a great price. I've always kept my prices as low as possible so that people can afford them without feeling ripped off (like other companies and decks being released today). I don't think anyone in the community sells decks at under $10...NOC Originals being $5-$7. I fought hard to keep these prices this low over many years, despite price increases every year from USPCC, tuck cost and paper cost increases, shipping increases, warehouse and fulfillment fee increases, etc. I constantly do many deals and sales on my site where you can always have a chance to save even more - so I can say with confidence that we have thousands of people who love us for this and I am proud of what we've done.

On the Mystery Brick:

Now regarding the decks themselves. ALL decks advertised in the ad copy where used for the 200 mystery bricks. I would NEVER advertise a list like that if I weren't including them in the product. Why would I ever do that? To risk my companies 10 years of reputation on 1 product? No way! There were in total 50 mixed decks of Fontaines, DB decks, Orbits, Anyone etc, in the bricks- not including the Fort NOC deck, Pink NOC3000X2, and Survival Winter NOCs (which some might not consider rare but I guarantee they are rarer than the decks in the photos!!). These are also all sold out decks etc. I'm truly sorry if you didn't like those decks. I guess I have to start creating something other than boring old NOCs :/ WITH THAT BEING SAID - I should NOT have used the photos I used for the promotion. That is on me 100% - no excuses for that.

Alex's apology:

I am truly sorry that I did. I regret it not only because of this ordeal - but because it was a shitty thing to do now looking back, and obviously gave the wrong impression about the product. I didn't think that one through, so for that I am very sorry. We actually took the initial photos of our "rare" decks that we had way before coming up with doing a mystery brick. We didn't know exactly what we were going to use those decks for. Just sell them for the holidays? Include them as gifts? Mystery decks? At that point there was no plan. It was only after deciding to do the brick did I decide to use those particular photos to show off some dope decks. It was a very last minute thing - and we printed the brick boxes very quickly, snapped a few more photos, and just didn't think about it. It's obvious now that we should have realistic photos of examples of bricks you can possibly get.

Next steps:

Ok, so what now? Well for one, that probably was the last mystery brick I'll do haha :)) - I know, good riddance. Second, if I ever do similar bundles or different types of product I will make sure to be 100% transparent with all promotional material - AKA don't scam people I guess. Lastly, if you still feel like your brick was a "rip-off" and you got decks below the value you paid then I would agree you deserve a refund. It's the right thing to do. This is why I am going to open up my private shop email for those of who want to reach out to me personally about this. The address is : alexpandreashop AT gmail. You will be speaking DIRECTLY with me so you can let me know about your dissatisfaction.

Very well written response. A few Reddit users have started receiving their refunds: Card

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TWO New Releases by House of Playing Cards

 

House of Playing Cards has added TWO decks to their online store this week. Check out the new releases by Alex Pandrea: 

1. X-Deck V2

Alex Pandrea has released the popular X deck in white/black colorway. This is the SECOND stylized version of the X decks. The OG X deck was initially released for Pandrea's Birthday back in 2017 in a "sample" 100 deck run. The X Deck is now Alex's go-to-deck for all magic performances. Simple enough to fit his minimal style, yet stylized enough to give it a vibe.

The deck sports a white colorway with NEW duct tape like X designs on the card backs. The face cards are standard Arrco to give the deck a vintage feel and at the same time maintains familiarity for magic routines and performances. Also, a "Moving X" Gaff Card included and a duplicate Queen of Hearts in every deck for your magic routines. 

  

Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on Bicycle Premium Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com. 

  

2. #MYNOC 2: Leather

The MYNOC Project was launched at Cardistry Con 2019 in Portland. The idea was to create your own NOC deck using HOPC's MYNOC Stickers and submit your photos with the hashtag #mynoc. MYNOC 002- Leather is the second deck in the series. 

The deck sport a leather texture tuck box and card back. Like previous release, the face cards are pretty much standard but recolored to fit the color palette of the deck. Printed by The United States Playing Cards Company on Classic Stock with Air-Cushion Finish. Available for $10 on houseofplayingcards.com.

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