The Playing Cards Spotted in Brad Pitt's F1 The Movie

In F1 The Movie, the high-speed action isn’t the only thing catching viewers’ attention, sharp-eyed playing card Aficionado and fans of magicnmight recognize the playing cards used throughout the film. That’s no coincidence. Renowned magician Franco Pascali served as a consultant on the movie, and his signature playing cards make several prominent appearances. Blending sleight of hand with cinematic flair, Pascali’s influence adds a layer of subtle artistry to the film’s high-stakes racing world.

Cartelago Playing Cards

A custom premium deck, designed by Franco Pascali, created for cardistry and magic, printed on high-quality USPCC crushed Bicycle stock with an air-cushion finish for excellent handling and performance. The Standard Index deck features a distinctive black and white design, a unique logo, and includes the standard 52 cards, 2 jokers, plus bonus gaff cards and a secret marking system for enhanced tricks.

Cartelago Mirinos Playing Cards

The deck feature a unique modern design with a central star motif and an ornamental chain of text, printed on a premium crushed Bicycle stock for a smooth handling experience ideal for cardistry and magic. These standard-sized cards are traditionally cut and include 52 cards, 2 jokers, and 2 bonus gaff cards to assist with tricks and illusions. 

Gemaco Wynn Alpha Series Playing Cards

Vintage MGM Grand Casino Playing Cards

This deck is manufactured for the casino in Las Vegas or Reno, Nevada, featuring the MGM Grand's branding for collectors and enthusiasts. These cards, often marked for security with cut corners or other alterations to prevent cheating, offer a piece of casino history and are sold as memorabilia from the iconic hotels. While the designs vary, they reflect the prestige and excitement of the MGM Grand brand and are a collectible item for those interested in gambling or Las Vegas memorabilia.

The Fontaine Trials- Your Chance to WIN $10,000

Zach Mueller of Fontaine Cards has just launched the Fontaine Trials, a 4-round elimination-style cardistry championship with a grand prize of $10,000! According to Zach on @fontainecards on Instagram,

We’ve been toying with the idea of this competition for a while. We’ve observed many cardistry competitions and after consulting our friends, we’ve come up with a format that excites us. With so many of us staying home to avoid the spread of COVID19, now seems like the perfect time to finally do it.

Open call submissions started on March 18. Cardists will have to submit one move for each entry video using Fontaine cards only. Videos will have to be tagged with #thefontainetrials. The open call ends on 1st April.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @fontainecards on Mar 18, 2020 at 1:58pm PDT

Here are the details:

Round 1 (Apr 3rd-17th): Top 20- 30 seconds video on a tripod.
Round 2 (Apr 19th- May 3rd): Top 10- 45 seconds video on a tripod.
Round 3 (May 6th- May 19th): Top 5- 6 seconds video on a tripod.
Round 4 (May 21st- July 5th): Top 2- Any style.

The judging panel includes Birger Karlsson, Franco Pascali, Zach Mueller, Luis Mecalco, Oliver Sogard, Edgar Isaac, and James Chesmore.

Zach continued,

And yes, the grand prize is real. For years we’ve wanted to up the stakes on cardistry competitions, and with a prize this big, we’re very excited to see how it ups the competition and to see who it brings out of the shadows.

Article originally published on cardistrybeast.com

Check Out Theory11's TWO New Deck Releases!

Theory11 released TWO new playing cards this morning on theory11.com. Here are the details:

Hollywood Roosevelt Playing Cards

This stunning deck is produced in collaboration with the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California- a historic landmark and legendary hotel dating back to 1927 where magician Franco Pascali is performing 'The Magic Show'.

In its early years, the hotel played host to countless icons: Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, and Clark Gable. It's served as inspiration for filmmakers and creatives who set their movies within this storybook backdrop.

Theory11's vision was to create a deck of cards that would honor its style, history and celebrate a new modern era. The result is an exquisite blend of elegance and class - featuring fully custom artwork from top to bottom and kept in a stunning embossed gold foil tuck box.


(PRODUCT)RED Special Edition

This year, theory11 continues its partnership with (RED) in the fight to end AIDS with an all-NEW edition of our (PRODUCT)RED Playing Cards. Like the previous (Red) deck, the new Edition is equally breathtaking, with a simple, elegant, deep red design blind debossed with the words: Imagine a world without AIDS and sealed with a black stamp.

Inside the face cards are standard and the card backs are minimalistic with both the Ace of Spades and Jokers custom.

Both decks are available now on theory11.com for $9.95 each.

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Cardistry: Fontaine Futures Drops Today!

When Zach Mueller unveiled the sleek Fontaine Future trailer on Day 2 of Cardistry-Con Portland, the room went WILD. Joined by the likes of Franco Pascali and Michael "MyTurn" Stern, the sleek trailer was a 120-second teaser featuring a new product offering not seen in the playing cards industry.



The decks will be released today (9th August 2PM PST) and we expect these to sell within the first 10 minutes! The decks are packed in a sealed anti-static shielding plastic pouch, giving it a futuristic look. Six different decks are on offer for the "blind packs": Glitch (1 of 1000), Polka (1 of 1500), 500 (1 of 500), Window (1 of 2000), Floral (1 of 2500) and Parrot (1 of 2000).

Special packaging is included if you purchase 12 Fontaine Futures. Some of the Fontaine Futures that were sold in Cardistry-Con have popped-up on eBay for 4x the original price of $15. With a total 9,500 decks which translate to an equal amount of blind pack, these WILL go fast!

Article originally published on cardistrybeast.com.

Cardistry: Fontaine's LAMBO is a Fun Cardistry Video from 2018

Whoah! Zach Mueller's LAMBO is his best vid in a while. This fun video was released during the Guess and Wine Fontaine launch last year. The video is 13 minutes long and features some notable cardists such as Leo Flores, Brendan Conner, James Chesmore, Franco Pascali, Buddhabellykids, and Michael Stern and many more surprises. Check it out!

Deck View: Entry 01- ‘Drops’ Playing Cards

Modern. Simplicity. Fluid.

From designer Benji Taylor and magician Franco Pascali teamed up and create ENTRY, a brand new playing card company aimed at the modern cardist. Entry 01 — ‘Drops’ is their first deck and was sold out within an hour of release!

Designed for cardistry, the simplistic deck looks amazing in motion! The eye-catching back design features a fluid and seamless shape in a deep blue, red and green colorway. The court cards are standard but have been recolored to match the color palette of the deck to give it a unified look throughout. The Ace of Spades featured in Entry 01 combines the best elements of the back design. The result is a design with the perfect amount of detail that doesn’t appear overpowering.

The unique tuck of Entry 01 comes with a custom designed number system that identifies the deck without disturbing the layout or logo placement, allowing for a timeless, infinitely scalable solution to box designs.

For more cool decks, check out JP Games.

Cardistry: Entry Teases Entry 03 - Peppers Playing Cards

The team at Entry, headed by Benji Tylor and Franco Pascali teased the first image of their upcoming deck, Entry 03- Peppers. This will be the third deck in the series inspired by bold geometric shapes.

Like their previous two decks, the face cards are pretty much standard with the exception of the Ace of Spades and Jokers. The eye-catching back design features an eye-catching seamless shape in red colorway.

The unique tuck of Entry 03 comes with a custom designed number system that identifies the deck and the card back design featured on the back of the tuck box.

‘Peppers’ will be available on Christmas Eve (December 24th) at 1pm PST. $15 per deck. With the released date announced fans of the series are anxious to get their hands on this eye-catching deck.

Article originally published on cardistrybeast.com


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Entry 02 Released! A Collaboration Deck With Cardistry-Con

After the successful launch of Entry, Franco Pascali and Benji Taylor recently introduced Entry 02, the second deck to their growing product range. Entry 02 will be very familiar to cardists as it features the iconic Cardistry-Con 17 back design but with an added border and fully revamped card stock. The original deck was designed by Benji and the unique back design and colors were inspired by Los Angeles fashion trends. Available now for a limited time exclusively at entry.us.com for $15.

Entry 02 — ‘CC17/SE’ A special one-time collaboration deck with Cardistry Con that features the iconic CC’17 back design with an added border and fully revamped card stock. Available now for a limited time exclusively through our website. (Link in our bio.)

A post shared by Entry (@entry) on Aug 15, 2018 at 12:01pm PDT

News: Issue Fourteen of Kardify Magazine Now Available!

The July issue (#14) of Kardify magazine is now available to our Patrons who pledge $3 or more on our Patreon page. The monthly magazine compiles selected articles we’ve published from mid-June to mid-July. Our goal is to help you stay on top of the latest playing card news, releases and previews.

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bringing new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing on crowd-funded projects and supporting magic and playing cards retailers with their new releases. If you want to support us, please head over to our Patreon page.

If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, do get in contact with us. We hope you enjoy the read. In this issue:

+ Lost Deer Playing Cards: Find out more about BOCOPO's deck recently funded on Kickstarter.

+ Entry 01 Drop: Brand new company, brand new deck! Check out Franco Pascali and Benji Taylor's new deck.

+ Flying Dog Playing Cards: Experience the magically surreal art of Ralph Steadman. Produced by Art of Play in collaboration with Flying Dog Brewery.

+ Delirium Lost Decks: Another fun and dynamic deck from Thirdway Industries.

+ 'Untitled': Find out what we think about Adam Borderline's first deck.

+ Diamon No 5: A look at the striking deck crafted specifically for cardistry.

+ Mint 2: The popular deck series is back with 2 brand new flavors... and breaking records at the same time!

+ Hip-Hop Playing Cards: Check out the fully custom deck prominently featuring quotes by famous rappers.

… and more! 42 pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

Cardistry: Benji Taylor and Franco Pascali Have Teamed Up To Launch ENTRY

Benji Taylor and magician Franco Pascali teamed up and create ENTRY, a brand new playing card company aimed at the modern cardist. On the branding and the new company, Franco told Kardify,

Entry is all about the simplicity. Why do many things poorly when we can do one well. We only sell playing cards and this makes 100% of our focus go towards design and content.

Thier first deck, Entry 01 — ‘Drops’ have certainly gained lots of attention on social media and sold out within an hour of release yesterday.

A year in the making, the design of the deck looks amazing in motion! The eye-catching back design features a fluid and seamless shape in a deep blue, red and green colorway. The court cards are standard but have been recolored to match the color palette of the deck to give it a unified look throughout.

The Ace of Spades featured in Entry 01 combines the best elements of the back design. The result is a design with the perfect amount of detail that doesn’t appear overpowering.

The unique tuck of Entry 01 comes with a custom designed number system that identifies the deck without disturbing the layout or logo placement, allowing for a timeless, infinitely scalable solution to box designs.

We are really excited by the possibilities ENTRY will bring to the industry – suddenly simplicity and clean modern playing card design become possible on a mass scale not just for cardistry.

Magic: Get Inspired By This Short Video Featuring Franco Pascali

Last week, this inspiring video featuring 19 years-old LA magician Franco Pascali (@francopascali), was selected as Vimeo Staff Pick. The well-produced video showcases Franco's incredible handling of a deck of playing cards and what drives him as a young magician. Here's what director Jacob Rosenberg has to say in the video description,

... magic and cardistry are intensely personal and individually orientated in terms of the endless practice that is required to master them. Tricks are performed with decks and each person embodies a style that is distinctly their own. That style is reflective of the influences they devoured when they were coming up and their intrinsic sensibility that they develop as they mature. As I spent time with Franco I immediately wanted to point my camera at him to capture the way he dressed, the way he talked, the breathtaking way he moved cards and the feeling I had in encountering such raw talent. 

Check it out...!

 

Deck featured on video: Monarch Playing Cards by Theory11.

Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Franky Morales of the Red Saturn Playing Cards

Conceptualized by Franky Morales, Red Saturn playing cards are a contemporary deck inspired by the fall season. This minimalistic deck is the follow-up to the very successful Blue Saturn. Designed with simplicity in mind, the Red Saturn features updated artwork and is the result high demand for a coloured version of the previous release.

The Ace of Spades, Courts and Joker are inspired by Futurism design, lines interact with bold geometric shapes in a simplistic and contemporary style, while the striking minimalistic back design enhances displays and card flourishes, which have already proven to be quite popular amongst cardists.

We reached out to Franky and we had a chat about his design background, the inspiration behind the Saturn playing cards, the design evolution of the deck and support from the playing card community.

Firstly… You are an amazing Cardist! Can you tell us about yourself and how long have you been doing Cardistry?
Thank you for the compliment haha. My name real name is Jose Francisco Morales but many of you know me by my nickname, Franky. I am a 21-year-old college student who is pursuing Multi-Media Art in Schaumburg, Illinois. Currently, I have been in the Cardistry community for nine years with no plans on stopping.

Tell us a little about the background and the inspiration behind the Saturn Playing Card series?
Well, I actually made the Saturn Playing Card design in one of my courses. The project was to re-brand my favorite company or create a company of my choosing. I had been messing with Wynn Playing Cards so I thought why not re-brand the casino. My goal was to create a booklet showcasing the "Saturn Casino." Everything from the hotel rooms, restaurants, shows, and even a gift shop. Towards the end of the project I thought what harm could come from creating a deck of cards for the gift shop page. I didn't have to do that for my school project but im happy I did.

Walk us through the process you took to design Saturn. How did you approach this project and get to this finished product?
I tried to create a modern or retro-futuristic 1970's casino deck. Obviously we know double logos is a given but what mattered to me the most, was the logo. It couldn't look old and it had to withstand time. One of my goals was to create a logo that would still be cool in five plus years from now. I went on Illustrator, created nine concentric circles and started to play around with how they were positioned etc...

Once I was done, I sent a photo to a few friends privately on Instagram to see what they thought of the logo. I was just trying to get opinions on the logo and weirdly everyone assumed it was for a deck of cards. About half of my friends said "I cant see it working" and the others really liked the design. I decided to pursue the idea anyway with close feedback from Chris Severson, Franco Pascali, and Oliver Sogard.

Next I know, I started to create several different prototype decks. Originally, the now dubbed "Honeycomb" colorway was to be the first release but I thought not too many people can get behind the Yellow-Orange color. The Blue colorway was the next choice since thats my favorite color and I never thought the Red would be made. After the success of the Blue Saturns, I had a lot of people message measking for another color and this is where im at now.

Besides the update in colour palette, what are some of the design updates you’ve done to the Red Saturn?
Besides the color, I wanted to make the next Saturns to feel like a more complete deck. New joker, new ace, and new court cards have been created to fit this next edition better. I decided to make the switch to the USPCC and print on Crushed Bicycle Stock with Embossed Finish. I love working with Expert but I think a softer paper stock will allow Cardists and Magicians to be able perform some of their favorite material easier. I often have a hard time with Expert decks when flourishes require pressure such as the spring, flower fan, and lepaul spread.

Are there any surprises planned for the release of the deck?
There is a contest I want to host. Basically, everyone who enters is required to make a Cardistry video using Red Saturns. The video will be judged on creativity and how well its filmed/edited. The video submissions can be funny, serious, epic, a jam video between you and your friends - anything goes as long as its made for this contest! The more time you put into your videos, the greater your chances are on winning the grand prize...which would be one gross (144 decks) of Red Saturns.

We first noticed the Red Saturn on your Instagram page. What do you think of the playing card community in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting so far?
I gave my instagram followers the chance to vote for either the Red Saturns or the Honeycombs because I know projects start and finish with the community. I want the people that invest their time in me to feel apart of my products and never feel like they are just a customer. The opinions of the community matter a lot to me and I get some people like double logo decks and others don't. But the community has really showed their support behind Saturns and its crazy to think when this first started, I did not think my deck would be cool or popular.

To my surprise, its the exact opposite and its really humbling to hear all the positive feedback from others. It makes me want to be closer to the people in our community and create more content for everyone to enjoy.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
My current to five are: Red Saturns, Black Fontaines, Blue Monarchs, Blue Tally Ho Circle backs, and Virts 2015.

Thank you for your time and all the best, Franky. If you like what you’ve read here and want to support the Red Saturn playing cards, you can find it on Kickstarter here. 


Red Saturn Playing Cards will be printed USPCC with the Crushed Bicycle Stock with Embossed Finish, similar to the wildly popular Fontaines and Tally-Hos. Pledge starts from $12 and there are multiple add-ons available such as uncut sheets, photo print and Limited Edition Red Saturn Skateboards by Adam Kirby.