To come directly to the point, I collect playing cards. It’s probably my cheapest hobby. Since most decks cost under 10 dollars it a hell of a lot cheaper than most of the video games I buy. Lately plastic cards have caught my attention. It seems like the natural progression in the manufacturing of playing cards. They are more durable than paper. They can get wet and therefore be cleaned and for that reason will last longer than the average deck of plastic coated playing cards. They also are capable of bending without damage to an extent well beyond what a paper card can sustain. So, with that said, if you wanted to purchase a set of plastic cards of your own to experiment with I decided to review those cards that I have purchased in attempt to give people a better idea on what to look for in a deck of plastic cards.

So let’s get on with the first review, the Modiano 4 Color Poker set. This is a four color deck. These decks are more popular overseas than they are here in the U.S. but are starting to catch on here so don’t be surprised to run across a deck in the near future. Spades are still black and hearts are still red but the clubs in this deck are green and the diamonds are blue. I purchased these cards (a red and blue deck) online for approximately $10 USD and they are manufactured in Italy. After shuffling and dealing a couple of hands I noticed they are a little thicker than the other plastic cards that I have. They also have a very nice texture to them. While plastic, they have a paper feel to them which I attribute to the texture more than anything else. Here is the back of the blue deck…

The back of the blue deck, Modiano 4 Color Poker Deck

This is actually the second deck of this set of cards. There was a problem with one of the cards in the first set. When I contacted Modiano they happily replaced the deck with a new set. I was very pleased with their customer service. I should point out that the back design was different in the replacement set than the one I originally purchased so I can’t be sure what the backs will look like should you purchase your own deck. Overall I am very pleased with this set of cards. I have several plastic decks and this one is first on my list. (Copag, Dal Negro, Gemaco being some of the other manufacturers. I will review these decks in later posts.)

The colors in the face cards are better than other decks I own. The Copag Fall edition comes to mind. I didn’t care too much for the abundance of green ink they used on the face cards of that deck. The colors are more balanced on the Modiano deck in my opinion. Take a look here at the Queen of Clubs.

The Queen of Clubs

The blue on the diamond cards is a little lighter than I would have personally chosen but still looks good. Here is the jack of diamonds.

The Jack of Diamonds

The red used for the heart suit is more or less the standard and the color most have come to expect. I am including the picture below more or less to give you another look at the face cards for this deck. The ace of hearts also bears the company’s name as well as the place where they are manufactured. Trieste, Italy. I’m not sure what the significance of the stag logo but it appears on every set of Modiano cards that I own so I am assuming it’s a company logo.

The Ace of Hearts

So, to sum up this short but hopefully helpful review of the Modiano 4 Color deck, this is a set of cards that I am very pleased to have purchased and have no reservations on recommending it to others. I like the thickness of the cards, the texture and the classic feel of the paper deck I get when using them. If you don’t already own deck of plastic cards then this is definitely the one to start with and an excellent first purchase. If anyone has any questions about this deck or plastic cards in general, please feel free to post a comment to this post and I will be happy to answer your questions if I can.

One last parting image and one I intend to leave the reader with in every deck review I do, the ace of spades from the deck. The ace of spades is the signature card for any deck of cards produced the world over.

The Ace of Spades

I hope you enjoyed this review and remember to post any questions you might have in the comment section below. Cheers!