The Blurb
Featuring the incredible, unique, Optical Marking system, the new DMC ELITES: ROUGE Marked Deck is the fifth signature deck produced by Sovereign Playing Cards for elite British magician Drummond Money-Coutts. Each deck has been a collaboration between DMC (star of TV special Card Shark and 2015’s Nat Geo series DMC Beyond Magic) and designer Phill Smith (Penguin lecturer), combining their perfectionism and creativity to create a unique series of incredible decks. With a brace of serious improvements and upgrades on previous versions, the DMC ELITES: ROUGE Marked Deck is, quite simply, the best deck Sovereign has ever produced.
The deck features the fourth generation of the unique Optical Marking system, a powerful marking system designed specifically for the use of close-up and cabaret performers (as opposed to the gambling origin of many systems). The deck has an ingeniously hidden marking mechanic that is readable at great range, in poor light and with extreme speed. The system has been significantly refined over the last few years of development since it was first created. Each deck also now comes with a pictorial instruction card that explains the markings visually, without words.
The system hides the value and suit of the playing card in plain sight, with no decoding necessary, no mental working-out to do – it literally just says the value and the suit, clearly and visibly, with a huge visible range on it. All this incredible clarity and you can still comfortably hand the deck to a layman safe in the knowledge that even if they search for marks, they will still not find them. The DMC ELITES: ROUGE is the only deck on the market now with this unique system.
The deck has standard faces, and the finish is a completely new cardistry-grade stock and finish. Everything about the deck has been crafted to make it super useable, from the sturdy minimalist box, down to the deep red back color, to the card reveal hidden on the two custom Jokers. The DMC ELITES: ROUGE – the greatest marked deck in a generation and possibly the most useable deck for card magic available today.
CAUTION
These cards have been created with professional magic and mentalism performers in mind, but they could be put to work to gain an illicit advantage at the card table. If you want to crush your friends at snap, that’s fine, have fun, but cheating at games where there is a gambled stake is unethical, immoral, and illegal. If you are caught, then you may be subject to prosecution by the law or violent reprisal from your marks. The technical skills required to cheat at the card table are fascinating to study, but Sovereign Playing Cards cannot be held responsible for any cheating that may be conducted using their equipment.
Jheff's Guide
WHAT IT IS:
A deck of special cards
HOW ACCURATE OR COMPLETE THE BLURB IS:
It’s accurate enough.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED THAT YOU NEED OR NEED TO KNOW:
You get instructions for using the deck, but you will need to already know (or go out and learn) routines that use marked decks.
SUITABLE VENUES:
Close-up, Parlour, Stage, Walkaround
JHEFF’S JUDGMENT:
As compared to other similar quality marked decks, the price is very fair and, actually, a little less expensive than most. I found the quality of the cards to be lacking, but the marking system is unique and clever.