Utente:DavidBottan/Sandbox2

The United States Playing Card Company
Stato	Stati Uniti
Sede principale	Erlanger, Kentucky , USA
Gruppo	Jarden Corporation
Prodotti	Bicycle, Bee, Aristocrat, KEM, Aviator e altri
Fatturato	130 milioni $ (2003)
Slogan	«the world's leading card brands!»
Sito web	www.usplayingcard.com/

The United States Playing Card Company (nota anche con l'acronimo USPCC) è un'azienda statunitense fondata nel 1867 che produce e distribuisce carte da gioco di vari tipi. Tra le più famose vi sono Bicycle, Bee, Hoyle, Kem e Aviator. L'azienda produce anche altri accessori legati al gioco di carte come, per esempio, le chips da poker. La compagnia è stata fondata a Cincinnati, (Ohio), ma ha attualmente sede ad Erlanger, (Kentucky). È stata assorbita dalla Jarden Corporation nel 2004.

Storia

L'azienda è stata fondata nel 1867 con il nome di Russell, Morgan & Co. ed, inizialmente, si occupava di stampe. La produzione di carte è iniziata nel 1881, dopo un congresso aziendale. Nel 1885 ha avuto inizio la produzione di quella che è diventata la linea di maggior successo: Bicycle. Il giro d'affari prodotto dalla vendita delle carte da gioco è stato tale che nel 1894, Bicycle è stata scorporata come un'attività separata: da qui è nata la United States Playing Cards Company.

La USPCC è stata acquisita dall'imprenditore spagnolo Heraclio Fournier nel 1986. Nel 2004, invece, la USPCC ha assorbito la Kem Playing Cards, una marca produttrice di carte da gioco plastificate.

Prodotti

L'azienda produce varie marche di carte da gioco, tra le quali le più famose sono:

Aviator

La produzione delle carte Aviator ha avuto inizio nel 1927 per commemorare l'impresa di Charles Lindbergh che in quello stesso anno aveva compiuto la prima trasvolata atlantica a bordo del suo monoplano leggero: lo Spirit of St. Louis. Le carte Aviator sono caratterizzate da un design uniforme, il colore predominante del dorso è il blu (o il rosso, a seconda del mazzo) con la presenza di parti bianche. Per quanto riguarda le caratteristiche generali, sono comparabili alle Bee e alle Bicycle. Sono infatti disponibili negli stessi formati, colori e dimensioni.

Bee

Le carte da gioco Bee sono un prodotto per casinò. Poiché la produzione di tali carte è iniziata nel 1892, il numero 92 compare sull'asso di picche. La USPCC ha acquistato la compagnia produttrice delle Bee subito dopo l'inizio della produzione. Queste carte hanno il dorso a quadri, di solito blu o rosso, solitamente le Bee usate nei casinò vengono personalizzate con il logo Bee sul retro. A differenza delle Bicycle, le Bee, generalmente, non hanno bordi sul dorso.

Bicycle

Bicycle Playing Cards are a popular brand of standard playing cards, and are the USPCC's original brand and product. Since 1885, the Bicycle brand has been manufactured by the United States Printing Company, which, in 1894, became the United States Playing Card Company of Cincinnati. "Bicycle" is a trademark of that company. They are popular with magicians and other card enthusiasts.

The typical Bicycle deck (Poker-standard Type 808) is a standard issue deck of cards consisting of 52 traditional Anglo-American playing cards, two jokers, an information card, and a card describing poker ranks. As with most decks, the first standard card of the deck is the uniquely-stylized Ace of Spades. The Bicycle trademark is usually also printed on the Ace of Spades. The type number of a Bicycle deck can be found both on the bottom of the deck box and on the stone of the Joker artwork.

Bicycle playing cards are sold in a variety of decks featuring different cards (such as for use in pinochle), back designs (including the traditional rider back and older Vintage backs), face designs (including Jumbo Index and Lo Vision cards for the visually impaired, and a "PokerPeek" design on their Pro series decks that simplifies looking at hole cards), and sizes (such as narrower bridge decks, thicker Masters Edition cards designed to last longer, and Big Bicycle cards that are four times the normal card size). Any of the aforementioned are traditionally available with red and blue backs, but other back colors (including black, silver, and even pastel colors) are also available. There is even a "Ghost" deck that is entirely black and white except for red hearts and diamonds on the corners of appropriate cards. Consumer paper versions of the plastic KEM type WSOP decks are sold under the Bicycle brand. In 2010, Bicycle Playing Cards released special anniversary decks which include a redesigned rear side, redesigned Ace of Spades, and 1885-2010 written under the numbers on the corner on each card.

Bicycle playing cards are commonly used in card magic and flourishes, and are generally considered by magicians as the best playing cards for most tricks, particularly those tricks where the facing of the card needs to be concealed (this is allowed by the white border on the back of the card). In addition to specialty decks specifically designed for card tricks, Bicycle also make other kinds of non-standard card decks, such as a "gaff" deck (contained in a mirrored-art box) with an assortment of unusually-altered cards that can be used with regular cards for tricks or jokes.

Magic with Bicycle Playing Cards

Magicians such as Daryl, David Blaine, Brad Christian, Cyril Takayama, Chad Nelson, Robby Arcane, and many others have all used and performed effects with Bicycle Playing Cards. Bicycle cards can have an 'air cushion' finish which improves the handling of the cards. Arrco's, Tally-Ho's, Alladin's, Dan and Dave's Smoke & Mirror cards as well as the other playing cards on this page are ideal for use with magic tricks.

Tally-Ho

Tally Ho cards are a set of decks that only recently have not been very popular. The cards are difficult to find today, and are mostly only sold in New York City (excluding online sales). They come in the standard red or blue colors, just like the bicycle brand, but has two choices of back design known as the "fan" back or the "circle" back. Due to the unique finish and the unavailability of the cards, they have become popular among card magicians/card flourishes. They were a favorite of famous magician Dai Vernon, and are common in videos of him performing tricks. They also make a notable appearance in the famous card game scene of the movie The Sting as the preferred deck of Doyle Lonnegan.

Congress

The first brand of cards introduced by the company in 1881, when it was still known as Russell, Morgan, and Co., Congress is currently the USPC's signature brand name for bridge cards and accessories. Congress cards feature a wide assortment of colorful and artistically-inspired back designs. Each Congress deck consists of the 52 standard cards (the Ace of Spades design is the same as that on Bicycle decks), two jokers, and an information card describing bridge scoring. Congress cards are commonly sold in sets of two decks: each deck bearing art complementary to the other (to allow for the common bridge practice of pre-shuffling an alternate deck for the next hand while the one deck is in play). Both standard and jumbo index cards (for the visually impaired) are available.

KEM

A double set of KEM cards.

KEM cards are made from cellulose acetate, and are considered the "gold standard" of Poker playing cards because they are considered the most durable cards available: able to withstand even washing and still be playable. Just about all USA casino poker rooms use KEM (Bridge size) cards for this reason, leaving the traditional "Poker size" Bee cards for the Blackjack tables. Since 2007, the official cards of the World Series of Poker have been plastic Bridge size KEM cards (though they bear the Bicycle brand name). KEM cards are also available to the consumer (usually at specialty game shops) with various back colors and designs in both "poker" (wide) and bridge (narrow) sizes

PokerPeek

USPC debuted a new line of plastic cards called "PokerPeek" at the 2007 World Series of Poker. The face of each card has the rank and suit at all four corners, at a 45° angle to the card's edges, and the size of the traditional face designs are reduced and flanked by jumbo-index ranks. The design was an attempt to make it easier for players to read their hole cards, while at the same time making it more difficult for anyone but that player to discern their hand. However, the new cards were largely pulled from play and replaced with decks having a more traditional face layout due to complaints from players due to the tiny sized indexes and confusion with the "6" and the "9". The "PokerPeek" face design was integrated into the paper Bicycle Pro series of casino-quality cards aimed at the home market, and currently available at retail as of 2008.

External links

• United States Playing Card Company