The 10 Best Luxury Playing Cards

Navy blue and bright gold foil make the theory11 Monarch look like it belongs in a palace, and it has been a favorite of collectors and magicians for years. It's printed in the U.S. on paper from certified sustainable forests, with plant-based inks, and it showed up in the heist film Now You See Me. New cards fan and shuffle smoothly. Paper picks up grime and bends with heavy play, though, so a weekly game wears it out.

Every line on the theory11 Artisan deck was drawn by hand by South African illustrator Simon Frouws, then stamped in gold foil onto deep black paper. Fanned out on a table, it looks more like the cover of an old leather book than a game deck. The maker uses plant-based inks and a starch-based coating, and the cards are printed in the U.S. The dark stock shows scuffs and pale, worn edges sooner than a white deck.

Serious home poker players prize KEM Arrow decks because the cellulose acetate plastic bends back instead of creasing, and the colors don't fade. This pair, one red and one blue, comes in a gift box from the United States Playing Card Company. Both are narrow bridge size, which is easier to hold when you have lots of cards in hand. It's a splurge, and the cards can bow over time if kept somewhere hot or damp.

For a weekly poker night, the Copag 1546 set gives you two all-plastic decks, one black and one gold, in a slim hard case. The cards wipe clean after a spilled drink and keep their snap far longer than paper. Big corner numbers make each card easy to read across the table. Copag makes them in Brazil and has sold this design since 2003. With heavy shuffling, the printed backs can fade.

A gift that looks the part, the Artisan Luxury Set packs two black and two white Artisan decks into a laser-etched wooden box. The decks inside are the same hand-drawn, gold-foiled design theory11 sells one at a time, so the box is what the extra money buys. It suits a wedding, a retirement or a thank-you for a card-loving host. Stock runs low at times, and theory11's own store has sold it for less.

Emerald green and gold foil cover the box and backs of the theory11 High Victorian, laid out in ornate scrollwork in the style of the 1800s. It suits a game room with dark wood and brass, or a bookshelf where the box stays on show. The deck is printed in the U.S. on paper from certified sustainable forests, with plant-based inks. As with any paper deck, spills and damp rooms will curl and stain the cards.

Pitch black and fully waterproof, the Gent Supply Mythical Creatures deck mixes PVC plastic with beasts from Greek, Norse, Egyptian and East Asian legend, drawn by artist Gustavo Borboa. Every court card and suit symbol is custom, and an extra card names each creature. You can take it to the pool or rinse it after a messy party. The plastic is stiffer and slicker than paper, so fancy shuffles take some practice.

Gold and silver foil share the backs and faces of the theory11 Piracy, laid over raised, textured printing you can feel under a thumb. The fonts, suits, jokers and court cards were all drawn for this pirate tale, so even the number cards carry the theme. It's newer than theory11's best-known designs, so there's little long-term owner feedback yet, and the bold theme can look out of place at a formal bridge table.

Shiny gold metal foil covers the box and backs of the Bicycle Metalluxe Gold, a dressed-up deck from the brand American card players have known since the 1880s. Inside, the faces stay familiar and easy to read, and a finish with tiny dimples helps the cards slide apart when you shuffle. They're printed in the U.S. on recyclable paper. The foil can scratch and flake at the corners after many games.

Flashy and cheap, the EAY Gold cards are gold-colored plastic with a diamond-pattern texture that catches the light. They're waterproof, so they work by a pool, on a boat or at a campsite, and they arrive in a gold box inside a clear plastic case. Treat this as party fun rather than an heirloom: the print and feel don't match a collector deck, and the gold look reads as novelty up close.