Gaffed Cards?

Question

I hear alot of references to some decks of cards being "Gaffed". My question is, what does it mean when you have a "gaff deck"?

Answer 1

Gaff simply means it's not a normal deck...usually it's used for magic tricks...a normal deck is only different in face value, and have only one of each card, and the back designs are all exactly identical...

A gaff deck includes one or more of the following...
1. A different back design for one or more cards
2. A mark on the back design (called a juiced card)
3. One or more repeats in cards...meaning the deck may have more than 52 cards...
4. Some cards removed
5. Some cards with double face values

A gaff deck is usually used for "mind reading tricks" where the magician is able to name your card without looking at it's face value...a gaffed deck can cost around 3.5 times as much as the original...