Fallen Angels©
By Mr. Newell Unfried
 
Background
Fallen Angels© is a deck marking system for Bicycle® playing cards. It allows one to know the value and suit of a card by viewing the card back. It uses a technique called blockout work. A special pen is provided as well as a technique for its use. The application technique and system will work for either red or blue backed cards.
 
Deck Marking Systems
Many systems have been devised to mark the backs of playing cards to allow one to know the card value and/or suit. Some employ adding material to a card, removing material from a card, special cutting procedures, etc. The technique to be explained involves adding ink to particular areas of the card. The technique is called blockout work. I have included several references for those who wish to explore deck-marking systems further.
 
Objectives
My objectives in creating this system were three fold. First, I wanted to make sure that the marks were not readily detectable and would pass a simple riffle test. Second, I wanted a system that would work despite the variance in deck-to-deck color and card texture. You know that this can be difficult. How many times have we purchased a gimmicked card whose back color did not perfectly match your normal deck? Lastly, I wanted to be able to easily determine a card’s value and suit irrespective of which way the card was oriented.