I bought a few John-Bannon-effects - namely Twisted Sisters, Royal Scam and Spin Doctor - and I'm very happy with all of them. I only found the cards that come with the DVD to be very prone to getting dirty and sticky - which is particularly annoying for the effects that take a lot of counting and spreading and pushing-off. Obviously, this is not too much of a problem for Twisted Sisters, but for the other two, it is very well. By very prone I mean VERY prone: I have practiced Spin Doctor not more than 30 times now and already the cards show signs of wear: They start to look dirty and they become sticky, it's virtually impossible to back-spread them correctly. They look like perfectly normal USPCC-playing cards and at the beginning, that's what they handle like, too.
I tried to clean the cards, carefully trying to remove the larger specks of dirt with an X-Actor-knife and an eraser and then using just a little sprinkle of fanning powder, but that didn't really got me too far: They are good for four to five rounds and then start to show the same problems again. I resorted to compile the necessary cards from a few decks I had lying around (USPCC and Phoenix)and that seems to work quite well, although the backs of these cards don't look quite as flashy and colourful as those supplied with the effects. But at least, these cards "behave" like what I'm used to and they last a long time and everything.
Question is: Am I doing something wrong that anyone could think of? Or maybe is this a general phenomenon with certain batches of cards? Anything I could do to clean up the supplied cards? Because quite honestly: I like the effects _a lot_ and would like to use the "original" cards if possible. Many thanks in advance for any hint!

The cards are no different than any other bicycle card. Problem is, you are practicing too much, can't have that.

Seriously, if you are performing a packet trick a great deal your best bet is to buy a second for perfomances vs. practice or do what you did and make your own set.

Yes, a second set is wise.

You may also want to clean your hands more frequently.

All good advice above. Additionally, practice the "moves and counts" with different cards saving Bannons cards for actual performance.

Yes, Rizzo, I have practice decks and performance decks.

Thanks for all the advice: Will abide by it ...

Can one buy just the refills from John?

I have that to be the case with Bannon cards, sometimes with other special printed Gaffs. Don't know if the finish or something is different. I have a few extra sets of the tricks I love. It never occurred to me to keep a separate set for practice. Will certainly do that from now on. John has never listed refills on his website.

Twisted Sisters is only $15, not much more than most refills.

Fanning powder and wipe off any actual goo specks with a clean fingernail. (in the reverse order)