This gets argued about far more than it deserves. The trade is simple and the right answer depends almost entirely on how often the deck is dealt.

What plastic buys you

A hundred percent PVC deck does not absorb liquid, does not soften at the corners, and can be wiped or washed and put straight back into play.

For a card room dealing every night, one plastic deck replaces a great many paper ones, and the arithmetic is not close.

What paper buys you

A better surface for fine matte print, a lower price by a wide margin, and a handling feel most casual players are used to.

For an event, a giveaway, a gift or a publisher run, paper on cored stock with an embossed finish is the right product and plastic is money spent on durability nobody will use.

The things people get wrong

Plastic is slicker and heavier and it snaps rather than bends. Some regular players dislike it permanently, which is worth discovering with a sample deck rather than a pallet.

And plastic is opaque throughout, so the core question simply does not arise — but that is not a reason to buy it if the deck is only ever handed out.

A reasonable rule

Dealt daily, or handled wet: plastic. Everything else: paper, cored, embossed. If you are between the two, order a sample of each and deal a few hands.