Dustin Marks was a professional blackjack player and blackjack dealer in Las Vegas during the 1980's. After retiring he wrote the books: Cheating at Blackjack and Cheating at Blackjack Squared. He also directed and was the talent in the DVD: Cheating at Blackjack: The Real Work.
Dustin still lives in Las Vegas and is currently working on a show based on his life as a blackjack cheat.
website: www.Dustinmarks.com
Effect: The spectator shuffles and cuts a regular deck, then chooses four cards, placing them under the table. After he picks one card by its position (top card, second card, third card, or bottom card) and moves the cards by an imaginary roll of the dice, the magician - without seeing or touching the cards - reveals the chosen card's identity.
If you have a client or friend you want to impress, this is the effect, plus you give them a souvenir.
Effect: Two decks are examined and shuffled by spectators. A card is freely chosen from a third deck The Queen of Hearts (QH) and turned face up. The (QH), mysteriously appears at the same position in the two independently shuffled decks. The magician seemingly never touched the cards.
Imagine: Two spectators each shuffle a deck. From a third deck, a card - the Queen of Hearts (QH) - is freely chosen and turned face up. With seemingly no involvement from the magician, both spectators are instructed to count down to the same specific number of cards in their shuffled decks. The unbelievable...
Spectator shuffles the deck. The magician immediately produces two of the aces. Spectator shuffles again. The spectator cuts to an ace. The final ace is found under impossible conditions.
This is not another cut the aces where the magician shows off his skill. The Gilbreath Principle meets corner short cards.
1st edition 2025, PDF 11 pages.
The two black aces visually change places with the two red aces and then instantly change into two Blackjacks.
1st edition 2025, PDF 11 pages.
Effect: A written prediction that the spectator has their finger on changes places with the card the spectator saw in the deck. A vanish, transposition, and a prediction all in less than 60 seconds.
Imagine this: Your spectator places their finger on a card they believe contains a written prediction. They then select a card from the deck. When the dust settles, the card they selected has vanished from the deck, and the very card under their finger, the one they thought was the prediction, is revealed to be their selected card. Meanwhile, the prediction card appears in the deck, proving...
The magician repeatedly influences the spectator to correctly guess the color (red or black) of a hidden playing card.
Imagine carrying just two cards and engaging your spectator in an effect based on persuasion and influence. With just two cards, you can make the spectator believe you have the power to influence his decisions at will.
The effect provides an understanding of persuasion for the spectator and, at the same time, aims to create rapport with them. Once rapport is established, the spectator may be interested in seeing your additional effects.
If you are looking for something...
Imagine this: the spectator shuffles their deck, and without touching the deck, you have control over their freely selected card.
You can create powerful miracles for your spectators by simply knowing the bottom card. Learn simple, deceptive techniques to gain this crucial information that creates wonders. Learn key strategies for secretly obtaining the identity of the bottom card, techniques for controlling spectator-selected cards relative to the key card, methods for forcing the bottom card, and numerous reveals.
When the bottom card is known, it acts as a key card tracking the location...
Effect: The spectator chooses cards based on their vacation preferences (Hawaii or The Alps - Red or White Wine - Tour or Show) and eliminates other cards until only one card remains, becoming the spectator's chosen card, aka their travel companion. A hidden prediction correctly identifies the selected card, which is the only blank card in the deck and the spectator's three vacation choices. This effect is achieved without psychological forces.
This effect has an emotional appeal to the spectator, as they make choices about their fantasy vacation. Strong enough to be your closure.
Introducing my Second Chance Collection - a carefully selected set of six individual eBooks ready for rediscovery. While these gems didn't sell well when first appearing on Lybrary.com, I'm confident you will perform these effects if you give them a chance. I'm offering this complete collection at over 50% off the regular price.
And here's what makes this deal even better - I'm including my bestseller for Free: 103 Tips and Resources for Magicians. This eBook alone is worth the price. It will save you time and money.
The magician reveals thoughts that four spectators are only thinking of without anything being written down or asking any questions.
If you are not familiar with the General Card Principle, it will change the way you think about and perform magic. It is that strong. The General Card Principle is not an effect; it is a principle that, when fully understood, creates miracles that have no explanations. It is one of the most powerful principles in magic. Once you fully understand the General Card Principle, you will have an aha moment.
This eBook presents a mind-blowing effect utilizing the...
Effect: The spectator secretly writes the first names of a family member on one business card, a friend on another card, a foe on the third card, and finally a person he has never met on the final card. The cards are mixed by the spectator. The magician identifies the name that corresponds to the correct category (Family, Friend, Foe, Fake). He does this two more times. For the kicker, the magician reveals the name written on the final card without ever seeing the name.
Effect: The magician shows the spectator a unique deck of cards, each bearing a different word. The spectator riffle shuffles the deck. The magician turns away as the spectator takes the top five cards and creates a sentence using those words on the cards. Different sentences can be created by the spectator. Without asking any questions, the magician reveals the exact sentence created by the spectator.
Unlock the power of words with Gilbreath with Words - amaze your audience with your knowledge of the future!
Gilbreath with Words is a powerful and baffling effect that will leave your...
This eBook offers practical tips for magicians to enhance their performances. It emphasizes the importance of clear communication and engaging presentation to make magic effects more impactful and deceptive. The eBook offers specific suggestions on what to say and do, covering topics like misdirection, audience interaction, and handling potential issues. It stresses the value of showing rather than telling, using casual language for important actions, and minimizing dead time. Furthermore, it touches upon psychological principles to influence spectator choices and create stronger magical experiences. ...
Effect: One spectator merely thinks of a card. A second spectator deals cards face down, stopping absolutely anywhere they choose. The card they stop at is the first spectator's exact thought of card. Easy to do, no complicated procedures, instant reset.
Here's why "The Jokers Are In On It" is a must-have for your repertoire:
Spectator Shuffles the Deck: The spectator shuffles before and after thinking of their card, making any suspicion of magician manipulation impossible. This reinforces the feeling of fairness.
Minimal Magician Handling: You seemingly only touch the deck to remove...
Effect: A prediction is placed face down on the table. The cards are shuffled, and the spectator cuts the deck. The spectator makes all the choices, yet the prediction clearly names four specific cards and their final positions: who is holding which card, the identity of the card on the table, and the top card of the deck.
Are you looking for a powerful card and easy effect that will leave your audience stunned and questioning the very nature of their choices? Look no further! The Journey to Destiny is a mind-blowing prediction effect that appears to give the spectator complete control,...
A version of the Cut Deeper Force that provides reason and logic as to why the cards are turned over.
The Ultimate Hands-Off Force.
Imagine this: Your spectator shuffles their own deck. You never touch the deck, yet you manage to have them freely select a card you already know. Then, for an even more astonishing finish, you can reveal the exact position of their chosen card within the deck.
This isn't a dream – it's the reality of The Force, a revolutionary technique that puts the power of card control unknowingly into your spectator's hands.
Utterly Deceptive: The spectator shuffles...
This eBook covers the topic of corner short cards in depth, including what they are, how to create them, their impressive capabilities, and 14 very ingenious effects using them. If you're new to the concept of a corner short card, you will discover a powerful tool that will soon become a part of your arsenal. Corner short cards are the secret weapon of many of the top card experts. These weapons help magicians control cards in an invisible way to create miracles.
If you don't have a corner short card in your deck, you are missing out. The versatility of the corner short card is only limited...
Featuring an unexpected and impossible prediction. A spectator selects a card and shuffles it back into the deck while the magician's back is turned. The magician then identifies the spectator's card and reveals a duplicate of that card already present in the deck before the effect began.
Note: You will need to buy a corner rounder ($12).
1st edition 2025, PDF 10 pages.
Effect: The magician, demonstrating remarkable foresight and confidence in his abilities, cuts to the exact poker hand revealed by a secret prediction after the spectator shuffles the deck.
For those seeking a more realistic version of the classic 10-card poker demonstration, this presentation offers enhanced credibility and realism. The spectator thoroughly shuffles the deck both before and during the demonstration. The spectator cuts the deck taking the card he cuts to. Magician does the same. This is repeated until both have 5 cards that form a poker hand.
The demonstration concludes...
The most deceptive false cut is when the spectator cuts the deck. This false cut is one of the most convincing false cuts of all the false cuts. It looks so innocent and fair.
This technique utilizes a simple triple cut sequence that maintains the order of the deck as the spectator cuts. It does this without the complexity often associated with other false cuts. There is no shift, pass, or similar involved. The magician simply cuts the deck one handed at the end of the cutting sequence and the spectator carries the cut.
Learn step by step how to perform this amazingly deceptive false...
Effect: A prediction identifies both the freely selected card (Wild Card) and its precise location in the deck, despite the deck (52 cards) being thoroughly shuffled by the spectator after the prediction was made. The routine is framed within the context of a card game. The spectator chooses the specific card game, number of players, the Wild Card, and they deal the game. The magician never touches the cards.
Are you looking for a killer prediction effect that'll knock their socks off and is easy to do? Well, you're in luck - this is exactly what you need. This effect represents the pinnacle...
The effect centers around the illusion of manipulating time by making a prediction about a spectator's card selection. The prediction is revealed to be blank even though the spectator thought he saw the magician write the prediction. This subtly suggests that we have moved backward through time to a point before the prediction was written down. Next, the spectator's freely chosen card turns out to be blank as well. The prediction was correct! This happens with a normal deck of cards. The effect creates a sense that the past, present, and future have been merged through mysterious forces. ...
Effect: In this demonstration of mind reading, a spectator simply thinks of one shape from a selection of seven distinct shapes. The spectator keeps their chosen shape private. Through the process where the spectator secretly spells out their chosen shape, the magician reveals the shape they had only moments ago held in their mind.
Here's what makes this effect so special: by using geometric shapes instead of regular playing cards, and adapting a clever principle from the gambling world into mind reading, we've created something truly different. It's not only astonishing to your audience,...
This is a combination of Shufflebored and Joshua Jay's Total Recall effect. Think Shufflebored with no setup and the spectators shuffle the cards. There is only one minor sleight, if you can call it a sleight, and no setup. There is some easy memory work. The reset is instant, and the deck is clean. The prediction AH card has three other predictions.
New: A timeline of the events is included making it quicker and easier to learn the effect.
Two .jpgs of the prediction AH card are included, front and back. You can print it on a blank playing card, index card etc.
Q1: What is the effect...
This is without a doubt the most powerful effect in my repertoire. The reactions it consistently generates from audiences are nothing short of astounding, and what makes it even more remarkable is it's easy to do. The psychological principles throughout this effect are truly fascinating - from the way it plays with expectations to how it builds and releases tension. Each of these psychological elements has been carefully crafted to create maximum impact, and these same principles can be effectively applied to enhance numerous other effects in your performances.
Effect: In this compelling...
Are you looking for a fun effect to perform that leaves the spectator in awe? This is an effect for you. You are in complete control all the time, yet it appears the spectator makes all the choices. You relax and focus on your presentation rather than worrying about the method. This approach incorporates multiple outs into a card trick without relying on suspicious props or your pockets as an out. This method provides multiple options to easily handle different outcomes based on what your spectator chooses.
