Ian Baxter

1st edition 2020, PDF 9 pages.

"A significant improvement with a radical new use for the Himber Wallet. Very clever thinking indeed. Perfect!" - David Jones

"Loved It. Very, very clean, Loved the fact that the deck is shuffled at the outset. Cannot fault it." - Charles Gauci

"A very direct effect here - entertaining presentation, plays big, kicker ending and can be done with a borrowed deck. This card mystery has it all!" - David Jones

1st edition 2020, PDF 4 pages.

1st edition 2019, PDF 4 pages.

1st edition 2019, PDF 11 pages.

Jones continues: "As with his Five Kinks series, or his previous offering Three To Consider, Ian has once again provided us with three very entertaining card mysteries, all of which are high audience impact, but require minimal sleights."

Scarne's Certified Thought, Mark Of The Whistler, and Random Paradox all attest to Baxter's revisions.

1st edition 2019, 13 pages....

Too Easy Ace Cutting sees Ian reducing sleights to an absolute minimum for this timeless favorite, adding a surprise ending.

Distinctive Side Steal describes a handling for this sleight which resolves the one fundamental problem with the move, making it far easier to acquire.

Brown's Wandering Card: Ian describes his own version here and includes a subtlety which significantly enhances the deceptiveness of Brown's routine.

1st edition 2019, 17 pages.

"Another look at the Three Of Clubs problem" and you will be hard pressed to find an easier, more practical application than this one. Performer places a card on the table, spectator thinks of and names any card in the deck. Performer turns over his prediction and wow...that's it!

The raw effect is impressive: Performer extracts a card from the deck, placing it face down to the table. Spectator now names any card that comes to mind, with the tabled selection revealed as the one thought of. Yes, as brief and as straightforward as that.

A firm favourite that has been making the rounds for...

Here is a 21st Century version of John Scarne's Think-A-Card, published by U.F. Grant back in 1938. Whereas Scarne's version relied on the convenience of writing predictions on cigarette papers, Baxter completely dispenses with this quaint idea with a new, slick presentation.

Daley was really fired up about this highly effective mental test from the ingenious Scarne: "You are about to become the possessor of a rare and beautiful gem in mental magic" he enthused. "Simple in its modus operandi and yet so tremendously effective...an almost perfect demonstration of mind reading."

Scarne, a universally recognized...

That popular card plot One-Eyed Jack Sandwich is given a new lease of life here, with the assisting spectator being asked where the magic is to take place – within the deck or out of it. Themed after a 1930’s classic The Charmed Watch, this smooth handling is sure to delight the most fastidious card man.

The One-Eyed Jack Sandwich theme was popularized by Harry Lorayne. However, it was none other than the Australian Charles Wicks who started the ball rolling, with his contribution The Charmed Watch appearing in The Magic Wand journal over eighty years ago. Ian's streamlined version keeps within the guidelines of...

A perennial favorite in card magic: A chosen card is lost in the deck and the performer, showing the Ace, Two and Three of one suit, offers to change whichever is picked into the selection. That is exactly what happens, with Baxter’s smooth method making good use of The Ascanio Spread, achieving just that. Full instructions given, straightforward and easy to learn.

This revision of the Vernon classic not only underlines the all-important simplicity angle by using a shortcut display move, but dispenses with Vernon's need for Palming. Bruce Elliott briefly touched on this in the concluding lines...

Five of Baxter’s best with cards – all impromptu, all straightforward, all within reach of the average card man. Included is Easy Going Triumph, which puts the famous Vernon effect into an even more convincing mode and not a sleight in sight.

Direct and clean effects achieved by simple methods. With an introduction by Charles Gauci.

• Shared Sandwich
• Staying In Touch
• Rag
• Coin Spell
• Easy Going Triumph

1st edition 2018, 16 pages.

Here is a fall-over-easy card trick that has taken in well-informed magicians. Based on Ken de Courcy’s ‘You Do As I Do’ approach called [lp=922355You’ll Get The Point], Baxter rises to the occasion with a baffling presentation using a cleverly concealed, ancient principle. Totally impromptu, no gimmicks, set up or sleights.

Why the extraneous procedure of changing packets? To Ian, this seems totally unnecessary, although (obviously) the mechanics of the trick, as is, necessitate it. This effect is almost exactly the same as the de Courcy contribution, but the method is altogether different.

1st edition 2018, 2 pages....

A sparkling assortment of card mysteries from Ian Baxter, five in each of three manuscripts. Introductions to all three are from David Jones, who very keenly endorses each and every effect. If you are into card magic, these are not to be missed.

In Miraskill Detour Ian has taken the classic Miraskill and turned it into a totally impromptu and self working mystery, while in the process managing to streamline the procedure and still maintain the strong impact of the original routine.

MBJ Echo is a re-working of an old Henry Christ trick, simple both in effect...

Underhanded Overhand is an extremely well finessed handling of the old ruse of appearing to have the entire deck shuffled with each half being shuffled independently.

The Cross Cut Force has been around since the 1920's and has remained virtually unchanged ever since. It is a simple move, but difficult to perform convincingly. Ian has taken another tack and by slightly changing the choreography of the move,...

Ian loves to tinker! Given his strong creative abilities, this tinkering has more often than not, resulted in much improved effects, more streamlined methods, or both. Over the years, Ian has released a number of books and manuscripts that detail some excellent card effects. Numerous One Man Parades in the IBM monthly magazine The Linking Ring have also been published.

On one occasion I remember fooling many well informed card men at the prestigious FFFF meeting in New York State, with one of Ian's streamlined handlings of a classic card effect. ...

A collection of three re-worked card classics and as Dan Tong says in his Introduction, “Ian has produced three very usable approaches to three classic effects.” That says it all!

Easygoing Carlyle is a no-palm Card To Pocket with a repeat phase that any serious magician can do in a few days. It is almost self-working.

With Nicely Controlled, Ian has refashioned an old trick that was a favorite of none other than S. Leo Horowitz.

Follow The Leader is certainly a classic. What Ian offers here is a six card routine that is simpler to set up than most of the older eight card routines...

Jon Racherbaumer steps forward with a very keen Introduction to this Baxter treatment of the classic Three Jacks Deal. “…celebrate and perform Baxter’s latest, evolutionary entry.” It has been around since 1928, but this version guides it well into the 21st century.

Ian Baxter has accomplished something remarkable. He has taken a wonderful classic self-working effect, that has been described and worked on by such luminaries as Walter Gibson, John Scarne, Rufus Steele, Harry Lorayne, Ed Marlo and made it even better, more direct, less dealing procedures while preserving the effect, the sleight-less feature as well as adding an additional climax....

Originally launched as "Australia's Only Sleight Of Hand Monthly" and published between 1974 and 1982, The Blueprint still retains that claim today. Editors Barry Govan, Ian Baxter, Murray Cooper and Gerry McCreanor churned out a much-discussed journal that featured contributions from the likes of Ed Marlo, Jon Racherbaumer, Tom Gagnon, Dan Tong, Ray Grismer, Phil Goldstein, Jeff Busby, Jerry Mentzer, Harry Lorayne, et al. For the Close Up performer, absolutely certain to please.

The Blueprint was started by Barry Govan and Ian Baxter and taken over for the last two volumes by Murray Cooper and Gerry McCreanor. It ran from July 1974 to...