Cards in Magic & Mentalism

The magician apparently memorizes a shuffled deck and locates the spectator's made-up card.

A deck of cards is thoroughly shuffled by the spectator and spread face-up. The magician claims he can memorize the order of any deck within seconds thanks to his training and a bit of luck. To demonstrate this, he turns away and instructs the spectator to create a card at random, thereby ensuring complete fairness and eliminating any suspicion of forcing. To do so, the spectator cuts into the deck twice - once to select a suit and once to select a value - and combines them to get a made-up playing...

Adding to a classic of card magic.

"Wow, what a swindle! In the best sense of the word. Just outstanding!" This is just one reviewer sounding off about Two plus Two, an ingenious revision of that popular mystery The Two Card Trick from Bert Allerton. Not overlooking Bro John Hamman stepping forward some years later with a clever overhaul of the same effect, the evolution of this firm favourite continues. Still very eagerly being performed today, it reinforces that old saying - some magic never ages.

Another reviewer comment: "The trick, in essence, is quite simply...

A fully impromptu performance: you borrow a deck, let the spectator give it a thorough shuffle, no cull, no crimp, then claim you'll memorize the positions of the four Aces. You riffle down the deck and ultimately cut cleanly to all four Aces. A full performance is shown in the demo video.

Before you purchase this tutorial, here are a few things to help you decide whether it suits you.

1. Effects of this nature require a lot of practice. My handling strips away unnecessary difficulty and simplifies moves that are normally quite demanding, but it still requires solid work. This is definitely...

Two chosen cards, seemingly impossible to track, are miraculously found by the magician.

From a shuffled deck, two spectators each select a card. While they look at their card, the magician divides the deck into two piles and turns away from the audience.

Each spectator places their card on top of a pile and thinks of a number between 1 and 10. To lose their card, they move that number of cards from the top to the bottom of their pile. Then, they assemble the deck by placing one pile on the other and may cut as much as they like.

Only now does the magician face the audience again. ...

Four blank cards, shown from both sides, suddenly have big holes cut through their centers.

1st edition 2025, video 4:25.

An amazing 'Any Card At Any Number' effect, in which a spectator chooses any card and finds it again, incredibly guided by a series of three simple operations, arbitrarily decided based on his free choice.

A highly original "Any Card At Any Number" effect, in which the illusionist explains how many of our decisions are influenced today, despite ourselves, by mathematics and computers, as demonstrated, for example, by the spread of Artificial Intelligence.

After taking a deck of cards out of its case and placing it face down on the table, he asks a spectator to freely think of any card...

From a deck of cards, the spectator selects one card and, without showing it to anyone, loses it back into the deck. The performer then takes a second deck, shuffles it, and shows that the cards are in a random order, pointing out that two twin cards happen to be together in the center. Taking it as a sign of destiny, the performer decides to use those twin cards to find the spectator's selection - even though he has no idea what it is. After shuffling the deck again, the pair of twin cards magically capture another card, which, however, turns out to be the twin of the chosen one. Undeterred,...

Five lovely small packet routines involving apples from Stephen Tucker, Per Clausen, and Shiv Duggal.

The last routine plays off the 'Apple' computer angle. With Apple Inc. having made such a meteoric rise, with many having Apple computers or phones, this routine would probably play even better today than it did during the 1980s. Some changes in the patter will be necessary, but the general idea has merit.

The booklet came originally with six custom cards showing apples and an apple core, some with blank backs, some with regular backs. These cards are not included with this download, but...

This is my adaptation of Marlo's A Number for Fast Company. I've reworked it to be completely impromptu, finishing with a clean, accurate cut to the spectator's selection.

The spectator shuffles the deck freely, chooses any card, and returns it before shuffling again. The performer then names the exact position of the selection and says, "If I know the position of your card, I should be able to cut straight to it." He then lifts off a packet - matching the number just named - and the final card of that packet is the spectator's selection. Full performance in the demo video. ...

After the spectator creates a two-digit number from cards numbered from 1 to 16, he shuffles the 16 cards, not once but twice. The magician deals them out, once for the past, once for the present and once for the future. The dealt matrix forms a magic square adding to the spectator's number in 80 different ways!

Works automatically. No memorization. No calculations. A new combination of principles never before used.

1st edition 2025, PDF 34 pages.

An incredible mentalism effect with cards, totally impromptu and hands-off, in which the illusionist will find the card thought of and scattered within a deck that the spectator himself, cutting in various parts, will shuffle several times, also faces against backs.

This is an incredible effect involving the retrieval of a thought-of card, totally impromptu, practically hands-off (the illusionist will only pick up the deck of cards at the end of the experiment) and therefore always ready for a performance, even if the magician only has a borrowed deck of cards, which may even be incomplete. ...

Two Jokers produce two Aces in the middle, and finally, the Jokers transform into the remaining two Aces. A classic effect with a unique and visual handling. Complete performance in the video.

1st edition 2025, video 4:53

Effect: A spectator names one of the four suits (Ex: Hearts). The spectators shuffle the deck. When the spectator spreads the cards, all the Hearts are grouped together. The magician seemingly never touched the cards.

"I really like the concept. It's clever, direct, and the psychological frame you suggest for the alternative presentation is a great touch. That the magician never touches the cards and yet the Hearts come together makes it feel genuinely impossible. The reset is also very practical: a big plus!" - Gaia Elisa Rossi

Description: Are you looking for a killer effect that...

An exciting mentalism effect in which the spectators themselves, after naming any card in the deck, imagine in their mind that they can find it as the only one still in its 'right' place in a shuffled deck, giving rise to an amazing "A.C.A.A.N."!

This is an original new "Any Card At Any Number" type effect, which will most likely be different from anything you have ever seen before!

"... Kudos for coming up with this stack that lets you find any card in its place... And congratulations also for the method you used... Everything is explained very well and in an understandable way! Great!!!...

This is my direct cut to the four Aces and four Kings routine. It's simple and easy to learn, using only basic card handling techniques. No crimp, no estimation needed. Full performance in the video.

1st edition 2025, video 4:29

Corner Short Cards (CSC) are the secret weapon of the top card magicians. These advanced secrets will take your card magic to the next level.

• Reduce the amount of riffling to find the CSC in the deck
• Cutting a non-index CSC to the top of the deck
• Riffle stacking secrets using CSCs
• An Incredible force using CSCs
• Know the spectator’s freely chosen CSC blindfolded
• Practice Tips

This eBook is for magicians who have a working knowledge of CSC. How to create them and the differences (index vs non-index CSC) is not covered in this eBook.

1st edition 2025, PDF 18 pages.

This is a location-based stack that allows you to determine the position of two freely cut cards, even after the spectator shuffles. No sleights, no force, no gimmicks. Full performance is in the video.

1st edition 2025, video 5:53

In the art of magic, the ultimate goal is to create a moment of pure, unadulterated astonishment - an experience so clean and impossible that it transcends mere trickery and feels like real magic. For the spectator, this requires an effect built on a foundation of total fairness. The challenge is to guide them to a place where the only remaining explanation is: your spectator has just experienced the impossible.

Effect: Imagine this from your spectator's perspective. You are handed a deck of cards. You inspect it and shuffle the deck. When you are satisfied, the magician turns his back....

Five effects that connect into one routine.

Tired of forgetting your best tricks when an audience asks for a spontaneous performance? Magic a la Card solves the routine problem, offering a complete, five-effect card set that requires zero sleight of hand. This is a fully sequenced act designed to build in crescendo to a powerful climax: a sleightless Card in the Wallet effect. From the psychological deception of The Lie Detector (where the back of the card predicts the outcome) to a modernized 21 Card Trick and an impossible Mathematical Prediction, the pack is prearranged, and the tricks...

Annemann's Synthetic Sympathy is a long-regarded classic of card magic, with a history dating back to 1921 when Charles T. Jordan put out his original version. Annemann slotted it into an early edition of his magazine The Jinx. It took off like wildfire and Jean Hugard promptly included the Annemann update in Encyclopedia Of Card Tricks, further enhancing its popularity. Then Max Holden jumped on the bandwagon and published it yet again, including it in his Annemann compendium Full Deck Of Impromptu Card Tricks.

Holden was particularly...

The Gombert Pass, as published in the Gen Volume 22, Number 3, July 1966, has a complicated and mysterious past. At some point, some card experts believed Gombert was a pseudonym of Edward Marlo. Jon Racherbaumer traces its history and finds and connects with Jan Gombert, the author of the article in the Gen.

• Meetings And Passings: Memes And Themes
• Gombert Pass Reverse
• One-Third Of The Gombert Pass
• Cervon's Invisible Reverse
• Turnover Pass Reverse
• One Fantastic Move
• Bibliography
• Finding Gombert

1st edition 2004, PDF 25 pages.

An adaptation of a classic card routine - the Spades 1, 2, 3, and 4 travel between the top and bottom of the deck, finally gathering together on top. Just when you think it's over - no, the magic has only begun. The Spades 5, 6, 7, and 8 appear on top of the deck, the Spades 9, 10, J, and Q appear on the bottom, and the final Spade King rises to the very top of the deck. For full details, see the performance video.

1st edition 2025, video 8:00.

Effect: The spectator freely selects a card under the fairest of conditions. It is lost in the deck by the spectator. After placing the cards in the cardbox, it is wrapped in a handkerchief. The spectator holds the handkerchief and gives it a shake. His card falls to the table.

Description: This is a classic of card magic. Under the fairest possible conditions, a spectator selects a card from a deck that he has shuffled. The deck is placed in the cardbox and wrapped in a handkerchief. It is dropped by the spectator instead of the magician. This version uses an ungimmicked opaque handkerchief...

A card game between four players, in which the magician seems to have no control, unless he manages to use magic to enchant the cards of each of the players.

This is a completely improvised card trick that the illusionist performs by randomly choosing three spectators and giving them a common deck of cards (even borrowed) that they can freely shuffle, before dealing a hand of cards (five apiece) to each of them.

The magician will show that, after everyone has looked at their cards, they must choose and remember the highest value card, placing it on top of their deck, keeping all cards...

Ready-to-perform routines from a working magician's repertoire.

Hidden in Plain Sight isn't just another magic book - it's a curated collection of four battle-tested routines from Marko, a professional magician with 57 years of real-world experience. These are not theoretical curiosities or over-engineered gimmicks, but practical, powerful tricks that have fooled audiences on television, cruise ships, corporate stages, and intimate parlors across two continents. Each routine is streamlined for performance, easy to prepare, and designed to leave spectators genuinely astonished.

Whether...

This ebook explores the famous card magic theme "Any Card At Any Number," coined by mentalist David Berglas.

"This book has been produced with great attention to detail. Each effect is accompanied by numerous images that clearly illustrate the method, preparation, and execution. In some cases, links are provided to useful videos for further exploration of the topic covered. It contains some ingenious effects alongside others that are simpler, but all are guaranteed by the "trademark": B. Magic." - Davide Rubat Remond

All these effects, selected from the best I have...

Sandwich and Collectors are two of my favorite card effects and the ones I've studied the most. This is my original routine combining both effects.

The spectator selects a card, returns it to the deck, and the deck is shuffled. The magician cuts the two Jokers and four Aces into the center. When the deck is spread again, the two Jokers are found sandwiching the spectator's selection, while the four Aces have collected the other three cards of the same value. A pure sleight-of-hand routine with no difficult moves.

1st edition 2025, video 6:59.

Effect: The spectator shuffles the deck and cuts it, looking at the card he cut to (4D). The magician does the same showing his card to the spectator (KS). He places that card (KS) face down on the table. The magician spreads the deck face up, revealing one face-down card. It is the magician's card. The card on the table is the spectator's card.

Description:

Are you looking for an easy-to-do card effect that delivers an astonishing transposition while convincing the spectator they are in full control? This is the card transposition the spectator does not see coming.

Maximum deception...

Impromptu rising card trick.

No setup is required, no gimmicks, and no difficult sleights. With just a regular deck, the spectator's selection rises from the pack. The effect is direct and fast. For the full effect, see the performance video.

1st edition 2025, video 3:32

Effect: Spectator thinks of any card, no force. They can change their mind. Without asking any questions or looking at the faces of the cards, the magician names the card. This is about as close to pure mind reading as it gets.

Description:

If you could truly read a spectator's mind, you would have them think of a card and then reveal it without asking any questions. But there's one more important element: verification of the card the spectator is thinking of. We all know there are spectators who want the magician to fail. They might lie about which card they were thinking of.

You...

Effect: Spectator 1 shuffles the deck, takes it under the table and looks at any card. Spectator 2 just thinks of a card. The magician reveals the name of spectator #1 card and the name and position in the deck of spectator #2 thought of card!

This is the strongest effect I have ever created! An effect that dives deep into the timeless mystery of chance versus choice.

This routine combines two classic principles of magic into an amazing new weapon: a third principle that can be used with other card effects. And just when you think it can’t go further, a brand-new principle is introduced—pushing...

This is my control system, which allows you to cleanly push the card into the deck with no visible break, and still maintain control.

The system can control the card to four common positions: the top, the bottom, the second from the top, and the second from the bottom. It can be applied flexibly in many card routines, taking your sleight of hand to the next level. For the detailed controls, please watch the performance video.

1st edition 2025, video 4:11

Ace Assembly routines have been with us for decades. Some originate from the best brains in magic, others too numerous to mention, are utterly forgettable - lengthy, complex routines overburdened with ham-fisted false counts, lugubrious palming techniques, endless Double Lifts and quaint presentation ideas.

If you are heartily sick of these approaches, here is a routine that will grab your attention.

Aces With Artistry is just what its title implies, an Ace Assembly that stands up there with the best of them. Visually captivating, AWA owes its pedigree to Ed Marlo and is based...

A new card magic effect, incredibly automatic and hands-off, in which the spectator himself, after choosing any card from the deck, will start an impressive "A.C.A.A.N."!

The title refers to a new Automatic Card Magic effect that is completely hands-off, where the magician, once he has introduced, shuffled, and quickly shown the deck, will have it cut and leave it entirely in the hands of a spectator, until the end of the experiment, without ever touching the cards again! It is an "Any Card At Any Number" effect type where, thanks to the introduction of a brand new stack, almost impossible...

This intro price will go up to $12 from October 13, 2025

This series of Suit Ordering Systems is probably the world's first 'super store' for ordering suits. The main purpose of these various Suit Ordering Systems is to create a random sequence of suits while retaining a secret pattern visible only to the performer. The applicability of these SOS methods is for various stacks like memorized, algorithmic, mnemonic or any other type of stacked decks.

In this SOS Volume 5, a new innovative concept of Position Pair Suits is used to create a random suit sequence instead of the obvious red/black...

You feign a centre deal with basic moves. You openly cut the four Kings into the deck and deal them to the spectator. But the four cards you get are the four Aces. Easy and magical! You get a bonus tutorial of Imperial Bicycles.

1st edition 2025, video 10:05.

Snow Drift Deck: A find the Lady type of effect using a deck of 52 blank cards and a Queen.

Origami Card Discovery: A strip of folded paper displays a prediction of a card which a spectator will select. It's wrong! The image magically changes, and the prediction is 100% correct.

Simplicity Card to Wallet: No special wallets used, yet the same effect is accomplished using a very simple method.

Peek-A-Boo!: A joker card, which has a corner missing, is used to locate a chosen card within a shuffled deck.

Split Down the Middle: Ian's version of the classic 'Split Deck'. The deck has...

This is a trick for quickly locating four selections.

During an overhand shuffle, four cards are freely chosen, with no control involved. The spectators clearly see the cards lost in four different positions. Yet in the end, the magician can still locate all four selections with precision. For the full routine and effect, see the video demonstration.

• No force
• No gimmick
• No memory work
• No peeking

1st edition 2025, video 6:42.