Cards in Magic & Conjuring: page 81

Here is another magical gem from Ken De Courcy. It is packed with mystery, humor and audience participation. This card effect is suitable for close-up, stage, cabaret-floor or where you want to present it. The totally unexpected (yet logical) climax really hits the audience between the eyes and cannot fail to gather applause.

EFFECT: A lady is invited to assist. She chooses one of four envelopes and the remaining three are left in full view. She is then handed a red-backed pack to shuffle while the magician shuffles a blue pack. Then the packs are exchanged and shuffled again if you want. ...

This effect is a variant of the Card at Any Number plot, but with a full routine and a very commercial and entertaining presentation, with gags, a prediction, or divination, with a puzzling final surprise revelation, and more potential. It can be adapted for any events like Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Halloween, weddings, carnival, birthdays, conventions, etc.

It needs a one-time preparation that you can keep in your wallet or jacket, and can be used as an opener or a closer, for strolling, close up, parlor or stage.

1st edition 2017, 15 pages.

We all see those emails telling us about "the best trick of 2016".... even though we've received 10 of those emails this year. And it's only July.

Anyway, this effect amazes audiences, and fries the brains of spectators who try to figure it out.

You will learn:

• My "Habanero Change", one of the most open and fair color changes out there
• How to do this with a borrowed deck
• How to do this with signed cards

1st edition 2017, length 13 min

From the Foreword:

Like ghosts they pass up the sleeve and into the pocket.

From the introduction:

Here's an open prediction effect, which requires no gimmicks, no convoluted setup, and very few sleights.

You will learn several applications of the method, including, but not limited to:

• A Mates Prediciton
• A Summation Prediction
• A Predicted Card at Any Number
• A Selection Prediction

1st edition 2017, length 20 min

A card trick that is flashy and plays big, it is suitable for parlor or stage and requires no skill.

Four Queens are each seen in four glass tumblers facing outward. Each Queen is then turned back outward and returned to its glass. Three indifferent cards are placed in each glass with the first three Queens. The fourth Queen is left by herself in the fourth glass.

The performer waves his hands and the magic happens. The cards are removed from the first glass. There are only three cards, the Queen has vanished. This is repeated with the next two glasses. Finally, the card is removed from...

EFFECT: A ten-minute routine or act as a demonstration of how the gambler cheats. Great for close-up work or a club act. In this new act; no sleights are required. Still, you apparently deal bottoms, seconds, four aces, winning hands, etc. For example, anyone shuffles the deck, cuts it and hands it to you; still you can deal yourself 4 aces.

It's a fake, that requires no practice, but they will never know it. Demonstrate your skill without lengthy practice. Appear to be a card expert, instantly. Yes, practically every magician has wished that he could present a good gambling demonstration....

"Not only this routine (and its variations) will badly fool people, but you will also badly fool yourself the 1st time you do it. Welcome to the very clever magic of Michal Kociolek." - Jean-Jacques Sanvert

"My seething hatred for Michal's genius can be best explained by the contents within these pages. This trick is just way too clever - you will fool yourself doing it the first time, and actually every time after that as well." - Harapan Ong

"Michal Kociolek specializes in incredibly clever stacked deck effects which always possess methods of labyrinthian beauty. His manuscript,...

Jon loves to collect, compare, and organize tricks into themes and plots. This is his latest work on the piano trick.

WHAT IS THE PIANO TRICK?

A spectator places his hands palm down on the table in the same way a pianist places his hands on a keyboard. Then pairs of cards are placed between the spectator's fingers to set the stage. These pairs are then fairly removed to form two equal piles. An extra or "odd" card is added to one of the piles. Then, without any further movements or fanfare, the "odd" card inexplicably travels to the other pile.

• Introduction
• At The Beginning
• Thoughts...

Intended by the author as "Card magic that is different," here are a baker's dozen card effects that your audience will enjoy. Card discoveries, mental mysteries, and audience participation effects are all included in this gem of a book. The author, a recognized card expert, shares these effects that rely on subtlety instead of "knuckle-buster" sleights. The routines described in this ebook can be performed by most any magician of average ability.

Here's what's included:

• Introduction
• El-El Telephone Test (with additional presentations)
• Lady Be Good
• El-El Bluff Force
• El-El Four Ace...

Jack Yates was a very clever and innovative magician who has somehow stayed below the radar and is completely unknown - undeservedly so - to many particularly in the US. Jack's Pack is a clever stacking method for finding any card in a deck by way of using numbers, names, words, etc.

Edited and with additional notes by Ken de Courcy.

1st edition 1978, 8 pages; 1st digital edition 2017, PDF 10 pages.

Two devious peek devices for mentalists.

Every mentalist needs an arsenal of peek methods, be that a device, or a folding peek. The Peeks of Chaos contains two peek devices, each using the card box: the "Mockra Peek", and the "Meanas Peek". Each method is very deceptive, and the peek happens at a natural moment, with no funny movements.

1st edition 2017, length 30 min

This is one of my all-time favorite card tricks (miracles); because after seeing it, most spectators say, "NO WAY!"

Imagine this; you spread a regular deck of cards face up between your hands. All the cards are seen to be different. You tell your spectator that you want him to remove one card behind your back so there is no way you can see the card he selected. You turn your back towards him and spread out the cards face up behind your back. He is asked to remove any card and not let you see what it is. Next he takes a Sharpie pen and puts his initials on the face of the card. He inserts...

This quality volume contains 13 must-have card presentations and sleights, plus a no-sleight effect for the close-up entertainer. While not self-working, most rely on just one or two sleights. Easy-to-follow illustrations make the effects easy to understand and master.

Neal Elias was a confidant of Ed Marlo, Lin Searles, and other world class card experts. He also spent time as a demonstrator for George Snyder's magic shop in Cleveland, Ohio. No doubt several of Neal's creations will, after you read this ebook, find a place in your own routine.

Here's what's included:

• Foreword
• A Reverse Sleight ...

In 1979, Simon Aronson gave the world of magic an incredible tool - A Stack To Remember - which has come to be known as the "Aronson stack," a seemingly random arrangement of cards that has amazing miracle properties built into it.

Many magicians have avoided adding memorized deck work to their repertoires because of the daunting task of committing a stacked deck to memory. Struggling to grasp the associations of the cards and their locations within the stack, most quit after a few hours or days. I was the same way... until a Harry Anderson manuscript got me to thinking about how to make...

Nine effects from the repertoire of Michael Skinner. Forward by John Carney is very informative. (John was one of Michael Skinner's dearest friends.) Michael gave John his "Notebook of Magic" before he passed.

The introduction provides a "deep insight" into the career, life, friends, and "thinking" of this very special man. Michael Skinner is considered to be the greatest magician of all time. His sleights, subtleties, nuances, misdirection, patter, trick selection, and pace were impeccable...and the size of his repertoire was profound. Skinner could perform over 600 different effects at his prime - and...

An impromptu card divination.

Divine the amount of cards randomly cut off the deck by you or spectator without using stacks or gimmicks; you may be off by one or two cards; no setup, totally impromptu. Spectator even shuffles the deck beforehand. Borrowed deck.

Kevin Parker's system allows for this type of feat and many others.

• you're not cutting to predetermined spots; you can cut anywhere or let spectator cut.
• no insertion of a crimped, cut, shaven, or altered card into the deck to mark a location; no setup whatsoever.
• no gimmicks or stacks or deck setup; borrow a deck, let them...

Two locations based on a unique method.

No Mean Card Trick

Effect: From an unprepared pack he has just shuffled and cut, a spectator counts out ten cards and thinks of one. He buries the packet in the deck himself. The performer cuts the pack and deals out a 5x4 face-up array. He asks the spectator to think "yes" if his card is in the array. The performer confirms the card is on the table. Next the performer asks the spectator to concentrate on which horizontal row his card is in. After some effort, the performer discards the other three rows correctly. Finally, the spectator is asked...

This is a completely clean, Mate-At-Any-Number routine, using 2 decks. Oh, and no forcing.

What you're getting:

• A video explanation of the original "Long Lost Mates" routine
• A deceptive card switch
• Peeks

1st edition 2017, length 25 min

This nice choreography utilizes some basic moves and concepts to create an appearance of something real. It feels that the implications of the effect are real.

First the spectator examines a card, a Joker lets say, and it remains face up on the table. Afterwards the deck is spread face up in front of him and he is asked to move his finger, pointing always vertically towards the cards, from one end to the other. The spectator stops where he wants. The selection is determined - the four of clubs.

Not knowing what the reason for it might be, the spectator is advised to examine the Joker from...

Torn playing cards link together. It is a variation of Cardboard Connection by Paul Harris utilizing an alternate gaff. Photos and detailed description by Lewis Ganson. It also includes Jim Cozzens instructions for preparing the linked cards set.

1st edition 1981, 16 pages; PDF 17 pages.

A complete Gambler Expose act.

• Introduction
• The Gambler's Touch
• I Get The Aces
• The Gambler Gets Your Cards
• The Gambler's Second Dealing
• Three Card Monte
• Cutting The Pack
• The Sensational Poker Demonstration
  • The Demonstration
  • The Shuffle
  • Suggestions For Interchanging Cards
• Heads Or Tails
• Hitting The Spots
• Predicting The Spots
• The Thimbles And Dice
• Suggestions For Arranging A Routine

PDF 25 pages.

EFFECT: A spectator shuffles a packet of number cards as much as he wants and deals through it to create a random number. Then, he deals through a blue-backed deck of playing cards (in which the magician put a red-backed prediction) and stops at his number. Let's say his card is the 7 of Clubs. Unbelievably, the red-backed prediction is the 7 of Clubs!

NB: The deck is always dealt face-up. Self-working. Happens in the hands of the spectator. Examinable. Quick reset. No gaff. Uses one regular deck and one red-backed card only. Includes a handling to perform it anytime during your act with...