Cards in Magic & Mentalism: page 105

Nick Conticello wraps up his latest series with an effect which will amaze laypeople and fracture magicians!

Working with a shuffled, borrowed deck, the performer looks through it to find a "lucky locator card." After some shuffling a volunteer cuts the pack, counts off ten cards and thinks of one, then buries the counted cards in the deck and cuts it. The performer runs through the deck and takes out the lucky locator. He begins describing the locator to the person who selected the card. Sometimes he's lucky and the locator card is the selection. Sometimes he's not, so he spells out a phrase...

Notes on the 18 Card Trick.

Nick Conticello starts a new series of ebooks on sleightless magic with a new take on the venerable 27 Card Trick. A card merely thought of by a volunteer is revealed at a position the volunteer requests at the start. This method uses just 18 cards and needs no complex formulas or tables, just a few simple rules. Besides the basic effect, Nick adds a presentation that elevates this item from a mere puzzle to a great card effect.

1st edition 2017, 11 pages.

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...

Problem: To divine or locate two cards that are merely thought of by two persons.

This effect has intrigued me for many years. I've published several approaches in the past ("Think Stop" in Automatic Placements, "Talons of the Hawk" and "Talons of the Bat" in Potpourri 2, to cite a few) but these tricks smack openly of mathematics. They lack the directness of selection and revelation I would deem ideal.

Two classic but widely divergent approaches are Ed Marlo's "Double Thought, Single Deck" and Simon Aronson's "Simon-Eyes." Recently, I combined Marlo's basic premise with a concept of Aronson's and a hitherto unpublished key card...

[Note: If you purchase this together with Sunken Treasury: Part 1 and 2 and Sunken Treasury: Part 3, 4 and 5 you will get The Catch-All Principle for free. Discount is automatically applied in the shopping cart. Also applies if you have purchased the entire Sunken Treasury in the past.

The Catch-All Principle allows you to covertly position a free selection at a predetermined position in the deck. It does this with the help of two key cards. The real strength and novelty of this principle is that at crucial moments the spectator is free to cut the deck, which makes it seem impossible that the selection will end up at a predetermined position - but it does.

Perhaps the best use of this principle...

The deck is shuffled by the performer and then cut several times by the spectator. After, the spectator cuts the deck into four packets totally at random. No force. The magician will be able to divine not only the cards above but also the cards at the bottom of each packet. All this with a normal deck of cards. No marked cards. Instant reset.

1st edition 2022, video 18:54

The basic effect as seen by your spectators is that you can read minds and see through the cards as if you had X-ray eyes.

• The deck can be shuffled
• You never know the spectator's card
• You never look at the faces of the cards after the selection is made
• No multiple outs
• No special decks or props required

"Dedicated to the Art of Cardistry" was the subtitle of this legendary cards only magazine from the late 50s. It is one of the most influential card magazines ever produced, with effects by Rusduck, Elmsley, Charles Hudson, Bill Miesel, Marlo, Kosky, Milt Kort, Ron Edwards, Max Katz, Tom Ransom, etc.

1st edition 1958-1959; 156 pages.

1. To a Memory
   • Strictly Straight
   • Rusduck Bridge
   • Forever Royal - And Yet Again
   • Rusduck "Stay-Stack" System
2. Zensational
   • Hocus Poker
   • Nudeck Speller
   • "Sneaky Pete" Repeat
   • An Oddity
   • S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T
   • Faro Favorites
   • Anyone for Bridge?
3. Rusduck Four-Way Deal
   • The...

Edward Marlo needs no introduction. He was one of the most prolific and influential creators of card magic. This is one of his most ambitious undertakings - a big book that runs the gamut of Marlo card magic. Unusual sleights, miraculous tricks, incomparable routines, material for the student, gems for the expert. Plus an interesting chapter showing how card tricks evolve and giving full credit to all inspirational sources for the entire book.

1st edition 1953, 199 pages; 1st digital edition 2012, 184 pages.

Table of Contents

7. A Few Words............

   Chapter One

8. Sense Of Touch ...

23 fantastic card routines.

1st edition 1984, 52 pages; PDF 61 pages.

Table of Contents

5. Who's The Dirty Rascal?
6. Stitches In Time
8. Footsteps
11. Just A Few Wrinkles…
14. Breaking The Silence
16. Doppelgaenger
19. Tried And Twisted
22. Rock Around
25. The Inner Limits
28. Scanner
31. Withdrawal
33. All Heart
36. The Dance Master
39. Raiders Of The Last Ace
41. Indexlink
44. Revealed
47. Face
49. Finding New Strength
51. Thoughts!
51. Weekend
53. Ambassador
55. Empress
57. Mirage
60. The Brail Deck

Excerpt from the introduction by David Goodsell:

If you like card flourishes or extreme manipulation, if you like what Dan and Dave Buck or Jerry Cestkowski do, then this is the ebook for you. However, this ebook is not just a collection of flourishes. You will learn the card punk's triumph routine. A lot of photos make the study of these flourishes and manipulations possible and accessible to dedicated students.

• Promiscuous Double Lift
• Card Punk Triumph
• Card Punk Triumph Kicker
• Another Freakin' One Handed Cut
• Machiavelli Production

1st edition 2006; 34 pages.

This ebook contains 16 routines based on gimmicked cards, jumbo cards, regular cards, special decks, etc. Some are almost self-working, some require a little bit of handling.

• Coded Card Prediction (Ken de Courcy)
• Ken's Klock (Ken de Courcy)
• Noah's Mix Up (Gene Castillon)
• Odd Man Out (Arthur Carter)
• Orbital (Trevor Lewis)
• Prediction Gone Wild (Cameron Francis)
• Shouting Jokers (Jozsef Kovacs)
• Sleeve Subway (Ken de Courcy)
• Stabtastic (R. Paul Wilson)
• Technicolor Cheeck (R. Paul Wilson)
• The Choice is Yours (Edwin Hooper and Ken de Courcy)
• The Magician (Sam Schwartz)
• The Whitechapel Solution (Ryan Matney)
• Twister (Sam Schwartz)
• Vanishing Oil and...

14 amazing card routines using gimmicked cards.

• A Free Choice
• Bleached
• Blinder
• Brain Sell
• Clear Thought
• Ghost Flight
• Star-Struck
• Total Magic
• Printerface
• Point-Blank Assembly
• Stund!
• The Universal
• The Vanishing
• Thunderstruck

1st edition 2011; 26 pages.

This work by LePaul has become a classic a long time ago. It is a must read for anybody who is seriously interested in card magic. LePaul was one of the 20th century's most admired card technicians. Here he teaches you 31 moves and 21 routines, beautifully explained in word and more than 300 photos showing the master at work.

Paul Fleming wrote:

A great performer presents the work of another great performer, and you end up with an ebook of new and freshly different card effects. Brother John is known for his Final Ace Routine, Halucination, etc., but here is another side of his talents. All tricks with ordinary cards, gathered by Paul LePaul (his close and personal friend), edited into a dozen wonderful effects for the enthusiastic card man. The late Paul LePaul illustrated the material.

• Foreword
• THE MILLION-TO-ONE CHANCE
• THOUGHTS ON THE TRANSPOSITION OF TWO CARDS
• THE HAND IS QUICKER THAN THE EYE
• THE BLUSHING BRIDE
• THE CLASSICAL...

15 amazing card routines using gimmicked cards and prepared decks.

• Blind Deal
• Blowing Away
• Chip-Chip Hooray!
• Deep Rising
• In Between
• Mixed Relations
• Turning Point
• Twice Blank
• Ulti-Mate-M
• Wild Mix
• Add-Acadabra
• Cornered
• Joker Dilemma
• The Rubber Illusion
• Cut It Out

1st edition 2011; 20 pages.

Be prepared to receive a good dose of Tommy Wonder's clever magical thinking. Critically hailed as the best "Card in Box" ever created. Tommy shares all of the intricate details of this powerful routine, including the incredible "Two Second Card Fold", where you fold the the card three times into 1/8 of its original size. This is how magic is meant to look.

Tommy Wonder thinks about every minute detail. For example

• What is the perfect size of the box?
• How should the hinge operate?
• What to do when a spectator stares at your hands while you want to perform a move?
• And many more insights...

A master class on card technique, giving the 19 possible effects in all of card magic, the 16 basic sleight-of-hand accomplishments, and details on what is required to become an expert with cards. The first six chapters alone are a "must read" for all magicians, as they will most certainly provide motivation and (hopefully) inspiration to improve their routines.

Also included is a completely rewritten and illustrated explanation of Buckley's Thirty Card Problems book, including explanations and illustrations of the necessary sleights, supplementary suggestions, presentation ideas, observations, comments and advice...

• Introduction
• Chapter One The Psychology Of The Card Expert
• Chapter Two Basic Sleights
  • The Lace-Through False Shuffle
  • The False Cut
  • The Compound False Cut
  • The Simple False Cut
  • The Second Deal
  • The Bottom Deal
• Chapter Three Miscellaneous Sleights And Moves
  • Back Palming A Complete Deck
  • The Riffle Cut
  • The One-Hand Shuffle
  • The Weave-In Shuffle
  • The Multiple Lift
• Chapter Four Tricks And Deceptions
  • A Subtle Card Location
  • Ace Control
  • Jacks And Aces
  • Second Deal Four Aces (No. 1)
  • Second Deal Four Aces (No. 2)
  • A Renovated Trick
  • A Renovated Trick (A Variation)
  • Another Card...

Auto Hue
Two spectators each select a card from a packet. The selection procedure happens in the hands of the spectators, you have no influence over the procedure. First, the cards separate into reds and blacks. Then the selections magically appear among the cards of opposite colour. All this happens without the performer touching the cards.

Not Wrong
You offer to demonstrate your ability to cut to certain cards with great accuracy. You give the deck a couple of cuts, placing a packet face down on the table. You turn over the top card of the tabled pile to reveal the Ace of Hearts. This...

SELF WORKING - SELF CONTAINED - INSTANT RESET - WORKS EVERY TIME

(This is Dave's treatment of Cameron Francis' effect 18: A Powerhouse Prediction Effect.)

EFFECT: You display a deck of cards and begin by telling your spectator two pieces of information:

1. One of the cards in the deck has had its back altered.
2. The deck is in a completely random order but for three cards which you have specifically positioned for the experiment.

[A less detailed version of this trick can be found in Direct Hits.

Three strong effects with an unexpected climax. This routine can last for several minutes and although it is very easy to perform, you will produce three strong effects due to the gimmicked deck that you can easily prepare in ten minutes.

EFFECT

The performer shows a deck and shuffles it. A card is selected by a spectator and openly placed in the middle of the deck. A coin is vanished. The deck is cut and on the bottom portion there is the vanished coin. Below the coin is the selected card.

Another card is selected and replaced in the deck. The words WHO IS THE GREATEST MAGICIAN?...

From the forward: