Cards in Magic & Conjuring: page 38

In this little exposition Nick Conticello describes how he finds and places key cards for the various effects he has created.

1st edition 2015, 8 pages.

[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...

Here we offer three new approaches to Bob Hummer's classic Mindreader's Dream effect. A spectator merely thinks of a card and out of the performer's view deals some cards to impress the card on the subject's unconscious mind. The dealt cards are lost in the pack. The performer asks the spectator some questions, studies the subject's nonverbal responses, and slowly but surely names the thought-of card.

One method requires a small stack, the other two are impromptu. All use ordinary cards and no sleights. The deck need not be complete.

This item will be of interest to mentalists and card...

From the introduction:

Author and collector Doug Edwards after seeing a performance said:

"That's the best impromptu ACAAN effect I've ever seen!"

If you have ever wanted to do an impromptu version of the David Berglas classic ACAAN but despaired of finding a workable method, rejoice! In his new ebook The ACAAN Experience Nick Conticello offers you four impromptu methods.

Each version of Nick's effect CAAN-Fluence starts from a single premise but uses a different technique each time to place a freely chosen card at a freely chosen location in a borrowed, shuffled, incomplete deck. None of these versions require any...

What is TOCATON?

TOCATON, the word, is an acronym for "thought-of card at thought-of number." It's pronounced "talk-a-ton." The word was coined by Nick Conticello to describe his new approach to the classic David Berglas effect "Any Card at Any Number." Nick feels the word is more descriptive of his effects because he does limit the choice of numbers and the choice of cards. But his approach has the virtues of speed of presentation and lack of preparation. Like most of his published work, TOCATON can be performed impromptu, with any reasonably complete pack of cards.

TOCATON, the e-book, contains four...

Author and collector Doug Edwards said:

"I know a good trick when I see one, and KNOW-ALL NEALE is a good trick! It's impromptu and direct. And I like A COUNT, A BILL as well. The divination of the three digits comes as a complete surprise. Two real winners."

Tarbell Course contributor Nick Conticello returns with a new selection of close-up magic designed to be performed for small groups of friends or acquaintances.

1. Know-All Neale: 3 coin divination with fourth coin kicker

2. A Count, A Bill: Based on "It's the Principle " (Bob Longe, Sept. 2001 Linking Ring) with bill used...

After seeing several effects from this ebook, author and collector Doug Edwards said:

"The stuff you do with a shuffled deck and one or two key cards borders on the miraculous!"

2. TALONS OF THE HAWK: Two volunteers each think of a card from a group of ten. The packets are lost in the deck by the volunteers themselves. The performer...

A Further Collection of Impromptu, Sleightless, Mathematical Tricks

Nick Conticello is proud to present the third and final installment of the Potpourri series. Herewith is another collection of impromptu, sleightless, mathematical effects with cards. Each book has a theme, and this one is no exception. The entire ebook is devoted to what Nick calls the Australian Shuffle. (You may refer to it as the Down/Under Deal.)

The present work is concerned with three placement concepts. George Sands devised one in the mid-Twentieth Century. Nick published the second in Tarbell 7, and he is releasing...

This e-book offers three similar effects all based on a singular premise.

1. Australian Aces: The performer casually shuffles a pack of cards, then hands it to a volunteer. The performer need not touch the cards for the duration of this feat. The volunteer cuts off roughly a quarter of the pack. The volunteer names any Ace freely. He spells its name and gives the packet an Australian Shuffle. The last card he holds is the Ace he named! The volunteer now spells the word 'Ace' and the Ace matching the color of the named Ace turns up. Finally the volunteer spells the suit of the named Ace and...

A collection of sleightless often mathematically based tricks and routines bundling three of Nick Conticello's ebooks.

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.

Novel Concepts with Key Cards. No sleight-of-hand is needed for any of these effects. Ideal for both magicians and mentalists.

Imagine taking a borrowed, shuffled, incomplete deck, mixing it a bit yourself, and offering it to a volunteer for a cut. The volunteer then cuts each half separately, chooses a card from one half, and buries it in the pack himself. Yet despite these difficult conditions, you are able to locate the selected card with absolute certainty. That is the premise of this ebook.

The Straddle Key concept is a breakthrough in key card theory. I have tested this material...

New Century Pairs Re-Paired

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: A Bit of History
• Chapter 2: Judah's Mutus Nomen (S.J. Mutus Dedit Trick)
• Chapter 3: Thoughts on the Classical Effect
• Chapter 4: Third Person Singular: 30 cards in play, 3 selections. After the Judah shuffle, top ten cards are put aside and the rest laid out. Performer reveals the third card without seeing any of the faces.
• Chapter 5: There Are No Words: The basic effect with no code words, just a modified shuffle and a few simple arithmetical rules.
• Chapter 6: Poker Four-ay: 20 cards, 4 selections by four different people. All four indicate...

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...

Nick Conticello is proud to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his debut here at Lybrary.com with the release of the first ebook of a new series, Sleightly Cerebral. This first book is devoted to a rethinking of the classic Do-As-I-Do card effect.

From the Foreword:

Welcome to the first episode of a new series, Sleightly Cerebral. As you might surmise from the crude humor of the title, these books will explain effects that employ sleight-of-hand, while continuing the vision of the material in The Cerebral Approach. Generally each volume will explore one or two simple but under-utilized sleights while frequently...

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...

17 card miracles requiring no sleight of hand. A great classic written by a great professional for all who love card tricks.

• Good luck card trick
• Lie detector
• Topsy cards
• An Eye popper bridge hand
• Poker face aces
• Bandit Round-up
• Observation test [Note that Trost has another trick by the same title. The one described here involves four deuces. The other one is a color changing deck effect. See for example Aldo on Trost Volume 13.
• Card puzzle
• Ace, kings, tens
• Kings to aces
• Osmosis
• Deuces again
• Ten card trick
• Predicted card
• Triple Thought
• Yankee-doodle card trick
• Handsome bridge hand

1st digital edition 2013, 29 pages....

A poker deal that you can perform on stage, using jumbo cards. Perfect for even the largest of venues.

From the devious mind of Nick Trost comes this entertaining poker-themed presentation. After witnessing you performing it, your audiences will credit you with great skill, yet no difficult sleights are required. And, only in this edition, do you get added material from U. F. Grant and T. A. Whitney to make the original routine even more entertaining.

This routine is perfect for trade shows, lodge meetings, business presentations, or as a way to bring one, two or up to ten spectators on stage for a team-building...

Please note that this video is in Vietnamese with English subtitles.

Two signed cards, one signed by the spectator and one by the performer change places. The spectator card goes into the empty card box. The performer signed card is lost in the deck.

1st edition 2018, length 20 min

Please not that this video is in Vietnamese with English subtitles.

The audience chooses a card. They keep it secret. The magician takes out a pack of gum packaged in a blister pack. He makes a gesture and magically a card suit appears on the inside of one gum blister. He continues to shake his hands again, and the value of the card appears in a second blister. The magician then removes the gum from its package and the audience can clearly see their picture card located on the gum.

The gimmick is very clever and requires a bit of 'arts and crafts'.

1st edition 2018, length 18 min

Show any design you want on the card by simply lightly burning it with a lighter. When you pick a card and burn it, it will usually leave black streaks on the cards, but with Tattoos on Cards, black streaks will transform into any design of your choice: an image of a chosen card, a heart or your signature, a short message, ...

[Note that the explanation is purely visual (no sound) and a few lines of text inserted in the video.]

1st edition 2018, length 11 min 46 s

This manuscript explores in detail the possibilities of the 'Double Count'. As the title implies, the possibilities seem unlimited. After reading this PDF you will surely come up with your own variations and takes on the effects presented. The Double Count in its basic form is to show five cards absolutely cleanly as six. One of the five cards is a double facer.

1st edition 1953, 2nd edition 1983, 3rd edition 2002, 48 pages.

Table of Contents

8. The Card Goes Home (Norm Osborn)
13. Improved Double Count (Edward Marlo)
14. Effect One
18. Effect Two
20. Effect Three
22. Effect Four
22. Effect Five
26. Effect...