Cards in Magic & Conjuring: page 43

This is probably Mark Elsdon's strongest piece. He has used it as the closer at every single private and house party he has worked for the last couple of years and it brings the house down (pardon the pun).

The only other performer who has known about it is Paul Vigil and this is what he has to say about it:

"I call this "My friend Mark Elsdon's ACAA...," but he calls it The Inevitable; and it's one of the strongest and most clever uses of The Invisible Deck I've ever witnessed. It went directly into my performance repertoire and can quickly become the perfect closer (or encore piece)...

You, a spectator, a deck of cards, a miracle!

A spectator shuffles a deck of cards, you instruct them to hold the cards face up, under the table, so that only they can see them. Despite these test conditions, you apparently display a genuine feat of 'remote viewing' by attempting to name each card in turn, as if you are somehow able to 'see through the table'. With an accuracy way beyond the odds you are able to prove to your audience that they are witnessing a real demonstration of 'psychic' ability and what you claim to be true, must be possible.

This effect will completely 'blow away'...

For over 30 years Mark Leveridge has gradually been creating a portfolio of card effects and routines where the accent is on practicality and entertainment value. In the first of four projected volumes The Collected Card Magic of Mark Leveridge - Volume 1 offers the reader 15 commercial effects, all of which should be within the capabilities of everyone except the total beginner.

Instead of padding out this ebook with minor technical variations, or with descriptions of esoteric card sleights and moves, Mark has chosen to provide a range of varied, interesting and above all individual tricks...

The Collected Card Magic of Mark Leveridge - Volume 2 features material for close up, stand up and even children's shows. Here is a run down of the contents:

1-2-3 Jumbo Cards Across - great version of the classic trick for stand up adult shows or children's work. Easy to do.

The Blankety-Blank Pack - a striking blank deck routine that finishes with the entire deck printing backs and faces.

Diary Of A Nobody - a neat variation on the Danson Diary trick which only uses one diary and one deck plus has a twist at the end.

Corrector - a nice use of an old idea using a window envelope...

The third volume of this quality card magic set features a further 12 of Mark's highly workable card routines. There is a lot of variety offered here, and the standard of the magic is high.

There is magic for close up shows, for mentalism, for parlour shows and also for commercial walkabout work. Here is a run down of the contents:

Aces Under Control - this is a perfect way to produce the four Aces in that it looks skillful yet is easy to do

Co-inci-mental - a you-do-as-I-do card matching effect that cuts out all the unnecessary packet exchanges plus adds a kicker finish

Countdown...

The final volume of Mark's Collected Card Magic series builds on the previous three volumes and finishes strongly with 10 excellent varied effects for close up, stand up and mentalism.

Impossible - a really baffling routine in which two selected cards lost in the centre of two separate decks, magically swap places while the packs are still in their boxes. No re-set, this can be done in walkabout or in a close up/parlour show.

The Invisible Deck Routine - Mark's classic take on the well known plot, but in which no real deck is ever used. A spectator selects any card from an 'invisible'...

The Four-midable Magic Series comprises of specialist ebooks, each of which supplies four effects of a specific type.

This first volume in the series teaches four card routines that require little or no sleight of hand, and are well structured to produce clear magical card effects. They are clearly described in easy-to-follow numbered sections, supplemented by a total of 39 colour photo illustrations.

• Introduction
• Royal Flush: the magician uses magic to produce a Royal Flush from a shuffled deck of cards.
• Big Deal: a spectator shuffles a deck and cards are dealt face up onto the table...

A deck of cards becomes a stable of 52 horses. The horses are shuffled by a spectator and the deck is placed down. The performer then writes down the name of one of the horses on a pad and places it sight unseen in view on the table. This is a prediction of a horse that he believes will win an imaginary race in a few moments time.

Spreading the deck, a spectator is invited to touch one at a time completely at random seven horses. These are removed and held in a pile. He then selects any number from one to seven. Using the chosen number, horses are eliminated in the pile one by one until...

A spectator freely names a card (e.g. 5D) which is cut into the centre of a blue deck. The performer cuts a card of his choice (e.g. AS) into the centre of a red deck. The spectator and performer are now going to attempt to make their chosen cards reverse themselves while the packs are still inside their boxes.

Having mimed the removal and turning over of cards, the performer fans the spectator's blue deck only to discover that there is one card face up, but it's the AS! The magician then fans his red backed deck - and to everyone's surprise, the only face-up card in that pack is the one...

Two sets of 10 cards are counted out fairly and openly onto a spectator's hand before being dropped into two glass tumblers where they can be clearly seen. One at a time three cards are invisibly moved from one glass to the other, and when the piles are counted back onto the spectator's hand again, the first glass only contains 7 cards and the other 13.

This is the classic cards across effect using a method that is completely move and sleight free. Everything happens at fingertips and there is no palming required, nor any special counts. Designed for a close-up or intimate parlour show,...

A spectator is handed an invisible deck and is asked to spread the cards and note that all the red cards are bunched together and all the black cards are assembled together. Splitting the deck so that he holds all the invisible red cards in one hand and all the blacks in the other, he hands over one half which is placed by a second spectator into the invisible cards box.

Now the cards are spread again and the spectator is asked to note that all the court cards are together, and all the spot cards are together. Splitting them into their two groups he is invited to hand either section over...

A small envelope with a hole cut from its address side is examined. A deck of blank-faced cards is then freely displayed and one blank card is openly slid into the envelope which is left in view.

From a regular deck, a spectator touches the back of any card. Let's say it is the 6C. This card is waved over the envelope and when the previously blank card is slid out it is seen to have now printed itself to match the selected 6C.

1st edition 2023, video 8:38.

A prediction Jumbo card is placed sight unseen in full view. A deck of cards is displayed and shuffled and a spectator freely selects a number of cards to use from the deck. These cards are eliminated one by one until only one remains. Despite the freedom of handling and choices, the selected card matches the Jumbo prediction. Very easy to do, suitable for a close-up show or a stand-up performance.

1st edition 2017, PDF 2 pages.

Ambitious Card in reverse.

One of the classic card effects in magic is The Ambitious Card, and many close-up workers use one variation or another of it. I was looking for an in-the-hands card routine that I could introduce into my strolling work, and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe you could do the Ambitious Card in reverse.

Hide and Seek is the routine that I came up with and which I have been using in my commercial work ever since. Here's the plot.

A spectator selects a card, let's say it is the 3C. The minute you see the card you express concern because you explain that this...

Three pre-folded cards are tipped from a card box and displayed as being a QH and two blank cards. The three cards are folded to conceal their faces and arranged in a row on the table ready for the classic Find The Lady. Having mixed the positions of the three cards, the one that should be the QH is opened to reveal it is in fact one of the blanks. That’s surprise no. 1. Surprise no. 2 comes when the other two cards are unfolded to reveal they are both blanks as well! The QH has completely disappeared. Surprise no. 3 is revealed when the QH is found folded inside the card box that has been...

This is a straightforward version of the classic Lie Detector routine that can be performed with any deck (even a borrowed one) and with no advance setup.

A deck is shuffled by a spectator to put the cards into a genuinely random order, and the performer then extracts one card which he leaves sight unseen in view on the table. The magician then asks a spectator three questions about the tabled card, and the helper is invited to make up his answers (since he doesn't know at this stage what the tabled card actually is). Whatever answers the participant gives, the performer spells the word...

A blue-backed deck is openly displayed and one card is selected from the face-down deck. Cutting the selection back into the pack and shuffling the deck, the performer offers to find the selection quickly and effectively.

Snapping his fingers over the deck, he turns the cards face down and spreads through the entire deck to reveal that every card back has changed from blue to red, except for just one card, and that turns out to be the selected card!

No sleight of hand is required, this is designed to instantly re-set in front of the spectators and everything takes place up in your hands,...

This is a revised version of the classic Parade Of The Kings packet trick from the 1970s.

Four blue-backed cards are counted face down and the performer explains that these are the four Kings. Two spectators between them decide on one of the Kings. Immediately the magician spreads the cards to reveal the chosen King has now magically turned face up.

But there is a further surprise when the back of this King is shown to have also now changed to red.

Then there is a final kicker when the other three face-down Kings are turned face up to reveal they are in fact three blank-faced cards...

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Vol. 4, No. 2, May 2008; 72 pages.

Cover: Singh

7. Welcome - editor's letter
8. Letters
9. News
10. She's Got The X-Factor - Ning (Part 2)
12. News
16. Joshua's [Jay] Balancing Act - Owen Packard - article
20. In Search Of The Holy Grail - ACAAN - Mark Leveridge - article
24. ACAAN Reviews
    • Autobahn - Dave Forrest
    • ACAAN - Stephen Tucker
    • Route 01 - Dave Forrest
    • Number At Card - in Some Tricks - Anthony Owen
    • Meant To Be ... - John Born
27. ACAAN Masterclass
    • EZ ACAAN - Marc Paul
30. South Tyneside Leads The Way - convention review by Graham Hey
36. Amardeep Singh Dahnjal: Dubai Yellowbrick Road!...

It's witty and it's full of wisdom. These are the ramblings of Mark Lewis on Internet forums. Irreverent and funny at times and full of deep thinking about magic and mentalism at other times.

Many incredible anecdotes of his varied life as a fortune teller, magician and hypnotist. In addition to this are techniques described on how to pitch svengali decks, how to do psychic readings, and most important of all how to do magic with showmanship and verve.

Included is a video clip of his legendary svengali deck routine which he has performed all over the world thousands of times plus tips...

My name is Mark Lewis. This is the book that changed my life. In fact, I suspect it changed the life of a lot of other card magicians too. The Royal Road to Card Magic was first published in 1949 and 70 years later it is still considered the standard work in card magic. A terrific study plan which if you follow carefully (as I did) you cannot possibly fail to achieve proficiency as a card magician. You can start the book knowing nothing about card tricks but by the time you get to the end you will become an expert. Of course, a lot of things have happened in card magic over the last 70 years since the book was first published...

Moves, routines, and stories around the Svengali deck.

"Okay, I'm impressed!!! Your book on The Long and the Short of It is wonderful. I'm still working on a few of the moves that I never dreamed were possible with a Svengali Deck. Excellent Routine!!! You've definitely put in the time and have the expertise with this trick to be called a Master. You get 2 big thumbs way up for your book." - Doug Howe

"Mark Lewis has spent a considerable amount of time pitching Svengali decks. He has written a useful and succinct manuscript on the subject. There is no padding. The routine Mark explains...

An effect about famous highly intelligent human beings and a hunger for brains.

Billy McComb's classic McCombical Deck updated for the Zombie Apocalypse. Artwork included.

If you're a zombie, why eat just average brains? Wouldn't you want to eat the most intelligent brains available? That's the premise for this version of this classic effect! Included is the artwork for 7 special cards.

1st edition 2015, 10 pages.

Predict a matched pair from a spectator shuffled deck. The deck can be freely shuffled and cut as often as the spectator wishes.

The methodology is somewhat involved because you need a billet index, a gimmicked envelope, and a marked deck. You could do without the gimmicked envelope but the rest you will need. Nevertheless, the effect is strong.

Recorded live at the Convention at the Capital 1999.

runtime: 17min 40s