Magic & Mentalism

The periodical's slogan was: Magic You Can Count On

A complete file of Abacus is very hard to find. With the help of several collectors, we could put together a complete file. Among the distinguished contributors are people like Paul Hallas, Peter Duffie, Max Maven, Walt Lees, Aldo Colombini, Mark Leveridge, Stephen Tucker ... and of course Al E. Smith himself.

See the table of contents on the separate volume pages.

Number 1 (September 2001)

• Riffs
• The Real Work / Dave Wyton
• Photat / Paul Hallas
• Booted
• Handson Dabs
• Peter's Poetry / Paul Gordon
• Final / Ken Speckle
• Hoax Busters? / Peter Spence

Number 2 (October 2001)

• Riffs
• Amount Account Recounted / Peter Duffie
• Impare Diary / Mike Hopley
• Punbumers
• The Streets of Humdrum
• Derren Brown II / Mel Drew

Number 3 (November 2001)

• Riffs
• Jacks / Roger Curzon
• For Whom The Tollbell Clangs / Ernie Bulstrode
• Word Processor / Lewis Jones
• Missed Match / George McBride
• Doncon
• Hear and Their
• Could Be Dept
• Where Have All the Followers...

Number 1 (September 2000)

• Riffs
• Rogues Galorey
• No Surrender Dept
• Beware of the Jog
• This Charming Man
• Bookstore: Unfairty Harry
• Phake Transpo / Paul Hallas
• Conck House Creation / Paul Gordon
• Direct Miss?

Number 2 (October 2000)

• Riffs
• Playing Those Mind Games
• Life, Death & Other Card Tricks by Robert E. Neale
• Not This Year Either
• Hip Hip Hype Baby / Bob Earl
• Long Pocket
• Barnsley Bootie
• Forcing the Issue / Peter Duffie
• Clip Joint / Jack Jansen
• Staple Diet / Stephen Tucker
• Scarborough Fair Fare
• Never Mind The Show. Watch the Crowd

Number 3 (November 2000) ...

Number 1 (September 1999)

• Riffs
• Photat / Paul Hallas
• Wronged
• Spell My Number or Watch The Paint Dry / Stephen Tucker
• The Magic of Ken Hawes
• prelude / Ken Speckle
• Roger's Real Gone Aces
• Collected Card Notes by Justin Higham
• Max Maven Rites
• What Every Close-Up Competitor Wants
• Music Is Magic
• Mallory Towers

Number 2 (October 1999)

• Riffs
• Dear Al
• Which Trials? / William O'Connor
• Pass the Salt
• Nothing Changes Dept
• It's a Point of View / Dave Wyton
• Ban the Crimp / Joe McKay
• Peter Duffie Rights
• Tricks They Never Play On the Radio: Intooit
• Edcomment
• Review: Chad Long...

Number 1 (September 1998)

• Riffs
• Sandspell / Norm Little
• The Sheffield Solution / Roger Curzon
• Parish Or Perish / Ian Surl
• Travis Perkins Assembly Day of Magic Sunday 5th July
• Paul Gordon Performs Miracles?
• Bob Loomis writes ...
• The One-Way Widow / Phil Goldstein
• The Devious One-Way Widow
• The Final Frontier
• How Odd
• A Cinema Ticket Magically Changes to Match One Selected by a Spectator / Paul Hallas

Number 2 (October 1998)

• Riffs
• Primarily Odd / P. S. Hale
• FredstackEd
• Gaffs and Ungaffs
• Class and Classrooms / Granville Rhodes
• Pair Off / William Denbob
• News & Blues ...

Number 1 (September 1997)

• Riffs
• Suspension Bridge / Clive Sullivan
• Positive Mind Control / Bob Hamilton
• Western Wizards
• Hanks for the DemGeoffrey
• Twist In A Glass / Paul Hallas
• Ferry Bridge
• Hi Ho Silver
• Early in the Morning / J.P. Richardson
• The Day the Music Sighed
• Scene and Heard
• NLAFT
• More Bragging
• Interview Anthony Owen
• Picky Picky Dept
• Strange Currencies / Peter McLanachan

Number 2 (October 1997)

• Riffs
• The Poker Prediction Puzzle Problem / Roy Walton
• Interview Peter Duffie
• Flying / Peter Duffie
• Eddie's Readers
• A Twisted Tale
• Liquid Fueling
• Heavy Mental...

Number 1 (September 1996)

• Riffs
• Friendly Persuasion / Dec Hides
• Aquae Sulis
• Write Away John Dory
• Busy Beam: The Steve Beam Tour
• Tri-Out / Harry Wise
• Never Mind the Ballots ... / Arthur Illery
• Criminal Acts / Paul Hallas
• Remains to be Seen
• Just Like Eddie
• The Malady Lingers On / David Hawkins
• Reviews: The Sticky Blue Book
• Speckleation / Ken Speckle
• Fight of Hand

Number 2 (October 1996)

• Riffs
• Imogenetic
• Simon Says
• Keeping Company
• How Does Peter Do It? / Roy Walton
• Balducci's Double
• Collectic
• Message Understood / Roger Curzon
• Max-Wax / Max Maven
• Lead on McDuffie...

Number 1 (September 1995)

• Will You Love me Tomorrow
• Riffs
• Thirds Away / Peter Duffie
• For A Few Wallets More
• The Return Of Imogen
• The Duffrid Quadco / Alan Francis
• Soon Forgotten
• Glory To The Victor / Walt Lees
• The Double Deal Turnover / R. Paul Wilson
• Taurean Misfit II / R. Paul Wilson
• Here And There

Number 2 (October 1995)

• Riffs
• Ektopos / Bob Driebeek
• The View From Stephen Tucker: Imogination
• Magic And The Internet / Geoffrey Green
• US Review / Duane Henry
• Bill's Secret Number 2 / Jack Jansen
• Who's Doing what? / Tony Griffith
• Compulsive
• Here And There
• A Fair...

Number 1 (September 1994)

• SiFoFoFa (2)
• Riffs: That's Sawn it!
• Twisters Under The Skin / Walt Lees
• That Puzzles Me
• Doc Eason
• Restaurant Reservations
• Totat / Peter Duffie
• Blackpool Blockbuster / Stephen Tucker, Brian Glover
• Bristol Ditties
• Downtown Stories
• Glidram / Abe Akers
• Pincers
• Liquid Ice
• Tricks That Work Dept
• Expulsion or Excommunication
• Still Turning / Paul Hallas
• Forces For Courses
• Block Spread Force

Number 2 (October 1994)

• Ballots
• Riffs: Nor Borrower Be
• Touriste Trade
• Tranquil Trap / Peter Duffie
• Wishing On A Strat
• The Impossible Dream
• Wass Not Was ...

Number 1 (September 1993)

• Box Tops
• The Longest Day
• That's Torn It! / Alan Francis
• Only The Mediocre / Paul Daniels
• Clubman's Diary
• Slings and Arrows
• Snippets / Melvin Lehaire
• Angel's Footsteps / Rod Ethtie
• Sloppit / Ed Ward
• Direct Chink-A-Chink / Damian Surr
• On Tap
• Flattery Gets You Nowhere / Walt Lees
• Cards On Tour
• Who Said That
• Duffie's Deal / Peter Duffie

Number 2 (October 1993)

• Into the Mystic
• Riffs
• Daley Papers
• Mac's Stacks / Mac MacDonald
• Partial Hofzinser / Roger Curzon
• Forward To Yesterday / Ellisdons
• You Can't Win Dept
• Pocket The Deck / Ed Ward ...

Number 1 (September 1992)

• Tread Thou In My Footsteps...
• Join the Club
• Siftas
• A Case for Dealing
• DDC Selection
• Spread Force
• Play It Again Sam / Stephen Tucker
• Final Cut
• Thinking it Over
• Current Matters

Number 2 (October 1992)

• Still Treading
• Riffs
• Insider Dealing
• Downtown Stories
• Current Matters
• Triple Cross Cut / John Wright
• Push Off Undercut / Al Smith
• Swing False Cut / Al Smith
• Yawn
• Two Keys to Baldpate / Stephen Tucker
• Vernon
• Paradox
• The Lady Prefers
• Viewpoint
• Club Night

Number 3 (November 1992)

• Walking in the Sand
• Riffs
• Acorns and Tall Oaks ...

The ability to access someone's secret information without tipping them off is a mentalist's dream. Doing it cleanly, right under their noses, feels like a superpower - and here you will find 3 tools to do that, the power is now in your hands.

PS. I personally recommend learning at least 2 different center tears so that if you do it twice at the same event or before the same people, it does not look rehearsed.

"Absolutely Amazing." - Roberto Giobbi

"Incredible thinking." - Teller

The most wonderful gaffed Tarot cards (or even playing cards) ever conceived. A gaffed deck of the 22 Major Arcana cards infused with multiple layers of deceptive mechanisms.

METHODS NEVER BEFORE POSSIBLE: with the Major Arcana for predictions, mindreading, magic squares, Out of This World, vanishes, teleportations, and more.

SPECTATOR CUTS TO A CARD. You immediately know the card and its position in the deck.

A SPECTATOR CUTS THE DECK INTO THREE PILES. You immediately know the bottom card of each...

A compilation of four of my gimmicked decks that I use constantly in both professional and casual performances.

Serendipity Deck: (From the No Briefcase Act) Any named card is predicted using the two Jokers from the deck. A dynamic and entertaining approach to predicting any freely named card.

Smile Deck: (From the Motivational Mentalism Act) The named card is the only one with a smiley face in an otherwise blank-backed deck. No roughing spray, no thin cards.

Telepathic Deck: Your participant merely thinks of any card, and you instantly know it. A forgotten classic reimagined through...

A collection of miniature stage illusions using playing cards.

Still more miniature stage illusions from the critically acclaimed "I Hate Card Tricks" series. Volume 3 features effects based on both classic and contemporary stage illusions.

This hard-to-find e-book is once again available for purchase. Contains instructions for constructing and performing 12 illusions, plus a tutorial on printing custom cards.

The Aztec Queen

This effect is based on the "Aztec Lady" illusion. A Queen is placed into a playing card cabinet. She can be clearly seen through windows in the front of...

A collection of miniature stage illusions using playing cards.

What's that you say? You still hate card tricks?! Here, in volume two, I present an all-new collection of miniature "stage illusion" recreations made popular in the original I Hate Card Tricks.

This hard-to-find ebook is once again available for purchase. It contains instructions for constructing and performing 11 illusions, plus a tutorial on printing custom cards. Foreword by Martin Lewis.

The Origami Queen

This effect was inspired by Jim Steinmeyer's "Origami" illusion. A signed Queen is placed...

The performer divines two chosen ESP symbols, cuts to their matching duplicates, and reveals that they were predicted in advance.

EFFECT: The performer introduces a 50-card ESP deck (two regular 25-card decks combined) and instructs the spectator to follow an elimination process. First, the spectator cuts the deck into two approximate halves and eliminates one. He deals the remaining cards into three piles and eliminates two. Then, he deals the remaining cards into two piles and eliminates one. Lastly, he deals the remaining cards into a single pile, reversing their order. From there, he...

An almost self-working card location effect with an ACAAN feel.

Fool your magician friends. A powerful routine that can be performed with a single deck.

The spectator selects a card, returns it to the center of the deck, and cuts the cards. The magician then has the spectator cut off another packet. Using that packet, cards are dealt one to the table and one to the bottom of the packet repeatedly until only a single card remains. That final card reveals the exact location of the selection. As a bonus, the spectator also discovers the other three cards matching the selection's value. ...

This special price will go up to $30 from July 29, 2026. Very special bumper surprise gifts worth $54 are included free inside. This is only for the next 7 days up to July 22nd, 2026.

This is my 250th release to the magic community. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you for your extraordinary support and patronage over the past decade. It is only and only due to this overwhelming love that 250 releases were possible. I am eternally grateful to all of you in about 90 countries for your invaluable support where over 75% of the buyers are multiple repeat buyers...

Stop ignoring the back of your cards.

There is a secret hiding in plain sight on almost every deck of cards you own. It's been there for decades, but most of us overlook it because we're too busy practicing our passes and bottom deals. It's called the one-way back principle, and it is arguably the most undervalued tool in card magic.

Why should you care? Because the one-way back principle allows for genuine miracles that require zero sleight of hand. We're talking about effects where the spectator shuffles the deck themselves, yet you can still find their card instantly. It survives genuine...

You may be familiar with the technique to cast out 9s, which is used for some mathematical-based magic tricks (see, for example, Martin Gardner, Harry Lorayne, or Arthur Benjamin). Federico Ludueña shares his thoughts and extensions to this method, and in particular, he expands the method to casting out 10s, which is faster.

1st edition 2026, PDF 10 pages.

Découvrez Le Miracle de l’Ampoule, un ouvrage unique qui révèle l’un des plus beaux numéros de magie scénique : l’illusion de l’ampoule flottante.

Jean Pierre Persinet y partage l’histoire, la technique et les secrets d’un effet mythique transmis depuis 1931.

Ce guide premium inclut :

• la construction de l’ampoule truquée,
• la mise en place du fil invisible,
• les mouvements essentiels (montée, cerceau, whirl-about, step-over),
• des schémas techniques réalisés avec assistance IA,
• des conseils professionnels, sécurité & entretien,
• une préface, une conclusion...

The first complete English edition of a 1928 French exposure classic - translated, annotated, and fully illustrated.

In 1928, the celebrated Parisian conjurer Professor Dicksonn - born the Count of Saint-Genois, protégé of Cham, and one-time director of the Théâtre Robert-Houdin - set down the working secrets of an entire era of mystification. Mes Trucs Dévoilés is his crusade against the supernatural: a witty, unsparing exposure of the magnetizers, "seers," telepaths, fakirs, and séance-mediums who preyed on a credulous public, written by a master who had spent a lifetime fooling...

We've all heard it said before... Kids don't like card tricks. Well, don't believe it! You just need the right kind of card trick to have children eating out of your hands. Here's a collection of a dozen card tricks that were developed to be performed for children. Rest assured, however, that adults will love them too!

This hard-to-find ebook is once again available for purchase. It contains 12 illusions, plus a tutorial on printing custom cards.

"Wow, Bob! It sounds like we think alike. The art work is great and the plots are too." - David Kaye (aka "Silly Billy")

Dogs Playing...