Magic & Mentalism

This ebook focuses on how the pinky is used to obtain breaks, which is popularly known as The Pinky Count.

The history of the Pinky Count is murky. One creation story is that it was created by Dai Vernon after reading a comment about Hofzinser that he had a way to count cards secretly with one hand. However, most card enthusiasts will associate the Pinky Count with Jim Steranko and/or Darwin Ortiz.

1st edition 2015, PDF 12 pages.

Lost ideas, concepts and tidbits of legerdemain.

• Editorial
• THEATER PRACTICE
  • Direction in Magic
  • The Theater Crew
  • A Director - Yes or No?
  • The Title of the Show - The Script
  • The Plot
  • Audiences Crave Emotion
  • Conflict: The Key to Emotional Flow
  • Building a Resourceful Repertoire
  • Recommended Reading
• HIDDEN GEM: Mark Elsdon's Limelight
• CLOSE-UP MAGIC: My Dice Switch
• HIDDEN GEMS: The Body-Load Box
• MENTAL MAGIC: Ballydesmond Polka
• RAMBLINGS: Crossroads
• CARD MAGIC: The Al Koran Deck Reimagined
• LETTERS FROM ETERNITY: A Letter from Dai Vernon
• GIMMICKS: Bill In Envelope Fold
• PRESENTATION IDEAS: Makramé Magic ...

Verlorene Ideen, Konzepte und Leckerbissen der Taschenspielerei.

• Editorial
• THEATERPRAXIS
  • Regie in der Zauberkunst
  • Der kreative Prozess im Theater
  • Dramaturgische Gestaltung
  • Praktische Umsetzung
  • Inszenierung und Probenarbeit
  • Checklisten und Werkzeuge
  • Fitzkee Audience Appeals
  • Checkliste: Erfolg des Stücks
  • Literaturtipps
• GEHEIMTIPP: Mark Elsdon's Limelight
• VERGESSENE PERLEN: Die Body-Load Box von Victor Farelli
• CLOSE-UP ZAUBEREI: Mein Würfelaustausch
• MENTALMAGIE: Ballydesmond Polka
• RANDBEMERKUNGEN: Über Zauberzeitschriften
• RAMBLINGS: Crossroads - Die Magie am Scheideweg
• KARTENMAGIE: Das Al-Koran-Spiel in einer...

Excerpt from the Editorial:

• Editorial
• The Art Of The Magician, The Great Levante
• The Four Ace Trick With Giant Cards By Ellis Stanyon
• The Mirror Mystery By Chris Van Bern
• Remarkable Record By Eric C. Lewis
• Novel Necromancy With Numbers By Stanley Collins
• A Brilliant Card Effect By Archie Tear
• The Queer Liquids By Robert Harbin ...

An experiment of thought - powered by statistics, imagination, and impossibility.

This new effect offers a seamless experience between two spectators using only their own phones. No apps to install. No magician intervention. Just a static website that appears to display nothing more than card statistics.

Each participant thinks of a card, submits it, and follows a set of seemingly harmless instructions. Everything happens in their imagination: a card is exchanged, inserted into a virtual deck at a specific position. And yet, when the real deck is counted, the cards are found exactly where...

"Rhine's mystery is a wonderful twist on a classic method as an ESP opener. An excellent addition for your Zener routine." - Mauricio Jaramillo

Let's explore the power of simplicity in a sophisticated manner with Rhine's Mystery:

• 5 symbols
• One free decision
• One correct prediction - always
• and you can even repeat the mystery twice or even three times

This piece is a masterclass in a basic and misunderstood method that you can upgrade to new possibilities. Nothing to worry or overthink. No need for expensive props, everything that you need, you can create with things that you...

The two black aces visually change places with the two red aces and then instantly change into two Blackjacks.

• Great Opener: A lot of visual magic happens in 30 seconds
• Simplicity: Only four cards are used; easy to do; no table is needed; packs very small
• Impact: Surprise ending
• Practicality: 2-second reset; perfect for table hopping
• Spectator Engagement: The spectator just watches, no picking a card, no remembering anything; just visual magic
• One Simple Move: The Flustration Count

1st edition 2025, PDF 11 pages.

This intro price will go up to $12 from July 14, 2025.

You will need to have Logsquare to be able to use Logsquare 2. So please buy this only if you already have Logsquare.

With this routine, you will not only seem like an unbelievable mind reader but also like an impossible math wizard. And you need almost zero math skills.

While the performer is not looking, a participant secretly chooses any 3 mental logs. The performer is not only able to divine or mind read accurately the total of 4 different numbers which the participant has secretly added on his phone calculator, but also is able to...

If you have purchased an old edition here on Lybrary.com, you will receive this new edition for half price.

The 13th anniversary edition of my Tarot Effects book for magical entertainers has been overhauled and expanded to 36 routines. All the original routines have been reviewed, edited, and tweaked. New, unpublished routines are included, and Tarot Chairs and Deeper are included as a bonus.

"In the Play of Shadows: The Tarot Effect, is a goldmine!" - Richard Webster

• Foreword
• Introduction
• A Little Tarot ESP
• The Gemini Project
• Games of Chance
• Queen for a Day
• Oh What a Night
• For the Price...

An amazing automatic effect about magical coincidences, where two spectators are amazed by their mutual sympathy and romantic affinity.

This is an intriguing and utterly self-working card magic effect, where a stunning coincidence unfolds despite the wide range of free choices made by two spectators.

The magician invites two participants to assist with the experiment - ideally a couple, or at least two people who share a strong affinity. After introducing a deck of cards, the performer gives it a shuffle and allows both participants to cut and complete the cut. To test the strength of...

Un incredibile Effetto AUTOMATICO di Coincidenze Magiche, dove due spettatori sperimentano con stupore la loro reciproca Simpatia e Affinità di Coppia!

Questo è un effetto incredibilmente Self-Working di Magia con le Carte, molto intrigante e totalmente inspiegabile per il pubblico, nel quale si verifica una sorprendente coincidenza, nonostante una serie molto ampia di scelte che verranno prese da una coppia di spettatori!

Il mago necessita infatti per l’esperimento dell’aiuto di un paio di spettatori, possibilmente una coppia o comunque due persone tra le quali vi sia una forte...

Minor math-based tricks and procedural surprises.

1st edition 2025, PDF 20 pages.

This is really from start to finish an odd magic card trick. In A Very Odd Trick, two Jokers—one black and white, the other colorful—become the centerpiece of an impossible prediction. Here’s what your audience will see:

The magician makes two secret predictions and places them face down. A deck of cards is freely shown. It is ribbon spread on the table so the audience can clearly see that it is no other than a normal deck of shuffled cards. A spectator freely names an odd number, and the card at that number is put on the table (it is really a free choice. Absolutely no force. The...

Want a sock finish for your favorite ambitious card routine? Here it is. The object card is always handled by two indifferent cards. A perfect effect to add "medical" themed patter to your routine.

[Cover photo credit: Louis Sahuc]

1st edition 2025, video 40s.

December 1932 and The Sphinx magazine carries a full-page advert for Dai Vernon's manuscript Five Close-Up Problems. Without a doubt, Follow The Leader engenders the most attention out of the five, with card men quickly adding this one to their repertoire. Not surprisingly, Doctor Jacob Daley latches on to this timely classic, eventually releasing his own handling in Bruce Elliott's magazine The Phoenix in 1951.

And now, decades on, Ian Baxter releases his new manuscript Another Three Daley Deceits - following on from Three Daley Deceits published in April 2024. This one includes Baxter's handling of Daley's Delight - Jacob Daley's version of Follow The Leader....

"I checked out the Open Prediction 2025 and just wanted to say that's really cool. It's the exact type of card effects I like. It's just a genius method, so strong and direct, I love it. The fact it's so approachable for any skill level is great too." - Matt Overd

One of my favorite plots in card mentalism is the "Open Prediction". Many different scripts and presentations are possible with this classic from Paul Curry.

In this new method, we follow these practical conditions:

• Shuffled deck (even an incomplete one)
• A card is named as the "Open Prediction"
• Cards are dealt face down in your open hand...

Ever thought about getting into readings but didn't know how to get started? This is a great way to get your feet wet - NuMatrix Cards is low pressure and has a surprise ending.

The Effect: The mentalist shows nine large cards, each with a different grid of 16 numbers, and allows the participant to choose the one that appeals to her at that moment.

Setting the other eight grid cards aside, the mentalist writes something on the back of the extra Lo Shu card and places it aside for later. Handing the dry-erase marker to the spectator, he asks her to circle a number on the grid. He then...

Cristian has performed his original Hot Rod routine thousands of times in a strolling magic environment, amazing spectators with this unique blend of visual and mental magic. He now shares his time-tested routine with the magic community. He also includes two other variations as well as other practical tips. The last variation is a very strong mentalism routine, suitable for close-up or stand-up, and which can even be incorporated in a hypnosis or pseudo-hypnosis show.

• Introduction
• Magic, Mental Magic, or Mentalism
• Props
• VARIATIONS
  • My Standard Hot Rod Routine
  • Single Prediction Hot...

Effect: A written prediction that the spectator has their finger on changes places with the card the spectator saw in the deck. A vanish, transposition, and a prediction all in less than 60 seconds.

Imagine this: Your spectator places their finger on a card they believe contains a written prediction. They then select a card from the deck. When the dust settles, the card they selected has vanished from the deck, and the very card under their finger, the one they thought was the prediction, is revealed to be their selected card. Meanwhile, the prediction card appears in the deck, proving...

"When everyone zigs, zag." - Marty Neumeier

99% of all the ACAANS out there either look or feel, or both, the same. This is an attempt to stand out in that 1%.

Here is what happens:

A deck of cards is handed to someone in the crowd. They point to a stranger - who freely names any card. That person points to someone else - who names any number from 1 to 52.

You take back the deck and spread it out. Every card has a big, bold number on its back - from 1 to 52 in perfect order. You count to the named number. The card is revealed to be the exact card they named.

Mind-blowing?...

This intro price will go up to $12 from July 7th, 2025.

This series of Suit Ordering Systems is probably the world's first 'super store' for ordering suits. The main purpose of these various Suit Ordering Systems is to create a random sequence of suits while retaining a secret pattern visible only to the performer. The applicability of these SOS methods is for various stacks like memorized, algorithmic, mnemonic, or any other type of stacked decks.

So far, SOS Vol 3 was only a part of Karma Deck Pro. Now this is being released separately.

These ideas will be interesting and useful for card magic...

Di Nick Trost. Descritte da Aldo Colombini. Compliato da George Marchese.

In questo volumetto sono state raccolte due splendide routines cartomagiche della favolosa mente creativa di Nick Trost.

SINFONIA DEGLI ASSI

Una splendida routine con i 4 Assi in diverse fasi che lascerà i vostri spettatori perplessi e meravigliati! Aldo la descrive con dovizia di particolari per il beneficio di tutti i Cardician.

Dall'Introduzione:

"I quattro assi hanno sempre affascinato i più grandi artisti del "close up". Il numero di routines pubblicate sta a dimostrare quanta fantasia venga messa...

Come gli appassionati del settore sapranno, Aldo amava tantissimo il tema "acqua e olio" con le carte. Era uno dei suoi effetti preferiti al punto che sesso ne introduceva qualche nuova versione nei suoi libri. Questo è i primo libro di Aldo sull'argomento in cui ha speigato con dovizia di particolari 5 bellissime e dotte versioni di questo magico effetto.

Dall'introduzione:

This exclusive bundle offer will vanish on June 22, 2025.

Karma Deck was released 10 years ago and is still the No. 1 best-selling stack. It is used by hundreds and hundreds of professional performers in over 75 countries. To celebrate its 10th birthday, you can avail the Karma Deck Mega Bundle offer for the next 10 days. This 20-ebook mega bundle (Karma Deck Pro consists of 11 ebooks) separately costs $150 but is on offer for $59 only. Never before and never again.

What some of the top magic minds of the world said about the Karma Deck:

"As always i like a lot your minimalistic approach to mystery. ESPWave will always stay in my wallet." - Simone Ravenda

A fabulous and practical piece that you can carry in your professional and casual set.

• No gimmicks
• Instant reset
• Beautiful opener

A DIY packet that you can construct with simple blank cards. 5 ESP symbols, the participant chooses one in a direct and clear procedure and a double revelation using the classic aesthetic of Max Maven's B'wave.

If you want a fun piece to add to your repertoire, ESPWave is for you!

1st edition 2025, video 13:25...

An impossible prediction.

Your spectator uses their own phone to fill a 3x3 grid with numbers 1-9 in completely random positions. They calculate the mathematical total themselves using their own choices, their own device, their own numbers. (Note: The input method is handwriting. To give you an idea, this is the app the spectator will use to manually fill out the 3x3 grid.)

Yet you've already predicted their exact result.

No apps to download. No gimmicked props. Pure mathematical impossibility.

Why this destroys audiences:

• Their phone, their choices - eliminates every possible...

I have already published multiple three pile location effects, such as Three Pile Location: On Steroids, Three Pile Location: On Cocaine and Three Pile Location: On Meth. In this ebook, I am publishing another three-pile location effect, except this one is, in my opinion, the strongest one. I think it's more fooling than the aforementioned three. Hence why I decided to call it The Ultimate Three Pile Location.

However, for full disclosure (and without exposing the method), I will say that you will likely be unable to perform this. So if you buy this PDF, you will be doing so just to learn the method (not to perform the effect). That's not to say you can't ever perform the effect....

A magical journey undertaken by a spectator based on her choices inevitably leads to the result predicted by the magician.

A spectator raises a deck of cards previously shuffled, shuffles it in turn and chooses a card from which to begin a journey that will inevitably end at a card that was prophesied from the beginning and which, lost in the deck, will be magically found by the magician at the very number assigned to it by that same path taken together.

This is a new Card Magic effect in which, after showing and quickly shuffling a standard deck of poker cards, the magician asks a spectator...

Un magico percorso intrapreso da una spettatrice in base alle sue scelte, conduce inevitabilmente al risultato predetto dal mago.

Una spettatrice alza un mazzo di carte precedentemente mescolato, lo mescola a sua volta e sceglie una carta da cui iniziare un cammino che inevitabilmente si concluderà ad una carta che era stato profetizzata fin dall'inizio e che, dispersa, verrà ritrovata magicamente dal mago proprio al Numero assegnatole da quello stesso commino insieme intrapreso!

Questo è un nuovo effetto in cui Il mago, dopo aver mostrato e mescolato velocemente un comune mazzo di...

Here are ten original effects from this respected pair of magical authors that are certain to delight children and entertain adults. The effects work well, too, to increase your holiday show dates by catering to children's parties, should you wish to specialize in this area to pick up more shows.

Here's a quick look at the effects included in the book:

• The Rambling Road. A spectacular, non-apparatus, non-sleight of hand effect.
• Little Jimmy and the Soap. A new effect involving a novel device of general utility.
• Little Jimmy and the Stocking. Decidedly enjoyable, yet off of the beaten...

This intro price will go up to $18 from June 30, 2025.

No, this is not about any oracles or vague reading systems. These are pure mind reading effects which are instant killers.

When you happen to meet a person for the very first time, you will immediately tell her that an Emerald is her "fortune gemstone". And you prove it to her almost immediately, to her utter surprise. Or when you meet a male person for the very first time, you will instantly tell him that his "lucky color" is Violet and again you instantly prove it.

The participants never tell you either their date of birth or...

Excerpt from the introduction:

• To The Great Levante
• The Editor Speaks
• This Way, Gentlemen! / Max Sterling
• Magic as a Business / The Great Levante
• ERIC C. LEWIS says
• The Convocational Jacks / Chris Van Bern
• Playing With Fire
• The Writing That Grows...

Excerpt from the introduction:

This is a "Twisting the Aces" routine, here performed with the Jacks, that includes two color changes of the backs. First, they change from blue to red, and then the Jacks all have different backs.

1st edition 2025, video 3:32.

Whether you perform occasional shows, are a semi-pro, or even get called on to emcee a variety or television show, you can never have enough material. And that's where this ebook comes in. Tiny Grant, S.A.M. award-winning comedy magician, brings you this collection of gags, funny ideas, a swell pair of openers, and much more for you to peruse, check mark, and put to use in your own act.

Not just a book of tested and proven laugh lines and patter stories. The author calls it a complete study course on patter and its presentation, which includes lessons in selection of material to meet your...

When Jimmy Grippo saw this in 1974, he realized its merits and immediately added it to his repertoire. It requires no turnovers or other distracting actions, but is not for the card novice. The effort it requires is more than adequately repaid by its stunning effect, coupled with a surprise ending. You receive a bonus tutorial on the Ascanio Spread with the instructions for the effect. These helpful videos easily enable you to achieve success. Note that a table isn't required.

1st edition 2025, video 3:04

Hypnotic Monte is a fantastic approach to the classic "Three Card Monte" especially designed for mentalists or magicians that are searching for a magical moment beyond deception or trickery.

As the title suggests, this "Find the Lady" approach uses apparent hypnosis to experience the confusion of not following the money card, in this case, using the colors of the backs as "different card". You don't need to know hypnosis at all to do this piece but if you know how to hypnotize someone, you will find in here a tremendous entertaining induction.

• No gimmicks
• Examinable cards
• Several variations...

Bend reality, blur perception, and make them question everything - straight from your wallet.

You start off with a quote - A lie is told well, becomes the truth. Next, you display five ESP symbols on a card. The participant chooses one (or so it seems). Moments later, their symbol vanishes. Then comes the shift - subtle, eerie. Something feels off. Soon, all the symbols disappear. The card, held tightly in the spectator's hand, is now blank on both sides. They're left with nothing - except the unsettling question: Did anything ever exist at all?

In here, you'll find two compact handling...

The magician repeatedly influences the spectator to correctly guess the color (red or black) of a hidden playing card.

Imagine carrying just two cards and engaging your spectator in an effect based on persuasion and influence. With just two cards, you can make the spectator believe you have the power to influence his decisions at will.

The effect provides an understanding of persuasion for the spectator and, at the same time, aims to create rapport with them. Once rapport is established, the spectator may be interested in seeing your additional effects.

If you are looking for something...

The price will go up to $6 from June 25, 2025.

This is an easy to learn and easy to remember cyclical stack based broadly on human anatomy. There is a very novel and innovative analogy which can be easily visualized and used. There is no lengthy and brute memorization required. There is no math involved. And the stack is very random looking. This is a tetradistic stack. So if you learn the first bank of 13 cards, the subsequent 3 banks are the same. First, it will be easy to learn the values in the stack and then any appropriate suit system can be applied.

The obvious pattern of values...

For too long, the color-changing knife has lived in the pockets of polite close-up magicians, flicked back and forth like a novelty toy. But in the right hands ... it is something else entirely. In Whispers in Steel Mystic Alexandre unlocks the hidden potential of one of magic's most popular tools, offering three unusual and unique presentations that linger long after the performance is over.

• THE RITUAL OF RELEASE
• THE SIDE WE HIDE
• THE DREAM KNIFE

You will not learn how the knife changes color, you will learn why it matters that it does.

Also included: The Psychology of The Color...

An incredible series of card assemblies, with a surprise ending.

The magician, thanks to the choices made by a spectator, succeeds for each Ace, banner of his own royal household, to associate each member with his family. A closing with a series of royal flushes and a great final surprise.

This is a new card magic effect in which the magician, after cutting the deck into four packets, in reassembling, he magically finds the four Aces. However, they represent nothing more than the banners of the four noblest houses: Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts and Spades.

Therefore, he explains to a viewer...

Una serie incredibile di assemblee cartomagiche, con un finale a sorpresa!

Il prestigiatore, grazie alle scelte fatte da uno spettatore, riesce per ogni Asso, vessillo del proprio Casato Reale, ad associare ogni membro alla Famiglia di appartenenza, fino a chiudere con una serie di SCALE REALI ed una grande sorpresa finale!

Questo è un nuovo effetto in cui il mago, dopo aver tagliato il mazzo in quattro parti, nel ricomporlo trova magicamente i quattro Assi. Ma essi non rappresentano altro che i vessilli delle quattro più nobili Casate: Cuori, Quadri, Fiori e Picche. Pertanto ad uno...

Four cards with backs on both sides turn into four queens, then back to backs, and then again to four queens.

1st edition 2025, video 2:09.

A book for mentalists.

I consider mentalism at its most powerful when it is combined with the ability to give readings. It adds depth, it personalises what can be quite dry information. Readings are also somewhat dangerous and can be difficult to do and still remain ethical and not encourage a negative and potentially damaging belief and reliance on them. I will show you how to avoid that. This book also contains a few little inventions relating to envelopes and billets. No routines as such, but you will learn how I structure readings when combined with design duplications, with a careful...

This e-book is not about something that I created. Rather, it's about hidden gems that I've found over the years, either through researching myself or through word-of-mouth. It is not my place to teach you these gems, so I will merely be giving you their names and telling you where you can find them (if you wish to learn them). I will, however, provide an effect description for each of them.

You might be wondering, "What's the point of buying this PDF in that case?" The point is that I'm giving you the names of all these gems compiled together in one place, saving you all the time and...