Magic & Mentalism: page 453

Themed card mysteries are certainly not new. Many of them are tired, worn out, horribly dated, and probably best left forgotten. Even in their day, these forced presentations, spiked with corny patter, invariably put audiences to sleep. Who wants to be supposedly entertained by a magician who is a crashing bore?

Here is an up-to-the-minute card mystery from Ian Baxter that will leave them scratching their heads. This is top drawer material - easy to perform, within range of the most basic card handler, yet fast, mystifying and amusing.

The basic 'Cops and Robbers' theme evidenced here...

Effect: A letter card, which appears to be a mistake, is placed on the table without explanation. The spectator sees 32 different lettered cards. The cards are shuffled. The spectator freely selects four cards and arranges them to form a word. The mistake card is turned over - it matches the spectator's word!

A "mistake" that turns into a miracle!

Imagine placing a single card on the table - a card that appears to be nothing more than a scribbled mistake. You then introduce a deck of 32 lettered cards. Your spectator sees that the cards are all different and is even allowed to shuffle...

A fascinating automatic effect in which the illusionist manages to accurately predict the two cards on which the spectator will end his imaginary journey through time.

A brand new amazing (self-working) card magic effect where the mentalist will be able to predict the outcome of an imaginary journey through time, between the past and the future, which he will undertake with a spectator, using a simple deck of cards.

After showing it to the audience, he shuffles and has the deck cut, then extracts a first and a second prediction cards and, after cutting it himself, hands it to the spectator...

Un affascinante effetto Automatico in cui l'illusionista riesce a predire con esattezza le due carte su cui lo spettatore finirà un suo immaginario Viaggio nel Tempo!

Un nuovissimo effetto (Self-Working) di Cartomagia dove il mentalista predice l'esito di un immaginario viaggio nel tempo, tra passato e futuro, che intraprenderà con uno spettatore, servendosi di un semplice mazzo di carte.

Dopo averlo mostrato al pubblico, mescola e fa tagliare il mazzo, poi estrae una prima ed una seconda carta PREDIZIONE e, dopo averlo tagliato a sua volta, lo consegna allo spettatore perché volti...

MISERS DREAM
No sleight of hand method can match this extraordinary illusion that Alexander has created for this classic effect.

BOXED TRANSPOSITION
A signed card flies to card case while both are in full view. Then comes a real puzzle climax.

FORTE X
Whatever card your spectators are thinking of, you have it already predicted! A real stunner!

POROUS PLASTIC
Three silver dollars penetrate a clear plastic ziplock three times. Can also be done with cookies for the kiddies.

GROUNDHOG DAY
Experimental magic based on deja vu. Experimental magic based on deja vu.

BEAN COUNTER
Can...

Pastiche II, loosely speaking, is more info. Its value depends on you - how your thinking is affected and, more importantly, if you can use anything in a meaningful way. Otherwise, it's glut soup, idle message units to fill the white space loathed by men who would be Erdnase.

I hope there are differences that make a difference.

• Hull-Scam
• Dry-Dock Divination
• Nominal Nexus
• Dunbury Lie Speller
• Eighteen-Card Version
• Guardian Angel
• How Big and Where?
• Blank-Wave II
• Hummer's Dream Scheme
• Lighter-Side
• Dueling Card Tricks
• Biddle Thought
• Initial Shock

1st edition 1993,...

An amazing routine of three linked effects with cards cut in half

Effect:

A deck of cards (giant or normal) cut in half is shuffled and divided into two piles. One of these is chosen by a spectator, who cuts it and sets it aside. From the other pile, a spectator touches any card, which is left face up in its original position among the others. The two piles are distributed by taking the respective cards from the top and distributing them simultaneously to the bottom. The card that corresponds to the one turned over in the other pile is set aside with it. No pair of cards forms a whole...

A genuinely freely selected card (which can be signed if desired) is shuffled back into a deck. The performer then mimes the removal of that card invisibly and hands it to the spectator to hold for a moment. The cards are then spread face up to show that the chosen card is no longer in the pack.

Squaring the deck, the spectator is invited to push the invisible card he holds face up into the now face down pack. Immediately, the cards are ribbon spread face down again across the table to reveal the selection face up in the centre! Just a regular deck required, straightforward handling,...

The spectator freely selects a card and returns it to the deck. The magician inserts two Jokers, and the spectator table-riffle shuffles and cuts the cards. The Jokers progressively close in and finally sandwich the selection. On top of that, during the shuffles the spectator also separates the deck into three piles and locates the other three cards of the same value!

1st edition 2026, video 9:15.

The spectator takes half the deck, shuffles it, and then slides the bottom card out from the packet. After they shuffle the other half of the deck, they place it on top of that card and look at it - all while the magician's back is turned. After shuffling the entire deck together, the magician identifies the spectator's chosen card without asking a single question.

The spectator chooses and shuffles their own packet, selects a card while your back is turned, and then shuffles the entire deck themselves. You never ask a single question.

Instead of a simple "this is your card" reveal,...

You've surely heard the old magician's adage: If you find just one trick in a book that you can use, then that trick alone is worth the price of the entire book. But what if that 'one great trick' remains elusive when you're on stage? With standard cards, your magic simply... vanishes for anyone beyond the front row. The solution is to use a tool built for the stage from the very start.

Here's a book of power-packed Jumbo Card Magic - where you won't find just one or two tricks, but seven powerful professional routines the author uses in his own shows. This is card magic designed for bigger...

An incredible self-working effect in which the illusionist will have predicted exactly the sum of three cards chosen at random by a spectator from within a 3x3 square.

A new amazing automatic card magic effect where the mentalist will be able to predict what will happen shortly with a deck shuffled and cut by a spectator, having already written down on a blank card, sealed in an envelope, the exact sum of the values of three cards chosen from the nine that will ultimately be arranged to form a square!

The illusionist shows a deck of cards, shuffles it quickly and hands it to a spectator...

Un incredibile effetto Self-Working in cui l'illusionista avrà predetto esattamente la somma di tre carte scelte a caso da uno spettatore all'intermo di un quadrato 3x3

Un nuovissimo effetto Automatico di Cartomagia dove il Mentalista riuscirà a predire quel che accadrà di lì a poco con un mazzo mescolato e tagliato da uno spettatore, avendo già riportato su di un biglietto, chiuso in una busta, la somma esatta dei valori di tre carte scelte tra le nove che in ultimo verranno disposte a formare un quadrato!

L'illusionista mostra un mazzo di carte, lo mescola velocemente e lo consegna...

You show four jokers and they all have the same back. The spectator picks a joker, and it has a different back to what was shown before. You will receive three variations of the same theme.

1st edition 2026, video 7:57.

Martin Lewis writes:

Prepared from Houdini's private notebooks and memoranda with the assistance of Beatrice Houdini, widow of Houdini, and Bernard M. L. Ernst, president of the parent assembly of the Society of American Magicians.

• PREFACE
• PART ONE. INTRODUCTORY
  • Houdini's Notes
  • Houdini's Methods
  • The Escape Act
  • Handcuff Escapes
  • Rope Ties
  • Houdini's Cabinets
• PART TWO. ROPE TIES AND CHAIN RELEASES
  • Houdini's Trick Rope
  • The Sailor Challenge
  • The Rope Pillory
  • The Self-Tie
  • The Gallows Restraint
  • Ladders And Rope Challenge
  • Chain Releases
  • The Escape Board
• PART THREE. SPECIAL CHALLENGES ...

A psychological study.

This book was praised by both Freud and Wundt, and it was recommended by Henry Hay, aka Barrows Mussey, as recommended reading to understand the psychological aspects of magic. Deception, misdirection, and other aspects of conjuring are based on psychology. A better understanding helps magicians create deeper mysteries.

• Preface
• Preface To Fourth Edition
• Chapter I. The Study Of Illusion
• Chapter II. The Classification Of Illusions
• Chapter III. Illusions Of Perception: General
• Chapter IV. Illusions Of Perception—Continued
• Chapter V. Illusions...

A professional feature routine built for real-world working performers.

Six bottles are openly removed from a cardboard wine carton and individually displayed. Multiple bottles can be used to pour real wine, establishing complete authenticity. Each bottle is returned to the carrier.

A spectator is invited to guess which bottle is removed from the carton (with a paper bag over it) placed into a wooden gift presentation box. Whatever the guess, the bottle vanishes completely.

When the magician returns his attention back to the remaining 5 bottles of wine in the carton, they have completely...

The performer reflects on how we like to believe we're in control of our choices - only to suggest that control itself may be an illusion.

He puts a deck of cards in its case on the table and gives a pair of dice to a spectator. The spectator rolls the dice to generate two numbers in two different ways. The two numbers are added together and their total is - for example - 23. The performer now removes the deck from its case and spreads it from one end to the other. The only odd-backed card is placed...

Effect: A deck is shuffled and then cut into four piles by a spectator. The spectator takes the bottom card of any pile and places it in their pocket without looking at it. Your back is turned the entire time.

Through a "reading" of their body language, you identify which pile they took the card from. But then you go further. You name the exact card in their pocket - a card that even the spectator has not seen yet.

Why it fools magicians and laypeople alike

• Two Powerful Reveals: You don't just find the card; you first identify the location, creating a double-punch of mentalism and...

This is a wonderfully simple plot that creates a really puzzling effect. A regular, ungimmicked coffee cup is shown and a large sponge ball is tipped out from inside. The cup is clearly shown to be otherwise empty and both of the performer's hands also have genuinely nothing in them.

The ball is placed into a pocket, both hands again being shown to be empty. The inside of the coffee cup is displayed and then inverted mouth down onto the magician's hand. A snap of the fingers and when the cup is tipped backwards, the ball is found impossibly to be back underneath.

[Note that this is not...

A very direct ACAAN-style effect. The magician places a single card on the table. The spectator freely rolls two dice and chooses how to combine the numbers. A deck is brought out and shown to be all different, with no duplicates. The cards are dealt to the chosen number, and it exactly matches the prediction on the table.

• No force
• No gimmicks - a completely ordinary deck

1st edition 2026, video 13 min.

You start out showing four blue cards. One by one, they turn red, and they have a big hole cut in the middle. This hole is not a fake. You can put your finger through it.

1st edition 2026, video 2:07

An impressive (self-working) effect in which the illusionist will manage to find an incredible series of twin pairs starting from a card chosen by the spectator.

You will learn an astonishing automatic card magic effect based on the theme of couples and, in particular, twin pairs, consisting of any card and the one other card that shares both its color and its value.

A spectator receives the deck shuffled by the magician, cuts it at any point and, once completed, begins to turn the cards over from the top until they find the first card of even value (therefore composed of the sum of...