One of my favourite mentalism effects of all time is So Sato's "Bath Towel Mentalism." It's a very strong card divination effect with a super clever method, and I've been performing it for more than 5 years. As good as the effect is, for a while I'd been trying to improve it in two ways. (1) I wanted to allow the spectators to look at their selections during the routine (rather than at the end), and (2) I didn't want the spectators to swap their selections (it always felt a bit unjustified to ask them to do this). Eventually, a solution to achieve these two things occurred to me and that is...
A simple presentation/props for a trick using the Gilbreath principle.
The magician plays a game with a spectator and tells him that the spectator is guaranteed to win. The spectator will make every decision. And this all happens because the magician can see into the future.
1st edition 2025, PDF 20 pages.
A freely named card. A freely chosen number. A shuffled deck that the magician never touches.
Yet, against all logic, the card appears exactly at the chosen position. No gimmicks, no sleight-of-hand - just an astonishing effect that seems beyond explanation.
Leveraging the power of subtle psychology and indirect use of web apps, The Ultimate ACAAN pushes the boundaries of what feels like real magic.
Please note that you will need a phone, or computer, your own or the spectator's, so that the spectator can visit a particular website that displays probabilities of chosen cards.
...
The Relentless Human-Machine Challenge.
A duel with an incredible outcome where the magician stages, through a simple deck of cards, a real challenge between human and artificial intelligence, in a setting inspired by the famous sci-fi saga "The Matrix".
Strengths
A...
A visual two-phase oil and water routine. Show four red cards and four black cards. Interleave them black-red-black-red ... exchange the top two cards and you can show the cards have unmixed into four black cards and four red cards. Mix them again, and they will again separate.
1st edition 2025, video 2:14
The title of this manuscript indicates that four classical plots are being covered.
The manuscript does not ignore the technical side with a set of techniques...
Featuring an unexpected and impossible prediction. A spectator selects a card and shuffles it back into the deck while the magician's back is turned. The magician then identifies the spectator's card and reveals a duplicate of that card already present in the deck before the effect began.
Note: You will need to buy a corner rounder ($12).
1st edition 2025, PDF 10 pages.
What if your birthdate determined your Lucky Card, and what if that card was found in the exact position predicted in a shuffled deck - without the magician ever touching the cards?
With Lucky Card, you introduce a powerful connection between a deck of playing cards and the calendar, leading to an astonishing and impossible revelation. A spectator freely selects their birthdate, discovering a unique card linked to it. Then, against all odds, that very card is found at a specific position in a deck that has been set aside from the start.
Completely hands-off and deeply personal, Lucky...
Welcome to a magical experience that will leave you speechless. This incredible magic trick will immerse you in moments of pure wonder and amazement. Here's how it works:
Preparation: Four Aces are placed face up on the table. Small piles are formed underneath by dealing cards one by one under each Ace.
Audience Participation: The first spectator can say "stop" and decide on which Ace to place the next face-down card. This process is repeated by three other spectators, actively involving the audience and making the trick even more exciting.
The Magic: Once all the spectators have...
"Believe in your dreams!"
"If you love magic history, you need this book. If you love card magic, you'll also get a big section of hardcore card methods from France. Christian Gambin, one of Paris' last remaining classic music-hall performers, has preserved the wild, bygone world of the Paris cabaret magic scene in his autobiography, an entire field of the art that disappeared as the modern era dawned. Gambin is a multitalented entertainer who's performed everywhere in Europe from the Paradis Latin to the Monaco Grand Prix of Magic. I saw him knock out audiences at many of those places. You'll...
1st edition...
This is a very powerful two-spectator coincidence effect, where one spectator selects (and loses) a card under very fair conditions, and then a second spectator impossibly locates the card.
Imagine:
The magician introduces a deck of cards - he spreads it face-up to display that all the cards are different. He then hands the deck over to one of the spectators and asks them to thoroughly shuffle the deck. (They can shuffle in any way that they want.)
The magician then says, "I want you to make a free choice of any card in the shuffled deck. Simply spread the deck face down across the...
Every magician is certain to encounter a stacked deck at some point, whether in the early stages of learning or as they expand their repertoire. Understanding stacks not only equips magicians with powerful tools for creating seemingly impossible effects but also sharpens their awareness of how others might use these techniques. Mastery of stacks enhances one's ability to perform complex tricks, analyze routines critically, and develop innovative methods to captivate an audience. Embracing this foundational skill ensures that magicians can perform with both confidence and creativity.
In...
Edward Marlo's "Further Flight" from 1972 was a response to Lynn Searles "Pre-Cannibal Cards". These are some routines around that topic.
Effect: The magician, demonstrating remarkable foresight and confidence in his abilities, cuts to the exact poker hand revealed by a secret prediction after the spectator shuffles the deck.
For those seeking a more realistic version of the classic 10-card poker demonstration, this presentation offers enhanced credibility and realism. The spectator thoroughly shuffles the deck both before and during the demonstration. The spectator cuts the deck taking the card he cuts to. Magician does the same. This is repeated until both have 5 cards that form a poker hand.
The demonstration concludes...
After shuffling the deck, you put a prediction card face down on the table. After some further shuffling you spread the deck and three cards appear face-up, three tens. You turn over your prediction but it is not the fourth ten but an ace. But don't worry, another fan of the cards and your prediction ace is now the missing ace in a royal flush.
1st edition 2025, video 3:55.
Allan Ackerman is one of the world's foremost experts at sleight-of-hand magic and gambling moves with playing cards. On this jam-packed download DVD you'll be treated to over 150 minutes of Allan's most cherished effects, routines and sleights - audience-tested foolers that have earned him a worldwide reputation as The Las Vegas Card Expert. Previously released on two separate videos, this fantastic download DVD contains all of the superlative material from both critically acclaimed titles, The Las Vegas Card Expert and Every Move A Move.
The Las Vegas Card Expert contains the following...
Here is a trick from the great Aldo in the print & perform version. It doesn't require any skill. All you need to do is print the enclosed images and have a deck of cards at hand and you'll be ready to perform it.
EFFECT: An envelope with two predictions is given to a spectator to hold. A card is selected in a very fair manner, discovering at the same time, several cards which are left face up. You request the spectator to add the value of the face-up cards and note the total. You open the envelope and extract two Jumbo cards from it.
At this point, you ask the total that the spectator...
The performer either goes amongst the audience or invites six people on the stage. From a pack of playing cards, six cards are dealt to each of the six people. They are requested to select one card and to place same in their inside pocket. The remaining cards are gathered and thoroughly shuffled and the performer does not handle the cards anymore. At no time does the performer know which cards have been selected. A number of boards with cards on them are now exhibited and shown to spectators. They are to say "yes" when they see their own card, and the performer immediately announces correctly...
Hummer's Word is a card magic effect based on a variant of the principle called CATO (Cut And Turn Over), developed by Bob Hummer. This version uses updated techniques to achieve even more surprising and unpredictable results.
For execution, the use of an alphabetical deck is recommended, in which each card represents a single letter of the alphabet. Alternatively, you can create a craft deck using business cards, blank cards or cut-out cardstock. You can also replace the alphabetical deck with classic poker cards, and perform the effect in a completely improvised way, even with a borrowed and incomplete...
Note: This effect necessarily requires learning the coding method explained here: My Secret Coding for a Thought-of Card
An amazing mind reading effect with a surprising "Any Card At Any Number" ending, using my new Secret Two Person Codes.
This is a mentalism effect that uses my recently published Secret Verbal Encoding to not only allow the medium to mentally identify a chosen card but to allow him (or her) a surprise final A.C.A.A.N. (Any Card At Any Number), in which he (or she) will announce the number that will cause the spectator himself to find a copy of his card, having been told which color of the deck to use,...
The common element in all three of those effects is the use of a scalloped short card (a special short card that was popularized by Dai Vernon). It is a gimmick that I rarely see used. A few people use a short card nowadays - even fewer use a scalloped short card.
If you're interested in learning three distinct applications of this tool (a pseudo-memory effect, a telepathy effect, and a prediction effect), then this e-book is for you.
Note: If you're only interested in one of the three effects, then you're just better off individually buying that one (as it would be cheaper). But if you're interested...
Everything I perform, if and when I perform, I've learned and taken from other magicians. I truly believe we are 'parasites of our precursors' and I'm indebted to many, many creative and enterprising magicians over the years. If it were not for them, my repertoire would consist of the prayer vase and the ring off string.
Thoughts about building on the ideas of others. Jon then explores the example of the secret addition move in "Adding to an Add-On" that was first described in the Sphinx Volume 20 in 1921.
1st edition 2015, PDF 12 pages.
Read this effect ... A spectator shuffles a pack of cards and cuts the pack anywhere he likes. The cards on either side of the card he freely cut to are subsequently removed and found to be the cards that the performer had previously predicted.
This is just one of a series of card effects based on a single move that describes a subtle principle that is very easy to do and gives eight examples of how it can be used in card magic. The "Nullifactor" is an easily acquired sleight, based on an old force, but used here in an entirely different way.
Another example: For instance, the performer...
Imagine astonishing your audience with a card magic effect that seems impossible. With this extraordinary trick, a card is chosen and placed back into the deck. When the deck is spread out in a ribbon, the chosen card magically appears face-up, leaving everyone in awe.
This effect is perfect for any occasion, whether you're a professional magician or a magic enthusiast. It's easy to perform but guarantees a stunning visual impact.
1st edition 2025, PDF 7 pages.
One dozen and one master card effects that anyone can do.
Excerpt from the introduction:
Every trick has been taken from my own repertoire, and performers all over the world have unanimously attested that the effects are practical.
1st edition 1935, 21 pages; PDF 21...