Cards in Magic & Mentalism

Excerpt from the introduction:

Table of Contents

• Paris Slant
• Crux Deluxe
• Freeze! ...

A fresh look at five card classics from Dai Vernon.

Straight from the pages of Lewis Ganson's sensational four-part series, Dai Vernon's Inner Secrets of Card Magic, five brand new entries, carefully revised variations highlighting the genius of 'The Professor' himself.

These renovated approaches are from Ian Baxter, Australian card man and author.

Colour Separation, Pinch Colour Change, Out Of Sight - Out Of Mind, Switching A Card In An Envelope and A Spectator Finds His Own Card are all carefully examined, with twists and turns that give each of them a totally fresh...

A very special way to locate a card—guaranteed to fool you.

The spectator freely cuts the deck and remembers the bottom card. The magician then claims that the trick has something to do with the number 12, and counts twelve indifferent cards from the top to the bottom twice. The magician then deals through the cards, attempting to locate the spectator's selection, but ultimately deals to a Queen. Counting twelve cards down from the top reveals the spectator's selection. Not only that, but the spectator's random cut position and the two packets of twelve cards also come into play. Turn...

• A full-circle mentalism plot: a card apparently reserved for a later trick becomes an impossible foretelling in the current effect.
• The spectator searches a packet, shuffles both packets, participates in reassembling the deck, cuts the deck, and makes the final choice.
• The final choice is genuinely clean: no equivoque.
• The prediction is apparently placed aside before the spectator begins the shuffling and decision-making.
• The written message creates a two-stage climax: first, the unexpected prophecy; then, the spectator’s impossible card revelation.
• The final card remains face down...

This booklet explains techniques and effects for second, center, and bottom deals. It describes Marlo's fantastic Master Grip technique, which allows for false dealing from the same grip. Apart from this, the booklet also contains weird and wild techniques for various deals, the No Touch theory, the incredibly clean The Over Deal, deals invented by Marlo's peers, and a ton of other ideas, techniques, and effects.

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• "Seconds, Centers, Bottoms"
• The Master Grip And Deal
• The Bottom Deal
• The Over Count
• The Second Deal
• The Havana Deal
• The Sail
• One Hand Bottom...

A retrospective.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• BEGINNINGS
  • Touch Turn
  • Named Reverse
  • Think Ace
  • Gaffed Think Ace
• TRIBUTARIES
  • Swindle Think Ace
  • Technicolor Think Ace
  • Four-Card Technicolor Thought - Number One
  • Four-Card Technicolor Thought - Number Two
  • More Four-Card Technicolor Thoughts
  • Cased-In Technicolor Thought
  • Tabled Think Ace
  • Spread Think Ace
• Contingency Aces / Robert Walker & Jon Racherbaumer
• Pumping B'Wave / Jon Racherbaumer

3rd edition 2002, PDF 28 pages.

A Biddle trick that can fool magicians.

The magician has the spectator freely select a card and shuffle it into the deck. The spectator then freely cuts the deck into four packets, with the selection ending up on top of one of the four packets. The selection then vanishes, and the values of the remaining three cards add up to the selection’s position in the deck.

1st edition 2026, video 9:18

A spectator, having chosen two cards from a deck she has cut herself, says 'Stop' and then randomly selects two different points where to place her two cards, which, inexplicably, will end up right next to their respective twins!

Unexplicable Random Twins is a new card magic trick in which the magician, after showing and shuffling a pack of cards, hands it to a female spectator, who cuts it and rearranges it as she pleases. She then takes it behind her back and, after cutting it one last time, draws the top two cards face down. The magician and the spectator divide all the remaining cards...

Four cards with the same backs change their design every time they are turned over. Eventually, they change into four aces with different backs.

1st edition 2026, video 2:29

The Secret Weapons at the Card Table: A Real Look at Marked Cards

Hand the same deck to a magician and a cheat, and they will see two completely different opportunities. A magician sees a tool to create wonder; a cheat sees a weapon to make money. This ebook explores the real world of "paper"—not the movie version, but the actual techniques that survive under fire.

If you want to elevate your card work, you need to understand how to actually mark playing cards and use them under fire.

Magicians vs. Card Cheats: The Real Difference

Most magicians think they know marked cards, but...

A value and a suit are combined to form a playing card, which the performer has accurately predicted.

The performer introduces a packet of ten cards numbered 0 through 9. One spectator freely shuffles them. The other spectator takes as many cards as he wishes and gives the rest to the first spectator. They each add up the digits on their cards to arrive at two different totals.

Next, each spectator deals cards from a regular deck, turning them face up as they are dealt, and remembers the card at the position corresponding to their number. The value of one card is then combined with the...

Title tells all! Make room for an astonishing card mystery that will jolt them. Author Ian Baxter has been using this stunner for many years and is still using it today. It is an absolute gem and never fails to impress onlookers.

Cards are thoroughly shuffled by a spectator, a card chosen then lost. Deck is now cut exactly where spectator instructs then the performer starts a slow deal of cards to the table, face down and one at a time.

On impulse, the performer suddenly stops at one. Turning the card face up, it is the selection! Nothing new here? Well, not exactly. The very stringent...

A simple but very direct Collector routine.

The magician displays four Aces and has the spectator freely select a card and shuffle it into the deck. The selection is then transferred to the middle of the four Aces. Remove the selection, and three additional cards matching its value appear between the four Aces.

Performance transcript:

• For the next effect, we'll need the four Aces.
• Next, have a spectator freely select a card.
• The spectator selects the Nine of Hearts.
• Place the selected card into the center of the deck.
• Imagine that at this moment the selection travels to the center...

Four 5s change color multiple times. First, they magically turn around one by one. Then they become double-faced cards. And then their faces and their backs change into completely new designs.

1st edition 2026, video 4:01.

What if we told you that you could use luck to perform real miracles? Would you believe us?

• Borrow a shuffled deck of cards, and be ready for any impromptu situation
• A 100% reliable method
• Endless possibilities with this unique method

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• It all starts with a mixed deck: The predicted card
• A value rather than a card
• Let's tweak this a bit
• Conclusion

1st edition 2025, PDF 27 pages.

This book focuses specifically on the topic of cyclic mathematical stacks, presenting six different types, for each of which it provides a detailed description of the creation process and accompanies each with a whole series of miraculous automatic (self-working) effects made possible by these secret prearrangements.

In conclusion, the book presents several striking effects, each of which requires only a simple preparation of the deck of cards. In total, you'll find 25 different effects described here, divided into 7 different categories of stacks:

• Stebbins 4
• Snibbets 4
• Stebbins 5 ...

Did you enjoy Russian roulette with a revolver? What if you tried it with grenades?

4 defused grenades, 1 armed. 4 red spot cards, 1 Queen of Spades.

The objective is simple: pull the pins on 4 grenades without blowing yourself up.

A spectator shuffles the cards and hands them to you at random, one at a time. You delicately take each card between two fingers and gently shake it, turning your head to the side as if listening carefully. You are able to determine by sound whether the grenade is armed or not. If the grenade is armed, you place the card face down on the table. Otherwise,...

A completely impromptu card routine.

The magician takes out the Ace of Spades, framing it as a bullet, then assembles the deck into the shape of a gun. The spectator freely inserts the Ace of Spades anywhere in the "gun," representing the bullet being loaded into the chamber.

The magician then has the spectator freely cut the deck and remember a card. Finally, the deck is reassembled into the gun and bullet. The spectator's selection shoots out of the deck like a fired bullet.

Performance transcript:

• This trick requires a little imagination
• Here I have the Ace of Spades —...

The first book in the Subtle Secrets series, which details a completely new concept in magic: the disappearance of evidence...

• A completely innovative and original principle
• Numerous avenues to explore
• A totally crazy concept

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Getting rid of compromising evidence for good
• Effect #1: The Reconstituted Torn Card
• Effect #2: The "truly" Bitten Card
• Effect #3: Origami
• Last sweet trail

1st edition 2025, PDF 21 pages.

The performer predicts the color matches among randomly assembled pairs and the identity of the spectator's remaining card.

A prediction envelope has been placed in full view on the table.

The spectator cuts into a regular deck and deals a small packet of cards to the performer. After a genuine riffle shuffle and a couple of cuts, he deals a small packet of cards to himself as well.

Without looking at the faces, the performer removes two cards from different positions in his packet and tables them face down. The spectator takes the top two cards from his own packet and freely places...

A borrowed deck. The spectator shuffles and cuts. An impossible outcome. And absolutely zero sleight of hand.

Imagine handing a normal, borrowed deck of cards to your spectator. They give it a genuine table riffle shuffle, cut the deck, and deal five random, face-down cards to themselves. You have had a single face-down prediction card sitting on the table from the very beginning.

• The Prediction Miracle: If they place the target card face up on the table as an "insignificant" card, there is no elimination process. They turn over your prediction card to find a perfect match: "You placed...

Absolutely a card technique you've never seen before.

This is an original card technique I developed that lets the spectator decide where two packets are interlaced, followed by a push-through handling to complete the cut. It can be used to cut to all four Aces or other target cards. Here are two routines using this technique:

Forklift Match: The spectator freely selects two cards. The magician splits the deck in two and lets the spectator decide where the two packets are interlaced. The magician then cuts the deck into three packets, with the top and bottom cards of the three packets...

A bewildering number of color changes. You first show four five-of-diamonds. They suddenly have large crosses drawn on their faces. The crosses also appear on the backs. Then they change to the four aces, and on top of that, each ace has a different back design.

1st edition 2026, video 2:59.

Stop practicing your passes and palms for a moment. What if you could perform a miracle where the spectator shuffles the deck, cuts the cards, and simply thinks of one - all while you never touch the deck?

Two variations. Perform the one that best suits your style.

The Unforceable Force is not just an effect; it is a masterclass in psychological manipulation and deceptive procedure. This effect allows you to perform a clean, "hands-off" revelation that leaves your audience convinced they had a completely free choice.

The Power of Psychology Over Sleight of Hand

This effect is designed...

A foolproof card routine for fooling your magician friends.

The magician has the spectator cut a packet into three piles, just as he does, and remembers the cards they cut to. The magician turns his cut-to card face up and exchanges it with the spectator's card, placing them at their freely chosen cut positions. The spectator then shuffles the cards. The magician splits the deck into two packets and deals from both simultaneously. When he stops at the face-up card, the corresponding card in the other packet is the spectator's selection. Not only that, the cards stop at exactly the positions...

You start with four blue double-backers. They turn into four red double-backers. And then they change into four of a kind, for example, the four eights, and each one has a different back.

1st edition 2026, video 1:53.

A new handling of a classic plot.

A spectator freely selects a card. The magician claims he will cut to the other three cards of the same value. He cuts three cards and leaves each face up in the deck. At the end, they are revealed to be the wrong value. But when the deck is spread, the three face-up cards have impossibly changed into the other three mates of the spectator's selection.

Performance transcript:

• First, shuffle the deck.
• Have the spectator freely select a card.
• Let's say they select this card.
• Remember your card.
• As a magician,
• I'll try to cut to the other three...