Cards in Magic & Mentalism

This routine illustrates the principle of synergism. After you learn it, analyze how all its parts (even the minutest) are combined into a time-and-content continuum. It's systematically designed in a progressive way: each discrete effect is successively better. There's culminative improvement and step-by-step enhancement - not only in terms of overall deception, but in virtue of its "theater."

1st edition 1991, PDF 11 pages.

Effect: A spectator freely selects a card and loses the card in the deck. The spectator cuts a packet of cards and places it face down on the table. The cards are eliminated in a very fair manner until only one card remains. That card is not the spectator card, but a prediction revealing the location of the spectator's card in the deck.

Description:

The PATEO Principle appears to give the spectator control over how items are eliminated. In reality the magician is in control during the entire process.

One of the major disadvantages is that it can be a long procedure. The other major...

The magician begins by taking out 9 cards. A spectator then freely cuts off a packet, counts the cards, and remembers the card at that corresponding number. After that, the spectator freely selects 3 cards from the 9, and the sum of those values not only locates the original selection but also reveals the other three cards of the same value.

A classic principle reworked with a special setup turns this into a much stronger ACAAN-style routine.

Full effect shown in the performance video.

1st edition 2025, video 8:10

A spectator freely selects a card and returns it to the middle of the deck. The cards are split into two packets and interlaced face-up into face-down. In an instant, every card turns face-up except the selection - still face-down. And it's not over. Why can the magician locate the selection so cleanly? Because it's the only card in the deck that's different from all the others.

Bottom Fan Control: This routine also teaches my bottom control: the spectator's card is openly placed into the middle of the deck, the magician squares the pack, and the selection is controlled straight to the...

The performer shuffles the deck and then shows the interspersed cards in a sort of incomplete Faro Shuffle, asking the spectator to think of only one of the cards they see. Then, the performer repacks the entire deck, placing it face down on the table. The spectator removes a large portion, leaving it on the table and hiding the remaining portion in a pocket. The performer shuffles the portion on the table and asks the spectator how many cards they have set aside. Having obtained that number, the performer begins counting the cards one by one from the top of the deck, stopping at the number...

A multi-phase ACAAN routine with a completely unexpected ending.

A very unusual selection-finding sequence: after a freely chosen card is returned to the deck, the performer claims to give the spectator four chances to locate it. The spectator cuts the deck into four piles, but none of the top cards are the selection. Just as it seems the magician has failed, the plot turns - each of the four cards not only indicates the exact position of the selection, but also reveals the mates of the chosen value. See the full routine in the performance video.

1st edition 2025, video 6:29.

Effect: Four spectators shuffle the deck, and each of them freely selects a card. The selected cards are the four different tens: 10 of Clubs, 10 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, and 10 of Diamonds. The magician seemingly never touches the cards.

Description: I wanted to create an effect where four spectators shuffle the cards and have a free choice of any card. Each spectator's card is of the same value. Ex: the 4 Tens: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. In the spectator's mind, all the cards are different by using a very deceiving ruse.

My other requirements are that the magician never...

A spectator randomly chooses a card and chooses a combination that, with other numbers thrown into play by the spectator, will produce a poker hand of four corresponding to the chosen card.

1st edition 2025, PDF 7 pages photoillustrated.

Four quick and automatic effects with a new stack of cards and a few simple mathematical calculations, which alone can work miracles.

A routine consisting of a multiple series of rapid and incredible "Any Card At Any Number" effects, based entirely on the properties of a mathematical stack derived from the more famous "Si Stebbins" and unknown to most, or at least impossible to detect by the audience.

In addition to learning a simple and fun method for constructing it, starting with a new order, you will find explanations of four different A.C.A.A.N. themed effects, the first two of...

A near-impromptu routine with surprisingly strong impact. The spectator shuffles, and the magician removes a prediction card and sets it aside. The spectator freely cuts the deck into three piles, shuffles, remembers any card, and gives the deck a random cut. The magician says the spectator will help locate the selection, then has them lift a small packet and perform a faro shuffle with the rest, which naturally re-forms the deck into three packets. Taking the third packet, the magician deals pairs from the top and bottom, and the last card remaining in the hand is the selection. But it's...

Effect: The spectator attempts to read the magician's mind. The first attempt, they are close; the second attempt, they are spot on. Then, in phase 3, the magician reads the spectator's mind under impossible settings.

Description:

A marked deck is needed.

This effect creates the illusion of genuine telepathy between the magician and the spectator. If you have a marked deck and are not using it, this is the effect that will motivate you to use it.

Using a marked deck allows for a flawless performance and elevates this effect to a genuine mystery for your spectator. This routine is...

A small packet trick with several color changes. First, you have four blank cards. Then slowly, one by one, they turn all into the 5 of Spades. Then they all get red backs, and finally they all get blue backs.

1st edition 2025, video 2:46

A spectator randomly selects a card and then rolls three dice. By adding the corresponding top and bottom faces, the resulting number will indicate the exact position of the chosen card in the deck.

1st edition 2025, PDF 4 pages, photoillustrated.

The magician apparently memorizes a shuffled deck and locates the spectator's made-up card.

A deck of cards is thoroughly shuffled by the spectator and spread face-up. The magician claims he can memorize the order of any deck within seconds thanks to his training and a bit of luck. To demonstrate this, he turns away and instructs the spectator to create a card at random, thereby ensuring complete fairness and eliminating any suspicion of forcing. To do so, the spectator cuts into the deck twice - once to select a suit and once to select a value - and combines them to get a made-up playing...

Adding to a classic of card magic.

"Wow, what a swindle! In the best sense of the word. Just outstanding!" This is just one reviewer sounding off about Two plus Two, an ingenious revision of that popular mystery The Two Card Trick from Bert Allerton. Not overlooking Bro John Hamman stepping forward some years later with a clever overhaul of the same effect, the evolution of this firm favourite continues. Still very eagerly being performed today, it reinforces that old saying - some magic never ages.

Another reviewer comment: "The trick, in essence, is quite simply...

Effect: Three spectators secretly distribute three "Word Number Cards" (One, Two, Three) among themselves. They then select from five "Red Numeral Cards" (10,11,12,13,14) based on the magician's ambiguous instructions. Without asking any questions or touching any of the spectators' cards, the magicians know the specific Word Number Card and Red Numeral Card held by each spectator, plus the sum of their two cards when added together.

Description: If you have never heard of the 5/3 principle, you are going to be amazed. If you have heard of it and think it is a cute puzzle, you were right. ...

A fully impromptu performance: you borrow a deck, let the spectator give it a thorough shuffle, no cull, no crimp, then claim you'll memorize the positions of the four Aces. You riffle down the deck and ultimately cut cleanly to all four Aces. A full performance is shown in the demo video.

Before you purchase this tutorial, here are a few things to help you decide whether it suits you.

1. Effects of this nature require a lot of practice. My handling strips away unnecessary difficulty and simplifies moves that are normally quite demanding, but it still requires solid work. This is definitely...

Two chosen cards, seemingly impossible to track, are miraculously found by the magician.

From a shuffled deck, two spectators each select a card. While they look at their card, the magician divides the deck into two piles and turns away from the audience.

Each spectator places their card on top of a pile and thinks of a number between 1 and 10. To lose their card, they move that number of cards from the top to the bottom of their pile. Then, they assemble the deck by placing one pile on the other and may cut as much as they like.

Only now does the magician face the audience again. ...

Four blank cards, shown from both sides, suddenly have big holes cut through their centers.

1st edition 2025, video 4:25.

An amazing 'Any Card At Any Number' effect, in which a spectator chooses any card and finds it again, incredibly guided by a series of three simple operations, arbitrarily decided based on his free choice.

A highly original "Any Card At Any Number" effect, in which the illusionist explains how many of our decisions are influenced today, despite ourselves, by mathematics and computers, as demonstrated, for example, by the spread of Artificial Intelligence.

After taking a deck of cards out of its case and placing it face down on the table, he asks a spectator to freely think of any card...

From a deck of cards, the spectator selects one card and, without showing it to anyone, loses it back into the deck. The performer then takes a second deck, shuffles it, and shows that the cards are in a random order, pointing out that two twin cards happen to be together in the center. Taking it as a sign of destiny, the performer decides to use those twin cards to find the spectator's selection - even though he has no idea what it is. After shuffling the deck again, the pair of twin cards magically capture another card, which, however, turns out to be the twin of the chosen one. Undeterred,...

Five lovely small packet routines involving apples from Stephen Tucker, Per Clausen, and Shiv Duggal.

The last routine plays off the 'Apple' computer angle. With Apple Inc. having made such a meteoric rise, with many having Apple computers or phones, this routine would probably play even better today than it did during the 1980s. Some changes in the patter will be necessary, but the general idea has merit.

The booklet came originally with six custom cards showing apples and an apple core, some with blank backs, some with regular backs. These cards are not included with this download, but...

This is my adaptation of Marlo's A Number for Fast Company. I've reworked it to be completely impromptu, finishing with a clean, accurate cut to the spectator's selection.

The spectator shuffles the deck freely, chooses any card, and returns it before shuffling again. The performer then names the exact position of the selection and says, "If I know the position of your card, I should be able to cut straight to it." He then lifts off a packet - matching the number just named - and the final card of that packet is the spectator's selection. Full performance in the demo video. ...

After the spectator creates a two-digit number from cards numbered from 1 to 16, he shuffles the 16 cards, not once but twice. The magician deals them out, once for the past, once for the present and once for the future. The dealt matrix forms a magic square adding to the spectator's number in 80 different ways!

Works automatically. No memorization. No calculations. A new combination of principles never before used.

1st edition 2025, PDF 34 pages.

An incredible mentalism effect with cards, totally impromptu and hands-off, in which the illusionist will find the card thought of and scattered within a deck that the spectator himself, cutting in various parts, will shuffle several times, also faces against backs.

This is an incredible effect involving the retrieval of a thought-of card, totally impromptu, practically hands-off (the illusionist will only pick up the deck of cards at the end of the experiment) and therefore always ready for a performance, even if the magician only has a borrowed deck of cards, which may even be incomplete. ...

Two Jokers produce two Aces in the middle, and finally, the Jokers transform into the remaining two Aces. A classic effect with a unique and visual handling. Complete performance in the video.

1st edition 2025, video 4:53

Effect: A spectator names one of the four suits (Ex: Hearts). The spectators shuffle the deck. When the spectator spreads the cards, all the Hearts are grouped together. The magician seemingly never touched the cards.

"I really like the concept. It's clever, direct, and the psychological frame you suggest for the alternative presentation is a great touch. That the magician never touches the cards and yet the Hearts come together makes it feel genuinely impossible. The reset is also very practical: a big plus!" - Gaia Elisa Rossi

Description: Are you looking for a killer effect that...

An exciting mentalism effect in which the spectators themselves, after naming any card in the deck, imagine in their mind that they can find it as the only one still in its 'right' place in a shuffled deck, giving rise to an amazing "A.C.A.A.N."!

This is an original new "Any Card At Any Number" type effect, which will most likely be different from anything you have ever seen before!

"... Kudos for coming up with this stack that lets you find any card in its place... And congratulations also for the method you used... Everything is explained very well and in an understandable way! Great!!!...