Cards in Magic & Mentalism

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 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...

Grand Slam is the ultimate closing routine for your card magic act. It's a hard-to-beat routine that will allow you to end your act with a bang!

Read what Aldo himself says in the preface:

My Jazz Aces routine differs from the classic handling in both procedure and display, and it finishes with my own handling for a different ending.

1st edition 2026, video 9:22.

The spectator selects a card and returns it to the deck. The spectator cuts off a packet, then the performer deals left and right. Four consecutive times the dealt cards are not the selection, yet each one precisely names an attribute of the chosen card, and after the elimination, the final remaining card is the original selection. Even more, when the four piles are turned face up, together with the selection they form a Royal Flush.

During the spectator's cut, there is no crimp and no extra handling, yet the selection and the key cards can still be located with precision.

1st edition...

After the four Aces are lost in the deck, the spectator cuts to each one.

Obviously, this is not a new effect and can be accomplished in a myriad of different ways.

Why explain it yet again here?

The answer is in the methods used. The combination of methods to be described are virtually unknown and have never before been used together in this context.

Hidden for many decades in the vast literature of card magic, the secrets are finally revealed here for a new generation.

It's $7, about the price of a Starbucks Frappuccino Delight, and unlike coffee, this routine will elicit gasps...

A very simple way to cut to the desired cards, ideal as an opening effect. A detailed application of a classic principle, ending with an unexpected kicker.

1st edition 2026, video 4:10.

There was a time when the Tilt, or Depth Illusion, was a top-secret technique known only to a few select insiders. The history of this move is somewhat murky, but most credit Dai Vernon with its invention. Marlo claimed he came up with it independently, which I find plausible. Regardless of who first had the idea, the Tilt is a wonderful deception. Over the years, refinements and subtleties have been added by several cardmen. Today, the Tilt is one of the core techniques most card magicians have in their arsenal.

The concept of the Tilt is the following: A card is apparently...

Excerpt from the foreword by William W. Larsen:

• The Page Pass
• The Visible Pass
• The Riffle-Slip
• False Shuffle
• The Riffle-Down
• The Glimpse
• Simple Glimpse
• One of Four Packets
• A Card with a Certain Number of Pips
• The New Transferred Cards
• Any Card To Any Number
• A Cut At Any Number
• An Original Spelling Card
• The Red and the Black
• A Pickpocket...

The spectator freely cuts the deck. The performer spreads the cards and claims to mentally influence the spectator to choose a specific card. The spectator then freely selects a card - no force. After the selection, the performer splits the deck at the point of selection and reveals that the cards are in suit-and-value order, except for the one card the performer named at the beginning. The finale reveals the spectator's selection, which turns out to be exactly the card predicted at the start.

• No force
• No gimmick
• Only a regular deck

1st edition 2026, video 5:52

Herb Zarrow is one of the most recognized names in magic. His Zarrow Shuffle changed the face of full deck false shuffles some seventy years ago, and its popularity shows no sign of abating. Among Herb's other memorable contributions was Revolving Aces, a knockout 'Cutting To The Aces' approach that grabbed immediate attention and saw publication several times. Perhaps the most detailed write-up was in Harry Lorayne's classic text, Close Up Card Magic.

Decades later, here is Dusting Off The Revolving Aces, a revised handling from Ian Baxter that eliminates the necessary setup...

A variation of a classic routine: the four Aces are turned face down one by one. The performer openly changes the orientation of all the cards, and after the audience confirms the backs are the same color, all four cards change to different colors.

1st edition 2025, video 7:39.

A new method for a simple oil-and-water type of routine. Nothing is gimmicked. There isn't any complicated sleight-of-hand either.

1st edition 2025, video 1:20.

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."

This was the original version of what Jon later called Ladies on the Loose.

1st edition 1991, PDF 11 pages.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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. ...

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

This is my direct cut to the four Aces and four Kings routine. It's simple and easy to learn, using only basic card handling techniques. No crimp, no estimation needed. Full performance in the video.

1st edition 2025, video 4:29

Annemann's Synthetic Sympathy is a long-regarded classic of card magic, with a history dating back to 1921 when Charles T. Jordan put out his original version. Annemann slotted it into an early edition of his magazine The Jinx. It took off like wildfire and Jean Hugard promptly included the Annemann update in Encyclopedia Of Card Tricks, further enhancing its popularity. Then Max Holden jumped on the bandwagon and published it yet again, including it in his Annemann compendium Full Deck Of Impromptu Card Tricks.

Holden was particularly...

An adaptation of a classic card routine - the Spades 1, 2, 3, and 4 travel between the top and bottom of the deck, finally gathering together on top. Just when you think it's over - no, the magic has only begun. The Spades 5, 6, 7, and 8 appear on top of the deck, the Spades 9, 10, J, and Q appear on the bottom, and the final Spade King rises to the very top of the deck. For full details, see the performance video.

1st edition 2025, video 8:00.

Effect: The spectator freely selects a card under the fairest of conditions. It is lost in the deck by the spectator. After placing the cards in the cardbox, it is wrapped in a handkerchief. The spectator holds the handkerchief and gives it a shake. His card falls to the table.

Description: This is a classic of card magic. Under the fairest possible conditions, a spectator selects a card from a deck that he has shuffled. The deck is placed in the cardbox and wrapped in a handkerchief. It is dropped by the spectator instead of the magician. This version uses an ungimmicked opaque handkerchief...

Ready-to-perform routines from a working magician's repertoire.

Hidden in Plain Sight isn't just another magic book - it's a curated collection of four battle-tested routines from Marko, a professional magician with 57 years of real-world experience. These are not theoretical curiosities or over-engineered gimmicks, but practical, powerful tricks that have fooled audiences on television, cruise ships, corporate stages, and intimate parlors across two continents. Each routine is streamlined for performance, easy to prepare, and designed to leave spectators genuinely astonished.

Whether...

Sandwich and Collectors are two of my favorite card effects and the ones I've studied the most. This is my original routine combining both effects.

The spectator selects a card, returns it to the deck, and the deck is shuffled. The magician cuts the two Jokers and four Aces into the center. When the deck is spread again, the two Jokers are found sandwiching the spectator's selection, while the four Aces have collected the other three cards of the same value. A pure sleight-of-hand routine with no difficult moves.

1st edition 2025, video 6:59.

This is the last time I am offering almost all my products (the last release is excluded) for next to nothing. Once February ends, this bundle will vanish forever.

Effect: Spectator 1 shuffles the deck, takes it under the table and looks at any card. Spectator 2 just thinks of a card. The magician reveals the name of spectator #1 card and the name and position in the deck of spectator #2 thought of card!

This is the strongest effect I have ever created! An effect that dives deep into the timeless mystery of chance versus choice.

This routine combines two classic principles of magic into an amazing new weapon: a third principle that can be used with other card effects. And just when you think it can’t go further, a brand-new principle is introduced—pushing...

Ace Assembly routines have been with us for decades. Some originate from the best brains in magic, others too numerous to mention, are utterly forgettable - lengthy, complex routines overburdened with ham-fisted false counts, lugubrious palming techniques, endless Double Lifts and quaint presentation ideas.

If you are heartily sick of these approaches, here is a routine that will grab your attention.

Aces With Artistry is just what its title implies, an Ace Assembly that stands up there with the best of them. Visually captivating, AWA owes its pedigree to Ed Marlo and is based...