Astonishing card tricks using the rough and smooth principle.
The R&S (Rough and Smooth) principle is one of the best subterfuges of card magic, with trick decks like the Brainwave Deck by Dai Vernon (originally described in October 1938 - Issue 49 of Annemann's Jinx) being one of the classic trick decks of all times, and several dozens of other decks and packet tricks based on this principle.
Basically, cards roughed with roughing treatment cling together in pairs, to show as a single card when fanned with slight pressure, and separate when fanned lightly.
One can make several trick decks, and the Alidini-Berg book Rough Stuff lists several such decks. If you want some great trick decks, especially for mental effects, a copy of the book would be a very good investment.
Rough Stuff also introduced the concept of Super Roughing, where only a part of the card face and back is roughed, making possible some very visual card changes in packet tricks. The packet tricks take only a few minutes to prepare, and can be very baffling and visual effects.
Dai Vernon had made the original Brainwave Deck with beeswax. Many commercial fluids and sprays have been introduced since. While beeswax is trickier to handle, and discolors cards, I have described in this booklet a roughing wax that is clean, easy to make at home, and apply.
This manuscript gives you half a dozen of my super roughed packet tricks, plus a full deck effect, most published here for the first time. Easy to make, easy to perform and can make a big impact in your act.
Contents:
- Introduction
- Roughing Wax
- The Upright Joker
- Winning Flush Hands
- Random Cards to Aces
- Phantom Flush
- Freely selected Card to Pocket
- Aces to Fives
- Predi-X-ion Deck
1st edition 2026, PDF 16 pages.
word count: 5104 which is equivalent to 20 standard pages of text
