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Thurston also identifies himself as the inventor of the Si Stebbins stack in his book on Card Tricks. According to him Si only helped with suggestions and ideas.

An algorithmic stack allows one to calculate the card value (either the next card or a card at a particular position in the deck) without having to memorize an entire deck. The most famous such stack is Si Stebbins. Each method has its pros and cons. Try them out and see what works best for you.

Stage name of William Henry Coffrin, aka "Wm. Vino". Pro circus "rube" and card manipulator. Invented the Si Stebbins System (1898). [Note that Howard Thurston mentions in his book Card Tricks that he himself invented the stack and that Si helped him with suggestions and ideas.] As "Wm. Vino" wrote Si Stebbins' Card Tricks. Also wrote Si Stebbins Legacy to the Magicians (1935).

Si-Step is a system which enables you to know what card is at a given position in the deck or get the position of any named card. Specially developed for the original Stebbins Stack and for people who do not like mental arithmetic.

It was originally published in 2014 in Recycled Stebbins.

PDF 8 pages.

Thurston explains fundamental sleights such as the Pass, Palm, Force, Change, Back-Palm and his system of expert card manipulation, which appeared for the first time in this book. It also describes a unique gimmick to make the Back-Palm almost effortless.

Thurston also lays claim to what we today call the Si Stebbins stack. He writes that it is his invention but he also thanks Si for his contributions and help.

1st edition, 1903, Henry J. Wehman; 83 pages.

1. CHAPTER I. A Few Incidents in the Life of Howard Thurston, Premier Card Manipulator of the World
10. CHAPTER II. Indispensable Sleights
19. CHAPTER...

You will learn how to prepare the Si Stebbins stack with two faro shuffles.

runtime: 2min 37s

1. ...
   • ... Pair!
305. A Tip for Tadman - Sid Lorraine
306. A Lucky Accident! - testimonial
306. To Australia - via The States - testimonial
306. A Good Thing - testimonial
307. Transparent Trickery - Ravelle and Andree
308. More raves! - testimonials
309. At Homb with McComb - Billy McComb
310. Snakes Alive! - news - Colin C. McCrory
311. Si Stebbins ESP - Theo Doré
314. Confetti Egg Routine - J.V. Reilly
315. The Phantom Artist - Arthur Setterington
316. Crazy Card Divinations - Val Andrews
320. What Bayard Wrote - comments from Bayard Grimshaw
321. As You Like It = Arthur Setterington
322. Club Talk - patter for Pavel's "Chameleon Knots" - Ken de Courcy
323. 9 Colour Change - Sam Dalal ...

1. ... Leaves of Gold
74. advertisements
81. Let's Face It - editorial by Ken de Courcy
82. Mail Box - correspondence
83. 318 Ganson's "Teach-In"
    • Minor Miracles
      • Pencil Twist
      • Pegs Apart
86. Mail Box - correspondence
    • The Magician's Insurance Policy
87. Two Tricks Utilising a Si Stebbins Set-Up - Keith Downs
88. A Record? - testimonial
89. The Pierrots - Reginald Boncey
90. Saucy! - jokes
91. Ideas and Tips - Harry Carnegie
    • Cups and Balls for Children
    • Puppets and Road Safety
    • Impromptu Lighted Match from Pocket
    • Preparing Cigarettes fro Production
92. The Treasure of Hi Fli Wun
94. A Card and a Celebrity (Publicity...

1. ...
   • ...
   • The Biff-Bat Mystery - Will Blyth
   • Another Three-Card Monte - Tom Sellers
   • A Silken Secret
   • Chameleon Liquids
205. Jottings - C. Ducarel
     • The Apostle Trick
     • A Novel Card Move
     • A Magic Wand
     • Blindfold Card Trick
207. Book Notes
     • Secrets of My Magic - David Devant
     • Si Stebbins' Legacy - Si Stebbins
     • Frank Lane's Ideas, No. 2 - Frnak Lane
     • More Magic for You - Leeds Magical Society
     • 20 Best Pocket Tricks - Monte R. Viceroy
     • 20 Best Card Tricks - Monte R. Viceroy
209. Programmes
     • Frakson at the Price of Wales Theatre
     • Ronald Frankau at the Price of Wales Theatre
     • Cingalee at the Trocadero, Elephant and Castle
209. The Longshoreman - poem
209. A Christmas Production Idea - Frank Lane
210. Correspondence
     • Stars
     • New Books
     • A Buffet Table
     • Economics
211. A Mongoose Story - humor
212. Olla Podrida...

1. ... Sharpe
92. References in Magical Literature - article by Nicholls Harley
94. Easy Does It - J. A. Esler
96. Impromptu Card Effects - Nicholls Harley
    • I. The Permanence of Retinal Impressions
98. The Diving Duck - H. Lavilette
99. Book Notes
    • More than a Trick - Jack Vosburgh
    • Tele-Cardology - Si Stebbins
    • Mental Multiplication - Charles Lipkin
    • Magic as a Business - E. R. Springston & Horace Marshall
    • Tips, Tricks and Gags - Santini
    • Fifty Crazy Card Stunts - U. F. Grant
    • Fifty Methods of Producing a Silk - U. F. Grant
    • Fifty Cute Coin Tricks - U. F. Grant
    • Tricks with hair - U. F. Grant
100. Amid the Magazines
     • The Sphinx
     • Genii
     • The Tops
     • The Linking Ring ...

1. ...
   • ...
143. A Utility Prop - The Easy "Note Load" Easel - Ron Edwards
144. In Memory of Allerton - Arthur F. G. Carter
145. Card Magic - Vivian St. John
     • On Strippers
     • On False Shuffles
     • A False Shuffle
     • A False Riffle Shuffle
     • False Cut
     • A New Use for the Single Handed Pass
     • New Two-Handed Pass
     • Si-Stebbins Set-Up
     • An Effect with a Stripper Pack
148. Salutations to Robert-Houdin: His Life, Magic, and Automata - series by S. H. Sharpe
     • Section Two - Robert-Houdin, The Arch-Conjurer [continued]
       • Landmarks in the Life of Robert-Houdin [continued]
         • 1853
         • 1854
         • 1855
         • 1856
154. Just a Couple of Ideas - Len Belcher
     • A New Double Envelope
     • Manipulative Routine with Tissue Paper Balls
155. Tricks and Sleights - series by Tom Sellers
     • Torn and Restored Magazine Cover
     • The Homing Colours
     • A Modern Silk Canister
158. My Ring on Wand -...

THE BIGGEST SNAG IN "EIGHT KINGS" OR "SI STEBBINS" EFFECTIVELY REMOVED.

Are you afraid of being caught when using a stacked deck of cards? Then you must know George Blake's system! No more fear of spreading the deck face up, if you know it.

From the introduction:

The Nikola Card System is more advanced than either the Si Stebbins or "Eight Kings" card systems. Even upon close examination pre-arrangement seems impossible with this system.

• Section 1: Argument
• Section 2: Curriculum
• Section 3: Utility
  • 1. "Stop"
  • 2. Cards By Weight
  • 3. Weighing Chosen Cards
  • 4. The Sense Of Touch
  • 5. Human Magnetism
  • 6. Locating
  • 7. Spelling
  • 8. To Spell Any Card Called For
  • 9. Thought Anticipated
  • 10. Unconscious Thought Transmission
  • 11. Wizard's Whist
  • 12. All Trumps
  • 13. The Spelling Bee,
  • 14. The Game Of Poker, And
  • 15. The Game Of "Nap"
  • 16. To Name The Position...

1. ...
   1. ...
   36. A Magical Rag Picture - Lionel Watkins
   36. Routine with Borrowed Half-Dollar - Carl Bertolas
   37. "Tops" - Maury Kaine
   37. The Sounding Card - Fred Braue
   38. The Sympathetic Turnover - Fred Braue
   39. A Mental Problem - Harry A. Canar
   40. P.C.A.M. Seattle Convention - Charles N. Smith
12. re: Si Stebbins
41. Heigh Ho! Come to Colon for Abbott's Get-Together
41. There'll Be Some Changes Made - re: "Tops"
42. Among the Magic Clubs
    • Magicians' Guild Meets at Lansing - Walter A. Harris
    • Wizard Club of Chicago Close Season - Jack F. Hecht
    • Wizard Club of Chicago - Zito
43. Cardini Elected President of S.A.M. - Charles A. Rosskam & Vynn Boyar
44. re: Opening of Snyder's Magic Shop in Cleveland
44. re: Decatur Demons' Club to hold fifth annual picnic
45. Sid Lorraine's Chatter
    • So That's Where the Idea Came From Department
    • Our Mysteries - John...

1. ... Amy
20. Reversed Six-Card Repeat - A Simplified Version - Roxy
20. We Pay the Postage - George McAthy
21. Has Old Magazines for Sale - re: Augustus Rapp
22. Magic Outdoors - L. E. Roba Collins
22. Ministerial Magic - Gene Nielsen
23. re: Lieut. Lee Allen Estes
23. The Future Greats - Bill Pitts
24. re: Tommy Windsor
24. Si Stebbins Dies

1. The "Tops" - Volume 15, Number 12 - December 1950 - 32 pages
3. With the Editor - Mel
3. Contents
4. Doo-Ply-Kate - George F. Wright
4. [Don] Sweets Show for Kraft Cheese
5. Sid Lorraine's Chatter
   • What's New Department
     • Professional Patter - Robert Orben
     • No-Not - National Magic Co.
     • Kardkut - "Hen" Fetsch
     • Additional...

1. ... Rembrandt
   • Presentation and Patter
17. [Jack] Kodell on Palladium Bill
18. For Vents Only - George McAthy
    • dialog - Don Frankel
19. The Future Greats - Bill Pitts
20. The Off and On Again Ring - G. A. Ammann
20. A Patter Bit
20. Cheepad - An Advertising Idea - George F. Wright
21. Seek Marker for Si's {Stebbins Grave
21. re: John Green
22. The Voice of the Mentalist - Ray Amy
23. Magic Outdoors - L. E. Roba Collins
23. Ministerial Magic - Gene Nielsen
24. Seven, Fourteen, Twenty-One - Sandu
25. re: 20th Annual Magi-Fest
25. Half Lady Illusion - Augustus Rapp
25. re: Ravelli

1. The "Tops" - Volume 16, Number 2 - February 1951 - 32 pages ...

1. ...
   • ...
     • ...
       • ...
       • 1 - Side Slip Action
       • 2 - Palm Slip Action
       • 3 - The Crimp Action
     • Ace Control
4. Remember Twenty-Two - Dr. Maurice
5. Some Magical Twists - V. C. Kitchen
   • Dynamic Personality Tests
     • Test No. 4 - Absolute Love
7. Card and Ring - Roxy
8. A Teaser - Si Stebbins
8. Mathematical Spirits - Roxy
8. Cardomatic - Stewart James
9. The Shirt Pulling Trick
9. re: The Amazing Cazan (Vantine and Cazan)
10. Dusting Off Some Old Ones - Eddie Joseph
    • The Razor Blades
10. re: Percy Abbott
11. Calculated Confusion - J. P. Mintz, QM1 USN
12. Cigo - A Clean-Cut Cigarette...

1. ...
   • Herrmann Homar
10. It's a Mystery to Me - Clarke "The Senator" Crandall
12. Toots from the Calliope - L. E. Roba Collins
14. Fox Tales - Karrell Fox
15. P.C.A.M. & Magigals Convention at San Diego in July
16. Fooling Around - Ren Fetzer
    • Pro-diction
17. A Triple Mental Test - U. F. "Gen" Grant
17. The Si Stebbins 'Set-Up'
18. Entre Nous - Dorny (Werner Dornfield)
19. Poet's Corner - Marie Antoinette Dornfield
20. Johnstone's Column - By George [Johnstone]
21. The Amazing Dr. Faust
22. Chain Of Penitence - Eddie Joseph
23. Patter & Presentation - Gene Gordon
    • Patter For R. W. Hull's Nudist or Mental Photography Cards - Harry Voldini
24. Tops Photo Quiz...

1. ...
   • ...
     • ...
   • Newsbits
22. Sid Lorraine's Tip of the Month
    • "Stayfast" hair clips - Paul Fishman
    • perforate folds for paper tearing - F. Bruce Fowler
23. It's a Mystery to Me - Clarke "The Senator" Crandall
26. photo - re: Bob Lynn
27. Conjuring with Cards - Nick Trost
    • Spelling Effect with the Si Stebbins Set-Up
28. On The Spot - Ed Mishell
    • Trick of the Month - watch winder gag - Morty Rudnick
29. Johnstone's Column - By George [Johnstone]
    • An Un-Authorized Report on the 1970 Abbott Get-Together
32. Ventopics - George McAthy
    • Things Are Tough All Over - John J. Bogorae
34. A Tribute to Howard Thurston - Part 4 - Robert E. Olson
    • Bowl of Fire
    • Duck Transposition
36. Final Curtain
    • Chester A. Chylinski
37. The International Congress - Benjamin J. Kleinman
38. Just for Us Young Guys - John Sherwood
    • Starting In Magic (Part Eight...

This is one of the books that Abbott published for the troops during wartime in the 1940's. It uses Si Stebbins system, except the step size is 4 rather than 3, also known as "The Riverboat Stack" or "Mark Twain Stack" (see New Card Tricks with the Mark Twain Stack). Routines can be performed with most other stacks.

• Foreword
• The Magic Card System: The Rules That Make It Work
• Effect Number One: A Skeptical Spectator Interrupts
• Effect Number Two
  • It Might Happen To You
  • Effect Number Two As Performed By Two Persons
• Effect Number Three
• Effect Number Four
• Effect Number Five
  • The Effect Done With An Assistant
• Effect Number Six ...

This ebook is also part of the collection Strange Secrets 1.

• Introduction: Points On Presentation And Patter
• Feeling The Spots
• Reading The Cards
• The Lip-Reading Test
• Important Features
• Hints About Blindfolding
• The Master's Touch
• Reading Dates On Coins, Numbers On Bills, Etc.
• Miracle Color Vision
• Reading "Ordinary Printed Matter" With The Fingertips
• Here's Your Card
• Snappy Number
• Psychometry
• In Conclusion
• The Si Stebbins Pre-Arranged Pack

1st edition 1948, 42 pages; 1st digital edition 2017, 19 pages.

This is the first known publication of the Si Stebbins stack and several tricks that go along with it. It is a reproduction from the Sunday 18th December 1898 issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper.

1st edition, 1898; PDF 5 pages.

The Mark Twain stack is a Si Stebbins stack with a four-apart sequence in SHoCkeD order. It was first published in the February 1935 issue of Modern Mechanix and Inventions magazine. This is a reproduction of this article.

The Mark Twain stack, also called the Riverboat stack (see for example Magic Card System), due to the abundant gambling on Mississippi riverboats, gets its name from the practice on these riverboats to frequently having to measure the water depth. If it was two marks, pronounced 'mark twain', it was ok.

1st edition 1935; PDF 4 pages.

version 2.02, 16 pages.