READ MORE
Fullman, Joe. Card Tricks . Magic Handbook.
Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books, 2009.
Lane, Mike. Card Magic. Miraculous Magic Tricks.
New York: Windmill Books, 2012.
Turnbull, Stephanie. Card Tricks. Secrets of Magic.
Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media,2012.
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People love watching magicians do seemingly impossible things. But you dont needfancy props and flashy lights to blow peoples minds. Criss Angel, David Blaine,and other popular magicians often wow people with nothing more than a simple deckof cards.
There are several types of card tricks. The most common is the pick acard trick, in which a magician finds a volunteers chosen card. In this book youlllearn to find a volunteers chosen card in several ways. Youll learn cool trickslike making cards appear out of thin air. Youll even learn to make cards seem toappear to float into the air on their own. With practice, youll soon see your friendsjaws dropping in amazement!
Many card tricks use a secret method called the Forced Card. Magicians use this methodto secretly force someone to pick a pre-chosen card. The card can then be revealedin many amazing ways. If you master this method, youll astound your audience withseveral of the tricks found in this book.
Place a pre-chosen card face down on top of the deck. When you perform the trick,shuffle the cards. But be sure to keep this special card face down on top of thedeck as you shuffle the cards.
Ask a volunteer to cut the deck and put the top half on the table.
Pick up the bottom half of the deck and set it sideways on the top half. The pre-chosencard will be the top card of the bottom stack. As you do this, distract the volunteerby asking for his or her name. This will keep the volunteers attention focused onyou instead of the cards. Then point to the pre-chosen card on the top of the bottomstack.
Next, ask the volunteer to pull out the pre-chosen card, memorize it, and placeit back in the deck. The volunteer has now picked the card you need. You can thenshuffle the deck again and go on with the trick. Perform these steps casually, andvolunteers will never realize that they did not really pick the card.
Show your friends your magnetic personality! Theyll gasp in amazement when theysee regular playing cards defy gravity and stick to your hand.
What You Need:
- a ring
- a toothpick
- several playing cards
PREPARATION:
Hide the toothpick in your pocket. When youre ready for the trick, casually placeyour hand inside your pocket and slip the toothpick under your ring.
PERFORMANCE:
Hold up a card and say, People say I have a magnetic personality. Let me showyou why. Smoothly slide a card under the secret toothpick (1a). But keep your handface down so the audience cant see the toothpick (1b). Keep your fingers straightto snugly hold the card against your hand. Then hold up your hand to show the audiencethat the card sticks!
TIP: Be sure to always keep the secret toothpick hidden from view.
Add more cards under the toothpick one at a time so they appear to stick to yourhand.
Ask someone in the audience to snap his or her fingers to break the spell. Atthat moment bend your fingers slightly to let the cards drop.
Pick up the cards and say, Thanks for making those cards fall off. It would behard to finish the show with them stuck on my hand! As you put the cards away, secretlyslip off the toothpick and put it with the cards.
The Pirate King is the incredible, all-knowing card. When someone sticks a knifeinto the deck, the King will mysteriously predict exactly which card is next to theknife.
What You Need:
- a deck of cards
- a shiny butter knife
PERFORMANCE:
Show the king of clubs card and the butter knife to the audience. Tell them, Theincredible Pirate King knows all! He just needs his magical knife to make an amazingprediction.
Set the king card to the side and pick up the deck of cards. While holding thecards, ask a volunteer to stick the knife anywhere in the deck.
TIP: To make this trick fun for the audience, try pretending to argue with the kingcard about which card will be found by the knife.
Leave the knife in the deck and set the cards on the table. Next, lift the cardson top of the knife a little. As you do this say, You could have put the knife anywhere,but you chose this spot. As you are talking, secretly use the knife as a mirrorto see the reflection of the card next to it. Place the cards back on the knife.
Now bring the king of clubs card to your ear and pretend it whispers somethingto you. Look at the card and say, Really? You think you know what card is next tothe knife? Tell the audience which card will be found next to the knife.
Finally, lift the cards off the knife and show the bottom card to the crowd. Theaudience will be surprised to see that the King predicted the correct card!