Bicycle Cards – Are They Worth the Money?

Are Bicycle Cards worth the money? Would it be better to use cheap playing cards for practice?

We posted a customer question asking about Bicycle cards for beginner magicians. Should beginners use Bicycle cards? There was a lot of feedback from magicians, so here's some of the great advice:

Duncan Clarke – Bicycle all the way.

Brian Clarke – Waddingtons, available at most newsagents and stationary stores in the UK

Sean Mccarthy – Phoenix cards are the best on the market quality wise. Bikes are standard and most gimmicks come in bikes. I would say get bicycle cards if you are starting off. If you have been doing magic for a while you should seriously consider the phoenix deck. After that, style and personal taste may affect your choice (I personally love the black noc deck).

Peter Curly Galloway – I find bicycle cards a little too slippy to start with. But after a while they are perfect. & last ages.

Chris Curley – A shoddy workman will always blame his tools. Bicycle cards are too pricey in the UK if he is only just learning and from personal experiance when I started I bought either waddingtons (£1) or just standard plastic coated cards (70p). Bicycle cards are great and are pretty much the standard but I know kids change there minds quite alot so next month he might not want to do magic and to be honest the pricey cards you speak of just look better and as a purist where cards are concerned I have never met a deck of cards that have ruined my ability to do tricks and sleights as I have and still do practice with every type of card I can get my hands on.

Alan Penman – Very cheap cards can be difficult to work with. However bicycle cards are not too expensive and worth it. Only spend extra to impress that special someone. Lol

Jonathan Nicholson – The standard USPC bicycle cards are the most popular primarily as any "gaffed" or specially customised decks are made with bike backs but the new trend in "cardistry" and flourishes often promote bespoke or limited release decks as their tools of choice (and their marketing is powerfully good at creating a demand) but the truth is just as all the previous comments have suggested… A good card trick can be performed with ANY pack I cards regardless of design or price tag. A deck of bikes can be used for just about everything but if he is more into the decks than the tricks then it's about personal choice in back design

Dan Wan – Bicycle plastic cards? A bit more expensive but last ages, not as good for sleights but fine when you are learning.

Matthew Ramsell – Standard bikes are all I ever use

Brent M Braun – I would say it depends on what kind of sleights he is working on. I couldn't imagine learning Faro shuffles with "Kentucky bikes"

Yann Champion – Bicycle Seconds if he's into magic. Tally Ho if he's really into cardistry and want to try something else.
He doesn't need anything else. But good luck to make a teenager understand that fancy decks are marketed towards kids and that magicians in the know don't care about them.

David Harris – Stick with bicycle cards.

Geoffrey Hubbard – I find Waddington playing cards are great for the price. The better you get, the more you pay. My opinion only.

What's your opinion? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment in the section below

What is The Best Magic Trick Ever

by Dominic Reyes 6 Comments

Brian askes : 'Can you recommend the best magic trick ever? An all action, singing, in your face, amazing, miracle looking visual trick that will leave people talking for years. Basically a credibility clincher.'

"Good Morning," said Deep Thought at last.
"Er..good morning, O Deep Thought" said Loonquawl nervously, "do you have…er, that is…"
"An Answer for you?" interrupted Deep Thought majestically. "Yes, I have."
The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain.
"There really is one?" breathed Phouchg.
"There really is one," confirmed Deep Thought.
"To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and everything?"
"Yes."
Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children.
"And you're ready to give it to us?" urged Loonsuawl.
"I am."
"Now?"
"Now," said Deep Thought.
They both licked their dry lips.
"Though I don't think," added Deep Thought. "that you're going to like it."

Quote from: The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy

The ultimate question for a magic shop

I'm often asked to name the best magic trick ever. So… I'm finally going to name it. Ready..

It's that magic trick you bought from your favourite magic shop a while back.

You know the one that I'm talking about. You were so blown away by the magic demo. It looked absolutely perfect. The trick was solid, it looked within your skill range, and the reactions people gave to it were just what you were looking for.

Once you ordered it, you couldn't wait for it to arrive. The anticipation was almost as much fun as the magic itself. When that jiffy bag came through your letter-box, your world stood still. This time it was different. The missing bit of the magic that would solve everything. You began to learn how to perform it..

One week later

The best magic trick ever is now forgotten. You're busy waiting for the next magic trick to arrive. The new 'best ever magic trick' that will complete you as a magician.

It's waiting

That magic trick is still waiting for you. It's just as amazing as it was when you first discovered it. The problem is that it didn't arrive complete. It was missing the parts YOU had to supply:

Time
Motivation
Confidence

There really isn't a 'best ever magic trick' there is only practice, rehearsal and finally mastery. Any magic trick can be a work of art and make your reputation. That magic trick is still waiting for you to go back to it and get everything it originally promised you..

Best wishes as always and good luck with your magic

Dominic Reyes

The Best Card Magic Tricks for Insane Reactions

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Dave writes: 'Could you recommend some awesome card magic tricks to buy that like gets insane reactions?'

That's a hard question for us to answer, as the team at the Merchant of Magic don't just want to sell you the latest hot card magic tricks, or push you towards their own brand magic trick releases. We are more interested in finding material that is specifically right for YOU.

We will suggest a few for you. However, there isn't really a set of card magic tricks that are guaranteed to always get insane reactions. Most of the time it is all about performance, rather than which specific tricks you are actually doing. A strong trick performed weakly will get much less of a reaction to a weak trick performed well.

Having said that, here's a little run down for you to check out, We will suggest the best types of card trick and then suggestions for great products that fit these suggestions. Let us warn you though – one mans meat is another poison. There isn't a way that we can wave a wand and give you an award winning magic act. We can however, let you know the most popular magic tricks that other magicians are recommending from their experiences.

Card through Window

Arguably one of the strongest card tricks you can perform.

Ultimate Card Through Window DVD
Poor Man's Card Through Window – Geoff Weber
TEARable Sessions
CTW – Dave Forrest
Window – David Stone
Window PRO – Jean Pierre Vallarino

Card on Ceiling

The Cards on Ceiling is an iconic piece of magic, many venues that have magicians working in them often have playing cards stuck to the ceiling and they become great talking pieces. It is a constant reminder that magic has happened in that area at some point in the past. It always draws attention and curiosity from laymen. Here are some related products to the Card on Ceiling:

Card on Ceiling by Michael Ammar
Card on Ceiling DVD by Worlds Greatest Magic

Torn and Restored Card

Torn and restored cards have fascinated audiences for hundreds of years, some are very basic, some much more elaborate. It really depends on how much sleight of hand you wish to incorporate into performing this effect. We will list some of the most popular versions and a few words about them to help you understand them each.

Torn by Daniel Garcia – A pure sleight of hand piece by piece restoration of a signed playing card. Very little prep work needed, just pure skill.
Rewind by Michael Chatelin – A gaffed version, gaff does all the work for you. Not signed and card must go back to the deck before you hand it out for examination. Very easy, but less convincers such as signature and slow and fair ripping sequence the ripping sequence must be fast.
Star by David Forrest – A great visual piece by piece TnR. Will take work to make it perfect as it is sleight based rather than gaff based, this is my favorite after Torn by Daniel Garcia
RE by Chris Webb – A Gaff version that does most of the work for you. Designed to make the piece by piece TnR as easy as it can be which turns out to be pretty easy!
Slide by De'Mon and Titanas – A gaff version that allows a very easy TnR which also incorporates an animation, highly recommended.

Haunted Deck

This is where a spectator's selection mysteriously emerges from a deck without any contact being made with the deck.
Chill – A great version where you have the card in the spectator's hand as they cut themselves. As soon as the card comes out of the deck everything is examinable.
Haunted 2.0 – Arguably the best version of the haunted deck available. A gaffed card does all the work for you, you don't need any contact with the deck, the deck can be isolated under a glass bowl if you wish.
Static – The cards cut themselves whilst the spectator has their finger on the deck. The card shoots out of the deck also as the spectator taps the deck.
Loops – Loops can be used for the haunted deck, this is the version Dynamo Magician Impossible uses.

Card Prediction Effects

These are all effects where you prove you have correctly predicted ahead of time what card a spectator would think of or choose.
Invisible Deck
Inferno – Joshua Jay
Strange Travelers – David Blaine
Sub Zero – Wayne Dobson

We hope these suggestions help you. Every one is solid useable material that has been proved to be high quality by hundreds of performers using them around the world. Pick a few that fit your style, but also remember to look back on the magic tricks you already own. The great reactions don't automatically come with a new magic purchase. They come through practice and presentation. The magic tricks that will get you the best insane reactions might just be the ones you already own but haven't perfected yet.