How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

Bicycle Cards – Are They Really the Best for Magicians?

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Bicycle Cards - Best For Magicians?

By Dominic Reyes

Karen asks: My son has started learning magic and is asking me to buy him quite expensive playing cards. I've been told that he just needs Bicycle Cards. Which playing cards do you recommend?

You can spend a great deal of money on expensive designer playing cards. Many of the limited edition decks become collectable investments, but that shouldn't be your son's first goal when training as a magician. You want a solid, well performing deck of playing cards that he can use to work on his card technique.

Skills are more important that tools.

I would recommend getting him a standard deck of bicycle cards. The most common are the Poker 808 Bicycle Cards. These are the 'standard' playing cards used my magicians all over the world.

Bicycle cards are perfect for most magic tricks. They perform really well, are cheap to buy, and because of the Bicycle Cards UV-500 AirFlow finish they will be easy to handle. Cheap playing cards that are sold in many high street shops tend to not be Bicycle cards. They are often smaller in size because they are designed for playing Bridge rather than Poker. Although they are very cheap, they tend to ruined fast, stick together in clumps, and bend easily.

If you son starts his magic practice with 'Bikes' he will be building up his 'feel' for the cards right from the start. As he adds gimmicked decks or special cards to his card work, he will be able to include these without trouble as he is already using the standard deck most professional magicians use.

A deck of Bicycle cards can last a long time with careful use. I recommend that your son reads this post on how to make your deck of cards last longer.

 

 

Look Ma! No Playing Cards!

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I forgot my playing cards

By Ben Williams

What would you do if you forgot your playing cards?

So, the worst thing imaginable happens. You turn up to your gig and you open your case only to find the two crisp sealed decks of playing cards you thought were in there are nowhere to be found! You search your car for a spare deck, no luck, you are literally about to perform and you have not got your cards with you. What do you do, apart from crying!

 

The first thing to do is RELAX!

Take a deep breath and realise that everything will be ok, you know a huge range of magic if you just stop yourself from panicking and think about it. There are tonnes of great impromptu magic tricks that you can perform.

Get a piece of paper and a pen and start to list ideas. Here are a few options that immediately come to my mind:

IMPROMPTU MAGIC


See, already with only a few moments thought you should be able to go through our own personal history of learning magic and pull out a few gems that you had forgotten about. These are all great effects that you could perform in place of your card magic set. Your list may be different from mine, but every professional gigging will have a huge list of magic tricks like this that are never performed, but are sitting there in your head waiting to be dusted off and given a try again.

There is also another option that is available to you. You can look around you and see how you can adapt some of your routines to be performed with the items around you. How about doing some of your card magic routines with items that are available to you?

TAILORED MAGIC

  • Perform any number of signed card tricks with your business cards.
  • Make a packet trick up with magicians business cards or compliment slips from the venue.
  • Use a spectator’s business card to your wallet routine where their business card ends up in your wallet.


You may also find that you have a plethora of magic in your case that you never use. Look for utility props like Thumb Tips, Loops, PK Rings, Peek Devices or Rubber Bands. If you have any of these props in your case then you are good to do so much cool magic with only a little bit of thought. With these few props you can make water and salt vanish and reappear, make money and small objects vanish and reappear, perform countless rubber band tricks, levitate banknotes, move common items like glasses or cutlery, read minds, stop watches and perform coin in glass or bottle

So if you ever find yourself in this position do not panic! Remember no guts no glory, you could go up to the booker and make excuses, drive off somewhere to buy a deck of cards and come back and have probably the worst gig ever, or you could keep calm, draw on your wealth of knowledge and experience and calmly put together a set list that will blow people away!

What the MoM Facebook magicians think:

Sean Mccarthy Depends on how much time I have before the show starts. If I have a few minutes Il try buy a few packs at a petrol station (most sell them). If I dont have time then I can still do a show with coins, a pen and a few pieces of paper.

Carl Chamberlain Use my invisible deck and convince them it really is there!

Col Balddaniels Daiper I have at least 2 sets without a single card in them . And guess what ? Nobody died.

Zak Millscray  I don't go anywhere with out a deck! I would be more surprised than the audience!

Brian McCormack I would do coins / mentalism and hypnosis.

Kev Bee I'd be thinking if it was the right career for me…especially if card magic was a part of my routines…I always have cards on me or in the car.

Chris Wild Ask someone for a pack or go home. Can't imagine I would forget to pack my act, but you never know.

Tom Drudge Unfortunately, not yet comfortable enough to do a gig without cards. A few tricks, sure, but not a whole gig.

 

How to Make Rough and Smooth Playing Cards Without Fluid or Sprays

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Take the rough with the smooth

 

We are going to show you the best method to easily make your own rough and smooth playing cards.

The rough and smooth principle is among the most popular ways to gimmick playing cards. Countless packet tricks have been created that use this method. However, rough and smooth playing cards have their downsides:

  • They wear out over time.
  • The quality can differ greatly.
  • Coating cards yourself can damage the playing cards.
  • You can’t give away the playing cards easily.
  • Rough and smooth decks can be expensive.
  • Sometime separating the cards can be difficult
  • You are limited in the style and design of playing cards.
  • You need to keep applying roughing fluid or spray to the card.

Here’s a free online video teaching you how to escape those problems with an easy, instant and practical way to create your own rough and smooth playing cards whenever you need them:

 

Who invented rough and smooth playing cards?

The origins of rough and smooth playing cards have been lost in time. They almost certainly started off being used by gamblers and card cheats. The original idea was to cause the cards to stick together using chemicals. If prepared correctly, the cards could be made to separate when force was applied.

Some magicians attribute the rough and smooth principle to Johann Hofzinser (1806-1875), who is known as the father of modern card magic. However, this is hotly debated. References to his technique suggest he used a chemical called diachylon to fix and stick envelope cards, rather than to create a rough and smooth action used in card magic tricks.

A technique to create a rough and smooth action with Bicycle Playing Cards appeared in Ellis Stanyon’s Magic, 1914 No. 73. This was done by mixing Air Cushion and Ivory finish playing cards.

Karl Fulves writes in ‘The History of the Brainwave Principle’ on rough and smooth playing cards in their modern state. He attributed the concept to Nelson Downs in 1924.

During the early 20th century, the rough and smooth principle remained underground. It wasn’t until the 1930s when Joe Berg brought it to the mass market with the Ultra Mental deck (later renamed to the Invisible Deck). Dai Vernon’s Brainwave Deck followed, and in the 1940’s, the variations we find at the core of so many card magic tricks today became popular.

 

3 Quick Tips for using a rough and smooth deck of playing cards.

1) Keep the deck in a card clip when not in use. This will keep the cards flat and in good condition. Bent cards reduce the effectiveness of the rough and smooth action.

2) Take time to practice spreading the cards with a gentle touch.

3) Carry an Invisible deck with you as the perfect ‘out’ for a card routine that could go wrong. If you lose a location, miss a move, or pick the wrong playing card, produce an invisible deck as a ‘prediction’ you made some time ago.

 

How to make your own rough and smooth playing cards.

There is a very simple, quick and easy way to make your own deck of playing cards become rough and smooth. If you haven’t heard of him already, Alan Rorrison is a professional magician and one of the consultants to Dynamo Magician Impossible. Alan Rorrison has created a free online video teaching you the LSQ method to make rough and smooth cards in a quarter of the time it would take to use roughing spray or fluid. Not only is it quicker, but it’s free of charge as you probably have everything you need already.

CLICK HERE TO GET LSQ FOR FREE