How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

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.

 

Why are there so many playing card collectors?

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Why People collect playing cards

By Mark Henderson

One easy answer as to why there are so many playing card collectors is quite simple, people like to collect things.  If something can be collected, then someone somewhere in the world will collect it. Let’s look at the most common form of collecting playing cards, and how to make sure your collection is the best it can be.

In recent years there have been so many different designs of playing cards released. Some playing cards look more traditional, and other designs are more  contemporary. A whole host of different people, big companies, smaller companies, teams of designers and skilled individuals are satisfying the needs of these playing card collectors.

It all started with The Black Tiger Deck from Ellusionist. The spark that ignited an inferno within the playing card collector world, causing grown men to spend tons of their hard-earned cash on flimsy bits of paper that will never see the light of day or leave the comfort of their boxes.

Playing cards have become more and more accessible to the mass market in recent years. The poker boom shifted a lot of people’s focus away from the dimly lit, smokey bridge table and into a fast-paced, bright lights of poker tournaments. With more and more people playing poker, playing card companies have started manufacturing cards to suit every personality and every situation. With every deck of playing cards added to the catalogue, playing card collectors have one more trophy to track down, and the playing card companies have latched onto this, producing limited runs on certain lines, making them even more desirable and difficult for the playing card collectors to come by.

The use of Photoshop and the evolution of graphics programs have allowed more and more skilled enthusiasts to create and share their artwork with the world, driving playing card collectors wild with desire.

Kickstarter has also made it more and more possible for small time designers and enthusiasts to fund their projects. People post their design criteria and ask the public to fund their projects, the higher the investment, the higher the reward. This is a perfect place for playing card collectors to snatch up extremely rare designs.

A lot of amazing decks of playing cards have been funded this way, and, as a playing card collector, I predict that many more will follow.

Occasionally playing card companies will run a batch of playing cards, they will pass through quality control and hit the shops. Then a defect is spotted. It could be a misaligned or missing pip, acolouring error or anything that deviates from the original design. Once the playing card company finds out, they market it as a must have collectable, and playing card collectors bite. They just have to own that never to be repeated piece of playing card history.

 

Five tips for collecting playing cards

1) Look for limited edition runs – Small batches or limited runs often sell out quickly. If you have the opportunity to get one, don’t pass it up.

2) Don’t break the deck seals – Sealed decks are more collectable than open ones. If you ever decide to sell your collection, a sealed deck of playing cards will be much more valuable.

3) Be careful where you store your cards – Cards are very sensitive to heat and can easily warp and become ruined. Keep your playing cards cool and out of direct sunlight.

4) The back design isn’t always the most important factor – Sometimes the faces are just as important as the backs.

5) Contact other collectors to swap and trade spare decks – Playing card collectors may be looking for a certain deck and if you have a spare you can both help each other out. Check out forums and help your fellow collectors.