Top 4 ways to Learn Magic Tricks:



Card Bender

An uncle taught me this trick when I was young -- it always amuses children, but can be a cool feat of close-up mentalism for any audience.

In this trick, you place a card flat on the back of your palm. Apparently using only the powers of your mind (look mom -- no hands!) you slowly cause the card to bend right before your audiences eyes.

This is a great close-up trick that requires no prep work.

So what is the secret to this trick? Spit. Before you place the card on top of your hand you need to moisten the back of your hand with a bit of saliva. I suggest pretending to wipe your nose with the back of your hand, covertly licking it in the process.

Tips: The warmth from your hand and the moisture causes the bend... this trick works best in warm, humid weather. Also the warmer your hand and saliva are the faster and more dramatic the bend will be.

Remember -- you are suppose to be using your "mind powers" or "telekineis" or some other BS to bend the card. Look like you are doing so, make some energy flow out of your hands, and use that premise to take breaks, lift the card up and show how it is bending. Do the nose wipe again if you need some more moisture or to blow warm breath onto your hand.

This explaination just covers the basics of how the trick works. You will need to produce your own patter.

An Insolvable Mystery - Card Trick

by Jean Hugard

This trick, very kindly given to me by Mr. Dai Vernon, the famous card expert, breaks new ground. The effect is that any pack, having been thoroughly shuffled, is placed in the performer's hand, which he holds behind his back, and is then covered with a handkerchief, in which it is securely wrapped. Any number is called by a spectator. The magician names a card. The spectator uncovers the pack, counts to the number and finds there the card called.

The method is subtle. When the pack is covered with a handkerchief, in bringing it to the front, turn the cards face up and sight the top card's index by stretching the fabric a little at that point. Hold the pack with the left forefinger below and the thumb at the index corner, ready for a riffle count. As you ask the spectator to name a number, riffle off five cards. As soon as he calls a number continue the count till you reach it. Bring your right hand over the pack and make the pass at that point under the handkerchief. Turn the deck over, under cover of wrapping it securely and hand it to the spectator. All done in a few seconds.

After much pretended mental exertion, name the card you sighted. The spectator unwraps the pack, deals cards to the number he called and finds there the card you named.

A good presentation is to have the spectator run over the faces of the first dozen or so cards after he has shuffled and your pack is turned, just glancing at the cards and not trying to remember any of them. When the deck is covered have him call a number between one and fifteen, so that the choice, you say, will be restricted to the cards he saw, really to limit the thumb count. Explain that his subliminal consciousness has registered the positions of the cards and that altho he will not be able to recall them, you will pick up the waves of cerebration. Impress on him to make no effort to remember the card, simply to remain passive. Proceed to name the color, suit and finally the value.

The thumb count must, of course, be made noiselessly but it can be done quite deliberately since the hand is out of sight. I can recommend this as being one of the most mysterious feats possible with cards.

From Card Manipulations by Jean Hugard (1934)