If you are a magician of cards, then chances are you have used a marked deck at some time. The best marked cards allow you to discern the value and the suit of each card without being obvious.
The use of a marked deck, along with other methods, like the one-ahead technique, can aid in hiding this method.
The Story of Marked Decks and Marked Decks
If you’ve worked with cards for long enough you’ll be aware that marked decks have long been utilized by cheats and magicians alike. It requires a certain amount of skill to use these marked decks, because you need to be able interpret the markings in such an unnoticeable way to the observer and magicians working. These early marks were simple and consisted of scratches, dots or nail nicks on the back of the card.
Later advanced systems were beginning to be utilized, and these often involved subtle changes in the design of the back of a card or tiny holes punched into cards. These more elaborate markings permitted magicians to create a wide range of effects, and were incorporated into many famous card routines performed by such magicians as Dai Vernon and Erdnase.
More recently, modern magicians are beginning to design their own marked decks – employing various methods, including special printing, invisible ink, and even a unique method of stacking the cards. Some of these decks have been so cleverly designed that they can be used to read cards.
DMC Elites V4 is one of the most innovative new marks. It has an intelligent marking system which uses negative white space to mark each card without giving the deck away. It can be used in a variety of ways and comes with a great companion book by Drummond Money-Coutts which contains various routines.
The Deland Deck
The Deland Deck is the second of three special decks that Richard Kaufman commissioned as companion pieces to DeLand, Mystery and Madness. It combines markings and an organized pile. Based on the Si Stebbins stack that marks cards, the Deland Deck allows you to determine the identity of the card based on its back, without having to see its face. The combination of this with the ability to read the stripper deck (also included) and tap the deck will give you access to numerous tricks that you couldn’t do using a standard deck that’s marked.
The secret to this deck is that the markings on the cards are not on the actual cards but instead near their edges. This makes it difficult even the most skilled magicians to discern. They’re also large enough to be read from a few feet away, which opens up completely new possibilities for effects.
This deck is one of the Phoenix SUM Deck Mandolin Backs. It’s very simple to use. The online tutorial video is only 53 minutes long and 10 of those minutes are dedicated to explaining the two different markings systems. It will take some time to become proficient at reading a deck this fast however once you’ve mastered it, it’s an impressive tool that can perform real miracles. This alone is worth buying. But beware, the deck is not cheap.
The One-Ahead Principle
A marked deck can give you the ability to be super. If you utilize it correctly, you will be able to perform incredible card magic. However this marked deck has some limitations. If you’re not paying attention, your viewers might think that you’re reading their backs.
One of the best ways to avoid this is to always review the markings on cards quickly and then cover it. You can do this by sneaking a glance at the back of the card while performing an unnatural action that does not have anything to do with reading the markings. This could be as simple as giving a card to someone who is not your friend or placing the deck on the table while making an argument.
The One-Ahead method is a great method of hiding your reading. This is a great technique where the magician can guess the card of a viewer by touching it or by watching the deck as they play with it. This allows the magician to be one step ahead of the spectator, and makes it look as if they are performing an amazing feat of mind reading.
As long as the marks aren’t obvious or hard to read the deck that is marked can be used to perform any of your favorite tricks. It can even make your existing tricks more impressive and create a new world of possibilities.
The Key Card Method
The Key Card Method is a simple and self-working card technique that relies on a known card within the pack to find the card you want to locate. The card can be found without using gaffs or prepared cards. This makes it extremely versatile.
To perform the trick the magician plays with the deck and then secretly peeks a card (this is known as the Hindu Glimpse). The peaks card is the key to locating a person’s preferred card within an unshuffled deck. It can be used in a number of different ways, but it’s especially helpful in finding a card in a deck that contains both normal and shortened cards.
The deck is branded in a manner that Pravar claims is difficult to detect even by the most skilled magicians. The deck is printed on Bicycle Rider Back cards by the USPCC and is available in RED as well as BLUE.
This deck that is marked uniquely does not utilize codes to mark the deck. Instead, it employs a “reader” system in which the value of each card as well as its suit are printed directly on the back of the cards. This makes the deck much easier for magicians to read, however it is impossible for a viewer to read the marks. This deck is ideal for magicians who want to be capable of working with marked cards without learning complicated methods.