Easy Card Tricks [Paperback]

Peter Arnold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2003

Mathematical dupes, sleights of hand, shady shuffles, and impossible predictions: these are just a few of the 80 ways to use a pack of cards to dazzle and baffle everyone. Mastering the tricks of the magician's trade is effortless with these instructions and illustrations by your side. Written by the coauthor of the highly successful The Complete Book of Card Games, this is the guide that will teach you all the basic skills and provide invaluable advice on how to practice and perform. All the routines unfold in order of difficulty: begin with simple sleights and shuffles (the glide, double lift, palming). Move on to easy tricks, like the entertaining "four burglars," where the Jacks represent thieves who must end up on top of the pile of cards. Then try ones with prepared packs and more advanced magic, including a variation of three-card monte. It's the ultimate instruction manual for budding magicians!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Arnold has written over 40 books on football, cricket, boxing, gambling, snooker and darts. He was co-author on the successful The Complete Book of Card Games and general editor on The Official Rules of Sports and Games. He lives in London and Spain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Hamlyn (May 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0600607267
• ISBN-13: 978-0600607267
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,687,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Magic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The essence of how to do card tricks, August 5, 2003

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Easy Card Tricks (Paperback)

Card tricks are like all other magic tricks, in that they seem wondrous until you learn how it is done. After that, the only pleasure that you can get out of them is performing them for others. This presupposes that you can learn the tricks and from this book, you can. The first chapter is devoted to teaching you the tricks of false shuffles and other card movements that will allow you to alter the order of the cards to what you want or preserve an order while giving the appearance that you are randomizing them.
Each of the tricks begins with an assigned skill level from one through three, the list of materials and special skills needed and a description of the structure of the trick. After this, there is a detailed description of how the trick is carried out, including figures if that is deemed necessary. As I was reading through the book, I was amazed at how easy it is to carry out what appears to be a complicated trick. I tried a few of the tricks, and was surprised how good you can get with a bit of practice. I had always thought that a great deal of dexterity was needed to perform the card movements, but that proved to be incorrect.
If you are interested in card tricks but cannot yet perform them, then this is a book that will show you all that you need to know to perform fifty basic card manipulations.