Intro:

● Start with card trick

o fun fact: 52 cards in deck because of 52 weeks, 13 cards in each suit because of
13 lunar phases, 4 suits for four seasons
▪ magician marco tempest in his TED Talk
● Begin talking:
o The history of card began in china before 1000 AD where it moved to Europe
through Egypt. The suits on the card we have today are based off of the French
design in the late 1400s
▪ according to David Parlett, author of a dictionary of card games and
oxford history of board games
o The art of playing cards started with gamblers and cheaters then moved its wat
to circuses and finally to the stages we see them today.
● Preview statement:
o All magicians, from the streets to stage, have two main functions when
performing a card trick; to elude and misdirect the audience. And there are
multiple techniques that are used to achieve these goals.

Body:

● Illusions are ways to make audience visualize cards that are not there, or to vanish cards
that are.
● Mis-directions are ways to make the audience attention focus somewhere else then
where a trick is going to happen.
o According to Arthur Buckley author of Principles and Deceptions 1948
● Illusions and mis-directions are important to the card trick or else the feeling of magic
and deception will not be there
● To accomplish both these functions, there are many techniques involved such as
palming, false shuffles, and forces
o Palming is concealing cards in palm of hand.
o False shuffles should seem fair because they look like you are randomized a
card. However, a false shuffle keeps cards exactly where you want them to be
▪ Hugard & Braue 1974
● Only talk if you have time:
o Forces use sleight weight to choose a card predetermined by the performer
▪ Ex: 30 sec clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JFYDENm64w#t=97

Conclusion:

● With just those few techniques I listed, a performer would be able to achieve the two
functions of a card trick, to elude and misdirect the audience.
● And remember, For the functions and techniques of card tricks to be able to affect many
people, a magician never reveals the ir secretes.
● Would you mind looking for your card in the deck.
Bibliography:

https://blog.ted.com/marco-tempest-tells-the-secret-story-of-a-deck-of-cards/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/playing-card

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_manipulation #7

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdirection_(magic)#Definitions