Magic Books S 

Back to the Top

View Your Shopping Cart

Self-Working Card Tricks by Karl Fulves

What is a self-working card trick? A trick that does not depend upon legerdemain or special abilities on the part of the magician, but a trick that works automatically because of the mathematics inherent in the card deck itself.

Long practice and supernormal dexterity are not needed to perform these tricks, yet they are often among the most entertaining and most spectacular of all card tricks.

The present volume was the first commercially available collection of these sure-fire tricks, prepared by one of the best-known modern writers and editors in the field of magic, Karl Fulves, editor of The Pallbearer periodical.

Some of these tricks are simple, a good place to begin. Others were specially adapted from professional routines and are here presented for the first time for amateurs. Almost all of these tricks can be worked informally, with a borrowed deck of cards. Some also adapt to stage presentation.

Individual tricks contained here have sold for more than the price of the entire book. Amateurs can use them to get a start in magic and to feel, at once, the rewards of giving a professional performance. Advanced and professional magicians will find tricks to add to their acts or informal routines.

113 pages, 42 illustrations, Paperbound.

"Close-up card magic is performed right under the noses of the spectators. It has an immediacy that cannot be duplicated by platform magic. Seasoned professionals agree there is no better way to learn how to handle an audience than when they are inches away." -Karl Fulves

Karl Fulves is one of the most popular and respected magic authorities writing today. In Self-Working Close-Up Card Magic he shows beginners how to perform 56 tried-and true, crowd-pleasing tricks for the kind of small, close-up audiences that gather at parties and family get-togethers. The tricks are simple to master. The performerer needs only a deck of cards and a few everyday objects like a coin or a rubber band. The kind of close-up performing these tricks require offers beginners the best possible way to learn how to engage and handle an audience.

Among the tricks are "openers" which quickly get an audience's attention and set the stage for the rest of the act; memory tricks that make it appear the performer has an uncanny ability to memorize cards; gambling tricks that seem to give the performer an expert ability to control the cards in games of chance; and "gimmicked" cards that create eye-popping visual magic. Simple step-by-step instructions, accompanied by clear, carefully drawn illustrations, make these applause-winning tricks absolutely foolproof, requiring no long practice of dexterity to perform.

128 pages, 121 illustrations, Paperbound.

Money and magic! A combination that never fails to attract attention. With this helpful and revealing book, even novices can astound friends and relatives with mystifying magical feats requiring little more than common coins and paper currency.

Written by one of today's foremost authorities on self-working magic tricks (those that need no special dexterity or long hours of practice), this how-to book features an impressive array of 92 simple-to-do tricks sure to dazzle any audience.

Clearly worded instructions and 251 illustrations show beginning as well as veteran conjurers how to pluck a seemingly endless number of coins from the air, make a coin penetrate a tabletop and perform psychic tricks with coins and bills. "Quick Print" lets you apparently print a genuine $5 bill on blank paper, while "Bunco Bills" takes the audience behind the scenes to expose the methods of the shortchange artist. Other intriguing illusions include "Metal Bending," "Tower of Nickels," "Balancing Act," "Thru the Ring," "Immovable Object," "Sealed-Box Mystery," and dozens of other phenomenal tricks.

No previous experience is necessary to perform these tricks and apart from the required currency, most call for nothing more than a few easy-to-find items (tabletop, cup , handkerchief, playing cards, etc.). Almost all can be mastered in a short time.

148 pages, 251 illustrations, Paperbound.

For magicians wishing to start a magic act with a dramatic visual effect, there is no better choice than a handkerchief trick. In fact, such airy bits of baffling illusion are among the most graceful and sophisticated tricks in the magician's repertoire.

This book is a treasury of handkerchief tricks that are easy to perform. Karl Fulves, one of today's foremost authorities on "self-working" tricks (i.e., tricks that do not require special feats of dexterity or long hours of practice), has collected 61 of the finest self-working handkerchief tricks and presented them in this easy-to-follow, well-illustrated guidebook.

After a brief introductory chapter describing necessary materials and helpful hints on handling the "tools of the trade," the author proceeds to the tricks themselves. Over 500 clear illustrations and step-by-step directions show you exactly how to execute such "sleights of silk" as making handkerchiefs appear (and disappear), penetrating handkerchiefs with solid objects, cutting and restoring handkerchiefs, creating animated figures and performing a variety of combined card and handkerchief tricks.

Newcomers to this mystical art will quickly learn techniques for these astonishing illusions:

Threading the Needle

Houdini's Coat

Freefall

Paper Bag Vanish

Switch over

Decapitated Knot

He Found It!

Crazy Compass

Silk from Silk

Pop Up

The Mouse

Spooky Spoon

Produce a Wand

Zombie Card Rise

and 47 more!

No previous experience is necessary and most tricks require only a simple handkerchief. A few use uncomplicated apparatus constructed from cardboard or paper. Almost all can be mastered in a short time. With this book and a little practice you'll soon be dazzling friends and relatives with an impressive array of handkerchief hocus-pocus.

192 pages, 509 illustrations, Paperbound.

Karl Fulves, one of the most renowned modern writers in the field of magic, presents here 67 new and foolproof tricks-spectacular mental feats that seem impossible, but are easy to perform.

None of the tricks require long practice, supernormal dexterity, or complicated apparatus. Mr. Fulves' precise, easy-to-follow instructions and many helpful diagrams lead to quick mastey and effective performance of each. Perform mystifying mental magic in such categories as:

Instant ESP

Mind Reading with Cards

Mind Over Matter

Book Tests

Psychic Secrets

Slate Sorcery

Miracles with Cards

Psychometry

Many of these tricks can be done with no prior preparation, and all involve easy-to-find materials: a deck of cards, coins, matches, dice, keys, chalk, etc. But while the materials used are ordinary, the effects achieved are truly extraordinary.

Magicians who wish to add mental acts to their routines, party entertainers or anyone wishing to give an amazing performance of mental magic will find this book perfect for their needs.

121 pages, 73 illustrations, Paperbound.

Numbers pervade nearly every aspect of our daily lives: telephone numbers, zip codes, Social Security numbers, driver's license and credit card numbers. We are beleaguered by numbers. No wonder we're fascinated, intrigued, even a bit bewildered by them; no wonder tricks involving numbers are perennial favorites.

With Self-Working Number Magic, you can perform show-stopping tricks, stunts and routines that are sure to delight audiences because they capitalize on our natural fascination for numbers. Karl Fulves, well-known writer in the field of magic, presents 101 baffling tricks that are so easy-to-do, they practically work by themselves. While all the tricks involve basic mathematical principles, the mathematics is not discussed here; rather, emphasis is on performing and perfecting the tricks. They can be learned quickly and put into operation immediately, and best of all, they really dazzle an audience!

Among the seemingly impossible tricks and stunts in this book: guessing a spectator's age or how long a married couple have known each other; predicting the sum of a group of numbers and using your brain like a lightning calculator; and instantly memorizing long lists of numbers or objects. This selection also includes tricks involving cards, calendars, magic squares and betting games. The author even suggests stage patter to use while performing.

With this book and a modicum of practice, anyone can perform an assortment of number tricks that will astound and delight an audience. Whatever your age or math skills, you'll soon be baffling friends and relatives with over 100 fascinating foolproof number tricks.

145 pages, 98 illustrations, Paperbound.

Put a little magic into your life! Karl Fulves, one of the best-known writers in the field, shares tricks of the trade in this marvelous book-over 80 foolproof, easy-to-perform paper miracles that anyone can master.

You'll need nothing up your sleeve, no previous experience, no special dexterity to execute these seemingly impossible feats. Fulves clear step-by--step directions and 367 instructive illustrations enable even beginning magicians to work wonders with paper. Now produce a mind-reading effect with file cards, make a piece of newspaper disappear, perform a routine in which paper rings link "magically." You'll find that a puzzling routine such as the "Magic Mailbox" works best as a close-up trick, while the "Japanese Checkers" illusion can be done as a showy stage effect.

In tricks ranging from "telepathy to teleportation," learn how to reveal serial number on spectator's bills, solve a murder as the "Psychometric Detective" transport a cup of soda from inside a paper bag to a borrowed hat, pass a pencil through a jacket, cause a star to materialize and a hole punched in piece of paper to migrate to another piece of paper.

With this helpful handbook at your fingertips, create paper animals that seem to come to life and perform magic tricks. Animated paper folds such as a charming rabbit that flaps its ears are a perennial source of fascination-and can be made in seconds.

That materials needed for these fascinating tricks range from single sheets of paper to bags, cups and paperback books. Lightweight, inexpensive and portable, they pack flat, take up little space and get big results!

Delight and astonish your family and friends with the easily mastered 81 foolproof tricks in Self-Working Paper Magic.

160 pages, 367 illustrations, Paperbound.

For centuries, rope tricks have been staples of the magician's repertoire. Surprisingly, many of the best ones are "self-working," meaning they do not require unusual dexterity or long hours of practice.

This excellent guidebook, written by one of today's foremost authorities on magic, presents 70 of the best, most amazing self-working rope tricks ever devised-tricks that amateur magicians can master in a very short time.

After a brief introduction and a section devoted to acquiring and preparing the proper ropes, Karl Fulves begins the book by introducing rope tricks based on simple overhand knots, slip knots and square knots. These are followed by such tricks as "The Vishnu Rope Mystery" and the "Hindu Turban Mystery" in the chapter entitled "Cut-and-Restored Rope." In "Ropes That Think" he demonstrates such fascinating maneuvers as "Liars' Ropes" and "Séance." You'll also learn how to do a one-hand figure eight, perform a "Double-Ring Ceremony" and make an endless chain.

Novice magicians as well as veterans can learn these foolproof tricks quickly and eaily with Karl Fulves' clearly worded instructions and over 400 step-by-step illustrations. Along with the specifics of how to perform each trick, Mr. Fulves provides helpful phrases and bits of patter to help readers present each routine with a professional flourish.

160 pages, 423 illustrations, Paperbound.

The quickest, most certain path toward achieving a reputation as a magician is to be able to perform at a moment's notice with borrowed objects. If you are handed a coin, handkerchief, pencil or rubber band, you should be able to do at least one amazing trick with that object.

This book deals exclusively with just such tricks. It is a collection of some of the best tricks with ordinary objects. The approach throughout the book is simple. No unusual dexterity, gimmicks or special sleights are required. The only props needed are simple, everyday objects-eggs, cards, dice, rubber bands, balloons, apples, etc. Nor are long hours of practice necessary. Step-by-step instructions and over 180 helpful illustrations insure quick and effective mastery of each trick. Self-Working Table Magic contains nearly 100 tricks in the following categories:

Money Magic

Magic Show in a Matchbox

Dice Dexterity

Conjuror's Collection

Psychic Tricks

Elastic Illusions

Hanky Panky

Close-Up Illusions

The Linking Pins

Pen-Ultimate Magic

Some chapters have been designed to provide the reader with a complete act of close-up magic. For example, the chapter entitled "Magic Show in a Matchbox," gives you about 15 minutes of excellent tricks and stunts to amaze and amuse your audience. Master the tricks in this book and you will be ready to entertain anytime, anywhere, with some of the finest of all close-up mysteries.

Karl Fulves, editor of Pallbearer magazine and one of the most renowned modern writers in the field of magic, has selected these tricks from both old and new magic stunts. Some are classic feats of time-tested wizardry, while others are new and inventive techniques. All, however, are easy-to-learn foolproof routines that will enable you to dazzle and delight your audience.

122 pages, 185 illustrations, Paperbound.

Let's say you are at a dinner party and are invited to do a trick. You have no apparatus on you, nothing prepared. In an absent manner, you place a glass of sherry to your lips, as though bracing yourself for the fray.

The glass is half emptied, when a sudden movement is made as though you threw it up to the ceiling; but nothing is seen to ascend, though the glass, with the wine it it, has disappeared! After a short pause, to allow the general astonishment to take full effect, the missing article is discovered inside the coat of your immediate neighbor, with the wine in it unspilt.

How is this startling trick performed? Find out in this legendary classic of legerdemain, Sleight of Hand, widely regarded by professional magicians as one of the finest magic books ever written. Clearly and minutely, the steps are given for hundreds of astonishing tricks: drawing room tricks with coins, common objects, cups and balls, handkerchiefs, and so on, including many fascinating card tricks-The Congenial Aces, The Traveling Cards, The Assembly, etc.; and stage magic, encompassing the more involved tricks with coins, handkerchiefs and cards, and tricks with watches and livestock, sham mesmerism and clairvoyance, the famous Cornucopian Hat, and an impressive array of miscellaneous tricks- Houdini's Die Trick, The Ubiquitous Glass of Water, The Shower of Gold, The Chinese Rings, The Magic Omelet, The Great Dictionary Trick and more.

Beyond supplying you with tricks, the book is teaching you the techniques of pure manual dexterity known collectively as sleight of hand. It also specifically explains many basic techniques: the palm, pass, false shuffle, change, slide, force, vanishing and producing an object, exchanging articles, and using such essential apparatus as the specially prepared table and dress coat, The Devil's Handkerchief, The Coin Handkerchief, Magician's Eggs, and The Coin-Vanishing Tumbler. Any apparatus required is inexpensive or easy to make.

Be assured that sleight of hand relies primarily on dexterity, not apparatus. And if you are truly interested in magic, you must eventually master sleight-of-hand techniques or give up the idea of being anything more than a beginning magician. These techniques, both basic and advanced, are all here-in one of the best books on the subject you could possibly own.

408 pages, 57 illustrations, Paperbound.