Blank decks explained: blank-face and blank-back cards

Blank cards are playing cards with nothing printed on one side. A blank-face card has a normal back and a plain white face; a blank-back card has a normal face and a plain white back. They are not a trick on their own, they are a tool: for visual surprises, predictions, decks that “go blank” and homemade gaffs. If you are just starting with special decks, read our guide to trick decks first, then come back here.

Why learn about blank cards?

Sooner or later, most card magicians end up with a few blank cards in their case. A card with no face where a face should be is instantly strange to an audience, and strange is exactly what magic is after. Blank cards also turn up in the instructions for a huge number of tricks, so knowing what each type is saves confusion when you buy.

They are also old. Henry Dean’s conjuring book Hocus Pocus (1722) already describes a trick where four kings become cards “white on both sides” and then four aces. A century and a half later, Professor Hoffmann’s Modern Magic (1876) tells readers to get blank cards backed with the same pattern as their pack and turn them into specially made cards of their own.

What are blank cards?

• Blank-face cards: the back looks like any other card in the deck, but the face is plain white. Seen from the back, nobody can tell.
• Blank-back cards: the face is a normal printed card, but the back is plain white.
• Double-blank cards: white on both sides. These have their own uses and get their own guide.

Magicians call any specially printed card a “gaff” or a “gaffed card”. Blank cards are among the simplest gaffs there are, which is part of their appeal. A “blank deck” can mean a full deck of blank-face cards, or it can be the name of a specific trick built around the idea of a deck with nothing printed on it.

How do they work?

The principle is simple: a blank card is ordinary from one side and impossible from the other. A blank-face card can sit in a normal deck, back up, and nobody will notice it until you choose to turn it over. A blank-back card looks completely normal face up and becomes a surprise the moment it is turned face down.

Most blank-card effects combine that one idea with basic card handling. For example, a magician might show a printed card, then use a standard sleight such as a double lift so the card the audience thinks they are looking at is really a blank one. The handling is ordinary; the blank card is what makes the result look impossible.

Because the back of a blank-face card has to match your deck, back design and colour matter. Hoffmann made the same point in 1876 when he specified blank cards “backed with the requisite pattern”.

When would you use them?

• The printing vanishes. A chosen card, or a whole deck, appears to lose its printing and becomes blank.
• Blank to printed. The reverse: a blank card shown at the start becomes a real card, often the one a spectator chose.
• Predictions. A blank-face card gives you a matching card to write or draw on, which suits mind-reading style routines.
• Back surprises. A blank-back card lets you finish a trick by revealing that one card, or several, has no back design at all.
• Making your own gaffs. As in Hoffmann’s day, blank cards are the starting point for homemade special cards.

Not every blank-card trick uses plain blanks bought separately. Some complete tricks come with their own specially made cards and instructions, so you don’t need to source anything else.

How do you learn to use them?

1. Start with one card. Add a single blank-face card to a matching deck and practise finishing a simple trick by revealing it. You’ll learn quickly how easy it is to flash the face by accident.
2. Learn a basic double lift. It is one of the most useful companions to blank cards. Practise until it looks exactly like turning over one card.
3. Script the reveal. A blank card is a visual surprise, so give it room. Make sure the audience saw the printed card clearly before it goes blank.
4. Then try a full routine. Once you’re comfortable, a dedicated trick built around a blank deck shows how far the idea can go.

Honestly, the cards themselves are easy. The skill is in handling: keeping faces hidden when they need to be hidden, and keeping the moment clean.

Products that help

• Blank Face Bicycle Cards. Red-backed Bicycle cards with blank faces, for matching a red Bicycle deck.
• Blank Back Bicycle Cards. A set of 52 Bicycle cards with blank backs (box colour varies).
• Blank Deck by Astor. A complete trick: the cards appear blank on both sides, a spectator names a card from the box, and it appears in the spread; then its back matches a colour the spectator chooses, and the rest are still blank. It uses 52 Bicycle cards and can be performed several times at the same table without resetting.

Common mistakes with blank cards

• Mismatched backs. A blank-face card with the wrong back design or colour gives the game away. Match your deck.
• Flashing the face. Hold blank-face cards so nobody can glimpse the white side before the reveal.
• Handing out the deck. Once a blank card is in play, don’t pass the cards for examination unless the routine is built for it.
• Testing the pen on the night. If you write on blank cards, try your marker on a spare first. Some inks smudge on coated card stock.
• Overusing it. One blank-card surprise is strong. Several in a row feel like a gimmick.

Frequently asked questions