Double backer decks explained: cards with two backs

A double backer is a playing card with a back printed on both sides and no face at all. Hidden among normal cards, it lets a card seem to turn face down by itself, lets the backs of a deck appear to change colour, and makes a whole range of transpositions possible. It’s a simple, useful gaff to own, but almost every routine with it needs some basic sleight of hand.

Why does the double backer matter?

If you’ve watched a magician spread a face-up deck and one card is suddenly face down, or turn over a red-backed deck and show the backs have turned blue, there’s a fair chance a double backer was involved. It’s simple, cheap and easy to hide in plain sight, which makes it worth knowing whether you’re just starting out or already performing. Our guide to trick decks covers complete gimmicked decks; this post goes deeper on one gaff card that you add to a normal deck.

What is a double backer?

A gaff is a prop designed to look like something real while secretly doing a job. A double backer (also called a double back or double-backed card) is a playing card with the back design printed on both sides, so neither side shows a value. It comes in two main kinds:

• Same colour both sides (red/red or blue/blue): looks like an ordinary face-down card from either side.
• Different colour each side (red/blue): the usual choice for colour-changing deck routines and two-deck effects.

Its cousin is the double facer, a card with a face on both sides. Our post on double blank cards covers the card with nothing printed on it at all.

How does a double backer work?

The principle is about what the audience assumes. Everyone knows a playing card has one face and one back. When they see a back, they assume a face is on the other side. A double backer quietly breaks that rule, so a card can look face down in a face-up deck without anything being turned over.

Magicians have long treated this kind of gaff as standard. In Our Magic (1911), Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant list “Double Facing” among the mechanical principles of magic and say that with playing cards it “is sufficiently familiar” to need no comment. The double backer is the same idea turned around: two backs instead of two faces.

A double backer rarely works alone. It’s usually combined with a normal card, a double lift, or a simple switch, and the handling is what keeps the audience from seeing both sides at the wrong moment.

When do magicians use double backers?

• A card turns over in the deck. A spectator’s card appears face down in a face-up spread.
• All backs. The faces of a packet or deck seem to vanish, leaving only backs.
• Colour-changing backs. With red/blue double backers, the back of a card, or a whole deck, seems to change colour.
• Two-deck effects and transpositions. A card seems to jump from a red deck to a blue one, or two cards seem to swap places.
• Stronger double lifts and hands-off forces. Published material on double backers points to more natural-looking double lifts, and to forcing cards without the magician touching the deck.

How do you learn to use a double backer?

The gaff is easy to buy and hard to use well on day one. Most routines need at least a basic double lift, and some need a card switch. A sensible order:

1. Learn a double lift first. Our double lift guide covers the move that shows up in most double backer routines.
2. Start with one card. Add a single same-colour double backer to a normal deck and practise a simple card-turns-over effect until you never flash both sides.
3. Then try red/blue. Colour-change routines need more planning, because you must manage which colour shows at every moment.
4. Practise in a mirror or on camera. Angles matter. Check what the audience sees from where they’ll actually stand. Our guide to angles in magic explains why.

Which products help with double backers?

• Double Back Bicycle Cards: double backer cards, red back on both sides.
• Double Back Bicycle Cards (blue/red): blue on one side and red on the other (box colour varies), for colour-change and two-deck work.
• Gaff Deck by Bigmagie: 56 Bicycle Rider back cards including double-backed and double-faced cards, cards printed with multiple backs or faces, and duplicates. Sold without instructions, so it suits someone who already knows a few routines.

Browse more card magic or our gimmick-based tricks.

What are the common mistakes with double backers?

• Flashing the other side. The most common giveaway is turning the card so both backs are seen. Know where the gaff is at all times.
• Using a mismatched back. The double backer must match your deck’s design and colour, or the difference shows next to normal cards.
• Handing it out. The audience must never examine it. Have a plan to get rid of it, or finish with a normal card they can keep.
• Leaving it in the deck. A forgotten double backer will ruin the next trick. Remove it once the routine ends.
• Skipping the sleights. The card makes routines easier, not automatic. Learn the double lift before you perform for anyone.

Frequently asked questions