The Online Magic Store Blog: Magic Education

Hands arranging silver coins on a black mat beside a jeweller’s loupe and a velvet pouch

Coin gimmick combinations: why magicians mix shells, flippers and magnets

Why coin magicians combine shells, flippers, folding and magnetic coins in one routine, how it works in principle, and the risks.

A silver coin standing on its edge against a small black magnet on a wooden table

Magnetic coins explained: what they are and how magicians use them

What magnetic and steel core coins are, the principle behind them, and where they fit in real coin routines.

A silver coin balanced on the fingertips of an open hand

Flipper coins explained: mechanics and handling

What a flipper coin is, where it came from, how magnetic and elastic versions differ, and how to handle one so the change looks like magic.

Two silver coins stacked on dark velvet beside a jeweller’s loupe

Coin shells explained: weight, balance and types

What a coin shell is, how expanded, regular and shim shells differ, and why weight, balance and fit decide whether a shell fools anyone.

Someone practising at a desk, holding up a single face-down card beside a deck and a practice notebook

Flap cards: learning curve and practice

How hard flap cards really are to perform, the skills around the gaff, and a step-by-step practice plan.

A hand holding up a single red-backed playing card with a blur of motion beside it

Classic effects with flap cards

The classic flap card effects, from the visible change and double change to the torn corner and colour change, and when to use each.

A hand holding a single red-backed playing card at an angle over dark velvet

Flap cards: mechanics and theory

What a flap card is, the principle behind the hinged half-card, and why the seam, grip and timing matter more than the gaff.

A solid clear acrylic block the size of a deck beside a face-down deck of playing cards

The Omni family: how the clear-deck idea evolved

How the Omni idea grew from a deck that turns into clear plastic to pens, coins and props with a second surprise inside.

A clear transparent marker and its cap beside a white card and red-backed playing cards

What is the Omni Pen? The clear Sharpie explained

What the Omni Pen is, who made its routines, how it builds on the Omni Deck and whether it is worth adding to your act.

A clear acrylic disc beside an ordinary silver coin on black velvet

Omni Coin explained: the coin that turns clear

What the Omni Coin is, how it grew out of the Omni Deck, where it fits in a set and how to build the coin skills it needs.

A hand holding up a clear block shaped like a deck of cards above scattered red-backed cards

Omni Deck explained: the card trick that ends in solid plastic

What the Omni Deck is, who it is credited to, what the audience sees and how to learn it, without giving away the secret.

A hand pushing one red-backed card out of a ribbon spread on green felt

Forcing decks: all cards identical

How one-way, two-way and three-way forcing decks guarantee the chosen card, and the handling habits that keep them secret.

A jeweller’s loupe over the back of a red playing card on dark wood, a fan of cards behind

Marked decks: types and systems

The published types of marked deck, from block-out and cut-out to juice and luminous readers, and how magicians use them honestly.

A Victorian dressing table by candlelight with a spool of black thread, a needle, beeswax and white gloves

The history of thread magic: from a single hair to elastic loops

From a hair in a 1584 exposé to Victorian black silk and modern elastic loops, here is how thread magic developed.

A small paper ball floating between two open hands against dark velvet

Invisible elastic thread: the hybrid advantages explained

Invisible elastic thread adds stretch to invisible thread, which steadies floats and makes pocket-ready loops possible, at the cost of reac…

Two hands stretching a fine clear thread that catches the light over black velvet

Elastic thread in magic: properties and uses

What elastic thread is, the properties that matter, and how magicians use it in pulls, gimmicks and close-up animation.

Hands folding a red silk on a lamp-lit workbench beside a spool of thread, scissors and a magnifier

Invisible thread: weight, handling and safety

How to match invisible thread to the weight you want to float, handle a strand from spool to show, and keep thread work safe.

A hand holding a red-backed deck above an antique mirror that reflects its underside

Peek decks explained: mirror peeks and shiners

What a peek is, how mirror peeks and shiners let a magician secretly see a card, and how to use one without getting caught.

A deck, two red-backed cards, a plain silver disc, a magnet, a rubber band and a velvet pouch laid out on black felt

Gaff combinations explained: mixing gimmicks and sleights

How magicians combine gaff cards, trick decks and sleights in one routine, why it works, and the risks of adding more secrets.

Hands beside a long ribbon spread of red-backed cards on green felt, one card turned the other way

One-way decks: pattern reading

How a one-way back design lets you spot a turned card in a shuffled deck, and how magicians from Hoffmann to Downs used it.

A hand drawing a single card out of the middle of a red-backed deck

Stripper decks: narrowed cards

How a stripper deck’s tapered cards let you find a chosen card by touch, and how a card cheat’s tool became a magician’s classic.

Hands riffling the corner of a red-backed deck over a dark close-up mat

Svengali decks: principle and effects

How the Svengali deck’s long and short principle works, the classic effects it makes possible, and where its name came from.

Two hands turning a red-backed card over above three face-down cards

Double backer decks explained: cards with two backs

What a double backer card is, the classic effects it makes possible, and how to start using one without giving it away.

A pure white blank card standing against a red-backed deck on black velvet by candlelight

Double blank decks explained: the card with nothing on it

What a double blank card is, how magicians use a card with nothing on either side, and how to start working with one.