The Online Magic Store Blog: Trick Decks

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.

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.

The Inspire Deck, a modern trick deck

Trick Decks Explained: Which Gimmicked Deck Should You Buy First?

Svengali, Invisible, tapered, marked, forcing decks: what each classic trick deck lets you do, and which one to start with.