The Online Magic Store Blog

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.

Two hands riffle shuffling a red-backed deck on green felt

How to riffle shuffle and bridge a deck

How to do a clean table riffle and finish with the bridge, without ruining your cards.

Red-backed cards and blank white cards scattered on a dark wooden table

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

What blank-face and blank-back cards are, what magicians use them for, and how to start using blank cards in your card magic.

A practice desk with a deck, a coin, a notebook, a coffee cup and a phone facing a mirror

How to Practise Magic: A Simple Daily Routine That Actually Works

A simple daily practice routine for magic: technique, rehearsal and performance, plus the mistakes that slow most beginners down.

A green baize card table around 1900 with an oil lamp, a pocket watch, poker chips, cards and an old book

Who was S. W. Erdnase?

The 1902 card book The Expert at the Card Table is still in print, but nobody knows for certain who wrote it; here are the clues and the le…

A brass metronome beside a single red-backed card on a dark stage floor

Pacing and timing in magic: beats, pauses and the moment of magic

How to pace a magic routine: beats, pauses before the reveal, offbeat moments, and why rushing and dragging both kill the magic.

A magician’s raised open hand in a spotlight while the other hand rests in shadow

Misdirection principles: how magicians manage attention

The working principles of misdirection, from where you look to offbeats and time delay, and how to practise them.

Two hands at the moment of a coin vanish, one reaching to take a silver coin from the other

How to do the French drop

A step-by-step guide to the French drop, the classic coin vanish, with the mistakes that give it away and how to practise it.

A magician’s hand holding a red-backed deck while a spectator’s hand takes a card

Card forces: overhand, Hindu and cut

What a card force is, and how the cut, Hindu shuffle and overhand families work, with a learning order and the mistakes to avoid.

A thumb lifting the corner of the top cards of a red-backed deck on a dark close-up mat

Double lift mastery: showing two cards as one

What the double lift is, how the get-ready and turnover work in principle, where to use it and how to practise until it looks like a single…

Guests’ hands around a candlelit dinner table scattered with red-backed cards, wine glasses and a coin

Magic for Dinner Parties and Bars: How to Build a 3-Trick Social Set

How to choose and perform magic at dinner parties and bars: what works, what doesn't, and how to build a three-trick social set.

Hands dealing a red-backed card onto green felt beside three dealt cards

Dealing seconds, bottoms and centres: false deals explained

What second, bottom and centre deals are, where they came from, why magicians learn them and why they never belong in a real game.

Cover of Professor Hoffmann’s Modern Magic, the 1876 textbook that teaches the pass, as a free ebook

False cuts and the pass

What a false cut and the pass each do, how Erdnase and Hoffmann taught them, and why most magicians learn false cuts first.

Title card for The False Shuffles and Cuts Project video download

False shuffles explained

What a false shuffle is, how overhand, riffle and Hindu versions keep cards in place, and how to learn one without getting caught out.

The Expert at the Card Table by S. W. Erdnase, 1902, cover showing two hands handling playing cards

Palming fundamentals: how magicians hide a card in an empty hand

What palming a card means, the top palm, bottom palm and gambler’s cop explained, and how to practise until your hand looks natural.

Cover of The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue

Card control techniques: how magicians keep track of a chosen card

What a card control is, how the key card, overhand controls and the pass work, and the order to learn them in.

Sharpie Through Bill, impromptu magic with everyday objects

Impromptu Magic: How to Perform Anywhere, Anytime, With Everyday Objects

Impromptu magic can be performed anywhere, anytime, with everyday objects. What it is, the best objects to use, and how to always be ready.

Liquid Killer fork bending magic

Metal Bending Magic: The History and Appeal of Spoon Bending (and How to Start)

Spoons, forks, keys and screwdrivers: the history of metal bending, why it's so powerful, and how to start performing it.

In A Flash, available as a download or with the gimmick included

Magic Downloads vs Physical Tricks: Which Should You Buy?

Should you buy the physical trick or the download? The differences in delivery, price, props and returns, and how to choose.