The marked deck will make any card magician’s job easier. The marked deck will allow you to make your existing tricks stronger and provide you with additional opportunities.
A marked deck of cards is a deck that has been printed with invisible marks. These markings allow you to read a hidden code, message or pattern that is printed on the back. The performer will know which cards are in a deck and what order they’re in. They can also tell which suit and value the card is. It is time-consuming for magicians to mark their own decks with this type of coding system.
It’s important to keep in mind that cheating is a crime, and you will be caught. It’s best to use a marked card deck only for entertainment and not for card games that can be used as a betting tool.
The best marked decks for magic are ones that look natural and have a simple reading system that is easy to read from a distance. Phoenix Cards and Cohort Card are two decks that have this feature and are highly regarded by the magic community. A great reference for these kinds of decks is Hidden in Plain Sight by Kirk Charles and Boris Wild, and a classic on the subject is Ted Lesley’s Working Performer’s Marked Deck Manual (1983). This feature is also included in the new DMC Elites Deck, by Drummond MoneyCoutts & Phil Smith.
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