Card Magic, Sunderland

29/04/2024

04/08/2021

All Upside Down

Learnt a new card trick today. I did exactly what it said on the dvd, and it didn’t work.

I tried again and it still didn’t work. The more I tried it the more I liked it. Except for the fact that it didn’t work.

So I tried it left-handed, and it didn’t work that way either. Then I tried it upside-down with the face-down cards face-up, and it worked!

Now I had the technique perfected I turned the deck the right way up and did it again and it didn’t work.

Every time I did it upside down it worked; right way up - failed.

Maybe I should move to Australia.

01/03/2021

It has always been said that the first thing you should learn to do as a card cheat is run a mile. Most people won’t chase you further than that.
Although, with so many people running in marathons, or half marathons, I’m not sure that still applies.

04/02/2021

First rule of cheating at cards: Be able to run a mile. Most people won’t chase you any further.

30/03/2020

Coronavirus

Isolated at home alone, so I’m teaching myself ventriloquism.
Soon I’ll be able to talk to myself. I can already say, “I saw that, you cheat. I’ll break your fingers!”

28/08/2018

One of the most important differences between man and other species is the opposable thumb, which allows man to both overhand and riffle shuffle. - Steve Beam

22/08/2018

NOC Cards are Marked, and Most People Don’t Know
But you’ll still get your fingers broken if they find out!

NOC playing Cards, created by Alex Pandrea, came out in 2012 and proved to be very popular with their simplistic back design, and low price.

What a lot of people don’t know is, the cards are marked.

Yes, the cards are marked. There’s nothing on the card box to tell you this. Nothing inside the box either. But, if you’re playing cards for money and someone says, “Hey, guys, don’t you know these cards are marked!” you’re likely to get your head kicked in before you can say, “I didn’t know!”

Now, the cards are only marked for the suits, which isn’t a tremendous help to you, but it does give you an advantage. The marking system, if you want to use it, is explained by Alex Pandrea on a YouTube video, and takes no time to learn.

Other than the markings, these are a nice deck of cards, made by the United States Playing Card Company, on their Bicycle Premium Stock with air-cushion finish, so they handle very similarly to the Bicycle Rider Back cards that you’ll be used to.

25/07/2018

Nine of Diamonds - The Curse of Scotland

In Scotland, the Nine of Diamonds has been thought of as the unluckiest card in the deck since the 18th-century. At one time it was nicknamed the Justice Clerk after Lord Ormistoune who was the Lord Justice Clerk at the time of the first Jacobite Rebellion, in 1715, which sort to put James on the British throne.

Another source attributes the name, the Curse of Scotland, to Charles II’s son, James, Duke of Monmouth, who wrote the order of battle on the eve of the Battle of Bothwell Bridge 1679 on the reverse of the Nine of Diamonds. Monmouth’s army numbered around 5000 regular troops and militia, and they quickly routed the Scottish army which was poorly armed and had no artillery.

A similar story relates to the Duke of Cumberland, known as the Butcher, youngest son of George II, who was also said to have written the order of battle on the reverse of the Nine of Diamonds, this time on the eve of Culloden in 1746.

In the 18th-century, packs of cards had blank backs, so these stories are credible. Whichever version you believe, it can provide a bit of interest to your card magic, and keep your audience entertained.

21/07/2018

Joint seventieth birthday party in South Shields tonight for Ken and Linda.

16/07/2018

Two half hour shows at the weekend is preferable to five or six shorter ones around the tables.

02/01/2018

I think all of my Christmas events were in County Durham!