3 Forgotten Card Tricks You Need To Perform

In magic, there are trends—often dictated more by what works in the magic market than by what actually works for professional performers. These trends tend to shape what we watch, what we buy, and eventually, what we perform for our audiences.

When it comes to card tricks, the most pervasive trend is that of impossible locations. A card is chosen and found. That’s it. What changes? The method—aka the only thing the audience doesn’t see.

This is also because much of the magic content online is consumed by magicians themselves, creating a feedback loop where the routines that gain traction are the ones that fool other magicians (which has nothing to do with whether a routine is actually good or not).

So, it’s time to get out of the bubble. And while doing so, consider three routines that very few magicians perform—but absolutely should. If you’re coming back from summer looking for new material to perform in the coming weeks—we’ve got you covered.

One of them includes the full method, so you can start performing it right after reading—no matter your skill level.

Variety Matters

But first, it's worth revisiting the topic of variety in effects. Regardless of what your routines involve, it’s crucial that your repertoire includes some degree of variety—and we’re not talking about methods.

Think of it this way: your effects should each have a different flavor. You can give each effect its own flavor through presentation, character, and so on.

A quicker way to do this—one that can complement the rest of your work—is to include material that feels different by design. Looking for ideas? On One Ahead we’ve already written about great ways to do this: presenting routines as games; using effects that lean on the physical properties of objects; and crafting finales that linger in time.

The effects we’ll look at here instead leverage three other effective shortcuts: using a spooky premise; creating a strong, memorable image that summarises the effect; and using a structure that is as hands-off as possible.

These are powerful tools that can bring real variety to any set of card tricks—or any magic set in general. And perhaps more importantly, learning to evaluate your repertoire through these lenses (instead of looking at methods) is one of the most effective ways to get closer to what your audience actually experiences.