Principle · Apprentice
The Slick (Slippery) Card
A polished card the pack slides apart at on its own.
Definition
A slick card is treated so its surface is slippery (with a touch of polish or a special finish). On the table, the pack tends to cut at the slick card, giving you a force or locator with no sleight.
Why it fools people
Friction does the dirty work. The slippery surface biases an honest cut toward your card, so the spectator's free cut quietly obeys you.
What it lets you do
- Self-working forces
- Locating a returned card
- Hands-off cut control
Beginner drills
Find the slip
With the slick card near the middle, give the pack a relaxed table cut and note how it tends to break at the slick card. Learn the touch.
Success: An honest cut lands on the slick card most of the time.
Common mistakes
- Over-polishing so the card looks different.
- Forcing the cut instead of letting it happen.
Tricks that use The Slick (Slippery) Card
The "Slick" Card
A chosen card vanishes into a freely shuffled deck, yet you locate it again as if the pack reported its position to you.
The Half Moon Location
A card is chosen from a ribbon-spread fan, returned, and cut beyond hope, yet you reveal its exact distance from the top.
Location Plus
A spectator takes a card, returns it, shuffles to their heart's content, and you still name their card.
Everybody's Card
Several people each pull a card from a freely shuffled deck, yet every single one of them names the very same card.
Stage Location
Three chosen cards travel from a deck tucked in a spectator's pocket to that spectator's own hand, one impossible production after another.
The Master Card Speller
A spectator mentally chooses one of six cards, shuffles, and then spells their card's name to deal straight to it.
Counting By Eye
You claim to count a packet of cards at a glance and then prove it by producing any number a spectator calls for.
Odd Or Even
A spectator calls odd or even, and you instantly cut off a packet that proves to be exactly that.
The Mystic Cut
A spectator freely cuts the deck, then deals down to a number set by the cut and arrives exactly at their own chosen card.