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magicofthemind wrote:I have a set of the original Duke University cards bought in the Sixties. The symbols are all black. I've done lots of reading on the history of ESP research and I've never seen a reference to coloured symbols.
BTW, the symbols were deliberately designed to have no emotional significance.
Barry

I think the cards I had must have been Piatnick. Thanks everyone for putting me straight. That said I think that adding a different colour to each symbol and thus adding a further dimension to the ways that a thought could be 'transmitted' is attractive. I have therefore bought a copy of "ESP Designs" from Lybrary with card paper and all the other paraphanalia. Wish me luck!

I have, at last, received a reply from Dr John Palmer PhD, Director of Research at Rhine Research Centre.
He says "There was a set of colored (sic) cards made up for a couple of studies to see if color made any difference in the results, but the original cards used in major studies were all black and white."

Hello Ted,

I'm been looking for those. I really appreciated you sharing them here. Thanks for your nice post.

I've recently bought myself a set of "ESP Origins" cards and I really like them.

The marks are subtle but easy to read and the general design and look of the cards is very appealing. You do not to see the full back design to get your read (as with Beyond ESP and P@r@l@bs) but you cannot read from a single corner either (as with MK-MOD and Royal). It is still a single glance read, certainly one of the easier, quicker systems, but not located in the corner of the card.





You get a 5x5 marked set (blue back) an extra marked set of 5 (red back) and a bunch of gaffs.

Users of the Outlaw Effects 'Reflections' book test may be interested to learn you also get a marked set of number cards 1-5.

The booklet that comes with the set is pretty cool. It has 10 illustrated routines, listed below:
Synchosis - Max Maven
Viewed ESP Prediction - Richard Osterlind
My Charlier Shuffle - Armand Porcell
ESPitome Location - Sylvain Mirouf
ESP Vision - Armand Porcell
ESP Taytelbaum - Ludovic Mignon
Protocols - Christian Chelman
Marked Thought - Bob Mason
ESP Mind - Sylvain Mirouf
ESP Assembly - Armand Porcell
Similitude - Armand Porcell

EDIT: The booklet is available in English, if you're ordering from Marchand du Trucs, just specify that's your language choice in the 'Extra Information' box on your order.

You also get a second, slimline card box in the package, that fits a 25-card set.

I like them very much and they have, for now, become my go-to ESP testing cards.

Ted, if you get a chance / have the inclination to add them to the initial list, here are the details:

ESP Origins
LINK IF YOU LIVE IN EUROPE
LINK IF YOU LIVE IN THE US ((direct link to product doesn't work, so go to the site and search "esp origins"))
[55 cards, playing card style backs, 25 marked blue back, 5 marked red back, 5 number 1 to 5 cards with marked backs, 5 blank cards with marked backs, 5 double-faced cards (one for each symbol), 10 additional gaff cards (double backers & double facers), second slimline case + 48 page booklet of instructions and routines]

I know this thread is a couple of years old now and I'm not sure this will be seen by many but I'm after an ESP deck at the moment. There are a few different ones listed here but being fairly new to the cards I'm not sure of the best ones to get. Could somebody point me in the right direction please?

Many thanks in advance.

I really like the Beyond ESP cards but I'm going to get some of the ESP origins ones too because I like cards!

Magus wrote:I know this thread is a couple of years old now and I'm not sure this will be seen by many but I'm after an ESP deck at the moment. There are a few different ones listed here but being fairly new to the cards I'm not sure of the best ones to get. Could somebody point me in the right direction please?

Many thanks in advance.

You can get them in bicycle from USPCC. any deck by USPCC have never led me wrong! good quality consistently.

http://www.alakazam.co.uk/product-ESP-Cards---Bicycle-Back.html

that's just one supplier of them but many more sell them that was just the first link I came to on Google.

I really wouldn't want a deck with bycicle backs to be perfectly honest, they look too much like playing cards.

What are you after, ordinary backs or marked? Have a look at cards4magic, they usually have a good selection.

Lady of Mystery wrote:What are you after, ordinary backs or marked? Have a look at cards4magic, they usually have a good selection.

To be honest as I'm new to ESP cards I'm not too fussed about marked ones as the first couple of effects I've learned use a stack. Saying that I'll probably get a marked deck as I will probably want one sooner or later. I'll take a look at cards4magic, I've used them before and find them great to deal with. (No pun intended)!

Thanks again.

I thought I might just cheekily note that I still sell the MK-MOD ESP test cards.

I need to sort out my website, which largely disappeared some time ago!

But in my humble opinion they are pretty good : )

Cheers,
T.

I also thought I might cheekily note that my new deck of ESP inspired cards (The Oracle ESP Deck) will be available as a limited run soon. Filming the DVD instructions over the next few days.

50 coloured easily recognisable symbols (10 different symbols repeated in 5 different colours) to create a deck of 50 cards. The cards are double sided one side being the symbols the other being one of the numbers from 1 - 50. Printed on poker sized linen finished playing card stock, the DVD will include multiple routines for close and stage, including a real time lottery prediction. I have been using these in my shows since 2010.

cheers

Scott

For anyone who's interested, it looks like the Rhine Research Centre have updated their website and now have an online shop selling zenner cards.

http://www.rhine.org/shoppingcart/index ... ducts_id=2

Might be worth a try...

I also really enjoy MatCult's Symbiosis cards as an alternative to ESP cards, something a bit different.

I discussed ESP card routines and decks available in my book "Mentalism With Cards" . The trouble with these lists though is that they soon go out of date as ESP decks (some which were printed in smaller quantities) go out of print or new ones become available. It is good though, to be able to compare what may be available and more suitable for personal requirements.
.
Neil Tobin in the USA is preparing to release an ESP deck at some point and I'm sure when he does it will be a good one so look out for it.
Didn't see this giant ESP deck mentioned:

http://www.themagicgadgetsite.com/index ... html&1

I have one of the above and have used it on stage from time to time, but more often used normal sized decks for close up use.

On the "Reel Magic Magazine" there is a video column by the name of "Mindtripping". In these video the presenters discourage the use of ESP cards as "uninteresting" and without real purpose other than the standard presentation of Duke university.

I don't know if I agree with their contention but in reworking many of the ESP card effects, I do think that a better connection with our participants can be made using for example, cards bearing feelings. In one effect particular and just as an example, a Larry Becker effect is reworked to play for two spectators and illustrate a symbiosis between the couple, as after some free choices are made the cards match in the end.

I do however think that the scientific aspect of ESP cards, do have merit and can portray a legitimacy and clinical aspect to an effect. Of course there are those who think that the use of any cards in mentalism, is a no no. To them I say limiting our tools, can't at all be a good thing. We have so few props at our disposal to begin with, why take cards away from our arsenal? Just so long as we don't treat cards as a magicians props or gambling tool, I think there use is fine.