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[TheOldForum]

Mental Photography is a trick that may also be called the Imaginary Deck or perhaps a Blank Deck for those who have no creativity at all.

The magician shows a deck of cards to be blank on both sides. This deck is well constructed and can be shown by riffling the deck and also by spreading the deck. I then say "So, you're probably wondering why anyone would want a blank deck...well, the answer is that this deck isn't completely blank"

The magician then cuts the deck and reveals the face of a playing card. The problem with this card is that the back is blank. I personally like to play with the audience and say "Now the problem with this card is that while it has a front, it doesn't have a back" So I lift the card up, (showing the card below it to be blank) and also showing the back to be blank.

Then I say "Now in order to get a back printed, I use the box as a template and a miniature printing press" Then I place the deck (face card showing on top) on the box, and when I lift up the deck, the bottom card has a back. I then repeat the procedure of showing that there is no face on the card with a printed back. Then the magician works some showmanship. This is where you can really have fun trying to confuse the audience.

After a little bit of dialogue between the spectator(s) and myself I then do the finale of the trick. By riffling the deck, you can show that every card has a front and every card has a back. I throw in the line "In all actuality, you could play poker with these cards" Then, as the kicker, I quip "If you never want to win" and cut the deck showing blank cards and then spread the deck showing all blank cards once again to finish the trick.

This is a great trick and it has countless possibilities for patter and presentation. I would recommend it to anyone who likes the Svengali/Mirage deck and wants a variation of the gimmick.