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Does anybody out there have an opinion on performing card magic with Bridge cards (as opposed to Poker).

As a relative beginner to card magic (currently working my way through "Royal Road") I find that these card as very easy to handle due to their relative small size when compared to Poker cards.

Their finish is just as good and I am getting away with performing little flourishes (Charlier Cuts etc.) that I am not very good with when using a full sized deck.

Any experiences ? Is this approach frowned upon by the purists out there..For what its worth, your average lay-person does not even notice..They are just "cards"..

D.

I have been using bridge cards all my performing life. Nearly 50 years in fact. So did Eddie Tullock the famous trade show magicians

It is true that some silly magic people look down on them. There is also a daft notion that if you can do tricks with Poker size then bridge size should be so much easier when you are handed a borrowed deck consisting of them.

Since I have never received a borrowed deck in the last 50 years from a layman more than about 5 times I shouldn't worry about it.

In the UK bridge cards are far more prevalent so it wouldn't seem odd to a layman over there if you use one. In North America you may raise an eyebrow or too but since the eyebrow belongs to a magician usually of limited competence their opinion is of no consequence.

Go for it especially if you have small hands.

From a production perspective I don't think it matters.....consider personal comfort. Poker size are far more common in Canada that I have to actually look to find bridge size when I need them......From what others are saying, it sounds like it is the same thing with poker size in the UK.......

There's nothing whatsoever wrong with it. As Mark said, there's probably only one group that is likely to get bent out of shape about it and they are not worth bothering with.

The only possible problem is obtaining gaffs and trick decks that match bridge sized cards. If you can get the ones you want, make them yourself, or don't intend to use anything other than ungaffed cards, then there's nothing stopping you at all.

I have small hands so I use only bridge size.
And most of the cards used here by lay people are bridge size any way so it is very netural.

Another thing to bear in mind is that with poker cards it is virtually impossible to do some of the various one hand cut flourishes (except the Charlier pass) unless you have very large hands.

Thanks for the responses, guys. At least i know I'm not alone..

I guess my biggest issue with this approach is that I have some gaffed decks (invisible etc.) that are poker sized and so its difficult to switch them in without somebody noticing..

Anybody know of any gaffed bridge decks out there ??

D.

mark lewis wrote:It is true that some silly magic people look down on them. There is also a daft notion that if you can do tricks with Poker size then bridge size should be so much easier when you are handed a borrowed deck consisting of them.

...

In the UK bridge cards are far more prevalent so it wouldn't seem odd to a layman over there if you use one. In North America you may raise an eyebrow or too but since the eyebrow belongs to a magician usually of limited competence their opinion is of no consequence.

Go for it especially if you have small hands.

I agree with Mark, though I have never heard of anhy magicians looking down on bridge sized cards. I am used to poker sized cards so I personally don't like to use bridge sized but I certainly would never judge a magician based on bridge or poker sized cards.

As for the magician's opinion being of no consequence, I would agree that more experienced magicians would not care what size deck another magician used.

..it's not the size that matters, its what you do with it that counts...

With a little work, and roughing fluid, a razor knife, and a glue stick, you would be able to make virtually any gaff or gaff deck you could need.

You should use whatever you are comfortable with. Bridge cards are a little smaller than poker cards, so if you have smaller hands, you should deffinatly consider this.

I actually have a gaffed brige deck. Its tapered down on one end, so the effect is wuite interesting. I can pick a persons card out behind my back.

A view on it? YES! and a very strong one as well.

Now firstly let me say that nothing in the following is meant as an insult to American people at all, whatsoever.

Some of us in this country are getting totally sick of the American is always better attitude to everything. Our country is loosing all its identity and character.

England's card size has always been bridge size. We grew up with a nice pack of Waddingtons bridge size cards. Not some of you in magic may have seen poker size cards but they were very much a minority.

Sadly nowadays, as with everything else, we are forced to use American poker size because we import everything America!

But not me! One of the very very very important facts of magic is: Make it look natural. So what is the first time a magician in this country does? That's right, he/she pulls out a alien poker size deck and the first thing an audience thing is "Oh, a funny deck" (Even if it's totally ungaffed)

If you are trying to hide a gaffed deck or cards, then why not have the traditional size used in England?

That is why instead of following like a sheep and having to buy what magic shops import from America, I brought packs of English standard bridge size Waddingtons and made up my own Invisible and brainwave decks that look just like you have picked them up off any shelf in England.

Magicians and their sheep-like obsession with Bicycle decks: "It's what professional magicians use so I must use them or I ain't a professional" - We only use them because that's all we can get in some gaffs. That's the only reason; IE we are forced into it.

Hi quality Waddingtons bridge size are just as good as America's Bigger And Better Bicycle Decks and look absolutely normal and natural.

I'm very proud of my high quality bridge size (standard English size) Waddingtons Invisible and Brainwave decks and won't be parted from them.

I also make other cards gaffs using bridge size when I can for the same reason. I don't like extra work but half the battle is won if the audience do not think the cards are strange.

Extra work yes, but far better than being forced and bullied into following the Americans like sheep, yet again.

For an example just do any research on "Roughing Spray" and whilst there are English alternatives, 99% of the time all they will go on about is "Testors Dull Cote" - Which you can get through a few magic stores (Highly over-priced) but apart from that, you can't import it and it can only be brought "off the shelf" in (wait for it.....) America.

Welcome Shrubsole

hope you enjoy your time here at TM

Matt here from Epsom uk


You seem to know your stuff What are the Different between bicycle cards and English Waddington’s bridge size card are they the same size as each other and what one cards have been going the longest

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Happy Magic


Mattdini

Hi Matt,

Bicycle decks are the number one seller in America and their standard size is "Poker" - That is bigger than England's standard (for card playing that is) which is Bridge size.

It just that as we in England don't make anything anymore, all magic (gaffed) decks and/or cards are 99% of the time only produced in American Bicycle POKER size. The thing is that English magicians here even hysterically worship Bicycle Poker Size decks more than the Americans (If that's possible )

What English magicians tend to forget is that keeping things as normal looking as possible is the way to go in magic, but when you take out and show these unusual bigger poker cards, the audiences attention will instantly be drawn to the cards and you might not want that. That is why using Bridge size is what we all should be doing as that is the size the audience grew up with. (That's if we can get our magicians away form worshipping everything American and if you can find a Bridge size version of the trick you want or can make it yourself.)

Bicycle do actually do a Bridge size deck of cards now, but gaffed decks and packs of cards are still done in their normal Poker size.

There are many brands but Bicycle decks are THE well known all American deck and Waddingtons is a very high quality deck that used to be made here (not any more) and so is mostly found to be Bridge size.

So Waddingtons scream: Normal (Back pattern we are used to), correct size, English use cards
and
Bicycle Screams: Abnormal (Unusual back pattern), Different bigger card, Not usually found in England.

Many thanks for the warm welcome.

EDIT: Oh yes! I'm down in the very SE of Kent, England.

As for which has been around the longest, I don't know, but it won't be the Americans (Remember we invented America! - Runs and hides ) I think playing cards came from the French or at least European of some sort. (Could be wrong on that one)