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If you live in Europe then use bridge cards. If you live in North America then use poker size. Ladies should use bridge size. If you have large hands then use poker size-if you have small hands then use bridge cards.

There. That should sort the matter out once and for all.

It is interesting to note that famous American trade show magician Eddie Tullock used bridge cards all his life and it didn't make a tosser worth of difference to his illustrious career.

I (virtually) never use gaffs, but I still use poker-size bikes, firstly because if you learn and practice with larger cards, it's easy to use smaller cards if using a borrowed deck but not vice versa, and secondly because they can be seen from farther away.







And thirdly, and probably most importantly, through force of habit...

I have never understood this "borrowed deck" thing. Where the hell do you "borrow" a deck of cards? People you meet don't carry around decks of cards with them unless they happen to be magicians themselves.

I know the theory that if you do magic with a borrowed deck the effect is stronger. And I agree with the theory. But under what circumstances do you obtain this mythical borrowed deck?

It is just like hypnosis. A bloody myth.

In 52 years of doing card tricks I don't suppose I have borrowed a deck more than 5 times. Just carry your own cards around with you and be done with it.

If you happen to be playing cards, for example at a bridge club, you may be expected to use whatever cards are available.

Barry

Then by all means use them. However not everyone plays cards or is in a position where cards happen to be around. I suppose if you are in someone's home you can ask to borrow a deck of cards. The odds are that they would have to hunt around for half an hour to find one if they even had one at all. And if they did then the odds are they would be old and beaten up making things difficult for you.

No. Carry your own cards around with you and forget that daft "borrowed cards" thing. 90 percent of the time you won't be able to borrow a deck so use your own. And if on the odd occasion you are in a situation where a deck can be borrowed then borrow it. However in actual practice you will use your own deck most of the time.

I often wonder whether the authors of books that chatter about "borrowed decks" have ever done a card trick in their life in the real world.

I can't imagine any magish about to do cups and balls asking if he can borrow a set of props from the audience so equally can't see why using their own deck of cards is an issue? There are many effects which can be done with borrowed cards of course but far better to be armed with your own props and make sure the necessary bits and pieces are available!

I suppose the old classics were written in the days before TV when card games were a more popular home entertainment than they are now. At the time it must have been quite common to use your host's cards when performing at someone else's home. But I doubt if any magician would have found it necessary or desirable to borrow a pack during a formal show.

Barry