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If you're looking the flourishing kind of stuff then Steerpike's suggestion is right on the money. If, however, you're looking for more of the classic back and front palm production-type stuff, then Lewis Ganson's Routined Manipulation series contains all the classic moves and there are a few...

I think that, when presented baldly, they're only interesting as puzzles or curiosities. And then only to the type of people who you might find at Gathering for Gardner. In other words, no, not particularly entertaining to a general audience. It's basically showing your working, kind of like...

If MCM and ECT are in good condition with dust jacket, maybe about $50-60. If it was a third edition ECT (which has extra chapters by Vernon and Daley) then maybe I'd be willing to spend a bit more. However, I got my third edition ECT (virtually pristine, dust jacket) for around $30 so they can...

Do you think cardistry has the same power to affect people on a deep emotional level as magic does?

OK, there are a few things we can glean from the evidence in the text. He tells us that he's instructed "certain players" in his description of the "Four Card Stock", he tells us "beginners invariably imagine their hands are either too small or too large", and he says that a beginner "can be...

It's a top packet retention so it's technically false, just not blind.

Drake editions were published from 1905 until about 1918 and come in a lot of shapes and sizes (some rarer and more valuable than others). They advertised an edition in 1904 that has the author listed as Samuel Robert Erdnase but whether that was actually printed hasn't yet been verified as...

On most editions, the front cover says The Expert at the Card Table, but then the title page has Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge at the Card Table. Drake editions aren't first editions, I'm afraid. And there are a lot of variants, so without even more info it's hard to say what you've got there...

On used book sites, you'll find a lot that are described as "1902 first edition" or words to that effect. That's because many reprints don't have a specific edition number or date in them, so the description is taken from the general information about the book. You'll need more information...

It's certainly a matter that's open for dispute. We're all reading the same text and just because one authority reads it a particular way doesn't mean that's the definitive answer. In the description of the one-hand bottom deal, Erdnase tells us, "instead of pushing out the bottom card as in the...

A couple of thoughts. Are you sure that Erdnase says to buckle the bottom card? I know that a lot of people say that he does, but I'm also aware that others say that he doesn't. What the description of Erdnase's action might be is a direct push-out with the tip of the third finger, as opposed...

Just tried to get on there and it's not working for me either. Tried Firefox and Chrome just to eliminate one variable and got the same result in both. Pav must have some secret site-loading technique that the rest of us aren't party to!

There's one relatively easy centre deal that I'm aware of (still not a walk in the park, though) and it's Martin Nash's. He teaches it on Volume 5 of his Award-Winning Card Magic DVD set. Also, the Kennedy deal is taught on Dai Vernon's Revelations DVD set. Other DVD resources for various...

This seems like an odd question to me. It's like asking, "Why buy a Ferrari when a Hyundai will do the job?" If you just want to get from A to B then yeah, sure, get a Hyundai, which in this analogy is equivalent to sticking to the bottom deal. Maybe there are other considerations though. A...

Skills like flourishes, escapology, gambling demonstrations, hypnosis and Tempest-style graphical media manipulation are now accepted parts of the magician's arsenal. So, to what extent would you say overt displays of technique and ability can be incorporated into a magician's performance? Is...

I think what's really important, and concomitantly complex, is efficient rehearsal, by which I mean the repeated execution of a routine or full show as if to an audience. By comparison, practice of purely mechanical actions, such as sleights or flourishes, is relatively straight-forward. There...

Erdnase has some good methods.

I tried to learn the Top Shot from Lennart Green's original Green Magic DVD (I may even have seen it first on a VHS...might have been that long ago) and failed to grasp it. Then I came across Ian's teaching of it and it all became clear. In other words, I think that this is an excellent resource...

Have you heard of MacDonald's Aces? That might be what you're looking for. And yes, the cards can be examined...after they've been switched.

Excellent advice as usual, Steerpike. I'd like to add a little extra on if I may. You advise people to consider themselves, what they're good at and what they perform consistently well, and to base their ideal client on that. Now, in some circumstances, I suggest that we might have to put an...