Marked Deck Archives - Bicycle Cards

Steve Dela – Night Flight Deck – review

Phil Sweeting — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 21:04:24 +0000

So Steve Dela’s Night Flight Deck landed through my letterbox this week. “Do we really need another marked deck?” I hear you cry? If you’d asked me before I might have been unsure, but these Night Flights have gone some way to stealing my heart. Let me tell you more.

Who’s Steve Dela?

If you’re not familiar with Steve’s work, where have you been? He’s a busy and award-winning close-up magician. He’s responsible for the fabulous Will To Read (which remains my absolute favourite take on this type of Free Will effect), the awesome All About Eve book test and an At the Table lecture which I still haven’t got round to watching!

What makes Night Flight Deck special?

The most obvious difference from every other marked deck I have seen before is that the Night Flight Deck is 100% plastic. I still remember the first plastic deck I saw (it was the Karnival Death Heads, in case you’re wondering, back in 2011). It was a bit of a shock to the system of someone so used to cardboard-based playing cards. But I was (then) pleasantly surprised and still am.

In the context of mentalism – and that is the primary focus for this release – the ability to do all your fancy card moves is less important. In fact, I find the handling of these cards pretty solid – they riffle beautifully, though don’t fan (for me) quite as well – but I don’t think the material will cause handling issues for anyone. On the contrary, the big selling point is that they should last much better than normal cards. Too early for me to tell with this deck, but I see no reason to disbelieve the marketing on this one.

The Marked Difference

So what about the markings? I have to say they are brilliant. They really are hidden in plain sight. They will fly past a layperson – but once you know what you’re looking for they jump out at you. I have tried them in various lighting conditions and have found them simply the easiest deck to read I’ve ever tried. For ease of reading, they’ve even, for me, knocked the DMC Elites off their top spot (though the Elites still have a smarter tuck case!).

To make the point, this picture shows the same card from 3 well known marked decks. Even on this reduced quality JPG, I think it is clear which is easiest to read.

Not only are the main marks incredibly easy to see, but there are also several other marks which mean you can tell at a glance what colour a card is (even if you can’t see the name marking) and there’s a one-way feature – which is an often overlooked subtle method for aiding some miracles. So there’s a lot going for these. The overall effect is close enough to a Bicycle-style deck that no one will bat an eyelid. (Though they will eyeball some bats – did you see what I did there?!)

The tuck case looks innocuous – which is a bonus – especially in mentalism work. And has a classic mentalism reveal on the top. I found it slightly difficult to open – but that’s probably just me.

Other Bonus Features

The whole thing came nicely packaged in a plastic storage case – to keep it doubly safe. There are also some extra cards. The deck comes with two double backers – one red/blue and the other blue/blue. This latter has apparently caused some controversy – since the two blues are slightly different colours. Steve tells me this is deliberate – so you can use it as a key card in a spread. Sounds like a good idea to me.

In fact, that takes me to my only two small niggles with the deck. I actually prefer the ‘odd’ colour blue of the double backer to the ‘normal’ back colour which is a shade lighter. I suspect that is simply a familiarity thing – since the darker blue is closer to the standard Bicycle blue. This really is a personal preference thing – and I suspect that the more I use them the less it will bother me. And as I reflect on it the lighter colour probably makes it slightly easier to read in low lighting.

I’d also really have liked to get two jokers in the deck – since I do a mix of magic and mentalism and a pair of jokers is very useful for any number of tricks. But as I said these are both minor niggles.

The bottom line is that the Night Flight Deck is a superb marked deck. I will be using this whenever I do marked deck magic and I think it has the potential to become the new standard. Great job. I’m very grateful to Steve for sending me a review copy. And you can pick up your own deck here

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Landon Swank – Over the Edge – review

Phil Sweeting — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 00:01:06 +0000

Over the Edge is Landon Swank’s recent release – the second of of his Complete Control series.

What is it?

This is a 2 hour (well, 1 hour 59 minutes!) DVD and comes with a Bee Deck for you to work with (you can use any deck with an edge to edge design). The DVD explores his simple but powerful technique for edge-marking playing cards. In practise, what this enables you to do, is to know the location of any card in the deck.

It will take you some time to put in the ‘work’ on your deck – and will need an extra tool to do so – easily obtained in a variety of shops. There’s also a clever and sneaky technique for putting a mark in a single card on the fly in the course of a routine with a borrowed deck.

The teaching itself is simply shot – Landon standing behind a card table for the most part. It is largely easy to follow, but I felt it would have benefited from some more close up shots – particularly at the point where he explains the marking system itself.

A key technique with many of the routines is the skill of estimation – working out how many cards down a particular one is. In one sense this is not a ‘difficult’ technique – but in another it requires quite a bit of practise to get good at it. I hope it doesn’t drive you over the edge! He does teach a way to practise this. But a tell-tale comment in his explanation of what to do when you’re out by one gives you a clue as to the level this is pitched at – “Just a simple matter of doing a second deal”… !!

He teaches multiple methods to spot and cut to a particular mark and once this skill is under your belt the world is your oyster. As I’ve already hinted, this is not beginner stuff, but Landon knows what he’s talking about and is a good teacher.

The Effects

There are some really impressive effects here. From a freely shuffled deck you can locate a named value card in a variety of increasingly impossible ways. It looks like real gambling skill – or real magic! It is a joy to watch Landon perform his material – apparently so effortlessly.

Although he does explain some of the routines in some detail, it is really more about sharing techniques and elements which you can combine into routines that you enjoy. Because most of the routines require some element of ‘jazzing’ in order to perform them – so you will need a degree of confidence and competence with cards to make the most of this.

If you are interested in gambling-demonstrations and effects, then I would suggest this whole series is essential viewing. I’m struck that it would also complement very nicely another recent release – the beautiful Butterfly Marked Deck – which depends on a similar technique.

Over the Edge is available from the Merchant of Magic for £37.99 (at the time of writing). Curiously the version which comes with a blue deck is only £37.50!

You may also like to take a look at the other releases in this series: Reflections (on the use of shiners) and The Real Deal (on false deals and shuffles).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Luke Jermay – Marksman Deck – review

Phil Sweeting — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 23:01:47 +0000

I’ve seen lots of marked decks over the years. Some of which I even use. So is it worth looking at yet another marked deck release? When Luke Jermay’s name is on the release it definitely is.

The Marksman Deck is not just marked for value, but it also has a whole series of other markings which give you an enormous amount of information (it is a descendent of the venerable Deland deck – but with other features too) which is of use in a series of very powerful effects. It also has a very subtle one way feature.

And as if this was not enough, the deck is also stacked in Mnemonica order – which opens up a whole world of other options if you’re familiar with that system (and if you’re not then Juan Tamariz’s Mnemonica and Mnemonica Miracles are both highly recommended).

Jermay is very persuasive in his own promotion of the deck, but in this case I really think the hype has some substance since with a modicum of presentational skill this deck really does open up an almost limitless world of possibilities.

The Marksman Deck itself is high quality – printed beautifully by the USPCC on mandolin backed stock. It comes nicely packaged in a small cardboard box which also contains a link to the online teaching. And there is LOTS of this.

The teaching is split into two parts. There is nearly 1 ½ hours of teaching – well-filmed in a ‘studio’ setting – in which Jermay introduces the various markings, discusses some of the possibilities and teaches some effects. Then there is a second, nearly ¾ hours ‘performance documentary’ and accompanying 34 page pdf – about which more later.

The main teaching material

The first 20 minutes provides an overview of the deck and the range of information that the various marks contain. Even here Luke chucks out loads of ideas for other possibilities with the deck. This is followed by a further summary/overview for a more succinct 5 minutes which recaps on meanings of the marks.

The next 8 minutes or so discuss techniques for reading the marks in a variety of contexts. There is some great thinking about different techniques and covers for reading the marks – like everything that Jermay puts out you can see this is material he has used in the real world and there is much to learn here. This section runs into an explanation of the first effect taught (which is then actually performed in the next section).

The effects

The next 50 minutes or so contains performances and explanations of 5 effects to wet your appetite.

Intuition – reveal a load of really weird information about a chunk of cards cut off by the spectator. This is an unusual effect – which (as the live performance on the ‘performance documentary shows) has a strong impact on the audience if performed well. But perhaps the best thing here is the detailed performance tips you will pick up from both the explanation and performance.

Easy to read – a routine based on the premise that you are simply reading a spectator’s thoughts. Teaches you some great ways of using the deck.

Dowsing – finding the ‘twin’ of a freely chosen card by ‘dowsing’ over the rest of the deck which has been split into several piles. Think about this – they haven’t even told you what their card is and yet somehow you’ve impossibly located its mate. Some nice presentational variations are suggested too.

Card Calling – is a remote viewing/telepathy routine where you can divine a series of cards cut to by the spectator.

Card Memory – very fair looking demonstration where you appear to locate a card in three different ways from a shuffled deck which you have apparently memorised. This is a very strong routine with some lovely subtleties (which would also have application in other routines).

Final Thoughts

The main teaching video ends with some final thoughts and references for material to read if you want to explore marked deck work in more detail. He mentions an older work by Kirk Charles which has now been revised and released as Hidden in Plain Sight and also Boris Wild’s epic, Transparency. I understand that Jermay is currently working on a book which will describe some of his routines with the Marksman Deck in more detail – and that will definitely also be worth a look.

Performance documentary

This is an almost 45 minute video which intersperses a live close up performance by Jermay with the deck, and sections where he discusses the development of the deck and some ‘reactions’ from the audience. Jermay is such a consummate performer that this is simply a joy to watch and will give you a real feel for the potential of the deck. The accompanying pdf takes you through the methods used and some thoughts on the rationale for the various choices made. It contains plenty of detail to understand what is going on and why – though you will have to join a few dots yourself. This is an excellent addition to the release.

Scratching around for negatives

I am generally so impressed by the thought that has gone into this release that there is very little negative to say about it. If I was being really picky, then many routines will benefit from a decent false shuffle. Although Jermay points you to a few suggested resources there is barely any specific teaching on this on the video material. Also during one of the explanations the sound goes a bit echoey! I told you I was scratching around!

The Marksman Deck is a superb addition to the world of marked decks. It opens up an enormous amount of extremely powerful magic which is essentially self-working– only requiring some presentational skill to really sell them. Highly recommended for performers of any ability. At £32.99 it is not the cheapest marked deck around – but for me the quality and depth of the teaching make it well worth the price.
Pick up your Marksman Deck from MagicShop.co.uk for £32.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Latest Bicycle Cards – October Edition

Phil Sweeting — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 23:01:24 +0000

Although October is the Halloween month, we’ve not gone for any horror inspired decks this month. Instead we highlight some of the more classy of the latest Bicycle Cards available in the UK. What do you think of our selection?

The Vintage 1800s were the first ‘aged’ deck I ever owned, and as such have a special place in my heart. Now re-printed with a marking system that means these gorgeous looking cards are even more useful than ever. Only £6.49

When my daughter asks me my favourite colour I usually answer purple, so I was pleased to see the new Viola Playing Cards from Collectable Playing Cards. In addition to the tasteful colour (!) the art deco style design is very pleasing – with the court cards in particular very striking. I’d like a little less yellow on them, but you can’t have everything. £8.99

I love these new cards from USPCC. Although they’re designed with cardistry/XCM in mind, I think the Blue Bicycle Cardistry deck would look cool in any context. Just look at those fantastic cut out court card faces. £7.99

The Blue Edition JAQK deck has some slight similarities to the Cardistry deck but is even more striking with extra colour. And the fact that they’ve been made in conjunction with a winery makes them even more appealing to me! Likely to sell out fast. £10.99

That’s our selection this month. There were a number of other releases – notably the Justin Froyd series inspired by coats of arms that just didn’t grab me. Let me know if you’ve seen any you think we should have included…

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David Blaine and Bicycle Cards go Popular

Phil Sweeting — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:01:26 +0000

David Blaine in conjunction with the USPCC has released a range of ‘popular’ magic which includes a Stripper Deck, a Svengali Deck and a Marked Deck. Whilst some magicians get quite het up about these kinds of products, my observation is that they have little overall effect on the public’s attitude to magic generally.

Since David Blaine is such an ambiguous figure – especially in the UK (I think he may be rather more popular in the US) it will be interesting to see how these fare and whether they make it into the high street.

Ironically several ‘proper’ UK magic suppliers are stocking them. And at only £4.99/deck (at the time of writing) they probably come in cheaper than a USPCC factory prepared equivalent. Might make a great Christmas present for a child wanting to get into magic? But we haven’t looked at a deck in person yet so can’t comment on the quality. Do let us know if you see them first.

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