Svengali deck

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The Svengali deck of cards is a specially constructed deck that can be used by magicians to perform various card tricks. The deck and the tricks performed with it are self-working and require almost no skill. Burling Hull, a.k.a. (Volta the Great) claimed to have invented the deck in 1909.

The deck can be dribbled or riffled to create the illusion that the deck is completely ordinary. It can even be shuffled. The trick has the spectator choose a card from the deck and return it. The card now magically can be taken practically anywhere in the deck making tricks like the Ambitious Card incredibly simple. The final and most stunning trick is when all the cards are sudden presented as being all the same card.

[edit] Method

Half of the deck has ordinary cards leaving the other 26 special, shortened cards.

The deck operates simply by the fact that the 26 special cards are all of the same number and suit, and are all slightly shorter than the normal cards. When the deck is riffled in one way (front to back), the normal cards are presented to the the audience. When the cards are riffled in the opposite way, then the special cards only can be seen. When presenting the normal cards, the way the deck is riffled causes the special, shortened cards to drop in behind the normal cards, and to not be shown at all. when the deck is riffled in the other way, then the special card follows the normal card, but from the way it is shown, the face of the special card is shown.

Unfortunately, this modification means that the conjurer cannot allow an audience member to examine the deck. The use of a Svengali deck can also be detected by its characteristic faster riffle and sound. Finally, because the deck is so venerable and is widely sold in joke and novelty shops, many laypersons are familiar with it.