A Glossary Of Terms Used In Card Magic

If you're new to card magic tricks, some of the terms used may be initially confusing. Here's a glossary of terms to help you.

Ace - One of the four highest cards in a deck, representing the number one.

Back palm - A card is secretly held on the back of the hand, clipped between two fingers, allowing the palm of the hand to be shown empty.

Bottom deal - The magician secretly deals a card from the bottom of the deck, but makes it look like a regular deal.

Bridge - Interlacing the cards to create a bridge-like formation.

Card control - Controlling a card to a certain position in the deck.

Card force- Forcing your spectator to take the card you want, but they feel like it is a free choice.

Cardistry - Performing visually impressive flourishes and cuts with cards.

Cut - Dividing the deck into two or more portions.

Deck - A standard 52-card deck used in most card magic performances.

Double lift - Ttwo cards are lifted as if they were one.

False shuffle - Creating the illusion of a shuffle while maintaining the original order of the cards.

Fan - A display of cards fanned out in a fan-like formation.

Flourish - A showy display of card manipulation.

Four of a kind - Four cards of the same rank.

Gaff - A card that has been altered in some way to achieve a desired effect.

Glide - Show the bottom card of the deck, and pretend to remove it, but in fact remove the card above.

Marked cards - Cards that have been marked in some way to allow the magician to identify them.

Packet - A small group of cards.

Palm - Concealing a card in the palm of the hand.

Pass - Two portions of the deck are secretly switched.

Peek - The magician secretly looks at a card to know its identity.

Prediction - A statement made by the magician about the future outcome of a card trick.

Shuffle - To randomly mix the cards.

Sleight of hand - The ability to perform dexterous manipulation of objects, in this case, cards.

Spade - One of the four suits in a deck, represented by a black symbol with a pointed end.

Steal - Removing a card from the deck without the audience noticing.

Stock - The remaining cards in the deck after a portion has been removed.

Stripper deck - A deck of cards that has been altered to allow the magician to control the cards in various ways.

Top change - Secretly changing the top card of the deck.

Triumph - A classic card trick in which the deck is shuffled face-up and face-down, then magically straightened out.

Two of a kind - Two cards of the same rank.

Vanish - Causing a card to disappear from view.

XCM - Extreme Card Manipulation, a term used to describe advanced and visually impressive cardistry techniques.

Zarrow shuffle- A false shuffle that allows the magician to maintain the original order of the cards.