Svengali magic cards are gimmicked so that anywhere that a spectator cuts will reveal the same card. Also, the decks allow you to display the deck with either different cards or being made up of a single card. Because of the gimmicking, Svengali magic cards cannot be examined by spectators. Although the deck can be convincingly shown to contain different cards. These magic cards are often found in beginning magic sets and sold in toy stores and at fairs to the general public. Decades ago, the cards were mass marketed to the public as “TV Magic Cards.” If someone in a toy store is demonstrating and selling a trick deck of magic cards, it’s more than likely a Svengali deck or another well known set of trick cards known as a Stripper deck. The two decks are quite different and rely on different methods and create entirely different effects. The Stripper deck allows the beginning magician to allow a card to be freely selected and lost in the deck and even shuffled. And yet, the magician will be able to find it. I recommend Svengali decks to beginning magicians and this includes both adults and kids. The gimmicking in itself is fun to learn about and employ. The trick features a standard routine so one doesn’t have to worry about presentation. Also, the deck is easy to learn and use.
Basic Routine
A basic Svengali routine usually goes like this: A Svengali deck can be used to perform the full routine as described above. However, many magicians might feel that the routine exploits the capabilities of the deck too much and exposes the fact that more there’s multiple versions of a single card. A Svengali deck has lots of utility in a less flamboyant manner–being switched in as needed to support a card trick. A Svengali deck can also be used to force a card. A spectator thinks that he has a free choice of selecting any card in the deck but the trick deck makes him select one card. Also known as: None Alternate spellings: None Examples: He used a Svengali deck in his magic.
