Self-working

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

is a commonly used term in

to refer to tricks that work simply from following a fixed procedure, rather than relying on trickery,

sleight-of-hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...

, or other hidden moves.

Description

The term "self-working" has come into common usage in the world of magic as a reference to tricks that do not require sleight of hand or secret moves. For example, Glenn Gravatt compiled numerous such tricks in his book ''Encyclopedia of Self-working Card Tricks'' (1936), which was later compiled with ''Second Encyclopedia of Card Tricks'' (1936) to create Jean Hugard's classic text ''Encyclopedia of Card Tricks'' in 1937. Strictly speaking no magic is "self-working", since tricks still need to be performed and presented correctly, and so some writers prefer the term "auto-magic", which was popularized by Michael Breggar in his monthly "Auto-Magic" column in ''The Linking Ring''.Breggar, Michael
Back to the Launching Pad
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018. Many self-working

card trick Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some ...

s rely on mathematical principles, and can be replicated by following the steps correctly. A simple example is the trick "Magical 13", where a deck of playing cards is secretly set up with all the suits in order. Because cards of the same value are exactly 13 away from each other in this prearranged order, the spectator can cut the deck as often as he likes, but when he deals the deck into 13 piles, each pile will consist of four cards with exactly the same value. Some consider

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

s and some science demonstrations, where the wonder comes from unexpectedness of a natural phenomenon, to fall into the category of self-working magic as well.

Examples

Some of the best card tricks in the world are self-working, one of the most notable examples being Out Of This World (1942) by Paul Curry. Many people are first introduced to performing magic via self-working card tricks. Some of the most widely known self-working card tricks include the Twenty-One Card Trick, The Four Robbers, The Piano Trick, Spectator Cuts To The Aces, The Spelling Bee,

The Circus Card Trick The Circus Card Trick is a self-working card trick where the performer uses verbal misdirection to prompt the participant into betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random ...

, and Do As I Do.

Resources

Classic texts on self-working tricks include ''Scarne on Card Tricks'' (1950) by

John Scarne John Scarne (; March 4, 1903 – July 7, 1985) was an American magician and author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, g ...

, ''Self-Working Card Tricks'' (1976) and similar books by

Karl Fulves Karl Fulves (born 1939) is a magician and author and editor of publications on magic, including the ''Pallbearers Review''. Career Karl Fulves lives in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. There is not much known about him other than his high output of magic ...

published by Dover Publications, and the ''Card College Light'' trilogy by

Roberto Giobbi Roberto Giobbi (born May 1, 1959 in Basel) is a professional magician from Switzerland, noted for his many contributions in teaching card magic, such as his five volume ''Card College'' series. Life and work After studying literature and lingu ...

Description

Examples

Resources

References

External links