Hello, AetherCards

[Pacis]

Hello, AetherCards!
I'm Pacis from Portugal and i have always loved magic, and an observer for quite a few years. About 4 years ago, I bought a magic kit to entertain the family, but that was pretty much all.
A few months to this part, as I was defied to entertain kids at the pediatric hospital, I decided to buy some silks tricks and some decks to do magic and some flourishing. That's when my passion for decks evolved. I began to try more decks and started collecting them.
I found out about the forum as I was searching now for some decks that aren't available in portuguese shops. I just love the forum and decided to be a member of this great community.
Thanks!

[Frost]

Hey, Pacis welcome to the Discourse hope you have a great time here .

[Don Boyer]

I'm glad you're enjoying it here, Pacis - the people are generally friendly and there's a lot of information to sift through.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Welcome Pacsi from Portugal!

Good to have you here with us at the Discourse! You have come to right place to be updated on cards that are usually not readily available everywhere else in the world. hahaha!
This topic is probably where you will want to keep an eye on.
http://aethercards.com/discourse/playing-card-plethora/upcoming-decks-a-reference-list-of-upcoming-deck-releases/540/

Its the list of upcoming deck releases that our awesome Omni-Mod Don keeps up to date.

Its awesome how magic can really captivate someones interest. Im sure most of us if not all started with learning one or two tricks and then got hooked al the way .So Im glad to say, "welcome to the dark side" (although you have been in it for a few years) .

Oh do enjoy your stay here with us. Tons of topics and discussions are up on the forums. You can always use the SEARCH function if you are looking for a particular topic or deck. Its really helpful. Also if you need any assistance or have any questions, feel free to PM any of the moderators of the forum. We will be more than happy to help. With that said

Which type of decks are you most fascinated in?

Xoxo
Lara

[Pacis]

Thank you so much, Frost, Don, Lara.
I'm really loving the forum!

Yes, Lara, few years only. I appreciate your help. I'll be glad to learn from you, from this forum.
You ask me about type of decks. I don't know if I undestand your question. What types are you refering to?

Don, I just saw that you work in a Hospital. Do you perform to kids? If so, I would love to know what can we perform for them. I will be starting the 4th of February. I already got some silks, a kids kards, and decks. As they told me, there will be a mini show in a larger bedroom, for the kids that can come out of the beds. And there will be some kids that will stay at their bedrooms and then I'll go near them to do some magic individually (probably just one or two kids in each room).

[Don Boyer]

Thank you so much, Frost, Don, Lara.
I'm really loving the forum!

Yes, Lara, few years only. I appreciate your help. I'll be glad to learn from you, from this forum.
You ask me about type of decks. I don't know if I undestand your question. What types are you refering to?

Don, I just saw that you work in a Hospital. Do you perform to kids? If so, I would love to know what can we perform for them. I will be starting the 4th of February. I already got some silks, a kids kards, and decks. As they told me, there will be a mini show in a larger bedroom, for the kids that can come out of the beds. And there will be some kids that will stay at their bedrooms and then I'll go near them to do some magic individually (probably just one or two kids in each room).

I perform almost exclusively in small groups, usually the patient and a small number of family members.  Usually I'm in a patient's room or at the bed or seat in the pediatric emergency room.

I figure out a three-trick set, perform it, and (thanks to the generosity of some of the members here) leave the deck behind as a gift for the patient.  Always have a fresh deck for a performance.  It does occasionally force some changes in the routine, such as when I have a trick that needs two jokers and a deck that doesn't have them, or a deck that can't be faroed to save my life.  But I hang on to a few trick decks for that.  For a younger kid, I might show off WOW.  For an older kid/near-adult, I have a great "ghostly prediction" routine using a gambler's deck and an invisible deck.  If a kid is a repeat customer, I have a few other tricks and, time permitting, I might even teach him or her a simple no-sleights trick.

My repertoire is surprisingly small, but I'm working on expanding it.  I do try making sure I'm solid on the trick before I perform it.  The most important thing to to be relaxed and inject some humor and happiness into the event.  If you've distracted the kid from the reason why they're there in the first place, you've succeeded.

[xela]

Welcome to the boards.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Thank you so much, Frost, Don, Lara.
I'm really loving the forum!

Yes, Lara, few years only. I appreciate your help. I'll be glad to learn from you, from this forum.
You ask me about type of decks. I don't know if I understand your question. What types are you referring to?

Sorry for being vague about my questions
I meant which type of deck design do you like the most? Are you the type of edgy designs like BBM and Lance Miller Decks?
Elegant and intricate ones like Encarded and Midnight card company designs?
Or minimalistic ones like D&D

[Don Boyer]

Thank you so much, Frost, Don, Lara.
I'm really loving the forum!

Yes, Lara, few years only. I appreciate your help. I'll be glad to learn from you, from this forum.
You ask me about type of decks. I don't know if I understand your question. What types are you referring to?

Sorry for being vague about my questions
I meant which type of deck design do you like the most? Are you the type of edgy designs like BBM and Lance Miller Decks?
Elegant and intricate ones like Encarded and Midnight card company designs?
Or minimalistic ones like D&D

Hey, go easy on the poor guy - I'm inclined to think a lot of custom decks are hard to get a hold of in Portugal! 

[Curt]

Welcome to the forum!

[Pacis]

Thank you all.

Have you been to Portugal, Don?
Didn't know about Wow (face up or face down version?). I didn't find ghostly prediction.
What more tricks do you perform besides those two? What do you recommend to buy? And that trick using the invisible, how do you perform it?
They said that there can be times where kids can go to the larger bedroom, and there can be times where few come out to the larger bedroom. So, I'll be performing in that larger room, and also mostly individually (one or two kids in each bedroom).
That "keep the deck" idea is great. Gladly you have the support needed for that.

Ok, Lara, I can name some decks that I saw in reviews or photos. Is that ok? If you can wait a month or so, I'll be glad to tell about my experience with some decks that I'm buying.

[Don Boyer]

Thank you all.

Have you been to Portugal, Don?
Didn't know about Wow (face up or face down version?). I didn't find ghostly prediction.
What more tricks do you perform besides those two? What do you recommend to buy? And that trick using the invisible, how do you perform it?
They said that there can be times where kids can go to the larger bedroom, and there can be times where few come out to the larger bedroom. So, I'll be performing in that larger room, and also mostly individually (one or two kids in each bedroom).
That "keep the deck" idea is great. Gladly you have the support needed for that.

Ok, Lara, I can name some decks that I saw in reviews or photos. Is that ok? If you can wait a month or so, I'll be glad to tell about my experience with some decks that I'm buying.

Well, you know what an invisible deck is, I assume - we try not to give away too many secrets here.

A gambler's deck is stripped, placed in stack order and marked, allowing you all kinds of miracles.  I'll cut the gambler's deck a few times, then let the spectator cut the last time.  I show them the bottom card, so this way "I have no way of knowing what that card is, etc." when in fact I do, thanks to the markings and the stack.  I use the invisible deck as the reveal, pretending that it's "haunting" the first deck, wave it around a little, ham it up - I sell the performance that it's a "haunted deck".

There are some videos that are specifically for tricks that appeal to children.  If you can't find them or are sticking to card magic, you'll find some great stuff in Michael Ammar's series of "Easy to Do Card Miracles" videos.  Things with goofy gaff cards would probably play well with the children also, like the old "13 of diamonds" bit or the "three-and-a-half of clubs".

You might consider getting a pack of Phoenix Parlour Cards - you can find them in Europe at http://www.card-shark.de
Those cards are excellent when playing in a setting that still smallish but not super close like right at a kid's bedside.  The cards are slightly larger with big indices - you can still perform many popular sleights with them.  And they have a one-way mark and are marked for suit/value as well!

[Pacis]

Thanks for your help, Don. Really apreciate it.
Really nervous...and stil 2 weeks left for the first performance.
Yes, I know what invis. deck is.
Thanks for the gaff cards idea. Seems fun.

I didn't know what Wow is. I searched, and found face up and face down versions. Which is best for this kind of performance?

Is this what you advise to buy? Phoenix Parlour Deck - marked - Set of 2 Decks.

So, ghostly prediction is a trick where you use a marked deck to know what card was picked, and then use an invis. deck for the reveal, is that it?
Is this marked decks ok? Whic one should I buy?
Bicycle Maiden Gamblers Marked Deck
Phoenix SUM Deck
Phoenix Card-Shark's Marked Deck

I'm not sticking to card routines. I will learn whatever is best for entertain the kids. Have any ideas?

[Don Boyer]

Thanks for your help, Don. Really apreciate it.
Really nervous...and stil 2 weeks left for the first performance.
Yes, I know what invis. deck is.
Thanks for the gaff cards idea. Seems fun.

I didn't know what Wow is. I searched, and found face up and face down versions. Which is best for this kind of performance?

Is this what you advise to buy? Phoenix Parlour Deck - marked - Set of 2 Decks.

So, ghostly prediction is a trick where you use a marked deck to know what card was picked, and then use an invis. deck for the reveal, is that it?
Is this marked decks ok? Whic one should I buy?
Bicycle Maiden Gamblers Marked Deck
Phoenix SUM Deck
Phoenix Card-Shark's Marked Deck

I'm not sticking to card routines. I will learn whatever is best for entertain the kids. Have any ideas?

If you aren't sticking to cards, then you need to hit a magic store quick for a DVD on kids' parties.  Because in essence, that's what you have - a decent-sized party of kids - except for the fact that they aren't going home after the cake and ice cream...    99% or more of my repertoire is card magic.

WOW face down is good for completing "Ambitious Card" routines.  WOW face up is a little more multipurpose - you can make a card appear to change right before the spectators' eyes.  I've seen kids go bug-eyed when they see it.

As stated, the Parlour deck is good for slightly larger audiences due to better visibility without having to resort to full-blown Jumbo-Size decks (typically 4x the size of a standard card and impossible to do sleight work with).  The fact that it's marked is just an added bonus which you can use to your advantage.

My "ghostly prediction" specifically uses a Gambler's Deck, such as the Bicycle Maiden Backs you mentioned.  When stacked correctly, you can not only see which card is on top of the deck, but which card is on the BOTTOM of the deck as well.  That's what makes it so useful with an Invisible Deck routine.  I can tell my spectators that I can't see the front of the card, and if it was a marked deck, I can't even see the back of the card so it would do me no good at all.  (Creative license!)

I've never used the SUM deck, and I own the other - it's good, easy to read at a distance and gets the job done, but I wouldn't risk using it at a poker table!  I'd say that the best "straight reading" marked cards I've seen were the Ultimate Marked Deck in the Rider Back design and the GT Speedreaders in the Mandolin Back design.  Both employ very similar markings and don't require any code or pattern translation to figure out what the card is.  The UMD is out of print and prices are climbing into the ballpark of $40 a deck for it (it can never be reprinted, because USPC no longer allows altered Rider Back decks to be made).  GT Speedreaders are very available.  UMD is best for poker cheating and useful for magic, while the GTS is very good for magic and nearly useless in a card game.

Best "decoding required" marked deck I've seen in recent days has to be the Daniel Madison Players from Theory11.  But they're sold out and fetching a nice premium for resellers.  They're good enough to pass a simple "riffle test" - a common test used to look for markings on a marked deck.  The other decks just can't do that.  But you do have to memorize the marking pattern (as if magicians didn't have enough to memorize, right?).

[Pacis]

Thanks for your time, Don.

Perhaps I didn't explain myself well.
I don't want to always use card routines if there is a better way to entertain the kids besides cards.
And once that I see that you do card routines and kids love, I guess I don't need other stuff besides cards.
But if in certain occasions it's best to use other stuff besides using cards, I'll try to do that.
I'm thinking that, for that larger bedroom, the repertoire must be different than the one used in all the other rooms with one or two kids.

I'll try to buy now the Parlours and the Maiden Deck.

I don't understand these phrase. Could you please explain?
"I can tell my spectators that I can't see the front of the card, and if it was a marked deck, I can't even see the back of the card so it would do me no good at all."

I can't find UMD.
Just David Baline Mind Reading Deck or Boris Wild Marked Deck.
Which one should I buy?

Thanks!

[Don Boyer]

I don't understand these phrase. Could you please explain?
"I can tell my spectators that I can't see the front of the card, and if it was a marked deck, I can't even see the back of the card so it would do me no good at all."

I can't find UMD.
Just David Baline Mind Reading Deck or Boris Wild Marked Deck.
Which one should I buy?

Thanks!

When the Gambler's Deck is in correct stack order, there are markings on the backs of the cards that tell you not only what the card you're looking at is, but there are markings that tell you what the BOTTOM card of the pile is.  So if I hold up the whole pile and face it to my spectator, I can't see the front of the card, and I can mention that if the deck was a marked deck, I couldn't even see the back of the card because there are 51 cards stacked behind it, so I couldn't read the markings.  Of course, that's a bit of a deceit, but then again, so is a lot of magic!   

Ultimate Marked decks are expensive.  I've been told the Boris Wild Marked decks are not easy to read, and the Blaine decks are good, but to my mind there's a little too easy to spot.  Phoenix Marked Decks would be better, as would Bicycle Mandolin Back GT Speedreaders.  That last deck is probably the best of the lot.  Card-shark.de sells the Phoenix decks, and mymagic.com carries the GT Speedreaders, as well as other retailers.

[Pacis]

I see, Don Boyer... a bit of deceit
I'll be buying the GT Speedreaders then.
About performing in that larger bedroom where can be about 10 kids, is there any tricks that will play well with that number of kids? Which ones?
Thanks again for your time and patience.

[ibrahimjaber]

Welcome to The Discourse & Have a great time