I usually try to stay away from reviewing classic texts of magic, but this is a MUST. It doesn't matter how long you've been into magic for. You need this book. I think this is the BEST book on card magic. The instruction is WAAAY easier than Royal Road to Card Magic. I feel that royal road is very overrated and this is pretty underrated. The instruction on this book is so much better

Hi! This is your official PenguinMagic reviewer, B_Magic.

Like Bobo's Coin Magic book, this book is a MUST BUY for anyone pursuing card magic. It's essential, and you should add it to your cart now before I personally head-butt you through your computer screen (j/k, you know that's impossible...or is it???)


This book is a critical tool in learning card magic and can take your magic to a whole other level! I wouldn't say it is "quite" as essential to card magic as Bobo's book is to coin magic, but it's darn-near close. The techniques learned in this book will benefit you for life. There is a reason why this book is a classic and a staple for thousands up thousands of magicians around the world. Buy it, and love it!

B_Magic

Expert Card Technique by Hugard and Braue is often thought of as the follow up to The Royal Road to Card Magic (RRTCM) however I believe it was actually published several years before. This misnomer is likely because Expert Card Technique (ECT) is more advanced material than RRTCM, while RRTCM is the beginner to intermediate card skills.

Expert Card Technique is a treasure trove of card material. If you are a cardician stranded on a desert island, this might be the book to bring. The book starts with Secret Lifts; providing more detail on the DL than most other texts. The second chapter is false deals, seconds, bottom deals and even the almost mythical middle deal that Dai Vernon spend years searching for.

The third chapter covers the side slip and it's various forms. Chapter four explores the pass including my favorite, the turnover pass. Then comes chapters on palming, false shuffles, false cuts, changes, crimps, peeps, more on the glimpse, and the jog. And that's only through chapter 12!

If you haven't figured out yet, this book touches almost every advanced area of card magic. Finally, you get to the trick section! You'll even learn the Mercury card fold. Believe it or not, there is even 12 self-working card tricks. My favorite tricks so far are the Vernon Psychological Force and the visual change of the Rub-a-dub-dub trick.

Last but not least, there are amazing essays in Part 6 on misdirection and presentation that are worth the price of the book alone.

This is my first book purchase from Penguin. I found it a little hard to follow at first, but it's just getting used to learning from a book, and getting used to the 1940's language that it's written in. Still, there are a lot of good things about this book. There is TONS of material in this book; it's incredible. Although the scope of the material is vast, it fails to detail such sleights as the Elmsley Count. There are some great tricks in it too. The “Expert” part of it I’m not so sure about. It ranges from all skill levels. It’s so dense, you're bound to find something you can use. It details not only technique with a regular deck of cards, but also double-faced cards, and the stranger card (a card with a back pattern different from the rest of the pack). Be ready to go through it with a fine-tooth comb. All in all a great collection. If you like books get it. If you want to increase your repertoire get it.

If you do end up purchasing it, please contribute to the forum. I need help. Thanks.

I've owned my hardbound copy of this book for over 40 years now, having purchased it from the widow of a local magician for $15 back then. The book is an essential reference for controlling cards, making passes, and doing DLs. Although the techniques are mostly uncredited, they are largely from Charlie Miller and Dai Vernon. Scarne's (Mercury) card fold is also explained. The book has wonderful line drawings of hands executing the sleights, done by Donna Allen. It does contain numerous tricks by Vernon and Miller, but many will be put off by the slightly stilted style of writing from the 1940s. The suggested patter is also a bit dated for the 2020s. The only other negative that I can imagine is that the false counts that are prevalent today (Elmsley, etc.) didn't exist when this was written. Nevertheless, it is a foundational, but slightly difficult, book.

Greatest beginner magic book in the world!!!

One of the best card books out there!

This book is excellent. I am especially enjoying the kinds of sleights that are taught. It will add a lot of versatility to my magic.

It says use this as a follow up to RRTCM but I would happily bet all of my money about 95% of people that have read only RRTCM will not be ready for this!
Some of the sleights are very, very difficult and it can be hard to understand the routines/sleights I would suggest creating your own routines/tricks with the sleights you know and then moving onto this once you are more advanced and have gone through several books/DVD's.

This book has been around for a while but there is a reason for it. Unlike DVD which will only teach you certain things, this book has a ton. It goes into pretty good detail on a lot of moves and different handlings of the move. There is a lot of stuff in there you might not use but it's good to know. You'll never know when you'll need to use this stuff.