Magic Tricks - 'Now Pick a Card, Any Card'

By Austin Hackney

Say 'Pick a card, any card' as you fan out a deck of playing cards and most card magic tricks aficionados are going to feel in pretty familiar territory. You could even forgive someone for suggesting that your act is already looking a little old hat (with or without a white rabbit hidden in it!)
But before you dump this opener forever into the trash-can of historical cliches, take a moment to think again.
Sometimes what appears cliched at first is really one of the foundation stones of a strong tradition. Every day millions of magi across the globe perform thousands of different card magic tricks that all begin with these famous lines. Just think how many times you've seen it and enjoyed the trick. David Copperfield, Paul Daniels, Johnny Ace Palmer, David Blaine...name as many famous magicians as you like and you'll discover that they all continue to use this opener all the time! Why? Because it still works every bit as well as it did when whoever first came up with it, came up with it. And as the saying goes, "If a thing ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Let's have a look at why this opener works so well and has become so enduring and why you should not be afraid to use it too in your own magic routines.
Firstly, it states clearly from the start what is going on: we are going to do some card tricks. The fact that it is so comfortable and well known is actually a good thing because it puts people at ease. When they're at ease, they relax and feel confident. When they do that, their guard goes down. That's very good for the magician who then has a head start in her/his deceptions and misdirection.
Secondly, it gets the audience involved right from the set-up and it is simply a golden rule that audience involvement in magic tricks is an absolute winner every time. Having someone from the audience directly involved in a trick gives all the other spectators someone they can sympathise with, drawing them in to the show. Having that other person there, also means there's more for them to watch and every time you ask the involved spectator a question, they will all look at him to see what he says and does. While they're all looking at him, you can do your secret move, switch, glide, ditch, anything you like because they are not watching you! So, having someone else involved is also great for misdirection.
Thirdly, getting the audience involved helps build rapport between the magician and the audience and a good rapport, a sense of some kind of bonding and relationship is the absolute key to successful magic. Swaggerers and boasters and ego-trippers who try to create magic set themselves up for a very difficult time with critical eyes trained on them like hawks and hecklers firing sly shots at them at every opportunity. Getting people involved positively makes the magic a community affair and people are far less likely to be trying to catch you out.
And the fourth and final reason why you should not ditch this classic opener is that it is simply the doorway into literally thousands of classic, stunning, tried and tested card magic tricks that you really ought to have in your repertoire.
All of these classic lines are classic precisely because they are so useful. You can do them over and over and they will, like trusted friends, never let you down.
Austin is a performing magician, entertainer, theatre practioner and writer of many years standing, always keen to share his experience and encourage the novice. His website, The Magic Tricks Homepage is a great free resource for magic tutorials, articles, visual guides, eBooks and more. If want to learn magic well, not just a huge number of tricks but solid performance skills, the site is well worth a visit. You can also download magic video tutorials here which is a great way of learning and building a repertoire.
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