Out of Sorts by Max Maven

As I’m working my way through Max Mavens book Ansology, I think my favorite trick in it is called Out of Sorts. This is a trick where a spectator thinks of a card and they never say it out loud, then after a few shuffles, You then tell them what their card is and where it is in the pack.

I’m really liking this trick, it can be done hands off or with the dealing done yourself. I was trying to think of a way to do it so that it wasn’t a card trick and I came up with a way to do it with postcards. The postcards I’m using are national park postcards.

8 Postcards

If you are familiar with the trick, you know you need pairs of cards. In the picture above, you’ll see that the postcards are kind of in pairs in columns. Once you know one, it’s pretty easy to know the other. The challenge with this specific set of postcards is that the writing isn’t very big. I think if this is something I was going to pursue, I’d find something with a larger print of the name of the place.

Using these postcards the method doesn’t change. If you have the book, I recommend looking into the trick out of sorts, even with playing cards it’s still great!

-Louie

Max Maven’s Ansology

On Monday, I went in to have hand surgery. It’s a trigger finger release; hopefully, I will have full use of my middle finger on my right hand again! Before the surgery, I ordered the Max Maven book, Ansology. The night before surgery I started working through the book. This book is a combination of several previously published Max Maven books along with a little bit of new commentary.

A hand with cards and a Magic book by Max Maven

The nice thing about this book is that it doesn’t rely on heavy sleight of hand for most of it. So I’m able to work through a lot of this stuff with only one hand. So far two great tricks I found are Abacus and Out Of Sorts.

Abacus is an epic trick with multiple endings; it feels very modern, even though I think the trick is like 40 years old. The only drawback is that the trick uses a full deck setup, so for this trick to work, you’d really need a deck switch before you do it.

Out Of Sorts is a great hands-off card trick where you not only tell the audience where their mentally selected card is with your back turned, but you also tell them what it is. This trick does have a bit of procedure up front, which I’m not a fan of; however, I think the payoff makes it a real head-scratcher. I think this is going to be my go to trick right now with only one hand.

I’m looking forward to going through more of the book. I’m familiar with one of the books that’s contained in this anthology Of previously published Max Maven Books. This style of magic, which relies heavily on procedure, math, anagrams, and very light sleight of hand, is great for me right now!

-Louie

Final Day of Presale: How to Perform for Seniors – 3rd edition

Today is the final day for the $5 off presale of the 3rd edition of my book How To Perform For Seniors. When I got the two boxes of books from the printer, I had a fun surprise when I opened one of them!

The presale on the book ends at the end of the day today. Get your order in now, and it’ll ship tomorrow!

-Louie
Get the book at: https://www.magicshow.tips/product/16716/

How to Perform For Seniors 3rd edition – presale info

drawing of magician performing for seniors

There’s only a couple more days left for the presale of the 3rd Edition of How To Perform for Seniors book. The third edition updates all the info in the previous two editions and includes new information, like using video projection in your show.

This book is normally $35, however if you order before October 12th, 2026 you’ll save $5!

You can place your order here:
https://www.magicshow.tips/product/16716/

The estimated ship date is October 13th.

-Louie

How To Perform For Seniors 3rd Edition – Coming Soon!

The third edition of my book How to Perform for Seniors has been sent to the printer!

cover art of the book how to perform for seniors

This was originally written in 2005, then updated with a second edition in 2011. When the first two editions came out, hardly any of the activity directors had work emails, and the fax machine was still commonly used!

This third edition of the How To Perform for Seniors has updated information. There’s more about contacting these facilities by email, as well as things like using video projection in your show!

The estimated ship date is October 13th, 2026. If you want to preorder the book, it’s on sale for $30 now until October 12th, or whenever the books arrive from the printer, whichever is first!

Get it at: https://www.magicshow.tips/product/16716/

-Louie

Color Change with Cards

A couple of days ago Doug Conn posted about the book Card Finesse by Jon Racherbaumer:

His post about the book, made me remember an cool card move that’s in that book. Well, I’m 99% sure it’s in that book, it might be in Card Finesse II.

I had to slightly adjust the camera move. When done as written, there’s a slight flash that the normal human eye watching won’t see, but it won’t withstand repeated viewing on the internet.

-Louie

Storytelling Magic Prop from 1952

While I was travelling, one day I had about 90 mins to kill before I could check into a hotel. It’s rare that I get to a hotel that won’t let me check in early, but it happens occasionally. When it does, I try to do something fun with my time, and that day I went to an antique mall.

One of the stands had a bunch of magic magazines (linking rings, genii, etc) which were way overpriced, but they also had a few magic books that were reasonable. I picked up the Thayer Catalog vol 8, Ireland’s Yearbook for 1952 and a couple of other things.

The Ireland’s Yearbook for 1952 was interesting. It’s a collection of tricks that were published annually by Laurie Ireland. A good chunk of the yearbook was taken up by an origami storytelling routine. This was interesting that I had the folds and the figures, but not the story?!

I had some paper and decided to try the routine, the problem was with how it was written and illustrated, there were a lot of errors with the words and pictures.

For example figure 4 and 5 are incorrect:

origami instructions

I had to do a lot of messing around and guessing what was meant, to get to the finale of the routine, which is a “Chinese junk boat”.

Origami boat

This was challenging to learn, and it’s a storytelling prop like a Troublewit. I don’t think I’ll ever do it, but I do find it interesting that this was a trick of note in 1952!

-Louie

The Best Card Magic Book for $10

A few weeks ago, I started reading the booklet Card Man Stuff by Al Leech. This booklet is full of card tricks that feel modern. In fact, I’d have no problem doing all of them (except for one) at a close-up magic gig! The effects are direct and have solid methods. It was written in the 1950’s so if you update a few methods to techniques that didn’t exist then, you have even better tricks!

One of the tricks, I updated by giving a theme and changing a couple of moves and the sequence, and ended up with a new trick that I call Discount Transposition.

Want to Watch the Card Tricks?

On my Facebook and Instagram, I’ve documented the whole book with the original techniques. Here are some of the videos:

Where Can I Get the Book Card Man Stuff?

This book is still available from Magic Inc in Chicago for $10! It’s totally worth the ten bucks, and you’re supporting a brick and mortar magic shop! I don’t make anything if you buy from them, I just think this is a really cool “forgotten” book and a hell of a deal at $10!

-Louie

Card Man Stuff by Al Leech

I picked up the booklet Card Man Stuff by Al Leech recently and I’m digging it!

Card Man Stuff by Al Leech

The stuff in it is older school card magic, and the clunkiness, I think, can be easily fixed. For example, he used the cut deeper force to have a card selected, and that’s a move that I really dislike. I think the problem with that force is that when the cards aren’t in face up and face down clumps, it kinda gives it away. There are better forces that can be done in its place.

The first trick is the production of a four of a kind, and that naturally flows into the second trick, which is a transposition of the two four of a kind sets of cards. I like things in books that can be routines that flow from one to the next to eliminate set up in the second trick, but still work as stand alone magic tricks if needed.

Despite the clunkiness, the tricks are pretty direct, which I like!

-Louie

Tommy Wonder’s Card in Ring Box

Tommy wonder card in ring box by jm craft

The other day, I started playing with Tommy Wonder’s Card in Ring Box. This prop is detailed in Tommy Wonder’s book The Books of Wonder. The effect is pretty straightforward, it’s a signed card to ring box. What makes it cool is that the audience sees the card drop out of the ring box.

Before I give my review of this, I should mention that I didn’t pay for it. I don’t know if that really affects how I feel about this, but figured I should mention that.

I took it out and gave it a try at the fair I’m performing out, here’s a peek at it in action:

@louiefoxx The Card In Ringbox is a vintage Tommy Wonder magic trick idea! #cardtrick #magictrick #magic #tommywonder #jmcraft ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The box looks great, and the measurements are what is in the Books of Wonder. I really like it, and I think it works great for doing a card under a box, then ending with the folded card in the ring box.

My only issue with the box is how the card is attached to the box. In the Tommy Wonder Books of Wonder, there’s a loop of thread that you slip the card into. In the JM Craft magic’s version of it, the card is permanently attached to the box.

This doesn’t sound like a big deal…until you are in a situation where you have a blue deck and the gimmick is red!

Tommy wonder card in ring box by jm craft

At the gig I’m at, I took a brick of Bicycle Cards, which are 6 red and 6 blue. I go through a deck each roving set. That means that on my 7th roving set, I couldn’t do the trick.

Not being able to easily change the gimmick is an issue for me. Sure, I can pack only red decks, since I buy my decks by the brick, which means that I can’t do the trick in half of my shows.

If the gimmick color is an issue for you, like all your gimmicks or whatever are one color, make sure the gimmick matches that! Other than the change from how the card attaches to the box being different from what’s in the book, the JM Craft version of Tommy Wonder’s Card in Ring Box works great!

-Louie