I really wanted to learn card tricks when I was a kid. I had already envisioned the look on my audience’s faces as I performed mystifying feats right before their eyes. Of course, it never worked out. I felt completely frustrated and intimidated trying to work out my first card tricks with a confusing paperback magic book. Without access to good information, it was all just over my head. Ultimately, I abandoned cards, but I still made up my own silly magic tricks. I learned to rely heavily on humor, since my magical effects were so terrible. My style was much more Pee-wee Herman than Pen and Teller. I just liked making people laugh and smile.

I started dabbling with magic again over these last few years and have had a much better go of it. Still feeling the sting of card magic failure from my younger days, I’ve opted to work primarily with coins. I carry a silver dollar in my pocket and have gotten fairly adept at palming and vanishing coins.

Regardless of my success with coins, I’ve still been shy about working with cards, until now. Mark Frauenfelder, author or Maker Dad, has a great new eBook called Trick Decks: How to Hack Playing Cards for Extraordinary Magic. After reading through the book, I’m super excited to finally tackle cards again!

Mark walks you through how to make five different trick decks. The directions are detailed, very easy to follow, and include plenty of pictures. He even offers multiple methods and materials for making them. While it’s more a deck making guide than a magic trick book, it does get you started with a unique trick using each one of the decks, and offers additional resources for exploring more tricks. You can also view some instructional resource videos on the companion website, http://www.trickdecks.org/.

If you’re interested in card tricks and love making things yourself, definitely check out Trick Decks!