2 Copyright 2015 by Devin KnightAll rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted inanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval now known or to be invented, without written permission from the author. All Manufacturing Rights Reserved.3 For Becky One Final Time 4 IMPROVED INVISIBLE DECK How To Make It Yourself Devin Knight Therough-and-smoothprinciplehasbeenaroundsincetheearly1920s.TheInvisible DeckwasinventedbyJoeBergin1936andwasfirstreleasedastheUltra-MentalDeck.My deck is an improvement because it deals with two issues. First, with this deck you can show the backs.Iamnotthefirsttothinkofdoingthis;JoeBerg,Aldini,JochenZmeck,AlanShaxon, Cody Fisher, and Lawrence Turner have all developed methods. Second, a lot of magicians have trouble handling the Invisible Deck. They have trouble separating the cards, or have trouble with toomanyreversedcardsshowingupinthespread.Thecardsareeithertoosnugortooloose.My deck deals with these problems and makes doing the Invisible Deck almost foolproof. Althoughothershavethoughtofwaystoshowthebacks,IthinkIamthefirsttosolve the issues of easily separating the cards and not having unwanted reversed cards show. HowTheDeckIsMade: ThisdeckisnotmadelikethestandardInvisibleDeckbecause thefullbacksofthecardsarenotroughed.Onlythelowerhalvesofthebacksofodd-value cardsareroughed.ThistermforthisisSuperRoughingandwascoinedbyAldini.In addition, the upper halves of the faces of all the even-value cards are roughed. I have not used standard roughing fluid, because many magicians have trouble with this; either they cannot get the cards apart, or too many reversed cards show. Instead,IhaveusedHarryRobsonsRoughingSticks,putoutbyVanishingInc.These sticksareavailablefrommagicdealersforabout$15.YoucanalsousetheexpensiveScience Friction or the cheaper alternative, Plastic Dip Spray, which is sold in hardware stores.Allthecardsarebacktoback.Theeven-valuecardsarebackedwithodd-valuecards, and the Kings are backed with each other. With the exception of the Kings, the value of the two back to backs cards will total 13. That will be explained in detail later. Only the lower halves of theBACKSofTHEODD-VALUECARDSareroughedwiththeroughingstick.Thelower halfisroughedfromthe middleofthecardtothebottomofthecard.Whenanodd-value cardisroughedlikethisandputback-to-backwithaneven-valuecard,thecardswillnot separate (even though the back of the even-value card has no roughing stuff on it). This is true whether you put light or heavy pressure on the cards, provided you put the pressure at the lower halfofthecardthatisroughed.Itisasifthecardsweregluedtogether.Normally,witha roughingstickyouonlyputastripofthematerialacrossasectionofthecard,becauseiftwo 5 cards were completely roughed they would NOT COME APART. We are using this principle to our advantage. HOW TO CONSTRUCT THE DECK Take a new deck and separate them into odd-value cards and even-value cards.Take a roughing stick and apply the roughing material to the lower back of the odd-value cards.OnlythelowerhalvesoftheBACKSofTHEODD-VALUECARDSareroughedwith the roughing stick.The lower half is roughed from the middleof the card to the bottom of the card. If you are using a roughing stick, there is no need to allow the cards to dry. Nowtaketheroughingstickandapplytheroughingmaterialtotheupperhalfofthe faces of all the even-value cards. The half half is roughed from the middle of the card to the top of the card. Nowyouwillassemblethecardsintoback-to-backpairsthattotal13.Thespadesare backed with hearts, and the diamonds are backed with clubs. Put an odd-value card face down on the table so that the roughing material is at the lower halfofthecard.Taketheface-upeven-valuecardthatgoeswithitandplaceitontop,sothe cards are back to back. The roughing material on the face up even-value cards is at the top of the card. HERE IS THE LIST OF HOW THE CARDS ARE MATCHED BACK TO BACK. 2S/JH, 4S/9H, 6S/7H, 8S/5H, 10S/3H, QS/AH, 2H/JS, 4H/9S, 6H/7S, 8H,5S, 10H/3S, QH/AS 2C/JD,4C/9D,6C/7D,8C/5D,10C/3D,QC/AD,2D/JC,4D/9C,6D/7C,8D,5C,10D/3C, QD/AC. RED KINGS ARE CONSIDERED ODD AND BLACK KINGS ARE EVEN. KH/KS, KD/KC Stackthepairsinarandomordersotheeven-valuecardsarefaceup.Dothissoit appears to be a mixed deck of cards. Since the black Kings are considered even, put the back-to-back Kings in the stack so the sides showing the KS and the KC are face up. Put the Kings on the facesofbothsides.PuttheKingofClubsonthefaceoftheeven-valuecardsandtheKingof Hearts on the face of odd-value side. USING SCIENCE FRICTION AND PLASTIC DIP SPRAY You can spray half of the cards backs with either of these sprays. Follow the directions on the can. You can spray all the odd-value cards at one time, but you will need to mask off the 6 other half of the card so it doesnt get sprayed on the section you do not want roughed. It takes about 4 hours forthese spraysto dry. Ihave found itmoreeffective and faster to use roughing sticks. The cards are put into the card case so the lower roughed halves on the back are at the lower section of the case. Whenyouremovethecardsfromthecase,makesuretheroughedbacksareatthe bottom. Whenyou spread the cards, hold them soyour thumbs can only spread the cards at the lower section. Make sure that the upper halves of the cards extend above the tops of your hands. SeePhoto1.Solongasyouonlyspreadthecardsatthebottom,fromhandtohand,NO REVERSED CARDS WILL SHOW.

PHOTO 1 ThecoolthingaboutthisisthatunlikethestandardInvisibleDeck,thereisnoway unwanted reversed cards will show if the pressure is too light.Square the deck and turn it over sideways, spread the cards the same way at the bottom, and only odd-value cards will show. Square the deck and move it down in your hands so your thumbs can only spread the top area of the cards. Something amazing will happen and you will fool yourself. Except for the face card of the deck, ONLY BACKS will show! See Photo 2. This is the incredible secret behind this deck. Whenyouspreadthecards,spreadthemlightly.Exertalmostno pressureonthecards.Thatcouldcausethemtoclumptogether.Holdthem loosely as you spread from the bottom, and you will find that all the cards will show and not clump together. 7 PHOTO 2 To help you know which end is up, you may wish to take a pencil and draw a straight line across the top edges of the cards. See Photo 3. This is an easy way to tell which end should be up.Ifyou put the cards into the caseso the pencil line is alwaysat the top,theywill come out ready to work.

PHOTO 3 The values of each back-to-back pair add up to 13. Aces are 1, Jacks are 11, Queens are 12,andKingsare13.Pairedwitha5wouldbean8,because5+8=13.BecausetheKingsare already valued at 13, they are paired with each other.The Hearts and Spades are back to back with each other, and the Clubs and Diamonds are back to back. Commit this to memory. Remember that a Spade looks like a Heart turned upside down, and that is why they are together. The remaining two suits, Diamonds and Clubs, will take care of themselves.You can also remember that in bridge, Spades and Hearts are the major suits and paired. Clubs and Diamonds are the minor suits and paired. The red Kings are considered odd (both red and odd have three letters). The black Kings are considered even. 8 Youwill notice thatoneside of the deckonly shows odd cards(Ace, 3, 5, 7, 9,Jack, red King). On the other side of the deck, the top card of each pair will be an even card (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Queen, black King). Remember, because the Kings are back to back with each other, you must think of the red Kings as odd and the black Kings as even. Toperformthiseffect,youneedtodeterminethenameofthecardthatisbacktoback with whatever cardisnamed.Lets assume the 10 of Clubsisnamed.The card paired with the selection is known as the key card. Subtract the chosen cards value from 13 (13-10=3). Because you know that Clubs and Diamonds are paired, you know the key card for the 10 of Clubs must be the 3 of Diamonds.Lets try another: the 2 of Hearts. 13-2=11, 11 is a Jack. The key card for the 2 of Hearts would be the Jack of Spades. TheonlyexceptionstothisrulearetheKings,butthoseareeveneasier,becauseeach King is paired with another King. Remember the King of Hearts is back to back with the King of Spades. The King of Diamonds is back to back with the King of Clubs. If you are new to the Invisible Deck and a little confused at this point, do not worry. The mental math will get easier with practice, and it will be well worth your effort.Here is how to perform the effect: Hold the deck with the even sides face up, and place it into thecardbox(thehalf-circlecutoutshouldbeupward);closetheflapandyouarereadyto perform.Whenthedeckisremovedfromthebox(half-circlesideup),theevensidewill automaticallybefaceup.AnAceofSpadesisonthefrontofthebox,andthiswillhelpyou remember that this side of the deck is where the Ace of Spades is, the odd side. SCRIPT: The deck should be in its case on the table in full view. Tell the spectator(s): Earlier,Iremovedacardatrandom,andturneditoversoitwasupsidedown.I returned the deck to its case. I would like you to see if you have psychic abilities, by using your intuition to see if you can correctly guess the card. Please name any one of the 52 cards. Assume the spectator says Jack of Diamonds. First, you need to determine the key card nexttotheface-downJackofDiamonds.ThekeycardfortheJackofDiamondsisthe2of Clubs(13-11=2).Remember,ClubsandDiamondsarepaired.Becausethekeycard,the2of Clubs,isanevenvaluecard,removethedeckfromtheboxsotheevensideisfacingup. Remember, the chosen card is to appear face down. Grip the deck soyou are holding the lower half in your hands. Spread the cards from hand to hand, being sure to only spread from the lower half.RefertoPhoto1.Onlyfaceswillshow.Ifyouweretospreadthemfromthemiddle,a mixture of face-up and face-down cards would show. Ifyou spread them at the top, only backs would show. Spread through the deck until you see your key card. When you see your key card, your right hand breaks the deck at that point and moves inward, toward your body, so the top edge of 9 the key card and all the cards to the right of it are lined up with the middle of the deck. See Photo 4.

PHOTO 4 Remember, the top halves of the cards are NOT roughed on the backs. They will separate with ease. Your left thumb pushes over the key card; a reversed card will immediately show beside it. See Photo 5. This will be the named card, in this case the Jack of Diamonds.

PHOTO 5 10 Yourrighthandmovestowardthetablesothebackofthereversedcardisseen,and leaves the card on the table. Be careful not to tilt your right hand up and expose the bottom of the cards. See Photo 6. Alternatively, you could have the spectator take the reversed card. Do not reveal what the reversed card is yet.

PHOTO 6NOTE:Thisallboilsdowntotiming;theabovemustbedoneinasmooth nonstop action. Spread to the key card, break the deck at that point with the righthand,andbringthecut-offsectiontowardyourbody.Inthesame action,yourleftthumbpushesthetopofthekeycardslightlytotheright, revealing a reversed card. Because there is no roughing material at the tops of thecardsbacks,youwillfindthatthecardsseparatewithease.Yourright hand continues toward the table in one smooth action and leaves the reversed card on the table. Practice until you can do this smoothly.IdonotrecommendtheideaofNOTSPLITTINGthedeckandsimplystretchingyour leftthumbuptopushoverthetopofthekeycard.Becausethebacksofthetophalvesofthe cardsarenotroughed,youmayaccidentlycausesomeotherface-downcardstoshow.By breaking the deck at the key card, as shown in Photo 5, and bringing it down so the tops of the cardsareatthemiddleofthedeck,youwillnotrevealreversedcardsyoudonotwantthe spectators to see. Practice this a few times and you will see how easy and smooth it is. Breaking the spread to put the reversed card on the table is completely natural. If you have the timing down, it will appear that you spread to a reversed card, split the deck at that point, and put the card face down onthetable.Itisallonesmoothactionthatisundetectable.Youcandothiswitheaseandno fumbling. 11 Once the face-down card is on the table, put the cards in your right hand under the cards still in your left hand. Square the deck, still handling the cards at the lower half. You may now spread the cards, remembering to keep your thumbs positioned at the lower half of the deck. Allthecardswillbefaceup.Atthispoint,youmaywonderifthespectatorswillnoticethat there are only 26 cards showing or that only even cards are showing.Do not worry; they will not notice, because they are too busy looking for face-down cards. See, no other card is reversed.Square the deck again. With your right hand, turn the deck face down, END TO END. Do not turn the deck over sideways. Graspthedeckatthelowerhalfagainandspreadthecardsfromhandtohand.Only backs will show. See Photo 7. Keep the deck below eye level, so no one can see the bottom sides of the cards.This is because the other side of the deck will show backs, too. PHOTO 7 All the cards are face down. SquarethedeckandturnthecardsoverENDTOEND,asyoudidbefore.Acardwill show on the face. Place the squared deck on the table. Pointtotheface-downcardonthetable.TURNITOVERSIDEWAYSANDSHOW THATITISTHENAMEDCARD!Dropthecardfaceupontopofthedeck,andreturnthe deck to its case. Be careful not to flash the bottom of the deck. TO RESET: Reset is easy. Remove the cards from the case and turn the top card over sideways so it is face down. Place the face-down card on the bottom of the deck, and return the cards to the case so the roughed backs are at the lower section of the card case. 12 DealingWithTheKings:TheKingsareeasybecausethereisnosubtraction.Rememberthe Kingsareonthefaceofthedeckonbothsides.TheKingofClubsandKingofHeartsare spectacular revelations. You just have to remember that the King of Clubs is the face card of the even-value side and King of Hearts is the face card of the odd-value side.Suppose you want the King of Clubs to be the only face-down card. Remove the deck from the case showing the King of Clubs on the face.Earlier, I removed the King of Clubs, reversed it and put it on top of the deck. Hold the deck so the upper halves are above the top of your hands. Spread the cards with your thumbs at the bottoms. Underneath the King of Club, will be seen a face-down deck! This is quiteastunningrevelation,seeingthecardjustnamedreversedontopofanotherwiseface-down deck.TheKingofHeartsworksthesameway.RemovethedecksotheKingofHeartsis showingonthefaceandspreadthedeckatthebottomareashowingaface-downdeck underneath. TheothertwoKingsareshownreversedasinthestandardtrick.Thekeycardforthe KingofSpadesistheKingofHearts.RememberthattheredKingsareoddandtheblack Kingsareeven.Becauseyourkeycard(KingofHearts)isodd,removethedeckfromthe boxsotheodd-valuesideisup.Thatmeansthatyouturnthecardcasefacedown(halfcircle facing downwards) before you open the case and remove the deck. The King of Hearts will be the face card, push it OVER AT THE BOTTOM, revealing a facedowncard.PuttheKingofHeartsonthebottomofthedeck.Spreadthecardsatthetop showingallcardsfaceupexceptforface-downcardShowthefacedowncardisthenamed King.The same process is used to reveal the King Of Diamonds.You remove the deck so the King of Clubs is the face card. CHECKING YOUR DECK Beforeeachperformance,checkyourdeck.Spreadthefaces,holdingthedeckatthe lowersection,andmakesurenoreversedcardshows.Ifitdoes,thismeansyouprobably returned a reversed card by flipping it end to end instead of sideways. This is easily fixed. Take the reversedcardthat is showing,rotate it 180,and replaceit.Spread thecards again,and the pair should lock so you cannot separate them at the bottom. If in looking over your cards you see what appears to be a little bead of wax, it is okay to pick it off. This is just a bit of residue from the roughing stick. 13 ADVANCED ALTERNATIVE HANDLING This is my favorite way perform the Improved Invisible Deck. This method is not as easy as the basic version. It takes a little more practice, but it is well worth it. This version allows you to remove the cards from the case and a face-down deck is seen! Youcasually spread the face- down cards showing backs. You flip the deck over and show the faces. You spread through the face-upcardsuntilyoucometooneface-downcard.Thisface-downcardisupjogged.You continue to spread through the cards, showing that all the cards are face up except for the one up- jogged face-down card. Leaving the face-down card up jogged, you square the deck and flip it over showing the backsagain.Youspreadthecardsshowingonlybacks,exceptfortheoneup-joggedreversed card, which happens to be the freely named card! You can spread through all the cards showing all the backs. In this version, there is no need to remove the reversed card and cut the deck at that point. Thereversedcardisupjoggedandleftinthesameposition,yetyoucanimmediatelyshow backsonallthecardswhilethereversedcardisupjogged.Readontodiscovertheamazing secret. This version uses the two jokers that are included with all decks, the regular Joker and the extra Joker. The Jokers are one-way cards, and both Jokers are roughed with a roughing stick at the lower half of each joker. So take your roughing stick and rough the lower half of the faces of each Joker. Thisversionoftheinvisibledeckisalsohandleddifferentlythaninthebasicversion. However, as in the original version, the deck is still stacked in pairs that total 13; I suggest you follow closely with the deck in hand. Take the deck and turn it so the roughing material on the faces of the cards is positioned at the lower half. In the basic version, the roughing material is at the upper half of the cards. In this version, it is completely opposite. Place one Joker face down over the face card on the even side. Make sure the roughing material on the face of the Joker is also at the lower section. NOTE: If you have penciled marked the top of the deck, then the pencil line will be at the bottom of the deck instead of the top. If you spread the cards from the bottom section, all the cards will appear to be face down. Whenyouspreadthecards,holdthemsoyourthumbscanonlyspreadthecardsatthelower section. Make sure that the upper halves of the cards extend above the tops of your hands. Refer backtoPhoto1.Solongasyouonlyspreadthecardsatthebottom,fromhandtohand,NO REVERSED CARDS WILL SHOW and all the cards will appear to be face down. 14 Next flip the deck over SIDEWAYS, not end to end, and place the other Joker face down ontopofface-upodd-valuecard.Besurethattheroughingmaterialisatthelowerhalfofthe Joker. The same thing will happen if you spread the cards; they will appear to be face down. This is the secret behind this ingenious version.Insert the deck with the two face-down Jokers into the card case so that the roughed faces are at the bottom. As in the basic version, the side of the deck with the odd-value cards goes on thesideofthecardcasewiththeAceofSpadesonit,toremindyouwhichsidehastheodd-value cards. Close the flap of the case and you are ready to perform.TO PERFORM: You compute the key card the same way you did in the basic version, but the wayyou remove the deck is different. Lets assume the named card is the Eight of Spades. We knowthatthekeycardistheFiveofHeartsandthattheEightofSpadeswillbefacedown beneath it. In the basic version, you would remove the deck so the odd cards are face up and spread through them looking for the Five of Hearts. However, in this version, you do just the opposite. Youremovethedecksotheevensidesareup;however,rememberthataface-downJoker conceals the faces of the even cards. Hold the card case in your left hand as shown in Photo 8. You right hand pulls the deck outabouthalfway.Thethumbandforefingerofyourlefthandbracethesidesofthedeck, keeping it stationary and secure. PHOTO 8 The middle finger of your right hand presses against the back of the Joker underneath the deckandpushesitbackintothecase.SincethetopoftheJokerisnotroughed,thisiseasily done. This takes place in the action of removing the cards from the case. See Photo 9. This photo 15 is an exposed view. Normally your hand is turned downward, concealing the fact that the card is being pushed back into the case.

PHOTO 9 The cards are removed completely from the case, leaving the Joker inside and unseen. It will appear that you are holding a face-down deck in your hand.IFSOMEONENOTICESTHATYOULEFTACARDINTHECASE,JUSTPULLIT OUT AND SAY THAT IT IS A JOKER AND YOU DO NOT NEED IT. Remember, the faces are roughed at the bottom of each card. Quickly spread some of the cards.Whenyouspreadthecards,holdthemsoyourthumbscanonlyspreadthecardsatthe lower section. Make sure that the upper halves of the cards extend above the tops of your hands. As long as you only spread the cards at the bottom, from hand to hand, NOFACE UP CARDS WILL SHOW and all the cards will appear to be face down. Donotspreadthemall,becauseanastutespectatormaywonderwhyhedidnotseea reversed card. Just spread about the top third of the deck and the bottom in bunches as shown in Photo 10. PHOTO 10 16 Square the deck and turn it over SIDEWAYS, not end for end as in the basic version. In this version, your left hand holds the deck in standard dealing position. Your left hand loosely pushes the cards over, pushing AT THE UPPER SECTION OF THE CARDS. See Photo 11. PHOTO 11 In this example, the named card is the Eight of Spades, so we are looking for the Five of Hearts. Once your thumb comes to the Five of Hearts, your right hand moves the Five of Hearts and all the cards to the right of it upward. In the same motion, your left thumb pushes against the lowersectionoftheFiveofHearts,revealingareversedcard.Yourrighthandupjogsthe reversedcard.SeePhotos12and13forthisprocedure.Afterthecardisupjogged,continue spreading the face-up cards, showing no other card is reversed. PHOTO 12 17 PHOTO 13 Thistakessomepracticetodosmoothly;youmustbesurethatyourthumbsdonot accidently push against the lower section of the cards. If they do, you may expose other reverse cards. A little practice and you will get the knack of doing this perfectly. Once the reversed card is up jogged, square the rest of deck, leaving the card extended as shown in Photo 14. PHOTO 14 18 Ask for the name of the card again and turn the deck over SIDEWAYS. Spread the deck at the lower half and only backs will show, except for the one reversed card, which happens to be the named card! See Photo 15. PHOTO 15 There is no need to remove the reversed card. Be careful not to flash the undersides of the cards, as they will show backs instead of faces. To finish, push the reversedcard flush with the deck, square the cards and turn over the deck sideways, revealing a face card again. Everything will look as it should be. Reset is fast and easy. Just remove the Joker from the card case and put it face down on theface-upcard,makingsuretheroughingmaterialisatthelowersection.Returnthedeckto thecaseintheproperorientation,andyouaresettoperformagain.ThismakestheImproved Invisible Deck perfect for strolling gigs. IN CONCLUSION Pleasepracticewiththisdeckuntilyoucanperformflawlesslywithouthavingtothink aboutwhatyouaredoing.Whenyouachievethisgoal,yourperformancewilllooklikeareal mental miracle.IfyouknowtheDonAlanInvisibleDeckroutine,youcanusethisdeckforthat presentation, too.