The Royal Road to Card Magic

by Jean Hugard

This antiquarian volume contains an easy-to-digest and novice-friendly guide to learning card tricks, with descriptions and instructions designed to teach the reader a number of shuffling techniques and related tricks. Written in clear, plain language and full of useful illustrations, this guide will appeal to the novice magician and those with an interest in learning card tricks. It is not to be missed by the discerning collector of such literature. The chapters of this book 'The Overhead Shuffle', 'Using the Overhand Shuffle', 'Controlling the Top Card', 'Retaining the Top and Bottom Cards in Position', 'Top Card to Next to Bottom and Back to the Top', 'Pinkie Does It', 'A Card and a Number', 'Displaying the Top Card', etcetera. This volume is being republished now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially-commissioned introduction on magic tricks.

Genres: Magic, Nonfiction, Reference, How To

458 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 1981

Reviews

[Brandon Baggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot begin to explain all of the things that I learned from this beginners book on Card Magic. This book definitely is a must read for all of those looking to further their ability with cards. There are many great tricks hidden in the pages too. My only complaint is that the book isn't caught up with times and at times it takes a lot of effort to figure out what the author is trying to say. But it is the sleights that make this book golden. This book is chalk full of the fundamentals that every card magician needs to learn.

[Cameron Copper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book. You could literally buy this book for $12 from Amazon and a pack of cards and begin mystifying people days later. That being said, it took me about 9 months to get through this book to the point I can mechanically complete each of the moves. There is still plenty of work after this time to make everything fluid to the point I would feel comfortable whipping it out in front of someone.

An interesting read regardless whether you plan on performing just for the fun factor of seeing how the art of magic is completed. Be aware though, by reading you are sworn to keep the secrets to yourself!

[Alan tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great, though at some times dated, a resource for learning sleight of hand with Learn card tricks. The great thing about this book, as well as the later published Card College series, is that each chapter breaks down one specific sleight to show the many uses it has. This is a great way to start learning magic. The tricks included are far too often overlooked and the advice found is far too often undervalued by magicians today.


Learn card tricks

[Vincent Durewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for any serious student of the craft.

Some of the suggested trick presentations are a bit outdated for sure but don't let this make you overlook this book.

The Royal Road to Card Magic is filled with explanations of fundamental and very useful sleights, as well as solid theoretical principles, tips and advice. The book also contains very interesting routines, some of which teach essential lessons in designing deceptive effects. Even though I've studied more "advanced" material during the past years, I'm happy I finally took the time to read this classic!

[Thomas C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I haven't done card magic in years, I still remember this book as being a fantastic introduction. You're getting a lot for the price: sleights, tricks, routines, etc. I highly recommend the "3 cards across routine," that one always got the best reactions. I will say that several tricks and sleights are more outdated (e.g one of the tricks is essentially performing the same force three times in a row), but I still think this is a must read.

[Finley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super helpful to my learning of magic, and helped me grasp some new concepts that I hadn't learned yet. It is full of great tricks and routines and the pictures are super useful for understanding the tricks. I would recommend this to anyone interested in magic, especially beginners.

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the era of the internet books that teach you a skill seem inadequate compared to audio-visual guides that you can easily find. However, this book is a classic for a reason and is the perfect place to start for anyone who is interested in learning magic.

[Abinash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beat book ever read for magic learned maximum tricks

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing starting point for anyone interested in sleight of hand with cards. Probably one of the best books of it's kind.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by Teller!

[Scott Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned the basics from this. Need to build on this with external resources to be any good by today's standards. But excellent nonetheless.

[Brad Cypert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lessons in this book are very solid, but the authors opinions often come off as rude, shallow and possibly a form of gatekeeping.

[nicholas rocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magic is truly amazing.

Even if you have no interest in wanting to be a magician it's still fascinating to read about how the art form is done.

[MagicDave]

Another great book on learning Card Magic. In fact, it is the book I would recommend above all others to give a beginning magician the tools he needs to become proficient in card magic.

[ZEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always read and refresh every year…. Same as Expert at the Card Table too.

The bibles for anyone studying card manipulation

[Dave Weller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for beginners and not quite beginners.

[Torgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of card tricks and sleights. The book is very old and it's been in print for over a century so a lot of the patter is really dated and embarrassing. The author advises you to do your tricks while saying things like:
"Good day there young fellow! This evening we shall embark upon a confounding sequence of extraordinary illusions that will confound the senses! If you would be so kind as to select a card from this well-trained pack you will soon find yourself delighted by my feats of brisk dexterity!"
If you look past all the nonsense, the book is actually really informative and insightful. It provides a huge rage of sleights and forces and tips from beginner to advanced levels. The best thing about this book is that most of the tricks (90% or so) can be performed with a normal pack of cards, no gimmicks or doubles. Most books about card tricks want the reader to apply scissors and glue and string to his cards to create ridiculous apparatus.
I've looked at all of the internet resources regarding card tricks and I've noticed there's a lot of stuff in this book that has been overlooked, wisdom that has been lost in time.
Toward the end of the book there's even a section that suggests different routines or sequences of tricks for different circumstances.
Honestly, the dated banter throughout the book is actually quite hilarious to read, and I'm tempted to actually attempt to speak like that when performing these. If you're interested in card tricks without the gimmicks, this is a great starting point. Highly recommended!

[Justin Kueck · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are just starting off with magic this is an amazing book. It offers great tricks and helps with the basics. For more advanced magicians it also offers plenty of tricks that are more challenging to master. This book helped me with my question buy showing me over 100 tricks that use sleights or sleight of hand. It also gives not only a description but includes pictures if you're aspiring to become a magician. I would hands down recommend this book for you.

[Lynne Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good overview of card magic for the serious beginner to less newbie. I found some a little hard to follow and got the technique a bit skewed without the help of a real magician. But with the guidance of an experienced card magician available as well, this is an excellent book.

[Eamon Smithsimon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Royal Road to Card Magic was very helpful for me in that it helped my magic skills progress, but the book was not well written, and nearly bored me to death.
The book was well organized, with detailed drawings and descriptive text that taught you exactly how to perform the tricks/slight of hand.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid introduction to card magic.

[Rob]

Card magic 101.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction. I've read it, and now to read it again. And again. And...

[Fabian Yiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book teaches you how magicians do their magic and it also teaches you how to do the easiest tricks

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE definitive work on card magic.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly easy to follow and to put to use.

[Sourabh]

Nice book!

[Abdulla]

idont have the book

[Ibrahim Sait · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most fundamental books in magic.