Locking Deck by Tim Spinosa

Effect: You have seen cards rise … But have you seen a deck unlock?

The Locking Deck unlocks a creative new approach to entertaining with card magic. Imagine having a card freely selected and shuffled into the deck. Then, out of nowhere, a lock face appears on top of the cards! The magician explains that he will dial a three-number combination consisting of the number, the suit, and the location of the card in the deck. After dialing this combination, the magician or the spectator lifts the lock face and the deck is magically cut to the selection. Afterwards, the deck is spread and shown front and back to be completely normal.

• Perfect for walk-around and stage magic!
• Absolutely no reset!
• Super easy to perform!
• Easily customized for any performance situation!
• The combination can be someone’s birthday, phone number, age, use your imagination!

Now this is pretty cool. A card is selected from the deck (no force). The card is returned and the deck is shuffled. The magician brings out a chrome combination lock face which is placed on the top of the face down deck. The spectator is asked some questions, and the dial is turned to various numbers (as if opening a safe). After the third number is dialed in, the lock face is lifted and a substantial number of cards come away with it, clinging to the bottom of the dial. This block of cards is placed aside, and the card sitting on the top of the lower portion of the deck is revealed. It is the chosen card.

This trick looks weird, and the effect is one which I do not believe that I have seen before. The deck is gaffed to some degree, although it would be possible to do a few tricks with it before performing “The Locking Deck.” The best bet would be to switch decks and bring in the gaffed deck when you need to. Several handlings are explained in the instructions, but I worked out my own, and if you have any card handling experience you’ll probably do the same. The easiest handling is a no-brainer and requires little technical ability.

I liked this trick a lot. If you’re looking for a new trick to add to your real world repertoire, or just want to fool the guys at the magic club “The Locking Deck” is worth considering. Recommended.

(Michael Close – Magic Magazine, April 1998)
Text Source: michaelclose.com – click for details

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