... And A Pack Of Cards by Jack Merlin

This publication is in my opinion among the best books on cards ever written, but it is rarely mentioned or recommended. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps one reason is that Jack Merlin himself has not left a large footprint in the magic literature besides this one publication. He has a published trick in Expert Card Technique and if you read Card College 1 you will have learned the Jack Merlin's Riffle Shuffle. Farelli mentions in his Farell's Card Magic: "I agree with Mr. Jack Merlin that the custom of continually practicing in front of a glass is the cause of the unfortunate habit many magicians have of blinking at the precise moment of performing some secret manoeuvre." Nevertheless to his contemporaries he was an icon, an accomplished master of card magic second to none.

The effects you will find in this ebook are all solid, all routines from the working repertoir of one of the best performers with a deck of cards.

1st edition 1927; PDF 79 pages.

Table of Contents

1. Preface
2. Contents
3. Foreword

   SECTION ONE

   MERLIN'S MASTER MANIPULATIONS

4. Theory
5. Practice

   CHAPTER II PASSES

6. Improved Herrmann Pass
7. Outjog Pass
8. The Side Slip Palm And Flesh Grip
9. Using The Side Slip As A Trick

   CHAPTER III DEALING SECONDS AND BOTTOMS

10. Seconds
11. Bottoms
12. The Glide
13. Tricks Based On Second And Bottom Dealing

    CHAPTER IV FALSE SHUFFLES AND CUTS

14. The Merlin True Shuffle
15. False Shuffle And Cuts
16. The Push Through False Shuffle
17. False Cut
18. Tricks Based On False Shuffles And Cuts Reds And Blacks
19. Another Red And Black Effect

    CHAPTER V THUMB COUNTING

20. First Method - The Thumb Count
21. Second Method - Thumb Counting
22. Tricks Based On Thumb Counting
23. Divining The Number Of Cards Cut by A Spectator

    CHAPTER VI COLOR CHANGES

24. The Slip-Slide Change
25. The Change-Over Palm Change
26. A Double Change
27. Change by The Erdnase Bottom Palm
28. Improved Change
29. Under The Thumb Change
30. Face To Face Color Change
31. Color Change Making Palmed Cards Vanish

    CHAPTER VII CRIMPS

32. Finger Crimp From The End
33. Tricks Based On The Crimp

    CHAPTER VIII FORCING

34. A Sure-Fire Force
35. Mechanical Forcing Decks

    SECTION TWO

    MERLIN AT THE CARD TABLE

36. A Routine Of Sleights To Be Performed At The Card Table
37. The Riffle Stack
38. False Cuts On The Table
39. A Barefaced Method
40. The Herrmann Pass For Slipping The Cut
41. A Faked Run Up
42. The Audacity Run Up
43. Using The Spread As A Trick
44. The Hop Off The Bottom
45. Topping The Pack
46. A Bottom Run Up
47. The Overhand False Shuffle And Jog
48. False Shuffle Retaining A Number Of Cards On The Top
49. Naming The Hole Cards In Stud Poker
50. The Peek, With Second Or Bottom Dealing In Stud Poker
51. The Bottom Deal As Used In A Game
52. The Story Of The Cold Deck
53. Dealing Four Aces From Anyone's Pack
54. The Shooting Of Pete McGuff
55. Master Poker Dealing
56. Exhibition Poker Feat
57. Pinochle
58. A Simple Run Up For Pinochle
59. Bridge-Whist
60. Challenge Bridge Demonstration
61. Glossary

    SECTION THREE

    SELECTIONS FROM MY REPERTOIRE

62. Combining The Passing Of Cards With The Pocket Trick
63. A Four Ace Assembly
64. Production Of A Chosen Card by Means Of The Spring Flourish
65. The Tip-Up Discovery
66. Causing A Spectator To Make A Change
67. Rubbing Off A Spot And Showing Where It Goes
68. The Pack That Cuts Itself
69. To Snap Change
70. The Triple Force And Floor Change
71. My Favorite Four Ace Trick
72. An Impromptu Laugh
73. The Ubiquitous Card
74. Super Mental Card Effect
75. Telepathy Card Trick
76. The Spread
77. The Pulse Of The Public

78. Bibliography
79. Magazines

word count: 37009 which is equivalent to 148 standard pages of text