Self-working magic

Self-working magic is a commonly used term in magic to refer to tricks that work simply from following a fixed procedure, rather than relying on trickery, sleight-of-hand, or other hidden moves.

Description

Magicians recognize that strictly speaking no magic is "self-working", since tricks still need to be performed and presented correctly. But the term has come into common usage in the world of magic as a reference to tricks that do not require sleight of hand or secret moves. For example, Glenn Gravatt compiled numerous such tricks in his book Encyclopedia of Self-working Card Tricks (1936), which was later compiled with Second Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (1936) to create Jean Hugard's classic text Encyclopedia of Card Tricks in 1937.[1]

Many people are first introduced to performing magic via self-working card tricks. Many such tricks rely on mathematical principles, and the audience can often replicate the effect by following the steps correctly. Optical illusions and some science demonstrations are considered by some to fall into this category as well. The wonder comes from unexpectedness of a natural phenomenon.

Usually, self-working card tricks revolve around some mathematical principle. A simple example is the trick "Magical 13", in which the spectator cuts the deck 13 times, splits the deck into 13 piles, and discovers that each pile contains only cards of the same value. This is based on the principle that if the deck is set up with all the suits in order, then no matter how many times you cut the deck, the same cards of the same value will always be 13 cards away from each other.

Examples

Self-working magic tricks can be baffling in a special way, and some of the best card tricks in the world are self-working, such as Out Of This World (1942) by Paul Curry.[2]

Some of the most widely known self-working card tricks include the Twenty-One Card Trick, The Four Robbers, The Piano Trick, Spectator Cuts To The Aces, The Spelling Bee, The Circus Card Trick, and Do As I Do.[3]

Resources

Classic texts on self-working tricks include Scarne on Card Tricks (1950) by John Scarne, Self-Working Card Tricks (1976) and similar books by Karl Fulves published by Dover Publications, and the Card College Light trilogy by Roberto Giobbi.[4]

References
  1. Encyclopedia of Self-working Card Tricks Magicpedia. Retrieved 31 January 2020
  2. "10 of the Best Self-Working Card Tricks in the World". 26 November 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  3. "Popular Self-Working Card Tricks for Complete Beginners". 20 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. "Why You Should Try Self-Working Card Tricks - And: Where to learn them" 19 November 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
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