Texas Hold 'Em Magic

With the popularity of Texas Hold 'Em poker, the potential for an entire new genre of magic card tricks has emerged. Until now, one would only occasionally come across such an effect, usually as a stand-alone one taught in a magic publication or brought to market. But if you want to learn and perform magic tricks based on Texas Hold 'Em themes, "Hold 'Em Magic" by Tom Frame teaches some 34 effects by big names in magic that include: John Bannon, Bob Farmer, Josh Jay, Michael Weber, Paul Wilson and more. According to Frame, twenty are appearing here in print for the first time.

Normally, when I write about a book or DVD, I describe most or all of the effects. But as you can imagine, the majority of the tricks in this book involve dealing winning hands or causing mediocre hands to somehow change into winning hands. In the book, you'll discover methods based on gaffs (the book includes a gaffed card to perform a great effect by Michael Weber called "Peek Performance"), as well as deals, stacks and sleight of hand. That just about describes the majority of the effects.

Most important, I found the book to be well written and thorough and it features lots of helpful pictures so you can easily learn each effect. I recommend this book. If you're looking for a great card trick based on Texas Hold 'Em, you'll probably find it here.

Personally, I find most poker-themed tricks to be a bit to drawn out for restaurants, which comprises most of my close-up work. In restaurants, it's important to hit hard and fast and be prepared to be interrupted by the arrival of food. Also, in the restaurants I work in, there's little room on the tables to lay out and deal cards. That said, my favorite poker-themed card trick that I occasionally perform is "242 Deal" from Josh Jay's "Talk About Tricks" (click here to read my review).

More Reading:
Review: Rich Ferguson's Poker Chip Tricks
Texas Fool'Em by Larry Becker and Lee Earle
Review: Talk About Tricks (3 DVD Set) by Joshua Jay
52 Ways to Cheat at Poker by Allan Kronzek