Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61799 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Good Starting Point
This is the famous first book on card magic. It makes no excuses for being originally written as a way to cheat at cards for money. A few of the sleights have been updated since, you wouldn't want to deal from bottom as described within, and you wouldn't want to deal seconds as described here either, but the rest is pure magic. This only deals with 'PURE' card manipulation, no dodgy decks for erdnase. If you are prepared to put in the practise, and you want to be more impressive than David Blane, buy this book, if you want quick easy magic, but only being able to do one trick, buy a svengali deck. by the way, S.W. Erdnase is actually E.S. Andrews backwards. A professional gambler and cardsharp of the early 1900's.

A classic - but not for everyone
After reading the previous reviews on this book I feel compelled to clarify. The Expert At The Card Table is the first advanced instructional text ever released for card mechanics and card magicians. This is the reason why it is of such importance but it is also the reason why it's not for everyone. As it was written over a hundred years ago, many of the techniques explained have been superseded but there is still a wealth of useful information for the serious card worker (the palming techniques, for example, are still extremely practical and were tens of years before their time when the book was written). Most people who are serious about cards have studied this text - not just read it, studied it. This is a book for the student of card work and it's history, it's not a book for someone with a casual interest who wants to learn a few basic tricks. If you fall into the latter category then The Royal Road to Card Magic or something similar is more suited to your requirements.

A review of this book would not be complete without mentioning The Annotated Erdnase by Darwin Ortiz. This book offers the reader an expert's insight into this classic text. Darwin Ortiz is the world's foremost expert on cards (in respect of the fields of "magic" and crooked gambling) so his opinions have to be respected. It's sadly out of print but is still available from some dealers and a used copy may be available on this site.

In summary, for the beginner or someone with a passing interest, The Expert At The Card Table really isn't worth buying but for the individual aspiring to become a serious card worker knowledge of this text is essential.

Excellent
This book is an excellent piece of history. The first complete course on card manipulation, it is fair to say it changed the course of card magic in the 20th century. Dai Vernon, the father of modern magic knew the book by heart by the age of 12.

It is less detailed than some parts of Royal Road to Card Magic (which is my view is still the place to start as a beginner) and some of the descriptions require intense concentration. However it does have some gems within it's pages including a good description on how to perform the classic 3 card monte effect.