Key Card Principles

126 entries in Cards / Principles / Key Card / Key Card Principles
Creators Title Comments & References Year Source Page AA Categories
Unknown Shuffling Deck with Key Card
1876 Modern Magic 65
Unknown Shuffling with Key Card "very small risk of the two cards being parted"
 		1889 Tricks with Cards 41
Unknown with the aid of a wide card
  • Third Method
wide card as key card
 		1889 Tricks with Cards 69
James J. Moren With the Mind's Eye No. 8, dressed-up key card location, blindfolded
 		1919/1920 Thirty Card Mysteries 35
Charles T. Jordan Placement via Key Card deck dealt into piles, key which was next to selection is at same position as selection in different piles
 		1921 The Four Full Hands (Issue Four Full Hands of Down to the Minute Magical Effects) 25
Unknown Mental Telepathy deck dealt into six piles, any card chosen and lost by assembling the deck
 		1928 Card Tricks You Will Do 10
Eric F. Impey Tone Control four piles, two key cards on top, selection lost and found apparently via spectator's voice during him reading off all cards
 		1931 Try This One 6
T. Page Wright Location Aces at top and bottom of both halves, spectator shuffles, selects card, shuffles again, four Aces as keys
 		1933 Page Wright's Notebook 13
T. Page Wright One Way Location interlocking chain principle with one-way deck and key card
 		1933 Page Wright's Notebook 13
Unknown Reversed Cards as Indicator No. 3 of "Substitutes for the Pass", secretly reversed card as key card, oops control
 		1935 Card Manipulations (Issue 4) 93
Unknown Tricks with Assistant as the Medium two methods, medium divines cards or finds selections, culling key cards together
 		1935 Mental Magic with Cards 21
Unknown Just a Teaser No. 45, quick shuffle in key card location
 		1935 Card Tricks that are Easy to Learn, Easy to Do 41
Unknown New Card Discovery two key cards, spectator shuffles briefly
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 32
Jean Hugard Oops Control Variation reversed key card that is accidentally discovered
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 49
Unknown Sleeve Addition key cards are added behind the back from sleeve
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 92
U. F. Grant A Count Down Discovery one-way backs
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 153
Tom Sellers The One-Way Key
1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 165
U. F. Grant Reversed Key Card The "Whoops!" Control
VariationsAlso published here 1938 Greater Magic 81
Unknown Double-Backed Key Card
1938 Greater Magic 83
Unknown The Bottom Card Location featuring several key card placements and strategies:
Joker Discard to Locate Key
Face-Dwon Ribbon-Spread Key Placement
Face-Up Ribbon Spread Key Placement
Deal-Down Key Placement
Distant Key Card
Cardcase Load of Key Card
 		1938 Greater Magic 90
Unknown The Top and Bottom Location having two key cards
 		1938 Greater Magic 96
Unknown The New Pack Location key card tricks using new pack order
 		1938 Greater Magic 99
Theodore Annemann Nail Nick Key Control
1939 The Jinx (Issue Winter Extra 1938/39) 368
Unknown The Twenty-Sixth Location remote key
 		1940 Expert Card Technique 398
Herb Runge A Thought Ahead Tantalizer
Related to 1940 The Jinx (Issue 102) 618
Unknown A Reversed Card as a Key Card
1941 The Stripper Deck 7
Jean Hugard, Frederick Braue The Stripper Key
1941 The Stripper Deck 23
Tony Kardyro Locating the Key Card thick key card
  • First Method
  • Second Method
 		1941 The Routine Supreme 6
Theodore Annemann Locatrix selection is located behind back
 		1943 Full Deck of Impromptu Card Tricks 5
Edward Marlo The Spectator Cuts daubed key card
 		1945 Tricks with Daub 5
Edward Marlo Daub Co-incidence daubed instead of glimpsed key card
 		1945 Tricks with Daub 7
Edward Marlo In Lieu of Pencil daub on borrowed deck as alternative to pencil dotted key card
 		1945 Tricks with Daub 9
George McAthy My Best Trick clever
 		1945 My Best 99
James G. Thompson Jr. Out of These Hands
1945 My Best 115
Bob Hummer Thot-Ography spectator remembers card and its position from top ten cards, Klondike shuffle, marked key card with needle scratch, see Collected Secrets for more references
Also published here 1945 Thotography 1
James Auer Three Linked Discoveries location of three thought of cards
 		1947 Ireland's Yearbooks (Issue Yearbook 1947) 22
J. B. Bobo A New Key Card single rough-smooth pair
 		1947 Watch This One! 31
Charles T. Jordan A New Card Discovery key above and below selection and riffle shuffle, added in 1947 reprint (instead of "Just a Square of Paper")
 		1947 The Four Full Hands (Issue Four Full Hands of Down to the Minute Magical Effects) 38
Unknown Remote Key
1948 The Royal Road to Card Magic 73
U. F. Grant Oops False Shuffle reversed card to key the bottom of deck after only-cuts-overhand-shuffle
 		Jan. 1949 Grant's Inner Circle Magazine (Vol. 1 No. 4) 10
Eddie Joseph The Principle Defined getting a selection to any position, with key card
 		1949 Premonition and The Blind Magician Does a Trick 11
Harry Lorayne Lorayne's Mind Reading Card Trick No. 91
 		1950 Scarne on Card Tricks 170
Bert Feinson Behind My Back No. 131, impossible location using two key cards
 		1950 Scarne on Card Tricks 252
John Scarne, Henry Christ Wild Bill Hickock's Hand No. 153, poker hands are dealt, and spectator chooses one hand, and one card. After being lost in the deck, the magician finds the selected card by spelling procedure, and then re-deals the spectator's original hand.
 		1950 Scarne on Card Tricks 298
Eddie Joseph The Forerunner slop shuffle triumph to set a key card a certain position for later
 		1951 More Dumbfounders with Cards 4
Chan Canasta A Miracle Discovery three piles are made and under impossible conditions selection is found, using three key cards
Related toVariations 1953 A Miracle Discovery 1
Mark J. Grenier Face down Discovery deck dealt in four piles, card found in face down pile
 		1961 The New Phoenix 351-400 (Issue 357) 256
Harry Lorayne This is Mind-Reading? two key cards, spectator shuffles, out of hands selection
Related to 1962 Close-up Card Magic 86
Victor "Astor" Jamnitzky Die Lange Karte als "Lesezeichen" key card in deck with whole deck corner-shorted
 		1967 (ca.) The Astor-Deck 7
Unknown Basic Move 2 pretense to glimpse selection next to key card
 		June 1968 The Pallbearers Review Vol. 1-4 (Vol. 3 No. 8) 183
Alan Keith Prelude "Circus Card Trick" to set up key cards
Inspired by 1969 Expert Card Mysteries 136
Gene Nielsen The Wish Upon a Tarot only using Major Arcana
 		1972 Magick (Issue 46) 227
Frank Garcia Reversed Card Idea Oops-Control
 		1973 Super Subtle Card Miracles 108
Gerald Kosky Yore Finder two key cards and optional fishing, credit correction on page 65
Related to 1973 Kabbala — Volume 2 (Vol. 2 No. 5) 39
Gene Finnell Flip Cut - 2 center section cut out and reversed, key glimpsed, then a faro brings previous center card next to key
 		1973 Gene Finnell's Card Magic 34
Unknown Grund Griff Nr. 2 pretense to glimpse selection next to key card
 		Oct. 1973 Intermagic (Vol. 1 No. 2) 26
Sam Schwartz Thot Echo two card location, straight set-up, see also p. 758 for comment by Marvin Johnson
VariationsAlso published here Mar. 1974 The Pallbearers Review Vol. 9-10 (Vol. 9 No. 5) 715
Jeff Busby 2nd Thot spectator remembers card and its position from top ten cards, Klondike shuffle
Inspired byRelated to June 1974 The Pallbearers Review Vol. 9-10 (Vol. 9 No. 8) 746
U. F. Grant B) using reversed one-way back card as key card
 		1975 New and Novel Knowledge 36
Roger Smith The IF Cover Up Control #1 key card placed in break in originally lower half of IF peek, faro brings it next to selection
Inspired byRelated to 1975 The Faro Sorcery Trilogy — Number 1 2
Nick Trost Weighing the Cards
Variations 1976 Subtle Card Magic — Part Two 19
Cy Endfield, Fred Robinson A Cy Endfield Location two key cards on two halves, spectator shuffles them together
Variations Jan. 1977 Pabular (Vol. 3 No. 5) 351
Harry Lorayne Key Cards about key cards, with seven applications and placements
 		1977 The Magic Book 152
Sam Schwartz Thought Echo two card location, straight set-up
Also published here 1977 The Magic Book 131
Hannes Höller Klassische Prinzipien und Griffe mit Strippern Die Leitkarte (using the Stripper Cards as key cards)
 		1978 Einfach Wunderbar — Wunderbar Einfach 32
Karl Fulves Future Key two cards found
 		1979 The Shamrock Code / The Parallel Principle 36
Karl Fulves St. Regis Sleight II half stack used to key position of selection made from incomplete riffle shuffled deck
 		1979 Riffle Shuffle Control 2
Jerry K. Hartman Dup-licates
Also published here 1979 The Chronicles (Issue 19) 1250
Unknown Graphite Match Box Daub daub on key card
Related to 1980 Bob Hummer's Collected Secrets 12
Bob Hummer Thotograhy spectator remembers card and its position from top ten cards, Klondike shuffle, marked key card with needle scratch
VariationsAlso published here 1980 Bob Hummer's Collected Secrets 25
Albert Verity As a Method of Card Control sticky coin attached to card as key card
Also published here 1980 Ken Brooke's Magic — The Unique Years 185
"Magic" Christian Stelzel The Key-Card
1982 Stripper / Konische Karten 2
Unknown Bottom Card Locator simple key card location
 		1982 Simple yet Effective Tricks with Cards 21
Unknown Top and Bottom Card Locator two keys and the spectator can shuffle briefly
 		1982 Simple yet Effective Tricks with Cards 22
Edward Marlo Crimp Control seven methods to control selection with crimped deck, also key card handlings
 		1984 Marlo's Magazine Volume 5 223
Unknown To Reverse a Card for a Marker KM Move type reversal to reverse bottom card during overhand shuffle, face-up key card (1937)
 		1985 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 2) 17
Unknown The Floating Key "This is a control which without question is the best of all methods of controlling a chosen card.", key card which is both narrow and short and punched
 		1985 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 3) 21
Edward Marlo Marked Control marked deck, key card
 		1988 Marlo's Magazine Volume 6 168
Christoph Borer Thought Rise thought of card ends up on top of the deck
Also published here 1988 Seminarheft 4
Roy Walton Mental Four four cards thought of from four packets of four cards each, found after some dealing
VariationsAlso published here
  • Genii, 1954, Vol .19 No. 3
 1988 The Complete Walton — Volume 2 26
Edward Marlo Setting Key Card at 26 spectator shuffles deck
 		1991 The Olram File (Issue 3) 9
T. Page Wright The Back-of-the-Deck Detection card located by looking at backs, finger print presentation, selection behind back, reversed key card
 		1991 Page Wright's Manuscript 173
Unknown Shuffling with Short Card svengali principle
Also published here
  • "Koschitz's Manual" (1894)
 1991 Cheat Sheet (Issue 8) 75
Gary Kurtz Two Heads Are Better Than One a friend locates a card, stooged with some simple instructions
Also published here 1992 Prinzipien in der Praxis 21
Roy Walton Doppelganger spectator counts to any position and remembers next card, card found and position divined
Inspired byVariations Apr. 1992 Profile (Issue 7) 5
Sid Fleischman The Vagrant Key marked deck for setting key card next to selection which is not read
 		1993 The Charlatan's Handbook 87
Karl Norman Follow-Up Routine Spectator selects a card, shuffles it back into the deck, selection ends up on top
 		1995 40 Years at the Forks 29
Unknown Control in a Hand-to-Hand-Spread "Location, Identification and Control with a Key Cards"
 		1995 Card College — Volume 1 142
Unknown Tabled Ribbon Spread Control with a key card
 		1995 Card College — Volume 1 143
Sam Schwartz Thot Echo two card location, straight set-up
Related toVariationsAlso published here 1995 Card College — Volume 1 149
Sveroni Der letzte Kartentrick spectator remembers a card at his thought of number and cuts the deck, performer tries to cut the deck that the card is back at the same position, card is then found in performer's pocket
 		1995 Typisch Sveroni 28
Unknown Group Shuffle deck shuffled in groups, yet key cards at position ten, twenty, thirty and forty retained
 		1995 Self-Working Close-up Card Magic 23
Karl Fulves, Bob King The Memory Expert No. 16, number thought of, card at this position remembered, cut, performer memorizes deck, new position of selection named and card at original position as well
 		1995 Self-Working Close-up Card Magic 27
Simon Aronson Floating Key Principle
1995 Simply Simon 159
Gary Kurtz Tow Heads Are Better Than One a friend locates a card, stooged with some simple instructions
Also published here 1995 Lecture Notes 1995 22
Karl Fulves Random Stop glimpsing selection next to key card during riffle shuffle
 		1996 Blocking Off 22
Peter Duffie Sivakey Center Double Lift used to obtain key card
 		1996 With Cards 13
Peter Duffie 3 and 1 Location four keys on top, spectator starts by dealing four hands
 		1997 N.D.E. — A Near Deck Experience 10
Albert Verity Eine Karten-Kontrollmethode sticky coin attached to card as key card
Also published here 1997 Intermagic (Vol. 21 No. 1) 34
Dick Koornwinder The Koornwinder Card Control key card with glue dots, reprinted from 1972, how to cut to it and how to control a selection with it
Also published here 1998 The Koornwinder Kar & The Koornwinder Card Control 10
Ellis Stanyon A Subtle Deal to Find the Chosen Card No. 34, excuse to spread through deck and glimpse card next to key
 		1999 Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks 50
Ellis Stanyon The "Key" Card Forcing and Self-shifting Pack No. 20, having a piece of metal around one end of a card (similar to paper clip) as key card
  • The "Waterfall" Shuffle (with the key card)
  • Dispensing with the "Key"
  • "Bridging"
  • To Force any Two Cards (performer cuts apparently randomly)
Related to 1999 Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks 203
Ellis Stanyon Description of the Pack No. 1
 		1999 Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks 213
Ellis Stanyon Two Chosen Cards Found Together No. 17, using the long card as key
 		1999 Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks 221
Karl Fulves Supplementary Note table spread force with pencil dotted card, using it a key otherwise
Inspired by 1999 Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks 271
Al Baker Out On Location Card chosen and lost freely. Magician asks for value of card, then card is successfully located. Multiple key card type of trick.
 		1999 Cunning Card Miracles 11
Jerry Mentzer Two Keys
  • As a Locator
  • As a Force (one of two)
 		2000 Card File Two 53
Nick Trost, Mike Rogers Heavyweight No. 5, performer cuts off same number of cards as spectator
Inspired by 2001 New Self-Working Card Tricks 7
Karl Fulves Jack Finds Your Card No. 27, deck cut into two piles, spectator shuffles two together and remembers top card which is put in other pile, performer looks through shuffled pile, two key cards
 		2001 New Self-Working Card Tricks 42
Chan Canasta Effect three piles are made and under impossible conditions selection is found, from Fred Taylor's notes
Related to 2001 Chan Canasta — A Remarkable Man — Volume Two 24
Jack Avis, Lewis Jones Impossible spectator shuffles after replacement, selection between two key cards
 		2002 Ahead of the Pack 85
Steve Beam Piling On multiple key cards
 		2004 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 5 99
William Goldman Winged Key stripper card as key card
 		2005 My Week with a Stripper 11
Christoph Borer Thought Rise thought of card ends up on top of the deck
Also published here 2006 Compilation 89
Jack Avis A Dotty Location location with four distributed marked key cards
 		2006 Rara Avis 48
Jerry K. Hartman Replicut four cards randomly cut to, spectator chooses one and buries it in deck, magician cuts other three back into deck and then cuts to selection, uses marked key card
 		2007 Card Dupery 148
Unknown Two simultaneous Key Cards
2007 Card Dupery 267
Jerry K. Hartman Keynoted two cards selected and lost in fair manner with magician’s back turned, magician divines both cards or knows when to stop as cards are dealt
Variations 2007 Card Dupery 359
Ben Train The Trinity Concept control concept for three cards with partial set-up, multiple presentations
Related to 2012 Anteater Consortium 28
Shane Cobalt A Trick for Chuck a Jack at top and bottom of two halves, riffle shuffle retains a Jack at top and bottom
Inspired by
  • Charles Jordan
 2012 A Trick for Chuck 2
Ricky Smith Some Applications on using the punch as key card and for various poker deals, punch as pure marking system
 		2017 Threeve 63
Xiaobo Zhou 浮动关键牌 (Floating Key) Discussion on floating keys and a principle to locate cards, called the X-27 principle
Related to 2018 Enthusiasm 10
Xiaobo Zhou 降落伞/JLS 找牌系统 (Parachute Card Location) JLS: Jazz Location System. Describes a system used to locate cards and perform The Trick That Cannot Be Explained

1. Dead Cut to the Selection
2. Name the Position of the Selection
3. Impromptu 1-20 ACAAN
 		2018 Enthusiasm 43
Yves Carbonnier Contrôle de Quatre Cartes au Mélange Français key card placement of four cards, overhand shuffle
 		2019 Grand Livre de Cartomagie 96
Ryan Schlutz Cut-Shuffle-Cut sequence to keep a key card next to a selection during in-the-hands riffle shuffle and cut sequence
 		2020 False Anchors 112
Ryan Schlutz Other Ways to User the GAP Principle
  • Borrowed Deck Handling - Key Card
  • Borrowed Deck Handling - Multiple Key Cards
  • Borrowed Deck Handling - Multiple Key - Mental Selection
 		2020 False Anchors 122