Just woundering what cards do most of you use for manipulation? I bought some manipulation cards(don't know the make) and I think they are **** so I have now moved on to bee brand like Jeff McBride uses.

Lukas

Lukas,

I have used a wide variety of manipulation cards over the years including Neilson's, Burton's, Murphy's, Peter Marvey's, Juliana Chen's. At this point I am using the Murphy's cards for split fans, and Juliana Chen's for single card productions. Hope this helps.

Matt

BEE CARDS

Wow Magic Monkichi you use just about all the cards that they make. As for me I have been using Norm Neilson's (which are great) However I am currently switching over too bee cards. I like the Bees for 4 reasons 1. they are a lot cheeper 2. you can find them almost everywhere 3. manipulation cards do not have the same snap as standard playing cards 4. I have found that they blend in with my hand better. I like Bee cards best when they are only slightly broken in. I do this by doing differnt kinds of shuffles springs etc.

Hope this helps
Graham Fishman

It was very interesting to stumble onto this thread today. I too have used Nielsen cards for many years. Unfortunately, the stock has changed recently and they are just not what they used to be. I too am looking into switching to another type of card and I am even considering going back to Bee cards (which I started with a long time ago). I think that the price of manipulation decks has gotten very high and the quality might not warrant the expense. Which kinds of cards to use for manipulation has been discussed several times on the Café and each time it correctly boils down to personal preference. The cards simply have to "feel right" to you. Some want thin cards, others want snapping cards, some want both. Given the recent change in Nielsen cards, I am in the process of trying out every deck out there and simply seeing how they feel to me. It's an expensive endeavor, but perhaps essential for the card manipulator. Unless of course you have already found your deck. Then, if you feel comfortable, there's probably no reason to fix what isn't broken. Opinions - both positive and negative - concerning manipulation decks & prepared cards should be invited to this thread. I think it will be interesting to hear what everyone has to say.

A lot of the old timers used steamboats which had a back that was a cross hatched design of red and blue lines which matched well with flesh tones. Other have used Bee cards. In Buckley's book, he tell how to prepare the Bee cards by rolling them around a pencil.

Though I do not do manipulation, I have played with it. I found the regular manipulation cards were too soft for me to feel comfortably with. I like the snap of bee cards. I also worked with poker sized. Often (before the texas holdum craze caught on) you could find the recycled decks from casinos 2 for a dollar. Having worked many stages after contests, I have seen far too many Neilsen cards swept away. And if they were recovered, they were dirty and bent.

I know the old timers like Walt Cummings ( who taught Neil Foster) and Jack Pyle used poker sized bee cards.

Yes, Arthur Buckley's pencil roll is, to me, a superior method to breaking in the cards, and I used it when I used Bee cards. It makes the cards even more supple than the Routined Manipulation technique/McBride technique.

I always use a fresh pack of Bikes, it is what I learned with and don't like the really thin decks.

I have a load of maip cards, unfortuneatly I find that they do not fan nicely, even with powder, so I'm at a loss of what to use at the mo I'm useing fanning cards with a linnin finish (their about 30 years old, I'm only 20). I would really like manipualtion cards with a linnen finish, but I don't know where to find any!!!! I got a nice bee deck mapualting cards though. they are nice.

Missdirection: which brand of manipulation cards do you have?

I use bee poker size and just break them in ... no powder, no scraping .....in about 2 days they are ready ...they have spring but are softer and the silicone coating is rubbed out a bit so I can get nice clean fans. I do not see the point with the manipulation cards ..I fyou get used to them then you are stuck with them. I tell every one that I know that is starting a card manip act... go with the bee and by breaking them in you get to practice .... later Cardone

Neil Foster and Dale Salwak have always switched cards from a fanning deck before doing the split fans. It keeps the fanning decks in better shape.

I use red Hoyle Professional Gambling Cards. These are poker size cards and are great for manipulation including split fans and singles.

I also switch to various cards in my card routine. This way I am using the best cards for the next sequence I am doing. I find that some moves work better with new cards while others require cards that are worked in really well.

Kyle

I like Norm's cards for split fans, Bee's for singles and bright patterned cards for fans.

I have lance Burtons, (2 pack) million cards (look like bee deck),norman nielsen and a three decks that are skin tone on the back. on top of that I have 8 packs of bicycle decks and 5 types of fanning cards. (not bad for someone who has just started)

Those are a lot of different decks, missdirection. I recently picked up a deck of Lance Burton's cards after all this time and you're right, out of the shrink wrap, they will not fan nicely. So they need a good powdering. After doing so, my deck fanned fine. The same was true for me with the Nielsen cards. They say the new ones come pre-powdered, but honestly, it's not good enough. How are you powdering them? Tossing the cards into a plastic bag with some powder in it and shaking the bag works well as does applying an even coat with a cotton ball (although the latter is more time consuming). If the powder doesn't work for you, you might try waxing the cards. Stevens sells a block of wax from UGM in Japan. I have never done this, but I have tried out another magician's waxed pack of cards and they fanned nicely. Very sticky though - the wax is very tactile, different than powdered cards or glossy finished cards (close-up cards). Hope this helps.

Are you sure they are not Jeff McBride decks poker size decks? The Lance Burton decks I have are just like Norm Neilsen's except they seem a little more stiff. They are bridge decks.

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I have lance Burtons, (2 pack) million cards (look like bee deck),norman nielsen and a three decks that are skin tone on the back. on top of that I have 8 packs of bicycle decks and 5 types of fanning cards. (not bad for someone who has just started)
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I believe the cards being referred to here as looking like a bee deck are not Lance Burton cards, but Million Cards, a Japanese deck that is poker-sized for manipulation and are the thinnest of all the ones I know of on the market. They are red diamond backed.

But I also have lance Burtons deck.

sorry for not being clear in the previous post.





well they have lance Burton on the back, I just assumed that they were Burtons....... mabye I was wrong......