Hi there,

While I'm very much new to magic I can do 3-5 effects that I'm comfortable doing. I was going to do an Invisible deck routine at a work function. Pretty basic...hand the person and invisible deck...get them to shuffle...laugh, tell them to take it out of the box first...play up the routine some more while they are working with this imaginary deck. I'm comfortable with that part of the routine but when I was practicing I found I didn't really know what to do for the last little bit when I pull out a real deck (ID) and reveal a reversed card. Does anyone have a bit of patter where I can transition from them playing with an imaginary deck of cards to the point where I reveal the reversed card? I don't want to just pick up my ID and say "TA-DA"

How about something like;

"Right you've shuffled an imaginary deck and turned over one card of your choosing within it.
The reason that we have not used a physical deck is to ensure that the selection process was completely free as it all happened in your mind, fair enough?

Now, the funny thing is that before I left the house this morning I did exactly that with a real deck do you want to see?"

Then ask their card and do the reveal in a way that suits your style.

That's pretty good! Thanks Stevie

You could always do the classic "Invisible deck becoming real" plot. Although I quite like Stevie's approach.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the idea, truth be told (dangerous in this game I know) I've never actually presented the ID as an invisible deck before.
I got one to use as an out for anything with a chance of failure, it was only when Mocha asked the question that I actually thought about how I would present this so thanks for that, think I'll get out there and give that presentation a go myself.

Here's a DVD that might be of interest to you. Jay provides a lot of excellent ideas.
http://magic.about.com/od/reviewscards/fr/082408sankey.htm

It's an excellent effect all on it's own.

Good shout motown, I dig a bit of sankey at times but completely forgot that he had a DVD on this.

Another item on the shopping list then.

There was also this inexpensive book that was published many years ago:
http://www.daytonamagic.com/products/INV......LDS.html

Daryl also has an excellent DVD on the Invisible Deck.

Qua-Fiki came up with a new Mesh Bag principle (no black art) in which he begins by removing the Invisible Deck from the bag, which is obviously empty, tosses it out and does the usual stuff to have a card selected. Then he has the spectator toss the deck back so he can catch it in the bag. Suddenly, the deck becomes visible in the bag. Makes sense to me! It's called "Qua-Fiki's Mesh ID Bag" and it's found in The Wizards' Journal #23. As an added bonus, he shows you how to do the trick with a regular deck of cards so that the spectator can remove the visible deck, fan through it and find the reversed chosen card by himself. There's a video on the Web site advertisement page.

Definitely go with Daryl. Only 7.50$!

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S14200

I did it!
So we had a work get-together for the day on Friday and part of the day was a staff "talent" show. I signed up to do a routine using the ID. I used the theme visualization and how it ties in to the power of positive thinking. I started with...and I don't know the name of it...twisting hands? I know David Copperfield does this and you get the audience to clasp their hands in a particular way and then the performer is able to un-twist their hands while the audience can't. I said that I was able to do it while they struggled because I thought of myself in this impossible situation but over and over for the past week I visualized being able to overcome it.

I then talked about how sports stars use visualization to picture that perfect swing...or kicking the winning field goal...or what ever. And that through this technique and thinking positive you can turn your thoughts into reality. That's when I pulled out a bag (looked empty to the audience) and had a volunteer pull out an imaginary deck of cards. I asked them to really see it though in their mind...then a little routine where the put the cards on the table face up and played that part up a bit...then I had them select a "card" and hold it, look at it...use all their senses to really see and feel it then put it back in the deck and the deck into the bag.

I then reached in and pulled out my ID (which they thought was pretty cool becasue the bag looked empty to them) I reiterated that they imagined a deck of cards but it became reality becasue they were able to use visualization...I then spread the cards saying that they pictured themselves putting the card back in the deck upside down...I then showed the reversed card...had them pull out the card and place it face down on the table. Even with that, you could here people saying "no way...." I then had the volunteer turn the card over to look at it and show the audience...

It worked out really well. I was nervous but I did it with no major mistakes. I'm just going over in my mind what I can do differently or better next time but I'm pleased I was able to get up in front of about 40 people and do this.

Good job!

Well done mate! You'll only get better from here.

You know, your approach sounds like what I like doing. Here is mine, in case it inspires you in any way.

Just like you, I start by discussing how visualizing things can help make them possible, using the analogy of athletes - visualizing before a golf swing, free throw, dive, how skiers mentally race the whole track prior to going... it helps if you know your audience, you can tailor it to their favorite sport.

Anyways, I pull out the deck and lay it on the table. As a personal preference, I've always liked having it on the table before I even start - I don't like people thinking that somehow I have 52 decks hidden and just pulled out the one for the card they named. This can be avoided by not having them name their chosen card until after the deck is in sight, but I've always preferred to have it in the open from the beginning.

Anyways, I have them mentally prepare doing a trick (the miming part), then say I'm going to try and do the same thing. I wave my hand over the deck and say "done." Its sort of a gag effect in that I can do it so much quicker than them. After that, I do the reveal.

Then, I switch to a real deck (now I just swap it when pulling out a Sharpie from my coat pocket, I don't feel that's the best way, but its worked so far.) Then I am all set up to go into a myriad of effects: Triumph (showing how I managed to turn over just one card), Ambitious Card (justifying the Sharpie) and a number of spectator-as-the-magician effects, since it follows so logically from the ID.

Good luck! Keep trying different things and see what you like best!

This is great! Thanks for sharing!
AK

Bobthemagicdoerguy, I would use the I.D. as a closer only, especially in a set of card tricks (or effects, if we get pedantic).
You might not agree, but I thought really hard about the I.D. and how to make it a reputation maker rather than just a very strong performance piece, and I wrote an ebook, found at http://www.lybrary.com/ideas-with-the-invisible-deck-p-321821.html. In addition to history, mechanics, options for making it better, analysis of weaknesses, and how to eliminate/minimize them, I also came up with a number of very different routines, which I believe are stronger than the popular "Invisible Deck" routine (which is cute nevertheless). Just putting it out there...

Check out bill malone doing the ID it starts at 17:00 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeOB-QqzNRE

he produces the deck in a nice way

Bill Malone's presentation is very entertaining, but I am not a fan of producing the deck magically. I won't go into too much detail here, but in a nutshell it takes away from the subsequent "magical moment" of the card's revelation. It also plants the seed of doubt in the spectators' minds about the "normalness" of the deck - basically I think nothing magical should involve the deck itself. I wrote my ideas and some routines with which I have had very much success here: http://www.lybrary.com/ideas-with-the-invisible-deck-p-321821.html. Each routine is different, and I also analyzed the weaknesses of the I.D. and how a routine can eliminate or minimize these weaknesses.

Nice presentation by Mr. Bill Malone. Personally, I use the Brainwave deck. It is also a killer routine.

Ray