Pete McCabe
THE PM CARD MARKING SYSTEM
$20
THE BLURB:
Mark your own Bicycle deck with a Sharpie.
For years I worked on a marking system practical enough that
I could mark every deck I use. Finally I came up with this -
it's easy and costs almost nothing. After fooling everybody
with it for 10 years, I'm selling it. Hey - I gotta eat.
- Cheap: Mark your own Bicycle deck with a Sharpie.
- Easy to put on: If you can write, you can mark a deck.
- Easy to use: No code - values are written in numbers and
letters.
- Powerful: Includes 20 easy, direct miracles.
The 70-page pdf makes everything easy, with pictures and
step-by-step instructions you can follow - even if you can't
draw. Most of the 20 or so tricks are sleight free and
they're all great.
"Having used marked decks in my card magic for over 40
years, this is something that I can highly recommend. You
will not be disappointed."
- James Swain
"This is a great idea."
- Bob Farmer
MY COMMENTS:
With all the various types of marked decks on the market,
and there are some very good ones, it is essential that one
learns how to mark one's own deck. Of course, this is for
financial reasons (it's cheaper to use your own modified
deck) and also for practicality (if you need a marked deck
and don't have one with you). However, the issue has always
been how to mark the cards so that the marks are "invisible"
to only the performer and effective enough so that the marks
can easily be seen by the performer.
Pete McCabe has come up with a very elegant solution. All
you need is a fine tip Navy Blue or red marker (depending on
the color deck you are using) and his simple instructions on
how to mark the deck. I can't go into much details about
the markings themselves, but I can tip that the markings are
located in the upper left corner and it involves both
letters and numbers.
In fact, the method reminds me quite a bit of Ted Lesley's
marked deck, but Lesley's marks were more towards the
center. With these marks, you can ribbon spread the deck
and read the marks. Of course, I am not going to say that
one placement is better than the other. Each has their
advantages and disadvantages, so it's a matter of personal
style.
As McCabe points out, it will take awhile to make your first
deck as you need to be careful and slow when making the
marks to get them they would should be. After doing it
awhile, McCabe says it now takes him about twenty minutes to
mark up an entire deck. That's about 30 seconds each card.
Like swamis, the marks you use depend on your preference.
You may like this system better than what you are using or
not. But for $20, this e-book, which contains color
illustrations of each mark, is an incredible bargain.
McCabe though has included much more. He knows that laymen
are aware that marked cards are used to know which cards
someone has. Thus, marked cards must be used in routines
where a layman won't suspect marks are being used.
To this end, McCabe has included about twenty effects which
fit this category. Quite a few of these effects can be used
as solid mentalism. All told, these carefully chosen
effects (some of them appeared in Pete McCabe's highly
recommended SCRIPTING MAGIC) comprise a master class in the
use of routining effects with marked cards. I find that to
be worth far more than $20 in and of itself, the marking
system notwithstanding.
Even if you don't find that the marking system is one you
can use, the marked card routines are more than worth the
price of this. At $20, this 74 page e-book is one of the
best bargains of the year and will more than likely end up
on my list of year's best products.
If you go to Pete McCabe's website, you can download a free
excerpt.
Table of Contents:
The PM Card Mark System
-References, Materials Required, Understanding the System,
Drawing the Marks, Key Card, Card Case
Assorted Miracles
-Stop Sign, Core Meltdown, Three Simple Miracles, Simple
Miracle 1, Simple Miracle 2, Simple Miracle 3, The Rule of
Three Prediction, Perfect Prediction, Seven Shuffles, Markus
Maximus
Nothing But Script
-Echoes, The Cincinnati Kid, My Favorite Things
Added to Existing Tricks
-The Tapping Card Location, The Mind Mirror, Two of a Kind,
First Incantation
Stacking the Deck
-Simple Miracle 4, Love Connection, The In-Deck Index Plus
Miracles, The Remembered Deck, Sylvania
Last Word
Mark your own Bicycle deck with a Sharpie.
For years I worked on a marking system practical enough that
I could mark every deck I use. Finally I came up with this -
it's easy and costs almost nothing. After fooling everybody
with it for 10 years, I'm selling it. Hey - I gotta eat.
- Cheap: Mark your own Bicycle deck with a Sharpie.
- Easy to put on: If you can write, you can mark a deck.
- Easy to use: No code - values are written in numbers and
letters.
- Powerful: Includes 20 easy, direct miracles.
The 70-page pdf makes everything easy, with pictures and
step-by-step instructions you can follow - even if you can't
draw. Most of the 20 or so tricks are sleight free and
they're all great.
"Having used marked decks in my card magic for over 40
years, this is something that I can highly recommend. You
will not be disappointed."
- James Swain
"This is a great idea."
- Bob Farmer
MY COMMENTS:
With all the various types of marked decks on the market,
and there are some very good ones, it is essential that one
learns how to mark one's own deck. Of course, this is for
financial reasons (it's cheaper to use your own modified
deck) and also for practicality (if you need a marked deck
and don't have one with you). However, the issue has always
been how to mark the cards so that the marks are "invisible"
to only the performer and effective enough so that the marks
can easily be seen by the performer.
Pete McCabe has come up with a very elegant solution. All
you need is a fine tip Navy Blue or red marker (depending on
the color deck you are using) and his simple instructions on
how to mark the deck. I can't go into much details about
the markings themselves, but I can tip that the markings are
located in the upper left corner and it involves both
letters and numbers.
In fact, the method reminds me quite a bit of Ted Lesley's
marked deck, but Lesley's marks were more towards the
center. With these marks, you can ribbon spread the deck
and read the marks. Of course, I am not going to say that
one placement is better than the other. Each has their
advantages and disadvantages, so it's a matter of personal
style.
As McCabe points out, it will take awhile to make your first
deck as you need to be careful and slow when making the
marks to get them they would should be. After doing it
awhile, McCabe says it now takes him about twenty minutes to
mark up an entire deck. That's about 30 seconds each card.
Like swamis, the marks you use depend on your preference.
You may like this system better than what you are using or
not. But for $20, this e-book, which contains color
illustrations of each mark, is an incredible bargain.
McCabe though has included much more. He knows that laymen
are aware that marked cards are used to know which cards
someone has. Thus, marked cards must be used in routines
where a layman won't suspect marks are being used.
To this end, McCabe has included about twenty effects which
fit this category. Quite a few of these effects can be used
as solid mentalism. All told, these carefully chosen
effects (some of them appeared in Pete McCabe's highly
recommended SCRIPTING MAGIC) comprise a master class in the
use of routining effects with marked cards. I find that to
be worth far more than $20 in and of itself, the marking
system notwithstanding.
Even if you don't find that the marking system is one you
can use, the marked card routines are more than worth the
price of this. At $20, this 74 page e-book is one of the
best bargains of the year and will more than likely end up
on my list of year's best products.
If you go to Pete McCabe's website, you can download a free
excerpt.
Table of Contents:
The PM Card Mark System
-References, Materials Required, Understanding the System,
Drawing the Marks, Key Card, Card Case
Assorted Miracles
-Stop Sign, Core Meltdown, Three Simple Miracles, Simple
Miracle 1, Simple Miracle 2, Simple Miracle 3, The Rule of
Three Prediction, Perfect Prediction, Seven Shuffles, Markus
Maximus
Nothing But Script
-Echoes, The Cincinnati Kid, My Favorite Things
Added to Existing Tricks
-The Tapping Card Location, The Mind Mirror, Two of a Kind,
First Incantation
Stacking the Deck
-Simple Miracle 4, Love Connection, The In-Deck Index Plus
Miracles, The Remembered Deck, Sylvania
Last Word
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