Atomic Deck by Craig Petty

After years of using it to fool magic’s brightest minds, Craig Petty has finally released his groundbreaking solution to one of magic’s most iconic challenges.

Since being first introduced by David Berglas in the 1950s, the concept of a perfect Any Card at Any Number (ACAAN) has fascinated and perplexed magicians. Also known as The Berglas Effect, this holy grail of magic is where a freely-named card is shown to reside at a freely-named number in a deck of cards. They say a card. They say a number. And, with no tricky moves, that card is shown to be at that number in a deck of cards.

While the effect is simple to describe, creating a viable method has been a challenge countless magicians have attempted to conquer. While some have been quite successful, it often come with some sort of caveat that strays away from the simplicity that makes Berglas-style effects so fascinating.

Then, in early 2021, Craig Petty made a novel discovery that allows any magician to perform a routine that is about as close to the legendary Berglas Effect as we’ve ever seen on a mainstream level. Most importantly though, its not some convoluted impractical solution. This is an easy-to-do, incredibly fooling routine that works every time.

The Atomic Deck Effect at a Glance
A deck is openly on the table and everyone is asked to think of a card and any number they’d like. There are no forces and they can change their mind as many times as they want. They even double down to ensure they avoid commonly selected cards and numbers. Once everyone is satisfied, you invite them to watch intently as you slowly and deliberately pick up the deck and start dealing. You place cards on the table one by one until the freely chosen number is reached. That card is turned over and revealed to be a perfect match.

Their card. Their number. Every single time.

“That’s better than any version of Any Card at Any Number that I’ve ever done… That genuinely is the cleanest version of Any Card At Any Number that I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Peter Turner

Key Details
Easy to do
No sleight of hand
No memorization
No mental math
No cuts or secret passes
Deck stays in full view the whole time
Can deal cards into their hands
No rouging sprays
They don’t even have to say their card or number out loud
Here is what legendary Mentalist Marc Paul, who was a friend and student of David Berglas and performed one of the most perfect ACAANs ever seen on national television had to say about “Atomic Deck”: “That is the Berglas effect… You’ve cracked it. This is every magician’s dream… It’s the closest version to The Holy Grail that I’ve seen anyone do.”