The Gift by Steve Beam

The Gift is a killer card trick combined with a humorous and heartwarming story. The magician explains that his daughter decided to mark some cards as a gift for him. “The good news is that she used a blue marker… the bad news is she used a red-backed deck.” He displays a red-backed deck of cards with the identities of playing cards drawn on the back in large, blue text. “That was the bad news… the worse news was that the cards written on the back… didn’t match the cards on the face… none of them. At this point, the magician shows the markings on the backs of the cards do not match the identities of the faces. “I’m going to try to do some magic with the deck… but for obvious reasons, I’ll keep it face up.”

Two cards are chosen in the fairest manner possible (including one freely called out by a member of the audience). When the magician deals down to the second selection, it doesn’t match. “I was hoping for a surprise… I guess I should have been more specific.” After a moment’s hesitation, he shows the cards written on the back of each card matches the face of the other card.

For the final climax, the magician passes his hands over the pack and all the writing on the back vanishes. “Now that’s a gift I can use.”

The effect is immediately reset. Deck not included. Other than the markings, the deck is ordinary. $25 plus shipping and handling…