Ganson, Lewis: Dai Vernon's Inner Card Trilogy
©1996 L&L Publishing,
Photography by Lewis Ganson
Hardcover, 236 pages

Comments: This well produced book is a compilation of Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1959), More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1960), and Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1961). Quite a few clear B&W photos help show the workings. A classic in card magic and highly recommended. (While the individual books in this compilation are also listed on this website, this contents listing includes descriptions.

Contents: (note the page numbers are not continuous, each original book retains its original page numbers)


1 Dai Vernon's Inner Secrets of Card Magic Part One
2 Contents
3 Foreword: Dai Vernon
4 Preface: Is Magic an Art? Cy Enfield
5 Introduction: Lewis Ganson


7 Chapter One: Taking Things Easy
7 Emotional Reaction: a card location
10 Cocktail Cards: performer reaches into a hat with all the cards mixed in it and pulls out three prior selections
12 The Bent Corner Prediction: a prediction card is used and a prediction comes true
14 Colour Separation: four reds and four blacks are mixed and the magician separates the reds from the blacks behind his back


17 Chapter Two: A Little Thought Required
17 Repeat "Do As I Do": in this version the magician and spectator do not need to exchange packs
19 Four of a Kind: both magician and spectator are seen to have chosen the same two cards, which end up face down in the face up packs
22 Matching the Cards: the magician matches a selected card by cutting to three more eights, but the selected card turns out to be a King. The three other cards are now turned over and are Kings
25 Dai Vernon's Colour Changing Pack: the entire deck changes color


27 Chapter Three: Hanging By a Thread (tricks using I.T.)
27 The Rising Cards: Cards rise well into the other hand!
30 The Pack that Cuts Itself (Al Baker): pack self-cuts at the selection
33 The Walking and Jumping Card (Al Baker): selection crawls out of a hat!

35 Chapter Four: Novel Knowledge:
35 To Show the Top Card: a flourishy way to show the top card
36 The Ginsburg Poke: a deck cut that brings a selection to the top
38 Jumbo Surprise: the surprise appearance of a Jumbo card
39 Elastic Touch: an alternative to salt
40 Time to Change: wiping the hands clean while concealing a card

43 Chapter Five: Colour Changes
43 1 - Tenkai's Colour Change
45 2 - Al Altmann's Double Colour Change: face card of pack changes twice
47 3 - Dai Vernon's "Picking Off the Pip": a Three to a Two
49 4 - Erdnase Plus Vernon
50 5 - Dai Vernon's "No Palm" Colour Change
51 6 - Dai Vernon's Pinch Colour Change
52 7 - Dai Vernon's French Drop Colour Change
53 8 - Bob Hummer's Visual Change: one card (not the pack) held in the fingers
55 9 - Cliff Green's Visual Change: another change without the pack


57 Chapter Six - Desterous Deception
57 Production of Cards with Fingers Interlocked: Hands are interlocked and both sides shown, yet cards are produced
63 Bob Hummer's Variation: another approach

65 Chapter Seven: The Notis Stop Trick
65 The Notis Stop Trick (Senor Notis): cards are levered one at a time from the pack, when the spectator yells "stop", the card is the selection


69 Chapter Eight: Mexican Trickery
69 Sure-Fire Showdown: a two hand poker challenge
70 Bathroom Strippers: how to make your own "emergency" stripper deck

71 Chapter Nine: Miracles Take a Little Longer
71 The Chinese Second Deal: an approach to 2nd dealing
74 The Shooting Single Handed Deal: send the cards spinning
75 Look Up: a psychological approach to determining a "thought of" card


1 Dai Vernon's More Inner Secrets of Card Magic


3 Contents
Introduction: Lewis Ganson


5 Chapter One: Twisting the Aces
5 Twisting the Aces: each time a small packet of four Aces is "twisted", another Ace turns face up

9 Chapter Two: Think of a Card
9 Simple Arithmetic: magician reveals a thought of card after one question
12 Riffled Thought: a psychological approach to the peeked card
13 Think of an Ace: magician instantly cuts to a named Ace
14 Out of Sight - Out of Mind: Magician locates card without looking at the faces of the cards
16 Thought Transposed: a selected Ace changes places with an opposite back-colored Ace in another packet

20 Chapter Three: Oil And Water
20 Oil and Water: combination of Marlo's Oil and Water and Vernon's Follow the Leader

26 Chapter Four: McDonald's $100 Routine
26 McDonald's $100 Routine: an Ace assembly, often also called McDonald's Aces

31 Chapter Five: The Notis Cascade
31 The Notis Cascade (Senor Notis): a card shuffle flourish

34 Chapter Six: Mainly Manipulation
34 1 - Allen Shaw's Card Production: cards seem to jump into appearance
36 2 - Cardini's Card Production: cards produced singly while the fingers are open
38 3 - Mosquito Parade: an entertaining and humorous routine of card manipulation done to music

41 Chapter Seven: Magic With the Riffle Shuffle
41 Basic Formation of a Step: forming the step break
43 The Pull Through Shuffle: order is maintained
47 The Pull Out Shuffle: complete order is maintained
49 Retaining the Top Stock: while riffle shuffling
49 Zarrow Full Deck Control: another false shuffle
51 Side Riffle Cut: retaining the bottom portion of the deck
52 Transferring a Bottom Stock to the Top
53 Reversal of Bottom Cards: e.g. face down to face up
54 To Keep the Colours Separated: in a shuffle
55 To Bring Cards to the Top: when a small number of cards are above the cards that need to be on top


57 Chapter Eight: Crimps
57 Top Card Crimp
57 Corner Crimp
58 Whole Pack Crimp
58 Cut Crimp
59 Spring Crimp
60 Mexican Joe's Crimp: whole pack preparation
60 Snap Crimp: incorporates use of the Charlier pass to locate

63 Chapter Nine: Cards to Pocket
63 Cards to Pocket: Ten cards travel one at a time to the pocket

70 Chapter Ten: Forcing a Card
70 The Classic Force: a psychological force
71 The Malini Force: another psychological force
72 The Riffle Force: force card near center of deck
73 Fan Force: force card on face of deck
74 Back to Back Force: force card face up on face down deck

76 Chapter Eleven: The Trick that Cannot Be Explained
76 The Trick that Cannot Be Explained: because the effect depends on the circumstances of performance!

82 Chapter Twelve: Vernon Touches
82 The Vernon Glide: Dai Vernon's approach to the Glide
84 The Push-Off Count: a false count
86 The Buckle Count: for example, count five cards as four to either the table or the other hand


1 Dai Vernon's Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic
3 Contents
4 Foreword: Ken Brooke


5 Chapter One: The Four Blue Backed Aces
5 The Four Blue Backed Aces: a Four Ace assembly even though the Aces have blue backs and the indifferent cards have red backs


9 Chapter Two: Blindfold Poker Deal
9 Blindfold Poker Deal: Five Poker hands are dealt and each person remembers one card from their hand. Cards are assembled and dealt again, and magician hands has the cards previously selected. This is all done blindfolded!

11 Chapter Three: Cards of Coincidence
11 Cards of Coincidence: a card from a blue backed deck matches a selection from a red backed deck three times in a row

15 Chapter Four: Three Card Monte
15 Three Card Monte: the traditional, non-gimmicked approach for the main presentation. Presented as a demonstration and does not put the spectator on the spot. 20 The Use of a Short Card
21 The Optical Move: used for a conclusion

23 Chapter Five: Larry Grey's Cards Across
23 Larry Gray's "Cards Across": cards invisibly pass from one packet to another

25 Chapter Six: More Novel Knowledge
25 1 - To Shuffle a Certain Number of Cards Above a Selected Card: adaptation of an Erdnase cut
27 2 - Plunger Location: controlling a card returned to a fan
28 3 - Card from Pocket: actually from the Palm, but apparently from the Jacket Pocket
29 4 - Switching a Card in an Envelope: a clever switch
31 5 - Double Lift From Fan: lifting two cards from a fan as one
33 6 - Staring Him in the Face: the deck is replaced in the case and held by the spectator. The magician knocks the case out of the spectator's hand, and the spectator is left holding his selection

35 Chapter Seven: Palming
35 1 - Top Palm (Dai Vernon)
39 Other Methods Of Palming: intro
40 2 - To Palm a Card From the Pack With the Gambler's Palm
41 3 - One Handed Palm (Dai Vernon)
42 4 - Second Gambler's Palm
44 5 - Springing a Card into the Gambler's Palm Position
45 6 - Some Useful Notes on Palming

48 Chapter Eight: Dealing Seconds
48 1 - Dai Vernon's Second Deal
51 2 - Single Handed Method
52 3 - Dai Vernon's "New Theory" Second Deal: top card appears to be taken fast and placed face up on the table
53 4 - A Quick Trick: selection turns face up in the deck

54 Chapter Nine: The Card Puzzle
54 The Card Puzzle: cards are dealt to the table in A, K, Q, J in each suit, but when turned over, the four packets are four Aces, four Kings, etc.


57 Chapter Ten: Another Larry Grey Trick
57 Another Larry Grey Trick: three selections are found twice by counting down into the deck, and a third time they rise from through a handkerchief enclosure

63 Chapter Eleven: Changes
63 The Top Change
66 The Bottom Change
66 One-Handed Card Change (Dai Vernon)
67 Harry Lorraine's Change For Four Cards

69 Chapter Twelve: Two Tricks
69 Dai Vernon's Version of "Everywhere and Somewhere": a sort of ambitious card routine
71 Matching Any Number of Cards: performer is able to "match" several cards selected, without the spectator's even knowing the value