A cheap (non-magic) supplier of Bicycle Cards

A fellow TalkMagic user mentioned Magar Solutions as a cheap supplier of Bicycle Cards. They are currently offering them at £1.25/deck. The trick is to play the postage carefully. Order under £9.95 and you will pay only £1.95 p&p. Order more than that, it will cost you £4.95 (in the UK). So if you order 7 decks – it will cost you £10.70 which is about £1.53/deck – quite reasonable. Thanks to Rob Stanley for the heads up!

Let us know your experiences of using them. And don’t forget, if you want to get other magic equipment at the same time, check out our Cheapest Bicycle Card supplier page.

Bicycle Tattoo Deck

I got a flyer today about the new deck from Diavoli Productions – the Bicycle Tattoo Deck.
They officially launch on 12th August. Here is the tuck case:

Bicycle Tattoo Deck

This is the latest pack designed by Steve Rooks. They say:

The BICYCLE Tattoo Deck represent a totally new look for a Bicycle Deck, incorporating beautiful tattoo styled imagery and 6 color print. With a brand new, eye catching back design… new Ace Of Spades, new Jokers, new case and bonus cards.

I say: I’ll wait and see what they look like in the flesh. Probably not really my style, but striking nonetheless. Watch this space for more info…

New Bicycle White Knuckle Playing Cards

MagicNevin are the exclusive UK stockist of this striking new design from the USPCC. It is a modern twist on an old design, created by artist Brett A. Jones. The colourful backs will provide great displays when fanning, and of course, they are printed on classic Bicycle 808 card stock so handle beautifully.

White Knuckle Bicycle Cards
White Knuckle Bicycle Cards Aces and Backs

Whilst you are there, you will discover MagicNevin have a truly impressive range of Bicycle Cards – in addition to all the usual decks, they have the Gold Standard Deck, the White Raider Deck, Rainbow Backs, Red Dragon, Raider, all the Karnival decks, Black Scorpion and Black Spider decks, The Vintage series decks, the Limited Edition Decks, the Pastel Decks, and some ‘fashion’ decks I’ve not seen before – the ‘Bungalow’, ‘Flirtatious’ and ‘Twilight’ (pictured below) decks. Phew!

Twilight Bicycle Deck

10% discount sitewide at MagicTao

One of our advertisers, MagicTao, have offered us a very special discount throughout their site.  Just use the code ‘DISCOUNT10′ when you order to get 10% off everything.  They have an excellent range of Bicycle Cards (including the Eco Edition, Limited Edition Series 1 White,  Bicycle Guardians, Black Scorpion Deck, Raider White, Red Dragon, Tetra Deck, Blue Ice, all the usual gaff decks etc. etc.) – and much more besides.
Bicycle Limited Edition Series 1

BBM announce Bicycle Karnival Ryujin Deck

With a launch date of 9th August, and a tasty pre-order offer (free Karnival Renegade deck with pre-order of 3 or more Ryujin Decks) it is worth a little look at the BBM website.

Bicycle Karnival Ryujin

This is a very different look for the Karnival Deck – more oriental in style and with metallic gold ink. We’ll do a proper review when we get our hands on some. Watch this space… (to make that easier, why not follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook page?)

Trick of the Month – July 2010

More recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk

WOW 2 We very rarely promote pre-orders on this site since we prefer to know things work before we push them, but we’re making a noble exception here. Masuda’s original WOW trick was an instant success – incredible visual magic. We are certain WOW 2 will be the same – and will sell out very quickly – hence the pre-order. Click through for the full details, but essentially a chosen and signed card will visibly rise through a face down deck and appear on the top. What an ending to an Ambitious Card routine. Pre-order now for £28.99

Cellini the Royal Touch

This is a legendary book from a legendary performer. If you can make a living from magic on the street then you know what you are talking about. Here are Cellini’s famous routines all explained in great detail and a wealth of tips and advice too. £59.99

Unusual Suspect - Matthew Wright
If you prefer to learn your magic on DVD then this one comes highly recommended, by no less than Jeff McBride! Here are 6 carefully structured routines – lessons in magic and very entertaining too. Mainly card magic with a little coin work too. £19.99

On the Mark – a mini review

Mark Elsdon is well known for coming up with straight forward and powerful mental effects. Regular readers will know of my slight obsession with ‘named card in wallet’ effects (second only to – and in some strange ways parallel to my obsession with ACAAN effects!) – and I have used and enjoyed a good number over the years – from the venerable and devious Kolossal Killer (and its wonderful variation Heirloom) to Marc Oberon’s ’somewhat blunt’ but nonetheless effective Bang On. But in On the Mark I think I have found a new favourite.

On the Mark - by Mark Elsdon
The plot, of course, is familiar – the spectator names the only card in an envelope in your wallet. Presentational possibilities are various – but the suggested one works well. No real surprises here.

And the same could be said of method. You are not buying a radically new idea here. If you have been in magic any time at all you will likely be familiar with the various elements of the method. However, they work really well together! There is some good thinking here, and some subtleties which, in my mind at least, make this a stronger effect for the spectator than some of the alternatives. The method is straightforward, which means you can concentrate on selling it – which is the way I like it! I am fully expecting to put this into my ‘working routine’.

A word on the supplied props. The wallet supplied is of a good quality and will readily slip into use as an every day wallet. You don’t have to use this wallet – but it works well for the requirements. Can’t say more than that. The envelopes are fine – and could be replaced if you preferred a different colour. I was a little disappointed with the quality of the cards – but not to such an extent that it would put me off using them.

The bottom line is I think this is a great little effect. If you like strong card magic with a mental leaning grab it’s time to get On the Mark now!

Green Back Bicycle Cards bargain

MagicBox have got a new website, and we noticed they are stocking Green Back Bicycle Cards for only £1/pack. Also – to celebrate their new website, you can use the code “NEWLAUNCH” to get 10% off until Monday.
Green Bicycle Cards

New Bicycle ‘Mandolin’ Deck

Two days ago Murphy’s Magic in the US announced a new Bicycle Deck. The Mandolin Deck has new artwork (see below) – but it looks a lot like the Bicycle design at a glance. Murphy’s will be making it their standard design for all products using gaff cards in the future – will this mark the end of Bicycle Cards as we know them?

Bicycle 809 Mandolin Deck

You can read Murphy’s full announcement here. As usual we will let you know when we see them starting to hit the UK.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the magic world – and also whether the Phoenix Deck becomes more or less significant as a result. Watch this space…

Second Chance Bicycle Cards Offer

Second Chance is a great little effect from Wayne Dobson.

Second Chance by Wayne Dobson
Without you even touching the deck a spectator thinks of any card and removes it from the deck and hides it in their pocket. You then take another deck and claim that you are going to try and choose the same card that the
spectator has hidden in their pocket. You remove one card and the spectator removes the card from their pocket, however it is NOT the same card. You ask for a Second Chance to prove that you have chosen the same card. Turning over your card it is seen that the spectators ‘Thought of Card’ is written on the back, proving that it is the Same Card! Sounds impossible? It’s that good! Comes with an eight page booklet containing two other bonus routines – £10.00.

Our friends at Merlins of Wakefield are offering to supply the two Bicycle Decks needed for this effect, fully made up and ready to go for just £12.95. Just mention Bicycle-Cards.co.uk when you order.