svengali

Most serious card workers wouldn�t be caught dead with a Svengali deck in their pocket for fear of the headlines in the local magic newsletter, �He Used a Svengali!� While everyone surely has their own favorite-gimmicked deck, whether it�s a Brainwave, Invisible, Stripper, or any of their infinite offspring and spinoffs, the Svengali remains in my opinion to be one the most ingenious designs in all of the realms of magic.

Burling Hull invented and marketed the Svengali deck it 1908 while still in his teens from some basic principals and already known techniques. I wonder if he could have ever imagined its popularity would expand the globe and last this long. The Svengali has a strange relationship with magicians. They first embrace it, and then they shun it, and then they ultimately despise it.

You see Svengalis everywhere; at the Discount Dollar store, in toy stores, in magic sets sold everywhere (including gas stations and supermarkets). You see them on late night infomercials, comic book ads, and they make them in all sorts and varieties including Baseball, Star Wars, and Pokemon cards. I would bet that there was even a Svengali of sorts in a box of cereal at one point.

Svengalis have reigned supreme as the king of gaffed decks for decades in magic stores, fairgrounds, and carnivals around the world are probably responsible for getting thousands of people into magic. I would even feel safe it speculating that a vast percentage of laymen have either seen or actually owned a Svengali at one time or another, thus resulting in it less being commonly known as Svengali, and more often known as, �oh, the trick where are the cards all of a sudden look the same.� It�s no wonder that any respecting card magician despises the Svengali to the point where they are telling the beginners to give it the quick ditch. But it�s for these very reasons that you can exploit the Svengali. Read on . . .

When I first started work at a magic shop in Germany, I asked my boss if he sold any Svengali decks because I didn�t see any laying around. �Svengali deck?� he said raising a brow, �they�re for kids.� He pointed to a shelf where on top sat three decks under a quarter inch of dust. They were a Scat deck Svengali, bridge size, only 32 cards, the force card being the ever-obvious Queen of Hearts.

I decided to prove him wrong, and within two days had sold all three. I then fooled him later that week with my own Bike Svengali, and he felt shamefully duped and ordered several dozen. I never intended to be, but I more or less became a dreaded �Svengali pitch man.� I sold one every time I showed it. Not because I was great or anything, but because a Svengali is the ultimate power tool as far as card magic goes. When handled right, a Svengali routine can be simply devastating to laymen. Super clean, straight to the point, seemingly impossible. The problem lies in overcoming the bad rap and exposure that seems to have almost rendered the Svengali obsolete. How is this possible? Does this guy really use a Svengali?

The real secret to the Svengali is a bit of reverse psychology. I�m not going to go into handlings of the Svengali, for they are (or should be) well known. The simple secret is this; the better you handle cards, the less people will suspect you of using something like the Svengali. The same applies to all trick decks. If your style demonstrates that you have great skill and are quite competent with a deck or cards, they would never suspect you of sinking so low as using a child�s toy, but naturually, we all know better.

Some other important things you might want to consider:

You should only use the Svengali after switching it out for a deck you�ve already done a trick or two with, preferably one where the spectator was allowed to shuffle the cards. Switching the deck is absolutely essential in camouflaging the fact that you have switched tactics. For the beginner to go out armed with only a Svengali and no regular matching deck, he is most certainly doomed. Way bad advice. Save the Svengali for your last card effect after you�ve subconsciously established in the minds of the audience that the deck you are using is an ordinary one. Even better, if the opportunity presents itself, borrow a deck that just so happens to match your Svengali and then you are really loaded.

And most importantly of all, something that needs to be mentioned even though it has been a matter of controversy; never, never, ever, ever, show all the cards to be the same. Every beginner (including myself at one point) simply can�t resist the temptation to do the move during performance because in essence, it is simply baffling to the uninitiated. But how often after completing the move does the spectator ask to see the beginner�s cards? This is why the neophyte, after grown weary of and frustrated with rightfully skeptical people grabbing for his cards, chucks the poor Svengali in a junk draw to grow old and stiff.

Paradoxically, this controversial move is also the Svengali trademark (if not one of the most eye-popping visual effects in all of card magic) as well as its selling point, but I believe when the cards are all shown to have changed to the selected card, the effect of magic is lost due not only to the impossibility of it, but also to the familiarity of it. To show the cards all alike is in my opinion a mistake simply because the spectator, no matter how uninformed you think he or she is, knows that you must have a trick deck of sorts. There is no other explanation. Just because magicians don�t talk of such things, doesn�t mean the spectator can�t use a little deductive logic. The greatest asset of the Svengali becomes it undoing. You should guard the secret to the Svengali as opposed to expose it. Pay no attention to the ads and the pitchmen that exploit the Svengali�s modus operandi only to make a fast buck (which I shamefully admit to being guilty of).

The only three times I can think of that would be an exception to this rule would be 1) You are performing off the cuff for a bunch of little kids just for fun and you want make their eyes pop out, or 2) You want to show your magician friend that you just burned him with a Svengali, or 3) You are Mark Lewis. That�s it. Any other time is almost as the same as to say, �Hey, do you remember this trick from when you were a little kid?� or �How do you look my phony magician�s secret trick deck?�

A few more tips on handling. When using a Svengali (especially for those in the know), never completely square up the deck. Handle it freely and openly as can be. Stick it right under their noses and make everything as fair as possible. Let them cut it, lay it freely in front of them, and cast an aura that says you have nothing to hide (but if they happen to reach for your Svengali, chop their hand off).

That gimmicky sound of a Svengali being riffle shuffled is easily camouflaged by using a light touch, and you will find that you can convincingly false shuffle a Svengali both overhand and riffle with a minimal amount of practice.

I prefer to force with a dribble force slightly angled so the spectator can see the faces of the falling cards.. Or simply classic force (the force cards are easy to discern if you practice looking close enough). I�m not really fond of the classic Svengali �Stop� or finger-poke force, because they are both historically imbedded in the Svengali, and some people may possibly associate the two.

Lightly spring and dribble the cards often so that the spectator subconsciously sees their faces and that all the cards are different (with of course never saying so). I have found that a diagonal dribble (thumb at inner left corner and small finger outer right corner) works excellent and is a thing of beauty with the Svengali.

And lastly, do effects that are not closely associated with the Svengali. If you really think it about it, the Svengali is so clever that you can think of hundreds of great things to do with it. The real secret is disarming your audience in the first place. Try not to see the Svengali for what it is and attempt to think past it and you might actually find a clever way to utilize it.

If you happen to be a beginner, I don�t recommend running out to buy a Svengali right away. It absolutely crucial to be somewhat proficient with a deck of cards and know a few decent basic tricks before you use a one, and even then you really need to think about HOW to use it. If you already own one and haven�t done so already, spend $1 US Dollar (or equivalent) and pick up 75 Tricks with a Svengali Deck or invest a few dollars more in any of the cheap, fast-talking instructional videos. There should be plenty of information to get your imagination started. Hey, nobody needs a Svengali; it�s just a tool. Remember, YOU are the magic.

I don�t use a Svengali in my routine anymore (although I did use it to fool the members of the Berlin Magic Circle with one), and I�m not really suggesting anyone else to do so either. But every now and then when I see one kickin� around my junk draw I bring it along with me for the hell of it. I have found that many times the tricks I do with a Svengali often receive a tremendous reaction. That�s just the way it is in magic sometimes. Yeah hell, I�m ashamed to admit to these things, and if I happen to die with a Svengali in my pocket, oh well, you will all know the truth about me. Hey, however you want to cut it, it was magic in the eyes of the spectator and that�s all that really matters.

Maybe you have one laying around in your junk draw? Why not dig it out, use your head a little bit, and fool someone today (preferably somebody who owns one)? Have fun and good luck.

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