One of the things magicians who perform with playing cards hear from audiences all the time is, "I wouldn't want to play cards with you!" This is heard even more frequently when the theme of the particular card effect is gambling. Being able to win, seemingly at will, at card games, is a very compelling - and commercial - skill to demonstrate to non-magicians as it conjures up very exciting possibilities!

Kicking off this volume is Bruce Cervon with a powerful poker routine that, despite an incredibly fair procedure of the spectators trading cards with the performer, he still ends up with the four Aces. Chicago magic legend Steve Draun follows by dealing himself a full house from a shuffled deck of cards after announcing precisely what cards his winning hand would consist of. Harry Lorayne is next with a story about what can happen when you get into a poker game in strange places while Bill Malone teaches his audience how to stack a winning hand - but still amazes them in the process. Martin Nash goes for the world deck stacking record while James Swain shows you how to magically turn a mediocre poker hand into a guaranteed winner. Finally, Paul Wilson demonstrates a classic right out of the pages of The Royal Road to Card Magic - a dead easy way to make your audiences believe they can cut to the four Aces.

Strong magic combined with the romance of gambling is an irresistible combination and you'll find no better example of this highly commercial hybrid than the performers - and performances - collected on this volume.

• To Pay the Price - Bruce Cervon
• One Way Deal - Steve Draun
• Muleshoe Gambler - Harry Lorayne
• The Lessinout Stack - Bill Malone
• World's Fastest Run-Up - Martin Nash
• K.I.S.S. Poker Deal - James SwainPoker Player's Picnic - Paul Wilson