When you read the effect, you will find it familiar to you.

The performer states that as a magician, he not only loves to perform magic with cards, he also likes to collect playing cards with different back designs as souvenirs.

He brings out and displays a deck with different card back designs.  Two cards are face upwards.  They are the six of spades and six of clubs – the 2 black sixes.  He wishes to do an experiment with these two black sixes.

He deals cards face downwards from the deck.  The audience can see and appreciate the various colourful back design of each card.  A spectator stops him at any point.  He places one of the two sixes, say, the six of spades, face up on top of the dealt pile.  The remainder of the deck is placed on top, burying the six of spades. 

Once again the performer deals cards face downwards, and the spectator stops him at any point.  The other six, the six of clubs, is now placed at this point and the other packet is placed on top.

The two black sixes are buried in the deck at two different locations purely determined by the spectator.  The deck is spread and the two sixes together with their neighbouring cards are isolated.  It is found that the two neighbouring cards are of the same back design – in this case, both have the rider bicycle design – one is red back and the other is blue back.  This is the first coincidence.

When these two cards are turned face upwards, they are found to match exactly their mates – ie six of spades and six of clubs.  Second coincidence!

The original six of spades and six of clubs are turned over face downwards.  Their back designs match those of their mates – red rider bicycle back with red rider bicycle back, and blue rider bicycle back and blue rider bicycle back.  Third coincidence!

When everyone thinks the effect is over, the performer spreads his entire deck face upwards, and they are all of the same card – the Jack of Diamonds!  Somehow, the spectator is able to find the only two cards matching the original six of spades and six of clubs from this deck!  This makes a very showy display for the ending of a trick, and it also signals a tremendous round of applause from the audience.

Many of you will recognise this as a similar trick to Lennart Green’s “Stolen Cards”.  Actually, this has the same effect as Scotty York and David Van Vranken’s “Quintuplicate Coincidence”.  This, in turn, goes a long way back to the “Kaleidoscope Deck”, a popular marketed effect.  Roberto Giobbi also has a variation of this – he called it “Gemini Calling”.

Yet, nobody is accusing anybody of “stealing” this trick from another person.  The multi-design back deck has become so popular that it is now a classic magic trick, attracting many variations in presentation.  The root can be traced to the Rainbow Deck.  It is performed using the “clock” principle to force a card.  Karl Fulves’ “Gemini Twins” enables a different presentation of the Rainbow Deck. 

Jeremy Pei’s “The Magician’s Deck” is yet one more different presentation of the Kaleidoscope/Rainbow Deck.  To the lay audience, the multi design card back is a novelty and the multiple magic climaxes is quite stunning.  This trick never fails to bring laughter and applause from the audience.  It is so strong that Jeremy Pei closes his close-up act with this trick.

If you have not owned a Rainbow Deck, this is a very good buy.  You receive the necessary Rainbow Deck and a link to a tutorial online.  In the tutorial, Jeremy gives a couple of nice touches to this trick.  If you do have a Rainbow Deck, this serves as a spare for you, and you also get Jeremy’s routine for performing it.

Highly recommended!