Mickael Chatelain is renown for creating novel card effects using fairly sophiticated gimmicks such as flap cards and those utising threads and tiny magnets.

“The Thinnest Deck” is a novel card effect which does not depend on precision made card gimmicks.

In effect, the performer first places an envelope which he claims contains a prediction.  He then brings out a deck of playing cards and shows that it consists of 52 different cards.  A spectator selects one card and remembers its identity.

This deck is placed aside as the performer claims that the prediction contains the spectator’s chosen card.

As the contents of the envelope is taken out, the audience realises that they contain many strips of miniature playing cards.  The performer lays all the strips in a row across the table.  The audience can see that it shows 52 different miniature cards.  Obviously the chosen card is among them.

The performer asks the spectator to indicate a rough area in the spread that conatins her selected card.  The performer removes all the other strips of cards away except the strip of cards located in the area indicated by the spectator.

The strip contains 5 different cards, one of which is the spectator’s cards.  As the spectator names her card, the strip magically changes to a full sized (poker-sized) duplicate of the spectator’s chosen card.

You receive 11 strips of these special miniature cards, plus 5 packets of poker-sized cards, and a link to a tutorial video where Mickael Chatelain tells you everything you need to know how to perform this effect.  Mickael explains a second routine where the spectator merely thinks of a card from the deck instead of actually physically choosing her card.

The miniature cards give novelty to a card trick.  This is like the 52 in 1 card gag, except that you get a spread of 52 overlapped miniatured cards.  The chosen card is not forced.  The transformation of the strip of cards into the selected card can be carried out in several ways.

The entire effect is self-working.  It is quite fooling to a lay audience.  (Rated 5/5 stars)