What are the best card trick books?
Magic books are the perfect tool to take YOUR magic to the next level.
In today’s post, I’ll be giving you all the information you need to know about the best card trick books for your current level and why they are vital to have on your shelf.
Here’s what I’ll cover:
- The best card trick books for beginner magicians
- The best card trick books for intermediate magicians
- The best card trick books for advanced magicians
Best Card trick Books for Beginners:
Card trick book Number 1: Royal Road to Card Magic
Rating: 4.25
The Royal Road To Card Magic is the King of classics and is a rite of passage for beginner card magicians. It is an easy-to-understand book that walks you through classic tricks and sleights.
A great thing about this book is that it doesn’t just teach you the moves, but how to actually use these moves in tricks! You’ll receive training on different shuffles, controls, and all kinds of sleights plus how to use them in over a hundred different tricks.
This potent collection of card classic materials are just as relevant and useful now as back in 1949. If anything, it’s a testimonial to the book that it has managed to remain a classic over the years.
This is the most recommended card book for beginner magicians so it’s a safe bet.
(However, if you are not a fan of the old-fashioned writing style – you are in luck. I have a modern card trick book on the list).
Beginner Card Trick Book Number 2: Joshua Jays Amazing Book Of Cards
Rating: 4.5/5
This is the best beginner book on the list if you’re picking a book to get your kids started with.
This book breaks the stereotype of magic books being old and boring (Royal Road To Card Magic cough cough), and Joshua Jay’s book is anything but. It’s a fun, and entertaining book which teaches some cool magic tricks.
Written by a young, top-notch magician who has burst onto the scene, Joshua Jay’s Amazing Book of Cards is considered to be one of the best and most effective books for learning card magic. Learn flourishes, shuffles, moves, and tricks, to become an expert card magician.
This book comes with an instructional DVD so you can have Joshua Jaywalk you through everything that he teaches in his book. The DVD is a great support to the book, ensuring that you’re truly able to learn everything that you read.
Highly Recommended!
Best Card Trick Books For Intermediate Magicians
Intermediate Card Trick Book 1: Mark Wilsons Complete Course in Magic
Rating: 5/5
The Complete Course in Magic book by Mark Wilson is one of the best magic books out there. This book manages to strike a great balance between being too hard for beginners and too easy for magicians with a bit of experience. So it’s perfect for Intermediates!
Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic is over 500 pages chock full of techniques, tricks, illustrations, and routines that are sure to inspire and teach any magician. If you’ve passed the beginner stage on your card magic journey and you’re ready for something a little more advanced, Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic is just what you’re looking for.
However, this book isn’t specifically geared toward card magic. There’s a ton of card tricks and techniques taught but it isn’t the only thing covered. It also teaches so much more, such as rope and coin. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, some people might be fans of the extra flexibility and different kinds of magic you get as a result.
Best Card Trick Books For Advanced Magicians:
Advanced Card Trick Book 1: Revolutionary Card Technique
Rating: 4/5
The legendary Ed Marlo’s entire “Revolutionary Card Technique” series all together in one volume!
With over 500 pages of invaluable information, more than 1000 illustrations, and 14 chapters covering all aspects of advanced manipulation, this is the most complete single reference book on card magic available and the most comprehensive compilation of Ed Marlo’s card tricks and card sleights ever produced!
It features his work on the Side Steal, Faro Shuffle, false deals and much more, the advanced techniques taught in this great book can help any card worker take their card magic to the next level.
Advanced Card Trick Book 2: At the Card Table
Rating: 4/5
Touted by many magicians as Darwin’s best book, this massive collection of incredibly powerful and performance-ready card tricks is a must-have for any serious card magician.
At the Card Table is jam-packed with more than 30 complete routines that have been tested and refined over years of regular performances for paying audiences. The book is divided into two sections: Gambling Routines and Card Magic Routines, and features some of Darwin’s most influential card tricks including “Hitchcock Aces”, “The Dream Card” and “Nine-Card Location.”
This three-volume set of videos incorporates new ideas and improvements to the book’s original material, effects that Darwin has used to make a living as one of the world’s foremost sleight-of-hand experts with cards.
Effects performed and explained:
- Jumpin’ Gemini
- The Vegas Shuffle
- Darwin’s 3 Card Monte
- The Pinky Count
- Darwin’s Wildcard
- Hitchcock Aces
- The Dream Card
- The Zarrow Shuffle
Advanced Card Trick Book 3: Expert Card Technique
Rating 4.5/5
This book is written by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, the same authors of The Royal Road to Card Magic — Expert Card Technique contains some of the strongest card magic ever printed.
It offers everything from basic card manipulations such as jogs or glimpses to advanced card tricks and techniques such as the famous rising card trick, the Classic Pass, Breather Crimps, and much more.
It’s available for a great price on Amazon.
Advanced Card Trick Book 4: Expert At The Card Table
Rating: 5/5
Written by S. W. Erdnase, The Expert at the Card Table is one of the most famous card magic books in the world and is regularly listed as a must-read for any serious card magician. Many professional card magicians refer to The Expert at the Card Table as the “bible” of card magic and card tricks (not only the Bible but the Dictionary)!
From forcing cards to palming cards, controlling cards, false deals, and everything in between, this comprehensive book is designed to help magicians become master card magicians. Many of the amazing card tricks and card mechanics it teaches are still as relevant today as they were when it was written over a century ago.
Surely with all this information, this book must be expensive?
Nope
You can also get this book for an amazing price.
Thank you for reading our ultimate guide to card trick books. Hope you enjoyed it.
The Top 100 Magic Books: Of all time?

Wow.
The Daily Magician have written an incredibly article on the top 100 magic books for magicians. It’s incredibly informative and each book is amazing in it’s own right.
If you haven’t seen it yet I’m going to throttle it down your throat with a call to action link below…