An Impromptu Torn & Restored Card: New Teaching
A fresh look at a classic card effect
The Card Magic of Paul LePaul, first published in 1959, is considered by some to be a foundational text for card magicians, akin to the popular The Royal Road to Card Magic.
While I am not a natural card magician by any stretch of the imagination, Paul LePaul’s book is a treasure trove of tricks, sleights, effects and routines that I can’t help but be intrigued by. From notes on different methods of palming (with different sections for left-handed and right-handed people) to entire routines, there’s something for everyone.
Even I knew of the torn and restored magic trick, if not LePaul’s specific rendition. This staple of card magic utilizes everyone’s favorite prop – a deck of cards – and creates a miracle in miniature before your audience’s eyes.
The effect
You’re out with your friends – it could be a large dinner date, a planned house party, or a spontaneous trip to the zoo, just the two of you. One of your close friends loves watching you perform magic, and asks you to do something for them, just something small.
You hadn’t planned on performing anything, but you bring out a deck of cards and ask your friend to pick one. They select the four of hearts, and you start tearing a corner of their card. You give this torn corner to your friend and tell them to grip it tight in their fist for safe keeping.
With that corner secure, you tear up the rest of their card, ignoring your friend’s surprised gasp. You put the torn sections of card into the middle of the deck and hold it face-down before you.
Now, you tell your friend that you’re going to put their card back together. They don’t see how that could be possible: they just witnessed you tear it up, and now who knows where it is in the deck? But they eagerly watch as you raise the deck and sharply riffle back one corner of the cards.
A single card pops out, almost fully formed… except for one missing corner.
It's the four of hearts, your friend’s selected card. What’s more, when they open their fist and place their torn corner to the edge of the card, it’s a perfect fit.
The method
LePaul’s mostly impromptu method relies on one small piece of preparation: tearing a corner off any card (LePaul recommends the Joker) and placing this face down on top of your face-down deck.
When preparing the card, I suggest holding the Joker with its back design towards you. Then, tear the corner forward – away from your body. By doing so, the tear line on the back of the card will be less visible on top of the deck.
