Card Trick Glossary
- back
- The side of a card that does not reveal its value, but instead, has a design of some sort
- conjurer
- A magician
- court card
- Any card that is a Jack, Queen, or King
- crotch of the thumb
- The soft area at the base of the thumb between the thumb and the first finger
- effect
- A description of a magic trick
- face
- The side of a card that shows its value and suit
- face card
- The bottom card of the deck (or of a packet of cards); also synonymous with "court card"
- face down
- A card whose back is visible
- face up
- A card whose face is visible
- first finger
- The index or pointer finger
- flourish
- A fancy manuevre with the cards, done for aesthetic effect
- flush
- A state in which a card is evenly squared with the cards around it
- index finger
- The pointer finger
- indifferent card
- A card whose value is not important
- key card
- A card that is used to find another card in the deck
- legerdemain
- Sleight of hand
- mate
- Two cards that share the same color and value (e.g., the Jack of Clubs and the Jack of Spades)
- method
- The detailed explanation of how to perform a card trick
- misdirection
- The act of diverting the audience from something secret
- pack
- A deck of cards
- packet
- A group of cards in a stack; more than one card, but not necessarily the entire deck
- patter
- The dialog a magician uses to accompany a trick
- reversed card
- A card that is face up in a packet of face down cards
- sandwich
- A packet of three cards
- spectator
- A person for whom a magic trick is performed
- spot card
- Any card that is an Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, or Ten
- square
- The state when all of the cards in a deck are lined up at their four corners