The juiced deck.

[Richard Kaufman]

And I'll add another non-sequitor: I prefer Smarties over M&Ms any day!

[Roger M.]

Note that "juice" isn't any one thing, liquid, substance, or marking method.

It's a broad term, coined by gamblers, usurped by magicians .....and can mean many different things.

"Juice" is largely a gambling method of marking cards, that is marking them as generally or as specifically as you feel you need to for whatever gaming table you're planning on taking your "juiced" deck to.

Note too that "juice" is interesting to the curious, but it borders on completely useless for magic, with most well known magic marking systems being far better choices.
In broad terms, reading juice is normally done with playing cards dealt out widely on a table, to each player.
It's also highly dependent on lighting conditions, and equally dependent on the quality of your eyesight.
If lighting is dim, or your eyesight poor......you're probably fighting a losing battle (and that's presuming you can develop the knack to "see" it in the first place.....many can't).

You will find numerous references on the internet to "real juice" vs. (I suppose) "unreal juice".

What's generally true is that any juice formula with alcohol in it will take the finish off the back of a playing card (in addition to marking it), which is as good as throwing the deck away as the removal of the finish is so noticeable.

Regardless of what the juice ingredients are (and there are many, many mixes out there), companies like USPCC have repeatedly changed the finish on their cards through the years, a byproduct of which has been to render many juice formulas useless.

But in the end it's probably a good thing to note that juiced decks are (for magic) the weakest of the marking systems, and a huge letdown for 99% of the non-gambling-cheater-hustler types who purchase them.

Your curiosity will be satiated, your pocket book will be lighter........but after your initial investigation I suspect that your juiced deck will go into a drawer and be promptly forgotten about..........but at least you'll know what "juice" is :)

[El Mystico]

I congratulate mrgoat on refraining from diverting into an altogether different discussion of 'juice'.

[Corneilius Jay]

It's also highly dependent on lighting conditions, and equally dependent on the quality of your eyesight.
If lighting is dim, or your eyesight poor......you're probably fighting a losing battle (and that's presuming you can develop the knack to "see" it in the first place.....many can't).

Since i have started studying the juice deck i can safely say that i can definatly "see" the deck, but yes i'll concede it does become more difficult in a brighter environment, though strangely enough having less than perfect eyesight can actually make it easier to see.

Regards
Neil.

[Corneilius Jay]

And I'll add another non-sequitor: I prefer Smarties over M&Ms any day!

I prefer Peanut m&m's I'm not much into chocolate.

[Eoin O'hare]

Skittles-aren't they made with real juice.

[Corneilius Jay]

Well I finally got all the equipment and ingredients together for my juice and juicing kit and was close to immediately successful.

Preliminary testing on a USPCC Bee deck resulted in no damage whatsoever to the finish of the cards. All that remains is to work out a few kinks with my "formula" and work out a marking system of which I have a few good references to study from thanks to this forum. Sufice it to say I'm enjoying myself.

your pocket book will be lighter......

It's cost me less than 10 including the Bee deck I bought to test it on which I don't think is bad considering some websites are selling just one juiced deck for $100++

Will keep you posted.
Neil.

[mrgoat]

So honestly, you're not disappointed now you know how it works and how it is totally useless for magic?

[Pete McCabe]

No time spent learning is ever wasted.

[Corneilius Jay]

mrgoat.
I'm honestly not disappointed in fact I'm enjoying working on it. If what everyone is saying about regular juice burning the finish off USPCC cards I may be on to something. Like I said before. . .

I can't see how anyone can be disappointed with the pursuit of knowledge whether the knowledge acquired was found to be different than expected.

As far as juice being "totally useless for magic" I think that's slightly defeatist. I think I may be able to find a use or two for it.

Regards.
Neil.

[Richard Kaufman]

As for close-up card magic, I'm not sure what its uses would be, but for mentalism done in parlor or cabaret setting ... well, it could be quite helpful.

[Corneilius Jay]

Mr. Kaufman.
That is a far cry from "totally useless for magic".

mrgoat.
I'm not trying to be contrary towards your point of view to be purely argumentative I'm genuinely interested in the juice deck, its construction and it's applications, just as much as I'm interested in every other aspect of magic I'm interested in. Unfortunately I don't have as much experience as you and a lot of other posters on this forum or many other magic forums i lurk on, on a regular basis. I can only substitute my lack of magical knowledge with avid enthusiasm and hard study and hope that will suffice.

Regards.
Neil.

[Richard Kaufman]

I was never able to master viewing juice. It just kind of made my head hurt.

[Corneilius Jay]

I was never able to master viewing juice. It just kind of made my head hurt.

It isn't a problem for me right now though I'm only starting to dilute my formula, even though sometimes just after I've marked a card I can't see it even though I know it's there! But once I can see it I can't imagine anyone else not being able to. it really is a mind bender alright.

Once I've perfected my formula I'll post some pictures to see if anyone can tell my juice from a normal card. It'll be interesting to see the results.

Regards.
Neil.

[mrgoat]

OK, what's your paypal? I owe you a tenner.

[Corneilius Jay]

I'll tell you what.

You can owe me one.

:)

(wow, I've got THE mrgoat in my pocket)

[mountebanc]

Quite correct El Mystico! Juice aint apecific! Terry Roses first showed me one about 15 or 20 years ago. Even when he showed me the 'work",I had trouble.

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CHECK OUT TED LESLEY'S DECK!

[mountebanc]

Hey Roger! Congratulations on a really excellent "essay" on the juice deck.

[mountebanc]

Right! When you are through learning, you're through!