Allan Ackerman: All In – Allan Ackerman

30 years in the making, the best material from a card magic legend is finally available in one incredible set of books

Few magicians are as passionate about card magic as Allan Ackerman. To him, a deck of cards is merely an extension of his hands. By dedicating his life to card magic, Allan has developed an unrivaled ability to uncover the small, yet vital, details that separate a good routine from a great one.

Allan’s most noteworthy collection of work—Las Vegas Kardma in 1994—is still revered by card magicians around the world. Since then though, all of his newer releases have come in the form of limited-run lecture notes that are difficult to find or the occasional video. Now, three decades later, Allan’s best new material has finally been compiled into one stunning two-book set.

Across the more than 400 pages of these beautiful hardcover books, you’ll find nearly 90 professional routines and over 50 additional sleights and moves. Everything has been updated and edited with help from one of magic’s premiere authors, John Lovick. All of the crucial nuances and subtleties have been included alongside full-color photographs to enhance the learning experience.

As a lifelong student of magic, Allan is a sleight-of-hand expert and a walking encyclopedia of card sleights, subtleties and even mathematical principles. Tapping into that wealth of knowledge, All In features a wide variety of amazing card tricks with optimized handlings that appeal to all types of magicians and skill levels.

Both books are broken up into sections: techniques and tricks. In the latter, you’ll find novel, polished routines like “The Prequel and The Sequel”, which lets you have all the fun of MacDonald’s Aces without any of the dreaded set-up, or “Ungaffed Ted”, a non-marked deck variation on Al Koran’s iconic double thought-of card routine. There are even dedicated sections on ACAAN style effects (many of which are easy to do) and Memorized Deck Magic (which includes the astonishing “Thirty-Minute Memorized Deck”).

Move-oriented magicians will likely jump right into the sleights and techniques section just like Allan intended. You’ll be eager to start learning the dynamic “HP (Hidden Packet) Maneuver” that allows you control, load and even force cards. The “Multiple Slip Shuffle”—a slip shuffle that can be executed with up to 10 or 20 cards—is another highlight; as is the Rhythm Count and its multiple variations that will have you considering retiring the Gemini Count for good.

Both linen-bound books come in a gorgeous slipcase that will command attention in any collection.