Feauturing Magic and Magicians from around the World

Best Card Magicians Ever

SEE ALSO: BEST Card Tricks!
SEE ALSO: BEST Magicians Ever

ALSO: BEST Card Tricks!
ALSO: BEST Magicians Ever

dogs cheating with playing cards

Rating the greatest card magicians of all time is a HERCULEAN task. Of course, we all have different tastes and preferences but we hope this list exposes you to new performers that you may not have heard of. Or you can write us and offer your suggestions, we are more than happy to improve this list based on your input. However, our criteria for this list is for magical card entertainers, we're not looking at card influencers, scholars, mechanics, historians, finger flickers, or other branches of card magic. This is our list of the best magicians to entertain with a deck of playing cards. Read on...

The 10 Greatest Card Magicians of All Time

by Roland Sarlot

Magic with playing cards is as old as playing cards have been around. However, a bit more than 100 years ago, this branch of magic began to grow with two significant events: Hofzinser performing around 1850 and S.W. Erdnase's book in 1902. From that time until today, it has exploded. Here are the most influential card magicians and their approximate decades of influence:

Looking back over this history, this is our list of the most entertaining card magicians ever. Crank up your video volume and enjoy these masters...

Notable Mention

The 10 BEST Card Magicians of All Time

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How did we do? Did your favorite magician make the list? There are so many amazing card performers who make magic such a rich and vibrant art that didn't make our list. Should we have included Max Malini, Dai Vernon, Johnny Thompson, Michael Close, Derek Dingle, Larry Jennings, S.W. Erdnase, John Scarne, Eddie Fechter, Arturo Ascanio, Luis Piedrahita, Allan Ackerman, Bert Allerton? We would love to hear who would be on your top ten list to create the best magic tricks with a deck of cards ever!

If the card magic "bug" has bitten you, check out our pages to learn card magic and maybe one day you just might be on this list, too!