How to Make Gaff Playing Cards

A good set of gaff playing cards can be a valuable tool in the arsenal of any magician that will be performing card tricks. While there are various gaff sets available, occasionally an imagined trick will call for a customized gaff card. Creating your own gaff cards adds that extra flexibility to your act, allowing you to use any card you can dream up.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Playing cards
• Rubbing alcohol
• Cotton ball
• Tissue
• Scanner
• Printer
• Scotch tape
• Pencil or pen

1. Scan the card you will be transforming into a computer.

2. Open the image of the card with a photo editing program to manipulate the image on the card to your liking. Using a blur or jitter can have fun results, but only you can decide what looks best for the trick you are creating the cards for.

3. Mark one corner of the page about to print in your printer, noting where on the page you mark it.

4. Print the edited image.

5. Apply rubbing alcohol to the cotton ball and rub the face of the card you will be printing your gaff image onto until the numbers and pips, the images of the suit, are erased, and dry with the tissue.

6. Tape the card you will be printing on to the paper with the blank side facing up, so that it covers the area your card printed onto. Be sure the tape does not cover an area on which the card will be printed.

7. Place the paper into the printer tray so that the mark is in the same place.

8. Print the gaff image again, and remove the card from the paper.