Playing cards

Juggling playing cards is a feat that has been performed by some cardists such as Jerry Cestkowski and Max Vlassenko.

To practice this, double- or triple-thick cards may be used at first. Similar to rings, the cards are usually thrown by putting a spin on them to achieve gyroscopic stability. Poker-size cards have greater area than bridge-size cards. Cardistry itself has also been referred to as juggling.

There are also moves where packets are being juggled rather than single cards. Cardist Matt Beaudoin came up with a series of Erdnase Go Around variations. He looked at common juggling moves for inspiration.

World records

• 3 playing cards: 515 catches by Ivan Panchenko in 2018 (video)
• 4 playing cards: 11 catches by Ivan Panchenko in 2018 (video)

In The Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes, Jerry Cestkowski claims to have seen “footage of a Russian circus juggler […] juggling five playing cards which he tears in half and throws to the audience to prove the regularity of the cards.” He stated that he was “pretty sure” that the footage is from Michael Ammar’s Magic of Moscow.

Quotes

• Camille Gaultier on card flourishes in Magic Without Apparatus: “Some magicians, and not always the most gifted from the point of view of skill, disapprove absolutely of this kind of display, holding that it is pure jugglery. We are not of this opinion. You can, it is true, really juggle with the cards.”