Marking your own Juiced deck allows you to train to read Juice. Since you own the juice you can apply the juice heavier and then as you gain experience, you lighten the juice so that it is invisable to everyone but you.

You will also find that reading juice can be easier or more difficult under different lighting conditions. This is another reason why marking your own is better.

Bear in mind that if others know how to read "standard" juiced marking patterns, they will be able to read your marks. Therefore, I like to use my own "encoding" scheme. In this way, even if someone knows how to read "pre-marked" juiced decks, they will simply think that my marks are shadows.

Try http://www.marked-cards.com if you want a juice for red or blue backed cards which will not damage/burn the finish of US Playing Card Company Cards (ie. Bees, Bicycles, etc.)

I personally love juice for magic, since, now that I wear reading glasses....I can't easily read standard block-out or scroll work....so, with juice I can read the marks from a distance....no problem.

I hope this helps !

What about Edge Work? Can you use the juice to just mark the edge of the aces for example. How obvious is it on white edges.

Tommy

What do you mean by the old juice? Are those being sold old or new ones?

cheerios

I don't know, I mark my own decks. If you don't know the secret I think its almost impossible to detect the marking.
If I recall correctly I think John Kennedy had a marked deck ala Juice ...

ClouDsss,

The best way to protect yourself from using old juice formulas which are alcohol based is to ask or smell the jar. I just came back from Vegas and saw a $25 jar of juice with a sample card. (I think this is the Juice that Hank Lee and others re-sell)

The sample card looked OK because it was from old US Playing Card Company Stock. The new US Playing card company stock (they changed their finish approximately 10 years ago?) is damaged when alcohol or water is used on the finish.

Try putting a drop of alcohol on a card, wait a few seconds for it to dry or wipe it off early and you will see the finish of the card is damaged.

I even was sent a sample card from someone selling IR solution. If you bought his premarked cards they are refinished and look reasonable.....but, if you mark your own...the finish is damaged with the IR solution and your must repair the damage on your own. While he claims not to use alcohol....I don't know what is damaging the finish with the IR solution?

Be careful when someone says that their cards do not have a damaged finish or claim they do not use alcohol (they may refinish the cards) vs. "a solution that does not damage the finish". If you want to mark your own, make sure that applying the solution only involves a "one-step" process. It will make your life much easier if you do not have to repair or refinish the cards.

Marking your own juiced cards or luminous cards is a simple and fast process if you do not have to repair a damaged finish. I have seen quality juice being sold for $90 - $125 per jar and some try to ask $250.

Good luck and enjoy !

Thanks expertmagician

I guess all those solutions sold at 25 are mainly alcohol based. Most are only workable on red backed bee cards and not on bikes anymore due to the reason you stated

Maybe I will give this a pass due to the price for a good bottle of non alcoholic juice being to high.

cheerios

ClouDsss,

Just bear in mind that since you can mark many decks per jar...the cost of marking yor own is much less expensive per deck than buying pre-marked juiced cards and will likely be more deceptive since you can customize the juiced markings.

Good luck and enjoy ....

Ok, I have a juice recipe but it involves alcohol and I have been experiencing the damaged finish effect.

Any advice on what I can do to the juice rather then refinishing the cards?
Is there a substitue?

Are the marks supposed to be visible with out, um, 'altering' your eyes??

If I make them any less then I can't see them at all when I 'look' at them.
but when they are enough to see when I 'look' then I am also able to make them out without 'looking', while I am still looking at the right spot(s) and it's not like they jump out, I can just still make them out slightly with out 'looking' properly so to speak.

Glenn

The problem he is having is with using less expensive alcohol based solutions. The alcohol will dull/burn the finish of the cards when light hits the card at an angle. (The cards look OK head on, but, if tilted, the marks show up as a dull area on the back of the card.)

One other thing, you need more instructions and tips on how to unfocus your eyes...."crossing your eyes" is not the same as unfocusing them. The secrets of how to practice reading juice is just as secret as the actual solution itself.

Heres a web site that says it has new juice decks that don't suffer the alcohol problem

http://www.thejuicedeck.com/juicedeckfaq.php

Is it true that Card Finesse has the Juice formula ? Which volume. Can somebody help ?

Whoa!!! LOL.
Just found this thread doing a search!

Dusty Dave

I have never seen "the spookclub" cards, so I don't know how good they are. But, bear in mind that marking your own cards allows you to make "easy to read/beginner" juiced cards and then as you gain expertize, you can make professional juiced cards.

Hence, you can not only make the juice markings to meet your experience level. But, you can design your own marking patterns to fool those "in the know".

Enjoy !

Card Finesse has the Juice formula ...but, the problem is that it does not work any more...

About the time it was published, the USPCC changed the formula for the finish on their cards so the alcohol based solution described in Card Finese will damage the finish of today's cards.

Sorry....just put some alcohol on a card and reflect light off the back to see the dulling/burn mark on the finish.

Here in Indonesia, we have more than 50 brands. Bicycle or bee back deck are very difficult to find. Yet, very expensive.

There are 2 issues you have to deal with with juice. One is the color, shade and depth of color of the back design. The back design pattern also affects how and where the juice will be applied (ie. traditional juice style marks or "tintwork").

And the last thing you must worry about is if the finish of the card will be damaged by the solution.

Aamwood, if you want to send me a couple of sample cards which you are interested in using, I will be happy to try to see if Juice and or luminous will work on your cards...

Just don't send me those "cheap" plastic coated cards......the finish is usually a problem.

PM me if you want my address.

At http://www.elmagicshop.com/cgi-bin/webc.......88281.5c you can buy real juice ink. To the best of my knowledge it is not tinted and will indeed work on the finish of current USPC cards. Hope that helps.

Too bad the elmagicshop juice does not say if it is for red or blue decks :-(

While it is possible to manufacture a generic juice that works on both red and blue cards. Like any "generic" product it is not as deceptive as a formula designed with a specific target in mind (ie. red or blue back designs).

There is not enough information in the ad to make an informed decision regarding the juice's pros, cons and capabilities :-(

For example, is it alcohol or an alcohol derivitive (smell it) ? and do they advise that you apply the juice with a q-tip ? or do you have to worry about "set-times" which can result in marks which are too dark .... etc. etc.

Expertmagician, thank you for your offer.
The problem is no standard deck here in Indonesia. And, I agree most of them has cheap finish.

No problem....

bear in mind that cheap cards tend to get dirty quickly, especially those plastic coated cards...so edge marks may work nicely. But, just keep them subtle.

Hey guys, I bought the beginners juice deck from the spookclub here in canada for 37.99.Very good quality. at first I was really frustrated and thought I would never see the markings...and one day I put the deck on a bench and later glanced at it and noticed a KC on the top card, ever since than I really get a kick out of it. it's quite funny that you can have a spectator shuffle the cards anyway they want and select a card and you knowing exactly what card it is. I once even jokingly said in response to "how did you know"..."well...there's a big 8S written across the top of the card" even if I said that they still will never figure it out. I'm starting to add this to invisible deck routine and other routines...i recommend any one get this deck. and spookclub has some real good ones for cheap price.