Lee Benzaquin performs regularly at the Chicago Magic Lounge and private events, working in settings where high-quality magic is the baseline expectation.
This book shares some of the card material that’s held up in those rooms: a mix of original routines and reworked classics, built for clarity, speed, and memorability.
Tricks include a fast-paced four-selection routine where cards repeatedly appear under the card box; a version of Cards Across that avoids palming entirely; a Triumph-Collectors hybrid with an ending that just barely makes sense; and a clean folded-card switch that happens mid-unfold. There’s also Lee’s approach to Les Cartes Diaconis, a formal three-selection routine that quietly carries a lot of technical weight without making a big deal about it.
Along the way, Lee talks a bit about scripting (and not scripting), audience attention, and how trick structure shifts when you’re building for table-hopping versus parlor. This isn't a book about finding your voice, or branding, or marketable moments; just some card tricks that always seem to land, and thoughts on why they might.
