Allan Ackerman -  Here's My Card

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Price: Out of Print 
Format: Soft Cover 
Author: Allan Ackerman 
Illustrator: Deryl Skelton 
Publisher: GBC Press 
Pages: 109 pp. 
Published: 1978 
Difficulty: Easy-Difficult 

Allan Ackerman is， without a doubt， one of the top card handlers in the world. His proficiency with the pasteboards is well known everywhere， especially in Las Vegas， where he resides. Allan has written four books on card magic and made countless other contributions to magazines， other books， and lecture notes. His work is astounding; he executes sleights flawlessly and creates solid routines. Having studied under Ed Marlo and worked with Roger Klause， among others， this is no surprise. 

Here’s My Card was written by Allan himself and published in 1978. It is a fairly small booklet， but is one of the best card manuscripts I’ve come upon. Originally selling for $4.00， it contains 39 items with cards. Some are Ackerman originals， and others have been contributed to the book by Ackerman’s friends. Every one of the items within these pages is worth your time. They are all expertly thought-out and have been revised to be the very best they can. 

Allan has refined quite a few traditional techniques and included his variations here. There are three variations of the Convincing Control， one of which leaves the card in full bottom palm， and another in which the selection is truly out-jogged. Mr. Ackerman has also included his wonderful variation of the One Hand Center Deal. Other moves covered include a one handed way of setting up for Marlo’s Tilt and a Riffle Shuffle block transfer. 

The routines in the manuscript are also fabulous. Allan’s Impromptu Ultra Mental is an ungaffed version of the Invisible Deck routine， and his Quick Coincidence is an impromptu miracle. Other excellent effects include a wonderful sandwich routine， a Collectors routine with a cards-to-card-case finale， a ten hand poker deal， a full-deck Oil and Water routine， a fancy Ace-cutting display， and many others. 

Allan is a wonderful writer， explaining all the details. Just about every move needed is taught within the booklet， with the exception of a few basic sleights. Deryl Skelton’s illustrations are wonderful and accompany the text remarkably. 

This book is out of print and hard to find， as are the rest of Ackerman’s books (with the exception of his most recent work， Las Vegas Kardma). If you ever come across it， I highly recommend you pick it up and read it， front to back. You will end a better cardician. Some of the routines and moves in this and other books from Allan are covered in his video sets， Advanced Card Control and The Allan Ackerman Videos.