3 Simple Ways To Make Cards Float!

The ultimate magic trick, right? Who doesn’t want to learn how to make playing cards, business cards or even your coworkers’ bank cards hover in midair right before their eyes? Learning how to make a card float is everyone’s dream, and today I’m going to show you how to make it a reality!

But that’s not actually possible, you say.

Luckily for you, I happen to know a few ways to accomplish this startling effect.

There is the free way, the cheap way, and the best way. In this post I will be going through each method and weighing up the pros and cons to each. In the end, the decision is yours though!

How To Make A Card Float Method No.1: The Free Way

Okay, so if I’m being honest, this method doesn’t actually work in the same way as the others. It isn’t going to let you make a card hover and spin and do all kinds of fancy tricks, but what it can do is impress your audience. Like, a lot.

So, there’s no big secret to this way. It is as easy as this:

Get REALLY good at throwing cards.

Yep, that’s it. I know you were probably expecting more but this is seriously a great way of making it look like the cards have some kind of way of tricking gravity. Let me explain. Although it might not sound like you’re learning how to make a card float, learning to throw cards is actually good enough to fool most spectators!

Cards are built to be thrown, and because of this they are actually really easy to throw in cool and unusual ways that look like they shouldn’t be possible. For example, if you grip a playing card in one of its corners with thumb on top, index finger on bottom, and forefinger against the side and give it a sort of spinning flick inwards as you throw it, you’ll notice that it creates an awesome looking spiral as it is in the air.

If you practice this throw you can actually throw the card from one hand to the other as it spins through the air like a Frisbee, which not only looks great, but is incredibly fun to do!

Don’t worry if you’re having trouble visualizing that or actually doing it either, I’m going to include a couple of videos that show you exactly what I mean.

Aside from this basic throwing technique, you can also throw cards so they come back to you like a boomerang which I think is pretty darn impressive. Imagine taking a friend’s business card, throwing it away into the air only for it to fly straight back to your hand to their astonishment. Check out this video by 52kards that explains exactly how to do this.

If you want to be throwing cards like Twisted Fate, there are plenty of tutorials for that too! Here are a couple of links to learn them for free: here and here. 

Finally, YouTuber Chris Ramsay has a sweet tutorial on making a card shoot from the top of the deck and spin through the air. He calls the move Cyclone, which might be a bit of an exaggeration but believe me, it isn’t that far off! Check it out for free here!

If you want to read more about making a card float using card throwing techniques, consider checking out an older post of mine with even more video tutorials here.

Method No.2: The Cheap Way

If learning how to throw cards like some kind of a wizard wasn’t enough for you, then it looks like you might be wanting to buy Bob Hummers’ Whirling Card Magic Trick. This is an absolute classic for magicians all over- tried and tested to the max. Here is a great video displaying just how crazy this trick is.

This was one of the very first magic tricks I ever saw as a child and I remember vividly watching my uncle take a blue Bicycle card and float it around his arm and even completely around his body. I was absolutely gobsmacked, but it took me until ten years later to finally have a crack at this trick when I bought Hummers’ Whirling Card.

When it arrived, I was initially disappointed (was it really that simple?) but as I began to play around with the trick I realized how much potential this trick really has.

The thing you have to keep in mind with this trick is that it takes a lot of patience and fiddling around. I won’t give the method away, but suffice it to say that there are some serious drawbacks to this trick.

It can take an absolute age to get set up and the ‘equipment’ you are using is very easy to drop, lose, or break.

It can be embarrassing to be right in the middle of a performance, card floating in midair, only for it to suddenly flop to the ground, along with your reputation as a master magician.

Add to that the fact that once you have the trick set up safely, actually pulling it of properly is just as hard- if not harder! If you want to use this method, there’s no denying the fact that it will require hours of practice before you’re ready to take it to the streets.

That being said, this trick is almost worth the complications once you get going. There’s no denying that the trick is super impressive visually and can fool a lot of people, and for only around £10 you don’t have much to lose if it doesn’t work out for you.

This trick also works well if you record yourself doing it rather than doing it live in front of an audience. That way you can film yourself until you are confident you can do it flawlessly without the pressure of an audience.

Once you’re happy, post it to your Instagram and astonish your friends! Just make sure no one thinks you’re using camera tricks!

Hummers Card is a little out-of-date so you might struggle to find it online.

At 11 pounds, I think that’s not bad, but if you’re willing to spend then you might want to hold on to your money until you take a look at the final method, which is more expensive but also 100 times more effective. And that method is exactly what we will move onto right now.

How To Make A Card Float Method No.3: The Best Way

I’m going to be upfront with you here. This method isn’t cheap. But if you’re wanting to make ANY object hover in midair than this is THE way to do it. Imagine you’re at a bar, and a ten pound note suddenly slides towards you as if moved by an invisible hand, all the way from the ground up into the air and into your hand. Imagine what a scene that would be.

Or you’re at a wedding and you make a ring float from the palm of your hand all the way up to your finger and slowly along it.

Or you’re applying for a job and instead of just leaving your business card on the desk, you first float it through the air and around you before lowering it to the desk. How about that for an impression?

Okay, enough beating around the bush. You want to know the best way to learn how make a card float, and I’m going to tell you right now!

Tarantula 2.

No, not the massive freaky spider, the magic trick. Tarantula 2 is a product by Yigal Mesika that enables you to make any small object float. It works in theory the same way as Hummer’s Card, as a thread based product, but it uses a completely silent electric motor reel for the thread that does all the work for you.

When the original product, Tarantula, was released, it was called ‘the most incredible levitation device of all time‘, and after seven years being further developed, Tarantula 2 is a vast improvement on it.

The motor is practically invisible and can be activated hands free. You can use this device surrounded by spectators without raising suspicion, and it is actually fairly simple to master.

Here is the official video trailer for this product. Just watch the look on people’s faces; you can’t tell me you don’t want that!

Now, are there any downsides to this product?

I would say that the only major issue for some would be the price. If you are more comfortable with spending cheaply for a lesser product,

I would say to use Method No.2, the Hummer’s Card, as a way to familiarize yourself with making things float, but for the magicians who are serious about learning how to make a card float, Tarantula is the ONLY option that allows you to perform these miracles at such a low price.

Yes, I said £60 was a low price for what you’re getting, and I meant it. The alternatives to Tarantula are all way over £100- Tarantula is more than half the price of its closest competitor.

Of course, as with all magic, you’ll need to spend awhile practicing before you’re ready to show off your new skills. Practice going over what you are going to say, how you are going to present the trick and getting your movements right.

Realistically it shouldn’t take long before you’re ready to blow everyone’s mind by making everyday household objects float!

What next? You could either learn more about levitation, or check out some of my other magic trick ‘how tos’ here!

I hope this article helped you learn how to make a card float, and as always, if you have any questions, comments or feedback please leave them below and I will get back to you as soon as I can!