Diception is a deceiving trick by Chris Congreave and Magic Tao that combines playing cards and dice to randomly select an unknown card by the roll of 1, 2, or 3 dice. With Diception, the performer displays a deck of Bicycle cards which is apparently normal. Depending on the handling of the trick (2 are taught) the performer may show that he has a prediction with a different color back. The performer then hands three dice to the spectator who can freely inspect them to verify that they are normal, which they are. The spectator then chooses to roll either one, two or three dice to determine the card to be chosen by totaling the spots. Then the cards are counted down to the dice's total and that card is placed face down. A prediction card is produced (which may or may not have been shown at the beginning of the trick) and not only does the prediction card (also a Bicycle card, but as mentioned above, a different color back from the main deck) predict what the face-down card is, but it also predicts the number the spectator rolled on the dice.

With this trick you get a deck of Bicycle cards, three dice, and some extra cards needed for the trick. You also get a link to a 21 minute instructional video which can be streamed or downloaded from www.murphysmagic.com website. The video starts off with a live two minute demonstration of Congreave performing Diception to two ladies at a restaurant bar. The performance is an accurate demonstration of how the trick presents, with the prediction in the performer’s jacket pocket, which is displayed before the trick begins. The reaction of the spectators was good, but not crazy, and they were clearly fooled by the Congreave's performance. The audio portion of the performance was poor at times due to the loud background bar noise. Congreave then performs the trick in the studio to his colleague at Magic Tao, with an alternate handling, in which the prediction card is not shown in advance, but is taken out of the deck. The quality of the production value of the studio performance is much better than the live performance. I think the prediction card in the pocket is much stronger than the prediction card in the deck because with the the later, the spectators may have some questions about what else is in the deck. Then Congreave demonstrates how to set up the Diception deck. This portion of the video takes a bit too long and was not as organized as it could have been. This one-time set up takes about 10-15 minutes in real time and will require a Sharpie.

Congreave credits Cameron Francis’s Annihilation Deck for inspiring him in Diception’s creation, although the two tricks are completely different. The method behind Diception is clever and very easy to perform. You can perform this trick as soon as the deck is set up, but the handling that has the prediction card in the jacket pocket requires a bit of basic sleight of hand and misdirection. Because you cannot shuffle the cards and the spectators can’t touch the cards, Congreave suggests some sleights and subtleties to convince the spectator’s that all is fair and good with the deck.

The trick can be repeated in a strolling situation as there are 18 different outcomes, without any forces, and the reset can happen in front of spectators and only takes an instant. All the cards can be fanned face-up before the trick begins. Although the ad-copy indicates that you can show “that your deck is mixed and ordinary”, this is only what the spectator perceives, but not the reality.

If you like tricks with dice and cards, this is a good one.