A card force is when a spectator selects a card of the magician's choosing, but in such a way that it feels like a free and fair choice on the spectator's part. Card forcing is a valuable skill for novice magicians and can be used on a wide variety of effects. Easy forces for beginners include the "riffle force" and the "count force."
Sleight of hand is the cornerstone of card magic. Without mastering basic sleights, the novice magician's repertoire is always going to be limited. Many tricks combine simple sleights to achieve effects far more powerful than can be attained using just one sleight. The easiest sleights for beginners are the false cut, false shuffle, double lift, and Elmsley count.
Stacked decks are decks where the cards have been arranged in a specific manner in order to allow the magician to perform a variety of effects. Using false cuts and shuffles, these decks can appear to be thoroughly mixed without disturbing their prearranged order. Using a stacked deck, a magician can work out which card a spectator has chosen without ever seeing it by simply flicking through the deck until he reaches the point where the pattern has been broken.
Gimmicked decks are decks that have been constructed specifically for the purpose of performing one or two effects which cannot be achieved by using sleights. One of the most popular is the Svengali deck. Using a Svengali deck, a magician can repeatedly force a spectator to pick the same card, turn the entire deck into that card, and then, holding the deck in a slightly different manner, appear to change every single card into the one the spectator has chosen. Svengali decks are available from all good magic shops.