The 7 Stages of Being a Cardist
A Guest Article by Kevin Ho
Hey, I'm Kevin. I've been doing cardistry for 22 years now, and in the time I've been doing this, I've noticed that there are 7 stages of being a cardist:
1. Wide-eyed wonder
This is when you first learn about cardistry. Everything is new and amazing, and you try to watch every single YouTube and Instagram video you can find that has anything to do with the craft. This is also when the urge to buy custom playing cards is the highest, resulting in you owning more decks than you'd realistically be able to use in one lifetime.
2. Learning to walk
Whether it's the Charlier Cut, the Werm, or Five Faces of Sybil, you'll be faced with your first challenge of conquering and mastering your first "real move". From there, you'll continue to establish a better understanding of the basics, and you'll eventually improve to the point where holding a deck of cards is no longer awkward, but a comfortable habit. The deck, in a way, becomes an extension of you.
3. Evangelism
Now that you can competently perform some cardistry, you're excited to show it to EVERYBODY. Friends, family members, and even strangers become unwilling participants of your cardistry routines, and you start posting snippets of moves more frequently on Instagram and TikTok with every hashtag under the sun. Cardistry's too cool to stay so underground, you reason - the world has to know! And so you make it your mission to spread the Good Word.
4. Complacency
You've studied the greats, you can identify various packet cuts by their openers alone, and you can even tell what factory a pack of cards comes from by just running your fingers along its edges. You're on top of your cardistry game, and it feels good to be knowledgeable and skilled enough to no longer consider yourself a newbie. The problem, however, is that this can often lead to the mistaken notion that you've somehow 'conquered' cardistry: that you've seen all there is to see, and that you know all there is to know. And that dangerous way of thinking leads to the next stage:
5. Existentialism
One day, the dopamine just stops. The new posts you see online just don't seem to hit the same way anymore. People seem to have stopped going to the local meetups. Even the online watering holes like Discord and reddit seem to have vacated as well. What's happening? Is cardistry dying? You begin to lose enthusiasm and interest in your own practice. Somehow it just isn't as fun or interesting as it used to be. And that's when you eventually think about…
6. Giving up
One day, you decide to put your cards down and the next day you don't pick them up. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. For some people, this lasts for weeks. For others, this can last for months. There are even those who end up going for years without touching cards again. Somehow, the spark that got you into cardistry in the beginning just isn't there anymore, so you end up taking an extended break. 'Real life' starts to take the main stage, and your 'past life' as a Cardist falls to the wayside. In a way, it feels like losing a close friend.
7. Resurrection
Then, out of nowhere, the inevitable happens: you fall back in love. Maybe you chance upon a mainstream movie that features cardistry in it and it reminds you of your old hobby that you used to love. Maybe a GIF of someone doing some moves you've never seen before hits the front page of reddit and it sends you down a rabbit hole. Or maybe one day you're browsing YouTube and you come across a podcast of two old heads talking about the Good Old Days and it inspires you to pick up a deck of cards again, out of nostalgia alone. Whatever it is, you're drawn back in, and it feels like reuniting with a friend you haven't seen in years.
Conclusion
Consider these stages as more of a cycle than a list: you'll eventually end up repeating and revisiting various stages, perhaps even out of order, over the years. The one thing that doesn't change is you, so remember to be kind to yourself through all this. The rest will fall into place naturally.
— Kevin
Moves of the Month
1. Running Angels by Gaurav Malvi
The Angel is one of cardistry’s earlier foundations, having inspired countless variations over the years. But until @gauravmalvi_2.0 came along, no one had pushed the concept into a continuous loop — let alone done it with two cards instead of one.
At its core, it’s a simple idea, which makes it even more surprising that no one had discovered this twist before. As each “angel-ed” card gets hidden by the other and pushed seamlessly to the back, it creates a hypnotic loop — something you could easily watch for hours.
2. Sybil Hacky Sack by Thanh Cong Le
Sybil has been reimagined endlessly throughout the years — and @gaolock2208 has always been at the forefront of that experimentation. He’s already brought us iconic variations like this one and the well-known “Instant Sybil.”
Now he’s raising the bar again by incorporating acrobatics into the move - tossing a packet mid-sequence and catching it right in the center of the display. The idea, originally sparked by his friend Kenneth, becomes even more impressive when you realize how much work Thanh put into learning and executing it. He was truly committed to the idea.
3. Rainbow Fan by Lukas Rebele
Last, but by no means least, we’re featuring a mind-bending move that truly speaks for itself.
@lukas_rebele has long been known as a top-tier cardist, and this creation only strengthens his legacy as a boundary-pushing innovator. He has a knack for turning complex, often improbable ideas into visual reality - something most cardists wouldn’t even think to attempt.
In a world where physics feels like a constraint, Lukas reminds us that, in the right hands, anything is possible.
Honorable Mentions
Check out some other high-quality moves released throughout April:
Quick Bites
Allan Hagen, legendary cardistry/magic videographer, has launched his “VAULT OF HAGEN” website, filled with vintage playing cards for sale from his collection. If you’ve never used a “blue-seal” deck, this is your sign to pick one up.
Last Chance to snag a ticket for Cardistry XP - the event takes place June 7-9 in Hamburg, Germany, and some tickets are still available. We can’t wait to see everyone there!
Should cardistry videos have a time limit? Join the conversation over on @cardistryconvos page, where they pose thought-provoking ideas and hot takes, like this one, for the community to discuss.
Komorebi hosted a cardistry workshop this month in New York, where Adam Kerchman and Linus Schmidt offered instructions on a classic: the spring. If that wasn’t a sweet enough deal, complimentary cards, wine and tea were included.
Tomoya Maekawa started a new YouTube channel showcasing more of the “lifestyle” of cardistry — how the artform fits into a cardist’s day-to-day.
