A Brief History of the Eight Kings Deck Set-up
In a magic magazine article entitled Royal Octet, the English magician Geoffrey Lamb observed that if you ask a layman to quote two well-known lines of English verse, he will probably recite something from Shakespeare. Ask the average conjurer, however, and the odds are he will quote a couplet about a group of kings engaged in a rescue mission: “Eight kings threatened to save ninety-five ladies for one sick knave” — the familiar memoria technica cited by Professor Hoffmann in “Modern Magic,” published in 1876.
The “Eight Kings” arrangement, however, dates back even further. It appears at least as early as William Pinchbeck’s “The Expositor,” published in 1805. Remarkably, Pinchbeck’s mnemonic phrase only differed slightly from the version most magicians know today.
In “Nouvelle Magie Blanche Dévoilée,” published in 1853, J. N. Ponsin offered his readers a French variation. Because the work was written for a 32-card Piquet deck, which omits the card values Two through Six, the mnemonic naturally took a different form. Ponsin’s phrase, “Huit rois valent neuf dames dix sept as,” produced the sequence 8, K, J, 9, Q, 10, 7, A, with valent (“are worth”) cleverly substituting for valet (which can mean “Jack” or “knave”).
These early references demonstrate not only the longevity of some variation of the Eight Kings system, but also its remarkable adaptability across generations, languages, and even different forms of playing cards. The cards follow a memorized sequence rather than a numerical pattern. As a result, many performers feel the order appears more random to the casual observer, while still providing all of the advantages of a prearranged deck.
Deciphering the Eight Kings Verse
“Eight Kings Threatened To Save Ninety-Five Ladies For One Sick Knave”
| Eight | 8 |
| Kings | K (13) |
| Threatened | 3, 10 |
| To | 2 |
| Save | 7 |
| Ninety-five | 9, 5 |
| Ladies (or Queens) | Q (12) |
| For | 4 |
| One | A (1) |
| Sick | 6 |
| Knave | J (11) |
Thus, the verse breaks down as follows: Eight (8) Kings (K) threa- (3) -tened (10) to (2) save (7) ninety- (9) -five (5) ladies (Q) for (4) one (A) sick (6) knave (J). This 13-card arrangement repeats four times with suits rotating.
How the Stack Works
The Verse Is the Key
The Eight Kings stack stores the entire deck order inside a memorable couplet. No arithmetic required: the words directly encode all 13 card values.
Suit OrderThe Eight Kings system typically uses the popular CHaSeD suit rotation:
Beginning with a Club and cycling through, the suits pair naturally with the mnemonic phrase to give every card in the deck a unique position.
Zero In on the Relevant SegmentFinding Any Card
If a spectator cuts to a card, say the 7 of Hearts, you simply think of the Eight Kings rhyme, specifically (in this example): “to save ninety-five ladies” (“Save” meaning 7) and continue from that point:
- Next card: 9 of Spades (ninety = 9)
- Card after: 5 of Diamonds (five = 5)
- Card after: Queen of Clubs (ladies = Queen)
Top of deck (1) through to bottom (52). Values cycle: 8, K, 3, 10, 2, 7, 9, 5, Q, 4, A, 6, J, then repeat. Suits cycle: Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds. Each row below is one complete pass through the verse.
The Eight Kings Stack: Battle-Tested Card Deceptions
In "The Eight Kings Stack," we take you from its history to how to set up your stacked deck in about three minutes time. There are also 15 proven effects and subtleties that will open your eyes to the remarkable versatility of the stack and ways to deploy it to your advantage. The effects range from those designed specifically for the Eight Kings system to others that will work with any cyclical stack. Also included are handy Eight Kings reference aids designed for real-world use. A quick-reference chart summarizes the stack at a glance, while compact crib sheets sized for both business cards and index cards make practice and performance preparation easy. As an added bonus, you'll gain access to a custom web-based calculator that instantly determines the position of any card in an Eight Kings deck arranged in CHaSeD (Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds) order. 29-page PDF.
