Darwin Ortiz (1948 – 2023) was a magician who was an authority on

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

and

card manipulation Card manipulation, commonly known as card magic, is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, ...

Life and work

Ortiz was born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he had a keen interest in card tricks since childhood. His first exposure to sleight-of-hand was via card cheats in his neighborhood. In 1974, he dropped out of

NYU Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest surviving ...

and pursued card magic full-time. During that time, he initially supported himself playing

blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

(using card counting techniques) and as an instructor at

Harry Lorayne Harry Lorayne (born Harry Ratzer; May 4, 1926April 7, 2023) was an American mnemonist, magician, and author who was called "The Yoda of Memory Training" and "The World's Foremost Memory-Training Specialist" by ''Time'' magazine. He was well kno ...

's memory school in

. Ortiz was a contemporary and close friend of the influential US coin magician, David Roth, and was initially mentored by the seminal British/US close-up performer,

Derek Dingle Derek Dingle (1937–2004) was an English Close-up magic, close-up magician. Early life Dingle became interested in magic after receiving a box of magic tricks when he was about eight years old. Upon joining the Royal Air Force, he met another m ...

. Ortiz later became a consultant to a number of casinos in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, UK and

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, and was a regular featured presenter for a succession of years at the World Gaming Congress in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. Ortiz died on October 13, 2023, after suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Books

Ortiz was a highly esteemed author of magic and gambling books. Ortiz was not only a magician, but also a highly proficient card mechanic, specializing in the sleight-of-hand techniques used by professional card cheats (such as crooked dealing and stacking the deck). He was particularly respected for his written contributions on the theory of magic. According to Vanishing Inc Magic, "Darwin Ortiz is unparalleled in his theoretical writings. His two theory books, ''Designing Miracles'' and ''Strong Magic'' are, in our estimation, some of the most important writings on magic written in the last two decades."Magic by Darwin Ortiz
Vanishing Inc Magic. Retrieved 1 February 2020 His book ''Strong Magic'' focuses on practical presentational techniques for close-up magicians. Ortiz's second book on magic theory, ''Designing Miracles'' is an exposition on the design of powerful magical effects, and is subtitled ''Creating the Illusion of Impossibility''. The book posits and analyzes various theories regarding the perception and cognition of lay audiences and provides practical examples and advice on the construction of effects, aimed at maximizing their impact and deceptiveness to a lay audience. The last book published with Darwin Ortiz's original routines was ''Lessons in Card Mastery''. Ortiz's major work for the lay public on gaming protection is ''Gambling Scams'' 1984. He also authored an annotation of S. W. Erdnase's ''

The Expert at the Card Table ''The Expert at the Card Table'', is an extensive book on the art of sleight of hand published in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase, a pseudonymous author whose identity has remained a mystery for over a century. As a detailed manual of card sharps, the book ...

'' titled ''The Annotated Erdnase'' in 1991 which was published to the magic trade.

Bibliography

Notable works published by Darwin Ortiz include: * Gambling Scams (1984) * Darwin Ortiz on Casino Gambling (1986) * Darwin Ortiz at the Card Table (1988) * The Annotated Erdnase (1991) * Strong Magic (1994) * CardShark (1995) * Scams and Fantasies with Cards (2002) * Designing Miracles (2007) * Darwin Ortiz Lessons in Card Mastery (2012)

References

Citations

Sources

Darwin Ortiz, Cover and featured magician i
Genii, Vol. 56, No. 5, March 1993, page 296

External links

Darwin Ortiz, Professional Magician & Game Protection Consultant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Darwin 1948 births 2023 deaths American magicians American male writers Entertainers from New York City