TamaraThe specification

TCS taxonomy v0.6 ​

Experimental: structure may change in a subsequent edition.

CC0 1.0 terms. Open, royalty-free.

Covers / never covers ​

Covers canonical physical vocabulary and action contracts. Never publishes personal profiles, performer routines, private psychology vocabulary or implementation code.

Importer behaviour ​

Use an exact declared edition; reject unsupported major versions. Ignore unknown fields only where the specification permits them.

Exact-version resource

Glossary ​

  • Deal — Transfer cards one at a time from a source onto one or more target piles; at the default pile_position: top each pile receives them reversed, and in departure order at pile_position: bottom
  • Count — Transfer cards one at a time between the hands, showing each card individually
  • Take — Take a block of n ≥ 1 cards from a stated position of a source into the actor's hand in one motion; order kept
  • Place — Put a held block of cards into or onto a target at a position
  • Drop — Cards leave an actor's hands or packet and land at a location
  • Transfer custody — Hand a prop or packet to a declared participant
  • Spread — Spread cards so each is individually accessible; order unchanged
  • Display — Expose faces to observers without changing order or orientation
  • Turn — Turn a card or packet over as one unit
  • Cut — Complete cut: a rotation at the cut point; no reassembly parameter
  • Cut into packets — Divide cards into a stated number of packets (an incomplete cut)
  • Collect — Combine packets into one, in the order given by the order parameter (packet ids, top to bottom)
  • Separate — Partition cards by a content criterion
  • Sort — Openly rearrange cards into the order given by key
  • Shuffle — Shuffle by an unstated technique; order unconstrained
  • Riffle Shuffle — Interleave two packets, each keeping its relative order
  • Overhand Shuffle — Run blocks off the top; block order reversed, order within each block kept
  • Mongean Shuffle — Alternate cards to the top and bottom of the receiving pile
  • Faro Shuffle — A perfect alternating weave of two halves
  • False Shuffle — A shuffling motion, such as a riffle or an overhand run, that returns the deck to its starting order
  • Stock Control Shuffle — Top and bottom stocks preserved; the rest unconstrained
  • False Cut — A cutting motion at a false break point that returns the deck to its starting order
  • False Deal — A card from a stated position other than the top is dealt
  • False Count — A count whose real transfers or number differ from the cards shown
  • Double Lift — n ≥ 2 top cards taken as one block, kept in relative order
  • False Insert — A card apparently inserted at one position ends up at another
  • Cull — Secretly move a card to a stated position during a spread or shuffle
  • Force — The performer fixes which card a spectator's selection act yields
  • Conceal card — Move a card to a concealment location without exposing it (palm, ditch, or lap)
  • Load — Secretly place a card into a target location
  • Mark card — Apply a physical mark to a card
  • Unmark card — Remove a physical mark from a card
  • Crimp card — Set a card's physical crimp state
  • Jog card — Set a card's physical jog (protrusion) state
  • Reverse card end — Set a card's end-for-end orientation
  • Down Under Deal — Alternately deal a card aside and move the next card under
  • Open — Open a container
  • Release custody — Release custody of an existing prop or packet without assigning a recipient
  • Multiple Turnover — n ≥ 2 cards taken as one block, turned over as a unit, and replaced; presents (via substitution) as a single card turned over
  • Elmsley Count — Four-beat false count: on the second beat the counted card goes secretly under the packet while the next block of cards is taken as one; presents as an honest count of four
  • Jordan Count — Four-beat false count: on the third beat the first card goes secretly under the packet while a block is taken as one; presents as an honest count of four
  • Hamman Count — A false count that exchanges the whole receiving-hand block for the remainder of the source packet under cover of a simultaneous two-hand action, then recounts; the original order is restored
  • Flushtration Count — Four beats of a false display-only count: the bottom card is shown face up each time while the top card is actually dealt away; the display phase only, a routine's honest recount is a separate count
  • Triple Cut — An honest cut that divides a packet into three segments and reassembles them in a stated order
  • Jay Ose False Cut — A false cut built from two cut-into-packets splits and two collects; the packet's order is unchanged, though it presents as an honest cut
  • Shuffles — Randomizing or apparently-randomizing techniques that mix a packet's order.
  • True Shuffles — A shuffle whose resulting order is genuinely unconstrained or as declared.
  • False Shuffles — A shuffle that appears to mix the packet while its order is fully or partly retained.
  • Cuts — Techniques that rotate or reposition a packet at a chosen point.
  • True Cuts — A cut whose resulting order is exactly the rotation it appears to be.
  • False Cuts — A cut that appears to rotate the packet while its order is unchanged.
  • Deals — Transferring cards one at a time from a source to one or more destinations.
  • True Deals — A deal that transfers exactly the cards it appears to.
  • False Deals — A deal that transfers a different card than the position it appears to deal from.
  • Counts — Displaying cards one at a time to establish how many are in a packet.
  • True Counts — A count whose shown tally matches the actual number of cards.
  • False Counts — A count whose shown tally differs from the actual number of cards.
  • Handling — General packet and pile manipulation not covered by a more specific family.
  • True Handling — Ordinary packet/pile handling with no apparent-vs-actual discrepancy.
  • False Handling — Packet/pile handling that presents as a smaller or different unit than it actually is.
  • Concealment — Secretly relocating or holding out a card from the visible packet.
  • Forces — Fixing which card a spectator's apparently free selection yields.
  • Displays — Exposing cards to observers without changing their order or orientation.
  • Preparation — Marking or conditioning a card's physical state for later reference.
  • Says — Actor speaks; the spoken content is not recorded here
  • Indicates — Actor points to or specifies a card, packet or pile
  • Spectator Chose — Spectator makes a choice
  • Chose A — Spectator chose option A
  • Chose B — Spectator chose option B
  • Chose C — Spectator chose option C
  • Notes Card — Spectator privately notes a card, establishing a selection
  • Thinks Of Card — Spectator thinks of a card without any physical act
  • Playing Cards — Standard playing card deck
  • Playing Card — Single playing card
  • Sealed Envelope — Sealed envelope containing prediction
  • Pause — Temporal pause
  • Gesture — Physical gesture or movement
  • Look — Direction of gaze or attention
  • Beat — General timing beat
  • Display — Display or show action
  • Attention — Call attention to something
  • Tension — Build tension or anticipation
  • Assisting — Spectator actively participates (e.g., selects card, handles props)
  • Observing — Spectator passively observes
  • Camera Operator — Camera operator controlling attention
  • Stooge — Confederate or plant in audience
  • Remote Viewer — Remote viewer (online, recorded)
  • Performer Error — Performer made a mistake in execution
  • Structural Fragility — Method is inherently fragile under these conditions
  • Context Mismatch — Method doesn't match performance context
  • Inferential Collapse — Spectator reasoning collapses belief
  • Palm — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Classic Palm — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Steal — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Reveal — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Flip — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Reassemble — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Control — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Return — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Memorize — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Indicate — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Speak — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Says Stop — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Indicates Pile — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Card Drops — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Multiple Turnover — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Burn Card — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Deal Community Cards — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Draw Card — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Discard Card — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Locate By Feel Control — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Rough And Smooth Cut Control — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Controlled Return To Position — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Deceptive Controlled Return — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Hindu Shuffle — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • In-Faro Shuffle — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Out-Faro Shuffle — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Straddle Faro Shuffle — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Straight Cut — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Running Cut — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Reverse Deck — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Recombine Deck — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Sort By Rank — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Sort By Value — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Sort By Color — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Sort Mates — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Sort By Suit — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Sort Named Stack — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Layout Eliminate — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Selection Reveal — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Select Card — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.
  • Spell — This term is absent from the active vocabulary in this edition. Earlier pinned definitions remain available.

What changed ​

Projection generated from the source edition; publication baseline: 2026-10-08.