Richard Turner

Turner performed his 19th-century riverboat gambler's act as "The Cheat" on a constant basis:

When Turner was eleven years old he created a puzzle game called "Batty", inspired by the game Tower of Hanoi. In May 2011 he released his fourth version. Batty has eleven levels of difficulty ranging from an uncomplicated Level 3 through the extremely complex Level 11. While a Level 3 can be resolved by an elementary school student by making between 6 and 7 moves, mastering Level 11 demands far greater mathematical acumen, and requires between 1,023 and 2,047 moves without making a single mistake.

In 2010, Turner was asked by Director Terrence Malick to cheat Brad Pitt's character at the black jack table in the film The Tree of Life.

In November 2009, under Grand Master John Murphy and Senior Master John Douglas, Turner received his Master ranking Sixth Degree Black Belt in the Wa Do Kai system, a Japanese hard style karate. In the martial arts world Mister Turner is now Master Turner.

In 2008 he toured as part of a stage show called Hoodwinked with Todd Robbins, Bob Arno and Banachek.

Card mechanic and game protection consultant David Malek praised Turner in 2006 by declaring, "One of my favorite card men and a world class technician and performer is Richard Turner. Richard is second to none when it comes to gambling demonstrations with cards. He deals seconds, centers and bottoms equally well and runs up cards with lightning speed. On top of all that he is a fifth degree black belt and without a doubt the most physically fit magician I know. We all have a lot to learn from him."

On November 11, 2006, casino surveillance specialist, table game protection expert, casino administrator, cardman, and professional poker player Ron Conley wrote, after watching Turner demonstrate his abilities in a one-on-one setting, "I was very impressed with your card work, absolutely some of the best I've ever seen."

Gambling regulatory supervisor and playing card enthusiast Bruce T. Samboy advised in November 2006, after watching Turner during five performances at The Magic Castle and later in private sessions, "The world's best cardmen practice the moves until they do them right. Richard Turner practices the moves until he can't do them wrong."

On December 12, 2005 world-renowned cardman, author and casino game protection expert Steve Forte said that, "Richard Turner is the real deal! As one of the finest card technicians on the planet, Richard advances the science of card manipulation to heights never dreamed of."

In 1987, Dai Vernon described Turner as the most skillful card technician in the world, proclaiming, "Having seen countless numbers of card experts execute for over eighty years, I consider Richard Turner to be by far the most skillful. He performs the most difficult moves with the greatest ease. I doubt if anyone can equal him. He does things with cards that no one in the world can do – no one. I don't care if you go to China, France or Germany, he does things that no one else can do, and he performs them beautifully."

In 1978, magician Ed Marlo praised Turner as a cardman, actor and entertainer by saying, "Technicians as a rule are not usually good actors or entertainers. Richard Turner is all three."

In 1972 Turner auditioned for a small, non-profit San Diego Christian theater operated by television actor Steve Terrell, and performed for six years with the "Lamb's Players". Terrell taught Turner how to look people in the eye so that they would not know of his visual impairment.

Turner attended a special school for the visually impaired in Santee, California, where he refused to learn Braille (and never has). His younger brother, David, had been taking karate lessons for nine months, and invited Turner to accompany him. He began karate lessons in 1971 under the tutelage of Master John Murphy, the United States' founder of Wado-Kai, a Japanese hard style karate and was good at it, and began training at Gene Fisher's Gym eventually earning a fifth degree black belt in Wado-Kai karate.

Richard Edward Turner (born June 16, 1954) is an American expert card mechanic who is known for his card trick performances. He has been honored with a Golden Lion Award in Magic, from Siegfried and Roy in 1982 and the Lynn Searles Award for Excellence in Card Manipulation. He is the 2014 and 2017 recipient of the Close-Up Magician of the Year award from The Academy of Magical Arts, and is the subject of the documentary Dealt (2017).

Turner was born in San Diego in 1954, which he dubbed "the year of the full deck" (referring to a standard 52-card deck of playing cards, plus the two jokers). At the age of seven he became infatuated with the television show Maverick.