Cards hold much more than just magic to Michael Wong.

They are the “rock” behind his carefully considered routine, the “bread and butter” to an entertaining show featuring the quick sleight of hand of a precocious and emerging professional magician.

Cards represent his art, his trade.

“Magic is an extension of me. It reflects my personality,” said the genial, 17-year-old Auburn Riverside High School senior who regularly performs his magic act in front of audiences, young and old, big and small. “It’s a passion of mine. Magic will always be there in my heart. It’s something you don’t have to relinquish.

“It has helped me in so many ways.”

Wong’s magical repertoire involves classic tricks with cards, cups, coins, bells and other whistles – even mentalism. But a conventional deck of cards remains the important foundation to a 30-minute program he flawlessly performs as a standup or “strolling” magician at house and birthday parties, weddings and anniversaries, summer kids camp and schools, hospitals and everything in between.

“I probably have entertained audiences from sea level to 10,000 feet,” said Wong, whose tricks attracted the curiosity of several passengers aboard a recent flight.

Wong didn’t initially intend to go professional, but after years of studying cards and other master magicians, he eventually found himself fit for the stage. He won a high school talent show and began to take the craft seriously.

While he has dabbled in magic throughout his childhood, he decided only recently to perform professionally. The reviews have been good.

“My mom doesn’t think too much of it,” Wong said with a grin, “but (my family) has been supportive.”

Wong doesn’t know exactly how many card tricks he knows. He estimates it’s well into the hundreds, “about 11 year’s worth” – ever since his influential grandfather introduced him to his first card trick as a boy.

Wong remembers the moment well.

Inside a San Francisco fire station, Fire Chief Bernie Lee instructed his 6-year-old grandson to select a card from a deck. He then lost the boy’s chosen “Two of Spades” in the shuffled deck, only to make it reappear moments later in front of the bewildered boy’s eyes.

“I was dumbfounded,” Wong recalled. “It sparked my interest.”

Grandpa accompanied Wong to the library to check out his first book on magic. Over the years, Wong gradually built a library of magic books, CDs and other resources.

For the most part, Wong is a self-taught entertainer, following a learning curve accelerated by trial and error.

“I’m always striving to become a better magician, a better performer,” said Wong, who counts the charming, meticulous Lance Burton as one of his favorite magicians. “I’m an entertainer who works for a reaction.”

Wong is a popular and resourceful person whose voyage into self-entrepreneurship hasn’t surprised many of his friends. An honors student, Wong serves as ASB and DECA president and is involved in music and drama.

He plans to pursue a career in business management or marketing.

“Michael is the type of individual whose creativity is paralleled by his enthusiasm,” said Chad Guisinger, Wong’s Japanese teacher at Auburn Riverside. “He brings the right chemistry to class and has a talent not only to participate, but he knows how to get others to particpate as well.

“I’ve told Michael that if he doesn’t become a magician, I think he would be an outstanding teacher,” Guisinger said. “He knows how to reach people and is a natural leader. He is one of my students who I will never forget, and I have really enjoyed being his teacher.”

Wong enjoys entertaining and watching the audience come to life during his high-energy, comedic and fun show. Many of his tricks, like cooking recipes, remain shrouded in secrecy. Such is the creed among fellow magicians.

“It’s hard not to react,” he said of his routine. “It evokes smiles and different reactions.

“It’s all in the presentation and your ability to involve your audience,” he added. “The payoff is seeing how they react … which is something really amazing.”

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Reach Michael Wong on Facebook (www.tinyurl.com/werockthemike or e-mail (werockthemike@gmail.com).