Jack Parker - Set To Kill
Jack Parker - Set To Kill
Jack Parker - Set To Kill
By Jack Parker
Contents
Preparation H
Sunken 21
Page 6
Invisible 21
Page 12
Page 18
Page 25
Page 31
Page 34
Page 40
Page 45
Technicalities
Thought Provoker
Page 50
Rump Shaker
Page 55
Page 59
Page 61
Dedication
Thanks to -
Paul Cummins who foolishly agreed to proof read this document. Also, for allowing
me to steal some excellent lines from his routine The Invisible Card.
Jason Alford also for his quantum proofing and excellent advice, both magical and
otherwise. He still spells colour incorrectly though.
And of course, thanks as always to Tracey, Emily and now Charlotte who has
appeared since Set To Stun was written. If theres one thing that puts card magic
into perspective, its children.
Jack Parker
May 2006
jack@jacksdeck.com
Foreword
By Richard Kaufman
I think I've had some good luck in finding "pockets" of great material.
Sometimes it comes in the form of visiting a country whose magicians have yet to
publish more than a few odds and ends. Featuring them in a magazine or a book
spotlights their unique nature and creativity.
Other times it comes when a famous magician like Derek Dingle or Larry Jennings
generously contributes a group of his tricks to a magazine or consents to do a book.
The final instance is when someone I've heard little or nothing about shows up in my
mailbox (now my computer's "inbox) with a video and asks me to look at some of his
work. It happened with Jay Sankey many years ago, then Gary Kurtz, and various
others. Late in 2005 it happened with Jack Parker.
"Who is Jack Parker?" I thought, "and why is he bothering me." Truth be told, I get
far too many video clips sent to my inbox to possibly watch and many of them don't
add up to much. But I had some time a few weeks later and watched one of the
clips. It was like eating a wonderful piece of chocolate. Then I watched the others
and, as soon as my fingers could skittle across the keyboard, sent Mr. Parker an
email asking him if I could publish what he sent in Genii -- and then to please send
some more. And he did.
The work of clever creators is pleasing to perform--it's always so nice when both you
and the audience get a thrill, though yours is secret, of course. Jack Parker's work
gives me that thrill. It's fun to watch, fun to read, and even more fun to perform.
Richard Kaufman
May 2006
Page 4
Preparation H
This section may well get skipped by many people. I know the reaction taking out
three piles of seven cards usually receives, particularly amongst magicians.
That
lack of interest usually changes and people are sitting a lot more upright by the time
you have run through either of the following versions. So please, try them out. The
Oh no, not this! reaction is actually a powerful ally because people let their guard
down and by the time their guard is back up you are done and they are dusted.
Page 5
Sunken 21
Effect
Its the 21 card trick - but not as you know it.
Sleights
None
Method
From the proverbial shuffled deck ask the spectator to remove 21 cards and set the
rest of the deck aside. Ask them to then shuffle the packet.
After they have finished shuffling, take it back and ribbon spread it face up across
the table.
A random choice of cards from a random deck shuffled by a random looking sort of
person.
As you look down at the face up spread note the top and bottom cards. These are
your two key cards. Do this as casually and as quickly as you can. Try not to stare.
Scoop up the spread, turn the packet face down and hand it back to them.
They now follow instructions that you give to them with your back turned. Turning
your back is optional, but is a nice piece of theatre.
Id like you to deal out two piles, one for each of us. So deal a card for me, then
one for you, then one for me, and one for you and so on. Ill have one more than
you but thats fine. Im greedy.
You dont have to be Stephen Hawking to work out that your pile contains 10 cards.
I dont want to know how many cards you have, so cut off a few from yours and drop
them on top of my packet.
Now its fair to say no one, not even you, knows how many cards you have or what
they are. Pick your packet up and give it a good shuffle just to make sure, then set
it back down again.
Now no one can know the order of those cards either. I want you to have a look at
and remember the top card of your pile making sure no one else sees it.
To lose your selection Id like you to cut off roughly half of my packet and drop
those cards on top of yours, burying your card
Now no one can know where in your packet your card is or what cards are
surrounding it.
Finally drop the rest of my cards on top of all to further confuse the issue. So you
are back to a 21 card pile with a card known only to you in a position known only to
God Himself. (If you feel up to it give them a wink when you deliver this line).
Pick up the packet and deal a line of three cards, turning them face up. Throughout
the dealing phase the rhythm is slow - deal three cards, then pause. Deal three
cards, and pause. This is repeated throughout and the reason will become apparent
in a moment.
The mechanics for the location are as follows. As you deal you are looking for your
first key card. When you spot it, as you deal the next card, count 12 in your mind.
On the next card you count 13. Keep going, counting in your mind on each card
you deal, 14, 15, until you deal your second key card. Make sure to include the
second key card in your count, so in this case 16. This key number this tells you
how far from the top of the 21 card packet the selection was before you started
dealing in this case, 16 cards from the top. Knowing this, you have two options:
Page 7
Most likely you havent dealt it yet; hence the pauses in dealing to give you a chance
to do the math. Just look at how many cards you have dealt. It will either be 6, 9,
12 or 15 since they are in three rows, so you know very easily how many more you
need to deal before you hit the selection. In this case, just deal the selection face
down when you come to it and then continue dealing all the other cards face up,
using the exact same rhythm of deal and pause until you have dealt all the cards.
The other possibility, which is less likely, is that you may have already dealt the
selection by the time you work out what position it was from the top (if your math is
slow like mine or if the selection is directly after or close to the second key card). In
this case just continue dealing and pausing and then when everything is dealt out
face up you simply pick out the selection. Alternative patter suggestions are at the
end.
The first option is the most likely, and more often than not the selection comes 3 to
5 cards after the second key, giving you time to do the math and deal the selection
face down without breaking the rhythm of the deal.
continue the rhythm and the patter, almost as though you are not paying attention
to the cards. Youre just talking, telling your story, dealing out the rows and one card
gets left face down. This is very disarming to the spectator as it appears so casual,
as though no process was involved. Particularly since many people know the original
and will be getting ready for the Which row is it in? question.
Have you seen this trick? Its called the 21-card trick surprisingly enough.
Most people have seen it as its the trick Granddads inevitably do for Grandchildren.
Its a Christmas Day favourite at our house.
Page 8
It was certainly the first trick I ever saw and started my interest in cards.
Deal the 4th line of three cards. (You more than likely know the location by now and
are ready to deal one card face down).
I used to love seeing my Granddad perform it. It used to make us both smile.
But as I grew older and became more interested in card magic I worked out my own
version.
In my version you never asked any questions and never dealt the cards out again.
Deal the 7th row.
And my Grandfather never could understand how I managed to leave his card face
down.
OR
And my Grandfather never could understand how I could just pick his card out, like
this.
Page 9
Example
This shows a typical layout achieved during Sunken 21.
Therefore you know the selection was 16th from the top. So after dealing 3 rows of 5
cards the selection is the next card, as shown face down.
Notes
The location uses a variation of the Sunken Key Principle found on page 13 of
Scalberts Selected Secrets and was inspired by the SD Location by Steve Draun
found on page 137 of Dave Solomons book Solomons Mind.
If you are sessioning with magician friends, or when a layperson performs the
original 21-card trick for you, then there are numerous opportunities to get the
required information i.e., the key cards top and bottom, so you dont need to do the
face-up ribbon spread.
For instance, during the original 21-card trick just note the first and last cards dealt
on the final round, collect up the piles afterwards and youre good to go.
The patter is of course optional. Once you get used to the key system you can deal
the cards out more quickly. And of course, you can just deal them all out face up if
you wish, then locate the card and pick it out afterwards. Finally, a nice touch is this:
instead of picking the selection straight out, scoop up all the other cards leaving just
one on the table (a lovely technique that Dave Solomon nailed me badly with).
Page 10
Alfords Mess Up
Jason Alford suggested a nice presentation idea to end the effect. You would need to
change the patter for the dealing section but his idea is this.
After you have dealt out the three face up rows and located the selection using the
procedure detail above, you pause for a moment and then mix up all the cards on
the table, swirling them around in a casino shuffle. During this just keep track of
the selection by putting a finger on it as you move your hands around. This is a very
visual and shocking contrast to the slowness and precision of the dealing phase.
When you are done, dig your thumbs underneath the cards and turn the big mess
face down, again keeping track of the selection.
once more with the face down cards. During this casually slide the selection off to
one side, then go back to the two handed mixing. Square the messy pile up and then
ribbon spread it face up in front of the spectator. The selection is the only card left
face down. Ask them how you did.
Page 11
Invisible 21
with David Solomon
Effect
The selected card becomes invisible. You prove this by having the spectator count
the remaining cards, they only have 20 - none of which is their selection.
Fortunately it reappears when asked to do so.
Sleights
Square up steal
Method
From a face down shuffled deck, count off seven cards into a small spread. Square
them up and drop them on the table. Repeat this action for seven more, but as you
square them up allow the bottom card to go back onto the deck, leaving you with a
six card packet. Drop this on the table next to the first. Repeat again by genuinely
taking another seven cards to give you the standard 3 pile set up in a line, the centre
one having only six cards.
Note: There are various ways to achieve this position, such as a simple pull back on
one of the cards as you count. Any Biddle type action is best avoided as it is such a
giveaway to magicians. The important thing is that the spectator must see you count
3 piles of 7, but in a casual way since the effect hasnt started yet. For those
amongst you who are of devious mind, try this - if someone does a 21 card trick on
you, after they are done take the 21 cards and as you talk lap one of them and then
go into this routine. Its somewhat of a punch in the face as youll see.
Ask the spectator to pick a packet, shuffle it and then go through the Ed Marlo
automatic replacement procedure from Marlo Without Tears as follows. After
shuffling it, they cut their packet, look at the bottom card of the top (cut off) portion,
then drop this portion onto either of the other two tabled piles. The other tabled pile
is then dropped on top to bury the selection and then the final group of cards they
still hold is dropped on top of all.
Page 12
There is one rule to remember during this procedure. If they choose the 6 card
packet during the process, your key number is 7. Otherwise your key number is 6.
By choose I mean handle; if they left it on the table and just dropped cards onto it
then its untouched. If they picked it up...well, its touched!
After the Marlo procedure you will have a single combined packet and their selection
is now located either 13th or 14th from the top.
I am going to make the card you are merely thinking of invisible. Incredible I know,
but none the less true. I do not know its value or position, remember.
Press your first finger onto the back of the packet, your other fingers go onto the
far end. With your thumb on the near end, bend up about half the pile for an inch,
creating a wide break. Reach into this break with your other hand and mime pulling
out an invisible card. As you quickly pull the card(?) out, let the top half of the pile
spring back off your thumb creating a snapping sound (a Paul Cummins touch) Place
the invisible card (?) on the table to the side.
There you go. Your card. Now invisible. Have you seen an invisible card before?
Think about your answer. Well, by the look in your eyes I can tell you dont believe a
word of this BUT if I had really made your card invisible then you would have only 20
cards left. Correct? Well why dont you count them.
They count the cards down into a pile, reversing the order, and of course find they
only have 20 cards. This should come as somewhat of a shock, particularly if youve
gone for the sneaky lapping approach to ditch a card after a previous 21-card effect.
Thanks to the excellent Marlo placement procedure the selection is actually now 7th
or 8th from the top. This puts you in a very strong position because you basically
havent touched the packet since they made their choice and not only has the card
apparently become invisible but you also know where it really is.
Despite this concrete evidence, you still seem unconvinced. Let me try and prove it
to you, can I have the cards for a second.
Page 13
This gives you a legitimate excuse to take the packet from the spectator. Hold it face
down, spread over and flip a group of cards face up. The number of cards you flip
over face up is the number you are remembering from before, either 6 or 7. So if
they touched the 6-card packet earlier then flip over 7 cards. If not, then flip over 6
cards.
Spread through these face-up cards slowly, showing the faces to the spectator, and
ask them if one of these cards is their selection. It wont be of course. As you get to
the end of the face up group spread over one extra face down card; this is actually
the selection. Catch a break under it as you square the face-up group and in a
continuing action lift of this packet (everything above your break) in Biddle Grip. The
face down selection is stolen away beneath the face-up group.
As you say these, emphasise the packet by raising your hand a little and turning it
back towards the spectator so that they may see the top card. You will be looking at
the bottom of the packet; the selection will be staring you in the face. Remember it.
If you are working surrounded you may, of course, just do a simple glimpse of this
bottom card as you table the packet without flashing it to anyone else whos
watching. Table this packet a little to the right with their card secretly on the bottom.
Spread off approximately 6 more cards and flip them face up, spreading through so
they can check to see that their card isn't among these either. Mimic the squaring
action you did first time.
repeat for the final group of cards you hold, showing all the faces and tabling it face
up to the left, giving you three face up piles; a nice echo of the starting position.
So your card is not in any of these piles anymore? Well, thats because it is over
here, invisible. Are you starting to believe me? I know its hard, as being a nonmagician the card is obviously transparent to you, but I can see it, and I can tell you
its really there. If I turn it face up I can even tell you its the (name the card you
peeked).
Page 14
This off-hand naming of the card is a nice moment that is both magical and funny;
dont pass it by too quickly. Again, thank you Mr Cummins.
Lets put your card back into the packets, like you did at the start. I know you cant
see it so well put it next to a card that you can see so you know where it is. Which
of these three cards do you want it next to?
Point to and name the top card of each of the face up piles. There are two simple
options, depending on which card (pile) they choose. Whichever one they choose,
you first pick up the invisible card and place it onto that pile. A nice touch here is to
go to place the invisible card down, then stop, and say Wait, Ill put it face down so
its even easier to spot. Mime turning it over, and then place it onto the selected
pile.
If we call the pile that has the selection secretly face down on the bottom Pile 1
and the other two Piles 2 & 3 then the options are as follows.
If they pick Pile 1, mime placing the invisible card on top of this pile as explained
above, then cut the pile and complete the cut. Drop it onto pile 2 and finally drop
pile 3 on top of all.
If they name either of the other piles, 2 or 3, drop the invisible card on top of it and
then drop Pile 1 on top. Finish by placing the remaining pile (2 or 3) on top of all.
Its very simple, youre just getting the reversed selection above whatever card they
choose.
OK, Ill try and make your card visible again. Here we go.
Stare blankly for a moment and do your best Im making a card visible
impersonation.
Done. You put it next to the Four of Clubs right? Well take a look.
They spread out the packet and find a face down card next to the one they selected.
Page 15
Notes
Many thanks to Paul Cummins for permitting me to use a few of his invisible card
gags and touches. This includes the lovely idea of turning the invisible selection
face up to name it. These are taken directly from Pauls excellent The Invisible
Card routine found in the wondrous pages of his notesfrom a shuffled deck in
use.
The placement procedure is found in The Nouveau 21 Card Trick on page 146 of
Marlo Without Tears by Jon Racherbaumer.
David Solomon and myself traded many emails on the topic of combining the
invisible card idea, or vanishing card, with the 21-card trick. We looked at various
avenues but I ended up pursuing this one. Dave looked at other avenues and came
up with some lovely and direct handlings. Id like to thank him for his constant help
and advice not only with regard to one of our favourite pastimes, the 21-card trick,
but also with everything I show him.
Page 16
I have often heard it said Theres so many assemblies already, why bother? Well,
again its horses for courses. Firstly, I enjoy it and both magicians and lay people,
seem to enjoy the material also. Secondly, as a technical exercise, just as the 21card trick, assemblies are very fertile ground for exploration.
because Bach created stunningly beautiful music didnt stop everybody else having a
go, did it?
As with the 21-card trick, I tend to approach assemblies with one of two hats. I am
either working on the ultra clean approach to the classic assembly plot or I will try
and subvert the standard plot itself and head down new avenues.
The two versions presented here represent both lines of attack respectively. Fools
Gold diverts the plot with a Royal Flush ending and the Aces backfiring throughout
rather than assembling. Bare Naked Ladies is the opposite end of the spectrum and
is ultra minimal with only 7 cards involved, but still manages to achieve an assembly
and backfire.
Page 17
Fools Gold
Effect
A traditional assembly in appearance with the four Aces and 12 indifferent cards,
but the Aces keep jumping to the packets rather than assembling. As a climax, a
Royal Flush pops out of nowhere.
Sleights
Secret Subtraction
Combo Count / Hamman Count
Double Lift
Elmsley Count
Set Up
The effect uses a 17-card packet as follows, from top down.
Aces of Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, three spot cards, King, Queen, Jack and
Ten of Spades, six spot cards. Everything is face down. As long as the Ace of Spades
is on top, the order of the other Aces isnt critical.
The order is very easy to set up. I remove the Royal Flush in Spades and arrange
them Ace to 10, put the other three Aces between the Ace of Spades and King of
Spades. Stick 3 spot cards after those three Aces and six more spot cards on the
bottom.
The routine must be performed on a soft surface such as a close-up matt, as you will
be laying down and picking up doubles at some points.
Method
Spread over the top four cards and flip them face up. Show them as the four Aces
by spreading the packet, including a few face down cards. As you square up get a
break underneath the top four face down cards (eight cards from the top of the
packet).
Page 18
You will now use J K Hartmans Secret Subtraction to switch out the Aces. I handle
it as follows.
Turn your hand back palm down again and using the side of your left thumb, square
in the side jogged card - the second Ace. The action mimics the unload move that
occurs in a moment.
Peel the third Ace off and around to the bottom, again leaving it side jogged just as
before. Turn your hand over to flash its face again. This time as you turn your hand
palm down and square the side jogged card against your left thumb, let the three
cards below your thumb break drop back onto the top of the main packet.
This
unload is invisible and should be done smoothly and without any undue delay or
pause in the flow of the hands.
Finally, peel off the remaining Ace of Spades and rotate it around and under the
packet, but square this time of course. Turn your hand palm up to show its face.
Rather than turn it back palm down, momentarily clamp the side of the face up
packet with your left thumb.
Page 19
retake the packet from above. It then tables the packet, still face up, with the Ace of
Spades showing at the face.
Although it reads a little long, Mr Hartmans switch flows very nicely and is extremely
deceptive.
It doesnt use the whole deck, but it does use the four most important cards. The
Aces of Diamonds.ClubsHearts.and Spades.
Situation Check: The face up tabled packet is supposedly Aces. It is in fact the Ace
of Spades with the King of Spades and three indifferent cards face up beneath it. The
other three Aces are face down on top of the in-hands packet.
It also uses some spot cards. These are not as important as the Aces. The only
reason they are really involved is to give me a better chance at cheating.
Flip the packet face up. You now show these as all spot cards and can use either
Daryls Combo Count as described below or you could use the well-known
Hamman Count by Bro. John Hamman.
For the Combo Count, hold the packet in Pinch Grip as you would for an Elmsley
Count. Take off the first card normally but as you come back to peel off the second
card, steal the first card back under the main packet. Continue to peel off the next
three cards normally then when you get to the fourth one this is where the main
switch occurs. What happens is your right
hand does a Block Push Off everything
above the bottom card.
This seven-card
This is done
Page 20
done casually and unlike most counts, you can have a break in the rhythm at various
intervals. So in this case I count through 3 cards, then a further 3 which includes
the switch, then count a couple more and then the final three. You do not verbally
count the cards; you are just running through them almost as an aside while you are
talking.
Ill deal out the spot cards into three packets of four. While I do that can you set
your brain to lateral thinking mode.
After the count is done, flip the packet face down. From top down should be three
Aces, Queen, Jack and Ten of Spades then six spot cards. Deal the top three cards
out into a line then deal another card on top of each - these are Royal Flush cards.
Then deal two more rounds, one onto each pile each time, to end up with three piles
of four cards.
Most of the work of the trick is now complete. All thats left is a few doubles and
Elmsley Counts.
Now remember, four spot cards in each pile. Over here I have the four Aces, my
leader Ace of Spades plus the other threewell, I guess they are followers.
top
three
cards
face
down
into
an
What is the quickest way I can get these three Aces (tap the
backs of each the three face down cards) from here over into those three piles of
spots cards? Think laterally.
Page 21
Turn each of the three table packets face up, end for
end, to reveal an Ace on the bottom of each.
Which of course means I have three spot cards over here with my Ace of Spades.
You still hold the remaining three cards of the pile you picked up, all face down. Pick
up one of the three face up indifferent cards that are near your leader Ace and drop
it face down onto your in hands packet. Flip the packet face up and Elmsley Count,
showing four spot cards. Table this packet face down back in its position in the line.
Page 22
Ace number two comes back with the leader and is replaced to give another packet
of four spots. And finally number three joins the others over here and gives a third
packet of four spots cards. Simple.
Matching these words you now repeat the actions for the other two packets in the
line. Pick up each face up packet, take off a double and use it to flip the remaining
two cards face down. Flip the double face down on top and deal the top card down
next to your Ace of Spades onto the first card, forming an overlapping line. Then pick
up one of the face-up indifferent cards that were with your leader Ace and drop it
face down on top of the face down packet you hold. Flip it over and Elmsley Count,
showing apparently four spot cards, then table the packet face down back into
position.
So, think laterally this time. Whats the quickest way to get the three Aces that I
have here with my Ace of Spades to jump back over to the spot cards packets?
Pick up the Ace of Spades (double card) again by its corners and turn it face down.
Use it to scoop up the three face down cards that are supposedly Aces, then flip this
packet face up into your hand.
Get them there before I asked the question! Thats right, fast learner!
Page 23
Turn up the top card of each packet showing the Aces have returned.
Notes
JK Hartmans Secret Subtraction can be found in the monstrous pages of Card
Craft on page 48 and also in a slightly less monstrous and cunningly titled booklet
called The Secret Subtraction on page 7.
Page 24
Sleights
Veeser Concept
Fingertip Rhythm Count
Double Lift / Mexican Turnover sequence
Method
Remove the four Queens and three black
spot cards (preferably a six, eight and nine)
and set the deck aside as its no longer
needed.
Close the spread get a break above the bottom two spot cards. Change to Biddle
Grip, keeping the break with your thumb at the rear. You will now use the Veeser
Concept as you count through the Queens.
Its the four Queens I want you to keep your beady eyes on.
Begin by peeling off the first Queen but as you do so steal away the two cards below
the break beneath it. You do not need to hold any breaks between them. Continue
by peeling the next three Queens off singly, reversing their order. Youll end up
holding four face up Queens with two spot cards secretly beneath. The other hand
holds one spot card in Biddle Grip, believed to be all three. Immediately use the edge
of the spot card to flip the Queen packet face down sideways and then drop the
Page 25
single spot card on top, still face up. Tap its face as you say:
Thumb over the top three cards into a little fan showing four Queens. Your fingers
beneath the fan reach into the break, which you allow to widen. You apparently turn
the four Queens face down, but actually turn over everything above the break,
allowing the cards to square as you flip them over. Deal the top card to yourself,
then the next three out into a line, forming the classic "T" formation.
Ill take the Queens and put them on the table. One goes here as the famous
leader Queen, and the other three go in a line like this. Nice and neat.
Page 26
Take the top face down card from your packet and
slide it below your Queen. Deal the next on top. Then
your left hand snaps over the last card it holds,
showing it to be a spot, and then flips it face down on
top of all.
Your packet should now be from top down: spot, Queen, spot, Queen.
Now despite the fact the other three Queens are sitting
there on the table naked, somehow they still manage to
assemble over here with the leader.
Now
perform
Allan
Count as follows.
Ackermans
Fingertip
Rhythm
extremely strong.
You are left with a four card packet, face down. The top two cards are Queens and
bottom two spots.
Many people wonder how, since I started with only my leader Queen, the Queen of
Hearts.
Here you turn over a double and name the Queen as you see it.
How come the other three managed to get over here and join her?
Turn the double back face down and take off the top card. Fan the three cards in
your hand and table them still spread, then use the single card you hold in your right
hand to tap each one as you talk.
But thats not the question they should be asking. They should be asking how the
hell the other three Queens got back over here near you.
Reach forward and apparently use the card you hold to flip each of the three face
down Queens face up in turn. In fact carry out a Mexican Turnover on the first one.
I do a very simple action as follows. Take the card you hold and slide it beneath the
tabled card, holding the cards by their sides in Pinch Grip. The other hand can place
a finger on the opposite edge to steady them if you wish. Lever the pair up and start
to turn them over sideways. But, once they get to about a 20-degree angle, push
with your fingers beneath so bottom card only is flipped over.
holding the top card face down. There are much slicker techniques for this move in
print but I just tend to keep it simple.
Keep the card you hold face down throughout and make sure to keep the turnovers
consistent. I make the two real turnovers appear similar to my Mexican Turnover
action. Youll be left holding a face down card (actually a spot card) and three
Queens face up in a line.
Page 28
Now come back with the card you hold and use it to turn
the three-card packet face up. As you do this carry out a
second Mexican Turnover but with the whole packet. So
you slide the single card you hold underneath and start
to level the packet over.
Make sure to name the card again then slowly turn it face up
and drop it with the spot cards.
Notes
Many thanks to Dave Solomon and Allan Ackerman for their help and suggestions
with this effect. Dave helped streamline the switch at the start and of course Allan
suggested his lovely count.
Allan Ackermans Fingertip Rhythm Count can be found in his notes Al Cardpone.
It was pointed out to me by Joe Pecore after Set To Kill was published that the
ending sequence is very similar to Phil Goldsteins excellent Jumping Bean Aces
found on page 35 of is book Focus. Indeed it is, but where they differ is that in this
routine the card that is shown by the Double Lift is then switched back in at the end
by the second Mexican Turnover, making the sequence look copacetic.
Page 29
Page 30
Buried Alive
with Tomas Blomberg
Sleights
Double Lift
Slip Cut
Popover Move
Set Up
You need two identical Jokers, one of which is placed face down second from the top
in a face down deck. The second one is face up on the bottom. If you dont have two
identical ones, see the Notes section for alternatives.
Method
Perform a Double Turnover to show the Joker. Turn double back over and deal the
top card face down onto the table.
You know that Joker guy is annoyingly cheerful. Lets shut him up by burying the
little sucker under a load of cards.
Cut off half the deck but as you do carry out a Slip Cut, then dribble the top half you
cut off onto the tabled card, apparently the Joker, but in a haphazard fashion so you
get a messy heap of cards. Spread them around a little more with your hand if you
like.
I feel a bit guilty now; poor little guy. Tell you what, lighten his load a bit by pulling
out one of those cards from the heap for yourself.
They remove one card, look at it and remember it. Ask them to then drop it face
down on to the packet you still hold. You very fairly cut this packet to lose the
selection in the centre. Make sure its clear youre not holding a break.
Ssssh! Can you hear him; his little muffled cries for help? I tell you what well do,
well magically get him to dig his way out from under that pile, but not only that.
Page 31
Hell jump up into the cards I am holding and snuggle up right next to your card.
Then well all feel better about ourselves.
Snap your fingers or wave your favourite magic wand then hand to hand spread the
packet to show a Joker is now face up in the centre.
Take off all the face down cards above the Joker and dump these on the tabled heap,
again messily. While you do this push over the top two cards of the packet you hold
and take a Pinkie Break beneath them. Lift up a double (face up Joker with face
down selection secretly beneath) by pinching the cards in the middle of the long
edge and use it to tap the top face down card that was apparently next to the Joker.
Fechters Pop Over is briefly as follows (the way I do it anyway). The left thumb
lifts up slightly on the edge of the top card.
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The other
fingers are holding the far long edge of the card. The thumb
in turn presses down on its corner, thus bending the card
and putting it into tension.
Notes
Theres are various other one hand revelation moves that could be done in
substitution for the Pop Over move, many taken from Ambitious Card routines. If
you dont want to do a one handed move at all, simple offer the packet to the
spectator and ask them to look at the top card. As they turn it over drop the Joker
and allow it to rotate as it falls, as described.
When you spread the packet between your hands to show that the Joker has
appeared face up, only its index will be seen. Square it with the card below it (the
selection) and take this double left jogged under the right hand spread. Still only the
index is seen. The right hand drops the back-to-back double onto the messy heap on
the table allowing it to rotate 180 degrees, as the left hand single handedly turns the
Joker on top of its packet face up using the Pop Over or similar move. The double is
dropped from beneath the spread in this version.
For a description of the original Pop Over move, actually called Spring Card
Revelation see The Magic of Eddie Fechter by Jerry Mentzer on page 208.
Page 33
Sleights
Cull
Larreverse
Neck Tie Second deal
Cut Deeper Force (or any other simple force of the top card)
Method
Phase One
The spectator begins by shuffling the deck and placing any card, unseen, face down
on the table.
Do you know what the card is? Nope. Well I sure as hell dont either. But I have two
tools that can help me find its mate. Intuition and smell. Oh ye, smell. But first,
intuition.
Take the deck back. You will now complete a dual action, which not only sets the first
phase but the repeat as well.
Turn the deck face up and allow the bottom card to side jog a little so you can peek
it (an idea I learnt from the Larry Jennings book). You will spread through the deck
and look for the mate of this card and up jog the card above it in the spread (closer
to you). At the same time you also look for the mate of the top card on the face up
deck, the one staring you in the face. When you spot this card you cull it underneath
the spread. It doesnt matter which of these mates you encounter first, just up jog or
cull depending which it is and then carry on going through the deck. You are meant
Page 34
It sounds like a lot is going on but its simple: just up jog the card above the bottom
cards mate and cull the mate of the face card. You can easily go through the deck
twice doing one action on each run through if you wish to make life easier. You are
supposedly hunting for a card by intuition so this is justified.
Square up the deck except for the out jogged card. If the spectator has been looking
at the faces its not a problem, even if they see the out jogged card. But now you
must tilt your hands back a bit so you dont flash the card that is below the out
jogged card during the next move. To start, lift the cards up and sniff, yes sniff, the
out jogged card. A good long sniff. Then lower your hands a bit and break the deck
below the out jogged card. Take this portion away in your right hand (including the
out jogged card) and turn this hand over towards you, palm down. Take the out
jogged card face down onto the lower face-up portion (the card on the face of this
lower packet is the one you dont want to flash). Then rotate your hand back drop
the upper portion face up back on top. All you have done is reverse your prediction
in the middle without flashing the face card of the lower packet. Flip the deck face
down.
Using my spider senses I have located one card which I believe to be the mate of
the one your selected. I have reversed it so I cant change my mind. I have also, as
you may have noticed, had a damn good sniff of my choice. Now, let me see.
Lean over the table and sniff the back of the face down card.
Hmmmm. You use Evian skin cream and you wear LAir du Temps, but not today (in
your best Hannibal Lecter voice). I think my nose and my intuition are in
agreement.
Pick up the tabled card and show its face. Drop it face up on top of the face down
deck and begin spreading down to your face-up prediction. Your prediction is of
Page 35
course incorrect.
Hmmm. Well, call me old fashioned but I would have to say that those two cards
arent mates. I apologise for my incompetence.
Apparently turn your prediction back face down in the centre but actually carry out a
Larreverse. Close up the deck and flip the selection thats on top face down.
Apparently deal this card onto the table as you chat but in fact deal a second. This
can just be a Neck Tie Second Deal, you dont need to do anything flashy as you are
on an offbeat.
Either my spider senses are not working or I am nasally challenged today. You know
it worked perfectly last night. This guy picked a different card, the (name the tabled
card as you turn it over) Four of Diamonds. I was spot on with my prediction which
was its mate, the Four of Hearts.
Spread through the deck slowly to show the correct mate reversed in the centre.
These two changes should come as somewhat of a surprise.
Phase Two
Cut the deck at the face-up card so it ends up on top but keep a Pinkie Break
between the halves. Deal the top card face up onto the table next to its mate.
Lets try it again but since my nose is off colour today, you can be the Sniffmeister.
Take the deck in Biddle Grip, holding the break with your thumb. Youre going to now
Dribble Force a card on yourself; what fun!
Dribble the cards into your left hand while you talk and stop at the break. Pull out
the
bottom
card
of
the
top
section
and
place
Page 36
it
on
the
table,
unseen.
Place the left-hand cards on top of the cards in the right hand you have secretly
cut the deck. Now you give the deck an Overhand Shuffle during which you loose the
top card. You can either shuffle one off then do a Jog Shuffle to keep the new top
card in place.
towards your left thumb, the fingers slipping off the top card which is at the back.
Easier still is a Double Under Cut to lose the top card.
Now, first your intuition. Please cut off about a third of the deck. Let the force flow
through you. Let it surround and bind you.
When they have done this ask them to drop it face up onto the deck. You are using
the Christ Balducci Cut Deeper Force to force the top card.
OK. Now cut a little deeper this time so we are randomising the location completely,
relying totally on your intuition.
They cut off about two thirds and flip that block face up, placing it onto the deck
proper again. Now you pick up the deck and spread through it until you reach face
down cards.
Break the spread below the first face down card (so its beneath the face up spread)
then turn the rest of the face down cards below it face up and put them back
underneath. As you reform the deck out jog the single face down card a little. This
leaves just one card face down in the centre and out jogged; the force card.
Or similarly any of these (as you turn the lower block face up). But you picked this
one, which well leave reversed in the deck, just as I did, so you cant change your
mind or con me in any way. Now you just have to confirm your choice by smell.
Get them to sniff the face down card on the table and then the out jogged card.
You happy? You are? WOW, youre happy sniffing my cards. Freaky.
Page 37
Notes
It may happen that when you spread through looking for the mates at the start you
cant find one of them. This means it must be the face down card on the table.
Change tack and just remove whichever card you cant find the mate for, reveal its
the mate of the tabled card and leave it at that. I know its a long shot but it can
happen. If you like you can pretend youre the fastest clocker in the world. You call
it luck, I call it destiny.
Even better, after you have reversed your prediction, when you turn over the tabled
card and spread down through the deck, the cards may indeed match. This means
the card you up jogged just happened to be the mate of the tabled card.
If this
happens you are supremo lucky, but it is a perfect result and makes a 100%
impossible trick.
After the Slip Shuffle, or however you lose the top card, the force card is on top so
you can use numerous forces such as a Slip Force, Criss Cross Force etc.
Any of
The bottom peek idea can be found in The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings by Mike
Maxwell in an effect called Prefiguration on page 156. The Larreverse can also be
found in this book, amongst other places.
The Christ / Balducci Cut Deeper Force can be found very well described in Roberto
Giobbi's Card College Volume 1.
Page 38
Both effects have mechanics that interest me greatly and I have explored
many times.
Long Dimension Phone Call looks at a Hammanesque style plot of changing one
four of a kind into another and then finding the original four of a kind in various
impossible locations. Alone in the Dark tries to make what is usually a very dry
effect much wetter?
Page 39
Youll need your best acting skills for this one if you go for the full presentation. But
even if that's not your scene then the story can be simplified as detailed in the Notes
section below. The effect is simple in mechanics, a lot of fun and has great impact.
Sleights
Rhythm Count
Discrepancy City Display
Elmsley Count
Set Up
One Four is inside the card case with the flap closed. A second Four is face down
under the card case. One of them should be black and the other red, it doesn't
matter which is which. How to achieve this set up?
follows.
Have a red and black Four on top of the cased deck. Remove the deck
leaving the top card behind in the case. Hold the case above the deck for a moment
and as you close the flap you steal away the top card beneath the box and table it to
one side. All set.
My favourite and probably the strongest approach is to get the Fours loaded in and
under the case then carry on with a few other tricks that dont require a full deck.
When you are ready to perform Long Dimension Phone Call, proceed as below.
Method
Spread through the deck with faces towards you and cut a black Jack to the back.
Then go through again up jogging two Fours, a red Jack and a black Jack.
"Let me show you something interesting with four Fours, I'll use them so they are
Page 40
easy to remember. But it's not the Fours that are really of interest, they are just the
medium for an experiment. It's my friend Tomas thats really the interesting thing.
You see, he lives in a parallel dimension."
Remove the four up jogged cards, then table the deck face down and arrange the
four cards without the audience seeing their faces so from the top down, when they
are face down, they are red Jack, Four, black Jack, Four. You can do this as you strip
them out of the deck if you wish. All you need to remember is interlace the Fours
and have the top Jack of the packet the opposite colour to the Jack that you cut to
the top of the deck.
"I know you don't believe a word of it, but it's true. He is actually sitting just where
you are, the very same spot, the very same time, but in another dimension.
Fortunately I can call him on my cell phone, which has dimensional roaming. Let me
prove he exists by using these Fours."
As you talk you casually perform Larry Jenningss excellent "Rhythm Count", placing
the cards into a face down pile as you count them. Briefly, holding the packet face
down turn over a double showing a Four. Turn the double down and deal the top
card to the table. Take off the new top card but hold it face down in your right hand
and immediately turn your left hand palm down, showing the face of its packet. Use
the single card in the right hand to gesture (tap) this Four.
hand palm up and thumb top card onto the tabled card. As you do this, your right
hand turns over and shows the face of the single card it holds, then drops it face
down onto the tabled heap. And finally, as it does this the left hand shows the face
of the final card, then tables it face down onto the other three. The important thing,
as youll guess from the name of the count, is the rhythm. It should be a smooth
sequence with a back and forth action of the hands so one card is tabled as the next
is shown.
When you have finished the count, pick up the top card only of the pile and turn it
face up.
"OK. Look, here's a Four. Now although Tomas is not in our dimension, from where
he is he can see what we are doing and more importantly he can change things,
Page 41
move things around. There's no need to get your coat, I am totally sane."
Pick up the deck and get a break under the top card. Drop the Four face down on
top.
"I am going to isolate this Four in a position that we are all clear about; me, you and
Tomas. I'll put it here in the middle of the deck."
Double lift and then rotate the hand holding the deck palm down. Push the double
face down into the middle of the face up deck, leaving it protruding from the front
end for about 1/3 of its length. Keep the hand holding the deck in this position, palm
down. With your other hand get out your mobile phone and pretend to dial a
number. Then do your best "talking to someone on a phone" impression.
"Hello? Tomas! Hi! How is everything over there? Excellent. I see you have been
helping Copperfield out again. Yeah, I know, it pays the bills. So, you got time to
help me out. I have a "non believer" here."
Hold the phone against your chest for a moment, so that "Tomas" can't hear and
then address the spectator.
"OK my pan dimensional friend. You see the Four of Clubs sticking face down out of
the deck? If you could do your thing and substitute a Jack for it that would be a good
start."
Pause.
Rotate your hand holding the deck palm up to show a Jack sticking out of the deck.
This is of course the face card of a double. Clip the phone between your shoulder and
Page 42
the side of your head for a second as you need your hand free to remove the card.
As you go to pull the Jack out, push the Four thats beneath it back flush into the
deck with your fingers beneath. The left 1st finger also reaches out from underneath
to aid pulling this card in flush (the mechanics of the Push In Change). Drop the Jack
face up onto the pile of three cards, supposedly Fours.
Look at the spectator and raise your eyebrows in an "I told you so" expression. Then
go back on the phone.
"Nice job Tomas. You did what? My my, you are feeling energetic. Just a moment
then."
Put the deck aside for a moment and pick up the small packet, flipping it over face
up. You will now do John Bannon's "Discrepancy City Display" to show four Jacks.
Elmsley Count, out jogging the face down card. At the end of the count, strip out the
face down card and drop it face up on top. Johns sequence looks extremely
convincing that four Jacks were shown. Smile at the spectator and raise your
eyebrows again, then pick up the phone.
Put the phone down and flip the packet you hold face down.
"He wants you to take one of the Jacks and put your hand on top of it."
Deal the top card face down onto the table and have the spectator cover it with their
hand. Back on the phone.......
"OK. We got one of the Jack's picked out. No, we don't know which one it is, you
said not to look. OK. (To spectator) He says turn up the other three and work out
which one is under your hand. Er, we got Jacks of Hearts, Clubs and Spades so it's a
Page 43
"He says he just changed that Jack for one of the Fours that disappeared earlier. Did
you feel anything? Well, take a look."
They turn over the card to find one of the missing Fours. Pick up the phone again.
"Thanks Tomas. I think we have a believer here now. You what? Yeah, actually I
am kind of curious where you put the other Fours. They are where? (To spectator)
He asked if I wondered where the other Fours disappeared too. You won't believe
this. He says there's one in the middle of the pack over there, the wrong way up.
Can you have a look? There is! Ha ha. There's one under the card case....."
Pick up the card case yourself to show the face down card underneath it. Ask the
spectator to pick up the card and check that it's a Four.
Ask the spectator to look inside the case and take out the card. They find the final
Four which you then drop face up with the others. You end clean but with a large pan
dimensional phone bill.
Notes
Larry Jennings wonderful Rhythm Count can be found explained in detail in The
Classic Magic of Larry Jennings by Mike Maxwell in the effect Uni-Flection on page
184. In his various lecture notes Allan Ackerman also details a series of alternative
counts based on the Rhythm Count that could be used in this routine.
John Bannons Discrepancy City Display can be found in his book Impossiblia in the
effect entitled Discrepancy City Prediction on page 4.
The Elmsley Count by Alex Elmsley can similarly be found in Mr Giobbis book, this
time in Card College Volume 2, amongst other numerous places.
Page 44
Sleights
None
Comments
This routine has two interesting points. Firstly, the mechanics of the location method
used are both fooling and open to many adjustments with respect to other
procedures (see also Sunken 21). Secondly, the patter attempts to make what is
generally a very dry effect, an impossible location, have an emotional impact on
the spectator. The somewhat narrative patter can of course be adjusted to whatever
you like, but it is designed to draw the spectator in to the plot.
Method
Take a shuffled deck and peek the top and bottom cards. If, like me, you dont trust
your memory, just arrange to have two mates top and bottom, such as the red Aces.
Place the deck on the table in front of your spectator.
Imagine youre in a classroom as the teacher, all the children are there. Its bright
and noisy. On the desk in front of you is a deck of cards. Now, I d like you to pick
up the deck and from out of the centre pull a block of cards, a decent chunk.
You want them to take around 15 - 25 cards but there is no specific amount or
constraints. As long as they pull a block from out of the middle leaving your key
cards in place you are fine. As an alternative you could get them to cut the deck in
three piles and use the middle one, reforming the remaining two portions so the key
cards are still top and bottom.
By taking them from the centre they are completely random. Now, count the cards
you have. Twenty?Fiine. Imagine writing "20" on the blackboard behind you in big
white letters so everyone can see. Then shuffle the twenty cards and think for a
Page 45
The only thing that we can know is you have twenty cards of course. We can't know
what cards or what order they are in since you picked them at random and have
shuffled them. I want you to now delete the only piece of information we have. So,
can you please cut a small packet from the cards you hold back onto the deck. Now
no one, not even you, knows how many cards you put back or how many you have
left in your hands. Turn around and erase the big number you wrote on the board
before. We now know nothing; not the quantity, nor the cards, nor the order.
Nothing.
Next can you imagine all the children leaving the classroom.
blinds, shut the door and turn off all the lights except your small desk lamp.
Shuffle the packet of cards you hold again. In a moment you will remember one
card from that packet. But I want you to think of a card that only you can know. No
one else in the classroom, or indeed the world will know what that card is. What you
will do is deal the cards you hold slowly down onto the table one at a time, turning
each one face up as you go and counting them in your head; 1,2,3,4 etc. When you
get to a point that only you know, remember the card and what number it is at.
However, do not stop dealing. Continue placing cards down face up going right
through the packet until you have dealt them all into a face up pile. By doing this no
one on Earth can know which card you choose to remember or at what position it
was at. I will look away and leave you alone in the classroom.
Before the spectator starts these actions you turn away and shield your eyes. Make
sure to do this BEFORE they start dealing so they know you dont peek any cards.
This is important as it eliminates the method most people in the know will think
you are using which involves peeking a card during the deal. With your back turned
and eyes averted you continue.
When you have finished and dealt all the cards, turn the pile face down. Now turn
to the blackboard and as small as you can, in the corner, write your card and the
number it was at. The room is dark and no one can see, but make it small and hide
it with your hand as you write.
Page 46
your back against the board so no one could see what you wrote. Keep the number
and the card in your mind.
Now, cut the rest of the deck that is on the table in half and drop the cards you cut
off onto your pile, burying them. Then drop the rest of the deck on top of all.
Remember, you shuffled the cards, You have now cut the cards repeatedly. No one
can know what card youre thinking of or what number. It could literally be any of
those 52 cards. The knowledge is only in your head and on that blackboard behind
you. Now imagine leaving the cards on your desk and close your eyes.
When the spectator closes their eyes you pick up the deck. To locate their card you
just need to do the following:
Spread through from the face until you see your first Key Card, in this case a red
Ace.
Start counting on the first card AFTER your key card and continue counting
cards between the keys, lets say its seven cards. Remember this new value and
then close the deck and start counting again from the face. Begin your count with
the first card (face card) and simply carry on counting from the new value as you
spread through, 8, 9, 10 etc until you reach the value that the spectator named at
the beginning, twenty in our example. Cut the deck at this point so the card at
position twenty ends up at the back. Then table the deck face down. These actions
are done during the patter as noted below. You will need to stop talking as you do
the counting (unless you can count and talk). As youll see from the patter, it does
not matter that they hear you touching / spreading the cards.
Youre standing there in the silence and darkness, thinking of your card and
number. You become aware of a sound; the sound of the cards mixing and moving
around - just as you can hear the cards now.
Alone in the dark with only the soft sound of the cards moving all by themselves.
Continue your count from the face of the deck to the key number, cut the deck at
Page 47
this point then table it face down. Speak slowly and quietly.
And then they stop. Silence. You open your eyes. The deck looks the same, sitting
there on the desk just as it did before. But you know something has happened in the
darkness. The cards have re-ordered themselves.
You tentatively take the cards and slowly deal down from the top, counting in your
head as you go, until you reach the number in your mind. A number only you can
know. You take the card at this position. In your mind, the name of your selection
becomes louder and louder as you slowly turn the card over; a card that can't
possible match the one that you are merely thinking of.
The card matches....and the light bulb in your desk lamp goes BANG! (really shout
this).
Notes
The location mechanics utilised are two fold. Firstly the card at a thought of number
idea is taken from C W Jones "Three Pile Trick" found in Greater Magic by Hilliard on
page 234. To locate the start position for this placement I have used a development
of the Sunken Key Principle by Scalbert, as used also in "Sunken 21" in this
booklet, which uses two sunken key cards.
Page 48
Technicalities
The two effects in this section both involve a stacked deck but I think they are well
worth it. I usually shy away from big set ups but if the impact of the effect is large
then I have no problem carrying a loaded deck. Thought Provoker explores the
age-old problem of locating a card that has been mentally selected and hides its
stack through the use of a very sneaky dealing procedure.
Rump Shaker is a
Page 49
Thought Provoker
Effect
The spectator randomly deals out four Poker hands.
mentally think of one of the cards - no physical selection or indication is made. The
deck is reformed and shuffled. The magician now looks through the deck and
removes a single card in order to make a prediction. The card is inserted, unseen,
into the centre of the face down deck and left out jogged.
The spectator concentrates on their mental selection which no one could possibly
know, but doesnt say a word.
The magician turns over the out jogged card and it matches the spectators mental
selection.
Principles
This routine takes my own Gut Feeling effect and merges into it Tom Frame's
excellent work on Vernon's Five Card Mental Force.
Expanding the traditional Five Card Mental Force to a Poker deal situation provides
logic to the number of cards used and also increases the number of cards apparently
in play i.e. its not just a one in five chance. The apparent random dealing procedure
from Gut Feeling also helps disguise any possibilities of a stacked deck.
The miss has always been the problem with the Vernon effect, but by using the
mechanics of Gut Feeling, the out ending is almost as powerful as a hit, and
certainly very effective in its own right.
Set Up
The effect requires a stack of twenty cards which is as follows:
Page 50
The red 8s and 10s in positions 9th to 12th are the target force cards. The others
are sequenced very carefully so that when the hands are formed they fall not only
into progressive spell order but also to generally obey Toms rules for the mental
force.
Method
This stack can sit on top of the deck but a better idea is to have it in the centre or at
the bottom of your deck. Perform a few effects that dont mess up that part of the
deck, and then cut the stack to the top. This throws the scent off a stack and
combined with some false shuffles and cuts liberally dispersed between effects, adds
greatly to the impact.
So, your stack is on top of an apparently shuffled deck. Hand it to the spectator and
tell them they are going to deal out four hands of cards as if for Poker, with five
cards in each. But the dealing will be unusual in that you want to ensure the hands
are totally random. Ask them to deal four cards out face down in a line but tell them
they can mix the order as they go i.e. deal out cards to positions 3, 2, 4, 1 as they
choose.
When this is done, ask them to deal another round, again placing the cards at any
position they choose to leave you with four heaps with two cards in each. Do this
again three more times to finish with four hands of five cards, stressing the location
of every card is based on their choice and their choice alone.
Take the remaining deck back and ask them to select a hand for themselves.
Emphasise very clearly that there is no force; that the hand they choose now is the
hand they will use. At all times they are to keep the cards face down and ensure that
you dont see anything.
When they have selected one, ask them to pick it up and hold it close to their chest
and fan out the cards. You dont want them to see the cards just yet, just fan them
out as they would hold a Poker hand.
Now they are to take a quick look at the hand and go instantly with their gut feeling
to mentally select a card and memorise it. Stress that they must try not to make any
Page 51
physical indication of the card they have chosen, stare at it, touch it etc. They should
then close the hand and place it back on the table, face down, in its position.
You will now pick the hands up based on the following rule. The rule is that two
hands must go on top of the one they chose. Usually they go for one of the two
centre packets so all you need to do is pick up the hands by placing them one on top
of the other from the end farthest away from their hand. So if we think of the hands
as 1, 2, 3 and 4 and they choose hand number 2, just pick them up from the other
end, 4 onto 3 onto 2 onto 1. The combined pile finally is dropped onto the deck.
Now if they pick a hand at the end, numbers 1 or 4, there are a few different ways to
handle it, but it must look natural and smooth. Say they choose hand 4, pick the two
end piles up, one in each hand, and drop them onto each of the two middle hands; 1
goes onto 2 and 4 goes onto 3. Then in the same continuous motion drop the two
packets which dont contain their hand onto the other heap to give you one pile of
cards with the required two hands on top of theirs, so 1 & 2 combined pile goes onto
4 & 3 combined pile. The combined pile finally is dropped onto the deck.
A good false shuffle and cut is pretty much essential now. Remember you only need
to keep the top fifteen cards in order so I suggest the standard Erdnase In Jog type
shuffle to maintain a top stock rather than a riffle. Do it fairly casually and perhaps
even a little sloppily so its obvious youre not stacking or milking the deck at all.
Throw in a false cut for good measure and youre done.
Situation Check
The hand they actually selection is in position 11th through to 15th from the top of the
deck.
Spread the deck face up to yourself. Starting at the face of the deck closest to you
begin spreading and looking for red 8s and 10s. Each hand contains only one and
since the hand they selected has only one other hand above it (as you look at the
deck) its an easy matter to go past the first red 8 or 10 you come to. Pull out the
second red 8 or 10 you find and place it face down on the table.
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Square the deck and table it. Push the prediction card still face down into the face
down deck from the far end, somewhere near the middle, leaving it out jogged for
half its length. Tell them to concentrate on their card, to focus their mind completely
on it. Its worth reiterating that the card was only thought of, it was not touched,
or written. No one else can possibly know its identity.
Now, the card I put into the deck happened to be this one..
Pick up the deck and turn the prediction card face up, in fact performing the
mechanics of Bill Simons Business Card Prophecy Move as follows.
through the deck until you get to the out jogged card.
Spread
above the out jogged card in your right hand, square them roughly and then turn
your right hand palm down. This turns the right hand packet face up. Pinch the outjogged card at its outer corner between the right thumb and the underside of the
right-hand packet.
Now rotate the right hand palm up again, thus revealing the
value of the outjogged card, and place it BENEATH the left hand cards.
The out
jogged card is still out jogged but now face up in the centre. The packets above and
below it have transposed so you have effectively cut the deck secretly during this
action. The illusion is you just split the deck to turn the out jogged card face up; it's
a wonderful move.
There is a very high likelihood that this card will be their mental selection. If it is,
you will know by their reaction. End the trick there as a miracle and pack up your
bags.
but the value of the card is not important. Its the location. The position I placed
it in the deck - thats what matters. It may have just seemed random to you, like I
just pushed it into the middle. But it wasnt.
Cut the cards above the face-up out-jogged card to the table. Place the out jogged
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prediction card aside and drop the remainder of the deck on top of the tabled half.
Hand them the deck, face down.
If you could take the deck please. Now from the point that I put in my card, I would
like you to silently spell the name of your card, the card thats in your mind alone. I
want you to deal a card face down onto the table for each letter in the name of your
card. Now its important that you do not say anything or in anyway indicate the
name you are spelling. Theres no need to spell the but you shouldnt forget the
ofso for example (and use a card name thats not in the stack for your example)
7H would mean you mentally spell out Seven of Hearts and deal down a card for
each letter.
them to deal the very next card face up onto the tabled packet.
thought of card.
Notes
Gut Feeling was published on The Second Deal website on 26th November 2002.
Tom Frames thoughts on the Vernon Five Card Mental Force, found in Early Vernon
by Ross, were published on The Second Deal website on 12th April 2005. Later they
were published as his effect Psyboards in the Talk About Tricks column in the
September 2005 issue of MAGIC Magazine. Toms thinking on the set up which
negatively reinforces the four non-force cards is extremely interesting. Although
Thought Provoker does not directly copy Toms set up, the hand construction does
employ his tactics.
The ideas for the spelling sequences come from Simon Aronsons work, in particular
from Worker Bees found on page 37 of his Try The Impossible. He credits T. Nelson
Downs as being one of the first to suggest using banks of cards that spell
progressively.
Bill Simon's "Business Card Prophecy" move can be found in his book Effective Card
Magic on page 32.
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Rump Shaker
With Tomas Blomberg
Effect
The famous GM (Gardner Marlo) Poker Deal crashes into Gilbreathe and finds itself
shaking its booty and you convincing everyone you do perfect bottoms.
Comments
I came up with what I think is an interesting way to get into the classic Gilbreathe
set up.
Tomas took the stack and the Gilbreathe ideas much farther than my
meagre mind can cope with and made the routine into a real brain boggler. Not only
that but if you can pull off a real bottom deal then check out the Notes at the end for
upping the ante even more.
Sleights
False Shuffle
Set Up
An extensive stack is required but it really is worth the effort.
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Method
A decent false shuffle is pretty much essential, so use any one you feel comfortable
with. With the deck in this stack it can be spread face up without the stack being
immediately apparent.
Proceed to deal out six Poker hands around the table. Your hand will of course get
four Aces plus an X card.
If you are a magician and you play Poker, people always suspects you of cheating.
And theyd be right. Four Aces. What could be better? I can see youre intrigued so
for once let me show you EXACTLY how that works.
Turn your hand face down and put it underneath the deck (so the four Aces are the
bottom four cards). Then pick up the five other hands one on top of the other
stacking hand 1 onto hand 2, this combined pile onto 3 etc until you have collected
them all. Riffle Shuffle this whole packet back into the talon you hold.
The only
restriction is to let the four Aces on the bottom of the talon fall first then fair Riffle
Shuffle the rest. There is no need to hide the Aces being riffled first, just let them fall
off slowly 1, 2, 3, 4. It is well worth emphasising the rest of the riffle shuffle is fair.
The Aces start on the bottom, just like this. When I shuffle the deck I just let the
four Aces drop off first, one, two, three, four, then fairly shuffle the rest of the deck
on top of them. So you can see, although the main part of the deck is interweaved
and shuffled, the Aces still sit underneath at the bottom.
When I get to my hand I do a Bottom Deal. Now I am showing you this time so
youll see it, but when I do it properly its invisible. You didnt see it first time round
did you?
Deal out six hands again, openly bottom dealing all five card on yours, to show how
you got the four Aces.
The four Aces again of course. Each one dealt into my hand from the bottom.
Turn your hand face down and put it beneath the talon again (Aces go to the
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bottom). Then as before, collect the other hands back up by putting hand 1 onto
hand 2, combined packet onto hand 3 etc.
The real secret with this though, is not just dealing yourself a good hand. You need
someone to bet against you, so you do what is called double duking. This means
you deal a great hand to an opponent, but not as good as your own, so they bet
against you.
Ask the spectator to pick any one of the five other positions around the table other
than yours and explain you will double duke that hand. Deal out normally for the
rest, including yourself, but openly bottom deal on the hand they selected for all of
its five cards.
So this time Ill deal the bottoms on that hand so they get the four Aces. Again Ill
do it openly like this so you can see it each time.
This gives the selected hand four Aces plus an X card, so turn it face up to prove
this.
Of course, even better than double duking one player would be to double duke them
all and entice EVERYONE to bet.
Turn over each of the other hands except yours pointing out what they have and how
they would be encouraged to bet by this. The other hands will all be at least a pair
but more likely much better (two pair, three of a kind or Full Houses usually). This
alone is a very strong revelation and the apparent randomness of the hands really
is impressive and baffling. Usually the first hand you show will have just a pair, the
next one two pair, the next a Full House and the next a Flush. But this can vary each
time.
But of course, all that work to give everyone a good betting hand, or even four
Aces, is for nothing if you dont give yourself the winning hand.
Slowly turn over your cards to show despite the fair shuffling you gave yourself a
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Notes
Now, the above method is sleight free and self-working. But, if you have the skills
and can deal real undetectable bottoms then you can of course change the routine at
the double duking stage. Dont have the spectator nominate a position, simply pick
one in your mind and deal bottoms to that position covertly rather than openly. You
then get an additional climax of the four Aces in that hand. Even if you are amongst
fast company and they catch the Bottoms being dealt, the revelation of the other
good hands and finally your winning hand will leave them totally floored.
The original "Gardner Marlo Poker Routine" can be found in Let's See The Deck by Ed
Marlo. There have been many variations to this fantastic routine, most notably Steve
Mayhew's Angels May Shuffle But The Devil Still Deals.
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Start with the deck in standard Dealers Grip with a Pinkie Break under one card.
Your left thumb moves up so it contacts the outer left corner of the deck. Your right
hand grasps the inner right corner of the top card with its thumb on top and first and
second fingers beneath. These three fingertips form a small triangle with a pocket
in the centre, and its into this pocket that the corner of the card is pressed.
The card is going to rotate with the inner right and outer left corners as its fulcrum.
So the outer right corner will rotate back towards you and the inner left corner will
rotate underneath away from you. At the same time the inner end of the cards is
moved forwards, finishing up with the card as shown at the bottom of the next page,
clamped onto the deck by the thumb on its inner left corner. So in effect the card
rotates forwards and under, ending up with what was the back end at the front and
also face up.
To aid the rotation, the right thumb pulls upwards slightly on the long edge of the
card. The second finger, which is on the inner edge, presses down slightly, causing
the card to pivot over on its axis. To give the card space above the deck to turn
over, the left thumb raises up, still maintaining pressure on the front corner and
acting as fulcrum. After the rotating and forward movement is complete the thumbs
clamps down as noted above.
Breaking down the various actions, the left thumb lifts up about an inch, moves
across about an inch, and then clamps down on the card.
pretty much straight forward, spinning the card on its diagonal axis as it goes.
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Second Lesson
Now, for the double itself. Just do EXACTLY as above
but start with a break under two cards. The cards will
stay perfectly together and aligned due to the corner
pressure points throughout. You can do triples and
even quads just as easily.
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The
Sleights
Hi Ho Silver
Double Lift
Preparation
This is the only effect in this booklet that requires a gaff. Its simple to prepare and
you only need do it once - its reused every time you perform.
You need to colour photocopy a small coin. Whatever denomination you choose it
should be no more than 1.5cms across, fairly small. In the UK, a 10p is perfect. In
the US I guess a dime. Colour photocopy it HEADS SIDE DOWN and cut neatly
around the print of the coin.
matches the deck you most commonly use. I would suggest a good spray adhesive
but you can use a neatly trimmed bit of double stick tape. The photocopied coin
should be showing heads. Thats it, job done.
Method
Have your gaff on top of the matching deck, coin side downwards so all looks
normal.
course ask them if they have one but you run the risk that it may have a mark or
have a different image on it. Ask them to hold out the hand that they DONT write
with and place the coin on it making sure its heads side up.
Spread the deck and ask them to choose any card. Place the card face up on top of
the deck and get them to sign it. Blow the ink dry, and as you do so secure a Pinkie
Break beneath your Double Backer. Lift off the double, holding it in Pinch Grip in the
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You will now take the coin back from them and to do this you need to free up your
right hand. So, turn your left hand holding the deck palm down ONTO the double,
i.e. the double is taken beneath the face-up deck with the left hand palm down. This
frees the right hand to take the coin back at its fingertips and bring it towards the
deck which is still held vertically. As this happens, your right hand starts to turn palm
up.
As you rotate the hand and deck back over, the right hand moves so its
fingertips are touching the top of the deck, directly on the photocopy. It places the
coin flat onto the top surface of the deck as the left hand finishes turning palm up.
Position the coin directly onto the photocopy ensuring it is heads up.
The above
action ensures the photocopy is hidden throughout; it simply looks like you took the
coin and put it on top of the deck. Turning the hand over onto a double like this is an
old colour change idea.
OK, well use the card you picked, the Ace of Hearts. You may be wondering what
the coin is for. Well, I dont know if you know much about gambling, in particular
cheating at gambling? An old trick was to press a coin into the back of a card and
you left a circular indent. You could not only easily spot this at a distance but it also
meant you could actually cut to that card whenever you wish too.
Keep the deck flat so the coin doesnt slide around for the moment. Your right hand
now moves back to the top of the deck and for a second shields the coin with the
backs of its fingers. At the moment this happens you tip the deck slightly towards
the right so the coin slides across its surface, falls off the edge and is caught by the
left fingers beneath which extend.
under the deck into a Finger Palm position, so the right fingers can come back
alongside the edge of the deck.
If you feel uneasy letting it slide, the right thumb can give it a little kick towards the
edge, this action being shielding by the right fingers.
Well, I tried it once. I pressed down like this onto the coin so it left a mark on the
card, your card in this case - the Ace of Hearts.
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Mime pressing down on the coin with your right hand onto the top of the deck, and
then move your right hand away. As you do this move the left hand sideways a little,
and then towards the spectator. This movement is important because as long as the
deck is moving its impossible to see that the coin on top isnt real. After you have
moved it towards them for about a foot, freeze your hand and let them focus on it.
But I guess I am just too heavy handed because I pressed so hard I actually pushed
the coin INTO the card.
Rub the back of the card with your fingertips and allow them to do this also.
Let this sink in for a moment then continue by asking them to hold both hands out
and cup them like a bowl. As they do this turn over a double showing the face of
their signed card again. In one action your right hand grabs the deck in Biddle Grip
while your left hand presses on the top card with its thumb and peels it off the deck.
The left hand also has the coin in a Finger Palm position but the peeled off card will
cover this perfectly. This move shouldnt be done quickly, just casually appear to
pass the deck to the other hand and retain their card. Because of the Double Backer
the top of the deck looks normal of course. Table or pocket the deck and as you do
so open your left hand out flat to show the card, the coin concealed beneath.
After ditching the deck the right hand returns and takes the card as for the classic
Matrix position. With thumb on top and fingers beneath, pinning the coin against the
underside of the card. The coin should be pinned using only the middle and third
fingers, right on its edge so most of it is visible. It must also be located centrally on
the card in the same position as the photocopy was on the gaff.
Move the right hand holding the card towards the spectators cupped hands and as
you do so turn it palm down to flash the coin. Do this fairly rapidly and as before, as
long as the hand is in motion, its impossible to tell the coin is now real.
Fortunately I found that with a nice sharp flick I could dislodge the coin so it wasnt
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Give a quick shake of the card and release the coin so it flies into their cupped
hands. Slowly turn the card over and show it is back to normal, then drop it into
their hands also to end clean.
Advanced handling
There are lots of options for the reproduction. A more advanced version would be as
the right hand comes back and takes the card the left hand turns palm down in a
loose fist and Back Clips the coin (or puts it into Tenkai Pinch). Extend your left first
finger and tap the card as you say Theres only one way to get the coin back out of
the card.Turn your left hand palm up, which shows it empty, as the coin is Back
Clipped, and retake the short end of the card at your fingertips. Hold it above the
spectators cupped hands and then give it a sharp downwards flick from above with
your right hand. At this moment release the coin and it will fall into their hands, a
very startling reproduction. Turn the card over and show the back is now normal.
Notes
Almost any small item you can photocopy will work for this routine, although some
are a little trickier in terms of aligning the real object with the photocopy.
For
The idea was inspired by a hero of mine, Mr Homer J Simpson. During an episode of
The Simpsons he accidentally pushed a coin inside his hand and then came out with
the classic line Oh no. Not again.
Paul Harris Hi Ho Silver can be found on page 157 of The Art of Astonishment Volume 1.
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