Welcome to DENOUEMENT Firstly I would just like to take this moment to personally thank you the reader for purchasing this effect and for supporting my work, if you have followed my work through the years then I am also grateful to you for giving me the drive to continue. Without you my work would not exist.
Introduction: So as many of you may be aware there has been a few issues regarding a certain release that was put out a few years ago by myself and a certain magic company, I’m not going to name names due to legal reasons but those in the know are fully aware of the who ’s and what’s.
It is due to this situation that I have decided to put this little gem out that I have been performing for a few years now, I have used this to close at tables and even small lectures, it is something I’m very proud of and I’m happy to be sharing it now with you. The ACAAN plot has been played with more times than I’ve had hot dinners and I know there are some really good versions and some really bad versions, but when you mix certain methods together to adapt to certain situations they can be devastating. My point being that there really cannot be a bad method, as you cannot predict the environment nor situation you will be in, and it’s because of this that my head is always in a spin around this plot. Obsessed with this plot people always say to me? Not true, I just enjoy creating solutions to a great plot and the more methods I create the better they get, it’s no different to the thought of card plot, for years I have been putting ideas out there to achieve that goal of placing a single card on the table, having the spectator think of a card and change their mind, and the one card they are thinking of in that moment is the card on the table! Destination was my goal achieved and something that is now performed around the world. I created Denouement back in 2013 and was the inspiration for ABACUS which was a huge success and was reviewed in several magic magazines across the world, Abacus received rave reviews and I am hoping that this offering will accomplish the same. Important note regarding Denouement, it is the scripting used that makes this effect possible, a good ACAAN is never about the cards it’s about how you create the illusion of free choice, something I’m very good at…. Welcome to DENOUEMENT
SETUP: The setup for Denouement is fairly simple, you will be placing 8 cards in certain positions in the deck, these positions are very unique and when combined with the scripting cover everything possible, you will also need to leave a single playing card in the card box, YES there is an out, but believe it or not it is a very powerful out and turns into something completely impossible but I will explain this a little later in these notes. To start you will need to remove these cards from your deck of 52 wonders: 5H 5D and the 5C 6H 6D and the 6C 7H 7D and the 7C Once you have all these cards placed aside, give the rest of the deck a good shuffle as this will help with the random look of the deck. (If you dropped a card whilst shuffling I’ve just had a little laugh at you) Now holding the deck face up in your hand start dealing cards face up to the table as you do this you will be placing the cards you removed earlier in certain positions as you deal. Deck positions: 5H=23 5D=24 5C=32 6D=25 6C=42 7H=34 7D=35 7C=43 Count along as you deal as its easy to lose track when thinking about 2 different positions, once all the cards are placed in position put the remaining card the 6 of hearts inside the card box and you are set to go.
Before I continue please familiarise yourself with the deck and where the key cards are, I have used certain cards and placed them in a unique way that is easy to remember with regards to the routine and how it is presented. I will use the value of 5 as an example to explain the positioning of the cards of that value, from this you will understand how the others work. So the spectator has created the number 5, I will explain in the scripting section how this works but for the moment we will use this as an example, 5 is made of 2 & 3, which is how the spectator will put this across, the red suited cards will ALWAYS be the 2 digit number laid out one way, in this case 23 and 24, the black suit that is named will ALWAYS be the reverse of the number which in this case is 32, so to lay this out in easy terms 5H – 23 5D – 24 5C – 32 This is the same for the 7H,7D and the 7C, the 6 is a bit different as the position 24 couldn’t be used twice BUT with regards to the suit, the 6D is at position 25 and the 6C is at 42. Below is a small video clip for visual aid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTXxpoVo720&feature=youtu.be
Value & Position force: So here lies the method within the madness, as many of you know this is how ABACUS came about as well as much of my previous work and many will know I am a HUGE fan of the shooting fingers principle created by Max Maven many years ago. Shooting fingers is a clever way to have a spectator create what appears to be a freely created two digit number when in reality its heavily restricted, now with this in mind not only can an apparent freely created two digit number be created but also the value of a playing card. When you combine these two elements along with cleverly positioned playing cards within a deck, you now have something incredibly powerful to perform. The original version of shooting fingers was that a spectator would be asked to place their hands behind their back and hold up a random set of fingers on each hand thus creating a random two digit number, this would then be shown and the number predicted by the mind reader… feel free to have a play with this its good fun! For Denouement to work we need to force the positions as explained above, this is believe it or not very easy to do with a reverse version of the shooting fingers principle. By asking the spectator to hold up all their fingers on each hand, have them place their hands behind their back and now ask them to drop a random amount of fingers on each hand so that each hand has a DIFFERENT set of digits to the other we have started restricting their choices, in the script I will explain how to also eliminate the use of the numbers 1 and 5 meaning they are only left with 6 options. 23,24,32,34,42,43 Now if you look at the numbers we have restricted them to use you will notice they correspond to the positions we have used in the deck, also the number they will have created will only amount to the values of 5,6 and 7 which are the three values used for Denouement. Hopefully you will start to see something coming together inside your mind and a small grin starting to appear on your face …… See video below for visual aid in shooting fingers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MbUe1vNNMg&feature=youtu.be
Suit: For Denouement to work you will also need to eliminate a single suit and that in this case is the spades, this is easily achieved by just throwing it out there as an example, during the effect I simply ask them to name a suit and that Spades is normally the most obvious, this deters them from naming the Spades as many already know this is the most commonly named suit. “So name any suit for me, spades being the most obvious I know but try and be a little
different “ This simple sentence will have them name one of the other suits required to perform this effect. Okay so I have gone over the basics of the deck setup, the shooting fingers principle and the suits needed, it’s time to get into the scripting and the good stuff.
Scripting/performance I start by handing the deck to the spectator and asking them to check the deck and ensure theirs no trick cards etc., once they are happy I mention that we are going to try an experiment using the cards they currently have in their hands and at no point will I touch the deck during the experiment. (Card case is left in full view on the table) I now ask, “If I was to ask you to name a suit of playing card, spades being the most obvious so try and be a little different which suit would you name? ” “Hearts” they reply, and I state that was a free choice and that they are happy.
I now ask them to just name a two digit number between 1 & 52 straight off the top of their head, I do this because you will be surprised how many times one of your force numbers is just thrown out there without thought, and I mention that doing this helps me understand the way that they think? Using this line means that if something other than a force number is used it’s not relevant the number they name. After they have named a number, we will use 27 for example, I state that’s interesting but that was just a number you threw out there without any thought, this time I will ask you to create a two digit number in a unique way using your hands. “I would like you to put all your fingers up and place your hands behind you back for me; I
would now like you to drop a random amount of fingers on each hand so that each hand has a different set of digits to the other ” I now continue, “for example you could do use 1 and 5 ” I show my hands with a single digit on one hand and all 5 on the other, “this would create a two digit number of either 51 or 15 or even 6, if you have used either 5 or 1 please change it for something else as I don’t want it to appear that I have influenced in any way to use those numbers ” This will eliminate the use of the digits 1 and 5 meaning the only numbers left are the 6 force numbers as discussed above. Once the spectator is happy you ask them to bring their hands forward to show you the outcome. For example here we will imagine they bring out 2 fingers on one hand and 3 fingers on the other. At this point we know they have named hearts as there suit meaning the digits shown will be used as the lowest which is 23
I now state “okay that’s interesting, were going to use this for a value and a position of a certain playing card within the deck, 2 add 3 equals? ” it’s important to let the spectator name the value. 5 “And 2 and 3 put together as a two digit number is ” again let the spectator name the two
digit number, in this case is 23 Hopefully your mind has just snapped and you have realised that the 5 of hearts is currently rd
sat in the 23 position of the deck we set up earlier! I now ask “is it possible that without me ever touching the deck that the 5 of hearts could rd
possibly be the 23 card down in the deck, the odds are when you think about it 2704 to 1, it would be impossible right? ” rd
I now ask the spectator to count down to the 23 card and reveal …… So there you have the general idea and scripting for Denouement, this is obviously the best scenario and will also work for 5C,6D,7H and the 7C with regards to the two digit number they can create. Perfect hit. So what if they name diamonds as their suit, well this is also easy to get over, you just alter the scripting slightly by stating that wouldn’t it be interesting if that card was exactly 23 cards DOWN in the deck and have them deal 23 cards to one side, I now have them turn the top card over of the rest of the deck and it’s a hit. Remember the diamonds is always the next card What if they name the Clubs, as mentioned above you go to the highest number, in this case the reverse of 23 is 32, if you check your deck setup you will notice that the 5 of clubs is at position 32 …. If the spectator brings out 2 fingers on one hand and 4 on the other, because the position 24 can be used twice I have placed the 6 of hearts in the card box, the rest of the cards for value 6 still apply as normal, 6D is at position 25 and if they name clubs it switches to 42. Again it’s the same if they bring out 3 fingers on one hand and 4 on the other making the value 7, the 7 of hearts is at 34, 7 of diamonds is at position 35 and if they name clubs it switches and the 7 of clubs is sat at 43. If they name Clubs as the suit they require at the start and after they bring out there hands, you already know you need the higher number, so by stating “Okay that’s interesting, this
will create a value and a position in the deck, in this case 4 add 3 is? ” remember let them answer the question. 7 “And if we place 4 and 3 together as a two digit number it makes? ”
43 The 7 of clubs will be at position 43 in the deck. If the spectator names hearts and creates the value 6, the issue here was that two cards couldn’t exist at position 24 in the deck so I created a powerful out that seems impossible
and with the right scripting makes it a miracle. So the spectator has named hearts and holds out 2 digits on one hand and 4 on the other. “Okay that’s interesting, you named the hearts at the start which was a free choice and you
have created the total of 6 which would mean the 6 of hearts, would you agree that you could have created any playing card? ” You’re not lying this is the truth!
I now ask them to pick up the card case and to shake it; they will hear a single playing card inside. “Before we started this little experiment I left a single playing card inside the box, this card
was my prediction for the outcome of your decisions, decisions you and you only have made, please take a look ” What is interesting is you never stated what the experiment was at the start of the effect meaning nothing is lost and you leaving the spectator speechless. When using the out please contain your excitement, I remember when I first started using this it was like a small miracle.
Thoughts: So there you have Denouement in its purest form, it sounds complicated but once you start to play about with it things will sink in fast and you’ll be using it loads, feel free to change the scripting to suit your own style or even the suits themselves within the layout in the deck, use whatever works for you. I have been performing this over skype by keeping the deck in full view the entire time so the viewer can see I haven’t manipulated the deck in anyway or made any switches. I hope you the reader can see the potential with this and visualise how powerful this is, I have fooled many people with this over the years including several in Blackpool this year, it’s very hard to backtrack and something I will be closing my upcoming UK lectures with so
if you’re at any of these lectures SSSSHHHHHH……..keep the secret safe as I won’t be teaching it. Again many thanks for purchasing this effect and thank you for supporting my work.
Credits and Note: I owe so much to certain people within the magic community for helping and inspiring me through the years that I can’t fit them all within this EBook but you know who you are and here are a few: Peter Turner Michael Murray Gary Jones James Brown Alan Rorrison Max Maven Derren Brown Daniel Madison Dee Christopher And most importantly my Wife and Kids. I would also like to thank the guys in the Gangsters of magic group on Facebook, you guys are quality! As you know this is my last release to the community due to certain issues and I also have a busy year ahead full of lectures and consultation for shows which is something I’ve always wanted to do. If you have any question please feel free to contact me via email:
[email protected] Or through Facebook. All the best
Rus Andrews Copy write 2016
