2. !)ee:nin::ly turn over the top car-r! of the onckot , Ii1 "ac t , .10 a Dcub Ie 'Iur-nover-, 'the joker- \",i11 nhow, so 1111 f1PPCI'U'S to be fair.
I have long been fascinate~ by such ~etamorphic card" plots as the "General Card and the Universal Card. Some tice ar,o, I devised an elaborately Gaffed ro~ tine, which met with enthusiastic response when demonstrated at various conventions around the world. This most recent approach is a far more practical one, as it 1s totally impromptu.
3. Sbat e t.ha t you \'si11 bury thcjo~ccr t'nce up \'Iithin the pocket. Openly transfer the bottom card to the 'top; use an Blr.lSley Count to display the Joker- face up among three face down cards. Square the packet.
Frankly, I did not intend to release this routine. However, several close friends suggested that if I did not put this into print myself, it would aurely be stolen. It is an unfortunate co~entary on the state of things that this warning struck me as being extremely reasonable ••• My paranoia is your {;ain. I genuinely like this rout in,,;; I hope it pleases you. /'
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4. State, "The first duplication is produced tlith a BMp of the finp.;crs. I' Snap , then l4.:lmsley Count the car-ds , the last card {~oinr; to the bottom of the pncke t , The rnce up card will show o e the ace.
:'. The ace is apparently flipped face down. In fact, perform a Triple Turnover~ (The order of the packet is now: joker, face up 2, A, 3.) The audience believeathe top face down card to be an ace. The right hand takes away this top card. Simultaneously, the left wrist turns inward, to conceal the race up deuce now atop the packet.
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Phil oldstein Janus , 1980
6. Say, "To turn the joker back to its original
form" all I do is blow ••• n Blow on the card 1n the right hand, then snap it face up. It 1s again the joker.
7. The joker is replaced onto the left hand·stock, face up. As the joker i13 returned to the packet, the left wrist turns out, returning the packet to horizontal position. The audience assumea you to be holding a face up Joker on top or three face down cards.
The routine begins with the observation, "Most peop~e have a favorite playing card. Let me show you mine. Take the deck, and openly remove the joker. (If there is no joker, use a deuce or a one-eyed jack.)
8. State that you w111 repeat the effect. The joker is again put face up within the face down packet once again, transfer the bottom card. to the top. Elmsley Count to show the joker-: among three face down cards.
Invite three spectator to each remove their favorite card. These three cards are arranged in a face up fan, w~th the first selection at the back of the fan, the second in the center; the third at the face. (FOr the purposes of this explanation, we will assume that the aelections are an ace, deuce and trey.) Drop the joker tace up onto the face of the fan.
9. Sna~ your rin~erB. Elmsley Count, the last card going to the bottom. The face up card showing is the deuce. 10. To cause the deuce to revert back to joker condition, proceed as follows: the packet is held in the left hand. The right hand grasps the cards from above, fincers at the outer edge, thumb at the inner edGe. The right hRnd removes the center pair of cards, squared as one, using the basic action of a Partial Ascanio. Th!S is to.say, the left thumb retains the top card (face up 2), the left fingers retain the bottom card (race down 3). The riGht hand strips away the SQuared center'pair (~ace down ace above face up joker).
State, "I don I t know Why these three part1cular cards are your favorites, but I can tell you wny the joker is mine. You aee, in many card games, a joker can Bct BS a 'wild card l - - it cBn substitute for any other card. In a moment, the joker will do precisely that: it will substitute for each of your three selections, in order." 1. Flip the packet face down. Call off the order of the cards -- ace, deuce, trey, and Joker -- as you (apparently) reverse their order. In fact, yo~ perform an Elmsley Count. (Refer to description at the end of this manuscript.) The audience belleves the order to now be, from the top: joker, 3, 2, A. The actual order Is: A, joker, 2, 3.
(T~~ above action QaY be easIer for JOU if you use'" Buclcle or Pull-Down action on the bottom car~ of the packet.)
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This routine can be utili~:ed ae the closing phase cf R lon~er routine. Have three cards chosen by RS many spectators. The, selections are returned, controlled, and revealed in three different ways. Now, introduce the Joker, And ~o into the routine.
NOTE,!'); St.~~1.pp'"!~
The
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o Ln--Lc
t~(;U::'l~ to ,;0\"10 car-d, :.8 le~t hand s t.ock,
('ut pnLr , ~~C~
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p Inced onto t:iC dOim-jo,--;cec. for half ita len;til. (Refer to the illustration.) You ar-e now in poai.t Ion for a PAintbrush ChAnr;e: the ri;;ht hand contnc t a the down-joi;ced card(n) with ttie t.huab At ~he Inner ed-;e , t:le iJidlUC fin':ern resting on the
T. A. Waters has sUBgested that you can start by openly removing the joker. Have three cards selected and returned. Now, use the Joker to "find" the selections (there are many such effects in print). Thisestabl1shea a "link" between -the joker and the selections, paving the way ~he the follow-up routine.
center of the CRrl1(s). The r'i,;),t ~·,Rthl .,10'Jes its (lair ror... .ar-d , until
the dO\'II1-jo-·,-'en. pa Lr- lines up l-l1t1'~
the car-de b~low ::.t. Immediately, the ton 3in l; l e car-d t e dr-awn back to down-.jo~;r,ed post tion l,y the rl~ht
hand. The deuce instantly chanxea to the
joker. !\s thl0 change 1s »ade , blow on the carde . (as per the actions of the prp.vlouschanf~e).
11
i
Transfer the tv)') a:l.nl11o oprtl (ti\Q tll,mn-
Jo~··"~ed nee} to the bot tom 01' the th~'t you will cause the joker to
packet. Bxp Ia Ln duplicate the 3, under "teat conditions"... Flip the top pair of' cards, squared as one, face down. (You have apparently just .flipped the jolcer face down.) ,.De~l the top single card off t~ the right. Say, We 11 keep things easy to follow -- the Joker ntays here.
12. Apparently turn ever the top card of the threecard pRcket. In fact, perfonn a Dou~le Turnover. The 3 will thus be displayed. Say, Here is the 3 which the joker- must dUf,llcate. To avoid confusion, 'we'll put it over here.' Flip the double face down, and deal the top sin~le card off to the left. A spectator 1s instructed to place hls/her hand over the (supposed) 3, "for safekeeping." 13. Pick up the (supposed) joker from the right, and droP it onto the packet. Snap your fingers. Perform a Double Turnover. The (apparent) top card is now seen to be a 3. (The spectators assume the tabled card to also be a 3.) 14. Flip the double face down, then transfer ·the top two cards 8s·one to the bottom of the packet. (This restores the selections to their original A-2-3 order.) Blow on the packet. Ask the spectators if they know what this has sccomplished. They will say that it chan~ed the 3 back into the joker. Say, "Yes, that I B true - but since th1s is the end of the routine, I did it the hard way. !his three 'didn't cbange ••• (turn up the three cards your hand, spreadil'16 to display the selections) •••!n!! one did1" (Point to the card being held by the spectator.) The spectator looks ••• snd finds the held card to be the joker. Finis.
rn
Another presentational angle would be to place the 'joker aside tace down# calling it a prediction. Have three cards selected. Display the joker, and explain that, because it is 8 ltwild card", it will technically be able to serve a8 a prediction for any of the selections. The spectators WillA of course,. be dissatisfied with'th1s statement - 80 go into this routine, to "validate" the joker as a "flexible prediction." · John Thompson haa suggested that the final transposition phase (steps 12 through 14) can be done 'in the manner of the classic Scarne transposition; the (supposed) 3 is tabled beneath a drinking · glaas; the (supposed) Joker placed on top of the glase. At the finish,. the two are round to have changed placeB. The routtne can be done without a table. Simply use the spectators I outstretched hands to hold · the dealt-out carda ~ur1ng the final phase.
copyright
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1980 by Phil Goldstein
TIlE EU'lSJZY. cotnn' 11 I 11-. .-11 eount Uled to concell the Clrd third tr~ the top of I fourClres picket. 'nM handUne ia the al&le tor count1~ r _la_II. Nold the pICket . . Ihown It rt,ht. The rilht hind l"u11a the t(lP Clrd; oft to the r1eht 0" tn. count or ·1·. !he hIInda COIN tolether. Ind thl rollow1~ Ictlonl tIkI pllee: the rlrat Clrd; co.ea below the pICket. and 1. taken tr:J the left f1ncerl. Aa thil hlpPlnl. thl lett tbu.b puahlla the top two (or tbrle. i f rln clnla are lnnrhed) clrd;a of ita C"'UP to the rlcht. The r111iht blM takel the.e two carda, aquared!. 0" tbl OOW'It ot ~2~ (IPPlnnU, OU',.I I1111Pl:J taken off flnt thl top card; ot thl plcklt, tn." the MKt elrd on top at tt). Po110111nc thll. JOU eenl,ll"e17 take the neltt cud 0" the count of "3", tlMn tb. flnll1 card on top ot ell for the collnt of """. The clrd WhIch w•• on top at the lun hili be'en IIbo1m twlol. tbe urdCI) blUMn the HCOnd and bote- poIIUona at tIM ltart OI_t bI _ dal'l~ thl count.
MASQUE is a new packet approach to the "Universal Card" plot: a joker takes on the appearance of three freely selected cards, one at a time. Between changes, the card reverts to its joker identity. There is a surprise transposition for the climax -- taking place in th~ spectator's own hands. There are no gimmicks, no duplicates, not even any extra cards. You start and end clean. No advance set-up required a ~ruly impromptu routin~ which can be done with a borrowed deck •••• under any conditions.
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"MASQUE is a wonderful routine, that is destined to become a classic of card magic. I'll be using this." -- John Thompson
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