REVISED ! UPDATED ! EXPANDED
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© Copyright Eric Richardson 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced reproduced in any form without prior permission from the author.
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PREFACE This curious collection of card conjuring contains previously unpublished routines, items from long out-of-print lecture notes and a sampling of material from my published books (available at Vanishing Inc.). Inc.). I have packed this ebook full of routines and ideas that I have used for many years. Altogether there are eight eight fully scripted scripted routines and one one super sneaky box peek. Despite the varied themes and methods presented, everything in this book shares one rather peculiar thing in common. Each of these routines came to me as a single "flash" of inspiration where everything rattling around in my mind (ideas, routines, techniques, groceries lists, embarrassing childhood memories, etc.) converged in a single moment of surprising clarity. clarity. The last routine in this book, bizarrely, bizarrely, came to me, fully formed, in a dream. None of this follows my normally slow and methodical approach approach to creating magic. magic. Curious indeed! These singular moments of inspiration have brought me great joy over the years and it has been immensely satisfying to share them with my audiences. Now, Now, I also derive derive great pleasure in sharing them with you! you! I hope you enjoy "unpacking" this collection of card conjuring and discovering, for yourself, its curious contents. Sincerely, Eric Richardson 2015
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WHAT'S NEW? Several routines in this collection have gone through significant changes since 2015. I believe the changes have made them even more entertaining, deceptive and magical. In this new edition, I have updated "IN2IT," "IN2IT," "One for Skinner," "What the Devil?" and "Hero's Tale." Tale." I have also expanded the original publication by including links to performances of various routines. Of course, I have also revised revised the text as necessary. necessary. I think you will be pleased with all of these changes and I hope you enjoy the journey to come. You're Packed and and ready to go! Stay curious, Eric Richardson July, 2017
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CONTENTS 1 PACKING BOXES N2IT (previously unpublished) unpublished) unpublished) S.B.P. (previously unpublished) 2 DULY NOTED THE CRACKED-UP CUP ROUTINE (from Once & for All ) X-RAY-TED (from Once & for All ) 3 JOURNEY CARD MAGIC SERIES ONE FOR SKINNER (from One Eighty ) STABLOID (from Sharp ) 4 TRILOGY
CUT TO ORDER: ACES (from It All Depends ) WHAT THE DEVIL? (from TOUR ) HERO’S TALE (from OASIS )
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1 PACKING BOXES Let's kick things off off with two previously previously unpublished items. They have not seen print before for the simple reason that I just didn’t have a place for them in my previous previous books. Happily, Happily, they now have a home! They both both share one thing in common, they both involve the card box in some way. way. "N2IT" ends with a thought of card to card box finale. "S.B.P." "S.B.P." is a way to make any card box a peek device device in less than 2 seconds! seconds! Let's get packing...
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N2IT The inspiration for this effect came from J.K. Hartman's "One of a Mind II" (see Card Dodgery , pg. 249). Applying a memorized memorized stack to the premise allows for a very clean handling and the benefit of never needing to look at the faces of the cards. You also have a significant significant and powerful change to the routine: the spectator never has to tell you the thought of card’s identity; you reveal it instead! EFFECT The magician reveals a card residing only in the mind of a spectator and another spectator names a card that had been left, unseen, in the card box. SET UP You will need a deck in a memorized order and a card box. ROUTINE For this routine you will enlist the help of two spectators (Andi and Sarah). As you false shuffle the deck, turn to the spectator who will be your impromptu magician (Sarah) and say, say, "Sarah, we are going to do something amazing." Turn Turn to Andi and continue, "I'm going to hand you the deck. After Sarah and I turn our backs I want want you to cut the deck like like this." Demonstrate a complete complete cut for Andi. If you aren't sure sure he understands, do it again. You can even have him do a test test run with the deck before you proceed. Hand the deck to Andi and have Sarah join you in turning away as Andi gives the deck a complete complete cut. After he has completed the cut, cut, instruct him to take the top card (the one he cut to), look at it and put it in his pocket. When he confirms he has done so, so, you and Sarah turn back around. Take the deck back from Andi, but don't pay any attention to it. Continue, “Sarah and I are both going to amaze you with our abilities. Sarah is going to attempt to psychically discern the card you are NOT thinking of!" Everyone will react to this this ridiculous scenario. scenario. As they do, glimpse the 7
bottom card of the deck. This will tell you what card Andi is thinking of. Remember it. Before you ask Sarah to name a card, tell Andi to keep a poker face and not to say a word about his card for the moment. Ask Sarah to name name the card that flashes through her mind. Let's say she names the 2H. Continue, "The two of hearts! Andi, without telling us anything about your card, was she right?" r ight?" He will confirm that she has not named his card. card. Congratulate Sarah for for her great insight and psychic abilities. NOTE: in the rare case that Sarah has named Andi's card you will know it immediately. immediately. Congratulate Sarah, "Y "You ou are amazing! Actually that's a lot better than what what I asked asked you to do! Great work!" Now you reverse your spectator's roles and start the routine again. again. It will all all work out and and be humorous when Andi doesn't guess Sarah's card and Andi will be vindicated at the end of the routine. You must now get Sarah's named card (the 2H) to the top of the deck. There will be little heat on the deck because the selected card is in Andi's pocket and everyone will be focused on the revelation of its identity. identity. It all boils down to an estimated cut, glimpse and any adjustment needed to finish the task. task. The location and control of the named card can be handled in a casual fashion by being disguised as a shuffle and cut of the deck in the following manner: begin by performing an in-the-hands false shuffle as you ask Sarah to name name a card. Try to finish the false shuffle shuffle at the same time that she names the the card. In a continuing action, perform an estimated cut from the overhand shuffle position (don't forget the deck has already been cut by Andi so you must factor that into your estimated cut). As you remind Andi not to say anything, glimpse the bottom card of the deck to determine the exact location of the named card. Announce that you will read Andi's mind and tell him the card he IS thinking of. As you say this, take care of any adjustment needed to bring bring Sarah's named card to the top of the deck. This may be simply shuffling shuffling or cutting a few cards from the top or from the bottom of the deck. Sometimes if your estimation was way off (hey, (hey, it happens), do a second estimated cut and follow the above above pattern from there. Like I said, there is no real heat on these actions and if you keep it casual, it truly will be invisible to the audience. 8
Once Sarah's card is on top of the deck, reveal Andi's card in the most dramatic way you you can. Have him remove remove it from his pocket and show it to the audience. This moment will be very strong. As the crowd is reacting, palm Sarah's card and table table the deck. Wait. When you sense it is time, focus the audience's attention back on Sarah by saying, "Sarah, you probably thought I was just joking with you. After all, it would appear you had fifty-one fifty-one chances to be right! That is not true. I asked you to name a card that absolutely absolutely could NOT be Andi's. Sarah, there was only one card that could could not have been Andi's. Earlier, Earlier, when I took the deck out of the box I purposely left one behind. It was the two of hearts!" As you deliver the line, "Sarah, there was only one card that could not...", pick up the box in preparation for the classic card in box load. load. As you say, say, "It was the two of hearts!" , apparently pull the 2H out of the box for the shocking conclusion. At the end of the effect it is a simple matter to return the two cards to their stack positions and continue with other effects. As wonderful as the classic box load is, I personally use Rich Aviles's Aviles's "Vanilla "V anilla Extract" Extract " box load technique techniqu e instead. You can find it in Rich's excellent book Above the Fold (pgs. (pgs. 14-15).
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S.B.P. (SHUTTER BOX PEEK)
This is one of those things you come up with late at night when you should really be asleep. In the morning (which (which other humans call "afternoon") you remember it and in the sobering light of day you realize, "Hey! I can actually use this!" It's a moment we magicians live live for: that that magical moment when you feel you have created something truly amazing (and which your girlfriend will call "cute"). I'll share one of these ideas with with you right now. now. Here is a little secret that that I have been holding on to since 2006. This is a way to quickly create a peek box out of any card box in less than two seconds. It is completely completely deceptive and allows you to peek the index of a card placed in the box. To a spectator the "gimmick" is completely invisible! HOW TO MAKE THE PEEK BOX: hold the box with the half-moon cut-out side toward you and the box's flap completely open. You will now fold the left side of the topmost part of the flap away from you. Create a sharp crease about half an inch in from the left side of the flap. Usually the slit along the crease of the upper portion of the flap is a good indicator of where the fold can be made (some brands do not have this slit). After experimenting with the peek you may decide to creat a larger larger flap. If so, so, you you can can rip or cut cut the preexisting cut further into the flap before making the fold.
The crease should be fairly sharp and the fold should be straight, parallel to the side edges of the box. If the crease is is at an angle then when folded, a small "flap" can be seen above the top of the box when the flap is closed and the "shutter" is is open. You want to avoid that. Congratulations, you have just created created the “gimmick!" We will refer to it as the "shutter" because it works like a shutter to open and close a window. window. Once you are familiar with with the fold you will see that it is very easy to add to any card box on a moment’s notice—even notice—even a borrowed box 10
at a session! I wouldn't suggest suggest doing this to someones vintage vintage Jerry's Nuggets box! HOW TO MAKE THE PEEK: to peek the bottom card of the deck, hold the box horizontally horizontally with the half moon side facing down. Have the spectator insert the deck face down into the box. Turn your your head away as this is done.
Once the deck is in the box, look at the spectator again. As you engage her in conversation you will close the flap of the box and secretly prepare for the peek: with the box held in the right hand use your left fingers to tuck the flap into the case. As your left fingers cover the flap it is a simple matter to secretly fold the "shutter" outwards. The flap of the box is tucked into the case. Everything will will look normal and the "move" can be done completely by by feel. There is no need to look at the box. To peek the index of the bottom card of the deck, transfer your right-hand grip on the deck so that your right fingers are now on the bottom of the box and the right thumb is on the top of the box (basically, (basically, you are holding the card box in end grip). The left fingers and thumb grip the long sides of the box close to the flap and apply apply inward pressure. This causes the mouth of the box to bow open. The right thumb takes over by holding open the bowed mouth of the box just as if it were holding a break. Once the right thumb is in place, the left hand can move away. away. Remember, all of this this is done by feel. feel. There is no need to look at the box until you are ready to actually make the peek. When you are ready to make the peek, simply tilt the box toward you at an angle where you can quickly look down the gap and see the index. Once you know the identity of the card, your right thumb can release the gap being held. OPENING THE BOX: To open the box, simply reverse the actions you used to close the box.
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You can also secretly close the "shutter" by using your left little finger to push the shutter flap flap back to its its unfolded position. position. This is also also done without looking at your hands and can be done at any time after the glimpse and while the box is still closed. NOTE: I truly believe that even if the spectator ever opened the box themselves and saw the folded flap they would just think that the fold was accidental. I don't think that that they would ever realize its actual use. Remember that this glimpse is usually working in conjunction with a stacked deck. A spectator would never guess that knowing the bottom card could give you information about their card!
Lecturing at a one night convention in Paris Photo by John Guastaferro
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PACK IN STYLE Eric makes beautiful things. His card card cases are masterfully crafted and make a wonderful addition to all card magicians looking for something truly luxurious to store their tools of the trade. —Luke Jermay The most beautiful card case you will ever find. What was once a prized possession of only a small number of magicians around the world is now available to you. Each case is handmade in Paris, France by Eric Richardson.
Sophisticated yet durable, each case is made of high quality vegetable tanned leather and available in either Midnight Black or Forest Brown. As well as holding your favorite deck of cards, on the back, you will find a convenient pocket which is perfect for business cards, or perhaps your bank card. These cases were designed for everyday use and will protect your cards in style. The leather is beautifully smooth to the touch yet deceptively tough meaning that the perfect balance between substance and style has been struck!
This is my favorite card case. It's gorgeous, versatile, and impeccable. And it keeps the cards in perfect form. -John Guastaferro Luxury is just a click away! 13
2 DULY NOTED The following two routines were originally available in a very limited run of lecture notes created for series of lectures lectures I did in 2010-2011. 2010-2011. The Once & For All lecture lecture focused on creating and performing magic for audiences made up of spectators of widely diverse ages and interests (primarily family audiences, etc.). These routines have served me well, in many different venues, for over 15 years. Despite their simple structures, they are entertaining to a wide group of people (even children) and perfect for the emcee, etc. Both routines pack small and play big!
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CRACKED-UP CUP ROUTINE (from Once & For All ) WARNING: THIS IS NOT A CARD ROUTINE! I first saw this wonderful gag at a Bob King lecture about twenty years ago (and it wasn’t new then). then). At first I just did the gag and got got a laugh, like everyone everyone else. It has now evolved evolved into a full comedic routine. The "ah-ha!" moment came when I realized that some audience members were envisioning themselves doing the gag. I decided to capitalize capitalize on this situation and try to make everyone in the audience think about doing the gag too. In that way I would involve involve the entire audience audience emotionally in the performance. It worked beautifully beautifully and now I almost always always use this routine as an an opener in larger venues. Give it a try! NOTE: this routine also has an added benefit for card magicians (which is why it is in this book). I'll explain how at the end of the routine. EFFECT You complain about your neck hurting and then you proceed to "adjust" your neck. The gut wrenching wrenching sound of your your neck breaking is clearly heard and the audience reacts with with screams. You reveal that it was a gag gag and explain how your audience can do it too by humorously demonstrating the gag several more times. WHAT YOU NEED For this gag you will need several plastic cups. Obtaining the right kind of cup is very important. You need to to find a brittle plastic cup. It also needs to fit under your armpit comfortably without sticking out much on each side. I buy clear clear plastic cups that are about 4 inches high. You can find these at most party supply stores.
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SET UP To set up for this routine, place three or four stacked cups in a paper bag (or some other place that is easily accessible to you during the routine), but where the cups are not visible visible to your audience. You will also need to place one cup under one of your armpits. armpits. The cup must be hidden under your shirt or jacket. The hardest part of performing this gag is not crushing the cup prematurely. prematurely. It takes practice to hide the cup and act act naturally. naturally. Once you get used to it you can have it there for quite a long time and even perform other routines before using using the gag. The mobility of the arm holding the cup is hindered so you are limited limited to some degree. You will find that, with with practice, you can still do a lot. ROUTINE Rub your neck and say, “Man, does my neck hurt. I guess I pulled something as I unloaded everything everything for the show. show. I’m very sorry, sorry, but as they say, say, the show must go on. So, like I was saying, saying, I’m so glad to be here and…ya know…hold on…” Take your head in both hands and fake twisting your neck. At the same time crush the cup to create an absolutely horrible cracking sound. The audience will will visibly visibly and audibly react. react. It is a great moment! Continue as if everything is normal, “…that’s much better, yeah.” As the intensity of the reaction dies down, step forward and address one of the men in the front row. “You “You sir, sir, your neck looks a little stiff. Would you like me to take care of that for you?” He usually will react with a big, “No way!” and and everyone laughs. Continue, “Trust me sir, sir, I am a trained professional and trained professionals only do this…with a plastic cup hidden under their armpit! Don’t ever do it without the plastic cup.” Show the audience what is left of the cup and then discard it. “Now, “Now, I know that you are saying to yourselves, ‘I am going to use that!’ So let me give you some important tips that will help you to do this for 16
everyone you know. know. First, you need the right kind of plastic cup.” cup.” Remove one of the plastic cups from the bag and show it to the audience. “You “You can’t use one of those wax covered card board cups and please don’t attempt this with a glass glass cup. You need to find a cup like this, flexible, yet brittle so that that if you squeeze it a little little it will break. You can find these at party stores or…at wedding wedding receptions. Think about that that possibility!” Mentioning wedding receptions usually gets a good laugh as people imagine themselves doing the gag in that setting. “Second, you must learn to hide the the cup under your armpit. Make sure that you hide it on the inside of your shirt or jacket otherwise you will have to have a very awkward conversation with someone.” Put the plastic cup under your armpit and continue, “Now the hardest part of this whole thing is getting used to walking around with a plastic cup under your armpit and not feeling awkward awkward about it. This does take take a little practice, but it is well well worth it. Here is how you practice this. You go to the mall…I’m serious. Go to the mall and place the cup cup under your armpit. Don’t forget to hide it UNDER UNDER your your shirt! Now walk walk a lap around the mall.” You will now act out several several scenarios. The better you do this the more the audience will will enjoy the routine. Remember, Remember, this is a comedic explanation. Don’t take any of it seriously. seriously. “On the first lap around the mall you you will feel very self-conscious. self-conscious. You will be like, ‘everyone ‘everyone knows I have a plastic cup under my armpit. armpit. I can’t believe I’m doing this.’” Act very self-conscious as you walk several steps. “On the second lap you start to look up and you’ll be like, ‘I don’t think anyone knows I have a cup under my armpit…cool.’” Relax a little. Smile and act a little more confident, but still timid. “By the end of your third lap around the mall you’re like, ‘NO ONE knows I have a plastic cup under my armpit…this is awesome.’ awesome.’ And you’ll get so excited you just might keep the cup there the rest of the day.” day.” Stand up straight and smile confidently confidently.. Swagger for the few steps you take. 17
“So now you are are a master and now now you can have a lot of fun. For instance, instance , when you go to your doctor! You say, say, ‘Hey Doc, man, my back is killing me. Can Can you take a look? The second he touches your your back…’." Grab your back and bend over slightly slightly.. Immediately straighten up and and as you do, crack the cup. Feign shock and horror. horror. Continue, “…Aw, man, I’m suing you! you! What did did you just do?!” Take the cup from under your armpit and discard it. Immediately take out a second cup and put it under your armpit. Pick up the pace. "I wish I knew about this this when I was in school. school. Those standardized tests tests are so serious. You know how the teacher says, says, ‘Does everyone have have their pencil pencil sharpened, sharpened, are you ready?’ ready?’ I would would say ‘No. Hold on…’” Put your hands together with the fingers of both hands interlaced. Stretch your arms outwards with your palms palms toward the audience. As you do, crack the cup. It looks like like you are cracking cracking your knuckles, knuckles, but the sound is horrendous. Continue, “…OK now I’m ready! BRING IT ON!!!” Immediately replace the cup under your armpit ar mpit one last time. “Or...Kids, “Or...Kids, your mom is in the kitchen and you bring your little sister in with you and take her by the arm. ‘Hey mom, look look what I learned learned from that ninja movie…'" Act out taking your sisters arm in your hands and make a breaking motion. motion. As you do, crack the cup. Say, Say, “…it would drop her to the floor. floor. On second thought, don’t do that to your poor mom! I’m giving you too many ideas.” Remove the cup and discard it and put the bag away. away. Finish with, “Anyway, you’re on your own class. Enjoy!” COMMENTS I don’t typically typically perform the routine just for children. children. I reserve this for family audiences because the reactions from the combination of ages blends into a really fun experience for everyone involved. I have had people come back to me years later and tell me stories of how they did the cup cup gag and thank me for teaching it to them. They remembered me and the show. show. What more can you you wish for? 18
ANALYSIS In this routine, the audience is drawn into the performance in a unique way. way. Just perform this routine once and you will see what I mean. The gag is not treated as a throw away away.. Instead, you zero in on several several things going on in many of your audience members’ minds. Many people in the audience will be envisioning themselves using using the gag. Some will envision getting someone else to do the gag and enjoy watching the reactions. Others simply want you to do the gag again so they can enjoy the moment in a different way way.. By performing the gag several times times in the context of an explanation you have tapped into the desires/fantasies of most, if not all, of your audience members. The stories told in the explanation phase are designed to hit the widest audience possible. Story 1 (The Doctor): Doctor): The first story is designed to to appeal to the older audience members (middle-aged and beyond). The doctor’s office office is a context they can appreciate and envision envision themselves in. Getting a little "revenge" is appealing! Story 2 (The (The Test): Test): This story appeals to teens and college students. students. The older adults can also easily envision their school days. Story 3 (The Ninja): This story is meant meant for the younger folks, but still still we are aiming for older older elementary and above. above. I don’t always always use this last story, story, it depends on the composition of the audience. Obviously you can create different stories that suit your personality and the audiences you typically perform for. for. WHY IS THIS ROUTINE HERE? The reason I chose to include this routine in a book on card magic is because I often use this routine as a transition into my card routines (for parlor or stage venues). venues). For instance I very often transition transition from the cup routine into an Invisible Deck performance by having an Invisible Deck in the bag along with with the cups. Transitions Transitions during a performance performance are really important and I have found the cup routine to be an excellent and entertaining transition into many different different card routines. I also like like taking 19
several extra cups from the bag for transitioning into a performance of John Guastaferro's "Vino Aces" (see, One Degree). Degree). Ok, I admit admit it, it, the plastic cups aren't as classy as John's wine glasses, but for my presentation, the cups are perfect. Consider how you might include include the cup gag into your card magic performances.
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X-RAY-TED (from Once & For All ) In this routine some old gags are resurrected, strung together in an entertaining way and and ultimately give give way to a strong magic effect. effect. I have used this routine in just about every venue imaginable and it always plays very well. well. It is a perfect platform piece. piece. It packs flat and plays BIG. BIG. EFFECT A man from the audience takes on the role of a new breed of TSA airport security agent. Three tests, of ever increasing increasing difficulty, difficulty, are performed and incredibly the TSA agent gets every test correct! The last test leaves the audience and our newest TSA agent completely amazed. WHAT YOU NEED 1 pair of gag “X-Ray Glasses” which are obtainable from most magic shops or easily acquired online 1 Eyeglass case (optional) 2 large opaque envelopes (I use envelopes that are 6” X 9”) 1 Ultra-Mental deck (a.k.a. the Invisible Deck) 1 Large card that fits fits nicely into into one of the envelopes. On the card print print the word “NO” as big as you can. SET UP Place the deck into one of the envelopes. Place the “NO” “NO” card in the second envelope. Place the “NO” card in the envelope envelope in such a way that you will be able to pull it out with the “NO” side facing the audience without fumbling. The X-Ray glasses can go anywhere anywhere convenient. I keep them in an eyeglass case.
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ROUTINE Begin the routine by bringing out the two envelopes and placing them on a table close to you or simply keep them in your hand. Have an audience member join you on stage and have him stand to your right. Say, Say, “I’ve done a lot of flying recently and I’ve had to go through the new body scanners. As you know there has been a lot of controversy about the body scanners. They make me uncomfortable, so I have figured out a way to get even with the TSA agents.” Bring out the eyeglass case and take out the X-ray glasses as you continue, “This is what I do now. I just put these on in line...” Put Put on the glasses and give the audience several seconds to realize exactly what you have just put on your face. “...and when I get up to the body scanner, I look at the person running it and I...” Turn Turn your head to left and pretend to slowly look an imaginary person up and down. Do this slowly. slowly. The audience will respond with laughter. Continue, “Yeah, “Yeah, then I walk through. It makes them a little nervous. I’ve had some problems, after that. They don’t tend to let you keep walking...” This line always gets a nice laugh if presented in a casual but matter of fact way. way. Take off the glasses as you say, “I did have one TSA agent stop me and say, 'Hey, do those glasses really work? If they do, we could get rid of these multi-million multi-million dollar machines.' machines.' I said, Of course course they do! Now Now I know you all are eager to see this in action.” Put the x-ray glasses on your assistant as you say, say, “You get to demonstrate. You are now an official New Era TSA Agent.” AN EXTRA JOKE: “We’ll call you TSA agent Ted to protect your true identity. Ted here can actually see through objects using his X-ray glasses. Hey Ted, I just realized something. Your name is Ted, right? ” Your assistant will agree. Continue, “That means this is the X-Ray-Ted part of the show... We better get back to work.” NOTE: I don't always use the "X-Ray-Ted" "X-Ray-Ted" joke. You can tell when the audience is right for this kind of humor.
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Now position “Ted” several feet away from you and to your right. You want him far enough away from you that it seems that you are trying to make everything as fair as possible. Say, “So here is what is going to happen. We are going to perform three simple tests to prove to everyone that those are incredible, working X-ray glasses that would revolutionize counter terrorism.” “Are you ready? Great! We will will keep this nice and happy because terrorism, well, sucks. sucks. Now ladies and gentlemen I know you are skeptical of Ted’s Ted’s X-ray abilities so I have prepared three tests to demonstrate. For the first test, test, I will put one of my hands behind my back and hold up either one, two, three, four or five fingers. Ted Ted will simply look through my body and tell us, in a loud voice, how many fingers I am holding up!” Some people in the audience will already see what’s coming and will begin to chuckle. If you see your assistant tense up it is important to urge him to relax. Repeat the instructions instructions directly directly to him. Now put your left hand behind your back at an angle where no one can see your fingers. “All right, how many fingers do I have up? One, Two, Three, Four or Five?” When he gives an answer immediately put up the appropriate number of fingers. Triumphantly Triumphantly bring your hand out from behind behind your back and show that he was was correct. You act oblivious to the obvious obvious nature of your scam and continue, “He’s right! Unbelievable! Amazing! Amazing! Yet, I sense some people in this crowd are skeptical. No problem I have a second test that is even more impressive.” Pick up the envelope with the “NO” card. Orient the envelope so that the “NO” is facing the audience and say, “In this envelope I have something. Now be honest Ted, do you have any idea what is in this envelope?” The wording here is important. Especially the “...be honest” part. honest” part. If you say the whole thing casually and with a reassuring tone you will almost always get “No” from your assistant (see COMMENTS for what to do if you get something other than, “No”). This gag always gets a strong laugh from the audience. Once the gag is done, place the card back in the envelope and put it to the side.
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Pick up the second envelope envelope and show it to the audience. audience. Say, Say, “Amazing! But I still still sense some unbelief. Not to worry, worry, I have have a third and final test.” Continue, “Earlier Continue, “Earlier this evening I shuffled up a deck of cards. I fanned them out and I took one card out of the deck. I turned that card upside down and then stuck stuck it back somewhere in the deck. I then put the deck in the box and put the box in this envelope. Ted, I want you to peer through the envelope, through the box, through all fifty-two cards and tell us which card is backward in the deck. Go ahead!” Your assistant will name a card. If he seems to be hesitating then then break it down down into parts for him. Have him him give you a suit first and then the value. Let’s say he picks the Five of Spades. As you take the cards out of the envelope, spread them and reveal the back of the named card (as per the standard Invisible Deck handling) as you say,“The say,“The Five of Spades! We shall see. One envelope,...one box...with one deck inside...and look there is one card backward in the deck.” Pause and let the visual image of the reversed card in the fan sink in. Say,“I Say,“I think we would all agree that if this card is the Five of Spades then we have witnessed something amazing.” Dramatically turn the card over and display the Five of Spades as you continue, “Ladies and gentlemen...TSA agent Ted! Give him the hand he deserves. Great job!” You will get a strong reaction from the audience. Your assistant will be equally amazed. Have him remove remove the glasses, if he hasn’t already done so, and send him back to his seat with the applause he deserves. COMMENTS If your assistant doesn’t give you the “No” answer answer then you will change this phase of the routine by simply looking into the envelope pausing and declaring that he is right. The audience will will be amused that your gag backfired. You then go right into the final phase phase of the routine with the big payoff. This can actually be played to be very funny. funny. You can substitute the “No” gag with the Bar Code gag or even the Famous person/baby gag. It is up to you. Whatever you use, keep it short and move on quickly. quickly. The gags are just for fun and to set set up the
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premise that everything everything is going to be a joke. In a moment you will really fool them with the finale. ANALYSIS This routine has several things built into it that makes it appeal to a diverse audience. Of course, almost almost every adult can can relate to the frustrations frustr ations of airport security. You also have an adult wearing X-Ray glasses which can conjure up all kinds of memories and scenarios in people’s minds. minds. Kids in the audience will will get a big kick out of watching an adult in such a bizarre situation. The gag tests are funny and many people have done these kinds of stunts at some point in their lives, but here they are seeing them in a new and clever context. Finally, Finally, you can get the crowd involved by cheering for your assistant before and after he gets succeeds with the tests.
Watch X-Ray-Ted (From a TRICS convention lecture, 2011)
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3 JOURNEY JOURNEY CARD MAGIC SERIES The Journey Card Magic Series started in 2014 with One Eighty and and was followed by Sharp in in 2015. Each book in the series series chronicles my journey through the fascinating fascinating world of card magic. Each book covers covers a different different theme, principle or other aspect of card magic. One Eighty is an exploration of the Count-Back force while Sharp explores explores various methods for the classic classic Card Stab. Other books in the series are on their way, way, but for now their topics must must remain a secret. Here then, are two routines from the, ever growing, Journey Card Magic Series.
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ONE FOR SKINNER (from One Eighty ) This routine was born after studying Michael Skinner’s Skinner ’s routine, “Three Different Ways." Ways." While this routine has definite similarities, there are major differences. differences. I have infused a whimsical pseudo gambling expose expose presentation, dramatically changed the handling and sleights, added extra magical moments and expanded the finale. finale. I am especially especially fond of the rationale used for the the Count-Back Force Force in this routine. I wish I could have shown it to Michael. I hope he would would have liked it. EFFECT You demonstrate your ability to read tells, know the number of cards cut off the deck, shuffle shuffle track, shuffle stack and more! The finale comes as a complete surprise. SET UP There is a twenty card set up for this effect, but it is easily reset and thus practical in venues where where you might want to use it continuously. continuously. From the top of the deck: AS, 3 queens (S,H,C) in any any order, order, QD, JS, 3 tens (D,H,C) in any order, 10S, any 2 cards, 2-9 in mixed suits (or ( or all the same suit, see COMMENTS), COMMENTS), the rest of the deck. Corner crimp the bottom card of the deck (or use a breather crimp). ROUTINE With the set up on top of the deck, obtain a little finger break below the fifth card from the top (between the QD and JS). Cut the cards above the break to the bottom of the deck (the QD is now the bottom card). This can be done casually between effects and as you are talking with the spectators. After a good false shuffle or two, steer the conversation toward gambling and offer to demonstrate some of the arcane skills of the card table. You will now force two two cards using the Cross-Cut Cross-Cut Force. Perform the classic Cross-Cut Cross-Cut Force on spectator A. Ask her to look at and remember remember the card on the bottom of her cut off off portion (the QD). As she does, pick up the rest of the deck and turn to a person on your left (spectator B). 27
Thumb off the top card of the remainder of the deck (the JS) in front of spectator B while saying, “Here, you take a card, too, but don't look at it.” Turn back to spectator A and ask her to replace her half on the deck. Look away as she does this. deck and place place it on the table. Look at POKER TELLS: Square the deck spectator A and continue, "At the card table a card player must be able to read the thoughts of other players just by observing their poker tells. Everyone has them. Think of your card, but don't say anything. anything. Was your card a heart, club, spade or diamond? Hmm...interesting! Hmm...interesting! Was you card an ace, two, three..., or a King? I see! Well, believe itit or not, based on your tells, I can say with utter confidence that your card was NOT the three of spades!" This will will get groans and laughter. laughter. Of course, the audience will wonder if you do actually know the card and keeping them in suspense for a little while while builds some dramatic tension. Not revealing spectator A's card becomes a running gag until the end of the routine. THE EXACT NUMBER: pick up the deck and give the deck a complete cut at the crimp to return the stack to the top of the deck. Continue by saying, "That saying, "That was just one of the amazing skills an expert card shark can develop." Turn to a third spectator (spectator C) and say, say, "Here's another, would you please cut off a packet of cards, but less than half." The goal here is to direct her to cut less than twenty cards and into the ascending mixed suit portion of your stack stack (positions 11-19). 11-19). While that may not seem like a lot of leeway it is quite natural for a spectator to cut in that range when requested to cut "less than half." If she seems to be having trouble, you can give further guidance, just make sure to have her confirm that the location of her cut was, indeed, a free choice.
You will now announce the exact number of cards she has cut off. You are able to do this this thanks to your stack. Simply glimpse the bottom card of the cut off portion and add 10 to its value to know the number of cards cut off. Let's say you calculate that she she cut off 14 cards. After the cards have been cut off the deck, say, "A professional card shark can even know how many cards have been cut off the deck with amazing precision. For instance I know you have cut off off less than twenty-six cards!" Pause and let them think think you are making making another joke. Then continue, "In this case, I can go further than that. I think you cut off exactly fourteen fourteen cards. Count them and we'll see!" Have her count the cards into a pile pile on the table. She will count count fourteen cards and everyone will be impressed. 28
As a running gag, look back at spectator A (the one you did the poker tell demonstration for) and add, "Your card was NOT the five of hearts or two of diamonds either!” THE COUNT-BACK FORCE: Continue with spectator C, "Of course knowing the number of cards cut off could be used to help a card cheat. Let's try something else. Let's say you are in a card game game with a number number of your friends...let's use your random number of cards which was fourteen. If we add the digits one and four we get five. So you are playing with five of your closest friends as determined by your free cut. Pick up the cards you cut and deal five cards onto the deck for your friends. You would get the next one, so look look at it and show it around. The Ten of Spades. Spades. That's a good card. Remember it and place it on the deck. Drop the rest of your your cards on them all." As stated stated in the above above script, you have guided her through the the Count-Back Force and she will have selected selected the 10S. If the spectator doesn't show you you the 10S, ask her to do so and assure everyone that it is fine for you to see it. SHUFFLE TRACKING, STACKING & MORE: Have spectator C give the deck several complete cuts as you say, “Go ahead and cut the deck and do it again.” After several complete cuts, continue, “Let’s say that your Ten of Spades was a card you wanted to make sure to get in your next hand. Let's cheat!”
Continue by taking the deck and proceed with several false shuffles (I prefer a table false shuffle for this routine) as you say, say, “Though your card would seem lost in the deck, being a cheat, I have actually actually tracked it. A cheat can even do this during a shuffle, but to do so you have to look at the deck the entire time!” Make sure that you are are NOT looking at the deck during this statement while you false shuffle to continue the humorous nature of the presentation. After the false shuffles, cut the deck at the crimp and complete the cut. The stack is now back on top of the deck. deck. Continue, “By tracking its ever changing location, I can maneuver the Ten Ten of Spades to a location where it can come to you during the deal, but since this isn't a real game, l made it more entertaining.” Pick up the pace of your delivery as you continue, “I have tracked your card and shuffled it to a location where I can actually spell to it, just to show off.” With that, deal three cards into a tight pile as you spell, "t-e-n." 29
Continue by dealing four cards in a second pile to the right of the tens pile as you spell "s-p-a-d." As you lay down the card card on the spell of "d" obtain a break under the top two cards of the deck (a pinky count is preferred, but the classic two card spread technique is fine fine too). On the spell of "e" perform a Double Turnover Turnover onto the deck to reveal the 10S! 10S! Hold a little finger break below the double. Continue, “Since Continue, “Since we all knew your card's identity, identity, I took the liberty to also demonstrate shuffle stacking, another way to give a team mate desired cards. In other words, while I was shuffling, I made sure to find and give you the other tens as well!" With that flip over and spread the group of tens. This will will get a very nice reaction. Look at the spectator A and say, “Let me tell you what card I believe you are actually thinking thinking of. I believe your poker tells told told me it was the Queen of Diamonds. Diamonds. I also made sure sure to find it for you.” Flip over the pile of queens, keeping them squared, to reveal the QD. Pause a beat and then spread the cards to reveal the rest of the queens as you say, say, "I felt it was only right to give you the rest as well." HIGH CARD: Once this second revelation has registered, continue by turning your attention to spectator B, who is still holding the unknown card, and say, "You say, "You took a card and no one knows what it is, not even you. Let’s play the popular and simple simple game known known as High Card. Whoever has the highest card wins. I have a ten. Show the 10S on top of the deck, perform a double turnover and take the top card (the AS), face down, with your right hand.
Continue, "What Continue, "What do you have?” Spectator B turns over his card to reveal the Jack Jack of spades. spades. Look disappointed. Then say dejectedly, dejectedly, “I don’t understand. I calculated a twenty-one percent edge on winning the game.” With that, turn over your card to reveal the AS, to make a perfect twenty-one hand and also win the game for yourself! Place the AS next to the JS on the table. As the audience audience reacts, palm off the 10S. Continue, “A cheat never relies on chance! That’s all for today, today, class!” As you say this, pretend to take take the 10S out of your right front pocket pocket (or from the card box) box) and throw it back on top of the rest of the tens in a dramatic fashion to end.
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RESET The reset is very easy. easy. Simply recreate the stack as you gather the JS, AS, queens and tens. tens. The rest of your your stack is already in order on top of the deck. COMMENTS I really like the rationalization for adding the digits and dealing back the cards. In a gambling or card playing themed routine it works works really well. well. Even in an extreme case where the added digits leaves you with a large or very small number of "players" "players" it still works. You can justify even the maximum number of "players" (11) (11) by having the cards dealt in theoretical Texas Holdem game. If the numerical portion of the stack is all one suit, like the spades, then instead of reassembling the complete stack for this routine you can utilize the thirteen ordered cards by simply adding the AS, AS, 10S, JS and QS in their proper places. You will also need to add the KS to your set up by including it at the end of the A-9 portion of the stack. You can now use the ordered suit for dozens of strong effects! You can also perform this routine without the ordered suit part of the stack. Simply crimp a second card during the set up at a known position between positions 11-19 from the top of the deck. Obtain a break under this crimp and use the Cut Force to have a spectator cut the known number of cards. You could also use a Breather crimp crimp for the same purpose. Personally, Personally, I prefer the stack stack version in in most circumstances. circumstances. THE BOOK: ONE EIGHTY You can find over 15 routines that explore the Count-Back force in One Eighty , book one of the Journey Card Magic Series. "Eric has taken an age old card card concept and turned it on its head. This book is full of inspired thinking.” —John Carey
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STABLOID (from Sharp )
In this routine a selection is impaled on the end of the knife in the "classic" Card Stab manner. manner. This routine is extremely extremely clean and allows for the spectator to do the shuffling and then immediately spread the cards on the table. table. The handling is is very "hands-off" "hands-off" and 100% dependable. WHAT YOU WILL NEED In addition to a sharp pointed knife, you will need two sheets from a newspaper (I prefer the tabloid size of paper, but any kind will work) and a cork board to protect the table. The cork board I use is actually actually a cork placemat I found at IKEA and is the perfect perfect size. Craft stores and business supply stores often sell cork boards or rolls r olls of cork sheets that can be cut to any size you you wish. In an impromptu situation you can can use several layers of newspaper in place of the cork board, but more care must be taken so you do not damage a table top when you make the stab for the card. SET UP A minor minor preparation of the newspaper will be necessary. necessary. Although I always do the preparation before the show, show, it is so simple that it could be done right in front of the audience. The prepared newspaper newspaper looks completely innocent. As I said, I prefer to use "Tabloid" "Tabloid" size news print. Not only is it the perfect size for the effect, but it also can provide you with a rich source of comedy and the latest news on which star has the most cellulite (always important to know)! To prepare the paper, paper, take two sheets that are together (in their normal folded condition) and with the creased side to your right, fold the newspaper in half again, but from the bottom edge up to the top. Make this crease nice, nice, but it does not need to be a sharp crease. The newspaper paper has now been folded into fourths. 32
Finish the preparation by flipping the newspaper over and folding the upper right-hand corner of just the top sheet of the paper in at a diagonal angle. This "dog ear" crease can be adjusted to a size you you are comfortable with. with. I typically make the fold about two inches in from the upper right-hand corner. corner. The preparation preparation is now complete. To the audience is will appear to simply be a folded tabloid paper which is exactly what it is. I tend to try and keep the folded corner away from the audience's view, view, but I don't really worry about it. it. If the audience sees the fold it won't really register to them as some kind of secret preparation. It just looks like the page page was accidentally folded, and since it is a tabloid, no one will care. NOTE: If you are using this routine in a planned show, you can have the paper already out on the table to the side with the dog ear folded side pointing down and positioned on the inner left side of the folded paper. paper. Place the knife in your right pocket (or somewhere convenient). ROUTINE Begin by having a card selected and secretly control it to the top of the deck by your favorite method. Once the card is secretly controlled to the top of the deck obtain a left little finger break under it (I prefer the pinky count for this). THE LOAD As you introduce the effect, pick up the paper in your right hand by grabbing the paper at the outer right-hand corner. corner. Bring it up to your left hand and grip the left end of the paper with your left thumb. This display of the paper places the prepared corner immediately above the selection. The deck does not vanish under the paper. 33
It should remain visible throughout the following sequence of actions. To load the corner of the selection into the "pocket" created by the folded corner. simply move the left hand forward while the top of the deck remains in contact with the paper. paper. When the selection passes the folded corner you will feel it. When you feel the “click," immediately move the left hand back to its original position. As you do, allow the folded corner of the paper to get fed between the selection and the rest of the deck. deck. You may need to move your left fingers outward some to allow for an easy insertion of the paper. paper. With a little practice you will discover that this whole process is very easy and can be done without looking looking at your hands. Done casually, casually, there is nothing to raise any any suspicion. It looks like like you are just holding the paper as you address the audience. Remember, Remember, the deck does not leave the audience's sight at any time. NOTE: If you are performing while standing, and your audience is seated, be aware that you will want to angle the front edge of the paper and deck downwards so not to expose the load at the folded corner. Continue by announcing that you have one more item that you need and that it is in in your pocket. With this said, said, you keep the paper clipped between the thumb and the deck as you go to your pocket with your right hand. Bring out the knife and place it down on the table or hand it out to a spectator if appropriate. As the attention is on the knife, knife, you will finish finish the load of the card into the paper. To load the card into the paper, paper, push the paper to the left until it covers the entire deck. The entire selection selection is now in the newspaper newspaper "pocket". In a continuing action, turn the right hand palm upwards and away from the deck. This displays the paper and causes the selection to fall deep inside the pocket. pocket. The loaded selection selection will come to rest in in the folded corner of the "pocket". "pocket". This sequence happens in one fluid fluid motion and appears to be the innocent action of displaying the paper as you say, say, "We will also use this paper to create a blindfold of sorts. sorts. A knife, a blindfold, and now I need a volunteer!" 34
Once the paper is loaded it can be placed off to the side for the moment. I usually place place the knife on it. Continue by handing handing out the deck deck to be shuffled. Instruct the spectator to spread the deck, face down, on the cork mat and mix it around. Instruct her to try and cover every inch of the mat mat with cards. Do not pay any real attention to the spectator during during this procedure. Instead, focus on the audience audience and continue continue your presentation. While the spectator is mixing the deck on the table, pick up the paper by the outer right side (the creases are to your right and at the outer end of the folded paper). Your right hand should feel the card and be able to hold it in place place through the paper. paper. With the card secured, you can gesture with the paper without fear of having the card accidentally fall out. This allows you to be very casual. NOTE: No one, and I mean no one, will think that there is a card in the paper. paper. Don't blow it by handling handling the paper like it is made of highly volatile explosives! OPENING THE PAPER By now the spectator should be done spreading the cards around on the mat. You will now open the the newspaper and place the two two sheets down to cover all the cards. In the process, you will secretly secretly add the selection to the cards on the mat in a location that will be easy to find later. To open the paper, begin by inserting your left first finger between the bottom two layers of the newspaper (between the folded corner page and the next one). This is easy easy to do by starting at the inner inner left corner of the newspaper and running the left first finger toward the outer left corner. corner. Because of the diagonal fold your left first finger will be guided between the sheets automatically. When your first finger gets close to the outer left corner of the newspaper it should feel the card. When you feel the card, place your first finger below it so that it is now trapped between the finger and the upper sheets of the newspaper. newspaper. Now, Now, when the papers are opened you will will have complete control over the card.
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Continue by inserting the left thumb above the page immediately above the card. The thumb thumb should should be able to feel the card and also help hold it in place. Meanwhile, the right thumb mirrors the left thumb's action by being inserted below the top two pages of the upper pages of the newspaper. newspaper. The insertion of both thumbs is aided by the fact that the newspaper naturally is more open because of the main original crease in the newspaper folds. Once the thumbs are inserted, it is safe to open the paper. paper. Do so by using your right hand to open the first fold to the right, like you are opening a book, and then using your right thumb to open the upper pages out in front of you. This all takes takes place in a continuous action. At the end you are holding the two sheets of newspaper completely unfolded. The left hand is is in complete control over the hidden card. THE PLACEMENT All that remains is to place the papers over the the cards on the table. Begin by placing the newspaper over the right side of the cards. Immediately move the left hand, which is holding the upper sheet, and concealed card, to the left to cover the exposed cards on the left left side of the mat. Once the selection has cleared the lower paper, drop the card and continue to move the left-hand's paper to the left until it covers the rest of the cards on the table. You should have a very accurate idea of where the selection lies under the papers. You can use anything in that area of the newspaper (pictures, bold print, etc.) to serve as a guide guide for the stab to to come. If, for some reason, you do not feel entirely confident that you know the location of the selection, then lift the backs of the papers and look for the selection as you casually adjust the the papers. You should know the approximate approximate location of the selection—it will be the card in that area that is on top of all 36
of the other cards. Let the papers drop after you have located the selection and take note of any pictures, etc. on the paper that will help you locate the selection. THE STAB Once everything is in place it is time to build up the impossibility of what you are about to attempt and then stab the selection through the paper. THE REVEAL To reveal the card, hold the knife in place and dramatically rip away the paper with your other hand. Lift the knife blade to show the selection on the tip of the blade! ADVANCED ADVANCED HANDLING HANDL ING There is a way to get the card into the newspaper that involves less handling, but a little little more practice. Once you have the newspaper loaded loaded between the selection and the rest of the deck you can grip the edge of the newspaper between your left left thumb and first finger. finger. As you go to your right pocket to get the knife; look at your pocket to misdirect the audience. As this happens, turn your left hand palm down and release the selection. It will fall into the newspaper newspaper “pocket." At this point you are home free. Continue with with the rest of the routine. This is is very subtle and clean. There is the possibility of a little bit of sound, so be mindful of situations where it might be too quiet to mask any sounds of the card’s free fall into the “pocket." NOTE: If you use a memorized deck then this routine can also be done as a "name a card" routine. If you have the the card written down down and then secretly learn its identity, identity, then this routine can be absolutely mind boggling to your audience.
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THE BOOK: Sharp Sharp, the second book in the Journey Card Magic Series, is a collection of routines covering Eric's various methods for the Card Stab effect. Sharp also also covers the history of the Card Stab and the essential elements for creating a powerful Card Stab performance.
"Sharp is a thought-provoking journey of history, history, methodology and insight. Eric's 'Sharp Memory Stab' routine is a stunning performance piece that is dangerously deceptive." —John Guastaferro "In Sharp, Eric reveals the best version of the Card Stab I have ever seen ... PERIOD. Eric's routine fooled me badly." badly." —Michael Vincent
Watch performances of two other routines from SHARP SHARP MEMORY STAB SWITCH-BLADE
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MOMENTUM a haunted deck like no other The Haunted Pack is arguably the strongest card card trick possible—a card moves from the deck ON ITS OWN. Yet, Yet, why is it that so few magicians use this trick? It's not di "cult. But it normally uses thread, and this makes it di "cult to perform in many well-lit venues, during the day, day, or up close. Plus, some of us simply don't feel comfortable doing magic with such fragile invisible thread. Well, there is FINALLY FINALLY another solution. Moment Momentum um is a Haunted Pack style e#ect WITH NO THREADS OR GIMMICKS. Imagine spreading cards in your hand and causing c ausing a THOUGHT-OF THOUGHT-OF card to slowly, eerily SPIN OUT OF THE SPREAD. Your hands are completely still. Now, imagine doing this with a REGULAR PACK OF CARDS. Momentum is a revolutionary concept in playing card animation, and we see this becoming a regular staple of your repertoire.
Video download. download. Running time: time: 53 minutes, 15 seconds. Learn it now!
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4 TRILOGY This chapter contains three routines that all use the same full-deck stack. You could literally build an entire card set out of the effects in this chapter! Here you will find a nice Spectator Cuts to the Aces routine, a highly entertaining and surprising gambling exposé routine and a full-deck story routine in the tradition of "Sam the Bellhop." The stack I am using for these these routines is the Aronson stack. Many magicians have the misconception that the Aronson stack is a "memorized deck" and therefore it is useless to them because they don't want to memorize a deck. The Aronson stack is simply simply a full-deck stack (with profound possibilities). possibilities). It is only a "memorized deck" deck" if you actually actually memorize it! The following routines do not require require that the stack be memorized. Even if you never intend to memorize a deck you can still use the Aronson Aronson stack for a huge amount of strong routines, of various themes, which are built right into it. I have been using using the stack for almost twenty years and in that time I have developed a lot of original, non-memorized deck, material for it. In fact, I have have created enough material material for three books on the subject (It (It All Depends, Oasis and and Tour ). ). Almost all of the routines routines were tested and honed "in the trenches" of my weekly restaurant and walk-around performances over many years. Of course, Simon has created a number of brilliant (non-memorized) effects for his stack (see his books Bound to Please , Try the Impossible and and Art Decko ). ). There are even more routines to choose from in the published works of Michael Close, Eric Mead, Michael Michael Vincent, etc. etc. Bottom line: with the Aronson stack you have an incredible, multi-purpose stack that will allow you to perform amazing effect after after amazing effect. Now, Now, if you memorize the stack too…well, I promise you will never regret it and neither will your audiences! 40
With that said, set up a deck in the Aronson order (if you don’t know it, you can find it in Simon’s free ebook Memories are Made of This ( HERE HERE ) or in Simon's books cited earlier) and follow along with the routines in this chapter. chapter. As I said earlier, earlier, each effect leaves the stack in order so you can go from one routine to the next without without any hassle. hassle. So, with that, let me teach you some tricks and tell you a story... story...
Performing "Hero's Tale" at the Session Photo by Dan Burgess
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CUT TO ORDER: INTRO (from It All Depends )
Let’s visit the classic “Spectator Cuts Cuts to the Aces” effect. This version has several interesting features. First, it begins begins and ends with with the deck in Aronson stack order. order. This is great because itit allows you to add another classic card routine to your repertoire and maintain the stack for more magic. Second, this version version uses no culling. culling. Instead, it uses several displacement strategies to accomplish the necessary positioning of the proper cards. I am by no means shy about culling a card or two within within the stack to make a trick happen, but for this routine I wanted to be able to jump right into it without any any advanced preparation. This is one of my favorite routines to perform with the the stack. I use it constantly constantly.. Perhaps you will too! A NOTE ON THE PROCESS Since we will be letting the spectators cut the deck into multiple packets and dealing with other handling issues, it is important that the process for maintaining the stack stack order is fully fully understood. At first it may may seem complicated, but it is actually very straight forward. forward. Just a little practice will show you just just how practical it really really is. The routine can be broken down into four parts. Part 1: one of the aces will be forced and kept unseen by a spectator. Part 2: as you are instructing the spectators on how they will cut off packets of cards, you demonstrate your uncanny ability to cut an exact number of cards off off the deck. It is during this this demonstration that the other three mates of the forced card are secretly set in their proper positions for the routine. Part 3: the spectators cut their packets off the deck. Part 4: the four aces are revealed.
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CUT TO ORDER: ACES EFFECT The spectators cut to the aces.
THE ROUTINE PART 1: FORCING AN ACE
Cut the AS to the top, false shuffle and then force the AS on one of the spectators using the classic Cross-Cut Force as you say, say, “Will you please cut the cards. Great. We will mark your place for a moment. The reason I had you cut the cards is that I need a card for the game we will play in a moment. If I picked my own card someone would probably claim I cheated. So please take the card you cut to and just set it aside. aside. That’s That’s my card for the game. Don’t look look at it or show itit around. Just guard it for now. Thank you." The spectator can just place the card by his side. PART 2: THE DEMONSTRATION
Cut the top two cards (3H & 6C) to the bottom of the deck. The 8D will now be the top card of the deck. You will now demonstrate demonstrate your uncanny ability to cut an exact number of cards off off the deck. In the process of this demonstration you will will prepare the deck deck for the cuts to come. I really enjoy this part of the routine. It is lighthearted and the spectators enjoy the intriguing premise. However, However, there is a lot going on in this phase of the routine so it is crucial to really have it down cold. Continue, “In this little game, I will need a few of you to cut off a small packet of cards—let’s say about ten cards." As you say this, actually try to cut off exactly ten cards. Your goal is to have the AD as the bottom card of the cut off packet for a total of ten cards. If you cut off a packet and see the AD on the bottom then you are ready to count them and prove you have made good on your claim. If, however, however, you see a card other that the AD then you need to do some adjusting. Here you will use use a clever idea of Darwin Darwin Ortiz, which is based based on an effect by Gary Plants, to successfully fulfill your claim even if you miss. 43
The basic idea idea is that you cover your failure failure in the guise of a gag. If, when you see the bottom card of the packet, it is not the AD use your knowledge of the stack to determine if you need to add some cards to the packet or loose some cards from the packet to get the AD to the bottom. You will now simply make the claim that you just cut exactly ten cards and place the packet back on the deck while holding a break below below it. The spectators will react because you never allowed them to verify your claim. As they react you make the necessary adjustments to achieve a break below the AD. If you had too many cards use use your right thumb to drop the desired number of cards. cards. If you didn’t have have enough cards then pinky count or otherwise get a break under the cards you need and add them to the packet. In either case you now secretly secretly have a break under the AD. Feign surprise at spectator's skepticism. Now simply cut to the new break and announce that it you just did it again. This time time you offer to prove it. When you count these ten cards you will also secretly arrange the cards so that there will be an ace at the top and bottom of the packet when you are done with the count. All of this is covered by your presentation, "For instance, that was exactly ten! What? You’re not so sure? Well, I’ll do it again! Ten cards." Regardless of whether you had a direct hit on the cut or used the second "cut" you will now have ten cards ready to be counted. counted. You must now do the first secret adjustment as you count the cards singly from the top of the packet into the right hand. As you count them you will will retain stack order by taking each card, into the right hand, under the cards before it. There is one exception. The second card of the count (the AC) goes on top of the first card. All the rest go underneath the right-hand packet as they are counted. This positions and and AC at the top and the AD at the bottom of the right-hand packet at the end of the count. All of this happens as you count and say, "Lets count. One, two,...and ten. Thank you. Years of practice!" practice !" The second secret adjustment happens with the rest of the deck held in the left hand. Place the right-hand packet down on the table as you you continue,“If continue,“If you want to get good at this yourself then start with one card, then cut off two, then three and so on. Eventually you will will be able to do it too!” As you explain how you developed this skill by just learning how to “...cut one, then two, then three, and so on…” you thumb off cards into your right fingers. To retain stack order you take each each card under the last 44
with the exception exception of the fourth and final card. It goes on top of the three cards in your right finger tips. This card is the AH. Once you have counted the four cards place them back back on the deck. You now have the deck and the right-hand right-hand packet set for Part 3. I recognize that Part 2 reads long but in practice pr actice the whole phase hardly takes any time at all. PART 3: THE SPECTATORS MAKE THEIR CUTS
Pick up the tabled packet in the right hand and hold it in end grip. With the rest of the deck deep in the left hand, use the left fingertips and thumb to steady the right-hand packet as you use your right thumb to run up the back of the packet and obtain a thumb break above the bottom card (the AD). Do this as you say, say, “I want you to cut off a small packet of cards. Don’t worry, worry, you don’t have to cut off off exactly ten cards like like I did. Just cut off a small packet and place it down in front of you.” Hold out your left hand and allow the spectator to cut some cards off the deck. deck. Instruct her to place them on the table as you say, say, "Y "Yes, es, that’s good. Place it on the table. Great." As she places her packet on the table let your hands come together and allow the right-hand packet to “kiss” the deck. As this is done the card below the break is added to the top of the deck. Move the right-hand's packet away again. again. Continue by addressing addressing another spectator spectator, "And "And you too...great..." Extend your left hand to allow the next spectator to also cut off a small packet. packet. As they table their packet, place place the right-hand packet on top of the deck. Do not hold a break. break. Finally, Finally, offer a third spectator the deck and allow them to cut off a small packet as well, as you say, "And "And you as well...perfect!” You now have three packets on the table and each has an ace on top. PART 4: THE REVELATIONS
Continue, “All three of you you have cut your your own pile. The game we are going to play play is called 'High Card'. The object of the game is simple. You win the game if the card you cut to, the card on top of your cut pile, is the highest value card.” Place your remaining remaining cards on the table in front of you. Look at the spectator that you forced the Ace of Spades on and say, say, “Thank you for guarding my card! You’ve determined my fate." Have him hand you the AS and hold it face down and close to the three tabled piles. 45
Addressing your fellow players, say, "On say, "On the count of three turn over the top card of your pile, the card you cut to, and we will see who the winner is! One...Two...Three!” Turn over your card and place it face up on your pile as the spectators spectators do the same. same. Each player has cut to an ace ace and everyone will will be amazed! amazed! Conclude with, "Everyone lives happily ever after." RESET At the end of the routine you have four tabled packets and each has a face-up ace on top. You can now use the aces in in another routine or replace them in stack order. To do so you have several good options. You can place the aces to the side. side. Assemble the rest of the deck deck in stack order and then use Denis Behr's "Plop Replacement" technique. Another option is to assemble the rest of the deck and fan it with the faces toward you and insert the the aces in their proper stack positions. positions. You can also use the following sequence: Let's label the four packets in front of you by the ace resting on top of each packet. You will reassemble the deck by picking up the packets packets in H,D,C,S order. Ace of Hearts: pick up the AH pile and insert the AH face down fourth from the top. Ace of Diamonds: with the AH pile in the left hand pick up the AD pile with the right hand in end grip. Use your left left thumb and the left side of the right hand's cards to flip over the AD face down onto the left hand's cards. Place the right hand's cards onto the left hand's cards, but hold a break above the two packets. The AD is now below below the break. Undercut the cards below the break and allow all the packets to become one (no break is held). Ace of Clubs: with the combined packet in the left hand, take the AC pile in the right hand turning it face up in in the process. As you fan it you comment on how amazing itit is that they cut to the aces. aces. And point out that if they had cut anywhere else it would have been a completely different result. result. As you show the fanned cards sight the 3S. This is your key card. You will now insert insert all of the left hand's cards between between the 3S and the card to its right. This apparently is just mixing mixing the cards but in fact you are putting them in order! 46
Flip all of the cards face down and slip the AC, face down, second from the top. You can get fancy here and use the Tilt Tilt procedure to apparently insert it into the large packet, but it isn't necessary. necessary. Ace of Spades: pick up the AS pile in the right hand and place it onto the left hand’s cards, but hold a break below it. Spread the cards above above the break enough to obtain a new break two cards up from the bottom of the packet. Slip cut the AS into the break. Use the right-hand packet packet to flip the AS face down. Allow the right hand's cards cards fall flush on the rest of the the deck. Cut the JS back to the top to be back in Aronson order. order.
I know that sounds complicated, but with a little practice it becomes a smooth and quick procedure. It should be done as the spectators are still reacting and as you are talking to them. COMMENTS If you don’t like some of the adjustments needed in Part 2 you can always cull the aces to the proper positions before you start the routine. You don’t have to force for ce the AS. You can move it between the 6C and 8D and then cut the AS to the bottom. bottom. Carry out the routine for the first three cut piles. As you ask for a fourth volunteer volunteer,, side steal the AS from the bottom of the packet packet and put it on top of the packet. packet. Have the last last spectator cut to make the final pile. The reset is obvious. When performing this routine it is sometimes easier to have the cut off packets placed in a row in front of you from left to right instead of each person having their packet in front of them around a table. There are two reasons why you you might want the packets close close to you. First, the situation situation of everyone cutting to the aces is immediately obvious to everyone. everyone. This heightens the impact impact of the effect. effect. Second, the reset is much easier easier and faster if the packets packets are right in front of you. Of course if you choose to turn over the cards yourself it changes the emotional tone of the effect, but that isn't necessarily necessarily a bad thing. It depends on your your presentation. If the spectator who cuts the final packet cuts very shallow (i.e. only the top three or so) it changes your re-set procedure. procedure. To avoid this I instruct them to to cut off “a bunch” bunch” of cards. This usually works. If they they insist insist on cutting a very small packet here is the reset: Proceed as normal for the AH and AD piles. Take the AC pile and insert the AC face down second 47
from top. Add the AC pile to the bottom of the AS pile. Fan out the AS pile and cut any cards from fr om the top with low stack numbers to the bottom. Add the combined piles to the rest of the deck and cut the JS to the top to restore the stack order. order. CREDITS When I developed this routine I used ideas gathered from many different published routines. There are ideas here from Ackerman, Ortiz, Plants, Riser, Riser, Bannon and Malone. Malone. My only claim claim to any amount amount of originality here is in the way I have combined these into an efficient and entertaining way to perform this classic effect while maintaining the stack order. Bob Veeser: Veeser: published the first first version of this this plot. Darwin Ortiz: the cutting ten adjustment procedure in in phase two is is a modified form of a trick by Gary Plants and Darwin Darwin Ortiz. See Designing Miracles by by Darwin Ortiz, pg. 57-58. Allan Ackerman: I first came across the strategy strategy of having one of the four of a king selected ahead of the cuts in Allan’s Allan’s routine “One Kiss.” See Classic Ackerman (DVD). (DVD). Harry Riser: added the idea of the “demonstration packet.” packet.” John Bannon: See his SWAK SWAK technique in his routine routine “Final Verdict” Verdict” in Dear Mr. Fantasy, pg. Fantasy, pg. 55-61. Bill Malone: with “Cut em High and Tie,” Tie,” Bill has come up with with one of the most commercial presentations for the effect. See James Swain’s Swain’s 21st Century Card Magic, pg. Magic, pg. 33-36 or Bill Malone’s On the Loose (DVD), (DVD), Vol. 2. THE BOOK: It All Depends It All Depends, the first book of the Aronson stack trilogy, trilogy, is full of routines for the Aronson stack and several thought provoking essays on working with a stacked deck "in the real world." Purchase IT ALL DEPENDS
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What the DEVIL? (from Tour ) Routines that allow you to show off your skill with cards are frowned upon by some card magicians. magicians. They are about to frown again! While they are busy frowning, you can rock this routine at any time—directly from the Aronson stack. When a lay audience believes they are seeing a real demonstration of card cheating skills, skills, they sit up and take notice. notice. In this routine you get all the credit, but without needing to be the next Steve Forte. The climax of the routine comes comes as a complete complete surprise and reminds the audience you are not just their friendly neighborhood card shark. In fact, they will be left to wonder about your eternal soul… EFFECT The magician performs a series of impressive card cheating demonstrations. The routine ends with several surprises and a devilish finale! SET UP NOTE: While not absolutely necessary, necessary, a mark on the AC is very handy in this routine. Put a breather crimp in the 4S. The breather crimp can be replaced with a temporary crimp if you can’t handle serious commitment. ROUTINE Cut the 4S to the bottom of the deck and obtain a break below the AC in preparation for the force to come. PHASE 1- RIFFLE COUNTING
The routine begins with an impressive demonstration of skill with cards. This phase also accomplishes the goal of reversing twenty-five cards which is necessary for the third phase of the routine.
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Begin by saying, “Just saying, “Just say stop whenever you would like.” Riffle-force all the cards above the break and take them into the right hand while setting the remaining cards on the table. Transfer Transfer the cards you are holding to your left hand and say, say, “Here is a crazy example example of a skill that would help a card shark. I'll try to tell you how many cards I have in my hand by simply counting them as they riffle off my thumb!” Hold the cards up to your left ear and quickly run your thumb down the corner of the pack with your left thumb. Continue, “Hmm...I Continue, “Hmm...I want to nail itit exactly. exactly. I think...I counted twenty-five. twenty-five. Let's see if I'm right...” Count the cards one at a time onto the tabled tabled pile thus reversing their order in the process. process. The audience will will be impressed. impressed. At this point the reassembled deck is on the table and you have reversed the top twenty-five twenty- five cards. Say, Say, “Nailed it! I know that might seem like an odd skill, but for a card shark that kind of sensitivity can come in quite handy.” Pick up the deck and cut the bottom third to the top. PHASE 2- TRACKING AND LOCATING A CARD
While this phase is optional, I like including it because it is impressive to lay audiences and it continues to build on the theme with increasingly more impressive displays of card cheating skills. Continue, “Let me give you another example from the card shark's arsenal.” Spread the deck in your hands and and pretend to be looking for a specific card. As you do, cull the 6H under the spread and secretly reposition it between the JS and KC. Up-jog the AC when you come to itit and say, say, "We will use the ace of clubs for this demonstration." Close the spread, push the AC flush with the deck and place the deck in front of a spectator. NOTE: You You can also cull the 6H into position before the routine begins. Say, “Go ahead ahead and cut the deck. Thanks! Go ahead and cut again.” Have the spectator cut and complete the cut several times. Continue, “Being able to track a card in the deck is really an important skill. As you cut the cards cards I kept kept track of the ace of clubs. And I'm pretty sure I can cut right to it.” Cut to the crimp crimp and complete the cut. You will 50
know immediately if you have cut to it because you will see the marked AC. Continue by saying, “It should be right about here!” Turn the AC face up onto the deck. Say, “Of Say, “Of course, once it is on top, the card shark will want to deal it to himself. He can do so by...cheating by...cheating on the deal!” With the AC face up on the deck, perform two second deals and then deal the AC to yourself. This sequence is incredible incredible to a lay audience. Allow them to really enjoy enjoy the moment. Gather up the three cards in reverse stack stack order. order. Return the AC, AC, face down, to the top of the deck and give the deck a false shuffle. PHASE 3- DEALING THE ROYAL FLUSH IN SPADES
Continue, “All right let's combine all of these skills!” As you say this, spread the deck and pretend to look for a new card to demonstrate with. Really, you will name the AS which is 5th from the top of the deck. Say, “This time we’ll we’ll use the Ace of Spades. Give the deck a cut, and and another and just one more.” Let the spectator cut the deck several times. When they have made several complete cuts take the deck back. “Great, this time, I will not only try to locate the Ace of Spades, I will also position it with shuffles so that I can deal it to myself in a five handed game. This is called called shuffle stacking stacking and it combines tracking the card, counting the cards with my fingers and shuffling it into an exact location.” Cut to the crimp and complete the cut (once again, look for the mark on the AC for verification). With the AC cut to the top of the deck, deck, continue with the following false shuffle sequence: Place the deck in position for for a tabled riffle shuffle. Cut the upper half half of the deck to the left. Now perform a Zarrow shuffle under under the top card (the AC) of the left hand’s portion of the deck. Cut to the breather crimp and take the upper half to the left. Zarrow shuffle the right hand’s portion under the top card (the AC) of the left hand’s portion. After this Zarrow shuffle, the the deck is back in order with with the reverse ordered twenty-five twenty-five cards on top of the deck. At the end of the sequence look victorious and say “...and that should do it!"
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Take the deck in the left hand hand in preparation for dealing the cards. Deal four cards, singly, into a pile on the table as you say, “Let's see, one… two…three…four. two…three…four. These cards, for the other players players don't matter.” matter.” Continue, “What Continue, “What matters is what I will deal to myself... The ace of spades!” , as you turnover the 5th card to reveal the AS. After showing the AS turn it back over onto the deck and deal it in front of you. Say, “Not bad at all, all, but I have to be honest with with you. I took it further further than that. My cuts and shuffles were even sneakier than I let on.” As you talk, deal four cards onto the audience’s audience’s pile. As you deal the fourth card onto the pile, spread the next two cards over to the right with your left thumb. As you drag them back to the left, use your left little finger to obtain a break beneath the two cards. “I also controlled the jack...” perform perform a double turnover to reveal reveal the JS. After showing the JS turn it back over onto the deck and deal the top card (the 6H) onto the face-down AS. Continue this dealing and double lift pattern to produce the QS and KS as you continue, “the queen...the king…” Deal four more cards into the discard pile and turn over the single 10H as you say s ay,, “…and the ten! It is an unbeatable hand!” Don’t look at the 10H as you deliver your triumphant declaration. declaration. It will be quickly pointed out that you missed your last card. Act surprised, but like your your trying to keep your cool. Obtain a little little finger break under the top two cards. cards. Continue, “Well, Continue, “Well, there are ways to take care of mistakes like this…” As you deliver these lines, take the double into the right hand and perform the One-Handed Swivel Change (you could also use the Shapeshifter change or a top change) as you continue, “…that's more like it!” After the change drop the double back onto the deck. deck. Take the face-up 10S and drop it on the table, still face up, next to your "Royal Flush" pile. Obtain a break under under the top card of of the deck. Double undercut about about half of the deck to the top, retaining retaining the break. Take all the cards above the break and place place them on the dealt pile. Then place the remaining cards in your hand on top of the tabled deck. At this point the entire deck is in Aronson stack order except the cards cards you dealt to yourself. Pick up the deck and take it into left-hand left-hand dealing grip. As you do, slightly spread spread the bottom four cards of the deck and get a break above them with your left little finger. 52
PHASE 4- FIND THE QUEEN
Continue, “Of course not all card sharks sharks use the whole deck. You may have heard of the Three Card Monte game played with just three cards.” As you say this, take the 10S, show it, and place it on the top of the deck. Cut the cards below the break to the top of the deck (the 9S is now the bottom card of the deck). Table the deck as you continue, continue, "So let's get rid of the ten..." Immediately pick up the four cards on the table and square them as you say, say, "...and the ace." Turn the packet face up to show the AS on the bottom and then turn the packet back face down. Slide the AS off the bottom and place if face down down onto the deck. You can allow its face to flash again as you set it on the deck. The audience will believe you still hold the remaining Jack, Queen and King of Spades. Say, “Sometimes it is called Find the Queen." Spread the three cards and tap the center card as you say this. this. The audience will believe it is the queen based on how you dealt the cards. "If you are ever on the street and someone asks you to find the queen, don’t play.” Out-jog the middle card and then move it to the top of the three card packet. Reverse count the three cards. This This apparent mix is purposefully easy for the audience to track and they will believe that the queen is now on the bottom of the packet. Spread the cards again and continue, “If continue, “If you do, you will lose everything! If you decide to ignore my warning then whatever you do, don’t ever pick the top card, you will lose. Never ever pick the middle card, everyone picks the middle card. And don’t ever pick the bottom card card it is too obvious." As you deliver these lines, point to the back of each card in turn. Continue, "Really! Don't choose any any of them!" Turn the fan over to reveal the three sixes as you conclude, "They don't call these the Devil's Playthings for nothing! RESET Flip the deck face up drop the three sixes onto the deck (onto the 9S). They should be in this order from the face: H,S,D. H,S,D. Spread the cards toward yourself as you add, "Who "Who wants to play poker...for poker...for your eternal soul?". As you square up the deck, obtain three breaks. Gain breaks above the 10H (with the left little finger), the KS (with the left ring finger) and the QS (with the middle finger). You are now in position to slip cut 53
the sixes back into their proper positions using Denis Behr’s "Plop Replacement" method. Of course, you could also just fan the cards and insert them followed by a false shuffle. shuffle. Whatever floats your your boat. COMMENTS In the introduction to this routine I pointed out that some magicians prefer to never demonstrate any level of skill with cards. I respect and understand their position. I, however however,, don’t share that view. view. Instead of defending my position I will simply refer you to a fascinating essay on the topic by Darwin Ortiz found in his excellent Scams and Fantasies (see (see pages 211-220).
THE BOOK:TOUR BOOK:TOUR You can find a huge amount of material, for the Aronson stack, including a way to begin and end in new deck order, in the third book of Eric's Aronson stack trilogy, Tour . "Tour, the title of this book, is an understatement: this book is a voyage of discovery, discovery, revelation and liberation." —Michael Vincent
Take the TOUR
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HERO’S TALE (from OASIS ) When I was a child my parents would take me to the annual renaissance fair at the Ringling Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. I would always always look forward the magicians magicians and the jugglers. jugglers. I also enjoyed enjoyed the strolling performers who would draw in a crowd, pull some of the audience members into the play and give the audience funny things to say as the play went on. The crowd would would “boo” the villain, villain, cheer for the the hero and basically become part of the play. You can create that kind of street play atmosphere with this this story routine. One of the fun things about this routine is that you can really get the crowd into it by giving them a part to play. EFFECT The magician uses the deck to tell a story about how the King’s humble servant Jack recovers the King’s stolen diamonds, captures the evil villains and everyone lives…well…you know. SET UP Before the routine begins, cut the KH to the top of the deck. Cull the AD between the 2D and KD. Put a crimp in the bottom card (the 4H). Give the deck a straight cut and you’re set for the routine. REVELATIONS The revelations used in this routine can be changed to suit your tastes and skill level. level. I'd suggest practicing practicing the routine a few times using the revelations given, to familiarize yourself with everything, and then experiment with other revelations. The revelations you ultimately use must maintain the stack order and be relatively fast in execution. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION If you want to incorporate some audience involvement into the performance, you will want to prepare them for this before the routine 55
begins. Make sure to give them clear instructions on what you expect and when you want them to give their their responses. I prefer to “strike a pose” to cue the audience for their responses. This is important so so that they don’t don’t feel like they have to give me a response every time I might mention one of the characters in the story. story. I have put the optional audience involvement script in brackets and underlined the cue words within the routine. Ignore these if you you don’t want to perform the routine with the audience involvement. ROUTINE Give the deck a false shuffle shuffle and a false cut. As you do, introduce the routine: [“It’s time for a story! It’s an epic tale rivaling rivaling the greatest stories stories of all time. But for this story story to be told I will need your help. There are several characters in the story and whenever I hold a card up and do this (strike your pose) it will be your cue to respond appropriately. appropriately. You will need to cheer for our hero, boo the the evil villains and basically be the rowdy crowd that you are.” “There are four parts you will need need to play. play. Whenever I say 'King' and strike the pose, like this, you need to say ‘Long live the King!’” As you give these instructions take the top card of the deck and hold it next to your face to demonstrate “the pose” and what you want the audience to do. Continue, “Whenever Continue, “Whenever I say, ‘Jack’ and strike the pose, give him a ‘Hooray.’ Whenever Wheneve r I say ‘Diamonds’ and strike the pose give a nice ‘Ooh’ and ‘Ahh.’ You are doing great! There are also some evil villains villains in the story and whenever whenever I say ‘evil villains’ and give the thumbs down, give them a big ‘boo.’”] At this point you can run through them again to reinforce the four responses. responses. Replace the card on top of the deck and begin… NOTE: I will give the revelations used for each card after a part of the script is given. given. Hopefully this will make learning the script and the revelations easier. easier. You will find an uninterrupted script at the end of the routine description. 56
"There once was a [King] who was known the world over for his collection of the ten largest [diamonds] in the world." KH: Perform a Charlier Cut at the crimp and then perform the Drop Flourish: with the deck in your left hand push the top card over to the right for about half an inch as you take the deck in the end grip with your right hand. The side-jogged condition of the card is hidden by the right hand. hand. Hold the deck about twelve inches inches above the left hand. Drop the deck into the open left hand. As you do, the air pressure will will cause the top card to flip over and land on top of the deck as the deck is caught in the left hand. Place the king face up onto the table. 10D: Perform a double turnover onto the deck to reveal the 10D. Keep a break under the double. (For ( For audience participation, hold the entire deck up to your face to “strike the pose.” This is the easiest way to handle the double). Turn the double face down onto the deck and table the top card (the 4D) on top of the KH.
"One day his faithful servant [Jack] discovered that the six largest diamonds had been stolen! [Jack], vowed with all his his heart to find the [evil villains] and return the six missing diamonds." JC: Double undercut the top two cards to the bottom of the deck. Turn the deck face up to reveal the JC. (Once again, if you are using audience participation, hold the entire deck up to your face to “strike the pose.”)
With your right hand, turn over the face-down card on the table to reveal the 4D. Six diamonds diamonds are now missing. missing. Place the 4D face up on the KH to begin to create a discard pile. pile. Take the double off the deck. deck. (Easy to do because of the crimped card below them) and place the double face up onto the discard discard pile. Keep the double square so the 10D won’t be seen. As you place the double down down onto the pile with your your right hand, turn the deck face down and continue immediately with the next revelation. JH: Perform John Cornelius’ “Spring Set” flourish (see The Award Winning Magic of John Cornelius by by Lance Pierce): push the top card over to the right for about one fourth of an inch. Use your left thumb to contact the exposed portion of the second card from the top of the deck. 57
Press down and to the left with with your left thumb. This will cause cause the top card to flip over and land back on the deck. (“Strike the pose” if you are using audience participation.) Table Table the face-up JH onto the pile. "He began his feverish search of the ten shires of the realm. The only thing [Jack] had on his mind were the stolen [diamonds]. stolen [diamonds]. He searched the four surrounding shires, but came up empty. empty. So, keeping track, out of ten shires he still had six to check! " 10C, JD: Double undercut the top card (the 10C) to the bottom. Perform the Two Two Card Catch flourish by holding the deck in your left fingertips. The left thumb is on top and the fingers are underneath the deck. Toss the deck into the right hand. By using light pressure you will will hold back the top and bottom cards of the deck in your left hand. Turn the two cards face up in the left hand. As you deliver the lines lines thumb off the cards one one at a time onto the tabled pile. Point to the “J” “J” and the diamond as you deliver the appropriate lines. 4S: Give the deck an in-the-hands false cut and perform the Drop Flourish again. Table the 4S on the pile. 10H, 6H: Double undercut the 10H to the bottom of the deck and perform the Two Two Card Catch again. As you deliver the lines thumb off the cards one at a time onto the tabled pile (see COMMENTS for an alternative procedure for these revelations).
"He got his first break outside the three clovers (it was a club). club). He learned that Two mysterious figures had been seen quickly traveling through the countryside and heading for the notoriously seedy ninth shire of the realm." You will now perform a sequence 3C: Obtain a break under the top card. You starting with J.K. Hartman’s Uppercut Revelation as follows: grip the deck in end grip with the right hand. Your right thumb takes over the break. Undercut half the deck and rotate it face up onto the top of the deck. Now turn over all the cards above the break onto the deck by flipping it over on its short end. Table the 3C.
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2S, 9H: Perform a Charlier Cut at the crimp crimp and turn over the the 2S. Deal it and the 9H face up on the pile in synch with the script.
"Jack sent a message to the [King]. But be- [four] he could could continue...his head started to spin...he started feeling sick ..., so he ate, felt better and quickly headed to the ninth shire. " KS: Perform the Drop Flourish and table it on the pile. 4C: Perform a double-turnover to reveal the 4C and then turn it back over and take just the top face-down card (the 6S) with your right hand. 6S: Give the right-hand card a Pirouette Flourish and turn it over to reveal the change to the 6S. Table it on the pile. 8H: Double-undercut the top two cards to the bottom of the deck and turn the deck face up to reveal the 8H. 8H. Take the double and place it on on the tabled pile. 9C: Turn the deck face down and perform the Spring Set Flourish again. Place the 9C on the pile.
"Upon arriving, he found the [evil villains]! They were two two of the royal family’s maids; Thelma Thelma and Louise. Jack had the ladies stopped, but no diamonds were found. found. They only had two loaves of bread between them and so they were allowed allowed to take their two loaves and and leave. Literally, Literally, nine seconds later..." QS,QC,2C,9D: Here you will begin a sequence that will ultimately reveal the two black queens and switch the 2C placed between them for the 6D. To do this we will use the Kosky Switch, a beautiful move by Gerald Kosky (see Card College Vol. Vol. 4 pg 951-952): to begin, turn over the top card onto the deck to reveal the QS. QS. As you do, obtain a break under the second card from the top of the deck. deck. Take the top two cards as one in in end grip. The right hand uses them to flip over the new top card of the deck to reveal the QC. Take the QC on top of the QS (double) and leave the QC side-jogged to the left. left. Take the three cards in end grip.
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Continue by using using the queens to flip over the 2C on top of the deck. Use your left thumb to push over the face-up 2C and slide it between the two queens. Square up the the right-hand packet. Use your left thumb to drag the QC onto the deck but out-jogged about half its length. Now drag the 2C onto the deck but use the right-hand double to flip the 2C face down. The 2C is aligned with the deck. Place the double, in-jogged about half its length, on top of the face-down 2C. At this point you can use your right fingers to pull up on the front edge of the 2C to show it between the queens one last time. To affect the switch, use your right thumb to contact the back edge of the double card and push it up and forward at the same same time. Continue this forward motion as you push the double double until it is is aligned with with the out-jogged QC. QC. Grip the three out-jogged cards with your right fingers and pull the three cards forward and away from the deck. deck. You continue the forward motion as you table the three cards next to the discard discard pile. Allow the three three cards to spread slightly slightly after the switch switch is completed. The illusion illusion is perfect. The spectators will believe the sandwiched 2C never left their sight. Perform a false cut and then double turnover the top two cards to reveal the 9D. Place the double onto the discard pile. Keep it square to hide the 2C. "....our hero [Jack] had a brilliant idea and cried 'stop in the name of the [King]!' He ordered them to break open the bread. The six [diamonds] [diamonds] fell out. The [evil villains] were arrested and taken away! Never to be seen again." JS, KC: Double-undercut the top card to the bottom of the deck. Perform the Two Two Card Catch. Reveal the JS and KC as per the script. Drop them onto the pile.
Take the queens with the 6D sandwiched between them in the right hand while keeping them spread. Tilt Tilt the fan forward and let the 6D fall fall out and, as you do, allow it to to turn over revealing revealing the 6D! Pause for a moment as this is a very magical moment in the routine.
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As the audience reacts, arrange the three cards in stack order (QS, 6D, QC). While holding the deck in your left hand, use use your left thumb to riffle up the back of the tabled pile until you see the 9C (the fourth card from the top of the face-up face-up tabled pile). With your right hand, insert the three cards into the break above the 9C. 9C. You have placed the three cards back back in stack order. order. Man, you are sneaky! "The King was so happy he gave Jack a five hour vacation! 5C: Simply turn over the top card and place it on the pile.
"When Jack returned the King named him, “Sir Jack, Lord of Diamonds.” Now you will spell the title given to Jack into separate piles for each word except for for “of.” Remember to take the cards under the previous card to maintain stack stack order. order. Lay down the packets starting on your left and continue to your right for Sir, Sir, Jack, Lord and Diamonds. The packets are placed in front of you in the space between you and the discard pile. "I have good news and bad news. I’ll give give you the bad news first. first. Four years later the King King died. I know it’s it’s so sad…but now for the good news! Our hero [Jack] became the new [King] and ruled all ten shires of the realm at the young age of thirty-two." KD,10S,3H,2H: Once the four packets have been spelled and laid out you will turn over the top card card of each packet. packet. Beginning with the right most packet first and then continue continue to the left. Turn the top cards over to coincide with the story.
"How could this happen? happen? How could Jack Jack become become King? King? Well, in the presence of eight hundred thirty-seven thirty-seven of their closest closest friends he married the princess, the queen of his heart. Jack gave her a beautiful ring with five huge [diamonds] [diamonds] in it and they ruled the kingdom kingdom together. together. It gets even better! In the Seventh month (that would be August) of the following following year they had quadruplets!" 61
8S,3D,7H,QH,5D,7C,4H: At this point you only have seven cards in your hands. Here you can either just deal them onto the discard discard pile as you come to them or you can actually shuffle them, fan them out and pull them out as you finish the story. story. Either way, way, simply place them on the discard pile. I always side-jog the 8S so that it is a simple matter to obtain a break underneath it later for the reset.
Before you lay down the 4H take the crimp out of it (unless its a breather crimp). Place the 4H on the pile pile and pick up the entire tabled tabled pile. Use the side-jogged 8S to obtain a brake below it. Cut all the cards above the break to the bottom of the deck and turn the deck face down (the 8S is the top card of the deck). And with their four children Arnold, Alice, Alex, Alex, and… Bob they lived happily ever after. after. AH,AD,AC,AS: As you give the names of the children turn over the four tabled packets from your right to left to reveal the four aces for the grand finale!
RESET The reset is pretty simple. simple. You will deal with with the packets one at a time and from right to left: 22 AH packet: take the AH packet and flip it over so the AH is now face down and place the entire entire packet onto the the deck. Flip the (now face-up) KD face down onto the top of the deck. As you do, spread the top cards and get a break under the top four cards of the deck. AD packet: take the AD packet and flip it over so the AD is now face down. Spread the four cards cards in your right hand as you bring the packet close to the top of the deck. As you place the spread packet packet on deck, allow the bottom card (the AD) to go into the break. Close the spread on top of the deck and as you do, feed the AD into the break. The AD is now in stack order. order. Flip the 10S face down. AC packet: take the AC packet and flip it over so the AC is now face down. Drop the packet on the deck and turn over over the 3H. 62
AS packet: follow the exact same actions as described for the AC AC packet above and cut the JS back to the top. You are reset. COMMENTS This routine came came to me in a dream. I simply woke woke up and quickly quickly wrote it down. I have never had that happen before or since. I have no idea why this happened and it kind of freaks me out! Here is an alternative procedure for revealing the 4S-6H that you may prefer. prefer. This is the sequence I use use the most: Double undercut the 4S to the bottom. bottom. Take the deck in the right hand, in in position for an overhand overhand shuffle. Run the top two cards of the deck singly singly to reverse their order. Take the two cards below the deck in your right hand as your left hand drags about half the deck into your left hand. Throw the remaining portion in the right hand on top of the left hand portion. All you have done here is reverse the order of the 10H and 6H and centralize them in the center center of the deck. The deck is still still in order. order. Perform a Charlier cut at the crimp and use the Spring Set flourish to flip the 4S face up. Table the 4S on the pile. Give the deck a false cut and perform a double turnover to reveal the 10H. Now perform an Erdnase Color Change (or your favorite favorite color change) to transform the 10H into the 6H. 6H. Table the double onto the pile. Yes, I know there is a lot of potential for comedy with more of an edge. It’s hard to resist the the temptation to talk about the “Family “Family Jewels!” If that’s your shtick, then go for it. Just choose your audience audience wisely. wisely. Instead of having the whole crowd perform all the parts, you can assign several people in the audience certain parts and then cue them during the performance. With a smaller smaller group this is a nice way to do the routine. Performance experience will reveal to you how much audience participation you want and need. need. You don’t want to wear out your your audience by giving them too many response times. You also don’t want them to be so few that it doesn’t seem worth worth it. It will take a few performances to find the right balance for you. 63
SCRIPT (UNINTERUPTED) [It’s time for a story! It’s an epic tale rivaling rivaling the greatest stories stories of all time. But for this story to be told I will need need your help. There are several characters in the story and whenever I hold a card up and next to my face it will be your cue to respond appropriately. appropriately. You will need to cheer for our hero, boo the evil villains and basically be the rowdy crowd that you are. There are four parts you will need to play. play. Whenever I say “King” and strike the pose, like this, you need to say “Long live the King!” Whenever I say, “Jack’”and strike the pose, give him a ‘Hooray.’ Whenever I say “Diamond”and strike the pose give a nice and very appropriate “Ooh” and “Ahh.” You You are doing great! There are also some evil villains in the story and whenever I say “evil villains” and give the thumbs down, give them a big “boo.”] "There once was a [King] who was known the world over for his collection of the ten largest [diamonds] in the world." "One day his faithful servant [Jack] discovered that the six largest diamonds had been stolen! [Jack], vowed with all his his heart to find the [evil villains] and return the six missing diamonds." "He began his feverish search of the ten shires of the realm. The only thing [Jack] had on his mind were the stolen [diamonds]. stolen [diamonds]. He searched the four surrounding shires, but came up empty. empty. So, keeping track, out of ten shires he still had six to check! " "He got his first break outside the three clovers (it was a club). club). He learned that Two mysterious figures had been seen quickly traveling through the countryside and heading for the notoriously seedy ninth shire of the realm." "Jack sent a message to the [King]. But be- [four] he could could continue...his head started to spin...he started feeling sick ..., so he ate, felt better and quickly headed to the ninth shire. " "Upon arriving, he found the [evil villains]! They were two two of the royal family’s maids; Thelma Thelma and Louise. Jack had the ladies stopped, but no 64
diamonds were found. found. They only had two loaves of bread between them and so they were allowed allowed to take their two loaves and and leave. Literally, Literally, nine seconds later..." "our hero [Jack] had a brilliant idea and cried "stop in the name of the [King]!". He ordered them to break open the bread. The six six [diamonds] [diamonds] fell out. The [evil villains] were arrested and taken away! Never to be seen again." "The King was so happy he gave Jack a five hour vacation! "When Jack returned the King named him, “Sir Jack, Lord of Diamonds.” "I have good news and bad news. I’ll give give you the bad news first. first. Four years later the King King died. I know it’s it’s so sad…but now for the good news! Our hero [Jack] became the new [King] and ruled all ten shires of the realm at the young age of thirty-two." "How could this happen? happen? How could Jack Jack become become King? King? Well, in the presence of eight hundred thirty-seven thirty-seven of their closest closest friends he married the princess, the queen of his heart. Jack gave her a beautiful ring with five huge [diamonds] [diamonds] in it and they ruled the kingdom kingdom together. together. It gets even better! In the Seventh month (that would be August) of the following following year they had quadruplets!" And with their four children Arnold, Alice, Alex, Alex, and… Bob they lived happily ever after. after. ANALYSIS One of the strong points of this routine is the audience audience participation. I have had many people tell me that they really enjoyed the routine because they were so involved involved in the process of the story story.. The other element that helps it play to a broad audience is is the story itself. itself. There are many elements built into the story that resonate with people on different levels. You have the underdog Jack overcoming overcoming all to become king. You have theft and intrigue and even a romance. So many common human experiences are conveyed that it is easy for the audience to relate to at least parts of the routine on a personal level. 65
THE BOOK: OASIS Oasis, the second book of Eric's Aronson stack trilogy, trilogy, contains over twenty routines—including routines—including three complete story routines. None of them them require that the stack be memorized!
Discover an OASIS
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