QUADRUPLE PREDICTION

Thiseffectappearsimpossible. Ifyouarewillingto spenda little timeunderstanding theconcept,youwillbe amply rewarded. Do not be put off by the apparentcomplexity ofthe workings. Thisissimpleto do andeasyto remember. I have spent a lot of space describing it sothat you can understand not just how to do it, but theconceptsbehindit. If yougrasp thereasonwhyit works,the workingitselfwillbe almost automatic.

Themagician removes fourpredictioncardsfromaborrowed andshuffled pack. Theseareplacedasideoutoftheway. Heremovesthefouracesanddropsthemfaceuponthetable.Thedeckcanbe reshuffled ifdesired. Themagiciandividesthepackintofourpiles. The spectatorsareallowed to cut the acesintoeachof thepiles. Thereisnopossiblewaythemagiciancanknowthelocationofanyof the acesonce the pack is reassembled.

The four predictioncards are turned face up. "Ipredicted the location of the aces before we started.Further, I foresaw your actions during the next twominutes. It's all kind of'fuzzy to me now, butI think it endswith a standing ovation. Let's find out." The magicianallows the spectator to choose the order in which thepredictioncardswillbe used.Oneat a timethe magician

dealspilescontaining thesamenumberasthevalueoftheprediction cards. After the four predictions are used todeal four piles in the orderchosenby the spectators, thepilesareturnedoverto revealthefouraces. Themagicianpredictedthelocationsthespectators wouldsendtheacesto duringthe cuttingprocessandtheorderofpredictionsthe spectators woulddictate.

The Work. Takeashuffled deckandremoveanyking, ten, seven, and four. The suits should be mixed.Place thesecardsfacedownin a rowfromleft to rightonthe far side of the table. The leftmostcard shouldbe theking. The orderof theother threecardsis not important.Openlycull the four aces and place them face up to theside.

Take the deck from the spectator. Counttwelvecards ingroupsof foursfromthe top of thedeck andintothe righthand. Dropthesetwelvecardsfacedownonthetable to the right Countoff nine more cards by threes.Dropthisninecardpackettothetabletotheimmediateleftof the first pile. Thumboff the next nine cards in threegroupsofthree anddropthispacketto thetableto theleftof the firsttwo.Finally,dropthefinaltwelvecards(alloftheremainingcards)tothetabletotheleftofthefirstthreepiles. See figure 1 for the layout. Thiscountingshouldbe done as casually as possible and not as if the trickdependsuponit(whichitdoes). Forthesakeofexplanation,we will numberthe piles 1-4fromleft to right.

Pickupthefouraces. Askthespectatortocutpile#1 to the left. Dropthe first ace facedownon thebottom

Quadruple PredictionBack To Aces

The Explosion MovePresidential Opener

The DismountPop Test

The Chorus LineSly Stebbins

Simply Shuffled

CONTENTSChapped

Eye Opener IIColor VisionCutting ClassMaeb-y CountMirror Change

TurnaboutThe Heavy Deck

The Underhand Shuffle

COP}RIGIJT /997 NY STJ:TE.\ L. BEA,ll I'i BUSIJ!:'/) B} TR.\PJ)()()R PR()J)i CT/O.\.'i

half of pile #1. Ask him to cut the top half ofpile #2 offand place it on pile #1, burying the first ace. Drop thesecond ace squarelyon top of pile #2. Direct him to cuthalf ofpile#3 ontopile#2, buryingthesecondace. Placethe third ace on top of pile #3. Direct the spectatorto cutthe top half of pile #4 onto pile #3. Place the last ace ontop of pile #4.

Therearefivepilesonthetable.Pilesonethroughfour, plus the top half of pile #1 which was cut offtothe left at the beginningof the effect.Pick up thepilesinreverseorder,fouron topof three, bothon top of two, and all on top of one. Finally, place thecombinedpile on top of the remainingpacket whichwasformerly the top half of packet #1.

False Cut. Those who arepayingclose attentionrealizethat anaceisontopof thepack. Youwillnowgivethe deck a quick andeasy falsecut to apparentlybury theace in the middle of the pack. The pack is resting on thetablewithonelongedgetowardyou. Yourlefthandholdsontothe top third of thepack while yourrighthand stripsout the lower two thirds. This larger packet is carriedforward on the table about ten inches. The right handreleaseshalf of its cards and brings the remainingcardsbacktowardthe left hand's packet. The cards remainingin the right hand are deposited on the table between theother two packets.

Yourrighthandnowreturnsto thepacketnearestto you. Pick up thispacket,place it on the middlepacket.Place this combined packet on the farthest packetcompletingthe cut and restoringthe order of the deck.

Revelations. You are now ready to reveal thepredictions. Ifyouhavefollowedtheinstructions, the aceswillbeinthe followingpositionsfromthetopofthe deck:1, 14,24, and 34. Pick up the deck andhold it in dealingposition.

Remindthemthat youplacedthefourpredictionsout before the trick began. "In this effect, a jack hasavalueofeleven, a queenhasa valueoftwelve, anda kinghasa valueofthirteen." Flip the predictionsfaceup andreplacethemonthe tableinthesameorder.Thekingisstill

leftmost. "A king represents the numberthirteen." Dealthirteencards into a pile "south" of the king. That is, dealthirteencardsintoapilejust yoursideoftheking. Sincetheking will always be the first card, it will always be dealtfirst.Theorderoftheothercardsdoesn'tmatterbut wewillassumethey are in 7-4~10order.

Pause for a moment. <lAs 1 told you before westarted.Jwasgoingtopredicttheftaure. Thefuture isfluidand can be changed. But, true predictions would reflecttltatchange. I am goingto allowyou to change theorderofthepredictions. Wouldyou like me to deal the 7, the4,or the 10 next?"

The instructionswhichfollowwill tell youhowtoconclude the trick based upon the order of the cards thespectator selects. (Remember that the 13 cards havealreadybeendealtforthe kingsoit is fixed.) Also,notethatthe predictionscan be changedagain afteryou have dealtthe second pile if desired. Here are the various endingsdependingupon the orderof the last three predictions.

7-4-10 Order. Deal seven cards to the tablebeneaththe sevenreversingtheirorder. Thumbfourcardsfrom your left hand to your right without reversing theirorder. Count as you do this. Dropthis fourcard packettothe table southof the four. Thumbten cardsfromyourlefthand to your right withoutreversingtheir order, countingthem during the process. Dropthis ten card packet to thetable south of the ten. The four aces are on thebottomofthe four packets.

4-7-10 Order. This is identical to the last count,reversingthe steps for the four and the seven. Deal fourcards to the table beneath the four reversingtheir order.Thumb seven cards from your left hand to your rightwithoutreversingtheirorder. Count as youdo this. Dropthis seven card packet to the table south of the seven.Thumbten cards fromyourleft handto your rightwithoutreversingtheir order, countingthem as you do. Drop thisten card packet to the table southof the ten. The four acesare on the bottom of the four packets.

10-4-7 Order. Deal ten cards south of the ten,reversing their order. Deal four cards south of the four,

14 Cards

Pile #1

9 Cards

Pile #2

9 Cards

Pile #3

12 Cards

Pile #4

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reversing their order. Count seven cards from your lefthandtoyourrightwithoutreversingtheirorder.Dropthispacketto the table southof the seven. The four aces areon the bottomof the four packets.

10-7-4 Order. Deal ten cards south of the ten,reversing theirorder. Dealsevencardssouthoftheseven,reversing theirorder. Countfourcardsfromyourlefthandto your right without reversing their order. Drop thispacketto thetablesouthof the four. The fouracesareonthe bottomof the fourpackets.

4-10-7Order. Deal fOUT cards southof the four,reversing their order. Count seven cards into the righthandwithoutreversing theirorder. Pauseandlook up tothe audience. "I'll give you one last chance. Would youlike to change the tenfor the seven?" Iftheyopttochangetheirminds,finishasdescribed above forthe4-7-100rder.Otherwise, thumbover three more cards into your righthandon top of thepacketalreadythere (it doesn't matterwhetheryou reversetheirorder). Do thiswitha countof"eight,nine, andten." Dropthis tencardpacketsouthofthe ten. Finally, thumbover sevencards into your righthandwithoutreversing theirorder. Dropthispacketsouthof the seven. The four acesare on the bottomof the fourpackets.

7-10-4 Order. Deal seven cards south of theseven, reversing their order. Count four cards into therighthandwithoutreversing theirorder. Pauseandlookup tothe audience. "I'll give you one last chance. Wouldyou like to change the ten for the four?" If they opt tochangetheirminds,finishasdescribed abovefor the7-4­10order. Otherwise, thumboversixmorecardsintoyourright hand on top of the packet alreadythere (it doesn'tmatter whetheryou reverse their order). Do this with acountof"five, six,seven,eight,nine, andten." Dropthistencardpacketsouthof the ten. Finally,thumboverfourcards into your righthand withoutreversing their order.Dropthis packet southof the four. The four aces areonthe bottomof the fourpackets.

Conclusion. This trick is too astounding tosimplyflip the packetsfaceup andrevealtheaceson thefaces. Youmustbuildup the climaxby explaining whathappened. "I told you I would predict the future. Iremoved four predictions before we started this effect.You were then able to shuffle thepackandremove thefouraces. You cut the aces into the pack. You could have cuthigh or low, deep or shallow. You lost the aces into thepack. Then you were able to change the order of theprediction cards. You had afree choice in which orderthe piles would be dealt. Despite all of the control youhad over all of the cards, I predicted the future" Tumoverone packet for eachof the last four words.

Leftoyers. I usually get the audience involvedwiththiseffect.Whenallowingthevolunteertochangehismind,I borrowthe mood from the old game show,Let'sMake A Deal. "Would you like to keep the ten . . . or

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switch itforwhat's behindthe curtain infrontofwhich thelovely Carol Marol is standing?" After they switchorstandpat, I follow with, "Or can I tempt you with what'sinside the box? Come on audience, give him some help!"At this point, the audience starts cheering the spectator,helpingtomakethechoice.

Background. The use offloating indicators waspublished in A Conjuring Melange (Fleming BookCompany, 1947)byStanleyCollins. Hecontrolled threeselectionstopositions first, tenth,andnineteenthfrom thetop. Hethenremoved threeindicators ---a four, asix,anda nine. Giving thespectators a freechoiceof theorderofthe indicators used,he would deal downto the numbersindicated. Uponturningoverthe packets, the selectionswerediscovered.

Using the floating indicators to locate the fouraces was published as 10-6-9-4 in Jean Hugard's andFred Braue's Show Stoppers With Cards. In theoriginaltrickby BertFennandNealElias,the aceswerelostinthepackbythemagician. Then,themagician wouldremove thefOUTtOp cardswhichwouldactastheindicators(aten, six,nineandfOUT). Theyaddedthetentotheotherthree indicators usedby Collinssincethe firstcarddealtcomes off the top andcanbe anynumber.

I wanted to change four things about the trick.First,I thoughtit wouldbe moreimpressive if therewasa greater spread in the values of the cards used forindictators. In theFenn/Elias trick,thereisadifference ofone betweenthe ten andthe nineanda difference oftwobetweenthesixandthefour. Thedifference between thehighestcard(ten)andthelowestcard(four)is six. Usingthecardsinmyeffect, thereisadifference ofthreebetweeneachof thevaluesandthedifference betweenthehighestandlowestcardsisnine(13-4). Thismakesthespectator'schoiceseemall thatmoredifficult to control.

The secondchangeI made was from usingfourindicators to four predictions. Predicting everything inadvance seemed much stronger than removing fourindicators after the aces werelost in the pack. This alsoallows the spectatorto shuffle thepack at the beginningwithouthavingto controlor cullthe fourindicatorcards.

The thirdchangeImadewastohavethespectatorslosetheaces. Itismuchstrongertohavespectators tolosecardsinthepackthantohavethemagicianlosethem. Thisseemsto take the controlof the cards completely awayfrom the magician. He doesn't control the aces or thepredictions. This is when I addedJohnHamilton's FreeCut Principle to maintaincontrolof the acesevenwhilethe spectators wereallowed to cut them intothe pack.

The fourthandlast thingI addedwasa coverforthe change in the deal when the largest of the floatingprediction cards,the ten in this trick,is to be dealt as themiddleof the floating predictions (see4-10-7and7-10-4above). Until the abovehandling, there has not been asatisfactory methodfor altering thecountin themiddle.

BAC'/\ T(J A('ES

This is an impromptu all-backs routine with ahumorous panerhook, I will describe this using theElmsleyCount. However, letmerecommend youusethetechnique taught in the Maeb-y Count. It flows muchsmootherandallowsa niceconsistencyof handling.

Ineffect,youshowfourcardshavebacksonbothsides. One at a time, each changesinto an ace.

~. Startwiththe fouracesandanindifferentcard arranged from the top down as follows: face downace, facedownindifferentcard, facedown ace, two faceup aces.The deck shouldbe facedownon the table.

The Hook. "Has anyone here ever been to aplaying card company --- a place that manufacturesplaying cards? No? Good --- then you'll believe whatI'm about to tell you. I took a tour of the U.S. PlayingCard Company in Cincinnati last year. You would thinkthat when they printplaying cards, they would get cardsthat have backs on one side and are blank on the other,and they would then print/aces on the blank side. That'snot what happens. They get cards in that are backs onboth sides, and they have a guy there whose full-time jobis to erase one ofthe backs. Then they have backs on oneside & blanks on the other, and then they print the/aces--- ajack... a queen... a king... on the blank sides."

"I don't knowwhy they haven't eliminated thismiddle man, but I did manage to get some 0/ the cardsbefore he erased them. I brought them with me today. Asyou can see, they have backs on both sides."

The Flip Flop Display. Hold the packet in therighthand in Biddleposition. Pull the top cardover intothepalm-upleft hand. seefigure 1. Nowrotatetherighthandpalm upto tumthepacketoverendforend. Pull thetop cardof this flippedpacket (the originalbottomcard)over onto the first card in the left hand. Keep it fannedslightlyto the right This positionis shownin figure 2.

Rotate your right hand palm down again, backinto the starting Biddle position. Pull the new top cardontothetwointhe lefthand,againslightlyfanned. Finishby rotating the right hand palm up again, flipping thepacket end over end again. Take the right hand'sremaining two cardsas one (fanned)ontothe left hand'sspread. Youhave apparently shownbackson bothsidesof fourcards. This is averystrongdisplay. Thelefthandis nowholdingfivecards fannedin the left hand as four.

Take the top two cards as one in the palmdownrighthand, flip the right hand palm up turningthe cardsover, and transfer them to the bottom of the left hand'scards. Squarethe cards in the left hand. This displayisperformed as you deliver the last line of the above

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opening: {lAs you can see, they have backs on bothsides." [Status reportfromthetop: facedownindifferentcard, three face downaces,one faceup ace.]

~1IliDisplay. Youarenowsettoexecute Bro.John Hamman's Flushtration count Take the packetintherighthand in Biddleposition. Pull thetopcardintothepalm-upleft hand withyourleft thumb. Rotatethe righthandpalmupto flash the bottom ofthepacketshowing aback. Loweryourhandsothatit ispalmdownagain, andpullthenewtopcardontothecardinthelefthand.Rotatethe righthand palmup to flash the bottom of the packetagainshowingaback. Loweryourhandsothatit ispalmdownagain, andpullthenewtopcardontothecardsintheleft hand. Rotate the right hand palm up to flash thebottom of what is apparently a single card. Rotate thehand palm down and place the two cards as one on thebottomof the packetin the lefthand.Squarethe packet.[Status report from the top: two face down aces, facedownindifferent card,facedownace,faceup ace.]

Accompanying Patter. "If you could see the

faces, you would see that they are all aces . . . See?"Deliverthefirstlineasyoudothecount. Thelastquestion("See?") isdelivered asyouflashtheunderside of thelastcard. It's as if you expect them to be able to tell that thecard is an ace, even thoughthey are looking at a back.

TheDisplacement. Squarethepacketinyourlefthand in dealingposition. Use your left thumbto spreadthe top three cards to the right, showingfour cards total.Take the top two in your right hand so that you areapparently holdingtwo pairs of cards. Square the threecardsin thelefthandwiththelefthandonly.Useyourleftthumbto flip the packetover, keepingit squared. Placethe righthand's cardson top of the left, andthentum theentirepacketover. [Status reportfromthetop: facedownindifferent card,face down ace,three face up aces.]

Accompanying Patter. "It doesn't matterwhether you turn the cards face up or face down . . .[Execute the one-handflip] .. .Because even when youturn themface up, they are face down. So, I'm going toturn theface up, and see ifwe can print some faces."

TheFirstAce. Twist the packet for effect. "IfIgive the cards a little twist, we print the first ace."ExecuteanElmsleyCount,outjogging the thirdcard,thefaceup aceoriginallyon the bottomof thepacket. At theconclusionofthecount,stripthiscardoutandtableit faceup. [Status report from the top: face down indifferentcard, face downace, two face up aces.]

The SecondAce. You arenow goingto executea nothingmove. This is a move that looks like youhavedonesomething, butyouhavenotchangedanything. Youare holding the packet in your left hand in dealingposition. Grasp the outer right comer with your rightthumbon top and right forefmgerunderneath. Tum thepacketoverendforend,replacingit inthelefthand. Nowtum your left hand palm down, and push the cardsthroughthe fist with your left thumb. (This is Vernon'sPush-Through Flourish.) Your right hand takes theemergingpacket.Havingturnedover twice,thepacketisnow back in itsoriginalcondition. Blendthe twomovesintoonecontinuous sequence.

You arenowgoingto do a bucklecountwithouta buckle,holdingthe cards as you wouldfor an ElmsleyCount. (Again, I use the technique from the Maeb-yCount.) Holdthepacketin thelefthandneartheleft longedgewiththethumbontop& fingers underneath. Peelthetop card into the right hand with the right thumb andfingers. Push the next two cardsas one onto the card inthe right hand. This is the standard Elmsley push-twotechnique. Transferthelast cardin the lefthand, the faceup ace,onto the top of the righthand's packet.Table thisface up ace on top-ofthe first faceup ace. [Statusreportfrom the top: face down ace, face up ace, face downindifferentcard.]

Accompanying Patter. "If I run the cards

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through the printing press [Push-Through Flourish] weget the third ace, the ace of[name suit]."

TheThirdAce. Youarenowapparently leftwithtwo cards. You are going to do another nothing-move.Hold the three-card packet in the left hand in dealingposition. Pushthe toptwocardstothe rightasone. Takethe two cards as one in the palm-down righthandwhichimmediately rotatespalm-up. This turnsthe packetoverend forend. Placethe twocardson the bottomof the lefthand's indifferentcard.

, Takethe three cardpacketinthepalm-down righthandandtum theentirepacketoverbyturningyourrighthandpalm up. As you righthanddoesthis, tum yourlefthandpalmdown. Takethepacketin yourpalmdownlefthand which rotates palm up winding up in dealingposition.

Take the packet ~,·'tlle right hand in Biddlepositionandpeel the top card infothe palm-upleft hand.Flash the underside of the remaining card(s) in the righthandandthenplaceit (them)ontothecardinthe lefthand.Everythingisbacktothewayit started, (Technically, thetwo aces switched places, but that doesn't affect theconclusionof the trick.)

Twist the packet for effect. Take it in the righthandfromaboveinBiddleposition. Usetheleft thumbtopull the top card into the palm-upleft hand,thentransferthat card to the bottom of the right hand's packet. Thisexposesan ace on the face of the packet.

Accompanying Patter. "Now we are left withtwo cards, back to back, orface toface, depending uponyour pointofview. But, another twist...and another ace."

The Cleanup. Hold the packet in the left hand.Takethetoptwocardsin therighthandasoneanddepositthem on the two face up tabled aces. Note that there is afacedownindifferentcardgoingwiththefaceupace. Theeffect is sanitizedbefore the last ace is produced.

The Founh Ace. Push the last face down cardovertothefmgertips ofthepalmuplefthand. Rotateyourleft hand palm down as you execute the Push-ThroughFlourish. Take the emergingface down card with yourpalm-uprighthand,andexecutethesamemove. Thatis,takepossessionofit atthefmgertips(underneath) andthethumbfromabove. Curlyourfingers intothe palmasyourotatetherighthandpalmdown. Thiskeepsthecardfacedown. Pushitthroughthehand usingtheVernonflourish.Asit emerges, takeit in thepalm(notthefingertips) oftheleft hand. Tum the left hand palmdown whichturnsthecardfaceup. Usethe thumbto pushthe card throughthefist as with the flourish. The card emergesas a face upace. Place this on top of the tabled cards. You haveapparently pushed the card throughthe fists three timeswith the same action. Each time it turned over in theprocess and emerged with a back. The final time, itprinteda face.

Accompanying Patter. "The last ace is the mostdifficult. It goes through the press one... two... threetimes. . . printing the aceof[name suit]. And, believe itor not, that's how play cards are made."

The Final OeanyP. Pick up the tabled packetfrom above with the right hand. Execute an AscanioSpread, hiding the face down card. Pull the two cardswhich are being held as one from the spread and placethem squarely on top of the face down deck withoutturningthem over. One by one, removethe singlecardsandplacethemontopof the deck. Youend withfouracesface up on top of the face down deck.

Background. AlthoughI have been performingthis since the mid-seventies, I originallypublished it inissue #1 (1983) of The Trapdoor.

If you are serious about wanting to do thimblemanipulation, you must learn this move of Joe Mogar's.This forms the core of several beautiful vanishes,productions, reproductions, and color changes. If youmaster this move, you will find well over a dozen gemswithinyour grasp in Digital Effects, The Magic of JoeMogar.

This move is not easy, but it's not terriblydifficult either. Consult the Leftovers section for aslightlyeasierhandlingfor the fourthfinger thatyoumaybe able to use. Those of you who master it will have autility move which renders thimble holders virtuallyuseless.

QQiY.. To secretly shift four thimbles from athumbpalmed stackto the four fmgertips with one hand.

The Work. Startwithfournested thimblesintheright thumbpalmas shownin figure 1. (So much for theeasypart.) Insertyourrightsecondfingerintothenearestthimble at the mouth of the stack and apply pressure onthe side of the thimble. This should give you enoughtractiontopullthethimbleontothesecondfmger. Asyoupull this thimble free from the stack, your thumb appliespressureto the remainingthree to retainthem as a group.Seefigure 2. Note that youdo not wantthis first thimblevacuum-packed onto the second fmger because it is notgoing to be there long. You want just enough pressureholdingthe thimble on the stack to ensure thatit doesn'tfall off due to gravity.

Remove this thimble from the stack but do notstraighten the finger completely. This is the thimblewhich will ultimately reside on your fourth fmger. Assoon as the thimble is clear of the stack, you want toremovethethimblefromthesecondfingerwiththethumband first finger.----------------6

7

Bring the thimble over as close to the fourthfingertip as possible while moving the fourth fingertoward the thimble. You want to get the mouth of thethimbleup to the tipof the fourthfingerevenif it isn't ina position to slide directlyonto the tip. See figure 3.From this position, it is a simplematter to use the rightthumbto push the thimbleonto the fingertip. Seefigure4.

Therestofthethimbles areeasyincomparisontothefirstone. Insertyourthirdfingerintothenextthimblein the stack as shown in figure 5. Again your thumbapplies pressure tothesideofthetwothimbles thatremainnested. Straighten yourthirdfingerwithathimble onthetip. Insertyoursecondfingerintothe nextthimble, yourthumbretaining a singlethimblein the thumbpalm as infigure 6. Straighten yoursecondfingerwithits thimble.Finish by inserting your forefinger into the last palmedthimble (figure 7) and straightening it. You now havefour thimbles ready to display, one on each fingertip asshowninfigure 8.

Leftovers. This is a beautiful move, one wellworthyoureffort. Idiscovered thatIcanactually stealthefirstthimblefromthethumbpalmed nestedstackontothefourthfinger. Ifyoucanaccomplish this,youcanloadthefingertips 4-3-2-1 withoutmissing a beat.

The uses for this move are unlimited. To start,whenthimbles vanish intoanestedstack,theycanquicklybe reproduced atthefingertips from underasilkorbehindtheknee. To startaneffectwiththimbles secretlyoneachhand,youhavemerelytostealthestackfrom apocketandsecretlyexplodethemontothe fingertips beforestarting.In two seconds, you have completed the move. Thiseliminates the need for thimble holders in mostcircumstances since you can accomplish the desiredresultswithoutthegimmick.

Themovealsoconverts many thimble tricksintothe "reset" category so valued by restaurant workers.Aftera stackvanishes intoapocketednest,youhaveonlyto executethe moveto resetthe trick,loadingthemontothedesiredfingertips quicklyandquietly.

Semi-Automatic Card Tricks

Two volumes, withover 120professionalcaliber card tricks which use subtletyrather than dexterity. Most ofthe effectsinclude the presentational hook used tosell the trick to the audience. These areprofessional card tricks from therepertoire ofSteve Beam.

This is one of my favoritewaysto start a thimbleroutine. This is my simplified handling of Joe Mogar'soriginalproduction. Thetrick is his, I have just changedthe moves and the sequenceto put it within the abilityofthe average performer. It is ideally suited for table totable work or other close-up venue. To start, the magi­cian removes a bill from his pocket. Forming it into atube and then a cone, a thimbleemerges.

The Work. Start with a bill (the denominationstarting at least at a ten) folded in half in your left pantspocket and a thimble in your right pants pocket. Sendboth hands to their respective pockets, thumb palmingthe thimble in the righthand. Remove theleft hand withthe foldedbill slightlybefore you removethe righthand.

Bringyour righthandovertoopen andthen takepossession of the bill as shown in figure 1. After dis­playing the bill in your right hand, take it into the lefthand from underneath so that the bill is now displayedverticallyas shownin figure 2.

Bringyour righthand over to take a scissorsgripon the bill with the secondfingeropeningbehind the billas shown in figure 3. Now wrap thebill aroundthe sec­ond finger, bringing it up and around from behind withthe left hand.

As soon as you have run out of bill, shape it intoa cone around the second finger. Depending upon thecondition of the bill, this may take more effort than it'sworth. You may wish to leave the bill in a cylindricalshape. Tum yourhand so that the cone is held verticallyas shown in figure 4. Release theright hand. Snap yourrightfingersfor effect. (Onceshouldbe plentyof effect.)

Use your left hand to slowly and gently squeezethe thimbleupwardthrough the bill until it pokes out thetop. Squeezingtoo tightly will squirt the thimble out ofthebillandinto theair sobe carefulhere. Oncethe thimbleis clearlyvisibleto theaudience,dipyour rightforefingerintothe thimble anddisplayit as youtake yourapplause.

Note that as you pocket the bill with your lefthand,youcouldsteal astackof thimbles previouslyplacedthere and move into a routine. This is a nice opener.

MultiPle Finish. Joe also occasionally adds akiller finish to this. When he produces thebill from theleft pants pocket, he removes a stack of four thimblesthumb palmed in his right hand. He steals one thimbleout withhis left secondfmger and proceedswiththe pro­ductionas describedabove. Whilethe left hand is gentlysqueezingthe bill and all attention is directed towardtheemerging thimble, JoeexecutestheExplosionMove, load­ing a thimbleon the fourth, third, and second fingers.

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He takes the emerging thimble onto his right firstfinger and displays it. He then opens the bill out again.Ducking his right hand behind the bill, he straightens hisfingers and then removes the bill showing four cappedfingers.

After straightening the bill, I like to take posses­sion of it in the right hand between the thumb and cappedforefinger at the bottom and the left hand at the top asshown in figure S. I let go ofthe top of the bill and it fallsover the front of the right hand as shown in figure 6.From here, I open my right fingers. When ready for theproduction, I simply snap the bill away with my free handrevealing the production. See figure 7.

Leftoyers. There is one problem with the mul­tiple finish. It requires you to be able to do the Explosionmove with three thimbles. When performing the Explo­sion, I send the first thimble directly onto the fourth fin­ger (see Leftovers section of the explanation of the Ex­plosion Move). The move is much more difficult (for thefourth finger) to perform with only three thimlbes. Fourthimbles makes it a longer stack, putting the thimble atthe mouth-end closer to the tip ofthe fourth finger. WhileI can do it, I alter the handling a bit to make it easier.

When performing the above effect, I load the firstthimble into the bill using the second finger as above.After loading the thimble into the cone-shaped bill, I loadmy third finger using the technique from the ExplosionMove. Then, as I stick my fourth finger into the bill,producing the first thimble on the fourth finger. As thefourth finger goes into the cone, the second finger retrievesboth ofthe thimbles from thumb palm in a stacked condi­tion. This frees the thumb and first finger as the fourthfinger dons the thimble.

Display the thimble on the fourth finger whilestretching the bill between the thumb and first finger ofeach hand. Tum the bill vertically as before in your lefthand. Tuck the right hand behind the bill. Your condi­tion is as follows: one visible thimble on the fourth fin­ger, one hidden on the third finger, and two hidden on thesecond finger.

As you duck your right hand behind the verticalbill, your right second finger curls its two thimbles intothe right thumb palm. You are now going to execute thelast 50% of the Explosion. That is, your second fingerextracts the inside thimble ofthe two-thimble stack, leav­ing the outside thimble in the right thumb palm. Yourforefinger now retrieves the thumb palmed thimble.Straighten all four fingers and snap the bill away. Thereis (literally) less than a second with the right hand behindthe bill. The production from one thimble to four is in­stantaneous and stunning.

While groping for patter for the single produc­tion, I had an idea revolving around a one dollar bill.Try this on your more mature audiences.

9

Hold the dollar bill up as in figure 1, showing theback of the bill to the audience. "You know, on the backof the $20 bill you' llfind a picture of the White House,where the presidents live." Tum the bill over, showingGeorge Washington. "They say that George Washingtonnever told a lie." Fold the bill into a cone. "But I' IIbet

-

he had a hard time explaining how Betsy Ross's thimbleended up in the Lincoln bedroom." Producethe thimblefrom thetube. Ifyouhave amoderately brightaudience,youmight followup with this tag line as you pocket thebill. ellbet he had a harder time explaining why he namedit the Lincoln bedroom." Ifthis is saidquietly, almostasifto yourself, otherswill realize thatLincolnhadn't beenbornwhenWashington waspresident.

Forthosewhoarereadilyfamiliar withtheirU.S.history, theywillalsoknowthat George Washington wastheonlyAmericanpresidentnotto liveintheWhite House.For those audiences whomight bring that to your atten­tion, I wouldbe ready with,"Yes, and I understand thatMartha was pretty ticked about it."

If you wouldprefernot to worryabout the con­flict, deliverthefirstlineaboutGeorgeWashington nevertellinga lie. Followthat with,"That's why he they neverlet him live in the White House." I have found that thisline gets a laugh when I use it. It basicallysays that tolive in the WhiteHouse,youhave to be a liar.

If you want to add the killer climax, follow the"hard to explain"line with,"And ifyou that was hard toexplain . . . try explaining this!" Whip the bill awayrevealing a totalof four thimbles. At thispoint, the con­struction dateoftheWhiteHouse willeludeeventhemostpassionate fansof American history

TIlE /J/Sill()[!lVT

I like to pack as muchentertainment intomy actas possible. Whileworkingon the bookon Joe Mogar'sthimblemagic,I had a few ideas myself. If I am in syncwith the audience, this is a nice way to end a thimbleroutine which otherwiseends with a thimbleon each ofthe fmgertips. I have severalvariationson this.

Boththis andthe nexteffect seemedlike logicaladditions tothissetoflecturenotes, giventhename.SoundEffects. Thesuccess ofbothof thesepiecesdepends uponthesenseof sound.

Effect. The magician finishes a routine whichends with a thimbleon each of his left fingertips. Withhis righthand he removes the thimblefrom his left fore­finger. Asit is removed fromthe finger, it pops loudly.Hedropsthisthimblein his pocket or into a wineglass.He repeats this with the thimbles on his second andthird fmgertips. Whenhe removesthe thimblefrom hisfourth finger, it slides off noiselessly. The magicianappears surprised. He looksin themouthof the thimble."Oh, it's stuck in there." He shakesthe thimbletwice asone would amanual thermometer. On the third. down­wardshake, the audiencehears a loud pop. He pockets

----------------10

the fmal thimble in the wineglass or his pocket to con­cludethe routine.

The Work. You mayhaveto alterthetrickslightlydepending upon the relative sizes of your thimbles andyour fingers. Do not fret if you can't get this to work.Pop Test, whichfollows this, willworkregardless of thesize of your digits. Start with a thimble securely seatedon each of your left fingers. Remove the thimble fromthe secondfmgeras follows.

You aregoingto rocktheflngeroutofthe thimblecreatinga partialvacuum. Keeping therimonthepadofyoursecondfingerin the sameposition, rockthethimbletoward your left palm and off the back of the finger asshownin figure 1. As the finger is removed, it is wideenoughto forma sealwhichprevents verymuchairfromflowing intothethimble. Continuing theaction willcause

the finger to pop free of the thimblewith a "pop".Dropthisthimbleintoa tabledwineglass or your

pocket. Returnto yourfirst fingerandrepeatthe moves,popping the thimble off that finger. Drop the secondthimble into theglassandthenrepeatwiththethimbleonthe third fmger. When finished you will have three"popped" thimbles in a wineglass and one left on yourleft fourthfinger.

Repeat the same actions with the remainingthimble. However, becauseit is muchnarrowerthan theother fingers, you will find it almostimpossibleto get itto pop. (If yours pops easily, perhaps you should con­sideralesssedentary hobbyfora while.) Whileit doesn'tpopon that finger, youwant to emulatethe sameactionsyouused on the other fingersto apparently get it to pop.

Act surprised when there is no noise forthcom­ing. Looselyplacethe thimbleon yourleft secondfingerandpretend to try to popit off. Actually, sinceyouplacedit loosely on the finger, you will not form the vacuumeven thoughtyou are emulatingthe same actions. Holdthe thimble in the right fingers as shownin figure 2 asyoupeer intothe mouthof the thimble. "Oh, it's stuck inthere."

Shakethe thimbletwicetowardthe floor. In theprocess, set up for the vacuum pop. That is, secretlystick the rightsecondfingerdeepinto the thimble. Thenuse the right thumb to pull the thimbleoff the fingerto­ward the rightpalmcreatingthe partialvacuum. Onthethird shake, popthethimble offthesecond fingerasshownin figure 3. You can get a loud pop using this methodThe delayedsoundhavingto be shakenfromthe thimbleiscomical andmakesaniceconclusion to amagic-packedroutine.

11

Thisis identical ineffecttoThe Dismount. How­ever,it iscompletely different inmethod. This isperhapsslightlyharder, although thedifference is minimal.~ The magician finishes a routine which

ends with a thimbleon each of his left fingertips. "Youknow, in magic school, they teach you that there's onlyone way to test whether a thimble will work well withmagic. It's called the 'pop test' ." Withhis righthandheremoves the thimblefrom his left secondfinger. As it isremoved from the finger, it pops loudly. He drops thisthimbleinhis pocketor intoa wineglass. He repeats thiswith the thimbles on his first andthird fingertips. Whenhe removes thethimble from his fourth finger, it slides offnoiselessly. The magicianappears surprised. He looksin the mouth of the thimble. "Well, I guess this one isbroken." He shakes the thimble twice as one would amanualthermometer, Onthe thirddownward shake, theaudience hears a loud pop. Hepocketsthe final thimblein the wineglass or his pocketto conclude the routine.

The Work. Startwitha thimble on eachof yourleft fingertips. Removethe thimblefromthe second fin­ger, rockingit so that it popsoff as describedinThe Dis­mount. Seefigure1fromthateffect(thetopof the facingpage). The reason I start with my second finger is be­cause it is the largest fmger and makes the most pro­nounced popping sound. Pretend to place this in yourright pocket, actually retaining it on your right secondfingertip.

Return your right hand to your left hand to re­move the thimble from your right first finger. Undercoverof thelargermovement, setthesecreted thimble upfor the vacuum pop move off your right secondfinger.That is, plunge the right second fmger deep into thethimble andthenusethethumb to pullthetipofthethimbleback toward the right wrist. Now, as you remove thevisiblethimble from yourleft first finger, time it so thattheknuckle of therightthumb popsthe thimble offthe tipof the second fingermakinga loudpoppingnoise. Thetip of thethumb andrightfirst fingerremovethe thimblefrom the left first fingeras the noise is generated by themove. Continue holdingthehiddenthimblebetweenthethumb and second finger. See figure 1 for the relativejosttions,

Note that you are sliding the visible thimblestraightoffthe fingertip, unlikeinThe Dismount. Thisisbecauseyou were usingthe visiblethimble to makethenoise in the last effect Here,the hiddenthimble makesthe noiseso youcan slidethevisiblethimblestraightoffand stillget thedesiredsound.

·As far as the audience is concerned, there is noheat o~"iffif~ move. This is because they are expecting apopping noise as the thimble is removed. The first thimbleset them up for the second. Pocket the visible thimble asyou reset the hidden one for another vacuum pop.

Repeat the above sequence as you remove thevisible thimble from the left third fingertip. It's removalwill be accompanied by a loud sound effect from the hid­den thimble. As you pocket the visible thimble, drop offthe hidden thimble at the same time.

Finish the effect as you did in The Dismount.Remove the thimble from the left fourth finger, sliding itstraight off noiselessly. Act surprised when there is nonoise forthcoming. Loosely place the thimble on yourleft second finger and pretend to try to pop it off again.Peer into the mouth of the thimble, apparently realizingthe problem. Shake the thimble twice toward the floor.In the process, set up for the vacuum pop. That is, se­cretly stick the right second finger deep into the thimble.Then use the right thumb to pull the thimble off the fingertoward the right palm creating the partial vacuum. Onthe second or third shake, pop the thimble off the secondfinger with the right thumb.

Leftovers. An alternate handling for the finalfinger changes the presentation to what appears to be anaccidental happening. Pop the thimbles off the second,first. and third fmgers as described. Watch the right handpull the thimble off the left fourth finger. Don't make thenoise at that point. When you notice the lack of a pop­ping noise, look up at theaudience. Pause a second, thenexecute the popping move. The effect is that the popdelayed two seconds after the action that created it.

Finish by finger palming the hidden thimble andflashing the right palm as you show the visible thimble enroute to the pocket.

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THE C~H()RUS LINE

This is one of my wife's favorite items. It is aflourish where the thimbles magically jump from one handto another. It is easy to do and yet packs a visual wallop.This is also a nice segue when you find that you have totransfer thimbles from the fingers of one hand to the fin­gers of the other. I find myself in this situation oftenbecause I perform certain moves left-handed and othersright-handed. So, think of it as a flourish with utility.

Effect. The magician starts with a thimble oneach of his left fmgertips. With a flourish, one by one,the thimbles jump to the corresponding finger of the righthand.

The Work. Start with a thimble on each of theleft fingertips with the tips ofeach finger pointing towardthe other hand as shown in figure 1. You can performthis from left to right or vice versa --- the move beingeasy to learn both ways. You will fmd the move easier ifthe thimbles are loosely seated on the fingertips.

Bring the hands together so that you can graspthe thimble on the left forefinger between the right thumband forefinger as shown in figure 2. Note how the rim ofthe thimble rests at the first joint of the right forefingerwhile the edge of the thimble-tip is gripped by the rightthumb tip.

Pull the thimble off the left forefinger. Just as thethimble clears the finger, curl your right forefinger in

toward the thumb crotch, causing the thimble to rockon its tip to the right and onto the forefinger. See

figure 3.

230 pages and hundreds of illustrations help tobring you the life's work ofthe undisputed king ofthimble magic. There are more than 90 featureitems designed to add color, impact, humor, andmagic to your act. Hardbound.

DIGITAL EFFECTSThe Thimble Magic ofJoe Mogar

Just as the thimble clears the finger, you are go­ing to perform a larger move which covers the smalleraction just described. As the right forefinger rocks thethimble on its tip, move your hands in a circular motionin front of your chest, as if you were peddling a bicyclewith your hands. See figure 4. After three "paddlewheels," separate your hands back into the position shownin figure 1. Only now, one thimble will have jumped fromthe left forefinger to the right. The more striking thethimble colors are, the more striking you will find thiseffect.

Repeat the actionsjustdescribed with the thimbleson each ofthe other fingers, using the corresponding fin­ger on the right hand to remove and pivot each thimble.Pay particular attention to the relative positions of thehands during the action described above. To the audi­ence, it should appear that the hands move toward eachother. As soon as they overlap, you do three paddle wheelmotions during which a thimble seems to jump from onehand to the other. The hands are separated to display thenew locations of each thimble as it arrived. When thefourth thimble arrives, you are guaranteed to received around of applause. (See Joe for the money-back portionof the guarantee.)

Pacing is important Youshould not perform thistoo slowly or too quickly. If it appears too rushed, itruins the effortless appearance. Ifyou move too slowly,the larger motion will not be sufficient to cover the smallercovert action.

Leftovers. This is more than a flourish. It is amagical effect. Use four like-colored thimbles for a stron­ger visual impact. You should not perform this with dif­ferent colors because it clouds the visual effect, making itdifficult what is supposed to be happening. While thiswon't be clear unless you try it, the different colors tendto confuse the effect.

Background. This is Joe Mogar's monumentalelaboration of Anverdi's Een vingerhoedgrefi from hisLezing Seminar Lecture. Anverdi causes a thimble tojumpfrom one forefinger to the other forefinger as a flour­ish. He also uses the move to transfer secretly (not as aflourish) thimbles from the fingertips of one hand to theotherunder cover of a silk. The notes are brief so it is notclear whether he did this multiple transfer without a silkas well.

(

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13

."'L Y STEBBflVS

The following effect is incredibly simple, yetimpossible for non-magicians to reconstruct. I: ~s thecreation of Allan Slaight of Toronto and was ongmallypublished in volume 2 of my Semi-Auto~tic Ca~d

Tricks. It appears here with Allan's perrmssion. I WIlldescribe Allan's ingenioustrick first, and then111 describemy handling in the Leftovers section.

Effect. Themagician has aspectator cut thepackandremovethecard towhichhe cut. It isplaced facedownonthe tablewithoutbeing looked atbythe spectator. "Thefirst thing we must determine is the color ofyour card."Giving the pack a quick cut, he spells C-O-L-O-R bythumbing off a card for each letter from his left into hisright hand.

The five card packet is tabled and the next card,a red card, is turned over. "I see that your card is red."The red card is placed face up on the tabled packet. <lNowwe want to know the value, or number ofyour card." Hespells"N-U-M-B-E-R" thumbingcards over intohis righthand. These cards are tabled and the next card, a nine isturned face up. "Your card is a nine." The nine is tabledface up on top of the second pile.

"Thatmeans your card is either the nine ofheartsor the nine ofdiamonds because we know it's red. Yourcard is not in the deck, so we'll find the matching card."The magician spells, "M-A-T-C-H-I-N-G C-A-R-D asbefore and he turns the next card face up, the nine ofdiamonds.

"Show us the card you selected. It must be thenine ofhearts!" The spectator turns his selection face up,the nine of hearts.

The Work. This uses the Si Stebbins setup. Thisis the setup shown in the chart on the next page where thesuits are rotated in"CHaSeD" order andeach card is threehigher in value in numerical rotation than its predecessor.This effect has the added benefit of retaining the order sothat youcan proceedinto anothereffect utilizingthesetup.

After a few false shuffles table the prearrangedpack. Ask a spectator to cut it and remove the card he cutto. Complete the cut for him. Now give the pack a quickfalse cut if you wish and hold it in the left hand in dealingposition. (You can follow the above exampl~ b~ cuttingthe setup pack at the nine ofhearts and removmg it.) Youcan proceedto spellcolor, number, andmatching card bythumbingcardsfromyour lefthand intoyourrightwithoutreversing the order ofthe card. After spelling each wordor phrase, table the packet and turn over the next card.Each time, because of the setup. you will arrive at theproper card you require to answer the question asked by

---------------14

spelling.When finished, simply retrace your steps by

sliding the top card ofeach packet face downunderneathits packet and replace the packets on top of the pack inreverse order (lastdealt, first replaced). Finishby placingthe selectionon top of the pack, resettingthe entire stack.

Leftoyers. I really like this effect although I doit differently. First, it dawned on me that the trick willwork exactly the same whether the pack is faceup or facedownduringthespelling. I offerto spellwiththedeckfaceup or face down, their choice. While this seems to makethe resultsmoreimpossible,the stack allowsforitwithoutany additional effort. It is also quitedisarming to see thedesired answers appear at the desired locations with thepackfaceup. Ittendstocommunicate(withoutsaying so)that the cards are in no particular order.

I also have added a question to the three existingones. I spell, color, number, answer, and match. Afterspellingthe color andnumber, Iexplainthat weknowthat(using the aboveexample) the card was a rednine,but theremaining question is whether it is a heart or a diamond."To find the answer, I will spell 'A-N-S-W-E-R.'" Thenext card will be the desired suit, a heart in this example.I finish by saying that we can't spell to the selection sinceit is not in the deck. However, we might be able to locatethat card's match. Spell M-A-T-C-H and turn over thenext card, the nineof diamondsin thisexample. Finishbyrevealing the identity ofthe selection.

Background. Since its originationin 1898,the SiStebbins setup has become the most popularly usedprearrangement among Americanmagicians. With anod(rather than credit) to Si Stebbins, a version of the setupwas published in 1901 in Howard Thurston's CardTricks as The "Thurston System" of Expert CardManipulation. However, that version alternatedpairs ofcolors rather than colors. In other words, the sequenceconsistedof"R-R-B-B-R-R-B-B" ratherthan"R-B-R-B­R-B." The suitorder was clubs, spades,hearts,diamonds.This madethe faceup displayofthecardsriskier sincethecolors were paired. The improved version has beenpublished in numerous sources since.

Allan's effect is a further development of anunpublished item ofhis called The Deck Will Tell. Botheffects were inspired by Francois Ziegler and RichardVollmer'sAskTheDeckwhichappeared intheNovember1988 issue of Apocalypse.

Aprecursorto bothofAllan's effectswasStewartJames' Spell ofMystery which he marketed in 1929. Itwasthe firstcard trickStewartproducedfor the worldandit is still considered one ofhis best.

Si Stebbins Arrangement: Ace of Clubs, Four ofHearts, Seven of Spades, Ten of Diamonds, King of Clubs,Three of Hearts, Six of Spades, Nine of Diamonds, Queen ofClubs, Twoof Hearts,Fiveof Spades,Eightof Diamonds,Jackof Clubs, Ace of Hearts,Four of Spades, Seven of Diamonds,TenofClubs,KingofHearts,ThreeofSpades,SixofDiamonds,Nine of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, Two of Spades, Five ofDiamonds,Eight ofClubs,Jackof Hearts,Aceof Spades,Fourof Diamonds,Seven of Clubs, Ten of Hearts, King of Spades,Three of Diamonds, Six of Clubs, Nine of Hearts, Queen ofSpades,Twoof Diamonds,Five ofClubs, Eight of Hearts,Jackof Spades, Ace of Diamonds,Four of Clubs, Seven of Hearts,Ten of Spades, King of Diamonds, Three of Clubs, Six ofHearts, Nine of Spades, Queen of Diamonds, Two of Clubs,Five of Hearts, Eight of Spades, Jack of Diamonds.

SIA,!PLY SIll :FFLEIJ

This is my setup, handling, and presentation ofLarry Jenning's handling of Bill Goodwin's Triumphdisplay. Larry's Outstanding Triumph and Bill's TheExhibitionist were published in issue #62 of TheTrapdoor.

The Work. Start with the deck face up in the lefthand in dealing position with the bottom card face down.Spread the face-up deck from your left hand to your right,allowing a spectator to select one ofthe face up cards. Becarefulnot to flash the face down card onthe bottom ofthedeck. "Look at your card and remember it."

Once he takes the card, square the spread andtake the deck in the right hand for above. Kick or swingcut the top half of the pack into your palm up left hand."Place your card back in the pack." When they start toreturn the card face up, scold them. "No ... turn it facedown to make it harder to find." This is ridiculous for atleast two reasons. First, you already know what theircardis so you're not going to have a tough time finding itanyway. Second, replacing the card reversed among theothers would make their card easier to find.

Execute the drop-jog maneuver as you drop theright half onto the left half. That is, angle the front edgeofthe pack down at a slightly. Drop the upper halfflat ontop of the lower, injogged about half aninch. As soon asthe upper half lands, it slides forward until it encountersthe left forefinger. The bottom card ofthe lower halfwillremain injogged while the rest ofthe pack squares. Thiswill allow you to cut beneath the injogged card.

Pause for a few moments for some timemisdirection. "Now I know what you're saying. First,that I saw theface ofyour card so that Jalready know itsidentity. Let me assure you that I have a very poor

15

memory and have already forgotten the name of yourcard. I' m an honest magician and I wouldn't trick youfor the world. Second, you're saying that your card is theonly one that is facing the wrong way in this pack. Theonly thing I have to do tofind your card is to look for theonly upside-down card and it will be yours. Allow me toset your mind completely at ease."

Cut offthe top halfofthe deck beneath the injogwith your right hand from above. Rotate your right handpalm up and your left hand palm down as shown infigure1. Place both halves together, overlapping for half theirlengths and take them in the palm-down left hand asshown in figure 2. Reposition the deck in position for afaro shuffle as shown in figure 3. It doesn't matter howthorough the shuffle is as long as the two face up cards areon located on the top and bottom of the pack.

Perform the following Goodwin/Jenningsdisplay.Hold the telescoped pack in the left hand in dealingposition and run your right thumb down the outer rightcomer displaying face down cards as shown in figure 4.Do not go all the way to the bottom or you'll expose thereversed card on the bottom.

Flip the pack end-over-end as shown in figure Sandfigure 6. Take the deck in dealing position again, andagain flip through the outjogged cards with your rightthumb showing them all to be face up. Be careful not toflash the reversed bottom card.

Push the two halves slightly closer together,halfway squaring the pack. Tum the pack end-over-endagain, and then complete the squaring action. The face­down deck is in the left hand in dealing position with thetop and bottom cards reversed. The bottom card is theselection.

Clean-up. You are now going to use a variationof the Braue Reversal to straighten out the pack. Obtaina left little finger break beneath the top card of the pack.Lift up the top half of the pack with the right hand fromabove, transferring the break to the right thumb. Rotateyour right hand palm up showing both sides ("some cardsare face to face") as your left thumb flips its halfover inthe left hand ("and others are back to back"). Rotate yourright hand palm down again showing both sides ("othersare face to face") and use the left thumb to flip the lefthalfover again ("and back to face"). Place the right halfunderneath the left-hand half. As you bring the twohalves together, the broken card is added back to the lefthalfand you retain a pinky break between the two halves.

Repeat the sequence just described. That is, liftup all the cards above the break with your right hand.Rotate your righthand palm up as your left thumb flips itshalf over in the left hand. Rotate your right hand palmdown again and place its half underneath the left-handhalf. Bring the two halves together and square them.

"Nowfor themagic. IfI snap my fingers (do so)

the entire deck turnsface up... with the exception of asinglecard." Showthedeckhasmagically righted itselfexceptfor the singlefacedowncard in the middle. "IfIsnapmyfingers again,miraculously mymemoryreturnsand I can tell you that thisface down card is thefour ofhearts,your selection."

Leftoyers. I'm happy with the presentation ofthis. It givesa logicalreasonfor theface-up / face-downshufflein orderto lose the selection. The memory lapseandmiraculous memory recallhelpaddevenmorehumorto a funny routine.

('HAPPEl)

This is not an earth-shaking miracle. (It willprobably only revolutionize magic as we knowit on theeast coast.) It's a casual any-timer for which I haveworked outseveralpatterthemes. It isnotafeature piece.It is meant to be donebetweenothereffectsor whenyoujust wantto assaultsomeone withmagicin anon-magicalsituation. This wasoriginally published in issue#62 ofTheTrapdoor.

Effect. The magician removes some lip balm----------------16

(such asChapStick®) and appliesit to his lips.Recappingthe tube, it vanishes.

The Work. You can use any of a number ofvanishesto accomplishthis in animpromptumanner. Or,youcandowhatI do. Drill aholeinto thecenterofthe capof a tube ofChapStick®.Thread blackelastic throughthehole and knot it on the inside. Make the smallest knotpossible that will prevent the knot from being pulledthroughthe newly drilled hole. Attach a safety pin to theother endofthe elasticandpin it either inside yoursleeveor to a belt loop as you would any other pull.

Pretendtoremovethetubefromyourpocketwithyour left hand. Remove the tube from the cap and applythe balmto yourlips. Recapthe tube withoutpayinga lotof attention to the process. Release the pull. Thegimmicked cap pulls the tube up into the sleeve or backbehindyourcoatoutofsight Deliveranyofthe followinglines during the trick.• "Do you knowwhat really chaps me about thisstuff?" [Do the vanish.] "lt' s thatl keep losing it." Showboth hands empty.• "You know, women really have it hard. Take.forexample, lipstick. /'d never be caught dead wearinglipstick." This line is delivered as you apply the lip-balmto your lips. "Do you knowwhat the best thing is to puton your lips?" [Brush your hands together to show thechapstickhas vanished.] "Absolutely nothing." Dependingupon your personality, this line could be even funnier.Removealady's compactanduse its mirror to help applythelipbalm.Youcouldthenuse theoldjoke ofturningthemirrorto themandlettingthemseesomecelebrityhunk'spicture there instead of the mirror.• "Sorry, had a meeting with the manager today.Puckered my lips so long they really got chapped. Youknow the great thing about this stuff?" Rub it betweenyourhandsasyou letitgo. "Itdoubles as handlotion andit rubs in without even a trace." (Insteadof the manager,substitute"prospective client.")• "Ya know, this stuff isjust lipstickfor guys. Onehas to be secure in his manhood to use this out inpublic."[Let it vanish on the offbeat.] "That's why I use the kindthat's made with one quarter vanishing creme."

Removeahand andan eyeball from yourpocket.Keep themin yourhand so the audiencecannot see whatyou're holding.

"I' m here today to answer that question whichhas plagued magicians, not only for centuries, but alsofor hundreds ojyears. Is the hand really..." Itransfer thehand to the left hand] "quicker than the eye?" [Display

17

the eye in the right hand. Table bothoftltem.] til havearrangeda test." [Pickup the hand withyour righthandand pretend to transfer it to the left hand.] "I' 11 place thehand over here & /'11 ask you sir to keep an eye on thehand thatholds the hand. You sir," [pointingto someoneelse] "/'11ask to keep an eye on the hand that holds theeye." [Pickup theeyewithyour righthand andcloseyourhandoverit withoutexposingthehandwhichisalsointherighthand.] 'Wow ifI rub them at the same time... usingsome eye-hand coordination...you'll see the handleavesthe hand that held the hand and joins the hand that holdsthe eye... proving conclusively that the hand is indeedquicker than the eye." [Open the hand dramaticallyandshowthat the handhas arrivedin the righthand. Transferthe hand to the left hand while displaying the eye in theright]

"But, as impressive as that is, I know whatyou're saying. You are saying that the eye didn't evenmove. What did you expect? It's a lazy eye. Or, shouldI say, an energetically challenged eye? But this is aspecial eye. I have been training this eye. And I mightadd, it made a heckuva pupil ... Did really well on itsEye-Q test. If he hadn't, he'd have gotten 50 lashes."[Tablethe eye with yourright hand and transferthe handto the right hand. Display the hand.]

But this is no ordinary hand either. This is agood looking hand. Some might even call it handsome.Not only that, it's a left hand. That shouldhelp you keeptrack of it. And, that's a clue to the answer of thequestion I'm about to ask. Remember... LEFT... HAND.So /'11 use my right hand to place the left hand in my lefthand. [Pretendto place the hand into the left hand whileretainingit in the right] /'ll get rid ofthe eye by placingit in the socket.... uh .. Pocket." [Pickup the eye with theright hand and place it in your rightpants pocket. Leavethe hand there also.] "Now where is the LEFT hand?"(Show hands empty.) "I already told you, it's left. Forthose that didn't follow that last effect, I was going tohave a handout.: but I haven't finished with thefootnotes. Don't go away. I have another trick that'seven cornea than that one...

Leftovers. For an alternativeending, youcantrythe following. "Now /'11 place the eye in the hand. Yousir, wouldyou keep an eye on the hand that holds the eye./'11 place the hand in the pocket. Where's the hand?"(They say "in the pocket")"NO, it's right here." (Shakeempty left hand.) Don't roll your eyes. I like puns.

Orpick up anearon the last trip to thepocketandswitch it for one of the otherparts. Whenyou ask wherethe last visiblepart is, producethe ear. "I don'tknow, butit's not ear."

Backwmmd. This is my expansion of RogerShennan'sEye Openerwhichwasoriginallypublishedinissue :##43 ofThe Trapdoor.

This trick establishes the magician as someonewho is either psychic or has xray vision. During theroutine, themagicianandthespectatortaketurns"guessing"thecolorofthetopcardofthepack. Theguessesaremadefrom a borrowed and shuftled pack and the magicianoffersthe spectatorthe choiceof whowill go first.

As the spectatorguesses, he has two piles, oneeachfor thecorrectandincorrectguesses. Themagicianalso identifies a place for his own correct and incorrectguesses.

Whilethe spectator'sguessesaredividedevenlybetweenthe correct and incorrectpiles, the magicianis100% correct. This allows for lots of humor as themagicianconstantlybrushesimaginary specksof dust inthe area marked for his incorrect guesses. Halfwaythrough, he uses a handkerchiefto polish the area of thetableearmarkedforhis errors.Theseactions aredesignedto gloatover the fact that he doesn't miss any. I usuallyoffer to bet a dollarper guess --- a gentleman's bet.

The Work. This is based upon the Gilbreathprinciple althoughthereareseveral features whichdisguisethatfact. Alternate the redcardswiththeblack. Thedeckmaybecut asdesired. Tum thedeckfaceup andtableit.Askthespectatorto cut the pack. Ifthecardson the faceofeachhalfareofdifferentcolor,askthespectatortorifflethe twohalvestogether.

Iftheyarethesamecolor,askhimtocomplete thecut. Then, have it cut again. Continue asking him tocomplete thecutuntiltherearetwodifferentcolorsonthefaces ofthehalves. Whenyoureachthissituation, askthespectator to riffleshufflethe twohalvestogether. Finishbyaskingthespectatorto tumthedeckfacedown. (Asanalternative to the face up cutting procedure, you maychoose tosplitthepackintotwohalvespriorto theshuftleyourself. Ifso, be sure to cut so that the cards on tops orbottoms of the two halvesare of differentcolor.

Now, because of the Gilbreath principle, thecardsaregrouped inpairsbycolor. Inotherwords,if youweretodealthecardsoff thetopofthepackinpairs,eachpairwould consistof a red and a blackcard. This meansthat if you knewthe color of the firstcard of each of thepairs,youwouldalsoknowthecolorofthesecondcardofthe pair. The secondcolor would be the oppositeof thefirst.

Todisguise this,thecardsaredealtoffthetoponeat a time. If the spectatorgoes first, youwatch the colorof thecardhe turns face up. If it is red, you"guess" thatthenextcardwillbe black. Ifhe turnsover a blackcard,you"guess"thatthenextcardwillbered. Youwillnotdo

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anythingthat links the pairs togetherin the mindsof thespectator. As far as the audience is concerned, the deckconsistsof 52 individual cards --- not 26 pairs.

To further disguise the principle involved, youhaveofferedthespectatorachoiceofwhogoesfirst. Thiswould tendtoeliminate theprinciplesincethearrangementof one pair does not tell you anything about the second,third,or subsequent pairs. If thespectatorwishes tohavethe magician go first, tum over the top card and use itillustratethe rulesof the game. Further, it canbeusedtopointtotheareaswherethe"correct"and"incorrect"pileswillgo. Younotethecolorofthiscard. Placeitoff to theside.

You now use the color of the discarded card todiscernthecolorof thenewtopcardof thepack. Thetopcardwillbe the opposite colorsinceit is thesecondcardof the originaltop pair.

After you tum that card up, it is the spectator'stum andyou will alternate fromthispointforward. Youwillnowusethecolorofthespectator'scardtodiscernthecolorof the next card.

Ifthespectatorchosetogofirst, youcancontinuethegameuntilthepackisexhausted. Ifyouwentfirst, youwillcontinueuntilthereisonecardleftinthedeckandonecardoff to the sidewhichwasdiscarded earlier. Youwillguess the color of the last card (using the precedingspectator'slastcard). Pickupthediscarded cardanddropiton topofthespectator's"wrong"pile. "I'll giveyouthisone."

Leftoyers. Nowthat you knowhow to performthetrick,you needto makeit entertaining. Thereis a lotof interest in the trick since the suspense builds as themagiciancontinues to get them all right. However, thisinterestwillwanesometimeafterthefirsthalfofthepackhas beendealt. Youneedto makesurethat the spectatordoesn't spend a lot of time making his choice. It isimportantto speedthe process.

To makeit moreentertaining, towardtheendofthedeal,youcancontinuetopolishtheareaofthetablesetasideforyourmisses. Blowonthetableto fogupthearea(as if you werecleaningglass) and wipethe area withacloth.

Towardthe end,you can alsotakeonecardfacedownfromthe topof the pack,call its color,andplaceitontopofyour"correct"pile. Thespectators willcomplainthat neither they or you know with certainty that yourguesswascorrect. "On.okay. We can do it/ace up ifyouinsist." Tum the cardface up andleave it in the correctpile.

DonMorrissuggested theuseofthexrayglassessoldinmanynoveltystoresandinthebacksofrnostcomicbooks, Somewhere inthemiddle, pretendtofeelsorryforthe spectator. "Want to try these?"

John Riggs suggested placing your drink on a

coasterinthe areaformerly establishedforyourvmisses."Or,reachintoyourpocketandproducea smallcardaboutthe same size as a playingcard. On it you have printed;"This spacefor rent."

Rememberthatyouareaftermysteryandhumor.There shouldbe enoughhumor in the routineto take theedgeoff the defeat. Ifnot, toss the discardedcardon topof their"correct"pile. Thisappearstobe amagnanimousgestureon yourpart---butonlybecausetheydon't knowthat youwon becauseyou cheatedto win.

Background. This was originally published involume I ofmySemi-Automatic Card Tricks.

This is a quickfour-of-a-kind production, withanice suckerstart to it. It is over in seconds,but the build­up adds a little length. This is a greatopenerto any trickusing the four aces. It's also performed entirely in thehands.

Effect andRoutine. "People are alwaysaskingme what it takes to become a magician. The answer issimple. Youhavetogo tomagicians' school. And oneofthe hardestclassesis Card Tricks 454. The reason it isso toughis becauseofthefinal exam. / would like to re­createwhathappened tomeduringmyfinal exam. You'llhavetowatchclosely, itonly takesa second. Forthefinalexam,theheatwason. Literally,myprofessor turnedtheheatonso thatmycardsstucktogether. Hesentme to thefront oftheclassand handedme an old,sticky,worn-outdeckofcards... kindoflike thisone thatyou loanedme...thanks.

He toldme thathewasgoingto counttofour. Ashe gaveeachcount,hewantedme tofind an ace. That is,at the countofone, / was toproducethefirst ace. At thecount of two, the second ace. At the count of three, the'urn ... uh... that's right... the thirdace. Giveme a break,this wasn't math class. At the countoffour, thefourthace. Noroomforerror. Fourbeats,fouraces. If/missedone ace, / was toast! This was one of the most difficulteffects in all ofcard magic. So difficult in fact, that if/was successful, / knew the rest of the class would burstintoapplause. So,here iswhatmyfinal examlookedlike.Would someone.turn the heat up?

Here goes! You may wish to count slowlywithme". Themagiciandramatically startshis count. "One."At thiscount, the first acemakesits appearance. "Two."Atthis,a twoappears instead ofthesecondace."Whoops."The magician pauses for the audienceto appreciate hispredicament. "Itjust gotevenhotter..." Anothersecond,and the magicianfinishes with a one-twopunch. Make

19

that a three-fourpunch. In the time it takes the magicianto say"3-4" quickly, the two vanishesand is replacedbythe other three aces. "I passed!" (Try to resist the urgeto actuallyexecute a pass as you deliver the last line.)

The Work. Start with the top five cards of thepack arrangedin the followingorder from the top down:two face down aces, two face up aces, and a face downdeuce. Hold the deck in the left hand and obtain a breakunder the fifth card from the top. With a back and forthmovementof the pack, use yourleft forefingerto flip thetopaceoverthefrontedgeof thepackandontothefaceofthe pack as shown in figure 1. This is the first ace.

Bring your right hand over to the pack and takepossessionofthefourcardsabovethebreak. Youarenowgoing to do three things at once. As you slide the cardsabovethebreakoutto theright,yourleft thumbretamsnetop card of the four flush with the pack. See figure':. Inorder to keep from flashing the reversedcards which arenow face up in the right hand, necktie the pack ~d thepacketasyou rotateyourrighthandpalmup todsplay itsthree cardsas one with the deuce showing. Seefigure 3.Pause at this point so that the audience appreciates yourproblem. At the count of two, you have produced a tworather than an ace. If they don't understandnis, the restof the productionplummets in effectiveness. When youare readyto finish,bring yourpalm up rightlundover totheleftsothatyoucanclipthetopcardofthepackbetweenthe right third and fourth fingers as shown in figure 4.

As soon as you have possession of that card,rotateyourrighthand palm down. This will flip the cardbetween your right third and fourth fingers face up.Withoutpausing,use your left thumb to pull the top cardof the three-cardpacketontothe topof thepackrevealingthe second, third, and fourth aces simultaneously to thequick count of 3-4. The pacing is important here. It is,"J...2 ...Whoops ....It's getting hotter in here...3-4." Itlookslikethedeuceexplodesintothe otherthreeacesandthe deuce is history. It is incrediblyvisual andmagical.

Reassembleby pushingthe aceon top slightly tothe right This allows you to slide the doublecard that'sbetweenyourrightthumbandsecondfmgerunderthetopcard. Place the other two aces on top. You have nowquicklyadded the face down deuce to the top of thepackbeneaththe aces. "KnowwhatIgotin thecourse?" Pausefor a response. Point to the top face up ace. "Why an 'A'of course. I aced the final"

Leftovers. I use this as an opener to anotheracetrick. "The professor said I could get extra credit if Icould cut to thefour aces again, but this time I had to cutthem two at a time." I then go intomyKing Charlier fromMagic, The VanishingArtor Howto Turn a Trick ForFun & Profit (1979-outofprint)andreprintedin 1995 inVienna Notes.

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This ismyhandlingof theElmsleyCount. Itwasoriginally publishedinmy Magic,The Vanishing Art orHow To Tum A Trick For Fun And Profit in 1979. I'won't spendalotoftimeelaboratingonthebenefits ofthiscountascomparedwiththemanyversionsof theElmsleyCount already available --- I want to save someconversationforwhenwemeetinperson.Thisway,we'llboth have something to look forward to. Those of youwho have seen the lecture (and Back to Aces) willunderstandwhy I like it so much.

The Work. We'll say you are using four cardsandwanttocountthemasfour, whilehidingthethirdcardfromthe top. Hold the four-cardpacketface downin theright hand in Biddleposition.

Modify the grip as follows. The right handshould hold the packet more from the side than fromabove. The secondfingershouldbe on the far shortedgenear the right comer and the third finger shouldbe rightbeside it. See figure 1. The third finger's position iscriticalto themove. It shouldbe abletobucklethebottomcard toward the right thumb.

To start the count, the palm-up left handapproachesthe righthand's packet. Theleft thumbdragsthe top card into the left hand, the left fingers goingunderneaththepacketin theprocess. Assoonasthe cardis free of the packet, the right third finger buckles thebottom card, See figure 2. The left hand againapproachesthe righthand. The cardinthelefthandis lefton the face (bottom)of the packet as the cards abovethebreak(whichwascreatedbythebuckle)are takenintotheleft hand.

The right hand holds the two cards on the face ofthe packet back, as the left hand takes the top two cards.Both hands each hold two cards now. One by one, the leftthumb now drags the cards remaining in the right handonto the cards in the left.

Needless to say, the rhythm of the count shouldremain constant. Those ofyou who have played a musicalinstrumentmay wish to keep time by tapping your foot onthe floor.

For ease ofexplanation, we will assume thatyouhave a packet of four kings and an ace. The ace is on theface, followed by the kings. We will also assume that theaudience things you are holding four aces. See the trickwhich follows for how to arrive at this position.

Hold the packet form above in the right hand.The right fingers curl around the far end of the packetwhile the thumb rests at the rear short edge. You are goingto transfer the packet from the right hand to the left. Theleft hand will take the packetwith the thumb on the centerpip ofthe ace and the second finger underneath the packet,directly opposing the thumb.

As the right hand transfers the packet, it is goingto palm off the back card of the five. This is done with amove reminiscent of the Kelly Bottom Placement or theOvette Master Move. In other words, under cover of theright hand, the right fingers pull the bottom card to theright. This is continued until the bottom card clears thegrip of the right thumb.

As soon as it clears, you will notice that the cardis held very securely in the fold of the skin which

21

constitutes the outer joint of the right second and thirdfingers. See figure 1. Separate the hands and then bringthe hands together again with the right hand's palmedcard going on top ofthe packet. With the hands together,you can square the packet. See figure 2.

Engage the left comer with your right first orsecond finger, pulling the front ofthe packet to the right asshown in figure 3. The packet pivots around the leftthumb and second finger. Continue spinning the packetuntil it has rotated 180 degrees to reveal the change.

Tl':/?lVAB()( :1'

~. The magician takes four nines from thepack. After some byplay, they change into four sixes.

The Work. Place four face up nines on top offour face up sixes. The backmost nine and six should beof the same suit. We will assume they are both spades.Rip this eight card stack face down on top of the pack.

1'0 start the routine, hold the deck in the left handin dealing position. Spread the top eight cards to the rightand pick up a break beneath them. flip the stack face upon top of the pack but slightly injogged. Pick up on theinjog with the right thumb, taking the eight card packet inBiddle position. Pickup a left fourth finger breakbeneaththe top card of the face down cards remaining in the lefthand.

Use your left thumb to reverse count the cards inthe right hand onto the top of the pack. As you take thefirst card, pick up the top face down card of the packunderneath the right hand's packet but maintain a thumbbreak above it. You are now ready for the ATFUS (AnyTime Face Up Switch) move.

The right hand's cards are brought over the deckand the left thumb drags the top nine off the packet ontothe top of the deck. This is repeated with the next twonines, each beingpulled squarely onto the top ofthe deck.Finally, the last nine in the right hand along with the cardsunderneath it are placed onto the deck.

Basically, you are dropping off the indifferentcard held beneath the thumb break. Continue to hold thebreak above this indifferent card with your right thumbduring the squaring action.

After squaring the packet, lift the cards above thebreak with the right hand. Make sure the deck doesn'tmove for a second so that the audience can see the top facedown card of the deck. They think this is the original topcard ofthe pack which they saw a momentago. Turn yourleft hand palm down and place the deck face up on thetable.

Draw attention to the nines you apparently hold.Actually, you hold four sixes with a nine on the face.Execute the Mirror Change, rotating the packet 180degrees and changing the packet from nines to sixes.Reverse spread the packet showing four sixes. Place thetop card (two cards as one) onto the face of the tabledpack. Follow this with the three remaining sixes one byone.

Presentation. Introduce the four nines and holdthem in face up in the left hand in dealing position. Tellthe audience you intend to change them into sixes. Takethe packet in the right hand so that the thumb covers three

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ofthe pips and the nearest index as shown in figure 1andgive it a quick shake. Now attempt to convince theaudience that the packet consists of sixes. The audiencecan verify this you tell them by looking at the visibleindex (which from their point ofview appears to be a six)or they can count the pips. Since your right thumb isblocking several ofthe pips, you count the remaining onesyielding a total of six.

Now explain that you'll change the nines back tosixes. Shake the packet and immediately hand it back offto the left hand. The sixes have changed back to nines.Show them the index nearestto you (the right-side-upninefrom theirpointofview) and countthe nine pips for them.

Offer to explain how you did the trick. Explainthe upside down index (as if they hadn't already figuredthat out). Tell them that the hard part is to let the audiencecount the pips themselves. "To allow them to count thepips, you have to turn the nines upside down." Executethe Mirror Change to change them to sixes.

TilF IIFA \ Y I)Fe/(

Wayne Kyzer suggested piece ofsteel and fittingit to the inside of a card case. This creates a very heavyweight which offersopportunities for surpriseboth becauseofits unexpected weightand surprisingsound when ithitsanotherobject. There are also opportunities fornumerousgags and puns, not all ofwhich should be presented by thesame magician in a single lifetime.

After Wayne had the original idea, I startedpassing the idea around among friends. Below you willfind some, but not all of the results. Many of them were

minor variations of others.And, for those ofyou who don't want to cut your

own blocks of steel, simply send $12 plus $3.59 (they'reheavy) to Trapdoor Productions, 407 Carrington Drive,Knightdale, NC 27545 and I'll ship you one. If you areinterested in this and are steel weighting, here they are.

MISCElLANEOUS liNES

Wayne Kyzer .Themagician removes a deck ofcards and a com

from his pocket and addresses a member ofthe audience."Wouldyou like to see a heavy card trick, or a really coolcoin trick." The spectator chooses the card trick. "DidI mention that it was a really cool coin trick?" Thespectator acknowledges. "So, would you like to see.aslightly heavy card trick ... or a really, really cool comtrick?" The stubborn spectator once again chooses thecard trick. "Okay, I have all evening. Would you like tosee a moderately slightly heavy card trick ... or a reallysuper, extraordinarily cool, coin trick?" The spectatorfinally chooses the coin trick. At this, the magician dropsthe card case to the table or floor where it lands with anincredibly loud thud.

Approachanothermagicianwho is well-versed incard tricks. "Sam.I understandyou do some pretty heavystuff." Hand them the deck and watch response.

SteyeBeam"A lot of magicians steal their card tricks. I

wouldn't ... (remove the steal block from the case) ...Oh,nevermind" (Steve Beam)

"Actually, I have a lot ofsolid material."Hand the case to someone. "Heavy? Thesecards

were madefrom hardwoods."Drop the deck on the table or a solid floor. Look

down to the spot where it landed. "I always wanted tomake my mark with card tricks."

Drop the case on the table. "If you can't loseweight, buy heavier cards."

Remove cards from the case and drop the case onthe table with a thud. "So muchfor my surprise ending,huh?"

The magician removes a card case from hispocketand removes the cards from within. He takes alookat the case. "You know, the U.S. Playing Card Companyhas started using strongermaterials to manufacture theircard cases. If s good that they protect cards, but they aredoing a lot of damage to tables now." At this, themagician allows the case to fallto the tabl~. Instead ~f

floating downward, it drops like a lead weight where Itlands with a resounding thud.

To accomplish this one, have the cardsrubber banded to the half-moon side of the

case. Remove the case from yourcoatpocket,

23

keeping the playing cards toward yourself. Thehand holding the case provides additional cover. Do notlook at the case yet. Look at .•.

the audience as you .carrya discourse aboutsomething relevant to what you are about to do. Openthe flap with your free hand and pretend to slide the cardsfrom within. Table the cards and turn your attention forthe first time, to the case. Continue as explained above.(Alternatively, you could use the Paul Harris VanishingDeckgimmickto apparently remove a deck from the case,do a trick, and then show the steel block in the case.)

"Have you ever seen a deck of cards fromPittsburgh?"

Michael Beam:If you remove the steel deck from the case, "10

Fingers ofSteel and a deck of cards to match.""This deck brings a whole new meaning to the

side steal.""I guess it's time to get the lead out."For Magicians. Remove the "deck" from the

case: "Obviousiy - this plays havoc with my seconddeal."

ForMagicians: "I think they sentme the moldforthe deck shell."

Afterdropping the case onthe table: "Neverleaveyour cards on the dash board."

For Magicians. Remove the "deck" from thecase: "Paul Gertner's follow up to a cups and ballsroutine."

Afteryou dropthe deckon the floor say, "Hmmm,didn't mean to steel the shaw."

"I have a plate in my head to match""They broke the moldwhen they made this deck

... really!""I bought this deck at Hainesfor $25.00 What a

steel.."

Joel GivensAfter performing one of the above gags and

producing the block of steel, "Well that was worth theweight (wait)." Pause for the groans. "It wasn't a cardtrick, but it was steel (still)funny." A few more groans."I guess some ofthese tricks need to be ironed out."

"This adds new meaning to the term, 'colddeck.'''

THE l11'1IJERHAIVIJSIll!Fl·-'LE.-'

This is a novel full-deck false shuffle that wasoriginallypublishedinvolume2of mySemi-Automatic CardTricks. Interestingly, it fools magicians who are told inadvancethat theyaregoingto witnessa full-deckfalse shuffle.

The Work. Hold the pack in the left hand in positionfor an overhand shuffle. With the right hand, undercut thebottom fifth of the pack and throw it on top of the pack,outjogged for about a quarter of an inch. Your left forefingerrestson the face of the outjogged packet for ease in separatingthe pack at that point later.

Repeat the above actions by undercutting anotherfifth of the pack with your right hand. Throw this fifth on topof the pack in such a way that it disguises the outjoggedcondition of the fifth which preceded this one. You canachievethis by tossingit on top of the pack outjogged for halfthe amountof the first fifth. This haphazardplacementof thepacketsadds to the illusion of a well mixed pack.

Repeat the same undercutting and throwing actionwiththenext twofifths of thepack. For thefinal fifth,undercutthe cards beneath the original outjogged packet and toss thispacketon top of the pack. Your left forefingerhas markedtheoutjog for you so there should not be any delay in locating it.Here are the points to remember:• Rhythm is the most importantpart of this shuffle.• This undercuttingprocess shouldemulate the up anddown rhythm of the standard overhand shuffle. It gives theillusion that you are dropping small packets from a largepacket held in the right hand while you are in fact cutting

packets from the bottom of the pack to the top.• Without a smooth and consistent cadence, you willgive the appearanceof having a plan in the placement of thepackets.• You should not look at your hands as you shuffle.The audience views the shuffle peripherallywhich takes theheat off it. Once you learn the mechanicsof the shuffle,youshould practice it while without watching it while doingsomethingelse. Thisis a great itemtopracticewhilewatchingtelevision.• The numberof slices you split the pack into doesn'tmatteras longas therhythmis consistent. Anywherebetweenthree and six slices I think you will find it more convincingwithout the overkill.

Leftovers. Here'saneven moreconvincing handling.Hold the pack face down in the left hand in position for theoverhand shuffle. Undercut the bottom fifth of the pack asabove. However,as you lift this packet withyour right hand,outjog the top card of the left hand's packet. Complete theshuffleas above,sendingtheoriginal topcard to thebottomofthe pack.

Take the pack from above with the right handand flashthefaceof thebottomcardasyoutap-squarethepackon the table. Place the deck in the left hand in position for aface upoverhandshuffle. Repeat thesameshuffle(alongwiththe outjog of the top face-upcard.) This sends the card on theface to the back of the pack and the deck back to its originalorder.

Theaudienceassumestheyhaveseentheorderof thedeck changed because: (1) you shuffled the pack and (2) thesaw the face card of the pack change. This handlingalso hasthe subtletyof saying,"I'm showingyou the facesof thecards.Obviously,if they were set up, I wouldn't showthem to you."

The Trapdoor

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The TrapdoorWhere "quality" is more than just a two syllable word.407 Carrington Drive, Knightdale, NC 27545, USA

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