15 Subtle Card Problems [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

ABOUT THIS RELEASE In 1937, Stewart Judah in collaboration with John Braun released 15 card problems; along with useful sleights, and false shuffles and cuts. The booklet in which this material appeared was supplemented by brief sections on exhibition card fans, as well as a few stage effects. In this release, we focus solely on Stewart Judah’s card magic, moves and subtleties which we feel will be of most interest. Mr. Judah’s original work was dedicated to AL BAKER, DAI VERNON, and S. LEO HOROWITZ, Masters of Conjuring Subtlety— to whom they were indebted for much valuable training in Magic and Mystery.

15 SUBTLE CARD PROBLEMS CONTENTS FABRICATED COINCIDENCE......................................................................................5 THE NAME SPELLS THE CARD..................................................................................6 DUO-DIVINATION....................................................................................................... 7 THE TELL-TALE TAPS................................................................................................. 9 THE ASTROLOGICAL CARD TRICK.......................................................................... 10 THE CARDS AND THE DIAL..................................................................................... 12 ANOTHER “THINK STOP” CARD TRICK................................................................... 13 JUDAH MONTE......................................................................................................... 14 THE CONJUROR CUTS THE CARDS.......................................................................... 16

THE RIFFLE SHIFT......................................................................................... 18



THE SLIP CUT................................................................................................. 19



THE RIFFLE FORCE........................................................................................ 19

A CURIOUS COINCIDENCE WITH CARDS AND PELLETS........................................ 20 THE JUDAH “FOUR ACES”........................................................................................ 21 THE COLOR CHANGING PACK................................................................................. 24 A UNIQUE MENTAL PROBLEM................................................................................ 25 THE H. A. S. MIRACLE CARD LOCATION................................................................. 28 THE S. L. REVERSED CARD...................................................................................... 29 USEFUL CARD SLEIGHTS......................................................................................... 31 FALSE SHUFFLES AND FALSE CUTS........................................................................ 34

© Copyright 2017 by TRICKSHOP.COM. All rights reserved.

3

CARD PROBLEMS “Among the various branches of the conjuror’s art” says Professor Hoffmann, “none will better repay the labour of the student, whether artist or amateur, than the magic of cards. It has the special advantage of being, in a great measure, independent of time and place. The materials for half its mysteries are procurable at five minute’s notice in every home circle; and, even in the case of those tricks for which specially prepared cards, etc., are requisite, the appliances cost little, and are easily portable. Further, the majority of card tricks are dependent mainly on personal address and dexterity, and, as such, will always be highly esteemed by connoisseurs of the art.” Upon this opinion, handed down just fifty years ago by Angelo Lewis, we rest our case in defense of the number of card tricks in this book. It is our wish that you find them interesting and enjoyable, and who knows but that at some future time we might even find them in an edition of the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks.

4

FABRICATED COINCIDENCE A Quadruple Climax Card Problem STEWART JUDAH AND JOHN BRAUN

Card tricks of the genus “Triple Climax” have been popular with card conjurors since Nate Leipzig’s “Ubiquitous Cards” appeared in Down’s Art of Magic in 1909. Some years ago a clever version appeared by Arthur Buckley, and recently Howard Albright has given us an excellent little problem called “Peculiarities of the Pasteboards.” We wish to add to the existing array a problem bearing the rather amazing title “Fabricated Coincidence,” in which a novel idea in pack arrangement makes possible a “quadruple climax.” EFFECT From a packet of numbered cards running from one to ten, a card is freely selected by a spectator and set back outward in a tumbler. A red backed pack is given a shuffle and dealt into three heaps. The card left over is seen to be, let us say, a five spot. Turning the card in the tumbler, it is seen to bear the number 5! Counting down in each heap to the fifth card, the performer places this card face up in front of the heap from which it came. A blue backed pack is now introduced and shuffled. One of the face up cards is revealed in this pack by spelling its name; for the second, the spectator stops the performer as he deals, the number of spots on the card stopped at indicating the position of the second face up card’s blue backed duplicate. The remaining red backed card is inserted reversed in what remains of the blue pack and the pack assembled. When the pack is fanned, the blue backed duplicate of this card is also reversed! METHOD AND PRESENTATION Selection of the number card from the packet of ten is fair. The cards are mixed well, and as you deal them face down, the spectator stops you at any card. Place this card back outward in a tumbler, noting its number as you do so. The red backed pack is set up as follows, from back to face— Any eleven cards; the three “forcers,” which we will assume are the KC, 2H, and the 4S, so arrange them in that order; now the indicators, which are the diamonds, in this order—AD, two indifferent cards; 2D, two indifferent cards; 3D, then two more indifferent cards; 4D, etc., to the 10D, each diamond followed by two indifferent cards; and last of all, the remaining eight cards. When this pack is introduced, hold it in the left hand, face up and in position for an overhand shuffle. As the right hand approaches the pack for the shuffle, the left thumb riffles down to a diamond spot card having the same value as the number card in the tumbler, which, in the case we are assuming, is a 5. Now the 5D is

5

near the center of the pack, so riffle down to it, leaving it at the face of the left hand packet. The right hand takes away the packet above the 5D and shuffles these cards onto the left hand’s packet. False cut the pack leaving the order undisturbed. This whole operation takes but a second or two, and is covered by the right hand; it so arranges the cards that when they are dealt into three heaps, a force card will be fifth down in each heap, and the card left over will be a five spot! The set up takes care of any number from one to ten inclusive. After the cards are dealt the forcers are counted down to and placed in front of each heap, face up. The blue pack is arranged from back to face as follows—Any ten cards, then the KC; any three cards, followed by a 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and A, in mixed suit order; then the 2H; then the remaining cards, the 4S being reversed second from the face of the pack. “When this pack is introduced, false shuffle and false cut it leaving the set up intact. Spell the KC; start dealing again, explaining to a spectator that he is to stop you at any time, etc., the card stopped at to be used as an indicator. Count down this number of cards, turn over the card representing the final count, and the 2H is revealed. Insert the red backed 4S face up in what remains of the face down blue pack and assemble the pack. Cut once, spread the pack face down on the table, and two reversed 4S are seen, one being the blue backed 4S. The patter for this problem should be along the lines of coincidence, for as the experiment unfolds, coincidence is added to coincidence until the title “Fabricated Coincidence” is truly justified.

THE NAME SPELLS THE CARD STEWART JUDAH AND JOE BERG

Among the many excellent card tricks in Here’s New Magic, Joe Berg’s recent book, there is one called “Mistakes Will Happen,” which makes use of a novel idea for a card location. Based upon one of the oldest principles in card magic, this location in the new dress Joe has given it is so puzzling to the layman that it becomes an outstanding contribution to card subtlety. Mr. Judah became acquainted with the idea in a manuscript called Berg’s Private Card Problems published about five years ago, and combined it with a method of his own for revealing the selected card, the whole making a nicely balanced little problem that can be done anywhere with anyone’s cards. And there are no set ups or sleight of hand to do! EFFECT The performer, holding the shuffled pack fanned face down behind his back, invites a spectator to select any card, note it, and replace it face up on top of the face down pack. 6

This done, the performer cuts the card into the pack, and taking four more cards inserts them face up in different parts of the deck explaining “I will reverse a few more cards so that it will be impossible for me to know one reversed card from another.” Then, after shuffling and cutting: the cards again, the pack is spread face up on the table and the five reversed cards removed. Asking the spectator his name, the performer spells it by transferring a card from the top to the bottom of the heap for each letter except the last; the card representing the last letter being shown and discarded, “For,” says he, “This one wouldn’t be your card.” When only one card remains, the performer asks the name of the selected card—and the card he holds is the one! The puzzling part to the spectators is that the performer does not see the faces of the five cards at any time until he turns them up as he spells. METHOD The card magician’s old friend, the bottom card as a “key card,” is responsible for your knowing which one of the reversed cards is the selected one. After the spectator selects his card and places it face up on top of the pack, under cut about two-thirds of the cards and drop them on top. Your locator is now above the spectator’s card. Now take four more cards and reverse them in various parts of the pack, trying to avoid, of course, placing one of them between the “key” and the spectator’s card. Your awkwardness in inserting these cards strengthens the impression in the spectator’s mind that his card is now hopelessly lost, and to further complicate matters you riffle shuffle once and cut the cards once or twice. Spread them face up on the table, removing the reversed cards as you come to them from left to right. The selected card will be the first reversed card ahead of the “key.” Note the position of the selected card in the face down fan of five. The name spelled must consist of four, five, six, or seven letters. To get the card in position for spelling, ascertain the spectator’s first or last name; if either name consists of four letters, shuffle the selected card to the top; if five, second from the top, and if six or seven letters, second from the bottom. Spell the name, transferring a card from the top to the bottom for each letter except the last; discard this card, showing it as you remark “Naturally this one isn’t your card so we shall discard it.” Continue this spelling and discarding until only one card remains; this one will be the selected card.

DUO-DIVINATION STEWART JUDAH

In 1876 Professor Hoffmann in Modern Magic introduced to a great host of readers a pack pre-arrangement based upon a “memoria technica” formula, the time-honored...

7

“eight kings threatened to save ninety-five ladies for one sick knave.” Since that time many arrangement formulae have been devised, the Si Stebbins probably being the most popular, even today. A few years ago L. L. Ireland explained an ingenious mnemonic arrangement in Ireland Writes a Book, the advantage in a system of that sort being that the pack does not look stacked. Recently the Nikola System has been made available in the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks; this system is without a doubt the last word in pre-arranged packs. As to effects possible with a set up pack, their number is indeed legion, and most of them, to the layman, seem miraculous. Anyone who has seen Mahendra work with a Si Stebbins pack will agree that a set up pack, in the hands of a showman, will produce more amazement than tons of illusions. To the multitude of effects possible with pre-arranged packs Mr. Judah has added one that can be used with any of the many systems now available. It will work in very nicely as a finish to your routine or it can he used just before the series of poker deals so popular these days as a finale to set up pack routines. EFFECT The performer shuffles (?) the pack and places it face down on the table. A spectator is invited to cut off about a third and hand it to the performer, who seals it in an envelope. Another third is sealed in a second envelope and the remaining third in another. The spectator now shuffles another pack and removing any card places it face up on the table. Mixing the envelopes he hands them one at a time to the performer, who, placing them to his forehead, “divines” which envelope contains the selected card and then proceeds to declare its numerical position in the packet sealed in the envelope! METHOD Two of the envelopes are marked with pencil dots on the flaps, to be distinguished as “one” and “two.” As he seals the packet handed him in envelope “one,” the performer memorizes its bottom card; he repeats this with the second packet; the third is simply sealed in the unmarked envelope. When the spectator names the card he selects from the other pack, the performer can calculate the position this card occupies in the arrangement he is using. The dots identify the envelope containing the packet in which the selected card will be found, and the noted bottom cards enable the performer to calculate the position of the card in the envelope. Knowing the bottom card of the preceding portion tells you the top card of the “divined” envelope’s packet, so it becomes a simple matter to calculate the position of the selected card.

8

If the envelopes are marked with pin pricks along one edge the performer can receive them behind his back and “divine” the one containing the selected card. Pretend to weigh each envelope, thereby discovering which one contains the card, and then announce the position of the card. The pin pricks are made from the inside of the envelope by sticking a pin almost through at one edge. The little “craters” that result can be felt easily, and smoothed down again when you have your information.

THE TELL-TALE TAPS STEWART JUDAH

On page 213 of Modern Magic will be found a trick entitled “To Indicate On the Dial of a Watch the Hour Secretly Thought of By One of the Company.” This little trick is dependent upon a simple arithmetical principle, and is known to almost every dabbler in conjuring. The same arithmetical principle is the backbone of the simple card experiment to be described here, but several interesting “throw-offs” are introduced to disguise the elementary nature of the trick. EFFECT After dealing four rows of four cards each face down on the table, the performer asks a spectator to secretly remove from the remainder of the pack a few cards, but not more than ten. He is then instructed to deal the rest of the cards one at a time on the table. Each time he deals a card the performer taps one of the sixteen cards, and when the spectator deals the last of his cards, the performer’s pencil is resting on a card whose spot value indicates the number of cards secretly removed from the pack! METHOD A set up is required. The top sixteen cards of the pack are arranged as follows, from the top down—Any card, 6, 7, any card, 8, 2, A, 5, any card, 4, 9, any card, 10, any card, any card, and a 3. These cards should be of mixed suits. To perform, false shuffle and false cut the cards leaving the top stock intact and deal four rows of four cards each, dealing from left to right. The sixteen cards, face down, are in this order—

X 6 8 2 X 4 10 X

7 1 9 X

X 5 X 3

“X” in the diagram represents any card. Hand the balance of the pack to the spectator and have him secretly remove from one to ten cards. Instruct him to deal the remain9

ing cards one at a time face down on the table. Each time he deals a card tap one of the sixteen. For the first twenty-five cards dealt, tap in any order at all—skip around; on the twenty-sixth card, tap on the 10; on the twenty-seventh tap on 9, etc. When the spectator deals his last card, your pencil will be resting on the card representing the number he secretly removed. The last ten taps follow the symmetrical pattern outlined in the diagram. This definite “tapping” pattern in Figure 1 is easily learned because of its symmetry, and yet concealed enough to work in nicely with the haphazard pattern of your previous taps. Should the spectator want to examine the sixteen cards, the many duplicates present will conceal the arrangement and puzzle him the more. As an alternate method of presentation, remove the Joker from the pack (you have taken the precaution to see that there is a Joker in the pack), deal the four rows of cards as explained in a previous paragraph, and give the rest of the cards to the spectator, instructing him to turn his back to you and secretly remove from one to ten cards and place them in his pocket. When he has done this, he returns the remainder of the pack to you. Deal (instead of tapping) these cards exactly as in the version where you tap the cards; that is, deal them on the four rows of cards, placing them squarely, to keep the sixteen card formation intact. The twenty-sixth card dealt goes on the 10, the twenty-seventh on the 9, etc. Call particular attention to the card upon which the last card is dealt, and to mark that heap place the Joker upon it, face up. Ask the spectator to count the cards he secretly removed; turn up the bottom card of the heap marked by the Joker, and the spots on this card will indicate the number of cards secretly removed.

THE ASTROLOGICAL CARD TRICK JOHN N. HILLIARD & STEWART JUDAH

One of the simplest of all the tricks with cards is the “Astrological Card Trick,” as it is nothing more than the revealing of a mentally chosen card. It was a particular favorite of John Northern Hilliard; in performing it for a lay audience, he invested it with a charm, and a dash of charlatanism that made it savor of Mephisto himself, clothing it so

10

completely in an atmosphere of mystery that the old principle upon which it is based was unrecognizable even to the individual who knew a little more than he should about the conjuror’s methods. EFFECT A spectator and the performer each count the same number of cards from the shuffled pack. Each buries the top and bottom cards of his packet in the center, and then the spectator memorizes his top card and shuffles both his and the performer’s packet together. The double packet is counted once more, just to make sure that there has been no miscount. The performer spreads the remainder of the pack face up, asks the spectator his birthday, and, making a few “astrological divinations” picks out certain cards. These cards, when interpreted, indicate the suit, value, and numerical position in the packet of the mentally chosen card. METHOD Misdirection and showmanship, plus a knowledge of the card second from the bottom of the pack, are the means by which this gem among card tricks is accomplished. Having memorized the card second from the bottom of the pack, hold the cards facing the spectator and slowly riffle them, explaining that he is to stop you whenever he likes. Riffle slowly so that when he stops you he will get twelve to fifteen cards. Hand him this packet, instructing him to count them upon the table so that you can deal yourself as many cards as he has by counting in unison with him. Explain that it is essential that you both have the same number of cards. In counting, the spectator reverses his packet, bringing the memorized card second from the top. The counting in unison business distracts his attention from this fact, and gives him the impression that you did not touch his cards at any time. Now tell him to do exactly as you do. Take the top card of your packet and bury it in the center; he does the same with his top card. Insert the bottom card of your packet in the center—he does likewise. Ask him to memorize the top card of his packet, then hand him your packet and tell him to shuffle them both together. Take the shuffled cards from him on the pretext of checking the count; this feigned anxiety about the exact number of cards enables you to get the numerical position of the memorized card in the packet. Having obtained this information, drop the cards face down on the table and turn your attention to the remainder of the pack. Ask the spectator the year, month, and day of his birth while you are spreading the cards face up. Pretend to be divining something by augury as you carefully pick out certain cards. What you are really doing is picking out a card to represent the spot value, one to represent the suit, and two or three to total to the position of the memorized card. Whenever possible pick cards that have some bearing on the birthday information and place them carefully in a row.

11

For example, if the spectator says he was born September 4, 1912, and you know his card, the nine of spades, is seventeenth from the top of the packet, pick out a nine for the spot value of his card, and a spade, say the four of spades, for the suit. Any ace and deuce will represent the year—the twelfth year of the Twentieth Century. Explain that these cards represent the day, month, and year of his birth and in addition they tell you that the card he memorized was a spade—the nine of spades—and by adding the spots on all the cards you learn that the nine of spades is the seventeenth card down from the top of the heap on the table. Of course, you have him count off seventeen cards, turn the seventeenth face up, and there’s his card. Interpret the cards with all the gravity of a Seer and you will be credited with having performed a marvelous feat!

THE CARDS AND THE DIAL STEWART JUDAH

Sure-fire control of selected cards is always music to the card conjuror’s ears. Add to that a method of revealing the cards that appeals to an audience and you have an unbeatable combination! In the “Cards and the Dial,” three cards, freely selected from a packet of twelve, are collected and shuffled into the packet by a spectator, who further assists by clipping them around a dial, one card at or in lieu of each number. A hand, set spinning on a little pivot in the center of the dial, stops at each selected card! The idea of cards revealed by a spinning hand is certainly not a new one, but it is such an excellent method of revealing selected cards that it deserves to be more widely used. There’s something about the spinning hand that fascinates an audience, and in causing the hand to seek out selected cards, one introduces an element of chance and suspense that makes the trick a very enjoyable one. The dial should be made of light plywood, about fifteen inches in diameter. At its center is a steel pin upon which the hand is spun, and clips, instead of numbers, are fastened around the circumference. The clips are little pieces of spring steel under which cards can be easily slipped. The hand is the familiar Hindoo Clock Dial hand listed in most dealer’s catalogs. It should be the kind that “sets” when it is held in the position the hour hand of a clock would occupy in pointing to the number to be revealed on a clock dial. METHOD To control the selected cards, a simple set up is used. Arrange twelve cards from the top down as follows—three odd red cards; three odd black cards; three odd picture cards, and then any three cards. Below these, nine even cards, bridged, or separated from the rest of the pack by a short card, to insure getting them without fumbling.

12

PRESENTATION False shuffle the pack and count off three hands of three cards each, giving one to each of three spectators. You yourself take three, and call attention to the fact that there are twelve cards out. Have each spectator retain one of his cards and return the others to you. Having collected the remaining cards on top of your three, return them to the bottom of the pack, immediately handing the nine “even” cards to another spectator with the request that he collect the selected cards, shuffle them well, and further assist by clipping them to the dial. Call attention to the fact that the spectator is doing all the work; you are merely directing operations. You can easily spot the positions of the selected cards on the dial, so in exhibiting the hand, set it to stop at the first spectator’s card, which is the odd red one. Set the hand spinning, have the spectator name his card, and the hand stops on it! The second card, the odd black one, and the third, the even picture card, are revealed in the same way. NOTE: In the Annals of Conjuring by Sydney W. Clarke there is a cut showing the English sleight-of-hand performer Lane, who performed at Bartholomew Fair in 1778, doing a “Card and Dial” experiment of some sort. That will give the reader some idea of the antiquity of this combination.

ANOTHER “THINK STOP” CARD TRICK STEWART JUDAH

A card is selected from the pack fanned behind the performer’s back. Facing the spectators, the performer riffles the pack, the spectator inserting his card anywhere he likes, after which the pack is thoroughly shuffled and cut. The spectator is asked to concentrate on his card while the performer deals the cards into a face up heap on the table. The moment the selected card is dealt, he stops and dramatically announces its name! The method is a simple one. There are twenty-two cards in any pack with a reversible peculiarity—non-symmetry of spot design. These cards are the A, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of clubs, hearts, and spades, and the 7 of diamonds. Arrange them with the non-symmetrical feature pointing all one way, and place them in the center of the pack. When you fan the pack behind your back for selection of the card, only the center portion is presented to the spectator. As you turn around to riffle the pack for the return of the card, turn the pack end for end so that the reversible pattern on the returned card will be opposite the other “reversibles.” Riffle the cards slowly, allowing the spectator to return his card anywhere. Shuffle overhand, or dovetail shuffle, but in doing this do not turn the cards end for end. As you deal the cards face up on the table, watch for the “reversible” turned the opposite way from its fellows, and that’s all there is to it.

13

JUDAH MONTE STEWART JUDAH

Judah Monte was originated and marketed in 1927 by Stewart Judah and Leslie Guest. Several years ago a pirated version of the trick appeared on the market made up in giant cards, and no credit was given to the rightful owner. Since the trick is an excellent platform item and a very effective one with giant cards, we include it here, and thereby establish Mr. Judah’s ownership of a fine little card effect. EFFECT Four cards are shown, one court card and three spot cards, say a Queen and three deuces. The cards are mixed so as to lose the Queen, and so that when dealt two deuces are face up and two cards (one of which is presumably the Queen) are face down. The spectators are invited to guess the position of the Queen. Whichever card they select is turned over revealing a deuce. The climax comes on the turning of the other face-down card, which proves to be a fourth deuce, the Queen being produced elsewhere! METHOD Aside from an ordinary pack of cards, the only requirement is one double faced card. Use a “Fox Lake Special” or make one up in giant cards, as this little mystery is more effective with giant cards and just as easy to present. We will presume that you now have before you a pack of cards and an extra double faced card, it being, for example, a Queen of Diamonds on one side, and a Deuce of Clubs on the other. Now remove all the deuces and the real Queen of Diamonds from your pack. Arrange the pack with the real Queen at the top, the real Deuce of Clubs near the top, then scatter the rest of the cards through the rest of the pack in this manner—Deuce of Hearts near the center, Deuce of Spades a little farther down, Deuce of Diamonds still a little further, and Queen of Diamonds (double card) near the bottom. You are now ready to perform. PRESENTATION Openly run through the pack face up and drop on the table, face up as you come to them, first the Queen of Diamonds (double card), then on top of it the Deuce of Diamonds, then on top of that the Deuce of Spades, and finally the Deuce of Hearts. Square up the rest of the pack and set aside, face down.

14

In picking up the four cards be careful not to expose the double face card. Now call attention to the cards, counting them face up one on the other—a deuce, a deuce, a deuce, and a queen. The queen is now on the face of the packet. At this point it is well to square up the cards and give a flash of the back one, which is now perfectly safe. We hope you are following these instructions with the cards in your hands, for from now on the moves may seem confusing, while actually they are quite simple. Make every move slowly and deliberately. There is no need for speed, and the spectator will be sufficiently confused even when every move is explained to him. Holding the packet by the edges remove the top card, the Deuce of Hearts, and after displaying it on both sides, place it FACE to FACE with the queen. Turning your packet will show backs on each side. Now remove the second card, the Deuce of Spades, and place it BACK to BACK with the Deuce of Hearts. Do not call especial attention to this card, nor at any time name the suits as you want the spectators to forget whether the black deuce is a spade or club. The Deuce of Spades is facing you on the face of the packet, and under it is the Deuce of Hearts, reversed, then the Queen of Diamonds (double card), and last, the Deuce of Diamonds. Hold the cards face down in the left hand, the thumb on one of the long edges, fingers on the other, the thumb and fingers all pointing down. With the right hand deal off the bottom card, the Deuce of Spades, face down an the table, without showing it. If you were to deal the next bottom card it would be the Deuce of Hearts and it would come out face up. But you don’t. Instead, you execute the “glide” with this card; that is, draw it back about half an inch with the left third finger, so that your right hand can grasp and deal the next bottom card, the double card, which now shows as a face up Deuce of Clubs, the queen side being down. Next you deliberately deal the TOP CARD, the face down Deuce of Diamonds, This leaves the face up Deuce of Hearts in your hand, and you drop it at the end of the row. You have simply dealt one down, one up, one down, and one up. If you dealt them in a row, from left to right they should be: face down Deuce of Spades, face up Deuce of Clubs, (double card), face down Deuce of Diamonds, and face up Deuce of Hearts. The only chance the spectator-has of picking the queen is to insist that you turn over the face up Deuce of Clubs, and we trust that you won’t allow that to happen. The spectator is invited to locate the queen. He is somewhat confused, but naturally picks one of the two face down cards. Whichever he selects, you obligingly turn it over, revealing a deuce. Now gather up the three exposed deuces, the double card first, and lay

15

them carelessly aside, face down. This leaves a face down card on the table and this card should be the queen, according to the spectator. However you smilingly take the real queen from the top of the deck and display it, then turn over the face down card, revealing another deuce. Get rid of the double card and you have a straight pack with which to continue your program. Here is some “illiterate” patter for the effect, should you care to use it: “When Uncle Al came from the country to visit his city relatives Cousin John and Cousin Stewart, they took him to the big State Fair. In one corner of the lot stood a fellow with whiskers and a fancy vest. There was a little crowd about him and he was teaching them a little game. Uncle Al was very much interested and said to the cousins: ‘Stick around boys, we must learn this game’. ‘Step right up’, sez the Slicker, you can’t go wrong. It’s the old French game of Churchy la Fem or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. All we need is three deuces and a queen. Now don’t lose sight of the queen. One deuce face against her, then one deuce face down. Two up and two down. Have you kept track of the queen? We’ll deal ‘em as they lay. One down, one up, one down and one up. Now with only two to guess from, who’ll pick the lady? Put your money by your card.’ “Well, Cousin John was pretty sure he knew, so he put a five dollar bill by the end card. With a smile the Slicker turned over the card and pocketed John’s money.” “Uncle Al said ‘Wait a minute, stranger, I’ll lay a tenner on this here top card’—and put his money by the rest of the pack. The crowd made the Slicker turn over the top card, and sure enough, it was the queen, so the Slicker had to pay up.” “Cousin Stewart had both hands in his pockets, ready to bet his shirt on the lonely face down card, but somebody turned it over and it proved to be another deuce.” “As the trio walked away arm in arm, Uncle Al remarked, ‘Remember, boys, a lady always has the right to change her mind.’”

THE CONJUROR CUTS THE CARDS STEWART JUDAH

Card routines of the “Sympathetic Sympathy” variety (title by Charles T. Jordan) have been very popular with card men during the past fifteen years. The routine given here, while entailing a set up and a mastery of a few easily acquired sleights, is such a brilliant

16

piece of card artistry that it will repay any effort devoted to mastering it, for it will do much to enhance the performer’s reputation as a card expert. EFFECT Briefly, the effect is as follows—the pack is shuffled and cut repeatedly into two heaps, and yet the top card of each heap is a pair matching in color and denomination. Whether the performer cuts or the spectator, the result is always the same. To vary the procedure a counting down interlude is introduced, and as a climax the performer pulls himself out of what seems to be an embarrassing situation. PREPARATION The set up consists of thirteen cards on top of the pack arranged as follows, reading from the top down—Two red kings, two black nines, a red four, any three cards, the other red four, two black deuces, and two red jacks. Place the Joker near the bottom of the pack. The sleights necessary are the riffle shift, the riffle force, the slip cut, and the double lift. The riffle shift, the riffle force, and the slip cut will be described, but the double lift is so well known that it is presumed that everyone is familiar with a method for accomplishing so useful a bit of card deception. PRESENTATION Remove the Joker and false shuffle the pack, leaving the top stock intact. Holding the cards in the left hand in position for the riffle shift; riffle the cards with the left thumb, allowing the spectator to stop you anywhere he likes; split the pack where he stopped you, and with a half in each hand, deal simultaneously the top card of each half face up on the table. As a result of the riffle shift the top card of the pack becomes the top card of the left hand’s half after the pack is split, so in dealing the top card of each half the two red kings show up. The half in the right hand is the stock or vital half. Drop it onto the half held in the left hand and execute the slip cut, cutting off about half the pack. The top card of the pack has again become the top card of the left hand’s half. Place the right hand’s half to your right. Turn over the top card of the left hand heap—a black nine shows up. When the top card of the right hand heap is turned over it’s the other black nine. Again replace the right hand or stock heap on top of the left hand heap; false shuffle, retaining the top stock, and slip cut the pack once more. Place the heap cut off to the right.

17

Turn over the top card of the left hand heap as if you were doing a double lift, to get the spectators accustomed to the move. Deal or thumb off this card face up on the table with the left hand. It is seen to be a red four. Explain as you pick up the right hand heap that as the card turned up happens to be a red four, and as such has an even number of spots, you always count down when that happens, to the fourth card in this heap. Deal four cards face down, turning up the fourth, and there’s the other red four. The stock heap is now in the left hand. Place the heap on the table on top of the cards dealt and drop the stock heap on top of all. Insert the red fours in the pack, one near the center and one near the bottom. This criss-crossing in the cutting and assembling of the heaps is very confusing to the spectator, and throws him off so completely that even if he suspects a set up he can’t figure out how you manage things. Pick up the pack and deal, with the left hand, the top card face down on the table, explaining that neither you nor the spectator knows what card it is. Undercut about twothirds of the pack and shuffle, in-jogging the first card shuffled. The jogged card enables you to hold a break for the riffle force, and at this point you get set for this sleight. Pick up the Joker, asking a spectator to insert it anywhere in the pack, face up, as you riffle the cards. Cut at the Joker, (at least you appear to) and one-hand deal the card immediately below it (top card of the left hand’s packet) face up on the table. The top stock remains in the left hand, so drop it onto the heap in the right hand. Turn over the face down card on the table and again you have a matched pair, the two black deuces—even though you placed an unknown card on the table and the spectator selected the other. Now for the surprise finish, in which the clever performer extricates himself from what seems to be an embarrassing situation. Slip cut the cards, the top stock losing one card to the left hand heap, and place the half cut off on the table. Turn over the two top cards of the left hand heap as one (double lift), explaining that whatever the top card is, you will place it on the table. Naming the card, turn it face down again, and one-hand deal a single card face down on the table. This card is one of the red jacks. Pick up the other heap, explaining that the top card of this heap, according to the trend of recent events, is the mate to the one you just placed on the table. Turn over the card—and it just isn’t the mate. Look chagrined; brighten again as you say “What’s the use of being a magician if you can’t right matters,” and triumphantly turn over the face down card, which is, after all, the mate to the red jack now showing, so look very pleased as you gather up the cards.

THE RIFFLE SHIFT The pack is held in the left hand as in Figure 2. The second, third, and fourth fingers are on the back of the top card, the first finger is bent under the pack, and the thumb is 18

along the side. The thumb now bends the upper left hand corner of the pack down over the curled first finger, cards being released one at a time from the thumb and springing up again. When the spectator tells you to stop riffling, hold the opening between the two portions of the pack as in Figure 3. The right hand approaches and takes away the cards released by the left thumb, but owing to the pressure of the three fingers of the left hand on the back of the top card, it is retained on the portion remaining in the left hand. The sleight is completely covered by the right hand as it takes away the released portion of the pack.

THE SLIP CUT For this sleight the cards are held in the left hand as in Figure 4. The fingers are on the back of the top card and the thumb is along the side as shown. The right hand approaches the cards and seizes the upper half of the pack between the thumb and second finger. This portion is drawn off as in cutting the cards, but owing to the pressure of the left fingers on the top card, this card will be held back and will become the top card of the lower portion. This sleight is as useful as it is deceptive, and is a variation of a “blind cut” explained by Erdnase in The Expert At the Card Table.

THE RIFFLE FORCE The pack is held in the left hand as for dealing. Undercut two-thirds of the pack and drop on top, separating the two portions with the little finger. Square up the cards and riffle once or twice. A spectator, who has been given the Joker, is instructed to insert it face up in the pack as you riffle. Time the riffling so that the Joker will be inserted above the break, and ask the spectator to hold onto his card as you separate the pack where the card was inserted. Draw off all the cards above the little finger; the pack seems to separate where the Joker was inserted, for the Joker now rests on the card to be forced. If the Joker is inserted below the break, the procedure is a little different. In this case the spectator is not told to hold onto the card; instead, you push forward that portion of the pack above the little finger about an inch, and nipping it against the Joker, draw it away,

19

with the Joker at the face of this portion. The left hand is now holding the heap on which the force card lies. In either case the pack is apparently separated at the point where the Joker was in inserted, and the card below the Joker is used for the experiment.

A CURIOUS COINCIDENCE WITH CARDS AND PELLETS STEWART JUDAH

The fellow who started it all—I mean the fellow who started these “pellet” tricks—was, in all likelihood, the same individual who devised “The Quick and the Dead.” Whoever it was who first substituted cards for celebrities in this subtle experiment in mental magic we do not know, albeit Al Baker, John Northern Hilliard, and Theodore Annemann have each given us excellent “pellet” tricks in which cards play the stellar role. A pellet trick by Mr. Judah called “Stewart Judah’s Pellet Trick” appeared in A Real Magic Show published by Frank Lane a few years ago. The one we are about to describe in these pages approaches the “pellet and card” combination from a different angle, and will appeal to the performer, we believe, because it is easy to do, and yet it seems so impossible to the spectator! EFFECT From a freely shuffled pack, a row of eight cards is dealt face up on the table, the cards overlapping so they can be scooped up easily. The performer then takes a small pad about 2 x 3 inches, and a heavy pencil or crayon. A spectator calls out the name of each card in the row, reading from left to right, and the performer writes the initials of each card called upon a separate slip, tearing off each slip as he writes upon it. He makes the initials large, explaining to the spectators just what he is doing. For example, let us say the spectator calls “King of Spades”—write K S in large letters on a leaf from the pad; if nine of diamonds, write 9 D, etc. After writing the initials of the cards, put the packet of slips aside; gather up the cards and insert them in the fanned pack, widely separated; close the fan, shuffle the cards, and place them in your pocket. Exhibit an envelope. Withdraw one card from the pocketed pack, and seal it in the envelope, giving it to a spectator to hold. Now, pick up the heap of paper slips, and deal them, face down, into two heaps, a slip at a time to each heap, dealing from left to right. The spectator is asked to choose either heap—explain to him that the heap he chooses is to be torn up—no subterfuges. Suppose he designates the right hand heap. Tear it up. Deal the remaining four slips into two heaps, again tearing up the right hand heap. Deal the two remaining slips one to the left, one to the right, and again tear up the right hand slip. Only one slip remains—and that slip bears the initials of the card in the envelope! 20

METHOD The shuffling, dealing, and writing of card’s initials is all fair—except for one little deviation into chicanery. The third card in the row is going to be your force card—the one to go into the envelope. As you write the initials of the cards on each slip, show the slips to the spectators. Show fairly the first four; write the initials of the fifth card on the fifth slip, but neglect to show it. On the sixth slip, write the initials of your force card, while repeating the name of the card the spectator just called out! The seventh and eighth slips are honest and can be shown. After writing a slip, tear it off and place it under the pad; the next slip goes under the slip just placed under the pad, etc., so that when you finish, the slips are in the same order as the cards in the row, except that the third and sixth slips bear the same initials. Place the stack of slips face down on the table when all are written. Fan the pack, scoop up the row of cards, and insert each card in a different place in the fan, letting the cards protrude half way from the fan. Put your force card second from the top. Now close the fan and shuffle the cards, leaving the top two cards undisturbed. Put the pack in your pocket. Have the envelope examined, and after announcing that you are going to seal a card in the envelope, remove one from your pocket (the forcer), seal it in the envelope, and give it to a spectator to hold. No one has seen this card. Pick up the stack of slips, deal into two heaps as instructed above, and have a spectator choose either heap. As there is a force slip in each, he really has free choice, and you call attention to the fact that the heap he designates will be torn up. Suppose he selects the heap on your right. Tear it up. Deal the remaining heap exactly as before, calling attention to the fairness of your procedure, and again tear up the heap on your right. Deal the two remaining slips from left to right again tearing up the slip on your right. The remaining slip will bear the initials of the unknown card in the envelope.

THE JUDAH “FOUR ACES” STEWART JUDAH

Since that day when Conus gave to the world of Magic the “Four Ace Trick,” experiments with aces have become more prolific than any other feat with playing cards. The plot is always the same—the four aces, separated as widely as the limits of the pack will permit, band together again in some mysterious fashion. As every card man worth his salt seems to feel called upon to devise a four ace trick, Mr. Judah offers his version—a very simple one all dressed up for stage presentation. EFFECT The four aces are removed from the pack and each one is deposited face outward in a goblet on the conjuror’s table. Bridge table markers, little numerals on stands, identify

21

the goblets as numbers one, two, three, and four. One of the goblets is freely selected by a spectator. Three indifferent cards are placed backs outward on each ace. Each little packet of cards is wrapped in a paper jacket and replaced in the goblet from which it was taken. The aces vanish from three of the packets and are found in the chosen goblet—this in spite of the isolated position of the cards and the deliberate fairness of the presentation! REQUISITES AND PREPARATION Three double face cards having aces on one side and spot cards on the other are required. If your cards are John Snyder, Jr’s. “Fox Lake Specials,” standard size, your double face aces will be printed as follows:—

Ace of clubs backed with the seven of spades. Ace of diamonds backed with the seven of hearts. Ace of spades backed with the four of hearts. Distribute these three in the lower half of the pack as follows—the ace of clubs, sixth from bottom, the ace of diamonds tenth from the bottom, the ace of spades fourteenth and the real ace of hearts twentieth from the bottom. The remaining three genuine aces are tenth, eleventh and twelfth from the top of the pack. Bury the genuine seven of spades, seven of hearts, and four of hearts in the middle of the pack to preclude the possibility of two of the same card showing up later on. Four goblets or glass tumblers, and four bridge table markers, which are little numerals mounted on stands, procurable at the five and ten. Four little slips of paper folded to form jackets in which to wrap the packets of cards. These jackets are just a little larger than the cards used, and are shown in Figure 5. PRESENTATION Introduce the ingredients of your experiment—the cards, then the goblets, lining up the markers in 1, 2, 3, 4, order from left to right. See Figure 6. Thumb through the pack and remove the aces as you come to them, tossing them face up on your table, but being careful not to expose their double faces. Scoop them up with the real ace of hearts and square them up. Have a goblet chosen by asking a spectator to call out one of the numbers.

22

Shift this goblet well forward. Hold up the four aces (ace of hearts is at the back of the packet) and give the spectator a generous flash of “back” as you say, “We shall place one ace in each goblet.” Suiting the action to the word turn the packet faces to the audience and drop an ace in each goblet, seeing to it that the ace of hearts goes into the chosen goblet. Let us assume that “three” was chosen. Now there are nine cards on top of the three real aces, so three cards must be shuffled off and thrown to the bottom of the pack before the deal begins. When “four” is chosen, no shuffle is necessary, but when “one,” “two,” or “three” is the chosen goblet, nine, six, or three cards must be run off and thrown to the bottom of the pack. After the shuffle, count off three cards, backs to audience, and drop them backs outward on the ace in goblet one; repeat this for the other three, and the dirty work is over, for the three aces are now on the ace of hearts, and what follows, is merely the “business” necessary to show that the aces have vanished from the other three packets. Take out the packet in goblet “one,” wrap it in a paper jacket, and in replacing it in the goblet reverse it so that the double face—the ace it is backed with—is now facing the audience. Repeat this with the second packet. In replacing the chosen, or ace packet, do not alter its position.. The fourth packet is reversed in replacing it. In any case, all packets are replaced reversed except the ace packet. Pick up the first packet and extract the double face ace, tossing it onto the table with the. ace side down; a second and a third card follow, then the packet is turned over and the last card dumped out into your hand. This card’s back is toward the audience; snap it as you say “And the ace—vanishes!” Toss the jacket carelessly aside. Repeat this with the remaining packets, leaving the ace packet to be dealt with last of all. The climax is ready and waiting, so make the most of it in showing that the aces have arrived in the chosen packet, drawing out the suspense until the last card is turned over and seen to be an ace! This four ace trick makes an excellent giant card trick. Of course, the goblets cannot be used; instead, a little stand or rack to hold cards must be used. Figure 7 shows how the stand is made. The cards rest in the deep groove, and as they project more than two thirds their height, no suspicion will be attached to this little piece of apparatus. 23

NOTE: It is the opinion of the writer that a sizable volume, comprised of Four Ace tricks alone, could be compiled, so many are the variations of this conjuring classic. Should any ambitious encyclopedist undertake such a work, he may consider one copy subscribed for now!

THE COLOR CHANGING PACK—An Idea. “The Color Changing Pack,” first described by Annemann in his manuscript entitled Annemann’s Exclusives With Unprepared Deck, has turned up in print a number of times recently, both with variations and with elaborations. This version is a variation, and was suggested by H. Adrian Smith, magical columnist, whose two excellent contributions appear elsewhere in these pages. In most versions of the “Color Changing Pack” one is confronted with the problem of getting rid of an odd backed card before the chameleon like pack can be handed for examination. Says Mr. Smith, “That being the case, why not fake this odd-backed card by making it a flap card—it’s no more difficult to get rid of, and its use adds something to the trick.” Procure from your dealer a flap card, whose back will show as red or blue, depending on the way the flap is turned. The flap should be hinged on thin sheet rubber so its tendency is to lie flat, and the card should be one of the white bordered variety. Would suggest using a joker. The flap must be made to look in position, so that when released, it will flop over and lie flat owing to the rubber hinge. Assume that a blue back is exposed when the flap is locked. Place this blue card on a red backed pack, and put the pack in a blue card case. To begin, dump the pack out of the blue case, faces to the spectators—and hold it face up in the left hand in position for the Hindu Shuffle. With the right hand first finger and thumb, undercut about forty cards, show the back of the packet, and start running cards onto the left hand packet, occasionally turning the right hand to show the blue card on the back of its packet. Keep giving flashes of this blue backed card until you’ve run it to the face of the pack, then set it back toward the audience, in a clip or in a tumbler, explaining that it will serve as a reminder of the color of the backs of the cards. Explain that the cards have been blue long enough—take off the face card, rub it on your coat sleeve, and show that its back has turned red. Scratch the edge of the pack with this red card, and show that the entire pack now consists of red backed cards. The marker? Oh, yes—just turn its face to the audience, snap it, at same time releasing the flap, and show that it too, is now as red as the others. Toss it on the table and the pack can be used in the next trick as a regular pack. While on the subject of the “Color Changing Pack,” let us go back a few years—to 1923, to be exact, and look at an idea for a red and blue pack transposition that Dai Vernon 24

and S. Leo Horowitz were playing with at that time. The red backed pack, with one blue backed card at its back, is placed in the blue case. The blue pack, with a red card at its back, goes in the red case. To perform, the red (?) pack is taken from the red case and Hindu shuffled, face up, giving generous flashes of the odd back to prove its color. When the odd back is stripped to the face of the pack, put the pack back in the case, and draw out the odd backed card to serve as a marker. Repeat this procedure with the blue (?) pack. The markers are then transposed, and in “follow the leader” fashion, the packs also trade places!

A UNIQUE MENTAL PROBLEM H. ADRIAN SMITH

This effect, “A Unique Mental Problem” and the effect which follows, “The H. A. S. Miracle Location,” are both from the pen of H. Adrian Smith of Riverside, R. I. Mr. Smith, magical bibliophile and connoisseur of good Magic, enjoys renown not only as a writer on the “Magic Books of Another Day,” but as the author of several brochures on Card Magic. The two problems Mr. Smith presents here are both favorites of ours, so we shall have him tell you all about them in his own words.—John Braun. An old favorite in the category of mental card mysteries is the one in which a card is selected from the pack, and the name of the selected card is then ascertained by running through the deck, adding up the spots on the remaining fifty-one cards and subtracting from 364 (the total of all the spots on fifty-two cards). The method is too well known to most of you to require any very elaborate description. It is sufficient to say that the trick is a very old one, and I well remember having read a version of it in Hooper’s Rational Recreations published in 1774. It was, in all likelihood, an old stunt even at that time. Jordan called a version of the trick “The Magi’s Detection,” and just a few years ago there appeared “Quadruple Concentration,” a variation requiring, to quote the directions, “brain power and silence.” (I can only add that it really did. J. B.) However, I present here, (I believe for the first time) a new and relatively simple version which has three distinct advantages over its older relative, namely (1) it is much faster; (2) any number of cards may be removed from the pack, and (3) it is necessary to run through the deck but once. In the older method it was necessary to go through the deck twice; the first time the denomination was ascertained, and the second time the suit was determined. EFFECT A pack of cards is shuffled by a spectator, who then removes four or five cards at random, and places them in his pocket or otherwise conceals them. The performer then runs 25

through the pack or has the cards called off to him. He then announces the names of the cards that are missing from the pack. PREPARATION This mental feat necessitates preparation, not of the cards, but of the mind. The implements used are purely mental. If you are familiar with any of the mnemonic systems for memorizing cards, as, for example, the Nikola, Roth, Ireland, Pelman, Hatton and Plate, or New Era Card Tricks systems of association, you are already prepared to perform the effect. I use my own table as explained in my “Card System DeLuxe” and published by the Abbott Magic Company. I append my own table for those who do not want the trouble of looking for one. TABLE OF FIXED IDEAS FOR PLAYING CARD MNEMONICS:

Card Ace of Spades Two of Spades Three of Spades Four of Spades Five of Spades Six of Spades Seven of Spades Eight of Spades Nine of Spades Ten of Spades Jack of Spades Queen of Spades King of Spades Ace of Hearts Two of Hearts Three of Hearts Four of Hearts Five of Hearts Six of Hearts Seven of Hearts Eight of Hearts Nine of Hearts Ten of Hearts Jack of Hearts Queen of Hearts King of Hearts

Card Ace of Clubs Two of Clubs Three of Clubs Four of Clubs Five of Clubs Six of Clubs Seven of Clubs Eight of Clubs Nine of Clubs Ten of Clubs Jack of Clubs Queen of Clubs King of Clubs Ace of Diamonds Two of Diamonds Three of Diamonds Four of Diamonds Five of Diamonds Six of Diamonds Seven of Diamonds Eight of Diamonds Nine of Diamonds Ten of Diamonds Jack of Diamonds Queen of Diamonds King of Diamonds

Object Spade Sun Sum Sore Sail Sash Sock Safe Sap Suds Sack Steam Sing Heart Home Hem Hare Hail Hash Hog Hoof Hub Hose Hack Queen Hinge

26

Object Club Can Camp Core Cell Cash Cock Cave Cap Case Crack Cream King Diamond Den Dam Door Doll Dash Dock Dive Deb Dose Drag Dream Drink

It is necessary to have a name for each card in the deck—i.e., each card must be associated with some object. As to the construction of the table, and its analysis, I refer the reader to my brochure. However, it is sufficient if the table be memorized “cold”. This list must be so thoroughly memorized that the instant any card is named, the object associated with it can instantly be recalled. METHOD After the cards have been removed from the shuffled deck, the performer runs through the remainder of the pack or has the card called off to him. This latter is much more effective, I believe as it holds the attention of the audience and makes for a better appreciation of the feat. As he encounters each card, the performer recalls the object associated with it, and imagines that the object has been broken, or in some way mutilated. For example, if the Ace of Spades is called, you see the associated object, a spade, and you imagine that it has a broken handle. You form such a picture in your imagination. Then the next card might be the Eight of Spades, and you would see the object connected with it, a safe. You picture this safe, perhaps, with the door blown off, and so on. The more grotesque the picture, the easier it will be to get the impression later. You are not memorizing the deck as you are paying no attention to the position or order of the cards. You are merely getting an impression of each of the cards remaining in the deck after five or so have been selected, and fixing the impression in mind by imagining something happening to each object associated with each card called. It is very much more rapid than memorizing a deck, and the writer does the whole operation in less than one minute. When all the cards have been called off, or you have run through the deck, as the case might be, you have the impression of all the cards left in the deck, and it is now necessary only to run through your table of fixed ideas mentally, taking each suit in order, to find out what cards are missing. Every time you come to some object that you have not associated with some accident, the object represents a selected card. For example, as you run over the heart suit in your mind, you might see a heart that is broken, a hose that has a knife broken on it, a hem that is ripped, a rabbit that has lost an ear, and when you come to hail, you find that you made no mental picture of anything happening to it, and therefore, hail represents a selected card, the Five of Hearts. The method is thoroughly practicable, and the effect on any intelligent audience will prove that it is well worth the effort, even though it does require, as the French so charmingly put it, a “bit of doing.”

27

THE H. A. S. MIRACLE CARD LOCATION H. ADRIAN SMITH

Here is a new and (we hope) different card “discovery” of the so-called “miracle” variety. EFFECT After shuffling the pack, the performer places it on the table, and tells a spectator to cut, complete the cut, look at the top card, and then bury it in the center. The cards are then shuffled and handed to the performer, who runs through the pack and removes a card That card is subsequently found to be the very one the spectator selected. PREPARATION The top half of the pack is set up as follows, from the top down: the Ace to the King of Spades in order, followed by the Ace to the King of Hearts in order. PRESENTATION Undercut the lower half of the pack, and shuffle it off on top, in-jogging the first card shuffled. Shuffle the remainder of the bottom cards on top of the in-jogged card. The set up is now the bottom half of the pack. Pick up the pack with the right hand in readiness for another overhand shuffle, holding a break at the in-jog, and shuffle off until you come to the break, then throw the balance of the cards on top. This brings the set up back to the top, but to all appearances the pack has been thoroughly shuffled. You now illustrate what you want the spectator to do, telling him that he is to cut the deck about in the center. However, in illustrating this, you cut the pack about three-quarters of the way down. Then inform him that he is to complete the cut, and illustrate by doing so. The set up is now in the middle of the pack, with about a quarter of the deck above it and a quarter below it. Now explain that he is to look at the top card, memorize it, and bury it in the center of the deck. Turn your back while he goes through the necessary steps, coaching him as he goes. You then turn around, and as though to eliminate errors, pick up the pack, rehearse the procedure again, and in gesturing with the pack, get a glimpse of the bottom card and remember it. Your questions during this “rehearsal” run somewhat as follows: “You cut the pack about in the center, completed the cut, removed a card from the top and memorized it, buried it in the center, and then shuffled the pack?” The spectator will then tell you that he didn’t shuffle the cards, so you become very apologetic and tell him that you

28

are sorry, but that you meant to have him shuffle the cards. Hand him the pack and let him shuffle as much as he likes. As outlined above, during this harangue you have guilelessly and naively ascertained the bottom card, and as you have done nothing with the pack but gesture innocently with it, there is nothing to excite suspicion. Let us assume that the bottom card you glimpsed was the Four of Hearts; then the selected card is the Five of Hearts. Or, if you glimpsed the King of Spades, the selected card would be the Ace of Hearts, as this follows next in the set up, and so on. Having ascertained the name of the card, it can be revealed in any manner that appeals to the fancy. Of course, if you wish, simply take the pack after shuffling, remove a card, place it face down on the table, have the selected card named, and turn it over. This effect has long been a favorite with the writer, and is thoroughly practicable.

THE S. L. REVERSED CARD SID LORRAINE

Sid Lorraine, that magician, artist, and master of ceremonies fellow of Toronto, has given Magic many problems of a delightfully “different” nature. The reversed card trick we present here was originated by Sid some years ago, and one or two variations of the principle employed have appeared in print since then. With Sid’s permission we include in this work the original version of one of the most bewildering reversed card tricks it has ever been our good fortune to use, for it has long been a favorite of ours. EFFECT The performer, having had a card selected, noted, and returned, gives the pack a thorough shuffling, and then turns the cards “every which way” by reversing successive batches of ten or twelve cards, until the whole pack seems to be in a hopelessly muddled condition. Spreading the pack with a sweep on the table, all the cards are seen to be facing one way except the selected card—that one alone is reversed! PREPARATION None—except the ability to control the selected card. As methods of controlling selected cards are infinite, each performer having a method he holds to in preference to all others, we shall be content with merely suggesting the method we use—the Hindu shuffle, as explained by Jean Hugard in his Card Manipulations, Nos. 1 and 2.

29

PRESENTATION Have a card selected, noted, and returned to the pack. Bring it to the bottom and shuffle the cards thoroughly, retaining the selected card. Spring the cards into the left hand, keeping the bottom card from being seen, or crimp the pack slightly by bending the cards just as you would if you were about to spring them. With the pack face down in the left hand in position for dealing, push off, with the left thumb, a batch of ten or twelve cards. The right hand approaches, back up, and receives the batch between the first and second finger and thumb as shown in Figure 8. The right hand, having received the cards, turns

palm up, and the left thumb shoves over another batch of about ten cards. The right hand slaps its cards, now face up, on top of the fresh batch, receiving the cards as shown in Figure 9. Again the right hand turns back up, and receives another batch of cards by placing its growing packet on this fresh =batch and annexing it. Continue this procedure until only the selected card remains face down in the left hand. The last batch was received face down as in Figure 9, and the right hand is palm up as shown; place the selected card face down on the face up card now showing. This apparently hopeless mixing of

the cards is very bewildering to the spectator. The sloppier you do it the more effective it is. To the spectator the cards are now in an “every which way” order, but actually the two halves of the pack are back to back, and the selected card is face down on the face up top half. Square the cards with the right hand and turn over the top half of the pack. This move rights the entire pack and reverses the selected card somewhere near the center. Owing to the springing or crimp, the break between the two halves of the pack can be located easily—just press down with the left thumb at the upper edge of the pack and the halves will open “V” shaped at the other end. The right hand screens the turnover given the top half, but if it should be noticed no importance will be attached to the move, for the cards seem to be so hopelessly mixed at this point that one turn more can do no harm. Place the pack on the table, and gravely trace a circle around it with the index finger. Spread the cards with a sweep and all the cards will be facing one way except the selected card. 30

USEFUL CARD SLEIGHTS THE S. J. COLOR CHANGE The pack, held at the tips of the left fingers, is rested face outward on the left knee. The right hand covers the pack and is slowly turned palm, outward while attention is called to the face card of the pack. The right hand again covers the pack, moves away empty, and the face card has changed. METHOD The cards are held at the tips of the left hand fingers and thumb as in Figure 10. The tip of the left index finger is inserted between the card at the rear of the pack and the rest of the cards and the pack is rested on the left knee as shown in Figure 11. The right hand, very obviously empty, covers the pack with studied care, then is hinged away, opening like the page of a book, so that the little finger rests along the side of the cards. Now slowly turn or hinge the right hand back to cover the pack again; as it turns, the second and third fingers of the left hand straighten out and push the separated rear card into the right palm. At the same time the left hand, holding the pack between the thumb and forefinger, draws away from the right hand, so that at no time is the pack out of sight. The right hand brings the palmed card over the pack, leaves it, and slowly moves away. The knee acts as a fulcrum. An easy knack of doing this color change will be acquired after a few trials.

THE GLIDE The sleight known as “glisser la carte” or the glide explained on page 36 of Modern Magic in these simple words “To Draw Back a Card,” is as useful to card conjurors as the fingers of the hand itself. It is, I dare say, so familiar to even the mere dabbler in card magic that a description of it here would seem out of place- Anyhow all we want to do is to acquaint the reader with a method of showing the pack “all fair” after the glide has been used. The purpose of the glide is to enable one to apparently draw off the bottom card of the pack and place it face down on the table. We say “apparently” for the card next above the bottom card is the one drawn off, leaving the bottom card still at the face of the pack. Now unless this card can be got rid of in some manner, the face of the pack cannot be shown.

31

The sleight we are about to describe enables the performer to execute the glide and immediately drop the pack face up on the table. After having executed the glide and placed what seems to be, let us say, the three of hearts face down on the table, the pack is held in the left hand as shown in Figure 12, but in a horizontal position so that the three of hearts is parallel to the floor. The right hand approaches, seizes the pack at the end “A” (see Figure 12), fingers on the face, thumb on the back, and draws it away. The left fingers hold back the three of hearts when the pack is just clear of the left hand, the right hand turns the pack face up by turning it end for end, and simultaneously the left hand with its card turns palm up; the pack is then placed on the three of hearts, which thus becomes the card at the back of the pack. The hands are now in the position shown in Figure 13. The two turning movements, executed simultaneously, serve to mask completely the fact that there is a card in the left hand. The instant the pack covers this card the right hand takes the pack between the thumb at the lower end (end toward the body) and the fingers at the upper end, and drops it face up on the table. The reader will undoubtedly find numerous occasions for using this valuable sleight, and once having used it will wonder how he managed without it.

THE “FLOP-OVER” CARD SLEIGHT The sleight we call by this prosaic but very descriptive title is not original with us, nor do we know where it came from. We include it here because it is a useful little item, and because we have an interesting variation of the original sleight to describe which increases the usefulness of the move to the card worker. EFFECT The pack is opened bookwise and a half held in each hand. The left thumb pushes a card a little way over the side of the pack, and the right fingers overturn it so that it lies face up, and you call attention to it. Flop it face down, then face up once more. Flop it down again and drop the right hand’s half pack upon it. Snap the pack with the forefinger and the noted card is now the top card of the pack. METHOD The pack is held face down in the left hand as for dealing. The right hand approaches and cuts off about half the cards, holding them near the left hand upper and lower corners between the thumb at one end and the first and second fingers at the other. 32

(See Figure 14). Turn the right hand palm up so that the card at the face of its half pack is visible. The left thumb pushes the top card of the left hand’s packet about an inch to the right; the right hand approaches and with the extended third and fourth fingers, flops this card face up on top of the left hand’s cards. In doing this, the right hand turns back up, then turns again to its “palm up” position. Again the left thumb pushes the card over to be flopped over once more by the right hand. This is repeated—the card is again face up. This time, instead of flopping the card face down and dropping the right hand’s cards upon it, the very thing you appear to do, drop the right hand’s cards face down while the card still rests on the third and fourth finger tips of the right hand, and in turning the right hand back up, carry the card over, flopping it face down on top of the pack. The right hand affords all the cover you need. This move is hard to describe. The face up card is carried partway over, the right hand drops its cards face down and the right fingers carry the card on over, adding it to the top of the pack, all being screened by the right hand. Watch your angles. Spectators should always be to your right, and your hands below the spectator’s eye level. Properly performed, this sleight is indetectable even to those in the know, and the card seems really to jump from the middle of the pack to the top when you snap your finger. An interesting variation of this sleight, for which we are indebted to Mr. H. Adrian Smith, enables one to bring the noted card second from the top. In this case the top card of the right hand’s packet is slipped to the right about a quarter of an inch—push it over with the left thumb just as the right hand seizes the pack to cut off its portion, and retain it in this extended position while “flopping” the “noted” card. As the card is about to be flopped face down for the last time catch the extended top card of the right hand’s packet under the edge of the face up card, and drop this packet onto the cards held in the left hand. The right hand’s packet, in turning over and falling onto the cards held in the left hand, carries the “noted”card over and now it lies face down and second from the top. The “flop over” sleight is useful in those routines in which a card buried in the pack repeatedly jumps to the top.

33

FALSE SHUFFLES AND FALSE CUTS In the card section of this book we have had numerous occasions to prescribe the use of a false shuffle and a false cut. In the descriptions of the various tricks, the “modus operandi” of these very necessary sleights was omitted. It has been suggested by many critics of magic books that the sleights required for the accomplishment of the “miracles” placed before the reader be described too, instead of merely mentioning them by name and expecting the reader to do a great deal of research of his own in ferreting out the best methods. We include here, for the sake of completeness, the methods we employ for false shuffling and false cutting.

THE FALSE OVERHAND SHUFFLE One of the best false shuffles for general use, especially where the top stock or top half of the pack is to be preserved intact, is the Erdnase Jog Shuffle. The pack is held diagonally in the left palm, so that the first finger from the second joint lies up against the outer end, the first joint of the little finger curled in against the inner end, the second and third fingers slightly curled in against the bottom, and the thumb resting on the top, about the middle of the outer end. This position is easy and natural; the pack rests on its side across the palm, and the fingers of the left hand are in much the same position they would naturally take when the hand is about half closed. To shuffle, the right hand approaches and seizes the under portion (the portion resting against the fingers) at the ends between the thumb and second and third fingers, the first finger resting on the upper side of the packet. This is known as “undercutting.” Draw off this packet in the right hand, shift the right hand a little inward over the left hand’s packet, and begin to shuffle by drawing off the first card with the left thumb. This card, owing to the “offset” position of the two packets, will protrude slightly over the little finger. This is known as “injog.” Then shuffle off the balance of the cards in the right hand on top of those in the left, and seize with the right hand all the cards beneath the in-jogged card and throw them or drop them in one packet on top. When seizing the packet beneath the in-jog, locate the packet by the sense of touch alone, without the slightest hesitation or fumbling. A more elaborate version of the foregoing is the following way of accomplishing the “jog” shuffle—Undercut about three-fourths of the pack, in-jog the first card and shuffle off. Again undercut about three-fourths of the pack forming a “break” at the in-jog by pressing slightly upward on the in-jogged card when seizing the “under-cut,” holding the

34

space created by squeezing the ends; shuffle off to the “break” and throw the balance on top. The right hand must hold the cards firmly and the right thumb gives warning by the sense of touch when the “break” has been reached. This shuffle apparently mixes the whole pack, but really leaves the top portion in the original order.

FALSE OVERHAND SHUFFLE FOR RETAINING ORDER OF ENTIRE PACK This overhand shuffle preserves the order of the entire pack, and is attributed to the late G. W. Hunter. The cards are held just as described for the “Erdnase Jog Shuffle.” Undercut about half the pack and run six cards on the left hand’s portion. Throw the balance on top, injogging it. Undercut at the injog, run six cards onto the left hand’s portion, throw the balance on top; the shuffle is now complete and the order of the pack undisturbed.

RIFFLE OR DOVETAIL SHUFFLE FOR RETAINING ORDER OF ENTIRE PACK This shuffle, first described by Erdnase thirty-five years ago, is one of the most deceptive sleights in the whole realm of card conjuring, and the student of card manipulation will do well to acquire it. The cards can be shuffled on a table, on the floor, or on the knee if the trick is performed from the stage, and everything looks so fail that the most observant spectator will accept the fact that the cards are genuinely mixed. The pack is seized with the thumb at one end and the fingers at the other, in this manner—the thumbs, touching, are at the end nearest the performer and the second and third fingers of each hand are at the opposite end; the index fingers of either hand are curled on top of the cards, and the little fingers are at the sides, slightly under the cards. Separate the cards into two packets, the right hand carrying away the top half, and riffle the inner corners of the two halves together. When the cards are interlaced, the two packets form a “V,” the apex of the “V” being toward you. With the interlaced corners acting as a pivot, swing the hands toward each other, at the same time twisting the outer end of the right hand’s half upward, and the outer end of the left hand packet downward so that the right hand packet can be twisted free and slid onto the left hand packet. The hands cover this “disengaging” move and seem to be merely squaring the cards after the shuffle. Do not interlace the cards too much—if the corners engage to the depth of a half inch the two packets will twist free very easily.

35

FALSE CUTS Since a false cut follows in natural sequence to a convincing false shuffle, we shall describe one or two of our “favorite methods” of executing this very useful artifice.

TRIPLE CUT TO RETAIN ENTIRE PACK This “blind cut” is a variation of the one described by Erdnase at the bottom of page 44 of The Expert at the Card Table. Erdnase performs his sleight at the table; we shall describe a method in which the pack is held in the hands throughout. Hold the pack in the left hand, backs up; the first joint of the thumb is at one side, the first joints of the second, third and fourth fingers at the opposite side, and the first joint of the index finger at the end of the pack. The cards are virtually held at the finger tips. The right hand approaches and seizes the bottom third of the pack at the sides, and near the open end between the tip of the thumb and second finger, drawing it away. Place this third on top of the cards in the left hand, but retain your hold on it. Now hook up about half the cards remaining in the left hand, between the right thumb and the tip of the third finger. The right hand now holds two packets of cards, the upper packet being supported by the thumb and second finger, and the lower one by the thumb and third finger. The left hand still holds the remaining packet of cards in the original position, viz: at the finger tips. Now bring the cards in the right hand under the packet in the left hand; the finger and thumb of the left hand grip the upper packet of the right hand (the one between the thumb and second finger) and retain it as the right hand is drawn away. The cards in the left hand are now allowed to drop into the palm, and the packet remaining in the right hand between the thumb and third finger is dropped on the pack with a slap. The cut is now complete. The process, when executed smartly, looks very complicated, but does nothing to disturb the order of the cards.

THE “SLIP CUT” AS A BLIND CUT The “slip cut” described in connection with “The Conjuror Cuts the Cards” makes an excellent false cut. In false shuffling to preserve the top stock, as described under the Erdnase Jog Shuffle, run an extra card on top of the top set-up. Execute the slip cut. The top stock loses the extra card, and the packet in the right hand is dropped with a slap on the cards in the left hand, the whole being very deceiving and easy to do.

36

THIRD METHOD One of the boldest of all false cuts is this one:—The cards are held in the left hand in the position described above, viz. at the finger tips. The right hand approaches, seizes the pack at the sides but near the “open” end, between the thumb and the tips of the second and third fingers. The hands immediately separate, the right hand carrying away what seems to be the upper half of the pack, which is dropped on the table face down; then the right hand returns, takes the remaining cards, and drops them on top of the half pack on the table. The right hand really carries away the bottom half of the pack, drops it on the table, returns, gets the top half, and drops it on the bottom half. As the hands separate, the right hand comes away with an upward, lifting swing, as if really lifting off the top half. This blind cut, while a very deceptive one, should not be repeated too often. Use it to vary your other “blinds” as a sort of “change of pace” ruse. We shall conclude with a word of advice to the student. When introducing a trick in which the cards must be false shuffled, do not call attention to the fact that you are going to shuffle the pack. While introducing the trick, picking the spectator who is to assist, or pattering about your experiment, shuffle the cards, cut them, and go ahead with the trick. Warning the spectators that you are shuffling indirectly invites them to watch the procedure. They should be vaguely conscious of the fact that you shuffled the cards, but their general attention must be drawn to other more interesting and entertaining facts. As a concluding observation on “blind” or false shuffles and cuts, we can do nothing better than to recommend to our readers a thorough perusing of that veritable mine of information, The Expert at the Card Table by S. W. Erdnase. Contained between the covers of that excellent little book the student will find material from which to devise and construct the card problems of tomorrow, and to him we offer every encouragement.

37