A New Angle (Ryan Plunkett, Michael Feldman) [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

BY

RYAN

PLUNKETT &

MICHAEL FELDMAN

“A New Angle

is full of thoughtfully

constructed routines that

will not only entertain and fool, but will naturally inspire you with creative possibilities.” — DANIEL GARCIA

strips the dust off of a forgotten gem— something that delighted and deceived you when you first saw it utilized. Ryan and Michael have taken this angled

“A New Angle

is

artifice and have added their creativity to it. This book worth studying—ryou will be inspired to grab your old deck and make something new!”

—Jim

KRENZ

“Plunkett and Feldman have helped wipe the dust off a widely unused tool. The results: a strong collection of fooling card

—Jarep

magic.”

“This is the real work on an overlooked principle.

Koprr

I

was

delighted with the routines, and the thought that Michael and Ryan have put into this collection.” —JosHua Jay

“They smoked me even when

strippers. Imagine when

I

knew they were using didn’t 1” — TYLER WILSON I

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR

A

NEW ANGLE

“Great ideas that turn

a classic

into

a

miracle.” —MARrcus EpDIE

long overdue. It won’t collect dust on your bookshelf—just like your stripper deck will no longer be

“A New Angle is

hidden away in your drawer. Diabolical stuff.” —STEVE REYNOLDS

“Feldman and Plunkett have cut every corner to bring you the most cutting-edge angles on the stripper deck. A round every just more awesome with a tapered side of awesome! I thought this book was about strippers? What am I going to do with all the old crinkled one dollar bills I've been saving?” corner

is

—RiIckYy

“Ryan and Michael have

SMITH

superb collection of work dedicated to rediscovering and developing a very old tool. It’s inspiring to see what they did with what the magic

put together

a

world has deemed pedestrian and obsolete. This project invites you to work through the material proposed and search for your own angle in other overlooked places.” —Pi1ro VILLANUEVA

FOREWORD

BY

LANCE PIERCE

2017

|

MAGIC, INC.

|

cuicago

NEW ANGLE BY

RYAN

PLUNKETT &

MICHAEL FELDMAN

Copyright © Magic, Inc. 2017 ISBN 978-097-29263-31

By

Ryan Plunkett & Michael Feldman

Foreword by Lance Pierce The Authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work. Published by Magic, Inc. Chicago, Illinois

www.magicinc.net Alexander “Sandy” Marshall, Publisher Edited by: Susan Palmer Marshall

&

Pedro

Nieves-Bosque

Trick Editor: Danny Rudnick

Photography by: James Murphy Readers: Lee Benzaquin, Nathan Colwell, James Sanden, Theron Schaub, Pix Smith, Tyler Wilson Book design by Heather Wood www. Heather WoodBooks.com

Printed in the United States by Sheridan Books, Inc.

1357910

8

6

42

First Edition

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER: 2017901442

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Plunkett, Ryan, author. A New Angle

/

/ by

Feldman, Michael Aaron, author.

/ Pierce,

Lance, foreword author.

Ryan Plunkett & Michael Feldman; foreword by Lance Pierce Chicago, IL: Magic, Inc., 2017.

p-

cm.

Includes

bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-097-29263-31 Summary:

A

|

LCCN 2017901442

collection of new fooling card magic routines using a forgotten gem,

LCSH

Card

the Tapered (AKA Stripper) Deck. Magic tricks. BISAC GAMES

tricks.

|

LCC GV1549 .P58 2017

|

|

/

DDC 793.8/5—dc23

Magic.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank the following with their assistance on the preparation of this manuscript: Chris Alonzo, Lee Benzaquin, Edward Boswell, Tony Chang, Nathan Colwell, Frank Fogg, Harapan Ong, Lance Pierce, Theron Schaub, Pix Smith, James Sanden, Tyler Wilson, the Chicago Magic Lounge and the Magic Garage.

CONTENTS FOREWORD 1

18

INTRODUCTION THE BASICS 1

Sides and Ends

13

The Cut

HOW TO CUT CARDS

TRICKS 24

Collect Yourself

38

Shavings: Dual Thought

|

Ryan Plunkett

Shuffleupagus

49

Shuffleupagus Redux

53

Ryan Plunkett

Ryan Plunkett

40

|

|

|

Ryan Plunkett

Shavings: Pseudo Riffle Stacking

|

Nathan

Colwell 55

Shavings: Out of This Spread

58

Shavings:

60

Stay Stack: An Introduction

64

Twin Peeks

|

Satisfying Sequence

A

|

Ryan Plunkett

Frank Fogg |

Ryan Plunkett

16

The Nearly Final Countdown

19

Ode to Rusduck

84

Shavings: The Complete Faro Control

|

|

Ryan Plunkett

Ryan Plunkett Michael

|

~~ Feldman

87

Color Shift

93

Shavings: Rotator Shifts

100

Hofzinser’s Suit Selection

110

Shavings: Cutting High

12

Triumph: An Introduction

13

Trick Play

122

The Hallucinogenic Shuffle

131

Flash Triumph

138

Shavings:

140

The Law of Conservation of Bullsh=t

|

|

A

Edward Boswell

Nathan Colwell

|

Nathan Colwell

|

|

Michael Feldman

Brian O’Neill

|

Ryan Plunkett

|

Ryan Plunkett

Tactile Location

|

Lance Pierce |

Michael Feldman

151

Shavings: The Incomplete Strip-Out

Ong

157

EPILOGUE

159

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

160

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

161

INDEX

|

Harapan

A NEW

ANGLE

\ 1

| 1

\

FOREWORD ~— number of them have new trick. I've observed not only

Magic offers many pleasures and a good

nothing to do with learning a from my own experience but also from others’ that magic offers many vivid and vibrant opportunities to meet really wonderful people and, over time, build an assembly of friends that is actually a

treasure—one that would rival any collection of gold and jewels

in any emperor’s palace. If, like me, you've been lucky enough to have been around for a little while without getting hit by a bus (I assume that if you're reading this book you're quite alive, but I'm still fervently looking for some wood to knock on at the moment), then perhaps you're blessed to have met not only some of the elders of magic but also many of the younger members as well—those who always bring an edge of excitement and a fantastic energy to anything that interests them.

book you now hold. It’s a product of two of my youngest friends with whom I’ve been singularly impressed Take, for instance, the

for some time: Michael Feldman and Ryan Plunkett. Each is likely a genius in his own way: Michael being a talented lawyer and Ryan mastering the craft and art of theatre design. Each has delightfully engaged me, challenged me, and fooled me. There. I said it and I am not ashamed. you can imagine my intrigue when both Ryan and Michael approached me and said they wanted to share something they'd been working on together. So

What could it be? Either of them is capable of coming up with

4

NEw ANGLE

A

things that would make me feel guilty that I don’t practice more or apply myself harder. Did they have something completely new for me something before unseen? No and yes. You see, the first thing they said is that it’s work with a stripper deck. I'm happy to call it the “tapered deck,” but regardless of the name, yes, we're referring to the tired, over-worn .

.

.

prop that sits discarded in magicians’ drawers all over the world. I stopped for a moment. When was the last time I'd handled one? Too many years

to easily count.

I

know [own

.

.

.

a few.

turned to excitement because I knew if Michael and Ryan had been collaborating on ideas with a tapered deck, then they had to have come up with a pretty good routine for it—a truly different way to use this old tool. It wasn’t a routine they offered me to see. It was an entire collection of thoughts, principles, and routines. This is one of the best My reflections quickly

things about magic (aside from wonderful friendships): once in a great while, someone (or someones) will take something nearly everyone knows and make you wonder why you didn’t give it more credence. Many of the ideas you'll find here are pretty danged good. You can give them little practice and put them in your repertoire with very little effort. So, yeah, this is a book that fecls complete. But there’s something beyond that. Ryan and Michael haven’t just offered up some very nice ideas, effective routines, and fine thinking. They have moved the horizon on the tapered deck. After you work through what's here, you'll no longer see the prop in the same way

you're inclined to the same sort of radical behavior, you too will try to find other subtleties, avenues, and approaches that again. If

go beyond theirs.

If you breeze through this book only seeking things that will titillate you in your quest for something new, it will likely do that

FOREWARD for you. If, however, you're open to changing your perspective on something old, it will serve just as well there. My personal hope is that on some level this book will also teach a valuable lesson: in magic, things are never done. They're never finished. No tool or idea goes extinct as long as we have able members who are willing to see them in different ways. This also highthe crux of my admiration for these two men.

It

is

lights where much of my current fascination lies: in those who seem just about ready (and sometimes downright determined) to take the reins of magic for the next generation to come. I used to wonder how I could effectively do what I could to make sure magic was better for my having been here and worked on it.

I

It felt like a heavy responsibility and, to be sure, still have no idea how to answer that question. But there is some solace. I know that whatever I do, magic will be just fine because a few young and brilliant practitioners will make it better in any event,

—LANCE PIERCE

INTRODUCTION ~N— project was born out of obsessions. Ryan had spent so much time working behind the magic counter at Magic, Etc. in Fort Worth, Texas, pitching Svengali and stripper decks, that he began to discover hidden and bizarre possibilities with these magicshop staples. He became obsessed with the things a tapered deck This

could do. Ryan’s obsession is also contagious, and it has inspired many friends to join his exploration of this deck. That’s exactly what hap-

pened when we first met in Dallas. We'd been sitting across the table from each other for about an hour when Ryan said, “Here, I've got something for you.” He performed “Shuffleupagus” (which you can find on page 40), and Michael’s mind exploded. Michael loved the concept of shuffling a deck to give it more order. It also completely fooled him. Not only did this session strike up a friendship, but also the realization that maybe this prop deserved a revival. Since then, we have been on a mission to bring the tapered deck out of hiding and back to its rightful place among the most versatile and diabolical tools

repertoires. Some of our friends have been kind enough to contribute their work, too, and throughout you'll find

in the magicians’

effects and ideas from various creative thinkers. A New Angle represents our efforts to shine new light on a prop that’s been confined to the dark, forgotten corners of magicians’ magic drawers for decades. Stripper decks are old; they have been around for centuries. They are also incredibly common—there have been reported sightings of them in Target and Walmart stores, na-

A

8

New

ANGLE

tionwide. So it’s strange that it is so difficult to find anyone using them well. Most of us got a stripper deck when we first started out in magic. But then we learned all 101 tricks that came with the instructions, and in just a few days, weeks, or months, we graduated to bigger,

better, more interesting techniques, and we chucked the stripper deck away to be forgotten. The core problem is that we move on from stripper decks before any of us bother to explore the world of mind-bending hurt we could put on our audiences if we but only unlocked the potential of this deck combined with a little subtlety and little sleight of hand. Only rarely do card magicians think to combine gimmicks with sleight of hand. Therefore, stripper decks are often sold as a substitute for skill rather than a supplement. But thinking of gimmicks and sleight of hand as alternatives cuts your potential in half. It’s like having white and black paints without ever realizing that you can mix them to make infinite different shades of grey. The most effective magic does not come from choosing whether sleight of hand is better than gimmicks or vice versa. It comes from taking the best parts of all the tools available to you and combining them. A New Angle explores the breadth of magic available with a stripper deck, and incorporates sleight of hand, stacks, mathematical is a collection of ideas and principles, as well as other methods.

It

effects designed to show how much more you can do than merely “strip” out cards. In fact, reversing cards and stripping them out the deck’s most primitive use, and magicians have been doing it

is

for almost 250 years.? But in that time plenty of smart people have 1

2

of

the pack If memory serves, Trick #2: Yank a selected card from the center and shout, “Was that your card?” had a striking resemblance to Trick #98: Yank a selected card from the center of the pack and shout, “And that was your card, right?”). The earliest mention that we have been able to find is: Edme-Gilles Guyot,

INTRODUCTION done a great deal of lateral thinking to open up greater potential. The common thread may be the taper in the deck, but ‘stripping’ cards out is only one of many uses for this deck. So we’ll refer to the deck by a name that more accurately describes what makes this kind of deck unique: the taper.

tapered deck is not just for getting control over a single selected card. It’s not just for removing the black cards from the red, or the face-up from the face-down cards. It can hide any number A

It

of cards in the deck, up to and maybe even beyond half the deck. can give you control over a selected block, create a break for you, simulate other gimmicked cards, unshuffle the deck, offer you a glimpse of a card, and much more. In this book, we’ll explore this wide variety of options. Another convenient benefit is that you can do most of the tricks in your regular-deck repertoire using a tapered deck because the taper does not usually interfere with non-tapered deck tricks.’ Then, when it comes time to bust out some new miracles, you already have the tool in your hands. Unlike many gaffed decks that are one-trick wonders, the tapered deck is more like a memorized the ready to unleash, but which can stack—a tool that is always stay dormant while you perform your other material. You have the

at

ability to turn the “gimmick” on and off at a moment’s notice. Nouvelles Récréations Physiques et Mathématiques (Paris: Gueffier, 1769). He describes

two tricks only; the discovery of the chosen card by the reversal of the deck and a single stroke. Subsequent writers have, for stripping apart of the two colors these the most part, simply repeated two tricks. See also: Hugard and Braue, Miracle Methods No. 1: The Stripper Deck (Alameda: Jean Hugard, 1943), 5, and John

at

Northern Hilliard,

Greater Magic: A Practical Treatise on Modern Magic (Minneapolis:

Carl Waring Jones, 1938), 454. 3

If

Two notable exceptions are little-finger counts and breather crimps. you're using a tapered deck, be careful that your little finger doesn’t accidentally count more cards than you expected as a result of the taper. Similarly, if the cards are will be harder to cut to a breather due to the shorter edges thoroughly mixed,

it

on some of the cards.

10

A

NEw ANGLE

The routines in this book use the taper in ways you might not expect. The impression that you are doing all of these miracles with a

normal deck of cards

crucial. If a spectator suspects you're using a gimmicked deck, the game already over. “Trick deck” is enough of an explanation for many laypeople who will use it to simply is

is

dismiss all the miracles they’ve seen. As with a memorized deck, it’s critical that you are able weave back and forth between actively

it

to lie in wait. using the gimmick, and allowing Some of the tricks herein are dead simple. Others take practice. Still others require that you build your own gimmick. But we’ll walk you through everything you need to know. Hopefully, it will also give you ideas to jumpstart your own creativity. This book explores the untapped (and, in some cases the already-tapped-butfantastic-and-worthy-of-emphasis-here) potential of an age-old tool.

to

Our hope is that A New Angle will inspire more people use the tapered deck and stoke creativity for effects never before thought possible.

— RYAN

PLUNKETT

&

MICHAEL FELDMAN

THE BASICS ~N—

SIDES AND ENDS There are many common misconceptions about tapered decks. Let's get rid of some of the peskier ones right off the bat.

First Misconception: Tapered decks aren’t cut on both edges, only on one. The taper can be on the left-hand side or the right-hand side, and it can be tapered from top to bottom or bottom to top. For most effects, the

particular kind of cut is ultimately of little consequence, but different cuts may cause the cards to strip differently, which can be a

great advantage or a great frustration.



zd»

zx»

fig.

1,2,3,4

best to cut the card so that the deepest part of the hide the taper. cut comes from the non-index corner. This helps Generally, it’s

to

and Fig. 2). Because the cutout comes from a space on the card that is blank, it’s harder to see the taper than in the following two, where the biggest Take a look at the first two examples above (Fig.

1

A

12

chunk

NEw ANGLE

of the card comes from the space between the index and the

edge of the card.

Second Misconception: Tapered decks don’t have to be tapered on the long edges. They can be tapered on the short ends instead. Or they can be tapered on both edges." End-tapered cards work the same way as edge-tapered cards exthe cards are tapered both on one edge and on cept on the ends.

If

one end, a dizzying number of combinations arise, and each functions differently. All of the iterations for a “twice-cut” deck share a few things in common: If you flip some cards face up, the cards will strip by either the edges or the ends, but not both. On the other hand,

if you rotate the cards 180 degrees, you can strip them either

by the edges or by the ends. Both ways work. However, the result of stripping edges first and then ends can be different from stripping ends first and then edges. If all this is confusing, don’t worry. At the beginning of each trick, we'll say how the cards should be cut. In almost all of these effects, the deck cut along one of the long sides so that less of the card is

is

cut away near the index of the card and the deeper part of the cut is at the non-index corner. In fact, you can just assume that the deck you need for each effect will be cut as the card in Fig, 1. If you need a

4

different cut, we’ll let you know specifically.

If you're interested in falling down that rabbit hole, Norman Beck has done a great deal of work on these “twice-cut” decks. See: Jared Brandon Kopf, Two Paper Cuts (Norman Beck, 2008). Of course, there are also other kinds of tapered decks, such as negative strippers, belly strippers, and others.

6 Tue Basics

THE CUT

Third Misconception:

not the same. In fact, there are a few variables. The 1 taper can go the entire length of the card (Fig. and 2), or it can go All tapers are

and 4). For the purposes of this book, all the decks we'll use are tapered along the whole edge of the card—none of the cards will be partially tapered as in illustraless than the whole length (Fig.

3

tion 2 and 4. The taper can also be very deep (Fig. 5, 2-3 mm) or quite shal-

———\ | v

7)

r

3

v

a

A

|)

b)

fig.

56

low (Fig. 6, less than one mm). Each has its use. Shallow tapers are much harder for a spectator to spot. It’s safer to put a shallow taper into a spectator’s hands, especially if she’s going to shuffle.

The tradeoff is that it’s harder to pull out a shallowly tapered safer if you're going to pull out many cards. If card. A deep taper a trick involved stripping out 26 cards facing one way from 26 facing the other, deeper taper helps to ensure that you can strip the

is

a

14

A

NEw ANGLE

cards cleanly and reliably. Any taper also becomes harder to pull as the deck wears down. With practice, you can learn to pull shallow tapers with confidence. On the other hand, you’ll be surprised how many knowledgeable magicians won’t see even a deep taper. Laymen don’t stand a chance.

Terminology There are so many ways cards can be cut and oriented so it will be useful to have some clear terminology we all agree on. We will refer to the orientation of tapered cards by where the

narrow or wide end is. For instance, a “narrow card” or “narrow packet” is one with the narrow end closest to you. A “wide card” or “wide packet” is one with the wide end nearest you. Likewise, a “wide end-right packet” (or card) is one with the wide ends to the right. A “narrow-end-left packet” (or card) is one with the narrow end to the left. And so on.

Pulling There are numerous ways to pull out tapered cards. For instance, with edge-tapered cards, you can strip everything out with an action that mimics the Hindu shuffle. With cards tapered along their long edges and one or more reversed, you'll be able to pull out the rotated cards by gripping the edges of the deck at each end. When you grip the edges of the deck, your thumb and fingers can only contact the point where the cards are wider. Fig. 7. They don’t touch the narrower cards, so they are not pulled along. As you pull the cards apart, they’ll separate

with the narrow

packet moving forward and the wide packet remaining behind. If you're right handed, this means the narrow packet will be in your left hand and the wide packet will be in your right. If you rotate the deck end-for-end,

it will change which cards end in each hand. It is

THE

Basics

fig. 7

very important to keep track of the orientation of your cards when you're working with a tapered deck. If you forget which way you set the cards down, or if you rotate the deck left instead of right when you go to shuffle on the table, the ending of your trick will be more surprising for you than for your spectators. We will return many times throughout this book to this “Hindushuffle method”

of stripping

out the cards.

You can also strip the cards in the action of preparing for a tabled

riffle shuffle. Set the deck down on the table with some wide-endright cards and some wide-end-left cards. Grip the cards from above as you would normally to separate the cards for a tabled

to

riffle shuffle. If you pull the whole deck the right with your right the left with your left hand (rather hand, and the whole deck than actually cutting the cards as you normally would for a shuffle),

to

15

A

16

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the wide-end-right cards will strip into your right hand and the wide-end-left cards will strip into you left hand. The same types of techniques work with end-tapered cards, but there’s one method in particular worth mentioning here that is unique to end-tapered cards. Hold the deck in dealer’s grip in your left hand and bring the

right hand on top in end grip. Contact the short edge at the outer right corner of the cards with your right little finger. Then contact the short edge at the inner right corner of the cards with your left little finger. By applying pressure on the edges of the deck with both little fingers and pushing to the side, you can secretly side-jog single reversed card (or an entire block). Fig. 8. If you are right handed, your third finger will strip out any wide-end-right cards. If you are left handed, your little fingers will strip out the wideend-left cards. a

fig. 8

Basics

THE Faros

You can change which cards strip into which hand with a tapered the faro shuffle. If you rotate the top half deck and a difference to faro, it will work differently than if you rotate the bottom half.

in

if

you're holding the deck with the wide end toAnd, of course, ward yourself start, different cards will strip into each hand than if you started with the wide side away from yourself Even though in and out faros will not affect which cards get stripped from each the relative positions of cards before other, there are differences

to

.

in

the strip out. The tapered deck is a simple tool with the potential for very complicated results. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

17

HOW TO CUT CARDS ~N— One of the primary reasons that the natural habitat of a tapered deck tends to be a long-forgotten desk drawer that many magi-

is

grew up in an era of horribly produced and obviously gimmicked factory-made decks that even a layman could identify from a stray glance across the room. Many great magicians have ignored cians

the stripper deck because the only ones that used to exist were made of cheap plastic, felt awful in their hands, and looked obvious

to anyone. If you're going to work on quality tapered deck mate-

it pays to acquire a

quality-tapered deck. There are a variety of options ranging from buying a single highquality deck; to $50 for a paper cutter, cardboard, and some tape; and even a $4,000 professional card trimmer. Each option is dis-

rial,

cussed below.

Purchase The first and simplest way to get a good quality tapered deck is to buy one. For a long time, there were precious few places that sold good quality decks. This, however, is starting to change. There are a few magic dealers that sell decks that look good and work well. But

be discerning. Many of the standard wholesale or dealer decks still aren’t worth your time; the taper be effective, the too obvious cards are too low in quality, and the back design frequently looks

is

to

like someone handed the next door neighbor’s three-year-old a red crayon and asked him to draw a playing card from memory. You can buy

them from one of the few high-quality dealers

around. Of course, even if you find a dealer who sells a high-quality

How 10 Cut

CARDS

tapered deck you're likely to have only one option. There probably the taper available. There also probably won't be different depths won't be end strippers, let alone decks stripped along their edges

of

and ends.

The easily accessible decks on the market are typically standardcut decks. If you want to really experiment with advanced taper work (as we'll quickly venture away from the standard tapers into more interesting territory), you'll need to learn to cut your own cards.

Card Trimmer The Cadillac of tools for tapering a deck is the card trimmer. Most look like an extra-heavy paper cutter with a giant pair of scis-

sors stuck to the side, though they come in a variety of other forms a solid, flat block with a as well. What they all have in common sharp blade on one side and a plate on the other to hold each card

is

in place in exactly the same way for each cut. On almost all highfractions end models, you have control over the width of the cut

to

of a millimeter. Some also come with separate attachments to cut belly strippers, negative strippers, and regular-tapered strippers.* There are very few people making good card trimmers today. Joe Porper is probably the best-known manufacturer of highquality trimmers, but he’s made only limited number and theyre very difficult to find. Some are surprisingly expensive ($1,000 to $4,000 or even more). So it’s worthwhile to check out some of the less expensive options for starters.

5

are

In this book, we limiting the material essentially to traditional tapered (sideand end-tapered) strippers. If youre interested in negative strippers, belly tapered strippers, or other similar work, there are many resources on the market to help you on that journey.

20

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Stripper Jig The Stripper Jig is much like a full-fledged card trimmer, but the blade isn’t attached. Instead, it’s a rig for holding a card in position so that you can precisely cut the card with a razor, knife, or scissors. Though it’s possible to make or 3D-print something like this yourself (depending on your skill level with new-fangled technologies), we highly recommend the one by Eoin O’Hare. Fig. 9. It’s excellently made, precise, easy to use, and (at least as of now) avail able from a number of magic dealers including Eoin himself. still not cheap, coming in at around $600, but it’s more accessible and affordable than many other trimmers on the market. It’s

fig. 9

Paper Cutter You can make a decent card cutter with supplies from your local office supply store without spending hundreds or thousands of dol-

lars (and without a 3D printer). This kind of cutter won’t allow you

How 1o Cut

CARDS

the fine-grained control or variability, but it’s a major step up from factory-cut decks, especially if you prefer a deeper taper. First, pick up a paper cutter. This can be a wheel cutter, a slide cutter, or the more traditional swinging cutter. The important thing is to get one that’s well made so that there’s absolutely Zero variation in where the blade meets the card from cut to cut. Next, buy a few pieces of stiff plastic (about 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch thick). A local acrylic supply store should carry something suitable. Out of one corner, cut a rectangular section that is approximately two by three inches. You'll use this piece as a guide for cutting the cards. Glue, screw, or otherwise mount the acrylic to the paper cutter at an angle so when you place a playing card in the cutout, only a small sliver hangs over the cutting edge. Fig. 10. fig. 10

21

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22

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Hold each card in place precisely and maintain the same pressure on the card and cutting arm for each card so that the cuts will be

uniform as possible. You'll want to cut one card at a time. If you try to cut more, the pressure of the cutting arm will come down on the cards unevenly and give you a cut you won't be able to use. as

(We know this first hand from trial and error.)

“Bathroom Strippers” “Bathroom strippers” are impromptu, roughly shaved cards that you can taper in a few minutes using a piece of broken glass, a nail

or any other rough surface. This was normally done in the bathroom, away from witnessing eyes. As cool as is to be like Professor Vernon, we don’t recommend picking up broken glass from the floor to scrape over your cards to impress your friends. Bathroom strippers were only ever meant to create a taper so subtle, that the only practical use would be in a back-alley game. You're much better off taking the time to taper a deck properly. file

it

Rounding Corners When cutting your own decks, the biggest tell with a badly tapered deck is a poorly rounded corner. If the corners are sharp, it’s easy to spot even a shallow taper. If the corners look normal, even a deep cut can be deceptive. So, in addition to cutting the edges, you'll need a way to round the corners. Corner rounders come in two forms: a scrapbooking-style punch (Fig. 11) and a pliers-style punch (Fig. 12). In either case, the proper punch has a 3mm diameter. Once you cut the cards and round the corners, you'll be surprised how much better 6

it looks, and you

More information on these (possibly apocryphal) decks may be found in: Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernon’s Inner Secrets of Card Magic (London: Harry Stanley’s Unique Magic Studio, 1961), 70.

How

1Oo

Cut

CARDS

fig 11,12

might even have trouble telling your own tapered decks from normal decks.

Now that you know why we’re here, how to make tapered decks, and some basics about what a tapered deck can do for you, let’s open the floodgates and dive into some miracles.

23

COLLECT YOURSELF Ryan Plunkett

The tapered deck allows you a couple of major advantages over all those ‘norm-ies’ doing “The Collectors” with their all-the-same-

width decks. First, the control to get the selections interweaved between the Aces is almost hilariously simple. Second, you get a startlingly fair display of the Aces all by themselves before the selections suddenly appear between them. “Collect Yourself” is a perfect introduction to the tapered deck because it shows how the toolbox available with a tapered deck can improve effects that are already in your repertoire. EFFECT:

Three spectators select cards. The cards are lost. The deck is shuffled. Then, the Aces appear with the selections interspersed among them.

REQUIRED:

A

SET-UP:

Start with the deck in face-up dealer’s grip with the four Aces on the face of the deck and the narrow end of the taper nearest you. Rotate all four Aces around so their wide ends are closest to you. Next, turn over the three uppermost Aces side-for-side so that you have a three-Ace packet face down with the wide ends nearest you on top of a face-up Ace with its wide end also nearest you. Place this all on top of the remainder

tapered deck.

CorLLECT YOURSELF of the face-up deck with its narrow end nearest you. Finally, take one indifferent card from anywhere in the deck and place it on the face, keeping its narrow end nearest you. Turn the deckface down side-for-side and

you're ready to go. From top to face, the order goes like this: 47 face-down cards (narrow ends nearest you) A face-down Ace (wide end nearest you) 3 face-up Aces (wide ends nearest you) A

face-down card (narrow end nearest you) CHOREOGRAPHY:

Spread the cards and ask Angel to touch a card. Raise the lefthand half of the deck with the card Angel touched on the top and show around to your spectators. Fig. 13. Eventually, you're going

it

fig. 13

25

26

A

NEw ANGLE

to cull two selections and, after the first card is culled, the bottom of the right-hand spread will be vulnerable. So, to be consistent, display all three selections with the left hand. Speaking of culling ... you should do that now. Cull Angels selection as you reassem-

ble the spread, and continue spreading for Jessica to touch a card.

Show Jessica her card using your left hand in the same way you showed Angel’s card, keeping Angel’s culled card hidden under the right-hand spread. Cull Jessica’s selection as you reassemble and continue to spread the cards for Rose to touch a card. Repeat the process, showing Rose her card with your left hand, keeping Angel and Jessica’s cards hidden under the right-hand spread. Don’t cull Rose’s card. Instead you will reassemble the deck with the selections together in the middle and in-jog the remainder of the deck directly above them. Here’s how it works: As you reassemble the deck, push your left

thumb in-between

the two already-culled cards and the half of the deck in your right hand. Fig. 14. As you do this, keep your left thumb on top of Rose’s Sig. 14

COLLECT YOURSELF

fig. 15

card, which is still slightly jogged to the right of the left hand’s culled cards part of the deck. This will allow you to insert the two directly above Rose’s card while your left thumb keeps the top section of the deck separate. Fig. 15. Grip this top section of the deck in end grip with your right hand and dribble it on top of the lefthand packet, starting slightly closer to your body, then moving forward so you maintain an injog. Fig. 16. fig. 16

21

A

28

NEw ANGLE

When you're ready to continue, pull up on this jog with the right thumb and immediately transfer that break to the left little finger.

to

the top of the deck with control the selections the Mahatma Control: In short, use the left thumb to lever the deck You will now

into position for an overhand shuffle.” This automatically steps the top half of the deck above the break. Fig. 17. Pick up only this top half with your right hand and shuffle it onto the bottom of the deck in an overhand shuffle action. This brings the selections to the top and centers the Aces. Sig

17

Because the Aces are tapered in the opposite direction from the rest of the deck, they are convenient to access. You have an automatic step where the wide edges of the Aces hang over the narrow 7

“Mahatma Control” see: Hal Merton (contributor), “Three New Passes,” Mahatma, 495. (Hal Merton was the stage name of Walter G.

Vol. 5 No. 2, Aug, 1901,

Peterkin.)

CoLLECT YOURSELF

fig. 18

ends of the other cards. With the deck face down in your left hand, push down on the reversed cards with your right thumb, creating a break above the Aces. Fig. 18. Take the top half of the deck (which has the selections on top) and in-faro it into the bottom half of the deck (which has the Aces on top).** This weaves the selections inbetween the Aces. This is particularly disarming because the step from the stripped cards makes the cut very easy and nonchalant. ® There is no indication that you studied precisely where to break

the

deck. There is also no need to look to make sure you have the right cards. You can feel it. 8

9

Edward Marlo, The Faro Shuffle (Chicago: Magic, Inc., 1958).

Inaninfaro, the top and bottom cards change. Don’t worry. We never remember which one is which, either.

10

We highly recommend that you get rid of as much “chalant” as you can whenever you are performing sleights.

29

30

A

New

ANGLE

Status check time. From the top of the deck down: Face-down Ace (wide end nearest you) Face-down selection (narrow end nearest you) Face-up Ace (wide end nearest you) Face-down selection (narrow end nearest you) Face-up Ace (wide end nearest you) Face-down selection (narrow end nearest you) Face-up Ace (wide end nearest you) Rest of the deck (narrow ends nearest you)

all you need to do is flip

over the top card. Push over and get a break under the top card with your left little finger. Snap your right hand above the deck (or make any other To

produce the

Aces,

magical gesture) and sharply drop your left hand, thereby allowing the top Ace to flip over side-for-side, rotating around the heel of your left hand. Fig. 19. This is Looy Simonoff’s Flippant Change, fig

19

COLLECT YOURSELF

fig. 20

but with only one card instead of two." At this point, it’s easy to produce the remaining three Aces. Simply dribble the cards, holding them by the lower-left and upper-right corners, and the other Aces seemingly materialize underneath the first. Fig, 20. For this part, make sure to riffle by the corners, not by the front or back. Pick up what appears to be all four Aces with your right hand, and, after spreading the deck on the table, dribble the Aces between your hands just as you did a moment ago. Because of the way the cards are tapered, you get a very clean show of just the Aces. The selections stay hidden, falling individually beneath each Ace. 11

Looy Simonoff’s treatment was originally published in: Harry Lorayne, “Flippant,” Apocalypse, Vol. 1, No. 9, September 1978, 103.

12

The deeper the taper on the cards, the better this works. This dribble sequence is an idea shown to Ryan by Edward Boswell.

31

A

32

NEw ANGLE

fig. 21

Snap your fingers and spread the Aces to reveal

trapped three cards.” Out-jog the selections

that they have

you come to them. Fig. 21. Turn the whole packet side-for-side, showing that the cards sandwiched in-between are the three selections. Fig. 22.

13

as

This time, snapping is the only suitable gesture. There is no alternative. Why? Because we say so.

.

.

CoLLECT YOURSELF Bow to

thunderous applause."

TWO, TWO, TWO TRICKS IN ONE! few years ago, Syd Segal created a kicker ending for “The Collectors” plot that’s even easier to do with a tapered deck." This is the same as Syd’s handling, but the tapered deck makes it easier to A

get the necessary breaks. We include this sequence with Syd’s kind permission. Begin by displaying the

three selections face up, interlaced be-

twixt the four, face-down Aces. In the offbeat following the reveal, square the Aces and selections into the left hand, leaving the selections outjogged. Fig. 23.

FART

14

Actually, this is a close-up trick, so that’s pretty presumptuous. Instead, we recommend that you politely acknowledge your spectators’ reactions and, sneakily, plan your next move.

15

Simply Sydney. Syd Segal and Dan and Dave Buck. (2008), DVD. See also: James Swain, “Finale for The Collectors,” Genii, Vol. 64, No. 1, Jan. 7, 2001, 80-81.

33

34

A

NEw ANGLE

This next sequence must be performed casually so as to not arouse suspicion.'* Hold the four Aces face down in dealer’s grip with the three selections out-jogged face up. Slightly thumb off the top Ace, and grip its edge between your right thumb and fingers. Move this Ace forward, and, as you do, turn over the left-hand’s cards side-for-side on top of the right-hand’s Ace with the selections landing flush on top of the single Ace. Regrip the entire packet (both the Aces and the selections) with your right hand and flip it end-for-end, holding the whole packet in left-hand dealer’s grip. Fig. 24. Done smoothly, and without any “chalance,” by the time Jessica, Rose, and Angel gather their wits about them and look back fig. 24

$F *

Ned

LT

FB 3F F

oy

16

try whistling a casual tune or donning some sunglasses, especially if it’s and nighttime you're inside. You might

COLLECT YOURSELF

it

will appear that the three selections are out-jogged at the cards, face down between the four Aces.” In fact, three of the Aces are face down, out-jogged from the three selections with one Ace on top. You're now locked and loaded for a minor miracle.

With your right hand, pull what are apparently the three selections from in-between the Aces and lay them individually atop the tabled spread, leaving a larger space between the rightmost card and the middle one. This helps to hide the unload move you'll do in a moment. Your spectators will think the three cards you laid out are the selections. Fig. 25.

Sig: 25

Turn the packet over in your left hand, end-for-end so that it is face down. Because of the orientation of the bottom card (an 17

Remember your sunglasses and whistling.

35

36

fig. 26

it’s

simple to use your little finger to pull down on the automatic step to create a break above the one card. Transfer the packet into right-hand end grip, and take over your left hand’s little-finger break with your right thumb. Extend hand palm-up your open as you ask Rose to hold out her hand. As you gesture, drop the last Ace (the bottom card, below the break) onto the table with the other Aces in the space you've left. Fig. 26. You will need some Ace),

left

COLLECT YOURSELF strong misdirection for this, so put all your focus on Rose’s hand. After the unload, place the three selections on her palm. Make your third favorite magical gesture; then reveal that there are now

four cards on the spread—the four Aces.

When Rose turns over the cards in her hand, she’ll find the selections. She’ll also gasp. Fig. 27.

18

It’s hard

to clap with cards in your hands.

37

SHAVINGS:

DUAL THOUGHT Ryan Plunkett

From time to time throughout this book we’ll throw you some bonus items. These are interesting principles and ideas that aren’t full-blown new effects, but are powerful tools that can improve other effects. They're like the shavings off your tapered deck— significant to what you can do, but a small piece of what required

to create great magic. Here's the first one.

is

Juan Tamariz’s effect “Blown Away” (AKA “Neither Blind Nor Stupid”) was groundbreaking when was first published.” It’s still a classic today.

it

Many magicians shy away from the trick because dealing the whole deck into two piles is very procedural. The tapered deck comes to the rescue if you want to perform a trick using the underlying method, but without the long process. Juan Tamariz’s routine takes advantage of the process and turns it into a presentation. This approach allows you take this underlying method out and apply it to any presentation you see fit. Arrange the deck so that all of the red cards are on top of all the black cards. Rotate the red cards 180 degrees so the taper in the red cards has the opposite orientation from the black cards. Spread the deck between your hands, and ask Angelica to pick any card, making sure she takes from the red half. Ask Becky to 19

“Blown Away,” see: Harry Lorayne, Apocalypse, Vol. 10, No. 7, Jul. 1987, 1369.

SHAVINGS:

Duar

THOUGHT

take any card, making sure she takes from the black half. Put Angelica and Becky's cards back in the deck, reversing their orientation. They can go in anywhere. Now, Angelica’s red card has the same orientation as the black cards and Becky’s black card has the same orientation as the red cards. You (or anyone else) can legitimately shuffle the cards as long as the orientation doesn’t change.* When you're ready, strip the cards apart and hand each spectator a half reassembled take a glance. of the deck to shuffle. When the deck Angelica’s card will be the only red card amongst the black, and

is

red. You now know both cards. Use this information wisely, young Padawan. Becky’s the only black amongst the

Of course, you don’t have to split the deck into red and black cards. You can divide by evens and odds, round and sharp, Spades/ Diamonds and Hearts/ Clubs, or any other system that suits you.

all, if you have

one-way back design, you won’t even need to look at the faces of the cards to identify the selections. The one card facing the wrong direction in the top half and the one card Best

of

facing the

cards.

a

wrong direction in the bottom half will be the selected

20

For suggestions on how to ensure your spectator doesn’t change the orientation of the cards, explore Out of This Spread, on p. 55.

21

A Padawan,

22

This idea of having the two halves of the deckrotated from each other so that a selection can be taken from one half and returned to the other, all without revolving the card in the process, originated from Annemann, see: Theodore Annemann,

is

a Jedi trainee who is apprenticed to a Jedi Knight or Jedi apprentice, “learner” Padawan in Sanskrit. See: Hill, Amelia. “Padawan—7Jedi means or Master. Apprentice.” Thoughtco.com. https: //www.thoughtco.com/star-wars-glossarypadawan-2958053 (accessed May 11, 2017).

SH-H-H—! It’s a Secret (London: L.

Davenport

&

Co., 1934), 12.

39

SHUFFLEUPAGUS Ryan Plunkett

“Shuffleupagus” was inspired by a routine by Roger Smith.» In Roger’s words, “The magician removes a brand-new deck from its case . . He spreads the cards fairly showing the new deck order and .

the

advertising cards. He picks the case up and very fairly inserts the cards into the box and hands them to the spectators. He the air. The spectator then makes the mysterious sign of darkness removes

in

opens the cards and finds them completely shuffled.” The routine was done by secretly executing three one-handed

shuffles in the action of picking up the card box. This was a fascinating plot with an understandably unreliable solution that rarely fooled anyone. The tapered deck provides a practical solution for what once was considered a pipe EFFECT:

dream.

Two spectators each shuffle half the deck and

then

shuffle their halves together. Nevertheless, when spread, the cards are almost perfectly separated—red and black. Slightly disappointed the trick wasn’t perfect, the magician suggests waiting a second longer. When he spreads the cards again, they’re not just sepa-

rated by color; they're in new-deck order.

23

“The One Handed Faro Miracle,” see: Roger Smith, Necromancer, Vol. 1, No. 6, Jan., 1971, 5.

24

This routine also owes credit to Chris Alonzo, Tony Chang, and Pix Smith who lent helping hands along the way.

SHUFFLEUPAGUS Pass Go. Collect $200. A

tapered deck.

The best method to get the deck set up for this effect is to shuffle into it. You could stack it so that the red cards (in a palindrome from Ace to King and then King to Ace) are mixed in with the black cards in the same palindrome setup with the red cards oriented one way and the black cards oriented the other way. Or, you could decide not to waste your time figuring out where every card goes and just do this instead: Set up the cards in new deck order, from face to back:

Ace-King of Spades Ace-King of Diamonds King-Ace of Clubs King-Ace of Hearts Set the deck face down in position for a tabled shuf-

fle, wide end to the left. Cut the top half of the deck to the right (Hearts and Clubs). Rotate this entire half (Hearts and Clubs) so that its wide end is to the right—the opposite orientation from the bottom half. Each half of the deck will have 13 red cards on top of 13

black cards.

Rotate the Diamonds so their taper is opposite from the Spades (Diamonds wide-end right and Spades wide-end left) and shuffle the Diamonds and Spades

42

A

NEw ANGLE together with

single riffle shuffle, ensuring that a black card falls first and last. Rotate the Hearts so their taper is opposite from the Clubs (Hearts wide-end left and Clubs wide-end right) and shuffle the Hearts and a

Clubs together with a single riffle shuffle, again making sure a black card falls first and last. Place the right packet (Hearts and Clubs) back on top of the left. Fi-

with the Two of Spades so that the Ace won’t be on the face of the packet the nally, switch the Ace of Spades

whole time, which might arouse suspicion.

When you're done,

it should look like Fig. 28.

CHOREOGRAPHY:

You should hold the deck so the wide end of the Ace of Spades is

closest to you. Spread through the deck face up in your hands

SHUFFLEUPAGUS

bettabled-ribbon

in clumps, showing the cards mixed. An uneven spread will

ter hide the pattern in the cards. The evenness of a spread would make the pattern much more noticeable.

fig. 29

Find the center of the deck—between the King of Spades and the King of Clubs. Down-jog the face-half of the deck, Fig. 29, then place the deck back on the table with your left hand maintaining the step. Fig 30. The top half should be stepped to the right. fig. 30

43

44

A

NEw ANGLE

Separate the two halves of the deck at the step as if you were going to shuffle them together. The top half goes to Rachel, the spectator on your right; the bottom half to Leah, the spectator on your left. Offer to let your spectators shuffle, making sure they maintain the orientation of the cards as they shuffle. As you push the left half of the deck toward Leah, strip the cards into two piles, separating if you've simply cut the the reds from the blacks. It will look deck in preparation for her to do a riffle shuffle. Do the same for

as

Rachel: push the right half of the deck toward her, stripping the cards as if cutting for a tabled shuffle. Leah and Rachel then shuffle their packets, basically re-weaving the cards you stripped out just a moment ago. As you take the first half back from Leah, mention that after every shuffle you should always cut the cards. You’ll now strip the

a

cards in the action of slightly flourishy cut. Strip the cards apart, then turn the right-hand packet face up, turning it toward you. fig. 31

SHUFFLEUPAGUS

45

continuing motion, allow the left end of the face-up packet to touch the table before levering it back over, face down on top of the left-hand packet. Fig. 32. Fig. 31. In a

fig-32

If you don’t like this flourishy cut, you could also strip the packets apart and simply toss the red packet on top of the deck, giving a

it

little spin so that it rotates 180 degrees and changes orientation.

It does matter which half you turn over and place on top. For the left-hand spectator (Leah), you'll need to turn over and place the right-hand packet on top. These are the red cards.

Next, you'll do the same process with the packet you get back from Rachel. Again, matters which half you turn over. For Rachel’s pile, you turn over the left-hand packet and put those cards on top. Again, these will be the red cards.

it

46

A

NEw ANGLE

Public Service Announcement: For the pile from the spectator on your left, the right hand’s cards go on top. For the pile from the spectator on your right, the left hand’s cards go on top. If will always be the red packet. you get confused,

it

You will now shuffle the two halves together yourself. Each half has 13 red cards on top of 13 black cards so, you shuffle evenly,

if

as

the deck will be split perfectly into red and black. As miraculous this would be, would take away the motivation for the real punch

it

at the end. So shuffle a bit unevenly so that a few of the red and black cards are still mixed into the center of the deck. You will also want to make sure that the Ace and Two of Spades (in the left half) drop first, so they will be at the face of the pack.

time for the first revelation. Suggest waiting a few seconds for the deck to settle. Ribbon-spread the deck across the table to show that the cards are almost completely separated, but that there are a It’s

few in the middle still mixed up. Fig. 33. Look a little disappointed as you gather the spread from off the

SHUFFLEUPAGUS table, and, in a moment of toying with the cards, switch the position of the Ace and Two on the face of the pack so that they are in the correct order.” Place the cards back down in front of you so that the Spades strip out into your left hand. Then, in the action of an absent-minded cut (as if you're moving the cards out of the way), strip out your left-hand packet and place your right-hand packet on top. Mention that maybe the cards will finish separating by waiting a few seconds longer, then spread the deck to show the cards are not merely separated red and black, but they’re in new deck order. Fig. 34. fig. 34

25

This can be done in the action of squaring up the cards from the face-up ribbon spread, where you seemingly leave a card behind on the table by accident. This adjustment can also be taken out completely, if you want to risk leaving the Ace of the face of the pack from the start of the routine. A good way of hiding Spades the Ace is by starting your Red/Black shuffle with your right hand so that it is not on the face of the pack the whole time. Then continue on with the routine as

on

normal.

47

48

A

NEw ANGLE

Some performers may prefer to perform the trick “error free” by eliminating the “mistake” of the cards not separating completely by colors. If that’s the case, then with a very subtle alteration to the

it.

All you need to do is shuffle evenly handling you can get rid of instead of offsetting the shuffle.

SHUFFLEUPAGUS REDUX

Ryan Plunkett

This version of Shuffleupagus is

not an improvement on the origi-

nal; it’s a compromise. The original “Shuffleupagus” is a formal performance piece. It requires a full deck stack, a table, and two spectators. This alternate “in the hands” version is designed for

more off-the-cuff and informal performances. It is straight to the point and helps lead you into other material. However, it doesn’t come with quite as many features as the tricked-out model before. EFFECT.

As a

result of taking the “deck sorting” plot off the

table and into the performer’s hands, the effect changes somewhat. The magician shuffles the cards, shows them mixed and then shuffles some more. He places them in the box so Leah or Rachel can shake the box, pretending

to mix them. But when the cards are removed from the box, they're in new deck order. tapered deck.

REQUIRED:

A

SET-UP:

The deck starts in European new deck order, which is, from face to back:

50

A

NEw ANGLE Ace-King of Clubs Ace-King of Diamonds King-Ace of Hearts King-Ace of Spades

Spread the cards with the faces toward you and split the deck in half—between the King of Hearts and the King of Diamonds. Turn

both hands inward in preparation for an in-the-hands riffle shuffle. Fig. 35. By turning both hands inward, the orientation of the tafig-35

per in the right-hand half will be opposite from the left-hand half. Genuinely riffle-shuffle the cards together. Because the cards were originally in European new deck order, the Clubs will shuffle into the Hearts and the Diamonds will shuffle into the Spades, giving the impression the cards are thoroughly mixed.

SHUFFLEUPAGUS

REDUX

Follow this genuine shuffle with your second favorite false riffle shuffle. Turn the cards face up and casually spread through the cards in clumps to show Leah and Rachel that the cards are mixed.* Give the deck another couple of false shuffles of your choosing. Now you can use your favorite if you want. Strip out the cards in the action of one Hindu shuffle: Grip the deck from above with your right hand at the very back end of the deck, fingers on one long edge, thumb on the other. Grip the deck with your left hand from below with the fingers on one long edge and the thumb on the other, gripping the very end of the deck

its

cards forward, (opposite your right hand). The left hand carries stripping out half the cards. Fig. 36. Reassemble the deck with your in the box. right-hand packet on top and place

it

fig. 36

26

Don’t forget your sunglasses. This joke just won’t die.

al

52

A

NEw ANGLE

Ask Leah to shake the cards to continue the shuffle. When she removes the cards from the box, they’ll be in new deck order. BONUS

Because you end in European new deck order, you can quickly shuffle into Mnemonica stack.” 1:

BONUS 2: (The Bonus Strikes Back) You also end in stay stack, and there are some fascinating ways to combine stay stack and a tapered deck, which we’ll get into little later on in this book.

27

Juan Tamariz, Mnemonica (Seattle: Hermetic Press, Inc., 2004), 14.

SHAVINGS:

PSEUDO RIFFLE STACKING Nathan Colwell

Riffle stacking is hard. Very few magicians actually do

it well. A ta-

pered deck can speed up your efforts to join those hallowed ranks. The taper can allow you to feel and hold back cards much more easily.

For instance, set up the deck as follows from top to bottom: The Aces (wide ends nearest you) 23 Black Cards (wide ends nearest you) 4 Red Cards (narrow ends nearest you) 1

3 1

3 1

3

Red Card (wide end nearest you) Red Cards (narrow ends nearest you) Red Card (wide end nearest you) Red Cards (narrow ends nearest you) Red Card (wide end nearest you) Red Cards (narrow ends nearest you) Black Card (wide end

nearest you) Rest of cards (narrow ends nearest you) 1

Turn the Aces face up onto the deck without disturbing their orientation (side-for-side). Table the deck so the Aces have their wide ends to the left. Press down on the natural step formed by the red cards with your right thumb to split the deck and cut the top half to the right.

4

A

NEw ANGLE

Begin riffle shuffling the two halves together until your left thumb feels a click. The click happens because the reversed cards act as short cards. As soon as you feel the click, release all but the last three cards in the right hand. Next, release four cards from the left thumb and continue along this vein until the Aces are placed every fifth card. This may sound difficult, but because the reversed cards act as short cards only requires releasing cards from the left and right hands alternating and feeling for the short cards.

it

Square the deck and spread to show that the Aces are now stacked for five hands. You can take

it even further, using the taper in the deck both for

stacking and for moving cards. Strip the cards with the left hand under the cover of an Up the Ladder Cut. This places the Aces on top of the deck, in position for two hands of poker, where the first position gets the Aces. To show the Aces, you can deal the cards down in two piles, starting with the Ace being dealt to your spectator and the next card to yourself. Once the last Ace is dealt to your spectator, you should be left with a pile of three face-down cards. Place the deck onto this face-down pile and point out the

Aces

that have been dealt.

Want to take it even further? Well now you can: after the cards have been dealt turn the deck face up and show that the cards are

sorted into red and black.

STH AW TRY (3 6 SHAVINGS: ouUuT

OF THIS SPREAD Frank Fogg

There are numerous ways a tapered deck can strengthen an Out-of-This-World-style effect. In “Out of This World,” which Paul Curry popularized in his Out of This World booklet, the spectasomehow able to separate the red cards from the black cards while dealing the cards without looking at the faces Paul Curry mentioned that Harry Blackstone as well as others used a stripper

tor

is

deck to allow a spectator to shuffle before getting into the effect. Frank Fogg’s idea was to bring the effect back to its tapered-deck roots, but with a new take on how the plot develops. Instead of dealing the cards from the deck, your spectator can select cards (seemingly) at random from throughout the deck and still end up with only one color.

With a tapered deck, if you set the red and black cards to have the opposite taper orientation, you can allow your spectator to shuffle the cards before an Out-of-This-World effect as long as she doesn’t rotate the orientation of any of the cards during the shuffle. There are many ways of doing this. You can either make an overhandshuffle or riffle-shuffle gesture to subtly encourage her to do one or the other since neither a standard riffle shuffle nor a standard overhand shuffle will rotate the orientation of any cards. Or you tabled riffle shuffle, so all she has to do can set the cards up for

a

28

“Out of This World,” see: Paul Curry, 1942).

is

Out of This World (New York: Self Published,

A

36

NEw ANGLE

riffle them together. Remember, you are in control.”

When you take back the deck, strip the cards out in the action of a tabled cut somewhat like an Up the Ladder Cut.* Despite your spectator’s laughably futile attempts to mix the deck, you have returned it to its original setup. Faro the 26 red cards into the 26 black cards with reversed taper orientation and, as you cascade the cards, apply pressure at the

outer right and inner left corners so that half of the cards (all one color) are sidejogged.* Spreading the cards in this position makes use of the “Ribbon Spread Hideout” to hide half the deck instead of

just one card.*»® 29

the other hand, your spectator does rotate some of the cards—or if she drops them all over the floor because she claimed she knew how to shuffle, but apparently not as well as she thought—just play it cool and do a different routine. Save this trick for a more deserving spectator (i.e., screw this person and their

If, on

terrible shuffles). 30

“Gamblers’ False Cut,” see: Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, Expert Card Technique (Minneapolis: Carl Waring Jones, 1940), 78.

31

If you have a tapered deck that tapered on both the end and the side, you can side-jog one color of cards from a squared pack using the end taper and you don’t need to perform the controlled cascade.

32

For a widely accepted attribution of the “Ribbon Spread Hideout,” see: Charles W. Nyquist, “The Ribbonspread Reverse,” Hugard’s Magic Monthly, Vol. 6 No. 3, Aug. 1948, 453. However, for purists, the move dates back earlier than Nyquist, to attributed to Dai Vernon, see: Jacob sometime in the 1930s or early 1940s and Daley, Jacob Daley’s Notebooks (Fair Lawn: Gutenberg Press, 1975), item 80 (n.p.). Many magicians have since published variations and ideas with it.

is

is

33

The idea of hiding multiple cards using the “Ribbon Spread Hideout” dates back to Ed Marlo and Alex Elmsley’s “Ultra Mental” (later known as “Brainweave”), see: Ed Marlo, Faro Controlled Miracles (Self-Published, 1964), 52. Combining the “Ribbon Spread Hideout” with a faro control to hide half the cards dates back to Bob Bridson in the early 1950s in England and Ed Marlo in the United States. For Marlo’s work, see: Stephen Minch, The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Vol. 11 (Tahoma: L&L Publishing, 2003), 338.

SHAVINGS:

Out

OF

THIS SPREAD

No matter which cards your spectator touches, they will all be the same color because all of the visible cards will be one color (the rest are hidden under the spread). You can

turn over the ribbon spread, which will show the cards

fully mixed. Then, strip the colors

apart again and you can seemingly pick cards at random throughout the deck, ensuring that they are all the opposite color from your spectator’s by taking them all from the half of the deck with that color. Reveal that your spectator’s cards are all one color and yours are the other, and stick your best Olympic dismount.

YE TAVINGS

TOA

A

CNT

TORY

oe

SATISFYING SEQUENCE Ryan Plunkett

This technique allows you to secretly reverse a selection while the deck is out of your hands. Of course, putting a tapered deck in a spectator’s hands may seem dangerous, but it’s much safer than you might think. If you are concerned, you can always use cards with a very shallow taper, minimizing the chance anyone will notice. left-hand dealer’s grip with the wide end Start with the deck

in

nearest you. Hand the cards to spectator 1, directly across from you, making sure not to change the orientation of the deck. Say, “I want you to spread the deck and have somebody select a card.” After spectator 2 selects a card, keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t rotate the selection and change its orientation. Turn to spectator 1, the person holding the deck, and tell her to hand the pack to spectator 3 to have the selection returned. When spectator 2 returns the selection, it will be reversed because the action of spectator 1 handing the deck to spectator 3 across from her will naturally reverse the orientation of the deck. If you find this confusing, try it out. It makes sense in practice. If all has gone according to plan, when you receive back the deck (which has its narrow end nearest you) from spectator 3, you will now have a selection reversed somewhere in the middle (its wide 34

Many magicians have independently invented this idea and the history of the move dates back to one-way back designs, even before the tapered deck. Though this isn’t the newest idea, we felt compelled to include it because it’s just so darned sneaky.

SHAVINGS: A

SATISFYING

SEQUENCE

end nearest you). There are, of course, any number of devious ways to take advantage of the situation. For instance, you are now in the perfect position to perform a modified version of Ricky Smith’s “Cherry Control.” To modify the “Cherry Control” for a tapered deck, begin with the deck in deep dealer’s grip. When you move the deck to the fingers, maintain pressure on the card (which has its wide end nearest you) between the heel of your left hand and your left little finger. Once the deck clears this card, you are in position

to con-

tinue the “Cherry Control” as usual. [INSERT FURTHER MIRACLES HERE AS YOU SEE FIT.]

35

Ricky Smith’s “Cherry Control” first saw print in Penumbra, Issue 5 (2003), 13. his lecture Argentinian magician Salvador Sufrate published a very similar move notes, The Magic of the La Plata Magic Center, Vol.

2

(2002).

in

39

STAY

€

7

AN

IT

6

AN INTRODUCTION

Stay Stack:

it neither stays is it a stack. In the immortal words nor

of Linda Richman from Coffee Talk, “Discuss.” Stay stack is not a particular order of the deck. Many different orders can be a stay stack. Even within the context of a single consistent in a stay routine, the precise order can change. What

is

is

stack is that the deck is a palindrome. In other words, the deck the same backward and forward like the word civic, the number 19022091, or the phrase: “Dammit, I'm mad,” which, incidentally, the phrase that comes to mind whenever someone accidentally shuffles your stack. In a deck of cards, the stay-stack palindrome could look something like this:

is

AS2H 3C4D

5S...

5C4H

3S 2D AC

Because no two cards in the deckare the same, the palindrome is made up of mates rather than identical cards. This arrangement unlocks some fascinating possibilities. First and foremost, if you do a perfect faro shuffle, the precise order of the deck will change but, overall, it will still be a palindrome.

is

that? You're skeptical, so go ahead and try it. See? How crazy Once you break the deck in half (26 and 26) you can start the weave wherever you want. In other words, there can be blocks left over at the top and bottom, yet you'll still be in stay stack. It doesn’t need to be a perfectfaro, only a perfect weave. 36

If that didn’t make any sense to you, either (1) don’t worry about it, or (2) ask the tell you who Linda Richman is. Internet

to

STAY

STACK: AN INTRODUCTION

Now here’s an even better tip: if you add a Joker to the bottom of the deck, you can cut wherever you want (or do any false shuffle that cuts the deck) as many times as you want. Then, give the deck

to

many straddle faros as you want. When you cut the Joker back the face (or top) the deck will still be in stay stack (palindrome).” The math here is somewhat complicated, but however it works, as

it

rocks.

new concept, of course. There is a fountain of work published on it, ranging from its introduction in The Cardiste Phil Goldsteins excellent release, Redivider, and no by Rusduck Stay stack is

not

a

to

doubt others will continue to publish phenomenal work on it in the future. There is also a wealth of information about stay stack in Mnemonica by Juan Tamariz. Though this stack has been around for many years, it’s rare to see it used in combination with other principles. It’s even more rare to see it combined it with a gimmick like a tapered deck.

SHUFFLING INTO STAY STACK It could not possibly be easier to get into stay stack from new deck order. That’s not an exaggeration. It actually could not possibly be easier. Why? Because new deck order is already in stay stack. From top to bottom, American new deck order looks like this: Ace-King (Hearts) Ace-King (Clubs) King-Ace (Diamonds) King-Ace (Spades) 37

“The Stay Stack,” see: Paul Swinford, More Faro Fantasy (Connersville: Haley Press, 1971), 22.

A

62

NEw ANGLE

The values are already a palindrome with Hearts matching up with Spades and Clubs matching up with Diamonds. From new deck order, Hearts/Spades and Diamonds/ Clubs are essentially pseudo-mates in much the same way you'd set up an Invisible Deck. You can faro as many times as you want and the deck will still be palindrome with the Ace of Hearts corresponding to the Ace of Spades and the Seven of Diamonds corresponding to the Seven of Clubs. Fresh out of the box, it’s pretty easy to recognize that there

a

pattern to the deck, but after two or three faros, the order pretty well disguised.

is a

is

Stay stack works even if you don’t have a complete deck. The stay stack will still “stay” if your deck is 50 cards, or 48, or 8 (as long as

there are an even number of cards, and all the cards you have are mates). If you'd prefer to have a stay stack with true mates, you can do that as well. From new deck order, switch the positions of the Clubs packet and the Hearts packet, retaining the order within their suits. This sets up your stay stack so that all of the cards correspond to their true mates: Two of Clubs to Two of Spades, King of Hearts to King of Diamonds. If you use Mnemonica, then you know that stay stack is

part of the process of shuffling into Mnemonica from new deck order. After the fourth out-faro shuffle, simply pause the sequence for shuffling into Mnemonica. You are now in stay stack and can do any of the routines this section.

in

If you want to go to a crazy extreme to hide the pattern in the stack, take the top half of the deck and shuffle it thoroughly (Hearts and Clubs). Then spread them on the table and match the remaining cards, one at a time, in palindrome order. Then, why not, give

STAY

STACK: AN INTRODUCTION

it a few faro shuffles. Shuffling from new deck order is enough for us, but hey, you don’t have to listen to what we say. I mean, you not literally; it’s not an are listening to us by reading this book .

.

.

audio book. At least not yet . but figuratively. Figuratively you're . listening to us. Unless you decide not to .

Let’s move on.

.

.

TWIN PEEKS Ryan Plunkett

to instantly know the card your spectator peeked at as you riffle the corner of the deck. It uses two different rarely used principles: a tapered deck and a stay stack. It is also much easier than you might think. There’s no memorization and you can master this move in minutes. First, we’ll explain how the move works. Then, we’ll explain how to get into and out of the correct position. “Twin Peeks” allows you

REQUIRED.

A

tapered deck.

First, arrange the deck in stay stack.

bottom half of the stack (cards 27-52), turn them face up end-for-end, and perform an out faro (the top card of the deck does not change). Both sides of the deck will now show a card back. Take the

Grip the deck as you would for a Hindu shuffle, but instead of beginning the shuffle, push down on the side of the deck with both thumbs and push up on the opposite side of the deck with your right middle finger. Fig. 37. This will ensure that the alternating pattern of the stripped cards creates long and short cards at the right side of the deck (if you are right handed). Fig 38. Because of the faro shuffle, all of the mated cards are face-to-face throughout the deck.

Twin

PEEKS

fig. 37

to

Hold the deck in your left hand at chest height, ready riffle the corner of the cards so that Mandy can say stop on a selected card. This is the standard spectator peek position. Because ofthe alter-

nating orientation of the tapered cards, when you riffle the cards, Mandy will only see cards that face her, and the cards that face you will stay hidden. Again, you're probably skeptical so go ahead and

try it. fig- 38

65

A

66

NEw ANGLE

Once Mandy calls “stop,” the glimpse is easy. Shift the upper section of the deck (above the break) slightly to the right. Because of the face-to-face mates, you will be able to see the index of the mate to Mandy’s card. Fig. 39.Ta da! The easiest-to-read marked cards ever.

TWO METHODS OF GETTING IN AND OUT: There are two ways to secretly get into position for “Twin Peeks.” This first approach is for when your spectators’ attention is on the deck. It’s more involved than the second approach described on pages 71-73, but it can withstand greater scrutiny. 38

A very similar idea may be found in: Juan Tamariz, Mnemonica (Seattle: Hermetic Press, Inc., 2004), 138, where you determine which card a spectator has chosen by sighting neighboring cards facing you. However, in Tamariz’s version, the spectators know that the cards are mixed face up and face down. The advantage of the that it allows you to get the same information secretly, adding yet tapered deck another layer of deception to an already powerful principle.

is

Twin

PEEKS

The second method is faster and more straightforward, but requires misdirection. If your spectators are looking at the deck, they're likely to catch you. This second technique is fast enough that it’s fairly easy to cover in the moment of lowered attention between tricks, especially in informal settings, but it’s definitely

not burnable. 1. UNDER FIRE

Getting In: Begin with the deck in left-hand dealer’s grip, wide end nearest you. This orientation will become important once you're set up for “Twin Peeks.” Starting with a deck with its wide end nearest you, your spectator will only see the cards’ faces when you riffle for the peek. If you begin with the opposite orientation (narrow end of the deck nearest you), the spectator will see all backs when you riffle for the peek. That would be magical, but probably not quite the effect you're going for. The first step is to half-pass the bottom 25 cards. The 25th card is right below the mates in the middle of the deck. Perform the half pass, but keep a little-finger break above the face-up packet. A half pass turns the cards over side-for-side, so the taper will still be

oriented the same way throughout the deck. The next step is to cut the deck exactly in half (26 and 26) in preparation for a faro shuffle. To do that, you will need to move do your little-finger break up by one card. There are many ways this. Perhaps the best is to use the right little finger to very slightly side-jog the card immediately above the break. Fig. 40. Then let go

to

of the break, bring your little finger around the side-jogged card

67

68

A

fig

NEw ANGLE

40

and pull down on it to create a break one card higher, above the side-jogged card. Once you have a break in the middle of the deck, reach over and cut off the top half with your right hand as in Fig. 41, with your right fingers on the left long edge of the deck and the right thumb on the right long edge of the deck. Both halves will appear to be Sig. 41

TwiN PEEKS

69

fig. 42

face down because you only half-passed 25 cards, leaving the top card of the bottom half face down. As you separate the two halves, relax your

right hand back to

a

more natural position. This rotates the top half of the deck, reversing the orientation of the taper (the top half now has its narrow end nearest you). Do an in-faro (changing the top card of the deck). Fig.

42. Now you're all set.

Using this setup, every card is now in perfect position, except for the top and bottom cards which should be mates of each other.

Getting Out: Here’s how to get out of the “Twin Peeks” position and back into re gul ar stay stack. The basic elements of returning to stay stack from this position

10

A

NEw ANGLE

fig. 43

are a strip out and a half pass. However, you will need to rotate the deck first so that when the left hand strips out cards it will carry the original bottom half of the deck forward.

rotate the deck 180 degrees. Then grip the deck in position for a Hindu shuffle and strip the cards as if you're doing a cut. Fig. 43 (exposed for clarity). Carry the bottom half of the deck forward in your left hand. Place the top half of the deck (in your right hand) on top of the bottom half (in your left hand). As you talk,

Half-pass the 25 reversed cards and you're back in stay stack with the taper in the top and bottom halves oriented in opposite directions.

Twin 2.

PEEKS

ON THE OFFBEAT

Getting In: First, reverse the orientation of the top 26 cards so the top half the of the deck has its wide end nearest you and the bottom half deck has its narrow end nearest you.

of

Use the step between the two halves created by the opposite orientation of the taper to catch a left little-finger break in the middle of the deck (26-26). Reach into the break with your right hand and drag the top half of the deck to the right, using your left thumb to hold the top card in place, like a traditional slip cut. Fig. 44. As you

fig. 44

do, hold a break beneath the top card with your left little finger. Once the top half is slipped out, use your right index finger slip the bottom card of half further to the right. Fig. 45. Use that card to lever the rest of the top packet cards over, turning them

its

to

face up side-for-side. Fig. 46. Finally, place the last card that you

n

12

A

NEw ANGLE

fig 45,46

are still holding in your right hand on top

of

the deck, face down.

Split the deck exactly in half at the break without changing either half’s orientation. Do an in faro (where the top card changes) and you're in position for the peek.

Getting Out: To

get out of this position and back into stay stack, just reverse

the process. First, grip the deck in position for a Hindu shuffle. Strip out the cards with your left hand, as if performing a cut, and place the righthand’s cards on

top, retaining

a

break between the two halves.

Reach into the break with your right hand and drag the top half of the deck to the right, using your left thumb to hold the top card in place, like a traditional slip cut. As you do, hold a break beneath the top card with your left little finger. Once the top half is slipped half out, use your right index finger to slip the bottom card of further to the right. Fig. 47. Use that card to lever the rest of the

its

top packet cards over, turning them face up side-for-side. Fig, 48. Finally, place the last card that you are still holding in your right

Twin

PEEKS

ig. 47,48 hand on top halves’

of

the deck,

face down. As before, the top and

bottom

orientation will be opposite.

The amazement can now continue.

SUBTLETIES: There are two useful subtleties you can throw into either method for getting into “Twin Peeks.” These subtleties show off the backs of the cards to counter the idea that you've set up the deck with face-to-face cards.

This subtlety allows you to spread the cards between your hands, showing all the cards face down, as you set up for the peek.

At the stage in either method when you interweave the cards for the faro, alter the way you cascade the cards. Rather than cascading with pressure on the front and back of the deck so they fall squared, apply diagonal pressure from the outer right and inner left corners of the extended deck so the cards fall sidejogged. Fig. 49.

13

A

14

NEw ANGLE

fig 49,50 Leave the cards sidejogged about a

quarter of their width

as

you

apparently square up the deck. Fig. 50.

between your 51.* The face-up cards remain hidden under the spread,

In this position, spread the cards very loosely

hands. Fig.

showing only card backs.

You can motivate this action saying something like “normally, I'd this case, I'll have spread the cards out for you to choose one, but

you just look at one card.” 39

in

“Bizarre Shuffle,” Jerry Andrus, New Directions magazine, No. 4, Aug. 1986.

Twin

PEEKS

Now, you can fully square up and continue with “Twin Peeks.”

This subtlety allows you showing all backs.

to casually riffle the corner of the deck,

Once you get into position for “Twin Peeks” and fully square up the deck, you can still riffle down the outer left corner of the deck with your left thumb. This will only show backs. Fig. 52. fig. 52

This is another opportunity to show card backs before going into a move that utilizes face-up cards. It can be very disarming.

THE NEARLY FINAL COUNTDOWN Ryan Plunkett

Here’s an effect using “Twin Peeks” without the need for stay stack. Using stay stack can add another layer to this effect, but it isn’t necessary. Mandy peeks at any card she wants. In this case, she sees the Four of Clubs. The magician gives her half the deck and takes half for himself. He announces that his own personal favorite card is the Four of Spades.

EFFECT:

Mandy and the magician each deal cards in their halves until reaching the magician’s favorite card. Lo and behold, Mandy’s card is at the same position in her pack. =

FE

== =

faa]

=

A

tapered deck.

perform “The Nearly Final Countdown” from stay stack or from a shuffled deck. With stay stack,

You can

your card and Mandy's selection will be mates and you will know Mandy’s card in advance. From a shuffled deck,

the cards will not be mates,

randomness

of

the

which highlights the coincidence effect. Either way you

choose to go, the handling is identical. teach the effect here using stay stack for the sake of clarity. Your selection and Mandy’s will be mates.

‘We

Tue

NeEarRLY FINAL

Li

COUNTDOWN

LY BHD LAPHY:

Use one of the two methods to get into position for “Twin Peeks. »

corner of the deck, and ask Mandy to call out “stop.” When she does, drag the cards above the break slightly to the right to get your peek. Fig. 53. Remember that card, in this case: the Four of Spades. Now you know she’s peeked at the Four of Clubs. Riffle the

Next, grip the deck in position for a Hindu shuffle. Strip the cards as if you're doing a cut. Hand the stripped-out half to Mandy. Whether you used the “Offbeat” or “Under Fire” method to get into position, do not rotate the deck prior to the strip-out. In either case, you hand Mandy the face-down half and retain the mostly face-up half for yourself.

through her cards to see if her selection is holding. Use this moment to correct your cards.

Ask Mandy to look

in the pack she is

If you used the “Under Fire” method, half-pass everything under the top card. fig. 53

11

A

18

NEw ANGLE

If you used the “Offbeat” method, pinch the back-right corner of the deck with your left thumb and fingers, thumb on top, fingers underneath. Peel the top card to the left with your left thumb and peel the bottom card to the right with the right fingers. Use the bottom card to lever the rest of the cards onto the top of the top face-down card, turning them over face down, side-for-side. Final-

place the card remaining in your right hand on top of the packet. These are the same movements as we described in the “getting out” section for the “Offbeat” method.

ly,

While Mandy is looking through her cards, announce that your favorite card is the Four of Spades (this is the card you peeked at in the beginning of the routine). Place your half of the deck face up in your left hand. Mandy’s half should be face down in her hand. Then you and Mandy deal cards off the top of your respective packets simultaneously (yours face Spades shout, “Ah up, hers face down). When you reach the Four Ha!” or “Stop!” or something equally dramatic.®

of

to announce the card she thought of. Have her turn over the card in her packet that was at the same position as the Four of Spades in your packet. It will be her card: the Four of Clubs. Ask Mandy

Bow to thunderous applause.

40

We begrudgingly admit that being overly dramatic at this stage is not (strictly is highly recommended. And you speaking) necessary for the method. However, should know that we’ll be quite disappointed in you if you're not.

41

The amount of thunderous applause you receive will be directly proportional to how dramatic you are in calling “Stop.” Remember, we're watching.

it

ODE TO RUSDUCK Ryan Plunkett

incomplete faro control.” There’s nothing quite like it to polarize magic readers into those who want to read nothing else and those who want to hurl this book across the room. Luckily, using a tapered deck and stay stack helps us forge new ground that Ah, the

can make everybody

happy.

The combination of the three techniques in this effect allows you to not only position a card (using the incomplete faro) and identify the selection (using stay stack), but also allows you to keep track of everything in a new way (using a tapered deck). So let us now introduce to you the bizarre love child of stay stack, the incomplete faro, and the tapered deck. Buckle up for a wild ride. EFFECT.

The magician riffles the corner of the deck and Bethaa card. After the cards are shuffled and cut, ny peeks

at

the magician not only determines the identity of the card Bethany chose, but also its exact location in the deck. REQUIRED:

A

tapered deck.

42

“Incomplete Faro,” see: Edward Marlo, Faro Controlled Miracles (Self Published, 1964), 5.

43

We provide a new method for performing the incomplete faro control without the extended deck in the next shaving,

A

80

NEw ANGLE

SET-UP.

Set up your cards in stay stack. Hold the deck face down in left-hand dealer’s grip with its narrow end nearest you. Get ready to blow some minds. CHOREOGRAPHY:

fig 54,55 Lift up exactly half the deck with your right hand and turn it face up, side-for-side, so that the orientation of the taper does not

change. Fig. 54. Weave the cards together for an out faro, which keeps the top (face-xup) card on the top of the deck, but do not push the cards square. Instead, hold the face-up half in left-hand dealer’s grip with the face-down half interweaved and extending

out from the front of the deck.

Fig.

55.

You are now in position for a modified version of Ed Marlo’s incomplete faro control.“ Riffle the outer corner of the front packet

(facing Bethany), and ask Bethany to call stop. Open the deck a bit wider for her to see her card, in this case the Five of Diamonds. Fig. 56. As you do, catch a left little-finger break in the bottom44

“Thought Exchange” is a similar effect, using a stacked deck and an incomplete faro control to learn the position of a peeked card, see: Pit Hartling, In Order to Amaze (Self Published, 2016), 72.

Ope

TO

Rusbpuck

fig. 56,57

back half of the deck—the part you are actually holding in dealer’s grip— between the two cards that are sandwiching Bethany’s selection. Fig. 57. This reads as complicated, but it’s actually surprisingly €asy.

Allow the deck to close, but keep your little-finger break. Bring your right hand up to the out-jogged packet, cross over the deck to grip the left edge of the front packet with your right hand and strip those cards out, rotating them clockwise in the process. Fig. 58. Turn your right hand’s cards over, side-for-side, onto the face

fig. 58,59

of the deck so that all the cards are face up. Fig. 59. Finally, at the little-finger break complete the cut, then table the deck face down

81

A

82

NEw ANGLE

with the long edge toward you. At this point, the cards are stepped in three packets. Fig. 60.

fig. 60

top card of the deck is the mate of the selection. For instance, the top card is the Five of Hearts, Bethany’s selection will be the Five of Diamonds (if you're using true mates). Also, the number of cards in the top packet is the position of the selection in the second packet. For example, the top packet, the Five of Diamonds will be there are 12 cards You are now in an interesting situation: the

if

in

12

if

cards down in the second packet.

There are a number of ways to make devious use of this information. Even the most direct is amazing. Cut off the top packet of cards—this is effortless because of the step in the deck created by the reversed tapers. Remember Figure 60? If you don’t, it’s right there. Look again. Turn these cards face up and spread them between your hands. Note the top card (the Five of Hearts). Boom! Now you can reveal Bethany’s selection. BUT WAIT! Don’t just let the cat out of the bag, There’s so much fun you can have with a cat in the bag. Count the number of cards in the packet (12). Now you know how many cards down Bethany’s card is in the second packet.

Ruspuck

ObpE TO

order to build some drama, use the cards spread between your hands to help you improvise some patter to lead you to Bethany’s there are mostly red cards, you might say selection. For instance, “These cards tell me quite a bit about what your selection might be. These are mostly red cards, which tells me your card is likely red.” In

if

If there are mostly black cards, you might say, “It’s actually quite easy to look at just a few cards and guess what card you must have chosen. These are mostly black cards, so the balance of probability says

your card must be red.”

This is good place to be creative, and provides a

great opportuni-

ty to put your own presentational stamp on the trick, whether you want that to be tongue-in-cheek, magical, bizarre, or Joshua Jay. Square up the spread packet and hold it face down in your left hand. Pick up the remainder of the deck off the table and place

it

on top of the cards in your left hand. If you haven’t changed the orientation of the packet in your hand, will be the same direction

it

the bottom packet. Now, you've brought the middle block to the top and you know the position of Bethany’s card.

as

Announce that you know Bethany’s card is the Five of Diamonds and that it is 12th from the top. Depending on how you've presented the rest of the trick, the premise can be intuition, magical ability, or a lucky guess. Count down, show the Five of Diamonds at position 12, and sign some autographs.

Of course, you can do this without the stack, but you’ll only know the position of the selection, not

its identity.

TRY 43 & SHAVINGS

SET AY

THE COMPLETE FARO CONTROL Michael Feldman

/ Now that we've taught you a trick using the incomplete faro, let’s fight about The incomplete faro control is a controversial move. Even the

it.

authors of this book have fought about it on more than one occasion. Ryan thinks it is a fascinating and incredibly useful move that unlocks some wonderful effects. Michael thinks it raises more suspicion than any effect can overcome. So if youre not a big fan of the incomplete faro, you might enjoy Michaels solution. Seriously, this is the one thing that convinced Michael he could add some incomplete faro work to his repertoire. Try it out. It’s pretty simple to use a tapered deck to mimic the function of the incomplete faro, without all that ridiculously suspicious elongated deck stuff. It’s simple, but not easy. It will take some practice to learn to strip out cards while holding a break. It will take even more practice to learn to do so smoothly. But once you do, you can convert any incomplete faro tricks you're already doing into

tapered deck tricks without the elongated deck. Here's how it works: In essence, by reversing half of the cards, the

tapered deck allows you to faro the cards together squared and then strip them back out, just like the extended faro, but not extended.

SHAVINGS: THE

COMPLETE

FArRo

CONTROL

Hold the deck with its wide end nearest you, cut off the top 26 cards, rotate their orientation so their narrow ends are closest to you and faro them into the bottom 26. Whether you use an in faro or an out faro will depend on the particular routine.

Square up the left edge and then riffle the outer-right corner of the deck for the spectator to peak a card. This riffle shows every other card (just like in the incomplete faro) thanks to the alternating stepped

pattern created by the taper.

Hold a left little-finger break where the spectator peeked (just like in the incomplete faro). Strip the two halves apart, while holding the break in the back half (just like in the incomplete faro).To do this, slide the left littlefinger break up to the halfway point in the deck to make room at the back of the deck. Fig. 61. Grip the deck from above with the fig. 61

86

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fig. 62

right hand, thumb on the left long edge, fingers on the right long edge, taking over the break with your right fingers. Fig. 62. The smaller the break, the easier it will be to strip the cards apart. Strip the cards in an action resembling a Hindu shuffle. Place the righthand’s cards on top of the left-hand’s cards and retake the break in the right-hand’s packet with your left little finger. You are now in the same position you would be if you had performed the incomplete faro control. If you cut the cards above the

break to the bottom, the selection will be at the 26th position. Go

forth, do good magic, and stop looking ridiculous.

COLOR SHIFT Edward Boswell

There are figuratively billions of methods out there for colorchanging decks. The wonderful thing about this method is that unlike most color-changing decks, where you can only show one or two cards of the starting color, “Color Shift” allows you to freely show many, many cards both before, and after, the change. EFFECT.

it

Denise selects a blue-backed card and returns to the blue-backed deck, which the magician shuffles. Suddenly the entire deck changes to red except one card: Denise’s selection.

REQUIRED:

tapered deck that is half blue and half red. Actually, it’s 26 red cards and 24 blue cards. This will change the deck from red to blue. To change from blue to red, use A

26 blue cards and 24 red. SET-UP:

Place all 26 red cards with their wide ends nearest you on top of the 24 blue cards with their narrow ends

nearest you. CHOREOGRAPHY:

Spread the top half of the deck and have Denise select a card. Let’s say it’s the Four of Hearts. Be careful not to spread more than half the deck or you will reveal the blue cards. Fig. 63.

88

A

NEW ANGLE

fig. 63

of Hearts (which has its wide end nearest you), rotate it 180 degrees and replace it in the squared-up deck, making sure it goes into the lower half of the deck (the blue half). The Four of Hearts should now have its narrow end nearest you to match the orientation of the blue cards—which also have their narrow ends nearest you. Take Denise’s Four

Split the deck exactly in half to prepare for a shuffle. Because you've just placed a red card into the blue half, you can split the deck into two 25-card halves. The top half is comprised of 25 red cards. The bottom half is comprised of 24 blue cards + the red selection. Perform an out-faro shuffle (maintaining the original top

is

card of the deck). This ensures that the bottom card of the deck blue. Because the top card of the bottom half is blue, shuffle so that

the faces of the cards are toward your spectators. Be sure not to let the audience see the blue-backed card on top of the bottom packet

COLOR

SHIFT

you shuffle. Fig. 64 shows the position of the cards before squaring up the faro, with the red selection in the blue half.

as

Dribble the cards with your fingers at the extreme outer-right corner of the deck and thumb at the extreme inner-left corner. Dribbling this way will show only red cards. Fig. 65.

fig. 65

Next, you will steal the bottom card ofthe deck in preparation

for a color change. The steal happens in the action of an all-around square-up.

Grip the front of the deck with the middle, ring, and little fingers curled around the front, fingertips on the face of the deck. The

89

A

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NEw ANGLE

fig. 66,67

index should be finger-curled in on top of the deck, and the right thumb holding the back edge of the deck. Move your middle, ring, and little fingers forward, separating the bottom card from the rest of the deck, much like the Kelly Bottom Placement or the clip shift.** Fig. 66. Next, begin to turn the deck clockwise, taking it into the left-hand dealer’s grip, keeping pressure on the bottom card with the right fingers. Fig. 67. As the deck falls into the left hand, the bottom card moves into right hand, flat palm. In a continuing action, wave the right hand over the deck, dropping the palmed blue card on top, creating the illusion that the deck has changed color. Dribble the cards with your fingers at the extreme outer-right corner of the deck and thumb at the extreme inner-left corner. This will now show only blue cards and one, single red card: the selection. Fig. 68. Grip the deck in position for a Hindu shuffle and strip the cards as if you're beginning the shuffle. Fig. 69. Continue to take packets 45

This was originally called “A New Glide,” see: Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, Expert Card Technique (Minneapolis: Carl Waring Jones, 1940), 123.

46

Surfaced. Chad Nelson. (2008), DVD.

COLOR

SHIET

=>

© oo

91

92

A

NEw ANGLE

fig. 70

of cards from what remains in the right hand. Most of the time, you'll see only blue cards, but sometimes the red selection shows up. That’s ok.

finish, spread the top half of the deck showing all blue cards except one red card. Turn the red card over, showing that it’s the selection, the Four of Hearts. Fig. 70. To

reset, reverse the orientation of the red card, return it to the red half, and cut the red cards to the top. Then, reverse the orientation of the bottom-most blue card, and the deck reset to perform this trick again. To

is

Now, politely ask Denise to buy you a whiskey. Never work for free.

SHAVINGS:

ROTATOR SHIFTS Nathan Colwell

With

tapered deck, it’s all about the orientation of the cards. Most of the time, you can build in opportunities to openly rotate the cards into the position you require, flowing seamlessly from the choreography of the routine. Sometimes you’ll need to do it secretly. A rotator shift is a move that secretly rotates the orientation of a packet of cards. It can be a single card, a small packet, or half the deck. Think of a rotator shift as you would think of any move/ a

it

is

the right choice and sometimes is subtlety pair. Sometimes one the other. It is up to you to make that distinction. Nathan has a handful of shifts that are worthy additions to your toolbox. He builds each shift based on pre-existing techniques, which he repurposes to rotate a packet of cards. Each rotator shift has two parts: (1) the

rotation and (2) the square-up. METHOD ONE

This first shift is based on a combination of Juan Tamariz’s T.P.C. (Tamariz Perpendicular Control) and Ross Bertram’s TeBe

Change. Begin 47 48

with the cards you wish to rotate on the bottom of the

“Tamariz Perpendicular Control,” see: Juan Tamariz, The Magic rial Frakson Magic Books, 1988), 52. “TeBe Change,” see: Ross

Productions, 1983), 150.

Bertram,

Way

(Madrid: Edito-

Bertram on Sleight of Hand (Pomeroy: Lee Jacobs

94

A

NEw ANGLE

deck. Hold the deck in right-hand end grip and catch a rightthumb break above the packet you want to rotate. Brace your left

little finger against the lower-right corner of the deck and your left thumb against the upper-left corner. Apply diagonal pressure between your left little finger and thumb. Move your left thumb and little finger at the same time in opposite directions. Curl your left thumb inward as you extend your left fingers outward to touch your right fingers. Fig. 71.

fig. 71

Position Check: The bottom packet

is

perpendicular to the

top half. Adjust your left hand to re-grip the left side of the deck with all four fingers on the bottom of the deck (touching the face of the

lowermost card), and your left thumb on top of the deck (touching the back of the uppermost card). Fig. 72. Use your right-middle finger to rotate the top packet clockwise, coming flush with the

SHAVINGS:

ROTATOR

SHIETS

9%

fig. 72

bottom packet. When the top packet rotates, you will need to be sure your right thumb moves out of the way so the back corner of the top packet has room to rotate clockwise to be flush with the lower packet. If you do this in the action of placing the deck on the table, the smaller adjustments become smaller elements of the larger action. Alternatively, you can bring your right thumb to your middle finger, causing the lower cards to spin counter-clockwise. This means you will have no overt motion, but this version is more to flashing. If you choose this method, square the front edge

prone with your right fingers to help provide cover.

This shift is based on Nathan’s own (never before published) Long-Fingered Half Pass, though this version only rotates the bottom packet and does not turn the cards upside-down. This shift designed for the angles that are common to walk-around situations.

is

96

A

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fig. 73

Start holding the deck in right-hand end grip. Catch a right-thumb break above cards you wish to rotate. Grip the cards below the break in left-hand straddle grip, with your left index finger at the

the

right edge of the front of the deck and your left little finger at the extreme right edge at the back the deck. Fig. 73. extreme

of

Move the left fingers backward and down causing the bottom packet to spin vertically, with the face toward the left. From the fig. 74

SHAVINGS:

ROTATOR

SHIFTS

back, the two packets will make a T formation and your fingers will appear abnormally long. Fig. 74. To square the two packets, turn the top half clockwise and down to meet with the lower packet. This method may seem exposed, but it is actually well covered for cocktail angles.

perform this technique without the straddle grip, maintaining the bottom half in dealer’s grip in your left hand and rotating the top half and bringing it down to meet the bottom half. Fig. 75. While this method is slightly more likely to flash, it’s less likely to raise suspicion when executed properly because you hold You can also

in a natural

the deck

position at all times. fig. 75

This method is useful because it allows you to rotate the top block of cards rather than the bottom block. It is based on a

A

98

NEw ANGLE

Lennart Green shift published in Guy Hollingworth’s Drawing Room Deceptions.”

fig. 76,77

Execute the actions of the pass until you are in the position depicted in Fig. 2 on page 123 of Drawing Room Deceptions (briefly catch a little-finger break below the cards you want to rotate). Reach over with your right hand and lift the upper packet using end grip. Push your left hand forward slightly so the front-right fig. 78

49

“Regarding the Shift One, Variation Three” (also called the “Float Pass”), see: Guy Drawing Room Deceptions (Pasadena: Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 1999), 122.

Hollingworth,

SHAVINGS:

ROTATOR

SHIETS

the

packet pushes into the divot in your right hand just below your right little finger. Fig. 76. From the front, your hands hide the bottom packet from view. Fig. 77. From this position, you

corner

of

can hold the bottom packet securely and secretly between the divot below your right little finger and the heel of the left palm. Once you are in this position, use your fingers to openly rotate the upper packet as it is the whole deck. Use your right hand to bring the top packet forward, then grip the back of the packet with

if

your left fingers, rotate the packet and square up. Fig. 78 shows this action.

HOFZINSER’®S

HN STEW. TECH SELECTION SUIT SFT

OD)

RY A

Nathan Colwell

Why did Hofzinser have so many problems?® Well, we keep trying to solve them long after he’s gone. Here’s a great solution to help him pick out a suit. If you're not familiar with this particular problem of Hofzinser’s, here’s the plot: Betty selects a chunk of 10-15 cards from the deck. She then selects one card from that chunk, the Nine of Hearts. The cards in the packet Betty chose are all different, but when the magician places the Nine on the face of the packet, all the cards suddenly become the remaining hearts: the whole suit, Ace-King.

tapered deck.

REQUIRED:

A

SET-UP.

Collect the 13 Heart cards and reverse the orientation of this packet so the deck has its narrow end nearest you and the Hearts have their wide ends nearest you. Alternatively, cull the 13 Hearts to the bottom of the deck and rotate the cards’ orientation with your favor-

ite rotator shift.s

50

Actually, Hofzinser didn’t hand these problems down through the ages. Ottokar Fischer coined the problems in writing and memorizing Hofzinser’s magic.

51

Rotator

shift

sold separately. Not really though, we already explained it.

HorziNsSER’S SuiT SELECTION

Hand the deck to Betty to shuffle. Make sure Betty doesn’t change the orientation of the cards as she shuffles. As discussed earlier in

“Out Of This Spread,” there are

a

variety of

ways

to ensure this.

Take the cards back and hold the deck face up in left-hand dealer’s grip with its narrow end nearest you with the wide end of the

13-Heart packet nearest you. In the action of splitting the cards for a faro shuffle, reach over the deck with your right hand and strip out the packet of Heart cards, then faro the Hearts into the middle of the deck. This puts an indifferent card in-between every Heart. This should

not be

a

studied action. Perform it like a normal cut

and shuffle. Square up the deck and turn it end-for-end so that the Heart packet has narrow end nearest you and the deck with its wide end nearest you. Ribbon-spread the cards onto the table in front of you. Ask Betty to remove a group of 10-15 cards from the center of

its

the spread. Because of the faro, you have a 27-card block for Betty to choose from. As long as Betty doesn’t choose from the top or bottom 13 cards, everything will work out fine.

After Betty removes the packet, ask her to count the number of cards she is holding (being mindful that she does not alter the order). You will use this moment of distraction to make a small adjustment with the remaining Heart cards left in the deck. This adjustment allows you to end clean. Do as follows: Square up the deck keeping the original top section on top and the original bottom section on the bottom (Betty is holding the

101

A

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NEw ANGLE

fig: 79

middle section she removed). Reposition the deck in front of you so that the wide end of the Hearts is to the right and the remainder of the deck has its wide end to the left. In the action of giving the deck a cut, strip out the Heart cards (which have their wide ends on the right) and place them on the bottom of the pack. Fig. 79. Then, hold the deck in left-hand dealer’s grip with its narrow end nearest you and the Hearts with their wide ends nearest you. This reversed orientation of the packets causes a natural break making easy to catch a left little-finger break above the remaining Hearts. Use this break to perform a half pass, rotating the Hearts

it

side-for-side face up on the bottom of the face-down deck. Regain your left little-finger break above the face-up packet that has its wide end nearest you. You actually want your break to be one card higher so the cards below the little-finger break are all the Hearts plus 1 indifferent card.® Perform a full cut at your break.

52

You can use the technique for moving the break up one card described above in the “Under Fire” method of getting into “Twin Peeks,” p. 67-70.

HorziNsER’S SuiT Perform this whole adjustment casually

as

SELECTION

you are reassembling

the deck.

Position Check:

You should now have one card

with its nar-

row end nearest you on top of a packet of Hearts with its wide end nearest you, then the balance of the deck on top of everything else with its narrow end nearest you. Place the deck down to your left, face up. This will allow you to access the deck quickly for the clean up later on. Take the selected group of cards back from Betty and turn them face up side-for-side so that the orientation remains the same

(Hearts with their narrow ends nearest you and indifferent cards with their wide ends nearest you). The cards Betty selected will affect your next steps. The face-up packet of cards could be in one of four states: 1.

There may be a Heart on the face of the packet and an ferent card on the back.

indif-

2. There may be a Heart on back of the packet and an indifferent card on the face. 3. There may be a Heart on the face and the back of the packet. 4. There may be an indifferent card on the face and the back of

the packet. The ideal situation is that Betty hands you an even number of cards with a Heart card on the face of the packet and an indifferent card on the back. That packet would look something like this from face to back:

103

104

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NEw ANGLE

H,X,H,X,H, X,H, X, If you end up to adjust.

with

this

H, X, H, X

possibility (No. 1), you're done. No need

However, if you end up in one of the other three possibilities, you'll need to make some small adjustments. Essentially, you want

to create possibility No.

1.

If there is a Heart at the back of the packet (No. 2), simply move the Heart to the face. If there is a Heart on the face and at the back (No. 3), you need to move the Heart at the back of the packet to the face. This will leave you an the face.

indifferent card on the back and two Heart cards on

If the packet has an indifferent card on the face and the back (No. 4), reverse the order of the two cards at the face, so that the new face card is now a Heart, followed by a two indifferent cards, followed by the balance of the pack. From face to back, it will look like this:

H,X,X,H,X,H,X,H,X,H,X,H,X Once the cards are oriented properly, make some comment about them being a good mix, flip the packet face down end-forend and hold it in dealer’s grip. The packet still consists of Hearts

with their wide ends nearest you and indifferent cards with their narrow ends nearest you.

HorFzINSER’S

SUuiT

SELECTION

The next step is to force a Heart card from this packet. Since the packet you hold is in mostly alternating order, you are

already set up for a very convincing force. Deal the cards one at a time and have Betty call out stop. As you deal, remember which cards are Hearts and which are indifferent cards. An easy way to do this is to remind yourself with each deal which card is which. As you lay the indifferent card from the top of the packet onto the table, think “Hand.” The force card is in your hand. As you lay down the next card, think “Table.” The force card is on the table. As you deal each card switch back and forth thinking, “Hand. Table. Hand. Table,” until Betty calls stop. Whichever you're thinking as she stops you, reveal the force card in that location. If cards were displaced to the face, be sure you have them call stop before you reach those cards—where you won’t be sure which cards are Hearts and which are not.

it

face up on Point out that Betty stopped you on a Heart, and lay the table maintaining its orientation. Show that one card before or after would have been different cards and different suits. Be sure to

maintain the orientation of the taper of each card. Drop the cards in dealer’s grip onto the tabled cards and turn the whole packet face up, side-for-side so that the orientation of the

taper remains the same (Hearts with their wide ends nearest you and indifferent cards with their narrow ends nearest you). Pick up the selected card and place it on the face of the packet with the same orientation as the other Hearts (their wide ends nearest you). Next, you'll transform all the cards in the packet into Hearts, followed by a quick series of casual proofs. Square up the packet,

105

106

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fig 80,

81

turn it end-for-end, and bring it up to chest level, facing outward, pinched between your left index finger, middle finger, and thumb at the lower-left corner of the packet. The wide end of the hearts should now be on top. Fig. 80. This looks like the fingertip-peck position. Use your left thumb to bevel the cards to the right slightly (the rearmost card should be half an inch to the right of the frontmost card). Use your right index or middle fingers to riffle the upper right corner of the cards by pulling back toward you. Because

they're beveled widely, this shows indifferent cards. However, if you were to square the cards against their left edge and riffle the cor-

ner again, the packet would magically show only Hearts because of the alternating orientation of the taper in the packet. Fig. 81. Since magic is what we're going for here, go ahead and do that: square the packet and riffle again, and your spectators will do a double take. This is a cool display, but don’t overdo it. Once is enough. At this stage, you've already revealed the effect, but you're not clean yet because there are still indifferent cards in Betty's selected packet and there are still Hearts in the deck. In the next few actions, you will again display that all of the cards are now Hearts, as

well as get ready to switch the indifferent cards for the Hearts on top of the deck.

HoFzINSER’S )

SUuliT

SELECTION

fig. 82

Bring the packet back to being face-down, rotate the packet 180 degrees so that when you strip the cards apart in a Hindu-shuffle action, the Hearts will strip into your right hand (i.e., the Hearts will now have their wide ends nearest you). Strip the cards apart and show the face of the right-hand packet, revealing a Heart. Fig. 82. Replace the right-hand packet on top of the left-hand packet, holding a left little-finger break. Continue with a legitimate Hindu shuffle using only the Heart packet. Finally, place your

right hand’s cards back on top

of

the

left-hand fig- 83

107

108

A

NEw ANGLE

packet. Spread off the cards above the break into a small fan and show these to the audience. Fig. 83. They will all be Hearts. You if they are the bottom will now show the same group of cards half of the packet. Replace this fan to the bottom of the packet, in-jogging the topmost Heart. Turn the whole packet over side-forside and spread off to the injog showing all Hearts. Be careful not

as

to spread past the injog, or you will end up revealing the cards that did not, in fact, magically transform into Hearts. Relax and treat this as essentially the end of the effect. If you can genuinely feel the effect is over, your audience will relax as well. In the moment of lowered attention that follows, half pass the cards below the injog (the indifferent cards).

Position Check:

In your left hand, you should have a face-down

packet of indifferent cards with their narrow ends nearest you underneath a packet of face-up Hearts with their wide ends nearest the extreme right you. Hold this packet in right-hand end grip by side of the long ends (the same position you would use to hold the cards for a Hindu shuffle). fig-84

HorziNSER’S SUIT SELECTION

left

Now, it’s time for the clean up. With your hand, pick up the deck that you placed aside earlier. In an action similar to a top

change, the packets from both hands come together. At this time you are going to simultaneously ditch the indifferent cards and steal the remaining Hearts. Because of the orientation of the cards, when the right-hand packet comes together against the rest of the deckthe indifferent cards will naturally fall onto the deck. At the same time you ditch the indifferent cards, grip the end of the Hearts (which have their wide ends nearest you) in the deck and strip them out from underneath the falling indifferent cards. Fig,

84. The packet should seem as though it touched the deck for just a moment. Take the cards in your right hand and spread them cleanly

on the table, showing all the

53

Hearts.

This clean-up sequence was developed with the aid of Jeremy Griffith.

109

SHAVINGS:

CUTTING HIGH Michael Feldman

One of the most under-utilized benefits of tapered cards is that it helps you cut to any card you want. If you reverse one card, you have a permanent step to cut to. If you reverse four, you have got the cleanest Ace-cutting routine ever. you reverse half the deck, you can of cards.

use

it

If

like a Svengali deck to cut to any one of a bank

There are many ways to use this. You could have the black and red cards with opposite orientations, and always cut to a red card. It can also help you be more precise in certain techniques. For instance, you false shuffle half of a memorized stack and a spectator

if

other half, you can faro the shuffled cards together and no matter where you cut, one of the cards in your stack will either be the card directly above or directly below the cut. You can use this for effects like “Weighing the Cards” or other estimation tricks, but the weakness is that you have to check the face packet, and if the stacked card isn’t there, you have to peek at the top card of the bottom packet. If you're already using a tapered deck, you can guarantee whether you cut the stacked card to the face of the top packet or the top of the bottom packet. Maybe the most interesting: If you faro high cards (8-King) into truly

shuffles the

the low cards (2-7), leaving the Aces out, you can cut a high card or 54

None of us claim credit for this idea. Many, many people have independently discovered it. Therefore, we assume it must be Marlo’s. After all, that’s what he would have wanted. R.L.P.

Suavings:

CurtTtING

HIGH

low card at will. If you demonstrate to a spectator how to cut the cards (so she always cuts a low card), you can also always beat her at cutting for a high card. And, since the Aces are out of the mix (to keep the numbers even), you can put a breather in all four. That way, once you strip out all the cards and reshuffle so the orientations are all the same, you can cut to all four Aces in a nice kicker

for the routine. There may be more efficient ways to do a “cut for high card” routine. Okay, there are definitely more efficient ways. But this is a fun idea to play with and hopefully it will be a starting point for someone reading this to come back and fool us all badly.

m

TRIUMPH:

AN INTRODUCTION

DON’T SKIP THIS SECTION. We saw you roll your eyes. Don’t even pretend you didn’t. But before you flip past, hear us out. Obviously, there is no shortage of “Triumph” routines in print. You almost certainly perform one already. Maybe two. Possibly 20. It’s also a bit of an obvious use of a tapered deck. Simply shuffle face up and face down,

strip out the

cards, turn them over and you're done, right? Well... Yes.** We suppose that would work, but we think you deserve better than that.

reverse

a selection,

Each of the routines in this section has a quirk. Each uses the taper in a way you're probably not expecting. And each adds something to your understanding of “Triumph” as an effect. So don’t just look at the word Triumph and yawn as you skip the next 25 pages. Wait until you've finished the pages. Then you can yawn. It’s tiring to take in all that awesome-ness, isn’t it?

55

Ooh, look! We just gave you

a bonus

routine. Don’t worry

.

.

.

no charge.

TRICK PLAY Brian

O’ Neill

“Trick Play” is a pair of effects back to back. It is a blend of Alex is also a Elmsley’s “Brainweave” and Dai Vernon’s “Triumph.”

It

perfect example of how the tapered deck can be the glue that holds a sequence together. Each move sets up the next, and the first routine is preparation for the second. EFFECT:

Vanessa thinks

of any card from

spread. After one shuffle, one card has magically reversed: Vanessa's selection. a

The cards are then thoroughly shuffled face up and face down, but when the cards are spread, only one card is reversed. And guess what? It’s a “Get Well Soon” card. No, just kidding, It’s Vanessa’s card again. REQUIRED:

A

tapered deck. CHOREOGRAPHY

PART 1.

Begin with the deck in dealer’s grip with its wide end nearest you. Grip the top 12 to 15 cards from the front end with your 56

“Brainweave,” see: Stephen Minch, The Collected ma: L&L Publishing, 1994), 338-345.

57

“Triumph” originally saw print in: Dai Vernon’s “Triumph,” Stars of Magic, Series 2, No. 1 (New York: Stars of Magic, 1946).

Works

of Alex Elmsley, Vol.

2

(Taho-

114

A

NEw ANGLE

fig 85,86

right hand to do a one-handed fan. Fig. 85. Fan the cards facing Vanessa and ask her to think of any one of the cards. Fig. 86. Rather than returning the cards to the deck the way you picked them up, reverse the orientation of the packet by bringing the end that was at the front to the back of the deck. Fig. 87. Close the fan with your left thumb, squaring up the deck and reversing the packet in Sig 87

Trick Pray the process. Hold a little-finger break under the rotated packet. You should now have a 12- to 15-card packet with its narrow end nearest you on top of the deck (which has its wide end nearest you)

with a little-finger break in-between.

in

Do a “three-quarter” pass: Hold the deck both left-hand dealer’s grip and right-hand end grip.” Insert your left little finger beneath the packet, and grip the packet between the left little finger and the left ring finger. Drag the packet to the right underneath the right hand, and pull it around the edge of the deck to the bottom,

turning it face up in the process.

Fig.

88-89. fig. 88

58

“Ackerman’s Opener,” see: Allan Ackerman, Multimedia, 1994), 100.

59

“Vernon’s Creeping Reverse,” by Dai Vernon, see: Richard Kaufman, Jennings ‘67 (Washington, D.C.: Kaufman & Company, 1997), 141.

LasVegas Kardman

(Sacramento: A1-

115

116

A

NEw ANGLE

fig- 89

Cut off slightly more than half of the top of the deck and do a faro-like weave of the cards. Begin the top half’s weave part way down the lower half of the deck, sandwiching the face-up packet in the middle of all of the face-down cards. Cascade the cards, applying pressure on the corners of the deck so that when the cascade side-jogged rather than square. If you finished, the cards

is

are

perform the faro shuffle by inserting the top half of the deck into the back of the bottom half, the pressure for the cascade should be at the outer-right and inner-left corners. If you perform the faro shuffle by inserting the top half of the deck into the front of the bottom half, the pressure should be at the outer-left and inner-right corners. In either case, the face-up cards should be side-jogged to the left. Begin to square up the cards, but don’t push them flush. Instead, leave the cards side-jogged about 1/2 inch. (See footnote 39.)

Trick Pray pressure fan. Because of the side-jogged cards, the fan will show only face cards to Vanessa, but you will see both backs and faces. The faces you see are those from the bank of cards you

Perform

a

showed Vanessa at the beginning of the trick. As you're fanning the cards, ask Vanessa to name the card she was merely thinking of. As she does, spot that card in the fan and raise it up out of the deck. Fig.

90.

it

should Timing is important here. From Vanessa's perspective, appear as if one card has been reversed the entire time. If you wait too long after fanning the deck to identify and raise the selection, the method will become apparent. It will looklike you're hunting through a bank of different cards to show it as Vanessa’s selection.

On the other hand,

if Vanessa names her card as you're fanning the

deck and you raise one reversed card immediately after completing the fan, it will seem like the selection was just difficult for her to see because of the way the fan was spread.

17

118

A

Pause

NEw ANGLE

at this point. This is a complete effect, in and of itself. Don’t

sell this

short. Seriously. Stop reading, put the book down, and go

do something else for a few minutes.

Not kidding, Put the book down for a bit.

Trick Pray That’s the kind

of separation you need to create.

Because the previous effect sets up the next one, there is a tendency to want to rush right into the next trick. Audiences can sense “performing mode” and “non-performing mode.”® If you rush or if you never exit “performing mode,” it becomes more apparent that a single trick, and Vanessa is more likely you think of both pieces

as

to be able to backtrack and figure out what happened. These effects can be linked in your mind, but they should not be linked in your spectators’ minds. In this case, Vanessa merely thought of a card, and that card was the only one reversed in the deck. That’s a minor miracle, right there. Relax. Exit “performing mode” for a moment and create some separation between these linked effects. Then, you can begin the second piece of “Trick Play” as its own effect and the audience won’t think that part of the method for the second trick actually happened during the previous one. 3

Close up the fan, remove the selection, and turn it back on top of the deck face down, turning it over side-for-side. The taper of the face-down selection will be in the same as the face-up cards in the deck, but the opposite orientation of the rest of the face-down cards. Place the deck on the table in position for a tabled riffle shuffle. Strip the cards apart as if separating the cards to begin the shuffle. 60

This concept was first published by: Rafael Benatar, “The Performing Mode Theory,” MAGIC magazine, Vol. 10 No. 5, January 2001, 21. See also, “The Crocodile,” Pit Hartling, Card Fictions (2003), 70.

119

120

A

NEw ANGLE

fig. 91

Because of the orientation of the tapers, the face-down selection will move along with the face-up cards, disguising that they are reversed. Fig. 91. There will be a gap between the face-down selec-

tion and the rest of the face-up cards, so be careful that the face-up cards don’t flash. Turn the actually face-down half, face up. Shuffle the two halves together, one half openly face up, the other half secretly face up beneath the selection.

Perform any series of cuts or displays from your 11th favorite version of “Triumph” to present the deck mixed and to center the selection. Spread the deck to show that all the cards are facing the same direction except for the selection.

lecture Vanessa on the nuances of whether it’s better to face-up deck with a face-down selection or a face-down

Finally,

show a

Trick Pray deck with a face-up selection. Whatever position Vanessa takes, be prepared to argue the other side.

thunderous applause and wonder whether she’s more impressed by the trick or by the depth of your knowledge of the subtleties of the best way to reveal the selection. Bow to Vanessa’s

127

THE HALLUCINOGENIC ot HI 5

UIF

IF IL ES

Ryan Plunkett

This is a serious piece of strange. There is a very real moment in “Hallucinogenic Shuffle” where your spectators may think they're hallucinating. As the magician shuffles the pack, more and more cards slowly turn face up until the deck is mixed face up and face down. It really is one of the freakier things you can see a deck of cards do. Try this one out with cards in hand and you may end up fooling yourself. The idea was born out of a conversation between Ryan and Michael at a magic convention. At about 5:00 a.m., with only three or four magicians left in the lobby, Michael and Ryan were still trading tricks. It was in that delirium that Michael shuffled a tapered deck, thinking everything was fine, only to discover the cards were face up and face down once he spread them on the table. Michael fooled himself with that one. But it turned into one of the most interesting and serendipitous discoveries he'd ever had with a

deck of cards.

Essentially, a tapered deck can act as a Svengali deck for any set of cards, in any orientation, and you can undo it at any time. You can hide cards in a shuffle, hide cards in a dribble spread, and many other fun things, some of which we’ve already described. Seriously,

it

to yourself to try this one right now with cards in hand. you owe Get a tapered deck, take 13 cards, turn them face up, end-forend, and faro them into the top quarter of the deck. The top 26 cards will then alternate in orientation as well as being face up

THE HALLUCINOGENIC SHUFFLE

fig. 92

and face down. Make sure there’s a face-down card on top. Place the deck on the table in position for a tabled riffle shuffle with the deck’s wide end to the left and the wide end of the face-up packet to the right. Cut the top half of the deck (the interlaced half) to the right and the regular half to the left. Do an “open” tabled shuffle— with your thumbs at the outer edges. Fig. 92. You will only see face-down cards! What?! Seriously?! How is that possible?! If you reassemble your brain from its mushy state need, take a moment

to

on the floor. Michael and Ryan have both come up with bizarre applications for this principle. The “Hallucinogenic Shuffle” is Ryan’s. Michael’s » appears later in this book—“The Law of Conservation of Bullsh*t. FECT.

a

While the magician performs series of very standard shuffles, more and more cards mysteriously appear face up until the deck is thoroughly mixed face up and face down.

123

NEw ANGLE

A

124

Claire selects a card from the mixed-up deck. The magician continues to shuffle the cards face up and face down. With the deck on the table, the magician then dead-cuts to Claire’s selection. Next, a moment later, the deck is spread to show that all the cards have righted themselves. REQUIRED:

Dd

Fri

aa]

1

sey

A

deck. tapered P

in

face-down dealer’s grip with its Begin with the deck narrow end nearest you. Turn approximately 13 cards face up, flipping them end-for-end (thus turning them face up and reversing the direction of the taper). Do an in-faro, interleaving the packet (which has its wide end nearest you) face up between face-down cards. It is

important for

a

face-down card to be on the top of

the deck. Set the deck in front of you so the face-up cards have the right and the rest of the deck has their wide ends

to

its wide end to the left. Fig. 93 (audience’s perspective). Jig: 93

THE HALLUCINOGENIC SHUFFLE With the deck in face-up dealer’s grip (and its narrow end nearest you as described in the setup above), spread over about 16-20 cards, showing all the cards face up. You can even riffle your left thumb down the outer edge of the portion of the deck that is still

in the left hand. Because of the steps created by the taper, only faceup cards will show. Reassemble the deck and place it on the table with its wide end to the left (the hidden face-up packet has its wide end to the right).

Now you’ll do a shuffling sequence that appears to be totally normal, but will cause more and more face-up cards to appear until the deck appears thoroughly mixed, face up and face down. During this sequence, it’s important to have an open and exaggerated table riffle. This way, the audience can see the cards clearly and will notice what is happening, Tabled cascades also enhance the illusion.

the top half of the

deck to the right (this is the face-up/facedown interleaved half) in preparation for a shuffle. Shuffle the cards the extreme right together on the table, keeping the right thumb Cut

at

end of its half like in Figure 94. Because of the steps in the interwoven half of the deck, the shuffle will only show face-down cards.

When you've shuffled the cards together but haven’t squared them fig. 94

125

126

A

NEw ANGLE

fig 95

up, grip the extended deck with your right hand at the right end in a sideways-overhand grip and dribble the cards to the table. Fig. 95. Only face-down cards will show. Square up the pack.

With the deck in this configuration, the more you move your thumbs the left of their corresponding halves during the riffle, the more face-up cards Claire will see during the shuffle. Start with your thumbs on the far right end of the deck and with each subse-

to

fig. 96,97

THE HALLUCINOGENIC SHUFFLE

to

the left, moving from the quent shuffle shift your thumbs further right, to the middle, and finally to the left, over the course of three or four shuffles. Fig. 96-97. More and more face-up cards will appear each time until the audience seeing all 13 face-up cards. In the beginning, it’s important that each time you cut the deck to shuffle, you cut at the right end, leaving a face-down card on top of each half. Later on, when it’s clear there are many face-up cards, it’s not as important.

is

make this display even more convincing, do a cutting procedure that actually adds more face-up cards. Pick up the entire deck with the right hand in sideways-overhand grip and raise the left end of the deck up so that the deck is perpendicular to the table. To

Bring your left hand over, mirroring the position of the right hand, and grab the bottom half of the deck. Rotate both packets inward so the tops

of each packet remain touching, and position them for

another shuffle. Fig 98. Essentially, you are reversing the left-hand half of the cards. This adds more face-up cards to the mix. Just trust us, it does. Ribbon-spread both halves back toward you—to fig. 98

127

128

A

NEw ANGLE

emphasize the shuffled nature of the cards. Fig, 99.Then square and shuffle up again. fig- 99

WE lu Re RA

LA

Re

aTEsl :

———

:

.

=

Now, you'll have Claire select a card. Spread the cards between your hands. She can pick either a face-up or a face-down card. It doesn’t matter. Whatever she picks, turn it over side-for-side in the action of displaying the card.

Continue the shuffle procedure as described above. On your last shuffle, when you bring the hands together, do not cut the deck.

Instead you will strip it apart. The deck should be held perpendicular to the table, with the left thumb at the top and the right at the bottom. Strip the deck, the left hand carrying its packet to the right, Fig. 100, thereby placing your left-hand’s cards the table with your palm-down left hand, Fig. 101. Slap the right-hand packet to the left. If your arms are crossed with both your palms oriented downward, you are good to go! This positions all the tapers such

THe HALLUCINOGENIC SHUFFLE

fig. 100, 101

that they are aligned perfectly with all the cards facing the same direction, and leaves the selection face down. Shuffle the cards together. You then have two options. You could just spread the cards to show they have righted themselves except

for the selection. If you've ever performed “Triumph,” you know how powerful that ending can be. Or,

you could decide not to be a wuss and perform it the way Ryan

does: spot the selection, as it is the only selection slightly jogged in the deck. Even though the taper is not reversed, there will still be a slight step on the selection since it is face down. Fig. 102. Use the natural break, deft hands, and little bit of luck to cut directly to the face-down card, revealing Claire’s selection. fig. 102

129

A

130

NEw ANGLE

One of three things will happen. Either you cut the cards and Claire’s selection will end up face down on top of the pack or face down on the bottom of the pack. The third option is that you miss it entirely. If this happens, simply square up the deck and try again. By the time you initiate the cut, you will know

whether you've

hit it or not. Follow through and complete the cut. If the selection on top, take the single card away from the pack and continue on to your revelation. it ends up on the bottom of the pack, turn the entire deck over revealing Claire’s selection on the face. is

If

Make a moment of this. This should be treated as an effect. Once that has sunk in, spread the deck to show that the cards have all righted themselves. Panic will ensue.

Deep Cuts: Harapan Ong,

brilliant magic creator himself, suggested that you can do this effect backward, as well. If you start with a deck mixed, face up and face down, you can use the same techniques described in this effect to make it appear that the cards a

are slowly getting more and more ordered until there is only one reversed card remaining: the selection. That's just too good an idea

not to mention here.

FLASH TRIUMIPE Ryan Plunkett

This routine is based on an idea Tony Chang showed Ryan at a convention in 2014. With Tony’s permission, Ryan has expanded on his idea to create a routine more in his own style. It requires no set-up and can be done on a moment’s notice.* EFFECT.

is genuinely shuffled face up into face down.

The deck

Bethany selects and remembers any card she sees in the pack. The magician riffles the cards in front of Bethany’s eyes and, as they go by, she sees the cards are face up and face down. Suddenly, in the middle of the riffle, the cards all right themselves and face the same direction. With a snap of the fingers, the magician spreads the deck again to show one card has turned the opposite direction from the rest of the deck: Bethany’s selection. REQUIRED:

A

tapered deck. CHOREOGRAPHY:

Begin by shuffling the cards face up into face down, but in a par61

For more thinking on this plot, see: Joshua Jay, “Triumph in 211,” Magic Atlas (Rancho Cordova: Murphy’s Magic Supplies, Inc., 1999), 96-98.

132

A

fig

NEw ANGLE

103, 104

ticular way. Hold the cards vertically in right-hand end grip with the long side of the deck toward Bethany and the faces of the cards to your left. Your right thumb should be on top, fingers below. Bring the left hand to the deck, mirroring the right hand’s position. Use your left fingers to break the bottom of the deck and take the bottom half into the left hand. Fig. 103. Rotate the tops of both packets inward and perform a standard riffle shuffle. Fig. 104. This not only shuffles the cards face up into face down, it also orients the taper in the cards so that the face-down cards have the opposite orientation of the face-up ones. You can repeat this shuffle procedure as many times as you like or give the cards an overhand shuffle. Be careful not to turn the cards over side-for-side during your shuffle.

Next, hold the deck in dealer’s grip so that the wide end of the face-up cards is nearest you. In this position, when you strip the cards, the face-up cards (which have their wide ends nearest you) will come toward you and the face-down cards (which have their wide ends furthest from you) will move away from you. Pull down with the left-hand little finger to catch a break above approximately the bottom 13-15 cards. Fig. 105. Next, strip out

Frasa

TrRiuMPH

fig. 105,106

the cards above the break in the action of a Hindu shuffle. Grip the entire deck with your left hand, but only grip the cards above the break with your right hand. Fig. 106. This action strips out all the face-up cards above the break, but leaves the cards below the break mixed. Place your right-hand’s cards (the face-up cards from above the break) in-jogged on top of the left-hand’s cards. Fig. 107. Reach forward with your right hand, gripping the front of all of the lower, forward-jogged half and flip it end-for-end, on top of the in-jogged half. Fig, 108. fig- 107, 108

133

134

A

NEw ANGLE

top of the deck and the rest of the cards are facing the same direction (face the cards are still up). Spread 10-12 cards to make it appear as

Position Check:

You have 13-15 mixed cards on

if

mixed.

This whole procedure should feel like toying with a mixed deck, turning cards face up and face down at random. It should not feel

like a studied procedure, but rather like youre making it up as you go along. Tell Bethany

to touch any face-down card (in this case, the Seven

of Clubs). Turn the selection over side-for-side and out-jog it. This reverses the orientation of the selection so that it will strip out

with the cards facing the opposite direction. Push up on the bottommost face-down card with your left thumb. Fig. 109. This should be fairly easy to do because the wide end of the face-down card is furthest from you, exactly where your left thumb contacts the side of the deck. fig. 109

Fraso

TrRiumMPrPH

fig

135

110

Grip this raised packet with your right hand and use your left thumb to peel the selection onto the left-hand’s portion of the deck. Fig. 110. Dribble the right-hand packet back on top of the deck to emphasize that the cards are still mixed (even though, reality, only a few cards are mixed).

in

Turn the entire deck over, side-for-side.

forward, holding the back of the deck with your left hand in a kind of rear-dealer’s grip. Reach over with your right hand and slowly riffle the cards beginning at the bottom, displaying them to the spectator. Fig. 111. As you flip through the first Shift the deck

.

few cards, showing them mixed, say “It happens right about now.” As soon as you say “now,” tilt the deck slightly downward so that Bethany cannot see the bottom of the deck, and quickly riffle to the section of cards that all face the same direction. Fig. 112. .

62

Funk Soul Brother.

.

.

.

136

A

NEw ANGLE

fig 111,112

From the side of the deck, you’ll be able to see where the mixed section ends. It will seem as though the cards righted themselves the moment you said “now,” in the middle of your riffle.

With your left hand, strip out the face-up cards (their wide ends will be furthest from you) in a Hindu-shuffle action. The face-down selection will be the topmost card of this packet and act as cover for the rest of the face-up cards. Fig. 113. Once those cards are in dealer’s grip, continue to shuffle off the remainder of the pack, maintaining the Hindu shuffle. Spread the deck between your hands being careful

not to expose the face-up cards on the bottom of the pack. fig 113,114

Frasua

TrRiumMprH

Once you square up the deck, get a break above the face-up cards on the bottom of the deck. This will be easy to do because the

orientation of the taper in the face-up cards is opposite from the the rest of the deck (note that Bethany’s orientation of the taper card will remain face down on top of the face-up cards just below

in

your break). Shift the deck back as if squaring up the cards and leave the cards below the break in gambler’s cop, between the heel of the left hand and the left little finger. Pull the top packet of the deck forward with the right hand and turn it over end-for-end, leaving it face up and coalesced with the cards in gambler’s cop. Fig. 114.

Cut the deck to center Bethany’s selection, then spread through the cards to reveal that all the cards face the same way, except one- —Bethany’s selection. Fig. 115. fig. 115

137

SHAVINGS:

A

TACTILE LOCATION Lance Pierce

The tapered deck can act as an open index allowing you to immediately locate any card in the deck by feel. This particular method is based on work by Charles Jordan. Arrange the deck in sets of four of a kind: four Aces on top of the four Twos on top of four Threes, and so on, each set in CHaSeD order (Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds). Arrange these packets so they alternate as wide end nearest you and narrow end nearest you: four Aces (wide end nearest you) followed by four Twos (narrow end nearest you), followed by four wide-Threes, and so on.

With this arrangement, when the spectator names a card, you can locate the appropriate packet and thumb-count through those four cards locate the one you want.® Cut the pack at that point, and bring the cut-off portion forward to show that you have in-

to

stantly located it.

course, if you

know a memorized deck, this arrangement can be even more powerful: Of

Split the deck exactly in half, placing the top half to the right and 63

This idea bears some similarity to more recent indexes, such as Daniel Madison’s “Advocate.” However, using a tapered deck allows you to have an open index rather than one hidden away in a pocket.

SHAVINGS: A TacTIiLE

LocAaTION

the bottom half to the left. Declare that you will instantly memorize all the cards by glancing at small groups of them. Lift five cards from the packet on the right with your right hand, barely glance at them, and toss them face up to the center, with their wide ends to the left. Lift five cards from the packet on the left with your left hand, barely glance at them and toss them face up to the center, with their wide ends to the right. Continue, alternating hands, always taking cards by their left sides with either hand; you’ll be

through the entire deck in a matter of seconds. For the last two takes, you'll have six cards in each packet, so just take them all. Pick up the deck, turn it face down, and you now have the entire stack in alternating narrow and wide packets ready to do well, whatever you want. The top half of your stack is facing one way, the bottom half of the stack is facing the other way.

.

When you're done, strip them

out

to restore your stack.

.

139

rE LAW OF

]

CONSERVATION OF BULLSH=+=T Michael Feldman

Michael has a penchant for tongue-in-cheek presentations, especially those that mock the stereotypes and. clichés in magic. “The

of Bullsh*t” makes fun of the cheesy presentations some magicians use to pretend to add meaning to a trick, when they’re actually only adding bullsh*t. In this particular case, it’s the “imaginary line” presentation that crops up so often in packet tricks. Law of Conservation

This effect

is heavily presentation-driven. The patter is critical to

understanding the plot. As a result, this effect takes a slightly different form than the others in the book. We will provide the script along with each step. gs

=

Fi

2

wf

“The Law of Conservation of Bullsh*t” is a bizarre effect. The plot is propelled by the tongue-in-cheek

presentation about an imaginary magical line. First, one packet is shuffled face up and face down, while the other, on the other side of the line, remains normal. But even after the packets change places across the magical line, the messy packet stays on the same side of the line and the normal packet is still on the same side of the line.* The magician then places both 64

This is, effectively, a presentation for a Pass-The-Garbage plot, created by: Paul Harris, Close-up Fantasies: Book I (Chuck Martinez Productions, 1980), 89 and Paul Harris, “Traveling Triumph,” The Art of Astonishment: Book 2 (Sacramento: A-1

Tue Law oF

CONSERVATION

OF

14

BULLSHx%T

packets on the line and all the faces of the cards disappear—Ileaving only backs on both sides of every card. Finally, the magician wipes away the line

to restore the

deck to normal.

Mary mixes half of the deck face up into face down, while the magician shuffles the other half of the cards normally—face-down into face-down.

If I draw between us, the “line of mysterious mystery,” and our packets cross the line

.

.

You give your packet

.

to Ashley

Then according to the Law still mixed . . of Conservation of Bullsh*t, your packet and my packet still Spread to show her cards are still mixed faces the same way. Show yours are all facing the same way. and place hers in front of you

.

.

.

is

.

.

.

.

No matter how many times you switch packets, your cards face the same way and hers are mixed up. So let’s push this bullsh*t further. What

if we put both

packets on top of the mysterious line of mystery, what then?

Place both packets together in the center of the table. Well a wise man once said, “Don’t cross the streams.” Dribble the cards

to show the whole deck face down, then turn the deck over and dribble to show all backs on the other side too. Multimedia, 1996), 185. Many other magicians have published work on this plot, including: Darwin Ortiz, Scams & Fantasies with Cards (Sacramento: A-1 Multimedia, 2002), 174, and Mike Maxwell, “Spectator’s Triumph,” The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings (Tahoma: L&L Publishing, 1986), 246.

142

A

NEw ANGLE

Dribbling the cards one by one, each and every one has a back on

both sides.

And if you believe all that bullsh*t, then this really is impossible. After all, the mysterious line of mystery is just a bunch of hand-waving bullsh*t. pretend to wave your hand across the imaginary line, and wipe it away. Then, spread out the cards to show that they’ve returned to normal; backs on one side and faces on the other. You

REQUIRED:

An

end-stripped tapered deck.

Strip the cards along the end of the deck so that the corner with the pip is the wide end and the deepest

part of the cut (the narrow end) comes out of the nonpip corner. SET-UP:

Turn eight cards face-up side-to-side (reversing their orientation) and faro them into the bottom of the deck

that the bottom

cards alternate face up and face down, narrow end to the right and narrow end to the left. Fig. 116. so

fig. 109

16

Tue Law

OF

CONSERVATION

OF

BULLSHx%T

If you want to get into this position secretly, half-pass approximately eight cards; then split the deck in half for a faro shuffle. When faro shuffling, make sure that the original bottom half of the deck is perfectly weaved into the other half with a face-down card on the face of the deck. =

=D

AD LY FOOD HY. ED GRAP

Phase 1: Pass the Mess Begin with the deck in position for a tabled riffle shuffle with the long sides toward you and the spectator, the short ends on the right and left. One end of the deck will appear basically flush. On the other end, you'll be able to see the eight reversed cards jogged. Fig. 117.

With the deckon the table, position the deck with the jogs

to the right.

Cut about half the deck forward toward Mary. Ask her to shuffle her cards face up into face down. As you do so, cut about half of Mary's cards to the left and turn them over side-for-side for her to fig

117

143

144

A

NEw ANGLE

important to cut and turn over the cards in this way because the face-up cards must revolve sidefor-side rather than end-for-end, which might not happen if you leave it up to Mary. shuffle. Fig. 118. It is particularly

fig

118

Pick up the remaining cards for yourself and split the packet to do an in-the-hands riffle shuffle, making sure the halves don’t change orientation. The face-up cards should be in the left hand’s packet. This puts the wide end of the taper on the face-up cards on the right end of the left-hand packet—exactly where your left riffle the cards during an in-the-hands shuffle. The thumb goes

to

taper will hide the face-up cards during the riffle so that all of the cards appear face down. At the end of the shuffle, make sure there are at least two face-down cards on top of your half. Rotate your cards 90 degrees clockwise and place them into lefthand dealer’s grip. This puts the face-up cards’ injogs at the back

Tue Law oF

CONSERVATION

OF

BULLSHx%T

right of your packet (the face-up cards have their wide ends to the right). Dribble your cards with the right thumb and forefinger at the extreme right side of the cards. This shows only face-down cards and hides the eight that are face up. Ask Mary to spread out her cards on the table and show that they are mixed face up and face down.

If I draw between us the ‘line of mysterious mystery, and our packets cross the line... Draw an imaginary line separating your packet and Mary's. Place your packet in front of Mary and take Mary’s packet, rotating it 90 degrees clockwise and placing it in left-hand dealer’s grip. This again puts the face-up cards’ injogs at the backright of your packet.

Then according to the Law of Conservation of Bullsh*t, your packet still mixed and my packet still faces the same

is

way. Dribble your cards again with the right thumb and forefinger at the extreme right side of the deck, showing only face-down cards and have Mary spread her cards to show them mixed face up and face down.

No matter how many times we cross, the Law

of Conserva-

tion of Bullsh*t applies.

Repeat the whole process, switching packets, dribbling your

145

A

146

NEw ANGLE

cards and having Mary spread her cards to show that the cards on her side of the line remain mixed and yours remain face down. As you ask Mary to spread her cards, take the top card of your packet and gesture toward Mary’s packet. As she spreads her cards, showing that they are now mixed face up and face down, return

the top card of your packet to the deck, turning it 180 degrees in the process, reversing the taper. The natural misdirection of Mary spreading her cards psychologically hides this action, though it’s not something you necessarily need to hide. It’s a small flourish, but

it is important to set up the cleanup in Phase Three.

Repeat the packet exchange one more time, handing your packet across the line to Mary and taking her packet back in dealer’s grip. Have Mary spread her packet again, showing the cards face up and face down. As she does so, cut your packet, lifting up at the extreme right edge of the deck. This ensures that a back shows on

both the top and bottom of your half, which will be important for Phase Two. Once Mary spreads her packet, dribble yours to show all your cards are face down.

Phase 2: All Backs So let’s push this bullsh*t further. What

if we put both

packets on top of the mysterious line of mystery, what then?

Place your packet in the center of the table with the inj ogs at the back right of the deck. Take Mary’s packet and place directly on top of yours, making sure that the injogs line up at the back right

it

of the deck.

THe LAw Well

OF

CONSERVATION

OF

BULLSH%T

...a wise man once said, “Don’t cross the

streams.”

Pick up the deck and dribble it from the extreme right side, showing all backs. Turn the deck over side-for-side, showing another back, and dribble the cards again from the extreme right side showing all backs. Turn the deck over, hold it in right-hand end grip, and turn the deck so it is vertical with what would be the faces toward Mary and

her buddies. Very slowly, dribble one card at a time from the vertical deck into your left hand below. Fig. 119. The taper will make it appear as if every card has a back on both sides.

fig

119

1417

148

A

NEW ANGLE

Dangerous Bonus: There is one more display you can do. It looks fantastic, but our experience has been that it’s hit or miss no matter how much practice you put in. As a result, this does not make it into actual performances of this routine, but we include it here because it’s an interesting principle with end-tapered cards. After dribbling the cards from a vertical position, square the cards up in your left hand and strip the cards apart about a half an inch, a little more than the width of a standard border. Fig. 120. From this position, perform a thumb fan and both sides of the fan will show backs. Fig. 121. This works in much the same way as the “Ribbon Spread Hideout.” The idea of hiding side-jogged cards in a

not new, but the end-tapered deck provides a smoother and simpler setup than any of the currently published methods.

fan is

fig. 120,121

Tee Law

oF

CONSERVATION

OF

BULLSH*T

Phase 3: Cleanup

And if you believe all that bullsh*t, then this really is impossible. After all, the mysterious line of mystery is just a bunch of hand-waving bullsh*t. Grasp the cards in right-hand end grip from the top and mirror the same grip with the left hand from underneath. Fig. 122. Your left fingers and thumb touch the extreme left edge of the deck while your right fingers and thumb touch the extreme right edge of the deck. In a hand-waving action over the “mysterious line of mystery,” strip out the reversed cards with the right hand. Because both packets will have you rotated the top card during Phase One, a face-down card on top.

fig. 122

Yo E&P

&&

149

150

A

NEw ANGLE

If you haven’t done the fan display, the cards that strip out in the right hand will all be face up with one face-down card on top. Return these cards to the bottom of the deck. As your left hand takes over the whole deck, pull up on the top card of your righthand half with your right thumb to get a break under the top card of that packet. As you bring the deck down the table, perform a half pass under the break. Spread the cards to show all backs. Then,

to

is

perform a ribbon-spread turnover to show the faces. The deck back to normal.

If you decided to risk the fan display, the cards that strip out in your right hand will all be face down and the cards in the left hand will all be face up with one card face down on top. Replace your right-hand’s cards on top of your left-hand’s cards and, as you do, pull up on the top card of your left-hand packet to catch a break under the top card. As you bring the deck down to the table, perform a half pass under the break. Spread the cards to show all backs, and then perform a ribbon-spread turnover to show faces. The deck is back to normal.

4&8 TINGS

WOH RY

oo

THE INCOMPLETE STRIP-OUT Harapan Ong

Usually, the benefit

of the tapered deck

the ability to find and control cards from the middle of a squared deck. In this Shaving, Harapan Ong shows how stripping cards from a deck that isn’t is

square can be just as magical. stripping cards in the middle of a shuffle (before you square) you can achieve some interesting and offbeat effects. By

For instance, you can use this technique to simulate a knucklebusting piece of shuffle stacking, like this:

both Jokers keeping track of their orientation. Have the deck with its wide end nearest you and ask a spectator to call Set aside

“stop” while you riffle down the deck. Cut the deck at that

point

(and complete the cut). Use Stewart Gordon’s double lift, which rotates the double end-for-end. When you turn the double-back face down,

rotate it side-for-side. Take off the “selection” (indiffer-

ent card) and place

it, outjogged, into the lower half of the deck. As

you do, rotate the “selection” so it goes back to its original orientation (as it was before the double lift).

The actual selection should be on top of the deck, oriented opposite from the rest of the deck—the only card with its narrow end nearest you in a deck with its wide end nearest you. Place the deck

A

152

NEw ANGLE

of cards on the table in front of you, with the out-jogged card to the left, but as you do, cut the top portion back to your left hand, and hold it in dealer’s grip. The selection should now be back on

top of the half you are holding.

a with their

Catch

ers

little-finger break under the selection and place two Jokwide ends nearest you on top of the half of the deck

you are holding. Perform any sandwich-loading technique to position the selection between the Jokers. Cut the Jokers into the middle of their half of the deck, and place this half of the deck down on the table to the right of the tabledpacket, with its wide end to the right. The selection (which has its wide end to the left) remains somewhere in the middle of this half (and is sandwiched between the two Jokers). Announce that you will shuffle the selection (which the spectators believe is in the left half of the deck) in-between the Jokers in the right half of the deck. Have them square their selection into the left packet. You could simply shuffle the deck, square up, spread the cards on the table and show that you succeeded. That might be good for a first phase, but you can do much better. Instead, shuffle the two halves together being careful not to actually shuffle cards in-between the Joker sandwich—but don’t square them up. Then, strip the selection (which has its wide end to the left) out of the right half of the deck until it is flush with the left half of the deck (which has its wide end to the left). Now, you can spread the interlaced cards to show you have successfully shuffled the selection from the left half of the deck in-between the Jokers in the right half of the deck.

SuaviNGgs: THe INcoMPLETE STRIP-OuUuT This kind of “incomplete strip-out”is not limited to a single card. For instance, you can perform a full-deck “Oil and Water” effect in the midst of a shuffle.

red cards (with their wide ends to the left) into the black cards (with their wide ends to the right). Continue shuffling Shuffle the

much as you like, then in the middle of one of the shuffles, before squaring up, grip the right half of the overlapping section with your right thumb and middle finger and the left half of the overlapping as

section with your left thumb and middle finger. From this position, brace your little fingers against the outer ends of each half and pull in opposite directions with your thumbs and second fingers as in a normal strip-out. Fig. 123. When your thumbs and fingers reach the outer ends of the deck (you'll be able to feel the stripped-out cards square up against your little fingers), you can turn the deck over and show that all the red cards are in the left half, and all the black cards are in the right half. fig

123

153

154

A

NEw ANGLE

is

This kind of “incomplete strip-out” not limited to single cards or entire decks. You can also do it with a small packet. For instance,

you can perform a packet version of “Oil and Water.” Remove four red cards (with their wide ends nearest you) and four black cards (with their narrow ends nearest you) from the deck. Legitimately shuffle the cards or have a spectator shuffle the cards as long as they don’t change the orientation of the cards. Spread the cards between your hands and have your spectator touch any four cards. The only requirement is that the top card has its wide end nearest you and the next card down should be outjogged and have its narrow end nearest you. You can easily tell from the cut in the card or the taper in the border. Close the spread with the four selected cards outjogged. Grip the forward half of the overlapping section from underneath with your left thumb and middle finger and the back half of the overlapping section from above with your right thumb and middle finger. Brace against the front end of fig. 124

SHAVINGS: THE

INcoMPLETE STRIP-OuUT

the packets with your left index finger and against the back of the packet. Fig. 124. Pull forward with your left hand and backward with your right. Strip out the out-jogged cards and show that the spectator has successfully separated the red cards from the black.

155

EPILOGUE —~— Inertia can get the better of any of us. Adding new material to your repertoire can be daunting, especially when it involves fully gimmicked deck, like the material in this book. It will always be easier

a

to rely on routines, tricks, and tools with which you're already familiar, but the road to improving as a magician, or as a performer involves stepping out of that comfort zone and practicing new principles, new sleights, and new gimmicks in front of new spectators. The virtue of the tapered deck is its versatility. It can unlock brand new effects that were not possible without but it can also simply improve the material that is already in your repertoire. It

it,

can even sit passively in your hands while you perform the effects you are already comfortable with in exactly the same way you are used to performing them. here is our parting challenge to you: pick up your tapered deck and perform with it. Even if you have yet to master the effects in this book, even if you don’t think you ever will, just grab the deck and perform. As you do, you may discover the tapered deck So

makes some pieces of your regular repertoire easier, more effective, or more deceptive. You may find that some of the principles in this book will come in handy if you find yourself in a tight spot and need an out. A New Angle is designed to get you thinking about the many ways the tapered deck can help your magic, and there’s no better way to find out than to put it in your hands.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

~N— RYAN

PLUNKETT

is a

Chicago-based close-up magician who has been performing for the past two decades. Ryan is also a highly sought-after magic consultant and magic creator. A New Angle is Ryan’s second published work and fol-

his

debut book, Some Ensemble Member of the

lows

Assembly Required.

Ryan

Chicago Magic Lounge, a

Founding show aimed at is a

reintroducing the art of Chicago-style magic to local audiences and to establishing a home for the Chicago magic community.

MICHAEL FELDMAN

has been performing and

creating magic since he was 13 years old. He performs regularly at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood, Monday Night Magic—New York’s longest-running Off-Broadway show, and traveling the world on board Crystal Cruise’s luxury ocean liners. Michael has published a book of his effects called The Opposite of People. Additionally, Michael has released his breakthroughs and techniques with Dan and Dave, Blue Crown, and MAGIC

magazine.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ~N— Edward Boswell Nathan Colwell Michael Feldman Frank Fogg Harapan Ong Brian O'Neill Lance Pierce Ryan Plunkett

INDEX A

New Glide” (Hugard and Braue), 90. A-1 Multimedia, 115. Ackerman, Allan, 115. “Ackerman’s Opener,” 115. See also

“A

Las Vegas Kardman

“Advocate” (Madison), 138.

Alonzo, Chris, 40. Annemann, Theodore “Ted,” 39. See also SH-H-H—! It’s a Secret Apocolypse (Lorayne), 31, 38. Art of Astonishment, The (Harris), 140.

107, 132-133; Right Little-finger Break, 67-68; Natural Break, 102, 130; Right-thumb Break, 29, 94, 96, 150. Breather Crimps, 9. Bridson, Bob, 56. See also “Ribbon Spread Hideout” Buck, Dan and Dave, 33. C

Card Fictions, “The Crocodile” (Har-

tling),

119.

Cardiste, The (Rusduck), 61. B

Modes: Benatar, Rafael, “Performing Mode Theory” Bertram, Ross, 93; Bertram on Sleight of Hand, 93. See also TeBe Change. Blackstone, Harry Sr., 55. “Blown Away” AKA “Neither Blind Nor Stupid” (Tamariz), 38. Boswell, Edward, 31, 87. “Brainweave” AKA “Ultra Mental” 119. See also

(Elmsley), 56,

113. See also Col-

lected Works of Alex Elmsley, The

(Minch) Braue, Frederick, 9, 56, 90. See also Expert Card Technique; Miracle Methods Number 1, The Stripper Deck Break, 9, 29-30, 33, 66, 68,72, 77,

84, 102, 136-137, 150; Littlefinger Break, 67, 71, 81, 98, 102, 115, 152; Left Little-finger Break, 28, 36, 71-72, 80-81, 85-86, 102,

Card Orientation End-for-End, 14, 34, 64, 101, 106, 124, 133, 137, 144, 151; Side-forSide; 24, 25, 30, 32, 34, 53, 67, 71-72,78, 80-81, 102-103, 105, 119, 128, 132, 134-135, 143, 147, 151; Stepped, 43, 82, 85. Carl Waring Jones, 9, 56, 90. Cascade(s), 56, 73, 116; Tabled, 116. Chang, Tony, 40, 131. “Cherry Control” (Smith), 59. Chuck Martinez Productions, 140. Classic Magic of Larry Jennings, The (Maxwell), 141. Clip Shift, 90. Close-up Fantasies (Harris), 140. Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, The (Minch), 56, 113. “Collectors, The,” 24, 33. See also Segal, Syd; “Finale for The Collectors” (Swain)

A

162

NEw ANGLE

Colwell, Nathan, 86. See also Pass: Long-fingered Half Pass Cull / Culled Cards, 26, 98, 100. Curry, Paul, 55. See also Out of This World, “Out of This World” D

Dai Vernon’s Inner Secrets of Card Magic (Ganson), 22. Daley, Jacob, 56. See also Jacob Daley’s Notebooks.

Deck Order Alternating Order, 105; CHaSeD Order, 138; New Deck Order, 4041, 49, 51, 61-63; European New Deck Order, 49-50, 52; Palindrome Order, 134. Decks Color-Changing Deck, 87; Elongated Deck AKA Extended Deck, 73,79, 84, 126; Gimmicked Deck AKA Trick Deck, 9-10, 18, 157; Memorized Deck, 10, 138; Mixed Deck, 134; Squared Deck, 81; Svengali Deck, 7, 110, 122; Tapered Deck AKA Stripper Deck; 4,7-9, 11-12, 15, 17-19, 22-24, 33, 38, 40-41, 49, 52-53, 55-56, 5859, 61, 64, 66,76, 79, 84, 87, 93, 100, 110, 112, 122, 124, 131, 138, 151, 157; Bathroom Strippers, 22; Belly Strippers, 19, 22; Endstripped, 142, 144; Edge taper / Edge-tapered Cards, 12, 14; End taper / End-tapered Cards; 12, 16, 56, 148; Negative Strippers, 12, 19; Regular Tapered Strippers, 19; Twice-cut Deck, 12. Double Lift, 151. See also Gordon, Stewart.

Drawing Room Deceptions (Holling-

worth), 98. Dribble (dribbling), 27, 31, 88-90, 126, 135, 141-142, 145, 147-148. E

Editorial Frakson Magic Books, 93. Elmsley, Alex, 56, 113. See also “Brainweave”; “Ultra Mental”; Collected Works of Alex Emsley, The (Minch) Estimation Tricks Weighing the Cards, 110. Expert Card Technique (Hugard and Braue), 56, 90. F

Fan, 107-108, 119; Fan Display, 150; One-handed Fan, 114; Pressure Fan, 117; Thumb Fan, 148. Faro Extended Faro, 17; Faro Control, 84; Complete Faro Control; 84; Incomplete Faro Control, 79-80, 84, 86; Straddle Faros, 61. See also Faro Controlled Miracles; Faro Shuffle, The; “One Handed Faro

Miracle, The” (Smith) Feldman, Michael, 3-4, 7, 84, 122123, 140.

“Finale for the Collectors” (Swain), 33.

Finger-tip Peck, 106. Fischer, Ottokar, 56. Flippant Change (Siminoff), 30-31. Fogg, Frank, 55. Full Cut, 102. G

Gambler’s Cop, 137. “Gamblers” False Cut,” 56.

See also

INDEX Up the Ladder Cut Ganson, Lewis, 137. See also Dai Vernon's Inner Secrets of Card Magic. Genii, 63. See also “Finale for The Col-

lectors” Goldstein, Phil, 61. See also Redivider Gordon, Stewart, 61. See also Double Lift Greater Magic: A Practical Treatise on Modern Magic, 9.

Book

Harry Stanley’s Unique Magic Studio, 17.

Hartling, Pit, 80, 119. See also Card Fictions, “Crocodile, The,” “In Order to Amaze,” “Thought Exchange” Hermetic Press, Inc., 52, 66. Hofzinser, 100. Hilliard, John Northern, 9. See also

Green, Lennart, 98. See also Drawing Room Deceptions (Hollingworth); “Regarding the Shirt One, Variation Three” AKA “Float Pass” (Green) Griffith, Jeremy, 109. Grips Dealer’s Grip, 16, 34, 81, 97, 104105, 113, 132, 146, 152; Facedown Dealer’s Grip, 124; Face-up Dealer’s Grip, 24, 125; Left-hand Dealer’s Grip, 16, 34, 58, 67, 80, 90, 97, 101, 115, 144-145, 152; Rear Dealer’s Grip, 135-136; End Grip, 16; Right-hand End Grip, 36, 94, 96, 108, 115, 132, 149; Left-hand Straddle Grip, 96-97; Sideways-Overhand Grip, 127. Gutenberg Press, 56. Guyot, Edmé-Gilles, 8. See also Nouvelles Récréations Physiques et

Mathématiques

2

Greater Magic:

A

Practical Treatise on

Modern Magic

Hollingworth, Guy, 98. See also Drawing Room Deceptions

How to Cut Cards Card Trimmer, 19; Corner Rounder

/ Rounding Corners,

22; Paper Cutter, 18-21; Extra-Heavy, 19; Slide, 21; Wheel, 21; Traditional Swinging, 21; Purchase, 18-19; Stripper Jig, 20. Hugard, Jean, 9, 90; Hugard’s Magic Monthly, 56. See also Expert Card Technique; Miracle Methods Number 1, The Stripper Deck I

“In Order to Amaze” (Hartling), 80. Indifferent Cards), 25, 101-102, 104106, 108-109, 151. Interlaced Cards, 33, 152; Interlaced Half, 123.

H

J

Haley Press, 102, 150. Half Pass / Half-Pass, 69-70, 77, 102, 108, 143, 150; Long-fingered Half Pass (Colwell), 77. Harris, Paul, 140. See also “Traveling Triumph;” Close-up Fanta-

Jacob Daley’s Notebooks (Daley), 56. Jay, Joshua, 83, 131. See also

sies, Book 1; The Art of Astonishment,

“Triumph in 211” (Kaufman), 115. See also “Vernon’s Creeping Reverse” Jogs / Jogged Cards, 27-28, 129, 143; Downjog (down-jogged), 43; Magic Atlas,

Jennings ’67

163

A

164

NEw ANGLE

Forward-jogged, 133; Injog (injogged), 26, 108, 133, 144-146; Outjog (out-jogged), 32-35, 81, 134, 151-152, 154-155; Sidejog (side-jogged), 16, 56, 67-68, 7374, 116-117, 148. Jordan, Charles, 138. K

Kaufman & Company, 115. Kelly Bottom Placement, 90. Kopf, Jared Brandon, 12. See also Two

ton), 28. Marlo, Edward, 29, 56, 79-80, 110. See also Faro Controlled Miracles; Faro Shuffle, The; Ribbon Spread Hideout Maxwell, Mike, 141. See also “Spectators Triumph” Merton, Hal (Walter G. Peterkin), 28. See also “Mahatma Control” Methods Hindu-shuffle Method, 15; Offbeat, 31, 71, 77-78; Under Fire, 67, 77,

102.

Paper Cuts

Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 98. Minch, Stephen, 56. See also

L

L. Davenport & Co. L&L Publishing, 56, 113, 141. Las Vegas Kardman (Ackerman), 115.

Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, The

Miracle Methods No.

See also

Ackerman, Allan; “Ackerman’s Opener” Lee Jacobs Productions, 93. Little-finger Counts, 9. Long-fingered Half Pass (Colwell) also Half Pass

See

1, The

Stripper Deck

(Hugard and Braue), 9. Mnemonica (Tamariz), 61, 66. Modes Non-Performing Mode, 119; Performing Mode, 119; Performing Mode Theory (Benatar), 119. More Faro Fantasy (Swinford), 61. Murphy’s Magic Supplies, 131.

Lorayne, Harry, 31, 38. See also N

Apocolypse

“The One Handed Faro Miracle” (Smith), 40. “Neither Blind Nor Stupid” See “Blown Necromancer,

M

Madison, Daniel, 138.

See also

“Advocate” Magic Atlas (Jay), 131; “Triumph in 211,” 131, Magic of the La Plata Magic Center, The

(Sufrate), 20. magazine, 119. See also Modes: “Performing Mode Theory” (Benatar). Magic Way, The (Tamariz), 93. Magic, Inc., 29. Mahatma, “Mahatma Control” (MerMAGIC

Away”

Nelson, Chad, 90. See also Surfaced New Directions

magazine, 74.

Nouvelles Récréations Physiques et Mathé-

matiques (Guyot), 9.

Nyquist, Charles W., 56. See bonspread Reverse, The”

also

“Rib-

0

O’Hare, Eoin, 20. See Cards: Stripper Jig

also

How to Cut

INDEX “Oil

& Water,” 153-154. Ong, Harapan, 130, 151. Ortiz, Darwin, 41. See also Scams & Fantasies with Cards Out of This World (Curry), 55. Overlapping Section, 153-154.

P

Pass-the-Garbage Plot (Harris), 140. See also Close-up Fantasies, Book Scams & Fantasies with

(Harris); (Ortiz); Classic Magic of Larry Jennings (Maxwell) 1

Cards

Penumbra, 35.

Pierce, Lance, 138. Plunkett, Ryan, 3-4, 7, 31, 84, 122123, 129, 131.

Porper Joe, 19. See also How to Cut Cards: Card Trimmer Pulling / Pull Cards, 14. R

Redivider (Goldstein), 61.

Ribbon Spread / Ribbon-spread, 46, 57, 101, 128; Face-up Ribbon Spread, 47; “Ribbon Spread Hideout,” 56, 148; “Ribbonspread Reverse,” 56; Ribbon-spread Turnover, 150; Tabled-Ribbon Spread, 43, 61. Rotator Shift, 93, 100. Rusduck (J. Russell Duck), 61. See also

Cardiste, The S

Sequence, 33-34, 113; Clean-up Sequence, 109; Dribble Sequence, 31; Shuffling Sequence, 62, 125. SH-H-H—! It’s a Secret (Annemann), 39. Shifts

Tamariz Perpendicular Control —T.P.C. (Tamariz), 93; TeBe Change (Bertram), 93; Long-fingered half-pass (Colwell); 95 Shuffles

Faro Shuffle,

63-64, 67, 101, (Marlo), 29; Infaro / In-faro, 29, 69, 72, 12; Out-faro Shuffle, 62, 80, 88; Hindu Shuffle, 14-15, 51, 64, 70, 72,77, 86, 90, 107-108, 133, 136; Riffle Shuffle / Riffle-Shuffle, 31, 50, 55; False, 50; In-the-hands, 50, 144; Single, 41-42; Standard, 132; Tabled, 15, 55, 119, 123, 143; Exaggerated Table Riffle, 125; Tabled Shuffle, 44; Open Tabled Shuffle, 61, 123; Overhand Shuffle, 28. “Shuffleupagus,” 40, 49. Siminoff, Looy, 30-31. See also Flippant Change 17,

116, 143; Faro Shuffle, The

Simply Sydney (Segal), 33. Slip Cut (Traditional), 71-72.

Smith, Pix, 40. Smith, Ricky, 59. See also “Cherry Control” Smith, Roger, 40. See also Necromancer, “The One Handed Faro Miracle” “Spectator’s Triumph” (Maxwell),

Sandwich-Loading Technique, 152. Scams & Fantasies with Cards (Ortiz), 141.

Segal, Syd, 33. See also Simply Sydney

141.

Spread, 37, 46, 57, 74, 101, 113, 117; Dribble Spread, 122; Right-hand Spread, 26; Tabled Spread, 35; Tabled Ribbon-spread, 43.

165

A

166

NEw ANGLE Nor Stupid;” Mnemonica; Magic Way, The; Tamariz Perpendicular Control (T.P.C.)

Square Up, 74-75, 83, 85, 89, 93, 99, 101, 105, 116, 126, 136, 153. Stars of Magic, 113. Stacks

Memorized Stack, 9, 110; Mnemonica Stack, 52, 62; Mnemonica (Tamariz), 52, 61, 66; Riffle Stacking, 53; Stay Stack, 52, 6062, 64, 69-70, 72, 76, 79-80; Stay Stack Palindrome, 60-61; “Stay Stack, The” (Swinford), 61. Stripped Cards, 29, 64; Stripped-Out Cards / Stripping Out, 15,153; 16, 47, Strip Out / Strip-out, 111101-102, 51,70, 72, 77, 84, 112, 132, 134, 136, 149-150, 155; Incomplete Strip-out, 153-154. Stripper Deck See Decks: Tapered Deck Sufrate, Salvador, 20. See also Magic of the La Plata Magic Center, The Surfaced (Nelson), 90. Swinford, Paul, 36. See also

8,

TeBe Change (Bertram), 93. Terminology, 14.

Thought Exchange (Hartling), 80.

Three-quarter

Pass, 115. 112-113, 120, 129. See also “Triumph,” “Flash Triumph” (Plunkett); “Spec-

tator’s Triumph” (Maxwell); “Traveling Triumph” (Harris); “Triumph in 211,” Magic Atlas (Jay); “Triumph” (Vernon) Two Paper Cuts (Kopf), 12. U

“Ultra Mental” See “Brainweave” Up the Ladder Cut, 54, 56. See also Gamblers’ False Cut V

Vernon, “Professor” Dai, 22, 113,

More Faro Fantasy

“The Stay Stack”

Dai Vernon’s “Triumph,” 113. “Vernon's Creeping Reverse” (Vernon), See also Jennings 67 (Kaufman)

T

Tamariz Perpendicular Control (T.P.C.), 93. Tamariz, Juan, 38, 52, 61, 66, 93.

See

also

“Blown Away” AKA “Neither Blind

115.

See also Dai Vernon’s Inner Secrets of Card Magic (Ganson)

w Weighing the Cards Tricks

See

Estimation