77. 1923 Card and Handkerchief
88. The Contrary Clock
In this routine Jordan returns to the premise of "The Climax" (No.
75), in which a chosen card vanishes without gimmicks or sleights, and without the magician touching the card. In the present version the magician draws a clock face on a large square of cardboard and places cards around the perimeter of the clock to represent each of the twelve hours. The spectator thinks of any hour and notes the card at that position.
. The magician places a joker in his coat pocket. On command, the Joker changes places with the chosen card .
.t:Jethod: Requ.ired are six cards, duplicates of these cards and six Jokers. For this example, we will assume that the six cards are the ace through 6 in mixed suits. Place one set, in order, in the jacket pocket.
The other se~ and the .six jokers. are set up on top of the deck as follows: ... A-Joker-.4joker-4116-Joker_. 2joker-405-joker-43joker.
An extra joker lies at the face of the deck.
On a large square of cardboard you appear to write the numbers 3, 6,9,12: Actually you write 6 where 3 should be, 6 in its proper place, 9 where I~belongs and 3 where the 12 belongs. The writing is done so the audience cannot see exactly what you are writing. The end result looks like Figure 114.
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Pr~.Pared~Card Tricks 111
Fig."6
Someone names odd or even, and the spectator thinks of an odd or an even number. If odd, you deal the top card where the 1 should be, the next card where the 2 should be, then 3, and so on around the dial clockwise, until 12 cards have been dealt. The spot cards will be on the odd numbers, the jokers on the even numbers.
If the chosen number is to be even, begin dealing at 12, then I, 2, 3 and so on in a clockwisedirection. The spot cards are now at the even positions around the c1ockface. The jokers are at the odd positions.
Carry the cardboard square to the spectator, holding it in both hands, the right thumb covering the 3 that is where the 12 should be.
The left thumb hides the 6 at the 3'5 position. The situation looks as shown in Figure 115.
Turn your head aside. Have the spectator look at the card at the appropriate position. Thus, if odd were called out, he would look at a card in any odd position. If even were called out, he would look at a card in any even position. Because of the way the cards were dealt, he must end up with a spot card. He notes the card and replaces it. You then take the cardboard back to the table, giving it a quarter turn to the right as you place it down.
Take the joker from the face of the deck and openly place it in the jacket pocket. Then pick up the cardboard with the right hand only, the thumb covering the 9 that is where the 12 should be, Figure 116.
The 3 is now in its proper place, as is the 6. The former 6 has become a Fig.114
positions at the beginning of the trick are now at even pOSItIOns, and vice-versa.
The spectator turns up the card he thin~s is his. T~is tells y.ou the identity of the chosen card. The spectator will be surpnsed to discover the joker in its place. He can check the card on either side of the joker because each will be an ordinary spot card.
Since you know the chosen card, remove its duplicate from the pocket.
89. "Contrary Clock" Notes
The ingenious premise behind "The Contrary Clock" can be applied to many variations. To take one simple example, hand blank slips of paper to two spectators. Have them agree on a time, either 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock or 12 o'clock. Bothjot down this same time on their respective slips of paper. They do this secretly, without your knowl-edge. While they decide on a time, you sketch in the clock face shown in Figure 117.
Show the clock face as in Figure 118, and have the first spectator note the ace at the time he has in mind. If the time was 12 o'clock, he would note the 4A and jot it down on the paper. You have your head turned aside so you do not see what he writes.
As you go to the other spectator, give the clock [ace a quarter turn to the right. Then hold it as shown in Figure 119. The second spectator notes the card at the same setting, in our example 12 o'clock, and jots this down on his slip of paper. He thinks he has the same card as the first spectator, but his card is different.
Fig. 117
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Fig. 118
Prepared-Card Tricks 113
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Fig. 120 Fig. 119
Remark that time, like space, can be zoned, and since the spectators are sitting in different parts of the room, their local time may vary.
They state aloud the names of their chosen cards. They both looked at the same time, but they chose different cards.
While attention is on the spectators, drop the clock face into your pocket and remove the one shown in Figure 120. If the spectators ask to see the clock face, they will be surprised that the setting they looked at contains a completely different card from the one either of them chose.
This chapter is devoted to .Jordan's work with riffle shuffle systems.
The chapter opens with the observation that a shuffle does not ~eall'y mix the cards. Effects and methods are then developed toexploit this principle. Although the basic premi.se was publish~d earlier in the cen-tury by C. O. Williams, Jordan's writings are considered the outstand-ing treatment of the subject.