I have long suspected that most ungimmicked versions of the Ace Assembly are in fact subtle testimonies of a magician's desire to appear clever, creative or skillful amongst his peers.
Therefore, such routines often use more technique than one can shake a stick at; a constant stream of double buckles, false counts, displacements, steals, changes, palms, false deals, half passes, secret transfers, and the occasional 'original' move. In my opinion, this kaleidoscope of dexterity is born from ego and naivety; it's a chance for the performer to preen his technical feathers and to gratify his technical fetishism, rather than genuinely focus on the experience of the uninformed/objective observer.
This routine is my attempt to create the ultimate handling with virtually 'no moves'; one focused on pure effect, psychology and practicality. Its fundamental roots can be found in 'Slow- Motion Four Aces' by Dai Vernon and the 'Exclusive Coterie' by S. W. Erdnase, but it has evolved drastically and is now virtually unrecognizable from its predecessors.
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Effect
Four Aces are cut from a shuffled deck, three cards are placed onto each Ace (to casually represent four hands of Poker) and the Aces now invisibly travel to one packet.
Method
Begin by cutting four Aces from the deck and laying them out in a face-up row across the table. This is an important phase as it serves a very useful psychological function: It creates the visual impression of the four Aces lying in a row on the table, which considering the effect about to follow is an important initial impression for the audience to have.
At an opportune moment after producing the four Aces, get a break under the top three cards of the deck. Once the four Aces have been on the table long enough to create a lasting impression of them being there, allow both hands to work together in collecting them up; the left hand acts as a stopper as
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the right hand collects them up into an untidy face-up group.
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Casually turn the Ace packet face down onto the deck and immediately thumb off the top four cards (with one hand) into a row on the table as you say “This way in a moment you'll make a genuinely random choice. ” As an apparent afterthought, switch the Aces around on the table, ensuring that the only tabled Ace ends up in the third position from the left.
Position check: The spectator believes that the Aces are on the table; however, there are now three indifferent cards on the table and an Ace in the third position from the left. The other three Aces are on top of the deck in the left hand.
It is very difficult to convey in print the timing and flow of this sequence. All I can say is that there is really no pausing between your words and actions, and your actions merely seem to be unconscious and unconsidered rather than deliberate or rehearsed sequences. The nature of this sequence allows for
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cards to move in a rough, natural but controlled way. There is no tumbling, falling or revolving of the Aces during the switch.
They just seem to be openly displayed or casually moved on a flat plane. There are, of course, more technically demanding ways to switch out three Aces, but in my experience these approaches often just introduce more psychological suspicion and practical limitation. I cannot stress enough that if the attitude and performance of this moment are correct, this moment not only looks natural, a spectator will forget you even lifted the cards off the table or touched them at all.
To continue, count off twelve cards (without reversing their order) into the right hand and set the rest of the deck aside.
Turn the twelve cards you have just counted face up and push off three cards into the right hand as you say, "It doesen't matter
what these cards are as we are not playing a real game of Poker." Now place these three cards at the back of the packet as both hands move to straighten up the apparent Aces on the table.
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Casually spread off another five face-up cards (showing more psychologically makes this moment feel free from deception.
Finally it sets up the climax of the effect, which because of their genuine free choice will retrospectively deepen the mystery and create the opportunity for a miracle. Hopefully they will
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(To 'help' the spectator select the third packet, I often touch the sleight-of-hand technique has been performed at that moment) and now both hands lift up and are seen to be empty. At this moment you say, “The firdt Ace has vanished. ”
What is interesting about this moment is that the spectator does not think that the Ace has vanished; it seems to have simply been turned face down! This sequence causes the spectator to doubt your claim and to assume that the Ace is still in that
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Now pick up the packet on the left and perform the same sequence of moves, with one minor exception: After you have performed the Through-the-Fist Flourish and dropped the face-down card onto the face-up packet, mime a palm-to-palm transfer (as if there is now something hidden in the right hand).
Now place the right hand over the target packet and the left hand above the tabled face-down card as you once again appear to execute a secret move to account for the moment of magic.
Finally, pick up the remaining packet and perform the same sequence of moves (including the Through-the-Fist Flourish), but this time instead of immediately dropping the face-down card onto the tabled face-up cards, give it a quick spin/twirl flourish as your left hand hovers above the target packet.
There are now three piles of face-up cards (with a face-down card on top of each) and the target packet remains untouched (Photo 8). Pause for a beat before turning over the face-down
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cards one by one and then pushing all of the face-up cards a quasi-one-at-a-time, slow-motion structure). It has taken me many years to strip away all the superfluous technique normally associated with this plot. This routine can look like pure magic or expert sleight of hand, depending on what the observer wants to see and what the performer wants to portray.
No bold misdirection is needed, there are no bad angles, nothing
• The extra cards are placed on each apparent Ace in a way which draws more attention to the existence of the Aces.
• The packets all remain in a row, making all the packets psychologically equivalent from the beginning (removing the traditional T-formation). idea is very deceptive and can be useful in many routines.
A final important point to consider is that a spectator doesn't register the full effect up until the final moment. Normally with a one-at-a-time assembly, the audience registers the pattern of the effect and leaps ahead (therefore there is no surprise).
This effect maintains the potential for surprise up until the final moment (by keeping the audience sceptical) while creating the impression of a one-at-a-time, slow-motion assembly.
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