B E N J
A
M
I
N
Less is More
Benjamin Earl
Dedicated to:
Mum, Dad, Kathryn, Sebastian,
Darcey, Neil, Anna & Freya.
“One day I will find the right
words, and they will he”
Special thanks to:
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, John Scarne, Steve Forte, Ricky Jay, Michael Moschen, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Carl Andre, Simon Henderson, Mike, Chris Power, Justin Higham, Danny Buckler & Andi Gladwin.
VANISHING
INC
.
Designed by Andi Gladwin with Benjamin Earl
Proofread by Andi Gladwin, Justin Higham, Erik Jansson, Joshua Jay, George Luck & Mike Vance.
Photographed by Benjamin Earl
First Edition 2017.
Copyright © 2017 by Benjamin Earl and Vanishing Inc. Magic
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Con ventions. Published in the United States of America by Vanishing Inc. Magic. Printed in the United States of America.
Contents
Foreword by Andi Gladwin ... xiii
Introduction...xvii
Evolving with Simplicity Thanks to Henry... 7
Henry in Isolation... 15
Instant Isolation ... 19
Henry Topped...22
Chapter One Summary... 25
Technical Simplicity The Sting Cut...29
The Any Card Game Control... 36
The Real Optical Shuffle ...41
Finessed Frank Thompson Cut... 47
The Bounce Cut...51
Spectator Shuffle Holdout... 56
Half & Half Control...59
Shuffled Ose Control... 60
Deep Slug Control... 63
Chapter Two Summary...66
Versatile Simplicity Blinded by the Hand... 69
Wide Awake Scream... 71
The Back Room Demo... 75
Clean Cutter ...80
Clean Cutter 2 ... 87
Flow Productions ...93
Classic Simplicity
Stem Cell...103
The Resourceful Professional... 110
No-Motion Four Aces... 114
Chapter Four Summary...126
Real Ace Cutting Real Ace Cutting...129
Chapter Five Summary... 140
Foreword by Andi Gladwin
I positioned myself so that I could give the deck my best false shuffle. I then proceeded to produce the four Aces one by one using a series of complicated shuffles and stock controls.
“It's good, "Ben said, “but it doesn't feel authentic. I think I can help you change that." By 'authentic' he meant it was clear that I was controlling the Aces instead of actually trying to locate them.
Ben asked me to shuffle the cards. I handed the deck back to him and he Immediately cut to an Ace. A legitimate riffle shuffle, and to my utter shock, another Ace gently propelled from the deck. How was he doing this? As I would later discover, there were no crimps or shavings. The only plausible explanation was that he had somehow developed such dexterity that he really was locating the Aces. I was not only fooled, but I was brought into Ben's world; a place of superhuman feats with playing cards.
Later that night, Ben taught me that he wasn't actually locating the Aces from a shuffled deck — even though it seemed exactly like he was. Actually, the technique he used was called “Real Ace
Cutting,” which was far easier than the complex monstrosity I had shown him—but somehow his looked real. Ben hadn't just fooled me with sleights, he had used something even more potent: simplicity. By stripping away everything I would expect to see, he had managed to rebuild the effect into something that actually looked and felt real.
The routine that Ben showed me is our final destination in Less is More. Our starting point is Henry Christ's "Fabulous Ace Routine”; a construction that I think most card magicians fall in love with because the Aces are under our control, yet they deem lost, even to the performer. We then follow the path through several other versions of that effect, before taking a detour through some fascinating sleights and simple routines, ending at "Real Ace Cutting,” where even your most astute magician colleagues will believe in your apparent newfound skill.
This kind of simplicity does not come as the default. Ben has been obsessing with this plot for at least the eight years that I have known him and his experimentations have guided him across the entire spectrum of this effect. In fact, there is an interesting dichotomy at play: Ben can actually find four Aces from a truly shuffled deck! I have seen him do it many times, including in the stressful environment of an edit-as-live TV shoot. It's perhaps the most difficult sequence (for your hands and mind) that I have ever seen a magician do. I think going as far as learning how to do it for real was the only way he could provide authentic-feeling, pseudo demonstrations of this effect. Only then could he understand what it felt like to have that extraordinary skill. It's a framework that could be applied to many other skill-based tricks; learn to do it for real and then strip it back so that it becomes achievable and fascinating, even in the harshest of performance environments.
Even though most of the effects and moves in this book aren't at all difficult, it is important to understand that simplicity doesn't mean easy. Simplicity is a design model; an understanding that by considering how a trick is structured and stripping away the fat, we can create a more interesting performance. As Apple designer Jony Ive said in an interview, "There is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity; in clarity, in efficiency. True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation. It's about bringing order to complexity." That goal shines through in Ben's writing.
The ideas applied in "Real Ace Cutting" aren't limited to Ace production effects. We see Ben thrive with moves like the Real Optical Shuffle and the Sting Cut where he applies the same psychology, timing and improvisation while controlling the deck as he does to find the four Aces. By analysing what he is doing, I think we can apply this thinking to all of the magic that we perform. As Rune Klan once observed to me about Ben: his magic looks so good because he knows the perfect move to use at the perfect time.
The legendary high-wire artist Philippe Petit wrote, "What the audience will see is a man or woman who is a prisoner of his or her passion, and this is the most inspiring performance in the world." To see Ben Earl perform "Real Ace Cutting" is to see that prisoner, trapped in his own mind as he calculates the positions of the Aces and tries to find the most efficient shuffle sequence to effortlessly produce them from the deck—it's astonishing to behold. Ben might not be carefully balancing on a rope tied between the Twin Towers, but at that very moment, it seems that accurately locating the Aces is just as important to him. It is that tension and concentration that create an authentic performance.
Andi Gladwin
Gloucester, December 2016
“What’s really important is to simplify. The
work of most photographers would be improved
immensely if they could do one thing: get rid of
the extraneous. If you strive for simplicity, you
are more likely to reach the viewer. ”
—
William Albert Allard
Introduction
Magic performances have three major channels of expression: the technical act itself, the verbal presentation, and the physicality of the performer. I believe that all three channels are given maximum opportunity to flourish if an effect is reduced to its most simple technical components. There is real beauty in stripping away clutter to leave clarity and efficiency.
Less is More begins by deconstructing — and then rebuilding — a classic Ace routine, openly showing how simplicity can improve the effect. I will share three versions of the same effect; each will get progressively simpler and progressively better. I'll then explore simplicity within sleights, techniques and several other
Ace routines; all of which demonstrate the true practicality and versatility of simple design. The final chapter brings everything together within one powerful routine ('Real Ace Cutting’), which will hopefully recalibrate your appreciation of how truly deceptive and sophisticated a simple magic method can become.
Why have I chosen to focus on Ace effects? They can efficiently speak to a performer’s skill, symbolise the gritty world of the cardsharp or become mystifying magic effects with relative ease. Their ability to connect to a wide range of ideas, their aesthetic appeal, and the fact that they are instantly recognisable symbols is why they have become a classic area of interest for magicians throughout history. Therefore, I'll be using Ace effects as a convenient framework to present my thoughts on simplicity.
Simplicity doesn’t mean easy; it means you have fewer places to hide, you are more exposed. It forces you to become better. Therefore, your technique and methodology must become more efficient. Finding the most efficient path requires many stages of ruthlessly objective development; a relentless attempt to understand exactly what you are doing and what an audience thinks you are doing.
The material in Less is More was originally released over several years within four self-published manuscripts. However, I always wanted to collect the material together into one volume so that the reader had a less fragmented and more cohesive reading experience. This book has not only given me that opportunity, but it has allowed me to update all the material and include lots of extra techniques, touches and routines ... the irony is not lost on me.
Benjamin Earl
Surrey, December 2016
1.
Evolving with simplicity; a
process of improvement
Evolving with simplicity; a process of
improvement
Our starting point is Henry Christ's ‘Fabulous Ace Routine'. In effect, the four Aces are openly lost in separate areas of the deck. The performer now manages to find each one in a dramatically different fashion. It is a classic. I want to demonstrate that by introducing increasingly simple means of tackling the methodology we can drastically improve a magic effect.
Henry Christ's ‘Fabulous Ace Routine' doesn't physically exist; it's just an idea, a concept, a piece of philosophy concerning the methodological structure of a card trick. This fifty-year-old idea has influenced many performers —including myself—and it is my starting point in this exploration. Like any idea it can be challenged, corrupted, refined and developed until it reaches a point beyond recognition. It doesn't really matter which Ace routine I used as my starting point. You will see as we progress that any Ace routine would have led me to the same inevitable conclusion. However, it seemed sensible to start with a recognisable classic.
Henry Christ was originally inspired to create his classic Ace routine after witnessing Dai Vernon perform 'Cutting the Aces' from Stand of Magic. Christ's routine was also originally intended for publication in the Stars of Magic but it failed to make an appearance. It was eventually published in 1961 in Cliff Greens Professional Card Magic under the title 'Henry Christ's Fabulous Ace Routine'; however, this was reportedly not Christ's original handling. Christ's original handling is apparently in both Karl Fulves' Epilogue and The Vernon Chronicles, Volume 2; however, both of these descriptions differ from each other.
Christ's routine is usually purported to be a masterpiece, a work of stunning economy and magical beauty. I disagree. Although this classic routine is interesting and original, it is in my opinion far from a masterpiece. In fact, I think it's a rather dull trick lacking in punch or methodological beauty. I am challenging myself to improve the original without the need to add additional kickers or extra moments of magic. Instead I want to focus on stripping away all unnecessary clutter and making it simpler to show that less is more.
The interesting aspect of the original routine is the way in which the Aces are apparently lost in separate parts of the deck and the fact that each Ace is found in a different way. The exact nature of the control and the style of the revelations aren 't what make the Christ routine interesting (even if it does make it identifiable), and therefore I have made changes to both the control and the revelations. My first step was to analyse the structure of the Christ effect and to make it more efficient, logical and direct. I have attempted to clear out the cobwebs and to inject a sense of minimalist clarity.
The laydown/control procedure has been improved so that it feels more casual and natural. Most performers who have changed the original have removed the double undercut
(probably because it is rightly felt to be incongruous and perhaps even naively felt to be too simple), but left the insertion of an Ace into a fanned packet, which is also incongruous. All the packets should fed the same; the laydown sequence should have a congruent feeling of intention, style and attitude. I feel like the sequence offered here impressionistically achieves that.
The revelations have also been improved as each Ace is found with a sense of immediacy; therefore, dealing quantities of cards while spelling or counting has been eliminated. Each Ace is also found with a completely distinct theatrical and conceptual tone (which is even more distinct than in the original routine). The revelations in Christ's original felt small, cute, mildly amusing, mathematical, and ultimately disappointing. Therefore it was important to me that these were improved.
In summary, below is full a list of structural and theatrical developments:
• No set-up is required.
• The Aces are lost in a more congruent and natural way. • The revelations build; each one is progressively stronger
and more distinctive. • No tabled spreads are used.
• No estimation, glimpses or key cards are used. • There are no anti-climactic moments.
• No kicker or surprise endings are used. • It is very simple to perform and execute.
Thanks to Henry
Begin by removing the Aces and tossing them onto the table, arranging them face up on the table in Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs order from your left to right. The Aces don't actually need to be in any particular order but I like this order as they are discovered alternating in colour and the Ace of Spades is discovered last.
You are now going to spread through the face-up pack to separate it into individual sections and to demonstrate that there are no additional Aces present. You will use this moment to secretly count cards in two of the packets, which is a very natural and efficient way to get the work done. With the face up Aces on the table, spread through the deck, saying, “I want you to see that there are no extra Aces in the deck. ” Casually spread over the first nine face-up cards, flip this packet face down and allow it to hit the base of the left thumb so that it doesn't go flush with the deck. Your right hand immediately squares the packet before picking it up and setting it down onto the Ace of Clubs (leaving three-quarters of the face-up Ace protruding as in the original Christ handling).
When counting the nine cards, make sure it is done casually and in groups of three or four rather than pushing over nine cards individually. If done casually it is impossible for a spectator to sense that you have removed a specific number of cards.
Spread just over a quarter of the remaining cards, showing there are no extra Aces, and flip this packet over, setting it down onto the Ace of Diamonds. Now spread over nine cards and, in the same action, flip them over and set them onto the Ace of Hearts in exactly the same way you did for the previous packets. The remaining cards are flipped over in the hands and set down behind the Ace of Spades (Photo 1).
You are now going to lose the Aces in a very convincing and natural manner. Pick up the Ace of Clubs with your right hand and lay it face down on your left hand. Immediately pick up the packet that was on top of the Ace, and drop it face down on top of the Ace. Pick up the Ace of Diamonds and drop it face down
8
onto the cards in your hand, and then pick up its packet and drop it onto the cards in your hand, but secretly hold a break between the Ace and this packet.
As if to subtly speed up the procedure, reach forward with your right hand and remove the Ace of Hearts and allow it to turn face down onto its packet, and do exactly the same thing with the Ace of Spades. Now pick up the Ace of Hearts packet and drop it onto the Ace of Spades packet, and in a continuing action pick up this combined packet and drop it onto the cards in your hand.
Casually cut the deck at the break and then begin a casual false shuffle while you say, “If this were a real game you would have no idea where any of the Aces would be and you would only have a small window of opportunity to find out. You can also use the Any Card Game Control (page 36) to further imply that the Aces are lost.
Riffle the ends of the cards toward yourself as if you are memorising the cards. Continue, “I will find the Aces by using a combination of memory and dexterous skill. ” Execute a series of flowing false cuts (see Notes) before producing the Ace that is currently on top. While you can use any revelation here, it is important that this Ace is produced with a technical flourish as it communicates skill and provides a nice visual contrast to both the process so far and the revelations to come.
“The second Ace will be found by yourself [indicate a spectator] using psychological control. ” You will now find the Ace of Clubs, at the tenth position, using the psychological stop force. Silently deal- drop seven cards one by one before looking up and saying, “Just say stop whenever you like. ” Continue to drop cards until the participant stops you on the tenth card, and turn it face up to reveal the second Ace. Much has been written about the psychological stop force and I won't go into it now, but as
long as you thoroughly understand the technique and all its permutations, you will always find the Ace.1 It is important not
to deal the cards per se, but to casually drop them onto the table, as it looks more casual and more interesting than a deal.
Drop the talon onto the dealt cards and pick up the deck. Continue, “The third card can be found tiding misdirection. ” As you say this, palm the top card of the deck in your right hand (the Ace of Hearts) and allow the right hand to relax as all of your attention and focus moves to the left hand. Silently and openly pinky count or thumb count nine cards and establish a wide break, and then openly execute a Charlier Cut at the break. This is done in full view of the audience and only takes a few seconds. Reach into a pocket and produce the palmed Ace of Hearts as you say, “Without misdirection everyone would have seen me steal it!” As this Ace is being placed onto the table, establish a break under the top two cards with a pinky count or a double push-off.
“Now, for the final Ace I thought I'd dhow you the type of thing that you'd see in a Hollywood moviey where something impossible hap pend.
Normally it's done with a camera cut ... but those moments in movies are based on real techniques . . . s o I’ll dhow you what one of those real techniques might look like. ” As you say this, execute a double lift, showing a face-up indifferent card, turn the double face down and place the top card onto the table next to the other three face-up Aces. Now say, “Ad I said, in the movies this is always done with a camera cut, but in reality it looks like this. ” Place your hand onto the face-down card before lifting the hand and carefully and slowly turning the card face up to reveal the final Ace.
1. This technique dates back to at least the 19th century, with early descriptions found in Ottokar Fischer's J. N. Hofzinser: Kartenkunste, Olms: Zurich, 1910, p. 23. I would recommend reading ‘The Psychic Stop!' from
Expert Card Technique and Roberto Giobbi's description in Card College, Volume 4.
Notes
As you can see, ‘Thanks to Henry' is a very efficient handling of the Henry Christ trick. However, the notes below are useful in understanding the choices I have made in constructing the effect.
Removing the Aces
Why remove the Aces only to lose them again? Firstly, it stages the effect and very efficiently sets up the premise. Secondly, the banality of their removal only serves to strengthen the clarity of their rediscovery. However, as we probe deeper into the effect within the rest of the chapter, this exact point will undoubtedly begin to haunt me.
Magicians often attempt to logically justify the ‘losing' of the Aces by first producing them with a fancy production. This is the worst thing you can do with a routine of this kind as it completely misses the point. You are trying to demonstrate the impossibility of what you are doing. Do not undermine your efforts by beginning the performance by showing them not only how easy this is, but that it can be done with a flourish!
And, an aside; To reproduce them again at the end or to end by producing a royal flush is to further undermine the effect. All of your efforts should be in making the production of four lost cards impressive, technically, theatrically and psychologically.
The best way to begin is to remove the cards openly. This subtly demonstrates to an audience what you would ‘have' to do to find four Aces. This moment suggests that you actually need to spread through the cards and to place them physically onto the table—what other way is there?
Losing the Aces
As you can see from the procedure I have described, the losing sequence feels impressionistically very similar: Cards are being picked up and dropped onto your hand in a very casual and open manner. It is very simple and easy to perform.
Here is a variation for handling the 'losing' procedure that is very interesting, though after much consideration I decided to use the one already described. However, I think it's valuable in our understanding of how the procedure eventually evolved:
Start with the Aces on the table in Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs order. Place a packet of nine cards behind the first Ace of Clubs and then start spreading over the cards for the second packet and catch a break under any card as you flip over the cards in your right hand onto the rest of the deck. As the packet is turned face down, the card above your little-finger break is added to the bottom of this packet. To cover this moment, both of your hands perform a simultaneous action: Your left hand turns at the wrist and moves forward along with your right hand to adjust/straighten the two center Aces. The left hand then moves back to its previous position as the right hand sets its cards onto the second Ace. As before, set nine face-down cards onto the third Ace and the remainder face down onto the final Ace.
Pick up the Aces as follows: Pick up the Ace of Clubs and set it face down onto your left hand, followed by dropping its packet on top. Do the same thing for the second packet. Turn the third Ace face down onto its packet before dropping the cards in hand on top, and repeat this for the final Ace.
There is now a reversed card somewhere near the top of the deck. Say, “I’ll show you several ways that the Aces can be found. They each seem impossible, but card cheats, gamblers and hustlers have played with all of these ideas. Before we do anything it's important that you
remember that the Aces are Lost in different areas of the deck. ” As you deliver the last part of this script, casually spread the cards face down between your hands, apparently accidentally revealing the face-up card. Act surprised and cheekily say, “Whoops ... now if that was an Ace I’d have taken credit for that!” Turn over the face-up card and catch a break beneath it as you replace all the cards above it and continue to hold the break. By cutting at the break the cards are in the exact order you need to proceed.2
Finding the Aces
The revelations have been specifically constructed to create the largest amount of contrast possible.
First Ace: cut-to with skill, while subtly communicating that the rest of the deck is randomly mixed through shuffles and cuts. Spectators will be impressed that you have found an Ace, but they will also subconsciously believe that the rest of the deck is mixed. This is an aesthetically pleasing sequence that efficiently establishes the idea that the deck is in chaos while establishing an impressive level of skill.
Second Ace: psychological control of the spectator. This is very impressive because they believe the deck to be mixed and it comes as a complete surprise. They are in control, not you, and therefore the appearance is thoroughly baffling.
Third Ace: is impossibly removed from the pocket; totally unexpected and completely impossible as the palm will not be seen. This is in contrast to the other two Aces as it appears in a different spatial area of the performing zone and with a lighter theatrical tone.
2. Frank Garcia mentions the ‘Whoops’ concept to control cards in Super Subtle Card Miracles (1973), although the concept is a lot older. It was first published by U. F. Grant in 1943 as a method for eliminating the Pass.
Fourth Ace: magically transforms. This is a very strong moment of magic to end on, that contrasts with all the other revelations and appears exceptionally clean.
All of this is achieved without any spelling, coincidences or complicated set-ups. The effect also seems to be generated through the performer's skill and power rather than a trick deck. This happens with the smallest amount of adjustment possible to the deck, in order to give each of the revelations a sense of immediacy. In short, all superfluous handling has been removed, generating a very efficient sequence.
Henry in Isolation
By taking ‘Thanks to Henry ’and developing the methodological structure of the routine even further, you will see that several distinct advantages have presented themselves: the method is more deceptive, natural and dimple. It still conforms to the four-packet structure of Christ's original, but this new handling had also led to an additional visual handling. Most importantly this procedure allows the performer to concentrate on performance rather than the technical consideration of the effect.
It is important to remember that this routine is still based on Henry Christ's ‘Fabulous Ace Routine’. But now it seems very different. It achieves the exact same effect of locating the Aces in distinctively different ways after they have been lost in different areas of the deck, but with this handling, less structure and less technique have certainly produced more.
To perform, start with a bottom-cutting breather crimp in the Ace of Spades (this is typically done by applying the crimp with the card face up). Have the deck shuffled and then cleanly remove the Aces. Lay the Aces into a face-up row on the table and arrange them in Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds order from left to right. Slowly turn each Ace face down.
Now dribble a quarter of the deck onto each Ace from a few inches above the table. This looks incredibly random and very casual. Say something along the lines of, “Each Ace to now separated and in a different area of the deck, but to make it truly random I should mix up these packets so that nobody knows the locations of the Aces. ” Suiting actions to words, pick up the packet on the far left and give it an overhand shuffle, retaining the Ace on the bottom using the slip shuffle. Drop this packet in front of you
(Photo 1).
Pick up the next packet (with the Ace of Hearts on the bottom) and give it an overhand shuffle, but run the Ace to the top. Drop this packet onto the packet already in front of you. You now have half the deck on the table with the Ace of Hearts on the top and Ace of Clubs on the face.
Pick up the third packet (Ace of Spades) and give it an overhand shuffle, again retaining the Ace on the bottom
16
with the slip shuffle technique, and drop this packet onto the combined packet in front of you. Pick up the final packet, give it an overhand shuffle, running the final Ace to the top of the packet, and drop it onto the deck.
The sequence is very easy to remember: from left to right the sequence is bottom, top, bottom, top. This has placed an Ace on the top of the deck, an Ace on the bottom and two Aces next to each other in the middle of the deck (the Ace of Spades has a breather crimp in it). This entire sequence looks incredibly casual, and because each packet is dropped onto the next, even card men find it difficult to see how the Aces could be controlled.3 I refer to this sequence as the Isolation Procedure.
Unfortunately you are reading the secret before seeing it, but trust me, this procedure is extremely difficult to track, even for magicians. Ill describe another production sequence using the procedure after this trick.
Give the entire deck a casual false shuffle or some false cuts as you mention that the Aces are each lost in separate areas of the deck. As in 'Thanks to Henry', riffle the ends of the cards toward yourself as if memorising the cards, and then continue to find the Aces.
"I'll find the first Ace by using a combination of memory and dexterous skill. ” Execute a series of flowing false cuts (see the Sting Cut, page 29) before producing the Ace of Diamonds from the top of the deck. It is important that this Ace is produced with a technical flourish so that it communicates skill and provides a nice visual contrast to the revelations to come.
3. Conceptually this sequence is the same as that used in The Inseparable Four' from Harry Lorayne's Close-Up Card Magic (1962). The actual handling used here is, however, different.
“I won’t find the next Ace, you will! [Indicate a spectator] Please say stop at any moment as I deal through the cards. ” Establish a break above the Ace of Spades (made possible by cutting to the breather crimp and getting a break above it) and deal the cards in small clumps onto the table using the classic psychological timing force — sometimes known as the Psychological Stop technique. When the spectator says stop, the two Aces are either on the table or on top of the deck. Turn over the Ace of Spades to reveal the second Ace and either bury the dealt cards in the middle of the deck or drop them on top of the deck (depending on where the Aces are when the spectator says stop); the Ace of Hearts is now on top of the deck.
As your hands are squaring the deck, side steal the bottom card into your right hand and say, “I can find the third Ace using misdirection.” Say this as your right hand relaxes and the left hand moves up and to the left so that it is in full view. Loudly riffle down the side of the deck with your left little finger and then reach into a pocket with your right hand and produce the palmed Ace. As this Ace is being set down, establish a break under the top two cards with the left hand.
“Now, for the final Ace I thought I’d show you the type of thing that you’d see in a Hollywood movie where an impossible thing happens. Normally it's done with a camera cut ... but those moments in movies are based on real techniques . . . s o I’ll show you what one of those real techniques might look like. ” As you say this, execute a double lift, showing a face-up card, turn the double face down and place the top card onto the table next to the other three face-up Aces. Now say, “As I said, in the movies this is always done with a camera cut, but in reality it looks like this. ” Place your hand onto the face-down card before lifting the hand and then carefully and slowly turning the card face up to reveal the final Ace.
Instant Isolation
Ad previously mentioned, the method used within 'Henry in Isolation' had opened up an additional, visual option. You are about to execute a series of coordinated flowing actions to produce all four Aces within just a couple of seconds. This production is a very smooth sequence of
deliberate actions without hesitation or study. The spectator is left with the impression that you have reached into multiple areas of the deck and very skillfully plucked out each Ace.
Begin by using the Isolation Procedure (with the Aces in the same order) to lose/control the Aces. The deck should be sitting on the table in front of you with one Ace on the top, one Ace on the bottom and two roughly in the middle of the deck (the uppermost Ace has a bottom-cutting breather crimp in it). Now reveal the cards in rapid succession as follows:
Place the deck onto the table as if you were about to execute a riffle shuffle. Cut off all of the cards above the breather with your right hand and remove the top card of the lower packet
with your left hand (Photo 1). Turn over this card to show that
1
2
3
4
it is the Ace of Hearts and place it face up in front of the deck (Photo 2). As your right hand deals the Ace of Hearts, start to turn your left hand palm up to display the Ace of Spades on the face of that packet (Photo 3). Lay the Ace of Spades face up onto the table as your left hand returns to pick up the tabled packet (the original bottom portion of the deck).
Turn your left hand palm up to display the Ace of Clubs and deal it onto the table. At exactly the same time, place the right- hand packet back face down onto the table (Photo 4).
Start to remove the top card of the tabled half with your right hand at the exact moment that the left hand returns to place its half back on top (Photo 5). With the correct timing, the Ace of Diamonds appears to be removed from between both packets. Place it face down with the other Aces as the left hand coalesces its half onto other tabled half (Photo 6). The hands should work effortlessly, and in synergy, to produce the Aces.
Henry Topped
Now we come to the final exploration of Henry Christ's ‘Fabulous Ace Routine’. The effect is essentially identical, but the introduction of afar simpler method makes it much better. This entire effect had been achieved without any complicated setup, packet counts, cards, crimps, thumb counting, shuffle controls or memory. The had also been eliminated and the entire effect had been generated from a shuffled deck.
When compared to the previous routined, ‘Henry Topped’ is a huge methodological improvement. By deriving for simple methodological design, the original Henry Christ routine is now a distant cousin of what I believe to be a far superior approach to this effect.
Have the deck shuffled by a spectator. Retrieve the deck and spread through, showing that there are only four Aces in the deck; use this moment to cull the four Aces to the top. Of course, you could also add palmed Aces onto the deck after the spectator has shuffled. Either way, casually shuffle the deck, retaining the stock on top, as you draw attention to the
idea that you are going to try and find the Aces. Just as in the previous two effects, riffle the ends of the cards toward yourself as if memorising the cards.
“I’ll find the first Ace by using a combination of memory and dexterous skill. ” Execute a false cut (the Finessed Frank Thompson Cut, page 47, or Bounce Cut, page 51, work well here) until the final packet remains in the left hand, or simply cut and hold a break, and then cut all the cards above the break to the table in two or three small cuts, leaving the cards below the break in the left hand. Turn over the top card of the left-hand packet to reveal an Ace. Place this Ace onto the table to your right as you pick up the cards on the table and place them back onto your hand, making sure to hold a break between the halves.
“I won’t find the next Ace, you will! [Indicate a spectator] Please say stop at any moment ad I deal through the cards. ” You will now use the psychological timing force that has been used in the previous routines: drop small packets of cards onto the table, timing your cut to the break at the exact moment your spectator says stop. Reveal the second Ace and place it next to the first Ace as you assemble the deck, making sure the portion with the two Aces ends up on top of the deck.
“The third Ace can be found using middirection. ” As you say this, palm the top card of the deck in your right hand and allow it to relax as your left hand rises and riffles down the corner of the deck with the little finger or thumb. You can now produce this Ace by revealing it was hidden in the hand or producing it from a pocket. As you place the Ace next to the other two on the table, establish a break under the top two cards of the deck.
“Now, for the final Ace I thought I d dhow you the type of thing that you’d normally dee in a Hollywood movie where an impossible thing happens. Usually it’d done with a special effect ... but those moments
are based on real techniques. ” As you say this, execute a double lift, showing a face-up indifferent card, turn the double face down and place the top card next to the other Aces. Place your hand onto the face-down card before carefully lifting the hand and slowly turning the card face up to reveal the final Ace.
Chapter One Summary
By forcing yourself to look objectively at the effect — unburdened by thoughts about method —you can understand an effect’s essence. It is only then that you can try to express or reveal that essence in the most direct way possible. By comparing ‘Thanks To Henry’, ‘Henry In Isolation’ and ‘Henry Topped’, you will notice that I have slowly simplified and streamlined the
handlings until the true essence the effect has been exposed.
But ‘Henry Topped’ is not the end. Actually, it is just the beginning. The same methodological position allows you to perform virtually every other effect in this book! It has opened up a huge range of performing possibilities, including the last effect this book, ‘Real Ace Cutting’ (page 129), which rebuilds the effect in new and truly realistic ways.
As we delve deeper into Less is More we will further investigate
the relationship between effect and method, between objectivity
and simplicity, between thinking and action. These relationships all have important implications on the construction and execution of magic.
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The Sting Cut
I believe the Sting Cut4 to be the best tabled full-deck false cut
in existence. This may seem like a bold claim to make, but after reading the entire description —and seeing how I've evolved it—you'll hopefully reach the same conclusion: It's simple, it's impossible to follow, it can be varied without concentration to suit style or context, it's practical with any cards in any condition and it is almost impossible to lose complete control. It is also perfectly suited to the control of a small stock on either top or bottom. However, it's the philosophy underpinning these technical developments that makes the Sting Cut so interesting to me.
Expert Card Technique states that the Up the Ladder Cut is the best tabled false cut, other texts promote the Vernon Cold
4. I first saw this cut — in its most basic form — being executed by John Scarne in the Universal film, The Sting (Henry Gondorf demonstrates the cut by controlling the Ace of Spades through several cutting actions). The earliest written description I can find is in Poker by Hardison (1914) under the title of False Cuts (Third Method).
Deck Cut, cuts from Erdnase or some other fixed system cut (by this I mean that the move is executed the same every time). However, any fixed system cut has no room for flexibility; I use the Sting Cut as an open system cut, giving me total flexibility, allowing it to adapt itself to the moment.
You cannot possibly know what is right for the moment until you're in the moment, and so the Sting Cut allows you to perform the best and most convincing sequence at exactly the right time. This cut will require a lot of practice so that you can let your hands go' and essentially improvise the cut in the moment. This is more difficult than one would imagine but it's intrinsically very simple. The very fact that you may not know what your hands are doing in the moment—yet you still have complete control—is the most attractive element of this cut to me.
The cut is essentially a triple undercut on the table, in which a break is used to maintain control. Broken down:
1. Undercut a portion from the bottom and hold a break between this portion and the top of the deck.
2. Now undercut half of the cards below the break to the top. 3. Finally, cut the remaining cards below the break to the top.
This is the essence of the cut. However, there are many ways that you can improve this cut without changing the simple nature of its construction. Once you are completely familiar with the ideas detailed below, it is a simple matter to combine these elements and to change them depending on your environment. There should be no physical or psychological tension displayed by you during what appears to be a very unconsidered series of genuine cuts.
The ability to vary all the elements will subconsciously add to the authentic feel of the cut. You can simply let your hands execute the cut as they wish in the moment without paying the least bit attention to what they are doing.
Varying tempo, rhythm & style
The Sting Cut is normally performed with three simple cuts, all of which are performed with the same rhythm and tempo. However, varying these elements can create an interesting and very deceptive aesthetic. Here are some examples:
• The first packet can be cut to the top with a medium tempo, the second packet with a fast tempo and the final packet with a slow tempo.
• The first packet is slowly cut to the top and the deck is squared while the break is maintained. Now the next two packets are quickly cut to the top with a fast tempo and rhythm.
• This is similar to the previous cut but there is a subtle difference: The first packet is cut to the top slowly and the next two packets are cut very quickly; however the final packet is lifted higher and slapped on top with much more vigor.
• When removing the last packet it is possible to let go of the rest of the deck held in the left hand and to drop the final packet on top from a distance of three or four inches. It is also nice to pick up both packets (as the final is being removed) and to drop the left-hand packet onto the table, followed by dropping the right-hand packet on top.
Adding false strips
You can always throw in one or two bottom strips of the final packet before it is placed/dropped/slapped on top. This adds more packets to the gestalt of the cut, gives a more casual appearance, and will naturally alter the tempo and rhythm of the final packet.
Ending with a straight cut
By stripping two or three marginally thinner packets and leaving a portion under the break you are able to square up the
deck and to cut the portion above the break forward onto the table (like a standard table cut). With this technique you can perfectly simulate Dai Vernons Cold Deck Cut. I believe that this procedure really adds to Vernon's cut.
Performing the cut twice
It is an easy matter to perform the cut twice in a way where it is not really obvious that two separate sequences have been executed. Instead the two sequences will flow together and look like one random sequence of cuts. If both sequences are different it will be even more difficult to follow.
Stutter-Step Subtlety
This is a devious subtlety to use with the Sting Cut. It creates the illusion of more packets being cut without actually cutting more packets. It is a very simple idea but may sound more complex in description.
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Hold an area in the middle of the pack with the tips of the third finger and thumb of the left hand, and keep pressure on this portion as the right hand moves diagonally forward with a portion from the top and the bottom. The right hand moves diagonally forward until the top packet almost clears the middle portion (Photo 1).
With the right hand keeping hold of its bottom portion, it moves sharply inward to the left for a fraction of an inch and, in that motion, allows inertia to carry the top portion back onto the middle portion of the deck (Photo 2).
The right hand now moves back outward with its single packet and places it on top, keeping a thumb break with the left hand
(Photo 3).
This technique is over in a flash, creating an almost subliminal appearance of another packet. Of course, it is entirely possible to remove the right hand completely and then to come back
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to cut off the top packet before depositing the original bottom portion on top; however, the Stutter-Step technique removes all possibility of a card accidentally sliding out of place or the performer accidentally dropping a break.
Additional subtle touches
• After getting a break under the first packet, the next packets can be casually dropped/thrown onto the first packet as the break is already established. This adds a touch of casualness, which is very deceptive.
• Allow each packet to step slightly so that you can square the entire deck at the end.
• Removing each packet without hesitation and having a smooth flow will increase the deceptiveness and casualness of the cut.
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• By pausing before the final packet is removed, it is possible to make the single sequence Look like two separate sequences. Breaking or interrupting the rhythm can be used in many ways and can create a genuine sense of casual, true mixing.
• If you are only controlling a small stock, it is possible, at any point, to execute real strip-cuts or multiple cuts to the table, of all the cards except the stack.
• Once the sequence is finished, instantly throw in a Scrape Cut.5
• Improvise the entire sequence while talking and without looking at your hands.
5. An old card table move, published in Stephen Minch's The Vernon ChroniclesVolume 1, 1987, under the title 'The Vernon Simple False Cut'.
The Any Card Came Control
This procedure adds contextual realism to any gambling routine and makes it more interesting, less static and very deceptive. It can be used with any stack or prearrangement and communicates a feeling of unconsidered randomness without moving a single card out of place. Unlike a false shuffle or cut, this control implies that the deck is mixed by how you appear to be casually throwing cards all over the place, while talking the spectator through a ‘generic' card game procedure.
It is a useful way to introduce the concept of lay stacking, pick up stacking, card counting, location play or culling, etc.; the positions of the cards and the casual way in which they are handled appear to be completely authentic and congruent with your presentation while allowing you to control a slug without the slightest hint of suspicion.
The Any Card Game Control is not only an incredibly deceptive technique, it has great utility. It is a perfectly casual, subtle and practical way to control a stock of anything up to fifteen cards or to add a specific number of cards above a stock.
Full Deck Control
With a deck in your left hand, spread off a bunch of at least twelve cards and place them face down onto the table to your right. But, as you put them down, use your fingers to twist them around into a spiraled mess. Spread off around fifteen to twenty cards and ribbon spread them face up across the table. A third of the deck should remain in your left hand, which you casually false shuffle as you mention that this is the general situation in many card games: “These cards represent the deadwood, or cards that have been played [A], these are the cards that are currently in play [B] and these are yet to be played [C]. This is the standard opportunity space to get useful information. ” (Photo 1)
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Fan and look at the cards in your hand, and then scoop up the face-up spread and place it onto the cards already in your hand. Now place the spiraled mess on top, and square everything up. Not a single card moves out of place, but it has subtly injected a sense of authenticity and randomness into whatever gambling routine you are about to perform.
The Any Card Game Control is an incredibly useful and extremely simple way to subtly communicate randomness without having to do very much; the layout does it all for you. There are separate bunches of cards in different positions on the table, some are in your hand, some are in a mess, some are spread and some are squared, some are face up and others are face down. This situation is observed by the spectator as you talk about the typical situation in a card game (which implies randomness). At this moment you may false shuffle the cards in your hand (C) or you may set them down as you talk about something else. The casualness and openness of this technique are the secret to its deceptiveness.
It is also possible to break the face-up spread into three sections (Photo 2) by either openly splitting the spread into three sections or by simply laying down three small spreads from the top of the cards in the left hand. This can look more authentic and doesn't change the relative order of the cards. To make the procedure feel more random, you can talk through hitting or dealing a card face up onto the face-up spread on the right (so that it lands on the Three of Clubs in the photo). This doesn't change the relative positions of any cards in the deck (once the cards are picked up in the correct order) and simulates the dealer giving a card to one of the players.
Small Stock Control
When only needing to control a small stock, the following handling is impossible for anyone to follow — I use this handling when I just want to control the four Aces.
Start with four Aces on top of the deck. Casually contrive a way to place the Aces into the middle of the deck and hold a break above them (using a cut or jog shuffle). Now push off three or four clumps of cards and lay them face up at various spots on the table, stopping when you have a small portion of cards remaining above the break. “When playing any card game you will normally have several hands being played, of which you may see some of them or all of them at the end."
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Now drop all of the cards above the break onto the table to your right, followed by another clump (which is big enough to contain the stock) on top of it as you say, “And there will be a pile of cards that has been discarded or folded. ”
You now say, “There will be some cards remaining in the dealer's hand or perhaps a dealing shoe. These remaining cards may or may not be played ... it depends on what the players decide in the game. ” As you say this, casually shuffle the cards and flip a couple of cards face up onto the tabled hands and add a couple of cards onto the discard pile from the face-up hands.
The situation now is that your stock is in the discard pile, below two indifferent cards. How many indifferent cards you decide to casually add to the discard pile is up to you. I improvise which hands I add cards to and how many I add onto the stock.
Because of the way you have casually handled this layout, it's virtually impossible for anyone to have the faintest suspicion that anything has been specifically controlled. Some cards are face up, some face down, some have been shuffled and the relative positions are all different. It just looks like a mess that you are merely using to demonstrate a common situation in a
card game.
Now you have to assemble the deck. Unlike the Full Deck Control, you have a large amount of freedom with how you gather the cards. I don't rehearse this sequence, I improvise it in the moment; this makes the pick-up look completely casual and adds a tremendous amount to the technique's deceptiveness. The key is to make the sequence look unconsidered—the best way to do this is not to consider the way you pick up the cards.
The Real Optical Shuffle
This is my handling of the classic Optical Shuffle.6 While the
mechanics are the same as the original shuffle, I have changed the way that the timing and rhythm of the shuffle is executed. The mechanics are extremely simple but the psychology, timing and attitude within this shuffle is what makes it look and feel so good. Ill start by describing the basic mechanics and will then look at the timing changes.
Hold the deck in the right hand, ready to execute an overhand shuffle, and chop off a block of about eight to ten cards with your left thumb (Photo 1). As the right hand pulls the remaining cards upward (just as in a standard overhand shuffle), use your left fingers to push on the face of the 'shuffled-off' packet, tipping it leftward, onto the left thumb so that you can see the face of the block (Photo 2). Drop another eight to ten cards from the deck in front of the other packet in the left hand so the packets form a V shape (Photo 3).
6. The basic idea can be traced back at least to C. Lang Neil's The Modern Conjurer (1902), credited to Henri De Manche.
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The left thumb now tips its packet onto the other packet (closing the V shape) as the right hand is brought down on top of all the cards in the left hand (Photo 4). The right hand lifts up again as the left thumb swipes across the face of the right-hand packet; the swiping action of the left thumb simulates taking a packet when in fact no packet is taken or dropped. The illusion is extremely convincing (I'11 refer to this move as the 'optical chop' through the rest of this description). Photos 5-7 show this swiping action.
After the optical chop is performed, the left fingers once again tip the cards in the left hand over to the left and the right hand drops another small bunch of cards in front of the other packet (forming another V shape), and the entire process is continued until the cards in the right hand are exhausted.
Throughout this shuffle, not a single card is moved out of place as the cards in the right hand are simply being dropped behind each packet in the left hand and never dropped on top. Thus far, this is the standard Optical Shuffle and, when executed properly, looks excellent. However, there are ways to make this shuffle look even better with very little effort; you simply need to interrupt its rhythmic nature. I do this with the following techniques:
Change the tempo of the movements of both hands throughout the shuffle: Sometimes drop cards quickly, sometimes drop cards slowly; sometimes perform the optical chop quickly, other times perform it slowly; sometimes close the 'V shape' quickly, other times slowly.
Improvise dropping packets at the front and back. Sometimes perform two or three optical chops in a row, sometimes perform one. Don't think about what your hands are doing, just improvise the sequence; as long as you never drop cards on top of the left-hands cards, you'll never move a card out of place.
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Hesitate and look at the audience, breaking the rhythm entirely; gesture with the right hand while talking, which naturally breaks or interrupts the rhythm of the shuffle and allows the hands to randomly move apart from each other.
Improvise looking down at your hands and looking up at the audience. Don't think about when and how to do this, just let it happen naturally.
Perform all the above actions while subtly shifting your body weight and trying to forget that you are shuffling for any specific reason. Don't demonstrate that the cards are being mixed or even think about the fact you are performing a false shuffle; simply imagine the shuffle is real and then forget that you are even shuffling.
By using all the above techniques together in an improvised, fluid way, the Real Optical Shuffle is impossible to follow. Even you will not know exactly what your hands are doing; the shuffle will be different each time you perform it. This breaking of rhythm and tempo, while forgetting what your hands are doing, is what makes this shuffle look and feel legitimate while allowing you to completely concentrate on your performance. It's amazing to me how something so technically simple can be so deceptive.
Finessed Frank Thompson Cut
Frank Thompson's F.T. Cut7 is an excellent false cut that has become
somewhat of a classic. However, I’ve always felt that there was a slight problem with the move: It looks like two separate sequences; the first sequence cuts the cards into the hands and the second sequence cuts them to the table (or back into the hands). Therefore it can easily Look as if you are cutting and then 'un-cutting’ the deck (placing back in order), which is exactly what you are doing! So, my approach was to blend these separate sequences into one flowing sequence without changing the technique or construction of the cut in any way. By making a couple of subtle adjustments to the timing and start position, this cut can be improved greatly.
Starting with the deck in your left hand, your right hand comes over and holds the deck from above as the forefinger pivots/ swings the top half to the left so that the left thumb crotch can grasp the top portion (Photo 1). The right hand now moves away with the bottom half and the fingertips of the right hand lightly make contact with the table in the exact spot that you will be returning to in a moment (Photo 2).
7. Frank Garcias Super Subtle Card Miracles, 1973.
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Without hesitation the right hand returns to the left hand and en route begins to swing/separate another portion with the right forefinger (Photo 3). This separated portion is taken on top of the cards in the left hand and a break is held between them. As this happens, the right hand returns to the exact spot on the table where the fingertips previously made contact and deposits its cards (Photo 4).
In exactly the same rhythm and tempo of the previous two movements, the right hand now takes all the cards above the break in the left hand and puts them on top of the already tabled cards before finally taking the remaining cards from the left hand and placing them onto the tabled cards.
By starting with the deck in the left hand, faking the table placement of the initial packet and using exactly the same rhythm, tempo and flow with each movement, the cut looks like a single cutting sequence. The only potential problem is the initial vanishing packet, however, this discrepancy goes unnoticed as it blends into the flow of the sequence. Well look at how to fix this discrepancy in the Bounce Cut.
The Bounce Cut
This is an incredibly deceptive false cut that I have been doing for many years. It was originally an attempt to improve my Finessed Frank Thompson Cut by addressing the discrepancy of the vanishing packet. It appears as if you simply cut the deck four times to the table. Its value is in its simplicity and directness as there are no breaks, or complex packet movements. This cut is about timing, rhythm and simplicity.
Start with the deck in the left hand. Execute a Swing Cut, carrying the lower half to the table as you relax the left hand by lowering it a couple of inches.
With the right hand still positioned on its half, it now grips a portion of those cards from the top and begins to carry them back to the left. As soon as the packet touches the table, a portion is already heading back to the left. It is an instantaneous move. To me it feels like a kind of bouncing action, as if some of the downward force exerted in putting down the packet has rebounded and caused a portion to bounce off the top.
