2
20
01
10
0 E
E d
diittiio
on
n
By
By
Andrew Musgrave
Andrew Musgrave
Compiled by Garrett Holthaus Compiled by Garrett Holthaus
The Annotated Royal Road to Card Magic is a project aimed at helping to provide a companion The Annotated Royal Road to Card Magic is a project aimed at helping to provide a companion text to the classic book by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue. It is based solely on my opinions text to the classic book by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue. It is based solely on my opinions and as such should be taken with the appropriate grains of salt. It includes editorial commentary and as such should be taken with the appropriate grains of salt. It includes editorial commentary on the book, with o
on the book, with opinions that range from praise to scorn. It should not pinions that range from praise to scorn. It should not be considered abe considered a replacement for a book, and whenever suggestions or improvements are offered that belong to replacement for a book, and whenever suggestions or improvements are offered that belong to other magicians, effort has been made to
other magicians, effort has been made to point the reader towards those resourcespoint the reader towards those resources — — this guide this guide should not be considered a replacement for those books or DVDs either.
should not be considered a replacement for those books or DVDs either.
Royal Road to Card Magic is one of those foundational books that is recommended to beginners, Royal Road to Card Magic is one of those foundational books that is recommended to beginners, usually with the advice to just buy the book, start at chapter 1, and work your way through. Even usually with the advice to just buy the book, start at chapter 1, and work your way through. Even though the Annotations are done sequentially chapter-by-chapter, I do not share the opinion that though the Annotations are done sequentially chapter-by-chapter, I do not share the opinion that this is the best way to read
this is the best way to read the book. Within the conclusion the book. Within the conclusion is a guide that basically outlines theis a guide that basically outlines the order of study that I think would
order of study that I think would benefit the student based upon benefit the student based upon what their priorities are.what their priorities are. It is my hope to eventually put all of this into an e-book format, hopefully with photographs, It is my hope to eventually put all of this into an e-book format, hopefully with photographs,
videos, and more in-depth discussion of methodolog
videos, and more in-depth discussion of methodolog y, if I can get the ney, if I can get the necessary permissions.cessary permissions. Until then, this guide is best read with book in hand, and with the understanding that there are Until then, this guide is best read with book in hand, and with the understanding that there are other books out there that will be
other books out there that will be worth acquiring to dig deeper into the worth acquiring to dig deeper into the various subjectsvarious subjects covered. covered. Best of luck… Best of luck… Andrew Musgrave Andrew Musgrave
The Annotated Royal Road to Card Magic is a project aimed at helping to provide a companion The Annotated Royal Road to Card Magic is a project aimed at helping to provide a companion text to the classic book by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue. It is based solely on my opinions text to the classic book by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue. It is based solely on my opinions and as such should be taken with the appropriate grains of salt. It includes editorial commentary and as such should be taken with the appropriate grains of salt. It includes editorial commentary on the book, with o
on the book, with opinions that range from praise to scorn. It should not pinions that range from praise to scorn. It should not be considered abe considered a replacement for a book, and whenever suggestions or improvements are offered that belong to replacement for a book, and whenever suggestions or improvements are offered that belong to other magicians, effort has been made to
other magicians, effort has been made to point the reader towards those resourcespoint the reader towards those resources — — this guide this guide should not be considered a replacement for those books or DVDs either.
should not be considered a replacement for those books or DVDs either.
Royal Road to Card Magic is one of those foundational books that is recommended to beginners, Royal Road to Card Magic is one of those foundational books that is recommended to beginners, usually with the advice to just buy the book, start at chapter 1, and work your way through. Even usually with the advice to just buy the book, start at chapter 1, and work your way through. Even though the Annotations are done sequentially chapter-by-chapter, I do not share the opinion that though the Annotations are done sequentially chapter-by-chapter, I do not share the opinion that this is the best way to read
this is the best way to read the book. Within the conclusion the book. Within the conclusion is a guide that basically outlines theis a guide that basically outlines the order of study that I think would
order of study that I think would benefit the student based upon benefit the student based upon what their priorities are.what their priorities are. It is my hope to eventually put all of this into an e-book format, hopefully with photographs, It is my hope to eventually put all of this into an e-book format, hopefully with photographs,
videos, and more in-depth discussion of methodolog
videos, and more in-depth discussion of methodolog y, if I can get the ney, if I can get the necessary permissions.cessary permissions. Until then, this guide is best read with book in hand, and with the understanding that there are Until then, this guide is best read with book in hand, and with the understanding that there are other books out there that will be
other books out there that will be worth acquiring to dig deeper into the worth acquiring to dig deeper into the various subjectsvarious subjects covered. covered. Best of luck… Best of luck… Andrew Musgrave Andrew Musgrave
Contents
Contents
Introduction ... 10
Introduction ... 10
Chapter
Chapter
1:
1:
The
The
Overhand
Overhand
Shuffle
Shuffle
(Part
(Part
1)
1)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
11
11
“The Overhand Shuffle” & “Using the Overhand Shuffle”
“The Overhand Shuffle” & “Using the Overhand Shuffle” ... 11 ... 11
“Overhand Shuffle Control”
“Overhand Shuffle Control” ... 11... 11
“Overhand Shuffle Practice Routine”
“Overhand Shuffle Practice Routine” ... ... .. 1313
“A Poker Players Picnic”
“A Poker Players Picnic” ... ... ... 1313
“A Pocket Discovery”
“A Pocket Discovery”... .. 1313
“Telepathy Plus”
“Telepathy Plus” ... ... ... 1414
“Though Stealer”
“Though Stealer” ... 14... 14
“Pinkie Does It”
“Pinkie Does It” ... ... ... 1414
“A Card And A Number”
“A Card And A Number” ... ... ... 1515
General Thoughts on
General Thoughts on this Chapter ...this Chapter ... 15... 15
Chapter 2: The
Chapter 2: The
RiffleRiffleShuffle
Shuffle
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
18
18
“The Riffle Shuffle”
“The Riffle Shuffle”... 18... 18
“Riffle Shuffle Control”
“Riffle Shuffle Control” ... ... ... 1818
“Riffle
“RiffleShuffle In The Air”Shuffle In The Air” ... ... ... 1818
“An Instinct For Cards” & “Mirror of the Mind”
“An Instinct For Cards” & “Mirror of the Mind” ... 18 ... 18
“Ultra Card Divination”
“Ultra Card Divination” ... ... ... 1919
General Thoughts on
General Thoughts on this Chapter ...this Chapter ... 19... 19
Chapters 3: Flourishes ... 21
Chapters 3: Flourishes ... 21
Introduction ...
Introduction ... .. 2121
Displaying the top
Displaying the top card ...card ... 21... 21
Ruffle ...
Ruffle ... ... 2121
Click ...
Click ... ... 2121
Spread
Spread and and Turnover Turnover ... .. 2121
Springing the
Springing the Cards ...Cards ... 22... 22
A Flourish
A Flourish Count ...Count ... 22... 22
Throwing
Waterfall Shuffle ... 22
Card Fans ... 22
Chapter 4: The Glide ... 23
“The Glide” ... 23
“Design For Laughter” ... 24
“The Observation Test” ... 25
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 25
Chapter 5: The Glimpse ... 27
“The Glimpse” ... 27
“Gray’s Spelling Trick” ... 28
“Round and Round” ... 28
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 29
Chapter 6: The Key Card ... 30
“Key Undercut” ... 30
“Key Undercut shuffle” ... 31
“Do As I Do” ... 31
“The Three Piles” ... 31
“The Twenty-Sixth Card” ... 32
“A Meeting of the Minds” ... 32
“The Non-Poker Voice” ... 33
“Intuition with Cards” ... 34
“Sliding Key Card” ... 34
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 35
Chapter 7: The Palm ... 36
“Introduction” ... 36
“Top Palm, I (Single Card)” ... 37
“Top Palm, II (Several Cards)” ... 38
“Palm Glimpse” ... 39
“Card in Pocket” ... 40
“Now You See It!” ... 41
“Grab Bag Card” ... 42
“Good-Luck Card” ... 42
“Do It And Fail” ... 42
“Gathering of the Clan” ... 42
“Spring Catch”... 43
“A Vested Interest” ... 43
“The Piano Trick” ... 43
General Thoughts on This Chapter ... 44
Chapter 8: The Backslip ... 46
“The Backslip” ... 46
“The Backslip Force” ... 46
“The Backslip Control” ... 48
“The Lightning Card” ... 48
“The Tantalizer” ... 48
“Under Your Hat” ... 49
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 49
Chapter 9: The Overhand Shuffle, part 2 ... 50
“Injog and Break” & “Overhand Break Control” ... 50
“Overhand Lift Shuffle” ... 50
“Lift Shuffle Force” ... 51
“Spread and Break” ... 51
“Holding a Break” ... 51
“Spread and Break Control” ... 51
“The Sevens” ... 51
“The Obliging Aces” ... 52
“Leapfrog” ... 52
“A Poker Puzzle” ... 53
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 54
Chapter 10, False Shuffles and Cuts... 56
“Optical Shuffle” ... 56
“Charlier Shuffle” ... 57
“The Cut” ... 57
“Palm Cut” ... 58
“An Incomprehensible Divination” ... 58
“Circus Card Trick” ... 59
“Black Jack, Detective” ... 59
“General Thoughts on this Chapter” ... 59
Chapter 11: The Double Lift and Turnover ... 63
“The Double Lift and Turnover” ... 63
“Double-lift Glimpse” ... 64
“Double-lift Card Reversals” ... 64
“Rapid Transit” ... 64
“The Trey” ... 65
“Ambitious Card” ... 65
“Throughth and Consequences” ... 66
“Insidious Dr. Fu Liu Tu” ... 66
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 67
Chapter 12: The Pass ... 69
“Introduction” ... 69
“The Pass” ... 71
“Riffle Pass” ... 71
“Spread Pass” ... 71
“Spring Pass” ... 72
“Off Agin, On Agin, Finnegin!” ... 72
“Righting a Wrong” ... 72
“Blindfolded Pack” ... 73
“Double Speller” ... 73
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 73
Chapter 13: Miscellaneous Flourishes ... 75
Color Change ... 75
Double Color Change ... 75
The Changing Card ... 76
Self-Cutting Deck... 76 A Pretty Cut ... 76 Pop-Up Card ... 76 A Bit of Byplay ... 76 Charlier Cut ... 76 “Acrobatic Aces” ... 76
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 76
Chapter 14: The Reverses ... 78
“Spellbound” ... 79
“A Tipsy Trick” ... 79
“Double Reverse”... 80
“Mentalivity” ... 80
“Mountebank Miracle” ... 81
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 81
Chapter 15: The Hindu Shuffle and Other Controls ... 83
The Hindu Shuffle ... 83
Hindu Shuffle Control, Single Card ... 83
Hindu Shuffle Control, Several Cards ... 83
Hindu Shuffle Force ... 84
Hindu Shuffle Glimpse ... 85
Natural Jog ... 85
Twelve-down Riffle ... 85
“All Change Here” ... 86
“Ewephindit” ... 87
General Thoughts on This Chapter ... 87
Chapter 16: The Classic Force ... 88
The Classic Force ... 88
One-Hand Force ... 88
Bottom Force ... 88
Slide-Out Force ... 88
Two Card Force ... 88
Riffle Break Force ... 89
Sliding Key Force ... 89
Double-lift Force ... 89
Cut Force ... 89
“Justice Card Trick” ... 89
“Fours of a Kind” ... 90
“Pulse Trick” ... 90
General Thoughts on This Chapter ... 90
Chapter 17: Top and Bottom Changes ... 93
“The Top Change” ... 93
“The Changing Card” ... 95
“Top-Change Byplay” ... 96
Bottom Change ... 96
Top and Bottom Changes ... 97
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 97
Chapter 18: Arrangements ... 98
“Arrangements” ... 98
“A Future in Cards” ... 100
“Jacks Wild” ... 100
“Think Stop” ... 100
“Deal Away” ... 100
“The Educated Cards” ... 101
“Reds and Blacks” ... 101
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 102
Chapter 19, Routines ... 103
“Routining Card Tricks” ... 103
“A Table Routine” ... 104
“A Rollicking Routine” ... 104
“Card Discovery Routine” ... 104
“Razzle-Dazzle Routine” ... 105
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 106
Chapter 20, Platform Tricks ... 111
“Conus Ace Trick” ... 111
“Ladies’ Looking Glass” ... 111
“Everywhere and Nowhere” ... 112
“Egyptian Pocket” ... 113
“Cards to the Pocket” ... 114
“Enlarging and Diminishing Cards” ... 114
“Three Cards Across” ... 115
“Everybody’s Card” I & II ... 115
General Thoughts on this Chapter ... 116
Conclusion ... 117
Recommended Study Guide ... 117
“Close-up Card Magician’s Guide” ... 117
“Stage Card Magician’s Guide” ... 119
Introduction
I have to admit the Cups and Balls month burned me out somewhat when it came to blogging, so sorry about the lack of activity lately. Anyways, I‘m starting a new project. I‘m going to be
going through Jean Hugard‘s and Frederick Braue‘s Royal Road to Card Magic chapter-by-chapter and annotating it with some additional thoughts. Please note, I‘m a nobody in the magic world, so it would be irresponsible of you to simply take my word on any of the opinions that I‘ll be offering.
That said, I really liked the idea Darwin Ortiz and others had of taking Erdnase and annotating it, and I think that more classics of magics could benefit from this sort of treatment. While of course there is a significant benefit to focusing one‘s study on the primary text, I‘ve always found it helpful to listen to the advice of other magicians based on specific, published issues. If there‘s one thing I can‘t stand about some of the recommendations you‘ll get from other magicians is when they list a text or a resource to study from, and when you ask them why, they won‘t tell you in anything other than generalities. Now, if anybody who was just starting out in ca rd magic asked me which text to get, I‘d send them here, before Erdnase, before Vernon, before Lorayne, before Marlo… and of course I‘d then tell them what I‘d personally change to the text. I‘ve done
this often enough that I‘ve decided to actually codify some of the advice I‘ve given, and why. So, for the next little while, I‘ll be focusing on this book. Hope it‘s helpful.
Chapter 1: The Overhand Shuffle (Part 1)
“The Overhand Shuffle” & “Using the Overhand Shuffle”
Generally, this part of the chapter is good. After demonstrating how the legitimate overhand shuffle goes, it then teaches you how to control a card from a given spot to the top, to the bottom, to different positions in the deck. The teaching is fine — we‘re talking about rudimentary stuff here, and like most rudimentary stuff, you‘ll find a lot of commonalities between what‘s here and what‘s elsewhere. The pinky position is important, in that you‘ll find it reassuring when you‘re trying to keep ahold of an injog.
The shuffle drills that they give you later on are pretty good, and I‘d recommend doing them. A quick story from a previous gig… I was doing a multiple selection routine (an MSR, if you don‘t already know, is a trick where several people each select and then return cards, and you reveal them each quickly in increasingly impressive ways), and there were six people there. All the cards were returned and then controlled to the bottom, and then shuffled up to the top. I knew almost instantly that I‘d lost control of one of the cards (the sixth was gone for sure, but I didn‘t know about the fifth one). I was able to get out of it, but if I didn‘t even know the shuffle drills I might never have known a card was gone in the first place, let alone been able to formulate an escape plan. That‘s one of the benefits of drilling in general. Drills are stupid and mundane, but when you get them down cold to the point that you‘re bored with them, you‘ll actually be at the point where you can handle situations on the fly and even jazz a little. If that‘s something you
value, then you should do well to drill everything you can — and that‘s not just cards, but also shuttle passes with objects, handling the gimmick in a lot of rope magic, etc. Drills will instill skills (we like to rhyme on the olde blogge now and then) that you can call upon whenever you need, and while scripts are all well and good for making sure that your routine is proceeding according to a good pace, if you‘re like me and you like to depart from the script in order to address a situation as it arises, then drills are key. The last thing you want to do is try to dream up a new strategy on the spot without knowing your tools inside and out.
“Overhand Shuffle Control”
Buried in here is one of the first real gems of the book… your first full-deck false shuffle. To understand why this is valuable, you‘ve got to understand what it is that you can do with a full deck stack in the first place. Consider the classic force — you spread the cards out and they take a card that you want them to take. Now, if you want them to take the same card that you‘ve got printed on your shirt, then we‘re talking about one situation where they need to take a specific
card. On the other hand, if it doesn‘t matter ahead of time which card they take, and it‘s
important only that you know afterwards which card it was that they took (so tha t they can then shuffle the deck themselves and you‘ll still know it, or whatever) then a stack is wonderful. Do some research into the Si Stebbins or the Eight Kings stacks and, armed with a trick that uses those stacks, and this particular shuffle, you‘ll have a full routine on your hands. Incidentally, if I say something like ―You‘ll have a full routine on your hands‖ then I‘m not saying this lightly —
the preface to the book brings up an issue that I think is highly pertinent to the working
professional, which is that it‘s better to have a few good routines on your hands than a million secrets in your head. You can get five minutes of good show out of a single damned card force. A full routine is nothing to sniff at.
Now, the full-deck false shuffle taught here is basically a variation of the GW Hunter false shuffle (undercut, run X cards, keep a break, undercut at the break, run X cards, dump on top). I can tell you from experience that even though this is rudimentary, if it‘s used in tandem with something like a stacked deck, and if your execution is solid, you will fool people with it. Again, going back to another gig, I gave out enough signed cards from one deck that I needed to ring in a fresh one. Out of habit, one of the first things that I do before I do a trick is make sure
somebody can see the cards and shuffle them — I generally assume that any prop I introduce will be perceived as unfair somehow, and I don‘t want to be perceived as the ―Don‘t touch my props!‖ guy. Anyways, I was working for a couple of new guys, and I broke out the new deck
which was in new-deck order, and I offered it out to them to let them shuffle. They said that it was ok, it wasn‘t necessary. The moment that happened, they got an extra trick on their hands without knowing it. ―Are you sure?‖ I asked. ―Because you know you can‘t really trust a
magician when he shuffles the cards.‖ As I was talking, I did two full deck false riffle shuffles, and after getting their response, I spread the de ck out face-up to show that they were still in order. They were surprised. I gathered them up and asked. ―Are you sure you don‘t want to shuffle?‖ They laughed, and I immediately repeated, using the GW Hunter and then a false cut. ―Because I just told you that you can‘t trust a magician when he shuffles the cards.‖ Another face-up spread, another reaction. At that point one of the guys who was laughing agreed to take the cards and give them a shuffle. When he gave them back to me, I held the deck, and looked at the guy knowingly, and immediately they wanted me to spread the cards again to show I hadn‘t fixed them. I did, to show they were all well-mixed — ―Hey, I‘m not THAT good!‖ — and there was another reaction. Anyways, I told you all that to tell you this — they were surprised when a GW Hunter shuffle, combined with a false cut, kept the deck in new deck order. I was just using that for quick laughs before getting to the tricks I was trying to get too, but imagine what you can get away with…?
In any case, yeah, the GW Hunter shuffle is pretty good. I‘d argue that the re are better overhand full-deck false shuffles out there, but we‘ll get to t hose in a later blog entry. This one is pretty good. If you care, I do it a bit differently than what‘s described in the tex t… rather than 5, I go with 6, and I go with an injog of the last card rather than the step after the last card, and I also use a finesse that Allan Ackerman recommends in his Advanced Card Control series. I‘m not going to tip that here as it‘s not mine to tip, but the reference should help you out. If you like the way the shuffle in this chapter of Royal Road feels, and you want to do it, then look into
“Overhand Shuffle Practice Routine”
This is basically a recommended routine for practicing all the techniques covered thus far. I
recommend it, especially if you‘re new to card magic. Aside from giving you the necessary skills to pull off these sleights, you‘ll want to just get comfortable havin g a deck of cards in your hand. ―Topsy-Turvy Cards‖
This is a weird trick. The effect isn‘t exactly clear, and it‘s a long way to go to get to a magic climax. There‘s also no real application of the techniques taught in this chapter. This is odd to me, since the whole concept of cards that are facing the wrong way in a deck being made to flip the right way around, is actually the basis for the Triumph card plot. If you don‘t know Triumph, it‘s essentially this — a card is selected and returned to the deck, whereupon half the cards are turned face-up and mixed with the other face-down cards, and after faced with that messy
situation, the magician snaps his fingers and then spreads the cards to show that all the cards are facing the right direction again, except for the spectator‘s selected card. It‘s a classic plot, and Royal Road actually teaches a good ver sion of it called ―A Tipsy Trick‖ in the chapter on
Reverses, and if you can do all of the shuffling control drills in the first chapter, you‘re read y for that trick. What‘s more, you could even use the techniques in ―Topsy-Turvy Cards‖ to pull off a Triumph routine — I‘ll leave that as an exercise for you to consider.
“A Poker Players Picnic”
Junk. Anybody who tells you that this isn‘t junk is either lying or incompetent with cards. The only thing this trick has going for it is the fact that the magician never touches the cards
throughout, but the process is just so tedious that the trade-off, to me, isn‘t worth it. If you really want to do a trick where the spectator cuts to the aces, then there are dozens of better, clearer methods out there. The real reason why this trick is in the book at this section is because it demands very little of the magician and it involves the techniques covered up until this point in the text. That‘s all well and good, and maybe we can‘t fault Hugard and Braue for not knowing what guys like Marlo would do to the plot, but really, the only reason to familiarize yourself with this trick is to know what to expect when you do some card magic for people, and one of them says, ―Hey! I know a trick!‖ Now, if that happens, don‘t be the asshole who says that their trick sucks — it‘s a nerve-wracking thing doing magic for people, so congratulate them for
successfully pulling off the trick. Still, this is an entry-level card trick, and if you‘re looking to do halfway decent card magic for people, read it to know what it‘s about, but move on.
Now, the ironic thing is that this trick represents one of the better uses of the false shuffle… doing it at the beginning of a trick to maintain a stack of several cards. That said, you‘ll benefit from looking at better applications of that principle elsewhere. We‘ll talk more about the
―Spectator Cuts To The Aces‖ plot later on.
“A Pocket Discovery”
Probably worth considering as it involves controlling a card to a specific location, so that you‘re set up for a decent glimpsing strategy. I‘m not a huge fan of the plot described here, personally,
but maybe somebody‘s gotten mileage from it. Pay particular attention to the reasoning behind but maybe somebody‘s gotten mileage from it. Pay particular attention to the reasoning behind
making sure everybody sees the selection
making sure everybody sees the selection — — this is good advice. Later on in the book there are this is good advice. Later on in the book there are some better ideas about how to a
some better ideas about how to accomplish this type of effectccomplish this type of effect — — just read ―The Egyptian Pocket‖ just read ―The Egyptian Pocket‖ and you‘ll see what I mean.
and you‘ll see what I mean.
“Telepathy Plus”
“Telepathy Plus”
One of my pet peeves wi
One of my pet peeves with card magic is an effect that th card magic is an effect that pretends to demonstrate telepathy, but thepretends to demonstrate telepathy, but the handling makes it obvious that card
handling makes it obvious that card manipulation of some kind is involved. manipulation of some kind is involved. If you really wantIf you really want people to think that you‘ve got telepathic powers, and you want to use cards to prove this, then people to think that you‘ve got telepathic powers, and you want to use cards to prove this, then
the best short-term advice I can give
the best short-term advice I can give you is (a) learn a false shuffle with a stacked you is (a) learn a false shuffle with a stacked deck, (b) learndeck, (b) learn a few really convincing forces, (c) stud
a few really convincing forces, (c) study Dai Vernon‘s ―Out of Sight/Out of Mind‖, or (d) looky Dai Vernon‘s ―Out of Sight/Out of Mind‖, or (d) look into the Invisible Deck. Again, I‘m not
into the Invisible Deck. Again, I‘m not giving this advice lightly. Some professional magiciansgiving this advice lightly. Some professional magicians close with the ID
close with the ID. If you‘ve REALLY got a . If you‘ve REALLY got a taste for this (using cards to demonstrate ESPtaste for this (using cards to demonstrate ESP powers) then start looking into what serious mentalist
powers) then start looking into what serious mentalists do with cards, such as Max Maven,s do with cards, such as Max Maven, Richard Osterlind, or Bob Cassidy. Richard Osterlind in particular has a lo
Richard Osterlind, or Bob Cassidy. Richard Osterlind in particular has a lo t of material wheret of material where your ―stacked deck + full
your ―stacked deck + full deck false shuffle‖ strategy can get put to deck false shuffle‖ strategy can get put to good use.good use.
“Though Stealer”
“Though Stealer”
A bit better than Telepathy Plus, if onl
A bit better than Telepathy Plus, if only because it‘s more direct in terms of getting from they because it‘s more direct in terms of getting from the moment that they think of a card
moment that they think of a card to the point that the card to the point that the card isis then revealed to them. Again, I‘ll bethen revealed to them. Again, I‘ll be honest with you
honest with you — — not my bag. Richard Osterlind‘s got some denot my bag. Richard Osterlind‘s got some decent touches on his Easy tocent touches on his Easy to Master Mental Miracles DVD Set using this principle, but I still think it‘s a bit of
Master Mental Miracles DVD Set using this principle, but I still think it‘s a bit of a shallowa shallow mystery, compared to some of the othe
mystery, compared to some of the other stuff out there that can be obtainr stuff out there that can be obtained with equal effort.ed with equal effort.
“Pinkie Does It”
“Pinkie Does It”
This one is pretty good. I use
This one is pretty good. I use a modified version of this regularly (go on a modified version of this regularly (go on youtube and look upyoutube and look up Ricky Jay‘s videos, and you‘ll find something similar to the o
Ricky Jay‘s videos, and you‘ll find something similar to the o ne I do), and back wne I do), and back when I washen I was doing kids shows in Korea, I‘d open
doing kids shows in Korea, I‘d open with it. I will point out something from Tyler Erickson that Iwith it. I will point out something from Tyler Erickson that I think really helps this effect
think really helps this effect — — many tricks in magic that aren‘t very ovemany tricks in magic that aren‘t very overwhelming magicallyrwhelming magically can be immediately improved simply by having the spectator, rather than the magician, shuffle can be immediately improved simply by having the spectator, rather than the magician, shuffle the deck. Think about this for a second: a card is selected and returned to the deck, and the the deck. Think about this for a second: a card is selected and returned to the deck, and the spectator shuffles… how is the magician to know reasonably wh
spectator shuffles… how is the magician to know reasonably wh ere the card is? If, at that point,ere the card is? If, at that point, he says, ―Oh, well, I‘ll
he says, ―Oh, well, I‘ll just ask the deck to find just ask the deck to find your card. What was it? Four of spades? your card. What was it? Four of spades? Well, ifWell, if the deck spells out ‗f
the deck spells out ‗f -o-u-r-s-p-a-d-e--o-u-r-s-p-a-d-e-s.‘‖ and look, there‘s the card, s.‘‖ and look, there‘s the card, you‘ve got a real mystery onyou‘ve got a real mystery on your hands brought on almost completely by the fact that the spectator shuffled the deck. Having your hands brought on almost completely by the fact that the spectator shuffled the deck. Having the spectator remember that they shuffled the cards before the
the spectator remember that they shuffled the cards before the trick started could even lift ―Atrick started could even lift ―A Poker Player‘s Picnic‖ into quasi
Poker Player‘s Picnic‖ into quasi--respectability. As such, if you‘re looking to take somethingrespectability. As such, if you‘re looking to take something like ―Pinkie Does It‖ and eventuall
like ―Pinkie Does It‖ and eventually make it ay make it a stronger trick, consider letting the spectatorstronger trick, consider letting the spectator shuffle the cards before you make it
shuffle the cards before you make it rise from the deck. Of course, such strategies aren‘t coveredrise from the deck. Of course, such strategies aren‘t covered in this opening chapter, but
“A Card And A Number”
“A Card And A Number”
There‘s a technique taught in thi
There‘s a technique taught in this trick to mark a card which s trick to mark a card which you might find useful. Other thanyou might find useful. Other than that, I‘d argue that there are better tricks that invo
that, I‘d argue that there are better tricks that involve a selected card being lve a selected card being at a number freelyat a number freely thought of, including one in particular taught later in this book.
thought of, including one in particular taught later in this book.
General Thoughts on this Chapter General Thoughts on this Chapter
It might sound like I‘ve been a bit
It might sound like I‘ve been a bit harsh on this chapter, but really, most of harsh on this chapter, but really, most of my criticism ismy criticism is towards the tricks included here. Later on you‘re going to learn about double
towards the tricks included here. Later on you‘re going to learn about double-lifts and palming,-lifts and palming, and the shuffling techniques taught in this chapt
and the shuffling techniques taught in this chapter can easily be used er can easily be used in concert with those morein concert with those more advanced sleights. We‘ll talk more about that later.
advanced sleights. We‘ll talk more about that later. For right now, consider instead what theFor right now, consider instead what the techniques allow you to accomplish
techniques allow you to accomplish — — a spectator can select and return a card, and you can a spectator can select and return a card, and you can shuffle that card into any position
shuffle that card into any position you need; you can shuffle the dyou need; you can shuffle the deck while still maintaining aeck while still maintaining a block of cards; and you can actually false shuffle an entire deck. Get these skills down, and block of cards; and you can actually false shuffle an entire deck. Get these skills down, and pretty soon you‘ll be able to do some good card magic.
pretty soon you‘ll be able to do some good card magic.
However, just because we can do something, it does not follow that we should do something. However, just because we can do something, it does not follow that we should do something. One thing to consider is what‘s going on in
One thing to consider is what‘s going on in a trick where you‘ve got to a trick where you‘ve got to bring a card to position Nbring a card to position N from the top or bottom of the deck
from the top or bottom of the deck — — are you later on going to be dealing off N cards? If so, are you later on going to be dealing off N cards? If so, there‘s a potential bit of an issue since running c
there‘s a potential bit of an issue since running c ards frequently looks like you‘re running cards.ards frequently looks like you‘re running cards. For a trick like ―Thought S
For a trick like ―Thought Stealer‖, it‘s hard to avoid giving this impression. In more advancedtealer‖, it‘s hard to avoid giving this impression. In more advanced card work, you‘re going to learn
card work, you‘re going to learn about other methods of getting cards inabout other methods of getting cards into position, such asto position, such as through riffle shuffles, or perhaps even altering the riffle-force (taught later in this boo
through riffle shuffles, or perhaps even altering the riffle-force (taught later in this boo k in thek in the chapter on The Classic Force) so that instead
chapter on The Classic Force) so that instead of having a card of having a card selected from a given spot, you‘reselected from a given spot, you‘re having a card returned to a given spot.
having a card returned to a given spot. Taking this idea a bit further, there are
Taking this idea a bit further, there are some tricks where you won‘t even some tricks where you won‘t even want to use a shuffle orwant to use a shuffle or cut to control a card. Con
cut to control a card. Consider the following sequence: a card is put into sider the following sequence: a card is put into the center of the deck,the center of the deck, and with a snap of the
and with a snap of the fingers, it rises to the top. This simple sequence is at fingers, it rises to the top. This simple sequence is at the heart of one ofthe heart of one of the classic card effects out there, the Ambitious Card Routine.
the classic card effects out there, the Ambitious Card Routine. There are ways of doing thisThere are ways of doing this involving a control of the card,
involving a control of the card, but in those cases we‘re talking about but in those cases we‘re talking about invisible controls (such asinvisible controls (such as a classic pass) in which it appears nothing happ
a classic pass) in which it appears nothing happened to the deck. ened to the deck. A shuffle to bring the card fromA shuffle to bring the card from the center to the top will give
the center to the top will give you significantly less impact. That doesn‘t mean that invisibleyou significantly less impact. That doesn‘t mean that invisible controls are better than visible controls
controls are better than visible controls — — sometimes you want to give the sometimes you want to give the impression that a cardimpression that a card is lost in the deck, and
is lost in the deck, and a shuffle will help you sell that better if a shuffle will help you sell that better if you know what you‘re doing you know what you‘re doing — — but it does mean understanding which tools help you best accomplish what you need.
but it does mean understanding which tools help you best accomplish what you need. One other aspect to this chapter that
One other aspect to this chapter that I think is wortI think is worth considering is this: usually, you don‘t reallyh considering is this: usually, you don‘t really want people to know that
want people to know that you can control cards by shuffling. Sometimes there‘s a lot you can control cards by shuffling. Sometimes there‘s a lot of benefitof benefit to the idea of you p
to the idea of you picking up the cards and icking up the cards and shuffling as though you‘re just toying with the cards,shuffling as though you‘re just toying with the cards, as if cards were just meant to be
as if cards were just meant to be shuffled. Shuffling offers an image of randomizing and addingshuffled. Shuffling offers an image of randomizing and adding chaos, so don‘t neglect those touches
chaos, so don‘t neglect those touches in a trick like ―Pinkie Does in a trick like ―Pinkie Does It‖ where they give you theIt‖ where they give you the finishing touch of showing how the ca
whole thing seems to eliminate the idea of
whole thing seems to eliminate the idea of the card having been shuffled to the card having been shuffled to the top. If, on thethe top. If, on the other hand, they get wind of the fact that the card was somehow on top of the deck, then all of a other hand, they get wind of the fact that the card was somehow on top of the deck, then all of a sudden your shuffling betrays itself as having no ran
sudden your shuffling betrays itself as having no ran domizing or chaos-giving qualities, anddomizing or chaos-giving qualities, and you‘ve just undermined one of your tools of deception.
you‘ve just undermined one of your tools of deception. Given the limits that shuffle controls have, does that
Given the limits that shuffle controls have, does that mean we‘re going to abandon mean we‘re going to abandon them later onthem later on for better techniques? Nah, but it does help to understand how they can be put to best possible for better techniques? Nah, but it does help to understand how they can be put to best possible use. As said earlier, the use of the false
use. As said earlier, the use of the false shuffle to maintain a stack at the beshuffle to maintain a stack at the beginning of a trick is aginning of a trick is a good idea
good idea — — it uses the shuffle at a period of low it uses the shuffle at a period of low heat, and if the stack is well heat, and if the stack is well designed, it won‘tdesigned, it won‘t be as easy to figure out the way it and the false shuffle combine to make the effect possible. be as easy to figure out the way it and the false shuffle combine to make the effect possible.
Also, if you look at something like ―Pinkie
Also, if you look at something like ―Pinkie Does It‖, the shuffle alone doesn‘t exactly exDoes It‖, the shuffle alone doesn‘t exactly explainplain how the card manages to
how the card manages to rise out of the deck. Also, as stated rise out of the deck. Also, as stated previously, a shuffle control usedpreviously, a shuffle control used together with an additional deceptive strategy (such as a sleight or principle) can be very
together with an additional deceptive strategy (such as a sleight or principle) can be very effective. We‘ll see plenty of examples of this in later chapters.
effective. We‘ll see plenty of examples of this in later chapters. So, at this point, what tricks can you do?
So, at this point, what tricks can you do?
* Go Google Si Stebbins to figure out the order, and then put the cards in Si Stebbins order. Do * Go Google Si Stebbins to figure out the order, and then put the cards in Si Stebbins order. Do the full-deck false shuffle taught in this chapter. Spread the
the full-deck false shuffle taught in this chapter. Spread the cards out, and when thecards out, and when they take a card,y take a card, bring apart the two halves of the spread on either side of that card, and then bring the cards that bring apart the two halves of the spread on either side of that card, and then bring the cards that
are the top half of the spread
are the top half of the spread below the bottom half of the below the bottom half of the spread, and then square up (spread, and then square up (you‘veyou‘ve effectively cut the cards at the point
effectively cut the cards at the point of their selection). While they are looking at their card, of their selection). While they are looking at their card, catchcatch a glimpse of the card at the face (the bottom) of the deck. Because you know the Si Stebbins a glimpse of the card at the face (the bottom) of the deck. Because you know the Si Stebbins order, you now know their card. They can put the card back into the deck themselves and shuffle order, you now know their card. They can put the card back into the deck themselves and shuffle the deck, and you can either try to name their card through telepathy, or else have them spread the deck, and you can either try to name their card through telepathy, or else have them spread the cards out and you can pick up psychic vibrations from a spread, or else you could even pull the cards out and you can pick up psychic vibrations from a spread, or else you could even pull out your invisible deck and reveal it that way. As mentioned previously, you could also look into out your invisible deck and reveal it that way. As mentioned previously, you could also look into the work that Richard Osterlind has done with the
the work that Richard Osterlind has done with the full-deck stack, in his Breakthrough Cardfull-deck stack, in his Breakthrough Card System routines.
System routines.
* Jump ahead in the book to the chapter on Reverses and learn ―A Tipsy Trick‖. If you can * Jump ahead in the book to the chapter on Reverses and learn ―A Tipsy Trick‖. If you can control a card, you‘re ready for
control a card, you‘re ready for this trick. For all its simplicity, there are some card guys whothis trick. For all its simplicity, there are some card guys who consider this the finest Triumph out ther
consider this the finest Triumph out ther e. In fact, if you‘re looking at the e. In fact, if you‘re looking at the advertising copy for aadvertising copy for a card trick out there, and the
card trick out there, and the only sleight-of-hand requirement is that you need to only sleight-of-hand requirement is that you need to know how toknow how to control a single card via shuffle,
control a single card via shuffle, you‘re now ready to add it to you‘re now ready to add it to your repertoire. Daryl‘s got anyour repertoire. Daryl‘s got an entire DVD set of Card Revelations, where a
entire DVD set of Card Revelations, where a good portion of the tricks require nothing moregood portion of the tricks require nothing more than for you to simply know
than for you to simply know how to control a card via how to control a card via shuffling, and some of them are reallyshuffling, and some of them are really good.
* At some point in your magic career you‘re going to come across some kind of 4 Ace trick. If you‘re going to pull out the four aces, you might as well do it in some impressive way. If you‘ve got the four aces on top of the deck, then the techniques here will allow you to seemingly shuffle and cut to your heart‘s content, and produce the aces one at a time between shuffles. Alternately, if you hold the deck in your right hand, thumb pressed down on the middle of the top card, and fingers contacting face of the bottom card, you can with a jerking motion toss the cards into the other hand, leaving behind the top and bottom card in the fingers of the right hand. You can repeat the action with the left hand to toss the deck onto the table, and retain those two cards as well. If you‘ve got the aces in the correct position, you can with that slick little sequence produce all four in a flashy manner. So, start with the aces in position, do the full-deck false shuffle to keep them in the correct position, and proceed with the double-toss revelation as described. In any case, all that, combined with the shuffle drills, should give you enou gh to start with. When you‘re ready, move onto the next chapter on Riffle Shuffle technique.
Chapter 2: The
RiffleShuffle
“The Riffle Shuffle”
A good chapter on how to Riffle Shuffle cards neatly. I do take exception somewhat with some of the ideas here, but they‘re mostly presentational and I‘m a bit nitpicky that way. I don‘t want to come across as somebody who‘s got incredible card skills, so when I riffle shuffle, I don‘t want it to be in a neat and tidy fashion, and there are some incredible false riffle shuffles out there that benefit from not looking all pristine. So, when they write about how not all magicians do it neatly, I‘m a bit annoyed on behalf of those of us who can, but choose not to. Similarly, when at the end of the section they mention that this shuffle can be alternated with the Overhand Shuffle, part of me thinks ―Hey! Not so fast…‖ P erhaps this isn‘t something that‘s going to be an issue with a beginner, but for somebody who‘s been performing for a while and who wants to develop a specific performing character, choices ab out card handling shouldn‘t be made lightly. Personally, I think there‘s a lot to be said for figuring out if you‘re a neat-and-tidy riffle shuffling kind of guy, or a sloppy overhand shuffling kind of guy, and making sure you‘re not arbitrarily switching from one to the other without a good reason. Still, these are tiny considerations that most sane people will find silly.
“Riffle Shuffle Control”
Again, it‘s rudimentary stuff that most beginner‘s resources are going to cover, but it‘s still solid. One thing that Daryl mentions in his Encyclopedia of Card Sleights that‘s worth looking into is this — if somebody is staring at the top card in the deck, and you‘re trying to keep that card there, doing the exact same false riffle shuffle twice will tip the fact that this card never actually goes anywhere, and how you‘re accomplishing that. Daryl offers the advice that you can
obfuscate things a little by alternating which hand takes the top packet of the deck, and finishing with alternate hands.
“Riffle Shuffle In The Air”
Another good skill to know. Once you get this down, skip ahead to the chapter on Flourishes so that you can learn the Waterfall finish on this riffle shuffle. It‘s a nice touch.
“An Instinct For Cards” & “Mirror of the Mind”
Forget everything you know about card magic for a second and just read the description of ―An Instinct For Cards‖. This is certainly some genuinely baffling stuff… if you can pull it off. It‘s not an easy thing to manage a situation where the spectator is in complete control of the
proceedings like this. It‘s worth noting that Benjamin Earl has a DVD series called ―Past Midnight‖ where he talks about his own touches and finesses on this routine. There‘s a lot of advanced material on there, so if you‘re not sure if you‘re up for it, getting an en tire series just for one trick might seem a bit steep. ―Mirror of the Mind‖ offers a trick that‘s somewhat easier to manage, but there‘s not the exact same feeling of fairness to the card selection procedure, and it feels (to me, anyway) that something is lost — in fact, the very notion of counting down to a
card at the beginning runs the risk of suggesting a method that you‘re not even using (ie: that you‘ve got the top 13 cards memorized and in order), something that you‘re not actually doing, but that doesn‘t matter because you can‘t show the cards to prove that you‘re not doing that, so
you might as well be doing that. This brings to mind another thing about the tricks — since you‘re going to have to do some altering to the deck beforehand in order to pull off the tricks anyway, you might want to just go with a full-deck stack and adopt some of those strategies, since they can come across as ridiculously fair as well, and you‘ll have more options open to you. It‘s worth reiterating that if you want to do ANY sort of mind-reading effects with cards, then you‘ll benefit from researching the material of Osterlind, Max Maven, and Bob Cassidy, amongst others.
In any case, if you‘ve got the guts for this sort of thing, then all power to you. Me? I‘m a pansy. And, of course, it also means that somebod y‘s probably going to fool the pants off me using the principle sometime in the near future as well.
“Ultra Card Divination”
This trick starts losing me at the point where you‘re supposed to remember the 34th card. There aren‘t exactly many subtle ways to do this. Honestly, if it were me and I really wanted to do this sort of trick, I‘d just make sure to know the 34th card ahead of time, pull out the deck, false shuffle it once or twice, and then proceed with the trick as designed. Additionally, tricks with a lot of dealing and math don‘t exactly rock my world. Stop thinking about cards for a moment and start thinking about the effect. Are you really predicting the future? Or are you just forcing
people to go through a long and complicated procedure that‘s designed to get you were you want to go?
General Thoughts on this Chapter
And here we‘ve got another chapter where the techniques are generally solid, but the tricks are a bit underwhelming. Again, I promise you, this book is worth it. I think the main problem is that
overhand and riffle shuffles comprise some of the earliest necessary building blocks to card handling, and yet it‘s not easy to find tricks which rely on these principles alone. In fact, it‘s worth noting that Card College 1, the first of two volumes which, as a whole, were apparently meant to be an update of Royal Road to Card Magic, has ―Thought Stealer‖ in it as well. (I was able to confirm through a friend that it also has a superior version of ―Spectator Cuts to the Aces‖ than is in Royal Road, but it‘s got some additional sleight-of-hand in it, so I sort of consider that cheating. Anyways…)
If you liked the GW Hunter shuffle in Chapter 1, it‘s worth noting that it‘s also possible to do entire full-deck false riffle shuffles. The main issue with these is that the y‘re almost all difficult to do, and will require a skill level beyond that of a beginner. If your curiosity can‘t be
contained, then I recommend the Grey Shuffle (also on the previously mentioned ―Past
false shuffles, and Herb Zarrow‘s Zarrow Shuffle, the Push-Through Shuffle (various sources) and the Strip-Out Shuffle (various sources) for working on the table.
So, again, at this point, what tricks are open to you?
* In the previous chapter we talked about how a full-deck false shuffle can maintain the entire order, which meant that you could have the aces where you wanted to produce them either one-at-a-time, or else in that fancy friction-using deck-tossing way. You‘ve got the same options available here, only with the riffle shuffle, you don‘t need to do a full-deck false shuffle. If you want to maintain all four in the same spot at the top of the deck, just follow the technique taught in this chapter. If you have two on top and two on the bottom, then you can do a really
legitimate-looking shuffle that maintains that order, simply by starting the shuffle by riffling off the bottom packet of the deck first for a few cards, riffling both packets together throughout the middle, and then finishing the shuffle by riffling off the top packet of the deck. You‘re now set to do the same reveal.
* If you followed my advice in the previous chapter and went ahead and studied ―A Tipsy Trick‖, you now have an extra shuffle that you can use as part of the presentation of the trick, where you describe the different ways that somebody might normally shuffle a deck of cards, before demonstrating the weird way that the other guy shuffled them. (Read the trick and you‘ll
know what I‘m talking about)
* If you disagreed with my thoughts on some of the tricks in the previous chapter, then you can add the false shuffling procedures to help conceal the idea of prearrangements. For instance, the trick ―Thought Stealer‖ needs a block of cards, and if you have those cards already set in place, then you can do some of the false shuffling that you‘ve learned in these two chapters before starting the trick, to conceal the idea of there being a prearrangement in the first place.
* Taking this idea further, you might want to look into other self-working tricks that require a minimal setup, and take a look at how the shuffling can be used to improve the effect — such as to sell the idea of the card being lost, or to dispel suspicions about card pre arrangements. Karl Fulves‘s ―Gemini Twins‖ is one such trick, and you can find it in an inexpensive book called ―More Self -Working Card Tricks‖ and which Google Books (for better or for worse) actually currently has available to be freely read by anybody on the internet right here…
The usual nature of self-working tricks is that you don‘t really need to know any card
manipulation in order to pull them off. Sometimes, though, you can improve the effect a little by adding just a bit of sleight-of-hand in the right way. In the case of ―Gemini Twins‖, after you remove the two prediction cards, you can false shuffle the cards before handing them over to the spectator to proceed with the trick, just to throw them off the scent a little bit further.
I‘m going to bypass the chapter on flourishes for now as I‘m not much of a flourish guy, but I‘ll talk about them later. Next up, the Glide! Yeah!
Chapters 3: Flourishes
Introduction
There‘s the usual caution against overuse, etc. One thing that isn‘t talked about is how they could be potentially useful in immediately establishing some prestige and/or credibility. Jay Sankey
talks about using springing the deck as his opener, since it basically separates him immediately from Uncle Jim who knows a few card tricks, and that can be helpful if you‘re in a situation where you‘re having to appr oach an audience cold. Personally, I like the idea of being able to do something magical instead — even the usual cliched production of an item off a spectator is a cliche for a reason. Still, that‘s an academic discussion best left for elsewhere. There ar e some other considerations that I‘ll talk about later on.
Displaying the top card
(A) seems alright. (B) seems alright. (C) doesn‘t even seem like a flourish, but wh atever. One thing that‘s worth considering is that if you‘re going to displa y cards, it might help to do it in a manner that will match how you might need to do it whilst in the middle of sleight-of-hand, for conditioning purposes. (A) and (B) in particular might be tricky to do if you‘re handling a double, for instance. If you don‘t have to worry about that sort of subterfuge, though, disregard that advice.
Ruffle
I like this sort of thing more than other flourishes (such as endless Z cuts) in that they can be used to signal a magic moment of some kind. Ruffling (or riffling, as we‘d say these days) the deck onto a single indifferent card to change it into the spectator‘s selection, for instance, h as a nice feel to it, perhaps even better than snapping the fingers, which to me is such a massive claim to power that it instantly renders itself false and trivial without having the magic to back it up. Anyways… (A) seems alright. (B) seems alright. (C) seems like it could be nice, if you can get the sound they talk about.
Click
It seems weird to me that one would want to make this particular noise with a deck of cards, but whatever.
Spread and Turnover
(A) can be pretty, and there‘s a technique to divide the turnover so that two cards (one in each hand) seem to be guiding two different waves. If there‘s a nice side-effect of this sort of thing, it‘s that it can look as though the magician were trying to do something flourishy, wherein extra information could be conveyed at the same time (such as implying that the deck of cards has been well-mixed, when you‘re really working with a mem-deck). (B) will require some practice
to make it look really good and even. (C) should be fine so long as you‘re not working on a splintery table.
Springing the Cards
I learned this through the method described in Expert Card Technique, and frankly, I‘ve found that it gives me better control over the cards. Basically, in ECT, they talk about having the pressure being created by the thumb at the inner left corner (assumes you‘re doing this
right-handed), and the pinky at the outer right corner, and using the rest of the fingers to just guide the cards rather than put pressure on them. Again, though, I‘m no aficionado.
A Flourish Count
As before with the card displays, since I think that it‘s best to make sure that such actions match what you‘d need to do if you were trying to do something secret (such as a false count), I‘m not drawn to this sort of technique. However, if that‘s n ot an issue, this would probably look pretty for people if done well.
Throwing a Card
Actually, if you can get the boomeranging action down, this is not a bad flourish. I never do this sort of thing so I can‘t tell you if the way it‘s taught is good or not. I‘ll assume it is since it
strikes me as an old move.
Waterfall Shuffle
This is worth learning if you‘re ever going to be doing in-the-hands shuffles. Frankly, I think that doing this smartly can be just as good at conveying that you know what you‘re doing with a deck of cards without using something potentially obnoxious like springing the cards or gratuitously making card fans. Speaking of which…
Card Fans
Practice makes perfect on these sorts of things. ―The Fan‖ is a rudimentary method. ―One Hand Fan‖ is something I could never get down to my satisfaction, and my lack of interest in being a flourishy card guy probably didn‘t help foster the discipline needed to perfect it. Some people divide the deck into two and do this with each hand, and I think (besides making the flourish that much grander) it helps to make the fans appear more spread out (with an entire deck in one hand I think they have a tendency to bunch up in an unsightly way — unless you‘re a master at the move). ―Thumb Fan‖ is probably a prettier method than ―The Fan‖, especially if done quickly, but it requires having the cards in decent condition. ―Pressure Fan‖ is a nice alternative if the
cards aren‘t in great condition — again, I learned using the way they describe in Expert Card Technique, where the grip they suggest is similar to the one for Springing the Cards.
Chapter 4: The Glide
“The Glide”
Finally, some legitimate sleight of hand! It‘s a funny thing that this move isn‘t more popular, and I have to assume it‘s because people think it has to be done as it‘s been traditionally taught. In my view, the big problem with the sleight stems back to a core thing — the traditional manner of holding the deck for executing the move isn‘t exactly the most natural thing in the world. If
you‘re going to hold a deck or a large packet of cards, you want to go for something that is either natural or motivated. On the natural front, there are some universally accepted ways for holding a deck of cards — in the dealing hand in a dealer‘s grip, spread between the two hands, in an overhand shuffling grip or in a riffle-shuffling grip in preparation for the two respective shuffles, etc. You can also motivate slightly unnatural wa ys of holding the cards due to different
circumstances, such as spreading the cards faces outwards so that people can see them, or in a Biddle-type of grip (ie: in the right hand in an overhand grip as if you picked them up out of the left hand where it was in a dealer‘s grip) for repositioning or quick display, etc. The suggested mechanic for the glide in Royal Road isn‘t really all that great — if you want to improve it, you‘ve got a couple of easy options.
The first, and in my opinion best, thing you can do is switch from the grip as described in the book to a Biddle-style of grip. In other words, hold it with the thumb at the rear short end of the
cards, and the fingers at the outer short edge of the cards (ie: look at the grip in the book and rotate the deck 90 degrees). It‘s a bit of a shame that Hugard and Braue had the ―Side Glide‖ in Expert Card Technique, but didn‘t choose to include it in Royal Road, because it‘s simply a much nicer way of holding the cards. Imagine you‘ve just shuffled a selected card so that it‘s second from the bottom, and you square the cards in the left hand as per dealing. The right hand comes over and the magician lifts up the deck as a whole and displays it outwards to the
audience, proud at having controlled the card to an ideal location. The audience boos. The magician can then point at the card with the finger of his left hand, asking, ―This isn‘t it?‖ They happily yell no. The magician, despondent, drops the hands down so that the face is no longer visible, and immediately performs the glide from that position, and then pulls it out, and renames the card he just showed them. ―Are you sure?‖ he asks. The y yell yes. He asks what it was, and they tell him. He blows on the card, and then turns it face-outward again. Thunderous applause (or more boos, depending upon how the magician is doing).
A simple set of mechanics, but this stuff can work well for a beginner, and even better, there‘s no arbitrary repositioning of the deck just so that you c an set yourself up for the move. Later on you‘re going to be exposed to the double-lift and the top change which allow you to do the same thing with some added benefits, but to have at least one ―Isn‘t/Is‖ card trick in your repertoire is well worth it. Technique-wise, you‘re just doing what‘s described in the text, except with the deck rotated 90 degrees.
The second great touch comes from Dai Vernon, which involves eliminating finger action on the part of the hand holding the deck, which reduces the overall tension which can betray the fact
that you‘re in the middle of doing a move. I‘m not really keen on republishing the specific mechanics that he discusses, if only because Dai Vernon was really meticulous when it came to designing technique, and to really talk about the nuances of his ideas properly, I‘d basically be best off repeating it verbatim, which strikes me as a bad idea. However, if you get your hands on
the Dai Vernon Inner Card Trilogy, you‘ll learn that touch (as well as a whole bunch of other great Vernony stuff). It‘s also taught on Daryl‘s Encyclopedia of Card Sleights. Incidentally, this technique can also be combined with the grip alteration described above.
One other nifty thing you can do is alter the side glide a little bit to set yourself up for one of the easiest card palms in existence. John Carney teach es this in his On Palming DVD, and while he doesn‘t use it in order to execute the glide, that doesn‘t mean you can‘t, if you‘ve got a trick that requires a switch and immediate palm. If you get the DVD, you‘ll know which move I‘m talking about when you get to it (if you don‘t, send me an email).
“Design For Laughter”
A good trick. It‘s essentially an easier version of Dunsbury Delusion (Charlie Miller‘s trick taught in Expert Card Technique) which requires a second deal, but the overall class of effect is the same. Magicians have been playing around with this general idea for years, including Dai Vernon‘s take on Clyde Carny‘s ―Dick Trac y Card Trick‖ (now almost universally known as ―The Fingerprint Card Trick‖), and Eddie Fechter‘s ―That‘s It!‖ If I had to mess with it at all, it‘d be to change the presentation so that you‘re not practically scolding the spectator for having been
unable to cut to the card. A friendlier approach might to take our cues from Eddie Fechter… Do the trick up until it‘s time to cut the piles, and then guide them through that or do it yourself so that the selection, rather than being on the bottom of the left-hand pile, is on the bottom of the middle pile (cut 1/3 from the top, set to the right, cut 1/2 of the remaining, set to the left). Now go from right to left, saying that the first card on t he bottom of the packet will tell you a hint about the colour of the card. Let‘s say you‘re showing them a a red card. Ask hopefully: ―It‘s not a red card, is it?‖ ―Yes.‖/‖I thought so.‖ or ―No.‖/‖Right, that‘s what I said, it‘s not a red card.‖ (Do the latter in a really dry manner and you can get a laugh from it. It might sound like a weak way out, but if you‘re like me, you‘re actually praying for those sarcastic moments.) Remove that card, and set that card down (no sleight here, but make the removal look exactly like the way you‘re going to glide later on) and then set the packet off back towards yourself on the table. Next, go to the middle packet. ―The second one should tell me the specific suit.‖ Show them the
card on the bottom of the packet, and ask them if the suit is the same. They should say yes, since it‘s not just the same suit, it‘s actually their card. ―See? And you guys thought I didn‘t know what I was doing…‖ Now go through the glide mechanics, place that indifferent card next to the single card you drew out earlier, and dump the packet next to the other packet closer to you on the table (keeping track of it). ―The third card will actually tell me where it is in the rest of the deck.‖ Flash the card on the bottom of that packet, and let‘s assume it‘s the Four of Hearts. Draw
that out (again, no sleight, but make it look like the glide) and drop it next to the other two cards in front, and then take that packet and reassemble the packets so that their selection is now on the bottom of the deck. Explain that you‘re going to use that last card to find their card. Do a glide
removal, but then immediately replace it, covering the selection. ―Oh, I should explain. That last card was a four, so I‘m just going to count off four cards.‖ Do this while flashing the bottom card of the deck. Now do a legitimate removal for the first card, and then glide the next two cards, and then legitimately remove the last card, which will b e their selection. Ask them what their card is, and when they say it, express some surprise, because everyone should believe that their selection was amongst the three at the front of the table. Now show them their selection. Ta-da! If, for some reason, you draw out an Ace for the third card, then rather than counting down a single card, you can actually spell the card out in its entirely, gliding all the way.
One thing that‘s worth noting about this trick (and to its credit Royal Road‘s version describes this as well) is that you can use legitimate takes of the bottom card to condition the audience into believing that the action is a fair one, so that there will be less heat on you when you have to do
the false action. Also note that the questions that you ask the audience are also useful in
misdirecting them away from your hands. This is sometimes a ver y good practice, and it‘ll serve you well to remember it as a possible strategy to use to your advantage in any branch of magic, not just cards.
In the long run, you might come to the conclusion that most other magicians do that it‘s arguably a bad idea to do a trick which relies so heavily upon executing a single sleight many different times. Then again, in the long run, you‘ll have learned a bit more about card magic and you‘ll know how to do the above with double-lifts or some other means of switching cards. That said, the above plot, in a general sense, has been proven effective. Easily one of the gems of this book.
“The Observation Test”
Ok, not a bad trick, but the handling here is a bit involved given the effect. You have a card selected and returned to the deck, and then you go hunting for twos. Now, you‘re not actually searching for the selected card, but you might as well be. The four twos portion seems like a bit of a pointless detour, and it seems to me that there‘d be better ways to incorporate them so as to put some more magic into the whole experience (red twos changing to black twos, or else having
cards change places, or else changing the two with the matching suit into their selection, or whatever). Still, if they‘re convinced they‘ve seen four ca rds and only four cards, and then you produce a fifth, that‘s not bad. You might want to kee p this on the backburner in case you can
think of something magical to do with the four of a kind.
General Thoughts on this Chapter
With the changes talked about in handling, and with the Design For Laughter trick, we‘ve got some quality here. The glide might be a move that you end up abandoning for a different switch later on, but with practice, and in the context of the right trick, it‘s still workable. If you‘re new
