Nash Reloaded
– a Tribute –
by Michael J. H. Sorensen
Copy edit by Jason England & others
Cover by Amanda Sorensen
Hand Photos by Davied Sorensen
Chaucer’s Dog Press
www.thecharmingcheat.com
including:
Nash Reloaded DVD set – Vol. 1-4
Martin A. Nash Live 2004, Lecture DVD
Four Class Acts, Lecture Notes
...and much more!
Coming soon from Chaucer’s Dog Press:
More Than Sleeving – The Magic of Rocco
Rocco Live 2006, Lecture DVD
www.chaucersdogpress.com
To contact Amanda Sorensen for illustration/design projects
email her at [email protected]
E-Book First Edition 2005
© 2005 Chaucer’s Dog Press. All rights reserved.
Reproduction is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced for storage in a retrieval system or trasmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher. For information, email [email protected]. All material is copyrighted by their respective owners.
were not for people like you, people like me could never exist."
Martin A. Nash
"For my beautiful wife, who always gave love and support, even through endless card tricks.
For my adorable children, who show me that there is still magic in the world.
For my family, who taught me who I am and who I can be.
For my wife's family and their constant support.
For my friends Michael and Bob and my brother Davied who never let me give up.
For Dee… I'm sorry"
Message From Martin A. Nash . . . .iv
Foreward by The Great Tomsoni . . . .v
Introduction by Harry Lorayne . . . .viii
Author’s Introduction . . . .x
From Dai Vernon . . . .xiv
The Effects
The Universal Deal . . . .2
The One-Handed Ace Cut . . . .4
Pinochle Pinnacle II . . . .7
Omni-Twist – Revisited . . . .12
Fake Centers . . . .19
Caught? . . . 21
Super Ace Speller . . . .24
C.O.T.M. – Revisited . . . .26
Control . . . .30
The Switch . . . .31
Trapped . . . .33
The Invisible Palm – Revisited . . . .35
Blindfolded Ace Cut . . . .40
Title Bout . . . .42
Any Ace Called For – Revisited . . . 45
The New Mental Topper . . . 47
Ambitious Omni . . . .49
One Step Ahead . . . .51
The Fan Change . . . .53
Out of this … Oh, Who Cares! . . . .55
The Mechanic . . . .58
Four and a Little More . . . .60
Deck Grips . . . .72
Essays
How to Practice . . . .75
Building Your Character . . . .77
Managing Your Audience . . . .80
Putting Together Your Act . . . 84
Gambling Demonstrations vs. Card Tricks . .87
Stories From Friends
Bodine Balasco . . . .90
Paul Harris . . . .93
Stephen Minch . . . .94
Bill Malone . . . .97
Jeff Hobson . . . .98
Mark Wilson . . . .100
Rocco . . . .103
Jon Racherbaumer . . . .105
Christina LaVaughn . . . .108
Jamy Ian Swiss . . . .111
Table Of Contents
Robert Lamoreaux . . . .114
Davied Sorensen . . . .116
Danny Archer . . . .118
Daryl . . . .119
Mark Haslam . . . .120
E. J. Thacker . . . .122
Carol Marie . . . .123
Lee Freed . . . .124
Jason England . . . .125
Monte Smith . . . .127
Paul Green . . . .128
Jeff McBride and Gaeton Bloom . . . . .129
Tony Clark . . . .130
Rick Anderson . . . .132
Dustin Stinnett . . . .135
Tom Mullica . . . .137
Simon Lovell . . . .138
Stories
The Book Title . . . .141
From LVMI – 2003 to The Magic Castle . .142
M.A.N. and The Charming Cheat . . . .148
The Murray-Hyde Case . . . .151
The Ed Balducci Years . . . .153
Memories of The Professor . . . .155
The Plastic Eye Fraud . . . .157
The Planes . . . .159
Nash Poetry
An Ode To A Lady . . . .161
Driving School . . . .162
Life's Four Seasons . . . .163
Secrets . . . .165
The Magician . . . .166
Sleights
The Second Deal . . . .168
The Center Deal . . . .172
The Bottom Deal . . . .174
The Nash Multiple Shift . . . .176
The Faro Shuffle . . . .179
Infinity and Reverse Infinity . . . .180
The Side Steal . . . .185
Gambler’s Cop with a Fan Cover . . . . .186
The Second Deal Force . . . .188
The Tabled Faro . . . .189
The Zero Zarrow . . . .190
This book is made up of variations of my material that I have
published over the years.
Card magic can only advance when others put their ideas and
"twists" on older material. Mike has compiled many of his own
variations as well as others to create new methods as well as ideas to
my material.
The ideas on presentation etc. are of course mime, but the "card
changes" per se are done with my approval.
Sincerely,
FOREWARD
I first met Martin Nash in Chicago at Magic Inc. in 1969 in the company of Jay Marshall and Jon Racherbaumer. Martin looked every bit the part of a professional card cheat, complete with sallow complexion, slicked-backed hair, pencil-thin mustache and the prerequisite diamond pinky ring. I had seen his gambling lecture the night before and was particularly interested in his uncanny ability to read "juice," a rather sophisticated card marking technique that is, under optimum conditions, most difficult to see. I asked Martin about this and he graciously gave us an incredible demonstration of his ability that ended up with Jon and I standing outside Jay's shop while Martin remained inside, some twenty feet away, reading the juiced cards we held up through the store's front window. Needless to say we were extremely impressed!
My next encounter with Martin occurred in Las Vegas, some six years later. Martin had changed. His complexion was vibrant and his slicked-back hair replaced by a more contemporary hairstyle. His nails were expertly manicured and his dress and demeanor quite theatrical. He had, over the years, transformed himself from his earlier grifter's image into that of the suave gambling demon-strating entertainer we now know as, Martin Nash, "The Charming Cheat."
Martin's ability to amaze and entertain audiences with a gambling-themed act is truly remark-able. Both John Scarne and Frank Garcia made their reputations as gambling experts, but Martin, in my opinion, was the first to actually develop a highly commercial close-up act based entirely on gam-bling related material. He has a natural talent for taking magic effects and turning them into interest-ing gamblinterest-ing-themed routines. A perfect example is his dice stackinterest-ing routine, a magic effect that I couldn't possibly imagine being altered in any way to fit a gambling-theme.
Marty's routine begins with a short discussion concerning various dice games and their rules, eventually leading into a discussion concerning a rather unusual game played in bars in and around British Columbia, Canada. He explains that the game is played with four dice and a dice cup. The
object of the game being to roll the dice, tally up the numbers contained on each die’s upper surface, and the player with the lowest total wins. Martin demonstrates by tossing the dice into the cup, shak-ing it, and rollshak-ing the dice to show a random total. After a few throws he relates a tale of his playshak-ing this game, head to head, with a high stakes player. In the tale the player rolls the dice for a combined total of seven. Martin sets the scene by lining up the four dice in a row, turning and adjusting the dice until their combined top surfaces total seven. Martin relates how he, acting somewhat naive and unfa-miliar with the rules, quizzed the player, saying, "Let me see if I understand this correctly. In order for me to win I have to roll a number lower than seven and that number's determined by what's on top of my dice. Is that correct?" The player nods in agreement and Martin, using the inverted dice cup, starts into the routine by picking off the individual cubes in the prescribed manner for stacking. He shakes the cup, slides it across his working surface and raising it, reveals the dice, stacked one on top of the other with a six showing on top of the uppermost die. Martin, pointing to the six, says, "Six! I believe I win." This surprise scam-like payoff always creates a sure-fire audience reaction. Marty follows with some dice stacking demonstrations that lead into his predicting what number will appear on the upper-most die and concludes with the production of an oversized die from beneath the inverted cup a la Dai Vernon.
Martin developed his Infinity Principle during a stay at my home in Southern California.
Marty's work on this crimping technique is excellent. The crimp cannot be seen from any angle, it can be put in instantly under close scrutiny and it will hold for about ten to fifteen minutes. Of course you can always extend that time frame by reapplying the work at any time. It's the perfect crimp for table work and I can vouch for it cause it's the one that I use.
Marty has developed some interesting moves for table work. Outstanding is his tabled multiple shift which is capable of bringing the shifted cards to either the top or the bottom of the deck. He's also one of the few magicians that I have known who is capable of executing a perfect Tabled Faro Shuffle. I've seen several magicians butt shuffle the cards on a table, but in Martin's hands his faro has the look of a Tabled Riffle-Shuffle.
Martin's greatest asset is, without a doubt, his ability to routine material. Ovation is a prime example; a gambling-themed routine that is act-like in structure and builds to a very powerful finish. A finish, I might add, that always afforded Martin a standing ovation whenever he performed it at The Magic Castle. There is much to be learned from his routines, especially with an eye towards structure.
I've known Martin for over thirty-five years and have had the pleasure of witnessing a great many of his performances first hand and I can personally attest to the impact and commercial value of the material contained in this book. You, the reader, are in for a treat as you peruse a lifetime of per-formance material, gambling moves, magical anecdotes and musings that are, part and parcel, The M. A. N., Martin A. Nash. And the tricks aren't bad either!
Johnny Thompson p.k.a. The Great Tomsoni
INTRODUCTION
The very first issue of Apocalypse saw the light of day over a quarter of a century ago, in January of 1978. On page 12 of that first issue is a box at the upper right in which I wrote the follow-ing:
"Martin Nash did some card stuff for me when we had a 'to 4 a.m.' session in Vancouver, Canada. I knew Martin many years ago. As a matter of fact, he told me that it was because of me that he made cards his career. (I think he was thanking me! I'm kidding – he was.) Well, I gotta' tell you that he fooled me with his seconds, middles, fifths, riffle shuffles, etc. That's right, I said FIFTHS. He places the four aces on top, then asks how many cards he should deal. I said 'four.' He dealt four cards from the top. The aces were still on top! I don't remember seeing a better Second Deal. He had to do it face up to make me (really) believe that he was doing seconds. He told me (that) he'd put three thousand hours into learning (perfecting) it."
That's what I wrote back in 1978. I have to go back even another decade and a half in order to explain what and how I had anything to do with Martin making card magic his career. It was 1963. My first book on card magic had appeared on the scene in October of 1962. Because of that book (Close-Up Card Magic) I started to do quite a few lectures for magicians. I couldn't accept all the offers because I was very busy doing appearances for the "public" with my memory work. Anyway, here's the story Martin told me, and has been telling others all through the years. It seems that he and his wife were at a magic convention, a friend said to Martin:
"Have you seen this guy, Harry Lorayne, lecture on cards?" Martin: “No; all these card lectures are a bore.”
Friend: “Listen, take my word for it – go in and watch this guy.” Martin: “Oh, okay.”
***
Now, as Martin tells it: "I watched the lecture. Then, ran to my wife, and said, 'I just saw that it is possible – you can ENTERTAIN with a deck of cards!!'" And a career began. Skip a few years. Now, I'm at a magic convention and Martin is lecturing. He and I are having a drink at the bar. He says, "You're not going to attend my lecture are you, Harry?" "Well, of course I am. Why?" "Oh, this will be very embarrassing." He says. “You're going to see your tricks, and you're going to hear your patter – word for word." "That's okay, Martin, as long as you do it all right, I don't mind; I'll be pleased." He certainly did it all right. He blew me away doing my own stuff and speaking my own words.
But, fast forward back to 1978 – the sleepless night in Vancouver. (I was on a book promotion tour and had an appearance on a drive-time radio show at 8 a.m. that morning.) I kicked Martin out of my hotel room at 4 a.m.! He was simply intriguing and fascinating and fooling me with his card work – which was no longer my stuff. Sure, Martin does some of my things to this day, and that's fine with me. But his stuff – Wow! Listen, it's gratifying that through the years, since 1962, I've heard, been told, that
a) I've started certain concepts in card magic; b) that I've started so many people in magic, and c) that I've changed lives.
Well, sure, it is gratifying. But I have to tell you that my usual reply to either a, b or c is, "I really don't know whether I want to take the credit or the blame!" Well, in this case, when it comes to Martin Nash, I'll more than gladly accept the credit. Talk about "gratifying.” How gratifying it is for me to have had anything at all to do with pushing Martin Nash into a card-work career, in being instrumental in having the magic world see and read him, and learn from him. I'm so proud of Martin and of his work. Read on – you will be, too.
From The Author…
Just Imagine…
Friday Night. You're driving down the road with a smile on your face. You've just collected your paycheck from work, and you’re feeling lucky. Charlie, from the office, dropped word to you that every Friday night, some of the guys from around town get together for a game of poker. As you pull up to the club, the sense of excitement mounts as you think, "This is going to be the night I take them for everything they've got.” You know cards well, and are no slouch when it comes to handling a table of suckers.
As you walk into the back room, the thick fog of smoke filling the air overwhelms you. You look around, and notice Charlie. Sitting next to him is Frank, an old acquaintance of his. There are a couple of guys that you used to see down at the pool hall, and a beautiful blonde in a sleek black dress. You sit down next to Charlie when the door opens again. A stranger with dark glasses and a moustache walks in, sits down at the table, lays down some scratch and asks for a stack. You notice a rather impressive three-dollar coin in a ring on his right ring finger and a 2½ carat diamond ring on his left! On his wrist sits a handsome bracelet displaying the four suits, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. This guy means business. You begin to get a knot in the pit of your stomach, yet you smile to yourself with a pleasant satisfaction that your stack of chips is larger than his. Polite nods are exchanged around the table and the game begins.
After several hands of five card draw, you realize that the leader of the pack so far has been the stranger. Over the next couple of hours, the game switches to Stud, seven card, and even a couple of rounds of Texas Hold'em. You look down at your dwindling stack and wonder to yourself where lady luck is. You look across the table and see her sitting on top of the stranger's now impressive pile of chips. You wish he'd take off those dark glasses so you could get a better look at him.
The evening comes to a close, and you are in financial agony. You have a whole two bucks left, barely enough to buy a cup of coffee. You look down at the two whites in front of you and wonder how you got to this point. The stranger stands as he nods to the PB for some help with his chips, and with a smile reminiscent of the cheshier cat's grin, he says "Thank you" and begins to walk out. You stand with all of the dignity you can muster and look at him, "What's your name?" He finally looks over the edge of his glasses at you, and after a pause says, "Martin.” The evening feels almost anti-cli-mactic. You sit down and wonder how your going to tell this to your loved one, and you wonder whether or not you'll even have a couch to sleep on for the next month.
The preceding is a fiction; Martin cheats honestly, whatever that means.
"Welcome to the show ladies and gentlemen…."
Martin A. Nash is said to be one of the best. It is said that his mastery of cards that has spanned over half a century is unparalleled by any in the profession. These statements are not brags or exag-gerations. They happen to be absolutely true. He has won a plethora of awards including The Magic Castle's close-up magician of the year twice, the Performing Fellowship Award, and the LVMI
Lifetime Achievement Award. Those of you familiar with his work know that he has an uncanny rap-port with a deck of cards. He has developed the ability to manipulate the cards purely by feel. Even if you are not familiar with the man, I promise you that if you are at least a moderate card worker, you have come in contact with his technique. Items such at the Nash Multiple Shift and The Tabled Faro are some of the gems that he helped pioneer. He and his magic are truly one of a kind.
I began my study of Martin's work over ten years ago. I was privileged enough to work for a time at the local magic shop, where the old boss let me watch a tape of "The Charming Cheat.” Immediately, I became hooked. His methods of routining and presentation were unlike anything I had seen before. At the time, I had become a victim of the classic "Video Magician" syndrome. I was watching tapes and then going out and performing the same stuff verbatim without ever really learn-ing a lot of the more important aspects of card work like how to routine, how to invent, how to build your own work. Now, here was a guy who not only did great effects, but he taught technique. He taught audience interaction. He taught the things that a studying magician really needs. My magic immediately began to change. Over the next few years, I began to study Martin's work. His gambling technique immediately began to get results for me. I would use his techniques and ideas to fashion sets that had a unique impact. Audiences began to very much enjoy the routines. I found that people seemed to react well to gambling work.
A few years ago, I had decided to do a show that heavily involved Martin and his work, so I began a long and winding road of trying to contact him. I tried several different magic organizations. No luck. I tried to find him on the Internet, but I found little to nothing that talked about him except to sell his products. This did me no good as I already had everything that they were peddling. My frus-tration began to mount. I posted messages on every Internet message board that I could find, and checked them daily. Nothing. I began to feel that I was fighting a losing battle. Then, one day, I was checking on all of the message posts that I had sent out, and my heart began to race. There it was, a reply. Not just any reply though, it was from Martin, and he had given me his email address! I was, at this point, still skeptical. After all, this could be a hoax. It had happened to me once before. So, I emailed him. Within about six minutes, I heard the familiar chime on my computer that tells me I
have mail. For a brief moment, I felt like I was going to be sick! I opened the email and to my hearts delight, it was from him. "Mike, this is Martin. I'd be happy to help in any way I can. Email me. Friend, Martin" I didn't sleep at all that night.
Over the next few weeks, Martin and I struck up a friendship. He gave me the opportunity to interview him over the phone. I was initially expecting a quick fifteen minute interview, but he gener-ously gave me over two hours. He shared stories and memories with me that I was greatly honored to hear. It is my honor to present to you some of those stories along with many others. After this book project began, Martin suggested that I contact a few of his friends. I was open to that, and I asked him who he had in mind. "Do you have a pen and paper ready?" He then began to rattle off the names and contact information of people whom I had admired since I was a wee rabbit puller. Just imagine for a moment that you're a painter, and you get a call from Leonardo Da Vinci. He then proceeds to tell you to call Michelangelo, Monet, Picasso, and others. Now you have a brief inkling of how I felt during this conversation. The one whom I was the most nervous to just call right out of the blue was Harry Lorayne. Not only is he one of the greatest entertainers/teachers/writers in the business, but every sin-gle person in card magic knows his name and speaks it with a kind of reverence. As I dialed his num-ber, my hands were shaking. Then I hear, "This is Harry Lorayne…" and I'm expecting some silly message about the beep. I mean, famous people don't actually answer the phone, do they? Then there was a pause. I was wondering if his machine had suddenly broken. Then it hit me, it wasn't his machine. So there I sit like an idiot and finally my slush brain told me that I was able to speak. "Hi Mister Lorayne. This is Mike Sorensen from Salt Lake. I'm a friend of Martin Nash…" and it went on from there. It was a similar sensation when I spoke to Johnny Thompson, and some of the other names that grace these pages.
I hope that you get as much from these pages as I am in writing them. Many of the effects are my own creations based on Martin's work. Others are the product of some of the best new minds in the business. Some are unfinished Nash symphonies that have now been concluded, while others are Nash originals that have been all but lost for decades. I have included a section on sleights that I feel are necessary for not only Martin's work, but for anyone studying crooked gambling in general. I have tried to be as precise as possible with their workings. If you have versions of these sleights that you are more comfortable with or that fit your style and ability better, by all means, feel free to use them. I just wanted this book to be as complete as possible. Have you ever been working on something out of a book or tape and the infuriating words came up, "There is a lot of material out there about this so I'm not going to cover it here…" It drives me mad when I run into that. What if you don't know the sleight, or you don't have even a sliver of the "volumes" in existence? What then? I don't want you to have to go through that, so I've tried to make it as complete as possible. There are a few things that i’m going to assume that you know, but I’ve tried to include all of the tough stuff.
Martin's techniques are some of the finest ever in the field of gambling and card work. His tapes and books take a place of honor in my own library next to Erdnase, Buckley and Vernon. Some of these effects are simple, and some of them are very challenging. I personally feel that an effect that is challenging is an effect that is worth it. Dai Vernon used to say that if he saw a trick that said it could be done in two minutes by anyone with no sleight of hand, he wouldn't even bother with it. I will tell you now, if you don't like to practice, put this book away and get some flashy video with big metallic letters and lots of stars on it. For that matter, if you don't like to practice, get out of this busi-ness. Go skateboard, or sit in front of a video game for hours on end. Go collect stamps. This work takes work. If you think it's too hard, then welcome to the real world of card magic. The hard is what makes it worth it. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Nash's work is above all, satisfying. Sitting down and doing some of these routines in front of an audience, and doing them well will convince you that it was worth it. I hope also that you will take away from this book, not only effects, but some of the underlying principles in card and gambling magic that Martin is so well known for, but above all, I hope you have fun. I sure have.
So, what are you waiting for? Go get a deck of blue-backed Bicycles, a big close-up mat, some munchies, a seriously big beverage, and let's get to work.
The
Effects
They call 'em fingers, but I've never seen 'em fing!" ~Otto, The Simpsons~
The Universal Deal
This effect has an interesting story behind it. I have always loved Martin's effect entitled “As You Like It” which is a center dealing routine where you do in fact deal right out of the center. As you will notice, there is a revisited version of that effect later in the book. After playing with it for some time now, I have come up with a radical new turn in the mechanics.
I have two fairly weak points in card work, my bottoms, and my centers. They would fly
straight past the uninitiated layman, but to the trained eye, the tells are painfully obvious. When I exe-cute a center or a bottom, I will, at times, flash by dropping my middle finger just a bit. This is known as a “flash,” or a "float," I decided that this tell was detrimental to the center dealing effect. Now, I have never given up practicing the sleight to smooth it out, but I did find a way to accomplish the same effect without the use of a center. I employ what I feel to be one of my stronger bullets in the card sharp gun, The Second Deal.
EFFECT: The performer loses the aces into the deck and hands it out for shuffling. After it is taken back, he immediately asks any spectator to name any ace. He then asks for a number of hands to be called out. After this is done, without the aid of kicks or breaks, the performer cleanly and open-ly deals that number of cards to the table, and turns the next card over to show the requested ace. The pack is picked up, shuffled, and the same thing is repeated until all four aces have been fairly and openly found.
SLEIGHTS: The Second Deal, The Nash Multiple Shift, The Top Palm, The Overhand Shuffle, The Riffle-Shuffle Packet Transfer.
METHOD: The explanation for this one isn't going to be overly long. Once the sleights are understood, the effect is fairly straightforward. The aces are taken out and placed in any memorable order. I often use the ever-popular CHSD order. These cards are placed face down into different parts of the deck in preparation for the Nash multiple shift. Once the shift is completed, the aces will be on
top in CHSD from the top down (fig.1). After a quick Up-The-Ladder Cut, you palm off the top four cards and hand the deck out for a shuffle. Take the deck back, adding the aces on top, and set the deck in front of you.
It will be clearly visible to the spectators at this point that there are no breaks, kicks, or crimps. Ask a spectator to name any of the four aces. For example, let's say they choose spades. If you remember, the
spade is the third from the top. Now you ask them to name a number of
hands. You need them to say a number greater than three. You'll see why in a minute. The best way to do this is through simple psychological subterfuge. You can say something like, "What number do you want to see it at? Four, five, six, you name it." They will almost always say somewhere between five and ten. If they say less than three, just say, "Give me a more challenging number, something a little higher." Once they give you a number, you're set, but you have a little thinking to do. Let's say they said seven. You know that the spade is in the third position. You now must do a combination of Top Deals and Second Deals to get to it. In the example, you would deal a top, top, second, second, second, second, and on seven, take the top and turn it over to show the spade. Set it off to the side and place the remainder of the pack onto the dealt cards.
You now have an interesting position that you need to deal with. Because of the dealing, your remaining aces are now reversed on the bottom of the deck. You have a couple of ways out of this. METHOD 1: you can simply do an overhand shuffle, which will bring the cards back to the top and put them back in order. METHOD 2: You can do a Packet Transfer Riffle-Shuffle which is explained elsewhere in the book. This will also bring the cards back to the top, but you'll have to remember that the cards will now be in reversed order from what they were.
After either of the above shuffles, you'll now be back in position to do the same thing over again. The process is simply repeated for the remaining three aces. (fig.2)
NOTES: This effect has some pros and cons com-pared to the original. A major con is that you can't do the effect face up. That would expose the method. A double major pro is that it doesn't use the same kick out as the other which is good for those of us with "floating fingers.”
fig. 1
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. ~Thomas Jefferson~
The One-Handed Ace Cut
This is one of my favorite quickie routines. It's not hard, yet it delivers great impact. The effect is based on Dai Vernon's old one-handed ace cut routine, but this one has been rearranged. The aces are all lost in the deck at the start rather than one at a time.
EFFECT: The performer loses the aces into the deck and then proceeds to cut to them with one hand both face up and face down.
SLEIGHTS: Pull-Through False Shuffle, Up-The-Ladder Cut, Faro Shuffle, One-Handed Slip Cut (explained in the effect)
METHOD: This effect requires a setup, but it's simple and you do it in front of your audience as you perform the effect. Start by pulling out the four aces from the deck. Place them in "Bridge" or alphabetical order. Meaning, from the face, spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Place them on the table. You now use any method you so wish to bring any high even numbered spot card to the top of the deck, either a six, an eight, or a ten. The method isn't important, just do it. I simply run through the deck and cut one to the top. If you do it in the sense of "fiddling" with the deck, the audience doesn't care. Now you need to thumb count and get a pinky break below a number of cards equal to half the value of the even card you have on top. So if it's a
ten, you get a break below five. If it's a six, you get a break below three, and so on. Let's say, for example, that it's an eight on top. You get a pinky break below four. You now pick up the aces and place them face up on top of the deck, but use your thumb to hold a break between them and the cards you are holding a break below. Pick up at the lower break. Use your left thumb to slide off the ace of spades and use the packet to lever it face down onto the deck.(fig.1) As
ace. You now lever the other three aces one at a time face down onto the deck. Give the deck a Pull-Through False Shuffle, and an Up-The-Ladder Cut. You must now give the deck one perfect In-Faro. Ask a spectator to look carefully at it to make sure that it is indeed a fair and honest shuffle. Once that is done, simply run two cards from the top to the bottom of the deck reversing their order in the
process.
Your set-up should now be this. On the face, there should be an indifferent card followed by the ace of clubs. From the top it should be; an indifferent card, the ace of diamonds, an indifferent card, the ace of hearts, an indifferent card, the even numbered spot card you put on the top in the beginning, and that number down should be the ace of spades.(fig.2) Now comes the fun part. Tell the
audience that you are going to cut to the aces, but you have to do it one-handed. Show the top card of the deck so they see it's not an ace. Flash the bottom card, no ace. Hold the deck in a right-handed Biddle Grip. With your right index finger, kick cut the top half of the pack to the left about an inch. Now place your index finger onto the top card and give the deck a tossing motion to the left. The entire top half of the pack will fly into your left hand except for the top card, which was held in place by your finger. (fig.3) Your right hand places its packet off to the right, squaring it as you set it down. The left hand squares the packet it's holding. Take off the top card of this packet
and show the ace of diamonds. Toss it forward and put the packet you're holding on top of the packet to the right. You now repeat the process to show the ace of hearts.
Now turn the deck face up. State that people some-times make you cut to the card face up. Get a break below the top two cards. Now use your right fingers to hold them as one as you fan over several cards to show no ace
on the bottom. The ace of clubs is the second card down. Square the packet
and use the left fingers to fan over a few cards from the bottom to show no ace there. You now do the cut from the face and the ace of clubs will immediately come into view. (fig.4) Toss it off and place the left packet back onto the right.
fig. 2
You now turn the deck back over and state that you'll not cut to the last ace, but instead, you'll cut to the only card in the deck that will indicate the location of the last ace. Do a quick Up-The-Ladder Cut to confuse and solidi-fy the issue. Now, do the cut maneuver and place the right hand packet away. Turn over the top card in the left hand to show your even numbered card. (fig.5) Thumb toss it down onto the
table, and begin to toss off that number of cards. On the last card, toss it onto your right hand face down and say, "Would you care to make a small wager?" Pause for a moment and snap over the card to show the ace of spades. (fig.6)
NOTES: This one is fast and furious. I tend to use it as an opener. It's a good show of skill that will keep the audience on its toes. Have fun with it, but let it maintain the feeling of who is boss. Often, I'll open by losing the aces into the deck, multi-ple shifting them to the top, palming them off, letting the audi-ence shuffle, and then adding them back as I do the final setup. It blows their minds!
fig. 4
fig. 5
Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something. ~Wilson Mizner~
Pinochle Pinnacle II
This is a great accomplishment by my brother Davied. I must state here how proud I am of him for not only his great work in the field of cards, but also for his persistence and ability to pull this one out of his …. astounding mind. Several years ago, I introduced him to the parent of this effect called Pinochle Pinnacle. He was instantly addicted. Now my brother is one of those people who is not con-tent with just doing an effect "as-is.” Like many of us, he must change and improve. The original effect called for an in-the-hands Mexican Turnover. Dave found the move to be not to his liking, and thus changed it to a bottom deal from a Biddle Grip. Interesting, but still a difficult move to execute smoothly. I'll never forget the night that the both of us were on a conference call to Martin from a hotel room in downtown Salt Lake. Dave explained the whole thing to Martin along with the new move. I watched as Dave got a look on his face as if they had just canceled Fat Tuesday. It turns out that Martin used to use that same move several decades ago, but abandoned it in favor of the Mexican Turnover due to the sleight’s relative choppiness. Dave was pissed.
Fast forward to now. Several weeks ago, I was discussing with Dave the possibility of revisit-ing the effect for the purposes of this book. Of course, the old one that he did wasn't gorevisit-ing to work, so I put forward a challenge to him. "I want you to redesign the effect from the ground up so that it is relatively the same, but I want the effect to end clean. I want the cards to be examinable at the end." Dave threatened me with severe bodily harm if I gave him a hint as to how to do it.
In the original effect, four cards were shown as the concept of a Pinochle deck was explained. The cards were then shown to be two Jack of Spades, and two Queen of hearts. They were then shown to infact be four jacks! They were then shown to instead be four queens! Now after showing two jacks, two queens, four jacks and four queens, they transformed into four aces!
The effect was wonderful in that only four cards were used. This created the con of the cards not being clean at the end. You in fact had one queen, one jack, and two different aces. The other
problem was that at the end of the effect, the two aces were shown twice and passed off as four differ-ent aces. Martin, along with many other card men, was able to do the effect flawlessly and very
deceptively, yet Dave and I still felt there was something lacking.
Two weeks after I presented the "end clean" challenge to Dave, I got a frantic phone call. "I did it!" I rushed over to his apartment and found that he had indeed managed to revamp the effect to meet the challenge. The con is that it uses two extra cards, but the pros are that it eliminates all the cons from the original effect. I hope that you enjoy performing it, or if you feel that it doesn't meet your needs, that it may at least spark an inventive streak so that you can fashion it to be your own.
EFFECT: The performer takes out a packet of four cards and explains the strange properties of a Pinochle deck, and how it has the nine through ace of each suit repeated twice. He explains that because of this oddity that it would not be unusual to find two Jack of Clubs, or two Queen of Hearts in a deck. He then shows two of the cards to be Jacks and the other two to be queens. He then
explains that where the weirdness starts is when you find four Jack of clubs. He then shows the four cards have all become the Jack of Clubs. He then shows a further strangeness in that the four cards have all become the Queen of Hearts. "Now, I've shown you two jacks, two queens, four jacks and four queens. So, explain this!" he then shows that the four cards have become the four aces!
SLEIGHTS: You will need to master double, triple, quadruple, and quintuple lifts from both the top and bottom of the pack. You will also need to do a move that we will call the "Biddle Bottom.”
Let's go over the Biddle Bottom in order to make the methods explanation easier. I will cover two variations that I have found suitable. Choose whichever is more comfortable for you. For practice sake, use two cards that are held in left-hand dealing position. METHOD 1: Your starting position should be thus, the cards are in left hand dealing position.
(fig.1) The right middle finger is on the upper right corner of the cards while the right thumb is on the lower right corner. You get hold of the top card and turn it over by sliding it to the right and levering it over. (fig.2) You now repeat the move to turn it back over, but as your right fingers come toward the left to drop the card, the right thumb and pinky contact the lower left and upper right corners of the lower card respectively. (fig.3) The left thumb rests across the back
of the upper card as the right hand strips away the lower card. This action must be done smoothly for it to be deceptive. The misdirection of patter will also help to cover it. METHOD 2: This method is almost identical except for the end. When you turn the card (or cards) back over, let it drop and release the right hand’s grip for
a split second. The left pinky then kicks out the bottom card as in a bottom deal. The right hand immediately reinstates its grip on the bottom card and strips it out.
Both of these methods should be made to look as if you're simply sliding off the top card.
METHOD: The packet is six cards thick so use proper misdirection in performance and watch your angles. The packet should be set up thus, from top to face, QH, JC, and the four aces in any order. Show four cards by holding the packet in the right hand. The middle finger is on the top right and the thumb at the bottom right (Biddle Grip).Use the left thumb to strip off the top card into the left hand. Then the next one slightly jogged to the right. The next one the same, and then rest the final three cards as one on top of the fan. (fig.4) Close it up and take it into left hand dealing position. Using the turnover method described above, turn over the
top five cards as one showing a jack. Turn the five back over and deal off the top card. You now do a four card turn over from the bottom by transferring the packet back to right hand Biddle Grip, use the left thumb to strip off the top card, and now the bottom four can be levered face up to the top with the right hand. This will now show a queen. As you turn the packet of four back over, you now do the Biddle Bottom as described above. That card is placed on top of the other tabled card but jogged slightly to the left.
You now do a triple lift to show a jack. Turn it back over and deal off the top card onto the others in the same jogged fashion. You now grasp the remaining packet in the right hands with the thumb at the lower left corner and the ring finger at the upper right. Rotate the packet in your fingers as if they
fig. 2
fig. 3
were one. The audience will believe that this is a second queen. Use this packet to scoop up the tabled cards. You have supposedly just shown the audience a Jack of Clubs, followed by a Queen of Hearts, then another Jack of clubs, and another Queen of Hearts.
Position Check: from the face, you should have QH, JC, and the four aces. (fig.5)
You are now going to show four JC's. Holding the packet face down in dealing position, turn over five cards as one to show a jack. Turn the quintuple back over and deal the top card down to the table. Do a four-card turnover to show the jack. Turn the quadruple back over and deal the top card onto the other. Do a triple to show a third jack. Turn it back over and Biddle Bottom the bottom card on to the others. You
now rotate the remaining packet to show a forth jack. Place the packet face down onto the other cards. Position Check: from the face, you should have ace, ace, QH, JC, ace and ace. (fig.6)
You will now show the cards to be four queens. Hold the packet face down in left hand dealing position and get a break below the bottom two cards. You now do a quadruple lift to show a queen. Turn it back over and do a Biddle
Bottom of the bottom two cards that you have a break above. These are taken as one and set on the table. Hold them corner to corner and bow them slightly. Use the nail of your index finger to push the double against the table as you let go of the corners. If you lift the nail straight off the double, they won't split. You now do a triple from the bottom to show another queen. Turn it back over and deal the top card onto the tabled double. Do a Double Lift to show another queen. Turn it back over and Biddle Bottom the bottom card onto the table with the others. You now rotate the remaining double to show a queen. Use it to scoop up the tabled cards.
Position Check: from the face, you should have QH, JC, and the four aces.(fig.7) fig. 5
Now, for the finale. Hold the packet face down in the left hand. "I've shown you two jacks, two queens, four jacks, and four queens all with just these four cards." As you're say-ing this, get a break below the bottom two cards and
Gambler’s Cop them out. Fan the remaining four cards with the faces towards yourself. (fig.8) If, at this point, you see a face card staring at you, you might want to excuse yourself for a bathroom break and fix the situation before proceeding. You now proudly state, "Explain this!" Now toss the four
aces out onto the
table for everyone to examine.
NOTES: Neither Dave nor I claim this to be a superior ver-sion to the original. It's just a new way of doing it. I include it here with all due respect to Martin and any other people that have been involved with the history of the effect.
Quick note on this one, the addition of two extra cards makes some of the multiple turnovers seem daunting, but just keep the packet tilted towards the audience. Keep things smooth, and all of the work will come together nicely.
fig. 7
In a bet there is a fool and a thief. ~Proverb~
Omni-Twist Revisited
Including the Davied Enhancement Principle
This is a great effect! If emotion could be seen in regular text form, you'd know of the excite-ment and volume I attach to that phrase. The first time I actually saw Martin perform live was at the 2003 LVMI in Las Vegas. Omni-Twist was the effect that I witnessed. I hadn't seen it before, but I was immediately intrigued. It’s based on “Twisting the Aces” by Dai Vernon. I had been performing that effect for several years, but when I saw Omni-Twist, I had to have it. I spoke to Martin about it several times, but the instructions were too complex to convey over the phone. After a long hard search, I was finally able to track it down.
It started out back in one of Martin's old sets of lecture notes. Jon Racherbaumer then got a hold of it and modernized it. It appeared in his book Pet Secrets. It is that version which Martin now performs. It is also on his video The Charming Cheat Vol.5 from A-1 Multimedia. If you can track it down, get it. It's a real pleasure to watch Martin perform it. This is a prime example of his signature "Charm" that has made him a legend.
The version you read here is my new handling. I have streamlined the basics while removing some moves that were superfluous. I don't claim to have improved it, just streamlined it a bit. At the end of this explanation, I have added an idea of my brother, Daived's that takes this effect into sheer impossibility. Some of you may do it, or you may just stick with this version. The method is by no means easy, but I will make the instructions as concise as possible so that you may get a firm grasp of the handling. I will confirm card position as often as necessary so you can check yourself. With some work, I'm convinced that this will become a permanent part of your set. The sleights aren't difficult, it's just the order that can be tough to remember. Stick with me on this one. It will be worth your time.
EFFECT: The performer takes out the ace, two, three and four of any suit the spectator wishes. A spectator now peeks a card from anywhere in the deck. Now, in classic "twisting the aces" style, the ace through four magically turn face up one at a time. They then begin to go face up and down very visually. As a finale, the spectator chooses which of the four they want to see flip which it does sever-al times, only to change into the spectators originsever-al selection!"
SLEIGHTS: The Riffle Peek, The Side Steal, The Elmsley Count
METHOD: This effect is best done with Bicycles due to the story around it. It does not, how-ever, work with a casino deck. You need a deck that has white borders and isn't chopped at the cor-ners. As I always say, go for Bikes.
Begin by having a spectator select any of the four suits. Go through and openly take out the ace, two, three and four of that suit. Put them in the order of four, three, ace and two from the face. Now place them face up on the bottom of the face down deck. You don't need to be secretive about this, you can even spread and show them on the bottom. Now do a Riffle Peek selection with a spec-tator. This is great place to use the "say stop" gag. Hold a break where they say stop. You are now going to kill two birds with one stone. As the effect progresses, you want to draw the spectator's mind away from that selection. You don't want to have them forget it, but you don't want them to dwell on it. A good way to do this is with this line; "That has absolutely nothing to do with the effect. I just like to have people feel like they're involved." This also gives you
ample opportunity to side steal their card to the bottom with out them noticing.You now drop at the natural break above the face-down four and put the rest of the pack away.
You now have five cards in your hands. The four, three, ace, and two face up, and the selection face down. The audience believes that there are only four cards. Hold the cards in the Biddle Style Grip. This is the type of Biddle Grip
you will use from here on out: use the left thumb to strip off the cards, one on top of another, so you'll now be showing from the face, the two, ace, three and four. The two is a double. Close the packet up, turn it face down, and do an Elmsley Count to show the cards face down. You'll now have the four, the two, the three, and the ace face down, followed by the face up selection. Take the four off the top and show it to the audience. Explain that in order for this effect to work, the four needs to be on the bottom. As you say this, simply turn your left hand face down. Because of the reversed card on the
bottom, this will go unnoticed. Slowly and openly put the four face down on the bottom of the packet, and then adjust your grip on the packet so it's now in dealer's grip.
Point out the circles on the back of the cards to your audience and give them the following pat-ter. "Have you ever sat up late at night, lights down low, and stared at a pack of playing cards, won-dering why they put those circles on the back? I have, and I know why. Do you believe in reincarna-tion?" This is one of my favorite gag lines. If they say no, answer "That's what you said last time." If they say yes, answer "Welcome back." Then explain, "In my previous life, I wrote to the U.S. Playing Card Company and asked them to place those circles there so that in my next life, I'd know where to place my fingers so that I can twist the cards." Place your
thumbs on the circles (fig.2) and "twist" the cards. "Then this can happen…" Do an Elmsley Count to show the ace has turned face up. This is a good time to stare at your spectator for a moment and let the moment sink in. You'll occasionally get a little chuckle, and a little banter may happen. You now "twist" the cards again and do another Elmsley Count, placing the last card to the bottom, to show the ace has turned down and the two has turned up. Take the two off the top and snap
it to show it's normal. "People often ask me what happened to the ace. I say 'Who cares? It turned face down.'" Place the two face down on the top. "Next is the three." Don't "twist,” just do an Elmsley Count. The cards will all appear face down. Look at your cards in frustration and then suddenly say, "Oh, I forgot." Now do the "twist" followed by an Elmsley to show the face-up three. Again, the last card goes on the bottom.
Get a break above the bottom card and turn all of the cards above it over as one (fig.3) as you say, "You'll notice that the cards are turning over one at a
time. You'll also notice that the two is on the bottom." Turn the whole packet over and then down again. "I told you that the four needed to be on the bottom? Two is half of four, so we're halfway there. Your packet should now be in the fol-lowing order from the top down; face-down ace, face-up four, face-up selection, face-down three, and face-down two. Now explain, "The four is a little different. You don't twist it, you have to rock it." You now "twist" the packet back and forth four times as you count to four. You then do an Elmsley to
fig. 2
show the four has turned face up.
You order should now be: face down ace, face down two, face up four, face up selection, face down three. "Let's try something different." Hold the packet
in dealer's grip. With your right index finger, slide the top card towards yourself about an inch. With your middle fin-ger, slide the next card towards yourself exposing the four. Now use your middle finger to slide the four forward about an inch, and then square up the rest of the cards. (fig.4) Take out the four and hold it in your right hand in a Biddle Grip. Thumb off the next card and place it underneath the four jogged to the left a bit so that you now have a two-card fan. Add the three cards as one to the left of the fan and then use
your left fingers to strip out the bottom card (the three), turn it face up and place it back on the bottom of the fan. You should now be showing four cards. (fig.5) The second face down card should be a double. Ask the spectator which way the ace and two are facing. They will say face down. Now square the packet and very cleanly turn it over. Ask them which way the ace and two are facing now. They will say face up. "Nope!" Do an Elmsley Count to show four face down cards. "We'll do it again." Take the top card (the three) and place it face up on the bottom. Take the next card (the four) and place it face up on the top downjogged by an inch. They will see a face down card below the four. Ask, "Which way are the ace and the two facing?" They will say down. Immediately transfer the cards to a right hand Biddle Grip and use the left fingers to fan out the three bottom cards. They will now see the three, ace, two and four face up. Place the four (double) on the bottom of the packet.
Now you say "I'm going to do something special for you. Which card would you like to see turn over next? The ace, the two, the three, or the four?" If they say ace, two, or three, simply run through the packet, take the card out, and place it on the table. If they say four, hold the packet in the right hand Biddle Grip, and use the left fingers to slide the bottom card (their selection) to the right just a hair. (fig.6) It will be covered by the right fingers, then you can slide out the four and put it onto the table. You then place the remainder of the packet onto the tabled card. Let's assume for this expla-nation that they say four. Take it out as described, place it on the table, and put the packet onto it. Pick
fig. 4
up the packet, make a magical gesture, (I just snap) and thumb off the top three cards into the right hand. You now have a double in your left hand that they believe is their face down card. "Let's put it into the middle and do it again." Turn the cards in your right hand face down. Place the double as one between the top and second card. (fig.7) Snap and thumb off the top three cards into the right hand reversing their order. They will now see the four (or whatever card they chose) face up. Place the double onto the top and square the pack.
There is a discrepancy there in that you supposedly placed their card in the second position and now it's in the third. Don't worry, they'll never catch you. You're about to make another discrepancy anyway so just go for it.
You now thumb over the top two cards and show them. Place them face up onto the packet. You now transfer to the right hand Biddle Grip and use your left fingers to strip off the bottom card. Show it and place it face up back on the bot-tom. Snap one more time. You'll now do the same strip move you used a moment ago. Use the left fingers to slide the bottom card to the left. Now slide the second to bottom card to the left. It should be the face down selection, but they will think it's the number card they chose, now face down. Place your thumb on the top card, strip out the middle two cards as one place them on the top of the fan. Transfer the second card to the right hand under the double so you now are showing two face up cards in the right hand, and a face up and face down card in the left. (fig.8) Now look at the spectator and say, "At the beginning of the effect, I had you select a card.
Do you remember what it was?" They will name their card. "Hmm, That's unfortunate. Sometimes I like to do a reading for people on the cards they select. That's the only one I can't do because it's been here all along." You now use the right hand cards to lever over the face-down card in the left hand and show their selected card. (fig.9) You can now put them all together in a fan in the left hand and show the front and back.
fig. 6
fig. 7
THE DAVIED ENHANCEMENT PRINIPLE: Else-where in this book, I've talked about my brother, Davied. He has, what I like to call, a high moisture content. He hasn't been doing cards that long relatively. I've probably got twenty years up on him. Yet, he seems to have an intuitive flow with a deck that isn't matched in many magical minds. He seems to be able to look at an effect with a simple creativity that tends to carry it to the next level. He's constantly full of ideas that are bursting with potential. While writing this effect, he
pre-sented me with an addition that, at first, I was ready to dismiss out of hand. It was too simple. After some thought though, I decided to try the addition with an audience. The added response was well worth any reservations I may have had. That's what Dave has taught me more than anything else, and that's the basis of what I'm calling his principle. If you can add something to an effect that will aug-ment it, yet add little or no extra work, why not? Some magicians may feel it's not worth it, but we're not performing for magicians, we're by and large performing for laymen. That's what matters.
Thanks D.
Here is the application of the principle that Davied gave to me for this particular effect. It uses a duplicate card that you will force on the spectator. When the effect begins, have the two duplicate cards on the top. Ask the spectator to choose his suit, just as in the normal effect. Now, as your searching through the pack, take the cards out one by one in two, ace, three, four order, and place them face down underneath the deck. Now, turn the deck face down again. You should have the four staring straight at you. Fan the four top cards to show them. Now get a break under the first face down card as you close the fan. You can now lift off the five-card packet and place it aside. The order of the cards should be, four, three, ace, two and a face down card. (the duplicate to the one now on top of the deck) You now need to force the top card in whatever fashion you wish. Just make sure it's a good one. If the audience suspects a force at all, the effect is bust. You now have the card returned, shuffle the deck, put it aside, pick up the five card packet, and proceed as normal.
This addition may not be right for everyone. Martin Nash would never use a duplicate card. Not if his life depended on it. But, it works for many others. Give it a shot. You may like it too.
NOTES: Practice this one a lot before you show it to anyone. After you have practiced for a while, the order of things will stick in your mind. Don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away. It took me several months before I remembered the whole thing. This one is well worth your time. It's strong, and can be done at a moments notice with no setup. Again, try to use Bicycles because of the story. In a pinch though, any white-bordered cards will do.
“Martin Nash is one of the best acts we have here at the Castle... He’s become like family.”
~Milt Larsen~
“If you ain't just a little scared when you enter a casino, you are either very rich or you haven't studied the games enough.”
~VP Pappy~
Fake Center Deals
This is an effect given to me by Chris Stolz. Chris is proving to be a bright young mind in the field of card magic. The basis of the effect has been around for decades, but Chris has added flair to it that I think makes it worthy of being included with Martin Nash's work.
EFFECT: The face-up aces are lost into the deck. The performer then cleanly deals out four hands of poker with the face-up aces visually being dealt out of the center to complete his hand.
SLEIGHTS: The Nash Multiple Shift, The Faro Shuffle, The Second Deal METHOD: This one is easier than it sounds. You are
going to make it appear as if you can deal out of the center from a dead square deck. This is, of course, not the case, but it looks good. Start by talking about marked decks, and how you will show the audience how it looks to a cheater when he's using one. Lose the face-up aces into the deck. (fig.1) You now control them to the top with a Nash
Multiple Shift, but you add a face down indifferent card on top of the aces so that they can't be
seen. After the control, you should
have an indifferent card on top with the four aces face-up underneath it.(fig.2)
You now give the deck two Out Faros. There should now be four indifferent cards on top followed by the aces with three indifferent cards between each of them. Now comes the fun
fig. 1
part. Show that the deck is perfectly square with no breaks or bends. You now proceed to deal out four hands. On the first three, just deal straight from the top, but on yours, do a Second Deal. It will look as if you've dealt from the center of the deck. (fig.3)
NOTES: Chris had a beautiful idea that I've tried in front of several audiences. Do the effect with the whole deck face up. It's more visual, and for some reason, it gives you more credibility when you deal your cards because of the top card not changing. Work on a good second for this one. It's incredibly strong and will make a reputation if it's
done right. fig. 3
No wife can endure a gambling husband, unless he is a steady winner. ~Thomas Robert Dewar~
"Caught?"
I've been doing this in my professional set for about ten years. It's my version of an old gambling effect, but the only problem is that I can't for the life of me remember where I first saw it or what the effect even was. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know. I'd love to give credit to whom it is due. I acquired the current storyline after a trip with Martin to The Magic Castle in May of 2004. I was watching his set, and for the first time, I saw him face off with a knock-down, fall-over drunk of a heckler. This guy was bound and determined to make Martin's life dificult. Martin slaughtered the guy, but without making an idiot of him. The guy was doing that just fine on his own. That evening was the basis for the story of the following effect. It's not the one that Martin actually did that night, but the story fits well.
The best thing about this effect is if you remove the couple of cakewalk sleights, this effect is com-pletely and totally self-working. I am a big fan of the self-working effect. I feel that when most magicians get in front of an audience, they get nervous for one reason, they're afraid they're going to screw up. Dan Harlan once told me that if you can eliminate that possibility, your performance would be a million times better because you can focus purely on your presentation and on your audience.
With the sleights taken out, the effect is by no means a magician fooler, but that's not our job. We work for laymen. However, if you add just a couple of little things like the Nash Multiple Shift, this one can go clean past the most seasoned of card workers.
I am going to do the effect and presentation together because some things are just simple enough as it is.
METHOD AND PRESENTATION: The deck requires a quick setup that can be done beforehand, or you can do it during a Lorayne-esque "fiddling with the deck" phase. You need to get any three of a kind (I use sevens) on top of the deck and then get five
effect is a breeze. The story and method follows.
"Last year, I had the honor and privilege of being the guest of Mr. Martin A. Nash at The Magic Castle in Hollywood. As many of you know, when Mr. Nash takes the chair, it's a memorable event. I remember one evening when I got a little worried that something was going to go wrong. A man had been seated at the close-up table that was obviously going to be trouble. He wasn't just drunk, he was throttled. I guess the host for the evening hadn't noticed. Martin came out and began his performance. After a few minutes, it became apparent that this guy wanted to catch Martin red-handed, but Martin didn't want to be caught. So, he devised a scheme for putting this guy in his place.
Martin asked the guy if he had ever heard of three-card poker. 'No.' the guy said. 'Well,' Martin contin-ued, 'It's quite simple, but in order to demonstrate, I'm going to need the aces.'" Now, at this point, you can either run through the deck and remove the aces, or you can simply produce them from any place you may cleverly have them stored. Now, the story continues. "Martin
looked at the guy and said, 'I'm going to place them here on top for whenever I need them.'" Place the aces face down on top. Now give the deck a false shuffle or cut, maintaining the order, but make it look as if you're doing something shady. "After a quick mix, Martin began to deal the cards. He said to the guy, 'Three card poker is just like regular poker but with just three cards.'" As you say this, deal out four hands of three cards. Deal left to right with you being the fourth player. (fig.2) ”As Martin
finished dealing, the guy blurted out, 'Hey! I saw that, you just stacked the aces to fall into your hand!' 'No my friend. If you look, you'll see that each of the hands received an ace.'" At this point, show each of the hands one at a time in the reverse order that you dealt them. Put each one back on top of the deck after you've shown it.
You now give the deck a quick false shuffle, and deal them out again in the same fashion as before. "As Martin dealt the cards again, the guy stopped him again. 'I caught you this time. You just stacked those aces!' Martin smiled at the man. 'Pay attention sir, I'm trying to teach you something.'" Now, show the four hands again just as before, showing an ace in each hand and then placing it back on top of the deck. “‘Am I going too fast for you sir?' Martin asked, 'No it's just that you're watching too slow. We're going to play a quick hand now so that I can see if you've learned anything.'" Give the deck a quick false shuffle and cut. Deal them out again in exactly the same fashion as before, four hands of three. "The man sat bolt upright in his chair. 'That's it! I definitely saw it this time. Twenty bucks says you stacked those aces into your hand!' By this
time, Martin was becoming more than a little annoyed with this idiot, so he put his finger down on the table in a gesture showing that he wanted the money on the table now! After the man had laid down the green, Martin put all of the cards off to the side except for his hand." At this point, take the third hand and without showing it, place it face down on top of the deck. Followed by the second hand, and the first one.
"Martin smiled at the man as he thought of how good this burn was going to feel. 'My friend, I think you'd best stay away from the pasteboards for a spell.' With that, he turned his hand up to show the three sevens!" Turn the remaining three cards on the table face up to show sevens. (fig.3) "The man swore under his breath as Martin reached for the twenty. He asked, 'What happened to the aces?'" At this point, openly take the top four cards of the deck one at a time and turn them face up to show the aces. "'I told you my friend, I keep them here on top for
when I need them later.' The man stormed out of the room towards the bar. A refilling was needed.”
NOTES: Please have fun with this one. I have had audiences screaming at the climax of this effect. As stated, the effect is basically self-working. Change the patter around to suit your needs. This one may not win you an IBM award, but your audiences will remember it.
“The subject of gambling is all encompassing. It combines man's natural play instinct with his desire to know about his fate and his future.”
~Franz Rosenthal~ Gambling in Islam, 1975
Super Ace Speller
This effect is my handling of an effect by Peter Duffie. Peter is one of the best card minds I have run into in many years. I highly recommend that you look up his work on the internet, and see what you think.
EFFECT: The aces, from a previous effect or from recent removal, are on the table. They are lost into the deck as it is handed out for a good solid audience shuffle. The deck is taken back and immediately, without any fishy sleight of hand, the aces are found, one by one, by spelling to them.
SLEIGHTS: The Second Deal, The Top Palm, The Nash Multiple Shift, Culling (optional)
METHOD: You need to have a passable Second Deal that looks just like your top deal. If it's sub-par, pass this one up for now and work on your second. If the deals are too different from each other, it will arouse suspicion as you start the second ace.
Here's the beef. Either remove the aces, or have them out from a previous effect. From top to face, arrange them in SHCD
order. (fig.1) You now lose the aces into the
deck and by way of the Nash Multiple Shift, or whichever method you most prefer, control them back to the top maintaining their order. You now talk about making the effect as fair as possible. As you do so, top palm off the aces from the top as you're handing the deck out for a shuffle. (fig.2) After the audience member does this, take the deck back, adding the aces back to the top. You're now set to go.
fig. 1
