CREATED AND WRITTEN BY
JEFF STONE
Photographs by
Tiffany Stone
Jeff Stone
Edited by
Jenifer Call
Jeff Stone
All Artwork by
Jason Montoya
Cover Design by
Jeff Stone
Published by
Copyright © 2008 by Jeff Stone
All rights reserved: No part of this book, text, or illustrations, may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BEGINNING STUFFPreface... 5
Update For 2008 ... 8
The Basics ... 10
NINE GROOVY TRICKS Ace Bandage ... 13
Dethroned... 21
Keep Your Eye on The Joker... 28
Stone Cold Color Change ... 33
Counterfeit Cards ... 37
Ace Freely... 41
The Target Card ... 53
The Secret “WTC” Move... 57
My Psychic Deck ... 62
ENDING STUFF Theory To Practice... 68
Tips and Tricks ... 71
Just in Case You Care ... 73
Further Credits ... 76
PREFACE
The story of Stone Cold Magic began in late 1994. I was working as a printing press operator in Deep River, Connecticut. On weekends, I would spend my time hanging out at Winkler’s Warehouse of Wonders (The coolest Magic shop in Connecticut). I’d been a student of the Art of Magic for about 7 years at the time. I’d become good friends with David Winkler (Owner of Winkler’s Warehouse) and a local magician named Dick Roy.
Between David’s grace and masterful technical skill and Dick’s extra charm and wit, life at Winkler’s was a blast. Dick had a four Ace production that he did all the time for the “lay people.” He basically cuts the Aces into the deck and reproduces them in an entertaining and hilarious manner.
This effect (unbeknownst to Dick) actually inspired my very first original effect called, “A R.A.T. At the Table.” The effect is similar to Dick’s, but at the end, the four Aces that were reproduced change into a royal flush. This one will be found in the next book (which is already in the works), Stone Cold Magic Volume II.
I’ve always loved magic and I’ve learned thousands and thousands of other people’s routines, but Dick was the inspiration for my first creation. I showed it to some guys at work, and they said, “Hey, you should write a magic book.” So whether they were right or not I did, and this is it. Take it or leave it.
I started creating and practicing and work-shopping and experimenting until I developed my second effect called, “The Coolest Ace Trick in The world.” You’ll find this one made its way into this book in chapter two. Many times, I met with my good friend Apurva Sanghi (I have no idea how to spell his name and he’s disappeared back to India. If you’ve seen him, tell him to call me).
He and I would practice magic with each other and critique each other. This was very helpful to the development of some of my ideas. Eventually, I created about 25 or 30 working routines and
Seven of these little devils made it in this book along with five wonderful effects donated by David Winkler and one effect donated by Jason Montoya. Most of the effects were developed and committed to memory and paper by about 1997.
The next step was to find someone who could create the 100 plus illustrations needed to complete the book. This process took about 5 years and a lot of pain killers to complete. I’ve dealt with every challenge you can think of with my artists; everything from, “I can’t do this book; I’m a surrealist” to a guy who ate one too many brownies in the sixties.
I even had one artist hold my collection of Paul Harris books for ransom (I was showing him the books so he could see what kind of illustrations I needed). Finally, I threatened him with my lawyer and he returned the books unharmed, but they were shaken a little from the experience. They haven’t been the same since, and their therapist is way over paid.
So moving on, I finally found a way around this whole artist mess. Norman Nelson is the heroic savior of the lack of illustrations in this book. What did he do to solve the problem? He loaned me his camera, but don’t tell him. He doesn’t know that he loaned it to me yet. In fact I had to pry it out of his iron grip of death while he was sleeping. He’s probably about to wake up any minute, so shhhhhhhhhhhhh! Thanks Norm.
During this time (early 2002), I met Jason Montoya who is not a surrealist, wasn’t even born in the sixties and would never dream of holding my Paul Harris books for ransom. In fact, Jason has been a very positive influence with my Paul Harris books. Since they met Jason, they’ve been well on their way to recovering from the incident.
Anyway, Jason has a unique talent (Hey cool, there’s a David Copperfield commercial on the radio right now!). Anyway, Jason’s unique talent is his creative mind. He is a magician and an artist. Since I photographed my hands, I didn’t really need any illustrations. However, Jason added more entertainment value to the book by creating the cartoons and helping to design the cover.
So let’s see if I can some this up: Thanks to David Winkler for his mentorship and allowing me to secretly learn from him. Thanks to Dick Roy for the unsolicited inspiration of my first effect. Thanks to Apurva Sanghi for the brainstorming sessions.
Thanks to Apurva’s wife Artee for allowing me to dominate his time. Thanks to the guys at Uarco for the casual idea to write a book. Thanks to Norm for the use of the love of his life – The Camera.
Thanks to Tiffany, my wife, for putting her life, and Norm’s camera at risk, by standing on the back of my office chair and taking the pictures of my hands. Thanks to Jenifer Call for sacrificing her evenings with her Orson Scott Card books so that she could bleed her red pen all over my manuscript in an effort to remove my typos and grammar errors.
Thanks to Jason Montoya for the incredible art work on the cover design and the cartoons. Thanks to all the greats like Michael Ammar, Jay Sankey, Paul LePaul, David Copperfield, and Doug Henning for their influence and inspiration; especially, thanks to Paul Harris for his unique genius and writing style when it comes to magic.
Much of the writing of this book was inspired by the writing style used in his Close up Fantasies series. Special thanks to my parents, Al and Linda Stone who put up with me and encouraged my magic habit. Most importantly, I thank God who has blessed me with such a wonderful wife (Tiffany) and four beautiful children (Courtney, Michael, Andrew, and one in the oven).
I hope I haven’t missed anyone. If I did, I truly am sorry. There are so many things that had to happen at the right place at the right time in order to make this book possible, and many people had a part in that. Thank you all for your support and help.
UPDATE FOR 2008
The above preface was written back in 2003 for the original Stone Cold Magic Book. If you follow my newsletter, then you are aware of the many changes that have taken place, and how outdated some of the information is. However, I’ve included it for the sake of history and completion.
Since then, the “one in the oven” was born and just turned five. His name is Mathew. My father has since crossed to the other side (the day after the Underground Jam Video Shoot). I’ve found my friend Apurva and we are still in touch.
If you follow “The Saga” in the free monthly newsletter, you’ll know the story of why the original book is no longer available. The short version is that I screwed up all of the names of David Winkler’s tricks.
I had art work created by Jason based on the wrong names of the tricks, and I wrote short stories based on the wrong titles. By the time I had the information and time to write a second, and correct, edition, DVD technology had become much more available to Stone Cold Magic’s budget.
During the filming of the Stone Cold Magic DVD, I won a magic competition contest where the prize was to be a guest on a Jay Sankey project. That project was filmed in November 2005 in Toronto and was released world-wide in March 2007.
It contained five of my effects, two of which are from the original Stone Cold Magic book, “The Coolest Ace Trick in The World,” and “Jacked Up.” Both were a huge hit in the magic community. “The Coolest Ace Trick in The World” is one of the free monthly magic tricks for newsletter subscribers.
Between the Stone Cold Magic DVD and the Sankey Magic DVD almost all of the effects from the original book have been published. In an effort to give people a taste of Stone Cold Magic
This e-book contains over half (9 of 17) of the effects found on the DVD. To get the rest, you’ll have to buy the DVD. You’ll also find quite a bit of information here about practicing and theory and more that you won’t find on the DVD, so let’s dive in.
THE BASICS
For those who aspire to achieve oneness with the pasteboards, there are a few basics that must be covered. When handling a deck of cards, there are a handful of key words and tricky phrases that we magi, like to use. They must be learned and mastered. There are many, but I will cover just some standard ones here:
1. Pinky Break 2. Thumb Break 3. Dealer’s Grip
4. Deep Overhand Grip
All of the effects in this book are written with the assumption that you are right handed. If you are left handed, you can either be a conformist and become a right handed magician, or you can simple switch the text of the book in your mind so that left = right and right = left.
THE PINKY BREAK:
The Pinky Break is simply a way to keep a card or a group of cards separate from the rest of the deck, while creating the appearance that you are merely holding the deck squared.
You’ll notice in the photo that the break is quite exaggerated. This is so that you can clearly see it in the photograph. The idea is to pinch a small piece of flesh in the deck while holding the deck flush and square in the front. This allows you to keep a spot marked in the deck for later use.
Throughout the book, I will often say something like, “get a left pinky break below the top three cards.” The photo shows a break below the top 26 (approximately) cards, but it’s the same idea. Then later you will likely be cutting to the break. A pinky break is a very necessary utility that is used in almost every single card trick you will ever learn.
THE THUMB BREAK:
The purpose of the thumb break is exactly the same as that of a pinky break: separate a card or group of cards from the deck while apparently holding the deck flush and square.
The only difference is that you are using your right thumb rather than your left pinky. Again, this is a utility that will be used in most of your card magic.
THE DEALER’S GRIP:
With The Dealer’s Grip, the cards are held in the left hand in the same manner you would if you were about to deal out the cards. Notice that when holding a pinky break, you are holding the deck in Dealer’s Grip.
Also notice in each of the three different photos for the dealer’s grip, the pinky or the index finger is in a different position. This is simply a matter of preference and what works for the particular effect you are doing. Usually, I hold the deck similar to grip #2.
Either way, whichever grip you use, this will be another very common way to hold the deck for pretty much everything you’ll be doing with cards unless you’re using the cards to blow your nose; then it’s a different grip (See Photo on Next Page).
BLOW NOSE:
This technique is for advanced magicians only. Please do not attempt without a clown standing by as backup. In a pinch, a mime will do if you can’t find a clown.
THE DEEP OVERHAND GRIP:
With The Deep Overhand Grip, the cards are held from above in the right hand. Usually when doing this, the left hand will be below the deck also holding it in dealer’s grip (often, but not always).
However, the photo only shows the right hand for clarity’s sake. Notice that when holding a thumb break, you are holding the deck in Deep Overhand Grip. As before, this is another grip you’d better get used to.
ACE BANDAGE
The night air was cold, crisp, and quiet; the only sound that could be heard for miles was the long awaited creaking sound of the coffin door.
The 51 playing cards stood in nervous anticipation waiting for the answer to the question that has plagued them for centuries. Could it be the missing card? Is it the long lost Ace of Clubs needed to fill the
emptiness in this incomplete deck of cards?
The creaking is louder now. The mysterious figure seems to be struggling to open the lid and climb to its freedom. “I see a pip,” yells the Ace of Hearts, “It’s him; it’s the great one; it is the Ace of Clubs, the master Ace, the Ace to complete all Aces!” The cards shuffle themselves in excitement. The moment they have dreamed of for their entire life has finally come to pass: The arrival of The Legendary ACE BANDAGE!
EFFECT:
Four indifferent cards visually change into the four Aces as they are pushed through the deck.
PREPARATION:
Openly remove the four Aces from the deck. Begin by holding the deck in the left hand dealer's grip. Place the Aces face up on top of the deck. Get a little finger break beneath the top seven cards.
PERFORMANCE:
Pick up all seven cards as four in the right hand Deep Overhand Grip. Bring the right packet above the deck. Using the left thumb, slide off the top Ace to the left, and pivot it face down
Hold a break above it with the right thumb
(see fig. 2). Casually display it by tilting
your right hand palm up. Repeat with the next two Aces.
On the fourth Ace, your right hand comes over the deck, and drops off all cards below the break (three Aces) as you slide off the top Ace and pivot it under the right hand packet. You can now display the fourth Ace.
Place the four apparent Aces face down on the table. Mention that you need four indifferent cards. Do some false shuffles and cuts - don't over do it. Then spread the top four cards (apparently random cards). You are going to drop them onto the table in a spread fashion. As you do, you will accidentally (on purpose) flip over the bottom card of the spread which is the only non-Ace (a subtle way of showing that these are not Aces).
Here’s how: once the four cards are spread, the bottom card of the four (the indifferent card) will be resting on the tips of your left middle and ring finger (see fig. 3).
As the card is flipping, let go of the three Aces. It appears as if you just dropped four random cards on the table and one happened to flip over (see fig. 4).
Because of the apparent careless handling used here, the audience will be more convinced that these really are indifferent cards. Pick up the face up indifferent card with your right hand, and turn it face down. Use it to scoop up the remaining three face-down cards.
Square up the cards then tap them on the edge of the table with the face toward the audience (see fig. 5).
This is another subtle way to reinforce that these are not Aces (even though they actually are Aces). Place these four cards face down to the left of the "Ace” (actually one Ace and three indifferent cards) packet.
Place the deck below and between the two piles (see
Pick up the apparent Ace pile in left hand dealer grip. Down crimp the bottom card on the rear left corner
(see fig. 7). Note: the crimp in figure 7 is greatly
exaggerated for teaching purposes only. Thumb off the top card into the right hand.
Still holding the cards in the left hand, turn your left hand palm down, and cut off a portion of the deck, and place the right hand card face down at the point where you cut. You’ve apparently placed an Ace in the deck (see fig. 8).
This will expose the bottom Ace as an added convincer that you are holding four Aces (even
though you are actually holding one Ace and three indifferent cards) in your left hand. This showing of the face is LePaul’s original handling. Repeat with the next two apparent Aces. Finally place the real Ace somewhere in the middle of the deck. Pick up the deck in left hand dealer's grip. Use the right hand to pick up the top card of the pile on the table (apparently an indifferent card).
Straighten our your left fingers, but hold the deck in place by gripping it between the thumb and the lower half of the side of the left first finger (see fig. 9).
Thrust the right hand card into the right side of the deck crossways. Leave it protruding (see fig. 10).
Now grip the whole deck from above in the right hand Deep Overhand Grip. Use your left finger tips to push the card through the deck (see fig. 11).
At the same time, rotate the whole deck face up between your right middle finger and thumb (see fig.
12).
Square up and place the deck in left hand dealers grip again (see fig. 13).
Strip out the Ace. Toss it face up on the table. You’ve apparently just caused a card to turn into an Ace by pushing it through the deck. Turn the deck face down, and repeat with the next card on the tabled packet.
This illusion is very strong. The next two are done a little differently. The deck is in the left hand dealer's grip and you get a little finger break above the top (indifferent) card. Pick up the next face down card off the table in the right hand Deep Overhand Grip.
As you talk about people suspecting that the card on the table is already an Ace, gesture with the card, and move it toward the deck. In one smooth motion, slide the right hand's card face down onto the top card of the deck. Transfer the little finger break to the right thumb, and continue moving the card(s) to the left.
Reach the left edge of the double with the right index finger to pivot the double face up, and place the double up jogged on top of the deck (see fig.
14).
This is all done very quickly and under the pretext of proving that the card on the table is truly indifferent (it should appear as though you merely turned over the top tabled card and placed it face up on the deck). Turn over the double and repeat; take the top card (Ace) and repeat the push-through-the-deck move.
The fourth Ace is also done differently. With the deck face up in your left hand, get a left little finger break below the crimped Ace which is in the middle of the deck. Then either pass or cut the deck at the crimp, and turn over the deck (I use LePaul’s Invisible Turnover Pass).
This brings the last Ace to the top of the deck. Now pick up the final card on the table. Turn this card face up to prove that it actually is indifferent. Get a left little finger break beneath the top card (Ace), and place the indifferent card face up on top of the Ace.
Pinch the right edge of the double and move it to the right of the deck and parallel to the floor. Turn your left hand slightly to the right, therefore positioning the deck at a right angle to the floor (see fig. 15).
Now tip the deck over on top of the double (see fig.
16).
Use the right hand to immediately flip the entire pack over into the left hand (see fig. 17).
This turns over the double under cover of the deck creating the illusion that the indifferent card visually changed into an Ace.
NOTES:
This effect was inspired by the great Paul LePaul. It’s very similar to the effect, Transposition of Four Aces, in his book The Card Magic of Paul LePaul. More than inspiration, this is an
alternate handling that better suits my style..
Also note that the handling presented here is the original handling that I used to use and is the original handling written up in the Stone Cold Magic Book. The new, and in my opinion, improved handling can be found on the Stone Cold Magic DVD.
DETHRONED
The peasant Spot cards were normally not awake at this hour, but this day was different. The revolution would start.
The Spot cards could no longer handle being subject
to the selfish King and his maniacal Jack of a son. “The coast is clear,” yelled the Two of Spades. “Ready,” yelled the Four of Clubs. Lucky for the Spots, the Two Jacks on watch were the one-eyed Jacks making it easy for the Spots to sneak up on their blind sides. When the moment was right, the “Twos” performed the
legendary JAPH maneuver to vault themselves over the card box castle and into the bedroom of the Infamous King of Hearts – the suicide King.
Another lucky break for the Spots, because the suicide King always has his dagger behind his head. In a moment, the new King would rise to the occasion, the King of Clubs – a King for the Spots, a King to replace the one who has been Dethroned. What a glorious moment in the land of Bicycle.
EFFECT:
Four Kings are shown and the deck is placed aside. The four Kings vanish one at a time, and then reappear in a flashy manner.
PREPARATION:
Remove the four Kings from the deck and place the deck aside. Place it in front of you and to the right. Place it in a somewhat sloppy and not-so-squared manner. Arrange the Kings with two reds sandwiching two blacks. I usually follow The Coolest Ace Trick In The World with this effect.
PERFORMANCE:
Hold the packet of Kings face up. Turn over a double face down onto the two other face up cards. You've apparently turned over a single red Ace. Next, turn the entire packet over. You now have, from the top down, red face down, black face down, red face up, black face up.
The audience thinks that only one card is face up. Next, perform the glide to show the second from the bottom card (apparently the bottom card which the audience thinks you turned over a second ago). (See fig. 1).
This next move is going to visually change the red King into a black King. Here's how: Place the protruding face up King into the lower most crease of the middle finger of the right hand. At the same time, the right middle finger gently touches the bottom card (face up black card). (See
fig. 2).
Note: figure 2a is the upside down exposed view; figure 2b is the normal view.
Now quickly, but carefully push the red card flush with the deck, and at the same time, move your right hand back to the right bringing the black King into view. Apparently the red King quickly becomes the black King. Be careful not to drop the King with your left hand.
Now remove the black King as follows. Grasp it from above by the outer edges with the right thumb and middle finger tips (see fig. 3).
Then with the right index finger on the face, snap the card face down by releasing the middle finger grip and pinching the card between the index finger and the thumb. Then place the card face down on the bottom. The situation is as follows: from top to bottom, face down red, face down black, face up red (the vanished red) and face down black.
Now turn the pack face up and spread the bottom two cards to the left holding the back to back double in place with your right middle finger and thumb (see fig. 4).
Now with your right hand, place the double, black side up, on top of the deck as you draw attention to the two remaining cards in your left hand. You'll say, "let's put this one aside for a minute, and we'll just use these two." This ditches the "vanished" red card onto the top of the deck.
Now you have two Kings in your left hand. Using the tent vanish, vanish one of the Kings: Hold the cards as in figure
5.
Close your right hand and reopen it to show that the card (that was never there) has vanished. Now you have a double (apparently only one card) in your left hand and a single card face up on top of the deck. Next, transfer the double to the right hand.
Display the card (double) as shown in figure 6. Then with the left hand, pick up the face up King from the deck and display it in the left hand the same way you are displaying your right hand double.
Now say, "We're down to two cards. Let me show you something interesting with the King of Clubs (or whichever King is showing in your right hand). If I place it on the bottom of the deck, it will actually rise to the top."
As you say this, here's what you do. In an act to scoot the deck closer to you, place the double face down on the deck and slide it toward yourself. Once you've moved it a few inches toward yourself, lift the top (single) card off of the deck (don't show its face to the audience) and slide it under the deck.
Then riffle the back of the deck, and turn over the top card to show that the card apparently rose to the top. You have now made it appear as if the face up card you were holding in your right hand just went from the bottom to the top of the deck. This is your sneaky way of ditching the unwanted half of the double.
Now you have two cards left, and you're going to vanish one of them by using my variation of the tent vanish; I call it the open flap vanish . It's very similar to the original tent vanish, however, it's done face up.
Now obviously for a face up vanish, you can't just let the card fall flush with the card in your hand, so instead of letting the card fall, you're going to execute a one handed cut, or the Charlier
Basically, you use your left index finger to push the card on your left palm up and over the top of the card in "tent" position
(see fig. 7).
Then you let both cards fall flat on your palm. All of this is done under guise of your right hand apparently grabbing the face up King and palming it. You again squeeze the right hand shut then open to reveal the vanish. You're now left with a face up double in the left hand.
Now grab the double face from above with the right hand middle, ring and pinky fingers at the top, index finger on the back, and thumb on the bottom (see fig. 8).
Show the "last" King to the audience. Shift the position of the index and pinky fingers to the outside edges of the deck and remove the thumb (see fig. 9).
Now reach forward in front of the deck and slide the double under the deck, and immediately flip it over into the left hand. You were merely using the "last card" to pick up the deck. Now hold the deck face down from above in Deep Overhand Grip with the right hand.
Using the left thumb, pivot the bottom card ("last King") up and over the left edge of the deck and face up onto the deck (see fig.
This displays the face up "last King" on top of the face down deck. As you're doing this, you're recapping with the audience what has happened this far. Now you are going to vanish the top card by using the Houdini Color Change as follows. Hold the deck in left hand dealer’s grip. Now cover the entire deck with your right hand.
As you do, your right finger tips will ever so slightly up jog the top face up King. You want this to be as undetectable as possible. Next, draw your right hand down to expose this slightly up jogged King.
As you expose this card, use the base (where the fingers and palm connect) of your right fingers to slide the second card from the top (the one below the face up card) down (see fig.
11).
It will remain concealed under your palm. You will continue sliding it until it clears the face up card. Then you will apply pressure slightly downward with your right palm. This will cause the second card to kind of be palmed. Then you will simply lower the "palmed" card onto the face up card.
You will then slide it forward as your left index finger squares up the up jogged face up card (see fig. 12).
Then you will remove your right hand to reveal that the last King is gone. All you've done is placed a face down card on top of it. Now you are left with no Kings. You can either stop here or you can quickly and visually reproduce the Kings in such a way that will even trip up the most skilled card men.
THE REPRODUCTION:
The deck is now stacked as follows two Kings on the bottom, two Kings on the top (the second from the top is face up). For the first production, slip cut to reveal the face up King. Place this packet off to the right. Now in your left hand is a small packet of cards with one face down King on top and two on the bottom. Hold pressure on the top and bottom cards as you toss the pack to the right hand.
This will maintain the top and bottom cards in your left hand while the center of the deck lands in your right hand. Place the right hand’s packet face up on the table next to the other King. Then simply turn over the two Kings in the left hand. This is all done in less than a second. It’s very flashy.
NOTES:
The first King that you produced by means of a slip cut is in an interesting situation. It’s face up on a face down deck, but this will slip right past your audience. In fact, you'll even fool yourself if you're not careful. This leaves you in a position to do something with a reversed deck without having to reverse the deck because it's already done for you. I'll leave the creating up to you.
Earlier I mentioned that I usually perform this after The Coolest Ace Trick In The World. You can find that effect of mine on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam or if you sign up for my free monthly newsletter (www.stonecoldmagic.com) you can find it in the free tricks section.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE JOKER
Opening day is always the worst. First, the crumbling, ear-piercing vibrations. Sometimes there’s even a good solid shaking and jarring just before the main event.
Then suddenly BAM! The light enters, and I’m the first one to see it. Right in my eye, before I get a chance to realize what’s going on, I’m suddenly snatched from my safe and secure
home of cardboard.
You just never know when some lame magician is going to throw you to the Jacks. You know what that means…. Jacked Up.
Well those of us who are not so easily discarded will be the ones to look out for. You want your little Queen to be safe, then you better Keep Your Eye On The Joker!
EFFECT:
The Joker visually and instantly becomes the four Aces.
PERFORMANCE:
You should be left with two Aces face up in each hand. The "Watched Joker" should be face up on the table. Place all four Aces face up in the left hand in dealer's grip, but hold a break
between the two packets. Ask the spectator to cut the deck into two piles. You are going to apparently place all four Aces face down on top of the deck and complete the cut.
But you’re actually going to perform a little move I call The Rolling Reversal: with your left little finger and ring finger on the right edge of the top two Aces, push slightly upward and inward which should result in the top two cards being pushed against the base of the thumb (see fig. 1).
The top two cards will bend like the shape of a “U.” Note: In figure one, my finger tips are actually on the back of the two black Aces. Looking at figure two will show you how the card should be bending in figure one.
Now bring your left thumb over, and allow the first crease of your thumb to rest on top of the right edge of the top two cards (see fig. 2).
Bend your thumb slightly down and bring it in toward the left in a rolling sort of motion (see fig. 3).
When done correctly, it results in the black Aces turning over to be face to face with the red Aces. This entire move should only take less than a second, and it's done as your left hand turns palm down and reaches over to place the Aces "face down on top of the deck." (The audience should be completely unaware of this sequence of events).
What you're really doing is placing the four Aces on top, but two are face up (unknown to the audience). Make sure the four Aces are placed on the half that was the top of the deck. After you have placed the Aces on the top half, leave your left hand on the deck.
Your right hand comes over and both hands do a table square (see fig. 4).
Pick up this half and place it in the left hand dealer's grip. With the right hand, pick up the remainder of the deck, and place it on top of the half in your left hand. Hold a little finger break between the two halves. Here you can either "pass" the Aces to the top or just double under cut. Somehow, get the Aces back to the top.
Retain the deck in the left hand dealer's grip, and get a break beneath the top four cards. Pick up the tabled Joker with the right hand, and place it face up on top of the deck (so far, all the
audience should think is that you cut the Aces into the center of the deck and placed a Joker face up on top of the deck).
You are now going to perform a utility move that I developed called The Atomic Split: Using the right hand, pinch the right edge of the five cards with your thumb on top and the index and middle fingers on the bottom (see fig. 5).
With the right fingers, pull gently toward the right. This slides the bottom cards to the right. At the same time, the right thumb pushes to the left. This slides the top card to the left. This should result in spreading the five cards. Once the cards are spread, move your right hand slightly down and to the right.
Turn your left hand slightly to the right, resulting in the following: The deck is at a right angle to the floor, and the five spread cards are parallel to the floor and at a right angle to the deck (see fig. 6).
Push up and to the left with the right hand. This will buckle the five cards making an arch (see fig. 7).
Now push down with the right thumb and allow the Joker and the two face down Aces to riffle off of your right thumb and onto the deck (see fig. 8).
Immediately turn both hands palm up, and move your right hand to the right. Your right hand should now be holding two face up Aces, and the left hand should be holding the deck, face down, with two face up Aces on top. As your right hand is moving away to the right, spread the two Aces by pulling the top Ace to the right with your thumb.
At the same time, push the left hand's top Ace to the right with the left thumb (see fig. 9).
This whole process should literally take less than a one second. It appears as if you split the Joker into four Aces. When doing this move, the audience should not see you spread the cards. It should be a quick and instantaneous change that happens so fast that all they see is a joker
NOTES:
When David and I came up with this effect, we were talking about the way to get the four Aces in position and what to do with them once they were there. The details are kind of fuzzy now, because this conversation happened 15 years ago.
But basically, I developed The Rolling Reversal (the one that puts the Aces face to face under the guise of putting them on top of the deck) and The Atomic Split (see Counterfeit Cards for more crediting on The Atomic Split) as an answer to the challenge of this effect’s ending.
This can be done as an effect by itself, but it's better as a follow up to "The WTC Move." I will explain it with the assumption that you have just performed "The WTC Move."
MORE NOTES:
After David read my final notes, he had this to say:
I think I mentioned this to you when I first received the book but I still do not truly remember much about this effect. This was probably an idea for an effect I had 10 years ago that I mentioned to you at one of our shop sessions. You obviously pressed onward and came up with a working solution. All the credit should go to you on this one! Maybe I suggested the basic effect or a few possible suggestions or avenues to check out, I don't remember, but as far as I'm concerned this one's yours!!!
STONE COLD COLOR CHANGE
As you can see our outback explorer, Jack of Spades, is indeed insane as he quietly sneaks up on the nest of the nearly extinct chameleon of Bicycle village.
This rare and dangerous species lives in a unique environment; he makes his nest by burrowing a hole inside the stone shaped ice blocks in the coldest parts of the village.
He has the ability to change his color for protection. In many parts of the village, this creature’s defense mechanism is known as the “Stone Cold Color Change.”
EFFECT:
Here is an ancient effect revisited. One card changes to another by merely passing a fan of cards over it.
PERFORMANCE:
In the left hand, hold the deck face up in the dealer’s grip. With your right thumb, riffle up to about the half way point. Up jog the upper portion of the deck about an inch and a half
(see fig 1).
Here comes the weird part. Without moving your left hand, place your right fingers on top of the up jogged portion, and place your right thumb underneath the up jogged portion (see
Now that you are gripping the up jogged portion, pick it up, and do a one handed fan. As you do the fan, it will be natural to turn your right hand so that the fan will be face down (see fig 3).
Now for a split second, the fan will be covering the face of the left hand packet. As it is covering the packet, the right little finger is going to steal the card that is against the left palm as follows:
Slide your right little finger behind the left hand packet allowing the palm side of your right little finger to touch the back of the card nearest your left palm (this card is actually the top card of the deck).
At the same time, your right ring finger knuckle will be resting on the face card of the left hand packet (see fig
4). Note that in figure 4, the left hand has been removed
for clarity’s sake.
Press the little finger against the top card as your whole right hand moves downward with the fan. This will cause the top card to slide off of the left hand packet and be clipped between your extended right little finger and your bent right ring finger (see fig 5).
The fan conceals this extra card. Now draw attention to the card at the face of the left hand packet. Bring the fan up again to cover the left hand packet. As you do so, slide the extra card onto the face of the left hand packet (see fig 6).
As you slowly move the fan down with a wiping motion, it will appear as if the card at the face of the deck changes (see fig 7). This is a very visual piece of magic. Make sure you give it a shot.
NOTES:
This effect has very tricky angles. Watch the right side of the fan when you are concealing the extra card. To avoid people seeing the hidden card, apply pressure on the back of the fan with your right thumb.
The pressure is applied downward and to the right (see
fig 8).
This will cause the fan to be wider and almost a full semi-circle. This should be enough to cover the stolen card. Just practice with a friend, and have him watch your angles. But don’t let that scare you off, because this effect freaks people out; it’s worth the time and effort to get this one.
One final note is that this handling of the cards was sort of stumbled on while I was messing around with Ed Marlo’s Sunrise Production as it was written up in “Early Marlo.”
COUNTERFEIT CARDS
As he came to, his head was spinning. He had a vague recollection of a vision of a pair of Twos and the King of Clubs. As he slowly regained consciousness, he began to feel more and more out of place. “I feel like I’m surrounded or being watched, but I feel like I’m watching myself. It’s like I’m everywhere.” Suddenly the shocking truth set in. “I’m in a Force Deck. I’m surrounded by 51 other King of Heart cards.
They’re just like me.” The Twos and the King of Clubs had Dethroned the unfair King of Hearts and banished him to the endless hell of being 1 copy of 52 duplicate cards that a spectator will choose. Every day he dreams of being the one King of Hearts that the spectator will choose, and everyday, he is disappointed.
He has become anonymous. Although the Twos and the King of Clubs removed him from the throne, he knew that the Aces were behind the whole thing. How else would he end up inside of a force deck? Everyone knows that a force deck is merely a way to launder cards. The King of Hearts is now forced to live out his days in misery, but often he dreams of catching the Aces and destroying them, thus putting an end to the Counterfeit Cards.
EFFECT:
The performer shows a blank deck of cards, and then suddenly changes one blank into the Ace of Spades. Next, the Ace of Spades is split into two separate cards. Part of the Ace is on one card and part of the Ace is on the other card (see fig.1). Then another Ace of Spades is created, and then the entire deck is created.
PREPARATION:
Take one extra Ace, and erase the center pip (yes, it will erase). Take the second extra Ace, and erase the corner indices (see fig. 1).
Place these two cards face to face with the "indices only" card face up. Place these two face to face cards on top of the deck.
Next place the regular Ace of Spades on the bottom of the deck, and place a blank beneath this (see fig. 2).
PERFORMANCE:
Perform a reverse fan to show all cards as blank. This is also known as the Blank Fan. Then square up the cards and show the bottom card to be blank. Next, perform The Houdini Color Change (explained in Dethroned). This will cause the Ace of Spades to magically appear.
Take it from the bottom, turn the deck over. Place the Ace of Spades on top of the deck face up. Now the situation, from the top down is as follows: a face up Ace of Spades, then below that, you have the two face to face erased Aces, then the rest of the deck, and finally, on the bottom is a blank card.
Now perform the Atomic Split that is described in “I Said, ‘Watch the Joker.’” However, in this version of the Atomic Split, you’ll only be using three cards instead of five.
When you’ve completed the Split, you should be holding the cards as in figure 3.
You’ve apparently split the card apart and some ink is on one card and some ink is on another card (you tell the audience that you should’ve waited for the ink to dry). Next, show the
audience the bottom card which is the blank card. Next, revolve the blank card over the left edge of the deck onto the top of the deck (see Dethroned fig. 10).
At this point, you have a face up blank card on top and the Ace of Spades face down below the blank. Simply turn the blank card down, and perform the Houdini Color Change again. This time it will be much more subtle because the cards are face down. All this does is switch the top and second from the top cards.
Now, do a double lift to show the blank. Turn the double face down again; then lift the single off to show that you’ve produced another Ace of Spades. Place the Ace of Spades off to the side on the table. You now have a normal deck with a blank on the top.
Overhand shuffle the blank to the bottom of the deck as you say, “I can shuffle all I want, but it doesn’t matter because the rest of the cards are still blank.” Then do another reverse fan to show the cards to be blank.
Then turn the deck face up and use the Houdini Color Change to create one card. Place it aside, and you can create as many cards as you want, one at a time. After only a couple however, I will simply snap my fingers and show that the entire deck is now printed. You can either secretly remove the blank card or you can show it as one card that didn’t print and put it away in your
Either way, this is a great effect, and you’ll find that it’s a lot of fun to play around with The Atomic Split. You can do math effects with this move where you split an Eight into two Fours; then split the four into two Twos. There are a ton of various applications for this move. Enjoy!
NOTES:
The handling above is the original handling and the original way I used to perform it. The above was writing in 2003. I’ve since changed the handling slightly, but it is much more efficient now than it used to be. The new handling can be found on the Stone Cold Magic DVD.
Also note that the move I refer to as The Atomic Split, happens to be a move that was
independently created by Ben Harris. I found this out years later while watching a Dave Acer video called Extreme Close-up. In the effect “Changes” Dave uses the move and credits it as “A Ben Harris Move.”
Another way to “erase” the cards is to use steel wool to scratch off the ink from the cards. I’d never thought about this until I heard David Regal mention it in one of his DVDs
ACE FREELY
Blood and fire and spit were everywhere. Cards were singed and torn and screaming in agony. The mysterious man with the make up and
outrageous costume who was responsible for this horrific scene is nowhere to be found.
As the cards were panting and choking and trying to recover from this tragedy, a scream was heard from outside of the card box; it was the Ace of Spades gasping what could be his last breath. The 51 cards began to panic.
Will this be the end of the Ace of Spades? Will he ever be the star of another Four Ace Trick? Just when the situation seemed to be coming to its inevitable tragic ending, our hero, the close up magician enters the card box.
He's more than a magician; he's a savior, and a healer. He can heal the master spade. The card box echoed with hallelujahs. For this healer is the only man who can fix and repair the ace and not charge a pip and a back. Thus he became known as the man who could heal the Ace Freely.
EFFECT:
This is a killer four ace production. The deck is spread to show that all the cards are face-down. Then the magician cuts the cards, and suddenly two Aces appear.
Then the cards are spread face-down again, but one Ace has magically turned face-up. The three Aces that have appeared are spread face-down on the table. The deck is given to a spectator.
Both hands are shown empty, then both hands wave over the three tabled cards, and the fourth card just suddenly appears on the table with the other three. This is some powerful stuff.
NECESSARY MOVES:
In order to do this effect, you will need to be able to do a handful of utility sleights. Fear not if you are not schooled in the ways of coin prestidigitation, for I will lead you grasshopper. Here’s the list of moves:
♠ Double Undercut Card Control ♠ Slip Cut
♠ Braue Reversal ♠ Brad Gordon’s Blip ♠ The Anti-Vanish
If you are already familiar with these, you will still want to read them, because I’m using modified version of each move. I will explain each move first; then we will move on to the performance where we tie all of the moves together.
DOUBLE UNDERCUT CARD CONTROL:
This is a simple method to move a card, or a stock of cards, from the top of the deck to the bottom of the deck without disturbing the rest of the pack. In our case, we want to control one card to the bottom. For now, it doesn’t matter what that card is; just look at the top card of the deck; that will be the card we are controlling. By the way, I know that your card that is on the top of your deck is the Five of Spades. I’ll teach you how I did that later.
Hold the deck in the left hand in dealer’s grip while holding the cards from above with the right hand in Deep Overhand Grip. With the right thumb, get a thumb break above the top card. Figure one shows the position your hands should be in right now.
Now with your right thumb riffle up the back of the deck and break the deck at about the half-way point
(see fig. 2).
You will use your left hand to cut this “broken” packet from the bottom to the top of the deck. Figure three shows your position after this cut. Now cut the rest of the cards, below the break, to the top of the deck, and you will now have moved the top card to the bottom of the deck.
SLIP CUT:
No, this has nothing to do with scissors and lady’s apparel. This is a move that is used to cut the top card into the center of the deck while looking like you gave the deck a legitimate straight cut (as opposed to a crooked cut).
However, we are going to use this in a slightly modified fashion. What follows is a description of the modified version. Hold the deck in the left hand dealer’s grip with right hand above in Deep Overhand Grip. With the right thumb, riffle up the back of the deck and break it at about the half-way point.
Get a left pinky break at this point. Basically, all you’ve done thus far is gotten a left little pinky break in the middle of the deck. You are about to pick up the top half of the deck (above the break) with your right hand, but as you do, your left thumb will place pressure on the top card of the deck.
While you pull the top half up and out, the top card will slip down onto the bottom half of the deck (see fig. 4).
Once the top half clears the deck, the top card will fall flat on the bottom half, however, your mission – should you chose to accept it, and you will - is to prevent that card from falling flush with the other cards. You will actually catch a left pinky break below it. Then you will drop the right hand’s packet onto the left hand’s packet.
Figure five shows the situation just before you drop the right hand’s packet onto the left hand’s packet.
Once you’ve completed this, you will have a break in the middle of the deck directly below what used to be the top card. Trust me; you’ll need to be able to do this in a minute.
BRAUE REVERSAL:
This is Fred Braue’s move that is a great way to get a card reversed in the middle of the deck right under the spectator’s nose, which is kind of disgusting if you think about it.
This move is very similar to the double undercut described earlier… you DID read it right? Fine… go back and read it… I’ll wait… no really… it’s ok… I’ll wait. Thank you; now don’t skip any more of the directions or you’ll have to go in time out.
Here’s the deal: hold the deck in the left hand’s dealer grip and right hand Deep Overhand Grip. Get a thumb break beneath the top card. This is the card that will end up reversed.
Riffle up the back of the deck and break it in half as if you are about to do a double undercut, and you are, but slightly different. With your left hand, take the bottom half of the deck (the part that is below the break) and turn it face-up on top of the deck (on top of the card that you are holding a thumb break beneath).
Figure six shows this with the face-up cards jogged to the left for clarity. In actual performance, you will square the cards flush. Notice, however, that you are still holding a break beneath that former top card.
Now the situation is that you have a block of face-up cards; below that is a face-down card which used to be the top card. You then have a thumb break, followed by the rest of the deck face-down. Take the part of the deck from the bottom (below the break) with your left hand and turn it face-up and replace it on the bottom of the deck. You can let go of your break now. You have just sandwiched the former top card face-down into a face-up deck.
NOTE ABOUT DOUBLE UNDERCUT, SLIP CUT, AND BRAUE REVERSAL:
Notice that the above three moves are techniques that alter the state or location of the top card of the deck. The first move (double undercut) moves the top card to the bottom.
The second move (slip cut) moves the top card to the middle of the deck, and the Braue Reversal moves the top card to the middle of the deck and reverses it. Notice, also, that the rest of the deck’s order does not change when performing these moves. These moves are the bulk of the effect. This is where all the work is done.
BRAD GORDON’S B’LIP:
This is probably the best color change I’ve ever seen. A card is shown, and in the blink of an eye it changes visibly and instantly to another card. Having said that, I feel kind of dirty not using this move the way Brad intended it to be used.
It’s used in a more subtle way for this effect. Here’s the description of the Blip the way it was intended: Hold the deck in the left hand dealer’s grip. Turn the top card face-up. As you do, get a left pinky break beneath the second card. The position is that you have the deck in the left
With the right hand, pick up the double from the outer right corners. As you do so, arch the cards (remember, the audience thinks this is one face-up card, not two back-to-back cards).
Figure seven shows the arch. Hold the arched double above the deck about four or five inches.
Now here comes the knacky part: quickly open the right hand releasing the pressure on the double. The cards will fall to the deck, but they will flip over sideways like a book, and by the time they land on the deck, the other card from the double will be showing.
This makes for a killer color change. The move is basically a squeeze-then-release-thing. It takes some practice to get the feel, but it’s fairly simple. You’ll like doing this move; it’s brilliant.
Here’s the dirty part. I told you I kind of use it for a different purpose. You’ll notice that when you do the move, the double stays together pretty well and remains undetected. I take advantage of this and use the move as a way to show a double lift as being only one card.
I turn over my double as you normally would a double (not a back-to-back). Then, I pick up the double with the face upward and execute the Blip. The result is the double flying down to the deck and turning face-down to match with the rest of the deck.
This creates the illusion of carelessly tossing a single card from your right hand to the awaiting deck of cards. We’ll be using that in a minute as well. Hang in there; we’re almost to the routine.
THE ANTI-VANISH:
The last move you need is my Anti-Vanish. This idea has to be in print somewhere, but I’ve never found it, so here it is: Place four cards in a pile on the table face-down (audience thinks it’s only three cards). Place your right hand on top of them to cover them completely. Now if you put pressure on the cards and spread to the right, the bottom three cards will spread, but the fourth (top) card will move with your hand to the right and remain concealed. Move your hand over to the right, and place your left hand to the left of the packet in the same manner as the right hand.
In the Figure 8, the fourth card is concealed under my right hand.
Now if you tilt your right hand to the right ever so slightly, the card underneath will kind of pop up at a slight angle.
Figure nine shows an exaggeration of this position.
You’ll need to use a close-up pad for the card to pop up the right way. Also, note that when you do this, the audience should never see the card under your right hand. They should be
This happens right about when your left hand is over your right hand. When you get to that point, spread your fingers wide open on both hands and immediately move them back to where they were (right hand to the right, and left hand to the right).
When this is done properly, you will be in a position that looks like figure ten.
It will seem as if the fourth card appeared right on top of the three spread cards. This is quite a freaky illusion if you do it right. Just practice it a lot before doing it for anyone.
ROUTINE:
Ok, let’s see if we can put all of this together. The above section was to get you familiar with all the necessary tools to perform the mechanics of the effect. Below, I will show you how to put the pieces together, but you will still need to work on your script. Make sure you really know the above moves well before you move on.
STEP ONE:
In this step, we will get the four Aces on top of the deck in this order, from the top down: two red Aces, The Ace of Clubs, then The Ace of Spades. You can either do this before you start your performance or you can do it right in front of them. I usually just do it while they’re watching. It only takes a couple of seconds.
STEP TWO:
Now we need to distribute these Aces for our first production, so double under cut the top Ace to the bottom. This will leave the deck in this order, from the top down: Red Ace, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Spades, the whole deck, Red Ace. Next, slip cut the top Ace (red) to the center, but hold a break below it.
You can hold this situation in your left hand as you address the audience and gesture. It only takes a second to get to this position.
STEP THREE:
We are now going to reveal the first two Aces (red and red). We will use the Braue Reversal for this. While holding the left pinky break below the red Ace in the center, bring the right hand over and hold the deck in Deep Overhand Grip.
You will get a right thumb break above the top card (Ace of Clubs). Now you have two breaks and your situation is as follows: Ace of Clubs, right thumb break, Ace of Spades, half of the deck, Red Ace, left pinky break, rest of the deck, Red Ace. With the left hand, remove all of the cards below the pinky break and place them face-up on top of the deck this will reveal a Red Ace.
Next, take the cards below the thumb break and turn them face-up and replace them on the bottom, but leave them jogged to the left (see fig. 11).
You will now be holding no breaks, and you will be showing the two red Aces. Now remove the one from the center of the pack; place it face-up on the table, and square up the cards. Next remove the other red Ace from the face and place it on top of the one on the table.
STEP FOUR:
Here is where we reveal the third Ace. Turn the deck face-down and spread the cards below the two red Aces, and the Ace of Clubs will be face-up in
Remove it, and place it face-up on the right end of the spread. Place the other two red Aces there as well (see fig. 13).
As you square up the cards, get a break below the fourth card from the top (The Ace of Spades). Immediately table the deck face-up with the left hand as the right picks up all four cards
(audience thinks it’s only three). Ask the spectator to hold the deck for you.
STEP FIVE:
Next, we need to really drive home the fact (?) that you are only holding three cards (even
though it’s four). The spectator is holding the deck at this point. You have three Aces face-up in your right hand with The Ace of Spades face-down below them.
Hold them by their right edges. With the left thumb, peel off the top face-up Ace and revolve it around to the bottom of the packet as you say the name of the Ace (see fig. 14).
You will repeat this with the other two face-up Aces. At this point, most people will believe that there are only three cards, but you want to really eliminate the possibility of them thinking you had four, so that the next part is as powerful as possible. Here’s how you really convince them that you only have three cards. Turn the packet face-up. This will show The Ace of Clubs.
Peel it off and flip it face-down into the left hand. Peel off the second card (A Red Ace) the same way, leaving it face-down on top of the Ace of Clubs in your left hand. You are now left with a double in your right hand. The card showing is the other Red Ace. You will now execute Brad Gordon’s Blip. This will launch the card and turn it face-down landing on top of the two cards in the left hand. This really makes the spectators believe that you only had three cards.
STEP SIX:
This is the revelation of the fourth Ace. If you’ve followed everything I’ve said so far, you should have the four Aces in your left hand face-down (the audience believes it’s only three). The top Ace is the Ace of Spades. If this is not the situation you are in, go to your room, and don’t eat any supper.
Tomorrow, try again. Are you still here? Ok great. Now what you need to do is drop the three (?) cards onto the table in a pile and execute my Anti-Vanish Move exactly as described above. This will cause the fourth Ace to appear right in front of their eyes. Turn over all four cards to show them.
PRESENTATION:
Here is the performance from the audience’s perspective. I’ll note the actions in parenthesis: For this effect, we need the four Aces. I can find them by cutting (Do Step Two). But I’ll show you a more flashy way (Do Step Three).
There’s Ace number one and Ace number two (remove red Aces and place on table). For the third one, all I have to do is snap my fingers, and it turns over (turn over and spread). There’s the Ace of Clubs (place on top of spread), Ace of Hearts, and Ace of Diamonds (place on top of Ace of Clubs).
I’ll take the three Aces; you take the deck (give deck to spectator or table it as you keep the three (?) Aces with your right hand). Here they are, one, two, three Aces (pivot each under packet; then turn packet face-up). That’s the Ace of Clubs (turn face-down into left hand), the Ace of Hearts (turn face-down into left hand), and the Ace of Diamonds (do the Blip).
The only one missing is the big one, The Ace of Spades (drop cards to table in a pile). Here are the three (spread, concealing the fourth Ace). All I have to do to make the fourth one leave the deck is wave my hands over these three (do The Anti-Vanish), and the Ace of Spades appears (turn over all four cards to show the Aces; then go into a four Ace routine).
NOTES:
The above presentation was not an attempt to give you words to say during your presentation of this effect. It was an attempt to give you a flow of how the effect will be performed. You will need to use your own script. Master the mechanics first; then work on creating a presentation that works for you.
Also, remember, this is a four Ace production, so once you’ve produced the Aces, you’ll need to do something with them. Do a four Ace routine. Also, you may have noticed that there is no figure three… don’t panic, it’s been removed on purpose.
This is an awesome effect on lay people and many magicians. Each of the moves described in this effect are merely tools in the magicians tool belt. Use them for this effect, but don’t be afraid to experiment.
Use them to inspire your own routines, or use them to enhance effects that you already do. However, make sure you practice these moves, and please, for the sake of the *Art of Astonishment, don’t ruin it by performing it prematurely.
Oh if you were wondering how I knew that your top card was a Five of Spades, you have been scammed. If you are not wondering how I knew your top card was a Five of Spades, it’s because your top card wasn’t a Five of Spades.
However, for those of you who happened to be the lucky 1 in 52 who did have the Five of Spades on top, well… you thought I was psychic. Chalk it up to luck, but I astonished you! Remember that feeling. That’s what we’re trying to instill in our audience.
THE TARGET CARD
The moment was right, but sometimes it was left. However, today it was right, as the Three of Clubs fastened itself to the slippery head of a passing lizard that was
mumbling French obscenities.
As soon as the sharpie permanent markers stopped trading lids, they took aim, and thrust themselves at the moving French-Lizard-Three-of-Clubs thingy.
At the critical moment when the marker was about to make contact and sign the spectator’s name, the lizard performed the amazing Stone Cold Color Change and completely disappeared leaving only a stray Three of Clubs coated with sharpie juice and a dried up marker gasping its last breath. Meanwhile innocent bystanders quickly walk by with only one thought on their minds, “He was The Target Card!”
EFFECT:
A signed selected card disappears from one packet of cards and reappears in another packet of cards right next another signed selection.
PERFORMANCE:
Have a card selected and signed. While the card is being signed, you are holding the deck in left hand dealer's grip. Your right hand is holding it from above, with the right fingers at the front of the deck and the right thumb at the back.
With the left little finger, pull down (or buckle) two cards from the bottom of the deck and get a break above them with the right thumb. Use the right index finger to kick cut the top half of the deck into the left hand. Have the spectator place the selected card on top of the left hand packet.
Use the right hand (which is still holding a break under the deck) to slide the selected card forward with the right finger tips (see fig. 1).
Rotate your left hand palm down as you release the thumb break, allowing the two cards to be added above the selection (see fig. 2a). Note: the right hand has been removed from figure 2a for the sake of clarity. This is a Wesley James add on move. Figure 2a shows your left hand before you turn it over.
Your situation should be as follows: The right hand is holding half of the face down deck from above. The left hand is holding the other half of the deck face up with the signed card third from the top, jogged forward about two inches (see fig. 2b).
As far of the audience is concerned, the signed card is on top. Next, using the right index finger, point to the face of the signed card. Say, "This is going to be the bullet." Use your left index finger to push the bullet square with the deck. Then turn the deck face down at the same time, and hold it in your left hand in dealer’s grip. Your right index finger now breaks the pack like you would for a kick cut.
The left hand thumbs the top card (apparently the bullet) into the break of the right hand packet (see fig. 3).
Close the break and table the packet as you say, "This is our gun (so you just loaded the bullet into the gun)." Now turn over the top card of the left packet and have it signed. Take it back, and replace it face up on top of the face down left packet. Now pick up the top two cards (back to back), as one, with the right hand (you will actually have the two selected cards back to back). Say, "This is our target card." Revolve the left hand palm down, and riffle with the left thumb about half way down the deck.
Place the double in the break jogged forward about two inches (see fig. 4).
With the right fingers under the double and the thumb on top, secretly push the bullet (which is under the target) flush into the deck, and leave the target card jogged as you turn the deck face down again (see fig. 5).
The action in figure five should not be seen by the audience. This is the upside down view of the move. Push the target card flush with the deck. Next, table the packet, and pick up the other packet (the gun). Perform the best Incomplete Faro you can. It doesn't have to be very good at all.
Now bend the two packets to form a "v" shape or a gun (see
fig. 6). The idea of shaping the deck into a gun using the Faro
Say, "This is our gun." Hand it to the spectator, and ask him to shoot at the target packet. Take the gun back, and square up the cards. Spread them, face up, to show that the bullet has left the chamber (the bullet card is gone from the spread). Spread the other packet face down, and the bullet card will be face up. "Well, it looks like you hit the target pile. Let's see if you hit the target card." The card under the bullet will be the target card.
Pull it out and show it (see fig 7).
NOTES:
This effect is one that David has been performing for over 10 years. It’s very fun and entertaining for the audience. When I do this effect, I actually have a small cap gun in my pocket that will fit in the palm of my hand (I bought it at Wal-Mart).
Right at the critical moment when the spectator is about to “pull the trigger,” I sneak the gun out of my pocket and pull the trigger. It lets out a huge bang and scares everybody, and most
importantly, it gets a laugh. It just makes the routine a little more fun.
Also, the addition of having the spectators sign the card was not in the original handling created by David. It is not necessary, but I find that it just helps eliminate the possibility of a duplicate card being used. Anyway, I hope you have fun with it. I certainly have. Try out the cap gun thing.
