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Card Work,
.Card Play
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Card Work:
Undercover Force
Free Style
~
Forcing Thoughts
Break & Cull Styles
Bottom Up Style
Undercover Reverse
Pocket Full of Methods :
Pasteboard Experiments:
Double Deal
Basic 3-Way
Odd Card Handling
One-Handed Alignment
Undercover 3~Way
:
Undercover Double Turnover
Midas Touch (Brent Boyko)
Undercover Switch
Undercover Convincers
Replacement Move'
Work to Play

,
Undercover Sequence
References, Resources & Reflections
Streamlined Switch (wi B.J.Bueno)
Face Down ~
Face Up
Half & Half
Direct Transformation (Jack Parker)
Flash-Free NoLap Switch (Aaron Shields)

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Card Play:

Ambitious Ego
Zephyr Production
A Trick for Desccrtes' Evil Genius
Hallucinogenic Gaze of Gala
Solitary Confinement
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In-the-Hands Performance
Undercover Rhapsody in Blue
House Party Cull-ectors
Straight-edge Collectors
Hardcore Straightedge Collectors
Satan Monte

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CARD
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"I don't like work - no man does - but I like what is in the work - the chance to find
yourself. Your own reality - for yourself, not for others - what no other man can ever
know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means."
- joseph.conrad

Undercover Force
Free Style

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Tap the touched card with the thumb and

ask This one right here?

1. Begin with the card you wish to force on

the bottom of the deck. Start spreading the
cards between your hands, closing and
opening the spread, while continually
pushing cards off with your left thumb.
When you first spread the cards out, say:
I'm going to have you touch any card
you wish. Be sure the spectator
understands that he doesn't have to take
one out, but needs to simply point to one.

5. You are now going to perform what is

essentially a double deal turnover, while
still keeping the cards spread out in your'
hands. As your left thumb taps the touched
card, use your right hand's middle and
right fingers to contact the right edge of the
touched card underneath the spread. Keep
these fmgers extended, their pads touching
that right edge of the card.

2. As he starts moving his hands towards

you, continue spreading until you have just
the lower half of the deck spread out and
the upper half is already bunched together
at the top. Stop the spread and say: Go
ahead, point to anyone.

6. Once you have tapped the selected card

with your thumb and the spectator has
acknowledged his selection, extend the left
hand's middle and ring fmgers, so the force
card, slides further under the spread. To
ensure that no other cards slide you can
put pressure on the spread by pressing
down with the left thumb.

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3. As soon as you have stopped spreading

and before the spectator has touched a
card, curl your left fmgers in and contact
the bottom card of the deck with the pads
of the middle and ring fmgers. Immediately
kick those fingers out, sliding that card
underneath the spread, Straighten those
fingers out all the way, using both Ute card
and the fmgers to support the spread from
below. This should position the force card
so that it is underneath the center of the
spread.

,7. Allow the force card to glide until its right

edge is also touching the pad of the right
,middle and ring fmgers. The forced card
and the touched card should now be
aligned, with a spread of cards still inbetween them.
8. Now put upward pressure with the right
'hand's middle and ring fingers, pressing the
two aligned cards against the right hand's
spread. Move the right hand to the right,
allowing the two 'cards to come together as
the left harid retains its spread of cards. As
soon as the double clears the last of the left
hand's spread, let it turn face-up, bookfashion, using its left edge as a pivot point.

4. The spectatorwi11 now point to a card.

They will often be fast about it so be sure to
pay careful attention. You want to ensure
that all looks fair to them. Once they have
pointed to a card and moved their hand
away either spread more cards or close the
spread slightly, so that the touched card is
directly underneath your left thumb. The
force card is still under the spread, below
and slightly to the left ofthe touched card.

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Forcing Thoughts
>-

>-

>>-

>-

You now have two cards sitting face-up on the left hand's pile. Have the card remembered or
signed. Where you go after that is up to you. If the cards have the same back; then you can
simply do a double turnover and place the top card into the center of the right hand's packet,
retaining the selection on top. You can now go into a card to mouth, an ambitious card, or any
other routine. YoU: can also perform a number of convincing controls: turn the double face-down,
leaving it out-jogged, cull out the actual force card and control it to the bottom, leaving the
indifferent card sticking out in the center. Better yet, try the undercover reversal given on the
next page: it's one of my favorites.
As the left middle and ring fingers kick out the card fromthe bottom, (Step 3) have the left index
finger curled around the' outer edge of the spread, so the force card doesn't come flying out in the
front. You can also keep your leftpinky at the back of the deck,so the cards are ill a somewhat
straddled grip, ensuring the force card has an undercover pathway by which to travel.
You can use an odd-backed card as a force card since theback is never seen.
A nonchalant attitude is a huge part of this force. If you can makethe spectator feel relaxed
about picking a card,thenthey will not be burning you as much. Ifyou. act like it doesn't matter
which card they point ,to, then the turnover will go by smoothly.
The original force I created and published in "Magic: Experlments... " was called the KFC Move.
The motion of aligning two cards under the spread and turning them over was identical, but the
setup to get into the position was much more detailed and harder to accomplish smoothly when
performing in the real world. While I still use the original handling of the force for certain effects,
I have found that the technique presented here is much more useful for performance situations.
There are less finger movements and less to concentrate on, allowing you to focus your attention
on your audience.

Cull Style
Break Style

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A more, open method, which allows you to

force the card anywhere in the deck can be
accomplished with a cull. This is my favorite
method and the one I use most often.

Instead of starting off with the force card on

the bottom of the deck, have it somewhere
around the center with a pinky break below it.
Spread out the top half of the deck, above the
pinky break. With your left thumb apply
downward pressure, holding all the cards in
place. With the left middle and ring fingers
reach into the, pinky break and contact the
face of the force card. Now kick those fingers
out as before, letting the force card slide
underneath the fan. Ask the spectator to
touch a card and perform the alignment and
turning over process as per the standard way.

Begin with the selection on the bottom or ,

anywhere else in the deck where you can
easily steal it out. Start spreading and cull the
force card out so that it rides along your right
hand's fingers underneath the' spread. There
are two parts to this force. First have the
spectator say stop as you spread. Once he has
stopped you, use the right hand's fingers to
kick the card out to the left so that the left
hand's fingers can reach out and take it from
below. Now have the spectator actually point
to a card, and you are perfectly set up to
perform the alignment and turnover move.

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Bottom Up Style

left-most card of the right hand's spread

directly over the face-up double. Insert your
right fingers into the pinky break, below the
double, and pick up the double. The bottom
and leftmost card of the spread is going to
align with the two face-up cards and your
right fingers are going to clamp the three cards
together. For a second, the selection is going to
be completely out of view.

This method.is identical to the first one, in

that the force card starts out at the bottom.
The main difference, however, is that you are
going to spread the cards from the bottom up,
asking the spectator to say stop as you spread.
To do this, hold the cards as if you are about
to spread them. With your right thumb reach
around the left edge of the deck and pull the
top forty or so cards as one big block to the
right. The bottom cards of the deck will spread
out. At this point, use the left hand's fingers to
kick out the force card from the bottom. Now
use your right hand's fingers to spread the
deck from the bottom up. Your left hand,
which is supporting the spread with the force
card below, will simply sit there while the right'
hand.fingers do the spread work. Once the
spectator says stop, your thumb will be
directly above a card. As him if that's the one
he wants. If he says yes, then allow it to align
with the force card and perform the double
deal turnover to complete the force.

As soon as you have picked up the double and

are now clamping an three cards together, tilt
the cards in the left hand downwards so that
the deck is perpendicular to the floor. The
fingers of your left hand are now going to do
the work. Move the right hand spread so the
left edge of the triple is touching the right edge
of the deck. Make sure that the right hand is
half an inch farther out from your body than
the left hand - this is to make sure that the
switched card will be out-jogged once it is facedown. The fingertips ofthe left hand now
contact the back of the bottom card of the
spread and put pressure on it, by clamping
inwards. This is the same action that the left
fingers perform when doing the KM Move
created by Tony Kardyro and Edward Marlo.
Because of the pressure, the bottom card is
now going to slide slightly to the left (be careful
not to flash) and is going to flip face-down onto
the cards in the left hand. As the card starts to
flip, tilt your hand back to the original
position, the deck parallel to the floor. If your
right hand was in the correct position, then
the card should land slightly out-jogged.

Undercover Reverse:
This is a wonderfully practical control that I
had originally created for the KFC move and
published in a previous set of notes. I reprint
it here so that you may have yet another place
to go if your heart so desires. This secret
reverse (which fans in the family of the '
Larreverse and the Wondereverse) convinces
the spectators that their card has been turned
face-down, even though it is still face-up.

Your right hand cards are still spread, the

force card, still face-up, hidden by the lowest
face-down card. All you have to do is to replace
the right hand spread onto the deck and
square everything up. Now slowly push the
out-jogged card into the middle, perform a
magical gesture, and spread the deck to show
the selection has turned itself face-up.

You have just forced the card and you have a

pinky break below the face-up double. You are
now going to switch the forced card for the
card undemeath it, leaving the indifferent card
out-jogged face-down in the middle of the
deck, while still keeping the force card face-up!
To do this, make sure that the cards in your
right hand are in a wide spread. Now place the

Pocket Full of Methods

There is a perfectly logical reason for why I have presented you with four different ways to perform
the same exact force. In the real world, there are as many surprises as there are spectators and in
my experience I have met some crazy laypeople, When asked to choose a card, some will be more
than happy to comply and will be easily persuaded to take a classic force. Others will stare you down
like a hawk and do everything in their power to make sure you can't cheat. Not that this is bad thing;
not at all. Spectators like these make life more fun and exciting. But they also make it necessary for
you to know how to force a card in four or four dozen different ways.
In a close-up performance, after the first effect or two I usually have a general idea of the character
and attitude of my spectators. I know who's burning me, who's easily misdirected, who will hold
cards withoutturning them over early, and who will rip the cards out of my hands the instant they
get the chance. When spreading cards to have one chosen, for example, there are many possibilities.
If you spread out a fan of cards, some people won't say a word and pick one out. Those people are
easy, because you can limit their selection to a spread often or fifteen and t.hey won't think twice
about it. Others will look at you like you're funny, and tell you to continue spreading forward. The
more audacious of the group won;t even ask, but simply jump at the cards, push over your spread,
only to take a card from the bottom or the top.
Once you have an idea of how your spectators act towards you and your cards, and how they will
hold or shuffle them if the need arises, now you are ready to select the modus operandi. With the .
undercover force, ifdealing with a picky person, use the cull method that allows the spectator to say
stop anywhere in the deck. When dealing with a person who doesn't care where his card comes from,
you can just spread the bottom half out and have one touched or spread all the cards above the
break and force the card that way. Mastering the diffe~ent methods and being able to employ them in
the right situations is what makes a successful close-up card worker.
As far as the Undercover Reverse is concerned, this is a move that can be heavily burned and as long
. as you watch the angles from your left, the move will be invisible. The most importantthirig is to be
aware of the spectator's interest and attention. Some moves should be done on an off-beat and
others executed while attention is high. Keeping on an equal plane with the spectator's perceptions is .
important. You may be light-years ahead of them as far as where the selection has actually been
controlled to, but if they still think it's out-jogged in the center, then be sure that your words and
actions add to their certitude.
The same idea applies to other moves. Knowing when to pass or when to double undercut or when to
side steal are all important decisions and there are numerous determining factors that will help you
out in performing situations. The more you know and the more prepared you are, the more
comfortable you will feel in performance. And of course, the more you perform and the more you are
placed into tough spots that you have to 'side-steal' your way out of, the more confident you will feel
. in your card magic.

......
8

Pasteboard Experiments:
...in order to show how rich this is in ramifications, which then one may,
according to one's disposition, play in, as children

do in a large and empty house,

or which one may lose oneself in, as older people also do....

A foray into a new move, sleight, or effect is often a: steppingstonejoumey of discovery. Thebasic
technique for the double deal tumover is not new and neither is Krenzel's Slide Under Switch. J
present the research I have found at the end, in hopes of clarifying which roads I have taken.
However I hope that the combinations, alterations, improvements, and details that I present here will
fmd an amiable space in the catalogue of card technique. A year of work, play, and experimentation
has led to these techniques and you will fmd that they are distinctively workable techniques fit for
the demanding card worker. Let's begin with the basic double deal and proceed further tosee what
we can create and discover. ,

Double Deal Turnover with Full Deck

performer. Doing the move With three cards is

a breeze.

The idea of the Double Deal Tumover is to

tum over the top and bottom cardsof the deck'
as one, making it look as if you just casually
flipped over the top card. To do this, hold the
deck in left hand dealer's grip. With the left
thumb, push off the top card for about half an
inch. Bring the right hand over. The right
hand's fingers go underneath the deck and
contact the bottom card. It helps here if the
deck is slightly beveled to the right. The index
fmger of the right hand covers the front of the
deck to ensure no flashing. The thumb and
fmgers of the right hand squeeze the top and
bottom cards together. The right hand draws
to the right, taking the two cards and sliding
them together. Once the two cards have
cleared the deck and have aligned, they are'
tumed face-up and allowed to fall bookfashion onto the top of the deck.

Basic 3-Way Count

Marlo's original 3-way count, which has
become a standard for most packet tricks,
goes something like this: The magician
spreads out three cards, he tums over the
entire packet to flash the bottom card. Then
he performs the Henry Christ Alignment Move,
showing the same card to be on top, and
finishes by showing the same card in the
middle. While the, move itself will fly, the
actual Christ Alignment Move looks quite
awkward. However, replace the Alignment
Move with a Double Deal Tumover, and now
you're looking smooth and casual. Try it with
cards in hand to see the difference.
The key to making it all look smooth is making
every tumover look alike. Begin by spreading
the three cards in your hand. Now square up ,
and tum the entire packet over, book fashion, '
allowing it to fall face-up into the left hand.
Repeat thesame motion, tuming the packet
face-down. Using the left thumb push the top
card half an inch to the right. How the left
hand holds the three cards is unbelievably
important here. While the cards rest in a
dealer's grip position, they are not being held
the same way. There are only two pressure

Double Deal Turnover with Small Packet

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The double deal using a small packet is what

we are going to concentrate on. You will fmd
that doing the move with a packet of 10 cards,
as opposed to 52 is a lot easier. There are less
cards to go around, the technique goes by
quicker and smoother, and there is less
chance for flashing at the outer end. This
makes the execution of the move a more
comfortable and convincing experience for the

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points that keep the cards in the hand. The

first is the index finger, which curls around
the front edge of the cards and reaches all the
way to the outer right corner. The second is
the inside of the palm, which presses against
the inner left edge of the cards, all the way
down to the inner left corner. The middle
.fmger of the left hand provides some pressure
from the bottom of the packet while the left
thumb slides the top card half an inch to the
right. As soon as it does so, the middle, ring,
and pinky fingers no longer play a role; they
are simply curled underneath the cards. This
allows the right hand to come over and
perform the double deal turnover.

back of the card being shown three times. To

make sure the back never flashes, here is what
you do: Take out two blue cards and a red
card. Start mit with the red card on the
bottom. Tum the entire packet face-up,
flashing the face of the card. Tum the packet
face-down and perform the double deal
turnover, showing the top card to be the same.
Tum the double face-down, getting a pinky
break below it as it falls. Now pinch the double
at the right side with thumb on top and fingers
below and drag it over (as a single card) to the
right. Once the left edge of the double is
touching the right edge of the single card in
the left hand, the pads of the left hand's
fingers will be touching the face of the oddbacked card. Keep the top card ofthe double
in place with the right hand. Tilt the left hand
so that the card becomes almost perpendicular
. to the floor. With the left hand's fingers put
pressure on the face of the odd-card, causing
it to instantly tum face-up and land inbetween the two face-down cards. The snap
turnover happens so fast that the spectators
never see the back of the odd card. This
movement is quite identical to the K.M.Move
(Tony KardyrojEdwardMarlo). To tum the
card face-down, bring the right hand's card
over the face-up odd card. Pick up the two of
them so that they are practically aligned, but
. allow the left index to still be showing. Drag
the two cards until the left hand's fingers
contact the edge of the face-up card. Repeat
the same turnover motion, allowing the top
card to cover the odd card as it turns facedown. While the move is tough to make sound
believable on paper, experimentation will allow
. you to see that the turnover of the odd card
can easily be done twice without ever flashing
the odd back.

The middle fmger of the right hand goes

underneath the outer right comer to contact
the bottom card. The index finger of the right
hand covers the outer edge of the side-jogged
card. It is essentially touching (and even
overlapping) the left hand's index finger. This
makes sure there is no flash. The thumb and
the middle finger of the right hand now pinch
the bottom and top cards together and slide
them to the right. The two pressure points
made by the left hand keep the .center card in
place. As soon as the edges of the two cards in
the right hand clear the single card remaining
. in the left hand, the double is allowed to fall
face-up, book fashion onto the card in the left
hand.
To complete, tum the double card face-down
and push the top card off with the left thumb
in the same exact way as you did before. This
time, take the top card with your right hand
fingers, Now push the middle card off with the
left thumb, contact it from below with the right
index and middle fmgers, and tum it face-up.
Turn the center card face-down and you have
now shown all three cards to be the same.

One-Handed Alignment
The one-handed alignment move is an
excellent way to get into the double deal
turnover. Mastering this technique will allow
you to easily perform the Undercover 3-Way

3-Way Count with Odd Card

You may have noticed that the 3-way count
can be performed without ever flashing the

10

Count as well as the Undercover Double.

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of the left hand are contacting the face of the

bottom card. If those three fingers now extend,
they will kick out the bottom card to the right.
The card will slide, using the index finger at
the front as a guide, and will align itself
perfectly with the top card. The right hand,
which is pinching that top card will
automatically pinch the bottom card as well,
now, and will draw both to the right, turning
them face-up once their edges have cleared the
center card.

Begin once again with three cards in your

hand. If you like, turn the packet over,
showing the bottom card. Now turn the packet
face-down, thumb over the top card and take it
with the right hand. You are going to delay the
double deal tumover. You can either give the
card in the right hand a little spin, or use the
left thumb to snap its outer left corner. The
idea here is to subtly emphasize the
singularity of the card without saying "I have
one card." Now bring the right hand down so'
that the card is pressed flat against the two
cards in the left hand, but so it is right-jogged
for half of its width. The left hands holds the
two cards just as it did before, however this
time the left hand fingers will do all of the
work from below.

You will notice that the kicking of the bottom

card with the left hand is the same motion
used in the Undercover Force, except you are
now only using three cards instead of a large
spread. The kick and alignment is dorie in less,
than a second. Now you can turn the double
face-down and firiish the 3-way display.'

Having gotten the preliminary warm-ups out of

the way, we are now ready to experiment
further.

The thumb is resting on top. The left index

finger is curled around the outer edge of the
two cards. The middle, ring, and pinkie fingers '

Undercover 3-Way
Now we're going to do something very sneaky. In order to execute the cleanestSvway display, we are
going to use a fourth card. S6 pick up four cards (the 4th card can be odd-backed, it doesn't matter),
and get ready to jump for joy as you discover the many possibilities that come with this move.
the left thumb to catch it at the left edge. Use
the fingers of the left hand to square the right
edge of the double and squeeze the sides
lightly to make sure it doesn't split. Now turn
the double face-down and catch it in the same
way.

Hold all four cards squared in the left hand.'

Push the top card off to the right and take it
with the right hand. Push off the next card
and take it in the right hand underneath the
firat, spread to the left. Now using the right
hand pinch the double and pick it up,
counting it as 'three.' You are now holding a
,fan of ?three? cards in the right hand. Run
your left thumb over the cards; snapping their
edges, audibly proving their singularity.

Second Card: The right hand, which holds the

two cards spread out, comes over to the left
hand, which is holding the double in
preparation for the One-handed Alignment. As
the two hands come together, the three cards
still completely spread out, perform the,
undercover alignment. The bottom card will

,!

First Card: Allow the left edge of the double to

contact the fingers of the left hand. Turn the
double over, book-wise. As it falls face-up, use

11

left packet and allowing it to align with the top

card being held by the right hand. Or you can
do the regular Double Deal Turnover, by
allowing the index and middle fingers of the
right hand to go into the break (below the odd
card), grasp it from below and pull it out,
aligning it with the top card. Play with both
techniques to see what you feel more
comfortable with. Either technique you use, in
the eyes of the spectators the same thing is
achieved: the third, top card is tumed over
and shown to be identical to the bottom and
the middle cards.

slide undemeath the fan and align itself with

the middle card. The fingers of the right hand
will pinch the double from below, and the
thumb, which is above all the cards, will press
down from above. Pinch the center and the
bottom card together and use the right hand
to slide them to the right until they clear the
. single card in the left hand. Allow the double
to fall face-up. You have now shown the odd
card twice.

Third Card: Turn the double face-down. As it

falls, get a pinky break below it. The left hand
now holds three cards with a pinky break
above the bottom one. The right hand, holding
a single card, comes over towards the left
hand. The right hand brings its card so it is
flat against the cards in the left hand, but
side-jogged to the right for half its width. You
can now do one of two things. You can perform .
the One Handed Undercover Alignment move
once more,sliding out the center card from the

It is important to note that the hands never

separate far from each other. Each time a card

is tumedover in the left hand the right hand
stays in close proximity. If the right hand
travels too far after it tums a card face-down
. in the left hand, then it will have no reason to
come back over to tum the next card face-up.

......

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Undercover Double Turnover

I am sure you will have noticed by now that all of the moves and ideas presented so far belong to the
same family tree. Moreover, they also closely resemble the technique of the Undercover Force. The
. principle of the undercover alignment brings them all together. Let us now expand on the use of the
undercover alignment move and see how the one-handed undercover alignment can be put to use
when a full deck is in play.:
The basic technique I am about to describe is Ken Krenzel's Slide Under Switch, but performed with
one card. This switch is clean, smooth, and devious. However, the technique needed to switch one
card is distinctively different from the technique used to switch out a four of a kind. With a group of
cards, there are little worries of flashing, because the loose spread of cards on top of the deck covers
everything. With one card, there is no room for flashing: the cards must be perfectly aligned before
they are turned over. So, grab a deck, and let's play with this...
second card of the deck. The hands are held
close together, so that the left thumb can snap
the outer left comer of the card held by the
right hand. The right hand now comes down
so that its card is laying flat against the deck
but side-jogged for half its width to the right.

The deck is held in left hand dealer's grip. The

thumb pushes off the top few cards so that the
right hand can pick up the top card. Once the
top card has been taken, the thumb pulls the
top few cards back to square the deck. As it
does so, the pinky gets a break below the

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The left hand's pinky now extends outwards.

In doing so, it kicks out the second card of the .
deck. That card will slide to the right, under
the cover of the card held in the right hand.
Once the two cards have aligned, the right
hand will pinch them and pull them to the
right. Once the double clears the top card of
the deck, the right hand allows it to fall faceup onto the deck. That's the basic technique.
Try it several times, but don't put down this
booklet just yet, because I have left out the
most important part. If you try the technique
now, you may find some difficulty in getting
the two cards to align perfectly. The key to a
perfect alignment is the left thumb.'.

kicks, use the left thumb to pull the top card

half an inch to the left. At the same time, move
the single card in the right hand to the left as
well, so that it is perfectly aligned with the
deck. This may seem weird at first, but if you
look closely at the deck you will find out what
is happening. From the top, itwil1look like
nothing happens. Because the top card moves
to the left, the spectators cannot see that the
card in the right hand is perfectly aligned With
the deck. To them it will stil1look like it is
side-jogged to the right. Since the right hand's
card is practically aligned with the deck (it
doesn't have to be all the way), the pinky does
not have to kick out very far. In fact, you will
find that all you really have to do is pinch the
card above the pinky break with the right
hand fingers from below and you will easily be
able to align the double, slide it to the right,
and turn it face-up.

Brent Boyko's Undercover Midas Touch:

At the same time that the pinky is kicking the
card out from below, the left thumb needs to
be resting on top of the deck. As the pinky

Undercover Switch
The original Ken Krenzel move was used to switch four cards for four cards. The right hand held its
four cards face-up, turned them face-down, performing the undercover alignment, and then spread
over the top four cards to either insert them into different parts of the deck or show that the four
cards have changed into the four aces. You will findthat if you turn the second card from the top of
the deck face-up, you are now set-up for the same exact switch using a single card;

Take out any card from the deck with the right
hand, give it a spin, and then perform the
actions of the Undercover Double. The
advantage here is great. You are able to take
out a single card, give it a spin and a snap,
then casually turn it face-down and show that
it has changed. The Midas Touch with the left

thumb is unbelievably important. To the

spectators it will look like the card was never
fully aligned with the deck. Even though it gets
aligned for a split second when it turns facedown and before it gets taken back by the
right hand, that movement is so brief that it
does not affect the clean look of-the double.

Uses: So I am sure you are asking yourself why you need to perform this kind of double, instead of a
regular double lift. Well, ~ hope the effects found in this booklet will be reason enough, but I'll throw
out some basic points. First and foremost; you can have an odd backed card sitting second from the
top of the deck. Now you can have a card touched and taken out. Perform the Undercover Double
and the spectator is now signing the face of the odd-backed card. Second, because the card held in
the right hand before the double is a single one, you have freedom to move it around, spin it on your
fingers, or do a little tap dance with it. The spectators may not be aware of exactly why this double
turnover looks so clean, but the casualness of the entire procedure will have an impact on them,
trust me. Here are a few other ideas:
13

Undercover Convincers:
Let's say you wanted to convince a spectator that he picked a red backed card from a red backed
deck, but only had one blue deck and one red card to do it with.
Begin by placing the red-backed card on top of
the blue deck and placing the deck into a red
card case. Now bring out the red case, take
out the cards so the spectators are looking at
the red back. This is literally all the conviction
you need. There is no need to say anything or
point it out. If you concentrate on the taking
out of the cards, the spectators will follow your
gaze and automatically register in their minds
that you have a red deck. Unless they have
seen you change the color of cards before, they
will not be suspicious. Now turn the deck face- .
up and spread it between your hands. Get
ready to perform the Undercover Force. Ask a
spectator to point toa card-. Once he does,
perform the alignment and turnover move,
flashing a red back, saying "OK, we'll take
the... " Tum the double back face-up and cull
out the red-backed card from underneath the
selection. Drop the selected card onto the table
to have it signed or simply leave it out-jogged.
Control the culled red-backed card to the
bottom of the face-up deck Now you can take
out the selection and spin it in your right hand
face-up, while the left hand turns over the
deck to flash another red back.

What if you have two red backed cards? Then

place one of them on top of the blue-backed
deck, and place the other second from the
bottom. Begin by taking the deck out of a red
case. Allow the spectators to register the visual
without saying a word. Turn the deck face-up
and spread it out, asking them to touch a
card. Out-jog-that card and take it out of the
spread. Allow the spectator to sign the face of
the card. Now keeping the deck face-up in the
left hand and the selected card in the right
hand, blow on it or wave it in the air, without
flashing its back. Get a pinky break
underneath the second card of the deck and .
as you bring your hands together perform the
undercover alignment and tum the double
face-down, showing its red back. Now pick the
double up in the right hand Biddle Grip and
bring it up to your mouth to blow on the
signature. The left hand, meanwhile, turns the
deck over in its hand and when the hands
meet again, the spectators see two red backs.
They need nothing more to be convinced.
Where you go from there is up to you...

..,. ..

Replacement Move:
The replacement move is a quick and easy technique that allows your card handling to look extra
clean and crisp. First, I'll describe the replacement move with a small packet, and then using a full
deck.

Packet Replacement, Face-Up: Begin with

four cards in your hand. When used as part of
a routine, you will frrst perform the undercover
3-way display. Once you have turned over the
third card you willhave two cards face-up and
two cards face-down in your left hand. With

the right hand, pinch the double with the

thumb above and fingers below and carry it to
the right. With the left thumb you can snap
the double, being careful not to let it split.
For a split second you are going to carry the

14

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face-up double so that its left edge is directly

undemeath the right edge of the two facedown cards in the left hand, covered for about
half an inch. In the second that the face-up
double is undemeath the left hand's cards, the
fingers of the right hand extend outwards
while the right hand's thumb pulls inwards.
The bottom card of the face-up double will
slide to the left, covered by the left hand's
cards. At the same time the fmgers of the left
hand extend outwards and wrap themselves
around the three cards, squaring up all of
them. The right hand moves back to the right, .
now holding only a single card. Immediately
the left thumb snaps the outer left comer of
the face-up card, as it was doing a second ago.

over, but pick up the top two cards with the

thumb below andjingers above. Now tum your
right hand palm-up, twisting your wrist and
tuming the double face-down, still keeping it
pinched. Perform the replacement move,
ditching the bottom card of the double. The
card that the spectators had seen a second
ago is now on the bottom of the left hand
packet. You can do several things here,
depending on the effect. If used as part of a 3way count, you can tilt the left wrist to flash
the bottom card showing the same card for the
fourth time. Or, as you will see I have done in
some of the effects in these notes, you can
have the spectator place their hand onto the
card. in your right hand,
which now changes
.
into a different card.

.The choreography here is important. The

double is face-up, it gets picked up, snapped a
few times by the left hand. Then it goes
undemeath the packet where the packet itself
is actually used to snap its side. Immediately
the left thumb snaps the card again several
times. The card goes undemeath the packet,
but the spectators never register this fact. It is
instant and quite invisible.

Full DeckReplacement: Start out with the

deck in your left hand. Perform a double
. tumover, allowing the double to fall face-up on
top of the deck, catching a pinky break below
it. Pick up the double with the right hand..
With the left handget a pinky break below the
. top card of the deck. You are now going to
perform the same exact actions of the packet
replacement, except the bottom card of the
face-up double is going to slide undemeath
. the top face-down card of the deck. Placing the
double into the deck for half an inch might
seem awkward, but when done at full speed it
is a casual gesture that goes unnoticed. To the
spectators it will look like you are simply using
the left thumb to snap the card a few times,
then wipe its face. All of this is simply proving
the singularity of the card without saying a
word. Once you have ditched the face-up card
you can spin the single card in your right
hand, snapit a few times, and then perform..
the Undercover Double to switch the one card
for the other.

Now that the right hand has a single card, it

can spin it in its hand or drop it onto the
table. When you are ready,you can pick the
card back up and perform a: double deal
tumover, allowing the face-up card on the
bottom of the packet to align itself with. the
face-up card in the right hand. The double is
tumed back face-down and you are ready to
proceed wherever you feel like proceeding to.

Packet Replacement, Face-down: When

done face-down, the move allows you to show
one card in the hand but instantly be holding
another one. Have the four cards in your hand
with the top two face-up. Bring the right hand

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Work to Play
I hope you have enjoyed this little experimental journey with the pasteboards and have found
something to your liking. Everything I have just described took months and months of play to figure
out. Nothing came at once; the details came about slowly through diligent practice and constant
play. I do not exaggerate when I say that after creating it, I spent four straight months, at least a
dozen hours a week, practicing the undercover 3-way display, before showing it to anyone. The
undercover double tookjust as long, if not longer, to feel comfortable with and I have to say that I
learned many interesting things over this time, both about the cards and about myself.
The hours (in movie theatres, cars, classrooms, etc) I spent working on these moves until I felt
comfortable with them were of great value. But when it came time to use them in the real world, I
became unbelievably nervous and couldn't do them smoothly. I found that I had gotten so used to
performing them in perfect silence and with full concentration that when I had an audience in front
of me, I couldn't concentrate on my fingers and therefore could not execute the moves perfectly. It
wasn't until I forced myselfto get over the nervousnesa and start using the moves all the time in
regular performances thai they started to look good.
I am not saying that you should go out performing these moves. before having mastered them
perfectly. But I do suggest this: be sure that you don't just isolate these moves, getting used to
aligning cards in quiet solitude so that you feel awkward doing them in real life, like I did at first.
Instead use them constantly in your performances so that you become comfortable talking and
moving the cards at the same time.
To facilitate the learning of all these moves, I now present the first sequence that I created, which
utilizes practically all of the moves so far described. While the sequence can be performed for a real
audience as an effect, you mayjustlike performing it for yourself, as a fun exercise.

eTe . ' .

The Undercover Sequence:

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Start out with four cards in your hand. If you

are doing this as an effect, then the top three
are three signed selections and the bottom one
is an ace of spades.

ace face-down, immediately after ditching the

card. To the spectators it should look just as if
you snapped the ace then turned it face-down.
You will now have FD ace, two FD selections
and a third selection FU.

All Aces:

Perform the Undercover 3-Way,

showing all three cards to be the Ace. Once
you have turned over the third card, leave the
double face-up. Pick it up with the right hand,
thumb on top and fmgers below. Snap the
card, then perform the undercover
replacement, ditching the face-up selection
that was below the jack so that it is now on
the bottom of the left hand's packet. Turn the

All Backs Sequence: The undercover 3-way

allows you to perform the absolute cleanest
all-backs display. There is no need to flip over
the cards twice. Start out by spreading the
four cards as three, keeping the last two
together. Turn the double over, showing backs
on both sides. Perform the alignment move,
tuming over the second and bottom cards

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together, showing the center card to have all

backs. Finish by doing the move again, this
time tuming over the top and third cards
together, showing the top card to have all
backs. The packet will now have FD selection,
FU ace, two FD selections. (Ain't it a beauty?)

Card #1: Pick up the double and dothe

replacement move, ditching the face-up ace so
that it is on the. bottom of the left hand's
packet. Spin the single card in your right hand
and show it to be one of the selections.

Option #2: Push the bottom two cards of the

three with the right fingers, pulling the top
card back with the thumb. Allow those bottom
two cards to tum over and fall into the left
hand, showing that both sides of the bottom
card are backs. Bring the hands together, do
the one handed alignment and tum over the
top card to show it has all backs. Do the
replacement move to ditch the card back to
the left hand. Spin the remaining card in the
right hand; tum it over to show the selection.

Card #2:

Card #3: You

have a double in your hand,

with the ace face-down and selection on top.
Snap the card in your fingers, showing backs
on both sides. You can do a series of moves. I
recommend the Stuart Gordon Double .
Tumover, because it looks smooth. I also
recommend the Paul Harris Splatt Change,
. where the card is held in the right hand by its
edges and is made to flip over as it flies into
your open left hand. Whichever moves you do,
finish with the ace face-up below a face-down
selection. Hold the double in your left hand..
Bring the right hand over and palm out the
face-up ace. Bring your hand over the facedown card and instantly change it into the
ace. Instead of palming out the card, you can
execute the Ross Bertram color change, as
well. Finish by performing another snap
change or Marc DeSouza's Shape Shifter to
tum the ace into the third selection.

Pick up all three cards in the right

hand, pinching them with the thumb above
and fingers below: There are two' things you
can do here. The first is simple and flies by
people easily. The second one is complex and
hard and I recommend doing it during
practice, but not in performance.

Option #1:

Push the bottom two cards of the

three with the right fingers, pulling the top
card back with the thumb. Allow those bottom
two cards to tum over and fall into the left
hand, showing that both sides of the bottom
card are backs. Now simply give the card in
the right hand a spin. As it spins, tum the left
hand palm-down, flashing another back. Pinch
the card in the right hand with the palm-down
fingers of the left hand. Now tum.the left hand
with the card palm-up, showing that the card
that you were just spinning has now changed
into a selection.

Performance: If you actually decide to do this for

a real audience (as opposed to those fake,

cardboard ones) then start out with the deck in hand. Perform a double turnover, showing an
ace of spades. Tum the double face-down and take the top card (calling it the ace) and place it
into your pocket. Have three cards selected and control them to the bottom, keeping the ace on
top. Now pass or double undercut the ace from the top to the bottom of the deck and get a
break under the bottom four cards. Spread through the deck and out-jog three cards. Pick up
half of the spread (with the out-jogged cards) in the right hand, leaving the bottom ten or so
cards in the left hand. Tum the right hand palm down so that the spectators see that the three
cards you out-jogged are not theirs. Now strip those cards out, performing the Vemon StripOut Addition. Perform the Dingle NoLap Switch, so you now have the four cards in your hand: .
the three selections and the ace at the bottom.

17

Now touch each card to your pocket before you tum it over to show that the ace travels from
your pocket and becomes each of the three cards. Then show how it slowly starts morphing so
it has no face. And finally, show how each of the aces magically changes into a selection,
except for the last one, which is a bit stubborn and takes a little extra magic. Finish by
producing the ace Hom the pocket you had originally placed it into. Smile and breathe.
In performance, the spectators expect the last card to be the selection, so that when the ace
. appears they are thrown off. Allow them enough time to realize that fact, then perform the
change, producing their selection. Now you can cop or palm out the ace and produce it from
your pocket or the card box.

.~

..

References, Resources and Reflections

In the critics' vocabulary, the word "precursOr" is indispensable, but it should be cleansed
of 'oJJconnotatioo'ofpolemics orfivaJry. Thefactis that ,every'Wfiter creates ohis ownPF6CUrsOfs.

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His work modifies our conception of the past, as It will modify the future.

- Jorge.louis.borges

:> . The Marlo 3-Way Count can be found in Ibidem 15, December 1958.
:> The idea of using the double deal turnover instead of the Christ Alignment move during the
3-Way Count was something I -discovered while playing with the move. Allan Ackerman

LJ

uses the Double Deal in a trick called "Some More Blues," page 39-44 from his book "Las
Vegas Kardma". Ackermanalso uses the double deal in a trick called" A Quick Three way

moment" from "I can't believe it's not all cards lecture tour", Summer 1997, page 27-30. In
his own words: "The same as Marlo's original Quick Three Way... This new handling uses

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. the same sequence, but ,eliminates the horrid Christ-Anneman Allignment mo.veand also
takes the heat off the double deal."

:> Another interesting source was pointed out by David Michael Evans, who says: "Kabbala Vol. 3, No.6 (1976), pp. 78-79, "New Quick 3-Way" is the earliest thing I can recall in which,
Marlo's sequence is mentioned in conjunction with the Double Deal."

>

Victor Tabucco's "Three Alike," is another published method, which can be foundonpg.37
of "Fork Full of Appetizers - Book 1." I have been told that he executes the move beautifully.

>

Using the double deal tumover instead of the Gemini Count was also something I
discovered in play. The idea here is to use four cards: perform a triple tumover, then tum
the triple face-down, dealing the top cardto the table. Now perform a double deal tumover,
tum the double face-downanddeal the top .card to the table as well. The two .cards you
showed have remained in your hand. This technique appears in Paul Wilson's "Alias the

>

Aces" and I am sure that many others have thought of it, as well.
For further reading on the double deal turnover, I recommend R. Paul Wilson's ESOTERICA

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ONE, which contains several great effects using the move. While I have not studied it, Jerry
Sadowitz's work is also highly recommended by many.
~

A different method for fanning

a: small group of cards and aligning the bottom one with the

chosen one can also be found in the write up of the "Chick Trick," which is one of the
booklets included in the Ron Bauer Private Studies Series.
~

The beautiful and very useful Ken Krenzel Slide Under Switch can be found on page 246 of
Karl Fulves' "Epilogue." In FASDIU II, Paul Cummins notes that the switch has its roots in
a Bill Okal switch.

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The idea of using the pinky to kick out the four cards to be switched during the Slide Under Switch was something I independently discovered shortly after learning the Krenzel move
many years ago. Recently, it was pointed out to me that Barry Price published the same
idea on pg. 177 of David Regal's "Close-Up and Personal" under the title "Price's Stealth

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"The Secondfromthetop Change," from Richard Kaufman's "Cardmaqic." (Kaufman, 1979) It

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is interesting to note that Kaufman says he rediscovered this move because"Ken Krenzel .
.and Bill Simon fooled around with itin the late fifties." If you were to look at illustration

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#285 on pg.85 of Cardmagic, you would see the Secondfromthetop change paused in
action. This, in fact, is almost how the hands look when they meet for the undercover
double, except of course, for the Midas Touch which requires for the top card to be left-

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Switch."
The actions of your hands during the execution of the Undercover Double are similar to

jogged instead of being perfectly aligned, as in the top change.

The Midas Touch that makes the undercover double so perfect was suggested by Brent
Boyko, a young Orlando magician and a good friend of mine. Remember Brent...always
fmish with an'S' Fan.

...What in certain aspects, makes this a playground

is what also makes it a labyrinth ... - o.k.bouwsma

+et-

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Streamlined Switch

B.).Bueno & Kostya Kimlat

Face-down Switch

fluidity of the motions will also help cover any

thickness.

Begin with three kings on the bottom ora facedown deck. Have the fourth king anywhere in
the lower part of the deck with a pinky break
below it. Spread the deck and have a card
. touched. Leave that card out-jogged, sticking
out for about half of its length. Have two more
cards touched and leave them out-jogged, as
well. As you have afourth card touched,
classic force the king above your pinky break.
As you close the spread get a pinky break
above the three bottom kings.

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The taking of the fourth card should look,

. sound, and feel exactly as it has the last three
times. There should be no hesitation and the
drop-off should be smooth. The fourth card is
peeled into the left hand on top of the three
. kings. Be sure that the hands do not come
together again. The right hand can now
deposit the deck onto the table, while the left
hand can either tum over the four cards to
display that the spectators chose the four
kings, or proceed into whatever routine is
needed.

The right hand, holding the deck in Biddle

grip, remains stationary. The left hand, taking
the three kings below the pinky break, moves
forward underneath the deck. The left thumb
peels the top out-jogged card out of the deck
and into the left hand, covering the three
kings. Be sure to catch a pinky break between
the kings and the card at the back, while
making sure the thickness of the packet is not
seen at the front by curling the left index
finger around the front edge. With a mirror,
you will see this is easier than it seems. The

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Repeat this motion, peeling the third card into

the left hand. Each time, be sure to mimic the
same action, allowirig the left hand to go
almost completely below the deck. This is .
important, because when you come back to
peel the fourth card, you are going to leave the
three indifferent cards above your pinky break
at the bottom of the deck. The right hand will
aid this by squeezing the deck at the outer and
inner ends, grasping the three cards from
above.

While still holding onto the deck with the left

hand from below, bring over the right hand to .
take the deck into Biddle grip. Doing so will
kick the out-jogged cards slightly to the left.
You are now going to perform the basic Vernon
Strip-Out Addition, but with an extra detail:
the out-jogged cards are going to be taken out
of the deck and into the left hand one at a
time*, as opposed to all four being taken as
one block.

Without pause, the left hand comes back to

peel off the second card. In order to do this,
the left hand must come back all the way
underneath the deck, place its thumb on top
of the out-jogged card, and peel it off onto the
four cards (one to the audience) already in the
hand.

You can begin with all four kings on the bottom of the deck. As you spread the deck for the
first time, cull out one of the kings, reinsert it in the lower part of the deck and catch a
pinky break. Now you are ready to proceed.
After pulling off the first card and booing your hand back to peel off the second one, use
the left index finger to lightly tap the three out-jogged cards back into the deck. This makes

20

sure that the left hand has to come all the way back to take the last card, and it does not
look awkward while trying to ditch the indifferent cards above the break.
Waiting to classic force the fourth card may be a bit risky, as the spectators are often
~
careful about which cards they pick, especially when all emphasis is on the choosing.
Therefore, I recommend forcing the king on the third time, as this is when the spectators
are least likely to pay attention. Once the card has been forced and you have three cards
out-jogged, close the spread, and then, as if the idea just came to you, re-spread the cards
and ask the spectator to touch just one more. At this point, make sure he touches a card
c-: j
anywhere in the deck, but not below the out-jogged king. Proceed with the switch as
j
described.
~ The psychology of 'card selection' may go something like this: The spectator is asked to
. touch one card, which he does carefully, being very particular about his choice. Now he is
. asked to touch another one. He is surprised that he is asked to touch two and so will
carefully point to a second one. When he is asked to touch a third one, he understands that
this may go on for a little while and so has less reserve about which card he picks, making
him an easier target for a classic force. Finally, when he is told to 'touch just one more,' he
realizes this is the end and will once again be paying more attention.Over-analyzation?
Maybe, maybe not.
~.
If you wish to avoid the classic force entirely, here is something to play with: have all four
kings on the bottom of the deck. After two cards have been touched and out-jogged, cull out
[-1
one of the kings from the bottom. Have a third card touched and out-jogged, while allowing
J
the king to ride underneath the spread. Have a fourth card touched, but as you bring the
right hand overto out-jog it, switch it out by allowing the culled king to kick out from
j
underneath the right hand's spread and land directly above it. Continue the movement of
out-jogging the card as if nothing has happened. It will aid to relax the spectators
immediately after they have touched the last card. A laugh or a question will have them
look up to look at you. Since they have already seen the same motions done three times, as
long as nothing fishy happens in their periphery, then the sWitch will go unnoticed. Now
you can bring their attention back to the deck as you perform the Streamlined Switch.
When done right,theswitchcan be directly burned and no one will be the wiser.
~ This switch came about after years of using the Derek Dingle No-Lap Switch (Complete
Works of Derek Dingle) While Dingle's switch is great, the bringing of the hands together to
get rid of the extra cards always felt dirty. While this switch eliminates that kind of ditch, it
does add an extra card to the group. This is an advantage for some routines and not for
others.
~ *The idea of peeling the out-jogged cards off singularly was created independently by B.J.
and published as part of "Catch-##" in "Magic: Experiments..." French magician, Bebel,
also developed it independently, but has not yet published it. This switch slowly developed
during a series of sessions with my good friend, B.J.Bueno and I thank him for allowing it
to be publish here.
f
tJ ~ There are numerous ways of incorporating the switch into your routines. If you play with
the different possibilities (with deck face-up, face-down, cards reversed, larger or smaller
groups of cards, etc...) you will find that the switch is unbelievably useful

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aces. Build up the tension by asking them

what they think they have. They will reply 'the
other aces.' During this time, casually pick the
deck back up into the hands. Tell them to turn
their cards over, which they do to find their
respective selections. As they react, palm off
the top two cards of the deck (the other aces)
and produce them from your pocket. This is
yet another version of a trick I published in a
Linking Ring (September, 1998: "Joker Aces")
and which I stillperform to this day.

Face-up Switch
This is a great way to use the switch to get into
an assembly routine. It is also a perfect
substitute for the usual move, where the
magician has to strip out the four ofa kind
first, then drop them on top of the deck then
.show them again and again,as if the
spectators still don't realize which cards
they're looking at.

Jack Parker's
Direct Transformation

Begin with a shuffled deck. Spread through,

out-jogging the four kings (or whichever four of
a kind you need. As you close the spread,
catch a break underneath the bottom three
cards. Now perform the Streamlined SWitch.
This wi1lleave three of the kings on the bottom
of the deck. In your left hand you will now
have one face-up king followed by three faceup indifferent cards. Feel free to make the
kings assemble, appear, disappear; transform,
or anything else your magical heart desires.

Doingthe switch face-down allows you to

create the effect that the spectators somehow
happened to touch the only four cards in the
deck that were kings. In the following version,
you actually do the. magic to change four
. indifferent cards into the four kings.
Have the four kings on the bottom of a face-up
deck, with a pinky break above them. Have
four indifferent cards touched and leave them
out-jogged. Perform the Streamlined Switch,
leaving the first three indifferent cards on the
bottom of the deck and taking the fourth
indifferent cMd with the four kings below into
the left hand.' Table the deck and turn all five.
cards face-down in your .hand. Reverse count
the cards one at a time, keeping the last two
pinched together, counting them as 'one.' Do a
through-the-fist flourish or just turn them
over and perform a buckle count: push off the
first two cards individually into the right hand,
then buckle the bottom card and take the
third and fourth cards as one, and fmish by
pushing off the last single king. Alternatively,
when reverse counting the cards face-down,
peel off the first two singularly, then push off a
double (as per the Elmsley Count), and then
place .the last card (the indifferent one) on top.
Now turn the cards over and push the cards
off singularly, keeping the last two together,
displaying the four kings. You can now either

Half and Half

L.J

Have two cards selected and controlled to the

top. Turn the deck face-up and spread.
through, out-jogging the four aces, making
sure that the top two are one color and the
bottom two the other. As you close the spread,
get a break above the bottom two cards. Do
the Vernon Strip-Out Addition, peeling the
first ace onto the two cards hidden in your left
hand. Bring the left hand back and peel the
second ace on top. As you come back to peel
the third ace, allow the two aces above the
pinky break to be picked up by the right hand.
Finish by openly (yet still mimicking the same
action) peeling the last ace into the hand. Drop
the deck on the table and then turn the four
cards in your hand face-down. Now perform
Bro. John Hamman's Gemini Count, asking
the two spectators to place their hands on top
of two of the aces. Snap your fingers and turn
your cards back over to show you've got the

22

\1

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cop out the indifferent card or use it go get

into another routine, such as an all time
favorite of many close-up magicians, the

Jennings Open Travelers or the P.R. Invisible

Palm.

Aaron Shields'
Flash-Free NoLap Switch

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This is a great technical addition to the NoLap switch. This technique can just as.well be used with
the Streamlined Switch to eliminate a possibility of a flash at the beginning. Aaron writes:
This is my handling of Derek Dingle's NoLap Switch, Second Application, that I call the Flash-Free
NoLap Switch. Everyone I see execute Dingle's move tends to flash the bottom packet while stripping
it away from the deck. In order for the packet to clear the second fmger at the end of the deck, it
must either swing too far to the left (flashing on the left) or slide too far forward (flashing on the
right). 'My only contribution is the technique for aligning the cards prior to their removal. For the
original move, see: Richard Kaufman. The Complete Works ofDerek Dingle (1982),pp. 85-86.
Place the aces on the bottom ofthe deck.
Spread through the deck out-jogging four
cards. Closethe spread, getting a break above
the four aces on the bottom of the deck with
the left pinky. Start to move the right hand
over the deck in Biddle grip. As the right hand
covers the deck, pull down on the left edge of
the cards below the break and hook the left
index fmger on those cards at outer right
comer, on the right edge. As you grab the
deck ill Biddle grip use the right middle fmger
to kick the out-jogged cards to the left, in
order to make room for the finger along the
outer edge ofthe deck. Under cover of this
action, pull the bottom four cards out and to
the left, using the left index fmger. This action
will cause the inlier right comer of the cards to
disengage from the pinky and end up between
the left middle and ring fingers. More
importantly the long edges of the cards will be
in line with those of the out-jogged cards. The
right middle fmgerand the left index move
simultaneously during these actions.

slide the hand forward un til the short edges of

both groups align. Strip out the cards from the
center of the deck, catching a left pinky break
. in-between the aces and the indifferent cards
from the center.
Begin to move the left hand inward and the
right hand outward to set the deck onto the
table. As the right hand passes over the left,
pull down on the cards below the break with
the left fourth fmger and contact the cards
above the break with the right thumb.
Continue moving the hands past each other,
adding the cards above the break to the
bottom of the deck. Set the deck onto the
table. There should be no hesitation while the
.hands cross each other and the cards are
stolen.
If using the Streamlined Switch, then after
performing the Allignment, pull the single top .'
card onto the four aces in the left hand,
keeping a pinky break, then go back to peel off
the other cards, one by one, performing the
ditch on the last one..

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To complete the Dingle Switch, holding onto

the cards below the deck with the left hand,

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23

CARD
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"It is precisely play and play alone,

which of all man's states and conditions
is the one which makes him whole
and unfolds both sides of his nature at once,"
-friedrich.Yon.schiller

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AMBITIOUS EGO

r-l selected and signed card tenaciously travels to the top of the deck, changes its texture, and its
bnsion, all to the audience's delight.

:Setup: You need a red backed deck and one

underneath the top three cards of the deck.

There are about one hundred and four
magicians out there that can do this trick
right here. Bring the double back dOwn
towards the deck and perform the undercover
alignment move once more, this time aligning
four cards together (the double in your hand
and the two face-up cards of the deck). Be
sure to use the left thumb to slide the top card
to the left: this will ensure that the cards are
cleanly squared. Perform a quadruple
turnover, letting all four cards fall face-down
as one block. You might think the thickness of
the packet will give it away, but when done
smoothly and with confidence, you have
nothing to worry about.

i blue backed card or vise-versa. From the top

of the deck down, the setup is: FD red backed

I bard, FD blue backed card, FU card, FU card,

}est of deck face down. Yau also need a .
sharpie in a pocket that can be reached with
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\ the right hand or left foot.
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1. You know, some magicians might have

you cut to a card or have you deal down to

1 lone, but I'm just going to have you point to
-an y card that looks go.od to you. Spread the
icards out between your hands (careful to not
flash the top stock) and have a card touched.
f.lout-jOg the card and then close the spread.
1 Some magicians will have you just
.. remember your card, but I'm going to have
/you actually sign your name on it. With
l..Iyour right hand reach into your pocket and
take out a Sharpie. As you do this, use your
f left hand to pinky count and get a break under
Uthe top two cards.

l.

4. They will take your card and insert it.

into the center of the deck, and with a
wave of their wands or a sneeze of their
nose, they will make it somehow,
magically, impossibly, cavort its way up to
the top. Take the top card and insert it into
the center of the deck. Snap your fmgers, and
perform a triple lift, showing the signed
selection has returned to the top.

J I 2. Hand the marker to the spectator and as

U they take off the cap, use your right hand to

LJ

strip out the out-jogged card. Bring the hands

together in the act of snapping the corner of
the selected card with your left thumb ~d
perform the Undercover Double, aligning the
face-down red-backed card with the blue.
backed card second from the top of the deck.
Turn the double over and have the spectator
sign his name on it.

5. Fifty-five of them won't repeat the trick

because they're afraid you might catch
them, but the other forty-nine are the real
professionals. They'll do it again with no
worries. They'll place your card back into
the center. Turn the triple face-down and
place the top card into the middle of the deck.
They'll show you that it hasn't happened
yet. Perform a triple turnover, showing an
indifferent card, then turn the triple back
down. And then with a wiggle of their ears
and toes (pause for a few seconds and act like
you're concentrating real hard; really wiggling
your toes and ears adds a layer of conviction)

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3. Pinch the double with the right hand and

pick it up. Hold it in front of your face so that
the spectators are reinforced with the image of
the red back, and blow on the signature, "to
make sure it is dry." As you blow on the
card, use your left hand to pinky count (or use
the natural break of the cards) to get a break

27

they'll make it levitate back to the top of

the universe. Perform a double turnover
showing the card has returned. Leave the
double face-up and do a little jig if you like
while your audience throws nickels at you.

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6. Now there are about twenty magicians

that have mastered the art of card
changing. With their bare hands they can
actually alter the ink molecules on the face
of a card, so that it starts to look different.
With the double face-up on top of the deck and
your pinky holding a break below, bring your
right hand over so that its left edge is touching
the right edge of the deck. Use your left pinky
to kick out the second face-up card into the
palm of your right hand. Replace the card on
top of the deck as your right hand fingers give .
the deck a riffle at its outer end. The change
should be visually startling. If you're not
comfortable with a palm like that, then you
can do the Erdnase Color Change instead.
Either way, you should now have an
indifferent red backed card on top, and the
signed blue-backed selection below, both cards
face-up on top of the face-down deck.

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8. But there's only one magician that can

do this next thing, and I've been looking for
him for ten years, because I can't figure out
. how the hell... Give the blue card a little spin
or a snap with your right hand, building up
more suspense ... he makes that blue card
yours. Tum the cardface-up and celebrate
cause life is short but sweet for certain.

EGOISTIC. AFTERTHOUGHTS:
~

III
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7. Out of those twenty, there are six that

can cause the tension of a card to change
so that its back becomes different as well.
Perform a snap change or Mark DeSouza's
Shape Shifter change to produce a blue-back.
The shape-shifter change requires you to
squeeze two of the comers of the cards, so the
'tension' line works real well. Alternatively you
can just tum the double face-down but that
lacks the excitement that your audience is
looking for. Tum the double over a couple of
times so that the audience sees the indifferent
card with a blue back. Finally tum the double
face-down and thumb over the top card
(selection) into your right hand.

When performing the Undercover Move the second time toalign the two face-up cards in the deck
with the double pinched in the right hand (Step 3), youmay find that only one of the two face-up .
cards will slide out and the upper one wili stick to the top face-down card of the deck. Sometimes
you may not even know that this has happened until you perform your triple lift and then it's all
over. To ensure that this doesn't happen, you can do a few things: First off, use a new deck as
cards will be less likely to stick. Second, after performing the undercover alignment move and
inserting the card into the middle of the deck, I use my right hand thumb to pick up a break at
the back. While not the prettiest method, this allows me to see the backs of the cards and to
know whether the blue back is second or third from the top. If I see that it is second, then I
realize that there is still a face-up card fourth from the top. In this case, I perform a double lift,
showing the card has returned to the top, and then perform the undercover alignment move once
more, this time adding the face-up card and turning over the triple. The rest of the routine is just
as described.
If you feel comfortable with the Undercover Force, then begin with the blue-backed card at the
bottom of the deck. Perform the force, but allow the double to fall in-jogged. Now place the right
hand's spread underneath the in-jogged double, have it signed, and proceed with the alignment
turnover.

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ZEPHYR PRODUCTION
1. Take out any four court cards. We'll use the
queens. Set the deck in the following order: FD
Q, FU Q, Deck, FU Q, FD Q. When performing,
I casually play with the cards in. between
effects. I cull the four cards to the top of the
deck and set them up while talking .to the
audience.

face-up and then push the top one forward,

just as in the right hand.
Performance: Set up the deck for the
production, but add one more indifferent card
to the bottom of the deck, face-down.
'1. Tum the deck face-up and spread it out
between your hands, making sure that neither
the bottom nor top few cards are seen. Most
people will look through the deck face-up,
like this, to find a card they want.

2. Close the spread, tum the deck face-down,

and re-spread, being careful to not fla:sh the
set-up. As you start spreading through, use
the right hand's middle finger to contact the
face of the bottom card. Steal it out
undemeath the spread and reinsert it
anywhere in the deck. Crooked gamblers will
look through the cards face-down, because
their cards are marked.

3. All eyes will be on the cards in your right

hand. However, don't just let the two cards in
the left hand spread out. Instead, wrap your
fingers around them and hold them as if you
were holding a large packet. This is a very
subtle point, but since you don't want the
spectators to know that you only have two
cards in your left hand, this will visually
convince the spectators that you are holding a
block.
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3. As a magician, however, if I want a card

all I have to do is snap. Holding the deck in
.the left hand, you can now snap your right
hand's fingers (or anything else that does the
magic for you), and perform the first throw. Let
it register, then continue: Of course, if I want
all four... Here, the word "four" comes just as
the four queens come into view. At this point, I
shut up and let the display speak for itself.

4. Repeat the throw process, tossing the deck

from the right hand onto the table. This will
leave the top and bottom cards in your right
hand: suddenly there will be two face-up
queens in your right hand. Use your right
thumb to spread them out so that they take
up more space, visually.
5. At the same time as your right hand tosses
the deck, the thumb of your left hand will
move in undemeath the two face-down
queens. Use the thumb to tum the queens

29

PRODUCTION AFTERTHOUGHTS:

The idea of throwing the deck and keeping the top and bottom cards in the hand is Hofzinser's
and can be found at the end of the trick "The Four Eights" on page 38 of the Dover edition of
Hofzinser's Card Conjuring. Peter Duffie says: "Magic Christian informed me that Robert-Houdin
was using the toss flourish before Hofzinser. So it's probably something that was popular at that.
time."
~ There are many interesting points about this production. The audience sees the whole deck faceup and face-down and are convinced that all is normal, without you having pointed anything out.
Moreover, the indifferent card on the bottom of the deck is another convincer that will block any
of their. attempts to reconstruct the production later on.
~ . I like the fact that one queen appears first, allowing the spectators to experience just a bit of the
magic. The first production is fast and instantaneous. In their minds they now associate the
throwing process with the production of a single card. The second time the throw is done, they
suddenly see four cards in your hands. They never see your left harid tums its cards over. In
their minds it is as if the cards that were there just vanished and two queens appeared. .
~ You don't need a table for this production! Just practice catching the deck in the left hand,
usingthe free fmgers. The deck should land inthe hand a split second after the left hand flips its
two cards. When first practicing, I recommend doing so over the bed. The 'clean-up' will be a bit
easier that w a y . .
.
~ While I am not a fan of flourishes for flourishes sake, this one is an exception in my repertoire, as
. it seems less circus-y and more magical. I hopeyou try it out and make their eyes bug out.

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I do not for one moment think that any member of th.eaudience believes that what
he is seeing is magic, but the routine does seem to constitute some' other form of
non-specific entertainment. -.g.hollingworth

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30

A TRICK FOR DESCARTES' EVIL GENIUS

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I sholl consider that the heavens, the earth, the colors, figures, sound, and all other external things are nought but iilusions
and dreams of Which this evil genius has availed himself, in order to Jay traps for my credulity - rene.descortes

.Nothing is as it seems, claims the magician, and offers to prove this with a deck of cards. A card is
!selected from a red-backed deck and signed. The card is placed onto the bottom of the deck, but .
t since what the audience thinks they see doesn't actually happen, the card is shown back on top.
,T~,~hiS is repeated for the rowdy drunks in the back. Then the signature of the selection is caused to
.
su allY vanishonl! to reappear seconds late.r. For the grand finale: the magi~ian shakes the
audience's perceptions completely; by changmg the back of every smgle card m the deck to. blue,
except for the selecte~ card, whose back he changes into a completely different design altogether. At
the end, the magician is completely clean and is able to perform the rest of his show with the blue
!.
deck.

Irvi
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11 Setup: You need a blue-backed deck of cards,

your senses to see how well you pay

attention and how well you can trust
yourself. Casually overhand shuffle the top
three cards ofthe deck to the bottom so that
the audience sees a few red backs pass by. So
. be sure that you pay attention to every
sensory perception. If you feel something
tickle, its all part of the trick, don't worry.
Tum the deck face-up and spread it between
your hands, making sure to not flash thetop
few cards of the deck and being careful so that
the backs of the. deck are not seen, as well, As
you spread, look for your ten of hearts in the
spread and get a pinky break above it as you
close the spread.

three red-backed duplicates (we'll use 3 of

-I.Clu b s ), and two other duplicates (we'lluse.Ten
[. _ of Hearts). One of the Ten of Hearts must be
red-backed. The other one must have an odd
'j back. Tally-Ho or .Jerry'sNuggets will work,
[ , but make sure the back has a white border.
Also make sure that the face design of all the
r j cards is the same (using Hoyle and Bicycle
l cards together, for example, will not work).

'LJ You must prepare the three red-backed three

,

of clubs along with the blue-backed three of

clubs from the deck. Just take a sharpie
marker and sign all four cards with a
.
duplicate signature. Now take all the cards
face-up and set them up in the following order,
from the top of the face-up deck to the bottom:
Blue Backed 3C,about half of the blue-backed
deck, odd-backed lOB:, rest of blue-backed
deck, Red Backed 3C, Red Backed 3C, Red
Backed lOH, Red Backed 3C. Make sure that
the signatures of all the threes are facing the
same way. Case the entire deck in a red-box
and you are ready to begin.

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2. Anytime your brain tells you to, say. the

word stop. You can either do a face-up classic
force or just time your spreading so that when
the spectator says the word stop yourright
hand takes all of the cards above the pinky
break. Make sure that as the right hand moves
away the left hand relaxes and lets its cards
spread out slightly, so all looks natural.
Thumb off the ten of hearts onto the table and
ask the spectator to sign his card: As you close
up the spread, get a pinky break below the
second card of the still face-up deck.

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1. Take the cards out of the box and start

talking. Perhaps you have heard people say
1 ; that perception is reality. And then there
are some that say perception is deception
and that your senses cannot be trusted.
: Well, we're going to try an experiment with

3. Take back the signed selection and hold it

in the right hand. Now this card has three
identities: it's suit,its value, and your

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signature. Perform the undercover double,

aligning the red backed ten with the signed
ten, and turn both face-down, catching a
pinky break below them. Now, if I turned
your card over so you couldn't see it,could
you still use your mind to imagine what it
had once looked like? The spectator, unless
they're three years old or drunk, will say yes.
So far so good, then. Turn the double face-up
and pick it up in right hand Biddle grip.:Carry
the cardls] towards your face to blow on them
real briefly. As you do so, use your left hand to
pushover the top two threes and get a pinky
break below them. Feel free to tilt the hand
towards yourself so that the back. of the. deck
is towards the audience. Since the two cards
you're spreading have red backs, flashing
them will only act as another convincer.

.onto the bottom of the deck, do you believe

that? Riffle up the back of the deck, careful so
no one gets a flash of blue. Never trust your
eyes. Very, very subtly flash the bottom card
of the deck. The sight of the signed three will
truly catch people and freak them out. They
will now believe that the card actually
vanished from the bottom before it jumped to
the top, making the entire effect much
stronger. Perform a triple turnover, showing
the ten has returned.

6. I'll let your eyes get adjusted and we'll

try it once more. Turn the triple face-down
and repeat: thumb off the top card into the left
hand, turn over the right hand, flashing the
signed three, and gently lower the deck onto
the card. The card goes on the bottom of
the deck. Do you believe your eyes? Do .you
believe me? The spectators will often say 'no'
. the second time, to which I reply: Now you're
starting to see. This time be a bit more direct
in showing that the three is still on the bottom
of the deck, but still without saying a word.
Most people will shake their heads at this
point and audibly point out the fact that its no
longer on the bottom. Perform a double lift,
showing the ten has returned to the top.

4. Make sure that signature is staying on

there. Bring the double back down and place
it back onto the deck for a moment. Move your
hands towards the spectator. As you do so,
pick up the two cards above the break and
carry all four cards forward, still on top of the
deck. A different three of clubs with the
signature will now be seen but rio-one will be
the wiser. Have the spectator rub his finger on
the signature, making sure it is dry. Pick up
all four cards in right hand Biddle grip to blow
on the signature once more. Using the left
hand turn the deck over, careful to not flash
any blue backs. Bring the quadruple down
and set it on top of the deck, keeping a pinky
break.

7. We've tested your perception, now let us

try your memory. Do you remember putting.
. your signature on the card? Because I
don't. At this point, you can do one of two
things; depending on which one you feel more
confident in. You can either palm the second
card (the red backed ten) and replace it back
on top of the deck, making the signature
vanish, or you can do a top palm and hang
onto the palmed card for about ten seconds
while the spectators are burning your hands -whichever you feel comfortable with. Either
way, to the spectators, the signature has now
vanished from the card.

5. Now trust your eyes and watch closely.

Turn the quadruple face-down and hold the
deck in Biddle grip. Using your left thumb,
peel the top card off of the deck and into the
open palm. With the right hand lift up the
deck so that the bottom card (3C) is facing
them. Don't stress it, just keep your eyes on
the face-down card in your left hand; the
spectators will notice the signed three and
remember it no matter what. The card goes

8. But you do remember doing that, don't

you? Either replace the palmed card or palm

32

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the signed selection out and replace it back on

top of the deck. As soon as the card' has been
t :>
I i replaced, tilt the deck towards yourself and
,I I move the right hand away, as if gesturing to
the spectator. The spectator will reply that yes,
he does remember. Good, because you
should trust yourself. This often gets a good
laugh. As everyone relaxes, use this time to get
a break under the top three cards of the deck.

bottom three once more. Do you see it? Bring

the hands together, depositing the four cards
below the break directly into a gambler's cop.
Pause for a second. Do you hear it? Pick the.
deck back up with the right hand and shake it
once more. Another three will show,
convincing the spectators once again that
nothing has changed with the deckl Allow the
left hand to fall casually at your side. Don't
worry about ditching the copped cards yet;
hang on to them for as long as you can.

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Situation Check, from top to bottom of deck:

face-up signed ten, FU red backed ten, FD red
backed three, pinky break, whole blue deck,
blue three, two red threes.

11. Never trust your senses...With the right

hand, allow the cards to dribble down onto the
table starting from your left to the right
(carrying attention away from the dirty left
hand). The spectators will be quite surprised,
Allow all the cards to fall, but keep the face-up
ten in your hand. Snap it so the face is facing
.. the spectators, and. then tum it over, slowly
revealing the odd back...especially not with
me.

9. Last question, and don't use the card box

.to cheat. The spectators will automatically.
.
.
look at the red card box. As they do, perform a
cover pass, sending the second and third
cards of the deck to the bottom.. What color is
the deck? They will reply, although not with
full confidence, that it is red. Do you believe
yourself? As you say this, use the right hand .
(which holds the deck in Biddle grip) to
gesture slightly. Make sure to flash the bottom .
card of the deck, which, once again, is a
signed three! To the spectators, (even those
few who don't know what you did, but sensed
you did something during your cover pass)
absolutely nothing has occurred,

12. As you drop the signed selection in front of

the spectator, all attention will be on the card,
so use that time to ditch the copped cards.
The spectators will also be jumping for the
deck - if they're riot, then they're too polite or
believe in your magical powers too much.
Lucky for you, you are left completely clean
and have nothing to hide. Hope you enjoy
playing with this routine and trying it out for
your audience. Don't be afraid about the heavy
moves at the end: the cover pass and the cop
should all be covered naturally, and with
enough practice, you'll gain the confidence to .
make it all flow.

10. The spectators will laugh, and while

keeping eye contact with you, answer in the
negative. Use this time to get a break under
the bottom four cards. (See Afterthoughts)
Transfer the pinky break to a right thumb
break. Take the deck into right hand Biddle
grip and shake it back and forth, flashing the

[ 1

The evil genius still Whispers, thundering, among the leaves of books,

II

frightening people, whispering: 'I can. Maybe I will. Maybe so, maybe not: - o. k.bouwsma

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33

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EVILLV GENIUS AFTERTHOUGHTS:

~

To make it easier for you to get a break at the end of the routine, simply make the blue backed
three a short card. Now it will be a simple matter to get a break below it; just be sure you don't
cop it off with the other four cards. Also, making the blue backed three a short card gives you a
short card to use for the rest of your performance - how nice!

The duplicate signature idea, while entirely different in this context, was inspired by Guy
Hollingworth's itA Card at any Number" from Drawing Room Deceptions.
Finally, at the end you will be left clean, with the blue backed deck, ready to perform the rest of
your magic. Therefore, to be ultra convincing, you should discard the blue-backed ten of hearts
. from the deck.

The true way to render ourselves happy is to love our work and find in it our pleasure.

-francoise.de.motteville

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HALLUCINOGENIC GAZE OF GALA

The only difference betvveen myself and a madman isthat I am notmad' - salvador.dali

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Impression: With the help of a lovely lady, the magician induces his spectators into a card
C' ;a1lUcin a tion : Resting at the face of the deck, a queen is made to vanish and a selected card
,j ~aterializes in its place. Alas, the hallucination wears off and both the queen and the spectator
slowly melt backto reality.

r 1. Begin with a

shuffled deck Start spreading

it face up. I want to show you something
r'nteresting. As you spread, you are going to
JUll out two mates. (Two fives work real well,
but experimentation will lead you to find the
f~air you like best.) Once you have culled the
I I
.
it ~wo mates (we'll use five of clubs and five of
spades) find any queen that looks good to you
-.lnd out-jog it. It's not really a trick. And it's
[. ~ot an illusion. It's really more of a
hallucination.

then laugh to yourself as you completely

ignore his exclamatory warning and proceed to
cut the deck at an entirely different point in
time and space, letting the blood flow back to
your pinky. Pick up the cards above your
break with the right hand and allow the
spectator to see the five on the bottom of the
right hand's pile. Remember this card just in
case you see it again later on.

[1 .

. 5. In fact, I'm going to leave this card

sticking out a little bit. You are now going to
perform the Kelly Bottom Placement. As your
right hand brings its packet down, the fingers
of the right hand reach around the front of the
deck and kick the bottom five a bit to the right
side. When the hands meet, the left fmgers
contact the other five and side-jog it to the left.
.The right hand now moves slightly forward so
that the other five ends up being out-jogged in
the middle of the deck, while the right hand
fingers maneuver the chosen five to the second
from the bottom position. By pulling down on
the bottom card of the deck with your left .
hand pinky and then the rest of the fingers,
the selected five just glides right in above the'
queen. Situation check, from the top of the
face-down deck About half of deck, slightly
out-jogged five (mate of selection) rest of deck, .'
selected five, queen.

..

-2. You are now going to replace the two mates

anywhere into the center of the deck Find a
JgoOd plac~ and us~ng your left thumb contact
"any card m the nnddle. Pull down on that
card, in-jogging it for half an inch. Now insert
~he two mates right behind that in-jogged card
"and square up. All of this is done while .
l Ca SUallY talking. And as any good
:Jhallucination, it is induced by the lovely
eyes of a lady.

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U 3. Using your right hand, strip out the outjogged queen and drop it onto the face of the
' deck Now you have to be real careful about
: . looking into her eyes, so I'm going to have
you pick a card. Tum the deck face-down.
Use your right thumb to press down on the injogged card and get a pinky break below the
two mates. Situation check, from the top of the
face-down deck: About half the deck, two
black fives, .human pinky flesh elegantly
pinched and slowly turning white, the

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6. Push the mate that is out-jogged into the

middle of the deck, but leave it sticking out for
a little less than half an inch. Experimenting
here will allow you to know exactly how far to
push. Tum the deck over its side, so that itis
now face-up, with the mate sticking out just
enough to show that it is a five, but not

of the deck with the queen on the

4. Have the spectator say stop as you riffle,

35

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enough for its top two pips to be sticking out.

This way you can concentrate on your card
instead of staring into the eyes of the
queen. The deck should now be held at the
left hand's fingertips. To the spectator, the
. entire process should seem quite open and
free, as if your hands never cover the deck
(which they don't), so this point should be
emphasized using your hand language.

The hand goes up about six inches and comes

down in a regular one-two count.
9. The instantthat the change occurs and the
right hand comes back down, the left hand
comes over and grips the deck from the bottom
with the fmgers on the right side and the
thumb on the left. This allows the righthand
(with the palmed queen) to slide to the right,
alongside the outer edges of the deck. The
deck is held in Biddle grip at the very outerright edge by the right fingers and thumb at
the back. Do you see it? The selected five is
now in plain view as the right hand dribbles
the cards into the left palm. (The question
really throws a spectator off. It creates the
impression of a true hallucination. You are not
seeing the card; only they are.]

7. The hallucination begins when I push

your card in all the way. Now you can't help
but to gaze into her eyes. The right hand
comes over, fmgers spread and hand looking
very casual. Don't try to bend or flex your
hand, let the fmgers fall into their natural curl,
and just keep them spread. Using the tips of
the middle and ring finger slowly tap the card
flush into the deck. On the last tap, keep the
hand over the deck, with the fingers in the
front and the thumb at the back. As another
convincer, run the left hand's thumb on the
side of the deck as if squaring the deck
completely.

Bringing them down: Let the change register

(don't rush it). To fmish, bring the right hand
back over the deck, replacing the palmed
queen onto the face of the deck. As soon as it
is replaced, slide the right hand back to the
right, just as it was when the queen was
palmed. At the same tune, tilt the deck so the
spectators can only see the back of it. The
spectators will see the clean palm of your right
hand. If there was a thought in their mind that
you were hiding a card, it is now gone. The
replacement process takes all but a second.
Most of the time, the spectators will look away
from the deck, so grab their attention at that
moment and just as you perform the
replacement, say: But don't believe your.
eyes, Once the queen has been replaced, gaze
down at the deck, drawing their eyes down as
well, give the deck a soft riffle at the front end
and slowly lower the deck so the queen comes
into view....because it's only a hallucination.

8. Watch closely, don't blink. The deck is

now essentially held in the perfect position to
perform a one-handed top palm. To execute
the change, let the deck be held only by the
right hand in Biddle grip. Keep a somewhat
open grip on the deck, allowing only the
middle fmger and thumb to hold the deck, and
the other fingers to be free. The right hand is
now going to swing up and then come down.
The top palm is going to be performed during
the arch, at the high point of the upswing. The
up movement of the entire deck will cover the
motion of the card going into the palm. This is
not a quick jerk of an action; it must be done
smoothly so as not to arouse total suspicion.

The medulla would attempt to close Itself off from the signals it was getting from the frontal lobes '" and the middle-brain
meanwhile, would be trying desperately to put a different interpretation on the scene, before passing it back to the
medul/a and the risk of physical action" - honter.s.tnornpson

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36

HALLUCINATORY AFTERTHOUGHTS:

. Alternate Opening Method: Because the condition of the deck is different each and every time, I
never have an exact method for the opening sequence. One of the things I suggest doing instead
of culling out both mates and then out-jogging the queen is to simply start out by cutting the
queen to the face of the deck. Then spread through the cards and cull out the first black five
when you get to it. When you get to the second black five, reinsert the culled five above the
second one, but slightly in-jogged. Now turn the deck over its side, push up on the in-jog to get
your break below the mates and you are ready.
I have been performing this quick and simple effect for about three years now and can attest to
its strength when performed in the right context. Its strength lies in the fairness and the constant
conditioning developed throughout the procedure. While the nature of the color change limits the
size of the audience you can perform it forethis is one of the strongest effects you can do for. a
small group of people. Also: when performing for a lovely lady, use a young handsome jack to
induce the hallucination,
.
The best part about the change is that it is unexpected - there is no palm-like motion that gives it'
away. The mate-subtlety might not pass with knowledgeable card men, but it will be 100%
convincing for laypeople.The color change, meanwhile, when executed smoothly and d~ne at the'
right time andflow with the graceful movements of your hand, is quite startling! This effect
requires (and deserves, I believe) grace. This is lentidigitation at its cleanest and most direct, so
be sure to emphasize how clean and fair everything is by always keeping the fmgers open and
moving the cards slowly and deliberately
~ This is the most important point: In order for the colorchange to be really effective, your top
'.-j change must be really bad. Whereas normally you want the top palmed card to go directly into
f_ ; your
for this effect, you want the card to go east as much as you can. When executed
correctly (very poorly, that is) the palmed card will be covered by your hand about 2/3 of the way,
and the rest will be sticking out on the right side of your palm-down hand. Why does the top
change need to be so bad? Because this frees up your index and middle fingers! Now, when you
dribble those cards, the right hand looks completely empty! Remember that if the spectator is to
the left of you, they are seeing what you are seeing: this makes it easy to know if you are flashing'
or not.
il/i. ~ The best position for the spectator to be standing is to the left of you. You want to be
I
looking at the color change from practically the same perspective as her. I usually face the
LJ
spectator during the selection process, then begin to turn to my right as I perform the bottom
placement. The reasoning for this is so that both of us can see the deck from the side and see
that the card is going into the middle. When the bad top palm is performed, the edge that is
sticking out cannot be seen! For the replacement, I turn to the left, so I am facing the spectator
once again.
. > Finally, make sure that everyone can see the cards and that they all register the color
change. If you have a complete understanding of the effect you are trying to achieve, you will be
I]
better off in presenting it to your spectator. It's all about framing the moment, so be aware of .
everything your spectator sees and hears and make sure he is paying attention at the crucial
moment. You can never control all the factors, but you can facilitate a clean and magical
I
experience by avoiding mistakes in speech and technique.
J~j ~ A similar effect, "Imagination" was published by Simon Lovell in "Son of Simon Says" pp. 41-45.
While the physical actions of the two effects are similar, the psychology behind each one and the
1 I
type of response each one sets out to garner are entirely different.

palm,

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37

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
... one who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - r.w.ernerson

This is one of my favorite quick effects to perform, It stands well on its own or when thrown in as
part of a multiple selection or card under glass routine.

1. Start out by having the card box inspected.

Close it and leave it on the table in front and
to the left of you. To make the ending easier,
make sure the box is half-moon side up and
facing away from you.

2. Have the person on your left pick out a card

and control it to the top. Have a second card
selected by a person to the right of you and
control it to the top, so that it is above the first
selection. Perform a triple turnover, getting a
pinky break below the three cards as they fall
face-up. Your card is not on top orthe deck.
Tilt your wrist, showing the bottom card. And
it's not on the bottom. Tum the deck back
over and tum the three cards above your
break face-down as one.

3. So somewhere inside are your two cards,

which i: have to find. If I snap my fingers, I
will make the first one jump to the top. Do
a double turnover, showing the first selection.
Hold the deck in right hand's Biddle grip with
the double still face-up.
4. The second one is a little bit harder, but
watch the card box. Holding the deck a foot
away from the card box, riffle its outer edge.
The force of the riffle will cause the card box to
glide a couple of inches away from you. This
looks pretty cool.

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5. Look up at the spectators and get their eye

contact for a second. Did you see that? They

will reply. If someone didn't see it, be a .
smartass and say: "Oh man, you missed it, a
little tiger appeared, followed by a couple of
naked girls... etc... "

to pick up the card box. All of your and the

audience's attention should be focused on the
box. With the right hand, move the deck to the
right edge of the table withoutcatching
anyone's attention. As you set the deck down
with the right hand, perform a one-handed top
palm of the first selection. Set the deck down,
leaving the second selection sitting on top
face-up.
7. Still holding the card box .fu the left hand,
bring it up to chest level so that the bicycle
side is facing the audience. Give the box a .
little shake. You can actually hear it inside.
. Can you hear it? Address this question to the
person to the left of you who selected the first
card. More often than not, he Will actually say
that he heard it. As soon as you make the
question, bring your hands together in front of
your waist. You are going to perform Matt
Schulien's Card into Box Load. The card box is
held in your left hand, bicycle side up. Your
right hand, with the palmed selection, comes
over on top of it and unloads the palmed
selection. At the same time as the card is
getting uriloaded, the left hand turns palm
down, so as not to flash the card. At the same
time as the left hand is turning the box, the
right hand's middle finger reaches around the
outer front of the box and pulls down on the
. flap. The left hand'sfmgers, which are
wrapped around the side of the box, grasp that
unloaded card and press it against the box.
The left hand is now holding the open box
palm down, with the first selection face-down
below. The thumb of the right hand goes
inside the box and the index and middle
fingers go below, contacting the hidden
selection. The fingers now pull casually,
bringing the selection out from underneath the

at the first spectator with the card. Straighten

up, spread your shoulders wide and look at
the spectators. So if that's yours...then...
Slowly move the right hand and carry
everyone's attention to the deck sitting way on
the other edge of the table so far from you that
you couldn't possibly have touched it.

8. Since the card comes out face-down, the

spectators. believe it to be the second selection.
', Make sure that all attention is still on you and
the card box and no one is glancing at the
deck on the table. Using your right hand turn
the card face-up and act surprised. Wait a
minute that's your card. Gesture (accusingly)

9. To finish, I often drop the first selection on

top of the card box in front of the first
spectator, then using the right hand spread
the deck out on the table from right to left.
This adds a bit of flair to the effect and gets
the applause.

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IN THE HANDS PERFORMANCE: A beautiful thing about this effect is that you don't have to have a
table to get the same kind of physical impact. In fact, doing it in the hands makes it even stronger!

rJ

Begin by having the spectator cup their hands together - "as if scooping water from a toilet bowl"and place the deck into their hands. The lower they hold their hands (the more out of their direct
view and into their lowest point of periphery) the better. Show them the empty card box and close it.
Take the deck from them and place the card box into their cupped hands. Go through the selection
process, control both cards to the top, and perform a double-lift to make the first card appear. Riffle
the deck towards the box and ask them if they felt anything. Reach towards the box with your left
hand, while top-palming the card with the right hand. Bring the box up to your chest level and shake .
it. All attention should be on you and the box; the spectators should not even notice you depositing
the deck of cards back into the spectator's hands. Because youhadplaced the deck into his hands in.
the very beginning, he will not be surprised by the feel or the weight and will have no reason to look.
down. Cool, eh? Moreover, your question: "Can you hear it?" should be directed towards him. After
producing the first card from the box, finish by saying: "Wait a minute, if that's your card again,
what are you holding in your hands?" Hopefully the spectator will jump in surprise and throw the
cards at you as if they were truly the devil's playthings.

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box. As the card slides out, the thumb kicks

the flap, helping aid the illusion of the card
coming from inside the box. The entire
process is one smooth movement. The hands
come together, the middle finger of the right
hand kicks the box open and then the thumb
reaches in and pulls out the card 'inside.'

i I

BOXED-IN AFTERTHOUGHTS:
This effect requires the performer to have not only a good awareness of his surroundings but an .
ability to control his audience's .attention. Besides good sleight of hand, smart body movement
must be used to ensure that the ending is truly surprising. I often perform this effect in the
middle of a card under card box (or glass) routine. The premise that the first selection keeps on
appearing, despite all of my efforts to find the second selection instead is one that plays well for
audiences.
~ Credit Info, from Paul Cummins FASDIU II: "Max Schulien's Card-in-Box Load may be found in
The Magic of Matt Schulien; by Phil Willmarth, Ireland Magic Company, 1959, on page 26 ("The
Card in the Card Case"). Predating Mr.Schulien, however, is Ed Marlo's "Marlo's card to Card
Case" from his booklet, Deck Deception, LL.lreland, 1942, page 19." Thank you, Paul.
~ This effect was first; published in Channel One Magazine, TSD Issue #11.

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39

UNDERCOVER RHAPSODY IN BLUE

-AN EXPERIMENT IN MODERN CARD MAGICLadies and gentlemen: I am about to show you a miracle of card magic. I will begin by having three cards selected.
Altho the beginning may not seem unusual, I assure you that everyone will be more than amply repaid by the effort
expel1ded In reaching for a pasteboard. - ed.mono, "Off the Top"

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From a red backed deck three cards are selected and signed. The selections are fairly replaced into
the deck and the deck is tabled. The magician now offers the spectators to playa game of Wild
. Monte. From his pocket, he removes three, blue-backed cards. He shows that one of the cards is an
ace of spades - this is the wild card that everyone must watch. The ace is placed onto the table, but
when the magician snaps his fingers, the ace has jumped back into his hand. He places the ace once
again onto the table, snaps his fingers, and turns over the remaining card in his hand to .show the
ace has comeback again. Admitting that he may be cheating just a bit, the magician now shows that
all three blue-backed cards are aces of spades. Offering to show that the aces are truly wild cards,
however, the magician has each spectator place his hand on top of an ace. When he snaps his fingers
this time, the spectators tum over their aces to find that each blue backed card is now their own,
signed selection..

to point to a card. You don't have to take it

out just yet, but point to one that looks
enticing. Have three cards touched by three
spectators: one to the right ofyou, one in
front, and one to the left. Leave the cards outjogged, close the spread and keep the deck in
.the left hand. With the right hand reach into
your pocket, take out your sharpie and give it
to the spectator on your right. Using your left
hand's pinky, pull down on the five bottom
cards. Bring the right hand towards the deck,
thumb above and fingers below and allow the
right hand's. fmgers to enter the break.
Perform the Vernon Strip-Out Addition,
carrying the left hand (with the five cards)
forward and underneath the three out-jogged
cards, stripping out the. three cards and taking
the entire 8-card block into the left hand.
. Don't worry about keeping a pinky break, just
let all eight cards square up. Without a pause,
turn all eight cards over with the left hand and
drop them face-up on top of the deck. Replace
the deck into the left hand and push off the
top three cards and drop them onto the table
.face-up.

. THE UNDERCOVER:
You need a red deck and three blue-backed
cards. (Fair warning: the world won't conie to
an end if you have to use a blue deck and
three red backed cards, but Haley's comet will
refuse to visit us again...just so you know.)
Drop the three blue cards onto the table, and
then drop a red backed card on top of them
face-up. Now place a red-backed ace of spades
face-down, arid then drop the rest of-the redbacked deck face-down on top of that. If you're
an optional kind of magician, then you can
optionally place a paper clip into an optional .
pocket: I recommend the front right pocket of
your bathing suit, right next to your Sharpie.
Pick up the deck and get a pinky break above
the five bottom cards. Now tell your audience
that you're ready and that they can open their
eyes.
THE RHAPSODY:
1. Spread the deck between your hands. You

will fmd that the deck will automatically split

at the pinky break, but since a red back will .
. show, you have nothing to worry about (so be
happy) and can just hold the bottom five cards
as one block. What I would like you to do is

Situation check: the three blue-backed cards

, 1

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40

are now on the table face-up. The deck, from

top to bottom is in following order: face-down
indifferent card, face-up ace of spades, three
face-up indifferent cards, and face-down deck.

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your cards.c.but please be sure to remember

your name. As the spectators laugh, perform
the Ken Krenzel Slide Under Switch. (In the
original write-up in the Epilogue the cards
were completely squared up before they were
turned over; this ensures that the blue backs
are not flashed early.) Remember to use the
pinky to kick out the four face-up cards and
use the thumb to pull the top face-down card
a bit to the left, allowing the three selectio~s to
square up on top of the deck but creating the
illusion that they never fully cover the deck.
Use the right fmgers to go into the pinky break
and pinch all seven face-up cards as a block
and turn them face-down.

2. Have the three spectators pass along the

sharpie and sign their selections. Using only
one Sharpie allows you to have control of the
situation. I usually keep all three cards in
front of me. I push the first one towards the
first spectator and allow him to sign it. As he
is fmishing up, I slide the second selection on .
the table towards the second spectator. As
soon as the sharpie gets passed on, I slide
back the first person's card towards myself, to
prevent him from picking up too early. I slide
.the third selection towards the third spectator
on my left and take back the second selection.
To finish, I hand the cap of the marker to the
third spectator and ask him to put it back on.
This focuses his attention on the marker and
allows me to take back the third card. This is
really the only part of the routine that makes
me nervous, but it sure as hell adds
excitement to my life and teaches me
something new about audience management
each time I perform.

4. Place the top three cards into three different

parts of the deck We're going to place your
cards back where they came from, into
. three different parts of the deck. Because
you used four cards for the switch, the top.
card of the deck remains a red-backed card.
All is smooth, casual, and looks just as it
should be, The entire selection, signing, and
replacing process is absolutely beautiful, in
my opinion. There really shouldn't be any
questions In the spectator's .minds as to what
is happening. Push the three selections (?!)
flush into the deck and then dribble or spread.'
the cards between your hands (being careful
not to flash the blue cards at the top),
emphasizing the fairness of the entire process.
If we ever need them again, we'll just look
for your signatures.

3. As the spectators sign the cards, I talk: If

you would, please sign your name on the
cards in big black letters. This does several
things. First and foremost, it makes it a lot
easier for me to find them. Second, it
makes sure that there are no other cards
like them in the whole entire universe.
During the signing process, casually get a
pinky break (using one or both hands, it
doesn't matter because everyone is watching
each other sign cards and are not paying
attention to you) underneath the top five
cards. Take back the three selections and
arrange them on top of the deck (slightly
spread) so that the first selection is on top,
followed by the second one and then the third.
Most importantly, it makes your life easier,
because now you don't have to remember

5. And now for something completely

different. At this point, if you'refeeling goofy, .'
you can just set the deck down onto the table
and perform a quick effect or two using your
fingers, a ring, a coin, a fork, or anything else
nearby that is begging for your imagination to
molest it. Just make sure it's not too long, gets
a smile out of the audience and gets them.
thinking: what the hell is this weirdo doing?
What about our cards? Whether you're feeling
goofy or not, get the deck back into your

41

-come from a different deck is also obvious, so

that part should be omitted, also.

hands and get a pinky break underneath the

top four cards.

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6. Ask the spectators: You've heard of three :

card monte, right? Well, we're gonna play
Wild Card Monte. As you ask the question,
palm the top four cards using your .right hand.
. Move the right hand away from the deck and
_reach into your pocket. Drop the four cards _
into your pocket. As they drop out of the palm,
contact the top card (ace) with the fmgers and
slide it up. Don't slide it all the way out of your
pocket. Simply slide it out and place it at the
bottom of the packet, and then take out all
four cards out of your pocket, so a blueback
is showing. The left hand, meanwhile, sets the
deck down onto the table so it is directly in
front of you; you will need it later.

8. Replace the cards in the.left hand and allow

them to square up. Perform a double deal

turnover, allowing the bottom card to align
with the top card as you glide them to the
right, around the two center cards, and let
themfall on their side, turning face-up. Be
sure to get a pinky break below the double as
it falls. All you have to do is remember the
ace of spades, which is the wild card. Bring
the right hand over and pinch the double with
thumb below and fmgers above. Turn your
right hand palm down and perform the
unloading move, allowing the ace of spades to
slide underneath the packet. Use the left
hand's fmgers to square up the three cards
and make sure that the red back of the ace
doesn't flash. Move theright hand to the right
(with the third selection face-down) and drop
the card on the table.

Optional Paper Clip Idea: If you like, once

you've moved the ace from the top to the
bottom of the pocket, fish out the paper clip
and press it against the right side of the top
card. Now bring out the entire packet with the
paper clip pressed to the top card. No-one will
notice it at first. Bring the left hand up and
take the three cards. With the right hand, act
as if you're getting a bit of resistance and slide
the paper clip against the back of the top card.
It will look like you just removed the paper clip
. that was holding the cards. Now drop the
paper clip on the table without saying a single
word about it, and continue.

9. I'll place the ace on the table. But it

doesn't stay there. Because if I snap my
fingers... Snap your fmgers or wiggle your
nose and perform a double deal turnover. The
ace jumps 'back into my hand. Turn the
double over with the right hand and perform
the unloading move. Be careful to not flash the
back and make sure that the cards square up
perfectly as the cards in you left hand are
supposed to bejust one. This may sound
tough, but it is covered with two things: body
misdirection and you asking the spectators
another question. Now you know what's
going to happen, right? I'll do it again. The
right hand carries its card (the second
selection) but slides it underneath the card
already on the table.

7. Hold the four card packet in the left hand.

We're going to use three cards, which come
from a different deck. Push off the top card
and take it with the right hand. Push off the
second card and take it with the right hand
also, below the first. Then take the double and
pinch it with the right hand as well, below the
first two. This is a quick and casual count.
When counting cards, let the obvious speak for
itself. Often I don't even bother saying the
word "three" as the spectators can see for
themselves. Then again, saying that the cards

10. I'll place the ace on the table one more

time. Use the left hand to squeeze the two
cards together; this will ensure that the double
doesn't slide apart. But instantly it jumps
back into my hand. With the right hand

42

deck and the ace. Even if you flashed an edge

of a fourth card at some point during the
routine, the spectators won't realize it was a
red-backed ace (unless you really flashed). At
the end, they will be looking for a blue backed
ace of spades, which doesn't. exist in this
particular universe at this particular moment.
Once the ace has been ditched, you are
completely clean and have nothing to worry
about. The rest isall theater.

about this: would it be impressive if I could

make the wild aces look like your cards? If
your ace looked kind of like a
_
(name first selection], yours looked like the
_ _ _,and yours looked like the
?
That would be kind of cool, wouldn't it? ...
But it would be nearly impossible ... nearly
impossible ... if I could make them not only
look like your cards, but if I could... Snap
your fmgers three times, slowly, building up
suspense ... make them your actual cards.
... Go ahead, take a look... Let the spectators
start turning their cards over ... Signatures
and aU...

So each of you has a wild ace. And I

promised you that they would do
something really wild and magical. So how

UNDERCOVER AFTERTHOUG HTS:

~

This has become one of my favorite effects to perform at restaurants, especially at tables that.
have asked me to return or for the regulars. Not only is it an exercise in good sleight of hand, but
it is entertaining and has a great and impossible fmish at the end. The spectators slowly convince
themselves ofan alternative reality, which makes the fmisheven stronger in their minds.
~ Why Flushtration? When I first created the effect, I automatically started using the Undercover
3-Way Display to show all cards to be the ace of spades. Once I started performing the effectat
restaurants and parties, however, I realized that it just didn't work. The reason was simple. After
seeing the aces jump from the table and into your hand, the spectators are convinced that you
have three aces. They are dying to see all three cards and will often tell you. what they think
about your stupid little trick. While the undercover disp~ay is beautifully convincing, at this
momen~ in the routine, a quick flushtration countis the only thing the spectators need to see to
be convinced that they're right, More often than not, after seeing the second ace in the
flushtrationcount, the spectators will tum towards each other and start laughing because they
. believe they have 'caught' you. Without knowing it, they are adding layers of psychological
conviction, creating their own (persistent) memories, and are thereby strengthening the
climax of the routine.
~ Original Handling: If, while performing the routine, you feel that the flushtration count isn't.
doing it for you or the audience, then here is the only thing you have to do to perform the
Undercover 3-Way Display instead: When taking back the three signed selections, arrange them
so that when they are face-up the first selection is the lowest of the three, the second is in the
middle and the third one is on top. Everything is exactly the same as in the original routine,
except the order of the cards is reversed. Now perform the slide under switch, palm, etc... After
the first phase, when you pick up the four cards, you are ready to perform the 3-Way display,
showing all three aces. Now fmishjust as before, doing the unloading move and giving the first
card to the first spectator, second to second, and third to third.

44

HOUSE PARTV t

OR TRIUMPHING

In order not to be the martyred slave

CULL-ECTORS

of Time, be you drunken;

be you drunken ceaselessly! With wine, poetry or virtue, as you will! -c.baudelaire

One of my favorite card plots is Roy Walton's Collectors. While there are dozens of variations in print,
this one brings several new twists to the plot. First and foremost, it has an entertaining premise and
story that makes it a performance piece, rather than just another card trick. Second, the vanish of
the 'collector' cards adds an extra element of magic. And finally.rthe climax brings together three
different effects: a triumph, .the re-appearance of the 'collector' cards, and the collecting of the
selections themselves.
One important point that should be noted is that there really aren't any extra moves in this routine.
Every move that is performed not only achieves its own purpose but sets up the deck for the next
step. This routine practically fell together as the cards took my fingers for a wild ride, triumphing
here and collecting there. I hope you enjoy doing this routine for all the right reasons. You will be
pleasantly surprised at howboth the moves and the presentation work together. Oh, and for those
.that don't like to party, two other methods are presented later. Those that like to party hard _:.. you
can read them after you sober up.

[!
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10 How would you like it, if I threw you the

best damn party of your entire life, right
here, right now...usingthis ordinary deck
of fifty-two playing cards? I'm serious;
here, shuffie them up. Have your deck
shuffled or borrow one. from a nearby
spectator. Make sure the card box is sitting in
front of you, so that you are reading the word
Bicycle sideways. Now before we begin
partying, there is something we have to do.
Spread through the cards face-up casually as
you begin talking; stop when you spot a king.
Look at the next five cards behind the king. '
Make sure there are no other kings or queens
in that five card spread. If there are, spread
until you see another King, and look at the five
cards behind that one. Once you see a king
followed by five indifferent cards, cut the deck
at that point so the king is sixth from the
bottom of the face-up deck. This should take
you no more than five seconds.

, to cull out all four queens before reaching the

final king. Once you up jog the final King, just
reinsert the four culled queens into its
position, so that the queens are now in the 6,
7, 8, and 9th positions'from the top of the
deck (once you turn it face-down). Do you
know why we have to get rid of these guys?
Ask this question after you have up jogged the
first two kings- the question Will take off any ,
heat the spectators might be giving you while,
you cull. Answer, tongue in cheek: 'Cause'
they're Kops. They'll laugh.
3. Strip out the four kings, turn the deck face-

down and drop the four kings face-up on top.

As you deliver the "they're kops" line, people
will laugh and you'll have the perfect
opportunity to spread over the top seven cards'
of the deck and get a pinky break below them.
Square up the spread and take over the pinky
break with a right thumb break. Use your
thumb to pick up the card below the break.
You are now going to perform Marlo's ATFUS:
the right hand picks up the top eight cards
with a thumb break in-between the seventh
and the eighthone, Using your left thumb
peel off the top king onto the top of the deck.

2. Start spreading the deck again, but this

time out-jog the kings one at a time as you
come to them. At the same time, cull the four
queens out of the spread. Since you cut that
last king to the back of the deck, you are sure

45

. c

Peel the second one on top of the first but

spread to the right of the first orie. Peel the
third one onto the other two, then place the
fourth king (with three face-down cards, a
piece of your right thumb flesh, and a fourth
face-down card underneath) on top and to the .
right of the first three.

4A. Well, now that we've gotten rid of the

cops, we're gonna invite some people. You
know how a good party starts, right? Hold
the deck in the right hand and riffle off a little
less than ten cards into your left hand.
Perform a riffle shuffle of the two packets,
making sure not to disturb the top nine cards
ofthe deck. You invite a few people, they
invite a few people, and they invite a few
people... Perform another riffle shuffle, but
with more cards. Make it a stronger and
louder shuffle. ...soonenough you've got half
the neighborhood at your house and they're
going nuts, hanging upside down on your
ceiling fan, on your bed, in the pool.. ~its
pure insanity. Riffle off about fifteen cards
into the left hand and let them fall face-up.
Perform a riffle shuffle, making sure that a
. face-up card from the left hand falls first, then
some cards from the right packet, and then
the rest of the cards shuffle evenly. Again, be
sure to not disturb the top nine cards of the
deck. Tum the deck over and spread out the
.top thirty or so cards showing the mixed
condition.

. As you're creating the display, ask the

spectators: Do you know why they spell it
with a 'K'? Let them ponder. It's 'cause
they're
kops (insert city of
performance). Let them laugh. (Alternatively,
depending on how shallow your sense of
humor is: Because they only graduated
Kindergarten. Let them groan.) Yes, I know,
sad but true.
As the spectators laugh, you perform the final
actions of the Any Time Face Up Switch:
square up the spread kings, let go of the card
underneath the thumb break, leaving the
three face-up kings on the deck, below a facedown card. Continue moving the right hand
(with the top King and three face-down .
indifferent cards below) towards the card box.
Place the four cards on top of the box so they
are perpendicular, making a plus sign. This
conditionwill make it a lot easier for you to
pick up the kings later on.

SA. Well, we've got the people, but now we

have to get this party really kickin'. Let me
ask you, what would you say are the key
elements to a good party? Here the
spectators will offer up their legal and illegal
suggestions: Girls, beer, women, liquor, drugs,
midgets, etc... Don't be frighten by what they
might like: it's a free country (depending on
where you're performing this, of course). Allow
them to have their fun, but slowly coax them
into agreeing that what they need is beer and
women. (These are usually the first two things
mentioned.) Talking to the spectators, say:
Well, let's do this: since this is his party
(point to speky), we'll have the three of you
guys take care of all the things we need. Do
me a favor, as I spread through the deck,
say the word stop, and now point to any

At this point the road diverges into two paths.

Step 4 will appear twice now, with two different
methods. The first one (A) uses culling to
straighten out the deck., which is really shuffled
face-up and face-down. The second one (B)
uses the Tenkai Optical Revolve to create the
illusion that the cards are shuffled face-up and
face-down. While the first method might be
more difficult, because ofthe time, nature and
justification of the culling it is an excellent way
to practice while not being burned. Either way,
both roads meet again at step six, so as you're
not Robert Frost, you can practice taking both
roads and see which one makes your life mare
complete.

46

cards selected and signed. Be careful so as not

to flash the faces of the kings on the bottom.
Once the cards have been signed, bring the
attention back to the deck.

.lrd you like, face-up or face-down, it

loesn't matter if I see it or not. Start
r preading very slowly. As you begin, leave the
I .~p card of the deck (a face-down one) in its
.olace, but then start culling out every facelown card. Allow the first spectator to stop
'iou and point to a card. Let them take it out
r- and have them sign it. Repeat with the second
bd third spectators. You can see now that no, one is going to be paying any attention to how
rrou're spreading the cards. They will first be
! boking to make a selection and second they
" 1
.
will be busy signing or looking at people sign
r-cards. You can cull an elephant right now, if
j~ou like. Try timing the spreading and culling
so you get to the last face-down card just as
r".jthe third spectator says stop. Once the third '
l spectator takes his card, finish culling out any
remaining face-down cards and keep them all
- lin the right hand underneath the spread.
[IYou're going to let the two hands slightly
separate. Allow your right thumb to press
ldown onto the top card of the deck and slip it ,
,J off onto the packet of face-down cards in your
, right hand as the right hand moves to the
jl right. Let the entire packet flip over and fall
. . face-up onto the deck in the left hand. You
have now returned the deck to the same exact
r position as it was before you shuffledthe
L cards face-up and face-down, but now the
spectators are truly convinced that thecards
are thoroughly mixed. To complete this step,
double undercut the bottom two cards of the
deck (an indifferent card face-up and one of
ill the face-down kings) to the top.
I,

5B. You are now going to perform the Tenkai

Optical Revolve. Hold the deck in the left hand
and riffle down with your thumb half way.
Bring the right hand over and pick up the top
half, holding it in Biddle grip. Both hands are
simultaneously going to turn face-up.
However, the right hand is going to turn its
packet clockwise, while the left hand turns its
packet counter-clockwise. This may sound
complicated, but really, it's the mostriatural
way for your hands to move. Re-grip the cards
to do a Faro shuffle. (Any other shuffle, except
for a tabled dovetail, will flash the face-up
, cards of the left hand's packet) The shuffle
'need not be perfect. The only important thing
is that the top and bottom portions of the deck
do not get disturbed. Once you've faroed the
middle section of the deck and slowly squared
up, the audience will believe that the cards '
have been mixed face-up and face-down. To
finish, double undercut the top two cards (two
face-down kings) to the bottom of the deck,
and you are ready to move on to step 6.

L
J

Situation Check, from top of deck to bottom:

FD King, FU deck, four queens, FU Indifferent
. Card, FD King, FD King, Three signed
selections are on the table, and the card box
with the FU King and 3 FD Indifferent Cards
below is sitting in front of you.

il!.

'

j
4B. Well, now that we've gotten rid of the
cops, I'm going to need three of you to help
me out and get this party kicking. Do me a
favor, each one of you, just reach in and
take out a card. As you deliver these lines,
pick up at the natural break below the face-up
kings and double undercut the top four cards
to the bottom. Spread the deck and have three

6. Each one of you is now going to be given

a job to make this the best party ever. The
lust card is going to bring us the girls, the
second will find the liquor, and the third is
going to have the most responsible job: ,it is
going to watch the cops so they don't crash
the party. You are going to deliver these lines
as you take back the signed selections one at a .

47
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m .

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rl

[-I

time. Take back the first one and drop it faceup on top of the deck (onto the face-down
king). Buckle the bottom card and get a pinky
break. Now perform a double undercut,
bringing the face-down king on the bottom of
the deck to the top, .covering-the first selection.
Drop the second selection face-up on top and
repeat the buckling of the bottom card and
double undercutting it to the top. You're_
literally placing the selections in-between the
Kings -:- pure cheating! By doing the double
undercuts you are showing two indifferent face
cards and then a face-down card. There is no
longer a need to mention that the cards are
shuffled, the cutting is a subliminal way of
showing that the deck is .still mixed. Have the _
third selection replaced and double undercut
the bottom card to the top. This time a face-up .
indifferent card will show up. All is clean,
convincing, and is about to come to a roller
coaster of a climax, one jolt after another.

relax and have a good laugh. This is when the

blatant cheating occurs. As you ask the
spectators the question, your arms are going
- to separate in. a natural-gesture. As you
separate them, perform a slip cut of the
bottom card (a HaLo Cut), swing cutting the
top half of the deck and the bottom card into
the left hand and keeping the lower half of the
deck (with the kings/selections at the bottom)
in the right hand. As you deliver the line, use
your left hand's index finger to point at the
queens. As everyone relaxes arid looks around
at each other to see their friends' response to
the jokes, your right hand, holding its packet
in Biddle grip, comes down over the four cards .
sitting on the card box. In what isabout a
second,the right hand settles its cards down
onto those four cards, picks them up, and
then carries its packet back up as the two
hands meet and the cards are brought
. together, the right hand placing its cards onto
the ones in the left hand.

7. Tum the deck over. Guess what? You now

have the four queens on top of the deck, dying
to be invited to the party. Ask the first
spectator what his job was. He'll tell you that it was to get the girls. You can now produce
the queens any which way you like or just deal
them off of the top of the deck. I always use
the Lennart Green Top Shot to produce Two
Brunettes, and a Pair of Redheads. Once
they are produced drop them onto the table
about a foot in front andto the left of the card
box. The spectators are always surprised and
impressed. Smile and continue like it's
nothing.

9. All is done! By picking up the four cards

you have placed the fourth king face-up,
directly below the third selection. The deck is
now completely straight, except for the four
kings, which are face-up in the center and
have the three selections intertwined amongst
them. All that is left to do is build up to the
final-climax, Here is what you do: do not look
down at the cards or at the box, but continue
looking and talking to the spectators. What
you're doing is making sure that everyone is
keeping eye contact with you and not looking
down at the card box prematurely. As the
spectators laugh, start slowly inching away
from the table, so that when the vanish of the
kings is revealed, you are standing far away
from them. (This is the same thinking that
goes into a card under glass routine.)

8. Tum to the second spectator and ask him

what his job was. He'll say that it was to get
the booze. Look at him, then back at the deck,
and snap your fingers. Say: Done! They got
the good stuff, too.. ~ do you know how you
can tell? Pause and let the question build
interest. Because the girls are.starting to
look pretty. (See Notes at end for another way
to answer this joke) At this point everyone will

10. Allow about five to ten seconds to go by

after the joke, then ask the third spectator
what his job was. He will have usually
forgotten by now, so the others will remind

48

[I

rJ

U
I'

LJ

him that it was to watch the cops. As the

spectators answer your questions they will
automatically look down at the card box to
look or point to the four Kings. Let them look
first and react. Follow their gaze and act
surprised yourself. Oh man, you were
looking at the girls too much! (Which is
essentially true if your misdirection was good)
And in that time, you know what
happened? ... The cops crashed our party!
Set the deck down onto the table and slowly
start spreading it. Look: they straightened
everyone out and sent them home.
Continue spreading to reveal the four kings
face-up in the middle. Except for three guys
whom they arrested! Let the picture register
in the spectator's minds. Then pickup the
four kings and the three interlaced selections.
Turn them over and do a one-handed fan to
show the signed selections. The three guys
that threw the party!

that eliminates the queens and the upside

down shuffling; but keeps the surprise and
amazement factors of the collectors vanishing
and collecting at a serious, and seriously
strong level.

1. Take out the four aces (much more plain,

much less fun) or any other four of a kind,
which you find to be dull and inoffe:nsive to
your audience. Place them face-up on top of
the face-down deck. Get a pinky break under
the top seven cards and pick up an eighth one,
getting ready for Marlo's ATFUS. Peel off the
first three aces singularly onto the deck,
keeping them spread..Here you can talk about'
the metaphysics of presence or you can just.
tum on NPR and lull your audience with the
sweet sounds of Vivaldi.

. 2. As your right hand squares up the face-up

spread of aces, the thumb lets go of that
eighth card and takes the four cards above the
. break (ace and three face-down cards). Place
. them, as before, onto the card case, making a
plus sign, making sure the case is in front of
you, within your reach. Don't worry, with this
kind of audience, they'll ask you twice before
they jump for your cards.

NOTE: Be sure that thewords you say -straightened} arrested -- create an audible
impression that correlates (in the spectator's
minds) perfectly with what they are visually
seeing happen with the deck!
11. To finish, strip out the three selections so
that the spectators can see their signatures.
Take the four kings and drop them face-up,
one at a time, onto the four queens already on
the table, as you finish: And, to add insult to
injury ~ they even took our women and our
booze. Effing Kops!

3. Using the right thumb, pick up at the

natural break below the face-up aces, then
pick up one more indifferent card and pass or
double undercut the top five cards to the
bottom. Start spreading the cards and have
one touched. Separate the hands at the
touched card, leaving it on top of the left hand
packet. Tilt the left hand up so the spectators
can remember the card. Bring the hands back
together to continue spreading, but cull the
selected eatd out using the right hand fingers
from below. Continue culling the card as you
have a second selection touched. Have the
second card memorized and cull it out as you
continue spreading. Have third selection
touched, separate hands, the right one
clamping its cards from below with the two

STRAI C. HT-EDG E COLLECTORS

Your Iaypeeps don't party? Performing for
the GOP or the DAR? Well then, you have a
problem. But it's your prerogative, so if you
feel like talking about booze, bitches, and
blunts with. your audience is not your bottle of
Courvoisier, then here is a simpler method

49

1- .
1
I.

I
i

11

II

culled selections, and tilt your left hand up to

have the third card memorized. As your left
hand tilts back down, get a pinky break below
the card that is below the third selection.
Bring the hands together, replacing the right
hand's spread onto the left hand's packet,
automatically depositing the first two
selections on top of the third one. Keep your
. pinky break as you square up and riffle the
cards at the front.

by the spectators after its completion. Perform

anall around square up (optional) and slowly
and deliberately place the deck onto her hand.
Have her place her other hand on top and then
her left foot on top of that, as well (also
optional). Look straight into her eyes, look at
the other spectators, then, with both hands in
the air and body now slowly inching away from
the card box and table, say: The Aces are
gone! (or something similarly exciting) Let the
spectators gaze down at the box; don't move.
Ask your helper to spread the cards on the
table or between her hands, and let them bask
in the glory that is the collectors plot. Now tell
them to quiet down as their applause might
procure a noise complaint from the other
spectators passed out in a drunken stupor in
the back row.

Situation check, from top of face-down deck:

about two thirds of the deck, three selections,
indifferent card, left pinky flesh, rest of deck,
three kings face-up, and indifferent card facedown. The four-card packet is resting on the
card box, awaiting your gentle hand to steal
them away.

. I'll tell you, honestly: as far as strong and

direct card magic goes, the effect I just
described is easily one of my favorites.

4. Separate the packat the pinky break, the

right hand taking the cards abovethe break.
Perform a Faro shuffle, making sure that the
bottom card of the right hand's packet
becomes the bottom card of the deck. This
places each of the selections below each of the
face-up aces and leaves two extra cards on the
bottom of the deck. Only the bottom stacks.
.have to interlace perfectly; the rest of the deck
doesn't matter.

+4-
HARDCORE
STRAIGHT-EDGE COLLECTORS
(FORTHE MAGICAL BRETHREN ONLY)

Serious card men don't party either?

Performing for the local club? Afraid that
talking about drinking and sexing might give
someone a heartattack? Afraid that using a
Faro in a collector's effect does not affect laypeople in any way, but does gives away a huge
part of the method when performed for
magicians? (1do.) Well, worry no further; if
you've got the chops, try this method:

5~

u
u

To finish, get a break above the two bottom

cards as you complete the Faro. Perform a
bottom slip cut (HaLo Cut), taking the bottom
two cards into the left hand along with the top
half of the deck. Extend the left hand with the
cards towards a spectator in front of you and
ask her to place her hand out. Use the big
movement of the left hand (not too jerky or
suspicious, now) to cover the small action of
the right hand settling down onto the card box
and picking up the four cards sitting there.

1. Hold four aces face-up in the right hand.

Get pinky break below top card of the deck,
. which is held face down in the left hand. Drop
four aces on top of the deck face-up. Bring the
.hands together for a second. Perform a cover
pass, bringing the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th
cards to the bottom of the deck. Immediately

6. As the spectator puts her hand out, the

right hand comes back up and drops its cards .
onto those in the left hand. This action should
be choreographed so as to be entirely forgotten

50

Ii pick up the top four or five or six cards Gust

-) grab, don't think - when precision fails,

always fools magicians) and place
r confidence
them on top of the card box as before.

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4. Have a second card touched and repeat the

procedure, culling it out as you bring the
hands together and then buckling and stealing
the third ace as you continue spreading. Have
, a third card touched, and cull that card out as
well. Close up the spread now, bringing the six
culled cards to the bottom of the deck.

2. Start spreading the deck. Once you've

spread about seven or eight cards, buckle the
bottom card of the deck With the left hand.
Use the left hand's fingers to contact the
bottom face-up ace and kick it out. Take that
ace with the right hand's fmgers, below the
spread, and ask a spectator to touch a
selection. Separate the hands, the right hand
clamping its cards frombelciw with the face-up
ace. Tilt the left hand up to have the card
memorized. As the hands come together, 'cull
o ut the first selection below the first ace.

Situation check: the deck, a face-upace,

selection, ace, selection, ace, selection. Be
careful not to flash the face of the bottom card.
5. In this method there is no need for the HaLo
cut. Simply perform a swing cut, taking the
top half of the deck into the left hand; Extend ,
the index finger of the left hand, point to one
of the magician'scrotches and say Your fly is
down. Allow him to zip up and the other
, magicians to check theirs. Use this time to
pickup the group of cards sitting on the card
box with the cards in the right hand (adding
the last ace below the third selection). Square
up the cards, tell the spectators that the aces
on the box havevanished, then spread the
deck, showing the collected assemblage
,suavely positioned .in the center of the deck.
Smile and wait for the boys to nod their heads
and say Interesting use of the principle.

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3. Spread over a few more cards, then turn to

a second spectator and say their name. Tell
them that they need to pick a card, as well.
(Not should or must, but need -- for their own '
safety.) As you say this, repeat the, buckle and
steal action, culling out a second ace and
adding it below the two cards you alreadyhave
in the right hand. (You now have three cards
riding in the right hand underneath the
spread: the first selection sandwiched between
two face-up aces.)

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Instead of using the ATFUS or even the cover pass, a great alternative is the Streamlinef.i
Switch. Start out with the deck face-up. Half pass the bottom three cards so they are face-down.
Up-jog the four kings. Perform the Streamlined Switch: this will leave a face-up king with three, '
indifferent face-down cards below it in your left hand. It looks entirely clean: you count the four
kings one at a time into your left hand and without any extra movements place them onto the'
card box. They are now setup for the finish. However, the other three kings are now on top of the
deck face-down, which means you will have to shuffle them off to the bottom and then half-pass
them when they're there. This is a trade-off of moves, so it's up to you to decide which handling
you like better.
)- Tenkai's Optical Revolve can be found in The Tarbell Corse in Magic; Volume 1, within "Tenkai's
Reverse Cards Mystery."? It is also described in "The Amazing Miracles Of Shigeo Takagi" 1990,
Richard Kaufman, illustrated by: Ton Onosaka, in a trick called "Total Triumph."

51

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The entire .routine is just purely a good time for the audience and me. We laugh, joke, and get to
know one another. They're not just watching me do a card trick, but they're participating every
step of the way. Although you must be careful not to let rowdy drunks take over your entire
show, this routine does give them an opportunity to have their fun. And no matter how crazy they
get throughout, they will be entirely blown away at the end, so have no worries.
Optional Drink Request Production: While culling the cards in the very beginning, you can also
cull out two sevens or a seven and jack and insert them below the foul;' queens. After producing
the four girls, ask the second spectator what his job was. Once he answers "alcohol" produce the
. two sevens to represent a Seagram's 7 and7-Up. Or produce the Jack and 7 for a Jack Daniels
and 7-Up. Either one will get a good laugh. (While I did not originally do this in the effect, it was
. continually suggested to me by a number of different magicians, and so I have included it here.
Forgive me for not remembering your name, but thank you to all who suggested this..
A big thank you goes to Adam, Brent and Rachel. Without your ideas, suggestions, and jokes this
would just be another card trick.

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Would you like to play

With a fool holding hands
With a one-eyedjock of spades
While on the deck they sing
All of the captain's cords are kings

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SATAN MONTE
Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills...

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Using the Devil's playthings, the magician offers a spectator a chance to win $20 playing Satan
Monte. The spectator quite willingly accepts and puts her signature on the 'contract.' In Round one,
she attempts to keep track of her signed card, but much to her dismay it keeps jumping elsewhere.
In Round two, instead of finding her card, the spectator is asked to point to the two cards that are
not hers. Tty though she may, all three cards are shown to be her signed selection. Because the"
magician is so kind, he offers the spectator one last chance to find her card, but when all three cards
are turned over, they are now three sixes. Unfortunately for her, the $20 has now vanished and ill its
place is an odd-backed card with a pleasant message: "I Give My Soul To Satan." When that card is
turned over it is found to be the signed selection, which the magician offers to give back to the scared
spectator... for the right price.
Take a red backed card and using a Sharpie
marker write, in big bold letters, I GIVE MY
SOUL TO SATAN,on the back. If you're
working and have the blind audacity or the
pure devilishness to perform this effect for
people you've never met before and whose
affinity with Satan you do not know, then you
can make up several of these cards and keep
them in your back pocket. Once you're ready
to steal a soul, you can start by stealing one of
the cards out and adding it to the bottom of
your blue-backed deck. Be sure to remember
its identity. Casually shuffle the card
anywhere into the upper third of the facedown deck, being careful not to flash its back.

fold it in quarters and place it openly inside

the card box. Close the box and drop it onto
the table.
Old Priest: Devils are tempters. Beware of Satan and
pride, my son!
Young Cavalier: Yes, yes, beware of Satan.

3. Take out a sharpie marker. Are you ready?

Casually spread the deck between your hands
and find the Satan card. Get a pinky break
above it as you square the spread. Now you
can perforin a riffle force, having the spectator
say stop as you riffle the outer left corner with
your left thumb, picking up all the cards above
the break. Or you can transfer the break to the
right hand's thumb and ask the spectator to
say stop as you dribble the cards slowly.
Perform a dribble force, allowing the cards
below your thumb break to fall into your left
hand as she says the word 'stop.' lfyou have a
working surface and you don't think the
spectator will pick up the card into her hands '
as she signs it, then drop the card onto the
'
table. Otherwise, just keep it on top of the left
hand's pile and pick up the marker with the
right hand. Using the marker, draw a small
line on the center of the card and put an X
next to it. To play, just sign here, initial,
here, and here, and sign there... as they
say: sign on the line, which is dotted. As the
spectator signs the card, I give a little, sinister

1. You've heard of three card monte, right?

As you talk, spread through the deck and cull
out three sixes and replace them onto the
bottom of the face-up 'deck. But have you
ever heard of the Satan's Sidewalk Shume
or the Devil's Monte? They'll say no. If they
say yes, then put the cards away, wish them
well, and slowly walk away, clutching a piece
of garlic in your pocket.
2. Well, it's a fun and good-natured game,
which you and I are going to play. In fact,
since this is your first time, you won't have
to bet a dime. I'll put Satan's $20 into the
card box and if you win, you get the money,
alright'? Take out a twenty or any other bill,

53

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laugh: very quiet and subtle, but loud enough

for a few people to hear me and start
chuckling and realizing that there is
something wrong with a spectator signing her
name on a 'contract' before she plays Devil's
, Monte. If you really want a laugh here, then
look over to a spectator on your side; shake
your head, laugh and say: "I can't believe she's
actually doing this." A little foreshadowing
never hurts.

indifferent card onto the first one. Come back

to get the selection, and as you do so, unload
the two cards above your pinky break onto the
bottom of the deck. Be careful not to flash the
face of a six as you peel the selection onto the
cards in your left hand. Drop the deck on the
table, away from the surface area. Turn the
four cards in your hand face down. You're now
ready to play.
Something wild and evil is about to happen; and its

4. Once the card has been signed place it back

onto the left hand's packet, but use the left
thumb to push it forward, leaving it outjogged. Be careful to not flash the back
prematurely. Dribble the rest of the cards on
top. Well, since you picked a black card
(name the color of their card), we're going to
need two other red cards to play Monte. Do
me a favor, Just poiJit to any two red cards.
Do these work for you? This partis not really,
a science: youjust have to go with what you
have. If their signed card is a club or a spade,
out-jog two red cards from the deck; if it's a
heart or diamond, out-jog two black ones. The
best cards to use are court cards. You don't
have to pay too much attention to what the
cards are; just make sure that it is obvious
that they don't really matter, and that the
spectators at least remember that they are not
sixes so that they are surprised at the end.
Also make sure that the two out-jogged cards
are above the selection. As you close the
spread, get a pinky break above the bottom
three sixes. You should now have the deck
with three cards out-jogged: two indifferent
card and selection, and a pinky break above
the bottom three cards.

going to involve you. - hunter.s.thompson.

6. Hold the four face-down cards pinched in

the right hand. Peel the top card into your left ,
hand, followed by the second one. This will
leave a double pinched in your right hand.
Turn it face-up and allow them to see their
selection. Your card
be the money card.
In Round One, ali you have to do is follow
your card and tell me where it is. Turn the
double face-down, squaring all of the cards.
Buckle the bottom card with your left hand.
Pinch the top three 'cards with your right hand
and pick them up, slightly. Using your right
thumb perform a double push off (as in an
Elmsley Count) of the top two cards. A six with
the Satan card below will glide off and be
placed onto the card in the left hand. Don't
square the cards up, however, but leave the
double side-jogged an inch to the right of the
,card in the left hand. Use your left thumb to
press down on the side-jogged double so that
it stays in place. You can also straddle the
double with your left index finger in front and
pinky below. Use the card in your right hand
to point to the top (double) card in the left
hand. Where would you say you card is?
Since the spectator (for Satan knows what
reason) actually trusts you right now, she will
usually say the middle. When she does, bring
the right hand card over the left hand and
perform the undercover alignment, sliding the
'Satan card underneath the top one and
performing a double turnover. So sorry. You
see, the Devil cheats. It's actually on top.

will

5. Perform the, Undercover Switch, taking the

three sixes with the left hand via the Vernon
Strip-out Addition. Use the left thumb to pull
,the first out-jogged card onto the three sixes.'
Keep a pinky break between them, but make
sure the thickness of the packet isn't seen.
Bring the left hand back to slide the second

54

left hand. Turn the double face-down and

separate your hands slightly as you gesture.
So which two cards are NOT yours? The
spectator will point to the cards in your right
hand. Before they even have a chance to
answer, though, start bringing your hands
together. As soon as they tell you what they
think, say I thought so too, but the Devil
cheats, and he makes all of them your card.
Perform the Undercover Alignment followed by
a Double Turnover, showing her card to be in
the middle. Repeat, showing her card on top,
catching a break below it as it lands face-up.

The spectator will be surprised and will realize.

she has to watch closer.

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7. We'll try it one more time. Repeat the last

phase, turning the double face-down and then
sliding it off so it becomes the middle card.
Repeat your question. Where is your card?
More often than not, the spectator, having
grown wiser from her dealings with you, will
say that her card is on top. While still holding
the single card in your right hand, pinch the
double and turn it face-up, showing that the
selection is still in the center. You should
trust me. Turn it face-down, using your left .
thumb snap the single card in your right
hand, then perform the undercover alignment,
.showing the selection has come to the top.
You see, it's the Devil that makes it come
to the top.

9. Don't worry, though, because there's still .

Round Three, which is the easiest of them
all. Turn the double face-down, allowing it to
land slightly out-jogged. Use your left index
finger to put pressure on the outer right corner
. of the double as before. Let your left thumb
rest on top of the double and using your right
hand take away the two cards below the
double, again creating the illusion that the left
. hand is sliding off the selection. With the right
hand, push off the other
cards one at a
time onto the double but this time allow the
cards to square up, This time you have three
chances to find your card. As you say this
last statement, buckle the bottom card
(selection) or do a pinkie pulldown. Allow your
right hand's fingers to go in above the buckled
card and underneath the three sixes. Apply
pressure at the top of the packet with your left
thumb and fan the three cards out. As you fan.
the three cards out, move the right hand
slightly forward. As you do so, all of your left
hand's fingers are going to be busy: your left .
index and middle finger will push the selected
card down into a gambler's cop. Your left
thumb, meanwhile, will stretch out over the
fan of three and put pressure on them,
keeping them in place. The right hand is now
free to move away. The left hand holds the
selected card in gambler's cop, which is
completely covered by the hand itself at the
left angle, and the three sixes from above. The

8. When you perform the alignment move and

tum the double face-up,allow it to fall slightly
out-jogged on the packet. Leave it face-up and
continue talking. We'll move on to Round
Two. This one is easier, because you don't
actually have to guess where your card IS....
Since the double is out-jogged, it will be easy
for your left index finger to wrap.around the
front and put pressure on the outer right
comer. The double, held bythe inside of your
left palm on its left edge and by your left index
finger on its right, will stay perfectly aligned.
The right hand. comes over and pinches the
two face-down cards. Allow the left hand to go
forward, with the thumb simply resting on top
of the face-up double,providing the illusi~n
that it is sliding the top card off into its hand.
The slide should be done on the word 'is.'
Using your right thumb push over the two
cards, one at a time onto the left hand,
keeping all three cards spread. You have to
guess where your card IS NOT. Re-grip the
two cards with the right hand and pick them
up, moving the hand slightly forward, as if
gesturing towards the spectator. Bring the
right hand over and pinch the double in the

two

55

only bad angle is to the right of you. I cover

this by choosing a spectator to the right, and
facing them each time I ask them a question.
However, you'll be surprised with how much
you can hide card in a gambler's cop. If you
feel comfortable with the cop, then you can
pick up the fan of three with the right hand's
fingers and thumb, arid use the left thumb to
. slide across the fan's edges, snapping the
cards one at a time.

Bring the left hand with the copped card up to

your waist as your right hand brings its hand
with the box down. Make sure that the box is
half-moon side up, with the opening towards
you. As soon as the hands meet, allow the
copped card to align with the box. Now
perform the Matt Schulien Card into Box Load .
move. Using your right hand, open up the box
and stick your thumb inside. Allow your index
and middle fingers to go below the box,
contacting the selection. Don't touch the $20
inside the box. The spectators will not see it
and will not look at the box again. Instead,
move your fingers out of the box, pulling the
selection out from undemeath the box. Done
at the right speed (not, I repeat, not fast) it will .
look like the card came from inside the box.
~ ..Butyou DO lose your soul. The selection
will come out with the back facing the
spectators. Since the deck you've been using is
blue and the card they now see is Red, they .
will still not connect the dots - it's really quite
beautiful at how innocent they are at this
point. Allow them to read the writing on the
back of the card and chuckle. Oh, I'm
sorry...did I forget to mention that part?
You see, you shOUld never sign anything
until you read the fine print. As you utter
the last few words, tum the Satan card around
and let them go insane.

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10. So which three cards are your choice?

The spectators often won't even answer the
question, but just laugh a bit, suspecting that
she is about to get stung. With the fan of cards
in your left hand, bring your right hand over
and tum the cards face-up; one at a time,
dropping them onto the table. I'm sorry, but
you see this is the Devil's game. The
spectators will laugh and scream when they
see the three sixes. If they don't register it
right away, give a little evil laugh and slowly
say Six...Six..Six. .He always cheats.
.

Old Priest: "Welt my son? I can see you now realize the
power of Satan."

.11. As you drop the last six onto the table,

allow your left hand to softly swing down to
your side: Don't try to hide it; a fast jerky
action will only arouse suspicion. What I often
do is tum the sixes over very slowly and drop
them onto the table carefully, as if I was hiding
something. This puts all the attention on the
cards on the table, rather than on your hands.
Now pick up the card box with your right hand
and give it a little shake at about chest level,
bringing everyone's attention upwards. The
$20 bill inside will slide, making some noise.

. 12. If the audience has been really involved in

this routine and is now going completely
bezerk, and I'm really in a Burgeresque mood,
I finish with the following lines: I'll tell you
what...since this is your first time playing
with Satan, I'll. let you keep this card...and
your soul... I pause, and hand them the card
that they are dying to inspect. mbe careful
what you do with it.

Unfortunately, you don't get the $20...

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56

DEVILISH AFTERTHOUGHTS:

Alternate Ending: Don't like to cop the card? Well then, you can palm it out instead and then
do the card box move. Or better yet, you can produce it from your pocket or your card to wallet
(that would make much more sense with the $20 presentation). Once you have shown all three
cards to be the selection and have turned the double face-down, simply palm it out and load it
inside your wallet as you bring it out. This time we're playing for the money, but I'll give you
three chances to find your card. Drop the wallet onto the table in front of the spectator. Tum
the three sixes over one at a time. Allow the 666 to register, then open up your wallet and reveal
the selection inside. Just be sure that when you first bring it out it is writing side up.
Once you have produced the card from the card box, you can drop it back down onto the table
because no one is going to look at it. Just don't forget about the twenty inside.
Although I often insinuate that I am a friend of Satan or even the fiery fiend himself, I still play
the game as if I am
the spectator's side and we're trying to win together. This is most definitely
not a contest (nothing in myperformances ever is), and I don't suggest making it one, unless you
want to make your audience hate you right away.
.~ For a softer finish, instead of writing "I give my soul to Satan," you can write "Good for one free
soul," or "IOU - My Soul." But, to be quite honest, that just weakens the effect..If you want
comedy, just write: "Satan Says: Your Ass is Mine." Otherwise, stick with the strong. ending and
let others worry about 'offending people.'
~ The first two times I performed this. effect for friends, on both (separate) occasions, i had someone
say to the spectator who had signed over his soul: "You know you have to eat that card now.".
Everyone -- especially those who have seen Bart Simpson and Millhouse rowing a boat -- had a
good laugh and I decided that that is a perfect closing afterthought. So once the spectators have
. all examined the card and have all settleddownfrom the emotional uproar, I throw that out as a
final thought...
~ ... both friends said that cardboard tastes much better dipped in soy sauce.

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.;..1ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there

He took mytwenfy dollar bill and vanished in the air.
- grateful,dead

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What work I have done I have done because it has been play.
If it had been work I shouldn't hCtve done if.
Who was if who said, "Blessed is fhe man who has found his work'?
Whoever it was he had the right idea in his mind. Mark you, he says his work--nof somebody else's work.

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The work that Is really a man's own work isplay and. not work at all.

Cursedis fhe man who has found some ofher man's work

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When we talk about the great workers of the world we really mean the great players of fhe world.

-mark.twain

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This booklet is for everyone who has spent five minutes with me
and a deck of cards and has shared his knowledge;
A huge thanks goes out to my friend and speedy editor, Aaron Shields,
who is as much a wealth of knowledge as he is a barrel full of lunatic chimpanzees.
For their support in magic and especially their friendship in life,
I want to thank Rex Todd Alexander,Walt Anthony, Adam Rubin,
B.J.Bueno, Brent Boyko, and of course, Rachel.
_My family - whose best magic trick is putting up with me - thankyou
for always being so kind and supportive. Big thanks to all the boys in California - geographically, South to North: Syd Segal,
Lonnie Dilan, Randy Campbell, John Bodine and Robert Neville -:' for their warm
welcome. And thanks as always to the TSD crew for all of their help: Mark Aspiazu,
.

Jamie Badman, Tomas Blomberg, Paul Cummins, Randy DiMarco, Peter Duffie, David
Michael Evans, AndiGladwin, Tony Miller, Jose Muniz, Lance Pierce, and Paul Rooney.

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Kostya Kimlat

2531 Native Ct. + Maitland, F132751

K@krnagic.com