REVISED ◻ UPDATED ◻ EXPANDED

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 © Copyright Eric Richardson 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior
permission from the author.


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 PREFACE

This curious collection of card conjuring contains previously unpublished

routines, items from long out-of-print lecture notes and a sampling of
material from my published books (available at Vanishing Inc.). I have
packed this ebook full of routines and ideas that I have used for many
years. Altogether there are eight fully scripted routines and one super
sneaky box peek.

Despite the varied themes and methods presented, everything in this

book shares one rather peculiar thing in common. Each of these routines
came to me as a single "flash" of inspiration where everything rattling
around in my mind (ideas, routines, techniques, groceries lists,
embarrassing childhood memories, etc.) converged in a single moment of
surprising clarity. The last routine in this book, bizarrely, came to me, fully
formed, in a dream. None of this follows my normally slow and
methodical approach to creating magic. Curious indeed!

These singular moments of inspiration have brought me great joy over the
years and it has been immensely satisfying to share them with my
audiences. Now, I also derive great pleasure in sharing them with you! I
hope you enjoy "unpacking" this collection of card conjuring and
discovering, for yourself, its curious contents.

Sincerely,
Eric Richardson

2015


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 WHAT'S NEW?
Several routines in this collection have gone through significant changes
since 2015. I believe the changes have made them even more
entertaining, deceptive and magical. In this new edition, I have updated
"IN2IT," "One for Skinner," "What the Devil?" and "Hero's Tale." I have
also expanded the original publication by including links to performances
of various routines. Of course, I have also revised the text as necessary.
I think you will be pleased with all of these changes and I hope you enjoy
the journey to come. You're Packed and ready to go!

Stay curious,
Eric Richardson

July, 2017


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 CONTENTS

1
PACKING BOXES

N2IT (previously unpublished)

S.B.P. (previously unpublished)

2
DULY NOTED

THE CRACKED-UP CUP ROUTINE (from Once & for All)

X-RAY-TED (from Once & for All)

3
JOURNEY CARD MAGIC SERIES

ONE FOR SKINNER (from One Eighty)

STABLOID (from Sharp)

4
TRILOGY

CUT TO ORDER: ACES (from It All Depends)

WHAT THE DEVIL? (from TOUR)
HERO’S TALE (from OASIS)

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 1

PACKING BOXES

Let's kick things off with two previously unpublished items. They have not
seen print before for the simple reason that I just didn’t have a place for
them in my previous books. Happily, they now have a home! They both
share one thing in common, they both involve the card box in some way.
"N2IT" ends with a thought of card to card box finale. "S.B.P." is a way to
make any card box a peek device in less than 2 seconds! Let's get
packing...


!6
 N2IT
The inspiration for this effect came from J.K. Hartman's "One of a Mind II"
(see Card Dodgery, pg. 249). Applying a memorized stack to the premise
allows for a very clean handling and the benefit of never needing to look
at the faces of the cards. You also have a significant and powerful
change to the routine: the spectator never has to tell you the thought of
card’s identity; you reveal it instead!

EFFECT

The magician reveals a card residing only in the mind of a spectator and
another spectator names a card that had been left, unseen, in the card
box.

SET UP

You will need a deck in a memorized order and a card box.

ROUTINE

For this routine you will enlist the help of two spectators (Andi and Sarah).
As you false shuffle the deck, turn to the spectator who will be your
impromptu magician (Sarah) and say, "Sarah, we are going to do
something amazing." Turn to Andi and continue, "I'm going to hand you
the deck. After Sarah and I turn our backs I want you to cut the deck like
this." Demonstrate a complete cut for Andi. If you aren't sure he
understands, do it again. You can even have him do a test run with the
deck before you proceed.

Hand the deck to Andi and have Sarah join you in turning away as Andi
gives the deck a complete cut. After he has completed the cut, instruct
him to take the top card (the one he cut to), look at it and put it in his
pocket. When he confirms he has done so, you and Sarah turn back
around.

Take the deck back from Andi, but don't pay any attention to it. Continue,
“Sarah and I are both going to amaze you with our abilities. Sarah is
going to attempt to psychically discern the card you are NOT thinking of!"
Everyone will react to this ridiculous scenario. As they do, glimpse the

!7
bottom card of the deck. This will tell you what card Andi is thinking of.
Remember it.

Before you ask Sarah to name a card, tell Andi to keep a poker face and
not to say a word about his card for the moment.

Ask Sarah to name the card that flashes through her mind. Let's say she
names the 2H. Continue, "The two of hearts! Andi, without telling us
anything about your card, was she right?" He will confirm that she has
not named his card. Congratulate Sarah for her great insight and psychic
abilities.

NOTE: in the rare case that Sarah has named Andi's card you will know it
immediately. Congratulate Sarah, "You are amazing! Actually that's a lot
better than what I asked you to do! Great work!" Now you reverse your
spectator's roles and start the routine again. It will all work out and be
humorous when Andi doesn't guess Sarah's card and Andi will be
vindicated at the end of the routine.

You must now get Sarah's named card (the 2H) to the top of the deck.
There will be little heat on the deck because the selected card is in Andi's
pocket and everyone will be focused on the revelation of its identity.

It all boils down to an estimated cut, glimpse and any adjustment needed
to finish the task. The location and control of the named card can be
handled in a casual fashion by being disguised as a shuffle and cut of the
deck in the following manner: begin by performing an in-the-hands false
shuffle as you ask Sarah to name a card. Try to finish the false shuffle at
the same time that she names the card. In a continuing action, perform
an estimated cut from the overhand shuffle position (don't forget the deck
has already been cut by Andi so you must factor that into your estimated
cut). As you remind Andi not to say anything, glimpse the bottom card of
the deck to determine the exact location of the named card.

Announce that you will read Andi's mind and tell him the card he IS
thinking of. As you say this, take care of any adjustment needed to bring
Sarah's named card to the top of the deck. This may be simply shuffling
or cutting a few cards from the top or from the bottom of the deck.
Sometimes if your estimation was way off (hey, it happens), do a second
estimated cut and follow the above pattern from there. Like I said, there
is no real heat on these actions and if you keep it casual, it truly will be
invisible to the audience.

!8
Once Sarah's card is on top of the deck, reveal Andi's card in the most
dramatic way you can. Have him remove it from his pocket and show it to
the audience. This moment will be very strong.

As the crowd is reacting, palm Sarah's card and table the deck. Wait.
When you sense it is time, focus the audience's attention back on Sarah
by saying, "Sarah, you probably thought I was just joking with you. After
all, it would appear you had fifty-one chances to be right! That is not true.
I asked you to name a card that absolutely could NOT be Andi's. Sarah,
there was only one card that could not have been Andi's. Earlier, when I
took the deck out of the box I purposely left one behind. It was the two of
hearts!"

As you deliver the line, "Sarah, there was only one card that could not...",
pick up the box in preparation for the classic card in box load. As you say,
"It was the two of hearts!", apparently pull the 2H out of the box for the
shocking conclusion.

At the end of the effect it is a simple matter to return the two cards to their
stack positions and continue with other effects.

As wonderful as the classic box load is, I personally use Rich Aviles's
"Vanilla Extract" box load technique instead. You can find it in Rich's
excellent book Above the Fold (pgs. 14-15).

!9
 S.B.P.
(SHUTTER BOX PEEK)

This is one of those things you come up with late at night when you
should really be asleep. In the morning (which other humans call
"afternoon") you remember it and in the sobering light of day you realize,
"Hey! I can actually use this!" It's a moment we magicians live for: that
magical moment when you feel you have created something truly
amazing (and which your girlfriend will call "cute").

I'll share one of these ideas with you right now. Here is a little secret that
I have been holding on to since 2006. This is a way to quickly create a
peek box out of any card box in less than two seconds. It is completely
deceptive and allows you to peek the index of a card placed in the box.
To a spectator the "gimmick" is completely invisible!

HOW TO MAKE THE PEEK BOX: hold the

box with the half-moon cut-out side toward
you and the box's flap completely open. You
will now fold the left side of the topmost part of
the flap away from you. Create a sharp
crease about half an inch in from the left side
of the flap. Usually the slit along the crease of
the upper portion of the flap is a good
indicator of where the fold can be made
(some brands do not have this slit). After
experimenting with the peek you may decide
to creat a larger flap. If so, you can rip or cut
the preexisting cut further into the flap before
making the fold.

The crease should be fairly sharp and the fold should be straight, parallel
to the side edges of the box. If the crease is at an angle then when
folded, a small "flap" can be seen above the top of the box when the flap
is closed and the "shutter" is open. You want to avoid that.

Congratulations, you have just created the “gimmick!" We will refer to it

as the "shutter" because it works like a shutter to open and close a
window. Once you are familiar with the fold you will see that it is very
easy to add to any card box on a moment’s notice—even a borrowed box
!10
at a session! I wouldn't suggest doing this to someones vintage Jerry's
Nuggets box!

HOW TO MAKE THE PEEK: to peek the bottom card of the deck, hold
the box horizontally with the half moon side facing down. Have the
spectator insert the deck face down into the box. Turn your head away as
this is done.

Once the deck is in the box, look at the spectator again. As you engage
her in conversation you will close the flap of the box and secretly prepare
for the peek: with the box held in the right hand use your left fingers to
tuck the flap into the case. As your left fingers cover the flap it is a simple
matter to secretly fold the "shutter" outwards. The flap of the box is
tucked into the case. Everything will look normal and the "move" can be
done completely by feel. There is no need to look at the box.

To peek the index of the bottom card of the deck, transfer your right-hand
grip on the deck so that your right fingers are now on the bottom of the
box and the right thumb is on the top of the box (basically, you are holding
the card box in end grip).

The left fingers and thumb grip the

long sides of the box close to the flap
and apply inward pressure. This
causes the mouth of the box to bow
open. The right thumb takes over by
holding open the bowed mouth of the
box just as if it were holding a break.
Once the right thumb is in place, the
left hand can move away. Remember,
all of this is done by feel. There is no
need to look at the box until you are
ready to actually make the peek.

When you are ready to make the peek, simply tilt the box toward you at
an angle where you can quickly look down the gap and see the index.
Once you know the identity of the card, your right thumb can release the
gap being held.

OPENING THE BOX: To open the box, simply reverse the actions you
used to close the box.

!11
You can also secretly close the "shutter" by using your left little finger to
push the shutter flap back to its unfolded position. This is also done
without looking at your hands and can be done at any time after the
glimpse and while the box is still closed.

NOTE: I truly believe that even if the spectator ever opened the box
themselves and saw the folded flap they would just think that the fold was
accidental. I don't think that they would ever realize its actual use.
Remember that this glimpse is usually working in conjunction with a
stacked deck. A spectator would never guess that knowing the bottom
card could give you information about their card!

Lecturing at a one night convention in Paris

Photo by John Guastaferro


!12
 PACK IN STYLE

Eric makes beautiful things. His card cases are masterfully crafted and
make a wonderful addition to all card magicians looking for something
truly luxurious to store their tools of the trade.
—Luke Jermay

The most beautiful card case you

will ever find. What was once a
prized possession of only a small
number of magicians around the
world is now available to you.

Each case is handmade in Paris,

France by Eric Richardson.

Sophisticated yet durable, each case

is made of high quality vegetable
tanned leather and available in either
Midnight Black or Forest Brown.

As well as holding your favorite deck

of cards, on the back, you will find a
convenient pocket which is perfect
for business cards, or perhaps your
bank card. These cases were designed for everyday use and will protect your
cards in style. The leather is beautifully smooth to the touch yet deceptively
tough meaning that the perfect balance between substance and style has been
struck!

This is my favorite card case. It's gorgeous, versatile, and

impeccable. And it keeps the cards in perfect form.
-John Guastaferro

Luxury is just a click away!


!13
 2

DULY NOTED

The following two routines were originally available in a very limited run of
lecture notes created for series of lectures I did in 2010-2011. The Once
& For All lecture focused on creating and performing magic for audiences
made up of spectators of widely diverse ages and interests (primarily
family audiences, etc.).

These routines have served me well, in many different venues, for over
15 years. Despite their simple structures, they are entertaining to a wide
group of people (even children) and perfect for the emcee, etc. Both
routines pack small and play big!

!14
 CRACKED-UP CUP ROUTINE

(from Once & For All)

WARNING: THIS IS NOT A CARD ROUTINE!

I first saw this wonderful gag at a Bob King lecture about twenty years
ago (and it wasn’t new then). At first I just did the gag and got a laugh,
like everyone else. It has now evolved into a full comedic routine. The
"ah-ha!" moment came when I realized that some audience members
were envisioning themselves doing the gag. I decided to capitalize on
this situation and try to make everyone in the audience think about doing
the gag too. In that way I would involve the entire audience emotionally in
the performance. It worked beautifully and now I almost always use this
routine as an opener in larger venues. Give it a try!

NOTE: this routine also has an added benefit for card magicians (which is
why it is in this book). I'll explain how at the end of the routine.

EFFECT

You complain about your neck hurting and then you proceed to "adjust"
your neck. The gut wrenching sound of your neck breaking is clearly
heard and the audience reacts with screams. You reveal that it was a gag
and explain how your audience can do it too by humorously
demonstrating the gag several more times.

WHAT YOU NEED

For this gag you will need several plastic cups. Obtaining the right kind of
cup is very important. You need to find a brittle plastic cup. It also needs
to fit under your armpit comfortably without sticking out much on each
side. I buy clear plastic cups that are about 4 inches high. You can find
these at most party supply stores.

!15
 SET UP

To set up for this routine, place three or four stacked cups in a paper bag
(or some other place that is easily accessible to you during the routine),
but where the cups are not visible to your audience. You will also need to
place one cup under one of your armpits. The cup must be hidden under
your shirt or jacket.

The hardest part of performing this gag is not crushing the cup
prematurely. It takes practice to hide the cup and act naturally. Once you
get used to it you can have it there for quite a long time and even perform
other routines before using the gag. The mobility of the arm holding the
cup is hindered so you are limited to some degree. You will find that, with
practice, you can still do a lot.

ROUTINE

Rub your neck and say, “Man, does my neck hurt. I guess I pulled
something as I unloaded everything for the show. I’m very sorry, but as
they say, the show must go on. So, like I was saying, I’m so glad to be
here and…ya know…hold on…”

Take your head in both hands and fake twisting your neck. At the same
time crush the cup to create an absolutely horrible cracking sound. The
audience will visibly and audibly react. It is a great moment! Continue as
if everything is normal, “…that’s much better, yeah.”

As the intensity of the reaction dies down, step forward and address one
of the men in the front row. “You sir, your neck looks a little stiff. Would
you like me to take care of that for you?” He usually will react with a big,
“No way!” and everyone laughs.

Continue, “Trust me sir, I am a trained professional and trained

professionals only do this…with a plastic cup hidden under their armpit!
Don’t ever do it without the plastic cup.” Show the audience what is left of
the cup and then discard it.

“Now, I know that you are saying to yourselves, ‘I am going to use that!’
So let me give you some important tips that will help you to do this for

!16
everyone you know. First, you need the right kind of plastic cup.”
Remove one of the plastic cups from the bag and show it to the audience.

“You can’t use one of those wax covered card board cups and please
don’t attempt this with a glass cup. You need to find a cup like this,
flexible, yet brittle so that if you squeeze it a little it will break. You can
find these at party stores or…at wedding receptions. Think about that
possibility!” Mentioning wedding receptions usually gets a good laugh as
people imagine themselves doing the gag in that setting.

“Second, you must learn to hide the cup under your armpit. Make sure
that you hide it on the inside of your shirt or jacket otherwise you will have
to have a very awkward conversation with someone.”

Put the plastic cup under your armpit and continue, “Now the hardest part
of this whole thing is getting used to walking around with a plastic cup
under your armpit and not feeling awkward about it. This does take a little
practice, but it is well worth it. Here is how you practice this. You go to
the mall…I’m serious. Go to the mall and place the cup under your
armpit. Don’t forget to hide it UNDER your shirt! Now walk a lap around
the mall.”

You will now act out several scenarios. The better you do this the more
the audience will enjoy the routine. Remember, this is a comedic
explanation. Don’t take any of it seriously.

“On the first lap around the mall you will feel very self-conscious. You will
be like, ‘everyone knows I have a plastic cup under my armpit. I can’t
believe I’m doing this.’” Act very self-conscious as you walk several
steps.

“On the second lap you start to look up and you’ll be like, ‘I don’t think
anyone knows I have a cup under my armpit…cool.’” Relax a little. Smile
and act a little more confident, but still timid.

“By the end of your third lap around the mall you’re like, ‘NO ONE knows I
have a plastic cup under my armpit…this is awesome.’ And you’ll get so
excited you just might keep the cup there the rest of the day.” Stand up
straight and smile confidently. Swagger for the few steps you take.

!17
“So now you are a master and now you can have a lot of fun. For
instance, when you go to your doctor! You say, ‘Hey Doc, man, my back
is killing me. Can you take a look? The second he touches your back…’."
Grab your back and bend over slightly. Immediately straighten up and as
you do, crack the cup. Feign shock and horror. Continue, “…Aw, man, I’m
suing you! What did you just do?!”

Take the cup from under your armpit and discard it. Immediately take out
a second cup and put it under your armpit. Pick up the pace.

"I wish I knew about this when I was in school. Those standardized tests
are so serious. You know how the teacher says, ‘Does everyone have
their pencil sharpened, are you ready?’ I would say ‘No. Hold on…’” Put
your hands together with the fingers of both hands interlaced. Stretch
your arms outwards with your palms toward the audience. As you do,
crack the cup. It looks like you are cracking your knuckles, but the sound
is horrendous. Continue, “…OK now I’m ready! BRING IT ON!!!”

Immediately replace the cup under your armpit one last time.

“Or...Kids, your mom is in the kitchen and you bring your little sister in
with you and take her by the arm. ‘Hey mom, look what I learned from
that ninja movie…'" Act out taking your sisters arm in your hands and
make a breaking motion. As you do, crack the cup. Say, “…it would drop
her to the floor. On second thought, don’t do that to your poor mom! I’m
giving you too many ideas.” Remove the cup and discard it and put the
bag away.

Finish with, “Anyway, you’re on your own class. Enjoy!”

COMMENTS

I don’t typically perform the routine just for children. I reserve this for
family audiences because the reactions from the combination of ages
blends into a really fun experience for everyone involved.

I have had people come back to me years later and tell me stories of how
they did the cup gag and thank me for teaching it to them. They
remembered me and the show. What more can you wish for?

!18
 ANALYSIS

In this routine, the audience is drawn into the performance in a unique

way. Just perform this routine once and you will see what I mean. The
gag is not treated as a throw away. Instead, you zero in on several things
going on in many of your audience members’ minds. Many people in the
audience will be envisioning themselves using the gag. Some will
envision getting someone else to do the gag and enjoy watching the
reactions. Others simply want you to do the gag again so they can enjoy
the moment in a different way. By performing the gag several times in the
context of an explanation you have tapped into the desires/fantasies of
most, if not all, of your audience members.

The stories told in the explanation phase are designed to hit the widest
audience possible.

Story 1 (The Doctor): The first story is designed to appeal to the older
audience members (middle-aged and beyond). The doctor’s office is a
context they can appreciate and envision themselves in. Getting a little
"revenge" is appealing!

Story 2 (The Test): This story appeals to teens and college students. The
older adults can also easily envision their school days.

Story 3 (The Ninja): This story is meant for the younger folks, but still we
are aiming for older elementary and above. I don’t always use this last
story, it depends on the composition of the audience.

Obviously you can create different stories that suit your personality and
the audiences you typically perform for.

WHY IS THIS ROUTINE HERE?

The reason I chose to include this routine in a book on card magic is

because I often use this routine as a transition into my card routines (for
parlor or stage venues). For instance I very often transition from the cup
routine into an Invisible Deck performance by having an Invisible Deck in
the bag along with the cups. Transitions during a performance are really
important and I have found the cup routine to be an excellent and
entertaining transition into many different card routines. I also like taking
!19
several extra cups from the bag for transitioning into a performance of
John Guastaferro's "Vino Aces" (see, One Degree). Ok, I admit it, the
plastic cups aren't as classy as John's wine glasses, but for my
presentation, the cups are perfect. Consider how you might include the
cup gag into your card magic performances. 


!20
 X-RAY-TED

(from Once & For All)

In this routine some old gags are resurrected, strung together in an

entertaining way and ultimately give way to a strong magic effect. I have
used this routine in just about every venue imaginable and it always plays
very well. It is a perfect platform piece. It packs flat and plays BIG.

EFFECT

A man from the audience takes on the role of a new breed of TSA airport
security agent. Three tests, of ever increasing difficulty, are performed
and incredibly the TSA agent gets every test correct! The last test leaves
the audience and our newest TSA agent completely amazed.

WHAT YOU NEED

1 pair of gag “X-Ray Glasses” which are obtainable from most magic
shops or easily acquired online

1 Eyeglass case (optional)

2 large opaque envelopes (I use envelopes that are 6” X 9”)

1 Ultra-Mental deck (a.k.a. the Invisible Deck)

1 Large card that fits nicely into one of the envelopes. On the card print
the word “NO” as big as you can.

SET UP

Place the deck into one of the envelopes. Place the “NO” card in the
second envelope. Place the “NO” card in the envelope in such a way that
you will be able to pull it out with the “NO” side facing the audience
without fumbling. The X-Ray glasses can go anywhere convenient. I
keep them in an eyeglass case.

!21
 ROUTINE

Begin the routine by bringing out the two envelopes and placing them on
a table close to you or simply keep them in your hand. Have an audience
member join you on stage and have him stand to your right. Say, “I’ve
done a lot of flying recently and I’ve had to go through the new body
scanners. As you know there has been a lot of controversy about the
body scanners. They make me uncomfortable, so I have figured out a
way to get even with the TSA agents.”

Bring out the eyeglass case and take out the X-ray glasses as you
continue, “This is what I do now. I just put these on in line...” Put on the
glasses and give the audience several seconds to realize exactly what
you have just put on your face. “...and when I get up to the body scanner,
I look at the person running it and I...” Turn your head to left and pretend
to slowly look an imaginary person up and down. Do this slowly. The
audience will respond with laughter.

Continue, “Yeah, then I walk through. It makes them a little nervous. I’ve
had some problems, after that. They don’t tend to let you keep walking...”
This line always gets a nice laugh if presented in a casual but matter of
fact way.

Take off the glasses as you say, “I did have one TSA agent stop me and
say, 'Hey, do those glasses really work? If they do, we could get rid of
these multi-million dollar machines.' I said, Of course they do! Now I
know you all are eager to see this in action.”

Put the x-ray glasses on your assistant as you say, “You get to
demonstrate. You are now an official New Era TSA Agent.”

AN EXTRA JOKE: “We’ll call you TSA agent Ted to protect your true
identity. Ted here can actually see through objects using his X-ray
glasses. Hey Ted, I just realized something. Your name is Ted, right?”
Your assistant will agree. Continue, “That means this is the X-Ray-Ted
part of the show... We better get back to work.”

NOTE: I don't always use the "X-Ray-Ted" joke. You can tell when the
audience is right for this kind of humor.

!22
Now position “Ted” several feet away from you and to your right. You want
him far enough away from you that it seems that you are trying to make
everything as fair as possible.

Say, “So here is what is going to happen. We are going to perform three
simple tests to prove to everyone that those are incredible, working X-ray
glasses that would revolutionize counter terrorism.”

“Are you ready? Great! We will keep this nice and happy because
terrorism, well, sucks. Now ladies and gentlemen I know you are
skeptical of Ted’s X-ray abilities so I have prepared three tests to
demonstrate. For the first test, I will put one of my hands behind my back
and hold up either one, two, three, four or five fingers. Ted will simply look
through my body and tell us, in a loud voice, how many fingers I am
holding up!” Some people in the audience will already see what’s coming
and will begin to chuckle. If you see your assistant tense up it is important
to urge him to relax. Repeat the instructions directly to him. Now put
your left hand behind your back at an angle where no one can see your
fingers.

“All right, how many fingers do I have up? One, Two, Three, Four or
Five?” When he gives an answer immediately put up the appropriate
number of fingers. Triumphantly bring your hand out from behind your
back and show that he was correct. You act oblivious to the obvious
nature of your scam and continue, “He’s right! Unbelievable! Amazing!
Yet, I sense some people in this crowd are skeptical. No problem I have a
second test that is even more impressive.”

Pick up the envelope with the “NO” card. Orient the envelope so that the
“NO” is facing the audience and say, “In this envelope I have something.
Now be honest Ted, do you have any idea what is in this envelope?” The
wording here is important. Especially the “...be honest” part. If you say
the whole thing casually and with a reassuring tone you will almost
always get “No” from your assistant (see COMMENTS for what to do if
you get something other than, “No”). This gag always gets a strong laugh
from the audience. Once the gag is done, place the card back in the
envelope and put it to the side.

!23
Pick up the second envelope and show it to the audience. Say,
“Amazing! But I still sense some unbelief. Not to worry, I have a third and
final test.”

Continue, “Earlier this evening I shuffled up a deck of cards. I fanned

them out and I took one card out of the deck. I turned that card upside
down and then stuck it back somewhere in the deck. I then put the deck
in the box and put the box in this envelope. Ted, I want you to peer
through the envelope, through the box, through all fifty-two cards and tell
us which card is backward in the deck. Go ahead!” Your assistant will
name a card. If he seems to be hesitating then break it down into parts
for him. Have him give you a suit first and then the value. Let’s say he
picks the Five of Spades.

As you take the cards out of the envelope, spread them and reveal the
back of the named card (as per the standard Invisible Deck handling) as
you say,“The Five of Spades! We shall see. One envelope,...one
box...with one deck inside...and look there is one card backward in the
deck.” Pause and let the visual image of the reversed card in the fan
sink in.

Say,“I think we would all agree that if this card is the Five of Spades then
we have witnessed something amazing.” Dramatically turn the card over
and display the Five of Spades as you continue, “Ladies and
gentlemen...TSA agent Ted! Give him the hand he deserves. Great job!”
You will get a strong reaction from the audience. Your assistant will be
equally amazed. Have him remove the glasses, if he hasn’t already done
so, and send him back to his seat with the applause he deserves.

COMMENTS

If your assistant doesn’t give you the “No” answer then you will change
this phase of the routine by simply looking into the envelope pausing and
declaring that he is right. The audience will be amused that your gag
backfired. You then go right into the final phase of the routine with the big
payoff. This can actually be played to be very funny.

You can substitute the “No” gag with the Bar Code gag or even the
Famous person/baby gag. It is up to you. Whatever you use, keep it
short and move on quickly. The gags are just for fun and to set up the

!24
premise that everything is going to be a joke. In a moment you will really
fool them with the finale.

ANALYSIS

This routine has several things built into it that makes it appeal to a
diverse audience. Of course, almost every adult can relate to the
frustrations of airport security. You also have an adult wearing X-Ray
glasses which can conjure up all kinds of memories and scenarios in
people’s minds. Kids in the audience will get a big kick out of watching an
adult in such a bizarre situation. The gag tests are funny and many
people have done these kinds of stunts at some point in their lives, but
here they are seeing them in a new and clever context. Finally, you can
get the crowd involved by cheering for your assistant before and after he
gets succeeds with the tests.

Watch X-Ray-Ted

(From a TRICS convention lecture, 2011)

!25
 3

JOURNEY CARD MAGIC SERIES

The Journey Card Magic Series started in 2014 with One Eighty and was
followed by Sharp in 2015. Each book in the series chronicles my journey
through the fascinating world of card magic. Each book covers a different
theme, principle or other aspect of card magic. One Eighty is an
exploration of the Count-Back force while Sharp explores various
methods for the classic Card Stab. Other books in the series are on their
way, but for now their topics must remain a secret. Here then, are two
routines from the, ever growing, Journey Card Magic Series.

!26
 ONE FOR SKINNER
(from One Eighty)

This routine was born after studying Michael Skinner’s routine, “Three
Different Ways." While this routine has definite similarities, there are
major differences. I have infused a whimsical pseudo gambling expose
presentation, dramatically changed the handling and sleights, added extra
magical moments and expanded the finale. I am especially fond of the
rationale used for the Count-Back Force in this routine. I wish I could
have shown it to Michael. I hope he would have liked it.

EFFECT

You demonstrate your ability to read tells, know the number of cards cut
off the deck, shuffle track, shuffle stack and more! The finale comes as a
complete surprise.

SET UP

There is a twenty card set up for this effect, but it is easily reset and thus
practical in venues where you might want to use it continuously. From the
top of the deck: AS, 3 queens (S,H,C) in any order, QD, JS, 3 tens
(D,H,C) in any order, 10S, any 2 cards, 2-9 in mixed suits (or all the same
suit, see COMMENTS), the rest of the deck. Corner crimp the bottom
card of the deck (or use a breather crimp).

ROUTINE

With the set up on top of the deck, obtain a little finger break below the
fifth card from the top (between the QD and JS). Cut the cards above the
break to the bottom of the deck (the QD is now the bottom card). This can
be done casually between effects and as you are talking with the
spectators. After a good false shuffle or two, steer the conversation
toward gambling and offer to demonstrate some of the arcane skills of the
card table.

You will now force two cards using the Cross-Cut Force. Perform the
classic Cross-Cut Force on spectator A. Ask her to look at and remember
the card on the bottom of her cut off portion (the QD). As she does, pick
up the rest of the deck and turn to a person on your left (spectator B).
!27
Thumb off the top card of the remainder of the deck (the JS) in front of
spectator B while saying, “Here, you take a card, too, but don't look at it.”
Turn back to spectator A and ask her to replace her half on the deck.
Look away as she does this.

POKER TELLS: Square the deck and place it on the table. Look at
spectator A and continue, "At the card table a card player must be able to
read the thoughts of other players just by observing their poker tells.
Everyone has them. Think of your card, but don't say anything. Was your
card a heart, club, spade or diamond? Hmm...interesting! Was you card
an ace, two, three..., or a King? I see! Well, believe it or not, based on
your tells, I can say with utter confidence that your card was NOT the
three of spades!" This will get groans and laughter. Of course, the
audience will wonder if you do actually know the card and keeping them
in suspense for a little while builds some dramatic tension. Not revealing
spectator A's card becomes a running gag until the end of the routine.

THE EXACT NUMBER: pick up the deck and give the deck a complete
cut at the crimp to return the stack to the top of the deck. Continue by
saying, "That was just one of the amazing skills an expert card shark can
develop." Turn to a third spectator (spectator C) and say, "Here's another,
would you please cut off a packet of cards, but less than half." The goal
here is to direct her to cut less than twenty cards and into the ascending
mixed suit portion of your stack (positions 11-19). While that may not
seem like a lot of leeway it is quite natural for a spectator to cut in that
range when requested to cut "less than half." If she seems to be having
trouble, you can give further guidance, just make sure to have her confirm
that the location of her cut was, indeed, a free choice.

You will now announce the exact number of cards she has cut off. You
are able to do this thanks to your stack. Simply glimpse the bottom card
of the cut off portion and add 10 to its value to know the number of cards
cut off. Let's say you calculate that she cut off 14 cards.

After the cards have been cut off the deck, say, "A professional card shark
can even know how many cards have been cut off the deck with amazing
precision. For instance I know you have cut off less than twenty-six
cards!" Pause and let them think you are making another joke. Then
continue, "In this case, I can go further than that. I think you cut off
exactly fourteen cards. Count them and we'll see!" Have her count the
cards into a pile on the table. She will count fourteen cards and everyone
will be impressed.

!28
As a running gag, look back at spectator A (the one you did the poker tell
demonstration for) and add, "Your card was NOT the five of hearts or two
of diamonds either!”

THE COUNT-BACK FORCE: Continue with spectator C, "Of course

knowing the number of cards cut off could be used to help a card cheat.
Let's try something else. Let's say you are in a card game with a number
of your friends...let's use your random number of cards which was
fourteen. If we add the digits one and four we get five. So you are
playing with five of your closest friends as determined by your free cut.
Pick up the cards you cut and deal five cards onto the deck for your
friends. You would get the next one, so look at it and show it around. The
Ten of Spades. That's a good card. Remember it and place it on the
deck. Drop the rest of your cards on them all." As stated in the above
script, you have guided her through the the Count-Back Force and she
will have selected the 10S. If the spectator doesn't show you the 10S,
ask her to do so and assure everyone that it is fine for you to see it.

SHUFFLE TRACKING, STACKING & MORE: Have spectator C give the

deck several complete cuts as you say, “Go ahead and cut the deck and
do it again.” After several complete cuts, continue, “Let’s say that your
Ten of Spades was a card you wanted to make sure to get in your next
hand. Let's cheat!”

Continue by taking the deck and proceed with several false shuffles (I
prefer a table false shuffle for this routine) as you say, “Though your card
would seem lost in the deck, being a cheat, I have actually tracked it. A
cheat can even do this during a shuffle, but to do so you have to look at
the deck the entire time!” Make sure that you are NOT looking at the
deck during this statement while you false shuffle to continue the
humorous nature of the presentation.

After the false shuffles, cut the deck at the crimp and complete the cut.
The stack is now back on top of the deck. Continue, “By tracking its ever
changing location, I can maneuver the Ten of Spades to a location where
it can come to you during the deal, but since this isn't a real game, l made
it more entertaining.”

Pick up the pace of your delivery as you continue, “I have tracked your
card and shuffled it to a location where I can actually spell to it, just to
show off.” With that, deal three cards into a tight pile as you spell, "t-e-n."

!29
Continue by dealing four cards in a second pile to the right of the tens pile
as you spell "s-p-a-d." As you lay down the card on the spell of "d" obtain
a break under the top two cards of the deck (a pinky count is preferred,
but the classic two card spread technique is fine too). On the spell of "e"
perform a Double Turnover onto the deck to reveal the 10S! Hold a little
finger break below the double.

Continue, “Since we all knew your card's identity, I took the liberty to also
demonstrate shuffle stacking, another way to give a team mate desired
cards. In other words, while I was shuffling, I made sure to find and give
you the other tens as well!" With that flip over and spread the group of
tens. This will get a very nice reaction.

Look at the spectator A and say, “Let me tell you what card I believe you
are actually thinking of. I believe your poker tells told me it was the
Queen of Diamonds. I also made sure to find it for you.” Flip over the
pile of queens, keeping them squared, to reveal the QD. Pause a beat
and then spread the cards to reveal the rest of the queens as you say, "I
felt it was only right to give you the rest as well."

HIGH CARD: Once this second revelation has registered, continue by

turning your attention to spectator B, who is still holding the unknown
card, and say, "You took a card and no one knows what it is, not even
you. Let’s play the popular and simple game known as High Card.
Whoever has the highest card wins. I have a ten. Show the 10S on top
of the deck, perform a double turnover and take the top card (the AS),
face down, with your right hand.

Continue, "What do you have?” Spectator B turns over his card to reveal
the Jack of spades. Look disappointed. Then say dejectedly, “I don’t
understand. I calculated a twenty-one percent edge on winning the
game.” With that, turn over your card to reveal the AS, to make a perfect
twenty-one hand and also win the game for yourself! Place the AS next
to the JS on the table.

As the audience reacts, palm off the 10S. Continue, “A cheat never relies
on chance! That’s all for today, class!” As you say this, pretend to take
the 10S out of your right front pocket (or from the card box) and throw it
back on top of the rest of the tens in a dramatic fashion to end.

!30
 RESET

The reset is very easy. Simply recreate the stack as you gather the JS,
AS, queens and tens. The rest of your stack is already in order on top of
the deck.
COMMENTS

I really like the rationalization for adding the digits and dealing back the
cards. In a gambling or card playing themed routine it works really well.
Even in an extreme case where the added digits leaves you with a large
or very small number of "players" it still works. You can justify even the
maximum number of "players" (11) by having the cards dealt in theoretical
Texas Holdem game.

If the numerical portion of the stack is all one suit, like the spades, then
instead of reassembling the complete stack for this routine you can utilize
the thirteen ordered cards by simply adding the AS, 10S, JS and QS in
their proper places. You will also need to add the KS to your set up by
including it at the end of the A-9 portion of the stack. You can now use
the ordered suit for dozens of strong effects!

You can also perform this routine without the ordered suit part of the
stack. Simply crimp a second card during the set up at a known position
between positions 11-19 from the top of the deck. Obtain a break under
this crimp and use the Cut Force to have a spectator cut the known
number of cards. You could also use a Breather crimp for the same
purpose. Personally, I prefer the stack version in most circumstances.

THE BOOK: ONE EIGHTY

You can find over 15 routines that explore the Count-Back force in One
Eighty, book one of the Journey Card Magic Series.

"Eric has taken an age old card concept and turned it on its head. This
book is full of inspired thinking.”
—John Carey

Purchase ONE EIGHTY


!31
 STABLOID
(from Sharp)

In this routine a selection is impaled on the end of the knife in the

"classic" Card Stab manner. This routine is extremely clean and allows
for the spectator to do the shuffling and then immediately spread the
cards on the table. The handling is very "hands-off" and 100%
dependable.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

In addition to a sharp pointed knife, you will need two sheets from a
newspaper (I prefer the tabloid size of paper, but any kind will work) and a
cork board to protect the table. The cork board I use is actually a cork
placemat I found at IKEA and is the perfect size. Craft stores and
business supply stores often sell cork boards or rolls of cork sheets that
can be cut to any size you wish. In an impromptu situation you can use
several layers of newspaper in place of the cork board, but more care
must be taken so you do not damage a table top when you make the stab
for the card.

SET UP

A minor preparation of the newspaper will be necessary. Although I

always do the preparation before the show, it is so simple that it could be
done right in front of the audience. The prepared newspaper looks
completely innocent.

As I said, I prefer to use "Tabloid" size news print. Not only is it the
perfect size for the effect, but it also can provide you with a rich source of
comedy and the latest news on which star has the most cellulite (always
important to know)!

To prepare the paper, take two sheets that are together (in their normal
folded condition) and with the creased side to your right, fold the
newspaper in half again, but from the bottom edge up to the top. Make
this crease nice, but it does not need to be a sharp crease. The
newspaper paper has now been folded into fourths.

!32
Finish the preparation by flipping the
newspaper over and folding the upper
right-hand corner of just the top sheet
of the paper in at a diagonal angle.
This "dog ear" crease can be adjusted
to a size you are comfortable with. I
typically make the fold about two
inches in from the upper right-hand
corner. The preparation is now
complete.

To the audience is will appear to simply be a folded tabloid paper which is

exactly what it is. I tend to try and keep the folded corner away from the
audience's view, but I don't really worry about it. If the audience sees the
fold it won't really register to them as some kind of secret preparation. It
just looks like the page was accidentally folded, and since it is a tabloid,
no one will care.

NOTE: If you are using this routine in a planned show, you can have the
paper already out on the table to the side with the dog ear folded side
pointing down and positioned on the inner left side of the folded paper.

Place the knife in your right pocket (or somewhere convenient).

ROUTINE

Begin by having a card selected and secretly control it to the top of the
deck by your favorite method. Once the card is secretly controlled to the
top of the deck obtain a left little finger break under it (I prefer the pinky
count for this).

THE LOAD

As you introduce the effect, pick up the

paper in your right hand by grabbing the
paper at the outer right-hand corner. Bring
it up to your left hand and grip the left end
of the paper with your left thumb. This
display of the paper places the prepared
corner immediately above the selection.
The deck does not vanish under the paper.

!33
It should remain visible throughout the following sequence of actions.

To load the corner of the selection into the

"pocket" created by the folded corner.
simply move the left hand forward while
the top of the deck remains in contact
with the paper. When the selection
passes the folded corner you will feel it.
When you feel the “click," immediately
move the left hand back to its original
position. As you do, allow the folded
corner of the paper to get fed between the
selection and the rest of the deck. You may need to move your left
fingers outward some to allow for an easy insertion of the paper. With a
little practice you will discover that this whole process is very easy and
can be done without looking at your hands. Done casually, there is
nothing to raise any suspicion. It looks like you are just holding the paper
as you address the audience. Remember, the deck does not leave the
audience's sight at any time.

NOTE: If you are performing while standing, and your audience is seated,
be aware that you will want to angle the front edge of the paper and deck
downwards so not to expose the load at the folded corner.

Continue by announcing that you have one more item that you need and
that it is in your pocket. With this said, you keep the paper clipped
between the thumb and the deck as you go to your pocket with your right
hand. Bring out the knife and place it down on the table or hand it out to a
spectator if appropriate. As the attention is on the knife, you will finish the
load of the card into the paper.

To load the card into the paper, push the paper to the left until it covers
the entire deck. The entire selection is now in the newspaper "pocket".

In a continuing action, turn the right hand palm upwards and away from
the deck. This displays the paper and causes the selection to fall deep
inside the pocket. The loaded selection will come to rest in the folded
corner of the "pocket". This sequence happens in one fluid motion and
appears to be the innocent action of displaying the paper as you say, "We
will also use this paper to create a blindfold of sorts. A knife, a blindfold,
and now I need a volunteer!"

!34
Once the paper is loaded it can be placed off to the side for the moment.
I usually place the knife on it. Continue by handing out the deck to be
shuffled.

Instruct the spectator to spread the deck, face down, on the cork mat and
mix it around. Instruct her to try and cover every inch of the mat with
cards. Do not pay any real attention to the spectator during this
procedure. Instead, focus on the audience and continue your
presentation.

While the spectator is mixing the deck on the table, pick up the paper by
the outer right side (the creases are to your right and at the outer end of
the folded paper). Your right hand should feel the card and be able to
hold it in place through the paper. With the card secured, you can
gesture with the paper without fear of having the card accidentally fall out.
This allows you to be very casual.

NOTE: No one, and I mean no one, will think that there is a card in the
paper. Don't blow it by handling the paper like it is made of highly volatile
explosives!

OPENING THE PAPER

By now the spectator should be done spreading the cards around on the
mat. You will now open the newspaper and place the two sheets down to
cover all the cards. In the process, you will secretly add the selection to
the cards on the mat in a location that will be easy to find later.

To open the paper, begin by inserting your left first finger between the
bottom two layers of the newspaper (between the folded corner page and
the next one). This is easy to do by starting at the inner left corner of the
newspaper and running the left first finger toward the outer left corner.
Because of the diagonal fold your left first finger will be guided between
the sheets automatically.

When your first finger gets close to the outer left corner of the newspaper
it should feel the card. When you feel the card, place your first finger
below it so that it is now trapped between the finger and the upper sheets
of the newspaper. Now, when the papers are opened you will have
complete control over the card.

!35
Continue by inserting the left thumb
above the page immediately above
the card. The thumb should be able
to feel the card and also help hold it
in place.

Meanwhile, the right thumb mirrors

the left thumb's action by being
inserted below the top two pages of
the upper pages of the newspaper.
The insertion of both thumbs is aided
by the fact that the newspaper
naturally is more open because of
the main original crease in the
newspaper folds.

Once the thumbs are inserted, it is

safe to open the paper. Do so by
using your right hand to open the
first fold to the right, like you are opening a book, and then using your
right thumb to open the upper pages out in front of you. This all takes
place in a continuous action. At the end you are holding the two sheets of
newspaper completely unfolded. The left hand is in complete control over
the hidden card.

THE PLACEMENT

All that remains is to place the papers over the cards on the table. Begin
by placing the newspaper over the right side of the cards. Immediately
move the left hand, which is holding the upper sheet, and concealed card,
to the left to cover the exposed cards on the left side of the mat. Once
the selection has cleared the lower paper, drop the card and continue to
move the left-hand's paper to the left until it covers the rest of the cards
on the table.

You should have a very accurate idea of where the selection lies under
the papers. You can use anything in that area of the newspaper (pictures,
bold print, etc.) to serve as a guide for the stab to come. If, for some
reason, you do not feel entirely confident that you know the location of the
selection, then lift the backs of the papers and look for the selection as
you casually adjust the papers. You should know the approximate
location of the selection—it will be the card in that area that is on top of all

!36
of the other cards. Let the papers drop after you have located the
selection and take note of any pictures, etc. on the paper that will help
you locate the selection.

THE STAB

Once everything is in place it is time to build up the impossibility of what

you are about to attempt and then stab the selection through the paper.

THE REVEAL

To reveal the card, hold the knife in place and dramatically rip away the
paper with your other hand. Lift the knife blade to show the selection on
the tip of the blade!

ADVANCED HANDLING

There is a way to get the card into the newspaper that involves less
handling, but a little more practice. Once you have the newspaper loaded
between the selection and the rest of the deck you can grip the edge of
the newspaper between your left thumb and first finger. As you go to your
right pocket to get the knife; look at your pocket to misdirect the audience.
As this happens, turn your left hand palm down and release the selection.
It will fall into the newspaper “pocket." At this point you are home free.
Continue with the rest of the routine. This is very subtle and clean. There
is the possibility of a little bit of sound, so be mindful of situations where it
might be too quiet to mask any sounds of the card’s free fall into the
“pocket."

NOTE: If you use a memorized deck then this routine can also be done
as a "name a card" routine. If you have the card written down and then
secretly learn its identity, then this routine can be absolutely mind
boggling to your audience.

!37
 THE BOOK: Sharp

Sharp, the second book in the Journey Card Magic Series, is a collection
of routines covering Eric's various methods for the Card Stab effect.
Sharp also covers the history of the Card Stab and the essential elements
for creating a powerful Card Stab performance.

"Sharp is a thought-provoking journey of history, methodology and

insight. Eric's 'Sharp Memory Stab' routine is a stunning
performance piece that is dangerously deceptive."

—John Guastaferro

"In Sharp, Eric reveals the best version of the Card Stab I have
ever seen ... PERIOD. Eric's routine fooled me badly."

—Michael Vincent

Watch performances of two other routines from SHARP

SHARP MEMORY STAB

SWITCH-BLADE

Purchase SHARP


!38
 MOMENTUM
a haunted deck like no other

The Haunted Pack is arguably the strongest card trick possible—a

card moves from the deck ON ITS OWN. Yet, why is it that so few
magicians use this trick? It's not difficult. But it normally uses
thread, and this makes it difficult to perform in many well-lit
venues, during the day, or up close. Plus, some of us simply don't
feel comfortable doing magic with such fragile invisible thread.

Well, there is FINALLY another solution. Momentum is a Haunted

Pack style effect WITH NO THREADS OR GIMMICKS. Imagine
spreading cards in your hand and causing a THOUGHT-OF card to
slowly, eerily SPIN OUT OF THE SPREAD. Your hands are
completely still. Now, imagine doing this with a REGULAR PACK
OF CARDS. Momentum is a revolutionary concept in playing card
animation, and we see this becoming a regular staple of your
repertoire.

Video download. Running time: 53 minutes, 15 seconds.

Learn it now!

!39
 4

TRILOGY

This chapter contains three routines that all use the same full-deck stack.
You could literally build an entire card set out of the effects in this chapter!
Here you will find a nice Spectator Cuts to the Aces routine, a highly
entertaining and surprising gambling exposé routine and a full-deck story
routine in the tradition of "Sam the Bellhop."

The stack I am using for these routines is the Aronson stack. Many
magicians have the misconception that the Aronson stack is a
"memorized deck" and therefore it is useless to them because they don't
want to memorize a deck. The Aronson stack is simply a full-deck stack
(with profound possibilities). It is only a "memorized deck" if you actually
memorize it!

The following routines do not require that the stack be memorized. Even
if you never intend to memorize a deck you can still use the Aronson
stack for a huge amount of strong routines, of various themes, which are
built right into it. I have been using the stack for almost twenty years and
in that time I have developed a lot of original, non-memorized deck,
material for it. In fact, I have created enough material for three books on
the subject (It All Depends, Oasis and Tour). Almost all of the routines
were tested and honed "in the trenches" of my weekly restaurant and
walk-around performances over many years. Of course, Simon has
created a number of brilliant (non-memorized) effects for his stack (see
his books Bound to Please, Try the Impossible and Art Decko). There are
even more routines to choose from in the published works of Michael
Close, Eric Mead, Michael Vincent, etc. Bottom line: with the Aronson
stack you have an incredible, multi-purpose stack that will allow you to
perform amazing effect after amazing effect. Now, if you memorize the
stack too…well, I promise you will never regret it and neither will your
audiences!

!40
With that said, set up a deck in the Aronson order (if you don’t know it,
you can find it in Simon’s free ebook Memories are Made of This (HERE)
or in Simon's books cited earlier) and follow along with the routines in this
chapter. As I said earlier, each effect leaves the stack in order so you can
go from one routine to the next without any hassle. So, with that, let me
teach you some tricks and tell you a story...

Performing "Hero's Tale" at the Session

Photo by Dan Burgess

!41
 CUT TO ORDER: INTRO

(from It All Depends)

Let’s visit the classic “Spectator Cuts to the Aces” effect. This version has
several interesting features. First, it begins and ends with the deck in
Aronson stack order. This is great because it allows you to add another
classic card routine to your repertoire and maintain the stack for more
magic.

Second, this version uses no culling. Instead, it uses several

displacement strategies to accomplish the necessary positioning of the
proper cards. I am by no means shy about culling a card or two within the
stack to make a trick happen, but for this routine I wanted to be able to
jump right into it without any advanced preparation. This is one of my
favorite routines to perform with the stack. I use it constantly. Perhaps
you will too!

A NOTE ON THE PROCESS

Since we will be letting the spectators cut the deck into multiple packets
and dealing with other handling issues, it is important that the process for
maintaining the stack order is fully understood. At first it may seem
complicated, but it is actually very straight forward. Just a little practice
will show you just how practical it really is. The routine can be broken
down into four parts.

Part 1: one of the aces will be forced and kept unseen by a spectator.

Part 2: as you are instructing the spectators on how they will cut off
packets of cards, you demonstrate your uncanny ability to cut an exact
number of cards off the deck. It is during this demonstration that the other
three mates of the forced card are secretly set in their proper positions for
the routine.

Part 3: the spectators cut their packets off the deck.

Part 4: the four aces are revealed.

!42
 CUT TO ORDER: ACES
EFFECT

The spectators cut to the aces.

THE ROUTINE

PART 1: FORCING AN ACE

Cut the AS to the top, false shuffle and then force the AS on one of the
spectators using the classic Cross-Cut Force as you say, “Will you please
cut the cards. Great. We will mark your place for a moment. The reason
I had you cut the cards is that I need a card for the game we will play in a
moment. If I picked my own card someone would probably claim I
cheated. So please take the card you cut to and just set it aside. That’s
my card for the game. Don’t look at it or show it around. Just guard it for
now. Thank you." The spectator can just place the card by his side.

PART 2: THE DEMONSTRATION

Cut the top two cards (3H & 6C) to the bottom of the deck. The 8D will
now be the top card of the deck. You will now demonstrate your uncanny
ability to cut an exact number of cards off the deck. In the process of this
demonstration you will prepare the deck for the cuts to come. I really
enjoy this part of the routine. It is lighthearted and the spectators enjoy
the intriguing premise. However, there is a lot going on in this phase of
the routine so it is crucial to really have it down cold.

Continue, “In this little game, I will need a few of you to cut off a small
packet of cards—let’s say about ten cards." As you say this, actually try
to cut off exactly ten cards. Your goal is to have the AD as the bottom
card of the cut off packet for a total of ten cards. If you cut off a packet
and see the AD on the bottom then you are ready to count them and
prove you have made good on your claim.

If, however, you see a card other that the AD then you need to do some
adjusting. Here you will use a clever idea of Darwin Ortiz, which is based
on an effect by Gary Plants, to successfully fulfill your claim even if you
miss.
!43
The basic idea is that you cover your failure in the guise of a gag. If,
when you see the bottom card of the packet, it is not the AD use your
knowledge of the stack to determine if you need to add some cards to the
packet or loose some cards from the packet to get the AD to the bottom.
You will now simply make the claim that you just cut exactly ten cards and
place the packet back on the deck while holding a break below it. The
spectators will react because you never allowed them to verify your claim.
As they react you make the necessary adjustments to achieve a break
below the AD. If you had too many cards use your right thumb to drop the
desired number of cards. If you didn’t have enough cards then pinky
count or otherwise get a break under the cards you need and add them to
the packet. In either case you now secretly have a break under the AD.
Feign surprise at spectator's skepticism.

Now simply cut to the new break and announce that it you just did it
again. This time you offer to prove it. When you count these ten cards
you will also secretly arrange the cards so that there will be an ace at the
top and bottom of the packet when you are done with the count.

All of this is covered by your presentation, "For instance, that was exactly
ten! What? You’re not so sure? Well, I’ll do it again! Ten cards."

Regardless of whether you had a direct hit on the cut or used the second
"cut" you will now have ten cards ready to be counted. You must now do
the first secret adjustment as you count the cards singly from the top of
the packet into the right hand. As you count them you will retain stack
order by taking each card, into the right hand, under the cards before it.
There is one exception. The second card of the count (the AC) goes on
top of the first card. All the rest go underneath the right-hand packet as
they are counted. This positions and AC at the top and the AD at the
bottom of the right-hand packet at the end of the count. All of this
happens as you count and say, "Lets count. One, two,...and ten. Thank
you. Years of practice!"

The second secret adjustment happens with the rest of the deck held in
the left hand. Place the right-hand packet down on the table as you
continue,“If you want to get good at this yourself then start with one card,
then cut off two, then three and so on. Eventually you will be able to do it
too!” As you explain how you developed this skill by just learning how to
“...cut one, then two, then three, and so on…” you thumb off cards into
your right fingers. To retain stack order you take each card under the last

!44
with the exception of the fourth and final card. It goes on top of the three
cards in your right finger tips. This card is the AH. Once you have
counted the four cards place them back on the deck. You now have the
deck and the right-hand packet set for Part 3. I recognize that Part 2
reads long but in practice the whole phase hardly takes any time at all.

PART 3: THE SPECTATORS MAKE THEIR CUTS

Pick up the tabled packet in the right hand and hold it in end grip. With
the rest of the deck deep in the left hand, use the left fingertips and thumb
to steady the right-hand packet as you use your right thumb to run up the
back of the packet and obtain a thumb break above the bottom card (the
AD). Do this as you say, “I want you to cut off a small packet of cards.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to cut off exactly ten cards like I did. Just cut
off a small packet and place it down in front of you.” Hold out your left
hand and allow the spectator to cut some cards off the deck. Instruct her
to place them on the table as you say, "Yes, that’s good. Place it on the
table. Great."

As she places her packet on the table let your hands come together and
allow the right-hand packet to “kiss” the deck. As this is done the card
below the break is added to the top of the deck. Move the right-hand's
packet away again. Continue by addressing another spectator, "And you
too...great..." Extend your left hand to allow the next spectator to also cut
off a small packet. As they table their packet, place the right-hand packet
on top of the deck. Do not hold a break.

Finally, offer a third spectator the deck and allow them to cut off a small
packet as well, as you say, "And you as well...perfect!” You now have
three packets on the table and each has an ace on top.

PART 4: THE REVELATIONS

Continue, “All three of you have cut your own pile. The game we are
going to play is called 'High Card'. The object of the game is simple. You
win the game if the card you cut to, the card on top of your cut pile, is the
highest value card.”

Place your remaining cards on the table in front of you. Look at the
spectator that you forced the Ace of Spades on and say, “Thank you for
guarding my card! You’ve determined my fate." Have him hand you the
AS and hold it face down and close to the three tabled piles.

!45
Addressing your fellow players, say, "On the count of three turn over the
top card of your pile, the card you cut to, and we will see who the winner
is! One...Two...Three!” Turn over your card and place it face up on your
pile as the spectators do the same. Each player has cut to an ace and
everyone will be amazed! Conclude with, "Everyone lives happily ever
after."

RESET

At the end of the routine you have four tabled packets and each has a
face-up ace on top. You can now use the aces in another routine or
replace them in stack order. To do so you have several good options.
You can place the aces to the side. Assemble the rest of the deck in
stack order and then use Denis Behr's "Plop Replacement" technique.
Another option is to assemble the rest of the deck and fan it with the
faces toward you and insert the aces in their proper stack positions. You
can also use the following sequence:

Let's label the four packets in front of you by the ace resting on top of
each packet. You will reassemble the deck by picking up the packets in
H,D,C,S order.

Ace of Hearts: pick up the AH pile and insert the AH face down fourth
from the top.

Ace of Diamonds: with the AH pile in the left hand pick up the AD pile
with the right hand in end grip. Use your left thumb and the left side of
the right hand's cards to flip over the AD face down onto the left hand's
cards. Place the right hand's cards onto the left hand's cards, but hold a
break above the two packets. The AD is now below the break. Undercut
the cards below the break and allow all the packets to become one (no
break is held).

Ace of Clubs: with the combined packet in the left hand, take the AC pile
in the right hand turning it face up in the process. As you fan it you
comment on how amazing it is that they cut to the aces. And point out
that if they had cut anywhere else it would have been a completely
different result. As you show the fanned cards sight the 3S. This is your
key card. You will now insert all of the left hand's cards between the 3S
and the card to its right. This apparently is just mixing the cards but in
fact you are putting them in order!

!46
Flip all of the cards face down and slip the AC, face down, second from
the top. You can get fancy here and use the Tilt procedure to apparently
insert it into the large packet, but it isn't necessary.

Ace of Spades: pick up the AS pile in the right hand and place it onto the
left hand’s cards, but hold a break below it. Spread the cards above the
break enough to obtain a new break two cards up from the bottom of the
packet. Slip cut the AS into the break. Use the right-hand packet to flip
the AS face down. Allow the right hand's cards fall flush on the rest of the
deck. Cut the JS back to the top to be back in Aronson order.

I know that sounds complicated, but with a little practice it becomes a

smooth and quick procedure. It should be done as the spectators are still
reacting and as you are talking to them.

COMMENTS

If you don’t like some of the adjustments needed in Part 2 you can always
cull the aces to the proper positions before you start the routine.

You don’t have to force the AS. You can move it between the 6C and 8D
and then cut the AS to the bottom. Carry out the routine for the first three
cut piles. As you ask for a fourth volunteer, side steal the AS from the
bottom of the packet and put it on top of the packet. Have the last
spectator cut to make the final pile. The reset is obvious.

When performing this routine it is sometimes easier to have the cut off
packets placed in a row in front of you from left to right instead of each
person having their packet in front of them around a table. There are two
reasons why you might want the packets close to you. First, the situation
of everyone cutting to the aces is immediately obvious to everyone. This
heightens the impact of the effect. Second, the reset is much easier and
faster if the packets are right in front of you. Of course if you choose to
turn over the cards yourself it changes the emotional tone of the effect,
but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It depends on your presentation.

If the spectator who cuts the final packet cuts very shallow (i.e. only the
top three or so) it changes your re-set procedure. To avoid this I instruct
them to cut off “a bunch” of cards. This usually works. If they insist on
cutting a very small packet here is the reset: Proceed as normal for the
AH and AD piles. Take the AC pile and insert the AC face down second
!47
from top. Add the AC pile to the bottom of the AS pile. Fan out the AS
pile and cut any cards from the top with low stack numbers to the bottom.
Add the combined piles to the rest of the deck and cut the JS to the top to
restore the stack order.

CREDITS

When I developed this routine I used ideas gathered from many different
published routines. There are ideas here from Ackerman, Ortiz, Plants,
Riser, Bannon and Malone. My only claim to any amount of originality
here is in the way I have combined these into an efficient and entertaining
way to perform this classic effect while maintaining the stack order.

Bob Veeser: published the first version of this plot.

Darwin Ortiz: the cutting ten adjustment procedure in phase two is a

modified form of a trick by Gary Plants and Darwin Ortiz. See Designing
Miracles by Darwin Ortiz, pg. 57-58.

Allan Ackerman: I first came across the strategy of having one of the four
of a king selected ahead of the cuts in Allan’s routine “One Kiss.” See
Classic Ackerman (DVD).

Harry Riser: added the idea of the “demonstration packet.”

John Bannon: See his SWAK technique in his routine “Final Verdict” in
Dear Mr. Fantasy, pg. 55-61.
Bill Malone: with “Cut em High and Tie,” Bill has come up with one of the
most commercial presentations for the effect. See James Swain’s 21st
Century Card Magic, pg. 33-36 or Bill Malone’s On the Loose (DVD), Vol.
2.

THE BOOK: It All Depends

It All Depends, the first book of the Aronson stack trilogy, is full of routines
for the Aronson stack and several thought provoking essays on working
with a stacked deck "in the real world."

Purchase IT ALL DEPENDS

!48
 What the DEVIL?
(from Tour)

Routines that allow you to show off your skill with cards are frowned upon
by some card magicians. They are about to frown again! While they are
busy frowning, you can rock this routine at any time—directly from the
Aronson stack. When a lay audience believes they are seeing a real
demonstration of card cheating skills, they sit up and take notice. In this
routine you get all the credit, but without needing to be the next Steve
Forte. The climax of the routine comes as a complete surprise and
reminds the audience you are not just their friendly neighborhood card
shark. In fact, they will be left to wonder about your eternal soul…

EFFECT

The magician performs a series of impressive card cheating

demonstrations. The routine ends with several surprises and a devilish
finale!

SET UP

NOTE: While not absolutely necessary, a mark on the AC is very handy

in this routine.

Put a breather crimp in the 4S. The breather crimp can be replaced with
a temporary crimp if you can’t handle serious commitment.

ROUTINE

Cut the 4S to the bottom of the deck and obtain a break below the AC in
preparation for the force to come.

PHASE 1- RIFFLE COUNTING

The routine begins with an impressive demonstration of skill with cards.

This phase also accomplishes the goal of reversing twenty-five cards
which is necessary for the third phase of the routine.

!49
Begin by saying, “Just say stop whenever you would like.” Riffle-force all
the cards above the break and take them into the right hand while setting
the remaining cards on the table.

Transfer the cards you are holding to your left hand and say, “Here is a
crazy example of a skill that would help a card shark. I'll try to tell you
how many cards I have in my hand by simply counting them as they riffle
off my thumb!” Hold the cards up to your left ear and quickly run your
thumb down the corner of the pack with your left thumb.

Continue, “Hmm...I want to nail it exactly. I think...I counted twenty-five.

Let's see if I'm right...” Count the cards one at a time onto the tabled pile
thus reversing their order in the process. The audience will be impressed.
At this point the reassembled deck is on the table and you have reversed
the top twenty-five cards. Say, “Nailed it! I know that might seem like an
odd skill, but for a card shark that kind of sensitivity can come in quite
handy.”

Pick up the deck and cut the bottom third to the top.

PHASE 2- TRACKING AND LOCATING A CARD

While this phase is optional, I like including it because it is impressive to

lay audiences and it continues to build on the theme with increasingly
more impressive displays of card cheating skills.

Continue, “Let me give you another example from the card shark's
arsenal.” Spread the deck in your hands and pretend to be looking for a
specific card. As you do, cull the 6H under the spread and secretly
reposition it between the JS and KC. Up-jog the AC when you come to it
and say, "We will use the ace of clubs for this demonstration." Close the
spread, push the AC flush with the deck and place the deck in front of a
spectator.

NOTE: You can also cull the 6H into position before the routine begins.

Say, “Go ahead and cut the deck. Thanks! Go ahead and cut again.”
Have the spectator cut and complete the cut several times.

Continue, “Being able to track a card in the deck is really an important

skill. As you cut the cards I kept track of the ace of clubs. And I'm pretty
sure I can cut right to it.” Cut to the crimp and complete the cut. You will
!50
know immediately if you have cut to it because you will see the marked
AC. Continue by saying, “It should be right about here!” Turn the AC face
up onto the deck.

Say, “Of course, once it is on top, the card shark will want to deal it to
himself. He can do so by...cheating on the deal!” With the AC face up on
the deck, perform two second deals and then deal the AC to yourself.
This sequence is incredible to a lay audience. Allow them to really enjoy
the moment. Gather up the three cards in reverse stack order. Return
the AC, face down, to the top of the deck and give the deck a false
shuffle.

PHASE 3- DEALING THE ROYAL FLUSH IN SPADES

Continue, “All right let's combine all of these skills!” As you say this,
spread the deck and pretend to look for a new card to demonstrate with.
Really, you will name the AS which is 5th from the top of the deck.

Say, “This time we’ll use the Ace of Spades. Give the deck a cut, and
another and just one more.” Let the spectator cut the deck several times.
When they have made several complete cuts take the deck back.

“Great, this time, I will not only try to locate the Ace of Spades, I will also
position it with shuffles so that I can deal it to myself in a five handed
game. This is called shuffle stacking and it combines tracking the card,
counting the cards with my fingers and shuffling it into an exact location.”
Cut to the crimp and complete the cut (once again, look for the mark on
the AC for verification). With the AC cut to the top of the deck, continue
with the following false shuffle sequence:

Place the deck in position for a tabled riffle shuffle. Cut the upper half of
the deck to the left. Now perform a Zarrow shuffle under the top card (the
AC) of the left hand’s portion of the deck.

Cut to the breather crimp and take the upper half to the left. Zarrow
shuffle the right hand’s portion under the top card (the AC) of the left
hand’s portion. After this Zarrow shuffle, the deck is back in order with the
reverse ordered twenty-five cards on top of the deck. At the end of the
sequence look victorious and say “...and that should do it!"

!51
Take the deck in the left hand in preparation for dealing the cards. Deal
four cards, singly, into a pile on the table as you say, “Let's see, one…
two…three…four. These cards, for the other players don't matter.”

Continue, “What matters is what I will deal to myself... The ace of

spades!”, as you turnover the 5th card to reveal the AS. After showing the
AS turn it back over onto the deck and deal it in front of you.

Say, “Not bad at all, but I have to be honest with you. I took it further than
that. My cuts and shuffles were even sneakier than I let on.” As you talk,
deal four cards onto the audience’s pile. As you deal the fourth card onto
the pile, spread the next two cards over to the right with your left thumb.
As you drag them back to the left, use your left little finger to obtain a
break beneath the two cards. “I also controlled the jack...” perform a
double turnover to reveal the JS. After showing the JS turn it back over
onto the deck and deal the top card (the 6H) onto the face-down AS.

Continue this dealing and double lift pattern to produce the QS and KS as
you continue, “the queen...the king…”

Deal four more cards into the discard pile and turn over the single 10H as
you say, “…and the ten! It is an unbeatable hand!” Don’t look at the 10H
as you deliver your triumphant declaration. It will be quickly pointed out
that you missed your last card. Act surprised, but like your trying to keep
your cool. Obtain a little finger break under the top two cards.

Continue, “Well, there are ways to take care of mistakes like this…” As
you deliver these lines, take the double into the right hand and perform
the One-Handed Swivel Change (you could also use the Shapeshifter
change or a top change) as you continue, “…that's more like it!” After the
change drop the double back onto the deck. Take the face-up 10S and
drop it on the table, still face up, next to your "Royal Flush" pile.

Obtain a break under the top card of the deck. Double undercut about
half of the deck to the top, retaining the break. Take all the cards above
the break and place them on the dealt pile. Then place the remaining
cards in your hand on top of the tabled deck. At this point the entire deck
is in Aronson stack order except the cards you dealt to yourself. Pick up
the deck and take it into left-hand dealing grip. As you do, slightly spread
the bottom four cards of the deck and get a break above them with your
left little finger.

!52
PHASE 4- FIND THE QUEEN

Continue, “Of course not all card sharks use the whole deck. You may
have heard of the Three Card Monte game played with just three cards.”
As you say this, take the 10S, show it, and place it on the top of the deck.
Cut the cards below the break to the top of the deck (the 9S is now the
bottom card of the deck). Table the deck as you continue, "So let's get rid
of the ten..."

Immediately pick up the four cards on the table and square them as you
say, "...and the ace." Turn the packet face up to show the AS on the
bottom and then turn the packet back face down. Slide the AS off the
bottom and place if face down onto the deck. You can allow its face to
flash again as you set it on the deck. The audience will believe you still
hold the remaining Jack, Queen and King of Spades.

Say, “Sometimes it is called Find the Queen." Spread the three cards and
tap the center card as you say this. The audience will believe it is the
queen based on how you dealt the cards.

"If you are ever on the street and someone asks you to find the queen,
don’t play.” Out-jog the middle card and then move it to the top of the
three card packet. Reverse count the three cards. This apparent mix is
purposefully easy for the audience to track and they will believe that the
queen is now on the bottom of the packet.

Spread the cards again and continue, “If you do, you will lose everything!
If you decide to ignore my warning then whatever you do, don’t ever pick
the top card, you will lose. Never ever pick the middle card, everyone
picks the middle card. And don’t ever pick the bottom card it is too
obvious." As you deliver these lines, point to the back of each card in
turn. Continue, "Really! Don't choose any of them!" Turn the fan over to
reveal the three sixes as you conclude, "They don't call these the Devil's
Playthings for nothing!

RESET

Flip the deck face up drop the three sixes onto the deck (onto the 9S).
They should be in this order from the face: H,S,D. Spread the cards
toward yourself as you add, "Who wants to play poker...for your eternal
soul?". As you square up the deck, obtain three breaks. Gain breaks
above the 10H (with the left little finger), the KS (with the left ring finger)
and the QS (with the middle finger). You are now in position to slip cut
!53
the sixes back into their proper positions using Denis Behr’s "Plop
Replacement" method.

Of course, you could also just fan the cards and insert them followed by a
false shuffle. Whatever floats your boat.

COMMENTS

In the introduction to this routine I pointed out that some magicians prefer
to never demonstrate any level of skill with cards. I respect and
understand their position. I, however, don’t share that view. Instead of
defending my position I will simply refer you to a fascinating essay on the
topic by Darwin Ortiz found in his excellent Scams and Fantasies (see
pages 211-220).

THE BOOK:TOUR

You can find a huge amount of material, for the Aronson stack, including a
way to begin and end in new deck order, in the third book of Eric's
Aronson stack trilogy, Tour.

"Tour, the title of this book, is an understatement: this book is a voyage of

discovery, revelation and liberation."

—Michael Vincent

Take the TOUR


!54
 HERO’S TALE

(from OASIS)

When I was a child my parents would take me to the annual renaissance

fair at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. I would always look
forward the magicians and the jugglers. I also enjoyed the strolling
performers who would draw in a crowd, pull some of the audience
members into the play and give the audience funny things to say as the
play went on. The crowd would “boo” the villain, cheer for the hero and
basically become part of the play. You can create that kind of street play
atmosphere with this story routine. One of the fun things about this
routine is that you can really get the crowd into it by giving them a part to
play.

EFFECT

The magician uses the deck to tell a story about how the King’s humble
servant Jack recovers the King’s stolen diamonds, captures the evil
villains and everyone lives…well…you know.

SET UP

Before the routine begins, cut the KH to the top of the deck. Cull the AD
between the 2D and KD. Put a crimp in the bottom card (the 4H). Give
the deck a straight cut and you’re set for the routine.

REVELATIONS

The revelations used in this routine can be changed to suit your tastes
and skill level. I'd suggest practicing the routine a few times using the
revelations given, to familiarize yourself with everything, and then
experiment with other revelations. The revelations you ultimately use
must maintain the stack order and be relatively fast in execution.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

If you want to incorporate some audience involvement into the

performance, you will want to prepare them for this before the routine
!55
begins. Make sure to give them clear instructions on what you expect and
when you want them to give their responses. I prefer to “strike a pose” to
cue the audience for their responses. This is important so that they don’t
feel like they have to give me a response every time I might mention one
of the characters in the story. I have put the optional audience
involvement script in brackets and underlined the cue words within the
routine. Ignore these if you don’t want to perform the routine with the
audience involvement.

ROUTINE

Give the deck a false shuffle and a false cut. As you do, introduce the
routine:

[“It’s time for a story! It’s an epic tale rivaling the greatest stories
of all time. But for this story to be told I will need your help. There
are several characters in the story and whenever I hold a card up
and do this (strike your pose) it will be your cue to respond
appropriately. You will need to cheer for our hero, boo the evil
villains and basically be the rowdy crowd that you are.”

“There are four parts you will need to play. Whenever I say 'King'
and strike the pose, like this, you need to say ‘Long live the King!’”
As you give these instructions take the top card of the deck and
hold it next to your face to demonstrate “the pose” and what you
want the audience to do. Continue, “Whenever I say, ‘Jack’ and
strike the pose, give him a ‘Hooray.’ Whenever I say ‘Diamonds’
and strike the pose give a nice ‘Ooh’ and ‘Ahh.’ You are doing
great! There are also some evil villains in the story and whenever
I say ‘evil villains’ and give the thumbs down, give them a big
‘boo.’”] At this point you can run through them again to reinforce
the four responses. Replace the card on top of the deck and
begin…

NOTE: I will give the revelations used for each card after a part of the
script is given. Hopefully this will make learning the script and the
revelations easier. You will find an uninterrupted script at the end of the
routine description.

!56
"There once was a [King] who was known the world over for his collection
of the ten largest [diamonds] in the world."

KH: Perform a Charlier Cut at the crimp and then perform the Drop
Flourish: with the deck in your left hand push the top card over to the right
for about half an inch as you take the deck in the end grip with your right
hand. The side-jogged condition of the card is hidden by the right hand.
Hold the deck about twelve inches above the left hand. Drop the deck
into the open left hand. As you do, the air pressure will cause the top
card to flip over and land on top of the deck as the deck is caught in the
left hand. Place the king face up onto the table.

10D: Perform a double turnover onto the deck to reveal the 10D. Keep a
break under the double. (For audience participation, hold the entire deck
up to your face to “strike the pose.” This is the easiest way to handle the
double). Turn the double face down onto the deck and table the top card
(the 4D) on top of the KH.

"One day his faithful servant [Jack] discovered that the six largest
diamonds had been stolen! [Jack], vowed with all his heart to find the
[evil villains] and return the six missing diamonds."

JC: Double undercut the top two cards to the bottom of the deck. Turn
the deck face up to reveal the JC. (Once again, if you are using audience
participation, hold the entire deck up to your face to “strike the pose.”)

With your right hand, turn over the face-down card on the table to reveal
the 4D. Six diamonds are now missing. Place the 4D face up on the KH
to begin to create a discard pile. Take the double off the deck. (Easy to
do because of the crimped card below them) and place the double face
up onto the discard pile. Keep the double square so the 10D won’t be
seen. As you place the double down onto the pile with your right hand,
turn the deck face down and continue immediately with the next
revelation.

JH: Perform John Cornelius’ “Spring Set” flourish (see The Award
Winning Magic of John Cornelius by Lance Pierce): push the top card
over to the right for about one fourth of an inch. Use your left thumb to
contact the exposed portion of the second card from the top of the deck.
!57
Press down and to the left with your left thumb. This will cause the top
card to flip over and land back on the deck. (“Strike the pose” if you are
using audience participation.) Table the face-up JH onto the pile.

"He began his feverish search of the ten shires of the realm. The only
thing [Jack] had on his mind were the stolen [diamonds]. He searched the
four surrounding shires, but came up empty. So, keeping track, out of ten
shires he still had six to check! "

10C, JD: Double undercut the top card (the 10C) to the bottom. Perform
the Two Card Catch flourish by holding the deck in your left fingertips.
The left thumb is on top and the fingers are underneath the deck. Toss
the deck into the right hand. By using light pressure you will hold back
the top and bottom cards of the deck in your left hand. Turn the two cards
face up in the left hand. As you deliver the lines thumb off the cards one
at a time onto the tabled pile. Point to the “J” and the diamond as you
deliver the appropriate lines.

4S: Give the deck an in-the-hands false cut and perform the Drop
Flourish again. Table the 4S on the pile.

10H, 6H: Double undercut the 10H to the bottom of the deck and perform
the Two Card Catch again. As you deliver the lines thumb off the cards
one at a time onto the tabled pile (see COMMENTS for an alternative
procedure for these revelations).

"He got his first break outside the three clovers (it was a club). He
learned that Two mysterious figures had been seen quickly traveling
through the countryside and heading for the notoriously seedy ninth shire
of the realm."

3C: Obtain a break under the top card. You will now perform a sequence
starting with J.K. Hartman’s Uppercut Revelation as follows: grip the deck
in end grip with the right hand. Your right thumb takes over the break.
Undercut half the deck and rotate it face up onto the top of the deck. Now
turn over all the cards above the break onto the deck by flipping it over on
its short end. Table the 3C.

!58
2S, 9H: Perform a Charlier Cut at the crimp and turn over the 2S. Deal it
and the 9H face up on the pile in synch with the script.

"Jack sent a message to the [King]. But be- [four] he could continue...his
head started to spin...he started feeling sick ..., so he ate, felt better and
quickly headed to the ninth shire. "

KS: Perform the Drop Flourish and table it on the pile.

4C: Perform a double-turnover to reveal the 4C and then turn it back over
and take just the top face-down card (the 6S) with your right hand.

6S: Give the right-hand card a Pirouette Flourish and turn it over to reveal
the change to the 6S. Table it on the pile.

8H: Double-undercut the top two cards to the bottom of the deck and turn
the deck face up to reveal the 8H. Take the double and place it on the
tabled pile.

9C: Turn the deck face down and perform the Spring Set Flourish again.
Place the 9C on the pile.

"Upon arriving, he found the [evil villains]! They were two of the royal
family’s maids; Thelma and Louise. Jack had the ladies stopped, but no
diamonds were found. They only had two loaves of bread between them
and so they were allowed to take their two loaves and leave. Literally,
nine seconds later..."

QS,QC,2C,9D: Here you will begin a sequence that will ultimately reveal
the two black queens and switch the 2C placed between them for the 6D.
To do this we will use the Kosky Switch, a beautiful move by Gerald
Kosky (see Card College Vol. 4 pg 951-952): to begin, turn over the top
card onto the deck to reveal the QS. As you do, obtain a break under the
second card from the top of the deck. Take the top two cards as one in
end grip. The right hand uses them to flip over the new top card of the
deck to reveal the QC. Take the QC on top of the QS (double) and leave
the QC side-jogged to the left. Take the three cards in end grip.

!59
Continue by using the queens to flip over the 2C on top of the deck. Use
your left thumb to push over the face-up 2C and slide it between the two
queens. Square up the right-hand packet.

Use your left thumb to drag the QC onto the deck but out-jogged about
half its length. Now drag the 2C onto the deck but use the right-hand
double to flip the 2C face down. The 2C is aligned with the deck. Place
the double, in-jogged about half its length, on top of the face-down 2C.

At this point you can use your right fingers to pull up on the front edge of
the 2C to show it between the queens one last time. To affect the switch,
use your right thumb to contact the back edge of the double card and
push it up and forward at the same time. Continue this forward motion as
you push the double until it is aligned with the out-jogged QC. Grip the
three out-jogged cards with your right fingers and pull the three cards
forward and away from the deck. You continue the forward motion as you
table the three cards next to the discard pile. Allow the three cards to
spread slightly after the switch is completed. The illusion is perfect. The
spectators will believe the sandwiched 2C never left their sight.

Perform a false cut and then double turnover the top two cards to reveal
the 9D. Place the double onto the discard pile. Keep it square to hide the
2C.

"....our hero [Jack] had a brilliant idea and cried 'stop in the name of the
[King]!' He ordered them to break open the bread. The six [diamonds]
fell out. The [evil villains] were arrested and taken away! Never to be seen
again."

JS, KC: Double-undercut the top card to the bottom of the deck.
Perform the Two Card Catch. Reveal the JS and KC as per the script.
Drop them onto the pile.

Take the queens with the 6D sandwiched between them in the right hand
while keeping them spread. Tilt the fan forward and let the 6D fall out
and, as you do, allow it to turn over revealing the 6D! Pause for a
moment as this is a very magical moment in the routine.

!60
As the audience reacts, arrange the three cards in stack order (QS, 6D,
QC). While holding the deck in your left hand, use your left thumb to riffle
up the back of the tabled pile until you see the 9C (the fourth card from
the top of the face-up tabled pile). With your right hand, insert the three
cards into the break above the 9C. You have placed the three cards back
in stack order. Man, you are sneaky!

"The King was so happy he gave Jack a five hour vacation!

5C: Simply turn over the top card and place it on the pile.

"When Jack returned the King named him, “Sir Jack, Lord of Diamonds.”

Now you will spell the title given to

Jack into separate piles for each word
except for “of.” Remember to take the
cards under the previous card to
maintain stack order. Lay down the
packets starting on your left and
continue to your right for Sir, Jack,
Lord and Diamonds. The packets are placed in front of you in the space
between you and the discard pile.

"I have good news and bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first. Four
years later the King died. I know it’s so sad…but now for the good news!
Our hero [Jack] became the new [King] and ruled all ten shires of the
realm at the young age of thirty-two."

KD,10S,3H,2H: Once the four packets have been spelled and laid out
you will turn over the top card of each packet. Beginning with the right
most packet first and then continue to the left. Turn the top cards over to
coincide with the story.

"How could this happen? How could Jack become King? Well, in the
presence of eight hundred thirty-seven of their closest friends he married
the princess, the queen of his heart. Jack gave her a beautiful ring with
five huge [diamonds] in it and they ruled the kingdom together. It gets
even better! In the Seventh month (that would be August) of the following
year they had quadruplets!"

!61
8S,3D,7H,QH,5D,7C,4H: At this point you only have seven cards in your
hands. Here you can either just deal them onto the discard pile as you
come to them or you can actually shuffle them, fan them out and pull
them out as you finish the story. Either way, simply place them on the
discard pile. I always side-jog the 8S so that it is a simple matter to obtain
a break underneath it later for the reset.

Before you lay down the 4H take the crimp out of it (unless its a breather
crimp). Place the 4H on the pile and pick up the entire tabled pile. Use
the side-jogged 8S to obtain a brake below it. Cut all the cards above the
break to the bottom of the deck and turn the deck face down (the 8S is
the top card of the deck).

And with their four children Arnold, Alice, Alex, and… Bob they lived
happily ever after.

AH,AD,AC,AS: As you give the names of the children turn over the four
tabled packets from your right to left to reveal the four aces for the grand
finale!

RESET

The reset is pretty simple. You will deal with the packets one at a time
and from right to left: 22
AH packet: take the AH packet and flip it over so the AH is now face down
and place the entire packet onto the deck. Flip the (now face-up) KD face
down onto the top of the deck. As you do, spread the top cards and get a
break under the top four cards of the deck.

AD packet: take the AD packet and flip it over so the AD is now face
down. Spread the four cards in your right hand as you bring the packet
close to the top of the deck. As you place the spread packet on deck,
allow the bottom card (the AD) to go into the break. Close the spread on
top of the deck and as you do, feed the AD into the break. The AD is now
in stack order. Flip the 10S face down.

AC packet: take the AC packet and flip it over so the AC is now face
down. Drop the packet on the deck and turn over the 3H.

!62
AS packet: follow the exact same actions as described for the AC packet
above and cut the JS back to the top. You are reset.

COMMENTS

This routine came to me in a dream. I simply woke up and quickly wrote

it down. I have never had that happen before or since. I have no idea
why this happened and it kind of freaks me out!

Here is an alternative procedure for revealing the 4S-6H that you may
prefer. This is the sequence I use the most:

Double undercut the 4S to the bottom. Take the deck in the right hand, in
position for an overhand shuffle. Run the top two cards of the deck singly
to reverse their order. Take the two cards below the deck in your right
hand as your left hand drags about half the deck into your left hand.
Throw the remaining portion in the right hand on top of the left hand
portion. All you have done here is reverse the order of the 10H and 6H
and centralize them in the center of the deck. The deck is still in order.

Perform a Charlier cut at the crimp and use the Spring Set flourish to flip
the 4S face up. Table the 4S on the pile.

Give the deck a false cut and perform a double turnover to reveal the
10H. Now perform an Erdnase Color Change (or your favorite color
change) to transform the 10H into the 6H. Table the double onto the pile.

Yes, I know there is a lot of potential for comedy with more of an edge.
It’s hard to resist the temptation to talk about the “Family Jewels!” If that’s
your shtick, then go for it. Just choose your audience wisely.

Instead of having the whole crowd perform all the parts, you can assign
several people in the audience certain parts and then cue them during the
performance. With a smaller group this is a nice way to do the routine.

Performance experience will reveal to you how much audience

participation you want and need. You don’t want to wear out your
audience by giving them too many response times. You also don’t want
them to be so few that it doesn’t seem worth it. It will take a few
performances to find the right balance for you.
!63
 SCRIPT (UNINTERUPTED)

[It’s time for a story! It’s an epic tale rivaling the greatest stories of
all time. But for this story to be told I will need your help. There
are several characters in the story and whenever I hold a card up
and next to my face it will be your cue to respond appropriately.
You will need to cheer for our hero, boo the evil villains and
basically be the rowdy crowd that you are.

There are four parts you will need to play. Whenever I say “King”
and strike the pose, like this, you need to say “Long live the King!”
Whenever I say, “Jack’”and strike the pose, give him a ‘Hooray.’
Whenever I say “Diamond”and strike the pose give a nice and
very appropriate “Ooh” and “Ahh.” You are doing great! There are
also some evil villains in the story and whenever I say “evil
villains” and give the thumbs down, give them a big “boo.”]

"There once was a [King] who was known the world over for his collection
of the ten largest [diamonds] in the world."

"One day his faithful servant [Jack] discovered that the six largest
diamonds had been stolen! [Jack], vowed with all his heart to find the
[evil villains] and return the six missing diamonds."

"He began his feverish search of the ten shires of the realm. The only
thing [Jack] had on his mind were the stolen [diamonds]. He searched the
four surrounding shires, but came up empty. So, keeping track, out of ten
shires he still had six to check! "

"He got his first break outside the three clovers (it was a club). He
learned that Two mysterious figures had been seen quickly traveling
through the countryside and heading for the notoriously seedy ninth shire
of the realm."

"Jack sent a message to the [King]. But be- [four] he could continue...his
head started to spin...he started feeling sick ..., so he ate, felt better and
quickly headed to the ninth shire. "

"Upon arriving, he found the [evil villains]! They were two of the royal
family’s maids; Thelma and Louise. Jack had the ladies stopped, but no
!64
diamonds were found. They only had two loaves of bread between them
and so they were allowed to take their two loaves and leave. Literally,
nine seconds later..."

"our hero [Jack] had a brilliant idea and cried "stop in the name of the
[King]!". He ordered them to break open the bread. The six [diamonds]
fell out. The [evil villains] were arrested and taken away! Never to be seen
again."

"The King was so happy he gave Jack a five hour vacation!

"When Jack returned the King named him, “Sir Jack, Lord of Diamonds.”

"I have good news and bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first. Four
years later the King died. I know it’s so sad…but now for the good news!
Our hero [Jack] became the new [King] and ruled all ten shires of the
realm at the young age of thirty-two."

"How could this happen? How could Jack become King? Well, in the
presence of eight hundred thirty-seven of their closest friends he married
the princess, the queen of his heart. Jack gave her a beautiful ring with
five huge [diamonds] in it and they ruled the kingdom together. It gets
even better! In the Seventh month (that would be August) of the following
year they had quadruplets!"

And with their four children Arnold, Alice, Alex, and… Bob they lived
happily ever after.

ANALYSIS

One of the strong points of this routine is the audience participation. I

have had many people tell me that they really enjoyed the routine
because they were so involved in the process of the story. The other
element that helps it play to a broad audience is the story itself. There
are many elements built into the story that resonate with people on
different levels. You have the underdog Jack overcoming all to become
king. You have theft and intrigue and even a romance. So many
common human experiences are conveyed that it is easy for the audience
to relate to at least parts of the routine on a personal level.

!65
 THE BOOK: OASIS

Oasis, the second book of Eric's Aronson stack trilogy, contains over
twenty routines—including three complete story routines. None of them
require that the stack be memorized!

Discover an OASIS


!66
 E END
TH

!67