CONFESSIONS

I am not a magician.

But if you are, you might enjoy this book.

OF

A magic fan
Jeremiah Zuo
CONFESSIONS

A testament to one fan's overinflated ego created by

Jeremiah Xiufu Zuo
 CONFESSIONS
OF
A MAGIC FAN
or
a collection of card tricks by an amateur

By
Jeremiah Zuo

Fandom Magic Thoughts Vol. 1

ChicagoMagicBash Publications
Copyright © 2019
 OPENING REMARKS

At a certain point you just have to stop. That is how I feel about this work. I have
been working on this book off and on for over five years. More off than on, so it is not as if
this is what you get when you work hard for five years on a project.
The problem is that I get distracted by life and when I return to the project there is
always something new that I want to add. That or I have matured in my writing and find my
old words to be drivel. Well, enough is enough. No more adding handling ideas or insights.
No more changing the wording of a description. By the time this reaches your hands the
routines will probably have further evolved and I will wish I had described them differently.
Oh well.1
Perhaps you will play with the contents and they will evolve even further. Ideally, I
have added to the conversation, whether you perform anything in here as written or not. That
was always my goal.
I apologize upfront about my writing style. I am an academic by choice and most of
my life involves academic writing. I have a love-hate relationship with what I do. I do not
consider myself a gifted writer. Furthermore, many of the practices of writing in academia
are a perversion of our original intent. They obscure and hide, rather than illuminate. But
that is a conversation for another time. Certain formal practices have influenced my magic
writing. I’m not quite sure that discursive footnotes and crediting is the best format for a
magic book. So consider this an experiment.
Also, I would like to point out that the illustrations use a tight framing for the purpose
of saving space. True performance will make much better use of space. Ninety-nine percent
of the illustrations are from the performer's point of view.

1
After writing these opening marks I made no less than four major changes to the text of this
manuscript.

iii
 CONTENTS

Opening Remarks iii

Foreword v

A General Orientation vii

Those Are the Aces 1

Excursus 1: The Half-Pass 15

Excursus 2: A (Mildly) Strange Exchange 19

Excursus 3: F.O.A.L. 23

Card Under the Box 24

Excursus 4: (Non) Precision in Card Control 38

Excursus 5: Physicality 42

Queens Across 44

Those Are the Aces Revisited 60

Queen Scream 64

Excursus 6: More on Sandwiches and Boxes 75

Final Words 81

iv
 FOREWORD

Jeremiah describes himself as a “Magic Fan.” Having been born and raised in the
Chicago area, to me the word “fan” immediately conjures up the image of “Da Fans.” You
know, the guys with a Ditka mustache wearing their favorite Bears jersey, sunglasses and
baseball cap with a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other cheering on Da Bears!
Other than the hot dog (which would actually be a big pretzel covered in nacho
cheese sauce) none of the rest of that image fits Jeremiah. The names Payton, Ditka, Butkus
and McMahon may not mean much to Jeremiah BUT the names Tamariz, Carpenter,
Hollingworth and Wonder certainly do. If by chance any of them had a jersey you might find
Jeremiah wearing it. I encourage you to read his “General Orientation” to hear his thoughts
about being a magic fan and what that term specifically means to him. It is an interesting
discussion and a term I plan to adopt. I am sure many others will too.
Within the pages of this book you will read and learn some wonderful magic. You
will also find some really good tricks (Nod to Tommy Wonder). You would be mistaken to
think this is just “another collection of card tricks.” Jeremiah’s magic is unique, original,
incredibly well structured, fooling, and entertaining. Honestly, it is just … magical. These
are tricks I have seen Jeremiah use to entertain and truly fool laymen and magicians alike
over the past 10 years. I have become convinced that he is a real magician and a darn good
one at that. I myself have learned several of the items in this book. I regularly use “Those
Are The Aces” in my work.
I also appreciate that there are no shortcuts here. In this book you get it all. All the
handlings are extremely well explained and illustrated. All the thinking behind this
wonderful magic is outline. And all the unique presentations and premises Jeremiah uses in
his work are laid out for you to savor and assimilate. It is like getting to session with
Jeremiah in a book.

Jeremiah describes himself as a Magic Fan.

I describe myself as a “Jeremiah Fan." One of many out there.

v
 After reading and working through this booklet I bet you’ll also describe yourself as a
“Jeremiah Fan” too.

Enjoy the magic and welcome to the club.

Tom Dobrowolski 2019

vi
 A GENERAL ORIENTATION

There used to be a cliche that the introductions of magic books were where the real
treasures of a magic book are to be found: all the insights and theory that the performer has
learned through years of blood, sweat, and tears (hopefully not their audiences'). It then
arguably became a cliche to point this out and admit that one has little insightful to add to the
literature in this arena.2
With that in mind, I thought I would use this space to give you a few words that will
help orient you to my work. The title of this book is deliberate on two levels. The first is
that I consider myself a magic fan.3 What I mean by this term, is probably different than
what the average magician first thinks when he hears it.
In the Books of Wonder, Tommy Wonder has an essay on the pitfalls of the universal
brotherhood thinking in magic. Not all magicians are created equal. Tommy relates an
anecdote about Fred Kaps interacting with someone at a magic convention. The attendee
pressed Kaps to reveal a secret, claiming that it was only right that he do so, given that they
were colleagues. Fred Kaps replied that they were not colleagues: Kaps was a magician, the
person in question was a gardener.
This anecdote had a profound affect on me. As Tommy observes in the same essay,
some realities make you less of a magician, though not less of a person! I suspect, that many
magicians would never want to place themselves in any "lesser" category. I happily do. I
came to realize that we should really put a third category, apart from magician and layman,
into common use. There are also the magic fans. These people love magic. They often buy
lots of magic, learn lots of magic, travel to conventions, and have their favorite magicians.
But these things do not make one a magician. As of now we refer to such individuals as
hobbyists or amateurs. I prefer the category, magic fan.
Is everyone who loves basketball, a basketball player? I do not think so. Even if they
watch every NBA game, know all the stats and strategy, and play pickup games every
weekend. They are fans of basketball. Fans of basketball have varying levels of involvement

2
See Guy Hollingworth's introduction in Drawing Room Deceptions and Chris Kenner's comments in
Totally Out of Control.
3
I want to say that Tommy Wonder coined this term as I use it, but upon checking the essay I was
inspired by, I found it to be absent.

vii
with basketball, just as fans of magic do. Some fans of magic never learn any magic. They
remain laymen. But not every layman who enjoys magic is a magic fan. There is a further
level of commitment required. Just as not everyone who can watch and enjoy a basketball
game is necessarily a basketball fan.
I consider myself a magic fan. Admittedly, this may be one giant exercise in pointless
semantic distinctions. I suspect most magicians do not like the idea of being classified as
"only a fan." I have no profound or insightful way of sharply delineating between magician
and fan. I do not consider all amateur magicians to be magic fans. I think there is still a
fruitful distinction between the two. I do not consider being a full-time professional a
necessary condition of being a magician. Whatever the dividing line is, it is not money.
I suspect clear definitions of "magic fan" and "magician" are to be found somewhere
in the intersection of one's self-definition and one's achievement. In other words, clear
definitions should be sought in the union of the subjective and the objective. To be a
magician at least requires you to define yourself that way and requires the community to
recognize you as such. But I have not gone any further than those two observations in my
thinking.
And since I lack the subjective element of using magic in my self-definition, I clearly
land in the fan category. I do think that there are practical benefits to using these categories
to interpret the magic community. One example is that this distinction can potentially shed
much needed clarity on debates about "magic for magicians." With this clarity, magicians
can better focus their individual efforts.
Most recognize that magic as an art, has a unique dynamic: something is lost when
one is not fooled. I doubt anyone debates this. A layman experiences something wonderful
that a magician who knows the secret, watching the same trick, cannot experience. However,
I am not ready to concede that this fact means that magic as an art should be fundamentally,
philosophically, aimed only at the layperson. No other art is completely aimed at laypeople.
So what does all this mean when we hear the oft-repeated claim that we should not do
magic for magicians? If, as I argue, many magicians are really magic fans, is it as
convincing to say that we should not do magic for magic fans? I am happy that there are
magicians out there that still aim to fool and delight, in a special way, people like me!
Often the magic that is criticized as "magic for magicians" is not really pleasing to
most magicians. That is why they criticize it. When the debate uses verbiage like "magic for
magicians" it implies that it is a debate over legitimate audiences for magic. However, when
I think it is best argued, it is really just a debate about quality of magic (effect, construction,
clarity, method, internal logic, etc.). We need other criteria, and not intended audience, to
judge the quality of magic. I contend that magic aimed at magic fans should not be
automatically dismissed as bad! Magic should be for the audience, and magic as an art
should have multiple legitimate audiences.
Obviously, magicians/magic fans also experience things that laymen do not: such as
the appreciation of skill, beauty in method, creativity, etc. For example, my wife is still
insulated enough from magic that she is a layperson. She experiences almost all magic,
including most of my own, as a layperson. Consequently, she is not able to appreciate things
that I appreciate, even when I point them out. She mostly does not see beauty in methods, or

viii
anything else impressive. On the rare occasion that she asks and I excitedly reveal a secret to
her, she almost always feels the letdown that most new practitioners experience when they
learn a secret. Regardless of how impressive that method is! Oh, that crazy Spanish man
just has the whole order of the deck memorized? Lame.
All this to say that magic has obvious similarities to other arts (one can appreciate
more dimensions the more one is familiar) and differences (a fundamental element is lost the
more one is exposed). How should all this be parsed out? What makes truly good magic?
What makes bad magic? I have lots of ideas on specifics, but as for a comprehensive and
succinctly stated theory, I again admit to being unhelpful. My point is only that the field
should recognize its fans, and not totally eschew pleasing them.
I am the type of fan that has been relatively involved. I have sizable magic library, at
various points in my life I have practiced and performed a great deal (admittedly not lately!),
I have attended conventions in the past, and I have friends in magic. Because of this, I have
also found myself creating magic here and there. I think that on occasions we fans can
helpfully contribute to the discussion. That is what I would like to do here. And also, if I am
being honest, lay claim to some of my original ideas.
My title is also a nod to Augustine's Confessions. Augustine arguably shifted the
entire genre of Christian devotional literature from a focus on external problems (the devil,
the heathen, persecution, etc.) to internal ones (the Christian's own sin, selfishness,
foolishness, blindness, etc.) I do not mean to compare my work to his in scope or influence.
It is just a bit of fun on my part. These tricks are my confessions. For better or worse, they
are what I have to offer, not as a magician, but as a magic fan. I hope that you enjoy them.

ix
 THOSE ARE THE ACES

The following routine is the opening from the card portion of my close-up act. It
consists of essentially two phases: the first is the production of the four aces with a
simultaneous location of a selected card. This is accomplished by use of a sandwich and a
reverse sandwich effect – the selected card materializes between two aces and then two more
aces materialize around the selected card.4 The second phase is a mini-wildcard (each ace
transforms into the selection and then back again) followed by a triple transposition: between
the aces, the selection, and the entire deck.

Issues of Staging

This routine is best performed on a large close-up mat. The reason for this is staging.
It is conducive to the final triple transposition to have a portion of your table that is clearly
the “stage” so that things set “off stage” are
forgotten. This mindset concerning the
close-up mat is facilitated by the way you
treat it. It is both an attitude and a physical
relationship with the mat. You must control
this.
When you are away from the mat
portray the show as “paused.” When your
dialogue is unimportant to the effect (in the
audience’s mind) be away from the mat.
During those moments in between tricks, full
of nothing important as far as your spectators
are concerned, distance yourself from the

4
This phase was first published in my first set of self-published lecture notes, Those Are the Aces
(2003). It saw wider exposure in Antinomy, vol. 3, Issue 10, 2008, under the title “Sandwich 4 Two.”

1
mat, even ever so slightly. This can be done through leaning back or standing slightly askew.
When you are giving the audience essential exposition you should be above the mat.
When you are above the mat bring intensity and focus. Unfortunately, I do not have the time
to give the full discussion that this topic requires. Fortunately, others have already done a
much better job than I ever could. For a proper discussion of the psychology that I would
like you to bring to the close-up mat see Pit Hartling’s discussion of the performing mode.5

Setup

Remove the four aces from the deck. Arrange them on top of the facedown deck in
the following order: AC (face-up), on top of that the two red aces (facedown), on top of that
the AS (facedown). The deck should begin inside its box.

Phase One: Sandwich For Two

Begin by removing the deck from the

box and introducing yourself and your magic.
All the while you can (and should be!)
casually shuffling the pack while retaining
your top stock.
The box should be placed centered and
forward on your close up mat, oriented
horizontally. This is done in preparation for
Phase Two. The bulk of Phase One’s action
takes place in the hands, not on the table.

Emphasize the nature of sleight of hand with cards and admit your own prowess to
the audience (perhaps a demonstration by means of a card spring or the like). Then inform
the audience that you will be taking a different route and will be using no sleight of hand for
the following.
Dribble the cards from the right hand to the left as you explain the selection
procedure. I’m going to drop the cards from one hand to other like so. When I do so again
you may call out stop whenever you’d like and I’ll stop there.6

5
Pit Hartling, “Method and Style and The Performing Mode” in Card Fictions, (2003), 30-32.
6
I am partial to saying “drop” and not “dribble”! My impression is that laymen do not need even the
brief momentary confusion caused by using technical terms with which they are not familiar.

2
 Give the cards another dribble and stop wherever they call out. Emphasize the
freedom of the choice. Offer a chance to pick a new spot if they’d like. When the spectator
is happy with their choice, thumb off the top card of the left hand’s packet to the table.
I’m going to turn around so that there is absolutely no chance of shenanigans. When
I do that, take a quick peak at the card and then return it facedown to the table. Execute a
half pass of the entire pack underneath the top card. The most efficient way to do this is to
allow the remainder of the right hand’s cards to fall with the exception the top card. This is
done as the two hands are coming together to reassemble the pack after the selection has been
thumbed to the table. The left hand then will allow its portion (the entire deck minus the one)
to roll over face-up onto the fingers as the right hand sets the top card facedown on the deck.
This is also all done as you turn your back to the audience. While your back is turned
obtain a left pinky break above the bottom card.7
After the audience assures you that the selection has been returned facedown to the
table turn back around. Emphasize the impossibility of having obtained any knowledge of
the selection. At this time also obtain a left pinky break above the bottom card. As you make
pains to make it clear that you truly do not know what the selection is (unlike many an
unscrupulous magician), pick up the selection with your right hand and take a quick but
painfully obvious peak at its face.
At this point most audiences will object verbally. Interrupt them in a dismissive and
humorous way. Depending on your personality that can range anywhere from Shut up to I
have no idea what you are talking about.
This moment of relieved tension
during which you are caught making an
obviously silly move and subsequently try
to brush it off is used to place the selection
back into the pack and execute a half-pass.
Insert the selection in the back of the deck
above your pinky break (between the two
red aces) and square it away. Execute a
half-pass of the entire deck underneath the
top card. See Excursus One: The Half-
Pass for two different techniques to
accomplish a half-pass in this particular
situation.
At this point the cards should be in the following order in left hand mechanic’s grip.
From the top down: facedown AS, facedown red ace, face-up selection, facedown red ace,
face-up AC, facedown deck. There is no way at this point for me to know anything about
your card. I do not know what it is. I don’t know where it is! I don’t know it is the *name

7
In an effort to be "transparent," while my back is turned, I hold both my hands in the air - deck in left
hand mechanic's grip - as if I am being held up. This way the deck is essentially always in view, and the
impression is that I am not hiding anything.

3
selection* nor do I know that it is 23rd from the top. I do not even know that. Yet I will still
find it! And I will do this using 100% straight up real magic.

You will now produce the AS by using a

color change designed to appear as if the AS
materializes as you wave over the deck.
Come over the deck with the right hand and
gently wave once or twice over the deck. On
one of the waves pull down sharply with the
left pinky, instantly levering the AS
perpendicular to the rest of the deck. This is
done underneath the cover of the right hand
and is the Pughe's pass technique, which has
been utilized in many a color change and
controls.8

Grip the short edges of the AS with the right thumb and ring fingers. Pick up the card
and move slightly to the left, aligning the long edges of the AS and deck. In a quick
movement to the right, coalesce the AS face up onto the deck. The effect is the appearance
of the card during a wave.9

After the audience points out that the AS is not their card, Well, of course not. Real straight
up magic is never so precise. This is not Harry Potter where you wave a wand and get what
you want. Things rarely go the way I plan during my performances. This is actually a helper

8
Manuel Muerte has a palm utilizing the Pughe's Pass on The Flicking Fingers' DVD, The Movie.
9
I do this production because it has a similar physical quality to the production of the second ace. I
like the symmetry, as if conceptually, the same magical mechanism caused the production of both cards. If you
do not care about the productions looking similar, ignore the production I teach for the AS and do whatever you
would like to produce a facedown card from the top of the deck. Originally, I used Lennart Green’s Top Shot to
produce the AS. Lennart Green, Green Magic, Vol 1 (A-1: 1993). I still opt for that occasionally.

4
card. Now I need I one more . . . if we give another rub, we get . . . another ace!”
To produce the AC, pick up the AS from above in a relaxed right hand Biddle grip.
Obtain a left pinky break underneath the top three cards of the deck by means of a pinky
count. Rub the AS over the top of the deck in a circular motion a few times and finally align
the AS with the deck and lift off the three cards above the break revealing the face-up AC.
Continue the circular rubbing with the AS and the three cards hidden underneath it.

These two black aces which will help me find your selected card . . . which I know
nothing about.” Take the AC into the right hand, above the quadruple (helping to hide its
thickness) and side-jogged to the left.
Set the deck, face-up, off to the left side of the close-up mat. No importance should
be given to this act, nor should any attention be drawn to it. It is simply done as you deliver
the above line and display the two black aces in the right hand. The deck no longer has
importance (at least this is the impression, or rather lack of impression, which you wish to
give).10
By rubbing these two aces together you’ll be astonished to see that a card actually
materializes between them.

10
See Tommy Wonder’s brilliant discussion on synchronizing “unimportant” aspects of your
performance with the ones important in order to delete the unimportant moments from your audience’s memory.
This can be found in the explanation of the routine “Magic Ranch” in vol. 1 of his Visions of Wonder DVD
series (L&L Publishing).
The point in this instance is not to hide the fact that you are setting the deck off to the side – the deck
does not vanish. You simply do not need your audience to be thinking about the deck at all and later it is
conducive to the triple transposition for them to have completely forgotten about it.

5
 Reposition the AC underneath the quadruple card and produce the triple from
between the two black aces by means of an Ascanio spread.11 Briefly, all five cards are held
in right hand Biddle grip as the left fingers underneath and thumb above slide the top and
bottom cards to the left. Continue the rubbing action by moving the cards back and forth.
The production should not be static and abbreviated, but fluid. Come to a slow stop.
Take all five cards into your left hand in the following position: the two black aces
fanned out with the triple held as one up-jogged about half its length between the two black
aces. Tilt the left hand slightly down to hide the thickness of the triple.

At this point the audience naturally assumes that the facedown card between the black
aces is their selection. The pause to allow the audience to appreciate the appearance of the
facedown card is brief, no more than a few seconds, the cards being held solely by the left for
only a second. Immediately proceed with the production of the red aces.

You know this works in reverse. If I

wave your card the two red aces appear
around it. Grip the triple with the right hand
at the top right corner, thumb below and
fingers above. Remove the triple from the fan
of black aces by moving forward and turning
right hand palm up. As you turn the triple
over, simultaneously spread it out by moving
the right thumb to the right and the right
fingers to the left. I usually continue the
action of the right hand by waving the cards
slightly back and forth for a second or two.

11
See the full written discussion available in Vol 2 of The Magic of Ascanio.

6
 This gives the appearance of the red aces materializing face-up around the facedown
selection. The effect is created by the burn that is caused by a back always being in view.
First it is the back of one of the red aces and then the back of the true selection, but the
spectator only perceives one back. The spectators will not perceive a flipping action at all –
only the appearance of the aces.12 Don't let the separate illustrations give you the impression
that the action happens in two-steps. The action is not staccato at all, the cards should be
flipped and spread at the same time.
It is quite a startling moment, so do not breeze past this. Freeze the right hand and
allow the spectators to appreciate the appearance. Place the right hand’s sandwich on top of
the left hand’s and then take the selection in the right fingertips to reveal its face to the
audience.

12
The series of three illustrations depicting the production of the red aces is a step-by-step view.
Hopefully, it is apparent from my description that the second image should never be seen by the spectators. The
aces are spread as they are flipped over, not flipped and then spread.

7
 Phase Two: A Short Wild Card and Triple Transposition13

As you reveal the face of the selection at

the end of the previous phase (purely for
purposes of confirmation, the spectators have
long known the identity of the facedown card)
obtain a left pinky break underneath the top
ace of the four-card packet. The effect is over
at this point and your body language and
general demeanor should convey that. It is
during this offbeat that you accomplish the
following bit of arranging.
Place the selection on top of the left
hand’s aces. Immediately pick up a double
(selection and red ace underneath) and hold it
from the right edge with your right hand,
thumb on top, fingers below.Using a
combination of the left thumb and the right
hand's double, flip the left hand's packet of
three aces facedown and re-adjust back to
mechanic’s grip.
The entire process should have taken no
more than a second and half. Bring the focus
back to your hands as you indicate that there is
more magic to come.
We will get back to your card in a
moment. Flip the double facedown onto the
left hand’s cards and then immediately deal off
a single into the right fingertips. Place this
card (which the audience thinks is the selection
but is really a red ace) onto the card box on the
table in a crisscross fashion. This is to
facilitate being able to quickly pick up that
card later, with no fiddling.
Cut the cards exactly in half so that the
selection is third from the top. To do this in an
unsuspicious way, continue by saying, But
first let me show you something with the four

13
This entire phase is based on Ken Garr’s “Here and There” originally published in “Talk About
Tricks” in Magic Magazine, and more recently on video on Vol. 3 of Joshua Jay’s DVD Series, Talk About
Tricks (L&L Publishing).

8
aces. Display the four cards by taking the top two in the right hand and bottom two in the
left and wiggling them back and forth in an Ascanio-esque manner. Reassemble the packet
with the right hand’s cards going underneath the left hand’s.

What your are now going to

perform is a short wild card accomplished
by means of a simple diminishing lift
sequence. If you rub the ace on the back
just like this . . . Turn over the top ace . . .
nothing happens . . .Turn the ace back
facedown and then rub anywhere else on
your person or the spectator that you find
humorous . . . But if you rub here . . .
Buckle the bottom card and flip over
everything above it as one to reveal the
selection . . . that first ace begins to look a
lot like your card.
Turn the triple back facedown and
thumb off the top card into the right
fingertips, thumb on top, fingers below. In
fact, this whole condition spreads. This
one begins to look like your card, and this
one and . . . Repeat the buckle and
turnover, this time with only a double. The
right hand uses its facedown ace to
facilitate the turnover of the double. Turn
the double back facedown and thumb off
the top card into the right hand again,
taking it underneath the ace already in the
right hand. Then use the two aces in the
right hand to flip the singular selection
face-up to reveal the supposed
transformation of the third ace.
At this point flip the selection back
facedown and square up the right hand’s
cards against the base of the left thumb.
This is to mimic the action of picking up
the selection. Use the squared cards in the
right hand to flip over the double in the left
hand, displaying an ace . . . and this one . . .
is still an ace. Place the right hand’s cards
onto the left hand’s, down-jogged at least
an inch as you say, Sometimes it takes a

9
 little more direct action.

In the audience’s eyes you will now

adjust the cards by moving the bottom face-up
ace to the top of the packet. During this
process you will steal the selection into Tenkai
palm.14 Take the double in the upper left
corner with the right thumb on top and index
and middle fingers below. Remove the double
from underneath the left hand’s cards by
moving the right hand forward.
As you bring the double back towards
the left hand packet to set the ace down, curl
the right middle finger in, a slow version of
what you would do if you were snapping. The
action of the right middle finger curling in will
drag the hidden selection into the crevice
below the base of the thumb.
Receive the face card of the double (the
ace) with the left thumb as the right thumb re-
adjusts to grip the left edge of the selection in
Tenkai palm and pulls completely free.
I’m sure rubbing the face will do it. You
will now execute a color change by waving the
right hand over the face-up ace and dropping
the selection on top of said ace. I prefer to
leave the ace to be changed slightly up-jogged.
This requires more precision when dropping
the selection for the color change. Use the
right index finger and thumb to make sure the
double is square by lightly caressing the left
and top edges, moving each from the middle of
its respective edge towards the top left corner.
I would argue that the resulting aesthetic more
than makes up for the minimally required
additional technique.

14
I refer to the modern position. The classic Tenkai palm had the card held further back.

10
 Well what do you know . . . that did it.
The only problem is that now we have 5
copies of your card and no aces. That is just
not natural . . . nor is it true! This has all
been an illusion . . . Turn the double
facedown and then immediately flip the
entire packet of four cards face-up and
execute an Elmsley count to display the four
aces.15 These have never been anything more
than the four aces. And if these are the aces,
then this must be . . .
Turn the entire packet facedown into
your left hand. You are now going to execute
a Vernon add-on of the three aces onto the ace that is currently on the card case while
retaining the selection in the left hand.16 The Vernon Add-On is executed as follows: Grip the
packet from above in right hand Biddle grip. The left thumb makes contact with the back of
the selection and uses friction to retain it in the hand while the right hand moves to the side
and down with the three aces. The aces in the right hand are not palmed but rather instantly
added on to the ace on top of the card case. Immediately, with no pausing, pick up all four
cards and turn their faces to the audience by rotating your palm outward. Fan the four aces to
display their faces to the audience.

15
Because of the ubiquitous nature of this move, I like many others, only ever learned it from personal
instruction from a more experienced magician. To my knowledge I never read or watched a video explanation.
Funny how certain moves gain that level of status. However, I think the first place it was published was in the
Lewis Ganson written volume, Dai Vernon's More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1960). Thanks to Denis Behr
and the conjuringarchive.com for this reference.
16
I first learned this from Bill Malone who used it in the context of a multiple card control. Obviously
the technique goes back much further.

11
 This is all done as you continue with the
patter . . . then this must be . . . the four aces?”
Simultaneous to picking up and displaying the
four aces, turn your left hand palm down and
pick up the deck which has been long set aside,
adding it on top of the selection. Turn your left
hand back palm up so that the back of the deck
is in view.
Well if these are the aces then here must
be . . . Set the aces down and slightly lift the
left hand and draw all attention to its contents .
. . the deck?
Immediately emphasize the deck by
ribbon spreading it between the two hands. At
this point you need to cut the selection from
the bottom to the top. The best way to do this
is to continue spreading, opening and closing
the spread as in a standard culling action. As
you come the end of the deck, take everything
above the selection into the right hand, leaving
the selection lying flat on the left fingers.
Press the left thumb onto the top left corner of
the selection, causing the right edge to lift.
Slide the entire deck underneath the selection
as the spread is squared back into the left hand.
Well if the aces are where your card was
supposed to be . . . and the deck is where the
aces were supposed to be . . . then your card
must be . . . Pick up and briefly display the
aces as they are mentioned in the patter. Set
them down and pick up the deck in
concordance with the patter. Square up the
deck as you are displaying it, using this
opportunity to take the selection into right hand
full palm. To do this, place the right pinky on
the upper right corner of the selection as you
use the left hand to scoop the deck up from
underneath and square the haphazard spread
towards the right hand. As the cards are
squared into left hand mechanic’s grip the right hand essentially executes the action of a one-
handed top palm.17 The right pinky pushes forward and down which will pivot the top card

17
My friend Glenn Morphew has put out some good work on the one-handed top palm that can be

12
up and into the right palm.

Set the deck down as you continue. . .

then your card must be . . . where the deck
was supposed to be! Pick up the card case
from above in right hand Biddle grip. Add
the palmed card onto the case as the left hand
turns the case over. To do this, grip the case
with the left hand, thumb on the left long
edge and fingers on the right long edge. As
the left fingers move to grip the case extend
them and contact the right edge of the
palmed selection and pull it down onto the
card case. Simultaneously turn the left hand
palm down.

Execute Matt Schulien’s card-from-box bluff to reveal the selection from inside the
case: open the case with the right hand, insert the thumb inside and place the fingers
underneath. Quickly move to the right, sliding the card out from underneath and into view.
The illusion is that the card came from within the card case.18
If you care about the aesthetics of your final display you can use the box as a stand by
placing the selection between the flap and the opening of the box.

applied to this situation. His work is still readily available online.

18
I have no idea where this was first published. It was common fare in Chicago when I was growing
up and I saw it performed by many friends. Those who use the technique differ on whether the box should be
oriented flap or down for the best illusion. I prefer flap down.
A variation in aesthetic involves placing both the thumb and index finger inside the case for the
removal bluff. This is suggested by Thomas Fraps and published in his lecture notes The Boston Trick Party
and can be seen in action on The Flicking Fingers DVD, The Movie.

13
 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

The most obvious aspect of this routine demanding commentary is the fact that,
strictly speaking, the three entities involved in the triple transposition do not transpose. The
deck was never in the card box; it had only been set off to the side. This makes this routine
fun to perform on the one hand, and (perhaps for some) nerve racking on the other.
The reason the transposition works is change-blindness and the power of
assumptions. The audience has long forgotten about the deck. Its appearance in your hand
when the audience would expect to see the selection is surprising. Your body language
should help reinforce this surprise. Furthermore, this surprise is piggy-backing on the
surprise of the aces rather visually appearing where the selection was supposed to be.
On the other hand, the box has been “on stage” this entire time, variously being
ignored or used as a stand. From the spectator’s frame of reference the box’s use as a stand is
only incidental. The primary purpose of boxes is to contain things. This routine has
functionally been a packet trick, with the deck simply not in play. And where does one
expect to find the deck when it is not being used – in its box.
Your words powerfully, though stealthily, contribute to the success of the illusion.
Stating that the selection is where the deck should be as you remove that selection from the
box is, in a sense, a truth – a deck not in use should be in its box.
Thus, the discrepancy goes unnoticed. The overall effect on the audience is a haze of
transformations/transpositions, with absolutely nothing is where it is expected to be.

14
 EXCURSUS 1: THE HALF-PASS

I have developed two different half-pass covers for use at the point of the second half-
pass in the above routine.19 Both are included here for two reasons: (1) to give my readers
options and (2) because I find them both interesting from a technical standpoint.
Both of the techniques have been specifically designed for the exact situation called
for in the routine: a face-up deck underneath a single facedown card, without it mattering if
the cards are shuffled so long as the top stock is retained.
So obviously, the greater utility of these moves is quite negligible. But perhaps you
might know or think of another situation where they could be used to accomplish great
things.
The “problem” with the half pass is the back and forth shifting which the hands must
go through to execute the flipping action. The shifting is seen in either the left hand moving
to the left (to bring the newly flipped cards in alignment with the cards held by the right
hand) or by the right hand moving to the right (to bring the cards above into alignment with
the newly flipped cards held by the left hand). Whichever of the above two options has been
chosen, you must then further adjust the cards to end back in left hand mechanic’s grip.
There have been a myriad of published solutions – ranging everything from
eliminating the shifting20 to creating a reason for the hands to shift one way or the other.
The first half-pass I have to offer is in example of the latter, the second an example of
the former. So much so that the first half-pass is better described as simply a cover for the
traditional half-pass while the second may be more properly described as an original
technique.
The first half-pass is accomplished in the act of a riffle shuffle – the second in the act
of an overhand shuffle.

19
As far as I know these exact finesses are original to me, but I am not as well read as I could be. As a
teenager I thought that I had invented the Diagonal Palm Shift. As we all know it first saw print in 1902 . . . so
the likelihood that Erdnase stole my idea is very small. Not non-existent when considering the hypothetical
possibilities of a non-linear flow of time. But very small. So I will give that one to him.
20
Of course, the example par excellance for this type of approach is Aaron Fischer’s “Gravity Half
Pass” in The Paper Engine (2002).

15
 A HALF-PASS WHILE RIFFLE SHUFFLING

The technique can be described as simply executing a riffle shuffle immediately after
executing a half-pass. But this is a tad reductionistic. For the sake of precision I will
describe it in detail.
Obtain a break between the top card (facedown) and the rest of the deck (face-up).
The right hand should be holding the top card with the thumb-tip slightly past the bottom left
corner. Pull down the deck with the left fingers until it becomes perpendicular to the top
card. Finish flipping the deck by pushing down with the card in the right hand. The deck
will finish rotating facedown while the right hand simultaneously aligns the top card with the
rest of the deck. These are the standard actions of a half-pass.

The entire pack will now be resting on the pads of the left fingers, from about the
second phalanges forward. The right fingers and thumb should be extending past the bottom
edge of the deck by at least a half-inch.

Immediately upon aligning to top card with the rest of the deck, angle the deck

16
diagonally by tilting slightly to the right while simultaneously lifting the left fingers at their
base so that now the deck rests on only the left fingertips. Break the deck in half with the
right thumb by lifting the deck slightly off the left fingers and riffling off half of the deck
back down.
Using the right fingers deliver the lower half of the deck onto the left fingers. At this
point make the slight re-grip necessary to hold the left hand packet in position for a riffle
shuffle.
Execute the riffle shuffle while retaining the top stock of the right hand’s portion.
The entire action of the half-pass should be seamlessly woven into the normal actions of
going into a riffle shuffle.

A HALF PASS WHILE OVERHAND SHUFFLING

In my opinion this technique is far more interesting (and fun) to execute than the
preceding one. The flipping action of the half-pass is made to appear as the first chop in an
overhand shuffle. It begins in exactly the same position, one facedown card on top of the
face-up deck.
Hold the deck in left hand’s mechanic’s grip. Rest the thumb across the top card of
the deck. Use the thumb to drag the top card to the left, similar to the action of an Elmsley
count. Pull down on the deck with the left fingers (in exactly the same manner as a regular
half-pass) so the deck is pulled perpendicular to the top card.

The right hand can be close or even resting on top of the rest deck at this point,
however it is important that the left hand be able to perform the action entirely unassisted.
Execute this action as you use a combination of a slight wrist cock and body turn to
angle the back of the top card at the audience. The top card acts as a cover for the rest of the
deck. It is neither necessary nor desirable to give a full quarter turn to the right.

17
 Reach behind the top card with the right
hand and grip the rest of the deck in position
to execute an overhand shuffle, thumb and
fingers on the short ends.
Pull down with the left thumb to bring
the top card into alignment with the pack as
the right hand simultaneously breaks off the
back half of the pack and lifts it free in
exactly the action of an overhand shuffle.
Continue with the classic method of
retaining a top stock in an overhand shuffle,
ala Erdnase.21 Use the left thumb to run off a
single card back-jogged onto the left hand’s
cards. Then continue shuffling off the rest of the right hand’s cards squarely onto the left
hand cards, leaving the back-jogged card sticking out. Re-grip the cards in the right hand in
preparation for another overhand shuffle, maintaining the break caused by the back-jogged
card. Shuffle off all of the cards above the break into the left hand in two or three chops
before finally dropping all the remaining cards on top.

21
Erdnase, “Retain a Top Stock in an Overhand Shuffle (or whatever the title is) in The Expert at the
Card Table, (1902).

18
 EXCURSUS 2: A MILDLY STRANGE EXCHANGE

Here is a transposition effect that I no longer have a use for.22 In play are the four
aces and a selected card. The aces are placed securely inside the card box. The selection is
left on the outside. The selection seemingly bursts in transformation into the four aces, and
the selection is found inside the box.
Originally I used this effect to follow Sandwich for Two. I still find it enjoyable and
I especially am fond of the transformation of the selection into the aces. It is suitable for any
situation where you have the four aces and a selected card in play.

Begin in the same position that you would end in Sandwich for Two, the four aces in
the left hand (with a break underneath the top ace), the selection in the right. You begin with
the same bit of subterfuge as the second phase in Those are the Aces.
Place the selection on top of the left hand’s aces. Immediately pick up a double
(selection and red ace underneath) and hold it from the right edge with your right hand,
thumb on top, fingers below. Flip the left packet of three aces facedown and readjust back
to mechanic’s grip. Flip the double facedown onto the left hand’s cards and then
immediately deal the top card to the table.
Pick up the open card box with the
right hand, along the long edges, with the
opening facing the left. The flap should be
above. The right index finger should be free
to grab the flap and pull it back to give a
clear view of the opening.
While picking up the card box, obtain
a left pinky break underneath the top card of
its packet (the selection). Insert the selection
into the opening of the box. The three aces
go below the box. What you are doing is
essentially Vernon’s Depth Illusion into the

22
The title is a reference to a Paul Harris effect in which a coin and selected card transpose. See Paul
Harris, Art of Astonishment Vol 3 (A-1: 1996), 79.

19
card box.23 Slide the selection all the way into the box. This will simultaneously slide the
three aces square underneath the box. Close the flap.

Take the box and the hidden aces into

left hand mechanic’s grip. You are now
going to reverse the aces in the action of
turning the box over to demonstrate that
there are no holes in the box for the aces to
escape. The mechanics of this technique are
identical to a turnover pass. The box acts as
the top packet in the pass, the three aces take
the place of the bottom packet. I've
illustrated the action with these three
drawings.

Obtain a break between the aces and the box. Take the box and aces into right hand
Biddle grip, maintaining the break with the right thumb. Use the left hand to pick up the
supposed selection in the following manner: First use the fingers to rotate the card so that a
long edge faces the audience. Grip the card from above with the left middle finger and
thumb, each at the middle of one of the long edges. The left index finger presses down on
the center of the card.
Snap the card off the table (emphasizing singularity) by slightly lifting the card with
the middle finger and thumb and then pinching the index finger and thumb together while
simultaneously allowing the front edge to snap off the middle finger.

23
The Tilt (Marlo's name) was independently invented by Ed Marlo and Dai Vernon. Vernon was the
true originator of the technique, though it had been widely shared before it was ever put into print. Vernon
called his technique the Depth Illusion. Thanks to Denis Behr and conjuringcredits.com for a great article on
the Depth Illusion.

20
 Rotate the left hand palm up and then curl the thumb and fingers in so that the bottom
edge of the card is brought into contact with the palm. Allow the card to fall facedown on the
palm. The right half of the card rests on the left half of the palm and the left half of the card
rests on the thumb.

This positioning is so that you can flip the card face-up by simply bringing the left
thumb and fingers together. Execute essentially a Han Ping Chien type move with the aces
underneath the box.24 The left hand should begin slightly in front of the right hand.
As you bring the left hand back so that it is parallel with the right hand
simultaneously drop the right hand’s cards onto the left fingers as the right hand lifts and
moves away.
As the right hand drops the aces onto the left fingers, flip the left hand's ace face-up
on top of the other aces with the thumb and then push forward while the left fingers curl

24
Han Ping Chien bears the name of the magician who introduced it to the western world, but the move
far predates him.

21
inward in order to fan out the cards. There should be no pause between the flipping and
fanning: they are one action, not two.

This gives the effect of the transformation a single card into a fan of face-up aces. All
that is left is to reveal the selection securely inside the card box. All the actions, starting with
picking up the individual ace from the table should smoothly flow until the transformation is
complete. Each action moves into the next, so that your hands are always in motion. You
should not rush, but you also should not pause. The card is picked up and then changes
almost instantly into the four aces. The transformation should catch the spectators off guard.

22
 EXCURSUS 3: FOAL (FLIP-OVER ACTION LOAD)

Before I introduce the next routine, I am going to first explain a one-handed

technique for loading a card underneath the box.25 Technically, this is not really an excursus
as the technique is necessary for the following.
I developed the technique when I was still performing Gregory Wilson’s card under
box routine from his VHS release, Card Stunts.26 I believe the move has many possibilities
for further application. It has already been variously used by many others to great effect.
At one point in the Wilson routine there is a card underneath the box (which the
spectators believe is the selection) and the selected card is on top of the deck in left hand
mechanic’s grip with a pinky break underneath it. The right hand picks up the box in Biddle
grip and brings it to the top of the deck. The selection is taken underneath the box and both
are transferred onto the table.
While I loved the ruse, the technique suffers from two major flaws—both of which
can be overcome in performance, but why not remove them?—(1) the box briefly touches the
deck for absolutely no reason, (2) the supposed selected card, where you desire the attention,
is stationary while all the action draws attention to the awkward movement of the box to the
deck.
It is much more desirable for you to be able to execute the load with the left hand
alone while repositioning the box. This way the load can be completed while you pick up
and draw attention to the supposed selection with the right hand. Both flaws are eliminated.
There is reason for the box to come in contact with the deck and attention is drawn to the
supposed selection.
The actual mechanics of the load are fairly simple. You will find yourself executing it
perfectly after a relatively short period of practice. Further practice will be required to get to
the point where you can do the technique effortlessly and mindlessly which is essential for a
technique of this nature.

25
I believe the first time I published this was in 2007, in my largest set of lecture notes, The
Hallucinogenic Effect.
Corey Burke published a related technique for loading the entire deck underneath the box in his
Kardmasutra lecture notes. This can be seen in action on his DVD, Payphone.
26
Gregory Wilson, Card Stunts: I believe this has now been re-released as a DVD.

23
 Begin with the deck in left hand mechanic’s grip. The card to be loaded underneath
the box should be on the top of the pack. Obtain a pinky break underneath the top card. Turn
the left hand palm down in order to grab the card box: thumb on the right long edge, index
finger on the front short edge, middle and ring fingers on the left long edge. Maintain a left
pinky break between the top card and the deck. Grab the box flush with the deck.
The very act of grabbing the box in the above manner releases the selection so that at
this point if you were to let go of the box, the selection would be released with it. You have
essentially two units in your hand – (1) the deck, and (2) the box with the selection
underneath it. Maintain a left pinky break between the two units.

Rotate the hand so that the thumb points to the ceiling. Set the bottom long edge of
the box on the table, you will need to release with the left fingers. The box and selection will
be perpendicular to the table: the thumb rests along the top edge while the left fingers hold
the rest the deck at a 45-degree angle to the box.

24
 Continue moving the hand to the left,
pull the box to the left with the thumb until it
tips over with the selection underneath it.
Allow the box to fall freely: do not guide the
box to the table with the thumb. The first
few times you may find the box and selection
end completely askew. However, after a
short amount of practice you should be able
to have the box and selection falling
perfectly or almost perfectly flush every
time.

Two keys to ensuring that they fall flush – (1) Make sure the left fingers are clear of
the falling box: otherwise the selection will briefly contact them and the friction of the
fingers will draw it to the left of the box. This is the reason why the deck is held at a 45-
degree angle to the box prior to the falling. This gives plenty of space for the box to fall
straight to the table. Another way to think of this is to remember that your hand should turn
palm down as the move is executed. (2) Make sure the left thumb allows the box to fall and
does not “aid” by pushing or applying any pressure. That would cause the box to shift to the
right, exposing the selection.

25
 FOAL AS A REVELATION

Alternatively, the FOAL can be used to take a card from the top of the deck and
reveal it as if it had been underneath the box. What appears to happen is that your left hand
flips the box over to reveal a card underneath. The move used in this way is discrepant, but
done in context it is quite deceptive. The card that you desire to reveal underneath the box
needs to be on top of the deck. Gain a pinky break underneath it in preparation for FOAL.
Execute the actions of the FOAL up to the point when the thumb is resting on the top
edge of the perpendicular box. Instead of allowing the box to free fall as the hand moves to
the left, this time the thumb pad repositions onto the right side of the box and lightly pins the
box to the table as it tips over. The left hand continues by dragging the box clear from the
card now on the table.
The idea is for it to appear as if the left hand simply moved the box a bit in order to

reveal the card underneath it.27. Often I will let go of the deck, leaving it on top of the box
immediately after executing the move. This subtlety seems to reinforce the idea that you
simply slid the box to the left.

27
This use can be seen demonstrated by Glenn Morphew on Rub-A-Dub Deluxe Suite or Peter
Eggnick’s Pocket Bizarre in the context of a transposition effect that I contributed to both projects.

26
 CARD UNDER BOX

At one point if you lived in certain areas around Chicago it was impossible not to be
performing a card under box routine. By my estimation this was the result of a single
individual’s work – David Campos. David is one of the most talented technicians and all
around engaging performers that I have ever met. He worked behind the counter of a small
magic shop and from there influenced a number of future magicians. His signature routine
was the card under box. Many performed David’s routine exactly as he did – myself
included!
As far as I am aware, David has never published any of his work. Although it may
not be apparent from the footnotes, David’s hand has touched many of the pieces in this
book. Not only has he variously commented on each piece and made suggestions over the
years, but he was also the one who introduced me to some of those magicians who are the
major recognizable influences on my work.
Oddly enough my routine bears no similarity to David’s. My work has been more
directly influenced by the structure and effect of Greg Wilson's card under box routine.28 The
funny thing is that the Wilson routine was what originally inspired David to perform a card
under box. It is a good example of how two individuals can end up at two totally different
final destinations, despite having the same starting point.

Setup

To begin you will need to load any indifferent card facedown underneath the box.
The box with the indifferent card should be placed off to your right.29 Technique is not
important at this point. The loading should be accomplished well before the start of your
routine. Often I will load a card underneath the box as soon as I begin to perform for a group
of people, immediately after taking the deck out of the box. I am then ready to go into this
routine at any point.

28
See Card Stunts.
29
If you follow what I suggested for staging in the previous routine, the box should be on the bottom
left corner of the mat, not off the mat.

27
 The First Appearance: Full-Speed

Have a card selected and returned to the deck. If you desire you could have the card
signed. Control the card to the top any way you see fit. For my personal tastes, see
Excursus 4: (Non) Precision in Card Control. Set the deck down as you introduce the
routine.30
Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘the hand is quicker than the eye’? Well for me it is
literally true. My hand can move quicker than the human eye can follow. I spent ten years in
the mountains in Tibet, training, homing my skills . . . okay it was only five years, but five
years of grueling . . . okay I went to Canada for a summer, but the point is I’m really fast.”
Pick up the deck and give it any shuffle or flourish you want so long as you retain the
selection on top. Though it may look like I only shuffled the deck just now, what I was
actually doing was running through all the cards, removing yours, and hiding it underneath
the box.
Use the right index finger to flick the
box slightly off center to reveal the card
underneath. Pause for a moment to allow
this image to sink in. Then use the right
index finger to flick the box all the way off
of the card.
All the while, obtain a left pinky break
underneath the selection. You are now going
to pick the card on the table with the right
hand, put it on top of the pack, and turnover a
double to reveal the selection. There is a
right way to accomplish this and a wrong
way.

The wrong way is to leave the left hand stationary and carry the right hand’s card
back to the deck before turning over the double. I see even the best magicians do this.
There is no reason to move the card to the deck before revealing it. Furthermore, you are
pulling the object of interest away from the spectators. Instead you should go about it in the
following way. Pick up the card from the right edge with right hand, with the right thumb on
top (a little less than half way down) and the right fingers on the bottom (only the index and
middle fingers really need to be contacting the card).

30
I like to be as separate as possible from the deck throughout my routines whenever possible.
Exposition is an excellent time to set the deck down, which communicates to your audience a nonchalance that
is desirable. To a large extent this is just taste. You can just as easily hold the cards the entire time.

28
 Move the right hand forward, towards the center of the mat, towards the spectators.
The idea is that you are revealing the face of the card to your audience, so movement towards
them is what you want.

Bring the left hand in towards the center with the deck in tow. The deck is brought to
the right hand’s card. The right hand’s card is allowed to align with the selection, to do this
the right fingers must move out of the way, but the right thumb should remain in contact with
the back of the card.
Immediately, re-grip underneath the double with the right fingers and flip it face-up
onto the top of the deck. Tilt the left hand slightly down to angle the face directly at the
audience.

29
 The whole sequence allows for a double turnover that occurs in the same moment that
the hands meet. It is far from ideal to first place the card on top of the pack and then turnover
a double. Instead, you should turnover the double in the same action of bringing the hands
together. What you desire is to give the appearance that you simply flipped the right hand’s
card face-up onto the top of the deck.
The idea behind the action described above is that the left hand is brought over
merely to be a “display help” for the revealing of the card. You are moving forward with the
card towards the spectators in order to show its face and the left hand comes over to assist in
this. The card is better seen in your hand on the deck, than it is if it was simply turned face-
up onto the table.

The Second Appearance: Half-Speed

At this point explain to your audience, What you saw was not black magic, but super-
speed. I simply placed your card underneath the box like so. But with such Flash-like speed
that you were unable to detect my movements. In concordance with the patter, flip the double
facedown and deal the top indifferent card to the center of the mat. Pick up the box and place
it on top of the indifferent card, slight askew so that the card is still visible. Ostensibly you
are illustrating the procedure that brought the card secretly underneath the box, at normal
speed.
Obtain a left pinky break underneath the selection in preparation for the FOAL.
Bring the right hand over to pick up the indifferent card, as you execute the FOAL with the
left hand, in the process of picking up the box and moving it out of the way. The box is
moved from the center of the mat to the bottom left corner while the right hand lifts the card.

30
 Keep an eye on your card and I’ll go slower so that your eyes can follow. Insert the
indifferent card into the deck freely and give the pack another shuffle. Would you like to see
what it looks like at half-speed? When your audience answers in the affirmative immediately
use the right hand to flick the box slightly askew of the selection underneath. It is still pretty
fast. Proceed as before: flick the box all the way off of the selection and pick up the selection
with the right hand. Mimic the actions from the first reveal (bringing the hands forward and
flipping the selection face-up onto the deck) this time without the need of turning over a
double since the selection really is underneath the box.

The Third Appearance: ¼ Speed

Move the box back to the center of

the mat as you comment, Here, I will help
you follow. I will move the box center stage
so we do not take our eyes off of it. And I
will got at ¼ full speed this time. Insert the
selection back into the deck and control it to
the top. You are now going to perform
Lennart Green’s Top Shot in order to shoot
the card underneath the box.31 Pick up the
case in the right hand with the right middle
finger and thumb. The hand itself should be
to the right of the box. Rest the right edge of
the hand on the table. The left hand performs

31
Green, Green Magic, Vol 1 (1993)

31
the Top Shot, aiming at the right palm. As soon as the card comes in contact with the palm
the right hand snaps the box onto the table, pinning the selection underneath it. The distance
you choose to execute the Top Shot from depends entirely on your own comfort with the
technique.

The absolute ideal aesthetic is to have none of the selection visible after you have
pinned it underneath the box. Fortunately you do not have to catch the selection square
underneath the box to accomplish this.32 Instead, simply make sure that the box extends well
beyond the left most edge of the selection however it may land. The back of the right hand
will cover the rest of the selection. All that the spectators will see is the box. Hold this pose
for a second or two.
The reason why this is so appealing is that the card moves quite fast when the Top
Shot is executed properly. The spectators will see a blur of movement but will not be quite
sure what happened. It is better to have a moment of pause when they can appreciate that
momentary (good!) confusion. Did you catch it? That was ¼ full speed. Slowly lift the
right hand and move it to the side to reveal the selection underneath the box.
I actually prefer to perform this phase "in the action" of controlling the card to the
top. To illustrate: imagine that you are holding a break above the selection, about to control
it to the top, using a triple cut to the table. Cut the first two packets to the table (half the
packet above the break and then the rest of the cards above the break), as you set the second
packet on top of the first, move over to grab the box (instead of immediately back to your left
hand) and execute the Top Shot to place the selection underneath the box. Return to the left
hand and continue cutting the rest of the deck to the table (in as many packets as you
choose).

The Fourth Appearance: 1/8 Speed

I will slow it down one last time and execute the action at 1/8 full speed. This phase
is simply a joke. Pick up the selection and lose it in the center of the deck. Give the deck
and shuffle and then openly ribbon spread the cards with their faces towards you. Pick out
their selection and place it underneath the box.
Though this obviously requires no technique it is actually best to keep track of the
selection. Shuffle the cards so that selection stays near the center so that when ribbon
spreading you can immediately spread right to where the selection should be. It is better to
have as little fishing for the selection as possible. The best pacing for the joke is for you to
immediately remove the card upon ribbon spreading the pack towards yourself. Dead time
actually searching for the card is no one’s friend.
That was 1/8 full speed! Okay . . . so at this point it is not so impressive . . . but at
least you can appreciate how fast I was moving before!

32
Though it does happen from time to time.

32
 Alternate Fourth Appearance: The Kick Back

This phase has become my preferred option for 1/8 full speed.33 It is best used before
the second finale option. I’ll slow it down one last time and execute the action at 1/8 full
speed.
Pick up the selection and lose it in the center of the deck. Give the deck and shuffle
and then openly ribbon spread the cards with their faces towards you. Pick out their selection
and take it in the right hand as you close the spread and take the deck back into facedown left
hand mechanic’s grip. Place the selection into position for Glenn Morphew’s handling of the
Rub-a-Dub vanish.34
Look to the left and then to the right as if trying to be sneaky for effect. Pick up the

33
It was inspired by a phase from Homer Liwag’s CoinOne routine, which can be seen on the DVD of
the same title.
34
The original Rub-A-Dub, a Charlie Miller technique, can be found in Hugard and Braue’s Expert
Card Technique: In my opinion the original is imperfect to the point of being useless. For a long time I thought
the technique had no merit. Others, through improvements or simply better performing, proved me wrong.
Gary Kurtz contributed some touches that vastly improved the technique. These can be found in the
book Richard Kaufman authored, Unexplainable Acts, and can be seen on Gary’s VHS/DVD, Creating Magic.
Finally, Glen Morphew developed the technique beyond recognition. His handlings are completely
deceptive, angle-proof, beautiful to see and a joy to execute. What I once considered a non-option for vanishing
a card in a close-up setting I now consider the best option. Many have errantly assumed that Glen has simply
contributed the idea of angling the card. Jason England is also known to have angled the card. I believe there
was even some hullabaloo a while back over credit. However, given that that one detail is not even close to the
extent of Glen’s technique, it is a moot point. His complete work, titled “Rub-A-Dub Deluxe Suite” can be
found as a download from Vanishing Inc Magic.
Humorously, but probably not of any interest to anyone, I believe the first published account of the
exact mechanics of the left-hand’s action in Glenn’s Rub-A-Dub can be found in Earnest Earick’s “Proteus?” in
By Forces Unseen. Earnest does not use the mechanics in the context of a Rub-a-Dub or even a vanish. Instead
the left hand’s actions are for the purpose of clean up after his version of the Horace Goldin Snap Change.

33
box with the right hand and execute the Rub-a-Dub vanish underneath the box instead of
your hand.35 This is done by first pressing the selection onto the table to left of the box and
then sliding it underneath the box as per Glenn’s handling. After executing the technique,
step back, pause for the chuckle this elicits and ask, Did you see it happen this time?

When the audience replies in the

affirmative lift up the box to reveal nothing
underneath. Simultaneously, execute Looey
Simonoff’s Flippant move with the left hand
to reveal the selection.36 How? It hasn’t
happened yet.

The Finale

I have variously performed many different finales for the card under box. Depending
on the context I will still oscillate between options. I use Option 1 when I plan to do more
magic. Often, I transition directly from this routine to Queens Across. Option 2 is designed
for when this routine is meant to be the terminal piece in my performance. Actually, there
are really even more endings that I regularly use. Option 3 is when I decide to do a
truncated version of the routine, a quick three phase punch that is not as drawn out. Option 4
can be found later in this book at the end of "Queen Scream."

Finale Option 1: Card in the Box

This first option is not particularly interesting from a magician’s point of view.
However, it is especially strong for laymen. The effect is essentially a vanish and
reappearance. The effect would be standard fair in coin magic, but not so in card magic. The
development of the routine thus far also contributes to the strength of this phase: though the
selection has been “vanishing” from the deck and reappearing underneath the box, up until
this point no vanish has ever been experienced. This phase “removes” the deck and gives the

35
From what I understand Glen credits me with this idea and can be seen demonstrating it on his Rub-
A-Dub Deluxe Suite.
36
The original description can be found in Harry Lorayne's Apocalypse Vols. 1-5 (Volume 1, No. 9).

34
effect in its purest form – The selection vanishes before the eyes and is immediately removed
from inside the box.
Move the box to the right of center stage, giving you plenty of space to execute a
Rub-A-Dub vanish. Offer to perform the effect one more time at full speed. This time we
will isolate your card. Execute the Rub-A-Dub vanish. Leave your hand on the table,
delaying the vanish.
Just your card, my hand, and the box. It happens in one . . . two . . . three . . .Lift up
your right hand to reveal the selection gone. However, this time I didn’t just slip your card
underneath the box, I actually opened the box and put your card inside. As you deliver this
line palm off the selection into right hand full palm. Usually I go with a One-Handed Top
Palm.
Set the deck down as the right hand comes over to pick up the box from above,
revealing nothing underneath the box. The palmed card is added onto the box in the act of
the left hand taking the box and turning it over. To do this extend the left fingers underneath
the cover of the right hand and make contact with the right edge of the palmed card. Curl
your left fingers in order to pull the palmed card onto the top of the box. Simultaneously turn
the left wrist so that the hand turns palm down and the card is hidden underneath the box.37.
Execute the Schulien bluff to reveal the selection from inside the box.

Finale Option 2: Deck in the Box

This finale requires that there be some additional preparation work. You need a
duplicate deck inside the box from the beginning. How you go about this will depend on
your individual situation. Alternatively, the effect and method simply may not be interesting
enough to lure you into trying it.
Originally I would switch the empty box for a full one at some point in my
performance prior to this routine. Now I usually go a different route. If I know that I am
going to perform this routine, I have both a deck in box and a free deck with me. At the
beginning of my performance I bring both out and set the box on the table. I let the audience
assume that the deck came from the box.
When it comes time for the finale offer to perform the effect one more time. As you
can see there is nothing underneath the box yet. Lift up the box as you deliver the above to

37
Alternatively, instead of the entire sequence described above (including the OHTP), your best option
is to execute Glen Morphew’s Table-Action Top Cop (Rub-A-Dub Deluxe Suite) as you set the deck down
immediately following the rub-a-dub vanish (before the hand as lifted). You can then immediately pick up the
box with the right hand the copped card added underneath. This way the deck is truly removed from play as
soon as possible. After you have set the selection down there is no reason for you to be holding the deck
anymore (outside of the obvious necessity for method). It is best to eliminate this discrepancy.
The only reason this handling is here in the footnotes as an “alternative” is because I do not want to
explain Glen’s move, which is obvious integral. The move is explained in great detail with many applications
on Rub-A-Dub Deluxe Suite.

35
verify what you are saying. And your card is here. Insert the selection into the deck and
control it to the bottom. Obtain a pinky break between the deck and selection via buckling or
a pinky pull-down. Emphasize the fact that they have just seen the selection enter the deck.
Explain to the audience that you are going to take the demonstration one step further.
I am actually going to up the ante. This time I am not simply going to remove your
card from the pack and insert it underneath the box, this time I will actually open the flap on
the box place your card INSIDE the box, close the flap and then return to my current position
so fast that you will not see a thing.
It is during the delivery of this line when you must ditch everything but the selection.
Unfortunately, I do not have an especially clever or groundbreaking way of accomplishing
this. Usually I will lap or pocket the deck, depending on my performing situation. This is all
done as you make a big deal with gestures and animated movement about what is going to
happen.
You now need to grip the selection as if it were still an entire deck. To do this, elevate
the selection in the left hand by pinching it with the thumb against the side of the base of the
index finger. Re-grip the card by stretching the index finger across the front short edge (in
order to obscure the fact that it is a single card) and by cupping the left middle, ring, and
pinky fingers with their tips touching the right edge of the selection. This grip serves to
provide the illusion of depth.38 Pause for a moment after explaining the effect to let the
spectators visualize what you claimed you are about to do.
BUT I will not stop there. Then I will open the box again, remove your card, put the
DECK back inside the box, close the box and then set it down so that I am left holding only
your card. I will do this so fast that you will not see it happen. In fact, I have already done
it.” Tilt the left hand up slightly at the wrist and then quickly and simultaneously open the
fingers while tilting the hand completely palm up. The index finger can curl upwards to
prevent the selection from shifting too far forward and falling out of the hand. All this serves
as a dramatic flick of the wrist with an accompanying revelation of a single card. Take the
card gingerly at the right fingertips as you reveal that it is indeed the selection. At this point
all there is left to do is reveal the rest of the deck inside the box.39

Finale Option 3: Deck Under Box

When I use this option it occurs immediately following the second phase and I am
generally not using or fully developing the idea of 1/2 speed, 1/4 speed etc. Instead I have
made the card appear under the box (phase 1). I explain that this is just super speed (set up
for phase 2).
So this ending starts before you reveal the card underneath the box in Phase 2. You

38
The first person I ever saw hold a single card as if it were the whole deck was Michael Close in the
Saltshaker/Forehead routine.
39
Please see Excursus 4: Physicality.

36
have just inserted an indifferent card into the deck that the spectator thought was their
selection, when in reality it is already underneath the box.
Watch closely. Because even though it seems like I'm just shuffling the deck, I have
already snuck your card back underneath the box! Obtain a pinky break above the bottom
card of the deck in preparation for the next load.
Using the right index finger, flick the box to the left a bit to reveal the selection
underneath the box. As you simultaneously pick up the selection to reveal its face with the
right, use the left hand to move the box all the way out of the way, executing the FOAL with
the entire deck. This requires a little practice to make the necessary adjustments, but it is not
difficult.
Hold the indifferent card in the left hand as if it were the deck and then insert the
selection underneath it, with ample space, executing the Tilt underneath a single card. Watch
your card closely this time, I insert it into the deck again. Don't take your eyes off the deck.
Cover the "deck" with your right hand so that it is entirely obscured. Because sometimes, it
is the deck that goes ... Press down with the right hand flattening the hands. Lift up to
reveal apparently only a single card. Execute a double turnover to show the two cards as just
the selection. The deck has vanished. ... and ends up underneath the box! Turn your
attention to the box and the spectators will react accordingly.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

There are at least two different ways to do a card under box routine. The first is as I
have done here, and as Campos does in his routine, and as Greg Wilson does in his: attention
is drawn to the fact that the card travels underneath the box. The second is the way that Doc
Eason does his card under drink, and to an extent the way that Michael Close does his Card,
Forehead, and Salt Shaker. The card repeatedly and randomly shows up underneath the
glass/box/salt shaker throughout a longer routine, that does not necessarily focus on the card
traveling. It creates the response When did he do that? I absolutely love this latter way,
though my routine is an example of the former. I cannot tell you how much I adore when-
did-he-do-that type of magic.40 It is arguably my favorite type of magic. I simply have never
developed anything comparable to the Michael Close and Doc Eason's routines.
Almost all of the magic in this book developed from playing with the card under box
routine. I have developed many technical leftovers over the years. They have found their
ways into other routines. This is the reason why all the magic in this book involves the card
box. I probably could have described this book as a book about magic with the card box.
But it is too late for that now.

40
Tommy Wonder's Two Cup routine is an example par excellance. See Books of Wonder and on his
DVD, Visions of Wonder vol 1.

37
 EXCURSUS 4: (NON) PRECISION IN CARD CONTROL

I first learned my “technical core” (A force, a control, a double-lift, a top-change, and

a top palm) from an old Derek Dingle VHS that I found at my public library.41 He would
teach a technique, then a trick that used that technique. The video progressed by giving the
next technique and a trick that incorporated each technique learned up to that point, and so on
and so forth until the final trick used all the previous techniques. Pedagogically, I still
believe that this is an excellent (and maybe even the best!) way to teach someone sleight of
hand card magic.
My technical vocabulary grew at a much slower rate than most of my friends. This is
because I was all too ready to simply substitute a move that I could already do (usually much
easier) with whatever was taught in the particular trick I was learning. I did this regardless of
how it affected the economy of motion in the routine I was learning. I used the same control,
same double-lift, same switch, etc, for some time. Two years later I was still doing the same
single Dingle learned control every time I needed to get a card to the top. My own laziness
and comfort prevented my magic from developing the way it could have.
At this point I am finally a bit more diverse. Even still, one of my favorite controls is
a direct descendant from the original control that I learned from Derek – the triple-cut to the
table.
The technique is classic and simple: The selected card is returned to the middle of the
deck, which is held in left mechanic’s grip. A pink break is maintained above the selection.
The right hand cuts half of the cards above the break to the table, then takes all of the rest of
the cards above the break and places them on top of the tabled cards, finally the right hand
takes all the remaining cards in the left hand and adds them to the top of the tabled cards.
I modified the control bit by bit as I become more comfortable with improvisation
and as my tastes and views developed. My current thinking has been widely influenced by

41
I cannot remember its name. My memory may be faulty, but I still think of the tape as wonderful. A
google search revealed that Dingle put out a VHS called Basic Card Magic with Derek Dingle (1982). I am
guessing that has to be it? I would love to view it again for nostalgia sake.

38
the Spanish school of thought,42 Lennart Green,43 and an essay by Darwin Ortiz.44
I am no stranger to displays of skill in my magic. I want my audience to appreciate
my skill. I want them to understand how much precision and work goes in. I generally do
not care to create an atmosphere of magic created apart from my skill, contra Vernon.45 The
closest I usually come to this attitude is magic that does not go as I plan.
However, when I want my audience to believe that a card is lost, I need them to
perceive the opposite of precision. This conviction can actually be strengthened in the
audience’s mind given my skill-oriented style. If I usually handle the cards with great care
and flare, it serves to highlight the lack of control that I want the audience to believe in when
I control cards with very sloppy and hap hazardous card technique.
I am communicating two different attitudes depending on the situation. The first is
that I care about how I handle the cards and about what is going on. The second, in contrast
to the first, is that I do not care. The second attitude is really made possible precisely by its
contrast with the first.
Neither my style nor my personality suits the wild card handling of Green, Tamariz,
or DaOrtiz whom I so admire. However, I am able to adopt similar attitudes and approaches
at certain moments when they suit the illusion. The most obvious example is when I control
cards. When I want the audience to believe a card is lost, I abandon my usual precision and
treat the cards like I do not care about them. The fact that I am usually so precise enhances
the illusion. In the audience’s mind I have momentarily given up the control that
characterizes my ability to do wonderful things with cards. The handling is sloppy and
emphasizes the fact that there could be no control.

Allow me to illustrate the attitude and technique that I use when controlling cards
with the following control. As I mentioned before it is, in its essence, still the triple-cut to
the table that I first learned from Derek Dingle.
Insert the selection into the center of the pack however you please but obtain and
maintain a left pinky break above the card. The deck is held in left mechanic’s grip at this
point. Begin by thumbing off 5-6 cards into the awaiting thumb crotch of the right hand.
Gently toss these cards to the table, completely un-squared. Repeat this action 3-4 times
until you have thumbed off all of the cards above the break. Address the audience and do not
look at your hands during the entire procedure.
Ribbon spread the remaining cards between the two hands, breaking the spread at the
half-way point. Alternate dropping cards from the top of the left hand’s spread with cards
from the bottom of the right hand’s spread until all the cards have been tossed to the table.
Allow a card or two to flip face-up in the midst of this process. Get to a point where you

42
Greats such as Juan Tamariz, Arturo De Ascanio, and Dani DaOrtiz.
43
I have been a fan ever since his appearance on the NBC special, World’s Greatest Magic III.
44
Darwin Ortiz, “Showing or Hiding Skill," in Scams and Fantasies with Cards (A-1, 2002), p. 111ff
45
Ibid.

39
only have two or three cards in the left hand, and a small packet in the right hand. Toss the
right hand's packet on top of the mess and then toss the left hand's cards, but cause them to
flip face-up (this is done apparently on accident).

40
 Grab the pile of cards with both hands and square the deck in sloppy manner – in
other words, do not square the cards as quickly as you can. Allow cards to fall, smash them
back into the mess, cut chunks from the bottom to the middle if you want, just make sure to
retain the top card. Fix any face-up cards in the middle of the deck. To finish, take the face-
up cards on top of the deck, and turn them facedown and put them in the middle of the deck.
The entire process from beginning to end should only take 3-4 seconds. The presence
of the face-up cards on top of the deck, visually signals the audience that their card is not on
top. The fact that cards fall face-up at all further signals your indifference to the process.
The attitude is that you do not mind making a mess and taking the second or two it takes to
clean that mess up.
You can even further cut the pile when you are initially picking up the messy pile,
cutting the top face-up cards into the center (just remember which face-up cards are the key
cards above the selection.) The image of you grabbing the pile in two hands further enhances
the hap hazard feel. Then, when you run through the pack to fix the few face-up cards, you
can cut the selection back to the top.

41
 EXCURSUS 5: PHYSICALITY

The way you move and use your body and actions to present your work (apart from
the sleights and methods) goes a long way to making or breaking a magic trick. The manner
in which you physically present certain elements can serve to strengthen and reinforce the
effect even when the method and effect themselves do not change. Here is a test case: The
Deck in Box
Suppose the time has come in a routine to reveal that the deck (having previously
vanished) is now inside the card box. How does one go about doing this? The most obvious
way (and one which can be regularly seen employed by magicians who perform routines that
have decks end up inside of boxes) is to remove the deck from the box and immediately
ribbon spread it on the table. I tend to think this is terrible.
The moment of the deck coming out of the box is less than half a second and the
spectators end with the image of a ribbon spread deck completely away from the box. This
does nothing to maximize the relevant effect or burn the image of the deck inside the box into
your spectator’s mind. All it does is serve to draw attention to the deck. The appearance of
the deck inside the box is what you want to emphasize, not simply the reappearance of the
deck.
If the revelation of the deck is performed as described above what the audience
perceives is a deck out of sight and then almost immediately back in sight. Where it came
from is almost deleted from the spectator’s focus simply by how it is essentially skipped
over. Since you have already done all the work, you might as well milk the moment.
Instead of immediately removing the deck and ribbon spreading it, try this instead:
Pick up the box with only the right index finger and thumb. Shake it up and down a couple
of times to communicate that it feels weightier than it should be. Lift the box to your ear and
shake it a few times. Your eyes should be gazing at the box as this occurs. Turn your eyes
back to meet the gaze of your audience and smile, indicating that the sound has confirmed
your success.
Turn the wrist to show all sides of the box carefully. Flip open the flap with the left
hand. Re-grip the box so that you are holding it, flap side towards the spectators, gripped by
the long edges, right fingers on the bottom long edge, right thumb on top, the opening facing
to the left, all in preparation to dump the deck from the box.
From this position turn the box so that the opening is pointing down allowing the

42
deck to spill out. Pressure from the right fingers allows you to control when the cards begin
to fall. Use the right pinky to block the deck from falling all at once, allowing the cards to
spill out progressively instead in one chunk by slowly drawing the pinky back. The desired
image is a cascade of cards from the box. It will actually take a bit of practice to achieve the
desired waterfall, but I think the image is well worth it.

This way you simultaneously emphasize the reappearance of the deck as well as its
new location.46

46
I started advocating for this way of producing a deck from the box almost a decade ago. But I do not
get around much. Fortunately, the magic world is not dependent on me for ideas: I have since seen at least one
person perform a deck from box the “right” way. It was Dani DaOrtiz in a television performance with Luis
Pedreihita. The whole routine was beautiful and perfect.

43
 QUEENS ACROSS

Four cards travel one at a time to the card box (variously in or under). The final card
does not travel but instead transforms into the card box, which has vanished from the table
right under the spectators’ noses. The final card is then removed from inside the box.
We have arrived at what is perhaps my signature routine. The only routine I have
been performing longer has been the Card under Box, however this routine has been the most
requested and admired by magicians. It has gone through countless variations and
evolutions. To be frank, the routine that I first began performing over a decade ago was utter
garbage. What I have now I find highly enjoyable.
What I personally enjoy most about this routine is the economy of motion. I have
spent long hours ensuring that every movement is as purposeful as possible.

Setup

I usually perform this routine with the four queens for various reasons, hence the title.
Theoretically, you could perform the routine with any four of a kind. However, court cards
are obviously best in routines where there are discrepancies involving the identity of
individual cards. My particular justification for this choice is explained in the presentation
below.
You need to start with one of the queens inside the box. The queen should have its
back to the flap of the box. The box starts on the table with the queen facedown inside. How
you arrive at this position is up to you. Assuming the deck is oriented properly in the box
you could simply note the face card of the deck as you remove the cards from the box and
leave it behind. When the time comes for you to perform the routine use the relevant four of
a kind. Though it may be harder for less obsessive people to imagine, whenever I put a deck
of my own away, I almost always make sure there is a queen on the face and that the deck is
oriented properly in the box. This way I can always easily leave a queen behind in the
correct position when I remove cards from a box.
When the time comes to perform the routine, remove the three mates from the deck.
The fact that this takes place “prior” to the actual routine and before you have given any

44
information to the spectators about what you are doing allows for the fact that you do not
remove four cards to go unnoticed. I usually do go to the trouble of up-jogging a fourth
indifferent card behind the three queens while I am holding the spread with the faces only
towards me. Then I strip out the four cards and momentarily place them on the face of the
deck. Then I leave the indifferent card behind. This is an acceptable and easy convincer to
throw in for those so inclined. Only after you have removed the three queens do you set
aside the deck and introduce the routine as a “trick with only four of a kind.”
Have you ever wondered what the card box is? I mean, obviously from one
perspective I know what the box is. To me, the box is a convenient carrying case, that helps
me not to lose any cards. But what about to the cards themselves? How does any individual
card perceive the box? Is it a home - a comfortable place they long to return to after a hard
day's work of poker and rummy? Is it a prison - a dark, gloomy, confined space from which
they desperately wish to escape? I do not know. But in order to answer this question, I
thought we would use a small packet of cards to help us work out the truth. Because it is
easier to personify the court cards, we will use the four queens.

The First Queen

Execute an Elmsley count with the packet face-up to display the three queens as
47
four. For this demonstration, four queens and the card case are all I need. I will set the
four queens here. Turn the queens facedown and give them one more Elmsley count before
you drop the packet to the table. The queens should be to your left. The box will be placed
to right in a moment and you want as much
space between them as your performing area
allows.48
The box I will place over here. Pick
up the box from above with the right hand.
Thumb on the bottom short end, middle finger
on top. From this position, with the absolute
minimal amount of pressure you can prevent
the card inside the box from moving when the
box is shaken. As you emphasize the box
give it a quick shake back and forth, while
applying pressure to prevent sound, before
setting it down.49

47
Do not count the cards individually. Simply introducing them as “the four queens” as you execute
the Elmsley count is best. For a relevant discussion on counting see Wonder, “Counting Cards, Unnatural
Rhythms, and Other Problems,” in The Books of Wonder Vol. 1 (Hermentic Press:1996), 97ff.
48
On the rare occasion that I am performing this behind the counter of a magic shop, I will usually use
two different close-up mats: one for the queens and one for the box. The two mats act as islands, visually
isolating the elements.
49
Do not verbally draw attention to the fact that there is nothing in the box/no sound. As with any

45
 Now every deck has four of every possible card value. This means, four threes, four
sevens, and of course four queens. Pick up the queens. Yet sometimes you go counting
through your deck only to find that one of the cards is missing. Fan the queens in the right
hand to reveal three.
Steal one of them into Gambler’s Cop in the process of displaying the queens
individually.50 To do this first take the bottom most queen of the fan at the left fingertips,
thumb above, fingers below. Turn the left hand at the wrist to flash the face to the audience
as you count One. Take the next card from the right hand’s fan into the left hand (side-
jogged above the first queen) and again display their faces as you count Two.
As you turn the left hand’s cards back facedown simultaneously allow the two cards

to coalesce into left mechanic’s grip while obtaining a pinky break between them. At the
same time the left hand does this, turn the right wrist and flash the last queen’s face to the
audience as you count Three.

good subtle convincer you want it to register but any fuss you make would only be suspicious.
50
I do not believe we can trace the origin of the Gambler's Cop. I do not even remember the first
source I learned it from.

46
 Turn the right hand’s queen back facedown and purportedly scoop up the left hand’s
cards underneath the right’s and drop them all to the table. In reality you scoop only the
queen above the break onto the right hand queen as you draw the queen below the break into
left hand Gambler’s Cop.
Sometimes when this happens, I find eventually find the card I am looking for inside
the box. Pick up the box in exactly the same manner as before with the right middle finger
and thumb. Bring the box towards your ear and shake it back and forth, this time allowing
the card inside to shake freely and make noise. Your eyes should be gazing off to the right as
you say this.
Turn your eyes back to the spectators and meet their gaze. As you make eye contact
simultaneously lower the box into the left hand (delivering the queen underneath the box).
(Internal monologue: Ah we can hear something inside . . .)
Using the right hand, lift both the box and the queen to the left fingertips: thumb on
the left long edge; middle, ring, and pinky fingers on the right long edge. The left index
finger rests curled against the bottom, keeping the queen pressed against the box.
Turn the left hand palm outward and then use the right thumb to open the flap. Peer
inside and using the right thumb and index finger pull out the queen from inside the box
about half its length.
Meet your audience’s gaze, (internal monologue: Ah we can see something inside.)
As you bring your eyes back to the box you are going to execute a switch for the card
displayed (half-way out of the box) for the card hidden behind. This is done in an action
mimicking removing the queen completely from the box.
Place the right thumb against the card hidden behind the box. Bring the right four
fingers down, in front of the queen sticking out of the box. From this position the right
thumb and fingers will pinch together as they move to the left. This draws the hidden queen
into view while simultaneously shoving the up-jogged queen back into the card case.
When the queen behind the case has almost cleared the box (leaving about ¾ inch still
behind the box) move the right hand forward causing the queen to flick the flap as it passes
(as well as push the queen inside the box all the way back in).

47
 From this position clip the card between
the index finger and middle fingers, which
frees your thumb to go underneath the queen
and flip it over by pressing up against the
index finger, displaying the face to the
audience
Though the process has been described
in step-by-step minutiae understand that it is
executed as one fluid action. Did I just
accidentally leave the card inside the box? I
am sure that is what happens sometimes, but
other times I am not so sure. Maybe the
queen got sick of working and ran off home?
Maybe the card box ate the queen when no
one was looking? With these strange things you never know. Place the recently revealed
queen face-up onto the table where the box was previously. Close the box and place it on top
of the queen (making sure the queen is still visible).

The Second Queen

The only way to be sure is to catch the exact moment the queen ends up inside the
box. Pick up the two queens to your left with the right hand, thumb on top, fingers below.
Execute a Hamman Style count into the left hand to count the two as three.51 Using the left
thumb peel the top card into the left open palm. As you come to take the second card add the
left hand’s card underneath the right hand’s. Peel off the second card into the left hand.
Finally take the third (really the first) queen
into the left hand. So we are going to watch
these three cards like hawks.
To make it easier, we will deal the cards
in a row on the table so as not to miss
anything. Cock the left hand to the left at the
wrist and immediately deal the two cards to
the table. Deal the second card a good few
inches behind the first. The cocked left wrist
will make it so that you deal the cards
lengthwise.
Notice that one of the cards is already
missing. Wait a second?! Use your hands to

51
I believe the first printed reference for the Hamman Count is in Paul LePaul, The Card Magic of Bro.
John Hamman S.M. (1958).

48
rub the queens against the table, emphasizing their singularity. You will now steal one of the
queens into right hand longitudinal palm in the act of picking up the two queens.52

Here now are only one . . . Pick up the front queen with the right hand from the top
left corner, thumb on top, index and middle fingers underneath. Flash its face to the audience
as you say one.
. . . and two. Use the right hand’s queen to scoop up the remaining queen as you
count two. The left hand touches the bottom edge of the tabled queen to steady it. The right
hand queen is inserted underneath the tabled card by the bottom right corner.
Push the right hand's card square with the card on the table. As soon as the right
thumb contacts the tabled card lift both cards free from the table with the right hand.
Immediately continue by curling the right middle finger in. The action is identical to
snapping – the right middle finger moves along the thumb, drawing the bottom most card
with it.

From this position, take the top card into left hand mechanic’s grip while the right
thumb grips the short end of the bottom card at the corner, the card is now held in
longitudinal palm. The right thumb needs to extend enough past the edge of the palmed card
to be able to grip another card.
Take the left hand’s card from above in the right hand. The right thumb grips the
bottom short end, the right middle finger grips the top short end. Pretend to square the “two
cards” by moving the single card forward and backward in the left hand, the left thumb
rubbing against the long edge. One or two brief squaring actions is sufficient.

52
I was first exposed to the Longitudinal Palm through the work of Gary Kurtz. Of course the grip
long predates Gary.

49
 Move the left hand clear from the card and gingerly drop the single card to the table.
You will now turn your attention the card case and simultaneously transfer the right hand
queen into left full palm using a longitudinal to full palm transfer.53

Bring the left hand, palm up, fingers

pointing towards the audience, to meet the
right hand. Brush the left palm momentarily
with the right fingers. Continue the action by
placing the right hand's queen directly into
left hand full palm position. As the hands
meet during this transfer, turn your gaze
towards your audience.
I wonder if . . . Release the right thumb
and curl the left hand taking the card into full
palm. Keep the left thumb touching the right
hand the entire time while turning the right
hand palm up by rotating it against the left
palmed card (pressing it all the way into palm position. The left thumb will end in the open
palm of the right hand.

53
I first learned this from Gary Kurtz in “Hypothetical Possibilities” on his Creating Magic VHS (A-1:
1991), now available as a DVD. Gary first published it in his lecture notes, Continuations...Departures 1&2
(1988).

50
 . . . over here . . .Continue by gesturing to the box with the open right hand as you
simultaneously turn your gaze from the spectators to the box. Allow the left hand with its
palmed card to fall to a relaxed position. Pick up the box from above with the right hand and
again shake it by the ear, allowing the sound to be heard. . . ah it is!
Lower the box into the left hand, slightly up-jogged from what would be standard
mechanic’s grip. Add the palmed queen underneath the box. Grip the palmed card by only
the top two corners with the tip of the index finger and base of the thumb.
Move the left pinky and ring fingers to the bottom edge of the card, the left middle
finger remains on the short edge. From this position pivot the card against the base of the left
thumb until it is square with the box. You can fully square the two by running the left thumb
and fingers along the long edges.

51
 You will now duplicate the actions that were used to reveal the first queen. This time
you will not be executing any switch. Take the box and hidden queen into the same position
in the left hand used to reveal the first queen: thumb on the left long edge; middle, ring, and
pinky fingers on the right long edge. The left index finger rests curled against the bottom,
keeping the queen pressed against the box.
Again turn the left wrist so that the palm is pointing towards the audience. Open the
box with the right hand. With you right hand, slowly remove and display the queen that is
actually inside the box. The finger movements should be exactly the same apart from the fact
that no switch is performed. The second queen has also appeared inside the box.
Close the box with right hand (while still holding the queen). Turn the left hand palm
up and allow the box and card hidden underneath to lower into left mechanic’s grip. Place
the right hand's queen, face-up, on top of the box.
This is now the second card that has traveled from here . . . Gesture to your left with
the whole left hand unit. Then turn to your right and in this movement take the box by the
right hand, thumb on the bottom short edge, and middle finger on the top short edge. ... over
to here. Slide the box out from between the two queens, allowing the top queen to fall onto
the one hidden in the left hand. The left hand should make sure that the two cards coalesce to
form a double. This is done as you use the box to gesture to your right. I personally perform
a sort of stud turnover with the box.

52
 At this point take the double in right
Biddle grip (underneath the box and side-
jogged to the left) and then drop it on top
and to the right of the tabled queen and the
set the box on top of the “two” cards, up-
jogged about half its length.54
Alternatively, if you desire you can
hand the box out to be inspected for
anything hidden inside. While the box is
examined take the double in the right hand
and place it on top of the tabled queen and
then put the box on top of both.
And we still do not know if the box is
a happy or sad place for the queens.

The Third Queen

Turn your attention back to the “cards” on your left. You will now pretend to scoop
up the two cards even though there is only a single queen. Pick up the queen from above in
the right hand. Lift it slightly from the table. Using the left four fingers pretend to scoop by
placing them against the table and sliding them underneath the single queen. Take the queen
into left mechanic’s grip. Two queens left to go. Ho wait!

As you make the exclamation above, turn the left hand palm down and use the right
thumb to press against the short edge and kick the queen out, it will land face-up on the

54
For the best work on handling/dropping doubles while keeping them perfectly square see the work of
Arturo De Ascanio, especially the extended discussion in volume 2 of The Magic of Ascanio.

53
table.55 Hold the hands cupped together for a moment, so the audience does not see that they
are empty. That queen seems to be frightened of something. What about this . . . Slowly
open the hands to reveal the second queen has vanished.

Pick up and display the single queen. Hmm . . . I wonder what happened to the other
one. Set the queen back down and turn your attention the right. If I had to hazard a guess
inside the box . . . Pick up the box in the right hand, but almost immediately take it into the
left hand, which then raises it to shake it (presumably to hear sound again). This allows the
right hand to stay near the cards on the table.
As you shake the box by the left ear, the right fingers contact the top queen and move
slightly to the right, revealing the facedown card sandwiched between the two. Turn your
gaze towards the box, giving a puzzled look. Hmmm . . . I do not hear anything. Open the
box and gaze inside. There is nothing here. Turn the opening towards the audience. That is
strange. Close the box and shrug as you return it to your right. When the box is brought into
the same visual frame as the cards on the table express a brief moment of surprise.
Oh look! Set the box down and angled diagonally behind the queens. Pick up the fan

in your right hand, fingers on top and thumb below. Here between the two queens that have
already traveled . . . Raise the right hand to chest as you rotate the fan so that the middle
queen is facing you. . . . is the third queen! I still do not know if it is here hanging out with
the these two or hiding between them! Use the left fingers and thumb to remove the middle
queen, flip it so that it is facing the audience and place it back into the middle of the fan.

55
Apologies, in the accompanying illustrations, I did not show the wrist turn or the card being kicked
out face-up.

54
 Finale - The Fan Blocking Steal (FBS)

You are now going to steal the box into right hand Tenkai palm in the action of setting
the fan of three queens on the table. Turn the right hand palm down at the wrist. Touch the
bottom edge of the fan to the table, about 1 ½ inches in front of the box and slightly to the
left.
Lower the fan onto the box by
pivoting the bottom edge against the table.
The right hand should come to rest on the
box so that the thumb is on the upper left
edge.
From this position you need only to
apply the slightest pressure with the right
thumb pad against the box to grip the box in
Tenkai palm. Continue the right hand’s
action backwards as you drag the box in
Tenkai palm and allow the three queens to
fall face-up on the table. As soon as the right
hand is clear of the queens turn it so that its
back is facing the audience so that the box is
hidden in Tenkai palm position.

55
 Although this steal is actually burnable,56 you will not be executing it all on its own.
As you lower the right hand and execute the steal, pick up the remaining queen with the left
hand and lift it to chest height. The path of your spectator’s gaze is a “U” – Down with the
right hand, over to your left hand, and then back up.
Well there is absolutely no way we will let this last queen escape our attention. Prior
to this moment you have just revealed the third queen, the right hand’s fan is no longer
important – The focus should naturally turn back to the last queen. Because the steal is
executed with absolutely no discernable finger movement and done in the audience’s
peripheral vision, it will draw no attention.

You will now secretly load the box on

top of the final queen. To do this: offer to
roll up your sleeves. I will even roll up my
sleeves to be extra sure there is no possibility
for escape. Tug up the left sleeve with the
right hand still concealing the Tenkai palmed
box.

56
You will have to take my word for it until you can watch yourself in the mirror, there is no perception
of your hand picking up the box. Granted if the spectators are focused on the box it will seemingly vanish
behind the fan of cards . . .

56
 Bring the hands together and add the left hand's queen underneath the box. Re-grip
so that the box and queen are held by the right fingers and thumb, in a similar position for the
Vernon Add-On. Both are obscured by the back of the right hand. Tug up the right sleeve
with the left hand.
Set the box with the queen underneath back in left hand's mechanic's grip. The effect
is presented so that the spectators notice the box before you do. Turn your attention back to
the spot on the table with the other three queens. So there is no way the queen will end up
here in the box without us seeing how . . .

Hey, where is the box? I look around, sometimes I will transfer the box and card from
hand to hand as I do. It is humorous that you are handling the box as you look for it. Finally
notice the box. I like to give a good scream. Ahh! We caught it in the act, clearly the queen
have not been running to but from the box! Execute the card-from-box bluff to reveal the
final queen inside the box.57

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

I used to draw attention to the box's surprise appearance in the final phase by
presenting a visual change of the final queen into the box. I prefer my current presentation/
technique, but I present my original handling here for your consideration.

57
The preferred way to reveal the queen, given the "box is predator" presentation, is to use a technique
that I call the Playing Card Muscle Pass, which I published in my friend Tom Dobrowolski's lecture notes, The
Experts at the Breakfast Table. The effect is that the queen shoots out from inside the box. You accompany this
act with the line, I can see why the queens are afraid of the box. The action perfectly simulates a card running
scared from the box's grasp.

57
An Alternate Handling for the Final Queen

Begin right after you have stolen the box secretly into right Tenkai palm. Re-grip the
left hand queen in preparation for Ross Bertram’s Tebe change.58 The card is held by the
pipped corner, thumb on top, index and middle fingers underneath.
Bring the right hand over and brush the face of the queen a few times before
executing the Tebe change.59 On the final pass bring the top left corner of the box over the
left thumb. The left thumb momentarily re-grips in order to hold the box against the queen.
The two will form an “L” shape. Using the right middle finger and thumb to squeeze the
edges of the box and queen, the two are squared. The effect is a transformation from queen
to box.
All it takes is a wave and the last queen . . . transforms into the box? Turn your gaze

back to the location the box once occupied and pause to let it register that the box is indeed
gone. The box has actually teleported this time, materializing around the last queen! Open
the box and execute the card-from-box bluff to remove the final queen.

Other Comments

Sometimes I use an entirely different patter line and follow this up with an instant
"kickback." To do this you will need four duplicate queens in a duplicate box that is on the
floor behind your table (assuming you have a tablecloth and that area is not visible to your

58
Bertram, Ross, Bertram on Sleight of Hand, (Lee Jacobs: 1983) pp. 150ff. This change is
colloquially referred to as the “Bertram Change.”
59
Arthur Trace was the first to execute the Tebe with the card box. I am not sure if he ever published
anything utilizing the idea. It was after the first time I saw him execute the move that I began developing this
routine.

58
spectators. Begin with four queens and the box on the table in view.
Want to see me put the queens in the box? Pick up the four queens and put them
inside the box. Okay, that wasn't so impressive. Remove the queens, leaving one behind.
Now simply perform the routine as described, obviously adjusting your patter to
emphazise your ability to make the queens vanish and reappear inside the box. When you
come to the third queen that is not inside the box, look in the box as if expecting it, as per the
handling described above, but then toss the box over your shoulder and shrug. Didn't work
that time.
Notice the queen face down in between the other two. Oh wait ... bend over to pick
up the box on the floor, but actually pick up the duplicate box. Set it on the table and finish
the routine. After you have removed the final queen from the box by way of the Schulien
bluff, scoop up all four queens and lap them, while pretending to clasp them between both
hands. Make a magical gesture to cause them to vanish and open the box to reveal all four
queens traveled at once.

Though this routine could be described as a “cards across” it has no relation to the so
named classic plot. After showing an early incarnation of this routine to Curtis Kam, he
called it a “coins across” routine done with cards. That works for me. Routines of this type
would include “Follow the Queen” by Brian Tudor and “Cardportation" by Gaston Quieto.60
Without going too in depth I believe those two routines suffer from flaws that make them
unusable. Dani DaOrtiz has a routine similar to Tudor’s that he calls Four Fly.61 The DaOrtiz
routine is beautiful and suffers from none of the flaws that plague Tudor’s handling or
performance.
I am very pleased with the steal of the box used in the finale. It works on many
levels. (1) Attention is on the fan. (2) The fan blocks the box completely from view. (3)
There is absolutely no fluttering finger movement with the right hand – there is no releasing
and re-gripping action to be seen.
These three attributes combine to form a steal of the card box from the table during
right hand actions that can be burned and still be undetected. Obviously, the routine is
constructed to avoid any attention on the box.
In fact, I am so pleased with this steal that the possibility of using it elsewhere has
occupied much of my thoughts (of course I would not use it more than once per set for any
particular group). It has even started to show up in new versions of my previous work. With
that in mind I present . . .

60
These can be seen on Tudor's DVDs, Generation X and the remake, Generation Extreme. And
Gaston's routine can be found on his DVD, Mysteries at the Magic Bar.
61
This can be found on Vol 2 of Dani DaOrtiz's Utopia DVD set.

59
 THOSE ARE THE ACES: ENDING REVISITED

This is an alternate ending to my routine "Those Are the Aces." You are at the point
when you have just performed the Elmsley count to reveal that the four cards in your hands
have transformed back into aces. Proceed as before, executing the secret transfer to show the
card on top of the box has become the aces.
You are now in position to do the FBS.62 As you set the fan of aces down and turn
your attention to the now single card in your left hand execute the FBS steal with the right
hand.

Raise up the single card in the left hand from Mechanic's Grip so that it is held on the
long edges with the left thumb and middle finger. Snap the card (showing its singularity) by
bowing the card and then pinching the index finger and thumb together while releasing the
middle finger. From this position you will apparently flip over the card to reveal its identity,
but in the process the card visually changes into the card box.

62
For this to be true, you will want the box to be placed diagonally on the mat from the beginning, and
not totally horizontally as described originally. This still facilitates the instant pick up of the single card on the
box, but better positions you for the FBS.

60
 Turn to your left and bring the right
hand over with the box in Tenkai palm to
ostensibly flip over the left hand’s card. Grip
the box with the right index finger on the
short edge with the rest of the right fingers
lightly curled underneath the box so that the
right thumb is free. You have transferred the
box into a sort of lateral palm. Immediately
peel the card from the left hand onto the box
and flip both the box and the card into the
left hand. The appearance is that card
transforms into the box mid-flip. I generally
perform this in a way where I notice the
transformation a second or two (not a big
delay) after the spectators This usually
involves a double take accompanying the
patter.63

The patter is as follows: Well, if these

are the aces as they should be, then here on
top of box must be . . . the aces? Wait, then
in here in my hand must be only one card
(snap it) which of course must be . . . the
box?! All that remains is to realize the only
place the lost selection can be is inside the
box. Open the box and execute the card from
card box bluff.

63
For the visual transformation of the single card to box, I find it preferable that the side of the box
with the word Bicycle (the logo side) is the one that appears visible to the audience (assuming you are using
Bikes, or Tally-Hos, or boxes with similar designs). To do this the box must start with that side down on the
table throughout the performance.

61
 Alternatively, you can go even further (I always do now). Start with four indifferent
cards in the box. They need to be arranged so that the are face-up in the box as it starts on
the table. After the transformation of the single card into the box, pause for a moment.
Holding the box in the left hand Mechanic’s Grip, with the selection hidden underneath, pick
up the aces in the right hand and allow them to coalesce into Mechanic’s Grip.
Wait . . . if the box is here (gesture with left hand) . . . and the aces are here (gesture
with right hand) . . . where on earth is your card? Have a moment of realization. Of course,
the only place left is here inside the box. Turn the right hand palm down and place the aces
on the table. The point is to place them as squarely as possible, it need not be perfect. But
you want them, from the corner of the eye, to be possibly interpreted as a single card. As you
do this, attention turns the left hand, which you rotate palm out to face the audience.

Open the box and pinch the four cards inside the box with the right middle finger and
thumb. Slide out the entire packet, keeping it as square as possible, leaving the selection
hidden behind the box. Of course, there is one card in the box, which just happens to be . . .
Immediately fan the packet to reveal four cards . . . the four aces?

62
 Look in confusion at the aces on the
table (which are ostensibly now the
selection). What happens next is all one
action, the emphasis is on your move to turn
over the apparently single card on the the
table. Turn the left hand palm up with the
box in mechanic's grip (the selection hidden
underneath). Transfer the four cards into
facedown left hand mechanic’s grip on top of
the box in order to free up your right hand to
go turnover the “card” on the table.
Then here must be ... Pick up the four
aces and immediately fan them face-up ...
the four aces!?!
Simultaneously turn the left hand palm down and deposit the box, as well the
indifferent cards onto the face of the deck.64 Turn the left hand back palm up so that the back
of the selection is visible. The ditch is smooth and flows quite nicely. The indifferent cards
are now safely added back onto the deck and the action feels just as relaxed and natural as if
all you did was set the box off to the side to get it out of the way.Remember, all this is
happening as you are turning over the aces. So that by the time the spectators register the
appearance of the aces on the table, only the selection is in your left hand (as pictured above).
Look back to the left hand in desperation to find, finally, only one card and turn it
over to reveal the selection.

Notes

I am quite pleased with the bluff appearance of the aces. I believe it happens at the
perfect moment. The instant that you fan those four cards the audience is stunned at the fact
the sudden appearance. There is absolutely no need to show the faces of the cards.
This is actually the current ending that I perform, having mostly abandoned the triple
transposition that I originally described. The entire medley of transpositions and changes
gives the whole routine the feeling of live special effects or a broken space-time continuum.

64
Which if you remember should have been sitting face-up off to the side this entire time.

63
 QUEEN SCREAM

The last main piece that I have to offer is the only narrative story trick that I
perform.65 By narrative story trick, I refer to a routine where the cards play roles and act out
a story that the magician simultaneously narrates. Often these types of routines suffer from
one of two pitfalls. Either the story itself is fantastic while the accompanying magic is
terrible (or minimal) or the magic is impressive and the story, while perhaps appropriately
illustrating, is boring.66 In this routine I have attempted to offer both (1) a story that is
interesting, with a laugh or two, and (2) magic that is visually entertaining.

Remove the four queens from the deck. You will also briefly need a Sharpie.

Introduction: Naming a Girl & Choosing a Psycho

Now I would like to share with you one of my favorite whimsical tales. It just so
happens that this is a story perfectly suited to be told with a deck of cards.
Every story needs a main character. So go ahead and choose which queen you would
like to play the lead. Offer a spectator the choice of any of the four queens. Give them the
sharpie and instruct them to write a female name on one of the white borders.
Go ahead and name our lead. Any name at all. Once the chosen queen has been
signed (let us imagine that she is named Lexi), arrange the four queens in front of you in a
row (as wide as your performing space allows), Lexi on the left edge. Lexi and her three
friends, who as it happens, will all probably die anyway . . . so why bother naming them?

65
An earlier version of this routine, minus the script, was published under the title “Scary Movie Card
Trick” in Antinomy vol. 4, issue 14. An update that had become integral to the routine subsequent to my
submission was included in the “Editor’s Note” in Antinomy, vol. 4, issue 15.
66
I consider "Stan, Kate, and Edith" as an example of the former, and something like the classic "Bank
Robber Trick," as an example of the latter.

64
 As it happens it is Lexi’s birthday! So
she and her three friends decided to share a
night out and about. The rented a large
venue and invited friends and acquaintances
alike. Dribble the deck as you say this line,
conveying without directly saying, that the
deck symbolizes the crowd. Randomly pull
out a card and observe, They even invited
Rick. Pause a moment before continuing,
And everybody hates Rick. Put the random
card back in the deck. This, of course, is a
non-integral joke.

However, besides Lexi and her friends, there is another role that I have not told you
about yet. There is ... a dangerous psychopath. So we will also need a card to be the
dangerous psychopath.
Ribbon spread the deck on the table and instruct the spectators to slide one card
forward. Before the card can be fully removed place your finger onto the card, pinning it in
place. But this card does not want us to know his identity, so he wears a mask. Pick up the
selection so that the face of the card is not seen and place it inside the card box, back to the
flap side.

Set the box down, centered, behind the queens. Now we have met everyone: Lexi, her
three friends, all the guests, and the masked psycho.

65
 The First Abduction (FOAL Revelation)

Now the girls were at the party, celebrating their Lexi's birthday. Mostly having a
good time. Pick up the queen furthest to the right. But Lexi’s first friend, was kind of a wall-
flower. She was shy. Loud public parties were not really her scene. She didn't really stand
out, was easily lost in the crowd. Place the queen into the deck and apparently lose her via a
shuffle. In reality, control her to the top.
Turn your attention to the box on the table. Unbeknownst to her, she had caught the
attention of the one person she absolutely would not want to be noticed by. The masked
psycho had been watching her all evening. He waited for the opportune moment, and when
no one was watching, he struck! No one notice. I bet you didn't even notice. that she was
gone. Fan the deck as if to say the queen is no longer there. He had grabbed the girl, tied
her up, and stashed her in the janitor’s closet. Execute the FOAL to reveal the queen was
apparently underneath the box in the corner. Put the queen face-up in the bottom right corner
of the mat, which functions as the “janitor’s closet.”

The Second Abduction

Pick up the next queen on the right

with your right hand. Give the queen a
pirouette/whirl flourish as you deliver the
following line. Lexi’s next friend was a bit of
a wild one. She was a tad tipsy at this point
in the evening (pirouette). Actually that is a
bit of an understatement. Turn the queen
facedown and insert it into the center of the
deck. Obtain a pinky break underneath the
queen in preparation for controlling it to the
bottom.

66
 She decided to take a bit of a breather. She made her way through the crowd to stop
by the restroom. Control the queen to the bottom by means of a triple-cut. Or better yet, use
the control described above in Excursus 4 and add the line, The crowd itself was getting
quite wild. Turn attention back to the card box.

Of course this psycho had been

watching them entire time, waiting for such
an opportune moment. Pick up the card box
with the right hand by the right long edge –
thumb on top, fingers underneath. Execute a
Reverse Charlier cut.67 At the end of the cut,
instead of removing your thumb to allow the
two packets to coalesce, use the pad of your
thumb to push the queen to the left.
The moment she walked through the
doors... Grab the side-jogged queen
underneath the box with the right fingers and
remove it from the deck. Place it on top of
the queen already on the table. He grabbed her, tied her up, and locked her with the first girl.

The reason for the Reverse Charlier is to have a production where the queen visibly
moves between two packets, which I find to be a perfect simulation for the patter. Of course,
if you cannot or do not want to do a Revese Charlier, you could always come up with a
different production and change the patter accordingly.

67
I believe this is a Karl Fulves technique.

67
 The Third Abduction (Don’t Try to be a Hero)

All was not lost. Lexi’s last friend, the queen of (appropriate suite) hadn’t been doing
nothing this entire time. You see she was the smart one. Ribbon spread the deck in between
your hands. Split the spread between both of your hands. Use the right hand’s spread to flip
the penultimate queen facedown and pick it up underneath the spread, up-jogged about half
its length.
She realized something was not quite right. She made her way into the crowd to
investigate. Bring the hands back together without closing the spread. Lift the hands so that
the faces of the cards face the audience. Execute a little animation to depict the queen’s
investigation as you deliver the above line: using your right index finger as the pivot point,
push the bottom of the queen back and forth using the right middle finger.

Allow the up-jogged queen to coalesce with the rest of the spread. Close the deck
and control the queen to the top, ending with the deck squared in left hand’s Mechanic grip.
The most economical way to control the card is to do it as you close the spread. The most
obvious way to do this is to use the Draun Control given you are in the correct position for
it.68
She made her way into the crowd to make her move. Could she be the hero we have
been waiting for? Lift up the box from above with the right hand. Execute a Top Shot from
the left hand to the table, trapping the card underneath the box. Of course not. She is not the
main character after all. So our bad guy grabbed her, tied her up, and locked her with the
rest of the girls. Toss the third queen into the corner pile. Put the box on top of them.

68
Steve Draun kindly taught me the control when I was in my early teens. He published it on his
Underground CD-Rom 2 and in Genii Magazine, Issue 12/2005.

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 The Final Attack: The Magic Ranch Steal

Things were looking grim. But you

know what – this story doesn’t need to have
an unhappy ending. Lexi’s friends aren’t
dead yet. They are only captured.
Furthermore, Lexi is the main character!
She can still save them. But she needs your
held. I’m going to drop cards from one hand
to the other. Call out stop wherever you
think it is safest for Lexi to hide in the crowd.
You will now steal the box from the
table underneath the audience's noses, in the
action of picking up the final queen:
Dribble the cards and stop wherever
the spectator calls out. Lean forward to pick
up the Lexi card. With only the left hand,
pick up Lexi and add her, facedown, to the
top of the left hand’s packet. Raise the left
hand and thumb the card to the side, giving
the audience one last look at the face.
As you lean forward and pick up the
card and then display it with the left hand,
simultaneously allow the right hand to drop
on top of the box. Steal the box underneath
the right hand’s packet, side-jogged to the
right, in Biddle grip (let's call this the Biddle
Box Steal). The box is hidden from view by
a combination of the right hand and the right
hand’s packet.
Raise the right hand, with the back
towards the audience and point at Lexi. Take
one last look at Lexi. This may be the last
time we see her alive.
Hiding in the crowd, she thought she
was safe . . . but she thought wrong. Pull the
Lexi card square with the left hand’s packet
and move to reassemble the deck, still
obscuring the box from view with the back of
the right hand. Square the left hand’s packet
with the box and immediately execute a
Herrmann pass with the box and lower
packet acting together as the bottom packet of the pass. Execute this technique the moment

69
 the hands come together. Do not pause.
Bring the hands together on the line, she
thought she was safe, and execute the
technique at as you finish with, but she
thought wrong.
This will bring the box into view on top
of a squared deck, with the Lexi card
immediately underneath it. The effect is a
startling appearance of the card box. The
moment the box appears I usually like to let
out a loud scream as if I was startled by its
appearance. The point is to be humorous.
Then immediately look the spectators in the
eye as you dramatically deliver the following
line in true crime noir narrator form,
Suddenly, the killer appeared out of nowhere!
Pause and do a double take back to where the
box was originally to allow the transportation
to register and be appreciated.

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 Denouement

And that’s when he . . . wait! Let me

stop here for a moment. Lift up the box and
the Lexi card underneath it. Set the deck to
the side, it is no longer needed. Take the box
with the hidden card underneath into the left
hand. Display, held by the left fingers and
thumbs on the long edge, at chest height with
the left palm out.
I am not sure we want to know what
happens next. Truth be told there are actually
two possible endings to this story: the happy
ending and the sad ending. I am going to
give you a choice. Which do you prefer, the
happy or the sad ending? Regardless of
what the spectators answer, pick up the queens on the table with the right hand and toss them
into the air, slightly behind you, allowing them to cascade to the floor.

Spectator chooses “Sad Ending.” Okay, they all died (as you toss the cards away).
The crime scene was a nightmare. Two rookie cops quit the force that day, an older veteran
retired, not able to handle it. Are you happy, you sick twisted person?
Spectator chooses “Happy Ending.” Okay, they all died (as you toss the cards away).
. . believe me that was the happy ending.

Obviously it is much funnier when they

say happy ending. However, most spectators
do ask for the sad ending out of curiosity.
You are now going to apparently open
the box and remove the card inside to reveal
the identity of the killer. In reality, open box
and execute the card-from-box bluff
(ignoring the indifferent card inside) to
reveal that the killer was Lexi the entire time.
Your patter follows accordingly,
depending on the earlier choice of the
spectator.

71
 “Happy Ending” – But, there was a silver lining to this all. Before anymore carnage
could happen, they did catch the killer. And in a Scooby-Doo fashion, the publically
unmasked the psycho to reveal who he was (say this as the card is “removed” from the box,
its back will still be to the audience). Only that is when they found out, it was not a he . . . it
was a she . . . (slowly turn the face of the card to the audience) . . . it was Lexi the entire
time!”
“Sad Ending.” – They all died, the killer got away and was never caught. However,
just between you and me, I will tell you who he was (say this as the card is “removed” from
the box, its back will still be to the audience). The fact is it was not a he . . . it was a she . . .
(slowly turn the face of the card to the audience) . . . it was Lexi the entire time!”

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

As with most story tricks, the magic is utterly senseless apart from the patter. The
first three phases amount to a revelation of each queen involving the card box. But if you
stop and think about it, the routining makes very little sense on its own – a queen is inserted
into the deck only to be found and removed seconds later.
You end with an indifferent card in the box. This is easily dealt with by putting the
rest of the deck away. Alternatively, you can leave it in there for some later trick that may
require it. No attention is on the box at the end.
The steal of the box was inspired by Tommy Wonder’s handling of an old Don Alan
routine.69 In Tommy's routine, he secretly placed an item on the table in the action of leaning
forward with the deck. I reversed this to secretly steal an item. As you may have guessed by
this point, this procedure was originally developed for a card under box routine, as a potential
finale. This leads me to ...

69
"Magic Ranch" in Books of Wonder Vol 1 (Hermetic Press: 1996), pp. 44.

72
 Card Under Box – Ending 4

Here we have yet another possible

ending to my routine described earlier
(although I am not sure how to fit the speed
theme here). To perform this, start with the
box in the lower right corner. At this point
the selection has repeatedly appeared
underneath the box. Offer to do the effect
one last time. Draw focus to the selection.
Make the emphasis about the spectators
being sure that it goes clearly into the deck.
Dribble the cards and allow the spectators to
call out stop wherever they would like you to
replace the selection.
Execute the same steal described
above in Queen Scream, emphasizing that
the spectators clearly see that their signed
card is in the deck.
Bring the hands together and allow
the entire deck and box unit (a packet of
cards, box underneath, with another packet of
cards underneath the box) to coalesce. Tilt
the hands down and leave the right hand
holding the bundle from above, in order to
obscure the box.
This squaring is done you step back
and turn your head to the spot on the table
the box once occupied. Your card clearly
goes into the deck . . . and yet once again,
here on the table underneath the box we find
. . . Look up at the spectators. Wait, where
did the box go? Oh wait!
Ribbon spread the deck in an arch on
the table to reveal the box in the middle of
the spread.70 Here in the deck is the box!
Your card did not travel underneath the box,
the box traveled on top of your card! Reveal

70
I published the spread reveal in Antinomy as an alternate way of revealing the box in Scary Movie
Card Trick/Queen Scream. The idea for having the box appear in the middle of the spread was suggested by
another Chicago guy, David Ranalli.

73
that the card immediately underneath the box is the selection. I guess, in the end, it is really
only a difference of perspective.

Another Think Coming

One final thought, is that you can perform a fun transposition with basically the same
procedure. You need have a card underneath the box to begin with. This time when you look
where the box once was you see a single card. Spread the deck to reveal the box and inform
the spectators that their card and the box have switched places. You need only to re-gather
the spread so that the lower half is on top, and execute a switch (Curry-Turnover,71 or simple
double turnover) to reveal that the card on the table is the selection. I am currently in the
midst of developing a series of transpositions where this will play a part.

71
See "The Curry Turnover Change" in Paul Curry, More Card Manipulations (1939).

74
 EXCURSUS 6: MORE ON SANDWICHES AND BOXES

The following trick was designed to be another application of the Biddle Box Steal
described above. Although its present placement in this book was initially unintentional, it
happens to be a fairly unique sandwich effect. That means that this last excursus relates to
both the first and final routines in this book. I am never one to say no to a good inclusio, so
this is a fitting way to close, if I do say so myself.72
The trick itself is the revelation of two selected cards that plays on a visual absurdity.
The first card is found one way and the second card is found in a strange reversal of
procedure: Two cards are selected and lost. Two cards are removed from the box and
anticlimactically revealed to be the jokers. The first selection materializes between the
jokers. In a strange reversal of the previous revelation, the box materializes between the two
jokers and the second selection is found inside the box.

Set Up

Place any two sandwich cards (two aces, kings, jokers, etc) inside the box. For this
explanation we will assume the two jokers are being used. Place the box on the table so that
the cards are facedown inside the box.

Performance

Have two spectators each select a card. Control them both to the bottom in whatever
manner most pleases you. Normally a magician shuffles in order to loose a selected card
and then has to use his ingenuity and mastery of the art of sleight of hand in order to locate
your selection. However, in this case I do not have to ... Steal the selections into left hand

72
A description of this trick was published in Tom Dobrowolski’s lecture notes, Game of Tom (2015),
under the title “One To-Go Box, Please!”

75
Gambler’s Cop position as you take the deck from above with the right hand. ... because ...
believe it or not ... your cards have already vanished from the deck .. ” Spread the deck on
the table and allow your left hand to drop to your side.
... and again, I know it is hard to believe, but here in the box ... pick up the box from
above in the right hand. Proceed to bring your hands together, adding the box on top of the
copped cards. Immediately continue by turning your left hand at the wrist in order to display
the box to the audience at chest height.

Flick open the box with the right hand

and reach in with the thumb, index, and
middle fingers and remove the two sandwich
cards, spreading them to clearly display their
number. The left hand turns back to a resting
position and obtains a pinky break between
the selections and the box as the two cards
are displayed ... are two cards ...
At this point the spectators will race
ahead of you in their minds, assuming the
two cards must be their selections. The
moment you reveal this not to be the case
will be a moment of broken tension. These
moments are good, both for executing secret
maneuvers, but also for giving your spectators a break ... and these two cards are – the
jokers!”
Flip over the cards to reveal the jokers. During the moment of broken tension place
the jokers back on top of the box in the left hand. Take the entire unit from above by the
right hand, maintaining the break between the selections and the box with the right thumb.
There is nothing to see here from the audience's perspective. However this is still an illogical
bit repositioning. Hence it is desirable to cover it with the momentary release in dramatic
tension. Proceed to peel the top joker off into the left hand with the left thumb. Turn the
wrist back and forth, showing the back and front, as you quizzically examine it.

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 Well it was not what we might have been expecting. Come over to peel the next joker
onto the left hand, simultaneously executing a Biddle steal of the two selections beneath the
box: allow the two selections to coalesce on top of the joker in the left hand as you peel joker
on top of the box with the left thumb onto all three of the cards in the left palm.
Turn the left hand at the wrist and simultaneously thumb over the top joker,
displaying the two backs. As you turn the wrist back over make sure to draw the joker
square.

But these jokers have a secret. And in

the space in between them something
materializes ... Take the jokers from above
with the right hand and spread to the right, the
left fingers contacting first the bottom card
and then the second to the bottom card,
allowing them to spread and become visible.
The right hand maintains a double.

Leaving the bottom joker in the left

hand turn your right palm towards you as you
lean back and peak at the face of card before
the spectators are allowed to see it. This adds
a moment of dramatic tension and also allows for a flow of actions (coupled with the
following sequence) that I find to be good physical framing. Ah yes! You say as you peak at
the card. Lower the right hand and transfer the visible selection back on top of the left hand
as you raise the left hand to display the selection to the audience.
While you are doing this, the right hand lowers over the box and steals it, side-jogged
to the right underneath the double in the right hand, as per the BBS procedure.

77
 The whole sequence should follow this body language – leaning back while peaking –
transferring the selection as the body shifts to lean forward. This way your eyes, as well as
the entirety of your physical attention, are on the selection.

The first card appears! After revealing the first selection go ahead and deal it to the
table face-up. Bring your hands back together, shifting from the forward leaning position.
Tilt both hands at about a 45 degree angle, ostensibly to display the faces, but also to hide the
box underneath the right hand’s double, and back of the right hand.
Address the second spectator, The first card was found in an unusual spot – in
between the jokers that were inside the box. The second card will be found in another
unusual spot – inside the box that is in between the jokers.

Pause for a moment and give a puzzled look, as you and your spectators both take a
moment to process what you just said. Immediately proceed with the following production
sequence.
Bring both hands together. Square everything by using the left fingers to pull the box
and double flush as you simultaneously turn the left hand at the wrist so that the top most
joker faces outward.
Adjust the right hand so the thumb is behind the entire unit and the index and middle
fingers are on the face. Using your right hand, peel the top card and the bottom card (the two
jokers) to the right, about a third of the length of the box, as your right hand simultaneously
turns palm up at the wrist, flipping the entire unit over.
Re-grip the box and the selection (hiding flush beneath the box) with the left hand
from the sides with the thumb and middle finger.
Fan the two jokers with the right hand. Pull the box free from the fan in a quick
motion, stopping abruptly only a few inches away in order to highlight the appearance of the
box.

78
 Immediately, set the two jokers down and flick open the box with right hand and
execute the card-from-box bluff. Reveal the second selection, exactly where you said it
would be.

Though the production of the box and removal of the second selection has been
described in a meticulous step-by-step manner, in performance it should be smooth and
quick. From start (bringing the hands together) to finish (displaying the selection) it should
take no more than three (ish) seconds.
The humor comes in nonchalantly and immediately demonstrating the seemingly
impossible state of affairs you had mentioned regarding the location of the second selection.

79
 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Generally, magicians sandwich a selection. Ray Kosby pushed the visual boundaries
of the sandwich effect by sandwiching an entire deck.73 I have tried to create an equally
surprising image by having the box materialize between two sandwich cards.
I do not perform this trick as a stand alone often. However, I have developed a four
card selection routine, and this particular trick acts as part of the grand finale, and the final
revelation of the first two selections.

73
Ray Kosby, “Pac Jacks” on his Impossible Card Magic DVD (Meir Yedid, 2004)

80
 FINAL WORDS

Ha! Finished. Upon re-reading this work, I realized that my occasional dogmatic
prouncements (e.g., talking about the "right" way and the "wrong" way to do certain things)
may prove offensive to some. How dare a self-admitted fan presume to offer correction to
the way seasoned and gifted magicians do things?
On the one hand, the honest truth is that I do not care about offending you. However,
in my defense, are not fans often the loudest and most vocal critics of their loves? Every guy
with a burger in hand and a television in front of him is a better basketball player, coach, and
referee than the people on the screen. At the very least, they are not shy about shouting their
wisdom to all who will listen. All I am saying is that arrogance is the curse of fandom. As a
fan, I am not immune to said curse. I can only admit it and move on. That is all I have to say
about that.
A strange set of circumstances resulted in The Institutes of a Coin Magic Fan being
published before this volume. And oddly enough, I wrote and illustrated Confessions before
even starting on The Institutes. I decided to really lean into this happenstance and number
The Institutes as Vol 2 of a series. It worked for Star Wars, right?
Once again I decided to have a bit of fun and call Fandom Magic Thoughts a three
volume series. There is indeed a planned third volume. The material list is made and the
title is decided. When it shall make its appearance, no one can say.

81
 LAST THINGS

Now that volumes 1 and 2 of Fandom Magic Thoughts have both seen the light of
day, I thought I would take a moment to catalogue all of my magic writing projects. To say
that these were "published" is using the word loosely. I am sure that no more than 50 printed
copies ever existed of each of my lecture notes. And I can literally count on one hand the
number of people outside of Chicago that I ever sold and shipped copies to. However, I
thought for my own sake it was worth making a list so that I do not forget. I do not even
have copies of any of my early notes. The only copies that I have access to are in Tim Felix's
library at Midwest Magic Shop in the Chicagoland area. He happens to have a copy of
everything that I have written. I actually had to check his "archives" just to check on the
original publication dates.

Lecture Notes
Those Are the Aces (2003)
Kaze Move and Other Stuff (2003)
Simple Things (2005)
The Hallucinogenic Effect (2008; The earliest printed copies were titled, "Run")
Hollingworth for Mortals (2019)

Fandom Magic Thoughts (3 Vols)

Confessions of a Magic Fan (Vol 1, 2019)
The Institutes of a Coin Magic Fan (Vol 2, 2018)
Vol 3 (TBD)

You are welcome to contact me to offer thoughts, share your own wisdom, or
complain. I can take it.
jeremiahzuo@gmail.com

I plan to post some videos performing this stuff.

https://vimeo.com/showcase/6137112 Password: itwasthebutler

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