repertoire
repertoire written by asi wind with john lovick artwork by asi wind layout by stina henslee
Copyright© 2018 by Asi Wind. All rights reserved. No portion of the book or any of its contents may be reproduced by any means now known or to be invented without written permission from the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-9892317-4-9 654321
contents foreword vii preface ix time is money 1 a.w.a.c.a.a.n. 17 out of the blue 31 true colors 37 somebody stop me 45 s.a.c.a.a.n. 51 a coin trick 57 double exposure 63 catch 23 73 the trick that never ends 81 torn, marked, stabbed, crumpled, burned & restored page 87 make no mistake 97 crossing over 103 reverse engineer 109 supervision 113 folded under pressure 121 lazy seconds force 125 not-so-straight triumph 129 s.c.a.a.n. 137 lucky 13 143 echo 149 afterword 155
foreword M y favorite magician is Asi Wind. Every night during my first live tour I introduced Asi to the audience with those words. And I stand by that as I introduce this amazing collection of ideas to you. When we first met, Asi showed me his take on ''Any Card at Any Number". In this one trick alone, I could see that he was someone who thinks and cares deeply about every aspect and detail of his magic. There were no moves or unnecessary procedures. I named a card and a number, and when I counted down, my card was right there. It was real magic. That trick instantly became a favorite of mine. Over the years Asi became a mentor, a confidant, and a dear friend. There's a part of me that wishes this book wouldn't be released, because I use several of these routines myself. However, I genuinely believe that anything that elevates the art of magic benefits us all. Now, with the publication of this book, you will be able to bring this magic, in your own way, to your audiences as well. Asi's love of magic fuels his belief that this art form should never be sold short. His knowledge and appreciation of magic has led him to a repertoire that is certain to have any crowd screaming, sometimes crying, and always inspired. I know that this book will change us and make us better in every way that we could wish for. David Blaine April4, 2018 repertoire v11
preface The first time I made someone say, "Wow!" was not with a card trick, but rather with something I drew. My mom was so proud of her nine-year-old son's drawing that she hung it on our fridge. My interest in creating art came to - end shortly after that first exhibition in our kitchen. Yet for some reason, art again ::-· .ued my curiosity in my late twenties, and I wanted to try watercolors, so I turned to --e world's most unreliable source of information and watched hundreds of You Tube ~ps of housewives giving tutorials in their kitchens. I learned every possible trick with ercolors, from creating texture by pouring salt onto wet paint to using Mr. Clean to .emove pigment from paper. Oecame obsessed with art. Besides watching hours of tutorials online, I read artists' 4Umbiographies, how-to books, and attended courses at the School of Visual Arts. As i:J.uch as I loved painting, I sucked at it. I found watercolor to be a disobedient medium. couldn't get the pigments to do what I wanted and got frustrated with every attempt. To save myself embarrassment, I painted when nobody else was at home, because my ::r.umings revealed the fact that I was an amateur artist. I realized that I didn't want to ;,e an amateur, I wanted to be a pro; terms like novice, hobbyist, beginner, and amateur aave an undeserved shameful connotation. a magician I was never a beginner. I became a pro as soon as I was able to make a .irrle red hanky disappear-it took me a few minutes to learn, and I was able to fool my repertoire 1x
dad that same day. I knew he was genuinely fooled and wasn't just playing the role of supportive father. He asked me to do it again and again and even prompted me to show it to his friends. I became my dad's hero. It wasn't until many years later that I realized I had been a stupid, pompous kid; I thought I was a hot shot, but in reality, I was just a beginner. I was simply a kid who had purchased a clever gimmick invented by a great magician, and I was taking for myself all the credit that he deserved. I didn't bother with scripting, building my character, or routining my tricks. I thought ifi could make a little hanky disappear and fool my dad, I was a magician. Looking back, my dad wasn't the only one being fooled- ! was the real sucker. It doesn't take much to fool people and appear as if you are a pro when you use devious gimmicks and self-working tricks. Maybe because it's quite easy to pull off a trick, we sometimes skip the critical step of embracing the fact that we start as beginners. When people ask me if I am a painter I usually respond, "I paint." I feel like I haven't earned the title "painter" and that I have many more years to explore painting until I can consider myself a painter. With magic, I printed my first business card a few weeks into it. My struggles with painting remind me that allowing myself to be a beginner, a student, keeps the door open to learning more, because the moment you think you've mastered something is the same moment you prevent yourself from learning more. One of my favorite artists, Lucian Freud, said in an interview that he thinks of each painting that he works on as the only one that he's working on; in fact, he thinks of it as the only painting that he has ever worked on; further, he thinks of it as the only painting that anyone has ever done. By putting all of his preconceived notions behind him, he allows himself to approach the canvas with the attitude of a student rather than that of a master. Painting as if for the first time, without relying on the success and acclaim of his body of work, keeps his work fresh and allows him to grow as an artist. Here is perhaps the best advice I got from one of my early art teachers: Don't strive to be a good artist, strive to be a better artist. Becoming a good artist has a final destination; becoming a better artist is an ongoing journey. I have performed shows where I felt like I killed. And now, years later when I watch the recordings of those shows, I cringe at how bad they were. I want to believe that my performances today are much better, but probably years from now I will be just as critical of them. I might even read these words and deny that I wrote them. One of my biggest influences is Tommy Wonder. It's very clear that he was the kind of magician who would never stop reworking his magic, always finding better ways to achieve the effects he was after. Tommy published three versions ofNest of Boxes, and every one of these versions would have been satisfying to most of us, bur not to him, because Tommy Wonder was not a good magician. Tommy Wonder was a better magician. x preface
opt the attitude that we can always get better and the things we do are all works ¥=• then once in a blue moon we might look at something we have done and "d that? That's not bad." I try to create pieces that will stand the test of timeLllat I won't regret having my name attached to many years later. And if I don't that, I will settle for just getting better. months I get an upgrade on my cell phone's operating system; it fixes bugs, -.,.....,.... performance, and sometimes gives the graphics a facelift. Like many people, ~ ::ny current phone, and am amazed that it can do things that my fir~t computer -·-. such as take high-res pictures, send emails, store a library of books, allow me -~ my thoughts on magic, and even help me find dates. Still, there are geniuses ,.___......,-~-.,:.:; onstantly to improve this amazing device. They will never be satisfied. We will =- a notification that says, "That's it, we nailed it. This is the last update. There's '"---'-·"""-'-".: else we can add or do to improve your stupid phone. Enjoy it." - : t recognize a few of the routines in this book from previous publications, but --.: ~ book made me rethink every one of them, and I've tweaked their methods, ;:-es. and presentations. So consider these "software updates". While you study ·-- , please bear in mind that they are still not finished-they are works in '=:;:::;:SS.. and you have a lot of work to do. Put your knowledge, experience, and flavor -=-and take them to the next level. AsiWind February 27, 2018 repertoire x1
time • lS money I got my first book of magic when I was a teenager. It was a Hebrew translation of Will Dexter's 131 Magic Tricks for Amateurs, and indeed I was an amateur. I studied every page and was able to perform every trick in the book. Sort of. One of the effects in that book inspired me to eventually create one of my signature pieces that serves me well to this day. The trick was called "Two for the Price of0ne". 1 In fact, it wasn't quite a trick, but more a simple origami stunt-a way to fold one bill so that it looks like two. I am not sure why, but I felt that this little stunt had the potential to become magic. Although Will Dexter planted the seed in my teenage mind, it wasn't until I was in my twenties that I started exploring the many possibilities of that special fold. It took a few years, but I eventually had something I was proud of, and this is the routine that introduced me to the magic community. The effect is that a borrowed, signed bill vanishes and reappears under a spectator's wristwatch. 2 1 Published in 131 Magic Tricks for Amateurs (1958) by Will Dexter, page 121. This special fold is related to the fold described in Jack Vosburgh's "Double Dollar", which appeared in The jinx in December 1940. 2 TI1e earliest published routine where an item is loaded under a spectator's watch is "Quart(er)z Watch" by Mark Sicher and Steve Cohen. It was in the April 1990 issue of Harry Lorayne's Apocalypse and was based on an unpublished trick Sicher and Cohen learned from Gary "Gazzo" Osbourne. repertoire 1
PREPARATION: You will need to prefold a bill in a certain way. The first part of the folding sequence is identical to what Will Dexter described in his book, but I find Dexter's description of this complex fold a bit too brief. Here is a more detailed explanation that I hope will be easier to follow. 2 3 I will describe this with a one-dollar bill, but any denomination will work. Use a bill that's relatively crisp. Fold the bill lengthwise, with the portrait ofWashington on the inside (pic. 1). All the creases need to be crisp; use the backs of your nails and press the folds down against a hard surface. Unfold the bill and fold it in half widthwise, again with Washington on the inside (pic. 2). Unfold the bill and place it face down on a table. Fold the bill as in picture 3. A couple things to keep in mind: The diagonal fold intersects the very center of the bill (right 2 time Is money
- ~ :v;·o previous creases intersect), and the angle created on top of the bill is 115 n·t rush to buy a protractor-'-you know that this fold is correct when the o rhe bill that create the 115-degree V are the same length. Another way is ---~""'- a vertical line bisecting the V and running straight down the middle of the g this axis, you were to fold one half of the bill over onto the other half, the d match up perfectly. With practice, you'll be able to eyeball the 115-degree -· g rhe right and left halves of the bill symmetrical. - "' ill face up. The bill has three creases as indicated in picture 4. Fold the bill .: - rhwise again, with Washington on the inside. With one hand on each side, - -ides of the bill about half an inch away from the fold, and push your fingers other (pies. 5 & 6). Once the tips of your fingers contact, let go with your repertoire 3
right forefinger and your left thumb and continue pressing the right thumb against the left forefinger through the layers of the bill (pic. 7). Allow the prefolds to guide you. At this point, if you press the bill flat it will collapse into place as in picture 8. Place the bill flat onto the table. Fold the upper right corner from right to left at a sharper angle, such that the fold is slightly inward from the edge of the bill (pic. 9). This little detail will be helpful later, so that no extra layers will be seen. Fold the left flap from left to right, again at a sharper angle than the edge of the layer beneath it, so that the fold is slightly inward from the edge of the bill (pic. 10). Fold that 8 9 10 11 4 time 1s money
~ ap again from right to left, so that it lines up with the left edge of the folded bill 11 . If this flap is just a fraction shy of the edge it won't look thicker than it should -iewed from the side. Press the folded bill firmly, flattening it. Sandwiching it · the pages of a book could be helpful. -~ ~ e bill is firmly pressed, you have two options: You can start with the bill already -- . but it is highly preferable to start with the bill unfolded and use the prefolded to assist you in getting into position again. Place the unfolded bill into your --- Have bills of various denominations prefolded in your wallet, so you can match - ill ro whichever denomination you get from your spectator. Finally, have a red --~ -in a convenient pocket. I will describe this as if you are performing on stage. -- Rl\1ANCE: Find a spectator who is wearing a watch on his left wrist. Obviously, -ithout being overt or asking about wristwatches; you don't want to telegraph - · g of the trick. Also, you should find a watch that is not so tight that you won't ~ o load the bill, or so loose that the bill will fall out after you've loaded it. Ask - _ _ craror to remove the largest bill he has in his wallet (or specify a denomination if . - have one prefolded bill). The higher the denomination, the more emotionally _ .... the spectator is in the trick, and so making an effort to fetch a large bill is worth - uhle. Remove a matching prefolded bill from your wallet. Ask your participant to - e tace of his bill with the marker. - ·on the spectator to your right. 3 With your left hand, hold your bill vertically with rrrair facing the audience, and the top of the bill to your left-the half with more r----tn'llric;: will be at the bottom (pic. 12). When he is done signing the. bill, instruct him: :he bill /ike mine, with your signature facing the audience. " ·alk-around situations, the spectator can be on your right or directly opposite you. You will learn with rience the bad angles and how to handle your blocking in close-up conditions. repertoire 5
6 time 1s money
Fold the top half of your bill away from you and down, with the portrait on the inside (pic. 13). Instruct him to fold his bill in half just as you have done-make sure that his bill is oriented the same way as yours. Hold your bill with both hands. The left fingers cover the upper left half of the bill and are almost parallel with the floor (this position will be very important in a moment). The right fingers cover the upper right half of the bill, mirroring the left fingers. Push your hands toward each other, so that your fingers touch (pies. 14 & 15). This will force the bill to collapse into the V-fold, thanks to the prefolds. The flap that is now to the left is hidden behind your left fingers. That's why the position of your left hand is so critical; you don't want to flash. With your right thumb, fold the small right flap to the left. It should appear as if you are folding the bill once more, into quarters (pic. 16). Continue by running your right fingers down along the right side as if you are creasing the bill (pic. 17). While you do that, ask the spectator to fold his bill in half again, 7ust like I did. "With the left thumb, push the left flap to the right, and the prefolds should force it into the Z-fold it was in previously (pies. 18 & 19). repertoire 7
20 21 8 time 1s money
Turn the bill over end for end, and hold it horizontally between your left thumb and fingers, the Z-fold side hidden underneath. The bill should be oriented with the white border on the outer and left edges. With your right hand, take the spectator's bill and hold it so its orientation mirrors that of your bill (pic. 20, from above). "Your bill goes on top of mine. " Place his signed bill on top of yours and angle it to the left, aligning its inner left corner with your bill's inner right corner. The configuration of the two bills should mimic the single bill when it is folded to look like two (pic. 21). With your right fingers from below, unfold your bill's small flap to the right, so it lines up with the spectator's bill above it (pic. 22). This alignment will help you with the next step. With your left middle and ring fingers, unfold the big flap underneath. The left forefinger, which is not engaged in this action, will help you conceal the movement of the unfolding (pic. 23). It is also useful to do this as you bring the bills upward, so that the undersides are now facing the audience; the big action of the bills going from horizontal to vertical will hide the small action of the unfolding. To the audience, it should look like you are holding two bills folded into quarters, one on top of the other. The next step is to trifold the spectator's bill behind your specially folded bill as follows. While holding the bills with your right hand, use your left fingers to pinch the outer ends of both bills on the left. (The following actions take place under the guise of flexing the bill in an in-and-out snapping action.) With your left fingers, push both of the bills toward your right thumb and the bills will buckle in an S shape. When the middle of the top bill (the spectator's bill) contacts your right thumb, partially lift the thumb, lay it over the middle of this buckled top bill, and use the right thumb to flatten the bill into a Z shape (pies. 24 & 25). repertoire 9
Immediately pull the left half of your bill to the left, back up to its original position, leaving behind the spectator's bill, folded into a small packet (pic. 26). This entire action should take a quick second or two, and is covered by saying, ((Now remember, this is the bill you signed. "Rotate your right hand a bit counterclockwise, and then repeat the same in-and-out snapping actions with the right half of your bill, while saying, ((And this is my bill." Extend your left hand palm up and say, ((Hold out your left hand like this." Take the specially folded bill into your left hand as you secretly slide the spectator's bill into right-hand finger palm (pic. 27). You are now ready to load the spectator's bill under his watch. If his sleeve is covering his watch, ask him to extend his hand, which will cause his sleeve to retract, uncovering the watch. Ask the spectator to extend his right forefinger. By getting him ready, you can perform the load under his watch as quickly as possible. To make the load smooth and undetectable, both of your hands need to move in unison as you approach his left hand. Note that as you approach the spectator's wrist with the finger-palmed bill, the back of your right hand remains upward until you are very close to his wrist, and only then do you start to rotate your hand palm up under his arm. With your left hand, place the specially folded bill onto his left palm as you ask him to place his right forefinger on top of the bill(s), pinning "them" to the palm of his hand (pic. 28). Simultaneously, your right hand grips his wrist from underneath, holding the spectator's bill against his arm. Slide his bill toward his wristwatch and tuck the bill under the watch (pic. 29, from below). Sometimes the watch might be too tight and you may need to press the bill more firmly against his forearm to allow it to slip under the watch. Placing the specially folded bill 10 time 1s money
27 onto his hand happens at the same time as-and helps cover-the action of secretly sliding his signed bill under the watch. You want the spectator to think that the reason your right hand is grabbing his wrist is because you are trying to guide his hand into the correct position. You're going to take back the specially folded bill from your spectator in a moment, so after placing the bill(s) onto his hand (and secretly loading the signed bill), I recommend you roll up your sleeves. This acts as justification for placing the bill(s) onto his palm and freeing your hands-otherwise, there's no real reason why you had the spectator hold the bill(s). Also, it creates some time misdirection that will allow their memories repertoire 11
12 time 1s money
35 of you touching him to fade. Show your empty hands and say, "Can I get the bills? Both, please. " Although the special fold is convincing enough that the audience thinks there are still two bills in play, I like including a verbal deception to reinforce the visual. Add, "I don't want to touch you." With your left hand, take the "bills" from him, and then step away. Creating some physical distance will strengthen the later reappearance of the bill under his watch. As you transfer the specially folded bill to your right hand, with your right fingers, fold ilie small flap while gripping the bottom of the bill (pic. 30). "By placing your bill on top of mine, it looks 'as if I now have only one bill. "At the lower left side of the bill, there is a "channel" between what appears to be the two bills. Insert your left index finger into this channel between the "two bills". Use your left fingers to pivot the left "bill" to the right (pic. 31) so that its top edges line up with the top edges of the "bill" on the right. These actions should look as if you are merely aligning one bill with the other. Pivot the bill ninety degrees counterclockwise (pic. 32). "It looks so convincing that you would swear I only have one bill." With your right hand, grab the two inner layers and slowly unfold the bill to the right; the inner folded flaps will pop down and unfold (pies. 33 & 34). The bill is now folded in half. Undo the last fold, opening the bill completely to show it is indeed one bill (pic. 35) . .Yfagicians often neglect to emphasize this moment, which is unfortunate because it is quite amazing-you have just made a bill disappear. So sell this effect with that in mind. repertoire 13
When you perform the vanish, unfold the bill slowly to create suspense and maintain their belief that you have two bills-up until the last moment, and then one bill is gone. Display the bill to the spectator and ask him, "Do you see your signature?" When he replies, "No," say, "Then yours is gone." This moment never fails to get a laugh. (Audiences love other people's misfortunes.) Take your time as you place your bill into your pocket. The time between the two climaxes enables the first climax to fully register and also creates a time displacement between the load of the bill under the watch and its revelation. The next phase is certainly stronger than the first one, and you want to get as much impact from it as possible. If you were to simply say, ''Look under your watch," and have the spectator find the bill tucked under his watch, indeed, it would be a big surprise and would get a reaction. But you should build suspense before you let them see the bill under his watch. Say, "Your bill is now folded very small. And it is under your watch. " However, when you reveal the climax like this, you do not want the spectator to rush to remove the bill from under his watch; you want him to display the bill properly to the audience before he removes it. Therefore I recommend you handle the moment like this: Stand to his right and rest the palm of your hand on his right arm as you say that his bill is under his watch. His impulse, of course, will be to look at his watch, which he will do. But since you are (gently) holding his other arm he won't be able to reach for and remove the bill prematurely. At this point, he might not display the bill to the audience, but that's okay because his reaction confirms that the bill is indeed there-and his reaction can be seen much better by a big audience than the folded bill under his watch. After you have given him enough time to react, you can proceed by saying, ''Let everybody see it,~' and demonstrate with your right wrist how you expect him to display the bill. Then let go of his arm and allow him to remove the bill as you ask, "Is that the same bill you signed just a few minutes ago?" He will confirm that it is. ENDNOTES: Here is an idea I got from Nimrod Harel. After you have loaded the bill under his watch and he still has the "bills" in his hands, rather than retrieving the "bills" from him, instead ask him to crumple the "two bills" into a ball. (Even though there is only one bill you should refer to it as two bills.) Ask him, ''Do you prefer mine or yours?" If he chooses "his", say, "Okay, then yours will disappear. " If he chooses "yours", say, "Okay, then mine will remain, and yours will disappear." It's also good to ask him, "Do you feel how the bills are shrinking in size?" He will likely agree, because he has only one bill and, once crumpled, it won't feel like two bills. So the magic happens in real time in his hands while he crumples the "two bills". The crumpling actions will destroy all the special folds in the bill- this is especially true if you use a slightly worn bill-and once you ask him to uncrumple the bill it will seem like one of the bills (his) has just disappeared and he is left with your bill. Carry on from this point as described above. 14 time IS money
repertoire 15
a .w. a . c . a . a . n . A ny Card at Any Number (ACAAN) is a classic plot. It is one of the strongest card effects a magician can perform. There are many versions of this controversial plot- and I say controversial because there is much debate about it among magicians. It's a problematic plot because sometimes you need to count many cards to reach the climax, which can be hard to make entertaining. Also, some argue that the one in fifty-two odds are not very impressive. 4 But ACAAN, when presented correctly, creates the illusion that the odds are much less probable. The effect of ACAAN (at least the way I present it) is that you not only know which card will be named (a one in fifty-two proposition), but that you also know the location that will be named (another one in fifty-two proposition)-therefore the odds are one in fifty-two squared, or one in 2,704. Think of it this way: Imagine performing the trick with a written prediction instead of a deck of cards. A person names a playing card (say, the Ace of Spades) and a number from one to fifty-two (say, thirteen). You open your prediction, and it says, "I predict you will name the Ace of Spades and the number thirteen." Now imagine your method involves an index with every possibility. How many billets would you need? 4 If you have someone name a number and a playing card, and then you count down to that number, the odds are one in fifty-two that it will be the named card. Here's why. There are 2,704 (fifty-two squared) combinations of the two variables in ACAAN, and each of the fifty-two cards in a deck represents, via its position, one of those 2,704 combinations. When you add all of the cards' chances together, the odds of the trick succeeding are fiftytwo in 2,704, which is the same as one in fifty-two. repertoire 17
That is why ACAAN is such a strong effect; if you can convey (even implicitly) that you could have used a written prediction, instead of placing a particular card at a particular location, then spectators will intuit that the odds are very impressive-much more impressive than one in fifty-two. If you are still confused about the probability of this trick, know that there's nothing wrong with you-it's just a great illusion. 5 I am not sure what first generated my devotion to this plot, but I do remember sitting in my basement apartment on 88th Street and 1st Avenue-my least-liked apartment, where I was frequently visited by cockroaches and mice-and deciding that I wanted to achieve the effect with a regular deck of cards, a requirement that I stick to as much as I can. (I only resort to the use of gimmicks and secret devices when I have exhausted all the non-gimmicked methods I can find. Obviously, gimmicks can produce results that are not achievable by sleight of hand and psychology alone. But my philosophy is that the consideration of gimmicks at the early stages of developing a new trick can prevent you from discovering innovative non-gimmicked methods.) As I was playing with the cards, I realized that to perform ACAAN I needed to find a way to execute a pass to shift a bank of cards from the top to the bottom of the deck (or vice versa). 6 Executing secret moves under cover of another justified procedure can make them invisible, so I figured that performing the shift during the action of taking the cards out of the box would be ideal. At the time I didn't realize that many great minds had already come to the same conclusion, notably Ken Krenzel and Allan Ackerman. 7 So although the concept is not new, my treatment is different. In 2007 I published this routine in my first set of lecture notes, Chapter One, and I later released it as an instant download. This requires a memorized deck. Using a memorized deck is like acquiring a superpower that will enable you to perform many miracles. The particular stack is unimportant, as the trick is stack independent, and any memorized deck (Aronson, Mnemonica, etc.) will work. Keep in mind that systems like Si Stebbins and "Eight Kings" are not memorized decks but merely stacked decks, which means you know the order of the cards in relationship to each other, but you don't independently know the location of each particular card in the deck. What matters here is that you immediately know the position of any named card in your stack. 5 It's confusing because the power you are apparently demonstrating-that you have the ability to know which card and which number will be named-has a one in 2,704 chance of success. But, as explained in the previous footnote, the proof you provide-a deck of cards-contains fifty-two predictions (i.e., can correctly prove fiftytwo different combinations), and fifty-two out of2,704 is ... one in fifty-two. 6 1be roots ,of this plot go back to at least the 1700s, but the first version using a memorized deck and a secret cut was Charles Shepherd's "The 'ACME' Card Trick" in The Sphinx, March 1908. Shepherd used an indexed deck (a marketed item) to facilitate the location of the required key card, but the same idea with an ungaffed stacked deck was published by Ellis Stanyon in his magazine Magic in May 1913 as "To Place any Card Named at any Number". 7 I'm referring to "Open and Shut Case" in Ken Krenzel's Close-up Impact (1990) by Stephen Minch, page 71 and ''Anyone -Anywhere" in Allan Ackerman's lecture notes Al Cardpone (1996), page 24. 18 a.w.a.c.a.a.n.
PREPARATION: You will need to modify the card box slightly. Remove and discard the cellophane wrapping. Also tear off and discard the two side tabs. The top right edge of the flap side of the case must be cut or torn about an inch down along the side (pic. 1). You'll see why momentarily. Place the memorized deck into the case with the faces toward the thumb notch, and close the case. PERFORMANCE: Take the cards out of the box and give them a casual false shuffie. This is important because you want the audience to remember that the cards were shuffied before the trick started, even if it is only in the backs of their minds. However, don't say anything like, "Look, I am shuffling the cards. " (There are many great false shuffies in existence. Among my favorites are Karl Hein's Heinstein shuffie and Derek DelGaudio's truffie shuffie, but even a simple Charlier shuffie could be effective.) 8 This trick can be presented in a multitude of ways. I encourage you to come up with something of your own that suits your persona. I would, however, recommend that your actions and choices match the premise of your presentation. For example, if you want to demonstrate your ability to predict your spectator's choices, you might want to act as if you are positioning one card in a specific location. That could be achieved by looking through the deck and cutting the cards a few times, as if you are trying to cut 8 The Heinstein shuffle was first published in the April 2001 Genii magazine. The DelGaudio shuffle was published in Genii in October 2008. DelGaudio subsequently renamed it the truffle shuffle. A good description of the Charlier shuffle (a false haymow shuffle) can be found in Card College, volume 5 (2003) by Roberto Giobbi, page 1110. repertoire 19
a certain card to a certain location, and ending by cutting the fifty-second card back to the face. 9 Or, for example, you could present this as if a spectator could somehow subconsciously memorize a thoroughly shuffled deck. In which case, you might spread the "shuffled" deck on the table and ask her to stare at the cards for several seconds. No matter the presentation, once you are done setting up the premise, place the cards into the box. If you would like, have a spectator guard the cards in his hands or pocket while you proceed. Ask a spectator to name a card. Once he does, mentally translate it into its position in the deck. If he names, say, the Five of Diamonds, you automatically know that its stack number is twenty-five (if you use Juan Tamariz's Mnemonica stack, as I do). Now, ask him (or another spectator) to name any number from one to fifty-two. Occasionally, a spectator will name the chosen card's stack number. As happy as this makes you, don't let it affect your showmanship. Build up the impossibility with the same intensity that you would normally. If he names a number that is less than the selection's position- seventeen, for examplesubtract that number from the card's position. In this case, seventeen from twenty-five will give us eight. However, if the named number is greater than the position number of the named cardsay, thirty-seven-there is an extra step to the arithmetic. Subtract twenty-five (the chosen card's stack number) from thirty-seven to get twelve. Then subtract twelve from fiftytwo to get forty. How you remove the deck from the case will depend on whether the number you just calculated is greater than or less than twenty-six. Let's assume it's a small number (eight). Recall which card lies at that stack number (Five of Hearts in Mnemonica). Pick up the cased deck. You will appear to merely remove the cards from the case. In fact, in the process of doing so, you will shift eight cards from the top to the bottom, in order to position the Five of Diamonds at the seventeenth position. This is accomplished as follows. Open the box's flap all the way, so that it's folded flat on the back of the box, and hold the cased deck on your right palm, in a sort of straddle grip; your middle and ring fingers around the bottom edge, the index and little fingers straddling the box at the sides, and your thumb at the open end of the box, at the corner. With your thumb, secretly riffle through the cards so you can see their indexes flying by. (The slit in the case greatly facilitates this action.) If you hold the cards at the correct angle-almost horizontal, but with the mouth of the case tilted slightly up toward yourself-you will be the only one who can see the indexes as you riffle through them. Note that you grip the box firmly enough that you can riffle through the cards, but not so firmly that it looks like you are "doing something". In other words, there shouldn't be too much tension in your hand. Also, it's better to riffle through the cards without looking until you can tell by feel that you are in the vicinity of the card you are after. Since, in this 9 This presentational idea, which helps reinforce the premise, is something I adopted from Juan Tamariz's "Mnemonicosis", which can be found in his bookMnemonica (2004), page 97. 20 a.w.a.c.a.a.n.
example, you are looking for a card with a low stack number, instead of riffiing from r.he face, start riffiing in the bottom quarter of the deck (close to the top of your stack). Riffle until you feel that you are close to the top ten cards, and only then look at the eck. You want to keep the amount of time you look at the deck to a minimum. Keep riffiing until you see the Five of Hearts (at stack number eight) and hold a break there pic. 2). Also when you look at the cards, say something like, ((You could have named any ard. " It's entirely natural to look at the cards as you are referring to them. _ laintain the break and turn your hand palm down, keeping the box's opening toward ;-ou (pic. 3). With your left fingers, remove the bottom portion- the cards under the reak- three-quarters out of the case (pies. 4 & 5). The thumb notch gives the access repertoire 21
6 required to do this. With your left middle and ring fingers, push the bottom card (the last card in your stack, Nine of Diamonds in Mnemonica) approximately halfway back into the case (pic. 6). Now lever the outer portion of cards downward slightly, such that the bottom card is slightly bent (pic. 7, bottom card blue for clarity). Finally, tilt the case down and drop . the top portion of cards that you held back inside the case so that they slide down on the bent card and underneath the original bottom portion, which by now is c,ompletely out of the case (pic. 8, bottom card blue for clarity). Allow the top portion of cards, along with the bottom "slide card", to coalesce under the original bottom portion until all cards are squared on your left hand (pic. 9). In essence, you have managed to cut the deck at a desired location. (You have also displaced the bottom card, however, this card can easily be repositioned afterward.) You can actually do this move without the "slide card", but the slide card makes the move smoother and 22 a.w.a.c.a.a.n.
prevents fidgeting of your left fingers as you remove the cards. From a technical point of view, your job is now done. However, if as in our second example above, you were to calculate a large number (forty) and then remove only the small portion of cards below the fortieth card, it would look weird. So in cases like this, the shift is handled slightly differently. Hold the cased deck in your right hand as described above. Riffle to the Four of Spades (forty in Mnemonica), and obtain a thumb break. With your left hand, take the deck fro~ above and transfer the break to your left thumb (pic. 10). To justify the transfer of the cards, use your now-free right hand to gesture toward the spectators as you say, ((Remember, you could have chosen any card and any number." With your right fingers, remove the repertoire 23
portion of cards below the break (pic. 11) until the cards rest on the palm of your right hand. Tilt the upper end of the packet up, and drop the cards remaining inside the box underneath the larger, removed portion, shielding this with your right fingers as you do so (pi~. 12). Note that the mechanics of the shift are exactly the same as described above, except for two things. First, it is a mirror image of the other handling-the actions of the left and right hands are switched. Also, the slide card is not used with this handling because the secret actions are hidden by the flap, as well as your fingers. 24 a.w.a.c.a.a.n.
Whichever version of the secret shift you do, as you begin the shift say, "Please remove the cards. "As you are doing the shift, reach out to hand the deck to a spectator, a gesture which reinforces that he is to remove the cards himself. As you are finishing the shift, hand him the cards and the box, saying, "Take them out of the box. " Although you've already removed them, it should seem that you are giving the task to him. Ask him to count down to the spectator's number. In close-up situations, if you have an appropriate surface, such as a table, instruct the spectator to execute a ribbo.p spread (you might need to guide him through this). Say, ''Please, slide one card at a time out to the right, and count with me out loud. " This will make the counting feel a bit fairer and easier to follow. If you do not have a table (or if you are performing this onstage) have him deal the cards into a pile on your hand. If you ask him to deal each card face up as he counts, the order of the deck will remain intact, and it will also show the audience that the cards are all different and apparently in no particular order. Have the audience members count with you so that you can dictate the rhythm of the counting. Make sure to vary the count, so it's not monotonous. When the target number is small, say up to twenty, it's quite suspenseful and the audience is intrigued and anxious to find out if the named card indeed lies at the randomly named number. It's important to stop right before the last card and give a short recap. "So you could have named any card, and you could have named any number. One last time, remind us, what card did you choose?" This creates a great suspenseful moment just before you let your spectator turn over the final card to reveal that the named card lies at the named number. Of course, dealing a large number of cards can take long enough to put someone to sleep. When the number is large, say forty-four, it is preferable to count backward from the last card, which means, in this example, you only have to count nine cards. However, you don't want to count from a face-up deck because when they get to the chosen card there's no suspense. If you need to count from the bottom it's better to spread the cards face down on the table and count up from the bottom. Make it clear to your audience which end of the spread is the bottom of the deck and that you are counting backward from there. "Fifty-two, fifty-one, fifty, forty-nine ... "(This is in contrast with the examples in the endnotes, where the top and bottom of the deck are purposely ambiguous.) With mid-sized numbers, say mid-twenties to mid-thirties, it's a long journey from either end. With these numbers, showmanship and pacing are your saviors. Here are a few tips to make the counting process tolerable and, dare I say, suspenseful. First, as I mentioned above, avoid counting in a monotonous voice; this means don't leave the counting to the spectator, because he is very likely to do exactly that. Also, break up _the count. For example, if counting to thirty-five, pause after ten cards and say, "Twenty-jive more cards. "Count another ten and say, "Fifteen away, "and finally count the last fifteen. Also, think of the counting as a drum roll that gives you a chance to build up the drama and the impossibility of this miracle. Yes, you read that right, a miracle. repertoire 25
ENDNOTES: When a card is named that is among the top ten in my stack, I will sometimes ask someone else to name a number from one to ten. Then I'll execute the secret shift to position the named card at the appropriate number (usually fewer than five cards will have to be shifted). In instances like this when transferring just a few cards from the top to the bottom-or when, for example, the named card is number twenty-three in your stack and the target number is twenty-instead of transferring the cards, you can just retain them inside the box as you remove the rest of the deck from the case. I know that by limiting the choice of numbers, I am not being 100% faithful to the plot of ACAAN, but sometimes I take the same approach as Dai Vernon's "The Trick That Cannot Be Explained". 10 That is, I consider the procedure to be flexible, based on conditions that occur during the trick. I keep an open mind and finish the trick with what seems like the best outcome based on the circumstances. For example, if the named card is right on the top or bottom of the deck, I won't ask for a number. I will simply have the spectator remove the cards from the box and look at the top or bottom card. If the card is among the bottom ten, I will have a number from one to ten named, make the appropriate secret shift, spread the cards, and count forward from the bottom. If the chosen card is among the top or bottom five cards, I will have a number between one and five named. The important part is to make it seem like the ending of the trick wasn't improvised and that no matter what card he had named I would always have proceeded as I did. It can be useful to know your stack forward and backward. But you don't need to have it memorized backward, you just need to remember that a card's stack number subtracted from fifty-three is its position from the bottom. This way you can quickly calculate any card's position from the bottom. For example, the Seven of Hearts is forty-one in Mnemonica, which means it is twelfth from the bottom. Here are a couple examples of how this knowledge can be useful. Let's say the named card and number are the Nine of Clubs and eleven. The Nine of Clubs is number forty-four (ninth from the bottom). To position it to eleventh, you have to shift thirty-three cards from top to bottom. However, you would only need to shift two cards to position it eleventh from the bottom. So, in addition to handling the trick normally, you have two other options: 1. Shift two cards to the bottom, and count from the bottom. (See below about the best way to handle this.) 2. After the second spectator has called out the number eleven, before making your adjustment, ask, "And would you like to count down from the top of the deck, or up from the bottom?" (Giving this choice adds another layer of impossibility.) Then shift the cards according to their wishes. Here's another example. If someone were to name the Ten of Diamonds (forty-nine in Mnemonica), you know it is fourth from the bottom. You could ask someone to name a number from one to five, then position the card to that number from the bottom, and count forward from there. In addition, here is a clever way to disguise the fact that you are 10 "The Trick That Cannot Be Explained" was published in Dai Vernons More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1960) by Lewis Ganson, page 76. 26 a.w.a.c.a.a .n.
counting from the bottom. Execute a wide ribbon spread from your right to left. It is actually not as clear as you would think which end of the spread should be considered the starting point. So you can establish the bottom card as number one and count forward from there. It doesn't seem like you could get away with this, but since you are counting from the audience's left to right, and since that is the direction people read, it actually seems quite natural and isn't questioned. (Of course, if you are performing in Israel, I might suggest you spread the cards in the opposite direction.) Here is a scenario you need to be aware of. If the card's stack position is low (say, under twelve) and the number that is named is high (say, greater than forty) it changes the arithmetic just slightly. For instance, if the card is the Seven of Diamonds (three in :\inemonica) and the number is forty-one, start as described by subtracting three from forty-one to get thirty-eight. Normally, you would now subtract thirty-eight from fiftytwo to get fourteen. However, you need to account for the fact that the slide card will be repositioned and subtract thirty-eight from fifty-one (not fifty-two) to get thirteen. ou do not make this adjustment every time you use the slide card, just every time the card's stack number is low and the named number is high. Alternatively, in these instances you can choose not to make this change, but instead eliminate the slide card, sacrificing a subtlety to prevent a headache.) I know that many people fear the idea of doing arithmetic in their head while performing. 11 So, here are a few tips that will help you handle the calculations. It is easier to subtract numbers if at least one of them is a round number. For example, -orty-five minus twenty-seven is hard to do, particularly when you are under the pressure of doing a show. So if you add three to each of the numbers, you end up with a rty-eight minus thirty, which is eighteen. As long as you add the same amount to oth n umbers, you will get the correct result. H ere is another technique. If you need to subtract, say, thirty-five from fifty-two, you ould just ignore the two in fifty-two and treat it as if it were fifty. Subtract thirty-five !Tom fifty, and you easily get fifteen; now add the two that you previously ignored and ,.·ou get seventeen. Here's a similar example. Say you need to subtract twenty-six from :Orry-one. Ignore the six in twenty-six, and think of it as twenty. Subtract twenty from :orty-one to easily get twenty-one; now subtract the six that you previously ignored and you get fifteen. _ fake sure you do all the calculations before you even think about retrieving the boxed eck from the spectator who is guarding it. Once you are certain about which card you are looking for, what its position is, and approximately where you are going to start :iffiing, only then do you take the box, so that you are not trying to calculate while you execute the secret moves. As you are retrieving the boxed cards ask, ((You've been guarding :hese cards all this time?'' This interaction with the spectator should provide enough time ll Allan Ackerman published an interesting idea on page 25 of Al Cardpone (1996). If you put your deck in ~ -erse stack order, it makes the arithmetic much easier. You merely need to add the chosen number to the ed card's stack number to calculate what card to riffle to before the secret shift. If you find the arithmetic in · trick daunting, you may want to look up Ackerman's explanation for further details. repertoire 27
for you to open the box and get it into the necessary grip. You then riffle through the cards until you see the card at the position you've calculated, get a break, and execute the secret shift. If you still fear the arithmetic involved with this trick, here is an idea that could be helpful- it could also be used as a backup in case you panic. Once your spectators have chosen the card and position, remove your smartphone and say, '1 have an app that controls the cards remotely. " Open your calculator and do all the calculations necessary. You now know precisely at which point in the deck you need to execute the shift. ((Okay, I have programmed your card to go to the number you requested. "While a few members of your audience might believe you have an app that can perform card miracles, most of them will know that it's not possible for an app to do such a thing and will find it absurd and entertaining. Finally, in addition to the fear some people have of doing arithmetic onstage, many also dread the idea of having to memorize a deck of cards. The following brief analogy might eliminate some of that fear. What other words do you know for the word "car"? You are likely to come up with: automobile, auto, vehicle, ride, wheels, whip, or other slang; and if you speak another language, you probably have twice as many ways to say car. This is true with many objects. The thesaurus is filled with synonyms for most words. You probably know synonyms for any object you can name. So how hard can it be to learn a synonym for each card? For example, the Ace of Spades could also be called "seven" and the Queen of Hearts could sometimes be known as "eleven". If you remember these two examples, you only have fifty more synonyms to memorize. So let's assume Mnemonica is a language, consisting of fifty-two words-a language with no grammar rules or weird tenses or exceptions. All you have to do is remember those fifty-two words, and voila! You can speak Mnemonica fluently (or any other stack you wish to speak-you might even want to be trilingual). 28 a.w.a.c.a.a.n.
repertoire 29
out of the blue S ometimes when you work on a trick, you discover that you can take the method you devised for it and apply it to other effects. That happened to me after I came up with ''A.W.A.C.A.A.N." (see page 17). The move that enables you to secretly cut the deck at a desired location as you remove the cards from the box is very useful for the ACMN plot, but it can also be utilized in other tricks, such as this one. I hope you too can find further applications with which to achieve additional effects. This is my solution for a (mostly) non-gimmicked version of "Brainwave". 12 A cased deck of cards lies on the table. A spectator names a card. The magician removes the deck from the box and spreads the face-down cards across the table. One card is seen to have a different-colored back, and it is the named card. The deck can be examined. Not surprisingly, this requires the use of a memorized deck. The particular stack is unimportant, as the trick is stack independent; all that matters is that you immediately know the position of any named card. 12 Dai Vernon's "Brain Wave Deck'' was originally published in The j inx in October 1938. Vernon's original effect consisted only of a named card being shown reversed in the deck. Vernon credited Paul Fox with the idea of the card also having an odd-colored back. repertoire 31
PREPARATION: You will require an odd-backed card. Let's assume that the deck is red-backed and that the odd card is, therefore, blue-backed. The odd card can be any card you like, but I suggest you use either the Ace of Spades or Queen of Hearts, due to how often they are named by spectators. You must rub some magician's wax on the face of this card. 13 I prefer a hard wax, as it won't smear onto the other cards quite as easily, and thus lasts longer. Use a piece of wax about the size of two sesame seeds and spread it evenly in the center of the face of the card. The wax will be better hidden on a busy background, which is another reason to use the Ace of Spades or Queen of Hearts. Finally, you will need to modify the card box as described on page 19 of''A.WA.C.A.A.N." With the cards in memorized order, place the blue-backed card on the bottom. You can remove the red-backed duplicate of the blue card, or leave it in the deck, depending on what tricks you will be doing after this one. Case the deck such that the faces are toward the side with the thumb notch. Close the flap and you're ready to begin. PERFORMANCE: Ask a spectator to name any card. Alternatively, you can have a card freely selected from another deck, and discover the identity of the card via secret markings or a glimpse. This way, the audience believes that you have no idea what the selected card is up until the final revelation. This is a matter of choice; you may, of course, just directly ask the spectator to name a card. I'll describe later what to do if he names the odd-backed card. However, if he names any other card, pick up the cased deck. You will appear to merely remove the cards from 13 Probably the earliest routine in which a sticky card is used to show a named card as the only odd-backed card in a deck is Ted Annemann's "Remote Control", which was marketed in 1931. It can be found in 7he Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (1937), edited by Jean Hugard, page 121. 32 out of the blue
the deck, and in the process of doing so, you will bring the named card to the top of the deck, while maintaining the blue-backed card on the bottom. As you talk to the spectator, emphasizing the fairness of his naming a random card, open the flap and hold the cased deck such that you can riffle through the cards with your right thumb and see their indexes flying by as described in "A.WA.C.A.A.N." Once you've spotted the named card, while holding a break above it, turn your right hand palm down, and let the named card riffle off your thumb, so that the named card lies on top of the bottom portion. With the opening of the card box toward your body, reach into the case and with your left thumb and index finger begin to remove the bottom portion of the deck until it is about three-quarters out (pies. 1 & 2). repertoire 33
34 out of the blue
Then, with the aid of your left middle and ring fingers, push the bottom card (the waxed blue-backer) back into the case, so that about half of it remains jogged outside (pic. 3). Remove the bottom packet entirely, and lever the cards downward slightly, so that the blue-backer bends (pic. 4). Finally, drop the top portion of cards- inside the case-below the removed packet and onto the blue card, and tilt the case down. Allow this top portion to slide on top of the "slide card" (the blue-backer) and underneath the removed packet, which was the bottom portion (pies. 5 & 6). Remove the entire deck and toss the c~se aside. The result is that the deck is in your left hand, with the named card on top of the deck and the blue-backer on the bottom. As you move forward to spread the cards onto the table, execute a pass, and then apply some pressure to adhere the odd-backed card to the named card. (You may, of course, simply cut the deck and apply a little pressure, with the same result.) Spread through the cards, remove the odd-backed card (which is actually a double), and reveal it to be the named selection. If the named card lies deep in the stack you will first remove only a small portion from the box and then drop out the majority of the cards to complete the secret shift from the box. In those cases make sure that the opening of the box is facing you so that the spectators won't have a chance to see the mechanics of the removal. If the spectator does initially name the odd-backed card, the most straightforward option is to remove the cards from the box and reveal that the named card is now at the face of the deck. As a kicker, turn that card over and comment, "This card has a blue back, but to be honest, it's the only card in the whole deck with a blue back." Turn the rest of the cards over and spread them to show that all of them have red backs·. Although that handling is efficient and quite effective, my preferred way is to shift the bluebacked card to the middle of the deck (as described below) and then spread the cards face down to expose the one odd-colored back in the middle of the spread. This display should create suspense. Here are two ways to get the odd-backed card to the middle of the deck: 1. Remove the face-down cards from the box, without exposing the bottom card, and give the cards a casual cut. 2. Use the shift described in ''A.W.A.C.A.A.N." to secretly cut the oddbacked card to somewhere near the middle of the deck as you remove the cards from the box. That is, riffie through the cards with your right thumb to approximately the middle of the deck. Maintain the break and tilt the deck down, so the box's opening is toward you. With your left · fingers remove the bottom portion-the cards under the break. Allow the top portion of cards to slide under the bottom portion until all cards are squared on your left hand. Once the deck is removed from the box, in order to prevent the odd-backed card from sticking to the card below it, be sure not to apply pressure to the deck as you execute a face-down ribbon spread. Point out, «There's only one card in here with a blue back. Remind us, which card did you prefer?" Once the spectator replies, remove the blue card from the spread, turn it over, and hope it gets the response it deserves. repertoire 35
true colors Many tricks evolve over a long period of time; you start with some vague ideas, play with them for a while, and then forget about them until you feel like they might be worth a revisit. That cycle can repeat itself for years. "True Colors" was one of those tricks. It started with a fascination with the phenomenal Gilbreath principle. 14 While I cannot take credit for the application of this principle to the Color Sense plot-many others have done so, as well-this effect does contain certain aspects of handling and management that I think are of interest. Most methods for Color Sense, in which the magician is able to divine the colors of the cards without looking at them, have involved memorization, physical preparation of the cards, or mathematical formulae. I have always found mathematical principles, such as the Gilbreath principle, to be especially deceptive tools, but only to the extent that the performer is able to disguise the "mathematical feel" that occurs with some methods. This handling, I think you'll find, does not suffer from such a problem. 14 This principle was, of course, discovered by Norman Gilbreath, who first explained it in the July 1958 issue of The Linking Ring, in the context of his trick "Magnetic Colors". repertoire 37