Next, pinch all the cards above the break in the crotch of the left hand, allowing you to steady them there. In one flowing, continuous action, move the right hand (and the chosen cards in its grip) directly to the top of the tabled talon and immediately ribbon-spread the deck from left to right.17 17 Please note, as you make this “capping” action, you must hold the left hand completely stationary: any movement of the left hand will spoil the illusion. Furthermore, do not attempt to place the selections into full palm: as you move them to the top of the tabled deck, they will be somewhat exposed; however, with the proper technique and timing the secret addition will be visually and psychologically invisible. 33
The selections have been covertly transferred to the top of the spread talon on the table, while the audience believes they are mixed among the cards in your left hand. Without disturbing the eight actual selections, start to thumb off cards from those in the left hand and insert them at random positions throughout the spread. You could distribute all of the left hand's cards at this point, but there is a very nice ploy that can, and should, be used in more intimate gatherings. After you have inserted three or four cards, pause the distribution to let one of your spectators shuffle the remainder of the left hands packet.18 “You don’t know where your card is in here, do you?” He must answer in the negative. “And I don't want you to know where it is. So give them a good shuffle — no peeking. If you don’t know where your card is, then there’s definitely no way for me to know where it is either” 18 See e.g„ Darwin Ortiz, Lessons in Card Mastery (2012), pp. 67-89.
Once he has finished shuffling, take back the cards and continue to distribute them at random into the ribbon spread19 as you say, “And I’ll just lose the rest of these in here by pushing them into different spots ... I think that’s pretty fair, don’t you?” There is another aspect to this procedure that I think is worth mentioning. When the cards are lost in this way there doesn’t need to be much more shuffling and mixing later in the routine. If you were to engage in any further rearrangements, you would then inadvertently suggest to the audience that this is how you must be controlling the selections. Let the Revelations Begin Give the cards a quick false shuffle20 and then offer the pack to be cut by one of the spectators 19 Remember to avoid placing any cards among the top eight. 20 I favor some false shuffles invented by my friends Karl Hein and Jared Kopf: see Karl Hein, “The Heinstein Shuffle,” Genii (April 2001), pp. 50-52; see also Karl Hein, The Heinous Collection, Volume 1, DVD (2013), explaining a false dovetail and bridge shuffle; see Jared Kopf, Modern Thaumaturgy (2010), p. 20; see also Jared Kopf, Nothing But the Family Deck (2013), pp. 9-10, explaining a false overhand shuffle. 35
sitting near you; this will center the SCaM Card with the selections directly below it. Take back the deck and look for the mark along the left, long edge. If you see it, the deck is in the correct orientation. If you don’t see the mark, pressure fan the deck, show the faces to the audience, and say, “If you look closely, you will see that your cards really are lost”. Close the fan from left to right, subtly turning the deck end for end. The mark will now be positioned accordingly. Using the mark, estimate the SCaM Cards position. Look at the person who took Selection 1 and say, “Don’t say anything. Just concentrate on your card for me.” As you stare at her, softly riffle with the right thumb up to the short corner of the centered SCaM Card and form a break above it. Because you have estimated the SCaM Cards position, this riffling action can (and should) be brought to a minimum. Transfer this brief to the left little finger. After a moment of concentration, say, “You’ve got the easy part...” 36
With the right hand held in overhand grip, cut half of the cards above the break to the table, followed by all the cards above the break. Finish by placing the rest of the left hands cards on top.21 “ .. I’ve got the hard one ” 0: The Agony of Defeat Pick up the deck and place it into the left hand. Take the top card (this is the SCaM Card) into your right hand and look at it yourself. After looking at the card for a moment, dramatically turn it, showing the face to the lady who made Selection 1. She will stare confusedly at the card for a moment and eventually announce that it isn’t her selection. “Surely, you must be mistaken ” Turning your attention to a person nearby her, you continue: “Did you see her selection? ... And this isn’t it?” Show the card to the other people who made selections and say, “This must be yours 21 Ed Marlo, “Step Control,” Control Systems (1953), p. 1. 37
then . . . No? Perhaps it belongs to you. No . . . Well, how about you?” After losing the selections in the manner previously described, your audience will not have to make a huge psychological leap to believe that you really have failed; however, as a bird feigns a broken wing and lures the predator closer, only to rise moments later and turn the hunter into the hunted, you too will seem to have fallen; but you will redeem yourself and rise again. Below, I offer two options — one for the novice (1A); another for the expert (IB). 1A (Basic): Time for a Change Once you have heard the last person deny that the SCaM Card is his selection, turn back to the lady who made Selection 1 and say, “Please, what was your selection?”22 22 In this routine it is very important to ask for the name of each selection before you produce it. To do otherwise would not only create an effect you aren’t going for (e.g., mind reading or card control); it would also imply that you already know where each selection is and to whom it belongs— which is, of course, the truth. Therefore, this is the last thing you want the audience to conceive, let alone believe. 38
As she answers, secretly secure a break under the top card of the deck and then place the SCaM Card face up on top, maintaining the break under both. “Give me just a moment to fix this.. ” The Flip-Flop Change23 With the right thumb and middle finger pinch the two cards above the break so that they stay in perfect alignment. Drag this double across the top of the deck, and as it reaches the extreme right edge of the pack, revolve your left wrist clockwise, turning the left hand palm down until the top of the deck lines up squarely with the two cards in the right hand. Secure the double in the left hand, freeing the right hand to adjust your wristwatch. You have just switched the SCaM Card for Selection 1; no one knows this, however, because your left hand is turned down, ostensibly so that you can look at and ready your watch for the upcoming change. 23 23 See Father Cyprian, Door to Door Card Sharp (1979), p. 11; A1 Smith, Cards on Demand (1980), p. 24; see also Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 3 (1998), pp. 747-48. 39
To dramatically heighten the revelation snap your fingers as loudly has possible; this will establish the “magic moment.”24 Follow this by nodding your head to the ticking second hand as if counting off the requisite time. “It only takes a few seconds” Slowly turn your left hand over to show the transformation as you say, “For you, ma’am: the Ace of Clubs!” Take Selection 1 in the right hand and place it face up on the table; simultaneously give the pack a one-handed cut with the left hand, returning the SCaM Card and the stock of selections to the center. 1B (Advanced): A Redemptive Exchange After showing the SCaM Card to the last participant and receiving his denial, relax your right arm and allow the face of the card to become parallel to the floor. 24 See e.g., John Carney’s introduction to Michael Skinner, The Notebooks of Michael Skinner (2014), p. 11. 40
With a defeated shrug say, “Well, you have to admit, it would have been a good trick, huh?” There is perhaps no better way to dampen an entire audiences attention than to induce laughter. Your shrug and the laughter that ensues from your joke will provide all the cover you will need to perform an exchange, the basic mechanics of which are as follows. The Top Change25 The Top Change is a daunting move that must be executed under a kind of misdirection that many magicians are afraid to employ these days. But this is the method I prefer for changing the SCaM Card into Selection 1 because the card never appears to come in contact with the deck. If you do the move well, I encourage you to use it here. Hold the SCaM Card at its inner-right corner between your right fingertips and thumb, keeping its face parallel to the floor. As you bring the card toward the left hand, push off the 25 25 For further details and interesting ideas on misdirection for this move, see Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 1 (1996), p. 233-38. 41
top card of the deck (Selection 1) approximately half an inch to the right. With a light touch, push the SCaM Card underneath the left thumb, lining it up with the rest of the deck, and simultaneously contact the face of the protruding card (Selection 1) with the pad of the right index finger. Once the SCaM Card is aligned with the deck, allow the right thumb and forefinger to take hold of the protruding selection. At this point, the right hand freezes, and the left hand relaxes, moving the deck away. Turn your attention to the lady who took Selection 1 and ask, “Please, what was the card you selected? ... The Ace of Clubs?” Raise the left hand, stare intently at the deck, and begin to riffle the outer left corner with your left thumb. The audience will think you are looking through the deck as the indices pass by; in reality, you are merely doing this to further divert attention from the card in your right hand. Feign spotting the Ace of Clubs in the deck and say, “May I have a moment to redeem myself? The Ace of Clubs . . . Let me try this with just one hand” 42
Perform a one-handed cut (which will center your SCaM Card and slug of selections in preparation for the next revelation). “Did you see it? Well, when I said One hand,’I didn’t mean this hand.. ” . Shift your gaze to the right hand and slowly revolve the card toward the lady who chose Selection 1. Once she reacts, display the magically transformed card in an arc to the rest of your audience. “... I meant this hand.” 2: Every Gambler's Dream Having just cut the deck, the SCaM Card is centered with the selections, still in order, below it. Table the pack and continue as follows. Look at the audience and say, “It’s the dream of every gambler in the world to be able to beat the odds we face right now. “Imagine a gambler needing one winning card, and it just happens to be the card the gentleman here to my left is thinking of. And, as if by supernatural means, he could bring that one card to his fingertips at will...” 43
Turn to the man who chose Selection 2 and ask him to tell you the card he selected; in our example set his card is the Two of Hearts. Act as if you’re concentrating and, under your breath, repeat his selection over and over: “Two of Hearts ... Two of Hearts...” Bring your right hand to your lips and blow on your fingertips; then reach over and cut at the SCaM Card, relying this time on the Infinity Principle. Place this cut-off portion into left-hand dealing position. Lift off the top card of the tabled half and take a little peek at it. “It wasn't the Jack of Spades, was it?” you ask, miscalling the card. After he responds negatively, turn Selection 2 toward them and say, “Good, because this is the Two of Hearts!” Put Selection 2 face up next to 1 on the table. Pick up the tabled talon and place it on top of the cards in the left hand. The SCaM Card is on the bottom of the deck, the stock of selections is on the top, and you are ready to proceed. 44
3A: There’s the Rub In their seminal collection of 20th-century card magic, Expert Card Technique, Hugard and Braue call this next sequence “an amusing quick trick with a surprise finish.”26 I have found Charlie Millers simple and beautiful creation to be so much more than “amusing,” especially here as the third sequence in a dramatic series of revelations. At this point the selections are on the top, the SCaM Card is on the bottom, and you are holding the deck in left-hand dealing position. A Modified Slip Cut Look at the person who made Selection 3 and begin to say, “And for you . . .” Pause in midsentence and execute the following modified slip cut. Necktie the deck for a bit of cover and move the right hand in Biddle grip over the 26 Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, Expert Card Technique, 3rd Edition (1940, 1950), pp. 301-02. "Rub-a-dub-dub” is one of the many uncredited tricks in Expert Card Technique that were created by the brilliant Charlie Miller. 45
pack; under the cover of the right hand, push the top card to the right. Because the top card is right-jogged, the right hand can easily cut half of the deck from under it while the left thumb slips the top card squarely onto the half that remains in the left hand. Place the right hands packet onto the table and complete the cutting action by taking the left hands cards into the right hand and dropping them onto the tabled half, too. Now your stock is once again intact in the center under the SCaM Card, but Selection 3 is still on top of the deck. 46
Rub-a-dub-dub (Phase 1) Pick up the deck and place it into the left hand. Execute a double turnover, look at the participant, and finish your sentence: ".. this one.” He will shake his head. Continue: “I didn’t say this was your card. I just meant I’d use this one”. Ask for the identity of his selection. In our example set his is the Three of Spades. Turn the double face down onto the pack and then push the top card to the right so that it is slightly askew, which will foreshadow the position for the vanish in sequence 3.5 below. 47
Show your right hand empty and say, “Okay, as you wish: it will become the Three of Spades.” Thumb off the already side-jogged top card to the table, simultaneously covering it with the right hand. Slowly rub the card on the tables surface and then, after allowing a moment for the magical transformation to transpire, pick it up with the right hand, look at it and smile. Turn the card toward the audience to show that the card has changed into Selection 3. 3.5: Avaunt, and Quit My Sight!27 I've seen the “surprise finish” to Millers little miracle squandered by many conjurors. They seem to think that the magician-in-trouble scenario should be used to perpetrate a sucker trick. Granted, sucker tricks are effective, but they usually do not suit my style. I want my 27 See also Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 2 (1996), pp. 335-36; Derren Brown, Pure Effect (2000), pp. 69-70. 48
audience to believe in me as much as they could be brought to believe in magic: I want them on my team. This little sequence from Millers prolific mind is both magical and winsome. Rub-a-dub-dub (Phase 2) Turn Selection 3 face down and place it back on top of the deck, slightly askew as before. Address someone who did not make a selection: “We can get this to change into your card, too ...” With the selection angled off to the side, bring the right hand over the card, palm down and fingers together; however, just as the right hand conceals the card from view and apparently pins it to the tabletop, secretly use the left thumb to pull the card back squarely on top of the deck — a bit of practice in front of a mirror will show how convincing the retention of vision can become. As you rub the imaginary card on the tables surface, look at the non-participant and say, “Please tell everyone which card you selected .” She will tell you that she didn’t choose one. Immediately respond: “Well, then I'll make it disappear... ” 49
Press down obviously on the imaginary card as if to make it adhere to the palm of your hand. Quickly lift your hand a few inches above the table. Here, you’ll want to feign guilt because you are ostensibly hiding the card in your palm. “Look! Its gone!. . . Just kidding — I can bring it back.” Nervously bring the “guilty” right hand back down and begin to rub the tabletop again. “Actually, I never kid.” Separate your fingers slowly and then brush away some fanciful, lingering particles. Turn your hand palm up, show it completely empty and declare, “It really is gone!” 3B: With Just a Wave of the Hand The “Rub-a-dub-dub” sequences described in 3A and 3.5 above are preferable to the following alternative. Still, this color change is useful for several reasons. 50
First, it can be used to shorten the performance, however slightly. Second, if you are performing for exactly eight people, there wont be a non-participant available to motivate 3.5’s vanish. The Houdini Color Change is a perfect substitute. Third, as I will make clear, it can also be used in any circumstance in lieu of 3A if you feel like changing things up a bit for your own amusement. After executing the Modified Slip Cut described in 3A, turn over a double, showing an indifferent card while saying to the person who made Selection 3, “And for you ... this one.” He will correctly deny that this is his selection. “I didn't say this was your card,” you protest. “I just meant Id use this one. Please tell everyone the card you selected.” In our example set his selection is The Three of Spades. Look at him intently and then slowly shift your attention back to the deck so that everyone’s eyes will follow. “Watch!” 51
The Houdini Color Change28 To perform the transformation place the right fingertips on the face of the upper card near the outer end and push this card forward slightly; this will expose some of the lower cards surface to the heel of the right hand. To minimize the movement, push inward on the deck's outer edge with the left index finger, moving everything but the top card slightly toward yourself.29 With the lower card exposed to the heel of the right palm, slide it back until it bypasses the inner edge of the upper card. Needless to say, the stolen card should be completely hidden by the flat right palm. This stealing action also exposes the face of the indifferent card once more; so say, “And please don’t forget the Ten of Spades.”30 28 P.T. Selbit, “New Colour Changes, Fourth Method,” The Magician’s Handbook (1901), p. 27; cf. SW. Erdnase, “Transformations, Two Hands, First Method,” The Expert at the Card Table (1902), pp. 151-52. 29 Richard Kaufman, Jennings ‘67 (1997), pp. 122-123. 30 Calling attention to the indifferent card on the face of the double will be important for a potential callback. Furthermore, if the indifferent card happens to be of the same color or suit you can add, “Well, good: then I don't need to change the whole thing; just the suit/value.” 52
You can now move the palmed card around and to the right, then finally forward, aligning it with the indifferent card and completing the transformation. “For you, then: the Three of Spades.” Take the double card in the right hand and display it as Selection 3. After this transformation there are a couple of options available. You could turn the double back down on the deck, casually take the top card and say, “Of course, your Three of Spades was just an illusion ...” Flick the card and then turn it over. “This is the Ten of Spades I told you to remember just a moment ago.” Alternatively, you can treat Houdini's color change as a substitute for 3A and then go to 3.5’ s incredibly effective vanish. If you decide to use this color change for Selection 3, at the revelations conclusion execute a false cut to ostensibly lose the top card. This 53
will avoid any inconsistencies that might be observed by a particularly attentive spectator. To mimic the upcoming cutting procedure that will reveal Selections 4, 5, and 6,1 use a false cut that has come to be associated with Jay Ose. Ose’s Cut31 With the deck in left-hand dealing position, cut about one-third off the deck. Place this packet on the table to your left. Cut another third to the right of that, and place the last third down to the right of the second packet. Gather the packets from left to right by dropping the left packet on the middle one and then these combined piles onto the rightmost packet. Oses Cut is incredibly deceptive. Despite its bold procedure, the false action appears to be completely true. Oddly enough, however, if one were to gather the packets in the order that does genuinely cut the pack, the action appears to be fake. 31 Harry Lorayne, Close-Up Card Magic (1962), p. 93; see also Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 1 (1996), p 60, citing F.W. Conradi-Horster, Der moderne Kartenkünstler (1896), p. 19. 54
4, 5, & 6: Lets Speed Things Up!32 The inspiration for what follows is a cutting sequence by Edward Mario. What makes this variation unique (and perhaps even more misleading) is that packet with the target cards will actually come from the center, not from the top. Furthermore, you are about to cut the deck into three piles, as opposed to four, which will allow for an interesting exploitation of symmetry: during the forthcoming procedure, you will clandestinely move the left packet to the opposite end, and no one will notice. A Modified Mario Sequence Ask the three people who took Selections 4, 5, and 6 to name their cards. With the deck held from above in overhand grip, make the first cut by dropping the packet below the SCaM Card 32 32 Cf. “A Problem Posed,” The New Tops, Magazine (March 1965), republished in Edward Mario, M.I.N.T., Volume 1 (1988): Mario writes that his impetus for this approach to “Spectator Cuts to the Aces” was an effect written in a letter, “with certain ideas of procedure,” by Bob Veeser, dated December 1956. 55
on your table quite a bit left of center.33 Move to the right and drop approximately half the cards, forming the (provisional) center packet. And finally, place the remaining cards to the right of this second pile. Pick up the pile on your left and hold it in left-hand dealing position. Openly out-jog its top card, pinning it in place with your left thumb. Pick up the top card of the middle pile 33 This position is important: by starting off center, you will have enough room for the secret transfer of the first packet from the left end of the row to the right end. Imagine four positions on the table labeled A, B, C, and D. Packet 1 goes on A, Packet 2 goes on B, and Packet 3 goes on C. When you complete the revelations, however, you secretly will have moved Packet 1 to position D. 56
and place it (also out-jogged) on top of the first jogged pasteboard. Now take the top card of the rightmost packet and add it on top of the two out-jogged, spread cards in the left hand. With the right fingertips pinch the three out-jogged cards at their long edges. Use the left thumb to peel them one at a time back onto its packet, reverse counting them onto the cards in the left hand.34 As you peel them repeat the selections’ identities: “The Four of Diamonds, the Five of Clubs, and the Six of Hearts.” 34 This reversing refinement of Mario’s sequence is Johnny Thompson’s; it will appear in his upcoming chef-d'oeuvre, General Practitioner. 57
Secure a break beneath the three cards as you square them with the packet. Turn over the top card, revealing Selection 4, and say, “The Four of Diamonds.” With the right hand in overhand grip lift all three cards as one from above the break and add them to the packet in position B. Turn the top card of the left hands packet face up and say, “The Five of Clubs!” Take this card in the right hand and add it face-up onto the packet in position C. Finally, turn over the top card in the left hand, and say to the participant who took Selection 6, “And yours: the Six of Hearts!” With the right hand take the left hands packet and casually place it in position D. Because of the initial placement of the packets and the flowing action of the revelations, no one will recognize that this final packet has moved from one end to the other. “It seems impossible, doesn’t it? . . . Actually, it is impossible!” 58
Pick up the packet in position B and place it in left-hand dealing position. Remove the face-up card and place it aside with the previously revealed selections. Pick up the packet in position C and add it to the cards in the left hand. Remove its faceup card and place it aside as well. Pick up the last packet from position D, add it to the left hand, remove its top face-up card, and likewise discard it. Selection 7 is now on top of the deck, Selection 8 is below it, and the SCaM Card is on the bottom. As you say, “Lets give them another little mix" give the deck your best in-the-hands, fancy false cut. Erdnase warns us not to show off: Excessive vanity proves the undoing of many experts. The temptation to show off is great. . . . One single display of dexterity and his usefulness is past in that particular company, and the reputation is liable to precede him in many another.35 35 SW. Erdnase, The Expert at the Card Table (1902), p. 23. 59
While I wholeheartedly agree with these sage words, I believe “The Multiple Selection” is one of the only plots in which one can effectively employ a few flourishes. The ribbon spread at the beginning, the one-handed cut, the transformation(s), the multiple cut sequence, etc., are simple enough to avoid raising too much suspicion but also fancy enough to embellish the general aesthetic. If you’re using playing cards, “The More the Merrier” is a closing effect, so its employment of flourishes technically comports with Erdnases later advice: If the performer cannot resist the temptation to parade his digital ability, it will mar the effect of his endeavors much less by adjuring the exhibition of such slights [sic] as palming and producing, single-hand shifts, changes, etc., until the wind up of the entertainment. But the slights [sic] should be employed only as a means to an end.36 In any case, I’m going to describe three strong techniques to reveal Selection 7, any one of which will disabuse the audience that your 36 S.W. Erdnase, The Expert at the Card Table (1902), p. 128. 60
ability to do a flourish has anything to do with this penultimate revelation. 7 A (Basic): Rise! Say to the person who made Selection 7, “I hope you have not forgotten your card. Please tell us the card you selected . . . The Seven of Spades? Very well...” Repeat the name of the card (“The Seven of Spades . . . The Seven of Spades . . .”) as you gently let the cards dribble from one hand to the other. Say the name of the selection once more as you give the cards a final dribble. Stare into space contemplatively for a moment and then suddenly and gleefully announce, “The Seven of Spades is twenty-three cards down! ... Do you want to see me find it the easy way or the hard way? Whichever way he answers, simply retort, “How did I know you were going to say that?! Here we go, then: the Seven of Spades — exactly twenty-three cards down ...” 61
The Nelson Card Rise Hold the cards in the left hand by the long sides with the face of the deck outward. Disengage the top card (Selection 7, which is closest to the left palm) with the left little finger (a heavy bevel in the deck helps here) and move it upwards, as far as your little finger will go. To cover the secret movement of the little finger, move the left hand in a circular pattern, obscuring the fact that the card is rising from the back of the deck and not the middle. Don’t overdo the action. A few, smooth rotations are all you need. 62
Once the little finger extends as far as it can, and the card has reached its apex, slow the movement down and secretly return your left little finger to the side of the deck. This technique belongs to Bob Nelson, though Edward Mario was the first to publish it. Mario writes: Bob Nelson developed this card rise in 1943 while in the army. He showed it to me in 1946. Unfortunately he never published it and eventually a card rise, using the little finger appeared in Bascomb Jones’ magazine called ‘Magick’; however, the card rise was made from the center of the deck. It didn’t take any genius to realize that a simplification would be the next step by simply using the little finger to rise the back or top card. Since then two other sources did publish the obvious.37 As the rising card comes to the end of its journey, say, “Twenty-three cards down . . .” Immediately, reach over with your right hand and take Selection 7 by far left corner; remove it 37 Edward Marlo, “The Nelson Card Rise” Mario’s Magazine, Volume 5 (1984), p. 187. 63
from the left hand and raise it vaingloriously over your head as you continue, "... and rising!” Once the applause begins, take the selection and place it up-jogged approximately twenty-three cards from the top and display the deck in this condition. Do this nonchalantly, as if you are simply reinforcing the spot from which Selection 7 has risen. Then casually remove Selection 7 and discard it with the others. 7B (Intermediate): The Homing Card38 This effect defies the general rule of magic, “Never repeat a trick.” Here the repetition is not only permissible but carries a powerful punch. An ordinary deck is used — no duplicate, trick or prepared cards.39 38 See George Starke, editor, Stars of Magic, Louis Tannens collected edition (1961), p. 62, attributing the plot to Francis Carlyle; cf. T.A. Waters, The Encyclopedia of Magic and Magicians (1988), p. 170: “[Francis Carlyle’s routine] is quite possibly inspired by an earlier (unpublished) routine by Jimmy Grippo”; cf. also Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 2 (1996), pp. 288-91, crediting the plot to Grippo, too. 39 George Starke, editor, Stars of Magic, Louis Tannen’s collected edition (1961), p. 62. 64
In this alternate sequence the person who took Selection 7 names its identity, and his card instantly vanishes from the pack only to reappear in the performer’s pocket... twice! If you decide to use “The Homing Card,” you’ll need to remove one of the Jokers from the pack before the trick begins and place it in the right outer pocket of your jacket. I usually haven’t decided on which of these three routes I’ll take until I get to this point in the routine, so I always remove a Joker and secrete it in my pocket. Removing one Joker gives you some advantages. First, it gives you a one-ahead card. Second, by removing it you will also have eliminated it from the selection procedure: it wouldn’t be very good to have two different participants name their selections as Jokers. Third, there is also a slim possibility that during the transformation for Selection 3’s revelation, the participant could have chosen one Joker and the indifferent card you switch it for happens to be the other Joker; this, suffice it to say, would be an awkward and unfortunate change. 65
Say to the participant who took Selection 7, “We can have your selection vanish in a unique way, too. Please tell us what card you have in your mind.” Once the card is named, dribble the cards from hand to hand as you mutter the name of the card to yourself. However tempting it may feel to square the deck, leave the cards in disarray for a moment. You will now execute some choreography and ruses of Jimmy Grippo's, which have never been divulged.40 Snap your fingers. “Gone!” Smile and pat your jacket pocket from the outside as you say, “Please, don’t take it out yet, but reach into my pocket and tell them how many cards you feel.” As the participant reaches into your jacket pocket, he will provide all the misdirection you will need to palm the selection in your right hand. 40 From personal communication with Grippo’s student, Joey Burton. 66
Topping the Deck41 One mistake I often see when magicians palm cards is that they approach a perfectly squared pack for no other reason than to steal a card. This is why you should set up for the palm by first disturbing the pack (hence the dribbling action above); this will give your right hand a reason to touch the cards. To execute Vernons top palm, hold the still un-squared deck in dealing position with your left thumb laying across the top. Approach the pack from above with your right hand and grip the deck principally between the right thumb on the inner end and the right middle finger on the outer end. With the left thumb push over the top card slightly to the right, allowing it to pivot counterclockwise along the fulcrum of the right middle finger. This will cause the cards upper 41 Dai Vernon, Select Secrets (1941), pp. 7-10; see also Bob White, Practical Card Palming, DVD (2005). I cannot recommend White’s video enough. It is one of the most important expositions ever produced on sleight-of-hand technique, and it proves Erdnase was correct to assert that “[t]he art of card palming can be brought to a degree of perfection that borders on the wonderful” [S.W. Erdnase, The Expert at the Card Table (1902), p. 83], 67
right corner to move over the top edge of the deck. Push down on the protruding corner with your right little finger, causing a dramatic downward pressure to be applied to the top card. Now, simply raise the deck to the left fingertips (thereby moving the left thumb from across the top of the pack to the left long edge). This simple action, along with the downward pressure, will propel the top card into the right palm. To complete the sleight, use the left third and fourth fingers to press the card securely into your right palm. Once the card is secured in your hand, do not make the mistake of going immediately to your pocket; this is one of the disastrous errors that Bob White warns against on his marvelous study of card palming.42 Instead, do as Grippo did: place your right hand on the participant's shoulder or forearm, 42 See Bob White, Practical Card Palming, DVD (2005). 68
look him in the eye, and ask him, “Could it be?.." When the participant tells you that he felt only one card, reach into your pocket with the right hand and produce the palmed card from the pocket.43 Turn it around and reveal it to be Selection 7. Accept the applause and then add, “It’s impossible to see when it happens.” As you say this, nonchalantly place the selected card back into the pocket and exchange it for the odd Joker. Then, turn to someone and say, “Did you see it go? Here, watch as it’s lost again in the center.” Grippo's Out-jog Pip Concealment44 Suiting actions to words, keep the identity of the Joker hidden as you place the supposed selection back into the center of the pack, leaving it out-jogged about an inch. 43 Here, you may consider further adapting Gordon Bruce’s version of Norman Houghton’s “Pocket Extraction” by producing the card from your jacket pocket with just your thumb and forefinger. See e.g., Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 3 (1998), pp. 722-24. 44 Courtesy of Joey Burton. 69
Extend your left forefinger so that it touches the face of the out-jogged card. With right hand in overhand position, grip the short ends of the upper half of the deck between the thumb and middle finger. Allow the right middle finger to rest lightly on the back of the out-jogged card. With the left forefinger, bevel back the lower half of the deck without disturbing the out-jogged card. The hands and out-jogged card screen this action from all angles. The following photograph shows an exposed view with the right hand removed for the sake of clarity. 70
Keeping the out-jogged card stationary with pressure from the right middle finger, move it and the upper half of the deck backward, aligning the out-jogged card as much as possible with the beveled lower half. If necessary, maintain everything in the left hand and use the right fingertips at the outer end to help align the supposed selection and the bottom section. This isolation will maintain retention on the card while keeping the face of it just barely out of sight. From above, the supposed selection still appears to be out-jogged; however, from below, its face is completely hidden. You now 71
have the freedom to be as casual with the pack as you wish. Indeed, Grippo would often brazenly lift the deck and apparently show the face of the card to a spectator. Have another person extend a finger and push the apparent selection flush with the deck. Once the cards become relatively square, hand the deck to him and say, “Here, you hold these . . . You just saw me make his selection vanish and appear in my pocket. But now you’re holding the deck. You saw it get lost in there. Later, I don’t want you to say you missed anything. Let me show it to you once more.” Snap your fingers over the deck, again creating the magic moment. Tell the person holding the deck to look through the cards and verify that Selection 7 has actually vanished.45 Now, repeat the revelation by removing the selection from your pocket, or you can have the participant reach in and remove the card, proving that Selection 7 has reappeared in the 45 If this person is in close proximity to the participant who took Selection 8, you might want to omit this instruction. Selection 8 is on top and you don’t want the person who took it to see it there. 72
pocket — without any possibility for sleight of hand. Once you’ve shown the card to the participant and the rest of the audience, discard it off to the side with the previously revealed selections. 7C (Advanced): The Psychic Stop!46 This is one of the finest card tricks it is possible to perform. . . . Visualize, if you can, the effect upon the spectator, who has been given full freedom of choice and who, furthermore, is assured by the manner of the deal that sleight of hand could not conceivably have been brought into play. He can only conclude that you actually can perform the miracles you profess to be able to do; his surprise and perplexity make of the trick the very strongest kind of reputation builder.47 46 Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, Expert Card Technique, 3rd Edition (1940,1950), pp. 330-31. 47 Ibid., p. 330. 73
At the end of Selection 6 ’s revelation, Selections 7 and 8 are on top; the SCaM Card is on the bottom of the pack, with five of the selections tossed aside on the table (remember, Selection 3 is never tossed aside, no matter which of the alternatives you use). Pick up the five tabled selections and place them face down on the top. In the process of supposedly losing them, you will appear to cut the pack. In actuality, you will secure a left little-finger break over the bottom (SCaM) card and cut it to the top as follows. An Alternative to the Double Undercut Transfer the break to the right thumb as you swing cut about a third into your left hand. Place the cards in the right hand on top of those in the left hand, transferring the card below the break to the top of the left portion and maintaining the break between the packets. As you square the deck, transfer the break to the right thumb once again, and then swing cut another third into the left hand. Place the right hand’s cards on top of those in the left 74
hand, maintaining the break with the left little finger. Allow the break to widen by slightly pulling down with the left little finger; then use the right third finger (as opposed to the right forefinger, which usually does the lifting in a swing cut) to kick the packet above the break over to the left. Take the projecting upper packet into the left hand; and finally, drop the right hands cards onto those in the left hand. “Let’s have someone else try it. Perhaps, you. First, tell me, are you right- or left-handed.” Invite the person who made Selection 7 to join you and give him the pack, placing it in the named hand. This will create tension because he will be holding the cards in the hand he would not normally use to deal. “Take the top card in your other hand, but don’t look at it. Just feel it.” Because he doesn’t know where you’re going with this, you will be able to use the 75
inevitable awkwardness of the procedure to your advantage. “Here, let me.. .” Hold out your right hand and take the card he’s been holding. Keeping it face down, rub its surfaces between your fingers. “See, do it like this.” Place this card face down in your left hand, holding it in dealing position. As he takes the next card off in his non-dominant hand and begins to feel it, ask, “Feel anything?” Hold your left hand out nodding toward the card and say, “Place it here, too. Now, take the next one and feel it. Again, don’t look at it, just feel it.” Once he has felt the third card for a moment, nod again toward your left hand and have him place the card onto the previous two. “Keep going...” You want your helper to continue in this way so that he will deal the fourth card into your hand; but once he begins to place the fifth card onto those in your left hand, say, “You know, you can stop anytime you want?...” 76
This creates further tension, and it is almost inevitable that he will deal the sixth card down and then stop on the seventh (which is his actual selection). There is a very small chance that he will stop as he places the sixth card in your hand; but this is perfect. Again, nobody knows where you are going with all this. If he should stop upon handing you the sixth card, say, “You could have stopped anywhere, but you’ve decided to reject these in my hand and to stop right there,” as you point at the top card of those he’s holding. “Now, remember, the cards were shuffled and mixed. You could have selected any one, and, for some reason, you’ve decided to stop right here. You can’t say I did anything; after all, the cards are in your hands. For the first time, please tell us your selection?” Once he responds, gesture to the cards he is holding and announce, As you wish. Please turn the next card over.” Finish by placing the cards in his hand on top of those in yours, losing his selection between these packets. This puts the final selection on top and the SCaM Card on the bottom. 77
If, instead of placing the sixth card in your hand and stopping there, he deals the seventh card into your hand and then stops, you’re still home free. All you have to do is continue as above, modifying your attention toward the last card he dealt into your hand. However, on the rare occasion he continues to deal after placing the seventh card in your hand, stop him just before he deals the eighth card and quickly overhand shuffle the cards in your hand, running the top to the bottom and the bottom card to the top. You will now have the selection on the bottom and the SCaM Card on top of the cards in your left hand. After you finish this small shuffle, use Mario’s All-Around Square-Up Glimpse48 to learn the identity of Selection 7, which is on the bottom. Care must be taken in controlling the situation here so that Selection 8 is not inadvertently lost in his shuffle. 48 Edward Mario, The Multiple Shift (1961), p. 56; see also Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Volume 2 (1996), p. 357. 78
Gesture for the card he is about to deal (Selection 8) and have him place it on top of those in your hand. Once its under your control, say, “You know, you can shuffle those anytime you want, right?” referencing the cards he’s holding. Now, wherever he decides to stop at this point, slightly lift the inner end of the last card dealt into your hand as if to take a peek at it; ignore it and simply recall the color of Selection 7, which you glimpsed during the square-up. “Your card was Black, correct? . . . And it was a Spade?” As they answer your questions, bottom deal their selection, covering the subterfuge in the action of bringing it up with its face toward you, as if to single this card out from the others. Finally, ask him to reveal the cards value. “The Seven of Spades? ... As you wish!” Turn the card, completing the revelation. Replace the selection on top of those in your left hand. Then take what remains of the deck from his hand and place them on the top of yours. The SCaM Card is now sixth from the 79
bottom; Selection 8 is above it, seventh from the bottom. To bring Selection 8 into position for the final revelation, cut the deck to center the SCaM Card. Run your right thumb up the inner left corner until you hit the short card. Transfer the break to the left little finger and then immediately let the upper half shift to the right. This will allow you to transfer the brief to the right thumb as you go into an overhand shuffle of the upper cards only. Be sure to run the last card singly to bring Selection 8 to the top. With the final selection under your control, you’re ready to begin the final phase: Dai Vernons “Triumph.” 8: Triumph49 The final revelation is always the same because, as far as card magic is concerned, this trick cannot be followed. Indeed, many have deemed Dai Vernon's tour de force to be the greatest 49 George Starke, editor, Stars of Magic, Louis Tannen’s collected edition (1961), pp. 23-26. 80
effect one can do with the pasteboards.50 As Dr. Daley put it, “Truly this is a ‘Triumph’ for the lover of fine card conjuring.”51 At the end of the seventh revelation, Selection 8 will be on top. If you used 7C for the penultimate revelation, the tabletop is clear of any clutter; however, if you have used 7 A or 7B, you’ll need to gather the discarded selections from the table and casually lose them in the center. I like to mirror the procedure used in the beginning by ribbon-spreading the deck and losing the discarded selections at random throughout the spread. Turn the deck face up and say, “There are many ways to shuffle a pack of cards. Some people shuffle like this... ” Begin an overhand shuffle, peeling faceup cards from the face of the deck into the left hand; however, just before the cards are exhausted, simultaneously turn the cards in both of your hands face down. 50 None other than my mentor Johnny “The Great Tomsoni” Thompson is of this opinion. 51 George Starke, editor, Stars of Magic, Louis Tannen’s collected edition (1961), p. 23. 81
In a continuing action, place the right hands cards on top of those in the left hand and square the pack. This face-up shuffle allows the spectators to see that the cards really are being mixed, but it will also retain Selection 8 on top. ".. and other people shuffle like this” . Execute a tabled riffle shuffle, letting the selection fall last and remain on the top of the deck. Leave the pack resting on the table in riffleshuffle position. “But let me tell you a story about something that happened to me not long ago. I get to this point in my composition when a gentleman asks if he can shuffle the cards. I don’t mind a challenge, so I agree. “Here’s where it gets weird. He then tells me, ‘Turn around!’ So I do, but what I didn’t know was that he was going to take half the cards like this...” Following your presentation, cut the top half to the left, leaving it face down, and turn the remainder face up to the right. ". . . and, while half of them were still this way... ” 82