LECTURE NOTES CONCEPTS é: DECEPTIONS By Barrie RichardsonmL. VL Table of Contents Introduction ‘Starting with the End in Mind: Some Questions and Ideas On Performance ‘Theatre of the Mind -- Footnotes and Expansions of Stunts Ovation Position Airplane Cards Bill in Lemon Dollar Divination The Trick That Fooled Einstein Suspension of Disbelief Devious Devices Lazy Magicians’ Memorized Deck Unshuffled Rounders Novel Ghost Gimmick Novel Center Tear — Post-It Note Devious Deck Switch Other Routines Untouched Card at Any Number Impossible Knot Routine Card to Pocket-Banded Wallet My Card Trick Rice Jar Mystery Ending with a PoemIntroduction Thave made my living for 40 years as a lecturer ~ both in the college classroom and on the platform at corporate and professional events. ‘Yet lecturing to magicians is a new experience for me. In the 1970s, | did two lectures — actually demonstrations ~ at The Magie Circle in London, but } did not explain a single stunt. Now 1 know this is not what magicians expect. In Theatre of the Mind, U have explained over 50 different effects. Many of these presentations included the patter T use and how I interact with the audience. ‘My performance pieces generally — but not always — differ from other performers in my use of metaphors, stories, and poetry to develop # “playlet” in which magic occurs. There is frequently a message in my magic or possibly more correctly some magic in the message. Sharing my ideas with fellow magicians in the traditional lecture approach we use in the magis fraternity is, as | noted eaflier, a challenge for me. My approach may be different from others. In this lecture, 1 hope to do the following: 1, Demonstrate the impact that “classic” tricks can have when they are dramatized. 2. Present some “devious devices” and techniques that may stimulate your to think of new effects. 3. Present some published and unpublished routines and tricks that are not found in Theatre of the Mind. T start this session off with some questions and thoughts that can prove valuable to everyene whe performs. And, as you will see, lend the “lecture” not with a trick, but with a poem. Finally 1 should thank Walt Lees, my friend and editor of Club 71, whose hand and mind are found in these published tricks. (club7 1 @repromagic.co.uk}Five Questions Beginning With the End in Mind The following questions may be of help to anyone who performs. 1. Who is my audience? Children? Conservative Christians? Corporate executives? Elderly persons? How does ‘this affect the tricks 1 choose? 2. When the program is completed, what is it you want the audience to say about the performance? “Fast paced.” “Kept me awake.” “Inspired met” “Made me think.” “Made me laugh so hard I hurt.” “Blew me away.” “Astonishing!” “Pleasant and low key.” Ete. How do you know that the tricks, jokes, bits you do are really what the audience likes? How do you know what they actually say and think? 3, What do vou want the members of the audience to say about you as a person. 2 “Like to get to get to know him better.” “He has paranormal powers.” “She is a warm and gracious person.” “He is a fascinating and uplifting person.” “He has quick hands.” “T don’t think there is anyone else like him.” “I wonder if he is this crazy all the time?!” 4, Why should someone hire you again to perform? Do you deliver more than they expect? Are you easy to work with? 5. Ifyou were limited to only ten tricks for the rest of your life, which ones would they be? Why? What if you could only have five?) What trick would vou do if-you were invited to do just one for Queen Elizabeth? What about Vice-President Gore?Theatre of the Mind Footnotes and Extensions Ovation Position The virtue of this stunt is that you immediately become “connected” with the audience. This is not a flash opener, but one in which you help the audience know you, and you get them clapping and smiling. ‘The business of saying the alphabet backwards can be learned in 20 minutes. The secret is to connect the letters into a story. See Reverse Alphabet Exercise. Airplane Cards The push-off count may be used to count cards to convince the audience, but this is not needed ifthe helper is totally convinced that she has ten cards. Her demeanor will convince the rest of the audience, The idea is to speed up the trick. Alll the dirty work is over before you start. Important: Tell helpers to think of one of the cards they are holding. You need to be very clear about this. Bill in Lemon Use a good-sized lemon. Use a knife with a one-inch blade. You do not want to cut into the bill. Give instructions from out in the audience. This elevates the mystery. Be sure to give Kleenex to person after they pull lemon apart, Offer spectator the tom bill or a fresh one. Dollar Divination Be sure there is sufficient light for women to read the numbers. Be sure women do not need glasses, if not wearing them. Audience must be clear what it is you're doing. Tell them you are reading information with your fingertips.If possible, wait to return collected bills until the end of program. The return process slows things down, The Trick That Fooled Einstein For pocket change version, use 35-millimeter container and a sponge ball, This will keep the coins from rattling, ‘The stunt can be done using a bow! of coins. If you do this, put few quarters in the bowl You can have two persons counting their totals if you can see that there are just a few coins. ‘Always count so that you get to a 25 cent position, Then count quartezs and remaining coins ‘The Suspension of Disbel ‘The magnets I use come from Arbor Scientific, located in Ann Arbor, MI “The detailed illustrations which follow may be helpful. The stunt can be done with opaque cofiee cup or a soft drink eup, such as used in fast food restaurants.ED's C.B. radio your "KX" on this West Va. univ. Flag Initials of Robert Q. Preston on this teaspoon Teaspeon is balanced on a milk bottle Jab in his good fingers stop! CONGRATULATIONS! Barrie Richardson Centenary College of Louisiana Copyright pending, 1987 No part of this may be reproduced without the appreval of the author.LAZY MAGICIAN’S MEMORIZED PACK by Barrie Richardson 1 am not giving a full effect this tine but rather a couple of ideas ‘that you can use in many stunts. ‘Regular readers will know that | have ‘published several variations on the ‘Ary Card At Any Sumber theme {Clee 71 Christmas 1987, Winter 1990 and Halloween 1996). All re= quire a memorized pack - a scrigus problem for some performers. When my soa expressed an interest in performing the effect but no interest in spending time memorizing « pack, I devised the following system for him ‘The onder of the cards appears totelly random, The one drawback is that you only Inow the positions of all the red cards; the blacks are truly haphazard. So the spectator must choose a heart or a diamond, To that extent, there is-a force but it is taken care of by one ambiguous (magician s’-choice) question, eg., “Here is an invisible pack. What do you want me to remove first from it, the red cards or the black?” So what is the stack? There are actually two different systems opetating side by side - ane for the hearts the other for the diamonds - but both arc very simple. First the diamonds. These are always associated with the number four. Whatever the value of the card, its position will be its value multiplied by four. So the ace of diamonds is (1 4 =) fourth fom top. The six of diamonds is (6 x 4 =) twenty-fourth. ‘And so on. No problems there! For hearts the rule is slightly more complicated (out only very slightly), in so far as these cards mustalways be at odd-number positions. In that way, conflict with the diamonds (which are always at even numbers) is avoided. To achieve this the card's value is multiplied by three BUT if the answer is an even number you add cone. So the two of hearts would be at the (2 x 3=6, an even number so add 1 = 7) seventh position. ‘Here is the complete stack: 1, 2, AML AD, 5, 6, 2H, 2D. 3H, 10, U1, 3D, ¢H, 14, SH, 4D, 17. 18, GH, SD. 7H. 22. 23, 6D, 84, 26, 9H, 7D, 29, ¥0. 10H. 8D, JH, 34, 35, 9D, OH, 38, KH, 10D, 41, 42, 43, AD, 45, 46, 47. QD. 49, 50, 51, KD The cards between - denoted by numbers in the above list - are the blacks and are in a random order. The cornplete pack looks fairty mixed and can be freely spread. Of course, it has many uses other than for the Am Card At Any Number effect. Turnover While on the subject of Arp! Card At Any Number, readers who have used or experimented with my method(s) will recall that sometimes the pack must be secretly tured over. I was interested to discover that some of my thinking on doing this, gained by experience over the years, accards with that of Gary Kurtz end Tommy Wonder. Here is hovs 1 go about it, The principle is that a Jarge movernent diverts the spectaiors' eyes and minds away fom 2 smaller one, provided that both take place simultaneously, In this instance, you deal the cards cleanly and slowly inte » face- down pile. When it comes to time to reverse the pack deal off the next card ‘but rather than placing it straight down with the ethers, tum it facc toward yourself and look st it The left hand, holding the pack, remains immobile. Place the card you have just looked at FACE UP-on the table. All cyes will fallow it, wondering why it is significant. Your left hand has sill not moved. Look directly at the assisiant “and say, “This is not your card? ‘Maybe we've gone past it?” ‘The right hand reaches out towards the face-down pile on the table and somi-dramatically fips it over. At this instant the Ie& quietly turns back upward and innocently puts the pack down, All your attention should ap- pear ta be on the flipped-over, facc-up cards. The empty left hand now joins the right and both work together, spreading the cards, “No, it has not appeared!” yau remark as you study the faces. While you are so commenting, the left hand Quietly picks up the now-reversed pack and the trick continues, While there is no sleight of hand involved, the timing is critical. POSTSCRIPT 1 think many readers will agrec that Bartic’s memorized pack has got to be just about the easiest system ever devised for knowing 2 card's position. Obviously it is noth ing like as comprehensive as the Nikola and Bart Harding systems but it is still more than adequate for many effects, More to the point, there is absolutely nothing to leam or Heiember, As soon as you know how it works you ean do it.“Rounders” A Technology for Unshuffling Cards Most magicians are familiar with stripper decks and belly-cut cards. Short cards, thick cards, wide cards and “punched” cards are some of the ways gamblers and magicians have developed to identify and control cards. 1 want to explain a variation which as far as ] know has not been in print, 1 recently noticed in Greater Magic that magicians have utilized rounded corners in the past as a locator card. As far as | know, this concept has not been utilized in the way I apply it. 1 will first explain the construction of this type of deck of cards, Then 1 will explain how they can be handled to secretly unshuffle a fairly shuffled deck. Lastly, I will suggest some variations that are possible and how to use this technology in stunts I actually do in my platform routines, Tam sure others can develop creative uses for this method. One major virtue of this approach to me as a performer is that 1 can do tricks such as a memorized deck routine, “Out of This World," or an audience- involved mind reading stunt with no preparation. The tricks are always ready to perform. How to Construct a Rounder Deck The “Rounder Deck” has the same characteristics in action that stripper cards have, That is to say, a group of cards ~ for example, all the red cards — can be identified by touch and these cards can be separated from the black cards in the course of cutting the deck. However, the “Rounder Deck” has one major advantage. The cards can be tossed out, and people‘can mix and turn the cards any way they want, and the red. cards (in this example) can be segregated in one cut. Belly strippers have the same quality, but I have found that the segregation process takes some doing, and often twa or three cuts are needed to identify and remove all the desired cards.The cards which are to be extracted from the mixed deck are identified from the other cards because their comers are rounded at the opposite ends of the other cards. Exhibit | makes this clear. A casino deck of cards is used, but other cards could be utilized. The red cards are all rounded on two corners, and the black cards are all rounded at the oppasite corners. This rounding of comers is done with a pair of scissors. The whole process should take but a few moments. T have chosen to use gambling casino cards, which sell for $1.00 per pack. These cards have been in play for 12 hours or less and are then switched for a new deck. The rejected cards are then mutilated. Why is this? They do not want these cards to be surreptiously put back in play. Some casinos punch holes in the center. Some mark them with ink, and ethers cut the comers, They are then sold for a dollar or so oF given away as souvenirs. T sometimes explain this to spectators (close-up), but ignor the condition of the cards on the platform. 1 merely note that they are souvenir casino cards and get on with it. Now the cards may seem odd to magicians but in actual performance, it’s never of any concern, because the audience is so intrigued by the drama of the stunt. Ihave used these cards with “card magicians,” and the casino patter — which is tme — and it does seem to justify the cards, They probably think that 1 ‘am cheap or impecunious. ‘The late Jack Dean, a very knowledgeable magician, smiled when I demonstrated a stunt using these cards. He remarked that “I mutilated the mutilated cards.” He was a clever man,SOLID GHOST REVISITED Over twenty-five years ago I performed my version of the classic Solid Ghost effect in the Marlborough Arms after a Magic Circle mecting More than tweaty people became involved in the stunt. Fred Robinson = then the editor ef Pabular - was $9 taken with the reaction that he wrote about it in his magazine, 1 was first shown the effect by a bar magician in Wheeling, West Virginia some years ago. | was absolutely astonished. I could see that there really was something solid under the handkerchief - but it just melted away. I touched it and could clearly see its shape - and yet it was not there! Astonishing, When | developed my own . T originally put an inch- and-a-half length ef flat lollipop stick in the hem of 2 handkerchief. The “improved” versions using wire or plastic tube never sppested to me. ‘These days it is no easy matter to find a handkerchief with a suitable hem to hold the gimmick, so T have been forced to adapt the method to use an ungimmicked table napkin, EFFECT “Have you ever thought about all the things we know with confi- dence - but about which we have no firsthand experience or information? For instance, I belicve that here is snow at the South Pole and that there are neurons and viruses but 1 have never seen these things. Why do | believe in them? 1 must have confi- dence in the reports of others. Right? “What would you say if T wold ‘you there really was a land of Lilliput, where the denizens, who are only a few inches tall, are never seen but under the right circumstances can be sensed? But they can only be recog: nized by & small group of people; they can only be totally sensed by a tly virtuous woman! “What would it take for you to believe in the enistence of these Liitiputians?” If I am standing, 1 get two women to stand one on either side of me. (Here, I put in the age-old gag about the invisible Lilliputian stand- ing on my hand - the tickle him under the chin business, If # suits pour style use it If not, no matter!) Afier some. friendly banter with the women T ask them each to extend a hand, palm upwards and enquire, “Do you believe in things you can’t see, such as courage, hatred or love?” They nod, “Men have a harder time with these sophisticated ideas, so | need you to present the evidence to them. Here is a little, young lady Lillipatian and here is a man.” [ pretend to put the twa characters on theit hands. “Careful! Look them over!™ The audience begin to chuckle at this silliness, “Let's put them in a little house.” I open out a handy napkinand fold the four comers ta the middle. Then | pretend to place the invisible people inside. | then put my right hand on top ef the napkin, over the centre and begin ta rotate it clockwise with a son of circular rubbing motion. While doing so, the patter continues: “You know these Lilliputians are very shy and are only sensed by viruous and sensitive women, don't you? ‘The women usually smile “Would you say the housc is growing - magically but definitely increasing in size?” ‘They nod, because that is exactly what appears to be happening. The napkin is swelling up as though something solid were materializing, inside. “But the sceptical men = you know what they're like - need miorc evidence. Here, ever so carefully, touch!” Taking the wrist of the waman on my right, I lower it until her finger tips gently contact the “object”, Gen- erully her eyes will open wide and she may even yelp when she feels some- thing solid. I repeat the business with the other woman. “Are you convinced there is a solid object under the cloth?” "Yes!" “How many men are con- vineed? If I retumed from the Moon with a rock that had no sign of life on it, docs that mean there is no life on the Moon? No, it may just mean we have to gather more evidence.” So saying I strike the “ghost” with the palm of my hand, making a “solid” sound. “How many arc convinced now?” T pick up a cased pack of cards and a small ashiray, “What about this?” 1 give the “thing” a hard tap with the ashtray, then balance the cards on top of the “ghostly” shape “Now wha believes?” Everyone in the group is sure something solid and substantial is under the cloth. “But what is there?” T ask, rhetorically. “You know what's there; these elusive Lilliputians! “Hete, put your hand on to This is to one of the women as I situate her palm on top of the card case that is still balancing on the materialization. “You have the evi= dence under your hand. Let's see what you have.” Gently, allowing it 10 be clearly scen that nothing, cauld possi- bly be removed, I slawly unfold one of the comers of the napkin, while giving ita light shake so that the others fall open too. There is abso- lutely nothing there The napkin is neatly folded and laid aside. METHOD First the gimmick. Having, ied end discarded all the stick? wwireltube-in-the-hem methods, I naw use the cap off a fountain pen. The sort to use has a flat end and a metal slip at the side. The clip should be altached at or near the top of the cap, ‘tot partway down, Most fibre-tipped pens have such clips, so they are by no means rare. Also, a chunky rather than a thin cap is best Using a pen top has many advantages, not least being that it enables the stunt to be perfarmed complcicly impromptu a bor towed table napkin or handkerchief. hts other virtue is that it allows a very robust “ghost” to be produced. As most napkins and handker-Pen cap under right fingers finger palm the gim- mick in your right hand and, as you pick up the napkin Clip the pen top to it, so that it will be roughly in the position shown in Fig. 1 when the cloth is opened out Open the naps kin and display it as in Fig. |, adjusting the gimmick’s position as necessary. Note that the barrel of the gim- mick is on the audi- ence’s. side of the nap- kin, concealed by your fingers. Lay the napkin ‘on the table as shown A B in Fig. 2. Your thamb covers the gimmick's -\, slip. Fold the four cor- =O ners to the centre, be- fnning with the one Thumb covers Fi tite right hand clip “B” — the one that has the gimmick attached - and, more or less si- multaneously, the left hand brings’ over the ¢ diagonally opposite "as in Fig3 to cover it. Next fold over “C" and finally “A" It is important that all the comers overlap onc an- other. With obviously ‘smpty hands pretend to place the two Lillipu- tians inside “house”. This gives you a Fig. 1 D Cc Fig. 2 chicfs are white, 1 use a white mick but this is not important - just @ bit of extra insurance. when the napkin is coloured, 1 stfl use the same pen cap, Prior to. showing the trick pretext to cover adjusting the gimmick so that it is roughly standing on end. It is not noticcable to the audicnce because the loose folds and thickness of the fabric mean that theFig. 3 napkin will not be lying absolutery flat on the table, Bring your right hand over the gimmick so that the end of it is in the centre of your palm and begin a gentle, circular clockwise rubbing action. In doing so, the upper end of the gimmick will travel with your hand, while the lower remains in one place, pivor- ing on the table top (Fig. 4). The effect Of this is to. form what appears to be a spherical object, about the size of a tennis ball, ithin the folds of the cloth. To the audience, the illusion is of a solid lump, although it is really just air This illusion is the crux of the whole mystery and must be practised as diligently as any Pivot pointsleight, until it looks really convinces ing. Once you have formed this phantom ball, you can offer further proof of us solidity by tapping it (really the end of the gimmick) and letting pcople touch it gently - guide their hands by holding their wrists, 50 they cannot press down hard. With practice, You gan even balance a pack fof eards on the gimmick. ‘When you have convinced everyone that there really’ iS a solid entity within the cloth, take hold of the corner “A” (Fig. 3) with your right finger and thumb and begin to life it away. At the sane moment, the left hand seizes the edge of the cloth and slides down to comer “B™ Thus the gimmick is hidden by the left fingers as the fabric unfolds. Notice that, at this stage, the barrel of the pen cap ‘will be at the rear of the cloth. If you have created the illu- sion well, the audience will be expest- ing to see a large ball or something similar, Because they are surprised by the fact that there is no such object, they are {oo intent on wondering what you have done with it to think in terms of a small gimmick being concealed by the fingers. By the time such a possibility may have occurred to one ot nwo, the left hand has quietly detached the gimmick and moved away. ‘The above is what 1 used to do, however experience has taught me that stealing away the gimmick is not really necessary, These days, I just leave it slipped to the napkin und keep it hidden while I carefully refold the fabric in its original creases. The gimmick disappears within the folds for me to quietly retrieve later. The napkin lies flat enough to appear innoceat and nobody seems to suspect it REPRO MAGIC MAIL ORDER GUARANTEE ‘Almost every magic company in the world insists that part of the price of the effect is in the secret, and therefore no items may be retuned, Here of REPRO MAGIC, however, we know that it is sometimes difficult to be certain an item is suitable before you order by post. For this reason, every item is sold under our unique quarantec. We will exchange, without quibble, subject only to the following points to ensure faimess to all 1) We cannot offer o free hire service, therefore on unsuitable item must be returned within five days of receipt. 2) The item must be retumed in the same condition os received ... Please do not let the cat chew it up before you return it! 3] You are responsible for postage and insurance on any items returned. 4} We will exchange the tem, or refund a credit nol fo the vokie of the goods [valid for twelve months for any items you Wishl, The choice is yours. We cannot offer cash refunds on returned items, 5] This guarantee covers all ems, including books and video tapes, {please do nat copy them belore returning ther 6) All dimensions ond colours ore subject fo varialion. Please confim when. ordering if these ore eflical for your use.LIGHTNING POST-IT by Barrie Richardson Tn the Winter 1998 issue I described my idea for a high- Speed centre tear. Since then, I have had some further thoughts on the subject. In the Intest version a specta- tor writes on a Post-it note rather than a business card. (Ed note: The Tipp- Ex brand sold in the UK are a perfect size.) Most readers will be familiar that the gummed area dictates the way the folding must be done if the message is to be sealed inside. And this also‘Off-centre ‘Crease Fig. 2 a Qverlap Fig. 3 Gummed area Stuck-together edge marker line of circle pre~ drawn in the centre. Two other virwes are thst you can tear the pieces into smaller bits, thereny se stroying the evidence more fully; and (very important for many people) the mes- sage will always be right way up when you need to glimpse it Begin by tearing off a slip and creasing it 2s in Fig. |. The gummed area must be at the top and the crease is made so that the folded slip will stick to ‘tsclf. Also note that the crease is slightly off contre leaving an averiap of about ‘one eighth of an inch when the two halves are brought together, ‘The upper quarter of the billet is iacky and the spectatar will avoid writing on this par. A casual reminder to write below the sticky bit should be enough, So the person is more or less forced to put the message in the middle of the paper. ‘You then tell her to “Fold it aver 20 that your fs locked in; seal it shut” This forces her to use the existing crease and te do so in the correct direction. The resuk will look like Fig. 2a. Continue: “Now ‘fold it im half!” It is just within theFig. 4 Gummed area only tom away. Centre crease unfolded as 2nd tear made The bak, B. mse ante d here Ne res T Overlap outside of “the effec. (9 Nownrdd the be fee hankUntouched Card at Any Number Effect JA person names-a card, and one number under 52 is decided upon. ‘The performer introduces an unusual card case. It is cut down about one- third, and a 36-inch piece of string is attached to it making a loop. Inside of this card box is a deck of cards. The performer puts his thumbs between the loop so that the deck and case swing freely. He will never touch the cards, The selected number is counted to the called card which is in this position. A modest miracle! Explanation The deck is stacked. The order is memorized. The cards split at 26, and the lower half are turned. over making « kissed deck, (See Theatre of the Mind.) The stunt works the same as the original version except when it comes time to tum the deck. This is done by bringing the hands together and changing the grip so that the thumbs imperceptibly turn the case. The misdirection is strong because the audience is directed to look at the dealt cards to sce if the called card has appeared.BRADBURY’S IMPOSSIBLE KNOT by Barrie Richardson This knot is named for Roy Bradbury the well-known writer of Aifty novels and five hundred stories ‘He always wanted to be a magician. | tough! him this trick ant he loved it. 1 ‘hope you do 00. EFFECT ‘After performing the Jmpossi- Sle Knot = the old trick in which you tit a knot in a piece of rope, without ‘apparently ever letting go of cither end + the magician asks. “Now that we've esiablished that We can tie 3 knot without letting go of the ends. let me ack you another question Is it possible 1 untie 2 knot without letting go of the ends™ A simple knot is tied The performer holds one end of the rope in gach hand and proceeds to turn, around in a clockwise direction. When he completes the rotation and again faces front, the knot has gont. Obvi- ously, it would be possible to just undo it, while the rope is out of sight. However, the speed and lack of any arm movement make it quilé clear that this cauld not have happened. Onpaper it might nat sound all that impressive; the illusion needs to be seen to be properly appreciated. Just in case anyone is not convinced, the magi- cian repeats the effect, afer tying the knot a litthe tighter This ent bles lc fo check of that he re: ally does have no op= portunity te indulge in any hanks panky. REQUIREMENTS ‘A mete of soft rope and 2 finger reel METHOD This is not going to be easy ta describe but | will do my best. To the free end of the reel’s thread fasten a small bution. The size is not important ‘but the smaller the better. The only qualification. is the you must be able lo grip it securely between the left first and second fingers, without furnbling Suan with the reel hidden behind the right fingers and the rope held by one end in either hand. You are then ready to begin tying the knot 1) Bring the hands together and. cross the right end of the rope “A" nd of thread over the left “B” as in, Fig. 2. 1. Simultane- ously the left first and see- ond fingers reach out be- neath the. rope and seize the button on the reel. 2) The left thumb clips end “A” against the aupper hand, while the nght first and second fingers hold “B", uking it over the thread and through the loop fof rope. Fig. 2 shows this bene than ‘words can explain. ‘You will have to experiment a bit to get the exact fingering Fight but, once you understand what is being accomplished, you will quickly catch on to the idee. 3) The final position is de- picted in Fig, 3, The point being that the rope is not really forming » tue knot. The thread merely holds it in similar formation to that, which would be in, if a real knot were being tied. 4) By moving the hands apert, it is possible 10 obtain» perfect illusion of the loop contracting as the knot Ughtens In the process, morc thread is pulled from the reel es necessary. 5) When you wish the knot to dissolve, simply release the threed from the left hand. It will shoot back into the ree! and all the twists will fall aay. Ce ‘you can either allow this to happen as you tum around in a full circle, or els¢ hold the rope above your head and lower it behind you ‘beck, releasing the thread es the knotted part goes Out of sight POSTSCRIPT T hope that you can understand this! SSBLUFF CARD TO POCKET (or WALLET) by Barrie Richardson This is the last phase of my Ambitious Card routine although it can be used as a stand-alone item, What is possibly a little different about it és that the card is stolen and loaded before the spectator realizes the trick has started. This means that Just prior ta the card being produced, the performer's hands are scen to be empty when going to the pocket. So there is plenty of time to point up the faimess of the effect, rather than the usnal lightning dash of the guilty hand from pack to pocket. - EFFECT A freely selected card (signed if desired) vanishes from a tabled Pack that a spectator is touching and ‘appears in the performer's wallet, PRESENTATION AND WORKING Unknown to the audience a card is reversed about tenth 1 twelfth from the top of the pack, This reversed card can be anything: you do not cven need to know whet it is yourself. Step 1: The free and fair selection. The pack is spread face up, taking care ta keep a fow cards tightly bunched around the reversed one so that it docs not show. A spectator is requested to think of any card she secs. When she bas done so, she is asked to name it and you remove it from the pack. As the identity of the card is unimportant, the spectator may change her imind as often as she wishes. Step 2: The card is returned and stolen. (This is the heart if theFig 1 Fig. 2 Left hand not = shown for clarity Fig, 4 [q- P he 2p 3 fie Card gripped here 7 ye : Denotes positions of right fimger/thumb tipstrick. The action is slmost impercepti- ble, even when the performer's hands are being “burned”, However, the method does not rely on sleight of hand alone, there is also strong misdirection built into the prosente- tion, as will be seen.) Firgt the bare mechanics of the sleight itself. This was teught to me many years ago by my very good fiend the late Fred Robinson, The pack is fect up in # Jet-hand dealing grip and the spect tor's card is retumed by being thrust face upwards about fificen down from the top (face). It is left momentarily ‘outjogged as in Fig. 1, while the right hand briefly moves away allowing everyone to sec the card genuinely centering the pack. The right hand retums ta os- in direction of large arrow Fig. 6 Card hidden below spread tensibly finish the job of pushing the card home. Fig. 2 shows the position looking upwards from below. The left hand has boen omitted in order to illustrate clearly what happens. In the diagram, the right hand is palm down above the pack. Its fingers rest on the outer short end of the projecting card and its thumb is at the inner left ‘comet of the pack. Curl the right fingers inwards pushing the card flush, but during the action, the forefinger presses more strongly on the outer left comer of the card, causing it to swivel over to the position shown in Fig. 3. The left fourth (litte) finger remains in contact with the outer right comes throughout. When the Fig. 3 position is reached the card is ripped between the right fourth finger and thumb. This cannotbe seen by the audience because the back of the right hand completely masks the card. Once the Fig. 3 position has been atigined, the left hand relin- quishes its grip leaving the pack in the right. The ball of the left thumb is then slid up and down the left long side of the pack in an overt squaring action, pushing in any visibly project- ing comer of the swivelled card. Thi is done slowly and openly, leting everyone see that the card's comer is cleanly pushed into the pack and supposedly lost. (I find that once the left hand has moved away to do the above squaring action, it looks more open to curl the right forefinger so thet its nail reste near the centre of the face card of the pack. This has the effect of exposing & greater proportion ef the pack and so making things seem even more honest and above board.) When the left thumb slides down the side of the pack for the last time (only do it once or twice), the left third fingcr reaches up beneath the pack and contacts the outer right comer of the svivelled card, which it grips with the joint of its outermost phalange (Fig. 4). The right fourth finget, or course, releases its grip on the card to allow this to happen, Once the swivelled card is gripped between the left third finger at the outer right comer and the right thumb at the inner end, the right hand slides the whole pack forward (away from you) in the lef for about an inch. ‘This causes the right thumb to ect as a fulerum for the selected card to pivot ata wide angle to the pack and inta a left-hand palming position. It cannot be palmed because there are cards between it and the hand but, if these were removed it would be in a \eftchand palm, However, for the purposes of this move, you do not yet close the left fingers as you would if palming. Instead, you grip the card as in Fig, 5, between the left first and fourth fingers. This will make the actual steal smoother and more silent. ‘There are two reasons why. One is that if you were holding the card in « proper paling grip it would produce an audible clicking sound as it cleared the pack; the suggested grip climi- nates this. The other is that because the left first and fourth fingers lightly grip the card, they can pull it a Tittle over to the right - about half an inch. The importance of doing this is that the right hand can then slide the pack forward end away from the left. with- out readjusting its grip. (If you experiment, you will find that when the card is held in a conventional palming position, the right thumb becomes trapped behind it and the only way you can remove the pack is by changing the right fingers to a spider grip at the outer end and simultaneously completely letting go with the thumb. This sud- den alteration of grip would telegraph the fact thet something untoward was taking place.) ‘You tan quickly adjust the left fingers to a proper palming position at the moment that the card becomes free of the pack but is still masked by ‘the right band. So slide the pack forward and cout of the left hand as suggested in the last-but-one paragraph, leaving the selected card behind, adjusted to the classi left-hand palming position. Immediately replace the pack in the left hand, slightly spread to mask the palmed card,A subtlety that 1 use here is 10 hold the pack as in Fig. 6, ie, with the fingers splayed. The stolen card is beneath the pack and cannot be seen because the spread completely covers it, The empty right hand adopts a similar post 1 the left and. comes up alongside of it. The whole position gives the impression of total inno- cence, however it is only held fleet- ingly - just long enough for the picture to register in people's minds. Be careful not to expose the reversed card when you do this. ‘Step 3: The misdirection ‘While it may have needed a lot of ‘words to describe, the steal onty takes fa second or-two.and is almost impos~ sible to detect. That does ot meant no misdirection is necessary. ‘At the point where the card has been inserted in the pack and is still oujogged (Fig. 1), remove the right hand and address the spectator, “Do you know how to test how hot an fron is? You touch your finger to your Hips and then touch the iron, It goes pssst! Right? “Well what you may not know is that doing the same thing will work magic for you! You will do the magic. Just put your forefinger to ‘your lips like this” ‘Bring up your own right fore finger ond briefly touch the person's lips as though showing where ber finger is w go. Then, 2s the spectator reaches up to touch her own lips, your right hand returns to the pack, pushes jn the card and executes the steal. By the time the specistor has moistened her finger Step 2 above has been completed and the pack is spread in your left hand, masking the palmed card Fig. 6). Step 4: The imperceptible palm. The sight hand closes the spread and removes the pack from the icf. Meanwhile the left fingers close to a classic palming position around the selected card, All this is done in a relaxed fashion, the right hand placing, the pack face upwards on the table. Keeping your own and cvcry- one else’s attention om the pack, rotate the left hand 0 that the palmed card cannot be seen and let it drop natu- rally to your side. Step 5: The spectator's trick. ‘The spectator is instructed to place her moistcned finget on the pack and go pssst. You quickly demonstrate this yourscif as a reminder. In doing so, tum slightly to the left so that your right arm and shoulder are towards the audience. This turn is quite justifi- able if you have placed the pack on the table to the left of centre. The action tums your left side out of everyone's range of vision, allowing you to slip the palmed card into 2 pocket or load it into a wallet in the hip pocket. The spectator does as in- structed. By the time she has finished, the card is sufely disposed of and your hands are empty. Take a step back and tell her to say, “Card tum over!” Then have her slowly spread the pack until she discovers the reversed one. Exclaim, “Look! Your card has indeed turned over at your com- mand!” Gather up the pack, ‘without fully closing the spread or showing the’ identity of the reversed card, Leaving the later upside down re- mark, “See, it is right next to the ace ‘of spades” (Name whatever card happens to be alongside.) Square the pack ad, in doing so use a Hofzinser cull to bring the reversed card to the bottom. Retum the pack to the table and say, “Letssee if you can do that again.” ‘The spectator repeats the pssst business while you stand back, allow- ing everyone to°see that your hands are empty “This time, we should find the ‘card face’ up, right next to the ace of spades.” (Name whatever card it was alongside before.) Spread the pack until the ace ‘of spades is located, then note that there is no longer @ face~down card next (0 it = but neither is the chosen ‘one. In scarching for the card, remove the ace and all those above it. Tum these face down and casually place them on the bottom. The reversed card that was already there joins them and is thus disposed ‘of without re- course to sleights. A dezen or so of the remaining face-up cards can be seated similarly os you hunt for the spectator's selection. All the cards can ‘be spread sround and tumed over as you vainly ty to find the sought-after ‘one. Finally give up and remark that it seems to have gone missing. Then, with your obviously empty hand reach into your pocket and extract the selection or the wallet containing it POSTSCRIPT Technically this is not an easy trick. It will take 2 lot of practice to get the steal smooth, However, one of the more difficult bits is passing off the reversed card as the selected one without showing its face, Good acting is called for; you must give the impression that you forgot to show the card because doing so was not really all that important but you easily could have Altematively, you could have duplicate as the reversed card and force the original selection. If you did this, you could not have the card signed unless you contrived some way to only briefly flash part of the duplicate - the part without the signa- ture. i ——— GOODLIFFE’S ABRACADABRA Edited by Donald Bevan Published EVERY SATURDAY since 1946 NEWS - fresh and up-to-date. reviews of books, props, tricks, acts and shows. ADVERTISEMENTS of all the latest from the major dealers. REPORTS of interesting magical activitics. TRICKS, new and newly slanted .. Even one of these in your act will justify the outlay of a year's subscription. All else is a bonus. 50 years continuous publication, never absent, never a day late and all records in Magical Journalism BROKEN! Soin a success story NOW! SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM £12.20 SEND thres first class stamps for a sample copy and details Goodliffe Publications Ltd 150 New Road Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 2LG Telephone/Fax 01527 872246 i eeMY CARD TRICK by Barrie Richardson This was devised to make use of what I think is a novel (and to me original) way of doing a challenge card from pocke: EFFECT The performer shows a red card case and proceeds to remove the pack. This is then fanned face up in front of a spectator, who is told, “I ‘want you to be a mind-reader and try to guess which card I'm thinking off ‘This is your opportunity to read my mind. Just say STOP when I come to the card, which you think is my card.” Spreading the pack between ‘his hands, the magician goes through all of the cards until the spectator calls a halt, The one, which is stopped at (a genuinely free choice), is removed. “Oh my goodness!” exclaims the wizard, positively hamming it up. “You'll never believe this but you really have thought of my card. ‘You're « mind-reader!* Holding the pack face up- “wards, the card is pushed back in. All the while, the magician keeps chatter- ing about what a remarkable phenom- ‘enon it is that the spectator happens to have picked out his card but as no conerete evidence has been offered to substantiate this claim, the audience are unimpressed. Finally, the performer appears lo notice the general scepticism and remarks, “You don't seem too amazedby this stunt. Maybe, you think that I'm just wying to make you feel good? . «What would you think if I told you that | had my card here in my pocket” Slowly, the performer with- draws from his pockel a piece of white card bearing the words MY CARD in large block capitals. “Look, my card!” he says, pointing to the wording. The spectators groan. Piling on the agony, the magi- cian adds, “Look closer! Sce here in tiny print it says “The Seven of Hearts’ (or whatever the card was) « unfortunately it's in Sanskrit!" More groans. “| can see that you are still unhappy but recall; 1 told you that 1 was thinking of a card and asked you to guess it. You guessed the seven of hearts and | told you that ] had put a card in my pocket, “You can tum me upside down and shake me, this is the only card in my pocket. This is my card!” Slowly, the card is tumed over and on its other side is the face of a seven of hearts, SET UP The pack consists of fifty-two blank-backed cards. On the back of each has been printed in block capitals the words MY CARD. On top of the pack are placed two or three extra genuine red-backed cards. Wt does not matter that these duplicate others in the pack. Nobody ‘ever gets the chance to notice, PRESENTATION AND WORKING Begin by bringing out the pack and cesually performing a few moves to show people that the backs are red. The odd cards on top give you plenty of scope for this. Use a brief Hinds shulMe and a few slip cuts, occasion- ally flashing the a back from time to time, De not overdo proving the colour, otherwise you may arouse suspicion. This is not a colour-chang- ing pack routine, so you do not have to convinee people that all of the cards have red backs Go up to a spectator and using the patter line given earlier, spread the cards face up between your hands, requesting the person to slop you, when they see their card (which we will assume is the seven of hearts). Once you have been stopped, remove the card and show it around, taking sare to keep the back out of sight. Now comes a move, which Fred Robinson taught me and which absolutely throws most magicians. I am no cardman but T have deceived many experts with it. Let me try to explain the actions. Hold the pack face upwards with the left hand, in @ normal dealing grip. The seven of hearts is inserted near the centre and also face up. It is then left outjogged for about two inches, while the patter continues. Finally, it is apparently pushed right in but, in reality, is twisted slightly to the right, at the outer end. This fact is concealed by the right fingers, which grip the ends of the pack from above,afer pushing the card home. The position is shown in Fig. 1. Notice bow the inner Ieft comer of the skewed card butts against the right ‘thumb. The left hand relingvishes its hold and the thumb runs up the left long side of the pack, as shown in Fig. 2, suggesting 4 meticulous squar- ing of the cards. At the commence- ment of this motion, it pushes flush any minui portion of the seven of hearts, which may be projecting from the inner end. In this position, there are many ways of stealing the side-jogeed card. T get it into @ left-hand gambler’s palm. To do s0, the left hand retakes the pack in a dealing grip. As it does, its second finger contacts the project- ing outer right comer of the seven of hearts and pushes it backwards. The Jeff little finger acts as a guide and the Fight thumb moves out of the way. The outcome will be that the card finishes as shown in Fig. 3 i injogged for about an inch. While the right hand grips the ends of the pack to keep it steady, the left fourth finger swivels the jogged card to the left as in Fig. 4, Once it is roughly in line with the palm, the right hand alters its grip, scizing the outer right comer of the pack with the thumb on top and the first and second fingers below. Held thus, the pack can be sipped away, leaving the seven of heamts behind as in Fig. 5. If you are new to this method of palming, it may seem very risky at first. The card projects from the rear of the hand and the exposed portion would be quite visible al some angles. However, with a little care it can be extremely deceptive. Just Jet the hand hang loosely at your side, as in Fig. 6. The fingers are curled slightly, as though gripping the neck of a wine dotle. The litle “tunnel” formed by the forefinger and thumb allows the spectators to see right through the hand, giving an illusion of emptiness. After holding this position for a few moments, you can apparently remove the card from your pocket. I have a special way of doing this without inserting the hand, which I will de- scribe in a few moments. Removing a palmed card from your pocket, without inserting the hand, is 2 concept originated by Gordon Bruce, who uses it with the classic palm. Edward Marlo took the idea and developed it for the gam- blet’s palm. My method is based upon. what Fred and Gorden showed me and ‘was in use - but not published - for Many years before I knew about the Marlo handlings. Anyway, it is differ- ent to those insofar as only the thumb ever enters the pocket As I said earlier, | am not a cardman and do not ‘Keep up to date with all the latest developments. Most of my knowledge of such moves and sicights has come to me by word of mouth from some of my more expert friends. So I cannot has ever appeared in print but 1 do know that nobody, to whom I have shown it, has identified any known souree. Here is what you do: your left hand goes towards the trouser pocket and only the thumb is inserted. As it goes in, the lef middle finger coris slightly and works its comer of the card into the pocket Gust the comer,SEE UPIENCE / THROUGH TONNEL iW HAND Yrand pushes it down into the pocket with a rapid “kicking” motion. Once the card is inside, the thumb contacts it and draws it out. When doing so, twist your hand to expose the empty palm. Bring out the card, with the MY CARD side towards the audi- ence, Put down the pack and then go Uirough the patter as-outlined. By the time that you get around to showing the face, people will have forgouen everything but the fact that it came from your pocket. POSTSCRIPT ‘As I have said many times, FOURTH FINGER KICKS CARY INTO POCKET sleight of hand is not my thing and 1 do not do a lot of moves. When I do use afy, I always make sure that they are well covered, both physically and psychologically, For this one, the misdirection is extremely strong be- cause, as far as the audience are concerned, nothing happens until long after the moves are all over and forgotten. Before then, everybody just ‘thinks that you are doing some kind of gag. Only when you turn over the card to disclose its face do they realize that there is 8 mystery after all.Many Are Called — Few Are Chosen Here is a stunt which brings me applause when I do it in my workshop, ‘Will it work as straight-out mentalism? | don’t know. T do know that most young magicians have never seen or read about this effect, The patter makes it. Basically T tell the story of how a thousand years ago, some Chinese girls were chosen to train (0 become a priestess. “The fine! test was to Tift a huge vessel filled with possibly 40 or 50 pounds ofrice. One of the girls lifted the container by plunging a sword into the lenge jar, and with both hands lifted it twe or three feet off the ground. Most failed. Some things ean be leamed, but cannot be taught — like blowing bubble gum or cooking without recipes or sensing the needs of others. Saying this, | pour rice into a jelly jar. T tap it down, and 1 plunge ina Jenife several times. ‘Then the knife seems to lock inte place. 1 patter that there are no magnets of threads or glues. ‘Then I say, “Now, sometimes when every grain of rice — that is, each one of us ~ is placed in the right environment, we can get extrnordinary results like this.” Tift the table knife up, and the filled container is suspended. The audience claps. ean even swing it in an are and make a complete circle, then lower it back to the table and release the hold. Years ago, Jay Marshall explained this trick in George Anderson's book, Mogic Digest. The stunt is still done on the stage in China with a big vessel. use a jam jar. It fits in my travel case, The knife is a common table knife, There are no gimmicks!The jar must be wider on the bottom than on the top. The jar is filled to the top, then hit once or twive at the bottom against the table to pack the rice. The knife is inserted, and it packs the rice further. Then the knife is phmged dceper, and it feels like itis being shoved into a tightly packed solid. ‘The rice grains push against one another and hold the: knife. That's it! ‘The release takes a small twist of the knife. Lf you spill a half ounce of tice out of the jar, no one will ever be able to do the trick. This takes some practice to get the touch. J love it. So does the audience.THE MAN IN THE ARENA IL is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done. them better, ‘The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great euthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in. a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Theodore: RooseveltGeorge Gray Thave studied many times The marble which was chiseled for me — A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. In truth it pictures not my destination But my life. For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment; Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid; Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances. Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life. And now I know that we must lift the sail And catch the winds of destiny Wherever they drive the boat. To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness, But life without meaning is the torture Of restlessness and vague desire — It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.bend it lengthwise like a spill, but I the sealed edge itself is on your right. bave mot yet encountered such a (Fig. 3). You do not need to worry person. Most fold it as in Fig. 2b, abut the location of any other creases (Note thet it makes no difference Or edges at this stage. Their positions Fa 7 Overiap is below thumb \ lap. guides thumb under top layer of paper Drawings by Alexander Allen Fig, 8 whether they fold the upper half will very according the direction in towards themselves or away, Either ye apenas ime fina works equally well as wall be seen.) fold Take the foided slip from the Tee ira ear is shom in person and turn it so that the stack- Fig, 4. All you ate touring away is the together section is mearest to you and ssnck-tetier, gumeged portion. Once