Titanic Cards

Copyright 2003 Adam Grace

Effect: A card is selected and returned to the middle of the deck. Half of the deck then
passes through the table, much in the same way as the Titanic sunk. Next, half of the
remaining 26 cards pass through the table, leaving only thirteen cards. Lastly, the
remaining cards pass through the table leaving only one survivor that did not “sink”. It is
the spectator’s card. That card is transformed into a handful of ice!

Setup: You will need to be sitting at a table, preferably one with a table cloth. For the
bonus effect, you should have a cup of ice in your lap, between your legs. I prefer to use
fake ice cubes which are available at craft stores. Knowledge of the Bluff Pass is helpful.
Note: I am left handed and I hold the deck in my right hand. I understand this can be
quite confusing if you are right handed… now you know how I have felt all of these
years.

Method: “One of my favorite movies is this little flick that came out a few years ago. Not
many people saw it and it did not do very well at the box-office.” You smirk as you
comment, “ Maybe you saw it… Titanic? Well, this is the story of the Titanic. This deck
of cards will play the role of the mighty ship that could not sink and the table will play
the role of the deep, blue sea. Now we need the Hero of the story.” At this, your deck is
in a right hand mechanic grip and your left hand holds the deck from above. Your left
thumb is holding a break under the top card. Now, you rifle down the edge with your
Fig. 1

right thumb until he says stop. (Fig. 1) Before you

show him his selection, say, “Did you stop me about in the middle of the cards?” The
left hand removes the top half of the cards, keeping a break under the top card with your
thumb. With your right hand, tip the deck upwards while pushing the chosen card out to
expose it to the spectator. At the same time the left hand will come back, towards your
body, and drop the top half of the cards into your lap, except the top card which is being
 Fig. 2

held by the thumb break. (Fig. 2) Since the right hand,

showing the spectator the card is held at eye level, this should provide enough
misdirection to successfully drop the cards. Say, “Remember the hero card.” Now
perform a Bluff Pass with the remaining card in your left hand. Here is what happens.
Make sure that the front of your left hand is tilted down and your body is turned to the
right so that the spectator can only see the top of the card that is held in the left hand.
This should still appear to be half of the deck. Your right thumb pulls the selection back
so that it is even with the rest of the right hand’s cards. The right hand lowers and the
front of the deck is tilted down in order to have the correct position for the replacement of
the left hand’s card. Simply place the left hand’s card back on top of the right hand’s
cards while maintaining the same position with the left fingers. (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3

It should just look like you placed the top half back onto
the bottom half and buried the selection in the middle. Practice this and find the best
angles. After you have the angels down, just relax and perform the sleight without giving
it any thought. The audience won’t even notice the move if you act as though it didn’t
happen. The selection is now second from the top. Now your left hand, still in position
from the Bluff Pass, bends the deck, putting space in between every card. This will look

Fig. 4
like the beginning of the Waterfall flourish. (Fig 4) The
right hand re-grips the cards in the expanded form. (Fig. 5)
 Fig. 5
The left hand momentarily releases the cards, lets them

Fig. 6
spring open, (Fig. 6) and then re-grips the cards again to

Fig. 7
hold the expanded form. (Fig. 7) Finally, the left hand
places the cards into the right hand mechanics grip. It is the right hand’s job to hold the
expanded cards open. The expansion and re-gripping of the deck happens very quickly.
Practice this until you can do it in about three seconds. You can now show the cards
fairly freely as long as you don’t show them directly from the side. The audience will
think you have replaced a card in the middle and you are still holding a full deck. Guess
what?? You are one step ahead of them.
Say, “The movie was over three hours long, so for sake of time I will sum up the whole
thing in three minutes.” With your left hand, remove the top card and hold it on the
table, vertically, saying, “First, the ship hit a giant ice-berg.” Ram the single card into
the deck, while make a crashing sound and throwing the single card sailing into the air.
This now puts the spectator’s selection on top of the deck. “Next, the ship began to
sink.” The left hand approaches the deck from above and takes them, holding them with
your fingers to the front and the thumb to the back, by the edges, and maintaining the
expansion illusion. The left hand moves down to the table, with the cards, and rests
there, so that the front, short edges of the cards face the spectator. The right hand covers
 Fig. 8
the deck as in (Fig. 8). Now, you say, “It sank very
slowly… only half the ship disappeared under the ocean.” Push against the table with
both hands and let the spectator see the card “sinking. You are just releasing the cards
with the left hand and letting them fall onto the table. I like to act as though I am pushing
very hard on them. When you remove both hands, the spectator will see that half of the
cards have vanished. Let this moment sink in.
The left hand picks up the tabled cards and squares them in the right hand.
Now the left thumb gets a break under about 13 cards. Let go with your right hand. The
left hand now holds all of the cards while maintaining the break. (Fig. 9)

Fig. 9
The right hand reaches under the table, picking up the
lapped cards on the way, and pretends to extract them from beneath the ocean. “Half of
the ship is just floating beneath the vast ocean… leaving the top of the mighty ship
bobbing above the surface.” The right hand brings the cards from under the table and
lifts them to eye level, fanning or spreading them. At almost the same moment the left
hand slides backwards, off the table, and allows all of the cards that are below the left

Fig. 10
thumb break, to fall into your lap. (Fig. 10) The right
hand, displaying the “sunken” cards, should provide enough misdirection for you to lap
the cards. The “sunken” cards are dropped on the table and pushed over to the side. The
misdirection of pulling the cards from under the table should provide plenty of cover to
drop the other cards into your lap.
Now you are setup to do the exact same thing again… that is… setting up these
cards for the “expansion illusion”. This time you must bend the thirteen cards and re-grip
them, providing enough space between each card so that it looks like half of a deck. (Fig
11, 12, 13)
 Fig. 11 Fig. 12

Fig. 13
Using the same angles as before, display “half the ship”
to the spectator and say, “It didn’t take long for more of the ship to sink.” Drop the
remaining talon onto the table, cover with your hands, and push half of those cards
through the table, just as before. Spread the tabled cards so that the spectator can see that
only twelve or thirteen cards remain. Square the tabled cards. Just as before, the left
fingers contact the front short side of the cards, while the left thumb forms a break under
the top card. (The spectator’s card) The right hand reaches under the table, retrieving the
lapped cards along the way. Pretend to fish around for them. Your right hand brings the
cards above the table, about eye level, as you slide the left hand’s cards backwards and
lap the remaining cards except the top card held by the thumb break. Drop the right
hand’s cards onto the table with the rest of the “sunken” cards.
Now you are only holding one card. You must work quickly to avoid getting
busted at this point. Keep the card tilted so that the spectator cannot see how many cards
are in your hand. The right hand joins the left, just as before, and covers the card. Now
you will pretend to push the last few cards through the table. “Finally, the entire ship
sank into the depths of the ocean… Except one person. Remove your hands slowly so
that the final card is visible. Reach under the table with your right hand and produce the
remainder of the cards, dropping them on the table. At the same time, your left hand
reaches into the cup, between your legs, and scoops up a handful of ice. Your left hand
stays hidden under the table. You are ready for the climax. Say, “Let’s see who our hero
is…turn it over.” Let the spectator turn over the “hero” card and say, “I just saved you
three hours.” (Is your hand cold yet?) Say, “But I know what your thinking… he dies at
the end of the movie, right?” Now, you’re ready for the big ending. Turn your body to
the left and get the card from the spectator. Lay the card face up on the table. The next
series of actions happen together, in one fluid motion. The right hand palm covers the
card lying on the table. That hand sweeps the card towards the edge of the table. Your
left hand, with the ice, comes up from the under the table and meets the right
 Fig. 14

hand.(Fig.14) Your right hand will actually sweep the

card off of the table, but your left hand comes up from the edge of the table and
apparently meets the card. In reality, the spectator’s card is falling to the floor and your

Fig. 15
hand full of ice is coming into view. (Fig. 15) Your
body turns frontward and both hands dump the ice onto the table. (Fig. 16)

Fig. 16
The surprise from this will be great. Say, “Well,
actually, he froze to death.”

That’s basically it. After a few times, you will master the moments in this routine. Once
you do, you will find that this will become one of your favorite card tricks. (Although,
probably not as famous as the movie!)