Table of Contents

_____________________

Automatic Aces

Rideckulous

Natterjacks

Hellish Prequel

Hellraiser 1-2-3

Missing Diamonds

Gene Maze’sTriple Stop

Not Your Card

Too Secret

Last Orders

I Me Mind

Lying Low

_____________________

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Copyright © Peter Duffie <> March 2016

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 Automatic Aces
You shuffle a deck and then give it to a spectator, who now carries out a
series of random actions that result in him locating all four Aces.

______________________________

Before you begin, you need to set the four Aces in the deck as follows
(reading from top to bottom, and where X = any random card):

AS – x – x – x – red Ace – AC – x – x – x – red Ace – rest of deck.

Working

1. Carry out an Overhand Shuffle retaining the top ten cards, then one
more quick shuffle, this time run five cards singly, then drop the rest of
the deck on top.

Position Check: The Ace of Clubs is now the top card of the
deck, and there is a red Ace fifth from the top. The Ace of Spades
is now the face card of the deck, and a red Ace is fifth from the
face.

Note: If you prefer not to do the initial shuffling, you can start with
the deck already in this condition.

2. Give the deck to a spectator and ask him to hold the cards in
readiness to start dealing cards onto the table. Alternatively he could
deal the cards onto your hand.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2
a) Ask the spectator to start dealing cards, face down, one by one, into
a pile. As he deals, say, “… and please stop dealing at any time.”
This ensures that he deals more than five cards. When he stops dealing,
ask him to turn over all the cards remaining in his hand, and drop them
onto the dealt pile. The Ace of Spades will be face up on top (Figs. 1 &
2 above). Reach down and take the Ace of Spades and drop it to one
side, saying, “That’s a good card to start with.”

b) Ask him to pick up the deck and start dealing again and to stop at
any time. As he deals, he will pass a red Ace (fourth card), but it means
nothing at this point. Simply do not comment on it. The Aces have to be
somewhere! When he stops dealing, ask him to turn over all the cards
remaining in his hand, and drop them onto the dealt pile, as he did
before. The Ace of Clubs is face up on top (Figs. 3 & 4).

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Reach over and take the Ace of Clubs and drop it to one side beside the
Ace of Spades, saying, “Two black Aces … things are looking
good!”

c) Now tell him to spell the

words A-C-E, dealing one card
for each letter. He will deal
three face up cards to the table
to reveal a red Ace fourth (Fig.
5).

Place this Ace beside the two

black Aces.

Fig. 5
 d) Finally ask him to flip over
the cards in his hand and drop
them onto the tabled three
cards. Again he spells A-C-E.
Take the fourth card and hold it
face down, saying, “If this is
the fourth Ace …. “ Flip the
card over revealing the final
Ace (Fig. 6), “… well, I’ll
be …”
Fig. 6

There will be a couple of reversed blocks of cards in the deck. Simply

correct these.
 Rideckulous

Your invisible helpers become visible and then find a chosen card along
with all the other cards of the same colour!

This requires that your deck be set up. If I leave home with a deck in my
pocket, I usually stack it for a trick that cannot be set on the fly. This is
one such trick.

The set up is simple:

a) Separate the red cards from the

black cards.

b) With the cards face up, place the

reds on top of the blacks (Fig 1).

c) Find the black Jacks and place

them reversed (face down) on the
top and bottom of the red section
(Fig 2).
Fig.1
d) Finally, shift one random black
card to the face of the deck (this is
simply a cover card to keep the
upper reversed Jack hidden (Fig. 3).

_____________

With the deck in the present

condition, you can Overhand
Fig.2 Shuffle the upper half of the deck
(blacks), as long as you always
throw the balance below, thus
retaining the blacks on top.

Fig.3
 Working

1. So, shuffle the deck as just explained, followed by one final shuffle,
during which you shuffle about a dozen cards from top to bottom.
Alternatively, you can simply cut a quarter of the deck from top to
bottom.

The above procedure centralizes the block of red cards.

2. Place the deck face down on

the table and invite a spectator to
cut off about half the deck, and to
place the cut off section back on
the table beside the bottom half
(Fig. 4).

3. Ask him to lift off the card he

cut to — the top card of the
original bottom half — and to look
Fig. 4 at and remember the card. He
now places his selection on top of
the “other” half. I simply point to the top half, saying, “Now put your
card back there.” Finally, he picks up the other/lower half, and drops it
onto his selection (thus completing a cut).

4. Reach into your pocket and bring out “nothing”, saying, “These are
my invisible helpers … the two Black Jacks … you can’t see them
at the moment … they only manifest once they have successfully
completed a task.”

5. Pretend to toss one helper into the deck, and then repeat this with the
2nd helper.

6. Spread the deck widely across

the table, revealing that all the
cards are face down — except for
the two black Jacks, which are
face up (Fig. 5). “My helpers
have completed a task … and
the task I set for them was to
find your card.”

Remove all the cards to the left of

Fig. 5 the lower Jack, then remove all
the cards to the right of the upper
Jack. These cards are discarded as they are no longer needed.

7. Now gather up all the face

down cards between the Jacks
(leaving the Jacks where they are
on the table (Fig. 6).

Turn the packet face up and

spread these cards between the
Jacks (Fig. 7). “Look, the Jacks
have extracted all the black
cards, which tells me your card
Fig. 6 was a black card? … but
wait … what was your card?”

They will name a red card.

Draw attention to the only red

card among the blacks. This is
their card.

Fig. 7
 Natterjacks
(1616)
You remove the four Jacks. A Card is selected and returned to the deck.
The deck is cut into two halves - one remains on the table. The four
Jacks are placed face up on the tabled half and cut into the middle. One
by one the Jacks leave the tabled half and appear face up in the half in
your hands. The spectator can even try it. However, the fourth Jack
refuses to travel. But you realise what has happened. You spread the
tabled half and the Jack is still there, face up. The card immediately
above it proves to be the selection.

____________________________________

This is an improvement of a previous effect of mine called Jacks Will

Travel that appeared in my e-book New Inspirations (2000). There are
two major improvements to the routine, and both are by my friend Gary
Jones. In my original, you had to briefly hold a single Jack pretending it
was four. Gary’s three-card ATFUS suggestion eliminates this
precarious moment. Gary also added a superb bit of business with the
third Jack, where you give the deck to the spectator and the magic
happens in their hands.

Working

1. Remove the four Jacks and leave them on the table. Have a card
selected, noted, and then control it to the bottom of the deck (See End
Notes).

Place the deck on the table then lift off the top half and place it in your
left hand, saying, “This will be my half.”

Casually spread your half deck from hand to hand, saying, “Yes, that’s
about half the deck.” Then, as you close up the spread, obtain a break
under the top three cards.

2. Pick up the Jacks and place them face up on your half deck to square
them, secretly adding and picking up the three cards above the break.
You now carry out an ATFUS handling, as follows:

Square the complete packet then lift up all four cards above the break in
a Biddle-style grip - then lift up one more card and keep a break above
it with your thumb.
 Now reverse count the top three
Jacks onto your half deck (Fig.
1), finally placing the remaining
cards on top of all. Immediately
leave the broken card on top of
these cards then lift off all the
cards above it (apparently four
face up Jacks), saying, “I’ll put
the Jacks into your half.”

Fig. 1

As you speak, place the four

Jacks (?) square on top of the
tabled half (Fig. 2), then, give
this section a complete cut.

Note: as you really do have four

cards, you can afford to spread
them slightly before depositing
them on the tabled section.

Fig. 2

3. Now, cut off about 10 cards

from your packet and
Faro/weave them into the larger
remainder (Fig. 3). This need
not be precise, but you need at
least one card between each
Jack. If more than one card
interlaces, it matters not.

Fig. 3
 4. Wave your section over the
tabled half then spread through.
Stop when you reach the first
face up Jack, then push it over
— a face down card is seen —
then push over a small block —
enough to include the other two
face up Jacks — (Fig. 4), then
complete the spread. One face
up Jack has apparently travelled
over. Remove this Jack and
Fig. 4 place it on the table.

5. Repeat this once more to cause a second Jack to travel.

6. Now, look at the spectator and say, “Here, you try it.” Hand your
section to the spectator and ask them to wave it over the tabled half,
then get them to spread through to find the third Jack has travelled.
Take the cards back, toss the face up Jack onto the table, and retake
the packet in dealing grip.

Finally, spread for the fourth

Jack but no Jack appears. Try
again - again you fail. Suddenly
you realise what has happened.
Ask the spectator to name their
selected card. Spread the tabled
half revealing that the Jack is
still there, and then push out the
face up Jack along with the card
immediately above it (Fig. 5).
Turn this card over revealing it
Fig. 5 to be the selection.

End Notes

In step 1, you control the selected card to the bottom of the deck. This is
my preference because I like the final Jack to be face-to-face with the
selection.

However, if you are standing, and your audience is seated, it is possible

that, without due care, you could flash the bottom card of the deck and
expose the selection. If this is of concern, you can control the card to
the top of the deck. Now proceed exactly as described. In the end, the
final Jack will still be next to the selection, but it will be back-to-back
with it.
 Hellish Prequel
You give a spectator an Ace, Two, and Three of any suit, while you hold
the two black Jacks. In an instant, the two packets change places.

I use this as a lead-in to a previous effect of mine called Hellraiser II

(see Effortless Card Magic). However, that routine has since been
modified and uses one card less now. I have included the modified
Hellraiser 1-2-3 after this. But first, here is the prequel, which you can
perform at any time, with – or without Hellraiser as a follow-up.

Working

1. Remove the Ace, Two, and Three of any suit — for this description
we will make these three cards Diamonds. Also remove the two black
Jacks. The rest of the deck is discarded as it is no longer needed.

2. Arrange the five cards as follows, reading from back to face:

Ace, Two, Three, Jack, Jack (face card of packet).

3. Hold the packet face up and

spread the cards from hand to
hand displaying the five cards.

Then split the packet, taking the

Jacks in your right hand. The A, 2,
3 remain spread in your left hand
(Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Fig. 2 Fig. 3
Turn your left hand showing the Ace, Two, and Three back and front,
while at the same time, turn your right hand showing the two Jacks back
and front. As you do this, reverse spread the Jacks (Fig. 2).

Now replace the Jacks, but as you

do so, allow the 3 of Diamonds to
secretly slide between them (Fig.
3). This is easy to do because the
Jacks are reverse spread. I believe
this is a Larry Jennings concept.
As the card loads, square up the
packet retaining it face up in left
hand dealing grip.

Fig. 4

4. You will now execute a Glide. Turn your left hand palm down as you
glide back the face Jack and slide out the red Three (Fig. 4) — then
place this card face down on the spectator’s outstretched hand. Ask him
to cover the card with his other hand. He believes he is holding a black
Jack.

Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Return the remaining four cards to dealing position. Now execute a

Triple Turnover, showing the other Jack (Fig. 5), then flip the triple face
down again. Lift off the top two cards as one. To do this, I simply slide
the packet to the right, allowing the lower two cards to back-spread
slightly (Fig. 6), while I ask the spectator to lift his covering card. Now
place the double square on top of the card already held by the spectator,
then ask him to cover “both” cards.

5. At the stage, I say, “And, this leaves me with the Ace, the Two,
and the Three.” As I say this, I carry out a slow-paced Stanyon Count
apparently showing three cards.
6. Now slap both your hands together, saying, “When I do this, one of
my cards vanishes...” Show you now have only two cards, as you
continue, saying, “…in fact, these are your two cards … the black
Jacks.” Turn the two cards over revealing the two Jacks.

Finally, say, “So, if I’ve got the two Jacks … what do you have?”
The spectator checks his cards to discover he now has the Ace, Two,
and the Three.

Now with the same cards, you can continue with the new version of
Hellraiser (next entry).
 Hellraiser 1-2-3
A rapid-fire elevator routine where an Ace, Two, Three magically
penetrate two black Jacks, then do so once more at a blistering pace.

The plot of the elevator cards was introduced by Ed Marlo.

Working

1. Remove the Ace, Two, and Three any one suit. For this description
we will use Hearts. Lay the three cards in a face-up row in Ace to Three
order, reading from left to right. Remove the two black Jacks. Place the
rest of the deck to one side as it is of no further used.

2. Show the audience the two black Jacks, then hold them face down in
dealing position. Pick up the Ace and drop it face up on top of the Jacks,
saying, "Here's something quite curious. I found that if I place a
card under Jokers, it will rise back to the top. That in itself is
curious. What's even more curious is that the less ink on a card,
the easier it is. Let me show you."

Flip the Ace face down onto the packet. lmmediately push over the top
two cards as one and transfer them to the bottom, saying, "The Ace
goes on the bottom, but instantly it comes back to the top." Flip
over the top two cards as one to reveal the Ace back on top. Allow the
effect to register, flip the double face down again, and deal the top card
back onto the table at position one. Each subsequent card will be dealt
to the table face down into its designated position.

3. Repeat the above sequence with the Two spot. In addition, say,
"Because the Two has a bit more ink on its face, the card is
marginally heavier and, therefore, it takes a little more effort to
bring it to the top." To demonstrate this, you simply add a little facial
stress to the proceedings. Finally, deal the top card back onto the table
at position two.

Repeat the same sequence with the Three spot. At the end of each
phase, deal the top card onto the table, back into its position in the row.

4. You are now ready for the rapid finish. The audience believes that the
Ace, Two, and Three are back on the table and that you are holding the
two Jacks in your hands. However, such is not the case! Casually
gesture with the two cards in your hand without flashing the faces,
saying, "That was the difficult way, because I started with the
lightest card and worked along to the heaviest. I can do it much
faster by starting from the heavy end first. Watch."
Working from right to left, and at a brisk tempo, drop the two cards you
are holding squarely on top of the Three (?) then immediately lift off the
top card and toss it face up onto the table to reveal the Three, saying,
"Up comes the Three." Without any pause, pick up the two Jacks (?)
and drop them squarely on top of the Two spot (?). lmmediately lift off
the top card and toss it face up onto the table to reveal the Two, saying,
"Up comes the Two, and lastly…"

Pick up the two Jacks(?) and drop them squarely on top of the Ace (?).
lmmediately lift off the top card and toss it face up onto the table to
reveal the Ace, "...up comes the Ace. That leaves the two magical
Jokers. I don't know what I'd do without them!" At which time you
pick up the two Jokers and toss them face up onto the table to conclude.
 Missing Diamonds
You remove the Ace through Ten of Diamonds and run them into
numerical order before placing them in full view on the table. You will
never touch these cards again. A spectator selects a card from the main
deck (say, the Eight of Clubs) which is duly lost back into the deck again.
The spectator now picks up the Diamond packet and drops it on top of
the deck while he forms a picture of his selected card in his mind,
especially its value. He now deals cards face up one by one, and stops
when he reaches the number that corresponds with the value of his
card. In this example, he chose an Eight spot, so he will deal the Eight
of Diamonds face down. He then continues dealing until all ten cards
are in a face up row, with the Eight at its position, but face down. Finally,
he turns the Eight face up to discover that it is now his selected card,
the Eight of Clubs.

The effect is Alex Elmsley’s “Diamond Cut Diamond”. The feature of this
version is that the spectator can deal the Diamonds and there is no
Palm or Second Deal.

Working

Before you begin, secretly position a black Eight on the face of the deck,
followed by the Ace of Diamonds. So, the Ace of Diamonds is the face
card. See End Notes for further thoughts on this.

_____________________________

1. Shuffle the deck, keeping the bottom two cards in place, then hold
the deck face up, saying that you will try an experiment using easy to
remember cards.

Glance down at the deck and notice the Ace of Diamonds, then say,
“Okay, we’ll use the Diamonds for this.”

Spread through the deck and transfer all of the remaining Diamond spot
cards to the face, as you come to them. With all ten Diamonds at the
face, push them off into your right hand, and then flip the rest of the
deck face down into dealing grip.

The black Eight may flash briefly, but that doesn’t matter, as it means
nothing at this stage.
 With the deck still in dealing grip,
openly arrange the cards into
numerical order with the Ten of
Diamonds at the face (Fig. 1).
Make sure your audience is fully
aware of the order of the cards.

2. Close up the ten-card spread

and secretly injog the Eight of
Diamonds as you do so. Flip the
Fig. 1 packet face down onto the deck
then immediately push down on
the injog and lift off the seven cards (A – 7) above it. Drop this packet
face down on the table. Now ignore it for the time being.

Position Check: There are seven cards in a pile on the table.

The audience believe there are ten cards. However, people don’t
know what a packet of ten cards actually look like. So just carry
on with no guilt!

3. A spectator will now select a card — you will force the black Eight
which is on the bottom of the deck — as follows.

Bring your right hand over the deck and get a break above the bottom
card, which is held by the right thumb. Swing-cut about half the deck to
the bottom keeping your thumb break. Now Riffle Force to the break,
with the spectator calling stop near the middle. Give the spectator the
top card of the lower portion (the Eight). As he is looking at the card,
place the right hand (top) portion below the bottom portion. This brings
the rest of your set-up back to the top.

Get a break under the top card (Eight of Diamonds) in readiness for Tilt.

4. Take the selection from the spectator and apparently push it face
down into the middle of the deck — really using Tilt to place it 2nd from
top. Now, give the deck a Slip-cut to lose the top card.

5. Give the deck to the spectator to hold in dealing grip. Ask him to pick
up the Diamond packet from the table and place it on top of the deck.
He now holds the complete deck.

6. Ask him to concentrate on the value of his card. It will be eight! Tell to
deal cards, one by one, into a row on the table, turning each face up,
and to stop when he reaches one less than his number:

Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven …

 At this point, tell him to deal
the Eight face down, and then
continue dealing the remaining
cards (Nine and Ten) face up
as before (Fig. 2).

7. Finally, ask the spectator to

name his card (Eight of
Clubs/Spades). Turn over the
face down card to conclude.
Fig. 2

End Notes

If you wish to perform this totally impromptu, begin by holding the deck
with the faces towards you and start spreading through, saying that you
will try an experiment using ten cards. First, locate a black Eight and cut
the deck bringing this card to the face. Immediately, start spreading
again and look for the Ace of Diamonds, which you then transfer to the
face (covering the black Eight). That’s you set.

Remember, the audience don’t know what you are going to do, so if
they do see the black Eight — so what? It doesn’t mean anything. You
just don’t want the card fully exposed for any length of time in case it
does register with some of your audience.
 Triple Stop
By Gene Maze

The following routine was sent to me by Gene Maze back in 1995. It was part
of a correspondence we had going at the time.

Effect

The performer and a spectator each hold half the deck. The spectator deals a
face-down card to the table and the performer then deals a face-down card on
top of it. This procedure is continued until the spectator decides to stop. The
performer then deals his next card face-up on the spectator’s face-down card.
The spectator then repeats this action with two more piles so at the
completion there are three piles of face-down cards with a face-up card on top
of each. The three face-up cards are then removed and the cards directly
under those cards are shown to be their mates.

Before you continue, I should point out to you that this requires a Stud Bottom
Deal and a Double Deal (where both top and bottom cards are dealt as one).
If you are fine with that, read on!

Working

1. Prior to starting the effect there is a minor set up. For descriptive purposes,
remove the two black Tens, two red Queens and the two black kings. Place
these six cards on the top of the deck. Say that the cards are in this order
from the top down. The two black Tens, two red Queens and the two black
Kings.

2. Overhand shuffle the deck but run the top six cards singularly to the bottom
during the shuffle and then shuffle off in the normal manner. You may then
give the deck a couple of riffle shuffles but do not disturb the bottom six cards.

Note: The set up could be pre-set on the bottom, then you can simply Jog
Shuffle without disturbing the bottom six cards..

After shuffling the deck, place it face-down on the table and give it cut but
leave a little more cards on the bottom half, placing the top half to the right.
Have a spectator point to either half. If he points to the top half then push that
half towards him. Should he point to the bottom, then you simply move that
half towards yourself and push the top half towards him.

3. Now instruct him to pick up his half and to shuffle them. As he is doing this,
you also shuffle your cards but do a Riffle Shuffle being careful not to disturb
the bottom six card stock.

Once the spectator is satisfied that his cards are thoroughly mixed, instruct
him to hold the cards face-down in dealing position and you do the same.
4. Now tell him to deal a card face-down to the table and when he has done
this, you deal a card, also face-down on top of his. Have him continue this but
at the same time, tell him that he may stop his dealing at any time. At this
stage I guess it would be wise to tell him that he is going to do this three times
so he should not deal all of his cards at this time.

As soon as the spectator has decided to stop, and you are about to deal your
card on top of his, do a Stud Bottom Deal, turning that card face-up and drop
it on top of the cards in your hand. The card showing will be a black Ten. Tell
the spectator that you are going to leave these cards face-up on top of the last
card he had dealt. As you are about to deal this card on that pile, do the
Double Deal thereby placing the other black Ten under the face-up black Ten.

Now have the spectator start another pile by dealing a card to the table and
you in turn deal a card on top of it. Again, tell him that he may stop at any
point. Remember you are alternating the deals. He deals and then you deal
etc. When he stops on the second pile, you again do a Bottom Deal, leaving
the red Queen face-up on your cards. As was done on the first pile, deal the
Queen face-up on the second pile but as it is dealt, perform another Double
Deal.

Repeat the above for the last pile and if there are any cards remaining, just
place them to the side.

5. On the table are three piles and on top of each pile is a face-up card. The
face-up cards are:-a black Ten, red Queen and a black King.

You may now emphasise what has taken place. You both shuffled your cards
and then you dealt cards alternately to the table and did not stop the deal until
the spectator decided to do so.

Now slide the three face-up cards towards you and then turn the top card of
each packet over, showing that the spectator matched your three random
cards.
 Not Your Card
You remove four cards from your pocket and place them face down on
the table, stating that these are an infallible prediction. A spectator
freely chooses a card from your deck - it can be signed. - and then it is
lost back into the deck. The spectator is given the four prediction cards.
You tell him to transfer the top card to the bottom, after which you point
to the top card, saying, “That’s not your card.” When this card is dealt
face up, it proves to a blank faced card with the words NOT YOUR
CARD printed on its face. This is repeated two more times, and each
time the card turned has NOT YOUR CARD printed on it. “What was
your card?” you ask. The last card proves to be the spectator’s
selection. You can end right here, or you can add an extra effect.

After a pause, you continue, saying, “What if the trick had gone
wrong?” You pick up the three word cards and insert the selection
among them. Now you count the cards, one by one, and all four cards
now say, NOT YOUR CARD. You continue, saying, “In fact, I don’t
know why this trick DID NOT go wrong … because your signed
card has been in my pocket all along!” At that, you reach into your
pocket and bring out the selected card.

________________________________

There is nothing radically new here, but it is simple, and plays well. The
main inspiration for this was Roy Walton’s “You name it-I’ll Change it”
from The Devil’s Playthings, then later in The Complete Walton, Vol.1.

Note: This effect requires that you top palm a card. Plus a Cop if you
add the extra finish. However, if this is a big problem, then there is a no-
palm method explained briefly at the end. You will still need a Cop!

Requirements

You need three black faced cards with backs to match your normal deck.

With a wide-nib permanent marker pen write: NOT YOUR CARD on the
face of each of the blank faced cards (Fig. 1 below).
Place the packet in your pocket, or wallet, and you ready to perform at
any time.

Working

1. Bring out the three special cards and keep them face down. You
don’t want the faces to be seen prematurely. Carry out an Elmsley
Count showing four cards, and saying, “These four cards are my
infallible prediction.” Now place the packet face down on the table to
your right.

Note: The Elmsley Count with three cards is exactly the same as with
four cards. In fact, it’s easier!

2. Introduce your pack of cards (if not already in use), and have a
spectator choose any card. I am not big on having cards signed at every
turn, but the card can be signed here if you so wish. Have the card
returned and control it to the top.

3. Palm the top card into your right hand, then with your left hand, start
to place the deck to one side. Just as your left hand deposits the deck
on the table, your right hand reaches for the prediction packet and adds
the palmed card on top, scooping the four cards up into the now empty
left hand.

4. Give the packet to the spectator to hold.

You now have the spectator carry out the reveal sequence as detailed
at the start:

Transfer the top card to the bottom, then deal the new top card face up
onto the table.

Repeat / then repeat.

This leaves him holding one card. Build up the effect then have him turn
the final card over to reveal that it is his selected card.
 Extra Effect

5. After a pause to allow the effect to register, then pick up the three
word cards. Spread them face down and then insert the selected card
2nd from top.

Square the packet and turn it face up. Elmsley Count to show that all
four prediction cards say NOT YOUR CARD.

As this registers, Cop the lowermost card (selection) and reach into
your pocket. Bring out the selected card at your fingertips to conclude.

No-Palm Version
Carry out Steps 1 and 2 as explained above. However, I would omit the
Elmsley Count because you will count the cards again in a moment.

With the selection now on top, obtain a break below it.

Pick up the packet from the table (three cards) and secretly pick up the
selection from the break, as you square the cards.

Count the four cards fairly, reversing their order.

Now continue from Step 4 above.

 Too Secret

Two spectators, two selections, too puzzling.

The following utilises a principle devised by Paul Gordon. Paul’s original

idea required a Faro Shuffle. The following requires no Faro Shuffle, but
do make sure that have a full deck of 52 cards.

Working

1. Have a deck shuffled and invite two spectators to assist (A & B).

Say, “I want you each to think of a number, but make it less than
13 because 13 is a most powerful number and we are going to use
that number later. We’ll do it this way…”

Push off 12 cards and give them to spectator A. Ask him to give B a
large, or small amount from his packet, BUT NOT EVEN, so that both
now obviously hold different quantities. Openly explain that this is the
purpose.

Now ask both to count their cards and remember their secret number.
Turn away as they count.

2. Turn back and hold the balance of the deck with the faces towards A.
Ask him to remember the card that lies at his number from the top. Push
off cards one by one (without reversing their order) and stop after 12.
Close up the 12 card spread and place the 12 cards on the bottom of
the deck. Finally take A’s other cards and place them on top – keeping
a break – then Double Cut these to the bottom.

Repeat the above with B, except this time, as you close up the 12-card
spread, pick up one more card, then cut all 13 to the bottom of the deck.

Then you take B’s other cards and place them on top – keeping a break
– then Double Cut these to the bottom.

Both cards are seemingly lost at unknown positions in the deck.

3. “We’ll divide the deck in half.” Rapidly count 26 cards into a face
down pile on the table in front of spectator A, reversing the order. Place
the remaining half in front of B.
“Now, I’ll show you why the number 13 is so powerful.” Ask B to
pick up his half deck and count to the 13th card. Ask him to name his
card, then to turn the 13th card over – this will be his selection.

Now turn to A. “Your card will now appear at a number that you
don’t know – in fact, only one person in the world knows the
number…” Look at spectator B, and ask, “What was your secret
number?”

When he announces it, ask A to pick up his half deck and count to that
number – he will find his selection.
 Last Orders
The following handling for “The Last Trick of Dr. Jacob Daley” (Vernon
Book of Magic) came about by accident, after I misremembered the
Fred Robinson handling that can be found in The Magic of Fred
Robinson (Breese Books). That I wrote the book, shows you how good
my memory is! This, therefore, is a very slight variation on the Robinson
handling which shifts one of the double turnovers to the beginning.

Working

1. Remove the four Aces and discard the rest of the deck as it is no
longer needed. As you remove the Aces, arrange them in Red / Black /
Red / Black order, with a black Ace at the face. Do not draw attention to
the order.

However, for this example, we will make the order: Red / Club / Red /
Spade (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

2. Hold the Aces face down in dealing grip, and then spread them. Take
the upper two Aces into your right hand and separate the hands (Fig. 2).
Now turn both hands at the wrists to display the Aces, as you say,
“Only the four Aces.” (Fig. 3) Turn the hands back again and replace
the right hand cards, but as you do so, injog the 2nd Ace from the top
(Fig. 4).

3. Square the packet and obtain a break below the injog, saying, “Here
is a little observation test for you.”

Say, “A black Ace on top … and a black Ace on the bottom.” As

you say this, flip over the top two cards as one to show a black Ace
(Clubs), then flip the entire packet over to show the other black Ace
(Spades) on the bottom (Fig. 5). You are now in position for a Glide.

Ask a spectator to hold out both hands palm up. Turn your left hand
over and Glide back the Ace of Spades, then slide out the red Ace and
place it directly onto one of the spectator’s outstretched hands,
repeating the colour, “So, a black Ace goes here.” He assumes this
card to be the Ace of Spades.

Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Fig. 7 Fig. 8

Do not square the remaining cards. Instead, immediately bring your

right back and pinch the complete packet (the upper two cards remain
stepped), then reposition your left hand (Figs. 6 & 7). You are now in
position for an automatic Double Lift by pulling the face up Ace of Clubs
(really a double) forward and then over, end for end (Fig. 8). Deal the
top card onto the spectator’s other hand, as you say, “And the other
black Ace goes here.”

The spectator now holds two cards which he believes to be the two
black Aces. In fact, you hold the black Aces, while he holds the reds.

Now, cause your two cards to change, as you snap your two cards over
to show the two black Aces. Finally the spectator discovers his cards to
be the red Aces.
 I Me Mind

The following is a solution to a card problem which was posed in issue 7

of Profile magazine.

The principle used comes from Roy Walton’s Helensburgh Speller

where Roy credits Stewart James with the concept.

An easy set-up of 29 Cards is required, reading from the top:

Remove the two red Eights and the four Sevens and use them as the 'X'
cards in the following set-up:

AS - 2S - 3S - X - 4C - 5C - 6C - 8S - 9S - 1OS - X - JC - QC -
KC - AD - 2D - 3D - X - X - 4H - 5H - 6H - 9D - I0D - JD - X - X
- QH - KH.

Cut this packet to bring the 6H to the face. Set-up complete.

The remaining 23 cards are shuffled and placed below the stack.

Working

1. Give the deck a few false cuts then spread the cards face up
between the hands and divide the spread at the 6H. Place both sections
face down on the table.

A spectator points to one of the halves: if it is the bottom half, ask him to
pick it up, shuffle it, and then spread the cards face up across the table.
If it's the top half, say that this will be your prediction half, then tell him
to take the other half and shuffle it, then spread the packet on the table.

2. Ask the spectator to merely think of any card he sees in the face up
spread. Now pick up the other half - the 'prediction' half - and spread it
with the faces towards you, saying, “Although your card is not
among these cards, I can still pick up helpful vibrations.”

Appearing to have some difficulty, close up the spread, down-jogging

the 5C, then turn the packet face down, turning it sideways so the Jog
remains at the inner end. As you close the spread, say, "No, I just
don't know what is in your mind ... tell me one thing ... it was a
BLACK card, wasn't it?"

If he says "Yes", do nothing and square the jog.

If he says “No”, casually give the packet a cut by lifting up on the injog
so that the 5C becomes the bottom card.

Give this half to the spectator.

3. You now ask the spectator to 'mentally' spell his card in the following
manner:

He is to deal cards one at time onto the table, silently COUNTING the
value of his card - Jacks, Queens and Kings being valued as 11, 12 and
13 respectively. Then he is to continue by SPELLING the rest of the
card including the word 0-F.

So if his card is the 6 of Diamonds - he counts off SIX cards then

continues by spelling 0-F, then, D-I-A-M-0-N-D-S.

4. When he stops on the final card of the process, have him place it
face down on the table. Emphasise the fact that he STILL hasn't
revealed his card. Ask him to slide out the card he has been thinking of
from the spread.

Finally, turn over the card arrived at by the spelling to reveal a perfect
match!
 Lying Low

I like the Lie Detector plot. Martin Gardner was first to introduce the
lie/speller plot. I have published several methods over the years. Here
is another one! This is based on Roy Walton's Inconsistent Liar.

Effect

A spectator picks a card from the deck and retains the card in his
possession. After talking about lie detector machines – polygraphs –
you offer to show how a deck of cards can do the same thing. You say
that will ask the spectator three questions about his card, and he can lie
or tell the truth each time. Question 1: “Is your card red or black?”
You spell his answer – either R-E-D or B-L-A-C-K, by dealing a card for
each letter in the word into a pile on the table. When you turn over the
final card it shows the truth. So, you can now state whether the
spectator lied, or told the truth. This is repeated two more times, with
question 2 being, “Is your card a spot card or a court card?,” and
question 3 being, “What is the suit of your card?” He has three
chances to lie in the latter! There are now three piles on the table. At
this point you try to divine the card, but you don’t quite have enough
information – you don’t know what the value is. “I don’t know quite
what your card was … but my lie detector DOES!” At that, you flip
over the three piles of cards revealing three 10 spots. The missing 10
spot proves to be the selection.

Set Up

There is a set-up for this, but it is very easy to remember. Remove the
four Tens from the deck. Now set the deck as follows, reading from the
top down (the 10 of Spades is the top card of the deck):

10s – any 10 – any four black cards – any 10 – any four spot
cards – any 10 – any seven Spade cards – rest of deck.

Working

1. You will start by forcing the top card of the deck, the 10s. I use a
Riffle Force - after a casual Overhand Jog Shuffle that retains the top
stock, give the deck a complete cut and retain a break between the
sections. The 10s is directly below the break. Riffle down the outer left
corner with your thumb asking a spectator to call stop. Thumb over the
top card of the lower section and ask the spectator to take the card –
remember it - and then keep it safe, so you cannot see its identity.

2. After outlining what is to happen, as per the effect above, you now
ask the three questions, and carry out the required procedure for each,
as follows:
____________________________

Question 1: “Is your card red or black?”

You now spell his answer. If RED, you spell/deal three cards into a face
down pile on the table. If BLACK, you deal five cards into a face down
pile on the table. Either way, you turn over the top card which will be
BLACK and this matches the colour of the selection, the Ten of Spades.

You now give the deck a few cuts, saying, “Let’s randomize the cards
for the next question.” If you spelt RED, then Double Cut two cards
from top to bottom. If you spelt BLACK, make the cut false.

____________________________

Question 2: “Is your card a spot card or a court card?”

You spell his answer. If SPOT, you spell/deal four cards into a face
down pile on the table. If COURT, you spell/deal five cards into a face
down pile on the table. Either way, you turn over the top card which will
be a SPOT card and this matches the status of the selection (Ten spot).

Again, you give the deck a few cuts, saying, “Let’s randomize the
cards further for the next question.” If you spelt RED, then Double
Cut one card from top to bottom. If you spelt BLACK, make the cut
false.
____________________________

Question 3: “What is the suit of your card?”

Here, you can emphasize that the spectator has one option (as before)
in which he can tell the truth, but three options in which to lie. Spell the
suit he chooses to nominate. Spell plural or singular; it matters not
because the final card will always be a Spade.

3. There are three piles on the table, each with a face up card on top.
Each of these face up cards represents a truth about the selection. As
you concentrate, and ponder, say, “OK, we know your card is black,
and it is a spot card, and it is a Spade … hmm, I don’t quite have
the full picture … but my lie detector DOES!” At that, you flip over
the three piles of cards revealing three 10 spots. Announce the name of
the 10 spot which proves to be the selection.
 The Last Word

Thank you for purchasing this book.

I hope you found something

of interest within its pages.

I will leave the final word to Kihalil Gibran

Perplexity
Is
The
Beginning
Of
Knowledge

Kihalil Gibran