Allan Ackerman - 2004 Lecture Notes

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Ackerman 2004

Copyright © 2004, 2005 Allan Ackerman

Edited by Bill Goodwin & Looy Simonoff

These notes are dedicated to Steve Draun and Harvey Rosenthal. Thank you for all the videos; they have kept my enthusiasm high.

Allan Ackerman, 5708 New Seabury Ct., Las Vegas, Nevada 89 122 Phone: (702) 431 -3355 e-mail : [email protected]

Table of Contents Fore\vord ................................................................................................ 1 ===-- -- =MOVES- ,====1. New Math Addition .......................................................................... ~ 2. Olram Plus Count ............................................................................. 5 3. The Bull Shift .................................................................................... 6 4. The HP ~~ti()I1 ......................................................•............................ ~ 5. The HP Half Pass ............................................................................. . 11 6. The ~ 1\1[()~e .....•............•...............•.......................•.........••••.•...••.•.•..• 12 7. The Center Load Variation ............................................................ . 13 8. The Auto Unload .............................................................................. . 15 9. Ultra Rub-a-Dub-Dub •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 16 10. The P-Shift...................................................................................... . 18 =--- --=ROUTINES ~-==== 11. Old Marlo - New Handle ................................................................ 21 12. Finesse the Finessed ........................................................................ 23 13. Follow the Leader ............................................................................ 26 14. Revisiting Molly .............................................................................. 29 15. The Prequel and the Sequel ........................................................... 32 16. LJ visits BJ ...................................................................................... 36 17. A Bigger Surprise ........................................................................... 40 18. I Dance for the Devious - Two ...................................................... 43 19. The 23 Year Old Clean Up ............................................................. 49 20. Impromptu Finesse the Finessed ................................................... 53

Foreword My idea of paradise would be to spend about 6-10 hours a day on the boards - 7 days a week. During the 90s, I was lucky enough to have a job that allowed me to have that schedule. In 1999, I lost my dream job and literally had to start anew. My work weeks are now long, and unfortunately, my time for the boards has not been what it used to be. lt has been five years since I put out a new set of lecture notes. MyoId pace was to do a new set of notes each year. But the good news is the last five years have not been totally unproductive. I have come up with what I consider some good material, and I hope, you the reader will find useful and will be able to add to your repertoire. These notes assume that the reader knows standard sleights. Moves like the double lift, Elmsley count, and the Hamman switch are not described as it is assumed they are already part of the reader's repertoire. When a little known move like the Ultra Rub-aDub-Dub vanish is used, it will be described. Special thanks to Steve Draun, Harvey Rosenthal, John Guastaferro, Lee Asher, and Jack Carpenter who have let me vary some of their thoughts in these notes. These notes were first released unedited on July 18, 2004. I did a workshop for Jeff McBride and I wanted to have some new material to distribute. Only thirty copies were produced . Bill Goodwin and Looy Simonoff graciously offered to edit the notes and it has taken me ten months to finish the corrections. I have also added one more item to the notes, An Impromptu Finesse the Finessed This item has become one of my favo rite effects over the last year, and I hope it becomes one of yours. These notes also include a bonus computer DVD. It consists of short performance only videos that I shot on my webcam and camcorder. They were not professionally done, but I think they are still a good learning tool. Additionally there are a couple of bonus routines on the DVD that use some of the moves from the notes. Their M.O. should be obvious.

Happy Shuffling,

Allan Ackerman Friday, May 21,2005

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New Math Addition Ackerman

Purpose: To secretly switch out four for four. This addition is very versatile as the number of cards added on can be almost any number. I have one routine where I need to secretly add sixteen cards onto the four aces. This move will do the job with effortless ease and it will fool laymen and magicians alike. Credits: The perpendicular hideout move has been used by many and for a variety of different uses. My first exposure to tllis move was in Bill Simon's 1952 book, Effective Card Magic. page 167. What is new here is an easy and nonchalant way to get into the switch and the tremendous amount of cover that is maintained throughout the switch. I discovered this switch while I was trying to invent a way to do my bottom palm from Here 's My Card with a multiple center block. Method: I will describe the move with the four aces being switched out for four indifferent cards. The cards to be switched in reside on the bottom of the face-up deck. The four aces, the cards that will be switched out, are at the face of the deck. To start, the deck is held face up in the left hand with the left little finger holding a break above the bottom four indifferent cards and the four aces are on the face ofthe deck. The right hand comes over the deck in Biddle grip and the right hand aids in moving the deck up and out in the left hand so that the lower left corner is slightly below the base of the left thumb . Do not let your left ring finger get in the way as you do the next action. The left little finger presses in on the lower right corner of the block, causing the block to angle. The little finger curls all the way inward causing the block of four to go into a perpendicular position. (See photo #1) I will reference this action as the perpendicular squirt. (Note: Vernon used this action in one of his bottom palms.) The right hand will cover this action. (See photo #2) The left thumb starts to fan over the four aces with a slight arc. The right hand switches its grip and grabs the fan with thumb on top and fingers underneath, continuing to fan the aces. As you do, upjog the third ace slightly to give more cover. The right first and little finger should straddle the hidden block offour and curl inward. This action is almost Like you are going to start a back palm. This will bring the block under the spread. (See photo #3.) The right hand comes away with a very clean display of four cards. (For an exposed view look at photo #4) The right hand fan aids in turning the remaining cards face down into the left hand. The right hand then sets its fan of four on top of the face down deck and the fan is held in place by the left thumb. (See photo #5) Next, the cards will be turned face down and they will coalesce perfectly if the following action is followed. The right hand takes hold of the fan, thumb on top and fingers underneath, at the outer non-index corner of the top ace. (AS in the photo) Start to slide inward; the fingers will touch the hidden packet causing it to pivot. The right thumb pushes inward on the AS causing it to injog. The fi ngers curl in toward the left to align the cards against the deck. This will create an aligned block with the aces being stepped Ackerman 2004

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and the hidden packet remaining hidden. (See photo #6) Turn the block over with the right fingers extending to square the cards. This will hide the block under the palm of the right hand. Square and deal off the top four cards. If done correctly the illusion should be perfect to the performer as well as to the people watching. Conclusion: With practice the perpendicular squirt can be done from the center of the deck. The left little finger holds a break under the block and the left middle finger holds a break above the block. Squeeze in lightly with the left little finger causing the center packet to pivot out into a perpendicular position. From this point you can do the rest of the mechanics for the New Math Addition. It is also very easy just to spread the cards and go into the bottom palm technique from Here 's My Card, Hofzinser Card Pass To A Full Bottom Palm, 1978, p. 27.

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The Olram Plus Count Ackerman Purpose: A 3-4-4 count, i.e., you will show 3 cards as 4 while having only 4 cards. Credits: This is a variation in handling of one of Marlo's most famous counts; The Olram Subtlety, The New Tops, November 1965. In this handling, the audience really thinks they see the backs of all four cards, i.e., there is no subtlety. I first worked this move out in a routine I published called More Mixed Up Blues, AI Cardpone, 1996, p. 34. Method: Suppose you have 3 red backed cards and one blue backed card and you want to show them as 4 red backed cards. Place the cards face to back in the following order: red, blue, red, and red. The odd card is second from the face. Hold the cards face up in the left hand in a mechanic's grip with the left little finger at the lower right corner. Deal the top card into the right hand and hold it with the thumb on top and fingers underneath at the lower right comer. The left thumb pushes off two - easy to do as you only have three cards. The top double is angled to the right as is pivots against the left little finger. (See photo #1 - Note how the double pivots off of the left little finger.) Turn both hands palm down bring the red backs into view. The left fingers move out of the way to give a good view of the backs of the cards. (See photo #2) The double will hide the back of the one blue card. As you turn the hands back palm up the left fmgers move back into position and the left middle finger is placed undemeath the angled double. When the faces of the cards come into view the left thumb pushes on the double splitting it to give a fan of three cards. The left thumb pushes the top card over and lets it fall face up onto the table as the right hand lets its card fall face up to the right. Once again the left thumb deals the top card into the right hand and both hands turn palm down to display the backs of the remaining two cards in the same manner. Turn the palms up and let the two remaining cards fall face up onto the table giving a row of four. Conclusions: If you want to show the faces of the cards, e.g., pass off three queens as four. The order should be BQ, x, RQ, BQ from the top down. Go through the sanle technique but start with the packet face down instead of face up. When displaying the third and fourth card, the right hand takes the bottom card of the two remaining cards. This will cause the colors to alternate in the display. This count can be easily modified to do a 2-4-4 count.

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The Bull Shift V eeser-Ackerman

Purpose: A multiple shift to the bottom of the pack. Credits: Ed Marlo in the Revolutionary Card Technique series released a move called Veeser's Bluff Shift. In this variant, called The Bull Shift, I have added a few nice subtleties. Back in the sixties, Dingle added a nice touch (about 10% worth) and many people started call ing the B luff Shift the Dingle shift - but it is 90% Bob Veeser's. In this method I have added many changes, but the original principle of taking the entire block as one card for the multiple shift is still Veeser's. I have foo led many a cardman with this move, including many who knew Veeser' s original handling - so I feel that this is a definite improvement. Also, special thanks to B ill Goodwin for helping me tweak the mechanics of this move. Method: Have the fo llowing seven cards on the top of the deck KH, K , K, K, J, J, J. The order of the suits is not important, except that you should know the suit of the top King. The cards are held face down in the left hand. The left thumb is on top of the deck and the right hand cuts off about ';" of the deck. At the same time the left thumb drags the top card off of the deck and lets it fall outjogged on its small packet. (See photo # I) . This action is nothing more than the standard in-the-hands' slip cutting action. The right packet is thrown on top of the left. State, "I will bury the top king down into the deck." Spread the cards and show the outjogged card in the bottom quarter of the deck. Tell the spectator, "I forgot to show you which king." Tilt the deck up and show the KH protruding from the deck. Mention to the audience that you did not show that you had all the kings on the top. Close the fan into your left hand. The right hand removes the KH and the left hand spreads over the top three and all four cards are taken by the right hand and their faces are shown to the audience. The left hand takes away the bottom king, calling its name and adds it to the top of the deck slightly outjogged about ';" of an inch. The next three kings are displayed in the same manner and added to the top of the deck. The second and third king can be added squarely on top of the deck if desired . As the last king as it is added to the top, leave it slightly outjogged so that it covers the first king ' s stepped condition. I sometimes will place the last king face up onto the top of the deck . The messy alignment of the top four cards gives a reason for the right hand to come over and square the cards. As the right hand squares the cards an Erdnase style break is obtained by right ring and little finger at the outer right corner ofthe deck under the top four kings. (See photo#2 for an exposed view.) This break is easily obtained because of the outjogged condition of the fourth king. I sometimes use a deep Erdnase break, i.e., the break is held between the middle and ring finger. This will give cover on the right side of the deck. The left thumb riffles down the side and stops about five cards from the bottom. The left hand comes away with the small block of cards. The left fillgers buckle the bottom card of the packet and get a break above the bottom card.

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Photo# 2

Photo# 1

The left thumb reaches over the top ofthe deck and catches the side ofthe block held open by the Erdnase break. (A swing cut action also works well here.) The thumb drags the top block as you execute a Biddle move with the left and unload the small block under the right hand pack. The King (really a block offour) falls flush onto a single card in the left hand creating a packet of five. As soon as the cards are square in the left hand the left thumb pushes up on the top card causing it to be outjogged. The right hand cards are thrown on top of the left. This perfectly simulates the first action that took place a moment ago. The cards are spread showing that you placed the KH about 5 or 6 from the bottom. Ifthe KH was face up during the display offour then turn it face down and outjog it at this point. Square up and leave the king outjogged. The right hand grabs the deck at the lower right corner and tilts the faces into view displaying the KH.

Photo# 3

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Photo# 4

The same slip cut action is done with the remaining top three cards allowing each card to land slightly less outjogged than the one before, and each about six to eight cards apart. (See photo #3 .) The right hand takes the deck in a dealing position. Let the cards fall loosely to the left. (See photo #4) The right hand turns palm down and due to the reverse spread it will give a beautiful display apparently of the four kings. The index of the jacks will never come into view. Show the audience the side of the deck and tell them to notice that the cards are separated by 6 or more cards. Also, make sure the audience can see the face of the deck. You want to flash the face of the deck as many times as you can without over doing it. Hopefully this will cause the spectators to subconsciously remember the face of the bottom card. Tum the right hand palm up and place the deck in the left hand dealing position. Spread the cards between your hand as you say, "You can see the cards are separated." As you do this spread, the right hand steals the bottom card to the right and starts to ride the bottom card under the spread as in the Hofzinser card pass. As you close the spread, load the card into the deck anywhere above the kings. If you want to be perfect and not have the bottom card change you can load the card fifth from the bottom as you close the spread. Turn the deck over and show that the four kings have traveled to the bottom. Note: The Hofzinser card pass is one ofthe most versatile moves in all card magic. It can be used as a double lift replacement, a force, a change, an add-on, a switch -
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The HP Action Ackerman

Method: I created this move in the mid 70s to hide a reversed block via a fan . The next step was to execute a moveless Triumph effect. (Note: HP stands for Hidden Packet in this sleight.) The move lay dormant until early 2000 when a session I had with Lee Asher got me working on the sleight again. I have come up with six really nice uses for the move. Three of the moves will be discussed in these notes and the remaining three will be released at a later date.

The Basics : To begin, get a little finger break in the lower half of the deck. Hold the deck in the left hand with the left thumb on the side of the deck. (See photo#l.) The right hand moves the deck slightly forward and the left little and ring fingers both hold the break. The left two lower fingers push in slightly causing the bottom packet to angle to the right. (See photo#2 - an exposed view.) The right thumb covers the angle-jog that is protruding from the bottom of the deck. (See photo#3.) The right hand is covering the deck from above and the magician is now going to execute a normal thumb fan except that the right forefmger will be used instead of the thumb to create the fan. The left thumb moves from the side of the deck and lies horizontally across the bottom half of the deck. (See photo#3.). It should lie approximately one inch from the bottom of the deck as the right forefinger fans out the cards. The left forefinger pushes in the hidden jogged packet so it lies flush under the right side of the fan. (See photo#4 for an exposed view.) This action should be completed as the right forefinger finishes making the fan. The right thumb can be used as a break to keep the hidden packet flush with the edge of the fan. (See photo#5.) This part of the sleight is called the HP action. The making of the fan totally covers the secret actions that happen underneath the fan.

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Photo#1

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The HP Half Pass Ackerman

Purpose: To execute a half pass under a fan . This move, when executed correctly, will be totally invisible. It will fool laymen and magicians alike with equal ease. Method: The left little finger holds a break above a bottom block of cards. This block of cards should be less than half of the deck. Execute the HP action as you fan the cards. The following action is now totally done with the left hand. The spectators' view should be looking down on the fan . The left middle, ring, and little finger pull down on the side of the hidden packet. The left forefinger and thumb keep the deck in a fanned condition. (See photo# I) The left fingers continue to pull down on the hidden packet causing it to rotate secretly under the fan. This will take a few hours to get the knack of. (Note: this is probably the most difficult item in these notes.) The right hand very slowly closes the spread causing the reverse packet to go to the bottom of the deck. One can close the fan left to right or right to left without fear of the reversed cards coming into view. Conclusion: There is an advantage of closing the spread from right to left. You can secretly load the reverse block into the center of the deck. Just do the AI move (explained on page 12) as you close the spread and the original bottom block which is now reversed will be loaded into the center of the deck. Call this variation the Center Load I sent this move with the Center Load to Steve Draun and Harvey Rosenthal a few years back. Harvey has made a nice improvement on the Center Load, which will be described on page 13 of these notes. Harvey' s version is better for a small packet of cards and uses a pressure fan. If you are using a big block the thumb style fan is best.

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The A-I Move Ackerman Credits: I worked this out after having a session with one of my favorite cardmen, Lee Asher. Lee had just come up with his fantastic Pulp Friction Control and I thought I could use the HP action to accomplish the same result. It worked amazingly well . Note: A-I stands for Asher-Inspired. Purpose: To secretly control a selected card to the bottom of the deck. It can be used in many routines to replace a standard pass. Method: Hold the deck in the left hand in the standard spectator peek position. The right hand riffles the outer right corner of the deck and asks the spectator to say, "stop." Go slowly so the spectator will say "Stop" in the bottom third of the deck. Have the spectator note the card and release - the left little finger retains the break. Execute the HP Action. The right hand takes hold ofthe right side of the fan with the thumb on top and fingers underneath. (See photo#l) The right and left hands start to close the fan. As you do, rotate your left wrist. This will cause the right long side of the bottom cards on the left to tilt at a 45 degree angle downward. This action happens underneath the fan. (See photo#2) You can do as few as one card or almost half of the exposed fan. The break should never show from the left edge. It is like a sideways tilt action. This creates an open area, so that when you close the fan , the hidden block on the right side will enter. When the cards are squared, the selected card will be on the bottom of the deck.

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HP Center Load Variation Rosenthal

Purpose: To secretly load a small reversed block of cards from the bottom to the center ofthe pack. Credits: I do not know how I missed this but I did. The thought never once occurred to me to do the Hidden Packet (HP) action with a pressure fan. Harvey sent me his handling late in 2003 and it is a nice improvement. It gives greater cover to the HP action. If you already do a pressure fan, Harvey's technique is also easier to do. I asked Harvey if I could include his handling in my notes and he graciously said yes. Method: Start with the four tens secretly reversed on the bottom of the pack. Hold the deck in the left hand with the left little finger break above the bottom five cards. By having the break held above five, the extra face-down card will guarantee that the reversed cards will not flash during the load. The right hand comes over and takes the deck and places it into position for a pressure fan. The left little finger presses in on the bottom block, causing it to anglejog as the right hand begins to execute a pressure fan in the left hand. By the time the right hand finishes the pressure fan, the left forefinger pushes in the hidden block executing the standard HP action. (See the HP Action on page 11 for a detailed explanation.) The right hand grasps the center of the right side of the deck, thumb on top and fingers underneath and grasping the right edge of the angled packet as well . (See photo #1. This is a view from above - photo #2 shows the view from below.) As soon as the right hand grasps the right side of the deck as described, the left hand grasps the left side of the deck in a similar manner as shown in photo #3. As this occurs, the two hands move outward causing the pressure fan to change into a horizontal spread and start to close the spread. This is also depicted in photo #3. As the cards in the left hand are spread to the right, the right fingers pull up slightly at the right side about midway through the spread to make a slight opening to allow the hidden packet to be secretly loaded in. (See photo #4 - which shows the tens being loaded into the center of the deck. Also - this is a Rosenthal's action here. I used the left hand to tilt the left packet downward. Both actions work quite nicely and allow for the center load.) The break should not show from the top of the spread, it is hidden underneath the spread. Photo #5 is what the audience sees during the loading action. There is nothing that should arouse any suspicion. This is the same action that was described in the A-J Move . As soon as the face-up tens are secretly loaded into the center, the spread is closed and the deck is held in the left hand. The deck is now re-spread revealing the face-up tens in the center ofthe deck as shown in photo #6.

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The Auto-Unload Ackerman Purpose: You will apparently remove the four aces from the deck, but in reality only three will be removed and one ace will secretly remain on the bottom of the deck. Credits: This is a variation in handling of a move that is attributed to Ed Marlo. Ed published the move in the Linking Ring decades ago . He used his left forefinger to push the hidden card flush. Jon Racherbaumer in Card Finesse II, , p184, Unit Upjog SwitchOut, had a version in which the thumb pushed the hidden card flush. In this handling the card is automatically pushed flush with the deck. The move will be used in the Prequel Sequel routine described later in the lecture notes. Method: Have one ace on the face of the deck. You will spread the cards face up left to right outjogging each ace as you come to it. Outjog the first card, an ace, about Y, of its length. Continue spreading the cards outjogging the remaining three aces ';.j of their length. (See photo# I) Square up lengthwise and turn the deck over into the left hand. The three top cards should totally cover the bottom card that was only jogged half its length. (See photo#2) The right thumb at the lower end pushes the deck forward until you feel the bottom card align with the lower end of the deck. At the same time, the right fingers reach over and strip out the outjogged cards and let them fall onto the table. If done correctly, the move gives a perfect illusion of removing four cards.

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The Ultra Rub-a-Dub-Dub Ackennan

Effect: A card vanishes on the table top Sleights used: The Ultra Move. Method : Hold the deck in straddle grip with the left hand . The left thumb pushes over the top card and the right hand turns it face up. Place this card in a sidejogged position. The card is held face up between the left first fmger and the left little finger via the straddle grip. The top card should be at a slight angle. (See Photo#I .) The left thumb presses down on the second face-down card, pulls left slightly causing the second card to clear the top card, and it then pushes right, causing the second card to be moved on top of the face-up card. (See Photos 2 & 3) This action is performed and covered as the right hand comes over the deck and pretends to take the face-up card and place it on the table. (See Photo#4.) The left fingers slide the sidejogged card back underneath the top card giving the illusion that the top card is underneath the right hand. Rub your right hand on the table and show that the top card has disappeared. Conclusions: When the right hand supposedly takes the top card and places it on the table, have the corner of the face-up card sticking out slightly to the right of the right hand. (See Photo#4) This will cause a retention of vision ofthe face-up card under the right hand. The right thumb should be placed on the rear of the deck and the right first finger on the upper right corner of the deck to help guide the face-up card squarely under the top card. Jay Sankey had a radically different method to do a face-up card vanish. (The Face-Up Rub-A-Dub-Dub Vanish, Spectacle, 1990, p. 31.) His method was largely the Paul Harris' Hi-Ho Silver Coin Vanish, but he used a card instead. The Ultra Move was first published in Buckley's Card Control, 1946, p88, A Different Top Change The move lay dormant for years until Harry Lorayne popularized it. This move was first published in a set of lecture notes a few years back. (The Ultra Ruba-Dub-Dub , Wednesday Nights, 1994, p. 4) It is included in these notes for use in the routine, I Dance for the Devious - Two.

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The P-Shift Ackerman

Purpose: To do a multiple shift and automatically load the shifted cards into a full bottom palm. Credits: I first became familiar with the perpendicular hideout move in a 1952 book by Bill Simon, called Effective Card Magic. Check out page 167 ofthat book and you will see the principle clearly illustrated. My next exposure to the move came from two books in the 60 ' s by Alton Sharpe - both moves were by Ed Marlo and they used the perpendicular hideout for a card addition. My first application of tlus move was used in a deck production in my book, The Esoterist. Added Thoughts On The Minuscule Deck, Method 2,1971, p. II. I had another application in my third book, Here' s My Card, Hofzinser Card Pass To A Full Bottom Palm, 1978, p. 27. In this application I took a single card and loaded it into a full bottom palm via the perpendicular hideout. This move became very popular with cardmen worldwide and several variations and improvements have been published over the last 30 years. The P-Shifi is a variation of my original palm. Method: Have the four kings on top of the face-down deck. The deck should be held in a dealers ' grip in the left hand. The left thumb riffles down the side of the deck and stops in the lower quarter of the deck. The right hand removes the top king and it inserts the king into the break held by the left thumb. The king should remain outjogged for half of its length. This action is repeated three more times with all four kings going in different portions of the lower half of the deck. The deck is then gripped in the left hand with the thumb on the upper left corner and the left middle finger on the upper right corner. The left forefinger is curled underneath. The remaining left fingers are loosely held at the right side ofthe deck. (See photo#l) The right hand comes over to push in the outjogged kings and the right middle fmger pushes in on their outer left corner. This pushing action will cause the kings to pivot slightly against the left thumb and will result in all four cards being anglejogged at the right side of the deck. The right forefinger is curled in and touches the top of the deck and the remaining right fingers give cover to the anglejogged cards. (See Photo#2 for an exposed view) Notice - in the photo that the left hand holds the four kings in a straddle grip. The right hand totally covers this positioning. (See photo#3 ) The right and left hand go into a squaring action. The right thumb and middle finger, grasping the left inner and outer corners moves the deck forward. The left thumb can feel the four kings trying to break through on the left side and moves all four cards down about halfway through the deck. The left forefinger curls under the deck to allow an easy push through of the kings. The left thumb makes sure the cards do not break through the side and can mimic a squaring action a few more times. (See photo#4 for an exposed view) The right hand now places the deck into the left hand and it is held deep in the hand with the left first finger on the outer upper right coroner. The left thumb pushes over a top Ackerman 2004

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spread of cards as far as it can to the right as the right hand moves to the right. The right thumb will hit the ends of the kings and cause them to automatically pivot into a perpendicular hideout position. (See photo#5 which gives an under the spread view.) The right hand transfers its grip from a Biddle style to the right thumb on top and the right middle finger underneath the far right side of the spread. The right middle finger pinches the far right side of the four kings which will be hidden under the spread. The left fingers move to the left continuing the spread action as you mention that the kings are lost in different parts of the deck. When the left hand moves to the left all four kings will come free and will be riding under the spread. Both hands close causing the four cards to secretly go into a full bottom palm.

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Photo 3

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Old Marlo - New Handle A handling by Allan Ackerman

Effect: The spectator is asked to name any card in the deck. The spectator names a card, the cards are spread face down, and one card is seen to have a big X on it. The card is removed and it is shown to be the named card. Credits: Ed Marlo had this effect in one of the Old Bruce Elliott books. (X-Deck, The Best in Magic, Bruce Elliott, 1956, p.120) I did this effect for a dinner guest this year and he figured it out. I went to work and thought if I could somehow secretly get the card reversed in the spread the spectators would now have to deal with two problems, they would not be able to backtrack, and discover the M.O. I am not sure I have achieved this goal - you the reader will have to decide if the extra handling is worth the effort. Method: You will need to make up a special deck and will have to have some method of telling which half the spectator's named card is in - the upper or lower half. Ijust use my memorized deck system; but for this explanation we will separate the odds from the even values. This will leave 28 odds and 24 even valued cards. We will also make use of the two Jokers from the deck as well. We will take two of the aces, the AC , AH and th put them in the even half, so we now have two halves of 26. Place the AC 26 and the AS in the 52 nd position from the top, i.e., the AS is on the face. Have tlleir pips oriented in the same direction. Leave the two Jokers on the table. Turn the deck face down and place an X on the outer left comer of each card. (See photo# I) The X should be about 1 inch square and take up the upper quarter ofthe card. Tum the deck face up and tum the bottom 26 card block 180 degrees. Wben you spread the cards face up 26 X' s will be toward the spectator and the top 26 X' s will be toward you. The pips of the AC and the AS will be pointing in opposite directions . The pip orientation allows you to keep track and know what X' s will be hidden when you spread. For the rest of the routine assume the AS center pip is pointing toward the performer and the AC center pip is pointing toward the audience. Place one of the Jokers on the bottom of the deck and one of the Jokers above the AC. From the face the 27th and the 54 th card are the Jokers. Put the deck in the card case and you are ready to begin the effect.

Photo 1

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Bring out the deck and remove it from the case. Have the AS pointing toward you. Ask the spectator to name a card. ASSW11e s/he names the 6H. It is in the bottom half. The performer starts to spread the cards, the right forefinger is placed on the middle Joker as you continue the spread. It is impo11ant to put a little pressure on this Joker with the right forefinger as you continue the spread, this will prevent you from losing the break point. The cards are spread until the 6H is reached and the left thwnb outjogs the card. The right hand breaks the deck at the Joker and moves forward and the right middle finger grabs the outjogged 6H and takes it away from the lower half to beneath the right hand spread right next to the Joker. (See photo#2)

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Photo 2

Explain to the audience, "This is an experiment to see if you and I are in sync. Last night I removed one card from this deck, put a big mark on its back without even looking at the card, and then placed it back into the deck." As you do the above explanation, the right hand flips the left-hand half face down into the left hand sideways. Gesture with the right hand and pretend to draw an X on the back ofthe top card (a Joker so the back is clean) as you say you marked one card. Next your right hand sets its half on top of the left in a stepped position and the right middle finger grabs onto the bottom of both halves. This frees the left hand and it now grabs the bottom half with fingers on top and thwnb underneath and turns the packet over end-for-end. You have secretly reversed one card in the center of the deck using half-moves. Turn the deck over sideways and start to spread. Only one card with an X will show in the spread and you can break the cards when the X comes into view. A Joker will be the top card of each half so you will have an ultra clean display. Turn over the marked card to show it is the named 6H.

Conclusion: If the spectator names a card in the top half- spread the cards and get a break between the center Joker and the AC when you close the spread. Cut the cards at the break and bring the AC to the face . Square up and do an all -aroWld square-up action bringing the pip of the AC pointing toward you. You can now proceed with the routine exactly as written above. Note: Half-moves were fi rst described by Roger Klause .

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Finesse the Finessed Ackerman-Alfonso-Kosby

Effect: A very clean travelers is performed. At the end of the effect a stacked deck is switched in. Credits: The card to pocket move that is used on the third ace comes from Dave Rumfield . (Dave Rumfield's, Signed Card From Pocket found on page 10 of Mister Humble And Friends: Impromptu Magic, by Paul Diamond, no .date.). The pocket change bag move is Steve Draun idea. The concept of passing off one card as the whole deck has been around for decades . The concept of using it in the Travelers for the fourth ace is a really nice idea and belongs to Alfonso and to Ray Kosby. Their routine called, The Vanishing Traveler appeared in the Magical Arts Journal , Volume One, No. Eleven & Twelve, June & July 1987, p. 27. Method: The effect will be performed standing. To begin, have a matching deck in stacked order but remove the four aces from the stack. The AH you sign with your first name on both ends of the card. (See photo# l ) Divide your stacked deck in thirds and place the top third in the front right pants pocket. Place the signed AH on the bottom of this packet. The way to place this in the pocket is as follows: Pull out the inside of the right pants pocket. The right hand places the cards behind the inside pocket and the pocket lining is wrapped around the cards and the pocket is tucked back in. This will make the execution of the Draun Pocket Change Bag move a lot easier. The middle packet goes in the right rear pants pocket, and the bottom third goes into your right front shirt pocket. The remaining tlu'ee aces are not used for the effect.

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Photo I

Your performance is with a matching deck. The routine can be started at any time during your presentation. Remove the fo ur aces, you sign the upper half of each ace, and then ask a spectator to sign the lower half of each ace. Table the remainder of the deck off to the left. Each ace now has two signatures as in photo# I but each side is now unique. Ackerman 2004

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Tell the audience, "In this effect we will cause the cards to disappear from the deck and travel to four different pockets. In years past there have been methods for this effect but the methods were not very sophisticated. One method was to have your pockets preloaded with duplicate aces. Notice I am not using such a procedure as my pockets are empty." At this point execute Steve Draun's Pocket Change Bag. The basics of the move are as follows : both hands reach in the front pants pockets and pull them out. Your right hand pulls the pocket out while keeping the packet hidden behind the cloth of the pocket. The left hand can freely pull out and display its empty pocket. You will need a loose pair of slacks to perform this move. Both hands are shown empty and they put back the pockets to their normal condition. Say, "We signed the cards to prevent anyone thinking that such a method would be used. Another method that was sometimes used and that was not very clever was to palm the aces ." The left hand places the AH in the right palm leaving it somewhat exposed and reaches into the right pocket and leaves the double signed AH on the top of the packet and removes the bottom signed duplicate of the AH. The left hand picks up the deck as the right hand now places thi s card half way into the bottom half of the deck. The left hand can now safely tilt the cards into view. Since the AH is only outjogged halfway, one signature will show and all will look fair. The right hand picks up the remaining aces and places them into different portions of the deck above the AH so they protrude for half their length. Turn the deck face up into the left hand and execute any multiple shift that will bring all four aces to the bottom of the now face-up deck. Turn the deck face down and hold it in the left hand in dealing position. The left thumb pulls back on the top card getting it into a Greek break. (See photo#2) The right hand is cleanly shown empty and it reaches into the right pocket, removes the AH, and brings the signed card into view and sets it face up on the table. The left hand, still holding the Greek break, moves up to the front shirt pocket and the left thumb reaches in to hold the pocket open. The right hand reaches over and the forefinger enters the Greek break and pinches the top card between the right thumb and forefinger. The right hand lifts straight up causing the card to pivot perpendicular to the deck and it gives a perfect illusion of coming out of the pocket. (Thank you Dave Rumfield for coming up with one of the best moves of the 20 th century.)

Photo 2

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The second ace is left face up on the table. The left hand should now be palm up holding the deck in dealing position. The left little finger gets a break under the top ace. The right hand comes over the deck to square and takes only the top card away as the left hand gambler cops the whole deck. The left hand reaches in the left front pants pocket and removes the top ace while leaving the rest of the deck behind. The ace is set face up on the table. The audience will assume you have the deck in the right hand. Turn over the card in the right hand and show it to be the fourth ace. If the last sequence is done correctly the audience will think they see the whole deck collapse into a single card. Say, "Now the deck has jumped to my pockets." The right hand rapidly reaches in and removes the packet from the right front pants pocket. It then removes the packet from the right rear pants pocket, and finally the final packet from the front shirt pocket. The packets are assembled in the correct order for your stack. The cards are fanned and the aces are placed back into the deck in their correct stack positions. You can now launch into your favorite memorized deck routine.

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Follow the Leader Ackerman

Effect: A short and sweet Follow the Leader routine. Credits: Vernon is credited with the Follow the Leader plot and over the years, there have been dozens of variations. (Follow The Leader appears in Five Close-up Problems, 1933 , and also in Early Vernon, 1962, p. 42.) Simon Lovell ' s A Gambler's Move, Simon Says, page 43 , inspired this handling. Method: Eight cards - four aces and four kings - are used. Arrange the cards in the following order from face to back: KC, KD, KS, KH, AD, AH, AC, AS. Thumb off the top four kings into the right hand as the left hand displays the four aces. The left hand squares up its cards and the right hand puts its four on top, holding a break with the left little finger. The right fingers reach into the break as the left little [mger pulls down on the aces and the right fingers reverse spread the four kings . Close the spread letting the bottom two kings ride to the bottom. The right hand moves the king packet forward slightly and square the packet so it is outjogged slightly from the ace packet. The right hand re-grips the king packet in Biddle grip. Start a squaring action of the king packet. Both hands aid in a squaring action and during this action the left forefinger secretly pushes the bottom two cards flush so they are now beneath the aces. This is a slight variation of the Vernon Utility Move. The king packet is outjogged and placed on the ace packet. All eight cards are turned over in an end for end action by the right hand and are placed in the left hand. Square the two packets together and use the left little finger to get a break above the bottom two cards. This is easy to do because of the stepped condition of the cards when you do the end-for-end turnover. Patter, "We have all watched magicians in the past and basically we know what is going on. The magician m isdirects our attention, i.e., gets us to look somewhere else, and then he does something sneaky, which causes the amazing result. Well besides being a magician, I am also a mathematician, and I often pose problems to myself. I said, 'self, this would be fun to do backwards.' I will do something, and you will see me do it, but the reality will be I did nothing at all. This is just the opposite of what a normal magician would do." Turn over to the cards above the break and spread over the top four cards. Do a block pushoff of the bottom block exposing a face-down card and then do the same action, exposing a second face-down card. The left thumb pulls back slightly on the AS and gives a clean edge display on the fan of aces. (See photo# 1) Turn over the block and say, "The two reds," as you deal two cards face down onto the table without reversing their order, "followed by two blacks." Flash their faces as you deal them face down on top of the other two . Once again, as you deal the two, do not reverse their order. This subtlety is Marlo's Buffaloed swindle

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Say to the spectators, "Do you recall what the other four cards are? They are the kings." Turn the packet in the left hand over and show the KC on the face. Tell the audience, " We will use the clubs as the leaders." Deal the KC face up onto the table, which will expose the KD on the face ofthe left-hand packet. The left hand turns its three cards face down and places them on top of the KC so they slightly overlap. Say, "We will use the AC for the leader ofthis packet." The right hand picks up the top card, flashes the AS, the left hand then reach for the second, and shows the AC. The right hand sets the AS face down back on top of the tabled two. The left hand sets the AC face up onto the table sl ightly at an angle from the other cards. Place the other three "aces" face down on top of the club. (See photo#2) The left and the right hand both pick up the three-card face-down packets on their respective sides and both hands openly crisscross. The right hand drops the aces on the KC. The left hand turns palm down, which will bring a king into view, as you straighten out the AC . (Remember we left the AC slightly angled. This is a very subtle reinforcement of the belief that the cards in the left hand are kings.) The left hand turns palm up and drops its three face-down cards onto the AC after the AC is straightened out. Patter, "My hands crossed, those packets were switched. Now let's really look at the reality of this situation." The left hand picks up the three face-down cards on the KC and holds them on the left side, thumb on top and fingers below. Push off a double into the right hand and the right hand tilts upward to expose the bottom card, the KH. The right hand tilts back downward bringing the backs into view. The left hand tilts upward as the right hand deals its top card onto the KC. The audience will be looking at the KS and miss the fact that you dealt the top card. The left hand deals the KS face down onto the tabled king packet. The right hand flashes the face of it remaining card and the audience will see a king. Place this card face down on top of the tabled king packet. Say, "I have the four kings, absolutely nothing happened . Last time we did this with a packet of three; so let's do this again with a packet of two ." At this point, both hands turn the top cards over of their packets exposing a KH and the AH. Place both cards on their respective leader cards. Both hands use the top cards of the two packets to scoop up the remaining two tabled face-down cards. If you use a straddle grip here it is easy to keep the cards in alignment. Once again crisscross your hands, flashing the face of your packets as you do. The audience will see the correct values flash by. When the hands land on the table both hands let their two cards fall face down on their respective leader packets. Instantly turn the top card over on each. Say, "Nothing happened'" The right hand picks up the face-down card by the aces and uses it to flip the other three aces face down. Place the right-hand card on top of the ace packet. Say, "Let's check to make sure no kings are here." Hold all four cards lengthwise by the right fingers, on the right side, thumb on top and fingers underneath. The right thumb p ushes off a block of three into the left and both hands turn palm down, bringing the AH & AS into view. Both hands turn palm up and the right hand lets its card fall first onto the table as the left hand deals its top card onto the tabled AS. The left hand transfers its two cards into the

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right hand and the two remaining cards are shown in the same manner. This is an out of position Olram subtlety. Take the two cards in the right hand and use them to scoop up the two tabled cards. Place this packet of four into the left hand. The right hand points to the three face up kings on the table and calls their suits: clubs, hearts, and diamonds. The performer states, "That only leaves one suit left, the spade." The performer does a double lift bring the AS into view. Tum the double facedown and set it on the table far to the right of the kings. (I sometimes do the Juan Tamariz unload here.) Table the remaining three face-down cards near the "AS ." Ask the spectator to slide the AS over to the king packet while you slide the king over to the ace packet. When the cards arrive at their respective packets turn the cards over to show once again that nothing has happened. I close the effect by saying, "This just goes to prove the old adage that the closer you watch, the less you see."

Conclusion: 1 have a gaffed version of this effect that is pretty good. The gaffed card is displayed in photos 3&4. The method should be obvious when you watch the bonus section of the DVD. However, when working for laymen the above routine is just as good and is the one 1 use 99% of the time.

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Photo# 2

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Revisiting Molly Carpenter - Ackerman Effect: This is a no-throw Monte routine. The QS is never where she appears to be. The ending is quite spectacular in that the QS visibly changes to a Joker and magically finds herself reversed in the deck. Sleights used: The Vernon Utility move, An Instant Flip-Over Change from Apocalypse, double lift, and the Hamman Switch. The performer must also wear a finger ring. Credits: My inspiration for this effect is a routine called, Steppin' Out With Molly, The Expert's Portfolio No . 1,1997, p. 41 by Jack Carpenter. I have made quite a few changes from the original routine and feel that I have added several improvements. In Jack' s original routine you had to pass off the 3D as the AD with a pip-covering move. This is totally eliminated, as you really do have the two red aces at the end of the routine. In the original routine, a sucker move of Jimmy Grippo ' s was used that sometimes made the spectator feel stupid . Vernon eliminated the problem of the spectator feeling stupid in the three-card Monte by not letting the spectator guess. In this routine I have a great sucker move - but it puts a smile on the spectator's face and is non-hostile. I have also added the use of a great change, An Instant Flip-Over Change, to make the QS tum into the Joker and it eliminated a half pass. There is also a subtle cut that returns the card to the center of the deck. Method: The initial setup from face to back is - X, Joker, AH, QS, a few X cards (6-10), AD, rest of the deck. Place the face-up deck on the table toward your left. Cut off half of the deck and place it in your left hand . The right hand takes the packet from the left in readiness for the overhand shuffle. You are going to shuffle the cards with the faces in view. Peel off the X card and the Joker together into the left hand. Th is is an easy action as you start to peel one and then the left thumb pushes on the second card and drags off two. (One could start with the Joker on the face and then shuffle off two and be in the same position - the reason I do not do this is I want the Joker to be totally out of the spectator's mind. That way when the QS changes to the Joker at the end of the routine it will be a complete surprise.) Run the AH and QS, singly onto the two cards in the left hand and then shuffle off the rest of the packet. Tell the audience that you are going to play an old game called three-card Monte. You will use two reds and one black. Run through the face-up half-deck and outjog the AD, QS, and AH. They should come out in that order if you did your shuffle correctly. The AH being third from the bottom of the pack. An indifferent card followed by the Joker are under the AH. Close up the spread and turn the deck face down sideways with the three cards remaining outjogged. The half should be held in the left hand in a mechanic's grip. Spread the three outjogged cards with the right hand and the left middle and ring fingers push up slightly on the AH allowing the left little finger to get a break under the top two cards.

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The right hand strips out the three cards and turns them face up on top ofthe deck and reverse spreads the cards with the right thumb. (Spread the cards right to left with the right thumb). We are now going to do the Vernon Utility move. Secretly feed the bottom ace beneath the break held by the left little fi nger. Outjog the three cards apparently on top of the left-hand half. See (photo's 1 & 2). Tell the audience to keep their eye on the middle card. The right hand takes hold of the three cards in Biddle grip and starts to square them. The right hand lifts the top two cards away from the deck as the left forefinger secretly pushes in on the bottom ace, pushing it flush with the deck. This action remains hidden under the top two cards. The right hand turns the cards over endfor-end and slightly outjogs the bottom of the two. Place them face down on top ofthe left-hand packet. Spread the top three cards and take them in the right hand. The audience will assume that the QS is the middle card. The left hand turns palm down and sets its half onto the tabled talon on the left. This action will place the AH into the middle of the deck. It will not have the dreaded cut that is so often part of the ATFUS or Vernon Utility. Say, "Most people are so sure that the QS is the middle card they would bet on that assumption. If they would they would lose." Pull out the middle card and show that it is one of the red aces. Place it face down on top of the other two cards. Shuffle the three cards, running one on top of the other, reversing the order of the three cards. Do a double turnover of two cards and leave the QS face up on top ofthe three-card packet. Remove your ring and set it on the table. Turn the double face down and deal the apparent QS on the table. Place your ring on top ofthe "QS." As you are doing this the left hand turns palm down and subliminally flashes the ace on the bottom of its twocard packet. Tell the audience that you are going to mark the position of the QS with your ring so the audience cannot lose track of the QS. The left hand turns palm up and deals the top card to the left of the tabled card and then flashes the face of third card showing an ace and places that to the right of the tabled cards. Openly and very slowly switch the positions of the two cards on the left. This will place the card with the ring to the left side of the row of three. Say to the spectators, "so now that the queen is marked you will have no trouble following where the queen is. The queen is always under the ring." As your finish these sentences openly pick up the ring and place it on top of the center card. The audience will smile at thi s point. Say, " Oh you caught that." Remove the ring from the center card and turn the QS face up onto the table and say, "The QS is always under the ring." Gather up the three cards leaving the QS reversed between the other two face-down cards, making sure the top card is the Joker. Hold the three cards at their left long side with your left fingertips. The left fingers push the bottom two cards out to the right exposing the QS in the middle. Let the bottom face-down card fall face down on the table. The left hand should hold its two cards about four inches above the table. The left fingers adjust slightly to align the two cards . The right hand comes over the left-hand packet and the right forefinger springs open and snaps the two cards on the right side causing them to travel to the table. The two cards will secretly reverse on their journey to the table top . Spread the three cards showing the QS has vanished and changed into a

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Joker. I first became acquainted with the above change in the early nineties in a set of lecture notes by Bill Goodwin. Bill credits the idea to Anonymous, An Instant Flip-Over Change, Apocalvpse, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb. 1980, p. 307. The next show was in Jack's original routine and is a masterpiece. It takes the flushtration count and turns it into a good move. Outjog the middle face-up Joker and align the three cards along their long sides leaving the Joker outjogged and in full view. Hold the packet by the right fingers , thumb on top and fingers below. The right hand is flat and parallel to the floor. The right hand now tips upward at an angle of 45 degrees and brings the bottom ace into view. Lower the right hand, bringing the backs and the Joker back into view. The left hand takes the top face-down card into the left hand. Repeat this action twice more as you display the Joker and the second ace. Mention that the Joker is now between the two red aces. The fact that the audience is busy looking at the Joker causes them to miss the fact that you displayed the same red ace twice . At this point, spread the three cards and let the Joker fall face up on the table. Hold the two face-down cards in the left hand. The right hand reaches over to spread the deck in a wide face-up spread, revealing one face-down card in the center of the spread. Execute the Hamman switch with the two cards in the left hand as you pick up the face-down card and ask the spectator to remove it and check it out. This switch has been published dozens of times in videos and books - here are a couple oflocations if you do not know this well known move. The Las Vegas Card Expert video , Allan Ackerman, Brainstorm video, John Guastaferro, and the Kaufman publication, The Secrets of Brother John Hamman, The Signed Card, page 47, 1989. Conclusion: Your motivation for the Hamman switch is to take the card out of the deck and offer it to the spectator so he can remove it and verify that it is the QS.

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The Prequel and Sequel Ackerman

Effect: The following two routines give you a way to do the McDonald Ace effect without the dreaded setup. You start out clean and you can borrow the deck. The prequel routine will automatically load in the gimmick cards for you and the sequel routine removes them so you end clean. Method: You will need the standard McDonald Ace gaffs. This set consists of three double faced cards with the AC, AH, AD on one side and three indifferent card faces on the other. Place the double facers in your left front pants pocket with the ace side facing away from you. You can now begin this routine at any point in your performance. You can even start with a borrowed deck. Spread through the deck and cut the AS to the face of the deck. Run through the deck and upjog the four aces. As you upjog the third ace execute the Bruce Upjog addition: Do a two-card pushoff as you upjog the third ace and the right fingers pull the hidden card slightly to the right. This will hide the x card under the spread and will give a clean edge display. The two-card pushoff does not have to be perfect and the move can still remain hidden. Continue spreading, upjog the fourth ace, and turn the deck over sideways and execute The Auto-Unload. (The Auto-Unload is described on Page 15.)

Remove the four cards and set them on the table. Overhand shuffle the deck bringing the AS to the top. Double turnover and show an indifferent card. Assume it is the 5C. Double turnover again and take the top card and place this card in your left front pants pocket with the double facers. Do not place the "5C" all the way down in the pocket, leave some of the back exposed. Pick up the first ace and place it half way down in the deck. You can flash the face if you like. Pick up the second card. This card you cannot flash as it is an X card. Place it below the outjogged ace and push it slightly under and further in so it is hidden under the existing outjogged ace. Pick up the third ace and flash its face. As this is being done, the left forefinger pushes in on the lower outjogged card and pushes it flush with the deck. The right hand place its ace outjogged and below the existing "cards." Do the same action with the forth ace. (This unload procedure is a Marlo idea.) The left hand tilts upward to display the faces as the left little finger gets a break under the top card ofthe deck, the 5C. Say, " I need you to keep an eye on the four aces. Actually you can probably do a better job of that ifI do not distribute them throughout the deck, but keep them all on top of the deck." The right hand spins out the aces from their outjogged position. The left hand tilts back down holding the deck in dealing position as the right hand spreads its packet slightly giving a quick flash of the aces. Place the aces face up onto the deck, adding the card above the break to beneath the packet. The right hand takes hold of the packet of four by the index corners held between the right middle finger and thumb. The left hand takes hold of the other two non-index corners with its middle finger and thumb. (See photo#l) The left middle finger bends down slightly and the left thumb lets go of its corner letting the cards instantly spin over bringing the 5C into view. The card will pivot on the right thumb and middle finger as it somersaults over. This is a change by Marc DeSouza,. The Shapeshifler Change, The Ackerman 2004

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Trapdoor #48 , 1993 and also DeSouza's DeCeptions (2001). The right hand immediately places the packet on top of the deck and the left thumb pushes off a single card. Deal the 5C on the table and table the deck. Say, "The 5C was the card I just put in my pocket. I wonder what is in the pocket now. " Set the deck onto the table and the left hand reaches in and pulls out the AS. It will come out of the pocket with its backside showing. Instantly turn it over and set it face up on the table. The left hand reaches into the pocket again and removes the second ace and sets it face up on the table. This action is repeated two more times. Place the 5C back into the center of the deck .

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Photo 1

At this point you are almost ready to do McDonald aces. Overhand shuffle the top three cards to the bottom of the deck and retain a break above them w ith the left little finger. Turn over the top three cards flashing their faces . Ask the spectator to point to an ace. As they are pointing, turn the three cards face down on top ofthe deck, instantly lift up at the break, leaving three cards in the left hand. This is an open switch that was first published years ago in the Jinx magazine and has become known as the Jinx Switch. This Ted Annemann idea appears in the effect Call Your Hand in The Jinx No. 36, September 1937, p. 243. If the spectator points to the AS place the three face-down cards on the AS. If the spectator points to another ace, say you will start with that ace, and then place the three cards in the left hand on top of the AS. Shuffle the deck and turn over the next three . Show their faces and place the packet of three on the next ace. This action is repeated two more times, placing three face-down cards on top of each of the face-up aces. You need to make sure that none of the packets contain a card that will match the reverse side of the double faces. If you turn over a packet of three and you see that there is a match, give some kind of excuse why these three are not adequate. For example, if there is a court card then you would say, "Too many court cards." Shuffle and bring a new group of three to the top. If you have two or three red cards say, "Too many reds. " Shuffle and get a new group to the top. This is a very casual action and no one will think anything of it. Most of the time you will not have to do the extra shuffles and it is always nice to have a way to do things without a setup. Execute any version of McDonald aces. The world' s most simple version: Have the spectator put their hand on top of the AS packet. Pick up one of the remaining ace packets, execute a Jordan count. Turn the

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packet face up, execute the Olram Plus Count from these notes, and show the ace has disappeared. Deal a row of four face-up cards as you do the Olram Plus Count. Do this two more times dealing the row of four on top of the already existing row. Have the spectator release hold of their packet. Pick up the AS packet and show that it contains the four aces. A more sophisticated version of this routine can be found in Chris Randall's Sweet video, 2003. Chris has the best version of McDonald aces I have seen and he calls the routine Ashes. Now for the sequel routine that will totally clean this mess up. Pick up the packet of four aces and place them face down in the left hand. The AS should be the top card of the face-down packet. The left little finger gets a break under the AS. Pick up the packet of three double facers and set them face-up on the packet in the left hand. The remaining three packets of three are handled in the same way. The right hand comes over in Biddle grip and the left hand starts the actions ofa gambler' s cop of the bottom three cards. The right hand turns the top 13 cards over end-for-end and the packet is instantly placed on top of and covering the three copped cards. This move is completely covered from every angle except for the top and should look just like you are turning the packet over to bring the aces back into view. Spread over the four aces and set them face up onto the table. Shuffle the packet of twelve bringing the three aces to the top. Place this packet back on top of the deck. Start to overhand shuffle the deck with the faces toward the spectators. Execute a slip shuffle ofthe top ace as you start the shuffle and ask the spectator to say stop. When they say "Stop," both the right and left hands turn their packets face down and deal their top cards onto the table. Say, "These two cards will be mystery cards." Reassemble the deck by placing the right-hand packet onto the cards in your left hand. The right hand picks up the AS and uses it as a scoop to pick up the remaining three aces. Square the packet, turn it face down, and set it on top of the deck, maintaining a break under the top four. Doublecut the top four to the bottom executing the Altman bottom palm. This palm is executed as follows: Start to double-cut but leave the first packet on top ofthe deck in an angled stepped condition. (See photo#2) The cards below the break are now cut to the top and the deck placed in the left hand. The left fingers close inward with the left ring finger catching the outer right corner of the bottom four-card packet. (See photo#3) The fingers close in causing the bottom packet to go into a full bottom palm, which will be covered by the deck.

Photo# 2

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Snap the right fingers for effect. Turn over one of the tabled cards and show that it is an ace. The right hand takes the deck in Biddle grip freeing the left hand as it goes into the left front pants pocket. Remove the AS leaving the other three double facers behind. Table the AS. Place the deck back into the left hand as the right hand turns over the remaining tabled card, showing an ace. The fourth ace is produced from your outer breast pocket via Rumfield's Signed Card From Pocket Move that was described in Finesse the Finessed. Conclusion: The really nice pru1 ofthis routine is when you finish you are all set to do it again. If you do not want to do the proving Auto- Unload you can just do the move with the four aces. The audience will assume that the four aces are on the table and then you do not have to ditch the extra card.

Another change that can be used instead of the ShapeShijier Change is the Strange Change by Rodney Reyes and Jay Noblezada. The action is as follows. Do the AutoUnload on ly with the four aces. Shuffle the bottom ace to the top. Do a double and place the indifferent card in the pocket. (Really an ace and assume the spectator' s card is the 5C as before.) The left hand holds the face-down deck in dealing position and gets a break under the top card. The right hand picks up the "four" aces and turns them face up. Execute a one card add on of the top card of the deck to the bottom of the ace packet. This action is accomplished while squaring the four cards. The right hand grabs the ace packet at the upper right corner with the first and middle fingers on top and the thumb on the bottom. The right hand moves the packet away from the deck. The performer reiterates, "I have the four aces in my hand and in my pocket I have the 5C." The performer points to his pocket with his left hand. At the same time the right hand tums palm up bringing the 5C into view. The rest of the handling is the same. The nice part about this change is that it happens away from the deck.

Photo 3

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LJ visits BJ A variation of handling by Allan Ackerman Effect: Larry Jennings' Visitor effect is performed with a killer third phase ending. (Jennings Visitor, Expert Card Mysteries, Alton Sharpe, 1969, p. 53) Credits: Melinda exposed the 7H-6D & the 7D-6H pair switch on national TV and it ruined The 76 Sandwich Routine from Las Vegas Kardma, 1994, page 112. I really liked the third phase ending of the 76 sandwich and decided to add it the Visitor routine. I showed this to Larry in the mid 90's. I have made one change in the routine in the last year and it is a monster improvement and can have many, many applications. Pay close attention to how I execute the Vernon Utility move. It is engineered so the spectator can load the card and you are all set to do the move. Method: You will need a deck with three identical Jokers to do this effect. (Note: Stud Brand Cards come with three Jokers. They are carried by Walgreen's Drug stores.) The setup is simple, from the top: 3 Jokers, red king, 5 or 6 X cards, red king, and the rest of the deck. Start to overhand shuffle from the face, go slowly, and ask the spectator to say stop. Time this so only a few cards (about a dozen) are shuffled into the left hand. When the spectator says "Stop," the right hand moves the larger packet forward about two inches. The left thumb presses in on the lower corner of the upper packet and allows the left hand to grasps both halves as a unit. The right hand now releases its hold of the deck. The right hand re-grips the outer end of the upper packet and turns it end-for-end and sets it face down on the table. The left hand turns palm-down and holds its packet above the tabled packet. (See photo#1 for the basic action) The right hand takes the top card of the tabled packet and throws it out onto the table and the left hand releases its cards onto the tabled portion. This is a fairly convincing version of the old Hindu shuffle force . The last moment of the force comes from Jenning' s Preconfiguration force that Larry published in Genii many years ago.

Photo# 1

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Tell the spectators that you need approximately half of the deck. Reach over and cut off an amount slightly larger than half. (30 or more) This will guarantee that the packet has the two red kings along with the two Jokers. Spread the deck, stop spreading when you come to the two Jokers, break the deck with the two Jokers on the right, and set them on the table. The right hand then returns its spread of cards under the left. You have just completed a very subtle gesture cut. This cut will place one red king on the bottom ofthe face-up deck and the other red king should be 5 or 6 above it. Tell the spectator to name a black card that they see in your packet. Spread your half and remove the named card. Assume it is the 4C. Turn the packet face down and get a break underneath the top card with the left little finger. The right hand gives the spectator a pen to sign their 4C. As the spectator is signing their card, the right hand picks up the 2 face-up Jokers and the right thumb pushes over the top card to the left. (A two-card reverse spread) Both cards are placed on top ofthe deck and the right hand starts moving the Jokers to the right until you fee l the bottom Joker click off the top of the deck. Immediately move the two Jokers a fraction of an inch to the left loading the bottom Joker into the break. The left thumb takes hold of the two cards to free the right hand and the right hand moves the cards into a stepped position outjogged on top of the deck. (See Photo#2)

Photo# 2

Let the spectator pick up their selection and place it face down between the two Jokers. Due to the stepped condition the spectator' s selection will secretly be loaded under the top two cards. The audience will believe it is loaded between the Jokers. Execute the Vernon Utility Move: The left forefinger secretly pushes in on the bottom two cards loading them underneath the top card of the deck as the right and left hands square the "packet of three. " In reality thi s packet is only one Joker. The right hand immediately places this single face-up card on top of the tabled half. Say, "We will place your three cards over here." Set the halfthat is in your left hand on the table. The right hand picks up the half with the "Jokers" on top and places it into the left hand. The left thumb pushes over the top card, slightly exposing a face-down card. Say, "We will cut your 4C and the two Jokers down into the depths of this half." Double cut the top Joker to the bottom ofthe deck. Say to the spectator," This will be our initial state." Table this packet off to the far left.

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Pick up the other half and start to spread the packet face-up. Say to the spectators, "Since you used a black card I will use a red pair. Let's use the red kings." Remove the first red king you come to and set it face up on the table. Next remove the bottom card of the spread which will also be a red king, and set the second king face up on the table. Be careful not to expose the reversed card. Turn the packet face down and hold it in dealing position. Place the two red kings face up on top of the face-down half in the left hand. The performer is now going to do an old magician ' s joke. Tell the audience that you are going to reach over and invisibly remove the 4C from between the Jokers and place it between the two kings. Make a magical toss and then riffle the back of the deck as if you were looking to see if the 4C has arrived. The real reason for doing this is to allow you to establish a left little finger break beneath the top four cards. Look for the back-toback condition and take a left little finger break at this point. Tell the spectator, "The card has arrived and I will now do the hard part of the trick, and that is to make it go back." Make a tossing motion toward the other packet and spread over the two kings showing that the card is now gone. This old joke still always produces a smile. Square up the two kings and turn over the four cards above your break as two. (The quad technique I use is as follows: The right hand places one of the kings on top of the deck held in the left hand in a slight injogged condition. The remaining king is placed on top of the deck in a slight outjogged condition. The right thumb pushes at the lower right corner of the second king causing the king to move forward and align with the top king. On the way forward the right thumb will catch the two cards above the break and all four cards will align in an outjogged position. The right hand comes over and turns over the packet end-for-end. This quad turn over was inspired by Cliff Green' s double-lift technique.) Tell the spectator that you will do it again. Make your invisible toss and spread the top three cards, showing the signed 4C between the top two. Keep the spread tight and you can flash the faces of the kings by holding the spread in the right fingers at the upper right corner. The right hand tilts the fan to bring the faces into view. Due to the tight spread the audience will only see the face of the first king, the reversed selection and the white space ofthe Joker. They will assume all is correct. The left little finger gets a break under the top card of the deck as the right hand is displaying its three. Bring the selection back into view by tilting the hand downward and set the three cards on top of the deck. Square up adding the card above the break and turn the block offour over. (The Cliff Green style add-on works great here and can be done ultra slow.) Spread over the top two kings and show that the selection has vanished. Hand the two cards to the spectator. The right hand reaches over and picks up the tabled half on the left and sets it on top of the packet held in the left hand. Take back the two kings and place them face down on top of the deck. Spread the cards and show the one face-down card between the Jokers. Remove the three cards and show that the 4C has returned. Hold the spread of three in the left hand with the Jokers in view. Take the top Joker in the right hand and use it to flip over the 4C bring its face into view. The left hand takes hold of all three cards. The right hand comes over palm-down and takes the top two cards - fingers on top and thumb underneath. The right hand turns palm-up and executes the Vernon Optical move: The

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right thumb pulls the 4C to the right as the right fingers push the Joker to the left. The left hand strokes the apparent Joker and turns its Joker face down and places it on the bottom of the fan. (Note - Trevor Lewis was the first to use the optical move in a Monte Switch. See, Monte Plus or Hallucination, Apocalypse, Vol. 1, No.6, June 1978, p. 67.) Outjog the center card a little and hold the fan of three in the right hand. The left hand reaches over and riffles the side of the deck and asks the spectator to say stop. When they say stop place the outjogged card into the break and let the cards close on top of the "4C" as your right hand comes away with the "two Jokers." This will leave one card sticking out from the middle of the deck and tlle audience will assume that it is the 4C. The right hand squares up its two cards and flashes the bottom Joker. The left fingers take the top card and the right hand flashes the second Joker, i.e. , execute a Flushtration Count, at the fingertips. Execute The Hamman Switch as you pick up the mystery card with the two Jokers. Leave the two face-up Jokers with the one face-down mystery card on the table. (This switch can be found in the effect The Signed Card, The Secrets Of Brother John Han1illan, Richard Kaufman, 1989, p. 47.) Pick up the deck Witll the protruding "4C" and square up and riffle the deck for effect. Say to the audience," The reason we called this a mystery card is that it is a mystery that it, too, is the 4C." Turn over the face-down card to reveal that it is the 4C.

Conclusion: You may not like the way I choose to have the Jokers appear back in the center of the deck trapping the selected card in the second phase of this routine . Here is a different approach that Lou Brooks and I worked out one Wednesday night at the Darwin Magic Club. This approach is closer to Larry's original handling. Have the card case in the middle of your performing space. Vanish the selection and place the two kings face up on the table. The left little finger does a pull down and gets a break under the top 12 or so cards as the right hand reaches over and picks up the tabled packet on the left. The right hand comes over the left and kisses the top of the left hand packet as you add the cards above the break. Instantly move the top packet forward half its length and hold both packets with the left hand. The right hand removes the card case out of the way and then takes the jogged packet and spreads it on the table revealing the two Jokers trapping the selected card. There is a reason for every action and hopefully this will hide the fact that the packets did kiss.

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A Bigger Surprise Guastaferro - Ackerman Effect: A three card Monte routine is performed with a totally surprise ending. Credits: John Guastaferro in his Brainstorm Video had a routine called Double Monte. John mentioned that he was motivated in his routine by a routine I had called the 76 Sandwich, Las Vegas Kardma, 1994, P. 112. Well I modified John ' s routine and came up with this handling. It has some really nice moments and the ending is a total surprise to both laymen and magicians alike. Method: You will need a deck with two identical Jokers. The deck needs a very small setup: a Joker, QS, the rest of the deck, and the second Joker should be about the middle of the deck. At this point you are ready to start the effect. Tell the spectator that in a moment you want him to name any card in the deck, but do not name the QS as that will be the card that you are going to use in a three-card Monte game. False cut, table the top card in front of the spectator, and ask him to name a card. (If you feel the need you can do any forcing technique that will force the top card.) Assume the spectator names the 4H. As you point to the tabled card say, "That would be a pretty good effect if that card was the 4H wouldn't it?" Run through the deck (faces toward you and backs toward the audience) spreading the cards in a normal left to right action. Do not let the spectator see the faces and break the deck at the 4H. The 4H should be at the left end of the right-hand spread. Both hands turn palm down and the right hand taps the top card of the left-hand portion. Both hands turn palm up with the left hand portion moving above the right as the left fingers push out on the bottom card of its half causing the QS to come into view. Finish off by doing a reverse spread and do not let the 4H come into sight. You have secretly culled the named card to the bottom of the face-up deck. Remove the QS and set it face up on the table.

Start to spread the cards face up and run the bottom Joker under the spread. This is the well know Hofzinser card pass. When you come to the Joker, break the deck with the Joker being the bottom card ofthe right-hand half. The 4H is secretly riding underneath the spread. The right hand squares up its half as it turns it over bringing the backs into view. The top card will assumed to be the Joker just shown, but it will be the 4H. Set this card face down on top of the face-up QS. The face-down card should be slightly injogged. The right hand turns over its half to bring the packet back to a face-up condition. Reassemble the deck, cut the cards, re-spread, and stop when you come to the next Joker. Display and remove the Joker in the same way as you did the first. Set thi s Joker face down beneath the QS and in line with the first face-down card. The face-up QS will now be outjogged between two face-down cards. The right hand picks up the fan of three and squares them up lengthwise against the left hand. The QS should maintain its jogged position. Execute Carpenter's Flushtration Count variation: The right hand tips the packet of three upwards bringing the face of the Joker into view. (See photo# l ) The right hand tilts back down and the left thumb and fi ngers take the top card into the waiting left hand. The right hand does the same action Ackerman 2004

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with the remaining two cards and the left fingers take the QS. The right hand flashes the face of the last Joker and this time sets it face up on the outjogged QS. (See photo#2) Tell the spectator, "It's your job to follow the QS." The right hand picks up the two faceup cards, thumb underneath and fingers above, and turns the two cards end-for-end. At the same time the right fingers push the bottom card toward the middle and the right thumb slides the top card toward the right. This is Ken Krenzel ' s Monte Plus Plus Move, Apocalypse, Vol. 1, No.7, July 1978, p. 8 1.

Photo 1

Photo 2

The audience will think that the outjogged card is the QS . Tell the audience, " When the cards get turned down it is hard to follow the Queen." The right hand deals the top card onto the table and then turns over the outjogged card. The audience will be surprised to find it is one of the Jokers. The right hand places this Joker face down beneath the card in the left hand, leaving the two cards in a stepped position. The right hand picks up the tabled card and shows the QS is now on the table. Place the QS injogged between the two cards in the left hand. All three cards should be face down .. Leave the QS injogged and turn over the packet of three. Finish squaring up the cards cleanly showing the QS going into the center of the three-card packet. The packet of three is held face-up by the right long edge, the right fingers underneath and the right thumb on top, in readiness for Edward Victor' s Eye Count. The left thumb peels off the top Joker into the left hand. The right hand comes over and places its two cards on top of the Joker and the left fingers align the three-card packet. The right thumb immediately pushes off a double - which brings the Joker back into view - and this is placed cleanly on top of the two cards in the left hand. This is a perfect display of three cards - two Jokers with the QS sandwiched between. Turn the packet over and do a double lift showing the QS has j umped to the top. Turn the double face down and deal the apparent QS onto the table. Execute the followi ng Flushtration Count variation: The right fingers take the remaining two cards from the left hand at the lower right corner. The fingers tilt up bringing a Joker into view. Tilt the packet face down and take the top card into the left hand. The right fingers tilt the

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remaining Joker into view and place it face down on top of the card in the left hand. The audience will feel that they just saw both Jokers. Place the tabled card on top ofthe lefthand packet and let the bottom card of the three fall onto the table. Turn over the card and show the QS has penetrated through the two Jokers. The right hand squares its two cards. The left hand turns the QS face down on the table as the right hand turns palm-up showing a Joker at its face. The right hand turns palm-down and the left fingers take the top card and let it fall on the QS. The right hand turns palm-up again showing - a Joker and it lets it fall face down on top of the two tabled cards in a standard Flush/ration Count. Pick up the tabled packet and turn it face up in the left hand . The left thumb pushes over a double and the right hand takes the face-up QS and the double is used to flip the card(s) (really a single Joker) face down in the left hand. The right hand places its double -- the audience assumes it to be the QS - on top of the left-hand packet. The right hand flips the double over and sets the apparent QS face down on the table. Say, "We are not going to use my money card this time. We will play three-card Monte with your mystery card." The right hand grabs the two cards from the left hand at the lower right corner in readiness for another flushtration count. Do the count and pick up the tabled mystery card with the two Jokers and execute the Hamman Switch. Ask the spectator if they remembered what they wanted their mystery card to be. They will say "4H" - let them turn it over and to their surprise they will find it to be the QS . Show your money card is now the 4H. The ending is a complete surprise to everyone.

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I Dance for the Devious - Two Carpenter-Ackerman Effect: The four queens disappear one by one and then do a flash reappearance. Credits: Jack Carpenter's, I Dance for the Devious, from The Expert' s Card Portfolio No. I, 1997, inspired this effect. I have changed each of the four vanishes and have also changed the flash appearance. The routine still maintains Jack's flow and sequencing. The reasons for the changes are as foll ows. In Jack's routine, I felt the sucker vanish at the beginning of the routine was too subtle and was sometimes missed by the viewer. I also felt as the queens vanished it happened too close to the deck. In this routine, when the queens di sappear, their disappearance appears to happen away from the deck. Method: Remove the four queens from the deck and place the two black queens in between the red queens. For this description, let us assume they are in the following order: QD, QC, QS, and QH from the top down. Display the four queens in the right hand with the faces toward the spectator and the performer will have a back view. The rest if the deck is held face down in the left hand. While the queens are being displayed with the right, the left thumb pushes off the top card slightly. The right hand places its fan offour on top of the deck with the queen on the left aligning with the top ofthe deck. This will leave the fifth card sli ghtly jogged to the right, hiding underneath the spread. The right hand takes the top QD and hands it to the spectator as you say, "[ am going to propose a problem; we are going to make this queen disappear in a non-obvious manner. Now [ want you to realize that this is a difficult problem as you and I are two inches apart and we are not on stage like Lance Burton." As you are saying this the right hand apparently removes the top three queens from the top of the deck. In reality you take the top two plus the sidej ogged card that was hidden under the spread. This leaves a QH on top of the deck in the left hand. Get a left little finger break under the top QH. The right hand replaces the three cards face down on top of the deck and takes back the QD with the right hand and places it face down on top of the deck. The left little finger now holds a break under the top five cards. Say, "Not only will we make the QD disappear but we will make the QC, QS, and the QH - all four queens disappear. " As this is being said execute the following count: Take the QD into the right hand with thumb on top and fingers underneath and bring the QD into the spectator' s view. Lower the right hand and take the QC under the QD and leave it outjogged. The right hand tilts upward bringing both cards into view. Lower the right hand and take the QS and injog it toward you. (This is an optional injog - its only purpose is to keep the indices of multiple queens in view.) The right hand tilts upward bringing the QS into view. The left hand does a two card push off - easy to do because of the break. The double is placed under the spread of three cards in the right hand. Align the QH so it positions itself in the same position as the top card. (See photo#l) Place all the queens on top of the deck and stepped to the right. They will be held in position by the left thumb. The right hand comes over in a Biddle style grip. (See photo#2) The right little finger takes an Erdnase break under the top two cards as you Ackerman 2004

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square the packet of queens in your right hand. This break is easy to obtain because of the outjogged queen. (If you are not comfortable using a Erdnase break you can use a right thumb break under the top two cards.) The right hand tilts palm up to display the bottom QH and say, "let's start with this card, the QH."

Photo 2

Photo 1

The performer is now going to execute the Wes James switch. The right hand turns palm down and the left fingers drag off the bottom QH. The right-hand packet aids in turning over the QH face up onto the top of the deck. With the same action turn the QH face down on the deck. The right fingers push forward on the QH outjogging the card. The left hand turns palm down to bring the QH into view as the left fingers secretly add the two cards that were below the break. This action should invisibly transfer the bottom two cards of the right-hand packet to the top ofthe deck. (See photo#3 for an exposed view)

Photo 3

As the left hand turns palm up, the left forefinger pushes the QH flush with the deck and secretly under the top two cards. The left thumb pushes over the top card - the audience

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will assume this is the QH. The right hand comes over and deliberately takes the top card underneath its packet. The perfornler states, "All I have to do is touch the QH and she will disappear." Take the right-hand packet and set it on the table. The right fingers come over and show that the top card is not a queen. The right hand uses the top card to flip over the deck and show that the bottom card is not a queen. The right hand places its card on the face and spreads the cards showing that a queen carmot be found. Do not expose the queen at the bottom of the face-up deck. The right hand turns the deck face down into the left hand. The audience will think this is the most pathetic piece of sleight of hand they have ever witnessed as they know the missing queen is wlderneath the tabled packet. Very slowly spread the tabled packet and show that it consists only of three cards and that the QH has disappeared. At this point the QH should be the top card of the face-down deck in the left hand and three queens are face up on the table. Get a left little finger break underneath the QH as the right hand picks up the two black queens and places them face up on top of the facedown deck. The right hand picks up the QD and places it face down between the two face -up black queens . The right hand turns the three-card packet over on top of the lefthand pack and instantly adds tlle card above the break. The packet should be held in the right hand in a Biddle grip and it moves its four-card packet to the right side of the deck. The left thwnb takes hold of the packet for a moment as the right hand adjusts and gets ready for an Elmsley style count, the right thwnb on top of the right long side and tlle right fingers underneath. The left thumb pulls offthe top card of the four-card packet onto the deck. The right thumb pushes over a double on the count of two and takes it on top of the deck. Finish the count by cleanly placing the last card on top of deck on the count ofthree. Instantly spread over the three cards and take them in the right hand in a stepped position. Show the faces to the audience. The index of the QH will be hidden giving the illusion that the QD is trapped between the two black queens. (See photo#4)

Pho to 4

The left little finger gets a break under the top card. The right hand lets the bottom card fall squarely onto the top of the deck. The right hand tilts upward again as you state, "Follow the QD." The QD is now left behind on top of the deck and it is slightly

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outjogged. The last card in the right hand is placed on top of the two stepped cards in the left hand. The right hand comes over in Biddle grip and squares up the packet of "three" adding the card above the break as you square. The square-up action is aided with the left fingers. The right hand turns over the packet in position for a D' Amico spread and gives the packet a little shake. Executes a D' Amico spread showing only two black queens . This action by the right hand should happen with the right hand well away from the left hand which is holding the deck. The left hand comes over and takes the bottom QC (really three cards) on top of the deck. The left little fmger holds a break under three and instantly pushes off the top single card. Both hands turn palm down bringing the back of their single cards into view and say, "It is not behind and it is not between." As you fini sh this sentence the right hand takes back the QC and cleanly displays that you only have two cards. The above action should be one continuous flow. Since the cards are in motion the whole time the triple is held, it is impossible to see. It is quickly ditched, and you can then easily prove the singularity of the two cards. The right hand reverse spreads it two face-up queens and places them on top of the deck feeding the bottom queen into the break (assume this to be the QC) held by the left little finger. The right hand outjogs both face-up cards. (See photo#5) Execute the Vernon Utility Move as you apparently palm both cards into your right hand. Ask the spectator to name a card and do the standard magician's choice. Ifthe spectator names the QC the right hand lets the QS fall out of its palm and acts like it is still holding a palmed card. If the spectator names the QS let the QS fall on the table and say, "You want the QS then I need to make the QC disappear." Slowly open your right fingers showing that the palmed card has now vanished.

Photo 5

Tell the spectators that the queens can't really disappear. They must be in the deck somewhere. Turn over the top block of about ten cards - not exposing the reversed queens and let them fall face up onto the deck. Thumb over the cards one at a time until you come to your first face-down card. Show that no queens are near the top of the deck. The right hand takes the fan of face-up cards and uses it to flip over the deck. Continue spreading and show that no queens are near the bottom of the deck. The right hand

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leaves its packet on the face of the deck. Turn the deck face down and as you do get a Greek break under the top card. This break is not 100% necessary, but I always take the break as it guarantees that only one card is pulled back when you do the next move. Tell the spectator that maybe the QC is hiding underneath the QS. Pick up the QS and stroke it a few times showing its singularity. Place the QS in position for the ultra-rub-adub-dub vanish that is described earlier in these notes. (I sometimes do this vanish totally off of the table by raising both hands showing the card being placed into the palm. The ri ght hand turns palm up taking both the deck and palm card giving a very open display. The right hand then turns palm down place the deck in the left hand as the sidejogged cards is secretly loaded back in the deck.) Make a big show of the last queen vanishing and state that the queens must be in the deck somewhere. Thumb over a block of about 15 cards without exposing any of the reversed queens. Turn the block over flush onto the deck but the left little finger should keep a break. Start to spread over the cards until you come to your first face-down card. The right hand takes the fan of 10 or so face-up cards and tilts the backs to the audience. Say, "The queens are neither on the face nor on the backs." The right hand leaves the bottom three face-up cards on the top of the deck. The bottommost face-up card should align wi th the top of the deck. The right hand tilts back up showing the backs. This action should look very casual as if you are checking the front and back of the cards for the queens. The right hand picks up all the face -up cards plus the cards held by the left little finger break and flashes their backs and sets the fan face up on the table. You have secretly stolen away the four queens. Do the exact same action twice more exhausting the deck and showing each and every card front and back creating a spread of cards on the table. The whole deck should now appear to be in a face-up spread on the table. Both hands pick up the tabled spread and place it face up into the left hand in dealing position. As you are doing this, double buckle the bottom two cards, and get a left little finger break above them . The right hand comes over the deck in Biddle position and starts to turn the deck face up by pivoting the deck against the left fingers, executing the standard book break. This will cause the top two cards to be anglejogged to the left as the right hand now holds the deck in Biddle position. (See photo#6)

Photo 6

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The right hand starts to dribble the cards onto the table as you ask the spectator to say stop. Time the dribble so the spectator will say stop about halfway . The right hand places its cards into the left hand and as you square get a break underneath the top two cards. This is easy as they are slightly angled. The right hand picks up the tabled half and turns them face up as you say, "Let's make sure there are no queens in this vicinity." The right hand spreads a few face-up cards off of the bottom portion of the right-hand packet and onto the left. Let the bottom card of the right hand packet align with the top of the half in the left hand. Break the spread about halfway and tilt both hands palm down bringing the backs into view. Both hands turn palm up and the right fingers take all the face-up cards plus the two held by the break. Since this is a temporary double backer, tilt the right hand so the backs come back into view. The above action should look like you are spreading the cards and looking on the front and the back for the missing queens. The right hand rolls its half face down into the right hand. Now each hand holds half of the deck. Both hands turn palm down showing there are no queens on the face. Notice that all the fingers are along the side of their respective halves. The thumbs push over the bottom cards of their face-up halves slightly. The forefingers go on top and the middle fingers go underneath the bottom card. Turn both hands over extending the forefinger and middle finger of each hand bringing all four queens into view. (See photo#7) (The above revelation appeared as a single card revelation in Expert Card Technique, page 280. Much of what is in Expert Card Technique can be credited to Charlie Miller and Dai Vernon. This flourish count is a Vernon flourish and I extended the method to a flash four-card appearance.)

Photo 7

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The 23 Year Old Clean Up Ackerman Effect: This is a reverse assembly using the kings. Credits: I originally gave this to Paul Harris in 1979 and he published it in Close-up Fantasies Book II, 1980, p. 79. I first became acquainted with this effect from a lecture that Phil Goldstein did in Vegas in the early seventies. Phil's method was very simple, a Braue addition created the assembl y, and a Braue addition did the reverse assembly. I did not get excited about the effect because the method was almost a non-method. Phil ' s technique first appeared in the 1974 notes Card Tricks for People Who Don ' t Do Card Tricks ... And Some For Those Who Do. It also appeared in MUM in March 1977 under the title of Seca Roul - "four aces" spelled in reverse. In 1978 Don England showed me a handling tllat looked magical but it had some palming. The session I had with Don got me working on the effect and I came up with the Reassembled Finale that Paul Harris published . This basic routine has been modified and improved by JC Wagner, Jim Patton, and Dave Neighbors ,and Jon Racherbaumer. All the modifications were basically on how the last King was transferred back. I used a Curry style turnover, JC used a Mexican Turnover, Rocky used a Marlo Bluff Ace subtlety. In my original method the Kings just flew back - it was quick and sweet. One of the things I did not like was at the conclusion of my routine all the packets had the wrong number of cards in them . The audience did not notice, but I did. Rocky wrote me a letter criticizing my original routine and really thought the packets should never touch each other to have a clear effect. He suggested the Marlo's BluffAce subtlety to get the last king back would be a better approach. I agree. So what I have done in thi s method is taken my original routine, used Rocky's suggestion on the last King, and made the restriction that every packet at the end of the routine should end clean, i.e. consist of only four cards. I worked this routine out in 2002, hence its title. It is also hard to write up a reverse assembly without mentioning the great work that Dave Solomon and Jack Carpenter have put in on this effect. I am sure their influence is somewhere here in this routine. Method: Remove the fo ur kings and 12 black spot cards. The cards should be in the following order from top down. KS , KD, KC, KH, 12 black spot cards. Turn the packet face up and start to spread the fan . On the fifth card do a two-card pushoff and pause and the right hand places its spread back onto the left hand packet as the left fingers push the bottom card of the double to the right. This is the half-move approach to the Hofzinser Card Pass. Say, "I have 12 spot cards and 4 kings. " Continue the spread letting the one black spot card ride underneath the spread and load it secretly between the KS-KD . Turn the packet face down and deal the top four cards into the right hand without reversing their order. Set the spots on the table to the left. Execute the Olram Plus count (page 5 of these notes) with the right and left hands as you deal out a row of kings on the table. Switch the order of the last two cards as you deal them on the table, i.e., the right hand takes the bottom of the two. From left to right the order should be: a black spot, KS, KD, and KC. The left hand picks up the twelve spots, turns them face up, and starts to spread them into the right hand . The right fingers steal the bottom card and let the KH remain hidden under the spread. Spread the cards and the left hand upjogs the bottom three spot Ackerman 2004

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cards. The right hand closes the spread secretly loading the KH second from the bottom. The packet is squared and placed face down in the left hand in dealing position .. The right hand reaches over to the far right and moves the KC toward the center and below the other three kings. Mention that this king will be the leader king. The left thumb now deal s over three cards without reversing their order and the right hand places them face down on the leader king. The second card from the top should be slightly sidejogged. Three spots are shown and placed on each remaining king. We are now going to vanish three of the kings. It is very important that you do the sucker vanish first as this will discourage the spectator from wanting to pick up the packets on the second and third vanish. Pick up the packet of four on the left. This packet will not contain any kings . Deal the top card in the right hand and snap it a couple of time for effect and then tum it face up showing that it' s not a king. On each display of the cards say the phrase, "not a king." This is repeated on the second king, on the third king say, "not a king" but let the card fall face down on the table. Show the last card is not a king and mention that the king has vanished . The audience will point out that you did not show one card - cleanly turn over the card and show it is not a king. You really did what you said yo u were going to do . Tum the packet of four face down and place them on the left. Pick up the center packet with the left hand and flash the bottom card so the audience will get a flash of the KS . (See photo# I. Note the slight angle that the left first and middle finger are at as they hold the packet. ) The right hand takes the packet in Biddle grip as the left fingers tilt the packet parallel to the ground. The left fingers straighten out causing the bottom card to be anglejogged. You apparently draw out the bottom card, actually the card second from the bottom, and the right hand places its packet of three inj ogged on top ofthe "king." This action is the Vernon Side Glide and was shown to me in a 1971 session by Harvey Rosenthal. The right hand grabs the right side of the four cards between the thumb and fingers and you openly do a reverse count into the left hand. When you reach the fourth card the right hand holds onto it. The left thumb pushes over a double and the right hand aids in turning it over without exposing the card held in the right hand. Mention that you have three spot cards. Turn the double face down and deal a single onto the table. The right hand aids the left and turns both cards over bringing a different spot card into view. The left thumb pushes over a single face -up card as the right hand aids in turning it face down and deals it on the table. The last card in the left is now turned face down and dealt onto the tabled cards. The audience should feel that you just did a very open count of three black spot cards. Finally tum over the remaining card in your hand showing it too is a black spot card. Place this last card face down on top of the packet. If this sequence is done correctly, it is a very striking vanish of the king. Pick up packet on the right. Place it in the left hand, and the left thumb does a block push off of the top three cards. The right hand grabs all three cards at the upper right comer and turns them over end-for-end spreading the cards left to right. Tell the audience there are only three spot cards. Let the left thumb fall on the second card and move the top two to the left as the left fingers push out the bottom of the three to the right. Tum the packet of three over end-for-end and place it on top of the king. If this action was done correctly the top and third spot are jogged to the right and the second card is aligned with the KD. The right hand takes the packet in Biddle grip and turns palm up to display the king on

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the face . Turn the hand palm-down and the left fingers pull the bottom king out to the left until you feel the click as it clears the bottom card and is now riding under the second. Say, "Do not take your eye off ofthis king." Square the packet loading the king second from the bottom. As you square the packet in the left hand, get a break under the top two cards. Do a Vernon two-card pushoff and take the packet of four back into Biddle grip and display the bottom card as before -- the king will be gone. The right hand turns palm down and your left fingers grasp the packet at its left long side. Make sure you keep the bottom two cards sidejogged. Your right fingers now grasp the packet at its right long side . Your left hand takes the bottom double at the left edge and flashes its face. The left fingers bring the backs into view and deals the top card onto the table as the right hand spreads its two and flashes their faces. The right hand deals the top card onto the table as the left hand flashes the face of its card and the right flashes the face of its remaining card. This style of count 1 called the Fingertip Rhythm and I published it in the Classic Handlings lecture notes, 1999, p.14. Pick up the leader packet and get a break under the top two cards. This is easy to do as the second card was stepped to the right in the initiallaydown. Do the Fingertip Rhythm count described above but as you show the second king keep the two cards aligned. This gives a very clean display of four kings and if infinitely superior to a Gemini count. The audience will think the effect is over. Pick up the packet on the left. Patter, "I was doing this effect several weeks ago and a gentleman came up after my performance and asked if 1 could do the effect again where the cards jumped from one packet to another. I responded do you want to see the card jump visibly or invisibly. He responded, 'visibly of course. " , Turn the top card face up onto the packet then execute a two-card push-off. The right hand deals this double card onto the leader packet. Patter, "He responded that was kind of lame and I responded, you are right. However, 1 continued, I am glad you asked because I have made every king jump but one - the leader king, the KC. So let's make him jump." Table the left-hand packet of cards back to its original position. At this point, the right hand takes the face-up spot and places it back onto tlle packet on the left. Pick up the leader packet with the right hand in Biddle grip. The left hand slides out the bottom two cards and the thumb slides the top card to the left. Come away with the double in your right hand and turn it face up on to the left-hand packet of three. Turn the double face down and place the top card on top of the packet on the left. Replace the leader packet on the table. This action takes about 30 seconds to do and is the only time in the routine where the packets do not really contain four cards. At this point all is clean. Pick up the packet on the left and execute a triple. Turn the triple face down and deal a single card on the table. Turn over the top card and show the second card it is not a king. Turn this card face down and deal it onto the first card. Repeat this action with the remaining two cards. Pick up the leader and turn over the top card and display the KC. The left hand reverse spreads the three as the right turns its king face down and place it

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on the bottom of the packet. Turn each packet face up to show the kings have all jumped back to their original positions.

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An Impromptu Finesse the Finessed Ackerman-Alfonso-Kosby

Effect: A very clean Travelers is performed. The routine can be performed at any time and has the same surprise kicker as the original. Please read the original routine on page 23 ofthese notes before reading this routine. Both routines have their advantages. Credits: The card to pocket move that is used on the third ace comes from Dave Rumfield . (Dave Rumfield's, Signed Card From Pocket found on page 10 of Mister Humble And Friends: Impromptu Magic, by Paul Diamond, no date.) The concept of passing off one card as the whole deck has been around for decades. The concept of using it in the Travelers for the fourth ace is a really nice idea and belongs to Alfonso and to Ray Kosby. Their routine called, The Van ishing Traveler appeared in the Magical Arts Journal, Volume One, No . Eleven & Twelve, June & July 1987, p. 27. Method: The effect will be performed standing. The only setup needed is to have the deck face up in the left hand, have the four aces on the face, and the left little finger holds a break above the bottom four cards of the deck. Remove the four aces as you execute the New Math Addition. This will leave four aces in your right hand with a packet of four hiding underneath. Table the remainder of the deck face down off to the left. Ask the spectator to cut the deck into four packets of about equal size. Square up the right-hand ace packet causing the cards to coalesce and tum the packet face down into the left hand. The ri ght hand comes over in Biddle position and takes the top card and places it face down on the packet on the left. This is rapidly repeated three more times, with the last card (really 5 cards) going on the tabled packet on the right. Snap your fingers for effect, and tum the top card of each packet face up showing that the ace has disappeared. Remove the four indi fferent cards, let them remain face up on the table, and gather up the remaining four packets with the packet on the right going on top. This will result in the four aces residing on the top of the deck. Place the deck into the left hand in the standard dealer's grip. Get a little-finger break under the top card as the right hand gathers up the four face-up cards and places them face down on top of the deck. Execute a top palm of the top five cards and the right hand goes to the right front pants pocket and removes the bottom card of the five card packet from the pocket. This will produce the first ace. Set this ace face up onto the table. As this ace is being produced the left thumb pulls back on the top card and gets set for a Greek break. Execute Dave Rurnfield' s Signed card to pocket move. The left hand moves up to the front shirt pocket and the left thumb reaches in to hold the pocket open. The right hand reaches over and the forefinger enters the Greek break. The right thumb and forefmger pinch the top card and the right hand lifts straight up. This will cause the card to pivot perpendicular to the deck and it gives a perfect illusion of coming out of the pocket. The second ace is left face up on the table. The left hand should now be palm up holding the deck in dealing position. The left little finger gets a break under the top ace. The right hand comes over the deck to square and takes only the top card away as the left hand gambler-cops the whole deck. The left hand reaches in the left front pants pocket Ackerman 2004

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and removes the top ace while leaving the rest of the deck behind. The ace is set face on the table.

~IP

The audience will assume you have the deck in the right hand. Slap your two hands together, showing that you now only have one card. Turn over the card, show it to be the fourth ace, and place it face up onto the table. If the last sequence is done correctly, the audience will think they see the whole deck collapse into a single card. Say, "Now the deck has jumped to my pockets." The left hand reaches into the left front pants pocket and removes about half of the deck. Spread the cards between both hands and close the spread getting a Greek break at about the halfway point. The right hand is openly shown empty and reaches into the right front pants pocket and removes the small packet of cards and sets them face down on top of the deck. Execute Dave Rumfield's signed card to pocket move again. However, this time do the move with the top quarter of the deck. Set these face up onto the table. The right hand takes the remaining cards from the left and sets them face up onto the tabled cards. The left hand is cleanly shown empty and it reaches into the left front pants pockets and removes the remaining cards and sets them onto the tabled talon. The effect really is three effects: the Travelers is performed with the aces, the deck disappears, and the travelers effect is finally performed with the remaining portion of the deck.

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