Scott Alexander - The Epic Deck.pdf

The EPIC Deck Created By: Scott Alexander This is the perfect trick for walk-around gigs because you can give them the whole routine all at once, or break it into different shorter effects as well. I first came up with this effect and arrangement of the Mental Photography/ Double Svengali/Rough and Smooth in 1993 while working at Barry’s Magic Shop in Maryland during my college days. I have kept this close to the vest only showing close friends and selling a few during lectures here and there. It appeared in lecture notes and now after keeping it close to the vest all these years, it is finally in your hands ready for you to devastate your audiences. If you have purchased this deck through Penguin Magic, you have also received a tutorial and some lovely additions and touches from the very clever Rick Lax. Thanks to Rick for taking this mystery to the next level.

Basic Effect: A spectator sees you remove a blue deck from the case. You prove it is blue by dribbling the cards and flipping through them in a picture book style. Then you have a card selected. The card is set aside and turned over to show a blue back. Then you turn the whole deck over and dribble the cards to show that they got the only blue card in a NOW RED DECK! Then you place the selection on the face of the deck and now as you flip through, the ENITRE DECK IS NOW RED WITH THE DECK BEING NOTHING BUT THE SELECTION. But then you rub the selection and it turns blank. Then you transfer it to the bottom you blow everyones mind by spreading the cards between your hands to show that THE ENTIRE DECK IS BLANK!!

Method: The cards are prepared as follows in sets of three. The force card is a regular sized blue backed card. It is roughed on both sides. It is sandwiched in between two other cards. One is a short card and one is an even shorter card. The card on top of the blue backed force card is a blank backed indifferent card. It is cut short by 1/8 of an inch. The indifferent card side is roughed and butts up against the blue backed card which is also roughed. Underneath the indifferent blue backed regular sized card is a blank faced red card. It is only trimmed 1/16th of an inch. The red back side is roughed. This red back butts up against the face of the blue backed force card. Eighteen sets of these three packet roughed/long and short and shorter cards comprise the entire deck.

To begin the basic effect we will need to establish what is A side and B side. The deck will come to you looking completely blank. If you lift the top card off and look at its underside and see an indifferent card you know that it is in the A position. If you lift up and see a red back this is the B position. You can also tell by holding the deck in dealing grip and pulling up with your thumb at the back of the deck if you pull up and see a red card, you know you are oriented in what I call the A position. If you pull up in the back and get a peek at an indifferent card, you know it is in the B position.

Setup for Basic Effect: Hold the deck with in the A position and transfer the top blank back/indifferent face card to the bottom. This gives you a blue backed deck with an indifferent card at the bottom. Place the deck in this orientation in the card case.

Performance: Pull out the apparent blue deck and hold it with the indifferent card side up. Grip it from above with your right hand, fingers on the short outer side facing the audience, and thumb at the short side in the back, facing you and dribble the deck on to your left palm. That is to say let the cards dribble off your right thumb. I have here a blue deck of cards. This displays all indifferent cards. Do this once or twice to establish the look. Now grip the deck between your right thumb and fingers in a vertical position with the blue backs of the cards towards you audience and the indifferent cards toward your right palm. Your right finger is curled under the deck bowing the deck slightly to facilitate the flip book effect. By flipping the cards off of your right thumb into your left palm, Svengali deck style it shows all blue backs and all indifferent faces. Repeat this again if you like. All the cards are blue and all the cards are different. Now re grip the deck from above and dribble showing indifferent cards but this time ask someone to say stop. I want you to say stop anywhere. Ok lets take the next one in line which is the seven of spades (name the force card).

Wherever they stop the card that is next to fall is the force card. Except it wont fall without letting the other shorter card fall too, so you need to use the thumb of your left hand which is holding a small pile of cards to peel off the force card and toss it on the table face up.

Cut the rest of the cards in your right hand to the bottom of the deck. This keeps your deck in order. You will notice the seven has a blue back. Turn over the force card to display its blue back. Now revolve the deck to show it has changed to red. Now dribble the cards into your left palm and they will all appear as red. Do this twice for emphasis. Which is weird because you picked the only blue card in this red deck. Wait a minute… weren’t these all blue a minute a go? Now drop the newly red deck on the blue force card and pick them all up. This now shows a red backed deck with the force card on the face. Hold the deck in preparation to show all force cards. The deck should be vertical with your right fingers on the bottom and right thumb on top and right index finger curled against the red backed card. Let the force cards flip off your thumb showing all force cards and red backs. Now if we take the seven and put it here and give a little shake, they all become sevens and they all have red backs. Thats awesome! At this point you can do a double turnover to to show the selection back and front the turnover is easy and is aided by the long and short principle.Turn the double card face down and simply square up the face down red deck and take off the top red backed card making a magical rubbing motion while slowly revealing the card underneath is apparently turning blank. Then turn over the top card and reveal the selection is now blank too. Now place the red backed card on the bottom of the deck (red side facing up) and immediately start spreading thru the cards. Because of the rough and smooth, the entire deck will now be blank. As you spread keep revolving your right wrist to show the backs of the spread cards intermittently. This makes a nice display. Put the cards away and take a bow! But you know what freaks me out the most….? If I rub this card here it turns blank. Not only that but it makes all the cards blank too. Back and front, completely blank…I think I need to put these away because now, even I am confused. You can vary your presentations and start with the deck completely blank as in the Mental Photography deck. Then the cards change to blue then to red then to the force card and then to blank again. Experiment with the arrangement and add your own twists and turns. I hope you have fun with the Epic Deck.

-Scott Alexander Copyright Alexander Illusions 1993/2015