Tyler Wilson - Dominatricks.pdf

Dominatricks Tyler Wilson untied

Dominatricks Written & created by Tyler Wilson Edited, designed & published by Andi Gladwin Photographed by Donovan Deschner Cover designed by Mike Dezeeuw & Andi Gladwin

Dedicated to Right here & Right now

First edition (left handed version) ISBN: 1-59971-552-X © Copyright 2006 by Andi Gladwin and Tyler Wilson All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing. In short: don’t put this book on some kind of peer-to-peer program and we won’t sue your ass.

The Crew ......................... There are a number of people I’d like to thank for either helping with the book, or just being darn cool peeps.

Thank you Mom, Dave, Peggy, along with the rest of the Lee, Aldwinkle, and Patton families, David Acer, Joshua Jay, Ryan Pilling, Jack Parker, Scott Imler, Doug Conn, Luke Dancy, Rob James, Robbie “Skinner” Moreland, Mark Aspiazu, Jamie Badman, Tomas Blomberg, Jason Alford, Rich Aviles, David Metz/McLeod/ Copperfield, Paul Cummins, Éireann Leverett, Ezra Tawil, Mike Garces, Murray Hatfield, Lee Asher, Kostya Kimlat, John Horsley, Chris Lovely, Mike Berends, Jason Werhun, Chris Mayhew, James Nielson, Mike Dezeeuw, Heather Nelson, Mike Falez, Fatty, Neil Cameron, Chad just Chad, www.magictrick.com, Giovanni, Bobbi Collins, Jesse Dhaliwal, Grant Eastman, Selby Fish, Robert Genois, Jarry Hajduk, Duncan Heeren, Wilfred Hoyle, Harry Jaeger, Marvin Keyser, Ludwig Krippl, Michelle Libish, Donald Magee, Warren Maubert, Richard Myren, Byron Osing, Chris Pitman, Bert Quaintance, Kenneth Reeder, John Sayeau, Neil Tidsbury, Janeen Van Delden, Carla Zeman. Well okay, those last few dozen names were just randomly picked from the phone book.

Very special thanks go to Donovan Deschner, a damn fine magician, for helping out with several aspects of this project. Well, more specifically, for lending me the guy in photo 3 of Stick It to the Man. And finally, this book would simply not be in your hands without Andi Gladwin putting it there. You’ve always known him as a phenomenal magician, writer and karaoke singer, but you can now tack brilliant publisher onto the list as well. I simply cannot express enough gratitude for all the hard work he has put into developing this book, and above that, for being a great friend. Thanks Andi! Tyler Wilson

............... The Goods Foreplay (David Acer) .......................................................... 7 Innie (Tyler Wilson).............................................................. 9

Busting Chops Rub N Tug ........................................................................ 13 Pitching a Tent Vanish ......................................................... 16 Tyler Insults Tilt’s Totally Inexplicable Elegance and Simplicity ........ 19 Tuning ........................................................................ 20 Tokyo ......................................................................... 22 Bored of Ostentatious Tilts Yet? ............................................. 25 Hasselhofzinser.................................................................. 28 Gag Reflex........................................................................ 32 Displayboy........................................................................ 34 Fade Change (Jack Parker) ................................................... 37

Routine Examination Compost It....................................................................... 45 Dirty Stinkin’ Ape in the Middle.............................................. 55 Clean Sanchez................................................................... 60 B52 Shooter...................................................................... 67 Coke Inhabit..................................................................... 78 Matrimoney...................................................................... 84 Stick it to the Man.............................................................. 89 Paul Mase’s Trick................................................................ 99 Scarred Warp.................................................................. 108 Sven Who?...................................................................... 117 Sloppy 30 Seconds............................................................ 123

Grilling Tyler Wilson vs. Andi Gladwin .............................................. 134 Outie (Andi Gladwin)......................................................... 144

foreplay . . . . . david acer Part magical innovator, part preternatural sasquatch, Canada’s Tyler Wilson has suddenly, inexplicably emerged from the forests of Alberta to rampage through the magic world with a callous disregard for whether or not anyone might be trying to hold a break. But why now, you may ask. Does he sense that a crossroads is at hand? Or a paradigm shift? Or a burgeoning renaissance? Or has he simply been drawn out by the prospect of earning tens, nay dozens of dollars from this book venture? It’s unlikely we will ever know, and indeed, it may be unwise to ask, as Tyler is easily enraged and has a reputation for focusing his attacks on the groin. So let’s make the leap from idle speculation to hard facts: First, while most of his peers insist on introducing themselves to the magic community via DVD, Tyler has made the bold (if often unheralded) choice of releasing his debut collection in book form. Second, in addition to offering a variety of original plots (see “Stick It To The Man,” “Coke Inhabit” and “Sven Who?,” among others), Tyler has decided to share genuine upgrades of existing ones (“Compost It,” “B52 Shooter” and “Scarred Warp,” to name but a few). Third, mired in a generation that frequently doesn’t know its Ascanio from its Elmsley, Tyler is unusually committed not just to the future of magic, but also its past, reading voraciously, studying intensely and absorbing profusely. As a result, every trick in this book is enriched by extensive crediting and related reading, which in turn serves to highlight the relevance of Tyler’s own contributions to the genre. Is all of that enough reason to buy this book? Absolutely! That plus the fact that “B52 Shooter” may become the Triumph of choice for a whole new crop of magicians seeking visually explosive approaches to more typically implosive plots. And the fact that “Stick it to the Man” is quite possibly the most unpretentious mental effect ever devised. AND the fact that “Scarred Warp” adds an astonishing new level to Roy Walton’s “Card Warp,” answering the intriguing question, “What’s happening inside the card tunnel



while the folded card is passing through it.” Not to mention Tyler’s ingenious getready for Tilt, or his eye-popping face-up Rub-A-Dub vanish, or his brain-busting card transposition, “Sloppy 30 Seconds.” And if all that isn’t enough, I’m sure you’ll find more than a handful of other useful goodies in this book, amusingly told, richly conceived and lavishly illustrated with over 150 photographs that, if nothing else, finally provide compelling proof of Tyler’s existence. But in the end, upon its release, the reviews, critiques and scrutiny of this book will all boil down to one thing—does the quality of Tyler’s material outweigh the fact that he will almost surely disembowel anyone who speaks poorly of it? The answer, in my opinion, is a heartfelt yes. David Acer Montreal February, 2006



innie . . . . . Tyler Wilson Welcome to the left handed version of Dominatricks. I like it. This is essentially the same book as the hardcopy, although it has been re-written for a left hander’s perspective. The text actually refers to incredibly strange concepts such as “Right Hand Pinky Break” and “Left Hand Biddle Grip,” go figure. Along with the writeup, all the relevant photos have been flipped over to show what it should look like in your own hands. Because of this, the pips will be on the wrong corners of the card, but I hope that doesn’t impede your learning. One of the routines from the book, Release The Chocolate Hostage, has been removed from this version as it can only be performed as written by right handers. However, to compensate you for your tragic loss, Jack Parker has agreed to tip one of the most gorgeous Colour Changes I have ever seen, which incidentally can only be performed by left handers. I hope the idea of a southpaw book isn’t simply perceived as quaint, as left handers are almost people too. A familiar perspective awaits... Tyler Wilson Calgary February, 2006



Busting Chops

............... Rub N Tug Honestly, whoever doesn’t love the Rub-A-Dub Vanish, raise your hand. I’ll bet my VHS copy of Magic For Morons (starring Michael Winslow, that guy from Police Academy who can make all those

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cool noises with his mouth) that no one is raising their hand right now. For a layman, I don’t think there’s a more startling vanish.

Could the vanish be improved upon? Probably not, but new visual elements could be added by vanishing the card face up. What elements, you ask? I don’t know, possibly Boron and Molybdenum.

See

Card. Then no card.

Do

With the deck face down in right hand Dealers Grip, turn the top card face up with the left hand. Approach the working surface with the deck while pushing the top card to the left for almost its entire width [Photo 1]. The card should be fully supported by the tips of the right fingers and thumb. Approach the card with the left hand to cover it, but leave the fingers spread apart so the card can still be seen underneath [Photo 2].

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In one seamless action, close the left hand fingers and drop the right hand down to the working surface, while you turn the right hand palm down. In the process of turning the deck over, the right fingers pull up to close the card back onto the deck [Photo 3a & 3b, which has the left hand removed for clarity]. It’s important that the card doesn’t go to the deck - instead, the deck should go down to the card.

Immediately turn the right hand back up and momentarily point to the left hand, suggesting that Betty should not take her eyes off the card [Photo 4]. Drop the right hand to the side, creating some distance between the deck and the supposed card. Rub the working surface with the left hand and slowly spread your fingers apart. Turn the left hand palm up to show that the card has vanished. Take the chiropractor off your speed dial.

Get the most

1. The visual combination of the face up card being pushed completely off the deck along with the top of the deck being immediately shown face down, creates substantial “proof” that the card is really under the hand. 2. As with the original Rub-A-Dub Vanish, this move is 100% timing. The mechanics are pretty simple, so it just comes down to a timed choreography between both hands. There is a definite up and down motion made with the right hand as it drops to the working surface at the outset of the vanish.

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3. Unlike the traditional Rub-A-Dub Vanish, this move does not need to be done fast. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be done under the guise of pushing the card off the deck. The card could already be side-jogged long before you start the actual vanish. 4. If it helps, try thinking of this sleight as a K.M. Move done with the left hand substituting for the second card. It sounds confusing, but it might help with the mechanics for those of you who use the K.M. Move extensively. The K.M. Move was not a conscious influence when I was developing Rub ‘N Tug, but its mechanical similarities are present nonetheless.

Shout outs

• Rub ‘N Tug was originally published in the October, 2004 issue of MAGIC Magazine. Joshua Jay did an absolutely superb job describing the move in great detail, so I urge you to check it out. • The original Rub-A-Dub Vanish was published in Expert Card Technique (1940). • A ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� few notable magicians have experimented with a face up Rub-A-Dub Vanish, namely Jay Sankey, Allan Ackerman and Ken Krenzel. You ������������������������������������� can find Jay Sankey’s version in Stephen Minch’s Spectacle (1990) under the title The Face-Up Rub-A-Dub-Dub Vanish. Allan Ackerman’s version can be found in his Wednesday Nights lecture notes (1994) under the title Ultra Rub-A-Dub. These two moves are ������������������������������ completely different to mine, however, Mr. Krenzel has independently created a very similar move to mine which he tells me is slated for his upcoming book.

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.... Pitching a Tent Vanish Q: What time is it boys and girls? A: Time to make Arthur Finley roll in his grave. This is an inbred cousin of Arthur Finley’s Tent Vanish. However, it’s only related by appearance: the mechanics couldn’t be more different. It allows the equally inbred performer to vanish face up cards on a face down deck, face down cards on a face up deck, red backed cards on a blue backed deck, a single card on a card box, ad infinitum.

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I will describe the move in its most basic form, vanishing a face up card atop a face down deck.

See

The magician palms a card, the card vanishes and now the magician is screwed for doing perfect Faro Shuffles.

Do

With the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, prop the card to be vanished up against the right thumb as in the standard Tent Vanish, but leave the card out-jogged for half an inch [Photo 1]. The reasoning behind outjogging the card slightly is twofold; first of all it effectively isolates the card from the deck more than the traditional Tent Vanish, and secondly it helps cover the following actions from the spectators to the direct right of you.

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Cover the card with the left hand in preparation for the “palm” but keep the left fingers spread [Photo 2].

As you approach the deck with your left hand, push up on the deck with the right index finger, as if it were doing a Charlier Cut, but stop when it reaches the right thumb [Photo 3, left hand removed for clarity].

To reduce the amount of scraping against the face up card, apply a slight downward pressure with the right thumb. This will bend the face up card outward, reducing the amount of surface area available for contact [Photo 4, exaggerated for clarity].

From this position, push against the side of the deck with the base of the left index finger, pinning the face up card in position. This allows the right index finger to escape the underside of the deck and join the rest of the right hand fingers [Photo 5, right fingers pulled away to show condition].

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Close the left fingers to apparently palm the face up card and come away with it, but actually pull up on the lower edge of the card with the right fingers to coalesce it with the bottom of the deck. The pressure from the left hand acts as a pivot point and aids the right fingers during the bottom loading move. The card is now face down at the bottom of the face down deck, you’re clean. Choosy Moms Choose Smith & Wesson

Get the most

1. The key to performing the Pitching a Tent Vanish is silence. When you’re first attempting it you’ll probably get more noise than a Hilary Duff concert. Use a light touch and you’ll be fine. 2. As I briefly mentioned earlier, this technique can also be used in other situations. For example, it can be used to vanish a card atop a card box, or in impromptu situations to vanish a credit card above a wallet, just to name a few. 3. Even if you decide not to use this vanish, feel free to use the out-jogged subtlety with the traditional Tent Vanish as it really adds to the illusion.

Shout outs

• Arthur Finley’s original Tent Vanish can be found in Stars of Magic (1961) within Dai Vernon’s Slow-Motion Four Aces, Second Method.

• The idea of keeping the fingers open to add a visual retention quality to the vanish comes from Paul Harris’ Venezuela Vanish from Magic Art Journal’s Paul Harris, The Act issue (1987). • If you’re interested in face up Tent Vanishes and would like to try different methods, check out Jack Parker’s technique in the January, 2004 issue of MAGIC Magazine, Kevin Kelly’s handling that was published in his book A Pasteboard Odyssey (1997) or Jay Sankey’s Bluff Tent Vanish from Sankey Unleashed (2004).

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. Tyler Insults Tilt’s . . .. Totally Inexplicable Elegance and Simplicity . The title essentially refers to the fact that Marlo’s original Tilt is a thing of beauty all by itself and doesn’t really need any embellishments. That being said, there are certain circumstances where it is beneficial to show the precise position of the card as it’s entering the deck. That is where these variations come into play; multiple methods for Tilt which allow for convincing insertions into the deck from the front. The most blatant circumstance where the card’s position plays an important role, is the Ambitious Card. It seems as though most magicians use Tilt later on in an Ambitious routine because the move allows you to show the face of the selection prior to insertion (which the previous phases are usually unable to do). The only problem with that, is the trade off you must accept by not allowing the spectators to see exactly where the card is entering the deck. For the spectators to truly believe the card is rising to the top, by this point in the routine, I feel they really need a fixed visual reference point of where the card started out, which really can’t be acquired from a rear insertion. You’re all smart cookies, so instead of rambling on for another few paragraphs, let’s get to the moves!

This way to the Tilts 19

. . . . . . . Tuning Do

Assuming you want to control a selection, it might be a good idea to have Betty pick a

card first. With that out of the way, you will need to have a card secretly in-jogged from the middle of the deck. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have Betty pick a card from an in-the-hands spread and pull back on any random card with the left fingers during the closing of the spread. The in-jog only needs to be a quarter of an inch but it still needs to be hidden by beveling the deck towards yourself using the right index finger [Photo 1, pinky removed to show in-jog]. As Betty is looking at her selection, get the deck in Tilt position using your favorite method. If you don’t have a favorite method or would just like to see how much I can pad out this description, I’ll briefly describe a simple one-handed get ready. With the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, push the top card to the left about a quarter of an inch with the right thumb. Position the fleshy pad of the right pinky under the top card to hold a break as you move the thumb back to the right far enough for the thumb base to lose contact with the back right corner of the top card. There should now be a gap at the rear of the deck about a half of an inch between the top card and the second card of the deck. The right thumb base should regain contact with its side of the deck in order to cover the gap from view. To cover the gap on the left, angle that side of the deck towards the floor (Tommy Wonder has some fantastic ideas regarding this issue). With Betty holding her selection and you holding the deck in Tilt position with a random card in-jogged near the center, ask politely for the selection back. Insert the selection about halfway into the Tilt break from behind and then stop. Mention how

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it always seems unfair that the magician is the one who gets to push the card in the deck considering it’s Betty’s card. During that statement, several actions will be accompanying your words, and it just so happens that those actions will be completely dirty. Grip the selection with the left thumb on top and the left index finger underneath riding parallel to the short edge of the card [Photo 2].

Push the selection all the way into the break, grasp the in-jogged card in the same grip, and pull it out about half its length (the same position that the selection started in). This all happens during the mention of the magician always getting to push the card in the deck, and should look just like you pushed the card in and back out as a demonstration. It helps if the left index finger drops to beneath the in-jogged card before the selection makes it all the way into the break [Photo 3], which will allow the left thumb to simply drop and catch on the in-jogged card and pull it out in one seamless action. To finish, ask Betty to hold out her thumb, which will provide ample misdirection for one last action. Turn the deck counter-clockwise bringing the “selection” to the front by grasping the front with your left hand, thumb on top and fingers below. During the turning motion, the Tilt break will drop and end the dirty work. The larger movement of turning the deck will cover the smaller movement of the break dropping, so you might think the misdirection is overkill but you can never be too safe. With the deck back in Dealers Grip, push the “selection” flush by pressing the deck against Betty’s thumb. This gives her the credit for the insertion without the fear of her trying to take a peek at the card. No one likes a Smart Alec, except the Baldwins.

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Get the most

1. It might make things easier when you’re starting out to make an

over-emphasized in-jog, and then work your way down to a workable size. 2. Play around with the speed of the switch. It needs to be brisk enough to be deceiving, but not too fast to draw suspicious attention. Obviously, try to get it as close as possible to the actual speed at which you would push a card into the deck and back out during a demonstration. 3. Don’t look at the deck as you’re performing the switch. The move should be treated as inconsequential. 4. It’s overkill to use this method as a simple control procedure, save it for when the exact location of the selection is an important element to the routine.

Shout outs

As this book is going to the printers, Garrett Thomas released a DVD set called Inside the Mind of Garrett Thomas, which includes an Ambitious Card routine that utilizes a very similar Tilt to mine. He handles it a little differently and under a different context, but he published it before I did, so should get full credit for this idea.

Tokyo . . . . . . . Do

After asking Veronica to select a card, get a break above the bottom card of the deck using a buckle or a pinky pull down. Transfer the deck into left hand Biddle Grip and transfer the break to the left thumb. Swing cut the top half of the deck into the right hand, but keep it at a 45 degree angle to the right [Photo 1].

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Place the remaining half of the deck in right hand Dealers Grip but don’t release the cards from the left hand just yet. Let go of the bottom card with the left thumb and slide the rest of the left hand’s cards forward about a quarter of an inch. This will injog the former bottom card between the two angled halves [Photo 2 exaggerated for

>>>> clarity].

<<<<

Ask Veronica for the selection back as you get ready for Tilt (see the Tuning method for an easy technique). Insert the selection all the way into the Tilt break and immediately drop the left thumb down. It will catch on the in-jogged card and allow the left hand to continue pushing forward. This brings the card out the front of the deck and onto the bottom half of the deck [Photo 3] and looks as though the selection was simply inserted onto the lower half of the deck. It’s now a simple matter of squaring up the deck and utilizing the selection’s position to the best of your abilities.

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If you wanted to allow Veronica to push the card in herself (similar to the Tuning method), place the left middle finger on the back of the “selection” prior to squaring the deck. When the left hand brings its packet forward to square the deck, the “selection” will out-jog itself allowing Veronica to push the card flush if she so desires. Don’t underestimate the power of underestimating.

Get the most

1. The key to this move is smoothness. It’s all one seamless action, just how it would be if you were actually placing a card in the deck.

Shout outs

• A similar move was independently created by Tomas Blomberg and Jack Parker (they each called it Zilt and Ultra-Tilt, respectively) and I believe their moves predated mine. They originally published their methods on TSD (The Second Deal) website, so Mr. Blomberg and Mr. Parker should be given full credit for this idea. The reason I’m including it in this book is because I like to steal material. Oh, and because it is used in one of the later routines (also Tomas and Jack said they would be happy for me to do so).

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Bored of Ostentatious Tilts Yet?.......................... This is not another over the top convincer for Tilt (like Tyler Insults Tilt’s Totally Inexplicable Elegance and Simplicity), it’s just an easy and fooling method for getting into Tilt position. It also happens to completely get rid of the main problems associated with Tilt. Problems with Tilt? You heard me. If you were forced to sit down and come up with any little problems with the way most magicians perform Tilt, you would probably come up with the following list:

• The “unnecessary” raising of the top card can be seen if Betty is burning the deck. • The “unnecessary” lowering of the top card can be seen if Betty is burning the deck. • Betty isn’t allowed to see the back of the deck prior to insertion.

Granted, these are pretty small problems and can be covered with misdirection, large actions, physical cover, or simply not giving a damn. If you would like a method for doing Tilt which is easier than most, while at the same time addressing these issues, today is your lucky day.

Do

Have a card selected and square up the deck. Transfer the deck to left hand Biddle Grip and dribble about half the cards into the right hand. Place the remainder of the left hand’s cards on top of the right hand’s portion, but leave them out-jogged about half an inch and keep a big ass break between the two packets (it’s not supposed to be hidden) [Photo 1].

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Reach forward with the left hand to get the selection, while at the same time turning the right hand counter-clockwise. This will bring the rear of the deck into view while not drawing specific attention to it. Turn the right hand back to the standard position as the left hand brings the selection close to the deck. During the turning motion, pull the front right corner of the top card to the right using the right thumb. This causes the thumb base to lose contact with every card in the top portion except the top card. The resulting action is the dropping of every card except the top card, it’s automatic [Photo 2]. The deck is in perfect position for Tilt and the top card does not move during the entire procedure. From the front, it looks like the two packets are still separated. Place the selection in the Tilt break and push the top card down with the left hand to square the deck. Since the “two packets” need to be coalesced from Betty’s point of view, the lowering of the top card not only makes total sense, but actually needs to be there. Thanks, I’ll take one cream and two sugars, hold the coffee.

Get the most

1. You could draw more attention to where the selection will apparently be going by allowing Betty to tell you when to stop dribbling, or by saying, “We’ll place your card here,” and point to the break as it’s facing the audience. I don’t think that’s really necessary, unless you’re working for drunk people … or Brits. Most audiences really don’t need to be spoon fed every ounce of information. 2. You could wait until the deck is fully turned back around before you drop the top packet in preparation for Tilt. The top card covers everything, so the timing completely depends on what’s comfortable for you. I just like to combine motions if possible, which is why I do the move while turning my hand back around.

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Shout outs

• This move was published in Genii August, 2005 (Volume 68, Number 8) under the name Deep Vernon. Originally Genii Columnist David Acer renamed it Deep Tilt, which I liked because it reminded me of a pizza I once ate, but Genii publisher Richard Kaufman renamed it Deep Vernon out of respect for the Professor. I realize you didn’t ask, I realize you didn’t care, and I just realized I didn’t shower, so what? • The only other Tilt variation I’ve seen which allows for Betty to see from behind is Mark Aspiazu’s super-fantastico Pull Down Tilt (published on TSD website). It was created independently from mine and is used in a different context, but nonetheless, it rocks. • Thanks Marlo!

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Hasselhofzinser.... Please try not to take the name literally. No one needs a visual of Hofzinser running topless in slow motion down the beach. Well okay, maybe we do [Photo 1]. Here is a move that’s a workhorse in my arsenal. Its basic function is as a force (which is how I will describe it), but you will see that it can be adapted to a number of uses.

See

You pick Veronica to pick the card you want her to pick.

Pre-do

Get the force card in a comfortable position to cull under the spread (5th position, bottom of the deck, top of the deck, etc).

Do

With the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, spread the top few cards into the left hand while asking Veronica to touch any card her pretty little heart desires. In the process of spreading the first few cards, cull the force card under the spread (I’ll assume you’re familiar with the Hofzinser Spread Cull) and continue spreading the cards from hand-tohand until Veronica touches a card. Once she has touched a card, leave the selection on top of the right hand’s spread and bring the left hand’s cards back about 3/4 the length of the deck. Allow the force card’s front right corner to go under the selection’s back left corner [Photo 2] and square the left hand’s spread against the heel of the right hand.

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You should now be in a position with half the deck in right hand Dealers Grip and the other half of the deck in-jogged on top for about 3/4 of its length [Photo 3]. The force card is directly beneath the selection but it is also in-jogged with the rest of the top half.

Use the left ring finger to pull back on the bottom card of its packet (the force card) so it’s further in-jogged for a quarter of an inch [Photo 4 exaggerated for clarity].

Curl the ring finger over the injogged portion of the card and pull it down slightly while pushing it forward [Photo 5 exaggerated for clarity]. The force card will ride imperceptively under the selection until they are flush together.

Even though it’s been broken down

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into small steps, the entire move is one fluid motion. For economy of motion, try pulling the force card back with the left ring finger during the in-jogging and squaring of the left hand’s cards. This means there’s one less step to do once the cards are square, which means the move gets done faster. Alright, let’s get back to it ... Bring the left hand up while still holding its half of the deck and smack the selection’s back left corner a couple of times with the deck while asking Veronica if she’s sure that’s the card she wants. Please don’t skip this part, it’s the motivation for the handling. Otherwise, there would be no point of in-jogging the left hand’s cards. If Veronica agrees that it’s the card she wants, simply perform a Double Turnover to show the apparent selection (really the force card). This also allows for many nice and easy control sequences after the double has been returned to the deck. If Veronica changes her mind (what a cow), it’s an incredibly easy task to re-form the spread and cull the force card back under the spread for a repeat performance. Remember kids, roughing spray is not a good substitute for hair spray.

Get the most

1. Because of the complete physical cover involved, there is no need to rush the loading manoeuver. Take it nice and slow at first, a comfortable increase of speed will naturally take place with time. 2. Andi Gladwin has a one-handed variation of Hasselhofzinser which is as slick as it is difficult. If you’re feeling frisky and want to give it a shot, perform the traditional Hasselhofzinser up until the left hand’s packet gets squared against the base of the right thumb. Here’s where things start to change, let go with the left hand so the entire package is resting in the right hand. It is now possible using the right pinky, to push the bottom card forward and under the selection. This is accomplished with Fred Robinson’s Ambitious Riser move to affect the transfer. I told you it was hard! You’ll probably notice from attempting the move, that the deck will need to be resting a little more forward in the right hand than previously, as the pinky will be unable to reach back far enough otherwise. The really nice thing about Andi’s handling is the ability to misdirect with the left hand as the right hand does the move. It can be performed more casually without both hands needing to be on the deck. And just in case you had any doubts, yes, Andi can actually do it, while making it look beautiful in the process. Thanks Andi!

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Shout outs

• There are quite a few moves which all fall into this family of Spread Forces. Some notable places to look would be Hofzinser’s Card Conjuring (english translation, 1931), Ed Marlo’s finessed Prayer Cull in The New Tops (June, 1966) Tomas Blomberg’s TB Spread Double (unpublished), Michael Close’s MC Spread Double Lift from Workers 2 (1991), David Hasselhoff’s stellar performance in Baywatch: The Movie, and Kostya Kimlat’s double serving of The K.F.C. Move from Magic: Experiments With The Art & Thoughts On The Artistry (2002) and The Undercover Force from Card Work, Card Play (2004). In my opinion, Tomas Blomberg’s is the best of the bunch, but the scallywag just won’t release it yet. • ������������������������������������������������������������������������� Fred Robinson’s Ambitious Riser can be found in the April, 1975 issue of Pabular (Volume 1, Number 8). Earnest Earick was the first to adapt the move to a Dealing Grip position, although Ray Kosby was the first to publish it within his Raise Rise effect, which first saw print in Magic Arts Journal Volume 1 Numbers 11 & 12 (June & July, 1987).

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gag Reflex Laymen laugh when they see it. Magicians cringe when they see it. No, I’m not talking about Ed Alonzo’s magician character on Saved by the Bell, I’m talking about the classic gag of wiggling a card beneath the fan when asking a spectator to pick one, any one. It’s time we used that move for more than just a couple of laughs and it just so happens that the gag’s properties allow for a sleight-free, uber clean force.

See

Betty’s free will is taken away.

Do

For completeness, I will begin by briefly describing the original gag. With the force card at the face of the deck, perform a face down Thumb Fan or Pressure Fan in the right hand and say, “Please select any card Betty, but don’t let me influence your decision.” Holding the fan steady with the right middle and ring fingers, curl the index finger in towards the long edge of the force card [Photo 1]. Using a light touch, push the force card forward being careful not to disturb the rest of the fan. Once the card is protruding from the front of the fan, transfer control of the card to the middle finger and allow the index finger to return to supporting the fan [Photo 2]. Move the middle finger back and forth sideways to cause the card to wiggle in front of Betty’s hand.

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Mention that you’re just kidding and want her to have a completely free choice while pulling the card back under the fan around counter-clockwise to the other end of the spread [Photo 3, exposed for clarity]. With the left hand, close the fan in the standard counter-clockwise fashion but pull a little further to the left than usual. This will cause the deck to end up in a slight spread rather than a squared pack [Photo 4 exposed for clarity]. The force card will now be riding underneath the top few cards in perfect position for the Spread Force we all know and love. Spread the cards from the left hand to the right hand for a selection. When Betty touches a card, break the spread with the selection being the bottom card of the top portion. Square up the top portion causing the force card to become the new bottom card as you show the face of the packet. Betty will assume that it’s the card she selected, but what she doesn’t know is that her boyfriend is cheating on her.

Get the most

1. There you have it, a Spread Force which requires no culling at all. 2. As you may have already noticed, you actually form a reverse spread for the selection procedure. This may feel a little sloppy when you first try it out, but then again, so does poutine.

Shout outs

• The gag is old. Anyone who actually knows the origin of it should be given a medal. Or a beer. • For credits regarding Spread Forces, check out Hasselhofzinser (page 28).

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Displayboy........... See

A flourish for displaying a card from the center of the deck.

Do

Spread through the deck and out-jog a card for half its length. Square the sides so the deck is held in a modified Dealers Grip with the right middle finger at the outer left corner [Photo 1].

Bring the left middle finger to the outer right corner of the deck [Photo 2].

Then, rotate the card clockwise 180° around the right middle finger [Photo 3].

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I’m about to get three dimensional on your derriere, so get ready. Bring the left middle finger down so the card is angled 45° up to the right [Photo 4] while continuing to rotate the card around the right finger.

Because of the new angle, further rotation will cause the card to prop up on top of the right finger until it’s perpendicular to the deck [Photo 5].

The pip corner should be digging into the pad of the right middle finger, as it will act as a pivot point for the rest of the move. The left finger moves forward and to the left which brings the card to a non-ugly display position for all the world to see [Photo 6a & Photo 6b, from the performer’s perspective].

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The entire move should take about a second to perform and be one seamless action from start to finish. No, the clean hand.

Get the most

1. Only the middle fingers come in contact with the card, so just ignore the other six fingers and two thumbs. 2. The fingernails are your worst enemy. If the card comes in contact with either fingernail, the card will slip out and shatter as it hits the floor. 3. This move is perfect for performing to larger groups. It takes a horizontal card and displays it large and in charge for everyone to see. 4. Yes, this can also be done with a double.

Shout outs

• Jerry Andrus has a flourishy move resembling parts of Displayboy in his book Andrus Deals You In (1956). • Cards were invented by Steve.

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Fade change . Jack Parker It took a lot of arm twisting, teeth pulling, and Shirley Temples to convince my good friend, Jack Parker, to release this gem he’s been holding back. I still remember just how long it took me to stop drooling when Jack performed this Colour Change for me. I also remember just how long it took me to stop fuming when I realized it could only really be done by you left handed folk. If the earth’s poles were to suddenly shift and I were to instantly become left handed and bald, The Fade Change would be the first item on my to-do list, apart from Propecia. In Jack’s words with Jack’s hands...

See

A thumb slowly wipes across a card, removing all its ink in the process. Don’t believe us? Browse to the LeftHandedBook folder on this CD to see a video of Jack performing the move.

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Pre-do

With the deck face up, cut a two to the face and position a blank faced card directly beneath it.

Do

This is the basic version to transform a regular card into a blank card. Further possibilities are discussed in the Get the Most section. The change begins identically to the standard Erdnase Change. I prefer to use John Carney’s idea of pushing the top card forward with your left little fingertip as the left hand is turned down to cover the face up deck. This avoids the usual forward / backward / forward action that is so often a giveaway for this change. The left hand pushing forward, slightly out-jogging the top card by half an inch, is hidden by the larger action of the hand turning palm down onto the deck. As in the standard move, you can now contact the second card, the blank facer, with the fleshy pad at the base of your left thumb. Move your left hand backwards, sliding the blank facer with it, until you feel its front end clearing the back end of the out-jogged top card - you’ll feel a slight “click” [Photo 1]. The moment you feel this, your left hand starts to move forwards again carrying the blank facer with it using a light touch. The hand also twists very slightly to the left so the little finger of the right hand goes beneath the blank facer, the tip of the little finger pressing up on the back of the card. The hidden blank face card is going to slide across your right fingertips as you move your left hand forwards. Your left thumb should be kept touching the side of your hand as you slowly go forwards. You’ll reach a position where the left fingertips cover the far end of the out-jogged card and the left hand also completely covers the top of the deck [Photo 2]. The hand position needs to be precise because at this moment your right 1st finger pulls the out-jogged card back in flush with the deck. The left fingers completely hide this action.

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The left hand rotates again to the left, but leaving the blank card behind this time. As it does so, the left thumb opens up to leave a triangle of space [Photo 5a & 5b, face down to clarify position]. This is the critical position and what gives the Fade Change its impact. You’ll see that the left thumb lies along the line of the inner end of the blank card, concealing this edge – this is why the amount of out-jog was critical. Behind the thumb (on your side) the index and pip of the two are clearly visible. In the triangle of space there is white card which appears to be the face of the two, but is in fact the blank facer. To carry out the change only two things happen. The right first finger pulls the blank card very slowly in flush with the deck. As it does this, the left thumb slowly wipes up the surface of the two, basically using the base of the thumb as a fulcrum. It moves at the same speed as the leading edge of the blank card as this slides back onto the deck. You’ll see that the area of white triangle, although it appears stationary, is actually the sliding surface of the blank card. When your thumb gets to the index on the two, it just appears that you are wiping it away [Photo 6a & 6b, face down to clarify position].

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Finish with the blank card square on the top of the deck and the change is complete [Photo 7].

Get the most

1. Throughout the change itself, it is very important that the left hand remains stationary other than the moving thumb. You should not move this hand backwards. Try pressing down slightly with the left hand onto the tips of the right fingertips, thus “locking” the hands in place. The only things that move are the right first finger and left thumb. 2. Once you get used to moving the thumb along with the leading edge, as the card is pushed in by the right 1st finger, the change can be done with a red and a black two instead of a blank card. This takes more care, as you thumb is hiding the pip of the two as it slides across the deck. 3. You can use other gaffed cards instead of the blank. If you have a card which is blank except for a two index at one corner this is very effective It appears you just wiped one index off, leaving the other intact. 4. Another touch, if the circumstances are right, is to put a little bit of black ink on the underside of your thumb – the surface you wipe the card with. You can then really “sell” wiping the pip off. Back to Tyler’s words... 5. Jack described the get-ready as an Erdnase Change because it’s a common sleight which almost everyone is familiar with. However, that is not the true method Jack uses to set up The Fade Change. His preferred method is to use Robbie Moreland’s Cloud Change to first cause the blank card to change into a Two, and then use The Fade Change to turn it blank again.

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The method Jack uses when he only wants to change the card once (rather than twice with The Cloud Change) is as follows: With the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, bring the left hand over the deck palm down. Under cover of the left hand, pull the right fingers back slightly as if performing a Glide. This will expose the front edge of the blank card underneath, allowing the left pinky to contact the front left edge of this second card. Push forward with the left hand, bringing the blank card with it, until the you feel the comforting click signaling you’ve cleared the top card. Bring the left hand back slightly, at which point you will be in perfect position to form the triangle with the thumb and go into the change. This setup for The Fade Change is essentially an Erdnase Change from the front rather than the back, and bears certain similarities to Erdnase’s second method for a color change. It reduces the amount of movement needed by the left hand to setup the change compared to the previously described method.

Shout outs

• ������������������������������������������������������������������������ Robbie Moreland’s Cloud Change can be found in the August 2004 issue of MAGIC Magazine. • The ����������������������������������������������������������������� Glide, in a crude form, can be found in Reginald Scot’s book The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584) within the routine How to Deliver Out Four Aces, and to Convert them into Four Knaves. • ����������������������������������������� Erdnase’s colour changes can be found in Expert at the Card Table (1902) under the title Transformations. Two Hands. First Method. and Transformations. Two Hands. Second Method. Erdnase’s second method is sometimes referred to as The Malini Change as it was his colour change of choice. • �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� For another great use of a card’s blank space in conjunction with a Colour Change, be sure to check out Don England’s Visual Retention Color Change from his book T.K.O.’s: Technical Knock Outs (1980), written by John Mendoza. • ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� With The Fade Change, Jack is essentially ripping off squeegee kids worldwide. Way to go Jack!

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Routine Examination

999,999 versions of Ambitious Card on the

Compost IT

wall, 999,999 versions of Ambitious Card. Take one down, Riffle Pass it around, 999,998 versions of Ambitious Card on the wall. 999,998 versions of Ambi…

See

Veronica selects and signs a card before it’s lost in the deck. The magician pulls out a pad of Post-it Notes, writes “Top” on one of them and asks Veronica to add her initials to it. He explains that since it says “Top” and has her initials, sticking the note to the top card should cause it to become her card. He demonstrates this principle a few times, increasing the impossibility every time. He states that the Post-it Note controls everything, so the only way to make it stop is to write an “S” in front of “Top”, literally making it “Stop.” To cement this fact, the deck starts slowly disappearing right in front of Veronica’s eyes, until the only card left is her selection. The magician has no choice but to “Stop.”

Gear

• A deck of cards • A marker pen • A 1.5” x 2” Post-it Note pad

Do

Ask Veronica to select and sign a card. During the signing procedure, secretly turn over the top two cards of the deck and hold a break beneath them. Ensure that you keep the deck angled towards yourself so that you don’t flash the face up cards. Take the signed card back and place it face up on top of the deck to display it. Perform a Triple Turnover and insert the top indifferent card into the center of the deck. After tabling the deck, ask, “Do you know what the most powerful things in the world are?” Point to your biceps saying, “Well, other than these!” However Veronica responds, bring out the Post-it Notes and say, “You’re very close, actually it’s Post-it Notes. I have

45

a theory that these things can do anything in the world, with the exception of spell checking. I always have trouble with hippopotamus.” Offer to demonstrate their power by writing the word “TOP” at the upper short end of the note, with the sticky side to your left, followed by an “X” and a line at the bottom short edge. [Photo 1]. Pull off the note and place it in front of Veronica so she can sign her initials on the line [Photo 2]. Take the marker back and place it in your left front pants pocket. Say, “So if my theory is correct, by placing this Post-it Note on the top card …” turn over the top indifferent card “… the Five of Diamonds [or whatever] ...” and turn it back down, “… the top card will become your card!” To match actions with words, place the Post-it Note on the top card of the deck facing the audience, along the short border closest to you [Photo 3]. During the last line, be sure to point to the word “TOP” and to her initials when you say, “top card” and “your card.” This will cement what’s about to take place and why it’s apparently happening. Perform a Double Turnover to reveal Veronica’s selection. Let this sink in briefly as ,believe it or not, it’s actually a strong magical moment for an audience, so don’t plow through on to the next phase without a bit of a pause. Say, “The only way to really test a theory, is to repeat it.” Flip the double back over and turn the top card 180° so the note is on the outer edge and insert it into the center of the deck. Keep it out-jogged to clearly display the situation [Photo 4] and remove the Post-it Note. Push the out-jogged card flush with the deck and stick the note to

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the top card the same way as before. Let Veronica turn over the top card herself for the revelation. While she’s holding her selection, get ready for Tilt (I personally use the Bored of Ostentatious Tilts Yet? method (page 25) in this situation). Say, “Let’s test the other aspect of the theory. Since it says ‘TOP’, let’s see what happens to the Post-it Note if we don’t take it off your card before we put it in the middle?” Push the left index finger into the Tilt break to match actions with words. While the finger is in there, push the second card forward about the width of the border [Photo 5]. The first knuckle of the index finger will hit the top tilted card to push it forward as well so the second card isn’t jetting out the front of the deck. Take Veronica’s card back and insert it under the second card. The separation between the second and third card creates a slide which makes the insertion a no-brainer. When the selection has been inserted to the point where the Post-it Note is stuck on, pushing it further will slide the note off the selection and cause it to stick to the card second from top. Angling the card during insertion will ensure perfect results every time [Photo 6]. Drop the top card flush with the deck and push down with the left fingers to assure the Post-it Note has applied itself to the second card. Say, “If everything goes as planned, it should take about three seconds to see any results. One … Two,” and perform a OneCard Pass to visually cause the Post-it Note to appear on top of the deck. Performing the Pass on “Two” rather than “Three” allows the move to be done with a lot less heat, typically catching Veronica off guard. Say, “I guess my watch is a little slow, but it worked!” as you perform a Double Turnover to display the selection.

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Say, “Now, here’s what I want you to do …” turn the double back over and clip the corner of the top card in your teeth with the back facing out [Photo 7]. Start mumbling and making noises as if you’re trying to issue instructions with a card in your mouth. During your mumbling session, openly count four cards off the deck into the left hand, reversing their order. Make large gestures while you’re doing it so it looks like it is part of the instructions. Put the four card packet back on the deck and remove the card from your mouth with the right hand. Say, “Do you understand?” to which she’ll usually laugh and decline.

Place the left hand’s card on top of the deck and remove the Post-it Note from its back. Hand it to Veronica and ask her touch the back of one of the cards while you spread them from hand-to-hand. In the process, cull the fifth card under the spread in preparation for Hasselhofzinser ����������������������������������������������������� (page 28)�������������������������������������������� . When she touches a card, ask her to place the Post-it Note on its back as you load the culled selection underneath. Place the left hand’s cards on the table, point at the top of the right hand’s packet and say, “Now this is the top of the deck, does that still count?” Perform a Double Turnover to show the selection. Add the tabled cards under the packet in the right hand to reform the deck. Turn the double over and take the deck into left hand Biddle Grip. With the right thumb, slide the top card into right hand Dealers Grip and reach forward to allow Veronica to remove the Post-it-Note, saying ”There’s one last test needed to prove the theory, but since it involves three ferrets and some rubber cement, let’s try this instead.” Dribble the cards on top of the supposed selection in the right hand, stopping when two cards are left in the left hand, but hold them as one. After a dramatic pause, turn the left hand palm up with the expectations of the card(s) being the selection. When it turns out to be an indifferent card, pause for a moment as if you’re trying to understand what went

48

wrong. Say, “Whoops, I’m such an idiot, I forgot the most important part!” Reach over with the right hand to take the Post-it Note from Veronica as the left hand turns back palm down. During the reach around, lightly brush the right hand against the double being held in the left hand and allow the lower most card to drop onto the deck, leaving only the selection. Think of it almost like a top change, only a lot easier and fully burnable. It also helps if the deck is still messy from the dribbling to allow cover in case the ditched card doesn’t align perfectly. The move was inspired by Martin Nash’s Ghost Switch. Take the Post-it Note back from Veronica with your right hand and stick it to the back of the card in your left hand. Hand her the card to turn over, then during this misdirection, prepare to palm off the entire deck with the exception of the top card. To do this, bring the left hand over, push the top card forward slightly and use the right index finger to push the rest of the deck back into the crotch of the left thumb. Pull the left hand away, leaving only the top card in the right hand, and place the deck into your left front pants pocket as your body swings to the left. Bring out the marker from the same pocket. The card in the right hand should be held in a modified Erdnase Grip as if it was still the whole deck [Photo 8]. Say, “My theory is correct, this Post-it Note has full control over everything! There’s only one way I know to make it stop.” Uncap the marker with only the left hand. Write an “S” in front of the word “TOP” so it now says “STOP” and say, “How’s THAT for anti-climactic?!” Carry on, “No really, now we have to stop,” and stick the Post-it Note to the face of the selection, allowing ¾ of it to be hanging off the short edge of the card [Photo 9].

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Say, “Because if we try it again, look what happens.” Turn it face down and pretend to place it into the “deck”, really just putting it below the single card as if performing Tilt [Photo 10]. The front edges of the two cards should be aligned but the back edges should be held about an inch apart. Because of the protruding Post-it Note, the selection will appear to be somewhere in the center of the deck. With the left hand covering the gap from the left side, very slowly allow the top card to drop gradually until it rests flush against the selection. It will look just like the deck is visibly vanishing in slow motion until there is only one card left. Turn over the double in the right hand to show the only card left is the selection with the Post-it Note on it! Can I get a woot woot?

Get in

This can be performed FASDIU if you have a marker and some Post-it Notes with you. So I guess it would be more accurately described as FASDIUIYHAMASPINWY.

Get out

If you plan on performing more card tricks after this routine, mention that you have to “STOP” because the cards went back to where they came from: your pocket. Reach in and pull out all the cards to reveal a transportation effect rather than simply just a vanish. Drop the face up double on the face up deck to allow the left hand to remove the Post-it Note. You’re clean. The most powerful way to end this routine and continue on into other material is to switch the empty card case for a full one as soon as you start your first routine, which is probably at least one or two routines before busting out Compost-It. Yes, the cards reappearing back into the card case, which has been in full view the entire time, is stronger than pulling the deck from the pocket, but the real power of this method comes not from where the deck re-appears but rather what you can do with them for the next routine. It would be a crime to not have that new deck stacked for a major miracle. Whether you’re a story deck fan, a memorized deck user or a gaffed deck aficionado, you’re set to bust into your next miracle thanks to the built-in deck switch.

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If it’s your closer, sadly put the double card in the empty card case and say, “I hope you’re happy now, I’ve been reduced to only being able to do coin tricks.” Open the case back up and remove only the selection with the Post-it Note, saying, “Dagnabbit, why am I bothering to keep it? I can’t do anything with only one card, I may as well just give it to you.” Hand it over to Veronica, then put the dirty case away to end clean.

Get the most

1. To truly get the most from Compost-It, you’ll have to treat it differently than the typical Ambitious Card Routine. Compost-It shifts the entire focus of the routine from the selected card to the Post-it Note. All attention should be focused on the two important properties of the note; what it says and where it resides. It is the vehicle through which the magic travels, so make it a big deal every time you stick it to the top card. The “mistake” at the end further reinforces the fact that nothing is possible without the note. The shift in focus also opens many doors with regards to endings. A standard issue among many magicians is how to truly and effectively conclude an Ambitious Card Routine. One school of thought is to end by performing an incredibly impressive rise to the top, either using a visual rise such as the Braue Pop-Up move or a confined rise such as Daryl’s Ultimate Ambition or Sankey’s Rubber Room Rise. The problem with this style of finish is that a properly structured Ambitious Card Routine should progressively get more impressive and impossible with each rise, so what’s to say there still isn’t another even more impressive rise after one of these final phases. Essentially, the magician stops the routine by yelling “Uncle” because he can’t top the previous phase. Hardly a fantastic system for developing an ending. The other school of thought for Ambitious climaxes, is to finish with a completely unrelated effect such as Card-To-Impossible-Location or Colour Changing Back. The problem with this type of ending is the complete lack of continuity, the surprise finish comes completely out of nowhere and completely out of context. When the entire effect is focused on the selected card rising to the top, it’s a bit of a cop out to cop out the card and produce it from some unrelated locale, like a cop outfit. It’s a catch-22, either end the routine by saying “I can’t do it anymore,” or by saying, “Ha ha, you didn’t see THAT coming, now did ya?” The only way I know how to solve this problem is to run away from it, shifting the focus to something entirely different than the card rising to the top. I have played with several presentational ploys to accomplish this (as have many other magicians), but I keep coming back to the Post-it Note idea for the sheer range of creativity possible, you can write anything on those things (other than hippopotamus).

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2. There will be instances when the time comes to palm the deck, but one or more people are looking at you rather than the selection. These days when this situation arises, I’ll use a gag to create complete physical cover. I turn to the person on my right and say, “I can’t reach, do you mind patting my back for me?” I then continue turning until I’m fully turned around. It’s now a super simple matter to palm the deck to the pocket. If you decide to use this ploy, be sure to anchor the left elbow to the torso to prevent a flaring elbow from giving the subterfuge away to Veronica. 3. If you think palming a whole deck is a little too heavy, you can end the routine by adding an “S” in front of “TOP” and then showing the deck to made up of blank cards. The only differences in handling, is that you would have to force the only legit card at the outset of the routine. You also wouldn’t be able to do the final change after dribbling the cards into the right hand. Instead, just dribble everything but the selection, take the Post-it Note and add it to the back of the selection before turning it over. 4. Finally, if you’re not comfortable performing a One-Card Pass but would still like to perform this routine, here’s an alternative set of events which will act as compensation: First of all, the entire routine will be performed with the Post-it Note at a 90º angle, so the word “Top” is along the upper adhesive long section of the note and the signing line is along the bottom long side [Photo 11]. The note will be continually placed along the same border as in the previous description, although now the adhesive will be parallel to the short edge rather than the long edge [Photo 12]. Perform the first two phases as described until you arrive at the Tilt phase. Get into Tilt position, but this time there’s no need to push the second card forward, just insert the selection into the break normally and don’t worry about trying to scrape the

52

Post-it Note off. To create the effect of the selection rising to the top, perform a Half-Erdnase Change (for lack of better term) as follows: Bring the left hand over the deck palm down, allowing the pinky to push the top card forward a little [Photo 13, exposed for clarity]. With the base of the left hand contacting the second card, pull back for about an inch and a half. Unlike a standard Erdnase Change, you won’t be pulling the second card back far enough to transpose positions with the top card, you’ll simply be pulling back far enough to fully expose the Post-it Note. Push the left hand forward again, making sure the Post-it Note slides over the top card and scrapes up onto it [Photo 14, exposed for clarity]. You’ll now be left in the same position as mentioned after the One-Card Pass. Congratulations.

Shout outs

• Richard Neve is credited with the Double Lift as well as a crude Ambitious Card routine from his book The Merry Companion: or, Delights for the Ingenious (1712). • The idea for automatically scraping the Post-it Note off the selection and onto the back of an indifferent card (during the Tilt phase) came from John Scarne. He used the idea with a postage stamp in a game of Three Card Monte from his booklet Three Card Monte (circa 1933) written by Audley Walsh. • Martin Nash’s Ghost Switch can be found in his book Any Second Now (1977) written by Stephen Minch. • The method described to palm the deck is Phillipe Socrate’s variation of a stage manipulation move, described in Williamson’s Wonders (1989). The idea for the deck

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vanish was also inspired by David Williamson’s brilliant 51 Cards To Pocket from the same book. • The final phase of slowly vanishing the deck is a David Harkey move called Tailwind, which is based on Ben Harris’ Floating Ambitious. It can be found in The Magic Menu (Issue 55, September/October, 1999). Harkey uses it in a different context than I do, by lowering the top card of the deck from a standard Tilt break he creates the illusion of the selected card rising to the top as an Ambitious Card move. It’s a truly beautiful move, so thanks Ben and David! • 999,998 versions of Ambitious Card on the wall, 999,998 versions of Ambitious Card. Take one down, LePaul Spread Pass it around, 999,997 versions of Ambitious Card on the wall. 999,997 versions of Ambi…

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Dirty stinkin’ ape in the middle . . . Most authors jokingly describe their sandwich routines as if they were a real sandwich. Well that’s just baloney. I want this book to cut the mustard and that won’t happen if I fill it with cheese. I’ll just come across as a turkey if I try to ham it up, so I guess that means I’m in a pickle. As my second grade teacher, Mrs. Alfalfa Sprouts, once told me “Some say ‘Tomato’, some say ‘Tomato’.” (I guess it just doesn’t have the same effect on paper) Did you want that on white or brown?

See

If Ferris Bueller were to perform a sandwich routine, this would be it.

Do

The great thing about this routine is that it only uses one move to accomplish everything simultaneously. Let’s do it. Run through the deck with the faces towards you and remove the two red Aces. Place them face down on the table with the Ace of Hearts being lowermost while saying, “We’ll get to these in a moment.” Thank Betty for coming home with you from the bar and ask her to select a card. Insert her selection halfway down the deck but leave it out-jogged for half its length [Photo 1]. Turn the right hand palm down to flash the face of the selection one last time in the center.

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After returning to a palm up position, pull the selection flush with the deck using the right index finger on the outer left corner [Photo 2]. Once the card is almost flush, pull the card to the right to slightly angle-jog it [Photo 3, thumb pulled away for clarity]. Cover the protruding corner with the right thumb, and push it back and to the left. This will cause the selection to become in-jogged. I’ve just described a basic technique to in-jog a card, but feel free to use any technique you’re comfortable with. To hide the in-jog from almost all angles, bevel the deck towards your body using the right index finger and bring the right pinky to the back left corner of the deck [Photo 4]. The deck is now covered from the front, top, and sides; the only vulnerable angle is from directly behind. Say, “Betty do you remember these cards that we placed off to the side earlier?” Point to the two tabled Aces. Pick them up with the left hand and turn them over bookwise on the deck. Say, “They’re the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Diamonds,” and match those words with the following actions. Under the guise of showing the identities of the cards, the selection will be loaded between them. Place the left index and middle fingers on the rear short edge of the Ace of Hearts while contacting the underside of the selection with the left thumb. Pull up with the left thumb until the selection touches the underside of the Ace [Photo 5]. As the words “Ace of Diamonds,” are said, pull the deck away from the left hand in a gesturing

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motion to display the Ace of Diamonds underneath. This will leave the Ace of Hearts and the selection in the right hand [Photo 6]. Be sure to apply slight pressure with the right pinky towards the thumb base during the strip-out as this will ensure the two cards stay aligned throughout the move. There are two forms of misdirection in play here which hide the move extremely well. First, most of the audience is vocally curious about the identities of the face down cards at the outset. This means when the time comes to display the Aces and simultaneously do the move, their attention tends to stay with what the cards are rather than what they’re doing. Secondly, you’re not pulling the Ace of Hearts away from the deck; you’re pulling the deck from the Ace. From what I understand, the human eyes tend to follow moving objects, so their attention will be drawn to the deck. Even if all that psychobabble is actually nonsense (I’m not a psychologist), I can verify through years of performances that the audiences’ eyes always follow the deck. Always. The reason I’m mentioning all the cover for the move is because you may be worried that the cards won’t align perfectly coming out of the deck. This is a valid concern, but after trying it out a few times you’ll notice that the cards not only align extremely well, but some minor spreading will probably go unnoticed based on the previous observations along with the fact that the hands are always in motion. With that out of the way, it’s time to replace the double back on the deck. Although instead of bringing the deck back to the left hand’s cards, reach forward and deposit the double on the outstretched deck. With the work all done, now it’s time to play this bad boy up! Ask Betty to place her finger on the top card and make sure she doesn’t take it off throughout the routine. Stick your tongue deep in your cheek and say “With your finger on this heart [the center pip], I want you to dig down deep inside your own heart, and on the count of three wish for anything in the entire world. Please keep in mind that your wish will be appearing right under your finger, so please don’t ask for a pony. One ... Two ... Three!” One of two things will happen here, she will either blurt out her wish or she’ll keep it to herself. If she blurts it out, say, “Didn’t your mamma teach you anything? If you say it out loud it won’t come true!” Similarly, if she keeps her wish to herself, ask “What did

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you wish for?” Wait for a reply and continue, “Ahh, it was a trick question! Didn’t your mamma teach you anything? If you say it out loud it won’t come true!” Either way, say, “No problem, let’s just start with baby steps and wish for something small like … oh I don’t know … how about your card? On the count of three silently wish for your card … One … Two …Three!” With Betty’s finger still on the card, ask her to slowly move her finger to the side. This will drag the Ace of Hearts along with a bit of the selection to dramatically reveal a face down card between the Aces which have been under Betty’s finger “the entire time” [Photo 7]. Allow her to remove the face down card and show everyone that her petty dream came true. Ask Betty if she has a sister.

Get in

This routine is FASDIU baby!

Get out

You’re left squeaky clean.

Get the most

1. The only cards that are displaced during the routine are the two red Aces and the selection. This means you can retain any previously acquired stack or setup. If the black Aces were on top at the outset of the routine, they will still be on top at the end, ready to be produced any way you like. If you don’t know any four Ace routines but would like to learn one, pick up ANY book EVER written on card magic. 2. The presentation reads very serious and dry on paper, but should drip with sarcasm in actual performance. Just have fun with it! 3. Andi Gladwin likes to perform this routine with a little more pizzazz. His embellishments create a feel to the routine more akin to The Apex Ace, so give it a go. Perform the standard Dirty Stinkin’ Ape In The Middle routine up until the strip out

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move. Instead of just placing the double on top of the deck, execute a Paintbrush Change to make it appear as though the Ace of Diamonds vanishes in a cloud of smoke (the smoke part is optional). Drop the remaining Ace of Hearts on the deck face up, and perform a Classic Pass to cause it to vanish as well. Spread through the deck to reveal both Aces in the center, with one card trapped between them. If all goes well, there’s a pretty good chance that sandwiched card will turn out to be the selection. This is almost a hybrid of Dirty Stinkin’ Ape in the Middle and the following routine, Clean Sanchez. So read on, and thank Andi will ya! 3. Bueller? ... Bueller?

Shout outs

• This routine was originally published in the January, 2005 issue of MAGIC Magazine. Joshua Jay did an absolutely phenomenal job describing it, so I strongly suggest checking it out if possible. • Things are a little sketchy when it comes to crediting the strip out move used from the in-jogged position. I’ve seen it credited to various people, athough the major players are Nate Leipzig and John Brown Cook. Leipzig’s move, Ambitious Card Quickie, can be found in Dai Vernon’s Tribute To Nate Leipzig (1963) and Cook’s move, The Transfer of a Card, can be found in Arthur Buckley’s Card Control (1946). They each used it in the context of turning a double over as it’s pulled away from the deck for use as an Ambitious Card sequence or control. • The Apex Ace can be found in Harry Lorayne’s Close-Up Card Magic (1962). Jay Ose added the concept of the Aces vanishing to find selections within Lorayne’s routine. • The name comes from the fact that this routine bears aesthetic resemblance to Bill Goldman’s excellent marketed routine Monkey In The Middle. It’s gaffed but ooooooooh so clean! Other attempts at ungaffed variations of Goldman’s routine include David Regal’s Primate from Up Close and Personal (1999), Jack Avis’ No Rough Monkey from Ahead of the Pack (2002) and James Swain’s Gorilla in the Middle from Miracles With Cards (1996). They’re tasty.

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Clean Sanchez . . . . . . Quick, straightforward approach, with an enjoyable hook. But enough about my bowling style. This routine uses a very similar method to Dirty Stinkin’ Ape in the Middle, but creates an overall different effect. It is assumed you are familiar with the preceding routine before tackling the Sanchez.

See

Two selections are lost in a very clean manner, only to be found exactly where they’re supposed to be. You’re thinking “Hmm, that doesn’t sound very magical.” Well, read on!

Gear

• One deck of cards • Two blank-faced cards (the backs do not have to match the deck) • One marker While you’re at the magic shop getting the blank-faced cards, pick up Phil Goldstein’s Midori. It has nothing to do with this routine, I just really like it.

Pre-do

On one of the blank-faced cards, write “Whatever you do, don’t” with the marker. On the other card, write “Look here.” A beautiful gambit suggested by Jamie Badman, is to draw an ambiguous feature under the word “here” which can either look like an underline or a set of arrows pointing in opposite directions [Photo 1]. It’s just an optional bit ‘o business, but I think it adds a nice touch later in the routine.

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With both cards face down, place the “Look here” card on top and place both of them in a convenient pocket until you’re ready to perform. Make sure the cards are orientated the same way; public schools these days don’t teach our youth how to read upside down.

Do

Bring out both blank-faced cards, leave them on the table face down, and say, “We’ll get to these cards a little later.” Ask Betty, who is on your right, to touch the back of any card as the deck is spread from hand-to-hand. Show the selection around and control it to the top in, what is commonly referred to as, a “convincing” manner (i.e. the selection appears to be out-jogged near the center of the deck, but it’s really secretly controlled to the top or bottom of the deck, it is an indifferent card outjogged, acting as a decoy.). I personally use Lee Asher’s Losing Control to accomplish this, but whatever floats your goat. Immediately fan the deck and ask Veronica, who is on your left, to take any card aside from Betty’s selection, with the left hand pointing to the out-jogged card [Photo 2]. Once Veronica has removed a card, close the fan without disturbing the out-jogged card. Ask for her card back, then insert it into the deck from the front about 15-ish to 20-ish cards from the top-ish, leaving it out-jogged a little less than “Betty’s card” so both can be seen at all times [Photo 3]. Turn your right hand clockwise horizontally to show both ladies that their cards are in different parts of the deck [Photo 4]. Turn your right hand back to its natural position and very slowly push “Betty’s card” flush with the deck using the right index finger. Turn your right hand palm down to flash Veronica’s card before turning the hand back over. The insertion of Veronica’s selection will look identical to Betty’s, but will become in-jogged in the process.

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This is accomplished using the same modus operandi as described in Dirty Stinkin’ Ape in the Middle, including the bevelling and pinky placement to hide the in-jog. I know I just took an awful lot of words to describe the selection and control procedure, but one of the strengths of the routine is the slow and deliberate manner in which it is performed. This style of routine requires the entire proceedings to appear exceedingly clean and direct, more so than, say, the card-to-impossible-location genre. Because the selections are found still within the deck at the climax, Betty and Veronica firmly need to believe their cards are not only truly lost, but far apart from each other as well. The pay-off is strengthened greatly because of it. The current situation reveals Betty’s card sitting pretty on top of the deck while Veronica’s card is in-jogged roughly a third of the way down. Say, “Finding your cards has never been easier,” and point to the two blank-faced cards which have been on the table the whole time (remember them?). Continue to Betty, “Do you know what they are?” The most common response, by far, is, “Our cards, right?” Pick the cards up with the left hand and turn them over as a group bookwise on top of the deck. Say, “Actually, these are the instructions for the trick, I always seem to forget where I’m supposed to find your cards. Luckily for us, these instructions aren’t from Ikea.” Read aloud, “It says ‘Whatever you do, don’t.’” To reveal the rest of the instructions, pull the top card back off the deck, loading the in-jogged card underneath in the process. This is accomplished using the same mechanics as described in Dirty Stinkin’ Ape in the Middle. Finish reading the line, “Look here.” Now that the incredibly detailed instructions for the routine have been revealed, “Whatever you do, don’t look here,” place the double card back on top of the deck. Ask Betty and Veronica, “Do you know why we shouldn’t look there?” Wait for a - usually negative - response, then pull the top card back, mimicking the way it was done earlier during the loading sequence, and toss it off to the side to reveal the second instruction card has vanished, saying, “Well, because there’s nothing there.” The selections are now on top and third from top, so all that remains is to centralize them for the revelation. If you have a favorite shift you like to use, now’s the perfect time for it (with the exception of the Turnover Pass because the cards need to stay face down). If you would rather pass on the Pass, a simple cut will do just fine. Ribbon Spread the deck to reveal a face up card in the center [Photo 5] and pull away

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all the cards apart from the ones directly on either side of the instruction card [Photo 6]. Say, “In fact, the instructions state emphatically that you’re supposed to look here,” as the three cards are spread to reveal the words, “Look here” [Photo 7]. If you included the optional underline/arrows on the card during the preparation, this is where it adds a nice touch. Ask Betty for the name of her selection and turn over the card in front of her to reveal it. Do the same thing with Veronica.

Sterilizing Sanchez

There is an opportunity within the original routine to exploit, so if you’re not opposed to a little extra work, I think it’s time to do some exploitin’, shall we? This version of the routine is aesthetically similar to the original up until the climax, however it changes methodically in two places. The preparation also changes slightly: one blank-faced card and one double-blank card are required. On the double-blank card, write the statement “Whatever you do don’t” on one side as per the previous description, the back side being where things change. Write “Five of Diamonds Jack of Spades” along with arrows pointing to either side of the card, signifying the Five of Diamonds to the left and the Jack of Spades to the right [Photo 8]. On the blank-faced card, write the statement “Look here” and pocket both cards in a similar fashion to the original description. Finally, place the Five of Diamonds on the bottom of the deck, with the Jack of Spades riding shotgun second from bottom. To perform, bring out the two prepared cards and place them on the table, not allowing them to spread further than the width of the border (or lack thereof in this case). The first change of method, and I think it’s fairly obvious by this point, is that Betty & Co. will have their selections forced upon them. To force the Five of Diamonds on Betty,

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spread the deck from hand-to-hand, culling the bottom card in the process, and perform Hasselhofzinser ������������������������������������������������������������������ (page 28) �������������������������������������������������������� on the card she touched. Turn your head away during the Double Turnover so it appears the selection’s identity remains unknown to you. Turn the double back over on the deck while bringing your head forward. With the right thumb, push the top indifferent card forward for half its length on the right hand’s packet and drop the left hand’s portion on top. Push back on the deck directly under the outjogged card using your right index finger - a small packet of cards from the middle of the packet (and directly under the selection) will protrude from the rear [Photo 9]. In a Hindu Shuffle style grip with the left hand, take the packet from the rear and place it on top under the context of “burying the selection a little further down in the deck.” In reality, Betty’s card is now on top of the deck, with an indifferent card out-jogged about ¾ of the way down. To force Veronica’s card, the Jack of Spades, perform the standard Spread Force using a bottom/reverse cull. Allow her to physically take out her card and show it around before returning it about 15 or so cards from the top, out-jogged a little less than “Betty’s card.” From here, continue along as in the original routine until right after the second instruction card vanishes. The second change of method does not require tossing the top instruction card off to the side, but instead place it forward in a centralized position on the performing surface. Again, continue along as per the original routine until the very end, with only the four primary cards in play [Photo 10]. At this point, ask Betty and Veronica, “Did you two get a chance to look at the instructions before I started?” They will obviously say, “No,” so

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reply, “That’s strange, because the instructions clearly state loud and clear for you, Betty, to pick the Five of Diamonds and you, Veronica, to choose the Jack of Spades,” as the first instruction card is flipped over to reveal the final blow [Photo 11]. My little box of Raisin Bran has two scoops of raisins, but so does my big box, does that mean I’m getting screwed for raisins in the latter?

Get in

Keep the instruction cards in a card wallet or in the cellophane around the card box to be ready, steady and Eddie.

Get out

To fully reset, put the instruction cards back where you got them to be left clean, serene and aquamarine.

Get the most

1. If your chicken scratch looks like, well, scratches from a chicken, there are files included on the accompanying CD which can be printed directly onto the blank-faced cards. Refer to Stick it to the Man for instructions detailing how to print on playing cards using your home computer and printer.

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2. If you decide to use a printer for the writing, please keep in mind that Fixatif finish on the cards will act as a roughing agent. This means performing the Sterilizing Sanchez version of the routine will have to be altered slightly. If not, the bottom instruction card will follow the top card as it’s being pulled off the deck. To remedy this situation, as soon as the instruction cards are flopped on the deck to reveal the writing, gingerly pull the top card back a half an inch as it’s being read. This will allow the strip out to be performed with no worries. There’s no need to follow this advice if you decided to write the instructions with a marker, or if performing the original routine (with or without using a printer). 3. I have, at times, found myself wanting to perform this routine without the instruction cards on hand. It was a simple matter to write the instructions on the back of two random cards from the deck, placing them face up on the table to hide the writing. It doesn’t look as classy, but it definitely gets the job done. It should also be noted, if using this on-the-fly set up, that red backed decks allow the writing to show up best.

Shout outs

• I don’t know the history of writing messages or instructions on cards, but the routines which first got me exploring the concept are Chad Long’s Back & Forth from his notes The Lost Cheesy Notebook Volume 1 (1994) and Joshua Jay’s Written Favorite from his book Magic Atlas (1999). • Lee Asher’s Losing Control can be found in his notes Hand Jobs (2001) as well as the Losing Control CD-ROM.

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#

B52 shooter < < < < < < < < < < < Triumph. The classic among classics. There have been more variations on this routine than probably any other in history, yet most of the innovations have come from focusing on only one area of the routine: the mixing procedure. Don’t get me wrong, if the mixing procedure isn’t convincing, the trick is dead on arrival, but that’s only a small portion of the full Triumph experience. For example, once the audience is convinced the cards are hopelessly mixed face up into face down, when in fact they are genuinely straightened out, how do you reveal the situation? With only a few notable exceptions, there hasn’t been much progress in this department. It’s time to do something about that.

See

The magician realizes that Veronica is pretty cool, so he decides to let her in on a secret he’s been holding back for some time. He’s really only half man … and half love machine, baby! Although, he admits that what he really loves, is to sort cards. So that just makes him a card sorting machine. To demonstrate his love, he has a card selected, remembered, and lost in the deck. He then shuffles half the cards face up into half the cards face down in an extremely fair manner. The magician gets excited with such a mess and states that he’s going to sort them by finding each individual face up card in the entire deck and shoot them out, all while doing a shuffle with one hand! In a flurry of motion, face up cards start shooting out of the deck and across the table during the one-handed shuffle. After the dust settles, the magician confesses to Veronica that he lied to her earlier. It turns out that he’s only four-ninths man, fourninths love machine, and one-ninth cheeky S.O.B. because he didn’t shoot every face up

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card out of the deck, he left one in. He spreads the cards to show one card face up in the face down deck, Veronica’s selection.

Do

In short, you pretty much do what you claim to do. It sounds, looks, and tastes incredibly difficult, yet it’s so deviously simple that you’ll laugh the first time you see yourself do it. You can apply this revelation right away to any Triumph you currently do, so I’ll describe that part first. Later on I’ll describe the handling I use throughout the entire routine. Let’s do it!

Training wheels This is the simpler of the two methods to shoot the cards out of the deck, and should be learned before going on to the actual version I use. It’s based on a principle pioneered by Eric Anderson, Guy Hollingworth and Joshua Jay which allows cards to side-jog during the cascade of a riffle shuffle. It has mostly been used within the context of false shuffles, although Joshua Jay brilliantly used it as a method to conceal cards under a Ribbon Spread ala Charles Nyquist. All of these uses for the principle have been implicit; the audience is never aware of the separation. We are going to be using the principle very explicitly by taking it to the extreme. The cards will not just side-jog an inch, they will completely shoot out of the deck as much as a few feet. To begin, you’ll need to be in the situation almost every Triumph routine leaves you in - all the cards face up with the sole selection face down. In this case you’ll want the selection to be about a quarter of the way from the face, rather than a more traditional centralized location. Holding the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, cut off slightly more than half the deck with the left hand and turn it face down. Begin to Straddle Faro the face up portion into the face down half, retaining face down cards on both top and bottom. The Faro Shuffle doesn’t need to be anywhere even remotely close to perfect, so don’t let that scare you. Coalesce the halves no more than an inch and re-grip the telescoped deck with the right thumb and middle finger at the center of the long edges. Come over with the left hand to bridge the cards into a shuffle, but there’s going to be a difference. The left hand only contacts the cards at two points; the upper-left

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corner with the pad of the ring finger, and the lower-right corner with the pad of the thumb [Photo 1]. All other fingers avoid the cards like a moody girlfriend or they’ll just get in the way of the cards’ flight path. Bend the telescoped deck upwards, releasing grip with the right hand, to start the cascade a few inches above the performing surface. Apply the majority of the pressure with the left ring finger, allowing the thumb to mainly just be a contact point. Let loose! Because of the pressure points, all the face up cards will quickly shoot out to the right, and all the face down cards will simply drop to the table in a pile, with the only exception being the face up selection which ends up in the face down portion [Photo 2]. Push the face up cards out of the way so you can spread the face down half to display the selection’s unique situation.

This method was how I originally performed it and does the trick nicely. However I have since begun using the following variation which I think has a lot more going for it. Try it out and decide for yourself.

Big rig This is very similar to the previously described method, however this time the face down cards stay in the left hand during the shuffle rather than falling to the table. As well, the face up cards shoot out a lot farther, creating a much larger and more startling effect. It’s a tad more knacky, but then again so is getting Silly Putty off your left nipple. Don’t ask.

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The first half of the method remains the same as the previous description, weaving the face up portion into the face down half in preparation for the shuffle. The difference begins right before the cascade. The first cards to shift when the pressure is released are the bottom few from the face down portion. Instead of simply letting them fall to the table, catch the front edge against the left pinky’s second joint [Photo 3]. This will prevent the rest of the face down cards from falling to the table, keeping them in the hand. Because of this, the face up cards build more tension against them and shoot out faster and farther. The release of tension from the left ring finger is the knacky part I mentioned. You may find it hard to get any cards to shoot the first couple of times, where they just stay in a bridged condition. Alternatively, you may have the tension shoot the entire deck all over the place. Fifty-Two Pick-Up anyone? A little experimentation will go a long way with this, as unfortunately there’s just no way I can describe the amount of pressure in print. Sorry. Now that you know an incredibly visual way to end your favorite Triumph handling, allow me to describe my favorite handling for this revelation.

All together now Begin with the deck face up and a reversed card at the bottom. If you’re picky about discrepancies, make sure the reversed card is the mate of the face card. In this situation, I’m not. Tell Veronica, “I’ve got something to tell you, something I don’t tell a lot of people. I’m actually only half man … and half love machine! Do you know what I love? To sort cards! I guess that makes me somewhat of a card sorting machine. Let me show you what I mean.” Spread the cards out from hand-to-hand, being careful not to flash the reversed card on the bottom. Say, “Take out any card you like, just don’t let me see which one.” This gets a laugh because all the cards are face up. Once Veronica has removed a card, close the spread and hold the deck in left hand Biddle Grip. Turn your left hand palm up while pointing to other people asking her to show it around to everyone, which subtly reverses the deck. Transfer the deck to right hand Dealers Grip and take the selection back from Veronica. Insert it face up into the apparently face up deck a little further than halfway down, getting a break below it.

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Say, “This is going to look crazy, I know, but it has to be done.” Perform Tenkai’s Optical Revolve at the break so one packet is face up and the other one appears face down. In this situation, I personally don’t like the position of the hands which the Optical Revolve results in because it requires some awkward re-positioning of the packets before a Faro Shuffle is possible, at least the way I perform the shuffle, with the lower packet in the left hand. So instead, I use the following method which accomplishes the same outcome, but leaves the cards in ideal position to be given a Faro Shuffle: With the break under the selection, grab the deck in left hand Biddle Grip, transferring the break to the left thumb. It will help in a moment if the left thumb is at the far right inner corner, touching the base of the right thumb. Bring the right hand back, allowing the right thumb and middle finger to slide along the edge of the deck until they reach the end. Let them pinch the portion below the break and push down and forward at the same time, causing it to pivot against the left fingers at the front of the deck [Photo 4] until they’re back in right hand Dealers Grip. This was inspired by Bob Farmer’s Trapeze Switch. When the lower packet is halfway through its rotation, bring the left index finger across the center of the right long edge of the upper packet and pull up, causing it to rotate too [Photo 5]. Place the left hand’s packet in-jogged on the lower portion so the two halves of the deck seem to be orientated in opposite directions. Whether you used the original Optical Revolve or my variation, you are left in a similar position. Take the face down packet in the left hand (even though it’s not actually face down, that is how I will refer to it) and turn both hands over to display each side of the packets, it will look as kosher as a pickle. Say, “I’m actually going to mix these up unlike you’ve ever seen before.” Return the hands to their previous position to Faro Shuffle the two packets together, allowing the top and bottom cards of the face down portion to remain on top and bottom. This is easily facilitated because the face down packet is larger based on the fact that the selection was returned slightly below center. Again, the Faro Shuffle doesn’t need to be perfect or anywhere even close for that matter.

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As soon as the weave starts, bring the right pinky down and contact the bottommost card. As the two halves are being pushed together, pull up with the pinky almost as if doing the old rising card bit [Photo 6]. It will be coming up as the rest of the cards are being pushed down. To prevent the edge of the card being seen during its travels, allow the right thumb and ring finger to follow up along side the corners of the card, blocking the view. Stop coalescing the packets when the deck has been telescoped about half its length. Congratulations, you’re in perfect position to perform the ultra-convincing Jennings/ Goodwin Display. Holding the face down portion of the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, slowly riffle the out-jogged face up cards upwards from about three quarters of the way down, being careful not to expose the reversed card at the bottom. To match actions with words, during the riffle say, “Face up …” Grasp the deck with the left hand from the front, thumb on top and fingers below [Photo 7], and flip the deck over placing it back into right hand Dealers Grip. Perform the exact same riffle display while saying, “… into face down. Ugh.” Coalesce the packets by pushing in on the out-jogged portion at its outer right corner. This will cause it to enter at an angle. With the deck in left hand Biddle Grip, say, “In the biz, this is what we refer to as …” Turn the left hand face up for one final display of the situation [Photo 8]. Turn the hand back down, squaring everything nicely together and continue with, “… a mess.” Say, “Veronica, isn’t this exciting? With all

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these cards going in all different ways, I get to sort them!” During this statement, carry out a Braue Reversal to the top card by getting a break under it and undercutting half the deck to the top, flipping the packet over in the process. Continue by undercutting the rest of the cards under the break and transferring them to the top, flipping them over as well. Keep a right pinky break below this final packet. Not only did those actions clean up the non-selected reversed card, but several face up and face down cards were displayed in the process. One final cutting sequence will be used as a false display of the apparent situation before the revelation. These proving displays are not used in the context of “Hey look, they really ARE mixed up,” but rather used to support the words you’re saying. Here comes the bombshell statement: tell Veronica in an excited voice, “I get to find each individual face up card in the entire deck and shoot them out, all while doing a shuffle with one hand!” The false cutting display I use during this statement is an in-the-hands variation of the Up The Ladder Cut, which also bears similarity to Lennart Green’s set of Circulation Shuffles. Start by transferring the deck to left hand Biddle Grip and Kick Cutting all the cards above the break into right hand Dealers Grip. Kick off three quarters of the remaining portion in the left hand and take it above the cards already in the right hand, keeping a break between the two packets. Bring the left hand over as if to Kick Cut some more cards into the right hand, but really just transfer the left hand’s cards for the cards above the break in the right hand. This is done by gripping the packet above the break by the left thumb and middle finger as the right thumb reaches over and slides the left hand’s cards into Dealers Grip [Photo 9]. It will appear that there is still more cards in the left hand, but they are really the cards which were just stolen. Kick Cut a quarter of those cards to the right hand and slap all the remaining cards on top of it all. Multiple backs and faces will show throughout the sequence.

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Bust out the champagne or cheap sparkling wine (depending on your level of income), because you’ve just set yourself up for the final revelation as described earlier. All the cards are face up with the exception of the selection which is a quarter of the way down. High five! After the shoot-out sequence, admit to Veronica, “I lied to you earlier. I’m really only about four-ninths man, four-ninths love machine, and one-ninth cheeky S.O.B. because I didn’t shoot every face up card out of the deck. I left one in.” Spread the face down portion to allow the selection to stare her in the face. Now perform Forgetful Freddie.

Get in

I used to use Krenzel’s Mechanical Reverse to get the bottom card in position, but now I use an alternative method under the context of a gag: Spread through the face up deck and cut any Queen to the rear of the deck. Turn the deck over, getting a break under the top two cards, and mention how you want to try a mind reading experiment. Perform the K.M. Move with the double above the break, stealing the second card back onto the deck, reversed. Bring the single card (the Queen) up to Veronica’s face and ask her to think about it, picturing it in her mind. Say, “Ooh this is tough, I think I see a 6 …no no wait, I think it’s a 7 … no no wait, I can’t tell. It’s either a 6 or a 7, which one is it?” She will obviously deny both guesses. Flip the card over so you can see it and pause. Say, “Oh come on, she’s totally a 6 or 7! The Queen of Hearts is a 10, you know what I’m saying? I love those redheads.” Obviously just name any other Queen than the one you’re holding. This never fails to get a laugh, but more importantly it gives a reason to execute the K.M. Move which is far less angle sensitive than any sort of a Half Pass. It obviously plays better if you use a male spectator for this mind reading stunt. Reggie will do just fine.

Get out

Force Veronica to clean up the mess you made all over the table and then ask her to bake you a pie.

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Get the most

1. The cards will shoot out a lot farther if the cards are in good condition. Plain and simple. 2. My good friend Ryan Pilling came up with the idea to catch all the cards in the right hand as they’re shooting out, eliminating the need for a table. It’s not something I’ve put a lot of time into, but it’s not nearly as hard as it sounds. Another alternative to avoid a table would be to just use the original technique of simply side-jogging the cards rather than shooting them out. It would lose a whole heck of a lot of its visually stunning nature, but the overall effect would remain relatively intact. 3. Generally I strongly dislike the idea of telling Veronica what’s about to happen, unless I’m completely lying through my teeth (all four of them). This routine is different, however, for a few reasons: First of all, you tell Veronica what’s going to happen, but you build it up to mythical proportions until she simply won’t believe anyone could actually do it. Look at the difference between saying, “I’ll shoot the face up cards out of the deck,” and, “I’m going to find each … individual face up card in the entire deck … and shoot them out … all while doing a shuffle … with one hand!” By breaking up the details and including a flat out lie (the shuffle isn’t one-handed, only the cascade is), I routinely have spectators say, “Yeah, right,” and wane attention because they think I’m full of it. When I come through with my promise, it seems to hit them twice as hard. Secondly, you want Veronica to understand what’s happening as it’s happening. If you didn’t tell her what was about to take place, she may just assume you were a sloppy shuffler, letting cards slip out all over the place. You really want her to appreciate what she’s witnessing. Lastly, you don’t fully disclose all the details. There’s still the final climax of revealing the lone selection amongst the talon. This seems to catch people off guard. I’m not sure if they merely forgot a selection was ever made by this point in the game, but it really seems to strike a chord when they see their card staring them in the face. 4. If the “love machine” presentational hook doesn’t fit your style, there are plenty of other options available. For example, the revelation can easily be adapted to a Sankey-esque Time Travel theme, as if the cards are rushing back to the moment the mental snapshot was taken.

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Here’s the presentation I use if I feel the audience is just too conservative for my usual routine (which is hardly ever the case): Have Veronica take out any card as described before, although this time state, “Oh no, you chose the least attractive card in the entire deck!” Spread through the deck and remove the Ace of Spades claiming that it is actually the most attractive card, placing it off to the side. Continue with the routine up until it’s time to start shootin’, pardner. Hand Veronica the tabled Ace of Spades and ask her to decide whether she wants it face up or face down, placing it on the table in the appropriate orientation. If she places it face up, continue with the routine as described, however if she places it face down, flip the deck over in your hands before going into the revelation. Move the bridged deck towards the tabled card just as you release pressure for the shoot-out. It will look as though, “The most attractive card,” is attracting all the similar cards from the deck, either face up or face down. The only odd one left in the left hand’s packet is the selection, “The least attractive card!” 5. Changing something as simple as the revelation will change the actual effect itself. Purists will argue that these routines are no longer in the Triumph genre solely because the cards do not magically right themselves in the end. Try thinking about ways you can alter the revelation of one of the routines you already do. 6. This technique can also be used as a visual colour separation.

Shout outs

• Dai Vernon’s Triumph can be found in Stars of Magic (1961). • The controlled bridge idea for a false shuffle was published by Eric Anderson in Ah-Ha (1997) under the title Shuffle-esque. Joshua Jay’s use of the concept was published in Magic Atlas (1999) within his Trumped Triumph routine. • Other notable revelations for Triumph include John Carney’s Rip-Off Triumph from Carneycopia (1991), Steve Mayhew’s Mayhew’s Middle Deal Miracle from Labyrinth (Number Three), Justin Hanes’ Strip Tease from The Looking Glass (Winter 1996) and Andi Gladwin’s superb Banded Triumph which is currently unpublished. • ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Bob Farmer’s Trapeze Switch can be found within his Stealing The Hotel Tao routine from The Looking Glass (Winter 1996).

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• Tenkai’s Optical Revolve was published in Tarbell 1 (1927), within the Tenkai’s Reverse Cards Mystery routine. • The Jennings/Goodwin Display can be found in Larry Jennings’ Up In Smoke notes (1990). • The Braue Reversal was published in The Royal Road To Card Magic (1951). When used within a Triumph style context, this move is known as the Flipover Undercut and belongs to Paul Swinford from Jerry Mentzer’s Card Cavalcade 2 (1974). • The Up The Ladder false cut was published in Expert Card Technique (1940) under the title of Gamblers’ False Cut. Lennart Green’s variations, called Circulation Shuffles, can be found on his Green Magic Volume 1 video. • Ken Krenzel’s Mechanical Reverse was published in Epilogue Special Number 2 (undated). • The K.M. Move was published in a booklet of the same name and was created by Tony Kardyro and Ed Marlo (1962).

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______ 

Warning: The following trick is extremely difficult. The moves aren’t hard, but you’ll find it a challenge to resist eating your props. Good luck!

See

The classic Coin In Bottle trick took a wrong left turn somewhere.

Gear

It’s time for a field trip to the convenience store. You need: • Several large cola bottle gummy candies • A clear plastic baggie that the candies come in • A quarter • A non-serrated knife • A stove • A pan The cola bottle candies that you require cost about 25¢ and are roughly the length of a playing card [Photo 1].

Pre-do

J

Note: If you’re not old enough to remember watching Knight Rider, HeMan, MacGyver, and 21 Jump Street, please let your mommy and daddy do this setup for you.

Remove one of the candy bottles from the baggie and place the rest of them aside, still in the baggie. You’re about to create a cavity in this bottle big enough to insert a quarter, before sealing it back up. Here’s how ...

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Insert the blade of the knife into the left side of the bottom of the bottle until it reaches the neck [Photo 2]. Slide it to the right side so a huge slit is now along the width of the interior. Remove the blade and insert a quarter into the newly formed cavity. Work the quarter up inside as far as you can, the further it’s pushed up away from its point of entry, the better and more deceiving it will look [Photo 3]. Don’t be tempted to lick the knife afterwards, were you raised in a barn? Place a pan on the stove and turn the dial halfway between “Low” and “Med” (I have no idea what the actual temperature is, but it doesn’t have to be exact by any stretch). With the pan heated, rub the bottom of the bottle back and forth on the surface to melt and seal the slit back up. When the bottle is removed from the pan, it will stick a bit and leave little hangy things (for lack of better term, or heck any term) which need to be removed. Just rub your finger back and forth on the bottom to smooth it out and make it almost performance ready. The only thing left to do is let it cool down and add one more small touch. The bottom will now be shinier than the regular cola bottle candies, so it’s a good idea to repeatedly tap the bottom against something dusty or dirty to dull it out a bit [Photo 4].

Congratulations, you’ve just doubled the value of your candy. This procedure sounds like a lot of work, but it’s actually pretty speedy. There’s a little bit of a learning curve when you first start out, but you’ll eventually be able to pound one out in less than a minute.

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Before the performance, place a loose gaffed bottle in the front right pants pocket and throw the baggie containing the regular bottles on top of it. Let’s roll!

Do

Finish up a card trick and say, “Card tricks are great, but they’re for kids. Do you know what’s for adults?” Reach the right hand into the pocket to grab the bag and the gaffed bottle. Bring out the bag with the bottle hiding underneath it [Photo 5, exposed for clarity] and say, “Candy!” Reach into the bag with the left hand and pull out a bottle while offering them to Veronica. Allow her to reach in and take a bottle if she wants, and ask to borrow a quarter. A presentational ploy for asking for the quarter (and always getting a quarter) is to ask someone if they want a candy. If they say yes, respond with, “OK. They’re 25 cents each. Get your money out lady.” While she’s looking through her pockets and purse for a quarter, reach the left index and middle fingers into the bag with the left thumb behind it. Grab the gaffed bottle from underneath with the thumb and pull it out from behind the bag while the left fingers pull out nothing. Because of the clear plastic, it will look just like the bottle came from within the bag [Photo 6] (even though there’s already sufficient misdirection of Veronica and company searching for pocket change). Put the bag back in the pocket. When Veronica hands you a quarter, take it with the right hand and say, “Thanks, I’ve got to pay for these somehow!” The gaffed bottle should be held upright in the left hand with the index and middle fingers covering the coin with the thumb on the back [Photo 7]. Ask, “Have you ever thrown candy at money before, Veronica?” This is such a ridiculous question and will usually receive a strange look followed by a “No” answer, or some variation thereof. Follow up with, “Why not?” The answers you’ll get from this are

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usually pretty entertaining. Respond accordingly to what she says and continue, “I can’t believe you’ve never thought to yourself ‘Gee, I wonder what would happen if I were to throw some sweetness at a coin?’, I’ll bet that also means you’ve never thought about throwing an ice-cream sandwich at some bubble-wrap or throwing a french passport at a gerbil. You don’t get out much, do you?” Gesture with the quarter while saying, “I’ll do it once so you see what you’ve been missing out on, and then I’ll leave you to your own devices. Are you ready for this?” Perform Jay Sankey’s Two-Way Toss to visually cause the quarter to appear inside the bottle as follows: Hold the quarter on the right palm at the base of the fingers with the left hand held approximately 10 inches above it [Photo 8]. Throw the bottle down at the right hand as both hands drop sharply a few inches. The quarter will be momentarily suspended in the air because of the sharp drop. The left fingers are left slightly open so they can scoop up the quarter right after it lets go of the bottle. The bottle will land on the right palm in the same area the quarter was sitting and it will appear as though the quarter simply melted visually into the bottle [Photo 9]. If you’re familiar with David Williamson’s Striking Vanish, this is very similar, only this time both objects fly through the air instead of just one. Give the bottle to Veronica and say, “Here you go. Now if you hurry, you may just get to the French Embassy before its passport office closes.” Dessert is served.

Get in

Place a bunch of loose gaffed bottles in your right front pants pocket and throw the bag of regular bottles above them. You’re now set to perform Coke Inhabit all night long.

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Get out

The end of the routine leaves you secretly holding out the quarter in the left hand, so feel free to go south with it. I don’t mean go to your pocket with it; I mean go south with it! Go down to Mexico, buy a couple of stolen stereos, and come back up to find out no one even knew you were gone. The simple fact is that everyone tries to get a closer look at this “impossible object,” so you can do whatever you want with the quarter you’re left holding out, they’re not watching, believe me.

Get the most

1. If Sankey’s Two-Way Toss isn’t really your style but you’d still like to perform Coke Inhabit, here’s an alternate handling for the fusion: Place the gimmicked bottle so it’s pointing toward yourself in the fingers of the right hand and position the borrowed quarter on top so it’s covering the inner-coin. This should be done with the bottle necktied so Veronica can’t see into the hand until the coin is already in position. Display the situation by holding the right hand parallel to the floor and perform Dai Vernon’s Through The Fist Flourish as if you’re squeezing the two of them together. They will emerge with the quarter still covering the dirty work. Perform the flourish one more time. For the third and final time, position them in the palm rather than the base of the fingers, so when the flourish is repeated, the package will flip over allowing the right fingers to hold onto the quarter as the left hand pulls on the neck of the bottle as before. This time it will be seen that the quarter has fused with the bottle, without the need for projectiles. It should be noted that this handling will require a slightly different presentation as you are now apparently squeezing them together rather than throwing one at the other. 2. I usually make 30 gimmicked bottles at a time, in two phases. First, I sit down and insert the coins in all of them, and second, take them all over to the stove to seal them up. I just do it while watching an episode of Knight Rider, HeMan, MacGyver, or 21 Jump Street. 3. If you need to set up on the fly and don’t have a stove around, you can just use a lighter to seal the bottom. The results are not as pretty, but then again neither is my girlfriend [Photo 9].

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4. I played around with doing a longer routine causing the coin to go in and out of the bottle several times, but in this case I found that the simplest overall effect is the strongest effect. 5. Sometimes, when I’m feeling cheeky and want it to look like I did the trick with the bottle Veronica took, I’ll switch her bottle for the gaffed one using a planned accident. With the bag still in the right hand, I take Veronica’s bottle back and start gesturing with it over the bag as I’m talking. I “accidentally” drop the bottle into the bag and reach in to get it back, but actually pull out the gaffed bottle from behind as per the original instructions. 6. When I first started doing this routine at the restaurant, I assumed that if some strange guy came around offering unwrapped candy to people, no one would even think about taking one. Boy was I wrong! It’s still shocking just how many people reach in and help themselves to the yummy goodness! 7. If performing for magicians, you can present it as if you’re doing a real Coin-In-Bottle routine and then look at their faces when you bring out candy bottles. Jack Parker has a fantastic idea if performing this for magicians; after the climax he says “Do you want to know how I did that? I used a folding coin,” and shows that the coin inside the bottle is actually a folding coin.

Shout outs

• Sankey’s Two-Way Toss can be found in his book Sankey Panky (1986). He credits Ken Krenzel’s Marionette Multiple Coin Vanish as his inspiration. If you’re interested, Krenzel’s move can be found in Apocalypse Volume 1, Number 4 (April, 1978). • The idea of using Dai Vernon’s Through The Fist Flourish to secretly reverse a packet of cards was published by Robert Walker in Jon Racherbaumer’s Lecture Notes 1 (1976). • The friendly clerk at 7-11 who hates his job tells me the brand name of the cola bottle candies is Koala.

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MatriMoney

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Essentially this is just a presentational ploy for Coins Across. It gives a reason for the coins travelling from one hand to the other and also allows for a kick-in-thepants climax. If you already perform a Coins Across routine, you can simply add this climax and presentational ploy to your existing routine to breathe some new energy into it. If you don’t already do a Coins Across, I’ll describe the method I use which is a jacked up version of Tenkai Pennies.

See

Celebrity Death Match between Coins Across and Ring Flight. Who will win? You!

Pre-do

• Wear pants

Do

Ask to borrow a ring from Betty; try to get a wedding or engagement ring if possible. With the ring in your right hand, say, “Ah, the wedding ring symbolizes so much,” look at the other women in the audience and say, “Love … Commitment … Sacred Vows …” Shift your gaze to the men and continue with “Money … Money … Money!” Offer to show them the power it has over cash and retrieve your wallet with the left hand. Pull out three quarters from your wallet (although the audience will only be aware of two) while saying, “I’m cheap, so we’ll just use a couple of quarters for this.” Put the wallet back in the rear left pants pocket while holding all three quarters in the left hand. Toss two of the quarters into the right hand to join the ring: this is easily done by simply holding one of the quarters back with the left thumb during the toss. Curl the left hand into a fist while putting its quarter into Tenkai Pinch. Extend the left index finger and slip the ring onto it [Photo 1]. Because it’s a woman’s ring, it

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probably won’t make it past the second knuckle. Pull the left hand away and open it up to show the condition; two quarters in the right hand and “none” in the left hand [Photo 2].

Close both hands into fists while putting one of the quarters from the right hand into Tenkai Pinch. Do a magical gesture while getting the quarter back from Tenkai Pinch in the left hand. Open both hands to show that the ring can’t be stopped from getting its money [Photo 3].

Close the left hand into a fist again while putting its quarter back into Tenkai Pinch. Extend the left index finger, point to the remaining quarter in the left hand and comment on how easily the ring can take money away from you [Photo 4].

Turn the left hand palm up while opening it so the fingers are under the right hand [Photo 5].

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Release the quarter from right hand Tenkai Pinch into the waiting left fingers and pull the hands apart [Photo 6]. The coin on the left fingertips will appear to be the same one which was in the hand earlier even though you just switched it out, go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Perform the exact same actions which were done earlier; close both hands while putting the right hand’s quarter in Tenkai Pinch and bringing the left hand’s quarter out of Pinch position. After a magical gesture, open both hands to show that the ring has attracted all the money [Photo 7]. For all intents and purposes, the trick is over for Betty. Close the right hand into a fist and retrieve the quarter from Tenkai Pinch as the right index finger and thumb take the ring from the left hand. The hands spread apart into an applause cue ready for the standing ovation you should be receiving (try your best to dodge the panties being thrown at you). The situation is two quarters in the left hand and a quarter and very expensive and delicate borrowed ring which Betty was stupid to lend you in the right hand. Under cover of the applause, you will be performing some very sneaky stuff during some very natural movements. Once the applause starts, bow down and put the left hand in front of the stomach while the right hand goes behind the back. This is the standard bowing action and it’s a perfect opportunity to get your hand behind your back without

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the slightest bit of suspicion. While the right hand is back there, drop the ring in your rear left pocket and hopefully into the wallet itself (don’t worry if you miss the wallet, it’s not a big deal). For consistency’s sake, come up and bow again but reverse the arm positions; the right hand goes in front and the left hand goes behind. Come up from the bowing and act as if you just got an idea. Offer to let Betty try holding the coins during the trick. Give her the two quarters from the left hand while pretending the quarter in the right hand is her ring. Close your right hand into a fist and make a magical gesture. Open your hand and say, “Look it worked, I got one of your quarters!” She will immediately open her hand and show that she still has both of her quarters. Look confused and then act startled while pointing out that the ring is missing (as hard as it is to believe, when attention is focused on the quarter when the hand is opened, most spectators don’t realize their ring is gone until you mention it, not that it even matters when they do notice). Doing your best Columbo impression, try to piece together what just happened, “Wait, if the quarter didn’t come from your hand, then where else could it have come from? Hold on, I had more quarters in my wallet!” Hand your quarter to Betty and show both hands empty before slowly reaching for the wallet. If the ring went right in the wallet, you’re home free. If it just fell into the pocket but missed the wallet, there is plenty of time to drop the ring in the wallet while your hand is in the pocket (remember how slow everything is being done). Bring the wallet out and show that the ring doesn’t bother with small change when there’s big money to be had. Now do a Top Change.

Get in

If you always keep three quarters in your wallet, you’ll be able to perform this routine anywhere. Well, at least until you’re broke and have to spend it on cat food.

Get out

Place the three quarters back in your wallet to reset.

Get the most

1. My wallet is a “George Castanza Wallet” which means it’s overstuffed with way too much crap. This is actually beneficial for this routine because it creates an extremely large opening for the ring to fall in. If you don’t want to use a normal wallet (for whatever cracked up reasons you have), you could always just use a coin purse. If you keep it open in your back pocket, it would be an excellent target for the ring.

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2. Obviously with close-up magic, audiences don’t always applaud. If you’re worried about bowing with no legitimate applause at the climax of the Coins Across phase, either tell a really lame joke and accept the booing by bowing, or over exaggerate the bowing to make fun of the fact that no one is applauding. There are a lot of possibilities for interpretation, let the situation dictate where to go with it.

Shout outs

• Tenkai Pennies can be found in Bobo’s Modern Coin Magic (1952). • Other notable Coins Across routines which make use of a finger ring include Paul Gertner’s A Familiar Ring from Steel & Silver (1994), Daniel Garcia’s Your Personal Safe from Blueprints (2004) and an unpublished routine by Terry Hedges. Their handlings, presentations and uses for the ring all vary greatly, so I urge you to check them out.

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Stick it to the man

...

It seems to be a well known stereotype that men won’t stop to ask for directions. Well, if the directions say “Apply to infected area,” I wouldn’t stop to ask someone either.

To be honest, I don’t think anyone likes directions. Yet in the field of close-up mentalism, many routines unfortunately fall victim to cluttered directions and procedures as soon as spectators are allowed to handle props. Whether it’s a drawn out PATEO Force or a complicated process with cards behind the back, I feel such strict and lengthy directions accomplish nothing but attract undue attention to themselves, ultimately taking away from the impact. If we’re going to get spectators involved, let’s get them really involved, giving them free reign with their actions. Anything less would be cheating them out of that ideal we all strive for. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying carefully structured Equivoque and whatnot can’t still give the perception of unadulterated freedom, I just feel there’s a noticeable difference between a spectator thinking they were fooled by the performer’s genuine mind power, and a spectator thinking they were fooled by a cleverly constructed procedure. Rant over.

See

The magician offers to play a game with Betty and brings out a card case labelled “Predict This.” He claims the rules are simple; Betty simply has to predict what’s inside the box. She guesses a deck of cards to which she is proven not only wrong, but nowhere even close, as the magician removes Post-it Notes from within. Magician 1 – Betty 0. He insists that was just the preliminary round and doesn’t really count and tells Betty she should get ready to play hard in the next match. The magician proceeds to write different body parts on the Post-it Notes, sticking them to the appropriate areas on his body, one each for “Head,” “Left hand,” “Right hand” and the fairly obvious “Six pack.” The magician tells Betty that her job is to rearrange them so they’re all mixed up. She

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goes to town, peeling off the Post-it Notes and switching them with each other until she’s satisfied. Assume the “Head” ends up on the abdomen, the “Left hand” ends up on the right hand, the “Six pack” ends up on the left hand, and the “Right hand” finishes on the head, no forces. With Betty’s job done in this game of “Predict This,” the magician states that his job was to predict this; everything that has happened so far. He reveals that the card case not only housed the Post-it Notes, but one card as well. Betty pulls it out to show a drawing of a man on it. The man is a little disfigured however, as it turns out his head is in his abdomen, his left hand is where his right hand is supposed to be, his left arm has a six pack attached where the hand should be and there’s a large right hand resting on his neck. Everything perfectly matches with Betty’s rearrangement!

Core

In the routine’s barest bones, this a multiple outs scenario. For every possible way Betty can stick the Post-it Notes on you, there is a different “prediction” card. The number of permutations, or possible outcomes, for a situation like this is 24. I’m not sure about you, but I would rather snort minced cabbage than keep track of an index for 24 outs. Let’s look at ways we can dwindle down the number of possible outs. The first, and most obvious, ploy we can use to limit the number of possibilities is to actually limit the available places for Betty to stick those bad boys. This can be done by telling her that all the Post-it Notes have to end up in different places than where they started. A better way to actually phrase it will be mentioned later on, but that’s the scoop on what’s really going down. Bam, we’re now down to only 9 possible outcomes. The next method we can use for scamming purposes, involves never letting Betty stick the “Six pack” Post-it Note on the head. That’s a little misleading; the “Six pack” can be placed on the head, but it won’t be staying long because you’ll be asking a second person to rearrange the body parts as well. They will inevitably move the “Six pack” off your head, leaving you in pristine condition to finish. Splat, there are now a mere 6 outs with which to deal with. That’s still too many possibilities for my comfort level, so the last bit ‘o business we can throw at the problem involves using some good ol’ ambiguity. The use of both hands as body parts allows for some sneaky subterfuge. The drawings on the predictions look like hand prints, meaning each hand can masquerade as the other, if needed. For example,

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holding the right hand up as if to say “Hi” displays it to Betty with the thumb on the right side of the hand, whereas holding the right hand’s palm against the prediction card as if to make a hand print displays the thumb on the left side of the hand. Kaplooie, we’ve now made it possible for only the following 4 prediction cards to cover every conceivable scenario [Illustration 1]. That’s good enough for me.

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Gear

• A card box with the cellophane still around it • Three blank faced cards • A double blank card • A pad of Post-it Notes • A marker pen • A computer • A printer • A cable to hook the computer up to the printer • Electricity to make the computer and printer work • A can of Workable Fixatif Spray, or a glossy spray finisher of a similar brand • A roll of tape The blank faced cards and card box should all have the same back design and colour.

Pre-do

Pop the included CD into your computer and open the Stick It To The Man PDF file. Print out one copy as is; you’ll notice that the drawings are the perfect size to fit on a playing card. This allows you to tape the double blank card on top of the first drawing and tape the three blank faced cards on top of the remaining three drawings, blank side up. Run it through the printer again, this time the drawings will print on top of the cards. Allow the ink to dry for a minute and then take the sheet into a well ventilated area. Spray a light coat of the workable Fixatif over the cards to prevent the ink from smudging. You’ll be left with cards which can be handled like any other. For the last bit of prep, take the double blank card, and tape it over the “Predict This” logo, blank side up. Run it through the printer again so the card has a drawing on one side and the logo on the other. Spray it as before. Mmm … don’t you just love that smell?

Post-pre-do

The four cards will be placed in and around the card box for an easy index and retrieval system. The order of the cards on the PDF file on the accompanying CD will be the same order that they’re placed around the card box, from the top down.

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The first card, the double blank, is placed on the cut-out side of the box, with the logo side up, under the cellophane. The second card is placed face down underneath the first card. The third card is placed face down inside the card box. Finally, the fourth card is placed face down under the cellophane on the opposite side of the box [Photo 2].

Put the pad of Post-it Notes in the box as well, and put everything, along with the marker, in a convenient pocket.

Do

Ask Betty if she’d like to play a game. If she’s up for the challenge, bring out the card box with the logo side out and spin the box around a full 360°, saying, “The game is called ‘Predict This’. It’s fairly easy; all you have to do is predict what’s inside.” No matter what she says, reply with a smile and say, “Oh, you’ve played this before?” as you open the case towards yourself. She’ll usually say, “No,” to which you can reply “Good. Because you haven’t gotten off to a great start,” as you dump out the Post-it Notes. This should be said very jovially. Close the box back up and place it off to the side with the label showing, commenting, “We’ll get back to this later,” so there’s no surprise when the prediction is produced from the box at the climax. As you remove the marker from your pocket say, “Don’t worry, that was just the preliminary round. I have undying faith in your abilities to whoop some serious pants in this next round.” Continue, “I’ll label some body parts for entertainment purposes only … I should hope we’re past the point where this is educational.” Write “Head” on the first Post-it Note and stick it to your forehead. Next, write “Left hand” and stick it on the back of your left hand, then repeat the process with your right hand too. For the last one, ask Betty, “Would you like to take a gander

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as to what the last one will be? Yes, I just said gander.” Allow her to name any body part, to which you reply, “Oh come on, this should be pretty obvious. It’s my six pack!” Stick this final Post-it Note on your abdomen [Photo 3, caught live at one of Tyler’s performances]. If you’re ripped and actually have a Six pack (attention: Joshua Jay), this probably won’t get quite as big of a laugh.

Tell Betty, “I’d like you to rearrange these. I want you to rearrange them so well that they all end up in different places from where they started. I’m serious; I want you to go to town!” Wait until Betty comes back from town - she will either swap two Post-it Notes at a time until she’s satisfied, or pull them all off and stick them back on one at a time, either way is fine. Once she’s done having her fun, note whether the “Six pack” Post-it Note is visible. If you can see it on one of your hands or your abdomen, proceed directly to the next paragraph. If it’s not, that means it’s on your head, requiring one more step before moving on. Without skipping a beat, move to Veronica and say, “I want these body parts to be as random as possible, so do you mind mixing them up as well?” You should make this look as though it’s normal and you always go to a second spectator. Now that the “Six pack” is resting on a different body part, it’s time to move in for the kill. Here comes the first and only time you actually have to do any work. The card box index is broken up into two sets of pairs; the logo card and the card underneath it are the “top” pair, and the card in the box along with the card on the other side of the box are the “bottom” pair. The two cards which make up each pair are mirror images of each other. The “Six pack” and “Head” Post-it Notes are the keys to the whole setup (the hands play absolutely no role) so you’ll need to spot where Betty placed them. I’ll describe what to do in each of the possible situations.

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The “Six pack” Post-it Note is on the left hand while the “Head” is on the right hand: the prediction is on the other side of the logo card. The “Six pack” Post-it Note is on the right hand while the “Head” is on the left hand: the prediction card is underneath the logo card. The “Six pack” Post-it Note is on the left hand while the “Head” is on the abdomen: the prediction card is inside the card box. The “Six pack” Post-it Note is on the right hand while the “Head” is on the abdomen: the prediction card is on the other side of the card box. There is no need to memorize anything; just break it up into steps. The first thing to do is look for the “Six pack” Post-it Note. Since the previous phase ensured that it cannot be on your forehead, it can only be found on one of your hands. If it’s on the left hand, the proper prediction card will be the upper card of either the “top” pair or the “bottom” pair. I remember this as if it’s reading, left to right, top to bottom. Needless to say, if the “Six pack” is on the right hand, the proper prediction card will be the lower card of the pair. Now that you know which card of the pair to bring out, all that’s left to find out is which pair to use. The “Head” Post-it Note finishes this up nicely. If it’s on one of the hands, use the “top” pair, whereas if it’s on the abdomen, use the “bottom” pair. I remember this because I think of the arms being higher up on the body than the abdomen (even though technically the hands rest lower than the midsection, so shoot me). It sounds fairly confusing, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. There is also plenty of time to make these assessments, so don’t feel like there is any rush. Right after Betty is finished rearranging, and while this one-time-only brain function is occurring, say, “Betty: that was your role in the game of ‘Predict This’. My role in the game of ‘Predict This’ was to predict THIS, everything that has happened so far.” That statement gives way more than enough time to figure out where to pull the prediction from, so now’s the time to tell Betty where the prediction is before you actually pick up the card box. The object is to make it look extremely obvious that the prediction should be coming from wherever you get it, as if there’s no other logical place for it to be. For example, if you need to pull it out of the card box, say, “I wasn’t being completely truthful to you earlier when I said the only thing in the box was Postit Notes, there’s one other thing.” Open up the box and allow Betty to pull out the lone

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prediction card. Another example, if you need to pull the prediction card from the other side of the box, say, “Remember that card I showed you on the other side of the box earlier? It has a drawing on it.” That’s why it’s good to twirl the box 360° at the outset, the card on the back is disguised as the card box if you don’t need to use it, however if it turns out that you do need it, you can claim you showed Betty the prediction from the very beginning. Anyway, by now I think you get the picture of how to sell the location of the prediction before ever reaching for the box. Once the proper prediction card has been brought into play, immediately place the card box in your pocket to remove all potential evidence for anyone who has been watching C.S.I. a little too much. This is the home stretch, so it’s time to milk everything for what it’s worth, and right now in Canada, milk is worth about $1 per litre. Turn the prediction around to display the drawing, letting the abstract image sink in for a short moment. Say, “It’s a drawing of a slightly disfigured man. It turns out that his six pack is on his …” Point out each match one by one, pulling off each Post-it Note as you progress. There is no specific order you have to follow when pointing out the matches, however I always start with the “Six pack” and “Head” as the first two because they are the undeniable concrete matches. When it comes time to show the matching hands, address the hand print issue first so Betty understands what to expect for each “proof.” Once the prediction has been shown to match completely, say, “Wow Betty, you’re the best team-mate I’ve ever had for this game! Have you ever considered going pro?” Shake her hand in true sportsman like conduct, but refrain from illegitimately fathering several children in true sportsman like conduct.

Get in

The card box is already setup, meaning you can sail into this routine directly after your favorite colour changing scented bath oil routine.

Get out

At the conclusion of the routine, you’re left with four Post-it Notes to dispose of. Instead of hunting down a garbage can after each performance, simply stick them onto Betty’s arm and say, “For a lovely parting gift, here’s the home game.” All that’s left is to put the Post-it Note pad back in the card box and return the prediction card from whence it came. You’re fully reset.

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Get the most

1. Even though the actual number of possible outcomes is only 24, people seem to believe it’s a whole lot more. I routinely hear comments such as, “The chances of that are, like, one in a million,” proving that public schooling isn’t what it used to be. I really don’t know why this perception exists, but I doubt it would be the same if I asked someone to rearrange the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. I can only hazard a guess that using various body parts masks the number and focuses on the identity, the multitude of potential other body parts possibly also playing a role. I have absolutely no education in psychology, this is nothing but pure speculation based solely on repeated performance, so take it with a box of Kosher salt. 2. As we’ve already discussed, there are two restrictions involved with the routine: nothing can be placed back where it started, and the “Six pack” Post-it Note cannot remain on your head. During the presentation, these should not be played as restrictions but rather enhancers as you should make it seem as though the proceedings are even more random because of them. As well, the first restriction is just kind of thrown in there between two other sentences telling Betty to mix everything up well. A last note, is that no negative words are used when mentioning the restriction, words like “don’t,” “can’t,” and “no” are avoided, again, so it doesn’t sound like a restriction. 3. There will be times when the “Six pack” and “Head” Post-it Notes are in the acceptable positions yet you notice that Betty placed the “Right hand” Post-it Note back on the right hand, or similarly the “Left hand” on the left hand. In this situation don’t tell her to change it, instead say, “Well, I wanted you to move them ALL around, but I guess you’re a rebel and like to break the rules. No problem, I like your style.” You’ll look like a rock star because Betty didn’t even follow the rules yet you’ll still able to successfully predict the outcome, based on the ambiguity factor. 4. I remember being worried at first that the hand ambiguity was going to be too transparent to the audience. On the contrary, using both hands seems to actually strengthen the prediction as I hear comments like, “Wow, he even nailed which hand goes where!” As a result, I’ve learned to never undersell the hand matching. 5. I don’t perform this routine for any less than three people at a time. This is just in case the second spectator doesn’t move the “Six pack” Post-it Note off the head. It’s never actually happened to me, but I want to make sure I have that third person to go to if I have to.

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6. In the case of having a second spectator rearrange the Post-it Notes as well, I like to increase my odds of having them take the “Six pack” off the head right away. I do this by bending down at the waist so my head and hands are right in front of her. This also automatically brings the abdomen out of play, meaning there are really only three available body parts within her reach. The odds are now 2 out of 3 that she’ll move the “Six pack” off my head during the first swap of two Post-it Notes. Them there are bettin’ odds son. The bending down should be done under the context of trying to get close enough for her to reach everything, in essence helping her. 7. To be honest, the backs of my hands are just too freakishly hairy for the Post-it Notes to adhere, so I have to stick them to my palms at the base of the fingers [Photo 4]. Until I get sponsored by Mach 3, this won’t be changing any time soon. I still believe, however, that having the Post-it Notes on the back of the hands is better for this routine. 8. There was a time when I tried changing the wording around so Betty could get all the credit, making it look like she predicted the drawing, rather than the drawing predicting her rearrangement. This didn’t seem to play as well, I think it’s a little more confusing to play off the idea that there’s some random esoteric drawing in the case and Betty predicted it. Even though the current presentation technically has me “winning” the game, I treat Betty like a team-mate rather than opponent, giving her all the accolades as if she was instrumental in the successful outcome.

Shout outs

• If you’d like to see how a real writer describes this routine, look no further than David Acer’s eloquent yet hilarious write-up of it in the March, 2006 issue of Genii (Volume 69, Number 3). • Andi ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Gladwin produced the graphics for the cards that I use. He’s a friendly guy, so has allowed me to include them on the accompanying CD so that you can use them too. If you could have seen what I used to use before Andi so graciously donated his incredible artistic skills to this routine, no doubt you would have felt ill at the sight. It was made with Microsoft Paint, ‘nuff said. So please everyone say, “Thank you Andi!” Thank you Andi! • Thanks 3M!

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Paul Mase’s Trick

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This is an Open Travellers routine with a technicolor twist. You may ask, “Why are you bothering us with yet another handling of this already done-to-death plot, Tyler?” The simple answer: because I can. If you’d rather a somewhat detailed answer, it’s an attempt to create a more indepth scenario for the plot, as a cheat would not only have to palm the Aces out to his hand, but also locate them within the shuffled deck in the first place. This creates an additional three magical moments for the plot without deviating from its core concept. But that’s boring, so just stick with the simple answer.

See

Larry Jennings meets Crayola.

Gear

• A blue backed deck • Four red backed Aces • A red backed indifferent card (we’ll assume it’s the Queen of Hearts)

Pre-do

Stack a face down packet with the red backed cards in this order from the face: • Ace of Diamonds • Ace of Clubs • Queen of Hearts • Ace of Hearts • Ace of Spades Place these cards in a convenient pocket or wallet until you are primed and ready to perform.

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The only setup needed for the blue deck is to cut the Queen of Hearts to the top. If you don’t want the blue backed Aces to show up during the routine, make sure they’re all in the bottom half of the deck. If you don’t care, then neither do I.

Do

With the deck tabled, explain to Veronica, “Every time I bring out a deck of cards, people always say the same thing; ‘Can you cheat at poker, Tyler?’” Wait a moment, clear your throat, look Veronica directly in the eyes and say, “People ALWAYS say ‘Can you cheat at poker, Tyler?” This is usually enough to get the point across so she says, “Hey Tyler, can you cheat at poker?” Reply with, “Gee, thanks for asking. Yes, yes I can cheat at poker,” then continue, “The next thing people always ask is, ‘Tyler, where did you learn how to cheat?’” Veronica should be conditioned now to repeat the question without any further prompting. Reply, “Video games! I used to use those cheat codes all the time as a kid and now I’m reaping the benefits.” Veronica will probably look a little confused, so add, “Allow me to clarify, cheating with cards is really hard and I’m not that good, so all the poker I’ve been playing these days has been online, where cheating is much easier. Here let me show you.” Tell her that it will be easier to follow if you use cards with a different coloured back design and remove the red backed packet from your pocket/wallet. Turn it face up and Ascanio Spread to display the four Aces. Turn the packet face down in right hand Dealers Grip and spread the top three cards into the left hand without reversing their order. Drop these cards onto the deck and transfer the remaining double to left hand Biddle Grip. Turn the left hand palm up to display the Ace of Diamonds and table the double face down [Photo 1], saying, “You can usually get lucky with one good card naturally dealt to you.”

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Pick up the deck in right hand Dealers Grip and mention to Veronica, “The other Aces, however, will require more than just luck to obtain.” Insert each red backed card in separate areas of the top half of the deck while maintaining the same order (i.e. the first card should still be the uppermost), but leave them out-jogged for about half their length [Photo 2]. Perform Jerry Sadowitz’s Cover Shift as follows: With the deck in right hand Dealers Grip, the right thumb along the side and the right index finger curled underneath, bring the left hand over with the left index finger curled on top and the left middle finger stretched across the out-jogged cards at the outer right corner [Photo 3]. Pulling the cards into the deck from that position will cause an angle-jogged condition on the left side. Drag the right thumb along the side of the deck to give the appearance of squaring the deck and leave the deck in left hand Biddle Grip. With the left pinky contacting the angle-jogged cards at the outer left corner, pick up half the deck with the left index finger in preparation for a Swing Cut. Bring the right hand over to receive the top half and contact the top card with its thumb to push it over in alignment with the bottom packet [Photo 4]. The deck should be necktied in order to hide this Slip Cut style action. It will also hide any sloppiness with the top card’s alignment in case it flashes the red backed cards underneath. Because of the left pinky’s contact with the angle-jogged cards, they will stay behind as the rest of the top half makes its way to the bottom [Photo 5].

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The entire shift should only take a second or two and appear to be just a simple swing cut. It will leave all three red backed cards in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th positions while keeping the blue backed Queen of Hearts on top. Phew, if you’ve made it this far, you’ll find the rest of the routine smooth sailing. Disclose to Veronica, “I still remember the first cheat code I ever found by accident. I just pressed all the buttons at once.” Draw attention to the top of the deck and perform the Erdnase Change, but instead of immediately removing the left hand to reveal the red back, press on the top of the deck as if you’re smooshing all the buttons in with the palm. Say, “It makes the online dealer bring the next Ace to the top of the deck.” Reveal the red backed card and thumb it off, placing it in Pitching a Tent Vanish (page 16) position with the back facing outward. It will be the Ace of Spades, but miscall it as the Ace of Clubs. Perform the Pitching a Tent Vanish but don’t reveal the vanish yet, keep the left hand in a cramped palm position in front of your body, saying, “The next cheat code is the most important. It causes a glitch in the system so other players won’t be able to see the card. It’s up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, start.” To match actions with words, press in different areas on the top of the deck with the right thumb as if inputting the code. Turn your left hand toward yourself as if checking to see if the card is still visible, but make sure Veronica can’t see into your hand. Say, “Whoops, I put in the wrong code, that one gave me incredible strength,” and start flexing your muscles as if you’re a flesh-coloured Hulk. With the left hand back in a cramped palm position in front of the body, say “I think I know what I did wrong, let’s try this again, up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start,” emphasizing that “B” and “A” have been reversed, and press the imaginary buttons on the deck with the right thumb as before. Look at your left palm again, but this time smile and turn it over completely so Veronica can see the card has become invisible. The Ace is now reversed on the bottom of the deck; a condition which will be exploited in a moment. Say, “It worked! Can you see it?” and allow the moment to sink in. Continue, “Now the dealer can give me the card without anyone being the wiser,” and perform your best robot movements as if you’re a computer program laying down a palmed card. When the left hand reaches the table, split the tabled double causing the second card to appear

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by using Ross Bertram’s finesse. This is done by placing the left edge of the left palm next to the tabled double [Photo 6]. Roll the palm down on the tabled cards, the rolling action will separate the double to reveal the “palmed” card [Photo 7].

Pick up the two tabled cards and push out with the left thumb to form a reverse spread while placing them diagonal-jogged to the upper-right on the deck [Photo 8]. Take the leftmost card, flip it face up while mentioning it’s the Ace which started it all, and place

it side-jogged to the left on top of the deck for display purposes [Photo 9]. Turn the second Ace face up and call attention to its identity as being what was just in the deck moments ago and place it directly beneath the Ace of Diamonds, side-jogged even further to the left [Photo 10]. Bring the left hand over to grab the two Aces in a Biddle style grip with the thumb contacting the back left edge of the deck and the left middle finger

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contacting the front left edge. In a Side Steal type action, the right fingers push the bottom card to the left so it remains hidden underneath both Aces [Photo 11, from underneath]. The left thumb and middle finger act as rails so the bottom card remains aligned during its travels. Pull the three cards as if they’re just two out to the left and use the right fingers and thumb to help square the packet, it should still be in a Biddle style grip. Use the right thumb and middle finger as pivot points to allow the left hand to turn the packet face down and re-take back in Biddle Grip. As your left hand moves away with its packet, the right fingertips contact the underside of the bottom card to slide it out [Photo 12]. The left hand places the packet to the table in preparation for the next Ace. Say, “That’s one heckuva Texas Hold ‘Em hand, but the best part about the codes is that you can use them as many times as you want. Here, check it out.” The previous actions are repeated all over again: Erdnase Change, miscall card (this time as the Ace of Spades), Pitching a Tent Vanish, table revelation, display and loading move from the bottom of the deck. This time, slide out two cards from the packet in Biddle Grip so it looks like a three card spread. You can also repeat this process for the final card if you wish, but I like to end with this different handling: The current condition is that the four Aces are on the table while looking like only three, with the blue backed deck in right hand Dealers Grip with the blue backed Queen of Hearts on top and the red backed Queen of Hearts directly beneath it. Inform Veronica, “That’s how the old-timers like me cheat. But today there are guys even better. They’re able to cheat invisibly just by downloading a program which does it all for them. They can even do it right out in the open,” and demonstrate by performing a One-Card Pass to visually produce the final “Ace” while simultaneously sending the blue backed Queen of Hearts to the bottom of the deck. Take the top card with the left fingertips and flip the deck over with the right hand. Spread the deck while

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mentioning the difficulty involved with finding the Aces among a fully computer shuffled deck [Photo 13]. Place the left hand’s face down card on top of the face up deck, miscalling it as the Ace of Hearts. Tell Veronica, “But still, there are guys even better. They can download a program that doesn’t even need the card to be in the deck, they can steal what they need right out of someone else’s hand,” and perform the Rub ‘N Tug Vanish (page 13) on a separate area of the performing surface away from the tabled Aces. Bring the hand up as if palming the card but don’t reveal the vanish yet. Say, “But still, there are guys even better. They can write their own programs which not only allow the Ace to become invisible, but also cause the dealer to become increasingly more handsome.” With fingers spread wide apart, reveal the card to have been invisibly palmed for the last time. This will leave the red backed card reversed on the face of the deck, conveniently showing the Queen of Hearts to eliminate any discrepancies. Finish with, “So join me for a game online, my screen name is Hell Toupee,” and reveal the final Ace on the table for the climax. I think my cell phone vibrates louder than it rings.

Get in

As mentioned earlier, if you keep the required five cards in a convenient wallet, all that’s needed to set up is to cut the Queen of Hearts to the top of the deck. Rock on.

Get out

To display the final four Aces in a manner which get them back in their original order (and reset the whole trick), the following actions should take place directly after revealing the final face down card to have appeared on the table: Pick up the four card packet with the left hand without squaring them. Get a break under the top card of the deck before taking the two rightmost cards with the right hand, retaining the other two with the left hand. Allow the leftmost card in the right fingers to fall face up to the table followed by the remaining card in the right hand. Flip the rightmost card from the left hand onto the tabled pile and finally the last card. Scoop the Aces up with the left hand and place them on top of the deck to square. Pick up all the cards above the break (with the deck still showing a Queen of Hearts)

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and table the deck to the right. Take the Ace packet into right hand Dealers Grip and spread the top two cards into the left hand. Separate the hands while spreading the top card of the right packet to display all four Aces [Photo 14]. Place the left hand’s Aces underneath the right hand’s cards, and voila, your packet is reset. All that’s left for a complete reset is to cut the blue backed Queen of Hearts back to the top of the deck.

Get the most

1. This routine must read like a Dostoevsky novel, but I promise you it’s pretty straightforward. I just seem to have a natural ability to drag descriptions out longer than an episode of Full House. Give it a go and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it really is. 2. Okay, I lied. Every time I bring out a deck of cards, the only thing people ever say is, “Hey, can you do that one where my card ends up on the other side of the window!?” 3. Some may not like the fact that the Aces and deck make contact in the routine. This was essentially a byproduct of an element I disliked from the classical handlings which I wanted to remove. I didn’t like the fact that the magician constantly had to put down and pick up each packet so many times throughout the routine. I realize this was to create distance between the two packets, but I personally found it tiring and awkward to not only do, but even to watch as well. In essence, it just wasn’t my style. The deck being held in the right hand throughout Paul Mase’s Trick economizes the handling and cuts down on what I would consider clutter. Since you need both hands for some of the actions, it should appear as though the deck just happens to be in the right hand during the proceedings rather than focusing any actual purpose on it. After performing several versions of Open Travellers, not surprisingly I found the vanishes and appearances to be what audiences gasped and talked about. So that’s where I decided to focus attention with this routine, on making the vanishes and appearances as strong as possible while keeping the handling economical and streamlined. The distance factor became a sacrificial lamb in order to simplify the look of the routine, while adding three magical moments to it at the same time. It’s a

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compromise, but I firmly believe I’m giving up far less than I’m getting. Your mileage may vary. 4. I toyed around with the idea of secretly utilizing the blue backed Aces to allow the showing of each Ace before and after every travel, but I ultimately decided against it. If you’re interested in a routine which allows for such displays (without the technicolor aspect), check out Doug Conn’s Tricked Traveler for a truly superb version of the Open Travellers plot. It can be found in his book Tricks of my Trade. 5. My friend Chris Mayhew has a great idea when performing this routine without a soft surface around, he uses the card case as a stage instead. It’s very easy to set a double on the case perpendicular so it hangs off the side, allowing for an easy pick-up later on. The only issue you must face is that the doubles must be absolutely spot on, as the elevated state of the cards will give away any imperfections more so than if they were resting on the table. Try it out, it’s a great idea. Thanks Chris!

Shout outs

• The original version of the Ascanio Spread (El Culebreo) was executed with the cards held by the long edges. It was described in English in Karl Fulves’ Epilogue Special number 4 (1976). Handling the cards by the long ends (as we perform it today) is generally known as Marlo’s Vertical Ascanio and was published in Jon Racherbaumer’s Ascanio Spread Manuscript (1976). However, it has been said by a number of Ascanio’s friends that he would frequently use a vertical grip, depending on the context of the move. • Jerry Sadowitz’s Cover Shift can be found in Cards Hit (1984). The standard Elias Multiple Shift can be found in Ed Marlo’s book The Multiple Shift (1960). • Loading the bottom card of the deck under the two or three on top is very similar to Bill Simon’s lovely Cover for the Side Slip from Effective Card Magic (1952). • I strongly suggest looking into other handlings of this plot if you don’t already know any. The history of the plot is incredibly muddied so I won’t even attempt to lay down the entire history here, but I will give nods to Bill Miesel, Larry Jennings, Bruce Cervon, Ed Marlo, Dai Vernon and Bugs Bunny. • The �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� code I described to turn the card invisible is commonly referred to as The Konami Code or The Contra Code, due the fact it was used in many Konami games for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. For instance, if you enter the code during the title screen of Contra, you’ll start with 30 lives. Oh my god, I have no life.

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Scarred warp. . . .

r

Please excuse me while I put on some kid gloves for the following description, although to be honest, they don’t fit very well (but then again neither do the kid pants). The reason I have to be so careful is because I’ll be describing my version of Roy Walton’s classic trick Card Warp, which is a marketed

item. This means I can’t just go around exposing its

inner workings, so I’ll be describing my variation with the

assumption that you are already familiar with the original M.O. Unlike most variations of Card Warp which strive to improve it by adding cleaner and more convincing displays, this variation adds a second effect to the mix without (hopefully) cluttering it. This stems from asking myself, “What would the center of Card Warp look like if it was exposed?” Suffice it to say that if you don’t already own Card Warp, go out and buy it right now. It’s easily one of the coolest card tricks ever created. Ever.

See

The magician admits to Veronica that he’s not as invincible as he looks: he’s actually afraid of Queens and Threes. He musters up the courage to demonstrate why they’re so frightening and proceeds to remove a Queen and a Three to fold them in half. He inserts the lengthwise folded Queen inside the widthwise folded Three so one end is sticking out. The magician claims that the part which scares him the most is right at the entry point between the two cards. He claims the only way to see what happens at that point is to push the Queen through the Three so it comes out the other side. Upon doing this, the Queen emerges from the other side, flipped over! The Queen is pushed through again to flip it back over, returning to the starting position. He tells Veronica that even though the one point on the card scares him, there’s a different point on the card which actually terrifies him, and points to the middle of the Three. The only way to demonstrate what happens at that point is to rip a hole right out of the midsection of the card. Now when the Queen is pushed through the Three, nothing is visible through the hole! Nothing. The Queen is pushed back and forth a few

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more times, emerging out the other end of the Three flipped over, but with absolutely nothing in the middle! The magician can’t take anymore of the terror and decides to rip the cards in half, right through the middle. Before handing the pieces to Veronica, he uses them to make a memento for her to keep and remind her of the unique experience she just shared. Wow, that sounds pretty sappy.

Gear

I personally use standard Bicycle Rider Back cards in performance, but I will be describing the routine using Tally-Ho Circle Back cards because their natural features allow for easier understanding of the procedures. I’ll touch on the use of Bicycle cards in the Get the most section. • A Three (any suit) Tally-Ho Circle backed card • A Queen (any suit) Tally-Ho Circle backed card • A Xacto Knife • A surface which you won’t mind destroying [Photo 1]

Pre-do

The standard Card Warp preparation is used in this routine, along with two additional quick bits of prep. These are small slits made with the Xacto Knife along the back of the Queen. Before you start slashing the card up like Freddy Krueger, look for all the inverted triangles which form a big circle around the center of the card. Each triangle has three white blobs inside, although you’ll only be

“Middle blob”

2

concerned with the middle blob [Photo 2].

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From the middle blob of the third triangle to the right, cut a slit with the Xacto Knife straight across the card until the middle blob of the third triangle to the left. Turn the card around 180° and perform the same slits with the new blobby blobs [Photo 3]. The knife will go right through the cards, so make sure you’re not cutting over top of your receipt from that Avril Lavigne CD you bought, or you’ll never be able to return it.

3

Place the prepared Queen and unprepared Three in a pocket or wallet. You’re ready to go!

Do

Tell Veronica, “David Blaine may be fearless, but I’m afraid of Queens and Threes.” While pulling out the prepared Queen along with the regular Three. Get into standard Card Warp position by having Veronica fold the Three in half widthwise, back outwards, and inserting the lengthwise folded Queen inside it [Photo 4]. I personally get in this position by using David Acer’s Card Warp Get Ready as I think it’s much more efficient, but Walton’s original method will do just fine.

Holding the package by the bottom in the left fingertips, say, “Actually, what scares me is what happens right here.” Point to the area where the lengthwise card is entering the widthwise card [Photo 5] and continue, “If you want to see what happens there, we’ll have to push the card through that spot and see how it comes the other side. But I’m standing back for this.” Ask Veronica to to hold up her thumb as if she’s hitchhiking her way to a better place with a better magician, then with the lengthwise card protruding from the left side, allow her to push on it slowly, showing the Queen to emerge face up from the other side.

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Re-grip the package by grasping the protruding portion with the right index and middle fingers, allowing the thumb to contact the back of the widthwise folded card. This will cause the front half of the widthwise card to open up slightly. Bring the left hand in from the front, fingers closed, and pull the front half up to show the entire Queen has turned face up, letting the left fingers cover the dirty work [Photo 6]. Reverse the actions to get back into standard Card Warp position. Turn the package around 180° so the Queen is protruding from the left side again, and allow Veronica to slowly push it with her thumb back into the widthwise card, showing it to materialize face down out the other side. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Say, “As much as that part scares me …” pointing to the same area you noted before, “… this area over here absolutely terrifies me!” Point to the middle of the widthwise folded card [Photo 7] and tell Veronica, “The only way to see what happens there, is to rip a big hole into it.” To prepare for the rip, move the lengthwise card down until the borders from both cards line up and grip the package between the right middle and ring fingers [Photo 8]. With the left hand, rip a semi-circle into the card along the inner circle of the Tally-Ho Circle Back design. The rip can come further inwards along the length of the card, but it can’t really deviate much further from either end along the width [Photo 9]. Don’t skimp on the rip, for the best illusion you’ll want to make the hole as big as possible, without the risk of compromising the following sequence.

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Trying it out a few times will give you the confidence needed for perfect holes every time. After placing the ripped off portion onto the table, open up the back side of the widthwise folded card with the left hand to display the hole to Veronica. Say, “The first frightening part is that this hole makes my thumb look fat,” while sticking your very real left thumb through the very real hole. As the thumb enters the hole, pull down on the midsection of the lengthwise card with the right thumb. This will fold over the middle portion of the card, leaving a long gap to be exploited [Photo 10, second card removed for clarity]. Sometimes the middle section will make a small noise when it’s folded down, so make sure to time it with the insertion of the left thumb through the hole. Any noise should be attributed to the left thumb and not any extracurricular activity behind the scenes. Bring the left thumb away and fold the widthwise card back onto itself as it was previously. Rotate the package with the right hand so it’s being held at the open end of the widthwise card, the lengthwise card sticking out from the top [Photo 11]. Say, “The second terrifying part comes when you see what happens when I move the card over to the hole …” and match actions to words by sliding the lengthwise card so it’s along the spine of the widthwise card, showing the lack of pasteboard through the hole. Continue, “… nothing! Nothing happens because there’s nothing there, it’s terrifying!” Push the lengthwise card through as before to reveal the same turnover sequence, but this time it will look like the middle of the card has vanished, nothing will show through the hole [Photo 12]. Turn the right hand over, flipping the package 180°, and push the card through again to show what it looks like from the other side. Push it back up from the bottom so it’s halfway between the widthwise card and stop. Ask Veronica, “Does this frighten you

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as much as it does me? I just can’t take anymore.” Bring the package up in front of your chest so the hole is uppermost and rip the package in half, right down the middle of the hole. With half in each hand, place the respective thumbs within their respective widthwise halves, respectively. Push up on both folded over portions of the lengthwise card, causing them to unfold while simultaneously opening the widthwise halves. Place each widthwise portion on the table, about eight inches apart [Photo 13]. The pieces in your hands aren’t examinable at this point, they each still have a slit in them, so you could simply rip them up a few more times to hide the evidence. If you’d like a more elegant clean-up and ending, check the Get out section. Wax on, wax off.

Get in

Hand the deck to Veronica to be shuffled thoroughly. When she’s satisfied that it’s mixed, say, “Now there’s no way for anyone to know where any specific cards are, correct? So if I were to be able to tell you exactly where a Queen and a Three are located after you completely shuffled the deck, would you be impressed?” Allow her to respond as you look at the deck intensively and say, “I keep them in my pocket,” while pulling out the cards or wallet. Continue, “I keep them out of the deck because I’m actually scared of them …” and you’re into the routine.

Get out

You’re about to clean up while simultaneously creating a unique souvenir for Veronica to take home. Offer Veronica the two remaining pieces that are in your hands, but bring them back as if just getting an idea. Say, “Actually, if I’m giving you these to keep, why don’t I make a memento out of them for you.” Bring the pieces together behind your left fingers so they’re facing the same direction with the slits lining up [Photo 14]. Start slowly ripping down along the slits, although because there will be nothing to actually rip for the first half of the card and therefore no resistance, make a slightly exaggerated effort to begin with. Once you reach the end of the pre-cut slits the ripping will become

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real, so don’t alter your movements or pace. Stop ripping about half an inch from the edge, albeit this is just a guideline as the exact position doesn’t really make a darn tootin’ bit of difference. Make an almost 90° turn with the ripping pattern and start tearing the pieces toward the bottom with a slight angle towards the outside edge. Stop about a half an inch from the bottom of the pieces [Photo 15]. Separate the pieces and unfold them so one is face down and the other is face up. Lay the face down piece on top of the face up piece with the rips facing opposite directions and slide each ripped portion within the other [Photo 16]. The pieces will now be locked together, looking like a single card half face up and half face down (though a little shorter). Fold it in half along its length as before and place it in between the two halves already tabled for a nice display [Photo 17].

Get the most

1. Don’t worry about people spotting the slits: I assure you that it won’t happen. When the card is inside the package, the slits are always covered by the outer card so there is no opportunity for them to be seen. The only time they’re out in the open is at the outset of the routine before the folding begins, but they are so hard to see even when you’re looking for them that you simply don’t have to worry about it. 2. As I mentioned earlier, I actually use Rider Back Bicycle cards for this routine. There are also built-in features in the back design of these cards to allow easy Xacto Knifing, but there isn’t really a guide for ripping the hole later on in the routine. To prepare the slits on the Rider Back, find the rightmost bird next to the upper angel

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riding the bike. Cut a straight line across the angel until reaching the inner edge along the large circle [Photo 18]. Lather, rinse, turn the card 180°, and repeat. Ripping the hole during the routine with Rider Backs will be sketchy until you become confident with the placement of the rips. I tend to start ripping outside the middle propeller-like rod and finish the tear at an equal distance from the center. Again,

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there’s plenty of room for artistic freedom, but you just don’t want to go too far or you’ll risk exposure later on during the final push-through phase. 3. Because I don’t like to take chances, I incorporate a fail-safe moment into the routine to prevent any embarrassing occurrences. During the first push-through after ripping the hole out, I insert my left index finger into the hole when the card hasn’t quite fully been pushed through so that only the length of the border is still protruding from the top. Pushing the remaining portion of the card with the finger in the hole will prevent any edges from accidentally being exposed in case the ripped hole is too large. If that’s the case, you’ll feel the edges push against the finger while there’s still a sliver of the card still protruding from the top. Remove the finger and don’t push anymore, simply turn the package 180° and continue as previously described. This will make more sense when you try the routine out a few times at the beginning as the holes will probably tend to be pretty sloppy. After that you’ll probably never have to do it anymore; however I still do just to be safe. It’s a non-move and is done while saying, “There’s really nothing there,” so it looks like you’re inserting the finger as a proving method rather than a holy-crap-I-don’t-want-to-look-stupid method.

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Shout outs

• Card Warp is a marketed manuscript by Roy Walton (������������������������� September, �������������� 1973) and was released by Davenports. • David Acer’s The Card Warp Get-Ready was published in Magic Menu (Issue 37, September/October, 1996) and his book Natural Selections II (1999). • Michael Close’s Rubik’s Dollar Bill from Workers 2 (1991) is an unrelated routine, however it gimmicks a dollar bill in a way which arrives at a similar end result to the Queen’s situation during the ripped hole phase of Scarred Warp. Damn, I should be a politician. While on the topic of Michael Close and Card Warp, check out his Dr. Strangetrick from Workers 1 (1990) as it was the version of Card Warp I used to use and has some of the best displays extant. • Jamie Badman was the brains behind using the inner circle on Tally-Ho Circle Back cards as a teaching tool for ripping the hole. Thanks Jamie! • Andi Gladwin, Jack Parker, Tomas Blomberg and Jamie Badman were all instrumental in fuelling my creative juices to conceive the final give-away card. Thanks guys!

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Sven who? > > > > > > > > > > > > Have you ever wanted to perform a Svengali Deck routine using a normal deck? Me neither, but here’s a routine inspired by our favorite gaffed deck anyway.

See

The magician places a prediction off to one side and asks Betty to select a card (e.g. King of Clubs). The prediction is triumphantly revealed to say “Not red.” The magician admits to cheating and shows every card in the deck to be black. He waves his hand over the deck to turn every card red as he mentions how much more impressive the odds would have been in this case. With another wave, the deck is shown to be completely normal, made up of red and black cards. To conclude, the magician proves just how accurate the prediction really was by showing the King of Clubs to be the only blue backed card in the entire red backed deck. It truly was the only card which was “Not red!”

Gear

• A ����������������� red backed deck • Any ��������������������������������������������������������������������� black card with a blue back (we’ll assume it’s the King of Clubs) • A ���������������� piece of paper • A ���������������������������������������������������� writing instrument (such as a ballpoint clarinet)

Pre-do

Split the red backed deck into reds and blacks with the reds on top. Place the blue backed King of Clubs on the face of the deck. You’re ready to go.

Do

Bring out the pen and paper and write “Not red” as a prediction, fold it up a few times and place it aside. As you bring out the deck say, “I’ve been doing this trick a LONG time, probably ever since I was about 5 foot 17.” Force the blue backed King of Clubs on Betty using any method you know, ensuring that the back can’t been seen. I personally use Hasselhofzinser ������������������������������������������������������� (page 28)���������������������������������������������� , but even something like the Cross Cut Force

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would work well. You don’t want her turning the card over before the climax to the routine, so place it off to the side a bit but still in plain view. Say, “I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of predictions before, but nothing like this. Most are so incredibly vague that they could mean anything, but my prediction is so amazingly accurate that I predict you’ll tell your therapist all about it.” Ask Betty to unfold the prediction and read it aloud. Because you folded the prediction up a few times, it will usually take her a few seconds, so as she’s doing this, split the deck in half and perform an Out Faro. The Faro doesn’t have to be remotely perfect; in fact you could get away with just doing a riffle shuffle, however the closer the weave is to being perfect, the smoother the displays will look later on. Don’t complete the shuffle, leave the halves separate for about the width of the border [Photo 1, slightly exaggerated]. The right hand should be palm down (showing the black face card) to allow the back of the hand to hide the true condition of the deck. To hide the condition from the sides, the thumb grips the deck by the corner closest to the body and the middle finger grips the opposite corner. The index finger rests curled on the face of the deck [Photo 2]. By this point Betty will have read the prediction and it will have gotten a laugh. Say, “You laugh now, but when I was doing this as a kid, I would cheat and use a deck made up of nothing but black cards” and bring the deck up to chest height, angled so the front edge of the deck is aimed just above her head. With the index finger of the left hand, slowly riffle through the cards from the face of the deck through to the back [Photo 3]. Because of the Incomplete Faro, the cards will act like a Svengali

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Deck and only display every second card, which just happen to be black. This is the display which looks smoother with a tighter Faro Shuffle. Turn the left hand palm up and contact the back of the deck with its fingers. Rock the right hand back to deposit the deck onto the left hand fingertips as the left thumb clamps the face. Turn the left hand palm down and gesture towards the King of Clubs, the left hand will still hide the condition from the front [Photo 4]. Say, “But my mom told me that it would be much more impressive if I did the same trick using a deck full of red cards instead.” Curl the left hand down and inward to place the deck face up in right hand Dealers Grip with the left hand still holding the deck from the front. Release the deck with the left hand and lay it down on the face of the deck to perform an Erdnase Change. Because of the deck’s condition, you won’t need to push the top card forward to get a grip on the card below, cool huh? This will reveal a red card on the face to match actions with words, but don’t completely remove the left hand from the deck after the change, let its fingertips hang out at the rear to once again hide the deck’s condition. Grip the bottom of the deck with the left thumb and pivot it up so the right hand can grab it in the same position as the previous display [Photo 5]. The left fingers will also pull the face card up during the transfer of the deck so it aligns with the up-jogged cards. Riffle the deck again to show the entire deck is made up of only red cards. Square the deck. Say, “But my Grandma always said ‘Stop that or you’ll go blind!’ ... she also told me to just be myself and use a regular deck of cards. She said people will find it more impressive than using a trick deck.” Riffle the deck as before to show the deck containing red and black cards. One thing to consider: there is a noticeable difference between riffling 26 cards (as was done previously) and riffling 52 cards now. To hide the discrepancy, only riffle about 26 cards from the middle at the same tempo as you did earlier and shotgun the rest of them.

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Fan the deck face down and say, “So now that you know where this trick came from, not to mention my entire genealogy, you’ve got to admit it’s pretty amazing, right? You’d be surprised how many people aren’t amazed because they think the odds are 1 in 2 that I’d be right. They don’t seem to understand that the odds are actually 1 in 52, because your card is truly the ONLY card that is ‘Not red.’” Turn the King of Clubs face down to provide a good spankin’. Creamed corn anyone?

Get in

Keep the blue backed King of Clubs in the rear left pants pocket for when nature calls. If you’re like me, chances are pretty good that at any given time your deck won’t be coincidentally split into reds and blacks. To remedy this situation without having to resort to ugly boring ol’ sleight of hand, use the following gag: With the faces toward yourself, cut a group of two or more black cards to the face. Say “Betty, I’d like you to send all your thoughts to me.” while up-jogging the last black card in that first group. Stop, and then rapidly run through the deck, up-jogging every red card in the process, saying “Whoa, I’m getting a flood of info from you. All the way back to when you got beat up for your lunch money, last week.” When finished, strip the up-jogged cards out with the right hand and say “Betty, do you have a favorite card?” When she answers, reply “Do you have, um, about 19 of them?” as the right thumb riffles down the packet as if to estimate the number of cards. Here’s where you get sneaky, bring the right hand down so the faces show and push the sole black card halfway off the deck saying “You’re not going to believe this, but one of them is a 5, right?” (or whatever the value of the black card is) for a laugh. As this is taking place, the left hand reaches around back to steal the blue backed King of Clubs onto the face of the packet. Bring it back around and coalesce the packets so the King remains on the face of the deck, the deck is now set-up for the routine. Say “Aren’t I amazing?” to which a lukewarm response is usually received, continue “My mind reading skills are good, but my real abilities involve predicting the future. I’ve been honing them since an early age.” and launch into the routine. As an aside, if you paid attention to the identity of the red card under the lone black card in the left hand, it can be used as a key card later as the deck is being split for the Faro Shuffle. If that doesn’t suit your style, for years I used to separate the colors using a ploy called (surprise surprise) Separating The Colors. It’s a variation of the Slop Shuffle, so I would do it in a preceding routine which incorporated the shuffle as part of its M.O., allowing

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me to go straight into Sven Who? without having to “toy” with the deck at the outset. To ring in the blue backed King of Clubs, I would keep it in the same pocket as the pen and paper. It was a simple matter to palm the King as the other items were brought out.

Get out

Putting the blue backed King of Clubs away leaves you in position to go into any routine that can be performed with an unprepared deck. As an added bonus, if the Faro performed during the routine was perfect, the deck is left in (almost) prime position to go into a plenitude of routines using that set-up, Tamariz’s Blown Away (aka Neither Blind Nor Silly/Stupid) being one of my favorites . All that’s needed is to swap the face card with the card directly beneath it (essentially undoing the earlier Erdnase Change). And as an added bonus to the added bonus, Blown Away ends in the prime position to go straight into Sven Who? The circle of life is at work my peeps.

Get the most

1. The movements have been carefully choreographed to allow as much cover of the deck’s Incomplete Faro condition as possible, so try to keep that in mind as you’re performing the routine to avoid flashing. 2. When I’m performing, I carry Post-it Notes to perform Compost It (page 45), so I use them to write the prediction on. This allows me to fold the note up with the adhesive portions towards each other, making it a little more difficult to open. This adds more time to casually perform the Faro Shuffle without being rushed. By no means is it necessary to use this ruse, but it rhymes. 3. Seriously, my Grandma [Photo 6] is pretty damn cool!

Shout outs

• ��������������������������������������������� Max Holden’s Cross Cut Force can be found in Anneman’s 202 Method’s of Forcing (1933). • ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� For information on the Faro Shuffle and the Incomplete Faro, check out Ed Marlo’s Revolutionary Card Technique series (1958).

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• The Erdnase Change can be found in Expert at the Card Table (1902) under the title Transformations. Two Hands. First Method. • Separating the Colors can be found in the Sundry Sleights section of Expert Card Technique (1940). Sid Lorraine’s original Slop Shuffle was published in Subtle Problems You Will Do by Stuart Judah and John Braun (1937). • ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Juan Tamariz’s Blown Away (aka Neither Blind Nor Silly/Stupid) can be found in Apocalypse Volume 10 Number 7 (July, 1987), in his book Sonata (English translation, 1991) and on his Lessons In Magic videos.

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Sloppy 30 seconds ****** Many creators claim that their routines are their babies and therefore can’t pick favorites. I think babies are ugly so I have no problems stating that this routine is my favorite creation with cards. It was designed specifically for restaurant use, so you’ll have to be performing under similar conditions to pull it off. The conditions require the spectators to look up to you while performing, meaning they’ll probably be seated while you’re standing up. If you never perform under these conditions, there may be other elements of the routine of interest. Or maybe not.

See

The magician accidentally drops the Queen of Hearts on the ground as he’s shuffling. “Don’t worry,” he jokes, “We use the 30 second rule here. I guess that means we only have 27.5 seconds to finish this trick.” With haste, the magician spreads the deck towards Veronica and says, “Alright, you can have any card you like … well … obviously except for the Queen of Hearts.” Assuming Veronica picks the Nine of Spades, the magician explains, “On the count of three, the Nine of Spades will be the only card face up in the entire face down deck.” Before the magician even gets to “Three!”, the deck visually turns face up! He states, “Uh oh, I think we just broke the 30 second rule. Do you know what this means? Everything gets reversed. All the cards are now face up ... except one!” The magician claims, “I’m serious, EVERYTHING gets reversed. Check it out, now you’re wearing my underwear! I’m just kidding,” he says, “I don’t wear underwear.” The magician proves the reversed situation by removing the face down card and showing it to be the one card that couldn’t have been picked, the Queen of Hearts! Veronica’s eyes dart towards the floor to see the Nine of Spades staring her in the face!

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Gear

• A �������������������������������������������������������� double faced card (as you’ve probably already guessed) • A ���������������������������������������������������������������������� matching deck which contains the two cards shown on the double facer From the commercially available double faced decks, I tend to use the combinations Queen of Hearts/Nine of Spades, King of Spades/Eight of Hearts, etc, because of the highly contrasting identities on either side.

Pre-do

Place the double faced card on the face of the deck, it doesn’t matter which value is facing which way. Place the two matching cards on top of the deck, the lower value card being uppermost. Assuming we’re using the Queen of Hearts/Nine of Spades combination for this example, the setup from the top down is: • �������������� Nine of Spades • ��������������� Queen of Hearts • �������������������� 50 indifferent cards • ����������������� Double faced card

Do

Holding the deck in deep left hand Biddle Grip, chat up Veronica while placing the right index finger across the front short edge of the face card. Pull back with the right index finger towards the left thumb causing the double facer to buckle, similar to the Mercury Card Fold [Photo 1]. Stop when the front edge of the card has been pulled back ¾ of its length and allow it recoil back into its original position. The object here is to give the card a slight bend across the middle, but not to crease it in any way [Photo 2].

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Start an overhand shuffle by peeling the double faced card off into the right hand, but allow it to fall to the floor. It will land in one of two ways; with both short ends lifted off the ground [Photo 3], or arced with a gap under the middle [Photo 4]. Assuming it landed with the Queen of Hearts facing up, say, “Don’t worry we use the 30 second rule here. I guess that means we only have 27.5 seconds to finish the trick!” This should come off as just a funny throwaway remark, you don’t really want Veronica to make the connection that it’s part of the trick. Stare at the card on the floor and say, “What is that? The Queen of Hearts? Oh, it’s okay we don’t need that card anyway.” Asking, “What is that?” as if you’re having trouble seeing it will cause the majority of people to look down at the card to verify the identity, if they haven’t already done so. You really want to make sure at least a few people see what card is on the floor, obviously if no one sees it, the ending will be a lot less astonishing. Say, “Veronica, please touch absolutely any card you like …” Peel off the top three cards into the left hand reversing their order, to match actions with words as you say this. Bring both hands apart and back towards yourself as you look down to the floor and say, “… well, obviously except for the Queen of Hearts.” You really want to drive the identity of the card home so it’s startling when they see it in your hands at the end of the routine. Bring both hands back together and spread the cards from the right hand on top of the three cards hanging out in the left hand [Photo 5, exposed for clarity]. This is a Marlo technique for getting into the Spread Force without needing to cull the force card. When Veronica touches

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a card from the spread, break the spread at that point with her selection being the lowermost card in the left hand portion. Squaring the left hand’s portion against the right hand will cause the three cards riding under the spread to become the new bottom cards. Veronica will think the face card is her selection, but it’s really the Nine of Spades. Allow her to take the Nine of Spades and reform the deck by placing the left hand’s cards beneath the right hand’s portion. As she’s showing it around to everyone, turn your head to the right and cover the left side of your eyes with the left hand. This is done under the guise that you don’t want to get a glimpse of the selection, but it’s really done for your benefit. Covering your eyes from view will allow you to look down at the card on the floor as you turn it over with your feet. Depending on which way the card landed, there are two different ways to turn it over. If the short ends are raised off the floor, stepping on one of them will cause the other short edge to rise higher into the air [Photo 6]. The other foot can now come in under the card and flip it over [Photo 7]. If the card is arced with a gap under the middle, stepping on the center of the long edge will stabilize the card as the other foot gets in under the arced gap to flip it over [Photo 8]. Either way, the change is done so faggedabout it. Turn back around, take Veronica’s card, and say, “There’s no possible way I can know what card you chose, right?” When she says, “No”, proclaim “Actually, I can just turn it over and look at it,” while taking a glimpse of the selection. Continue, ”But other than that, there’s no way I can know what your card is, right?” It gets a laugh but

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more importantly it allows the card to remain face up for the rest of the routine. Place the selection on the table face up and say, “Here’s what’s going to happen,” while spreading the deck face down between the hands. Close the spread while performing a Half Pass to the bottom card, the Queen of Hearts. Transfer the deck to left hand Biddle grip and continue, “On the count of three, your card …” and gesture towards Veronica with the deck, turning the left hand palm up in the process. This will casually turn the deck over, but it will still appear face down because of the face down Queen of Hearts on top. Transfer the deck into right hand Dealers Grip and finish with “… will be the only card face up in the entire deck.” To match actions with words, place Veronica’s Nine of Spades face up in the center of the deck, out-jogged for half its length [Photo 9]. Pause in this situation to create a visual frame of reference for Veronica because in a moment

everything will be completely reversed. Push the Nine of Spades into the deck while keeping a break below it and say “We need someone who’s good at counting, did anyone watch Sesame Street this morn…?” Immediately perform a Classic or Riffle Pass to visibly cause the deck to become face up. Look down at the deck with a puzzled look as if you don’t know what the heck just happened, act as if a light bulb just went off in your head and check your watch (if you’re not wearing one, grab Veronica’s arm and check hers). Say, “Oh my god, I think we just broke the 30 second rule, do you know what this means? Everything gets reversed. All the cards are now face up … except one!” Spread the deck to show its condition and out-jog the face down card and square the rest of the deck [Photo 10]. Say, “I’m serious, everything gets reversed. Do you remember the one card you weren’t able to pick?” Use Displayboy (page 34) to reveal the Queen of Hearts. There’s no need to mention the card on the floor; all eyes jump to it immediately anyway. If the routine were to play out with the Nine of Spades face up when the card hit the floor:

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During the phase of spreading the cards for Betty to touch one, the initial handling changes slightly. Since you will need to force the Queen of Hearts on her in this situation, peel the first card into the left hand followed by the second card BENEATH the first card and finally the third card above everything. Continue exactly as described from then on. Yahtzee!

Get in

This is meant as an opener, so just set the three cards in position prior to performance. If the double facer is kept in a pocket or card wallet, the entire setup takes mere seconds to accomplish.

Get out

To clean up, throw the Queen of Hearts on the table and transfer the deck to the left hand with the thumb on top of the inner left corner and the fingers below. Bend down to pick the Nine of Spades up off the floor with the right hand. Hold it in Dealers Grip and place the deck on top of it as the left fingers hold back the bottom card (the legit Nine of Spades). It will look as though you just swapped the deck for the card. Throw the Nine of Spades on the table next to the Queen of Hearts so they’re clean. Whenever the moment is right, cop or palm off the double facer to finish the clean up. It sounds like a lot of work just to end with examinable props, but I strongly believe that any item which has been affected by magic during the course of a routine should be available for examination at the denouement. It’s perfectly natural for people to want to tactually experience the tangible items which have been affected by magic, and I don’t think sidestepping the issue with witty remarks will do anything but frustrate the audience if they ask to see an object. I certainly don’t say, “Here, check these out. They’re not gimmicked or anything,” but if someone were to touch them at the end of a routine, I would certainly allow it (as long as it’s at the end of a routine so it doesn’t interrupt flow) and not treat it as some form of heckling (as I’ve unfortunately seen done before). If anything, our magic only gets stronger by allowing the audience to interact with not only us, but our props as well. That being said, if you don’t want to go through all that work (and don’t care about examinability) simply pick up the double facer and place it in your back pocket while saying, “Eww, it’s all dirty now.”

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Get the most

1. When performing for larger tables, spectators at the other end of the table won’t be able to see the card on the floor at the outset. It is therefore imperative to have as many people near the front see the grounded card, while at the same time not drawing too much importance to it. These people will relate the impossibility of what just happened to their friends at the other end of the table. Obviously, the spectators further away will still be able to witness the Inversion-esque rest of the routine. 2. Don’t worry if you notice someone keeping an eye on the grounded card when you turn away to flip it over. Remember that the opening comments are just a joke, so no one knows what’s supposed to happen. You can easily abort the trick and use the selection for another routine. It happened a lot more to me when I first started performing the routine (I think it was because I put too much emphasis on the grounded card), so that’s why I use it as an opener, I have the option of doing a couple other routines and then closing with it instead, or simply not even performing it at all if I don’t feel like it. 3. I never get any reactions when I spread the face up deck to show a face down card in the middle. People aren’t stupid, the selection was apparently inserted into the deck reversed, so there should be no surprise there’s a reversed card in the middle. I think they assume I turned the deck over really quickly, which is great because that line of thinking leads them down the garden path. It comes as that much more of a shock when the face down card is shown to be the Queen. 4. A completely untested idea which you may feel the need to experiment with is a variation for cocktail party style situations (where everyone, including yourself, is standing up). When the card is dropped on the floor, make the usual comments and kick it right behind your feet so it’s mostly out of view from the spectators’ perspective. Get the furthest person from you to make the selection so people have to look away from you to get a glimpse of it. This should hopefully (although I honestly have no idea) allow for enough cover for you to do the same “eye cover foot turnover move” as previously described. Again, keep the card directly behind your feet so it’s out of view. When it comes time to reveal the card on the floor, just step out of the way. For the last time, this could simply be a big poopy pipe dream. 5. I’m assuming all of you are familiar with the “30 Second Rule” concept. If not, it’s a rule usually mentioned when someone drops food on the ground, meaning the person has 30 seconds to salvage the food before it becomes uncouth to eat it. I believe 9 of the Colonel’s herbs and spices come from KFC’s use of the rule.

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Because of this, if you’re performing in a restaurant setting, you MUST make sure the audience realizes you’re just kidding around about using the 30 Second Rule. If you’re more of a straight edged performer and have any doubts as to whether you can get away with this presentation, change it to something else. You do not want patrons thinking they’re eating food off the ground (even though they probably are).

Shout outs

• ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Nathan Kranzo independently created a method for changing a card on the floor, although his method is vastly different. It can be found in Half-Baked magazine (Issue 5, July, 2001) under the title Old Shoe.

Grilling

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Tyler Wilson Vs Andi Gladwin

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Andi

Who the hell are you?

Tyler

Well, I got my first magic kit at the age of sev... hold up, I’ll cut the clichés. I’m just a guy who’s out to have a good time and bring everyone else with

me. Whether I’m holding a deck of cards, holding a non-alcoholic beverage, or holding up a bank, no one is safe. Fun facts: I bowl without my thumb in the hole.

Andi

Apart from a few performances to magicians, your first introduction is through the written form. Why is this?

Tyler

Let’s face it, I’m ugly. Thanks for bringing it up. Fun facts: My bowling average is 27.

Andi

Your magic is as much about the presentation as it is the method. Do you think the written word is the best way to teach this kind of stuff?

Tyler

Well, the only downside I see, is not having John and David from the L&L audience as my spectators.

Andi

David is the ideal audience member - he’s the only person in the world that actually screams with excitement after watching an Ace Assembly! Moving on - someone just flicking through this book will probably first notice your off the wall presentations. In your eyes, is presentation the most important part of a trick?

Tyler

Hell no. Presentations don’t create the magic, but rather frame it. Presentational tools can definitely heighten or reduce the overall strength of a routine, but a strong magical effect must still be at the core.

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Andi

I agree with that. In fact, that’s why I’m pleased that we’ve given your patter word-for-word in this book – it gives people a good idea of the direction that they can take the routine. Should people actually use your patter and presentation, though?

Tyler

To be completely honest, I don’t even use it word-for-word. The scripts included are merely just a backbone to allow me to go off and adlib with whatever the situation dictates. If I’m not getting much energy back from the audience, I can always just anchor myself back to the script. Every time I perform these routines, I try for a completely unique experience for not only the audience, but for myself as well. This keeps things fresh and helps prevent sleepwalking through my 1,782nd performance of the same damn routine. Even if someone were to recite my presentation word-for-word during their performance, they would no doubt sound completely different than I would. I believe that’s where the majority of hostility comes from regarding the video vs. book debate when students are being labelled clones. It’s not that they’re saying the same words; it’s that they’re saying the same words in the same way and, in certain cases, even adopting the same mannerisms. Books have a tendency to prevent part of this issue, although whether or not that’s a good thing is up to the individual. If anyone is planning on stripping the routines in this book and incorporating all new presentations, I’ll send mucho respect their way. Many of the handlings were developed along side the presentations, so they’re very much intertwined and, I would imagine, somewhat difficult to separate. I would love to see what people do with these routines. It should also be noted that there are certain lines from this book I almost never use. As an example, it’s extremely rare you’ll catch me bringing up ice-cream sandwiches or French passports during Coke Inhabit. Instead, I’ll always try to name objects I can see in the near vicinity to create a more unique situation for the audience, so I may say “... or throwing a fake diamond at a cheap suit.” As I leave the table I’ll call-back to it with, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think your fake diamond and cheap suit need some alone time.”

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Andi

I understand that you make a lot of it up, but where do the gags originally come from? Do you sit down and write them, or do they start life as adlibs?

Tyler

Yes.

Andi

Good! I like to watch how people react to magicians and I notice that they immediately warm to you. You’re kind of like the cool older brother they didn’t have. Is this something that you consciously manipulate?

Tyler

Well, considering how much of a stud my dad was, I very well could be everyone’s older brother.

Andi

Do you consider your performance character to be an exaggeration of your true self? Surely you can’t be this crazy all the time?

Tyler

Instead of an exaggeration of my true self, I would consider it just one component of my true self. I like to kickback and chill as much as anyone, however that’s not the component of my true self which would shine in a performance environment. I’m not sure how these routines come across in print, however I would not consider them “crazy” or “zany” at all. In fact I don’t enjoy watching zany performers like Jim Carrey or Will Farrell because they seem so distant and disingenuous, I find it very difficult to connect with them. I’m not sure how my bashing comes across in print. In fact, I don’t enjoy reading bashhappy authors like Tyler Wilson because they seem so distant and disingenuous, I find it difficult to connect with them.

Andi

There’s also a bit of an edge to your performances. You’re a live wire and people don’t really know what you’re going to do next. Does this intimidate people?

Tyler

I’m like a blender, I have different settings. When I first approach a group, I try feeling them out (not physically) and judge their energy level pretty quickly. If they’re fairly low key, I’ll adjust accordingly and stay away from being an uncontrollable maniac. That’s not to say I’ll come right down to their level, but I’ll try to stay about one level above where ever they are at any given time and pull them up to where I am. If they’re full of energy and are having a great time already, I’ll let the full Tyler Wilson out of the bag

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and see what he does. One of my goals with every group I perform for is to leave them at least one energy level higher than I found them. If I accomplish that, I know I’m doing something right. Andi

Okay, so let’s say I’ve decided I need a new presentation for a trick I’ve been working on, but I’m stuck and have no idea where to go next. What now?

Tyler

Try not to fall immediately into the “K, why?” trap. This comes from tunneling your focus into building a presentation around explaining “Why?” The idea behind asking “Why?” is that the magic you perform can be confusing and raise many questions, so your presentation should be built around answering those questions, setting up the entire routine to flow and make complete sense. This is a very sound principle, and one I use quite frequently as you can see from the routines is this book, however contrary to popular belief, this line of thinking isn’t the only game in town. For starters, try flipping the entire process around, allowing you to ask the questions and your magic to answer them. I’ll use Scarred Warp to illustrate this concept: Traditionally with Card Warp, the presentations built around it have been fairly limited as to their scope. They’ve been focused on answering why the center card is reversing itself while contained within the cover card. This led to presentations of time/interdimensional travel or personifying the cards, with little variance outside this small group. I never felt I could get away with either of these styles of presentation, as it felt a little condescending to suggest I was opening a portal between dimensions or whatnot, no matter how jovial I approached it. It just wasn’t my style. The presentation I ended up developing for the routine is interesting because I never once even attempt to explain why the card is turning over. Instead, I attempt to explain why I have a phobia of Queens and Threes, which gets answered by the freaky imagery of a card inverting while fully confined. By inducing the questions at the outset, “Gee, I wonder why he’s such a pansy?” the magic becomes the release, “Oh now I see, that’s some scary S#@*$!@#*!T.” To use a comedy analogy, the magic becomes the punchline. That’s just one example of a way to dodge the “Why?” question, experiment

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with others. Even though asking oneself “Why?” can create exquisite pieces of magic, it’s easy to see how it’s possible to lose sight of other opportunities and focus on only the one technique. It’s the “K, Why?” trap, don’t fall into it. Andi

Interesting. Those thoughts will really lubricate my ideas. How do you first field test your ideas?

Tyler

With as much confidence as I can. If it’s a new routine using techniques and principles I’m already comfortable with, introducing it into the set isn’t an issue at all. However, if I’m using brand new ideas (especially if they’re my own), I have to show no fear and go in there guns a blazin’, even though I’m usually thinking to myself “There’s no way they’re going to fall for that, they’ll see right through it.”

Andi

But they don’t see through it, right?

Tyler

Luckily it’s very rare. I always give the audience as much credit as I can, with the assumption they’re incredibly intelligent and completely incapable of being deceived. I believe that sort of mild paranoia is actually helpful to the development of the routines, as I won’t settle for something that is, in my opinion, half-assed. This also creates excitement on my part when these new ideas actually work as well as I had hoped. Although I must admit that performing a victory dance as I’m leaving a table is probably not the most professional exit. I’ll then dance my way over to the next table and try the new routine again. If I’m introducing new material, I’ll do it as much as I can in a night so I’ll have a schwack of field data to examine when I get home. I can then fine tune the routine as much as needed, or I can decide it’s unsalvageable and scrap it. It’s a never ending process.

Andi

Going one step prior to that - take us through the creation of one of your tricks - is their a Darwin-esque evolution theory, or do ideas just appear in your mind?

Tyler

Darwin Ortiz had nothing to do with them, although he seems like a nice man. They each happen in their own way, some quicker than others. They usually start out as a problem, and end up far different than how they were originally

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visioned. It never turns out to be one big problem that requires solving, but rather many small ones over the course of the routine’s building process. As an example, I can still remember most of what took place during the conception of Sloppy 30 Seconds. The problem was how to change a card on the floor, while keeping it practical. The first method which came to mind involved dropping a double on the floor face up with some wax on the top card, so when I stepped on the card, it would stick to the bottom of my shoe, leaving the other card behind (which is reminiscent of Annemann’s Walk Around Discovery). This didn’t fulfill my requirements for practicality as I would have to spend too much time constantly resetting before each performance, as well I couldn’t get the card to stick to the bottom of my shoe 100% of the time, which was not encouraging. At some point the idea hit me to use a double faced card, which now seems like a pretty obvious solution, but for some reason it wasn’t among my first ideas for the problem. I tried it out by dropping a double facer on the carpet and seeing if I could turn it over with my feet, success! I then started coming up with ideas for handlings which would allow for a transposition between a card on the floor and a card in the hands. Anytime I come up with a card change, the first avenue I go down seems to be transpositions. I don’t know why, probably because it’s the easiest and I’m pretty lazy. I ended up with a nice streamlined handling for the transposition, but no presentation yet, just the mechanics. Then a major setback struck, I was practicing the routine in the kitchen (don’t ask why) when I realized it was impossible to turn over the card wearing shoes on a hard surface, in other words, the exact situation I always perform in. I was so stupid for not trying it out that way in the first place, socks on carpet is nothing like shoes on a hard floor. I had to go back to the drawing board and come up with another way to create a card change on the floor. The trick ended up on the backburner for a while as I was working on other things. Then at one performance I accidentally dropped a card in the middle of a trick, and immediately adlibbed, “Don’t worry, we have the 30 second rule here,” which in hindsight was probably not the best thing to say at an establishment that serves food. It ended up getting a surprisingly decent laugh, so I thought to myself, “Great, now I have a line for if I accidentally drop a card.”

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I then put two and two together and realized I could structure the card change on the floor around a 30 second rule scenario. So I went back and tried to make the double faced idea work. It was a slap-in-the-head moment when I realized I could just put a slight bend in the card to make it easier to flip with shoes. This motivated me to create a better structure for the routine as well, as I now wasn’t limited to a simple transposition, I could open it up to “breaking the 30 second rule.” I still kept a transposition as part of the overall effect, but that wasn’t the focus. The focus, and therefore the actual effect I was trying to convey, became “everything reversing itself.” With this in mind, I stretched the concept so the deck changed colour at the end as well, although I stopped performing that version. I felt that it ended up cluttering the effect and actually detracting from the rest of the routine. Sloppy 30 Seconds was by far the most nerve-racking routine I ever introduced into my working repertoire. I still remember just how far outside my comfort zone I was in when I was first forced to perform a secret move with my friggin’ feet in front of an audience. I had no idea what to expect and also had no idea whether it would actually fly. The phenomenal reactions I got from that first performance cemented the routine in my A-List from then on. There were a few stumbling blocks along the way, such as when I would inadvertently focus too much attention on the grounded card so some people would keep their eyes on it when I was supposed to do the dirty work. This was quickly overcome and no longer became an issue. The only issue I face with it now is when people request it, as it’s a little challenging to perform the routine when someone says, “Hey, can you do that one where the card changes on the floor?” From the evolution of Sloppy 30 Seconds, it becomes apparent what I meant by many small problems needing solving rather than one big problem. Andi

I find that I can spend months working on an idea, then all of a sudden an even better idea will appear in your mind, almost from nowhere. Does this happen to you?

Tyler

Absolutely. In contrast to Sloppy 30 Seconds, B52 Shooter was developed in mere minutes. For quite some time in the back of my mind, I was thinking it would be cool to use the controlled cascade principle explicitly rather than implicitly. So one day when I was sitting on the john, I grabbed the deck of cards which sits on my toilet and tried it out. By the end of my “session,” I had toyed with

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the handling enough so it worked like a charm. By the time I had washed my hands and went downstairs to the living room, I had already created the Love Machine scenario. It was honestly that quick. I had simply tacked on one of my handlings for Triumph so there was a framework with which to showcase the revelation, and I was done! The only other alterations I made to the routine after that, were changing from the Training Wheels technique to the Big Rig technique for the revelation, and creating the “6 or 7” gag to cover the setup in an entertaining way. These were just natural evolutions from performing the routine so many times. I still attempted to evolve the routine by trying alternate presentations and handlings in an effort to improve it, but my original ideas for the routine ended up as my favorites. Sometimes it just works out that way. Even though B52 Shooter was so quick to develop, it’s still one of my favorite routines to perform. If you hand me a deck and ask me to do a trick, you can bet your bottom I’ll be doin’ a little shooting ... Andi

I guess that it comes down to the fact that there’s no secret creativity technique: just what works for you, and normally, that’s a whole bunch of things. I’m similar to you in that I try to improve a routine one step at a time and perform the routine at each stage. This lets me decide how to take it further – constantly striving to reach miracle status. This allows me to add things that I’d never have discovered from sat at home thinking up tricks. Throughout the book we’ve described the psychological subtleties that you use in performance. Were they created in performance, like I do, or at home on the crapper?

Tyler

Actually, I’ve tried to include as little of that as possible, only where it’s truly needed. As I’ve already mentioned elsewhere in this book, I’m not a psychologist. I have NO authority whatsoever to even pretend I know what a person is thinking at any given time, I can only relate experiences on how people act and react. If something I do causes people to look toward a certain thing, or move a certain way, that’s a fact, a verifiable observation. It’s not knowing what a person is thinking, it’s knowing how the majority of people will act in a certain situation based on repeated testing. Basically I try not to develop what I call “Magician P.H.D.”, which would sound a little something like, “The spectator is thinking ...”, or “The spectator

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won’t remember the middle of the trick ...”, etc., for when I hear or read such remarks, my brain starts to hurt and I twitch uncontrollably. As much as I would give my left navel to be given the power to know what someone is actually thinking about at any given time, I don’t have that power, so claiming otherwise in a teaching context would be flat out lying. I call it “Magician P.H.D.” because sometimes we get so accustomed to trying to read and understand our audience, that we’ll start behaving and spouting off advice as though we had just earned a psychology degree out of thin air. Heck, even psychologists can’t read minds, or they would be lining up at Randi’s doorstep to collect the $1,000,000 prize. Sometimes we have to keep ourselves in check by understanding what’s fact and what’s conjecture. That’s why I haven’t included an abundance of psychological subtleties, I’m just trying not to flap my lips on a subject I’m not fully qualified to dispense advice about. If you ever see me doing that, just say “Hey Tyler, when did you get your P.H.D.?” Andi

Right. I can only think of two actual studies from psychologists detailing what people actually experience when watching magic, and unfortunately none of them discuss the things that magicians explain in lectures and books. Most books are filled with filler (somewhat like this section) – I’ve seen you perform these tricks a lot and based on the detail that we’ve put in the descriptions, it’s quite obvious that you do perform them constantly. Does this book make up your full repertoire, or do you use other people’s effects too?

Tyler

It would be a crime not to use other magicians’ material. There are unbelievably talented magicians out there who create routines which are nothing short of brilliant. It would be foolish of me to let my ego get in the way and not perform these routines simply because I didn’t create them myself. The giants out there will have me as a piggybacker, whether they like it or not. However, I will let my ego get in between me and sponge balls.

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Andi

Reasonably early on in your career you’re publishing a book featuring the bulk of your repertoire. Where do you go from here?

Tyler

Bulk? Muwahaha, icebergs have tips my friend.

Andi

Good chat son. I think we’ve given a pretty good insight into that somewhat deranged mind of yours. Let’s finish this interview on a high: tell us a joke.

Tyler

Okay, so there’s this woman who’s cleaning the house when she finds an old lamp. She rubs it and suddenly hears a knock on the front door. When she opens it, she sees a man standing there who says “I am a genie and I will grant you three wishes, but only if we fornicate.” Um ... hmm ... I can’t really remember the rest, but it turns out the guy wasn’t even a genie.

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Outie . . . Andi gladwin One of my favourite articles with regards to publishing a magic book was penned by the incomparable Stephen Minch. Those who just flicked through the pages of Genii magazine (Volume 60, Number 5, 1997) in a Johnny Five like manner were probably bewildered by the unorthodox title of the article: “Santa Claus, Lipograms and Other Problems of Publishing a Magic Book.” Although Lipograms and Santa Claus don’t particularly interest me; what the learned Mr. Minch has to say does: “When I consider it — and I think I will right now — it strikes me as foolish not to foster fresh talent when it stands on its hind legs and whistles at you. It would seem that some authors and publishers are afraid, in the glutted and highly competitive market that magic publishing has become these days, to deal with names that aren’t commonly known. Their fear, I would guess, is that books by or about these new creators won’t sell when set beside such proven commodities as Larry Jennings or Paul Harris or Michael Ammar. The truth is, at least in my experience, that genuine talent will out, no matter what the name value of the inventor. Sales may take a little longer to get rolling, but as word of mouth spreads, those new books by new names sell just as well as the latest tome by one of the big guns. The key to succeeding with a new name is creative talent.” Of course, that small paragraph could pertain to some of the best magicians in the world – many of them undiscovered thaumaturges that are happily on a pilgrimage to success - but in my mind, today Mr. Minch’s words apply specifically to one man: Tyler Wilson. I’m not a big shot publisher, or one of the big guns that Mr. Minch discusses. I do, however, pride myself on being a good judge of character and to a similar extent, a good judge of creative talent. It is these two simple traits that convinced me to work with Tyler to publish a book on his magic. You can see through this book that he’s different, but what you may not be able to see is that he’s a nice guy - and that’s the most important thing to me. When I first met Tyler, I immediately recognised that his style of magic was different, but I couldn’t pinpoint how and why he was so diverse in comparison to other magicians. Of course, he’s freakishly tall and abnormally hairy, but besides that, there was something about him that said, “I am not a normal magician.” He seemed to have

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qualities that are rarely seen in magicians his age (he is now 25). After spending more time with him, I realised that there isn’t one thing that makes him different from you or I: Tyler is just Tyler. He’s not trying to be Larry Jennings or Paul Harris; he’s just being himself, doing what he does best – and that, I think, is the key to his imminent success. Those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of seeing the big guy perform shouldn’t think that my testimonial is the closest thing that you have to actually getting to know him. Magic books are designed to portray a magicians’ tricks and ideas, but we wanted to extend that a little. We have made every effort to ensure that Tyler’s personality shines through every word, that his crisp handlings are evident in every photograph and that his sense of fun was illustrated through the humour and layout of the pages. I genuinely think that we have succeeded in this. The world needs more magicians who naturally look from a different angle, in the way that Tyler does. But for now though, I will leave you to flick back through these pages to further get to know the world’s first half magician – half ape creature. Andi Gladwin United Kingdom February, 2006

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Get the boast Tyler will ONLY sign your computer screen here

DOMINATRICKS CD This CD-ROM contains a movie of Tyler performing the moves from this book, printable PDF files for some of the tricks explained in the book and the version of the book you are reading right now.

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