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Three Coin Routine

#coinmagic here is a three coin routine I am working on. Needs some polishing though! Inspired in Kainoa Harbottle’ coins on edge

A post shared by LewisMagic (@lewismagic) on Nov 2, 2017 at 3:23am PDT

Handling DBs

I am back - Oil and Water over my bed

randomdailythoughts

card magic - colour change finesse

I am of the opinion, that it would be better for card magic, if the second deal were used more frequently and the double lift less.

Roy Walton. The Complete Walton. Vol. 1 (1981)

#roy walton #double lift #second deal

Finding the aces (with a little help of Marlo)

This video shows a method developed by Marlo to locate the cards. I have just added the initial ace location.

...and here is another video using two more Marlo's ideas. The first one is a top stock control in three shuffles, which is quite deceptive. The second one is just a method to cut the aces in four packets.

Enjoy!

Marlo's riffle shuffle systems and best wishes for 2016

My later days of 2015 were spent re-reading Marlo's riffle shuffle systems.

Riffle work is normally associated with card cheating such as complex stacking procedures which are impossible to perform successfully without hefty and constant practice. Table workers can benefit immensely from riffle shuffle techniques but, for some reason, overhand shuffle procedures are normally preferred.

Common sense dictates that performers should use the same shuffling style for the sake of consistency. However, hindu, overhand and tabled shuffles are used indiscriminately so it is not rare to see all these different techniques used in the same effect for no particular reason. I think that the logic behind these mix and match shuffling choices is at least argueable.

Marlo's work shows the vast possibilities of riffle shuffle methods. Table workers would not find too difficult to remove all overhand/hindu shuffles and rely only on the riffle shuffle. In addition, Marlo demonstrates that strip outs combined with the top, middle and bottom transfers can create miracles. These techniques do not disturb the order of the deck they could put into great use be mnemonic deck practitioners (a job title I have just made up).

Marlo also describes an interesting method for culling/stacking cards using the strip out. Interestingly, Ernest Earick uses the same underlying idea in "The Case of the Inconstant Player" (although using zarrow shuffles) to adjust a five player stack if up to 3 players leave or 2 arrive - a problem that was already raised by Karl Fulves in "The Restacking Problem".

My best wishes for 2016. Another year is gone but an exciting new year lies ahead of us.

#ed marlo #riffle shuffle systems #ernest earick #by forces unseen #karl fulves #strip out shuffle

The card conjurer's repertoire is never complete without employing the prearranged deck to some extent

S.W. Erdnase. The Expert at the Card Table (1902)

The last decade was devoted to manipulation and specialization. Kings and emperors and dukes and panjamdrum of cards and coins, monarchs of eggs and handkerchiefs, czars of cabbages and billiard balls sprung up like mushrooms. Magic degenerated into a mere juggling performance. Dexterity was paramount and the psycological side of the are neglected. Mind gave way to matter.

The Art of Magic (1909). T. Nelson Downs

Hotel Time

I am a bit fan of Merlin’s “Lost” Ace trick from Expert Card Technique. As an ace assembly, the trick plays really strong, but what about taken it to to another level?

Here is an idea. You open with the classic Card Hotel trick (a popular self-working trick where the aces and the court cards are apparently mixed up but they end up together). You can introduce this as a very important trick that every magician needs to learn when they start.

Explain that for some mysterious reason the cards really want to stay together even if you try to separate them openly, and that you will use the aces to demonstrate this. While you say this, gather all the cards together, leaving the aces aside, and secretly re-arrange the stack in a cyclical order (e.g. JQKJQKJQKJQK). As a bonus, you will be happy to know that it is easy to reach this position if you do 2 reverse faros to the packet - you could do this in the hands, or deal the cards in two piles (you could justify this procedure by saying that it is a way to ensure that the cards do not end up together). After that,the pack can now be false-shuffled at your discretion ( by you) and cut (by the spectators). Once you are done put the aces on topof the pile and just perform Merlin’s “Lost” Ace trick.the presentation will need to be adjudted accordingly. At the end of the effect, the aces will appear together (on the third pile. That will amaze the public. As a kicker, you can then reveal that the court cards could not help themselves from also finding their partners and grouping together by suit “in the other rooms”.

Noisy Sleights - Overhand Shuffle

Even some top performers seem to forget kindness when they run single cards on an overhand shuffle. The best advice I can give is to record yourself performing and then listen carefully identify any unnecesary noises. Quick explanatory video, followed by an attempt to stack 3 cards showing kindness and constact rhythm.

#tell #noise #overhand shuffle #stacking cards

This BBC documentary about the Liberace was shown on TV way before Soderbergh’s critically acclaimed movie Behind the Candelabra (2013). One of the interviewees explains that during Liberace's visit to the BBC studios, Liberace walked the studio asking people's names and would then remember them using Corinda's mnemnonic system. He was able to gain people's trust using this method (check minute 26:50 of the video). Apparently, he was also able to remember their names when he went back to England after four years.

#liberace #corinda #mnemonic

Finger Independence Exercises

Fingers are connected to a degree so getting your fingers under control can be an arduous and challenging task. The little finger, the antenna, is considered in palmistry the finger connected with communication and articulation at all levels. It must be for that reason that it has a tendency to wander on its own.

Here is a useful exercise to work on your finger independence. The objective is to bend each finger without altering the position of the other fingers. The video also shows a a simple edge grip vanish which impact is enhanced by not altering the position of the other fingers.

#edge grip #magic #finger #finger excercise

Locating the aces

Most ace locations start with the four aces on the top of the deck. This fact may be suspected by the audience so it seems logical that, as a convincer, you show that there are no aces on the top or the bottom before you proceed to locate each ace. Here is a simple riffle shuffling sequence to accomplish that.

A) Start with the four aces on top of the deck.

B) Cut the top portion of the deck to your left in preparation for a riffle shuffle, then shuffle the top card of the right packet below the top ace, making sure that the rest of the stock remains intact.

C) Prepare for a second riffle shuffle, but this time the top card of the right packet goes above the aces. The situation is now X A X A A A.

D) Announce that you will attempt to locate the aces. Show that there is no ace on top or the bottom of the deck, then do a slip cut and show that you have cut to an ace.

E) Show again that there is no ace on the top or bottom of the deck.

F) Again, prepare for a riffle shuffle as before. This time you will shuffle the top card from the right packet below the top two cards of the left packet. The situation is now X A X A A.

G) Slip cut, and the next ace is located.

H) Repeat steps e) to g) for the last two aces.

It is worth noting that the bottom card and the top card change after each shuffle. A simple faro could achieve the same position, but the benefit of this ace location is that the cards are released evenly, so there is no hesitation on the release of the cards as can be seen in more complex shuffle work because you only hold two cards at a time. Also, the cards are kept on the table, and it is easy to preserve a small stock after the for aces e.g. the four kings. This little sequence could also be a good effect to precede an ace location routine involving the spectator such as “spectator cuts the aces” or “spectator estimation aces” (Andrew Wimhurst.

What follows is the video of the ace location just described. For clarity, the aces are shown at the beginning just to indicate the starting position i.e. that the aces are on top before you start. Try it out!

#ace location #ace production #estimation aces #card magic #andrew wimhurst

Clock time

There is no better place to find some fresh ideas than the old books. The “clock trick” is one of those effects that have been around for over five centuries. Here is a version that requires nothing else than a shuffled deck in use.

The spectator is asked to shuffle the deck thoroughly in order to “bring chaos to time”. The magician takes the deck to demonstrate to the spectator what he will be asked to do next. The magician’s objective, unknown to the spectators, is to obtain a pinky break under the 13th card from the top. The magician explains that, in a minute, the spectator will be asked to commit to an hour of the day (i.e. A number between 1 and 12) by moving the correspondent number of cards from the top to the bottom of the deck. The magician spreads 5 cards from the top and says “if you think of 5 o'clock, move 5 cards to the bottom”. The action is repeated until 12 cards are shown. The magician then secretly pushes the 13th card to take a break below it. The cards are replaced on to the top and the break is retained. The next step is to glimpse secretly: a) the bottom card, which will be your key card to know the hour the spectator is thinking; and b) the 13th, which will be the card the spectator will find at the choosen hour. This is achieved with the standard peek while you turn the deck around (quotation needed).

The spectator is asked to move the cards to the bottom as instructed while the magician looks away. Once this is done, the spectator is asked to deal the top twelve cards on table one by one (secretly reversing their order) to represent the twelve hours on the dial of the clock. The magician then spreads the cards on the table in a circle mirroring the dial of the clock while making sure that the cards are distributed in order and that he starts on one o'clock.

The spectator is then asked to look at the card that is at the thought hour and remember it. With the excuse of looking away, the magician takes the rest of the deck and secretly counts the cards that are below the card he noted was at the bottom - that is the hour chosen by the spectator. The magician then asks the spectator to gather all the cards and shuffle them. The magician knows the hour and the selected card (the card that was at position 13) so he proceeds to reveal this information in a dramatic manner.

An alternative to the peek is to put a crimp on the card that is on position 13th. There are many ways to achieve this. By spoting where the crimped card is on the dial you will know the hour thought by the spectator. You can then mix all the cards together and find the crimped card to reveal the selected card.

There are simpler methods if you just want to know the selection and not the number, but I find the effect stronger if you reveal both pieces of information.

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