al stevenson - 75 tricks with a stripper deck

7/21/2019 Al Stevenson - 75 Tricks With a Stripper Deck

1/39

75 TRICKSwith a

STRIPPER DECKCompiled and Edited b y

AL STEVENSON

2nd Edition * Completely Revise d

WIZARD BOOKS22-14 FORTIETH AVENUELONG-ISLAND CITY 1

NEW YORK

Copyright 1962 by WIZARD BOOKS


2/39

NDICENDICE .........................................................................................................................................................................2

PREFACE TO SECON D EDITIO N .......................................................................................................................9

INTR ODU CTIO N ...................................................................................................................................................10

THE TAPERED DECK ..........................................................................................................................................12THE COINCIDENCE ............ .............. .............. .............. ............. .............. .............. ............. .............. .............. .14

THE PERFECT COUNT .......... ........... .......... ........... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ...14

THE SHUFFLED SETUP .............. ............ .............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .............. ............ .............14

MIXED UP MIRACLE .......... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... .......... ........... .....14

ODDS AND EVENS ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ .15

A SIMPLE FORCE .......... ............ ........... ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... .......... ............. ......15

THE POKER HAND ............ .............. ............ .............. ............. .............. ............. .............. ............ .............. ......15

READING THE DECK ............. .............. ............. ............ ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......15

COLOR SEPARATION ........... ............ ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ..........15

THE INDIAN GIVER ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ........... ............ ............ ............ ............ ........... ........... .16

AN ODDITY ......... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... .......... ......16THE SMART SMELLER ............. ............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ............ .............. ............. ...16

POCKET LOCATION ........... ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... ............ .........16

POCKET PUZZLER ............ ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .............. ............. ..........16

A WEIRD REVERSAL ............. ............ ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ..........17

THE STABBED DECK ........... ........... ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ............ ............. ............. ...17

THE GAMBLER'S ACES ............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. .............. .18

THE THUMB COUNT ............. .......... ............. ........... ............ ............ ........... ............. ............. ........... ............ ...18

OUT OF THE HAT ...........................................................................................................................................18

ALL CALL IT ......... ............ ........... ........... ........... .......... ............ ........... ........... ........... ........... ............ ........... ......18

THE FOUR ROBBERS .......... ........... ............ ........... ........... .......... ............. ............. ........... .......... ........... ...........18

THE NEXT ONE IS IT ........... ........... ........... ............ .......... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ...........19

WITHOUT THE REVERSE ............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ............... .............. .............. .............. .19

AN EYE POPPER ............ .............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ...19COIN - INCIDENCE ...........................................................................................................................................19

THE PREDICTION .............. ............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ..........20

THE GIMMICKED CASE ............. .............. ............... .............. .............. .............. .............. ............... .............. ...20

THE FLIP OVER REVELATION .............. ............ .............. .............. ............. .............. ............ ............... ..........20

ANY CARD OP ANY SUIT ........... ............ ........... ........... ........... .......... ............ ............ ............ ........... ........... .21

USING A CONFEDERATE ............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ............... .............. .............. .............. .21

ACE THE HARD WAY ............. ............ .............. .............. ............... .............. ............ .............. ............... ..........21

A GAG BIT ............ ............... ............ ............ ............. ............ .............. ............. ............ ............. ............ .............21

WHICH POCKET? .......... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... .......... .........22

IN TRIPLICATE ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ .............. ............. ...22

LUCKY THIRTEEN ............ ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .............. ............. ..........22

TWO BLACK ACES ............ ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ........... ............ ........... ............ ............ .......22

LUCKY SEVEN ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... .......... ............. ............. ............. ........... .......... ............. ......23KINGS AND QUEENS ............ ............ ........... ............ ............. ............ ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ .23

THE LOST ACE ............ .............. ............ ............. ............ ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ............ ......23

THE EYES HAVE IT ............ ........... ........... ........... ........... ............ .......... ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ...24

FINGERPRINTS ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ........24

FACE UP OR FACE DOWN ........... ............ ............ ........... ........... ........... ........... .......... ............ ........... ........... .24

MATHEMAGICAL ........... ............ ............ ........... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ........... ............ ........... ......25

COLOR TELEPATHY ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ .........25

PURELY MENTAL ............ ............. ............... .............. ............ .............. ............... ............ .............. .............. ......25

2


3/39

AN UNUSUAL VANISH ........... .............. ............. ............ .............. ............. .............. ............ ............. .............. .26

THE TRIPLE COINCIDENCE ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ...........26

THE MAD MAGICIAN ........... ............. ............ ............. .............. ............... .............. ............. ............ ............. ...27

THE ALLOWANCE ........... ............ ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ......27

THE STRANGER ............ ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ............ ............. .............. ............... ............ .28

THE RELUCTANT CARDS ............. ............. .......... ............ ........... ........... ............. .......... ............ ........... .........28

WORLD'S FASTEST COUNT ........... .............. .............. ............. .............. .............. ............. .............. .............. .28JUST FOR LAUGHS ........... ............ ............ ........... ........... ........... .......... ............ ............ ............ ........... ........... .29

SUPER STRIPPER ............... ............ .............. .............. ............... .............. ............ .............. ............... .............. ...29

END STRIPPERS .......... ........... ............ ........... .......... ........... ............ ........... ........... ........... ........... ............ ......29

BLANK STRIPPER ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ........... ............ ............ ............ ............ ........... ........... .29

MAKING YOUR OWN ........... ........... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... .......... .........29

ALPHABET CARDS ........... .............. .............. ............ ............... ............ .............. .............. ............. .............. .30

ESP CARDS ............. .............. ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ .............. ............. ............ ......30

FOR THE C AR D MEN ..........................................................................................................................................31

TAP IT OFF ............ .............. ............ .............. .............. ............. .............. ............. .............. ............ .............. ......31

THE AUTOMATIC RISE ........... ............ ............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ......31

THE PAPER CLIP ............. ............ ............ .............. ............. ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ............. ...31

THE FLYING CARD ........... ............ ........... ............. .......... ............. ........... ............ ............ ........... ............ .........31

ONE HAND LOCATION .................................................................................................................................32THE BAD PENNY ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ............ ........... .......... ......32

THREE CARD MONTE ............ ........... ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ .32

PASSE PASSE ............. .............. ............ ............... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ............... ..........33

INKREDIBLE ........... ............ ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ............. ............ ........... ............ ......33

THE JACKS' PERSISTENCY ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ...33

ELUSIVE CARD ............. ............. ............. ............ ............. .............. ............ ............. ............ .............. ............. ...34

#66 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35

#67 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35

#68 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35

#69 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35

#70 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35

#71 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35

#72 ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ............ ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........35THE GIANT FAN ........... ............ ............. ............. ............ ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ........... ........36

BOOKED DECK DISCOVERY .......... .......... ........... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... ...36

AGAIN THE BOOKED DECK ........... ............. ............ ............ ............. ............ ............. ............ ............. ..........37

A SHORT STRIPPER ROUTINE ........................................................................................................................37

PA TTER & ROU TINE ...........................................................................................................................................38

3


4/39

4


5/39

75 TRICKSwith a

STRIPPER DECKCompiled and Edited b y

AL STEVENSON

2nd Edition * Completely Revise dWIZARD BOOKS

22-14 FORTIETH AVENUELONG-ISLAND CITY 1

NEW YORK

Copyright 1962 by WIZARD BOOKS

5


6/39

6


7/39

TO

my frien ds of THE WIZARD'S SHOP

who have bought the Wizard Deck and are a nxious

to do othe r than t he element ary effects

given in the instr uctions.

7


8/39

8


9/39

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

The fi rs t edi tion of th is bookle t was publ ished in 1957 sod has hero notof print for som e time.

Severa l f r iends , including magic dealers, have urged me to re- pr in t i t.

However , I fe l t tha t the or ig inal vers ion had room for improvement and so I

have revised the en tire manu script, discarding some effects and adding other s.

I t is my hope that my effor ts will give ma ny hours of p leasure to those

who l ike to do card t r icks but have nei ther the t ime nor the p at ience required

to p ractice intricate sleighs of h an d. But: Dont sell the stri ppe r s hor t! Once you

lea rn to hand le i t well, you may find the necessary t ime and pa t ience and

- combined with s leighs of hand - a s t r ipper deck will make i t poss ible for you

to do ap parent miracles.

ALWYN STENSONNew York, 196 2

9


10/39

INTRODUCTION

In the opinion of the au thor, one of the mo st n eglected pieces of magical

apparatus is the tapered, or "str ipper," deck. Properly used, this deck can give

10


11/39

t h e i m pr e ssi on o f m i r ac ul o us s leig h t o f h a n d a n d - ev en m o r e i m po r ta n t -

pro perly han dled, the str ipp er cannot be s potte d as being gimmicked.

T he p ri nci ple o f t he s t ri p pe r is n o t a s c om m o nly k no wn a s m o st

magic ians believe despi te the fact tha t the tapered deck is m any years o ld . I t

has been s aid many t imes tha t to use t he str ipper is "cheating," but t he str ipperc an b e p la ce d i n t h e s a m e c at eg or y a s t h e s h o rt c ar d, f or ci ng d ec k, e tc.

Gimmicked cards and even en ti re t r ick decks have been used by many card

men. But i t is the end result , the making of a Mystery, that counts. The means

used to a t ta in that end are unimportant .

This manuscrip t has been wr it t en wi th the express Purpose o f making

those who sh un the st r ipper, or who are not aware of i t's pos sibili t ies, come to

the real iza t ion of the fact t ha t as a n adjunct to s leight of han d, or by i tse lf, i f

n e ed b e, t h e p r o p er u s e o f t h e s t r ip p e r c a n g e t t h e m t h e a p p r o b at io n a n d

applaus e of their audiences whenever they perform.

The s t r ipper deck has many uses o the r than the loca t ion o f a ca rd o r

group of cards and the following pages will prove to you th at , with i t , you can

do un drea med of things in card magic, create effects impossible with sleight of

han d. Torn to any page in this book, read any one of the n um erou s effects, and

give yourself a pleasant surprise. The tapered deck is a magical "tool '-and the

pro per use of this tool is the Purpose of this book.

11


12/39

THE TAPERED DECK

The principle of the ta pered deck is a simple one: One end of the d eck is

narrower th an t he othe r. Consequently, with all the cards one way and o ne card

reversed in the d eck, the reversed card is easily located as then the wide end of

the card is a t the narrow end of the deck and i t protrudes .

A crudely cut deck is n ot practical . The taper sho uld

be s ligh t and so g radual tha t even the pe r fo rmer shou ld

have to look closely to notice i t. You m ay, however, us e a

crudely cut deck to ini tia te you in to the mysteries of t he

s t ri p pe r, t h e n u s e a fi ne r c u t w he n y ou h av e b e co m e

proficient. Your success with the str ipper depen ds whollyupon your handl ing of the pack, a nat ura lness in working

wi th i t . You mus t be ab le to s t r ip ca rds f rom the pack

e as ily a n d s wi ftly, y et d o i t a s if y ou w er e h a n dli ng

nothing more t han an or dinary pack of cards .

Do not ru n your f ingers a long the edge of the deck

to de tect reverses cards; just l ightly touch the sides of the

deck at both e nds. Your hand s are un der consta nt scrutiny. Fumbling the edges

of the deck is a sure g iveaway; i t i s an unnatura l movement and wil l a rouse

suspicion.

Whe n a ca rd h a s b ee n s el ec te d t h e d ec k m u s t h e r eve rs ed, b u t t he

reversal shou ld no t be obvious . Fanning the deck and c losing i t i s the mos tpractical way of reversing the deck. Hold the deck face down in your left ha nd,

thu mb on top, f ingers beneath . The r ight forefinger h i ts t he top lef t han d edge

of the pack, moves f rom lef t to r ight, spreading the cards in to a fan. A card is

se lec ted, r ight forefinger closes the fan f rom lef t to r ight reversing t he deck.

The selected card is replaced in the deck and can be str ippe d when de sired.

Note: In the pages tha t follow, the t e rm "reversed" will be used to

designate the t urning of a card (or the deck) end for end.

12


13/39

To become proficien t wi th the s t ripper i t i s mos t impor tan t tha t you

develop ease in the han dling of th e deck. Practice, opening and closing fans of

cards, and str ipping one or mo re cards tha t have been reversed in the deck.

Handle the deck l ightly. You do not need sup ersensit ive f ingers to han dle

this deck. It is easier to locate a reversed card by u sing a l ight touc h rat her t han

squeez ing the s ides o f the deck . I f s t r ipp ing a reversed ca rd f rom the deckseems obvious to you a t f i rst , s t rip the card or cards not of the deck with t he

deck behind your back . This will, in fac t, add to the mys tery insofa r a s the

spectator is concerned.

Eventually you will att ain the ability to strip n ot o ne or m ore car ds in full

view of the specta tor and place them on top or bot tom of the deck without i t

being n oticeable.

Make i t a habit to look directly at t he s pectator whe n s tr ipping a card. In

the second he re tu rns your look you can have the ca rd ou t and on top o f the

deck.

A li tt le s to ry wi th each e ffec t i s a lso des irable for pa t t e r i s in i tsel f

misdirec t ion. Pick out , a hal f dozen of the effec ts in th is book, t ry them onso meo ne. You will not only sur prise th em, you will surp rise yourself.

******************

13


14/39

#1

THE COINCIDENCE

Have a card selected and (without al lowing i ts face to he seen) init ialed

on t he back by a s pectator. Reverse the deck and have the card inserted. Shuffle

and lay deck face down on the t able. Cu t to reversed card , have th is packe t

tur ned face op and ask th e spectator to m ark th e face - op card. He is, of course,

unaware that i t i s the same one he previously in i t ia led on the back. Shuff le

aga in. Locate the marked card in any way you wish, then show the amaz ing

coincidence of the s pectator m arking the sa me card twice.

#2

THE PERFECT COUNT

Reverse the twenty sixth card in the pack. Remark to the specta tors that

you have, th rough years o f experience, deve loped the abili ty to judge the

amount of cards in any packet by i ts th ickness . Cut the deck a t the reversed

card and hand the packet you have removed to a specta tor te ll ing him that yon

have judge d exactly half the p ack.

#3

THE SHUFFLED SETUP

Many e ffec t s a re poss ib le wi th a p re - a r ranged deck . Natural ly, you

cannot offer a set - up deck for sh uffling. However, if you have a str ipper set u pin a cer ta in order s imply reverse half the pack and place i t in the card case .

Whe n r ea d y t o p e rf or m , r e m ov e t h e p a ck f ro m t h e c a se a n d h a n d i t t o t h e

specta tor for one r i f f le shuff le , then take the deck and s t r ip not the reversed

cards . You will now have the se t - up in two packe t s. Place the two packe t s

together in their pro per order and the deck is again se t u p in the or iginal pre -

arranged order.

#4

MIXED UP MIRACLE

Divide the deck into two equal piles, reverse one pile and place the twopiles face to face. Now, thoro ughly shuffle the d eck. Place the deck be hind your

back, str ip the entire deck, torn one half over and place i t upon the other half ,

then b r ing the deck forward . Ribbon- spread the cards and show they a re a ll

one way.

#5

14


15/39

ODDS AND EVENS

Beforehand have the deck separa ted in to two pi les , one pi le a ll the odd

numbers, the other pile, al l even numbers. Reverse one pile and shuffle in the

normal ma nner. Af te r shuf fling, s t r ip the en ti re deck beh ind your back and

show you have separa ted odd nu mbers f rom even numbers .

#6

A SIMPLE FORCE

Have the card you want to fo rce reversed on the bo t tom of the pack.

Shuffle, place the deck face down on the ta ble and casu ally cut to the reversed

card. Show i t to the specta tor. Do not give the impress ion yon are cut t ing to a

certain card, cut th e deck casu ally.

#7

THE POKER HAND

Have a straight f lush reversed in the deck. Shuffle and str ip the f lush to

the top. Deal out f ive poker hands around the table (five cards each). Pick u p

each hand, show i t briefly, do not d is turb i t s order , and place each hand back

on top of the d eck. Deal out f ive hands again of five cards each, then show t hat

you have deal t yoursel f a s t ra ight f lush. Unknown to the specta tor every f if th

card on t op of the deck is part of the f lush.

#8

READING THE DECK

Memorize f ive cards an d reverse the m in t he deck. Tell the spectator that

you can read th e backs of the cards. Shuffle and st r ip the f ive me morized cards

to the top of the deck. Remove the top card face down, call not t he na me of one

of the f ive you have memorized, and place i t face down no the table . Repeat

this un ti l you have the f ive top cards face down on t he table. Mix the m u p, then

tur n t hem over and s how you have called the f ive cards correctly.

#9

COLOR SEPARATION

This is a real eye pop per. Before star t ing your perfor mance, separate thereds and blacks and reverse one color . To begin , shuff le the ent i re deck and

display the faces of the cards sh owing the m to be thoroughly mixed. Fan the

deck with the backs toward you an d have a red card selected. Ask the spectat or

to remember his card . Reverse the deck and have the card replaced. Fan again

an d have a black card selected. Reverse and replace.

Now, shuffle thoroughly. Put the deck behind your back and completely

s t r ip out the ent i re deck. Br ing h forward holding the two packets and show

15


16/39

t h a t yo u h av e n o t o nly c o m pl et ely s e pa r at e d r e ds f ro m b la ck s b u t t h e r e d

selected card is among the black, and the black selected cart! amo ng the red.

#10

THE INDIAN GIVER

Break the deck into two piles. Give one to a s pectator, reversing his pile

as you ha nd i t to him. Ask him to look at any card in his pile and insert i t face

down into your pile. Shuffle your pile, s tr ip o ut the card he gave yon an d place

it face down in his pile. Ask him to na me his card. Show it is not in your pile as

he thought. Tell him he is an "Indian Giver" and influenced you into giving him

back the sa me card he gave von.

#11

AN ODDITY

Separate the reel f rom the black cards in to two piles. Reverse one pile

and then make a s ingle p i le by a l ternating red and black. Hold t he deck withboth hands by the e dges and s t r ip the ent i re deck jus t the s lightes t f rac tion. If

you n ow riffle the cards in one direction, you will see o nly red cards; r iffle in

the o the r direction an d you will see only black cards.

#12

THE SMART SMELLER

Lay seven cards in a row on the table , the middle card reversed. Have a

specta tor wri te the aromas you cal l out , one each, on the backs of the cards ,

left to righ t. Turn your back if you wish. Call ou t, Rose, Violet, Jasmin e, Lillies,

Pine, Hemlock, Cedar. The r eversed card will be Lillies, the four th card called.Have the cards mixed an d han ded to you; str ip Lil lies to t op. Smell each card,

face toward you, remarking that you will find your favorite aroma: Lillies. You

may do this with drinks or s pices.

#13

POCKET LOCATION

The se lec ted card is reversed in the deck and the deck is shuff led. Drop

the deck in to a specta tor ' s sh i r t pocke t The end o f the deck f rom which the

reversed card protr udes s hould be u p, that is: nearest to t he edge of the pocket.

Torn your head aside, r each in to pocket wi th thu mb and midd le finger andremove selected card.

#14

POCKET PUZZLER

Have selected card reversed in the deck. Shuffle. Drop deck, protruding

end of selected card up per most, into spectator 's shirt pocket. Ask for a num ber

16


17/39

between 1 and 20. Reach in to specta tor ' s pocket and remove and show cards

one a t a t ime. We wil l presume the number ca l led was 14. Remove 13 cards

from t he top o r the bot tom of the deck; show the fourt eenth ( the reversed) card

t o b e t h e o n e s el ec te d b y s p e c ta t or. Us e t h u m b a n d m i d dl e f i ng er w he n

reaching into the spectator 's pocket.

#15

A WEIRD REVERSAL

Take all the cards of one suit (spades, for example), reverse the m, insert

the m in t he deck, shuffle thoroughly and place the deck hack in i ts case. When

you are going to perform, remove the p ack f rom your p ocket an d offer i t to be

shuffled. As the deck is being shuffled patt er to t he effect that thir teen is your

lucky number and you are going to t ry an exper iment with that num ber . Take

t h e d ec k f ro m t h e s p ec ta t or a n d p la ce i t b e hi n d y ou r b ac k. St ri p n o t t h e

th ir t een spades, tu rn them over and inse r t them toge the r back in to the pack.

Bri ng t h e d ec k f or wa r d, f ace u p; s p r ea d t h e d e ck a n d s h ow t h a t t h e re a rethirteen card s face down, together, a remar kable coincidence. Now, square the

p ac k, m e n it f ac e clow n, s p re ad t he c ar d s a n d - a n o th er c oi nci de nc e h a s

occurred: the t hir teen cards are all spad es!

#16

THE STABBED DECK

This is a remarkable effect and never fails

to mys ti fy. Have a card selec ted and inse r ted

aga in in the reversed deck. Show an o rd ina ry

paper napk in. Wrap the deck in the napk in bu t,tes ted as yon s tar t to wrap, pul l out the reversed

card slightly - a quarter of an inch will do.

Hold t he deck fi rmly as you wrap so tha t

the p ro t rud ing ca rd does no t s lide back in to the

deck with the h andling.

When the deck i s wrapped , tuck under the ends o f the napk in , aga in

being careful not to move the p rotruding card. Hold the wrapped deck face up

in your r igh t hand and , wi th the l e f t , push the t ip o f a kn i fe b lade in to the

napkin a t t he end of the deck where the card is par t ly s t ripped out . Push knife

blade into the na pkin from a sl ightly angled posit ion, downward, so t hat t he t ip

of the knife hits p rotr uding card; then, level the knife and pu sh i t all the way in.The kni fe b lade i s now res t ing on the s t ripped card . Push the kn ife in to the

deck u p to the hand le, the reby pus h ing the s t ripped card back in to the deck

and even with the ot hers. Ask that the selected card be na med. Leave the knife

in place an d r ip off the napkin showing the knife res ting on the se lec ted card.

This is not an effec t in be done hurr iedly . Make a b ig th ing of i t and, when

abo ut t o reveal th at t he knife is resting on t he selected eas e!, do it slowly.

17


18/39

#17

THE GAMBLER'S ACES

Have the four aces reversed in the deck. Tell those watching that you are

going to p rove tha t i t i s no t smar t to p lay ca rds wi th s t rangers. Shuf fle the

deck, place it face down on the ta ble and cut t o an ace. Do not s how the ace butremove i t f rom the packe t and p lace i t f ace down to one s ide. Do th i s th ree

more t imes unt i l you have cut and removed a ll of the aces . Turn over the four

cards an d show th at you cut to an ace each t ime.

#18

THE THUMB COUNT

Remark t hat you have super sensi tive f ingers and can count cards while

riff ling them with your th um b. Beforehand, have the f if teenth card reversed in

the d eck. Be sore th at you riffle the corner of th e deck where the reversed card

prot rude s. Riffle this corner o nce or twice, break the deck at the reversed cardand han d the p acket to the sp ectator to be count ed. You, of course, have stated

in advance how ma ny cards you are going to thu mb coun t,

#19

OUT OF THE HAT

Selected card is str ipped to to p of deck, Borrow a felt hat , crease the top

and hold hat h igh. Drop the deck in to the hat , deck on o ne s ide of the crease,

s t r ipped card o n the other . Snap the out s ide bot tom of the hat , be low s t r ipped

card. It will ju mp out of the h at.

#20

ALL CALL IT

Have a card reversed in the deck, King of Spades, for example. Shuffle,

cut to the king and show i t to one person present only. Reshuff le, do the sa me

to ano the r pe rson. Do th i s four t imes, each t ime showing the same ca rd bu t

without let ting any of the four s pectators know tha t they have all looked at t he

King of Spades. Tell the fou r s pectators to call out their card when you count to

three . They will look and feel ra ther foolish when they a ll call out "King of

Spades."

#21

THE FOUR ROBBERS

Remove the lone aces from the deck and lay them lace down o n the table.

Reverse the deck and lay i t on the table. Tel l the s tory of four robbers in tent

upo n rob bing a house. Insert one ace low in the pack, face down; this robber is

in the cellar . Another ace is inserted a bit higher in the pack, the f irst f loor; a

18


19/39

third ace st i ll higher in the p ack, the secon d floor, and the last ace near the t op

of the pack. As you now shuffle the pack re mark tha t one of the robbers looked

out of the window an d s aw the p olice app roaching. The only way of escape was

th rough the roof. S tr ip the aces to the top , p lace the deck face down on the

table and slowly remove the four to p cards, one at a t ime. The four robbers are

all on t he roof.

#22

THE NEXT ONE IS IT

Have a card selected an d re placed in t he reversed d eck. Hold t he deck in

your lef t hand, l ight ly fee l ing the se lec ted card . Deal out one card a t a t ime

from t he facedown pack, showing the card each t ime, and making a neat p ile

face down on the t able. Continue dea ling pas t the chosen card , then remark

that the next card you s how will he t he selected card. Surprise them all by not

showing the next card to be deal t but by cut t ing to the reversed card to be in

the pile on t he table.

#23

WITHOUT THE REVERSE

This will fool a m agician. Have the entire lower h alf of th e d eck reverse d.

Ask someone to se lec t a card f rom the upper hal f of the deck. Slowly riffle th e

cards so t hat the chosen card is inser ted in the lowerhalf of the deck. Break the

deck a t the center and give the top half to the specta tor for s huffl ing. Shuffle

the b otto m half yourself. You can now str ip out the selected card in your half.

#24

AN EYE POPPER

Have the deck in the case wi th a l l the red cards reversed. Remove the

deck f rom the case and shuff le thoroughly. Strip the deck complete ly and put

the two packets together. You now have t ics deck half red and half black. Hold

the deck face down in your r ight hand, left thu mb comes over to t he top of the

deck, left f ingers und erneat h t he deck. With your left han d, remove the top and

bot tom cards o f the deck toge the r, p lacing the two ca rds face down on the

table. Continue d oing this un ti l the entire pack is on the table, face down. Turnthe cards over , spread them, and show a perfect a l ternat ion of red and black

throughout the deck.

#25

COIN-INCIDENCE

Reverse a deuce, trey, four an d nine in your deck. Beforehand gather a nd

19


20/39

put in your t rouser pocket a quant i ty of coins , a l l of d i f ferent dates , but a l l

dates to ta ling e ighteen (1935, 1926, 1908, 1944, 1953, e tc.). Cut deck a t the

four reversed cards , making four p i les , wi th one of the reversed cards a t the

botto m of each pile, the four piles face down on the table. Casually remove the

coins f rom your pocket and have one se lec ted. Ask the specta tor to to ta l the

four d igi ts on his se lec ted coin. When he announces the to ta l (which most beeighteen), turn over each pile on the table and s how that t he four cards you cut

to also tot al eighteen.

#26

THE PREDICTION

Before performing, reverse and note three cards in your deck. Tell your

audience th at you are feeling part icularly clairvoyant an d you would l ike them

to hel p you in testing t he validity of your feelings. Take a piece of pape r an d on

i t wri t e the names o f the th ree ca rds you have p revious ly reversed in your

s t r ipper deck. Remarking that yon have made a predic tion, fo ld t he pa per an dp lace i t in a spec ta to r' s pocke t. Shuff le your deck and p lace i t in your, o r

another specta tor ' s pocket . Tel l your audience that yon are going to remove

cards , one a t a t ime, f rom the pack and that anyone should ca l l out "Now!"

while your hand is s t il l in the pocket. Proceed to take cards out as described

placing the m in a face - op pile to one side. Whenever so meo ne calls "Now!" stri p

one of the reversed cards and pot i t face down on the other s ide of the table.

Continue unti l you have str ipped out the t hree cards you have "predicted." Ask

the Spectator in whose pocket you h ave placed your p rediction to read i t aloud.

Turn over the three cards you have placed singly and face down to one side of

your t able. Pick them up , one a t a t ime , and call thei r names d ramat ically

holding them op for all to see t hat your feelings did no t deceive you.

NOTE: W hen pl acing the dec k in the pac ket be sure that the end w here the car ds pro trude

is up.

#27

THE GIMMICKED CASE

In an old effec t used with the s t r ipper deck the card case is sand papered

thin a t each s ide , near t he bot tom. When the deck, with the protruding card or

cards down, is inser ted in to t he case the f ingers can fee l these cards thro ugh

t h e t h in, s a n d p a pe r ed s id es o f t h e c as e. H ol d t h e c as e o p e n e n d d o wn a n d

allow all the car ds except t he reversed one s to fall out.

#28

THE FLIP OVER REVELATION

Bring reversed card to top. Push top card so that i t projec ts an inch to

one s ide of t he pack. Drop ent ire pack f rom about a foot over your table. The

top card will f lip over face u p, due to t he draf t h i t t ing the project ing edge of

20


21/39

the card.

#29

ANY CARD OP ANY SUIT

In advance of your performance, take an ent i re sui t - say, the hear ts - outof your deck. Put the m in or der from ace to king, reverse the p acket, pu t i t back

o n t he t o p o f y ou r d ec k a n d p u t t h e d e ck in it s c a se. Whe n y o u s t a rt t o

perfor m, say that you have an affinity for hearts a nd you would l ike to prove i t .

Take the deck ou t of i ts case and riff le shuffle once. Put the deck be hind

your back and as k som eone to call any card of the heart suit . As you pat ter an d

while you wait for t he s election, strip out the entire s oil (it will still be in or der)

and pot t he packet on t op of the deck. It is , of course, an easy matte r for you to

count down t o whatever card is called for an d t hus prove you are "in tune" with

the hear ts .

Depending on your memory - and abili ty - you may repea t will s one o r

two other cards. But don ' t do more than three. One could be an accident , twomight b e coincidence, three is incontrovertible proof, four is bored om.

#30

USING A CONFEDERATE

Many apparen t ca rd mi racles can be accompli shed wi th the use o f an

assistant for, if you have a confederate to han dle the deck while you are out of

t h e r o o m, y ou c an d o t h e s ee m in gly i m po s si bl e. Yo u c an b e a b se n t, y ou r

confedera te can have a card se lec ted an d reverse the deck. You can then enter

the room and f ind the se lec ted card . It i s important tha t n o one knows you are

working with an ass is tant . Br ief someone in the audience as to what to do ishan dling the deck. Do not overdo the u se of the assistant.

#31

ACE THE HARD WAY

Reverse an ace in the d eck. Have the d eck shuff led a nd then laid on the

table, face down. Place a silk over the d eck and cut t hrough the si lk to show t he

ace.

#32

A GAG BIT

This is a comedy bit that always gets a good laugh. Occasionally strip not

the selected card while yon are shuffling and say, "Please don't forget your card

while I am shuff l ing." Show the card , put i t hack in the deck and go on with

whatever effect you had planned.

#33

21


22/39

WHICH POCKET?

Have a card selected and reverse i t in the deck. Shuffle. Ask a sp ectator

to empty both lef t and r ight jacket pockets . Drop the deck in h is lef t jacket

pocket ma king sure that the edge with the pr otru ding card is up. Bring out half

the deck and p lace i t in the specta tor ' s r igh t j acke t pocke t, making sure ther ev er se d c ar d r e m ai n s i n t h e left pocke t. Now ask the s pecta to r to name a

pocket, r ight or left . . . If he says "right," tel l him to discard the portion of the

deck in his r ight pocket a nd you reach into the left and remove selected card.

#34

IN TRIPLICATE

H av e a c ar d s el ec te d. As k a s p ec ta t or t o w ri te h is

init ials on the back of the card. Reverse the deck and insert

the card . Shuf fle the deck , b r ing t he selec ted card to the

bo t tom and qu ickly tu rn the deck face down in your r igh thand. Hold the deck with four f ingers cur led over one s ide

and the thumb over the other . See i l lus t ra t ion. The f ingers

pul l back the bot tom (ini tialed) card . Ask the specta tor what h is na me is. As

you spell out his na me, keep holding back the bot tom card. You always pull out

one card above this card. When you come to the last let ter of his nam e; pull out

t h e c ar d y ou h av e b e e n h ol di ng b ac k, t u r n i t o ve r a n d s h o w i t i s t h e o n e

initialed by the spectator.

#35

LUCKY THIRTEEN

Beforehand have all the s pade s reversed in th e lower portion of t he deck.

Have a card selec ted f rom the top por tion o f the deck, r everse the deck and

have the selected card inserted. Remark to the s pectators t hat you have a lucky

su i t: spades and you a lso have a lucky numbers: th ir t een. Shuf fle the deck,

place i t behind your back an d tel l the au dience you are going to use your lucky

suit an d also the lucky nu mber to f ind t he selected card. Come forward with all

of the s t r ipped cards face down. Count them onto the table, face down. There

will be fourteen cards. Turn the m over and sprea d t hem out. Spectator will see

the th i r teen spades and the card he se lec ted.

#36TWO BLACK ACES

This tr ick consist of a simple setup of the to p eighteen cards in the deck.

Deck face down, t he se tup is as fol lows: t op card, any "six"; next, any five

indifferent cards; the n, a black ace; next, any "ten"; the n, nine indifferent card s,

a n d t h e o t he r bl ac k a ce. T he se t o p eig h te en c ar d s a re r eve r se d. Tell t h e

s p ec t at o rs t h a t y ou will l oc at e t h e t wo b la ck a ce s i n a n u n u s u al m a n n e r.

22


23/39

Remove t he pack f rom the case, r i ff le sh uffle once, face down, and s t r ip the

eighteen card s to the top of the deck. Show the top card, the "six." Count down

to t he sixth card an d tu rn it over. It will be the first ace. Show the next car d, the

"ten." Count d own to the tent h card , turn i t over and show i t to be the second

black ace.

#37LUCKY SEVEN

H av e t h e d ec k in your pocket wi th the seven of spades reversed. Talk

about seven be ing a mys tic nu mber in magic. Remark aga in tha t spades a re

your lucky soil and take cards out of your pocket one at a time , a card for each

letter. As you withdraw t he card s, spell note "S - e - v - e - n o - f S - p - a - d - e - s" show

that the last card removed f rom the pocket i s the Seven of Spades . Place th is

face down on the ca rds a lready on the t able. Take the remainder o f t he pack

out of your pocket an d place i t to one side. Pick up the "spelled out" cards an d

shuffle them, face down. The Seven of Spades is still reversed. Place this small

packet in your pocket. Once again s pell out "Seven of Spades." Again, t he lastcard re moved is the Seven of Spades. Turn i t face up as you take i t out of your

pocket.

#38

KINGS AND QUEENS

In a dv an ce, p u t t he f ou r ki ng s o n t o p o f t h e d ec k. To b egi n yo ur

performance, remove the four queens and reverse the deck. Pat ter about the

four ladies who wanted escor ts for a dance and vis i ted an escor t bureau ( the

deck). Insert the q ueens hap haz ardly into the deck an d riffle shuffle thoro ughly

but m aking sure t hat the four k ings remain a t the t op. Strip the queens to thetop of the deck. Remove the top e ight cards ( the kings and queens) and square

them up . Hold the packe t f ace down in one hand , thumb ben t un der one long

edge, the four f ingers curled un der t he other edge. Now, with the thu mp of the

other han d o n lop and the f ingers beneath, pul l out together one card f rom the

t op a nd o ne fr om t he b ot to m of t he p ac ke t a nd place b ot h ca rd s - s till

toge ther - f ace down on your t able. Do th i s th ree t imes l eaving two or th ree

inches of space be tween pairs . When you have only two cards left in your ha nd,

tu rn them over showing tha t a t l eas t one lady found an escor t. Pat tering on,

t u r n t h e c a r d s o n t h e t a bl e ov er - o n e p ai r a t a ti m e - a n d r e m ar k t h a t all the

lad ies ha d been lucky and were now recommending the escor t bureau to a ll

their friends. If you have followed the directions correctly, yon should have thefour queen s paired up with the kings.

#39

THE LOST ACE

State tha t t he aces have an affinity for each other - which you will prove.

Run th rough the deck, r emove the four aces and p lace them face up on your

23


24/39

table. Ask a spectator to choose any one of the aces and insert i t back into the

deck (which - as yon p atter - yon have reversed). Shuffle. Tell the spectator that

the ot her th ree aces are going to f ind the lost o ne. Pick up the t hree tabled aces,

inser t the m in the deck and shuff le . Now s t r ip the four aces to the t op, cut the

deck and complete the cut. Spread the deck face op an d s how the four aces are

together.

#40

THE EYES HAVE IT

Have a ca rd se lec ted and po t hack in to the reversed deck. Shuffle the

deck and, if possible, control the reversed card to eighth or ten th fro m th e top.

However, i t i s not absolutely essential tha t the se lec ted card be near the top;

b u t t h e e ff ec t will b e m o r e o f a "q uic kie" if t h e s el ec te d c ar d i s i n t h e

uppermos t por tion o f the deck. Hold the deck face down in your r igh t hand ,

wit h t he p r ot r u di ng e dg e o f r eve rs ed ca rd forward. The rig ht t hu m b a n d

middle f inger t ips gently touching both forward s ides of the deck and feelingthe prot ruding, selected card. Tell the s pectators that their eyes will give the m

away on th i s one . Remove the top card f rom the face -down pack and ho ld i t

face towards the s pectators. Tell the m n ot to give any sign when they see their

card. Remove cards f rom the to p of the deck, one a t a t ime. Your r ight t humb

and middle f inger t ips wi ll te ll you when you are showing the se lec ted card.

Stop ther e, look intently at th e sp ectat ors' eyes (as you have bee n doing with all

previously shown cards), then declare that they did give themselves away and

the card you are now holding is the selected card.

#41

FINGERPRINTS

Fan the deck and have a red card selected. Reverse the deck and have the

red card replaced. Ask the specta tor to p ick a blackcard and reverse the deck

again before the card is replaced. Now, shu ffle the deck, give i t to him, and tell

him t o rem ove one of the two selected cards, ei ther the black or t he red. He is

to do this with his back towards you. Take the deck back, str ip the one reversed

c ar d t o t h e t o p. Fa n t h e d ec k f ac e t o w ar d s y ou a n d t al k a b o u t l oo ki ng f or

fingerprints. Naturally, you will see the color of the top card. You then name

the color he removed, the oppo site color to the top card.

#42FACE UP OR FACE DOWN

Have a card selected. Reverse the pack an d have the card retur ned to the

pack. Hold the deck be hind your back, remove the selected card and replace it

in the deck, but turned over. Ask the spectator if he would l ike his card face up

or face down. If he says, "face up," bring the deck forward and sprea d i t on the

table wi th a ll the cards face down . If he says he wants the se lec ted card face

24


25/39

down, spread the deck face up . Either way his selection s hows up imme diately

as you have turned the se lec ted card with i t s face in the o pposi te d i rec t ion to

the rest of the deck.

#43

MATHEMAGICAL

Reverse any twenty cards in the deck. Shuffle. Strip the twen ty to t he to p

of the deck. Hand the deck, face down, to a s pecta tor an d ask him to count off

as ma ny cards as he wishes , up to 20, and p ut them in his pocket. Shuffle the

deck again, p lace i t behind your back and s t rip ou t the remaining reversed

cards. Count t hese cards behind your back, subtrac t the nu mber th us obta ined

f ro m t we n ty. A nn o u nc e t h e r es ul t. It should b e t h e n u m be r of ca rd s t he

spectator h as in his pocket.

#44

COLOR TELEPATHY

In advance, separ ate the red a nd black cards, reverse all the card s of one

color and shuf fle the en ti re deck toge the r. Place the deck in i t s case. To

perfor m, remove the deck from the case and have i t thoro ughly shuffled. Then,

quickly, s t r ip the whole deck so that you have the top half ent irely one color

and the bot tom half the other . Hold the deck face down and spread out the top

half of the deck for two cards to be se lec ted. Rif fle the deck and ask that the

two cards be re tu rned, bu t make once the two ca rds a re p laced in the bot tom

half of the deck. Break the deck at the reversed cards, han d one half of the deck

to a specta tor to shuff le. You shuff le the ot her half. If the cards are red , they

will be in the black pa rt of t he deck. After both h alves have been sh uffled, placethem together, fan t he deck face toward you, and look over the cards . Ask the

spectator to concent rate on the two cards he selected. You will be able to locate

the m because t hey are the op posite color of the cards o n each side of them. Do

this effect slowly to give the impression of great concentration on your pa rt .

#45

PURELY MENTAL

This menta l ef fec t wi th the s t r ipper is a s tunner . I t i s easy in execut ion and

baffl ing to the layman. Have the to p three cards reversed on top of the face-

down deck. Let us say that they are t he King of Hear ts , the Ace of Clubs, an dthe Three of Diamonds. Display the top three cards fanned in your hand and

ask a spectator to concentrate on o ne of them. Do not disturb th eir order which

we will pre su me t o be: king, ace, th ree. When a card has been m en tally selected,

place the three cards hack on top of the facedown deck and give the deck one

thorough r i f f le shuff le . Place the deck behind your back, s t r ip out the three

cards together and replace them on top of the deck. You will s t i ll have the king,

ace and th ree in tha t o rde r. Pu t the top card (the k ing) in your rea r t rouse r

25


26/39

pocket , the next card ( the ace) on the bot tom of the deck and, the remaining

card ( the three), on top of the deck. Bring the deck forward and place i t face

d o wn o n y ou r t a bl e. As k t h e s p ec t at o r t o n a m e h is t h o ug h t - o f c ar d. If h e

names the king, s lowly turn around and have him remove the card f rom your

pocket. I f he n ames the ace , simply turn over the deck on the table or , be t ter

still: have hi m t urn i t over. The ace will be revealed on the botto m of the deck.If he ment ions the th ree as the thought - o f card , t ell h im to tu rn over the top

card of the pack on the table. Put a l it tle presenta t ion in to th is an d i t can be

buil t u p in to a s t rong menta l ef fec t. The s pecta tor wi ll never be aware of the

fact that whichever of the three cards he na mes is of no importa nce: You have

arranged a place for each card and so t here are three places where the th ought -

of card could be!

#46

AN UNUSUAL VANISH

H av en c ar d s el ec te d a n d r ev er se t h e d ec k. H av e t h e s el ec te d c ar dreturned to the deck. While shuffl ing, bring the selected card to the top of the

deck. Place t he deck face down on the table. While ta lk ing or by use of so me

misdirection, moisten t he back of your r ight han d with your lips or tongue. Tell

the specta to r you a re going to show how to make a card van ish. P lace your

r ight han d back down, on top of the to p card of the pack. Do th is to i llus t ra te

to the s pecta tor wha t i s you want h im to do . When you take your hand away

f ro m t h e p a ck, t h e t o p (sel ec te d) c ar d s h o ul d b e s ti cki ng t o i t d u e t o t h e

mois tu re on its back. Get tha t ha nd below table level quickly. The spectat or will

du plicate your actions. Then request t hat h e look through the deck for his card.

I t will he gone! By then you will have ha d am ple t ime t o get the card into your

pocket or wherever you want i t to ap pear.#47

THE TRIPLE COINCIDENCE

In advance, reverse the Ace of Spades on top of the facedown deck. Tel l the

spec ta to r s you a re going to conduc t in experiment in coincidence. A t r iple

coincidence. Ins t ruct one of t hem to count off - wi thout looking a t the m - any

number o f ca rds be tween e igh t and twenty af ter you leave the room . He is to

deal off the cards face down o n t he t able. Tell him, also, that the Ace of Spades

is going to play an imp ortan t p art in the tr iple coincidence. He is to pick up the

packet of cards he deal t off and replace i t, face down, on the facedown deck,

remembering the number o f ca rds he coun ted. On your re tu rn, t ake t he deckand break off the top portion (at the reversed ace, nat urally!) behind your back.

This will g ive you t he amoun t of cards dealt out . Now, take the reversed ace

and insert i t back into the same packet, but with face in the direction opposite

to the res t o f the cards . Bring th i s s mall packet fo rward and ask how many

cards were coun ted. Show tha t the packe t you a re ho lding ou t has the sa me

amo unt. Coincidence #2: The ace you men tioned is in this packet. Coincidence

#3: The ace is face up, the rest of the card s face down.

26


27/39

#48

THE MAD MAGICIAN

Pre- arrange your deck with all the re d card s reversed. Spread i t , face up,

on the table but do not comme nt on color. Jus t ment ion that the d eck has beenthor oughly shuffled.

Pick up the cards an d s t r ip them so the top half of the deck is black and

the lower half, red.

Relate the following story:

"Once upon a t ime there was a mad man who thought hr was a magician -

o r a m a gicia n w ho t h o ug h t h e w as a m a d m a n ... I d o n ' t r e me m b er w hi ch.

H owev er, le t' s j u st s ay t h a t a ll m a gici an s a re m a d ... o r all m a d m e n a r e

magicians. Anyhow, the reason he was driven ma d was t hat every time he took

a ca rd f rom the deck i t was a red ca rd ." Remove and show a ca rd f rom the

botto m h alf of the deck you are h olding face down. Replace the card.

"Even when hr cut the deck hr always got a red card." Cut the deck intothe red half . "He even took a card f rom behind his back and, sure enough, i t

was a red ca rd!" P lace the deck beh ind your back and take a ca rd f rom the

lower (red) half.

"Our magic ian t r ied put t ing t he cards in h is pocket an d - guess what?...

Sure enough, he could only pul l out a red card! I t even became contagious...

When his fr iends to uched one of his cards i t turne d red!" Have someone touch

the back of a (red) card and then show it .*

"Final ly, in despera t ion, our mad magician decided there was only one

thing to do. . ." Shuff le the deck and s t r ip i t once more so you again have a l l

b lack on top and a ll reds on the bot tom. "...He was not so du mb. He c leverly

ded uced th at if he separate d half the pack a nd touched i t it would be all red . .."Divide the deck in to two piles and place the m widely separa ted on the table.

"...and sur e eno ugh, all red Spread th e red half face up on the t able. "Our no -

longer- mad magician f inally found a way to get a b lack card - jus t tur n over

the o ther h alf of the d eck." Turn over the second half of your deck an d s how it

consist s of all black cards.

*A n excelle nt gag here is to have a red King of Spades ~ obtai nable fro m your m a gi c dealer - in

your poc ket, re ady to be handed out to be to uc hed.

#49

THE ALLOWANCE

"Once up on a t ime, a magician ha d a stu pid wife -in fact , any woman who

would ma rry a m agician is stu pid. However, that 's beside the point . He had he r

believing that playing cards were money and he always gave her an allowance

of 65 cen t s a week. Here i s how he d id i t." The magic ian th rows a bunch o f

cards on t he table, they are tur ned face up an d the tot al of the spot s equals 65.

27


28/39

Method: Reverse two tens, t hree f ives, one four, two sixes, one trey, one

deuce, one e ight and one ace. Strip them out a nd throw them on t he table face

down.

#50

THE STRANGER

In this effect one of the cards in your d eck is of the op posite color; let us

say you have a blue - backed card in a red - backed deck. Reversed, of course.

Spread the deck face down and remark that someone ma de a mis take in

packing the deck. pro perties. Now, using the str ippe r principle you can cut to

this "stranger" card, or find i t behind your back, do the stabbe d deck t r ick with

the k nife blade finding the od d card, etc.

For a f inish, drop the deck into your coat pocket an d bring ou t a deck of

bl ue - b a ck ed c ar d s in to w hic h yo u h ave i ns er te d t h e r eve rs ed r ed - b ac k

du plicate of the one you've been using. Bring the deck out face up an d s pread i t

on the table. Pat ter a b i t about the myster ies of color and spread the deck faced o wn t o s h o w t h e s t ra n ge r c a rd h a s t u r n e d c ol or a n d s o h a s t h e r e s t o f t h e

pack.

#51

THE RELUCTANT CARDS

EFFECT: Three cards are se lec ted, replaced in the deck and the deck

shuff led thoroughly. Performer takes the deck and drops i t into the open end

of a wooden case. The selected card refu se to d rop in with the others.

You will need a case to hold your deck but tapered jus t as t he cards are.

It can be easi ly const ruc ted f rom heavy ca rdboard o r ciga r - box wood. Thebroad end of the case is lef t open. When dr opping the shuff led deck back in to

the case, be sure to do so with the tapered end down . The selected car ds will be

f orc ed u p b y t h e t a pe ri ng o f t h e c as e. Pa tt er a bo u t h ow s o me ca rd s a re

reluctant to mi ngle with the others.

#52

WORLD'S FASTEST COUNT

Set up you r stri ppe r deck as follows:

About ten cards from t he top of the deck, reverse the next six. About ten

cards fro m t he bott om of the deck, reverse the n ext ten. So you will have a deckwith top cards nor mal, s ix reversed, mor e nor mal cards and then ten reversed.

Place a joker be tween the 27 th and the 28 th cards and the o the r joker

somewhere near the top or bot tom of the deck.

When about to perfor m take the deck out of i ts case and, saying that you won't

use t he jokers for this effect, take the m o ut a nd lay then on t he table. However,

i t i s impor tan t tha t you ho ld the p lace where the joker was mark ing o f f the

2 7t h a n d t h e 2 8t h ca rd s. Bre ak t he d ec k a t t h at p oi nt, h a n d t h e t o p h alf

28


29/39

(containing 27 cards, 6 of which are reversed) to one spectator and the bottom

half (wi th 25 cards, 10 reversed) to another . Ask each to shuff le t he ir ha lf

thoroughly.

Now, take the half which was originally at t he to p a nd pu t i t behind your

back. Immediately, br ing your hands forward each holding a p ile an d say: "I

have 21 cards in one hand and s ix in the ot her ." Then, take the second half ofthe deck and repea t t he same procedure bu t - wi th th i s ha lf - say: "I have 15

cards in one hand and ten in the other ."

When the four p il es a re coun ted, i t w ill appear a s if you have done a

lightning count behind your back.

#54

JUST FOR LAUGHS

Have a Fortune Telling Deck str ip ped. Reverse the cards you wish t o j ibe

with a for tune you will predict for someone. Ask someone to shuff le the deck

for you. Take i t back and br ing the reversed cards to the t op. Turn them overand show that the for tune you have predic ted in advance, by reading (?) the

spectators palm, is confirmed by t he card s.

#53

SUPER STRIPPER

Take two s t ripper decks, one b lue - backed and one red- backed. From

these two decks you can make two u nusual decks - wi th inf in i te p oss ibi li ties.

Make two str ippers t hat consist of half red - backed and half blue- backed cards.

Not only can you use th is as a regular s t r ipper deck, you can now do effec ts

involving color. For example: Separating red - backed fro m blue- backed card s byreversing one color; cutt ing to a de sired color back with th e deck face down on

the table (selected color reversed), etc.

END STRIPPERS

You can purchase cards s t r ipped a t the ends ins tead of the s ides of the

deck. These, too, have m any uses and will fool even t he fellow who is familiar

with the Stripper p rinciple. However, many more effects are pos sible with side

s t r ippers than wi th end s t rippers, so th is book i s devo ted so lely to the s ide

str ipper.

BLANK STRIPPERHave your favorite m agic dealer st r ip a deck of blank cards for you. With

this deck, you can do ama zing "living and dea d" tests and ma ny other "mentor '

routines.

MAKING YOUR OWN

Clamp an o rdinary deck in a vise and, with f ine sandp aper, you can wear

away one corner of the entire deck. However, professionally str ipped decks are

29


30/39

so easily and economically available from any m agic sh op that i t is impr actical

to go to that much t rouble.

ALPHABET CARDS

Many effec ts are poss ible wi th a s t r ipped deck of Alphabet Cards . You

may p urchase t hese cards fro m any magic dealer and he will also str ip the m foryou.

ESP CARDS

A deck of Extra Sensory Perception cards has symbols, ins tead of s ui ts

and nu mbers, on the faces. These symbols are Triangles, Squares, Circles etc.,

such as are used in te lepathy exper iments . A s t r ipped deck of such symbols

offers many p ossibil it ies for ps eud o min d rea ding effects.

30


31/39

FOR THE CARD MEN

For those with a good working knowledge of sleight of han d t he str ippe r

can p rove invaluable in many effects. Those listed below are a few you can use

in conjunction with sta nd ard effects.

#55

TAP IT OFF

This is a weird effect. Have two cards reversed in the d eck.

Shuffle and br ing the m to t he top. Hold t he deck face down in

your left hand. With your r ight t hu mb and middle f inger, l ightlypick up t he two top cards by the protr uding edges and show the

two cards as one card. Replace the two cards on to p of the d eck.

As k a s p ec ta t or t o t a p t h e b a ck o f t h e t o p c ar d o n t h e p a c k.

Show i t. Because he p resumed tha t be t apped the card which

was shown him, he will be ama zed when you tur n the card over and i t proves to

have changed to a different o ne.

#56

THE AUTOMATIC RISE

As in the pr evious effect reverse two cards, str ip the m an d bring the m tothe top . Wi th your r ight thumb and midd le f inger show the two top cards as

one. Place the double back on top of the deck. Hold the deck face down and

bury the top card in the deck. Tap the top o f the deck and show tha t the card

you "buried" has retur ned t o the to p.

#57

THE PAPER CLIP

Have two card s reversed in the deck. Shuffle. Strip the two reversed ca rds

to the top an d s how as one card . Replace the two cards on top of the deck and

fas ten a paper c lip to the top card. The specta tor will presume that the c lip ison the ca rd you showed h im. Lay the th ree top cards face down on the t ab le

and tell the s pectator t o na me t he card with t he clip on i t. Of course, he won't!

#58

THE FLYING CARD

Reverse two aces in t he dec k. Let us u se t he Ace of Spades an d t he Ace of

31


32/39

Diamonds for i llus t ra tion. Shuffle the d eck and s t r ip the two aces to the top.

Grasp t he protru ding edges of the reversed cards an d s how the double card as

one card. Let us say the spectator s see t he Ace of Spades ( the Ace of Diamond s

is h idden behind i t). Place the two cards back on top of the deck, remove the

face -down top card and lay i t on the t able. The s pecta tor will p resume th is

card to be the Ace of Spades . Remove the second ace f rom the top of the deckand hold i t face down over the card o n th e table. The ace in your hand (Ace of

Spades) is held about a foot over the facedown card on t he table. Tap the back

of the facedown card in your hand and show i t to be the Ace of Spades , turn

over the card on the t able and sh ow it to be the Ace of Diamond s.

#59

ONE HAND LOCATION

Request th a t a card be se lec ted. Reverse the deck, ask that the card be

replaced and then tha t the deck be shuf fled. Remark ing tha t , "The hand i s

quicker than the eye," show that the se lec ted card is not on t he bot tom nor onthe top o f the deck . Hold the deck in the r igh t hand in pos it ion fo r the one

han d cut. When your r ight t hu mb feels the reversed card, al low the cards below

it to fa l l in to your r ight palm; complete the cut , then show that the se lec ted

card is on the botto m of the deck.

#60

THE BAD PENNY

Reverse th ree aces in the deck and shuf f le . S t r ip the aces to the top .

Execute a tr iple lift (showing the three cards as one). Let us say that when you

show the specta tor s the (apparen t ly one) ca rd , they see the Ace o f Hear t s.Remark that the Ace of Hearts is a bad pen ny and always keeps t urning up. Lay

the t hree cards face down on top of the deck. Remove the to p card and place i t

in the center of t he deck, face down. The spectators will presu me t hat you have

buried th e Ace of Hearts . Now, do a d ouble l if t with the two cards o n to p of the

deck and show tha t the Ace o f Hear t s has re tu rned to the top . P lace the two

cards face down on top of the deck and, again, bury the top card. Once again

show t he to p card, The Ace of Hearts is back! Throw up your ha nds in disgust

and remar k you give up.

#61

THREE CARD MONTE

A good sucker effect . , Have two cards previously reversed in the deck.

Shuffle and bring them to th e top. Lift the two cards as in effect #55, and show

to t he specta tors . Place the two cards back on top of the deck, then bend back

the corner of t he top card and place i t face down on the table. The specta tors

will p r e s u m e t h a t t h e c ar d wi th t h e b e nt c or n er is t h e s a m e o n e y o u h av e

shown. Lay two more car ds face down alongside the bent one. Do not show the

32


33/39

faces . Move the th ree cards aro und. Ask the spectato r to pick out t he card first

shown hi m, he will of course tur n over - the card with bent corner.

#62

PASSE PASSE

Proceed exactly as in effect #58 (Flying Card) unti l after you show the

double card and replace the two on top of the deck. Then openly take the top

card an d place i t face unseen, in a spectator 's pocket. The ace left on to p of the

deck is shuffled into the deck. Now, "comman d" the two aces to cha nge places.

The specta tor will find that the ace in h is pocket i s the one he presume d to be

in the deck and the one in the deck the ace he tho ught you ha d given him.

#63

INKREDIBLE

Prepare an ordinary, unstripped, Ace of Hear ts by pu t t ing a dro p of b lueink near the center of the large pip and allow it to dry. Insert this pre pared ace

in your str ipper.

Fo rc e t h e u n p r e pa r ed, stripped, Ace of Heart s fro m you r s tri pp er o n a

s p ec t at o r; o r, c ut t o i t a n d s h ow i t t o y ou r a u d ie nc e b u t d o n 't l oo k a t it

yours elf. Shuffle the deck an d palm o ut this ta pere d ace (leaving, of course, the

prep ared un prep ared ace in the p ack). Insert the d eck face down into i ts case.

Pat ter about magic ians ' b lood having m agical p roper t ies and - as every

magician has magic in his veins- his blood can locate the de sired card.

From your pocket, take out a founta in pen which you have f illed with

vanishing ink* and rema rk tha t this effect requires blood, blue magicians ' blond

and you have filled the pen wi th your own. Le t one d rop o f ink fa ll on theouts ide of the card- case, near the center. With your foref inger, gent ly ru b the

dro p of ink. It will vanish co mpletely in a second o r two. Remove t he deck fr om

the case, spre ad i t face up a nd show the selected card has an ink spot on i t .

* This ink is sold at m ost no velty and m agic shops.

#64

THE JACKS' PERSISTENCY

(Originally pu blishe d in Hug ard 's MAGIC Monthly)

EFFECT: Magician ribbo ns prea ds a d eck of card s, faces u p, an d slides t hefour jacks clear of the s pread. Leaving the jacks face up on t he ta ble, he gathers

up the deck, squares i t and invites any spectator to shuffle i t . Taking the deck

back he asks four d if fe ren t specta to rs each to inse r t one o f the j acks a t any

p oi n t t h ey p le as e i n t h e d e ck. Whe n t hi s h a s b ee n d o n e, p e r fo r m er a gai n

reques t s someone to shuf fle the cards thoroughly. Per fo rmer then takes the

deck and makes i t in to four se para te p i les on the table before h im. When top

card o f each p i le i s tu rned over, spec ta to r s a re su rpr i sed to find tha t a ll the

33


34/39

jacks have ri sen to the top.

METHOD: When deck is retu rne d, riffle shu ffle once, strip t he jacks to the

top and riffle shuffle once more retaining the jacks in posit ion.

Now:

1. Hold deck in your left han d, r ight e dge parallel to f loor and resting on

the lower joints of middle, r ing and l i t t le f ingers with thumb lying across leftedge and forefinger curled against face of botto m card.

2. With t ip of left thumb, r iff le upper left corner of deck unti l you have

about of the deck left to go.

3 . Grasp the top 3 /4 por t ion of the deck between your r ight thu mb at t he

inner end and your f ingers a t the ou te r end and l i f t packe t c lea r o f bo t tom

port ion. At the sa me ti me , left middle, r ing and l i t t le f ingers curl up and press

agains t top card ( jack) re ta ining i t agains t top of bot to m packet remaining in

left ha nd.

4 . Place th is packet on the table and repeat s teps 2 and 3 un t il you have

four packets on t he table each with a jack on Sop.

SUGGESTED PRESENTATION AND PATTER: Idly s huf fling your de ck, as k: "Havea ny of yo u eve r n o tice d h ow s o me d ec ks h ave ca rd s w hic h a re r eally

obnoxious?.. , No matt er where you put the m, they keep tur ning up!... I'l l show

you what I mean - .. In th is par t icular deck, the jacks are t he social c limbers.

Let 's take the m out. ,," (Ribbonspread the deck an d sl ide jacks out; pick up the

sprea d, square i t up, sh uffle.)

..Some of you may t h ink that the jacks tu rn up only for me... tha t they

have an 'affinity ' for me.. , Well I ' l l ask four of you gentlemen to pick up one

jack each and inser t it wherev er you like in t he deck Now, sir, will you please

shuffle the deck? Thank you... While our cooperative fr iend m akes sure that the

jacks are really buried, le t' s review what has ha p pened. .." (Use index fi ngers of

right han d t o coun t off left f ingers t hus casually showing your h and s are clean.)One, we separa ted the jacks f rom the res t of the cards and lef t them face

up on the t able in order to make cer tain that they were not in some sor t of pee-

arranged sequence. Two, four d i fferent persons replaced a jack a t a d i f ferent

spo t in t he deck. Three, another perso n is now s huffling the deck - ,. Will you,

s i r ," ( to the shuff ler ) "please make sure that there are no jacks a t the top or

b o tt o m o f t h e d e c k a n d t h e n g ive i t b a ck t o m e ? T h a nk y ou - - - Let u s n o w

squa re t he d eck.,, divide i t into four parts like so. and now we tu rn over

the top card of each pile ...and we find that you can't keep the jacks d own.

No mat ter where you p ut the m, they persist in climbing to the top!"

WARNING: Don't let more th an o ne spectator at a t ime pick up a jack and keep your eyeson him! He may inadvertently turn his jack end for end.

#65

ELUSIVE CARD

An elusive card routine is always entertaining a nd mystifying. However,

34


35/39

by having a card previously reversed in t he deck you can a dd a great deal to t he

effect , for dur ing the rout ine you can have a specta tor shuff le the cards and

imm ediat ely go into the elu sive card again.

#66

If a card i s p ro t rud ing a t end "a" o f the deck, tha t same ca rd will be

indented a t end b of the deck. This indenta t ion m ay be used as a shor t card.

There is a definite click when th e deck is riffled at this e nd.

#67

Use the reversed card as a "key" card. You can cut to the reversed card

easily after each s huffle and have the selected card placed next to i t.

#68

Card on ceiling, using the s tr ipper to bring the selected card to po sit ion.

#69

If you do "Out Of This World" - and you proba bly do - using the str ipper

makes i t a l l the more of a miracle . Simply have the cards se t up i ts the case

with one color reversed, hand the deck to the spectator to be shuffled, quickly

separa te si te colors and you are set to perform.

#70

For a gambling rout ine you can have s i te des i red cards reversed, then

shuffle, and bring the entire setu p to si te top of the deck.

#71

Needless to say, br inging a card to the top for palming is an easy mat ter

with t he s t r ipper . After s i te card is palmed an d the deck sh uffled you can add

the p a lmed card to t he deck, s t ill r eve rsed , and be ab le to do many u nusua l

effects.

#72

You will find that , with a l it t le experimenta tion, th e s tr ipper can be very

useful in your work. For example: without any false shuffles or passe s you can

force the sam e card several times, simply by bringing the st r ipped card you are

forcing to the top of the deck.

#73

35


36/39

THE GIANT FAN

If every other card in the deck is reversed, it is an easy mat ter to get into

pos it ion fo r the gian t f an wi thou t in te rweaving the two ha lves o f the deck.

Simply s t r ip ou t ha lf the ca rds a lmos t to the ir full length , g iving the pack

nearly dou ble the length an d the n go right into the fan, The str ipping should bedone quickly and sm oothly.

***********

The two effects which follow were devised by my good friend, John V, Hope. A

past president of New York's F.A.M.E., Mr. Hope is a versatile magician with a

particular bent for coin m agic. However, the following sa mples will prove tha t

he is no "slouch" with car ds!

#74

BOOKED DECK DISCOVERY

EFFECT: A card is selected and returned to the deck. During the shuffle,

some cards become reversed in the deck. On sprea ding the cards i t is seen that

the d eck is pretty well mixed up with cards face up an d face down. The deck is

shuffled som e mor e and cut once. Spreading the cards again i t is seen that they

have all righted the mselves, except for th e selected card.

METHOD: Have a card selec ted and re tu rned as you usua lly do fo r

con trolling the card . Star t shuf fling and , a fte r one o r two regu la r shuf fles,reverse one half t he d eck an d tur n i t face u p. Continue sh uffling. This will give

you what gamblers cal l a "booked" deck, t ha t i s: a deck with the cards mixes

face up and face down. Th is tu rn ing o f the ca rds face up i s impor tan t . The

s im p le s t w ay is t o o p e n t h e d ec k l ik e a b o ok, u s i ng o n e o f t h e e n d s a s a n

imaginary hinge. Continue opening th is imaginary book unt i l both packets

touch the ta ble. You now have one packet face up and one face down. Without

changing the re la t ionship of the packets , shuff le them into each other . Show

the cards t o be all messed u p.

After showing the cards to be hopelessly mixed, str ip out al l projecting

cards and place them on top of the deck. When a ll the projecting cards are on

top of the deck, turn t hese cards over so that both packets are facing the sameway. Spread the cards an d a ll of the m will be fac ing the same way except the

selected card.

NOTE: If the dec k has bee n used a bi t, sp re ad it outfac e up. There is a tendency fo r the

reversed card to stick to the others and not show itself . If this happens, don't say an ything about

the selected card. Square the deck and m ak e a m agical gesture towards it . Now, spread the cards

face do wn and the selected ca rd will be the onl y one fac e up.

#75

36


37/39

AGAIN THE BOOKED DECK

EFFECT: The deck is sh uffled with abou t half the cards face up and half

face d own. Spreading the cards in your hands , explain to a specta tor: "Run

thro ugh the cards as I'm doing and if you see a card you don't like, turn i t face

down, if you see a card t hat is face down an d you want to know what card i t is,turn i t face u p. Remember which cards you turn e ither face up or face down."

After the sp ectator has done this , take the d eck from him, shuffle it and cu t i t a

few times. Sp

al stevenson - 75 tricks with a stripper deck

Documents