\

NEALCLIAS

AT THE TABLE

NEAL C. ELIAS

Illustrated by

R, A. MACKENZIE

P u b l i s h e d by

GEORGE SNYDER JR.

SNYDER'S MAGIC SHOP

908 Superior Ave.

Greyhound Bus Station

Cleveland 14, Ohio

FORKWORD

I have often wondered whether the purpose of a foreword is toexplain something, or to make an excuse for the writing of the book, orJust to take up space. Now I know! However, I leave it for you to readand Judge for yourself.

Some of the best magic that I have ever seen has been 'at thetable' after the show, or dessert as Martin Gardner has put it. It wasfor this reason that we named this manuscript as we did.

Paul Roslni, who is one of my favorite magicians, doe3 anice show, but it is at your table, after the show that he doesmiracles. We don't say this Just to couple Paul's name with ours,Just that it doesn't seem that one can possibly write a book onwithout at least mentioning him.

veryrealit's

cards

We have no apology to offer for any of the items here included.We use them all and find that they go over nicely. We are especiallyproud of the cull-stock shuffle. While this shuffle is not usable onall occasions, when the chance does arise, you'll find it is a repu-tation builder.

For those who don't care for this book, we have a money- back-guarantee to offer. We will accept all complaints submitted in writ-ing, double-spaced on one side of a sheet only, notorlzed and deliv-ered by the sherriff. We are sorry, but we regret that we can do noth-ing more but hope that you forget your 'squawk' in time to purchaseour next book.

January 1946 Neal G. Ellas

A REVERSE SLEI&HT

This sleight was born of a coincidence. When visiting me while on aweek-end pass, Bert Fenn and I discussed different reverses at length. Aday or so after he had left, I played with the idea of using the bottomcop as a reverse. I Immediately wrote Bert, telling him about it. A dayor so later I received a letter in which he explained a very similaridea. We combined the two versions and are now using the one following.

This Is more or less of a utility move, being used for several dif-ferent purposes, to reverse a card or packet of cards, to show a control-ed card is neither at the top or bottom of the deck and to prove thata card has vanished from the deck. It is an oddity in that to reverse acard, you reverse not the card, but the rest of the deck.

The move itself is as follows: Hold the deck in the left hand in the'mechanics grip', with the second, third and little fingers resting flaton the outer right corner of the card on the bottom of the deck. Pressthese fingers up and in, drawing, or buckling the bottom card toward theinner left corner. This should raise the right edge of the deck to abouta 45 degree angle. See Fig. 1.

Take the deck from underneath, with the right hand. The face of thedeck should be towards the right palm, drip the deck, the moment the leftfingers buckle the bottom card. The right thumb should be at the end ofthe deck nearest the body. The second and third fingers are at the outerend. With the right hand, revolve the deck until it is vertical on thepalm, pivoting the deck on Its left edge. Complete the turnover by slid-ing the deck face up onto the palmed card. See Fig. 2.

If correctly done, the reverse is completely covered from all angles.The right hand, in turning the deck over, covers the card from the right.The left hand, by tilting up slightly, covers the card from the front andfrom the left.

As mentioned above, this move can be used for several different pur-poses. A packet of cards can be reversed by holding a little finger breakabove the cards to be reversed. The same action Is followed as with a sin-gle card, the little finger helping to buckle the packet.

A card can be controlled to the bottom of the deck and shown not tobe at the top or bottom by copping the card twice. To do this, turn thedeck face up, copping the bottom card. Spread a few of the cards on the

bottom of the deck, showing that the selected card has not accidentally(?) come to the bottom of the deck. Turn the deck face down, once moreshifting the bottom card. Show a few of the cards at the top of the deck,showing that the card is not among them. This of course leaves the selec-ted card on the bottom of the deck, to be disposed of as desired.

Or, this move may be used after an idea by Martin Gardner, to showthat a selected card has vanished from the deck. To do this, control thecard to the bottom of the deck. Turn the deck face up, leaving the bottomcard (selected card) face down. Run a few of the face-up cards into theright hand, one at a time, telling the spectator to watch for his card.After showing about a dozen cards, turn them face down, and place themunder the deck in the left hand. Repeat this until all the face-up cardshave been shown, proving that his card has vanished. The selected cardis, of course, on the top of the deck at this point and can be palmed offand produced from the pocket if desired.

ON THE CARD TO THE POCKET

The usual method used to produce a card from the pocket is to palmit from the deck and immediately place the hand in the pocket, removingthe card. Of course, the best way to do this is to drop the card in thepocket and first remove all the odds and ends from the pocket before re-moving the card.

In Tarbell Volume 3 is an idea of Tommy Dowda' in which no palmingis necessary. This is an adaptation of Tommy's method. Altho the cardmust be palmed to do it our way, the advantage lies in the fact that bothhands are obviously empty when the hand is placed in the pocket.

Palm the selected card from the deck, in the right hand. Place thedeok on the table and Immediately raise the right hand to the ooat lapel.Grasp the lapel as you would do when going to the inside breast pocket.The fingers go underneath the coat with the back of the hand outside.Thus doubling the card around the edge of the coat. Be careful, however,not to fold or crease the card.

Swing the right side of the coat open so that the spectator can seethe inside breast pocket, as you make some statement to the effect thathe could not have chosen that particular card since you have it in your

pocket.

During the above, the card hasbeen completely covered, by the fin-gers inside the coat, and the palmof the hand on the outside.

Swing the coat back to the body,show the left hand empty and reachunder the coat, apparently reachinginto the breast pocket. But, actual-ly, when under cover of the coat,twist the left hand back at the wristand pluck the card from the right fin-gers, pulling it completely under thecoat. Twist the card around so thatthe lower corner engages in the poc-

ket. Swing the coat open once more BO that the spectator can see the cardapparently coming out of the pocket. See Fig. 3. Remove the card andshow it to him.

This sleight can be used for the card to the wallet, or to switch acard, or to dispose of a duplicate in removing something from the pocket.

TURNOVER SWITCH

This is an idea that has many uses. It accomplishea more or less thesame results as a second deal. With its use a selected card can be turn-ed up at any point in the deck. It will be apparent at once that it can beused in many effects such as spellers, card at any number...etc...

This sleight grew out of an idea of Bert Fenn's. We had been talk-ing about the Mexican Turnover and he asked why it would not be possibleto do a move of this sort on the deck. He worked out an idea that we tos-sed back and forth for a while before arriving and settling on the follow-ing.

Let us say that the selected card is the ace of hearts and has beencontrolled to the top of the deck. It is desired to spell the name of thiscard and turn it up on the last letter.

Hold the deck in the left hand, as for dealing. Deal the cards oneat a time into the right hand, spelling the name of the card as you do so.The right hand should hold these cards in a sort of 'mechanics grip1 .When you reach the point at which the card falling on the last letter (inthis case the eleventh card) is still on top of the deck in the left hand,execute the following moves. The cards in the right hand are supported orheld by the forefinger at the outer end, and the base of the thumb at theinner end. The tips of the second, third and little fingers rest on theouter left corner of the bottom card. These three fingers press up and inthus buckling or doubling this card diagonally under the deck. See Fig. 4.

This should be done as the right hand approaches the left hand ap-parently to turn over the top card of the deck, which has been pushedpart way over the side of the deck by the left thumb. S llde the righthand packet under this card, so that the left edge of the packet touchesthe right edge of the deck, under the overlapping card. Slip the left

second and third fingers between theright hand packet and the buckledcard at the bottom of this packet.These fingers press this card againstthe right palm.

Turn the right hand over, pivot-ing the packet on the right edge ofthe deck. The left thumb holds thetop card of the deck stationary, butdue to the turnover action by theright hand, this card ia automatical-ly forced onto the top of the righthand packet.

At the same time, that is, dur-

ing the turnover, the left fingers have held the bottom card of the pac-ket pressed tightly against the right palm. The packet, with the excep-tion of this card, haa been pushed into the crotch of the thumb, into asort of thumb palm. The right hand, which is now back up, draws thesecards away, leaving the selected card fall face up on the deck. Fig. 6.

A variation of the above that some may like, is the use of the Erd-nase one hand bottom deal...dealing the card face up on the deck Insteadof on the table.

To do this, count the cards into the right hand as above. Take thecard falling on the last letter on top of the right hand packet, extend-ing part way over the packet. Fig. 5. Turn this hand over, dealing the bot-tom card onto the deck in the left hand. At the same time the right thumbpulls the top card square on the packet. See Erdnase page 56.

A TRULY FAN-CY CUT

This flourish was shown to me by Bob Taylor of Phllly.never seen it in print, we give it here.

As we have

Fan the cards in the left hand and turn the fan so that it points to-ward the right. Break the fan at about the center, with the right forefin-ger. Close the half of the fan above the break by drawing the cards to -ward yourself. See Fig. 7. Close the other half of the fan forward. Fig.8.Take this packet in the right hand and place it on top of those in theleft.

ONE HAND CENTER CUT

This out was shown to me byFrank Csurl at a time when we weregoing In for one hand cuts and rif-fle shuffles In a big way. It Isnot his own but as we both like Itwe thought you might.

Hold the pack in the left handas In Fig. 9. The forefinger Is atone end of the deck and the littlefinger at the other. The second andthird fingers are at the side of thedeck and the thumb at the outer cor-ner.

With the left thumb, draw orpull a packet of cards from the cen-ter of the deck. 3ee Fig. 9.

Shift the thumb to the outer left corner of the deck and press thethumb and forefinger together, squeezing the packet out of the deck. Nowshift the thumb back to the outer corner of this packet and twist Itfrom the deck by pivoting it on the forefinger. Fig. 10. Press down withthe thumb, lifting the right edge of this packet over the deck. See Fig.11. Close the hand squaring the deck.

CARD FROM CENTER

Here is another cute idea that for some reason does not seem to bewell known. I use it in a close up everywhere and nowhere routine andalso in Imitation of a trick that Scarne does, by flipping the last offour selected cards from the center of the deck.

Control the selected card to the bottom of the deck which Is thenheld in the left hand as for the Charlier Pass. Drop about half of thedeck to the palm. See Fig. 12. Raise this packet with the forefingeruntil it clears the edge of the upper packet and falls to the palm aa

shown In Fig. 13. However, Just as the lower packet falls on the upper,fold the fingers over what Is now the lower packet. Straighten the fin-gers, drawing out the card above the break. Fig. 14. Fold the fingeraover the top of the deck, carrying this card with them. Thus apparentlydrawing the selected card from the center and turning it face up on topof the deck.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

Many versions of this gem of Dal Vernon'e have appeared in print.Perhaps one more routine won't be overdoing it. This ia the routine I'vebeen doing for some time. It is not original, but is a direct steal, be-ing a little of Vernon, Walsh and others. This combination permits morecolor changes than most other routines and requires no more sleights.

This la my favorite card trick. I like it not only because it is astartling effect, but because here is a card trick in which no one needselect a card. I find that even those who don't like card tricks are in-trigued at the sight of the cards moving back and forth, time after time.

With each change of color the effect seems to build up. It seemsimpossible that the colors could shift of their own accord. Yet that laapparently what they do, since the cards are handled so openly and sofairly. Surely It couldn't be sleight-of-hand.

Take the deck face up in the left hand and remove the first 10 redcards from the deck, counting them In a face-up heap on the table. Ontop of these count 10 black cards.

Take this packet face up In the left hand and form a little fingerbreak below the second card from the face. Turn the packet face down,making the 'Invisible Turnover Pass' (Expert Card Technique) or, placethe cards face down In the hand and form a break above the card secondfrom the bottom and use the standard pass. Any move that will place twoblack card8 above the 10 red cards can be used. (More on that later.)

Count nine cards into a face-down heap, on the table. Turn the ten-th card face up and lay it In front of this heap. Count nine more cardsface down to the right of the first heap, turn the last card face up be-fore this heap. There are now two face-down packets of nine cards eachwith one red and one black card face up before them.

Using a follow the leader or a sympathy of color patter theme,change the positions of the two face-up cards..I.e. place the red beforethe black heap and the black before the red. Snap the fingers and pickup each heap, draw off the bottom card and place It on the face-upcard before each heap. Of course, black turns up on black and red on red.

Again transpose the face-up cards and snap the fingers, show thatall the cards change by drawing out the bottom card (actually the cardsecond from the bottom by means of the glide) turning it face up, alsoturning up the top card. Repeat with the other packet.

Onoe more transpose the face-up packets but turn up the bottom cardof each only.

For variation, transpose the face-down packets and turn up the topand bottom cards of each packet.

Transpose one face-up heap with the face-down heap diagonally oppos-ite. Turn up two cards from each face-down heap onto the face-up heapto the right or left of each as the case may be. This Is strictly a swin-dle, a clever Idea of Audley Walsh's.

At this point, two cards remain face down. Pick up the red card,

9

letting spectators see that it is red. Use it as a scoop to pick up theblack card. Place them both face down in the left hand, thumb on top andthe fingers on the face. The cards are slightly fanned so that whenturned face up the indices will show.

Turn the hand over so that the cards are face up. Touch each card inturn with the right second finger, explaining that this leaves you withone black and one red card. Replace the tip of the right second fingeron the corner of the black card. Fig. 15 Without removing this fingerturn the cards face down, sliding the black card over the red, with theleft thumb. At this point the finger still apparently rests on the blackcard, actually, the red has taken the place of the black card. Fig. 16.Remove this card and drop it face down on the face-up red heap. Placethe other on the black heap as you say, "We place the black on the redand the red on the black." Snap the fingers and turn the cards face upshowing that they have Joined their respective colors.

In place of using the pass to shift two cards from the bottom tothe top of the packet, either of the following moves might be used.

Place the twenty cards on the table, face up. Reda in one packetand blacks in the other. Pick up the black packet and fan it face upin the left hand. Close the fan, holding a little finger break abovethe card second from the bottom.

Take the red packet in the right hand and make a one hand fan.Close this fan and apparently slide this packet under the black cards.Actually, however, the left little finger widens the break so that thered cards can be inserted. Proceed as in the above routine.

One of the easiest methods of showing a packet of cards to all beof one color, when actually It contains two cards of another color isthe use of the glide as in the 6 card repeat.

To do this, separate the colors and place them on the table NOTface up, but face down! These cards are placed on the table as you ex-plain that you are forming a packet of red and a packet of black cards.Not calling attention to the number of cards used.

In forming the red packet, first lay down eight red cards then twoblack cards on top. The black paoket is formed of eight black cards with

10

two reds on top.

Take the red packet In the left hand, with the fingers on the facesof the cards. With the right hand, draw off the bottom card, dropping Itface up on the table. Continue until six cards lie on the table, remem-bering not to call attention to the number. On the seventh count, glideor draw back the bottom card with the middle and third fingers. Take a-way as one, all but the bottom card, placing them face up on the face-uppacket. Turn over the remaining card and drop It on the others.

Repeat with the black packet, thus proving that one packet la allred and the other all black. Place the top or face card of each heap Infront of Its respective heap. Turn both heaps face down.

The routine outlined above Is followed, with one exception. Thatbeing, the point at which the glide Is used. When doing the routine us-ing this count, uBe the glide when drawing off the bottom (?) card Inshowing the first change. When drawing off the cards to prove a secondchange, actually draw off the top and bottom cards of each packet. Pro-ceed as above.

HERE IT IS I J

Remember Paul LePaul's 'There It Is1 which appeared in Expert CardTechnique? Here Is a variation by Frank Gsurl, in which the card,finally produced, stares the spectator square in the face.

when

Control the selected card to second from the top of the deck. (Notnecessarily your favorite card control, any one will do.) Hold the deckin the left hand as for dealing. Slide the top card part way orer theside of the deck and grasp it between the right thumb and forefinger atthe outer right corner, thumb on the face and the finger on the back.

Lift this card up so that it is face to yourself. Now twist orbend the hand around at the wrist so that the card is facing thespectator over the baok of the hand. Fig. 17. At this point, the knuc-kles of the right hand will be at the outer right corner of the pack.Push the top card of the deck a little to the right with the leftthumb. Grip this card between the knuckles of the third and fourth fin-gers. See Fig. 17.

When the spectator denies that this is his card, lay It face downon the deck and straighten the fingers. This will raise the chosen cardso that it will stare the spectator 'smack dab in the kisser.' Fig. 18.

11

TORN CORNER CARD TRICK

One of the most spectacular type of card tricks are those In whicha card is destroyed or vanished, after which it reappears in some suppos-edly unsuspected spot. This routine is more or less an Impromptu versionof the torn and restored effect,

A card Is selected, an Index corner is torn from this card and giv-en to the spectator for future identification. This card is folded intoa small packet which subsequently vanishes. The deck, which has been ly-ing on the table, is fanned. One card is seen to be face down In theface-up deck. It is the selected card! Needless to say, the corner fltaperfectley.

The only sleights necessary are a simple glide and a reverse.

Tear an index corner from any card, say the Joker. Discard thiscorner. Place the Joker on the bottom of the deck with the torn cornerat the inner end.

Run the cards from the left to the right and ask a spectator totouch a card. When he does so, separate the deck at that point, so thatthe card touched is on top of those cards in the left hand. Push thiscard a little over the right side of the pack, with the left thumb andflip it face up with the right-hand packet.

Slide this card momentarily below the packet in the right hand andturn the left hand packet face up (keeping the torn corner at the Innerend) being careful not to flash the Joker. Slide the selected card ontothe face of the left hand packet and turn the cards in the right handface up and place them under those in the left. The whole deck is nowface up with the selected card at the face of the deck, and the torn cor-ner card (Joker) directly below it.

Push the selected card about 1/2"to the right, with the left thumband tear out the lower index corner, giving it to the spectator. (Becareful to tear the corner as near as possible the same size as thattorn from the Joker.)

Holding the deck as for dealing, slide the face card, or selectedcard part way over the side of the deck so that a portion of the Jokeris exposed. Strike this exposed corner with the right thumb and draw itout. Fig. 19. This is the same action as with the strike second deal. Atthe instant the right thumb approaches to strike out the Joker, start torevolve the hands toward the body so that when the card is drawn out the

12

back of the card la to the spectator. Fig. 20. The moment the joker Isfree of the deck, draw the selected card flush with the deck.

Drop the deck face down on the table and fold the selected card(Joker) Into a small packet without exposing Its face. Thumb palm thefolded card In the right hand while apparently placing It In the lefthand. Drop this card In the lap while the left hand apparently crump-les It to bits. Show the hands empty.

Take the deck In the left, as for dealing, turn the deck face upleaving the selected card face down on the bottom. (See 'Reverse Sleight'page 3.) Gut the deck to bring this card to the center. Fan or ribbonspread the deck showing one card face down. Give this card to spectatorto fit the corner.

An alternate Idea for vanishing the card Is the use of a pull.Needed are two paper clips. To one clip fasten a piece of elastic. At-tach the other end of the elastic to the back of the vest. Draw the cliparound and place It In the lower right vest pocket with the second clip.After folding the card, hold It In the left hand while you take the clipfrom the pocket. Finger palm the loose clip and hold the clip to whichthe elastic is fastened between the thumb and forefinger. Slide the cardInto this clip and let it fly under the coat as you apparently place itIn the left hand. However, drop the loose clip In the left. Crumple thecard to bits (?). Open the hand showing the card has vanished, leavingthe clip. Proceed as above.

A SPELLING CHANGE

A card is selected and returned to the deck. Rhe magician (that'syou) announces the name of the selected card, and deals one oard foreach letter in that name. On the last letter he turns up the card he hadnamed. However, the spectator says his card was not the 5 of clubs butwas the 10 of diamonds. When the five is turned face up, it is seen tohave become the 10 of diamonds.

This variation of the ever popular card spell was given to me byFrank Csuri.

Glimpse the card on top of the deck and crimp, or bend the Innerindex corner, up. Say this card is the 5 of clubs. Start to shuffle thedeck running the cards from the top, one at a time. Run or shuffle offone card more than there are letters in the name of the card glimpsed.Drop the rest of the deck below these cards.

Offer the deck for the selection making sure that the spectatortakes a card below this top stock. Suppose he selects the 10 dd diamonds.Gut the deck above the crimp and have spectator place his cardon the crimped card. Square the cards up nicely, letting it be seenthat you hold no breaks. False shuffle and cut keeping this stock at thetop of the deck.

Confidently, tell the spectator that he chose the 5 of clubs, andbefore he has a chance to answer, start to spell the card, dealing onecard for each letter. If he should loudly disclaim the five of clubs,Ignore him.

13

After the final 's1 In clubs, double lift showing the five (abovewhich la the selected card). In thlB case, the double lift Is sinfullyeasy due to the fact that the corner of £h9 5 Is crimped up there Isan automatic break at the left side of the deck. Pick the cards up atthis corner with the thumb and forefinger and turn them face up, on thedeck. Turn them back down and slide the top card on the table.

Smuggly ask the spectator if that is his card. He will look at youpitifully and say that he has been trying to tell you that you had thewrong card. Ask him what his card was and when he names it, flip overthe card on the table, which to his surprise (we hope) has become the 10of diamonds.

"TELL YA WHAT I'M GONNA DO"

One of the effects that this combination cullof Bob Taylor's may be used for is this;

and stock shuffle

The spectator shuffles and cuts the deck and gives it to the per-former who fairly deals about five hands of poker, face up. He explains,"This is the way the cards would fall in the average game of poker. Noone could possibly know what anyone else held. That is, no one couldpossibly know if everthing was on the level. However, a gambler has tolive and for that reason he doesn't depend on luck alone. He thereforeresorts to trickery and can deal himself, or his partner any cards he de-sires.

"I'll try to give you some idea of how he does this. Let us saythat I wanted to give myself three of a kind, now rather than decide onthese cards myself, I'd like each of you to name any card you see. I'llassemble the deck and shuffle It a bit so that no one knows where anycertain card is. Now, tell me, how many hands do you wish me to deal 1Five? Good. To which hand shall the cards named fall? The third. I nowshuffle the cards and give them a fair cut and deal the required numberof hands. You see the cards you have named fall to the hand you selec-ted."

The shuffle Itself la this:

First the intervals must be known. That is, the positions atwhich the cards lie, must be known. For example, let us say that thefirst card named is 4th from the top. The second card is five cards be-low it and the third is 6 cards below the second card. Thus the Intervalwould be 4-5-6.

Let us also say that we are to deal five hands and the cardsed are to fall to the third hand.

nam-

Crimp, or bend a corner of the card on the bottom of the deck,down.

(1) Begin the shuffle by dropping the upper half of the deck Intothe left hand. Drop the lower half of the deck on top, so that it willextend a little over the inner end of the deck. Thus lnjogging the wholepacket.

(2) Lift all the cards BELOW the InJogged packet and shuffle or

14

run the cards, one at a time, onto the left hand packet to a number oneless than the first Interval. (In this example, since the first Inter-val la 4, shuffle off three cards.)

(3) Shuffle off to the secondInterval. (5 cards In this case.)dropping the first card so that Itextends Inward about i of an Inchover the end of the deck. Drop allcards held In the right, on those Inthe left.

(4) Pull down on the InJoggedcard with the right thumb, undercut-ting It and all the cards below It.See Fig. 21. Shuffle the cards oneat a time to the number of the handto which the cards are to fall, in-Jogging the first card. (In thiscase, since the cards are to fall tothe third hand, shuffle off threecards, injogglng the first.) Drop

the rest on top.

(5) Undercut all the cards BELOW the InJogged card, and shuffle onaat a time into the left, to the third Interval, injogglng the first card.(In this case, the third Interval being 6, shuffle off 6 cards, injog-glng the first.) Drop the rest of the deck on top of those In the left.

(6) Pull down on the lnjogged card with the right thumb, undercut-ting it and all the cards below it. Shuffle Into the left, to the num-ber of hands to be dealt, injogglng the first card. (In this case, since5 hands are to be dealt, shuffle off five cards, injogging the first.)Drop the rest of the deck on top.

(7) Undercut all the cards belov the lnjogged card and drop them ontop of the deck.

(8) Shuffle the number of hands to be dealt, into(In this case, five cards.) Drop the deck on top.

the left hand.

(9) Shuffle at randon until the crimped card is at about the centerof the deck. Square the deck and cut to the crimp. Complete the out anddeal five hands. The cards selected will fall to the third hand.

Altho this shuffle sounds rather complicated, it will become quiteclear If you will turn the cards to be cull-stocked face up when firstrunning thru the routine. In this way the manner In which the cardsshift about will be readily understood.

Notice that with the exception of the start and finish of the shuf-fle, everytime the cards are shuffled off, the first oard is lnjogged.Another thing, each time the deck is undercut, it is out alternatelyabove and below the injogged card. Just think, above, below, above below.

Now to get back to the presentation. After the spectator has shuf-fled, deal about five hands of poker, face up. Have each of three spec-tators name any card they see. When they do so, scoop up all the cardson the table, taking those hands that contain the cards named, first. As

15

you pick them up, calculate the Intervals, I.e. note how far the firstcard Is from the top of the packet, how far the second card Is from thefirst, and how far the third is from the second. Place this packet ontop of the rest of the deck, crimp the t>ottom card, ask how many handsshould be dealt and to which hand the cards desired should fall.

Shuffle the deck as above, shooting the cards to the correct hand.Deal the desire number of hands and have each spectator name his card .As each card is named, flick it face up. This can be done without look-ing at the faces since the shuffle does not reverse the order of thecards. Therefore the first card dealt to that hand is the card that wasnearest the top of the deck and so on.

This same shuffle can be used to shoot up a full hand of five cardsby repeating moves five and six of the shuffle for the third and fourthcards, and then stacking the last or fifth card with moves 7 and 8.

Needless to say, this same shuffle can be used in several othertricks, such as the Zlngone Spread, found In 'Expert Card Technique1.However, in doing the effect using this shuffle you would stack thecards to fall to yourself in a poker routine rather than producing themfrom the pocket.

Another effect possible Is a duplication of one done by Nate Leip-zig and Dr. Daley. The Blindfold Poker Deal. In this case you would dealfour hands of poker, face down and within range of your vision which Isnecessarily limited due to the blindfold. Each of three spectatorswould lift a corner of one of their cards and look at It. As each doesso you peek under the blindfold and calculate the intervals. Scoop thecards up and place them on top of the deck and shuffle them to fall toyour hand.

SCREWX SQUARE

This is a stunt that has been floating around quite a bit as oflate, but has not, to my mind been fully exploited. It is, of course,Just an optical Illusion but it makes a beautiful off-hand stunt. WhileIt Is not strictly a card trick, it does work in well with a card rou-tine, and for table work it Is ideal.

This Idea so intrigued me that I worked out a routine in which twolines change directions one at a time and then one of the lines vanishesaltogether.

Needed are two squares of cardboard about I411 square. Thru thecenter of one side draw a heavy black line. Thru the center of the otherside draw another line at right angles to the first.

Draw a line thru the center of one side ONLY of the second card.

Keep these cards handy in a wallet or packet from which either onecan be obtained at will.

Place the card with the two lines, in the left hand, so that theline at the front is in a horizontal position. Hold the card at diagon-al corners, with the thumb at the upper corner and the forefinger at the

16

lower corner. See Fig. 22.

"I am using a card thru the center of which runs a line, a horizon-tal line. This line runs completely around the card, being horizontal onboth sides."

As you say this, you prove it by turning the card around in thismanner. The right forefinger does the work by pushing the corner marked'x' in the drawing forward so that the card pivots on the thumb and fore-finger. Due to the fact that the axis is on a diagonal the line that wasvertical at the rear comes to the front horizontal. You'll fool yourself.

"Of course, the time might come when Instead of wanting two horiz-ontal lines, I'd rather have one in a vertical position. To do this Itwist one line up.

Here you make a twisting move at the rear and then take the cardbetween the right thumb and forefinger...thumb at the rear, and turn thehand over by moving it straight forward so that the rear of the card canbe seen. See Figs. 23 and 26. Replace the card in the left hand, thistime with the vertical line in front.

"Then again, I might rather have two vertical lines instead of oneline running in each direction. So I twist the horizontal line vertical."

Once more twist the card on a diagonal showing both lines vertical.Then take it as before, between the thumb and forefinger and show bothsides. However, as it must appear to have a vertical line on both sides,the hand does not turn straight forward, but twists, turning the card

17

on a diagonal axis, thus giving the same effect as when the card wasrevolved In the hand-. Fig. 23 shows the card Just before the turn andFig. 24 shows It after the turn.

From this point either of two things can be done. Xou can mere-ly replace the card In your pocket and leave It go at that, or you canplace It In your pocket and as an afterthot (?) decide to show themsomething further. Leave the double-lined card In your pocket and bringout the card bearing one line only. This line of course, must face theaudience.

Hold the card between the thumb and forefinger aa In Fig. 25 BOthat the spectator sees a vertical line on the front of the card. Turnthe hand straight forward and down, letting the top corner, or the cor-ner held by the forefinger, snap from the finger, which Joins the thumbat the lower corner. The card at this point Is held as In Fig. 24. Thusyou have apparently shown a vertical line on both side of the card.

"Now, not only Is It possible to twist a line to another position,but It Is possible to remove a line altogether."

Make a rubbing motion on the back of the card, show both sides andtoss for examination.

Some are going to want to switch for a card on which two lines runIn the same direction. However, If you do ao, you will find that thespectator when twisting the card, will notice how the lines changewhen the card is twisted, thus giving away the 'gag1. When using ablank as above, they will puzzle over the blank side and forget aboutthe twist.

NO GIMMICK CARD SPREAD

The magician, in looking for a selected card, of in showing thefaces of the cards, passes the cards from one hand to another and in do-ing so, separates his hands an Impossible distance. let the cards re-main suspended In a long ribbon, apparently without support.

There have been several mechanical versions of this effect and anon-mechanical version depending on the back palm which appeared inHugard'a Monthly. The following Is a glmmlcless and slelghtless versionusing a card as a support.

O.K. so it's screwy, but It IS cute!

Hold the deck by the ends, in the right hand. The fingers are atthe outer end and the thumb at the inner. The palm of the hand beingabove the deok.

Place the deck on the left fingers and twist the bottom card to aright angle position. See Fig. 27. Slide the deok deep In the left thumbcrotch and slide a few cards to the right so as to cover the cross-card.

Shift the right hand and hold the right side of the spread deep in

18

the crotch of the thumb, holding the spread in the same manner atends. The tips of the fingers grip the cross card.

both

Spread the cards with the l e f t thumb unti l the spread la about14 inches in length. It i s supported by the cross-card on the right andthe fingers on the l e f t . See Fig. 28.

Hold the spread fully extended for a few seconds and then closei t , righting the cross- card.

WE BOTH SPELL

Here Is a take off on a stunt that Tommy Dowd came up with oneafternoon when he and I were trading card tricks In our shop. I had Justdone an effect where the spectator locates the magician's card. On thespur of the moment Tommy dreamt up an effect that had me puzzled for amoment or two. This was due to the very audaciousness of the methodThose interested In Tommy's idea will find it In the Phoenix under thename 'John Doe Speller'.

This routine is that worked out by Bert Fenn and myself.

A spectator selects a card and replaces it in the deck which isshuffled and cut by the magician and them given to the spectator who•pells the name of his card turning up one card for each letter. Thespectator next shufflea the deck and has the performer select a card. Heshuffles the deck and gives it back to the magician who announces thename of his card and spells to that card, turning it up on the last let-ter.

What happens la obvious. When the spectators card la returned,itla glimpsed and ahuffled to the correct position for spelling. The deckla given a false out and given to apeotator who apella the name of hiscard.

He then shuffles the deck and has you select a card, look at itand replace it. The spectator shuffles the deok and returns it to you.When you receive the deck, peek at the top card and name it claialng

19

that It la the one you selected. Spell the name of this card, dealingthe cards Into your right hand. When you arrive at the last letter,switch the card that la on top of the deck for the one on the bottom ofthe packet in the right hand, using the "Turnover Switch1 on page 5.

*•»*•*»*##»#

Well, that's ltj

This Is our first attempt at putting anything on paper, and no oneknows better than we, that we have a long, long way to go before reach-Ing that state where we can be aatlBfled with our own work.

Our main thought behind this manuscript has been the close uptype of tricks. Those good at a table, under most any conditions. Wehope that these Ideas meet with your approval.

N.C.E.

20