Charles Jordans Best Card Tricks

Karl f'ulves

RLES JORDAN'S __T CARD TRICKS ;;;.

~ ~

•

I

With 265 ntustrations

----.

...:n

~

. -8 ~

CD

!i

\...... r/ ,--

(r=:

==b

Copyright © 1992 by Karl Fulves. All rights reserved under Pan American right Conventions.

and Imemauonal Copy-

Published in Canada by General Publishing Company, Ltd., 30 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario. Published in the United Kingdom by Constable and Company, Ltd., 3 The Lanchesters, 162-164 Fulham Palace Road, London

W69ER. Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks is a new work, Dover Publications, Inc., in 1992.

first published by

Manufactured in the United States of America Dover Publications. Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola. N.Y. 1150 I Library

of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Fulves, Karl. Charles Jordan's best card tricks / by Karl illustrations by Joseph K. Schmidt.

p. em. ISBN 0-486-26931-0 1. Card tricks. I. Jordan, 1888-1944. II. Title. GV1549.F8 1992 795.4'38-dc20

Charles

Data

Fulves ; with 265

T. (Charles

Thorton),

91-46089 CIP

Introduction or the legendary figures in magic, Charles T. Jordan is perhaps unique in that his reputation was established almost solely through a mail-order service he operated for a very few years. He did not perform publicly, shunned the company of all but a few friends, and did little in the wayof advertising, yet he was to have a profound influence on later generations of magicians. Charles Thorton Jordan was born to Charles and Mary Jordan on October 1, 1888. At about the age of ten, after witnessing a Keller performance, he became interested in magic. He purchased tricks and gave performances in his Berkeley, California, home until about the age of 20, when he made the acquaintance of Robert Madison. It was Madison who invited him to join a small group that included Arthur Buckleyand Caner. It is probable that through the lively meetings of this small group his imagination was fired and he began to invent tricks. The family moved to Pengrove. Jordan began publishing tricks at this time. His first pubished trick, "Satan's Touch," appeared in the April 1915 issue of Thayer's Magical Bulletin. A year later his first advertisement was published in the same magazine, and it contained a remarkable offer. To promote a trick called "Long Distance Mindreading,"Jordan sent, on request, a deck of cards. You would shuffle the deck, take a card and place it in one half of the deck. When you mailed him the other half of the deck, he would name your card! During this same period Jordan turned to fiction writing. The earliest example of his fiction I could find was a story called "The Legerdemaniacs" in the September 1916 issue of The Sphinx. Magical themes and methods were woven into the stories, but the style and quality of the work were not exceptional. In 1919 he released Thirty Card Mysteries, a book that has become a classicof card magic. The book contained a trick called "The Phantom Aces,"which described a startling new approach to the principle of the false count. Overlooked for four decades, this move, now called the Jordan Count, was to have tremendous impact on the field of card magic when it was later rediscovered .

....

vi

Introduction

Undoubtedly, Jordan wasat the height of his creative powers during this same period. ] n 1919 he instituted his "Special Service for Magicians"-something like a trick-of-the-month club. In 1920 he released five booklets, a total of 50 tricks in less than a year. Tricks and manuscripts continued to flow from his pen until 1923. Abruptly, he stopped producing new magic. He became interested in the new field of amateur radio, but was unable to make a success of it. By 1929he had written to T. Nelson Downs, "Am outofthe radio game entirely now, and am turning back to the typewriter as a means of livelihood. It will take a little time of course, to break in again, but I think 1 can make the grade all right, and before long be getting a good income out of it, as the market has widened considerably and the rates have advanced since 1 made a fool of myself and deserted the writing game for radio, which has proven a devil of a fiasco." At this same time there was a fad of circulation-building gimmicks among newspapers, which would offer cash prizes to those who could provide the first correct solution to puzzles. Jordan was introduced to this field by Carl Fanton and apparently was successful at it. In 1935 Theo Annemann established contact with Jordan and arranged to reprint all of the Jordan output in a series of pamphlets. The series did not catch on and wasdiscontin ued after six installments. In the early 19405 Jordan washit by illness, then by a heart attack and further illness. He died in April 1944. Second finger

Fourth

finger

.

Ho,"

,>, "''\

0'

errveropes in

Four-Ace Tricks

133

the left hand. Pick up one heap of three cards, square it and have a spectator remember the face card. Take care that you do not see the face of any card. Placethe packet face down into the top envelope. In the process, secretly slide the bottom card under the envelopes. Deal the top envelope onto the table. Repeat this with each of the other three stacksof cards and the other three envelopes. At the finish you will have twocards in each envelope. All four of the selected cards will be under the final envelope. It is assumed you are seated. Bring the envelope to the near edge of the table. Lower it below the edge and allow the four cards to drop as a unit into the lap. Then toss the envelope onto the table. Have the envelopes mixed. The spectator then gives them to you. Place them under the table. As you do, turn the packet of cards face up. Note the face card. Say it is the. 8. If the face card of each packet was placed under the stack of envelopes and also slid under the cards already there, the four cards will be in order. This means that the. 8 is the card chosen by the last spectator. Remark that you will find his envelope and his card. Name his card. Bring any envelope into view with one hand and the .8 with the other. Repeat with each of the remaining spectators, first naming his card, then bringing up into view any envelope plus the correct chosen card.

,

, 107. The Amazing Aces The four aces are removed from indifferent cards are placed face replaced in different parts of the the indifferent cards are turned changed to the aces.

the deck and placed aside. Four down on the table. The aces are deck. Then the aces vanish. When over, it is shown that they have

Fig. 132 Method: Remove the four aces from the deck and place them aside in a face-up heap. As you square up the deck, obtain a left-third-finger break under the top three cards of the pack. The right hand then turns the aces face down one at a time into a heap. As the final ace is placed on top of the others, obtain a right-thumb break under this card, Figure 132.

134

Charles Jordan'sBest Card Tricks

Fig. 133

Fig. 134

A

=

(~""AC'£e c:::==::J)..

'01 ¥lrQ

j

CNIIN".

Fig. 135 The ace packet is apparently dropped onto the table at the performer's left. As the right hand passes Over the left hand, the left third finger tilts the three-card packet up vertically, Figure 133. The right hand drops the three aces below the break onto the top of the deck, Figure 134. At the same time the three cards held vertically by the left third finger are deposited on top of the ace remaining in the right hand. The right hand continues moving to the left. The audience is given a glimpseof the ace at the face of the packet, then the right hand places the packet face down on the table. The balance of the deck is cut into four heaps. One heap is chosen by a spectator. It can be any heap except the heap that contains the aces. Four random cards are dealt off the top of this heap, shown to be indifferent cards and placed to the right on the table. Pickup the top card of the ace packet and place it face down into one of the heaps, remarking that you will distribute the aces randomly throughout the deck. Place the next apparent ace into a second heap and the third apparent ace into a third heap. The last card in the ace packetis an ace. Show the face of this ace. then pick up the heap that has the aces on top. Place the ace into this heap, but no more than threecards from the top. Thus the ace joins the other aces and now all four aces are on top of this heap. , The deck is assembled with the aces at the top. Then the deck is turned face up and held from above by the right hand. Obtain a right-thumb break above the four aces. The left hand picks up the four random cards and places them, still face down, on the bottom of the pack so they are back 00bac .'M, aces. \

Four-Ace Tricks

135

The aces are released from the right thumb so that they join the four random cards. The left hand then secretly turns over the eight-card packet, Figure 135, the result being that the random cards have been switched out and the aces have been switched in. Spread the deck face up on the table. Four face-down cards will show. The audience assumes these are random cards, but when the cards are turned over they prove to be the four aces.

108. The Bewitched Aces The four aces and the four 7's are removed from a borrowed deck. Only these eight cards are used. The rest of the deck is placed aside. Two of the 7's and two of the aces are placed on top of the deck. Placing the remainder of the cards together, the magician asks what these four cards are. The answer is, "Two aces and two 7's." But when they are turned over, they are the four aces.The four 7's are found on top of the deck. Method: The aces and 7's are removed from the deck. Place the 7's in a face-up row on the table to display them. Then they are gathered and held face down in the left hand, but in the process, secure a left-third-finger break under the top two cards. The four aces are then shown in a face-up row. The right hand turns the aces face down and arranges them in a face-down row. In picking them up, grasp them from above. The right thumb obtains a break under the top two acesas these cards are gripped by the right hand. The aces are placed over to the left in a face-up heap on the table. In the process, two of them are switched out as described in "The Amazing Aces" (No. 107).The result is that the ace packet contains two aces at the face and two 7's in back. The 7's heap is placed face up on the right. It contains two 7's in front and two aces in back. Turn each heap face down. Take the top two cards of the ace heap and the bottom two cards of the 7's heap and place them on top of the deck. Combine the remaining two face-down cards of each heap and ask the spectator which cards these are. The audience says, "Two 7's and two aces." When the cards are turned over, they are the four aces.

109. "Bewitched Aces" Notes This is another way to handle the switch in "The Bewitched Aces." Remove the aces and 7's from the deck and place the eight cards together, aces at the face. As you square up the face-up packet, obtain a left-little-finger break above the two 7's at the rear of the packet. The packet is face up in the left hand at this point with the aces at the face. Grasp the packet from above with the right hand. The right thumb

136

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

Fig. 136 takes over the break. The left thumb takes the facemost ace into the left hand, Figure 136. As the left thumb slides onto the face of the next ace to take it, the ace already in the left hand slides under the packet. Take the second ace into the left hand. Repeat the same action to take the third ace. But when the aces in the left hand are under the right-hand cards, the left fingers hook over the far right edge of the bottom two 7's and add them onto the two aces already in the left hand. At the same time, the left thumb pulls the third ace off the face of the packet. This ace goes on top of the 7's just stolen from under the packet. The result is that the left-hand cards consist of an ace at the face, then two 7's and then two aces. Finish by taking the fourth Ace off the right-hand packet Onto the left-hand cards. As the aces are taken, remark, "Remember the order ofthe suits." Place the right-hand packet, supposedly the four 7's, onto the left-hand cards. Then turn the eight-card packet over. Deal the top four cards into a face-down heap to the left. Place the other four cards in a face-down heap to the right. Grasp the packets from above, make sure they are carefully squared, then turn them face up to show an ace at the face of one heap, a 7 at the face of the other. Turn the heaps face down. Deal the right-hand heap onto the table, a card at a time. Remove the top two cards of each and place them on top of the deck. Then show that the cards on the table are the four aces.

110. The Pinochle Ace Trick For this trick Jordan makes use of the eight aces from a pinochle deck, but. the reader can use eight aces from two decks of matching back design and color. The aces are dealt onto the table in two rows of four cards each. Three cards are dealt onto each ace. Then one pile is chosen by the throw of two dice. The other piles are returned to the deck. On command four of the aces appear in the chosen pile. Method: The spectator can remove the eight aces from the pinochle deck, or he can remove the aces from each of two decks. One deck is placed aside and the other deck used for the trick. The deck is held in the left hand. Spread the top six cards and insert the left httle finger under these. Square the deck, maintaining the break.

Four-Ace Tricks

137

Fig. 137

The aces are turned face down. The performer picks them up from the table with a sliding motion of the right hand from right to left. The first two are picked up between the right thumb and first finger. The next six are picked up between the right first and second fingers. You are now apparently going to place the aces back on top of the deck, but in the process the six indifferent cards will be loaded in secretly. As you supposedly place the aces on top, slide the lower six aces between the six indifferent cards separated from the top of the deck and the pack proper, Figure 137. Then you apparently deal the Aces onto the table in two rows as follows: I

2

3

4

5

6

7 8

The cards at I and 2 are aces. The others are indifferent cards. Deal three cards onto the card at position 1, three onto the card at position 2, and so on for each of the remaining cards in both rows. Unknown to the audience, there are four aces at position I and four aces at position 2. Two borrowed dice are used to choose a random number between 2 and 12. It is always possible to count the chosen number in such a way that you end up on the pile at position I or position 2. Thus the random number will always lead to an ace pile. The method of counting is as follows: If 2 is rolled, begin the count on heap 1 and count to heap 2. If 3 is rolled, begin the count at 4 and count 4-3-2, ending on heap 2. If 4 is rolled, count 4-3-2-1, ending on heap 1. If 5 is rolled, begin at heap 8, and count 8-7-6-5-1. For 6, begin at 8 and count 8-7-6-5-1-2. For 7, start at 5 and count 5-6-7-8-4-3-2. For 8, begin at 5 and count 5-6-7-8-4-3-2-1. If9 is rolled, begin at I and count 1-2-3-4-8-7-6-5-1. If 10, begin at 1 and count 1-2-3-4-8-7-6-5-1-2. If 1I is rolled, begin at 4 and count 4-32-1-5-6-7-8-4-3-2. Finally, if 12 is rolled, begin at 4 and count 4-3-2-15-6-7-8-4-3-2-1. The above chart may seem formidable, but you will quickly gain facility with it through practice. Note that the count starts on 1 or 4 most of the time, and that for the numbers most likely to be rolled (6, 7, 8) the count begins on heap 5 or heap 8. If you begin the count from the left, this appears logicalbecause you would normally begin the count at your left. But if you begin the count at the right (heap 4 or heap 8) the

138

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

spectator assumes you are beginning the count a.this left so again all appears logical. Finally, remember.that the count IS done only once, so there is no discrepancy for the audience to note. Assume the spectator ends up on heap]. Pick up the top three cards of all the other heaps, the aces from heap 2 going on top of all. Then place the single ace from heap 2 on top of the deck. The other SIXsmgle cards from positions 3 through 8 are placed o~ top of the deck, but you must secure a little finger break below these SIX cards. Jordan suggests that you then use the two-handed pass to shift the top six cards to the bottom invisibly. Four aces can now be dealt from the top of the deck and shown. The audience assumes there are three more aces in the deck and only one aceat position I on the table. Snap the fingers, turn over the four cards at position I and show that four aces have gathered at the chosen heap. The pass can be eliminated in this trick. Simply gather the cards at positions 2 through 8 on top of the deck, cut the deck and complete the cut. At the finish of the trick the deck can be spread face up to show four aces in the center of the pack.

111. Leave It to the Aces The aces are removed from a borrowed deck and placed on the table. A card is then chosen and returned to the deck. The spectator names any ace. Then he inserts the aces one at a time into the deck. On examining the deck he finds that the named ace has located his card. Method: In the original method a difficult sleight was used. The aces were removed, then a card was chosen and secretly brought to the top of the deck. The spectator chose any ace and inserted it into the front of the deck. As the ace was pushed in square with the deck, a move called "The Diagonal Palm Shift" was used to get the ace into the left palm. The ace was then loaded onto the bottom of the deck. The other three aces were pushed into the deck by the spectator. The deck was cut, thus bringing the chosen ace directly adjacent to the chosen card. An e~sie~ method is this. When the borrowed deck is handed to you, spread It WIth the faces toward you. Remove the aces one at a time and place them at the face of the deck. When all four aces are on the bottom, spread the bottom cards and secure a left.little-finger break under the five cards at the face of the deck. Square up the packet with the deck. T?e right hand grasps this packet of five cards from above, thumb at the mner end, fingers at the Outer end. Lift the packet away from the face of the deck ".The left thumb then aids in levering the deck over face down. The nght-hand packet is then flipped face down on top of the deck as shown in Figure 138. Deal off the top four cards one at a time, reversing their order,

and

Four-Ace Tricks

139

Fig. 139 Fig. 138 place them into a face-down heap on the table. Have the spectator choose any card in the deck. The card is returned and controlled to the top. The method described in "The Triple Escape" (No. 22) can be used to get the chosen card to the top. Hold the deck face down in the left hand. The spectator takes the top ace. Ask him to insert it somewhere near the bottom of the deck. The card remains jogged from the front of the deck for the moment. The next ace is inserted a few cards higher in the deck, the next ace a few cards above that and the last ace a few cards above that. Of course the last ace is not an ace but an indifferent card. All four cards are jogged. The situation now is as shown in Figure 139. Unknown to the audience, the chosen card is on top and there is an ace second from the top of the deck. Youcan raise the deck and show that the jogged cards are aces, then lower the deck again. The audience sees only the facemost ace. Square the aces into the deck, then give the deck a cut and complete the cut. Spread the deck face up on the table. One ofthe aces is found to be directly adjacent to the chosen card.

112. "Leave It to the Aces" Notes This is a quick trick using the techniques described in "Leave It to the Aces." As the audience sees it, the four aces are removed from the deck. Then a card is chosen and returned to the center of the deck. The aces are dropped on top of the deck. One ace immediately sinks down into the pack and ends up adjacent to the chosen card. Run through the deck, remove the aces one at a time and place them on the face of the deck. Spread the first fiveor six cards at the face as if checking that you have all the aces. As you square up, get a left-Iittlefinger break under the fifth card from the face. Lift these five cards off with the right hand. Lever the deck over to a face-down position in the left hand with the aid of the left thumb. Then flip the right-hand packet face down on top of the deck. Remark that you do not want the spectator to pick one of the aces so you will

140

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

put them aside. Thumb over the top fou.r cards ~ne at a time, without reversing their order, and take them with the nght hand. Turn the squared packet face up and put it on the table. An ace shows at the face of the packet. Spread the deck and have any card chosen. The card is looked at and replaced on top of the deck. Then the deck is given a cut and the cut completed. Unknown to the audience, one of the aces is already adjacent to the chosen card. Place the deck face down on the table. Pick up the ace packet, turn it face down and deal the aces one at a time onto the top of the deck. The audience sees you deal four aces onto the deck. Snap the fingers, then take cards off one at a time from the top of the deck, turning them face up as you do so. The first three cards are aces, but there is no fourth Ace. It is gone. Have the spectator spread the deck face up. The vanished the center of the deck adjacent to the chosen card.

ace is in

113. Mystery Aces In this chapter's final routine,Jordan anticipated the development of a move known as the double cut. The idea behind the double cut is that the bottom card of the deck is transferred to the top in two straight cuts of the deck. Jordan's version of the move is incorporated into an ace trick in which the aces mysteriously congregate in one heap. Method: The aces are removed from the deck and dealt out face down

into positions I, 2, 3, 4 as shown in Figure aces are toward the audience.

140. The long sides of the

Place the pack face down on top of the ace at position 2. Then pick up the deck from above with the left hand. You are going to deposit the lower quarter of the deck at D (that is, below the ace at position 4), but the left thumb really holds the ace in place as the bottom quarter of the deck slIdes out, Figure 141. This move is a form of the bottom slip cut.

",,;-"-......: .sorrOi"f aup cv r.

Fig. 140 Fig. 141

Four-Ace Tricks

141

Fig. 143 Fig. 142

Fig. 144

Grasp the deck with the right hand, Figure 142, as you prepare to double cut the ace to the top. Remember that the audience thinks the ace is at the bottom of the packet now at D, so the cut appears to be a casual cut of the deck. To begin the cut, have the right fingers draw back the bottom card (the ace) as shown in Figure 142. Place the deck in the left hand, Figure 143.The right hand takes the bottom half away, the jogged ace going with it. Since the right hand is above the ace, the jogged condition of the ace is concealed from the audience's view. The half in the right hand is placed on top of the left-hand half, but in such a way that the ace is flush with the half of the deck in the left hand, Figure 144. The right hand then grasps the jogged bottom packet and cuts it to the top. The result of this double cut is that the ace has been secretly cut to the top of the deck. The entire sequence is now repeated. Drop the deck on top of the ace at 3, place the lower quarter of the deck at A (i.e. a little below the ace at position 1)but retain the ace at the bottom by the bottom slip cut of Figure 141. A double cut then brings this ace to the top of the deck. Drop the deck on top of the ace at 4. Deposit the lower part at B, but retain the ace on the bottom by the bottom slip cut. Perform the double cut to bring the ace to the top. At this point, three aces are on top of this portion of the deck. Drop this portion on top of the ace at position 1. Then place the packet plus the ace at position C. There are now packets at A, B, C and D. Remove the supposed ace from the bottom of D. Deal three cards from the top of D onto it. Then discard the rest of D. Repeat with each of the remaining packets.

142

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

There are now four packets on the table. Each packet contains four cards. The packet at C contains the four aces, although the audience believes there is an ace at the bottom of each packet. You can force packet C by means of the force described in "Satan's Prophecy" (No. 71)or you can simply show that the aces have vanished from packets A, Band D. Turn over packet C to reveal the four aces.

114. "Mystery Aces" Notes A method that does awaywith the bottom slip cut depends on the glide described in "The Inseparable Aces" (No. 193). It works logically into this trick because the card glided back is automatically in position for the Jordan version of the double cut. The idea is to place the aces in a row as shown in Figure 140. Drop the deck on the ace at position 2. Pick up the deck from above with the right hand. Glide the bottom card back as in Figure 142 and place the next bottom card (supposedly the ace) at position D. There is still an ace at the bottom of the deck and it is still jogged because of the glide you just performed. Thus the deck is in the position indicated in Figure 142. Now perform the Jordan double cut of Figures 143 and 144to get the ace to the top of the deck. Then drop the bottom quarter ofthe deck on the supposed ace at position 3. Repeat in a similar waywith the remaining aces. Then go on with the rest of the routine as written.

Subtle Secrets Many of Jordan's best card problems use subtle handling ideas to re~Iace difficult sleight of hand. While there may be some prior preparation, the approaches produce effects that are stronger in their impact on the audience. Subtle secrets, combined with uncluttered handling, are the key ingredients in these routines.

115. New Card Reading The spectator is given an unprepared pack for shuffling. The magician takes the deck behind his back. He concentrates for a moment, then brings the deck forward, saying that he will try to read the cards while they are behind his back. The deck is shown on all sides, then placed behind the back. The magician announces that the face card of the deck is the .5. The pack is brought into viewand it is seen that the face card is indeed the. 5. This card is placed aside. The magician places the deck behind his back, concentrates, then says that the face card now is the .9. The deck is again brought into view and the face card is seen to be the .9. The trick is repeated any number of times. Although he cannot see the faces of the cards, the performer is always able to name the face card of the deck. Method: In the rear trouser pocket is a joker with the corner removed, Figure 145. When you get the deck behind the back, hold it face up in the left hand. Place the joker face down on the face-up deck. Then turn the bottom or back card of the deck face down and replace it at the back of the deck. At this point the deck is face up with a face-down joker on top and a face-down indifferent card at the back. Because of the prepared joker you can bring the deck into view, hold it so it appears to be face down, yet glimpse the index of the top card as shown in Figure 145. If it is desired to show the pack all around, hide the cutout with the right thumb, Figure 146. To perform the trick, bring the deck out into view and explain what you are going to do. Glimpse the top card through the cutout in the

144

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

fig. 145

fig. 146

joker, then place the deck behi?d the back. Remove the card under the joker, turn it over and replace It at the back ofthe dec.k. Now bring the deck into view again, face t? the audience. A~nounce that the face card nfthe deck is the. 5, namIng the card you glimpsed Show the deck on all sides, covering the cutout in the joker with the right thumb. Then hold the deck face do~n, remove the card y~>ujus named and toss it out onto the table. GlImpse the card that IS now under the joker. Place the deck behind the back, remove the glimpsed card from under the joker, turn it face down and place it at the back of the deck. Announce that glimpsed. Bring apparently to the repeated as often

the new face card is the .9, or whatever card you the deck into view, with the face of the deck audience, and let them see the .9. The trick can be as desired.

116. "New Card Reading" Notes An impromptu version of "New Card Reading" can be done if you do not mind losing a card each time you perform the trick. There is no preparation. Have the deck shuffled and cut. When you take it back, note the bottom card. It makes no difference whether or not the audience sees you look at this card. Say it is the .A. Place the deck behind the back. With the deck held face up in the left hand, take the "-A, turn it face down and place it at the back of the deck. Now take the face card, silently tear off the non-index corner, then turn this card face down and replace it at the face of the deck. The situation now is that the top card is face down and has a corner missing. Under this is the face-up deck, and under the deck is the face-down 4oA. The deck is in the left hand. Slip the torn non-index corner into the sleeve or tuck it under the watchband. Bring the deck into view with the face of the "-A toward the audience. Announce that you are going to read the cards from the face of the deck. "In this case," you say. "the face card is the ace of Clubs." Some spectators probably saw the "'A at the face of the deck when you

Subtle Secrets

145

were handed the cards, so all appears unchanged. Glimpse the card below the torn-corner card by glim psing its index corner through the cutout. Place the deck behind the back. Then remove the card under the torn-corner card, turn it over and place"it at the face of the deck. The trick from here followsthe format of "New Card Reading." Proceed to name a few cards in this manner. After you have named three or four cards this way, dropping each card into the jacket pocket after it has been read, retrieve the torn index corner and hold it loosely palmed in the right hand. When you bring the deck out again to show the audience the card at the face, glim pse the face of the torn corner in the palm. The index will tell you the identity of the torn-corner card. If the index corner is face down, when you bring the deck behind the back to read the next card, turn over the index corner. The final card you name is the torn-corner card itself. Turn this card over and bring it out with the right hand. The right fingers conceal the missing corner. Drop this card into the jacket pocket along with the loose index corner. At the finish, remove all the cards from the pocket except the torn-corner card. Replace the cards on top of the deck. The deck can now be left with the audience, or you can go on to perform other tricks.

117. Stampedo In this routine, a duplicate card is created with an ordinary deck in an ingenious way. A completely different method is discussed in "Coincidentally" later in this chapter (No. 120). In the present routine, ten cards are removed from the deck and placed on the table. Then a card. is chosen by ~hespect~tor. A postage stamp is affixed to the face of this card and It IS placed In the ten-card packet. The audience sees it go into the packet. On command, the postage-stamped card leaves the packet and returns to the deck.

.3

Method: Before the trick begins, moisten one end of a fresh postage stamp and fasten it over an end pip of the as shown in Figure 147.

Fig. 147

146

Charles Jordan's BestCard Tricks

+

Fig. 148

• Fig.149

Place the prepared "'3 on the bottom of the deck. Place the"" A on top and you are ready to begin. . It is necessary to force the "'A. Jordan suggested no par-ticular method, though it is assumed he would have used the Classic Force. Another method is the X-Force, which is handled as follows. Place the deck on the table. Have the spectator cut off a portion from the top and place it on the table. Pick up the bottom part of the deck and place it on top, but at right angles, as shown in Figure 148. Remove a duplicate postage stamp from the pocket and place it on the table. Then lift off the upper packer, remove the top card of the lower packet (the "'A) and give it to the spectator. Finally, pick up the lower packet and place it on top of the packet in hand. The deck is now back in its original order with the "3 On the bottom. Place the deck on the table. After the spectator looks at his card, take it back. Moisten the postage stamp. At the same time moisten the tip of the right second finger. Fasten the stamp to the .A in the same position as on the .3. Show the "'A to the audience, then place it face down on the table. Drop the deck on top of it. Then pick up the deck and deal ten cards off the top into a face-down heap. Pretend to draw off the "'A from the bottom. but glide the bottom card back and take the "3 instead. The gliding action is illustrated in Figure 142. The left hand then cuts the deck, completes the cut and hands the deck to a spectator. Insert the ... 3 face down into the face-down packet of ten cards. Insert it far enough to hide the bottom pip. The face of the card is then displayed as shown in Figure 149. The left thumb hides the uppermost index corner of the "'3 and the stamp hides the uppermost pip. The result IS that the card appears to be the -'-A. In pushing the card flush into the packet. the right second finger bends back and moistens the free end of the postage stamp. When the

.3

Subtle Secrets

147

has been squared into the packet, it will adhere to the back of the card below it. You are thus able to fan the cards or count them face up onto the table, showing only ten cards. The has vanished. Actually, the postage stamp causes the to stick to the card below it, forming a double card that hides the "-3 from view. All that remains is to have the spectator holding the deck look through the cards. To his amazement he finds the stamped "'A back in the pack.

.3

.A

118. The New-Pack Detection A sealed deck is handed to a spectator. He breaks the seal and removes the deck from the case. The spectator cuts the deck several times, then deals it into two heaps. He picks one for himself and gives one to another spectator. Each person shuffles his heap. Then each takes a card from the other person's heap, looks at it and returns it to his own heap. Each heap is again shuffled. Despite the obvious fairness of the handling, and the fact that the magician has never touched the cards prior to this time, he picks up each heap and finds the chosen cards. Method: Buy two new decks with the same back pattern and of the same color. Open one of them and note the way the cards are arranged. They are usually arranged ace through king in each suit. Remove the jokers and advertising cards. Then deal the deck into two heaps, alternating a card to each heap as you deal. Pick up one heap and note the cards in that heap. You should find that if a heap contains a king of a particular suit, it will also contain the jack of the same suit. If the heap contains the ace of a suit, it willalso contain all the odd-spot cards of that suit. The cards will fall this way even though the deck is given several straight cuts before the deal, and this is the key to the trick. Once you are familiar with the cards that must fall into each heap, you can easily tell which card is missing from that heap. With this knowledge you can proceed with the mystery at hand. Give the unopened deck to the spectator. He breaks the seal, removes the deck, givesit several straight cuts, then deals the deck into two heaps. The heaps go to two spectators. Each shuffles his heap. Each person then chooses a card from the other person's heap, notes it and shuffles it into his own heap. Take either heap. Fan the cards with the faces toward you. Look over the cards. With practice you will be able to spot the chosen card immediately. Remove that card and place it on the table. Repeat with the other heap. Then reveal the two cards.

, 48

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

Both cards can be found by examining just o.neheap_.Fir~t folotethe card that does not belong. Then determine which card IS missing that should belong.

, 119. The Lifesaver This is an impromptu version of "The New-Pack Detection," using a borrowed shuffled deck. The deck is mixed by the spectator. He removes any card, then hands the pack to the magician. The deck is dealt into two face-down heaps. One of these is selected and the spectator shuffles the chosen card into this heap. The magician then looks through the packet, or has the cards read aloud to him, and immediately names the chosen card. Since there are two heaps on the table at the conclusion of this trick, the performer can go immediately into "The New-Pack Detection" by having two cards chosen and returned to opposite heaps. He then locates each chosen card.

Fig. 150

When the performer gets back the deck after a card has been removed, he divides it into two heaps according to the following scheme. The ace, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of Spades, Hearts and Clubs, plus the • 7, are placed in one heap. All other cards are placed in the other heap. It may seem difficult to remember which cards go into which heap, but the system is easyand is explained as follows. Each of the cards in the first heap is known as a "pointer" card because the majority of the pips point in one direction. If you study Figure 150 you will see that in the. 3 on the left, two of the pips point downward, but only one pip points upward. If the card is turned around end-far-end, it looks like the. 3 on the right. Now two of the pips point Upward and one pip points downward. There are 22 pointer cards in most decks. They are the ace, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of Hearts, Spades and Clubs, plus the .7. These cards can be spotted instantly as cards are dealt off the face of the deck into two face-down heaps on the table. Silently Count the number of pointer ca~dsdealt Into the first heap. If 21 are dealt, the spectator picked a pointer-card. If 22 are Counted, he picked a non pointer card. Have the chosen card returned to the heap containing an even number of cards, Method:

Subtle Secrets

149

After this heap has been shuffled, look through it and quickly locate the card that does not belong. This is the chosen card. Note that pointer cards are used here because they are easily distinguishable on sight. In a trick called "Faces or Backs, Which?" Jordan exploits another characteristic of pointer cards. Note, too, that in having the chosen card returned to the heap containing an even number of cards, you insure that it goes into the heap containing the opposite kind of card. Should your deck contain more or fewer than 22 pointer cards, make sure the chosen card goes into the opposite heap, i.e., if the spectator has chosen a pointer card, this card goes into the non pointer heap, and vice versa.

120. Coincidentally In this two-deck card trick a clever method is used to obtain a duplicate of any card in the deck. The effect is that four random cards are chosen from one pack and placed in a row on the table. One of the four cards is picked by the throw of a die. It is seen to match exactlya randomly chosen card from the other deck. Method: Required are two decks that have the same back design and the same color backs. Also needed is an ordinary die, which may be borrowed. Since the decks are identical, we willrefer to the deck on the right as the right-hand deck, and the deck ou the left as the left-hand deck. Even if the decks are exchanged during the course of the handling, the deck on the right is always referred to as the right-hand deck. The packs are shuffled by the spectators. One deck is placed face down in each hand. Deal a card off the top of each deck. As you ask the spectators to decide which face-down card willbe used, place the hands behind the back and exchange decks. Jordan provides no details, but a simple method of performing the deck exchange is as follows. Clip one deck between the left thumb and first finger. Clip the other deck between the right first and second fingers, Figure 151. Place the hands behind the back, bring them together, and place the left-hand deck between the right thumb and first finger. At the same time clip the right-hand deck between the left first and second fingers. The han.ds now separate, Figure 152. Bring the hands around to the front again.

150

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

Rather than bring the hands behind t?e bac~, you can sim ply turn to one side as you ask the spectators to decide whichcard they want of the twocards now on the table. The deck exchange is brought about as you turn away. " . After the deck exchange, the right hand holds the deck ongmall~ m the left hand and vice-versa. This subtlety bnngs about an Intngumg end result because now each pack contains a duplicate of one card on the table. The spectator indicates either of the cards on the table. When one card has been decided on, pick up the other card. Assume the spectator wants the card on the right. Place the right-hand deck on the table near the spectator's card. Then pick up the other card (the one on the left in this example). Note the identity of this card. Say it is the .2. Find the duplicate. 2 in the left-hand deck. Place the .2 from the table into the left-hand deck adjacent to the .2 already in the deck. Cut the deck between the duplicate cards and complete the cut. The result will be that there is one .2 on top of the deck and one on the bottom. Place the pack face down on the table to the left. The card selected by the spectator is face down on the table at the right. Glimpse theface of this card. Say it is the. 3. "You chose the two of Diamonds," you say, naming the other card. Pick up the right-hand deck. Remove three cards, one of which must be the duplicate of the chosen card. If the spectator chose the. 3, you would remove the. 3 from this deck plus two random cards. Place these three cards with the .3 face down in a row so that the .3's become the first twocards in the row:

.3 .3 X X Take the left-hand deck into the left hand. Riffle the outer end with the right fingers. When stopped by the spectator, take the lower half of the deck with the right hand and the upper half of the deck with the left hand. Place the twoheaps side by side. Ask the spectator if he wants the top card of the leftmost heap or the bottom card of the rightmost heap. When he has made his choice, remove that card and place it before ~he .spectator. Of COursehe must get a .2. Have him place this card In hIS pocket. Assemble this deck by placing the left heap on top of the nght heap . . Remove the die and give it to the spectator. Have him roll it a few times to satisfy himself that it is not loaded. Then tell him to throw the die one more time. Wh.atevernumber he rolls, you can always count to one of the f~rce cards m the row. Remember that the spectator thinks that the. 2 ISone of the cards in the row. The force is accomplished as follows. If he rolls I, count to the first card on the left. 1£ he rolls 2, Count to the second card from the left. If he rolls 3, begin the count at the right and COuntto the third card. If he rolls 4, COuntto the fourth card from the right. If he rolls 5,

Subtle Secrets

151

begin at the far right, count four cards to the left, then, when you reach the left end of the row, count one card to the right. Thus you willend up on a .3. If he rolls a 6, begin the count at the far left, count four cards to the right, then count two more to the left, ending on one of the duplicate cards. To take this final example in more detail, assume the four cards are arranged in a row as follows: ABC

D

Cards A and B are the duplicate .3's. If the spectator rolls 6, count in the following way: A-B-C-D-C-B. Since you end on B, you end on a force card. In any case, no matter which number is rolled, you always arrive at a .3. Take the .3 you stopped at and place it on top of the right-hand deck as if to return this card to its own deck. Hold this deck in the right hand. Pick up the other deck in the left hand. The situation is that there is a .3 on top of the right-hand deck and a .2 either on the top or bottom of the left-hand deck. Ask a spectator to turn up the other three cards in the row. As he does, you must exchange the. 2 for the .3. Jordan suggests that the hands meet behind the back. The. 3 and. 2 are transferred to opposite decks. The hands are brought out in front again. When the spectator verifies which card is missing from the row, deal it off the top of the right-hand deck. This card will be the. 2, so all appears fair. Have the spectator remove the card he earlier placed in his pocket. It is a matching. 2. Thus random cards chosen from two different decks turn out to be matching cards.

121. "Coincidentally" Notes The principle utilized in "Coincidentally" can be exploited in the context of a self-working card trick. As the audience sees it, the spectator chooses four cards from one deck. One of these four cards is placed in another deck, whereupon it instantly returns to its original deck. Method: Required are two matching decks of the same back design and color. Have the decks shuffled. One deck is then placed in each hand. Turn your back and thumb off a card from the top of each deck onto the table. The card from the left-hand deck goes to the left and the card from the right-hand deck goes to the right. Say that you want random cards used and for this reason you have turned your back. Now turn and face the spectators again. It can be seen that by this means you have performed the equivalent of the Jordan deck exchange. Ask the spectator to point to either card. Say he wants the card on the left. Glimpse the face of this card. Whatever it is, call out a card

152

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

of the same value but opposite color. For example, if this card is the 42, call out a red deuce, say the .2. Pick up the unwanted card and return it to a card case, saying that this card willnot be used. Assuming the chosen card, the 42, is the one on the left, take the left-hand deck and fan it with the faces toward you. Cut the •. 2 to the top or back of the deck. This is the card you called out. Then openly remove the" 2, • 2 and .. 2 from this deck and place these cards .on the table. Put the balance of the deck into the card case that con tams the card placed there earlier. Mix the four deuces, but arrange to have one" 2 second from the top and the other .2 fourth from the top of the packet. Ask for a number from] to 4. If I is chosen, deal one card from top to bottom and place the next card on the table. If 2 is chosen, take the second card from the top. ]f 3 is chosen, deal three cards from top to bottom and take the next card. If 4 is chosen, take the fourth card. In any case, you will end up with a .2. Take this card, glance at the face and call it the .2. Then say, "If I put it into the other deck, a peculiar thing happens." Place it face down into the center of the tabled deck. Turn up the other three deuces to show the "'2, 42 and .2. Then snap the fingers. Point to the card case and say, "The two of Hearts returns to its own deck." The spectator removes the deck from the card case, turns over the top card and it is the. 2.

122. Transfero The spectator chooses a card from a blue-backed deck. Say the card is the • A. This card is openly and fairly placed into the center of a red-backed deck. It vanishes instantly and is found back in its own pack. Although tricks of this kind can be accomplished with sleight of hand,Jordan devised a handling where subtlety replaces sleights. Method: Beforehand,

place the red-backed. A on top of its Own pack. Inser~the pack into the card case as shown in Figure 153. Note that the deck IS face down and that the semicircular cutout in the card case is upright. This is the only preparation and it can be done after some other trick by cutting the. A to the top of the red-backed deck and then inserting the red pack into its case as shown. To present the trick, have the two card cases in the left hand, blue-backed deck on top. Remove the blue deck and have someone ~h~ffleit. Transfer the red case to the top so that the deck is face up inside the case. Remove the deck, but leave the. A behind. Hand out the balance of the red deck for Shuffling. Close the flap of the red card case so that the flap goes behind the face of the • A as shown in Figure 154. Turn the case over so the semicircular

cutout is on top. Take back

Subtle Secrets

153

Fig. 154

Fig. 153

'N06X tlWD PIP c:0t0'W'~ AC.3 ,& ~/!o

'TO"

J"IPD

~1'Co't_~"'t..

Fig. 155

RCo·BA