Jon Racherbaumer - Unlimited

UNLIMITED 3.0 Norm Osborn Edward Marlo

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DEDICATION To Norm Osborn and Ed Marlo So That the Possibilities You Believed Where “Out There” Might Persist

FIRST EDITION (1953) SECOND EDITION (1983) THIRD EDITION © 2002 by Jon William Racherbaumer All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented without the permission of the authors, except in the case of e-book transactions between the copyright owner and his or her customers.

Printed and bound in the United States.

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PROLOGUE This is the third version of Unlimited. The first edition was released in 1953 by Norm Osborn and Ed Marlo, consisting of 29 typewritten pages, stapled together at a corner and folded in half to create an 8 ½ x 5 ½ manuscript. This was typically how magic dealers marketed small manuscripts in the 40s and 50s. They were usually compact, inexpensive, and easy to sell. In this case, Unlimited was comprised of only 29 mimeographed pages with a more substantial cover wrapped around them. Interspersed between the roughhewn text were 26 crude drawings, all without attribution.

Facsimile of original cover (1953) In today’s vernacular, this kind of low-priced chapbook gave the magic consumer “more bang for the buck.” Magicians, particularly cardmen, simply wanted the “work” and how it was physically delivered didn’t matter much. During this same period, many good ideas, tricks, and sleights were freely “buried” in magic periodicals. Unless a student read everything, these “goodies” were never discovered. Interring good material was often done purposely. Insiders wanted to document their ideas, but they didn’t necessarily want them promiscuously circulated. If an idea was potentially seminal, then it might warrant a thematic booklet so that it provenance was more widely circulated. To do this, originators donated or sold (for a paltry sum) these thematic booklets to magic dealers. Because these chapbooks also featured many applications and spin-offs, dealers had something to tout and hype. This showed that the idea, move, or trick had flexibility and potency. After all, a booklet of tricks and applications is better than a two-page

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explanation of a single concept. Marlo’s Tilt manuscript is a perfect example of a salable chapbook in its day. The Tilt subtlety obviously had great potential, but until Marlo provided 22 applications, magic dealers had nothing much to sell. This was also the case with Unlimited. Norm Osborn’s “Double Count” was a marvelous idea, but it needed applications. This is what Marlo provided to create a more substantial manuscript. Like many other manuscripts of this type, once the marketplace is saturated, there’s not much incentive for magic dealers to reprint “special-interest” manuscripts such as Tilt and Unlimited. New generations of magicians, particularly if they are motivated, will locate used copies or borrow somebody else’s copy. Nevertheless, these kind of booklets eventually become scarce and “out of print.” This happened to Unlimited. Twenty years after the first edition was released, Norm Osborn wanted to revamp and reprint Unlimited. I agreed to help. I retyped and emended the original text and drew “figures” that were larger and less amateurish.

Cover of Second Edition (1973) Thirty more years have passed, which means that Osborn and Marlo first hatched their modest manuscript almost a half-century ago. What are interesting to me are how well the ideas and tricks hold up. The concept that initially fired up Osborn and Marlo are still vibrant, interesting and usable. And it is likely they will continue to do so for years to come. So why put out a third edition? The glib and quick answer to that question is this: I think that all magic books and manuscripts, with appropriate reasons and sanctions, should be continually revised. They are works-in-progress. Why consider them finished products? Why don’t we treat them as protean, modifiable, and mutable entities? We agree that physical manuscripts are durable as sources of information. They are stable,

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preserve relatively well, and can be read in many contexts. But in today’s cyber-world, they are limited. New ideas inevitably arise. Second thoughts and afterthoughts swell into sub-texts—each connected in obvious and subtle ways and each services and advances theses of the original work. And as these new applications and ideas are discovered and devised, shouldn’t we be obliged to add them to the original work? By doing so, instead of a physical book, we have HTML books, which could be similar to software programs. They would be evolving and expanding applications, accumulating greater power and applicability through time. In other words, they could be hyper-textual and periodically upgraded. Search engines could be incorporated, along with other useful links. This is the rationale behind re-releasing Unlimited 3.0. It is now nearly twice the size as the original manuscript; more related material and annotations have been added, along with digital photographs. (The text framed in “boxes” is new information.) In the future, there will be more upgrades, each, we hope, paying homage to the impulses that motivated Norm Osborn and Ed Marlo fifty years ago. We hope that this upgrade— undeniably initial, tentative steps toward the creation of a robust HTML book—will further perpetuate the Double Count and the possibilities it engenders. As Osborn and Marlo put it almost fifty years ago, the possibilities seem unlimited.

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REVISED INTRODUCTION TO SECOND EDITION “Literature is news that stays news.” -Ezra Pound, ABC of Reading

Manuscripts explaining card effects are not literature. Yet superior card works, in their own way, survive from generation to generation. Some achieve classic status. That is, magicdom’s rank and file continue to be delighted, stimulated, and informed by the work. Unlimited is a minor classic. Its original form, when published in 1953, was modest: a mere twenty-nine pages. On its title page was boldly written: “INTRODUCING A NEW IDEA — THE DOUBLE COUNT — WITH UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES. PRESENTING ALSO SEVERAL IMPROMPTU ITEMS FEATURING THE RED AND BLUE ROUTINES.

A new idea! To paraphrase Ezra Pound, the Double Count and Unlimited stays new. Time has not weakened its simplicity nor withered its potency. If you are about to discover this classic for the first time, you will be surprised by its timeliness and timelessness. The basic text and format of the original manuscript, especially essential gist, has been preserved. My revision, for the most part, is a syntactical one, but the structure of the word order is altered here and there. Things were corrected, modified, shortened, and otherwise revised. But the original sense and flavor of the Osborn-Marlo booklet was left intact. The outline approach skillfully used in Expert Card Technique is used to make studying more enjoyable. There is a clean linear thoroughness to the explanations, and you are lead step by step through the mechanics of modi operandi. Considering the slimness of this booklet, there is still much to examine, ponder, and utilize. There are two descriptions of the Double Count, seven routines, four impromptu false counts, and four impromptu effects. To end on a Zen note, contemplate this: In my hut this spring there is nothing— there is everything. (Sodo : 1641-1716) What resonates between nothing and everything in these pages is what endures. It exists to be rediscovered, renewed, and redone. It waits for you. Jon Racherbaumer July - 1983

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CONTENTS Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………… 2 Prologue……………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Revised Introduction to the Second Edition…………………………………………….. 6 CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………7 THE CARD GOES HOME (Norm Osborn)…………………………………………………..8 IMPROVED DOUBLE COUNT (Edward Marlo)…………………………………………...13 EFFECT ONE…………………………………………………………………………………..14 EFFECT TWO…………………………………………………………………………………..18 EFFECT THREE………………………………………………………………………………..20 EFFECT FOUR…………………………………………………………………………………22 EFFECT FIVE…………………………………………………………………………………..22 EFFECT SIX…………………………………………………………………………………….26 EFFECT SEVEN………………………………………………………………………………..28 FALSE FAN GROUP COUNT………………………………………………………………32 THE GROUP COUNT FOR MORE…………………………………………………………33 IMPROMPTU DOUBLE COUNT……………………………………………………………33 DOUBLE COUNT HANDLING FOR MORE………………………………………………35 UPJOG UPSET UNLIMITED COUNT (Simon Aronson)………………………………36 TIME-OUT UNLIMITED COUNT (Gary Plants)………………………………………….37 THE CARD GOETH HOME (Edward Marlo)……………………………………………..38 RED AND BLUE ROUTINE 1……………………………………………………………….41 RED AND BLUE ROUTINE 2……………………………………………………………….44 RED AND BLUE ROUTINE 3……………………………………………………………….45 HIDE-OUT MOVE CONCEPT……………………………………………………………….46 INDUBITABLE CARDS ACROSS………………………………………………………….47

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THE CARD GOES HOME Effect: A willing spectator selects a card. After the assembled company notes it, it is out into the deck, which is then placed in the performer’s pocket. The great man boasts that he will remove six cards from his pocket with his super— sensitive fingertips. In addition, the selection will be amongst these six cards He reaches into his pocket wherein reposes the deck, removes six cards, and counts them one at a time. The spectator is warned not to name his card hut to merely acknowledge edge if it is amongst the chosen six. The spectator affirms that he has seen his card, Now the performer invisibly removes a card from the six-card packet and places it aside. At this point the audience thinks the magician has gone off course. But, he turns the tables and shows five cards remaining in the packet; the selection is missing. The sorcerer casts an evil eye at the spot where the invisible selection apparently lies, lie picks it up with long, graceful fingers and deftly tosses it toward the card case. He speaks slowly and distinctly: ‘‘The card goes home.” A brave member of the audience reaches for the card case with a trembling. Nervously, with apprehension he opens it. Incredible! Inside he finds his selection! As every one sighs with relief, the conjuror bows to definite and deafening applause. This is how Norm Osborn initially described the effect: ‘‘I’m enthusiastic about this new idea of mine. At least I hope it is new and that no historian proves me wrong by digging out an ancient, thousand-year-old tome and gleefully pointing out a previous source. See? Here it is in Abra-Hokum-Okum-Senior! “I do not, of course, claim the double-face card. I only claim the Double Count and how the gaff is used. I consulted Marlo, who said: As far as I know, the expert cardicians have been playing around with double-face cards for many, many years. But I don't believe that anyone ever stumbled onto the simple expedient of counting a double-face card twice, but after reading about it, they may claim that they thought of ii twenty years ago.

NORMAN OSBORN ‘S DOUBLE COUNT IDEA Norm wrote: “First, I will explain the underlying principle of the Double Count before describing the entire modus operandi. This is the work: “Take four cards from the deck and add the double-face card on the face, Hold the cards face up in your left hand. You will then count these five cards as six. To make this description clear, assume that the gaffed card consists of a 6S-8H combination. The underlined 6S-side is uppermost and shows at the face of the packet. It also represents the selected card.

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“Push off the double-face card with your left thumb and take it with your right 1st and 2nd fingers at its upper right corner. Your right thumb is below this corner. (Photo 1)

Photo 1 “Tilt your right hand forward to show the 6S-side to the audience as you simultaneously count ‘one.’ Tilt your left hand up to a perpendicular position so that the right-hand card can be placed on the bottom of the packet without flashing its opposite to side. From the audience’s view it looks like you displayed the 6S and then placed it under the others (back-to-back) and left it facing the audience. (Photo 2)

Photo 2 “The next four regular cards are handled in the same manner. As you execute this sequential count, audibly count the cards: ‘... two, three, four, and five.’ When you again reach the double-face card on the count of “six”, the 8H-side will be showing. Handle this gaff like the others. Show its full face and transfer it underneath the others without flashing its other side. “All the cards are now ostensibly face down and the audience is convinced that they saw

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six different cards. Turn the cards face up and deal then face up onto the table. Now the audience unmistakably sees five single cards. No more. No less. The Six of Spades (selection) has apparently disappeared.” This is the Double Count concept. Here is an interesting application of this subtle concept. Set-up: Remove the regular 6S from the deck and bridge it lengthwise. Then place it on top of the deck. Place the gaffed 6S-8Hon the face of the deck with the 6S-side showing. Case the deck. Method: Remove the deck from its case as follows: Open the flap with your right thumb as your left hand holds the case by its sides. Once the flap has been flipped open, enter the case to remove the deck with your right thumb and fingers. Then pull back the top card of the deck (6S) with your left forefinger. (The crimp makes this easy.) Remove the rest of the deck, close the case, and place it in full view. Shuffle the deck and retain the galled card on the bottom. For example, hold the deck face down in your left hand in readiness for an Overhand Shuffle. Pull up all the cards except for the top and bottom ones with your right hand. Your left thumb and fingers, applying slight pressure, hold back the two key cards. Then shuffle the rest of the righthand cards onto this pair in a natural manner. Nothing is exposed and this shuffle car, he repeated several times as you begin your introductory narration. Choose a spectator to act as an assistant. Execute the Hindu Shuffle Force as follows: Hold the deck face down at its inner end between your right thumb and second finger. Your thumb should be at the left side of the deck. Curl your right forefinger on top. Advance your left hand, palm up, towards the deck from underneath. Grasp a few top cards between the base of your thumb and your second, third, and fourth fingers. Your thumb is at the left side of the deck and your fingers are at the opposite side. This is a standard starting position, with your left forefinger in front of the top edge. (Photo 3)

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Photo 3 Holding a few top cards, move your left hand forward to strip off those top cards, then let them drop into your left hand by relaxing your thumb and fingers. This ‘‘milking’’ strip-action is repeated several times. Each time only a small packet of cards is stripped off the top of the deck by your left hand, and each section successively drops onto the previous ones. Your left forefinger, of course, acts as a ‘‘safety’’ so that none of the stripped cards shoot out of your left hand. (As you can see this action accomplishes the same thing as an Overhand Shuffle, only the grip is different. Continue stripping off small packets as just described as you ask a spectator to say “stop.” Be sure that you are stopped before reaching the bottom cards. When you are stopped, look at the spectator and tilt, your right-hand cards towards the spectator so that the bottom (face) card can be noted. This is the original bottom card of the deck however the optical nature of the Hindu Shuffle makes it appear as though the card was from the middle of the deck. (Photo 4)

Photo 4 The Hindu Shuffle Force is a standard technique, but published methods are not uniform. The method explained in The Royal Road To Card Magic (1949), for example, forces the top card of the deck. In Al Leech’s Handbook Of Card Sleights (1954), the bottom card is forced. Leech’s advice is worth repeating: “This is an easy and effective force, but It should he used sparingly because repetition will give the secret away.” An excellent contemporary explanation of this popular sleight can be found in Roberto Giobbi’s Card College – Volume 1 (1995), pp. 158159.

Once the selection has been noted, slap the right-hand cards onto the left-hand cards to apparently lose the selection. In reality, retain a left pinky break between them. Place the deck in your left side coat pocket. When you get the deck, quickly locate the regular 6S. Then force it on a spectator who is asked to show it to other members of the audience. Have it returned and control it to the top.

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Place the deck in your left side coat pocket. Once the cards are out of sight, release the top portion above the break. Then quickly transfer the bottom portion to the top in a matter of seconds—a truly invisible pass. Remove your left hand from your pocket and rub your hands together. Patter about “the sensitivity of your touch.” Then reach into your left, side coat pocket and thumb off the first five face cards. Audibly count: “One, two, three, four, five, and six.‘‘ Again, this false count is completely covered. Remove the five cards and perform Osborn’s Double Count. Ask the spectator to see if his card is among the six cards. Needless to say, the spectator will affirm the existence of the selection. Ever since the Double Count was introduced, it has been also called the Unlimited Count. This name is more distinctive and identifies it with this manuscript. Its mechanics also prefigured many related packet-counts where a display-and-duck procedure is used to hide a card or cards to ostensibly make them disappear.

Pretend to invisibly remove the selection and place it aside. Show the remaining five cards and emphasizing their singularity. To complete the effect, toss the invisible card towards the card case. Next have the spectator remove the missing selection. At this point, a reaction is assured. If not, it’s not the trick’s fault. ‘‘The Card Goes Home” can he done with a borrowed pack if you carry a Bridge-sized and Poker-sized double-face card. The card that disappears can be made to reappear in any unlikely place: your shoe, hat, wallet, cookie jar, or as in the “Devilish Miracle,” reversed in the center of the deck. The Devilish Miracle (1948) was out of print for a long time until Andy Greget found a buried stash of them. They were in mint condition and he had them for sale recently. This eight-page booklet by Edward Marlo and Carmen D’Amico explains two methods. Over the years, the ploteffect became a favorite with discerning cardmen. A potent method was explained in Marlo Without Tears (1983). Also check “Devilish Miracle Switchouts” in Marlo’s Magazine - Volume 3 (1979), pp. 101-111, and Flashpoints (1992), which incorporates Ed Marlo’s Compleat Devilish Miracle (1993), a retrospective manuscript that was sold on a restricted basis the same year.

If you use the borrowed deck approach, have the matching double-face card in your left Place the cards in your coat pocket so that the gaffed card goes to the bottom. Then perform Steps 4 through 6, except that in this case the deck (except for the regular 6S, which is left behind) is removed from the pocket and the invisible card is thrown towards your coat pocket. Have the spectator reach in to remove the selection. This gives you an opportunity to “go south” with the gaff as you turn your left side towards the audience. Simply pick up the five principal cards (including the gaff) and thumb the double-face card into your right side coat pocket. Now you are “clean” and the deck can be returned to the spectator.

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IMPROVED DOUBLE COUNT Once the selection has been noted, slap the right-hand cards onto the left-hand cards to apparently lose the selection. In reality, interpose your left fourth fingertip between the two portions to retain a slight break. While Norman Osborn’s Double Count is an excellent idea, some may find it problematical for intimate close-up conditions because persons standing on your sides or behind you will see too much and the nature of the gaff will be tipped. This handling overcomes these drawbacks. Method: Hold the five principal cards face up in your left hand with the double-face card at the face. To count these cards as six begin by pushing off the gaff to the right with your left thumb Take its lower right corner between your right thumb on top and your first and second fingers below. Say, “One…” Deal off the next card onto the first one and count it as ‘‘two.” Deal off the third card on top (if the others, counting “three.” The gaffed card is the hot tom card. At this point, if you were to turn over the right-hand cards and place them under the left-hand cards, the nature of the fake would be revealed. Therefore, keep the right-and cards face up as your left hand tips its cards over and onto its fingers. This turns them face down. (Photo 5, a view of both hands at this stage.)

Photo 5 Place the right-hand cards face up onto the left-hand cards and turn the assembled packet to its original position. Now count the next three cards, repeating the same handling used for the initial three cards. After the second three-card count, the gaffed card ends up on top with its other side uppermost. This time merely flip those three cards face down onto the left-hand cards, which puts the double-faced card in the middle. You are now prepared to deal the cards face up to show only five cards. One has

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apparently disappeared. Conclude the effect as per ‘‘The Card Goes Home’’ or use any of the subsequent handlings described in this manuscript. This handling should look as it you counted off three face-up cards, placed them in back of the left-hand cards, counted three more face-up cards, and flipped them face down on top of all. This basic handling can be used with any number of cards; however, the count may vary depending on the number being used. That is, sometimes the count is made in groups of two, three, four or five. This is variable.

EFFECT ONE A card disappears from among six blue cards and then reappears face up and at a previously determined number in a red deck. Check Marlo ‘s “Countdown Disclosures” on pp. 26-27 of Kabbala - Volume 2 (Number 4 December, 1972) for related information.

Set-up: Place the double-face card on the face of the blue deck. Assume that, your gaff is Ace of Diamonds-King of Clubs. The AD-side of the fake should he showing at the face. Remove the King of Clubs from the blue deck and place it face up and second from the top of the red deck. Place both decks in their cases. Method: Remove the red deck from its case and casually spread the cards face down without exposing the reversed King of Clubs second from the top. Square the cards and obtain a left pinky break under the top two cards in readiness for a Double Lift. Ask someone to name a number. Suppose the number fifteen is called out. Lift the top two cards in a right-hand Biddle Grip and jog the card(s) to the right. (Photo 6)

Photo 6 Take the jogged card(s) as one into your right hand. Pinch them between the ball of your right thumb and the base of your forefinger as you take them at the count of “one.” Deal

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off the second card onto the first one, counting ‘‘two.” Continue in this manner, taking each successive card onto the other until you reach one less than the chosen number (15). In this case, count to “fourteen” and stop. Say, ‘‘This is the fifteenth card. Do you want to change your mind?’’ Your left thumb then pushes the top card of the talon forward so that at it projects at the front end Most of the time the spectator will not change his mind. Say, “You want fifteen. Very well... Remember: You chose the number fifteen.” Replace the right-hand cards onto the talon, but keep the fifteenth card projecting. (Photo 7) In reality, the reversed King of Clubs is 15th. Push the projecting card flush with the pack. Then ease the cards and give them to someone for safekeeping. Remove the blue deck. Casually spread it to show the backs, but take care not to expose the double-face card on the bottom. Explain that you want a card selected in an absolutely fair manner. Tell the spectator to take the deck face up in his hands. Then ask him to cut off some cards, any number he likes, and flip them over and onto the others, “facing” the cut-off cards. Say, “Where the cards meet face-to-face will be the selection. Let me show you what I mean. “ Take the deck face up and Overhand Shuffle them by running the first card (gaff) and shuffling the rest onto it. This puts the double-face card on top of the deck. Cut and “face” some cards. (Photo 8)

Photo 7

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Photo 8 Spread the cards and say, “See? When you later run through the cards, you then note and remember the first face-up card. It will be your selection.” When you reach the point where the cards meet face-to-face, separate the spread at the first face-up card and then flip all the face-down cards back onto it. Repeat the same action so that the spectator fully understands the procedure. Finally, repeat the Overhand Shuffle to maneuver the gaffed card back to the face of the deck. Hand the deck face up to the spectator and ask him to follow your previous instructions to freely cut and “face” the deck. This is the original approach of the Christ Force with the deck face up and the two cut-portions are put face-to-face. Also, the actual gaffed card is forced. Marlo later devised a method using regular cards and showed it to Bill Simon, which eventually appeared in Effective Card Magic (1952) in a routine called ‘‘Double Prediction,” pp. 161-163. Related material was published in Hierophant 5-6 (1971) in an article titled: ‘‘Marlo On The Christ Force,” pp. 283-285.

Have him bring the deck forward and spread the cards to where they meet. Point to the King of Clubs and say, “You cut to the King of Clubs. This is the one we’ll use.” Pull out the King of Clubs and table it. Take the deck and right the cards. Hold it face down in your left hand. You are now going to apparently take five more cards and add them to the selected King of Clubs; however, you actually take four cards and secretly unload one. This is the work: Say, “Besides the King of Clubs we need five more cards.” Spread the top five cards and hold them in a fan. (Photo 9)

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Photo 9 Square the five cards against the deck in your left hand. (Photo 10)

Photo 10 As this is done, leave behind the lowermost card so that it coalesces onto the deck. Simply release the card with your right fingertips and only four cards are squared and removed with your right hand, which then holds them in a Biddle Grip Place the blue deck aside and turn the supposed five cards face up in your left hand. Pick up the tabled King of Clubs with your right hand and add it to the face of the packet. Next perform the Improved Double Count to show six cards. Command the King of Clubs to disappear. Then show the five remaining cards, making sure the singularity of each card is emphasized. Have the spectator remove the red deck from its case and ask him to name his chosen number. Tell him to deal down to that number to discover a face-up King of Clubs. Let this effect register and then ask him to turn over the King of Clubs to disclose its blue

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back to cap the effect. If you worry about gaffs remaining in play, palm off the gaff as everyone watches the spectator handle the red deck.

EFFECT TWO The performer spins a story about a gambler who dealt him a straight flush during a game of poker. But a sixth card in his “hand’’ was “one too many.” Nevertheless, the gambler knew how to holdout and handle the situation. This routine was marketed twice by Frank Garcia without attribution or permission.

Requirements: A double-faced card with an Ace printed on one side is required. Suppose that the gaff is an Ace of Diamonds/King of Clubs. Set-up: Place it at the face of a regular deck with the AD-side showing on the bottom. Remove the regular King of Clubs and place it in your left sleeve. Method: Begin your story by saying: ‘‘I once knew a clever gambler who could always deal himself a winning hand. I remember him dealing himself a straight flush in Diamonds; it was an amazing feat. Let me illustrate what happened by reenacting the story. This is what actually happened and here are the cards he had in his hand.” Cull the Ace, Two, Three, Four, and Five of Diamonds and display them in a face-up tan. The Ace of Diamonds should be on top and the Five of Diamonds should be at the face. The Ace of Diamonds is really the double-face card. Say, “You must agree that this is a great hand and, according to gambling percentages, this straight flush would be hard to beat. Well, this is the hand he dealt himself except for one minor mistake. He accidentally dealt himself an extra card. I’ll put myself in his predicament and deal myself an extra card.” Pick up the deck and hold it face down in your left hand. Push off the top card with your left thumb and take it under the right-hand cards. (Photo 11) Square the right-hand packet of six cards against the deck, but secretly unload the facedown indifferent card. Use the same technique explained in the First Effect. To wit: Your right hand removes its original five cards as a squared packet, holding it in a Biddle Grip. Now here is a subtle “sell” that makes everything appear normal As soon as your right hand moves away from the deck, turn it palm up so that the underside of the packet is shown. The audience will see the King of Clubs-side of the double-face card and will assume that it’s the face-down sixth card apparently added below the others. The illusion is convincing. Place the deck on the table with your left hand. Then place the right-hand packet into your left hand with the King of Clubs uppermost, thus turning over the entire packet. Deal the King of Clubs-Ace of Diamonds onto your right fingers with your left thumb and call attention to its identity, saying:

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Photo 11 “The extra card the gambler dealt himself was the King of Clubs.” Turn the face-down Diamond cards face up by placing your left thumb underneath them and revolving the cards, place the King of Clubs-Ace of Diamonds onto the face of the Diamond cards with the King of Clubs-side showing. Say, “As everyone knows, anytime there are more cards in play than required, it is called a misdeal and all the cards are collected. The deck is then re-shuffled and the hands are dealt out again. As you can see, the cheat found himself in a jam because he had one, two, three, tour, five, and six cards.” When you utter the last sentence of the above patter spiel, perform the “Improved Double Count’’ to apparently show six cards. The handling also reverses the gaffed card so that the Ace of Diamonds-side is uppermost. Say, “Naturally, a straight flush in Diamonds doesn’t turn up everyday. So, the cheat calmly made his bet and didn’t call for a new deal. I watched him very closely at this point just as every one of you are now doing. After all the bets were made and it was time to show the cards, the cheat, believe it or not, laid down five cards!” Cleanly deal the five Diamond cards onto the table to disclose the straight flush. The extra King of Clubs is missing. Say, “I did not see him get rid of the extra King of Clubs. Somehow the clever devil was ‘holding out’ and the missing King of Clubs was up his sleeve.” Show your hands completely empty. Then cleanly reach into your left sleeve with your right hand and remove the regular King of Clubs. Hold it for a moment, look at your audience, and add: “How it got there, I’ll never know!” This interlude is perfect for pseudo-gambling lectures where you seem to expose the Real Work, yet nothing is actually explained. The spectators, although satisfied, remain in the dark.

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The open use of a sleeve in conjunction with a card trick is not a new approach. Victor Farrelli used a sleeve in a transposition trick called “Up His Sleeve’’. (Farrelli’s Card Magic - Part Two (1933), p. 48. Marlo’s method is quite different and still commercial.

EFFECT THREE In Osborn’s version of ‘‘The Card Goes Home,” the card is made to disappear and then it directly ends up in the card case. This method uses a psychological angle: the spectator is lead to believe that the card disappears from the deck Instead from the hand-held cards. Requirements: Use the same double-faced card: Ace of Diamonds-King of Clubs. You also need a pencil and a piece of paper the size of a business card. If you prefer, use the back of a business card. Set-up: Place the gaffed card sixth from the face of the deck with the King of Clubs-side showing. Place the regular King of Clubs on top of the deck and case it. Method: Present the spectator with the business card and pencil. Have him write a column of numbers: one through six. As he jots those numbers in a column, remove the cards from its case. Secretly leave behind the regular King of Clubs and close the case. Place the case in full view and say, ‘‘We now need six cards to go along with the six numbers you have just written on the business card.” Quickly count off six cards one at a time from the face of the deck and onto the table. This should be a reverse-count The reason for the fast count is to establish the number of cards, but you don’t want anyone to remember any specific cards. After the count, the gaffed card will be on top of the six cards. Pick up and hold them face up n your left hand and say, ‘‘I want you to jot down the name of each successive card I show you, writing them next to the numbers on the business card.” Show the King of Clubs (gaff) at the face of the packet. When the spectator writes the ‘‘King of Clubs’’ next to the “1,” transfer the gaff underneath the packet as per the Improved Double Count. In this effect, however, the cards are transferred one at a time. Show the next card and have the spectator jot it down. This time two cards are transferred as one in this manner: Lift two cards at the inner right corner with your right forefinger. (Photo 12) Grasp the cards firmly between your thumb (on top) and your first and second fingers (below). Keep them perfectly aligned and transfer them under the packet as a single card.

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Photo 12 Remember: In transferring the cards to the back of the packet, they are actually placed back-to-back as your left hand tilts the packet forward and face down. This action is easy to do and the other side of the gaffed card is not exposed. Have the remaining four cards noted and jotted down. The sixth card will be the AD-side of the double-face card. After it is transferred, turn the entire packet face down in your left hand. The gaffed card is now on the bottom. The top card, due to the Double Lift, has not been written down. Say, “I’ll place one of these cards into without looking at it.” Remove the top card of the packet and place it into the center of the deck. Do not show its face. Turn to the spectator and ask, “Do you think you can guess which card I placed into the deck?’’ Before he can reply, add: “I have five cards left...’’ Rapidly run the cards face up from hand to hand and say, ‘‘There! You have seen the cards. If you have a good memory, perhaps through the process of elimination you can guess which one I placed into the deck? The best way, of course, is to check these cards against the ones in your list.” Hold the cards face up and call off each card. Have the spectator cross off each named card Iisted. After a card is named, drop it face up onto the table so that all five cards end up scattered. The audience will plainly see five cards—no more, no less. Ask the spectator to scrutinize the list. The only card not crossed out will be the King of Clubs. Hand the deck to the spectator and ask him to remove the King of Clubs so that you may repeat the test. Needless to say, the King of Clubs cannot be found. Say, “Well, if your card is not among its friends there is only one place it could have gone. Home! And where is a card’s home? In the case…where else?” Pick up the card case, open it, and extract the missing King of Clubs. Smile and take a bow.

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A similar routine was published in Popular Card Tricks (1928) by Walter B. Gibson, namely “The Card In The Case, “pp. 28-29. Also see “The Prodigal Card” in Marlo’s Magazine - Volume 1 (1976), pp. 264-269, for further ideas and handlings. In The Artful Dodges Of Eddie Fields (1968) you will find a minor variation of Gibson’s method; however, Marlo contributed a method where the actual selection ends up in the card case and the miscalling swindle is not used. Therefore, the card can be signed. The same methods are explained in The Great Artful Dodges of Eddie Fields (1997).

EFFECT FOUR This is similar to the Effect Three but no Double Lift is needed. Set-up: Use the same set-up from Effect Three except that the gaffed card is at the face. Method: Remove the deck minus the regular card. Spread the six cards on the face of the deck. Close the spread and remove five cards. Place the deck aside. Have the cards noted and written down as at ready explained. No Double Lift is required. Five cards are passed off as six by performing the Improved Double Count. Place the packet face down on the table Pick up the deck and secretly palm off the top card. Hand the deck to someone and have it cut into two portions. Pick or scoop up the packet adding the palmed card on top. Remove the top card and place it on top of a cut-portion. Then have the spectator complete the cut to bury the added card. Now you are ready to terminate the effect by performing the rest of the steps of Effect Three. This method is a good throw off for fast company and well-posted cardmen. The palming throws them off the track, even though they think they are following all of the moves. Afterwards, retrograde analysis is difficult.

EFFECT FIVE Six cards are jotted down on pellets. The matching six cards are placed on top of a plate, which is then placed on top of a hat. One of the pellets is selected, opened, and read. The named card disappears, leaving only five cards on the plate. The plate is lifted and the missing card is found in the hat Many methods of this classic trick have been pubIished. Check Arthur Buckley’s “Card Under Hat” on pp. 121-123 in The Card Expert Entertains (1948) by Dariel Fitzkee.

This method is easy and convincing and in a special class. The elimination of the envelope also streamlines the presentation. Don’t misunderstand. There are better versions in our Iiterature, but they all require a great deal of practice. This method can be performed with only a modest amount of practice.

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Set-up: Use the Ace of Diamonds-King of Clubs gaff and place it on the face of the deck with the AD-side showing. Affix the regular King of Clubs to the bottom of a recessed plate with a dab of wax. You also need a gentleman’s hat, borrowed if possible, six slips of paper, a clear glass tumbler, a pen, and an extra piece of paper with the “King of Clubs” written on it. Crumple this extra piece into a small ball or pellet and place it in your right pocket. This is an extra bit for emergencies Method: Take the deck out of its case, shuffle it, and retain the gaffed card on the bottom. Turn the deck face up and hand it to a spectator. Ask him to place the face-up deck behind his back. Then explain the “facing procedure” used in Effect One and have the spectator perform them. This forces the double-face card. In this case, however, explain that you will use the first six cards at the point when the cards meet face-to-face. Take the cards from the spectator and ribbon-spread them on the table from left to right. Pick up the face-up portion and say, “We’ll use the first six cards from the point where you cut.” Spread the six face cards between your hands Square them against the others and secretly unload the bottom card. Take the five-card packet in your right hand as your left hand tables the rest face down. Transfer the fivecard packet face up into your left hand Give the spectator the six slips of paper and the pen. Then perform the action procedure explained in the second step of Effect Four step 2, which is a recapitulation of steps 4 through 7 of Effect Three, minus the Double Lift. The whole idea is to apparently show six cards, which the spectator jots on the six pieces of paper. When the spectator writes the name of the first card (gaff) on the first piece of paper, casually reach over and crumple it into a small ball whose eventual shape you will be able to identify later on. Drop this pellet into the clear glass. Follow up with the rest of the cards and papers, saying: ‘‘I want you to crumple each paper into a small ball…just as I’ve done…and then drop them into this glass.” When all of the slips of paper have been rolled into pellets and have been dropped into the tumbler, square the supposed six cards and place them face up on top of the plate. Pick up the plate with your right hand, thumb on top and fingers below, and touch the waxed card. Casually show the hat empty with your left hand. Meanwhile dislodge the waxed card with your right fingertips, but keep the card in place. Next place the hat upside down with its brim uppermost with your left hand and table it. Finally, place the plate onto it and let the waxed card drop inside the hat. Call attention to the pellets inside the glass. Ask someone to toss them onto the table as though rolling dice out of a cup. Sight the one with the recognizable shape. It is the one marked inside with the King of Clubs. At this stage, there are two avenues to take: (1) Boldly pick up the King of Clubs-pellet yourself and hand it to the spectator, saying, “We will randomly take one of these pellets and use the card written inside.”

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(2) The KC-pellet may be forced through by the process of elimination or equivoque. To wit: After the six pellets have been tossed onto the table, ask the spectator to pick up three of them. If the KC-pellet is among these three, ask him to drop them into the glass and discard the others. If the KC-pellet is not among the chosen three, take them from the spectator and ask him to drop the others into the glass. This seems fair. Again, ask the spectator to shake the tumbler and roll out the pellets. Tell him to hand you one of the three. If he hands you the KC-pellet, you are home free. Go no further. If he hands you one of the “wrong” pellets, ask him to place the other two back into the tumbler, shake it, and roll them onto the table. Ask the spectator to take one of the remaining two pellets and toss it back into the tumbler. If it is the right one, hand everything to the spectator and ask him to open and read the pellet. If the right one remains in his hand, toss all the eliminated pellets into the glass with the one just tossed therein and add, “You have finally arrived at one pellet by chance alone. Please open and read what is written there.” We have never liked the elimination business, even though it plays for certain types of audiences. There are many cardmen who like convoluted procedures with multiple outs. The following procedure will appeal to many and is good when working for large groups. Six spectators can be involved. Each spectator writes down the name of a card and the slips are crumpled into balls and dropped into the glass. Someone rolls the pellets onto the table. Then another spectator is asked to replace any five pellets into the tumbler. The remaining pellet is picked up and handled by the performer, who cleanly unrolls it and reads the name of the card written inside. Or so it seems. In reality, he miscalls the actual card and names the King of Clubs instead. Look at the company and ask, “Who wrote the King of Clubs?” When someone acknowledges, crumple the slip into a ball and toss it into the tumbler where it joins the others and all evidence is destroyed. Remember the extra slip in your right pocket? This is used if you cannot identify the shape of your marked pellet with any certainty. This sometimes happens and you lose track of the KC-pellet. If this happens, finger-palm the extra pellet in your right hand. Hold out your left hand to receive any of the pellets from the spectator, making sure that it drops onto your fingers. (Photo 13)

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Photo 13 Reach over with your right hand to ostensibly take the pellet off your left fingers. In reality, turn your left hand inwards and palm down. (Photo 14) Simultaneously finger-palm the left-hand pellet as the right-hand pellet is brought to your right fingertips. (Photo 15)

Photo 14

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Photo 15 Immediately drop the pellet into the glass. Pick up the glass with your right band and give it to someone who has not observed the “writing business’’ too closely. Scoop up the remaining pellets with your left hand and place them in your pocket, saying, “I will cause that card to vanish from among the six cards on the plate – Watch closely.” Snap your fingers, clap your hands, wave a wand, or do anything that seems bewitching and magical. Take the cards off the plate and openly show five cards. The selected card is gone. Look at the audience and say: “I must confess that the card has not really disappeared. It seems as though the plate is porous.” Tilt the hat and reveal the missing selection. To examine a related effect using this cIever idea consult “The Pellet Classic” in Marlo’s Magazine -Volume 1 (1976), pp. 183-187.

EFFECT SIX Two selected cards from a ten-card packet vanish and reappear in another ten-card packet. Each packet, by the way, consists of different colored cards. This is a simple, direct, and startling effect. Set-up: Place two double-face cards at the face of the red deck. Suppose that the gaffs are the AH-8H and AD-2H. The underlined cards are uppermost and showing. Remove the regular 8H and 2H and place them face down in the blue deck under the top card. In other words, they become second and third in the blue deck. Place the red and blue decks in their respective cases until you are ready to perform. Method: Start by removing the blue deck from its case. Spread the cards face down between your hands to show blue backs. Be careful not to expose the two red-back cards at the top. Say, “For this of feet we will use ten blue cards.” Get set for a Triple Lift, using the same method except in this case your right forefinger lifts three cards and then releases them as your left pinky presses inward to retain a break. (Photo 16)

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Photo 16 Jog these three cards as one over the side of the deck in readiness for counting off ten (?) cards. Take the top card(s) as one, pinching them between the ball of your right thumb and the base of your forefinger. Count ‘‘one.” Deal off the next card and take it onto the first card(s) in your right hand, counting “two.” Continue in this fashion until you have audibly counted ten cards. Then place the deck aside. In reality, you have a 12-card packet. Give the cards a straight cut to centralize the two red cards. Then give these blue cards to a spectator to place between his palms, in a pocket, or have them wrapped in a handkerchief. Remove the red deck from its case. Have two spectators come forward; direct your remarks to them saying: ‘‘I want two cards selected in the fairest possible manner.” Needless to say, the two cards are forced as per the face-to-face force already described in Effect One. Have one of the spectators perform the selecting- procedure. Take back the deck and spread the cards, saying: “Here is where the cards meet. Please remember the Eight of Hearts (as you nod toward the first spectator) and I want you (indicate the second spectator) to remember the Two of Hearts.’’ As you utter this patter, push the two force-cards out of the spread. Pick up and “right” the rest of the deck. Continue: ‘‘I will use eight additional cards with these two free selections.” Hold the deck face down and spread out the top eight cards, except the eight cards are never separated from the deck. As you square the cards against the deck, remove six cards. Again, this technique is similar to the one already described, but this time you unload two cards. Place the deck aside. Turn the supposed eight-card packet face up and place the two selections (gaffs) onto the face of the packet. Say, “Eight plus two makes…one, two, three, four, five…” Transfer the five cards to the back of the left-hand cards as per the

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‘‘Improved Double Count,” when six cards were being counted. Then perform the second phase of the count and turn these five cards face down on top of the left-hand packet, adding: “…six, seven, eight, nine, and ten!’’ This handling puts the double-face gaffs in the center of the red packet. Hand this packet to a spectator and have him hold the cards face up. Command the two selections to disappear from the red cards or pretend to invisibly extract them and toss them into the blue packet of cards. Tell the spectator holding the red packet to deal and count his cards face up onto the table. He will deal only eight cards. Spread these cards and clearly show that the 8H and 2H are missing. Scoop up these cards and add them to the red deck. Have someone count the blue-back cards face down to the table. There will be 12 cards. Remove the two red-back cards and disclose the missing 8H and 2H. A remarkable transposition has apparently occurred.

EFFECT SEVEN The magician sequentially cuts to the four Aces and then three cards are dealt onto each Ace. The Aces then disappear, leaving only three cards in each packet. The Aces are finally discovered reversed in the deck. This routine has a strong feature: The preliminary Ace-cutting sequence cancels out the notion that gaffs are used. During the demonstration the backs of the Aces are apparently seen as they are cut to and dealt to the table. Requirements: (1) A regular deck. Remove the four regular Aces from the deck. (2) You also need three double-face cards: AC-2D – AH-4S – AD-10C. Set-up: Arrange the cards as shown in Photo 17. Each pair of regular cards is face-toface to make up impromptu double-back cards. The gaffed cards are third, sixth, and eighth from the face as indicated by the extended fingers in the photograph below.

Photo 17

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Method: Remove the preset deck and give the cards a false shuffle. This does not have to he a complete false shuffle. Simply keep the top stock intact. The easiest false shuffle is to hold the deck on its side in your left hand so that your left thumb is on the face, whereas your left fingers are on the back of the cards. Reach over with your right hand and remove the center portion of the deck with your thumb and forefinger, grasping the ends. Shuffle the right-hand portion forward onto the face of the deck, Repeat this shuffle a few times if you wish, saying: “I’ll try to shuffle an Ace to the top or bottom.” After the shuffle, show that the bottom card is not an Ace. Flip the top card face up to show that it is not an Ace. Turn the top card face down and say, “It looks like I failed to shuffle an Ace to the bottom or top. Therefore, I’ll try to cut to an Ace.” Hold the deck face down in your left hand. As your right hand squares the ends of the deck, lift the top card at the back end with your right thumb. Obtain a break below this top card with your left pinky in preparation for performing the Double Undercut. Grasp the deck in a right-hand Biddle Grip and transfer the break to your right thumb at the back end.

Photo 18 Undercut half the deck with your left hand by grasping only the lower portion in a cradling, dealer's grip. (Photo 18) Place the left-hand half onto the right-hand half. This may seem awkward at first, but this is easily overcome by making it a two-part action: (1) Move your left second, third, and fourth fingers out of the way; (2) Press down on the outer left corner of the left-hand half with your left thumb. Once this corner is clipped between your thumb and the top of your first finger, your other fingers can be straighten and extended. Place the inner right corner of the left-hand half onto the right-hand half and then slide it to the right and flush. (Photo 19) Retain the thumb-break at the back end and move at a moderate speed. Don't rush.

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Photo 19 All that remains is to repeat the same undercutting action and top-placement, this time cutting all the cards below the break. (Photo 20)

Photo 20

The top card is now on the bottom. Although the Double Cut is usually done by performing two cuts, Marlo always performed a Triple or Quadruple Undercut. This is explained in Expert Card Conjuring (1968) pp. 4-5. Dai Vernon originated the basic technique and was initially explained and introduced to the magic community in Stars Of Magic (1946). Arthur Buckley’s Card Control also describes the move. A good description is in Roberto Gobi’s Card College – Volume One (1992), pp. 95-96. Giobbi categorizes this kind of technique as a Transfer-Cut.

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After these cuts, perform a Triple Turnover and let the card(s) fall flush onto the deck. You have cut to an Ace, which you casually deal face up to the table. Here you have subliminally shown the front and back of an Ace. Everything looks copacetic. Next get a two-card break on the top cards. Repeat the Double Undercut to get another Ace and deal it face up to the table alongside the first Ace. Repeat the process to get the third and fourth Aces. After the AS is cut to the top and dealt onto the table, be careful not to expose the reversed card on the bottom. The opening phase of the routine is finished. Now you seem to place three cards onto each Ace Fan out the top three cards of the deck. Close them up but take only two as per the False Fan Count previously explained in Effect One. Turn these cards face up and place them above one of the Aces Then pick up the Ace and place it on to the two-as-three packet. You now apparently have a four-card packet with an Ace at the face. Repeat this two more times to make additional Ace-packets. Place the AS face up on top of the deck and perform a straight cut to bury it in the center. At this stage, in reality, the four regular Aces are face up in the center of the deck ready for the denouement Place the deck to your left and direct attention to the three Ace-packets. Pick up the first packet and say, ‘‘Here is an Ace. “ Transfer the Ace to the back of the packet as per the Improved Double Count. Then show the next card and say, “…and one two, three, indifferent cards.” As you utter this line, quickly transfer three more cards as per the technique. After the Double Count the cards will be face down in your left hand. Pretend to invisibly remove an Ace and place it face down on the table, saying: “Four cards! But if I invisibly remove an Ace and place it over here, only three cards will he left.” Toss the remaining three cards face up to show that the Ace is gone. Repeat this sequence with the remaining two Ace-packets with these differences: Simply count the cards as four with the second Ace-packet. Invisibly remove the Ace. Then count out the cards face up to show three cards and call attention to all the cards in the third Ace-packet. Push the nine indifferent cards aside and say, “I’ll now take these invisible Aces and toss them into the deck…like this!” Make a magical gesture and then spread the deck to reveal the face-up Aces in the center. Remove and toss them face up in front of the assisting spectator. “Grabbers” may want to examine them, but don’t invite anyone to do so. Another handling which bolsters the audience’s assumption that they have seen faces and backs on the three bogus cards is accomplished as follows: Hold the three-card packet face down in your left hand. Then turn your hand palm down and deal off the first top card face up to the table. Turn your hand palm up to its original dealing position and a back shows on top. Turn your hand palm down to apparently perform another top-card deal; however, this time shoot out the bottom double-face card to the table with your left fingers. Immediately turn your left hand palm up. The audience sees the

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back of the last or third card. Snap it with your right first finger and then slowly turn it over to reveal one card. The Ace has is not seen. Knowing that many cardmen prefer to work without gimmicks, gaffs, or other devices, the following effects are impromptu and the methods obtain good results. Their effectiveness depends on how much you practice and fully understand the methodology.

FALSE FAN GROUP COUNT The basis of this False Fan Count has its roots in the false count already described in Effect Seven. Three cards are supposedly placed with each Ace, when in fact only two cards are taken. Method: Suppose that you want to false count seven cards as ten. Begin by fanning out the top three cards. Square them and actually take two cards. Drop them face down on the table and say, “Three.” Fan the next three cards, square up, and again take only two cards. Drop them face down onto the other two previously tabled cards as you say, “Six.” Repeat this action once again and say, ‘‘Nine.” Then push off a single card, snap it, drop it onto the others, adding: “Ten.” By using this False Fan Group Count, any number of cards can he counted as more cards. Keep in mind the casualness and rhythm of the counting action it adds considerably to its deceptiveness.

GROUP COUNT FOR MORE This basic Fan Count is used to false count more cards as less. Method: Suppose that you want to count thirteen cards as ten. Fan out three cards as in the previously explained techniques, but when the cards are squared, do not unload a card. Instead pick up a card. Fan the three cards but push them over further than normal and slightly push off the fourth card as well and obtain a left pinky break under the fourth card.

Photo 21

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Once the break is begun, pull the fourth card back onto the deck so that it’s more or less flush. Your left fingers, working under the fan of cards, easily do the work. (Photo 21) Square the fan-of-three against the deck and pick up all of the cards, including the fourth one, in a right-hand Biddle Grip. Drop the cards onto the table and say, “Three.” Repeat the process two more times to ostensibly count six and then nine cards onto the initial cards. Take one card and snap it, saying, “Ten.” Drop it onto the others to complete the sequence. This technique is obviously flexible, permitting you to count any number as more than they actually are.

IMPROMPTU DOUBLE COUNT Here the cards are held face up as they are shown and then transferred to the back. This handling strongly resembles the Double Count with fake cards, except in this instance no gaffs are used. This is a precursor of the hide-out move first explained in The Cardiste (August - 1958) Check out ‘‘Edwardian Aces’’ by Ron Edwards, who does not, by the way, claim the move. It was Russduck who dubbed it the “Edwards Hide-out Move.” A similar approach was published in Lucky Aces (1950) by Lin Searles. See ‘‘The Fair Deal Aces’’ for work regarding the Double Hide-out Move.

Method: Suppose that you are holding seven cards face up in your left hand. You are now going to ostensibly count them as ten cards. Push off the first card with your left thumb. Take this card with your right thumb (below) and fingers (above) by turning your right hand palm down. Turn your right hand back palm up, which automatically turns the taken card face down so that its back shows. Place this card underneath the left-hand cards in an injogged position. (Photo 22)

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Photo 22 When the ducked card is placed into this jogged position, your left fingers move out of the way to accommodate the placement from the right side. As you make this placement say, “One…” Repeat this process two more times to transfer two more cards underneath the left-hand packet. Make the audible count, each time saying, “Two…three…” At this stage you seem to square the injogged card, which is logically excused. Push down on the jogged card with your right thumb to form a slight break, which is then quickly taken over with your left fingers. Your right hand holds the packet from above and by the ends in a Biddle Grip. As your right hand continues to square the cards, perform a Half Pass with the three bottom cards below the break. This is done with your left fingers under cover of the packet and your right hand. Briefly: As your right hand continues to hold the primary packet in a Biddle Grip, slowly drop the bottom three cards by lowering your left fingers. The cards will pivot downwards and over onto your left fingertips. Move the right-hand cards downward to meet the cards resting on your left fingertips. The reversal is essentially complete. Make another squaring action with your right hand and then take the next card as you count “four.” Continue taking and turning each card, counting audibly as you go, until a back comes in to view. When this occurs you will have reached the count of ten. Purists may object to the fact that certain cards show up twice, but keep in mind that “seeing” is not necessarily the same as “perceiving.” Experience indicates that spectators focus on the number of cards, not their identities. A combination of the False Group Count and The Impromptu Double Count is convincing. Use the former count to get the cards off the deck. Then use the latter count to recheck the number of cards supposedly taken and counted.

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DOUBLE COUNT HANDLING FOR MORE This false count is used to show more cards as less. The counting method is the same except that the cards are held face down in your left hand. Method: Thirteen cards are to be counted as ten. Get a left pinky break under the top four cards. Enter the break with your left thumb to grasp the top card(s) as one. (Photo23) Turn the card(s) over and place them underneath the left-hand packet as in the standard ducking action. Do this quickly to blur the thickness of the card(s). Once they are flush, the rest of the count can he continued in an ordinary fashion until a face-up card comes into view. This will be original card flashed at the beginning of the count and will appear on the count of ten. An alternative procedure is to use a Half Pass. Hold the cards face up with a three-card break on the bottom cards. Reverse them by performing a Half Pass. Then the count is started and continued until a face-down card appears at the count of ten.

Photo 23 Marlo applied the hide-out concept in “It’s Over Here, Of Course” from Hierophant #2 (1969), pp. 63-65, a routine that uses a display-and-duck procedure as per the Double Count. Another neat use of the hide-out principle was used in “Invisible Thought Transference’’ from The New Tops (February -1974). Paul Harris used another form in a splendid effect called “Las Vegas Leaper,” only the reversed card is there at the outset. The dealing-and-ducking procedure, however, is the same. These techniques are Minus Counts. That is, more cards are counted as less while one or more cards seem to disappear. Another use of the Unlimited Count was used in a marketed trick called “The Missing Hour” (1983).

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UPJOG UPSET UNLIMITED COUNT Simon Aronson This technique was initially explained in The Aronson Approach (1990) and was applied to a clever clock trick titled “Time Out,” pp. 63-69. Unlike the original Double Count, Aronson’s technique permits you to exploit both sides of the double-face gaff to count less cards as more (by 1) without the necessity of the gaff being at the face of the packet at the outset of the counting-and-displaying procedure. In other words, the gaff can be at other positions. This lends flexibility. There is no doubt many applications of this variant technique. Students should consult The Aronson Approach for specifics. For the purpose of this description, assume you are holding a packet of twelve cards. In reality, you are holding eleven cards and one of them is a double-face card. Begin with the gaff third from the face. Suppose that the gaff is composed of the 2S and 3H. The 3H-side should be uppermost. Method: This explanation presupposes that the gaff, which now lies third from the face, coincides with a spectator’s mentally chosen number (3). Explain that you are going to show the spectator the faces of twelve cards and he should note and remember that card that falls at his mentally chosen number. In this case, he would remember the third card shown, the Three of Hearts. Hold the packet face up in your left hand. Thumb over the top card and take it Studfashion by gripping its outer right corner, right thumb below, first and second fingers above. Turn the taken card to a vertical position to show its face again, saying “one.” Meanwhile, your left hand turns inward to reveal the back of the packet. Your right hand continues to turn its card face down and end-over-end until it finally places it face down under the left-hand packet. However, the “ducked” card is not placed flush with the packet but is outjogged for half its length. Lower both hands to the starting position on a horizontal plane. Repeat the above action as you show and “duck” the next card on the count of “two.” This card goes below and flush with the other outjogged card. A nice feature of this counting-and-display procedure is that the “counted” cards are apparently kept separate from the cards not yet counted. This visual separation is important. The next or third card is the gaff. When you take and “duck” it, as long as you adhere to the preceding handling, the other side of the gaff (2S) will not be seen. When your right hand places it under the other two outjogged cards, do not release your grip on the card’s inner right corner. Once the card is flush, as your hands lower the cards back to a horizontal plane, your right hand simultaneously slides its card backward until it’s flush with the lower section of the outjogged portions. When the card has been secretly

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transferred, release your right-hand grip and move your right thumb to the outer right corner of the lower section to take the next (fourth) card. Continue counting the cards sequentially; however, do not tilt the cards to a vertical position. Simply count, display, and duck each card face down and underneath the outjogged section. Each card goes flush with the other outjogged cards. The gaff will be the last or twelfth card counted and shown. However, before you reach the count of “ten,” you must perform an “upset move.” That is, as you turn and duck the ninth card, place it a bit askew. Then pretend to notice this bit of clumsiness and to ostensibly correct this condition, strip out all of the outjogged cards. Move them forward, adjust and square the cards, and then replace them under the others in an outjogged position. The gaff is now on the bottom. After you count and “duck” the eleventh card, the remaining card appears to be a Three of Hearts. Handle this card in the same manner as you handled the initial two cards. Your right hand takes the Two of Spades and turns it to a vertical position to display its face again to the spectator. With still in this upright position, place it under the left-hand packet and square up. Lower the packet. You are now supposedly holding twelve face-down cards and the spectator has seen twelve faces. The gaff is now on the bottom with the 3H-side of the gaff uppermost. That is, if you flipped the packet face up and dealt the cards face up to the table, the spectator would see eleven cards. The Three of Hearts is missing or has apparently disappeared.

TIME-OUT UNLIMITED COUNT Gary Plants Gary Plants liked Aronson's idea of generalizing the Unlimited concept to allow the double-face card to start somewhere in the center of the packet. Gary came up with a variant count using a Biddle steal instead of Aronson’s Upset Subtlety. He showed it to Dave Solomon and Dave showed it to Simon Aronson. Set-up: Suppose that the packet has 11 cards: 10 regular cards plus the double-face gaff (King of Hearts-Eight of Spades). Assume that the force-side of the King of Hearts is fifth from the face of face-up packet. Method: Your right hand holds packet face up in a Biddle Grip. Your palm up left-hand peels off the first face card with your left thumb, most of the way off, then immediately and in a continuing action at the "end" of the peeling, the left edge of right-hand packet flips this card book-wise face down. The card falls into your left palm, and it’s okay that its back will be seen. However, the back of this card will flash only briefly because at once your left hand lifts up, raising the back of your left fingers toward audience, as your left thumb pushes on back of its card. This moves the card more out toward the your left fingertips, where its face is then shown to audience. It is only at this point of the "show" that you count aloud "one."

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Next lower your left hand back down and into palm-up position as the card slides back a bit toward your thumb crotch and rests face down in your left palm. (This step is the basic action used on all cards, except for the double-face gaff.) Using the above basic action, peel off the second face-up card, flipping it face down onto the face- down card previously shown. Use the same left-thumb action to slide this card up to your left fingers (it slides across the back of the first card) and display this card's face to the audience on count of "two." Then pull it back toward your left thumb, where it slides onto the first card. Both cards shown are now face down as you build a pile of shown face-down cards in your left hand. Repeat the previous actions with the third and fourth cards. When you reach the King of Hearts, perform the same peeling and flipping action; however, make sure the your left hand starts to raise to vertical position a bit earlier so that the back of the King of Hearts cannot be seen. Display the face of the King of Hearts as you displayed the previous cards (with the back of your left hand toward the audience) on the count of "5." (You will be staring at the 8Sside of the gaff.) Your left thumb pulls the King of Hearts back, but this time your left pinky retains a slight break between it and the previously taken cards in your left hand. Next your right hand moves its packet over the left-hand cards in preparation for the next peel as your left hand lowers so that the 8S-side is never seen. Continue to peel off the next face-up card, performing the standard Biddle Steal of the double-face gaff to the bottom of the right-hand packet as the face card is peeled onto the left-hand cards. Now continue with the basic action for the rest of the cards. Needless to say, the final or twelfth card will be the Eight of Spades. Handle it as you did the King of Hearts so that the reverse side is never seen and display it for the count of "12." As you pull it flush onto the left-hand cards, turn your left hand palm down and drop the packet face up to the table. This write-up was expanded from Simon Aronson’s cryptic handwritten notes of August 1991. We thank Simon and Gary for generously sharing this information.

THE CARD GOETH HOME Edward Marlo This version is not as clean as Osborn’s original method, but it plays well when you are handed a borrowed deck and no gaffed card is available. The procedure is clean because a spectator may select any six cards and you don’t need to know their identities. Your presentation also leads the audience to assume that you are going to name the card previously placed in the deck. Instead it’s removed from a card case. Method: Take the cards from the case and ask someone to shuffle them. Place the case to your right with its flap-side down. Be sure to close the case and position it so that your

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right hand can easily pick it up by the ends. Ask the spectator to remove any six cards and emphasize the freedom of choice. Give him a sheet of paper and a pencil so that he can jot down the names of the chosen cards. While the spectator is listing them, pick up the rest of the deck. Secretly palm the top card with your right hand, which also holds onto the deck. After the six cards have been listed on the paper, have the paper folded so that none of the identities can be seen. Have the six cards shuffled, emphasized that nobody can know their order. Then have the six-card packet tabled face down. Place the deck in front of the assisting spectator and ask him to cut it into two portions. As he follows instructions, scoop up the six-card packet with your right hand and secretly add the palmed card on top, saying, “I’m going to place one of these six cards back into the deck.” Cleanly remove the top card of the seven-card packet and place this indifferent card face down onto one of the cut portions. Continue: “…and I want you to lose it by completing the cut.” Let the spectator places the other portion onto the one with the indifferent card on top. At this stage, the audience thinks that you are left with a five-card packet. In reality, you still have the original six selections. Pick up the packet and place it face up in your left hand. Continue: “Please consult your list and cross out the names of these remaining cards.” Name the initial face-up card, take it into your right hand and then table it face down. Repeat this process until you have shown, named, and dealt four cards. The last card in your hand is really a “double,” which you handle as a single card. Take it as one, retaining alignment, and deal it face down onto the others with your right hand. The top card of the tabled packet will be the “missing” card or the one not crossed out on the spectator’s list. Say, “I don’t know which card was replaced in the deck because I cannot see the names on your list. Will you please remove that card from the deck.” Continue: “When you find the card concentrate on it and I will name it.” As the spectator looks through the deck, pick up the six-card packet and hold it face up in your left hand. Push the top card a fraction to the right so that your left pinky can get a break under it. Simultaneously pick up the card case by its ends with your right hand and then move it directly over the left-hand packet. Your right fingers press on the ends of the case to pick up the top card of the packet. The break makes this secret pickup easy and trouble-free. Keep your right hand stationary as your left hand moves forward with the remaining five cards and spreads them face up on the table. Then place the card case near the edge of the table with your right hand, making the placement such that a subsequent pick-up will be convenient. This pick up will be done with your right thumb (top) and fingers (below). All this can be done smoothly and casually and is completed before the spectator checks all the remaining cards in the deck. Once the spectator realizes that the specific card is not in the deck, say, “If the card is not among his friends ... he must have gone home . . . and where is a card’s home? In the card case, of course!”

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Photo 24 Pick up the case with your right hand as already suggested, an easy matter because of its placement near the edge of the table. Then transfer it to your left hand, which grips its sides. Keep the tab opening away from the audience’s view. (Photo 24) To ostensibly remove the card from inside the case, pull open the flap with your right fingers and reach in with your right thumb. (Photo 25) Your right fingers move underneath the case and against the card. Quickly extract the card by pulling up and out. The illusion of a card coming out of the case is perfect. (Photo 26) The card comes out face down. Have the spectator name it and then slowly reveal and toss it onto the table.

Photo 25

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Photo 26 At the stage where the five cards are being called out, when you reach the Iast card(s), deliberately slide your left thumb across the face of the uppermost card as though expecting more cards to be there. Marlo used this finesse for many years when handling the last two cards as one in a dealing or counting procedure Some workers may want to use he Buckle Count, but remember to use the last card to scoop up the tabled cards. This leaves the desired card on top of the packet. The same kind of secret pick-up with a card case is used in Marlo’s “Repeat Signed Card To Case” published in Hierophant #3 (1970), pp. 106-112. Students should study the superior handling and misdirection used in this method. This illusory handling of ostensibly taking a card from inside the case was first published in Marlo’s Amazing, Isn’t It? (1941). Another version appeared in Deck Deception (1942), pp. 1920. Chicago bar magicians (such as Matt Schulien) used this technique all the time in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. For advanced ideas along these lines check out Marlo’s Magazine -Volume 4 (1981), pp. 14-66 for the brilliant chapter titled, “The Card To Case.”

RED AND BLUE ROUTINE 1 Effect: A selected card disappears from a packet of five cards and is later found face up in a different-colored deck at a chosen number. There are no duplicates involved; however, each method consists of a presentation with a different climax. This first presentation demands some practice and considerable aplomb at the conclusion. Set-up: Decide on a card to use and suppose it is the Seven of Spades (7S). Locate the 7S in the red deck and place it on the bottom. Crimp its lower left corner. Remove any indifferent card and place the red deck into its case.

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Take the blue deck and place the red-back X card face up on top of it. Locate the blueback 7S and place it face up on top of the X card. Cover these two face-up cards with any blue-back X card. Put the blue deck in its case. Method: Introduce the red deck. Force the bottom 7S on a spectator via the Hindu Shuffle Force. (This is explained in Osborn’s “The Card Goes Home” at the beginning of this manuscript. After the card is noted, assemble the deck by merely dropping the righthand port ion on top of the left-hand portion. No break is necessary; the force card (7S) is crimped. Square the cards cleanly and leave them on the table for the time being. Introduce the blue deck. Spread it face down to show blue backs, making sure not to expose the reversed cards at the top. Have someone call out a number as you secretly get a three-card break with your left pinky. When the number is named, move the card(s) above the break to the right in readiness for the count described in Effect Three. Count “one” as you take the three jogged cards as one into your right hand. Continue to take cards into your right hand and onto each other, audibly counting them until you reach a number one less than the chosen one. For example, if the chosen number is 11 count off 10 cards into your right hand and stop. Push the top card of the talon forward with your left thumb so that it projects as an outjogged card. Say, ‘‘This is the eleventh card. . .” Place the right-hand cards onto the deck, leaving the 11th card (?) projecting. In reality, the two face-up cards occupy the 11th position. We call this a Placement Count and it is applied to later effects. Push the projecting card flush with the deck. Patter: ‘‘I want you to remember your chosen number, eleven.” Return the deck to its case and give it to someone to hold or place it in your pocket. Hand the red deck to someone and say, “Remove any five cards from this deck, but make sure that your card is among them. Alter you have removed them, place thorn face down on the table. I do not want to know their identities.” When the spectator has completed your instructions, ask him to mix the five principal cards so that nobody knows which is which. After they are mixed, take them face down into your hands and spread them. Locate the crimped 7S and centralize it, if necessary. Excusing patter: ‘‘You have mixed these cards and have no idea where your card is... I don’t want to know where it is or what it is, but I’ll make it disappear! Watch!” Perform the “One-hand Buckle Count” to seemingly vanish the card. To wit: Hold the packet face down in your left hand (dealing position). The cards should he held almost perpendicular and near the table Push off the first card with your left thumb so that its right long edge touches the table. Move your left hand sideways to the right so that the card will fall face up as it is released. Deal off the next card in the same manner. When you are ready to deal off the third card, press inwards on the bottom card with your left fingers. This separates the bottom card from the top two. This makes it easy to release two cards so that they fall

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flat and flush onto the others. Snap the last card and drop it face up onto the others. Call off the name of the cards as they drop onto the table. Note: If you experience alignment difficulties with the two-card throw, bend or crimp the card(s) prior to the deal and count. This should be a lengthwise bend. (Photo 27)

Photo 27 Now the cards will fall onto each other and mesh because of the crimp. (Photo 28) The risk of the double-card splitting is reduced to almost nil. If you are still apprehensive about splits, use two hands. This, however, is less disarming and effective. The card has apparently disappeared. Pick up the packet and return the cards to the center of the red deck. Remove the blue deck from its case. Count off ten cards and disclose the face-up 7S at the 11th position. Execute a Double Lift Turnover to show its red back. Take the red-back card without showing its face and place it in the center of the red deck. Keep cool. Say, “Remember the number you selected? Eleven? Right. I will count down to the eleventh card in the blue deck. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and eleven. Here at the eleventh position is the Seven of Spades with a red back!”

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Photo 28 You must believe that you are handling a red-backed 7S. If so, nobody will question it. The next method takes a further step. An additional effect is performed to provide a superb clean up.

RED AND BLUE ROUTINE 2 This is the same as the first routine except for the following: After the card is removed from the blue deck, it is placed on top of the red deck and the cards are cut. The magician commands the card to turn over, whereupon the deck is ribbon-spread face down to reveal the selection face up in the center. Set-up: The same as Red and Blue Routine 1. Method: Force the Seven of Spades with the Hindu Shuffle Force and leave the card in the center of the red deck. Remove the blue deck and do a Triple Lift. Then place the face-up “set” at the chosen number via “The Placement Count’’ as explained in the foregoing routine. Replace the blue deck in its case. Have a spectator remove five cards from the red deck (including the selection). Locate the crimped Seven of Spades, but this time place it fourth from the top for the following handling: Hold the packet face down in your left hand. Push the top card to the side of the packet with your left thumb. Then flip this jogged card face up and flush onto the packet with your right fingers. Push off the face-up card to the side again with your left thumb and take it from above and by the ends with your right hand. Then carry this card to a few inches above the table and release it. It wiII cleanly fall face up. Repeat with the next card. Push off the next card in the same manner, except in this case your left fingers buckle the bottom card to separate it from the other two, and your right hand takes or lifts off

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two cards as one. These back-to-back cards are placed onto the tabled cards. Turn the last card face up and snap it to show its singularity. Place it face up onto the others. The card has seemingly vanished. In reality, it is reversed in the center of the principal packet. Pick up the packet and place it face down on top of the red deck. The rest of the effect should he obvious. When you count down in the blue deck you will locate the face-up Seven of Spades. A follow-up Double Lift Turnover will reveal a red back, and the red-back card is placed on top of the red deck. Patter: “Will you please cut the pack and bury the Seven of Spades.” After the spectator complies, command the Seven of Spades to turn over. Spread the pack face down to disclose the face-up Seven of Spades. Then remove it for curious spectators to examine if they wish.

RED AND BLUE ROUTINE 3 This is our favorite routine. The basic effect is the same as the others, except in this instance it occurs twice. In other words, after the card appears at a chosen number in the blue deck, it is replaced among the red cards. It then disappears and reappears again in the blue deck at the same chosen number. There are no duplicates and everything can he examined at the finish. Since you are already familiar with the basic plot, procedure, and handling for this effect, only the bare bones will be described. BARE BONES: 1) Begin with both decks arranged as in Red and Blue Routine 2. 2) Force the crimped card via the Hindu Shuffle Force. Before forcing the card, however, have the red deck shuffled. Take back the cards and cut the crimped card to the bottom. Do this in an offhand way: it allays any suspicion that a bottom card is being-used. 3) Introduce the blue deck. Do a Triple Lift and set the cards at the chosen number via ‘‘The Placement Count.” Then return the blue cards to its ease and place them in your left coat pocket. 4) Hand the spectator the red deck to remove five cards. His card must be among these five cards. Fan them, locate the crimped card, and cut it to the bottom of the packet. 5) Palm the bottom card in your left hand, using a standard Bottom Palm or Gambler’s Cop. Retain the rest of the packet in your right hand as your left hand goes into your left coat pocket. 6) Once your left hand is inside the pocket, turn the paImed card so that its face is towards your body. Then quickly remove the deck with your left hand and table it. Place the right-hand cards face down on top of the blue card case. Gently press on the red cards with your right hand.

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7) Deal the red cards face up to show that only four cards remain. Leave them face up on the table. Remove the blue deck from its case. Count cards face down untiI you reach the chosen number and reveal the face-up selection. 8) Do a Double Lift to show that the card has a red back. Then remove the red-back card and place it face down next to the four face-up cards. Remain silent. 9) Pick up the blue cards just counted off and replace them on top of the blue deck. Keep a left pinky break under these cards 10) Return the blue deck to your Ieft coat pocket. Once the deck is safely inside the pocket, insert the red card in to the accommodating space of the break. This is a onehand action and the right side of the deck is more or less pushed against the left side of the reversed single card already in your pocket. Hence, the single card slides into the break in a quick and easy manner 11) The selected card is now face up at the original chosen number in the blue deck. Pick up the face-down red card and place it among the other four red cards, which are also turned face down. 12) Explain that you will magically cause the selected card to disappear again. 13) Execute the Buckle Count Vanish using both hands. Deal the cards face down onto the red deck as you do this. As an afterthought say, “I forget to show the four cards!” 14) Deal the first four cards face up onto the table. Place the rest of the deck face down and aside. This will allure a “grabber” to check the top card of the deck to see if it is the selection. 15) Remove the blue deck from your pocket. Count down to the original number and reveal the face-up selection. Slowly turn it over to disclose its red back. Now everything can he left on the table for examination. There are no duplicates and you are absolutely clean.

HIDE-OUT MOVE CONCEPT This is usually applied with a double-back card in play. However, the same dynamics are used when you create an impromptu double-back card (two regular cards placed faceto-face). This is how it is done: Suppose you begin with six cards held face up and squared in your left hand. Thumb over the top card and take it face up into your right hand. Turn this card face down and apparently place it under the left-hand cards. In reality, your left fingers buckle the bottom card and the right-hand card is inserted second from the bottom or above the buckled bottom card. As you perform this deal-and-duck move, audibly count the card ducked as “one.” Repeat the deal-and-duck move five more times or until you arrive at a face-down card, only each card ducked actually goes under the packet. You have just counted six cards as five. The top two cards are face-to-face, comprising the impromptu double-back card.

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Turn the packet over and repeat the deal-and-duck process, ducking is card taken and counted to the bottom. No secret move is necessary. This time you will ostensibly show and audibly count only four cards.

INDUBITABLE CARDS ACROSS Edward Marlo This idea enables you to have someone count off two ten-card packets, each is doublechecked as to the number of cards, yet one packet ends up with seven cards, the other with thirteen cards. Requirements: Six double-back cards and a regular matching deck. Set-up: Place three of them 8th, 9th, and 10th from the top of a matching deck. Hold out the remaining three. Method: Introduce the deck and false shuffle if you wish. Hand it to a spectator and ask him to count off two face-down packets of ten cards each. Make sure that he cleanly deals the cards onto the table, reversing their order. The first packet dealt will have three double-back cards on top. The second packet will consist of ten regular cards. Palm the holdout gaffs and secretly add them onto the second packet of regular cards as you scoop them up. Turn the packet face up and say, “Let’s double-check these cards.” Now carry out the display-and-duck procedure of the Double Count. That is, transfer the face-up cards one at a time to the bottom of the packet, turning them face down in the process. Audibly count each card as it is shown and ducked. You will cleanly count ten face-up cards. Continue: “Let’s absolutely make sure.” Turn the packet face up and quickly repeat the preceding step to count ten cards. If you trust the spectator to correctly follow the countprocedure, let him handle the cards. After they are counted, ask him to hold onto the packet. Pick up the first packet with the three gaffed cards on top. Count these cards face down onto the table. Pick them up again and hand them to another spectator, who in turn is asked to count them face down into your left hand. Everyone should he convinced that each packet consists of ten cards. Pretend to magically pass three cards from one packet to the other. Perform the dealand-duck procedure to show only seven cards. Turn the packet face up and quickly repeat the deal-and-duck procedure again, showing only seven cards. Turn the supposed seven-card packet face up onto the face-down talon (deck). Ask the other spectator to count his packet of cards face down onto your left hand. Needless to say, he will count thirteen cards. Marlo’s favorite procedure is to use his idea in conjunction with two envelopes as per his

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“Cards Across” routine explained in Ibidem. In this case, the talon or deck is short three cards and the three double-back cards are added via an envelope as in the well-known Zen’s Cards Across effect. The strong difference lies in the use of the “Double Check Count,” which will throw off those familiar with the Zen’s handling. After they assume that extra cards have been secretly added, the packet is cleanly counted and no extra cards are seen or counted. This approach has never been used in this way.

“Each glimpse is not just a repeat performance; it is a fresh new experience.” - from the Notebooks of Paul Brunton (1988)

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