Karl Fulves - Discoverie Vol 1

Discoverie © 1C

Issue No. 1

I(arl

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John Scarne

Power

Play

This is a version of a classic matching effect with cards. The trick is something of a curiosity in that the magician doesn't know how the trick is done until the spectator tells him how it's done.Two royal flushes are removed from the deck. The magician arranges one poker hand in a certain order. The spectator arranges the other in a random order. As the cards in the two hands are turned up, it is seen that they match card for card all the way through.

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Tricks of this kind are usually patterned after Hen Fetch's "Symbologic," and almost always make use of an extra card and the one-ahead (or one-behind) principle. The following trick does not use extra cards or the one-ahead principle.

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Here, the only cards in play are the two poker hands. There are no extra cards, no one-ahead, and no gimmicks or preparation. All cards are in view at all times.

Use any deck. Explain to the spectator that you want to use two royal flushes of the same color. Ask him to name either red or black. Say he chooses black. Remove the royal flush in spades. Don't concern yourself with the order of the cards in the royal flush. Just remove the five cards as you get to them and drop them into a face-down heap on the table. Then remove the other same-color royal flush, in this example clubs. Drop them into a face-up heap on the table but here you must remember the order of the cards. Just remember the values as you drop them to the table. Say the order is A J-10-Q K from back to face. Turn this heap face-down. Remark that good poker players develop the skill of anticipating how the other fellow is going to act. As you say this, pick up the royal flush in spades and arrange these cards in identically the same order as the club group, in this case A J-10-Q K from top to bottom. Square the spade flush, turn it face-down and drop it on the table in front of you. As yet you don't know how the trick

is going to proceed, but the spectator is about to inform you of the procedure. Pick up the club flush. Hold it from above with the left hand in Biddle grip. Explain that you are going to deal his cards into a row on the table in a sequence that he dictates. Ask him if he wants the top or bottom card. If he says top, deal the top card to the table, face-up, at your far left. For his second choice, ask him if he wants the top or bottom card. Say he wants the bottom card. Openly remove this card and place it face-up on the table to the right of the first card.

There are now two rows of cards on the table, a row of face-up clubs and a row of face-down spades. Point to the leftmost face-up card. It is an ace. Turn up the leftmost card in the magician's row. It is a matching ace. Repeat this procedure from left to right, showing a perfect match on every card. Scarne ' s bottom deal for a small packet is described in Swindle Sheet #8 (1991). An ultrasimple bottom deal for a small packet was invented by Neal Elias and will be described in the next issue of Discoverie.

Proceed in like manner with each of the remaining three cards. Say the spectator picks top-bottom-top. Simply remember the sequence that the spectator chose for the five cards, in this case top-bottom-top-bottomtop. Of course the last is always `top ' since it is a single card. There are now five club cards in a face-up row on the table. Pick up the spade flush. Hold it in left hand dealing grip. Deal these cards from left to ' right under the spectator s cards, but in doing so, follow the instruction the spectator j ust gave you. In this case, deal a top, then a bottom, then a top, then a bottom, and then the last card. Of course, from the audience view, you are merely dealing the five cards in order from the top of the packet. Deal your cards from left to right directly under the spectator ' s cards.

Martin Gardner Short Armed (This strange little stunt has seen print in a non-magic book, but is not well-known among magicians. It is ideal for those occasions when the goal is to put someone in a temporary trance state for the performance of an offbeat magical effect. While in the trance state, the person ' s arms are shorter! ) Tell a person to stand in front of a wall and stretch out both arms until the fingertips touch the wall. Say you will now shorten his arms. Ask him to put his arms behind his back for about a minute, then reach out to a touch the wall again. His fingertips are now ' it s a wall. I think few inches away from the matter of suggestion. At the start he stretches ' his arms hard. The second time he doesn t ' stretch so hard. Anyway, it s a strange effect. -2-

Karl Fulves

F0fl0i

Ordeca

This is a Follow The Leader effect which is easy to perform. The only move is a virtually automatic double lift early on. Thereafter the routine is self-working. A novel angle in this approach is that reds and blacks are in random order at the start, but when they follow the leader cards, they do so in numerical order. This does not necessarily add to the magical content, but the strict numerical order lends an air of inevitability to the effect seen by the audience.

packet in the left hand. The right hand takes the top card by the ends. turns palm-up to show the face (deuce), and turns palm-down again. The right hand moves to a position over the left-hand packet again. The right thumb picks up the next card and adds it under the deuce. There are two cards in the right hand at this point. Turn the right hand palm-up to show the ace. Then turn the right hand palm-down again. The right hand picks up the 3-spot and displays it. Then the right hand turns palmdown.

With the faces of the cards toward you, remove any red ace thru five in mixed suits. Arrange them in the order 2-A-3-5-4 from the top down. Place this packet face-down on the table.

The handling changes at this point. The right hand picks up both cards above the break, turns palm-up to show the face of the 4-spot, and turns palm-down again.

Arrange five blacks in the same 2-A-3-5-4 order.

The right hand returns to the left-hand packet, drops the four-spot on the packet and immediately turns palm-up to show the fivespot. The right hand, now holding four cards, turns palm-down and drops this packet on the table in front of you.

Turn the black packet face-down and place it in left hand dealing grip. Drop the red packet on top of the black packet but establish a left fourth finger break under the red packet. You will now do a variation of a Horowitz display to show each of the five red cards. The right hand moves to a position over the

Flip the left-hand packet face-up. Spread the four face cards to the right to show five blacks. Square this packet and drop it facedown onto the tabled packet of reds. The order of the cards from the to down is red 4 five blacks- four reds. From this point the handling of the trick is automatic. Deal the top five cards in a heap to the right. Deal the remaining five cards in a heap to the left. Turn up the top card of each packet. Each -3-

of these cards is a five-spot. Place them above their respective heaps.

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Exchange the packets. Take the top card of each heap. Touch them to their respective indicators. Shake your head. "These aren ' t ready to go yet." Place the left-hand card to the left side, the right-hand card to the right side.

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The face-down heaps have been reduced to a single card in each. Openly exchange them. Touch them to the indicator heap and turn them face-up to reveal the twos. Pick up the cards placed aside. Exchange them. Touch them to the indicators and turn them face-up to reveal the aces.

Pick up a four-card packet in each hand. Openly exchange them. Slide out the bottom card of each packet. Touch them to their respective indicators and turn them face-up. The card on the left is the red four. Place it on the red five. The card on the right is the black four. Place it on the black five.

The starting point for the move described at the beginning of this routine is the Horowitz "Put Back Move" in The Pallbearers Review, pg. 456. At the end of that write-up is a note on an application to a Follow The Leader routine, and "Following Orders" is the routine in question. My application is to a displacement of a single card during a one-at-ati me display, though it should be obvious that the idea can be expanded into other areas.

Exchange the packets. Take the top card of each. Touch these cards to their respective indicators and turn them face-up. Place the red three on the face-up reds, the black three on the face-up blacks.

Ed Marlo had a switchless switch that accomplished a swithout of cards. Ken Beale had a one-at-a-time display that used a related technique to conceal the fact that one card in a group was double-faced, or that one card in a group had a stranger back. -4-

Darren Bradley Quick Predict Somewhere along the way Mr. Bradley must have won a Nerves of Steel contest because it takes a certain deep courage to get away with something like this. You must know the spectator's date of birth before you start. Without revealing this knowledge, ask for the month he was born. He says March. March is the third month, so a three spot is removed from the deck and placed face-up on the table.

screen. The left forefinger pushes the lower of the two outjogged cards flush with the deck. At the same time, the right thumb pulls the top card of the deck straight forward, off the deck, and turns this card faceup. Drop it to the table. Only one outjogged card shows, reinforcing the idea that the first outjogged card was honestly taken. Repeat the above action to simulate the take of the other outjogged card. Arrange them in proper order and ask the spectator if this perchance corresponds to his date of birth. DB credits the basic idea to Victor Comello. The above write-up is from notes of 1979.

The deck is then spread face-down between the hands. The spectator indicates two more cards. These are outjogged. When turned face-up, they may be a one and a nine. He should be nonplused because he was indeed born on the 19th of March.

Cold Cash

You know the spectator was born on the 19th, so beforehand remove any ace and any 9, and place them on top of the deck. That is the preparation. To present the trick, spread the cards faceup, keeping the top two cards concealed from view. Ask him to indicate which month he was born in. Remove a card whose value corresponds to the month, i.e., any 3-spot if he was born in the third month of the year.

For this little known bet a spectator is asked to close his eyes and hold his hands palm up. A coin is balanced on his right forefinger and another on his left. He is asked to guess which coin is heavier. After he makes his guess, he opens his eyes and discovers that although one coin appears to be decidedly heavier, the coins are in fact identical in weight.

Square the deck, turn it face-down and spread the cards between the hands. Have him indicate two cards. Outjog them for about a third of their length. Square the deck side for side and place it in left hand dealing grip.

Beforehand, put a quarter on an ice cube so as to make the coin cold. Have the spectator close his eyes and extend his hands. Balance this coin on the spectator's forefinger, and another quarter on his other forefinger.

Now then. Start to remove one of the outjogged cards by bringing the right hand around to the front of the deck. The back of the hand is toward the audience and acts as a

The cold coin appears to be much heavier.

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WaltRolbne &Howazd Wiast

Han Pink Cheat According to Bobo 's Coin Magic, the Han Ping Chien move was introduced to the magic fraternity in 1914 (though it is said that the move dates back to an earlier era.) The following trick is a nearly self-working version.

The left hand lifts its cup, Figure 1. The left hand then dumps its coins onto the table at the exact, spot occupied by the right-hand cup. Just as the coins and ring leave the lefthand cup, the right hand lifts its cup out of the way, Figure 2.

Needed are two paper cups, six coins and a ring. It adds to the atmosphere if coins and ring are exotic in appearance, though neither coins nor ring are gimmicked.

Place the left hand cup on the table. Drop the three visible coins back into the left hand cup. Drop the ring into the right-hand cup. Pick up the right-hand cup with the right hand. You are now at the position of Fig. 3.

One of the paper cups is gimmicked. The bottom has been removed. Nest this cup into the other cup. Drop the coins inside and drop the ring on top of all. Remark that you found a strange ring in an antique shop. Pour coins and ring onto the table. Lift out the inner (bottomless) cup and hold it in the left hand. The left little finger is curled under the cup. Put the other cup on the table. Drop three coins into the ungaffed cup. Drop the other three coins into the bottomless cup. Drop the ring on top of all. The coins and ring stay put because the little finger acts as a stop. "The coins follow the ring." Grasp the ungaffed cup with the right hand.

The right fingers squeeze the cup. This will keep the three coins in place inside the cup. Pretend to dump the coins and ring onto the table at the exact spot occupied by the lefthand cup. As this is done, the left hand lifts its cup out of the way, Figure 4. Place the right-hand cup on the table. Gather the three coins and drop them into the cup. Slip the ring onto the right forefinger. "The coins follow the ring. Watch." Wave the finger over the left-hand cup. Then drop the ring into the right-hand cup. Pause for dramatic effect. Then crumple the left-hand cup. At the same time dump all six coins and the ring out of the right-hand cup.

This is a gag that can be used to open a close-up performance with a group of laymen. Needed is a blank card about the size of a business card. If none is available, one can use a piece of paper. The card is placed before a lady who is seated at the table. The writing on the top of the card says, "Please turn me over." She does. The writing on the other side says, "Thank you." It's just silly enough to guarantee a laugh. -6-

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Karl Fulves

ATheoryof Space (When The Book of Numbers was in preparation, several of the tricks were demonstrated for Harvey Rosenthal. He remarked that the move associated with "A Theory of Space" and related material was similar to something Tom Ellis had worked out. Since the Ellis move wasn't yet in print, I delayed publication of this trick. The Ellis move was described in "Super Rise " in The Pallbearers Review, pg. 721.)

The left thumb riffles to the midpoint of the deck. Lift this packet off with the right hand and place it on the table. Ask for a number from 1 to 10. Say that 5 is named. Grip the cards from above with the right hand. The right thumb takes over the break. The left thumb pulls 4 cards off into the left palm. The 5th card is flipped face-up and outjogged, Figure. 1. The right hand moves to a position over the chosen card. The right middle finger pushes the chosen card out a bit more, Fig. 2A. At the same time, release the two cards below the break.

"The theory of space says that two objects can't occupy the same space at the same ti me. If you have had the experience of having your mother-in-law move in with you, I' m sure you will agree that there are exceptions to the theory. This is another exception. "

The left hand turns palm-down, a kind of wrist-turn action below the right-hand packet. The left first finger pulls the chosen card flush with the packet, Figure 2B. The supposed chosen card is then thumbed off onto the table, Figure 2C.

You then do the trick where your prediction card, placed at a precise location in the deck, turns out to be a card later chosen by the spectator at that same location.

This next adds to the deception. Turn bath hands palm-up as you say, "You chose the number five and the two of hearts." Turn the right hand palm-down and drop its packet face-down onto the left-hand packet.

Use any deck. Take a card from the deck,but don't show its face. "This is a prediction of sorts. I'm going to reverse it and place it at a precise location in the deck." Place the deck and the prediction card below the level of the tabletop.

There is a packet of cards sitting on the table that you placed there at the beginning of the trick. Drop this packet onto the supposed chosen card.

With the cards out of the view of the audience, turn the prediction card face-up and insert it just above the bottom card of the deck.

"I too chose a number. My number also happened to be five." Turn the packet in hand face-up. Count four cards to the table. The 5th card is seen to be face-down.

As you square it into the deck, obtain a break above this card. Thus, you are holding a left little finger break above the bottom two cards as the deck is brought into view.

"And I too picked a card. I chose my card before you chose yours, but it turns out that -8-

I too chose the two of hearts." Turn the face-down card over to reveal the 2H.

A transposition can be achieved with no change in handling. Pick a prominent card like the ace of spades. Show it and remark that you will place it in a precise location in the deck.Lower the deck below the level of the tabletop. Insert the AS face-up above the bottom card. Bring the deck into view.

Of course the audience suspects there is another 2H at the bottom of the half-deck on the table. If they don't grab those cards, the clean-up will nullify suspicion. Drop the face-up packet in hand onto the faceup cards on the table. Then pick up the other half deck, turn it face-up and drop it on top of all.

Go thru the handling of "A Theory of Space" just as written. The transposition is automatic. -9-

Torn Sellers

The Finder Pencil (One of the challenging problems in magic is to cause mysterious movement of an inanimate object. Tom Sellers invented a method that is impromptu, uses borrowed objects, and gets the job done in a most convincing manner.) This is designed to pick out a certain card, or a number, from a row placed on the table. This pencil makes the discovery in a mysterious manner. Required: A pencil and a ring, the ring being about one inch in diameter. Method: Lay out the cards in a row on the table. Now slip the pencil through the ring in such a manner that the pencil is supported near one end by leverage. Hold the ring by the first finger and thumb as shown in the drawing.

You can now make the pencil point to a forced card, or any card named. If you raise the thumb slightly the pencil will sway to the right; if you raise the forefinger slightly, the pencil will swing to the left. With practice you will be able to make the pencil move to any point desired with accuracy that seems uncanny. The slightest movement of the finger and thumb causes the pencil to sway backwards and forwards. (Joseph Schmidt adds that the trick works perfectly with a round pencil and a wedding band. The direction of movement can be changed by gently blowing on the pencil. Try it with other objects, i.e., three padlocks and a skeleton key that opens only one lock, or three pieces of paper and a pen that picks out the dead-name paper. It takes a minute to get the knack, but the spooky effect thus created is well worth the effort. KF)

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The Black Sox Scandal Baseball's Black Sox achieved fame through superior play, and notoriety through the revelation that some games were fixed. As you provide background on the scandal, remove 12 reds and 11 blacks from the deck. The balance of the deck is not used. Don't call attention to the number of cards taken. Ask a spectator to shuffle the packet. Take back the packet. Deal 10 cards off the top (again, without calling attention to the exact number). Ask the spectator to sort reds from blacks. Say there are 6 reds.

The new situation is shown in the second illustration. Pick up heap #3 and count only the number of red cards. Say this number is three. "The Red Sox scored three runs. " Pick up heap #4. Count the number of blacks. "The Black Sox scored four runs, so they won by one run." Use a black marker to write on a piece of paper that the Black Sox won the first game by one run. Make the writing large and clear so it is easily seen by the audience. This completes the first round of play between the two teams.

The two heaps are shown in the first illustration. "The number of cards in each heap indicate the number of hits each team got. In this case the Red Sox got six hits. The more hits a team gets, the more chances they have to score runs." Deal a heap below heap #1 that contains as many cards as are in heap #1.In this case, the new heap will contain six face-down cards. Put the balance of the cards below heap #2. -11-

The Second Round of Play

HowardAdams

Have the 21 cards shuffled by the spectator. Deal eleven cards to the table without calling attention to the number of cards dealt. Follow the format of the first round exactly as written. All is the same except the outcome: the second game will have been played to a draw, both teams scoring the same number of runs.

The Third Round of Play Have the 21 cards gathered and shuffled. This time deal a heap of twelve cards. The procedure is the same, but the outcome is different. This time the Red Sox will have won by one run.

TheScandal

"Bet the Black Sox +0 win the first gable. The second galr►e is a tie. Red Sox win 9arie num6er three."

(This clever trick appears in Mr. Adams' excellent series, Mindespa.) Arrange a packet of mixed suits in the order 6-A-4-7-3-8-5-2. The ace will count as one in the following trick. The Lady cuts the packet, completes the cut, picks packet up and holds it face down. She turns the top two cards face up as a unit and leaves them face up on top of the packet.

Everything appears to be fair. Each team has won a game, and one game was played to a tie. This is about what one would expect in a situation involving approximately the same number of reds and blacks- a fifty-fifty split in the outcome. "But a piece of paper was found in the possession of a bookie who bet heavily on the series. That piece of paper is what brought about the scandal because every game was fixed." Remove a piece of paper from the card case. The wording is shown below and is always the same. (KF)

Nu Triple Basic

Since card values will be added, the Lady programs the word ADD into the packet by spelling A-D-D aloud, moving a card from top to bottom of packet as each letter is recited. The Lady then does the Down Under Deal to 2 cards which she retains sight unseen. Man picks up the `Down ' pile, holds it face down, and does the Down Under Deal to 2 cards which he retains. A Third Party picks up the `Down' pile, holds it face down, and does the Down Under Deal to 2 cards, which he retains. You now pick up the `Down ' pile (2 cards), turn the pair face up and show that they total 9. Each pair of Lady' s, Man 's and Third Party 's cards will also total to 9. (In this trick, where the spectator "does the Down Under Deal to 2 cards," what is meant is that the spectator eliminates cards via the down/under deal until just two cards remain in the hand. KF)

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In its ten-issue run, Discoverie will feature cards, coins, mentalism and close-up magic. On this go-round I had hoped to make use of color and graphics in different ways, but the balance sheet still dictates otherwise: For a publication that does not take advertising, the cost is prohibitive. The larger magazines attract numerous readers who are drawn to non-trick material like convention coverage, advertisements and trick reviews. Publications like Discoverie stand or fail solely on the basis of the quality of the tricks they are able to deliver. For this reason, contributions from readers are welcome and necessary. ■ Before there were teaching videotapes in magic, there were teaching films. Commenting on the subject in the April 1949 issue of The Sphinx Wilfrid Jonson wrote, "Instructional films will, at least, be a boon to those unable to read. " Watching youngsters seated at a computer, their eyes fastened to the monitor screen, one is inclined to ask if what they are learning is mainly how to play solitaire. It is the same with instructional videos; whatever the merits of teaching tapes, they cannot match the interaction one achieves with personal instruction.

dual nature of the investigative process. He favors supernatural causes, while she looks for more rational explanations. In a review of Anne Simon's book on the science behind The X Files, Jerry Coyne wrote in the 10-1099 NY Times, " I worry that the show ' s preference for the supernatural will feed the public penchant for the occult at the expense of science. Simon rejects this notion, claiming that The X Files attracts students to science. Well, maybe, but how many budding Uri Gellers must we endure for each young Pasteur?" Geller was interviewed on the 1019-99 tv show Entertainment Tonight. He blames his loss of fame on his failure to bend spoons on the Johnny Carson show 25 years ago. A new sensation comes along every twenty years or so. Who will be next? ■

The two agents on The X-Files charged with investigating strange doings represent the -13-

As we enter the new millennium, it might be appropriate to point out that something is happening to Magic, that it is changing from within, in directions never anticipated, toward ends as yet undefined.

Karl Fulves Box 433 Two NJ 07666

Don Nielen

Mich e1 Esposito

Drop Ceiling

Two of You

A card is chosen and returned to the deck. The magician says that he ' s been practicing the famous trick where the deck is thrown upward and the chosen card ends up on the ceiling. He still has a way to go, but he will give it a try. So saying, he performs the waterfall shuffle, except that the palm-up hand springs the deck upwards in a vertical shower about a foot in the air. The cards flutter to the floor without touching the ceiling.

You need two pocket dictionaries and two shuffled decks of number cards. Ask Debbie to pick three cards from one of the number decks. Look over the cards, decide that two of them are not likely choices, and discard them by putting them into an envelope. Say to Debbie, "I think your friend is going to pick this card. Please remember the number." Say the number is 23. This card also goes into the envelope.

"That's what I mean. I have a ways to go, an-other few feet as a matter of fact." So saying, he raises his hand and removes the chosen card from the top of his head!

Lisa looks at the top card of the other shuffled deck and opens a dictionary to that page. Debbie picks up the other dictionary and opens it to the randomly chosen page, in this case page 23.

Method: Although a gag, the effect is puzzling. What it comes down to is a force of, say, the ace of spades. There is a duplicate ace of spades on top of the head from the start. It is held in place with double-sided tape or other stickum. The rest is build-up and presentation.

Lisa reads aloud the first word on her chosen page. Debbie reads aloud the first word on hu chosen page. Both words are the same.

A friend wanted to do this trick but was hesitant about the fact that one of the cards on the floor was a duplicate of the card produced from the top of the head. I suggested that he spring the deck, look ceilingward, shake his head, then say, "I carry a back-up for situations like this. " A second deck is taken from the pocket (the duplicate ace of spades from this deck is the card on top of the magician's head). Spring this deck into the air. Still no luck, but all is not lost. Pluck the ace of spades from the top of the head. Examination of the cards scattered about the floor reveal no clue as to method.

Method: Have both number decks shuffled and placed on the table alongside one another. Pick up deck #1 and ask Debbie to chose three cards. Return the deck to the table. Take the three cards, pretend to study them, and put two of them into the envelope. The third card might bear the number 23. Slide this card face-down into the envelope. Unknown to all but you is the fact that the envelope is a slit envelope. The chosen card goes into the envelope and outside the slit, where it is dropped onto deck #2. Hand Debbie one of the dictionaries. Have her open it to the page indicated by her number card. Ask Lisa to look at the top card of the second deck and open her dictionary to that page. Each calls out the first word on the page. They call out the same word.

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