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a million dollars in bets he lost in a card game. Various methods have been both posited, published, and performed regarding this enduring mystery. Karl Fulves, also a friend of Scarne, published a method involving Riffle Shuffle culling. It seems unlikely to me, however, that Scarne would have engaged in difficult sleight of hand in the circumstances in which he fooled Arnold Rothstein, a man who could and would have had Scarne killed without a second thought. The technique Scarne used on that occasion has never been published until now. The secret was divulged to Ray Goulet by Scarne. Ray, owner of the Magic Art Studio in Watertown, Massachusetts, was a close friend of many card men with an inclination toward gambling over the years including Steve Forte, Walter Scott, Frank Thompson, and of course John Scarne. For this, Scarne used a unique type of crimp—a cross between the Will Deceive coin impression described by John Northern Hilliard in Greater Magic (1938) and a breather crimp: Ray says that Scarne called it “The Pinch.” Remove the four Aces from your deck and get a dime with a nice milled edge. Your left hand holds one Ace vertically, with its back to the right. Your right hand holds the dime vertically, so its milled edge is at the center of the Ace’s back side (photo 1). Press the edge of the dime against the center

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• Scarne's Paul Curry described John Scarne performing his legendary Ace-cutting routine: Early in his career, as he told the story to me, he was engaged to entertain a private party in a Manhattan hotel. Cigar smoke, popping corks, clinking glasses, and sideline conversation presented stiff competition to the young entertainer, but he grimly continued. Midway in his performance he offered a pack of cards to be shuffled and placed face down in front of him. Gingerly, he lifted off a portion of the cards to reveal that he had cut to an Ace. The guests began to grow quiet. A second shuffle and cut—and again he cut to an Ace. The life had suddenly gone out of the party. Inattention gave way to silent concentration as Scarne, at the insistence of one of the guests, performed the stunt again and again. The next day Scarne was again engaged to perform at the hotel, this time before a small group of strangers—plus the persistent guest from the previous evening. No magic this time—Scarne was directed to simply repeat the Acecutting stunt which he proceeded to do despite the shuffling and examination of the cards by the strangers. As each Ace was revealed, the persistent one would look up and smile at the obviously puzzled group. When the cards had gone once around the table, Scarne was handed a check for his services. The name on the check explained the unusual interest in Scarne’s Ace-cutting ability; it was that of Arnold Rothstein, king of professional gamblers. In Rothstein’s world, where fortunes were won or lost on the turn of a card, Scarne’s demonstrated ability to cut to Aces whenever it pleased him to do so, represented a phenomenon as revolutionary to gamblers as they splitting of the atom was to scientists. Curry’s reference to Rothstein as “king of the gamblers” is charitable: Rothstein was the head of the Jewish Mafia in New York City during the late teens through the 1920s, a highly influential murderer and criminal, who was shot to death in 1928 at only 46 years of age for refusing to pay half

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of the Ace, while your left thumb and fingers give the dime a pinch through the pasteboard (photo 2 shows the back, while photo 3 shows the face). Repeat this with all four Aces. The pinch/crimp will be much too large at first, so insert the Aces into different parts of the deck and shuffle it thoroughly, working the pinch down so it’s just barely there. The break it creates that allows you to cut to it is not visible when looking at the side of the squared deck—it is something that can only be felt after much practice. When putting The Pinch in from the back as described, the Aces will cut to the bottom of the deck, or to the face of the portion you cut off. If you want the Aces to cut to the top of the deck, or to remain on top of the tabled portion of the deck when your hand cuts a portion off, simply put The Pinch in from the front by pressing the dime against the face of the Aces. That’s it: a deceptively simple answer to a nearly centuryold mystery. But using The Pinch is not simple, as you’ll see after you’ve worked the deck in. It requires a light, expert touch to cleanly cut to the Aces. • An easier way to achieve the same effect, though it

Scarne Stories

• Just what kind of a larger-than-life character was John Scarne? Someone who knew Scarne well is my old friend Harry Lorayne, who has written a few anecdotes that epitomize Scarne’s chutzpah and self promotion.

By Harry Lorayne

Okay; I’ve been asked so let’s see what I can do. I knew John Scarne pretty well, and what I was asked to do is to write a couple (or three) John Scarne vignettes. This first one is a bit embarrassing for me because I have to admit to doing a stupid thing. Well sure, I was very young but I still should have known better. I was spending quite a bit of time with John, carrying his briefcase for him—that sort of thing (it was referred to, in those days, as being a “lobby boy”). At that time, John was writing a gambling column for a well-known magazine. One day he went to speak with the executives of that magazine; I went with him, up to the 26th floor. I sat in the waiting room while he had his meeting, or whatever, with the “suits.” A bit of time went by and then John stuck his head out the office door and asked me if I had a deck of cards with me. I did—in those days I always had a deck with me (not for the 2

requires more tedious preparation, is a method devised by Gene Maze which he called his “Soft Deck.” Gene, who’d been a welter weight boxer and fought under the name “Dancing Bill Daily,” met Scarne in a gym in New Jersey. Gene’s idea was the opposite of Scarne’s—he treated all the cards except the Aces in a certain way that allowed him to instantly cut to them no matter how much the deck was shuffled. Gene’s method involved taking a new deck and removing the Aces from it. Then, he would run the remaining 48 cards over the sharp edge of a table eight times: once from each corner to the other on the front side, and then again on the back side. This broke in the deck in an unusual manner. Then he would put the Aces, which had not been broken in, back into the deck. The deck should then be shuffled thoroughly. It can be used in a normal manner for weeks, but you’ll always be able to cut to the Aces.

last four or five decades). I threw the deck to him, and he disappeared back into the office. Some minutes later John stuck his head out the office door again and asked, in a loud voice, “Harry, you didn’t put any crimps into any of these cards, did you?” I answered, “Gee, I’m not really sure; I don’t think so.” About eight or nine minutes go by, and he sticks his head out the door again, and asks in the same loud voice, “Do you have fanning powder on these cards, Harry?” I don’t think I even knew what fanning powder was back then. I said “No, of course not.” Back into the office he ducked. I was starting to feel like a ventriloquist’s dummy—he’d stick his head out, ask a question, I’d answer. Quite a routine. And I can still see the secretary at her desk, thinking, “What the hell is a crimp; and what the heck is fanning powder.” Some minutes go by. The door opens and I hear a voice

ask, “Who the heck are you talking to out there?” Pause. “Why don’t you bring him in here.” John’s head protrudes again and he motions for me to come in. I do and John introduces me to the four or five men. “Do you do card magic also?” asks one gentleman. “Yes, I do,” says I. He takes the deck from John, hands it to me, and says, “Let’s see.” And I make my big mistake. Instead of saying something like, “Oh, no; not in front of the master, Mr. Scarne,” I start to do some stuff. Opened with an effect where I did my behind-the-back Classic Force. When I finish the trick, one man asks, “Hey, do you do that, John?” Oh, boy. I was putting Scarne down in front of these (important to him) people. I should have realized that when I saw John turning red in the face! But no; I just kept going. A few months went by before John let me “lobby” for him again. It might be interesting for me to explain how I originally became acquainted with Mr. Scarne … • I’ve written this before, many years ago, In Apocalypse. I titled it “The Triumvirate.” Things were quite different in the world of magic back in the late 1940s and 1950s when I “involved” myself. It wasn’t easy to find a good book on card magic, and those who really knew magic weren’t too anxious or willing to impart that knowledge. I used to visit the New York City magic shops in those days—Tannen’s at 120 West 42nd Street and then Holden’s at (I believe) 220 West 42nd Street; this was long before Abbott’s opened, also on 42nd Street, between the abovementioned. It was at Holden’s that I usually saw what I referred to as “The Triumvirate”—Dai Vernon, John Scarne, and Sam (S. Leo) Horowitz (whose professional name was Mohammed Bey). Bill Simon would be with them every so often, as were other well-known magicians who happened to be visiting New York. Most often, it was just those three. I desperately longed to be able to, be allowed to, join them. There were no chairs in Holden’s, so everyone stood; Vernon, Scarne, and Horowitz were usually off to the side, standing together and deep in conversation when I walked in. Now picture this: If and when I took one step toward them, the Triumvirate would, in unison, take one step away from me! Like a ballet! Interesting, because it didn’t appear as if they saw me at all. I simply couldn’t get anywhere near them. I finally did; “get near them,” that is. It was so important to me, a sort of turning point in my life. I was very young, remember. Here’s what happened … I had just read about the Zingone Spread or Cull. The effect was—you took three cards out of the deck and put them into your pocket without showing their faces. Then three cards were selected, remembered and lost back into the deck. A magical gesture, and you showed that the originally pocketed cards were the three selections. The first three cards were any cards and were immediately palmed out and replaced onto the deck. Then the three selections were controlled, palmed off, and apparently removed from that pocket. It was the three-card Zingone control that intrigued me. The three cards were taken from a ribbon spread and then replaced into that spread. You had to secretly count cards so that you knew the location

of all three selections. Then you overhand shuffled single cards, counting, injogging, culling, etc., the three vital cards to top. Well not for me; couldn’t really do it casually and/ or quickly, had to be so careful about not losing count, and so on. I wanted, and came up with, a much better way (certainly much, much, better for me, anyway). The control, which I first released way back in the April 1952 issue of Hugard’s Magic Monthly—just so you know how far back in time this all took place—and which I’ve taught in books and DVDs since, is called The Spread Control. I had no name for it at the time of this vignette, I just did it. Back to Holden’s, now. Some young guys are crowding around, watching me do The Spread Control on the glass counter. It really is a very good move, and so easy to do. Three cards are selected from a tabled ribbon spread, remembered, and replaced. The spread is gathered, a quick overhand shuffle or two (no counting) and—the three selections are automatically on top of the deck in 1-2-3 order. So, I do the thing, show the three vital cards on top, and—I hear a voice behind me exclaim, “That’s the best darn Zingone Cull I’ve ever seen!” It was John Scarne! He says (demands), “Do that again, kid.” Hands slightly trembling, I do it again. Says Scarne, “Damn! Louie (Zingone) could never do it like that. Hey Dai, Sam, come over here, watch this kid do the Zingone Cull.” I do it for The Triumvirate. They think I’m doing the Zingone Cull, which is impossible during the short overhand shuffle I use—and because I’m not taking the obvious time needed to count how many cards are between the selections, how many cards are above the first selection, and so on. They all say, “It sure doesn’t look as if you’re counting.” I fooled all three of them! That did it. After that, when I walked into Holden’s Magic Shop, John and Dai (Sam was a bit reticent—a down-thenose looker and non-smiler) would greet me—“Hey Kid, c’mon over here. Got something to show us?” I’d maybe do one or two things, but mainly I’d just listen, watch and learn. And … • Scarne was at a political cocktail party when in walked exPresident Herbert Hoover, with his entourage. He never took off his overcoat; he just walked around shaking certain hands, saying “hello” and talking for a moment or two with certain people. It was obvious that he was there to show his political support for somebody, not to socialize. It was also obvious that he wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could. He was about to exit the large room when someone rushed over to him, dragging along John Scarne. He said, “Mr. President, Mr. President, this is John Scarne, the great card magician. He’d love to do his favorite card trick for you.” President Hoover made it pretty obvious that he wasn’t really interested. But he politely, albeit reluctantly, stopped. Of course, the thing for Mr. Scarne to have done here, since Mr. Hoover’s lack of interest was so obvious, was to say something like, “I see you’re in a hurry, Mr. President; why don’t we do this another time?” But no, not wanting to miss this opportunity, John forged ahead.

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He’d blow out a cloud of cigar smoke, and then say, “Watch this,” but it sounded like, “Wachsh shish”! And he pressed against his stomach with both hands as he pushed the dripping-wet-with-saliva folded card out of his mouth with his tongue. As he unfolded the card, its back to the president, he asked Mr. Hoover to name his card. The ex-president said, “The Five of Clubs.” Scarne turned the card to face the president; it was the correct card, of course. And as he said, “Here it is, the little Five of Clubs,” he snapped it with his fingers. Saliva flew from the Five of Clubs right onto President Hoover’s face! I doubt if the ex-president ever again watched, or wanted to watch, another card trick. And John Scarne could forever brag that he literally spit in the face of the President of the United States—and got away with it! •

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He took out a deck of cards, shuffled, and asked the president to take any card. Again, Hoover showed his impatience by rolling his eyes as he reached to take a card. John told the president to look at, remember, and then replace his card into the deck. Mr. Scarne shuffled the deck. Now, John’s favorite trick was a card-from-mouth effect. That is, the folded selected card was produced from his mouth. (I, personally, never liked, never did, “mouth” tricks; well, except for tonguing cigarettes, oh so many years ago.) He did it well, using his ever-present cigar as cover. I won’t go into the method, of course (I watched him do it quite a few times before I caught his excellent palm-off), but he secretly folded the card in half, then in half again, and loaded it into his mouth. John thought that he could speak clearly, normally, with a folded playing card in his mouth.

This booklet is printed in a limited number of 775 copies, given to attendees of Genii’s 75th Anniversary Birthday Bash and may not be sold or reproduced. 75 Genii LOGO.indd 1

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Published By The Conjurors’ Convention Corporation

Scarne’s Aces © 2012 by Richard Kaufman

Scarne Stories © 2012 by Harry Lorayne, Inc.