Welcome to the Stephen Tucker Magic e-trick...
OMEGA Enter... here
OMEGA Required: Four red backed Bicycle aces and four blue backed blank faced cards. To set the packet... place the aces face up onto the face down blank faced cards and pocket them so that you can remove them with the faces of the aces showing. The aces should be in CHaSeD order from face to back so that the card showing at the face of the packet is the ace of clubs. Introduce the cards, show the four aces then table them in a face up pile. Ask someone to merely THINK of any one of the aces. Now explain that, at the moment, you won't show the faces of the face down packet of four cards, which are a set of identical aces, as it may influence their thought of ace and cause them to change their mind. So... hand them the four face down cards and ask that they mix them WITHOUT looking at their faces. They return them to you and you explain that you will turn one face up but, so that no one knows which ace it is, you'll do this with the cards behind your back, or under the table if you are seated. Take the cards behind your back and simply palm the upper two cards then return holding the other two cards, with the palming hand. in the Hamman/Biddle grip with the thumb on the inner narrow edge and your fingers on the outer, as in fig:1. Immediately table the two cards as four and pick up the face up packet and take it behind your back. Note... if seated, you can avoid the palm by simply placing the top two cards on your chair, twixt buttocks and seat, then return holding the face down two card packet as FOUR cards. If standing, the palm can be avoided by tucking the two removed cards under your belt, at the rear, or even part way into a rear pocket. However... I prefer to make the palm! Either way, you are now holding the face up set of aces behind your back. Add the two face down cards to the top then slide the top face down card back slightly by about an inch. This is like a GLIDE but you are drawing back the TOP card of the packet Now ask the person who thought of the ace to name it. Once they do... explain that you will now find their ace in the packet of cards behind your back. In order to position their named ace ready for palming off you use an idea of Ali Bongo's as follows... Due to the top card being draw back slightly, you can remove the 2nd card and move it to the bottom of the packet. Do so and immediately say to yourself - CLUBS. Move the next card to the bottom saying, to yourself - HEARTS and so on through the CHaSeD order until you have moved to the bottom the card upon which you have said, to yourself, the SUIT of the spectator's ace.
Square up the packet and palm off the top two cards and, as before, the palming hand grips the rest of the packet in the Hamman/Biddle grip (fig 1). Come forward again with the cards and explain that you previously turned one of the cards in the tabled packet face up. Place the four cards you are openly holding into your other hand and, with the palming hand, spread the tabled packet. This automatically adds the palmed duo and reveals a face up ace in the face down spread... the very ace thought of! This is a very POWERFUL phase in the routine as they believe that you reversed the card and tabled the packet PRIOR to them verbally revealing it! Allow this to sink in then draw attention to the packet of cards in your hand. Spread them, showing that only their ace has been turned face down! This is in no way as amazing as the appearance of their ace reversed in the tabled packet. Explain that they probably think that, once they told you their ace, you simply found it behind your back and turned it over. Now you hit them for six... by showing the backs of the aces they didn't think of and... they are seen to be of a different colour to the back design of their ace! All of a sudden the effect has jumped beyond that present in the tabled packet! As a final kicker, explain that the thought of ace is printed with a special ink that actually rubs away. Rub the face of their card against your sleeve, then mime covering the ink on the face of the assumed ace with your two thumbs held tip-to-tip across the assumed inked area. Immediately hand out the four cards for examination to prove that none of the other cards are printed with this special rub away ink. Take back the cards and pocket them. Draw attention to the tabled packet and offer an explanation as to how you managed to turn their thought of ace face up... Maybe you, by incredible sleight-of-hand, flipped their ace over at the moment of spreading the packet? Now destroy this thought by turning their card face down to reveal that it has a completely different coloured back to the other three! Flip their card face up again and end by explaining the reason that you didn't allow them to look at the faces of these four cards at the very start was... that you were so certain they would think of their ace... you didn't bother to bring the other three with you! Flip the other three cards face up revealing three blank faced cards! This set of four cards are also handed out for examination and the routine is concluded. © Feb'2005 - Stephen Tucker, 1 Castle Haven, Foley Tce; Gt. Malvern. Worcs. WR14 4RO. England. Email:
[email protected] (www.stephentuckermagic.co.uk)
Omega Plus routine... here
OMEGA PLUS Jerry Sadowitz brought to my attention that the showing of the odd backs and blank faced card in the 'behind the back' packet wasn't really necessary as the B'wave effect performed with the 'tabled packet' is far stronger. Jerry simply shows that the named ace is face down in the 'behind the back' packet then places these cards away in his pocket. As this is done, the palming hand spreads the tabled cards revealing the named ace to be face up. The thinking is... that the reversed card in the 'behind the back' packet is not perceived as magical. They simply think that you have located their card then flipped it face down. No one will want to look at these cards as a result. I agree with Jerry. With this in mind, I have added to Jerry's concept by introducing a third back design into play as follows... The tabled packet still contains two face down blue backed blank faced cards. The 'behind the back' packet is set as follows... a green backed Bicycle card face down, the four red backed face down aces (in CHaSeD order), a face up blue backed blank faced card. This packet is introduced with the green backed Bicycle card back showing then placed behind your back. Flip the entire packet over then have ANY ace named. Move the named ace so that it is beneath the blank faced top card of the packet. Remove the bottom, green backed, card... flip it face down then insert it above the new bottom card. Finally palm off the top two cards and proceed as in the original routine. This reveals the assumed face down named ace in the 'behind the back' set of cards. The reversed ace in the 'behind the back' set of cards has the same green back design seen when the cards were placed behind the back. The suggestion is that this set of aces ALL have the same back design! Pocket this set of cards as you explain that you merely found their ace then flipped it face down. *IF YOUR GREEN BACKED CARD IS AN ACE... ONE IN FOUR TIMES YOU'LL BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE FACE DOWN CARD AND FLIP IT FACE UP AGAIN PRIOR TO POCKETING THE PACKET! Continue by showing that their named ace is also face up in the tabled packet, it has a RED back design and the other aces are actually blank faced cards! The four tabled cards can be
examined! Note... If you don't want to bother with the green backed card... simply use any RED backed Bicycle card and, once the named ace is seen face down, flip the face up aces face down too showing that they have the same RED back design. This is done as you explain how you managed to find their ace and simply flipped it face down.
Omega ESP Routine... here
OMEGA ESP OMEGA ESP You'll need five E.S.P. cards and five blank faced cards. These are available in both Bicycle and Piatnic card stock, and each set of five cards should have a different coloured back design to the other set. I use red backed ESP cards and blue backed blank facers. I carry the cards in a breast pocket but some may prefer to house them in a double plastic wallet. If you do... place the five blank facers face down in one side and the E.S.P. cards face up in the other. If using a pocket... place the E.S.P. cards face up onto the face down blank faced cards and pocket them so that you can remove the packet with the E.S.P. symbols showing. Introduce the cards, a formal introduction isn't really necessary, and show the symbols on the E.S.P. cards. End with these cards in a face up pile in the time honoured 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 order of Circle, Cross, Wavy lines. Square and Star. The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 represents the number of lines in each design. The Circle is the upper card of the tabled face up packet. Your patter explains that the cards were invented by Dr. Rhine at the Duke University etc. As you patter, ask someone to merely THINK of any one of the five designs and, if necessary show the face up packet of cards again but end with the packet in a face up squared state in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 order as before. Now explain that you cannot show the faces of the face down packet of five cards as it may influence their thought of symbol and cause them to change their mind. So... hand them the five face down cards and ask that they mix them WITHOUT looking at their faces. They return them to you and you explain that you will turn one face up but, so that no one knows which symbol it is, you'll do this with the cards behind your back or... under the table if you are seated. Take the cards behind your back and simply palm the upper two cards then return holding the rest of the cards, with the 'palming' hand, in the Hamman/Biddle grip with the thumb on the inner narrow edge and your fingers on the outer. This grip was used in the original OMEGA handling, and is shown in fig.1 above. Immediately table the three cards as five and pick up the face up packet and take it behind your back. (I feel that this tabling of three cards to represent five, is far more convincing than the original two, representing four, in OMEGA). *Note... if seated, you can avoid the 'palm' by simply placing the top two cards on your chair, twixt buttocks and seat. then return holding the face down three card packet as if it still contained FIVE cards. Or... if standing, the 'palm' can still be avoided by tucking the two removed cards under your belt at the rear or even part way into a rear pocket. However... I
prefer to make the palm as it gives me a buzzzzzz! Either way, you are now holding the face up set of E.S.P. cards behind your back. Add the two face down cards to the top then slide the top face down card back slightly by about an inch. This is like a GLIDE but you are drawing back the TOP card of the packet. Now ask that the person who thought of the E.S.P. card name it. Once they do... explain that you will now find their named symbol in the packet of cards behind your back. In order to position their named symbol ready for 'palming Off you use an idea of Ali Bongo's as follows... Due to the top card being drawn back slightly, you can remove the 2nd card and move it to the bottom of the packet. Do so and mentally say to yourself CIRCLE. Move the next card to the bottom saying, to yourself, CROSS and so on through the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 order until you have moved to the bottom the card upon which you have said, to yourself, the spectators symbol. Square up the packet and palm off the top two cards. As before, the palming hand grips the rest of the packet in the Hamman/Biddle grip. Come forward again with the cards and explain that you previously turned one of the cards in the tabled packet face up. With the palming hand spread the tabled packet, automatically adding the palmed duo, to reveal that the reversed symbol is the very one thought of! This is a very POWERFUL phase in the routine as they believe that you reversed the card and tabled the packet PRIOR to them verbally revealing it! Allow this to sink in then draw attention to the packet of cards in your hand. Deal them one at a time to the table showing that only their symbol has been turned face down! This is in no way as amazing as the appearance of their symbol reversed in the tabled packet. Explain that they probably think that, once they told you their symbol, you simply found it behind your back and turned it over. Now you hit them for six by showing the backs of the symbols they didn't think of and they are seen to be of a different colour! All of a sudden the effect has jumped beyond that present in the tabled packet! As a final kicker, explain that their thought of symbol is printed with a special ink that actually rubs away. Rub the face of their card against your sleeve and. eventually show that the ink has completely rubbed away! Immediately hand out the five cards for examination to prove that none of the other cards are printed with this special 'rub away' ink. Take back the cards and pocket them. Draw attention to the tabled packet and offer an explanation as to how you managed to turn their thought of symbol face up... Maybe you, by incredible sleight of hand, flipped their card over at the moment of spreading the packet? Now destroy this thought by turning their card face down to reveal that it has a completely different coloured back to the other four! Flip their card face up again and end by explaining the reason that you didn't allow them to look at the faces of these cards at the very start... you were so certain that they would think of their symbol that... you didn't bother to bring the other four with you! Flip the other four
cards face up revealing four blank faced cards! These cards are handed out for examination and the routine is concluded! Notes: When you spread the tabled set of cards, adding the palmed duo, you can delay the revelation of what the reversed card is by not spreading the packet too widely. They will see 'a card' reversed, but not know exactly which one it is until later. You can't do this with the original OMEGA. © Feb'2005 - Stephen Tucker, 1 Castle Haven, Foley Tce; Gt. Malvern. Worcs. WR14 4RO. England. Email:
[email protected] (www.stephentuckermagic.co.uk)
Original Adverts & Quotes... here
Stephen Tucker's OMEGA omega [Omega] (fig) final point, ultimate goal.
WHAT'S THE EFFECT? You table one set of aces, then place another set behind your back, as you ask someone to name ANY ace, (NO FORCE!) You do something with the cards behind your back, then show that their ace is face down amongst the other face up aces... big deal, I hear you say. However, you now spread the tabled set of aces (THAT HAS BEEN IN FULL VIEW THROUGHOUT) and their ace is face up in the, otherwise, face down packet! They probably weren't too impressed at your ability to reverse their ace, in the set placed behind your back, however you now show that it has a different coloured back to the other three! As if this weren't enough, you cause its face to vanish... leaving behind a completely blank faced card! THESE FOUR CARDS CAN NOW BE EXAMINED! Attention is now directed to the tabled aces. Remember, their named ace (NO FORCE!) is the only face up card! You ask someone to remove it and turn it face down... It has a different coloured back to the other three! Impressive, yes, but the best is yet to come. You say that you were so convinced that they would name that particular ace... you didn't bother to bring the other three. Someone flips the other three cards face up to find... three blank facers! PLEASE NOTE: THIS FINAL PHASE IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS PHIL GOLDSTEIN'S B'WAVE, BUT... THESE FOUR CARDS CAN BE EXAMINED! OMEGA is the fruit of a great many hours of cerebral labour, and I honestly believe that it is one of my very best inventions... ever! It was inspired by seeing Phil Goldstein's B'WAVE. Goldstein's B'WAVE owes much to the immortal BRAINWAVE DECK and, at least, a nod of appreciation in the direction of PARADE OF THE KINGS. The additional ending, where the three cards not chosen turn out to have blank faces, belongs (I believe?) to Karl Fulves. It was also used by Mark Leveridge, in his CARDS ON PARADE routine, prior to B'WAVE. I also used this ending, after seeing Mark's routine, in
THE AMAZING FOUR ACES TRICK detailed on my 3rd INTERNATIONAL MAGIC STUDIO VIDEO (Dec'1992.) I adapted part of the method from my 'T.A.F.A.T' and used it in OMEGA. Since B'WAVE hit the market, Dominique Duvlvier has released his NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, and John Bannon has released his TWISTED SISTERS. However, in NONE of these three routines can ALL THE CARDS BE EXAMINED.
THE ADVANTAGES OF OMEGA OVER ALL THE REST... * NO SPECIALLY PRINTED CARDS! ALL 8 CARDS (AND ONLY 8 ARE USED) CAN BE EXAMINED! * THIS MEANS YOU NEED NEVER BUY A REPLACEMENT SET... EVER! * THE OMEGA CARDS ARE NOT TREATED IN ANY WAY (IE. ROUGH & SMOOTH). * THERE ARE NO FALSE COUNTS USED IN THE ROUTINE. * TO YOUR AUDIENCE, THE HANDLING LOOKS THE SAME EVERY TIME! * 100% SELF-WORKING? - NO, BUT OMEGA IS INCREDIBLY EASY TO PERFORM!
COMMENTS FROM SATISFIED PURCHASERS OF OMEGA... Alan Francis - "I wouldn't be surprised if EVERY magician wants one. It's terrific!" Jerry Sadowitz - "Superb! The most baffling and incredible packet trick I've seen in years. Magicians will enjoy performing it as much as their audiences will love watching it!" Dr. Peter Moffat - "Goldstein, Duvivier and Bannon all make use of the 'Parade Of The Kings' gimmick. For my money, your version is the best and uses examinable cards!" Andrew Scott - "Omega is brilliant! It really puzzled my wife. She gave it ten-out-of-ten!" Arthur Emerson - "Omega is omega!"
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