Charles Jordans Best Card Tricks

7/26/2019 Charles Jordans Best Card Tricks

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Karl f'ulves

RLES JORDAN 'S__T CARD TRICKS

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Copyright 1992 by Karl Fulves.

All rights reserved under Pan American and Imemauonal Copy-right Conventions.

Published in Canada by General Publishing Company, Ltd., 30

Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario.

Published in the United Kingdom by Constable and Company,

Ltd., 3 The Lanchesters, 162-164 Fulham Palace Road, London

W69ER.

Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks is a new work, first published by

Dover Publications, Inc., in 1992.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Dover Publications. Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola. N.Y. 1150 I

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fulves, Karl.

Charles Jordan's best card tricks / by Karl Fulves ; with 265illustrations byJoseph K.Schmidt.

p. em.ISBN0-486-26931-0

1. Card tricks. I. Jordan, Charles T. (Charles Thorton),1888-1944. II. Title.

GV1549.F8 1992795.4'38-dc20 91-46089

CIP


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Introduction

orthe legendary figures in magic, Charles T. Jordan is perhaps uniquein that his reputation was established almost solely through a mail-or-

der service he operated for a very few years. He didnot perform pub-licly, shunned the company of all but a few friends, and did little in thewayof advertising, yet he was to have a profound influence on later

generations of magicians.

Charles Thorton Jordan was born to Charles and Mary Jordan onOctober 1, 1888. At about the age of ten, after witnessing a Keller per-

formance, he became interested in magic. He purchased tricks and

gaveperformances in his Berkeley, California, home until about theageof20, when he made the acquaintance of Robert Madison. It wasMadisonwho invited him to join a small group that included ArthurBuckleyand Caner. It is probable that through the lively meetings of

this small group his imagination was fired and he began to inventtricks.

The family moved to Pengrove. Jordan began publishing tricks atthis time. His first pubished trick, "Satan's Touch," appeared in theApril 1915 issue of Thayer's Magical Bulletin. A year later his first ad-

vertisement was published in the same magazine, and it contained a

remarkable offer. To promote a trick called "Long Distance Mindread-ing,"Jordan sent, on request, a deck of cards. You would shuffle the

deck, take a card and place it in one half of the deck. When you mailed

himthe other half of the deck, he would name your card!During this same period Jordan turned to fiction writing. The earli-

est example of his fiction I could find was a story called "The Legerde-maniacs" in the September 1916 issue of The Sphinx. Magical themesand methods were woven into the stories, but the style and quality of

the work were not exceptional.In 1919 he released Thirty Card Mysteries, a book that has become a

classicof card magic. The book contained a trick called "The PhantomAces,"which described a startling new approach to the principle of the

false count. Overlooked for four decades, this move, now called theJordan Count, was to have tremendous impact on the field of card

magic when it was later rediscovered .


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vi Introduction

Undoubtedly, Jordan wasat the height of his creative powers duringthis same period. ]n 1919 he instituted his "Special Service for Magi-cians"-something like a trick-of-the-month club. In 1920he releasedfivebooklets, a total of 50 tricks in less than a year. Tricks and manu-scriptscontinued to flow from his pen until 1923.

Abruptly, he stopped producing new magic. He becameinterested inthe newfield of amateur radio, but was unable to make a successof it.By 1929he had written toT. Nelson Downs, "Am outofthe radio gameentirely now, and am turning back to the typewriter as a means of live-lihood.Itwill take a little time of course, to break in again, but I think 1can make the grade all right, and before long be getting a good incomeout of it, as the market has widened considerably and the rates have

advanced since 1 made a foolof myself and deserted the writing gamefor radio, which has proven a devil of a fiasco."

At this same time there wasa fad of circulation-building gimmicksamong newspapers, which wouldoffer cash prizes to those who could

provide the first correct solution to puzzles. Jordan wasintroduced tothis field by Carl Fanton and apparently was successful at it.

In 1935 Theo Annemann established contact with Jordan and ar-rangedto reprint all of the Jordan output in a series of pamphlets. Theseriesdid not catch on and wasdiscontin ued after sixinstallments.

In the early 19405 Jordan washit by illness, then by a heart attack andfurther illness. He died in April 1944.

Secondfinger

Fourth

finger


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Introduction vi i

In confronting the Jordan legacy, one is immediately struck by the

astonishing range of his inventive ability, by the subtlety of his think-ing and by the fact that so many of his creations have become magicclassics.Other magicians have published more, but few could match his

string of successes. Embodied in the Jordan writings are many of thefundamental principles used in card magic today. Careful study ofthese tricks is a short course in some of the best current thinking in the

field.The easiest way to demonstrate the power of Jordan's methods isto put together a program of tricks from the pages of this book. You

willfind that you fool magicians as easily as you baffle laymen.For this book, each of the original tricks has been completely rewrit-

ten. jordan's compressed style has been expanded to

include detailsthat might be unfamiliar to the nontechnical reader. Where Jordan de-scribescomplex or advanced methods, simpler alternatives have been

suggested. I use a number of Jordan's tricks and have devised han-dlingsthat suit my own manner of working. About [our dozen of these

are appended as "Notes" at the end of the appropriate tricks.It should be noted that, although the directions given here seem to

imply that the magician is a man (the traditional manner for givingdirections in magic), they are, of course, also intended tobe used by

women.For their generous assistance in the compilation ofthis book I would

liketo thank Sam Schwartz.joseph Schmidt and William Miesel.

KARL FULVS


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Contents

Impromptu Card Tricks 1

I. The Hourglass Card Trick

2. ANew Card Discovery 2

3. The Infallible Detection 2

4. "Infallible Detection"Notes 3

5. Forty-Nine 46. "Forty-Nine" Notes 5

7. The KeystoneCard Trick 5

8. Double Prediction 6

9. Mephisto's Prediction 7

10. The Sequel 9

II. Master Stop Trick 9

12. The Spirit Mathematician II

13. The Five Guesses 13

14. "Five Guesses" Notes 14

15. The IncomprehensibleDestroyed Card 15

16. "Incomprehensible Destroyed Card" Notes 17

17. Card Tearing 18

TheBanded Deck 21

18. The StraitjacketReversed Card 21

19. Elasticity 22

20. The Escape 24

21. "Escape" Notes 27

22. The Triple Escape 28

23. The ImpossibleJourney 3024. Transposition Extraordinary 31

25.. The Downs HingeShift 33


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x Contents

26. The Downs Slip Cut 34

27. "Downs Slip Cut" Notes 34

Stacked-Deck Tricks 36

28. Psycholia 36

29. Divino 37

30. "Divino" Notes 3831. Psychic Prediction 3932. Mephistopheles' Touch 4033. The Dream 4134. C. T.]. Detection 4235. Ex-Cello Card Discovery 4336. Strange Coincidence 4437. The Wizard's Will 4438. "Wizard's Wil l" Notes 4539. Discard Trick 4640. The Missing Pair 4641.

"Missing Pair" Notes 47

Gambling Secrets 49

42. Quadruple Concentration 49

43. The Magi's Detection 50

44. "Magi's Detection" Notes 52

45. The Impenetrable Stop Trick 52

46. It's Up to You 5447. Punched Card Notes 54

48. The SagaciousJoker 56

49. "Sagacious Joker" Notes 57

50. Impromptu Card Reader 58

51. Henry Gavin's False Cut 60

Sleight-of-Hand Tricks 61

52. Bewildero 61

53. Bewildero II 62

54. The Barefaced Detection 63

55. Color Divination 64

56. "Color Divination" Notes 65

57. Reversed Cards 66

58. Improved Pocket to Pocket 67


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Contents xi

59. The Single-Card Reverse 68

60. The Half-Pack Reverse 71

61. "Half-Pack Reverse"Notes 7262. The Alternate Reverse 72

More Impromptu Card Tricks 75

63. The Unknown Leaper 75

,64. "Unknown Leaper" Notes 76

65. With the Mind'sEye 77

66. The Twentieth-Century Puzzle 7967. Weirdo 80

68. The Fade-Out Vanish 82

69. An Impromptu Detection 82

70. "Impromptu Detection" Notes 83

71. Satan's Prophecy 84

72. Satan's Prophecy Improved 86

73. The Simplicity Speller 87

74. "Simplicity Speller"Notes 8875. The Climax 90

76. "Climax" Notes 91

Prepared-Card Tricks 93

77. 1923 Card and Handkerchief 93

78. The Spirit Aces 95

79. The Brain Twister 9780. Diabolical ReversedCard 98

81. Joker Monte 101

82. "Joker Monte" Notes 102

83. Pedro Monte 103

84. The Demon Color Change 104

85. "Demon Color Change" Notes 105

86. The Bisected Queen 106

87. The Monarch-Card-and-Pocket Mystery 107

88. The Contrary Clock 110

89. "Contrary Clock"Notes 112

Shuffle Systems 114

90. A Shuffle Secret 114

91. Close- Range Mind Reading 115


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x i i Contents

\.

92. Long-Distance Mind Reading 11693. The Premo 118

94. The Dealing Dovetail Detection 11995. "Dealing Dovetail Detection" Notes 12196. The Rolling-Off-a-Log Detection 12197. "Rolling-Off-a-Log Detection" Notes 12298. The Full Hand 123

99. "Full Hand" Notes 124

100. The Wonder Force 125101. Improved Chevalier Card Trick 126102. Thought Foretold

127103. Premier Card Discovery 128104. The Simplissirno Detection 128

Four-Ace Tricks 130

105. The Perennial Aces 130106. "Perennial Aces" Notes 132107.

The Amazing Aces 133108. The Bewitched Aces 135109. "Bewitched Aces" Notes 135110. The Pinochle Ace Trick 136111. Leave It to the Aces 138112. "Leave It to the Aces" Notes 139113. Mystery Aces 140114. "Mystery Aces" Notes 142

Subtle Secrets 143

115. New Card Reading 143116. "New Card Reading" Notes 144117. Stampedo 145118. The New-Pack Detection 147119. The Lifesaver 148

120. Coincidentally 149121. "Coincidentally" Notes 151122. Transfero 152123. "Transfero" Notes 154124. The Master Riddle 155125. Satan's Trance 156126. "Satan's Trance" Notes 158127. Telepathic Control 159


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Contents xiii

More Stacked-Deck Tricks 160

128. Diabolical Transposition 160

129. "Diabolical Transposition" Notes 161130. Fate and theJoker 162

131. An Odd-Even Experiment 163

132. The Mysterious Detective 164

133. Take-a-Peek Card Trick 165

134. The' Flush Trick 166

135. Poker Player'sDream 167

136. The Poker Shark 168

137. The Vanished Card 170

138. "Vanished Card" Notes 171

139. Prophesied SpotTotal 172

140. "Prophesied SpotTotal" Notes 173

141. Cremo Card Restoration 173

142. Demon's Divination 174

143. "Demon's Divination" Notes 175

144. The Card-and-Number Mystery 176

145. Extraordinary Clairvoyance 176

Strippers and One-Way Decks 178

146. Stripper Secrets 178

147. Just the Reverse 179

148. The Four Flusher 181

149. Perfection Methodfor Strippers 182\50. "Perfection Methodfor Strippers" Notes 183

151. The ElectrifiedStrippers 184

152. "Electrified Strippers" Notes 185

153, One-Way Secrets 186

154. The Wizard Reader, 187

155. "Wizard Reader"Notes 188

156. The Hummer Detection 189

157. "Hummer Detection"Notes 190

158. Incomprendo Speller 191

159. "Incomprendo Speller" Notes 192

160. Mephistopheles' Own 194

161. ' Faces or Backs-Which? 195

162, Premo Detection 196

163. "Premo Detection"Notes 196

164. The Trio 197


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xiv Contents

165. Twentieth-Century Sorcery 198166. Change Your Mind? 199

Further Impromptu Card Tricks 201

167. Etad-ot-Pu 201168. The O.K.X-Ray 203169. The Banner Card Discovery 204170. The Haunted Deck 205171. SympatheticSympathy 208172.

The 52-CardTrick 210173. Presto Pass 212174. "Presto Pass" Notes 212175. A NovelForce 213176. The StabbedPair 213177. The SuitsUnscrambled 214178. Demon's Detection 216179. "Demon's Detection" Notes 216

180. Satan's Touch 217

More Prepared-Card Tricks 218

181. The Nine-in-Ten Detection182. The UtilityPack 219

183. "Utility Pack"Notes 220

184. The Latest Forcing Deck

185. "Latest ForcingDeck" Notes186. The MysteryProblem 222

187. The Latest Haunted Ace 224188. One Ahead 224

189. Poker Shark II 226

190. The Idol's Vision 227

191. Reverse Englishon the X-Ray192. Spelling AnyCard Called For

221

222

A Jordan Card Routine 231

193. The Inseparable Aces

194. The ReadyReckoner

195. The Pair Detection

196. The Dead-EasyLocation

197. The NiftyKey 235

231

232

233

234

218

228

229


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Contents xv

The Ever Ready Princ iple 236

198. SpookCard 236

199. Ultimo 237200. The ReversedCard 239

201. WholesaleReversals 240

202. Mind Reading 240

203. The SpellingTrick 241

204. . A UniqueReverse 242

205. "Unique Reverse" Notes

206. Speakingof Pink Elephants

243

243

The Jordan Count 247

207. The PhantomAces 247

208. Jordan Count Notes 249

209. Red-Black Mix-Up 250

210. 1ndetecto 250211. The HaxtonCount 251


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Impromptu Card Tricks,

The tricks in this chapter can be done with a borrowed deck. There is

littleor no preparation and the tricks virtually work by themselves. Theeffects include easy card locations, impromptu predictions and a novel

torn and restored card routine.

1. The Hourglass Card Trick

This trick is a swindle from start to finish. A simple placement IS

combined with an audacious location of the chosen card. At no timedoes the magician touch the deck. The effect contains the odd

constraint that itcan be performed only at certain times of the day.A spectator shuffles his own pack and removes any six cards. From

these he selects-one for himself. He takes the balance of the deck and

deals it into two face-down heaps, dealing a card alternately on each

heap until he has dealt all the cards. The spectator places the chosencard on either heap. Then he places the remaining five cards on either

heap. Finally. he places the heap that does not contain the chosen card

on top of the other heap. The chosen card has thus been buried in themiddleof the pack. It appears to be hopelessly lost but, infact, it lies

twenty-ninth from the top ofthe deck.Glance at your watch and announce the time as, for example, 3:26.

The spectator adds the number of the hour to the number of minutes

(in this example 3 + 26) to get 29. Then he counts down to thetwenty-ninth card and finds that it is his card.

The trick must be performed at thes: times:

1:28 7:222:27 8:213:26 9:204:25 10:195:24 11:186:23 12:17

Rather than take a chance that the spectator might miscall the time,

glance at the watch, letting him see the time, then call out whichever of

the appropriate times given above it happens tobe. When the spectator

adds the numbers and counts down to that number, he finds his card.


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2 Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks

2. A NewCard Discovery

Althoughit is generally believedthat a riffle shuffle or dovetailshufflewill hopelessly mix the cards, this trick illustrates how a controlled'outcome can be brought about. The trick is not surefire but a clevermethod is provided that allows you bring the trick to a successfulconclusionevery time. .

A spectator removes any card from the deck, looks at itand places iton top of the deck. He cuts the deck and completes the cut. He maygivethe deck several straight cuts. Then he gives the decka dovetail or

riffle shuffle and another cut. The shuffled deck is handed to theperformer. He looks through the deck and immediately finds thechosencard.

Method: Secretly note the top and bottom cards of the pack. We willassume the top card is the A and the bottom card the A. Thespectator removes any card from the deck, looks at it and places it ontop of the deck. Then he cuts the deck at about the middle andcompletesthe cut, The chosen card is now between the red aces.

Cut about a quarter of the deck from top to bottom. Then have thespectator cut at about the midpoint and riffle or dovetailshuffle thetwo halvesof the deck together. If you are not sure of the difference

between these shuffles, refer to Figure 12 I. After the shuffle, thespectatorcan give the deck further cuts.

Itappears as if his card is hopelessly lost in the pack, but in fact it isstill between the red aces. Further, there are probably no other cards

betweenthe red aces. Take the deck from him, locate the red acesandremove the card between them.

On occasion you may find twoor more cards between the red aces.Cut allof these cards to the top of the deck. Place the deckbehind your

back. Remove two cards from the bottom of the pack plus one cardfrom the top. Ask if the chosen card is among them. If so, you knowwhich it is since it must be the one you removed from the top of the

pack. If not, discard these three cards and remove three more, onefrom the top and two from the bottom. Proceed in this way until youarrive at the chosen card. There willseldom be more than two or threecards between the aces, so the trick is quickly brought to a successful

conclusion.

3. The Infallible Detection

The magicianshuffles a borrowed deck of cards and hands the deck toa spectator for further shuffling. While the magician turns his back orleaves the room, the spectator deals any number of cards from ten to


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Impromptu CardTricks 3

20 off the top of the deck, notes the next card and places the dealt

packeton top.Returning to the room, the magician picks up the deck, removes a

cardand places it in his pocket. The spectator looks through the deckand finds that his card is gone. He then removes his card from the

magician'spocket.

M e th o d : When you first shuffle the deck, note the top card. Hand thedeckto someone who you know shuffles the deck dovetail fashion.

Watchwhile he gives the deck a shuffle.In some cases the card you noted will remain on top after the

shuffle.In other cases one or two cards will fall on top of the noted

card.Simply remember how many cards fall on top of your noted card.The spectator deals a packet of cards onto the table after you turn

yourback. Then he notes the top card of the deck and replaces the

dealtpacket onto his card. This places the key card directly above hischosencard. Simply go through the deck, find his card and drop it into

yourpocket.If one card fell onto your noted card as a result of the spectator's

shuffle,the spectator's card willbe the second down from the key card

whenyou look through the deck. If two cards fell onto the key card

duringthe spectator's shuffle, the spectator's card will be third down

fromthe key card.

4. "Infallible Detection" Notes

The principles of "A New Card Discovery" and "The InfallibleDetection"can be combined as follows. Place the. A on top of the

deck,the tftA twenty-sixth from the top, the. A twenty-seventh from

thetop and the'" A on the bottom of the deck.Splitthe deck between the "'A and the A. Place the two packets

sidebyside on the table. There is now an ace on the top and bottom ofeachhalf of the deck. Turn your back. Have the spectator shuffle the

twohalves of the deck together. Unknown to the spectator, there must

b e an ace on both the top and bottom of the deck after the shuffle.The spectator jots down a number between 10 and 20 on a slip of

paper, folds the paper and places it in his pocket. He deals off thatnumber of cards from the top of the deck. Then he looks at the topcardof the remainder of the deck and replaces that card on top of the

deck.The dealt packet is placed on top of his card. Finally,he gives the

decka cut and completes the cut.Take the deck and hold it so you can see the faces. With the aid of

the left thumb, push cards from left to right, beginning at the face of

thedeck. Eventually you willcome to a red ace. Whichever red ace yougetto first, the card directly to the right of it is the chosen card. Pocket

thiscard.


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5. Forty-Nine


Beginning with the card immediately to the leftof this red ace, countthe number of cards up to and including the first blackace you cometo. This number isthe number the spectator chose when he dealt cards

off the top of the deck.Have the spectator look through the deck for his card. When he

finds it is not there, have him remove it from your pocket. Thenremind him that he has a slip of paper in his pocket with a numberwritten onit. Appear to be concentrating, then reveal the number.

In this trick, the cards remain in the spectator's hands from start to .finish. The trick is based on a well-concealed mathematical principle.

The spectator discards three cards from his deck, leaving him with49 cards. He notes and remembers any card among those he holds.

Then he deals the cards into seven face-up heaps, dealing from left toright, one card at a time. He announces which pile contains his card,counting from left to right. The mentalist, whose back is turned, saysthat he thought so. Then he has the spectator pick up the heaps by

placing the seventh heap (i.e., the heap farthest to

the right) on top ofthe sixth, the combined heap on top of the fifth, these on the fourthand so on.

To make certain that he has a dear mental impression of thespectator's card, the mentalist has the spectator deal the face-downpack into seven face-up heaps once more, dealing, as before, one card

at a time from left to right. Again the spectator names the pile thatcontains his thought-of card. The mentalist says that now he is certainof the identity of the chosen card.

The spectator collects the heaps in order from right to left as before.He turns the pack face down and begins dealing cards off the top.After several cards have been dealt, the mentalist tells him to stop. Thecard stopped at proves to be the chosen card.

The above description is the exact effect. From start to finish, thementalist never t.ouches the cards.

Method: The method is based on a simple calculation. The packet that

cont~in~ the chosen card on the first deal tells you the position of hiscard InIts packet on the second deal. If for example his card was in thefifth packet on the first deal, it will be fifth from the top of its packet atthe end of the second deal. If his card was in the first packet after thefirst deal, it will be on top of its face-up packet at the end of the seconddeal. .

When the spectator announces which heap contains his card afterth~ second deal, ~~ke one l~ssthan this number and multiply it by 7. Tothis add the posruon of his card after the first deal. The result is the

present location of his card after the deck has been assembled.


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Forexample, say his card wasin the third heap on the first deal andthe fifth heap on the second deal.The spectator then collectsthe heapsfromright to left as described above. To determine the location of his

card in the assembled deck, proceed as follows. Take one less than thesecond number and multiply it by 7. In this case we have 5 - I =4,

and 4 X 7 =28. To this add the position of his heap on the first deal.Sinceit was in the third heap on the first deal, we have 28 + 3= 31.Thus you know that after the deck has been assembled at the finish of

the second deal, his card will lie thirty-first from the top of theface-downdeck. The spectator deals cards off the top. When he hasdealt 31 cards, call a stop. The lastcard dealt will be the chosen card.

Asanother example, assume his card was in the second heap on the

firstdeal and the sixth heap on the second deal. Take 6 - 1=5, andmultiply 5 X 7 =35. To this add 2 and you know that when the deckhasbeen assembled, his card willbe thirty-seventh from the top of the

pack.

6. "Forty-Nine" Notes

Asimple wayto do the trick is to perform it over the telephone. Havethe spectator deal the heaps out twice as described above.Ifhis cardwasin the fifth heap on the first deal it will be fifth from the top of its

face-up heap on the second deal. After he has dealt the cards out thesecond time, have him pick up the heap containing his card and callout the cards toyou one at a time from top to bottom. When he callsout the fifth card, remember it. Wait for him to finish. Then reveal the

card in a dramatic way and hang up the phone.

7. The Keystone Card Trick

A card is chosen and returned to the deck. One spectator picks anumber, counts down to that card, but does not find the chosen card.

Another spectator picks a number, counts down that many cards, but

does not find the chosen card either.Finally, another spectator takes the difference between the two

numbers, counts down that many cards, and is surprised to find thechosencard.

Method: As you fan the deck for the selection of a card, push the tentop cards farther to the right than the others. Lift these ten cards for

the replacement of the chosen card. The chosen card is now eleventh

down from the top of the deck.Say,"I want one of you to count several cards off the pack like this."

As you patter, deal 11 cards onto the table, dealing the cards one at a


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8. DoublePrediction


time into a face-down heap on the table. Replace them on top of thepack. Unknown to the audience, the chosen card is nowon top of thedeck.

Hand the pack to the first spectator and turn your back. Have himthink of a number and deal that number of cards onto the table. Whenhe has counted off the thought-of number, ask him to look at the lastcard he dealt off to see if it isthe chosen card. Of course it will not be.Tell him to deal off an additional card and look at it. This card is notthe chosen card either. He puts this card on the dealt heap. Ask him toreplace the dealt cards on top of the deck.

Have a second party think of a number larger than the firstspectator's number by at least 2. He deals off that many cards into a

heap on the table. The last card dealt is looked at. It is not the chosencard. The dealt packet is replaced on top of the deck.

The third spectator is now asked to take the difference between thetwo numbers. If the first number was 8 and the second number was 18,

he would get a difference of 10. He counts ten cards off the top of thedeck, turns up the last dealt card and it is the chosen card.

This card effect has attracted a great deal of attention because you

reveal the location of each of two freely chosen cards with absolutelyno secret information. You never know the identity of the cards, northeir original positions in the packet, yet you invariably bring the trickto a successful conclusion.

Twenty-one cards are used. A spectator is asked to remove any cardfrom the packet. This card is to serve as a locator card. The spectator

inserts the locator card anywhere in the packet. He then remembersthe card on one side of the locator. Another spectator remembers thecard on the other side of the locator.

Write "5-5" on a slip of paper and place the paper on the table.Then take back the packet from the spectator. Transfer cards one at a

time from the left hand to the right hand as follows. Jog the first cardup, then jog the next card down, then jog the next card up, jog thenext down and so on, Figure 1, until you have gone through the

packet. The order of the cards is not disturbed. Cards are jogged inplace.

Strip out the upper packet and place it on top of the lower packet.Th~n perform the same upjog-down-jog maneuver and strip-outagam. Hold the cards so the faces are toward the audience at theconclusion of the mixing process. Fan the cards. Ask the spectator toremove the locator card. When he does, cut the packet at that pointand complete the cut. Turn the packet face down.

Have the spectator cut off about half the packet and place it on thetable. Then ask him to Count the number of cards in the remainder.


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Hecounts the cards in this group one at a time into a heap on the table,thusreversing their order. At the completion of the deal, each chosen

cardwillbe fifth from the top of its packet.Havethe prediction read. The prediction numbers are 5 and 5. Each

personcounts down to the fifth card in his packet. These cards prove

to b e the chosen cards.jordan suggested that after the locator card is removed, you can

slidethe top card of the upper section to the bottom of the lower

section.Then one card will be fourth from the top and the other card

sixthfrom the bottom. In this case you would write "4-6" on the slip ofpaper instead of "5-5" and then proceed with the trick as described

above.DaiVernon does the trick the same way Jordan described it, but he

hasadded a clever idea for the ending. The slip of paper reads "5-6."Atthe finish when the locator card has been removed and the packet

cutat that point, there is a chosen card five down from the top of thepacket and another chosen card five up from the bottom. Vernon

COuntsoff the top ten cards without reversing their order and places

thispacket alongside the remaining H-eard packet on the table. Thepaper is now opened and read. One chosen card will be found fifthfrom the top of the first packet. The other chosen card will be found

sixthfrom the top of the other pack.et.The trick.can-be done with 20 cards plus the joker. The joker is the

locatorcard. To keep the effect clear, have the joker inserted face upinto the face-down packet. After the two shuffles, the joker can be

found merely by spreading the cards between the hands. Simply cut

the packet and complete the cut so that the joker is on top of the

packet Deal it off, then proceed with the rest of the trick.

9. Mephislo's Prediction

In this self-working mystery a randomly chosen card is brought to aknownposition in the deck by a subtle means. As seen by the audience,

the magician writes a number on ~ slip of paper. Then the spectator


22/175


inserts the joker into the middle of the deck and remembers the carddirectly above it. The joker remains in the deck: .

He then deals the cards into four heaps, dealing from left to nght, a

card at a time, until he has dealt the entire deck. The heaps are pickedup from right toleft, the fourth heap going on top of the third, thenthis combined heap going onto the second, and this combmed heapgoingonto the first.

The joker is removed. The spectator reads the paper. Itbears thenumber 11. He counts down to the eleventh card and it is his card.

The trick may be repeated immediately. The same procedure I s -used, but the chosen card ends up at a different number.

Method: The spectator inserts the joker into the deck and notes thecard directly above it. Then the deck is dealt into four heaps andreassembled as described above. You explain that dealing the cardsmixesthem better than any shuffle. After the deck has been reassem-

bled, spread or fan the cards from left to right with the faces towardthe spectator. Have him remove the joker. Break the deck at the pointfrom which the joker wasremoved. After the deck has been broken orseparated, transfer two cards from the top of the lowerheap in the lefthand to the face or bottom of the upper heap in the right hand.

Place the left-hand packet on top of the right-hand packet. Thechosencard is now eleventh from the top of the deck.

The repeat makes use of a subtle variation of the pick-up. Instead ofpickingup the dealt packets from right to left, pick them up from leftto right. Have the joker removed from the deck. Break or separate thedeck at the point from which the joker was removed. Then run twocards from the top of the left-hand portion to the bottom of theright-hand portion. Place the left-hand packet on the right-hand

packet.The chosen card willbe thirty-eighth from the top of the deck.To make it easier for the spectator to find the joker, have the

spectator insert the joker faceup into the face-down deck. Later, whenyou want to remove the joker from the deck, spread the cards facedown from left to right.

Remember that the joker must be inserted near the middle of thepack. Ifthe spectator insertsit near either end of the deck, the chosencard willend up twelfth from the top instead of eleventh. In the eventthis happens, it is easily covered in the presentation. After thespectator COunts 1) cards, if his card is not the eleventh have him turnover the top card of the deck and it will be his card.

The entire trick may be done with the cards in the spectator's hands.write the number 12 on a slipof paper. Have a face-upjoker insertedinto the center of the deck. The spectator notes the card above the

joker. He then deals the deck into four heaps from left to right, andgathers them from right to left.Then he spreads the deck and cuts the

Jokerto the top. The joker is discarded. He reads the prediction, dealsoff 12cards from the top of the deck and turns Overthe next card. Itwillbe hiscard.


23/175


10. The Sequel

Jordan suggested using this trick as a sequel to "Mephisto'sPrediction."After doing the previous trick, discard the spectator's card from thepack, saying it might adverselyinfluence the feat you are about to do.This reduces the deck to 52 cards including the joker. On a slip ofpaper write the numbers 10and 16, fold the paper and place it aside.

The spectator inserts the joker into the deck and notes the carddirectlyabove the joker. He alsoremembers the card directly below the

joker. He then deals the deck into four heaps, dealing from left toright. Pick up the packets from right to left as in the previous trick.

Fan the deck with 'the facestoward the spectator. Have him removethejoker. Break the deck at the point where the joker was removedand transfer three cards from the top of the left-hand packet to thebottom of the right-hand packet. Then cut the deck at this point and

complete the cut.Placethe deck on the table. Have the spectator cut off about half and

placethis packet aside. Then have him count the cards in the bottomhalf. He does this by dealing the cards one at a time into a heap on the

table, thus reversing their order.Have the slip of paper opened and read. The spectator deals ten

cards off the top of the upper half and finds one chosen card. Then hedeals 16 cards off the top of the other half and finds the other chosen

card.

11. Master Stop Trick

Four cards are chosen and returned to the deck. The spectator thendeals the deck into four heaps and gathers the heaps in any order.Cards are dealt off the top of the deck. The magician calls stop. Thenext card proves to be the selected card. The magiciancorrectly stopsthe deal at the second and third chosen cards, each time saying- stop

just before the chosen card isdealt.He has trouble with the fourth chosen card. When its identity is

made known by the spectator, the magician says, "No wonder Icouldn't tell you where to stop. That card isn't in the pack at all." The

card is then produced from the magician's pocket.

Method: Use any borrowed complete deck of 52 cards. Glimpse thebottom card. This card willserve as your key card. Have four cardschosen from the deck. When the four cards have been withdrawn,grasp the deck from above with the right hand. Count 13 cards fromthe bottom by releasing them, one at a time, from the right thumb and

cut them to the top.


24/175

I

l


SCONO

"'"C"iRD

Fig. 2

If you do not use the thumb count, simply spread the deck betweenthe hands, silently count 13cards from the bottom, and cut the deck atthat point. Still another method is to glimpse the card thirt.eent~ fromthe top of the deck prior to performance. I n any case, at this pOInt youknowthe identity of the thirteenth card from the top.

Cut off about half the cards. Take the top half in the left hand. Havethe first chosen card replaced on top of the left-hand packet. Then

place the other half on top of all but secure a left-little-finger breakbetween the packets as you do so.

Spread the cards between the hands. When you get to the break,pushfour cards over and havethe second chosen card returned at thatpoint.

The thumb pushes over three more cards. The third chosen card isthen returned at that point. The thumb then pushes over three more

cards. The fourth chosen card is returned at that point. The situationshowing the chosen cards and the key card is indicated in Figure 2.

Square the deck and hand it to anyone, requesting him to deal it intofour face-down heaps, a card at a time to each heap. When he has donethis, the four chosen cards willlie together in one of the heaps, and thekeycard will be directly above the chosen cards.

Have the heaps assembled in any order. Now ask the spectator todeal cards one at a time off the top of the deck, turning each face up ashe deals. As he deals, remark that you will show him an interestingexperiment in telepathy.

He deals until he turns up the key card. Suddenly stop him, sayingthat you want to make the experiment more difficult. He does not

know it but the four chosen cards are on top of the deck at this point.Pickup the dealt cards and have him place them on the bottom of thedeck. Then tell him to deal the cards into four heaps, a card at a time toeach. At the finish there w ill be a chosen card at the bottom of eachface-down heap. Have him assemble the heaps in any order.

Nowhave him take four or five cards from the top of the pack. You~ust know the number. We'l! assume he took five cards. Lift up

slightlymore than halfthe pack and have the five cards placed into thepack at that point.

The first chosen card was 13th from the top, but since he removed


25/175

ImpromptuCard Tricks 11

five cards from the top, the first card now lies eighth (13 - 5 ~ 8)from the top of the pack. The second card is thirteenth down from

that card. The third chosencard is thirteenth down from that plus the

five cards the spectator inserted into the pack, making it eighteenthdown from the second chosen card. The last chosen card is on the

bottom of the deck.Hold the deck in the left hand. Take cards with the right hand one at

a time as you deal off the top. Toss the eighth card to one side. Asksomeone to turn it up toverify that it is one of the chosen cards. As he

does, secretly thumb off the bottom card into thejacket pocket.Hand the deck to a spectator. Have him deal. Stop him on the

thirteenth card and show that it is one of the chosen cards. Hecontinues to deal. Stop him after he has dealt 18cards, again showing

that you have stopped him at a chosen card. Finally,pretend to havetrouble with the last card. Ask that it be named. Then produce it from

your pocket.The trick can be made easier if, when you reach the point where the

four chosen cards are on top of the deck, you take the deck from thespectator and ask him to shuffle the packet hejust dealt onto the table.

As he does, thumb offthe top three cards of the deck into the pocket.

These are three of the four chosen cards.He replaces the dealt packet on top of the deck. Since you mentally

counted the number of cards in this packet as he dealt them off into a

face-up heap, you knowthe location of the first chosen card.Have the spectator deal cards until he has dealt this number. Say

stop. He turns up the next card and it is one of the chosen cards. Havehim shuffle the balance of the deck and deal more cards. Stop him

after he's dealt nine or ten cards. Take the next card and place it inyour pocket. Do the same thing twice more. When you apparently

remove the three cards from your pocket you actually remove thethree chosen cards secretly placed there earlier. All that remains is to

have the spectators verifythat these are indeed their cards.

12. The Spirit Mathematician

This trick is one of the few published instances where the paths ofJordan and Arthur Findleyseem to have crossed.

From a pack of ordinary cards the performer takes about half and

drops this packet into his jacket pocket. The pocket has previouslybeen shown empty. The spectator with the other half of the deck looks

through his cards. and names any card. Say he names the .6.The performer reaches into his pocket, removes a card, and it is a

Spade, matching the suit of the spectator's card. Then he reaches into

r


26/175


~/ "rCARDS.

Fig. 3

his pocket and removes one or two cards. Itis seen that the sum of the

valuesof these cards exactlymatches the value of the spectator's card.Only a borrowed pack isused.

Method: When you first get the deck, look through it to see if there areanyjokers. As you do, placean ace, a 2, a 4 and an 8 on the bottom of

the pack. These four cards must be of different suits. As an example,they might be the


27/175


13. The Five Guesses

From a borrowed shuffled deck the spectator removes any card,remembers it and shuffles it back into the deck. Taking the deck, the

wizard says that, given fiveguesses, he can locate the card. He deals thedeck into two heaps, one face up and the other face down. He asks if

the chosen card is in the face-up heap. If it is, he removes a card fromthat heap as his first guess. Ifit is not, he removes a card from theother heap as his first guess.Ifhe is right and the card he removes is

the chosen card, the trick ends there.Otherwise. the cards are gathered. the deck freely shuffled, and

once again dealt into two heaps. The procedure isrepeated as often asnecessary. The performer will always find the chosen card on or

before the fifth guess.

Method: The dealing procedure incorporates a process of elimination

in a subtle way. Hold the deck so you can see the facesof the cards. Onthe first deal the odd Spades and Hearts and the even Clubs andDiamonds are dealt into a face-up heap. The balance of the deck is

dealt into a face-down heap. Ask if the chosen card is in the face-up

heap. Ifthe answer is yes,you know the chosen card is one of those 26cards. Otherwise you knowit is one of the 26 cards in the other half ofthe deck. The point is that you have eliminated half the deck on thisround. On the' subsequent four rounds you will eliminate all but one

card by using exactly the same procedure.After the cards have been dealt the first time, remove any card from

the.heap that contains the chosen card. I f you are wrong, gather all the

cards into a face-down deck and give the deck a fewshuffles.Again deal into two heaps, one face-up and the other face-down. If

the card was in the face-up heap on the first round, deal odd Spadesand Hearts into the face-up heap. Deal even Clubs and Diamonds intothe face-down heap on the second round. The balance of the deck is

dealt randomly to both heaps.On the other hand, if the chosen card was originally in the

face-down heap on the first round, deal all even Spades and Heartsinto the face-up heap on the second round, odd Clubs and Diamondsinto the face-down heap. The balance of the deck is dealt randomly

into the two heaps.

Ask if the chosen card isin the face-up heap. Whatever the reply, thechosen card must now be one of 13 cards. Remove one of these 13

cards from the pile containing the chosen card. Ifyou are wrong, younevertheless know if the chosen card is odd or even, and you know it

must be one of 12 cards. Further. you know if the card is a Spade or aHeart, or if it is a Club or a Diamond. For example, if the spectator saidhiscard was in the face-up heap on the first two rounds, you know the

card is odd and that it must be a Spade or Heart. You do not know

which suit, but the third deal answers that question.


28/175


Gather the cards and give the deck a shuffle. We will assume thechosen card was in the face-up packet on the second round ".On thethird round, deal the deck into two heaps. The odd Spades go Into the

face-up heap. The odd Hearts go ~nto the face-down ~e~p. The rest ofthe deck is dealt randomly. Ask If the chosen card IS III the face-upheap. If the answer is yes, you know the card must be an odd Spade.

Remove one of these cards and ask if it is the chosen card. If thespectator says his card is in the other heap, the chosen card must be anodd Heart. Remove one of the odd Hearts and ask if this is the chosencard.

If the answer is no on the third round, gather the deck and give it agood shuffle. You now knowthat the chosen card was,for example, anodd Heart. Deal the. A, .3 and. 5 into the face-downheap. Deal

the. 7, .9, J and. Kintothe face-up heap. The restof the deck isdivided randomly between the two heaps. Ask if the chosen card is in

the face-up heap. If the answer is yes, remove anyone of the oddHearts and ask if it is the chosen card. Assume you guess the .7.

For the purpose of this example, we will assume the answer is no.Gather the deck, shuffle the cards and again deal into two heaps. Dealthe .9 and J into the face-up heap, the K into the face-downheap. The rest of the deck isdivided between the two heaps. Ask if thechosen card is in the face-up heap. If the answer is no, you know the

chosen card must be the. K.Otherwise, remove the .9 and ask if it isthe chosen card. If it is, the trick is over. Otherwise you know the cardisthe. j,and conclude the trick successfully on the fifth round.

Itisonly on the first round that all 52 cards must be dealt into theirproper heaps. Thereafter, at least half the deck is dealt randomly,meaning that the deal can be done rapidly. Since so many cards aredealt randomly on each round, anyone looking for a systemmust come

up blank. Finally, note that it is not necessary to have the spectatorchoosea card. He can simply think of a card. You then proceed to find

the thought-of card within fiveguesses.

14. "FiveGuesses" Notes

The principle used in this trick might be better grasped byshowing an

example of how it works. Take any 16 cards from the deck. Fan themand have the spectator think of one. When he has done this, shufflethe 16cards, then reverse everyother card.

Spread the packet so he can see the faces of eight cards. Ask him ifhe seeshis thought-of card. Ifhe does, square up the packet, place it

behind your back, take the top eight cards and turn them over. Then

place them on the bottom of the packet. If, when you fanned thepacket, he did not see his card among the eight face-up cards, place thepacket behind the back, turn it completely over, then remove the firsteight cards, turn them over and replace them under the packet.


29/175


Bring the packet out into view again. Spread the cards and ask if he

sees his card. Ifhe does, place the packet behind the back, lift off thetop four cards, turn them over as a unit, and replace them under the

packet. Ifhe does not see his card, place the packet behind the back,turn it completely over, then take the first four cards, turn them over

and replace them under the packet.Bring the packet into viewagain. Spread the cards so the spectator

can see the faces of the eight face-up cards. Ask if he sees his card. Ifhe does, place the packet behind the back, take the top two cards, turnthem 'Over and replace them on the bottom of the packet. Ifhe does

not, turn the packet over first, then take the top two cards, turn them

over as a unit and replace them on the bottom of the packet.

Bring the packet into viewa final time. Ask if he sees his card. If

hedoes, it is the card second in from the top of the packet. If he does not,

it isthe second card from the bottom of the packet.Note that with a 16-card packet we had to ask four times if the

spectator saw his card. In "The Five Guesses," five questions wererequired' to narrow the choice from 52 cards to a single card. The

reason is that Jordan did not ask one question on each round. Heasked two. First he asked if the spectator saw his card in the packetshown to him. Then he removed a card from the appropriate packet

and asked the spectator if this was his card. By this clever means heallows the spectator a choice from among the full complement of 52

cards.

15. The Incomprehensible Destroyed Card

"Simple props and natural handling are combined toproduce a baffling

trick. The only requirement is a deck of cards. You may want to use an

old deck since cards are going to be torn. As the audience sees it, afreely chosen card is torn in quarters with thefa ce of the card toward

the audience. That same card is then restored.There are no gimmicks or duplicate cards, but a duplicate card is'

created in a subtle waythat cannot be detected.

Method: With the shuffled deck face up in the left hand, go through

the pack, apparently counting the cards to make sure the deck iscomplete. In reality you watch for all the fi's, 7's and 8's, and run them

to the back or top of the deck as you come to

them. This done, placethe deck face down in the left hand ..The top 12cards are the B's, 7's

and S's.Ask the spectator to name a number from 1 to 12. Whatever the

number, deal down to it, remove the card at that number and turn itface up on the table. Pickup the dealt cards and replace them on top ofthe deck. You will find a near-duplicate of his card in the following

way. Ifhe chose a 6-spot or an 8-spot, find the 7 of the same suit and


30/175

16 Charles Jordan's- Best Card Tricks

Fig. 4

cut it to the bottom of the deck. If he chose a 7-spot, cut the 8 of thesame suit to the bottom. In our example we will assume he chose the"'7. Cut the "'8 to the bottomof the pack.

Cut the deck into two heaps. Take back the chosen card and place iton the face or bottom of the lower heap. The.7 willthus be the facecard of the heap with the "'8 in back of it.

Turn this packet face up and hold it in the left hand. The rightthumb lifts up the two face cards as shown in Figure 4, and slides the

double card forward so it is outjogged. The audience thinks you are

merelyjogging the "'7. The odd center pip of the "'7 should be at theouter end, as shown in Figure 4.

Placethis heap face down on top of the other heap. The double cardnow projects from the center of the deck. Turn the deck face up andhold it firmly in the left hand. The right hand then tears off the index

corner of both cards as if they were one. Hand the genuine .7 indexto the spectator, retaining the"'8 index palmed in the hand. Drop the.8 index into the pocket.

Turn the deck face down. Appear to remove the .7, but in reality,

push it back into the pack and remove the .8 instead, Figure 5. Placethe deck on the table. Hold the "'8 in the left hand with the fingers atthe face hiding the index corner and the extra pip, Figure 6. Theresult isthat this card looksexactlylike the'" 7.

Take the corner from the spectator and fit it against the card inhand. The corner fits, thus providing further proofthat this card is the"'7.

Tear the" '8 in half acrossthe middle. Place the portion with the . 8index behind the other part, of the torn card. This hides the index

from viewand allows you to display the torn pieces freely. Then tearthe card in half again. Pretend to place the pieces in the left hand. butretain them in the right hand. An easy method isto hold the pieces onthe right palm, Figure 7. The left hand pretends to take them. As the

left h~nd moves aw~yit closesinto a fist. The right fingers curl aroundthe piecesand the nght forefinger points to the left hand, Figure 8, as

the left hand moves to the left. The right hand then drops the piecesinto the right jacket pocket.

l


31/175

I I I

Fig. 5

Fig. 7


Fig. 6

Fig. 8

With the right hand cut the deck at the real ~7. This is easy to do

because the torn card acts as a corner-short card. Pretend to drop thetorn pieces into the deckat this point. Hand the deckto the spectator.

Have him look through the cards. He finds that the 47 is nowrestored. One corner is missing and, of course, this matches the .7

index corner in his possession.

16. "Incomprehensible Destroyed Card" Notes

These are handling ideas the reader may wish to add to "TheIncomprehensible Destroyed Card." After the.8has been torn intoquarters, place the torn pieces on the table. Place the deck face down inthe left hand. The right hand lifts it up at the inner end of the deck,separating the deck at the .7. As noted earlier, this is easy to do

because the lower left corner of the" 7 is missing. Hold the deck open

with the left hand.


32/175


Fig. 9

Fig.lOA Fig.11Fig.108

The right hand picks up the pieces of the ... 8 and pretends to insertthem into the break. Actually they go under the deck, Into the left palm,Figure 9. The deck itself hides the move from the audience.

Square the pack. The right hand lifts the deck from above. The lefthand then goes to the left jacket pocket for a coin or other object.Leave the torn pieces in the pocket. Remove the coin and draw animaginary X on the back of the deck. Return the coin to the pocket.

This next sequence convinces the audience that the torn pieces arein the center of the deck. The right hand again cuts at the .7, lifting

the upper portion of the deckjust enough to establish a break over the.7 that can be retained by the left fingertips. Pull the inner-rightcorner of the ... 7 out of the deck a bit, as shown in Figure IDA. Then

take the torn index corner of the. 7 and place it in the deck on top ofthe protruding corner. Display the deck as in Figure lOB. This givesthe appearance of a number of torn pieces protruding from the center

of the deck. As you add the .7 index corner, say, "I could try it withall four pieces but it's easier with three."

Place the torn index corner on the table. Square the .7 into thedeck. Hold the deck by the lowerleft corner, thumb on top and fingers

below. Riffle the right side of the deck with the right fingers. The torn

card will pop out of the deck, Figure 1I.Let the spectator remove it

and verify that the ... 7 has rest?red itself.

17. CardTearing

In the August 1915 issue of Thayer's Magical Bulletin, Jordan describeda novel way of performing the torn-and-restored-paper effect. Ithas

since become the universally preferred method of performing this


33/175

Imp!omptu Card Tricks 19

Fig. 128

Fig.12C

type of effect, especially in the context of the torn-and-restored-

playing-card effect.To present the trick, secretly place a card in backof the card that is

to be torn. In our example, place the .3 behind the .4.Hold the

double card as shown in Figure 12A. The back of the card is towardthe audience. Fold the double card in half from right to left,

Figure 12B. Crease the card along the fold. Then open the. 3 only, asshown in Figure 12C.The

. 4 remains folded in half.

Tear off the right-hand half ofthe .3, Figure 12D.To the audience

it appears as if the. 4 is being torn in half. The half-card in the righthand is placed in front of the cards in the left hand. Fold the apparatus

in quarters by holding it between the thumb and middle finger of eachhand. Press down with the forefingers tobegin the fold, Figure 12,

and then complete the fold, Figure 12F.

~RF-~~

Fig. 12D

~

Fig.12E


34/175


Fig.12G

Now you apparently open the card. Really you open only the. 3,Figure 12G. The .3segment consists of two thicknesses of playingcard. Tear these off and place them in front of the segments in the lefthand. Note that the. 4 remains folded in quarters.

Allof the torn segments are now in front. Since these are relativelysmall, you can palm them off. Another method is to cover theapparatus with a handkerchief. Toss the torn pieces into the jacketsleeve.Remove the handkerchief and show the .4 restored. The .4

can be signed by the spectator at the beginning of the trick.


35/175

The Banded Deck

These tricks use rubber bands in conjunction with playing cards. In

some cases rubber bands are securely wrapped around the deck tomake sure that the effectsare not done by sleight of hand. In one tricka rubber band provides the power to cause a deck of cards visibly tocut

itself ala chosen card. In another, rubber-band power propels a chosencard from one packet to another. The chapter closes with a now famous

move called the Downs Slip Cut.

18. The Straitjacket Reversed Card

The spectator removes a card from his own deck and notes it.Thecardisreturned to the deck and a rubber band is snapped around the deck.

The banded deck is then placed under a handkerchief. The performerstates that the chosen card will tUTO over in the middle of the deck

despite the fact that the pack is tightly bound witha rubber band. Therubber band is removed and the chosen card is found face up in the

center of the deck.

Method: Turn your back to the spectator while he shuffles the deck

and removes a card. He hands you the deck behind your back. Turnand face him. As you do, secretly reverse the bottom card of the deck

and then turn the deck over.Bring the deck into view.Itappears as if all the cards are face down,

but only the top card isfacedown. The rest ofthe deck is face up. Snap

the rubber band around the middle of the deck. Then have the chosen

card returned face down to the center of the deck.Cover the deck with a handkerchief. As you do, secretly turn over

the deck. Say the magic words. Remove the handkerchief and the

rubber band, spread the cards and show the chosencard face up in thecenter.

In spreading the deck, when you get to the reversed card, remove allthe cards above it and place them face up on the table. Toss out the

chosen card. Then remove small groups of cards, turn them face upand place them onto the other face-up cards. At some point pull the

bottom (reversed) card off and toss it onto the face-up heap. Then

continue with the remainder of the deck.


36/175


Another way to handle the secretly reversed card at the end of thetrick is to turn cards up in bunches until you get to the reversed chosencard. Toss the chosen card out. Then continue turning packets of

cards face up and tossing themonto the other face-up cards. When justfour or five are left, drop them, still face down, onto the face-up heap.Pick up the entire deck, remove the few face-down cards on top, turnthem face up and add them to the other cards.

19. Elasticity

In this famous trick the deck visibly cuts itself at a previously chosencard. There are no gimmicks. After a card is chosen and returned tothe deck, the magician snaps a rubber band around the deck. Thechosen card is seen tobe in the center of the pack. Then the pack is

tossed into the air. While the deck is in midair it cuts itself right at thechosen card.

Fig. 13

~~; , U U ' )._--~

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Method: The tric~ depends on a subtle principle. In. essence, you givehalf the dec~ a twist after the rubber band ISaround It,so the condition

ofthe deck ISas shown in the top view of Figure 13. You then turn thebottom half all the way around the top half as shown in Figure 14 and

Flgur~ 15.The r.ub.ber band stillhas the twist in it, so when you toss thedeck mto the air Itturns around or untwists itself. This gives theappearance of the deck cutting itself.

The handling is not difficult, but there are a number of details thatmake the performance smooth and natural. The rubber band should

fit the deck snugly, yet still allowyou to handle the cards easily. Snap


37/175

The Banded Deck 23

CHOSEN

CARD.

Fig. 16 Fig. 17

the rubber band around the middle of the pack after a card has been

removed. Take back the card and insert it into the deck from the nearend of the pack. Obtain a left-little-finger break under it as it is pushed

square, Figure 16.Grasp the deck from above by the ends with the right hand, fingers

in front, thumb in back. The left hand then grasps the bottom half andgives it a twist, Figure 17. The audience assumes the entire deck is

being turned around. The rubber band now crosses itself as shown inFigure 13, but all appears honest from the audience's view.

If the deck is grasped from below with the left hand, the right

fingers can riffle the outer end of the pack so the spectator can see thathis card is still in the middle of the deck.

After this has been done, turn and face the right. The reason is that

you want the back of the left hand to screen the next action from theaudience's view. The deck is held upright so that the face card of the

deck is visible to the audience. Allow the back half of the deck to fallonto the left palm, Figure 18. The face card of this packet is the chosencard. The true condition of the deck is hidden by the back of the left

hand and by the cards themselves as shown in Figure 19.The right hand nowgrasps the upright packet at the ends, Figure 20.

Fig. 19Fig. 18

Fig. 20


38/175

24 Charles Jordan's BestCard Tricks

CHO~N

CAAfO "fr

FAcE~

OFPl4C.ot F::;,:",l.-BUT-

""D04N 45yBACI'(.

O~

HAND.

Fig. 22

(The left hand has been omitted for clarity.) Swing around so that youface left. The back of the right hand will conceal from the audience's

viewthe packet that contains the chosen card at its face. The left handthen pivots the upright packet around and under the hidden packet,so it ends up on the back of the hidden packet, Figure 21. .

The chosen card is now at the face of the deck, but this condition ishidden by the back of the right hand, Figure 22. There isstill a twist inthe rubber band.

Toss the pack into the air, taking care not to expose the face card ofthe deck to the audience. Becauseof the tension in the rubber band the

upper half of the pack makesa half-revolution. The audience, from its

point of view, thinks it sees and hears the chosen cardjump to the faceof the deck while the deck isin midair. It is a startling trick.

20. The Escape

In this seemingly impossible trick a chosen card is replaced in thecenter of one half of the deck. Each half of the deck then has rubber

bands snapped around it. The banded packets allow of no tampering

yet, on command, the chosen card invisibly flies from one bandedpacket to the other.

Method: Jordan's original handling will be given first. Following this asimpler handling will be described.

Any borrowed deck is used. There is no preparation but you willhave to have four rubber bands on hand. Hand out half the cards for

shuffling. While the spectator does this, secretly snap a rubber bandaround your packet, but the band is ma~e to go around just two cards,

~EFT HFlNO OMITTEe::.

F""",

C':~n:;y.

Fig. 23


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The Banded Deck 2S

,ti'l/BBERB.


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Fig. 29

Fig. 30

Fig. 31

The left thumb is withdrawn. An end view of the packet is asindicated in Figure 29. Properly done, it will appear to the spectator

that youmerely brought out a rubber band and snapped it around thepacket.

The packet is held face down in the left hand. The right fingers liftthe outer end of the packet, breaking the packet between the tworubber-banded cards. The chosen card is then replaced into this

packet between the banded cards, Figure 30.

The right hand now grasps the packet from above. The left handpicks up the other half of the deck. In swinging to the left to place theunbanded packet on the table, the right hand releases pressure on the

banded packet. The result isthat the three banded cards are propelledto the left and onto the top ofthe unhanded packet, Figure 31.

The left-hand packet is placedon the table. The right hand transfersits packet to the left hand. Then the right hand goes to the pocket,removes a rubber band and snaps it lengthwise around the left-hand

packet. This packet is given to the spectator to hold.

Rubber bands are snapped lengthwise and widthwise around theother half of the deck. Command the chosen card to leave the other

half and enter this packet. Have the rubber bands removed and showthat the chosen card has invisiblyflown from one packet to the other.


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The BandedDeck 27

I

I I Fig. 32

21. "Escape" Notes

Jordan's "Escape" can be made simpler if the basic elements arejuggled around a bit. The effect is more or less the same, but thehandling becomes easier. The idea is to remove two jokers (or two

deuces) from the deck before the trick begins, and tosnap a rubberband around them widthwise. Place the banded jokers in the shin

pocket.To perform the trick, let the spectator shuffle the complete pack.

Then have him give you half the deck. He keeps half for himself. Turnyour back and have him shuffle his packet and remove a card. Remark

that while he does this, you will snap a rubber band around your half

of the deck.Reach into the shirt pocket. as if for a rubber band, but remove the

banded jokers and place them in the center of your packet. Holding

the packet firmly with the left hand, grasp the portion of the rubberband that protrudes from the left side of the deck with the right handand pull it up and around the deck as shown in Figure 32. The lefthand must maintain a firm grip on the packet to keep the jokers in

place.After the rubber band is in place, turn and face the spectator. Take

the chosen card from him with the right hand. Insert it face up into thefront end of the face-down packet. but make sure it goes between the

two jokers. The handling is the same as depicted in Figure 30.

Grasp the banded packet from above with the right hand. The lefthand then picks up the spectator's packet. In the act of transferring his

packet over to the left on the table, allow the jokers and the chosencard to be propelled to the top of the left-hand packet as shown in

Figure 31.Place the left-hand packet on the table. The spectator will not

suspect that his card has been secretly transferred because his card isface up and no face-up cards show at this point. The reason why his

I

I


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28 Charles Jordan's Best CardTricks

card is concealed is that although it is face up, it is between twoface-downjokers.

Snap a rubber band lengthwise around the right-hand packet and

give this packet to the spectator. Then cut the other packet andcomplete the cut to bring the chosen card to the center. Snap rubberbands lengthwise and widthwise around this packet. Command thechosencard to leave the spectator's packet.

He removes the rubber bands and finds his card gone. Hand himyour packet. He removes the rubber bands and finds his card face up

betweentwojokers in the center of the packet.

22. The Triple Escape

In this trick a card is chosen and returned to the pack, after which themagician snaps a rubber band around the deck and places the deckinto the card case. The hands are empty. A rubber band is snapped

around the card case. The banded deck is dropped into an envelope.The envelope is sealed and handed to a spectator.

With his hands empty, the magician reaches into hisjacket pocketand removes the very card chosen by the spectator. The card may be

signed.There is no palming and the deck is borrowed.

Method: Have a card chosen and returned to the deck. Secretly bringthe chosen card to the top of the deck. One method is this. Have thechosencard returned to the top of the deck. Undercut the bottom half

with the right hand, Figure 33A. As this half is placed on top, obtain aleft-little-finger break above the chosen card. The right hand then lifts

off the top quarter of the deck and places it on the table. Immediatelythe right hand lifts off all of the cards above the break and places them

on the tabled cards. Finally, the balance of the deck is placed on top ofall.The chosen card is nowon top 'of the deck.

Placethe first rubber band around the deck lengthwise, but as youdo, secretly slip it under the top card, Figure 33B. Twist the rubber

Fig.33AFig. 338

I

-


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band and snap it crosswisearound the deck. The view from in back

and in front is shown in Figure 34.Toss the deck face up into the air and catch it. This shows that the

rubber band is secure around the entire deck, and also that the hands

are empty. When tossing the deck, hold it face up and give it a spin.This will keep the deck face up and thus prevent the audience from

seeing that the rubber band does not go crosswisearound the entire

deck.The card case is held by the left hand. The right hand inserts the

deck into the case. The chosen card goes outside the case. The rightfingers slide the chosen card along under the card case so that it slides

out of the rubber band, as shown in Figure 35. The result is that thebanded deck ends up inside the card case and the chosen card is inback of the case. Closethe flap of the card case. Ifyou find it difficultto fit the deck into the case because of the added bulk of the rubber

band, remove a fewcards from the deck before beginning the trick.Now snap another rubber band around the card case, but slip the

band under the chosen card, Figure 36. Twist the band and snap it

lengthwise around the card case and over the card. The banded cardcase can be tossed into the air and caught. Again the reason is to show

indirectly that you havenot palmed out a card.The left hand picksup an envelope. As the right hand begins totuck

the card case into the envelope, the right fingers slide the chosen card

free of the card case and leave it behind the envelope. Place the cased

deck in the envelope and seal the envelope.The right hand is drawn back toward the body totoss the envelope

to the spectator. As the right hand moves back, the left hand goes

behind the back and takes the chosen card from behind the envelope

FRONT VIEW

Fig. 34

"II

I i Fig. 36

- The Banded Deck 29

Fig. 35


44/175


as shownin Figure 37. Toss the envelope to. the spectato~.As attentionis focused on him, drop the chosen card Into the left Jacket pocket.Tuck in the flap of the pocket beforehand to make it easier to get thecard into the pocket.

The chosen card is then produced from the pocket. When the handgoes into the pocket, make sure it is clear to the audience that you do

not have a card palmed in the hand. The appearance of the card fromthe pocket is unexpected and should come as quite a surprise to the

audience.

23. The Impossible Journey

A card ischosen and returned to the center of the deck. Rubber bandsare snapped around the deck. Patter is to the effect that the magicianwillgivea demonstration of submarine warfare. The pack is the ocean,

the chosen card is a submarine. Picking up a joker, the magicianremarks that the joker is a submarine detector. Its presence brings thesubmarine to the surface.

When the rubber bands are removed it is seen that the chosen cardhas mysteriously risen to the top of the deck.

Method: The trick depends on the fact that a sleight known as thetwo-handed pass can be performed just as easily with a rubber band

around the deck. Have a card chosen and returned to the center of thedeck. Obtain a left-little-finger break above the chosen card. Snap arubber band widthwise around the deck.

The two-handed pass is then performed. This is a means of secretlyexchan~ng the two halves of the deck. A complete description can befound m the Dover edition ofExpert Card Technique by Hugard andBrave. After the pass is performed, the chosen card will be on top ofthe deck.

Snap a second rubber band lengthwise around the deck. Then wave


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TheBandedDeck 31

the joker over the deck as you introduce the submarine patter. Havethe spectator remove the rubber bands. He finds that his card has

somehow risen to the top of the deck.

24 . .Transposition Extraordinary

This trick, invented by T. Nelson Downs, contains a move called theHinge Shift. Charles Jordan published the routine in a booklet on

sleight-of-hand card tricks in 1920. Four years later, in a letter to EddieMcGuire, Downs. described a non sleight variation that has since

become a standard in the literature of card magic.The original routine

and the later variation w ill be described here in complete detailbecause they are important additions to card magic.

As seen bythe audience, the performer writesa prediction, remark-ing that even before seeing a borrowed deck he can anticipate thename of a card that willbe chosen. The spectator then chooses a cardfrom his own deck and it is seen that the chosen card matches the

prediction.As a follow-up, the performer causes a red card in one half of the

deck to change places witha black card in the other half of the deck.

Method: Beforehand place a red-backed

. 4 and a blue-backed

. 4 in

your right jacket pocket. When the borrowed deck is produced, writeon a piece of paper, "You will choose the Four of Hearts." Seal the

prediction in a small envelope and have the spectator place it in his

pocket.Ask the spectator to separate the deck into two heaps, red cards in

one heap and black cards in the other. As he does this, palm out the

appropriate .4 from the pocket. The color and back pattern of the

palmed.4 must match the deck for the trick towork.Take the red packet and in the process transfer the palmed

. 4 to

the top. Then place this packet face down in the left hand. Place theblack packet face upon top of the red packet, and remark, "We should

check to see if this is a full pack." Count the black cards aloud. Whenyou reach the twenty-sixth black card, turn the blackpacket over so the

backs are up.At the same time get a left-little-finger break under the top card of

the red packet (the .4). Place the black packet momentarily on top ofthe red packet, then lift it off, along with the extra.4.The .4 thus

becomes the bottom card of the black packet. At the same time, turn

the red packet face up and hand it to the spectator.Have him count the red cards. He counts 26, so.all appears fair. He

is then told to shuffle the red cards, fan them face down and remove

one card. Make sure he does not see the face of this card.The black packet, with the .4 at the bottom, is transferred to the

left hand. Cut off the top half of the black packet and place it on top of

i I l


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Fig. 38

the red card the spectator chose. The left little finger secures a breakunder the top card of the other half of the black packet. The situationat thispoint is shown in Figure38.

The right hand places its packet, with the chosen red card at its face,onto the left hand packet. Snap a rubber band around the blackpacket, maintaining the break, then perform the two-handed pass at

the break. Downs later describes an easy move that accomplishes thesame result. The reader can simply cut the cards at the break andcompletethe cut.

Turn the black packet faceup and place it on the table. The red cardchosenby the spectator is nowsecond from the faceof the black packetand isthus hidden from view.Ask the spectator if he knows the nameof the chosen red card. He willsay no. You then remark, "I took thelibertyof remembering it for you. It was the .4."

Remove the rubber band and fan the cards, taking care not toexposethe red card second from the face of the black packet. Show the

. 4 in the center. In closing the packet, slip the' 4 to the back. Oneway to do this is to slip the left-hand cards between the. 4 and the

balance of the black packet, Figure 39.

Have the spectator then remove the sealed envelope from his

pocket. He opens it and finds that your prediction is correct. As he

reads the prediction, secretly palm the extra

. 4 and drop it in yourpocket.

Holding the black packet face up in the left hand, take the two facecards as one, saying, "I'll placethis black card in the red packet." Turn

the packet face down in the left hand by levering it over with the left

Fig. 39

l


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TheBandedDeck 33

thumb. Then flip the double card face down on top of the black

packet.Take the top card, supposedly a black card, and insert it into the

center of the red packet. Then snap a rubber band around the packet.Snap another rubber band around the black packet. Perform thetwo-handed pass with the black packet. This gets the black card justshownto the center. The reader can substitute a straight cut for the

pass.Remind the audience that there is a red card in the black packet and

a black card in the red.packet. Snap the fingers. Have the rubber bandsremoved. The audience then finds 26 black cards in one half of the

deck and 26 red cards in the other half.

25. The Downs Hinge Shift

In a footnote to"Transposition Extraordinary," Downs said that this

move was his favorite version of the double-handed shift. The Downs

Hinge Shift can be used in place of the pass in the above routine.

Hold the deck face down in the left hand. The thumb is on top of thepack. The right hand grasps the upper half ofthe deck, Figure 40, anddraws it to the right: The left thumb keeps the top. card in place,

Figure 41. The right-hand packet is then placed on the bottom of the

deck. This completes the move.Downs called the move a "shift," implying that, like most two-

handed shifts. it was tobe done secretly. In the context of a secret shift

or pass. the card retained on top by the left thumb acts as a cover cardand helps to screen the move from the audience's view. Ifthe move isused in "Transposition Extraordinary," the reader will find that,

although a rubber band has been snapped around the packet, the

move can be done anyway.

Fig. 41

Fig. 40


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26. TheDowns Slip Cut

In a 1924 letter to the magician Eddie McGuire, Downs describedanother version of the above move which is done visiblyas an apparentcut. The deck is in the left hand. The' left thumb contacts the top card.The right hand grasps the top half of the deck and moves it to theright. The left thumb retains the top card In place. The situation ISexactlyas in Figure 41. .

But as soon as the right-hand packet clears the cards In the left hand,the right-hand packet is slapped on top of the left hand cards. Done

casually,this looks as if the deck were given a straight cut. Act~ally. allthat has happened is that the top card of the deck has been slipped to

the middle. The order of the other cards is intact. Downs used themove to get rid of an unwanted card on top of the deck. In 1931 Frank

Lane suggested this type of move as a false cut, and that is the use towhichit has generally been put ever since.

27. "Downs Slip Cut" Notes

There are many ways in which the Downs Slip Cut can be exploited. Inthis application, you apparently cut to the four aces.

Secretly place the four aces on top of the deck. Tell the spectatorthat, after years of practice, you have mastered the technique ofcutting to the aces. Place the deck face down in the left hand. Grasp the

deck from above with the right hand, fingers in front, thumb in back.The thumb riffles up from the bottom of the deck until you have

riffled about 13 cards-a quarter of the deck--off the thumb. Turnyour head aside as you do this to make it clear that you need not look atthe deck while cutting to the aces.

The right hand lifts up the top three-quarters of the deck and drawsII to the right. At the same time the left thumb retains the top card of'fie deck (an ace) in place. The result of this action is that this card willend up on top of the cards in the left hand.

The left hand moves to the left and simultaneously turns its packetover and drops it face up on the table. An indifferent card will show atthe faceof the packet.

~epe~t the above actions with another quarter of the deck, and thenagam with another quarter of the deck, so that there will be three

face-up packets on the table. On the fourth round, the left hand simply

takes the remamder of the deck from the right hand, turns it Over andplaces it face up on the table. There are now four face-up packets onthe table.

The audience will be less than impressed with your feat, because you


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The Banded Deck 35

have clearly not cut to the aces. Act puzzled at the lack of applause.Remember that to this point you have been lookingaway, so that you

do not appear to knowyet that you have failedto cut to a single ace.

Look at the spectators,then at the packets on the table. Say, "Theacesaren't at the faces of the packets. They're at the backs." Turn each

packet over. Then turn up the top card of each packet to reveal an ace.The appearance of the four aces is surprising and should bring a

round of applause from the audience.


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Stacked-Deck Tricks

Allof the routines in this chapter require stacked decks. In most cases

the setting up can be done ahead of time. Included here is an effectcalled"The Dream," a startling example of a magicalparadox. Theprinciple contained in "The Missing Pair" has since been exploited toproduce a whole new area of card magic.

28. Psycholia

The deck is given a fair dovetail shuffle. The spectator cuts the deck

and completes the cut. Then the low-valued cards are removed anddiscarded. The remainder of the deck is cut into two heaps. A and B.

The performer goes into another room and instructs the spectatorto remove five cards from heap A and note these cards. The names ofthe cards can be jotted down on a slip of paper. Another spectatorremoves one card from heapB. The five cards are replaced in heap B

and the single card is replaced in heap A. Each heap is separatelyshuffled. Then the two heaps are placed together, one on top of theother.

The spectator begins reading off cards from the top of the deck. Atsome point the magician stops him and names all six chosen cards eventhough five of them have never been named by the spectator!

Method: Take any well-shuffled deck and remove the 2's, S's, 4's, 5'sand 6's. Write down the order of the 7's, S's, 9's, lO's,jacks, queens,kings and aces. Put these 32 high cards on top of the deck and thelow

Charles Jordans Best Card Tricks

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