THE
MAGIC NUMBER
by
Jean Devriès and Carlos Genoveses
The
following trick is a variation of Iain Girdwood's “Adagio for
Strings”*¹ It retains the
original effect, but some changes and additional touches make it more
easy to perform, and extend the magical end of the trick.
Effect.
The Spade and Heart series, each in normal card order (from Ace to
King), are assembled in a single packet. The performer deals the
Spade cards, face-up, one at a time, in an overlapping row onto the
table; only the 7S is dealt face-down. After making “magical
circles” with the Heart packet above the tabled row, the 7H appears
face-down in the face-up Heart series. Then the performer shuffles
both packets together to mix all the cards. Nevertheless, the
original card order is preserved in both series, except a
transposition of the 7S and 7H each other.(See Video).
Performances.
1°/
Remove the Spades and Hearts from the deck, “forgetting” the 7S
in. Give the Spade cards to the spectator asking him to arrange them
in order from AS to KS. Show him how to proceed: holding the Heart
cards in hand, put the AH, face-up,
onto the table, the 2H above it, and so on, up to the KH (upper card
of the pile).
At a
given time, the spectator, making his pile, will realize the 7S is
missing in his packet. Simulate to be slightly surprised, and,
rapidly look up the card in the rest of the deck and give it to the
spectator for making complete the Spade run. Take back the
spectator's cards and place them, face-up, on top of your face-up
packet already in your hand. Discretely, reinforce the natural
“concave” bending of the cards (squeezing the whole packet).
2°/
Spread over the Spade cards to make sure of their correct order. As
you do, place the left thumb on the 8S (Photo 1a) and, with the right
fingers, pull the 7S below the right cards (Photo 1b) (Spread
cull*²). Closing the spread in
the left hand bring the 7S, secretly, to the bottom of the packet
(Photo 1c). Spread the Spades again, but rapidly, transferring them
in the right hand, and put the small packet, face-down, onto
the table.
At
present show the Hearts. As you spread them between the hands, in-jog
the 8H slightly (Photo 2a). Be careful not to flash the culled 7S
behind the AH (Photo 2b). Re-take the Spades and place them directly,
face-down, onto the face-up Heart cards in left hand
(Photo 3). Squaring the packet take a little finger break above the
7H (Thank the in-jogged 8H !) (Photos 4a, b).
3°/
As you move both hands towards the table, in the intention to deal
the cards, execute a half pass at the break (Photo 5).
Now, the cards
are in the following order, from top down : AS to 6S, 8S to KS,
face-down
/ KH to 8H, face-up
/ 7S, face-down
/ AH to 7H, face-down.
Begin
to deal the Spades cards, one by one, face-up,
onto the table, in an overlapping row from right to left. The dealing
is executed as follows: as the left thumb pushes the top face-down
card, the right hand takes it by the outer right corner (thumb above,
fingers below), and, at the moment you put the card onto the table,
turn it backwards, face-up (Photos 6a, b).
Deal
the first six cards (AS to 6S) in this manner, naming them aloud.
Then, with the left thumb push the next face-down card to the right
(Photo 7). For the spectator it is the 7S (8S in reality). Put the
right thumb onto the card but do not take it, stopping the dealing
action for the moment. Make an allusion to the “forgetting” of
the 7S in the deck by the performer previously (Photo 7), and
“patter” about “the
magical
number
7”,
and so on... As you talk, secretly, use your second or third left
finger to "disconnect"
the bottom card of the packet (Photo 8a). Naturally, deal
this card (7H), face-down,
directly in front of you onto the table, whereas, at this same time,
the left thumb draws back the top card (Photos 8b, c) (Bottom
deal*³⁻⁴).
Keeping the right thumb on the dealt card, say something like that:
“Under these
circumstances..., we are going to leave the Seven of Spades..,
face-down..” Then set
the card in question on its corresponding place in the row (Photo
8d). Terminate to deal, face-up,
the remaining Spades, so to complete the overlapping row (Photos 9a,
b).
4°/
As you continue the patter, discretely use the tip of the right thumb
on the inner end of the Heart packet to detect the natural break
between the two card groups and pick up one card (7S) from the
face-down lower group (Photos 10a, b, c).
Thus, a break below this
card can be maintained by the left little finger. Now, execute a half
pass at the break as you move both hands towards the tabled row
(Photos 11a, b), in the intention to make “magical circles” with
the Heart packet in right hand above the face-down “7S” (Photo
12).
Then,
with the left hand, spread the Heart packet onto the table, from
right to left, behind the Spade row (Photo 13), to show that
the “7H” has also turned, face-down, as if it was “on
the same
wavelength” of the"7S"...
5°/
Now you propose to complicate things a little by shuffling the Spades
and Hearts together. Proceed as explained hereafter.
Close
each row. Hold both packets, their faces oriented towards the
spectator, in the Faro-shuffle position: the Spades in left hand, the
Hearts in right hand (Photo 14a). Imbricate the packets partly so
that Spade cards are on the face, Heart cards on the back (Photo
14b). Then set them, just as they are, face-down, onto the
table (Photo 15a). Thus, only the face of the left packet (Spades)
lies directly against the table.
Now
execute the final phase of the Dai Vernon's false shuffle*⁵.
That is to say, push the two packets within together diagonally, so
that they pass through each other, inverting their position (Photos
15b, c, d). End with a double cut in the Michael Kaminskas's manner*⁶
as follows. With the left thumb lift up the left portion leaving a
small block of cards on the table (Photo 16a). The right hand takes
the tabled block and brings it onto the top in alignment with the
left cards (Photos 16b, c).
Then, you can strip out the cards which
project on the right side, and bring them on top of the whole packet
(Photos 16d, e, f). Thus the original order of the cards is
preserved.
Execute
a second false shuffle on table. With the right hand cut a bottom
portion to the right (Photo 17a). The left thumb leaves 3 or 4 cards
to the table (Photo 17b). Then shuffle the cards normally (Photos
17c, d). Continue as previously : push the two packets through each
other, then end with the double cut.
At
present spread the cards, face-down, from left to right across the
table. Both “7” appear face-up on two separated places in the
ribbon (Photo 18a) (For the spectator all the cards have been well
mixed). Magically, snap your right fingers above both "7"
and use the left forefinger to turn over in “wave” the
ribbon (Photo 18b), thus showing the Spades and Hearts are still
separated, and in their original order (Photos 18c, d) !...
Finally,
displace both face-down “7” out of the ribbon and say:”I
have another surprise for you..”Turn over the cards, face-up,
to show they have undergone a transposition each other (Photo 19)
!...
References.
*¹
“Roger's Thesaurus” by Roger Crosthwaite and Justin
Higham, L.L Publishing, 1994.
*²
"Versatile Card Magic"
by Frank Simon, Mike Caveney's Magic Words, 2002.
*³
"The expert at the card table"
by S.W. Erdnase, Fleming Book Company, 1944.
*⁴
"Neoclassics" by
Larry Jennings, L.L. Publishing, 2001.
*⁵
"Dai Vernon's Inner Card
Trilogy", L.L. Publishing, 1996.
*⁶
“Miracle Material” by Michael Kaminskas, L.L. Publishing, 1996.
