31 THE MAGIC NUMBER

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.