Dai Vernon - Revelations Manuscript
Dai Vernon - Revelations Manuscript
I have been :Ln touch with active card men, ethical and other1vise, and have
discovered that Erdnase as an author is general-ly misunderstood and misinterpreted.
My object in writing, this book is threefold.
F:Lrst, it
~~11
Second, I hope
facility.
11
be attempted
to
11
The &cpert at
--~that
-------
~~a::r
.Indeed, it cannot be
t~e
Card Table".
t he t Ho books
It is intended
The Erdnase ''ork has often been spoken of as being a textbook on geOllletry
or higher mathematics
Erdnase is
Surel y no one, before or since, has written as lucidly on the subject of card
table artifice.
To me t here is in Erdnaije a timel ess and uni.versal quality ~Tllich the years
}lave changed only superficially.
stated, a number of
~ternative
:1\-P:O
methods~
procedures.
Under this heading Erdnase stresses the fact that t he real secrets of card
table artifice have been held sacro.sanct.
Even the ell posted magician has little or no knowledge of t he actual uethods
.
~"
by~
Erdnase 1 s discussion of card table artifice should be read <lith the closest
attention1 particularly his disselltation on uniformity of action.
He dismisses the use of holdouts i n a feH Hords.
are actually not over a lalf dozen men in this country capable of using a holdout
oR.. t'mac~e 11
to advantage.
Altho Erdnase clearly states that the first and little fingers hold and locate
t he jog it is essential to
b~
To begin with
bot>- t he outjog and injog should be made so that card does not project over
parter of an inch.
that a fine break is being hel d by forefinger, altho no actual breqk or separation
I'"OI!E. l' J>-/Gti R
is created.
in a secure position.
~rhich
case the
Learn to
OUT SHUFl"LF)_
3
The basic details of this type work was recently described in a manuscript
retailin~
tec hnique
evolved many years ago by a well known New York physician," Dr. Jacob
Daley.
It was our pleasure in 1919 to Jneet. i n Chicago a truly fabulous gambler
whose real name we must w.i.thhold but knO\m to t he frat.ernit.y as , 11 The Mysterious Kid. 11
He had originated and perfected a technique 'vith the riffle s huffie that we have
never seen duplicated.
As an example
of hi s uncanny skill he
'1-rould,with
four
apparently orthodox riffle s hufflel!l bring any four desired cards to the top of pact<.
1
~
);'f'present
In the final.
ho~1ever,.
The
t~;o
an inch protrudes.
the tHo
fe~T
lte re are a
~ost
packets together.
packet
passeJ. or rubbJed along right end o.f'pack in a squari 1.g movement (as described
Thumb is
inner corners and second and t ird f ingers are moved to front side of pack.
4
Second fingers s hould be about one r:alf inch apart as deck is grasped.
diagonal pos:i.tion of
packet~,
Owing to
SHU.F~
~Till
be described.
Shuffle# the same as before and push in until about one inch protrudes.
the manner
b.
outer corners.
Now
third~~es
the
~lin
be against
or in ElolEh'ut
1vith the corner of t he other packet which is ,held firmly between the right third
fingertip and t rrumb.
Seco~d
"~<reaving
or eccentric motion.
done is to pull packets apart and, if desired, repeat one or more times.
At conclus,on instead of separating packets and reshnf!ling, the right hand
pulls out its packet and in an
Then right h~d takes other packet from left and pl aces it atop.
simuJa tes a bonafide cut.
This perfectly
an original touch
5
When commencing s'mffle, top packet must be cut to t he right (the usual
procedure) and l eft t humb tilts up from table its comple te packet.
however, til ts up only about hal.f its packet.
Right hand,
t ro.mb.
Cards are pushed t hroueh as above described with resul t that about tMo
t hirds
Rieht thumb l ifts u p, or tilts very slightly t hese projecting cards and,.are held
in th.is position by l eft thumb so t hat right
bott0111 packet and cut it to t.he top, but in such a manner that its right edges are
in alignment.
on t he l eft.
exactly as bef ore and Hhen the packets are pushed togeth:lr
slight pressure
shuffled
perfect r egister.
This
out an<;l slapp ed on top with the result of all cards being
procedure is t he folJ.ovTing :
An excellent
tr~t
it
6
projects
subterfuge.
J.o ~;ermost
'~p
t he 1a dder."
The possibil ities of combining t he false r5.ffle with various block transfers
and cuts are practica~y l imitless.
~Assume
As usual cut
off top half, to right and riffle cards but somewhat faster Tith the right
until all but t hree cards have run dmm.
pusb t hrough s;.u :t:fle but as cards are pushed t brough the top
accompany t he packet but by a
t l::o:-ee do not
to
Nor when
stripped out for t he second riffle t.l:e desired card will be atop
t he left hand packet and during t he ensuing riffle it is allmV'e d to fall on top.
Should desired card be deeper in pack, say twelvth, simply transfer
get rid of four during t he first riffle, four t he second and
tl~ee
or
the t hird
time whic h e l i minates eleven cards and leaves desired card on top.
quite possible to accomplis h t r e above in t wo riffles by getting ri d of six and five
but greater s kill is required.
Altho Erdnase does not stress t he fact, i t is most important t hat t he action
of t he
Important.
natural cut.
packet.
7
either does not perfectl y align itself or fall flatly atop 10\'rer packet.
Thu:~
However, in performing
t his blind cut there is an i mportant point that Erdnase does not stress--the
exact position of second fingers and thumbs of both hands !liUst be identical
whether executing t he true or t he blind.
It is not necessary to raise or l 01>er or, in any wa;y alter, position of
t he left second finger
or
a half inch.
~ thumb
~.Ji t
in this manner.
At same time
This
s~g
re ld
by Je ft
tlrumb.
Since evolving the above
to the exclusion of
all others.
~P.MiL ~
.J'Et,'l:!.t3>tl').
curs
entire v;orlc
packets are
the four
to ov,erlap one
This tends to
Among
Card
jog or
brief. 11
11
Left
f~ngertips
Lift pack
and place it in left hand but at same time give it a half turn to left.
fingers and
tl:umb
Right
Th..e above procedure may appear somevmat involved but in reaJJ.ty it i s quite
simple and above all
completely disarming.
The
U&~al
get-ready often
By the above handling
concave slight l y .
Altho both packets are bent in the same direction due to the
quite s harpl y.
fact that
lo~rer
( e::~pecia.J..l.y
is thereby formed.
In the convex crjJnp method it is advi s able before putting in t he crimp
to make all the cards slight l y convex.
(II)
Not only can be used for cutting as described but is useful :for
magic as at completion of cut instead of placing on table, pack is
ends by right, pl aced in left and fingers can easily form break
cards.
This is
(III)
seized at
belo~1
jogged
s lipped under
~d.
10
{IV)
r~i:t
end.
However
fin gertip pushes card flush but sli ghtly diagonally so that left inner earner projects
about one sixteenth of an inch.
end only.
by left thumb.
This
proper
posi tion.
!n the above, pack must be cut Hith the left hand but i f
~oves
desired to
BOTT011 DEALING
Fe1 present
c l~ef
finger.
May we say,
descernible movement,
to slip the bottom card along bottom of fan -- a :nove of constant utility.
TOP AND OOTTOH DEALING HITH ONE HAND
The
One
appreciate the
sl eight
can
aL~ost
are of
11
obviated.
F.ir st, hold pack in an eagy, normal position with the forefinger resting
press~irw~y
against base of
palm.
corner of top card actually bites into fles h of lower palm and pivots at this point.
Thus the
throug~
t l:e pack a
few times the proper feel of pivoting the top card will all11ost
instantl y be acquired.
the left
~-Jill
be found that
third ani second finger acts as a sensitive gauge to permit only two
of pack.
tip of third
the pulling back of the top card can be dispensed with and left thumb performs
the duty as descr:i.bed by Erdnase.
Important note.
AGif.lrTfol-1
~
of
12
t he top card as the second i s dealt.
Secwu3 ~.
These detai l.s combined wit h the rapidity of the top card's baclo rard movement
create the desired deception.
Both Robert-Houdin and Erdnase agree that the rapid.:ity of t he backward
movement prevents detection.
This deal, correctJ.y executed in all particulars, i s, in my own esthation the
b est of. all ne thods I have seen.
ANOTHER l.fETHOD
suggest an
orif :i.nal variation whic h oll'ercomes the essential wealmess as the cards can be kept
under perfect control.
Pack is held in reguJa r deaJ.'i.n0 position but first f inger must extend around the
outer
easi~
corner .
Thumb is bent slightl y and t hen pushes top card directly to the right.
.
this push is continued t he tlcumb will consequently straighten out so that t he
If
portion of t humb bet1"ee..11 first and second joints comes into contact with the exposed
second card.
ful~
top card, gauge the pushing off of t he second card as in a reguJa r top deal.
Ri Pht hand deals second card as usual but the instant this rand erips second
card, the top card must be pulled back by thumb in perfect alignment with pack.
T~j_s
S~_URmG
Both metl:ods g:l.ven (especially t he second) are well worth acquiring paxticu.'h rly
as regards magic where it is so often necessary to arrange
a number of cards
secret~
13
and under close observation.
,If Hhen th1.UYlb very rapidl y f lips cards, f:reque,1t1y the desired card 'lill
inadvertently slip by.
I f this
happens~j
thu:nrjtip to
to bottom
In the latter t he top and bottom cards are dra;m off in pairs.
STACK._E.~G_
fing ers~
experience the feeling of holdi11g a very !ine break althqugh he is actually not
doing so.
superior to the
injog.
i.mpunity
entirel y neglected
used
PA.LMJNG
The Erdnase paJ.rn rTas apparently devised to eUm:inate all strain from the
hand.
A
th~point
I
poer.
perfectl y straight
a single second.
Important.
After the palm and after cards have been dropped to table
natural relaxation.
Therefore
action.
the hand conceals a palmed card t he f ingers, the hand and the wrist must be completely
relaxed.
Actually the
'
sensation of
gripped or held.
The second method described by Erdnase is sil'liliar but inferior and needs
no collllllent.
When pack :is held!i.n r lght h<md ldth card palmed the hand has a much more
relaxed appearance if the forefinger is bent inward oo that its tip rests
on t he top of the pack.
~Th en
pack is grasped
by the sides.
BOTTOM P.AIM
11e
~ aJ~tbling
conjuring .
used..
(~Tips
and dolmward and perform~ some such action as pulling back sleever, adjusting tie
or even dropping to
sid~
while standing.
example
of delayed action.
REPLACING BOTTOM P.Allv!,
sleight.
The important thing to bear in mind is that forefinger firmly grips card
at end which enables the other three fingers to slide along end,
around corner to
Al-or-.~ G
side.
The above ::1ovement is not co!lllnensed until the instant the left edge of
pack comes into contact l>rith fork of thwnb as cards are placed in left hand.
entire action or adjustment takes place in less t~an a second and is
The
entirely :
ilnperceptible.
MAINTAINING BOTTOM PALM \iHILE DEALWG
' vle have often lvondered why this handling has been almost wholly neglected
in the performance of card
magic~
Under many
co~di~ions
the appearance of
the; hand holdinr; the palm is enhanced by curling the . forefinger around the end
'
of deck.
TO HOLD THE LOCATION OF CUT Wh'ILE DEAIJNG
ac~red
by every card
l~orker .
as it has
16
unlimited uses.
When 1orking
surrounde~ t
:..ff'\
tha~b
Bertr~
uses first finger and thumb as pivot and Erdnase the second finger and thumb.
Undoul>tedly better control is achieved by curling first finger of l eft
hand around the outer edge o pack as
deRc~1hed
by Lang Neil.
In any pass or shift the all essentiU purpose i s to cause t;;o packets
cards to transpose
greatest minimum of
o~
semblance of
smooth a"ld even execution after which speed will unconsciously be achieved.
There are, of course, a multitude of different shi.t'ts and each usually
certain advantages for certain specific purposes.
poss~~
consi stently used a shift possessing sundry original qualities and which, we
feel, can be
The mechanics of this s!-.ift are quite s:imil iar to t he conventional but
o,.,'ihg to the el imination of any tilting or hinging motion of the lower packet
the sleight bears little reselnblance to the orthodox.
Briefly pack is held in regular dealing position but 1. th little finger
separatine th.e t Ho packets and forefinger curled loosely around outer end.
Hhen right hnnd approaches to grasp the pack, as usual second finger and
17
tip
With a sl i ght as sistance f rom the l eft fingers the elevation of l o-.rer packet
around underneath~
Holding t he
nm uppermos!; packet dead still, l eft fingers bri ng up r emainder of cards from
belo.v and i mmediatel y left thumb and f ingers square up sides by sliding to and
fro along edges.
' The enti re 'action shoul d appear to onlooker as if the pack 1vas merel y lifted
from a normal dealing position to f i ngertips f or the purpose of squaring.
When employing t he orthodox shift several gambl ers of
utilize t he f ollowing dodge to more fully cover t he action of the s 11Ht from
t he f ront.
ir~possible
other~tise
TP.is
rel$Ult.
halves o!
18
~ght
counter-clockwise laovement.
t~iist
to
These simple actions brine the right irmer corner of lower half in contact
FA-c.
Another point to r a>ne111her is, that as t he packets clear onekother the sides
of each will be parallel.
Another ir~portant point to bear in mind is that t hroughout t he s hift's actiO!l.
t he lef t t humb exerts a dovmward pressure which
packet to pivot upward bettreen s econd finger and thumb of right hand.
pressure s hould not be relaxed.
in
t his position until left hand completes the movement.,
F~~
el:\:rlinated.
This
is,~
a ges ~ure
side .
necessitated.
instantly :!ade.
It is often desirabl e to make the pass i mmediatel y after a card is repl aced
either in .fanned
Clr'
squared deck.
~snen
19
THE ERDNASE SHIF';r.....__;:;;ON:.;.:E::...:.:H=AN
D~
Most experts after mastering this most difficult shift find it dif ficult
IIJ l>f 1';CT}I~I.~
make:~
However,
the action
virtually invisible.
fulfill all cJ.aims made for it. The s hift can only be rendered deceptive at the card table by usine t he rir:,ht
hand for screen or cover.
grasp cards at ends but not unti l right edge of pack is screened or covered does
Then the sl"d.ft is inatantJ.y made to t he point
t~is
It
~agical
-~ovement
Holding pack in starting position allcm spectator ':Jho j_s stancling on your left
to sight or peek a card by opening deck at corner.
,. hat is t o be done by breaking
gesture.
grasps spectator's
arm
fiR
invisibl y
t~.rinkling.
TWO fi.ANDS
This is undoubtedly the easiest pass in the Erdnase book toacquire but
20
the
largely
recent ly 1-n-ote us that he consi dered i t one of the best thines in the book.
MODE OF HOLDING AND
Whil e t hese methods are excel lent more modern procedures will be submitted
later in this book.
THE PLAYER WITHOUT
AN_~
This section gives much sensible advice and several valuable tip:: to
the reader so it should be caretuUy studied.
TJ1REE CARD 1-fONTE
Professional operators
effecti veJ y.
We 1dll briefly discJose several closely guarded dodges used by
professional. 1'broad-tossers. 11
again.
dodge of crimpine
straightened
11convi
ncer 11 or
11c01n e
on. 11
21
. There are ma.11y variations but -te 1:ill noH describe a demonstration
Used for many years lf.i.th unvarying sUCCess.
~~e
~. e
have
t he pack giving them the usual dmmward crimp and prepare t he corners as
above described.
The t hree cards are placed in a
'vie iill
number t he cards one, t ..ro and three running from the operata: 1 s l eft to his
rieh't.
Right hand picks up No. 3 and s bov1s.
Three i s placed over tHo (the qu.een) and both are tw:ned face up with
the remark, "A l ittle game from F.anky Poo.
for you.
The toss and the turninr, down are all one movement.
Left picks up t'o, shows and tosses it face down .
Tms sequence is
t hen left hand deposits one on extreme right and right crosses over and
drops
Then we say, "Most people would pick t his card" - we shor card on left and
continue, "But t he queen is really in the center. 11
cards by ends.
Again right picks up three, , shoVJs face, left does the same.
Right, still
holding card picks up t1,o (queen) sho~rs and apparently thro1s it to left but
makes switch.
imniediately picks up t he card just thrmm, turns them face up saying 11Black here,
tosses to number two position at center \llaking sritch.
11
22
remaining in hand and says, "Black here. 11
three position.
here,"
~re
Remarking,
11 Even
touch inner left corner of supposed queen (in position one) ldth
left forefinger.
al1~ays
bl ack. 11
again placed atop, both cards are turned face up, sh01:ing black.
table making s,r:i.tch for queen.
is placed over card at right, both are turned up saying, "Black here. 11 Make
l eg:l.. timate toss to centel' and show last card in hand remarking,
here."
11
And1 black
~,ith
remark,
11
11
vd.ll make
and place it in center position face dom vTith the black cards at number one and
three positions.
Right picks up black card at three and
11
card f rom one pos ition, shows its face clearly and slol-rly, remarking J'.And
black here. 11
23
be able to see exactly what happens, but it becomes very cotf using 11hen
I cross my hands."
Finally r ight hand holding secretly crimped black card places it
over the queen, flas hes it, makes switch as it is tossed to let.
Left hand places its
At this
depos~ta
it
rig ht and under cover right f ingers straighten out corner o! real
queen and places later at number one position.
Concluded by remarking "Even it' you followed everything you would
still lose bec ause this is black, (turn
this
is black (turn over center card) and t he queen is al~otays here" (slowqturn over queen.)
~le t horoughly agree with Erdnase that no card feat will give as good
returns for t he practice
exp~ded
monte.
MEXICAN MONTE
This method of t urning over one card wi. t h another must be
established by legitimatel y doing
sl eight can be safely used.
thor~ hJ.y
process.
The us ual mistake in perfor:ninr-: t his slei.ght is that. the right
hand does a sort of !olloi.r throug h by conti.puing the movement beyond
the turned card.
motion.
ri~?ht
wren the
a flipp::ln g
other card must be lifted sufficiently to allow right side of the un<br
24
card
movement.
LEGERDEMAIN
Erdnase
THE
C~ ARLIER
ShiFT
end of p ack a; a
ma~'t"$
~li thout
it is entir-ely
detection i f it is accompanied by a
cover.
by
t~ e
It rnust be caught
other left
false cut,
11
opposite sides of both upwards and as t hey clear each other the right
25
thum-b tip catc hes t he under packet. 11
Now at t lis exact point instead of continuing t he pass the
rip.ht hand places its packet on the table and then taking xemaining
packet f r om l eft hand, places it squarel y on top.
This exactl y
follo~line
"~>'i t
h t t e right first
and assisted by the t ree fingers at opposite si de, slide the card
b achard under cover of a squaring motion.
w.en
t t e thumb reaches
tl~e
card pro-
Also it
S.~lJ!T_N9
SELECTED CARD_
26
or
This l eaves
pal.l!led i.n l eft h.and and deck can be i'lD'Ilediately handed to spectator
f or furt'ter s huf.tl ing.
Erdnase rras
a~rare
above the break is greatly preferable to the force from below break.
Tr.e break, if possible, should always be belo,; center of pa.ck .
The reason for t his is that it allo1.;s more cards to be spread and gives
a
or
se~ents.
Thus
27
another trick.
A b-eak
was held belo,r card to be f orced and in placi11g pack on table he left
a slight
or experience.
\?o'w(-n<r
liUeh~
.
most careless manner possible; and without apparentJ.y looking at eithaspectator or pack] he ,,ould spread them out
was no appearance of
get-rea~
for a selection.
There
or preparation.
PAlMING
We refer to the
rear position
SO COll'llliOU
ol;herHi se.
This thumb
The
CHANGES
In general Erdnase' s description of the top change is superlor
-mos{ ,
to~.
Ho,.;ever, one
i<Y!por'~ant
28
It must be stressed that the left tlrurab
~ ust
BOTTOM
C~
The top card is usually pushed over side of pack teo soon.
In
The push should be del ayed until the n ry inst'ant of the change.
t his lray t he pack itself appears undisturbed .unti , aft e; hauge i s
This
move1~ent
~ers
in onder
ca11 be mini'fri..zed.
the cards are held betvreen all four fin;;ers and thumb.
they are supported solely by little finger and thumb.
App a rently
In real i
The other
cards
t~ri..rd
This change
observed.
b~omes
C~~.!_.
allo~ed
~_l~Dp_
29
position with thumb along the left side and
beyond corner.
projec-t~ng
slightly
and is still
8.5
of the
m~
The left forefinger makes all the movement an<ilethe right hand
must. receive card vTithout the slightest flicker of fingers or
t hurnb.
inept.
Tl-'IRD, FO~!LLAFJl.LI~F.:f.'i...@~
ef.fect;.
SIXTH METHOD
ltle
After the
imlllediately~
as
Instead carry
lo~er
below.
Then
When
di~Ii
ng
face of pack keep the left t humb well away from front cardpreferably it should rest atop edge of pack.
In s hort i t
In
ot~1er
at !in:il h
of
SECOND METHOD
~.:J7iT4faJ
md
more n eatly.
si:un:3
RET~. ~.TIRE
ORDER
FIRST METHOD
This s hould be in t he
repetoire
of evgry card
handler
31
as it is of constant utility and can be used in many ways.
In
on
top and thus the original top card of pack is now in third
position.
result so deceptively.
SECOND METHOD
This riffle can be made much more effective i.:t: when dividing
packets at start, t he l eft forefinger performs the one hand
cut (sliding top card of pack into left :b..and portion) so lt1en
packets are fanned and pushed together the illusion of a
genuine shuffJ e is greatly enhanced.
THIRD ME'l'HOD
This is ideal for anyone who does not ,.rish to make a display
of dexterity.
FIFTH lo!ETEOD
As Erdnase suggests, this should be rejecled.
However,
it
32
Our
O}m
simply
the
card to be forced.
However, this will not alter the even tempo . of the riffle.
Needless
consciou~
hesitate
As
cards performed by the late Paul Rosini and in his hands it left
nothing to be desired.
lofE'l'HOD C
operator lo oks
~rord
This can
can
'fli easily
a~narently
111
thou~h
the
If performer
The technique
O\'m
personality
on
GLIDE
subtorruce quite badly for the reason that he telegral)hs" the .raove
in advance by
~uspiciously
drawing
at~ention
Position
bot~om
frlOO
-34-
'T'l:UCKB
These are too fa!'lilia r and Wid ely used to re quire comment . The
last method (Rising Card) can be made most effective .
OAnD TRICKS
EXCLUSI'IT~
COTmUE
Note how
impression that any three cards 8re placed atop each queen.
.Althout;h
~/e
method suggested by l':rdnas e in the fi nal paragr aphs of his descript ion.
Ev en the
taki~~
of pa ck into right
- 35-
Note after the palm change that the hand is :lr11r.1edi ately. used.
Erdnas e beautifully analyzes tho exa ct procedure .
TRICKS
~'liTH PRE-A~:U.NGED
DECK
By
progres sive we mean any se tup wherein the thirteen values are
repeated in the same order of which the Si Stebbins arrangement is
a classical example .
CAlmS UP THE SLEEVE
a~
7/e agree with tho statement that this iS one of the bes t nonsleight o f hand effe cts possible .
out s ince the days of E'rdnase .
da~e
c~nm
Il\ l:uHID!::E!WHI:;F
-36-
c.mn nr
H.\T
strata~ ems
not
dis cussed by l!.'rdnase and for the n ost part unknown in his day .
In fact, we feel quit e confident :tE a number of tb9 items v1e propose
to describe are unknown at the present day .
of rif:Vle shur!ling will .. illustrate,
statement.
Tl'(i';
or
LITSTERIOU~
KID
witness ed over the years this , in our opinion , stands out clearly
as being the most incr.ed~ble system ot Cal'd handling we have ever
s e en.
As oringinally seen by us
~he
Mysterious
Kid~
our own pack to four a)parently orthodox riffle shuffles and then
revealed four Jacks atop the pack .
-37-
was generally
briefs~
deck.
at sighted c ards and transfe rring them to. t.he top of the
?'\
atta,inment, may be gai ned by the averag e card mat,J. . but to be able to
work~tunder fire~
. ~enith
of. tech-
ni cal accompflishment .
The operf:l.tion
co~.me nces
ace and as soon as .it dl'OpS from the left thumb right
Correct
e xecution v1ill resul.t in a wide briar or gap near the l eft corner
of.:outer Side of pack.
In di v:\.ding the c ards for the next shuff'le the second finger ttp
of loft hand. easily locates by feel, t his division and by simply
p:cessing down on all cards belov< the gap permits right hand to
slide off all cards above in readiness f or the next riffle.
At
~he
If des ired to
cull the fourth ace the p rocedure is identical , shurflins the three
aces on .: right .I?Ortion under last ace atop loft pa cket.
It goes \'llith-
out saying that the natural'dist ribution of tho wanted cards greatly
affects the exact procedure .
sj
~lir~hly
Cards
./hen
the curds are again separated for the riffle the right third finger
eadily locates this jog and tho pack is divided leaving tho ace atop
the left _9acket .
11hen
sighti~
two slips by, simply drop the block in at t his point and upon cot'U':lence rnent of t he following shuffle it Will only be necessary to :lllow the
aco~;
The eztra card.; now on top can be neatly disposed of on the next
riffle by the method we have previously desc:.-ibed under heading ofPULL 'l'ffiU RIFFLE WITH BOLCK TH..\N.:iFER.
of distribution that all the wanted cards may be in the right hand
packet .
sf~hted
end culled .
t~e
left portion
This iS currently
bein~
beneath.
t~to
straif~ht
cuts
he c::n set the cards so that the two pairs nill fall to 3ny player
he desires .
in by
~any
att~ntion.
'llhe actual work 1s perfor med as follows .... prel:3 u.w.ing it is des i red to
give one pdir to ... he t .ird player and
rcmain::.n~
a five handed game , t hiu is tho action- in the oct :)f undercutting ,
bottom card is
jov,~ed
on top and plac0d . . . lir;htly to thu left , the protruding card \'Till coincide ;Ji th the other packet .
Uithout hesitation , the riht hand again undercuts but thi.:; time the
rir-ht index
f'in~'er
car.t'ies off the top card thus executine; the ono card
cut .
The above i s repea t ed e xactly .
Then a plain undercut is made and when packet is Slapped on top as
bGfor e richt i ndex pre:J;;es on top card a nd acain one c1.1rd out is m'lde .
By trase six ra;>id cuts h<ilf the v1ork has been accomp9li3hed .
I
Now
by an exoct rep&.tit ion of.tho above the work is com_rlete d .. and cards are
now set so thl:it the thi::d playor rlill rooeive a pair back to ba ck and
thtJ denlex will get the larger ;?air .
Once the theory is understood
adapt the
~rork
any player .
l i~tle
calculation is required t o
blind cut, virtually unknown and particularly ideal V<"hen used after a
"cooler has been put into thO game .
The ri~~t ae oond finger and thuob grasps the deck by the Sides near
end and undercut about one third .
grip and v:i thout hesi tetion t: ird tinge'- a no. thumb tip pull out half
the un<ier portion and the rit;t,ht hand moves forward placing tho lower
portion on table
C~nd
in left , and places it atop middle pile and these are placed on renain1
ing heap .
les~er
t\JO
pock for riffle and secretly execute the one card cut .
Rif~1e
cards,
shuffling the top three of left pa cket under top two or rit,ht
..iquare up.
Again divide cards for riffle but eliminate the one
C(l1.'d
out .
ri~ht
-41-
Vl'?\De P~ f)o iN r; /~t-~;:; .::t.r~O c,v-r '' {oLt.~~ e"- -h{;t '~w<t tALt._, ~;r"";u-:{.,s, 1VAp
First Riffle
=2
Fourth Riffle
Position of other pl ayer minus one ( shuffled on top}
=3
Combining third and fourth riffle , making thrEJe ri:ffles in all, would
be 2-f..:" 3
top.
=5.
is ulways constant .
HOLB Ci\IW
SWITCHJ~d
We are
acquainted v1i th ove r tv1enty of these subterfup,es but will des oribe
only a few of the best .
The firs t,knovm as the LAY DOWN SWITCH, is extremely sirnple and
efficient . For
~~ple ,
hand and desires to substitute it for the hole card delt him.
As the left hand b e nds up the inner side of card in order to look
at it, the right. hand is laid flat on table i mmedia tely in front of it .
Rieht hand is then t ilted up slig htly , allo;<Jing palmed card to remain
on table.
p alm.
Sir.ml taneously left hand p-laces the hole card into immobile
-42The~e
moves imitate
This
'
..
forward under
impress'icih of lookinc rat card , thwnb lifts up inner side o:e it and
presses firnlly .into
. pa lm~ : :,
'l'humb
fei~~ns
~abulous
The novel feature of this switch is the fact that a portion of the
card a ppears to
top of
Hand with palmed card is laid directly on/tabled c ard but ,.simul t aneously the thumb pusninu ag ainst the side ede;e of pal med card
causes it to extend Slig htly beyond outer S ide
or
litt l e finger .
Thumb now bends up lower card and by exerting pressure ag<lin st base
of forefinger'" card is allowed to spring free of other card . This
resul t s in transposing t,he two cards and hand vrlth palmed card now
moves away as uaual . To facilitate the move pres s ure must be exerted
aga inst t a ble by oute r side of hand during this s pring ine move.ment.
THE BLICKJJ\CK 3;[['l'CH
We are assuming that operator has been dealt a face down deuce with
a face up ace . atop it and a se cond ace iS conc.ealed in left hand-( ~ amb~ing:palm position}
- 43-
Both
hands are p l aced on table and \lith left hand Shielding cards and right
fingers and thu.mb turnjng up index corner, in customary fashion, then
the following a ction takes place.
up slie htly and the right thumb fans the lower most ca rd so that the
two cards co incide.
It is one
m~~x
~ui te
It
proportion~;;
-44-
and the mechani c who 1..: dealing c lanceD at l.L:J curds, remarks I
wish we were playinr; poker . The victim. lookinF' at hi.;; ovm hand
finds he is holding four cold eights and so probably re tor t s ,
do 1.
so
Then t he operator states , _.Well, you may have a good hand but
ar~ument
to wager a considerable sum of money for as any Cassino player realizes , it appears impossible not to be able to take at least one trick .
As there is no combination "on the boardn that makes
play
1~
as
follows ~
~ight, the
hi~
card is a ten , he naturally takes the ten heap ond cleans the board ,
The sample setup that makes the above possible can eQSily be
arranged , wit hout suspicion , during pr ev ious play as opportunity
presents itself.
nm
DRUNKlli HITT
Unlike the above , tte victim deals the cards himself but with the
usual result .
The "mechanic o r "operator
breaki.n~
up .
He makes
.:tt thE!
...
kin~s
- 45mechanic tb3n picks up his cards a nd in fanr:ina them a:!.lows three cards,
all j a cks , tD be clearly seen by hi s opponent .
He g rab-> the
disappears~.
operator flashes the t hree jacks, the two unseon cards are a cos . When
he draws two cardu the victiro. naturally assumes that the best hand he
could possibly make \/Ould be four jacks but he actually discards two
of the jacks and draws two more aces.
he ag ain flashes the lone jack on tho bottom which f urther convinces
the victim that he has a '1mortal cinch.
11
.Above makes on e x cellent exhibi tion and will impress any poker
pl a yer.
Along similar lines is another bold and barefaced proceeding known
as "The Snatch" end wb'i.ch may bo used in a number of different games .
In this instance the mechanic is assisted by o parlner who needs
l ittle rehearsal for hi s part in t he R:3me and who may be seated anywhere at the t a ble .
The stratagem i s held in reserve until an occasion arises vthen
there is a considerable sum of money in tho pot end the mechanic can
ea s ily fathom by the betting that ho does not hold the top hmd .
~ ea l i zing
holds in one hand by the extreme ends and slib htly above tho other
cords .
croat~nG
suspicion.
-46-
hand iS
hand.
There are many ways of winning at cards in add ition to mani pul ating
the pa ck .
tear-up.
'l'he mecha nic steers the victim who is known to have a sizeable bank
account to a c ard game and , previously tells him t hat t he opera tor
will accep t hiS personal
that i f he
WihS
~ h eck
He is instructed
amount of larceny.
G
Astiuming t hat the v1tim has lost a consid erable sum he is i nformed
by the genial g ame keepe r tha t there .is -.no desire to
emb~rrass
him
by cashing hi e check and that he will be permitted to pay his obliga tion later ,in cash.
appa r e ntly t ears the check into pieces <.l nd toS<>es them into the wastebasket.
adroit ly s ubstituted for a phoney one and it iS this latter one Whi ch
is torn up .
- 47 When the victim's bank o pens next morning the e euuine c neck is
prompt l y presented and cashed.
THE DOUBLE
DI~CARD
d i s card the tnree odd cards , hold the kings and ask fo r thr ee .
Instead , he p laces fa ce down in front of him three c ards, two kings
and the highest of t he remaini.t:Jg
tbre~ ...; L
dis c ~ rds
m;:~ y
a ct ioh conforms. to the g eneral tenor and tempo of' . the poker game .
In this exact form l.t :P.as been used many ti.mos succes sfully
agains t the mos t .knowing pl ayers.
THE ROY/ 0 F TJL'N 0 AP.DS
'
fini~>h.
its JJrosant;ation to
- 48-
as~ist .
7erforroer holds
a packet of ton cards arranged consecutively from oce to ten , the ace
beinP; uppermost .
It
by
openly transferring
J pectator iS
then requested to transfer, in. sil:niliar ..:'ashion , any number fro.m one
to ten and as he does
dO
Ue will as.;ume that seven cards are transferred .;o takins packet
performe r fans cards, remarking, .-It v1ould be quito impos..; ible for
me to know the exact number of cards you transferred but watch!"
So saying ho secre tly obtains a break above the two lowermost
cards and squares .
by
adding number
o~
cards
~oved
by tipectator (seven) to
~~:..,
~n
cards he removes the second card from top {tho ten spot ) and places
i t aside in fUll view .
~pectator
betv1een one and nine) and top card uill always denote the number
tronsferred .
It iS now only necessary to exchange the top card of packet for
the one previously set a.:lida .
"\/e personnaly
u::H3
involving the renkai palm (so e the Dai Vernon Book of Magic , Chapter
six)
In the present case, of course, tho card must be held face down .
-19-
'rhe s-;i tch can alSo be mode by the famiL.ar ton or bottom chanc e .
1/ith a sli ht adjustnent the Curry 'rurnover can likEmise
be
usee}.
;. FJ::',! TIPo
f::~cilitated
~/i th
deck on
wt.,,.... ~} ()Jl..{_
, ,o
4<- ~
sli~ht
degree ,
When having a card ''peeked at>\ ulways keep oposite side of pack
firm.l y gripped in crotch of thumb thus preventing the two halves from
sep3rating or breaking. Otllcrw5.se diffJ.culty will be encountered
in
If this
an awkward
in pro:>entation.
lila~o
a
by f;;;l ic;ht chanr'e
11
spokc~n
perforr~or
f<:~ct
it has alreedy
words
muHt
s14;i~ht
haS yet
tr on~~!lired ,
l)ractically every trick has a Heak spot but a little thou r;ht v;Hl
devise simplo n.et:t-ods for oover:i:ng .and even eliminiatj_ng these
deficiencies .
t:~hade,..
l,1any
fe::~ling
t:r..at