Up the Sleeve

The following was in re sponse to a problem set by Patrick Page in his Pabular column. In brief,
a card is chosen and signed, if desired, then returned to the pack. The pack is immediately spread face
Is up across the table . The chosen card has gone and is openly removed from the performer's sleeve.
Ie Though Jerry Andrus had already solved the problem several years before, here is Fred's solution,
!
which fulfils the requirements as stipulated by Patrick.

I: You have to be standing near a table and surrounded by a group of people . Have a card selected
Id by a spectator immediately on your right. Control the card to the top and then place the pack face down
on the table.
2: You now direct the attention of the audience towards the spectator who selected the card by
asking him to clasp his hands together. You demonstrate by clasping your hands together. Keep the
focus of attention on the assisting spectator by implying that the exact positioning of the hands is
important. Unclasp your own hand s and make a few adjustments to his fingers etc ., finally saying,
'Yes, that looks about right.'
a
d 3: Clas p your hand s again and ask the spectator to carefully place his hands on top of the pack. You
demonstrate by doing so yourself. Figure I s hows the position. Notice that the back of the right hand
lies flat across the top card. You now remove your hands, allowing the spectator to duplicate your
actions. As you lift your hands from the pack, you will find that the selected card will adhere to the
back of the right hand.
4: As the spectator bends forward in order to carry out your request, you will see that his body will
provide a perfect shield for the next move. As you are straightening up, you unclasp your hands and
move the left hand under the palm up right so that it contacts the stolen card. Figure 2 shows an
exposed pos ition. The attention of the audience should be on the spectator, as should yours. Tell the
spectator to press his hands down firmly on the pack. A s this is happening the left fingers should have
pushed the card up the right jacket sleeve. A sl ight bending of the card wi th the left fingers will assist
the card in its pa ss age.
S: You can now conclude as in the Page Boy's Poser, by asking the spectator to turn the pack face
up and spread it across the table to look for his card. It's not there of course, and in your own time
you produce it from the very place that most lay people joke about, the magician's sleeve.

Remember that for this to s ucceed as a piece of magic, it is es se ntial that the business with the
spectator be kept moving along at a brisk pace , and that a rapport with the audience is sustained
throughout.

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The Magic of Fred Robinson _ _ _ _ _ __

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 Up Both Sleeves

I t was while experimenting with the original 'Up the Sleeve' problem that Fred came up with this.
In effect a card is noted in the pack, which is immediately spread face up. The card has gone and
is produced from the performer's right hand sleeve. A second is noted and the pack again spread l()
show that the card has vanished. This time the card is found in the performer's left sleeve .
To achieve this effect, Fred employed the use of a double-faced card . Let's assume that our double
facer consists of the Jack of Spades on one side, and the Two of Hearts on the other. Take these two
cards from your pack and place the Jack up the right sleeve and the Two up the left sleeve. Fi nally
place the double facer on the bottom of the pack with the Jack of Spades side showing on the face.

1: Commence a Hindu Shuffle drawing small packets into the left hand requesting someone to call
stop at any time. When they do so, raise the cards that remain in the right hand and ask that the card
at the face be memorised. This is the standard Hindu Force. Replace the right hand portion, retaining
a little finger break, then cut or shuffle to the break to bring the noted card to the bottom.
2: Explain that you are going to make the chosen card vanish from the pack. As you say this, you
should have captured the audience's attention with your eyes, and so take this opportunity to secretly
reverse the bottom card of the pack.
3: Spread the pack face up across the table to show that the Jack of Spades is no longer there.
Showing both hands are empty, reach up the right sleeve and produce the card.
4: Tell the audience that you wil] give them a second chance to catch how it was done, advising them
to keep a close watch on the sleeve.
5: Repeat the force, control and reversal, using a different line to cover the reversal of course. Ask
the audience if they caught the card going up the sleeve. Spread the pack face up as before to show
that it definitely is no longer in the pack. When they reply in the negative , say, 'Well, that's because
you ' ve been watching the wrong sleeve!' As you say this, shake the left sleeve allowing the Two of
Hearts to fall to the table to finish.

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 Spectator Magician Plus

This routine was inspired by, and is an extension of, an effect by Tony Faro called 'Spectator Magi­
cian', that appeared in the very first issue of Pabular.
The routine is in three stages with each stage flowing nicely onto the next. Magicians who like to
combine strong tricks with equally strong presentations will benefit greatly from reading this. The
entertainment value of this routine is second to none.
Arrange the pack with the Queen of Diamonds on top, and the Six of Clubs second. Set aside the Queen
of Clubs before arranging the remainder of the cards in alternating colours, red-black-red-black
throughout. Finally, place the Queen of Clubs in fifth position from the top and you are set to begin.

Phase One

1: Invite someone to assist you, asking them if they would like to become a card expert. Say, 'The
first thing a real expert does is hand the pack out to be shuffled.' So you , as the spectator is playing
the part of the card expert, and you are playing the part of the spectator, it seems fair that you should
do the shuffling. Give the pack a False Shuffle and then hand the cards to him. Ask him to fan the pack,
faces towards you, so that you can select a card. Appear undecided, suggesting that maybe he is trying
to influence your choice. Finally, take the fifth card from the top and place it face down on the table,
taking unnecessary precautions so that he cannot see the face. Without overdoing it, much humour
can be derived from the situation.
2 Explain that as he is only a beginner, he need not use the full pack. Ask him to deal from the top,
one at a time, about a dozen or so cards, in a single face-down pile. Once this is done, have him place
the balance of the pack aside. Continue by saying, that in order for a magician, even an expert, to
discover the identity of a chosen card, he must acquire two pieces of information, this being the suit
and the value. Have him pick up the dealt cards and make two piles by dealing alternately until the
cards are exhausted.
3: Turn over the top card of each pile and leave them face up. Point to the Queen of Diamonds saying,
'This one tells you the value, which means I selected a Queen.' Point to the Six of Clubs saying, 'And
this card tells you that it was a Spade.' Thus encouraged, tbe spectator can now name your card as
the Queen of Clubs, which you turn over and duly congratulate him on his expertise.

Phase Two

4: Ask the 'expert' to pick someone else to assist in his next trick. This again creates an opportunity
for humour, by getting your volunteer to shake hands with his assistant, thanking him for coming up

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