Have a deck in hand for following these paragraphs to make it much
easier. In effect, the performer genuinely shuffles a borrowed deck and
fans them down. One after the other, four people (two alternatively, or
even one) select any card freely by pulling it only half out of the fan.
These are openly shifted to the bottom of the deck which is handed to
a watcher who puts these four bottom cards face down on the table in
a row. As yet no one has seen their faces. The spectator is asked to run
through the deck and remove the four aces so that you may show him a
great coincidence. The aces are gone and found on the table ! That’s the
coincidence. Taking the deck, you ask one person to give you the aces one
at a time in his favorite order, and you place each one at different spots in
the deck face down. Giving the pack a shuffle or two, you deal four hands
of poker and turning them over, you have the four aces. This makes a nice,
quick bit of work and there is nothing difficult at all.
Have the four aces on the bottom of the deck to start. Dovetail shuffle and
keep them there. Now fan the deck and have four cards pulled out a little
more than half way. Close the deck with these cards protruding at the front.
The left thumb and second finger hold the sides of the deck at the front
end from below with the first finger curled up against the bottom. With
the right second finger, tap the front edges of the protruding cards to make
them even and sticking out about an inch and a half. The right thumb and
second finger now hold the deck at the sides rear end and as you remark
about the freedom of choice and the coincidence you want to show them,
the right thumb counts off four or more cards from the bottom. The right
hand raises the pack just a trifle and this group is held by the left thumb
and second finger at the front ends. This hand immediately moves forward
with the packet under the protruding cards and the thumb and second
finger grasp the front edges of the protruding four. Now the right hand
pulls the deck from these cards held by the left hand and drops it on top.
The illusion of it all is quite perfect. The onlookers only see you square
and pull out the four chosen cards, putting them on the bottom of the pack.
The spectator now takes the deck and puts the four bottom cards face
down on the table in a row. He looks through the deck for the aces at your
request and then is told to turn over the tabled cards. Taking the deck you
hold it face down in your left hand with the left thumb at the upper left
corner so that it may riffle the corner downward.
The pack is really held tightly between the base of the thumb on one side
and the fingers on the other. Ask for the aces singly and in any order. The
left thumb riffles down three cards and taking the ace face down you
carelessly insert it at this point about half way but sticking out a little to
the left also. This covers the thumb completely which riffles three more
cards while the next ace is handed to you. Stick this in the pack apparently
at random and continue letting three cards go by the thumb for the next
and again for the last ace. Put the aces in carelessly so that they stick out
at angles and at different lengths and it is very convincing.
Now dovetail shuffle, leaving the top 16 cards in place, make a false cut
if possible, and deal out four poker hands. You must get the aces because
you merely put them in the proper places. This is an extremely neat table
routine for clubs. In the first part be certain that the watchers appreciate
the fact that the selection is perfectly free and not forced. If you remark at
the outset that four different cards are needed in order to show a strange
coincidence, no one will ever suspect what is going to happen. In the
second part, do the bit of thumb riffling each time as the spectator is
picking up an ace and you are watching him.
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