Principles may be old but new applications are constantly being made as in the present case. With only five red back cards and two with blue backs, an entertaining little story is illustrated. Patter: "These two blue backed cards that my friend just removed from the pack represent two G men. Now let me show you my pockets, as empty as usual. One G man goes into this pocket, the other in this one. Now, will someone please remove any five cards from the red deck. These five cards will represent five magicians. One day these five got together to…
Many ways have been figured and produced for this effect of a selected card being found in a rubber banded pocketbook, each getting more complicated than the others, and generally losing sight of the very important fact that you can't waste any time in opening up the pocketbook or metal plates without hurting the effect. It just doesn't do, as far as professional work around the clubs is concerned. After all, the only thing remembered by the onlookers is the fact that the card travels into the wallet from the deck. No one ever is deceived into thinking that it…
Just a few years ago I would have taken this idea, put a full page ad in the Sphinx, supplied a book and deck of cards, made a price of about three dollars, and sold from 100 to 150. I'm rather proud of the way it has worked out, and it is a direct result of the effect Between the Lines that received much in the way of plaudits in the May issue. Whereas Between the Lines was a straight book test with the word revealed at the finish, The Oss of Lhasa is a prophecy, fair and very square,…
New discoveries in the commercial world are responsible for many magical effects, and the following was born of such a thing. The performer has the usual card selected, marked, and returned to the pack which is shuffled and dropped into a hat for further mixing, as the magus says, in order that they may be shaken around without the possibility of being controlled by the hands. From his pocket the performer now takes a roll of ribbon about two feet long, and unrolling it, may tie one end to his wand or a table knife to represent a fishing pole…
Many are the poker tricks, set-ups, and continuous routines that have been developed during the past few years. Some are good, and some, instead, are just plain boring from the entertainment point of view. Generally a spectator will make the remark "Can you deal four aces ?" or "Can you deal a good poker hand to yourself ?" And it is all that worries them, too. If you can immediately deal the cards and give yourself a definitely good hand, you've accomplished the purpose, and satisfied them directly. They'll remember and talk about how you dealt the cards and gave…
Book tests come and go about the same way as do Four Ace Tricks, for it seems as though one is on the search continually for improvement. Of course, favorite methods vary according to the individual. I've seen some people who would swear by a method that to me seemed cumbersome, drawn out, and obviously a fake because of the round about way of getting to the word. However, one advantage of using, or at least, knowing several methods for a test makes it possible for one to repeat it at some later time without fear of anyone following the…
When "Wild Bill" was shot from behind by Jack McCall, in the Deadwood days of outlawry, it stopped the life of a picturesque character, but started the legend of the "dead man's hand" and made possible this most original card story and routine in years. In the Mann and Lewis Saloon of Deadwood, S.D., "Wild Bill" Hickock was playing poker with friends. His back towards the one door made it possible for the murder just as Bill was preparing to make his "draw" to the hand illustrated here with the original cards that were taken from his lifeless hands a…
Remove from your deck, say the King of Clubs. With India ink, change the Club pips at one end to Spade pips. Place the genuine King of Spades face down on top of the pack. Put the faked card on the bottom with the Spade pip towards your body. Turn the deck face up, the right thumb covering the Spade pips of the faked card, which makes the card apparently the King of Clubs. Each card is shown, as they are run off singly, reversing their order. The faked card will now be the bottom card of the face up…
Bringing his own deck, the spectator gives them a thorough mixing. Riffling the deck before his eyes, the performer asks the spectator to glimpse and remember one. There is no force, the only important thing being to make him actually see a card and keep that card in mind. Dealing the cards into four piles, the performer picks up each in turn, fans them towards the spectator so that he can get one more glimpse of the card to impress it more strongly on his mind. Each pile is cut, and all are stacked one inside of the other. In…
Years ago I learned to do the magnetic effect with two toothpicks, but only lately did I apply it to the location of a card, and find the result a quite perfect impromptu table trick. You'd better carry a few toothpicks of your own, though, for the best places rarely have them. Put a toothpick on the table pointing directly at you. Now put another on top of the first, at right angles, and balanced so that it doesn't touch the table at either ends. Stick your right index finger out straight, and rub it against your head for a…