Beating the Heat
In
Workers 5, Mike Close describes a diabolical
method for performing the venerable Invisible
Deck routine with a non-gaffed deck of cards.
Within his typically terrific description
of the routine he references Alan Ackerman's
"Impromptu Ultra Mental" from Here's My Card.
He also mentions that Mr. Ackerman's cites,
in Las Vegas Kardma, an unpublished routine
of Bruce Cervon's as an inspirational source.
Finally, Mr. Close mentions an ungaffed method
for Ultra Mental that Steve Beam showed him
at a convention that they had worked together.
After
absorbing the Close and Ackerman routines
I decided, for reasons that are personal to
my style of magic and the limits of my abilities,
that I was not able to perform either of them.
At this point in my development as a cardician
I do not use a memorized deck, and therefore
the Close routine is out of the question for
me.
I believe
Mr. Ackerman's routine "Impromptu Ultra Mental",
to be historically significant in that it
inspired Mr. Close, and myself, to explore
further possible methods. Mr. Ackerman's routine
is very well constructed and employs a wonderful
shortest-distance-between-two-points method
that appeals to me. However, in the Ackerman
routine the magician must search for the named
card while under a considerable, in fact significant,
amount of heat - an aspect of the routine
that was also noted by Close, and one that
does not fit my performing style. Having seen
Mr. Ackerman in action, I have no doubt that
he can cruise through this portion of the
routine without raising suspicion - I don't
have the courage to withstand that heat!
The
Beam routine that Mr. Close alluded to in
Workers 5 was actually a routine developed
by Scott Robinson. Mr. Robinson's routine
is also terrific but also requires that the
named card be covertly found under heat as
the deck is spread.
So,
inspired by these gentleman's routines, and
in an effort to find a method suitable to
my style of performing, "Beating the Heat"
was formed and performed. Here are what I
believe to be the trade offs between the above
mentioned efforts and the one you are about
to read. If you are a memorized deck person,
Mr. Close's method provides, I believe, the
strongest effect, and you may easily maintain
the order of the memorized deck. Mr. Ackerman's
routine may be performed at any point in an
impromptu performance; virtually no set up
or pre-arrangement is necessary, a definite
plus.
In
the routine to follow no memorized deck is
necessary. There is an arrangement to the
deck but it may be set under fire with logical
presentational motivation. There are few sleights
involved and there is virtually no heat on
any of them by virtue of the construction
of the routine and a purposefully timed patter
line. The routine reintroduces an extremely
subtle glimpse that has flown by many an experience
card man and virtually all laypersons. The
deck arrangement may be easily reset for subsequent
performances (i.e., in table hopping situations)
or the deck may be used for other routines,
as it is free of gaffs. Two decks are used,
a significant departure from the Close an
Ackerman routines, but the presence of the
second deck is logical and does not invite
suspicion. Finally, although the routine to
follow has been inspired by the Close and
Ackerman routines, the resulting effect is
somewhat different as no thought of card is
used and no invisible deck patter is employed.
It should be noted that Mr. Ackerman has also
used the odd/even deck set up and the use
of two decks in "A Closer Approach" and "Double
Ultra Mental", respectively. However, both
of these routines also require the named card
to be located under heat, and one requires
a deck in Si Stebbins order.
The
Effect
The
performer states that s/he had a premonition
earlier and introduces a cased deck of cards
in which, s/he says, there is a prediction.
A spectator takes a second deck, borrowed
if possible, and gives it a thorough shuffle
and cut. The spectator spreads out this shuffled
deck and arbitrarily slides a card out of
the spread - a card whose identity is clearly
unknown to anyone.
The
spread deck is squared and turned face up.
The unknown selection is slowly and openly
slid face down and square into this face up
deck and that whole unit is tabled. The previously
introduced cased deck is removed and spread
until a face down card is reached. The performer
names the card he had reversed in this deck
and then displays the reversed card, confirming
his statement. The spectator removes his selection
from the tabled deck and it matches the performer's
prediction card.
The
Method
At
the time of this writing I have been performing
this routine for about a year. I have performed
it for many more magicians than laypersons
as I usually revert to my standard workers
when performing for the public. This is not
a hit and run routine though, and I believe
one must wait for the right moment to perform
it for laypersons - for instance, when asked
to return to an interested group for additional
magic.
There
are two approaches to the routine. In the
approach I use most often, I pre-stack the
deck, case it, and place it in the outer breast
pocket of my coat. The other approach is from
a shuffled deck in use and I'll explain how
I get into the routine "on the fly" at the
end of this article.
So,
here's the stack: run through a face up deck
and cull all of the even numbered cards; the
2's, 4's, 6's, 8's, 10's, and Queens. I always
leave both jokers in my deck (so I have them
to remove if I need to cull cards for a subsequent
effect), so I gave them a function in this
routine. As the even numbered cards are culled,
upjog the jokers. Remove the jokers and place
the even numbered packet of cards back to
back with the odd numbered packet. Spread
the back to back deck and place one joker
face up into the facing group of cards, say
they are the even numbered ones, so that it
is the fourth card from the back to back juncture.
Flip the deck over and similarly place the
other joker fourth from the back to back juncture
in the odd numbered packet.
Place
the deck into its box such that the even numbered
packet faces outward on the half moon side
of the box. If you were to turn the box over,
so the half moon was down, the deck would
come out of the box with the odd numbered
half facing outward. Place this cased deck
into your pocket.
When
performing for other magicians I will ask
one of them to shuffle their own deck. When
performing for the laity, I'll ask one of
them to thoroughly shuffle the deck I have
been using. As they shuffle, I remove the
cased deck and place it off to my left stating
that I recently had a premonition and that
there is a prediction in this deck.
The
placement of the prediction deck is important.
It must be placed to your left with the long
side of the deck towards you. The half moon
side of the box must by visible (facing skyward)
and the short end of the box with the opening
must be facing toward your right. This specific
placement will eliminate any fumbling when
you eventually have to remove the cards from
the box with the even numbered or odd numbered
packet facing outward.
After
the spectator has shuffled I always make the
following statement: "...please cut the deck
too, I don't want you to think I may have
seen the bottom card..." After their cut I
ask them to spread the deck on the table and
I say, "...this will have no impact unless
you are absolutely convinced that no one knows
the location of any card in that deck. If
you're not sure, then shuffle again..." This
line has proven to be very important, and
literally true. The audience must have absolutely
no doubt that that the deck is truly shuffled
and that no one could possibly know the location
of any card within it.
Have
the spectator slide any card out of the spread,
leaving it on the table. Pick up the remainder
of the deck, square it, turn it face up, and
hold it in left-hand dealing position. You
will now discover the identity of the selected
card with a terrific, well covered glimpse.
Your actions here must be slow and deliberate
- you do not want your audience to suspect
that you are doing anything except what is
outwardly apparent to them.
Pick
up the selected card with your right fingers
by its outer short edge. Riffle off about
half of the deck with your left thumbtip and
insert the selection face down into the gap
you've formed in the deck. Slide the face
down card to the right, squaring its long
sides with the face up deck and leaving it
outjogged. Again, perform these actions slowly
and deliberately making it clear than neither
you nor anyone else could have seen the face
of the card.
Bring
your right hand over the deck and apparently
push the face down card square into the face
up deck. By exerting slightly more pressure
on the outer left corner of the face down
card it will angle out of the deck at the
inner right long side, covered by your right
hand. The outer right corner of the face down
card, by virtue of the angle jog, will also
jog slightly at the right side of the outer
end of the deck. You should feel this jog
with your right pinky. Use your pinky to move
this slight jog to the right, squaring the
card with the short ends of the deck while
rightjogging it about a half inch from the
right long side of the deck.
Immediately
look up at your audience and say, "...I already
know two things about your card..!" This statement
will surprise your audience a bit - what could
you possibly know? Continue, "...I know it
is not the Two of Clubs..." Here you lift
the deck from above with your right hand and
as you name the face card of the deck you
tip outer short end of the deck down so that
the deck is almost perpendicular to the floor.
This action ostensibly makes the face card
more visible to your audience. I also tap
the face card with my left forefinger to punctuate
the patter line. It is at this moment that
you glimpse the jogged selection. Just peek
down at the deck, which is backs toward you,
and take a look at the jogged selection.
Immediately
return the deck to a position parallel to
the floor. Place your left hand under your
right and pull the deck into your left hand,
squaring the jogged card with your left fingers
as the deck is grasped saying, "...and I know
it is the only face down card in this deck..."
Table the deck near the spectator who slid
the selection from the other deck earlier.
I independently
came up with this glimpse, which I think is
so well motivated that it is very difficult
to detect. In the course of research for my
lecture notes, in which this glimpse is included,
I discovered that the mechanics of the glimpse
had been published previously in Ed Marlo's
wonderful book, Marlo in Spades. The glimpse
is included in a routine called "Jerry Kogan's
Indicator" on page 42. Ironically, Mr. Kogan
was a demonstrator at the local magic shop
here in Jacksonville, FL! Since I had used
the glimpse on Jerry a number of times I went
down to the shop and talked to him about it.
We both had a laugh and Jerry noted that he
never used a motivating patter line to accomplish
the actual glimpse, he just turned up the
deck and looked at the card. My experience
has shown that a simple patter line that motivates
the turning of the face of the deck toward
the audience makes the glimpse a fooler. Credit
for the glimpse though, goes to my friend
Jerry Kogan.
Since
you know the identity of the selection, you
must now remove the deck from its box such
that the proper half-deck (odd or even) is
facing outward. Assume first that the selection
is an even numbered card. Pick up the cased
deck with your left hand from above by the
long sides and use your right hand to open
the flap. Remove the deck with your right
hand, return the empty box to its previously
tabled position, and place the deck into left
hand dealing position.
If
the selected card is an odd numbered card
do this: pick up the cased deck from above
with your left hand by its long sides. Be
sure that your left forefinger is against
the short end of the box at the half moon
side. Now move your left hand toward your
right and pull up on the right short side
of the box with your left forefinger. The
box will pivot between your left second finger
and thumb. I also straighten my left second
and third fingers against the box to help
the forefinger pivot the box. During this
pivot action, your right hand should be poised,
palm down, to receive the box. The closed,
short end of the box should land directly
into your right fingers, which grasp the box
between the thumb and fingers at the long
sides. Use your left fingers to flip the box
flap over the left short end of the box and
hold the flap against the box with your right
forefinger. Pull the deck out of the box about
halfway and then position your left hand under
the deck and take it directly into your left
hand.
I've
given quite a bit of attention to how the
deck is removed from the box because I think
it is extremely important, particularly when
working for magicians, that there is absolutely
no fumbling at this point. Anything less than
smoothly removing the deck from the box here
would, I believe, represent a potential tell
to the method. Additionally, you should not
be looking at the box as you pick it up and
open it - only look at the box as you remove
the deck.
Assume
for this description that the glimpsed selection
is the Ten of Clubs and that you have removed
the deck such that the even numbered packet
is facing outward as described above. Spread
through the face up cards and cull the Ten
of Clubs below the spread using the Marlo/Hofzinser
Spread Cull. Importantly, since the identity
of the selected card is unknown to the audience,
there is virtually no heat on this cull. This
represents a significant difference from Mr.
Ackerman's method as the spreading is done
slowly and openly under the full attention,
and within sight, of the whole audience. When
you get to the Joker, you know that there
are only three more face up cards before you
get to the face down half-deck. The Joker
serves the function of warning you to spread
single cards a bit more carefully so that
you do not inadvertently spread past the first
face down card.
The
simple, descriptive patter during the above
actions of removing the deck from the box
and spreading through the cards is as follows:
"...there's one face down card in here...and
there it is..." The last face up card should
be slightly injogged as it is spread over
to your right hand. In fact, I lift the entire
spread of face up cards with my left hand
and tap the face down card as I finish the
patter line. Now square the deck, the culled
card coalescing at the bottom. Also, use the
injogged card to establish a break between
the back to back packets with your left pinky.
The target card is now face up at the bottom
of the deck and you have a pinky break between
the back to back packets.
At
this point you are well ahead of your audience.
To their mind there is an unknown face down
card in a face up tabled deck in front of
them and there appears to be a single face
down card in the prediction deck. They are
unaware that you know the identity of the
selection, much less that you have controlled
it!
There
is one more sleight to accomplish; you must
reverse the cards below the pinky break. The
Half Pass is a very deceptive sleight, but
there is significant heat on the prediction
deck at this point because everyone wants
to know what that face down card is! A simple
patter line takes all the heat off the Half
Pass: "...of course I know the card I predicted,
it's the Ten of Clubs..." This line takes
all the heat off the deck, and therefore off
the sleight - you have sated the curiosity
of your audience by answering the foremost
question in their mind. And, it makes sense
to announce the card before you show it, the
fact that the reversed card is the Ten of
Clubs becomes a mere confirmation of your
statement.
So,
just after you have squared the deck, look
up and use the patter line to announce the
identity of the prediction card. Simultaneously
execute the Half Pass and immediately (though
not hurriedly) pressure fan the deck face
up. This pressure fan is your excuse for having
squared the deck; otherwise why not show the
face down card from the earlier spread deck?
Pull the lone face down card halfway out of
the fan and turn the fan over displaying the
Ten of Clubs, confirming your earlier announcement
that it is the prediction card.
All
that remains is to have the spectator spread
out the tabled deck and flip up lone face
down card selected card. Of course, they match,
and your premonition has proven to be impossibly
accurate.
You
may now proceed to other effects with the
deck you hold, or you may easily reset it
for a repeat performance with another audience.
To reset, close the pressure fan. Grip the
outjogged, face down card with your right
fingers and lift up on it slightly allowing
your left pinky to establish a break. Revolve
the jogged card face up onto the face of the
deck and immediately half pass the cards below
the break. Case the deck appropriate to the
set up, with the even numbered packet against
the half moon, and return the deck to your
pocket.
A few
notes to complete this description. When I
perform the routine on the fly, without having
preset the deck, I start by saying the following:
"...you know, I had a premonition the other
day...give me a second here to make a prediction...and
why don't you shuffle that deck" Indicate
that the spectator should shuffle the other
deck.
Take
your deck just below the level of the table
and spread through it culling the even numbered
cards and outjogging the jokers. Half pass
the even cards. Remove the jokers and place
them onto the table. While your hand is above
table level, grab the box and take it below
the table. Case the deck below table level,
then bring it up and table it to your left
as described earlier saying, "...okay, I've
made a prediction in that deck and I'm committed
to it..."
Proceed
with the routine as described with one difference:
spread slowly as you approach the center of
the deck - you don't have the jokers to remind
you that the face down half is imminent! I
do not prefer this scenario, but I do use
it. It takes me about 20-25 seconds to set
the deck below table level and this is dead
time. I cover the dead time about halfway
through my below-table actions by glancing
up at the spectator who is shuffling and making
a comment or two appropriate to how s/he is
executing the shuffles.
Finally,
there are two situations that may arise for
which you should be prepared. The first is
when the glimpsed card is at the face of the
deck (or very near the face, making the spread
cull move awkward) when you remove the deck
from the box. What I do in this instance is
spread a small group of cards into my right
hand, five or so, and then separate my hands
a bit saying, "...the card in that deck might
match any of these..." During the patter,
I spread a small group of cards onto those
in my right hand and then square the deck,
loading the initially spread group into the
center of the face up packet. Now I re-spread
and cull the appropriate card. Depending on
the circumstances I sometimes just slip cut
the face card into the middle of the face
up cards too. Don't get uptight if this happens
to you - remember that your audience has no
idea what the selected card is (that you've
glimpsed) so there is, again, no heat.
A second
situation is that the last face up card is
the glimpsed card. This is not as bad as it
feels the first time or two that it happens!
First, you are prepared for it because as
you spread closer and closer to the middle
of the deck you will not have seen the glimpsed
card yet. If I don't see the glimpsed card
when I have spread through half of the face
up cards I start preparing myself for the
fact that the last face up card may be my
target card to cull. Knowing this, being prepared
for it, makes the cull much easier. Also,
everyone is looking for the face down card,
which inherently misdirects from the cull
of the target card no matter where it is in
the spread.
Recorded
3/13/99; updated 5/2/99
Credits,
References, and Remarks
* I
want to specifically mention that the concept
of setting the halves of the pack, culling
the target or glimpsed card, and the use of
the Half Pass all come from the Ackerman version
of the routine from Here's My Card. I have
added the even/odd stack to get me to the
correct half deck without suspicion (this
idea stemming from Ackerman's "A Closer Approach"
version, and also used by Messrs. Robinson
and Close), the second deck to take all the
heat off the spread cull, the early disclosure
of the name of the prediction card to take
the heat off the half pass, and the necessary
addition of my version of Mr. Kogan's glimpse
to ascertain the identity of the selected
card from the second deck.
* In
Las Vegas Kardma, Mr. Ackerman mentions that
Bruce Cervon had no less than 28 versions
of this effect 30 years ago in 1969! I am
not privy to these methods, but Mr. Cervon
has told me that one of his methods, worked
out on April 2nd of 1969, is similar to "Beating
the Heat".
* Mr.
Close's routine "The Invisible Deck" may be
found in his book, Workers 5, on page 138.
* Mr.
Ackerman's routine "Impromptu Ultra Mental"
may be found in his book, Here's My Card,
on page 47. See also "A Closer Approach" and
"Double Ultra Mental" on pages 49 and 50,
respectively.
* Mr.
Ackerman's reference to Mr. Cervon's effect
may be found in the Ackerman book, Las Vegas
Kardma, on the last page of the "Author's
Notes" section at the beginning of the book.
* Mr.
Robinson's routine "Riding the Wave" may be
found in Steve Beam's Trapdoor magazine, Issue
#47, on page 842.
* Mr.
Kogan's glimpse may be found within a routine
called "Jerry Kogan's Indicator" in Ed Marlo's
book, Marlo in Spades, on page 42.
* A
terrific explanation of an insertion jog may
be found in J.K. Hartman's book, Card Craft,
on page 131 or in his manuscript, Means and
Ends on page 13.
* The
Marlo/Hofzinser spread cull is described in
Ed Marlo's, M.I.N.T., on page 232; and in
Robert Giobbi's Card College, Volume 1, on
page 187.
* Henry
Christ's wonderful version of the Half Pass,
appropriately titled The Christ Twist, may
be found throughout the literature but is
well described on page 99 of The Classic Magic
of Larry Jennings, by Mike Maxwell. Page 1
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