ible Impossi Simon Aronson Try the‘Text Photographs by David Solomon Photographs on Back Cover and on page 285 by Anne White Graphic Design and Layout by Yolanda Salinas Front Cover Art by Susan A. Thomas {© Copyright 2001 by Simon Aronson AllRights Reserved. No prt of this publcation may be reproduced ortransmitedin any form or by any means, eletronic oF mechanical, including photography, recording, or any information storage and eotrival ystems, now kaown of tobe invented, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. All rights and privileges tothe manufictire, mule or mass production, sale, distribution, ‘advertising forsale or marketing of any, each or all of the items inthis book ae hereby ‘expressly and fully eserved by and tothe aurhor, and any such manufacture, mass production ‘or marketing ofthese items is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the author. This notice covers each an all cf the items set forth i this book, including without limitation te items deseribed under thefllowsing tls: Prot Commitment, "Aronson Aces, and Nosuora Aces.‘This book is dedicated to John Bannon and David Solomon Much more than a sleight friendshipBOOKS BY SMON ARONSON. The Card Ideas of Simon Aronson (1978) Stack to Remember (2979) Shuffle-bored (2980) Sessions (with David Solomon) ag82) ‘The Aronson Approach (990) Bound to Please (Collected early works) «ageq) Simply Simon (4995) Try the Impossible (2001)TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Joshua Jay Preface 1. Unde influence Prior Commitment .-..2.... 3 The Face Down UnDo Variation 144 Variation 1839 ‘Suprise! Queenspell es 2 The Face-Uip UnDo Divideand Conquer ee 2 Euph-Oracle (an Alternate Take). fasevarses e020) uph oracle a Double Elimination Procedure More-or-Lese-acle “Alternate Take Deck Switch Random Tandem oe : 031 Wotker Bees oo... eee eel Double Progressive Spell Stack ‘Twice as Had... 6 stoker Presentation Basic Calculation (3 Packet Displacement) Mindreading A "Non-Remaval” Displacement Presenation Fixed Middle Caleulation (4 packet dlsplacement) Packet Displacement Variations Mathematics: Theory and Pracice Uno Influence: Theory and Practice ... Goes si 68 Mathematical Considerations Selection Procedures ‘Adjustment Procedures RevelaioncCreatng New fects ‘Sop itTire as Herd. the Hard Way Spelling Pseudo Estimation Pseudo Memory Plots withthe Face-Down UnDo~ and Odd Cards Plots withthe Face-Up UnDo Fortwye Telling Biachack Dauhly UnDone with Two Decks Asa Control Stack Prerersation The Reverse Mode Formulas for Indicator Positions ccen-trichs Head Over Heels Transposition Glimpse Into a Visual Change Invisible Card Irethe Hanah Triumph Positioning the Card to Any Number (O*Atonson Aces Zarrow-Linuley Adiition ‘Nosnor Aces Marl's Swindle Como Vanish Elmsley Cou plus Partial Rhumba Court Vanish Broken Bimsey Count Vanish ‘Diserepancies” ‘Simon's Flash Spller .. Spell 1 Out Mark-a-Place Decipher Decipher Deck Switch ‘Two Deck Canasta 104 ean 1 136 M3 149Choices ‘Breathing Spell Dizzy Spell ‘Queen and Kings ‘Two Beginnings S.A. Combination Under the Spread Cull ‘The Invisible Card (daly Enough Rap-Ace-ious IIL Unpacking the Aronson Stack Inwrodvtion: Stalking the Stack ‘Aces Auwry (Producing the Aces) The Basie Procedures ‘Rifle Force ‘Basie Spelling Procedure Basic Clean Up Allenatve Procedures for he Aronson Stack Kiet Revelations “Along the Way Double Push Orf Reverse Dealing ‘Setting up fr the Rifle Force Other Ace Productions Four on a Match (Producing the Fours) The Inaicator Four More ack Coincidence (Producing the Jacks) Bill Simon Prophecy Move “The Mind Reading Deck, Part 6 Producing the Sixes) Abing Magical Productions 161 1 193 198 209 2217‘The Mind Reading Deck, Pat 9 (Producing the Nines) 20 Mirror Nine Direct tothe Nines ‘The Mind Reading Deck, Part 7 (Producing the Sevens)... Bs ‘Two by Four Producing the TWO)... ..-+- me 26 Nate Leipsig Spin Cut Produetion Fit Four a King Producing the Kings) BI Four Selections; One Force ‘Reversing te Sack Mirror Kings Reverse Ded Routines Joshing With The Thess (Producing the Thee)... 236 Routine Maintenance Poker Deal Restoration) 28 Once and Again Display (Restoring a Matrix Stack) Poler Routine Deck Switch Mental High Card TrathsSayer esos ae erase The Ace of Clubs Lie Detector The Five of Spades Lie Detactor The Tiree Diamonds Lie Detecior The Qucen of Spas Lie Detvctor (Odds and Ends Decl and Duck Poker Lat Five Standing Roya Flush Any Kind of Poker Hand eclprocal Spell Pairs Take Two Next of Kin Hientcal Twins Distent Cousins Distant Cousins, Once Removed ae eee Threespell (sing UnDo Influence) Built for Twa (using UnDo Influence)Triple Trek Tip Saquonce Spells 52 Pelup ‘Sequence Spell Deck Switch Beverse Sack Sequence Spells Postscript Ringleader fer 269 ‘An Interview by John Bannon as eee 289Introduction Genius, the power that dazzles human eyes, i ft but perseverance in disguise HW. Austin Austin’s summation of peniusisalor-made for Simon Aroason: his magical creativity js panly the resultofcoualless hours of experimentation and debate, an unbssed outlook, high standard, and an unrelenting desire to deceive. ‘This has resulted in effects that, as Austin succinely stated, “dazzles human eyes.” In Simon's ease, I might add thatthe ticks also bogele the mind. Anyone familiar with Simon's previous works already understands his eccentric brilliance. In my opinion, Try se ImpossIbe is his most sophisticated effort yet in creating powerful, off-beat and alvay’feoling magic. ‘When Simon asked me to write his introduction, was elated because it gives me the ‘opportunity tell you why I'm so taken wth Simon's magi, At the crux of Simon's ereative process are his standards. The faion process that each of Simon's originations goes ‘though is incredibly selective. For ever trick included in this volume, many more were ‘dropped. Having seen aot ofthe material in varios stages of development, Lam awed by the severe standards this man imposes ons age, Simon worries abouteverything and tinkers constanly. els told me, only haljkingl, that his books reflect the way he approaches hhs magie: both exhaustive and exhausting. ‘While Simon employs very sophistcated methods, be never loses sight of the ultimate effet. His methods may involve intricate combinations, but they rezain below te sufuce. He uses stacks, systematic mathematics, devious sleighis, mental gyunuastics, and even ‘gimmicky wo produce an impossible often bunds of” seenario where nothing sneaky occurs Pan of de fun of Try she Jnpossble Is its unpredicubilty; keeping up with all the varied approaches Simon uses to carry out his effeets makes the book aa engrossing, thought- provoklng read Imeach of te dee chapters of Ty the Impossible Simon devers another healthy portion ofthe song material we've all come to expect. The ene ist chapter, for example, {is based on the UnDo influence concep a demonstrates what Simon does bet. Simon has developed « new, groundbreaking matheratical ides, combined it with devious mechanics, and painstakingly concealed it within logieal presentations. [vividly recall Simon palling ms aside to demonswae “Twice as Hard" andPrior Commitmen.” I ida’ sleep that sgt. stayed up all nigh, cursing my hands and deck for not being able ta decipher the method (or even get lose). The UaDe Influence chapter i atomic aamunition tht issue to exact total bewilderment on your audience By contrast the middle section, Eessn-icks,exploresan impressivestray ofisparate plotsandicchniques. "O'Aronson Aces” and“Nosnora Aces" demonstrate Simon's strate use of gafls to bring about utler mitaces. Pay elose attention to his careful, meticulous Aistibuton ofthe gaffsand how they re exploited to their fll potential imeach phase ofthese ‘Assemblies. T must confess, he Tead Over Hevls move made me jealous of Simon. Why ida'tthinkof that? Youean apply this insovative move to myriad efecs, nd Simon offers several excellent applications. Simon is akeady one ofthe moder pioneers in popularizingthe memorized deck, end his memorized deck erations alone have already earned him a prominent place in card magic. Memorized deck fans will be delighted with “Two Beginnings" and “The Invsibie Card,” not only beeause of ther efficient constuction and commercial presentations, but because they maintainyour memorized sack completely intact Tnthisehaper, Simon even ventures into new sealms, exploring territories uncharacteristic of his previous books. For example, be includes a gaming scam and even an Ace production one toa rap (is this guy hip, or what?) “The final chapter, Unpacking he Aronson Stack, explains host of features andeffeots imbedded inthe Aronson stack hat don rrequire memerization. Further, these astonishing cfeets bepin and end with the deck tl! in Aronson stack order. Imagine magically finding {selected car, and then asa climax revealing that you've also discovered a fall matching fouroFerkind, Simon presents not just one such routine, but half a dozen ~ and each one produces a different fou-of<-kind! Or, peture being able to deal five strong poker hands ‘ach better than the previous one, ith the dale receiving @ Royal Flush in Spas. Now pisture yourself doing the trick over and over. without having to reset! This rick mass the Aronson stack! Simon's elegant and eficient Once and Agsin display (in “Routine “Mainienance”) accomplishes this fat with no seiphts or moves all. Indeed, I predict that Simon's universally aplicable solution to unwinding and reseting a dealt stack will become fatucmagie uty. With overa doaen effects all generated from the same prearranged deck, Simon is making the Aronson sick aecessble, practical, and valuable, even tothose who may never memorize a dock ‘As someone who bas used Simon's “Stak to Remember” and his memorized deck effects for profesional use all over the word, 1am quick to endorse the Aronson stack (0 “anyone interested in getting ito memoriad deck work. However, after te rclease ofthis Tatest batch of material, there willbe no need convince anyone ever again. Unpacking the ‘Aronson Stack is, for me, the final word on which stack to memorize, and I'm overwhelmed by the amount of new material Simon has uneurthed. ‘More personally, Unpacking the Atonson Stack is partially responsible for the ‘blossoming fiendship berween Simon and myself: As you can tell, 'm an Aronson addict, 0 was particularly interest in sharing ideas with Simon about his landmark arangement. ‘Av that time, our relationship was formal but fienlly. However. between the many video ‘exchanges, phone calls, conversations, and a marathon mage session that lasted over three days wen | passed through Chicago, Simon managed to demonstrate every remarkable feat explained in thethitd chapter. Somewhere in that process, Simon also became a close friend. ed always been an inspiration, role model, and her forme, but now hei my mos trusted ‘magie confidante Complementing the unosualy diverse tri ofchaptersin 7 he Impossibleis Simon's ‘one-of «kind writing syle, His voice ispartcularl clear inthis volume, ad his descriptions fre so conversational that T could hear his words in my hed ss Tread each page. His attention to dettil is evident in each effect. Simon's wick descriptions are long, but he lakes the time toexplain why a particular concept works. His detiled and farranging Comments to each effect provide examples to cover every possible outcome of «trick, and offer stimulating ‘variations, options, and convenient routing suggestions. Even though find his originalityto be quite remarkable, Simon is a student of the magic literature. He wants readers to understand the roots and chronology of histhinking, its motivation, and the contributions of his predecessors and peers. For these reasons, Simon's books have always been touted for their clarity and completeness. This volune is no exception, | rt met Simon about five years ago ata national convention where he and his wife Ginny were performing tei stellar mind-reading act. Isomewhathesitanty approached him, Wanting to meet the man who had written some of my favorite books. Even though e's older than my parents, he was instantly accesible friendly and unpretentious. He was agerto talk ‘magic with me. ‘More importantly, he didn't treat me like akid of lesser status; he treated me san equal | consider this book tobe Simon's best work to date and being able to introduce itto you san honor. “Genius” is an elusive concept, but believe ts often found where one is, Pushing the Boundaries of what is commonly accepted as possible. Tum the page let Simon be your guide, and try the impossible. Joshua Jay ‘April 2001,Preface ‘Affe Josh’s generous introduction, (should probably quit wae ('m anew Fm equtty ‘excited about the material in his book, but rather han express my general entusism, Pl be lncherateristically brief, and temper Josh's tone by offering & few sobering remarks and. ‘cavents about how I view this book, First, it ist really a book, It's more like thee separate books. Indes thee we separate mini-introdkuetions to each of te the parts (on pages, 94, and 192) and T suggest you read those three pages 10 et e lavor of what's ime. Two ofthese sections deal with quite specie topies, the UnDo Influence control and the Aronson stack, and thus the material comprising this volume i somewhat unbalanced, ve been working on these two areas Jnlenscly for the past few years, and these two chapters preseat my results. While the individual effets in each of thoseseetionsare complete and self contained taken togetnerthey develop more general coneeps relating othe underlying chaptcr theme. The third "book is the middle section, Eesenricks, and ie more along the lines of my previous work. Itoffers ‘panoply ofall kins of eard magic. There's something for everybody (or conversely, there's atleast something you may not ate fo). ‘Second, this volume isnt always a breezy read, I've tried to write in @ personal and conversational tone (although John Banjo maiotsins | should have eut doen on my puns) ut ‘occasionally the material self requires abit of studying. [don't want fo scare my readers at the onset, nd assure you that the vast majority of tae book canbe enjoyed in your armchair. [ts just that, in this ag of instant video gratification, thought it fatto mention that you'll ‘appreciate it more if you sit down, deck in hand, and work through some of he stu. This, book is probably not somthing you'l want a complete in one afternoon. “Third, while T appreciate Josh's references to “genius” in his introduction, one important disclaimers in onder, “Genius” sometimes connolescne person doing italone, forging head tn is own, sometimes against the dictates of his pers. Well, my magic doesnt develop that ‘way. While the perm ofan ies andthe obstinacy o continue dow a path may be mine, most, ofthe finished effects inthis book are the result of eoutinuous testing, reworking, polishing criticizing, and. brainstorming with my two bet fiends, Dave Solomon and John Bannon Both of them are creative aud innovative cand magicians with extremely high standards and stzong opinions, When I speak of “trying theimpossible”" just try to satisfy those guys. Lowe them both immeasurable thanks for all tir help ad advice over the years. If "ve failed to rei thee individual contributions on any specifi page, t's only because theirreatve input really permeates this entire book, ‘And how can l ever express my appreciation o my trend Josh Jy forall the work he's done, long distance, in helping with this book. Josh has rcsived some amazing pres over the past year, with spread in Magic magazine and. spot on national TV—buti’snotjusthype. What {you hear about him is tu, and his mayic skills, knowledge and inventiveness belle ls Yyourhfl good looks. Josh has been a tireless editor and ere, from painstakingly eomrecting ny grammar, to working through every tie, 19 making sold improvements and creative contributions (some of which you'l fd in these pages). In my opinion, one of the most amazing things in magic ls how each generation is batter than eve. If Josh is any example, the fuure of magic Is quite secure. My only regret is that Josh didn’t choose wo attend‘Northwestern; ne would have made a vahiable fourth on Saturday afternoons. (Onamore personal note, I recently retired from my lw practic to devote moretime to magic. ‘Studying, procticing and crating magic ls eways been one of my grea pleasures inlife, nd it stuns me to realize that 2001 marks my SO" yea in magic. Working with Josh brings back ‘many memories, s0 as | approach the halfway pint in ay life (I'm 37) hope you doa't mid Some nostalgia of my cary magical ie (vp toage 25) depicted on the end papers o his book. It's. strange adjunct to my hobby of magic, trying to produce a hardbound book like this on ‘my own, and T acknowledge my many deficiencies inthis arena. Over the past two years I've ‘nnd wo come to grips withthe computer ae, and even leamed to type (sort of). Fortnatey, ‘on the technical side many people helped make this book a reality and T thank them all for ‘tying the impossible: working with so. ln addition o Josh, John Bannon read and edited the tre manuserpt and tried, often in vai, to make it shorter. Dave Solomon edited portions snd also took the many photos that are so helpful in these pages. My secretary Lynne ‘Dobreaick spent coutless hours over a priod of two Years ping fst rats ofthe maria ‘and as successfully learned to decipher handwriting. Atte end [needed the help of ame professionals (ose who know me well may interpret this ast sentence with amore sarcastic inegpretaton). With her expert graphic design skills, Yolanda Salinas provided invaluable advice and help with tha layaut and appessnace ofthis book, particularly in the creation ofthe end papers, the chapter dividers, and the prepaation ofall te photographs, Susan A. Thomas provided the cover ar, and inthis ease Ii be happy i'you judged the book by its cover, ‘My chietedito, publisher, rte, and overicer continues tobe my wife Ginyy. I've previously expressed how indebied I um to er in te prefaces to each of my othar hooks: indeed, I actually considered just cating and pasting the relevant pazagraph about Ginny fom Simply ‘Simon, because it’sallstiltrue. But sho wants to hear me say icagain, Even those who know of her tireless love for magic have never actully seen her inher editing mode: she actually lakes deck in hand and works through every move, every vaviation, every del of handling, Just to make sure my descriptions are comprehensible. Ifyou've ever imagined watching & Jayman struggle through an under the spresd cull a reverse fara, or ahumnbs cous, itean et prety funny. So, [thank her again, a5 Ido every day, for being there and boing her delightful salt hope you enjoy Try the Impossible, and'm always interested in receiving your feedback, Once this book goes to press, I plan to tum my attention to scting up a website, Ifthe computer age is eooperaive, you shouldbe able to get further information about my other books and some of my effecs (including the gafTed cards used in this book) at simonaronson.com, The magic faterityhas been a wonderful boon in my life and I hope With this book to share my joy. Let's all continue to ty the impossible, ‘Simon Aronson ‘May 8, 2001 2500 Nom Lakeview Chicago, Minos 60614 emai: simonginny@aol.comUnDo InfluenceHere's the deale'sad: Imagine so spectators each freely choosing and then replacing aca ‘vie the deck is completely out of your bands; you really have no idea what the identity of ‘Sther card is,or where itisloeted. Imagine further tha, nthe simple ction of spreading the ‘ards (either face upor face down), yousould secretly coniol both selections oro different {imown positions in the deck virtually anytwo places you want! Now imagine that this can he accomplished without gaff, elaboraie stacks, memory work, orsleight ofhand~ and with any deck, Indeed, nperformaneeit doesn't ook like you've done anything and yet the two Sleeted cards are rout whatever 2ositons you want ‘Butit's all tue! Each ofthe effets inthis section uilize a similar underlying methodology aanewrkind of conirl that I call "UnDolailuence.” because itboth secretly “undoes” the fee fictions tht te speciatorshave taken, au al the same time"intluenees” the destination of bot Selections. This control has broad aplication, and is susceptible of many variations. The following elects have been chosen iceause each illustrates a diferent facet of UnDo Tnuence. ‘he frst five effets are viswaly selfworking, simple, and, as you'll se, very Sian dete lokers out of the aprad yet. Insiad, with your lf fingers, push ll he cards rae the regular Joke abit to Ue ight just enough to expose the fl face ofthis Joker: a Sou do, your igh nger asi, o “oughly” qua up ths wpe roup of cards leaving Fee tates pie atthe ight. Now tha the Joke is exposed, push it forward, off the spread Raving face upon te table. Your entre mant aad actions in banding the cards shout eres and abreboard you're very clesly sarang the cards, exaly where Une Joker is td simply removing itina way that makes clear you're not doing anything else ‘Next, you'll repeat those same actions, to ee up and remove the remaining Joker. Rest your Teh flagrs onthe ear imanedaely above the guarantee Joke, and push the cards above this Teka reward the right just enoueh 1 expose the Full face of this Joker Figure 3). Agaia, in dhe et of pushing the spread cards off he ker, yOu right fingers help square up these cards ho a separate Toose pile, which wil occupy the approximate center of the table. Do otPRON ComMITRENT 7 coalesce this ile withthe first pile you formed tthe righ, Again, side the Joker forward, ‘off the spread. You're left with thee separate sctions of the deck, formed bythe “dividing” points ofthe two Jokers. Th right and center ples ar losely squared the lefimost section {is probably still ina sem-spread condition (Figure 4), ‘You't! now naturally want to reassemble the pack, inthe most unobtrusive way you can. With {your left hand, scoop up the left section (squaring it as you do), as your sight hand ‘simultaneously picks up the ple on the right Figure 5). Both hands move together ad drop {heitrespestive side ples onto the mide ile, making certain tha the left-hand pile als irs. The right-hand ple immediately drops on top, and both hands square up the deck It should seem as if absolutly nothing has happened, which in fc, is “almost” the case What has actually happened is tat the middle snd botiom setions ofthe spread deck (as vided by the Jokers) have changed places. No one will noice this displacement. What is important to the spectator, what they focus on, ae the Joker. All af your sitention should be fon the Jokers; the rest of the cards were simply pushed aside a bit, and then reassembled Reassembling the deck withboth hands sautsneously helps bseurethissubtedsplacemeat ofthe middle and bottom sections. {realize I've spent fll page just telling you how to remove the Jokers and reassemble the ‘deck. All of this takes vitally no time to accomplish, even mpoving at leisurely pace, and itsalleovered by those few innocuous lines about the Jokers being your helpers. But | went to give you as much detail as I canon ow to choreograph this minor (what Aseanio alls an “in-trnsit’) ation, s0 it occurs nonchalantly, smoothly and subliminally As far a8 the audience is concemed, the magic - or at least something — is about to begin, because two unexpected Jokers have just made their appeurane, But as far as you're ‘concemed, the trick s done —bevaus, belie itor net, Adam's seletion now resides a the 18 positon from the top and Bonnie's elected card now occupies the 43" position. Heal the simple displacement action described inthis step 6 the Facs-Down UnDo ~ because it “undoes” both spectators’ fice cuts and simultaneously places both selections inthe exact positions you want! That's the power of what call the UnDo Influence contel. (This Face ‘Down UnDohas general applicability to other ticksin thissection; conversely. you'l Gnd that the crucial secret packet displacement can be accomplished in alternative ways for example, the net effect “Queenspell” presents the FacoUp UnDa, which allows you to subtly accomplish the nsessary seeet packet displacement inthe innocent at of spreading though the faces ofthe cards), The Discoveries 7) All that’s tft is presentation, but you'll want to make the most ofeach separate climax. So fac, the speciors are humoring you, You've mac two cars turn face up, bat las they weren't the selections. Pick up the regular Joker (making sur that its back remains ut ofthe audience's line of vision) and explain, “Adam, this Joker wil tell me where you ‘card ts located. He's abit shy so he whisper is10 me.” Hold the Joker up to your cat8 uno imLweNce (Gon’t let the back Hash), pretend olsen, and announce, "He ells me your cari he 18% ‘position relly.” Replace the Joker ace up on the table and pik up the deck. Say, "Let's ‘heck and very cleanly count aloud end deal the cards one at a ime int a face-down ple, Stopping onthe 184 car, Isolate this ead face down. (I place it overlapping the ist Joker Iwill, in fact, be Adam's selection). 8) Repeat the same scenario wilh the remaining Joker, having it “whisper” the Jocation of Bonnie's card, Announce ha it old you "43," and continve counting from the belanes ofthe deck, making it quit clear that you're staring with," exacily where Adam's count left off. Isolate the 43" card facs down, again overlapping its corresponding Joker for fan acsthetic display. Put the rest ofthe deck aside. 19) Ask Adam to name te cee hefeelycutto; when he does, dramatically urn over the frst selection. Then repeat this revelation with Bonnie's card for adouble climax. You have located both eads, under soomingly impossible conditions. The spectators will assume you're finished The Prediction Climax 10) Afterreceiving your desered accolades, look at Adam and Bonnie and comment, “Lhe what you're thinking. You're probably wondering how I could hear these Jokers whispering 18 and 43, when they seemed so quiet Well, actualy, they were loud and clear. ‘Because this one realy was telling me 8..." Suiting actions o words, tum over the regula ‘Toker, revealing the bold 18 writen across its back. Continue “ and this one was almost ‘sereaming the number 43," as you tum over Une guatantce Joke, revealing its prediction ‘Your audiences left to ponder a prediction climax, which they never suspected was coming. ‘You're loft with a regular deck, two etaminable Jokers, and an unfuhoable mystery ‘Comments (1) Uno Mefluence Generaly. you're amazed tat this trick actully works, and ‘you keep fooling youself each time you try it, you're nt elone, The principles that underlie “Prior Commitment” are complex, fisinating, and certainly not intuitive. It's a challenge to fully understand wats happening within the deck, during the vaiows ‘packet displacements that goon ia thecourse ofthe wick. To avoid repetition, Pl defer any ‘theoretical exploration at this plat, but as you experiment with the rest of the material inthis section, you'll get fee for the flexibility of the concepts. Later on inthis chapter I offera detailed diseussioa of the mathematical relatinships and formulas (used for calculating different combinations of resulting positions, an different locations ofthe indieator or key feards); i's presented as part of the explanalion ofthe effect “Twice as Hard.” Although “Twice as Hard” employsa memorizel deck, you can sil read that effect to understand what ‘is happening here, even you don't yt perform memorized deck magic. You'l also find aPRIOR COMMITMENT 9 ‘numberof practical suggestions, theoretical inguities general ebservationsand comments, and, ‘reits ae inspirations, summarized in the UnDoTnvence esay that concludes this section, Just to whet your appetit etme simply point ou chat, although I've chosen to use 18 and 43 in “Prior Commitment,” you'll Find thatthe UaDo Inluence procedures are open to many ‘other numerical combinations. As you'll se later on the resulting positions ofthe selections trediretly related tthe pemnisible cutting rangos within which the soletions may be made, td 18 and 43 happen tobe my’ personal preference, to optimize te freedom of the selections. 2) The Jokers. My reason for suggesting that you use Jokers with slighty diferent faces is merely to make easy to instantly distinguish (rom the face) which one has 18, and ‘which has 43, writen on ts back. Additionally, Twink the use ofa guarantee Joker males it Took a bit mor ike snormal” deck. Ifyou prefer the symmetry of two identical jokers, just puta pencil dato subtle mark somewhere onthe face of one. Jokers typically have one way faces. Use thie feature to orient each Joker so thal, when you turn the Jokers over atthe climax, the predicted numbers wil ce right-side upto your aulienes and thus be instantly legible, 2) Alternative Shuffles. Here area couple of alternative overhand shuffles that ‘etuin and ide the two face-up Jokers in their starting positions. The fis san elaboration ofthe simple jog shufle described at step | ) begin by chopping off approximately a third ofthe deck (etal, anywhere between the two Jokers) asa block; (i)chop ff second block, making sur this black includes the second ‘Toker Gust aim fora second “third” ofthe deck, and you'll be fine), but steal the fist block buck behind the balance of the deck, as this second ‘lump is chopped off- Maintain a break between the stolen packet and the remainder ofthe cards above it (i) rum a single card, injoeeing i, but as you do release the stolen block so that i€ drops onto the second clump, but beneath the card {you're injoggings iv) continue to shufle off the rest ofthe dack normally; and () Saally,cither shuMle off the cards above the injog in a second shill, or just eut she deck atthe jos, Alternatively, you wantto accomplish everyting in just one shu, begin a in saps (i) and (above. Then continue iy chop off small clump of cards, but steal the second block back (Qehind the first stolen block), as you take this group. You ca let the first two stolen blocks coalesce,10 Uroo mriwence iv) continue to shuMe the rest ofthe deck normally, until you reach the break (th original boom of the deck); and (tose the rest ofthe ears (the combined stolen blocks) back onto. (©) Variation 1441. 1fyou don"thave your Tokers handy, here's a variant effeet that ‘you might want tr. It's not as effective as “Prior Commitment,” because it doesn't have ‘the surprise proiction ending, but it does have it's own internal logic. {uses the AD and 4D as the “indicator” cards Star with a fall 52 eard deck, and inset the 44D at 10th postion, andthe AD at 2Stt position, both face vp. Now proceed with the selection and replacement procedure (Seps2-4), and then ribbon spread the deck reveling the ‘AD and 4D face up. Ask iether of these happea tobe the sections, and on receiving a ‘negative reply, look abit puzzled, as you move them from the spread (performing the seer Face-Down UnDo displacement as you reassemble the deck, pe step 6). Comment, “These ‘wo cards must be telling us something. Look, together they form the number 14.” Here, ‘arange the Wo indicator cards so they read 14, fom the audience's viewpoint. But then ‘arrange the two cards inthe opposite way, as you remark, “Walt, they also ean form the ‘number 41. 1wondor which one they mean. Let's check.” You then can proceed with your ‘double climax, because when you count 10 the 14" position you'll discover the first speciator's selection, and when you continue counting fo 4], youl find the second selection "Note that in performing “1441” you'll need to bes bit more careful when allowing Adam 0 ‘eutto his cad, because te perassiblecuting range forthe firs selection (Le, between the ‘nro face-up cards) i slightly narrower than before (9). Varlation 1839. Here's another variation, This time we'll use four fnoe-up indicators, instead of wo, From a 52 canl deck, remove the 38,98, AD, and the 8D. Insert, the 9S and 3S face up atthe 10° andthe 11® positions respectively, and similarly insert the 8D and AD face up atthe 30” and 31° postions respectively. The rest ofthe pack should be face down. Now, run through the normal procedure, revealing two, two-digit numbers when. you ribbon spread. The two Diamond cards clearly indicate “18” (here's no ambiguity, ibecause 81 isn’t a viable option) and the two Spade eards indicate “39.” When you count down to those wo numb in the rest ofthe deck, you'l discover the ro selections In “1899," I make my ribbon spre frem right t left (and adjust the Pace-Down UnDo accordingly); i allows the spectators wo view the indices of the face-up cards “right ide up” and thas instantly recognize the two-dia: numbers that are formed, The suggested set-up i ‘sed on such aright o-let spread, (6) Color Separation. In oe sense this next comment has thing to do with this coffee but it has alt to do with what could come afterwards ‘Try thisexperiment. Divide your 52 canddeck into eds and blacks, andthen set up your dec. and the Jokers for “Prior Commitment” ae the regular set-up, with the following addition famange the iil group of 9 cards (he oncs above the frst Joker) soit comprises one black.PRON COMMITMENT 12 109 followed by eight red eands; after the fist Jokerhave the next group of 18 eards consist ofall red card; after the second Joker the last 25 cards will be all black cards. Now run through the entire effec, exactly aa weitn_ Acthe end, you'll be left holding the balance of the deck (the uneouated cars), and there wil be two face down piles onthe tle he piles you counted). Replace the twa seletions hock onto thie respective piles. Drop the cards in ‘yourhand oni the pile you counted frst (he 18 ears) andthen dep the second pile (lhe ones Counted from 191043) ontop, thu reassembling the dock. Ifyou spread the deck face up, You'll Finda pleasant surprise: the decks completely divided into zed and black: halves! (And this will be tue regardless of where the spectators cut for their selections) Obviously this is quite useful, because you can use this color division asa seeret modus operandi in an ensuing effect. But this redblack separation is only the tip of the icberg, boeause with ust a couple more cus, you can relain irually any’ proarrangemeat you Want eg, an alternating red/black set-up for Gilbreath use, ora SI Stebbins eyelie stuck, or even, ‘all deck stack. I discuss this in yreaer detail later on, in “Twice as Hard” and in the concluding essay (1) Surprise! My fiend Jobn Bannon and Tare strong believers in the inclusion of “urprse,"as both presentational anda methodological stongpoint, Butte surprise shoul, ideally, be ofa certain kind. On the one hand, the surprise obviously cannot be anticipated; ‘on the other hand, once it does occur, it shouldbe an event that is a“naturl ougrowih” of ‘what has happened beforehand. You don't want a "ist ending” happening just “out ofthe ‘bluc," tat bes no relation to what's come before, ‘The pot is as old as the philosophy of Azittle’s Poetic: the surprise ~ one it happens ~ should exzry with it an appreciation tht ‘his ending has actualy been foreshadowed or hinted a, ned, itis just the sot of thing that ‘one ought to have expected. ‘The suprise ending isn't just one more “extra” kicker, i's something that helps make sense of, er rounds out, what's come before John helped me work on the timing inthis effect, particularly on delaying the revelation of the predictions. I'm quite happy with this surprise ending, because once it occurs, it serves to Susy the involvement ofthe Jokers, And once tei presenec has been piven sucha plausible explanation (.<., what better place fora prediction tobe, than on the Jokers themselves), the ‘eal methodological eason forthe Jokers" presence (\., to act as markers for where to divide the packets) eseapes notice (8) Down Memory Lane and the Garden Path. Thave personal fondaes for “Prior Commitment," fr reasons yon may ind amusing. Because many card magicians immediately associate me with memorized deck magic, there's certain toague-in-check element Lo my performances of*Priot Commitment” forknowledgeablecarémen. Assoonas|announcs thet the ist selection is at“18" alter the Joker whispers to me), magician viewers jump to the ‘conclusion hac memorized deek must be involved. Tis causes some perplexity ox the rik rogresses; ther assumptions send them on a wild goose chase. The prediction climax then tows everything up for grabs. Ironically, you actualy ean use th principles involved here create a “pseudo” memorized eck effect see “Pseudo Memory”at p. 78.Queenspell UnDo lafluence contol, 1s vitally imprompw, quite deceptive and essentially sol his is a quick, efficient discovery oftwo selected cards that illustrates otberfaets ofthe lies ‘also subtly camoullage the fet hat any counting or umbers arc involve. Effect “The performer explains that one ofthe strongest magical powers is woman’sinuition, and he “offersa demonstration using the red Queens. Frova shullled deck, two spectators cach rely ‘eto and remember a card, and then replace ther packets to reassemble the pack. ‘The magician removes the two red Queers, explaining that they havea special sensitivity to ‘ther cards; indeed, they'll find the selected card, by “casting their spel.” Taking this quite literally, he spall, one card foreach Iter, "The Queen of Diamonds," and then "The Queen of Hearts.” The cards atthe finals” of ech spell are revealed to be the tw selected cards Working 1fPrior Commitment” is fresh in your mind, you'll find it quite easy to fellow whats going con hee, but want to emphasize the dtfeences. In “Prior Commitment” we ised two extra ‘ards (the Jokers); here, ony the regular 52 card deck is employed. In ‘Prior Commitment” the secret packet displacement was accomplished face down; here, it's done face up, quite openly, in the act of removing the two redQueens, But more importanty, the entire nature of the effter has changed. “Prior Commitment” is a prediction, which openly involves counting down oto predicted numbers; this presen efleotapparcnly involves no eourting” aa, because the counting hs beon disguised by the spelling. Only the selection method remains the same. ‘Tosctup,inaregula face-down 52 cand dzc, secretly place one of the red Queens fice down at 17 position fiom the top, and place the othe red Quosn face dawn al 36% position (Comment 6 discusses some quick ways o achieve this set-up). You'll ote thal 368 rom the top also happeas to be exactly 17 from te bottom, so another way of thinking about the set- up isto simply remember 17% from ether end ths fact makes fora very convincing shuffle, noted below, 1) explain, “Faave my finite, Franky, Fan’ do the nex feat on my own. need ‘he help of afar greater power the power of woman's ination. Fortunately there are nwo special cards inthe dock, the vo red Ques, who car ely me. Letme shows you what those to wry sensitive kaies can do." As | patter, 1 give the deck a easual shultle, which maintains the Queens atthe 17° and 36° positions. Fortunately, there's a very effoctiveQuemssreu 15 overhand shufMe that does just that, Or, more cot, it actually switehes the locations of the upper and lower Queens, but atthe end ofthe shufle you'll be Te with a re Queen. teach ofthe two required positions. ete’ the detail, All you need to remember is that 17 and 36 are the two dividing lines that separate the “thisds” of the deck. -Vou'se going to perform a legitimate overhand shu, starting by chopping ofT sll groups of card, pethaps3 or4atatime. You don'thave be particularly revise, but you do have to watch the pct estimate (roughly) how much you've Shuffled off so far. As you approach the “one third” point ~ say, once you've shuffled off bout quarter ofthe deck ~ start orn cats singly as you shu, until you! vesafely passed {he one third point. Then, continue to shufle of adtional small clumps, as you progress through the center of the pack. Once again, keep you eye on the pack, and as you neat the “wo thitds” mark, again ran cards singly, unt you're safely pat his two thirds point. Then, finish by shufMling off th balance ofthe deck any way you choose, ‘Once you practice a few times, you'll ses how easy this shulle is, and even beter, how convincing it appears thatthe entire deck gets shullled because it does. There are no significant blocks that remain together, andthe wo ses of single runs get buried within the ‘overall context of your chorping varied size clumps of cards, Ido the shuffle slowly, making itcleartothe audience dat ll the cars re being mixed. (Those of you who are familiar with the Ireland Red/Black shufTle wil recognize this as a more sophisticated variant, sort ofa “double Ireland” shuffle, Foran alteratve shuffle tht also maintains the two Queens in position, see comment 5), 2) Approach your fis spectator, Adam, and ask him, "Please cut off about half the deck,” We'te going to employ the same selection and replacement procedures tat were used in seps to 4 of “Prior Commitment.” While there are some limitations the area witha Which Adam may “freely” cut, you'll find thatthe pemissiblerange i close o ideal here. Just 4s “Prior Commitment” required thatthe first cut be made between the two Jokers, here ‘Adam's eat must be somewhere between the two red Queens ~but their placement at 17 and 36 makes this a snap. The instruction a eu off "abou half” effectively guides Adam tothe tidpoine of the range, so you've got alt af leeway, (To be precise, the permitted range ‘actually extends from positions 18 trough 34 inclusive and thus dees not inelude the carl ‘yng immediately above the second Queen, Again, asin "Prior Commitment," so ong as you remember ths one eatd as an “exception,” it's convenient to think ofthe permitted range as falling anywhere berveen the two Qucens). Have Adam look al and remember the face card of his packet 3) Askyour second spectator, Bonn, to similanly cu off packet from the balance ‘ofthe deck. Again, the only requirement is that she must cut deeper tha the second Queen, at 36° positon. ‘There's much leeway, and the instucton 1 “cut off another good chunk” may help move her deeper. 4) Afterboth ofthe selections have been noted and remembered, have the two packets replaced beck onthe balance ofthe pack, making sure that they aze replaced in inserted order ‘fom that in which thy were cut off (Le, Bonnie's packet winds up on top), As in “Prior(Commitment ty to minimize any stein to this ation The Face-Up UnDo 5) Pick up the deck and bod it fice up in lf-hand dealing postion, You're going ‘twopenly spread the car face up between your hands, to find and remove the two ed Queens —butyou'regoingto doitina certain way (This will accomplish the same resultas the Face- Down UnDo displacement that oceutred t step 6 of “Prior Commitment,” but here it willbe ‘done face up, with the deck in your hands). Inwhat follows, don make any effort thide the {aces ofthe cards from the spectator; indeed, you wan them to see exactly what You're ding. They will seearandom deck they'I'sue tsirown selections pass by ifthey"rewetehing), and they'll see you remove both red Queens, They shoulda’t native anything els. My pace is somewhat brisk because I don’t want convey any impression tat might be “doing nore” ‘than wha it appears ‘Before you start to spread the cards, remind your spectators once again, “Let's nd the red ‘Queens so they can show you their nuitne powers.” However innocuous this patter line i, ‘serves an important psychological purpose. By mentioning beforehand that you're goin ‘ofind the two red Queens, the audience iseonditioned” to view the spreading actionas being done for a partielar reason, They'll wate Ue erds along wilh you, looking for each red (Queen, and they'ILinwardly nod approvingly, asyou do exactly wht you said you were going todo, Because they expecta certain resl (removing the Quéens), thelr attention i focused ‘on tbat task, and they'll be lulled ino a site of acceptance, as you proceed exscly as ‘expected. (IFthey happen to be looking fer ther Selected card, they'll ee you pas ight by them, So, here's the detail. Start spreading te cas fae up ito your righthand fly rap until you reach the first red Queca. Split the spread at this point, with the Queen as the Face card lf the lef-hand packet. Immeditely move your left hand forward, and thumb the Queen off ‘the packet, casualy fippingit facedown ono the table. Meanwhile, your tight hand casvally Squares its already-spreed cards ‘As soon as you've placed this frst Queen on th table, move your left hand back and start again to spread the balance ofthe lel-hard ards, fom left hand ito right, looking forthe second Queen. Butthistime, spread the left hand cards ono the face of the already squared block of cards fm the right hand (Figure 1, an exposed view). Don't act furtive; there’s nothing 0 hide ere. Indeed, oa’t pay much attention tothe cards at ll, except for the red Queens, because that's apparently all 'm interested in. Continue spteading the cards (above the block in your Fight hand, which sill be underesth the spread) until you come t0 the second red(Queen. Once agui, separate the spread with the Quoen atthe face ofthe Tet-han cards, ‘move Your left hand forward, and thumb off the Queen Figure), dropping it face down near the fist Queen. (Remember the suit ofthis second Queea, Hears or Diamonds; this wil lend fan ir ofroactalance Iter on). CCasualy reassemble the deck by replacing ths cards remaining in your left and behind all of the right-hand card (Figure, anotherexposed view), square up, and drop the entre deck face down ont the table. Just asin step 6 of Prior Commitment,"I've gone int afar amount of deta o explain what Should appete to be a staighorward, innocuous, ministerial action. You've mentioned th thered Queens will playa role nthe effec, but they haven't been introduced boforchand, so you run through the deck to remove them. Now you're ready to begin. But, in fact, al the Giny work is done. Because in this simple act of removing the Queens, you've secrely tisploced th bottom and middle sections ofthe deck, ina way tht will automatically place both selections into position forthe dual spelling climax, For conveniene2 I'l refer tothe ations of ths sep 5 as the “Face-Up UnDo.” Ike the choreography of tis displacement, andas u'Ilse,iteomesinhandy inseveral ofthe effects that follow. Using the Queens 6) Explain, “These aro Queens have «special woman's intution, and they're going to help find your cards.” AS you ute this line, pick up the two lace-down Queens, and ‘without commenting about i idly mix the two feoe-down cards back and forth afew times berwaen your hands 3 it loks ike you don’t know or eare which i which, | don’t make a big deal ofthis mixing, but to the extent i's noticed or remembered it helps add a sense oF ‘canes, or haphazardness, to the next step. In fast, during tis easual mixing you should follow the particular Quoen you remembered euler, 80 you'll know which eard isthe Queen, ‘of Diamonds, Continue, “Here's @ Queen for each of you,” and as you complete this line simply hand one ofthe face down Queens to each ofthe two spectators. Because th cards are face down and16 UNDO FLUENCE you've been casually mixing them, twill appear as if nobody knows whois getting which ‘Queen. Infact, although you apparertly aren't paying much atenion tothe two earls, you ‘mast make sure that your Fist specta, Ada, receives the Queea of Diamonts 7) Ask Adam hold his Queen face down between his pals (or against his heer, ‘or up fois temple, or wherever else isthe appropriate spot forthe Queens to exercise their ‘woman's intuition). Address him, “Adan, Fovant you to communica with the Queer you re holding. by thinking of your card .. ood. Now she can find itfor us. Which Queen did you ‘st? Show ws." Have Adam tua his Queen face up onthe table and when he shows its face, ‘announce "The Qucen of Dizmonds,” in 2 curious tone that sounds ike you, slong with ‘everyone else, are just learning fr tke fist ime which Queen Adam hus. (Although ts not fan essential part ofthe effect, its tore intiguing if your audience believes that either ‘spectator might have reeived either Queen). Be suet include the word ‘the’ when you say ‘the cars ame; inamoment we're going to be spelling “The Queen of Diamonds,” including ST-H-E,” 30 saying it aloud helps st the groundwork for inctuding ‘the inthe spelling (Gince we'll spell both Queens consistently, and the’ iscensinly not an unusual Word to include, its not abig deal citer way. See comment I foran alteraive hat omits “T-H-E"). Pick up the deck as you say, “The Queen of Diamonds can cast her spel, quite literally. Watch” Pick up the deck nd start dealing cards one at aime into a face-down pile 25 you spell aloud T-H-E-Q-U-E-E-N.O-F-D-LA-M-O-N-D-S. When you reach te final “S," deal that card face down overlapping the QD, '8) Next ask Bonnie totum her Queen face up onthe table, and as she does, say its ‘namealoud. Repeat te speling for Benne, starting from where you completed Adam’sspll time spelling T-H-E-Q-U-E-E-N-O-F-HeE-A-R-T-S, Again, place the final "s” card foe ‘down, overlapping the QH. {9 Have Adam and Bonnie each name the cards they freely cut to ad thea tum over ‘the two spelled cards, to reveal thatthe Queens" ‘Comments (1), Alternarve Speltings, As mentioned in “Prior Commitment" the underlying mathematics offers mueh flexiitiy, and you could choose any pair of cards 1 spell. The formulas (iscussed later inthis section) willthen help you pace the cardsito the appropriate positions, which in tum will gover: the peemissible cutting ranges for each spectator's selection. I've chosen the red Queens, withthe QD being spelled first including the word “the because tis all combines to oflers maximum, well-paved range To thet saleztion If you profer not to spell “T-H-E,” here's an alternative. Just start with the red Queens at positions 23 and39, and procoed withihoefTet exactly as stated, Spell“Queea of Diamonds” or Adam, and “Queen of Heats" for Bonnie (without the’) and it wil work fine. The rade- offis, of course, a narrower selection range for Adam's cut, and you'l need a different falsequeeisren 17 hue ‘Because of the womans intiton parr, I prefer the red Queens, bu ths effect i adaptable to spelling any two card (or indeed, any two phrases ata, insluding the spesttors’ own ames)! @) Disguising the Counting. Once you analyze “Queenspel," you'll sett, asin “Prior Commitment,” the UnDe laluence principle is being used Yo “undo” the spectators cuts and “influence” the destination positions ofthe two selected cards. Here, the 160 ‘sections are being controlled to positions 18 and 34, respectively (i the SO card deck, ater the two Queens have been removed). That's because “The Queen of Diamonds” spells with 18 letters, and “The Queen of Hearts” spells with 16 leters more (18 ~ 16 =34), But while the underlying modus operand is similar inall of thefecsin this section, the pots are designed to make the effets lok quite different from ane another, by hing the fact that specific mumerial positions or counting is involve. In “Prior Commitment” (and in “Twice 4s Hard,” later on) the use of numbers (whether predicted or named is intentionally explicit, snd at the climax the act of counting is done openly. But it's an interesting presentational challenge to explore ways by which we can disguise or camoullage the use of aumbered positions and counting so thatthe climax, the revelation, and indeed the plot itself, doesn’ appearto be yet another counting wick. Stated more generically, ifyou know where a selected card is located inthe deck (or, in the case of UnDo iluence, wo cards), how many ways can you devise to reveal the card that don't smack of counting tat dan make it obvious that you're working with numbers or Known positions. I've worked on this problem before (se for example my “Self ComtroT” location, The Aronson Approach, p. 26) and it'sa worthwhile exerese for anyone wo works with a memorized deck (which often secretly tells you the postion ofa desired target card). Spelling is just one response, and I think "Queenspell” successfully hides the underiying counting principle, The next few effets present quite different ways of exploting UnDo Inflence’s numerical relationships without turning i nw a counting wick Tadess this question further in the concluding essay (3). Face Up Queenspell. Note that you could start with the red Queens face up in thelr starting positions and make this effect a bt closer to “Pri Commitment" After the seloctons and replacements, snap your fingers and ribbon spread the deck foce down across the table, and the red Queens wil make their visual appearance. (This has «nice “foreshadowed surprise” clement, since youpreviously mentioned the Queensin your opening patter). Just remove them fom the face-down spread, serely peeforming the Face-Down UnDo displacement dseribed at stp 6 of Prior Commitment” a you gather up the deck, and ‘hen procged withthe spelling climax. Note that this changes the nature ofthe effect somewhat with some interesting tradeoffs. On the plus side, a visual appearance isa fee, added effect, and you'll accomplish the secret displacement without having to look through the fices ofthe eards, On the downside, ithe ‘wo Queens “magically” appear face up, your audience gets hint of some-secretprepaation?”28 uno inmwence ‘on your part you must have “done something” previously with those Queens, By contrast, when you spread though tbe faces to remove Queens which appear to be randomly placed (2nd corecly oriented), nothing points or even hints st ay peior work or arrangement, ‘The iage-up removal thus conveys a more “znpromptu” eel. I's yout choice; my preferences for ‘Queenspel” as written This foregoing variation docs illusirate an important practical point, namely, that there is & certain “mix and match” quality among the various ways of bundling the UnDo Influence control, Yeu can frequently experiment with interchanging the parts, to sce which ‘combination you Tike best (4) Justifring the Removal At scp 6 we mixed the two Queens and then handed ® face-dovin Queen o each spectator vecretly making certain thatthe frst spectator got the (QD (because that’s the particular Queen tht is set to be spelled firs, to teach the firs selection). Note that, methodologically, you could dispense with this etie step you could simply remove the (vo Queens, and immeditely spell each one, ta find the two selections, But froma presentation standpoint the efectis more integrated, and more deceptive ifthere’s ‘some reason why you remaved the Queens from the deck, (An astute spectator might realize that, if you arent going to do anyihing with the Queens, you could jus as easily spell their ‘names while leaving them inthe deck), Having tied performing it both way I'm convinced that when using the Face-Up UnDo displacement, the ellect becomes stronger if you ean somehow ase the cards you're removing, however tival ta se maybe, So, with the help of my friends John Bannon and Dave Solomon, we tried to consist plausible uses forthe Queens without significantly altering the basic effect. Since one Queen ‘would be spelled fr eat selection, it seemed appropriate to introduce a subtle suggestion that the spelling might have been done in “either order.” This legitimates removing the Queens, $0 that they can be alloeated between the spectators. Indeed, in our sessions we even experimented with giving spectators a eal choice of ether face dawn Queen, and then using ‘quivoque, ora monte move, to make suv Adam received the QD. Uhimatelyf opted forthe simpler rout, described inthe tex. ‘The lesson I've leamed isan important one, because it applies to other effects in this section (or ones that you creat) that use the Foce-Ip UnDo. A presentational use forthe two cards Yyou remove can be a powerful disguise ofthe actual reson you're removing them (which is to accomplish the steret packet displacement). tjust es the ation of removing them, draws some atention away from the fee-up spreading, and belps eeate atime delay between the removal ofthe two cards and the ultimee discovery ofthe soletions, The following effets, ‘Divide and Conquer” and “Random Tandem,” illustrate two different presentational justifications for removing the two cards, (S)_ Faro 1/45 Restacking, as an Altenative False Shuffle, ere’s an interesting altemative shuffle, for those of you who do faros. Stat with the red Queens a positions 18 and 35 (instead of 17 and 36). Now, you can do as many perfect out fros as you'd Tike, and ‘the Qucens will remain at 18 and 35* postions (switching back and forth, with each Taro shullle). Afr shufiling, comment, “You might hink know the top or hntomecards, so we llquemsre 19 bury them.” Hore, remove the top and bottom cards, and insert them into the center (aaywhore between 18 aad 38). The Queens ae now at 17*and 36°, read’ for “Quoenspell” (©) Positioning the Oucons. V've tied to devise away to set the wo red Queens into positon on the fly. Here's how I proceed. Start by cutting orculling onered Queen tothe (op ofthe deck, and the other tothe Bottom. ‘Then inthe guise of looking for a Joker, or while “toying” with the deck, spread the cards face up from the left hand to the righthand, a follows. First, push off a total of 17 eards (five groups of thee each, plus 2 moze single cards; thon square up those cardi yourright hand and continue spreading a total of 18 more cards (six groups of tree each) io dhe face ofthe right-hand cards. Finally separate the spread a that point and drop the balance ofthe leftchandeards onto the face ofthe right-hand packet. The red Queens are now atthe 17 and 36* positions. Occasionally you may be able to devise some couating shortcuts, depending on what your preceding effectis. For instance, ifyou've just iishedan Ace assembly, youmsy be left with ‘group of 16 cars, or atthe end ofa poker deal, you may have 25 dealt cards out on the table "Mm constantly onthe lockout for such “fixed” known numbers, because they can provide a head startin setting up the next trick. Tt just may sve some “in the lap” counting. (©), Spelling Pais in the Aronson Stack. or those readers wio use the Aronson stack, you'l find that there are several pairs of mates tat are already exactly positioned 10 spell Yor an effect parallel t“Queenspell," wit ust one pre-cut. Check out “Threespell” p. 251,Divide And Conquer some ways ths isthe most sui of al the UnDo lnfluence effects, Instead of paying ‘up the apparentimporance of two card that gt removed, this route goesin te opposite diretion and simply tosses a couple of cards aside, as a proud to further eliminations Here, the UnDo Influence conto. pigaybacks with a completely different mathematical Principle, and the synergism is bork eificient and doubly deceptive. Finally, this application ‘of UinDo influence isaboutas closeto impromptu as you can get, because here you dea! thave to preset any particular cards at cea Locations, Effect ‘Two spectators cach freely cut to and remember card and then replace ther packets to reassemble the pack, ‘The performer announces that he will find the two selections by the process of elimination. He staightforvardly names two eads~ and announces that they are not the selections. Te ‘openly runs through the pack and removes those two cards, tossing them aside. Tabling the pack, he sates eagerly, “Two down only 8040.20." ‘Sensing that hs audience may not be looking forward to repetitive eliminations of ony two ards a time the magician annourees dat he'lspeed tings up by eliminating half the deck all at once. Te rapidly deals the eatire pack buck and forth into wo face-dowm piles, and ithouteven looking at any ofthe aces he eliminates one complet il, leaving hint only halt the desk. He repeats this dealing process several times, each te tossing one dealt pile aside tocliminate it, until nally hei lek with only wo face-dowmn cards. he spectators name ther selections andthe final tw remaining cards turn out tobe those exact cans, Working This effect is virtually sclf-working. As before, we'll use a full 32 ened deck, The only proparation isto secretly learn the identity of whatever two cards occupy the 11° and 36" positions from the top of the deck, You can get this advance information easily by simply ‘counting through the faces at he end ofa prior tick, or as you supposedly check for Jokers. “Here's another way oflearing the two nccessary eacds, without having to spread through the faces. Just pli the dec exactly inbalf fora Faro check to earn the identity ofthe 26" card, and while you're holding the two helves in fto poston secretly glimpse the top ean of the eck as well. Replace the halves together, so at his pont you know the cards at positionsDIVIDE AAD CONQUER 23 and 26, Underextsiphtly less than half ofthe pack and commence sa overhand shufle first runing tn cards singly. Inj the next eatd and shuile off the balance. Now simply cut a the injog and complee the eu. The exraten cards you've aded have moved your two known, ‘cards downto the 11* and 36° positions so you're ready to star. | generally table the deckto create tise delay before begin, For ilusteative purposes, ets ‘assume that the Ten of Spades happens to be the card atthe 11" position and the Jack of Diamoads ist 36". Infact, you don’t even need to remember which eard occupies which postion; just remember the to cards. 1) By now you're familie with the UnDo Tnfuence selection and replacement procedure it'sthe same as was used inthe previous two effects. Let's just touch ona few ‘etsils. Ask your first spectator, Adam, to cutoff about half the deck andto then look atthe fad at the fae ofthe packet he's ut, Adam actually hasan extremely broad range within ‘which he may cut, anywhere from positions 12 through 34 inclusive, I ike to guide him toward the halfway mark simply because the deuper Adam's cutis, the easier itis to subsequenly guide Bonnie's cut deeper, aaywhere below te 36% cad Once Adam has made his eur, stk Boanie to “eu offanice big chunk.” The only requirement {that Bonnie must cut deeper than the 36” position. Tave er also look at and remember the card she's cutto, Then have both packets replaced, in inverted order, to reassemble te deck. 2) Explain, “The ads are 52-0-P against finding one selected card, but when there re two selections, the odds agains! me multiply vastly, so i's over 2500-to-1 against my finding both your cards. But I'm going to try anyway, by using the process of elimination. ‘Each of you just think of your cards.” Pause for « moment, look at Adam, and continue "yes he Ten of Spades,” reciting one of the (wo catds you'e remembering. Immediately took atBonnic, saying, "and the Jock of Diamonds, I’m very confident. The Ten of Spades andthe Jack of Diamonis, those 1vo are definitely not the cards you picked. Right?” Your spectators may chuckle or look disoppointed because so far that's not much of tick, ‘Butyou continue enthusiastically, “Se, J old you the process of elimination works. We've ‘already eliminated two cards." As you say this, pick up the deck and start spread it face ‘p between you hands, holding itso that the faces are plain visible to yourspectaors. You ont want fo appear a be hiding anything, Run tough the cards fairy rapily to find and remove the two cards you just named. Actually, as you spread the deck und remove the 10 “eliminated” card, you'll secretly perform the Fece-Up UnDo, exacly as described instep S cof “Queenspell:” “The mechanics ofthis sccret packet displacement ad the rationale foryour removing the rw ‘ards both low antarally from what's jut occurred. More specifically. as you spread through ‘the faces you'll fist spot the ead that occupied the original 11® position (in ou example the 10S) somewisere about third of the vny tom the face. At that pont, casually break the spread, oss the Ten face up onthe table and continue spreading using the Face-Up UnDo [bandling) ul you reac the JD. Tossitout onto the ble face up square the rest ofthe pack. (conspleting the Foce-Up UnDo) and able the desk face down, ‘Status: if you check, you'll22 uno inpwence find that, sa result ofthe Face-Up Uso, the two seletions have been controlled to positions ‘24and inthe remaining 0 card deck. Youdon’tnoed to remember these numbers, because ‘rom here on everything works automatically 3) Pickup the two eliminated cards and say “had a good eeling thee weren't your cards." Casually toss the 10S and JD aside face down, wheze they wll form the beginning ‘ofa discard ple. I say triumphantly, “That's no down only $0 more to go.” Look at your spectatorsandsay somewhat eagerly, ‘Okay lt eliminate another two cards." Then pase, snd look a bit taken absck ac you apparently notiee a quizaeal look on the faces of your spectators. “Oh guess it may take ashi fwe onlyeliminaterwo ata tw. Salts speed ftup abit.” 3 you say this, pick up the deck and start dealing itback and forth ino wo ples, dealing as rapidly as you can. Star by dealing the fst card forward toward the spectators and the second card back io you, as ifyouere dealing two poker bands. But just keep right on dealing the entire deck back and forth until i's been divided into two halves by your aterating deal, The presentational exallenge isto keep talking during the dealing process, because otherwise the dealing esn besome boring. [maintain an upbeat atitude,chating ‘bout how the process of elimination is based on math and odds, and therefore it must he scientific in some way ~all the while deeling the cars ‘When the deck hasbeen divided into two piles pick up the farwatd half (te one to which you dealt the first card) and hold it face down, commenting, °Z won ? even look through these cards. We'l just climinate them al at once." Here, cavalry toss this entire hall aside onto the diseard pile you previously stated. 4) Immediately pickup your wmaining hal and say, "You know the fas of chance are clearly agains! me, The odds that! stil have bathyour cards here are now only 1 ou of 4 so there's @ 75% chance that 've alway screwed up the trick But lt'seliminale a hole ‘bunch more." “As you speak, you'll commence a second back-andelor deal with your maining half. The dealing procedure iseasy to remeber because i's exact the same each time: tart the deal withthe fist card going to te spectators, and that ist pile dealt isalways theonethatgets eliminated. Each successive del moves faster, because there are fewer eacds ‘You can deal casually, even sloppy, so long as you don’t miss any eads and so long as your hl says in onder, ‘The dealing procedure is mechanical and invariable, so you can deal ‘Without thinking and just concentrate oa your spiel, You can chatter about how scientific the 19, wse Basic calealation, and S-packet displacement IP reli 20, se Fixed Middle caleulaton, an packet displacement {3 -Caleulate Indicator Positions for A. B and C: Indteator Basie Mode Fined Midile Mode A S2-L 30-1. L+a 30 Faxed) 52 (0 it drops out) H+A 4 Spectators Cut o Selections ‘Spec. | cuts between A and B Spec. 2 cuts batween Band C ‘Replace packets in inverse onder. 5 -acket isplacemest “Translate A B, and C into equivalent cards, by memorized slack numbers. All spread separations leave large! cards (A, B, oF C) at Tac of lefehand packet Basic 3-packet displacement 1) Spread first block, w A )) Spread second block onto fae of firs lock(uplogging Toker) to B i) Remove Joker, replace remaining lef-band cards behind all righthand cords Alternative Fixed Middle 4packes displacement: Beginby spreading all cards below C, and depositing them face down on table Continue with all hee steps of Basie 3-packe displacement; then drop deck ‘nto tabled pile. 6 - Discoveries ‘Count/deal 01 for first selection, ‘Continue counting/dealing 1 H for second seletion,UnDo Influence: Theory and Practice nthe preceding effects I've tied to give you a sense of the range, exbilty, and the {fooling power of what I've dudbed the "UnDo fluence” contol. Fach effect has also been veicleto illustrate and eepain different cet ofthis unusual, almost self-working, contro, s0 if you've worked through all seven you'll sleady have a prety good grasp of ‘what's involved Here, lke to summarize some ofUnDo Infinence's more important features with emphasis ‘a the nals and bolts—the practical potentiates and limitations that wil allow you o create yourowneffects. assume you's familia withthe foregoing effets o that ean refer back ‘other, bothas examples of particular concepts and to save repeating pont if n explanation thas previously been provided. So, what exactly is this UnDo Influence contol all abour? In summary, it’s « way of simultaneously controlling two selesod cards to two pre-determined positions within he deck. ‘Although it's based on mathematical principles, ornately most ofthe time you se it you ‘illo engagein any mathematical calculations ormental gymnastics because any required arithmetic or seret counting is done beforehand, n creating the effect and in pre-seiting yout two indicator cards. (“Twice as Tard” is the obvious exception to this general rule). “Ths results procedure which appears sifyou didnt do anything ~ and that's what magic sal about Mathematical Considerations ‘The frst thing to noi is that nal ofthese effect, ther ate two separate procedures that occur — more precisely, two independent displacements of portions of the deck ~ and the UaDo Iniluence contro isthe combinatoeboth of them working together. The fst displacemcat ‘of packets oscurs when the selettons are made and then replaced. A second displavemeat ‘Occurs wile you spread through the deck, either face wp or face down, ostensibly to remove some indicator sand or for some other apparent purpose, and then reassemble it, eal these two diffrent displacements the “election” procedure and the “adjustment” procedure, respectively Both of these displacement procedizes aro dependent upon two numerical positions inthe deck. We've used two cards which are pre-set either at ar immediately afer those postions to mark offer indicate where those positions are, The actual identity of those indicator cards may be relevant to your presentation (eg. Queens, detectives, Bees, ec), bt is basically ‘nvelevant tothe modus operandi. All that i important is where i the deck these indicator‘THEORY AND PRACTICE 69 cards are placed, because a change in the position of cithor indicator wil change th outcome, affecting where the selections will wind up. The indicator essentially function as anensy and subtle way of quickly getting tothe desired postions with certainly and without counting. Calculating A and B So, how do we determine what these two critical numerical postions are? The formulas presented in “Twice as Hard” under the section entitled the asic calculation tll the whole story. I'll assume you've re-ead that section, because that's realy the gus of how to work ‘ut the necessary mathematical relationships. I'l expand on that discussion briefly to clarify ‘how to work with those formulas, depending on the size of the deck you start with, and. ‘whether oF not you're removing the indicator cards from te deck, In “Twice as Har” the calculations are done in performance, during the process of the effect itself bur that's only because i that effect, when you begin you don't yet know where you ‘want the two selected cards to end up. ‘Those final resting positions get determined by the spectators’ own choice of numbers, which differs each time you do the effect. But once the ‘to end positions forthe selections have been named, the calculation proceeds at once. I'll continue here using the terminology adopted in “Ties as Hard” Low and High, in shorthand, [Land H, wil refer to the two final positions where we desire to place the selected cards, From here, we work backwards: once we know the two specie positions we want the 60 Selections to end upat, Low and High then the formulas tell us what two postion inthe deck (refemed to as positions A and B) must be used a indicators, o bring the selections to Low tnd High. Let's quickly review those wo formulas (from p. $0), applying thera to “Prior Commitment” as.an example, Intha effet we want the two selections end yp at positions 18 (~ Low) and 43 (= High) inthe deck beeause those are our “predicted” outcomes. We calculate the posions for our indicetors, A and B, hy applying te formulas as follows: 52H, whieh in his example equals 9; and B=L+ A, which in this example 8+ 9, 06 27, So for “Prior Commitment,” 9” and 27” are te key numerical positions we need to know; Ay are the caleulated A and B for that effet, Once we determine these A and pestions, ‘wo ean procged with the effect, Positioning the Indicators ‘The next thing we need to do is mark off those A and B positions, so we caa later find them auickly ina spreading ation, without having to da any counting. The previous elects in this hook illustrate two differen approaches for marking off the A and B positions, The fist ay isto use two “extra” removable cards and place them immediately Below A and. That way, the ation of spliting the spread to remove the extra card will automatically divide the deck70 uno mMFwENce below the appropriate A cr B position. In “Prior Comatment” the Jokers function as suck extra, removable cards (as do the Queens, Black Jack, and Boes in their respective elects). ‘The Second way of marking off the A and B numerical postions is used when wee no employing oF removing any extrs cards, in those cases, we just remember the identity ofthe paicular card that lies arthe A or Bpastion self. This allows us to quickly spread, scanning ‘he faces for just that particular eard we remembered, When we spot it, we can seperate the spread immediately below it — without removing any cards, This is the approach used i “Twice ax Hard” (and in “Pseudo Memory" and “Pseudo Estimation” discussed lat). ‘The above formulas and calculations are based onthe assumption that we're ending up with 1852 eard deck, Those formulas xe geared to the final size ofthe deck at the end ofthe effec, ‘when you countdown to discover-he two selectins, In our example of “Prior Coramiiment the positions A and B ate 9 and 27, which means the 9 and 27 postions in a 52 card deck. We then placed the two exra cars, the face-up Jokers, immediately following each ofthe A ‘and B positions. The Jokers themselves thus start out at positions 10 and 28 (counting from the top of the full $4 card deck) bt after the Jokers are removed from the deck ducing the adjustment procedure, i reverts back to being a52 card pack, However, in other fects (eg. “Queenspel” or “Random Tandem") you may start witha regular 52 ear deck, but once you remove two of those cards (c.g, the Red Queens or the Black Jacks) you'll end up with only ‘150 card deck. In such cases the final positions Land H are counted to ina SO card deck, instead of a 52 card deck, so the appropriate A and B positions have to be determined sccordingly. And for ater effects(eg,"Twive as Hard") you won't remove any cars tll 0 you'll start and end with a S2 card deck. As long as you're aware ofthis minor variable, you ean easily make allowances for it by moving yout indicators up or down a noch, o ‘evising the formulas to take account of whether you end up with a 52 card deck ora 50 card eck, The undedying mathematical principle are the same, oven ifthe formula is slightly Aitferem. Forcompleteness ve includ in the Appendix otis section atemative formulas Uw cover these other situations, During the selestion procedure, the numerical positions A and B will govern where the spectators may make thei election cus. Our ist spectator, Adam, must cut Berween 4 aid 2 (but not including them) and cur second helper, Bonnie, must eut below B. This rule ‘explains why in“Prioe Commitment”1 was careful to point out that Adarn’s™ permitted range thus comprises al the cards henveen the n4o Jokers — except for the sole card fing ‘mediately above the second Joker.” Ths exception, ofcourse, isthe card occupying position DB itself, which we can’t let Adam eut to. So as «practical matter, whenever you'te using extra, removable indicator cards dt lie below the A and B positions, you'l ind it expedient to envision the permited range as falling anywhere heneen these hwo indicators — but do ‘remember that the single card at position B isthe one exception Practical Limitations In principle that’s all you ned to know to control the two selections to two desired postions, Land Hin whatever particular eflectyou want to crete, Inpratice, however, it's not quite that simple, because cersin chosen outcames may not work well, For instance, suppose We‘THEORY AND PRACTE 71 had wanted (0 perform “Prior Commiument” using positions 10 and 20 a8 the predicted outcomes, instead ofthe originalT and 43. AtL = 10nd H'=20the formulas generate A and B-42, Now, while these positions wll work cheoretlcally,you'l quickly appreciate that ss practical matter this isan extremely dificult pair of numbersto work with, because of he limitations imposed upoa the selection procedure, Remember, A and B govern where the selection cuts may be made, and this example produces wo dificult problems, First the ‘rang forthe permissible selections is extremely natiow. Adams et must be between A snd B (not inclusive) which means there are only nin eligible cards. Likewise, Bonnie's cut must be below B (technically, from 43 to $1 inclusive) so she also only as nine eligible cards ‘Second, the ocation ofthe range isn't wel laced. Even thers a good sizad range, snot convenient if either Adam's or Bonnie's range ist deep in the dee. Tn practice, these real world selection limitations mean thet cecasionlly you'll have to play ‘with the mumbersabitto find asc of two numbers that work wel. Somtianes this means that certain desired outcome just ean'tbe accomplished. Other imesit mean thet youl beable to conttol one selection exactly where you want it, but you may have to alse the desired position for your second selection. You can also be creative and think outside ofthe box ~ ‘when T needed to spell. two low numbers (eg. in “Worker Bees" I came up with the idea of counting from both ends ofthe deck. As you try alternative combinations youl find that ‘compromises may need to be made: when creating “Prior Commitment,” Lideally watted the second selection to wind up ata lower muméer than 43, say something closer to 33, However, that would have imposed secious limitations on the permissible selection cuts. For tat particular effect | wanted to offer both spectators maximum freedom, 80 I sltled for and 48 as my predictions Once you ty a few examples you can get fel for how the variables interact with each other the discussion at comment 3 to “Twice as Hard” explore these interrelations further. Whe ‘you're ereating your own new UnDo Influence effets, i you just ean't seem to devise a ‘workable compromise that gives you the positions you want, ebeek out what | eall the “Reverse Moule” approach, discussed later. It offers anaer way of getting to differen positions that may solve your problem, Selection Procedures All seven ofthe effects inthis section have used the same selection procedure, because in ny opinion ts the mos’ efficient and simplest way oF achieving the requied displacement of the two packets, namely having the cut-off packets subtly replaced in verse oer from how they were cut. "But there are other ways by which the “selection displacement” can be accomplished. 1's worth exploring some alternatives, some of which may sult your paricular effets or presentation styles. So here are three more ways te two cards can be selected! und then replaced, ‘They have a ‘itferent look an fel to them (e.g. spreading actions, or done without a table) but they nevertheless result in a selection displacement equivalent to the method you already know. For descriptive purposes, imagine the deck as comprising tree sootions, From the top dawn72 UNO MrLWENCE they'I1be referred toas sections 1,2 and 3. The division points separating these tree sections aren't ard and fast in fact, they can “fost” and will in any given instance be specifically determined by where the two spectators eu. Fach section will most likely be approximately 1/3 ofthe pac, thovah there's wie tolerance fr vevation. As you know, the only absolute requirement will be thatthe divsion point between sections 1 and 2 will be somewhere bemveen posions A and B, Similly, the division point between sections 2 and 3 will be somewhere below or aller postion B. With a deck in hand, ty each of the following alternative procedures Cut to Face-Down Cards. Haye Adam cut off “about 2/95” f the deck ane table th cu-f portion (a combined & 2) ‘Adam thea looks at aad reauembas the top card ofthe remaining pil (sation 3), Bonnie the cus offabout half” of the pile Adem frst eu ofT and drops ton top of Adam's selection, burying it. (This places 1 onto 3). Bonnie now takes the top card of sction? looks at and remembers itssher selected cand, and replaces iton tp ofthe combined | & 3 pile. Filly. she drops section 2 ontop of her car, thus burying it and reassembling tho deck. Withdrawing Cards from a Spread. Here's another altemative. Ribbon spread the deck fee down across the table, and have ‘Adam and Bonnie each wihdrayvacard from the spread, The only requirement is that one of the cards must be taken from somewhere between A and B, and tae other card must be from somewhere below B, You caa guide your spectators to the appropriate areas in the table spread simply by gesturing, ut spectator management can also help. Position Adam directly ‘eros ftom you, and Bonnie to your lef. When the cards ae spread from left to right in an tre each spectator will be in close proximity to hs other espectve range. Ifyou want more cerzinty, youcould spread thecards bet ween your hands, timing your spreading action socach person reaches into the aproprige range as it passes under his/her hand. When both cards hhave been removed, square up the pack, ‘Thereplacementfollows the sameprocedure used in Cuting 1 Face-Dowa Cardsabove, First have Adam cut off “about 2's a combined | & 2 pile) fo the table, and have him rplace his selection onto stetion 3, Nex: have Bonnie cutoff about hal om the combined I & 2 pile and deop it onto Adam's carc, Finally, have Bonnie replace her selection ontop ofthe Combined 1&5 pile and then buy it by droping the remaining pile (section 2) on op, thus reassembling the dock. Obviously this particular selection method cant he used for effects lke “Prior Commitment” cor “Worker Boes,” bocauso the spreading action would prematurely reveal the face-up Indieaors. However, as lng as there are no face-up cards hidden in the deck, the spreading‘mifonY ano PRACTICE 75 action, partiulaly onthe able, has a nice fee felt it You may want to consider i for “Queenspel” o “Random Tandem.” Henry Christ Variant ‘This actualy has nothing to do with Henry Christ, but the procedure uses actions familiar (0 say magician who's ever performed the ChrisvBaldveci Cut Deeper Pore. Hand Adam the deck. Ask hm to cutoff 1/3 and tum hs pile face up onto the restof the face- down deck, He then remembers the card now staring him in the foc. (This leaves section 1 face up). ‘Adar then passes the deck to Bonnie, who is asked to ut deeper (approximately 25) and to tur her entre cut-off portion over, onto the remaining pile. Ske now remembers, as her selection. the new card tang her inthe fae. Finally, ak Bonaie to spread the face-up cars until she comes o the back-to-back division. Instruct her o flip all of those face-up cards hack face dawn om the deck, thus losing her card, and reassembling the entire deck face down, Once again, this particular selection procedure is inapplicable to effets where thee are secret face-up indicators, but otherwise it's an efficient procedure, tha let's both spectators handle the deck. And it doesn’t require a ble Nowwithstanding the apparent variety among the above three procedures, all of them accomplish the requisite selection displacement and set you up for the “adjustment” displacement, Adjustment Procedures [As you've seen in the previous effects, the adjustment displacement basically consists of interchanging the botiom and middle sections, s defined by wherever the A and B indicators happen tobe locate. This switch of setionss wht finally places the two selctions into the desired Low and High postions, Its meantto bea secret action nthe sense thatthe audience isn’t supposed to realize that sucha sich is occurring, but as long as it's done inthe guise of performing other procedures or maneuvers which are done nturlly and appear justified, ‘hen the switch can occur out in the open “The two main adjustment proceduses presented in the foregoing ects ~ the Pace-Down, ‘Uno (in “Price Commitment” and “Worker Bees") and the Fce-Up UnDo (in “Queenspell” and "Random Taadetn") ~ are my’ favorite ways of accomplishing the adjustment openly Both soem wo sal right by aymea and magicians alike because te act of removing couple74 unoo wmwence fof cards provides such a plausible ‘motivation, But please don’t pass up the {face-up in-tbe-hands-spread action described in the alternative Mindreading Presentation of “Twice as Hard” In some ways, that's ethapsthe most uilitarianappreachbecause all you have to dois casually spread through the cards, pausing occasionally, with pechaps ‘gesture and te obs done. i's important tohave an apparent reason foryour spreading action, but t doesnt have tobe grandiose. It ‘may be something as innocuous as displaying either that he cards are wellshufled tht the spectators cards ae ost somewhere in the dock. One advantage ofthis proces is tha since you're not removing aay eas, your presentation ean be more steamlined and sraightlarward; you don’t have to create a plot or patter that involves two “special” cards, TT vealsoexploredmore technical approaches to accomplish the adjustment displacement, The following are rlacvey easy, and very efficient Center Cut, Tis first one smulatesanin-the-hands cu. Hold the pack fac up and slr spreading trop the faces rapidly, scanning for indicator A. When you spo it, downjog it and al ofthe cards ‘behind (above) i, as you continue to spread until you spot indicator B, Raise the letchand ards, inluding B, back upto normal level, as you finish spreading othe top ofthe deck. The result is thatthe middle section his been downjogzed (Figure 1, above). ‘This entire run through canbe done gute quickly. Sguare up, stil holding the deck face up, and do a center ut, actually stripping out the injopged middle portion aad slapping tonto the face of the deck. ‘Thatsal thereis; the displacement ofthe mide and boom portions has been accomplished (Or, if you wanted to keep the euting action covert, you could flip the deck face down ‘bookwsse, maintaining the injoggemiddle section, and then perform Top Block Cover Pass, shifting the injogged center Block tho boom). Zarrow Shuffle with Crinped Indicators. SPF) youre comfonable wing a couple of