LLOYD T BARNES

Visual Ambitious Rising Card

www.MINDLAPSE.net
 Introduction

The visual ambitious riser is a hugely popular plot in card magic, with many professional
and amateur magicians striving to come up with, what they believe, is the final answer to
this monster.

Visual magic is my forte, and the visual ambitious riser is one of my all time favorite
plots. Having researched and played with many methods over the years, nothing con-
clusive came of my initial ideas, until my good friend Geraint Clarke and I decided to hold
our own competition. The rules were simple; two weeks to come up with the best VARC
method we could think of. Maverick is what came out of it.

Now, I do not believe that Maverick is the final answer in the VACR plot, and I doubt
there ever will be a definitive final method for this. That being said, Maverick is what I
have used every time I performed a VARC for the past year or so. For the time being,
this is my answer to this beast.

I hope you all enjoy this and can take something away from this even if you do not like
the initial method. For those who practice this, take it out there and perform it. I know
you’r going to get many priceless “WTF” reactions from your spectators.

Cheers,

Lloyd T Barnes.
 Foreword by Geraint Clarke

So Like me, you’re probably wondering why Maverick?

A maverick is a person who thinks independently, a lone dissenter, a non-conformist or
rebel, and that’s exactly what Lloyd Barnes is.

I first met Lloyd at the Cardiff Day of Magic, and our personal and professional friendship
has spanned the last two to three years. 


He has blown me away with his insane amount of talent, and I would say he is the most
creative magician I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. 


It all started from the Cardiff Day of Magic and we got chatting on MSN Messenger about
ideas that we each had for new effects or sleights. 
My list was considerably smaller than
his, and it became apparent that Lloyd was no normal magician. While everyone else
went through life trying to think outside of the box, Lloyd challenged the metaphor and
was thinking without a box.

Lloyd had ideas that didn’t seem possible, and yet methods that were simple to perform.
He quickly caught my attention and continued to blow me away with regular chats, texts
and sessions on his latest ideas.

Emerged was his first creation and became the momentum in the snowball that is his
imagination. 
Ideas came thick and fast and it gives me a huge sense of honor to know
that I have seen them, learnt them and performed them first.

Now you get that intense sense of excitement and the ringing ears from all the screams
of amazement in this PDF.

A few months ago, Lloyd and myself were brainstorming a rising card trick and decided
to turn it into a competition. One week passed and we were both ready.
They always say
great minds think alike, so it gave me great pleasure to know that Lloyd and I had the
same idea. Both presentations can be learned in this e-book today.
So let’s move on, who am I to keep you from learning these miracles?
Selfish really, con-
sidering I know the method!

Before I go though, I thought I’d give you the alternative definition of Maverick.
Sometimes it means “to swear to one.” So with that in mind, I’m a maverick, and my
promise to you is that you will not be disappointed.

Thanks to Lloyd, I don’t have to break that promise.

Geraint Clarke
 CONTENTS

EFFECT DESCRIPTION

KEY POINTS

THE GIMMICK

FACE UP SIGNED EXPLANATION

FACE DOWN EXPLANATION

NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CREDITS
 Effect Description

A card is selected and signed. The card is then placed outjogged about a third of its
length, a few cards from the bottom of the deck.

The magi then shows the deck slowly and fairly all around with the card outjogged.

The magi then regrips the deck in mechanic’s grip and tells the spectators to watch as
the outjogged card then begins to slowly rise up, as if melting through the cards. When
it gets a few cards from the top, the right hand waves over the deck and reveals that the
card is now on top of the deck.
 Key Points

Effect can be viewed from all angles. (Directly above and below is not recommended,
but can still be viewed from these angles.)

Can be done face up and signed.

Deck can be handed out clean.

Very small gimmick.

Many possibilities for alternate handlings.

 The Gimmick

You need one duplicate card from a matching deck. (1.)

1.

The gimmick is simply a card that is cut to one third of its length.(1.a)

1.a

I like to cut at around the elbows of the angel on the bike at the back of the card.
 Signed Card Handling Performance

Start with this setup on top of the deck: gimmick face up, duplicate card. (2.)

2.

To start, cut this to the center of the deck retaining a pinky break, and proceed to riffle
force to the setup. Cut this pack to the top and then neck tie (tilt the deck up towards
you, covering the top of the deck) the deck towards yourself as you turn over the top
card on to the deck. Be careful to keep this card and the gimmick square with the deck
with the gimmick up towards the spectators end of the deck.

You should now have the cards in the order. Face up duplicate, above the gimmick, also
face up. On top of the face down deck

Have them sign the card across the middle. (3.)

3.
Now comes a series of movements that are possibly the hardest part of the routine.
Now you will do a few steps which give the impression that the signed card is being
placed outjogged at the bottom of the deck.

With the right hand, pick up a double with the gimmick sandwiched between them. The
right hand middle finger should be at the top left corner of the card, with the remaining
fingers covering the front of the card.The thumb should be at the bottom left corner,
running straight along the bottom of the card. Magi’s view (4.) Spectator’s view (5.) You
should act as if you are just showing the card.

4. 5.

Next use the left hand thumb to strip off the top card on the deck, leaving in your right
hand the gimmick on top of the random card. (6.) To the specs your right hand should
appear empty due to the finger placement. (7.)

6. 7.
Now, place the random card with the gimmick on top of it back on to the top of the
deck in the action of squaring and necktie the deck towards yourself. (8.)

8.

Lastly, the right hand forms a cover as you take the gimmick with the right hand index
finger and thumb and place it toward the bottom of the deck. Specs see this. (9.) Your
view. (10.). A good tip for this is to practice this move using a full card, in front of a
mirror so that you can mimic the actions of what it would actually look like.

9. 10.

This sequence sounds lengthy but should take about two seconds when done up to
speed and should become a natural process after practice.
The rise is the next phase.

With the gimmick outjogged at the bottom (it should be in the deck about 2-3 mm), grip the deck
in a deep mechanics grip position using the ring finger and the ball of the thumb to grip the deck,
leaving the middle finger and thumb free. Your thumb should be at the top left hand corner of the
deck and the left hand middle finger at the top right hand corner of deck. (11.) When positioning
your fingers have them curled back slightly, ready for the next move.

11.

With the thumb and middle finger placed correctly, you should be able to feel where the gimmick
is.

Now extend the thumb and middle fingers forward, thus taking the gimmick forward out of the deck
slightly. (12.) This is why this effect cannot be view from directly above or below, as they might see
the small gap.

12.
The next move is slightly knacky, but with practice becomes a very natural movement.

Using the thumb and middle finger, with gimmick gripped (Note: do not grip too tightly,
as the gimmick will buckle.) move the thumb and middle finger upwards. When done
correctly this will look like the card is melting through the deck. (13.)

13.

When the card is close to top of the deck, move the thumb and middle finger inwards,
allowing the card to nestle back into the deck. At this point, take time to show the
deck all around, fairly showing how far the card has risen through the deck.

Note: with a used deck, sometimes the card will not slide back into the deck. If this
happens, use the right hand to act as if squaring the deck. In reality you’re cutting the
deck very slightly to allow the card to be replaced into the deck in the outjogged posi-
tion (14.)

14.
This last phase is the reveal of the card at the top of the deck, and it’s a fairly simple
move.

With the gimmick now outjogged toward the top of the deck, have the deck in mechan-
ics grip. In one motion, use the left hand index finger to push the gimmick in flush with
the deck at the same time as performing Daniel Garcia’s Ego Change. (15.)
Spectator’s view. (16.)

15. 16.

The reason for the Ego Change as opposed to the Cardini Change is the finger place-
ment. The thumb and middle finger prevent the gimmick from sticking out of the deck,
showing that it’s a third of a card. Also, the Ego Change relies on the thumb and
middle finger being placed in this position.

Clean up

Immediately hand the signed card out for inspection. You now have all the misdirection
you need to flip over the bottom card, steal the gimmick out into a Gamblers Cop and
ditch.
 Face Down Handling

Start with the gimmick about five cards from the bottom of the deck, duplicate card
on top.

Tell your spectators that you are going to take a random card and leave it outjogged
from the deck.

Make a small cut at the gimmick (you can feel the gimmick’s position in the deck). Lift
the deck about a quarter of an inch high, being careful not to expose the gimmick,
and use the right hand middle finger to slide the gimmick forward so that it’s about
2-3mm left inside of the deck. (17.)

17.

Proceed to show the deck fairly, and then proceed with the rise up until the point
where the card is replaced outjogged near the top of the deck.
Once near the top, you are going to enter this last phase to show the card at the top
of the deck.

The move is essentially the final move of Ray Kosby’s Raise Rise where the index
finger pushes the gimmick in flush with the deck as the thumb shifts the top duplicate
card forward, so that it’s the same length outjogged from the deck as the gimmick
was. All of this happens under the cover of a shake. (18.)

18.

Be sure to allow the left hand thumb and middle finger to keep the gimmick from pro-
truding out from the deck.

To clean up, hand the card out for inspection, giving you enough misdirection to cut
the gimmick to the bottom of the deck so that you can cop it out and hand the deck
out for inspection.
 Notes and Final Ideas

This routine is knacky and will require practice. However, it’s not so difficult that it is
impractical. The knacky movement will soon become natural and fluent.

Do not grip the gimmick too tightly when doing the rise, as the gimmick will bend and
give away the illusion. If you are having this problem, to solve it, make another gim-
mick and stick it to the original gimmick, with glue, to make it double the thickness and
more ridgid.

Do not rush through this illusion. Go slowly, allow your audience to see what is going
on, but more importantly let them know what they are about to see. If you rush, the
routine will be over and they will not be too sure what happened.

The rise is very angle friendly, however, practice in the mirror so that you can spot the
other elements of the routine which require slight angle changes. The placement of the
thumb and middle finger hide the gap from view at the sides of the deck.

If you are having trouble re-inserting the gimmick into the deck when it has risen
through, you can give a card (about six from the top) a bend, thus creating a small gap
in the deck, so that the gimmick will slide into it easily. Further more, a friend of mine,
David Fulde, likes to sleightly outjog the top five cards, toward the spectator. This will
also make it easier to re-insert the gimmick.

If you are bending the gimmick too much when performing the rise, you could create
another identical gimmick and glue them together, creating more of a stiff gimmick.

If you carry a normal gimmick and a bridge-sized gimmick, you can perform this with a
borrowed deck, just ensure that you are performing the face up routine. This was an
idea provided by Dee Christopher.

To really sell the effect, spread the deck to prove it is a normal deck of cards. Be sure
to keep the gimmick concealed.

The card is signed across the middle, so that when the gimmick is outjogged out from
the deck, the spectator would not be able to see their signiture one the card, if it was
there actual signed card.
 Acknowledgments

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge Ray Kosby for first coming up with this plot.
Also Geraint Clarke for his continuing support, inspiration, and for getting me to where I
am now. Third, Dee Christopher for without you this PDF would not have happened and
also for being an inspiration to me over the past year that we have been friends. Fourth,
Garrett Holthaus for working hard on correcting all spelling and grammatical errors that
I made throughout this PDF. And lastly, thank you to everyone who has purchased this
and believes in this effect.
 Credits

Ray Kosby – Initial plot and final phase of face down rise.

Daniel Garcia – Ego Change.

Geraint Clarke – Alternate Handling.