a cy F BS mo LL ra 7 i J Ghe Medallion trick usually associa- ted with Al Koran is probably known to most readers, though most are probably not aware that a completely ungaffea ver~ sion exists (it is described below) As the audience sees it, the effect in its original form was that a medallion was @isplayed in a jewelry box. The mentalist had a nunber chosen. Tt was then shown that this same number was inscribed on the back of the medallion. In the Koran presentation, he talked of an engyaved medallion, which indeed it was, Later he said that there was a number inscribed on the back. The-subtle point here was that by emphasizing the word "engraved," Koran set the audience up to think that the number on the back was also engraved. In fact it was i cribed, as the assisting spectator verified. To the audience the effect was in the miracle class because they remembered the number as being engraved in a metal medallion, Many variations of the Koran trick were developed. In each, the medallion was stored in a jewelry box or cther similar con- ‘einer. But then someone got the idea of displaying the medal- lion on a metal chain arcund the neck so that it was on display iy from the very beginning of the performance. I don't know who had the original idea, but credit is usually given to Felix Green~ field and Dave Lederman. To this were added ideas and subtle details by other perform ers. What follows is one handling. Remember that the medallion is in sight at all times and that no gimmicks of any kind are used. The trick can be done at any point in the performance. It is done as a pre~ MEDALLION ~1125-diction. You explain ahead of time that before the performance you predicted a card that would be chosen and a number that would be chosen, Now you have any card named or thought of. You also have anyone stand and name any three-digit number or any combinatign of letters and numbers from his license plate. A deck of cards is opened. on go- ing through the deck you find one card reversed and it is the named or thought~ of card. You have written the thought-of number on a pad so that it would not be forgotten by the andience. You then ask someone to step forward. Calling atten- tion to a medallion that hangs around your neck from a chain, and with your hands well away from the medallion, you have the spectator pick up the medal- Lion, turn it over and read the number you have inscribed on the back. ‘The number matches the number free ly chosen by the spectator. The deck is of course the Ultra~ Mental or Brainwave deck, but the means used to get the writing onto the medal- Lion does not depend on a gimuick. Method: The medallion is of the heavy engraved type currently in fashion and available in department and jewelry stores. It is shown in Fig. 1, exactly as you would wear it during the per- formance. 2, When ready to do the trick,have @ spectator think of a card. Ask anoth- er to think of any three-digit number, 2. Have the card named aloud. as this is done, pick up a pad an@ jot own the name of the card. Show the writing to the audience. 3. Wave the three-digit number named aloud. You are holding the pad in front of you as shown in Fig. 2. ‘The pad screens the medallion. 4. Pretend you didn't hear the spectator clearly. Lean forward’ in his direction and ask him to repeat the tumber. Behind the cover afforded by the pad, the medallion swings out from the chest. 5. The left thumb slips up behind the medallion and holds it against the pad, Fig. 3. 6. The right hand holds a marking pen. Place the point of the marking Pen against the back of the medallion. Do not write yet. Look the spectator in the eye and ask him to repeat the number once more. As you look up at him, write the number on the medallion 7. Write the chosen number on the -1126-pad. All that remains is to release the medallion, allowing it to fall a- gainst the chest as you toss the pen onto the table and swing attention hack to the spectator who thought of ‘the card. 8. Hand the pad to a spectator. Pick up the Ultra Mental deck, fan through it and show that your previous ly reversed card matches the card thought of by the spectator. 9. Up to this point the audience hag no idea how you will reveal that you correctly predicted the thought- of number. Call attention to the med= allion, remark on the fact that it is puzzle heavily engraved with the signs of ere eite et ape ee the Zodiac (or whatever). Emphasize to be new. The idea is indi- the engraving. cated below. Using a single vubber-band, and in less than 2 seconds, get the rub- ber band into the configur- ation shown. There are at least two methods and sever- al variations. | | ® oo eee should be noted that Neal is @ years old. ‘The basic method will be described in ancther is~ sue or so, The method is easy, but it is taking a bit longer than anticipated to get the sketches lo. Then remark that there is a cur~ ious thing about the medallion; when you purchased it you noted that a number, possibly a serial number, had been in- scibed on the back. 11. Extend your arms from your sides, making it clear that you do not touch the medallion. Have a spectator ap~ proach you, grasp the medallion and read aloud the number inscribed on the back. Tt matches the number chosen by the spec~ tator. -1127-Wait! I€ you glance at the drawing sequence, you may conclude that this is yet another version of the trick where @ ball trapped inside a hank is caused to penetrate the hank. That is not the case here. In this trick a ball trapped inside a handkerchief changes places with a ring outside the hank. ‘Transposition tricks between dis- similar objects are generally difficult to perform, but in this case the hand- ling is easy and well covered. The effect is taken from a longer routine which starts with a small green sponge hall that is visibly inflated so that it becomes a large green sponge. It is mentioned that this is the little known Lizard of Oz. ‘The large sponge is compressed be- tween the hands, whereupon it changes to a snall wooden ball. This is the Lizard at rest, a time when it is easiest to capture him, The green ball ig placed inside a hank and a ring put over the corners to trap the ball in~ side. ‘The ball and ring change places. The trick is repeated, but this time when the ball drops into view, it changes to a life-size rubber Lizard. ‘The sudden appearance of the lizard will wake up any audience. ALL that is described here is the transposition between the ball and the ring. Required is a plastic ring. Tt is gimnicked to the extent that it is slit or cut so that the ring opens easily. When I worked this trick out T used the then-new "Ring Sation" gim- mick of Ken Seale's. This routine was marketed by Lou Tannen and is detailed on pg. 563. Aside from the slit plastic ring, you need a wooden ball, the diameter of which is slightly larger than the -1128- inside Giameter of the ring. Also used is an 16" silx. The Handling 1. Place the hank on the table in an unfolded condition and place the ball in the center, Fig. Sener ioe 2. Gather up the four corners of the hank with the right hand. Holding the corners together, pick up the ring with the left hand, slip it over the corners and allow the ring to fall to the position shown in Fig. 2. The ball inside the hank is now trap- ped by the ring.6. This corner is brought back so it meets corner "A". As you do this, the patter is to the effect that you want to show the trapped ball once a~ again. The situation is shown in Fig.5 as the forward corner is lifted and brought back. 3, Grasp the ring with the left hand. The right hand pulls the cor~ ners of the hank down, thus causing the ball and ring to pivot to the position shown in Fig. 3. 7. This corner ("B") is brought all the way back so that it contacts corner "A". The left hand then picks up both "A" and "B" and brings them over the ball. 4. Place the right hand under the hank and rest the ball on the palm-up right hand as shown in Fig.4. ‘The hank now hangs freely over the palm and Fingers of the right hand. 5. You're about to perform an old move usually done with coins. Tt 8. Do not let go of these cor- ners yet. The right hand has been palm-up until now. as the left hand raises corners "A" and "B", the right palm starts to turn down. Corners "A" and "B" are then moved to the right so that the strands of the hank enter the right thumb crotch. happens that the nove works perfectly with a xing and ball combination. the left hand grasps the forwardnost corner of the hank. In Fig. 4 this is the cor 4 pocatpen ep enone anager Meee ee eer aaa is indicated in Fig. 6. The ball will ~L1L29-be slightly visible to you but con- cealed from the audience by the back of the right hand. 10. The right fingers now close into the right palm. The result will be that the ball will be squeezed through the ring and will fall out of the bank. It is taken by the left band, Fig. 7, and displayed as shown in Fig. 8. SeHMioT 11. Place the ball onto the tab- le. Then open the folds of the hank and show that the ring is now insiae the hank, Fig. 9 12. There is a bonus. 998 of the time, because the ring opened and closed as the ball moved through it, the ring will close and catch a fold of the hank. When this happens, dis- play the ring as shown in Pig. 9. ‘hen remark that the ring too is en- chanted. Pretend to toss the ring in- to the left hand. The ring is actual~ ly caught on the hank, so it will stay in place. The left hand pretends -1130- to catch the ring, makes a tossing motion and the ring vanishes in the air, 1t is later produced from the hank or from a pocket, depending on the way the routine is to go fron here. THE CHRONICLES Teenie acter Single Issues.....$2-00 Tricks, ideas, news, notes, and letters are welcome and should be sent to the address below. Non-subscribers can obtain a free catalog on request. Address all mail tor karl Fulves P.O. Box 433 ‘Teaneck, New Jersey 07666 Phone: 201-427-1284Leo McCauley’s COIN VANISH slowly around the coin, giving a This technique is useful for 3. The coin, clipped by the the vanish of a coin or sponge two fingers, ie placed in the £in- ball, It will be described here in ger palm position of the left hand, the context of a coin vanish. which ie held with the pain facing the spectators. The left arm ex- 1. the coin is held between tends horizontally fron the elbow. the very tips of the index and mid Ale fingers, exposing as much of 4, ‘The left fingers close a- the surface of the coin as possib- round the coin as showa in Fig. 1h. le. It is this point, that the This action pushes the coin back ine vanish takes place at the tips of to the palm. The coin is still the fingers, that makes the vanish clipped by the right fingers. convincing. Fig. 1 shows the start ing position. 5. The left fingers close : | eraser anaes | solidly gripped in the left band. 6. The left hand begins to re~ volve at the wrist. As it does so, the right third finger is raised from the palm and straightened until it touches the edge of the coin. | 7. The third finger now clips the coin so that the coin is clipped between the right 2nd and 3rd fing- ers, Fig. 13, is slightly turned sideways at the waist with the arms extended so the entize action is clearly seen by the spectator. 2, the other two fingers are curled into the palm. The performer 8. The right 2nd and 3x@ finger curl in against the right palm as the right hand revolves to a palm down condition. The index finger emerges alone to point to the back of the palm-down left hand, Fig. 2. The left hand has in the meantime Closed into a fist as if is actually held the coin, tion such that at the start the hands are palms toward the audience and at the completion of the move | You should strive to tine the ac- | -1131-both hands have revolved so the backs of the hands are toward the audience. I£ the revolve and the curling back of the fingers clipping the coin are timed perfectly, the ap- smier pearance is that you have merely pulled the right fingers from the left hand, leaving the coin behind. The spectator cannot see the coin go at all. The coin, now clip~ ped between the 2nd and 3rd fingers can be put into the Down palm posi~ tion to spread the fingers as the eft hand slowly opens to reveal the coin is gone. NOTES Of late, watching magicians perform and trying to keep current on the continuing flood of new books it would scom appropriate te con- clude that if there is anything new under the magical sun, it is being kept under wraps. It is undeniable that Slydini has had a profound influence on close-up magic, but I think his work implies that there is more to the subject than lapping. If you are looking for new ap~ proaches, especially to coin magic, you might try to develop a techni- que whereby one can sleeve a coin without picking up the coin from the table. You might try to develop lap moves while standing (no joke; you can for example, get up from your 1132+ chair, place the close up mat on the chair, and then cause that last coin to magically penetrate the table- top. You lap the coin by allowing it to drop onto the chair) Z£ we can somehow get past coin assemblies, coins across, coins thru ‘the table and the Okito box, if some: one can come up with a move that is not backclip-related, it would qo far to easing the boredom that cur- rently pervades coin magic. What has been said for coins is true for cards, Aside from small- packet tricks, we have the one-at-a~ time Ace assembly and the- er, linun. ‘That seems to be it. There's Tri- umph, but the list does not appear to extend that much further. ALL of the above mentioned rou~ tines share a common trait; the mag~ ician handles the apparatus. The spectator remains a spectator and is never a participant. If you've ever worked for lay- men at a party, you know it is al~ most impossible to achieve the closely controlled conditions that predominate when you work for fellow magicians. Spectators don‘*t stay put, they don't respect angle moves, they interrupt, they wander, they get impatient at long, multi-phase routines. So, if the intent is to get a~ way fron the humdrum stuff every body else is doing, if the intent is maybe to approach close-up magic from a different point of view, if the intent is to have at hand a nun ber of routines suitable for any audience, even laymen, you might for @ moment want to stop and consider whether it's really worth it to add yet another bland trick to that bland-beyond-belief repertoire. And if you think your work is great, beyond criticism, ete, there is a way to get a sobering taste of reality; try to find non-magicians who will pay to see you work. There aren't, you will find, that many born every minute.Karl Fulves Figure 1 tells most of the story. You position a deck of cards and a card box such that a playing card can be placed on top. When the card case is removed, the playing card remains sus- pended in midair. this is a miniature form of the classic sus~ pension. You can follow with a levitation of the card (I use a handling of “Wireless,” a variation of which appeared in Epilog- ue,but that subject will be covered separately). There are a number of sound ap- proaches to achieve the suspension of Fig. 1. What follows is an easy, basic handling. 1. The gimmick is a piece of scotch tape about 1" in length as in~ dicated in Pig. 2A. Fold up the bot tom third and fasten it to the center third. This leaves about a third of the sticky surface exposed (shown shaded in Fig. 28) 2. Fasten the tape to the back of the QH as shown in Fig. 3. The pre- pared Qif can be carried in the pocket until you are ready to perform the trick, then loaded into the deck. The easiest method is to do a few tricks, -1134- then drop the deck into the pocket. At a later time remove the deck,with the Qi added to the bottom. 3.With the QH loaded into the pack, or onto the face, make sure the tab that extends from the deck is at the inner end. Otherwise, no mystery. Overhand or riffle shuffle the deck, and eventually get the Qi to a posi~ tion about 5th from the bottom of the pack. 4, With the exposed tab of tape at the bottom and therefore conceal- ed by the left hand (which holds the deck in dealing position), the right hand flips the deck face-up in a side-to-side flipping action. with the deck face-up, spread the cards and upjog the QH as you come to it 5. Close up the deck. Angle the QH out of the deck so only a corner (the ginmicked corner) is still in the deck, Fig. 4. This is a convinc~ ing touch because it appears as if the 9H is an ordinary card (cont'd on pg. 1133)(SUSPENSE: Cont’a) 6. Square the deck. Place the deck in an upright condition. Tt is held in this vertical position by the left hand. Instruct the specta~ tor to place the upright cardbox a- bout 2h" away from the deck and hold it there. 7. Your left hand holds the up- right deck. Your right hand slides ‘the QH up to just the point where it clears the top of the deck. the tab ds still in the deck. Hinge the gH down so it rests on top of the deck and cardbox, Fig. 5. Note in Fig. 5 that the left forefinger curls in a- gainst the deck, applies pressure to the face of the deck, and is solely responsible for the success of what is to follow. Pressure of the fore- finger against the face of the deck must be firm. -1133- 8. Have the spectator slowly slide the carébox away. The OH re~ mains mysteriously suspended as shown in Fig. 1 above. Tt is an odd sight. 9. For the clean-up, the right fingers contact the face of the OH and the right thumb the back. The card is hinged forward, ie, it is pivoted up so that the face of the QH will face the spectator. The left hand maintains firm pressure on the deck. The result is that the QH peels away from the tape, leaving the tape in the deck with the sticky surface protruding from the top of the deck. 10. while the right hand moves the QH to a position in front of the deck, thus using the QH as a screen, the left forefinger changes position and presses down on the tape, Fig. 6. ‘The forefinger completely covers the tape at this point. li. Shake the QH as you patter about removing the spell. In the mean- time the left forefinger slides around to the far long side of the deck. As it does so, it takes the tape with it since the tape is now stuck to the forefinger. 12. The left hand tosses out the deck and the right hand tosses the OH out to the spectator. Fingers of both hands are wite apart and the hands are palm down. To ditch the tape, drop the left hand into the lap and oll the tape off the finger.HHURONICLE No.8 copyright ©) 1978 by Karl Raves dee inet Of the magicians who came to prominence in the 1950's in this country, George Sands is among the most diversely talented. He has ex- celled as an inventor, writer, lec+ turer, close-up worker and platform magician. Tf you have seen him work for laymen, you mow that his act is commercial, funny, and completely baffling. In this article Mr. Sands pro- vides typical examples of his many talents. The opening routine, a lock and key trick, is taken directly from his act, Tt is a hilarious trick of immense value to the professional mag- ician looking for solid commerical material. The second trick represents a complete change of pace; intended for the close-up worker and student of the art, it is an excellent develop- ment on a principle originally descri- bed on pg. 1035. -1135- Platform Key-Rect (this uses the standard Key-Rect apparatus available at dealers. Even if you do not do this type of trick it will pay you to rea@ this presenta— tion to learn how a laugh~filled pro- fessional presentation is developed. Tony Bartolotta pointed out that a lock-and-key trick using male and female assistants goes back as early as "Genial Improbabilities." The fol- lowing routine was independently de- vised by Goorge Sands. KE) i. A man and a woman, strangers to each other, are invited onto the staging area. If doing this with children from the audience, invite ‘two eleven-year-olds, a boy and a girl because they are the most bashful at this age in a boy-girl relationship. Ask their names. Introduce them to each other. Have them shake hands. You'd be surprised at how they will be embarrassed to shake. Use the stock gag of, "I now pronounce you man and wife.” 2. Explain to the audience that the young folk today with their modem dancing never get together, adding, g“In our time we held each other close. Pick up a long chain. Place it around the boy. Have him hold one end in one hand. Snug up the chain around his back with the other hand. ‘The remainder of the chain pro- jects hanging on the other side of him. Have the girl face him. Pick up the remainder of the chain and place it around the girl. Pull so both face each other and wind the remaind- ex around both of them so they are snug against each other and facing each other. Have them hold the ends of the chain so the chain doesn't come loose. 3. Ask the audience if there is anyone who wants to get even with these two people. Pick another two close to the age of the eleven-year- olds. Give one the closed (Key Rect) lock and all the keys, but not the good one. Have him try each key in the lock, proving that none work. As he does so, instruct him to pass the non-workable keys to the other person who was invited up with him. Finally, give him the correct key, with which he opens the lock. Have the fourth person mix all the keys together. 4. Have person #3 place the lock on both ends of the chain. state, "Put the lock on the two ends of the chain +and you know what to do." Don"t say sock it." say, "...you know what todo." This gets a laugh and it al- so prepares you for what you will say next. 5. When you hear the lock click closed, act shocked and say, "I didn't tell you to lock it!" Act hor- rified at what he did. Just freeze and stare, and look at each of the participants. Nake sure the audience can see their faces, and the reaction they thave when you say, "I didn't tell you to lock it.” 6. Give spectator #4 a locked metal box that has a slot in it like a coin safe. Have him take all the Keys and the box to the other side of the stage. Explain to thé audien- ce that some people suspect you of having @ magnet on your person, so you want the keys as far from you as possible. Periodically turn to the couple who are chained together and ex- claim, "Isn't this fun?" children will zeact by shaking their heads "No." Adults will make remarks that imply "Yes." 7. Have spectator #4 hold up a key in a closed fist so you can't see it. Go thru the histrionics of ESP and have the spectator drop the key into the safe so that it's ir retrievable, but do it with this delivery. "That's not it. Drop it in the box (Turn to the chained couple) Isn't this fur Repeat with the second key, but only say, "That's not it.” Gon't say, "Drop it in the box." When you hear it drop, lock shocked and say, "I didn't tell you to dzop it in the box." Freeze, and stare at him. Now address the chained couple and say, "you don't have to worry. Out of all the times I've done this, I've only failed once.” Stop. Look at them. Turn to the audience and ina stage whisper say, "I've only done it once." Now stare at the chained couple again. 8.Repeat with a third key and a fourth key. When only two keys are left, have the 4th spectator hold one key up. Look puzzled. Have him lower that arm. Direct him to raise the other arm with its key hidden in the closed fist. Look puzzled. Have him lower that arm and raise the other arm again. Keep re~ peating this faster and faster and gay, "At least we are getting some Finally have him azop one of the keys in the box, but deliver it this way. Have him face you. You face him, Tell him to drop the rigit hand key into the hox. After he has done this, look puzzled...look at your amns..-turn backwards..-all the while you are making it clear that Prime che kowledge the applause. . your right is different from his A faniTiar card mnemonic is right. Say, "Is that your Fight arm? fiatess Pees ergsen lianighttcines threatened to save 95 Queens for 9. Now explain seriously end one sick Knave." Another, which is dramatically, "This is an ESP experi- ‘the one we will use in the follow- nent, By nindreading I have determin ee one ee eee ine this: a Gd which ie the correct key to open Le eee ceenTeunrcateviee that lock. But I'd like to state that ESP is not 100 percent perfect. If it was, T wouldn't be here on the stage. I'd be earning a fortune at the races. So would you please see joining six Queens.” The Link with 13 cards is given in the mneumonic on the next page. if that key is the right one? But Inagine these 13 cards in a before you do so, let me ask a ques~ circle or endless chain. If you tion of this wonderful couple." write the 13 numbers down around the perimeter of a circle, start at Tarn to the chained pair and any number except the King. ask, “How much will you pay that gentleman over there to release you? Cross out the number you start= ed at. Count its value to the next Now turn to the audience and number. Cross that out and in turn say, “If this doesn't work, I'11 count its value to the next number. have to take them both hone with ALL of the numbers will be elimina- me. ted except the King. If you start at the King, no other number will Now stand back and in a deter ie aeeeed enee mined voice say, “Would you please release the prisoners." Application to Cards. Remove the 13 cards in the ‘above table and arrange them in the order as given above. Cut the packet and When this has boon done, thank each of the persons onstage and ac~ ey -1137-complete the cut. Do this several times, Remove the King and have the spectator place a chosen card in the King's place in the packet. Another Application. Have an en- tire deck arranged in this sequence. ‘The spectator cuts and completes the cut. 13 cards are removed Erom the top of the deck. 3 es] Be [em [Sante [aoren ping | six Toucens veel « fems | ao = | 7 [2 oe few p24 ° When he has done this, have him cut the packet and complete the cut. The cards are facedown, so no one knows the location of any card. Have the spectator turn the top card of the packet face-up. Iz it is an 8, he deals 8 cards from the top to the bottom of the packet, beginning with the face- up 8. Then he turns the new top card face-up. Whatever its val- ue (in this example it will be a 10), he deals that many cards from top to bottom. He continues in this way un~ til there is just one card face- down. Tt will be the selected cara. -1138- The spectator cuts the remaining 39 cards. 13 cards are zemoved. Then the spectator cuts the remaining 26 cards and completes the cut. 13 cards are renioved. In cach case the carés are removed without reversing their order. Each packet of 13 cards is given to a different spectator. Each cuts his packet. The top cara is turned face-up. Tt is placed to the bottom, Whatever its value, that many cards are counted one at a time to the bottom. the last card of this count is turned face-up and placed at the bottom. The process is repeated until ‘all cards but one in each packet are face-up. Only the Kings will be face- down. There are numerous applications, of which I could write a book. The OU Shuffle ‘There being so many ways to shuffle cards, amusing acronyms can be formed. Thus, the OU shuf- fle is an In shuffle followed by an Over/Under shuffle. If you follow a Milk Build shuffle with an Out shuffle and another Milk Build, you have an M-BOMB. Your ingenuity in devising the acronyms will sometimes pay off in shuffle combinations that produce useful results.....KF— Greg Webb MID-AIR EXCHANGE Since the introduction of the Han Ping Chien move, many attempts have been made to apply the concept to a manipulative handling of cards. To my mind, the only magician who has succeeded in devising a perfect vis~ ual illusion with cards is Greg Webb. It is best to describe the move in the context of a 3-card monte se- quence. You perform the familiar throw. The spectator can't find the ace. You show him where the Ace is. ‘he cards are gathered and it appears as if the identical same throw is re- peated. But because of the Greg Webb addition, the outcome is completely different and once again the specta~ tor can't find the Ace. First Phase 1. Give the three monte cards (two X cards plus the Ace of Spades) a slight downward bridge. Place then on the table in a face-down row, the as in the center. 2. The Lit picks up the card at the left and the Ri picks up the cara at the right. Hach card is gripped at the ends, from above in the standard monte grip. 3. The RH then picks up the aS, adding it to the face of the card al- ready in hand. 4. Display the AS by turning the RH palm-up as shown in Pig. 1. -1139- 5. Turn the FH palm-doun. Now pre tend to throw the AS over to the left put in fact perform the fake throw. he X card goes to the left instead, as indicated in Fig. 2. 6. Without hesitation the two hands move to the right. The i drops is cara onto the table. 7. The RH then drops its card in the center. the audience thinks the Ag is the card on the left.&. Ask a spectator to indicate the whereabouts of. the AS. He will point to the LH card. Turn it over ani show that it's an X card. Then turn the center card over to show the aS. 9. Turn all three cards face- down in place. The AS is the center card. Second Phase You are now going to perform an apparent repeat, ‘but although the handling looks identical, and even if ‘the audience might begin to suspect a fake throw, the ingenious Greb Webb handling produces a result that will puzzle the audience even more than the first time. 10. Repeat Steps 1 thru 5 exact- ly as written above. After the fake throw of the AS onto the table, both hands will be palm down. Each hand holds one face-down card at this point. The audience thinks the aS has just been thrown onto the table but the ace is in fact in the RH. Ll. Hoth hands start moving to the right. The IH moves faster than the FH, and it is going to pretend to throw its card onto the table at the far right. Fig. 3 shows both hands moving to the right. 12. The RH releases its card a fraction of a second before the 1H overtakes the RH and transfers its card to the TH, Fig. 4. 13. Focause the RH was already in motion to the right as its card was dropped, the card fell with the same mementum to the right. Thus it -1140~ appears as if the card was throw with the rH, 14. As you reach the situation of Fig. 4 note that the IH has over~ taken the RY and transferred its card to the RH. Thus, from the aud~ ience's point of view it appears as if the RH still holds its card. 15, The BH, now holding the cara just taken from the LH, continues moving a bit more to the right, then it begins to circle to the left. rt drops its card to the center of the vow as shown in Fig. 5. 16. Ask the spectator to point to the Ace (never ask him to guess where the Ace is because he'll do just that. You don't want him to guess. You want him to point to the spot where he knows the Ace is. K®)17. The spectator may think that the Ace is the card on the left. But he may hesitate because he was wrong the first time. This time he may de~ cide that the Ace is in the middle. He has every reason to think so, but whon he turns up the center card he will be wrong. Note: As soon as the LH has trans— ferred its card to the RH, it should pantomime throwing the card that xeally fell from the RH. (Editorial Note: Visually decep- tive tricks are not easy to convey in print. They require practice in front of a mirror. Unlike the cook- book recipes that are the staple of magic magazines, books and instruc tion sheets, it does not follow that Af you read the directions you will get a perfect trick every time. The real ingredients in tricks like | Air Exchange” are timing and coordination, and in this area it is generally true that success comes only with practice. NOTES Related to the above is a situa- tion where British writers are now be— ginning to ask why so many in that country give rave reviews to shows that do not deserve raves. Soul-searching never interfered with integrity in the Past, and there is no reason why it should in the future, here or in Eng- iand or anywhere else. Genii will still give good re- views of shows elsewhere but will soft-pedal criticism of shows in Cal ifornia, especially in the Hollywood area. U.K. writers will rave about magicians from Holland, even while pri- vately expressing reservations about the lack of personality, the somewhat mannered presentations, etc. Close~ uppers from the USA will be praised, even though they must work under very special conditions, with the audience placed just so, the close-up mat just so. And no one will comment on the dis- tinct lack of real originality, of the cardboard personalities ("low key" is the polite phrase) and, especially in Card Boy and Coin Boy, the casual arro- gance. Those who review shows for the mag azines are generally well known and well-connected, with many friends in magic. For them a convention is the oc- casion to renew old acquaintances, to make new friends, to be invited to the all-night sessions, eto. For a change of pace it might be a good idea to have a total unknown write a review of a convention from his point of view. He is never invited to private sessions, he has no friends at the con- vention, he yoes from one staged event to the next,and when the day's schedule comes to an end, he finds himself alone in his room. Perhaps he thinks this is what a convention is supposed to be. Tn any event he is likely to report on a con~ vention from a fresh point of view. It should provide quite a change from those "best ever" reviews that pervade the magazines. Fire Pept: While at the San Diego convention, Phil Thomas learned that nis shop, Yogi Magic, had burned to the ground...0n July 19 an electrical mal- function started a fire at Tannen's that all but devastated the shop. They are in the process of rebuilding. In March I greatly enjoyed a ses- sion hosted by Rick Johnsson. There was amagic show locally in April, with George Sands the highlight...A fine one @ay convention in Pennsylvania gave me a chance to spend time with Murray Bon~ feld again. In May there ware sessions with Jerry Andrus, Martin Gardner, Jack Mintz, Connie Bush and Gene Maze, the han Tong lecture...Ran out of space, ~1141-COIN VANESHES: Cont'd) 4. The end result is that the coin ends up in a thumb-palm pos- ition, Fig. 4. 5. The right forefinger is withdrawn from the left hand. 20 finish, open the left hand and show that the coin has vanished. Note in performing the move that the left hand is almost vertical at all tines. Also, the right hand toss+ es the coin into the left palm as the left fingers close around the coin. By slightly opening the left fin- gers you can load the coin back into the left hand. The reason you might want to do this is that if you begin with a Copper/Silver .coin, the steal automatically turns the coin over. ‘Thus, you show a silver coin, slap it into the left hand, cause it to vanish, close the left hand, open it again and now a copper coin has ap- peared in the left hand. (Fom notes of July 22, 1974) -1142- qThe Second vanish (ro forestall the inevitable let ters, I should say a few words here in font. when steve Freeman was in the east a few years ago, he per- formed a coin vanish which he said he had worked out. I was one of at least two people who told Steve that although he had undoubtedly worked out the move independently, it had been worked out many years ago, prob- ably before he was born, and has been used for decades by Martin Gard ner. This did not deter Steve from publishing the move, without a ref- erence note, in a 1974 issue of Genii. T agree with those who have praised the move as a a perfect ex- ample of pure sleight of hand, but I think credit should go to martin Gardner. (The move uses the retention/ persistence of vision idea usually credited to T. J. Crawford. KE) 1. A coin of any size is held between the right thumb and first & second fingers. You begin to place it inte the left hand, Fig. 1. 2. The coin contacts the base of the left thumb as shown in Pig. 1 (chis is the key to the action that follows) As the left hand closes a~ ound the coin, the heel of the left thumb pushes against the coin, thus causing it to pivot in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 2. 4. The coin pivots to a pos~ ition where its presence is cov- ered by the right fingers. This is shown in the “A and “B" dotails. Tt is important to remember that the hee) of the left thumb pivots‘the coin inte this position while the left hand closes around the coin. 5. When the left fingers have closed completely around the coin, the coin will have pivoted to a position where it is completely concealed by the right fingers. A view is given in Fig. 3, but this is an exposed view; it is what you would see if the move were done and ‘the left fingers were then o- pened. 6. The right hand moves away from the closed left hand, Pig. 4, taking the stolen coin with it.The back of the right hand is toward the audience. Note that the right hand does not move at any time during the se quence when the coin is being stolen. The right fingers remain stationary while the left hand closes around the coin. Properly performed, the move is perfect. Martin Gardner uses the move to vanish other small ob- jects. Tt is particularly effec~ tive when used, as Martin Gardner suggests, to vanish a match pac= ket. In his hands the vanish seems impossible THE CHRONICLES Be l] Single Issues.....$2.00 wricks, ideas, news, notes, and letters are welcome and should be sent to the address below. Non-subscribers can obtain a free catalog on request. address all mail to: Karl Fulves P.O. Box 433 ‘Teaneck, New Jersey 07666 Phone: 201-427-1284 -1143-TWO COIN VANISHES | ~~ Martin Gardner If there were any justice in the magic world, Magician Of The Year awards would go to non-stage magicians as often as to stage and platform workers. Martin Gardner is a long overdue recipicnt of any such award. Tt is unlikely that many read~ ers will have had the opportunity to see Martin Gardner work, but those who have know that he performs every- thing from sleight of hand to op- tically illusive stunts like the bouncing watermelon (no joke; it bounces eight feet into the air) with professional skill. ‘These two coin vanishes are ex- cellent and should be in your reper toire. As the audience sees it, a coin is simply tossed inte the left hand, from which is instantly vanishes. -1144- 1. Balance the coin on the right forefinger at the tip. Then toss or slap the coin into the left palm as shown in Fig. 1. emen op 2. The left fingers curl a~ round the coin, Fig. 2. As this is happening, the right forefinger be- gins to curl inward, taking the coin with it. 3. The beginning of the move is shown in Fig. 3. The entire sequence is shown in the drawing following Fig. 3. As the forefinger curls in- ward, the coin is pushed along. (Cont'd on pg. 1142)No. 9 CHRONICL copyright (©) 197% by Karl Fulves ah “Miracle Cire 5 2049, 99. AE MIDNITE COIN whe origin of this brilliant coin trick is in doubt but it has been associated with the late Gus Davenport. Considering the simplicity of the method, the remarkable effect is achieved with extreme efficiency. As seon by the audience, the magician displays a glass tumbler and places it in his left jacket pocket. A coin is bor- rowed an marked by a spectator. The coin is tossed into the air. It vanishes and is heard falling into the glass tumbler. The spectator hinself removes the glass from the magician's pocket, dumps the coin out of the glass and verifies that it is his marked coin. Method: Borrow a drinking glass or, if more convenient, use one of your own. The trick can probably be done with a shot glass, but it is more difficult and does not add appreciably to the ef- fect. If your pocket has a flap, tuck the flap in. Place the drinking glass in the left jacket pocket, mouth upwards. Ask for the loan of a coin. Before the spectator gives it to you, have him mark the coin so he can identify it later on. Take the coin with the left hand. Stand with your right side to the audience. Toss the coin into the right hand. Close the right hand into @ loose fist. The left hand now pulls up on the right jacket sleeve as shown in Fig. 1 on the next page. (This illustration shows a coin palmed in the left hand. Disregard this coin; it will be used in the second methed.) ‘The right hand now pretends to toss the marked coin into the left hand, but the coin is retained in right-hand finger palm position. Then the supposedly empty right hand pulls up on the left jacket sleeve, Fig. 2. What actually happens is that the coin is deposited on the sleeve at a point in back ~114s—of the left elbow. ‘the left arm press- es against the side of the body, hold- ing the coin in place. The important point here is that if the left arm moves away from the side, the coin will fall straight down into the glass. The coin is supposedly in the left hand at this point. After the left jac~ ket sleeve has been pulled up, pretend to toss the coin into the right hand. O €> (er ‘The right hand makes a tossing mo: tion as if to toss the coin into the air. Follow the invisible flight of the coin upwards with the eyes. Then pre~ tend to follow the coin as it falls down and into the left jacket pocket. As this happens, release pressure of the left arm against the side. The result is that the coin falls straight down into the glass in the left pocket, Fig. 3. For the finish, have the spectator yemove the glass from your pocket. He takes the coin cut of the glass and ver ifies that the marked coin is his. This is about as simple as a coin trick can get. You use one marked bor vowed coin, one glass, and the ability eo act. There are no real sleights and no gimmicks. Finally, since only one coin is used, there is nothing to get rid of. But if you want the marked coin to apparently remain in sight right up un- til the very end, the following hand~ ling is described. 1. Begin with a quarter in finger pain position in the left hand. Ask a Spectator to mark a quarter for later identification, He then tosses the coin to you. Catch it with your right hand. 2. The left hand, holding the palr~ ed duplicate coin, pulls up the right jacket sleeve as shown in Pig. 1. 3. After this has been done, pre~ tend to toss the marked coin from the right hand to the left hand. In fact the marked coin is retained in finger- palm position in the right hand. 4. The right hand pulls up the left jacket sleeve as shown in Fig. 2, leaving the marked coin behind as ex~ plained in the first method. 5. Now toss the duplicate coin from hand to hand. Cause it to vanish by any method that you do well. 6. Finish as per the first method, with the marked coin landing in the glass. -1146-Harvey Telmar FLYING EAGLES (About four years ago Milton Tropp described an ingenious method of ending a “Flying Eagles" routine where three coins from one hand invisibly join three coins in the other hand. The meth: od was the brainchild of Harvey Telmar. Me. Telmar kindly made the idea avail- able for publication here. It deserves your undivided attention. KF) Bveryene who enjoys coin magic should be familiar with the fine effect known as the Flying Eagles. For those not familiar with the basic routine, 1 refer you to pg. 152 of Modern Coin Magic, The effect is briefly as follows: Three coins leave the right hand to join three coins in the left hand one by one in a very fair manner. My routine is almost the same but with the addition of the following sub- tleties, and with a different ending. By using an already known princip~ le you can accomplish a startling dis- appearance of the last coin, making the transposition of the eixth coin in- to the spectator's hand a miracle. this not only heightens the suspense, it pro- vides for an added climax. Let's start at the part of the rou tine where there are five half-dollars in a row on the performer's left and one half-dollar about ten inches to the right of the row of 5 coins. One half dollar is classic palmed in the right hand. Pick up the five halves one at a time with the right hand and drop them into the left hand, counting them as you do this. When you get to the Sth coin, add the paimed coin and give them to the spectator, requesting that he hold the coins tightly. Now pick up the remain- ing coin on the table and toss it from hand to hand a couple of times. With the coin in the right hand, I say the following; "If I place this coin into my pocket like this..." Put the coin into your right jacket pocket. This is when the subtle and sneaky hap- pens. I now make a switch for another half on an elastic coin pull. With the right elbow bent and the hand in the pocket, it is quite easy to get the half from the sleeve and into the hand. Continue talking, saying, "This is what is called a visible disappearance. However, it's not magic. But if I were to make this coin..." Now xemove your hand from your pocket with the gafé. ++-vanish right before your very eyes, that, I think you'll agree, would be real magic. And that is exactly what you will witness, right now. Watch! Place the coin a little above the knee as you say, "I'll place the coin in a fold of my trousers...you can see the coin, correct?" Have the spectator give you an affirmative reply. Cover the coin with material. "I'LL let you see it once more." Al~ ow the coin to be seen again. Cover it up for the last time and let it shoot up the sleeve as you say, "Watch!" Dramatically soparate the fold in the material and show that the coin has completely vanished. some spectators are go startled by the disappearance of the coin that they forget they are holding voins in their hand. Ask them, "Where do you think the coin has gone?" Whatever the answer, tell them to "open your hand and have ~1147- aia look. Additional thoughts: I sometimes have an extra halfedollar in my right jacket pocket so that after I let the spectator see the coin and fold over the material, I ask, "Can you feel. the coin?” I have them give an affirm ative reply to this also. After you Jet the coin shoot up the sleeve, say, "You can still feel it, is that cor rect?” They must answer yos! This gets the sense of touch involved also and makes the vanish even stronger. ry it either way. Just watch ‘the expression on the spectator's face.’ You'll make a believer out of Phil Goldstein A DOLLAR Tucked away in Fred Braue's col umn in Hugard's Magic Monthly (April, 1949) there is a lovely close-up spir- it writing effect entitled “spirit cartography." A small piece of paper is placed between two half-dollars. When the coins are separated, writing has appeared on the paper. Braue's method utilized a gim- micked coin. the following approach uses two unginmicked 50¢ pieces. You will need, in addition to the two coins, two identical squares of paper, small enough to be covered by a half-dollar. On one, write your spirit message, on both sides of the paper if you wish. At the start of the routine, the props are laid out on your left hand as in the illustration. The printed paper is hidden beneath coin B. Hand the blank square of paper to the epec~ tator for examination. As he/she does this, wet your right forefinger with saliva, and apply the saliva to coin A. A bit of experimentation will tell you the proper amount of saliva to use. ‘The blank paper is placed onto coin A. With your right hand, pick up coin B, thumb below, forefinger on top. The printed paper is picked up be- low coin B. The coin (and the secret paper) are placed on top of the first coin and paper, forming a sandwich. Close your left hand, which will turn the coins over. Make your incan- tation. Open your hand and jostle to cause the upper coin to slide forward. The blank paper adheres to the upper coin, due to the saliva. This paper is hidden below the coin. The printed paper is thus brought into ‘The blank can easily be ditched a moment later...and then all materials are clean. -1148~ eerLETTERS from Jerry Fulton: Did a show for the local chapter of the Professional En- Gineers of Ontario during their first Of the season wine and cheese party. Combined Hunter's Puzzle Know with your Robot Ring (pg. 111s) to do an Ig test with an engineer and his wife! Re the handling of Robot Ring, for the Must Lose Option, hold the ends in the left hand and centre of rope in the right; this handling allows an identi- cal handling of the ring as in the Win~ Lose Option. Also, the double turn in the Nust-Win Option can be covered by patter; "Don't forget now, you may choose either this side of the ring or THIS side of the ring." => THE CHRONICLES B a a Single Issues.....$2.00 ‘ricks, ideas, news, notes, and letters are welcome and should be sont to the address below. Non-subscribers can obtain a free catalog on request. Address all mail to: Karl Fulves P.O, Box 433 Teaneck, New Jersey 07666 Phone: 201-427-1284 The IQ test was a three-stage affair: Ast, Puzzle Knot, 2nd, Robot Ring, 34d, something basid on the move used in Bruce Posgate's Bangle n* Beads; hold both ends of the rope in the left hand and thread the ring up over the dang- ling centre.,.you win if the ring falls free and lose if it doesn't...the par- ticipants must catch the ring before it falls free and hits the floor. of course the wife catches it mt the hus~ band cannot because it hitches onto the rope...The ring supplied by Bruce is good for your effect. (4x. Fulton has sent along some fine material that will appear here in the near future. KF) Charles D. Rose writes: Regarding The Chronicles- keep it up! It is just what I have needed to get my spirits back up, clear my jaundiced view and get me mo- tivated again after 20- 25 years. Item #1: Krengel-Dingle "Slow Motion ITT" ~ working overtime to get it smoothed out. Item #2: Your "Rebound" -Haved the flags and rang the bells in its utter simplicity and effect. ‘Tkem #3: Slaight "Five Card Men- tal" ~ long sought solution to a nag- ging problem. Iten #4: Skinner's "Coin Entrap= ped" - don't know which came first, but the same basic idea appears on pg. 21 of "The Best Of Benzais," published by Haines. No print or copyright date. Item #5: Tropp's "Odd Coit dusted off the cobwebs in my brain and on pg. 19 of “Our Mysteries" (1941) was Al ("Stand up, boy") Flosso's coin trick entitled "seven Coins" using the same basic move and the same effect. A Reader Writes: Bravo! I enjoyed both of your “Notes” columns in Chronicles 7 @ 8. Please, let's have more of those topics. You couldn't have found a more descriptive phrase than "casual arro- gance." I hope the hangers-on at the Magic Castle read both columns, not once, but over and over AND OVER! -1149-ecuve: THE RED Rete — pREDICTION Some tricks at~ tract relatively Little atti when they : pear in print,but as time goes on, acquire a respect~ able audience. one example is the pre~ diction known as "The Red Predic~ tion.” The effect is this: A row of cards is dealt out on the table. & spectator rolls a die (real or imaginary) and uses the number he rolled to arrive at a card. Tt is seen that this card matches a prediction the per- former wrote prior to the effect. The trick gets its name from the nature of the prediction. The prediction reads, "You will select the red card," and it is correct. In a sense the prediction repre- sents a series of outs because the word “xed” can be interpreted to mean that the spectator chose the only red-faced card or the only red-backed card. but unlike other tricks dependent on outs, The Red Prediction is strong and unam— biguous. When this trick was discussed with Martin Gardner, the origin of it was in doubt. Tt is still not clear who may have originated The Red Prediction. The earliest reference I could find was a routine in the Pentagram, so we'll be~ gin there. Ply Tf readers can provide an earlier al reference than the one cited here, please drop me a line. One Red Cara Ia the December 1951 Pentagram, Arthur Carter des- cribed "a somewhat different card pre- diction." Ten cards were displayed in a wooden stand. ‘The cards were pla- ced alternately face-up and face~ down. A written pre~ diction was given to a spectator to hold. Then some other spectator called out a number between 1 and 10. If 7, for example, the performer counted to the 7th card in the stand. the other cazde in the stand were then turned so that the back of each was to the audionce (in other words, the face-out cards were turned around in place so they were back-out). ‘he prediction was read: "You will choose the only red card." When the spectator's selection was turned aromd it was seen to have a red back whereas the other cards in the stand had blue backs. ‘The method contained a number of subtle points that are well worth your attention. From left to right the cards were arranged A-4-7-10-3-9-8-2-5-6. Begin- ning with the Ace, every other card was face-up. The 8 was red-backed and the 9 was the 9D. All other cards ex- -1150~cept the 9p were black. ‘The spectator was asked for a num- ber between 1 and 10. If the spectator called out 6 or 7, count from left to right. You will arrive at either the 9D or the red-backed 8. If 4 or 5 were called out, the counting is done from right to left. I£ 8 was called out, remark that you will therefore use the 8-spot. If 9 is called ont, say you will there~ fore use the 9-spot. The reader can see that by means of this process, the spectator must ar- rive at either the 8 or the 9. If the 9p is the card arrived at, turn all of the cards face-up, showing that the 9D is the only red card. If the spectator arrives at the 8, turn all cards face- down, showing that the 8 is the only red-backed card. If 2 was called out, Carter says “I gimply remark, ‘Iwo from ten leaves eight.'" If 3 is called out, Carter says, "...count from the right, renov- ing the first three cards and using ‘the fourth. ‘The Red Card Prediction In 1959, when the 10th instalinent of the "13 Steps" was published, Tony Corinda introduced his version of "the Red Prediction" with these words: "rt would be nice to give credit in the right place for this particular effect, especially as the method is worthy of some praise. Unfortunarely there appears to be a considerable amount of uncertainty as to who really has rightful claim to the origination. A similar set-up to this was once described in Abra, the effect being titled 'Poor Man's Supersonic,’ and those who have suggested improvements and variations include Arnold Lieberts and Dr. dake. However here is a method which works and whosoever may be respon~ sible for the origination, let us hand him our respect for a good trick." Covinda's set-up is the same as carter's, but spelling outs are intzo~ duced. Thus, if the spectator calls out 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, or 10, you spell out the chosen nunber, arriving at the red 9 ox the red-backed 8. ai_Vernon' According to information provided by deff Busby, Vernon's method was ad vertised in the early 60's. This is ec~ sentially the same as the Arthur Carter method excopt that only 6 cards are used. From left to right the row of six cards is, a face-down 2, a face-up red~ backed Ace, a facedown red Six, a face up 3, a face-down 4, and a face-up S. All cards except the Ace are blue back- ed. whe prediction reads, "Your selec- tion will be red." The spectator is giv~ en an ordinary die. He rolls it. Depend ing on what nurber comes up, you con- elude the trick so that the spectator's selection is either the red six or the xed-backed Ace. Z£ One is rolled, you remark that the spectator chose the one, or in othe ex words, the Ace. 1£ Two, count from left to right, arriving at the Ace. If three, count from left to right to the Six. For the numbers 4 or 5, count from the opposite end of the row. And for 6, remark that th etator rolled a 6 go you will use the 6-spot. I£ the chosen card is the Ace, turn all cards face-down. Then turn the ace face-down to show it has a red back. 21S 'Xf the force leads the spectator to choose the Six, turn all cards face up to show that the 6 is the only red card. If you carry a stranger card with you, the trick can be done with bor~ rowed cards. For stage work, jumbo cards can be used. This version of the trick was in- dependently devised by Tom Ranson and Martin Gardner. In the Gardner hand- ling the red-backed card is the 6 and the red face card is the Ace, But otherwise the outs are the same as in the Carter/Vernon methods. The follow ing techniques gre new,however, and permit a clean method of getting to the situation where the cards have been dealt out in a row on the table. Martin Gardnor's Ideas (a) The trick is stronger if you start by showing all six cards, front and back,to be Spades with values from 1 to 6. ‘Then the appearance of the one xed card would be even more surprising. on the face of the deck, reading from the face in, are 7 cards; AS (xed back), 6H (blue back), 3, 4, 5, & 6 of Spades, all blue~back. ‘The deck is in the left hand, face-up, with the Ace showing at the face. With the right hand, fingers at one end, thumb at the other, pick up the two face cards as one. Slide them about an inch to the right, revealing the 28 beneath. Slide the 28 to the right about an inch, showing the 35 below it.Then pick up these cards (Ace plus Six, Two and Three) still in a fanned condition with the right hand from above. ‘Turn the right hané palm-up to show that these three cards all have blue backs. Then square up the packet with the aid of the left thunb and fingers, and drop the packet to the table, still face-up. Display the next three cards,the 4, 5, and 6 of Spades, in the sane manner. Push then flush and érop them ‘on the table next to the firet pac- ket. Both packets are face-up. Pick up the 1, 2, 3, pile (actu- ally four cards) drop it on the other, turn them face-down, and give them a quick overhand shuffle. The shuffle consists of running 5 single cards and tossing the last two~as-one on top. Drop the 7 cards on top of the deck, face~down. From top down you now have the red Six, followed by the A,2, 3,4,5,6 of Spades. You are to deal the six cards in a row,altemating face-up and face~ down caras. The first card is dealt face-up, but deal a strike second. Raising the hands to get the strike automatically conceals the back of the Ace, which is dealt face-up as the first card of the row. The remaining five cards are dealt nomally. Deal. the second card face-down, the next card face-up, and so on so that every other card is face-up. To randomize the order a bit more, switch carés around, ultimately getting the face-up Ace second trom the left and the face-down 6 third from the left. (B) Display the Ace thru 6 of Spades front and back. On top of the deck is the red Ace and uhder it the black 6 with red back. Both of these two cards are face-down and you have a little finger break under these two cards. -1152-= ‘The Ace thru 6 are fanned face~ up on top of the deck. The two top cards of this fan must be the Ace and Six. Close the fan, picking up the two extra cards. Hold the packet of 8 cards in the right hand. ‘Thumb count to the top of the Geck, turning each cara face~down as it iS counted. The last card (with two cards under it) is dropped face— up on the deck. Then this face-up card is turned face-down. the action is similar to the familiar add-on move. Ag you count 1,2,3,4,5,6, it's a good idea to end by saying, "And the sixth card is the...," naming whatever if is. You don't want them to rememb- er the order of the first 5 cards, but the last card is okay. The fixet card is dealt normally to a Eace-down position at the left end of the row. Deal a strike second on the next card, dealing it face-up. The next four cards are dealt normal- ly, the deck is placed aside and you are all set. (©) As a presentation idea, hide @ pop-up die under the close-up mat with the 4-spot uppermost. Then deal out the six cards as described above. Pell the spectator to roll an in- visible die. Have him tell you what number he rolled. If he says 4, lift the mat. If he doesn't say 4, go on with the trick and don't lift the mat. Note By Karl Fulves Waen I was first doing The Red Prediction, I used a non-sleight get ready that may be of interest. After some previous trick with the blue-backed deck, cut the AD to the top. Drop the deck in the pocket and load the red-backed 68 onto the bottom or face. The excuse for the hands going into the jacket pockets is that you are looking for an invisi- ple die. toss the die (visible or invis- ible) onto the table. Then, with the faces of the cards toward you, go thru the deck, upjogging a black Ace, 2.3.4 and § in any order. Remove these cards from the deck and place them at the face for a mo- ment. In the process you've gotten a break below the stranger 63. The pac~ ket plus the GS is then lifted off the deck by the right hand. The left hand levers the pack o- ver to a facedown condition. Get a left 4th finger break under the top card of the deck. Remark that the trick requires a ritual you're not sure of. "It's im- portant that some cards be face up and some face-down..." Let your voice trail off. As you talk, though, place the face-up packet on top of the face down deck. Remove the 3,turn it face-down and openly insert it in the face-up pac- ket. Mutter something about the odd value cards being particularly impor- tant. Turn the 5 spot face-down and in~ sert it into the face-up packet. Then turh the Ace face-down and insert it into the break under the AD. Deal the caxds into a row on the table. Continue te act uncertain. But Finally get the facedown AD second from the left, and the face-up 65 face- up and third from the left. Finish as above. Since the spectator can arrive at one of two cards, you cap tie the pre~ diction to a Himber wallet. when he has chosen a card by the roll of a die, and -1183-it is, say, the 6-spot, open the wallet ané show a matching six. He may suspect that you have six different wallets, but for the blow-off, reveal that the 6-spot he chose from the tabled row has a red back. Tf he arrives at the Ace, don't show it. Pirst open the wallet and show the AD. It seems as if you are wrong because all of the tabled cards have been shown to be black. Touch the pre~ diction card to the tabled selection, turn over the selected card and show that it changed to the AD. In all of the variations described in this article it is assumed that when performing the trick you are seated op~ posite the spectator. This means that when counting from left to right, you do the counting. When you have to count from right to left, let the spec~ tator count, beginning at his left. ‘The necessary cards may be carried T learned this trick in Japan in 1962 and it is dynamite. a small oriental tea cup (no handle) or lots of cafe coffee Cups wiil Work, vhey must have an indentation in the bot- tom. 1 wet the palm of ny left hand. The cup is twist ed by the right hand counter clock- wise into the left. The left hand is flat tened and as a result this forms a vac~ uum which| will hola Bill Coomer in the wallet so that the trick is al- ways ready to perform. The effect is of the type that gains if repeated in a slightly different way. For example, if you are asked to do the trick again, set it up as a transposition between a card in an all-black packet and a card in an ali-red packet. Also, since the spectator's card can only be one of two cards, you can cover for either outcome with a double face card sealed in an envelope. The outside of the envelope is addressed to The Red Prediction, care of your ad- azess. This makes no sense until the spectator is made aware that he chose the only red card. The envelope is then opened and a matching card removed. ‘The final, ultimate, beyond com- prehension, beggers description, and so furth,approach is to have any one of the six cards end up INSIDE a pop-up die. If this also seems beyond practi- cality, see Tarbell-4, pg. 113 for a clue regarding the method. the cup suspended when the left hand is turned palm-down. My patter theme is the aypno~ ‘ism of an inanimate object. (atter the cup is sus pended from the left hana you can turn the left hand palm up again. Drop a penny into the cup and then you tuen the hand palm down. The cup is sus pended trom the hand and the penny is suspended in~ side the cup. Use a moist ened coin. KF)In IHRONICLES No. 16 copyright ©) 1574 sy Karl Pulvos The trick known as the Ten-Card Deal appeared in Buckley's Cara Control pg. 103, under the ti- tle, "Poker." It dia not appear to capture the attention of mag- icians until the same trick surfaced three years later in Phoenix Hes. In Phoenix #170 Bert Allerton offered a handling that used the Biddle-type count. The ten cards (3 Kings, 3 Queens, 3 10's and a 9) Were at the face of the deck. The 9-spct was sec~ ond from the face. With the deck held face-up fron above, take the face card into the Lil, then the 9-spot, securing a break under it with the left Little finger. As you take the next card into the LH, the 9-spot is loaded onto the back of the deck. Continue taking cards into the LH until the left hand holds 9 cards. Hand these to the specta~ tor for shuffling. He drops the 9 cards back onto the top of the face-down deck and deals out two poker hands. Since ha must get the 9-spot (the so-called Jonah card) he loses the hand. -1155- FIVE | After Allan Slaight's "build Down" appearod in The Pallbearers Review, on Pg. 395, Leslie Hey suggested that readers Look up the Dobson rou tine in the book ‘tokyo Trickery. ' ‘The Dobson routine al: so uses the idea of giv- ing the spectator nine cards to shuffle. The spectator mixes the cards, drops them on top of the deck, deals two poker hands and “ loses. It is interesting te note that essentially the same handling idea of giving the spec- stator 9 cards to shuffle is described in the Buckley book. The reader will also want to check Inner Secrets, pg. 69 for another ar- ticle on this theme. Anyone who has used the 10-Card Deal knows that the trick can't be repeated too often for the same spectator be~ cause sooner or later he'll realiz that he always gets the Jonah card. An approach that used no apparent Jonahcard was suggested in “Pen Card Re~ Deal," Pallbearers Review pg. 1059. Two ideas were described. Ia the first you used a Royal Flush in Clubs and a Royal Flush in Spades as the ten cards, In the second method, you used 3 Aces, 3 Kings, 2 Jacks and 2 Queens. There was a twist in that the Jonah card had to. be dealt to you rather than to the spec~ tator. Because of the absense of a single card that stands out from the rest, the 10 Card Re~Deal gives you the opportun- ity to repeat the trick using different methods. What follows is yet another approach to the problem. All ten cards are dealt facedown in a layout on the table. the spectator gets his choice of 5 of these cards. Tt seems he has a completely fair choice, yet he al- ways gets the losing hand. Ken Beale's "Take Five’ As before, use thrée Kings, three Queens, three 10's and a 9-spot. ‘The 9 is pencil-dotted on the back prior to the performance. 1. Hand the ten cards to the spec tator for shuffling. When he's satis~ fied that the cards are well mixed, take then back. a face- the five layout the Beale pre~ 2. Deal the cards into down layout. Use any one of layouts shown here. Ta each 9-spot is the x'd card. Ken ~11s6- fers layout "C" but you can use which- ever layout you prefer. 3. Tell the spectator that he is to choose any five adjacent or touch~ ing cards. 4. That's all there is to it. Az ter he has chosen five adjacent cards, you get the remaining five cards. It appears that you have no control over the outcome, yet you always win. Of \ s wo Ld d — \ DL LS] 5, If the spectator asks for a re. peat, it is wise to switch to a dif- ferent layout. You can tell him that the game is called "Layout Poker" and is used in casinos where big-money games are played. Note: If you decide to use layout "A" it should be made clear to the spectator that adjacent or touching cards in this case are those that touch at the corners. In all of the other layouts it is clear that adjac- ent cards touch along a vertical edge or a horizontal edge.If you encounter a smart spectator, proceed as follows. Have him shuffle the cards. Take them back and deal out the cards according to layout "B". But don't put the Jonah card (the 9-spot) in its proper posi- tion. Instead, place it at the right end of the row. Say, "I go first and pick up any five touching cards, You take the 5 cards left over.” Immediately pick up five adjacent cards including the cen- ter card, but not including the Jonah © [s] »Y \ = N aE Ne Turn over your hand. Turn over the spectator's hand. Indicate that you beat hin. Throughout all of this the wise guy has been protesting. He will ask, "why do you go first?" Say to him that because he insists on it, you will let him go First. Put the cards into a face-down packet and have him shuffle. Deal them out in the pattern of layout " but this time put the Jonah card in the center, where it belongs. ‘The wiseguy goes first and loses. Note that you are using a subtle idea here to make it seem that you are playing by the spectator's rules. Get the spectator to challenge you, pre+ tend to be backed into a corner, then play the game according to his cules. & a x @ Ww We ZY Vb This presentation is good for magic~ ians also. A Ten-Cara Problem Ken Beale describes the follow- ing effect as an unsolved problem. Start with ten cards. But arzange them in pairs. Rach pair consists of two back-to-back cards paper-clipped to- gether. (You can also use five double faced cards as suggested by Ken Beale). ‘The spectator mixes the Live pairs of cards. He chooses five surfaces. You get the other five and you win. Clearly this can work if one of the spectator's five choices is the Jonah card. But by working from a new premise one should be able to generate @ new handling that produces the desired result. note By Karl Fulves This is yet another means of éis~ tributing the 1o cards between two players. It looks very fair, yet you al- ways win. Ask the spectator to shuffle the 10 cards and distribute them face-down on the table. when he has done this, ask him to pick up any two cards. From these two cards, you choose one and he keeps the other. -1157-Now it is your turn. You pick up two face-down cards. The spectator takes one of these two cards for his hand and you keep the other for your hand. The process continues: The specta~ tor picks up any two cards. Of these two, you choose one for your hand and he keeps the other, On the fourth round it is your tur to pick up two cards. The specta~ tor chooses one for his hand. You keep the other for your hand. On the final round the spectator picks up the remaining two cards. You Pick one for your hand. He keeps the other for his hand. Of course you win. ALl you need to know is this rule; when you pick up two cards and give the spectator a choice ‘of either card, don't pick up the pen cil dottea Jonal) card. when the specta~ tor picks up two car@s and offers you the choice, don't take the pencil-dot~ ted Jonah car By following the above rule, the spectator will sooner or later gat the Jonah card. Tt might happen on the ist round or the 5th round, but he will get the 9-spot. This approach to the lo-card Deal was suggested by a force in a Roy Baker book. rt can ke expand- ed upon to produce a variety of useful forces. Notes Every month letters and telephone calls are received from magicians who ask for information on earning money from magic, cither as a full-time pro x on a semi-pro basis. There is one and only one golden rule that need be cited: Develop a stand-up act. Few bookers will bother with an act that must be performed at the table for six people. The larger the audience the better the pay. There is a relatively Little known rule that you should also know about: It does not matter what you do, and it does not matter how you do it. gust do it. Implied in this statement is the fact that you do not have to know seven dozen moves and eight dozen cunning routines. Personality is not even the deciding factor. If you can be relied upon to show up at the right place at the right time with a stand-up act that looks profes- sional, you will get steady bookings. If you have a personality that projects well across the footlights, ané if the general audience relates well to that Personality, you will achieve that much Hore success, of course, but personality is not the prime factor. Dependability is the major factor. Ef your goal is to earn money from magic, you will save yourself many head aches and much disappointment if you adhere to the akove guidelines. There is tore to the subject, and books have been written to explain it all, but the above rules are the overriding con- siderations. Few magicians lust after the life of a full-time pro, but for those who do, the above rules represent a short, course in survival. It's not an easy Life, but without question it heats the 9 to 5 grind. Good luck! -2158-This is a simplified handling for the trick where a card sandwiched be- tween two red Aces changes places with a card on the table. Only four cards are used and the handling is easy. 1. Remove the two red Aces from the pack. Also renove two other cards. They should be of contrasting appearance. In this example I'll use the 4H and the KS. 2. From the top of the packet down, stack the four cards AD-aAH-4H-KS. The rest of the deck is placed aside as it is not used. 3. Hold the face-doun packet in LH dealing position. Take the top two cards with the RH, turn them face-up, and spread them to show the two red Aces. 4. Flip them face-down and square with the balance of the packet. 5. With the RA (fingers at the front of the packet, thumb in back) pretend to lift off the two Aces. Actually you lift just the top card, the AD, and place it face-down on the table in front of you, 6. Double lift and turnover, showing the 4H. Note that if the spectator kept track of the cards when you stacked them in Step 2, he would expect to see the 4H at this point. Thus the handling is log- ical and consistent. 7. Turn the double card face~down. ‘he RH then takes the top single card off the deck. Call this card the 4H as you place it to the right on the table. 8. There are two cards in the LH now. Turn the double card face-up, showing the KS. 9. Drop the double card face-down on top of the Ace packet. Scoop up the Ace packet with the RH and place it into the LH. 10. Say, "We'll put the King right here.” Deal off the top card and place it on the table to the left. 11. You have two cards remaining in the Li. The audience thinks they are the Aces. Take the top card with the AH and slide it under the card on the right. 12, beop the remaining card on top of the card on the right. Thus you have supposedly sandwiched the 4H. 13. Pick up the three-card packet and grip it in Glide position with the RM. 14. The right little finger glides back the bottom card. The Li then takes the top card (really a double) off the packet, flashes the face to show an Ace, and places the double card under the packet. Say, "An Ace...." 15. Remove the top single card and put it under the packet without showing its face. Say, "...the Four." ~1s9~16. Take the new top card off with the LH, show the face and say, ",..the other Ace." Place this Ace on the bot tom of the packet. 17. Place the packet in Li dealing Position. Take the top card, turn it face-up and take it into che RH. Take the next card face-down on top of the Ace so this card is fanned to the left. Call this card the 45. 18. The LH turns the last Ace face~ up and puts’ it onto the face-down cara jin the BH in a fanned condition. 19. Turn the fan over and reveal that the 4H has changed into the King. ‘The spectator will usually grab for the supposed King. when he turns this card over, he discovers it is the 4H. Color Added If the 4 is 4 stranger card, that is, one with a different color back from the other cards, the transposi- tion is stronger. The effect is modi. fied also because now it is the faces that change places. 1. In your pocket is a red-backed KS from a contrasting deck. We will as- sume here that a bérrowed blue-backed Geck is used. the pocketed KS has a zed hack. 2. At some convenient moment cut the blue-backed 4H to the top of the borrowed deck. Then drop the deck into your pocket and thumh off the 4H. Re~ move the deck an@ place it on the tab- le. Your excuse for pocketing the deck should obviously appear logical. The easiest way is to do some trick where it is necessary to pocket the deck. 3. When ready to perform this rou- tine, have the spectator spread the deck. Ask him to remove the red Aces and the Ks. 4, While he does this, reach into your pocket, get the 4H onto the face of the stranger KS, and bring out the double cara. 5. When the spectator has taken the red Aces plus the KS out of the deck, show him the 44 front and back, saying, "Red on the face, red on the back." 6. Place the double card face- down in LH dealing position. Then put, the KS on top of this, and the two red Aces on top of all. You now have five facedown cards in the LH. The top card is the AD and the bottom card is the 4H. 7. Push over the top two cards. The right hand takes them and turns them face-up to show the xed Aces. At the same time get a left little finger break under the top card of the packet, the xs. 8. Flip the red Aces face-down on top of the packet. Square the packet. ‘Then pretend to take the top two cards off, Im fact you take one ace only and place it facedown in front of yous 9. Double 1ift the two cards above the break. Turn the double card over, show the KS, then turn the double card face-down on top of the packet. Make sure you get a break under these two cards as they fall face-down. 10. The RH then Lifts off the dou- ble card. Flash the face of the KS as you place the double card facedown on the table to your right. LL.The alleged stranger cara is in the Li. It consists of a double card. Turn the double card over to show the 4H. Again say, "Red on the face, and red on the back 12. Drop the double card on top of the Ace packet. The RM then places this ~l60-oo packet into LH dealing position. 13, Deal off the top cara. This is the stranger card. Place it on the table to the left. 15. The RH then picks up the double card at the right. For a clean pick-up, it helps to have this double card over~ lep the table when you placed it down in step lo. i 16. The double cara is dropped on top of the Ace packet in the left hand. 27, Take the top card of the pac- ket. Call it the King and say, "I'}1 place it between the Aces.” 18. The left thumb pushes the top card of the packet over to the right. ‘The supposed King is then openly plac— ed under this card. From the front it looks as if the King is inserted be- tween the red Aces. 19. Say, "I was going to cause the two cards to change places, but it might be interesting to try to cause Just the faces of the two carde co ex- change. 10. Double lift and turn the top card of the packet face-up, showing a red Ace. Take the double card, still face-up, into the Ri. Ll. Place the next face-down card onto the face of the double card in the RH. 12. ‘Then the LH snaps the remain- Jing Ace face-up and places it onto the facedown card. The cards should be in a fanned condition, 13. Have the spectator remove the center face-down card of the packet. He turns it face-up and discovers that it is the aH. 14. Then the face-down stranger card is turned face-up and it proves to be the KS. (Note: Tk would take too much space to @esoribe here, but the reader may want to devise a handling using a gaffed card. The gaff is described in the Judah Folio,pg. 851, under the title, “Jack's Gone.” the effect would follow this format; the Jack is Placed between the red Aces. It turns facedown mysteriously, then changes Sto the 2c. The deuce, previously shown and placed aside, is turned over to show that it is now the Jack. The gaffed card does most of the work for you and allows a strong, surprisingly easy handling. KE) PSI-X After performing a series of rou- tines with the deck, the magician hands the deck to a spectator. The mag- ician turns his back. ‘The spectator cuts off a portion of the deck, shuffles it and places it on the table. He then looks at the top card of the balance of the deck and pla- ces this card on top of the shuffled portion. Finally, the spectator shuf- fles the balance of the deck and drops this portion on top of the chosen card. The deck is squared and handed to the magician. ‘The magician looks thru the deck and immediately finds the selected cami. No gimmicks, free choice, no questions asked. Method: The simple answer to the trick Is that a stacked deck is used. Since the stack is destroyed when the specta~ tor shuffles the cards, it is wise to use this trick at the finish of a series of stacked-deck effects. When you get the shuffled deck from the spectator, turn it face-up & starting at the face, go thru the deck a card at a time as you mentally reel Off the Stebbins stack. You will even- tually reach a card that matehes the card in your mental check-off. For ex- ample, you reach the 55 mentally ana the 5S is the card you've reached in the deck. This is the selection. lie.FLASHBACKS: Cont'd from pg. 1164) ket. 8. This card is taken on the comt of Four. The LH moves to the left and turns palm down to show all backs. 9. The LH turns palm-up and re- turns to a position about 3" below the stationary Ri. 10. The RH drops its card onto the packet. The Lf moves to the left and a- gain turns palm down to show all backs. ‘The procedure used in this version of the "Backs" count is different from what you're probably used to doing. It will require a few minutes of practice to get the handling down smoothly. A note on the LH grip: the cards are held in a basic mechanic's grip.as the L4 turns palm-down, the left thumb moves to the outer left corner and the forefinger moves to the outer right corner. This allows for maximum expos ure of the card's surface nearest the palm. ‘The verbal counting: As mentioned above, the timing and cadence must be synchronized with your movement. For the Discount, the verbal count is made APTER each card is taken into the LH. Here is the count in detail: ‘The RH turns palm up and down to show all backs. ‘The LH takes the first card; the RH turns palm up showing a back. Count "one." ‘The FH turns palm down. ‘The LH takes the second card. The RH turns palm up to show a back. Count. aaa ‘The RH turns palm down. ‘The packets are exchanged ala the Hamman Count. The Lil moves to the left and turns palm down. Count "Three. ‘The RH remains stationary in a palm-down condition. ‘The IH takes the third card, moves left and turns palm down. Count "Four." The RH remains stationary palu- down. ‘The Lil comes under the Ril about 3" below it. The RH drops its card.The TH moves to the left and turns palm- down. Count "Five." 11. the cards are thumbed over to the RH one at a tine. The left thumb pushes over the first card to the right 12. The RH takes the card between the thumb & first and second finger tips. 13, After the card is taken, the Li turns palm-down. The thumb moves to the outer corner and the forefinger is extended and taps the outer left cor ner of the card in the RS. This will be done with each card. 14. The EH turns palm-up, the 2nd card is thumbed over and taken by the RH on top of the first one in a slight ly fanned condition. Repeat the turn= down and tapping action as with the first card. 15. Handle the third card the same way. 16. You now have two cards face- to-face in the LH. The left middle fin- ger at the outer right corner presses inward and buckles the bottom card slightly as the RH moves its three fan~ ned cards into tne break until the in- ner right corner of the card slides un- der the right thunb. 17. As soon as the right thumb grips the card, the LH turns palm-down, a sort of rolling inward mation. Done properly, no flash of the face of the ‘Ten will occur. 18. Tap the corner of the 4th card with the left forefinger. The LH re- mains palm down. 19. Curl the left Ist finger back and pinch the face-down Ace between the first finger and middle finger. 20. By extending the fingers of the LH and turning the Li palm-up at the same time, the card snaps off the left thumb and creates the illusion that a back is seen on both sides. add it to the fan of cards and tap the outer left corner. 21. Place the fan of cards into the LN and square then up. Move the packet onto the fingers, close the LH into a fist as you turn it palm down and push -1162~the packet through the fist so that it emerges face down (Vernon's thru-the- fist move). 22. The RH reaches over the LH, takes the emerging cards, and immediate ly fans them and turns them face-up to show a Royal Flush. (The second method will be detailed in the next issue) COUNTS False counts can be enlarged upon by deliberately varying the technique of the count. Thus you will have that many more variations at hand to devel- op new tricks. A few ideas are given here for those interested in this cur- rently popular subject Countless In doing small-packet tricks the magician Zinds it awkward to remove the necessary packet from the wallet or pocket. Why carry cards in a wallet if they are ordinary cards? If the cards were ordinary, you would simply take ‘them from the deck. ‘This count allows you to seemingly count several cards off the top of the @eck ina fair manner while hiding some of the cards from the spectator's view. 1. To take only the basic case, say the card 4th from the top of the deck is secretly face-up. You want to count 4 cards off the top but you also want to conceal the reversed card. 2. With the deck in Ill dealing pos- ition, get @ break under the 4th card from the top. 3. Push the top four cards to the right as a block, Fig. 1. 4. The right thumb takes the top card off into the RH, as in Fig. 5. Take the next card the same way but drag or slide it further to the Fight so it can be clipped between the right thumb and base of the ist finger. 6. As you take the third card, al- Wow the first card to feed under the side~jogged packet where it is taken by the left fingers. At the same time the vight thunb takes the 3r@ and 4th cards as one, Fig. 3. 7. Finish by taking the remaining card onto the RH packet. You can see that this is a Jordan count done from the deck into the RH. If you have troub- le with the handling, change the RH grip to that you are accustomed to using for ‘the Jordan Count. Loading/unloading can be done from the top or bottom of the deck.there is also a one-hand 4-as-4 count and an approach using a tabled pac~ scum -1163-(This excellent routine introduces @ new false count plus subtle handling ideas. Readers will want to check the Jeff Busby routine in Chronicles #1. Related material appears in Packet Switches I, particularly the routine called "Pastbacks” on pg. 55, KF) Five cards are shown one by one to have backs on both sides. They are then pushed through the fist and energe as a Royal Plush. The secret depends on convincingly showing the cards have all backs by counting them twice. The first count is & very clever count devised by Ed Hol- lins, called the Discount. It will be described in the context of the first method First Method Five cards and five cards only are required: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 of Spades. They are arranged in or~ der from back to face and the 10S is turned face-up. With the face-down pac- ket in hand, you should have the AS on top, followed by the KS, QS, JS, all face-down, then the face-up 10S on the bottom. 1. The packet is held in RH Biddle yprian grip. The packet is face-down, the Ace on top. The Discount is a combination of the Ham Ran Count and a "Backs" count. The most important point (as for all false counts) is Timing. There has to be a steady cadence to a false count. Otherwise it is not a be~ lievable count. 2. The count begins as a Flushtra~ tion Count . The Ri revolves palm-up to show a back on both sides of the packet, Then it turns palm down onto the palm= up LH. The left thumb contacts the top card of the packet and presses gently against the top card. 3. The Li moves to the left taking the top card of the packet. at the sane time the Ri turns palm upwards to again show all backs. The FA then turns palm down. 4, She same procedure is followed fox the second card. As the second card is taken, the RH turns palm-up, then palm down as the third card is to be taken. 5. For the take of the third card the packets are exchanged ala the Ham- man Count; the two cards fron the lil go under the RH packet. These two curds are gripped between the right 3rd or Ath finger and the right thunb. Bt the same time the 3-card block from the Ri is clipped between the left thumb and forefinger. 6. The above exchange is made on the count of Three. When the Li takes the 3-card packet, it moves to the left and turns palm-down to show a back on both sides of the packet. 7. The RE now remains palm-down as the LH comes over and the left thumb pulls off the 4th card onto the LH pac+ -1164- (cont'd on pg. 1162)i HUE No. Ul | CHRONICLES conyeisht © 1974 vy Kart ralves "Nor Eyes To See With," (pg. 291) was fs a ular routine which allowed John Cornelius nn Bowe” A The gimmick was the then-little~ 1 known fiber-optic tube. A $30 version was narketed,and many variations on the basic routine were received. EAE TAS John Cornelius has done away with | SEA \ the fiber optic tube with a clever method SS HESS Toe you oN ena ene aces nae La AN: ‘i and serial numbers on borrowed dollar i A bills which are given to you behind your back. This routine is strongest when pre~ sented apparently impromptu, using (ap parently) just the borrowed objects. To begin, have a dollar bill attach- ed under your coat at the rear. The seri- al number of the bill is memorized. vhis is the only preparation. To perform the trick, borrow a One, a Five, and a Ten. As the bills are handed to you, ask the spectator to place them in your hand face-down. When you receive the One, put a nail nick in the bill about the center. This is similar to nail-nicking a card, ic, the right forefinger is underneath the bill, the right thumb on top; by pushing down with the thumbnail, you will leave a slight impression in the bill.