PURE OLIVE OIL AND WATER i have devised over fifty routines for the Oil and Water plot. Some are good, some are average, and some | believe to be very good. Of all of them, this one is undoubtedly my favorite Only eight regular cards are used: four red and four black—no extras, no gimmicks Effect A spectator alternates the cards by color (red, black, red, black...). The colors clearly separate in the most direct and visual manner. The cards are handed out for the spectators to make sure, with abosolute certainty, of their prior condition (alternated) and their final condition (separated). The effect never fails to elicit gasps of astonishment and incredulous exclamations, from laymen and magicians alike. Procedure Have a spectator hand you four red cards and four black cards from any deck. They may pull them out of their own deck, which you have never touched. These should preferably be high spot cards. The spectator himself alternates them by color. Please note that, for the sake of clarity, the red cards shown in the pictures are low values while the black cards are picture cards, but | will continue referring to them as red and black. If the card left on the face of the packet is black, ask the spectator to count the cards singly on the table to make sure they are alternated. This leaves a red card on the face of the eight-card packet (Fig. 1). As this happens, pull up your sleeves slightly, and keep your empty palms towards the spectators to convey a genuine impression of clarity and neatness,Pure OLive Oil and Water Take the face-up packet in Biddle grip. With your left thumb, run the red card on the face of the packet to the left hand. As you run the next card (black), steal the first card under the right-hand packet, leaving a single card in the left hand. Peel the next card into the left hand and get a break under it as shown in figure 2 (break exaggerated for clarity). Turning to your left, raise your hands to the position shown in figure 3, calling attention to those cards, and continue: “These are the important ones." Keep your hands at a distance from the small packet on the table to prevent the spectators from noticing it consists of only two cards instead of four. As you run the next card (black), steal the red card above the break under the right-hand packet. This leaves two black cards in the left hand. Set those two cards, as four, on the table to your left, and say, "These are not important. Take the cards in the right hand by the ends, with the faces towards the audience. Run the first card into the left hand. Run the next card overlapping the first outward, leaving it outjogged Run the next card, overlapping the second card as seen in figure 4Letters From Juan - Volume 1 Place the three remaining cards together as one (a visible black card with two red cards concealed under it), aligned on top of the third card, which is red. After a pause to dilute attention as you look at the spectators in front of you, push the black card on the face of the spread forward (Fig. 5). With these actions, the red card that was momentarily covered changes identity, but this goes unnoticed especially when using high spot cards. This will happen several times throughout the routine. This leaves the cards, in a ladder, from the face: a black card, a red card {actually three cards as one), another black and another red. In a continuing action, without separating the right hand from those cards, grasp the outer end of the black card on the face of the overlapped packet. The tip of the right middle finger contacts the back of the bottom card of the group of three red cards that are in the second position from the face and pulls it slightly upward, so it protrudes about a quarter of an inch from the back of that triplet. Now the tip of the right middle finger makes contact with the visible portion of the red card on the face of that group and openly slides that card slightly inward. If you were now to remove the black card on the face of the vertical spread, you would see three red cards, overlapped at theouter end of the ladder as shown in figure 6. Take the vertical spread between the left middle, ring and little fingers on the right edge and the thumb on the left edge. With the left forefinger, from underneath, engage the outer edge of the bottom and outermost red card of the triplet, and pull it slightly backwards to separate it from the other cards (Fig. 7). You are ready to perform a move somewhat similar to the Erdnase Color Change. 34Pure OLive Oil and Water Show the right hand empty and cover the cards, resting the base of the thumb on the exposed part of the red card that is second from the face. Bring the left little finger under the cards, keeping it straight and perpendicular to the surface of the cards.directly against the bottom card. The right hand exerts a slight downward pressure against the tip of the left little finger, and steals the red card that is second from the face by sliding it inward and then to the right. Once that card becomes free from the spread, covered by \ | the right hand, the right hand moves to the right and outward, The tips of the left middle and ring fingers card pin the card against the right p (Fig. 8) Move the right hand to cover the outer card of he spread and release the red card directly on top of that black card and, aligning it with it with the help of the right thumb and little finger. The indices of the three bottom cards (red, black, red) can be seen from below, as shown in figure 9 The red card now on the face of the spread is still covered by the right handLetters From Juan - Volume 1 Separate the right hand slightly from the cards and begin to move it inward with the fingers somewhat splayed, in a stroking motion. A red card will come into view, followed by another red card. As the right hand continues its inward path, the left forefinger pushes on the edge of the card engaged to it, bringing it into alignment with the innermost black card, covering it. The third red card then comes into view, followed by the fourth, and four red cards are seen in the ladder. Gesture towards the cards, letting the right hand be seen empty (Fig. 10) This all happens in an instant, with a brief smooth downward motion of the hand: four red cards come into view. Actually, the card on the face is a double and so is the third from the face. Show the right hand empty and, after an assimilation pause and after all the Ohs! and Wows! that will be heard along with other expressions that decency and censorship prevent us from reproducing here, casually take the innermost red card of the ladder, which is single, with the thumb on the face and fingers on the back Pull that card to the right, making it pivot around the left ring finger, and set it outjogged onto the double card on the face of the ladder. Immediately take that card along and the double that follows it (Fig 11) and bring both inward, aligning the ends of the double with those of the other double on the bottom, somewhat overlapped to the right (Fig.12) 36