Preview

No-Palm Travelers
Effect
The spectator signs the four Kings. You place the Kings into different parts of the deck, so
they are hopelessly lost. You then go through a high-speed cutting sequence and locate
the four Kings. The Kings then magically change into the four Aces, and you remove the
four signed Kings from different jacket pockets. There are no gaffs and no palms. Sound
interesting? Then read on.

Setup
Begin with four Aces on top of the deck, and any two court cards (other than Kings)
of opposite colors on the bottom of the deck. (If you don’t have the court cards on the
bottom, then you’ll have to dispense with a bluff display at the beginning and can use
the standard rhythm count and not the optical rhythm count when you place the Kings
on top of the four packets). You can perform this using the side pockets of your suit coat
but I will describe it with your pants pockets, and you should present this effect standing
behind a table. Finally, place a Sharpie in the left front pants pocket.

Performance
Remove the Kings from the deck, and ask a spectator to initial the four Kings on their
faces. If possible, have two different people (one on either side of you) sign the Kings, one
person signing the red Kings and the other person the blacks. Having the cards signed
this way will allow you to exploit a subtlety by Darwin Ortiz that takes the heat off the
two-as-four display. I usually ask them to write their initials in the card’s upper borders.

While the spectators are signing the cards, obtain a break beneath the two court cards at
the face of the face-up deck but keep the deck neck-tied, so that no one can see the court
card at the face. Gather the Kings and arrange them (from the face) in Spades, Hearts,
Clubs, Diamonds order (the important thing is that the colors alternate). With the right
hand, take the Kings in end grip, and use your left fingers to square them, simultaneously
picking up the two cards above the break. The deck needs to be turned face down in your
left hand. I prefer to do it while adjusting my glasses or moving the marker out of the way.

Place the face-up Kings on top of the face-down deck, with the signatures at the inner
end, obtaining a little-finger break beneath the packet. Push the top three cards over
to display the four Kings. Square them, then turn all six cards above the break face
down. Spread the top four cards into your right hand, injogging the third card. With
the right hand, grasp the spread at the outer right corner, so that the right fingers cover
the indices of the two indifferent court cards in the spread but the bottom two indices
of the Kings will be visible (photo 1). As you are doing this, the left hand (still with the

93
 deck in hand) picks up the marker. Show
the four “Kings” to the spectator on your
right that signed their cards. Point to the
signatures with the marker, and ask, “Do
you see your signatures?” Since she can see
two signatures, and one of them is hers,
she will respond with a yes. Turn to your
left and ask the second spectator the same
question; the audience will infer that the
two spectators are verifying signatures 1
on all four cards. It’s a very convincing
moment. While the second spectator is
verifying the signatures, place the marker into your left front pants pocket, while also
leaving behind the top King. It is “out of sight and out of mind”. I cannot tell you how
many advanced cardmen have missed this ploy.

Square up the four-card packet and set it face-up off to the right. Say, “I’m going to divide
the deck into four packets of about ten cards each.” The right hand takes the deck in face-
up overhand shuffle position, shuffles off about ten to thirteen cards from the face, and
places this packet face up off to the left. Perform the same action again and place this
packet face up to the right of the first packet. Drop the deck face up into the left hand,
and with your right hand, turn over the two packets on the table. As you are doing this,
the left hand does a double buckle, obtaining a break above the bottom two cards. For
the third packet, execute a slip shuffle of the two cards above the break, and shuffle off
about ten cards into the left hand. Set the
right-hand packet right-jogged onto the
left-hand packet, and make an adjustment
with your right hand, e.g., move the tabled
packets, adjust your glasses, bush some
lint off the table. Now with the right hand,
take the right-jogged packet into end grip.
Place the left-hand packet face down to
the right of the two tabled packets—it has
a King and an Ace on top. As you are doing
2 this, the right hand taps the sides of its
packet on the table (photo 2).

Now perform a face-down overhand shuffle into the left hand as follows. Run the first
three cards (Aces), and then shuffle off about half the remaining cards. Set the left-hand
packet to the right of the other three. Say, “We’ve got a few extra cards,” and set the last
few off to the right. (Notice that the choreography allowed you to transition invisibly
from shuffling face up to shuffling face down.) The situation is now five packets on the
table; the third from the left has a King and an Ace on top, and the fourth from the left
has three Aces on the bottom.

Pick up the four “signed Kings” and, with the signature ends toward the spectators,
execute a face-down Elmsley count into the left hand. Execute an optical rhythm count
(see Volume 2, page 55) as you apparently place one signed King outjogged on the top
of each of the first four packets, starting from the left, alternating the colors black, red,
black, red.

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Tell the audience that you will now bury the Kings into each of the packets. As you deal
with the packets, you will pick them up from left to right. Square the jogged card on the
first packet, pick it up, and swing cut the top half into the left hand, then drop the left-
hand packet onto the table and drop the other half on top. This action will apparently
bury the top King into the center of the packet. Place this packet back into its position.
Square the jogged card on the second packet, pick it up, and swing cut the top half into
the left hand, dropping it onto the first packet, then drop the other half on top. (You can
shuffle this combined packet at this point, if you would like.)

With the left hand, pick up the third packet by the left side, and tap the right side against
the table, with the faces toward the audience, flashing the face of the outjogged black
King (photo 3). Square the packet, and execute a false swing cut as follows. Swing cut the
top portion into the left hand. Drop the right-hand packet onto the combined packet, then
the right hand takes the left-hand packet and drops it onto the combined packet. (The
top three cards of the combined packet are
two black Kings and an Ace.)

With the left hand, pick up the fourth

packet, and turn it face up to show the face
of the outjogged red King. (I recommend
holding the packet in a deep grip to cover
the Ace at the face of the packet.) Turn the
packet face down, square the outjogged
card, as you use a buckle to get a break
above the bottom card. Tilt the outer 3
end of the deck down, and execute a slip
cut of the top card onto the bottom card.
If completed with speed, it will look like
you cut the top King into the center of the
packet. As the right hand moves above the
left, the left thumb moves the double card
back, so that it is injogged. The right hand
drops its cards on top, and the left thumb
bevels the top half of the packet backward,
hiding the injog. The right hand takes
the packet by the sides, and then dribbles
4
it onto the combined packet (photo 4).
Finally, the right hand picks up the fifth
packet, spreads it slightly, and drops it
carelessly on top of the left-hand cards.

The right hand picks up the deck by its

sides and allows the cards to dribble into
the left hand (photo 5). This technique will
preserve the injog, and the deck will look
hopelessly messy. The right hand grasps
the cards by the sides and drops it onto the
table, as you launch into this story: “There 5
was a magician in the mid-twentieth century.

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 His name was John Scarne, and he wrote two famous books, Scarne on Cards and Scarne on
Dice. What he did was he issued a challenge to gamblers and magician to take a new deck of
cards, shuffle them up, and without looking at the faces—you weren’t allowed to look at a single
face—and be able to cut to the high cards in the deck, like Aces or Kings. I’m going to give that a
shot. I’m obviously going to go for the Kings.”

Say, “Each of the Kings was lost in a separate part of this deck. But I’m going to go one step
further than John Scarne did. I’m not going to look at the face or the backs of the cards.” With
your right hand, tap the outer end of the deck, squaring the cards; the injogged card
will allow you to obtain a little-finger break under the injog. (Here’s a little advice about
breaks. Always keep pressure on the top of the deck with the left thumb to prevent the
break from being seen at the front or sides of the deck.)

Turn your head away from your hands and tell the audience that you are now going to
locate the Kings by your sense of touch. Start to spread the cards, stopping a few times,
as if you are feeling for the Kings. Spread and stop one card before the break, and use the
right-hand cards to flip over the top card of the left-hand portion. It will be a red King.
(Situation check: the bottom two cards of the right-hand spread should be Aces.)

Flip it face down with the right-hand spread. Place the right-hand cards on top of the
King, injogged about an inch and a half. The right middle finger is placed onto the face of
the King and the right hand moves forward, outjogging the King for half its length. The
right-hand cards line up with the left-hand cards, with the King being outjogged between
the two halves. The left hand turns palm down, as the left thumb slips the top card of the
right-hand half (Ace) onto the left-hand half, adding it invisibly on top of the King.22

Show the outjogged King to the spectator and have her verify that she sees her signature
on the card.23 The left hand turns palm up as the left forefinger pushes the King flush with
the deck. (Using a straddle grip will allow for perfect alignment of the cards.) Deal the
“King” face down onto the table. With the left hand, get a break under the top card as you
place the right-hand cards back on top.

You will now execute a triple cut that will set you up to easily obtain a break for a double
turnover as follows. Say, “I’m going to cut the cards three times. I won’t even look at them.”
Turn your head as the right hand cuts the cards at the break; as you set the cut-off
packet onto the table, the left hand rotates its packet face toward the audience and taps
the lower end on the table. As the left hand is raised from the table, it rotates the deck
face up in the hand. The right hand takes the deck in end grip and execute a swing cut
into the left hand. The left hand turns the packet face down onto the tabled packet.24

22. This move is a combination of a move published by J. Stewart Smith in The Top of the Deck
(1950) and the Wesley James load-up move.
23. Calling attention to the signatures will take the heat of the suits. This is a Darwin Ortiz idea, and
it works. I have done this routine many, many times for laypeople, and not once have I been called
out on showing only two of the four suits. Ortiz writes about this in his routine “The Showdown”
from his book Cardshark (1995).
24. Turning the packet over after a swing cut turns this into a false cut. Don England showed me
this in 1996 but I don’t believe it found its way into print until Jerry Sadowitz published it in his
manuscript Cut Controls (2004).

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Say, “That’s cut number two.” Toss the
right-hand cards into the left hand, so
that your right hand is free to straighten
the combined packet on the table. As you
do this, the left hand uses a double buckle
to get a break above two cards. Turn the
packet face down, using a book break to
angle-jog the double. With the right hand,
take the packet in end grip and slap the
packet onto the tabled packet, making 6
sure you don’t lose the jog; lift the entire
deck into the left hand, and then reclaim
the break with the left little finger. “That’s cut number three. And if I did everything right,
that should be another King.” Execute a double turnover, showing the second King. Have
the second spectator verify their signature. Execute another double turnover and set the
“King” face down onto the table. The performer now miss calls one of the cards and says,
“There are two of the Kings, the club and the heart.”

The left hand buckles the bottom card, and you get a little-finger break above it. The right
hand takes the deck in end grip, and you transfer the break to the right thumb. Execute
a swing cut and complete the cut, transferring the break to the left little finger. The right
hand retains the deck in end grip, as if squaring the cards. Under cover of the right hand.
the left little fingertip contacts the face of the card above the break, and kicks out this
card, angling it slightly at the inner right corner. (This is Ed Marlo’s kick out count.)25

The right hand, holding the deck in end grip, is contacting the angle-jogged card between
the little finger and thumb. Curl your right index finger on top of the deck. Show the left
side of the deck to the audience. No breaks will show. Run your left index finger along the
side of the deck (photo 6) as you say, “I can feel there’s a King thirty down from the top. So, I
only need to remove the bottom twenty cards.” With the left fingers, drag out the bottom half
(below the angled card) into the left hand. The left thumb pushes the top card to the right
and you use the right-hand half to turn the card face up, revealing a King. The thumb
pushes the card to the right again, and you use the right-hand cards to turn it face down.
Place the right middle finger on top of the King and move the King forward, outjogging it
(photo 7). The left little finger pulls down on the angle-jogged card, transferring it on top
of the King as the left hand turns over to show the face of the outjogged King as in photo
8 (this is Wesley James’s load-up move). Have the first spectator verify their signature.

7 8

25. The kick out count can be found in Marlo’s Magazine, volume 2 (1977), page 41.

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 Turn the left hand palm up, and deal the third “King” onto the table.

Drop the right-hand cards onto the table and drop the left-hand cards on top of the first
half. Give the deck a ribbon spread, and say, “The fourth King is somewhere in the center
here.” Gather the deck into the left hand, obtaining a break under the top two cards as
you square. Cut the top two cards onto the table, then execute a false swing cut onto the
two cards.

Pick up the deck and turn the top card (the fourth King) face up onto the deck; in so doing,
get a break under the second card. Have the second spectator verify the initialed card as
their own. The right hand comes over the deck in end grip, lifts up at the break, and sets
the last face-up King (actually a double) onto the tabled “Kings.” Take the rest of the deck
and place it into your right pants pocket. Your excuse for this action is that you are going
to do a card effect with just the four Kings and you do not need the remaining cards.26

Pick up the “four-card” packet and turn the top King face down. At the same time, get a
break under the top two cards. The right hand takes the packet in end grip, and instantly
spreads the cards, keeping the top two aligned as one. The right hand takes the spread
in end grip. Say, “Scarne’s challenge was to find the high cards of the deck—Kings or Aces. I
actually found both.”

Give the cards a shake, and turn the spread face up, showing that the cards have changed
into Aces (photo 9). Place the spread packet face down into the left fingers. Name the
four suits as you show the cards as follows. The right hand takes to top two cards (as
one), flashes the face of the Ace, then takes the other three Aces, one at a time, flashing
each face. Place the packet into the left hand, is a straddle grip. Show your right hand
empty and reach into the right pocket and remove the bottom card of the deck. It will be
a King, which you place it onto the table. As this is happening, the left hand has its back
audience. The left thumb pulls the top card to the left, against the heel of the thumb,
creating a heel break (photo 10).

For the second King, execute the following no-palm card to pocket move.27 The left hand
goes up to the shirt with the Aces in hand, and the left thumb enters the pocket, pulling

9 10

26. The idea of getting the deck out of the way and placing it into the pocket in order to load a card
(or cards) is Brother John Hamman’s.
27. This technique is from Dave Rumfelt’s “Impossible Card in Pocket” in the November 1974
M-U-M.

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 11 12

the shirt pocket out away from the body. The right thumb and index finger seem to reach
down into the front pocket (in reality, they are outside of the pocket, but the packet and
left hand cover this fact). The right thumb and index finger, then grab the card above the
break (photo 11) and pull straight up. The card will pivot around the base of the thumb as
it emerges, giving a perfect illusion of coming out of the pocket (photo 12). Two tips about
this move: First, when you get the heel break, if you let the card go into a tilt position, it
will be easy to grab its left corner with the right thumb and forefinger. Also, this move
can flash to people sitting to your left. To prevent that, when removing the card from
the pocket, hold your left elbow into your body. Once you’ve produced the card, you can
relax and move your elbow away from your body.

Place the second King onto the table. Place the Ace packet face up onto the table, show
your left hand empty, then reach into the left pants pocket and remove the third King,
which you place onto the table. Show your right hand empty, then reach into your right
pants pocket and brings out the bottom card of the deck, the fourth and final King.

additional Thoughts
I first started working on a No-palm Travelers back in the 1960s. I had a one-palm
method published in my book, The Esoterist, in 1971. Marlo also worked on the problem.
I started working on it again in 1994 when my friend Jack Carpenter said he was working
on the plot, and I came up with a handling, which I’ve continued to refine over the years.

The handling described above involves just three pockets. If you prefer, it’s possible to
pull the Kings from four different pockets. This is a little more work, and it makes a liar of
the title, as it does require one (easy) palm, some of you will prefer this. After you pulled
the second King out of your shirt pocket and set it onto the table, show both of your hands
empty. Reach into your right pocket and palm the bottom card of the deck. Pause as if
you can’t find it, then reach your left hand into the left pants pocket. Bring out the third
King, saying, “Oh, here it is.” Take the card into the right hand, display it; put it onto the
table, as you turn your right side to the audience. Your right hand (with palmed card) goes
into your rear pants pocket to produce the final King. (Without the body turn, it would be
awkward to reach into your rear pocket without flashing the palmed card.)

My favorite method is to wear a suit jacket with a topit and use the side jacket pockets.
You need to make the following adjustments. In the third paragraph of the Performance
description, place the Kings on top of the deck with the signatures on the outer end. After
you turn the Kings face down, hold deck in your right hand and thumb off four cards

99
 into the left, outjogging the third card. (For a brief thirty seconds you will become left-
handed.) The left hand grasps the spread cards by inner left corner and lifts them to show
the faces. Have the spectator on your left verify the signatures as the right hand (with
the deck) picks up the marker and points to the signatures. Turn to your right and get
verification from the second spectator as the right hand drops the marker and top King
into the right side coat pocket. Later, when you put the deck away, put it into the left jacket
pocket but actually put it all the way into the topit. You remove the first King from the
right jacket pocket, the second from the jacket’s outer breast pocket, and the third from
the left side pocket (reaching into the topit and taking the top King). For the fourth King,
you reach into the jacket, removing the bottom King from the topit, and then moving
your hand up, pretending to take the card from the inner breast pocket.

If you want to dispense with the signatures, I leave the card box in the middle of the table.
Do everything the same, but as you display the fan of four kings, pick up the box with the
deck in hand and add the King Hearts to the back of the box. The right-hand places the
four Kings on the table where the box was. The right hand takes the box with the loaded
King of Hearts and places it in the right pocket as the left hand spreads the deck face up
on the table, keeping the left side of the spread tight so as not to expose the five top cards.
The right hand places the box out of the way in the right front pants pocket. When using
this method, at the end of the trick, it would go in the left front pants pocket when you
put the deck away.

100
 The CR Move
In the summer of 1971, I came up with two methods to reverse a card while doing the convincing
control.12 I called it the convincing reverse or the CR move, for short. In a 1972 phone conversation
with Marlo, I told Ed I was having a great time reversing a card while doing convincing control.
I never told Marlo what my methods were. This version is my second method, and I liked it
better than my first approach because the angle problems were not as bad. I have made one
change to update the move. I initially used a move by Tony Kardyro to do the initial switch of
the card. I now use a variation of the Wesley James load-up move.

You should be standing to execute this move. Spread the cards face down between your
hands. Have a card selected. The hands break the deck at the point where the card was
removed. After the card has been memorized and shown around, the left hand reaches
forward and takes the selected card from the spectator and holds it in straddle grip,
jogged to the right (photo 1). The left-hand cards are brought back to the right-hand
spread but are not placed flush with the right-hand spread; the left-hand cards are

1 2

3 4

12. Both Larry Jennings and Ed Marlo claimed to have invented the convincing control in the
1960s, and the full story will probably never be known. A good description of it can be found in
Card College, volume 3 (1998) by Roberto Giobbi.

40
outjogged from the right-hand cards (photo 2). The right index finger extends and is
placed onto the bottom of the selected card, and the right hand tilts up to bring the card
into view. The right hand should have its packet spread evenly, and the left side of the
outjogged selection should line up perfectly with the left side of the lowermost card of
the right-hand spread (photo 3). The left hand is raised, following the actions of the right
hand. The right hand places the outjogged card onto the left-hand half, keeping the card
outjogged. The left thumb naturally rests on the card above the outjogged card. Thus,
you have secretly added a card on top of the selection.

Now the left hand turns palm down, apparently breaking the deck at the selection, and
brings it into view (photo 4). The right hand keeps its cards spread. Extend the left index
finger and push the selected card flush and at the same time turn the left hand palm up.
(Thank you, Wesley James) The left thumb moves the top card (apparently the selection)
forward slightly, and the left index finger
works its way under this card, holding it
between the left thumb and index finger.
The left middle finger pulls down on the
rest of the packet, causing it to be almost
perpendicular to the selected card. At the
same time, the right little finger moves to
the back of the right-hand spread. This
half-straddle grip will aid you in the next
step and keep it from flashing (photo 5).
5
The left hand now inserts what is
apparently the selected card into the right-
hand spread about four or five cards from
the bottom, with a slight angle-jog to the
left (photo 6). This action will cause the
left-hand packet to go under the spread,
keeping its 90-degree angle. The right
fingers extend and touch the top left-hand
card. As the left hand adjusts the outjogged
card, the right pulls the left-hand packet’s
top card under the spread (photo 7). (The 6
left hand adjusting the “selection” is the
justification for its cards to briefly duck
beneath the right-hand spread.) The left
hand moves to the left, letting its packet
fall face down into the left hand and back
into dealing position. Continue to spread
the left-hand cards to complete the picture.
At this point, the cards span from hand to
hand with one outjogged card. It should
look like you have not done anything.
Square up everything, and the selection is
secretly reversed in the deck. 7

41
 Some Thoughts on the
Hofzinser Spread Cull
This handling is a combination of the ideas of Charlie Miller, Kosy Phibulphanuvat, and
myself. Almost every time I see a magician do the Hofzinser spread cull, they get ready for the
move via a two-card push-off to get the card to ride under the spread. That method works but
will often be sensed and seen by an astute observer. Over fifty years ago, I saw Charlie discuss
doing the century-old Hofzinser spread cull, but he executed the move from the bottom of the
deck, and you could not see nor sense the sleight.

The Erdnase bottom deal is a good bottom deal, but the grip is a tell. My good friend
and cardician extraordinary, Rod Dee, told me a story back in 1993 that put a smile on
my face. He was a dealer in a California poker room, and the table he was dealing at had
an empty seat. He was shuffling and then holding the cards in an Erdnase grip when an
elderly lady walked by and said to him, “If I sit down at your table, will you deal me some
of those.” Rod quickly switched back to a natural dealer’s grip.

Back in 1969 at Magic Inc. in Chicago, Charlie Miller gave a lecture. The Erdnase bottom
deal was one of the topics. He had a way to do the Erdnase bottom deal that looked natural,
and the grip had no tell. Charlie’s idea was to hold the deck in a natural grip with the
forefinger in the front. Then when you wanted to deal the bottom card, you would switch to
the Erdnase grip, i.e., the middle and forefinger are holding the front of the deck. Then as
soon as you execute the bottom deal, you switch back to a standard grip. The amazing thing
is you could not see the switch of the fingers as he went around the table dealing out the
cards. He then applied that idea to a Hofzinser spread cull. Charlie said something like this,
“Every time I see a magician do the Hofzinser spread cull off the bottom of the deck, they
flash because they do not have enough cover. Using the Erdnase grip will hide the move for
you.” Charlie started by outjogging and injogging a few cards to cover the move from the
top, then he began to spread the cards between his hands, and when he pulled the card off
the bottom to ride under the spread, he switched to an Erdnase grip. As soon as the card
was riding under the spread, he changed back to a standard grip. Kosy Phibulphanuvat, a
fabulous Las Vegas cardman, loves the Lorayne fan force13 and has a great way to cover any
possible leakage when looking down at the fan with some smart positioning of the right
little finger. So, I combined the two ideas and added two more.

I was not too fond of the in and out jogging of the top few cards to cover the Hofzinser
cull. That action in itself could be considered a tell. I also wanted it to feel like the selected
card remained in view the whole time, never going out of sight. When this sleight is
executed correctly, it looks flawless.

13. The Lorayne fan force can be found in Close-up Card Magic (1962) by Harry Lorayne.

42
 1 2

3 4

Hold the deck in the left hand in a standard

dealing grip. The right hand comes over
the deck, and the right thumb bevels the
deck forward (photo 1).

Start to spread the cards between the

hands; the left middle finger buckles the
bottom card ever so slightly and angle-jogs
the bottom card about one-sixteenth of
an inch at the outer right corner. The left
5
middle finger moves to an Erdnase grip,
the right fingers move to the inner end
of the bottom of the deck, with the little
finger along the inner edge (photo 2).

Start to spread the cards, pulling the bottom card to the right, always making sure the
bottom card is touching the underside of the spread. In photo 3, note how the bevel will
cover any leakage from the front. Your right little finger will prevent any sight of the
bottom card from the top (photo 4). Your left hand returns to a standard grip when the
card is under the spread.

To finish off the move, ask the spectator to touch any card. Break the deck at the card
they touched, leaving the selected card in view, as apparently the bottom card of the
right-hand portion. Stroke the card with the left thumb and say, “If you want, you can
change your mind and select another.” It is easy to restart the spread if they say they want
another. When they say they are satisfied with the card, the right hand separates from

43
 the lower portion of the deck and moves to the left, squaring its packet against the left
thumb. As soon as the cards square, the left hand lowers an inch, allowing the right hand
to pass over, and the right middle finger pushes the bottom card to the left, and you place
the side-jogged bottom card onto the table to the left of your right hand (photo 5). If you
execute this move correctly, the selected card will appear to never go out of view.

44