Ace Assembly

[Guest]

Most ace assemblies or finding of aces seem to be little more then demonstrations of skill that the spectator has little role in (except of course for 'cutting the aces')

I was thinking that it might make the effect stronger if you have the spectator make a selection and then you 'find' the other three matching cards rather the finding four cards which you have choosen.

I have tried this on lay audiences and it gets a GREAT reaction, particularly if the first card you find uses Daryl's Hot Shot card or some other complex and knuckle busting move.

As anyone seen any routine like this or has anyone experimented with similar ideas?

[Jonathan Levey]

03 December 2002

Nicholas,
Chad Long has a routine called "Another Rumour", in which he uses the four aces to find a selection. After a couple of transpositions between the ace of the matching suit and the selection, which has been previously been lost in the deck. Three of the aces change to the matching 3 of a kind, + selection makes a four of a kind.
It's worth checking out, and can be found on "Chad Long's Magic Video"
Regards,
Jonathan :)

[Raj Madhok]

Nicholas,

Magic Christian contributed a wonderful effect to Steve Beam's latest Semi-Automatic Card Tricks IV called "Prime Cut". It can be used to have a spectator select a face down card, then the spectator cuts the deck into 3 piles and locates the other 3 mates (or cards of your choosing). Simple, deceptive, and brazenly discrepant. Christian's patter and hook make it a much stronger effect than simply cutting to the Aces. In his version they locate 4 cards that have personal relevance to them, e.g. birth year, address, etc.

This and Bannon's "Directed Verdict" are my favorite Spectator Cuts to the Aces routines.

[Alpen]

Nicholas,

Even though this isn't exactly what you wanted, John Carney has a very nice effect in Carneycopia where the spectator selects a card, but gets a joker each time, and the fourth joker is used to pick up the other 3, and they visibly change to the Aces... very cool looking.

Along the lines of what you're looking for, David Acer has a really cool version called Repeat Offender in his lecture notes (This is a Circle) which is a good trick for lay audiences but also has a kicker effect that will totally throw off magicians.

Alpen

[Jonathan Townsend]

Originally posted by Nicholas J. Johnson:
Most ace assemblies or finding of aces...As anyone seen any routine like this or has anyone experimented with similar ideas?

Both effects have wonderful variations and handlings that involve the audience to a significant extent. Gene Maze has shown an ace cutting where the magician merely holds out his hand for the spec to put the cards they cut to.

The ace assembly plot has a problem in that the extent to which the audience can handle the cards is limited by the method of vanishing the ace in the pile. There are some gimicks that allow aces to seem to melt away while in the spectators hand. You might try a variation of Brother John Hammon's Final Ace Assembly

Getting cards to change or vanish from a spectators hand is no mean feat. There are options available, though each involves tradeoffs. Let us know what you find works for you.

[Randy DiMarco]

Earl Nelson has a version where the spectator chooses any 4 of a kind and then the spectator dictates the order in which the magician produces the 4 cards. The trick is in a set of his lecture notes. I don't remember the name of the notes but I got them when Earl lectured at the Buffalo Get-Together this past october.

[ori ashkenazy]

Ever try "comedy of errors" from the Vernon tribute to Nate Leipzig? It has an enormous impact on audiences if you utilize your acting skills right.
or The Magician Does Good (don't know the origin of this wonderful trick with numerous changes)