The “Pseudo Center Deal,” Roger Curzon, and Peter Kane

[Dustin Stinett]

In my January Light From the Lamp DVD reviews I talk about how Roger Curzon reinvented the effect known as the Pseudo Center Deal. Its an effect that was published in Cardshark by Darwin Ortiz. Ortiz notes that he had work on the effect going back to the 1970s.

Well it turns out that Mr. Curzon, and it is apparently documented in Roger Crosthwaite's Inner Sanctum videos (released five years before Cardshark), was doing the effect since the 1970s after working with Peter Kane. As any card guy worth his salt knows, Peter Kane is one of the more prolific and brilliant card men to grace the planet. Ive no doubt that between Mr. Curzon and Mr. Kane that they, at the very least, came up with this piece concurrently with Mr. Ortiz.

In my mind, this shows the importance of mentioning such factoids in books and on videos. I appreciate Mr. Curzon taking the time to contact me and point out these details.

Dustin

[AMCabral]

So where does Milt Kort's "This is Centers (?)" fit in? That's the effect the Ortiz routine is based on, according to Cardshark.

-T

[Dustin Stinett]

It's hard to say for certain, but one can certainly speculate.

My gut instinct, given the relative simplicity of it (from an elegance/directness point of view), is that the two groups, Kort/Ortiz and Kane/Curzon developed it independantly and around the same period. I have no problem believing that many really smart people, and all the players here fall into that, would put together the procedures that are the foundation of the effect on their own.

Dustin

[Richard Kaufman]

I hate to disagree with Dustin, but it's just a lack of research that causes the error. There is clear printed precedent, and that's the end of it.

[Philippe Billot]

I hate to disagree with Dustin, but it's just a lack of research that causes the error. There is clear printed precedent, and that's the end of it.

See, for instance, Cheating at Cheating: Middle Deal by Howard Lyons in Ibidem no. 1, June 1955.