Spelling Effect Setup?

[Geno Munari]

Arne Barnett gave me a small packet effect without the instructions, other than a set up. Maybe someone has a solution.

I have Ace to King of Clubs a blank card and a joker. On the back of Arne's business card are the notes:
5-Q-J-A-Joker-6-10-2-K-4-8-Blank-9-3-7

Then there is a another sequence on the back of this card:

7-A-Q-2-8-3-J-4-9-5-K-6-10 (1 up - 1 Down)

The second sequence does not have the blank card or the joker. Anyone have any ideas about this?

I certainly would appreciate some help with this. Unfortunately Arne can't remember it.

Geno
:confused:

[Guest]

Dear Geno,
I've always been interested in spelling effect and will try in my poor english(being french...)to give you my interpretation of what are about these set-up.Not an easy task for me.

The second set-up is the more easy:doing an "australian deal"(that is:transferring the top card to bottom,then the new top card on the table,then the new top on the bottom,etc)you're able to produce the cards on the table in order from 1 to 10(1,2,3,4,.......,9,10).More a puzzle than a magic effect.

In the first set-up you make the cards appear in order by spelling them,transferring one card for each letter from top to bottom.For the ace you put one by one three cards from top to bottom,the card now on top is the ace which you put on the table.You do the same with the 2 and the 3.You ask the spect to go with the next card:he finds the joker!take the packet,turn the joker facedown
and spell four(the joker is the F of four):you find it.You then spell 5,6 ,7, and 8 and put them on the cards on the table.Ask the spect to spell 9:he misses and finds the joker;retake the packet and produce the9 and10 spelling them.Ask for the jack,the spect misses again.Spell it,produce it.Then spell the queen,put it on the table.Spell king,turn the top card fup,it's the king,take the king and the card below it(the joker)as one la biddle.Offer the last card supposed to be the joker to the spectator ,offer him to spell joker with the last one:he misses once again finding a blank card!
I think that your set-up is wrong(just exchange the place of the queen and king...)
I don't like the idea of having a blank card(not very practical)
at the end and propose you an alternative ending with the joker.

For that we need a new set-up:8,king,5,1,7,4,10,2,9,6,jack,jocker,queen,3
The effect is the same:you spell1,2,3,4,put them one at a time fup on the table.
Make the spect spell5:he misses.Spell correctly5,6,7,8;
Make the spect spell9:he misses.Spell9,10,jack and propose the spect to find the queen but to help him you propose to eliminate the joker.SO you spell JOKER and do a very easy double lift(you have 3 cards)showing the joer on top where he is supposed to be.
Turn the card fd and put the joker(really the king)apart on the table.Then spell queen,put it on the table;offer the last card to the spectator he turns it and find one more time theJoker ,The king is on the table! Not bad.
I prefer this version very much.I think the trnsposition idea is Pavel's from a Claude Rix spelling routine.
Au revoir Jankri

[Geno Munari]

Jankri,

Thank you very, very much for the help. I am going to try it now. Thanks for the other ideas also.

Geno

[Rick Franceschin]

I strongly suspect that the reference point for the above information is, "Hull's "Joker" Spelling Trick." It can be found in a booklet compiled by Ruffus Steele entitled, "Card Tricks That are Easy to Learn Easy to Do...", it's on page 5 of the 1946 edition. While the blank card isn't in the original, it was perhaps added in as an additional gag, maybe there was even some kind of message printed on it. In Hull's effect the spades and clubs are set into stacks, something like the ones you gave. Deck is set clubs, red cards, spades. The deck is twice cut at about center and given fair riffle shuffles. The cards are turned face up and the black's are stripped away from the red. Spades and clubs are now stripped apart, a magcian's choice follows, then a hefty spelling effect begins. It has a you do as I do aspect with the joker popping up, now and again, as a gag. Steele's booklet is actually quite good despite it's title and the legend on the entire back cover which reads, "THIS IS A TEN DOLLAR BOOK." Hope this helps.

[Geno Munari]

Thanks Rick:

You have great memory retention!

This version sounds great with the shuffle and the strip out. It gets away from just coming out with a packet of cards.

I think I have the book here somewhere.

Geno

[Rick Franceschin]

Dear Gino,

I'm glad that it's what you were looking for. I agree with you, that shuffle sequence is quite amazing. There are a great many packet effects that could greatly benefit from that shuffle sequence. The two genuine shuffles are clearly proof enough that the packets themselves must be mixed. I thought of another piece iinformation that you may find useful. If you intend to do some work on the spelling sequences you may find "System for arranging cards for any spelling combination" on page 41 of "Encyclopedia of Card Tricks" very helpful. Hugard neglected, or wasn't aware, that it was an arrangement devised by Howard Albright, I believe in the 30's. It will make creating your spelling sequences a lot easier.

Best Wishes, Rick