The Genii Forum

Attention hive minders!

There is a procedure, which I think was invented either by Martin Gardner or Nick Trost, where particular cards, though present in a deck, can be shown not to be.

The cards to be hidden are face down at the bottom of a face-up deck. A few cards from the face are spread over, shown, then turned face down and placed on the bottom of the deck.

These moves are continued until all the face-up cards have been placed face down on the bottom and the maqician holds a face-down deck.

There should be a question coming along any minute

The first one that comes to mind is "The Invisible Card", by Simon Aronson (in Try The Impossible).

Also, the techinque Paul Harris uses in "Las Vegas Leaper" to have the spectator count cards in their own hands and not notice that there are extra cards.

See in Twelve Tricks with a Borrowed Deck (1940) by Martin Gardner, Vanishing and Reappearing Card, page 20.

Thank you! That's what I was looking for.

The hive mind succeeds again.

I have used that procedure on occasion. I think I learned it from a Harry Lorayne book.

A variation you might find useful:

- Starting point: Face-up deck (with reversed cards on bottom) in dealing position.
- Magi stud deals a few face-down to table... momentarily sets deck on dealt pile while coaxing a spec to assist.
- Magi retrieves face-up portion of deck, handing it to spec for dealing.

(Alternately, transfer pack to right hand biddle while gesturing to prospective volunteer with left; drop rogue cards to tabled pile in the usual misdirected manner...)

Thanks John, Sawa has an Ace Assembly routine that uses something like that too

That is a great idea Mr. Hostler. We are not worthy.

I looked up the original Gardner effect and it's not bad. A selected card disappears and then reappears.

Jonathan Townsend wrote:Thanks John, Sawa has an Ace Assembly routine that uses something like that too

I claim nothing. Everything has already been invented!

I really like the Paul Harris/Las Vegas Leaper move that federica luduena alluded to. I use it in my Cards Across routine because it eliminates palming, as well as superfluous and suspicious handling of the cards by the magician after they have been counted by the spectator. The counting procedure happens entirely in spectator's hands and is super-convincing because of the apparent logicality and fairness of the procedure. The spectator can then sit on or pocket the cards immediately after "counting" them, without ever relinquishing control thereof. (I do palm in phase two, but the replacement is an un-suspicious add on done in connection with innocuously pushing the cards over toward the spectator to gather up, much like I saw Performer do in a YouTube video of his routine performed at a club).

Isn't life magical... Just the other night I created another routine with this little-known but versatile principle (which I have learned from "Las Vegas Leaper") and now I hit upon this thread over breakfast!

Here's my handling for getting ready:

1. Keep your little stack face-down underneath the face-up deck.
2. Hand about one third of the deck to spectator A and ask him to shuffle thoroughly (of course face-down).
3. Hand the second third of the deck with the same request to spectator B.
4. Retrieve the cards from spectator A and place them underneath your stack.
5. Fan the deck and hand the remaining face-up cards to spectator C for another shuffle.
6. Retrieve the cards from spectator B and add them at the bottom of the deck.
7. Retrieve the cards from spectator C and add them at the bottom of the deck.
8. Table the deck with a false cut.

Your stack is now on top of the deck, awaiting your magical feats and discoveries. You do not have to touch the deck again.

Afterthought:
For a second, even stronger phase of the trick you can have a spectator riffle-shuffle the deck before predicting, for example, the first court card to appear when dealing cards face-up from the top of the deck. For more, please check our Liam Montier's brilliant effect, "Henry Sugar" (IMHO one of the best mental card tricks ever devised).

I am grateful for the Gardner reference. Incidentally, his booklet "12 Tricks with a Borrowed Deck" is available over at Lybrary.com for a mere $4.00.

Is this the same trick as found in the original reference? (Unfortunately, I don't own this book)

http://archive.denisbehr.de/list/book/4 ... ight=25863

Not exactly.

Neal Elias explains a new sleight which he named "A Reverse Sleight" then he suggest that you can use it for the Martin Gardner's Trick Vanishing and Reappearing Card.

With his sleight, it's not necessary to have a reversed card at the beginning because you simply control le chosen card , then you reverse it to the bottom then you use the Gardner procedure to show that the card has vanished.

Zig Zagger wrote:I am grateful for the Gardner reference. Incidentally, his booklet "12 Tricks with a Borrowed Deck" is available over at Lybrary.com for a mere $4.00.

It's also available here: http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/

(full link: http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_libr ... Everything)

Quite a few old books are available online at this library.

Both of the small books of card magic that Gardner wrote contain excellent material. Gardner didn't publish a lot of original card magic but it was all very good. Eugene Burger used one of the tricks professionally for many years.

The Burnaby Kid wrote:

Zig Zagger wrote:I am grateful for the Gardner reference. Incidentally, his booklet "12 Tricks with a Borrowed Deck" is available over at Lybrary.com for a mere $4.00.

It's also available here: http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/

(full link: http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_libr ... Everything)

Quite a few old books are available online at this library.

Wow! That library is really something--just a search on "card magic" reveals some really, really cool stuff! (Lot's of interesting pictures as well--never knew what Mike Zens looked like).

Interesting thread. I simply reverse selected card on the bottom, turn over half the deck and bottom deal under the spread. Finally turn over remaining half and respread.

Chas: I must be missing something--that does make any sense.