Friday, May 16, 2008

Poker Player's Dream

Here is a pretty effect, away from the general line, because your audience has nothing to do but watch. A deck is genuinely shuffled, and then spread across table aces up. The high cards from the Ten Spots up are removed from one side to the other, special attention being called that they are taken from SHUFFLED DECK just as they lie, with no attention being paid to their order. Turning the cards faces down, they are further mixed. Then they are placed faces down in left hand. A borrowed handkerchief is thrown over hand and cards.

Any suit is selected by the onlookers. Reaching under handkerchief with right hand, performer almost INSTANTLY produces a "Royal Flush" of the cards of that particular suit! This is repeated with suits as called for until the entire twenty (20) cards have been produced. Unprepared cards are used, making the effect almost impromptu except for a short two minute arrangement. First, run through the deck and bring to the bottom all the Tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces. Pay no attention to values, arrange this packet of twenty (20) cards as follows: from back to face of packet, starting with Spades and alternating with Hearts, until the ten cards are used up. Then start with Clubs and alternate with Diamonds until these are gone.

Place this packet face down on top of deck and you are ready. First, give deck a genuine riffle or dove-tail shuffle, cutting deck a trifle LOWER THAN HALF WAY. The fact that you riffle the LOWER half INTO the UPPER HALF, and separate the attached cards, makes no difference. Their RESPECTIVE ORDER is NOT CHANGED. You now state that you will use the HIGH CARDS ONLY for this effect.

Spread the cards face up from left to right on table. Starting at right end you push the cards to right carelessly and take out EACH HIGH CARD as you come to it, placing it face down on your left hand. Pick up only ONE CARD AT A TIME. Call attention that you take them REGARDLESS OF ORDER from the SHUFFLED PACK. When they are all out, and face down on left hand, the subtle point is that THEY ARE JUST AS THEY WERE ORIGINALLY STACKED despite the genuine shuffle!

Remark that the cards have been well mixed, at same time fanning the packet face up (casually) and showing them. The cards appear well mixed as to the colors which are outstanding. Close fan, turn packet face down, and state that you will mix them just a little more so no one can accuse you of keeping track of any card. Deal the packet into two face down heaps, a card at a time to each. Pick up by putting the RIGHT HAND pile on the LEFT. Square packet and take in left hand faces down.

Ask for the loan of a handkerchief. During this stall, your right hand is over cards in left hand, thumb at rear. You count off five cards from bottom and insert the left little finger keeping a small break. Five more cards are counted and left THIRD FINGER is partially inserted here. Five more and SECOND FINGER separates these from top five. The is a simple process as you will see by trying. The breaks are at back and covered. You take handkerchief in right hand and throw it over left hand and cards. Now any suit is called and you produce it almost instantly.

If the directions have been followed, EVERY SUIT IS SEPARATED NOW, the top five being all DIAMONDS, the second five being HEARTS, the third five being CLUBS and the bottom five ALL SPADES! And as the cards are already separated, the production is almost INSTANTANEOUS. If you are not sure of yourself at first, the counting of the packets can be done UNDER COVER of the handkerchief, which spectator throws over your two hands and Cards. There is ample opportunity while you are explaining just what has been done and what you want them to do. The time needed for this is shout 20 to 30 seconds. It a very deceptive trick. With borrowed cards (given a two minute opportunity of stacking) it appears MIRACULOUS.

(Annemann - Card Miracles)