Ace Bandage

Preface:

This effect comes directly from my Stone Cold Magic E-Book. I’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years now. It’s a pretty visual effect, and it’s pretty easy to do. What follows is a copy-and-paste right out of the e-book. Before you read it, though, you may want to brush up on the saga story that goes along with this one. It was the very first episode of the saga back in July 2007: Ace Bandage.

Effect:

Four indifferent cards visually change into the four Aces as they are pushed through the deck.

Preparation:

Openly remove the four Aces from the deck. Begin by holding the deck in the left hand dealer’s grip. Place the Aces face up on top of the deck. Get a little finger break beneath the top seven cards.

Performance:

Pick up all seven cards as four in the right hand Deep Overhand Grip. Bring the right packet above the deck. Using the left thumb, slide off the top Ace to the left, and pivot it face down under the cards in the right hand (see fig. 1). Hold a break above it with the right thumb (see fig. 2). Casually display it by tilting your right hand palm up. Repeat with the next two Aces.

On the fourth Ace, your right hand comes over the deck, and drops off all cards below the break (three Aces) as you slide off the top Ace and pivot it under the right hand packet. You can now display the fourth Ace. Place the four apparent Aces face down on the table. Mention that you need four indifferent cards. Do some false shuffles and cuts – don’t over do it. Then spread the top four cards (apparently random cards). You are going to drop them onto the table in a spread fashion. As you do, you will accidentally (on purpose) flip over the bottom card of the spread which is the only non-Ace (a subtle way of showing that these are not Aces).

Here’s how: once the four cards are spread, the bottom card of the four (the indifferent card) will be resting on the tips of your left middle and ring finger (see fig. 3). These fingers will be used as a fulcrum. Grip the three top cards of the fan (three Aces). Use these three cards to push down on the fourth card and it will flip over on to the table. As the card is flipping, let go of the three Aces. It appears as if you just dropped four random cards on the table and one happened to flip over (see fig. 4).

Because of the apparent careless handling used here, the audience will be more convinced that these really are indifferent cards. Pick up the face up indifferent card with your right hand, and turn it face down. Use it to scoop up the remaining three face-down cards. Square up the cards then tap them on the edge of the table with the face toward the audience (see fig. 5). This is another subtle way to reinforce that these are not Aces (even though they actually are Aces). Place these four cards face down to the left of the “Ace” (actually one Ace and three indifferent cards) packet. Place the deck below and between the two piles (see fig. 6).

Pick up the apparent Ace pile in left hand dealer grip. Down crimp the bottom card on the rear left corner (see fig. 7). Note: the crimp in figure 7 is greatly exaggerated for teaching purposes only. Thumb off the top card into the right hand. Still holding the cards in the left hand, turn your left hand palm down, and cut off a portion of the deck, and place the right hand card face down at the point where you cut. You’ve apparently placed an Ace in the deck (see fig. 8).

This will expose the bottom Ace as an added convincer that you are holding four Aces (even though you are actually holding one Ace and three indifferent cards) in your left hand. This showing of the face is LePaul’s original handling. Repeat with the next two apparent Aces. Finally place the real Ace somewhere in the middle of the deck. Pick up the deck in left hand dealer’s grip. Use the right hand to pick up the top card of the pile on the table (apparently an indifferent card).

Straighten our your left fingers, but hold the deck in place by gripping it between the thumb and the lower half of the side of the left first finger (see fig. 9). Thrust the right hand card into the right side of the deck crossways. Leave it protruding (see fig. 10).

Now grip the whole deck from above in the right hand Deep Overhand Grip. Use your left finger tips to push the card through the deck (see fig. 11). At the same time, rotate the whole deck face up between your right middle finger and thumb (see fig. 12).

Square up and place the deck in left hand dealers grip again (see fig. 13).

Strip out the Ace. Toss it face up on the table. You’ve apparently just caused a card to turn into an Ace by pushing it through the deck. Turn the deck face down, and repeat with the next card on the tabled packet. This illusion is very strong. The next two are done a little differently. The deck is in the left hand dealer’s grip and you get a little finger break above the top (indifferent) card. Pick up the next face down card off the table in the right hand Deep Overhand Grip.

As you talk about people suspecting that the card on the table is already an Ace, gesture with the card, and move it toward the deck. In one smooth motion, slide the right hand’s card face down onto the top card of the deck. Transfer the little finger break to the right thumb, and continue moving the card(s) to the left. Reach the left edge of the double with the right index finger to pivot the double face up, and place the double up jogged on top of the deck (see fig. 14).

This is all done very quickly and under the pretext of proving that the card on the table is truly indifferent (it should appear as though you merely turned over the top tabled card and placed it face up on the deck). Turn over the double and repeat; take the top card (Ace) and repeat the push-through-the-deck move.

The fourth Ace is also done differently. With the deck face up in your left hand, get a left little finger break below the crimped Ace which is in the middle of the deck. Then either pass or cut the deck at the crimp, and turn over the deck (I use LePaul’s Invisible Turnover Pass). This brings the last Ace to the top of the deck. Now pick up the final card on the table. Turn this card face up to prove that it actually is indifferent. Get a left little finger break beneath the top card (Ace), and place the indifferent card face up on top of the Ace.

Pinch the right edge of the double and move it to the right of the deck and parallel to the floor. Turn your left hand slightly to the right, therefore positioning the deck at a right angle to the floor (see fig. 15). Now tip the deck over on top of the double (see fig. 16).

Use the right hand to immediately flip the entire pack over into the left hand (see fig. 17).

This turns over the double under cover of the deck creating the illusion that the indifferent card visually changed into an Ace.

Notes:

This effect was inspired by the great Paul LePaul. It’s very similar to the effect, Transposition of Four Aces, in his book The Card Magic of Paul LePaul. More than inspiration, this is an alternate handling that better suits my style..

Also note that the handling presented here is the original handling that I used to use and is the original handling written up in the original Stone Cold Magic Book. The new, and in my opinion, improved handling can be found on the Stone Cold Magic DVD.

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