Doctor
Created By Dick Roy and Jeff Stone
Described By Jeff Stone
A friend of mine, Dick Roy, came up with this cool application of Bill Simon’s Business Card Prophesy Move. The name, Doctor was something I came up with using Dick’s initials, D.R.. Get it . . . Dr . . . Doctor.
Anyway, I’ve been doing this effect since 1992 when Dick first showed it to me. What follows is my presentation of Dick’s idea to use Simon’s move with a double facer (DF).
Effect:
The magi shows the spectator a “misprinted” card. The card happens to have two faces (let’s say Ace of Spades and Four of Hearts) and no back. The spectator places the card in the middle of the deck, and just happens to magically sandwich it between the Ace and Four in the deck.
Method:
I’ve already told you that this uses Bill Simon’s move. That’s about it. I’ll walk you through the presentation in a moment. As always, that’s the most important part. For an explanation on the prophesy move, check out the February 2008 Free Monthly Magic Trick, All Four One.
Setup:
- Four of Hearts on the bottom of the deck.
- Ace of Spades on the Top of the deck
- Double Facer (Ace of Spades/Four of Hearts) in a “protective” vinyl wallet or baseball card protector, etc
Presentation:
Magi:
As a magician, I’ve purchased a ton of cards over the years. When you buy in the volume that I do, you’re bound to find mis-printed cards, and cards with mistakes on them. I actually have one right here.
Action:
Remove Double Facer displaying only the Ace of Spades. Do not show the Four of Hearts side. Hand the card to the spectator.
Magi:
Can you see the mis-print? Sometimes if you hold it up to the light, it helps.
Note:
The reason I use the Ace/Four (a standard DF in a DF deck) is because the Ace of Spades has writing on it, and this is where the spectator assumes the “mis-print” is. As she holds it up to the light, everyone else sees the “Four of Hearts.”
Magi:
The mis-print’s on the back. Sorry. I should’ve mentioned that. When I found this card in a deck of cards, I kept it. I thought it might be worth something. In fact it might even be magical. Let’s find out. Would you mind just placing the card about in the middle of the deck . . . leave it poking out about half way.
Action:
Hold the deck for her so that she can place the card in the middle. I usually ask if she wants to change her mind. I’ll even ask others in the group if they want to change the position. Once a position is finally settled on . . .
Note:
Let’s say for the sake of explanation purposes that she placed it with the Ace of Spades face up. This is most likely because that’s the way it was handed to her.
Magi:
Ok. So remember, on this side we have the Ace of Spades, and on this side we have the Four of Hearts.
Action:
Execute Simon’s Move which now places the DF card between the Ace and the Four. The Ace is below the DF, and the Four is above it.
Magi:
I told you that I thought this card might be magical, and I think it is. Because every single time I’ve asked someone to put it in the deck, they always . . . without exception . . . put it between two card.
Action:
Pause for cheap laugh.
Magi:
But not just any two cards: The Ace of Spades and The Four of Hearts.
Action:
While delivering the above line, you are removing the three cards from the pack and tabling or placing aside the deck so that you are left with only 3 cards in your hand.
Alternate idea:
I always keep the DF in a vinyl wallet. However, I’ve considered using a baseball card protector. The beauty of that is that you can leave it in the case when you hand it out and when you do the move, etc. It also makes more sense that you’d want to protect it. Also, it may eliminate any suspicion about switching cards or performing anything sneaky since the card is a bit bulky and couldn’t easily blend with the deck. I’ve never tried it this way, but I think it would be pretty smooth. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Leave a comment below.
Afterthoughts:
A lot of people are concerned about showing a gimmicked card to a spectator. I never have been. Two words: Anniversary Waltz. In my mind, if any trick is going to draw suspicion to the gimmick it would be Anniversary Waltz because you are claiming to have fused two cards. Whereas in Doctor, you claim nothing special about how the card was created other than it was a “mistake” at a card plant.
Update (6/10/09) – Further Credits:
Shortly after publishing this effect here on the site, I received an email from Oliver Meech informing me that this is pretty much the same as a Steve Beam effect. I contacted Mr. Beam to get the details. Oliver is correct. This is basically the same effect as one previously published by Mr. Beam.
The original version by Beam is entitled Siamese Stab and can be found in issue #7 of The Trap Door (1984). I’ve corresponded with him regarding the effect, and he was a perfect gentleman about the whole affair and has no “beef” with the fact that we (Beam, Myself and Dick Roy) have developed the same idea. I just wanted to take a minute and personally point out that this is something that many others could learn from. All too often ill intent is assumed when something like this happens.
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