“Q” Aces

Introduction

The motivation here was to create a fast, interactive, four card routine which maintains an anytime anywhere function.

Effect

Four aces are placed in different parts of the deck, followed by a quick shuffle. With the spectators help, each ace is quickly located.

Set Up

None really, simply find and remove the four aces from any shuffled or borrowed deck, or have them left over from a previous lead in effect.

Begin

Hold the deck face up in dealers grip. Run your thumb down the top left corner, a little over three quarters of the deck down. You will be performing what I believe to be an Ed Marlo multiple shift. When you stop at a card you should be able so see its pip. Insert an ace above this card half way, and memorize it. (fig 1). For example let us say that you are now memorizing the two of clubs. Place another ace a few cards up in the same manner, followed by the next two aces exactly the same.

The four aces should be protruding from the pack about half way.

Now grasp the deck firmly in a high dealers grip. Place your left thumb on top of the deck pressing downward (fig 2). Now with your left index finger, push the aces downward, this should push a packet of cards out of the bottom.

Grab this packet and strip it out of the bottom followed by a Hindu Shuffle.

• Now if the deck were face down it should be set with 6 to 10 cards on the top of it, followed by the memorized card and then the four aces.

Phase Two

Holding the deck face up, thumb over some cards:
“No aces on the bottom.”

Turn the deck face down and thumb over a couple of top cards. Turn them face up to display them (fig 3).

“No aces on the top, I trust”

Now thumb over one card at a time, displaying it face up with the cards already in hand, turning over the whole packet until you get to the memorized card. Stop.

Get a break under that card and the whole packet above it. Double under cut those cards to the bottom.

“As a magician I will try to cut to an ace, it may be challenging, so let us give it a shot.”

Perform a “Braue Reverse” of the top card. When the first pack turn up into view:

“No ace? Ok one more cut.” “Still no ace?”

This sets one ace face up in the middle of the face down deck.

The situation now should be: One ace is reversed in the middle of the deck with three aces on top of the deck.

Phase Three

“The aces are being stubborn so I’ll demonstrate some sleight of hand”. At this point the deck is in my right hand, and I position it behind my back, snapping the card up over my left shoulder catching it in my left hand. This move is challenging to describe, any kind of revelation will do as the deck stays intact.
• There are some fine moves by Jeff McBride in his Card manipulation videos of which you could use for this sequence.
• If you wanted to get super simple, take the pack behind your back with both hands and then act like you pull an ace right out of the deck. Of course it comes right off the top.

Phase Four

Now we reveal the next ace with a very gutsy little sequence. Spread slowly through the top of the face down deck and ask another spectator to simply touch the back of any card. Be very careful, there is still a face up ace in the middle of the deck. Now when they touch the back of a card, slowly out jog it:

“Are you sure this one?”

Slowly remove it from the deck and touch it to the face up ace, (now on the table) then place it on top of the deck.

• While you are moving the touched card back and forth (from the pack to the tabled ace) it is a very easy matter to obtain a left pinky break above the top card.

Execute a double lift to show that they actually touched an ace. Thumb this ace off the top and at the very same time wrist kill the deck (turning your palm face down to hide the other card).

“Wow an ace, your psychic skills are exceptional”.

Regrip the deck with the right hand keeping it face up, then place it in left hand dealers grip.

Phase Five

Two aces have been located and placed on the table, or a spectators hand. Ask another participant to hold his or her hand above the deck and slowly turn it over.

“Your hand will influence an ace down in the middle of the deck”.

As you say this thumb through the face up deck until you come to the face down ace. Out jog it and ask them to remove it. They will show everyone that it is indeed an ace. After the ace is removed, cut the deck at the exact point the ace was removed. Turn the deck face down.

Phase Six

Ask another spectator to hold their hand over the deck and turn it just like the previous spectator did. Now thumb through the face down deck, or spread it, if you are working with a tabled mat. One card will be seen in the middle face up, and it is NOT the last ace.

“Oops , well that is ok, no problem at all- will you do me a favor and reach back into your life, maybe back to your childhood and recall a magic word of some sort, you’ve got it? Will you please say your magic word?”

• Usually people are quite quick to say some sort of magic word, and often times the will invent something very funny which of course adds to the presentation.

As you are saying this cut the face up card to the top of the deck. Obtain a break under the 2 top cards (the top one is face up, the second one is the last ace face down beneath it). Any magical way that you know of changing one card for another in this situation is good. I prefer to use sort of a delayed change. It is simply a modified double lift.

Start a normal double lift with these two cards but before it is turned over, stop. Instead of turning the double card over, turn the deck over on top of the double (fig 4).

Stop and wait, wave the deck over the three aces on the table (fig 5), saying their magic word in this case: “Abracadabra” then turn the deck over to find the card has changed into an ace. Thumb it off onto the other aces and cut the deck to get rid of any evidence.

• A one-handed “Charlier” would be perfect, or a pass. I personally feel this clean up is unnecessary. All I do is thumb off the last ace with my left thumb. Then I grip the deck in to Biddle grip with my right hand and swing cut the top half into the left hand and I keep the bottom half in right hand “Biddle grip”, pointing with the right hand index finger at the aces.

“The four aces”

Then I replace the right handed half onto the left hands half. Casual and smooth it’s invisible.

I’ve never yet had someone ask about the deck, and I have done this routine hundreds of times.

Notes

I trust you’ll try this one, it is very fun and VERY versatile. You’ll find it can be performed walk around very easily. Simply use a participants hand to hold the aces as they are produced. I prefer to perform it standing with no table, allowing more spectators to pleasantly get involved.

I have always agreed with many, that pulling the aces out of the deck just to lose them again, followed by finding them in a magical manner is seemingly illogical. Obviously producing them magically first is ideal. Sometimes I will have the aces preset on top of the deck or better yet I will pull the aces out to perform “Vacuum Cleaner Cards” or “Dr Daley’s Last Trick” or something else that uses the four aces, kings, or jacks. After a few of these effects, I can choose to perform this practical routine.

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