Filed under: On The Deal | Tags: bottom, deal, easy, erdase, false, greek, Magic
Yes, you read correctly. An easy Greek Deal.
Now naturally, to have a disastrously difficult move like a Greek Deal and make it easy means sacrificing the decency of the move. In this case, it looks exactly like the proper Greek Deal I use from Erdnase grip (what else) but only from the front.
So its angly. Fine for demonstrations and tricks. Awful for use at the card table. A video……..
VIDEO REMOVED FOR FEAR OF IT BEING TOO GOOD
Not the most polished thing in the world, but workable and with practice, very deceptive I hope.
Now, I should point out that when I call this deal EASY what I mean is that its easy if you can do an Erdnase bottom deal already. Not only that, but you need to be able to do away with the push-off and strike the bottom card. However, any other grip of strike bottom deal will work for this. Whether it be Walter Scott’s, Gene Maze’s, Marlo’s Master or mechanics. Although NOT straddle grip.
- Firstly, this is a view of the back of the deck DURING the deal.
- As you may or may not be able to see from this shoddy sketch here, the bottom card is simply injogged by roughly a 3rd. To get into this position in the video, I gained a break above the bottom card and slid my hand under the deck, almost copping the card, but retaining it under the deck. You will need to do this without much fidgeting or it becomes too finickity and will be less impressive.
- Now that about a third of the 2nd-from-bottom card is exposed. You need to simply bottom deal normally taking care to strike the correct card out.
- At the end of the deal, square the deck up and you’re clean.
That title really has little meaning.
Except it does hold one very special word – breathers.
I am at a loss to try and explain why breathers are not more commonly used in magic. Invisible crimps which are semi-permanent seem a good idea to me.
All these rubbish ace cutting routines when the spectator doesn’t even get to shuffle first, or the cards are looked through to “just check the aces are still there.”
Breather the aces, let the cards be shuffled a bit. Usually if its done overhand style the aces will still be next to each other. You can easily simply cut, or cull them in 4 quick riffle shuffles.
Just try it. Try it on a layman. Make them shuffle for ages. Move the aces where they want. Sign them. Who cares. Then produce them magically.
Easy fry.
I’ll be posting a very cool application of breathers on the deal soonish, but until then, this wordy post with no pictures will have to suffice.
Also, Vernon talks of Snap Crimp on the Revelations Video set. This is another very good idea. No real reason I have yet fathomed for using them above breathers, but in small packets of cards it seems ideal. Packet tricks, anyone?
–Arthur–
Filed under: Peculiarities | Tags: ambitious, control, frank garcia, fred robinson, riser, topper
And so to a control.
This one I’ve been saving for a while, and I am particularly proud of it. First, in order to complete this control there are prerequisite moves. They are Topper by Frank Garcia, and the Ambitious Riser Move by Fred Robinson.
You do not need to be incredibly adept at Robinson’s move, but a smooth execution is helpful nonetheless.
Firstly, a video of the move itself…
If you understand both Topper and Ambitious Riser, the execution should be clear. I am not going to expose the mechanics of either sleight, merely guide you through their implementation.
- Get an injog roughly half way down the deck.
- Riffle down with the thumb, wait for the call to STOP by the spectator. Outjog this card. (I have found the move to be easier when the outjog is above the injog, but it works any way)
- Perform topper, being careful not to affect the injog.
- Whilst displaying the selection, position your pinky ready to do the ambitious riser.
- Now as you bring the deck down, you push in the Topper card selection whilst performing the ambitious riser on the injogged card.
- The selection is controlled, and a dud is in place. Continue the trick as you prefer.
I haven’t ever seen or heard of this control anywhere else. But I will not claim originality because it is almost certain someone got there first. It is similar in concept to a control in Ernest Earick’s “Proteus” from his wonderful book “By Forces Unseen”. However, I believe the Ambitious Topper to be slightly less angle sensitive – though it is a lot more difficult.
Filed under: Shuffle Work | Tags: advantage, best, erdnase, glimpse, peek, shuffle, stack
It seems fitting that the first post of pasteboard-thought should fall to Erdnase. I, like many more experienced people, believe this to be the best book ever on card artifice.
Rather than simply blowing sunshine up Andrews’ arse, I’ll share my thoughts on the best item in the book. Whilst the bottom deal is fantastic and the methods for retaining stocks at top and bottom during the riffle are indispensable, one other item seems more adept at “getting the money”
To ascertain the Top Cards While Riffling and Reserve Them at Bottom
It seems so simple and yet it is so deadly. The drawing and explanation Erdnase uses is somewhat strange and unclear. I was preparing to write a little on correct execution of the sleight (which is still worked out from the Erdnase text, just with a bit of thought) until I discovered Jeff Wessmiller got there first. Well, probably not the first ever obviously, but still. I advise all to click here and digest his thoughts like a fine meal.
I can assure you that in a game situation, this works. You can do it with more than one card. Hypothetically, you are in a 4 handed game of Texas Hold’em.
Using Erdnase’s method you can sight the top 3 cards and note the values (suits if you can be bothered), then again you shuffle and sight the top 3 cards (whilst holding back 4). You then have 6 values, all of which denote to a card in your (very simply) stacked deck.
For example, if you noted 4,6,K,A,2,2 you know that the player to the right of you has 4,A in the hole. The player opposite has 6,2 and the player to the right has K,2. It is like playing with the cards face up.
It is an easy ruse, but should be thoroughly practiced and used in conjunction of blind shuffles, and whatever method you wish of beating the cut. Vernon mentions in Revelation that an “able card enthusiast in Detroit recently wrote us that he considered it one of the best things in the book.” I could not agree more.
-Arthur–
In offering this blog to the internet the writer uses no sophistry as an excuse for its existence. The hypocritical cant of reformed (?) gamblers, or whining, mealymouthed pretensions of piety, are not foisted as a justification for imparting the knowledge it contains. To all lovers of pasteboards it should prove interesting, and as a basis of card entertainment it is (actually) exhaustible. It may caution the unwary who are innocent of guile, and it may inspire the crafty by enlightenment on artifice. It may demonstrate to the cardician that he cannot beat another cardician at his own art- only add to it- and it may enable the skilled in deception to take a (short) course in the highest and most artistic branches of his vocation. But it will not make the innocent vicious, or transform the pastime player into a professional; or make the fool wise, or curtail the annual crop of suckers; but whatever the result may be, if it is read it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money.
OK so I left the last bit in because it would be blasphemy to alter such a famous line. Money is of no concern. Nonetheless, it sort of gets across my reasons for starting this blog. They are as follows:
- Whilst I am only a mere mortal, I occasionally have ideas regarding pasteboards which may be of genuine interest to other lovers of tricks and advantage-play artifice.
- These ideas are not exactly groundbreaking, and would not warrant any real sort of publication.
- This blog is free.
- Anyone interested can view it.
- I want to share the ideas I have so that someone else perhaps can use them in another context.
- Etc.
