Play along with me.
Take two high four of a kind, aces and kings are always good, (if a little suspicious) or queens and jacks etc. 10s and 9s… blah blah.
Take the cards face DOWN and breather all 8 of them. This can be done whilst listening to Bach, or Vivaldi, or any other strangely named European composer.
Then, distribute the cards in the deck and shuffle thoroughly. In other word, get them randomly mixed into a deck.
NOW imagine yourself in a shady room playing 5 card stud with a bunch of suckers.
Haphazardly dribble them into your hand as for dealing. This should cause a break at one of the breathers. It should be at the BOTTOM of a packet of cards. Hold this break. Deal a round of cards and then deal a centre deal at the break to yourself. You will thus, receive one of the cards.
Now everyone has a one hole card. And you are guaranteed to have either a queen or king or one of the two values that you marked.
I think you can see what to do now. Every time you are to deal a face up card to someone, you can gain another break at another breather and deal yourself one of your 8 card stock. This way you are guaranteed at the end a full house or quads.
Nifty, ey?
OK so yes. Yes its incredibly bold. You’re board will appear incredibly strong and getting suckers to bet into you would be difficult. You could of course help them along by dealing one other player aside from yourself a marked card in the hole and for the first board cards, and deal yourself one in the hole and later board cards so its too late for them to back out.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this more than once in a game. It might be a bit fishy if on every one of your deals you hit a boat or quads…
This is mainly just a thought, and through playing with it I can see it would take a lot of practice and balls as well. If I ever manage to make a clean video, I’ll post it up.
Until then, this is food for the brain. And a fun way to practice breathers and centre work.
Cheers ‘en.
–Arthur–
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–
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.
