Filed under: Peculiarities | Tags: contribution, Finesse, ideas, mark, mrmagi
I was recently blessed with a private message on a particularly popular magicians board from a particularly clever chap named Mark.
He shared with me some improvements and clean ups for some of the awful tat I’ve posted in the past.
For the sake of credit, I’ll quote him directly…
“Nothing major, just a couple of small things…
I really enjoyed the Ambitious Topper Control, as I’ve been working on a similar control myself for quite a while – seems like you may have messed with it too as I note you mentioned tivo in another post on the move. Anyway, I’ll just briefly go through how i’m doing it:
1. get injog half-way down
2. double to show card on top, turn over and place indifferent angle-jogged
3. do original tivo transpo, turning wrist to show selection outjogged
4. do ambitious riser at an angle while straightening selection
5. square out jogged car and reveal
Just wanted to share it, see if you’ve been messing with the angle-jog
for this also, or just the topper move? I really like the idea of
using the riser as a force – i’ll definitely have to start trying that
out!
Another thing I wanted to send on is my handling of your “An
unnecessary exploration of difficulty in effect form”. I really liked
the effect, but as you mentioned, it’s a bit of a knuckle-buster! Just
wanted to share what I’ve come up with after reading that post:
1. have a card selected and control it to 2nd from bottom.
2. shuffle and cut etc. retaining position of selection
3. get break above the bottom two cards, swing cut and flip over top
half into other hand asking spec if that is there card while tapping
bottom half on it
4. when they say no, drop bottom cards (injogged a little) on top of
reversed half and turn both hands over asking if the bottom card of
deck is the selection (ernest earick method of reversing two cards in
center of deck)
5. when they say no again turn over bottom half and place under top
half – should now have the two original bottom cards reversed in the
center and injogged slightly.
6. tell them its going to jump out of the deck – and do the ambitious
riser which will show the original bottom card above the selection
7. perform jack carpenters impulse change to show the selection.
I think you’ll agree it’s a similar effect with much less work.
Regards,
Mark”
The ambitious riser idea is a knuckle busting bastard, but I like it.
The trick is far more streamlined than I could ever dream up.
I’d like to thank Mark for these great ideas. It all adds to the wonderful bubbling pot that is paste-bored.
If anyone else has some ideas they want to share, throw me a comment! I’m more than happy to put anything in its own special post.
Regards,
Arthur
Consider this.
Your in a position where it is imperative that you know how many cards there are in the deck, but cannot count them openly. Thing is, they really need a shuffle.
Try this.
Hold the cards in position to break for the in-the-hands faro. Riffle 7 or 8 cards from the bottom. (we’ll assume 7 for this walkthrough). OutFaro these cards into the top of the deck, breaking the cards as you square them, at the last card of the weave. This is now 14 cards. Repeat the process. Now its 28. Now if you faro the cards and you were counting a full deck of 52, there would be a bigger packet faroing into a smaller one. Simply count by sight the cards that haven’t been faroed and subtract that from your last double number, it should be a smallish number.
And you have the correct number of cards in the deck in your head. And it looks like you just shuffled.
I haven’t come up with an application for this yet, but… um. There might be one.
Marlo probably published this before as well, but to be fair, he’s published everything ever.
Arthur
Filed under: Peculiarities | Tags: aaron fisher, ambitious riser, effect, knuckle buster, Magic, out, pop, quick
Something I have been fiddling with for ages on the magic side of things is this little ditty.
Effect: A card is chosen and returned to the deck. Instantly, the card shoots out of the deck face up. But alas, it is not the correct card. With just a shake, the out jogged face up card visually changes to the correct selection.
Schpeeeel: Explaining effects is always a silly process. It never really gives a very realistic idea of what the trick is like, now does it. I don’t think I’ll go into marketing…
At any rate, the sleights used are Marlo’s Automatic Reverse, Aaron Fisher’s pop out move and yes, Fred Robinson’s ambitious riser.
Now, this effect is a real bitch, and I still haven’t been able to perform it smoothly thanks to the constant maintenance of a break at the selection. But its a nice challenge. In theory, this effect, if smoothly performed would take about 10 seconds and be short, sweet and direct. That seems to be the fashion these days. Short and sweet. None of this spelling card names or laboriously counting down a deck. But then I suppose thats progress isn’t it.
Anyway.
Get a selection returned and reversed in the centre of the deck SECRETLY (mystery arouses me) and hold a break below the reversed card. Now, this bit is a bit tricky, you are going to do Aaron FishyFishes’ Pop out move, whilst maintaining the break below the selection with the thumb. This is surprisingly achievable. The bottom card needs to be popped out underneath the selection somewhere in the deck. A few cards down or something.
Now you transfer the deck back to mechanics and ambitiously rise (chortle) the selection over the top of the dud.
If this isn’t a miracle. What is?
Hope. That’s what.
Hmm…
I realise this isn’t the most polished idea, but I felt I should note it down so when I grow old and forget stuff this one doesn’t elude me. We wouldn’t want that.
–Arthur–
Sexy Post Script: Has anyone else noticed how the ambitious riser and the DB spin change (in that order) juxtapose rather well. Consider the patter: If I shake the card changes… hmmm… I’ll just wipe that away and we can start again.
Filed under: Peculiarities | Tags: ambitious, brush, bryan, control, improvement, topper
First off, let me apologise for a long absence. Going to Uni has jiggled my priorities rather and thus, I haven’t had as much time for pasteboard literature. Cards are very much still a part of my life though, and what a wonderful thing they are as well.
Anyway, on to the content of this wonderful post.
Full credit for this idea to goes a Mr Bryan M Brush. He commented on the first ambitious topper post with a fantastically simple method for improving the sleight. It makes it easier to execute, and also a lot cleaner as it eradicates the depth discrepancy.
So without further procrastination (something University has made me very good at), I’ll pass you over by simply quoting the comment he left us on this very site….
First, my apologies for commenting on something that was posted over a month ago. Second, kudos for the idea.
However, I have a suggestions, which you may or may not agree with. Why have the injog in the cards before hand? Here’s my suggestion, and after I present the idea I will explain to you several reasons I feel it is worth recommendation.
1. Pick up the deck and riffle for a selection.
2. After you’ve outjogged the selection, plant (in your and my case) you right thumb onto the card underneath the outjogged card.
3. Injog this lower card as you square the rest of the deck.
Hopefully you’re able to follow what I’m saying. It’s rather simple, but becomes a muddled mess in textual format.
Reasons for why I suggest this are as follows:
1) Guaranteed that your injog is underneath the outjog, in fact directly underneath.
2) Since the injog is directly underneath the original outjog, there will be no possible depth discrepancy.
3) Without requiring the injog before hand you’re allowed free motion and can pick the deck up and immediately utilize the move without worrying about jogging and then having a selection made.
These are all minor, but as you yourself have said elsewhere details are everything.
Take Care and God bless.
-Bryan
Isn’t that fantastic? So simple, and yet such a helpful improvement. THAT, my friends, is precisely the reason I started this blog. Growth and what not.
–Arthur–
Seen Tom Pintson’s video of his cards across using the ambitious riser?
I always loved it – but the get ready for the main moment of magic seemed a bit contrived and unstreamlined.
So… why not….
Show a card, upjogged in a spread, and use Marlo’s Convincing Control to cull it under the spread and plant a dud – then cull it half way down the bottom half of the deck and hold the break as you break the deck in two parts. Now for the moment, push in the dud whilst rising the chosen card.
Hey Presto! The card has magically travelled from packet to packet.
To increase the astonishment, precede this knucklebuster with a simple example of the card magically moving from packet to packet – but not visually. E.G cut deck in two. Taking one packet, double lift, shove the dud in the other packet. Snap fingers. Show card back on first packet. This would be apt at introducing the effect of magical travel, allowing for the more visual trick previously described to be more appreciated.
Hmm…
–Arthur–
Filed under: Peculiarities | Tags: ambitious, force, Magic, riser, unnecessary
Yep. Me and that ambitious riser. We get on like a house on fire.
In this case, its a force. Now I am aware that the ambitious topper is both a force and a control, but then being a move monkey I think another method of accomplishing a force sounds like a good idea.
In this case, you want to injog the card you want to force about 2/3 of the way down the deck. Now riffle with the thumb from the top and ask for the call to stop. At this point, break the deck in two and point to the top card of the bottom packet calling it out to be the chosen card. Now with the fingers of the right hand, (holding the top packet in biddle grip) feign pushing that top card forward an inch, whilst simultaneously rising the injogged card in the traditional manner. Now plonk the top packet back ontop and hold the deck so the outjogged card can be see.
Its just as angly as the ambitious topper, but not in the same way.
Either way, it seemed worth mentioning.
–Arthur–
Filed under: Magic, Peculiarities | Tags: ambitious, control, dupe, dupery, dupes, sudo-dupe, sudodupe, topper, transposition
This is perhaps flogging a dead horse as the Ambitious Topper is about as clean as you can get visually, but if you wanted to make it EVER more (perhaps suspiciously) clean you could utilise Sudo-Dupes.
Take the Ace of Clubs and crimp it so you can locate it in the centre of the deck, and place the ace of spades on the top. Now injog the ace of clubs somewhere in the centre of the deck, and perform the ambitious topper control. You will have forced the ace of SPADES and the ace of CLUBS will be jutting out the deck. (Be sure to use the word “jutting” when pattering. It is a fantastic word. I enjoy it immensely and so should you.)
Now comes for the sudo-dupery. If you make sure the outjogged ace of clubs is only out about a centimetre (or, on rider back bikes, just at about the nipple level of the outer cherubs) you can turn over the whole deck and the only exposed part of the Ace of Clubs with be the BLACK A. Obviously, it looks a bit fishy and you would not want to go “Look the ace of spades is there. Loooook” because that is worthy only of a bungler.
The best patter to use in my opinion is to say “And I’ll just take a cheeky look at the card, ok great its the ace of spades, easy to remember” and turn the deck back over. This is for two reasons. One: it justifies bothering showing the card again because this time you see it. Two: Miscalling it as the ace of spades implies you saw the spade of the card, even though it is not visible, which psychologically is very convincing. Add that to the fact that the spectator should genuinely believe they had a free choice and thus you correctly naming the card means you MUST have seen the value and suit.
Neat, eh?
Use it in the context of a trick??!?!?!? What the hell is the point in that?!?!?!??!
OK a trick with it. Well, actually it can just help improve any transposition effect. Do the Bucks’ Tivo 2.0 with this control/dupey process instead of the usual centre double lift. It is a lot cleaner. Of course its also a lot more difficult, but then, isn’t that the point?
Until next time, sleight-junkies.
–Arthur–
This post comes from the wonderful and strangely alluring mind of Donald Chung. ‘Tis a finesse on the classic through the fist flourish, which is simple, but nonetheless delectable.
So I shall hand it over…
The video already explains the move in enough detail. However, I’d like to talk about the reason for the move.
In the usual Through The Fist Flourish (TTF), the cards are left in your non-dominant hand. This means the cards have to be adjusted before it can be displayed.
If you compare the move with and without the finesse, you will notice the time period for the sequence is almost the same.
However, the key point is that although they require the same time to execute, the moment of magic within has different timing.
When I say moment of magic, I mean the moment from the dispay after TTF, to the Elmsley Count.
This almost has minimal effect on the trick, but naturally this enhances the whole performance.
Details matter kids.
Play safe.
Donald
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.
