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f I were a betting man, I would say this is the trick from this
book that most people will end up doing. When someone
hands me a deck of cards, this is one of the first routines
I perform. It only uses :five cards, the plot is simple to
understand, and there are many moments of magic. It can be
done formally or informally, and it plays equally as strong.
The heart of the routine is Noel Stanton's "Palindrome Cards':
but the added phases elevate the effect to a full routine with
explanatory and climax phases.5 If you only have enough time
for one trick with a spectator, this is a good option.
5. The handling that mine is based on is Roberto Giobbi's from Card College Vol
3 (1998), p.585. I-Iowever, the creator, Noel Stanton, first published his routine
under the title "1-2-3-4-5" in The Gen in 1965.
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-.---- - - -- - --
Effect
The Ace, Two, Three, Four, and Five of a selected suit are placed
in order and a game is wagered. You claim that, no matter what
happens, the Ace will always be on top. Under more and more
impossible conditions, despite the order of the cards being
reversed, somehow the Ace is always on top.
Method Overview
With a series of double, triple, and quadruple lifts, the cards
appear to correct themselves.
Moves
• Spread Cull
• Double Lift
• Triple Lift
• Qµadruple Lift
• Bottom Deal
• Slipduc Displacement
Don't let this list of moves discourage you. The packet of cards
is only five cards deep, which makes the moves a piece of cake.
Needed
• A deck of cards.
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Choreography
"I'd like to play a simple game that you have no chance oflosing. I
won't even make you playfar money."
"What's yourfavorite suit?"
Let's imagine that the spectator names Spades.
"Spades. Perfect. "
"1his simple game isfairly easy to follow since it only usesjive cards,
and I've even put them in order to help you out."
Spread the deck between your hands with the faces toward you
and place the Ace, Two, Three, Four, and Five of Spades face
down on the table. Set the rest of the deck aside as you will not
need it for the rest of the routine.
The Initial Display
Pick up the five cards and arrange them in order, with the Five
at the face of the packet. Figure 1, next page. Square the cards
and place them face down in the palm of your left hand.
"1he only thing you need to remember to win this game, that I've
clearly just made up, is that the top card is always the Ace ofSpades.
J(eep that in the back ofyour mind, and you'll come out ahead.
"So, what's the top card?"
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Pick up the top card with your right hand and clearly show it
to be the Ace of Spades. Place this card face down on the table.
''Look at that. You're crushing the game already.
"1his, ofcourse, means that the second card is going to be the Two.
1he third is the 1hree. 1hefourth is the Four ... "
As you are explaining the order ofthe packet, flip each respective
card face up to show its value, and then place it face down on
the tabled Ace of Spades.
~-- and after the Four, we have the ... ?"
I like to wait for a response here in order to encourage them
really to follow along. If they lose track of the order of the
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t:Rrds, then they will not be able to appreciate the effect. If all
has gone according to plan, they will say the Five of Spades.
'['urn the Five of Spades face up and openly place it face up on
top of the face-down pile on the table. Figure 2.
':As long as you know what card is on top ofthe packet, you cannot
lose."
Pick up the tabled packet. You now need to reposition the
face-down Three of Spades (third from the top) to the bottom
of the five-card packet. Collect the cards and hold them in a
spread in both hands. Show the packet to the spectators on
your left, and then slowly start turning your body toward the
spectators on your right. The larger action of turning the body
makes it difficult to follow the smaller motion of the card being
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relocated. To execute the cull, place your left thumb on top of
the second card from the top and your right second finger on
the face of the Three of Spades. Pull the right fingers to the
right as you pull your left thumb to the [Link] pulls the Three
under the spread. Close up the cards, allowing the Three to
slide onto the face of the packet. With only five cards in play,
this is a breeze.
The First Reversal
"Let's begin. My move isfirst."
Openly and slowly turn the Five of Spades face down. Make a
point of how fair this is so that the audience doesn't lose track
of the card. Figure 3.
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' /bat 's it. What card is on top?"
( >ne of two things can happen at this point. Either they will
•,ay the Five of Spades or the Ace of Spades. The way the script
1s laid out, I'm hoping they forget that the Ace is supposed to
I,c on top. This makes this next phase seem more explanatory.
Either way, the actions are the same.
If they say Ace of Spades:
"Absolutely. The Ace is always on top. I'm glad we aren'tplaying this
,,
gameflor money.
Let's assume they say the Five of Spades:
':[Link] the Ace if Spades is always on top. I thought I was clear,
but let me explain this again!"
Use your left fourth finger to pull down on the bottom card of
the packet to obtain a break under the top four cards. With the
help of this break, execute a quadruple turnover, and show the
Ace of Spades now to be on top of the packet. To hold a break
between the top four cards and the bottom card as you show the
Ace of Spades, use the Altman Trap, by using the fleshy base of
your left thumb to hold a break between the two packets. 6 Figure
4, next page. This minor adjustment keeps the obvious break of
holding the packets separate from being out and in the open.
After showing the card to the audience, turn the quadruple face
down and deal the top card face down to the table.
6. Art Altmads move was published in Advanced Fingertip Control (1970) by Ed
Marlo,p.147. - - -- -- - - 45
Using a pinky count, obtain a break underneath the top two
cards. Perform a double lift, showing the next card to be a Two
of Spades. Flip it face down and deal the top card on top of the
card already face down on the table.
Direct your attention to someone on your left, and in the action
of gesturing to them with the left hand, perform a bottom deal
so that the right hand will now be holding the Three of Spades.
Since there are only three cards in play, there is no real technique
here. Pinch the three cards with the right hand, thumb on top
and :fingers below. Push the top two cards to the left and grip
them with the left hand, leaving behind the bottom card.
':After the Two ofSpades is the ... ?"
Wait for them to answer and reveal the Three of Spades. Place
it face down on top of the tabled packet.
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I he audience believes the next card to be the Four of Spades.
I11 reality it is the Two of Spades, which you deal onto the pile
without showing its face.
'/Ind ifthis is the Four ofSpades, the card after the Four is ... ?"
·Ihe right hand should now be holding on to the Ace of Spades.
'lh e audience should believe this is the Five of Spades. As you
wait for them to answer your question, slowly begin to move
the card so that it is over the tabled packet, but keep the card
in your hand. Figure 5.
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Ifthe question is delivered correctly, the audience almost always
names the Five of Spades. Point out the location of the card in
your hand.
'1sn't this card on top?"
Slowly turn over the card at your right fingertips to reveal the
Ace of Spades. Figure 6. This goes face up in the left hand.
Then turn over the top card of the tabled packet and reveal it
to be the Two of Spades. This goes face up in the left hand also,
followed by the Three, the Four, and the Five. Figure 7.
Don't rush through this sequence. A lot of magic happens in a
very short amount of time.
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A Pseudo Explanation
"To be honest, this isn't a game at all It's a con. These cards are smart
enough to always correct themselves. If they are ever out of order,
they have the ability to find their way home. Let me show you. "
Pick up the packet and place it face do\vn in your left hand.
Show the top card, the Ace of Spades. While you show it,
secretly get a fourth-finger break below the next card, the Two
of Spades. This is in preparation for the Tilt move. 7
7. "Tilt" was first published by Ed Marlo in his booklet Tilt! (1962). In the
foreword, Marlo stated that while establishing credits for his notes he had heard
(through Neal Elias) that Vernon independently invented the move a few months
before he did. Vernon would later publish his original handling in The Pallbearers
Review: Close Up Folio#10 (1977).
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''If the Ace of Spades is placed anywhere else in the pack, and you
waitfar just a second, the Ace will always return where it belongs."
Place the Ace of Spades into the break at the back of the packet,
positioning the Ace of Spades second from the top. Figure 8.
Since there are only five cards in the packet, the Tilt might
seem like overkill, but I like this more than just openly placing
it second from the top.
Now that the audience believes the Ace of Spades to be lost
somewhere in the packet, perform a double turnover and
show that the Ace has risen to the top. Figure 9. Hold a break
underneath the double to avoid having to establish the break
again later on.
"Now thatyou know whatyou're looking/or, watch as closely as you can."
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Since you already have the break, this phase is particularly clean.
Turn the double face down on top of the packet and openly place
the top card, which is supposedly the Ace (really the Two), third
from the top. Figure 10. Wait for a second. Tum the top card face
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up and reveal it to be the Ace of Spades. You are demonstrating
again, without saying anything, that the Ace always returns to
the top. Take the Ace and place it face up on the table. Figure 11.
'1 always get accused ofhaving more than one Ace of Spades. So I'll
show you that this also works with the Two ofSpades. "
Perform a double lift, turning the top two cards over in the left
hand, displaying the Two of Spades. Figure 12. Turn the double
face down, and push off the top card. Fan out the rest of the
packet and openly place the single card onto the bottom of the
packet. Square everything up and slowly turn over the top card,
displaying that the Two of Spades has risen to the top. D eal it
face up onto the Ace on the table. Figure 13.
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Everything, All at Once8
"I know the problem. You probably think I have more than jive
cards. Justfor you, I'll do thisface up. That way you can see it happen
for yourself"
Pull down on the bottom card with the left fourth finger to
obtain a break above it. Figure 14. With your palm-down right
hand, place your right thumb into the break. As your right
hand turns the upper two cards over end-for-end, Figure 15,
your left hand turns the card under the break over side-for-
side. Figure 16. Place the two cards in your right hand on top
of the single card still in your left hand. This places the Three,
Four, and Five back into the correct order.
8. This phase evolved to its current state over a number of years performing this
routine. I later found out Chad Long had an unpublished effect called "Out Of
Order." It is similar in plot, but different in handling.
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Pick up the two cards on the table and place them on the
bottom of the packet in your hand. Figure 17.
"7his is done with five cards, and only five cards. Since they're face
up, we can mix those cards up so none ofthem are where they should
,,
be.
This sequence will sound confusing in print, but in performance
it only takes a second. The goal is to mix up the five-card packet
convincingly, while also setting up for the final revelation.
The cards are face up in your left hand, in order, Ace through
Five, with the Five on the face of the packet. The right hand
picks up the packet and slightly fans the cards.
The left thumb pulls the cards into the left hand one at a time.
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'lhey should end in the following order from the face to the
hack of the packet:
• Three of Spades
• Five of Spades
• Four of Spades
• Ace of Spades
• Two of Spades
Since this process is over very quickly, after having taken the
cards in the left hand, I like to pull the cards haphazardly one
at a time back into the right hand without actually changing
the order. This further convinces the audience that the cards are
mixed. Figure 18.
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''ff these cards were going to correct themselves, then several things
would have to happen. 1hat Ace would have to move all the way
to the top of the packet, since that's the only rule. 1he Two would
have to move up three spaces to be below the Ace. 1he 1hree would
have to shift down two spaces to be directly in the middle. 1he Four
would have to shift down one position, and the Five would have to
move all the way to the bottom. Everything has to happen, but all
at once."
This may seem long winded, but deliberately describing the
movements of the various cards really sells the impressiveness
of the effect when they go back in order simultaneously.
The left hand apparently takes the bottom three cards of the
fan, leaving the top two in the right, the hands moving apart
as the cards are displayed, front and back. In reality, you pull
the Five onto the Two and the Ace with your left thumb, while
your right middle and ring fingers pull the Four underneath the
Three in the right hand, switching the positions of the Five and
the Four. This is Howard Lyon's Slipduc displacement move.9
Figure 19. Place the cards back together, bringing the cards
into the following order from the face to the back.
• Three of Spades
• FourofSpades
• Five of Spades
• Ace of Spades
• Two of Spades
9. See Ibidem #9 (1957).
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At this point, you are locked and loaded for the finale.
Palm Ending
If you look at the position you're in, you'll notice that cutting
the bottom two cards to the top of the packet will not only put
the Ace on top, which is the whole point of this routine, but
it'll also put the entire packet into order again.
You're about to create an extremely visual change of the packet
going back into order in front of their eyes. This is a startling
moment, but it requires a beat of misdirection.
Using a side steal, palm the Ace and Two of Spades into right-
hand classic palm from the bottom of the packet. As you wave
your hand over the packet, drop the two cards onto the face.
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The Three will look like it instantly changes to the Ace.
I find that this ending works best in front of a small number
of spectators where you can easily determine the exact focus
of their attention. When in front of a bigger audience, I like
to change the moment. This is when I default to the No-Palm
Ending:
No-Palm Ending
Sometimes, the best way to hide a move is to perform it out in
the open.
"1he only thing I have to do is reach into the center ofthe pack and
take one card, the Ace ofSpades. 1he second it goes back on top, that's
when everything changes."
Riffle up on the back of the packet, and obtain a break above
the bottom two cards of the packet. With your right hand,
pretend to reach into the center of the packet. In reality, pinch
the bottom two cards together with the thumb on bottom and
the index finger on top. Pull the double backward for half of
the card's length. Figure 20. Pull it out completely and place in
on top of the packet, but still backjogged. Figure 21.
This is a great moment because the more directly you highlight
this moment, the more clearly the audience will remember the
Three directly beneath the Ace. Of course, this is not the case
- the cards are in order.
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61 I
Slowly push the double forward until it's completely aligned.
The rest is just show business.
One at a time, count the cards from the face into the right
hand, showing the cards to have returned themselves back into
order. Figures 22-23.
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