BTW guys, I found this interesting approach to stack design not so long ago: http://www.benjoffe.com/holdem

Not something that would necessarily require "memorising" as such, unless you wanted to put one together a few minutes before the effect... even then you could have a little crib sheet. One of these would make a nice cold deck I think, also it deals with the popular and contemporary game of Holdem... possibly synonymous with "poker" in the minds of many people today.

Not something you'd lug around with you everyday ("not another extra deck!!") but something that would be cool every now and then, to false shuffle and let someone else cut, and, then, with no funny moves, deal your way to poker mastery (for entertainment purposes only, as Mr. Joffe states!)

So I promised myself I'd write (and optimise: there's some serious number crunching afoot with these things!) some code myself to explore stacks, half-stacks and stacklets of this sort; haven't got round to it yet. I'll let all you lovely people know if I make progress on this.

Hey mnemonist, how long does it take you to un-learn a memorization?

Hey guys! thanks again!...ive decided to just go with the stack I came up with rather that the BCS...and since I know every card that comes next, I can do most of the BCS effects, except I'm not using the BCS stack!...i just tweaked it up a lil yesterday, so now I have a built in texas holdem poker deal as well...the blackjack idea is great, in fact M.Osterlind has a great deal in his vol.2 dvd. I also thought that I might as well make it a true memorized deck instead of just a sequential stack, I went ahead and learned the positions of the cards(well not really, I just know every fourth card in deck)...



its not hard to unlearn say a stack of cards. since I use the journey method, I just empty everything out again. I can use a same journey twice and memorize a first set of cards, then the second set a few minutes later. I have a general use journey for when I borrow someones cards and have them shuffle it then I memorize it. I have another journey for that stack I came up with, now I'm going to use a new journey for when I decide to learn either the Tamariz stack or the Aronson stack. so short answer, couple minutes.

To MemDeck 329,
While I do have an article on a Texas Hold'em Routine with the Aronson Stack on my Web Site, I was not the one to create it. It was the work of my pal Sterling Dare, and is so credited in the article.

Dennis Loomis

Thanks for the clarification Dennis. It's always good to give credit where credit is due. The modern generation thinks Hold'em IS poker, since it about all you see on TV. It's a good option to have for memdeck work. I like the idea that several of the built-in effects can flash a different card on the bottom now and then.

If you have an iphone, there's a GREAT application available called "Stacked Deck". It provides a way to learn and practice the Aronson and Tamariz stacks. You can add any stack manually. It goes for around $5.00

Head for the App store.

sdmagic

I like "Stacked Deck", sdmagic, but it should be mentioned that you can enter ANY stack in there to memorize. It does have several stacks, such as BCS, Tamariz, Aronson, Si Stebbins and so on built in.

Yeppers, under fire, you just cannot be too careful. Same with SSK, you could do it with regular bills but why chance it in front of a valuable client?

Steven you'll's "hacker stack". And with a little tip from Darwin Ortiz you can have a miracle. Just think about this. You open a brand new pack of cards give it a few shuffles, and BAM! You have your memorized deck looking you right in the face. A mem deck from a brand new pack of cards in about 15 seconds. Doesn't get any more convenient than that my man.

Bobby, yes that is certainly one way to go, especially if you can do two perfect faro shuffles "under-fire". And, the cyclical Hacker/Stebbins stack is only a mem deck if you actually take the time and effort to memorize it.

Another option is to secretly open a new deck from the bottom, set the stack, and re-seal it. This way you can open the deck and perform a few false shuffles and cuts. Now, the deck can be spread face up, without showing any obvious order. This is assuming you are using a stack such as Aronson, Tamariz, etc.

I'm not knocking the Si Stebbins arrangement. I used it for years. Great things can be done with either of the various stacks.....

MemDeck329 Thanks for the idea of re-sealing a memdeck into a new package. I could never justify it because the cards are not in new deck order. I just forgot the obvious, do a few false shuffels!! (Duh!). Thanks for the tip.

Tony