Definitely my favorites are 3 card monte, Jumpin Gemini, and oil and water

Dr. Daley's Last Trick is still the best by far

I suppose most any 4 Ace tricks would work.

Hi Steve,


I imagine you're already familiar with Paul Wilson's variation on Color Monte, called Gypsy Monte. It's pretty stunning. Best done with tarot cards, but can be done with regular ones.


See you,


Bob

Mr. Nick Trost's "Fourteen-Card Oil and Water."
Very clean.

(Can be found in Chapter 30, item #5, his: 'Subtle Card Creations' Vol. 3 & Aldo's 'Oil & Water l' @ Lybrary (WMV + MP4) download.)

Bob, Gypsy Monte was reviewed rather harshly when it came out. I don't own it, so can't really comment one way or the other.

Sixten, I think most versions of O&W would fit the description quite nicely. Of course, Trost's version, as with just about everything he released, is well thought out.

Seeing this is an old post revived I have to add that the OP was looking for tricks with cards from an "ordinary" deck. 🙂. $.02

There are so many to chose from. I like much of what Paul Gordon has along with John Bannon (yes they have packet tricks that don't use gimmicks). My favorites are Dr Daley's Last, various Oil & Water Routines from the late great ALDO COLOMBINI & his NICK TROST DVD series on cards has many also.

I recently learned Masque (fantastic!) and I am always performing Color Monte with Joker, Ace of Spades and a Queen of Hearts as a kicker. The Queen helps with my pattern, e.g. as a final line I say: "These gamblers sometimes use a beautiful woman to distract the player!"

A little extra touch for the Color Monte: at the beginning I use the DD Double Lift (from The Complete Works of Derek Dingle) to show 2 Jokers; since the Joker has a one-way design, and the DD-DL turns the card over, the 2 (?) Jokers appear pointing in opposite directions (not sure I explained properly... hopefully you understand what I mean). The display of the second Joker pointing in the opposite direction reinforces enormously the illusion of two separate cards.

Thanks a lot to Steven for opening the thread and putting together this list of masterpieces: really useful!

Can't believe this thread was started over 8 years ago!!

Funny thing is I was looking over my initial post from 8 years ago and was shocked to find how little my initial idea has changed.

My favorites are still Jumping Gemini and Oil and Water (however I switched to Tamariz' version of O&W some years back). The only other "packet trick from a normal deck" that I perform regularly is something of my own creation, and is yet untitled. For the most part, however, I ended up sticking to my initial favorites.

Gabi Pareras:
- Incauto Bribon (homage to Pepe Carroll)
- Elevator
- Oil & water (with surprise ending) (4 red and 4 black, at the end they are all red).

Dani DaOrtiz has a simpler version for the oil and water with only 3 reds and 3 blacks.

And of course, Twisting the aces! already mentioned

One of my favourites is Oil & Queens, by Roy Walton, which I always follow with Modern Jazz Aces

Mark

Marc (and others),


You wrote:



"Gabi Pareras:
- Incauto Bribon (homage to Pepe Carroll)
- Elevator
- Oil & water (with surprise ending) (4 red and 4 black, at the end they are all red).

Dani DaOrtiz has a simpler version for the oil and water with only 3 reds and 3 blacks. "


Do you have references for any of the tricks you mentioned? I watched the Oil & Water and loved it. Wonderful how nearly everything happened in the spectators' hands.


Several websites mentioned having video downloads explaining the trick, but they were all either defunct or sounded like they might be a bit shady. I'm assuming, since you posted on this thread, that the cards are ungaffed.


I also wondered if you could give me a reference for the simpler version by DaOrtiz. And, how simple is "simpler"? Could you give me an idea, without exposing too much, of what sleights are used in Parera and DaOrtiz's versions?


Regards,


Bob

Hi Bob, yes, all regular cards.

Gabi's Incauto Bribon and Elevator are in his lecture notes, I don't know where those can be found.
The oil and water is in his Grupo Kaps Live DVD

The first one uses a couple of medium difficulty sleights but well in range from most card workers.
The Elevator's main move is an Elmsley

Dani's oil and water is in his SemiAutomatic tricks series (or the compiled book), so that tells you that it does not use any complicated sleight, I think the main sleight is like an Orlam count.

Both oil and waters have the surprise finish where instead of separating blacks and reds, in the third phase all cards are red.

Thanks, Marc, very helpful. Yes -- I'd forgotten, that was the other reason I was attracted to these O&W's: all the cards are red at the end. Okay, I'm off to do my research!