Hayze has started off some other echoes rattling around my old skull. There's an audience management issue lurking at the back of all this somewhere, I think.

What are the consequences of allowing the cards to be examined for one effect? Depending on how you handle it, you may well be making things hard for yourself. If the audience learns that it can look at the cards after one effect, its members may assume that this is OK after every effect. We know that is not always the case. If they demand to do so, it could precipitate a problem spot.

This would arise particularly if the cards were handed out in a "challenge". Darwin Ortiz deals with this aspect quite well in his book Strong Magic.

As some of the other posts have indicated, there are truckloads of very strong packet tricks that do not end up examinable. Seems a shame to exclude them from your repertoire because they fail this test. That's partly why I've suggested looking for ways to clean up some of these.

Back to Bro Hammond and his stacked deck that I mentioned in an earlier post. I suspect it didn't matter a jot that he didn't pass the cards out after the twins, or any other of his gaffed effects. The cards came out of a deck, he entertained the audience they went back into the deck. Bro Hamman was acting completely indifferently about the means, in performance the effect was his end.

Now try this for an idea. If you watch Bill Malone perform on any of the On the Loose Videos, you will see him continually shuffling the cards and doing a running cut from his hands to the table. If anyone in the audience cared about the cards, they would probably conclude that they were ordinary and very thoroughly mixed. Bill shows on the tapes that nothing is further from the truth.

Now this won't work for everyone, but if you combined the Bro Hamman idea with this last it wouldn't matter whether the cards were examinable or not.

The idea is to set the deck with the cards required for a program in order of performance. To start, uncase the deck, shuffle the cards, running cut to table. For example say, "I need just four cards for this bit I want show you," take them off the top and you're away. At the finish, square the four cards face down, drop the deck on top, false shuffle and go on to the next.

But I'm straying from the topic......

Hey Kurtis, have you checked out Frank Simon's Versatile Card Magic 'revisted'
he has an effect called `Keep on cloning' which are nearly identical to Bro.john Hammon's Pinocle. (only 4 cards)

So I guess mine has to be.

Keep on Cloning....... Frank Simon.
Masquerade............. Phil Goldstein.
Colour Monte........... Jim Temple? (Emmerson & West)?
Gypsy Monte............ Paul R. Wilson.
Twisting the Aces..... Dai vernon.
4 card trick.............. Alex Elmsley.
Any packet trick........ Walt Maddison.
It cant be any slower. Rene Levande.
Reset...................... Paul Harris.
Virginia City Shuffle..... Martin Lewis, Louis Falanga, John Luka.

I'd add Sympathetic Cards to the list. Originally from Emerson West, but with a little effort you can make up your own set, since it really uses regular cards. They just need varying backs.

Not original but still get my vote:
Color Monte
Cros Twist

I would have to say Twilight Angels, now that's one piece of amazing, visual and examinable magic by the genius that is Paul Harris.

And of course, who can forget Dr. Daley's Last Trick?

Reset is another hot one.

Take care,

Logan

My vote is Virginia City Shuffle.
when you turn over the last 2 aces jaws drop!!
Paul

Has to be Virginia City Shuffle.

cannibal cards
follow the leader
reset
devil's elevator
open travellers
... just to name a few

Asher twist, twisting the aces, colour monte,

I like the McClintock Twist, or Bizarre Twist as my 2 favs.

My favorite packet effects are:

Look-an-illusion, Uniflection and The Ambitious Classic by Larry Jennings

Standard routiens like Twisting the Aces, Daley's Last trick and Reset are all fabulous because the cards come from the deck in use and not from some plastic wallet.

One more for the road which is outstanding is The Interchange by Gary Kurtz; this effect is a stand-up transposition of eight cads and is awesome.

Michael Vincent

Virginia City Shuffle
Twisting the Aces
Ungimmicked Twisted sisters

One I don´t know the name : you show the deck divided in two parts (not in diagonal like "split deck")then spread one of the halves on the table face down and spread in your hands the other half face up. Spectator selects one piece from the table (without look the face) and put where he wants face down in the face up half in your hands. You spread the face up pieces on the table and remove the face down piece and the piece above. You show the backs match (gag) and the faces match too

Now you show that all other face up pieces have blank backs and finally that all other face down cards have blank faces.
Please if anybody knows the name, let me know.

Maybe card warp isn't a packet trick, I don't know, but card warp really freaks people out. It's perfectly examinable at the end. I'm surprised no one else mentioned it. Now is there a limit of cards you need to use to qualify as a packet trick? How do you define it, really? I'm just curious. Anyway other faves are twisting the aces, Dr. Daley's last card trick, and reset even though I haven't performed it yet, Ed, (Eddini).

My favorite examinable packet trick would have to be

Color Monte
Oil and Water
Queens out of Control (or Paradigm shift)

Jumping Gemini-Darwin Ortiz
Twisting the Aces-Dai Vernon
Bizarre Twist-Paul Harris
As well as any of Paul Harris' linking card effects.
Andre

A Bicycle Built for Five

I'd have to put some more votes for Color Monte, Virginia City Shuffle, and Twisting The Aces.

52 pick up

Color Monte and Twisting the Aces. Oh also Pet Intelligence is also good.

Color monte is my choice. An all-time classic.