Hello. I am interested doing a card trick similar to Bert Allerton's "Memorizing the Deck" (Disarming Card Deceptions of Bert Allerton, page 31). This is an older manuscript, and as tends to sometimes be the case with older manuscripts, the directions for this trick are a little unclear. So I either need to solve the problem myself (with your help) or find a similar trick (with your help again) so I can proceed.

So I am wondering if anyone here can either suggest a solution or point me to a similar trick that could shed light on how to do this trick.

Briefly...

Spectator names a number from one to 52.
Magi deals to that number and without looking, guesses the card at that number. Card it turned over and shown to be the card guessed.

The way this is done--magi has to memorize cards at positions 10, 20, 30, 40, 50.

Whatever number spec picks, magi needs to secretly displace one to five cards from 1) the top to the bottom or 2) the bottom to the top prior to dealing down to the selected number. One of the five cards memorized will be at that number.

Here is where I get stuck. It is not clear HOW to displace one to five cards from 1) the top to the bottom or 2) the bottom to the top prior to dealing down to the selected number. He says, maybe use a shift or hide the deck under the table and do it.

So, if anyone has any ideas about 1) how to accomplish the required displacement or 2) another trick in which the cards at positions 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 are memorized and used for the solution, I would very much appreciate it. Thank you.

Check out Si Steppin at lybrary.com

Hello !

Look a t Daortiz work. He uses this principle under the name C10.

Corneille, Awesome, you nailed it. A thousand thanks.

Hi Wrayn,


Did you mean Si Stebbins?


BTW, folks, I looked on Lybrary and found an interesting-looking cyclic stack, The "Monk's Stack" by "Unknown Mentalist" that claims to be simple to memorize but less obvious than Stebbins or 8 Kings. Has anyone played with this? https://www.lybrary.com/monk-stack-p-893786.html


See you,

Bob

Sorry, it is Si-Step
https://www.lybrary.com/si-step-p-922331.html

Thanks, Wrayvn.

https://gkaps.com/store/p/c10-by-dani-daortiz-videos-85.html

If you look at 1:23 you can see the move. Very smooth.

The PDF does not really go into how to move the cards but I guess I can figure some other ways out.

One idea is after the spec names the position, say you will need a few cards to help divine the name of the card at that number, and then have the spec take cards off the top one at a time and put them face up in front of you. Do this the same number of cards you have to displace off the top. Then the spec can count down.

To move cards from the bottom to top, I guess you could do a pass, it is only using a few cards.

Could use a face down cull to move cards from bottom to top.

Could just palm off the requisite number of cards from the top or bottom.

Could use one or more faros to move shift the 10th, 20th, etc. to named position. Sadly I can never remember where to find the formula for how the cards move.

Other ideas to displace a few cards would be appreciated it.

What's wrong with the DaOrtiz move?

A lot. It is personality driven misdirection and if you are not jabbering like a maniac very tough to conceal. It fits one pretty specific style.

Totally agree re: the approach not fitting everyone's style, but I think chalking it up to "jabbering like a maniac" is unfair to his style and why the move works.

Notice how you didn’t say ‘inaccurate’?

I personally think you're pinning the success of the style to the wrong quality in his presentation. I'm a fan of DaOrtiz's theory and approach to magic in general, so I'm admittedly maybe taking your comment too personally.

But I think the key to his style is the generally laissez-faire approach to handling the cards. He has a very relaxed attitude overall that gives the feeling of the cards not being under his control. So when he dribbles them, spreads them out, etc. it's all a bit sloppy feeling, so the overall sense is that those actions don't matter and he's just displaying the cards. The pass/cut doesn't even register, especially for laypeople.

I'd argue the same attitude but with slower patter can be just effective, but probably because that is my preferred approach.

His moves fit his style perfectly. That is the point I’m making. To me he jabbers like a maniac. Even in Spanish. It is that sort of style many of the Spanish have emulated since Tamirez. It is not a bad thing, it is not a good thing, it is just a thing.

Same with Lennart Green. His moves fit his style perfectly. Do them outside of his specific presentation it is tough to sell it.

I admire those with enough commitment to be able to do that. Not an easy road at all.

It’s not so much commitment as personality. Magicians often lack it. (Let alone know how to use it to their advantage.)

Green literally invented a style. That is commitment.

If you are asking me, I do not think anything is wrong with it per se. I was looking for it and the first time it flew right by me.

It is interested to observe. By way of misdirection Dani first looks up at the camera and then does the move. The civilian on his left follows his gaze. The civilian on his right (vulnerable side), however, continues to burn the deck.

You don’t believe those are magicians?

The guy takes a deck of cards out if his pocket. Bicycles cards are not easy to get in Spain, not as common as in America. Most “civilians” don’t use them.

In response to supremefiction asking for thoughts/ideas...

I think for the more relaxed DaOrtiz style, the key is getting the cards out of your hands basically as fast as possible, to create maximum distance between the calling of the number and you picking the cards back up for the count. Some people will even say the number was called while the deck was sitting on the table.

In the DaOrtiz example, by the time most people process the number "27" he's already calculated the number of cards to move, sight counted, and shifted the cards. Then he spreads the deck a little as a gesture and drops it sloppily on the table while he pretends to think. That paints a very clear image of the cards sloppy on the table, far away from the magician, as he's thinking out loud "hmmm what card is 27? I'm not sure. maybe? yes! it's this one." So for the spectator, when the card is named the deck is in the middle of the table, then the magician very fairly picks it up and counts down to the card. I'd bet most people are expecting the move after the cards are picked up again, because how could he POSSIBLY have put the card in position when the deck is so far away.

For a more Darwin Ortiz-esque style of being a card master, always in control at all times, you could afford to slow down and deliver some patter to give you time to execute a pinky-count/buckle and shift invisibly, then count down without the cards ever leaving your hands.

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A thought that just occurred to me that could work for a sloppy/relaxed style approach (probably stealing it from somewhere I don't remember, so if anyone knows please let me know)...

1) Ribbon spread the cards on the table to "memorize the deck," then flip over the spread and leave the cards on the table.
2) Have a position named.
3) Repeat the position out loud and ask the person if they're happy with that position? "27. You really can choose any number. Are you happy with 27?"
While you deliver the patter, scoop the cards up off the table, but "accidentally" forget the number you need to shift on the table. Only look at the cards long enough to sight the ones you need to leave on the table.
4) Pick the cards up you "forgot" and put them on top, or slap the deck onto the left over cards on the table if they need to go onto the bottom, and leave the deck openly on the table away from you.
5) Then do whatever you want to conjure the memory of the card in that position and do the reveal.

Glance at the cards long enough to get the count of the cards you need to leave behind, but then you should be able to do the pick up without even looking. That also gives cover for "forgetting" a few cards, because you were looking at the spectator, not at the cards. And if you do the action naturally and fluidly, even someone burning you will think you forgot the bottom cards then put them back on the bottom, or top on top. If you take out some cards now and try it, I think it's honestly pretty deceptive. The cards change from top to bottom, but look like they end up where they were supposed to be.

To me the amazing thing about his style is that if you ask spectators what he did, and I have, that answer is “nothing”. His apparent disregard for the deck itself and having no real interest in what happens to it, while the whole time actually doing quite a bit of things with the deck is just amazing! His attitude of non caring and almost sloppiness with the deck is just disarming as can be.

I don’t particularly like the jabbering style, but respect the heck out of it. So well crafted all the way. Good on him.