The Signed Card by Brother John Hamman

The Secrets of Brother John Hamman by Richard Kaufman and Alan Greenberg

Page 47 et seq.



Personal Comment: This is gold. Really good magic. I would change the initial display of the aces to a Stayon Count, but that's just me. Otherwise this is brilliantly constructed. Jon Rachbaumer calls it a TIME DISLOCATION effect. So I call the plot likewise. I love this. I will add this to my repertoire, as it requires no setup and very little skill. This is great, just great.



Difficulty 2/5

Watch Me Like A Hawk by Brother John Hamman

The Secrets of Brother John Hamman by Richard Kaufman and Alan Greenberg

Page 44 et seq.



Personal Comment: Interesting I guess, but not my cup of tea. This seems like a routine that is so much tied to the personality of Brother John Hamman, that I cannot see anybody doing it, and it appearing natural.



Difficulty 3/5

Die Karte auf der gewünschten Zahl by Jochen Zmeck

Handbuch der Magie (German book) by Jochen Zmeck

Page 73



Personal Comment: Bold as hell, but it works... The element of fail makes the trick work, so it is needed. So this might not be for the pro, who fails as little as possible. But for everyone else: Go for it!



Difficulty 1/5

Cut the Aces by Al Leech

Super Card Man Stuff by Al Leech 1965

Page 46 et seq.



Personal Comment: Really good, really easy. Really recommended.



Difficulty 2/5

Rot-Schwarz-Wanderung by Jochen Zmeck

Handbuch der Magie (German book) by Jochen Zmeck

Page 83



Personal Comment: If this seems like a blatant rip off of Jacob Daley's famous trick... well it is. The method is slightly different, but otherwise everything remains the same. Why is this in the book? Well the "Handbook of Magic" is a beginners book. So Jochen Zmeck decided to include this great little trick in the "glide" section of the book. Does it belong there, without any credit... nope, yet it is a great little trick. And there is a black sheep in every family.



Difficulty 1/5

KAKAKAKA by Jim Abbrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams

Page to be added



Personal Comment: Clearly filler material by Jim Abrahams. In other minds this could be a closer to a card set. But seeing the other effects in the small booklet makes me aware that this, as good as it is is filler. Maybe it's an earlier work. There are many ways to do that trick. Nicer ways. But at least the title makes sense. KAKAKAKA stands for the setup in the beginning. And that makes it charming again.



Difficulty: 2/5

Slow Henry by Roberto Giobbi

Card College 5 by Roberto Giobbi

Page 1239 et seq.



Personal Comment: This is demanding and I don't do it justice. I'm sorry. But this really is a good trick. It has suspense and surprise. It is deceptive (if done right) and a very clear effect. But it's not easy. In fact, it's the kind of trick, that if you don't do it regularly you will forget the phases. Aside from that you need quite a lot of table space. This makes the trick not a work horse. It remains for those special occasions when there is enough time and space. But I like it anyways.



Difficulty 4/5

Mira Skill by Steward James

The Jinx Issue 24 by Theodore Annemann

Page 147 et seq.



Personal Comment: Talk about an oldie. This trick was published in 1936 yet feels new. Many, many version have popped up since then. But the simple prediction variation still seems to be the best way to go.



Difficulty Self Working

Color Guessing

Personal Comment: In the video it looks like I just name the color I turn over. This is not the case. I should have made sure to call out the color first and THEN turn it over. But the trick is good. Nothing spectacular about it, but it is a nice self working trick. So who knows where this was published first?



Difficulty Self Working

Bitte nachmachen by Jochen Zmeck

Handbuch der Magie (German book) by Jochen Zmeck

Page 79



Personal Comment: Another Do As I Do but this time with four cards, which is more of a standard. This I wouldn't teach to kids, as it involves a sleight that they shouldn't know about. However I have seen a variation on this using a double backer. That made it self working. If you like that sort of thing, try it.



Difficulty 1/5

Tuwit by Jochen Zmeck

Handbuch der Magie (German book) by Jochen Zmeck

Page 83



Personal Comment: Do As I Do is a weird plot, as it basically is all about the spectator losing. If that could be twisted in a way so the spectator would win, this might interest me. But this one is great for kids. It's easy. You don't teach them the good stuff. (All you need is the glide) And they have something to show off to their friends. So I sort of like this. Also this is great for bars, If you wanna win a drink, this is the thing to go with. You can do it with coasters too. Just saying.



Difficulty 1/5

Mir nach, Kanaillen!

Handbuch der Magie (German book) by Jochen Zmeck

Page 100 et seq.



Personal Comment: Follow the Leader as basic as it gets. This could be a nice lead-in quickie for a longer Follow the Leader routine with more switches of the leader cards.



Difficulty 2/5

Die Letzte! by Jochen Zmeck

Handbuch der Magie (German book) by Jochen Zmeck

Page 102



Personal Comment: There is no way to do this on camera alone. But I hope you get the effect. Basically you are eliminating cards until the spectators is only left with one. The card of the spectator who picked the card. I have a hard time to tell you how strong this actually is. It's good. Really good. Try it. This slow card revelation is cool. The basic method... well everything you can think of will work.



Difficulty 1/5

Sequential Open Travelers by Mirko Ferrantini

Apocalypse by Harry Lorayne

Volume 7, Number 10 October 1984

Page 979 et seq.



Personal Comment: I've seen better. A little too much palming for my taste. I am sure one can get away with it, but if you fail, there is no way out. So I don't like it. And does making the cards go in sequence actually add to the effect?



Difficulty 4/5

Som-Ace-Sault by Justin Higham

Apocalypse by Harry Lorayne

Volume 7, Number 12 December 1984

Page 1006 et seq.



Personal Comment: This feels more like a pipe dream. I am sure one can get away with this on camera, but in real life, the thickness of the one card in the fan will show. However the last part can be used for other effects in which you need to secretly reverse cards.



Difficulty 2/5

Chinese Money Mystery by J.B. Bobo

Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo 1952



Page 154 et seq.



Personal Comment: J.B. Bobo doesn't credit anybody with this. And he usually does throughout the book. He also says when he is not the originator. So I assume he made it up. I would like to say that this is a gem, and that it is seen not enough these days. I wish I could say that the effect has a heavy impact with any audience. That the scope of the trick makes the people believe that all 8 coins traveled, instead of just three of them. And I wish I could say that it is rather easy to do... but this is a lousy card trick. Where are the cards? Answer me that!



Difficulty 3/5

Card and Rubber Band

Personal Comment: This is great. Animation is almost always great. A magic buddy showed this to me years ago. I liked it. Then I forgot about it. Now I like it again. So where was it published? And who created it?



Difficulty 2/5

Coin Production from Two Cards

Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo 1952



Page 88 et seq.



Personal Comment: Good trick, a gem rarely seen nowadays. Imagine this in a Cannibal Card Routine. Instead of a coin, you can have a piece of a card being regurgitated. I always liked this, so I had to include this. There is nobody credited, but J.B. Bobo says it was published in "The Sphinx some years back" the book is old, so it is even more years. If somebody knows the source I'll change it accordingly.



Difficulty 1/5

3rd Flight by William P. Miesel

Epilogue by Karl Fulves

Issue 6

Page 48



Personal Comment: There is a problem with this trick. They way you see it, it works only 50% of the times. The other times the effect is slightly different. The "ugly" version requires you to pick up the packets and to cut them to show that the "leader" cards have returned to their packets, by a simple cut. Make of this what you will. It is possible to do the effect and your chances of getting the "good" version ain't too bad.



Difficulty 2/5

Loser! by Robert Hess

Epilogue by Karl Fulves

Issue 7

Page 49



Personal Comment: This really is interesting. Seriously. While I think that in terms of method this is an atrocity, it really works for laypeople. I am serious. I have tried it. Many times. It plays great. Maybe this is due to my performing character, but the effect is rather strong. The whole byplay of not getting the ace is fairly entertaining to the audience. The end really gets them. What I have done is to add the line that one participant actually has the ace. Of course I'm foreshadowing the fact that the fifth person has the card in his pocket. But to the spectators it will seem like that maybe the ace has jumped back to one of the spectators involved in the selection process. So you are setting up an effect via the line and not only deliver, but surpass the announcement. When reading this in Epilogue I was like "Really? What the hell is this" but actually doing it has made me come 180 on this initial opinion.

As mentioned above, the method sucks. There is a queen in there which disappears near the end, only to reappear briefly thereafter. But I guess the spectators are so much focused on the ace that they hardly notice.

But that doesn't mean I have to stand up for crappy methods... no... Pick a better one!



Difficulty 2/5

Sandswitch by J.K. Hartman

Epilogue by Karl Fulves

Issue 8

Page 62 et seq.



Personal Comment: I suggest doing that routine with signed cards and then this is gold. I like most of the material that Jerry has put out. The switch is great in terms of both method and look. I can recommend this. Another idea I had was to use two black kings and you put a black queen in between them and two red kings, putting a red queen among it. After the switch the color will be off, but the suits will match.



Difficulty 3/5

Instant Oil by John Hamilton

Epilogue by Karl Fulves

Issue 8

Page 64 et seq.



Personal Comment: I cannot see myself doing this. Way too much stuff to remember. I like my routines simple. And another reason might be that I don't like Oil and Water. But interestingly, if you combine the basic method of card shifting positions as you display them from yesterday with this one, you actually end up with a workable version that is worth exploring. Just sayin'



Difficulty 3/5

Simplex 3 Way by William P. Miesel

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 9
Page 65


Personal Comment: Meh. The Cards remain face down too long. This is not only forgettable but also not very deceptive. Basically its just a nice way to change the order of the cards in a stack. So this might come in handy in a Follow the Leader/Order in The Court/Oil and Water scenario.

Difficulty 1/5

Illusion Aces by Karl Fulves

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 14 March 1972
Page 114 et seq.

Personal Comment: This is the kind of routine, that if you don't do it every day, you'll forget the handling. And doing it wrong will expose the methods. It is good, but so forgettable.

Difficulty 2/5

3-Card Catch by Reinhard Müller

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 14 March 1972
Page 112 et seq.

Personal Comment: Among the fans of self workers this revelation of a card has become a standard. The nearly self working version of this has been published in Pallbearers Review before this. But the above version is better. An even more streamlined handling is found on page 156 in Epilogue by Gerald Kosky. It is good and easy. What's not to like?

Difficulty 1/5

A.E.-I.O.U. by Sam Schwartz

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 14 March 1972
Page 109 et seq.

Personal Comment: This is also published in Ibidem. It riddles me why. This is a routine that is needlessly lost in method. The effect is that a selection vanishes from a sandwich. So if this makes such a big point out of not touching the selected card, then why do I need to adjust the sandwich by hand near the end? It's not failure on my part. It is actually written up that way. Sorry, this is a bad routine.

Difficulty 3/5

Pre-Cannibal Cards by Lynn Searles

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 14 March 1972
Page 109

Personal Comment: This really is very similar to the other version I have covered here before. The only difference is that the sandwich in the end is more like we magicians are used to. Interestingly it makes the routine easier. The last cut I would substitute by a pass, I did the cut anyway, because that's the way it was written up. I still think this is more a Visitors routine, but I give the creator of the cannibal card plot the benefit of a doubt when it comes to naming the plot. Clear effect and very deceptive. Cool stuff.

Difficulty 2/5

No Table Triumph by Dennis Marks

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 17 March 1973
Page 160 et seq.

Personal Comment: Good one. A little bit too much proving for my taste, but one doesn't have to do all the many steps. It looks pretty deceptive I guess and doing it two times for real people and fooling them kind of makes this a "worker" to use a term coined by Michael Close.

Difficulty 3/5

Riddle's Aces by Derek Dingle

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 20 March 1974
Page 188 et seq.

The Complete Works of Derek Dingle
Page 65 et seq.

Personal Comment: Let's say it this way. If you are willing to actually practice this routine until it looks good, you will have a routine that lasts a life time. However putting in the amount of hours needed for this you can learn four other good tricks. It really helps you have long finger nails (I don't) and long fingers for that matter.

Difficulty 5/5

Rosecrans Reverse by Bruce Cervon

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 1 1967
Page 4 et seq.

Personal Comment: This is such a nice quickie. It's easy, no setup and the effect is clear. Great lead-in to a Twisting the Aces routine. It is deceptive and really any suit is possible. Although you got no work if hearts is chosen which happens more often than you think.

Difficulty 2/5

Down and Under by Roy Walton

Epilogue by Karl Fulves
Issue 1 1967
Page 1 et seq.

Personal Comment: The original card problem here is by Bob Veeser. Roy Walton solved the problem wonderfully. It's self working and the setup is little. Also there is a nice one card out. Great trick! To my knowledge, this is not included in "The Complete Walton" neither Vol. 1 or Vol. 2. "Complete" I see!

Difficulty Self Working