F A C B E N J
E V A by A M I N
L U E E A R L
Face Value
A reconstructed ‘modern classic’
B E N J
A M I N
E A R L
www.benjaminearl.com
“The first mistake of Art is to assume that it’s serious.”
– Lester Bangs
FOR YOUR ATTENTION:
All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication
may be recorded, reproduced, transmitted, translated,
distributed or communicated in any form without the
prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Subscribers to www.benjaminearl.com are granted
permission to perform this material, in non-
streaming, non-broadcast, non-recorded, non-ticketed
environments only. Any other use of this material is
not permitted without the prior written permission of
the copyright holder.
No permission is granted to publish, teach or
communicate derivative handlings of this material in
any form without the prior written permission of the
copyright holder.
Illegal or unauthorized holders of this material are not
granted any performing rights or permissions of any
kind.
Thank you.
Face Value, Copyright © 2016 by Benjamin Earl
Photography and design by the author
Edited by Justin Higham and Mike Vance
Available from www.benjaminearl.com
First edition PDF, March 2016
CONTENTS
vi Preface
1 Face Value
6 End Notes
vi
PREFACE
‘Face Value’ is my handling of Eddie Fechter’s close-up card effect, ‘Be Honest.
What Is It?’1 The effect has attracted some of the best magicians on the planet2
– the most common handling of which was popularised by David Blaine3. The
effect has good technical and psychological construction; it is very practical,
fooling and it happens in the spectator’s hands. It has become somewhat of a
modern classic.
Over the years I have developed a more sophisticated version of this modern
handling which increases the physical isolation of the cards in play, increases
the contrast and spatial impact of the transformation and provides a climax with
increased clarity and flexibility. ‘Face Value’ isn’t just my personal ‘variation’;
it represents a process of evolution over time to increase the quality and craft
of the routine... and it works. For those of you not familiar with the original
effect, don’t worry, you’ll be able to perform ‘Face Value’ immediately; I have
described each small element in detail and it isn’t technically difficult.
I’ve put a lot of effort into giving you something which subtly elevates the
original effect into a more powerful space. I think you will enjoy ‘Face Value’
very much.
Ben
March 2016
1 Jerry Mentzer, Magician Nightly: The Magic of Eddie Fechter, 1974, pp. 134–137.
2 David Williamson has a nice version called ‘The Memory Test’ which can be seen on his DVD Magic Farm.
3 Performed in his NBC magic TV special, Street Magic, 1997.
1
FACE VALUE
Effect
A spectator holds two cards in their hands. Impossibly both change into
completely different cards... while they are still holding them!
Set-up
Place the Seven of Hearts and Nine of Diamonds on top of the deck, followed
by the two black Aces. Now place the Seven of Diamonds and Nine of Hearts
into your wallet or some other isolated location.
Method
Begin by false shuffling the deck as you introduce the following idea:
“People often ask me: How do you make something appear or disappear? Well,
the answer is very simple: a psychological blind spot is created, and in that
moment there is a brief opportunity for something to change. Let me show you
what I mean... I need a couple of cards... any will do.”
In this moment, stop shuffling and turn over the top two cards of the deck to
reveal the Seven and Nine. It doesn’t really matter how you do this. It must look
completely incidental or casual – you can of course, force these cards, but it
isn’t necessary as the shuffle has already communicated randomness. Ironically,
turning these cards over after a shuffle (apparently at random) will make the
cards feel far less contrived than if a selection was made. Their appearance feels
utterly incidental, which is precisely what we want. You are now holding them
on top of the deck and casually switching them back and forth between the
fingers in an elevated position (Figs. 1 & 2), as you say:
“A red Seven and a red Nine... It doesn’t matter what they are, or that I can see
them. Hold on to them for a moment and then decide to keep one and hand me
back the other face down... Don’t let me see it.”
Hand the two cards to the spectator, and as you do, relax and palm the top
two black Aces into your right hand. You have plenty of time to do this as the
spectator is looking at the two cards and deciding which one to keep. At some
point they will want to hand you back one of the cards. Extend your left hand
and they will replace it on top of the deck. Maintain a break beneath it and add
the palmed cards on top as you relax and say the following:
2
“Now 90% of the time people always give me the Nine... I don’t know why, but
they do.”
Once you have said this, perform a triple turnover and, if you see the Nine
(which in this case let’s assume we do), say:
“Yep... I know it seems like a 50/50 but like I said... people always give me the
Nine.”
But, if instead you see the Seven, simply say:
“Ok... it’s going to be like that is it? This might be harder than I thought!”
Now, I know that several of you are thinking that the palming is unnecessary,
however, it is there for an extremely good reason: I want them to have had the
tactile experience and visual memory of cleanly holding the two cards. This is
extremely important as this technique is one of the most convincing factors in
making them believe that the two cards never left their hands. When the triple is
turned over, there is no suspicion on it; they were only holding it a second ago,
so they will believe it to be nothing more than a single card.
“Ok... well, let me show you what we can do from this position. It’s possible to
take this guessing game to the next level. Hold on to the card in your hand face
down and at your fingertips.”
While clearly keeping the face of the triple displayed, help the spectator hold
the card in the correct position (Fig. 3). Once they have the card in the right
place, allow them to double-check the card they are holding, and then turn the
triple face down, remove the top card (an Ace) and place it in between their
fingers (Fig. 4) as you say the following:
“Now, all you have to do is follow which card is the Seven and which is the
Nine. I want you to hold both in one hand, but I’ll be sneaky. I’ll try to switch
one... like this.”
Almost as soon as the new card was placed between their fingers, you steal back
the bottom card (Fig. 5) and display it (Fig. 6) as you say the following:
“Remember, all you have to do is follow which is the Seven and which is the
Nine... but I try to switch them at speed... like this.”
3
(Fig. 1) (Fig. 2)
(Fig. 3) (Fig. 4)
(Fig. 5) (Fig. 6)
(Fig. 7) (Fig. 8)
4
(Fig. 9) (Fig. 10)
(Fig. 11) (Fig. 12)
As you deliver the previous line, apparently attempt to switch the card between
their fingers again by darting the card in and out of their fingertips at speed.
In reality the cards do not switch; these movements are just physical and
psychological misdirection/cover for you to perform the Top Change (Fig. 7) as
you ask them the following question:
“Now without looking, I want you to think about which card is the Seven and
which card is the Nine.”
Place the card in your hand (now an Ace) with the other card (Fig. 8). While
the spectator is thinking, casually place the deck into a pocket and come up
with both empty hands into the performing space, allowing them to be seen
empty. The entire point in putting the cards away at this point is to increase the
sense of isolation; by the time you get to the end of the effect the spectator will
have completely forgotten the existence of the deck. They will forget the deck
was ever involved, making this effect much cleaner and more impossible to
deconstruct.
“Now, I want you to do something. Switch the two cards just once in your own
hands... done? Ok, now hold one in each hand. Remember, this is all happening
in your own hands and you haven’t looked away once!”
5
This serves two purposes: it makes them forget that you did a switch – they
just remember holding them and moving them around – and it also puts the two
cards in different positions in space. Once they are in this position (Fig. 9), say
the following:
“Now hold one of the cards slightly higher than the other... and now hold one
slightly farther back than the other.”
Once they have positioned the cards correctly (Fig. 10), ask them which card is
the Seven and which is the Nine. Whatever they say, bring both hands into the
space between the cards, allowing them to be seen empty (Fig. 11). Individually
flex one of the cards with both hands (Fig. 12) and then do the same with the
other card, as if your are doing ‘something’ to both cards.
“Now... you have been watching closely. Without looking, which card is the
Seven and which card is the Nine? [They answer again.] Ok... so if I could make
them change places under these conditions [mime the cards swapping places by
subtly pointing at each card and crossing your arms] that would be impressive,
right? Well, it’s already happened... Turn them both over!”
This is the climax of the effect. At this moment please resist all urges to deal
with the pseudo-mates, and only use this extra climax if they ask. If they do ask,
simply reach into your wallet (or some other impossible location) and show the
two cards. Like I said, only use this ending if the spectator asks where the other
cards have gone. Of course you have the option of showing that the original two
cards are now in your pocket (by removing the top two cards of the deck from
whichever pocket the deck was ditched into). However, this isn’t always the
most interesting or practical place to remove them from and so the pseudo-mate
ending gives you more options.
There are probably a number of you reading this who aren’t confident that the
pseudo-mates will deceive a spectator. Well, let me say that it is probably one
of the most reliable tactics/principles in all magic! I have been using pseudo-
mates in a variety of ways since I first started in magic and have never had a
spectator question that they weren’t the original cards. It is a hugely powerful
and underappreciated, deceptive principle.
6
End Notes:
As I stated in the preface, ‘Face Value’ basically increases the physical isolation
of the cards in play, increases the contrast and spatial impact of the transformation
and provides a climax with increased clarity and flexibility. It is not important
that you recite the script verbatim; you just need to understand why everything
is constructed in the way that it is so that you can make it your own. If you
do learn this routine, I can assure you that you will have a very powerful and
deeply fooling routine at your fingertips.
Remember, if you show the pseudo-mates (or the original cards) at the climax,
the effect becomes a ‘transposition’ rather than a transformation. Personally,
I prefer the transformation as it is a much cleaner ending. Therefore I don’t
mention the original cards, but if the spectator does ask where they have gone,
the effect is already a transposition in their mind; now it makes sense to take
advantage of the pseudo mates. Below are a number of important points to
remember regarding the construction of ‘Face Value’:
1. The two initial cards are ‘random’; not selected or pre-selected. This
further impacts the deceptiveness of the climax as you begin from a
shuffled deck and this initial state of casualness contrasts with the clarity
of the ending.
2. The spectator has a genuine tactile memory of holding the two initial
cards. The ‘choosing/guessing’ sequence that happens in this moment is
there to compound this fact and to deepen their memory of physically
holding the two initial cards (but still allowing them to forget the relative
order of the suits).
3. The suits are never mentioned, only the values. This means the spectator
will not pay attention to the relative positions of the suits and will only
concentrate on the values.
4. Two initial cards are of different values and red, and they change into
cards that are the same value and black, which gives better contrast visually
and conceptually (red to black and disorder to order). Also, the Seven and
Nine seem to have no collective relationship, familiarity or symbolism;
they seem incidental and random. However, Aces are recognisable and
seem powerful, related and important.
7
5. The deck is ditched after the switch. This increases the isolation of the
held cards as the spectator will not remember the deck ever being in play;
the spectator will only remember two cards in the performing space. This
makes the transformation seem utterly impossible as there was nothing to
switch in or out from! Do not try to hide the presence of the deck or ditch
it secretly. Do everything in the open and they will simply erase it from
their mind as it seems to have no real importance.
6. Isolation and honesty are communicated physically through the
visibility of open hands. After the deck is ditched it is important to make
sure your hands are obviously empty to communicate fairness and to
cause the memory of the deck to fade.
7. You put effort into the moment that the change occurs, making the
change happen in that moment, not before. Therefore they see the moment
happen, and because this moment is completely isolated and clean, it
feels incredibly magical.
8. At the climax the cards are in separate hands and in different orientations
in space. This is to make the ending seem like two changes in separate
spaces rather than one change in one space! You also treat each card
individually, making it seem like two individual moments. This is also
the reason for having two different values changing into one value; it
makes it feel that the Seven and the Nine have changed instead of the
Sevens having changed (if you were using a pair of Sevens). I have done
everything possible to decrease the sense of a binary change and to make
it seem to be a more impossible and magical duel change.
9. Because of the two initial cards used, the option of using the pseudo-
mates of those cards presents some interesting possibilities. You now have
the potential to cause the cards to apparently be anywhere you like after
the effect... but think about this carefully: you don’t want it to become too
impossible as it might dilute the effect they have experienced so far.
10. If you do reveal the pseudo-mates, move them in the same way you
did in Figs. 1 & 2, but obviously without the presence of the deck.
B E N J
A M I N
E A R L
www.benjaminearl.com
