Alongside the double lift and the pinky break, the cull is

perhaps the most important move in card magic. Few people

do the move correctly, and even fewer use the move for
anything other than secretly sorting cards. That all changes
wit,h Close Culls.

Singapore's Harapan Ong is a leading expert on all things cull,

and here he teaches the move in gorgeous, photographic
detail. And then he explores new and exciting principles with
the cull. Finally, he puts it all together in twelve extraordinary
and offbeat effects. This is a definitive treatise on this
underused but critical sleight.
 Photographed by
Ang Ben You

Cover designed by
Michal Kociolek

Designed by
Andi Gladwin

Edited by
Joshua Jay

V!NISHING.Nc.
 CONIENIS
CULLIENTS
Introduction .......................................................................... 5

THE SPREAD CULL

The Spread Cull ..................................................................... 11
The Cavorted Aces ................................................................. 19
Cull the Police! ...................................................................... 23
Full Deck Oil & Water. ......................................................... 30
Two Heads are Better than One ............................................ 35
Slap Me Silly ......................................................................... 42

TECHNIQUES
The Delayed Cull .................................................................. 51
The Cull Switch ..................................................................... 57
The Buckle Replacement ....................................................... 60
©Copyright January 2014 by Vanishing Inc. Magic
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or The Cull Tap Reversal. ........................................................... 64
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system, now known or to be invented without the written permission of
the publisher.
TRICKS
Cull in the Search Team ............................................ ·· .. · ·· ··· ·· 71
The Princess Card Trick Revisited .......................................... 77
Swi tchSand ......................................................... · ··· ·.. ·· ··· ·· ··· · 81
Scattered Sandwich ............................................................ ·.. 86
INTRQDtlCTIQN
Indicated Replacements ........................................................ 90
The Buckle-llectors ........................................................ ··· ··· ·· 93
Hello.
Utterly Mental Reverse .......................................................... 98
Welcome to my debut book project, Close Culls. This book focuses
on one fascinating, essential and often misused technique: the
EXPERIMENTS Spread Cull. For the past few years, I have made this move my
A Convincing Card Fold ....................................................... 107 obsession, and I have worked hard to refine the technique, find
new applications, and expand the function. Alongside the double
Cull-our Change ........................................................ ··· ··· ··· ·· 114 lift and the pinky break, I believe this move to be among the most
important in all of magic. And as you are about to see, I have
developed many new, exciting ways of using a cull that have not
Special Thanks ....................................................................... 117
been explored previously. But before we get to the tricks, you might
be wondering who I am.

As I'm typing this introduction to the book, I am sitting at home,

in London, worrying about minimizing the chi-squared value
for a given distribution to determine if it best fits a Gaussian or
Lorentzian curve. I am currently studying Physics in University
College London, which is, incidentally, next to the world famous
Magic Circle. Talk about distractions from school. ..

I was born and raised in Singapore, a country with relatively less

history and tradition in the world of magic. There is a growing
community of passionate young magicians in Singapore, but we
don't get many magic lectures or shows there.
We don't get much outside influence from other magicians, but I last thing: while sharing the above material with magicians, I
believe this has been a blessing in disguise. It has given me (and my ~ get the response that "the Cull is too hard," or "it's too
111\....L..L ...,.... .....

countrymen) the potential to explore magic without preconceived "

limits or constraints.
Everything comes with practice, and if ever there was a move worth
This book is my exploration of the Spread Cull. While I was learning, I think the Cull is it.
conscripted into a compulsory two-year National Service in
Singapore, I had time to focus on only one sleight, and I chose I would argue that the Spread Cull is the most practical move in
the Spread Cull. This move, and my original enhancements, was a magic. Name one other move that can switch cards, force cards,
faithful companion through that difficult time. change cards, secretly reorder cards, separate cards by color or suit,
and so much more. A Top Change can't do that, dear friends.
My first encounter with the Cull was through Marlo's Convincing
Control. Before that, every control I learned involved some cutting I have enjoyed performing the effects in this collection for friends,
action or some discrepancy. The Convincing Control was smooth, family, strangers, and magicians, and at all sorts of different venues
silent and invisible. It easily became my favorite control to use. (including paid performances) and they've served very well. The
tricks or sleights that have been completely untested (e.g. the card
I started applying the Spread Cull to many plots that I previously fold, or the color change) have been placed in the Experiments
could not find adequate solutions for, and I was lucky enough to section, so you know when we're entering more exploratory territory.
even find some new techniques with the Cull that further expanded
what could traditionally be done by the Cull. Nothing would make me happier than seeing someone use these
effects or being inspired by them to create something new. I hope
I use the Spread Cull in virtually every piece of magic I perform, you enJoy.
whether it's for friends or for the occasional paid gig. It's so versatile
- culling has replaced most of the other controls and sleights, simply Harapan Ong
because the spreading action is so natural in almost every effect with London,2013
a pack of cards.

In Close Culls I have excluded tricks where I use the cull simply as
a control or to jazz or to achieve a Triumph effect. I assume you
understand the Cull in these instances already. Also, some of that
material will overlap with Kostya's Kimlat's Roadrunner Cull DVD,
an early influence of mine.
 JHE SPREAD CULL

Jn this section, I will take you through a basic technique for the
Spread Cull, followed by five routines that you can do with the
move. I hope you like it.

I am assuming that you have some idea of what the Spread Cull
is. If you do and also know how to do a decent one, great! The
technique I use is closest to Kostya Kimlat's method as taught in
his DVD, 7he Roadrunner Cull. The only differences lie in some of
my finger positions. If you want a truly in-depth look at the sleight,
please check out his DVD - you won't regret it.

If you have no idea what the Spread Cull is, the following is a basic
description of the move. I've split the description of the Spread Cull
into two sections - the SPREAD, and the CULL. So, grab your
cards and follow along.
THE SPREAD
Obviously, the Spread Cull involves secretly controlling cards while
they are spread between both hands.

Refer to Fig.1 for the finger positions and how the cards are held
while the cards are spread in my hands. If you're not actively using
the cull, it's highly likely you will have to modify the way you spread
cards between your hands.

The spread involves the left thumb pushing cards into the awaiting
right hand. Notice how the cards in the right hand stop at the base
of the fingers and do not go all the way into the right thumb crotch.

As the cards are being spread from left to right hand, both hands
move towards and away from each other, much like an accordion-
style motion. This in-out motion of the hands is important. It has As the hands move apart, the left thumb reaches back to the left
of the spread, ready to push more cards towards the right (Fig. 2).
to be in sync with your fingers and thumb as well.
As the hands move together, the left thumb pushes the cards to the
right hand.

Note: the number of cards openly displayed in the spread is never

.more than five or six cards. This facilitates the culling action, which
will be explained later. To ensure that you only have five to six cards
in the spread, the rest of cards are 'bunched up' in the right hand
a roughly squared up block. In order to keep the block squared
the right hand, the left thumb butts against the right edge of the
when the hands come together - this is important in helping
spread stay together and not fall apart in your hands (Fig. 3,
page) .

.......'"',. . . . . . . . this spreading action over and over again - it will feel
weird at first because you're probably not used to this
But over time, you will realize that this spread will
make your cull fast and invisible to your audience.
THE CULL
So now you've got a great spread. What's the cull like?

The cull essentially involves you using your right fingers under the
spread to pull cards out of the spread underneath all the other cards
into the right hand.

In Fig. 4, I've left the Ace of Spades face-up to be the card I wish
to cull. The~ cards are spread until I see the Ace, at which point my
left thumb reaches back and is placed onto the Ace (remember that
this is done while the hands are moving away from each other). As
the hands now move towards each other, the left thumb will soon
come into contact with the face-down card right next to the Ace. As
your left thumb is now gently placed on the adjacent card (Fig. 5),
your right fingers get to work - underneath the spread, your right
middle and ring fingers contact the Ace and pull it to the right until
it is free from the spread (Fig. 6, next page). This should
give the impression that the Ace is being pushed into that
right hand block of cards by the left thumb, hence explaining its the block, while your right fingers are secretly doing all the dirty
'disappearance.' work underneath.

The rest of the cards can now be spread above the Ace, which will The key thing with this is to ensure that the culling action does
result in the Ace being controlled to the bottom of the deck. not disrupt the accordion rhythm you've already been practicing.
I find that culling one or just a few cards can be very disruptive to
You'll be glad to know that culling more cards after the first is much the spread rhythm - and while culling the entire deck into a red-
easier! Let's say now I have all four Aces face up in the deck. After black separation may be tough, the rhythm for that is much more
I've culled the first Ace (Spades), my hands continue spreading until manageable as you will have to cull cards every two to three cards.
I see another Ace. Again, the left thumb is placed on the second
Ace, and as the hands come together, the left thumb pushes the More will be covered on culling 26 cards later in my Oil and Water
cards over and the right fingers contact the second Ace and pull it Routine - but for now, practice the cull by reversing one to four
out of the spread, under the first Ace (so that now the second Ace is cards in the deck, and cull them all to the bottom. Note: if your
the lowermost card, as in Fig. 7). spread rhythm is disrupted by the culling action, try to find the root
of the problem by going slow. And most of all, the cull is a move
However, because the first card is already in culled position, your that requires a lot of practice - so, good luck!
left thumb does not need to be placed on the adjacent card in order
for your right fingers to cull the Ace. Instead, your left
thumb can focus on pretending to be pushing the Ace into
EXTRA NOTES
People often ask me "Which method do you use? Do your right
fingers pull the card in, or is it your left hand doing the job?" I will
say that it is definitely the right hand doing the main job of pulling
the card into the cull position, but my advice is this: DO NOT
UNDERESTIMATE the role of the left hand (especially the left
thumb). The left thumb is paramount in making the Spread Cull
convincing, because it is the left thumb that gives the illusion that
the cards are being pushed into the right hand's spread, when in
reality it's being pulled underneath the spread by the right fingers. EFFECT
The magician shows the four Aces to be face up together in the
This is especially important when doing certain effects where you middle of the deck. He then explains that a good magician must be
need to cull a reversed card openly- if the cull has a broken rhythm in full control of all his cards, especially the four Aces. With a wave
or the left thumb isn't doing its job, it will simply seem like the card of the hand, he shows that there is suddenly one red Ace on the top
is disappearing magically into the right hand spread. of the deck and one on the bottom, with the two black Aces left in
the middle. Another wave of the hand causes the red and black Aces
to transpose! And with a final wave, the Aces all return back to the
middle of the deck.

BACKGRQOND
In 7he Complete Walton Vol. I, Roy Walton has a trick called
"Happy Wanderers" in which the Jack, Queen and King of Hearts
are placed reversed in the middle of the deck. They then "split up"
- one of them jumps to the top, one stays in the middle, and one
jumps to the bottom. I thought that was a pretty interesting take on
the Distribution plot, but I didn't quite like the handling (mainly
because I can't do a great Turnover Pass).

I decided to change the handling by using a Spread Cull instead

- but then I realized that this is perfect when applied to the
classic "Cavorting Aces" routine! One thing I find awkward about
"Cavorting Aces" is that the Aces have to be placed in the
"red Aces outside, black Aces inside" position with no
justification whatsoever. This is simply an opener/ closer I
have for "Cavorting Aces".
METHQD
From a shuffled deck, openly remove the Aces and arrange them in
alternating colors (i.e. R-B-R-B or B-R-B-R, as in Fig. 8).

As you display the Aces one by one, you are now going to cull the
first AGe. The second Ace is not culled, but placed in between the
right hand spread and the two culled cards in the right hand. The
third Ace is also culled, and the fourth is not culled but placed
slightly injogged below the second Ace.
Hand them out for examination. As you explain about having full
command over the Aces, spread the cards between your hands in Position check: You should now have three cards in cull - a face-
readiness for the Spread Cull. Cull a random indifferent card (e.g. ~own card, followed by two Aces. There should be an Ace injogged
m the spread.
the fourth or fifth card) so that the cull later with the Aces is easier.

Break the spread somewhere in the middle and extend your left Co~tinue spreading the cards, and finally square the cards,
hand for them to place the Aces face up on top of its packet. Once mamtaining the injog. This should bring two Aces to the bottom
they have done so, bring your hands together and get ready to cull o.f the deck. As your right hand squares the deck in End Grip, your
the Aces. nght thumb pushes down on the injogged Ace and catches a right
thumb break between the middle two Aces.
for Daley's "Cavorting Aces" - there is an Ace on both the top and
bottom of the deck, and two Aces are in the middle of the deck (Fig.
9, previous page). From here, I will leave you to do your favorite
sequences of "Cavorting Aces".

To end it all (after your billionth version of the Pass), all you have
to do is to spread the cards out and cull the two middle Aces to the
bottom of the deck, joining the Ace on the bottom of the deck.

Finally, say that the Aces have to eventually return to their original EFFECT
positions. Execute the Pass somewhere in the middle of the deck,
The four Jacks are placed in four different parts of the deck, face
and this would bring all four Aces back together in the middle of
up. The magician explains that they represent four burglars trying
the deck.
to rob a house, represented by the deck. The top Jack is in the attic,
the second in the bedroom, the third in the living room and the last
Spread the cards to show their final configuration. Remember to
in the basement. Suddenly, one of them hears a siren, so he rushes
smile like you mean it.
to the roof - the magician at this point makes a Jack magically
appear on top of the deck. The burglar sees that it's the police, so he
CREDITS calls all his friends to the roof to make their helicopter escape - the
"The Cavorting Aces" is credited to Dr. Jacob Daley, published in magician suddenly makes all four Jacks jump to the top of the deck!
Stars ofMagic (Vol. 7, No. 3, page 111, 1950).
METHQD
"The Happy Wanderers" is a Roy Walton trick, published in 1he
Openly remove the four Jacks from a shuffled deck. Explain (with
Complete Walton Vol. l, Chapter One "The Devil's Playthings."
a straight face) that these represent four burglars trying to rob a
house.

As you stifle your laughter, openly place the Jacks into four different
parts of the deck, face up (Fig. 10, next page). Square the deck up
as you explain that they are robbing different parts of the mansion.
Spread the cards between your hands in readiness for the Spread As you explain the police siren (don't roll your eyes too much), your
Cull. Before you reach the first Jack, cull a random indifferent card right hand comes over to grip the cards above the pinky break in
to make culling the first Jack easier. End Grip. As your right hand moves to the right with the packet,
your left thumb peels off the top indifferent card flush onto the
As you go through the deck to explain where the burglars are, cull deck.
all four Jacks, which will leave you with five cards in cull position-
an indifferent card, followed by four face-up Jacks. You are now going to execute a color change which some call the
Paintbrush or Window Change. The packet in right hand End Grip
You will now execute Troy Hooser's Slipstream move: As your hands is going to be placed injogged for half its length on top of the deck
separate slightly, your right hand is going to move to the right with (Fig. 12). With the right hand still lightly gripping the cards, you
the five culled cards gripped by the fingers and also the top card of are going to slide the packet forward until it is flush with the cards.
the deck, clipped in the right thumb crotch (Fig. 11). This means When you bring the packet back to an injogged position, you only
that the top card will be roughly square with the five culled cards as slide the top face-down card back, which will expose the face-up
a packet in the right hand, while the left hand holds the rest of the Jack immediately below (Fig. 13). This is the appearance of the first
deck. This is done as a casual gesture in a moment of conversation Jack on top of the deck (or roof, if you can say it without feeling
with the spectator. depressed).

Brings your hands together, placing the right hand's six You are now going to execute Marlo's Tilt move to place
card packet on top of the deck. However, keep a left pinky the indifferent card below the top Jack. This has to be done
break under the packet.
without exposing the Jack immediately below it. Hence, I suggest
using the one handed Tilt get-ready by Karl Fulves. In short, simply
obtain a left pinky break below the top card via the Pinky Count
(Fig. 14), and by releasing the pressure of the base of the left thumb,
let the left inner corner pop up slighty. This leaves you with the inner
edge of the card being raised up above the deck (i.e. the standard
Tilt position, in Fig. 15, next page).

Place the face-down indifferent card below the top Jack, into the
Tilt break. However, as you do so, obtain a left pinky break below
the face-down card (i.e. below the top two cards). Thumb off the
top face-up Jack into the right hand as you explain that the first
burglar saw the police coming (try not to sound patronizing).

For the other three Jacks to appear, simply replace the Jack face up
on top of the deck, maintaining your left pinky break. Snap your
fingers and grip the two cards above the break with your right hand
in End Grip.
Lift the two cards slightly away and to the right, exposing the Jacks
underneath. Your left thumb is going to thumb over these three
Jacks one by one ON TOP of the two cards in End Grip. As it
is pushed on top of the two cards, your right index finger simply
lightly grips each new Jack on top (Fig. 16). They don't have to be
completely square.

To finish the story, explain that all the Jacks rushed to the roof
to make their helicopter escape. Place the unsquared cards in your
right hand on top of the deck- square them to clean everything up.

Deal off the four Jacks, making helicopter noises.

CREDITS
A variation of the Four Burglars plot can be found (without credit)
in Jean Hugard's Card Manipulations No. 1 (page 10, 1933), under
the tide "The Burglars, A Story Trick."

However, it seems it can also be credited to Orville Wayne Meyer,

who published "The Burglars" in More Card Manipulations by Jean
Hugard (page 17, 1938).

The One-Handed Tilt Get Ready can be credited to Karl Fulves,

published in Methods with Cards: Part 1 (Teaneck, 1975).

Troy Hooser's SlipStream move can be found in DesTROYers (2001)

by Joshua Jay.
 FULIJ1~tllll~'K QI L
Usually, I would already have the four Aces on the table/in their
hands from a previous trick as I use this only as a dosing routine.
At this point, I hand the deck out for shuffling (usually they start

& v1Jl\1ER making off-hand comments about how bad their shuffles are, and I
start pretending that they "shuffle like a pro").

When I take the deck back, I start spreading the cards face up
between my hands and say:
EFFECT
From a shuffled deck, the magician removes the four Aces and the ((Now you)ve been shuffiing this deck just a moment ago - Tm going
four Kings. He explains and demonstrates the art of "unshuffiing" to now demonstrate a technique magicians use called 'unshuffiinl a
cards - he interlaces the Aces and Kings, only to show that with a deck of cards. Besides the four Aces) we also need four other contrasting
snap of the fingers, the Aces and Kings magically separate! This is cards ... would you like to use the jacks) Queens or Kings?))
once again demonstrated under the fairest of conditions. For the
last time, the magicians hands the cards to the spectator for her to I listen closely to their choice - in this case, they prefer the Kings. I
try in their own hands. However, the cards separate in a different spread the cards and cut the first King I spot to somewhere near the
manner - by color! The magician takes this cue to cause the entire back of the deck - this is to justify going through the entire deck
deck (previously shuffled) to separate so that the red cards are on later. You'll see what I mean.
one side, and the blacks cards on another.
'.11s I spread through these cards) can I have you help me remove the four
Kingst)
BACKGRQOND
This is a routine I use pretty regularly, especially when I want to leave
a strong impression at the end of several card routines. I think the You start spreading the deck face up between your hands, and as you
ending is really quite striking and memorable. However, I should let them remove the Kings from the deck, your fingers are furiously
state that almost none of the phases are original to me. The first two culling the cards to separate the reds and the blacks. This also serves
phases are actually William Eston's Easy Oil and Water done twice, the purpose of reinforcing the idea that the deck has been and is
whereas the last phase simply requires a full deck cull. shuffled - this is to make the ending more striking. Letting them
find the Kings distracts them from any possible hints that some
culling is afoot.
Therefore, the focus of the explanation below will be how the patter
and the trick itself are structured in the current routine.
Tip: Cull the color of the face card of the deck. If the face card is
red, cull the 25 red cards, and similarly if the face card is
black, cull the black cards. This helps mask the fact that one
of the colors is disappearing (credit goes to Kostya for this tip). slowly and fairly so you can see that they are genuinely shuffied. ... "

Once they have all four Kings, you should have the deck in red- this point, I show that the cards are interlaced by doing the
black separated order. (Let's assume that after the cull, the reds are action of a reverse up-down shuffle. I then snap my fingers and
on top of the blacks when the cards are face down.) Set the deck again, show the Aces and Kings to be separate.
down, pick up the Aces/Kings and continue by saying:
"One last time - this time it will happen in your hands!"
"So just now you were shuffiing the cards - I am going to use these eight
cards to demonstrate what I mean by unshuffiing cards. " I ask them to open their hands as I genuinely interlace the Aces and
Kings face down in their hands. If you had followed the procedure
I arrange both the Aces and Kings in alternating red-black order, of Easy Oil and Water, this genuine interlace will leave the 8 card
placing the Aces on the face of the 8-card packet (when face up). packet separated by color!
The cards' colors are therefore going RBRB-RBRB.
Place the packet in their hands and continue:
Now, I perform William Eston's Easy Oil and Water. Out of respect
for William Eston, I am not going to explain the mechanics of the ((Ifyou give the packet a shake ... concentrate on making them separate...
routine here. You may replace the first two phases with your favorite you should find that the packets are ... Wow! You did a different trick!
Oil and Water routines. The cards are now separated.... By color!"

Regardless, I continue by saying, You spread the cards face up and point out that the red cards are
separate from the blacks. I initially thought that this phase was
"1he best way to demonstrate shuffiing is if I interlaced the Aces and meant to be a gag - they were supposed to groan at the lame color
Kings in this fashion. However, unshuffiing looks more like this ... '' separation, but for some reason during my experience of performing
this trick, laymen and magicians both seem to appreciate the fact
I snap my fingers and spread the cards face up, showing the Aces that the colors separate and often give a 'Oh wow! That's cool!' as
and Kings have somehow separated. I now repeat William Eston's a response. I prefer to think that they were not being patronizing.
Easy Oil and Water, except this time I say:
Regardless of their response, I continue:
''Now some people find this unbelievable - they think that I didn't
actually shuffie the cards. Instead, they think that as I interlaced the "Hmm... maybe we can make this much more impressive. If I take
cards, I slipped the Kings out from the bottom so that the Aces and the red cards and place those on top of the deck, and the black cards on
Kings were never interlaced to begin with! So, I will interlace them the bottom... we give the entire deck a shake, and now the ENTIRE
DECK IS SEPARATED INTO REDS AND BLACKS!"
Spread the deck face up and show the impossible, Second-Law-of-
Thermodynamics-violating ending of a shuffled deck separated by
color (Fig. 17). This is a strong ending! Milk it for all it's worth. I
usually break the deck at where the colors meet and do two one TWO H~ll{~ ARE
handed fans, to further drive home the point of the two separated
halves. ·rBETT ER Tfi'l'N·'.:·2 NE

Three cards are selected and lost in the deck. The two red Kings are
placed face up together in the middle of the deck. With a snap of
the fingers, they are shown to have magically moved to two different
parts of the deck. To be specific, they have moved right next to the
first two selections! With another snap of the fingers, the Kings
move back together again to sandwich the third selection in the
middle of the deck.

BACKGRQOND
This is a simple card location effect - in fact it's one of the first
tricks I came up with while exploring the Spread Cull. You can tell
~the entire trick requires only the Spread Cull! The Kings magically
CREDITS shifting themselves in the deck is reminiscent of Larry Jenning's
William Eston's "Easy and Oil and Water" can be found in MAGIC Searchers plot, although it's not exactly the same.
Magazine (September 2003) or in Joshua Jay's Talk About Tricks
DVD Disc l, published by L&L Publishing.
From a shuffled deck in use, openly remove the two red Kings and
place them face-up on top of the deck.

Spread the deck between your hands in readiness for the Spread
Cull. Have the first spectator point to a card, and break the spread
above it. With the selection pushed over to the right by the
left thumb, raise your left hand up to eye-level to display
 over the top five to six cards first. Starting there, you are
·"·'··'~:'..'"" . . . -,., to cull according to this rhythm: cull two cards, and then
off a single card un-culled. This cycle is then repeated over and
over again until you see the two Kings. This rhythm ensures that
you will cull two of the three selections that are directly above the
Kings. (Give it a shot - you'll see what I mean!)

Regardless of which two selections you cull, you should now have a
block of cards culled in your right hand. (Make sure you tilt either
your hands or your body to help hide the thickness of the spread.)
As you show the Kings in the middle of the deck, secretly insert the
block of cards between the two Kings (Fig. 19 and a bottom view
from Fig. 20 on the next page), all while emphasizing that the Kings
start in the middle of the deck side-by-side.

their selection (Fig. 18). Once they have remembered it, bring your
hand down and when your hands come together, immediately cull
the first selection into the right fingers.

Repeat the culling procedure for two more selections. Square up the
deck- you will end up with the three selections on the bottom of the
deck, with the two Kings still on top of the deck face up.

Explain that the Kings will now attempt to find the three selections.
Give the deck a Swing Cut halfway down in the deck, bringing the
Kings to the centre of the deck (with the three selections directly
above them).

You are now going to re-emphasize the fact that the Kings are
together in the middle of the deck by spreading and displaying the
Kings. As you spread the cards between your hands, you are going Now, square up the deck - this secretly causes the Kings to separate
to cull a group of face-down cards from the top half and insert them to two different points in the deck. Snap your fingers, and when you
between the Kings secretly. However, there is a certain spread the cards out, show that the Kings have magically
culling rhythm you have to follow. split up to two different parts of the deck!
Position check: directly above the topmost King is one selection.
Directly above the second King are two selections.

Square up the deck as you briefly explain that the Kings have found
the first two selections by shifting themselves right next to them.
Spread the cards between your hands, in readiness for the Spread
Cull. First, cull a random indifferent card from anywhere above the
first King- this helps culling the King later much easier.

Spread until you see the first topmost King. Outjog the face-
down card above the King (one of the selections, in Fig. 21), and
immediately cull the face-up King into the right hand as you
continue spreading the cards to the second King.

When you reach the second King, you will need to secretly insert
the two previously culled cards two cards above the second King
(above the second and third selection). Once that is done, outjog
the card directly above the second King (in Fig. 22).
 Larry Jennings's "The Searchers" can be found in 1he Collected
'Almanac (1984), Vol. 2 No. 17 & 18 (Page 172).

Aaron Fisher's "Search and Destroy" was published in 1he Paper

Engine (2002), page 104.

I've later realized that the initial effect of the Kings separating to
two different parts of the deck is similar to Steve Reynolds' ''Ace, x,
x, x, x, Ace", which can be found in Route 52 (2009, page 53).

Square the deck and strip out the two outjogged cards. Turn them
face up to show that they are the two selections!

Someone might then remind you that there is one more selection
to be found. Explain that for the last selection, two heads might
be better than one, and that the two Kings will now move back
together to trap the last selection.

Snap your fingers, and spread the cards between your hands. Show
that the Kings are now sandwiching a single face-down card in the
middle of the deck (Fig. 23). Show that it is the third selection. Ta-
dah.
 LY

EFFECT
The four Kings are shown and placed aside. The four Aces are placed
face up in four different parts of the deck by the spectator. The deck
is squared up, and the Kings are placed on top the deck, face up
as well. With a riffie of the deck, the Kings and Aces are shown to
magically change places - the Aces are now on top of the deck, and
hand picks up the four Kings in a packet and turn them face up on
the Kings are shown to be cleanly distributed throughout the deck.
the deck, squared and flush. Maintain your pinky break below the
7-card packet.
BACKGRQOND
This is based on Bill Goodwin's "Slap Exchange". It also uses ideas You are now going to do a slightly modified ATFUS (Any Time
from Andi Gladwin's effect '~l Over the (Dis)place", found in Face-Up Switch). Your right hand comes over and grips the 7-card
his one man issue of EGO Magazine. I think it's a very practical packet in End Grip - the moment your right hand comes in contact
handling of the plot, which uses the cull to simplify some of the with the packet, your left pinky is going to do a rapid Pinky Count
switches originally needed. of five to six cards (the exact amount is not important - but no
more than six as the packet becomes slightly too thick for comfort).
METHQD Allow the pinky-counted cards to pop up into the grip of the right
From a shuffied deck, remove the four Kings and place them aside, thumb tip (don't worry; the popping motion is covered by the right
face down. Do not show them to your audience yet - this is to hand). Keep a right thumb break between the top seven cards (Four
justify the count you have to do later. As you openly remove the Kings + three indifferent cards) and the next five to six indifferent
Kings, ensure that there are no Aces in the top ten to fifteen cards. cards and lift this combined packet off the deck slightly (Fig. 24).
Tilt your hands slightly forward to ensure the extra thickness of the
Turn the deck face down in left hand Mechanic's grip. As you bring packet is hidden. This slight modification with the Pinky Count is
attention to the four cards you just removed, execute a used to replace the usual action of using the right thumb to
Pinky Count to get a break under three cards. Your right lift off cards off the deck. Instead, the Pinky Count is much
 more hidden and looks less suspicious, reducing the tension and the
pulling-up motion of the right hand.

With the 12 to 13-card packet in your right hand End Grip, your
left hand peels off the first face-up King flush onto the deck - no
pinky break necessary. As your hands come together again for your
left thumb to peel the second King, your right hand momentarily
'kisses' the King on top of the deck, secretly releasing all but one of
the cards below the thumb break. This leaves in your right hand the
original 7-card packet (now six cards) above the thumb break and
an indifferent card below the thumb break. This is covered by the
left thumb peeling off the second King onto the released four to five
cards on top of the deck, flush as well.

Your right hand comers over for the left thumb to peel off the third
King. The right hand packet yet again momentarily comes above cut about 40 cards to the back (top) of the deck. Turn the deck face
the deck and drops the single indifferent card below the thumb down - this should leave the 2 face-up Kings near the bottom of
break onto the second King. This is followed by the left thumb the face-down deck. During this process, care should be taken not
peeling off the third King on the deck, this time holding a left pinky to flash the reversed Kings.
break below it. Finally, your right hand comes over and picks up the
third King below the right hand packet. Square up and table the Kindly request your spectator to place the Aces face up in the deck at
apparent packet of Kings. 4 different parts. As you say this, begin spreading the cards between
the hands in readiness to cull the Aces. Spread about 7 cards, break
Position check: The face-up packet of "Kings" on the table should the spread and extend your left hand for her to place a face-up Ace
consist of two Kings sandwiching three indifferent cards. The deck, there. Your hands come together again and continue spreading the
from top-down, should be: Indifferent card, face-up King, four to cards, culling the Ace in the process. Continue culling the next 2
five indifferent cards, face-up King, rest of deck. This is but a slight Aces, ensuring there are about 5-7 cards in between each Ace (if the
modification of the sequence used in '~l Over the Dis(place)" by interval is too large, you are going to run into the reversed Kings
Andi Gladwin. near the bottom).

Tell your spectator that besides the 4 Kings (which you have just After the final Ace is replaced, use your left thumb to slightly injog
displayed), you also need the 4 Aces. Turn the deck face up and run it. As your hands come together to recombine and square the deck
through the deck to openly remove the Aces. Place the Aces (Fig. 25), the three culledAces are slipped UNDERNEATH
face up in their hands. Once the last Ace has been removed, the fourth Ace. As you right hand comes over in End Grip
 out on the table or between your hands, to show that the four Kings
are now face-up in four different parts of the deck (Fig. 26).

1
The transposition is complete, so take your bow.

Credits go to Bill Goodwin for his "Slap Exchange", found in At

the Expense of Grey Matter (1989) and Andi Gladwin's ''All Over the
Dis(place)", found in EGO Magazine (June 2002).

to square the edges, your right thumb pushes down on the injogged
Ace, letting your left pinky catch a break above the four face-up
Aces in the middle of the deck.

If done right, the spectator should believe that the four Aces are
now in four different parts of the deck - after all, she placed them
there herselfl You now propose the impossible transposition. With
the left pinky break above the Aces maintained, your right hand
picks up the packet of 'Kings' in Biddle Grip and places it on top
of the deck.

Remind your spectator that the Kings are on top of the deck, and
the Aces are distributed throughout the deck. Now, to visually
transpose the cards, execute your best pass/shift at the pinky break
(I personally prefer a Hermann Pass, but a Classic/Riffie Pass would
work well) and reveal that the King on top has magically transformed
into an Ace! Once the pass has been executed, the trick is pretty
much over- spread the top four cards over to show that the
Kings have all transformed into Aces, and spread the deck
ii
 EFFECT
A card is selected and lost in the deck. The deck is turned face up
and in the process, the card remains in control in a culled position,
ready to be controlled to the top of the deck.
In this section, I present to you some original additions to the
Spread Cull that allow you to do things that were previously BACKGROOND
not possible or extremely inconvenient. This item
I
is the first sleight to be featured because it was the first
addition to the Spread Cull that I came up with. (The rest of the
moves later on in this book are not in chronological order.) This
is essentially a control of a selected card that has been previously
culled. The Delayed Cull, however, allows you to maintain control
of that card even when turning the deck face up. It looks really
clean, and I hope you can explore its uses or improve on it further.

METHQD
Spread the cards between your hands for a selection. When a card
has been pointed at, simply break the spread above the selection.
The left hand squares all of its cards except the selection, which
remains sidejogged to the right by the left thumb. Raise your left
hand to eye level to display the card for your audience to see and
remember.
Next, bring your left hand down and as your hands come together
to reconnect the spread, your right fingers cull the selection (which
is represented by the Six of Clubs in Fig. 27). Think of this as Marlo's
Convincing Control, without the outjogged indifferent card (i.e.
Hofzinser's cull).

Continue spreading through the rest of the cards until you reach
the bottom seven to eight cards. Here, you are going to insert the
culled selection only halfw-ay into the deck above the bottom five to
six cards. (Fig. 28) At the same time, your left fingers will push the
bottom five to six cards towards the right, creating a mini reverse
spread which shields the selection from view when looking from
the bottom, as in Fig. 29. (Note: the bulk of the cards above the
selection should remain in a roughly spread state, not squared up,
as in Fig. 30 on the next page.)

Grip this unsquared deck of cards in your right hand (thumb above,
four fingers below) and turn your hand palm down, hence
turning the cards face up (Fig. 31, next page). You should
 11

now notice that because of the mini reverse spread that you created
at the be!>ttom of the deck, the selection is not seen by the spectator,
and it is assumed that it's still lost somewhere in the middle of the
deck. The nice thing is that you can emphasize how fair it looks, as
there are no breaks in sight.

Place the cards in your left hand Mechanic's grip, still face up and
still unsquared. Maintain the reverse spread and ensure that the
selection is sidejogged to the right under the reverse spread.

In order to regain control of the card in a cull position, use your left
thumb to push over the reverse spread (along with the sidejogged
selection underneath) as one block towards the right. The selection
should still remain under the spread.

All your right hand has to do now is to re-grip the cards for spreading
- your right fingers can now easily contact the selection under the
spread (Fig. 32) and the selection now automatically returns
 THE CULL<SWl.TCH

EFFECT
A card placed between the two red Aces in the middle of the deck
changes, despite the spectator placing the card in herself.

BACKGRQOND
This is an extremely easy switch you can do with the Spread Cull. It
into a culled position, albeit with the deck face up this time. (Fig.
lends itqelf well to sandwich routines, due to the switch happening
33)
between two mates. The nice thing is that you can switch any number
Spread through the cards, showing the selection is nowhere near the of cards for any number of cards, and it all looks imperceptible.
And, of course, the nice thing is the spectator can place the card in
top or bottom of the deck. As you square the deck, simply bring
the sandwich themselves!
the selection to the back of the deck so that when you turn the deck
face down, the card is brought to the top. And you're done.
METHQD
Let's say the spectator is holding the Two of Hearts, and you want
CREDITS
to switch it for the Queen of Clubs. The Queen starts in a position
The Delayed Cull was published in MAGIC Magazine, in Joshua
in the deck that's easy to get into a culled position - let's say it starts
Jay's column under Expertalk: On the Cull (May 2009).
fourth from the top of the deck.

The two red Aces are face up in the middle of the deck. As you
spread the cards, cull the Queen (fourth position, remember?) and
spread until you see the two red Aces. Break the spread above the
two Aces. Maintain the spread in your right hand, while your left
hand squares its spread up.
Your left hand now thumbs over the topmost red Ace below the At the end of the switch, the original card (i.e. the Two of Hearts) is
right hand spread - your right fingers pin it below the Queen of tdirectly below the sandwich. It can be culled into a more convenient
Clubs, placing the Ace in a ready-to-cull position. One pull from position as you re-spread the cards to show the Queen. An alternative
your right fingers and the Ace should smoothly slide below the way to get rid of the Two will be explained later using the Buckle
Queen into a culled position. Extend your left hand, palm up, for Replacement.
your spectator.

"Hi Ma'am - can I have you place your Two ofHearts between the red
Aces here, please? 1he Aces will guard it safely, Im sure. ''

Once she has placed the Two (face down) on your left hand,
your hands come together again. Display the face-down selection
between the two red Aces, and continue spreading the cards. Cull
the first Ace (already in ready-to-cull position) and the selection as
well. There should now be three cards in cull position - the Queen,
the first Ace and the Two.

The second Ace is thumbed over into the right hand, and the three
cards in cull are inserted BELOW the second Ace. The rest of the
deck in the left hand is then spread BELOW the culled cards. The
cards can now be squared, the deck handed out for your spectator
to hold on to. She'll swear that the Two is still between the Aces -
but when she re-spreads the cards for confirmation, she'll find that
the Queen is now between the Aces!

THQOGHTS
Of course, there is a minor discrepancy in the fact that the two
Aces have changed places (if the Ace of Hearts was previously the
topmost Ace, after the switch it will be the bottommost Ace). I've
never had anyone catch me on that simply because all attention is
on what's between the Aces - the Aces are there just to isolate the
selection's position.
 J~;tf~':Vv

TH e:;,,~i;~,KLE
EPLACEMENT
II

EFFECT
After two selections are made the four Aces are placed in the deck -
two red Aces together near the top, two black Aces together near the
bottom. When the cards are spread out, two cards have mysteriously
appeared between the Aces, one between each pair of Aces. They
turn out to be the selections.
hand - I will assume the two selections are the Two of Hearts and
the Queen of Clubs. The Two is above the Queen in culled position.
BACKGRQOND
This is a technique to replace multiple culled cards back into the Spread the cards till you see the two red Aces. Break the spread
spread - in different positions. That's about it - it's a really useful SLIGHTLY between the Aces without squaring the spread. You are
technique I devised! I wanted to replace two selections (as described going to insert the Two between the red Aces - your right middle
above) into two different sandwiches in the deck, but all previous and ring finger buckles both selections under the spread (Fig. 34
methods I have looked at requires slipping the selections from the and 35 on the next page), and by releasing the tension of the buckle
bottom of the deck into the sandwich one by one, which is quite slightly, let the Two of Hearts out of the buckle. (Fig. 36, next page)
indirect and inefficient. I wanted a technique where I have some
cards in a culled position, and I can immediately replace them back This Two straightens out below the Ace in the right hand and above
in different parts of the deck without having to square up the deck the Ace in the left hand, which naturally places the Two secretly
or any extra motion. Enjoy. between the red Aces.

METHQD Continue spreading the cards, releasing the Queen of Clubs back
Start with the four Aces placed in the deck - the two red Aces into the standard culled position from the buckle. When you reach
together near the top of the deck, and the two black Aces near the the two black Aces, simply slip the Queen between the Aces and
bottom of the deck. The two selections are assumed to have square up the deck.
been culled and start from a culled position in your right
Hand the deck out, do whatever you want - everything's done at
this point. The two selections have been silently and surreptitiously
inserted between the Aces for a simple double sandwich effect.

THQOGHTS I CREDITS
Combined with the Cull Switch taught previously, you can have
a devastating move which will be explained later in "SwitchSand."

The Buckle Replacement was first published in MAGIC Magazine,

November 2010 under Joshua Jay's Talk About Tricks Column
(Expertalk: Harapan Ong on the Cull Replacement). Joshua does
an amazing job of describing it - do check it out if you can get your
hands on a copy.

The Buckle Replacement is also taught on my online download at

Vanishing Inc Magic called Cullology. Go get it and make me a
happy man.
 :';f·:,:·;,~~~~:::·::~;,

TH E~ . : · ·
RE~iE~R-SAt
· (
..i · · · , • ~ TAP .!->'.>>;>''>.:::''--:''-':~''.','
•:·······:··········;·i
"_'" -''/ '" :-·''
. •. •.•.•.·.:·.·······•.•.·.•.•.t
. •·. .·•:.•. .•.·.;.·.i.·.················:···········i······.····fJ·····.:.•.i
•. .•. ······l .....••. /

EFFECT
The magician shows four Aces to be distributed face-up at four
different points in a face-down deck. The deck is squared up, and
suddenly, the Aces magically reverse themselves and are now found
to be all face down ... on top of the deck.

BACKGRQOND
This is something I stumbled upon accidentally while practicing
the cull - it's a really easy way to reverse cards that have been placed
reversed in the deck. The secret move is done while squaring up the
cards on the table.

METHQD
Start with the four Aces placed in four different parts of the deck,
face up. Spread the cards between both hands and cull all four Aces.
Your right fingers now gently cup the Aces under the spread so that
now they are held in place by the fingers (see Fig. 37). Your hands
now come together to square up the cards, rotating your palms
towards each other and your wrists towards yourself (imagine going
into a prayer position with your hands, see Fig. 38) as you tap the
inner edge of the deck on the table or the thigh. The four Aces will
naturally rotate face down around the right edge of the spread onto
the top of the deck.
 Ill

Tap the deck on the table/thigh along the short edge (Fig. 39) to
square up, and place the deck down. You've secretly reversed the
face-up Aces and also controlled them to the top of the deck, all
in one smooth motion. Reveal them or use them for other effects.
Voila.

CREDITS
The Cull Tap Reversal has been published in MAGIC Magazine,
March 2011, under Joshua Jay's Talk About Tricks column (The
Cull Pass).

It's also taught in my online magic download Cullology, found at

Vanishing Inc Magic.

1
NOW LET S MOVE ON TO
SOME TRICKS ...
Ill
 CU [~1(:/!11~Jl;f/f HE
SEAR G;ftl~'s ~EAM 1

EFFECT
A card is selected and lost in the deck. The two black Queens are
shown - the magician places one on top of the deck and one on the
bottom, both face up. The magician explains that right now, the
Queens are sandwiching the entire deck - it will, in time, hone in
Jn this section, I present a selection oforiginal effects that utilize on their selection. With a riffie of the pack, both Queens are seen
the sleights taught in the Techniques section previously. I hope to visually vanish from their positions. When the cards are spread
out, the Queens are seen to have shifted slightly closer towards the
you find them useful and inspiring.
center - sandwiching about forty cards now. Another riffie causes
the Queens to move even closer to one another, with only about ten
cards between them now. One last riffie, and the Queens are now
sandwiching one card- but it's not the selection! Fret not - a snap of
the fingers and the Queens correct themselves, finally sandwiching
the right selection.

BACKGRQOND
This is simply a reworking of the handling of Larry Jenning's "The
Searchers". He had used the wedge cull in his routine, and this is
my handling of it. I don't claim it to be better or worse - this is just
how I do it.
METHQD
From a shuffied deck, remove the two black Queens and place the111
face up on both top and bottom of the deck. Tell your audience
about how these two Queens can search for a selected card in the
deck.

Spread the cards between your hands in readiness for the Spread
Cull. As you tell them about the Queens as "Searcher Cards" and ask
for a selection to be made, you are going to cull about ten to fifteen
indifferent face-down cards - the exact number doesn't matter, as
long as it's in that range.

Allow them to place their finger on a card - break the spread above
the selection and lift your left hand up to eye-level. Thumb over the
selection to the right and display it to your audience for them to
remember. Bring your hand down and as your hands come together,
your right fingers cull the selection under the ten to fifteen cards
already culled. The rest of the spread will go ABOVE the culled
cards so that if the deck is squared up, the selection will be the
bottommost card.

However, don't square up the deck. Instead, continue spreading the

cards until you expose the Queen on the bottom of the deck. Leave
the cards in this spread condition, tilting your hand down slightly
to hide the extra-thick packet at the bottom of the deck. Point out
the Queens on top and bottom of the deck, and bring attention to
the fact that the Queens are sandwiching the entire(?) deck (Fig. 40
and a bottom view in Fig. 41, where the selection is represented by
the Ten of Clubs). Square up the deck, making sure not to expose
the culled packet under the second Queen.

Position check: The deck from top down should be - face-up

Queen, big chunk of cards, face-up Queen, ten to fifteen
cards, selection face down on bottom.
To make the Queens vanish, obtain a pinky break (Pinky Count or
Pinky Pull-Down) somewhere in the middle of the ten to fifteen
card block and execute a Pass (I personally use a Hermann Pass). The
Queens should magically and visually vanish from their positions.
Show that both the Queen on top and bottom of the deck have
vanished and spread the cards out - they will see that the Queens
have seemingly moved closer towards each other. 111

After letting the effect register, square up the spread. You have two
options - you may either execute a LePaul Spread Pass or simply
square up and do your cleanest, most invisible pass. The pass should
be done at approximately the middle of the deck, so that when you
re-spread the cards, they will see that the Queens have seemed to
magically moved even closer towards each other.

Spread the cards between your hands to show the state of the still be visible to your audience at this stage - this is simply to get it
Queens. When you come to the first Queen, cull it into the right ready for the cull later.
hand. Continue spreading the cards to display the second Queen.
When displaying the second Queen, insert the culled Queen one Break the spread below the first Queen, and use the left edge of
card below the second Queen (hence sandwiching an indifferent the right hand spread to flip the face-down sandwiched card over.
card). The selection should be the card directly above the second Reveal an indifferent card and ask if that's their selection - the
Queen. answer should of course be negative (Fig. 42).

Square up the deck. Snap your fingers and spread the cards again You are now going to execute the Cull Switch taught previously.
- you should now see the Queens sandwiching a face-down card Look disappointed in the Queens and explain that the Queens can
in the middle of the deck. The spectators at this point might start always correct their mistakes. As this happens, use the right hand
to suspect - even expect - that card to be their selection. However, spread to flip the indifferent card face down. As the card is flipping
do remember that the selected card is the one directly above the face down, your right fingers cull its Queen under the right hand
sandwich. spread. Immediately, your hands close the break in the spread as
your left thumb pushes over the face-down indifferent card into the
When you reach the Queen sandwich, your right fingers immediately right hand, where your right fingers immediately cull it as well. This
cull the card above the first Queen (i.e. the selection). In spreading, leaves three cards culled in the right hand - the selection, a face-up
your left thumb pushes the first Queen over and places it Queen and the indifferent card.
UNDER the culled selection. However the Queen should
Your left thumb pushes over the second Queen and inserts it
ABOVE the three culled cards in the right hand under the spread.
Your hands continue the spreading motion; at this point, your
audience should still be able to see a face-up Queen in the middle
fHE PRINc;:ess CARD
of the deck, which further sells that nothing has happened yet.
TRICK REVISITED
The deck can be squared up and handed out for someone to hold, as
the switch has been done. When you re-spread the cards, they will
still see only a single card sandwiched between the Queens. Either
reveal it immediately to show the Queens have corrected their error, EFFECT
or you could pretend that nothing has happened yet! You can then The spectator is shown five cards and is asked to think of one of
make a magical gesture and pretend that the card changed in full them. The packet is handed to her for shuffiing - she then names
view while the cards were spread. That's the good thing about this her card aloud. She is instructed to remove the card she thinks is
switch - it's undetectable while it switches, so you can delay the her thought of card and place it between the two red Aces that were
magic 'moment' and make the change happen any time after that. previously reversed in the centre of the deck, just to isolate it from
Regardless of your choice of color change, reveal the selection and any trickery. To her surprise, when she turns the other four cards
jump for joy. over, her thought of card is gone - she has managed to eliminate
her own card! The sandwiched card proves to be the selection, of
THQOGHTS I CREDITS course.
Please see the Credits section for the trick, Two Heads are Better
than One for the credit to Larry Jenning's The Searchers. BACKGROOND
The Princess Card Trick is an old trick. A really old trick. I guess
If you wish to skip the card change at the end (some people may the main contention everyone has with it is that it doesn't have a
find it too confusing), simply insert the first culled Queen one very clear-cut ending, because although the thought-of selection
card above the second Queen, hence sandwiching the selection vanishes in the most impossible manner, it's not reproduced in any
immediately. I think it's just as strong and may make the effect way. I think that leaves the trick somewhat incomplete.
clearer in your audiences' minds.
This version attempts a solution by sacrificing a little of the thought-
of aspect of it by having them name the card, but only when the
cards are out of the magician's reach. Also, it's a different take on the
plot as they are the ones who are able to pick out their own selection
and make it 'vanish' from the packet, so to speak.
METHQD the ten cards and catch a pinky break below the ten face-up cards.
This requires some secret preparation on your part. You need to Use both hands to spread over the first five cards from the face (6C,
prepare either ten court or spot cards (depending on what you 7H, SS, 6D, 7C). Be careful not to expose the five cards at the back.
prefer to use for your Princess Card Trick) on top of the deck. For
instructional purposes, I will be using spot cards. Ask your spectator to think of one of the five cards displayed. Once
they are done, square the cards and execute another 10-card block
Prepare, from the top of the deck: Six of Spades, Seven of Diamonds, Turnover to turn all ten cards back face down. Your left thumb
Eight of Clubs, Eight of Hearts, Seven of Spades, Six of Clubs, immediately thumbs over the top five face-down cards (none of
Seven of Hearts, Eight of Spades, Six of Diamonds, Seven of Clubs which could be their thought-of card). Hand the five cards out for
(Fig. 43) shuffiing by your spectator, making sure that they shuffie them face
down.

Right now, the five cards in their hands are just five random spot
cards. On top of the deck, you have the five cards you actually
displayed to them, one of which is their thought of selection. They
have been arranged in such a way that it's easy to remember their
order from the top. The values are 6,7,8,6,7 and the suits are in
Chased Order (C-H-S-D-C).

Propose a little test of their psychic abilities. Have them name their
thought-of selection; let's say they say it's the Six of Diamonds.
Immediately, you know it's the fourth card from the top of deck
using the little mnemonic above. The moment they name their card,
ask them to hand you the card they think is the Six of Diamonds.

As you instruct them, spread the top few cards over and cull their
selection (in this case the fourth card) into your right hand. If their
To start, spread through the deck and openly remove the two red selection is the top card, simply thumb over the top card over into
Aces. Place the red Aces reversed in the middle of the face-up deck- your right hand with your left thumb before spreading the rest of
assure your audience that these Aces will come into play later. the cards on top of it. This places the selection in a culled position.

During the above actions, while placing the Aces in the middle, Regardless, once you've obtained their selection in cull, continue
spread over the top ten cards and catch a pinky break below spreading the deck until you reach the two reversed Aces.
them as you square the deck up. Do a Block Turnover on By now, they should have removed a card from the five
cards they were shuffling and be handing it over to you, face down,
as per your instructions.
.5,1'!(11
When you reach the two Aces, you are going to instruct them to

SWITCH~SAN.D
place the card they feel is the Six of Diamonds between the Aces
"for safekeeping" as you execute the Cull Switch. Break the spread
above the Aces as your left thumb pushes the top Ace into the right
hand, clipping it below the culled selection with your right fingers.

Have them place the indifferent spot card on top of the second Ace. EFFECT
As your hands come together to apparently sandwich the face-down
The magician shows the Ace of Spades and places it in his pocket,
card, your right fingers cull both the Ace in the right hand and the
calling it the magician's card. He also shows that there are two red
face-down card they just gave you. Continue spreading the cards,
Kings reversed together in the middle of the deck, which he explains
inserting the three culled cards underneath the second Ace in the
will serve to "guard" the spectator's card. The spectator is allowed
process. This is essentially the Cull Switch.
to pick a card for herself (e.g. the Two of Hearts) and places the
Two between the Kings hersel£ The deck is handed to the spectator,
Square and table the deck as you ask them if they are confident
and the magician removes the card from his pocket. But strangely,
of their psychic powers. Have them turn the remaining four cards
the card in his pocket is now the Two of Hearts - an impossible
over in their hands - they will be surprised to see that their Six of
transposition! The spectator spreads through the cards herself to
Diamonds is not amongst the 4 cards (due to the Princess Card
find the Ace of Spades between the red Kings.
Trick principle). For the final proof, have them check that the Six
of Diamonds is sandwiched between the Aces.
BACKGRQOND
This transposition effect uses a switch that combines the Buckle
CREDITS Replacement and the Cull Switch taught previously. It looks really
"The Princess Card Trick" can be credited to Henry Hardin. It can
simple on the surface, but get ready - personally I don't think it's a
be found published in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (19 3 7). simple trick to do!

METHQD
If you want the Ace of Spades to be the magician's card, place it
third from the top of the deck. If you don't have a preference, you
can start from a shuffled deck. However, I suggest the Ace of Spades
as it is a card easy to remember - don't make the spectator's
job harder in trying to keep track of the cards before the
transposition occurs, to reduce the chance of any confusion.
Openly remove the two red Kings and hand them to the spectator. has been left sidejogged to the right due to the right thumb motion
Do a Triple Turnover to display the Ace of Spades, calling it the previously. This also places the Ace in a culled position.
magician's card. Turn the three cards back face down. Grip the deck
in right-hand End Grip, and with your left thumb peel the top Once they have made a selection (i.e. Ten of Clubs), have them
indifferent card into your left hand (masquerading as the Ace), and remember the selection and place it reversed between the Kings
then place it in your left trouser pocket. (You may want to choose they have in their hands. Break the spread in the middle and have
your left jacket pocket or your left back pocket, if you do have any them place the sandwich at that point, all this while maintaining
of those. If you are not wearing trousers, try putting them on next the Ace in its culled position in the right hand (Fig. 44).
time before attempting the trick. That might explain why no one
watches your tricks.) As you display the sandwiched state of the Ten, your left thumb
thumbs over the first King and the face-down Ten as your right
Remind your spectator that the Ace is now in your pocket, and offer fingers cull the two cards, leaving three cards culled - the Ace, the
them a card for themselves as you spread the deck out for a selection. King and the Ten. So far, this is identical to the Cull Switch taught
As you begin spreading the cards, cull the second card from the top previously.
(i.e. the Ace of Spades). This can also be achieved if you thumb
off the top two cards into your right hand, and your right fingers However, as your left hand thumbs over the final King into the
execute a reverse-spread motion where your right thumb pushes the right hand, your right fingers buckle the three culled cards and
top card to the left. Your hands come together again as the release pressure to let the top two cards (i.e. the Ace of
left thumb spreads the deck above the Ace of Spades that Spades and the King) to straighten out, leaving only the
 Again, at this point the trick is technically over - do a magical
gesture., blow on the card and show the card in the pocket is
mystenously now the Ten of Clubs, which was just seen between
the Kings! The spectator, holding the deck, will waste no time in
spreading through the cards to find that the sandwiched card is now
impossibly the Ace of Spades!

THQOGHTS
You have two options when you place the indifferent card in your
pocket - you can either leave it there and come out with your left
hand empty, or place the indifferent card in left hand Gambler's Cop
as you remove your hand from your pocket, and secretly replace the
card on :he bottom of the deck. This option may be slightly more
challengmg and nerve wrecking, but it also leaves your pocket clean
for inspection. Personally, I just leave the card inside as I have never
Ten of Clubs still buckled. The second King being thumbed over
had a sp~ctator wanting to check my pocket after the effect.
is inserted ABOVE the Ace of Spades (but does not get culled) -
this is as per the Cull Switch taught previously (Fig. 45, previous
page). The only difference is that now, you have full control over
the Ten of Clubs, which is brought to the bottom of the deck as
the deck is squared up as per the standard Spread Cull motion. You
have secretly switched the Ten for the Ace, and the spectator should
believe that nothing has happened yet since they had placed the Ten
in themselves!

As the Ten is brought to the bottom of the deck, catch a break above
the Ten and place it in left-hand Gambler's Cop (Fig. 46). Your
right hand gives the deck to the spectator in End Grip as your left
hand, card in cop, drops down to your side nonchalantly. Remind
them about the magician's card in your pocket as your left hand
reaches into your left pocket. Ignore the indifferent card in your
pocket and bring out the copped Ten of Clubs, miscalling it as the
Ace of Spades.
 ,;>..,.<:>

s1aJ.)tTER E'D5SAND WI c
11

EFFECT
The magician displays four Aces face up in the middle of the deck.
He asks for two selections to be made - one selected in the top half
of the deck, and one selected in the bottom half. The deck is squared
up, and with a snap of the fingers, the Aces split up into two groups,
each pair sandwiching a selection in their respective halves.
Spread the cards between your hands and have someone touch a
card in the top half (e.g. Five of Diamonds). Break the spread above
BACKGRQOND the card, and lift your left hand up to eye-level as your left thumb
This is a simple double sandwich effect with an extra phase where pushes the card to the right, displaying the card for your spectator
the Aces start together in the deck and seem to split into two to remember. Bring your left hand down and as your hands come
sandwiches. It was inspired by a trick I saw from my friend Dennis together to continue spreading, cull the selection into the right
Kim (he uses the Anti-Faro for the method), but he informs me that hand.
this is based on a trick by Jack Birnman called Dragnet.
When you reach the packet of Aces in the deck, cull the first
METHQD (topmost) Ace and let your left thumb push the second Ace into
From a shuffied deck, openly remove the four Aces - arrange them the right hand, inserting it between the right-hand spread and the
such that two Aces of the same color are sandwiching the other two culled cards (i.e. above the Five of Diamonds, below the spread).
Aces (i.e. R-B-B-R or B-R-R-B, as in Fig. 47). However, the second Ace should still remain visible to the spectator.

Display them, and place them face up in the middle of the deck. You are now going to execute the Buckle Replacement - buckle the
To make the ending more aesthetically pleasing, place the four Aces two culled cards with your right fingers and release the tension just
about fifteen to twenty cards down (slightly nearer to the top). enough to allow the top card - the selected Five - to straighten out
of the buckle (Fig. 48, next page). This happens while your
hands break the spread below the second Ace, your right
hand moving away from your body to gesture to a second spectator, to show the card. As this happens, your right fingers buckle the two
instructing her to touch another card in the bottom half of the deck. face-up 1culled Aces under the spread and release the pressure on the
top Ace, leaving only the bottom Ace buckled.
When your hands come together, the left hand thumbs over the
third Ace in a spreading motion and inserts the third Ace BELOW As your hands come together, your left thumb helps secretly insert
the culled Five of Diamonds so that it goes in between the Five and the Queen below the top Ace (Fig. 49). When the fingers release
the buckled (and culled) Ace. The moment this happens, your right the buckle on the bottom Ace, the Queen becomes automatically
fingers release the buckle of the Ace, hence secretly sandwiching the sandwiched between the Aces.
Five of Diamonds between two Aces. In a continuing motion, your
left thumb spreads the fourth Ace over and culls it into the right Square up the deck, and hand it out for someone to hold. The trick
hand. The hands then continue spreading the cards into the bottom is done by this point - the cards can be spread out to show the new
half for a second selection. configuration of the Aces. Point out (gleefully) the two sandwiches,
and have them check the sandwiched cards. When they realize it's
Position check: the first selection should be secretly between two their selections, they will be suitably impressed.
Aces, and the other two Aces should be in a culled position under
the deck, in your right hand. CREDITS
Credit goes to Jack Birnman's "Dragnet", published in Card Finesse
The second selection is made (e.g. Queen of Clubs) - again II (1992, page 222).
break the spread above the card and lift your left hand up
 S:~{ ,~~</<~) ~::,~:<'.:'.
Have three cards selected by three different spectators, and control

IN~il!l!~TED
them to the top via your favorite method. Personally, I simply cull
the three selections to the bottom and shuffle them to the top via
an Overhand Shuffle. Then, to place them in a position that is easy
,. . .···-EPLA~Ec~ENTS to cull from, undercut about half the cards and overhand shuffle
three indifferent cards on top of the deck. lnjog the next card, then
shuffle off the rest of the deck. Cut the deck below the injog so that
11
the three selections are now fourth, fifth and sixth from the top of
the deck. (Similarly, use any method you wish to get the selections
EFFECT in those positions.
Three selections are made and lost back in the deck. The magician
shows the Ace, Two and Three of Clubs and calls them his 'indicator Hand out the Ace, Two and Three of Clubs and ask your spectators
cards' (I know, just humor me). The spectator places them face up at to insert the cards face up at three different parts of the deck. As your
three random points in the deck of his own choosing. The magician spread the cards out for them, cull the three selections and buckle
then shows that the first selection is card away from the Ace, two them with the right fingers in readiness for the Buckle Replacement
cards away from the Two and three cards away from the Three. No technique.
funny actions, no extra cuts and no strange shifting of cards.
When the Ace is inserted, insert the first selection below it by
releasing the top culled card from the buckle. When the Two is
BACKGRQOND inserted, insert the second selection one card below the Two (so
This is probably the most direct application which c~n b~st
that it is two cards away from the Two) via the Buckle Replacement.
demonstrate the ability of the Buckle Replacement to simplify
Similarly, insert the final selection two cards below the Three.
complicated handlings. The plot is based on a trick by Max Maven
(Phil Goldstein) called "Third Degree". In the original handling, he
Square the deck, leaving the Ace, Two, Three of Clubs outjogged so
uses an overhand shuffle sequence to place the indicator cards. I've
that you can emphasize that their positions have not been shifted.
simply replaced the shuffle sequence with the Buckle Replacement.
What you have now is an extremely clean ending, where you can
I think it cleans up the handling a lot, as you will soon see.
reveal the selections in their respective positions indicated by the
three face-up cards, seemingly without any moves.
METHQD
This trick needs almost no explanation. Remove the Ace, Two and
Three of Clubs before the trick, calling them your helper cards or
your indicator cards.
CREDITS ,:,';;,>!;-,

~·.•;· · H· ·.;!·•.:'/ E·. ~·: .•

Phil Goldstein's "Third Degree" can be found in Focus (1990, page 1
21). It was first published in New Tops in August 1980. ·
' ,' ,,' :' c , ' '"'''' "';,, "'/'' ~ < :· '>';< '

cl·········.···
. .•. .•. •.•.•.•.••.••.·
. ..

BU CKLE~tiE~CTO RS
..··········.•.·.•.·.•..·.··:.•.·.·.:···'·······;······.·.·.·.·.i.•
..•.:.·.·.•.•.·.•.'.•.•.•.·.••·}

"Indicated Replacements" is also taught in my download Cullology,

found on Vanishing Inc Magic.

EFFECT
The spectator freely selects three cards, which are lost in the deck. The
magician shows the four Kings which were placed aside previously,
explaining that these four cards will help to locate those three cards.
He places them face up on top of the deck, and with a riffle the four
Kings redistribute themselves to four different locations in the deck!
And yet, with a snap of the fingers, the four Kings recombine in the
middle of the deck, but with three cards interlaced between them!
These three cards, of course, prove to be the selections.

BACKGRQOND
This is probably my favourite application of the Buckle Replacement
Technique. It is essentially a Collectors effect that I think has some
really clean and magical moments. Plot-wise it is extremely similar
to Larry Jenning's effect "Distributraction", although I genuinely
came up with it independently and my attorney can prove it in a
court of law. It also uses ideas from Andi Gladwin's ''All Over the
(Dis) place".

From a shuffled deck, remove any four of a kind and place them
face down on the table. For instructional purposes, we shall assume
they are the four Kings. Don't let your audience see the
faces - this is to justify the count sequence later.
Let your spectators select any three cards. You now need to control
those three cards to the top of the deck after losing the cards back in
the deck. You could use your favorite multiple shift or your favorite
Double Undercut sequence. You could cull all three cards to the
bottom and shuffle them to the top with an Overhand Shuffle.

As your right hand picks up the four Kings from the table, your
left hand executes a Pinky Count to catch a break below the three
selections on top of the deck. Flip the four Kings face up on top of
the selections, maintaining the pinky break below all seven cards.
Bring attention to the four Kings as your right hand grips the seven
card packet in Biddle Grip, ready for the count sequence.

The count sequence is identical to the one in Slap Me Silly. In short,

your right thumb picks up about five more cards and holds a thumb
break. The left thumb peels the first King onto the deck. As the cards in the right hand now go behind the cards in the left hand
thumb peels the second King, your right thumb drops everything (Fig. 50). Care should be taken not to expose the reversed Kings
below the thumb break except one card. As the thumb peels the near the top of the deck.
third King, your right thumb drops that single card below the break
onto the second King. Your left pinky catches a break below the Turn the deck face down - the reversed Kings should now be
third King so that you can easily place it underneath the right hand displaced to somewhere near the bottom. Pick up the packet of
packet. Table this packet. Kings with your right hand in Biddle Grip - show both sides if you
wish and drop it face up on the deck.
Position check: The table should have a packet consisting of, from
top down: face-up King, the three face-down selections, another To make the Kings apparently vanish into the deck, execute your
face-up King. The deck should be, from top down: face-down cleanest Pass (I personally use a Hermann Pass) at a point roughly
indifferent card, face-up King, about four face-down indifferent halfvvay into the deck. The exact point does not matter - what
cards, face-up King, rest of deck. This position should be identical matters is that you do not execute the Pass somewhere in the region
to the one in "Distribution Transposition", explained previously. of the two reversed Kings near the bottom of the deck.

As you remind them that the selections have been lost in the deck, After the pass, the Kings should have visually vanished from the
turn the deck face up and spread it between your hands. Spread top! You explain that the Kings have simple gone into the deck
about forty cards into the right hand (exact number does and distributed themselves to four different parts. Begin
not matter) and break the spread; the (approximately) forty spreading the cards between your two hands, in readiness
for the Spread Cull.
 Square up the deck, and set it down. The trick is done at this point -
pretend to wait a few seconds for the Kings to "find" the selections.
When you re-spread the cards, they will see the four Kings together
in the middle of the deck, sandwiching three cards. Let them turn
it over, and reveal the three selections.

Larry Jenning's "Collectors V - Distributraction'' can be found in

Ihe Classic Magic ofLarry Jennings, page 213.

"The Buckle-Hectors" can be found in my online instructional

download (as mentioned previously) at Vanishing Inc Magic called
Cullology. Go check it out. Now. Please. I need the money.

As you spread, cull the first two Kings.

"1he first King here is looking for the first selection ... the second King
for the second selection ... "

When you reach the third King, get ready to do the Buckle
Replacement! The three cards between the third and fourth Kings
are in fact the three selections. You are going to insert the two culled
Kings in between the three selections in order to form the final
Collectors configuration (Fig 51).

"1he third King is to look for the third selection ... and the last King is
here .. . just in case something goes wrong!"

Say the last line with a goofy smile. Meanwhile, your right fingers
buckle the two culled Kings - insert one King below the first
selection and the second King below the second selection via the
Buckle Replacement.
 ou are going to quickly memorize the first five faces you shuffle off

OTTEA.~. ·.•:~ ~·.·.·.~.•

the face of the deck. Don't worry - you only have to memorize the
values of the cards, not the suits. Run off cards singly from the face
, >''.:,;r ,',".\",<.;;;:;'.'/>:•\Y.··:- ·.··
· i· · · · · · ·.•·.·•.·;.· •·•· ·• · •·.··.·•.·••.·.•·. ·.·•. ·.M. rENTAL
'">>>··.,;:, >[/?>/:.·><': ;,', ,.:,·.. '>
:i····.·.m
.•. .• . •.•.•'.
•.•.•.j.•.•.•.·..•. .•.•. ..•.:.•..•.•.·.•.•.•.
;.•...•.·.•.·.•.·.·.·.:.·:······...· ...•.•.•.·.•.•.•.•...··.·.•.·.·.•.·.·.···········..
·.·:·:.,, >; , .
of the deck, reciting silently the five values to yourself and memorize

RE<~E1'1~SE
them (E.g. 8-K-3-10-2). It's like memorizing a short phone number
the only exception is when you have two cards of the same value
(E.g. 8-K-3-8-2). If that happens, just make a mental note of the
suit or color of the second Eight. If you have three cards of the same
value (E.g. 8-8-K-3-8), simply throw the remainder of the deck on
EFFECT top of the deck and restart the memorization process for another
The magician places five random cards face down on the table and five cards.
has the spectator peek at a random one while his head is turned
away. The five cards are immediately shuffled by the spectator. Once you've shuffled and memorized the five cards, shuffle off the
The magician has the spectator place the five cards face up at five remainder of the cards on top. Then, shuffle another five cards off
different points in the deck. The deck is squared up and with a snap the face and throw the rest on top. When you turn the deck face
of the fingers, the deck is spread out and mysteriously, only one down, you should now have five indifferent cards on top, followed
card is face up in the deck. That card proves to be the peeked-at by the five memorized cards (E.g. 8-K-3-10-2). You're ready to
selection - no other reversed cards can be found. begin!

Tell your audience that for the next trick, you only need five
BACKGRQOND cards. Start dealing the top five cards on the table in a face-up row.
This is a streamlined handling of Marlo's "Mental Reverse" - most
Suddenly, pretend that you just realized your mistake in dealing
previous versions of this plot end dirty, having to hide some reversed
them face up and pick up the five face-up cards. Lose them in the
cards secretly. This is a direct application of the Cull Tap Reversal
middle of the deck and deal the next five cards (i.e. the memorized
which allows an extremely clean ending, where the spectator
cards) on the table face down in a row.
themselves can even spread the cards themselves at the end. It's a
really practical trick and has served me well.
"Sorry... the trick would be much better if I didn't actually see these
cards."
METHQD
The deck can be shuffled by the spectator at the start. When it is This is simply a subtlety to reduce any suspicion that the magician
handed back to you, start a face-up Overhand Shuffle, but turn the knows the identity of the five cards on the table, which would
faces away from the audience (just tilt your body away slightly). greatly reduce the impact of the ending.
Have your audience point to any of the five cards on the table. Jou can even hand the deck to them, and they would swear that the
The moment their finger is approaching the card of their choice, .five cards are still reversed in the deck.
turn your head away quickly and immediately ask them to take
a peek at the card they chose. This gives the impression that you Snap your fingers and make a magical gesture - whatever the case,
don't even know which card they had selected, let alone peeked when the cards are spread out, they will only find that only their
at. Alternatively, you could turn your head away and simply peek selection is reversed in the deck.
through your peripheral vision at which card they had selected and
peeked at.
VAR.IATIQN
Here's a little variation with a little color change at the end. I'm not
The moment they peek at a card, you immediately can discern,
sure if it makes the trick more confusing or not, but you might find
from your previous memorization, what value it is. As an example:
it interesting.
If you had dealt the row from your left to right, and they look at the
fourth card from the left, you immediately know it is the Ten they
Everything stays the same except that once they start shuffling the
looked at (8-K-3-10-2).
five cards, openly remove the four Aces and place them face up on
top of the deck, explaining that these cards are your assistants (A
Have the spectator shuffle the five cards immediately in their hands,
for Assistants ... or something). Of course, you could already have
and to turn them face up. Instruct them to place the five cards face
had the Aces previously removed and tabled before the five cards are
up in the deck one by one at five different locations, in any order
introduced.
they wish.

Have them place the five cards in the deck and proceed with the
Spread the deck between your hands in readiness for the Spread
culling sequence as described, except the four Aces are always face
Cull. Break the spread after about ten to fifteen cards and have her
up on top of the deck. Once the five indifferent cards have been
place the first card in. If it is the Ten (their peeked card), don't cull
culled, you are going to switch the four Aces for the four indifferent
it. If it is any other card, cull it with your right hand as you continue
cards by using Troy Hooser's Slipstream in a slightly modified way.
spreading the cards, breaking the spread somewhere further down
the deck for the second card to be placed.
Once the four cards are culled, your right thumb is going to clamp
down on the Ace at the top of the deck as your right fingers curl
Do this for all five cards, culling all the cards except the peeked card, around the four culled cards, holding them in place. Your hands
which should be left face up in the deck. At the end, you should
come together slightly so that your left hand can grip onto the rest
have four face-up cards in a culled position in your right hand.
of the deck (which excludes the top Ace and the four culled cards)
- basically, place your left thumb on the second Ace from the top.
Now, as you square up the deck, execute the Cull Tap Reversal
Your right hand now moves to the right, peeling the top Ace off the
which instantly reverses the four culled cards on top of the
deck and into the right hand, on top of the four culled cards
deck. Table the deck and stand away - the trick is done!
(Fig. 52, next page). This covers the culled cards for a brief
 CREDITS
~'Mental Reverse" can be found in 1he Cardician by Edward Marlo.
He has two versions (I'm surprised he doesn't have more). I don't
have the actual copy, but I read it in Cardially Yours, which is a
compilation of his earlier works (which included 1he Cardician).

Troy Hooser's SlipStream move can be found in Des TROYers (2001)

by Joshua Jay.

moment - in a continuing motion, your right thumb continues

peeling off the other three Aces into the right hand. This leaves
eight face-up cards in your right hand - the four Aces followed by
the four indifferent cards you culled earlier.

Square up the rest of the deck in your left hand as you flip the
eight cards face down on the deck as the four Aces. Thumb over the
top four cards (the four indifferent cards masquerading as the four
Aces) and wave them over the deck. Turn them face up to show that
the Aces have changed into the 4 cards they did not think of.

Finally, spread the deck out to show that the only card left in the
deck is their peeked-at selection. The Aces are of course nowhere to
be found.

I don't think this necessarily makes the trick any better. To be honest,
I've never actually performed or used this version, except when I'm
showing tricks to other magicians. I still prefer the purity
of the original version described previously.
 A C0 ~-EljzfltJi ING
CAR D'if::l7Gl:LD

EFFECT
A card is selected and signed. It is left outjogged in the middle of
the deck and cleanly pushed in by a spectator. Immediately, the
magician can reveal that the signed selection is found folded in his
In this section, I present some ideas with the Spread Cull that shoe, or in a box on the table, or paperclipped on the table the
I feel are interesting to try out, but more experimental. entire time.

BACKGRQOND
This is a method of folding a selection under the cover of losing
the card in the deck. It was suggested to me by my good friend
Kened Ho from Hong Kong during a Skype chat. He suggested
finding a way to fold a culled card into quarters, and we both
collaborated and found a really easy method to do so. I think there
are some merits to this method, as the spread provides more cover
for the folding action, and the moves are justified unlike a standard
Mercury Card Fold, where you usually have to do it under some
awkward misdirection (e.g. asking a question).

Another advantage to this move is that the audience apparently gets

to see the selection in its unfolded condition until the very last
moment. Also, the fold is done with the deck face down - in the
standard Mercury technique, you have to turn the deck face up if
you wish to fold the card with the faces inward. As your hands come together, the culled card in your right hand is
clamped to the spread by your right fingers, as the left side of the
However, a little confession: this is not something I have ever used card slides under the left fingers. However, continue squaring up
in any performance situation. I rarely do card tricks where a card in the cards until the selected card is bent at a 90 degree angle between
my deck has to end up folded in a shoe/box/bread roll. So, please your right and left finger tips (Fig. 54).
take this technique as something to try out and study.
Allow the folded edge to slide over your left fingertips so that the
METHQD folded card now slides between the deck and your left fingers. The
To begin, you are going to use Marlo's Convincing Control to card should now be folded lengthwise around your right fingertips
cull a selection. Spread the cards for a card to be pointed at. Break (Fig. 5 5, next page).
the spread below the touched card and lift your hands up for the
Convincing Control. Extract your right fingers as your left hand clamps down on the
deck, creasing the card tightly (Fig. 56, next page). Your right hand
At this point, you may have the card signed if you wish. Regardless, is used to gesture to the audience, under the guise of asking them
once you've culled the card as per Convincing Control, outjog the to stick out their index finger to push their selection in. This is
indifferent card that's masquerading as the selection (Fig 53). The the first fold - note that the card is first folded lengthwise, unlike
folding action begins when you start squaring the deck. the Mercury Card Fold. Note that at this point, there is still an
indifferent card outjogged in the middle of the deck, which
they believe to be the selection.
You are now going to transfer the deck from your left hand to your
right hand, which will complete the second fold. Your right hand is
going to approach from the back of the deck. Your left fingers will
slightly injog the folded card just a little bit, so that the top edge
of your right index finger can contact the bottom short edge of the
folded card. Your right index finger should be placed slightly abov<,:
the folded card.

In a smooth motion, your right hand now moves forward to grab

the deck - this folds the already folded card downwards and away
from you, causing it to be folded into quarters (Fig. 57). Note that
the card is folded around your left fingers this time (Fig. 58, next
page). Extract your left fingers as the right hand holds the deck,
clamping down hard to sharpen the crease on the card (Fig. 59, next
page). Extend your right hand out for them to push their 'selection'
in themselves.
Right now, you have two options. The direct approach is to adjust
the folded card into right hand finger palm and turn the deck face
up (and your right hand face down) as you hand it out for shuffiing.
Keep your fingers closed to hide the folded card. A second option
is to transfer the deck back to the left hand to further square up
the deck, adjusting the folded selection into left hand finger palm,
before tabling or handing the deck out.

You now have a folded card in palm - use it to your advantage and
be free!

VARIATIQN
Here's a variation in the handling of the second fold. Instead of
injogging the folded card, your left fingers slightly outjog the folded
card under the cover of the outjogged indifferent card. Your right
hand now approaches from the front of the deck and folds it the
same way, except it's done from the front instead of the back. It also
uses the right index finger to fold it downwards and towards you as
your transfer the deck to your right hand, leaving the card folded
in quarters.

CREDITS
The Mercury Card Fold can be found in Expert Card Technique by
Hugard and Braue (Dover,page 303), under "Mercury's Card."
EFFECT
A color change. Using a Spread Cull.

BACKGRQOND
This isn't something I have ever used in any performance. Like, ever.
I'm not even sure if it works.

What should it look like? The magician spreads the deck and turns
a card face up in the middle of the deck. The card is dropped on the
table and it visually changes into another card.

METHQD
Spread the cards out between your hands - cull a random indifferent
card near the top of the deck to make the cull later easier to execute.

Stop somewhere in the middle of the deck. Break the spread at

some point and use the leftmost edge of the right hand spread to
turn the top card of the left hand packet face-up. (There should still
be a card in cull.)

Bring your hands together to reconnect the spread (Fig. 60). Ensure
that both the left and right hand's packets are spread out (the left
hand's packet only needs to be spread out slightly). Your
right fingers now reach underneath to dip the face-up card
 SPECIAL THANKS
First, let's give a shout-out to Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser.

I would also like to thank Kostya Kimlat - without his DVD, this
book would have been impossible.

The lovely photography in this book and the video trailer on

UNDER the culled card, so that if your right fingers were now to
Vanishing Inc. was done by my good friend Ang Ben You. Thank
give it a pull, it would slide right in to the culled position. you!
1

That's exactly what you do. As your right fingers pull on the face-
I had received quite a bit of help when it came to crediting. Hence,
up card into cull, your hands are going to separate rapidly, causing
a nice thank you to Irving Quant, Seuss Hawkeye Metivier, Erik
the spread to break apart. However, as the hands separate, you are Nordvall and Antonio Zuccaro.
going to slightly lower your right hand. Essentially, the left edge
of the right hand spread will push down on the right edge of the
Although Denis Behr's name does not appear in the book at all, his
face-down card BELOW the face-up card (Fig. 61, previous page),
Conjuring Archives database was invaluable in verifying some of
causing it to suddenly flip face up and land on the table (Fig. 62). my crediting. Thanks, Denis!

This gives the illusion that the face-up card, when dropped on the My lovely friends (in no particular order) Kevin Ho, Ambrose Chi,
table, visually changes into another card. Technically, the flip is Jonathan Foo, Huron Low (who gave me the title of this book),
not registered as it is covered by the bigger motion of the hands Jonathan Low, Alexander Yuen, Sunny Yu, Kened Ho, Marc
separating. Kerstein, Andreas Pavlou, Patrick Kun, Dennis Kim and Noel
Heath. Thanks for sitting through all my boring culling nonsense
and providing me with tips and advice all these years.
A big thank you to Joshua Jay and Andi Gladwin for being my
inspirations in magic, and for publishing this book. They were also
instrumental in persuading me to change the original tide of the
book, which was "Cull Me Maybe". They were also vehemently
opposed to the number of "cull" puns that were found originally in
the book. Thank you!

And of course, my family for everything else important in life.

However, I would like to thank my younger brother Hartono
Santoso Ong for being the guinea pig for these card tricks. He's sat
through so many of my tricks-an amount of tricks nobody should
have to endure.
Alongside the double lift and the pinky break, the cull is
perhaps the most important move in card magic. Few people
do the move correctly, and even fewer use the move for
anything other than secretly sorting cards. That all changes
wi~h Close Culls.

Singapore's Harapan Ong is a leading expert on all things cull,

and here he teaches the move in gorgeous, photographic
detail And then he explores new and exciting principles with
the cull Finally, he puts it all together in twelve extraordinary
and offbeat effects. This is a definitive treatise on this
underused but critical sleight.