The magic session

UNDERGROUnD NOTES #2
 Mexican Joker
By Alex Pandrea
Effect

A random card from a pack of playing cards

is placed on the table face down. Neither the
spectator nor the magician knows what this card
is. A joker is introduced to assist the spectator in
magically divining the face-down card. The joker is
placed in the spectators hands and he/she is asked
to name the first card that pops into their mind. As
you might have guessed, the card they name is in
fact the face-down card on the table.

Sleights

Riffle force, double turn-over, top shot, culling, top change, Mexican turn-over. You will
also need to have two identical jokers for this effect, or a duplicate.

Method

This effect if one of my favorite impromptu card tricks that I do. As you will see, there
is motivation to every step, which makes this routine not only easy, but fun to perform.
Start with the two identical jokers on the top of the pack. Perform a double turn-over,
showing a joker on top. Now say you will use another card from the center, a random
card, and leave it face down on the table. As you say this, perform a top shot while the
two jokers are still face up. This will shoot the top joker into your right hand. The joker
will turn face down during this process. If done right it should look like a card flew out
of the center of the pack face down. Place it on the table and stress the fact that nobody
knows what that card is (in reality, the face down card is the second joker).

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Method cont’d:

Tell the spectator that the joker can help him/her to divine the card. At this point I say
“Once the joker enters your hand, you will name the first card that pops into your head”.
After saying this I carefully place the joker in their hand, acting like there is something
magical about this joker. This brings all focus on the joker.

The spectator will now name a card. You will now need to spot the card in the pack and
cull it to the top under the misdirection of saying “Hmm, which card?”, or “Ok if we look
through the pack I don’t think we will find that card because I have a feeling it’s the one
on the table”.

During these lines, you will begin to spread the cards toward yourself until you spot the
named card. Once you found it and culled out of view, turn your body and show the faces
to the audience as well as an added convincer that you are just browsing through the
cards. This should all be done in one smooth motion.

You now have the named card on top of the pack. You will now top change the joker in
their hand for the top card. To do this, ask the spectator “What did you feel when the
joker entered your hand, anything weird?” This is the perfect time to take the joker out
of their hand and in position for a top change; reason being, you are curious to feel what
they felt while holding the joker.

Once eye contact is made, perform a top change. The situation to the audience now is:
joker in your hand, random card (hopefully the named card) face-down on the table,
however the real situation is: joker is face-down on the table, and the named card in your
hand. Call all attention to the face-down card on the table at this point. You will now
execute the Mexican turn-over to show that in fact the card the spectator named card
was in fact the card that has been sitting face-down on the table the whole time. Make
sure that at the end of the mexican turnover, the Joker is seen in your hand so everything
matches up. They scream, you laugh.

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 Restaurant Magic
By Mike Hankins
As a magician, it is always hard to take rejection
whenever you ask someone if they want to see any
sort of magic tricks. Usually, that is only the case
when you are working for free. But what about
when you are in a controlled environment like a
restaurant, where you are being paid to entertain a
room full of strangers? What do you do then when
you are told “no”? How do you react when you
are told “no thanks”? Is there even a way to avoid being told “no” when working within
a place like a restaurant? The answer is, thank goodness, yes! The next couple of para-
graphs will focus solely on making sure that “no” is not an option, or is at least brought to
a minimum.

I have always thought that making an approach to a table where a couple is facing one
another and asking if they wanted to see some magic was rather an awkward moment.
So I took the advice of Mr. Eugene Burger as he suggested, and was introduced by the
wait staff. That way when you make the approach back to that table, some sort of inter-
action has already happened, so if they tell you “no”, it might not “burn” as bad. Another
suggestion by Mr. Burger was to perform for the people who were waiting to be seated.
Those people are already bored, and would more than likely WANT to be entertained as
they patiently wait.

This idea I am going to suggest here is of my own creation and has provided me with
great results over the years. Prior to me going table to table, I hand business cards to the
entire wait staff. As they make their initial approach to the table, they mention me being
the hired entertainment for the evening, and hand them one of my business cards. Now
here is where it gets pretty cool. One side of my business card is white, and the other
side is black. As I am handing my cards out to the wait staff, I ask them to explain to the
customers that if any time they want to see some magic, to turn the business card white
side UP, so that I can see the card from a far. This way, the patrons who do NOT wish to
see any magic will leave my business card black side up, while the ones who want to see
something turn the card white side up and will be fully entertained. This helps to create
less tension and sweat on your part!

For some, being told “no” is not a big deal at all. But I have always believed that the less
one hears the word “no”, the more confident they can feel about their magic. I hope these
ideas find you well! Thanks to Eugene Burger for his short but to the point advice!

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 Triumph
By Doc Docherty
Here I offer two handlings of triumph that I have
had a lot of fun with. The creative process for both
of these routines is from J.K. Hartman and his
wonderful book “Card Dupery”. In this book, which
I highly recommend, is an effect called “Overtrick”.
I loved the displays it showed but did not care too
much for the setup and handling at the beginning.
I reworked the setup process and added for the
second version a surprise appearance of four of
kind.

Version 1

Start with two cards reversed on the bottom of the deck.

This can easily be done by doing a Braue Reversal from
a face up deck or if this is the first effect you are going to
perform just come out of the box with it already setup.

Hold the deck in the left hand and spread over a quarter
of the pack and break this quarter off. Flip it face up and
spread it in a column on the mat. Continue spreading
over another quarter of the pack and break it away and
spread it face down in a column on the table to the right
of the first. Lastly, spread over another quarter of the
pack, break it away from the spread and flip it face up
and spread it to match the others and ending the row of
three by placing it to the right. FIG 1 shows this layout.

Spread the remainder of the packet in the left hand,

begin careful not to expose the two cards reversed on
the bottom. Close the spread and ask the spectator
to choose one of the packets. While the spectator is
choosing, your left hand will drop to its side and turn
the pack over by levering the packet and turning it over
off your left thigh. FIG 2 This turns the packet over and
setups up the neat displays to follow.

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Gesture with the top card to the pile that the spectator chooses and replace it on the
bottom of the pile in your left hand.

Now you will faro into the pack in the left hand the chosen pile of the spectator, however
it will appear that you mix it face up and face down. Keep the top and bottom cards of
the left hand packet in position and just faro, which doesn’t have to be perfect into the
center. Stop when the cards are half way squared and flip the pack over to show the face
up’s going into the face down. Repeat with the other two packets, turning the left hand
packet the opposite way of the packet you are picking up. For example if the left hand
packet is showing a face up card, faro the tabled pack face down and vice versa for the
other possibility. Remember each time to show the front and back of the elongated deck
every time you faro in one of the tabled packets. Once you have completed the shuffling
you will now show the deck to be righted and all the cards are facing the same way. The
deck is held in the left hand showing a face down card. Double undercut this card to the
bottom, saying some face up and some face down. Flip the pack face up and pinky count
the top two cards, push over as one showing face up and face down. Flip the double face
down onto the deck and snap your fingers. Perform a wide ribbon spread and reveal all
the cards are now facing the same way.

Version 2

Start with any four of a kind on top of the pack. You could palm off and allow for shuffling
by the spectator if you feel that it is important as per the audience you are performing
for. Start to spread the cards for a selection and cull the fourth card under the spread.
Continue spreading asking the spectator to touch any card. Once they have touched one
break the spread at that point. There is still a card riding under the spread. Square up the
right hand portion by tapping its left long side on the left hand packet. This will bring the
culled card to the bottom of the right hand packet. Tilt up the right hand and with the left
fingers pull off the selection and hand it to the spectator. You have forced one of the four
kind that was on top of the pack.

Square up the pack and then swing cut the top 15 or so cards into the left hand. Replace
the right hand portion and catch a left little finger break between the halves. You will
now cut the deck into small packets like in version one, but this time leave them all face
down. Make the last cut to the table at your break. This will leave the matching mates to
the selection on top of the packet in your hand.

Ask the spectator to shuffle each individually packet. While you say this, turn your packet
with faces to the audience and start an overhand shuffle. Shuffle off about half of the
packet then place the remainder back on top. All you have done is run the bottom 7 or 8
cards and replaced the original top portion back on top.

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Turn the packet face down and spread to show all face down cards, but don’t call
attention to it. Square up but catch a left little finger break under the top 3 cards. This
procedure only takes a few seconds as you are asking the spectator to shuffle. Once the
spectator begins to shuffle the first packet, half pass everything below the break. The
spectator is continuing to shuffle the packets as you transfer the top card to the bottom.
Once the spectator has finished shuffling pick up the selection, which still should be on
the table, and insert in face down into your packet.

Then ask the spectator to pick up any of the face down packets. Weave the packet via a
faro into your packet but turn it face up before you do. This is the same procedure as in
the previous version. Continue with the two remaining packets each time showing face
up going into face down. Once the shuffling is done turn the packet face down and double
undercut the top card to the bottom and follow that with another double undercut of the
top card.

The purpose is to show face up and face down cards; in reality you have the three
matching mates of the selection on the bottom. Keeping the pack face up, snap your
fingers and spread thru the pack showing all cards facing the same way except one.
Up jog this face down card when you come to it and continue spreading. Keep the last
3 face down cards square as you finish out the spread. Have the spectator remove the
face down card and reveal his selection. Cut the pack in a gesture action as you ask the
spectator to wave their selection over the pack. Spread thru to reveal the three face down
cards as the other 3 mates of the selection.

Comments: If it concerns you that one of the mates is the face up cover card then try
this. After you swing cut the top portion and get a break, let one card go from the top
half after you have completed the cut then grab your break above that card. You have
an added an “x” card above the three matching mates on top of the pack. Now when you
perform the half pass, half pass 4 cards instead of 3. The last thing you will have to do is
kill this “x” card from the face of the pack before you reveal the selection. So holding the
pack face up with the “x” card showing, openly turn if face down and insert into the pack.
As you do this say, “We have shuffled face up into face down and we also hopelessly lost
your card into the pack, you really can’t get any fairer than that”. Insert the top “x” card
into the middle of the deck as you say the line about losing their card then continue as
above.

Credit: This effect used with permission from Doc Docherty’s eBook, Nothing to Hide.
Check out more of Doc’s magic at: (http://www.docdocherty.com)

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