The performer shows a blank deck of cards, and then suddenly changes one blank into the Ace of Spades. Next, the Ace of Spades is split into two separate cards. Part of the Ace is on one card and part of the Ace is on the other card (see fig.1). Then another Ace of Spades is created, and then the entire deck is created. View The Performance

Materials

You’ll need one deck, one blank card, Three Ace of Spades, a good art eraser.

Preparation

Take one extra Ace, and erase the center pip (yes, it will erase). Take the second extra Ace, and erase the corner indices (see fig. 1). Place these two cards face to face with the “indices only” card face up. Place these two face to face cards on top of the deck. Next place the regular Ace of Spades on the bottom of the deck, and place a blank beneath this (see fig. 2). Obviously, this effect is an opener.

Performance

Perform a reverse fan to show all cards as blank. This is also known as the Blank Fan. Then square up the cards and show the bottom card to be blank. Next, perform The Erdnase Color Change (explained in Dethroned). This will cause the Ace of Spades to magically appear. Take it from the bottom, turn the deck over. Place the Ace of Spades on top of the deck face up. Now the situation, from the top down is as follows: a face up Ace of Spades, then below that, you have the two face to face erased Aces, then the rest of the deck, and finally, on the bottom is a blank card. Now perform the Atomic Split that is described in “I Said, ‘Watch the Joker.'” However, in this version of the Atomic Split, you’ll only be using three cards instead of five. When you’ve completed the Split, you should be holding the cards as in figure 3.

You’ve apparently split the card apart and some ink is on one card and some ink is on another card (you tell the audience that you should’ve waited for the ink to dry). Next, show the audience the bottom card which is the blank card. Next, revolve the blank card over the left edge of the deck onto the top of the deck (see Dethroned fig. 10). At this point, you have a face up blank card on top and the Ace of Spades face down below the blank. Simply turn the blank card down, and perform the Erdnase Color Change again. This time it will be much more subtle because the cards are face down. All this does is switch the top and second from the top cards.

Now, do a double lift to show the blank. Turn the double face down again; then lift the single off to show that you’ve produced another Ace of Spades. Place the Ace of Spades off to the side on the table. You now have a normal deck with a blank on the top. Overhand shuffle the blank to the bottom of the deck as you say, “I can shuffle all I want, but it doesn’t matter because the rest of the cards are still blank.” Then do another reverse fan to show the cards to be blank. Then turn the deck face up and use the Erdnase Color Change to create one card. Place it aside, and you can create as many cards as you want, one at a time. After only a couple however, I will simply snap my fingers and show that the entire deck is now printed. You can either secretly remove the blank card or you can show it as one card that didn’t print and put it away in your pocket.

Either way, this is a great effect, and you’ll find that it’s a lot of fun to play around with The Atomic Split. You can do math effects with this move where you split an Eight into two Fours; then split the four into two Twos. There are a ton of various applications for this move. Enjoy! For an alternate handling (along with 16 other effects) order the Stone Cold Magic DVD and get the Stone Cold Magic E-Book For Free.

The post Counterfeit Cards appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Today was the day. To the Joker, it appeared to be any other ordinary day, but little did he know, that outside the window, next to the empty can of Sardeens, stood the former ruler of the land, the King of Hearts, the head of the heart family. The same King who order that the Joker by Jacked Up. The King of hearts has escaped the Counterfeit deck and wants his revenge. This Joker despotted the three, and had the King Dethroned; he will pay dearly. The entire heart clan was in reserve waiting for the King’s command. The Joker has never experienced such a beating. Joker, if you think being Jacked Up was tough, wait till you experience a “Heart Attack.”

Please take a moment to reply to and “like” this episode of The Saga:

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Four Kings are shown and the deck is placed aside.  The four Kings vanish one at a time, and then reappear in a flashy manner.

Preparation

Remove the four Kings from the deck and place the deck aside. Place it in front of you and to the right.  Place it in a somewhat sloppy and not-so-squared manner.  Arrange the Kings with two reds sandwiching two blacks.  I usually follow The Coolest Ace Trick In The World with this effect.

Performance

Hold the packet of Kings face up.  Turn over a double face down onto the two other face up cards.  You’ve apparently turned over a single red Ace.  Next, turn the entire packet over.  You now have, from the top down, red face down, black face down, red face up, black face up.The audience thinks that only one card is face up.  Next, perform the glide to show the second from the bottom card (apparently the bottom card which the audience thinks you turned over a second ago).  (See fig. 1).

This next move is going to visually change the red King into a black King.  Here’s how:  Place the protruding face up King into the lower most crease of the middle finger of the right hand.  At the same time, the right middle finger gently touches the bottom card (face up black card). (See fig. 2).

Note: figure 2a is the upside down exposed view; figure 2b is the normal view.

Now quickly, but carefully push the red card flush with the deck, and at the same time, move your right hand back to the right bringing the black King into view.  Apparently the red King quickly becomes the black King.  Be careful not to drop the King with your left hand.

Now remove the black King as follows.  Grasp it from above by the outer edges with the right thumb and middle finger tips (see fig. 3).

Then with the right index finger on the face, snap the card face down by releasing the middle finger grip and pinching the card between the index finger and the thumb.  Then place the card face down on the bottom.  The situation is as follows:  from top to bottom, face down red, face down black, face up red (the vanished red) and face down black.

Now turn the pack face up and spread the bottom two cards to the left holding the back to back double in place with your right middle finger and thumb (see fig. 4).

Now with your right hand, place the double, black side up, on top of the deck as you draw attention to the two remaining cards in your left hand.  You’ll say, “let’s put this one aside for a minute, and we’ll just use these two.”  This ditches the “vanished” red card onto the top of the deck.

Now you have two Kings in your left hand.  Using the tent vanish, vanish one of the Kings: Hold the cards as in figure 5.

As the right hand comes over to apparently grab the card resting on your thumb, the card is simply released and falls flush with the card in your left palm.  Make sure your left thumb holds its position as you move your right hand away with the apparently palmed card.

Close your right hand and reopen it to show that the card (that was never there) has vanished.  Now you have a double (apparently only one card) in your left hand and a single card face up on top of the deck.  Next, transfer the double to the right hand.

Display the card (double) as shown in figure 6.  Then with the left hand, pick up the face up King from the deck and display it in the left hand the same way you are displaying your right hand double.

Now say, “We’re down to two cards.  Let me show you something interesting with the King of Clubs (or whichever King is showing in your right hand). If I place it on the bottom of the deck, it will actually rise to the top.”

As you say this, here’s what you do.  In an act to scoot the deck closer to you, place the double face down on the deck and slide it toward yourself.  Once you’ve moved it a few inches toward yourself, lift the top (single) card off of the deck (don’t show its face to the audience) and slide it under the deck.

Then riffle the back of the deck, and turn over the top card to show that the card apparently rose to the top.  You have now made it appear as if the face up card you were holding in your right hand just went from the bottom to the top of the deck.  This is your sneaky way of ditching the unwanted half of the double.

Now you have two cards left, and you’re going to vanish one of them by using my variation of the tent vanish;  I call it the open flap vanish .  It’s very similar to the original tent vanish, however, it’s done face up.

Now obviously  for a face up vanish, you can’t just let the card fall flush with the card in your hand, so instead of letting the card fall, you’re going to execute a one handed cut, or the Charlier pass.

Basically, you use your left index finger to push the card on your left palm up and over the top of the card in “tent” position (see fig. 7).

Then you let both cards fall flat on your palm.  All of this is done under guise of your right hand apparently grabbing the face up King and palming it.  You again squeeze the right hand shut then open to reveal the vanish.  You’re now left with a face up double in the left hand.

Now grab the double face from above with the right hand middle, ring and pinky fingers at the top, index finger on the back, and thumb on the bottom (see fig. 8).

Show the “last” King to the audience.  Shift the position of the index and pinky fingers to the outside edges of the deck and remove the thumb (see fig. 9).

Now reach forward in front of the deck and slide the double under the deck, and immediately flip it over into the left hand.  You were merely using the “last card” to pick up the deck.  Now hold the deck face down from above in Deep Overhand Grip with the right hand.

Using the left thumb, pivot the bottom card (“last King”) up and over the left edge of the deck and face up onto the deck (see fig. 10).

This displays the face up “last King” on top of the face down deck.  As you’re doing this, you’re recapping with the audience what has happened this far.  Now you are going to vanish the top card by using the Houdini Color Change as follows.  Hold the deck in left hand dealer’s grip.  Now cover the entire deck with your right hand.

As you do, your right finger tips will ever so slightly up jog the top face up King.  You want this to be as undetectable as possible.  Next, draw your right hand down to expose this slightly up jogged King.

As you expose this card, use the base (where the fingers and palm connect) of your right fingers to slide the second card from the top (the one below the face up card) down (see fig. 11).

It will remain concealed under your palm.  You will continue sliding it until it clears the face up card.  Then you will apply pressure slightly downward with your right palm.  This will cause the second card to kind of be palmed.  Then you will simply lower the “palmed” card onto the face up card.

You will then slide it forward as your left index finger squares up the up jogged face up card (see fig. 12).

Then you will remove your right hand to reveal that the last King is gone.  All you’ve done is placed a face down card on top of it. Now you are left with no Kings.  You can either stop here or you can quickly and visually reproduce the Kings in such a way that will even trip up the most skilled card men.

Reproduction

The deck is now stacked as follows two Kings on the bottom, two Kings on the top (the second from the top is face up).  For the first production, slip cut to reveal the face up King.  Place this packet off to the right. Now in your left hand is a small packet of cards with one face down King on top and two on the bottom.  Hold pressure on the top and bottom cards as you toss the pack to the right hand.

This will maintain the top and bottom cards in your left hand while the center of the deck lands in your right hand.  Place the right hand’s packet face up on the table next to the other King. Then simply turn over the two Kings in the left hand.  This is all done in less than a second. It’s very flashy.

Notes

The first King that you produced by means of a slip cut is in an interesting situation.  It’s face up on a face down deck, but this will slip right past your audience. In fact, you’ll even fool yourself if you’re not careful.  This leaves you in a position to do something with a reversed deck without having to reverse the deck because it’s already done for you.  I’ll leave the creating up to you.

Earlier I mentioned that I usually perform this after The Coolest Ace Trick In The World. You can find that effect of mine on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. It’s also the October 2007 Free Trick of The Month. It’s also available as an instant download for only $3.99 on StoneColdMagic.com.

Please Take a Moment to Reply To and “like” This Effect.

The post Dethroned appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

By Jeff Stone

You ever listen to “Weird Al” Yankovic? Is the guy just crazy, or is he a creative Genius? I say it’s a little of the former and mostly the latter. I mean, come on, anyone who can turn Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise into Amish Paradise is a genius, is he not?

For the uninitiated, take a look at the first video below (Coolio). Then watch the next one (Weird Al). No, seriously, watch these two videos.

Now is Weird Al a copy cat; is he crazy, or is he a genius. I argue he’s a genius, so what’s the point? Well the point is that sometimes creativity starts with other people’s ideas.

Um, Jeff, this column is supposed to be about helping magicians.

Of course it is, and here’s the simple point. Most of you have effects in your repertoire that are not ones that you created, yet they are your own. It started as a Vernon trick or a Marlo or Sankey or insert-other-magician’s-name-here effect. You practiced it, performed, and perfected it . . . so much so that it has really evolved into your own. Michael Finney didn’t create “Card on Forehead,” but darn it; he perfected it. Again, if y0u haven’t seen it before, check out the performance below:

This month’s free trick, Dethroned, is somewhat an example of this. It started as a joke. A non-magician friend of mine broke his arm. He got tired of people asking him how he broke it so he started making up stories about how it happened. One time someone asked him what happened and he said, “I fell of the toilet.” I could not stop laughing. Then in my head I thought, “he you got dethroned.” Of course being a magician, my head went immediately from the word “throne” to Kings as in the four Kings in a deck of cards. Then I thought that it would really be funny to have a picture of a King falling off the toilet with a caption “Dethroned.”

Of course that ultimately lead to me wanting to create an effect called Dethroned. Of course it would have to use the Kings. I then converted an Ace effect idea I was working on into Dethroned by using Kings and coming up with a crazy story about 4 Kings being Dethroned. Once I shared the idea with Jason Montoya, he drew the incredible image for the effect, and his drawing and my effect inspired The Saga story. By the way, you can read that story in the August 2007 issue.

It all started with my friend’s broken arm. The key to creativity is an open mind. Jay Sankey, who is arguably one of the most creative Magician’s of our time, once told me that the ideas come from everywhere and that they are constantly surrounding us, and that he is just grateful when one lands in his head. They land in his head because he opens his mind.

Start getting the juices flowing by performing someone else’s effect and morphing it into your own. You don’t even have to start with magic. Start with a song. Do what Weird Al does; take another song and try to rewrite the lyrics to have the same tempo/rythm as the original. Many of the ideas I’ve created over the past several years (magic or not) started with a grain of a seed of an idea, but over time they morphed. I write down every single Idea that comes into my head. I’ve filled several journals. Most of the material released on my Gemstones DVD started as a very minute thought that I captured in my journal.

Brad Gordon wrote some awesome stuff about journals in the first three issues of the Pillars of Stone column. Take the time to read them:

• Journals Part I
• Journals Part II
• Journals Part III

Remember that this column is meant to be a place for me (and others) to ramble about anything that I feel is valuable to a magician. Being creative is one such topic, so hopefully, you’ve found some value in my rambling this month. One final thing, take the time to watch or re-watch the movie, Finding Forrester, if you want to be further inspired to become a Creative Genius; then watch my kids’ tribute to Weird Al, to numb your mind a little:

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The post Creative Genius appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

The following is the short story that would have been published in Stone Cold Magic Book II, had Book II ever been written. The effect, Plan B, that this story belongs to has never been published, and at this point may never be. However, meanwhile, you can enjoy (hopefully) the Plan B chapter of The Saga:

“It’s all coming together now,” thought the Joker. I was Jacked Up the night the King of Hearts was Dethroned by the Counterfeit Cards.

It was the same night of the arrival of the legendary “Ace Bandage.” That’s it; the Heart family was Dethroned by the Club Family which is run by the Counterfeit Cards (Aces), which is controlled by the Ace of Clubs (The Ace Bandage).

The Ace Bandage has had it in for me since the day he was back palmed and I escaped before being mercury folded. He set this up and framed me! That’s why the Hearts had me Jacked Up. I can no longer have these hateful feelings toward the heart family; I must move on; it’s time for Plan B.

How entertaining was this episode:

The post Plan B appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Gemstones
Well we’ve finally come up with a title for my latest project… Gemstones. Believe me this is the right title. There are some serious Gems on here. I’ve made all of my editing notes and design notes. They have been passed off to the editor. So we’re still on track for a late summer release.

This project has absolutely the cleanest coin (or any other small object) vanish that I’ve ever seen. Plus a ton of other killer material. Stay tuned. In next month’s issue, we should really be close, and I’ll keep you posted.

New Product:
Many magicians prefer books over DVDs, but many prefer DVDs over books. We’ve found a happy medium for both sides of the fence. We’ve almost completed the Stone Cold Magic E-Book. It should be done early next week. It contains much of the original content from the no-longer-available book.

In it you will find 9 of the 17 effects from the Stone Cold Magic DVD:

1. Ace Bandage
2. Dethroned
3. Keep Your Eye On The Joker
4. Stone Cold Color Change
5. Counterfeit Cards
6. Ace Freely
7. The Target Card
8. The Secret WTC Move
9. My Psychic Deck

You will find alternate handlings and tips not found on the DVD. The book is loaded with tons of excellent photographs, a history of the book and the DVD, a “tricks and tips” section, a whole section on putting the theory into practice and a ton more.

This is a pretty good sized book, around 80 pages. For those who like books more than DVD, you will find that you are extremely satisfied with the content of this e-book. For those who prefer DVDs, well this will allow you to sort of preview the DVD before buying it.

Here’s the deal. The e-book is only $6.99. If you like the material and want to see it instead of read it, then you can choose, later on, to buy the DVD and apply the $6.99 to the total of the book ($25.00). For those of you who have purchased Stone Cold Magic DVD from my site, you will receive the e-book for free as soon as it’s released.

Future orders of the DVD will receive the e-book for free as well. If you decide to order only the e-book, when you decide in the future to get the DVD, it will only cost you $18.01 ($25.00 – $6.99).

This project will be completed, hopefully, next week. Once it is, you’ll receive an email letting you know, along with a link to the order page.

RSS Feed
The Stone Cold Magic Newsletter is now set up to allow you to subscribe via email and via RSS Feed. You will notice in the upper right side above the articles menu a place to subscribe to both. Please pass the word along to your fellow magi.

Thanks again everyone for another successful month of newsletterin’

Jeff Stone

The post Gemstones on Track appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

As he came to, his head was spinning. He had a vague recollection of a vision of a pair of Twos and the King of Clubs. As he slowly regained consciousness, he began to feel more and more out of place. “I feel like I’m surrounded or being watched, but I feel like I’m watching myself. It’s like I’m everywhere.”

Suddenly the shocking truth set in. “I’m in a Force Deck. I’m surrounded by 51 other King of Heart cards. They’re just like me.” The Twos and the King of Clubs had Dethroned the unfair King of Hearts and banished him to the endless hell of being 1 copy of 52 duplicate cards that a spectator will choose.

Every day he dreams of being the one King of Hearts that the spectator will choose, and everyday, he is disappointed. He has become anonymous. Although the Twos and the King of Clubs removed him from the throne, he knew that the Aces were behind the whole thing. How else would he end up inside of a force deck?

Everyone knows that a force deck is merely a way to launder cards. The King of Hearts is now forced to live out his days in misery, but often he dreams of catching the Aces and destroying them, thus putting an end to the Counterfeit Cards.

How entertaining was this “episode”:

The post Counterfeit Cards appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.