5. THE AMBITIOUS CARD
The plot of this very popular and most intriguing trick hinges upon the fact, so you state, that a card, having been chosen from amongst its fellows, becomes ambitious and always assumes the place of honor in the pack, the top.
To illustrate this peculiar fact, hand a pack of cards to a spectator to be shuffled thoroughly. Take the pack back and spread the cards, allowing him perfect freedom of choice. When he has noted the card he has chosen, have it replaced, control it by one of the methods already explained, and bring it to the top of the pack. While you are outlining the plot and asserting that the chosen card will eventually rise to the top of its own accord, square the pack lightly and slip the tip of the left little finger under the second card from the top. Make a double lift, showing the face of the second card—an indifferent one—and then turn the two cards face down.
Invite the spectator to name his card, give the cards a little shake—to help the chosen card along, as you say—turn the top card face up, and show that the chosen card has arrived. Turn the card face down and take it in the right hand. Push the next card halfway over the right side of the deck and slide the chosen card under it. Square the two cards with the rest of the deck and, in so doing, insert the left little fingertip underneath them. Hold the pack slanting upwards, so that the absence of the little finger is not noticeable. “In such a short journey,” you say, “the card comes through instantly.” Make the double lift and show it.
Turn the two cards face down and take them as one card between the right thumb and the first and second fingers; with the left thumb push off the next card halfway off the right-hand side of the pack and slide the two cards underneath it. Square the three cards with the deck, at the same time securing a break below them with the tip of the left little finger. “Again it comes to the top immediately,” you say, and, making a triple lift, you show the chosen card.
Turn the three cards face down. Take off the top card with the right hand and, keeping it face down so that no one can get a glimpse of its face, push it into the middle of the deck. “This time it will take a moment or two longer to arrive,” you continue; then, as if you noticed some skepticism as to whether the card was really placed in the deck and was already on the top, say, “Oh, no, the card really has gone, you see”—and you turn the top card, showing an indifferent card. In replacing it on the top of the deck, secure a break, as usual, under the next card—the chosen one—and again hold the deck so that this cannot be noticed. Shake the cards a little, make the double lift, and again show the selected card.
Turn the two cards face down on the deck; take off the top card and insert it in the middle, pushing it home and squaring the pack. Hold out your left hand flat, palm upward with the pack lying on it; shake the cards a little, then slowly turn the top card. It is the chosen card again. “It really is a curious thing,” you remark. “Try it for yourself when you go home.” The trick is subject to almost infinite variety as to the sequence of the moves bringing the card to the top, every performer having his own methods. It is advisable to learn the sequence given above before attempting any variations.
All of the tricks I have explained can be done with any deck, at any time and without preparation, and it is such tricks that are the most useful to anyone taking up magic as a hobby. The space allotted to playing cards in this work precludes the treatment of tricks with special packs, prepared cards, and prearranged decks. The reader who wishes to follow up the subject cannot do better than consult The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (published by Max Holden, New York City) and Greater Magic (published by Carl Jones, Minneapolis, Minnesota). Both books are obtainable from any magic dealer.
Website Content: © Copyright 2024 by Trickshop.com.
