BILL SIMON EDITED
BY
JEAN HUGARD PUBLISHED BY LOU/5 TANNEN
EFFECTIVE CARD MAGIC
EFFECTIVE CARD MAGIC by
BILL SIMON
First Edition
Edited by JEAN HUGARD With Ninety-Six Illustrations by STANLEY JAKS
LOUIS TANNEN NEW YORK, NEW YORK
111
COPYRIGHT, 1952, BY LOUIS TANNEN Copyright in Canada and in all countries subscribing to the Berne Convention. All rights reserved. No part of this book, text, or illustrations, may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the U.S.A.
IV
Dedication . . . To my most wonderful, most patient parents, who have selected thousands of cards . . . several of which I've located.
Foreword You look back at the book, after it's written, and you try to think of where it started . . . you think it may have started when you first learned the double-lift, or when you invented your first trick, or some day four years ago when Jean Hugard saw you do a few tricks, and said: "If you have a few dozen more like those, maybe some day we'll write a book." You don't know just where it began, but you do know those who made it possible, and with deep feeling you thank: JEAN HUGARD STANLEY S. JAKS MARTIN GARDNER
and Louis
TANNEN
BILL SIMON
April, 1952
VII
Introduction By MARTIN GARDNER The progress card magic has made in the United States since the turn of the century is almost unbelievable. In 1900 the double lift was such an obscure, unknown sleight that Erdnase did not even mention it in his great work (though he did refer on two occasions to holding two cards as one). Since Erdnase's time, hundreds of new and useful moves have been invented, and the number of effects devised in the last quarter century alone must run into tens of thousands. What individuals have played the leading roles in this fantastic development? It is hard to know. Some of the most original minds — Dai Vernon, Dr. Daley, Cardini, Charlie Miller, John Scarne, and others— have published little about their own contributions over the past decades. A sleight created by Vernon may circulate from one card man to another for ten years or more before it finds its way into print. If and when it does, no one has the slightest notion where it originally came from. On the other hand, many other equally creative minds — Jordan, Merlin, R. W. Hull, Annemann, to mention only a few—have recorded for posterity the results of their ingenuity. In later years, Eddie Mario has given us an incredible output of fresh, original material. Card Control, by Arthur Buckley, and The Card Magic of Le Paul are two other recent books which have greatly enriched the literature of card magic. Nor must we overlook the compilers. The task of bringing together sleights and effects, which might otherwise remain relatively unknown, or be forgotten, is in itself no small creative task. Certainly no one in the history of card magic has equaled Jean Hugard in this respect. His Card Manipulations series, Encyclopedia of Card Tricks, and of course Expert Card Technique (in collaboration with Fred Braue) stand as major landmarks in the history of card literature. In this volume Jean Hugard has combined his great talent for exposition with one of the youngest, most creative minds in card magic. In the last few years Bill Simon has achieved an astonishing mastery of the medium. His mind is constantly probing for new and subtler moves, and bold effects which break fresh paths in the card jungle. In this book he has given generously the fruits of his thinking and experience. The result vm
is a book almost certain to become one of the basic texts of modern card conjuring. The English philosopher John Stuart Mill declared in his autobiography that at the age of twenty he once brooded about the limited number of melodies which could be constructed out of the notes in the musical scale. He feared that before long all the better tunes would be exhausted. I imagine that more than one card magician has at some time or other expressed a similar fear about the possibilities of new effects with a deck of fifty-two cards. You have only to read this book to realize such fears are groundless.
IX
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD
vii
INTRODUCTION
viii
OBSERVATIONS
13
I CHOICE TRICKS
29
II THE SECOND DEAL AND TRICKS WITH THE SECOND DEAL
71
III NEW SLEIGHTS AND TRICKS THEREWITH IV INTERLUDES (QUICK TRICKS) V MORE CHOICE TRICKS
93 121 137
VI SHUFFLES AND CUTS
175
XI
Observations Specialization This is an age of specialists. The specialization in magic runs the gamut from a full evening performer to the one who has only thirty seconds to dress up a quick television commercial. The magical specialty we are concerned with in this work is that of cards. Sleight of hand is, perhaps, the most intriguing branch of magic, and cards are probably the most interesting branch of sleight of hand. This is undoubtedly due to the challenge factor: Cards, and their endless possibilities. I'm going to discuss various aspects of cards, card magic, and magic in general. These are many thoughts I've had or developed on the subjects, and I'll try to present these observations as I have probably done hundreds of times during conversations I've had with other magicians. The Importance of Practice In almost every magic book, and inevitably one which discusses sleight of hand, something is mentioned about the necessity for practice. The subject of practice can be thrown away in a terse paragraph, or it can be written into half a book. The best thing I ever read about practicing and practice habits was in Jack Merlin's excellent card book: ". . . And a Pack of Cards." Merlin wrote that he practiced because he enjoyed practicing. It wasn't a labor, it was love—of magic—and a personal pleasure (maybe even entertainment) that Merlin derived. This is the way it should be. If you wish to develop the ability to excel at something as technical as cards, you must practice; if you must force yourself to it, you are going to get little out of it; if you find that you dislike practice and cannot get at it, then why not adjust your magical interests to the many fields that require a minimum of practice effort? 13