Читать книгу The Best Magic Games - Gianluigi Spini - Страница 3

Prepare the deck

A good magician has a symbiotic relationship with their deck of cards. In a deck of new cards, freshly opened, playing cards are rigid, they slide, and they are difficult to manage. The first step that must be done is to spread out the cards and then, with a little patience, handle them one by one. Each card must be bent and rubbed over the edge of the table (fig. A), first on the back and then on the front. Afterwards, the card has to be wound around a thick marker (fig. B); stretched and wound around again, beginning first at one end and then on the other one, both the front side and the back side. These operations must also be repeated by rolling the card on the longest side. At this point it is unlikely that the cards are still slippery; otherwise, you have to use a white pencil rubber and rub the card uniformly and with constant pressure: since the rubber will render the surface opaque when this is not done correctly, very obvious signs will appear.

The guiding card

To succeed in many of the card games, it is essential to have a “guiding card or “pilot” card. This is produced when the deck is prepared, cutting a strip of less than a millimetre from the upper end of a card (fig. C). This makes it recognisable because, when the deck is closed, it does not align with other cards. Alternatively, a card can be reinforced by pasting another card (from an identical deck) on the back. It is recognised more easily when the deck opens like a fan.

The predetermined deck helps in an elementary first game. Take the deck and open the cards like a fan so that you can see the backside. Place the deck on the palm of your hand, close your eyes and ask a spectator to pick to place the card in the deck. Open your eyes and place the cards again fan-shaped (always in a way that the audience can only see the reverse); you will immediately see that one is out of place: it is the one that has been chosen by the spectator. Before removing it from the deck, act in a way that it looks as if you had located it with your mind.

Sort the deck

For some games it may be useful to place the pack of cards in a precise order: for example, place the first five cards of each suit, then the second five, and finally the figures. The suits always alternate with the same sequence (it could be the original: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades, or one of your preference).

Shuffle the deck

In some games it may happen that the deck has to be shuffled, keeping the position of one or more cards in their original position. These have to be the first or last cards of the deck. In order not to alter the top card when shuffling, you have to hold the deck in your left hand. While the thumb of your left hand is holding the card or the cards that must not change position, your right hand moves the other cards, holding them and mixing them in blocks behind the left thumb that is blocking the top cards. The last movement of the right hand should consist of placing the block held with the left thumb on top of the deck in its original position. To avoid moving the last card in the deck, the movements are exactly the same, but reversed: the left hand mixes the cards, while the thumb of the right holds the signalled card (or the cards) that do no need to be moved.

For some games it is necessary to resort to using tampered envelopes. The risk of discovery of the rigged envelope is rather minimal and visible only to a trained eye. For example: a marked point in a corner of the envelope made with a toothpick; an angle cut half millimetre in the fold of the flap, or a slight cut in the adhesive edge, etc. (fig. A). All will work well to secretively marking the envelope.

Table and accessories

The magician almost always needs a supporting surface to perform a show. Besides accessories, which we will discuss later, you can use any table covered with a cloth that also reaches over the table legs, preferably all the way to the ground.

On the table the necessary accessories to perform the show are placed in an orderly manner as well as a box to hold the materials that will be needed later. Below, if it is necessary, place two baskets: one for the materials you will actually throw away and one for the other materials to be recycled. If you cannot prepare the table in advance, equip yourself in the same way with a two level trolley, which you can take wherever you want to.

The storage box

The storage box is a strongbox which is hooked on the edge of the table, which the magician relies on. It must be of the same colour as the cloth that covers the table and placed in a way that it is invisible. In specialised establishments several models are sold. If you do not have any special requirement, a handmade model can be produced, building a sturdy carton, of a shape (square or rectangular, flat or deep, wide or narrow) and adapted to the proportions and the size of the table and the space available. The box is attached to the table with hinges (fig. A), which are sold at hardware stores or in DIY stores, ora hook (fig. B). The latter solution is less complicated and allows you to move the recipient without problems.

The drop hole

Most shops sell ready-made tables equipped with a falling hole, i.e. an opening in the middle of the work area where you can drop the objects to disappear from audience view (fig. C). Anyone in possession of a table that he does not need, can cut a part in the centre and then place in it a bag of the same fabric of the tablecloth (fig. D). Evidently, the front of the table has to be covered so that the audience cannot see the container.

The bag

On the table, which is covered with a cloth, you can build a bag. A false hem is created in the fabric, which is closed with two paper clips or two small stitches (fig. E).

You can hide flat objects inside as, for example, cards, banknotes or scarves. Someone who is skilled in sewing can make a real bag that can be placed in a fold of the cloth. Done well, the bag will be completely hidden.