Effect: The magician is seen to cause a salt shaker off the table at command.


   Trick:   The salt shaker must be one of those ones with the hole at the top (not one with a screw mechanism). The key to this trick lies in the magician's middle finger.


            Begin the trick with your fingers pointing down towards the table.   A cocktail stick lies along the inside of the middle finger, held in place by the thumb. To levitate the shaker, hold your hand in the above mentioned position over the shaker, surreptitiously insert the end of the cocktail stick into the hole at the top of the shaker. You should be able to GENTLY
lift the shaker up and down as if it were levitating.

Note: Mind out that the cocktail stick isn't too thin for the hole, that could be a little embarrassing. This is just a little trick to use if the dinner party conversation is getting stale (I can't think of any witty example of stale conversation right now. You're all spared this time... this time...).

Submitted by: Stephen

Borrow a ring, coin, etc. from the person. Then use a pen or pencil as a magic wand to supposedly vanish the item. As you count to three, on two, you place the pen or pencil behind your ear. Look surprised that it has vanished instead of the item. As you turn to show the pencil behind your ear, your other hand ditches the item into your pocket. Take the pencil and again
tap the hand "holding" the borrowed (but now gone) item. Open the hand and show it really is gone.

Here's a quick card trick that I do when I perform, then I walk away leaving them to pick up the cards. I say there is one card with a Ten dollar note behind it. It's a good trick and they love it! But please make sure you use old cards. The trick came from my dear old Grand-dad who told me over 30 years ago on how to do it. The best tricks are the old ones that
nobody can remember!

LONG LOST LOVERS

Before you start the trick secretly place the QH on top of the pack with the KH at the bottom. Make sure your audience does not see this. Then tell your spectators that you will stab the pack, intending to catch the two long lost lovers.

Holding the pack face down and keeping a very tight grip of the pack with your fingers, quickly flick your hand into the air.
All the cards will fly in all directions. Then you quickly push you hand up into the middle of the cards, pretending to stab the pack and of course the top and bottom cards will remain on your fingers. This gives the impression that you are actually stabbing the pack and grabbing the two LONG LOST LOVERS.

By Garry (GAZ) MacFarlane

FOUR-WAY COINCIDENCE

Effects in which the spectator or the spectator and the performer arrive at matching cards are impressive to laymen and worthy of a place in the card man's repertoire. This well thought-out coincidence effect is simple to do, very effective and entirely impromptu.

Effect: In this trick the spectator apparently arrives at the three cards of the deck which match the value of a card which the performer earlier placed on the table as a prediction.

1) Have a spectator shuffle any complete deck of cards. When he has finished shuffling, take the pack from him. Hold the cards with their faces toward you and begin to spread them between the hands. As you spread the cards from the right hand into the left, note the value of the card at the top of the pack (i.e. the card at the extreme left of the spread.) Assume this card is a "Four".

2) As you spread through the cards mentally spell F-O-U-R beginning with the "Four" itself and moving one card as each letter is spelled. (If the top card should be a card other than a "Four", spell the value of the top card.) After spelling F-O-U-R, break the spread at the last card and lay the four cards to the left of the break, face down on the table.

3) Continue spreading the pack as if looking for a certain car fro your prediction. Spread cards until you arrive a the next "Four" in the pack. Break the spread so this next "Four" is the face card of the packet in the left hand. Lay the left hand cards face down atop the packet of four cards you earlier laid on the table. When this packet is place on top of the other, there will be two "Fours" adjacent to one another at the fourth and fifth positions from the bottom of the tabled packet.

4) Now spread the remaining cards from hand to hand until you arrive at the next "Four". Take all the cards to the left of the "Four" and set these cards face down on the tabled packet. The third "Four" remains at the back of the packet remaining in the hands.

5) Spread the remaining cards to locate the last "Four" and upjog it from the packet. Tell the spectators that you'll use this card as a prediction. Remove the card from the packet and lay the card face down on the table by itself. Place the remaining cards face down on top of the tabled cards. At this point, one "Four" will be lying by itself on the table as a prediction. Another "Four" will be atop the pack. The other "Fours" will be the fourth and fifth cards from the bottom of the deck.

If the handling of the cards up until this point has been done casually and simply as if searching for a prediction, the spectators will not be aware that you've done any arranging as you went.

6) Hand the deck to the spectator and have him deal cards from the face up deck, one at a time, into a pile on the table. After he has dealt six or seven cards, instruct him to stop dealing whenever he chooses.

7) When he stops dealing, square up the cards he dealt and place the resulting stack face down on the table. Place the cards he still holds face down beside it to the right.

8) Tell the spectator that you'll use both packets. Have him point to one of the packets. Then by means of the "Magician's Force" the packet to the right. Turn up the top card of this packet. It will be a "Four". Leave the "Four" face up on this packet.

9) Pick up the opposite packet of cards and one at a time deal cards face down to the table as you spell aloud "F-O-U-R". Deal one card for each letter as you spell it. Place the last card spelled next to the prediction card. Place the cards that remain in your hands on top of the small packet of cards which was spelled off just a moment before.

10) Turn up the two single cards which lie on the table. Both are "Fours"! Then turn up the top card of the remaining packet, it too, is a "Four"!

This effect plays extremely well with laymen despite its simplicity of handling. At the conclusion the performer has four of a kind and can then lead into any routine he chooses that requires four similar valued cards.

Note: There is one problem that may arise that will cause problems for the performer when it does occur. The trouble can arise in step 2) above where the performer is spreading the cards mentally spelling "F-O-U-R". The first card he spell will be a "Four". The others must not be. If there is another "Four" in the group, it must be shifted over in the spread so some other card takes its place. Or the performer can cut the pack and try with whatever new card arrives at the top of the deck.

Here are three great card effects contributed by Jon Tremaine

X-Ray Vision

Trick Effect & Routine:
A spectator chooses a card in a scrupulously fair manner. You can have no idea what it is. The card is returned by the spectator and the deck cut by her as many times as she wishes. Even under these test conditions you are able to find the chosen card!

Preparation:
You need to have a deck with borders to do this amazing trick. Take out any card and make a small pencil mark on the top left-hand corner and the bottom right-hand corner. Place this card 26th from the top. This will be your "key card".

Method:
First you need a member from the audience (we will call her Lucy).
Say, "Lucy, I want you to lift off two thirds of the deck and place them here..."
Point to a position to the left of the deck. When she has done that, point to the new pile.
"...and cut this pile roughly in half and place the cards here..."
Point to a position slightly further to the left as you say. Your key card (the 26th card) is somewhere in the center of the middle pile. Point to the left hand pile again.
"Pick up this pile and shuffle the cards as much as you like. When you are satisfied that they are well and truly mixed up, look at the top card and remember it. Replace it on top again and then put all the cards on top of this middle pile."
She follows your instructions. Her chosen card will be on to of the combined pile when she has completed the task. Point to the right-hand pile.
"Now pick up this pile. Give them a really good shuffle and place them on top of the rest of the deck."
Again, Lucy does what she was told. She can now give the deck as many complete cuts as she wishes.
"So far I haven't touched the cards at all. You have shuffled them -chosen one- shuffled again and then repeatedly cut the cards. It is quite impossible for me to know the name of your card."
Everything you just said was true! Spread the cards face down on the table and make sure every card can be seen.
"I have x-ray vision and I can see through the cards and find the one you picked."
Extend your index finger over the card on the far left and keep moving to the right over every card until you find your key card and count this as number 1.Then put your finger over the next card and count this as number 2.Keep doing this until you reach 26, it's their card! Use your favorite way to reveal this card.

P.S. If you reach the end of the line before you count to 26, merely continue the count back at the left-hand end.

Bank Job

Trick Effect & Routine:
The magician shows four cards back to front and tells a story about a bank robbery. One card changes to a red back and the rest of the cards are 9-1-1.

Preparation:
You need three blank cards with blue backs. You also need one blue backed joker, and a red backed joker. Take one of the blank faced cards and write the number 9 on the face. Take the other blank faced card and write the number 1 on the face. Take the last blank faced card and write the number 1 on the face. Now put the cards in the order starting on the face. Blue backed joker, red backed joker, the 9 card, the 1 card, and the other 1 card.

Method:
Say, "I have four cards here, they are four jokers." Do an Elmsley Count, except on the part where you take two cards as one, you take three cards instead.
"There names are Jack...." Now do a double lift to show a joker. Put the cards back on top and take the real top card and place it on the tabled card.
"James...." Show the top card and put it back on top. Take the card second from the top card instead and place it on the tabled card. "Jim......" Use your thumb to pull back the top card and steal the two bottom cards as one FROM THE TOP OF THE CARDS and show them and put them on the bottom, but only half way. Your fingers (every finger except your thumb) should be on the face. With those fingers, push the bottom card down so it's even with the top card and take the card sticking out and place it on top of the tabled cards. "And Jerry." Show the two cards that you are holding as one and show them. Put those cards on the bottom of the tabled pile.
Turn the cards face up in your left hand and spread the face card half way to the right. Take those two cards into your right hand, but as you do that, as quick as you can, turn the left hand pile face down so they can't see the face of that pile. Say, "They wanted to rob a bank. Two of them went in with there flashlights on....." Show the two face up jacks in your right hand. Do not show there backs. "And the other two went in with there flashlights off." Put the face down cards that are in your left hand on top of the cards on the right (still face down).
"But then they heard the cops come and one of them turned off there flashlight" As quick as you can, take out the bottom card and flip it face down. Place that card on the bottom. Spread the bottom three cards only (it should only look like four cards) and show that there is only one card face up. Take that card (still face up) and place it on the table. Point to that card. "He was caught red handed! "Put the cards in dealers grip in your left hand. Tell them to turn that card over. As there doing that, use the fingers that are on the face of the cards to push it to the right and steal it with your right hand and palm it, then place it in your pocket.
After they are all amazed and think it's over, say, "But in prison he kept saying to himself 'How could a plan so good get me caught?'......." Then pick up the pile and place it in your left hand in dealers grip. "Well it was because his friends called 9...." Deal down the top card face up on the table. "1...." Deal down another card face up. "1." Deal the last card face on the table and take a bow.

Twisting The Aces

Method:
Begin by talking about how playing cards are made, with three layers, the face, the back, and the glue. Sometimes I will tear an old card or a joker in order to demonstrate this. Other times, I will just show them the edge of a card and tell them to look at the fine blue line you can see, which is the glue. Also explain that this is why cards are sometimes called "pasteboards". Then explain that because the cards are always being shuffled and rubbed against each other, normal ink, like in a ball point pen, would smudge quickly if it were used on playing cards. Because of this, they need to use heavier ink. Because the ink is so heavy, and some cards have more ink on them than others, some cards are actually heavier than other cards. Because I start by explaining something odd about cards, and then prove it is true, people almost always believe me when I talk about the ink being heavier than normal ink, and frequently believe me when I talk about some cards being heavier than others.

Remove the four Aces from the deck. Display them, two in each hand, with the Ace of Clubs and Ace of Hearts in the left hand, and the Ace of Spades and Ace of Diamonds in the right hand. The reason for displaying them two in each hand is so that the audience will not know what the top card is when you assemble them. Assemble them, placing the left hand cards on top of the right hand cards. You should now be holding four face down Aces. From top to bottom the order should be Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds. You can remember this order by using the acronym "CHaSeD".

While you are doing this, explain that the Aces are the lightest cards in the pack. Frequently someone will say "What about the Ace of Spades?"

Do a buckle or little finger pull down of the bottom card and turn the top three cards face up. The Ace of Spades shows. Say "Except the Ace of Spades. Because it has all of this writing and this big spot"-point to the writing and the spot as you refer to them-"it is much heavier than the other Aces." As you say "heavier", turn the left hand palm down, and remove the Ace of Spades face down with your right fingers. Then hold the Ace of Spades on your palm up flat right hand, in a weighing gesture. Flip it face up, and replace it back under the cards in the left hand. Then you can safely turn your left hand palm up again. The cards are now as follows: Face down Ace of Spades, face up Ace of Hearts, face up Ace of Clubs, and face down Ace of Diamonds. You can substitute any other words you like, but be sure they motivate the actions you are taking. The idea is to make it seem like you are just talking about the cards being light, except for the Ace of Spades (which you only turn up to display as you make your point) which is heavier (and you only turn the left hand palm down and remove the Ace of Spades in order to emphasize its weight) than the other Aces.

Explain that because the other Aces are lighter, they can do some strange things. Twist them, and do an Elmsley Count, showing the Ace of Hearts face up.

The twist is performed in a special way, so as to end up in position for the Elmsley Count.

Twist them again, and do another Elmsley Count, showing the Ace of Clubs. Place the last card, the Ace of Spades, on the bottom. You now have a face up Ace of Clubs, a face down Ace of Diamonds, a face up Ace of Hearts, and a face down Ace of Spades. Do another triple turnover using a buckle or little finger pull down. Because of the face up Ace of Hearts three cards down, it looks as if you are only turning the Ace of Clubs face down. Twist the packet and do a straight count, reversing the order of the cards, to show that the Ace of Diamonds is now face up.

Spread out the packet, pull out the face up Ace of Diamonds, and place it on top, still face up. Square up the packet, and get a break under the second card, the Ace of Spades. Now lift off the top two cards, the face up Ace of Diamonds and the face down Ace of Spades, with your right hand. With your left hand, flip the two lower cards, the Ace of Clubs and the Ace of Hearts, face up. Replace the two cards in your right hand on top of the two cards in your left hand, and turn the whole bundle over. You now have three of the Aces face down, except for the Ace of Spades, which is face up. Spread the cards and reveal.

Twin Cards

Chalk Dot Penetration

Effect: You draw a small dot on top of a table using a piece of white chalk. Then you show both your palms to the audience to ensure that they are ‘clean’. Then you put one hand under that table (just under the dot) and using the other hand rub-off the dot. When you take out the hand from under the table the erased dot can be found on your palm!

Secret: Before you start the trick apply some chalk on the nail of your left hand middle or ring finger. Rub the two palms together and show the clean palms to the audience (but be sure you don’t show your nails!). Place your left hand under the table and using the other hand (right hand) draw the dot on the table. Meanwhile, bend the finger with the chalk towards your palm and press it tight so that you make a dot on your palm. Then rub-off the dot while at the same time pressing on the table as if you were pushing the dot into the table. Then when you are done stretch-out the fingers of your left hand and take it out to reveal the dot transferred on to palm!

Levitation of A Salt Shaker

Quickie Vanish