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Look! I retnoued Aour co:rd!

A Book in English: The card magic of Woorly Alrrg(rn

NoI Seriously! I DID IT!

Bool< in English: The card magic of Wootly Alirgt'rrr

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The Spanish Card /llagic

of Noody Aragdn

TE

A Book in English: The card magic of Woody Arag6n

DI

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L
A\

h ffig[fiffi
Written by:
Woody Arag6n

Foreword by:
fuan Tamariz
Translated by:
Fernando Rosal

With some help oft

Rafael Benatar
t
I

Pictures by:
Pepe Castro
Sandra Asenjo
Fernando Pelayo
Maricarmen Perea

Proof reading and notes:

Harold Cataquet
Todd Neufeld
Michael "Six" Muldoon
Plt Hartling

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Alirgrin

Nobody's Foollro
By JuanTsrnariz
When you meet Woody, the first thing that you notice is... his
lrcad! That's because, believe me, Woody has a big, beautiful,
lound head. And because of that head, his magic is full,
st turated with intelligence, originality, creativity, intensity... He
rrscs his head! And he presents his magic with beautiful scripts
(rrrrritted incessantly and with dizzyng speed by the lips that
Woody has ... in his head!) that are full of intelligence, that aim
lor the maximum magical impact, the maximum sense of
inrpossibility.

And it is a brilliant head. Whatever angle you look at it from,

lris head shines. Because his ideas are as bright as he is bald. He
hls a big, shiny bald head. Shinier than the other bald heads
(lhat so many men try to achieve by daily shavings). It shines
llrightcr than the rest because (and this is a secret, the first one
in this book) Woody hides under his skin millions and millions
ol' ncurons engaged in constant electrical and contemplative
rrt'livity. Woody has always amazed me and I admire the
t'orrstant flow of ideas that, if you look carefully from above, you
('iur sc() nroving under his scalp. Ideas for incredibly practical
slt,ights (his "scparagr)n"), ideas for effects, methods (the genius
ol' h is " l lunrlrt Sc:tlc", a vcrsion worthy of a standing ovation,
(t)'l'ln rtrillirt u/ Sprrrris/t till{'. "Ni rrtt pclo rlc lottlrt", littnrlhl tttcrttt.s "Mr/ a sinqle lnir
rr/ rrl//irr1ss".'/7ris is tt,\ltrttriilt stttlirttl ttsarl lo tlrlticl trtt itrltllitltrnl pcrsotl.
lltll)t'lttttrtlrltl, lltI r'l(r'r't'ltttl'', lu'lt|r'r'tt lltr sttrlittrl rtttl llrr rtji'tt'rtrcs

trrrr hul irt lt'tttt:;htlirttt

ttt Wtxxly's lrcod

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Anrg(rrr

which

have seen many audiences give Woorly irs thcy are

full of wonder after seeing hin-r purlornr it) and
ideas for the structures of acts and shows (his marvelous
"Summary Suite" at the end of his one man czrrcl mugic theater
show is full of surprises, drama, and magic, all building in
intensity: a genuine artistic discovery.)

Woody has already establishccl his value as a magician, but

rising star. His yor"rth ltas ahnost peaked, and for the
rrcxt 70 or 8o years we will have plenty of Woody's creativity,
wit, energy and Magic. I am sure of this because of his
lnthusiasm, his work, his efforts and his undeniable
inlclligence.

And everything, or almost everything, comes from... his head!

A metaphorical billiard ball (the rigorous geometrlz and internal
harmony of his tricks and routines live up to the comparison); a
symbolic "egg" shape, an egg that spawns life as the artist
Woody, or should I say, Woody's head maintains a constant and
joyous creativity (isn't "creating" what brings an artist closer to

'l'his is, then, my "summary": Every time

l)(,r'son and nobody's fool!

amazed and

the Gods?).
Because that head in

just

a few years had shed

what separated

it from life (its hair), it is always brainstorming, and this is the

second secret in this book, there is a hidden "b" in describing
him as a bald man, it disguises the constant boiling state of the
millions and millions of neural synapses. No one knows whether
it's a state of tremendous joy or brotherly merrymaking but, I'm
sure that it is constant and almost driven, crazy thinking.

And some of that activity, a "something" full of suggestions,

ideas, brilliant effects (the light), rigorous and at times
mathematical (the billiard ball) and beautifully created ("eggshaped") has been poured into this book just for you. And I
strongly advise you to enjoy it, just like I enjoyed watching,
experiencing and applauding some (many) of them (others, I've
only had the pleasure of having Woody explain them to me, but
I never lose the hope of one day seeing them performed live in
front of me).

But that's not all. Woody has a special gift that allows him to
be liked by everyone (Woody is such a nice guy!); and he's
always bursting with energy (both on ancl offstage). And the
pleasure he gets from ltct'lil'rning lnagir: is absolutely
contagious, and mal<cs trs hirplry witlr lris lrirppirrt'ss.

Irtr's also a

better artist, a great

A Bool< in English: The card magic of Wootly Alirgirrr

Introduction to this work

(letts call it "work" for the moment...)

For a few years, after I

started to travel and get to
know the international magic
community, and after making

good friends in

several

countries (thanks to this great

art that unites us, and also to a
kind of intrinsic feature of our
guild - I don't know why, but it
brings together a majority of
nice people. I think g5o/o of the
magicians I know are great
guys) a recurring story started
developing in the back of my
head. Every time I met my
friends, someone always asked
me: "When uill you torite a
ln x* itt littlllish? So, uill you urite a book in English someday?
I' t tt t t 1t tl I rt ruritc cr book in English!"

With luan, at his house in Madrid, TDorking on this book.

(2011)

Wcll, :rl'tcr' :rlrnost two years of hard work, "A Book in English"
(lrr,rrct'tlrc titlc) has bccome a reality, and it is now in your
Iuurrls. Arrtl it worrlrln't have happened without the enthusiasm
irrrtl lrt'l1r ol'rrrarry pt'ollltr: My girlfriend, Maricarmen, always
lrr.sirlr, nl(. or) rr.y.jorrrrrr'.ys, slitttttl:ttirtg itrttl l'ccding my passion
lol r,r,r'r'vllrirtg I rlo. Slt'vt: llcanr, tlrt'l'irsl ottt'to cvcr publish
,,rlr(. ol' rrry worlr; itr l,lnglislr. lit'r'rr:ttrrkr lltlsal, tirclcss
Itrrttsl;tlot'ol'llrir; lrr,llt'lrooli, lo wltottt I ;tttt rlt't'1ll.y grirtttlirl.

A Book in English: The card magic of Woocly Alirgrin

Rafael Benatar, who was the first to give me advice and

orientation. Juan Tannariz, not only for his amazing (and
flattering) prologue, but also for driving me to put the best of
me into this book (he is responsible for turning a small booklet
of about 90 pages into... this book of more than 37o!). The
friends who have helped correct this book, starting with the
talented Michael *Six" Muldoon, Todd Neufeld, who also
did a great job, my admired Pit Harling, and I have to say, the
outstanding job of Harold Cataquet, which inspired and
amazed me with its quality and thoroughness. Without his help,
the bookwould be a much tougher read.
Every time I read a book, I always want to get to know better
the person behind the creations. That's why my intention when
writing this book wasn't to publish a cold, encyclopedic
collection of tricks, to be dissected like a corpse, but instead I
tried to be present, just the way I am, throughout it. My writing
style (or lack of it, I should say) will be like a direct conversation
with you. Even though some of the finesses may be lost in
translation, I hope that you will feel comfortable with my
approach. I could not have done it any other way.

I also have to thank my friend, the great Ricardo Rodriguez

(the current Spanish Magic Grand Prix holder) for the interview
with which, hopefully, the reader will get to know me a little
better. With this end in mind, I will also fiIl in the blank pages of
this book (they are there to help with the layout of the text) with
a collection of personal photographs, in order to give you a
glimpse of various moments in my recent life.
A good part of the material in this book is in print for the first
time, but most of it comes from my previous publications in
Spanish, properly revised, rewritten and translated. In regards
to the kind of card magic that I present in this book, you will see
that my tricks are mainly mathematical, but without avoiding
the use of sleight of hand. In fact, the first chapter is all about
moves, and some tricks you can do with thcm.
So, here we go! A littl(, lrit ol'

chunl<

lct:hlrirlue ovcr lrt,r't., a goocl

ol'psychology ()v(,1'llrt'rr',;rrkl ;r I'isllirl

ol'

rrrathematics, a little bit of tr:ick czrrds, a lot of Elmsley and

'l'amariz (let the taste of influences be noticed!), add a couple
ol'clrops of drama and comedy, let it cook slowly and say the
ragic words... Abracadabra!
rr

Un saludo en espaflol, your friend...

WoodyArag6n, Toledo,

Spain, June

zott

A Book in English: The card magic of Woody Arirgrirr

BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER...

HOW TO FIND YOUR OTHER HALF!
llccause I believe in "Learning by Doing", before I begin
r,xplaining any techniques, principles or routines... please allow
rrrc to do a trick for you.
Arc you "Lucky in Love"? No? Then you need to perform this
"l,ovc Ritual"! OK? Do it anyway, you can neverbe too lucky!
'l'lris ritual will guarantee you a week's worth of "Love Luck"!

_i 7:

( 0d"

Willy Monroe, Hector Manchn, me and Harold Cataquet

(2011)

rrcr,rl yort

lo l'itttl ittty lottt't'ittrls llrrrrr ;rrr oltl rlt'r:li, otrcs that

vorr rlott't tnittrl lr,itt'irr1i.'l'ltt' rlrrll rt,rprircrrrt'nt is tltirt thcy

Llool<

in English: The card magic of Wootly Arirgr'rrr

should have different faces, but the same backs. Go and get
them, I will wait for you right here...
You're back! Fine. Take the four cards and shuffle them. Do
not look at their faces yet. If you want the ritual to work, the
cards must be thoroughly shuffled, so that the outcome of your
actions is completely random. That's how love works, my
friend...
Now hold the cards between your hands, in a slightly beveled
position, as you will see in the next picture. Your fingers will
grab the cards by their long edge, with your thumbs positioned
on the faces. You are in the perfect situation to tear the cards in
two pieces. DO IT! Just like the hearts of a breaking couples are
torn in half. Just like they tear their pictures in two... it's all
really symbolic, isn't it?

ok, so you've got a small "deck" made of playing card halves.

What should you do with it? Cut. Cut and complete. When a
corrple breaks up, they're "cutting" their bond, aren't they?
Make a small fan with the pieces of cards in your left hand.
'l'lkc the three top pieces together, with your right hand, and

lrllce them somewhere in the middle.

Now place either the left hands pieces on top of the rights or
vice versa. It does not matter if you put the right or the left
pieces on top. That's the good thing about love, no matter if
you're left-uting or right-wing;love doesn't care about politics...

(r)
r) In Spanish, being a "riglrt" or"'lt'll" lx'r's()n inrlir':rtt's wlrt'llrt.r'yorr lrglct.with
right or left wing politics.

Bool< in English: The card magic of Woocly Arag<in

Square everything. Grab the top piece. Do NOT look at it, just
place it in your pocket or wallet. That is something lovers
usually do, they carry a picture of their loved one somewhere
near their heart... mushy, isn't it? But true nevertheless...

Repeat the ritual, passing a piece to the bottom every time you
sny "SHE LOVES ME", and throwing away the pieces when you

sny "SHE LOVES ME NOT". "SHE LOVES ME" (pass to

b<lttom), "SHE LOVES ME NOT" (throw away)...

You'll end up with only one piece in your hand. That one
rcpresents you. Depending on your actions during the ritual,
t:uts, shuffles... your piece could have been a completely

Make a fan one more time. Take the upper piece and LOSE it
in the middle of the fan. Do it one more time, with two pieces at
the same time if you wish. Do it once again, if you feel like it.
That's what happens when men try to understand women, they
always end up lost...

rlifTerent one. Take the one that you saved at the very beginning,
put it right next to the one you ended up with, and...

Let's make this even more complicated (such is love...). Take

the top piece... or the two top pieces... or even the three top
pieces... and. You can either loose them in the middle of the fan,

or just throw them away. Obviously, no one could ever have

known how many pieces would be left in your hand by now...
Due to all that shuffling, cutting, losing pieces in the middle of
the stack, it has become a total MESS. That's the way men are.

And women really hate it... they say they always have to put
order in our mess... many couples argue over this kind of stuff.
And now, Iet's get ready for a week full of love... take the top
piece, and transfer it to the bottom, as you say: "Sunday".
Transfer the second piece, "Mondey", and so on, one by one,
until you finish with "Saturday".
So the week ends up with broken, cut, shuffled,lost and messy
relationships. And the only thing that can make us remember
true love is the picture of our loved one, safe in our heart. Well,
we can always pluck a daisy, and say SHE LOVES ME... SHE
LOVES ME, NOT...

l'l'S YOUR OTHER HALF! The miracle of love! Cupid did it

rrgnin! Isn't it wonderful?

AI)DITIONAL REMARKS

I havc always loved tricks that the audience can do

llttrrttsclvcs, just by following the magician's instructions
(sonrcthing ,Iuan Tanrlriz recently named, quite appropriately,
Vt.r'birl Magic). lt nright bc because I f<rndly remember when I,
rrs ir t'hiltl, sirw,lrrirrr irt lltt: lcgcndary S1l:rrtislt TV program Un,
l)os, 'l'rtrs irntl li.lt llrt, rnlllir: ltalrlrt'n, lilcritlly, in my own
Itrrtttls.'lirtliry, I tlrinli lltttl cxllcriuttt't'lrts rt lol to tlo with who I

Take the first piece, and pass it to the bottom of the stack, as
you say "SHE LOVES ME". Grab the second one. That one
corresponds to "SHE LOVES ME NOT", right? Throw it far
away from you! We don't want thosc who do not love us nearby,
do we?

k4e

A tlook in English: The card magic of Wootly Anrgrirr

am, what I do for a living, and the very fact that you are now
reading this book.

As my methods usually have to do with

mathematical

processes and principles, I find myself at ease with these kind

of
tricks. They have, in fact, become one of my "specialties" in
magic. I even designed a routine especially for Nacho
Vigalondo, with the aim of promoting his movie The Chrono
Crirnes, back in 2oo8. The Movie fans should go into its
website, and watch a video in which I did the "interactive" trick.
The result was not only magic, but it also gave them the key to a
movie-reiated "Chrono Game".

Internally speaking, this trick is based on the Australian

down-under deal. I took the idea, and added a basic principle I
read in Max Maven's Redivider that creates, in my opinion a
vcry "heartfelt" feeling of really shuffling the cards (plus, you
cran clo the trick with only four cards, and there's no need to sign
anything). The only real shuffle is done at the very beginning,
but, the result of tearing the cards in two is a kind of cyclic
stack: Each half is four positions away from its match. You can
cut this "deck" as many times as you want. Creating a stack from
fairly shuffled cards is something I am enthusiastic about.
On an external level, the idea of a collective "ritual" that will
make everyone lucky in love, appeais to the audience. Every
mushy topic related to the theme, w;hich I constantly refer back
to (the torn picture, the "other half', the daisy, "she loues me",
"she loues me not"...) justifies the procedures. And I think that
the final image, with the spectators holding the two pieces that
form a whole card, is very suggestive.

For practical reasons, I designed the trick to not require a

table. I usually perform it when I am the MC, in parlor shows,
and even in theaters with two or three hundred people, each
holding their own four cards and following my instructions. In
those cases, I stress the rnornt'rrt whcn thclc is frurcdclnt of
choice, so that the fact thrl cvcry spr.r'l;rlor cirrr tlo sorut.lhing
completely tli{lcrcnt bccorrrcs olrviorrs, llrrt cvt,r't'orrc gt,ls tlrt'ir'
matcltittg It;tl1' ttt'vt'r'lltclcs:., t,';rlltinl', ;ur ittt;rossilrlc r'lirrrlrx. Il'

followed the sartttr iustructions, and ended up

lirrtling the matching halves, thcy could (correctly) guess that
llrc wlrole procedure is just a "pl:rzzle", and that if they did the
ri;rnlo exact actions back at home the trick would also work.
Irrslcad, I give them options, some spectators shuffle; others
jrrsl t:ut the halves, some of them once, while others do it four
lirrrcs. This makes for a shocking climax, as the "instructions"
liivt'n by the magician couldn't possibly have predicted every
r;;rr,r'tator's choice. And I've tried to enhance this feeling by
irrclrrtling an adaptation of the great Alex Elmsley's Australian
,\t'll'-l lclp in the passing of one card for each day in the week.
'l'lris irllows the spectators to get rid of some cards (their choice)
lrt,li rrc doing the Australian deal.
(,\,(.r'y spectator

I irlso Llse a false clue, so that no one in the audience can

rr.lrrrrrluce the trick, should they try it later. I use the moment at
rvlriclr the cards are opened in a fan, and the three top pieces are
hrst in the middle. After that, the pieces are squared. Tell the
;rrrrlicrrcc: "Do you knou uhy you haue to square the cards?
/lr'r'rrrr.sc I forgot to do something uery important!"Ask them to
lirlir, lht: top piece, save it inside the pocket, and now make the
lrrrr orrr:tr again, in order to continue with the process. Later I
rvilf rct::rll the actions as "YoLt cut the cards, took a piece and
,,ttt,t'tl it, ttrul then opened the pieces in afan and sfuLfJled them"
lrr,t';rrrst' that is what I want them to remember.

My ll'iuncl Pipo Villanueva has a great idea. If

you're
group
people,
them
asking
this
trick
for
a
of
before
1-x,r'lorrrrirrg
lo 1,,r,t ritl ol'some pieces, tell them to take the top piece and
r.rclrnngc it with another spectator. After the exchange, they
irlc lo losc il in the rniddle of the fan. Not only does this enhance
llrr. irrrpossibility of the effect, as the spectators will be holding
lrilt'r,s ol'stranlScr cards, but it also has the added bonus of
nrirliirrg llrt' irrrrlit:uc:t' interact, not only with the magician, but
I rr,l wt.r,rt I lrctttsclvcs.

lo krrolv rr lol tttot't'rtllotll ltow ttl ltresent and

lrrrlornr llrcst'liinrl ol lorrtittt's, I rcli't't'ott lo tltt'wisc and
r,,,,,r,rrli;rl r,volrl:r ol llrc N4;rslt't',,ltt;ttt'l';trtt;ttiz, irt ltis lt<ltll<
ll

Yorr wirrrI

Vrr"lxrl M:rgir'

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Aritgrirr

My one-man

shozD

"La llusion la pintan Calaa"

(201o)

Sleights and moves

A book in English: l'hc cirrrl rrrirgic ol.Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arlgrin

THE SEPARAGON
'l'lrc Separagon is a move that I developed in tggg.It allows
you to separate two groups of cards from a shuffled deck: Red
rurtl black, odd and even, the two halves of a memorized deck...
you can also control a single poker play, or one of the deck's
srrits, etc. It's one of my most talked about moves. Recently, as I
wirs cxplaining how it works, David Stone got up and gave me a
liiss on top of my head!

It is a simple move, and has the advantage of not being

r,xt,t:utcd completely in the magician's hands, presenting an
irnllic of disorder and lack of control by the performer. Let's see
Ilrt,basic handling.
t. - The Separagon
Irrragine you want to separate the red cards from the black
orrt.s lhrm a shuffled deck in use. Hold the deck in left hand
rh,rrling position, face up. The thumb rests on the center of the
logl t:irr'<l's face.

'l'lrt, r'ight hand approaches the deck, with its palm facing you,
orrlcl to tal<c thc top card, which is pushed to the right by the
h,l'l lhrrnrll. Yorr shoultl rest it untlcr thc center "line" that
sr,lliu'lltrs thtr cirrtl's hllvtrs (right urtrkrt' thrr lcft thumb). Notice
llrrrt llrt' lrl)lx'r' r'iglrt t'orrtt'r'ol'Llrc citxl is poirttittg "{)11t", and the
Iowr,r'r'iglrl corrrt'r' is poittlitt11 itl .yottt' pltlnt.
irr

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag(rn

A book in English: Thr: carrl trirgic ol'Woody Aragon

llrun you would rest the right thunrb on the base of the upper
lrrrll). The top right corner of the card should nowbe pointing at
llrc right hand's palm.

The right hand grabs the card, moves forward and twists,
turning the card upside dor,rm. When the card is face down, the
right hand drops it (the card is thrown, not placed) on the table.

'l'lrc result of this, after turning the card face down, is that the
crrrrl will form a 90 degree angle with the opposite cards already
rk,rrlt. Throw it on the tabled pile.

The move is repeated with the next card, and executed the
same waywith all of the cards that share color with the first one.
The cards will form an unsquared pile on the table.

Whenever a card from the opposite color appears, you will

execute a very similar move. So much so, in fact, that it looks
almost the same to the aucliernr:c cvcn if they'ro loolcing directly
at your hands. The only rlil'k'r't.rrt't. lics in tlrr' position o1'the
right thumb, which rcsls orr llrt.r':rrrl's lirt't', sliglrtl.v irlrovc the:
Ieft thurnb. (ll'.yorr <livirlc llrr,r';rrrl irr lrrrll'willr rr lrorizorrl;rl lintr,

A book in English: 'l'lrc crrnl

A Book in English: The card magic of Woorly Arug(rn

nrrrp.ic

ol'Woody Aragon

After going through the whole deck, changing the grip

depending on the card's color, there will be a messy pile on the
table, with cards pointing in different directions, which no one
will suspect you might have any control over.

'l.he thumbs approach the nearer side of the pile, while the rest
ol'the fingers grab the far side.

lnsert your thumbs under the pile and slide them forward,
grabbing the pile with both hands, and hitting the table with the
krwor side in a squaring motion.
While doing these moves, the body should be slightly turned
to one side, and the attention should be focused on the face up
cards. The pile should rest at the side of the table, in the
"shadow zorre". The reason for going through the whole deck
depends on the routine you're performing. We'll cover some
ideas later.

Now it's time to pick up the pile of cards. To do so, the palms
of both hands approach each side of the pile, and push them
toward the center.

A llook in English: The card magic of Woorly

A book in Englislr: l'lrc cirnl rrupit' ol'Woody Aragon

Arirgr'rrr

'l'he Separagon in pictures. Audience view.

You will be automatically holding 2 intenr'yovcn packets of

cards. Black cards will be in horizontal position, iurcl reds in a
90 degrees angle. Your fingers should rest over the backs,
covering the front angle.

Keep your left hand's fingers still. Your right index finger will
push the vertical facing cards to the left as you hit the table with

the deck (repeat the squaring action a couple times). This will
leave you with z groups of cards, red and black, forming art "L"
shape.

A book in English: 'lhc cirrtl ru11,li'

lk roh irr linglish: The card magic of Woody Arag6n

.,1

Woody Aragon

lr.'t'he unweaving.
will now unweave the cards. 'I'here are many ways to do so,
I use them indistinctly, usllally adapting to the situation I

You
rrrrrl

rrrrr in when the

time comes.

'l'he direct way.

ll might be the simplest way to accomplish the unweaving, but

it is also the one I use most. I am holding the cards in the final
" 1," position, after doing the Separagon. I have been looking at
llrc thces of the cards throughout the squaring actions. Then I
ririsc my focus and look up at the audience, and ask them a
"lrlrrrring question". (r)
At this moment, both hands raise the "L", and my left hand
st'parates the vertical facing cards, rotating them out as the
right hand holds the horizontal packet, thus making the
rrnweaving easier. Then the right hand deposits its cards over
llrc ones in the left hand, completing what, in the audience's
r,.ycs,

should look like no more than a simple cut.

Son'rctimes, in order to disguise the action a little bit more, I

lirlrlc thc deck and give it "one more" cut (this time for real)
orrlo rrry krli hantl. 'l'lrcrr I follow with some "in the hands" cuts.

(|

r\tt tttrcxpcclcrl r;rrr':,liorr llr;rl lrclps lo rrrisrlrlr,r'l llrr.il ntinrls. 'l'hc Magic
ol' Asr':utio " l lrr. lil r rrr'l rrlrrl ('orrcr,l rl iorr r rl Nl;r1iir"'

A Uook in English: The card magic of Wootlv

A book in English: 'l'hc crrltl ltlit,'it'ol Woody Aragon

Atrrgr'rtt

Irot.izontal one in the left hantl, thtr right hand continues the
irr.liorr by giving its packet a llinclu shuffle. The whole move
,lisgrrises flr" ,ri*"uting as an action between squaring and
Hindu shuffle'
1,i,'i.ing up the deck, and the start of the

The biggest problem with this method is tlr:rt s()tttetimes the

cards g"iitrct and, if the audience notices it, tlrt'trnweaving of
a group of cards will be obvious- But, even whcn this happens,
th6 urrdience won't suspect that you have contt'olled a specific
group of cards, so as far as they are concernecl, the technique
witt ititt work miracles because they cannot imagine the cards
you are unweaving are the ones you need, instead of just
iandom ones. In any case, because it's the most direct
unweaving, it is the best to one do, if you apply the proper
misdirection.
As you will see, many of the justifications to deal through the
wholb deck consist of divination effects, or gags. This makes it
quite easy to unweave the cards after a climax, on the offbeat of
an effect, or at the natural relaxation point that comes after a
ioke.

l(r,st0r.irrg the order of the deck is quite easy, as_the lower half
r,, irl't'irrly itt order, a,d the upper half has only been cut a few
Ittrtcs.
t lsirrg

tlrt"llrjtrnrph shuffle.

You will ont:c itgait-t start in the Separagon's final "L" shape' As

tlrr, r.iglrt lrrrnrl 1:sts 1ln the horizontal half, keeping it.still (and
,,1,,,, ,1,',v,,r'irrg thc bacl<s of the cards with its fingers), the left
llrrrrrrlr will rlotitlt,, in st-nall groups, all the cards in the vertical
lr,rll rrrrlil lrof tr lralvcs lool< the salne way, resembling the look of
ir rlr,r,li rrl'lt.t'rt ril'llt'slrrrl'flt'.'l'hc t'otation of the vertical half could
l,r. rIrrrt' irr .irrst ot)(' nlovc, lltrt it lgol<s llcttcl'if done little by
liil lr,: l'irst r.ot;rlr, llrt, r,;rxls ll(.ilt'('st .yott willr tltt' thtrmb, then the
nr,rl ottr,s, lttttl stl ott. 'l'ltis ttttlvt'is ttlrtt't'sittlillll'to the tratural
rrity ll llilliirrli rrgr pilr,ol r,;rrrls rnirr'<l t';tttrl,rtttlY tlvt't'tltt'titlllcr,
rrrrrl11,1i llrr.":, lrlrlr',.:," irlt.;r ottl 6l lltr,:rptcl;tlot"s tttitttls.

Hindu Shuffle unweaving.

This method is more doccivirrg tlt:rtr tht'1ll'trviotts ottt', [ttt it has
the disadvantage 0l' sliglrtlr, ;rllr.r'irrg lltt, otrlt't' ()1' ottt' ol' thc
packets. Yorr will go llrrorrl,,lr llrc s;ttttc ltt'liotls rts itt lllr'<lit't't:l
upwcirvi,,g llrrl,;rl'lt.r'r'ollrlirrtq llrr,r'r,t'l ir':tl lritclit'1,;tttrl t't'slirrg tlrt'
il

A book in E,nglish: l'ltc t'rrrrl ttt;r,tr' rtl Woody Aragon

A Bool< in English: The card magic o1'Wootl\, ,\ r rrqirrr

Once both halves are in horizontal position, lircirrg cach other,

table the cards and you will be in the pcrlirct position to
simulate the squaring of the cards, as in Vcluon's triumph,
continuing with the extraction of the carcls hirlclen under the
right hand.

Other unweavings.
Once you get to the "riffle shuffle" position, you can actually
do any kind of false riffle shuffle technique (push-through,
etc...) although I don't recommend some of them, as they

reinforce the idea of two halves being weaved in the mind of the
spectators. The ideal would be for them to remember only the
squaring of the tabled cards. That is why I prefer the unweaving
actions that look like shuffles in which you have supposedly
squared the cards.
3. Justifications.
The Separagon is a very deceiving technique, but not exactly
what I would call fast. That means you need to justifiz, in the
best possible way, going through the whole deck card by card (of
course you can apply the technique only to half the deck, or a
group of cards). I have found several possibilities.
a) Looking for a chosen card, which you previously forced.
b) Simulate memorizing the whole deck.
c) After a fake memorization, revealing the cards by naming
them one by one (for example, if the deck is set in
memorized stack order) leaving the card(s) you want to
control in perpendicular position at the same time.
d) Showing the cards to a spectator, and telling him to think
of one, to be found Ial"er.
e) You can also do the latter as a gag. Set a card with a
different back as an open prediction, stating that the card
thought by the spcrt'trrtor will nratch yotrr' prccliction.
After going throtrglt llrc wltolt' rlt'r'l<, tlrc tlrorrglrl ol'carcl
is nunrcrl :rnrl tlrt'rr yorr slrow vorrr'plr'<licliorr, wlrir'lr Irrrrrs
orrl lo llt' ;r lrllrrrl' l;rcr. rvillr llrc w,olrl:; "\'( )lll( ('Altl)"

written on it. You could lrlso rrsc the classic "52in 1" gag
card, or use a joker ancl statc that the joker can substitute

l')

any card...

If using a borrowed deck, yott can count the cards, just to

rnake sure the deck is complete.

Wlrt'rr I showed the technique to Juan Tamariz, he told me

tlr;rl going through the whole deck in front of the audience could
,'rrrl rrp lreing quite boring. That is why you need to be very
,:rrr,l'rrl with your script for this moment, so as to make the
Irlr)('(,ss interesting. In any case, Juan proposed an idea for
grr r,sr,nling the Separagon anytime, any"where in an entertaining
\\;l\'.

'l'lu'r'r' lrrdience members select a card. You should know the

rrlr,rrlil.y ol'the first two cards in advance (either by a peek or
l,r't't,). Whcn returning these to the deck, make sure that the
Irr:,t crrrtl goes in position L4to 2+ and the second one 30 to 40.
l'lrr' '1"t t'irrtl (which could be signed) is either palmed or lapped,
nr ;rlr,lxrnrti<ln fbr a "card to impossible location" effect (card to
rr,rllr,l, r';tt'tl box...)
Yorr will now go through the deck, with the excuse of looking
rr
lr
llrc st'lt't'tior-rs, and execute the Separagon, as you supposedly

,lr',r';rrrl llrt' non-chosen cards. Ask the spectators to show you

llr.rl lrcsl "pol<cr'f,ace", so that they don't give you a c]ue as to
nlrrllr r';rltl is thcirs. Nevertheless, you find the first selection
rur(l ri(,1 il rrsitlc. Continue with the Separagon, and you manage
1,, l,r';rlc llrt'sct'ond card. There is only one left, and you
irrrnuun('(' llr;rl .yorr arc going to find it... but, after going through
llr. rr,lrolr. rlccl<, thcr citrcl is nowhere to be found. Then show the
r rrrr I lurs lrrrvt'llt'tl Io .yottr pocket...

llrr:r rvrry, llrt' St.lxrnrgon stops being just a "technique" and

lrlr'onru; ;rrr t'xt'ilirtg trirrl<, witlt effercts distributed during the
,'lr,rlr"'1loirrg llrrortglr tltt'tlct:l<" l)r'(x'('ss, ittt:l'easing suspense
lllrrrr' ;rrt'li'rryr'r';rrrrl li'lvct'r'rtt'rls lt'f'l llirltt wltit'lt yotl can get the
, llr'l iotr ), irntI lr r;trr';rri:litrg t'litttttr.

A book in English:

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arirgrin

Tl.re

clrl

nutliic ol'Woody Aragon

4. Alternate handlings
THE RIBBON SPREAD

It might

seem impossible, but before squaring the cards, you

can actually ribbon spread the deck on the table. This helps to
enhance the apparent lack of control, without really altering the
9o degree angle between the two groups of cards.

Simply spread the cards to your right, with your right hand, in
a slight curve, as you can see in the picture. You can make a
remark, depending on the justification you used for going
through the cards face up, or on the trick you are performing.
But you have to refer to the deck. I mean, if you do it and say
"These are all red-backed cards...." You justify the spreading of
the cards.
s

l,l

l,A t(AGON

To T.P.c.

'l'lrr, lirrrndation of this technique, placing the desired cards in

pr,r'pr.rrtlicrrlar position with respect to the rest of the deck,
rrrirkr,s it llossible to combine the Separagon with the T.P.C.
('l'rrrrrirriz's Perpendicular Control), which is described in detail
lrr Sorruta (t)

(lr

llrlotrgh the Separagon, leaving the whole deck with its

'rlrnll sitlt' krol<ing at the audience, and the four aces (I will use
llrr,rrr irs irn cxanrple of controlling four cards) in perpendicular
lruriiliorr.
,'\llr,r'grrrslring thc side of the deckwith the palms and squaring
deck.
Irrrlr,rrrl, us(.your right hand's fingers to do a similar squaring
rrrlinrr orr llrt'slrot't sitlcs of the deck, while picking up the deck
rrlrl l'('lilirrg il orr llrt' l'irtgtrt's ol'thc lcrl't lrart<1.

Then gather the cards, just as explained in the description of

the Separagon, with both palms pushing the deck from its side,
only this time they both close the whole spread and square the

llrr,"pilr," ol't::rrcls, the thumbs do not go under the

cards.

(t

| .ltrttt'l'itttt:tt

iu.

Sttttttltt. l'rrlrlislrcrl lrt lrt;tl.r,ott

11,,1;li5;, 1t)r)o.

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arlgrirr

A book in English: The caltl rrrirgic ol'Woody Aragon

rrrrtlcrneath the deck, getting to Lhe same position as in a

nlrrrrrlard T.P.C. for several cards. F'rom this position, you can
uH(, illly of the applications Juan Tamariz developed for his
lr.r'lrnique. I recommend having the cards to be controlled in
llrr, krwer half of the deck, so as to make the spreading easier.
'l'lrtr advantage of this combination of moves is going directly
shuffled deck, without having to
lu llru "f.P.C. spread from ao'lose"
them again in the deck.
r,r'nrclr tbr the 4 aces only to

6. - 'l'hc psycholory behind the Separagon.

Now you will seemingly square the deck, but what really
happens is that the left hand's fingers will reach for the ends of
the cards in perpendicular position, and push the rest of the
deck to the left. Meanwhile, the right hand covers the right side
of the deck, where the aces are sticking out.

'l'lrrrru are several techniques that allow you to separate cards

Irurrr l shuffled deck: Harry Lorayne's "The Great Divide",
llolsirrzcr's Cull, Lennart Green's "Angle Separation"... The
Sr,pru'irgon has fundamental differences from all of them, and as
when comparing
',rrclr, llrcsents advantages and disadvantages
ll lu lltcnr.

llrirrl< the main disadvantage is the need for a table, which

h'xsr,ns lhc Separagon's versatility. Another inconvenience is the

rlrn'rrlion of the process of going through the cards, due to the

rnng(,ol'the motions implied, it takes more time than the
lr,r'lrrritlttt:s of Lorayne and Green, and even more than the time
rrlx'nl in t:ulling.
'l'lrc rrtlvirntlges, though, are the psychological aspects of what
I ltr tttttlicnt:c sees.

ljlrsl, tlrc othcr techniques have a hidden secret action, and

llrux lrrrtl lnglcs that you need to cover (cards sliding and joining
r,nllr ollrcr scclctly under a spread, packets of cards that need to
Lruk rrs tlury are squared, when in reality they are not...). In
Hr'pru'rrgon, what tlte audience sees is exactly what is happening:
l'uu't'r, llrruwing carcls in an unsquared pile on the table. The
luyr,t'i1rl{ plint:illlcs (r) arc thus built into thc technique.
Now the right thumb pushcs the top car<ls ol' the deck,
spreading them to thc riglrl, lhtrs covcling tlrc t:arcls in
perpendicular position.'l'lrt' r'iglrt lrirrrrl tlkcs tlrc sprt'irtl, f irrgcl's

ttl 'l'lrr.MnBicol'Au'ttltlttVol.t"'l'lrcSltttllttt'itl('ottt't'Iliottol'Mttgic

A book in English: 'l'hc c:rrrl rruq,r( ol Woocly Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arirg<ilt

Second, the other techniques are all done in the magician's

hands, with the deck under his control. On thc contrary, the
Separagon is done on the table. Because the magician does not
touch the cards, the possibility of using sleight of hand is much
further from the audience's minds.

Third, the result of the technique is connected to the effects in

which you can do it: Tricks with hear,y deck stacking. The
natural look, the seeming lack of concern of how the cards fall
on the table, and the visual picture of the unsquared pile on the
table help create the illusion of a totally mixed deck. In fact, it is
easy for the audience to think that, after the Separagon, the
cards are further mixed. It is a controlling technique that
conveys a complete lack of control.
And fourth, the extraction of the desired cards is justified by
the action of squaring the tabled deck, and it can even be done
while the audience is burning your hands (they might think
that, instead ofjust squaring, that you have taken the cards that
get in your way and put them on top, but they cannot imagine a
full deck control in the 4 or S seconds the squaring action
takes). In the Loralme and Green techniques, the
extraction/unweaving is done from a seemingly squared deck,
which makes disguising the technique a little bit tricky.
6.

-Apracticetrick.

The first few times you try the Separagon, you will probably
I guarantee that once you master it,

Iose control of a few cards.

it is a too%o safe technique.

You have to be sensitive to the condition of the cards. An old

deck, with cards that "stick" to each other, can give y<-ru
problems. But the most dangerous are freshly opened decks,
with cards that slide too much (Aviators, for example). The
danger is when you throw onrr slip;tery card on lop ol'another,
the falling card spins a bil rrl'tr,r' lrrrrrling anrl cntls rrp l;rr,irrg the

wrong way.

ll you're very careful whilc c:xct'ttlirrg thc technique, obviously

r',,rr rcduce the chances of losiug ittty of the cards. Nevertheless,
nr\, ;rtlvice is to do it carelessly, with a total lack of concern, and

tlrrrr rnake a correction if you feel you lost control of any card.
l(r,rrrcmber what this technique is all about, the "messy" feeling
\ ou wilnt to create, and you will realize that if you are too
r';rlt'l'rrl about the way you put the cards on the table, you might
lr)nv('.y to the audience that you are purposely arranging the
prlr,.

Irr rrrry case, at one point the Separagon will look really good
rvlrr,rr lrructicing it at home, but you might be scared of doing it

irr lrorrl o[ a real audience, for fear of losing control of a card.

,lrrrl so .you can practice, and start feeling confident, I will show
r,rr ;r lrit:l< I've done thousands of times, which I could say is a
rr,r'sirrn" of the classic Oil and Water plot... but a little
, irrr,liit't'...

A book in E,nglish: 'l'hc crrnl tttitliit' trl Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic o1'Wootly Alitgrin

CHEEKY OIL AND WATER

l,ct a member of the audience shuffle the deck. After he (r)
p,ivr,s it back to you, execute the Separagon, use any excuse, and
rir,l)rrirte the red and black cards.
Arrrrounce that you will now perform "the classic Oil and
Wrrlt,r'c('['ect", and you are going to take 4 red cards, and 4 black
LI l( 's.

S;rrt,atl the deck, with the faces pointing at you, so as to not let
ry(,n(: glirnpse the cards. Now you will seemingly look for eight
r'irnls ol'your liking, what you really do is look for possible
rrrisltrlics in the separation. If you find a black card between the
rr.rl ont's, take it, and vice versa. You will end up with the deck
',r'l)nrirl('(l by colors. Then pretend you're still looking for cards,
lrrhirrg rirnclorn ones to complete the eight you need for the oil
rrtrrlwitl(.t'.
ru

ll llrcrc wcre more than 4 red and 4 blacks mixed in the

uplrosilc gr'oup, correct the whole deck before taking the eight
r ir r'( lli .you will use for the trick.
l'lrrcc llrt'rlcck asicle (as far away as possible), and focus your
rrllr,rrliorr on the eight cards you removed from the deck, and
,,lirrl llrc l.ypical Oil ancl Water patter, sa)'lng that red and black
r rurls lrirvt' ;r tlill'crcnt density, and thus, just like oil and water,
r'\r,u il vou wcilvr) tltcut alternating colors, after letting them
r,'il, lltr.y st'piu'ittt' lty lhtrntsclves.

Explnittittg lltt Stlttnt,lrttr lrt,/ttl lttt',,,,,,,,,,r,,4it :'lrrtlt

('0();)

i11

Mirtttti

(t) l rvill rr:l'llr,.rrr;rlr, l)r'()noun lirl llrc lr':;l ol lltr lrooli, l'ttt st>t't'y about
llrrl, lrrrl il':r tttot,'r'ottvctlit'ttl tlr;rtr rvlilirrli lrr'/:;lrr';rll lllt'tiur<'...

A Book in English: The card magic of Woody Arlrgtin

A book in Englislr: 'l-lrc cirnl rrurliit' ol'Woody Aragon

With the cards facing dovrn, set them in recl-black order. If

you do this for magicians, you can simulate the actions of any
known version of the trick, but without really altering the order
ofthe cards.
Finally, make a quick move, as if flicking the cards, so that the
audience will think "there, he just did somethtng". Then say
"Red and black cards, intertuouen one by one, separate if you
let them rest, so if I do this magic gestltre, uhat uill happen to
them?"
"They seperete"

should be their answer.

"Of course they don't, come on, are Aou kidding me? Hotu
could they separate?" Say this as you show the cards are still in
red-black order. The audience will laugh at the gag.
"Becettse, as I told you, the cards separate if you let them rest,
and these B haue had no rest in my hands... On the other hand,

the rest of the deck, that you shuffled yourself, has had plenty
of time to rest... and nou red and black cards are completely
separated!" Take the rest of the deck and ribbon spread it to
show the separated colors.

SEPARAGON TRIUMPH
r\ vcry bold version of the Triumph effect, but with a nice
r,rrrlirrg and very interesting performance conditions. Give the
rlr,r'k lo someone in the audience, and have him mix the cards
lncr, lrgr and face down. Retrieve the deck, peek at one card, and
lnrcc it thce down so no one can know its identity. Have them
lroh I I lrc fbrced card away from the deck.
Arrrrounce that using your great memory, you will try to
rrrr,nrorizc the face-up face-down sequence. Tell the audience
rrlrorrl lhc great difficulty of the task, inviting them to remember
il loo. ils you show them the cards.

ADDITIONAL RE,MARI(S:

If the first few times you try the Separagon you don't get it
rooyo right, and there are too many mixed cards when you are
tryrng to find the red and black cards, you can just do a regular
Oil and Water trick, eliminating the full deck separation climax.
I am sure the experience you will get from the failure will make
your next attempt successful (and, if it doesn't... just keep
trying!)
This gag is more suitable for rnagicians than fbr layrnen, but
you can perform a couple o1'phitst:s of a stancl:txl Oi1 ortd Water
routine, and finish with llrt't'lirrrrrlic cf'ltt'l rtl'lt:rvirrg thc full
deck separatccl by cokrt's. I llrirrl< pt't'lirt'tttilrli tlrc r'l'li't't in those
con<litiotts is :t gootl firrislr lo ;ttt itttllt'ottt;lltt t'ottlittr'.
ll

('rrl rrlrorrl l tlrirrl ol'tlrt' tlcr:l< arrtl rlo lltt' Iirst part of the
'ir'prrrrr;iorr witlr il, st,prrrirling Iirct'rr1l irrrrl lirt't'rlown carcls in a
rli'irrrrrl" pilr, on llrr, lirlrlt', "lwistcrl" irt rlil'li'n'rrt itngles.
l\tlrrtrwltik., y()u (';nl trttnnlllr"'li;tt't' ttp, l;rcc rlowtt, litt't' tt11..."

A book in English: Tho cllrl trrtgit' ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Alirgtin

with another third of thc clccl<. Then finish

with the rest of the cards. Ask the audience if thcy were able to
memorize the sequence. They will obviously be lost from the
very beginning. Now ribbon spread the "messy" deck. Everyone
will see a mix of face up and face down cards. Now pause and
take a good look at the spread, saylng that you will now use you
photographic memory to fix the order in your mind. What you
really want is for the audience to register this image in their
minds, so that they will remember it afterwards.
Repeat the process

Now say that, if everything was right, you are ready to

determine the identity of the missing card. Name the forced
card and, immediately after showing it, take advantage of the
relaxation after the effect. Close the spread and extract the face
up cards from the face dov,n ones, turn over one of the halves
and square the deck. Then lose the chosen card, in reversed
position, in the middle of the deck. Give no importance to this;
it should just seem as if you are gathering the cards to continue
with the memorization effect. Leave the decl< face up on the
table.

liocus the attention back on thc clcck, remind everyone that it

litirly mixed face up and fzrcc clown by the audience, and
rrrrrkc a magic gesture. Ribbon spread the deck on the table, and
',lrow all of the cards are face up, except one. Show that it is,
urrcc irgain, the selection.
wrrs

N( )'l'li: If you are working with a stacked deck, you can start
lrv rkrir.rg a riffle shuffle, turning half of the deck over. (A

nrr,rrrlrcr of the audience could also do the shuffle). After the real
,rlrrrl'l'lu, execute the Wiper Move (a technique I will soon
r,rlrlrrirr), and then go on with the Separagon Triumph. There
rvill lrc a great feeling of disorder, but the deck will practically
t r,l rr i rr t ho initial stack (you will only need to return the selection
lrrrrk into place).

A book in English: The calrl trrtlitc ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Woorly Arirgrin

THE WIPER MOVE

l'lris is zl move I came up with while toying with the
:illrnrirllon. It can be used an),time you need to seemingly mix a
,ilrrr'lir,rl rlcrck, with cards face up and face dovrn, while retaining
llrr, irrili:rl order, or if the face up cards cannot be shuffled with
llrr, lrrcr,tlown ones: Shuffle Bored, etc...
slirrt lrom a deck that already has cards face up and face
in lcll hand dealing position. The foundation of the
tr,r'lrrrirlrrt. is very similar to the Separagon. The right hand takes
rr |r,r'ilil1) 0l' t:ards, with the thumb over them and the rest of the
llrr1lr,r's rrrrrlcrneath. The right wrist turns, turning over the
r iu rlr;, irrrrl thruws them on the table. The cards will fall slightly
l n,ir l u iu'(.( 1, iurtl turned over with respect to their initial position.
Yurr

rLrrvn,

With Maricarmen, my girlfriend, in Firenze

(2008)

Nnrr', llrt, r'iglrt lr:rrrtl t'ornt,s lxtr:li to tlrt'rlct'l<, ilt orcler to grab
rulrllr,r'llr'()ul) ol r';rlrls, lrrrt tlris lirttc licr'pitrli tlrt's:ttttc position

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootlv At'rtgtin

A book in English: Thc caltl ttrtp,tt ol'Wttody Aragon

it

had after taking the first cards. That is, with the thumb
underneath, and the four fingers on top. Thr: r'r'strlt is that, even

if you turn the cards over again, the cards tut'n in the opposite
direction (now the wrist turn so that the cards Ilove towards the
audience) and fall on another plane, also unsquared, over the
previous ones.

;\r'lrrirlly, if you square the deck and turn it over, you1l be

r,rrrrlly in the same situation you were in the beginning.
The move is repeated, alternating the direction of the turn
(always in a natural way, since the hand is already in the right
position after throwing the cards it carries).
You can say something like "I'll turn ouer some cards face up,
some face down, face up, face dotun.." Actually, you're not
1)org, but the truth is, turning some cards in one direction, and
the rest in the opposite one, is the same as turning all of the
cards in the same direction.

You simply turn over the whole deck, which stays just like it
was before the move. But the impression you give the audience
is closer to the action of alternating between turning over a
packet and just throwing the next one, as it is, onto the table.

In other words, we want to create the feeling of breaking up

the order, and that some of the cards which were facing up are
now facing down (and vice versa), while others stly with their
original orientations.

A Book in English; The card magic of Woorly Arirg<in

A book in English: Tho canl rrurllit' ol'Woody Aragon

CONVEX CONTROL
Irr Arthur

Buckley's

Card Control book, there is

an

"r,r1rt.r'inrent" by the name of ConuexedAces which is a multiple

nrrrlrol of the four Aces invented by Joe Berg, and based on

\,rtt'v ( )t'iginal principle.

Al tlrc liscorial Meeting, some years ago, a great deal of time

t,rrs rlcrlicated to Buckley's book. As I thought the said control
lrrrrl nlilrly possibilities, I chose it as the theme for my
prr.sr.nlation, and studied the technique for a while, trying to
lrpkrnr its possibilities. I hope you enjoy some of my ideas.

('ONVIiXED ACES
llirsl, I will explain the procedure in Buckley's book. It
rrrlvrrttlitgrr of being very safe.

In London, performing a trick for Max Mauen's cousin

(2008)

has the

A book in English: Thr: ciu tl tttit;iit' ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Anrgrin

The idea is to place the four Aces separaterl in a row on the

table. But before doing that, bending thcrn vertically, by
pushing on the long ends (as opposed to thc way you would
bend them in the classic pop-up ending to an ambitious card
routine), so that when you lay them on the table, face down, the
cards form an arch and the center of the card is elevated about
half an inch. This is similar to the classic way to prepare the
cards for a 3 card monte routine.

'l'ltr. lwo hands come together, dragging their respective piles,

nrrrl grrrshing them into one pile. Done quickly, it seems like the
lrrxls in the two piles are being randomly mixed, but the truth
1,,, rlrrr. to the elevation of the cards over the Aces, and their bent
,rlrrlr., llrcy are now together at the bottom of the new pile.
l(r,pr,irl lhc same action with the third and fourth pile, and
llrlrr wilh tltc two remaining piles. You will have controlled the
lr

Now grab three cards from the deck, extend them a little, and
put them over the first Ace, completely covering its back. Do the
same with the other three Aces.
Rest your left hand's fingers on the left side of the first Ace's
pile, the one at the far left side. The Ace will work as a fulcrum,
and the right side of the cards over it will rise up.

The right hand will do the opposite action with the second
pile, resting its fingers on the right side.

rrrr Act.s to the bottom.

ilASI(t 'l't,l,cHNrQUE
I plrrclit'crl this technique for a while, and I realized that most
rrl llrr, linrt.you tlon't need to bend the cards that much (unless
r'uu'r'r. worl<in1i with a deck that is in really bad condition).
llrtr'kh.y sir.ys lhcrc should be an inch in the center of the arch
ln,nlr,rl lry llrc t::rrd. Wlren we later press the cards over the Ace,
llrr, lolrrl lrt.ight at thc time we "weave" the two piles is r.z
llrlltr.r, rrtttl lltitt is not Irocessaly at all. The technique works
;u,rlr,r'lly ;rs wt.ll wltctt tltc indil'f'cltrnt c:tt'tls are just slightly
lrllllrlr llrrrrr llrc Accs, lrt'r'irttsc tlttt'to llrc lrt'tttl in them, theyare
lltr,nttlv cirt'rls conlrtclirrg tltt't'lost'-ttp llirrl.'l'lrt'Accs are the
,rrrly lrrttls llrirt "slirlr.''o\/('r'il,:rtrrl ottt'ol'tlrcrrr will lrit tlrc other

A book in English: Thc citrtl tttitlr,it' ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Woorly Alirgrin

one, ending either directly above

or

bekrw

it, but never

contacting any of the indifferent cards.

If the deck is in good condition, and all of the cards are

"straight",

usually do the following. Take the four Aces

together, and bend them, nonchalantly, Ren6 Lavand style. Lay

them on the table, forming a line, and place a few cards (they do
not need to be exactly three) over each Ace.
The Ieft hand will now approach the leftmost pile, but will not
rest on it. Instead, you will place it in a vertical position, so that
the side of the hand and the pinky contact the table (in a kind of
"karate chop" position). The right hand does the same, next to
the second pile.

In a straight movement, the hands get together, and push one

pile into the other. The hands barely touch anything but the
sides of the cards. You'll see that the Aces still end up on the
bottom.

r,ns.y rnove,

"hrrircl(".

but you will havc to pt'itctice in order to get the

(IONCAVES AND CONVEXBS

'l'lrc tact that you do not press on the piles has another
rrrlvirntage. The non-bent cards

will remain straight, and that

irlkrws cluplicating the control with four other cards on the top,
lrr,rrl thc opposite way.

l,lrr cxample, imagine we have four Convex Aces, just as I just

r,r;rlirincd, and we put indifferent cards on top of them... but
tlris lirrrc we deal those cards, one by one. The reason is, the last
lrrru'r'rrrcls are kings, which we have also bent... the opposite
rrir\'. 'l'lrc center of the kings contacts the indifferent cards, but
llrr, Lrrrg cnds rise slightly over them.

ll

lpply the basic technique to the four piles, the result will
lrr, llrirt thc four Aces will be controlled to the bottom, but also
llrr, lirrrr l(ings will end up on top.
wr,

,I'IIIq I)IRECTPUSH
,\ r;rrit'licr ernd "cleaner" way of controlling the cards, although
ir lillh, lrit riskier, is not to push the piles together one by one.
llr rLrirrg the basic technique, but pushing the leftmost pile
,rllrrirrsl tlrc rightmost one (that is, pushing piles r and 4 into
r,nllr ollrt.r'), and letting them push the two in the center... it
rr nt'lis loo!

This move is much more natural, and creates a much better

illusion, as it seems as you bardy touch the cards :rt thc moment
you push them together'. 'l'lrt' prrrblt:rn is, if tlrc lrirnrls clo nrrt
come straight at eadr otlrcr', w('r'un thc risli ol'rrccirlcntally
pushing an inclil'l'crcnt t';rrrl lx'lwcctt lltt' Accs. ll's ;tt'lttitll.y itu

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag(rn

In this case, the feeling that you have no control whatsoever

over the cards is even greater: Four piles are pushed and
shuffled into one, are you barely touch the sides of two of them.

CONTROL PLUS I-APPING (ACES TIIROUGII TIIE

rABLE)
I had the idea of combining the convex control with lapping,
taking advantage of the fact that after the control, the four Aces
are on the bottom of the pile, and still bent, creating a "bridge".
The use of misdirection is directly taken from Gabi's switch, one
of the deck switches I use most, which I'11explain later on.

use this combination for a super-fast and direct version of

Aces through the Table. The Aces could be signed, but I never
bother.

Do the convex control (it is preferable that you use the direct
pushing method) and square the pile. The hands rest on it, in
position to do a tabled shuffle, thumbs on the inner long end,
first fingers on top, and the rest of the fingers on the outer side
of the pile. But you will not take it. The right hand stays in
position over the pile. The lclt hand riffles the carcls, until there
are only four or five lcft.

A book in English: Thc clrrl rrrirliit' ol'Woody Aragon

'l'lrc lclt hand grabs those few cards and takes them to our left
ahlt,, r'irising them to your eyes level. Follow that pile with your
nlglrl, wlrose face will be flashed to the audience for a moment,
lrrnl lrt'lirrc the left hand repositions it back to standard dealing
prrxilion. '['urn your whole body to the left, focusing all of the
rrllr,rtliort on that pile.
Mr,rrrrwhilc, the right hand will slide its pile to the border of
llrr, lrrlrlt, antl, due to the bridge created by the convex Aces, they
rvlll rrlrrrost lap themselves. The right hand continues its
rnovr.nrcnl, placing its cards over the ones in the left hand and
Irrrrrrr,rliirlcly starting a Hindu Shuffle, as you say "We'lI mix the
r rl'rls lltis ttt<t!j, so that the Aces are lost euenfurther".

A Book in English: The card magic of Woorly Allgrin

A book in English: Thc cuxl

rrrirl-iie

ol'Woody Aragon

GABI'S DECK SWITCH

Then, always following the cards with your eyes, place the pile
back in the center of the table, once again directing our body
and focusing the attention on the pile in the center. The right
hand presses on the pile four times, as the left one goes under
the table, taking the lapped aces on the way.

'l'lris is the way I present one of the most direct deck switches I
llrow. I have been using it continuously since its creator, Gabi
l'lr'(,r'ns, showed it to me, and gave me permission to use it and
lr,nch it (it was previously published in my A la Carta). This
r,wllr,lr wisely applies misdirection at its best. You start with the
rh,r,k you want to switch in your lap. The magician is going to
rlrow his audience the different wavs to shuffle a deck of cards...

"'llris r.s lltc ouu'lturttl slnqffle, otTe ntore often used by those
tuut litntilitu' tuilh pluqirul cur(ls..."
Show the aces are not in thc pile anymoro. 'l'ake the four
Aces from under the tablc, slrowirrg they hirvt' ;xrsscrl right
through it.

ll"-

'l'ltr,rlt,r'k is slrrrl'llt'rl itt tltu ttticltllc ol'lltt'tlhlc. You shouldbe

hrnlrlttg rrl il, so llrirl tlrt' 'ru(li('n(:(!rs itllcttliott is t:t'ttlttt'ctl <ln it.

Boo[< in English: The card magic of Wootly Alag6n

A book in English: Tlrc clnl rtrrgic ol'Woody Aragon

wllh only one hand, let your right hand fhll naturally to your lap,
wlrcrc it will grab the second deck.

"There's ako the Hindu shufJle, ushich consrsts of letting little

groups of cards fall, just like thk..."

Turn your body slightly to the left, placing the deck in front of
your face. Don't take your eyes off the deck, and the spectators
won't either.

"t.t., tlou can also... well, you

allknou

this one, don't'you?"

l,rrrrl< nt your audience, and ask them a blurring question as

ynrrr lxrrly turns back to its original position. Both hands come
lngr,llrtrr, and meet right over the edge of the table. Because you
rrt'r, lrnsically crossing the gaze, the audience won't look at your
Irnrrrl. ll's the perfect moment to lap the deck in your left hand,
rvlrk'lr will then be taking the bottom half of the switched in
rlr,r'lt lirrnr the right hand.

"You cen also shuffle by ctLtting the deck.

skillfully, using only one hond..."

It

can be done

Perform one or two (llrirrlicr t'rrls. lJccausc ol'lltt'sliglrt turn o1'

thebodyyou <lid llclort', lrrrrl willt llttr cxt'rrsc ol'r'ttllirrg tlrc dec:k

lul

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag(rn

A book in English: The carrl tnrtliic ol'Woody Aragon

nre

"Well, Aou can just do a regular cut, just likc eueryone does
at home uhen playing poker..."

The right hand takes the upper half of the deck, brings it
forward and, in the act of cutting, the whole body will move
forward. The left hand moves away from the table's edge,
holding its half of the switched deck. Your gaze will be directed
at the half you just tabled, so that the audience focuses on the
spot where the cut will be completed.

THE BREATHER CRIMP

Surrrc of the tricks in this book use a breather crimp
("Mrrvt.r'icft" is based mainly on it). I will now explain it, and
glvl you some of my ideas and "tips" about this marvelous
,rt tlrlr,t'l'ttgc.
'l'lrr, lrrcather crimp is a technique that Dai Vernon imported
Irurrr tlrtr world of gambling (t). I usually have one card with a
lrrr.rllrt.r'crimp in my deck, as you can use it to your advantage
rvlrr.rr nt.trrlcd, but it does not interfere the normal handling of
I lrr, r lr,r'l< wltcn not in use.

"And there you haue it: a deck that's been shuffled in seueral
u)aAS, andfinished off u:ith a traditional cut."
Complete the cut, and show your empty hands. You can ask
the audience to perform one or two "traditional cuts", should
theywish to.

As you will see, no one will remember that you hid a hand
beneath the table's edge, or even that the deck approached it,
since in their minds, they will fuse the action of the Charlier cut
and the regular cut into one smooth motion.

Hlt,lrlrr,rr Minclr,
trtU'/.

'l'lttr Vcrrron (llrrorrir:lcs

vol

r. L&1, Publishing,

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag6n

To install a breather crimp on a card, grab it face down,

pinching its center with the left hand fingers. Press with your
right hand at the same point, thumb on top and first and second
fingers on the bottom. Push hard with your right thumb on the
space between the first and second fingers, which should be
slightly separated. Drag your fingers in a diagonal line, from the
center of the card to the lower right corner, creating a small
'otrack". Rotate the card and repeat the process with the other
corners. You will end with an X-shaped mark in the card's
surface.

The crimp is almost invisible, and the card will almost stay
"breathered" forever. From now on, sensing by touch, it will be
quite simple to cut the deck so that the crimped card ends up on
bottom.

In its original form, the crimp was done with the card face up,
so that the card would end up on top, but I prefer to do the
opposite (a "reversed crimp", so to speak). It is also
recommended to use a picture card for the breather crimp, as
the complexity of the drawing helps further hide the crimp if
someone were to look directly at the card.

When I create a stack, I always try to place my crimped card at

the last position (the one at the bottom) so that the spectators
can cut as many times as they wish, but I can still return the
stack to its initial order by quickly cutting at the crimped card.
Obviously, that card is also the 5znd in my memorized stack (if
you Aronson's or Tamariz's stack, placing a crimp on the 9D will
be of great help if you later want to instantly return to the deck
to its natural order).

If I don't have

a crimped card in the deck, but I want to use

one later, I have a method for doing it in front of the audience,
in a way that flies right by them. I perform a quick ambitious
card routine, ending up with the popular bent card ending (see
"The Pop Up Card" in Expcrt Card Technique). Then,
without making any conrnt.rrl, I .just take thc sclection anc]
install a breather crinrp orr il itt ll'otrt of evcr'.yorrc. As the carcl
has bccn bcnt lt llrt' r'rrrl ol' lltt' last cl'li'r't, lltr. ittttlicncc
I

tI"

A book in English: The caxl nrirliic ol'Woody Aragon

1rr,t'r'r'ives this as a normal action lix' r'cmoving the bend in the

lrrrrl, As far as they're concerned, I am iust straightening out the
llu'rl, so that it ends up just like the rest.

belongs to a layman (I don't

to crimp your fellow magician's cards), don't be

ll'thc deck is borrowed, and

rrttggust you

tvot't'itrtl by the fact that he might notice the crimp when you
y,lvr. lrinr back the deck.

A book in English: The caltl rrrirliit: ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag6n

THE BROKEN CORNER

(Gard to Wallet)
'l'lris is an idea that combines technique with perceptive
lllrrsion, creating an effect that has all of the advantages of
rrxirrg a duplicate card, but which can be performed with a
s'r'grrllr deck, anytime, any"where: the card you'll use is not a
rlrrprlicate, but it looks like one. The only problem is, you can't
rhr it with a borrowed deck... unless the ovrner doesn't mind
yurr lrrcitlcing his cards!

ln Manhattan, u)ith

one of my far)orite young magicians: the great

Helder Guimardes. I loae this guy... andhis family!

(200e)

Wlrcn I started toying with this idea, I used it in the context

ul rrrr rrnrbitious card routine. But over the years, I've applied it
Irr rrrrrrr.y other routines, such as Peter Kane's Elongated Lady
rrr lfrrrrrcis Carlyle's Homing Card. As I want to explain this
irL,n in the context of a trick, here's a version of "Card to
.Wnllcl", which is one of the most direct ways to use it. But,
qlrnrrltl you want to, you can easily adapt it for the routine you
wnttl lo llurfbrm.
,loxt, (}rrroll, in his "Conflicts" article (r), said that a way to
;4,lvr, rrroru clrama to "Card to Impossible Location" tricks, is to
1r'r,Hr,nl lltc obiect (where the card will be) when the audience
lrlllr,vt.s tlrc card has not yet "travelled". A classic example
wurrlrl llc

1 1

Ir.

,losr. ( lrrlroll, 52

l,ovt'rs.

lit'rtl<sott

ll x rks, trtlltl.

A book in English: Thc cirrrl nritlitt' ol Wottcly Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arug(trl

Ring to Ringbox, in which the spectator belicvcs that he's still

holding "the ring" inside a silk (in reality, it's.iust a duplicate
sewn on the inside). We'll use a similar ruse here.
Start by controlling any B to the top of the deck, followed by
a 7 of the same suit. It's very easy to do this impromptu, by
using a cull. Use any kind of "stop" force (eg, riffle force), so
that you can use a double lift to show the spectator the 7 as his
"selection".
Grab the deck so that the middle pip of the 7 is at the upper
half. Ask the spectator to sign the face of the card, indicating
to sign right at the blank space under the middle pip. Don't
make a big deal of it, just indicate to him where to sign
marking the spot with your fingers.
As soon as you finish ripping the corner, the hand that holds
llrr,rkruble corner goes to the pocket, as if you were going to
plrrct, the card inside. Quickly dump the "rear" corner (the B's
lrrrk.x) arnd, pretending to change your mind, take the
rr.rrririning corner out, and hand it to a spectator to hold.

Tell him: "Well, this signature means anAone can tell rhis rs
your card... if ute look at its face. But if you look at the back,
you won't be able to tell uhich one is your card. Let me make
it easy for eueryone to keep track of it..." Grab the double
with your left hand, being very careful so that the cards stay
aligned. Then tear what looks like the upper index corner of
the 7, actually tearing both the 7 and B corners. You will be left
holding a double card with a missing corner in one hand, and
a "double corner" in the other one.

l'lrrcc the double card, face up, on top of the deck, and
r,rr.r'lrlc a double turnover. Push the top card (the eight) about
irrr irrt'lt t<l the right, covering the torn corner of the 7.
irnb thc top card with your right hand, in order to place it
palm
rlowrrwirrcl as it takes the pen, or the card box, and places it
uvr,r' l lrt' t:arcl you just tabled.
(

nn llrc table. The left hand wrist kills", turning

The first written reference for breaking a double card that

I've found is in Edward Victor's Further Magic of the

Hands (tg+6). He held the card vertically, with its

face

looking at the audience. My grip is a little bit sturdier, but very

secure. I hold the card at a horizontal position, and keep the
face towards me. The double card is kept squared with the
fingers of the left hand, as you can see in the picture. Holding
it this way makes it impossible for the cards to lose their
alignment. And, even if the grip might look a little bit weird, it
is justified by the "weirdness" of what you're doing: tearing the
corner of a card.

LL

'l'rrl<r.

llrc tlcck fhce up in your right hand and place it back on

vorrl k,l'l hancl - readjusting the deck (turning it 9oo) so that
llrr. lorrr (:onrer firces you. It will be in the perfect position for
l'I'rlrrirst"s lrottom perhn (although any other bottom palm will
rvurk

).

Allct' p:tltttirrg tlrt' t'ltt'tl, t'cilt:h ittio yttttt' lltlt:l<clt, and Ioad it
lnln llrr,w;rllt.t ;rs \'(,lr :r1l1l:tt't'tttlv l;rlic ottl lltt'wlrllct. Place the
rlirllr,l otr lltc llrlrlr', llrr':tw:tv ll'ottt llrc rlt'r'l<, Yott t'itlt ttse the

b**

A Book in English: The card magic of Wooily Arag6n

typical patter, sayrng "if this trick fails,

euerything I haue in my wallet...".

I uill

giue

A book in English: The carrl nrirllrt' ol'Woocly Aragon

Aou

l(r.turn the deck to a horizontal position, place the torn

lonror back on the table (being extremely fair so that no one
lrrrr suspect a switch) in front of the spectator, and push the
r'rrrrl tll the way into the deck, losing it completely. You can
,ilrrrl'l'lc the deck, if you wish. Then place the deck on the table,
Irrcr, rrp, turning it so that the broken corner ends up facing

Once again, take the deck with your left hand, in standard
dealing grip. Take the torn card (the B) with your right hand,
face down, and insert it in the middle of the deck. Leave about
a third of the card protruding, so that the broken corner can
clearly be seen.

\'oil.

Take the broken corner of the 7 from the spectator. Tell him
that, no matter where the card is, it can be quicldy identified
because the torn corner will only match that particular card.
Keep showing the back, and place the torn corner close to the
B. The card will not fit exactly, of course, since it doesn't
belong to the same card. But, since the two cards will have
been ripped off at the same time, the tear will be very similar,
and if you keep them at the right distance, it will look as if
both pieces belong to the same card.

l)o the magic gesture of your choice, or follow with your

lrn,lirrred patter for a card to wallet effect. Spread the deck to
right. The broken corner will be covered by the spread,
rrrrrl lhc B will now act as a double index card. Its remaining
lrrrk,x will show, allowing you to invite the audience to look for
l lrr, r'ir rcl in the spread. Tte T will have seemingly vanished.
1'orrr

l,r,t lhc spectator open the wallet himself, and find the
',i1.,,rrt'tl selection inside. Let the spectator keep it, and check
tlrrrt lhc corner fits (it will nowbe a perfect match).
N(lw you only need to find the broken 8, an easy fit if you
lnkr, irrlo account that you can locate the torn corner by simply
rilllirrg lhc inner corner with your thumb. You can ditch it

u:rinH,.your favorite method, or use

l\lrrlkr/l,trl)aul style torn and restored card.

Now you will raise the deck, so that everyone can see the face
of the card. Move the torn corner along, keeping its "place" in
respect to the torn card. Tht' scnsory illusion will be perfect
(remember the brain lcrr<ls lo "llll in" thc rrrissirrg parts of a
picture). It will krol< rrs il'vorr'r'r'r'lcirrly slrowirrg llrr, 7.

It-

it to

present

A book in English: Thc crrnl rrr;r1'rt ol Wootly Aragon

A Uook in English: The card magic of Wotttly Arag6n

MY ANTI.FARO
'l'lrr,r'r, are two moves that people usually refer to when
,,1,,.rrliirrg of an "anti-Faro". One is the sleight created by Finnish
nrrrf,,i('iiul Christian Engblom in which, just by springing the
r rr r r ls, thcy end up in alternated injog/outjog positions, just like
llrr'1' ;11'f at the moment before pushing the two halves of a Faro
l,1,,r,llrr,r' after weaving the cards. When my good friend
t'lrrisli:rrr showed me the sleight at the meetings of Escorial,
l,rrlk irr 2oo2,I thought it had to be one of the most impressive
,rrrrl rlil'l'it.rrlt sleights in card magic.

l)n nr)l wony, we will talk about the other definition of "antil,un" in lhis section. The idea of using the mathematical
Irrr,lr(.r'lics <ll'the Faro shuffle, doing "reverse Faros" by dealing
llrr,r';rrrls inlo two piles (a simple anti-Faro). Because the antiLr , ' :ilrul'll(' will appear in many of the tricks of this book (in the
.l'ruo Slrrrl'llt: and Factorial Dealing" article, and in the tricks
llr,rl ttsr, lltt' "l)crmanent Deck" principle), I will show you my
rrrr\ r,l goirrg througl-r the procedure, which is also valid for any
lrtlh llrirl rrscs an anti-Faro (Redivider, by the great Max
llirlt,n, is ir lrool< cntirely composed of tricks that use this

Performing "Window Shop Magic" in MAGIALDIA! The one and

only conztention in Vi toria-Gasteiz.

(2010)

1,r,

rlr,rlrlt'r,).

llrl lilsl llring

know is, if the number of cards is

il'thcc:ardsareodd,you
lrr rlrl its ln:lny lirrrt's;rs.yorr witrt[. So, il'tlrc tlick I want to
lrlrlnrrrr t'r'rltrircs ;ln ('\/('n ttrrtttltt't'ol'r'lrt'rls, I trstritlly add an
, ,, lrrr lin'rl, willr ;r r isilrlc rruu'l< or rr crirrP orr il, so lltitl I cir-t
, ,r ,tl\ ,lpol ;rrrrl r'(,nrr )\'r' il rrsinli ;ln\' ('\('u:i('.
.yorr slroulcl

| \r,1. \'ou cirtt'l t'rrl llt'lwtrt'n liarrls. llrrt,

8.r

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag6n

A book in English: The canl nrrrgic ol'Woody Aragon

h, I lll<e the other pile,

That means we start in this situation: There's a group of cards

that can be dealt into two piles, then gathered by placing either
pile on top, cut, and dealt again... instead of simply doing this, I
like to use an idea by Ram6n Riob6o for a kind of perceptive
false cut, which works perfectly in this situation. Actually, this
cut conveys such an image of fairness that I don't think it's
necessary for the spectator to deal the cards in piles. I even
think it's detrimental. I let the spectator cut the cards, but I do
the dealing, since it's something I have experience with. I have a
good pace and I can do very quickly, something I think is
necessary in tricks that use these kinds of processes. Here is the
whole procedure:

and place it on top of the one he just cut

jog. Then I say

(uvr,r' lhe former top half) with a slight diagonal

" ttu,ll, und the other pile..."

r.- I quickly false shuffle the cards. If the pile is not too big, then
the Charlier shuffle is an ideal choice.
z.- I let the spectator cut, and complete the cut.

I stress the fact that I'11 start

dealing on the card that the

into two piles.
I
then
deal
the
cards
spectator cut to.

3.-

rr I lrrl<t: the remaining, bottom half of the pile cut by the

,,ln'llrlor', and place it over the unsquared pile, aligned with the
lrullunr hrrlf (the previous top one, now on the bottom). I
, rrrlirrr rt. " ..:.:uill be placed right there, in the middle, at the spot
rylrt't't'

'

t1ort

t:ut to."

l'lrrrr I slowly square everything. And I finish by saying "...

ttrt11t i1's

cttrrtPlctelY lost".

ll ll llrt'sllrrctator

wants, and the trickpermits it, I go backto

,,llJr il"

l'lrr, pr,r't't,1ltivc principle that allows this false cut to work is

llrr, ,irun(,irs wlrat makes the classic cross cut force work. After
llrl,, Ir'olt,ss lhc spcctator f'eels that two piles were made, and
llrrrl orrr.ol'llrcrn wirs krst irr thc n-riclcllc of the other, exactly at
llrr, lrorliliorr ryl11rrr. tlrtr slttrt:tatol t'rrl. Ilowcvcr, this process
r rlrlrl, rr p,r't'irlt'r' irrrllrt'ssiorr ol':r rt';rl irnrl rirrttklrtt rnix than if
\ rn r)lrlv rlr';rlt tlrt't';rrrls ittlo lwo lrik's.

4.- There are now two pilcs on lltc table. I let thc s1-rcr:tator freely
choose one, and asl< Irirrr lo t'rrl llrirl pilc.

A book in English: Tltc t'irtrl ttrt;iit ol Woocly Aragon

Bool< in English: The card magic ol-Wootly At'irg,(rn

THE SWINDLE SHUFFLE

l';rrrl Curry invented a trick ("Swindle Switch", in his book
l'rrul Curry Presents) based on a move that created the

lr,r,lirrg of two cards changing order, when that never really

Irrrlrpcrred. Later, Terry Morgan, a NY magician, used the same
trh.ir (l)aul Curry himself explains it in Special Effects) as a
rvrry lo seemingly mix a group of cards (he dealt cards to the
lrrlrlc, one by one, and the audience could stop him any time,
,rrrr I lcll him to "switch" the order of two or three cards).

Wlrilc working on Mr. Morgan's idea, little by little I started to

rl,'r'r'krp the false shuffle I witl now explain. Although not
',rrilrrlrlc fbr a whoie deck, I think it is great for a group of

lnternntional gala at 4F conoention: Camilo, Bob Sheets, Willy

Monroe, me, Luis Otero, Robert Jrigerhorn, Meir Yedid, the late l.C.
Wagner, Antonio Romero, Sue-AnneWebster, Tim Ellis and Daaid

,,,

r5 and 35 cards.
'rnr,wllcle between

Slirrl by false shuffling the deck, as you ask everyone in the

irrrrlicrrt:c to think of a number between r and 5, inclusive. Tell

llrcrrr yorr will ask them for it in a moment. You need to them to

lnde.

(2010)

tlrirrli tlrc rtumber in advance, so there will be no pause in the

later.

,,lrrr l'l'lirrg prrrccss

'lirlir. tlrt' cleck ir-r Ieft hand dealing position. Ask the first
,ilx,('litlor to tcll you [l"re number he was thinking of. Let us
irrrrrp',irrc ltc srrys "'l'ltraa".'fake, one by oue, three cards with
1,,rrr li1,,lrl lrirrrrl. I)o rtol s(luillc tltctn. lrt tltc itt'tion of counting,
r,,rr will r'('v('r's(' llrc cirtrls. 'l'lrt' r'iglrl lt;ttttl titl<cs the cards,
,lrlilrllt,sptr';trlitt1,, Iltcttt.;ttttl l:t.ys Iltt'rtt olt Iltt'Itrlrlt'.

A book in English: The calrl rrrirgit' ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The card magic of Wootly AI'ag6n

Let's say the next number is also three. I{cpcztt the actions
with three cards, but lay them over the previours group of cards,
in a lower, and slightly to the right position.

,rrl)ly hands, and explain "When 11ou rffie the cards,firstfour

r'urrl.s will fall, then three on top of that four, then two...
rtttxknnly, depending on put"e chance..." This is absolutely true,
lrrrl .you are omitting an important detail: That the cards fall
rrllr,r'rrltely from the two halves. No one will think about this, as
vrrrr irrrrnediately continue "... end the same thing happens in an
t,t|riltuttd shuffle,first three cardsfall, thenfiue, then one..." as
\'nu sliu't to mimic the actions of an overhand shuffle.
f

llrrr't fbrget about presenting the

audience this "answered

r;nr,slion". Their acceptance of your definition of a shuffle is of
ulur(,sl irnportance, as it will lead them to accept the actions
llrrrl will fbllow as fair.

If the next number is two, count the cards

(reversing the
order) and place them on the table, vertically aligned with the
first group. The picture shows you this third group about to be
placed on the table.
The following group will then be placed in line with the second
group, then the next group will align with the first one, and so
on. Keep a quick rhythm, asking numbers and taking cards,
tr)rrng to reduce the importance of the actions.

Actually, the only thing you're doing is reversing the order of

the cards you have in your hand, but the process of taking the
number of cards you are asked for, resembles the "random
falling cards" idea that you presented before. You can leave the
cards on the table in a carefree way, since as long as the lower
card of the group you deposit touches the upper card of ther
previous group, the order of the cards will not be lost when you
square them.

Then ask your atttlit'ttt't': "lUlutl lruttrt1tt'ns rulu'tt rlrttt slu{'flc u

dcck o.l' r'rn'r/.s?" Itttilrtlc llrr' ;rr'liott ol'ir ril'llt' slrrtll'lc willt yottt'

ltrn, yorr'vc l'inished with all the cards, the audience will see
rvlrrrl yorr slroultl cxpect if the process really matched a real riffle
elrrrlllr,, 'l'lrt,y will sce a spread of cards after a shufile, which
111,r,rlrr lo lrc srlrrlxrtl. Actually, it is a good idea to present this
lttrrrp,r, lo lltt'irrrtlicrtt:c irt previotts tricks, after a real shuffle.
llrnl will rrrirl<c tlrcrrr tlrinl< thert sqtraring thc spread they are
tntv rir.r.irtg is llrc ctprivrtltrttl lo u r:otttlrlclc, rrritl shuffle.
I

A Book in English: The card magic o1'Wottrlv Arirg(ru

This is not the truth, but you will create thc [ccling of it being
so. Before squaring the cards, both as a "Parenthesis of
Forgetfulness" (1) and as a way to reinforce the final effect,
remind the audience "A deck, uhich u;as randomly mixed
before, nout mixed by each and euery one of us, by choice... I
don't tuent to touch the cards..." Ask for a member of the
audience to square the cards himself and, if the trick permits it,
to cut the deck. Everyone, including the spectator who squares
the cards, will think the cards are completely mixed.
This is not a shuffle that you can use every time because of the
time it takes to execute, and the direct method it uses. But, at
the same time, those characteristics are precisely what make it
an ideal choice when the effect will happen right after the
shuffle, and depends heavily on the initial order of the cards
(new deck order, coincidence effects, poker demonstrations,

((1-r'--

etc...)

rF

Js s

ITIffiKffi W$Kffi ffiffiW ffiffiffiffi

sg

Revelations
5!rner_sKll{s

Divinations and Pneeiiett*ms

Poker Demomstnati*ms

(r) The Magic of

tL^

Ascittri<r Vol.

t "'l'lrr,

Stlrrctrrr.ltl ('ortct'pl iorr ol' Mlgir

A book in English: The cartl

A Book in English: The card magic ol'Woorlv Arag6n

rrrrrlqir

ol Woocly Aragon

COINGIDENCES with Incidences

l,,lrlrl,lC'l':

\ r k,t'k

is shuffled several times, both by the magician and the

'rrrlir,n('c. It is finally mixed face up and face down. Two

',r,llllions, one face up and one face doum, are made. Theyare
,,lrnrvrr, irrrcl they happen to be mates! Then the cards are dealt
In lrvo llilcs. Once again two cards are selected, stressing the
llrrrr.) ll'ccrlom of both choices. Even so, both cards match
'rllrrin, liin:rlly, one of the halves is shuffled again, at the
,nrrlitn('("s will. But once again, the cards in both halves match...
rrrrrl llrr, ncxI r)nes, and so on with the rest of the deck!
rrl,,'l'l llr:
\rrrurgc llru cleck in a mirror stack (Rusduck's stay stack). This
nrirnri llrirt tlrc tirst card is the last card's mate, the second one
rrrtlrlt(.s llrc sccond to last, and so on, until the last two mates
rrrr,r,l irr llrt. t'cntcr of the deck.

tlil,,

t'il()t):

'ilrn l lry rkrirrg any number of Faro shuffles (the mirror stack
r''lririns, rro nrlttct'how many times you Faro the deck). Do not
lltrl',lr llrr. slrrrl'l.lc, llut instead leave the cards half weaved and
',lrrlrrrl llrt'ttt ort tlrt: tirlllt:, llces down. IIere I use some of Juan
l,rrrru iz's r.vil nrst's lirr thc liaro shtrl'flt. (r) to hide the fact that
lll'r rrt'rlr; ;tt'r'wt';tvcrl ()n('on ortt'. Asl< ;r sllt'r'litlor t<l your left to

rrr llr'rrtlllrlrl
Itllrt

&r

rrrrrsir': \,'ol.

L Sorr;rlir. liilsl

rrrnvr,rrrr.rrl. Slrrrlllt,s. Alrotrt thc

A llook in English: The card magic ol Wootly Arag6n

"finish the shuffle" pushing both halves squar'o, iurd closing the
spread.

A book in English: Thc curtl lrrrl',i1

,,1 Woocly

Aragon

l,rlrlt,, while the right hand holcls Ilrc carcls that were on top of
llrr, r'lrosen one.
Now you have to peek at what will become the key card: the
Itr:il lirce down card on top of the selection. It might be the one
rtglrl on top, which means it will now be the face card of the
tlruul) you hold in your right hand, or it might be a few cards
,r\vrv. ln this case, after tabling the selection, both hands come
lulir,llrt'r'for a second, as if squaring the cards. Then, as an
rrllr,r'llrought, the right hands turns over and points to the tabled
r irrrl.,.r, irs you say "tuell, you could haue chosen this card, that
t,nt'... ot'uny other card". At this moment, peek at the key card,
rrrrrrrorizc it, and turn over again the right hand, so everything
lr rnlis.irrsl the same as a moment ago.

Pick up the deck and locate the matching cards in the center.
Cut the deck at this point. Arrange both halves facing each
other, but one of them face up and the other face dovrn, and
present them this way to a member of the audience at your
right. "NILU it is your turn to shulfle" say, "but this time some oJ
the cards will be face up and some usill be face dolDn". Ask hinr
to shuffle the two halves, but not to square them. (Before it was
you who shuffled the cards and he who squared, but the script is
designed so that every,.thing will be mixed in the audience's
memory, in order to create the feeling that both spectators
shuffled). After the shuffie, tell him to spread the cards, ancl
square them.

At this point of the routine I usually grab the deck and executt'
the wiper move, to make it seem that the deck is mixed further',
but it is not necessary.

FIRST PHASE:
Spread the deck in yotr lutttrls skrwl.y, ittrcl asl< tltt's1lct:tittot'to
your left to lout'h ittty lltcc rl,,wtt t';tt'tl. llt'will t'ltoost'otttl, :ttt<l
yotr will nlov('.your lt'l'l lr;rttrl lottvrtt'tl itt ot'rlt't'lo lt';tt't'il rltl llrr'

{a

Nlrv you nccrl to locate the face up mate of the key card.
ll,r irn:i(,ol'llrc nril'rrrr stacl<, and the fact the two halves were
rrrlrr,rl wlrilt' lirt:ing cach other, it cannot be far away from the
1,,,r r'irlrl ilsr.ll'. Irr lirt'l, tlrc ncxt l'acc rrp card (the one under the
1.,,r lrrlrl's rrurlt.) will lrc thc sclccliorr's nrirtc. You'll now force
lltl'r lirt'rl ott lltt'sllccltrtor lo yortt't'iglrl.
I trrnr;lly ttsc llrc cl;rssic lottt.;rs, il'rlonc cor'r'r'r'llv, il lras altnost
,r |tilrrri,:iil('('(,ss r';rlio irr llrr.siltiltliorr \()u t(,in. Sllrrl sllrf'tttling

A book in English: The carci nurp,it' ol'Woocly Aragon

A Ilooli in English: The card magic ol'Woody Arag6n

lrr ,,pilt' of the apparent freedorn that you are giving to the
1,r r l;rlor', you will now try to force the first selection's mate on
lrtrrr, lrrsl like before. But this time, instead of using the classic
l, r, r', \'()ll will use a different, much more subtle method, whose
,r, , ,",:, rlcltends precisely, on having him lose interest in using
lrr lrr,r,rlonl of choice. That's what makes this phase so strong.

the carcls to the spectator on your right, and ask him to touch
one, just as yoLl would do in a regular classic force. But, when her
is about to touch a card, you tell him "touch anA card... but ct
face up one". His last sentence warns him not to touch a face
down card, making him hesitate for a moment. Due to timing,
he will accept the next face up card (the force card), which is
casually next in the spread...

\\'lrirl yorr will do is this: When you fan the cards in front of
l,rrrr, l,r'rrlr,the key card. The card to be forced is the one under

Leave this card next to the first selection, and put the decli
away. Reveal the first coincidence. Then, isolate the choserr
cards together, face up, in the top right hand corner of the table.

rl
11.;1, .yotrr thumb to "arrange" the fan, and exaggerate the
nrrf,, lrctween the two cards, so there will be a greater
t, n,,r( )n o1' the force card in the fan. Then ask the spectator to
I' n(l ir lirrgcr, and touch a card, and mimic the action with
,,lr rr1,,lrl lrirncl. He will follow you with his finger, extending it
,,,,1 llrr.rr vorr will slightly reposition your arm so that the forcing
,,r,1 1r,,,, r'iglrt in f-ront of the spectator's finger.

'trr11

SECOND PTIASE:

,1rr

You will now deal the deck in two piles, separating the face ulr
cards from the face down ones.
Say that you will attempt to repeat the feat, but in a differerrt
way, trying to use your intuition to make the coincidenct'
happen again. When you're done dealing, grab the face dowrr
pile, and do a fan with it. Show the faces to the spectator to yorrr
left, so that he can see all the cards are different. Tell him thrrt
there can be no shadow of doubt that he has a free selectiorr
Show him the fan, face down, and ask him to touch a calrl
When he does, cut the fan at this point, again grabbing tlrr'
selection and the cards under it in the left hand, and the rest ol
the cards in the right. You will once again table the selectiorr.
but now, both hands get together, and the left hand deposits it:,
cards on top of the right hand ones, thus cutting the pile at tlr,'
place of the selection. Then, table the half, taking a peek at tlr.
bottom card of the pile as you do so.

The mate of this card will once again be your key card in llr,'
face up pile. Take the pile and, as you fan it, explain to tlrr'
spectator on your right what lrc will rlo. You will presenL lrirrr
with the fan, just likc you.jrrsl rlirl witlr thc prcvious spccrlirlor'
But this tirne all the r:lrrls rlill lrt' l;rcc ttp, so tlurl hc cau st'r' llrl
card that he is r:hoosinli. Ill rvill llrlrr l'r't'r'lv Iorrt'lr ;r t':rrtl irn,l.
once itg:tilt, tltt't't'will lrc ir t rirtt'trlrttct'.

'1,

lrrrrr lo lowcr lris f ilrgt'r'trrrd torrt:h lr c:itld.

go%ofthetimes

lr' r, lll lurrr'lr llrc otrt' wt' wtrrr[.

\rrrl ;rl llrir; r't'r't'rrrorrcrrl, 1,orr rlill rlinlirrtt'tltr. t:onrplete

lr,,,l,trrol rlroicr., lrrrilrlirrti lr.nsiott in olrllt lo ttt;tlic lltt'ttttlst of

ffiffiffiffi1

A book in English: 'l'ltc t rrrrl rrirl,r( ()l Wootly Aragon

A llook in English: The card magic ol'Wootlv All96n

the effect. Tell him "This card? Are you

onother one if Aou Luant. This uill
Aou choose. This one, that one..."

can touch
happen tto tttuLter uhich one
srtr'<"? Ytsu

And the spectator will not change his mind, rnost of the time.
Why should he? The previous selection was completely free. You
just promised him the same freedom as the first spectator. To
make things even better, the cards are face up, so there can be
no doubt that, should he choose a different card, the resulting
mate would be completely different. Most importantly, you gave
him the additional complete freedom to change his mind, and
you announced (with total conviction) that the coincidence will
happen no matter what card he chooses. He does not know what
method you are going to use to make the coincidence happen,
but at this moment in time, he probably doesn't believe that
changing his mind will make any difference.

like this: After thc st't'ontl st'lcction is done, leave it

to the first one, anrl tlo rro[ say they will match. Just
irurounce that, after two frec sclcr:lions have been made, you
rvill now try to detect where a coincidence might happen. Cut
llrr. sccond packet at the point the selection was made.
l'r'oceed

Irrct, up next

l,r.;rve it on the table, to the right of the other half, facing

rlrrwn, and turn the top two cards face up. go% of the times they
rvill rrot match (if they do, show the coincidence and stop at this

puint). However, the card on top of the left half will be the new
hr'1' 1';11'6. Start dealing pairs of cards on the table (the audience
rvill scc there are no matches). If there is one, just keep on
,lr,irlirrg cards until you deal the key card's match on the right
;rrL.. Slop right there.

will happen with the next two

l)cal the right halfs top card and show it. Then turn the
llll lrirll's top card face up... and show that the two cards do not
rrrrrlclr. Show hesitation for a second.
r\rrrrounce that the coincidence

, ru'rls.

Thus, under conditions of total freedom in both spectators'

selections, you now reveal a second coincidence, and that
usuaily hits the audience very hard. Even better, you can now go
on to the third phase.

But now, my dear reader, you are probably wondering what

would have happened if the force faiied, or if the spectator
wanted to change to a completely different card. Don't worry, as
I said before, the force will work perfectly due to the confidence
that you will have in its success. And this confidence comes
from the fact that, from the very beginning, you know that
NOTHING could go wrong, even if the spectator selected a
different card.

the force card is not selected, you simply switch to a

different effect, as you are now in perfect position to perforrr
one of the possibilities in Eddie Joseph's Staggered: You nevel

If

said that the two selections would match. Instead, you told thc
audience that you will use yottr powers of intuition to make surt'
that, despite the total Ii'r.t'rloril ol'choice, thcrIc will llc anothcl'
coincidence.

'l'lrt,rr, as if suddenly realizing something, you point out that

llrr r';rrrl cloes not match the one next to it... but it does match
lll'r'lrtl the spectator chose from the face up cards in the fan.
Ilril coirrcidence is a double one: If you stopped at a black king
rn, l rr rt,tl nine, the two selections will also be a black king and ei
'
r ,'r I rrirrr.! l)ut the four cards together; face up, over the matching
r irrl:i l11)lll phase f.

i;rllrcr thc cards. One of the halves will remain the same (the
,l,',rll r';u'tls are taken together and added face dovrn, to the pile).
l lrl ol lrr.r' half will be cut at the point you stopped dealing (turn
llr,, rlr.;rll t'itrcls lace dor.rm, then take the rest of the pile and drop
rl 'rn lol)).'l'hus, each halve is, once again, in reverse order to
Iltr' uIltr,t'ottc.
(

llllil) l,llASI,]:
l'r,ll orrt'ol'llrr,s;rccllrlols llrirl, lirr llrr. l;rsl t'oirr<'idcnce, one of

llrr lrrlvr.s will lr,':;lrulllcrl,;rnrl Ilrt'ollrcr rryill lit,t.p its current

,,rrlr't ,\slt lrirrr lo poirrl ;rl llrr'lrilc lr,'rr';rrrlr; lo lt;rvt'sltrrltflccl,

A book in English: Thc crrrrl nr;rl'r(' ol Woody Aragon

A llool< in English: The card magic of Wootl.y Arag(ln

and table the other one next to him (if you wAnt, you can ask
him to put his hand over the pile, so that it is even more
impossible for you to change or modify the order of the cards).

in an atternpl to :ulupt the three phases of

lirn;u'iz's Total Coincident:c [o a singie deck, whi]e
Irrlor'porating my own techniqucs and handling. I chose to
Irrllrrrlt: this routine for two reasons. Not only do I think it is a

After false shuffling the other half, announce that now

"eueryone toill participate" in shuffling the cards even further.
Execute the swindle shuffle, as previously described.

1',,r,rl

Gather the "mixed" half, and hold it in your right hand, face
up. Ask the spectator to give you the other one, taking the
unmixed half face up in your left hand. Everyone will see the
two face cards match. Pause, and let the image register in the
audience's minds. Then push both cards with your thumbs, and
deal them on the table. Two matching cards will be, once again,
at the faces of the two halves. Be careful so as to stop for a
moment, keeping your hand still, every time you show a new
pair of cards, so everybody can see the total coincidence. Start
dealing cards, two by two, until you run through the whole deck.

ADDITIONAL REMAITI(S:
This is lny vcl'siorr ol'llrl cl;r:lsic coint'itlt'ttcc t'ottlittt'lxtsctl ort
thc ntit't'ot'sl;tt'l< (r l.;r Nllrrlirr Nltslt's Ottttlitttt). I rlcvt'lrlllt'rl il

It

nrrurv /&rs ago,

lrick, but it also combines several of the techniques that

,rrl cxltlitined in this book.

A book in English: The canl nurltrt ol'Wrlocly Aragon

A llook in English: The card magic of Wootly Arag6n

THE CHEERLEADER
l'lris is one of my many approaches to the spelling effect. This
joining them into a solid block,
rllllr llrtr advantage that everything apparently happens without
llrr rrrirgician touching the deck.

rrrlirrtr s)mbines several effects,

l,llrlrl,lcT:
l'lrr. rltrc:l< is divided in four piles. A member of the audience
one of them, shuffles it, and freely thinks of a card in
llrrrl grilt'. [[e loses the card in the deck himself, and then cuts
llrr, rk'r'l<. 'fhe magician asks him to spell his selection, dealing
,rrr,('ru'(l on the table for each letter. At the end of the spelling,
I I rr',ir,h.r'tt:rl card appears.
, lrooscs

don' t know why they are

trying to make me look handsome, rohen

that's impossible.

t't I ti st,:'r-uP

l'lris llit:h needs a small set-up, but it is very easy to prepare

llrr, l'|.y. .lust look through the deck for rz non-diamond cards
r\,lrrrrr1, virlrrcs ure 4, S, g, J or K (these values spell with four
L,lllls), 'l'lrosc go on top of the deck, and right under them,
1'lrrlr, rr r';rrrl with a normal breather crimp (unlike the one I
,h,,,r'r'ilrcrl lrcrlirrc, crirnp the card on the face, so that it will be on
lrrp rvlrr.rr .yorr t:rrt t<l it).

,n

Iutr slrorrltl lx. irlrlt' 1o idcntify thc r:r'inrpecl card at a glance.

It,,trirllY v(,lr ('iul t':rsil.y tlistinguislt ir t'r'irttlrt'rl clrtl by looking at
ll ,lrirr'1,, lrrrt il'y()lr'r'('irr rlorrlll,.yolr (';ul lrr;rt'li it snritll pencil dot

A book in English: Thc

A tlook in English: The cartl tttrtgic ol Wootlv Allg6n

on the card's back, or uncrimp one of th() ('ot't)('t's (leaving a very

easy to spot crease on the card).

rr

cards.

nrir,'r( ol'Woody Aragon

llow you proceed depends on whiclt pile the spectator put his
',,'lrt'lion on, as your goal is to get thc Pile C on top of the one he
1u',1 ;rlaced his pile. I use a great method, created by the Spanish

METHOD
Start by cutting the deck into 4 piles. First, cut to the lz card
group (with the aid of the breather crimp) and leave it in the
center of the table. Overhand shuffle the rest of the deck,
transferring the crimped card to the bottom of the pack. Cut off
about a third of the packet, and put it to the left of the first one.
Leave the rest of the deck on the right, and then cut a fourth
packet, placing it further to the right. After this, there will be 4
aligned piles on the table, from your point of view, left to right:
Pile A, with indifferent cards; Pile B, with the rz-card setup; Pile
C, with the crimped bottom card (I left it face up in the picture,
so you can easily see it); and Pile D, with more indifferent cards.
Tell your audience that from here on, you will not touch the

clrl

rrrlqicil n Ramon Riob6o.

ll

lrt' placed his pile on one of the piles at the sides (A or D),
tlr.rr ;rsl< him to reassemble the deck, starting with the furthest
lrtlr'(tlrc one on the opposite side goes on top of the center pile,
,r rr,l I lrosc two over the pile in which the selection lies). It will be
, ,'r y ck':lr if you mime the actions for the spectator.

ll llrc t'ards are placed

on top of the center pile (C), tell him to

' rl rn(l txrmplete the cut. Then discard the other two piles,
,rr rrr1,, I lrat

they have been eliminated.

lrr irrry (:ilse, regardless of whether you are using the whole
,1,, l, or orrly half of it, the crimped card is in the center and the
,,lr,r'lion lics rz positions below it.
\',1, llrt. spcctator to cut the (ha10 deck. Because of the crimp,
tlr,'rr' ;u'r. nrilny opportunities for him to cut right to it. Glimpse
tlr, l,irr'li ol'the top card and confirm that it is the crimped card.
ll tl r,,rr'1, tlrcn ask him to cut once again. If the crimped card is
,till rrol orr lo1t, then give the cards to a second spectator and tell
lrirf f "f /(,1, t'iln c.llt, tOO".

ll irllr.r'rrll llrosc attempts, you still don't see the crimped card
1,,1r, t,rrl it yourself as you say "That's right. Eueryone can
, trt l'ltt, itttltortttnt thing is for the card to be completely lost in
,,ir

tlt, rlr,r'l.".

Use magician's choice to force Pile B on a member of tht'

audience, and ask him to thoroughly shuffle it. After that, tell
him to spread the cards in a fan in front of him so that he cart
see all of the cards, and choost'rttly orle he that likes. Then he is
to put that card on top rtf rtltv olltt't'1tilc, shuffle the remaining,
cards in his hand, antl ;rtrl lltt'ttt ott tolt o['thc strlct'tiolt.

IL

Irr rrro:;l (';ls(.s.yorr won't need to cut, but if this ever happens,
tlr, ,rr'lrnrr is so wcll r:overecl (by all the other cuts) that people
, ' tll r rlvlr rt.rnt'rnbcl that yotr touchecl the cards.

l,'ll

tlrr.;rrrrlicncr. llurl yorr lr';rnrt'rl llris tricl< flrrm a mentalist

llirrlr,r'. 'l'lrc slrr.r'lirlol' rrrrrsl rrow lltirrli ol'lris t':rrrl .iust like a
,1r,, rlr';rrlr't' worrlrl: So, il ltr, wtrs llrirrl'irr1,, ol llrr' ()trccn <lf
I lr.rnrl,rrrlr;, lrt.rvorrlrl llrirrli "( littt' tttr'tt (,)" "( ii 't.tttt' rr I/", ltrrtl so
,

lrl

A Book in English: The cartl tttitgtt' ol'Woorly Arag6n

A book in English: Thc carrl

rrur1,,rr'

ol Woody Aragon

on until the final "Give me an S". ThaL is ltow ltc must mentally
spell the name of his thought of card. 'l'cll hirrr to take the cards,
and get ready to deal them one by onc ortltt the table, following
your instructions, as he thinks of the card nttnte's letters.

the spectator does mentally spell his card, he will feel a

greater impact himself (because it is as if you were able to hear
his thoughts). If he doesn't, it is not realiy important, because
you are the one who will really spell the card, and the final
spelling will prove to everyone else that you could read his

If

thoughts.
Look at the eyes of the spectator as you point to the place on
the table where he's supposed to deal the cards one by one. Ask
him to deal, 4 cards in a row (this is the value of the card). After
the first two cards, the rhythm for the additional cards should
be similar to saying "Hit Me" when playing Black Jack. You
hesitate momentarily, and then want him to deal another card.
Then point to a second row, and ask him to deal 2 more cards
("Of'). Finally, ask him to deal a final row of five cards. When he
is holding the sixth card, instead of pointing to the table, open
your hand and say "Right there! Stop!"

At this moment, even though the selection has never been

named aloud, it really does seem as if you were able to know it,
because the spelling is correct. Remind everyone you never'
touched the cards, and ask the spectator to tell everyone thc
card he was thinking of.
l

If it's a club, for example "Jack of Clubs", quickly spell '7ock"

with the four cards on the first row, then "of', then "Clubs" witlt
the five cads on the third row. Finally ask him to turn over tht'
card he's holding.

If it's a Spade or a Heart, then you will do the same, but whcrr
you get to the final row point to the card the spectator is holdirlg
as the final '3" of the spell, rttttl itsl< ltim to turn it over. It will [rt'
the selection.

l-

AI)I)ITIONAL REMARKS
'l'lrr, lirirness of the choices and the fact that the magician
lr,\'r.r' louches the cards after the selection makes it seem
Inrgrossilrlc for the magician to know the name of the card. But
tlrr, l;x,lling clearly indicates that you really were able to discern
ll,, irlr,ttlity. And what's more important, if you are skillful
',ruu|,,lt in your presentation, the fact that the card appeared at
llrr, r,rrtl ol'thc spelling sequence will just be a CONFIRMATION
l, Ilrc rrrrtlitrnce that you knew the thought of card. Even though
llrr,r'tkrrr't know the real method, and have no clue as to how
,r,ulrl yorr llossibly do it without touching the cards, they must
rrrrrllrrrlt, that yoll could not have moved the card to a
rlr,lr,r'rrrirrctl position because you didn't know its identity. The
urlntr, ol lltt. t::rrrl cxisted only in the mind of the spectator!

A book in English: Tho caltl rrrirgic ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The cartl tttitgic ol'Wootly At'ag6n

ROUTINED SPELLING
'l'lris is one of the routines that I have worked on and
Itrr;lrrrved over the years. Being a fan of stacked decks, I never
tttrrlcrrtrted the potential of the spelling plot, even though I
llrlrrk it is really hard, at least in the Latin culture, to achieve a
prr,rrl magical impact with it. Over the years, I have adapted
Huur(! ideas for the Si Stebbins stack to create several
ittrh'pcndent spelling tricks. I started to combine them and
t'r,rrlizud that, if properly structured, they could merge into one
vr,r'y llowerful and original routine.

The banner

for my one-man show, next to the wonderful Toletam

theatre, in my olon citY, Toledo.
(2010)

l,illlc by little, I developed the routine that I am about to

r,rplrrin. I've had tremendous success with it in front of lay
rrurlit,nccs (because of its virtues, I regularly use it to start a
r'L nt,-rr1l session), but it has also served me well with magicians
(l worr the first prize in an Spanish close-up contest in zoo7,
rurrl, vcry recently, the Award of Merit at the IBM convention
r r I I in t)allas... and right now I'm thinking, that when they find
rrttl lltirt the only techniques that I used were a couple of false
qlrrrl'llcs... they'll hate me!). My thoughts when performing the
r nrrlirrc (lnd winning the prizes) were with the Spanish maestro
Alli'r,rlo lilorensa, a great supporter of spelling tricks.
llttirt'lttrtatcly, he passed away just before I could fine tune the
r nrrlirrc, so allow me to use these pages to honor his memory.
lilrtrtic't':
llsirrg ir slrul'llctl tlut:l<, thc nragician slrows the audience that
lll)l)(!irr ll.y color irccolcling to tlrt':rrrrlit.rrt:tr's wishes, when
ripr.lls
lrr,
lltr, st'lr,r'lt,tl t'olor'. llc t.rrrplrirsizt.s llt:rt this only

I ru(lH

A book in Englislr: 'l'ltc t'rrrtl nrirJ,r( ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc caril tttrtprt'ol Wootly Arag6n

happens when the cards are dealt as tl)(' spt'llirrg is done, not
just by dealing the same number of t:itrtls. "ll is spelling aloud
that makes the magic happen!". Al'tcr tlris color test, the
magician shows that suits can be also spellccl, with the same
amazing results.

Slrow the deck and do any conrplctc ftrlse shuffle. Tell them to
rurrrrc either color: red or black. Spell the named color, and

To raise the stakes, in the next phase the magician does not

',lrow that you get a card of the chosen color. It's not a great
,'lli,r't (there's a fifty-fifty chance), but tell the audience you can

touch the cards! The spectator can shuffle as much as he wants,

choose a card (a genuinely free choice, whose identity the
magician will completely ignore), and lose it in the deck. He can
even switch the position of the cards as he desires, and the
selection will appear when the spectator himself spells and
deals.

l,'l

ltST PIIASE: Color spclling.

r,pr,trt it...

will always spell transferring cards from the deck in the

changing the order, and
',lrowing the card spelled to by turning all of the right hand's
I rr'(ls lilce up to show the bottom card. So, if the spectator
Yorr

l,'ll lrlnd to the right hand, without

r,r'ls "red", take off three cards one at a time (each card going
rrrrrk'r'ncath the previous ones), and then show that the bottom
,,r.f

Finally for the astonishing final climax, a card is again freely

selected and, as the data of the card (suit and value) is spelled,
the deck will tell us the exact identity of the selection, find its
color matching mate, and even show the audience what would
have happened ifthe spectator had chosen a different card.

THE STACK:
For this routine, I use a kind of reduced, altered version of the
Si Stebbins stack that I call "Rosary g".It is a rosary kind of
-!.o, 6,
stack because I have memorized the values sequence:
4,
A, J, 9, S, 2, K.The order of the suits is the SHCD which I
memorized using the classic mnemonic "SHoCkeD". So, the
first four face down cards in the stack are 1oS, 6H, 4C and AD.
Stacking the cards this way, you'll have a cyciic sequence of thc
36 cards. The rest of the deck (16 cards) are the values that are
not included in the rosary, which are 3, 7, B, and Q, which, yotr
may not have noticed, are all spelled with five letters.
Stack the cards in Rosary 9 order and, cut the cards so that tht'
5H is the top card, and the gS is the bottom one. Place a Jokcr'
under the gS. Put the rest of'tltt' tlct:l< (the r6 crttrls ttot incluclctl
in the Rosary 9) in CSIII) ("('rrSllt'l)") ortltrr'- : lrlirt'l<, itttcl z t'ctl
(the ordcr of valttcs tl<tcsn'l ttutllt't'). (lttl tt Slxrrlc lo lltt'lo;l att<l

prrt this gr'olll) ott loll ol

llrl rllcli.

irll ol'the stack (the last card to be dealt) is a red card. Then
l,rl,r,rrll of the cards in the right hand and, either transfer them
lr r llrr. lrottom of the deck, or table them face up.

\l llris point, you will have to take something into account: If

tlr,'r'irrtl you just spelled to is a Club or a Diamond, then the
,l'r'('lrlor can freely choose a color, and the spelling will work
1,,'rlr.r'lly.'l-he situation is the same as in the beginning, and you

,,rr irsl( krr a color again and repeat the effect. If you end up
gr,'llirrg to a Spade or Heart, then the next spelling will not worl<
,rt ,rll (irr cither case). Far from tr)rrng to correct this with sleight
,,1 lr;rrrrl, you will use this to your advantage, removing from the
,rurlir,n('(,'s ntind the idea that the counting always works, or the

irli,;r llr;rl nr:rthematics are somehow involved. Moreover, you

"rll r.nrpowcr the magical ritual of spelling the letters. "Bttt
l,'1tl,t" you say "Son7e of you might think that this altuays
rlr u'lr,,,.. I lottt rrtcut!) letters does "Black" haue... fiue? Well, look
rrlrrtl ltrtltltcrr.s i/' I corufi fiue cards, but do not spell..." Count
lir. r'rrrrls, lnrl show tlrat you get a red card. "See, it doesn't
t t't,t'h I l\/rll, il trtiqlil ruork sorLe of the time, but that uould just
1,, I'ttt'r' clttttur,, brrrrrr.sa it oril11 tutn'ks I|VERWIME u-then I
1,,'ll lltt' t'olot'... Wlrrtl tlo tlrttt tutrttl rn<, lo sltall? ll.ecl or black?"
llr,',,trl1,rlt.tiril lo lr.rrrurrllt'r'is tlrirt il'llrr.t'rrltl sltclled to is a
llr,rrl,llrlrt votrrlrorrlrlcorrrrl 5 irrslt';rtl ol spr.llirrg "/lftlr:/r". If the
,.rr,l ';prllt.rl lo i:r;r lip;rrlr', llrcrr lorr slr,,rrlrl corrnl 11 irrstt':ttl ol'

A book in English: 'l'ltc t'rrrrl rrr:r1,,rt ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc crrnl trrtlitt' ol Wootly Arlgcin

spelling "red". That is, in these cascs, :tlwrt.ys trsc the opposite
color of the last card as an examplcr. 'l'lrctt yor.l can continue
spelling until you have exhausted thc l(r t:itt'cls above the 5H, or
until there are not enough cards [o cotttitrue with another
spelling. You will be abie to spell the colors three, four, or five
times.

This means you will have to "jazz" a little, depending on the

circumstances, because each spelling depends on the audience's
choice and/or the resulting face card.

I know the effect of spelling one of two possible colors is not

that amazing (nor do I try to sell it as such, actually I do the
opposite). But do not underestimate the importance of this
phase. One of the problems with many spelling tricks is that it's
the magician who decides the word to be spelled. This phase is
created precisely to avoid this fault.
SECOND PHASE: Suit Spelling.
Announce that you will go one step further, and cut the deck
to position the 5H on top (you can just spread the deck to show
the shuffled state of the deck and spot the 5H, or you could use
a short or crimped card, if you prefer). Really shuffle the bottom
16 cards (I usually combine a full deck false shuffle with a real
shuffle of the 16 card group). Say "Watch this: if I spell
DIAMOND..." spell diamond and turn the cards in the right
hand face up, showing AD. "Oh uell, I did say DIAMOND, so
there's only ONE diamond..- I should haue said DIAMONDS
plural..." Place the AD packet face up on the table and spell
Diamonds, and you will now get the 4D. Place this pile next to
the AD pile.
Continue spelling suits, placing each pile next to the previous

one. You should spell the remaining suits in this order':

HEARTS (KH), CLUBS (,IC) ancl SPADES (65). Suddenly, as il
having an idea on thc sprtt' o[' lltc momcn[, .yott will spt'll
JOI(ER, and you will gct lo ottr'. Sltow it to tltt';ttttlicttct: ittttl
removc it; cithcr'plirt'in1i il insirlc l llot'l<t'l ot'ittst llrrltirrg il
asirlt'.

Al tlris rroment, all of the cards belonging to the Rosary 9

,,lrrlli rrrt,on the table. The cards in your hand are the 16 non,rlirckr,rl r:ards, so it's the perfect time to move on to the...
I I I I ltl)

I'HASE: The spectator spells.

lirvr'llrt' t6 cards to a spectator,

whose name is 5 or 6letters

'l'lris isn't a restriction, but it's better than a long name.
\rr\rvlry, you'll be able to "adjust" to any given name. You will
lr,rr r. lo l'irrrl <tut the names of some people in your audience, so
\,,u ("ut t'lroose the right one. In while, reassemble the piles on
1,,rr1,,

llrr, lrrlrk. irr rcverse order (pick up the last pile you placed on the
it onto the previous one, and then repeat with
tlr,' r'r,rrr;rirring piles so you end up recombining all the packet),
'rrll llrc r':rrrls will be back in Rosary 9 stack order. Put this
r,rrlrr'l ltsitlt'.
t.,rlrlr' ;rrrtl pl;rcc

lr,l':, irrr;rgirrc his llame Peter. Ask him to shuffle his

cards

rrrlqlrlv, lrt't'trusc "'thc spelling ritual uorks, no matter how

'r,
,,rrt''lt tlrnt sltttl.'lk, lltc crtrds!". Ask hirn to select a card, but to do
it l,r ';lrrllirrg: lllrvc lrirrr tlt'irl ontr t'irlrl onto the table for each
l. ll,'r ol lris nilnr(,. l' l,l 'l'-1,1, irntl looli rrt tlrt. top card (that
tlr,

1,, l,nl',,; lo "l{"). ;\sli lrirrr lo rt'rrrt.rrrllr.r'llrt't';rrrl, rr.1ll:rcc it face

,l,rrn rrr lop ol llrr,orrcs prr.r,iorrslY rlr';rll,:;lrrrlllc llrc rt'st of the

A book in Englislr: 'l'ltc cirltl tttrrlitt' ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: The cartl tttitgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

cards in his hands, and put them ott to;r ol' tltc cards he just
dealt.

This procedure will make the selection end up sth from the
face of the pile, or 12th if you count from the top. For the next
effect to work, we need to have it r3th from the top, so you will
have to transfer one card from the bottom to a position higher
than the selection. If the Spectator's name had six letters (e.g.
GEORGE), you would have to move two cards from the bottom
to the top. To do this, you will use a fan shuffle. Ask the
spectator to make a card fan, as best he can. You will now use a
clever excuse, and say "Just in case I sato the bottom card, take
it and insert it somettshere in the middle" of the fan. Then ask
him to take the top card, and lose it, once again, in the middle of
the fan. Then tell him that, if he wants, he can even take one or
two more cards from the top, and lose them in the middle. The
truth is, that as long as he doesn't insefted a card below the
bottom 4 cards, it doesn't matter how much he shuffles the top
twelve, as the selection will still be in the r3tr' position. The
feeling of a totally fair shuffling and selection process (the
spectator selects and buries the cards in the pile himself),
together with the real shuffle done at the beginning of this
phase, will completely remove from the audience's mind the
possibility that a stack could be the method behind the spelling
effect.

When the spectator (or fellow magician!) has finished mixing

up his card, reinforce the conditions: you never touched the
cards, nor will you touch them. Ask him to name aloud ther
selection. As all of the cards' values spell with five letters, yotr
just focus on the suit in order to know how to instruct him to
spell the card:
IF
IF
IF
IF

it
it
it
it

is
is
is
is

XXXXX OF CLUBS
a HEART, spell XXXXX OF HEARTS
a SPADE, spell XXXXX OF SPADES.
a DIAMOND, spcll XXXXX DIAMONI)S.
a CLUB, spell

l,lach word goes in a separatc rrrw. Il'thc selection is a club,

llrcn the card will be the top caltl ol'thc pile in the spectator's
Irrrnd. In every other cases, it will lrc the last spelled letter.

As a nice additional touch, when you get to the last letter of

llrr,value, remember that there are 3 more cards with the same
rrrlrrc in the group of 16 cards. This makes it very likely that a
lrrrrl with the same value as the selection will appear at the right
h'llcr'. Peek at the card that belongs to the value's last letter and,
tl il rrratches the selection's value, turn it face up. That is, if the
,,r.lr.t'tcd card is the 7D, tell the spectator: "Spell the ualuefirst,
ln,x,: S-E-V-E-Lr..." (Peek at the last card, if it was a seven, turn
il rrvrrr') "So, logically, you spell to a seuen. And notu, spell the
,iuil, DIAMONDS..." in any case, when you get to the last letter,
rhr rrot reveal the selection yet. Quickly remind the audience of
rrll llrc shuffles, the fairness of the selection process, and remind
llrr,rrr that you never touched the cards. You have to experience
llrrllrirnd the strength of the moment when the selection is
t

r.t,r,ttlctl.

lr( )t

Ilt'l'H PIIASE: Spelling divination.

r\l'lr,r' r'cceiving a well-deserved round of applause, gather the

t(r crrrrls that you just used in the last phase, and give them to
llrr,sgrct:tartor who handled them, telling him to examine them
llrurorrglrly. Now take the rest of the deck (Rosary 9 stack). Give
llrr,r'rrrrls a couple of nice false shuffles (the Charlier false
,,lrrrlllt, worl<s perfectly here) and ask a different spectator to cut
llrr, rh,r'l<. l{ibbon spread the cards on the table face down, and
rrrh llrt, spcctator to select any card by touching its back. Stress
ull('r, lrl{irin the fairness of the selection process. When he
llrnosr.s ir cArd, you will pretend that you saw him touch the
llrllrx ol"l'WO cards. Push both the selection and the card above
ll rrrrl rrl'llrc spread, as you say "Well, you touched those two
r r,t'r/s, rliiln'l rytnt...?"

ll
r

r\r'lrrirll.y, .yorr slrorrltl luitl<c surc tlttr spcctator is not confused

llris poirrl. llc slrorrkl lxr t:cr'[lirr wlriclr ol'lhc two cards he

llltir,,

A book in English: 'l'ltc t'rrnl rnrrlirt' ol'Wrlocly Aragon

A Book in English: The cartl tttitgit' ol Wootly At'itg(rn

Isolate the two cards from the spt'cil(l, ittttl its you start to
gather the rest of the cards get a bt'citl< 5 t:itl'cls ABOVE the
extraction point. [For reasons we will sco wlty later, if you spell
COLOUR (with a U), then get a break 6 cards above the
extraction point.l I usually do this in two steps: gather the cards
holding a break at the extraction point, and then count five [six]
cards above it.

spcctator to turn over the sclcctiorr irntl, due to the suit rotation
(r,very 4 cards) and value rotation (cvcry 9 cards, where SUIT +
VALUE= 9 letters), the deck will f incl out the selection's identity
orr its own!

IiNCORE: You will now quickly move on to a similar effect.

because you could
irlso find the card whose value and suit match the selection.
SpaII "IDENTICAL" (oT "MATCHING"turning the next one... no
orrc will tell the difference). It will be the selection's color
rrrirtch. Place this pile next to the others.

'li'll the audience you can go even further,

Cut the deck at your break and table it. If you've done
everything correctly, then the replacing the two selections in
positions 6 and 7, counting from the top, would restore the
Rosary 9 stack.

Ask the spectator which of the two cards is the one he wanted.
He will point at the bottom one, so remove the upper card, by
sliding it to a corner of the close-up pad, or table. Explain to
your audience that you will try to find out the identity of the
selected card. But you wiII not use mind reading, like other the
magicians do... but you will do it by spelling. Do not reveal the
selection yet, but slide it to the front of the table/pad, where it
will be seen clearly by everyone.
Grab the deck, and spell"COLOR" for "COLOUR" if you took a
break about six cards] as you transfer cards from the left to the
right hand, as you did in the previous phases. However, this
time, the bottom card (the one that occupies the "R" position)
will not stay on the bottom of the pile. Instead, when you get to
the R card, turn it face up onto the other cards in your right
hand, and place the pile on the table. So the tabled pile consists
of S [6] cards, with the original sth [6th] card being face up on
top. Move this pile to the right side of the pad, as you explain
that the selection's color will match the spelled one. That
means, if you spelled to a red card, then the selection must be
red, and vice versa.

l,'l

lr|'l I I'HASE: Final surprise. What if...?

l{r,rrrirrtl the audience of the unbelievable conditions in which

and cut both by

tll. tr,sl lras been performed. A deck, shuffled

llrr,slx,('tators and the magician, is spread on the table. A

,rlrr,('lrrl(,r' sclected a card, w;hose identity is unknown to

r,\ r'r'yon(,.!.At this moment, retrieve the card that was discarded
rr I I I rr, I rr.gi n ning. " ...bry thc ruay, there tuos a moment in which I
lltt4111l11 tlott ltud lotrclu<l huo cords, urul I ctsked you if you
tt,ttttlul lltis ottt', ttr lltttl on?... t't,tttt,tttltct'...'? Wcll, let's take a
hufi 111 i/..." slrow llrr.r'lrnl wlrit'h, lx'ing nr.xl lo lhc sclection,
rr ill rrlwirvs lrr,ol llrc olrposilr,r'olot"'...scr', il's ttol t't,t'tt sitttiktr!"

Continue spelling, this time "S[JIT", and the "VALUE". Yon

will end up with three piles on the table, each inclicating somtr
data about the selected carul. Itttitgine the carcls ort Iltc top of thtr
piles are a black cat'tl, it Sp:rtlt', :ttttl a I(ing. 'li'll vottt' ittttlient:t'
this nrcarts tltrr citt'rl is lrlrrcli,;t Slrittlt', itlttl ;t l(irrg. Asl< tht'

la

A book in Englislr:'l'lrc t'rrrtl nur;iit' ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: The canl tttitgit' ol Worttly Allrgtin

tlte deck) or you can usc thc;3(r stlcked cards as a regular

it ttttcler the original
Take the card, turn it
selection. "But, u)hat if you had selcclt'<l tlrc other card? If,
instead of selecting the King of Spades, qou salccted the..." tutn
over the two cards,Ieaving the selection llco down, and showing
the "rejected" card "...tDhet if you hacl chosen the Tuto of
Diamonds? Then ell the rest uould also haue been the

l{osary.

face down, ancl slitltr

(}IJTTING INTO THE STACI( FROM NEW DECK

0ITDER:

()etting the deck to the required order from this routine,

slarting from a fresh deck, is quite simple. So don't be afraid of
;x,r'fbrming this routine because the set-up is not practical!

opposite..."

Match actions to words, and, in a constant pace, turn over

each and every pile, starting with the "COLOR" ["COLOUR"]
one. Little by little, everyone will see that not also the COLOR
ICOLOURI, but the SUIT, VALUE and IDENTICAL piles all
correspond to the new card...

llcre's how...

t.- Place all of the cards in Ace to King order, in SHoCkeD suit
lolation.
:r.- Go through the deck, outjogging the Q, B, 7 and 3 from
urr:h suit. I usually outjog them quite openly (pushing sevens
;rntl eights together) and extract everything once I have the 16
cirrtls. Leave them on the table.

RESETTING:
If you want, you can reset by gathering the cards this way:

r.- Hold the unused part of the Rosary 9 stack in your left

:t.- Cut the Spades so that the ro is on top (transfer 3 cards to

llrt' top)

hand, in dealing position.

z.- Take the MATCHING pile with your right hand. Place it
over the cards in the left hand, adding the reversed bottom card.
Then turn over the rest ofthe cards, and place them on top.

1.

- 'l'he Hearts are cut on the 6 (4 cards to the

t;.- Clubs are cut on the 4

bottom)

(zto the bottom).

(r.- l)iamonds are left in the original order.

3 and 4.- Repeat the same actions with the VALUE and SUIT
piles.
5.- Take the pile of two cards (selection and rejected card),
turn over the top card (the rejected one) and place it over the
selection. Now place the two cards together on top of the deck'

',,. 2out Faro shuffles... etuoilall

A I ) I )I'I'IONAL

REMARKS

'l'lris is a great routine, not only as a stand-alone trick, but also

rri lr l)ilrt of a longer act, mixed in with other tricks. I won't go
Irrlo llrc l)r'ocess of analyzing each component effect, but I have
lu.'iiry tlrat, lbr Latirr aucliences, who are not used to spelling
lllr,r'ls, tlris rorrtinc worl<s rr:irlly well.

6.- Take the COLOR ICOLOUR] pile, just like you did with the
SUIT, VALUE and MATCHING ones.
Z.-Add the 16 non-stacked cards on top of the deck.
The deckis readyto r.r.1lt.irl llrt. lrit:l< (wcll,.yorr'll ttgtrtl t9 stat:l<
the 16 cards into CSIII) orrlcr',;rrrrl lr<l<l :r.loltr.r'lo llrt, lxrttotn ol'

'l'lris rorrlint'r'orrrr.s ll'orrr v;rriorrs <lrigin;rl spcllirrg cl't'ccts that I

Ir,rrl rltvt'lopt'tl or','r'llrr'\/(,ilt's, togr.llrr,r'lvillr rrrr i<lcrr lirr it

A Book in English; The r:arl tttitgit' ol Wootly Artrgtin

spelling effect done with a group ol'lirirly slrrrl'llcd cards (also

original with me, but reaching its lirll lrott'rtti:tl atter adapting
the method so that it could be perfix'rtttrtl itt the hands of a
spectator, using Verbal Magic tttctltotls). I added my
presentation and an original adaptation to Spanish of an Allan
Slaight trick ("Sly Stebbins", based on a Stewart James idea),
with the surprise ending involving a second card and the
turning over of the piles (which was one of the two great ideas
added to Slaight's trick by Steve Beam when he published it in
his Semi-Automatic Card Tricks series). Actually, I also did
the reverse of the original routine, where the effect was the
divination of the second card. I prefer to reveal it, so that the
effect becomes the appearance of the 4 cards when reversing the
piles, to achieve a higher climax due the "anticipation" (el
atisbo, Ascanio dixit).
Using these effects as my starting point (actually, I realized I
had always performed them one after the other instinctively), I
remembered the "half-mnemonica" concept (first published in
Expert Card Technique) in which, by shuffling half of the
deck for real, the magician creates the illusion that all of the
magic was performed with a fully shuffled deck. I thought that,
if I could create a partial Si Stebbins stack (there was no way I
could shuffle half of the stack, as it would lose its cyclic
properties), I would then be able to, if had enough extra cards to
freely shuffle, empower the existing spelling effects, and use
some of my other spelling effects with a shuffled pile of cards...
Finally, after working on it for a while, I came up with a stack
that allowed me to perform the routine that you have just read
(although you are reading a version that was adapted for the
English language).

A book in English: l lrr. t';rrtl nrirl'r( ol Woocly Aragon

NEVER TELL THEM

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN
(My AGAAN)
'l'his is one if my most recent creations (I created about a year
rrgo). But the effect has done so well, both for lay,rnen and
rrrirgicians, that I finally decided to include it in this book, even
tlrough I have not been performing it for as long as I'd like to. If
vorrl audience experiences the same feeling of impossibility as
llrose who have already seen this trick, it will be worth it.
IiITFECT:

'l'hc magician announces he will pefform the famous 'i4ny

rttrd ot any number"trick. Members of the audience select, first
rr srrit, then several values. Throughout the procedure, the deck
is rrot used. The spectator who selected the suit forms a card
willr one of the named values, and the rest of the values are used
lo lorrn a number. The freedom of choice in the selection
pr'(x:oss is crystal clear. The deck is far away from the magician,
Itt I'rrrnt of a spectator, who takes it himself and counts to the
u'k't'lccl position. Impossible as it may seem, the freely selected
crrnl lics in it!
'l'l I ri sIlT-uP:
Yorr will stat'l< llrc rlccl<, sctting up all tlrc cards in reverse
orrlr,r', l(irrg to Acr'.'l'lrr.srrils slrorrkl lx'irr lr lirrown order (as an
r,rirrrrplr', I'll u:r(, llrr, Sllo(ll<t'l) (Sp;rrlr.s-llclr.ts-Clubs-

Abook in Englislr:'l'lre t':rrtl rrr;r;,.rr' ol' Woocly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cilltl tttrtlr,it ol WootlY Arilgtin

Diamonds). Cut the deck so that thtr ()S is lltt'lrottom card, and
use a crimp, bend, out-jogs, or evclt sltol'lt'tt the other three
queens so that you can easily cut to tltcttt.

METHOD:

This trick uses a principle by Spanish rnagician Ram6n

Riob6o, one he himself named "Inverse compensation". Ramon

showed it to me some years ago, when he explained me his trick
"The Roulette", in which he uses it. Toying with it, I came up
with an idea. The values selection of the Roulette routine could
be performed without cards, just by naming them, and if I
stacked the whole deck (the original routine used only a partial
stack) I could get, not to a card matching the selected value, but
to any named card. The trick slowly became a super effective
"ACAAN" routine, with an intense challenge element, and a
great deal of suspense: Both the selected card, and the chosen
number, are determined when the deck is out of the magician's
reach and, most important, after the effect has already been
announced.

in advance is so powerful in
patter
take
advantage of it, relying on
tries
to
method,
the
this
procedure more
the
selection
make
irony, and trying to
ACAAN theme
the
interesting. One the deck is ready, introduce
to your audience:
Since the fact of telling the effect

"There is one rule in magic that says you should neuer tell

uhat uill happen in a trick beforehand. Thrs is

because

magicians use the element of surprise, and if people already

kneu tahat was going to happen, the tricks uouldn't be half as
good, uould they?

For exarnple, ushen I perform the trick Aou are Qbout to see, I
neuer say it's called "the any card Qt any number trick".-. I
don't usant to giue you information in aduance! Then, uhett
people start telling tne nutttlxt's, ond I tell thcrtt tlu11 haue ttt
create a card ttsinq u rttttrrltt't' tttul u uohu', it u'ill lx' rttrtt'c ttl'<t
surprrcr:... dott'l tlort lltirth''? 14/cll... t'rttild tlott tt(tttt('rr stri/?"

Ask a spectator to namc a srrit. Now usl< three or four more

to name numbers, h'<trrr r lo r13. If someone repeats a
rrrunber, tell him to give you al clil'l'crcnt one. The mathematical
lrrinciple will still work, but the efI'ect is less powerful from the
rlrarnatic point, as there would be fewer possibilities to create
llrc card from).
pc<lple

As the spectators name values, you will have to add them up

rrrt,ntally. Your key number will be 25. You have to try to get as
llosc to it as possible. That's why the number of spectators who
rvill name values is not set from the beginning. If you get close
lo :t5 with three spectators, stop right there. If you still need
rrrorc values, you will ask a fourth (and even a fifth!) one. The
irlcir is to get numbers whose sum is between twenty and thirty.

You will now cut the deck at the Queen whose suit is the
;rlcvious one to the selected one (in our know rotation). In our
rvrrrrple, if they select diamonds, you will have to cut to the
(.)rrccrl of Clubs. If they choose Hearts (the most common
r,pliou) you won't have to cut the deck at all.

l,t'l's get back to the named numbers. If the sum equals 25,
lorr rlon't need to touch the cards. If the result is lower, you will
lrrvt'to transfer cards to the top of the deck, in order to
lorrrlrt:nsate the difference. If it was higher, you would have to
Ilrrrrsli:r cards to the bottom. That means, if the result is zz, you
rvill lrave to run 3 cards from top to bottom. If itwas 29, you'd
rrrr ,1 t:al'ds from bottom to top.

'l'lris should be done quickly and nonchalantly, just before

1,|;rcirrg the deck on the table, in front of a spectator. At this
rrronrcn[, czrll attention to the deck, and spread it in front of him.
(ligrrr,:rrl only the top part of the deck, leaving the bottom as a
l,lulli.'l'his way, there will be no confusion as to where to start
.,rurlirrg lirlnr).
Nlcrrrrwlrilc, yorr will s:ry "Oftl 77 is uertl irttltortant that, as
ttrttttltt,t's trtv lx,itrrl rtrllrtl, tlrc dcck rrrrrsl /rc llu'r<,, t'it1ht in-front
ttl tt slt(,(l(tlor'.'l'lti:; tt'rttl il's t'trurlt1 .litt'ltirrt ltt lttlt,t't,ottnt the
rrn'r/r;, ttttt,lttl (tttt'. lt'ttrrr lltt'lttlt trf'lltt'rlt'clt..,ltttl,.sfrrcr,/rcis ltol

A book in Elrglislr: 'l'lte t'rrrtl rrr;rlirt ol Wooily Aragon

A Book in English: Thc clrltl tttrtltit ol WoorlY Alag6n

etuare of uhat's going to happen, U(nt'll.s('(' ltrh(Il u big surprise

he gets ot the end!"
At this moment, thanks to the amazirlg ;lrinciple by Riob6o, all
of the "dirb, work" is done. You only rlced to stress the
impossibility of what is to come. "Arrcl rtoru i.s when I ask the
guy who chose the suit, to combine it ruith one of the numbers
that heue been said, tuhicheuer he uants, to form a card. And,
adding up the rest of the numbers, we tuill get a position to
count LLp to.And, since no one knous that uhat uill happen is
that the card they freely came up uith is going to be at the
selected position, uell... Aou can imagine the amazement, and
the Ltstonished looks on their faces..."

On exceptional occasions, whcn thorc are not enough people

irr the audience to reach 2t), I nume a last value myself.
( )bviously, I name a value that gets the total up to exactly 25,
llrrrs avoiding even the slight bit of manipulation this trick asks
lot'.

'l'he description of the "inverse compensation" principle can

lrc lirund at Ram6n Riob6o's More Though of Magic (r). This
principle is just the tip of the iceberg of wonderful ideas born of
llrc rr-rind of this genius. I can only wholeheartedly recommend
vort all of his works.

Ask the spectator who selected the suit, to choose from one of
the named values for his card (that means, if he said diamonds,
and one of the spectators said 6, his card would be the 6 of
Diamonds. As soon as he makes a selection, offer him the
chance of changing it. Should he want to, let him choose any
other value. If he doesn't (which happens most of the times) we
will recall this moment later to our advantage, and remind him
that, after he chose a card, he had the option to change it to any
other card in the deck.
Ask the spectator who will count to help you adding the rest of
the named numbers. When the total is reached, say "imagine
the surprise of a spectator tuhen, after selecting number 17,
and the 6 of Diamonds, he counts Ltp to the tTth card, and this
card IS the 6 of Diamonds... notu count, count!". The spectatol'
will count to the chosen number, and there will be the selection.

"That's uhy
because people

neuer tell uhat uill happen in aduance,

uould see it coming, and the trick wouldn't be

ue

asfunny, uould it?"

ADDITIONAL REMARI(S:
When I perform this tr.it.li lirI lcll0w utagir:iltrrs, I rrsrtitlly cut Io
the QII,:rs tftg rlcllrrrlt srrit lirr llrr.r'l'li.t't lrt'r'orrrcs ('lrrlrs, w[icll I
think is tlrt' srrit nrosl tt;tttrlrl lrt' tttltHit'i:ttls.

r) Mtis rrr:rgi:r lrcrrsrrrlrr,

:,oto, l'irgirr;rs. Ar,;ril:rlrL'orrlv irr Sllitnish.

A book in English: I'ltc t'rrrtl rrr:tl't( ()l Woody Aragon

A Book in English: Thc clrrl rtutllit' ol Wootly Arag6n

MAVERICK
I,llrlrl,lcT:

'l'lris is a demonstration of "super-sensitivity" in estimating

/ur(l ('utting a specific number of cards. The deck is thoroughly
''lrrrl'llc<l and a member of the audience cuts the deck, keeping a

',rrr;rll group of cards and giving the rest to the magician. He

llrr,rr proceeds to estimate the thickness and weight of the
'ipr'('lllol-'s cards, and cuts a very similar group from the deck
llrrrl lrc's holding. Both the spectator's and the magician's cards
rr r, lll(!n counted. The magician was able to cut exactly the same
rrrrrrrlrcr of cards as the spectator!
Lecturing with Ram6n in our master class about semi-automatic canl
tricks, in Hocus Pocus Festiaal (2005)

I'lris is repeated a second time, but this time the spectator just
llrrrrlis ol'a number of cards that he wants the magician to cut
,,11, i\g:rin, the magician succeeds.
lrirrrrlly, l card is freely selected and fairly lost in the deck. The
rrrirlliciirrr is able to name the selected card, and its exact
gru'iiliorr irr the deck. I{e then cuts the exact number of cards
rr',r,rk.rl lo I'ind the selection in the deck.

\l,l't'-l

[,

!,rr

rrt,t.tl ir corrr;llt.lt' 52 calcl rk:r:l<. Yorr nrust also have a

posiliolr :.t(r (l rrst'1111'r1ol ('lrrlts because of its
r,rrrp;rlilrililv willr rrrt' rrrrrt,rrrorrit' slircli).
l'1r';11111,;'r'r'irup irr

A book in English: 'l'lrc c:url rrrrllrr' ol Woody Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirrtl tttrtgit'ttl Woorly Arag6n

lorr rlo a per{ect out Faro (l'}ic:. t ), tlrirl is, cutting the deck in two
r'vrt't halves (26 cards each), anrl purltctly weaving all of the
r'rrrrls one by one, the new position of the crimped card will be

The crimp must be a reverse breatltct', wlrit:h rtleans that when

you cut at the crimped card; it will always crtttl up at the bottom
of the deck.

r(r. 'l'hat is to be expected...

A quick way to position the crimped card in position 26, from

a shuffled deck, is to cut it to the bottom, then run 13 cards
under it, and do an out Faro. The crimped card will end up in

Now suppose you didn't get the cuts right (let's say you cut off
nrrly 2t) cards, leaving 3z in the bottom portion). As you start to
r\'r'irvo the card together (from the bottom up), you are perfect
u1r lo the crimp. Above the crimp, you really mess up the weave
(l'ir'. z). Amazingly, the result will still be EXACTLY the same:
I'lrc t'r'irnped card will end up in position 26. All you need to
r,nsur'o is a perfect weave for all the cards at the crimp and
lrrkrw; anything that happens above the crimp can be safely
lgrrorr,rl. When the cards you want to control are in the lower
pnllioll of the deck (as they are now), perhaps it is
rr,r'orrunended that you Faro the cards face up rather than face
r lurvil

z6th position.

REGARDING

THE USE OF THE, FARO SHUFFLE

TO

CONTROL A CARD

It is important to be aware that when you use the Faro shuffle

to control a card to a certain position (as you will do now, and
later in this routine), you can still use the Faro to control the
card you want, no matter how many cards are in each half, or
how perfect the Faro above it is.

'l'lris will give you confidence and a little more flexibility when
,lnirrg llrc Faro in front of the audience, as the card would only
.'nrl ul) irr a wrong place if you cut below it (less than 14 cards in
llrr. r'xirrnple) or if the weave was not perfect under it.

Let me explain this:

I'lris inlirrmation will give you more confidence and a little

rrrurl llcxibility when doing the Faro in front of the audience, as
llrr, r'rrrrl would only end up in a wrong place if you cut below the
(lt'ss than 14 cards in the example) or if the weave was
' rinrlr
11ll pr.r'lirct above it.

\nollrr.r'point is that the difference between an "in" and an

rrrrl" lrrrrr only depends on whether you want the bottom card
lr r r'lrrrrrgc (in ltaro), or stay the same (out Faro).
t\l l,l't't

Pic.

l'lttttic t (tlrc l)t:nt:kzpc pringlpfu);

l)it'.

lilrrtl lrv slrrrl'l'lirrg lltt' lolr or llottortr lrorliorts o1'lhc

The position ol'tht't'r'itttpcrl r';rtrl (ttt:tt'l<t'tl witlr ir lrlitt'l< lint' irr

tl-rc piclrrrcs) is now t.l, ('()unlirrp', l't'olrt llrt'llrt'r'ol'lltt'tlt't'li. ll

tot)

l.

l'w

r,r.lrln|,, I lrr. r'r'irrrl

x,r

I clr

rr

I irr 2(rrl, posil iorr.

cleck, while

A Book in English: Thc trrrtl

rrt:t1'.i1 ,,1

Woorlv Arag6n

Put the deck on the table and asl< ir sl)('('trltol to cut off a big
packet, more than half of the decli, tttttl givt' it to you.
Now ask him to take the rest of thc citt'tls f}om the table, and
give them a good shuffle. Whiie you explain this to him, shuffle
the cards you're holding, by doing an ottt Faro (again, you only
need a perfect weave up to the crimped card). Leave the deck,
squared, on the table.
Take the spectator's packet for a moment, and hold it for a
second, as if you were calculating its thickness, weight, and so
on... then give it back to him and with just two fingers, very
fairly, and cut the deck at the crimp. Give the cards you just cut
to a second spectator, and tell both ofthem to count their cards
at the same time. They will have exactly the same number ol
cards.

This miracle happens thanks to a wonderful mathematical

principle discovered by Alex Elmsley, which he called tht'
"Penelope principle". In brief, when there is a number of cards
missing from the deck, if you do a Faro shuffle with tht'
remaining cards, the card in the middie automatically ends u1r
in the same position as the number of missing cards.

Phase z (The principle of equal packets):

At this moment, there will be two piles with the same nurnbt'r
of cards on the table. This is a perfect moment to use tlrr'
principle of equal packets.
Take the cards that you cut off in the previous phase. If tlrt'
spectator reversed the cards while counting, the crimped c:trtl
will be on top. Shuffle the packet so that it ends up back on tltt'
bottom. Now do a Zarrow shuffle with these cards and the I't':;t
of the deck, or simulate losing those cards on the deck by lift i r rr',
only the top card and putting the packet under it. Whatever' yorr
do, the goal is to have tht'<'rtt of'f p:tcl<et (with the trl'itnpecl <':tt,l
on the bottom) otr lop ol'lltc tlct'lt, witlr ;ltl t'xtt':t t'ltt'tl ovct' it.

A book in English: 'l'ltt't rrt,l rr;r;,11' ,'1 Wootly Aragon

l,r'l's say that the spectaLor crrl t7 r';rrrls on the first phase.
Itiglrt now the situation is: 'l'hcrr"s ir pilc with r7 cards on the
l;rlrlc, and you hold the rest ol'thc rlt:t:l< with the crimped card in
g,,,sition rB from the top.
\sl< the spectator to think of a number, this time a little bit
lrrl,,lrcr than t7, so that the feat becomes more difficult. Tell
llrr.rrr not to say the number aloud, or tell anyone about it. For
,'r;rrrrllle,let's thinkhis chosen number is 23.

,\sli him to grab the deck and, while you turn your back is
Irrrrrr,rl, deal as many cards as the number he thought of onto
l lr. lrrlrlc, thus inverting the order of the cards. Then ask him to
l'l 1'orr hold the cards for a moment, just like you did before.
Itrrl, ;rt tl-re very last moment, BEFORE taking the cards, change
1, rrrr rniild, and tell him to place them back on the deck, as you
"I tuill use
rll
', 1,,rrt.ss his number WITHOUT touching the cards.
It'lr'1xtllu,1 to guess the number Aou are thinking of. Not only
llrrtt, ltttl I uill also cut some cards..." at this moment, cut at the
r rnrl), lrucl spread the cards on your hands, quickly counting
tlr.rrr. liirrish the sentence saying "... end they uill be exactly as
tttnul (ts Uour thought of number". Place the cards you just cut
l,,r' 1. orr the deck. At this moment, knowing the spectator's
tluulilrl o['number is very easy: Just add the number of cards
r,,rr irrsl cut to and the thought of number from the previous
1rl1;1r;r' ( llris is a clever idea from my Argentinian friend Alfredcr
\l;rrllrt'st'"Alnn"). In our example, there will be 6 cards above
llrr,r'r'inrp, since t7 + 6 = 23. Resist the temptation of revealing
llr,rl nrrrrrlrt'r' to the audience at this point!
lrr,,l s;ry: "Wt' olso haue the cards from before..." and proceed
t, l.rLr.tlrr, t7 cards pile from the previous phase, give them a
lrrlllr,, rrrrtl lllacc thern on top of the deck, completely
' lirrrrn;rlirrg irrr.y llossiblo rnethod from the audience's mind.

\\'lr;rl yorr llrvc tr;lpirrtnlly douc is .irrst gathered the whole

'1,, l. ',o llr;rt il is cornplclr.rrli;rirr... lrrrt, tlr;rrrl<s to thc principle of

',1r,rl lr;rckcls, llrr,r'r'irrrpt.rl ctrxls rrow lir.s in position 23, and
,,,n ,rltrltrlY littorv lltt llrotrglrl ol ntttttlrct'. Lool< at the
1,, , l,rlot'ri r,\'r,ri. rr;rrrrr' llrr, lttttttlrt.t, ;rrr,l irrrrrrr,rli;tlr,ly t'ul ;tt thc

A book in English: l'hc t'rrrrl rrrrl,,rr, ol Wooily Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirrtl rrurliit'ol Wootly Arag6n

crimp. Ask the spectator to say his nunrlrcr aloud. It will be the
one you just named. Then ask hinr to cotttrt thc cards you cut, in
order to verifii your success.

Phase s (The principle of... subtraction):

To finish the routine, explain the audience the real use for
your "super-sensitivity": "If I know the exact location of a card
I need, I can cut to it and find it uery easily. Imagine hou
useful this would be uhen I am gambling, and play the game
of "Cutting to the Highest Card". Or in a gome of poker, I can
always cut to an ace...Iet me shotu you".
Take the packet of cards from phase two, and once again
shuffle it so that the crimped card ends on the bottom. Then
leave the packet on top of the deck. Now you will simulate
shuffling the whole deck, while actually running some cards tcr
the bottom of the deck. In this case, since the packet had z3
cards, you would run B, so that the crimped card lies in position

Nlovt. .y<iur hand to the beveled side of the deck, and

rS (zg-B=rS).

Tell a spectator to pick a card. He has a free choice, but yorr

should try to get him to pick one under the crimp (so that it
stays in r5th position). If they insist in taking a card from thr'
upper portion of the deck, let them do it, but keep in mind thal
the crimped card will be in the r4th position.
Let the card be shown around, and ask them to remember it.
As the spectator is about to return the card to the deck, cut lt
the crimped card, so the selection is right under it. Square tht'
deck, and shuffle the cards above the crimp without disturbing
their position (16 cards can be shuffled, in our example).

Put the deck on the table, slightly beveled the long sick's
towards you, and put your hand over it, as if concentrating. Asli
the spectator to focus on the sclcction. You will start to "fct'I"
something... "Your cord is... Irlot it... riqht urule.v slls c1 ttl
clubs... positiort t6! 'l'lxtl ,t,('(,,r.s tlutt, i.l'I tottttl lo t'trI to it. I
need b cul cxtrclltl t.5 t'ut'(1s,.. 1/ri.s lilrrr', I ttron'l ll.sr' /tt,o
.firttlt,t's.-. I tuill

lry sorttt'lltirtrl ltrtt'tlt'r'...rt,illt ortltl ottt'l'itttlt'r'!"

hit it

rrlrrvrrrtls with your first finger. The deck will automatically be

r rrl rrl llrc crimp, and the upper packet will fall face up, showing

llrr, r1 111'Ch-rbs (the card you said was on top of the ielection!).
lrrhr, llrt'llacket and count it onto the table, showing that you
, rtl rr;rcll.y r5 cards. The card on top of the deck is the r6rh. Ask
llrr,:;1rr,r'lator to name the selected card, and turn it over
rlr.rtnirlir';rlly as you say "... I kneu) it".
A I ) t )I'I'IONAL

REMARKS

I )rrl ol'tlrc magicians who's gotten the most of "Maverick" is

\lrnln'lirrrr lkrm Tenerife. He's got a great patter for the trick,
l,ir.rr.rl ,rr tlrc iclca of "The five senses". Since touch is already
l,',,r'nl (llrc rotrtine is practically an exhibition of touch), he

1rr",r'nls crrt'lr phasc fbcusing on a different one. First he cuts by

,t11lrl (r,slirrrirlcs), tlrcrr with hearing (he asks the spectator to
rllllr' llrr' llirt'l<t'l lrt'r'rrls, so llrat he carr "ht':rr"'how rniny cards it
lr,r,,), llrr,rr lirstr'(lr. lrits tltt.sitlc ol'tlrt'tl.r.k with his tongue,
ir,lr,,r(l ol lr l'irrgcr') rrnrl l'irr;rlly, lirr.srrrcll, lrr,rrrltls l plr:rse of his
,

rrr ll

A book in English: l lte t'ltttl lttltl't( ()l'Wprl{y Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc crttl tttltlrir'ol Woorly Arag6n

This is one of the effects in whit'lt I lrtvt' invested the most

time, and over the years, I have ittt:ltttlctl ltlitny versions and
handlings in my repertoire. The tricl<'s r):ullc comes from the
Mel Gibson movie, in which he always Lrictl to cut exactly at the
card he wished. In my first book [Cosas Mias (zooz)] I
published a first version of this routine that used a stacked
packet of cards, but some of the calculations needed were
confusing, and that made me strive to create an impromptu
version, and that's how I invented the trick you have just read.
But I have to say, that when I perform for magicians, I usually
skip the last phase as, while being really appealing for laymen, it
makes the existence of a crimp obvious to magicians.

THE HUMAN SCALE

'lris is one of my most famous tricks and one of my essential
lorrlines whenever I perform stage or parlor magic. I am very
lr rrrrl rrf it. Pit Hartling told me, not long ago: "I think this is the
ln,st "ueighing the cerds" I'ue euer seen."
'f

Not much later, I saw Pit Harling (a good friend, and an artist
I really admire) present a very similar trick (Finger Flicker from
his Card Fictions) at a lecture he did at the Hocus Pocus
Magic Festival in Granada. The effect was very similar, but the
method was very different from mine. Pit and I, are not only
good friends, but we also share the same way of thinking about
magic, and have a similar style - not so much in presentation ol'
the effects but in the methods and kind of effects that we like.
This trick is only one example of the many instances over tht'
years in which we have had similar ideas. So if you like this
book, I really think you should take a look at Pit's great videos.
books and lecture notes. They are worth their weight in gold.

titrtrECT:
r\ r'lassic plot: The magician is able to ascertain the number of
,'rrrrls in a group, only by feeling the weight of them in his hand.
.!'I

I 11 SET

UP:

Yrrrr will need a complete deck of 5z cards (or a deck whose

rrrrrrrlxrr' of cards you know). Place one of the suits in order, Ace

lo Kirrg (we'll use Diamonds as an example). The stacked suit

,,lrorrltl llc on top of the deck.

MI|'I'IIOD:
Alan ntrrl
Me (201t)

,',llrrrl by shuffling the deck, without altering the t3 card stack

rlr l()l), ils you tell the audience that, after years of practice with
'
llrr, rlr,r'l<, .you can even feel the cards by their weight.

"/,irr r,.rrrrrrpk , il'I tututtetl to ctLt to, sal1, t3 cards... uhat I

rt'rtttltlrlrr i.s crrl tlu,tk,ck,.irrst like t|ru1..." Ilolcling the deck, cut
'rl,lrr'(l\ilnittt.l.y;r r;rilrIlr.r'01'it, tl'yirrg rr0l l() gt.l ntore than 13
I in(l:i. Ar'l ;rs il lou ;rrt. wt'iglrirrg tlrr, r';rrrls, trncl use this
,1r1rol'lrrrrily lo pr,t.l. ;rl llrr. lrollorrr r.;rrrlol llrr,pilr,. lls v:rlrrc will

A book in English: I lte t rrnl rrirt'r{ r}l Wootly Aragon

A Booh in English: Thc crtrl ttt:tl'it ol Wot,tly Arag6n

tell you how many cards are in yotu'luttttl. ll', lix'example, you
cut to the JD, say "Hmmm... no, tlrctv ut'<' t t itt tlis pile... I need
to get tuo more cerds..." - add two citt'cls ttttcler the Jack, and
repeat the weighting gesture - "riqhL, Llta'a ure 4 this time".

,,\sl< a spectator to cut sur.rrc t'rrrrls, lcss than half of the deck,
,rrrrl ;llace them over your h:rrrtl. l(t't'p.yorrr hand flat, and your
Irrr1,,r'r's extended, so that uo oltc srrspccts you might be using
\ r )ur' f ingers to count the cards.

Give the rest of the deck to a spectator, and ask him to shuffle
the cards thoroughly. Meanwhile, give the r3 cards to a second
spectator, asking him to count them, (or you can do it yourselfl
and thus reverse their order.

\&lrt'n the spectator cuts the cards, there are two possibilities.
tlrt,card on the face of the pack is a Diamond, multiply its
',rlrrr. by two in order to obtain the number of cards you are

Don't give any importance to this effect (it's not really very
powerful, because you cut the deck). Its goal is to eliminate the
surprise factor in the next phase. If you didn't perform this
phase, you would be wasting the second phase because the next
effect allows, and is more suited for, creating suspense rather'
than surprise. It also justifies the shuffling of the rest of the
deck, while naturally isolating the r3 stacked cards that we neecl
(the stacked ones). I usually perform this first phase as I walli
through the audience, while they are still seated.

(REAL) FrRST PITASE:

Ask the two spectators to join you onstage. False shuffle the r:i
card packet as you do so and, once on the stage, take the rest ol
the deck and Faro the 13 cards into it. Address the spectator
who shuffled the 39 card deck "Did you giue them a gootl
shuffie? Ok, let's shuffie those ones too.-." and Faro the two
packets. It doesn't matter whether you do an in or an out Fat'o.
because it's actually better if you weave the cards in the midcllt'
of the pack. Just make sure that only one indifferent card gcts
between every two cards in the stacked suit.

Spread the cards, showing the apparent randomness of tlrc

cards, and locate the AD. Cut the deck two cards above it, itrtrl
leave it on the table, face up. The situation is: The deck is on llrr'
table, face up, and the AD is tht'third card crotttttittg frotn llr,'
faces, the zD is the fiftlr,:ll) is tlrt'st'vt'ttth,:ttttl so ort...

ll

lr,,l1;11,*.

ll

tlrirt was not the case, simply extend you hand slightly, so

llr;rl llrc cards slide slightly over each other, allowing you to
yqlrrrrlrsc at the index of the bottom card of the pile (it will be a
I

tr;rrrrond). Multiply its value by two, and add one.

Irr ;rrr.y case, you will knowthe number of cards you have in
r,rrr' lr;rncl. Announce it, and give the cards to the spectator who
, rrl llrt, t:ards. Ask him to turn over the cards as he deals them
,n \'olu' harnd, counting them (as he is turning the cards over,
llrl t';rr'<ls will stay in the same order). Once the spectator

',unls. proving that you were right, take your

deserved

r;r;rlrrrrst', and put the cards back on the deck.

:iI,:('0NI) PIIASE:
l;rLr, llrt. cleck and, using the after-effect relaxation to your
,r,lr;rrrlir,l,(', r'un rr cards from the top of the deck to the face.
lcrrvt.s the AD on the r4th position from the face, and so
,l,lr,rl

ol llrc problems I find when performing these kind of

rl,(.t'l)ow('l's" routines is that sometimes it is so feasible that,
l,,t ,,1vs1',. 01'llrc auclience, it becomes more a display of great
rl,rlrlr', r';rllrt.r'thun ura11ic. In order to avoid this, I took the
,,,nrlrliorrs Io tlrt' t'xtr'(.ll)(,, iu crcating this sccond phase. The
lr ullr i:;, t';rlcrrlllirrg lltr. rrrurrltcr' o1' t'ltrls in it ltile you are
lr,,l,l1s11, is ttol so corrrlrlir';rlt.rl, ltrrt tloinr- so ilr llrc conditions
tlr,rl I rvill rror,r' prlr;r,rrl ir;, i[' rrot rr';rl rrr;t1',ir', sorrrctlring that
, ,,nr{,,. t,,t I r.l,r:;r, lo tl
I rrrr.

A Book inEnglish: Tlrc t'rrtrl rtrtl'i1

A book in Englislr: 'l lrt' t'rrrrl

,,1 Wootly Arag6n

rrr:r1,rr'

ol Wootly Aragon

Ask your audience for a bag, ir s('lrl, a handkerchief...

anything that can hold a deck of cat'cls insitlc will do. Hold it

ll'you see an indifferent caltl,.irrsl tcll your audience "I need a

',itu1le card as a tueight refi'rcrtca" rrrrrl when the spectator gives
vorr the top card, peek at thc ucxt onc, which will be a diamond
lrrrrl. Multiply its value by two anrl ackl 10 to get the number of

same.

,'rrrrls inside the box. Give the "ref'erence" card back to the
';pcctators after weighing" it, act as if you were subtracting the
rvr,ight of the handkerchief and the box, and continue with the
lr.r,t'lation.

with one hand, concentrate, and say sottrcthing like "this tueighs
as much os... saA... 70 cards". Take thc cett'd box, and do the:
Give the box to one of the spectators, asking him to examine it.
Tell him that he is to cut a good chunk of cards, about half of the
deck - not exactly; a few cards more, or a few cards less. The
idea you want to convey to your audience is that, the more'
similar the packet they ieave to the one they take, the harder il
is for us to calculate its weight. Actually, as long as the spectator'
cuts between r3 and 37 cards, the trick will work.

After the spectator cuts the cards (it doesn't matter where ht'
cut), ask him to put his cards into the box, close it, and put il
inside the handkerchief, bag... or whatever the item yorr
previously weighted.

Throughout this whole procedure, keep your back turned tt,

the audience. But, at the exact moment when you tell tht'
spectator to put the cards into the box, address him by turning
slightly, and use this opportunityto peek at the top card of th,'
remaining pile.
Once again, there are two possibilities. If the card is ;r
diamond, after the first spectator has packaged the cards, asl.
the second one to put the remaining cards in his pocket, so thrrt
when you finaily face your audience, there are no cards in siglr l.
Take the package, put it in your hand, pretend to weigh it [dorr't
forget to pretend to subtract the weight of the handkerchief arrr
the box from the weight of the package in your hand], and nartt,'
the number of cards inside.
I

Obviously, you get the number by multiplying by two the valrrr'

of the peeked diamond, antl a<lding tt to it.'l'hitt rncerns thirl il
you see the 5D, 5 x z = Io. to I ll - ')1, fhc spt't'litt<lt'has clttt :'t
cards.

,I'IIIRD PTIASE:
Asl< the spectator who put the cards into the box to shuffle his
lrrrrls thoroughly, and ask the other one, who has the rest of the
,lr,r'|i... to do the same. Even after destroying the stack, you will
rrow rcpeat the demonstration in a very dramatic way.
" l)o
lJou went to knotu how I do it? I uill explain it to you. It
r,. trttl only a skill, but I am actually a human scale... let me
,.lttnu
Uou..." Gather the deck, taking back the cards from the
'ilr('('lirtors. You might be thinking: How can I know the position
,I ;r rry carrds, after being shuffled by the audience? The answer is
rilr t,irs}/ one: You know exactly how many cards each one had,
l,r,r';rrrs(: you just guessed them in the previous phase!

.'\l llris moment, it has been a while since you guessed the
rrrrrrlrt:r'<tf cards that were inside the box. In this example, there
\\r'r'(' 2t cards. Because you know this is a complete deck, you
irl:,o l<rrow the number of cards in the other pile. In this case 5z
;1t. Let's call the smail number (zr) X, and the large one

'-,t

t rr) \'.
,\:;li llrc spectator holding the Y pile for his cards first. Place
llrr,rrr llrt'tr up in your left hand. Remember the card on the face
,,1 llrr, lrilc; it will be your key card. Place the rest of the cards
I llrr X pilc) face up on top ofthe Ypile. You are nowholding the
,lllli, willr ir l<ey caxl irr position X+t(zz in this case).

\,,L on(,ol'tlrt,spt.r'l;rtors (rrsc tlrt'orrt,wlro has been least

tnr',,lvr.rl irr tlrt. lricli so l';rr')lo crrl :r pilc ol'r,;rxls,;rltotrt a quarter
,,1 llrr,rlccli,;rrrrl pl;r,',,i1 ol,r.t'yorl'r'ililrl lr;rrrrl. lltsist <ln the

-lhc r'rrr.tl tttlrl'.tt ol Wootly Arag6n

A Book in English:

complete freedom of his choicc, tcllirrg lrirn he can add or

remove one, two or three cards bclirl'c ltlitt'itrg the pile on your
hand. Just make sure he cuts abovc yottt' licy catrd.

Extend your arms so that each hancl can be watched at all

times by a spectator (once again, make sure that no one can
suspect that you are counting the cards). Be as serious as yotr
can, make a big deal of what you are about to do. If you can,
piay some tense music and dim the lights. The contrast of thc
stage with the situation of having someone with his arms
extended, acting as a human scale, is a very funny moment, bul
your audience will be completely engrossed in the trick.

Acting as a scale, raise your right hand, the one with tht'
smaller pile, and lower the left one. As if trying to reduce tht'
weight difference between the piles, start dropping, one by onc.
cards from your left hand. Meanwhile, start raising your lef't
hand, as the right hand lowers.
As you drop the cards, start counting backwards, keeping irr
mind how many cards are on top of the key card...(in orrr
example, think "there are 21 cards left...'drop one, then therr
ore 20 cards left...'drop another one, "19 left...') until you gt't
to the key card. The number you count down to when yorr
get to the key card (which you see, trut do not count) is

the nurnber of cards that the spectator has cut (thosr'

cards are in your right hand).

Now that you know the number, you only need to drop tlrr'
necessary number of cards from the left hand. And, since yorr
now know the piie has Y cards, count the key card as "Y-1", ilt)tl
continue counting. For example, suppose you counted t4 cartls
in the right hand pile. You remember the value of Y is 31, so y()rr
drop the key card and count "3o", drop the next one '29", llt'rl
u28"...
until you drop the card and get to "74". At that poirrl
piles
will contain the sitltte nllmber of cards (r4 in tlri:;
both
case).

All of this st:ct'tl t'orntlirrli;rr'lrrlrllv lrcllts lo t'tttlvr'1' lltt'itttttlit',,1

real cont't'tttlltliott. ;tttrl llr;rl ttt;tLr's lltr' <lcttrottr;lt;tliott ;t t't'tt

A book in English: l'lrr' r':rtrl

rrr:rr,rr'

nl Woorly Aragon

|.wt'r'ful one (if it looks "r't'lll", tlrr' ;rrrrlit.rrt:c genuinely feels the
,lrllit'rrlty of the task yotr arc irllt'rnptirrg). Mren you finish with
\ our' counting, relax. And, al- thcr nronrt:rrt your two arms are on
llrr,sarne level, smile and show youl audience that you just
rrr;rrlt' it! Many times, the audience will start clapping even
Irllot't, you have proved anything!!!
N;rnrc the number of cards cut by the spectator and,
,lr;rrrr:rtically starts dropping cards in pairs, from both hands, at
llrr,s;rnre time. Count them as you do it, until you reach the
riun('(l number. The tension of the magician dropping cards one
l,\ orrc, until he runs out of cards at the exact moment of the
, lrrrr;rx, make this a very powerful ending to the routine.
A I ) I ) I'IIONAL

REMARKS:

iionrt. people say that card magic does not work on stage. Well,

I r';rn lrroudly say that I have even used this effect to close a
,t;rll(' gala, performing after several professionals in
rrr;rrrilrrrlation, great illusions and stage magic, with magnificent
rr",ulls (cven I was surprised!). In any case, you can also
l','rlonn the routine close-up. Just drop the cards on the table.

\llr.r' prcsenting this version of the trick in one of the galas zrt
llrr' l',scorial meetings, some years ago, Steve Beam told me Ton-t
llrrlrlrrrrl had a similar idea to the third phase of my routine. I
rr, r,'r'lrrrl the opportunity to share my ideas with him, but I
l,rllr rcrrlizccl that I had read Hubbard's idea in The Card
l\lrrgic ol'Nick Trost (I hereby suggest that you read it, as it
r,
'luir'('s lr l<cy card in a specific position, but uses calculations
Ilrirl ;rrt.rrruc:h simpler than the ones you have to do in my
l',rrrrllirrg). So, the idea must have been lurking in mybrain for a
,'lrrlr,, rrrrtil it gave birth to what I thought was a creation of
lrlrr,. 'l'lurt's ury credit to Mr. Hubbard, with a sincere wish of
i', llrrrl lo l<rrow his worl< better (the few things of his that I've
r',r,1 ;llr. r't'rrlly llrilli:rrrl ).

I rrrll rrow corrli'ss llr;rl. lrltlr<lrrglr I sllt';rl< ol';r 5z card deck in

tlr, rlr,,;r'r'ipliorr ol llrr,rrtr,llrotl, Itrt'trrlrllv us(';t 5o r.:u'tl tleck, by
, rllrr'r p;rlrrrirrl',;t ('()ul,lr.ol t';trrls lrt'lirr',, 1 :;llrll , or ll.y rr.ntoving

AbookinEnglislr: 'l'lte trrrrl

A Book in English: Thc citrtl ttt:t1'.it' ol Wootly Aragon

rrr;r1irr

ol Woorly Aragon

" l ruill nou) remoue

I'vc
always been more
the Jokers". The reason is tl-rat

any cards, without showing them, tls I sil.y

comfortable calculating the cards nccrlccl kr reach 50 at the

beginning of the third phase.

I will also tell you that I never use a suit in order, although it
works perfectly for the routine. In performance, I use the first 13
cards from my mnemonic stack. As I decided not to publish any
mnemonic deck tricks in this book, I have described the effect
with the ordered suit idea, but if you use any stack (Tamariz,
Aronson...) using the first 13 cards of the stack works perfectly,
and allows you to fairly show the first 13 card pile (the ones in
the warm up phase). Another possibility is to have a packet
alternating even diamond cards with odd clubs cards to disguist'
the order.

SI FRY
Sorne time ago I created a trick, called The Lemon Pear (t).
rrrrrltiple divination, after a genuine shuffle, that delighted
,ur(li(.nces, both laS.men and magicians (and even me, when
lrrr'lirrnring it). It was included in my first set of lecture notes,
irul irr my first book, Cosas Mias (z). I have to say it fooled
rrrrrl,,it'ians like David Solomon, Gabi (g), and Henry Evans...
,lr",us Iitcheverry read it in the EMM (4) newsletter and he
,rlrurlrrlcly loved it, so he asked me to perform it at the meeting
,,l llrr, Iiscorial (5) later that year. Tony Cachadifla, Joan Font,
,rr(l (,von Herb Zarrow really liked it... I am not telling you all of
llrr,, irrst because I'm proud of the effect (which, of course, I am)
l,rrl lrr,r'ause I want you to know how much I appreciate this
,'llr,r'1, :rnd why I think it is reallyworth performing.

A lt'rrron pear is a variety of the fruit that grows in Spain. There is

:rlso ur cxpression with it meaning that something is great/cool.
'l'lrirl's wl'rere the name comes from.
l,itt'r'irlly meauing "My Things" (or My Stuff), it hasn't been published
irr l,irrglish.

{'t)

ll)

irrlri l)irlt:r'as, one of the foremost pupils of Ascanio. His ideas have
llrr,irlly irr{lrrcnced many of the top magicians in Spain. He lives in
(

Ilrrlt't'krrtit.
"l,lscrrt'lrr Magica dc Madrid", Madrid's magic artistic School, whose
rrrr,rrrlrt,r's irrr:lrr<lc, antongst many others, Tamariz, Ascanio, Jose
('rrlnrll, (lrrrrilo Vut,<ptz,, llobcrto Giobbi, Aurelio Paviato, and many
oIltr,t's...

'l'lrc irrvil;rliorr;rl
Performing "Thc Hunrntt 5r'rrlt"' rrl lltr lt,qL'trLlary Grlilrc Cnlil.ei Srl,t

irt

Nltrrlt

('(ll(l)

tL

irl

rnct'l irrgs

ol'l,lst'olirrl

lrlt'lrckl

l'1:;r'ori;rl,rrr';rrN'l;rrllirl, lrt'.lrurrr'l'rurr;rliz,:rrrrl

llo:rr,

u1r \\,(,r'l\r'r',

lr

lor

rrr

I I lrr, worlrl.

cvcry year

in

the

il lroslsnlrnyofthebest

A book in Englislr: 'l'lrc crrnl

A Book in English: Thc olxl tuitgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

I have developed several versions ol'this trick, depending on

the stack I am using at the moment (tnncnronic, arithmetic...)

This is the most "popular" version because it's based on the Si
Stebbins stack. Steve Beam, who really loves this trick, came up
with the English name, Si Fry, when he published it in the
volume 6 of his Semi-Automatic Card Trick series, in a
chapter dedicated to my magic. Thanks Steve!
EFFECT
The magician tells the audience that he is going to find out
not one, not hvo, but as many cards as they want... but, trying
not to make the trick take too long, a spectator will choose a
number between 5 and 15. The spectator himself will shuffle the
cards, and he will take as many cards as he chose. The magician
will have his back turned to the audience at all times, and will
not even touch the cards at any time. Even under those
seemingly impossible conditions, the magician is able to
ascertain every single card!

METHOD
Start with a deck in Si Stebbins order. I usually stack the suits
in SHCD order (r), but, of course, the trick works just as well in
CHaSeD order.
Have the spectator cut the deck, and then ask him to think of l
number, and say it aloud. It should be a number between 7 and
13, but I usually say a number between 5 and 15, so it seems that
the choice is bigger.

Usually no one gives me 6 or r4...but if someone did, I woul<l

pretend to change my mind at the very last moment, thinking it
would be a better idea to use more/less cards, and ask tht'
spectator to give me a new number.

(r)

The SHCD; or "l)i(li I\rl)o" irr Splrrish, is thc nrosl poprrlar striI ortlt'r'
fbr thc Si Stcl)l)ir)s <lt'r'li irr Sprrirr.

rrrrr;1rt,

ol'Wrlody Aragon

l,ct's say the chosen numbcl' is to. Ask him to cut the deck
and then deal ro carcls on tlrc table (thus inverting those
lrrr'(ls' order). You will look asicle as thc cards are dealt.
rr14irin,

Ask the spectator to cover the cards with his hand, so that you
lrrrrnot see them. Then gather the rest of the cards, and peek at
tltr,bottom card. Now transfer, from top to bottom as many
r'rrrrls as the difference between 13 and the chosen number. In
llrr. uxample, 1B-1o means you have to transfer 3 cards from the
lop to the bottom of the deck, using a double undercut or an
ovcrhand shuffle (the best option ifyou need to transfer several
r'rttrls). The patter for these actions is 'You could haue chosen
tttttl other cardfrom the deck, you cut the deck, you shufJled..."

At the moment you say "you shuffled", act as if you

are

for a moment, and then ask the spectator,'YoLt

rlitl NOT shuffie, Did you?". He will say no, so you'lI reply "Oh
trn'll, I almost forgot the best part of the trick. Well, Iet's start
tu1uitt..." Cut about z6 cards from the packet you are holding,
lrrkirrg them with your right hand (do not leave them on the
trrlrlc). Then ask the spectator to return his cards to the center of
llrr. 1rircft. As soon as he does, dribble the cards you are holding
uvr.r' lhc spectator's, but a little bit nearer to your body. The first
,'nrrl lo fall will be automatically injogged. Catch a break at the
1op, with your thumb, and transfer it to the pinky as you square
llrr, rlcr:l< and prepare to start the trick again.
r'rrrrl'rrsed, pause

('rrl lhc deck at the break, table the two halves in front of the
rrgrr,r'lnlor, and ask "Do you knous hou to shulfle like this...
r'rrli,,,o sttlle?" (NorE 1) Ask him to riffle shuffle the deck and, as he
lq rrlrorrt to do it, stop him and tell him that you are about to find
rrrrl lris t:lrds, and it is important for everyone to see that your
lurcli will be turned at him every moment, and you will not
lrrtrllr llrc cards anymore.
'l'lrr, spcr:tator ri1'l'lc shutlles the deck. Ask him to square it, and
rrllr,ss llrc lirr:t thal rrow "'l'|rc cleck hus bcat utmpletely shuffled
141 t1ott, r'iqht'? Olc, tlmt lrrkc...hous nt(tntl tttrtls tlid you say..?
ll,'()lt, to... Ok, !ltt'tt ltth' to curds..."'l'ltis sr.nltrn(:(r has the goal

,rl lrrliitt14 llrt,sgx'r'l;rlor lirrrrr llrt'sltrrl'llr', slr';riglrt irrlo tll<ing thc

A Book in English: 'l'hc trrltl tttrtltt ol Wootly Arag6n

cards, without giving him a chauc:t' to t'ttt, sotttcthing that would

ruin the effect

(NorE 2).

Now you will ask him to look at thc citt'cls and concentrate.."
meanwhile, you will calculate the value o1'the card that comes
after the key card you peeked at earlier. As we're using the Si
Stebbins stack, the next card's value results from adding g to the
key card. The suit will be the opposite suit of the sarne color
as the key card. That means, if the key card is the 4 of clubs, yotr
will calculate the 7 of spades (Value: 4+3:7, Suit=same color,
opposite suit).
When you name this first card (it will always be one of thc
selected cards, although there is an extremely low possibilitv
that you might make a mistake in the first card) ask thc
spectator to show it, and place it face up on the tablc,
confirming that your guess is right. It is important to keep tracli
of how many cards are left (in this example, he said 10, so you'rt'
now left with 9). Now you will start naming cards following tht'
regular Si Stebbins stack (adding 3 to the vaiue and rotatinii
suits in the chosen order), and the cards will be shown as you
guess all of them...
But there will be a moment at which you wi1l be told that yorr
failed! Watch out for this: you have to be ready, this shouid not
seem a mistake, and you should make it look as though it was
simply a miscail. Just fake having rushed too much in namirrli
the cards, making a mistake oniy at the suit. Immediatclr
correct yourself, and say the suit of the last guessed card. If, lirr
example, you say "King of Spades, 3 of Diamonds, 6 of Clubs...
and suddenly you're told the 6 of Clubs is not one of the cat'tl:,,
say "oh, sorrA, it IS a six, but I meont the 6 of Diamonds..."'l'lt,'
spectator will confirm you're right. Give a sigh of relief arrrl
continue naming cards again, in standard Si Stebhins ortk'r,
from the 6 of Diamonds. (NorIi 3)

This mistake happens ottlv irt lltc Si Stebbins vtrt'si{)tt, :ttt,l

results from cr'(rssing tlrc ltvo pt'ittcilllcs tltat itllow lltc lt'it'li l,
happcn. II<lwcvct', il ;tclu;rllt ptovitlt's rt goorl lrt't';tli l'trtrtt tlr.

A book in Englislr. l lrt't;rrrl rrr,u,r, ol Wootly Aragon

l(r'tl-Black color sequenc(f,

lris particular stack. (No'r'r'r'l)

il

rrsrrirl wolr'.y when working with

NO'|ES
(

t)

I usually refer to rilfle shuffling as a "casino style"

shuffle for psychological reasons. In Spain, it is not a
normal way of shuflling, except at casinos. If I asked a
spectator to riffle shuffle, he might think ("What? Rtffle
shuffle? What's this? Why can't I shuffle in the normal
uay? Why? Do I haue to shuffle just the way he uants

me to? Will this allou him to control the cards,

somehotu?"). When I say "casino style", I ciearly convey
the kind of shuffle that I want - the one done in casinos,
where people play professionally. Everyone in the
audience will accept this, as it is a fairly common image
fbr them. This leads them to think "If this is the tuay
they shuffle in casinos, it must be because it is the best
uay to mix the cerds". And that's exactly what I want
them to think: I want them to shuffle this way, because it
is the best way to really mix the cards, not because the
trick's method requires them to shuffle that way.
(:,) In the first phase (a phase everyone will forget, or at
Icast, will not associate with the rest of the effect, as no
iu"tist would be so stupid as to make a mistake on
l)urpose, and have to start again from the beginning),
llrc cards were actually cut. You will use this to your
Irrlvantage, trying to mess with their memory and
rcr:alling the action of cutting at the moment you want. I
rrsrrally do this when there are only three cards left in the
slrcctator's hands. I pause and say something like"There
ttt't' orilt1 ttuo cards left...No?! Three? Aren't their ttuo?!
Wttto... rue.ll, yott knotu, fhis ls not easy., Remember,
tltm slntffk'd tlu, curds tlotu"self, tlott cttt them, you took
(r.s ,,r(ulu (ts tlou ttrtrrtlcd... Brtt il's ok, tf't1ott saq yotL still
Itttttt' !ltrt't,... irr.s/ ltrkc otrl lhc lrpo of'diontonds [for
rxirnrplr'l trtrtl lltt'tt llt<,t'<, tuill lx' ltt,o... (1,)vcryrx-rc will
l;rrrlilr ;tl llr;rl poirrl, llrt y'orr slill rrr;rrr;r1ir,rl lo trrl<l rlt'anra
lo lltt' lirr;rl r,'r','l;rlions).

A book in Hnglislr: 'l ltt' r'rrrrl ur:r1iir' rrl Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirltl tttrtl',it' ol Wtrotly Arag6n

(S)

And at the end, when thct'tr itrt' ottly two cards left, I
always use Richard Osterlincl's Clrrrt/ Calling subtlety. I
refer you to his Breakthrough Card System
booklet/DVD, whichever you pref'er. It's worth its weight
in gold.

(+)

If

you want to further disguise the Si Stebbins color

two cards in inversed order at
the beginning. For example, if the chosen cards are Ace

BORED OF SHUFFLING

sequence, you can name

of Clubs, 4 of Hearts, 7 of Spades... you could say "Ace oJ

Clubs, 7 of Spades, 4 of Hearfs..." and the final display o1'
the chosen cards on the table will have a more random
look.

'l'lris is my personalized version of Simon Aronson's ShufJle

lhrtrl. The effect is practically the same, but part of the method
rrrrrl presentation are new, and good enough (in my opinion) to
lrrstil'y its presence in this book. On one side, the deck
lortl'igtrration allows for the use of the Gilbreath principle, and
,r(l(ls some freedom to the handling. This method will fool even
llrosr.who knowthe original, and has gotten me the praise of
rrrrrrry l'cllow magicians. The presentation, on the other hand,
rlilli'r's from the original, and does not go for a feeling of
lrnrl)l(!te chaos, but instead focuses on the clarity and freedom
,,1 clroicc, something that, I think, reinforces the prediction

lllccl.

l,llrlrlicT:

Performing "Borcd

o.f

Slrul'llirt;q" itr I)orr I:rrtrtcist'o's'l'V Prttgrtrtr

I lrri,,i:,itttt, itt Mitttti

,\rr rrlrcrr prediction is shorrr.n. It states: "In the end, there uill
lu' :,.1.1111,1r up cards". Two members of the audience are invited
t,, rilrrrl'{1c, cut and turn over packets of cards, while the
rrrirl',iciiur Announces that, no matter what they choose, the
I'rr,(li('lion will still be right. The spectators control which cards
irrl lunr(!(l thce up or face down right up to the very last
rrr.rrrrr.rrl. Ncvcrtheless, the prediction will not only be correct
lrrrl. wlrcrr cxrmpletely revealed, it is shor.rm to have also
;,rr,rlillr,rl thcr color and suit of all the face up cards. Not only
tlrir,, lrrrl llrc ntagici:rrr sccmcd to know in advance that none of
llrr lrrcc rrlr t':u'tls worrltl lrt. :r r:orrrt cal'r1... wcll, there is one... but
llrirl wrrs rrlso irr llrc nr;rgit'iirrr's;lrulit'ti<lrr, lrs (.v()tyone can see
rrlrr,rr llrr, lxrpt'r'orr rvlriclr llrt'1tn'rli<'lion rv;rs wlillt'n is tr-rrned

trl

( t()l)t))

t\ l'l

A Book in English: 'l'ltc trrrtl tttrtt',it ol Wtxrtly Arag6n

A book in Unglislr:

lltt't:rtrl rn;r1'rr'ol Woorly Aragon

'l'hen, on the back of t[-rc prcrlit'tiorr, I write:

METHOD
The original ShufJle Bored methocl crottsists of a procedure for
seemingly haphazardly shuffling togethel two groups of cards
together, some of which are face up ancl some face down, but
fby using parity] actually keeping the two groups of cards easily
separable. One of the two groups initially held all the cards
needed for the final prediction (there will be X cards face up, Y

red, Z hearts...) but when the two piles are combined, ther
predictions provide a logical reason for separating the two
groups. However, the magician has to keep track of this group
with the necessary cards, and often, at the very last moment, tht'
magician had to turn the whole deck over to ensure that thc
cards required for the final prediction were all face up.

My version grew from the idea of taking advantage of tht'

ambivalence of the characteristics in the predicted cards (tht'
prediction states "there uill be tz black cards" ot "6 of thettt
u.till be Spades", without really saying which will be the exat't
cards). This allows me to use not just one group of cards, btrl
two. I mean, both the face up and face dornrn cards contairr
exactly the same number of cards, the same number of re'tl
cards, of hearts, etc...

This frees me from having to control one of the groups to bt'

face up, making it fairer for the audience, and has some mor'('
advantages, such as using the Gilbreath principle to start with ;r

EXCEPT }'OII THE K

J OF HEARTS
I tlo this because, using a normal deck (I will later explain the
irrlvirntages of using a duplicate), you can have two groups of
r'rrrrls that meet all the requirements on the front of the
prr.rliction, but the final exception on the back isn't (can't be!)
llrc snme for both groups. Since the audience will be free to
,'lroose which will be the face up cards, you will not know, until
I I r , vcry end, if the picture card will be the Jack of Hearts or the
Kirrg of Hearts. Writing the prediction in this manner, yolt can
irrrl 1lu[ your thumb over the K and turn the prediction over
rr illr .your hand, or pass it to the left hand and cover the J with
r urrr lhumb.
r

l,r't's talk about the deck now. Before starting the routine, yon
',lrrrrrltl remove the two red Queens and any 2 Diamond cards
lrnrrr lhe deck. I usually leave them in the card box. Later on, I
r ,ur l)ul the deck in the case for a moment, then "change my
rrrirrrl" ancl take out the complete deck to continue using it for
,,llrr.r'c1'['ects. So, for this routine, you will have a 48 card deck.
'ir'p;u'irtc it in traro groups as follows:

r:t lll:rr:l< cards, 5 Heart number cards, 5 Diamond cards, King

real shuffle by a spectator.

,,1 I lr,trlts.

But before I explain the details of the deck, let's talk about tlr,'
prediction first. For practical reasons that I will explain later''
use this one:
I

THERE WILL BE Z4 FACE UP CARDS

11 OF THOSIi WII,L BE RED
6 WII,I, ItI.] III1ARTS

Ar,r, oF THE IIliAlt't'S Wll,l, tlli NUMltl,llt

N( ) !'l( "1'l lluis.

cAltl)s,

,lircli ol'llearts,5 Diamond cards,5 Heart number cards, t3

lllrrlli

crrrrls-

l'lris rrrt'ans that, if you cut the deck between the Jack and the
ol'llt':rr'[s, tht'two groltps are sylnmetric, in a kind of
nultr)t'sllrt'l<.'l'ltis is r.rrorrgh to mal<c thc trick work, but if you
r\.url l() slrow lr sct'rrrirrlilv slrufflcrl rlccl<, vorr t'irn do one ortwo
l,rro slrrrll'lr,s. As lorr ;rlrt';rrly l<rrow, llrt'sv'rnrrrt.try <t1'the stack
',tll ttol Ircrlisltttlrr', l.
l..rrr1,,

A Book in English: Thc clrlrl tttrtgit'ol Wootly Arag6n

A book in Englislr: l ltr' r'rrrrl rrrrlirt' ol Wootly Aragon

PERFORMANCE
Start with a spectator on each side, and display the prediction
while hiding a part of it with your I'rand, the box of cards, or
simply by folding the prediction itself. The audience should only
see "There uill be 24 foce up cards". Now tell your audience
that you will perform the famous "There uill be z4 face up
cards" trick. The trick gets its name because, no matter what
you do, at the end the prediction is always correct...
Cut the deck exactly in half (between the Jack and the King ol'

Hearts), separating the two groups, and tell one of thtr

spectators to riffle shuffle the two portions together. Because o1'
the Gilbreath principle, the two groups will still be together,
only in a random order.
Next, I need to cut the deck again exactly in half, and I coultl
secretly count z4 cards, but I usually cut by estimation and do l
Faro check, as I talk about shuffling the deck (since the trick is
about shuffling, a Faro attempt is justified). Once you have tht'
two exact halves, give one to each spectator, and tell them to
shuffle their cards.

Now you will perform an adaptation of the procedure used b.r

Ramon Riob6o in Control in Chaos. Ask each spectator to plat't'
his cards on the table, in front of him, and cut "a big, small ttt'
medium packet, uhicheuer you like". There will be 4 piles orr
the table. Point at them, and ask "Wouldit be possible tofores<'t'
the number of cards that are in each packet?"

Now ask them to turn over one of the two piles, in order lo
decide how many cards will be face up, and how many lirt','
down. "Could I haue knoun in aduance that you uere goirttl ttt
turn ouer this pile, instcod o.l' this biqqer ot7e, ot' this .srrrrrl/
one?"

Now lirl<c thcr firt't' trp pilc of one spectator and the face dor,rm

pllr.ul'llrt'otlrt'r', ;rntl givt. it [o one ol'tltt: sltoctators so that he

',lrrrlllcs llrt'ru logcllrcr' (witlrorrl x'vt'r'sirrg thc clirection the
'l'lrr, sr,r'orrtl sllct'llrtor r,vill shrrl'llrr the other
',rr(l:i ;lr'(' llrcirrg).

A book in Englislr: 'l'lrc t':rltl rnl;.irr'ol Woody Aragon

A Book in English: Thc crrnl tttirgit' ol Wootly Arag6n

two piles together. This is a way ol' slightly motivating the

exchange of face down piles.

After the shuffle, proceed with Aronson's original handling,

but only once per spectator. Specifically, ask the first spectator
to cut a packet from his cards, put it in the center of the table
and turn it over. The second spectator shuffles this packet
together with his cards. The spectators now repeat the
procedure, exchanging roles (ie, the second spectator cuts ancl
rotates a portion of his deck and then gives it to the first
spectator who shuffles it into his deck).
Now you will tell one of them that he is to have the final choict'
over the cards that will be face up and face dovr,n. Tell him that
he will choose one of the two piles, turn it over, and shuffle tht'
two piles together. Stress the point that, if he chooses to turtr
over his pile, the cards that he sees face up (at this point it is
good to spread his cards a little and name one or two) will entl
face down, but if he chooses to turn over the other packet, thetr
his cards face up cards will stay face up, and the other cards will
be the ones to end face down... This decision will come back lo
haunt the audience at the moment of the final revelation... If tht'
prediction already stated that all hearts would be number carcls
"exceptfor the Jack of Hearts", then they will think "but at tltt'
uery last moment, I had the free choice to leaue this card fou'
down!" I am not saying that everyone at the audience will junrlr
to this conclusion, but the feeling of control over the finirl
outcome is there, and they will perceive it.
No matter what they choose, you will now proceed to show tlrt'
prediction, step by step, proving that each one is right arrtl
revealing the next step. At what will seem to be the lrrsl
prediction, the audience will see a picture card that should rrot
be there. But, since the spectators checked the first predictiorr
(counting the number of face up cards) you will have sp<lttctl
which is the picture hearls carcl ilt the group. This will allow yorr
to know in advance how lo grirlt thc predictiort, covering llrl
letter you don't wattt io lrc st't'tt irr thc l'ittitl ltvclitti<llt, its I
explained in thc bcgirrrrirrli.

A I ) I ) I'I'I

ONAL REMARKS

An I saicl before, you have just seen the description of the

rrrrllrotl lor a rcgullr dcck, with which yolr can just write the
prr,rliclion on ilny l):rlxrr irrrytirne before the perfbrmance. But, if
\nlt lu'(,going to 1lt,r'lirrnt tltis rnrrtint'irr ir ftrrntal setting, the
lrrr.rlit'liorr t'irrr lx' sorrrr.llrirrg rrron' spt'r'il'ir'. I normally wear(!)
lltr'ptr,tlicliott ott lr 'l'-Slrirt, irrr itlr';r lrl rnt,goorl li'icncl .Iuan

A Book in English: The clrrtl lltrtgtt' ol Wootly Arag6n

A book in Englislr: l lre t rrrtl

(with thtr pt't'tlit:titttt at the front, and

the "except the ..." and a draw of thc I'irtal cat'd on the back). I
suggest you bring a prepared deck, in which you substitute the
Jack of Hearts for a duplicate of the I(ing of Hearts (or vice
versa). In this way, you know for sure that the exception card
will be the King of Hearts. Don't worry about the duplicates
getting together in the deck, or being seen both at the same
time. Thanks to the Gilbreath principle, the two Kings will never
lie next to one another in the deck, but, if they did, one of thenr
would be face up and the other face down, so no one would bt'

rrr:11'rr'

ol'Woorly Aragon

Esteban Varela from Chile

GILBREATH DETECTIVE

able to see them both at the same time.

And now, I will tell you the advantages I promised you aboul
this stack and prediction I made. You can get to the needetl
order very easily from the 4th Faro in the B-Faro cycle starting,
from new deck order, which makes it possible to get to the staclr
quickly from a deck in new deck order or Tamariz's mnemonicrt

I consider this a trick more suitable for magicians. By this I

rrr'l rnean to say the rest of the tricks in the book will not fool
rrr;rgicians (I have verified that they usually do); it is just that all
ll llrcm are composed, and most of the time conceived, by
lor'rrsing on the effect, the feeling of magic, and the emotions
llr;rl I want to convey to the audience (be they la);rrten or
rrrirgit:ians). Virtually all of them belong to, or have been in, my
rh

stack.

If you have a deck in new deck order, just position the two rctl
suits in the middle of the pack. If, for example, you open a freslr
bicycle deck, just take the clubs and put them on the top of tht'
deck, then do 4 out Faros. If you have a deck in mnemonit'rt
stack, I refer you to Tamariz's book, where you can find tlr,'
instruction to get to "Faro 4".

1,r'oli,ssional repertoire. On the other hand, Gilbreath Detectiue

r', ;r lrir:l< that I would never perform in an act, and I have almost
nr.\,(.r'

llresented it to laymen. But it has worked incredibly well

l,,r' nrirgicians, in lectures, and in postJecture sessions.

'l'lrt' r'cason is that, externally, it looks just like a card location

rrr rrr.irrly impossible conditions (One more amoung the myriad
,rl vr,r'sions availatrle in today's magic literature). So it does not
I r i rlt ir nything new to the emotional field. But from the internal
lruirrl ol'view, it relies in a very interesting method, as it
,,h';,,rrrrll.y cornbines the Gilbreath principle with Annemann's
lllt't'ttttlt, l)etection, resulting in a very deceiving trick for
rrrrrlr,iciirrrs. Nevertheless, I am not saying the old "pick a card,
,trttl I tuill.l'irul it" trick will not have an impact on laymen, but I
rr,rrrltl lil<c to warn you of a mistake that most magicians,
tl,'lrrtlirrg rrrc, ntill<c: ll'.yotr consider the most important thing in
,r lrrcli is tlrc rrrcllr<ltl, l sru'ltrisc cncling, or'one of the phases in
l,.n li('ullu', llrt'rr .yorr will t,rrrl rrll unrlt.r't.stirrr:rlirrg the rest of the
rrrrrrrr,nls irr tlrr. lrit'li, prcsr.rrting llrcnr ;rs ;r rt'strll <lf inertia,
rlnro:;l lrlrll' lrr';rrllrllt'. l'r'r'sorrtrlly, I ;rlu,lt\':' lr'\, lo 1lt.r'lill'rn this

This "Faro 4" is ordered in a mirror stack, but it is not tlrt'

order you need. To get to it, just run 20 cards (from the factr or
the backs, it doesn't matter which) inverting their order. Yorr
also need to remove, from the middle of the pack, the two tlrl
Queens, the g of Diamonds and the z of Diamonds. If you cut ;rt
the center of the deck (between the two black nines), you rrr'('
now in position to perform the trick as explained.

A book in Englislr: 'l'lte t rrt,l rrr;r1,rr ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirrrl tttrtliit ol Wootly Arag6n

trick experiencing the effect, l-r'yirtg to get the most of

',irrt'c you've turned arouncl, tlrt,

possibilities, trying to put the best ol'rttc at

the performance.

r , rrrr

atn

its
emotional level irr

EFFECT:
The deck is divided into two halves. Each half is given to ;r
different spectator, and they both shuffle their respective cards.
Then, they each select a card, return it to the deck, and shuftlt'
again. Both halves are shuffled together. One of the spectator':,
cuts the deck, and the other shuffles the complete deck and cul:,
again. Nevertheless, the magician is able to find both cards.

METHOD:
You will need to prepare a simple setup for this trick. Separa tt'
the red cards from the black ones, the z6 first cards from the "(,
last ones in your mnemonic stack, or any other kind of setrrlr
that allows you to identify both halves (odd/evt'rr'
straight/curve values, and so on...). You can use the Separag,orr
[earlier in this book] to create the setup right in front of yorrr
audience, or even to perform it with a borrowed deck. To mrtl','
things clearer, I will refer to red and black cards for the rest ol
the explanation.

in two exact halves, and give each one lo ;r

spectator. One of them will shuffle the red cards, the other orr,'
the black ones. The audience should not know it, so make sttr,'
they don't have the chance to realize the cards they are holtlirrr',
Separate the deck

are all of the same color.

Take both halves, one in each hand, and ask each spectatot'l,r
pick a card from his pile, and remember it. While thev;rr''

looking at their cards, exchange both packets.

A way to do this without ttsing any sleight of hand, is to lrol' l

each pile in one hand antl, ottt't'tltc cards have been stlt'<'lt'rl,
turn yourback tc thc lttr<lit'rt<'t'(s9 lltitt.ygtt llitvc tl6 cltitrlt't',,1
seeing them) antl lt'in,r'r,rrr.lr 1rilr, irr llrrrrt ol'ir sPt,t'ttrt0r'. Iirrl,

lrrrrtl llrirl was in your right is in

left, and vice versa.

ll.you prefer to do the switch whilc scating, you can use any
,rllrcr method (there are plenty of them) to have them return
tlrr.ir card to the opposite pile.

'li.ll both spectators that, after returning their card to their

lrrlt', they should shuffle the cards again.
t )rrt'c they're finished, Faro both halves. Let one of the two
'il)r.('littors push the cards together (so that later he will
rrrrrcrnber the shuffle as his) and let him cut and complete as

rrrrrry times as he wants.

Itr,rrrcrnber the conditions in which the trick was performed:

'ipr,r'tirtors shuffling the cards themselves before and after
,,'lq'lirrg the cards, and absolute freedom in choosing and
rrlrrrrring the cards to the deck. Magicians should be clueless
r''llrr'(lillg the method, but the Faro shuffle gives them a possible
rr,rv lo rliscern the method to "hang on".

'ir now you will ask one of the spectators to riffle shuffle the
,l'r'li, loHcther, and once again, cut and complete as many times
,r', lrr, wlnts. Now, even the most analytical person in the
,rrr,lrr,nt't,will have no idea as to howyou could find the selected
I tllllli.

ll'lorr. tll<ing the deck back from the spectators, you will act
,r, rl vorr rcad some of the audience's thoughts. Doubt for a
,r'r rn(1, rrrrrl then say "1 got one! I got the black one... I'm not so
ttrt' trltrtttl llrc red one, but the black one... Aes, I haue it. If's
t!tnn':,, t'iqhl?" Use this moment to identifiz which spectator
,'llllr.rl tlrc rccl card, and the black one. Take the deck, and look

lll

lrr1llr llrr. t:arcls, until you see two cards of the same color. Cut
l,r'lrr.'r,r,n llrcrrr (orrt'slrorrlcl cnd up bcirrg at the top of the deck,
llr. rrllrt,r' olrt' trl llrt' lrollont). l{rrrr llu'orrglr lhe cards, while
1,,,,1, 1111, ;rl tlrt'ir l;tccs. Yott will st't'llt;rl t';rclr lliriro{'cards inthe
,1,,l', ,;l;rlling ll'orrr llrr, llrct,, r'orrsisls ol ;r rr,rl ;rrrrl l lllack card.
r,,r llrlorrlilr llrc clrlrl:r, lxrir' ;rl'lcr' p;rir'. lilrrrcrrrllr.r' il slrorrlcln't

A Book in English:

Thr.:

A book in Englislt: 'l'ltc t rrrrl rrrrl'rt ol Woorly Aragon

cirnl ttrrp,ir' ol Wootly Arag6n

look as if you're looking for the celr'(ls, I':rlllt)r'as if you're already

certain of their identity, and areiust scalclting fbr them.
You will find two pairs of "matching" cards, two red and two
black. One of the cards in each pair is the one selected by the
spectators.
Since you are looking at both cards, you can ask for a trait that

will allow you to ascertain the selection's identity. For example:

If the two red cards are the 7 of Diarnonds and the Queen o1
Hearts, you can ask"your card uas not e picfure, was it?".I1
the cards are a six and a three of spades, you can ask"utes your
card odd or euen?". You can ask for the suit, the valuc
(high/medium/low)... Once you know the identity of both cards,
place them on the table, and remind your audience of tht'
conditions of the trick. Show them that you have found both ol
the selections. Climax.
NOTE: IF you can't find the selections, because there are mort'
than two cards of the same color, it means you cut at one of tht'
two pairs than included one of the selections. That means one <tl
them is either the top or bottom card. Cut at the other pair thitl
shares a color with it, and continue.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS:
A good presentation that I use for this trick is to pretend thal
am clearly getting an image of one of the cards, but that thc
other one is giving me a hard time. I claim to have some doullls
about the two cards; maybe the clear image is beirrri
contaminated by the blurry one. In order to get some ut.sttrr/
clarity,I look through the deck, and locate the first matchirrli
pair of color cards (one of them will be spectator A's card, utrrl
the one that I am seemingly having a hard time finding). I lcar r'
them outjogged, and continue running through the deck until
find the second pair, which contains the second selectiorr.
simply memorize the two cat'tls itt that pair and then I iust l'islr
for spectator A's card, :rrttl r'('nrovc it ljrrr-n thc tlccl<, ltlzrcilrg it
face down on the tablr'. l)lrtcc llrc rlct'l< rrsitlt', it<l<l sotttt'<lt'ilrtt;t 1,,
I

1,,

tlrc situation, and ask hinr [o rrirrnt' lris t'irlrl. furn over the card,
them that you wcrc riglrl. ltirst sclection found.

rrrrtl show

'l'hen I look at spectator B, ancl tcll hirn that now it is very easy
lor me to focus in on his selection, so I won't even have to touch
llrr.cards. I will simply concentrate on (and fish for) his card. I
'ilrrrt naming the characteristics of the second selection, but the
lirst one that I mention is the one that allows me to ascertain
rvlrich of the two cards in the pair is spectator B's selection. SooA
ul' lhe time, you will get a direct hit, so you can just continue
lisling characteristics before ultimately naming his card. The
ollrcr 50% of the cases you will make a mistake on the first
rlr,lrril ("1 knew it! That first card was distracting me... Please,
lrl trut think..."), but you now know his card was the other one in
llrr' pair. So, list a few more characteristics and name his card.

ll' you perform this as an isolated trick, an in-the-know

,rr(li()nce might suspect that you are using a stripper deck, or
I think it is important to hand the
the trick, or perform some other
r,lli,t'ts to make it clear that you're using a standard deck. To
llittrinate the idea of a stripper deck, aside from clearly stating
llrr,r'ards can be returned in any desired orientation, you can
rric l,cnnart Green's Rosetta Shuffie instead of a standard riffle
',ltttlllc.
,,rrc with several duplicates.
rlr,r'l< fbr examination after

A book in Errglislr: 'l'ltc ciu'tl

A Book in English: Thc cartl tnitglic ol'Wootly Arag6n

nrrrp,.ie

ol'Woocly Aragon

PSYCHIC POKER
'l'his practically self-working trick is a mentalism routine with
lrlrrying cards. It combines poker with divination, intuition and
r
; rrtliction effects under incredible conditions.

IiIIFECT:
While the magician turns his back to the audience, a Spectator
four poker hands, for him and three
rrrorc participants. Each spectator covers his card with his
Iuurcls, so that no card can be seen. Once the cards are dealt, the
t'r.sl of the deck is removed from sight. Only then, when there
nr'(' no cards visible, does the magician turn and face the
rrrrrlicnce.
shrrl'fles the deck, and deals

Feast in Madrid,

with

a lot of friends!

I lrrrlcr these test conditions, and without ever touching a card,

llrr, nragician is able to guess who will be the winning player. He
llrt,tt l4uesses what hand each player has, and he is even able to
nrtt'ct'tain the position of the cards in one hand. A truly amazing
k,rtl ol'intuition. For the grand finale, the magician shows he
lrrrrl prcclicted the winning hand... including the kicker!

lr

't't

I t,t

sET-uP:

'l'his is the ftrll decl< order:

rll

il

(Jll, 75, 8FI, 65, 9ll, 55, r{lH, 45, JH, 35, zH, QS, 3H, JS, 4H,
tuS,5ll, c;S,6ll, ttS,7ll,:S, KI{, AS, A(1, I(D, zC, QD,3C, JD,
.;(', lol),50,91),6(', lll),7C,71), fl(), (rl), <t(l. SI), r<lC,4D, JC,
;gl ), (.)(1, :tl), K(1, Al), Al l, KS

A Book in English: Thc t'rrltl trtrtlit

,'l

A book in lltglislt: 'l lrt' t rrrrl

Woorly Aragon

After the explanation, I will givc yotr sor)r(' sirttple instructions

on how to get to this set-up from ncw tlctrl< ol'tlct'.

Write the foilowing prediction on a bill: "You tuill uin uith

Kings ouer Aces, and a Deuce kicker". Fold it, hiding the
prediction.

Ask for the help of firur rrrolt, spt't.tirlors, who will be playing
with the one who shulllcrl llrt'r.irxls. Ask the first player to
cxtend one of his hancls, palnr rr1r. 'l'lrc spectator who shuffled
llrc cards wili now deal five carcls onto the extended hand. When
lrr.'s finished, the first player will put his other hand on top of
llrc cards, to prevent anyone fiom seeing his cards.

l{cpeat the process with the second player, who will get the

Start by false shuffling the deck. Introduce the poker theme,

asking if there is someone in the audience that knows how to
riffle shuffle "casino style, like in real poker games". When you
find one, ask him to help you. Spread the cards face up, showing,
the deck is fairly shuffled, and causally cut the deck at the retl
Queen in the center. Gather the two halves (both should have rr
red Queen on top), and place them on the table, so that tht'
spectator can riffle shuffle them.

Tell him to shuffle "cesino style, just like in a poker gomd'

(you are asking him to riffle shuftle, without telling hinr
directly). Turn your back to the audience, announcing that
spectators will play poker, and you will not be able to see atrr
card. Ask them to follow your instructions very carefully, as yotr
don't want to be any cards to be visible after the dealing hrr:;
finished.
1

Actually, I recommend you to peek at the spectator who

shuffles the cards, as the trick will only work if both of the to1,
cards (the two red Queens) stay in the top five cards of tlr,'
combined deck. If the spectator is not good at shuffling, artrl
lets, for example, the ro first cards of the left pile fall withorrt
shuffling them with the right pile ones, you should tell yorrr
spectator that you want the cards to be thoroughly shufllt',l
separate the two halves again, and have him repeat the proct's:,
So, if you feel the spectator rnight rrot shuffle the cards gor,,l
enough, control the prrrt't'ss lrclirt't' ttlrning ytlttt' llitt:l< [o tlr,'

ol Wootly Aragon

rrt,xt five cards.

METHOD:

audience.

rrr;r1,rr'

llut, when the turn of the third spectator comes, tell the dealer
Aou dealing cards.from the top of the deck, or from the
lxrllom? I knotu in some states people deal cards from the
Itttllorn of the pack, but I'ue been told here people regard that
rt:; <'lrcating... anALUaA, you might think I uas somehow eble to
I'rtotu the cards on top, so... what do you prefer? Top or
Itrtllun?"
"u,'e

ll' lre says he prefers the top cards, say "Ok, then giue the third
1tlttt1t,r" fiue cards .from the bottom". If he says bottom, reply
''
liirra, deal one more hand.from the top to the third player."
lJirr;rlly, the fourth player gets his hand (from top or bottom,
,lr.pt'rrding on the previous choice) and saves the deck in one of
lris pockets. All of the players hold the cards between their
lr rr rrr

ls.

,\l this moment, just

as you promised before, you turn and

that you will bet your money on
llrc winner of the game, concentrate, and pass your hand over
llrl lr;rncls of the players, as if "receiving" the cards in each one.
'irlr.r'l thc player who got the bottom cards as the winner, and
,r',1' lrirrr to separate from the other three. Give him the bill, and
,r',1, lriur to hold it between his hands, together with his cards, as
\ r,il ;ililroullce yoll will bet your money on him.
l,rcr.

lltc

zrudience. Announce

li;n "lrlr,//, rr.s /.irrsl lx'! rtttl nlotTetj ot7 LJoLt, let's saue your
r rtnls.litr tltc cttrl... it tt,ill lx,rrnre cxcitirttl lltis rucrtl! Butbefore
I ,,lttt'1 ,I ttttnrltl lil'r'tltttt" lloirrl lt tlrr.tlrrct.olhcr players "fo
Irrl,r'tt 1tt't'lr'ttl tlt,ttt't'(tt'tl\. I tt,ill ltrt'tt rtttl lttt<,lr Oll

UOL;

A Book in English: 'l llc t'rrrtl trtrtl'tt ol Woorly Arag6n

A book in l',rrr'lislr. I lrt' t':rrtl nr:rl'r( ol Woody Aragon

ogoin...look at your cards, btt ltlurst' tktrt'l lc! utt!)one else see
them... ore Aoufinished? Fine, I'll lttnt lxtck ottut ctgQin..."
You will now announce, one by otttr, tlttr llitttcl of each player"
Ask them to keep a poker face throughtttrt tltc process, and not
to nod, make any gesture, or say any worcl trntil you ask them to"
Concentrate, Iook at the eyes of the first spectator and, finally,
tell your audience that he's got a pair of Queens. Then teil him
that you can clearly see two red Queens. Ask him to show his
cards, proving that your first prediction was right.
Continue the process with the second player. But this time,

you will feign having difficulties in perceiving his cards.

Announce that you can see nothing. Finally, in a sudden
realization, tell them "oh! Of course I could see

nothing...because you're actually holding nothing! I mean, it's

a no-pair hand!" Ask the second player to show his hand. His
cards will be all different.

In order for you to know the next player's hand, you will havc
to look at the cards of the previous two players. Just track tht'
values that you can see, going from 3 to J, until you find ont'
missing. Well, the third player is holding a pair of the missing
value.

For example, if you see the two red Queens, and all of tht'
values from 3 to J except for 10, that means the third player has
a pair of Tens.

No matter what thc spt't'trrlor s;rys, Irrrl your hand over his, as
il'receiving something. 'l'lrcrr, rr';r<:lr irrlo the player's hands with
two fingers, and search firr tlrc t:t'rrlcr card (third card counting
ll'om the top/bottom). Takc it ancl show it to everyone.
A) If it's a Ten (well, a Ten in this example), sell the effect as if
yolr were trlang to extract the two Tens from the beginning by
nrere intuition. Say "here's one, now for the second..." And this
linre, grab the bottom card. It will be the second ten. Let the
llrird player show the indifferent cards he's holding. Not only
wore you able to guess the spectator's hand, you even found the
crrrds by touch!

l)) It the card is not a Ten, continue by extracting the two top
crrrds of the player's hand. go% of the time they will be two
irrrlifferent cards. Say "If u)e were playing fiue card drau
lxtker, those would be the cards I'd discard. Because, if mA
itttttition tuas right, you must be holding..." let the player show
llrc two Tens in his hand. In this case the effect is just the same
;rs the previous one, but leaving the selected cards in the
r;;rt,ctator's hand, and taking the rest.

tl) If a Ten appears in the top three cards, just say "A Ten!
/,rrrrlr.s like I'm on the right path...If I uas correct, there should
Itt' t)n more, and only one, in your hand-.. I'll try to find it by

rrtt't'<, intuition!" Take the bottom card and show it is the second
'l'r'n. [n this case, sell the effect as just one more divination. The
',h rw tarking of the cards is justified by the doubts you had while
;r

Not only this, but you also know the position of one of tl'rt'
Tens, and possibly the position of the second one. You will ust'
this for an "intuition" effect with multiple outs.
Announce the hand of the third player.

It

should look as il

you're in doubt, though: "Yoltr hand, hmmm..- don't

surl

anything, I think Aou are holcling... a pair... of... tens... hnutrrtr.

I'm not sure, but I thh:rlr i/ i.s rr pair of ferts... ok, I'll tn1
something rnore. Do rlrttr t'r'trtt'tttltct' llrc exoc! po.sifirlrt of'euclt
ten?"

rrr

rorrncing the hand.

ll you'd rather not touch the cards, as the audience might

',us1rur:[

of physical marks in the

',1rccl:rl<l' to give you

r'ttrttrIittq.fi'omthe top...

cards. You can ask the

the cards. "Giue me the third card,
t7o1t)

the second one..."

('orrlirruc saying: -lMall, tLta're left uith only one hand, and I
',rrirl .l't'ortt llu' lx'rlirrtrittrl il ruottld be thrt ruinning hand, right?
t'rtrtltl tlott ltlt'trsr'..;/rorl rrs tlttttt't'ttttls" Lct tlrt'last player show
lrr:, r'lrr'<ls,;rnrl ;rr'l ;r:, il llrr,tricl< w;rs I'i nisltr.<1. lhrt, irl'tcr a few
',,,r'onrls, (lropr,lrrllr )r rrt llrr,;rppl;rrrs(., l('ntirrrl Vorrr irurlicnt:e of

A book in E,nglislr: 'l'ltt' r'rrtrl nrirl'r(' ol Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc errrrl rrrirgio of Woody Arag6n

the bill and, showing that it's bcttcr not to play poker with
mentalist,let them read the preclictiort. Climax.

Turn the deck face up. l{rrrr ;; r';rrrls, one at a time to the
top. The zS will be thc lop lirt't, rkrwn card, and the QH will
be on the face.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS:
This routine is based on a Karl Fulves' displacement Gilbreath
principle. He used it in his trick ESP + Math.I've extended tht'
original principle [a sequence of cards which results in each
player getting a pairl so that now each player gets a different
hand with no matching cards.

the QH to your right hancl, then spread the deck on

top of it. \tVhen you get to the 7H, take it, with all of the
cards on top of it, and pass it to the right hand, over the
QH. Do not change their order.
You will be starting at the 75 on your left hand. Continue
spreading the cards, until you get to the zH. Pass the
entire group to your right hand, on top of the previous
Pass

c:ards.

You might be tempted to modify the second hand, because yorr

might think that a "no-pair" hand is an ugly one... and yes.
you're right. And that's precisely why it works so well, because il
enhances the "no set-up" feeling which is so beneficial for rr
routine like this. Actually, when I show the second hand, I likc
to say "well, high card... what a pitA, sometimes ue get a niu'
shoudotun, uith better hands... but not today"
The final climax, with the divination of the final hand, com('s
from my routine Confederate Offered (in Cosas Mias). Tlr,'
"intuition by touch" in the third hand is an adaptation of tlr,'
final effect in Max Maven's Symbalance trick.
Since the cards are held between the hands of the spectatols,
the pressure and sweat often ends up ruining the cards. As a lrit
of practical advice, whenever it is possible, have the cards derrlt
on the table, and covered by the players with only one hand.

GETTING INTO THE SETUP FROM NEW Pg(]I(

ORDER

.
e

Outjog the Clubs and put them on top of the pack. 'l'lr,'
deck is now in mirror stack order.
Do an out Faro (the blacl< Accs should remain as the lolr
and bottom cards). 'l'lris li;trrr-l cleck works as a classi,'
t4lLsforce dech.

'l'he QS will be the top card of the left hand's pile. Pass all
of the cards in your left hand to your right. The deck is
rtow ready to perform the routine.

A Book in English: Thc t';tttl

trtttl',i1'

Abook in [tlrglislr: l lrt't;rtrl

,,l Wootly Arag6n

rrr;r1'rr

ol Woorly Aragon

GRANDPA'S POKER
Alrout 10 years &go, I created a poker routine called
lmndpa's poker". It quickly became a staple on my repertoire,
,rs I think the method achieves the maximum impact possible
"{

rvlrilc being almost undetectable. Basically, the deck is FAIRLY

',lrrrflled by two members of the audience and the magician, by
rloirrg almost nothing, is able to set up several poker hands. I
nr(,iur, from the real shuffle to the 20 or z5 set up cards there is
rrlrrrost no intervention on the magician's side.

I lrlve created different versions, playrng with the same idea,

In Dallas, after a psychic poker play with the enormous Max Mauttt

rrrlirpling the core of the routine to the conditions I was working

rvitlr normal/stacked deck, more or less technique in the
lrrrrrrlling, using a descriptive patter (like the version I will now
,'rlrlirin) or a story-based one (with the Erdnase theme, which is
llrc rrcxt routine in the book). The one I present here is, for me,
llrr, rrrost polished and balanced version.

(2011)

titrtrt4c'l':
'l'lrrr,c rnembers of the audience are invited to play a game of
polir,r' irl3ainst the magician, in order to obserue the magician's
lltr,rrlirrl3 skills. The magician deals cards, one by one, and asks a
rpr,r'l;rlor to stop him at one card, before the game even statts.
'l'lrr, r'rrxl is chosen and put aside, and then the magician
rurlolnl('('s tlrat a rt'grrllr'poker game, with 5 card hands, will be
grlrrt'r'rl.

Nou, lwrl ol llrr, r'olrrrrlct.r's slrrrl'l'lr, lrtrll rlct.l< circh. The

ltrrrlii('i;lt t'('itsri('rrrlrlr", llrr, ;l;rcli, ;rrrrl 1,,ivcs il ;r t'otr1llt. ntorc

A book in Englislr: l lrt' t';rrrl nrirl,rr' ol Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc t rrltl tttrtliit' ol Wootly Arag6n

shuffles. He then proceeds to dcal 4 ltittrcls ol'poker, but he deals

himself only 4 cards. "5 to each ol'yott, btrt only 4 for me, as my
fifth card will be the one you chosc bc{ore we ever started".
Then the magician claims he has been able to not only deal
himself the best 4 of a kind, 4 Aces, but every other player also
has a good hand, so ensures that they will place high bets. The
hands are named before being revealed. "I gan)e the first player
a straight, with a King kicker... the second player receiued u
flush in Hearts, and the third player got three... Aces? What
are the Aces doing inyour hand?"

The third player indeed has the Aces... But what about tlrt'
magician's hand? Actually, actually he's got 4 sequential spatl,'
cards. "Wait, I heue the B, 9, Jack and Queen of Spades... tTott'
giue me the card you chose for me!" The card is shown to be t t'
ro of Spades, exactly the card the magician needed to get tlrr'
highest hand: A straight flush.
Ir

METHOD
This trick is based in l lirll tlct'l< stack, and uses otlt'gootl
friend, the Gilbrcath plirrt'i1rlt'.'l'lrt'ot'tlct'of thc dcck is tlr,'
following (top to lto[[otn, l;rcls rlowtl):

I), AC, 8C, zS, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, l"lS, 95, 1oS, JS, QS, KS, AS,
),
,l I 5C, 6C, 7C, zC, 6D, 4C, 5l ), 8 I ), A I l, 4H, BH, 5H, QH, 7H,
:,1),7D, zH,9C, toD, JC, QI), KC, I(ll, 3H, 6H, 9H, 1oH, 4D,
;11),3C, KD, QC, JH, roC,9D.
n

You can do a couple of false shuffles at the beginning of the

rorrtine, but, as the following shuffles by the audience will be so
lrrir', I don't think it's really that important. Cut the deck in two
Irirlves, right between the AH and the 4H. Casually take the
ut)l)or half (the one with the AH on the bottom). Start dealing
r'rrrtls face down on the table, inverting their order as you deal
llrt.rrr. Now you will perform a timing force so that the spectator
rv i ll stop at either the B, 9 or 10 of Spades. If the card stopped at
i:i the 5 or Jack of Spades, the trick will still work 9o% of the
lirrrc, but there will be a slight chance of failing that is better to
lrc irvoided. The way to make the force work is to deal cards one
l11' one, slowly, as you start explaining to the spectator what you
irrr,going to do. After dealing 5 or 6 cards, tell him "...say STOP
rvlrr.ncver you want" and continue dealing cards, silently, while
vou intently look at him. The spectator will feel the pressure of
lrr,irrg the center of attention, and stop you at one of the desired
lrrrrls. Take advantage of the situation, and offer him the
,lrportunity to take the next or previous card, or even both,
,lr.pt'rrrling on where he stops.

(iirlhcr the cards on the table and apparently put them over
llrr,orrcs you still hold in your hand. Actually, keep a pinky
l,r'r,irli trnder them. Announce that the deck will be shuffled, not
rrrrly l)y you but by the other "players". Cut the packet you're
lrohlirrg at the break and put the two halves on the table, facing
llt'lr olhcr, so that the first spectator can riffle shuffle it. Take
llrr, ollrt'r' half of the deck, and show the faces to prove it is well
rrrirt,rl (rrncler this pretense, locate the two middle cards of this
lrirll, tlrt. I(C ancl thc I(l I, and cut at this point). Present this half
ln llrt, lhirtl sltct:lirior', sa.ying it will be shuffled just like the
rrIIrr,r'ottr'.

,'ilrow yortr t'lrrplr lr;rrrrls, so tllrl llrr.r'r' is rto rlotrbt of the

lrrln('ssi ol'1,1 ,1,'';tr'l ton:r, ltrtrl llt;tl llrr.l'r.;u(.no nt()t'(.t.:u'tls (tht:

A Book in English: Thc, e irttl rttagic of Woody Arag6n

only cards in play are the ones tllov celn see on the table), and
invite them to shuffle them "casitttt style". Once they do it,
gather the two halves and do a Faro shuffle. It does not matter if
It'. un in or out Faro. Since there is a card missing in the deck, it
will be a straddle Faro shuffle (one of the packets will
encompass the other). Take the deck face up, and do an
overhand shuffle, running ro cards from the face of the deck,
and then shuffling until you have two approximately even
halves, one in each hand. Once again, do a Faro. Just make sure
that the 10 upper cards of each half are perfectly weaved, and
that the card ihat was on the face of the pack (the first card you
ran on the overhand shuffle) becomes the top card of the deck'
Quickly give the deck a false cut, and deal 4 hands of poker,
wiih you is the 4th player. But, when it's time to deal yoursell'
the list (5th) card, d-o not deal it, instead keep only the 4 cards
you already have, as explained in the effect's description.

At this point, you're already done. Thanks to the internal

mathemaglc workings, even after the fair shuffles, the first
player's hind will be a straight to a King.,The second player's
iru"a *iU be a flush, the third player will get aces, and yottt'
hand will be a straight flush that will be completed with the cartl
chosen at the beginning of the trick.

BNCORE:
You could finish the routine at this moment, but Juan Tamat'iz
gave me an amazing idea to add, in a very- simple way,-a Royirl
Flush climax. Due to the stack properties, the cards needed fol il
Royal Flush in Spades will be near the top. At the- natut'ilI
relaxation that wili come after the final effect, just take the decli,
look for the Ace of Spades, and cull it. Continue going througlr
the deck, culling the King, and so on, until all of the necesslr'\'
cards are on top of the deck. This should only take you, a Ii'w
seconds, and you should perfolrrt ovcry action in a relaxed stittt',
as all of the heat will bc orr tlrt' t;rblcd catrds. Place the clct'l'
aside, and call the attr,ntiott ol lltc tttttligtt(:(', ils il'.yotr |acl irrst
rememberecl soutellrirrl,, irtrporl;rrrt. "Alt, rttrtl I tTrtl lltis lrutrrl

h,

A book in Englislr:'l'ltt' r'rtrrl tttrrlltr' ttl Wootly Aragon

tuithout using any discut'ds. I.[ I luul, I ruould get rid of those
c(trds" (take the cards that clott'l lrclotrg to the Royal Flush, and
;rlace them aside). Deal yout'scll' tlrc cards you just placed on
lop, and reveal that you really clo ltitve a Royal Flush in Spades.

A book in English: 'l hc t rrltl rrltlirt' rrl Worltly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirnl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

ERDNASE
'l'lris is a different version of "Grandpa's Poker". It was the
n,srrlt of a time in my life when I broke my left elbow, and I
lorrkl only use my right hand to do magic. In other versions, I
lrrrrl included several complete false shuffles and false cuts,
r'r'irrrps, the pass... The version you are about to read eliminates
rrll ol' this sleight of hand (you can perform it with just one
lrrrrrtl... I've done it!). It can be done with a regular deck of cards,
rrrrrl rcquires a simple setup, which is very easy to remember. It
lri rrlso easy to reset, and you only need to set up the first 3o
,'rrrrls in the deck, which means you can freely shuffle the
rlrrririning zz cards on the bottom of the deck.
trick's patter I introduce the character of S. W. Erdnase
whenever it is possible, I try to bring with me an old copy
'rr(1,
trl li.r'1rtr"t at the Card Table and show it to the audience. This
I

Performing "Grandpa's Poker" at the Escorial Meeting, with thc

assistance of the greatest poker experts: Christian and Pit

rr thc

rnrrlit,s the story seem more real, and creates a great atmosphere

lur llrc routine. (I am, in fact, showing them one of the great

(200e)

,rn

rr

r'(,cs

of magical knowledge).

l,llrlrlicT:
'l'lrc rrragician shows the audience a copy of Expert at the
('nrrl 'lhble, and tells them about the legendary card cheat S.
\\' l,l'rlrrasc, who wrrrlc all of his technique in a book that's
lrrr13j1l1.'',..1 thc t'lrrl t'lrca['s bible, llrt wh<lsc real identity
l,tttrrins ir rrryslr,r'.y.'l'lrt. rnagiciln corrlilrrrcs clescribing a
l,,1q,.ttrlirt'.y llol<t'r' 1,,:un(,, irr wlriclr lorrr clrt.:rls t,orrrpctccl to be
rrlnr'(l "linlttttsr":; llrif'.'l'wo o['llrcrrr slrrrl'l'k.rl tlrc rltrcl<, and

*'.q

A book in English: 'l'ltc t'irnl

A Book in English: Thc crrrtl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

the croupier dealt five hands (onc fbr each of them, plus a
symbolic hand for Erdnase). Thc l'irst player got a flush, 9 to
King. The second player got the same... and the third... and the
fourth! The game was a four way tie! They say that Erdnase's
spirit was present in the room that day, and he did not want
anyone to be able to call himself his "heir". The final, s1T nbolic
hand is turned over to reveal Five Aces (Four Aces plus the
Joker)! Just as the legend says, Erdnase won every game, even
from beyond the grave...

THE SET-UP:
From the top of the deck: 4 flushes. The suits should be mixed,
but the order should be the same (e.g. 9 to King). Bridge thosc
cards, so you can easily cut to them later. The next cards will bc
two eights, a Joker, the Four Aces, one more Joker, and tw<r
more eights. Put this setup on top of the rest of the deck, which
should be shuffled.

rrrrr;.1rt'

ol'Wootly Aragon

METHOD:
llegin by telling the audience about S. W. Erdnase (if you don't

Expert at the Card

'l'uble, you will find a lot of data, in which reality and legend are
rrrixed together, in the many books dedicated to his work:
l(cvelations, etc...). Meanwhile, fairly shuffle the cards on the
lrottom of the deck, maintaining the order of the top 3o-card
know the story of the mysterious eruthor of

sctup.

I usually speak about the Erdnase anagram (a fact that usually

xrrr'prises the audience), the mystery surrounding his real
irluntity and, a little about what will later happen in the trick. I
r,xlllain about the importance of the book, because it was the
l'irst one of its kind. Before Expert at the Card Table, the
nttly way to learn how to become a cheat was by finding one who
would agree to teach you.

lixplain that there is a legend amongst gamblers that says that

l,lrrlnase had four apprentices. When Erdnase died, they all
wrrrrted to keep Erdnase's writings, and all his cheating devices,
Irr,r'iu.rse each of them considered himself Erdnase's rightful
lrr,ir'. llut Erdnase had such a passion for gambling, that he even
rvrrrtc into his last will and testament that "my successor will be
t l*'ided by a poker game" .

ll ruas a gome utith uery strict rules. There usould be a pair

ttl crutttpiers, and the cards had to be shuffled just like this..."
('ttt lhc cards at the bridge, and give the top pile (the one with
lltr. lltrshes) to a spectator, who will be the first dealer. Tell him
ln crrt and complete his cards as much as he likes, while you
rtl)l)lr'(rntly do the same with yours (actually, you will perform a
"

r'u111111'

If possible, bring with yott il ('opy of Expert at the Carrl

Table, the older the bctlt'r'.

I,

of yOUr favorite false cuts).

'l'lrcn ask him to deal cards one by one on a pile on the table,
tttrlil lrc l'eels he has two cqual piles, so that he can shuffle them
lnlr,t'. Miltchirrg ircliorrs to words, do tlre silnte, but deal only the
llvl l'irsl t:arrls (tlrrrs irrvt'r'lirr13 their orrlcl') r:rrl .your cards in two
,,lttrilirt'llilcs, irrrrl k,irvr, lltt,fivc invt'r'tt,tl t.;rlrls ovcr thc bottom
lrrrll, k,irvirtg llrt'lwo;rilr,s lirt'irrg r,;rclr ollrr,r'.'l'lris shoulcl be

A Book in English: Thc

clltl

tnagic of Woody Arag6n

done nonchalantly, as if you werc just trying to save some time.

As you are doing this, you say "Y{ttt should end up utith ttuo
equal piles, more or /ess, so that you con properly shujile
them".

Right now, there are four piles on the table. Two of them
consist of the flushes, one pile inverted in respect to the other,
and the other two piles have two aces on top each. Present your
two piles to a second spectator, who will be the second dealer.

A book in English: 'l'lrc cirrrl rrurp.ir, ol'Woody Aragon

Once he's done, tell him "Bul, in lis.littcrl will, Erdnase turote
lhot the croupier would deal onc ntore symbolic handfor him.
llc was so passionate about poker that, euen after his death, he
slill wanted to play..." Ask the spectator to deal five more cards
orrto the book's cover.

"The most important thing in the game uas that only thosc
two dealers could shuffle the cards and, in order to preuent thc
four cheats from using their techniques, they uere neuer
qlloued to touch the cards". Show your empty hands, stressing
the importance of this moment, so that everyone can clearly set'
that you are not hiding any cards. You will not touch the cards
anyrnore, and the shuffles will be fair.
After the two spectators have riffle shuffled their piles, ask tht'
first one (who's holding the zo card pile with the flushes) to pul
his cards over the cards of the second spectator, so that the detrli
is complete again. I don't want to make this moment looli
important, so I just mimic the actions to the first spectator',
asking him to put his cards on top as I say "nota reassemble tlu'
deck, just like this". This way, they will only remember ntv
asking for the deck to be reassembled, and it will seem likc I
didn't care which pile ended on top.

If you want to further shuffle the cards, you could false shufll'
the two piles yourself (performing a push through shuffle), but I
prefer not to do it, as in this version of the trick I am l)ol
performing a gambling demonstration. I am telling a story irr
which it is Erdnase's spirit that is responsible for the outcomc ol
the game.

Now ask one of the two crottpiers to deal four poker hatttls.
But, as if it was one of the ntlcs ol'Erdnase's will, tell him to tlt'irl
five cards to the first pla.yt'r', l'ivtr t:itrcls to the second, ancl srr
on...

Sltow your audience the hands of the four cheats, revealing the
rlttrrtlruple tie. Place the flushes in order, 9 to K as they are
t'r,vcrrlcd. Tell the audience that the chances of getting a flush in
pol<t,r' ilre l in 255, but the chances of getting four identical ones
Irr llrtr same game are astronomical. Tell them the legend says
llrll llrc four cheats were fooled by Erdnase's ghost, as he never
l'r,rrll.y wantecl anyone to call themselves his successor. He
tvrtttlcrl to let cvcryonc know that, even after his death, Erdnase
tvrn llrc bcst thcrc (:v(lr wils, or will be. Brdnase will always win
nny lx)l((:r glrrrc lhrrl lrc plllys. Show thc r:aruls on top of the book
rrrrrl rtvcirl lhc wirrrrirrg lrirntl. Climax.

A Book in English: Thc errrtl ttrltgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

A book in Englislr: 'l'ltc t'rrrrl rrr;rlirt ol Wootly Aragon

After the routine is finislrcrl, yorr orrly nced to gather the four
ilt 9 [o l(ing order), and restore
llrc order of the to card group (ti, ti,,loker, Aces, Joker,8, B, or
llrc duplicate set of Aces) to restore the initial order and reset
llrc deck for the next performance.
llrrshes (they are already sct rrp

ADDITIONAL REMARKS:
There is a chance for that the winning hand to be a Full Hous,'
(aces over eights), so after the first hand is revealed, I usuallr
say "WotD, aflush! You'll need at least afull house to beat thrtl !"

in order to prepare the audience for one possible outcome. I rr

any case, Erdnase will usually get the four Aces, and most of tlr,'
times, the Joker (which gives him the five aces).
Since this is a more theatrical version of the trick, not only rl,,

I bring the Erdnase book to the stage, but I

also try to ust' ;r

Texan style deck, which looks more antique and appropriater li,r
the story. Not only is the atmosphere of the routine flirllrt'r
enhanced, but it also allows me to have the deck set up for llrl
routine in advance, so that I can do it at a moment's n<lticr'
Since I only use the deck for this routine, I can also prepare il :,r,
that Erdnase will always end up with Five Aces. To acconrpli:lr
this, I use four duplicate Aces and another Joker. In this t';rsr',
the setup of the to cards rtl'lt'r'tlttr lirtrr flushes is: AS, AIl, r\('
AD, Joker, and the si'ttttt'l'ivc t';tt'tls ltg:tin. l)ttt: lo llttl ittvt't'si,,'r
of the cards and GilIr't'rtlr's prirrci;tlt', ottly ottt'At't'<tl't'ltt:lt ltirr,l
will bc in thrr [ittitl lr:rrrtl.

A book in Iirrglislr: I ltc t';rrtl nrrl'r( ()l Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: The e irltl tttitgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

BLESSED POKER
lrr the process of creating a new routine, I usually try to
r'ontemplate every possibility I have, as I think that a thorough
rrn;rlysis of what works best for me as a magician is a key step to
lirrtling the best tricks for my repertoire. Sometimes, though, a
rorrline created almost by mere chance can end up being one of
t'orrr best.
I'vc always been a fan of the classic Jonah Card principle, but
rrrv problem was that, in Spain, most of my audience didn't
hrrow th rules of poker until two or three years ago (God Bless
'l'r,xirs Hold'em!). Gambling demonstrations, in which
the
rrurgit:ian shows his ability to control certain cards (usually a
lirrrcy hand, like the four Aces or a Royal Flush) work because
lorr tlon't need to know the rules of the game to admire the skill
rrl llrt.clreat. But a Ten Card Poker Deal, in which you can end
rrlr slrowing a three of a kind beating two pairs, was a little bit
r'rrrrlirsing, and very hard to present in my country.

Lennart Green, Rubiales, Christian Engblom,lnaki Zabaletta snd M,

IMat

a great shoLo!

(2006)

lk,r':rrrsc of this, my interest and massive collection of these

l.irrrls ol'routines belonged mostly to my academic side of magic.

I lovcrl studying them, but never presented them in public.

()rr llrt'othcl lurnrl,'l'V has been onc ol'nty main sources of

rrnrli. I lurvt, irllllr';rrcrl olr solno l)t'o,lt.iuns oll Arnerican TV,
(ttrtitrlv ;tl)l)(,;u'rn('(,s irr IJrrivisiorr's
t)on lirancisco
I't't'st'ttl:t), lrttl tttorrll\', l'r,r, wol'kcrl in Sp;rrrislr 'l'V. I clidn't

A Book in English: Thc t'rrrtl

A book in LlrrLllislr: 'l lrr' t rrrtl nrirl,r( ol Woorly Aragon

rrrirgic of Woody Arag6n

appear in a mainstream show, lrtrt I had a weekly 15 minutes

slot totally dedicated to magic (sonrcthing very rare in today's
T\) for 4 years.
One day, I received a call from Rodrigo Garcinuflo, the show's
host. He told me he had something special for that evening's
show, and suggested that I prepare a gambling demonstration,
similar to the ones he had already seen, in which I presented m.t'
"uncanny ability" to control and classify cards.

When I got to the set, I understood why. They had invitetl

Manuel Sevilla, the current Spanish poker champion, and thcr
had arranged a showdown between the two of us. They hatl
taken away the usual interview table from the set, and in ils
place, there was a round table covered with a long table clotlr,
complete with a card mat, and someone from the productiorr
team was even sent out to buy a new deck of (poker) cards. Tht'

deck was unsealed and opened as they presented

atttl

interviewed the champion. They put some money on the tablt',

and Rodrigo and Manuel played a couple of hands to warttt:;
things up. As you would expect, Rodrigo ended up losing.

It was a priceless moment. Many magicians (including nrt')

perform Gambler vs. Magician routines... This one was FOI(
REAL. I thought I had to get the most of the situation, and plrl
a game with him, with as much conflict as possible. I could hirr','
gone on air, shown the guy how I could control four aces, ancl lr,'
would have said "oh, that's nice..." but that would have bt't'rr
wasting a unique opportunity.
quickly discarded the trick that I had planneil ()tr
performing, and thought of a basic routine, that allowed lor ;,
one-on-one match, and used the deck they had been just lx','rr
playrng with... I remembered the Jonah Card principle, arrrl
figured that if I used it well, I wottldn't even have to totrc:lt llr,'
cards. And in literally 5 nrintttt's, I had atssemblcd thc t'ottlirr,'
that I performed that tltrv. ll wits so sttt:trt:ssfirl thitt, trt tltis tlrrr.
they still know ln('its "ll'otxlt1. llrr r1ttt1 tulut hutl lltc lxtlt'r
So

chatttltiort"t.

I will now explain the routirrt':rs I pcrlonn it now. The trick

wirs so successful, that I clid it lil' tlrc pupils at Ana Tamariz's
rrr:rgic school, where I teacl-r. 'l'ltcy lil<ecl it so much that I started
lo perform it in public. The audience liked it so much, that I
sltrrted to teach it in my lectures. And everyone liked it so much,
tlrirt it has now become a staple in my repertoire, and as such, I
w;rnt to include it in this book. Throughout the deveiopment of
llris routine, I was always adding new details and additional

.rrrbtleties.

At'tually, I didn't really take great pains when creating the

rolrtine's structure. I went for a classic, functional approach:
'l'lrrcc phases, each one under more impossible conditions than
llrr, llrevious one. The first two phases are based on a method by
Nicl< Trost, called Eighteen Cerd Poker (in The Card Magic of
Nir:l< Trost), and the last one comes from the ending of
'l'irrrtariz's Ten Card Deal rolutine (published
in the book that
,'rrrrrc with the Magic Card Set, written by Santiago de la Riva
lor liournier. To my knowledge, it has never been published
urrlsirlo of Spain.)

THE TEN CARD DEAL, AND THE "JONAH

CARD'/*STRANGER CA RD" PRINCIPLE
'l'lris is a classic principle, but I still thinkthat it's interesting
lo r,xplirin, just in case the reader is not familiar with it. The idea
rr;rs l'irst published in Arthur Buckley's Card Control. The
Irirrciplc consists of taking 10 cards, so that there are 3 groups
,rl llrrr.c and a "stranger" card. For example, we could take three
,lirllis, three ICngs, three Queens and the Ace of Clubs. Because
llrr slr':nrgcr card (AC) does not help to form any poker hand
rvrllr llrt' r'cst of the cards, and the fact that there are only two
lr;rtrrls irr lo carcls, wlrot:vcl'has the stranger card in their hand
rrrll lrirvt.tltt'wt':rl<r'sl lurl<cr har-rd. In othrlr.words, no matter
Irrrrv llrt. r't.sl ol'llrr.r';rrtls;rrt rlcult, llrt. lurrrtl tlurt holds the Ace
,,1 ( 'lttlts will lrlw;rvr; loosr'.

A book in lmglislr:

A Book in English: Thc t'ltrtl tttrtgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

In addition, the winning hancl will always be one better than

the losing hand. So, if the losing hancl has a pair, then the
winner will have two pairs. If the losing hand holds two pairs,
then the winning one will hold three of a kind. If there is a three
of a kind in the losing hand, then there will be a fuII house in thc

winning hand. That's it, there are no other possiblc

combinations.

This principle has been extensively used for pokel

demonstrations, but it is also the basis for many different kinds
of effects (Max Maven used it in a prediction; Vernet had rr
version with cards printed on a CD, etc...).

rrrrl rrrrltrr'

ol Wootly Aragon

tltna- hands, I can reod qtnt.lirtttt't"....jttst lcoue me alone! This

rttude them both uerA onqt't1 tuillr rrtt,, trtttl they started calling
rtrc names!Thenthey botlt pul u qUl)st) cut'se onme...

...but they both did it at the sontc thne... Simultaneously! And

in mathematics they say if you multiply a negatiue
Ittl o negatiue, the result is a positiue... So, Aou con imagine.
littcr since that day I haue been BLESSED, and I always haue
rltxtcl luck. Man, you can't euen imagine how stressful that is.
I'his ueek I win on MegaMillions, next tueek Potuerball...
n t t I h1, really tercible...
tltnt know,

Olt, and poker. Does anybody here play poker? Do you play?

()li, then let's play poker, the three of us, so that Aou can see
Ittttu I always uin. Really,I always uin!

THE SET-UP:
First, separate 18 cards into two groups of nine. Each grotrlr
contains 3 groups of 3 cards with the same value, which shoultl
be between 9 and Ace. That means, you could make one grotrl)
with three Nines, three Jacks and three Kings, and the otht'r
group with three Tens, three Queens and three Aces. Make sutt
that one of the Aces is the Ace of Spades. Justify this by sayirrri
"We'll only use high cards, I don't taant to uin uith, say, a puit'
of tll,os..."

INTRODUCTION:
You can talk with your audience as you prepare the set-up. I
usually tell this surreal story I came up with in order to juslilr
the effect:

during one of ma ursits fo Granada, ant ttl,l

uas selling lucky chcrrttr:'
'Please buy alucky charm', she said.'Or maybe I can do a pttlrrt
reading for you.'... What a pain! I.iust said'No, please leauc rrr,'
alone!' But she wouldn't. And, lo rnuke matters u)orse, (1 sQfl)trrl
GApsU ceme along, antl slrc truulc cxuctly the sorne derturttrl:'l
'Please buy a sprigl tll' t'os('ttt(t,'tl. t rt Oh, let tttt lruuc ct kxsk trl
"Some Aears ago,

GUpsU u)oman approached me. She

(l) 'l'lrt's;rrig ol l{ost'ttt;tt t i

llrt't

.r

ll lrir';rl lttt'liv t'ltltt ttr irr Sp;rirr.

I txtk, I separated some cards. We'll play poker just tuith these
,'rn'r/.s.' they are the high cards. Bg that, I mean that these are

t,nly the high ualue cards, nine to Ace, so we uill only get
,,1tt't'lucular hands... not a tiny one, like a pair of tuuos... and
tlttn, please, start getting out some moneA, or uhateuer Aou
tt,rtttl lo bet, on the table"

I 1r'ef'er having the audience bet something else other than

rron('.y, or at least something more valuable (besides, people
r,.rrll.y tlon't like putting too much money on the table). It is
rrrrrllr better if they have to bet something to which we can
ir,,:ri11rr a great monetary value: the house/car keys, the latest
1,,r'rrcrirtion cell phone... anything that they have at hand will
rvorli. 'l'tren we can improvise a comment for every object that
llrcy rrsc to bet. I say this because I've always thought it is more
irrlrrr,sling if a spectator does not bet a 20$ bill (whose real
\ rr lu(' (,v(]tyone knows), and instead he bets a pair of sunglasses.
l',r'r.rr il' thcy zrre really cheap, you can tell the audience that
\ln'r'r'playing fill a ;rail'of Ray;ban Santa Cruz Super Fashion
l'lrnr srrrrglitsscs, llrt. orrcs thert all tlrc t:clcbrities wear, and
r,rlrrcrl

trl ov('r' $;;,ooo. 'l'ltt: :rrrrlicnt't' will

suspend their

,lr',lrclicl', rrrrrl llrt'lllrnrc lrccorrrt's rrrrrt'lr rrrorc lirn irrrrl clramatic.

Abook in Iirrglislr: l lrt'r'rrrrl rrrry,rt ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc t rrttl ttrrtliit ol Wootly Arag6n

nothing in your hand. 'l'ltc ltntlilt,nr i.s //rrrt my hand is a little

lx:tter... but yours r-s rrol tltttl lxr<l... Come on, show it to

FIRST PHASE:

t'ueryone..."

This is my presentation, as it comes, of one of the phases irr

Nick Trost's Eighteen Cqrd Poker. In my case, I have a spectator
shuffle each of the two groups of cards, so that I do not have trr
touch the cards. I also added the divination of the resulting
hands.
Give one of the 9 cards group to a spectator, and the otht'r
group to a second one (don't say there are 9 cards in each, just
say you are giving them a half each). TeIl them to shuffle their
cards thoroughly, as much as they want, as you don't want to
touch the cards, since you are going to win anyway... You shoultl
really stress the situation in this first phase: you do not tout'lr
the cards, and the spectators can shuffle as much as they want.
Now you will choose one of the spectators as your opponerrl
Place your wallet on the table, as a bet against whatever he prrt

Tell him he can either place his cards on top of or below llr,'
other spectators card, as he wishes (usually everyone wants lrr
place his ovrn cards on top). Once he's gathered all of the c&t'tL,,
tell him to deal two hands of poker, one for you and one li,r
himself.
The Jonah Card principle works automatically in this cirs,'
Since there are 9 cards in each group, the toth card will belorrr',
to the second group, and thus become the "Stranger" c:llt,I
Ironically, if you were the one dealing the cards, you would lrrrr,'
to employ some tricky maneuver to get the stranger card irrl.'
the spectator's hand (this is the case for most ro card poker tlt';rl
routines). But here, as the spectator deals the cards, it is natrrr';rl
for him to deal the first card to you, and the Stranger (1otr') t'ir r ,
to himself.

'l'he spectator will turn ovel his cards. He will be holding

sornething (there should, at least, be a pair). But the nice thing
rrbout this is that you will hnow that you have the next best
lrirnd. So, let's say he's got a pair of Queens. You could say
" Wou! A pair! And none other than a pair of
Queens! Actually,
tlutt is not a bad hend... the only problem is, one pair con neuer
lxut ttuo pairs, and that's exactly what I haue... two pairs..."
'l'urn your cards over and, as soon as you see them, continue,
rrs il'finishing the sentence "Tens and Kings, as Aou con see..."
'l'his first phase is really strong, but, as you will see, it will pale
irr t'omparison to the following ones. That's why I urge you to
t I r i rr k about it carefully. Don't just rush through it, thinking "fhrs
t:; 1l7o weak part, I need to get ready for uhat comes next..."
llt.t':ruse as far as the audience is concerned, this is what iust
lr;rppened: under the fairest possible conditions, two people
',lrrrl'lled the cards, rearranged them at their will (which,
',orrrt'how, substitutes for a cut) and then dealt the cards
llrr,rrrsclves. And, with total impunity, without even touching the
,';u'rls, not only have you won, and you have been able to
rnrrourlc the result beforehand (winning in itself is not so
rrrcrt.rlible, as in a legitimate game you would have a 5o%o
,'lr;rrrt'c. The amazing thing is that you KNEW you were going to
rvirr ), lnd you managed to know what was in each hand before it
lrrlot't' it was revealed. Suddenly, your blessing becomes more
l,r'lit,v:rblc, and the spectators start to realize that, no matter
rvlr;rl llrcy do, you reallywill win.

As soon as he's done clcitlirrg, lttrlirrc he has had timc to t't'r'tr

touch the cards on thtr t;tlrlr', t'xt'lttirtt "O/c, I tttrttt!"'['hc sllt:t'tltl,,r
will be surprisccl, lttttl lltc rttttlit'ttt't'will llrrrglr lll .yotll's('ll
confit'lt:rtgg. (llrttittrtt' lr1 ',;tt tttl',: "ll/cll, i/'.s llol lltttl tltttt ltrtt',

;\l;li .yorrr' <rpponent in this round "Well, if you haue a pair,

tnt(l I ltuuc ltuo of' lltcrtt... ruho tuins?" He will acknowledge your
r rllor'1,. Oral; wlurtt'v('t' wits tlre bet, anrl ltlace it next to you. I
llrrrrli it is rrt't't'ssrrY llt;rt yollr' opl)ont,nt t,orrf inns your victory,
,r', it rvill rrr:rl<r. llrirrli:; t'lr.;rrr,r'lill'llrosc irr llrr.;rrr<lir.rrcc who don't
l.trorv ltow lo;rl;rr'poLr.t (;rrrtl wlr;tl lt;rrtrl lrr.;rls wlr;tl).'l'hcywill

A book in [irrglislr: 'l'lrt' t'rttl trurl.itu ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc crrrtl tttitgit' ol'Wootly Arag6n

think "I hauen't the slightest itliLrt ubottl pluying poker, but if
that guy, uho knous hous to plor1, sttqs he lost, then it must be
true".

SECOND PHASE:

starting a row (where you will ttrll lrinr to place the rest of the
r':rrds as they are dealt). S:ry "Mrrrl<l you like to changeyour
utrdfor mine?". His decision clocsn't rnatter.
Now tell him to deal your second card, next to the first one,
then one more for him. "Do you taant to change your
x,cond card for mine?" Notice that, while you are giving him
rrrrlre freedom than the usual, there still seems to be a "rule"
lhat allows him only to change each card for the one in front of
il. Again, his decision doesn't matter
rrrtcl

This is the only phase in the routine that has been completely
created by me, although it is based on the same principle as the
previous one. It is a way of getting the Stranger Card into thcr
ipectator's hand. Many fellow magicians praise it, and tell mc
it's a great contribution to the Ten Card Poker Deal ptinciple. I
agree, but I can't boast about how much hard work I put in ttr
develop it, as I came up with it while improvising a way to let
the poker champion choose which cards he wanted, while at tht'
same time making sure he got the stranger card.

After changing (or not), ask him to deal the third card. But you
won't just offer him the opportunity to change his card for
\/oul's. Instead, say "Would you like to change your entire
Itund for mine?" Once again, his decision doesn't affect the
ttttlcome.

Pick up the two hands from the previous phase so that tht'
stranger card (it will be the last card in the spectator's face ttlr
hand) ends up being the bottom card of the whole face dowrr
packet. Then gather the cards that were not used in the first
phase, and put them under the rest, thus returning tht'
"stranger Card" to its group, and restoring the two groups ol
nine cards. At that exact moment, act as if suddenly changing
you mind, and separate the two groups again, and give eat'lr
spectator one group ftop or bottom nine cards], and tell them lo
shuffle the cards once again. But this time, try to give the grorrlr
that includes the Aces to the spectator who will be yorrr'
opponent.

him choose tlrc

order in which the two packets will be assembled (as I told yorr
before, people usually put their packet on top. That is why Yorr
should hand your opponent the Aces. If they appear in yottr'
hand in this phase, it makes the third phase a little bit easierr'. ll
he chooses to place his pile on the bottom, it doesn't rcrrtllr
Place your bet against his and, once again, let

matter).
Once again, you will ttol lttrtt'lt thc stack of carcls, ttntl llrt'
spectatorwillbe thc ck'irlr,r'. llrrl llris lintc, asl< ltipt to slowly tk';rl
a card fol yott, itntl ottt'lirr lrirrr. I'litt'tr yottl't'lttrl ttt'xl trt lris,

lrirrirlly, after he deals the fourth card, say "Would you like to
rlttttttlc rtrtyt of yotLr cards for anA of mine? Or euen change
ytttrt' tulwlc hand... or, ntatlbe you would like to SEE ALL THE
l',,1r{/)^5'?" Don'[ givt' lrirrr tirne to answer, iust start turning the
lrrlrls ovt:r'. "'l'lutl's il. ltxtlc, I'll tunt llrc cunls.ltrce up, andyou
rrttt ltxtk ul lltrttt rttttl tk,citlt, tolticlt o,l(,s Uol toet1t... I don't
r'ttt\', l'll tttitt trtttltt,ttti'.

A Book in English: Tltc

lttl

tttltllic ol Wootly Arag6n

So, what is really happening? Qtritc sirttplv, U of the 9-cards

above the "stranger Card" are being clividcd ittttl two hands, but

their final allocation will make no clil'fi:r'cllce to the outcome.

The way you've been increasing thc odds in favor of the
spectator, io the point of letting him choose the cards face up,
justifies the fact ihut th" last card will be dealt face up. And, at
ihis .no*"nt, of course, it will be too late for him to change, as
the hands have been completed (and you've won!).

To top

it all off, this is the phase with the most spectacular

hands. As the spectator can see all of the cards, he will naturally
combine themln order to get the best possible hand (usually
three of a kind, which gives you a full house).

As soon as the spectator has made his decision, tell him "OK,
d.eal the next card, face up for me.- nott; the last one, face up
for you..." And, despite the conditions, which make it seemingly
imp"ossible for him to lose, he has. You ask the spectator "So,
tttio won this hand?" Of course, it will be you.

My admired friend Gabi Pareras says about this phase:

"This second round is truly wonderful. Card by card, ahtays
down, the spectator is inuited to test his luck, as thc
face
"magician
witnesies the process uith a lack of concern thal
incieases more and more, building up the feeling that the finul
result is unauoidable. The spectator is betuildered, up to tlrc
point where the magician turns the cards face up, and lets hittr
freely choose his cards. And, at this moment, he gets the best
"pottibl"
hand uith the eight cards on the table! Right there, his
hand is better than the mogician's. The spectator is about ltt
win, not just a round of poker, but a fight against fate, this
unknounforce that Seems to determine what will happen, euctt
against thefree choices that the spectator has had all the uaq!
fieuertheleis, uhen the last card is dealt face up, and in just
one card"! The picture changes cornpletely and, ortct'
again, yet one more tinto, irt an unbelieuable hoist, llu'
iagiciin uins. They xry t/r'.slirrr7 can be crue'l sontetimes' I
totally agree!"

A book in Irnlllrslr: 'l'lrc t'lrrtl rnrrliit' ol'Woody Aragon

THIRD PHASE:
This phase is somehow rcl:rtctl to the second one, but I think it
gives a nice twist to the "clczrling" procedure. It is also "louder"
(and, as such, more fitting zls an ending) as you are playing
against three spectators "at the same time". Ask two spectators
(who know how to play poker) to help the poker player. This
I4roup of three spectators will act as a committee, and make all
the decisions.

"Maybe it's better if ue take out some of the cards. Let's make
it clearer, and play uith just 10 cards..." As you say this, gather
:rll of the cards, and keep just three groups of three cards, which
should include the kings. For example: three Kings, three
()ueens and three Tens. Then add the Ace of Spades, which is
now the "Stranger Card". Meanwhile, we will cheat a little bit by
sirying "I uill take just the high cards, the uery high ones. So
tue'll take the ACES, the Kings..." In fact, you are not lying, as
lhere ARE Aces (we11, there's one). But saytng ACES aloud
srrggests that there will be more of them in the chosen pile. The
rrrst of the cards go back on top of the deck.
Count the to cards aloud on the table, to make

it

clear there

;u'c no extra cards involved. Then shuffle the pile, keeping the
Ar:c of Spades on the bottom.

"'l-his time, I tuon't just play against you, but against the
tltree of you at the same time. If you uin, I'll giue you back
n,arlJthing. Moreouer, ue'll do something dffirent this time, I
tuill shuffle the cards and shou you the last one..." At this
rnornent, stop shuffling. The Ace of Spades should be on the
lrollom of the pile. Show it to everyone (but do not look at it
vrrrrrselfl and ask the spectators "For example, this card...
torntld you keep this one?"

l,irr nrany psychologicll leasons (reasons that I will analyze

lirlr,r'), thc slrct'tllor will lirl<c the Ace. Although you should rest
;nisrrrt'rl thirl lrt'r,vill l;rlir, llrc Ar:t:, tlrc rlrrcstion rnost people ask
rrl llris lroinl irr rrrv lr,r'lrur,s is "llttl tttlutl il'llrcry dott'l take the

A book itr l'.rrllrslr llrt't rrrrl nrirl'r( r)l Woocly Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc t rrrtl ttt:tliit ttl Wootly Arag6n

Ace?". This "force" works 99%

ol'tltt' titlltrs, lllld they will

say

IES

Deal the Ace face up, as yoll say "Yr:s? Ok, you can keep it
then. This one's for you. I uill cotrtittuc slrufJling, and then I
uill shout you cards, one by one. As I slrcru you all of the cards,
you decide which ones Aou tuant to keep, and uhich ones Aou
leaue for me. It really doesn't ntatter, as I uill uin again..."
Shuffle the cards, this time for real, show them the bottom card,
and stick to what you initially promised - you keep all the cards
they discard, and giving them all the cards they want.

At some point in the procedure, one of the cards will not be

good for their hand, but will be good for yours. They have two
choices now:

. If they keep the card, say "Good, aou are keeping this
I don't get a good hand. But keep in mincl
that nou you haue a bad card in your hand... Btt

card so that

careful! You shouldn't be trying to preuent me frottr

getting the Eood cards; you should be trying to get thc

best possible hand".

If they choose to give you the card, say "Well, I noticed

that you'ue giuen me this Jack lor whatever card it is l,

I already haue one in my hand. Guys, you're giuiru1

me all the good cards! Be careful! You shouldn't b<'
trying to get the best possible hand; you should bt'
but

stopping me from getting a good hand"

any case, we should be able to split the focus of th,'

spectators between playing aggressively and playirrg
defensively. This enhances the idea that the three participanls
don't really know what they are doing, getting to the poirrt
where sometimes they will even argue over some of the choict's.
That is great for us, as the rest of the audience is witnessirrg
these three people, who srtpposcdly know how to play pokt'r',

In

but they have no idea how [o lrt':tl ir guy who is showing thetrl irll
thecardsonebyor-rr',irntl lcllingtltcntt:hoost'lltt'oltt'stItl.ygt'll

Continue with the pr'(x'(.sis rrrrtil, l'inrrlly, we get to my favorite

nroment in this phasc. Wltt'lr llrr'.y lrirvc chosen four cards for
tlreir hand, say:. "Well, I sc<, tltur tntlq rrced to choose one more
card... Just pick onA otrc qr;tr tuurtl, trncl leaue the other onesfor
nre". Spread the remaining calcls in a fan. This is a really funny
ttroment, as the three spectators will start looking at their hand,
then at yours, then at the rernaining cards... and start doing
t:alculations on what will happen, depending on their last
sclection... At this moment, rush up to them and say "Come on,
tpu should pick one... it's rtot that hard, you knotu". Finally,
they will pick any card and complete their hand. You complete
yours with the remaining cards and tell the audience "Well, I
utn no expert at poker, but I can see you'ue gotten yourselues a
lxtir of Kings [or whatever hand they have], and I haue hoo
1rirs, Queens ouer Tens... Who tuins?"
lle a good boy, and return everything they bet at the beginning
ol'the routine, and clearly state that you're an artist, and never
usc your powers for evil... because you don't want to, not
Irct:ause you can't.

IIINAL COMMENTS:
( )abi remarked on the fact, and I agree with him, that
the
conclitions in which this routine is performed can deeply move
vorr audience, even distressing them, as they might feel that
rrnrlr:r normal circumstances, both of you should have the same
lrrcl<... So if you are having better luck than normal, that means
llrrrt they are having worse luck. In a way, you're stealing the

lrrt:l< from them! One could say that the word "vampiric"
1rr.r'lirctly fits the effect of this routine.
Itt.g:rrding the much feared faiiure of the Ace of Spades force
rrr llrc beginning of the third phase, I will give you my thoughts
, rrr il, irnd I will givc yorr :u-t out in case there is a problem.

'l'lrc spcct:rlot' is pl;n,itr1i

llol<er against yorr, and he wants to
rvirr.'l'lrc cirrrl willr tlrr, lriglrt,sl vitltrc is llrr.Ar.r', so rnost of the
Irrnt,, lrt'will rr';rrrl lo lit't'p il il'orrlv lirr.tlris leilson.

A book in lirrglrslr: 'l'lrc t rrrrl rrrirlrrr' ol Woody Aragon

A Book in English: 'l'ltc t'llrtl ttt:tgit' rtl Wootly Arag6n

Psychologically, we've made this cartl cvorl lllore tempting. Take

a look at the whole routine:

In the first two phases there are three Aces in play, so

there will probably be Aces in the winning hands, or, al
Ieast, multiple Aces will be seen during the shuffling
sequences. In the second phase, you will try to have tht'
Aces be a paft of the face-up selection process.

When you are selecting the ro cards for the final phaser,
you will say "ACES', thus suggesting a possible hantl
with multiple Aces in the spectator's mind.

You will keep the Ace of Spades, the one with the most
elaborate design, and the biggest picture. Even thouglr
the 4 aces have the same value, at a subconscious level.
we tend to think of it as the highest card there is. This
makes it a more likely selection than any other Ace irr
the deck.

The Ace does not appear because you chose it, you just
shuffled the cards and it happens to be there when yotr
show the bottom card (Just do any shuffle that retains it
as the bottom card, and try not to flash it during tht'
shuffle). As the Ace seems to appear out of pure chant't'.
it will not feel as though it's a part of a "trick". So, for ir ll
these reasons, no one is going to stlspect that yorr
actually need this card to be selected.

I don't have an out lirr' llrc t'irst. whcrc the second spectator
silys no, but I think it's such :rrr irrrprubable outcome, that it is
rcally is not worth the eflbrt to try and come up with one.
Moreover, if I stafted thinking about a possible solution, that
would mean I would be contemplating failure, and I fear that
this would affect my attitude when performing the routine, and
Irirrm my execution of the force. Therefore, I am completely

confident that the spectator

will

decide
it.

to take the Ace of

Sp:rdes, and that's why they always take

And by the way, if you don't mind the fact that it is in Spanish,
you can see what happened the day I played against the poker
clrirmpion. There's a video of the TV program on Youtube . You
r'rrrr search for the two parts of "Duelo de Campeones" ["The
('lrirmpion's Duel"].

But... what if it does not work? Juan gives the solution in hi:;
original routine. The out to this force is in the way you ask llr,'
question. "Would you keep this card...?" I show the Ace to orrt'
of the spectators. As soon as one of the three spectators says yt's,
I automatically give him the card. But what if he says no? ,lttsl
KEEP THE SAME ATTITUDE, and continue, as if finishing tlrt'
sentence "No? Then this ctu'd usould be for me, the next ortr" il
Aou uanted it, tuoulcl ba .litt' ryrnt, ond so ot7--- Got it? Lcl':;
begin!" And then I stitr't lltt' 1rt'ttt't'ss aguitr, showiltg the Acc to ;r
SeCOnd SpeCtertor'. Atttl, ont'r' ;t1i;titt, llttlt'g's it <1t1'%, t:ltitttt:tl ltt''ll
take it!

A book in lirrglislr 'l'lrc t'irltl

A Book in English: Thc crrrtl lttttgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

Being transported from the 5 stnr hotel to the TV studio in

limousine... the life of wL magicians, is sooo hard,..

rrrirl-irt.

ol Wootly Aragon

(200e)

Tricks with special cards

A book in Ilnglrslr: 'l'lrc cirlrl

A Book in English: Thc cirtrl rtrirgic ol'Wootly Arag6n

nur1,'.rr.

ol'Woody Aragon

DO NOT GET CONFUSED...

l.'or a while, this trick became my preferred opener when
l)('rforming close-up or cocktail magic. It is my version of a
wrrnderful little trick by Nick Trost called Ttuisto-Blanko. you'll
scc it is one of those tricks that almost look like a hallucination,
lrttt the ending separates the effect and the cards from the rest
ol'the deck, making it a great opener.
IiF'FECT:

'l'he magician shows the three picture cards from one of the
r lr,t:l<'s suits. In a rapid succession, the cards turn, face up or face
rlown, with no possible manipulation or possible explanation.
Itinally, the magician shows that everything was just an illusion,
.rirrcc the cards never had any faces or any backs, and he was
jrrsl holding four blank cards.
,I'I

IE SET.UP:

You

will need four special cards for this routine. A blank

lrrrcltrcl King, Queen and Jack (all of the same suit), and a blank
Irrcr, r:ard with a back design that matches the deck you will use.
'l'lrr. rlcck starts inside the box, and the special cards are set
irprrrl in the following older (starting from the face of the pack):
(Jttr.t.rr, lllanl< I.'at:c t:ar'(l (r'cversed), ICng and.Iack.

**

A book in l'lrrp'lislr: I lrc t'irrrl llr1,.rt' ol Woocly Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc t'rrttl tttrtliit' ol Wttotly Arag6n

"This is the infatnou.s ,/rrt'k trick, in which the magician puts

llrc Jack in the middle..." Usc your thumb to clearly slide the
.lack between the other two picturc cards.

PERFORMANCE:
When you are ready to start, take the four prepared cards and
place them over the card box, which contains the rest of the
deck, as you say "I will nou perform a trick using only three
picture cards" . This will make your audience assume the three
iards come from the deck that's inside the box. We could really
take them from the deck, in different places, but that woulcl
siow down the pace of the trick, and it will not be consistent
with the trick's ending.

"And, euen uhile scmdwiched betuueen two other cards... it

Ittrns ouer on its own!"- square the cards and, in a continuous
rrrotion, do another Ascanio Spread. The Jack will appear to
Iurvo turned over.

So, start by quickly performing an Ascanio Spread (showing

four cards as three) to show that you have three picture cards irr
your hands.

A book irr lrrrlllislr: 'lltt't:rrrl nrrl'r( ()l Woucly Aragon

A Book in English: Tlte t'rttrl tltrtgit' ol Woorly Aragon

Using your left thumb, run lwo t:itt'tls sitrgly over the left
hand's palm. Place the remairrirtg two cttt'ds under the left
thumb as one. Say "But do not glet anlfitscd! It's the infamous
Jack trick because the Jack turns ouer! Sontetimes people think
that they see the Queen turn ouet'..." The card in the middle will
still be reversed, but everyone will think it must be the Queen,
since they are staring at the faces of the Jack and King...

"Because the card tlutl's.sl//)/x).s(,(/ lo turn ouer is the King!"

Once again, run two cartls ancl place the double on top of
overything. It will seerr zls il'thc I(ing turned over.

"lltrt, do not get confused. Because, the truth is, for this trick
tyru don't really need..." Square everything, holding a break
rrrrrler the bottom card (the Jack) with your left pinky. Hold the
ollrcr three cards as if they were one, and do Father Cy>hrian's
(,)ttick Change. Everyone will see a blank back (on the other side
ol'Ihe Jack, as your wrist turns over) then a blank face as you go

"But do not get confused, because that is not true! The Queen u
clearly face up, as euerAone con see..." Do another Ascanio
spread, just like the previous ones. It will seem like the Queerr
has magically turned face uP.

lrircl<

to dealing position.

... u King, a Queen or a Jeck". Release the three cards over the
crrrrl in the left hand and square everything, as you go straight
itrlo ir Flushtration count. But, in a similar fashion to what you
rlirl hcfirre, the last two cards have to be placed as one under the
lll'l lrlncl's thumb.
"

A Book in English: Thc t'rtrtl trrir;'.ic ol'Wootly Arag6n

A book irr lirrglislr: l lrt. t'rrrrl nrirl,r( ()l Wootly Aragon

THE TRANSPARENT TRAVELLING

SPOTS
'l'his is my version of a classic trick in which the pips of a
pllying card travel to a white card chosen from a group of four.
When I was a beginner in magic, this was one of my favorite
I rit:ks, because of the strength of the effect and the simplicity of
llrt' rnethod. The version I will explain now uses a very different
rrrclhod. It makes the trick look more impossible, and adds a

Now you will reverse count the three cards into your righl
hand by taking the first two cards as one. Finally, put the card irr
your pocket (they can be seen blank on both sides). Contintrt'
your performance by taking the deck from the box.

vr,r'.y

ADDITIONAL REMARKS:

visual element to the climax.

IiIIFECT:

I have to say that I think it is wonderful that in the first phast',

using only one back, as the first round of effects happens, tht'
audience assumes that they have seen the backs of every cartl
(and there's no need for an introductory phase). Kudos to Mr.
Trost for such a great idea! And, as a nice addition, the effecl irr
itself acts as a theme misdirection, as the audience is looking li,r'
the secret move that allows the magician to turn the cards ov,'r
under their very noses. That helps to build up the final efli't't.
making it a really powerful one, even more if you take irrl,
account that the trick is performed with only three cards... or,
maybe, because of it.

'l'lrt: magician removes from his pocket four pieces of clear

ir('(,1;rt.e, the size of a playing card, and numbers them r to 4 with
ir l)(.r'ulanent marker. He sets the cards on the table, and takes a
,lr,r'l< of cards. A spectator selects a card, which is then shown
rrrrrl placed between the 4 transparent ones. The magician sets
llrt, tlt:ck aside, and takes the selection and the four transparent
lrrrrls in his hand. Gently waving his other hand over the cards,
llrc spots on the selection are seen to visually travel upwards
nrrlo ol.lc of the transparent cards.
,I'I

I I,I

SET-UP:
A pcl'nr:rncrrl rrr;rrl<cr'.
A tltrcl< ol'r';rrr ls.
A lrl:tnli llrcr,rl r';rlrl (witlr ir lrlrr,li llt;rl rrurlr.hcs the deck
you'r'r'ttsirrri).

A book in lrrrglislr: 'llrt,t.irltl rrr;r1irt.ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English: Thc citltl tttttgit' ol'Wootly Arag6n

What will later appear to btr 4 tl'attsparent pieces of

acetate is actually just three picces. 'l'ake a sheet of clear
acetate and, using a playing carcl as a template, cut out
three pieces, making sure that they are the exact size of a
card.

written). Place everythirrg irr lltt'r.irxl lrox, and place the box in
your pocket.

METHOD:
Show the transparent cards to your audience. Do not count
them yet, just say that there are four cards.
Take the permanent marker and number the cards, from 1 to
4, in the same size and in the same location that you put the
number r on the TC card. The technique (a classic of mentalism)
consists of writing the number r, showing it, and put it back on
the bottom of the pile. Then you repeat the process with the
sccond and third card. As there are only three cards, the
supposed fourth card is actually the first one. You iust need to
t:ross the number one with a line, turning it into number four,
irnd then show it to your audience as card number 4. Because
tlrey have seen four different numbers, the audience will assume
.you are holding four transparent cards.

Now turn over the cards. Because the numbers are reversed
it will be very hard for the spectators to
rliscern anything, even for those who are watching the cards
vcry closely. If you want, you can perform an Elmsley count to
sltow 4 cards. The count confirms that you have four cards, and
pcr"forming it with the transparent cards is amazingly deceptive.
( lt helps to create a "false fairness" effect.)
rrrtd overlap one other,

Finally, choose a high spotted black card (the force card),

and have it photocopied onto a sheet of acetate paper'.
Alternatively, if the type of acetate that you have allows it, yotr
can use a laser printer to print the card image onto a sheet ol
acetate. Cut this card (the transparent copy or TC card) to sizt'
and, using the permanent marker, write the number one on its
face.

On top of the face down deck, place the force card fat't'
down. On top of that, place the TC card face dov,rr with tlr,'
numbered end closest to you (Be careful not to reverse it!).
Place the blank card face down on top of everything. Now plat't'
the Ace of Spades on the bottom, with the tip of the Spatlt'
pointing at the audience. This is important because it enstttts
that you can instantly dctt'r'rttinc which end has the number t otr
it (the base of AS itr<lit':rtt's lltt'sicle whct'tr thct numbct'is

l'lace the transparent cards on the table, and remove the deck

lirrm its case. Cut the deck and hold a break. Force the card
rrntlcr the break, either by doing multiple cuts, and cutting to
llrc break when a spectator says stop, or by using a riffle force.
Arr.y force that doesn't let the cards fall or spread will work; the
kr,.y is

not to spread or dribble the deck and flash the TC card.

Oncc you've excr:rrtcrl the force, you will now do a pseudo

triplc lift (whcn vorr tkr it, because of the thinness of the TC
lrutl, you will scr, llr;rl it is rtrally morc lil<t.ir rkxrblc lift): Turn
ovt.r'tlrc ltlirlrk r';rrrl, llrr,'l'(lr:irrrl arr<l tlrr. lirx,t't.irr.rl as one unit,
itt ottlt'r'to slrow llrl lrrlc ol'llrt'lirrct.r'lrrl.'l'r'll tlrc irtrrlicrrcc that

A Book in English: Thc clrtl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

this card will magically travel, and let a spectator run his fingers
over the card's spots to confirrn that the card is really there antl
the spots do not rub off.
i

Turn the unit over again, and just pick up the top two cards orr

top of the deck. That is, pick up the blank card and thc
transparent copy card under it. This is not easy, and you will
good misdirection. I use the crossing the gaze techniqut',
directing my look from the deck to the audience's eyes, as I asli

them a "blurring question", which should be something funn.v,

and make some of them laugh, something like "I presume yort
are allfamiliar uith the basics of matter transmutation, arett't
yolt?". Meanwhile, you will place this double on top of thc
transparent cards on the table.

Now comes my favorite moment. Take the whole packet

blank card face down, TC card, and the three transparent cards
square it and turn it face up... it looks like nothing h;rs
happened, but in reality, you're already finished.

I usually transfer the top transparent card under the blarrli

I say "I'II SANDWICH the selection u:ith tlu'

face, as

transparent cards". Then I start to slowly wave my hand ovcr'

the packet, as I start to relax my fingers, and let the cards slowlr
slide apart.

The ghostly movement of my hand, together with the fact th;rl

the spots start moving offthe card on which they are supposctllr
printed, creates a sensory illusion, making it seem like the spots
are being transferred from the regular card to the transpart'rrl
one.

A book in Englislr: 'l'ltc crrrtl rrrrrpir, ol'Wootly Aragon

You can have the audicrrct: cx:rrrrirrc the blank facer and the
It'ansparent cards, while you gct ritl ,f the top card of the deck.
Yru can then have the deck cxamined, and cohtinue performing
with it...

AI)DITIONAL REMARKS:
YhV do I put the blank facer between the transparent cards
(when I say I will sandwich the selection)? Because lf I leave the
trormal card under the acetate ones, then it would be very
nlrvious that the spots move to the transparent card closest to
llrc selection.By doing this, it gives the impression that the
rrgrrts go t\rough several cards until they finilly settle on one
lrrrrl. Or at least, that's how I think.
Miguel Puga gave me a nice idea that will make

it

easier for
Before

v,lr to handle the blank face and TC card unit.

p.r'lirrming, slightly wet the surface of the blank card with a tiny
lril .f saliva, and stick the transparent card to it. If you don't lei
1,, rnuch time pass, this will make them stick togeiher, making
ll .irsie-r for you to transfer them from the deck to the top of thE
uIlrcr three pieces ofacetate.
Arr,ther idea I sometimes try, is to psychologicary force the
r, so that it seems as if the spots traveled to a chosen
r rurl. If you want to try it, you will have to do the force
before
llrr,.hcginning of the trick (and, of course, before showing your
rrttrlit'nce the transparent cards). when the audience still dllsn't
lrtrrw what is going to_ happen, just ask a spectator ,,Could you
1ilt,ttse giue me a number... but a really tiny, small one...,, Vfiny
lltrr.s, the person gives me number one, to which I responi
"()ttr? Well, ok... thrs is the smallest number possible. I said I
ttttutlul u small number because I didn't want you to name
ttutnlx,r t2... I tuttntccl e 7, 2... no more than a 4,because ue,ll
u,it, .l fltt'(ls.lin, tltis lr.ick..." I then removc the transparent cards
rrrrrrrbcr

It'utrr rrr.y llocl<ct.

ll lltr'.y 14ivt.nrr,;trr,llrr,t. llunlll.r', Isiry "No, no... e sntaller

ttilt'!",
rlll

t&

llrt'rr ;rsli lirr rrrrollrt,r' rrrrrrrlrr,r' (lrrrl lrrrollrcr. nrrmber)

A Book in English: T'ltc citrrl

rrragic of Woody Arag6n

A book in lirrglislr: l ltr' t rrrrl rrlrlirr' ol'Wootly Aragon

until someone names one. Thcrl I sety "RecllA? Did Aou reallll
name one? Is it your freely clutsut number? Ok, gou carr
squore it, triple it, or eleuate it trt any power... and I will
piedict the result" It is a very silly joke, but it will not look as
ihough you just failed at a force. Next I continue performing tht'
routine, as if this brief conversation had nothing to do with thc
trick.

EXAMINABLE CANNIBALS
'l'his is one of several routines based on the "cannibal cards"
lrkrt that I have created in recent years. It's probably the most
prirctical, the technically least demanding, and the most
lirnctional of them all. And it fulfills what I think is an essential
rr,tlrrirement: the audience can examine the cannibal cards after
r,rrt'h vanish.

l,irr many years I performed the original routine, based on

,\lt.x Elmsley's amazing Repulsiue Aces. The missionary cards
ru'r, hidden between the cannibals, using any "5 as 4" display
(rrsrrally the Ascanio Spread, but obviously Elmsley didn't use it
irr lris original routine). Finally, before introducing the last
rrrissionary between the cannibals, all of the missionary cards
rrlt. tlitched on top of the deck. Even though this method's
r,ll'icicr-rcy is proven, I realized that the audience didn't applaud
irl'lt.r' lhe first vanish, and only did it at the end. I fe]t there was
lr.rrsion (and suspicion) throughout the whole routine, because
r,\'('n though the false displays were very convincing, the
rru(li('llc:c could not confirm for themselves that a missionary
lnrrl had vanished. So, the feelings that such a strong effect
.,rrltl r:r'cate (the complete vanish of a card!) were diminished
lrr,r'itusc it could not be proved.

,\s I tlrink thrr oriliirrirl thcn-re of thc rrrtrtir-re, and its patter
(r'l'('irl(,(l hy Lin St,;rrlr.s) ;rnr w<lndcrlirl (;rntl I xrally enjoy that
lrtlscrrl;rtiorr), I corrsirlcrt'rl crr.irlirrg ir vcrsiorr o[' ]lrt' lrlutine in
rvlriclr llrt';rrrrlicrrc. r',rrlrl li,r'1, lorrt'lr rrrrrl cxpr.r'ir.rrr.r. llrat only

A book in Iinglrslr: I lrr' r'rrrrl nr;rl'r(' ()l Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: '['hc crrnl rrragic of Woody Arag6n

tlrat when you spread tlrt.t'irrrls lrrcc rr;r, lhe JH side will show.
'l'lre sticky
QH should bc tht. lxrttonr t'irrrl, s<) that when the deck
is turned face up, it will bc t lrc l'irsl t'iu'rl to be seen.

the four cannibal cards were lcl't ill'tcr each vanish. And ever'
since I came up with it, this routinc has become a staple of my
repertoire, and the favorite of metny magicians- - ranging fronr
my good friend Pepe Souza to others such as Rafael Benatar antl
.lohn Carney, who have all praised the virtues of this routine'

If I want to add the special calcls and set up in the middle of a

:i('ssion, I cull the regular QII ancl JH to the top of the deck
irrrrnediately after the previous eff'ect's climax. I then spread the
r k'crk face up, and leave it just like that, in readiness for a classic
rrrltlition technique. I have the two special cards ready in a
lrocl<et, or in my lap. The double facer on the bottom (JH face
rrlr) and the QH face up on top of it. I palm both cards, being
t'irrcful so that the QH doesn't stick to my hand. Then I gather
tlrt' spread with both hands, adding the two palmed cards onto
I I t. fhce of the pack where they will rest together for a moment.

This is one of the routines that I perform most often for m.t'
audiences, and I have created two versions of it. This versiott
uses trick cards, but, for those occasions where I don't have thc
trick cards with me and want to per{orm the routine any"way, I
developed an impromptu version, that I will explain you later'
EFFECT:

The classic cannibal plot routine. Four spade cards [playirrli

'l'here's another way to do it, that you could use in any

';ilrration, which is to have the two special cards in the card box.
t'rrll the regular QH and JH to the top, place the deck inside the
lrox, r'ight on top of the two special cards. Perform a quick trick
willr coins, or any other different prop, and then take the deck
oul ol'the box again. You will be ready to perform the routine.

the role of "cannibals"] capture three picture cards fplaying tht'

,,missionaries"] plaie them over the sacrificial stone (tht'
role of
deck) and eat them one by one.

THE PROPS:
You will need to add two special cards to the deck. The filsl
one is a double facer - JH/roS. This should be easy to find, sitrt','
it belongs to the standard Bicycle set of double face cards.

ll' .you choose either of these options, when you spread the
lr,r'li lirce up and remove the picture cards, everyone will see the
,ll I ;rrrcl QH together and right at the face of the pack. Don't try
tr r irrstify this, just act as if the cards were together out of mere
,'lurnt'c, and don't give the situation any importance.
r

The other one is a specially treated Queen of Hearts. The facr'

of this card is sticky, thanks to the use of repositionzr|1,'
adhesive. what I do is to cut a rectangular hole slightly smallt'r
than the size of a playing card in a sheet of paper (the reasorr i.'
to prevent the caid from becoming sticky at_the sides). I l.ltt'rr
plice it over the face up QH and apply, from about 1.5 feet awir\
u .pruy adhesive called "3M Mount Spray: Repositionultl''
Adiesiue". This spray is easy to find in any stationery stot't' irr
Spain, so I think it (or a similar product) shouldn't be too ftrrrtl
to find in any other country.
,

THE SET UP:

The regglar Qttcrt,tt ittttl ,l;tcli ol llt'itt'ls slrorrltl lrt'ott top ol'llr''
clecrl<.'l'ltt.<lprrlrlt.llrr.r.r':,lr,,rrlrl lrc irr llrc rrritlrllc ol'tlrt'pitt'li, r,,,

MI,I'I'HOD:
St;rrt by apparently removing the three Heart picture cards
urn llrc cleck. Actually, you will remove the two trick cards, and
llrr, r'r'grrlar I( of Hearts. Place them in a row face up on the
lrrlrlr,. 'l'hcn rernove the 7, B, 9 and ro of Spades, the cannibal
, ru'rls, irrrrl taltle tht'rrr irr a separate pile.
Ir

lil;rrt lry givirrg tlrc r':rrutib:rls to;r s1lr.r'lrlor so that he can

''\tulin('llrt.rrr llrororrl,,lrly. Il is rrt't'r'sstrry lo irrsist upon the

r'\irnrinlttiorr ol'llrr,r';rlrls trl tlrt' vt'r'v lrr.lqirrrrirrg ol'llrt. rrxrtine, as

llrr:, rvill sl:u'l lotvlt nrli lltr ittlct't'sl ol'llrc rpt'r'l;rlol'irr r.xirrrrining

A book in lirrglislr:'l lrc t.irrtl rru;irt. ol'Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Tlrc crrltl nragic of Woody Arag6n

l'crform a Braue addition: lil't rrt tlrt' lrnrll< and turn the KH face
tlown onto the top of thc tlct:li (x.vcirling the JH in your hand)
rrnd then drop the JH cloublc on lop (the I(H is now second
l'rum the top). Then take or.rly thc ,l l-l and place it on the bottom
ol'the deck. The way that I do it, in order not to flash the back, is
hy turning the whole deck over, placing the JH on the face of the
rlcck, and then turning the whole deck over again. Tell your
rrrrdience that the third picture card was "nof placed on the
Sucriftcial Stone".I usually place the KH on top, stating that he
will be the first course, the JH on the bottom, as he will be the
rucond course, and leave the Queen apart, as she will be the

the cards, helping us later (e.g., in the second phase, wh-en wt'
sneak the do;bl; facer in with ttre cannibals). But we'll tallr
more about that later...
Gather the cannibals, and tell the audience that they belong t<r
a tribe and, one day, they met three missionaries fpicture cards
in the middle of ttre jungle, and then started to do their famous
feast dance. Match words to actions by performing an Ascanio
spread with the four cards, as they donce and sing metily'
I

lcssert.

IIIRST VANISH:
Oather the cannibal cards (If you think there might have been
anti-contrast parenthesis, you can perform an Elmsley count
Io show there are still four cannibals. I never do it, as I do not
llrink it is necessary). Now put the cards in the typical "mouth"
lrosition. With the other hand, perform a one-handed double lift
with the top two cards of the deck to show the KH (I usually just
gllll the two cards, replace them on the deck and take the
rLrttble fsupposedly just the top card]. This way the deck never
h'rrvcs the table. But if you prefer, you can grab the deck and do
,lrrsc Carroll's "little juTnp" or Ren6 Lavand's double lift).
rrrr

you will now pick up the deck (you will refer to it as tlrt'
"sacrificial Stone"). As you do it, you will need to transfer one' oI
the cannibal cards to the top of the deck. You can use tlt.
Vernon transfer, palming, or any other technique that suits yotrr
technical abilities, but at the end of this explanation, I will
explain to you the method that I use. (note r)

Act as if you had forgotten something, and explain to

yottt
llrt'
onto
picture
cards
placed
the
audience that you should have
the
Take
begin".
'lll
stone "so thai the cannibalistic feast can
(be careful not to show the back) and the KH, and_place thcrrr,
iu"" ,.p on top of the decl<. As ygrt tlg so, obtain a break urttllt'
the top card (the cannillirl t.;r|tl yorr lransferrccl prcviously). Yorr
will b; holding thc cltrtrli willr ;r lrt't'itl< tttttlct' tltt'ct: t:itl'ds (thtr llrr'''
up I(I{, thc iat:c rrp,lll, rrrrrl llrc litcc tkrwtt t'itrtrtillitl tr:ttrl).

t_

*,qx

A book in lrrglislr. I lrt' t;rrrl ru;rl,r'rl Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: J'ltc t rrttl rrrlgic of Woody Arag6n

After the double lift display, ttlt'tt the double face down ancl
take the top card fthe previously t[a[rsf'erred cannibal] and put
it into the;'mouth". When the picture card then vanishes, yotr
are left completely clean. Show that the card has vanished using
an Ascanio ipread (actually it is not at all necessary, but it is
nice aestheticilly because of the feast dance patter). Then hantl

the cannibal iards to a member of the

audience

fcrr

examination.
The spectator wiII usually grab the cards, take a look at thenr.
searching for the missing picture card, and then give you bacl'
the cardi when he sees that there is nothing hidden. At thi:;
moment you are going to condition him again, as you want trr
him to gei "bored of examination". Just say "No, no, please talit'
a good look at them, see... Is there any t1a9e of-the kbul
beiueen those cards?" Hand the four cannibal cards, one lrr
one, to the spectator so that he can thoroughly examine them'

lrrble, and stress the I'ac:t llurl yorr'r't, rrot lritling any extra cards.

Once again, you will h:urtl llrt' lirrrr r:ards, one by one, to the
slrcctator so that he can crxlrrrirrc thcnr. Start by letting him
clrcck the roS (the double laccr'), asking him to "touch it and
rlreck there are no extra hicltlat cords", but you will not release
vour grip on the card, ensuring that he can't take it and turn it
ovcr. As soon as he says there's only one card, place it on the
llble and continue by giving him the other three cards, which he
urrr examine, this time for real.

'I'HIRD VANISH:
'l'he third vanish plays a remarkable role in the routine's
'rlrrrcture. Regarding the "external life" of the trick, you get one
ol' t'he strongest and cleanest vanishes possible. As for the
irrlcr.ral life, it solves the problem that might be caused by the
r

SECOND VANISH:
Take the cannibal cards, and tell your audience that
they will now eat their second course: the JH, which lies at 1lr,'
botlom of the pack. Once again, you need to transfer one of tlr,'
cannibal cards to the top of the deck, only this time, you need t"
make sure that it is the 1oS. I use the same move as in tlr,'
previous phase, as it works even better now because of the nt't',1
io turn over the deck, and the appearance of the JH in tlr''
audience's sight which creates a visual misdirection.

Grab the cannibal cards, and place them

in

"mottllr"

formation, this time with two on the top and one in the bottorrr,
as you say'ottt)o on top, hao on the bottom, just like beJinl'
Take the picture card, this time face up, and place it betweetr I lr,'
cannibals.

will eliminate the auditrrtr',"',

suspicion of a possible swilt'lr. l|.y thcn perfonning an l'llrttsl, r
count, the audience will sct'lirttt't'r'gttl:tt'llitt:l<s, ittttl its y<ltt ltrrrr
the pile face p1'l tlo ittt Ascrtttio Spt'r':ttl to ot'tt't'ltliititl tlispl:rl'irrl
tlrirl y1lrr 9rrl.y hltvr. llrr. li,rrr ,';rrrrrilr;rl crtt'rls. l'l;tt'r'Iltt'tll 6rt llr,
Since the card is now face

u1-r,

yOu

lorrlrle facer that is now one of the cannibals.

,lrrst tell your audience that, as a dessert, the cannibals ate the
r(,crl. And this lime, "for the sake of complete fairness", all of
llrt't':rrds will be face up, so that everyone can clearly see there
;rrr. .just four cannibals, no extra cards, and the picture card that
( r
|

1',or,s

t:learly in the middle. In addition, the picture card will not

,r1,;rrrrach the deck at all.

Srrit actions to words, spread the cannibal cards face up,

lirliirrg advantage of the moment to place the roS/JH second
Irorrr tlte top. Create the "mouth", tilting it slightly dorrr,nwards
,rrrrl lo the left, to prevent everyone from seeing the JH side of
llrr, rlorrble facer. Take the Queen, nonchalantly show its two
',rr lr,s, rrnd place it inside the "mouth". As you close it, the sticky
l,rcr, ol' lhc Queen will contact the JH side of the double facer,
rrrllrr.r'irrg to it, and thc resultwillbe a loswith a regularback.
lior llrt' sirl<t. o1'llrt' rrrrilirrrtrity of itt:lions, wait' a second before
,lrorvirrg tltt. v;rrrislr, llrcrr 1lr,l'lirnn lu) Asr.rrrrio Sltrcacl, and once

trli,rin (lt'ol) llrc r':rlrl:; ,rr lltr, l:rlllt., slrrwirrg lrollr sirlcs of the
I ru(lri,;rttrl Prrrviru,()n('r,1r1,,;ritt llutl llrr.r'r.iu'(,no r.xlrit <.irrrls, 'l'he
l,)ullrr luts r,;rrrillr,', 1 rr illrorrl lr lt';rcr,!

A Book in English: 'l'hc

crrrul rrragic

A book in Irrrglislr; 'l lte t.lrrl rrlrltrt, ol Woorly Aragon

of Woody Arag6n

llocket, thus leaving yorr witlt ir t,ornplt,tt, nolmal deck.

This is a very strong climax. Iiirst, there's the tension create(l

by the vanish of the Queen under seemingly impossibk'
conditions, with the added pressure of being the third card thal
has vanished. Second, the last card has disappeared, something
that wiII lead the audience to think that the routine is over. Il
you just relax, you'll see that the audience will start to applausc,
without them asking you to let them examine the cards agairr.
(Besides, the sticky card has just allowed you to show a ver'\
clean vanish and display of the cards, and the spectator hirs
already examined the cards three times)

(note

'I'IIANSFER:

I will confess that my way of transferring a cannibal to the top

,l' the deck is not_ really subtle. Neve-rtheler.,

u.rd

maybe

llccause of-my performance style and handling, it suiis me

pcrfectly. I hold the deck in left hand dealirg politio.r, and the
r':rnnibal packet is in my right hand face uf.^the cards must
ftr.m a messy spread, with one of the cards
{uite injogged with
r.spect to the others. The cards above the injogged one are the
,rrcs that will be transferred to the deck. In Ii'is routine, the
st't:<lnd card from the face is the one I injog. Thus, when I
turn
llrcr whole thing over, I transfer the former top
to the top of
"a.d
l hc deck.

You will now act as if the trick was over. Grab the deck in lerlt
hand dealing position, and start gathering the cannibal carcls.
Take the roS (the double facer with the QH stuck to it) antl
place it on top of the deck. Grab the second cannibal card antl,
then suddenly, address the spectator, telling him "oh! Examfiu'
those cards, please!" Give him the card you were about to placc
on the deck and, immediately perform a second deal, giving hirrr
the regular roS. Then give them the other z Spade cards. Tlrr'
spectator will be left with four regular Spade cards that he carr
examine to confirm that there is no trace of the Picture cards.

r) MY TURN-OVtil(

THE FOLLOW-UP:
You could end the routine right there. But I would like to lr,ll
you that, if transfer the special card from the top to the midrlL'
of the deck via a slip cut, then the spectator will be holding ,1
regular cannibal cards, and you will be holding the deck witlr
the three regular picture cards on top. You are in the pelli'r'l
position to perform the Jay Ose's classic collectors (ApexAccs),
or any other version that you fancy, which will allow yorr l,
make the picture cards reappear between the four cannibirl:r
Making the picture cards reappear is a great addition to tlrl

routine's structure, plus you can show all the cards to

Y,rr need to misdirect your audience (using the natural

r'lrrxirlirn after a joke, asking a brurring quZstion io the
rrrrrlit'nr:c or crossing the gaze) is you turn lhe'packet of cards
,\'r'r. 'l'llc right harrrl. is- now empty, and starts to square the

lrr'

completely normal.

lrrrrls on lop ol'llrt'tlt'cl<. At the lzist nrolr.rcr-rt you pietend to

.lrrrrrllr' y.rrr rrrirrrl, lr,ltl tlrc injoglicrl .rrrrls ,,n,1 nlithe cards
rrlr,vr,it witlr y,rrr.r.iglrl lrirrrrl,,i* yi,,,,. l.l't lrirrrtl tirkcs the deck
rlrvry,'l'lris is r;rrilr';r lr,kl rrrovt', irrrrl r.r,r,n llrorrglr ir rnight be
rlIlcclcrl il'sorrt'rn(' rviri lrttt.nirrg .yorrr. lr;rrrrls, llrr, ovr,r.irll'in,irgc

In order to clean ul), v()lr will orrly rtcccl to find thc sllct'i:rl
cards (it's very easy lo tlo il lrv lorrclr, sirrr:c llrt'lwo c:alrls slrrcl'
togcthcr will irt't ;rs ;r llrit'1. r';rrtl) irrttl lxrlrrr it, or tlitt'lr it irrlo ;r

l
I

li-

lqn

A Book in English: Thc cirrl

A book in English: 'l'lrc clrrrl

rrragic of Woody Arag6n

is that you just turned over thc gl'oup of cards in your right
hand.

rrrrrl.tit'

ol'Woorly Aragon

SECOND VANISH:

Now take the Cannibal Carcls ancl announce that they are
going to "eat" the second card, the one on the bottom of the
rlcck. Turn the deck over, so that the picture card becomes the
Iop one, and is clearly seen face up. You can clearly show the
lirur cannibals, and create the "mouth" with two cards on top
rrrrcl two on the bottom, just like before. Now take the picture
lrrld and introduce it, this time face up, between the four
cirrrnibals.

It is important not to move the right hand at all after tht'

execution. The left hand leaves with the deck, never do tht'
opposite. The audience must see the right hand in the sanlt'
position it was holding the face up cards.
APPENDIX: IMPROMPTU VERSION

This version can be presented anytime, with just a regulirr'

deck of cards. Start by removing the four spades and the thrt'r'
heart picture cards, and placing them in the same positions rts
in the beginning of the special cards routine. That is, transfet' ;r
cannibal card to the top of the deck; place the QH on the tablt'l
place the JH and KH on top of the deck; perform a Bruttt
addition and place the JH on the bottom of the pack.
FIRST VANISH:

in the version with special car'<ls

Only, when you hand the cannibal cards to the spectator for tlrr'
second time, you will imitate the actions of a false count crealcrl
by Nick Trost (made popular in his Seuen Card Trick, antl irr
Paul Harris' Las Vegas Leaper) which you will later use fol'tlrt'
second vanish. Hold the cannibal cards face up in youl lt'll
hand, take the top card, hand it to the spectatot'lirr
examination, and once hc's givcrt it back to you, place it llrr','
down on the bottont ol'tlrt';xrt'kt'I. As yott givc cach ol'llrr'
remaining cannib:tl t'ittrls lo sllt't'titlot' lrlr t'tl-cxatttit-t:ttiott, tlo

It works exactly the same

exactly thtt samc.

as

lly introducing the card face up this time, you will eliminate
llrc audience's suspicions about a card change, while actually
rrsirrg the Ascanio spread to hide the picture card during the
rLrnce, as done in the

traditional Cannibal Cards routines.

'l'trrn the cannibals face up, do an Ascanio spread, and take the
rkrtrble card to the bottom of the packet so that the picture card
r.rrrls up face down on the bottom. You can now do Ascanio's
'rittt'cre spread, and then give him the cards for examination just
liltt' llefore, executing Nick Trost's false count. The spectator will
r.xrrrrrine the four cards and, at the end, it will seem that there
nrt no more cards, and you are simply holding the cannibals
Ittcc tlown.
,I'I

IIRD VANISH:

l)crfbrm a Biddle count with the packet in order to transfer

llrr. picture card to the bottom and, as in the traditional version,
lrukl it in your right hand while holding a thumb break over the
lrvo lrottom cards (the picture card and the cannibal above it).

'l'rrrn thc deck face down with the other hand, take it, and
prr,lt,ntl to give it to thc spectator. Change your mind and then
lr,ll lrirrr "rto, rur"ll tn1 sortrctltinq else...tuhy don't you eat the
r'ttfil? 77ri.s /irrrr,, rltnt'll ttltt,t'utc tho ntoutlt/" Your left hand will
rrpl)r'oil('ll llrc llirclicl ol'r.irrtls, in ol'tlt'r'lo lirr.rrr llrc mouth, and
r ott will lirl<t' irrlvlrrrlirlic ol' llrc rrrorrrt.rrl lo rr'lllirrrtr the cards
ttttrllr llrt'lrrt';rli,rr llrr rk'r'k. l)rrt llrr,r'rrrrls irr rrrorrlh position

A Book in English: -l'lrc crrnl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

A book in lrrrglislt: 'llrt.t.rrrrl rrrirllrt.ol Woorly Aragon

(there will only be 3 cards) ancl asl< the spectator to hold it with
two fingers, just like you did beforc, and push the ends together'
so that the mouth stays open.
Take the last picture card (QH) from the table (where it has
been throughout the routine) with your right hand, show it antl
turn it face dovyn. Tell the spectator that not only should ht,
push the ends together, but he should also loosen his grip on thc
cards so as to create a chewing action. Use this moment as
misdirection to do a top change between the QH and the tolr
card of the deck (a cannibal card). Alternatively, you could placc
the queen on top ofthe deck and do a second deal. In any cast.,
you will be holding a cannibal card, and the QH will be on thr,
top of the deck.

WINNER'S INTUITION
I wouldn't say this next piece is a trick. It is more of an idea for
rrn alternate handling of a trick that is one of the modern
cl:rssics of mentalism. Let's go for it.

I.]FFECT:

If you have a great top change, and there is no anti-contrast

parenthesis, that's great and you can continue. But in my case, I
usually prefer to say something to the audience, place tlrc
cannibal card back on the deck, show the queen with a doublt,
lift, and explain that it will be the last one to be eaten. Then I
turn the double face down and take only the top [cannibal] caxl.
Now you will introduce the card (everyone thinks it's the QII)
into the "mouth" that is being held by a spectator. Insert it ;r
little bit, and, as soon as you see it is not going to fall, ask hinr to
push it further in himself "Pleese, do it yourself, finish pushirr,l
the Queen into the cannibals' mouth... that's it, let tlrcrrr
chetu.-.yum Aum-.. great! Square them yourself... turn tlrcttt
ouer and... Make them dancel" (Explain this as you try to gel ;r:,
far as possible from the spectator).

He will try to slide the cards as well as he can (unless hc's :r

magician, of course), and then he will realize the cannibals hrrr','
eaten the card once again. This time, it all happened in lrir,
hands!

'l'wo card boxes (one red and one blue, but

they can be

lrorrowed)
game o_f noker against each other. ihat is, a
_play a
spcctator chooses ro cards from a deck, and places cards (a
5
prl<er hand) in each box [he has complete freedom Jf
'l'lr. boxes are then closed. The magician is
"noi."].
able to determine
wlrich box holds the winning hand, even though he could not
lrrs.sibly have seen anlthing. This is repeated seireral times, and
r,rrclt and every time, the magician is correct.

Mh)THOD:
'l'lr.r'c is an effect thathas been doing
the rounds lately, and it
Irrrs bcen included in the repertoire 6f
-uny mentalisis (and
rrrrrgicians!). It is knor,r.n by various names, but r'r refer to it as
"'l'lrt. ltclic". Usually, a spectator takes
a medallion, coin, or any
',irrillr object, andplacis it inside one of his closed fists. The
trrlrrlalist is then able to ascertain the hand that holds the
,l,ri.t'|. Iive. though it'.s not a great effect if performeJorr".,
rvl,llr t'ontinuons lc;xrtition, the routine ends up becoming a
true
rrr

Ir

Llll

irrrt'lc.

'l'lrirrkirrg irlr.rrt llrr. lrir.k, irnrl lr..yirrg

l. hn.llrt.r' clisguise the
rrr;rlir.s it w,r'li, r hirrl ilrc itlr.;r ,l'rnixirrg iiwiththe
Irtirrciplt'llrirt
'"1'r'tt ('ltt'rl
l'olir.r'llr,;rl" lrr.irrr.iltlt', wlrir.lr I 11.r,r,i6rrsiy t,xllllinecl

A book in linglislr: 'l ltt, t':rrtl nril,'t(' ol'Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: l'ltc cittrl rrragic of Woody Arag6n

routine (l tokl you that I loved lhe Jonalt

Card principle!) ... In case yotr didn't know, in the most
common approach, the magician hats a concealed magnet and,
by bringing it close to each of the spectator's closed fists, he is
aLle to find out which one holds the (f'errous or magnetic) object

in the

Blessed Poker

'l'he audience can cxarnirrt't.vt.r..yllrirrg, boxes and cards

(shimmed cards, if they arc rrrirtltr wcll, look and feel exactly like
rrormal cards, and they only r.cvcal thcir nature when you bring
ir nragnet close to them). So, thc auclience will be unable to find
orrt how you can always know tl-re winning hand.

The reason for this particular association of ideas is that, irr

Ten Card Poker Deal rottlines, there's only one hidden object
(the Jonah Card). If you know which box it's in, then you know
that the winning hand is in the other one.

Once 5 cards have been placed in one of the boxes, while the
rilrcctator puts the rest of the cards in the other one and closes it,
vorr will take the box and place it on the hand that has the pK
lin13, so that the box rests on the fingers. You then use that hand
lo lllace the box aside.

I came up with this trick. I have to say that I don't normally

perform this in my shows, as I don't have a fulI routine for it yet.
I harre sho'nm it to magician friends while sessioning, and everv
single time it has fooled them. As I already said, repeating tht'
effeit g or 4times greatly empowers it. I think those who do not
know the method and are reading this now and will get quite ir
So

big surprise.

ll .you notice that the ring sticks to the box (believe me, if the
',lrirrr is in the box, you will feel it), you know that the Jonah
('rrrrl is inside that box, and the winning hand is in the other
lrux. ll'you don't feel anything, then you know that the winning
lrlrrrl is inside the box you are holding.

r\llr,r' r'cpeated performances, I found it useful to change the

nr.llrul slightly during one of the early sequences. Just keep the
lr,r opt'n in your hands and look away, as you invite the

The method consists of wearing a magnetic, or PK Ring (yorr

can find one in any magic shop) and a shimmed card (also
widely available for sale). Yol igst need to put the shimnrt'rl
card in a normal deck, altl lgrlt' t<l cards. The rO cards arg tlrr'
shimmed card, and thx't' grorrps 11f'tfiree. It is inlpgrtant tltrrl
none of the car:cls irt tlrc lltlt't'gt'ottlls ltlts thc s;ttttt'vitlrttl its llrt'
shim caltl.

',pr.r'l;rlor to place any 5 cards inside. This way you don't have to
rlrrllr lirr thc box, irs .yoll will be holding it from the beginning.
l)rrr. lo Iltt' lrrcclt;rnir,s ol'tlrr' '/trrr Cttttl l\ilct,t. l)ail, there is an
,rrlrliliorr:rl lrlrr';rsirr,1i llr;rl yorr will l'irr<l rrsclitl. Al'ltl. you have
1r.rl,r'rrrcrl llrc .ll.r'l ;r li,w lirnt.s, y(,u (.ln rrrrrnrlllt. sourcthing

A Book in English: 'l'he cirtrl nragic of Woody Arag6n

A book in I')nglislr: l lre t'trtrl trrirllrt' ol'Woody Aragon

about the composition of the tw6 ftands as if you cou]d almost

see the cards inside each box. Something like"Well, let's see..'
in this box... there Qre, at least, ttuo matching cards... but, irt
the other one... Aes, there's ttuo matching cards too... yes, ttao,
but in the other box there are more matches... yes! The cards ht
that box uin! This other box loses!"
Even though you are guessing one of two possibilities (onlv
which of the two hands will win), the secret is diluted in tht'
apparent complexity of the feat, and the effect for the audienc:t'
is different. Ilthe spectator is unaware of the Ten Card Poka'
Deal princi.ple, then he is probably thinking that you woultl
need io know the exact allocation of all ten cards in order t0
know which box contained the winning hand. So, unlike thr'
Relic trick, you are not finding the location of one item, but ten.

CLOCKWORKWOODY
I have always liked the classic Clock Trick.I think the inner
principle that makes it work is very deceiving, while at the same
lirne I really enjoy its "external life" (creating a "clock" using rz
cirrds, and having a thought of hour match a selected card is a
visual and suggestive image for the audience). Using my two
lirvorite clock routines (one by Ram6n Riob6o and the other by
Allbnso Molin6), I developed this handling which I think is
r'l'l'cctive even for magicians. Don't disregard the extra climax
lirr er session finale!
IiITFECT:
'l'he classic effect in which a member of the audience selects
rrtt hour, and looks at the card in the corresponding position
lirrrtr a clock circle formed with tz cards. In most versions, the
trtrtgician just finds the selected card. In this version, the
rrrrrgician writes down a prediction for the thought of hour and
orrc lirr the selected card, and both are correct. To top it all off,
rrll ol'the other cards are blank!

MIi'THOD:
Only one regular card is used (put a mark on its back, so that
you (:iln easily spot it).'['he card goes on top of a deck of blank
litt't,rl t:arcls. Obviorrsl.y, thc back of thc regular and the blank
litt't,tl r':tt'tls slrorrkl lrt' llrt' silntc.

l(il'llr,slrrrl'llc lltc rlccli, lir,t,grirrg tlrc l'r,grrlirr r,irrrl on top (let's

rttvil istlrt.5oI llr,;rrlri). l)orr'l prrslr llrt'r.lrrrlslogcllrt.r.al'tcrr.the

Abookin [')nglislr: l ltt' t rrrrl nrrl,t( ol Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc t'rrttl ruagic of Woody Arag6n

shuffIe, spread the deck and let a sllcctator do it. (This move, as
used by ihe great Gabi, helps thc attclience imagine the faces ol
the cards being mixed, thus creatir-rg in their minds the image ol
regular cards with different faces being shuffled, while actuallr
most of the cards are blank faced).

Tell a member of the audience to think of an hour, one lo

twelve. Pretend to read his mind, and clearly stating you aI'('
going to do it BEFORE the cards are used, write a predictiotr
What you will really do is to use the "One ahead" principle, antl
write "CARD.' You uill choose the Fiue of Diamonds [,,'
whatever force qard you are using]". Fold the paper, and place
aside (inside a glass, ashtray, etc...)

it

Remove rz cards from the middle of the pack, and give therrrr
to a spectator, asking him to place them under the table, whet'''
nobody can see them. I usually tell him something like this:
"Take some cards... since there are only lz hours to choosl
.from, I utill giue you a bunch, there may be t4 or t5 cards, btrt
anAu)aA, you'll haue more than enough..." this helpg to thtrru
the audience off the method, and takes the heat off the unust'r
cards. If you wanted to, you could even give the spectator' ;r
larger number of cards (but you must know exactly how mrttrt
cards you give him). If you gave the spectator X cards (X>t:')
then just remember to transfer X-rz cards from the top of tlr''
deck to the bottom just before dealing the cards that form tlr''
"clock". So, if you gave the spectator 14 cards, you worrltl
transfer z cards from the top of the deck to the bottom.
I

Ask him to take as many cards as the hour he's thought of, rttr' l
place them inside a pocket, or in any other place where nrl (),,'
ian see them, and place the unused cards on top of the deck.
Take the deck, and deal rz cards, forming a clock, in invt'r':"'
counter clockwise order (starting with rz, and finishing witlr
one). This is justified by the firct tltat we are trying to m;rlit' rl
clear for to the audiencer, wlrir,lr is sittrated in front of us). ll r:,
advisable to place tht't'rtt'tls irr posilions 12,6,9 atttl ;; rrr
perpendicular p<lsitiolrs lo llrc rcsl ol'lltc t:lttrls, to ttutl<c il t'lr;i,'r
ior thc sltcgtatot'lo lor';tlt lri:. llrorrllltt rtl'ltottt'. As yott tlt'ltl llr,'

r';rrds,locate the mark on tlrt'lr;rt'li ol'lltr, lirr.cing card. (Let's say

llrt: card is dealt at the 4 o'r:kx,li lrrsiti,rr). lJecause of the clock
lirrce principle, it the cartl will cntl trp irr at the thought of hour.
Ask the spectator to look zrt thc car.cl that lies at the thought of
Irorrr. In order to keep you [rom glirnpsing it, you will turn
;rround. Once he's seen the card, ask him to remember it, and
lclurn it to its original position. Turn around, look at his eyes,
rrrtl once again, pretend to read his mind. Tell your audience
llurl now you will write a prediction, this time regarding the
rirrcl. Take another piece of paper, and write: "TIME: The
lltought of time is Four for whatever value the force card is at]
rt'(lock". Fold the paper, and place it next to the first one, so that
n( ) one can distinguish which is which.

Now comes a small "parenthesis of forgetfulness", in which

lorr will go over all of the things that have happened, while
',liglrtly altering the truth:
" liirst, before we euen touched the cards, you thought
of an
Itrtttr, and I tried to predict it on a piece of paper. Then, you
lr rr r/t rr.s manA cards as the hour you thought of, tahich means if
ttrt11 lvnss 7 cards in your pocket, you thought of 7 o'clock...
ritlltl? Then, youlooked at a card. Andremember, the deckwas
tlrrtrouclhly shuffiedfrom the uery beginning, so you uill agree
rt,illt rtrc in that it utas impossiblefor me to know uhich cards
tt'ttttl(l end up in the clock. And neuertheless, I made a
l,ntli<'lion about the card too... am I corcect? Well,let's see if I
n,tts t,iglt"

l)runp the two predictions from wherever you placed them

,url, llrc table. Tell the spectator to read the predictions, but

Lrr,l) llrcm to himself. Ask him to take the cards from is pocket,
to you (be careful so that the blank faces don't
llrrrlr). (lount thcnr ulorrtl, as you deal them on the table. pretend
l, lr1, u..''.u hapl'ry:rborrl llrt. ntrmber (you got it dght!) as soon as
r,rr lirrislr Ilrt' t'orrrrl. Vcril'y .youl su(](:(!ss ll.y irsl<ing the spectator
lirtttt' t'ttt'tlc! Au't'sorttr,... l)itl tlott t,utlltl lltirtli of'l,otu- o'clock?"
\',1, ltitrr l, r'r.;rrl rrlrrrrl llrr, linrt'pr.t,<lir.lirrr, pr.,virrll .you were
rrlilrl.
,rrrrl ;,iivtr thcm

A Book in English: 'l'lrt' t'rttl nragic of Woody Arag6n

A book in lrrrgllislr: I lrt' t rrr,l

Now turn over the card at thc ltottr's position. It will be thc
regular card. Ask the spectator to read aloud the seconrl
prediction. Once again, you were right.

For the atrdience, this looks iike the end of the effect. Thl
blank faces'climax is a very different one, and it might clue ther rr
in to the method, as someone might think that you already kncr,
that the only regular card was the one that was going to lr,'
selected. Don't make the mistake of rushing to this climax, atrr
ruin the effect of the card and time divination. In order to avoirl
this, you need to take an assimilatton pause: stay static, arrtl
don't say a word until the applause fades. Try to live the effect rr::
if you had just finished with it, and you were about to starl ;r
new one in which the effect is that you will erase the faces of tlr,'
I

cards.

"Actually, the effect you'ue just taitne.ssed rs quite a dffir'trlt

one. If you had chosen another hour, or ctnother cqrrl. I
couldn't haue done it. Infact, it only workeil bec(tuse yolt chtt:','
4 o'clock. Had you chosen three o'clock, I t:trtould haue guesx'tl.
nothing (turn ouer the card at three o'clobk. The audience rt'ill
see a blankface). Fiue o'clock, nothing... and here, and hen'..
Turn over all of the cards on the table.
Once again, address the spectator "But not only those, but ttl:,,,

the cards you placed in your pocket... those haue no .ftrr','

either!" Turn his cards over. And finally, for the rest ol'llr,'
audience "Euen tf ue look at the rest of the cards... thcr,""
nothing on them!" Show the rest of the deck, so that everyorr,'
can see all of the cards are blank. The only card with a face orr rI
is the chosen one.

AN IDEA FORA SESSION FINALE:

I present you now with an idea, in order to present this lri,

as a closer for a close-Lrp sttssiolt, with a devastating intl'xtt'l

your audience (this I gtutt'ltttlt't' yotr!). It looks sometltirlg lrl',

,,rr

this:

k.

rrr;11,rr

ol Wootly Aragon

Start with the blank [irct' rlt'r'li in vorrr' lrocl<ct, with the regular
r';rrd (in this case the 5 ol' I lr.irlts) rrl llrt' ixrttom (allowing you to

slrow the face of the clccl< lor lrr irrslrrnt, without flashing the
lrlank faces). Next to it, pl:rt:t' l t,irrtl llox Iull of poker confetti.
'l'lris confetti is available in nrost palty supplies stores, or from
r';rsino/Vegas themed stores. lirx a very affordable price, you
lrrn avoid having to manually cut out the pips from cards...

'l'lrroughout the show, use a regular deck with the same box
;rrrrl back design. Perform any routine that ends with a card to
cru'cl box effect (there's a very effective automatic version in
l(irnr6n Riob6o's Thought of Magic that uses a duplicate card
rrrrtl a neat handling of the cross cut force, called "The Super
l,).t'trct Cut"). Later, you will switch the regular deck and box for
tlrr. blank face deck and the confetti box. (You can simply place
lroth the deck and box in your pockets, do a coin trick, and then
lrrl<c out the other ones).

l'crform the clock routine, with the blank deck ending,

,,lrrcading all the cards all over the table (Lennart Green style).
\sli your audience "But, if all of the cards are blank... where
rtn' llrc pips? Do Aou remember where did the cards trauel to?"
'l';rl<c

the card box, open it, and slowly dump the confetti all

ovt,r' lhe cards. The pips went to the box!

A book in Linglislt: 'l'lrc t'rrrl nrirlirt' ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: l-he cirrtl tnagic of Woody Arag6n

The idea of the "traveling pips" is a creation of one of the

magicians that I'edmire most, and one whose company I really
enjoy, no matter whether I am watching him perform; sharing a
meal or journey with him; playing songs on the Banjo or the
bones; or even, just spending some time with him: the great
Camilo Yizqrtez. Camilo came up with the idea as an ending fol
his "Pips Routine" which earned him first prize in the National
Magic Convention of Madrid inrg7t.

THE PSYCHIC DECK

'l'here was an idea in Juan Tamariz's book Mnernonica that I
rlr.crned to be a wonderful one: that the deck would answer the
irrrrlience's questions, depending on the color of the cards. The
r L,r'l< is false shuffled, and questions are asked. A spectator turns
ovt,r' the top card, if it's red, the answer is yes. A black card
nl(rilr)s no. For example:

,t Is your c(trd red? I

mean the one you selected, not the

oneinfront of you...
Spectator looks at his selection. It is red, so the answer is
,
' Yes. [Red card]
, , Is it a heart?
'l'he spectator takes the next card. It is black.
, , -l/o. [Black card]
, , /.s ff a Diamond, then?

) Yes. [Redcard]
,, ls the ualue an euen number?
,, No. [Black card]
,

',

Oclcl ntLmber?

, No. [Black card]

, No? Tlis nteans tlrc card is a picture, right?

, Y(,.s. lRed carrl

, , /.s it u,loclc'?
,

With Camilo, after our ptrforrrttrttct' itt MondatlNight Mngit' nl llrt

()ll llt'utrkwy

,,

',

(.)001))

'

l"*

'

No. llllircl< r'rrrrll

A l(itrt1?
)'r'.s. I ltcrl r';rrrl I
'l'ltut tttt'(ttt:; tlrtrtl'1',,,'r1 is...'l'lu' kirtrl ttl'llitttttotuls!

A book ilt l'.nllrslr.

A Book in English: l'lte t rurl rrragic of Woody Arag6n

As you see, the magician kecps on asking questions until ht'

finds the selected cards thanks to tl.re answers provided by tht'
deck.

Juan credits Alfonso Molin6 for coming up with the concept

but he says that he composed the routine in Mnemonica aftt'r
reading a simiiar trick that used the Gilbreath principie.
haven't been able to find the original trick (it was credited t,,
Nick Trost in a compilation of effects created by Reinhartl
Miiller for the Escorial meetings), but I thihk I have been able t,,
discern the original method. It is actually a classic effect, ort,'
that allows you to know the sequence of colors in a shufflt'rl
deck (Color Sense byNorman Gilbreath himselfl.

llr, ,:rr,l

nr,rl,rl ol Wootly Aragon

'fake half of the blarrli r':rrrls, ;rrrrl wlitt. l ltig YES, in capital
Icttgls, on its face. Orr tlrc ollrr,r'lurll, wlitc NO. You will also
rnark the backs of tlie No lr:rll'witlr tlrc t:ard punch, creating a
srnall hole that can't bc clistirrgrrislrt'tl by sight, but easy to feel
lry touching the corner ol'tlrc r:artl. Once you're finished, do a
li:rro, or an alpha shuffle with lxlth halves, so that the cards end
rrp in alternate order. Cut a NO card to the bottom of the deck.

For several years, I performed this trick, and I started 1,,

polish it, trying to solve the problems I found while perforntirr,',
earlier versions (the main one: having to turn colors ittl,,
answers made it a confusing routine). I ended up with a soli,l
version, one that I have performed many times, in close-tr;,
shows, and even in parlor shows. Actually, right now I have ltr,,
versions: one for situations in which I am seated, and the otlr,'r
one for situations in which I am standing. It is one of trrt
favorite tricks, and I really enjoy performing it.

THE SETUP
You will need a thick permanent marker, a blank faced tlccl'
and a "puncher" (or a thin needle) in order to mark cards. Al:,,,
you will need a box, altered following Annemann's wonclt'r'lrrl
The Mental Masterpiece Impression Pack idea: A pit't't' ,,1
carbon paper is stuck on the inside of a card box, so that wlrll
you place a paper on the card box and nrite something on it. llr,'

writing is duplicated onto a card inside the box [the ott,'rl

contact with the carbon paperl. To aid transfer of the wlilirr'.
stick a piece of paper onto tltt' lircc of one of the blelnl< l;r,,',1
cards, and sand the insirlt'of'lltt't'rtt'cl box fort thc siclt: wlr,'r,'
you will stick the crtt'lrott lrrr;tcr'1.

'l'ake the card with the piece of paper on its face, and place it
orr the bottom of the deck (under the NO one). Place the deck in
llrc box, with the papered card next to the carbon paper.
You

will also need a piece of paper, and a pencil.

I'I]RFORMANCE
l,or close-up (seated) conditions.

'l'll<e out the deck, paper (or a post-it) and pencil. You can
,rl)(,nly state that you will need a different deck for this trick,
,rrrrl place the one you have been using aside (the reason will
',oorr l)ecome obvious). Place the paper on the card box, as you
,rrli rr spectator to think of the name of any famous person. Ask
lrirrr lo turn around (back to the table), so that no one can see
rvlrirl he writes. Give him the paper, and ask him to write the
rr;rrrrc of the famous person "right about here" (draw an ellipse
,rr tlrc paper, indicating him where to write). Telt him to write
,'lr,;rrly ancl use capital letters, so that the writing will be clear to
,'\'('r'vonc at the end of the effect. Tell him that, after writing the
n;rnr(., he will keep the paper with him at all times. Also,
llrrorrglrout the rest of the procedure, he should keep a poker
lirll so that he doesn't signal the answers to questions that you
rvtll ;rsl< hint.

lly lcllirrg hirrr to trrrrr Iris bach to tl-rc table, yolr are justifying
llrr,rrr.r.rl tort.sl llrt'lxrpcrorrto;'ro1'thr.t.;rltl llox,andnotonthe
lirlrlr,. Wltt'rr Irt'is lirrisllrr,rl, irsli lrirrr to loltl tlrt, lxrlrcl twice, and
l,r'r'1r il irrsirlc lri:; r'lo:rr,rl lisl.

A Book in English: 'l'hc eltrl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

Retrieve the deck, and tell thc auclience that it is not a regulal
one, and that you don't want anyono to see the faces of the cards
yet. This will be your excuse to tilt the box at an angle at whiclr
no one but you can see the cards. Take the cards oqt ofthe box.
just enough to see the name of the thought of perstln, written br
the carbon paper on the face of the bottom card. Push this cartl
back in, and remove the rest of the YES/NO deck. Address tht'
audience as you do this "I strppose all of you must haue seett
one of those tricks in uhich the magician finds the chosetr
card. That is a normal thing: a person finding cards... but.
haue you euer seen cards find a person?"

Tell them that you are actually holding a psychic deck. lrr
order to prove its powers, ask a spectator to think of any card irr
the deck. Take the bottom card, so that no one but you can s('('
it. Ask the person who's thinking of a card "For instanca... rlrt
you think there's anA uaA I could knou tuhich card you'r,'
thinking o;P" When he answers "No", follow with the classic girl',
and show the face of the card. "That's right! No! It is clearfu rt
psychic deck!"
This is a classic magician's gag, and it has been used arr,l
abused for a long time. But in this routine, it is the perfect w;rr
of introducing the deck to your audience, while also justifyirrr
the fact of hiding of the deck while it was being removed fl'orrr
the box.

Explain to your audience that the reason why the decli ir,
"Psychic", is because it can correctly answer "YES" or "NO" 1,,
any question. Spread the deck, so that the audience can sec lltr'
two words are mixed: they will not realize that the deck is in ;rrr
alternating order.
Do any false shuffIe, and cut the deck (you can also pet{trrttr ;r
Charlier Shuffle) as you say that, in order to complt'lt'lr
randomize the cards, you need an expert in shuffling, sotll('()rr('
who's able to shuffle the catrls "t:itsino style". Givc the clct:l< [,, ,,
spectator, and have hirrr ril'l'lc slrrrl'llt'itncl cttt thc llat:l<.

A book in lrtrlrlrslr:

I lrr. ,

rrr,l nr;ll,r( ol Wootly Aragon

Spread the deck oncc lg;rirr, slrowirrg llrc random order of the
r';rrds after the shuffle, antl lot,;rlr, lwo itlcrrtical cards together in

llrc spread (two "YES" or"'NO" r'irltls). Cut the deck at this
point, so that one of two r:arcls bcrc<lr.r-rcs the top card, and the
olher one ends up at the bottonr. l)cal the deck in two piles.
(live another spectator the chance of freely selecting which
lrilc he wants to answer the questions. Once the decision is

rrrirtle, take the other one, as you say "u)ell, tue tuon't use this

ont,, then". Keep the discarded pile in your hand while you
rpcak for now, it is important that the audience gets used to
rrr,t,ing you with the cards in your hand.
l,lxplain to the spectator what will happen. You are going to
Irrrrr yourback on him, and, as you askthe questions, he will
l;rkc the top card of the deck, show it to everyone, and read the
iurswer aloud.

'l'rrrn around, and move back from the table, so that your
Irrrrrls naturally fall into your lap. Under the cover of the table
lrrrrrl using your back as a shield], run the cards, one by one,
rvlrilt' checking whether they are marked [NO] or not. Because
, rl llrc Gilbreath principle, there will be a relation between your
',r'(ls and the ones the spectator is holding. If the card is
rrrrrlicrl [you hold a NO], then the answer will be YES. If the
, .rrrl tkres NOT have a mark [you hold a YES card], the answer
rr rll lxr NO. In other words, you interpret the marked cards as a
\ 1,,S, irncl the unmarked cards as a NO [opposite to their actual
rrrirrliirrl3l. Since you already know the identity of the famous
lr.r'son, you will just have to make a series of generic questions
llrirl rrntc:hes the answers you will get. On the second question,
rrrrr will gct a little closer, and so on. After about t4l7; cards,
r,rrr slrorrltl have a tlzllre or, if you're not very close, you should
Ir,rvr,r,rrorrgh inf<rnturtiolt to be able to glless the identity of the
I I rrrt t1,,lt

I ol' lttrls<lrr.

lirrrcc llrr.rr.'s

lr lol ol

irrrprovis;rlion

irr tlris routine, I

rr'r'r)nnll(.n(l yorr lo:;l;rr'l nt;rliirr1,, \,(.1'\, 1,,(,n(,t'it.tlrrcsti<lns, and,

lrttl,.lrr littlr', \'()u (';ur :,1;rll locrrrirr1,,,,rr rl,r,r.ilir.rlcllrils irlrotrt the

A book irr lllrllislr. I lrt' t ;rrrl nr:rl,rr rll Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: I ltc t'rtttl lnagic of Woody Arag6n

From the 2ott, <'t,tt!ttt't1'/

person. But always make sure thitt yoll ask about things that carr
be divided Sol1o. Let me explain what I mean:

Yes

American?
No
European?

If the thought of person was Einstein, and you started askinli

about nationilities:'.Is he Argentinean?" "Is he Spanish" "Is lt,'
Chinese?" "Is he American?" you would have to go througlr
many NO answers before getting to the right country. If yorr
started asking questions about the nationalities, and the thirtl
card was a YES, then you'd be forced to ask if the person wrr:,
German. So, given all the countries in the world to choose frottr,
it would be highly unlikely that you would have got it right t,rr
the third try. If this happened several times throughout tlrt'
procedure, then it might signal to the audience that thert"r
something "fishy" about the questions you are asking.

Yes

Eastern Europe?
No
Centrel Europe?
Yes

German?
Yes

Is he dead?
Yes

Did he write?

Sometimes, you will end up having no choice, but to ask thos,'

questions. If you feel you need it, here is an out for you: Justilr
the "early success" by saying something like "Wait... I thinl' t
am getting something... he's German, isn't he?" Awarding tlr''
success to your own intuitive powers, you can get out of ont'r,l
those really tricky situations. However, I really think it's mttt'lr
better if the magician doesn't "guess" anything, and the clt't'l'
does all of the work.

The way to avoid the audience suspecting that thert' L

something "fishy" about your questions is to avoid asl<irr1',
questions which are very detailed, very early on in llrr'
inquisition. Ask about broader concepts, trynng line up tlr''
questions so that a YES or NO answer eliminates half o1'tlr''
possibilities. It's like trying to fish for the name of a card. \','rr
don't start by calling out random cards. You start with the c:ol,,t
then the suit and then try to get the value.
,

Following the previous example:

o
o

1s she

a uoman?

.l/o

o That meetTs

/tr".s

antiquc firttr'.s?

oMr

rr ttt(ttt... f.s /lc tr clutt'ttt:lt:t' .fi'r'trt

Yes

Nouels?
No
Scientist?
Yes

A Scientist, male, German, dead...

Mctx Planck?
No
Ah! He's German, but he left Germany because of the
w ar... Alb ert Einstein?
Yes

I'vr, given you an example of a bad situation, so that you could

kind of outs you can use. Actually, in a real situation, if

',r'r' wlrat

rrllr,r'irnswering YES to the Scientist question, I know the next

lirrrl is :r NO, I would say something like "WelI... scientist, male,
t ;1,,',,t(nt, clead... actually, I think this rs quite obuious. I guess it
tttttsl lxr liinstein. cotLld you shotu eueraone the paper with the
ntt,n(' ol' Llrc persotl tlotL tkought ofr" In this case, I eliminate
llrr rrrorrrt:nt in whir:h thrr clocl< answers "NO" when you ask it
I lrl rr;rrrrt. o1' thtr tlrouglrt ol'
1lt'r'son.

ll

yorr wirrrt

lo

prr.sr.rrl llrc rorrlirrc slrrrrrlirrg, the method

;'rr.r'iorrsly rlt.scrilrt,rl rr.,orlis ;rt.r'li.r.lh,.'l'lrr. ljrr.t ol'wr.i ting on top
,,1 llrt,r'irrrl lrox ir;1rr,rlr.r,llt' jrrslilir.rl ((.\.r,n nror.r, llr;rn irr it closettlr:,r,llittli);rrrrl \orr,rrl\ trr,r,rl lo lrrrrr lorrr l,;rr.l. lu llrt,:rrrtlit.rrt.t'.

WI

A Book in English: 'l'lrc crrrtl rrragic of Woody Arag6n

A book in lilrglrslt: I lrt' r'rrrrl rrirl'r( ol'Wootly Aragon

Go to a corner of the stage (kecp your elbows close to your body,

so that nobody notices you're ruttning the cards in your hands)

and ask your questions from there, as the spectator becomes tht'

star, in the center of stage, showing the cards to the audienct'

(the words YES and NO are big, and different enough to bt'
distinguishable from a good distance). I performed the routint'
this way for almost one year, and had a great success with it...

I really hated the i&ea of having to turn my back at tht'

audience for so long! It completely stopped my communicatinli
with them, and I ran the risk of giving the spectator in tht'
center of stage the responsibility of holding on to that link firr
me. Besides, the scene with the magician standing in a cornct'.
with his back turned to the audience, is quite suspicious, antl
... But

not very aesthetic.

have found two possible solutions: The first, which I nevt'r
done in practice, is to present the routine with a partner, wlr,
would be the medium. It is the medium who turns their back r I
the audience, or maybe even ask the questions from insidt' rr
spirit cabinet.

rr

The second, which is much more practical, consists of showirI'

the deck to your audience, and giving each of the two hnlvgs .I
the deck to two different spectators. One of them consists ,l
only YES cards, and the other only of NO cards. Once you gt't
the two halves back, Faro them, alternating thg s21fl5. (ltrl'
leaving a NO on top, and then I per{orm the following slocl'
shuffle: Run B cards, place them back on top, run 4 cards, plrr, '
them on top, run 5 cards, place them on top. That leaves tht' 'r
first cards in an order I have memorized: YES, YES, NO, y'l',':
l/q NO, YES, NO,llO, and the rest of the deck is in altet'rrrrl''
order, YES and NO. That is enough to eliminate any seetrtitrr'.
pattern, the spectators think they have shuffled the wholc tlt', l'
themselves, and I know in advance what cards the spectatot'r'r'ill
get. In this case, I will place hirn slightly behind me, ancl tlo ;rll
of the questions witholt l96ki1g rrt him, while still fhciptri tlr,'
audience.

l-

ADDITIONAL REMAIII(S:
Asi Wind, a friend nr:rgicirrrr lhrrrr Ncw York, released two
interesting versions of tht: t:lassit: (\tlor Sense routine in his
lrook/DVD Chapter Onc. Ilis rncthods could also be used in
llris routine.

A Book in English: 'l'ltr.' urltl rrragic of Woody Aragon

Ytttrt, tlttttt!

A book ilt lllrl,lrslr I ltc t ;r,l nr,rt,r(

.l

Wootly Aragon

A book in linglislr: l'ltt' t irtrl

A Book in English: Thc cartl tnagic of Woody Arag6n

tttttl=',it'

ol'Worldy Aragon

FARO SHUFFLES AND

FACTORIAL DEALING
I would like to include in this book some notes, which I think
rrrigltt be of interest to those magicians who, like me, are in love
with mathemagic (although I know they are more suited to
lltosc who are already knowledgeable about these matters). In
rrry book Cosas Mias (zooz), I wrote, in the explanation of a
rorrline, that I had observed some curious relationships between
Itrrtrr shuffles and factorial dealing, as both include deals in a
lr.t'l:rirt number of piles that carry mathematical consequences
Irr llrc resulting order. Obviously, we are not just talking about
rL,rrling in the case of factorial deals, but also in the case of
llnros, as anti-Faro shuffles can also be done by dealing.
'l'lrcsc are the main results

in my

analysis regarding those

n,lrrIiouships.
I

I llrinl< applying factorial dealing to magic tricks is a classic

lntrrlrination, whose exact origins cannot be traced. Just keep in
rrrirrrl lhat one of the most popular card tricks amongst laymen,
"f'lrr, lrrn" (well, together with the "2L Card Trick") is based
rlllr.r'lly on this principle. I,'or more information about Faro and
rrtrli liiu'o shuffles, I rtrf'cr you to the article in Sonata, where
tott will l'incl all ol"l'irnrirriz's worl< on lhu srrlr.icct.
r

,'\llr,r'wrilirrg;r rorrglr rlrirl'l lor llris irrliclr', I rcralized that I

lo irrr irrlcrt,slirrl,, r'orrclrrsiorr. I tlrirrli llrt, lilrl< that I am

rnn(r

rrrrrkittg, t'orrlrl ()l)(.n up

riorrrr,pussilrililir,s lor lirrrlirrg slrol'tt:rrts in

A book in lirrglislr: l lrr' t :trrl rrrrlirr' rrl Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Tltc cirltl rtragic of Woody Arag6n

piles because wc wirrrt lo rlo irrr iruti-Faro-z or factorial

dealing. In thct, llrt' ploct.ss lncl the results are the

the bewildering paths of travcling between stacks, and tht'

ability to get from one stack to another in just two shufflt':;
finstead of six!] is something that should not b''

underestimated.

The relationships between the Faro shuffle and thr'

factorial deal
When you Faro cards, you insert one card betwet'rr
every two in the other half. The most immedialr'
mathematical consequence is that every card (countirrri
from the face if the card was in the lower half, or frorrr
the back if the card was in the upper one) will end up irr
a position whose value doubles the one it had before tlr,'
shuffle. So, if a card occupied the roth position, it will
now be in the 2oth. If you do an anti-Faro shul'l'l''
(dealing the cards in two piles) the result is the exrrr'l
opposite. The card's position will be exactly half the orr,'
it had before. (For the sake of clarity, I am intention:rllr
omitting the differences between in-Faro, out-Faro, ittrr

same!

That means the rcst o1'thc prime factors fthe ones not
involved in the dealingl will equal the number of Faros
needed to finish the re-ordering.

'lir sum up, as a rule, dealing the cards into N number of piles
will always equal a number of Faro/anti-Faro shuffles, if the
rrrrrnber of cards in the pile can be divided

byl/.

(lonsider the standard 5z card deck. If we factor 5z into prime

nrrnrbers, we get 13x22
Wt: know doing B out Faros

will return a deck to

its

original

ol'(l()r', so we calculate the Faro number 28.

Wc now relate the prime factors (r3 x 2z) with the Faro
In other words,

rrrrrrrber, and reduce terms.

even/uneven Faros).
A group of n cards will go back to its original order tt I I , 'r
x Faros/anti-Faros. This is always true. You will necrl l"
Faro more or less times depending on n (there is rttt r
value for every n value, as already mentioned by Al,'r
Elmsley and Luis Garcia in their studies). 'l'lr''
maximum number of times you will need to Faro llr,'
cards is equal to the number of cards in the pile' \'r,rr
can apply this to deals in 2, 4, 8 or 16 piles, due to llr,'
way that anti-Faros work. Regarding the pile's ot'tlt'r,
the Faro is based on the relationship between lltr'
number of cards shuffled and the powers of z.
The same pile of cards will also return to its ot'igirr;rl
order by consecutively dealing it in a detcl'ttrirrr''l
number of piles, by factoring the number of cartls irr rr

factors. Regarding tht: order of the pile, fttcloritrl

dealing is basccl ort lilrtling the prirnc factors ol
the numbcr ol't':trtls ilr lhc pilc.
Occasitxritll.y, ()n('ol'llrt'ljtt'tors itlvolvt'tl is
Obviorrsly, lltt't r.':r rro rlilli't't'ttct' irr rlr';rlittli t'lttrls itr

lJ x 2z x28
lJx26
Wc already know that, if we deal the cards into 4 piles, or z
lrih's twice, that is equivalent to z anti-Faros. Factorial dealing
Irrrllrt'r'tells us that we still need to do a t3 pile deal to return
llrl rlcr:l< to the original order. But, what that last line in the
lrlrrirlion tells us that 6 anti-Faros is equivalent to dealing 13
grih.sl

'l'lris lr:rs already been explained, although not explicitly, in the

,rrli liilt'o article in Sonata. Tamariz says: Anti-Faro t equals
,|,'rrlirrli irr two ltilcs; anti-F-aro z equals 4 piles; anti-Faro 3, B
lrilr':i: rrrrli-lilrn 4 r.r;rrals r(r ltilcs; anti-Iiaro 5 (published as an
Inrpr';rclical possilrilit.v") ;12 pilt's... logit. t:lairns anti-Faro 6
'rlrotrlrl lll(.illl tlt.rrlirrg tlrc r.;rrrls ilrlo 64 pilcs, something
, urrrplr,lr.l.v illogiclrl, ,;rs llrr.r'r. worrkl lrc nrorr, pilt.s than cards,
llll'l',1tt;rrr r.xpllrirr:r llr;rl rrnli liirro (r i:r rlorrr. lry rlr.;rling tlrc cards

A book in I:rrglislr: 'l lrc t.rrrl

A Book in English: Thc cirrtl nragic of Woody Arag6n

in

13 piles (and gathering them

The truth is that dealing the cards into 13 piles IS NOT arr
anti-Faro (because 1g is not a power of z), but the result is thl
same due to the rules of factorial dealing.
To all this, we can also apply factorial dealing because of tlrr'
last multiplication by z, which equals an anti-Faro. Dealing tlrr'
cards in z6 piles (r3 x z) would be an anti-Faro 7, as tht'r','
would be one card Ieft to complete the cycle of 8: So, dealing rrr
z6 piles equals a Faro shuffle.
Let's look at a different example: A deck of zo cards returns
its original order after 6 in Faros. This means

'
'

The prime factors of zo are 2'x

In Faros: 26

22XS-26or5-24

lr

S.

Here's a list of deck sizes that, because of the relationslri;,

between n (the number of cards) and x (the cycle of li;rr',r
shuffles for n), I consider to be most practical for magic.
card deck returns to its original order after 3 Faro shuffles.

A r5 card deck returns to its original order after 4 Faro shuffles.

A zr card deck returns to its original order after 6 Faro shuffles.
A 3r card deck returns to its oliginal orulcl after 5 Faro shuftles.
A 45 card deck leturns to ils oligin;rl ot'rlct'itltct'

A st calrl rlct'l< n'[ttt'tts lo tl:: ot iliirt;tl otrlct

t:

I"itt'tl slrull'lcs.

itllt't'll li;rl'o sltttl'l'lcs.

(r13

card deck returns t<l its or.igirrrrl or.tlr.r.rrllt,r.(r lraro shuffles.

A 73 card deck

returns to its or.igirr;rl or.<k'r.trllcr.g l.'aro shuffles.

All of these decks are odd, which means that the Faro shuffle
is cven, so the decks can be cut anyr,lrhere. But you can round all

llt,se numbers up or down by adding or removing one card.

If

llrrrre is one card less, you will need to do in-Faros-. If you there
is ,ne card more, you will need to do out-Faros. If the number
,l'r:ards is e-ven, you can't cut between the shuffles. But, since

rrrrrltiples of z are related to factorial dealing, even numbered

more interesting for applying the principles explained
irr this study.

rh'r'l<s are

Therefore, we can deal in two piles 6 times, in 4 piles J tinrr':'.

or in 8 piles z times. The reason is 26 = (z')s = (zs)2. In additiorr,
dealing in 5 piles is the same as 24 (4Faro shuffles). We itls,,
know that dealing in ro piles is the same as S Faro shuffles.

Wootly Aragon

in a normal way, unlike anti

Faros).

A7

n1r1,11, ,,1

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A Book in English: Thc citrtl tlagic of Woody Arag6n

ON THE GILBREATH PRINCIPLE

I will now summarize for you a study I published several years
rrgo (October

2oo2) in the Escuela Maqica de Madrid's circular

h'llcr:
'l'lrose familiar with the kind of magic I perform, know that
orrc of the weapons in card magic that I use most is the fairly
urrknown Gilbreath principle. I insist this is a fairly unknown
lrrirrciple: even though many magicians have heard of it, I have
lorrrc to realize that most of them are not familiar with its inner
worl<ing, and they are amazed when they see an effect in which
llrc application of the principle doesn't follow the few rules that
llrcy l<now about. As Ram6n Riob6o said "most magicians
t/r irr/c.s the Gilbreath principle is all about red and black cards" .
Sorrtc time ago, while searching on the Web, I found some
lorrrnrcnts from Max Maven (a magician I greatly admire and
'ionr(lone who has published some amazing applications of the
print'i1rle). He was writing about the principle's authorship. It is
utrivt'r'sally accepted that Norman Gilbreath discovered the
lrrirrciplc, but actually IGrl Fulves had published some tricks
lrrrsr,rl on similar properties of a deck of cards years before.
llowt.vcl', Fulves never identified the method as a mathematical
1rlirrci1rlc. Merx Mavcn saicl something like: "Gilbreath principle
r,, ;rr.sl rt rtutllrututtiutl 1u'itttiplc. As.suc/r, if could neuer haue
lnt'n itttttrttlal, urul llttrl tttt'tttts i/ t'rur lutu<t tto "author", .iust
.,tttnt,(rttr tulut dix'rtt,t,tttl il. ltt tttttl ('(r.s(,, lt,(, cen onlA Speak
ttlxtttl llu, 1tt't'srttt tt,lttt linttttl, tt1ryiliul, rttxl ttxtl il,"

Hyde Park in London, after lnternational Magic "Ron Macmillatt':

Conaention (2009)

A book in l',rrllr',lr I lr,' , ,rr,l

A Book in English: l'lre t'rtttl r)ritgic of Woody Arag6n

This would seem obvious, bttt rlctually it isn't. We know thrrt

Gilbreath's principle works when we shuffle two inverted serit',,
of cards. If we place the cards in a predetermined setup arrrl
riffle shuffle them, we will obtain a certain result. But... dot':
this mean that if the cards are not in a setup order, the principl''
stops working? NO, the mathematical relation between tlr''
cards when they are riffle shuffled are ALWAYS the same, tt"
matter if the magician places them ordered by series of cartl:'
alternating reds and blacks, shuffles duplicate cards, or even il
he is unaware of any mathematical principle. Actually, we cortlrl
say that the Gilbreath principle works EVERY SINGLE TIMI'I ;r
deck is riffle shuffled.

This idea pushed me to study the mathematical relatiorr''

between the cards in depth, independently of the inverted set'it"'
concept that seemed to be a staple in Gilbreath principlt":;
working.
HOW DOES THE PRINCIPLE WORK?
We already know this: If we have 2 groups of X cards (tlr''
groups canbe colors, suits, values, inverted cards, etc.) that lrr''
fuentical, but whose order is inverted in respect to the otlrcr
series, if you riffle shuffle them together, every group of X cartl:'
counting from the top of the deck, will contain every sin;il''
element of X only once, but in a different order.
This is the general principle, but actually the riffle shufflt' r'
not necessary (I would like to remind you about the invt'r:'''
application of the principle, first published by Nick Trost, wlrt't''
X cards are freely taken from the top of two piles of canls)
Neither is the principle only applicable to cards (we could alrlrlr
it to colored objects, coins, dice...)
o1' llr''
(that
lt''
tneittrs,
z
X
was
valttc
of
principle in which the only
gne
rrrrrl
t'ctl
c.g.
by ono,
only used series of z calrls, :tllt't'ltltttrtl
black). Later, when lrt'rlisr.ovt'r't'rl tlrirt X coglrl bg gt'g:tlt't'tlr;rrr
2, and he lttrltlisht'tl ;rtt lrllttr;iotl to tltt'pl'irrt'i1llt', lttttl pt'rt;'l''
star.tgrl <'irllitrg tlrr.rrr lir:;l .rrr,l :,,,r'orrrl (lillrrr';rllr prirrt'i;tlt's. lirrl

In the beginning, Gilbreath published applications

rrr,r1,tr

,l

Woorly Aragon

;rctually, both princilllt.s rrlr, llrc s;rrrrr', or rrraybe

llratthe second one cn('onrl);rss('si llrr. lilst.

I should

say

,I'IIE PRTNCIPLES
'l'he First Gilbreath Principlc rcl'crs to series of two cards.
It includes the most well l<nown ol its applications (the one
lrrrlrlished by Norman Gilbrcath in his "Magnetic Colors", which
,rlrirrkled the original interest in the study of the principle).
Altcrnating red and black cards, and riffle shuffling two piles
(orre whose top card was red and the other whose top card was
lrlirck) will, after the shuffle, result in every pair of cards in the
,lt'r'l< consisting of a red card and a black card. There is no way
lo l<now the exact order, but there will not be any pair of cards
llrrl are both red or both black. Actually this works because we
irrr,mixing a series of z card (red-black) groups with an
rrk,ntical, but inverted series of z card (black-red) groups.

'l'lrc Second Gilbreath Principle (RS - Repeating Series

1,r'irrr:iple) actually works in exactly the same way, only the
',r'r'it's can consist of groups of four, five or more cards. If you
,rrrlr.r'th suits in a deck - Ace to King, and Ace to King in one
lr;rll, and King to Ace, and King to Ace in the other half (a deck
rrr ortlcr, but in mirror stack) - when you riffle shuffle the deck,
IIrcrr iI'you were to deal4 piles of 13 cards each [deal r3 cards in
,rrr, pile, then the next], EACH group will have one, and only
rrrrr. t'ilrd of each value from Ace to King. You can't control the
,rrils, llut you can control the values!
I

N I)I.]PTH STUDY

I said I would try to go

the concept of a "series of cards" in this study. Let's start
lronr iln obvious st:rlcrrrcrrt: II'y<ru terke two groups of ten cards
rr ir s(,(llr()rrcc (t,.g,. Acr, lo'li'lr trntl At.r'to Ten), taking a group
',1 to cirrrls lhrrrr;rrn,wlrr,r'r.irr llrt.:.lo t'lrrtl s[:rt,l< is anotherwayof
licllirrg il llt'oul) ol to r';rrrl:l rvitlr orrlv onr.r'irrrl ol'cach value in
llrr, st'r;rrcrrct' (irr r)ur r'\;lutplt,, Act' lo'li,rr ). Srrr'llrisirrgly, there is
,r tll;rliott lrr'lwctrr llr', rrrr'llrorl;rrrrl llrr'( iillrl'r,;rllr prilrciltle.
lhrl, at the beginning of the article,

l,r'1'1v1111

A book in lirrglislr: 'l lrt' t'rrrrl nurlirt' ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirxl magic of Woody Arag6n

nrspect to the position nrrrrrlrt'r's irr tlrt. original series) of the

cirrds in the original serics.

What happens when you apply the Gilbreath principle to ;r

series of cards? The cards on top of the deck after the shufl1t'
will form a RANGE of the initial deck order (not inverted).

AN EXAMPLE:

Imagine two inverted series of cards, ready for the principle to

work:

'l'ake the first zo cards frorn your Mnemonic stack of choice.

Fiue

Ace
Two
Three

rrrrrnbers 1 to 20 in their backs, in ascending order).

Three

t - z-

Tuo
Ace

But now, let's invert the series of cards on the right (so tlt;rt
now both series are in the same order), and imagir tlrr'
following chain of ordered cards:
ee - F our -

Fiu e -Ac e -Tu o -Thr

ee - F our -

ttt

Given any ONE series ol \

cards, in a certain order, if wc ittvert half (X/z) of the serics willr
respect to the other hall', itrrtl ril'llc shuffle tl-re two grottps, llrl
series formed by thc I'irsl X/:' t'itt'tls, t:ottlltittg llrltll tlttr lop ol
the deck, will c6psist ol';t l{AN(ll'l (irl t'ottlittttstts gtrlt't'tt'illr

t6- t7- t B- 1g-2o

Now, divide the series in two equal piles, in preparation for a

10

77

912

B1s

714
6
516
417
318
219
120

By doing the inverse operation of the one I just showed vorr,

we arrive at the principle that I now propose, and joking call...

-t1- B-7-6- 5- 4- S-2- L- 1 1-12- 1 S- 14-15-

ril'l'lc shuffie:

Fiu e

Now choose any RANGE of five cards, and move through tlr,'
series. You will discover that you always end up with an Ac:t' l,
Five group in your range, and there's another Ace to Five gtrrrr;,
that has been excluded by the selection process. Those excltt<lt'r
cards are exactly the ones that would end up mixed with the I't'r;t
of indifferent cards, if the series was inverted and shuffled ( i I r ;r
manner that allowed the Gilbreath principle to work).

"Third Gilbreath principle".

rrrrr the last

If you riffle shuffle those two groups of cards, the first l'irt'
cards of the resulting deck will always consist of an Ace, a Twr,,
a Three, a Four and a Five (in any order).

-Thr

3- 4- 5-6-7- B- 9-t o- t 1- 1 2- 1 S-1 4-15- 16-12- 1B-19-2

Now run the first ten cards, inverting their order (you could also
ro cards). The series will look like this:

Indifferent Indffirent

ll' you don't use any stack, take any 20 cards, and write

Four

Four
Fiue

Ace-Tw

X/z

i-S

l(il'llc shuffle the two halves, and take the first ten cards.
',irirrrlr lirl the card with the lowest value of the group, then the
nrrl on(r, and then the next, and the next... you will see that the
,, r'ru'rls that fbllow thc lowcst one, in order, are included in the
llruul). (As I tokl yolt, yolt olttair-tcrl a r:cntnrl range of cards from
t

lrr, irril iirl ',<l t:rrrrl scrics).

r\r'lrrirll.y, il'.yorr rvclc lo lrrurlyzt, llris cx;rrrrlllc in dcpth, you

rrnrrlrl rt'trlizr. tlt;rt llris rlr.lilriliorr ol' llrtr pr.inciple
t'nt'onll)ltsscs llrr' llrr.r,iotrs lwrl! Sirrrplt' lrt' trsirrg ir scrics

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A book in Iirrplislr: l ltt't rrtrl nurl'r( ()l Wootly Aragon

formed by two equal series of carcls, one after the other, tht'
range of cards which we move always leaves, inside and outsitlr'
of the said range, the same cards.

Another interesting idea, which I think has not been used yt't.
is that a consequence of the range concept is that, if you shufl'|,'
two series of cards from r to 5, and then take 6 cards, the sixtlr
card will always be either a 5 or a 1, that is, the cards next to llrr'
5 card group ending.

THE TRICKS
I am aware that, when you first read this, you will
think that this is not really a practical article, the conceptiotr ,l
Even though

the principle based on the "range of a series" idea has helped r r r, '
to create some very effective routines. Si Fry and Grandlxt','
Poker,both included in this book, are good examples.

The Permanent Deck PrincipXm

A Book in English: 'l'lrc cltrl lnagic of Woody Arag6n

A book in lrrrplrslr: 'l lrt' , rrrrl nrrlrtr' ol Wootly Aragon

THE PERMANENT DECK

PRINCIPLE
'l'he basic idea of what you're about to read came to me while
rrlrrrlying a Faro shuffle concept by Alex Elmsley which he called

llrc Restccking Pack The basic idea is this: During an out

'ilrrrflle, the top and bottom cards never move, and the r8th and
ltsrl' cards just change places. The remaining 48 cards lie in six
llririrts, each chain comprising a sequence of eight positions. A
lrrrrl at any of these positions will just move through each of the

ollrcl positions in its chain before returning to its original

lrosition after B out Faros. But, if we put four cards of the same
vnlrrc at alternate positions in each of the chains (eg, Jacks in
lrrrsili<lns 1, 3, S and 7, and I(ngs in positions 2, 4,6, and B),
llrr,rr we would have a deck which after every two Faro shuffles,
rvottlcl retain the same value order! The suits would change, but
llrr.v:rlues in those positions would remain the same (ie, for the
prr,vious chain, youwill always have a Jack in the odd positions
rrl lltc c:hain, and a King in the even positions).
I rlitln't find many strong applications for this principle at the
lrrp,irrrring of my investigations, except maybe for a storytelling
Ir icli (scc the Cotn"t Cards later in this chapter). Nonetheless, I
luttnrl llrc idca to bc cluitc a revelation, at least it was for me.

I llrorrglrt thc llrrrlrlcrrr wilh lilnrslcy's iclcra was that he limited

Itltttsr,ll' lo :r slirrrrlirlrl 5z cirxl rlt't'l<. 'l'lrirt urcant that you
rrrttlrltt'l crcirlt';rrr t'l r';rrrl llr;rirr willr rr singlr.r,irlrrc (becauseyou
rrorrlrl rrcr'<l ll ,l:rcli:;). ll t'orr corrlrl. llrcrr you worrkl lr:rvc an ideal
rlrr'1. ottc wlto,.;r' r.rlttr ut'rlr,t' tvottlrl rtol r'lr;rrr1,,r, ;tl ;tll itl'lct'cvcry

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Faro. So, I started with the iclcit ol'Lrsing six cards repeated ll
times - each value (eg, AS) represented a chain. This allowc,l
the deck to keep its order after every out Faro... Obviously tlr,'
deck couldn't be examined, but, at a theoretical, mathematic'rrl
level, it worked.
Later, I had another idea: Using an odd number of cards (l,r
removing one card), I wouldn't have to care where the deck w;r,,
cut, or if the Faro shuffles were in or out...
And right after that, one more: Why stick to a 5z card deck? :l
and zr card decks return to their original order after 5 or 6 Frtr',,
r

shuffles, so their chains will consist of fewer cards... Evt'rr

better: if you wanted to use the reverse Faro (for example, l,r
having a spectator deal the cards in two piles), fewer car',l,.
would need to be dealt.

Let's take a closer kxrl< rrl lrow lo rrsr. llrt. ltrinciple, and how to
lt'citte your own permancnl sllrt'lis.

'l'he first thing you'll havc lo tkr is to decide on the number of

,'rrrrls for your permanenl clcc:l<. You can't just pick any number,
,,irrce the number of duplicatc cal'cls that you'll need to use for
lilling the longer chains is as big as the number of Faro shuffles
rrtr.tled to return the stack to its original order.

l,or example, a22 card deck returns to its original order after
tt irr-Faro shuffles. That means that a zz card permanent stack
,'orrkl only consist of rr duplicates of two different cards. And,
llrr,r'c are some stacks that need as many Faros to return to its
, rrigirtal order as the number of cards in them, which means you
rvorrlcl have to use a deckwhose cards would all be the same!

llirvc a look at the list at the end of "Faro Shuffles and

l"rrclorial Deals" (in this book) and check the most suitable
,h,r'lis fbr this principle, and the number of shuffles required to
lonrl)lcte each one's full cycle.

And finally, I had the best idea: Why use a poker deck at itll,'l
Why not use a deck in which you can show the duplicate cartl,,
and that the nature of the deck actually required it to col.tl;tttr
duplicates? For example, an ESP decks, a Scrabble decks (witlr
Ietters on each cards, many of which would be duplicatt',').
blank cards on which I could write letters, numbers ()r
drawings...

And I have to confess, I really love the results that I lr;rr,

found so far. I have called this the permanent deck principlt': ;r
deck that retains its order, no matter how many timcs it
shuffled! I'm still working on new applications, but I can slt;rr,'
with you some of my results. Every trick that you're abtttrl 1,,
read uses a stack based on the permanent deck principle, wlri, lr
means that no matter how many times you do Faros, ot' lcl .r
spectator do reverse Faros, the cards will stay in the s&r1c ot'tllr
You could ask the spectator to deal the cards in two piles, g;tllr,'r
the cards, and repeat the process as many times as hc wrtrrl
(even while you're in the other room, so you don't knowilrg lr,,r'
manytimes he's done the t'cvt't'st' Iiitro). The orclcr ol'tltt't'rrr,l',
still remains the same!

,\ll ol'the stacks I propose are odd, which means the Faro
,lrrrlllc will be a straddle one and you can cut the deck as many
lnn(,s its you want. But, if you need to, you can add or remove
rrrrr.('ll'(l from the stack. If you remove a card, the Faro shuffles
''rll lr:rvc to be in ones, or if you add a card, the Faro shuffles
,' rll lr;rvc to be ouf ones. Most importantly, if the number

ul'r'nrtls in the stack is even, you can't cut between

tlrulllcs.

l'lrr. srrnrc concept applies to the anit-Faro. The way to gather

crrrrls will have to match the kind of shuffle (in or out) you

llrl

rr,url lr) pcrtorm. I highly recommend (again) that you to take a

l,r,li lrl 'l'unrariz's strrtlics rcgitrcling the anti-Faro shuffles in

tolrrrlrr.

I rvorrlrl lil<r. lo rrr;rkr. ;rrr olrst.r'v;rliorr rt,1i;rrrling the single

r' \r.t:ir'littro. Sirrr'r,\,()u iu'(,rlr,rrlirr1l lwo lrilcs, il'vott ttse an odd
tnttrrlrrlcrl sl;rcli. \'{)u (';ln lr,l ;t rrlrr,r'l;rlol r'lroor;r. wltit'lt <ll'tlrc two
lr,rlve; rvill 1ir) ()n 1,1,, rrr;rl'in1i llrr.n,lr,,l,'l)rr)('('(lrrrt. lool< lirinl'. If

A Book in English: 'l'ho cltrl rlagic of Woody Arag6n

A book in linglislr: l'lrt, t'rrrrl

your stack is even numbcred, you don't have that

option. The pile that will go on top after each deal depends orr
the kind of Faro needed for the principle to work, be it out (th.
second pile goes on top) or in (the first pile goes on top).

rrrul,ltr,

ol'Wootly Aragon

that if you cut to it, yorr l<rrow llr;rl llrc t:ards are in the right
order.

I first proceed by elirninating thc rrrws with number one and

rrssigning them the name of thc l'ilst Wise Man.

The stacks listed in "Faro Shuffles and Factorial Deals" are tlrt'
ones that I find most suitable for the principle, because of tlr,'

relation between the number of cards and the numberuI

different cards that you can include in the stack (which is tlrt'
number of cards divided by the number of Faros). Nevertheless,
you could apply the permanent deck principle to a stack of atri
number of cards, but you run the risk of having to use too martt
duplicates.

The next step is finding out the positions of the cards al'tt'r
each Faro. I usually use as many cards from the mnemotrit';r
stack as I need, and just write down their positions after eirclr
shuffle. If don't know any mnemonic stack, you can just writt' ;r
number on each card, marking their initial position.

You will realize that r, z and 4 always ends up in the same row,
,io I assign those values to Melchior as well. This is our first
llririn. I then look for the second name, Caspar, which I assign
lrr rrtrrnber 3:

Let's take a simple example: We'Il use a seven card stack, itrr,l
the names of the Three wise Men (the Biblical Magi: Melchior
Caspar and Balthazar). If I take seven cards, give each on(' ir
number, and start doing Faro shuffles, the stack will retut'tt l.
its initial order after three shuffles. Going through these tltrr','

steps, we have:

Initial

After the
zrd Faro

After the
1"t Faro
4

5
2

,)

.)

Order

After the
?rd Faro

As you can see, the Ttt' c:tt'tl ttt'vtrt't:ltattges its ptlsititln (llttt'lrtt:,,'
of the straddle Fartl). Il will lrr, .yottt' I'trl'ct'crttt:g lal'{1, tlt3lttrirrl,,

r\ri .yotr can see, 3, 5 and 6 always end up in the same row, so
llrusr,v:rlucs are assigned to Caspar. This is our second chain,
rrr(l rrl lhis point, we're finished with our example. With a larger
,rlrtlli, .you'cl havc to t'ontinuc ur-rtil you idcntified all the chains. I
rvlll I'irrish lhis t'xirrrrplt' by irssil3ning thc last card a different
\ rrlu(', irr tlris cirsc llrc lirsl rrilrrrtr, llirlthirzlrr'.

'l'lrrrl's i1! Ali(,t'lirllorvirrg r,;rt.lr slt,p, llrr,r,orrt,lrrsion is that if

rrrl ('t'(,;tl(,;r sl;rcl. rrl '' r'irrrls witlr tlrr,rr;rrrr,.:l ol'lltt.'l'ltrctc Wisc

A Book in English: The card magic of Woody Arag6n

T*

A book in English: Tho card mrglo of Woody Aragon

Men, in the following order: Melchior - Melchior - Caspar Melchior - Caspar - Caspar - Balthazar, no matter how many
Faro or reverse Faro you applied to it, the stack will always
retain its order.

ESP MEMORIZED DECK

You show your audience an ESP deck, consisting of z5 cards, 5
Iroups of 5 symbols. Actually, the truth is a little bit different.
the deck does not have z5 cards, but zr cards, and the groups
lre not equal (some have 6 symbols, while others only have 3),
but the audience will be totally unaware of this.

?o construct this deck, you will need z ESP decks. The order of
thc stack is as follows:

t- Square
8- Square

9'I{aves
4'Square

t- Star

6. Waves

/. Cross

t.

*.
#
ry

9,

Square

9'Clrcle

lO. Star
11. Square
ll. Waves

It- 9tar

14- Cross

It'Clrcle
16.Square

l7 Btar
It. Clrcle

19'0tar
lO. Star

ll.

Crogc

A Book in English: 'l'hc clttl magic of Woody Arag6n

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You can ask thcrn to rr;rrrrt' ;r rrrrrrrllt'r', count to it, and look
at the card at tlrrt posilion. l,lvt.rr bcfore the spectator
reaches the cartl, wt' will :rlrr,irtl.y l<rrow its identity.
You can deal cartls onlo tlrc tirblc, and have a spectator
stop you at any cal'cl. You t:an [hen name it. You can also
ask a spectator to say stop, and give you any small
number. You can preclict which card will lie at the chosen
number, deal to it, and show it to everyone. You will be
right (this helps to eliminate the suspicion of marked
cards).
You can simply name every single card in order (a grand
finale for a routine, and one that I use very often).
You can telepathically send the order of the cards to a
medium (who can either memorize the order, or have it
written on a paper or crib).
You can have a prediction, written or recorded detailing
the final order of the cards. Or have a deck with different
colored backs inside a box, resting on the table from the
beginning of the routine. Tell the spectator (who can do
as many reverse Faros as he wants, or choose the number
of Faro shuffles he wants you to do) that he can stop
shuffling whenever he wants. Finally, the deck is cut, and
the order of this deck is compared to the previously
isolated deck- proving the magician's intuitive powers.

card, (so that tlrr'

crimped card ends up on the bottom) thus allowing you to cut irl
the crimp and return to the iisted order after a spectator culr,
the deck.

Put a reverse breather crimp on the

21st

Ideally, you could memorize the order in order to use this dert'l'
as a mnemonic ESP stack. Actually, it's not really that hartl
since there are only 21 cards, and you only need to memoriz,'
the number-s5rmbol association (and you don't need l.
remember the symbol-number association). Moreover, [lr,'
order has been created with built-in mnemonic-mathematir';rl
pegs that will help you memorize the symbol numbers. Ii,,r
example, the square is associated with number four in the Irsl'
deck (because of the number of strokes you need to draw otrt')
If you look at the order of the stack, you will see that the squrrr ,'
occurs at positions L) 2) 4, B,7l and 16. Three of those r,','
divisible by + (4, B and 16). Twelve is the missing one - wlrit lr
means 1, 2 and LL (1,2 missing r). If you don't want to memot iz,
the stack, you can always use a crib sheet with the stack ot'rl,'r
written in it.
There are ESP decks in the market made using Bicycle stot l',
with Bicycle backs. Those are the ones best suited to work u'itlr
this mnemonic stack, as they are one of the few ESP decks llr:rt
you can Faro properly.

With this setup, you can do several "small miracles" with

tlrr,,

deck:

If you ask a spectator to cut some cards, and look ltl llr''
bottom card of the cut pile, by knowing the nunltcr "l
cards in the pile (counting the remaining cards irt llr''
pack, or having the spectator count them aloud fol' st,tt,''
reason), then you know the identity of the card.
In a similar way, you could estimate the number o[' t'rr r ,l',
cut and fish for tltt' st'lt't'lccl card (with onc tlislirr,
advantage: the spccl;tlor will sotttctiltlt's t'ttt itt lt p;tt'l ,,1
the stack whttl't' t';tt tl:; ;tt c rr';lt'lttt'tl).
I

Arrrl all of this, while the deck is fairly shuffled by doing

l'ir'os (as many as you want) and letting the spectators cut and
rlr,;rl cirrcls as many times as they want, dealing in either two or
lrrrrr'lrilcs. Incidentally, if you deal the cards in two piles, deal
llrr,rrr llrr:c Llp, or you will end up reversing the order of the
r

itl r ls.

I rr,t'orru)lcnd you nr;c the anti-Faro or "dealing in ttuo piles"

llrr rrr:rirr rrrcthorl o1'hlving thc cards rnixed by a spectator. As
1,1 ll11' rtgrrlar'lilrrr, I r'('('onrrncr.l(l yotr rrsc it as a false shuffle
,lrrrinl,,llrt'rrrrrlirrt'(witlt tlrt'irtltlt.tl ltorrrrs tlr:rt thc shuffle is real,
,rrl \'()lt ('iln ollcnlv slrow lrow llrt. lwo lr;tlvr.s ol'thc deck are
r\,\'r'n,;rttrl givc llrr'rrr lo;r sPccl;rlor', wlrr) (';ut s(lltiu'c the deck
lrurr',r'll). llrrl,lrlloll llr lorrlirrr. lirr;rlr', I llrirrli il is;r gootl iclcir
l, r'\lrllritr lo llrr':rrr,lr,'rrlr,rvlurl llrr.l,';rr,,,.ltrrlllr.is,;ttrtl slt<lw
,r',

A book in l:rrllrslr. I ltt't rrtrl rn;r;,rr ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: 'l'ltc t rtttl tnagic of Woody Arag6n

how the cards are woven one by ono, just like Luis Garcia did
his wonderful Rife of Passage.

il

And, if you want to use

jumbo cards, using the
reverse Faro is also a great

idea. Outjog one card in

every two, stripping them

YF{M

out afterwards.

SLOT MACHINH

lrr this trick, you will use the permanent deck principle in a
trick: Three spectators combine to create a random
,lisplay from a slot machine.
prrcl<ct

As the deck is composed of zr cards, andT x3 = 2t, you ('irrr

urse factorial dealing to give the spectators the opportunity "l
dealing the deck in three piles. Ask them to deal the cards irr ,,
number of piles between one and five' If they choose 2 or' l,

just deal the cards (the dealing equals a simple, or dorrl'l''

reverse Faro). Should they choose three, deal the cards, ittll
then just say "Ok, nous I'll decil the cards in seuen piles" (or' ;r,'l

for a number between 5 and ro in order to force 7), anddeal t I r''

cards in 7 piles. By doing these two series of deals, the tlr''
returns to its original order.
I

Obviously, there's another advantage to knowing the orclt'r "l

the stack. You can actually hand the deck to a spectator, let lrrrrr
shuffle, then use the excuse of looking for a chosen/thouglrt "l
card to restore the order. Along the same line, there's & colrcr'pl
worth considering that I developed in my book Cosas Mi:ts 'r
good riffle shuffle, due to its similarity to a Faro, will leavc t'r, , t
card in its Faro position, or very close to it.

Yorr will need one, or more special decks with the classic slot
rrr;rclrine symbols on them. The more cards you have, the more
',r,ts you can create and hand to the audience, thus involving
rrrorr, spectators in the trick. I usually carry 3 sets with me, as
llrr,r'r. :tre usually three wheels on the classic slot machines,
r,,rr t'ould even hand a set to every member of the audience.

rr trirch set, you will need 4 Bells, 2 BAR symbols, 4 Oranges,

1 /'/rnrr.s and a special card, the back of which we will mark with
f

ir

tlr,, rlr';rwing of a coin.

I lrt:, i:l

but

ltc ot'rlct ol llrc sl;rcl<:

A Book in English: l'lrc crrrtl magic of Woody Arag6n

Bell, Bell, Orange, Bell, Bar, Orange, Plum, Bell, Orange,

Plum, Orange, Plum, Plum, Coin Card.

A book in lrrrglislr: I lrt' t rrrrl nrrlirr' ol Woorly Aragon

Once again, ask lirr ir rrrrnrlx,r'. lnrirl4irrc the number 3 is

cltosen. Tell the participirrrts llr:rt il'lltt'.y wunt to, they can singly

B:rr',

It'itnsfer three cards filrrn tltt, lolr lo tlrc bottom of the deck, or
lhrm the bottom to the [op. Anrl, i1'tlrcy want to, they can skip
I rirnsferring any card.

Tell your audience that you had a dream last night, in whit'lr
you all went to a casino, played slot machines, and, after rrrr
unbelievable winning streak, you and the audience both madt' ;r
lot of money. Unfortunately, it was only a dream, but, evetr il
you can't take them all to a casino, you offer them a substittrlt'
The Slot Machine Cards.

lletween every step of the procedure, they can cut the deck

You could continue with this process forever, but I

Take some time to show the cards to your audience, as mos[ ,I

the times people find them really amusing. Tell your audiett,','
that the card with the coin on it represents the process ol

lct:ommend you to stop here (after three numbers have been

rurrued) because, depending on the order of the cards after the
;rrrrcedure, you might need to ask the spectators to deal the
lirrcls one more time. Even though dealing 15 cards doesn't take
loo long, you don't want to bore your audience.

inserting a coin into the slot machine. Give a set to errclr

spectator. Don't make the mistake of giving them the packt'lr,
before this explanation of the cards, as they are bound to charrli,'

'lcll them it's time to find the coin that goes into the slot

the order!

Ask members of the audience to think of small numbers (:.r, :1,

+...) and start improvising, asking them to transfer cards ll'r,rrr
top to bottom, bottom to top, or deal the cards in piles (two-1ril,'
reverse Faros, or four-pile double reverse Faros) and so on. llrrl
always offer the spectators a FAIR CHOICE of going throtrlilr
each of the steps, or skipping them.

rrr;rt:hine, and test their luck. Have them turn the cards face
rwn, and ask them to go through the cards, until they find the
orrc with the coin on the back, and cut the deck to bring the coin
lrrrrl to the top. Go to the first spectator with a pile of cards and
lr,ll them to place the coin card on the table, and turn over the
lop czrrd of their pile. Repeat with the second and third
,i r(,('l
iltors. Make a " Ding !" sound every time a card is revealed.
I

Here's an example: Start by asking them to cut the tlr','|.

Obviously, each participant wiII cut at a different card. Tell tlrlrrr
that if they want to, they can cut the cards again.

Itight now, there are two possibilities. The first one, is that the
llrrt't'cards at the bottom of the piles have the same s).rnbol. In
tlris cirse, it looks like the trick is finished, since you've got a

rh

rr

Ask a spectator for a number. Imagine he says "4". Ask tlt,'rrt

to deal the cards into 4 piles, and gather them in order'. lirrl.
once again, tell them that if they want to, they can skilr llr,'
dealing process.

rrrlclr.

'l'lrt. other possibility, is that two of the cards have the same
,ryrrrlrol, and the third one doesn't match. In this case, change
llrr,sorrncl to a "Clonk! Clonk! Clonk!".It's one of the times
rvlrr,r'r, llrc slot mar:hinc lights up because you have the chance of
llr,llirrg l ltrizc, ltrrl .yorr lrirvtr [o dcciclc which spnbols to keep
rrttrl wltit:h synrltols lo spirr.

'1,'ll
Ask another spectator for a number. Imagine he says ":1".
the spectators that if they want to, they can deal the cArds itt lrr ',
piles. Those who chose to <lt'al t:itn then deciclc wltclltct 1,,
gather the cards fi'om lcl't lo riglrt, ot' ll'rtnt right to lcl't.

if

llrr:y want to.

lrr tlris r':rsr', lsli llrr. lrvo sllccl;tlors wlro gol llrt.s:trnc symbol
ln lrrrrr llrcil';lilr,:; l;rlr,rlulvrr,;rnrlrlt';rl llrr.r',;rrrls ont.t'irgirin. This

JI

A Book in English: 'l-hc t'rtrl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

A book irt l'.l11,lrslr I ltt' r':rrrl rrr,r1,rr ol Wrrotly Aragon

time, each spectator has to deal thc cards face doram into eithcr
one, two or four piles.
No matter how they deal the cards, they will invert the ordt'r

of the cards, ending up with the same order as the thir',|

spectator. Ask them to turn over their cards, and the thrt','
symbols will now match. Act as if that was the end of tlr,'
routine.
But then, tellyour audience that, if luck is really with all of yol
tonight, then a miracle might happen, just like in the dream y,,,,
had. Ask them to remove the top card of their pile, and the nt'rt
ones will also match, and then the next one, and the next ont'.
every card, one by one, in the three piles of cards shuffled arr,l
cut in different ways by three different members of tlr,'
audience.

POSTCARDS
When a magician publishes one of his effects, it's obvious he
it because he wants to share it with the magic fraternity.
'l'lr;rt's why I am not publishing some of my material... because
riglrt now, for one reason or another, I want those tricks to be
,'xclusively mine. Pure selfishness, I know! And I have to say
llr:rt I almost did not publish the Postcards trick. I wanted to
l,r'r'1r it to myself. But then, what good is publishing a new
;rrinciple, if you don't publish its best application?! If all of the
rvorl< in the permanent deck principle has been worthwhile, I
lr,t,l it's because of this trick. Actually, the effect is just the
;rrr.tliction of an order but, both at a visual level and as a
r'rln('c)pt, I think it's very different to the others, and I can
r,rurrirntee you that the audience will love it. Really love it!
rlot:s

Irr rny "La ilusi6n la pintan calva" show, I performed 9o

ttrirrrrtcs of close up magic for a big audience (in theaters,
lorrli'r'cnce halls, etc.) with the aid of a video projector. During
llrr, I'irst few years of its performance, Postcards was a central
lrrrrl o1' tlre show. And I have to say, Postcards was one of the
r,lli.r'ls rnost remembered by the audiences after the show. Not
urrly rkrcs it have a strong magical impact, but the audience
rrllr,lrls tlrc trick as custom made for them (since their very own
lurvrr is part of the trit:l<). Thc beautiful image on every postcard,
rri il is slrown to tlrt' ('iul)ct';I, and ltrrfected in the big screen,
ntrrl llrt, lircl llrt';rll ol'llrr':rrr<licnct'1lu'tit'i1-rartes in the trick's
proct.tlrrrr.... I tlrirrli llrc rtsull,lrs;r wlrolt', is vt'l'y nragical.
llrrl llrr,('()n('(,lrl ol llrr. r'orrlirtr, is rlrrilt, lr;rrrl lo r,x;llirin. I will be
lntr'r.rl lo lllrsr, llrr cr;rl;rrr;rliorr ol'llrr.r'orrlirrr,irr llrr.t'xitrnltlc I
ilill liirr'\'()tl, :r, r'r, t1 lttrtr I ;)r'r'l);lrr',r ',r'l lol'llrr,/'o.s/rril'rl.s

A Book in English: Thc t'lrrl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

A book in l:rrglislr. llrt.t

routine, something completely clilfcrent happens (maybe that

part of the reason the routir-rc is so charming). As a prorr,l
resident of Toledo, I will use 16 postcards from my city os tlr.
example. This, while helping me to explain the routine to yorr
will also help you to know some of the wonderful places in llr,'
imperial city (In case you're wondering, I am not sponsorecl l,r
the city's board of tourism).
And now, without further ado...

EFFECT:

rrrrl rrr,r1,r, ,,1 Wootly Aragon

IItc postcard, or on any ol' tIrt, oIIrcrs

1roslt,:rr.rls. The "prediction,,
.trvelope is opened, autl rr prslciu'rl itlcrrtical to the special one
l;rlls out. Tlowever, this p,stt';r*l lrrs :l ,lessage writien on it...
orrc that describes the drcarn.iorrr.nc.y ol the migician.

'l'he magician hands the p.ccliction postcard

to a spectator,
rrrrtl asks him to read it. As he cloes so, eich postcard is ihown
to
llr. audience. The order in which the journty was described in
llrr'prediction is exactly the same ordLr as tire postcards, even
irllcr all of the shuffling and dealing!

The magician talks about the city he's performing in. He tlll
the audience about a dream he had last night, in whiclr lr,
visited this city, and was walking through some of its icorrr,
spots. In his dream, he bought a postcard at each plact'lr,'
visited, and posted it back home. After returning from his r i:,rt
to this city, the magician wrote one final postcard. He then ;,rrt
this special postcard inside an envelope and wrote the n,r,l
"Prediction" on it. What's even more interesting, is that wht'rr lr,'
woke up, the magician found an identical envelope orr lrr',
bedside table! Intrigued, the magician went to a shop ;rrr,l
bought the postcards in his dream, with the intention of tri irr,',
to embark on the very same magical journey, accompanit'rl l,r
tonight's audience.

He then shows the audience 15 postcards, all difli'r,'rrt

portraying different locations in the city. The postcaxls ;rr,
shuffled and cut, both by the magician and the audienct'. 'llr,
postcards are dealt in two piles, and the magician shows tlr,
audience the order of the postcards. A spectator cuts the prrcl ,
deals the postcards once again, and the order is shown [o lrr' ,r
different one. The magician keeps on dealing the postc'rrlrl:, rrr
piles, and the spectators decide whether they want to cut or rr,l
and which pile should end on top of the other. Orrlv rr'lr,'',
everyone in the audience wants the procedure to stop llrt'r';rrr ,,
they're satisfied that tht'olrlcr ol'the carcls is corrr;rllt,'lr
random] will the nrrgi<'i;rtt rlo so. 'l'ltc nr;rgir:i:rrr Ilrt'rr trrl', ,r
postcard, one hc l;rlrclcrl ;rs "slrccirrl' fl'orrr lltt'vt'r'.y lrcgirrnirr,'.,,1
the tritl<. llt'sltows llr;rl llr,'t,' rr, riol ltittg wrillr,rr ort lltr'1,'11 1 ,,1
t

t't I t{ trRoPS:
\',rrr will ,ced an envelope, which should be fairly opaque, so
llrrrl rr, ono can discern its contents. It should be slightlytigg",
llrirrr ;r Poslr:urcl. You will also need rB postcards. Tliese consist

,,1

t ltnlilli'rtrrl p,sr.rrrrl l,r'sirrrply . lhi,

lrrrtr,l\'

lils ilrsi<lc llrt, r,rrvt'lo1lc

lriece of card] that

l,lttlt';loslr':utl:;,r',lrr,s llr;rl sl;rrrr orrl li)r"s()nr('r'oasott.

In

'rilr r'\iuill)lr', rl'r"ll r],(';r ('orrr;rlr,lr.lt lrl;rcl. po:rlr.;rrtls wlriclr I call

I
',li',1,t rt! ttitlltl

A Book in English: 'l'ltc t'rttl rrtagic of Woody Arag6n

Abook in l'.rrllr:,lr llrr',:rr,l

rrr.r1,r,

,rl Wootly Aragon

Let's call X the ur:r,rlttt,poslr';rlrls, ;rn<l'/,lha,loke one, and the

l)airs of postcards will lrt.A, ll, (', l), l,:rrncl F. The order of the
lrostcard stack is:

()

Unique postcards, that represcllt a very significant place ol

the city. In our example, the Syncrgogue of St. Mary the Whit,
and El Greco's picture "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz".

A, B, C, A, X, l), l,l, lI, I), X,

6 Pairs of postcards of the town. These pairs should refer l, '

the same general location [so that you could refer to each orr,'
with the same sentencel, but they should look different. li,,r
example, the same bridge by day and by night, or postcards ,l
monuments that are very close to one another. In Toledo, [lr''
Zocodouer Square (the main square in the historical centet' r'l
tor.m) and the Alcd.zar (fortress) are just a few meters aparl
You only need to go up/down a short slope to get from on(' l.
the other. By having two postcards portra)ang the slo1r,'
Zocodouer and the Alcdzar, you could say "l ualked dolLtrr t,'
the Zocodouer square" ot "I uent all the up to the Alcdv,,r
tou)ers", and even though you are saying different things, n11.1 .I
the two postcards would appear to be right.
possible to get that many pairs of postcrtr'|"
depicting the same place. If that's your case, then don't wor t \
You can just use two identical postcards depicting the s;trrr''
location, and walk through it twice in your imaginary journ('\'.

It is not always

CrE,rF,,Z.

l,ot's refer to the picture siclc of the postcard as the back, and
tlrc writing side of the postcard as the face. Throughout the
'rlrrrffling process, the backs (picture side) will always be facing
rrlrwards (In fact, the writing side of those postcards will never
lrt'sfi, unless you show it to the audience!). The stacked
;rostcards on top of the table should have an A postcard visible
r

)n [Op.

lr.t'cping the postcards in this order, take one of the Joke

1,r'r.rliction postcards, and w,rite on its back, line by line, an
rrn;rginary travel, so that each line matches its corresponding
lroslt:ard. BE CAREFUL! The first and fourth lines, should not
lorrlirin the same exact message (remember these are a pair of
;,oslclrds, but the described location should be slightly
,lrlli'r'cnt). You need to use the double meaning I told you about
Lr,li rrc, to define both postcards with two different sentences.
I

THE SET UP:

First, you will use the indffirent postcard, lo prepat't' llr''
prediction envelope in a very easy way. Cut the postcard, so llr,rl
its length is exactly the same as the envelope's. Put the poslt ;rr.
inside the envelope, and then put the two identical ./,'/,,
postcards, each with a different prediction written on it, rtlr,,r '
and below the indffirent one. You can choose which of tht' lrr "
will fall out of the envelope by simply exerting pressurc o r t I I r,
indffirent postcard (which is in the middle). This allows.vtttt l,
'l'\\'t t
have two outs for the final prediction, and there are rlnl.y
possible final orders forthe stack (with each Faro yo1 ge lr,,rrr
one to the other). Obviotrslv, votl (r:lll use any gl't[c t'ri:;lrrr'
trick envelopes, or ap.V 9[lrt'r'rttglltorl lltitL.ygtt w:tttI lg ggt llr,'

b-,

n thc Toledo example, the journey looks like this:

We arriued in Toledo by crossing the Saint Martin

ltridqe.
'l'lte city looks beautiful at night. The Cathedral, with its
liqltting, is an auesome sight.
Wc parked our car in the Puerta del Sol.
Arrcl rue crossed the bridge, this time on.foot...
Attd urriuecl at the Synagogue.

'

same effect.

t'orrrplt,Ic thc writing ol't.aclr stagc of the imaginary journey

rrnlif vorr trltirrurlt,lt'r.rrtl rrp witlt tltc,lol<c (Toledo at night)
|"r,,I('iIt'(l.

t tl,r'iorrsly orrr,r,l llrl r'ool li';rlll'(,s ol llris rorrlirrt, is that you

rrr pl;ty lvillr llr,',,r,lrr ol llrr'por;lclrrrlr; (;rr lr)n1,, its yott sticl< to

llrl rulr,s

t(,1,,;u(lrrrr,. rrlrr,

lr

1ro:rlcitt,l:, r'.,rr.,,

11,11,,1,,)

lo tttltl<t'1h0

A Book in English: J-hc errltl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

Abook ilt l'.rrl,lrslr

imaginary journey match a real journey that you could actuallr

make [or would actually like to rnake], or you could &rr&n!ir'
them to suit any other needs or intents. In other words, yorr
have to stick to the pairs order of the stack, but you can choos,'
what will appear on pair A, pair B, etc...
Once you've written your prediction, deal the postcards in tu,,
piles. Place one of the piles on top of the other, and cut it so tlrrrt
the Joke postcard is back on the bottom, creating a new stitt l'
order. The new stack order is

E, F, D, E, X, C, A, F, C,X, B, D,

A,B)Z

The journey associated with this order is the one you'll havt'
write on your second Joke postcard.

1,,

If you deal the cards in two piles again, the order woultl 1,,'
exactly the same as the one described on your first,lol','
postcard. You can test it out, if you want.

Place

the predictions inside the prediction envelope, rrr

preparation for letting one or the other fall. Remember wltillr

side contains the journey starting with A and which si,l,'
contains the journey starting with E. You can either take tlrt' r
postcards and place them inside another envelope, or yotr (;rrr
simply bind them together with a rubber band. The only tlrrrrl'
that matters is to keep the order of the stack [it doesn't l-ttrtll,'r
whether is the A order or the E order] until the performanct'.
,

,;rr,l

rrr,11,r,

ol Woolly Aragol

Replace theJoke ltoslr.rrrrl irr ils pl;rt,t., irrrclfbllow."Well, since

llrcse are big postcartls, trnlil;c ltkttlitttl rrut.cls, you can't shuffle
llrcm easily. Well, lJou (un sltttl.'lla tlunt in small groups..."
r,xecute an in-the-hands (lh:rrlit,r' shLrl'lle "but the shufJle is not
raully random, since ntuul tru.tLs slick together... "

Start dealing the postcards in two piles. "So, in order to giue

lhun a good shuffle, ue'll proceed just like this, dealing the
lrrrds in huo piles, one by one. I don't think I haue to go
tltrough this, but it's obuiotts that, if at this moment there's the
7tx:odouer postcard, and right after it, the Burial of the Count
ttl'Orgaz, after dealing, the postcard next to the Zocodouer [s
lltc Alcazar, and the burial is next to the Cathedral...So, euery
tittrt you deal the cards, Aou are creating a new order. And,
,;itn,e. there are 16 or t7 postcards here, if there's anyone
keen
,trt rnathematics, he or she wiII knou that there's as manA
lrrtssibilities os permutations of tZ elements, uhich I think
('r)rurfs up to 3 trillion, or 3 billion..."
As you talk, finish dealing the postcards, and ask a nearby
uant me to gather the postcards?
:iltrntlrl I put the left pile ouer the right one? Or the opposite?"
'I'lrr,spectator will choose
which pile ends up on top. Ask him to
lrrl tlrc pile of postcards. Take them, and deal them again.
',1rt,r'lator. "Well, hous do you

Start the performance just as described in the beginning ol llr,'

"Effect" section. Give the prediction envelope to one ol llr,'
spectators, who will hold on to it until the final revelation.

I uill keep on dealing the postcards, changing their

rtrtil you ask me to stop." Continue dealing the cards in
I'ik,s, irsking members of the audience to choose the pile they
rvrrrl orr top, and letting them cut as many times as they feel
l,r.lwccrr dealings. The important thing is to remind them that
',rrlv whcn EVERYONE is satisfied, and I mean EVERYONE,
rorr will stop, and the final order of the postcards will be
,lr,lr,r'rrrirrucl. Oncc thc.y lbcl I shor-rld finish, and they tell me they

Show the postcards to the audience. Insist on the litt'l llr,rl

they're all different. Take thc,/o/rt'otte, and show it to itll ol llu
audience. Emphasize its irrrpol'lltltt'tr, by sayirlg "Aclturllrt. I
remember this ucrs tlrc ltrst ltrts!t'rtttl I lxnrylil. Atrul it is rr s7r,', t,t/
"
one, .t1ou'll scc ru|ry lttlt'r'.

rlrrrr'l witrrI rnc lo tlcirl irrr.y rrrorc r:irxls, I rrstrallyinsist. "Keepin

trtttttl llrul, il' I lrtk'r llu, ltrtrlicliorr, t.uul il olotLd, and it's
,,tt,ttt,ltout tt,ltt!ttl lrt !ltc ottlt,t' rtf' lltt,st'
ltoslcttt,tls, you ulill
trltt,tttls lx, itt tlt,trltl tt:; ltt tt,ltrtl tt,ottlrl ltrrttt' lrttltltt,nr:fl, if you
It,trl rr.s/ir'r/ tlrr'r'tn'r1,, lrt ltr'tlt,,tll irt:;! (,n(, lp()t.( linrc...
/ l r',/il1)N/, ttttt:.1 ttttt ('t't ll jtt.,1 ttttr'rtl tlrt11 11,ttrrls ntt' lo cltuttqrt

METHOD:

llr,

"'/7rrr.s

t't'.1('t'

A book in l',r11,lr:;lr l'lr,' , rrr,l nr;rl,r{ ol Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: "l'lte t'rrttl nragic of Woody Arag6n

the order of the postcards, I Luill tleal them one more time. ll
euerAone ogrees, then ue're .lirished... " Clearly stating th;rt
they're in control up to the very end.
Usually, the audience will stop you after 3 to 5 dealings, btrl
no matter what they decide, you know they will end up in ont' ,,1
the two predetermined orders.

Remind you audience about the "special" postcard )()u

mentioned at the beginning, the last one you bought in yt,r,,
dream. Spread the postcards, looking for the Joke one. Takt' rt
and show its picture to the audience. Place it under all of tl','
postcards that were on its right on the spread, and turn over I lr,
whole pile over, in order to show that there is nothing writl,'r,
on the back. "There is nothing usritten on this one, becant*' I
bought it just before the shou, neither uas there anythinq ,,rt
the back of the one in my dream. But inside the enuelope..."
As you look at the envelope, assemble the postcards so tha I

I I r,

'

Joke one is cut to the bottom. Just place the pile you har',' ,,,
your right hand under the rest of the postcards. Watch ollt: \ , ,rr
don't want the audience to "register" the moment of briltl',rr,"
the Joke postcard to the bottom, so don't call attention lo rl
And don't make a move out of it either. You already saitl llr.rt
was the l/.ST postcard, so it's logical that you place it ott llr,
bottom. Do it naturally, placing all of the postcards on thc l;tl,l,'
as you focus you

attention on the envelope.

Take the envelope, and look at the top card of the pilc ttrr llr,'
table, thus informing you of whether you need to read tht' lir ,t
(A) or the second (E) prediction. Open the envelope, ancl lt'l I lr,
right one fall from it, thanks to the pressure of the btdil.'ltt,'rtt
postcard. In brief, if you press down on the A side, then ttrth llr,'
A prediction card will come out as the indifferent postt';rrrl rr rll
buckle and hold the E postcard inside the envelope. Cotrvt't,,, lr
if you press down on the E siclc, thcn only the E prcclictiorr , .rll
will come out as the indiifi'ttttl poslt:itrd will btttrl<lt: ittttl lr,,l,l
the A postcard inside Iltt' t'rtvt'lopt'.

Show the uriting orr tlrr. lrrt'li ol llrt, poslt:lld, and give it to a
spectator, who will tlrcrr rt.;rrl il ;rlorrrl. As he reads every
st'ntence, you take thc top poslt'irrrl ol'llrc pile and show it to the
;rrrdience (or, in my casc, to tlrc ctrrrrcra). When the spectator
:ilirrts to read the next scrrtcrrt:c, llrrt thc postcard aside, turning
il over to show there's r"ro writing on the back. The discarded
postcards will form a new pilc on the table. The ending, using
llt<,.,Ioke postcard, will give a nice and funny ending to the story
rrrirl<ing it a good climax.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS:
)rre of the many things your audience will feel when you
trrlrlirrm this routine for them will be a sense of intimacy. They
rvill understand that, if you prepared a trick just for their city,
llrcrr it is because you really cared about them, and they will
rr';rlly appreciate that. Moreover, because it's obvious that you
,'rrrr't really use those postcards anywhere else, the audience
r,'rrll.y feels as though they are watching something very special,
(

,rrrrl

trulyunique.

'l'lurl's why, every time I present Postcards in a new city, I

I'rr'l)rrc a specific set of postcards for it. The good thing about
llris is that you will be able to use that set every time you
;,r.r'lirrrn in that city.
l lcrt,'s one more idea, or I should say one story about this trick
llrirl I'rl lil<e to share with you. It is something I'm very proud of,
,rrr,l ;r pcrf'cct example of how customizable the trick is. I was at
r rrrrliit' r:onvention, when Tony Penyafort, a magician from
\l;rllort'ir, approached me and thanked me for creating this
r,,ulin(', lrrcl letting him use it. I told him about it via e-mail,
,rrrrl lrr, lrirtl the chant:c to pcrform it for a very special event. He
rr,r,, pr,r'lix'rning irl ir pirrt.y Io cclcbratc a close friend's 56tt
Itrrllrrl;ry.'lirrry, witlr llrt. lrt,lp of Iris ll'it'rrrl's wife, got hold of
.,rrrrr' piclrrx's 1l'orn ltis l'r'ir,rrrl, rlt.pit'lirrg rlil'lirrurnt moments in
lrr,, lilr.. llc sr,lr,r'tt'rl llrr, rrrosl srril;rlrlc orrt,s, ;rrrtl ltcrformed
l',,'.lliu'rls, llrrl rr:,irr1', r'r'r,rrlr. lirrrrr lris llir.rrrl's lili., trn<l lrrittdring
1,lr,,ln1ir';r plts.

A Book in English: 'l'lrc crrxl magic of Woody Arag6n

A book in lirrglislr: I ltt' t rrt,l nr:rl,rr r)l Wootly Aragon

Miguel Puga gave'rne another interesting idea. He suggestt',1

having a duplicate set of the postcards, and giving them to ;r
member of the audience, and having him shuffle the postcartl,,
Take them back and, using the excuse of bringing oul ;r
"Prediction" envelope, switch the shuffled postcards for tlr,'
stacked postcards. This allows you start with a genuine shul'll,'
and then follow with all of the cuts and deals afterwarrl,,
Actually, I have tried this method several times, only to find 1 lr, rt
I don't need to switch the postcards. Shuffling a dgsft ,l
postcards is not easy due to the difficulty of trying to hatttll,'
them as cards, and many times the spectators just end up doirrri
nothing more than just a bunch of cuts!

In any case, I

have performed this routine dozens of tirrr,",

without the switch, and the effect has worked perfectly anyw;r\
Nonetheless, I feel that Postcards is best suited for the last 1r;rr
of a show, or as a closer, because a magical atmospherc lr;r
already been created, and the spectators will be less likelr t,,
question you about the trick's procedures. I really think thrrl, rl
you were to perform this routine at the beginning of a shon', ,,r
as an isolated trick, it would lose a great part of its impil('l ,,n
the audience.
I

And, as a final note, there's something else I would like to l, ll

you. Sincerely speaking, I have to say that many times wlttrr
perform this routine, I don't carry the described precliclr,,rr
envelope with me. I simply carry an envelope, from which I l:rl ,'
the r5 stacked postcards, secretly leaving an extra one insitlt', , ,rr
which I've written one of the two possible outcomes. Tht: ollr,'r
one is written on the Jokepostcard that's part of the stacl<. ,lrr',t
by being careful not to show the writing on the baclt ol llr,'
postcard, I can, at the end of the effect, proceed just likc irr llr,'
described handling if I have to take the prediction otrl ol llr,'
envelope. Or, I can cut to the Joke postcard, not willr tl,
intention of placing it at the botl'om, but instead to show il i:r lll
only one with a written plctlit'liort olt its bacl<. In lhis t'ltst'. llr,'
dornrnside is, that you crrrr'l ;nurolln('(' lirlm tltc vcl'.y bt'liitrrrrrryl
the location of t|tr ;lrt'rlir'liorr (l wotttlt:l' il' rlrit.ylrt' solrrl,rrl
might tlrinl< of l)liln.v rrrrrlliplr ottls/), llttl ott lltr'olllt't'sirl,' rl
I

mrrl

lltc order corresponcls lo llrt, poslr';rrtl irrsitlc the stack, cutting

lo it has a much better'.jrrslil'it'irtiorr.
SOME OTHER IDEAS USING I'OSTCARDS:

'l'he routine you've just read

is my favorite one using

it's not the only one I've created. I have thought

,rl rlifferent possibilities for combining the use of Postcards (or
trrrtling cards) and card magic techniques in order to create
r,lli'cts for mentalism. I hope to someday publish my ideas
rlgirrding my "other brand" of magic, in order to share my ideas
,,rr rnental magic. In the meantime, let me give you some ideas:
postcards, but

,,

You can force a postcard on a spectator, using your

favorite method, and then read the picture in his mind.
You can memorize a stack of postcards, give several of
them to a group of spectator, and read their minds,
guessing each one's postcard.
Ily using several postcards with different famous
monuments of cities around the world, you could force a
previously predicted city.
tlsing cards of the same size, you could create a Svengali
rlcck of postcards, using different ones as the long cards,
irnd several duplicates of the same one which you cut
slightly for the short cards.
You could combine a small group of postcards [with a
sirnilar themel, and fish for an image thought of by a
sllcctator.
You could repeat the above group several times, creating a
l<irrd of Al Koran deck. (by the way, I recommend you to
trst' the idea of including several different postcards of the
s;rrrrt: location, allowing you to show a deck of completely
r I i l'lirn:n t postt:l xls)
Yorr r:oulrl rrst' llrt.nr to clcatc gl'ollps using any of the
nrir n.y tnit I ltt'tt t;r I ir';r I rri rtci plt's t'xpl:r i rtcrl i n this book.
Yorr corrlrl wrilc orr llrc lr;rt'l< ol'llrr. poslcirruls, effectively
nurrliing Ilrt'rrr.
You corrlrl rlill, :,1;rrrrps, itt t,;rriourr rrizr,s ;tntl t'olttt's, and
ttsc lltt'ttt 1o ,l,r'.';tly lltr' Poslr';url'r in l,itt;rt'1,, lr.t'lt:tt'y, or
1

A book in lrrrltlislr: 'l lrt' r'lrrrl nutllt(' ol'Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: 'lhc card magic of Woody Arag6n

quaternary groups (the equivalent of classifiring a deck ol

regular cards in colors, suits, etc.)
You could stick carbon paper to the inside of a postcat'rl,
using it to read a message written by a spect&tor orr
another one, in a similar fashion to Maxwell's "Carbott
Card" (Telepathic Selection in Hugard's Encyclopedia ol'
Card Tricf<s)

THE COURT CARDS

'l'his is the principle's most practical application. It's a
conrmercial and a very easy automatic trick, and it always gets a
rrit:c reaction from the audience.

I usually perform this trick if I have to explain the permanent

principle to someone, and I am not carrying special cards
wilh me. In order to apply the principle to a regular deck, I
('rnrc up with the idea of justifying the fact of taking only 15
lrrrrls from the deck, by telling the audience I will perform a
lrick using only the picture cards: J, Q, K and A (I treat the Ace
rli ir picture cards, which for many people is something
rlr,t'l<

r'o

rr r

llletely normal).

'l'lrt: audience believes I use all of the picture cards, but in

rlrrlily I leave the Ace of Diamonds in the deck. This is the stack
,

rt'rk'r':

K, K, Q, K, A, Q, J, K, Q, A, J, Q, J, J, AII
'l'lrt, Ace of Hearts in r5tt position could be crimped, so as to
nrrrkr. t:utting to it easier.

'l'lrl slack should bc rnixed in with the rest of the deck. A good
lr,rr wotrlcl be t<l placc thc

ordcred stack, on top of the deck, and

lrl rr spcctutor' llcrftrrrrr ir ril'llc shul'flcr. Whcn you take the cards
lrtl ol'lltc tk:t:k, llrt,y will still llt' in tltc rrrrtrrlcrl order).
lr

You ('ill) rlo lrll ol llrt, liirro/r'r'vt,r'sr'litrro slrrrl'flcs, cleals, and

Irnr'(.rili(.s tlr,scrilrlrl irr llrr,prr.viorrs lriclis, lrrrrl llrt.vitlucs of the

r*

qk

A Book in English: Thc crrrtl

rr.ragic

A book in llrrlllrslr l lrc r'rrtrl nr;rl'rr' ol Woorly Aragon

of Woody Arag6n

will stay in the same ordcr. I use the method described irr
"My Anti-Faro", in this book. This process can be repeated ;r
much as he wants. But remember, if the cards are dealt an oti,l
number of times, you'll finish with the stack in reversed ordt'r
In that case, just deal cards from the bottom, or place the pil,'
cards

face up.

You can do any of the effects previously described in /rlsi '

memorized deck with this stack, but because of the fact tlr;rt
only the value of the cards is known, I think the best idea is t,
present a story with the cards a la Sam the Bellhop.
,

Here's how I do it:

After all of the Faros, deals ... gather the cards, and cut to llr,
crimped AH. Take the cards, spread them on your hands for.irr
a moment, and secretly exchange the 5tt' and 4th cards fronl I I r,'
bottom of the pile. Then, start dealing as you tell the story:
t

"Once upon a time in Ancient China, there uas a l(iruy. ll,'

had a brother, uho also happened to be a King, and liuerl i r t,,
nearbg castle, and a dauEhter (Q). fhe King wanted to ruk' ,tll
of Ace-sia, but, to his dismay, one day he found oul ltt,
daughter (Q) tuas dating o uesterner called Jack! The ir.ttt,1
got reallg mad, so he summoned his daughter (Q) arul r,,l,l
her: You will marry an Ace-sien prince! I don't Luant ltttt ttt
euer see Jack again! Nor his brother John eitherl" - Tal<t' llr,'
two top cards in the right hand, and reveal the couple itl llr,'
same time, keeping the last card in the right hand. - " IJtrt tlt,'
princess (Q) alnd Jack managed to run awoA, and Lout: (,ll t t
reigned supreme at the end."

willtryto

clxls, irr llrc orrlcr llrtry have ended afterthe

slruffles, and then try to irrrprovisr, ;r sloly ars I reveal them, one
lr.y one.
'l'his presentation mzrkes sonsc il'you deal the cards from the
lop, if the cards are in thc right olcler. But if the spectator deals
llrc cards in two piles an odd number of times, and the order is
rcvcrsed, I don't reverse the order once again, neither do I turn
llrt,whole pile face up (it diminishes the effect). I don't even
:rwitch the order of the 4th and the 5th card.
What I do is ask the spectator to cut the cards one more time.
,\ high number of times he will cut at the crimp, placing the AH
,n lop. (If he doesn't, I do it myself by performing a quick cut). I
,'rrrr.lirlly gather the cards, showing I am being completely fair,
,n r( I l)lace them in my left hand, in readiness for the glide. If the
.'\ I I is on the bottom, and not on top I simply take it and
Ilrrrrsl'er it to the top, as I explain the audience what I am about
lr rkr: take cards from the bottom of the pile, naming them
lr,lirrc and trying to make up a story.
'l'lrcrr I start telling the story, as I take cards from the bottom of
llr, lrilc and turn them face up over the table. When I get to the
,\r'itlx:r his brother John!" part, I simply do the glide (the only
,lr.ililrt in the whole routine) to get the Jack I need.

ll vorr think dealing the cards from this grip doesn't look
r,rlln'll, I will tell you that I think the effect looks even better for
\r,ul' ilu(lience: Since you're taking cards from the bottom,
llrlrr"s no way you could have seen any kind of marking in the
r rurls, tlrrrs giving the audience one less possible solution for
u

Obviously, by learning the story you also learn the stacl<

which is always a nice plus.

rrI,

'r

guess the

ru

r u nlx)licvable "divination".

ADDITIONAL REMAIII(S:
I usuallypresent "s:tttt llrt ltrllltoll" liirrtl <ll'lrtttlittt's ils il ltrr . rrl
a divir-ratiot1 cflf,st:l willr irrrlrtot'i:r;tliorr. I tt'll ttt.y;ttttlit'ttt't'llr:rl
I

Irr ;rrry r:irsc, il'yolt us() tho regular presentation for this plot
tllrr, rrurgit:iln tt'lls lr slory, irrrrl thc calcls uragically change their
,rrlr,l'lo srrit tlrc slorv lrcirrg loltl) tlrt'r't'srrll is r:ryuallypowerful,
'r', llrr,rttt'lltorl ;rllorvs lirr llrr,spccl;tlol to "lirirly shuffle" the
,,tr rl:; itt nl;ulV WlrYi;, ;ut(l ;r:; ttt;uty l irrrr.r; ;r; ltt. wttttIs.

Abook in l;rry,lr..lr

A Book in English: J'hc crrrrl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

GILBERT ALGORITHM

0.1 -

lrr

(:r(l

nr,rl,r( ol Woorly Aragon

SOURCE CODE

1o order=RND(*Randomize_cards); // Create
Random Card Onder"
20 BIN(cards); // Binany Convension
3O *cards=RND++; / / Locate Pointer"
40 IF (Order==RND && Spectator_Wants==1) GOTO
2@ / / If the onden is still Random and the

spectator wishes, repeat the pnocess.

50 RETURN (cards(*chosen-card));

GILBERT'S ERROR CODE

My good friend Alberto Fernindez "Gilbert" is not only a great
rrr:rgician, but also a computer programmer. He found out this

ri(.(luence, ERROR 9o5Ro95oSS, that keeps its order no

rrurtter how many faro shuffles you apply to it, thanks to the
; x'r'manent deck principle.

llc

_r$o-[_!Q_o_E_s_:_-

The card is the Five of Spades

- The card is the Two of Clubs
- The card is the Six of Hearts
- The card is the Four of Spades
ERROR 10001R5 - The card is the King of Spade',
ERROR LlttOgOO - The card is the Ace of

ERROR

O3

ERROR 2O8P
ERROR 14978
ERROR 2OOR26

Diamonds
ERROR 9O5RO95O55

The card

is the King of

CIubs
ERROR 119047291-1742876361-

Three

of

Hearts

The card

is

thought the sequence suited his profession well, and

';lrowed it to me. I then developed the routine you're about to
rclrl, saving the revelation of the message for a final surprise,
,'rrrphasizing the computer geek-themed presentation, and
r lt I i rrg a macguffin in the form of a chosen card, which justifies
llrt'scquence of actions required for the routine, and makes it
g,ossible not to show the message until the very end. I also
llrorrght it would be very interesting to play with the "Error"
, orrt'c1)t, as the magician's attitude in this trick can lead the
rnr(li(.nce to really believe something's going wrong, and an
''r r'or has been made, as the magician admits it. But suddenly,
tlrr,srr;tposed "error" is revealed to be the effect in a very
rrrrrg,it':rl way!
ir

the

lior this routine, you wiil need a group of r5 cards. They

,lrorrlrl all have different suits and values. Just in case, deal the
, iu'(ls in two piles four times, and take a look at the resulting
,,r,lr.r' in cuch <t1'tltr'4 lirlrr t:yr:lc. Make sure there's no seeming
prtll(,t'n in tlrc vllrrr,s, t'olors <lr suits. l-lrc order of the cards in
llr,'lirrrr r:.yr:lt's slrorrlrl look cornplt,lcl.y rirntlonr (as it reallyis).
l'ru'tt lltt.r'lu'rls l;rt',,rl,rrvn,;rrrrl rrsr, lr llrir.li pr.r'ttt:utcttt rnarker
(\,ott sltottltl ttse red

l" \vl'il(,r.;tclr,rl llrr.r.nr)r ('()(lr"l; r'lt;rt;rr.ltt::

Abook in l'.rr1'.lr:lr llr,',;rr,l rr;rt'rmI Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: l'hc cirrtl rragic of Woody Arag6n

backed cards, or custom decks with clear backs... even whit,'

backed ones would do). Memorize the card in which you writ,'
the letter E, as it will be the key card you will have to cut lrr
later.
Place the cards in a separate packet in one of your pockel:;.

together with a copy of the "source code" page at the beginnilrl',

of-this routine. Before the trick starts, force the King of Clulr,,
from a regular deck of cards on a spectator, let him keep it, all(l
place the deck of cards apart.

"Haue Aou euer heard about professor Gilbert's famcttt'

algorithi? Professor Gilbert is a computer genius, and he htt''
diueloped a "natural algorithm" that allows him to find 't
chosei card.. The problem with it is, he needs o uerA specittl
slLpercomputer, just like the ones they hTue in NASA, to run llt(
need.ed operations. Or, a small packet of cards, just like tfii:'

one." Taie the cards from your pocket and place them on tlr.
table. Be careful to place them face up, so that the letters in tlr,'
backs cannot be seen.

"Create Randont (\tnl ()nlrt'... lltrtl tttt,ttrts ue should shuffle

lhe cards!" - Executc lr ('lrirllit'r'slrrrl'llc. llaving the cards face
tup does not make it lcss rlt'r't.iving.
2O

BlN(cards);

//

Binary Conversion

"Binary! That has to tks tuith all that Zeroes and Ones
stuff... Ok, then I'll deal tlrc cards like this: Zero, One, Zero,
(hte..." - Deal the cards into two piles, in readiness for "MyAntiIi;rro" handling, as explained in the "sleights and Moves"
scction of the book. - "Notice that, as Aou con see, if hao cards
litllowed each other, after this process they uiII haue
s<,parated, thus changing the order of the cards".

30 *cards=RND++i

Locate Pointen

*Well, this thing about the pointer

is quite complicated. I
just
go
u,on't
through the details,
shou youwhat to do. Cut one
ol' tlrc piles, at any point. Then place the other pile there, right
irt the middle..." perform the optical cut from the anti-Faro
:i('(luence.

"This is still being beta tested, so let's giue it a try. I haue llt''
algorithm's source code with me. You uill read it aloud, urll
ub will allfollow the instructions. If youlook at the cards, tlu'r1
are randomly mixed, right? Well, thanks to the algorithm, tlu'r1
uill arrange themselues in a specific order that utill help us t,,
locate your card. If all of the Diamonds end up together, llti:'
means your card is a Diamond. If euen cards end up nexl lt)
eech other, then your card must be et)en... and so on." Give llr''
sheet with the "source Code" to a second spectator, not to llrr'
one who chose the card.

Ask him to read the code aloud. You will make remarks
them, and do the following:

LO 0rder=RND(*Randomize-cards
Cand Order

0rr

/ Cneate Rantlorrr

40 TF (Order==RND && Spectator_Wants==1) GOTO 20

I I the orden is still Random and the spectator
wishes, nepeat the pnocess.
*Well,

if the cards are still in random order... and that

to be the cose... looks like use'll haue to repeat the uhole
/,,'(x'(f.s.s... shall ute?" - go through the whole procedure once
irlqrrirr, clearly showing that the cards do not follow any
,lir;r'r,r'rrable pattern after. - "Well, looks like the algorithm's not
rt,rtrl;irttl... but matlbc uc cotLld try once more... but, if you
u'(tn! lo, LUe cotl lt't1 ottt't, ttt1ttin..." - Repeat everything one more
I urrt,. lt will not w<lrl<, so irsl< .yorrr sltcctator if he wants to repeat
llrt l)t'(x:css on(., lwo ot'llrn'c tirrrcs (you could do it
rrlvcllltclcss... lrrrl rro rrrorr, linrcs,;rs vorr rrriglrt end up boring
',r'(',,r.s

ottt' rrrrrlit'rrcr,!

A book in l rrl'lr,lr I lrr' , rrrrl nrirl,r( nl Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: 'f hc t'rrrtl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

ends up in a locatir)n w(,\,(. prr.r,iorrsl.y written on a prediction.

You could even draw :r ;xrllr orr llrr, prr.rlit:tion, one that matches
exactly the path drawrr orr llrr, rrrirp.

order. After performing several rtttt reverse Faro shuffles, antl

asking a spectator to stop us whenever he feels like it, we carr
have [im call the resulting phone number' \'Vhen he does so, ht'
could reach an answering machine, where a message w('
recorded earlier would reveal the identity of the chosen (well.
actually, forced) card or word.

I think if the routinc w:rs 1rt'r'lirrrrrccl using figures and maps

from a role-playing gallrc, srrclr :rs l)uttgeons & Dragons ot The
Lord of The Rings, Iht rcsulting routine would be quite
appealing, and the use ol'carcls to decide the path of the figure
would be completely justifi ocl.

b) Letters, words...
You could use a "scrabble" deck, with letters in each card, lo
perform Faro and reverse Faro shuffles, and still control sevet'r l
words you could later force. The letters don't even have to br'
together in the stack, as, by previously noting their position, it
will be easy to force them after the shuffles.

In this case, I believe the best choice would be the 63 carrl

stack, as there would be plenty of words you could fit in tlrt'
stack. The problem is that performing a reverse Faro by dealirr,',
a 63 card deck in two piles would end up being extremely tirrrt'
consuming and boring. One possible solution could be to let tlr''
audience choose the kind of reverse Faro to be performed. Tlr:rt
is, by allowing them to name how many piles they want yott l,
deal the cards into, in a similar fashion to the Slot Machirr'
trick.

c) Treasure hunt.
You could use a deck with blank cards, in which you cottl'l
draw a compass with directions, arrows, etc. Or use a regtrl;rr
deck, and select a group of cards (r5 would be a good nutttlr.r
as it allows for the use of 4 groups of cards, plus a joker) rrrr'l
you could assign each suit a direction (Spades: North, Ht'rttl:'
South, Clubs: East, Diamonds: West). After all of the shtrl'l'lirr|
procedure, a prediction can be shown: "Here's my lrirtsrtr'''
map".

rl) Red and Black.

I developed this stack in order to control the order of the

colors with roo% accuracy, by using the permanent deck
principle:

t.- Red,
z.- Red,
g.- Black,
4.- Red,
5.- Black,
6.- Black,
Z.- Black

B.- Red,

g.- Red,

to.- Black,
7t.- Red,
tz.- Black,
4.- Black,
t4.- Black

tg.- Red,
t6.- Red,
t7.- Black,
tB.- Red,
tg.- Black,
zo.- Black,
21.- JOKER

'l.his is a zr card permanent stack. It allows you to retain the

order of the colors. After all of the Faro/reverse Faro shuffles,
rlcals, etc. You can remove the Joker (as an excuse to cut to it)
;rntl then, you can guess the cards colors, separate then in reds
rrrrrlblacks, and so on...

you could use a map dr:rwr) ovcl'll squares gricl, lncl ll srrr:rll
figure, which you move ltt'r'ot'<littg l6 tltg "r1rtdottt rtrdcr ttf tlt'
cards, created bq nu'n' t'lttttrt't)'. l)l';tw it litttl ovt't' tllt: l'ig,rrr''
path on thc ntal'r. Al't cl'loll,,rlirrlq;rll .rl'lltt'rlit't't'liotts, tltt' lir',rrr,

Sorne of the properties of this stack are not only useful, but
corrld also help you to memorize it. For example, you can see it
is rrlrnost a mirror stack, except for cards 7 and 14, which are
lrl;rcl< (Remembcr', 7 :rnrl l4 are the exceptions and they black.
'l'lris will hclp yorr l;rtt'r'). (liri'rls I to 1o correspond to Cards rr to
:,o, so that cvt.r'.t' lwo clrrrls, stlrrt ing lhrrrr thc ccnter of the stack
lrrrrl going 1o clrclr r,rrrl (ro n,r) t:,[l t;1,;rrrrl s<t on) consists of a
tlrl;utrl l l)l;r('l\ (:u(I

A book irr l'.n1,lrslr I lrr' , irr,l ntitl't(' ()l Woorly

reABookinEnglish:Ther:artlrrragicofWoodyArag6n

Arzrgon

Moreover, if you take a look at the stack you will realize that
the order of each of the three groups of 7 cards is exactly the
same, except for the 21"1 card (a joker).

If you take this stack, and replace Red and B1ack with Yes ancl
No, you could have the core of a very interesting version of thc
Psychic Deck routine in this book.

Articles and es$ays

I

Abook irr l,,rrlilrslt: Ilrt.r'rrrrl lt/tp11 1;l'Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cartl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

ANINTERVIEW
Ricardo Rodriguez interviews Woody Aragon.

Ricardo: Well, Woody... I think some of your

thoughts on magic in general are going to be explained

on the book. So I am not going to speak about them...
Woody: Yeah, right...

R: To begin, I think it would be interesting if you told

us about the motivations for your own magic. Is your
rnagic created to fool magicians, to entertain an
nudience of laymen, or maybe both...?
W: Well,I think I create magic...for me! By that I mean, that
artist tuho creates imagines an "ideal spectator", uho is
ttorrc other than himself. That is, you try to create something
llutt youutould enjoy watching as a spectator.
t't,(tt"U

llttt

do understand tuhy you're asking me that particular

tlttt,stion. I'ue had a peculiar experience regarding "magic for

tttttrlicians". As you know, I uas born and raised in Toledo, a
::ttuill city (less than Bo.ooo inhabitants) near Madrid. And
1tt't,t:isely because ir rs so small, there haue neuer been many
ttttttlicictns in Toledo. Iirom the moment I started studying
ttttttlit .front books, toltctt I runs tuelue, until the time I started
ttllttulinry ntc<tlirtg ttt lltc trtutlit circle in Madrid, there taere lo
lt, l!-, Ucet's irt tt,lticlt ttttl ttttlry tttulicncc (rts ttrually happens
tt,illt urttttlt'ttt' rtrtttlit,irttts) tttt,t.( ttttl .littttiltl, .fi.iends, cott,rl'('t,,s... ttlI rtl !Ittttr Ittt1tttt,tt!

A bool< itt Itrrl,lr:;lr l lrt' r rrrrl nrrrl,rr ()l Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirltl nragic of Woody Arag6n

Neuertheless, Luhen I startctl ctttending the meetings ctl

Madrid's SEI(t), and going to clirnrcrs, and conuentions, anrl
presenting tricks to other magicians... euerAone starts to sctrl
''Woody does magic for magicians..." something uhich realhl
made me think about my magic, QS, euen though I haue tut
admit the tricks fooled magicians, I hadn't created them frtr
this purpose. Actually, I didn't euen know the "magic fot'
magicians" concept euen existed, and I would neuer hau,'
imagined that it LUas so popular amongst magicians.

But as time uent by, and I greu in "magical maturity", so l,'

speak, I discouered some of the reasons this happened to me. I
think the main one is, since I felt comfortable tuith a cerktitt
styte of tricks, and deueloped routines based on mathematiurl
principles, memorized stacks, etc... that made the tricks deceir',
magicians, because they did not recognize the methods. I
n7ean, if I do a trickfor you, and I use an Elmsley count, or trtt
Ascanio spread, Aou, as a magician, will be able to recogttit,'
the uay I count, or hold the cards. You uill knotu what I uttt
doing, and the consequences of my actions. On the other hatttl,
if you knou a trick that works thanks to a mathematittrl
principle, and I perform o dffirent trick bo-sed on the xrtrt'
principle, altering the presentation, changing the procedurt's
tf Aou are not an expert in that kind of magic, you probultltl
u)on't recognize uhat makes the trick uork- That's tt'lrrt
mathemagic is so suitablefor "magician's mo"gic".

In addition to this, mathemagic sometimes implies hauirttl t,'

go through processes uhich are dfficult to present. Wltcrt I
taos o beginner, this obuiously led me to tricks thlt trt'r'''
sometimes dull, and boring... since those tricks uere not rcttlltl
attractiue in their presentation, but uere deceptiue euctt f ,'r
magicians. It tuas a logical thing for them to thbtk "?-his t1rtr1

just wants to fool me..." But I uould soA mA sll/)/)o.';r'r/

"specialization" in magic for magicians u)as a cotTsequett((' t'l

the methods I uas keen on stttdllirtg and usingl, bul llrul rr',t"
neuer my goal.
r)

SEI stands

lirl Srx'it'rl;rrl

so<:icty irr Spirirr.

l',:,p;rrrol;r

rlt' llttsioltisttto. Il's lltt'tltrtitt ttt,r',,

R: Yes. I remcntlrt:l' lhr. lilrrc when you started to

attend our meetings. I thirrh thcrc's been a great step,
an evolution that h:rs grt-.:rtly changed your magic, both
in theory and in perfirrmztncc. And I've got the feeling
that something that rcarlly hclped you to evolve, to give
you that great step fbrwzrrd, was becoming a full time
professional. I've seen a quantum leap in quality since
then.
And today, and this is rny opinion here, you still have
the same sryle, the part that fools the magician, where
all the conditions rnakes it seem impossible for the
trick to work, and the methods are not recognizable...
cverything is absolutely deceiving. But now your tricks
are much more audience oriented, the emotions you
convey, the rhythm... even when there are long
l)rocesses to be done, you have really worked on the
presentation, polishing every detail so that every step
of the trick is entertaining...
W: WelI, obuiously it's because my magic has changed as the
I7,rlrs uent by... I needed to experiment, it was a "phese" I
tttcl./ through... I tuould say that, thanks to insisting on

1x'rforming that kind of magic, I deueloped

"t't,sottrces" that utere really handy later...

It: What I

rneant

series of

is, that there are reollg good

uulhors dedicated ta those kind of tricks, a:nd rnorng

lriclc.s, sotne of thern reallg good-, o:nd. deceiuing. But it
itt rtot so cotnnton for these tricks to be great for
rttlet'tcrirting an anulience as uell. Your tricks houe a
ilirect effect, lhey (rre easy for the o:udience to
ttttilerstanul, uttd (r.$ sltntnino .for laytnen as for

rtrrgicirrn.s...

llt: Wcll,llttrl
Irt slttx'k

un(l

i:: t'trtt'lltl ttttl rlrxrl tt'ltt'tt I 1x't'fitt'ttt. I clomybest

tnt,t,t' nnl tnltlit't,('t' t'r't1ttt'tllt'.;:; rtl'tttltclltct' lltcry are

tttrttlir'itttt:;, or

l,rrlrtt,'u ltttl, il I tt,rtrt! !rt tnttut' ttttl tttulicttt,t,, I

re

A Book in English: Thc r.:artl magic of Woody Arag6n

haue to moue mAself first. That is, in selecting certain methods.

it is not about the mathemagic being cleuer, or deceiuing. I
choose these kind of effects because I feel fulfilled, I anrt
passionate about them, and I haue fun creating antl
performing them. And this is an open door through ushich I u t t
communicate usith my audience. At an artistic leuel, there ar','
some "heights" you cen't reach if you don'tfeel and "litse" whtrt
Aou are doing, from the depth of gour soul.

That's why I deemed it necessary to start from the methotl

I uas a kid, in the early years I spoke about before, I jttsr
copied the only magician I had access to (uia TV): Jutrtt
Tamariz. He had a brutal inJluence on me. I performed hi:,
tricks, uith his patter, his presentation... and euen todey, l'r','
been left with some "Tamarician" expressions that branded rrr,'
at that time, uthich I use in my euerydag lift, but not when I'ttr
performing.
lVhen

A book in l,.n1,lr:;lr

say it

I lrr. r rrrrl nr,rl,r(

r)l Woolly Aragon

proudly!

R: Well, of cour.sc y()lt (.:tn s:ry ttrat. Juan is the main

reference... the gre:rt "lrr:rgit:i:rrr's magician,r... and for
laypeople too...

W: Yes, he's a true rtursk,r.. I/r.s tlrcttghts, his conception of

trrugic... he has createtl u sclutol: nrugicians such as-Manuil
l,laser, Pit Ha_rtling, Rttbktles, Aott, ,[ to a point, and me, of
fl)uffse... ute haue all "drunk" from his toell, absorbed his
llrcories, his conclusrons... and ue haue applied. them, and.
unnparedJuan's point of uiew to that of other-magicians...

As I grew up, I realized I had committed a big misteke, rt,,

there utas a moment in uhich I couldn't perform a trit'l,
toithout being just a poor replica of Juan. And I thought, i1 t
want to perform... not professionally, as at that time I didrt't
euen consider the possibilifu of being a professional magicittrt
But if I uant to perform something tuith an srtistic ualue, I lttt,l
to deuelop mA own style. And I thought the first step woukl lx,
to create mA oun tricks, and I imposed myself the rule of rct,,','
performing a trick by Juan (I must confess, sometimes I tlttrt't
obey that rule, but at least if I do, I am aware of it).

R: But Juan is present in your tricks... his "spirit", so

to speak...
W: Of course he is! He did haue an obuious irnpact on ntr',
that is present mainly when I perform in English, becattst' ,tl
our similar accent andway of speaking. But, euentually, tt,lrtrr
I entered the second phase of mll education in ntagic, rtntl I
started going to Madrid ancl rtu,t,linq Juan euerlJ Mortdurl. lt,'
still influenced me, but ha r/ir/ .so ul urt internol k:uel, rnot't, t,t
mA conception of ntorlit'. ttrtrl I .litttttd tt ccrsier to ltc ttttlx,ll
but, I haue to scry tlrul I lrttt'ttrtl rru'rtllhirul.fitutt ,ltuttt... ttttrl I

llrirrz (Pi! lltrllitt;1, liit trrtltt

r rtr11l11r1p1'

ntttl littltirrlr".. rtllr't

1t11t

lnrti Banitez, Me as
itt Mt,tttttrill Ascnnio" (2011)

llorlyi;,111,-.,

,,qtrltr

"

A Book in English: Thc crrrtl nragic of Woody Arag6n

A book ilt lirrl'lr:,lr I ltr' , .rt,l nr,rJ,r, ol Woolly Aragon

R: Yes, yourre right! Juan's influence is so wide... he's

in every aspect of magic.

a genius

W: The great genius. But there's a danger in looking only ttr

the outside. That's uhy, and I'll go back to your preuiott'.
ensu)er, in order to cornpensate the great influence he had it,
me, I decided I needed to create mA oun magic, and I stan"lt'rl
by focusing on the method. Thatb how I "geue birth" to tho:;,'
mathematical, automatic and ingenious tricks, because they't','
based on the methods I enjoy the most. But, once I had takt'tt
care of the method, I had to focus on the presentations. Atr,l
after uorking on them, it usas time to work on the construclit,rt
of the routines, and then on how to create the structut ttl rt
show, and then I had to work on mA onstage persona... rttrtl
rhis rs the road I'm in, Wing to slously master euerA aspet:l .l
this art, so I can then customize them end use them t,
communicate uith my audience. And the final g oal has ahut t t
been the some: To reach my audience uith my magic, wlril,
stickinq to uho I am.
r

'

R: Woody, do you have any kind of

professiorr;rl
relationship with mathematics? I mean... many peoplr'
think you're a mathematician, or something relatetl lo

it...

W: That's right. Many people tell me...

R: I don't know if that's trecause of the kind of tricl..

you perform... or maybe because of your looks...
W: Because of my look? Do

I look like a Math teacher?

R: Ha, ha, ha! I don't know... maybe.

W: Well, it might be, as some people approach nu urttl t,ll

me, "WeIl Woody, since uoirc tt ntathematicictrt...", bul llt,rl
can't be farther fro* lltc lnttlt. Not onhy ultt I trol tt
mathematician, I'ue hutl tt tt't't'iltlc litttt'ttsith rnulltetturli('.s {r, rr
kid at school, I'ue ulttttrtls ltt't'tt ,,,1 111trlirl ttrullt<'ttttrlit'.s.slttr/r'rrl
preferrecl literutttrt', ( irtr'1, trrrrl lttlirt!

}*

I think that, tuhett tt ttttttlit'itttt pt't'fitrrrts

ntost of his magic

llut!'s ltt't'ttttst' it's the method that he
atjoys the most. Thul's rplt!t, U'l .srt rr trtttrlician performing all
o/his tricks based ort dil.'l'il-rtlt slaiqltt ol'hcrnd, I willpresume he
atjoys using these lcirul of' lccltttitlttcs. And, since most of mA
tricks are based on nrullutrttrlitrul principles... plus, many of
tlrc magicians that speciuliz<t in rnath-based tricks are great
trruthematicians, and tlutL rt^ tlrc reason uhy they enjoy
tuorking uith those methods, and create their own style based
lrused on certain ntallrtxls,

rnt them.

In my case, using mathematics in magic is not a result of

because I loue whet

tnathematics can add to traditional magical methods. Instead
rrl'using a sleight, I go through a process that has no "trick",
lnil has a result that seems impossible for my audience, since
llrctl can't relate the process to the result. There's an article
kttcr in this book about this, as I think combining "classicel"
lrclmique uith mathematics, mostly applied to card ntagic,
fltrt lead to amazing results.

Iwing mathematics itself, but rather

ll: Actually, there's sornething I wanted to ask you.

What do you think mathemagic could add to "regular"
rrragic? You just said there's an article about this in the
lrook, but... is there any.thing you would like to add in
lhis regard? Something missing in the article that you
would like to say?

ll: Well, in the erticle I speak about uhet I think is the

"rlttrule.rous" side of mathemagic, and ctlso about its best
tlttulilie.s, uhich can ntoke it worthy of being included in any
nt.t(tic ttct. Ancl ryes, I do think it's a kind of magic "frowned
ul,t,n irr .sonrrr cirr'/r,s. ll lurs lrcert xdd it i.s foo easy, boring and
',rtilul onlq.fbt' lx'<littttt't's. ll4urrtutltilt', I llink a mathematical
lutxtl lri<'k tru'tls tts tttttt'lr tt'lturt'sttl(rs o/r(' lrused on sleight of
It,ttttl.
l{: Youtvc grll lo rr,ol'k orr il. ol'r'oursr'... ilts :r tliltl'crcnt
Itirrrl ol' tt'orl., lrtrl

Abook irr I rrllr',lr Ilr, ,,r,l nr,rl,rr rrl Wootl.y At'agon

A Book in English: 'l-ltc crtttl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

W:

Yes,

a dffirent kind oJ Luork, but uork

neuertheles:'

Euerything has to be quick and smooth... I think tue haue t,,

forget the idea of "tricks suitedfor amqteTtrs" and appreciut,
the reol ualue of mathemagic, and realize uhat it can add t,'
the artistic ualue of your show, because of its inner workfit,t
not just because it's easy. Actually, most of the tricks I perfu'ttt.
while hauing parts being based on mathem(fiical principk',..
use manA sleights end subtleties: Faro, false or stock shufJlt','
forces (b oth technical and p sy cholog ical), false dealing ...
Some people think I am specialized in mathematic tricl'"
based on cleuer principles. I, on the other hand, belieue tlt,'
reoson why this style fits me so well is that my real speciahtl r"
composing and constructing routines that include that kirul ,'1
magic. I(nouing the ingredients you are working tuith, utr,l
knouing hout to combine them to "cook", if I might say. I tltirtl'
I knota hotu to discern uhat uorks in a shotu, after hauitt,t
been in front of an audience in so many dffirent situcttittrr
And that brings us back to ushat you said before, regardiruy tlt,'
effect that becoming a pro had in me, what I learned.fi',,rrt
Juan, Gabi...
,

R: ...well, I also think your background

might also have been a determining factor.

in

musir'

clearly influenced tlt,'

uay I created magic, later on. Actually, tttso or three ol llt,'
main acts in my shotu,like the "Ouerture in Tuo Mouettrr'rrt"
act, haue a lot to do, or haue been directly born from Qcktltlirt,l
ideas I used as a corry)oser.

W:

Yes, composing syrnphonic music

R: Is there anything you try to tell your audiencc n'illr

your magic? I mean, is there any message that nr:rLr'\
you think before performingz "That's tohot I Ltstrrtl ttt

saA with tnA ntagic", and then try your bcsl ltr
communicate it onstage. Antl I'rn talking abottl lrollr
your personalit5r, :urrl v()ltt' oltslitgc pcrs()ll:1. llct':ltrsr'
you've always h:ttl :t vcrt' rlil'r't'l itn<l slr':right lirt'w:rrrl
way of c:ontnrunir':t

Ii

rrg rv i I I t t'otI l'

ittttliettt't'...

W: Well, there lS xttrtrlltitttl, tttttl I utn (ttuore of it. But it has

been the result oJ'1ttu't, <'ttittt'itlt,ttt,c. l,cl is .say that, at a certain
moment of mA lijb, ltuo littt,s tltttt ltttd lrcut running parallel to
<:ach other, suddenlty trt<'1, tttrtl lx,ctrttttt urc. At the beginning,

ruas not ou)ore oJ'tuhut I ttrttttlul lo communicate uith my

rnagic (you need Aeus o.f' ltaflbnrirry experience in order to
Irnow that) because ntll rttitrcl ruus busy taking care of other
tlings: testing methocls, cJJ'ccts... But there was a point at
tuhich I became au)are oJ' my magic, and knew there u:as
something I wented to say u;ith it. And then I realized it
ttrutches mA personality. The uay I am influences the uay I
ltresent mA magic, but it elso infLuences mA decisions
tvctarding uhat I want to tell. For me, it uas a natural process.

As you just said, I am o uerA straight person, probably

lx'cause arcogance is something I really despise. I like to
rclctblish a close bond tuith people, and I think no one is more
itttportant than anA other person, but anAone ls more
itrtportant than anything, including the art of magic. When I
1x'rfbrm magicfor somebody, I really care ctbout uhat hefeels,
rrttl ctbout "creating a mostetpiece". That's the uay I am, and
rt,lut I want to tell uith my magic is, of course the feeling of
tt,orrcler, and amazement, but also, I want the audience to
httotu that euerything in life is relatiue, and our "mltndene"
rt'rtt't'ies are not so important. What really matters is being a
tl(t()d person. And, as mA grandma used to say "the most
ttttlttn'tant thing is staying healthy".

l{: You know, sometimes this is sornething that

lrrrllpcns sometimes... I think, sometirnes, there are

rrrrrg,icians that are really intelligentr you can tell they

ru'r'. Ancl, when thcy pcrform, the way they present
llrr.ir margic sccnls lo bc scr.caming "lookhow srnozrt I
ttttt!" Srmrelilrrr.s il's lrtrt:atrsc of the effects they
1lr.r'lol'rn, brrl nt:lny lilnt.s il's :rlso bcczruse of their
rrl I il rr<le

onsl:rgr'.

Irr yorrr' ('irs.', r'orr ;lr.r'lirrrrr rr.:rllv clr.r,t.r. trr:r;4it:....iust

lry lrrkirrg tr lool. ll llrr. ll'icks 1'ou cl'r.rrl(., y()lr r.:tn tcll.

A book in I')rrlllislr: I lrt' , rrrrl tttirlit, ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: l-hc calil nragic of Woody Arag6n

But you don't "play" the part of an intelligent pers()rr.

On the other side, some people really like showing ol'1.
And what I mean by this is that you can show y()rrr'
magic is deep without constantly showing off how dcr';r
and cultured you are. Or, you can have great artisl ir'
sensitivity, without having to be overly sentiment:rl,
and constantly doing stuff tryrng to make people s;rr
"Wow! Whst a gug! IIe's so sensitiue!"

W: I think thqt's not the uaA to go! It

canT !,,
counterproductiue. Sometimes, in a mouie, at the theater, utr,l'
of course, in magic, a "trap" is sef for the audience. Arttl I
suppose some people taill like it, Qnd I don' knou if it dept'rr,l"
on Aour sensitiuity, you cultural background, or simphl ,'rr
u.;hether you're used to it or not... but for me, u)hen I rtrtt
taatching a shotu and suddenly, for no reason, a uerA moritt,t
piece of music storfs to play, and then the performer pull:. ,r
child from the audience and starts talking about illusiort, ,ttr,l
the big things in lift, and euerything starts getting -frt.tu. t
somehow reject this kind of stuff, unconsciously. It pulls nt( ('ttt
of the shoru, and I don't like that at all.

I am not saying that I don't like to be moued by a nice slttt tl

or music, or by the mood created at a certain point of a slrttrt'

but I feel there's a big dffirence behaeen the times u)l7ctt t1,'tr

are moued because of the moment and the attitude of thc ttrtt 'r
creqte that feeling inside you, and uhen someone fri<'s /,'
'force" us to feel moued, ond tries to create that feeling tlu' t'r r " t
uay. I really think thlt you need to haue great taste to dtt tlrrrt
kind of stuff well and, unfortunately, thrs rs not colttttttttltl
t

seen.

R: Yes, some get into it when presented with tlrcsr'

kinds of "scenes", and some others dislike it. Just lil.r'
me. But in your case... there's nothing getting ilt llrr'
way between you and your :ttrtlicnce. And I thinl< tlr:tl's
one of the great virtues ol'yottl' lnagic.
W: Well, n"tctql;a.solltt'/irttr':; i/':; rl t/t.srtt/ttttttltttlt'ltt(t, (l.s .strttt''
people niclht nrtl !trl;r' tttt' t't't'tl',,'r'iotts/t/... I t'<'ttlltl tltttt'! l':ttttrt'

ll: No, no... I really lilic it! I thirrl< that it is more pure,
lirrm an artistic point ol'vicw. You can tell there's
rrothing fake.
W: That's beceuse I think llrut, il'uhat I do for them is good
t'ttough, the audience will reulize it euen if I don't constantly
trll them. If I want to treat my audience os equals, I can't
ttrtderestimate them. I knou that a magician can be as much of
ttn ortist as a painter or a piano player, and that because of
ttt'ltin prejudices against magic, some people do not ualue it
rrs trntch as they should. But I don't thinkmy shous are aplace
trr "lecture" people about the importance of magic, or the
ltl.,stige it should heue. The only thing I can do is try to be as
Itrnu,st as possible, do what I enjoy doing the most, do the best I
t'ttn, qiue it oII I'ue got, and then it uill be their turn to decide
tt,lrcllrcr they think I perform art, or worthless junk.

It: Ok. ThankyouWoody!

ll/;

ArIo,

ThankYOU uery much. See you!

A Book in English: 'l'hc crrnl magic of Woody Arag6n

A book ilr

l',rr1,11511; I

ltt' , rtttl tttitl'tt'

.l W..tly

Aragon

TH EORETICAL RELATIVISM
Magicians love theory, and it seems that Spanish magicians
it even more. If you take a look at the international magic
sccne you will discover that Spain, and the Latin culture,
rlcvelop their theories about the art of magic to a greater extent
tlran most. In lectures, articles, books, master classes, internet
lirrums... and even in a casual conversation between two
rrragicians, you will find not only discussions about the most
srritable technique in the context of a routine, but also
rliscussions of theoretical issues, applications, and the validity
ol'said theories.
krve

'l'his is probably a result of master Ascanio's influence, and the

rk,vclopment of the Escuela Magica de Madrid, whose
lirt:ular letter has, for more than 30 year, been eminently
Ilrcoretical.

Monday night meetings: Iuan Tamariz,Ignncio de lourdan (fr,,ttr

Chile, aisiting Madrid), and Me.
(2007)

'l'lrc importance of Arturo de Ascanio's theories cannot be

rk'rriccl. But as others have previously noted, Ascanio did not
"irrvcnt" them in a vacuum. His theoretical conceptions came
Irorrr watching other magicians perform (primarily, Fred Kaps
rvlro Ascanio consitlcrctl to be the perfect performer). Ascanio
l,,lrv(' nilmcs to cxislirrg hrrt lrrcviously undefined concepts that,
rvlrilc alrctr<ly lrt'irrg inslirrctivcl.y rrsctl, were hard to define.
'l'ltirttl<s to Arlrrlo's worli wr'('iln now irllllly a "parenthesis of
lorgt.llirlrrr.ss",;rvoirl ;rrr ";rrrli t'orrlr';rsl p:rrr,rrlllcsis", and take

rr(lviullilg(.ol llrr"'lrrlrl r'lli'r'1". rrol orrlt'lrt'irrslinct, ltut on

r'ottsciotts lr'r'r'1.

A book irr l'.rrllr',lr I lrr' r:rrrl lrr,r1,tr ,rl Wootly Alagon

A Book in English: Thc crltl rlagic of Woody Arag6n

Most of the timcs, rrry oPirriorr rvlrs llt:rt sorne parts of their

And that is the greatness of Ascurrio's works: The use of theorr

as a tool. Theory must be born from performing, analyzing yorrr
performance, and then returning to theory. If it doesn't, it i,,
easy to fall into the trap of merely senseless pondering.

But there's something that worries me. In my opinion, rtl

excess of theory, or, should I say, an exaggeration of it:
importance, creates the opposite effect. On the one hand, sottr,'
of the younger magicians (including me) sometimes darc l,
make theories about some aspects of magic when we stil1 lat'l.
years (not only in terms of experience, but also yet to reat lr
maturity). Besides, when theory becomes the foundation of orrr
magic, rather than just one more tool, it creates a rigidity in t lr,
way one performs, thinks, creates and values. And, at the sattr,'
time, I see some people overreacting in a negative way wht'rr
they realize that theory, isn't always perfect. In the latter cits,',
we can sometimes find articles and opinions that disctrs,,
attack, and sometimes it seems that they even try to destroy tlr,'
theoretical foundations on which we've based our work mrt',r
,

'

years ago.

The notion of "theoretical relativism" is something thrrl

thought of, at an internal level, when I witnessed, ( )r
participated in discussions about theory, and someone defettrl,',1
a trivial theory, as fiercely as if his life depended on it, or rts rl
the idea was an unmovable pillar on which rested the v.rr
existence of magic. Or sometimes, the opposite occurecl, ;tn,l
someone stated that a well-established theory, used and prt)\'r'r
for centuries, was no longer valid, and that magicians sltorrl,l
discard it if we wanted our art to develop and reach a new lt'r ,
I

of depth and meaning.

itleas were right, bul il is rlillicrrll lo lr'.y to lrresent a "universal

Iruth" in these kincl ol'rliscrrssiorrs, lrt't'lusc in magic there is no

lbsolute truth about wlrlt tlrt'rrrrtlit'ncc should see or think.

I think Alex Elmslcy rrriglrl lurvc been a precursor of this

"lheoretical relativism" irlca. llc wrote an article in which he
compared the trick to zr paLicnt, and theory to the remedy for its
illrress. "Btrt e person gocs Lo tlrc doctor only uhen he's ill, and
tnily then the search for the right remedy begins". If a doctor
lrve every medicine in the w-orld to a new patient, in order to
lit'cp him healthy, he would probablykill him.
'l'[re lesson of this this essay is to be aware of how the different

llrcoretical concepts of magic can be applied to an actual

pr,r"fbrmance. However, when I start working on a trick, I begin
rrr;rinly from intuition. Theory vs. intuition? Are those concepts
, rlrposite? Actually the truth is the opposite one, as probably the
,l.t'tl for Ascanio's theories was is wonderful intuition. It is the
';;urre for Gabi's concepts, Bob Neale's classifications, and

'l';rrrrerriz's theory of false solutions.

llt'caruse what usually happens, when you create by intuition,

r:r llrat you unconsciously apply all of the theory you know. If

\'()ll detect a problem in your creation then, as Elmsley

g,r',rposed, it is time to try to find a remedy in theory. But if
tlrr,ory goes against your intuition, I think that, when in doubt,
rl's lrctter to follow the latter. Follow what's inside you, even
rvlrcrr it makes you question your theoretical base, and makes
rorr li'cl unsure. But, if there's something that I am completely

orrl'itlcnt about is what I feel when I am performing a trick.

\rrrl, il'sornething works for me, I'd rather not change it. I will
I ;r vr , pknty of time to clctrrrmine why it works, and maybe, after
',,,r'r,r'rrl .ycars ol' cxpt'r'irrrt'ntlrtion, and drawing conclusions, I
rr rll l'irrtl :t rr('w Ilrt'or'.t' nrvscll'.

Curiously, most of the time, the people presenting [ltr,',,

arguments had only been practicing magic for a f'cw vt'rrl
and/or were never abie to itt'tit:ttlat-c a practical ttsc lirt llr,
theories they defended. So llrt'v llrilt'tl trl llxrvitlt' lttly t'vitlt'tr,
thatmighthave convittt't'tlolltt'ts llrrrt llrt'ir itlt'lts wt'tt vltlirl.
,

l'lr;rl is wlry I w:rrn vorr lo lrc r';u't'lirl wlrcrr tr':trliltg the articles
lrooli.'l'ltct' ;u'(' rrollrirtg ltt<lt'e than my
r'l|illi()lts, ;ln(l llr,',,,il'.r'(lll('lr('{'r, ()l ttt\ {)\\ll {'\Pt'ti(.tlt't's itttCl nly
trrr'nlot's lr';tt lrttrr'
,rrr lltcot'\' ittt'lrrrl,',1 rrr llrir;
.

A Book in English: Thc cirrtl magic of Woody Arag6n

A bool< ilr lrnl,lrslr l lrt' , rrrrl rrrirl,r, ol Woorly Aragon

When I began studying music, I found several handbooli,

about creating harmony. They taught almost-mathematit';rl
concepts for a method that made that any melody you played t,rr
a piano sound "well The problem was that sometimes I woulclrr't
follow the handbook's methods, but I would still get a goo,l
sound - even though I was not following the estobhshed rules. \
friend of mine, a viola player, told me, while recording oDC .l

my pieces with his string quartet:

"I hope you knou ultrtt

you're doing! This chord doesn't match the harmonyl" I almor;l

felt guilty for liking what I heard. Could it be that I had rr,,
musical talent? Was I wasting all of the basic principles ol
polyphony?
Years later, I was relieved when as I studied the works ol ;r
master who is considered by many to be the best authot'r,l
music handbooks in the world: Walter Piston, famous for lrr:;
books on orchestration and harmony. In one of them, he stalt'rl

"The rules presented in this harmony handbook are tt(,l

unchangeable principles that can't be auoided, but ntt't','
guiding rules deducted from the toorks of composers durirt,l
more than 4 centuries. I uill not tell you how to do things,./nr',/
houL they haue been done so far" .

I always try to follow his advice.

REGARDING MATHEMAGIC
I{eading through this book, I'm sure you realized that most of
I explained rely on mathematical principles.

the routines

I must admit that I am passionate about mathematical card

tricks. However, I find it is an area that is somehow "marginal"
in today's magic or, at least, one that is not studied with the
sirme passion as other areas of our art.

I also must confess that my current thoughts on mathemagic

Irirve completely changed from when I first studied magic. At
llrc very beginning, I thought these effects were nothing more
llrirn curiosities, nice effects for beginners, but absolutely
lroring, and not interesting at all for a real audience. At that
lirrrc, I thought transforming a 6 of Diamonds into a King of
Spircles using a double lift was much better than having two
lrrrrls whose values, if added, would match the prediction of the
rrrrnrber of cards of a group selected by an spectator with the
r\ r rst ralian (over-under) deal...
. Arrcl I was

right, of course!

llt,t'ause my humble opinion is, that many of the

rrrrrllrcmatical-based tricks existing are, if not outright bad,
"lrrrll-baked". Thc l)t'(x:css often works like this: A magician
rliscovcrs or f inrls otr[ :r t'lcvt'r' nr:rthcmatical principle, applies it
lo ir tklt:l< ol'r:irxls, ;rrr<l lltt.rr ltrot.cctls to lterform the resulting
lrill<. 'l'lrirt's il. Arrrl, wlrih' tlrt, lrrirrr.iplt' irrvolvt:cl rnight actually
1,,.rlt,t't'ivin!1, iur(l prr,r;r.rrl ;r rrit,t' prrrr,lc lilr ir rnathematics
rttlltttsiitsl to solvr'. it rvill prolxrlrll'lrr';r vcr'\, lrorirrg trick for a
t,'1IttIltt' lrttrIicrrcr'

Abook in l'rrllr';lr lltr',,rt,l nr,rt,rr rrl Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc crnl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

And I think it is an interesting idea to analyze the reason lirr

this. This is the same thing as when a magician who, aflt'r
inventing a new technique, created a trick whose only purpos,'
was showing the technique itself. But I will talk about tlr,
concept of "sleight of math" (mathematical technique) later.

rrrtrl

counting.
Nevertheless, I have to say that in mathemagic, which is ,,
widely experimental field, I don't think it is too bad to have ttt'rr
method published, even if the effect they are presenting r'
boring, or not that strong. When this is done, the mitr',i,
community as a whole has a new technique available. 'l'lrir
technique, after some study and assimilation could be llr,'
foundation of wonderful effects. I am now thinking of Maqttt'tt,
Colors, where the Gilbreath principle was first published, or'l'lt,
Scarne Puzzle that would later become Alternating the Colot's.
Sometimes, the reason for this "half-baking" of math b:ts,,l
tricks might be caused by the ease with which a trick's 91'1';1l,rr
might fall victim to the lure of automatism. A mathenrrtlir'.rl
principle is able to create a magical effect by itself, withorrl llr,
need for skill or technique on the performer's side. That's ulrr
those tricks are usually classified as suitable for beginnel's. ,\ rrr
constructing routines this way ends up stressing the crltst' ,'l
performance, not the effect's power.

My own idea of mathemagic completely charrgctl ;rll,

witnessing Juan Tamariz per{irl'rn his 7ofn1 Coirt<:idarcr'. ,\:, ,t
solution to a card prolrlt'rtr pt'opostrtl }y Ltris (lltl't'ilt, .lrr:rrr
applies the characterislics ol'llrc rrriltrrt'stitr:l< trt rt t'tlnlritt;rli,'rr
of two half clecl<s, ittvt't lt'rl irr lt':lpcr'l lo t'ltt'lt olllt't'. 'l'llt' t'llr',
was dcrnolishing, lltt' ;tttrli,'rr,,' tt';trl ;tslottisltt'<1, ltttrl I lt'ilrl 1,,
r

And, if I still had any tkrrrlrl, tlisr'ovcring the method for Luis
larcia's Rite of PassrrrTc crrrlcrl nry own conversion to the "Dark
Side" of mathemagic. In this nxrtine, not only a mathematical
lrrinciple is the basis of the trick (in the early zoth century, in a
lrook by Maskelyne, it was first mentioned that a 5z card deck
will return to its initial order after B out Faro shuffles). Garcia
openly explains that this principle is the reason that makes a
lnrshly opened deck returns to its original order after several
slruffles. Mathemagic was so powerful that the final climax,
cvcn after the open explanation, is unbelievable to the audience.
(

You should also bear in mind that mathematical tricks, for llrr'
most part, require going through a series of processS ilrrrl
calculations, sometimes even on the part of the audience. Atr,l,
for most people, mathematics are boring. Your audience will 1,,'
disappointed if they came to your show expecting to have sotrr,'

fun, and suddenly find themselves doing calculations

ligure out the methorl lirr rrrorrllrs, willrorrt a clue as to how such
rr wonder was possiblt'. 'l'lrt' rl;rv I rr';rrl thc explanation of the
trick in Sonata was :r lrrppv rllrv.

Rite and the Coincidence are, in my opinion, two of

greatest
llrt.
card tricks in history. And both are math based, and
It<rth the

vcry distant from the idea that I had been thinking - that all
I Irose kind of routines were boring and not at all interesting.
Since then I haven't stopped investigating and creating new
rrrrrthematical tricks. And I have managed, I think, to entertain
irrrrl rnystify my audience (although sometimes, when I am
l,yf11g with a new principle, I can't avoid taking some risks, but
I will cxplain why later).

t.

The role of mathematics in card rnagic.

'l'r't'lrnique, sophisticated gimmicks... they have a chance to

lril. Mathematics does not. A mathematical principle inside a
lr icli will always work, and it will do so while being
rrrrrlr,tt'ctable. What I rnean is, the workings of a mathematical
l,rirrcilllc are secret, and unl<nown to your audience (and most
lrl llrc tiurcs, iurpossiblr' Io rcconstruct) although sometimes,
lrrr';rrrric o['lloor' plt'st'lrt;rliorr, lltr: Il'icl< "smells" too much like
nr;rllr('nuttics (so nrrrclt so llt;rt it t'trn rlcstroy the magical
rrlrtrttsltltt,t't' ( t). trrrrrirrll ;r lrossilrlc rrrirgicirl cl'li't't into a pttzzle,
tro nr;rl lt't' lton, r lccr'; rl it'r' ).
trt I'lrcMir1,,icol \'.rrrrrio\,,1 t "llrllilrrrr'lrrr,rl('rrrrr'r'Iliorrol Mrrgir"'

Abook irr l'rr11lr:,lr lltr',;rtrlllillir( ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: l-lrc clrtl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

course

But the principles are there, and they are completely selfworking. That is why, instead of considering them as tht'
barebones of a trick (and using them only in this way), yorr
should think of them as one more weapon to add to your
arsenal, together with manipulative technique, gimmicks, or tht'
use of psychological subtleties. Sometimes you can base art
effect on them, sometimes you'll only use them to help create it.

is, but

it tlot,sn'l looli lilir, llrirl lo the audience!

lrirppr.rrirrg,

tlrcy don't

They
recognize

mathematics.

Psychologically, thr. lircl< ol' kltowledge of the natural

principles involved (nrltlrcrnirtical in this case, but I think you
could apply these idcas to plrysical principles, chemistry, optical
illusions, etc..), which ilrc couullon to magicians and laymen,
ensures the greatest covcl possible. Maybe that's why
mathematical tricks are nlso very suitable for an audience of
magicians. Most magicians know almost every classic sleight of
hand technique, but many of them are not aware of the inner
workings of mathematical principles.

One most fantastic advantages of mathematics is that, if yorr

combine them with more "classic" techniques, the
"subtext of the magical method" so to speak, changt's
completely what you do and the way you deceive.

So our only task is to enhance this feeling of impossibility

(remember our goal, and I insist on this because I really think
it's important: you want to make the possible seem impossible)
with the use of patter, presentation... because if the audience is
convinced that what just happened is impossible, and that there
has to be a "trick", they will start looking for a "move" that does
rtot exist (in reality, you did nothing, everything worked on its
own, almost "magically"). And that, in my opinion, will make it
casier for them to "let go". Once they get tired of looking for the
"secret move" that does not exist, they will not suspect later
when you let them handle a trick deck, or hold a palmed card.
'l'he combination of both "sub-texts" (manipulative and
rrrirthematical) will empower the magical atmospiere.

Let me go into further detail:

Our goal as magicians is to make the audience feel that tho

are witnessing, even participating in, is somethinli
IMPOSSIBLE. This is the main trait of our art and, in fact, tlrc
one we use to measure the "magic strength" of an effect.
I(eeping this in mind, you will see that what we try to achievt'
with the traditional manipulative and psychological techniqucs,

SEEM POSSIBLE. It is
just
burned to appear inside a lemon, btrt
impossible for a note
we are able to "make it happen" thanks to our techniques. Arrtl
those have to be good enough so as to deny the audience atrl
possible explanation, one they will surely try to find after tlr,'
effect. We are able to achieve this with the use of misdirectiorr,
hidden manipulation, psychological forces, and so on...

is to MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE

But all of these techniques are "tricky", and intended

it

don't know what's

Most mathematical principles, when applied to card magic,

rrrc related to the values or positions of a card. That is why they

wolk well with arrangements of cards (set-ups), very well with

to

rrrncrnonic stacks and memorization techniques, and extremely

disguise that the actual facts are different from what we pres('rrl,

wcll with mathematic stacks (such as the popular Si-Stebbins

slrrt'k) (r)

and that
lemon.

it really is impossible for the bill to appear inside tlr,'

(r) ll

is wolllr rrolirrli llrirl 'l'irrrriuiz's nlrt,nrotrit'stircl<, as well as some

ollrr,r'(irrllrr,lrrr1,, rrrrrrr'),:rlr,trol orrll rurrt'rrrorrit'in thc sense of

The case of mathematit:s is tltc complete opposite of tlrrrl

Using mathematical prirt<'i1rlt's will Ittt'tt our goal ittto MAI(IN(;
THE POSSIBLE SI'll':M lMl'()lil'illtl,l'1. Is it possiblc Io l<t't'1,
control of a gtrlttll <tl't'lttrl:'. r'r't'tl ;tl'l t't'it sllt't'tltlot' slrrrl'llt's? ( )l

cottt;rlcll rllr'1,

otrllt tttltttot'iz;tlirrtr 'l'ltctl is ;rlso it

llt()('(':,', nrr',1r,,I ttt

Iltl ntrlrt' oI Ilrl

r';rlrl:l

tt.tittl.tcrt-natic

A book irr l.rr1,.lr:;lr I lrt' r'rrtrl nrrl!r( r)l Woorly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirnl magic of Woody Arag6n

Bear in mind that the use of a mathematical principle does nol

exclude the rest, and that brings me to the next point.

z.

The "sleight of rnath" concept.

I really think that, in the same way we speak abotrl

manipulative (sleight of hand) or psychological techniques, wt'
should also speak about "sleight of math".
In fact, you can even substitute the use of manipulativt'

And you can also rnix llrosr, prirrciplcs with the anti-Faros,
which involve dealing llrt' r'irrrls irr pilt.s in a way that mimics the
effects of one or sevcrrirl ltirro slrtrl'llt,s. Ancl all of those principles
will work at the samc lirrrt', lx't':rrrsc thcy work EVERY SINGLE
TIME a Faro shufllc is tkrrrc. You only need to know the
principles, and be awAlc ol'lrow aucl when to apply them.

B. Facing mathemagic.

techniques with the use of mathematical principles. Controllinil

a group of cards to the top of the deck, after a spectator shufflt's.
using the Gilbreath principle, can replace palming those cartl:;
and then adding them back after the shuffle.

Well, it's time to start working. How do I use a mathematical

principle, without creating a trick that bores the audience to
death? Without sounding dogmatic, let me show you what I
usually do, because I think it works, at least for me.

Because, if you know and assimilate several mathematit';rl

principles, as if they were regular sleights, then you will be abl,'
to combine them, even"jazzing", in order to create new effet'l:r
or improve our methods.

The first approach relies not so much in working on the

lrresentation, but in modifying the effect itself so that the
rnathematical essence is "out of sight" ("Maverick" in this book

That is why I rarely learn a math based trick and perfonrr it

"as is". I usually work with the mathematical principle until
reduce it to its "skeleton", tryrng to assimilate it as best I tltrr
Once I get it, I have one more weapon, one more possibility, arr,l
I can now dedicate myself to creating a new routine with it, rrtl,l
it to my existing ones, combine it with another principler,,,r
simply "throw it to the bin" (because, as well as sorn('
techniques, some mathematical principles might not suit mcr).
I

Let's use the Faro shuffle as an example. Due to llrr'

mathematical properties of this technique, you can cl'('irl('
MANY magical effects using it alone. The exact result will

depend on the principles you apply, and the quantity antl llr,'
order of the cards you shuffle. You can combine the mirrot'slrrll.
(that keeps its properties after a complete Faro) witlr llr,'
Gilbreath principle (two series of cards, after the shuft'lc, vrill
stay separated in two grottps t'otttititting one card of cach st't'it':, )
with the principle of conslitttl lxrcl< (.yott t:otrld tlc:rl 4 pilt's, irll,'r
the shuffles, and eaclt pilt'will cottt;titr irll thc t:itt'tls of ;t sitrl',1,'
suit), or...

is a good example). The point to consider is whether you can get

the principle to work in a secret way. You can achieve this by

rlifTerent means, and I will use a well-known mathematical
principle as an example. I will call this principle "The sum
llrinciple" or "The principle of to+1o=2o" (everyone knows
lo+to equals zo, but let's imagine for a while that this could be
lritlden and would be a surprising fact for your audience... just
lirl the sake of having a very simple example).
l,t,t's start with a "trick" based on this principle:
'l'lre magician, without letting the audience see, writes "2{)" on
ir picce of paper. Then he proceeds to fold it and hands it to a
rrrr.rrrber of the audience as a prediction. Taking a pack of cards,
lrr, lirces the ro of lrealts to a spectator, and the ro of diamonds
lo ir sccond onc.'l'ht'.y art'asl<ccl to add the values of their cards.
'l'lrt..y aclcl to:rntl to,;rrrrl gt'l lhc number zo. The prediction is
Ilrr,rr xrvt::rk:rl to rrr;rlclr.
M.y goirl ltt,l'r,irr
I it'ttt't' pt't'r'r'i t'r'

itttr

lo urrr, llrt.s:rrrrr'prirrr.iplr.willtorrt letting the

I ltlt r"r, "r'olt n I i trg" I o I rc r lotrr'.

A Book in English: 'l'lrc crrrtl magic of Woody Arag6n

Abool< ilr

One of my strategies for doing this is to convert what happerr:

to numbers (the values of the cards) to quantities of carc'l:;
Then we can start talking about piles and positions of cards, n<,1
iust cold, abstract numbers.

r- I would start with the prediction in this trick. Predicting rr

number is mathematical in itself, so I'11 get rid of it. Instead'
might use a deck and have a certain card in position 20, tht'rr
predict that card.
t

z- One problem with this is that there would be no clint;r'

until turning over the zoth card, so there would be no effect irr
counting up to 20. I can avoid this by having a red backed cit r ,l
in the desired position of a blue backed deck, thus having ,,
visual effect at the moment of getting to the 2oth position.

3- On the other hand, adding numbers (ro+lo) is the same ;ri,

adding two groups of 10 "somethings". Instead of adding 1o* lo,
I could hold a break under the top to cards of the deck, thcrr
have a member of the audience cut "a small packet", forcing l,'
take the ro cards over the break. Then repeat the operatiorr'
forcing the next ro cards on a second spectator. Have thetlt l"
shuffle the two packets together (and in the process of shufflirrl
we "add" them. We now have a zo card packet).
4- Next, I could ask them to count the cards they are holclirrr',
and then count to that position in the "prediction" deck. lirrl
again this counting process can be avoided: We could bollr
simultaneously deal cards on the table, revealing the predictiorr
when the spectator dealt the last card (In doing this I lr;rr''
successfully eliminated all the numbers, there is no countitr.q l' '
be done, and there's no trace of any 10 or the resulting :'o,
anywhere in the whole trick).

5- Finally, in order to add some more "drama" in the cltrlrlirrr',

to the last card process, and sccing that there will bc a rilll,'
shuffle (that allows the nst' ol't't'l'Iititl Itlathetnatit:ill 1lt'ittt'i1rlt'rr],
the trick could end up looliitrl', sorttt'llrirrg likc tlris:

l rrllr',lr Ilrr',,rr,l nr,u,t, ()l Wootly

Aragon

Start uith a bhu, dccl,. ltt tplticlt tltttt tttkl u red lo of hearts in
position 20, cotutlitul.lntrtt llrc ltrct,trl llu'dcck. The blue lo of
lrcarts and lo o.f cliuttttttttls lit' itr lxr.si/iorr.s to and 20, counttnq
.from the backs. Ilokl lln' tlrcl; .litct, tlotutt fu dealing position,
lrclding e break utuk'r tlt<' lilttt' lxr<:lcc<l tens in Toth and 2oth
ltosition. Ask two.s;lcr'ftr/or'.s ltt t'tu'lt cltt "e small packet" from
tlrc deck, forcing thenr kt lrtlcc llt<, t:tu'cls aboue eech break. Both
ruill get a packet oJ to t:uttls tuitlt u red to on the bottom. Their
lwo packets are rffie slu('llctl Lotlether, so one of the tuo red
lens uill be the face card o.l'tlrc combined pile. Turn the rest of
lhe deckface tq), end ask thern to deal cards,face doun, one by
one. Magician and Spectator deal cards one by one, face up
undface down, until the spectator gets to the uery last card. At
tlis moment you are holding the to of hearts. Ask the spectator
Io turn ouer the last card, and it is either a duplicate or o
rnatching card. In anA cose, Aou nolu reueal that your card is
lhe only red backed card in the deck.

I have managed to change a trick which consisted of adding

vllues and predicting numbers, into one of cutting and shuffling
lrilcs and predicting cards, and even added a visual climax.
4- So... is

it really worth it?

Lct's face it: this is still a bad trick. Or, at least, I don't think
it's a trick worth performing, as I think the method should be on
llrc same level as the effect, or the secret utility of the principle
i r rvolved. If I really wanted to perform this effect, I wouid prefer
lo rrsc a brainwave deck: the procedure is more direct, less
rnvl<ward, and more impossible.

Arrtl this is another danger of mathemagic, one needs to be

ol. We havc lo cvirlrr:tte if, for us, the method is worthy of
rvlrrl we will ar:t'orrrplislr willr it. I would personally never spend
lr;rll lrrr lt<lru'ol'<'rrlcrrl;rlions to tlisccnr thc added value of two
',r'lt,t'lious, lrrrt I (r'r'r'r' of'lt,rr) rrsr' Ilrt' Oilllrcatl-r principle to
lonlrol :r rricr.pokr,r'lurrrrl ;rl'l r.r'rr slrrrl'llc ll'orn llrt. itudience (the
nlltr,t'ollliort:; rr',,rrlrl lrl lo p;rlrrr llrr,r';rrrlr;, lr;urrl llrt.rlcck to be
',lrrrlllt'rl, lltctr ;rrlrl llrlrrr lr:rcl' in, ()r'lri(';r lllipllcr rlr,r'l<, t:xtraclt
llrl r';tt'rls llr;rl I rr.rrrl ,nrrl otrlcr llrr'rn, r,t'lt:;('lltr.r'rrll. ot'... I
rvrrr'.y

Abool< itr I rry,lr',lr Iltr',,ttrlnr,rl'rr ol Wootly Aragon

A Book in English: Thc cirxl rragic of Woody Arag6n

think it's better to just use mathematics and have

it

happerr

directly).

5- How to present data and processes.

You have just seen an example where mathematics, while still
being part of the method, is hidden to the audience. But this will
not always be possible. Sometimes, the structure of a trick will
make it necessary to "play" with the numbers, or for sontr'
actions (cuts, "controlled" deals) to be performed with the onlr
purpose being to make the mathematics work, which makes tlr,'
result very hard to "cover"... In those cases you'lI have to resot'l
to presentation as a cover for the method.

First and foremost, you have to bear in mind that everythirrl

you do must have a meaning. If we need a member of tlr,'
audience to think of a number, make it more "personal" if llt,'
number comes from the personal data of that person (birllr
date, telephone number, id...)
Let's see some possibilities of presentation.

A)

As a ritual, or as numerology

Cards and numbers have been used for centuries to divine orrr
future. If you buy a book on how to read tarot cards, you will s,','
the procedure to do so asks that the cards be dealt in a spct'ilr,
way, in a determined number of piles, gathered in a cet'l;rrrr
manner, and so on... or, if someone explains to you how to tlo :r
numerological analysis to try to ascertain someone's future, I I t, 'r
will explain that you have to do series of mathemrttit,rl
operations, using personal data from the subject (date of biltlr.
number of letter in the person's name...). Finally, after all tlr,'
calculations, everything is reduced to a single digit, which lt;r', ,r
special meaning and will be his/her "destiny guide". 'l'his i:, ,r
generally accepted fact, and it is plrt of our culture.

You can use this 1o \'()tlt';ttlvltttlitgtt, lttttl ptt't'st'ttl ,r

mathematical princilllt' rts ;t ulru('r'okrgit'ltl :ttt:tl.ysis llltl .yott ;rr,
doing filt's<lnrr'<tttc itt lltr';ttt,licttcr', pt'r'scttlirrg il irt ;r nt()r'('r)r

less serious way, rlt'1rtrrrlirr1l ()n \'olu' pt,r'lirrrrring style and stage
persona. You can also rrsc l lt is prr,nr isr, i l' ir trick asks for a weird
way of dealing anrl grrtlrr.r'irrg t';rrrls irr lrilcs(e.g. an anti-Faro-4:
16 piles) or tell the urrrlit'rrcc llurl voll lt'c going to perform "card
reading" (and, if thc 1r'it'li rrllows lil'it, we could even use real
tarot cards). In fact, irr ',<lo4 I tlt.vcloped a funny character - Dr.
Aceves. Since then, whilc playing ltis role, I can perform tricks
with these kinds ol' ltruccrlurcs, using the excuse of being a
fortune-teller.
Both numerology and tarot reading also require some "rituals"

to be performed. In the case of tarot, for example, the cards

have to be cut always with the same hand, depending on what
you want to divine, or the deck has to be cut in 3 piles, or... I am
not talking about just using a Tarot presentation exclusively.
You could tell the audience about certain rituals that have to be
clone so that magic happens: magic dust, snapping the fingers...
then ask for a set of instructions to be followed, tryrng to create
the feeling that it is a kind of "ritual", that is only part of the
presentation (and has nothing to do with the method), so it is
rlone only to ensure that the magic works.

B)

As part of the effect.

You can also justifir the actions that the mathematical

principle requires, by giving them a seemingly different goal,
orrc that looks like part of the routine's structure.

lior example, some tricks use the "principle of equal piles" in

wlrich a spectator is asked to cut a packet from the deck, then
colurt the cards in the packet, remember this "magic number",
;rrrrl then look for the card that lies in this number's position in
llrt.tlcck. The carcls art: gatlrered and in the end, the magician is
;rlrlc lo find thc c:rrrl lrrtl/or nragic number.
Nt'vtrr'llrt.lt'ss, llrc st,lr,r'lir)n l)l'o('(.ss w:rs irwl<ward and has no
irrstifir':rliorr. ll vorr rv;rnlr,rl lo l'i rr<l orrl lt 1'rcrson's card and
trurrrllr,r', wlry rrol jrr:ll lrll llrr.rrr lo llrirrli ol ;r rtrnrrllcr and look
lor llrt'r';rrrl ;rl llr.rl 1ro:,rlionr'Wlrv crrl, r'orrrrl ;rrrrl t'clttrrt lhe
,llrtttncrl prrt'l'r'l'

A Book in English: 'lhc cirrtl rnagic of Woody Arag6n

A book irr l rrl,lr:,lr l lrt' , rrrtl nrirl,tr' rrl Woorly Alagon

Well, maybe because you want to have a final confirmation:

ask the spectator that, instead of cutting and counting the cartl:;,
he is now to think of a number, take as many cards as [lr,'
number he thought of and keep those cards in his/her pockt'l
At the end of the effect, I write dor,rm on a paper "You thought oI
number 12". He takes out the pocketed cards and counts tht'rrr
out loud so that everyone knows, for the first time, the thouglrt
of number. Then the prediction is shovrn, and proves to be rig,lrt
This way, the pile of cards is the same as taking a card insteatl .l
just thinking of a card, or asking a spectator to write down lri,'
thoughts in a piece of paper: It is just part of the presentatiott :r,
o'visualize"
the spectator's choice.
that everyone can
I

deal the deck in 4 pik.s ol' t1; r';rrrls,.irrst lilic in bridge (4 piles
4 cards are used in tlrc Slxrrrislr !l;un(,ol'rrrrr.s), etc...

of

But one thing that I x.irll.y liltt'is tlrat, if there is no game that
matches the actions you rrt.t.tl lo ckr... you can invent it! I
sometimes perform a trit:l< willr rrry nrnemonic stack in which I
need to deal 3 piles of rlj carrls, so I present it as an exhibition
game of Helsinki Briclqc, which is iust like regular bridge, but
fbr 3 players.

D)

Test conditions.

It's possible to use this method to cover actions that belong t,,
a mathematical principle's inner workings, and justifi, thent rr,,
part of the presentation; as a final proof of the effect (as in tlr,'
case I just explained); as a way of making a selection "fairer" 1,,,,
that everyone sees that you could not "cheat" or "force" it); lr:; ,,
way of having several members of the audience participatc (lt'r
each one choose a number, and add them to get a final sum); ;r'.
part of the routine's climax (if someone takes a pile of t'rtt,l',
from the deck, puts it in their pocket, and the pile is firrrrllr
found to have a different back from the rest of the cards, llrr,
action justifies the holding of the cards as it ensures I coultl tr,,l
cheat); and so on...

C)

There's also the possibility of presenting the actions that will

rnake the mathematical principle work as just the contrary: A
transparent "scientific" observation that emphasizes to the
irudience that you have no control, or choice over what has to be
tlone.

For example, you could hand an ESP deck to a member of the

itudience and ask him/her to pick a card, but in a way that will
lct him/her have no control over the choice, and ensure it will
lrc a completely random choice, by using a random procedure

rlcveloped by Dr. Zenner and used in the Department of

l'trapsychology at Duke University in California: Put the top
t'irrd on the bottom of the deck, deal the next one, put the next
one on the bottom... until there is only one Ieft (a pseudoscientific way of presenting the Australian or doum-under deal).

As the rules of a gambling game.

This is one of my favorites. In gambling, there are rtlu':rt

some set procedures: shuffling in a certain way and mottr('nl.
dealing cards in a required number of piles, adding carcl v:tlrr,"
to determine the winner, looking for the card with thc higlr,",t
values, and so on...

'l'he best example of this kind of presentation would be the use

,

You can start by checking if thc nrathematical principlt' .v( )rr I .

working with adjusts to tht' t'ttlt's ol'itn existing gitltt(l: zl l";tt.
shuffles on a 20 carcl prtclit'l is tlrt'silr))c as tlcalillg 4 ltitttrlr,,,l
poker. Or maybe, you t'ottlrl pt'r'st'ttl ;t tt'it'l< ilt wlrit'lr .yott llitvl 1,,

ol' tlre Faro shuffle in Luis Garcia's Rite of Passoge; The Faro
slrrrffle is shown; so that everyone can see the cards are mixed in
;r grcrf'ect way, one by one, so that no two cards could possibly
cntl up together and thc whole deck is completely mixed.

l,)) For lrlrysir';rl

r'(':rsons

Sttntt'titttcs \'()u (';nr irrslilt, tlrc rrrirlltt'rrrirtit'al procedures

lrt.r'lrrtst'ol'tlrr,r'orrrliliorrl irr wlrit'lr 1,orr pcrlirnll, ol'thc props
yr)lt lts('. Ilyorr'r,,u:,nrl,, it irurrlro rlr,r,li, (,\,(,r'\,orrr,will trntlcrstitnd
llr;rl il is rrol r';r'.r l.'.ls111llr,il, r;r) \'()lr ('orrlrl rr:lr, lr ltt,r,r'.sr,/,'rrrrl

A Book in English: Thc cultl uragic of Woody Arag6n

(mixing cards by outjogging alternating cards, extracting all ol

the outjogged cards at the end and putting the resulting pile orr
the top or bottom of the deck), or shuffle by dealing the cards irr
piles.
You could also use an incomplete deck, and say that sonrc
cards cannot be selected because they are not in the deck (e.,11.
the queen of clubs) so you will use two cards (a queen ancl :r
club) to create a selection.

A)

As a mathematical trick

This is a very funny idea. If you believe the mathematit'rrl

principle, or a combination of them, is deceiving enough for tlr,.
audience, you could base your presentation on the idea ol
performing a mathematical trick for the audience. Tellinli
everyone that you will perform a math-based trick justifies (ol
course!) the calculations, numbers, and counting needed. If llrr.
final effect makes it impossible for the audience to imagine il i:,
a result of mathematics, then the presentation will just sct.rrr
like a funny way of showing an impossible and unexplainllrl,.
magic trick.

Abool< in l,,rrlllislr: Ilrt,t.rrrrl trrrrp.rt'ol Wootly Aragon

iI(':

PROPERTIES OF MA'I'I II.]MA(

Mathematical llrirrt,iplt,s rrcvt'r' ljril (cxact science)

A different subjct,t: Muke t hc possible seem impossitlle.
Greatest possiblc <,ou(t,.
The "sleight of ntut lr" t:orrt.cpt (it can replace other techniques)

DANGERS (T)

"Half baked" tricks.

The "ptzzle" feeling (it kills the magical atmosphere).
Boring the audience (mathematics = boring).

I)EVELOPING A MATHEMATICAL TRICK

Assimilate the basic principle (sleight of math)

Disguise the internal mathematical technique.

Personalize numbers (ID, dates...)

The goal of the presentation is to make

Transform numbers

to

impossible.
I' ITESENTATIONS

quantities and/or positions,

the possible seem

THAT JUSTIF'Y PROCEDURES

Numerology/TarotlRitual
Part ofthe effect.
Gambling game rules.
"Test conditions"
Due to physical constraints.
As a mathematical trick.

(t) Irr llrcl,;rll,,l

llr,,rlrrrr;,,,,r'r rrrr.llrr,sltrrrr.: r\ l,r.olrlt,rrr irr thtr tr.icl<'s

llirrrl lo lrr.l1,,;olvr,willt tlris sltrtly, lirlltt
ilt! lttttrrl,l,' ;rrr111l ll 1 11,1r,

t'orrt,r,;rliorr, .rrr,l llrirl',, u,lrrrl I

A book in English: The cartl nragic of Woody Aragon

Abook irr l'.rr1,li:,lr llrr

r'rrrrl rrrrrlqrt

ol Woorly Aragon

CONSTRUCTION AND
COMPOSITION:
THE STRUCTURE OF MAGIC
Many things have been said, and written, about the

construction of magic (r)... well, actually, that's not true. The

truth is, we've barely scratched the surface of the subject, if we
compare what has already been written on the subject to the
tluantity of pages dedicated to describing techniques and
cffects. So, if I want to be accurate, I should start by sayrng...

Not much has been written about the construction of magic.

Nevertheless, some of the books on the subject are real gems.
lltrt most of the time, they are focused on how to construct
rnagic by combining effects and methods, in order to create
sornething greater than the sum of its parts, the goal being to
completely disguise the method, so that the audience never
srrspects anything, and the magical atmosphere (2) is
lrcightened.
'l'hat means that almost all of the good studies in the subject
rlr':rl with how to construct the "inner life"(3) of our acts:
('r'ossing the gaze, parenthesis of forgetfulness, the tube effect,
worl<ing after the effcct is finished, and so on...

(r) I ant nrlt.r'r'itr1i lo ;rll llrt. lcvcls of uragical

My alter-ego, the numarolog.tl t'.\'lrrl

ntrd

A('(itt':; (.)00.\)

.ftirtunc-tclltr, l)ttclrtt

construction: be

it

({)llstl'll('l iott :r sitt1.',h' l1i1li, lr trrtttittc, 9r' ir fir'll act.

(.1) 'l'lrt'Mrtgil ol r\:l'rtttio Vol. t "'l'ltr',Slrrrt'trrrirl (lrrrr:clttion of Magic

the

(:l) 'l'lrt'"itrrrcr'lil,"'r,l

rr tttitllic llit'li is lltt'ttt'lietts ttrll psl'ccivedbythe

Ittttlit'ttr', ,\', r,lrlrl,r'rl lo lltr"'ottlt't lili"'. ln1 t,r:tltplt', i1 tr 1ifllc 1tass,

l,,.p,ll ul llrr."irrrrr,r'lili"',:rrrrl
l, llrr' 'r,rrlr.r lilr."

llrr,plr.,, rr,,rrl,l

tvottlrl 1,,'1,'11'

llrt,r.illlirrgol'tlrrrtrar.ds

A book in English: The ctrltl lnagic of Woody Aragon

A book irr l'rrlllr:.lr I lrr' , rrrrl tlrrll!.t{ ol Wootly Aragon

But what about the "outer life"? How to combine, build ancl
order our routines, acts, or magic sessions from the point o1'
view of what the audience feels? From what has been written so
far, sometimes it seems that "Sfort with a quick and uisual
effect, then perform tricks uith an increasing irnpact order,
andfinish with your best trick" should be enough.

style. I don't want .yorr lo us(, ntv slvh, ol'r'onrposing, but rather I
want you to think lrlrorrl yolu' (,wn. llrrl soutetimes I will have to
refer to my persou:rl t'lroicr,s, ;rs I t'orrkl not explain myself in
any other way.

Finally, before you start rr.irtlirrg, I have to say that throughout

this (really long) essay I will tall< specifically about the structure
of routines, acts, or evcn I'ull shows. Everything in this essay can
be translated to any o1' those other situations, so I will jump
from one to the other without regard.

The best written work regarding these matters is an amazing

article, published by Tamariz in the Escuela Mdgica dc
Madrid's circular letter, explaining how he structures his owrr
stage act, and going into details on the function of each trick,
what the audience receives from it, and what Juan's objectives
are in doing that trick at that precise moment.

The audience senses the structures

The important thing to keep in mind is that the audience will
experience our magical act in a completely different way, not
iust depending on the individual components of the act, but also
clepending of the order in which they are presented. And you
should be aware that while they will not analyze the order at the
cnd of the act, they will be influenced by what has happened
previously.

notes and essays

I should also say Gabi,
Nevertheless,
go
detail.
into
references the subject, but does not
he makes a nice distinction between the two subjects I am trying
to explain here: The structure of our act in the "inner life"'
which he calls the construction, and the structure of tht'
"outer life", which he calls the composition. I will use Gabi's
terminology to try and make you understand what I will bt'
talking about in the rest of this essay.

in his multiple

I will use an example which is not magic related. If you attend

rlifferent concerts by your favorite band, you will notice some
t:oncerts are better than others. Of course, some days they will
play better than others (undeniably), but the set list for each
occasion will also play a fundamental role. Not only this, but
sometimes, even though the set list was almost the same, but
played in a slightly different order, you would experience every
song in a different way. Each song left you in a certain
rlisposition to face the next one and, at that moment, the
structure of a determined order will create a specific feeling on
yoll.

I learned about this subject, from these two masters: Gabi anrl
Tamariz. And I think referring you to anything written by therrr
is essential. I will be trying to give you my conclusions, based tttt
I have learned, and combined with my experience atrtl
knowledge, not only as a performer, but thanks to my previotrs
jobs as a script writer for video games, and orchestral musir'
composer.

what

I want to make it clear that I want to wT ite this essay becaust' I

think this should be an essential subject for the advanct'tl
magician, but, at the same time, it is something that is not reallr
known, or studied, beyond everyone's intuition, solelybecaust' il
is subject generally absent sttliercrt Ii'orn rnagical discussions. Mr
intention is to go beyon<1 .irrst slrowing that tl-ris is zt 1-ritt'[ ol
magic that should bc lirl<t.rr irrlrl ilr't.orrnt. Ily using il r'cal wol.lrl
example, I will show v()lt ttty tv;ty ol't'tlttt;rrlsittg:ttt :tt'1, ittttl tlrr'
things tltirl I tltiltk;rlrrtttl,'ro llt;tl lltcV tttitlt'lt tttV ltt't'lirt't'llilll('('

"at thaI rrrorrrcnt" ltecause, as I previously stated, that

rrrrtlicncc will rrot ;rn;rl.yzc lhc inner structure at the end of an
rrcl, irrr<l sa.y "Worr,/ l,Vltttt tttt rttttttzitttl itttrcr structure! I loued
itl", lltrt lhr'.v will r';rllrcl lrr, lt,tl lry llrt'st'rrsirtions we create in
llrr,rrr. I w;rnl lo rrrirkr, llris clclrr lrr,r';rrrst'il is one of the
llrr.orr.licrrl srrlr jr.r'l', llrirl ( i;rlri rlclctrrls nrillr rrrosl pirssion, ancl
uttc llurl ln;ur\ 1rr,;rlr, lirrrl lr;rrrlr.sl lo 1ir';rs1r: 'l'lrt'rrritgir.i:tn,

saicl

A book in English: Thc crrnl

rrragic of Woody Aragon

knowing the whole structure of a trick, bases his constructiorr

and interpretation on his overall vision.

I firmly

believe (and, hopefully, you will agree with mt't

that the spectator is never conscious of the trick's complel,'
structure.

But

When he sees a trick for the first time, he lives tlr,

moment: he is only affected by what he feels and knor,t,,
in the moment he is living, because he doesn't knor,
what will happen next... even if he believes he's "caughl
the magician, everything could be part of the plan (hou
many sucker tricks rely on this!), which means th;rl
anything could happen...
But when the trick is finished... he doesn't know whrl
happened! At this moment, he will try to rewind, ittr,l
analyze the effect, but the only available data will bt' in
his immediate memory. Anything not registered in rt
does not exist. That means the audience can only ust' il,,
immediate memories to try to reconstruct the trick, rtn,l
those memories will have been influenced by you us ,,
magician, their expectations, the structure... actuallr
they will never remember the trick "as it was".
And, as time goes by, when they try to remembel llr'
trick after some days, they will use their long tt'rn,
memory, which is even less reliable than the short tt'rrrr
one. The result is what Juan Tamariz calls the cottt.l
effect. These are exaggerated memories in which, il'tlr,
audience was mesmerized and fascinated by the ttt;r1',i,
the effect will become something short of a nlit';t, 1,'
(usually impossible to recreate in real life).
So, if a spectator wanted to be conscious of every singltr itslr.r'l
of a magic trick (and I am hclt: sltc:tl<ing of a specil'ic rrrttlirr,'
not just a whole session) ht'wotrltl ltltvtr to wattlr it tttittty litrr,'
focusing his attention orl llvilrl', lo tttt'trtot'iz(', ('ottll)ttt'(' ltttrl

Abooli irr I rr1,lr',lr llrr',.rrrlrr.rt,rr ol Wootly Aragon

dissect every singlt' tlr,trril. 'l'lr;rl is, lrc worrltl lrave to become a
magician.

That's why I thinli it I rr';rll.y inrporl:rnt to notice that, when

you are creating a slrrrt'lrrn., rkrirrg something at a precise
moment, or orderitrl3 ;r st,r'it's ol'irctions in a certain sequence,
you should be thinking uborrt wltat lhe spectator is experiencing
at that precise morncnt: l)on'[ clo a false shuffle just because
later, when the speclalor rcwincls, he will think "Just a sec!
Could the aces haue beat on top of the deck .from the
beginning? No, ir can't be, he shuffled the deck..." The reason
should be that, right at the moment when the Aces appear, the
audience feels that they are coming out from a shuffled deck.

The audience senses the method

There is one more matter that I believe is important. I will
refer to it later, and it is a concept that took me time to grasp,
and even more to understand so clearly as to explain it here
(zrlthough now I find it obvious): The audience is affected by the
method.

Throughout my life in magic I've heard many colleagues say

lhat, as long as it looks clean and fools people, the audience
tloes not care about the method. They say that this is an internal
thing, only for magicians. They think the magician should only
care about the conditions in which the effect is performed, and
tlrat nothing is "seen". But for the audience, the only thing that
rrrltters is the effect, the rhythm, the presentation... the
st'rrtence, made popular by Colombini, that says"People pay for
ttthut theA see, not.for what they don't see" is misinterpreted,
rrrrrl used as a souncl bite justification. In some extreme cases,
I'vc heard peoplc rlclirnc'l terrible methods, and even outright
clrt.rrting (stoolit's, usirrg nurrkccl cards for straight divination
r,lli't'ls, ctt') lr.y srryirrg llt:rt lhc auclience only wants to
"r.x1rt.r'icnct' tlrt' illrrsion". 'lir slllll ul), son)c
lxx)ple think that,
lrt,r';rtrsr, llrr';rrrrlir.rrr'r,ir; unir\,v;u'('ol'llrt'trit,l<'s sct:t.ct, they are
ittst,ttsil ivr, lo

lrl

rrrrl lrorI

Abook irr l rrllr',lr llr,',,rr,lrr,rl'rl ()l Wootly Aragon

A book in English: Thc canl rrragic of Woody Aragon

I completely disagree with this generalized view. Not only do

share Tamariz's vision, which is that method and effect are tlrr'

foundations

of

magic, as opposed

to

construction

artr

presentation (I refer you to his lectures, in which he compart',,

the trick to the skeleton, the construction to the body and tlr,'
presentation to the make-up), but I also believe that, if 1rou ar.
composing something for an audience, you have to take irrl,,
account everything that might affect them, and that includes tlr,
method.

Every method in magic has some characteristics, and tho:,,'

affect the outer life of a trick. And those characteristics;tr,'
perceived by the audience. If you do a trick that requires yotr l(
do an Ascanio spread, the audience doesn't have to think yorr
are hiding cards from their sight, but they see you take, sprt';r,l
and move the cards in a certain way. Leaving apart the qualitr
of the secret, as long as the way you hold and/or move the carr 1,,
affects the audience's perception of a certain moment in tlr,'
routine, they care about the method.
)

Construction vs. Composition

First, your objective when structuring magic depends on wlt;rl
you are working on.

If

you're working on the construction of magic, that i5, ,rr

disguising the method, then throughout your act you rlust lrtl',
into account:

What is the audience thinking of at this momenl ?

Am I controlling their attention? Do I need to rlo rl
now?
Could they suspect the method? If so, you llitvt' 1,,
divert them away from it.
If they were tryirtg lo llncl out et nlcthotl, llr.r
shouldn't be ablt' lo ittt;tgittt'ortc that I'its willr r'r'lr.rt
they're settittg.

Can thc t'xlt.r'n;rl rrclions tlr;rt I tl<l help me to cover

part ol' llrt' lli<'li's inrrr,r' lili'? (lan I have everything
set up lor tlrt. rrt.xl lrir,li wlrt.rr I l'inish this one?

Do thc cl'li'r'ls tlrrrt ltaltlten throughout the

routine/scssiorr t'rrrpowtrr cach other, so that the
overall rcsrrll is nrort. rlccciving?
Conversely, when worl<ing olt cor-rlposition, you have to think:

What does the audience feel at this moment?

Will they

the effects that the

made has in store for them? If the
sensations I create are very similar to the previous
ones, will they like it? Or maybe it will be too much,
and they will get bored, or even uncomfortable...
Empathy: Try to put yourself in your audience's
place. This is FUNDAMENTAI.
Try to find the best emotions for them to feel:
Conflict, enjoyment, surprise, astonishment...
Can you relate this moment to a previous, or later,
one so as to enhance your act's clarity, unity,
structure or rh'uthm?
construction

understand

I{ow does WoodyAragon create a structure?

As I said before, I will use my own choices as a starting point
in l rying to write about construction. All of them come from my
owr) personality, concept of magic, criteria and, first and
lort,most, my own preferences (which should be the foundation
ol'your style: what you like to do, and what you don't).

l)on't worry, I will rrot stalt cxplaining in detail how I like my

rrr;r1iit'to bc, or wlr;rl I lrv lo ('onvcy to my audience. This you
rvill scc.yorrrst'll', il vorr s('('nt(, 1lt'r'lirrnr sonrc day. Despite the
lillr,, this st'r'liorr r,r,ill rrol lrt'llrt, lvpir':rl t'go-lroostir-rg script in
rvlriclr it nlrliici;rrrrpr';rkr,;rlroul lrirrrsr.ll'lirr wlurt sccm to be
,r1ir,s. I irrrr orrlr irrl.rr".l,,,l irr r';rr'lrl.irrli;rlrorrl lltc tlrirrgs thitL y<ltr
,;rtr prol'il lrortr I rrrll lrr'lt:, r)n lr,llirrli lorr rvlr;rl rlo;rrttl wlLrt I

A book in English: Thc clrtl

A bool' ilr I rr1,lr',lr Ilrt r.rtrl rn,r,,rr ol Wootly Artrgon

rrragic of Woody Aragon

take into account when creating the structure of a magical act' I

will talk about the main things that I keep in mind, but I know
that you might consider different ones in your own personrtl
analysis.

can basically sum up the whole process in the phras,'

"Variety in tnethod. Unitg in effect." Let me explain tlrt'
three key points in this thinking:

Magic for the sake of impossibility: Some magicians lilir'

to present feats of unearthly skill. Others want to move their
audience with poetry, or with the symbolic images in their
magic. Some aim to make people laugh as much as they ar','
astonished. Others look for spectacular, visual effects. I havr'
nothing against any of these decisions, but my decision is to tL,
magic just for the sake of pure impossibility. I am completerlr
convinced that doing, watching and experiencing somethirrli
impossible is entertaining / beautiful / powerful / artisti,
enough so as not to need any additional window dressing.
So, in words of Simon Aronson, it is not enough for me l,
know that the audience cannot figure out how I do my magit'.
want them to feel that what they have just seen cannot be dotr,'
And, in order to create that feeling, I use the same kincl ol
construction for my routines (most of the time). As long as I t':ttr
do it, and it adds to the totality of the routine (and I think llr,'
ones in this book are an obvious example), I try to ensure tlt;rl
every time an effect is repeated (even with slight variations) tlr,'
method is a different one.
I

Magicians are keen on building a routine based on a sitrg.l,'

method (I suppose we think "well, I'ue got this nice mellrttl
here,let's try to get as much of it as I can')- Three aces tt'rttt'l
invisibly and join a fourth one. The method is that the tltlt','
aces are double facers... The carutibal cards eat tl-re cxplort'r,,
and the explorers disappear. Twi<rc in a row this is accottt;llislrt',1
with an Ascanio spread... A Six-lllrasc tltrcc crtrtl ntttttlt'
completelybased ot.t t'ittrls willr lr tlottlllt'itttltlx... ittttl I t'ottltl r',,,
on and on, nat-t'tit.tg lttttlrlrcrl:; ,l tottlittcs.

But if you focus orr rvlr;rl 1'orr rr';rrrl lo corrvcy to your audience,
instead of doing wlrrrl i:; llrl r';r:;it'r;l llring lirr you as a magician,
you'll see that rllur.y lirrrt's t,r,r,r'\' plurst,ol'a routine can rely on a
different method. Arrrl tlris crrrr lclrrirlly heighten its magical
power (by means ol'tlrr' llturt't1 ol'.liilse solutions) as well as
giving the routinc's olrtt'r'lili'tlrt.valiety I was talking about
earlier. But bewalc, I lrrr rroI rrrrtlcrcstimating the strength and
usefulness of using tlrc s:lnrc rnethod more than once
(McDonold's Aces, Iirr crxlnrplc, bases the three transposition
effects on the use o1'dotrblc Iacers, and it is a perfect routine just
as it is). But I think you should at least consider if basing a
routine's construction on a variety of methods might improve it.

And I try to go even further. I personally look for methods

that, while being different, have some externai feature that
helps me to erase, in the audience's mind, the internal
characteristics of the other methods I use.
Let me give you an example. In the spelling routine, most of
the phases are based in the properties of a stack: Red-Black
alternation, suit rotation, the rosary for the final phase... but, in
the third phase, not only does the method not rely on the stack,
but it allows for the cards to be fairly shuffled by a spectator.
The fact that the effect happens in the hands of an audience
member, and after he shuffles the deck adds fby means of
rnagical languagel something that a hundred false shuffles could
never do for the routine.

Unity: Unity and variety are on the two sides of a scale that
should be carefully monitored. Imagine that you perform a close
rrp show, which runs for over an hour, completely based on
"vanishing coins" effects. It will be a unified show, but you will
probably end u;r boring your audience. On the other hand, if
('vcly tricl< in llrt'slrow uscs a clifl'erent element (coins, cards,
r'ol)os, sill<s, firt'...), lr;ts;r rlil'lirnrnt size (parlor, stage, close up,
illrrsiorrs...) rrrrrl ;r corrrplr.lt.lv tlil'li't'crrt stylc (comedy, poetic,
ntirttiltrrlirliorr, I'irl':r rrrlrl,,ir'. rrrt,nl;rlisrrr...), tlrt'rr thcrc will be
rurlrrlirlly lo;rrlr ,rl r;rrillr'... lrrrl yorrr';rrrrlit'rrcc will cnrl u1-l bcing
cottlitsctl.

Abooli irr I rrllr',lr llrr',,rrrl

A book in English: The cartl rrtirgio of Woody Aragon

Imagine a concert in which a rnusician started by playing a

ballad on the piano, then heavy metal with a guitar, then gospel
on a trumpet... there would be variety in the show, but...
When building the structure of an act, you should choostr
elements related to each other, or to your personality.
Personally, if I build a routine based on a premise ("the Jokers
are influenced by the ualues of the cards", "the deck finds tltc
cards you spell to") all the effects in the routine should br'
related to this theme, so that everything works like a melodl'
and its variations.

I am not completely against "beroque" magic, or routines thal

start with a sandwich effect, then a rising card, a triumph antl,
finally, by having all of the cards in the deck turn blanli
(actually, I do perform some of those kind of routines), but I
believe that this makes unity much more difficult to maintairr.
and you run the risk of ending up performing what would seettr
to be a mdlange of effects with no apparent external structut't'.
In any case, I think mixing effects is fine if including a certain
magic effect at a determined moment of a routine is the result ol
fulfilling the needs of the audience (needs created by orrr
composition, in the trick's outer life) and adds to the routinc':;
totality. If you can take the effect out and the rest of the effet'l:r
in the routine don't notice the difference, then those previtttt:,
conditions are not met.

Variety: Variety in method also helps to create a vat'ictl

act/session, as much as trying to perform different kin<l t,l
effects, and looking to convey different emotions to yotrr

rrr,r1,rr

ol Wootly Aragon

Over ten years ir,lo, I sl;rllr,rl pcrlirrnring close up shows in

I exclusivcl.y pcrlirrrrrcrl rrr.y owrr material. And, at the
beginning, the rcsult wirs il slrow rnorur repetitive (and boring)
than when I perforrrrt'tl lliclis lhrnr otlrcr rnagicians. Some of my
friends told me "you trt't' tttrltl ttsirttl <rurds for a long time... you
should perform trir:/c.s tuitlt dil.'llrett objects". Their intentions
were good, but that was nol the answer to my problem. If I
inserted variety only in thc cxternal part fwhat the audience
sees] and not in the internal one fwhat you convey your
audience when performingl then the root of the problem would
still be there. I tried very hard to find the reason for why this
was happening, as the tricks and the emotions I tried to express

which

were very different (a gambling effect, a divination one,

transformations, cards across...). It took me years to find out the
problem: When you are creating your own tricks, you do it
based on your ovrn style, your own creative resources, and use
the methods that you are more comfortable with. In my case,
most of my tricks were based on the use of a mnemonic stack
and mathematics. And, since the methods I used made it
necessary to shuffle in a certain way, or do similar processes like
dealing cards in piles... the result was that, no matter how much
variety of the effects I presented, there were some repetitive
irctions in every trick that imbued them with a halo of "this is
llte same as before".
Ever since then, every time I am working on a new show, I try
lo include a variety of methods in it. A trick based in a stack,
lhen one based on sleight of hand, another one with trick
cllds...

audience.

The reason for this is related to what I exposed before, ilt llr,'
"the audience senses the method" section. Since the ntctltorl
affects your audience because of what they "see", using a sitttil;rr
method several times during your act will affect the auclictrt'r'.
mean, if you abuse a certain tt't'ltttitlttc or grab thc c:itt'tls in ,r
certain way many timcs tlttt'irrg vottt' slt<lw, yottl' ittttlit'ttt't' tvill
become aware of tl-re litrJttcncr';rrrtl il rrriglrt ucl itlt'rrtil'it'tl ;rr:r
possib'lc nrcrthorl.
I

Composing tools
So let's go str':riglrt to tlrc point. How to face the task of
il'wc want to structure our act
so llr:rt llrt'wlrolc is lrrlgcr llr;rrr llrt'srrnr ol'its parts, you should
linow whrrl lo rlo, ;rrrrl llrr,olrlr.r'in wlriclr yorr shorrlcl do it, based
ott wlt;rt lltr';rrrrli,'rrll ir; lr,r,lilr1,,... lrrrl. lrow rlo votr l<ltow what'
IIrc rtttrIit'tr<'r' Ir','|','
corrrp<lsinli orrr slrowi' I s;ritl tlr:rl,

A booli in I rr1,lr,lr I lrr'r;lrl

A book in English: Thc cartl rnagic of Woody Aragon

Actually, it is obvious that you can never know for sure. That is
why it is so important that you ernpathize with your audience as
much as possible. Try to put yourself in their place. Beyond thal,
you will have to rely on your own intuition.
But if there's one thing you do know is what you have done irr
order to make the audience feel a certain way. That means your'
starting point when trlnng to know what to do next should bc
asking yourself: What is the state of the audience after the last
trick? What are they feeling after the effect/patterlgag I just ditl
for them? If you just reached an astonishing climax, they might
be wanting to see something even more amazing, or maybe tht'
best thing would be to perform a "lesser" trick, in order to rel:tr
them... Most of the time, your choice will depend on the nerxl
effect you will be performing, or on how far in the show you ar'('.
So, obviously, you need to know very well every detail of th,'
effects you perform.

nrrrllrr' rrl Wootly Aragon

ones you can per'firrnr, llrt,rr ,r,orr rryill .irrsl lrt: able to find the idea]

order and distribrrliorr lirr llrosr, 11 t.l'lircts. But if you have 18

tricks, from whicl) yolr ('iur clroosr, t.y, .yott'll obviously have many
more possibilities wlrt,r r t'o r r ros i rg .you r act.
r

Actually, in somc ol'nr.y nlor'c (:onlltlex acts (routines like the

"Ovetture in Two Movcrrrcnts", or shows like "La ilusi6n la
pintan calva"), I startctl ll'orrr u list of the main tricks that I
wanted to perform ancl, or.rcc distributed throughout the show,
when I felt like the structure was asking for a certain kind of
effect at a precise moment, I created new tricks on purpose to
act as fillers for those parts of the show.
Since the main idea is that the structure of your act should be
externally harmonic, let's see some examples of valid structures.
Obviously, they will serve only as a starting point. You can
modify any of them, combining effects and developing your act
at your wish, but it will be the whole act, not just the tricks that
comprise it, that determine whether it has the "ideal" structure.

I wrote earlier that this should be an essential subject firr

advanced magicians. I did not mean that beginners have It,,
right to present a well-structured act. The problem is that irr
order to gain consciousness about every aspect that will tali,'
part in the composition of an act [at every moment, and in evt'r r
effect you performl, you will probably need years of expericttt','
in performing.

that,

Because this article is not about what tricks you can do, lrtrl
about knowing at every moment during the trick's performttttt','
what you are conveying to your audience, in order to know tlri:r,
you will have to go through a performance hundreds of timt's, irr
front of different audiences, in different conditions, itnrl
understand why you are doing every part of the tricl< (wlriclr
implies testing different versions of the same effect). In otlrlr
words, if you want to have a good composition, you will ncrctl 1,,
work with a repertoire already in w'hat Ascanio callctl llrr'
"assimilation phase", or quite close to it.

structure, not the musical, literary, theatrical or

r:inematographic one. But, in order to make the examples

The more tricks yott nritstt't' ttp lo tlr;tl lttvd

morefreedom yoLI will lrirvc lrl lltc lilttt'ttl't:olttll<tsittg:ttt;tt'|. ll
you arc brrilcling:t sltow rvillt ,l llli'r'ls,;ttttl lltost'r; ltt't'tltt'orrlt

of prrrf icicrtt'v, llrr'

speak about this subject, many people falsely believe

you were to copy the structure of one of Mozart's
symphonies, changing every piece for a magic effect, you would
end up with a well-structured act. But the truth is, Mozart
l,Vhen

if

created the symphony's structure for the specific pieces that are
part of it. And, when he used different ones to compose, the
resulting structure was a different one. That means "copy &
1)aste" doesn't necessarily work.

To sum up,

it

is the magical language that should rule our

t'lcrarer, I will constantly refer to all those other arts, which have
tlcrvcloped thc srrlrit,t't to a nruch greater extent than our beloved
rrt:rgic.

l,inear slru('lurr.. 'l'lrc

rrrosl t'orrrnrorr stnrt'Irrle: A different

t'l'lt't't t'irt'lr lirnt', orrl lrllcr lltc ollrt.r'. 'l'lrc rrurirr tlirngcr of this
Itirrrl ol'('()nll)or,rlrorr r, llrirl \'()u t'un tlrr,r'isli ol crt.lrling a l<incl of
"r'it'r'us lilir,"',trrrlltttr' ,'\l lltr.r.rrrl ol r,r'r,r'\' lricli .yorr [<lrgcl

A book in English: The cartl rrragic of Woody Aragon

A book irr I rr1,lr.,lr llrr.r rrrrlurirl,t(.()l Woorly Aragon

everything you've done before, and start a new, going into the
next trick with a "Well, that wcts the rising cords trick. Notu let
me shou gou something with this piece of yellow rope" very
similar to hearing "NotD, in the center ring, the knifesut allou erl" from the ringleader.
There's nothing wrong with this composition, if that is what
you wish (showing the audience a compilation of the tricks you
can do), but you should be aware that the feeling of watching a
well structured show is very different that the feeling of having
witnessed a succession of independent effects.

Confrontulion ('r.ilir,;rl l,oirrl: A very strong conflict

that relatcs to llrt, I'irsl orrr,.
Resolutio. l)lr;rsr': 'l'lrt, I'irrirl r.lirrr:rx is reached, and all of
the conflicts ln. solvt.rl.
You will be able t, "l'ir" irlrrrrst ir.y .f the dramatic works you
already know into this str.rrt.lrrr.c. Allow me to give you an
example, using a st.ry tlrlt cvcryone knows: charlei Dickens'A
Christmas Carol.

Setup: Meet Mr. Scrooge, a cruel and bitter old man

who doesn't celebrate Christmas.
Setup > Turning point: Scrooge receives a visit from
the ghost of Jacob Marley, his business partner.

Juan Esteban Varela once told me that he thought the answer

to this problem was a simple one: Not only should you study
and practice the tricks you will perform, but also the interludes
between them. If the transition between every trick and thc
following one is smooth, and there seems to be a plot, tht'
problem will disappear.
In any case, and more

if you opt for this kind of structure, i1

classical three act
dramatic structure: Setup, confrontation and resolution. Almost
every magic trick can be divided in those same three phases:
The initial situation is explained ("here's a shuffied deck ol
cards..."); there is a series of facts that change the initial
situation ("pick a card, sign it, lose it in the deck, shuffie...");
and a final resolution that usually happens at the same momenl
as the magic effect ("the card trauelled to my wallet!").

Confrontation: The ghosts of the Christmas past,

Present and Yet to Come make him face several
moments in his life, from his childhood to his eventual

future.
Confrontation > Crisis point: Scrooge, facing the vision
of his own grave, realizes that he has wasted his whole
life. He repents, but knows that it is too late. He knows
he will die alone, with no family or friends.
Resolution: Scrooge wakes up, transformed, and
discovers that he's back in the present day. He has been
given a second chance. He Eecomes a kind hearted
person, and joy{ully celebrates Christmas.

so

is very important to keep in mind the

But this three act structure can be further developed by adding

two more "conflict points" at the end of each of the two first
acts. Something like this:

. Let me low present you with a magic example. This structure

i's.masterfully adapted for the classic Matching the cards.If any
,l'you perform it, you will already know it ii one of the most
wonderful effects that can be presented in front of an audience.
look at its contposition:

'l'al<e a

Setup: Introduction to the plot, characters...

Setup > Turning Point: Something happens, a conflit:t is
presented.
Confrontation Phast': A st'r'it,s <ll'conflicts or r:hallcngcs
happen [prefelabh' i r i rcrr';rsi ng rl i I'lir:rr I t.y ortlt'r' I.
r

o
o

Sctrrp: 'l'lrt. pt.r'lirnncr. introduces himself to the

:rrr<lir,nr,r., ;rnrl slrows llrtrrn u shuffled deck of cards.
Sclrrlr 'l'rrrrrirrli lloirrl: A rrrt'rrrllcr. of tl-re audience
sr,lr,r'lr, l (';n'(1, wlrost.irlcrrtil.y is rrnl<nown to
(,\'(,t\r,rr,, 'l'lrl rrr;r1iir,i;rn sl,;rlr.s Ilt:rl lrr. t.:rrt fln<l the
l lr lr.,.,,rr r l,, 11 il lr l lrr, :;;rnrr, r,;rlrrr, ;rt l lrr. st,lct.liolt.

A booli irr I rr1'lr,,lr l lrt. ,lrrrl rrrirl,rr ol Woorly Aragon

A book in English: The carrl rnagic of Woody Aragon

predict it correctl.y llrrr.r, lirrrr,r;, llrr,rr I r,liruinerte the element of

pure chance. Slroulrl .\,orr lr'\'lo rlo it to times in a row, my
prediction is that.yorrr':rrrrlicrrct,will bc bored to death long
before you get to tlrt, torl, prr,tlictiorr. In any case, I am only
highlighting this as irrr olrliorr vorr slrould be aware of, because
its constant prescrrct' irr tlrt, t,lirssir: works cannot be ignored.
Let's take another lool< ;rl A Christmas Carol. and analvze
each act in detail.

Confrontation Phase: Even though finding the cards

with the same value is more a test of skill with cards
than pure magic, the performer succeeds in finding,
one by one, the three cards with the announced
value. The difficulty increases every time, as there
are fewer cards with the said value in the deck.
Confrontation > Crisis Point: The spectator's first
selection is revealed... and it has a different value.
The magician failed at his task, and all of his effofts
have become worthless.
Resolution: The three previously found cards are
shown once again. They have magically changed to
match the value of the first selection. The performer
succeeds, and proves he is a true magician.

I think I don't have to

stress

the importance of

Setup
Scrooge is a miser, he hides the coal from his employees,
even though it is very cold.

He hates his only nephew. He doesn't like Fred inviting

him for Christmas dinner.
He is cruel with his employee, Bob Cratchit.
Setup > Turning Point.
Confrontation phase
The ghost of Christmas Past makes him remember who

ther

cornposition element in this routine. Imagine the beginning o1'

the trick was the same but without the crisis point. For example,
after finding three Jacks, the spectator's card was turned over,
and shornm to be the fourth Jack. There would be no problenr
from the technical side (construction), but... it would be a much
worse trick, wouldn't it?!

he is and why.

The ghost of Christmas Present forces him to see how

the people around him feel.
The ghost of Christmas Yet to Come makes him face the
consequences of his actions and forces him to witness

The importance of number three: I would like to remintl

you (and many other have done it before me) that using thret'
parts when composing an act has always worked, ever sinct'
classical Greek theater. Juan Tamariz has always defended tht'
beauty of using number three in magic routines: Tricks witlr
three phases, the three bread crumbs by Ren6 Lavand, the thra'
Cups and balls, three Linking Rings, the three card monte...
There are four aces in an ace assembly, of course... but onlr
three ofthem travel!

his own grave.

Confrontation > Crisis Point.
Resolution
a. Scrooge asks a kid to buy a turkey for him, giving him a
tip.
b. He goes to his nephew's dinner, and apologizes to him.
c. He gives the turkey to Bob Cratchit, and gives him a
raise.
As you can s()(), crrr:h ac:[ can be

It

has been said that the reason for this beauty is that, sincc
there are three phases, each one "balances" the other two,
making the whole look more complete. And there's also the flrct
that three is a good numbcr'ol'titttcs to repeat ati efl'cct lit tlrt'rr

further divided in three phases.

Antl this is sontt'llrilt13 (.ontrnon to many other dramatic

corrstnrr:I iorrs.

l'lrlt'l'hl'r.:rrls. 'l'lrlrl will trlw;r.ys lx' lwo plol lhr.cacls in your

ircls. Orrc,l llrr,rrr rvill irrvolvt. llrr.;rcrlirrrrrcr.(.yorr!) ancl thc

starts getting a bit bolirrg [irr yottt' :ttttlicnccl. II I llrctlit:lt'rl

something correctly ortt'r', I rrripilrl lutvt'ltct'tt ltrt'l<.y. lltrt il'l

ollrcr orrc rvill lrc

rrr,r1,.rc

ilsr'll.

Nl;rlqic lrcls irri;r ('()nlnrolt t,lt'rttt'rrt

A book in English: The card magic of Woody Aragon

A bool< irr l,rr1llr,;lr I lrt. t,nrrl nutlitl ol Wootly Aragon

every trick or routine yolt will perform. But having an

additional plot thread throughout the show, or bonding several
of the tricks into a longer routine, can be an interesting addition
to your show.

repetition of an cl'li't't llrrorrglrorrl llrr. pt,r'lirnnance. Bill Malone

pulls cards out o['lris rrrorrllr rrl'lt'r.t'vcry etfect in one of his
shows. Imagine cloing llrirl sr.vt,r.irl lirncs, and end by slowly
producing from yotrr rrrorrllr ir ,lrrnrlxr card, which had been
selected and lost irr ir .lrrrrrlro I)ct.l<. Alcx Elmsley, in his Dazzle
Act, repeatedly removcs tltt'.iol<cr. ljurl the deck (although he's
supposed to have (kllc so prcviously, which results in a
succession of jokers bcing procltrced). Finally, right before the
end of the show (actually, an amazing "super-reprise" in which
he produced every carcl that had appeared in the act) he does a
packet trick with the jokers.

in

The plot thread can consist of a theme for the whole

performance (e.g., gambling cheats) which does not have to be
related to the effects you perform. On the other hand, the plot
can be built around the similarity between some of the effects of
a long routine that you perform.
Setting the stage before the show begins. Here's an
interesting option for you act. Before the beginning, set
something in your performing space that indicates to the
audience what will later take place during the show.
Imagine that the spectators, even though you're not on stage
yet, are able to see a table in which there's a candle, a crystal
ball and an envelope with the Zodiac signs and a big question
mark right in the center. Even though you've done anything yet,
the first act (Setup) has already started. The elements on stage
tell the audience about the magician, who he is, and raise the
question about what could be inside the envelope.

The reprise. In musical theater, there is a plot that binds the

show together, but there are also independent acts, that arc
somehow similar to the magic effects we magicians perform. I
am referring to each song, ofcourse.
There is a resource often used to enhance the structure of tht'
show, so it does not seem that the audience is being presentetl
with just "song after song". It is the repetition, or variation of :r
song, in the form of a reprise. It works like this: a song is playcrl,
and then, in certain point of the show, it is repeated, with slight
variations, to create the feeling of a progression throughout tht'
play. At the end, the song is usually developed until it reachcs rr
climax.

Meter structure. A more elaborate version of the latter

would be repeating not just an effect, but several of them.
Meters, or measurements, and their structures (ABAB, ABCBA,
ABA, etc.) have been studied and used thoroughly in poetry and
music.

Imagine you perform different transposition and sandwich

effects, and for some reason, one of the transpositions works
very well with one of the sandwich effects. If you are aware of
this possibility, you could try fitting the effects to one of the
previous structures.

Cyclic structure (starting from the end). One more

possibility in structuring your act consists of presenting a
situation at the beginning of the show, and what looks like the
trnd of a trick. Then the show starts, and it develops until the
sarne initial situation is presented, and the final trick is
pcrformed. The feeling that a cycle has been completed, and
cverything is back the starting point, can be quite interesting.
A similar option would be to start the show as usual (from the
lrcginning), but cntling it so that everything is back to the initial
siluation, crcatirrl4 llrr, Ii'cling of an endless loop.

lknrtinc th:rl gor.s orr llrroughout the act. This idea

ol't;rliirrli;r nrrrlli ;rlt;rsr'<l rrrrrtirrr,, irrrtl s;x.cading the

trtttlti;rlt't'l'li'r'ls llrlorrl',lrorrl llrr,slrow. lrrr;r14irrt,rr srri/ Altporitiort
(ltorrlirrt'irr n'lrir'lr llrr rrrrrliili;rrr prorlrrr,r,s llrl t;j r.irrrls of ir srril,
corrsists

Actually, there's a sirlilirr l'(,sout'('(' tlrirt is oftcn rrsctl in rrrirgit':

The running gag. Iltrt it rrsrr;rllv consisls rrrolr.of ir.iol<t., lltirrr tlrr

A bool' irr l'rr1,lr,,lr I lrt'r,trrl rritl,t( (rl Woorly Aragon

A book in English: Thc cirlrl rnagic of Woody Aragon

made popular by Ricky Jay

in the United States and Jose Carroll

in Spain) that happens throughout a whole act. The aces are

produced, and one of them is selected. It is the Ace of Spades.
The magician sets it on the table, and cuts the deck to the Two
of Spades. Then he performs the first trick. Once it is finished,
the Three of Spades is produced. One more trick, and then
theFour, and so on for the rest of the show, as the audience sees
the Spades in a ribbon spread, which slowly increases as the
cards are produced. The show would end when the 13 Spades
changed into Hearts.

An exercise. Take 7 blank

cards. Choose a film, book,

concert, or any other artistic work of your choice. Make a list o1'
the different scenes/acts, and select the 7 that you feel are mosl
representative. You will usually choose the beginning, the end,
and the main plot conflicts. Write the 7 scenes on the blanli
cards, in order, and describe in each card what you felt when
watching it flistening to it] as a spectator. (Rhythm, comedy,
thrill, drama...)

Try to assemble a magic session, using 7 tricks from

your'

repertoire, respecting the same structure and emotions. Try to

use effects that convey a similar feeling to what you wrote otr
the cards. Then check if there is an apparent variety in tht'
effects, while trying to maintain some unity in the structure. Tn
to find some recurring plot references, and build it into your
magic structure.

Final thoughts:

It might seem as though this article is aimed at tht'

professional, or semi-professional magicians, who already havt',
or are building, a complete act. But actually, one of the mosl
common problems for amateur magicians, who perfortu
informal magic, is that, when they are requested to perfirlnr,
they start improvising, doing trick after trick as one comcrs l()
their mind. The problem is, if your empathy with thc auclicttcc
isn't good enough, or your rt'pt't'loitt isn't clccp cuottglt, it's vcrr
easy to end up perl'ortnirrg t'l'li't'ls lltitt, ottt: itl'tt'l'lltc tttltt:t', ;tt'r'
repetitive, ol' ntaybt' ltcrlirt tttitt,l', ;t tttittot' t'l'lct'l lrl'tcr' otl(' ()l

greater impact, or sirrrlrlr, lry lrllv;r.vs rkrirrg lhe same tricks, just
think "What shall I
do now...?".

because being on tlrt' spol, llrr,rt,'s rro lirrrc lo

My advice for rtragit'i:rns irr llris sitrratior-r is: following the rules
on this article, try to ;rsst.rrrlrlt' "srnall acts" composed of three
tricks (a beginning, a st't.onrl, ulore complex trick, and a
powerful effect fbr thc cntling) suited to the performing
conditions you will firrcl yorrrsclves in. For example, what deck

will you be able to usc (stacked deck, normal deck,

borrowed/incomplete cleck)? Will you use a table? What's the

environment like (you need to adapt for noisy places where
visual effects are more important than patter)? and so on...
This way, you will organize your tricks into "blocks" whose
structure you have analyzed, and you know that it works. After
performing one of them, if you feel your audience is ready for
more, you can always perform another one, or maybe think of
an "encore" trick in advance. If, on the other hand, after one or
two tricks the circumstances you are performing in change, this
won't be a problem at all, as the same structure might end up
leaving your audience "hungry for more", which is always a
good thing.
This subject could be the subject of a whoie book, but I hope
this article serves as an introduction, and also as a way to try to
spark your interest. If, after reading it, you feel like examining
and starting to work on this area of your magic, my goal will be
accomplished.

A book in l'.n1llr:;lr I lrr' r'rrrrl

A book in English: The r:artl rnagic of Woody Aragon

rrrrrprr'

ol Woo<ly Aragon

THE ROLE OF STUCTURE.IN MAGIC:

The audience faces the structure: They are affected
by it at an unsconscious level. The only thing that
matters is what they feel at every moment.
The audience faces the method: They only care
about the method's "external life"
Construction vs. Composition.

MY MASTERS

MY WAY TO STRUCTURE:

Some years ago, I interviewed Spanish magician Miguel

Gomez. He told me that he thought "there are tuo kinds of
masters: the ones you get to know in person, and those uho
Aou neuer meet, but are able to make you change the way you
und er s t and maq ic neu erthele s s " .

Magic for the sake of impossibility.

unity in Effect.
Variety in Method.

COMPOSING TOOLS:

This means that a master is a magician that influences you in

some aspect of magic, up to the point where he becomes
fundamental to your understanding of the way to perform and
approach magic. That means all of us end up having several
masters, no matter how their work has reached us - "live", in
books or videos. And today, where you can find magic schools
such as Ana Tamariz's, in Madrid, where pupils have the chance
to learn from different magicians, and about the different
categories of magic (but all of them associated with the figure of
Juan Tamariz, the school's flagship magician), there's a new
generation of magicians that, in years to come, will have a long
list of magicians as their masters. Lucky them!

Linear Structures.
The importance of number three.
Plot Thread.
Some Structures:
o Linear Structure.
o Meter Structure.
o Cyclic Structure.

In my case, due to the "magical isolation" I experienced in my

carly years as a magician, everything I learned was quite selftaught (with all of the resulting problems). Nevertheless, there
Itave been somc nragicians that did bring that the change of
nragical vision tlrirl Migucl Gomez talked about, in different
rlcgrees. An<l I worrlrl lilit' 1o cxpress the main thing I learned
ll'onr cacrh orrr., rrrrrl lirr wlrit'lr I'rrr lcrllly gr':rtclfirl to them.

.lu:ur'l':utt:u'iz ir, trrv trrosl rlirr,r'l rrutslt,r'(lor thirt I can say

I'vr,ltt.r,rr rr,;rllr lrrll,t ) rrrrrl llrr.otrlv ortr, llr;rl I r';rrr sity lrits bccn

A book in English: The carcl nragic of Woody Aragon

1,oo(% my master. His shows and his books have had a greal
influence on my education as a magician, and probably as :r
person, ever since I was a kid (I remember experiencingVerbol
Magic for the first time, in a trick I did with him through TV irr
the popular quiz show f/n, Dos, Tres, when I was barely r<l
years old.) I learned his tricks, his sleights and his style ol
performing and presenting magic. But that was only tht'
beginning. Even though I met him in person at Madrid's SEI irr
1993, soon after joining the Circle, it wasn't until tgggf 2ooo
that I had the chance of meeting him regularly, and I started to
meet him once or twice a week for several years, and little bv
little we developed a friendship as well as a teacher-pupil
relationship, both of which I've had the luck of enjoying greatlv.
And during the recent years, tricks haven't been the most
important things I've learned from Juan, but much deept.r.
aspects of magic. He's taught me the techniques, and thr,
importance of communication, art, and the symbolism inhererrrt
to magic tricks, construction, psychology... and he's passed orr
Frakson's ideas of loving magic, and loving through magir..
Magic is happiness, which means I am happy when I sturlr.
practice and perform magic. And that means nothing elsc
matters, and I don't suffer anymore if something doesn't wor'|.
like I wanted it to. The most important thing is the feeling you
convey your audience (and you receive it too, as feedback frrrrrr
your audience) and the relationship between magician :rrrrl
audience. Because it's obvious that, if you enjoy doirrli
something, and are able to "send" your joy to your audierrt.,'.
they will feel that joy too.

Juan can also tell the virtues and flaws of a trick... or ir

performer. And he doesn't want his pupils to become "littl,,
Tamatiz" clones, but he rather encourages you to be yoursell', lr,t
your own personality show, and convey it to your audient.r, irr
the best possible way. And, first and foremost, to enjoy doirrlq ir
I remember what he told me just before starting nty at'l irr
FISM, zoo6 in Stockholm: "Woody, remember you ccurtc ltt,r.,,
to shotu your routine to the whole utorld. Nou ftis tirtte lo t,rt jotl
it. Don't uorcA about tuirttrirttl.'l\t rtte, tlou ah.corlry ut<nt llrt
Grand Prix." I didn't gcl ir prizr., lrrrt I hatl l goorl rlrrllif ir.;tliorr
(I scored 6tl,) and, wlritl's rrrorr,irrrportirrrl, !r'rr.ioyt'rl il gr.r.;rllr

A hool'

irr

l rr1,lr,,lr Ilrr'r rrrrlrlrtlrtl ul

Woorly Aragon

Thanks Juan.

Fernando Pclayo, wlrorrr I rrrr,l l)r,rlrrcntly before starting to

spend time with ,lrurrr. llt, lrirrl lx't.rr l<nown Juan since the 7o's,
and for some y(|:u's lrt, l;rrrglrt nrt. 'l'irnrariz's magic philosophy
from his expericrrt.t,, irrrrl girvr, rrrc r.cllly sound advice. Fernando
is not a professionirl nrirgit.iirrr (cvcn though I think he's got
more than enough cltralit.y [o woll< professionally) but watching
one of his rare pcrlornranccs is n real treat. His main *ay of
enjoying magic is thruuglr thc study of tricks: analyzing them,
searching for their weakuesses, creating new versions... I
learned from him (ancl encled up doing it constantly, almost
indiscriminately) to "toy for the joy of toying" with tricks. If I
see or learn one I like, I immediately start thinking what to
change, where to modifiz it, if I can give it a twist... even if I
really liked the original one! Most of the times you end up

ruining the trick, but

if

there's something

learned from

Fernando, is that it's worth it: Your own version of a trick, even
if it's worse, is enjoyed because of the very process of its
creation- The only important thing after that process is being
able to discern if you really added something worthy to the tricl
and, if that's not the case, then abandon your version and
perform the trick as you learned it. This eliminates the danger
of ruining a good trick, and makes "toying" just a game to enjoy
oneself, and an exercise in creativity.

Alex Elmsley, speaking of creativity, is one of the second

kind of masters Miguel Gomez spoke about. I never met him in
person, and when we eventually planned a trip, it was too late.
Nevertheless, after having the chance to see his works for the
first time (thanks to Stephen Minch's books) I was completely
fascinated by his creative genius. Since then, I've been collecting
and studying every,thing he's come up with. As I said in the
prologue to ttr: Sltanish version of his books, Elmsley is a
continuous splrl< lo t:r'cirlivily. His methods amaze me, and he
hclped ntc l, r't'tlrirrli rrr.y nragic, antl think about magic from
tlillbrcnt 1rt'r's1rt,t'livr,s. Willr lrirrr I lcirr.rrcrl to appreciate
invcrrlivt'rrcss irr rrrr'llr,rl, ;rrrrl llr:rl ;rrr irrlr,lligt'rrt :rrralysis <lf a
tttcllrorl, irrclrrrlirrli ,rlcililrl ol lr:rrrrl, is lrr,ilr.r' llr;rrr sllcntling
ttlottllt;t['lct'tttottllt lrt'ltr'lilittlg lr t1(]\,(,. I lirrrrrrl s9r1t't,grrt.t.1tls

A bool'

A book in English: The r:artl nragic of Woody Aragon

regarding the structure of a routine and "theoretical relativism"

that made me feel that I had found a twin soul in magic.
Because of this, and much more, I always acknowledge the
importance of Elmsley, who's been unfairly pushed into the
background. I think he's one of the most creative and original
magicians in the zoth Century.

Gabi Pareras, an unbelievable case. In spite of his young

age, he can be considered one of the true masters of our art in

Spain. He studied and assimilated Ascanio's teachings, then

continued working on them, and was able to take some of them
to the next level. I met him about B years ago, and since then we
meet two or three times a year, when I visit Barcelona.
Watching one of Gabi's lectures is like turning on the director's
commentaries in a DVD: he doesn't just tell you what to do, but
why, how it works, and the name of the concept he's isolatetl
and labeled, so that you can use it anytime you want, jusl
normal sleight of hand (and it works just like it!). Anv
conversation with Gabi is that and much more. His tricks, as
simple as over-whelming, create really powerful magicirl
moments, and feelings very different to the ones we're used to
in magic.
Over the years, Gabi has taught me some of those concepls
(and we have talked about many of them for a long time), anrl
that made me finally realize that there's a main underlyirrli
concept. The most important thing I've learned from Gabi is not
to limit myself; to try to think outside of the box. In magic, it
doesn't matter whether something is true or not true, or logir';rl
or not logical. The only thing that matters is what we convey lo
our audience. All the rest are archeffies created by magicirrn:r
for our own comfort. The problem with that is that sometirtrr':,
this ends up limiting our creativity.

Lennart Green, is the iast magician I can considcl rrn

"master", but his influence in magic was not as direct as itt llrr'
case of Juan or Gabi, as my cot.ttitt:ts with him havc bct:tt sl):u'sr'
His case is a strange ouc, ittttl rltrilt'trrritlttc, as thc t:ltitngc itt llrr'
way I see magic th:rt Irt'pt'ovolit'tl in nttr t:ittttc:tbottl lltt'otrl',lr
watching him on virlco, ;r rrrcrli;r so ol'lt'n t'r'itit'izt'rl. l,'t'r'n:rrrrl,,

rrr

I ttl,lt',lt I ltr' r rttrl

tttttP,tr'

ol'Worltly Aragon

Pelayo had alrt'irrlv lolrl rrrr, ;rlrorrl lrinr, lrut I though his words
were exaggeratt'tl. W;rlclrirrg l,r,rrrurrl (lrccr-r for the first time
completely chlrrgt,rl llrr, wit.y I llrotrght of many magical
concepts. Thanl<s to lrirrr I h,irrrrr,rl rrirtutarlness in handling is
something petsorrirl, irs sorrrr,llrirrg tltat looks natural for one
person can loolt wt'irrl irr irrrollrcr'. I also rediscovered the
pleasure of magit: irr itst'll': l,crrnlrt clidn't have an appealing
patter for his triclis (lrt' rlirlrr't cvcn seem to know the language
he spoke in thosc virlcos rcllly well), and he was not really
focused on trying [o lrc "t:ourmercial". But he shocked and
amazed me more thun rnany other magicians, because you can
tell he's put in so much lovc atnd work into what he does, and it's
impossible not to be touched by his magic. And that's what Juan
used to tell me: If you work on a trick, caress it, look after it, and
enjoy performing it, your audience will feel it, and enjoy it with
you.
Regarding sleight of hand, Lennart was a turning point for me:
before watching him, I considered sleight of hand to be a "lesser
evil", something I didn't like, but had to go through in order to
achieve the magical effect. With Lennart I ended up greatly

enjoying the mere practice, creation, or presentation of a

technique. I discovered the table is a "third hand" that has to be
taken into account. I felt comfortable using his " chaoticcontrols" as much as I was when using classic techniques.
There's a different side to Lennart's sleights, nevertheless, that
has to do with his Snctp Deal andhis amazing flourishes, which
are completely opposite to the sleights I like to use, but I enjoy
immensely r.vtren I see him perform them.

I was lucky enough to meet Lennart in zoo6, at the magic

festival Toledoilusion (a convention I organized, in which
Lennart was the main artist, thanks to the great Dani DaOrtiz's
help) and at that occasion, and in some more that would come
larter, I spent some days with him, and showed him my
Sepcrragon (a slcight that I could only have created after
wittching hinr). I also got to see some of his ideas live. I
tlisc:ovcrt'tl llr.'s vr,r'v lit.t.rr on mathematical principles, and that
Irt''s ir grr':rl pclsorr, lrrrrrlrlt.irnrl l<inrl. Lcrrnirrl is always full of
posilivr'(,n(,r'1,,\', rrrrrl I llrirrli llt;rt sllt.rrrlirrg tirrrc willr hinr ural<crs

re

A book in English: The caxl nragic of Woody Aragon

A bool. irr I rrl'lr,,lr llr,',;rr,l nrrtl'rr'rll Woorly Aragon

you want to live life to its fullest.

That's about it. But, I must say there's a different group o1'
magicians in Spain that, without meeting Miguel Gomez's
requirements to be considered as my masters, they have had a
great influence on my magic, helping me to grow as a magician.
Miguel Angel Gea, Ram6n Riob6o, Juan Esteban Varela, Miguel
Gomez himself, my partner in magic li.aki Zabaletta... I will
speak of my "lesser masters" on another occasion.
TO SUM IT UP:

Juan:

The goal of magic: Joy, Love, Communication,

Emotions.

Fernando:

Being fond of magic, "toying" with it. Enjoy the

process, "taste" it.

Alex Elmsley: Enjoythe method. Originality. Analysis.

Creativity.
"magician's
logic". Create feelings.
Catli: Fighting
joy
of sleight of hand. Relative
Lennart Green: The
naturalness.

could say, then, that I try to have Elmsley in my heacl,

Fernando in my taste, Lennart in my hands, Gabi in my eyes'
and Juan in myheart.

Appendix:

WOODY'S CHANGE BOX

Every time a magician llcrlin'rns tricks similar to the ones in
this book, that requirc stacking several cards (or even the whole
deck) prior to the start of the trick, being able to perform a deck
switch comes in real handy. That's why I will now explain how
to build a gimmicked box I invented around r99B (although I
would not be surprised if someone had invented something
similar before me), and that I even sold in Spain for a while.
The gimmick looks just like a regular box, but allows you to
switch up to half the deck when you introduce it inside the box,
and later take it out.

What you will need: Two identical card boxes, scissors or

an exacto knife, glue, and about 3o cards, preferably old ones,
case they are stained with glue.

in

Start by flattening out the card boxes completeiy. You will only
keep the front (the "face"), sides and flap of one of them, as you
can see in the picture.

A book in English: The carcl nragic of Woody Aragon

booli, irr

rt;,11,,11

lltr'r'rrtrl rlrr11it'el Wpgrly Aragon

on the oppositt.sitlc ol'llrr, ollrcr, lrox's l1ir1r. 'fhe result will be a

regular sized box witlr two r.orrrpiu.lrrrt'nls.

Place 3o cards over the same "face" of the complete box.

Bend the side of the box at the right of the 3o card group, so
that the box becomes as thick as the cards. When you place the
box over the cards, there will be some excess of the box on the
Ieft. Bend it and cut it, so that the box is even. Stick the side and
lower flaps. Finally, make an exaggerate cut the "bite" in the
rear of the box, as you can see in the picture. You wiII end up
with a "half box" that can fit half a deck.

The only thing left to do is to cut a slit in the lower part of the
first "half-box", between the "flap" and the "body", so that both
flaps can be closed. It should look like a regular box.

In order to use it, take a look at the box. you'll see that one of
the sides (the "half-box" one) that will only allow to insert and
oxtract cards from the top. The other part, if you open both
flaps, lets you tal<c out cards from both sides. "Loadt the half
rlccl< you wanl to r,hlngc on this compartment. Close the box
:tttrl 1ll:r<:c it in vorrr'1lot,l<t'1.

Stick the other "half box", lcaving space for another 29 or 3o

cards, over the cut at thc lt:rt'l< .yott.ittst ntitde. The flap shgtrlcl lrt'

A book in English: The carcl magic of Woody Aragon

A [rool. nt I ul,lt,,lt Ilt( r'ltrl rrrlllrl ol'Woorly Alagon

Whenever you want to change a packet of cards, even half

deck, take out the "loaded" box, and open the flap of the "half
box", placing the half deck you wish to change inside the
compartment with only one opening. Place the box on the table,
turning it upside down in the process. Since the box has no
"front and back", no one will notice it.

Open the flap of the "half box", and tilt the box so that
everything falls from inside. The base of the "half box" wiil
prevent the cards you loaded on it from falling.

FINAL THANKS

I think there are two important

details when working with

these kind of boxes. First, the "looseness" of the cards inside the
compartment. If you were really placing half a deck of cards
inside a box, there would be no sense in trying to "fit" it. It is
also important that one of the compartments prevents the
changed half from falling off the box. If you were really taking
the cards from a regular empty box, you would never put thc
fingers inside it to retrieve the cards, you would just tilt it s<r
that the cards inside would fall.

Beside the several friends I already mentioned at the

beginning of this book, I feel there's still people I should
mention as, while they didn't participate directly in its creation,
they have done so by contributing to my magic, my thoughts, or
my personality.

My family, for obvious, but still very important

reasons.

To Juan, Fernando, and Gabi, the "direct" masters I

just told you about. Not only for what they have
taught me as a magician, but for sharing their
friendship with me.
To my colleagues in Magic, from my generation, with
which I have shared (and still do) so many things,
mainly with my brother in magic, Rubiales, and my
"partner in crime", Argentina's Iflaki Zabaletta.
To the magicians at Madrid's SEI Magic Circle, a
place where I always feel loved.
To Fernando Blasco, with whom I share a passion for
mathematics, for his help and enthusiasm.
To everyone in Ana Tamariz's magic school, from my
fellow teachers to all of the alumni who have bored
with my incessant rumbling...
To thc ntany friends I have met thanks to the Art of
Mlgic. I,)vtrryone at FFFF, the Escorial meetings...
'lir llrrrrrorr l{ioll(ro, lirr bcing ir go<lcl lr.icncl ancl an
;rlrsolrrlr, l,,t,rrirrs (still lo llt' tliscovr.n,tl h.y lltt' l:u.gr.

A book in English: The carcl rragic of Woody Aragon

magician audience), for every dinner, congress and

session you've shared with me.
To Maricarmen, who's had to "live" with this book
for the last months (picture taking included),
because the best thing that could ever happen to me
is sharing my life with you.
And, last but not least, to you, my dear reader, with
the sincere hope that you have enjoyed, at least,
some part of this book.

I love you all,

WoodyArag6n

A booli

rrr

I;rrp,lislr:'l'lrr, t'trlrl

rrrrrp,ir'

ol'Woody Aragon

A Book in English
lndex
Nobocly's lirol! (by .lutn'famariz)
Introclrtctiott to lhis work
Yorlr othcr lurll'
Slcighls :urrl ltror t's
The Separagon
Cheekic Oil and Water
Separagon Triumph
The Wiper Move
Convex Control
Gabi's Deck Switch
The Breather Crimp
The Broken Corner
Card to Wallet
My Anti-Faro
The Swindle Shuffle
'X'ricks w{fu mmy *fe*k
Coincidences with incidences
The Cheerleader
Routined Spelling
Never tell them what's going to happen

Maverick
The Human Scale
Si Fry
Bored of Shuffling
Gilbreath Detective
Psychic Poker
Grantlpa's Poker
Iirtlnirsc
lllcsserl l)okcr

17

2t
25

35
55

57
61

65

t3
81
81

87

9l

97
107
113

125
131

139
141
153
161

167

115
I8

lltg

A book in English: The card magic of Woody Aragon

YrteXcs

A book ln Eryllthl Thr oud rarylo of Woody Aragon

with special cards

Do not get confused...

The Transparent Traveling SPots
Examinable Cannibals
Winner's Intuition
Clockwork Woody
The Psychic Deck

207

2t3
2t9
231
23s
241

$Ie&ght *S smath
Faro Shuffles and Factorial Dealing 253
259
On the Gilbreath Principle
T&re

P.$"F.

{Serxxlxxeexa* I}ee}< Pr&xaeip&e)

The Permanent Deck PrinciPle

ESP Memorized Deck
The Slot Machine
Postcards
The Court Cards
Gilbert's Error Code
Wait! There's still more!

.&rticles amd &ssxys

An Interview
Theoretical Relativism
Regarding Mathemagic
Construction and Composition
My Masters

AppexdiN
Woody's Change Box

267
273
277

28t
293
296
301

307

3t9
323
339
361

367

Fimx$ ?'hamks

Final Thanks

//lore Woody in...

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