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Ambitious Card
The Ambitious Card, or Elevator Card, is a magic effect in which a playing card seems to return to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere in the middle of the deck. One of many versions of the Ambitious Card Routine available on internet video. The Elevator card, p. 85 This is a classic effect in card magic and serves as a study subject for students of magic. Most performing card magicians will have developed their own personal Ambitious Card routine. The effect is often credited to French magician Gustav Alberti, in the mid-19th century. However, there is a related idea in Ponsin's ''Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilée'', published in 1854, that might precede that. The ambitious card is also known as the "Trick that Fooled Houdini" as Dai Vernon fooled Houdini with the Ambitious Card. Many magicians base their routine on Darryl Martinez's version as he had a comprehensive VHS tape on the many variations possible on accomplishing this effect. Effect The magician usually ...
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Magic (illusion)
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as Maskelyne and Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic." During this period, performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Magic retained its popularity in the television age, with magicians such as Paul Daniels, David Copperfield ...
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Playing Card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a finish to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing card games, and are also used in magic tricks, cardistry, card throwing, and card houses; cards may also be collected. Some patterns of Tarot playing card are also used for divination, although bespoke cards for this use are more common. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and usually are sold together in a set as a deck of cards or pack of cards. The most common type of playing card in the West is the French-suited, standard 52-card pack, of which the most widespread design is the English pattern, followed by the Belgian-Genoese pattern. However, many countries use other, traditional types of playing card, including those that are German ...
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Gustav Alberti
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cartoons * Gustav (''Zoids''), a transportation mecha in the ''Zoids'' fictional universe *Gustav, a character in ''Sesamstraße'' *Monsieur Gustav H., a leading character in ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' Weapons *Carl Gustav recoilless rifle, dubbed "the Gustav" by US soldiers *Schwerer Gustav, 800-mm German siege cannon used during World War II Other uses *Gustav (pigeon), a pigeon of the RAF pigeon service in WWII *Gustave (crocodile), a large male Nile crocodile in Burundi *Gustave, South Dakota *Hurricane Gustav (other), a name used for several tropical cyclones and storms *Gustav, a streetwear clothing brand See also *Gustav of Sweden (other) *Gustav Adolf (other) *Gustave Eiffel (other) * * *Gustavo ...
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Sleight Of Hand
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing. Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic; however, it is a separate genre of entertainment and many artists practice sleight of hand as an independent skill. Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, Derek DelGaudio, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Norbert Ferré, Dai Vernon, Cardini, Tony Slydini and Helder Guimarães. Etymology and history The word ''sleight'', meaning "the use of dexterity or cunning, especially so as to deceive", comes from the Old Norse. The phrase ''sleight of hand'' means "quick fingers" or "trickster fingers". Common synonyms of Latin and French include ''prestidigitation'' and ' ...
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Double Lift
A double lift is a sleight of hand maneuver used by magicians in card magic. It is a method by which the identity of the top card may be kept secret by lifting the top two cards as one, making it seem as if only the top card is picked up. Similar techniques may be applied to more than two cards to perform a triple or even quadruple lift. The term was coined by Theo Annemann. When the card is shown to the audience, the audience is tricked into believing that they are shown the top card in the deck where in fact they are shown the second card. When the cards are displayed, the maneuver is sometimes called the "double turnover". Some versions of the ambitious card routine rely almost entirely upon this sleight. In combination with a few other mechanics and good showmanship, entire acts can and have been made out of this single move. Origins The first recorded publishing of the double lift is in Richard Neve's book ''The Merry Companion'' in 1776. It can be seen on page 141, item XXV ...
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Stripper Deck
A trick deck is a deck of playing cards that has been altered in some way to allow magicians to perform certain card tricks where sleight of hand would be too difficult or impractical. Trick decks Stripper deck A stripper deck (also known as a tapered deck, wizard deck, or biseauté deck) allows the magician to control the main location of a card or group of cards easily within the pack. Even after being shuffled into the deck by a spectator, the magician can cut to a selected card. Similarly, even after being lost in different parts of the deck, the magician can move multiple cards to specific locations using basic shuffles. Unlike the invisible or svengali deck, the stripper deck can be handled by an audience member unfamiliar with the concept and can withstand a modest amount of scrutiny without exposing the secret; however, this deck is found in a number of beginners' magic kits, so the secret is well-known, even among non-magicians.Henry Hey (ed.), ''Cyclopedia of Magic'' ( ...
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The Royal Road To Card Magic
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the Most common words in English, most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant s ...
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The Expert At The Card Table
''The Expert at the Card Table'', is an extensive book on the art of sleight of hand published in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase, a pseudonymous author whose identity has remained a mystery for over a century. As a detailed manual of card sharps, the book is considered to be one of the most influential works on magic or conjuring with cards. In August 2020, mnemonic artist David Trustman adapted The Expert at the Card Table into a graphic novel, incorporating the old figure drawings and adding new ones to help explain some of the sleights. This edition of the book also gave S.W. Erdnase a face and identity, which all previous editions of the book have lacked. Description of the book Despite his widespread influence on the magician community, the author's identity remains an unsolved mystery. Many believe his real name was E.S. Andrews (S.W. Erdnase spelled backwards). (See Gardner's Foreword, pp. vii-ix.) Another theory is that the author is Wilbur E. Sanders, son of Senator Wilbur ...
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Card College
Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card ***Chip card ***Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card ****Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insurance Card ****Driver's license * Playing card, a card used in games * Printed circuit board * Punched card, a piece of stiff paper that holds digital data represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. *In communications ** Postcard ** Greeting card, an illustrated piece of card stock featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment * \operatorname, in mathematical notation, a function that returns the cardinality of a set * Card, a tool for carding, the cleaning and aligning of fibers * Sports terms ** Card (sports), the lineup of the matches in an event ** Penalty card As a proper name People with the name * Card (surname) Companies * Cards Corp, a South Korean internet company Arts and entertainment * " ...
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Dai Vernon
Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David; June 11, 1894 – August 21, 1992), a.k.a. The Professor, was a Canadian magician. His sleight of hand technique and knowledge, particularly with card tricks and close-up magic, garnered him respect among fellow magicians, and he was a mentor to other magicians. He lived out his last years at Magic Castle, a nightclub in Hollywood, California. Biography Vernon was born in Ottawa as David Frederick Wingfield Verner. While performing, he often mentioned that he had learned his first trick from his father at age seven, adding wryly that he had "wasted the first 6 years" of his life. His father was a government worker and an amateur magician. Vernon studied mechanical engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, but by World War I he had moved to New York City. Vernon first fell in love with magic when he was seven years old after his father took him to see a magic show. The fi ...
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Card Tricks
Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some of the most recognized names in this field include Dai Vernon, Tony Slydini, Ed Marlo, S.W. Erdnase, Richard Turner, John Scarne, and Ricky Jay. Before becoming world-famous for his escapes, Houdini billed himself as "The King of Cards". Among the more well-known card tricks relying on card manipulation are Ambitious Card, and Three-card Monte, a common street hustle also known as Find the Lady. History Playing cards became popular with magicians in the 15th century as they were props which were inexpensive, versatile, and easily available. Card magic has blossomed into one of the most popular branches of magic, accumulating thousands of techniques and ideas. These range from complex mathematics like those used by Persi Diaconis, the us ...
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