I am an "ace" with playing cards. Why, I've done at least three card tricks in my life. And, I was always "stealthy" about it all. Nobody every figured out that I had my pinky stuck in the deck, or that I had memorized the bottom card in order to trick everybody!
My Granddaddy was always completely fooled by my card tricks! I guess that's why I loved him so much...he'd watch me do the same old completely figure-out-able trick time and time again, and still seem astounded!
HA! So, this guy is an Aussie. I love Aussies! And I love New Zealand folks, too. And, I love them Tasmanian Devils, and all New Caledonians! I mean it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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Pretty nice. I don't know if this is how he does it, but with the camera pointing straight down I can't tell. If the deck is in a particular order then cutting the cards doesn't change the order, it just changes which card starts the order. So as long as he has the first card marked in some way, he can cut it back to the top and put them back in the same order. The only way that would work is if the one time he seems to actually riffle shuffle the cards, he actually doesn't. Since the camera is straight down, I can't actually tell if he does or not. He might just riff all the cards on one side down under all the cards on the other side and not shuffle them at all. I suspect it's something like that. Then the cutting is just gamesmanship to get them cut back to the card he wants on top.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to see it up close.
There is one other possibility, but it requires such incredible control that he would be one of only a few people I've heard of who could do it. It is possible to riffle shuffle the cards into a prearranged order if you can control the shuffle so well that you interlace the cards exactly one by one. If he's doing that, I'm just blown away. I do know that it's possible though, there have been a few card sharks who have demonstrated that ability.
Heh, I'm assuming he's using an actual deck. If he's using a trick deck, I'm very disappointed.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised that you had theories about how it worked? LOL
ReplyDeleteHeh... it's just how my brain works. If I see something, I try to figure out what happened. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out how tricks work. There really aren't that many ways to do sleight of hand or card tricks. Most complex tricks are just combinations of simpler tricks.
ReplyDeleteI did some googling on this sort of trick and it turns out there is a trick deck that is designed for exactly this sort of trick. Using one is considered cheating by stage magicians, but this guy is really a comic, not a magician I suppose. Watching it again I strongly suspect he's using that trick deck, but he may not be.
I used to practice magic tricks myself, mostly to improve my eye-hand coordination. I was never good enough for this sort of trick, but you'd be surprised what a couple of simple moves can accomplish when done by a person skilled at misdirection.
When I watch magicians perform I'm always watching anything BUT the flashy hand motions designed to distract your eye from the other hand that's doing the actual dirty work...
Speaking of distractions... that is some pink top his table "just happens" to be in front of... Do women typically wear lingerie under a jacket when they go to Vegas?
ReplyDeleteCosmic, after going back for another look, I'm thinking "trick deck."
ReplyDeleteHe may have tipped it with his "this is a regular deck of cards, like you can buy at any magic shop."
As to the pink lingerie chick. She should be ashamed! Nyuk!