Here is another method for cutting the aces. You start with a well shuffled deck. I usually have the spectator shuffle the deck several times.
Take the deck back and perform my “two step cull“, which will bring the aces to the top of the deck.
Now perform the “Artanis false shuffle” four times, each time turning over an Ace, apparently “cut to”.
Here is a video of my practicing the routine:
At the 29 second mark I have the aces controlled, two to the top and two near the middle of the deck. As I am spreading the deck to cull the aces I am pattering about how well the spectator has shuffled the deck. I then turn the deck face down, and give the deck one shuffle to bring the two Aces in the middle to the top with the other two Aces (at the 40 sec. mark.)
Artanis false shuffle
Now I perform the Artanis false shuffle described in “The close up magic of Frank Garca”, part 1. I do the shuffle slightly differently than described in the book. The first Artanis shuffle is from 41 seconds to 49 seconds.
I undercut slightly more than half the deck with my right hand and start the riffle shuffle by dropping a “bed” of cards from the left hand, then shuffling normal and ending with a block of cards from the right and to top.
I push the cards into each other until about an inch is left. Now, because of the bed of cards on the bottom left, my right thumb can lift up on the cards on the left. This leaves the bed of cards on the table. My right hand is holding all the cards, except for the cards on the table. My left fingers grip those cards and I move the right hand cards to the left.
My right little finger is at the end of the deck and can feel when the top cards are aligned with the bed of cards on the table.
At that point my left fingers now grip the cards above the “bed” of cards on the table. My right fingers release the cards they are holding and grip the “bed” of cards on the table. Those cards are then pulled to the left and place on top (right aligned) of the deck, simulating a “cut”.
Now a strip out happens. My left ring finger and thumb hold the block of cards that are jutting out an inch on the left. My right hand then strips out the right hand cards, in a diagonal (forward to the right) motion, simulating a cut. This is deceptive because of the block of cards on top of the deck.
This stripped out portion is dropped to the table and the right hand comes back to pick up the remaining cards and drop them on top of the block just stripped out.
The Aces are still on top, and I turn the top one over and drop it to the table.
I repeat the shuffle three more times to “cut” to the Aces.