Faro stack for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 hands, four aces

This was a “problem” I gave myself. Obviously you can stack four aces for a four handed game with two faro shuffles, but what if you want to deal a five handed game. Using my faro shuffle simulator I found a pattern that once the aces are in the correct locations a single faro out shuffle will stack them. (I used my faro shuffle simulator to work out the pattern)

Continue reading “Faro stack for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 hands, four aces”

In the hands four Ace control

Years ago I came up with a method for cutting the aces into a deck and controlling them to the top. (see https://robertjwallace.com/ace-control/ and https://robertjwallace.com/ace-control-notes/.) That control used cuts to the table to “lose” the aces. I recently decided to modify the principle so it could be done without a table.

Effect: Hand the spectator four aces. Take the aces one at a time, insert each into the center of the deck, followed by several in-the-hands swing cuts. After the second ace you can show the top and bottom cards. After inserting and cutting the fourth ace, you split the deck in half and give it one riffle shuffle. The aces are then shown on top. (That is a bare bones presentation, once you have the aces on top you could do anything you want. For example you could do an in-the-hands Triumph.)

Continue reading “In the hands four Ace control”

Bottom Run Up – Riffle Stack

I am still exploring the topic of riffle stacks. I came across this one in Ed Marlo’s “The Cardist,” Vol. 4. It builds the stack at the bottom of the deck during the shuffles as opposed to building the stack at the top of the deck. The problem with many of the riffle stack techniques that build at the top is that unless you are super-humanly good you will end up slowing down the shuffle as you near the top of the riffle so you can insure that you have the correct number of cards controlled by your thumbs. This change of speed occurs at the point in the shuffle where other players attention is the sharpest.

Not to mention how difficult it is to accomplish. As Marlo says:

JEAN HUGARD in one of his card books has described run-ups
from the top of the deck, in which it is necessary to hold
back a certain number of cards with each thumb in making the
riffle shuffle, at the finish of the riffle…I found this
very difficult of accomplishment at that time with any speed
or regularity in the riffle…FRANKLY, I STILL DO years later,

The Cardist, Vol 4
Continue reading “Bottom Run Up – Riffle Stack”