{"id":7368,"date":"2025-08-20T04:02:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T04:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/?p=7368"},"modified":"2026-01-11T14:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:48:51","slug":"my-streamlined-handling-of-larry-jenningss-larrys-favorite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/my-streamlined-handling-of-larry-jenningss-larrys-favorite\/","title":{"rendered":"My Streamlined Handling of Larry Jennings&#8217;s &#8220;Larry&#8217;s Favorite&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">This routine is a simplified adaptation of a classic effect by the legendary Larry Jennings, originally published in his book, <em>The Cardwright<\/em>. While Jennings&#8217;s method was a masterpiece of impromptu magic, this version uses a single, pre-set breather crimp card to make the performance smooth, reliable, and completely baffling to an audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Effect<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The performer asks a spectator to freely select a card from a deck and remember it. The card is returned and appears to be genuinely lost. The performer then asks the spectator to think of a number between ten and twenty. With a magical flourish, the magician cuts off a packet of cards from the deck, proving that they have cut to the exact number the spectator was thinking of. The final card in that packet is, impossibly, the spectator&#8217;s selected card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Method<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>1. The Setup<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Before the performance, place a single card with a breather crimp at the 16th position from the top of the deck.  Put the work into the back of the card so that when cut, it remains on the deck, not in the cut off cards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The breather crimp is a subtle, invisible bend that will allow you to instantly find and cut the deck at this precise location.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>2. The Selection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Begin by performing a ribbon spread of the deck on a table. Invite a spectator to touch and select any card they wish.  Because of the spread they will select a card from the middle of the deck, below the 16 card setup on the top.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">While they are looking at their chosen card, close up the spread and hold the deck in your hand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>3. The Control<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Ask the spectator to return their card into the deck.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">As they do, you  cut the deck at the location of the breather crimp. This action is seamless and looks like a natural movement. Knowing where the crimp is makes this easy to do.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The spectator places their card onto the lower portion of the deck, and you drop the upper portion on top of their card. This action secretly places their card at the 16th position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>4. The Performance and Patter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">To convince the audience the card is lost, perform a false table cut.   I use the Jay Ose false cut.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Ask the spectator to think of any number between ten and twenty. But don&#8217;t ask them directly, instead say something like: &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me what it is yet, but I want you to think of a number. There are 52 cards here, but to make it easy on us, just think of any number between ten and twenty.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Scenario A: They Name a Number Less Than 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Let&#8217;s say they name <strong>12<\/strong>. You need to get rid of four cards to adjust your count (16 &#8211; 12 = 4).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;Have you ever noticed the different ways people count cards? Some people deal cards from the top of the deck, like this.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Deal four cards face up from the top of the deck into a pile.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;And some people even deal cards off the bottom of the deck, like this.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Turn the deck face up and deal a few cards from the face of the deck onto the pile you just dealt. Pick up the dealt pile and place it onto the face of the deck, then turn the deck back face down. You have now secretly moved your four cards from the top to the bottom.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;Magicians, however, cut to a number.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Reach over, perform a single cut at the top of the deck, and separate a packet of cards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;Let&#8217;s count&#8230; I cut to exactly&#8230; [their number].&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Slowly count the cards into their hand. The final card will be their selection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Scenario B: They Name a Number Greater Than 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Let&#8217;s say they name <strong>19<\/strong>. You need to add two cards to your count (19 &#8211; 16 = 3).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;Have you ever noticed the different ways people count cards? Some people deal cards from the top of the deck, like this.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Deal two cards face up from the top of the deck into a pile.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;And some people even deal cards off the bottom of the deck, like this.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Turn the deck face up and deal three more card from the face of the deck onto the pile. This time, turn the deck back face down <em>before<\/em> picking up the dealt pile and adding them to the top of the deck. This secretly adds two cards to your stack.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;Magicians, however, cut to a number.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Perform a single, deliberate cut at the top of the deck, cutting at the breather crimp  to separate a packet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Patter:<\/strong> &#8220;Let&#8217;s count&#8230; I cut to exactly&#8230; [their number].&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Action:<\/strong> Slowly count the cards into their hand. The final card will be their selection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">This version of &#8220;Larry&#8217;s Favorite&#8221; is a testament to the elegant principles behind Jennings&#8217;s original routine. By using a breather crimp, the most difficult parts of the handling are replaced with a simple, reliable, and invisible tool. This allows you to focus on a powerful presentation and a seamless performance, delivering a truly impossible effect that is accessible to magicians of all skill levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This routine is a simplified adaptation of a classic effect by the legendary Larry Jennings, originally published in his book, The Cardwright. While Jennings&#8217;s method was a masterpiece of impromptu magic, this version uses a single, pre-set breather crimp card to make the performance smooth, reliable, and completely baffling to an audience. The Effect The &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/my-streamlined-handling-of-larry-jenningss-larrys-favorite\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continuar leyendo<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;My Streamlined Handling of Larry Jennings&#8217;s &#8220;Larry&#8217;s Favorite&#8221;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-magic"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Bob","author_link":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/author\/admin\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7368"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7632,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368\/revisions\/7632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}