Below is a table showing patterns of Faro shuffles that will move a playing card from one location to another in a deck of 52 playing cards. This table was generated using the formulas in the paper “The Solutions to Elmsley’s Problem” by Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham (The Solutions to Elmsley’s Problem – Stanford University ).
Continue reading “Faro Shuffle table for moving any card to any location”Faro Table for moving cards from and to the top
In writing the Faro Simulator I used formulas for generating the in and out shuffle patterns needed to move cards from and to the top of the deck. These patterns can be seen when using the simulator but I thought it would be useful to see them all in a table.
Continue reading “Faro Table for moving cards from and to the top”Faro Shuffle Simulator
I have written a simple faro shuffle simulator which you can access here: https://robertjwallace.com///faro
It supports some common stacks and I will be adding more as time permits. Instructions are below.
Continue reading “Faro Shuffle Simulator”Faro Shuffle Tutorial
The Faro shuffle is a shuffling technique that causes two packets of cards to interleave perfectly. That is to say that only one card at a time from each packet is released, alternating with one card from the other packet. It is a semi-automatic technique, meaning that when properly executed the cards weave together without any effort by the individual doing the shuffle. That said, it is a technique that an individual must master with factors such as the conditions of the cards, the grip of the packets, pressure and angles are also playing a role.
Continue reading “Faro Shuffle Tutorial”Osterlind stack to 4 aces
I use two different stacked decks, the Si Stebbins stack and the Osterlind stack. When using the Osterlind stack I do several mind reading effects and then offer to demonstrate how a card shark uses the deck, and shuffle the cards ending with four aces on top. Here is how I do it.
Continue reading “Osterlind stack to 4 aces”PM Principle
I like doing sleight of hand, but I also enjoy self working tricks. I recently came across a small pamphlet on the PM Principle, which uses two key cards to locate a chosen card (The PM Principle by Michael Powers, 1990). Most key card tricks can be pretty obvious unless the placement of the key card is done well. But in this principle the placement of the key cards is totally invisible to the spectator creating an impossible location.
Continue reading “PM Principle”Up the ladder false cut
I like false cuts and one of my favorites is the “up the ladder” cut. But I noticed that the way many tutorials teach it is not how it was originally described. None of the tutorials I found gave any history or credits for the cut.
Continue reading “Up the ladder false cut”Variations on Erdnase Fancy Blind Cuts
Here are two variations on Erdnase fancy blind cuts from “Expert at the card Table.”
Continue reading “Variations on Erdnase Fancy Blind Cuts”Springing cards from hand to hand – tutorial
Visual Ace Production
This is something that I am playing around with, trying to find the right combination of sleights.
Effect:
Spectator shuffles the deck. The performer shows the faces of the cards and comments on how well mixed they are. The performer then does a couple of shuffles to further mix up the cards.
Then the performer shows the top two cards of the deck by turning them face up. The performer then shows the bottom cards of the deck by flipping the deck face up on top the two top cards. Then turning the deck face down, the performer waves his hand over the deck and a face up ace appears.
Continue reading “Visual Ace Production”