Culling cards is the process of spreading a deck of card between the hands, and while spreading them moving one or more cards to the top or bottom of the deck. It is a very powerful tool. The Conjuring Archive lists almost 300 references to books and article on the technique.
ACAAN (a card at any number)
A card at any number is a classic card trick. Â Here is an relatively easy version utilizing a pair of dice and a well known property of the dice.
Aces and Dice without the Dice
This is basically the same trick as Aces and Dice but without the dice.
Effect: Have the spectator shuffle the deck. Take the deck back and turn it face up. Spread the cards to show the mixed condition. Turn the deck face down and do an overhand shuffle to further mix the cards as you explain the card cheats develop sensitive fingers that let them tell when there is a card they need for their hand.
Erdnase system of stock shuffling to stack for Aces and Dice
Erdnase stock shuffle for stacking the Aces and Dice trick
Refer to the Expert Card Technique book for the Erdnase system of stock shuffling. This modification will stack the aces for the Aces and Dice routine. The stack puts the aces at locations 5, 7, 13 and 15.
- Start with one ace on the bottom of the deck and three on top. (I cull the four aces to the top of the deck and then double cut one to the bottom)
- Undercut half the deck.
- Injog the top card (an ace) and shuffle off 6 cards, outjogging the next and shuffle off putting the last card from the right hand on top (an ace).
- undercut at the out jog, taking a break at the injog.
- Run one card and throw the rest from the break on top
- run one, in jog, run 5 and out jog.
- Under cut at the in jog and throw on top
- Undercut at the out jog and run one and throw
Aces and Dice video
Practicing the Aces and Dice trick at Starbucks (no sound).
Easy Aces
Effect:
This is an easy but entertaining production of four aces where the spectator does the work. It works well with four spectators, but can be used with less than four as you will see.
Aces and Dice
Effect:
Performer shuffles a deck of cards twice and sets the deck down. Then displays four dice. The specatator rolls the dice to come up with four random numbers. The performer picks up the deck and shows the top and bottom cards, and then deals four piles of cards. The number of cards dealt to each pile corresponds with the number on each die. For example, if the dice showed a 4, 3, 5, and 3, then the first pile dealt would have 4 cards, the second 3, the third 5, and the fourth 3. Turning the top card of each pile reveals the four aces. Continue reading “Aces and Dice”Python program used to explore the Aces and Dice trick
Since I was curious I wrote a python program to list all of the good and bad rolls of four dice for the trick Aces and Dice.
The longest flight
Old age sucks. Memories fade. So I thought I would write this story down before more of my memories of it fade away. This is about my longest flight.
I was working for Metheus Corporation at the time. Metheus was building computer workstations used for designing VLSI chips. I was a marketing engineer at the time. Dec 7th, 1983 my boss asked me if I would go to Israel to demo our systems at a trade show. That was the same day that a Palestinian terrorist bombed a Jerusalem bus killing four people. Since I didn’t believe in omens I said sure.
Aha moments
Have you ever had one of those moments where you have had some nagging thought, which suddenly gains clarity with an aha moment. Here are two that I have had.
My best friend was living just 20 miles north of Yellowstone. I was visiting him and decided to drive down to the park and do some hiking and photography. I had come to a large meadow that had a herd of bison grazing. The path cut across the center of the meadow to a small rise. None of the bison were near the path so I quietly and slowly crossed, without incident, to the rise on the far side.