Faro Simulator as a stand-alone Windows executable

Someone asked me if I could code the faro simulator as a stand-alone windows app, so they could use it without being on-line. So I did 🙂

You can download a zip file containing the file faroSetup.exe at http://robertjwallace.com/faro/faroSetup.zip

Download the zip and unzip the file to get the installer. Run the installer. It should work, but use it at your own risk. It doesn’t access anything on your computer or track anything. Note that when you run the installer you may get a “Windows protected your PC” message. That is just telling you that Microsoft sees me as an unknown publisher. If you get the message, click the more info link and then click the run anyway button.

A wall mounted control panel for home assistant

While not the most glamorous, or largest, or most expensive control panel, this meets my needs perfectly. I wanted a small control panel, using Home Assistant, mounted by my front door that I could use for controlling my garage door, to turn off all the lights, etc. I wasn’t interested in spending any money for a tablet to mount or a touch screen. My solution was to re-purpose an old Android phone I had laying around. By having this right by the door I don’t have to pull my phone out of my pocket and start up Home Assistant to do the set of things I want to do leaving or entering the house.

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Faro coincidence

Boy the world has changed! When I was young if you wanted to learn magic you had to hang out at a magic store. A real brick and mortar building. To get to the real good stuff you had to make friends with the magician behind the counter and prove your worth. If you were lucky they might show you something more than “Scotch and Soda”. They might recommend a really good hardback book on magic, but those books weren’t cheap. You had to pay your dues, so to speak.

Today you have the Internet. The brick and mortar stores are almost completely gone. I miss them.

Anyway, while I was surfing the web I found this self-working coincidence trick that looked interesting. Now like a lot of these tricks on the Internet, this one had several “kickers” to the coincidence effect. Go ahead and take a moment to look at it. It is at https://youtu.be/9KhQrR5uqN8?si=2rnxeBWteVBaXC7m .

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A slightly modified Erdnase Stack

The one aspect of the Erdnase Stack that I have never liked is the undercut and throw during the second part of the stack. Below is the description of the four card stack for a five handed game with that step in bold:

FOR any game in which cards are dealt singly. Three of the desired cards are placed on top, one on bottom. Under-cut about one-third deck, injog top card, run two less than twice number players, out-jog and shuffle off to last card, so that it will be left on top. Under-cut to out-jog, forming break at in-jog, run one less than number players, throw to break, run one, in-jog running one less than twice number players, out-jog and shuffle off. Under-cut to in-jog and throw on top. Under-cut to out-jog, run one less than number players and throw balance on top. This gives the four desired cards to the dealer in four rounds.

Erdnase, Expert at the card table

Normally during an overhand shuffle you don’t simply cut a block off and throw it to the top. Instead, what I do is what was done in the first halve of the stack, namely, undercut to the out-jog and form a break at the in-jog. Then as I start the second part of the shuffle, I let the cards below the in-jog drop onto the top of the deck as I run one less than the number of players. This effectively hides the throw and reduces the right hands shuffling motion.

I think it makes the shuffle more deceptive.

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)

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