The Grand School of Card Magic - The Spectator Cuts to the Aces: A Weird Visual?

2024-02-29

Card Magic Aces Deck of Cards Theory Any Audiences

Hey everyone!

This is my first post in the club (aside from my intro, that is). And before you dive in, fair warning, the question I want to ask is a bit hard to explain, so please bear with me for the rambling explanation ahead.

First off, I should mention I'm pretty new to all this.

I wanted to ask a question about the effect in the title ("The Spectator Cuts to the Aces") which is in Volume 1 of The Grand School of Card Magic.

When I started practicing it following the instructions, something felt off from the spectator's point of view—I'm talking about the external presentation of the effect—and maybe I just didn't understand it correctly.

To show you exactly what I mean, I'm linking a couple of YouTube videos demonstrating this specific performance (the links only show the resolution phase, which is what I'm referring to):

Both in the instructions and in the videos, at the end, the magician holds a packet of cards in hand, from which they separate the top card. This packet would be the leftmost of the 4 packets (from the magician's perspective).

Then, on top, they fan and add the top card of the second pile, then the third, and finally the fourth (from left to right).

But (AND HERE'S MY QUESTION), when the magician reveals that each of the 4 cards is an ace, they place them on their respective packets, again from left to right. However, if the spectator pays close attention, they'll notice that the cards *should* be placed from right to left, meaning in the reverse order of when they were "collected," since the topmost card in the magician's hand corresponds to the top card of the rightmost pile, not the leftmost one.

What's odd is that both the book's instructions and the two videos I linked perform it in a way where the audience can potentially spot this "paradox."

What do you all think? Is there something I'm missing? Am I obsessing over a non-issue? Is there a reason why we accept this discrepancy for some greater artistic benefit?

Thanks!

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@ricardorg2283

2024-02-29

Hey there! I'm a beginner too, and I'll share my take on it. Just to clarify, I watched the videos without knowing how the trick worked (I knew the name, but had never actually studied it).

I didn't find it odd to put the first face-up Ace (which was the card from the last packet) on top of the first packet.
I did get a sense that something was going on with the last packet, but I didn't know what until I looked it up in the book.
Once I knew what it was (a packet switch), I think it makes sense (from an 'inside baseball' perspective of the trick) to put the first Ace on top of the left packet. Since that's the one involved in the switch-out, putting an Ace on top of it immediately draws attention away from it (which is precisely what we want). In fact, it seemed very logical because he takes the left packet, then places the top four cards from each packet (working from left to right), and then places the four Aces from left to right.

That's my two cents.

Best,

@mendeslerendes

2024-03-01

Hey there,

Thanks for your thoughts.

Like you, it's clear to me that to ditch the packet we have in hand, this is a very natural way: we collect from left to right and place from left to right.

Upon further reflection after reading your reply, I don't think anything struck me as odd until I saw the second video, which made me reconsider if I'd truly understood the book, and it totally short-circuited my brain.... In that one, the effect is about 4 spectators trying to "cut to the highest card," and now I see this is what throws me off: if there are 4 spectators competing for the highest card, it's easier for one of them to say, "Hey! My card is the first one you flipped over, put it on my pile." However, in the book's version, the effect is about surprising the spectator when they realize they "have the power" to cut to the four Aces. In this latter presentation, there's a very low probability they'll pay attention to the order of the four Aces.

All the best!