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Bob Wallace / Magic
← The Royal Road to Card Magic
Jean Hugard & Frederick BraueContents

Double-Lift Card Reverses

A. Top Card Reversal

B. Second Card Reversal

C. Second Card Reversal

One of the most effective climaxes for a quick trick is that in which a chosen card is found face upwards when the deck is spread face downwards on the table.

The following methods of secretly reversing a card make use of the double lift:

A. Top Card Reversal

In this method the top card is found reversed in the centre of the pack.

1. Hold the pack face downwards in the left hand, as for dealing, with the chosen card at the top.

2. Double-lift the two cards at the top and turn them over as one card, placing them face upwards on the pack. Square the pack and call attention to the card face upwards at the top.

3. Turn the left hand palm downwards, thus turning the pack face upwards. Shift the grip of the left hand, so that it holds the pack as for the glide . Tap the face card and call attention to it.

4. Draw off the top card, now the lowermost card, which was originally second from the top. It will be face downwards. Turn it face upwards, mention its name again as if refreshing your memory, and thrust it into the centre of the pack.

5. Make a single complete cut with the face-up pack, and the chosen card is reversed at the centre.

Note that the chosen card may be glimpsed by tilting the pack a little toward yourself in making the cut.

In this and the next two methods, cards with a white border should be used.

B. Second Card Reversal

In this method the chosen card is second from the top.

1. Hold the pack face downwards in the left hand, as for dealing. Turn the top card face upwards, and square it on the deck. As you do this, secretly push the second card a little off the pack to the fight, and slip the tip of the left little finger under it. Call attention to the card face upwards at the top.

2. Grasp the two cards at the ends, near the right corners, between the right thumb and middle finger. The break under the two cards held by the little finger makes this easy. Slide them to the right as one card, until their left side rests on the left finger tips.

3. Drop the left thumb under the pack and flip this over to the right so that it falls face upwards upon the two cards held by the right hand. Call attention to the card at the face of the pack.

4. Square the pack and make one complete cut, placing the chosen card at the centre in reversed position.

C. Second Card Reversal

The chosen card is second from the top.

1. Hold the pack face downwards in the left hand, as for dealing. Turn the top card face upwards and square it on the deck. at the same time secretly pushing the second card to the fight with the left thumb and slipping the left little finger tip under it.

2. Grasp the two cards above the little finger tip at the ends, near the right corners, between the right thumb and middle finger. Slide them to the fight so that their left edges rest on the left finger tips.

3. Push the third card, which is face downwards, off the pack with the left thumb. Flip it face upwards on the pack with the two cards held by the right hand. Calling attention to it, push it off the pack with the left thumb and take it squarely under the two held in the fight hand. This hand now holds three cards, the middle of which is face downwards, although the audience believes that only two cards are held.

4. Replace these cards on the pack, flipping them face downwards. The chosen card is face upwards below the top card. Make one complete cut to carry it to the centre of the pack.

This method differs from the others mainly in that the pack is not turned over.

Book contents

Front matter

  1. Title Page
  2. Preface

The Overhand Shuffle, I

  1. The Overhand Shuffle, I
  2. The Overhand Shuffle
  3. Using the Overhand Shuffle
  4. Overhand Shuffle Control
  5. Overhand Shuffle Practice Routine
  6. Tricks With the Overhand Shuffle
  7. Introduction
  8. Topsy-Turvy Cards
  9. A Poker Player's Picnic
  10. A Pocket Discovery
  11. Telepathy Plus
  12. Thought Stealer
  13. Pinkie Does It
  14. A Card and a Number

II. The Riffle Shuffle

  1. II. The Riffle Shuffle
  2. The Riffle Shuffle
  3. Riffle Shuffle Control
  4. Riffle Shuffle in the Air
  5. Tricks with the Riffle Shuffle
  6. An Instinct for Cards
  7. Mirror of the Mind
  8. Ultra Card Divination

III. Flourishes

  1. III. Flourishes
  2. Introduction
  3. Displaying the Top Card
  4. The Ruffle
  5. The Click
  6. Spread and turnover
  7. Springing the Cards
  8. A Flourish Count
  9. Throwing a Card
  10. Waterfall Shuffle
  11. The Fan
  12. One-Hand Fan
  13. Thumb Fan
  14. Pressure Fan

IV The Glide

  1. IV The Glide
  2. The Glide
  3. Tricks with the Glide
  4. Design for Laughter
  5. The Observation Test

V The Glimpse

  1. V The Glimpse
  2. Introduction
  3. Bottom-Card Glimpse
  4. Top-Card Glimpse
  5. Fan Peek
  6. Tricks with the Glimpse
  7. Gray's Spelling Trick
  8. Round and Round

VI The Key Card

  1. VI The Key Card
  2. Introduction
  3. The Key Undercut
  4. Key Undercut Shuffle
  5. Tricks with the Key Card
  6. Do as I Do
  7. The Three Piles
  8. The Twenty-Sixth Card
  9. A Meeting of the Minds
  10. The Non-Poker Voice
  11. Intuition with Cards
  12. Sliding Key Card

VII The Palm

  1. VII The Palm
  2. Introduction
  3. Top Palm
  4. Palm Glimpse
  5. Replacing Palmed Cards
  6. Tricks with the Palm
  7. Card in the Pocket
  8. Now You See It!
  9. Grab-Bag Card
  10. Good-Luck Card
  11. Do It and Fail
  12. Gathering of the Clan
  13. Spring Catch
  14. A Vested Interest
  15. Piano Trick

VIII The Backslip

  1. VIII The Backslip
  2. The Backslip
  3. Backslip Force
  4. Backslip Control
  5. Tricks with the Backslip
  6. Lightning Card
  7. The Tantalizer
  8. Under Your Hat

IX The Overhand Shuffle, II

  1. IX The Overhand Shuffle, II
  2. Injog and Break
  3. Overhand Break Control
  4. Overhand Lift Shuffle
  5. Lift Shuffle Force
  6. Spread and Break
  7. Holding a Break
  8. Spread and Break Control
  9. Tricks with the Overhand Shuffles
  10. The Sevens
  11. Obliging Aces
  12. Leapfrog
  13. Spectator's Card Trick
  14. A Poker Puzzle

X False Shuffles and Cuts

  1. X False Shuffles and Cuts
  2. Optical Shuffle
  3. Charlier Shuffle
  4. The Cut
  5. Palm Cut
  6. Tricks With the Shuffles and Cuts
  7. An Incomprehensible Divination
  8. Circus Card Trick
  9. Black Jack, Detective

XI The Double Lift and turnover

  1. XI The Double Lift and turnover
  2. The Double Lift and Turnover
  3. Double-Lift Glimpse
  4. Double-Lift Card Reverses
  5. Tricks with the Double Lift
  6. Rapid Transit
  7. The Trey
  8. Ambitious Card
  9. Throughth and Consequences
  10. Insidious Dr. Fu Liu Tu

XII The Pass

  1. XII The Pass
  2. Introduction
  3. The Pass
  4. Riffle Pass
  5. Spread Pass
  6. Spring Pass
  7. Tricks with the Pass
  8. Off Agin, On Agin, Finnegin!
  9. Kangaroo Card
  10. Righting a Wrong
  11. Blindfolded Pack
  12. Double Speller

XIII Miscellaneous Flourishes

  1. XIII Miscellaneous Flourishes
  2. Color Change
  3. Double Color Change
  4. The Changing Card
  5. Self-Cutting Deck
  6. A Pretty Cut
  7. Pop-Up Card
  8. A Bit of Byplay
  9. Charlier Cut
  10. Acrobatic Aces

XIV The Reverses

  1. XIV The Reverses
  2. The Reverses
  3. Reversed Location
  4. Tricks with the Reverses
  5. Spellbound
  6. A Tipsy Trick
  7. Double Reverse
  8. Mentalivity
  9. Mountebank Miracle

XV The Hindu Shuffle and Other Controls

  1. XV The Hindu Shuffle and Other Controls
  2. The Hindu Shuffle
  3. Hindu Shuffle Control
  4. Hindu Shuffle Force
  5. Hindu Shuffle Glimpse
  6. The Step
  7. Natural Jog
  8. Twelve-Down Riffle
  9. Tricks with the Hindu Shuffle
  10. All Change Here
  11. Ewephindit

XVI The Classic Force

  1. XVI The Classic Force
  2. The Classic Force
  3. One-Hand Force
  4. Bottom Force
  5. Slide-Out Force
  6. Two-Card Force
  7. Riffle-Break Force
  8. Sliding-Key Force
  9. Double-Lift Force
  10. Cut Force
  11. Tricks with the Force
  12. Justice Card Trick
  13. Fours of a Kind
  14. Pulse Trick

XVII Top and Bottom Changes

  1. XVII Top and Bottom Changes
  2. Top Change
  3. The Changing Card
  4. Top-Change Byplay
  5. Bottom Change
  6. Top and Bottom Changes

XVIII Arrangements

  1. XVIII Arrangements
  2. Arrangements
  3. Tricks with Arrangements
  4. The Selective Touch
  5. A Future in Cards
  6. Jacks Wild
  7. Think Stop
  8. Deal Away
  9. The Educated Cards
  10. Reds and Blacks

XIX Routines

  1. XIX Routines
  2. Routining Card Tricks
  3. A Table Routine
  4. A Rollicking Routine
  5. Card-Discovery Routine
  6. Razzle-Dazzle Routine

XX Platform Tricks

  1. XX Platform Tricks
  2. Conus Ace Trick
  3. Ladies' Looking Glass
  4. Everywhere and Nowhere
  5. Egyptian Pocket
  6. Cards to the Pocket
  7. Enlarging and Diminishing Cards
  8. Three Cards Across
  9. Everybody's Card, I
  10. Everybody's Card, II