Chris Canada's Rising Card

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The Background

Travelling from Malaysia out to Thailand we took a minibus to Krabi on the coast of the Andaman Sea.  Not sure where we were going we teamed up with a Canadian girl called Chris.  Nobody remembers her surname - she just became Chris Canada.  We ended up in Rai Leh Beach - a backpackers paradise - for the next ten days.  There was much consumption of Beer, Mekhong Whiskey and other ... errrrm .... stuff.  So we don't remember much except this classic card trick that Chris Canada taught us.   Chris Canada we salute you !

The Effect

A volunteer cuts the pack and gives you half. Having fanned out the pack in your hand, the volunteer then pulls a card half way out and remembers it. You then shuffle the deck and miraculously make the card rise out of the middle of the deck.

The Method

This is a variation on a trick that I learned whilst travelling. The beauty of the trick is that you never actually know what the card the volunteer picked actually is. It may look complicated, but it's not really, and the effort put into getting it right has certainly stunned a few of my audiences!

  1. 1. Firstly get a volunteer to cut the pack. Tell them to cut it evenly.
  2. 2. Get them to give you one of the cut decks. This will prove that the cards could not possibly be stacked in any way.
  3. 3. Now fan the cards they've given you in one hand, with the values facing the audience. Whilst you are doing this hide the top card behind the rest so that they think the second card is the top card. This can be done by gently opening the pack and slowly moving the top card as you go.
  4. 4. Now say to the volunteer, 'OK, I would like you to choose a card and pull it half way out of the deck (ie don't remove it) and remember it'. Ideally you would like them to pick a card nearer to the top, as you will be counting them in a minute, and it cuts down on the chance is miscounting. If you can build this into the trick then well done!
  5. 5. Once they have pulled the card half way out you say 'I will now count which card you have picked from the top'. Now finger through the pack starting from the second card (which the audience thinks is the top card), counting out loud '1, 2, 3....' etc until you arrive at the chosen card (all this is done with the pack still fanned out in front of you so you can't see the cards). Count it again to confirm the position of the volunteers chosen card.
  6. 6. Now straighten the deck (ensuring you never see any of the cards), and deal the cards on to the table until you reach the number previously counted. Point at the card saying 'There's your card', and then put the counted cards on to the other deck (that were cut earlier), and put the remaining cards in your hand on top of that.
  7. 7. If all has gone well, although the audience thinks the card is buried, it should actually be the top card (please practice first!!!).
  8. 8. Now you need to shuffle the deck, ensuring that the top card stays at the top. I shuffle to the bottom and back up again, and if you can do that then that's brilliant. Alternatively you cut the deck and fan the two packs together (making sure you know which side has the top card, and ensuring that side drops last). I suppose you could get away with not shuffling at all, but the audience may get suspicious. I'll leave it up to you, but just make sure the card in question stays at the top.
  9. 9. Now for the finale. You need to split the deck into four piles, but it's the second pile from the left that should contain the top section (ie the top card) as so : 
    10.      X       X       X       X

   Cut 1   Cut 2   Cut 3   Cut 4

             ^

          Top Section
  10. 10. Now do the following (and listen carefully !). Take the top card of 'Cut 1' and place it half way down 'Cut 3' (so it's hanging off the edge). Take the top card of 'Cut 2' (which should still be the volunteers card) and place it flat on 'Cut 3'. Finally, take the top card of 'Cut 4' and place that half way down 'Cut 3' (the same as you did with 'Cut 1'). Now pile cuts 1 and 2 underneath 'Cut 3', and put 'Cut 4' on top of 'Cut 3'. I hope that makes sense !
  11. 11. What you should end up with is a deck with two cards poking out of the bottom. These two cards should have the volunteers chosen card sandwiched in the middle. Now hold the pack in your hand and gently stamp the two cards at the bottom. As this occurs, the card in the middle (the volunteers card) should rise out of the top. Make sure the card is facing the volunteer and the audience as it rises.
  12. 12. Take the applause and make sure somebody buys you a drink !

Observations/Tips

The basis of this trick relies on the fact that because you have hidden the top card when you fan the pack, the counting section is one out, and the card they chose remains at the top. When practising this trick, keep checking at each stage that the card is still there. Nobody likes to see a trick go wrong (especially you).

You may realise that once you've got the trick down, you never need to actually see the card. As long as you're confident that the card stays at the top. Even when the card rises from the top, it is facing the audience so you can't see it.

Please learn to fake shuffle. As I mention below, without a shuffle the trick looks clearly fake, and with a little practise you'll soon be able to keep the top card where it is and make it look like the deck is completely haywire. Having just quickly checked the Web, I couldn't see any shuffling sites. I'm sure you can.

Suggestions

People are very wary of tricks where they don't get to shuffle themselves. Although you shuffle the deck yourself (and if you're any good at it then they should still be impressed) they may think there's some deck rigging going on (which of course, there is !). I therefore recommend that you do this trick before any other tricks you may have, and before the audience becomes wary of your conjuring accumen!

The original variation had a different cut at the end where the original card that rises is wrong. You then accept a few guffaws and pretend the trick has gone wrong. But oh no, you turn the pack over, and the card rises from the other end. However I can't remember the setup, so you may want to work (it out it should be fairly straightforward).r

I've done this trick a number of times and people have forgotten what card they picked out. Don't ask me why. There's nothing worse than somebody staring blankly at you saying 'I think that's the one' after you've performed such a marvelous display. Get them to write it down if they look a bit simple!

richard_hawkes@yahoo.co.uk

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