Monday, January 12, 2009

Things I learned from Charles Jordan

Every once in a while you come across an old book that is absolutely brilliant. Charles Jordan, and all of his books are brilliant! I love the material, the thinking of the time was revolutionary and even today the effects are very solid. I've started using the material almost exclusively so as to not rely on my time tested stuff just to see the reactions and my god the tricks are just brilliant. So, here is a few things learned from Thirty Card Mysteries by Charles Jordan. I don't usually make posts like this but for those with the cajones to delve into Mr. Jordan's world I'd love to share a few favorites of mine. Enjoy.

"9 times out of 10, a trick is just as effective if the performer does all the shuffling himself. As a rule, it is only when conjuring for conjurers that a shuffle by a spectator adds to the impressiveness of a feat." -Charles Jordan

For those interested in some Charles Jordan material, pick up Thirty Card Mysteries and take a peek at the following:

The Premo, pg 7
With The Mind's Eye, pg 19
The Bare-Faced Detection pg 26
Leave it to the Aces pg 36

"It may interest the reader to know that a piquet of 32 cards, prearranged, may be brought back to perfect order by shuffling it with absolute precision five times; but it requires considerably more skill to handle that many cards without a mishap." -Charles Jordan