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
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When reading that quote about you shuffling or the spectator shuffling, I have to wonder first whether or not the author often hands his cards out for others to shuffle and second whether you yourself do...
I disagree, not entirely, but to an extent. Yes it is impressive to other conjurors, but you yourself said to respect the intelligence of your audience. They know that a magician must be skilled with sleight of hand. And so, they can assume that you can shuffle and control the outcome. Its much harder to control the outcome if they are shuffling... or so a layman would think.
I'm sure the material is fantastic, but I wouldn't disregard the effect of passing to shuffle in the company of the more clever spectator.
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