Case of the Missing Diamonds
Effect: The Queen of Diamonds is shown, but upon closer inspection there are no pips on the card; all of the diamonds are gone – stolen! The Queen is placed face down on the table. Next Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called into the case (the Ace and King of Spades). The deck is half-faroed together to form a mugshot file, one half is riffled, and a robber is recognized by a spectator (a card is chosen). The police enter the premises with more jewels in hopes of the robber returning to the scene of the crime. The deck is shaped into a gun, a bullet loaded into the gun, and the gun is fired. "Eureka!" shouts the magician as the villain is shot out of the deck; it is the selected card! The case has been solved, and the diamonds have been returned to their rightful owner, for when the Queen is turned face up, everyone sees that all of her diamonds are back on the card.
Items: You need to erase or shave the diamonds off a Queen. My suggestion to you is to remove the pips from the Queen of Hearts. In this manner, you only ruin one deck, and no one will ever know.Items: You need to erase or shave the diamonds off a Queen. My suggestion to you is to remove the pips from the Queen of Hearts. In this manner, you only ruin one deck, and no one will ever know.
Performance: Like I said before, this is an old Peter Kane effect which works with a faro control. Most of you have seen it performed before and probably have seen it in print as well. Essentially the deck is partially faroed (this means that the two halves are weaved but the shuffle is not completed), and the upper stock is riffled. The idea is to get a break in the lower stock right below the selection. Then a card is 'loaded" into the break of the gun (turn the halves at right angles to each other to form the gun), and this "bullet" is driven sharply into the deck with a flick of the fingers (hit it the way you would propel a fly off your hand). The net result is that the "bullet" is driven into the selection, and the selection gets propelled upwards and out of the deck.Performance: Like I said before, this is an old Peter Kane effect which works with a faro control. Most of you have seen it performed before and probably have seen it in print as well. Essentially the deck is partially faroed (this means that the two halves are weaved but the shuffle is not completed), and the upper stock is riffled. The idea is to get a break in the lower stock right below the selection. Then a card is 'loaded" into the break of the gun (turn the halves at right angles to each other to form the gun), and this "bullet" is driven sharply into the deck with a flick of the fingers (hit it the way you would propel a fly off your hand). The net result is that the "bullet" is driven into the selection, and the selection gets propelled upwards and out of the deck.
The transformation of one Queen for the other is accomplished via a double lift. Have the blank Queen second from the top, lift your double to show her, replace her face down, and then deal the top card fairly onto the table.
Ruminations:Ruminations:
1. Some of you may find a variation of this in print elsewhere by Marc DeSouza. The patter and routine is quite good and is his creation based upon my gimmicked cards including a card with jail bars on it and another of a king holding a mini playing card in his hand. Together, all three special cards made for a complex effect.
2. Yet another way to perform the robber location could be to adapt the "Find the Burglar" effect in Tarbell, Volume 1, page 225. It's much simpler than a faro location.
3. Making cards into characters in your story can be helpful and a fun visual. First, it helps your audience identify certain cards, and secondly, it serves as a means for following what might be a confusing effect. Think about how many times you've done a difficult trick only to have your audience ask, "So, big deal. What happened? I don't understand. What was the idea of the trick?" Lastly, this approach lends humor to what can often be a very dry area of magic.