This began when I received an e-mail from Bill Nagler. He had worked out a way to spell to most any card in a deck stacked in Aronson Stack order. (The exceptions are the two or three cards on top and bottom. They are revealed in other ways.) What follows is Bill’s list. A “+1” means that you spell down and turn up the NEXT card. When spelling a suit, you will usually use the plural form. (Diamonds not diamond.) The final letter will be an “s” and that’s what Bill means by “turn over s card.” In the case of the Queen of Spades and Four of Clubs you will use the suit name minus the “s.” (Spade and Club)

1-JS-turn over top card
2-KC-double lift
3-5C-triple lift
4-2H-spell two +1
5-9S-spell nine, +1
6-AS-spell spades, turn over s card
7-3H-spell hearts, +1
8-6C-spell six clubs, turn over s
9-8D-spell diamonds, +1
10-AC-spell ace of clubs, turn over s card
11-10S-spell ten of spades, turn over s card
12-5H-spell five of hearts, turn over s card
13-2D-spell two of diamonds, turn over s card
14-KD-spell king of diamonds, turn over s card
15-7D-spell seven of diamonds, turn over s card
16-8C-spell the eight of clubs, +1
17-3S- spell the three of spades, +1
18-AD-spell the ace of diamonds, count 1 card for ace, +1
19-7S-spell seven spades, count 7 cards, +1
20-5S-spell the five of spades, count 5 cards, turn over last card
21-QD-spell queen of diamonds, spell a 6 letter name, turn over last card
22-AH-spell ace of hearts twice, turn over s card
23-8S-spell eight spades twice, +1
24-3D-spell the three diamond twice, turn over last card
25-7H-spell the seven of hearts, spell a 9-10 letter name, show card
26-QH-spell the queen of hearts, spell a 9-10 letter name, show card
27-5D-from face, spell the five of diamonds, spell a letter name, show card
28-7C-from face, spell the seven of clubs, spell a letter name, show card
29-4H-from face, spell the four of hearts, spell an 8 letter name, show card
30-KH-from face, spell the king of hearts, spell a 7 letter name, +1
31-4D-from face, spell the four of diamonds, spell a 4 letter name, +1
32-10D-from face, spell the ten of diamonds, spell a 4 letter name, +1
33-JC-from face, spell the jack of clubs, spell a 5 letter name +1
34-JH-from face, spell jack hearts twice, show t card ?????
35-10C-from face, spell ten clubs, count 10 cards, show last card
36-JD-from face, spell the jack of diamonds, show s card
37-4S-from face, spell the four of spades, +1
38-10H-from face, spell the ten of hearts, +1
39-6H-from face, spell the six of hearts, show s card
40-3C-from face, spell three of clubs, +1
41-2S-from face, spell two of spades, +1
42-9H-from face, spell nine hearts, +1
43-KS-from face, spell king spades, show s card
44-6S-from face spell six spades, show s card
45-4C-from face, spell four club, show b card
46-8H-from face, spell hearts, +1
47-9C-from face, spell clubs, +1
48-QS-from face, spell spade, show e card
49-6D-from face, spell a 4 letter name
50-QC-from face of deck
51-2C-from face count 2 cards
52-9D-turn over bottom card

            While this was an interesting exercise, Bill himself points out that some of these situations are not particularly strong because there is no good reason to combine spelling and counting, or to spell something twice. Still, just having any card named and then spelling to it is a pretty strong effect. I filed it away and made a note to come back to it one day and see how it might be strengthened.

            Flash forward in time a few months. I received another e-mail... this one from Scott Cram. He shared another interesting idea. His thought was to combine the premise of Darwin Ortiz’ “Remote Control” from Card Scams and Fantasies with a spelling procedure that was devised by David Harkey and Eric Andersen for the effect “Outsmart” in their book “Ah-Ha.”
The Nagler concept was to just have a card named at random. This is, clearly, a very free selection. But, it’s clear to everyone that the magician knows the card. That weakens the effect, perhaps. In Remote Control, Darwin’s idea is to introduce a second deck into the proceedings. The spectator shuffles one, while the magician shuffles the other. One deck is boxed and placed into the spectator’s pocket. (This is the newly introduced deck, which the magician has false shuffled. It’s set up in a memorized deck order.) Then, the spectator is allowed to peek at a card in the deck he shuffled. It seems fair, but the magician gets a glimpse so that he knows the card. He then divulges the location of the card in the boxed deck that is in the spectator’s pocket. (Except in the case of the 51^st or 52^nd card. In those cases, he magically produces the card.) Scott’s idea was to spell the word(s) suggested by Harkey and Andersen to reveal the location of the duplicate of the peeked at card in the boxed deck. Here is the Harkey/Andersen list:

1 - Top Card

2 - Double Lift

3 - "IOU"

4 - "Fate"

5 - "Magic"

6 - "Magic"+1

7 - "Magical"

8 - "Illusion"

9 - "Illusion"+1

10- "Impossible"

11- "Impossible"+1

12- "Favorite Card"

13- "Impossibility"

14- "Impossibility"+1

15- "Our Favorite Card"

16- "Our Favorite Card"+1

17- "Your Favorite Card"+1

18- "My Very Favorite Card"

19- "Our Very Favorite Card"

20- "Our Very Favorite Card"+1

21- "My Favorite Playing Card"

22- "My Favorite Playing Card"+1

23- "Your Favorite Playing Card"

24- "Your Favorite Playing Card"+1

25- "My Very Favorite Playing Card"

26- "My Very Favorite Playing Card"+1

The bottom 26 are spelled with the deck held face-up (As you spell, turn the cards face-down, so that the deck will remain in your memorized stack order):

27- "My Very Favorite Playing Card"+1

28- "My Very Favorite Playing Card"

29- "Your Favorite Playing Card"+1

30- "Your Favorite Playing Card"

31- "My Favorite Playing Card"+1

32- "My Favorite Playing Card"

33- "Our Very Favorite Card"+1

34- "Our Very Favorite Card"

35- "My Very Favorite Card"

36- "Your Favorite Card"+1

37- "Our Favorite Card"+1

38- "Our Favorite Card"

39- "Impossibility"+1

40- "Impossibility"

41- "Favorite Card"

42- "Impossible"+1

43- "Impossible"

44- "Illusion"+1

45- "Illusion"

46- "Magical"

47- "Magic"+1

48- "Magic"

49- "Fate"

50- "IOU"

51- Glide

52- Bottom Card

            Here, in Scott’s words are some tips on learning this list:

            These phrases are memorized, along with the mental images used in the memorization of your stack. The trick here, since so many of the phrases are similar, is to create images for them that are vastly different, so as not to create confusion.

To distinguish between "Magic" and "Magical", for example, I picture my favorite magician performing a feat with my mental images to represent "Magic". For "Magical", I imagine a "magi-GAL" (an actual club, BTW!) modeling on or around the card/position images.

When it comes to all the "favorite card" variations, I use substitute words related to the initials of each phrase - "MFPC" for "My Favorite Playing Card", "YFC" for "Your Favorite Card" and so on - and then come up with images for them - "MaFia PiCK" (someone the Mafia has "picked" for good or bad), and then associate that with my card images. Anytime I see "MaFia Pick" in my mind, I know to spell "My Favorite Playing Card". "Your Favorite PaCK" becomes "Your Favorite Playing Card", and so on.

Once you have the words memorized, you need to find natural ways of using them when you need them. For "IOU", David Harkey suggests, "If I can't find your card, I owe you a deck of cards. As a matter of fact, spell I-O-U."

For the 1st, 2nd, 51st and 52nd cards, the original "Outsmart" routine suggests that you talk about their card being a lily pad (for the 1st or 2nd cards), or a rock (for the 51st and 52nd cards), in a pond. You tell them to imagine they are pushing down their lily pad, and watching it rise back up (or, conversely, they are watching their rock sink to the bottom of the pond). You then reveal the card appropriately.
            Note that this list is not specific to any particular Memorized Deck, while the Nagler list above assumes an Aronson Stack. Since that’s what I work with, the rest of the article will assume that particular stack. However, if you work with a different memorized deck, you can still use much of what follows.

            My first thought was that I could strengthen the Nagler list by substituting some of the Harkey/Andersen spellings. I also liked some of the “outs” that Mike Close uses in his routine “Jazzin” in Workers Five. And so I set out to create a routine that would combine the “best” of all of these into one.

            First, for my work, I dismissed Darwin’s idea of having a card peeked at; with it’s subsequent glimpse. My feeling is that the important thing is that ANY card is FREELY selected. And having a spectator just name a card out loud is as free as it gets. Besides, since a spectator names a card, you are in a position to “assume” later that it’s his favorite if you will be using that word in your spelling to it. But, the idea of having the boxed deck in the spectator’s pocket is also good. So, I first ribbon spread the memorized deck which is already in play face up. I comment that it’s pretty well mixed up. Then, I give it a quick false shuffle, box it and have the spectator put it in a pocket for safe keeping. I now do one of two things to have the card “chosen.” First, a spectator is chosen in some random manner. (Tossing a ping pong ball works fine.) They then just name any card they wish. But, a “fun” way to do this is to introduce a second deck of cards, and have the spectator shuffle it thoroughly. Now, you get them to toss the deck high into the air and the cards just shower down onto the floor! It will take some coaxing on your part to get the spectator to do this. But it’s festive and memorable. Then, another spectator just bends down and grabs any card they like. (They show it to the entire group, of course, and that includes you.) Again, it’s clear that the choice is a free one. Now, you will retrieve the second deck from the spectator’s pocket and locate the duplicate of the chosen card in that deck. In most cases, you will be spelling to it in one way or another. So let’s look at my list, and some of the alternatives.

            First, I really like to involve the spectators as much as possible. So, if one of the helpers is named Bob, and if you luck out and the card is 3^rd or 50^th (3^rd from the face,) you can spell his name. I use one person to toss the cards and another to pick up a card at random because you double your chances of being able to spell their name. (If you used Bob and Mary, you can get to the 3^rd card, the 4^th card, the 49^th card, and the 50^th card.)

            Of course, I can get several outs using my name as well. While my first name is Dennis, my friends often call me “Den” or “Denny”. That gives me cards at the third, fifth, sixth, forty seventh, forty eighth, and fiftieth positions. In the list below, understand that when I suggest that you can spell “Den” or “Denny” or “Dennis,” I’m suggesting that you can use a 3, 5, or 6-letter name. It can be your own, of course, or a spectators. You may want to use your full name. If I spell DENNIS LOOMIS from the Top, it takes me to the Five of Hearts. From the Face, I get to the Two of Spades. If I spell DENNIS RICHARD LOOMIS from the top, I get to the Seven of Spades, and from the face, I get to the Jack of Hearts. You may want to learn where spelling your full name, with and without the middle name will take you.

            Of course, you can double the possibilities when you spell something by turning either the card on the last letter, or the next one. This is probably better when the deck is face down. However, there’s a nice alternative, when you are spelling from the face and would like to use the “next card” ploy. As you take the letters one at a time, table them, pocket them, or transfer them to the bottom. On the last letter, you act surprised that you are wrong. Offer to magically make it right and do the Erdnase Color Change to change the wrong card into the chosen one. This will leave two cards out of order in your stacked deck. One way to fix this is to say: “Of course this is just an illusion. The card really is ...” Then you do the Erdnase Color Change again and change the card back to what it was.

            When working with the face down deck, an alternative to the “next card” ploy is attributed to Patrick Page by Mike Close. You turn up the card on the final letter. But, it’s incorrect. You act surprised. Then you do a top change. You then blow on the card, or some other “moment of magic,” and show the card your are holding has become the correct one. You’ll find this described in the “Jazzin” section of Mike’s book: “Workers 5.”

            What follows is my annotated list of my  “favorites” from the sources mentioned above. If you elect to learn this, you may want to look at the Nagler and Harkey/Andersen lists above to see if you prefer something else. In many instances, I will list alternative procedures.

1. Okay, they happen to name the top card of the deck, the Jack of Spades. If you cannot make this into a miracle, you may want to give up magic. I suggest not touching the cards yourself. Let a spectator just open the box and show the top card. But first, build it up with your patter!

2. You can apparently do the same thing, except that you have to handle the deck so that you can do a double lift turnover. Alternatively, do a big build up, take the top card into your right hand, and when you show it you are WRONG. Then do the Top change ala Patrick Page to “rescue” the situation.

3. Spell IOU. (See Harkey patter above.) or DEN.

4. Spell FATE. Or spell “TWO” (fourth card in Aronson Stack is the Two of hearts. Either turn next card or use the Pat Page Top Change out.

5. Spell MAGIC, DENNY  or NINE  +1 (The Fifth Card in the Aronson Stack is the Nine of Spades,) and turn next card or do Page Ploy.

6. Spell MAGIC +1. Or DENNIS.

7. Spell MAGICAL. or DENNIS +1 or HEARTS. (7^th Card in Aronson Stack is the Three of Hearts.

8. Spell SIX CLUBS

9 Spell ILLUSION +1, or count 8 +1, (Card is Eight of Diamonds)

10 – 15. These cards are set to spell in the Aronson stack, so spell their name, omitting “the,” including “of,” and using the “s” on the end of the suit.

16. Spell THE EIGHT OF CLUBS +1.

17. Spell THE THREE OF SPADES +1.

18 to 36. For these, use the Harkey/Andersen word(s) above. Remember that once you pass 26, you will spell from the face of the deck, not the top. For the five instances (27, 29, 31, 33, and 36) in which you use the +1or next card ploy, I like using the Erdnase Color change to transform the “wrong” card into the right one.

 Again, for the rest of the cards, you will be spelling or counting from the FACE of the deck.

37. Spell THE FOUR OF SPADES, +1

38. Spell THE TEN OF HEARTS +1

39. Spell THE SIX OF HEARTS

40. Spell THREE OF CLUBS +1 or IMPOSSIBILITY

41. Spell TWO OF SPADES +1 or FAVORITE CARD

42. Spell NINE HEARTS +1

43. Spell KING SPADES or IMPOSSIBLE

44. Spell SIX SPADES or ILLUSION +1

45. Spell FOUR CLUB or ILLUSION

46. Spell HEARTS + 1 or MAGICAL

47. Spell CLUBS +1 or MAGIC +1 or DENNIS

48. Spell SPADE or QUEEN or Denny

49. Spell FATE or four letter name.

50. Spell IOU or DEN

51. You can use a glide to show that the card was on the bottom of the deck. Or, build up that the card is on the bottom, and when the deck is removed, you’re wrong. Then use the Erdnase Color Change to transform the Nine of Diamonds into the Two of Clubs.

52. See notes on 1. This is another miracle if you sell it properly.

In his description of Remote Control, Darwin mentions that he often gives away one of the decks, and continues to work with the stacked deck. It makes a good way to bring in a stacked deck. If you use my idea of having the deck tossed into the air, when you’re done, say: “If anyone will volunteer to pick up all of the cards, you may keep them as a souvenir.” If someone does, then give him or her the empty box.

            All of these “outs” are not too hard to learn if you are used to thinking on your feet a bit The first nine are quite easy, and with numbers this small, you can “rethink” the procedure should you forget what to do. Simon Aronson has already taken care of 10 to 15 for you. For 16 and 17 are also the card names, but you add the word “THE” to your spelling and use the +1 ploys. . Cards 18 to 36 are the Harkey/Andersen word(s). The mnemonic samples from Scott Cram on learning the various “favorite” words or phrases will help. After the Harkey/Andersen phrases from 18 to 36, you go back to spelling the card names. As you are now working from the face, the patterns you use are getting shorter. Remember cards 37 to 45 this way:  First, you have three cards ( 37, 38 & 39) where you go back to spelling the FULL card names. (That means you use “the” and “of” in addition to the value and suit.) For the next two cards (40 & 41)  you spell the name, but leave out “the.” For the next three cards (42, 43, & 44) you spell only the suit and value. And finally, for the 44^nd card you drop “the,” “of,” and the final “s.”

            By the way, when spelling from the face, it’s not always important to know if you are going to end on the final letter or the next letter. If you get to the final letter and it’s not the card, you know that you are in a +1 situation. You can decide if you just want to continue directly to the next card, or to use the Erdnase Change ploy. Thanks why I didn’t bother you with whether or not you are in a +1 situation for the cards 37 to 45 above. It’s easier to remember the pattern, and then just spell. You’ll see as you get to the end whether the card on the final letter is the proper card or not. If not, use one of the +1 procedures.

            Above 45, the numbers are so small that it’s not hard to figure out what you are going to do should you forget. But here’s a tip: Remember that to determine how far a card is from the face of the deck, you subtract it’s stack number from 53, not 52! For example the 46^th card (the eight of hearts) is seven cards from the face, not six. Just keep that in mind and you’ll see that the numbers from 46 to 52 will give you no trouble.

            Finally, you can decide for yourself whether you prefer to make this a single effect, and quit after the first selected card is found in the second deck. The alternative is to use this to begin a “Jazzin” session. You now continue by having another spectator pick up a card at random from the floor or just naming a new card. How long you want to go on is up to you. But, you really need to have a strong finish. For that, I can do no better than to refer you to Mike Close’s original Jazzin in “Workers 5.” Parts of his routine will vary, but he always knows how he’s going to end. His ending is a killer effect from David Williamson, but you’ll have to read “Workers 5” for that story. If you don’t have it, order it right now from Loomis Magic. At the same time, you better pick up Darwin Ortiz’s “Scams and Fantasies with Cards” and David Harkey and Eric Andersen’s book “Ah-Ha.”

 Scams and Fantasies with Cards - Darwin Ortiz $32.00

Workers #1 - Michael Close $16.00
Workers #2 - Michael Close $16.00
Workers #3 - Michael Close $32.00
Workers #4 - Michael Close $16.00
Workers #5 - Michael Close $32.00

AH HA! - David Harkey $24.00

    If you already do "Jazzin," I hope that you’ve learned a few more outs.

UPDATED OCTOBER 15, 2004