a triumphant _colour stunner

8/18/2019 A Triumphant _Colour Stunner

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“A TRIUMPHANT COLOR STUNNER”

The following finesse is my way of cleaning up Derek Dingle’s “Color Triumphant”. Thefirst person to attempt this was Paul Harris with his brilliant “Color Stunner”. I performedboth of these versions way back in the mid 1980’s. As is often the case, you tend to forgetroutines that you started with.

Last year, I purchased “Enchantments” by Wesley James. In this book Wesley James ex-plains his “personalised” approach to the original routine by Derek Dingle. In reading thisapproach, it inspired me to re-visit this wonderful effect. I decided to add this effect onceagain to my professional repertoire. However, I felt the routine needed to end “clean” be-cause at the climax, nothing must interfere with the spectators attempts to pick up the

deck, because trust me, they will. In the original routine, there where two extra cards inthe deck and you had to palm them out before continuing with the rest of your act.

From the title, you can tell that I have combined elements from Paul Harris’s routine to theDerek Dingle routine and changed the “moment” of a few things and at the same time“amplified” the levels of “assumptions” to such a pitch that the climax will be a knockout.

Here is the set up for the “Triumphant Color Stunner”

You will need three cards from a blue backed deck: The two Jokers plus any high valuedpicture card. Let’s assume the picture card is the King of Spades. Take one of the Jokers

and with the Joker face up, make a corner short of the upper left and lower right corners.(Photo 1)

Take a red back deck and permanently remove King of Spades and the two Jokers thatcome with the deck. Place on top of this deck the three blue back cards in this order: TheCorner Short Joker, the King of Spades and finally the remaining Joker. The selection is inbetween the two jokers and the top card of the deck will be the Corner Short. (Photo 2)


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Place this combined deck into a blue card case with theblue backs uppermost. (Photo 3)

This deck is reserved only for this effect: This brings me

to an important point; in the past, the recommendationwas made that the Color Changing Deck should be usedto open your act, I disagree. This effect is so “shocking”and “astonishing”, nothing should follow it. Obviouslyyou can follow it with other effects but you would be di-luting the impact.

So for what it is worth, I feel this routine should be thelast thing your audience should "experience". Thismeans that a deck switch is required at some point in theprocess. Now, switching decks is not a big deal. All that is required is management and

timing and the excellent Pocket Switch by Francis Carlyle is all you need.

So, with this thought in mind, place this deck into your outside left Jacket pocket. With aregular blue back deck, you can now present some of your favorite effects and at a givenpoint in time, put the deck into the box and go to place it into your left side jacket pocket.Execute the Francis Carlyle “Pocket Switch” as you come out with apparently the samedeck. (?)

May I advise you not to go straight into this effect after the deck switch, do a coin effect orsome other effect to allow some time-misdirection to kick-in. What I sometimes do is exe-cute the Pocket Switch as my right hand removes from my trouser pocket some coins. All

the emphasis will be on the coins so it will appear that the deck was never out of sight.After the coin effect, put the coins away and offer to do one last effect. Now you are readyto present the finale.

The Handling

Pick up the card box with your right hand and flip theflap of the box open with your left thumb. (Photo 4) Theleft fingers can grip the encased deck and withdraw itfrom the box. As this is done, the audience will see ablue back (?). As the deck is removed from the box it is

a simple matter to maneuver the deck into a face downdealing position in the left hand. The right hand can nowplace the card box off to one side.


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As you patter, casually spread off the top two cards. You must be careful here not to ex-pose any of the red-backed cards lying beneath the top card. To ensure this doesn’t hap-pen, I take a precaution by securing a break beneath the top two cards prior to spreadingthem into my right hand. (Photo 5 and 6)

Square up the deck and raise up both hands so that the back of the deck is towards you.The right thumb now breaks the deck at about a quarter of the way down. The left thumb islying across the top of the deck. The right hand now moves the top fifteen cards away tothe right as the left thumb applies downward pressure on the top card. This card will re-main in place as the right hand carries away the block of cards. This action is the standardSlip Cut. The top card will now land on the remaining cards in the left hand covering thered backs. The timing of this action should happen as the both hands move upwards toprevent accidental exposure of any red-backed cards. (Photo 7) While the deck is in thisneck-tied position, the left thumbs peels off one more card from the right hand section.

This card will land directly onto the cards into the left hand (Photo 8)

As this card is being removed both hands can now lower so that the right hand is nowback upwards. The audience will see the backs of three cards. (Photo 8) From this posi-tion, square up the entire deck with the right hand section going on top of the cards in theleft hand.


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Position Check: From the top down: Blue-Backed Joker-About 15 Red-Backedcards-Blue Backed King of Spades -Blue-Backed Joker (Corner Short)-Rest of theRed-Backed Deck.

What happens next is a simple force of the Blue-Backed King of Spades; this is easilydone by raising the deck up for the standard “Spectator Peek Force”. The King of Spades

is lying directly above the Corner Crimped Joker, about sixteen cards from the top. Exe-cute the standard riffling procedure for a “Spectator Peek” using your right first or secondfinger. (Photo 9) Ask the spectator to call out “stop”. Try and time the riffle so that thespectator will say “Stop” as near to the Corner Short Joker. Due to the Corner Short, therewill be an automatic “Stop” and break in the deck. With practice, this will appear to be avery fair procedure to the spectator. As soon as the says “Stop”, just accelerate the rifflingof the deck to the “corner short”. The spectator is asked to remember the card at thatstopped point. (Photo 10) which will be the King of Spades.

NOTE:

If you want, you can allow other spectators to remember the selection just by mov-ing your hands around so that everyone can see the card. Once you have done this,allow the deck to close and square up into the dealing position.

The right hand now comes over the deck and the right thumb riffles up on the inner leftcorner of the deck. The deck will stop and break at the Corner Short Joker. (Photo 11). Asyou do this say, “I will attempt to find your card by the process of elimination”. Once thedeck has stopped at the Corner Short, the left little finger enters the break just enough for

the tip of little finger to provide extra support. This will allow the right thumb to release onemore card which will rest right on the tip of the left little finger.(Photo 12)


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The right hand now out-jogs the upper packet for half its length. The left little finger is stillmaintaining its break. (Photo 13)

The out-jogged packet is now turned end for end face up onto the cards in the left hand.

As this packet lands face up, the card above the left little finger is stolen behind this nowface-up packet. The right thumb actually takes hold of this card and maintains the breakbetween the card and the rest of the packet. (Photo 14) During this action say to thespectator, “is this your card”?

Continue your patter with, “How about this one”? As you deliver this line of patter, your leftthumb dips beneath the outer left corner of its packet and flips the packet over. The leftfingers extend to the right to assist this action. (Photo 15) The left hand packet is now faceon the left fingertips. From this position, re-position the packet into dealing grip (Photo 16)


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The right hand packet is now placed flush onto the left hand cards. The right thumb hasbeen holding a break above the bottom card of its packet through out the above sequence.Once the right hand packet is placed onto the cards in the left hand, the left little finger willtake over the break previously held by the right thumb. (Photo 17)

If you take a look at photograph 17, you will see that the break is identical to the famousTilt position. This upper packet must be in this position because the left fingers now pressdown on this packet as the left thumbs dips beneath the outer left corner of the entire deckand flips the entire deck over onto the left finger tips. This will result in the whole deckresting on the left fingertips with the lower section of cards stepped to the right. This willexpose the back of two blue backed cards. (Photo 18)

The right hand now takes the whole deck from above as the left fingers pull down on the

lower stepped packet securing a break at that point. (Photo 19) This lower packet is nowcut to the top and a break is held between the two packets once again. (Photo 20)

Position check: From the top down: Blue Backed Joker-about 15 Red backed cardsface down-Blue Backed Joker-Remainder of the Red-Backed Deck face down-face-up King of Spades on the bottom.


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You will now cut the deck into three packets as follows:

The right hand cuts off all the cards up to the break and places this packet down to yourright, the audience will see two blue backs. (Photo 21)

The right hand will cut the remaining cards in half, but you will execute what amounts to aHalf-Pass to prevent any red-backed card from flashing. The right hand approaches thecards in the left hand from above. The right thumb breaks this packet in half at the rearend. (Photo 22)

The right hand will now remove this upper packet above the break and place it onto thetable to your extreme left, but before the right hand begins moving, the left fingers swingsthe lower packet downwards, this is the standard action for the Half-Pass. (Photo 23)

Once this happens, the right hand begins moving this upper packet to the left. The righthand moves directly in front of the left hand. The right forearm will provide good cover asthe left thumb moves onto the face of its packet and flips the packet over onto the left fin-ger tips. (Photo 24)


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From the audiences point of view, all they will see is another packet in the left hand with ablue back card on top. The remaining packet is placed onto the table between the first twopackets. (Photo 25)

Position check: Packet on the far left is face downwith a blue backed card on top – The centre packet

will have all its cards face-up with one blue backedcard face down on top – The right hand packet willbe face down with one blue backed card face downon top.

This sequence looks very convincing, practice it so thatyou can do it smoothly without fumbling. You will nowshuffle the packets together in a face up-face downmanner.

The left hand packet is turned face up and shuffle into the apparent face down centrepacket, When executing this shuffle make sure you start the shuffle with the face uppacket first and end the shuffle with the right section falling last with the blue backed cardfalling last. This will ensure that one of the blue-backed Jokers remains on the bottom ofthe packet. I would also suggest using a “closed” style of Riffle Shuffle to prevent any ofthe red backed cards from flashing. (Photo 26)

Once you have shuffled the packets together, push them together and then allow the audi-ence to see the face-up, face-down condition of the cards. (Photo 27)


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This combined packet is now squared up using the standard Erdnase Square-up, usingthe second fingers of both hands to push the two packets together. (Photo 28)

To continue the shuffle, the right hand turns over thepacket on the far right and proceeds to shuffle thispacket into the remainder of the deck. With this shuffle,

begin the shuffle with the right hand section first, re-leasing one card. This will be the remaining blue-back joker. The left hand follows through by releasing a fewcards from its section and then both hands shuffle nor-mally. The right hand must allow one card to fall on toplast. After this shuffle, square up the deck and hold it indealing grip in the left hand.

Position check: The entire deck will be face-up. The selection will be face down un-

der the top face up card. The blue-back Jokers will on the bottom of the deck. Theaudience will be convinced that the deck is mixed face-up and face down. You willnow consolidate the condition of the deck with a wonderful application of the “Tilt”principle. This idea was Paul Harris’s from his original version “Colour Stunner”

Secure a break under the top three cards and position these three cards into “Tilt” position.(Photo 29) If you use “The Pinky Count” to secure your break, you will find it an easy mat-ter to maneuver the three cards in the required “Tilt” Position.

The right thumb slides off the top face up card, as this card is being withdrawn, the audi-ence will see a face down blue backed card. (Photo 30)


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This card is inserted into the body of the deck. (Photo 31) The face down card now on topof the deck is removed by the right fingers and inserted beneath the now face up card ontop of the deck. Throughout this procedure, you should have been maintaining your “Tilt”break. The face down card is inserted into the Tilt break creating the “Illusion of depthprinciple”. (Photo 32-front view) This illusion is perfect, it will appear that the face downcard is actually be inserted into the body of the deck.

Continue this procedure by removing the face-up card now on top of the deck and insert-ing into the body of the deck. The face-down blue backed card (which is the actual selec-tion) is now removed and inserted into the middle of the deck.

The audience will have seen a complete mixture of face-up and face-down cards. Younow put the deck onto the table and perform a magical incantation, snap your fingers or

whatever. The right hand now executes a Ribbon Spread to show all of the cards facedown except for one card face down in the middle. (Photo 33) In the next photograph(Photo 34), notice that the two Jokers are conveniently together at the rear end of the deckon the left.


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At this point, say to the spectator, “You could have chosen any card in the deck, by anychance, did you choose one of the Jokers”? As you say this line of patter, remove the twoJokers from the left end of the spread and hold them up. (Photo 35)

The spectator will say “No” At this point you say, “Well, I hope it is this one”. As you saythis line of patter take both Jokers into your right hand and use both Jokers to gesture to-wards the face down card in the middle of the deck. When making this gesture make sureyou flash the backs of both Jokers, (Photo 36) This will consolidate the blue backed condi-tion of the deck right up to the last moment.

Ask the spectator to name his card, as you place bothJokers into your outer breast pocket of your jacket. Thisaction will clean up the effect with both Jokers now out of

the way and there is nothing to dilute the final “colourchange”. When the spectator names his card, remove itfrom the spread and reveal it in the customary manner.(Photo 37)


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This will get a very strong response from the audience. Now for the “kicker”: Here is mypatter to sell the climax.

“Can you keep a secret? Well, I’ve been using marked cards. Are you familiar with markcards? This card has minute imperfections in the printing, which makes it stand out fromall the others. You can stare at this card all day and not see the difference; you have to

compare it with the rest of the pack. You see, these cards are marked also but they aremarked differently”.

As you deliver the above lines of patter, pick up the selection and hold it with its back to-wards the audience pointing to various points on the back of the card. (Photo 38)

Place the selection back down onto the table and pick

up the card box. I pick up the card box as I say theline of patter; “you have to compare it with the rest ofthe pack”. As I say this, I tap the box with my forefin-ger. (Photo 39) The card box is now placed in front ofthe ribbon spread. Notice in the next photograph(Photo 40) that the ribbon spread is in-between theface down selection and the card box. This visual pic-ture adds further consolidation of a “blue –back deck”


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For the finale’, say to the audience, “You see, these cards are marked also, but thesecards are marked differently”. As you say this line of patter, the left hand scoops up thedeck into the waiting right hand. (Photo 41)

The right hand grasps the inner end of the deck to turn it over into the left hand. (Photo 42)The deck is turned face down, end for end, away from the body into the left hand. As thedeck is being turned over, keep both hands raised up so that the back of the left hand istowards the audience. This will conceal the “true” condition of the deck right up to the verylast second. From this position, the right hand can re-grip the deck from above and imme-diately ribbon spread the deck in a wide arch so every single card is exposed to reveal themiraculous change of the deck from blue to red. (Photo 43)

The Final Layout

That completes the effect.


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Final Thoughts:

The Color Changing deck is simply an outstanding effect in all of card magic. What makesthis effect so profound is the sheer scope and magnitude of the event. There are many

effects in magic where the back of a single card changes color but to have the whole deckchange is simply staggering to the consciousness of any audience. What makes this ef-fect so powerful, is the levels of assumptions at work. If you use this effect as I suggest asa closer, the audience will have no reason to believe you are not using a blue deck. Thehandling has been designed to strengthen the notion of a blue deck. You could use thiseffect as an opener but anything following it will lose its impact, plus you will dilute the im-pact of the initial effect.

The “Tilt” sequence comes from “Color Stunner”, Paul Harris’ s version of the effect. Ihave always loved Derek Dingle’s handling but the deck was “dirty” at the end with threeextra blue cards still in the deck. I feel the deck should free of any extra cards. Paul Har-

ris made a very successful attempt to clean up the Dingle routine and in so doing he cre-ated what is an outstanding version for this effect.

In returning to this effect, I began to see the full structure of the Dingle routine and startedto re-work it using some of the finesses from the Paul Harris routine. The use of two Jok-ers plus the “Tilt” sequence really made the Dingle routine “perfect” for me. In the originalroutine of Paul Harris, he removed the Jokers right at the beginning of the effect. In myversion, I have saved the removal right to the end of the effect. This accomplishes severalthings. It cleans up the Dingle routine and at the same time, it allows me one more con-solidation of the deck seconds before it changes color. In the mind of the spectator, theywill “think” they see the deck visibly change color right before their eyes. This is an awe-

some moment. I have presented this effect hundreds of times and I can say with 100%certainty, If you give it the practice it deserves, it will give you a lot of pleasure to see thelook of total “astonishment” on the faces of your audience, that’s what its all about.

ENJOY


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Credits

Charles T. Jordan 1916

Paul Curry and Oscar Weigle first released The Color Changing Deck in 1944.

Color Triumphant first appeared in Dingle’s Deceptions: written by Harry Lorayne.

Color Stunner by Paul Harris first appeared in The Magic of Paul Harris.

For further study you might want to check out:

Dai Vernon’s Color Changing Deck in Inner Secrets of Card Magic volume one page 25

Greek Poker by Darwin Ortiz: Darwin Ortiz at The Card table page: 66

Transmutation by Larry Jennings: Larry Jennings on Card and Coin Handling

a triumphant _colour stunner

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