Balanced Blackjack
by Oliver Meech

Oliver Meech is a 27-year old Oxford University Psychology graduate who creates TV commercials when he's not creating illusions. His first magic book, The Plot Thickens, is available from www.olivermeech.co.uk

I don’t usually perform gambling routines but I like this one because of its hands-off nature and inherent time misdirection.

Effect
The magician switches in a winning hand under impossible conditions.

Preparation
Arrange a face down deck in the following order from the top (any mix of suits will do): Queen, Ten, Two, Ace, Eight, Seven, rest of deck.

You will need to perform this on a non-slippery surface so that you can balance two cards against each other without their bases slipping.

Method
Mention that people often comment that they wouldn’t want to play cards with you. Offer to illustrate why they might be right.

Ask for a volunteer who has played Blackjack. Declare that you will make the game easier for them and harder for you. Warn the spectator not to touch the table or even breathe too heavily during what follows.

Announce that you will deal a hand of Blackjack. Give the deck a riffle shuffle that retains the top six cards, followed by a false cut.

Deal the top card face up into their hands (the Queen), the next face up onto the table for you (the Ten) and the third face up into their hands (the Two).

Say that you’ll make it easier for them by letting them glimpse your hole card. Perform a triple turnover onto the deck, leaving the Seven showing face up. Ask them to remember it then turn the triple face down again. Immediately deal yourself the top card (the Ace) face down.

If there’s a third spectator watching, hand them the rest of the deck to look after for a moment. If not, table it.

Say that you will now it harder for you, by balancing your cards against each other, so that any suspicious moves would cause them to topple. You must balance them without exposing the face of the Ace. To do this, stand your cards upright on their short sides, with the Ten facing the spectators and the Ace facing you. Lean them against each other so they form an upside-down ‘V’. Keep your fingers near the top as you let go. This way, if they aren’t yet balanced, you can catch them before they fall and expose the Ace. If they do start to topple, reposition the bottoms until the cards balance.

Gently pick up the deck again as you ask the spectator if they would like another card. Since they currently have Twelve and you have Seventeen, they must request another to stand a chance of winning. When they do, deal the top card (the Eight) face up into their hands. Point out that they now have Twenty to your Seventeen so they have won…unless you can secretly switch your Seven for an Ace.

Jolt your empty hand a fraction of an inch and ask if they saw you go near the cards or saw them topple. They should say no. Reply “good” then lean forward and riffle the cards near your balanced cards to blow them over. The Ace is revealed to show that you now have Twenty One.

Notes
You could deal more than two hands. However, this increases the size of the stack and adds little to the effect.

Make sure the spectator(s) are sitting directly opposite you to ensure that the Ace isn’t exposed prematurely.

To improve the angles, you could balance the cards with both faces inwards. In this case, the Ace would be the card nearest the spectator, with its back facing them. The downside of this is that the Ten is harder to see.

Oliver Meech