TlllNKI G THE IMPOSSJl3LE

The Mystery Card you remove from the deck is the fifth Joker,
which you pull from the pack apparently at random and set aside
without showing its face. Tben retrieve the other four Jokers and
spread them face up on the table. Ribbon spr ead the deck face up
for your helper to make a totally free selection, then gather the rest
of the cards and set them aside, face down, to make a clean pictu re
of the situation on the table: four face-up Jokers, the face-down
Mystery Card, and the face-up selection-we'll retain th e Six of
Hearts to play this role.
The card is signed-you explain- to prevent the possibility of
your changing it for duplicate-to make it unique. Don' t give in if
your helper appears to trust you blindly a nd says she doesn't need
to sign the card. The effect seems so impossible that, if the card is
not signed, they'll later suspect tbe use of a duplicate.
While everyone watches your helper sign the card, you pick up
the four face-up Jokers, square them and, with a Bottom Palm, steal
the rear one off the packet. Secretly load it onto the face-down deck
as you move it further out of the way. The pack is not required dur-
ing the rest of the trick, a nd your a ttitude should silently convey this.
You are disposing of it. Alternatively, if seated, you may lap the rear
Joker from the packet. I much prefer this, as the handling is more
direct, and al] evidence of your deceit is removed from the table.
Set down the Jokers (now only tbree) face up and neatly
sguared in a pile. All attention is still focused on the card being
signed and- if your audíence is being as vigilant as asked- on the
Mystery Card. The tríck, as far as they are concerned. has yet to
begin. Therefore, whether you palm the Joker or lap it. the process
should easily go unsuspected.
Drop the signed selection face up onto the pile of Jokers and
pick up the four cards. Openly transfer two Jokers, one at a time,
from the rear of the packet to the face, apparently positioning the

158
RA!vlÓN RIOBÓO

selection in the middle. In reality, two Jokers are above it and only
one is below it.
Point to the Mystery Card and say, "That Mystery Card could
be any card from the deck except the Si:x of Hearts, which is here
among the Jokers and bears your signature." As you say this,
take the packet into right-band end grip and slide the first Joker
off the face and into your left hand. Peel off the next Joker in the
same fashion and catch a little-finger break under it. Slide off the
signed selection next, simultaneously stealing the second Joker back
beneath the right hand's packet. (Por further details on this Biddle
Steal, see p. 16.) Aftermal<ing the Steal, pause briefly in your display
of the cards as you say the name of the selection (Six of Hearts).
Irnmediately resume the action, peeling off the next Joker,
then set the last one on top of the left hand's cards, leaving them
unsquared, so that two Jokers are clearly seen on top of the signed
selection (PHOTO 2).

159
 THINKTNG TIIB IM POSSJJ3LE
With this casual display, you have seemingly shown four Jokers
w ith the selection in the center of them. The sleight is not difficult
and is aided by the fact that all attention is focused on the position
of the signed card.
Set the packet face down on the table and say, "Let's now imag-
ine we have just traveled back in time for one minute. Remember
that a minute ago."-point at the pile on the table--"there were
only the four Time Travelers here, and in fact. .. "
Pick up the pile and spread the four cards or drop them sin-
gly to the table, face down, to stress that there are now only four,
not five. Whichever way you choose to do it, casually manage the
signed selection to the top of the group. Meanwhile. you continue
to explain, " .. . since we have gone back a minute in time, there are
only four Jokers."
Please do not present tbis as if the card has disappeared. Rather,
treat itas if, through a strange metaphysical force, the card hasn't
yet arrived at its temporal destination.
Turn the four cards face up, and perform a Jordan Count to
show four Jokers. This secretly brings the selection third from the
face. You may instead u se an Undergroun d Elmsley Count here
(putting the last card underneath), but to do so, you must posi-
tion the selection second from the back, rather than on top of tbe
packet. to arrivc at the desired result.
Turn the packet face down. On top is a Joker, followed by the
selection, then the other two Jokers.
Flip the top Joker over on tbe packet, displaying its face, and
drop it face down onto the table. In doing this, use actions that
imítate those of a Do u ble Turnover, so that they appear conslstent
with the next display. While displaying and tabling this Joker, say,
"Remember, I told you they work in pairs, and that. .."

160
RAi\iIÓN RlOBÓO

The selection is now the top card of the three you hold. Perform
a Double Turnover to show another Joker. Turn the double face
down again and drop the top card (the signed selection) onto the
tabled Joker.
Show the next card (another Joker), usiog actions simulating
those of your Double Turnover, and drop it face down onto the
table, separated from the two cards already there (a Joker and
the selection).
Show the last card (anoth er Joker) and drop it face down onto
th e third card as you complete your senten ce: ".. .if you put any
card between the pairs of Jokers, it would travel in time."
With your left hand, pickup the pair that contains the selection
and, by means of a Flushtration Count, casually sh ow two appar-
ent Jokers.
After the display, you'll h ave the signed selection face dowh in
your right h and, anda Joker in your left hand, which you turn face
up there.
You can elirninate the Flushtration Count, if you Iike, and just
take the top card face-dovm into your right hand as you snap the
Joker face up in your left hand. In either case, modify your grip on
the face-down selection in your right hand, so that you hold it by
its right side, thumb above and fingers below.
As you focus your attention and the audience's on the Joker
being turned face up in your left hand, use th e face-down selec-
tion to scoop up the Mystery Card from the table. As you do this,
the right side of the selection will lie naturally to the right of the
Mystery Card.
1n a con tinuing action, you carry the pair to the left hand. Con-
cealed by this broad action, your right thumb pulls the Mystery
Card to the right, until the left edge of the selection lies to tbe left

161
 TUINKING TllE IMPOSSIBLE

of the Mystery Card (PHOTOS 3 and 4). In other words, you slide
the two cards in opposite directions until their relative positions
are exchanged.
When your right hand meets the left, set tbe righl hand's lower
card, the selection, face down onto of the left hand's face-up

162
 RAMÓN RTOBÓO

Joker. At almost the samc time, turn the right hand's Joker face up
(PHOTO 5 ). It will appear as if the face-down card were the Mystery
Card from the table, and that the Joker you have turned face up in
your right hand were tbe card you used as a scoop.
Place the right hand's Joker onto the left hand's two cards and
set ali three in a spread on the table (two face-up Jokers sandwich-
ing the face-down Mystery Card). Tben turn up the remaining two
Jokers and add one to each end of the spread (PHOTO 6).

163
 THINKING THE IM POSSJBLE
Conclude by explaining that, through time travel, one card can
be in two places at once. Then have your helper turn over the face-
down selection to provide the proof for your claim.

CONDITIONING THE SPECTATORS

I feel it important that secret actions are masked within the flow
of completely natural actions. Therefore, I advise, for this trick
and others, that you perform similar-looking honest actions when
introducing the effect.
For this trick, I bring out the Jokers and drop them singly and
face clown onto the table. I then use a Jordan or an Elmsley Count
to display the faces of the Jokers, while I explain that they are time
travelers. By doing this. I have conditioned the spectators to this
method of display, so that they more readily accept the actions as
natural when I use them later for a less honest purpose. Note that
I actually do the sleight, rather than mimicking it, even though a
false display isn't necessary at this point. I want the actions to be
identical whenever possible.
I next take any card from the deck, show its face and place it
face down on top of the pile of face-up Jokers. Using actions very
close to those I will need to use later, I transfer two of the Jokers
from the rear of the packet to the face, and then peel off the cards
into my left hand, but without doing a Biddle Steal. to show two
Jokers above the face-down card, and two below it. While doing
th..is, I explain that any card placed in the middle of the Jokers will
travel back in time. With this I have conditioned the audience for
another sleight.
I drop the Jokers singly to the table, forming two face-down
sets of two, as I explain that the Jokers work in pairs. The face-
down card is placed sorne d..istance from them. Again, I make
these actions look like those I will do later, including the Double

164
RAMÓN RIOBÓO

Turnover and the two-card Flushtration Count, actually execut-

ing the sleights, so that tbese and my future actions will conform
as closely as is possible.
Then, justas l will during the actual trick, I use one of the Jok-
ers to scoop up the face-down card I put on the table, and leave it
on top of a face-up Joker in my left hand. Here, though, you must
be careful not to do the switch you have practiced so rnuch, or
things will be over far too soonl
I next explain that, if I puta card between the Jokers and add
two other Jokers, the card will travel into the future. Again, I
match my actions precisely to those I will use later. In this way, I
have made the spectators comfortable with ali the actions that will
conceal the sleights to follow-or at least I've made a good attempt
to do so. Since these actions are now familiar to them, they will
pay less attention to them when .l do them the next time.
While I go through this visual conditioning, I talk about the
impossible things that are about to happen, building interest and
anticipation in the effect to follow. Then, returning the indifferent
card to the deck, I begin tbe actual performance.

165
 '!
. t :
, l

'!
,••....
'1 .-,
1 ' .
' 1 :
'. 1 _;' • _l, ·. !. . \
f -·; l
l' •_¡
1 ' ' -:
J t. j l ' 1
_, 1 •'; 1 : 1 • .J
.¡ r !
, 1 ; ! 4

' :1
1
··1 •

.. i . i !
..,_

) ) ))) ) »> )) » ) »>) ) })) »> ») »

is a ncw version of the ancíen t "Clock Trick". It is my favorite ver-
THIS
sion of the trick, probably because, although it is founded on the
classic method, I have structured it to my own taste. Jt is very
deceptive and not difficult to perform.

- EFFECT
Someone shuffles the deck, then removes any twelve cards to
represent the twelve bours on a clock-face. He thinks of one of

167