Three Times Daley

As much as I love Dr. Daley’s Last Trick, the transposition effect with the red and black Aces is over too soon. So quickly, in fact, that many audiences are left craving more magic. Of course, you could perform another trick with the four Aces, such as Vernon’s classic packet trick “Twisting the Aces”, or use Dr. Daley’s Last Trick as the final phase of a longer four-Ace routine—“Henry Christ’s Fabulous Ace Routine” would be a good choice (see Professional Card Magic by Cliff Green, page 48). Daley’s trick is certainly powerful enough to provide a memorable finale to most four-Ace effects.

But what if you want to keep it as a standalone transposition effect? Well, in this situation, you can turn the trick into a multi-phase routine. “Three Times Daley”, as the name suggests, is a three-phase approach to “The Last Trick of Dr. Jacob Daley” that only involves the four Aces and is relatively easy to perform.

JUMP AHEAD

On This Page

Effect
Background & Credits
Requirements & Preparation
Method & Presentation
Cleanup & Reset
Performance Tips & Additional Ideas
Final Thoughts

Effect

The magician displays the four Aces. The Ace of Spades is dealt to the table. The other black Ace is held between the two face-up red Aces, outjogged by half its length. The Ace of Clubs is tapped against the Ace of Spades on the table. The card between the two red Aces is turned over—it’s the Ace of Spades! The card on the table is flipped face up—it’s the Ace of Clubs!

Next, the Ace of Hearts is placed on the table. The Ace of Diamonds is turned face up on top of the two black Aces. Somehow, the two red Aces still manage to change places.

Finally, the Ace of Diamonds is placed on top of the Ace of Hearts on the table. The spectator’s hands cover both cards. Under these impossible conditions, the red and black Aces transpose: the magician now holds the red Aces while the black ones are on the table.

Background & Credits

This trick, unsurprisingly, was inspired by “The Last Trick of Dr. Jacob Daley”, which can be found in The Dai Vernon Book of Magic by Lewis Ganson (1957, see page 210).

The trick shares some similarities with “Weighted Aces” by Gregory Wilson, which can be found on Gregory Wilson In Action (Volume 1).

Requirements & Preparation

The four Aces from a regular deck of playing cards.

Method & Presentation

Spread the Aces face up between your hands. Ensure that all cards are the right way up from the perspective of your audience. This isn’t strictly necessary, but I find it more aesthetically pleasing if the Aces are not upside down during the key magical moments of the routine.

Openly arrange the cards in Spade-Heart-Club-Diamond order, with the Ace of Diamonds at the face of the packet (this is known as SHoCkeD order). Take the Ace of Clubs and Diamonds in your right hand, leaving the Ace of Spades and Hearts in your left. Make small, circular motions with your fingers and thumbs to cause the cards to “squiggle”. This emphasises that you have four cards. It also facilitates the following displacement. Replace the right-hand pair on top of the two Aces in your left. Flip the packet face down bookwise, then repeat the “Squiggle Display”. However, when you return the right-hand cards to your left hand, slide them underneath the two cards already there. These innocent actions subtly displace the top two cards to the bottom of the packet.

Situation Check: The Aces are face down in the following order: AC-AD-AS-AH. The Ace of Clubs is the top card of the packet.

Perform a triple turnover to display the Ace of Spades on top of the packet. Regrip the packet from above in right-hand end grip. Rotate the packet one hundred and eighty degrees, replacing it in left-hand dealer’s grip (this is the exact same action as an all-around square up with the deck). As this happens, raise your left hand to a vertical position, so that your audience can get a better view of the Ace of Spades.

Begin the routine properly by saying, “You know, there’s something special about the Ace of Spades—it’s got quite the reputation as the most powerful card in the deck. A lot of people actually call it the ‘Death card’, and that’s not just because it looks dramatic. During the Vietnam War, soldiers would tuck it in their helmet bands or leave it for the enemy to find as an ominous calling card, and an effective form of psychological warfare—pretty intense stuff, right?”

This patter is important because it minimises the chance that your audience will forget which of the four Aces you will place on the table momentarily.

Continue by saying, “But here’s what’s really interesting—that elaborate design you see on the Ace of Spades? That actually comes from old English tax laws. Back in the day, playing cards were taxed, and the government required their official stamp on the Ace of Spades. And get this—if you tried to counterfeit that stamp, they’d literally sentence you to death! Talk about taking your taxes seriously!”

Flip the triple card face down and deal the top card of the packet to the table, as you say, “Oh, and here’s a fun bit of trivia—back in the 17th century, people used to call the Ace of Spades ‘Old Frizzle’. Nobody really knows why, but I love that name, don’t you?”

Push the top card of the packet to your right, then grip it in your right hand, fingers on top and thumb below. Turn your right hand palm up and, in the process, the Ace of Diamonds face up as well. Replace the card on the top of the packet, but position it so that it is injogged by approximately half its length.

Rotate the bottom card of the packet (the Ace of Hearts) face up, turning it end for end with the fingers and thumb of your left hand. Replace the card on the bottom so the middle card is outjogged by half its length. Your audience will presume that this is the Ace of Clubs when, in reality, it’s the Ace of Spades.

Transfer the cards to your right hand and, in dramatic fashion, tap the tabled card with the outjogged one in your hand. Return the three-card fan to your left hand and immediately strip out and rotate the centre card face up, replacing the Ace of Spades face up in the centre of the spread.

Pause a beat to let the first transposition sink in, then turn the card on the table over to disclose the new location of the Ace of Clubs.

Square up the cards in hand, then deal them, one card at a time, on top of the Ace of Clubs. Pick up all four cards, then flip the packet face down into a right-hand dealer’s grip.

Perform an Elmsley Count, injogging the third card of the count by a fraction of an inch. Push up on the injogged card and establish a left little finger break below the top two cards of the packet. Perform a double turnover to display the Ace of Hearts on top. Repeat the turnover, then deal the top card of the packet to the table, in the space previously occupied by the Ace of Clubs (and, before that, the Ace of Spades).

Take the top card of the packet and use it to tap the card on the table, as you say, “Please put your hand on the Ace of Hearts. Huh, hand on Heart!”

Replace the pointer card (the Ace of Diamonds) on the bottom of the packet. Turn the top card over bookwise to display the Ace of Diamonds in your hand. Say, “The Ace of Diamonds, or ‘Pig’s Eye’ as Bridge players call it, is here in my hand. Keep your eye on the Pig’s eye!”

You can now use any colour change that rotates the entire packet to make the two red Aces change places. For example, a standard Twirl/Shake Change works well. (To make the transposition more plausible, perform the colour change close to, or even above, the tabled card.)

Another good option is a Through-the-Fist Flourish Change. I do Vernon’s variant Through-the-Fist Flourish twice before performing a standard Through-the-Fist Flourish, which secretly turns the entire packet over as it is pushed through your left fist. The interesting thing about this approach is that your right thumb obscures the central pip on the Ace of Hearts, making it look like the Ace of Diamonds, which delays the change until you slowly pull the packet forward, displaying the Heart pip in its entirety.

You might also like to use Marc DeSouza’s Shapeshifter Change to affect the transposition.

Finally, perform a double turnover, then slide the top card of the packet under their hand and on top of the card already there (your audience will presume that this is the Ace of Hearts due to the implied transposition).

Tap the back of the spectator’s hand with your right fingers as you say, “Do you know what Hearts and Diamonds have in common?” Whatever answer is provided, say, “They can both be stolen,” as you gently lift their hand and turn the two cards over to display the two black Aces. Wait a moment, then use the fingers and thumb of your left hand to flip the two red Aces face up to finish the routine.

Cleanup & Reset

None needed!

Performance Tips & Additional Ideas

While this is undoubtedly a longer trick than the original, it still goes by quickly. For this reason, it makes an excellent opener to gain people’s attention and establish yourself as a skilful card magician.

If you’re lucky enough to be performing for polite company, then you might get away with putting the cards under the hand of a well-behaved spectator. However, if you’re performing for “grabby” or inebriated individuals, then I wouldn’t recommend this approach. Instead, put the Ace of Spades (?) under a glass and balance the Ace of Clubs (?) on top of the glass (or drop it inside, with its face towards you). You can then reveal the first transposition by rotating the glass towards your audience. The glass, which you’ve now established as a prop, can then be used to stop people from prematurely turning the cards over during the second and third phases.

Final Thoughts

This is a simple yet impressive three-phase rendition of Dr. Daley’s Last Trick. The handling is efficient, elegant and streamlined—each phase sets you up for the next. This one is so good, I almost kept it to myself! I hope you enjoy performing it for people.