More Mark of the Beast

As the name suggests, “More Mark of the Beast” is an alternate handling of “Mark of the Beast”, my bizarre magick variation of “Color Monte”. This approach offers significant benefits, such as enabling two of the cards to transform at the end without requiring a Braue Addition.

Image Credit: Marty’s Bag of Tricks via Canva.

It also includes a very deceptive ditch, leaving you with three regular, odd-backed Sixes at the conclusion of the routine. I’m confident many performers will appreciate these advantages and may even prefer this handling over the original.

JUMP AHEAD

On This Page

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

Effect

In poetic verse, you recount a story to your audience about a fateful game of three-card monte you played with a stranger who turned out to be the Devil in disguise!

You explain that you met a mysterious, well-dressed gentleman at a deserted crossroads. He had two identical Jokers and one Six of Diamonds. He asked if you wanted to play a game of, “Seek the Six.” The allure of the game was irresistible, and you foolishly agreed.

As the game unfolded, you found yourself unable to locate the Six. You then accused the stranger of having more than three cards. However, he showed you he only had three.

The stranger then offered to make the game easier by declaring the two Jokers to be the winning cards. Somehow, you still managed to pick a losing card! The stranger offered you one last wager: if you found a Joker, you would owe him nothing. If, on the other hand, you found a Six, he would win your immortal soul!

In a final twist, the two Jokers are transformed into duplicate Sixes—Six-Six-Six, the Mark of the Beast!

Here’s the poem that is recited as you perform the trick:

At night upon a darkened street,
A well-dressed stranger I did meet.
A hat he wore with bended brim,
Three playing cards he had with him.

“Care to win some precious gold?
A game,” he said, “from times of old.”
Greed betrayed my common sense;
My fateful game would now commence.

Beneath an old and twisted tree,
The stranger smiled and said to me,
“I’ll give these cards a little mix,
Two Jokers… and a single Six.”

The stranger, with his ghoulish grin,
Laid bare the rules for me to win:
“Seek the Six to beat the game,
But find a Fool, a coin I’ll claim.”

“Where’s the Six?” he said to me.
“On the bottom, plain to see!”
Then a Fool’s face met my gaze,
And left me standing in a daze.

One gold coin I had to pay.
“Win it back,” I heard him say.
“Another chance to change your fate.”
Foolishly, I took the bait.

“If not below,” I reasoned well,
“Above the Six must surely dwell.”
“Top or middle?” came his voice.
“The top,” I said and made my choice.

I cried, “It must be in between!”
That Six was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh dear!” the stranger said with glee.
“Three golden coins you now owe me.”

Three Jokers, what a clever trick!
I shouted, “You don’t have a Six!”
“Yes, I do,” the stranger sighed.
“A fourth coin, please?” he replied.

Instead of three cards, I saw more.
Instead of three, I counted four!
“Four playing cards my eyes can see!”
“No,” he hissed, “I’ve one, two, three.”

“Let’s make it easier,” he said.
“Why don’t you find a Fool instead?
Hurry up, it’s time to choose.”
The Six I found—another ruse.

At this point I began to fret.
Five coins I’d lost, one more to bet.
On the table the cards were dealt
The tingling of fear I felt.

“Your spirit or nothing,” came his call,
“Avoid the Six, or lose it all.”
Any Joker was my goal,
If not, the forfeit was my soul!

I lost the bet—the cards transformed,
The stranger changed, his face deformed.
The mark was made, my fate was sealed,
No mercy shown, no grace revealed.

The stranger shed his mortal guise,
Hellfire dancing in his eyes.
The fool I sought was truly me—
damned for all eternity.

And now I roam where shadows creep,
A phantom lurking in the deep.
Beware the game, the cards, the call—
Lest greed and pride destroy us all.

Background & Credits

This handling takes inspiration from a J.K. Hartman routine called “Monkey Business’ Uncle” (Card Craft, page 428). While playing around with the trick, I discovered that it was possible to perform the routine with an odd-backed Joker, enabling you to transform the back of the money card from red to blue, for example (and then transform the odd-backed card into a Joker). In “More Mark of the Beast”, the odd-backed card is never revealed in the packet itself, but is used to make the final transformation of the two Jokers into Sixes more impossible and difficult to backtrack.

Requirements & Preparation

You will need a blue-backed deck of playing cards containing at least one Joker. You will also need three duplicate Six of Diamonds with red backs.

Method & Presentation

Tell your audience you will perform a trick with “three special cards.” Remove the three red-backed cards from your pocket and drop them on top of the deck without letting your audience see the faces of the cards. Spread through the cards to display them. As you square them up, establish a little finger break below the top four cards of the deck. Lift all four cards off the deck, holding the cards in right-hand end grip. Place the deck in the centre of your performance space on the table.

Recite the first verse of the poem:

At night upon a darkened street,
A well-dressed stranger I did meet.
A hat he wore with bended brim,
Three playing cards he had with him.

As you say in the last line of the verse, perform a modified Mini-Ascanio Spread. Slide the top card off the top of the packet with your left thumb, displacing the card to the bottom of the packet. Once you’ve done this, contact the new top card with your left thumb and slide it to your left. This will leave you holding a double card in right-hand end grip. Move your left fingers and thumb about to make the two single cards wiggle around as you also move your right hand in a circular motion to emphasise that you’re holding three cards (?).

Square up the packet and hold the cards in left-hand dealer’s grip. Deliver the next verse:

“Care to win some precious gold?
A game,” he said, “from times of old.”
Greed betrayed my common sense;
My fateful game would now commence.

Recite the third verse:

Beneath an old and twisted tree,
The stranger smiled and said to me,
“I’ll give these cards a little mix,
Two Jokers… and a single Six.”

As soon as you begin the verse, perform a triple turnover to display a Joker. Repeat the turnover, then take the top card of the packet in your right hand, thumb on top and fingers below. Using your right fingers, perform a double turnover to apparently display a second Joker (?). Flip the double over, then perform a Pinky Pulldown (or buckle) to create a break below the top two cards of the packet. Grasp the two cards, as one, with your right fingers, holding it against the single card already there. Finally, as you say, “and a single Six”, use your left finger and thumb to flip the card remaining in your left hand face up to display the Six.

Tap the face of the Six with the three cards, held as two, in your right hand. Keeping the Six face up, slide it on top of the cards in your right hand and square up.

Now, say the next verse:

The stranger, with his ghoulish grin,
Laid bare the rules for me to win:
“Seek the Six to beat the game,
But find a Fool, a coin I’ll claim.”

Push the Six to your right with your left thumb. Turn your right hand palm down and grip the card by its top right-hand corner, with your fingers on top and your thumb below. As you say, “Seek the Six...”, raise the card to display it at chest height to your audience.

When you say, “But find a Fool...”, turn your left hand palm down briefly to flash the Joker on the face of the packet.

Deliver the next verse of the poem:

“Where’s the Six?” he said to me.
“On the bottom, plain to see!”
Then a Fool’s face met my gaze,
And left me standing in a daze.

Establish a left little finger break above the bottom card of the packet in your left hand. Lower your right hand and slide the now face-down Six into the break. Leave about half an inch of the card injogged. Next, use the fingers of your right hand to push the top card of the packet slightly forward, outjogging it by approximatley half an inch as well. Doing this clearly displays three cards in a stepped condition, hiding the odd-backed card below them. This is a particularly convincing display because there are no thick edges and the Six really looks like it is on the bottom of the packet.

As you say, “On the bottom...”, flick the outjogged Six with your right index finger. Slowly square up the cards before grasping the packet from above in right-hand end grip. Turn your right hand palm up to display a Joker on its face, as you deliver the last two lines of the verse (“Then a Fool’s face met my gaze, and left me standing in a daze.”)

Keeping your right hand palm up, regrip the packet with your left hand, returning the cards to left-hand dealer’s grip. As well as returning the cards to your left hand, this subtly rotates the packet end-for-end, ensuring that the Joker is correctly orientated for the next display.

Continue on with the poem:

One gold coin I had to pay.
“Win it back,” I heard him say.
“Another chance to change your fate.”
Foolishly, I took the bait.

“If not below,” I reasoned well,
“Above the Six must surely dwell.”
“Top or middle?” came his voice.
“The top,” I said and made my choice.

As you mention the top and middle, perform the Annemann Alignment Move (the first step in Marlo’s Quick 3-Way). Grip the three injogged cards with the fingers and thumb of your right hand (fingers on top, thumb below) and turn the three cards, as one, end-for-end, leaving them outjogged a little. Use your left index finger to push the triple card flush with the card below it.

Deliver the seventh verse of the poem:

The stranger cackled with delight,
In the fading evening light.
Another Joker! There it lay—
A second coin I had to pay.

After reciting this verse, flip the triple face down. Then, say:

I cried, “It must be in between!”

That Jack was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh dear!” the stranger said with glee.

Three golden coins you now owe me.

Start by taking the top card in your right hand. Then, tap the middle card with it as you say, “in between.” Next, use your right fingers to perform a double turnover to reveal the Joker for a third time. After that, flip the double face down again and drop the top card back on top of the packet.

Continue by saying:

Three Jokers, well imagine that!
I shouted, “You don’t have a Jack.”
“Yes I do,” the stranger sighed.
“A fourth coin, please?” he replied.

Perform a Mini-Ascanio Spread, stripping out the double card in right-hand end grip and displacing it to the bottom of the packet.

Situation Check: The blue-backed Joker is on the bottom of the packet. Above it are the three red-backed Sixes.

Flip the packet face up, holding it in left-hand dealer’s grip to display the Joker on its face. Turn your left hand palm down and perform the Glide, switching the Joker for the Six above it. Shake the card (like people used to mistakenly shake Polariod pictures to help develop them), then turn it face up to reveal it has transformed into a Six. As you do this, use your left index finger to push the Joker flush with the packet as you turn your left hand palm up.

While many magicians dislike the Glide, brandishing it a “beginner’s move”, it makes for a very effective  Colour Change in this context. Shaking the card is the magical gesture that apprently transforms it from a Joker into a Six.

Drop the Six in your right hand on top of the face-up packet in your left. Then say:

Instead of three cards, I saw more.
Instead of three, I counted four!
“Four playing cards my eyes can see!”
“No,” he hissed, “I’ve one, two, three.”

Turn the packet face down and perform a standard Elmsley Count to display four blue-backed cards. Then, when you recite the final line of the verse, throw the packet on top of the deck on the table, as if the stranger is angry at the suggestion he is cheating by using an extra card. This little bit of acting justifies returning the packet to the deck.

Pick up the pack, and deal the three red-backed cards to the table, snapping the cards to emphasise your really only have three. This action should be timed with the “one, two, three” count in the poem. Table the deck or, better yet, pocket it.

Deliver the next verse of the poem:

“Let’s make it easier,” he said.
“Why don’t you find a Fool instead?
Hurry up, it’s time to choose.”
The Six I found—another ruse.

As you say the above, pick up the three cards and mix them up. Then spread the cards and offer them to a spectator. It doesn’t matter which one they take, they will always find a Six. Take the card back from your participant, drop it on top of the packet, then give it another quick mix.

At this point I began to fret.
Five coins I’d lost, one more to bet.
On the table the cards were dealt
The tingling of fear I felt.

Deal the cards to the table, forming a row of three cards.

“Your spirit or nothing,” came his call,
“Avoid the Six, or lose it all.”
Any Joker was my goal,
If not, the forfeit was my soul!

Again, ask a member of your audience to pick a card. Turn it over to display a Six, as you deliver the next verse:

I lost the bet—the cards transformed,
The stranger changed, his face deformed.
The mark was made, my fate was sealed,
No mercy shown, no grace revealed.

Turn the other two cards face up to reveal the two Jokers have transformed into Sixes. Bring the routine to a dramatic conclusion by reciting the final two verses of the poem:

The stranger shed his mortal guise,
Hellfire dancing in his eyes.
The fool I sought was truly me—
damned for all eternity.

And now I roam where shadows creep,
A phantom lurking in the deep.
Beware the game, the cards, the call—
Lest greed and pride destroy us all.

Give your audience an opportunity to examine the three cards.

Cleanup & Reset

To clean up, cut and shuffle the deck so the Joker is no longer on top. Even if you choose to continue performing with this deck, the presence of a single blue-backed Joker should not give anyone any clues about how you performed “More Mark of the Beast”.

Alternatively, if you pocket the deck before finishing the final phase of the trick, you can keep the Joker in your pocket when you take out the pack to perform additional tricks. This way, there will be no Jokers in play, further concealing the method.

Replace the three red-backed Sixes in your pocket (or packet-trick wallet) to reset the effect.

Performance Tips & Additional Ideas

If you prefer not to perform the trick using the folklore-inspired “Card Players and the Devil” presentation, you can substitute the three Sixes with three duplicate Aces, Jacks, Queens, or Kings. In this case, you will need to create a new poem. Using three Jacks is an excellent alternative because “Jack” rhymes with several useful words, such as “pack”, “back”, “black”, “knack”, and “track”. You can incorporate all of these words into a three-card monte poem.

Final Thoughts

This version of “Color Monte” is deeply deceptive because the Joker is removed from play well before the routine concludes. While it’s not as practical as “Mark of the Beast” due to the requirement of three duplicate, odd-backed playing cards, I like that these cards imply the use of “trick cards”. In reality, the cards are entirely normal and can be examined by the audience to their heart’s content.