Wedding in Wonderland

This is another romantic trick for couples. The method is relatively simple, relying on the Christ Force, Double Undercut, and Two-Card Catch. It also uses one of my favourite one-handed card productions (you can replace it with your preferred method, however, if you don’t like it as much as I do).

JUMP AHEAD

On This Page

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

Effect

A deck of cards is thoroughly shuffled. A female participant is asked to touch any card during a “one-card cartomantic reading.” This card will be her “romance card”. It’s the King of Hearts; this indicates her partner is a voracious lover because, as you point out, the King of Hearts is the only monarch in the deck with four hands!

Her partner is asked to do the same. He locates the Queen of Hearts! You turn to him and say, “Why did the King and Queen of Hearts get married? Because they were perfectly suited to each other! However, you’d better keep her happy, or it’ll be ‘off with his head!’”

You then say, “This situation reminds me of an old tale and nursery rhyme… How did it go? The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts; all on a summer’s day.” As this line is spoken, you spread the cards to disclose the Ten of Hearts face up in the centre of the face-down deck.

You continue by reciting the next part of the poem, “The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts, and took them clean away.” As you say this, you toss the deck into your left hand, catching two cards: the Ten and Jack of Hearts!

You complete the poem, placing the Jack and Ten alongside the King and Queen of Hearts on the table:

“The King of Hearts called for the tarts, and beat the Knave full sore; the Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts, and vowed he’d steal no more.”

You point out that all you need to complete a Royal Flush in Hearts is the Ace. You execute a one-handed cut, producing the Ace of Hearts from the middle of the deck. You use the Ace to scoop up the tabled cards.

As you lay the cards out on the table, you finish by saying, “Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. A Royal Flush in Hearts. You really are a winning couple!”

Background & Credits

The trick’s method is essentially a two-card force followed by a three-card production. 

The force used is the Christ Force, named after Henry Christ (his surname rhymes with “twist”). It is also sometimes called “The 203rd Force” and was first published in Ted Annemann’s 1934 booklet Sh-h-h--! It’s a Secret. This happened after the publication of his classic work, 202 Methods of Forcing, which inspired the unusual alternative title he gave it.

I’ve always associated the Two-Card Catch mechanics with Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser, although I’m not entirely sure if it originates with him. Here, it is used with one card face up and the other face down. To produce the Jack, you must immediately spread and rotate the pair, with your right index finger and thumb, to reveal the face of the Jack. This provides a novel and surprising way to produce the Jack under the guise of him stealing the Queen’s tarts!

The poem known as “The Queen of Hearts” is not as old as many believe. Contrary to the idea that it is an ancient folk ballad, the rhyme is relatively modern.

It was first published in 1782 in The European Magazine (Vol. 1, No. 4) in April of that year. It was published under the title “The Queen of Hearts” within a section called “The Hive: A Collection of Scraps”.

In the modern version, three verses are typically missing; initially, the poem had four stanzas, with the others describing the domestic strife of the Kings of Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds. The remaining three stanzas—which, believe it or not, involved wife-beating and the hanging of the Knave of Diamonds—were much less charming and quickly faded into obscurity, leaving only the “Hearts” stanza to survive. However, Iona and Peter Opie have argued that there is evidence to suggest that these other stanzas were later additions to an older poem. Here’s the poem in full:

The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts,
All on a summer’s day;
The Knave of Hearts,
He stole those tarts,
And with them run away. 

The King of Hearts
Call’d for the tarts,
And beat the knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back those tarts,
And said he’ll ne’er steal more.

The King of Spades
He kiss’d the maids,
Which vex’d the Queen full sore;
The Queen of Spades
She beat those maids,
And turned them out of door.

The Knave of Spades
Griev’d for these jades,
And did for them implore;
The Queen so gent,
She did relent,
And vow’d she ne’er strike more.

The King of Clubs
He often drubs,
His loving Queen and wife;
The Queen of Clubs
Returns him snubs,
And all is noise and strife:
The Knave of Clubs
Gives winks and rubs,
And swears he’ll take her part;
For when our Kings,
Will do such things,
They should be made to smart.

The Diamond King
I fain would sing
And likewise his fair Queen;
But that the Knave,
A haughty slave,
Must needs step in between:
Good Diamond King
With hempen string
This haughty Knave destroy,
Then may your Queen,
With mind serene,
Your royal bed enjoy.

Another widespread misconception is that it was composed as a nursery rhyme. It wasn’t. Once published, it evolved from a light satirical verse on the morality of the royal court to a popular children’s poem. Within three years of its release, it was set to music, aiding its dissemination beyond the printed page. 

In 1805, the essayist Charles Lamb significantly elevated the rhyme’s profile and popularity by publishing The King and Queen of Hearts: With the Rogueries of the Knave Who Stole the Queen’s Pies. This now rare illustrated book expanded the simple poem into a more detailed, extended narrative. 

Ultimately, the rhyme’s immortality was established by Lewis Carroll, the famous English poet, author and mathematician. In his 1865 classic children’s tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the rhyme plays a pivotal role as evidence in the trial of the Knave of Hearts (see Chapter XI, “Who Stole the Tarts?”). Carroll’s inclusion of the poem transformed it (and the Queen of Hearts) from a simple rhyme into a cultural icon. 

Its status in pop culture was further reinforced when Walt Disney Pictures adapted Carroll’s book for its 1951 animated film, Alice in Wonderland. In 2010, Disney released a live-action Gothic dark fantasy adaptation of the same story, directed by Tim Burton. This was followed by another live-action Disney film in 2016, Alice Through the Looking Glass, also directed by Tim Burton.

Requirements & Preparation

A regular deck of playing cards. Remove the Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of Hearts. Put the King of Hearts face up on top of the deck. On top of this, also face up, put the Ten. Then place the Jack, Ace and Queen on top in that order (all face down). The setup is as follows: QH-AH-JH-10H-KH (the 10H and KH are face up).

Method & Presentation

Let’s assume that you’re performing this routine for a bride and groom on their wedding day.

Begin by performing a standard overhand shuffle, retaining the top stock, followed by any additional false shuffle or cut. Explain that you are going to perform a “one-card reading” for the bride. Spread the cards between your hands, pushing the top few over as a block to hide the two face-up cards, and ask her to touch a card.

Without showing the face of the touched card, turn all the cards above it face up, allowing the upper portion of the deck to coalesce with the bottom. Spread to the first face-down card (the King of Hearts) as you say, “You could have touched any one of these cards.” Hand this card to the bride.

Turn the face-up cards face down. As you do so, use your left thumb to injog the face card of the upper portion by a fraction of an inch. Push up on the injog and establish a left little-finger break below it. Execute a Double Undercut to return the setup to the top of the deck. Repeat the force, leaving the groom with the Queen of Hearts.

Let the coincidence sink in, and then ask, “Why did the King and Queen of Hearts get married? Because they were perfectly suited to each other!”

After the groans have died down, look at the groom and say, “You’d better keep her happy, or it’ll be ‘off with his head!’”

Continue by saying, “You know, this situation reminds me of an old nursery rhyme… How did it go? The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts; all on a summer’s day.”

Perform Dai Vernon’s twisting motion on the entire deck. Spread to display 10H (the Queen’s tarts). Cut all the cards above the face-up Ten to the bottom.

Regrip the deck in your right hand, thumb on top, fingers below. Toss the deck into your awaiting left hand. Friction will cause the face-up Ten and face-down Jack of Hearts to be retained in your right hand. This is the Two Card Catch.

With your right thumb and fingers, spread the cards apart to form a vertical fan. Move your right index finger above the fan and begin rotating both cards towards your audience, with your right thumb positioned below the pair. This will bring Jack’s face into view. As this happens, say, “The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts and took them clean away.”

Allow the Jack to slide out of your hand and on top of the Queen. Flip the Ten face up and add it to the tabled spread as you finish the poem, “The King of Hearts called for the tarts, and beat the knave full sore; the Knave of Hearts brought back those tarts, and said he’d steal no more.”

To finish off the routine, give the cards a thorough shuffle, retaining the Ace on the bottom using a slip shuffle. 

Execute a one-handed cut production as follows: reposition the cards in your left hand in preparation for a Charlier Cut. As the bottom portion of the deck trades places with the top, contact the face card of the upper portion (the Ace of Hearts) with your left fingertip, pushing the card to your right and out of the apparent middle of the deck. Square up the cards, with the Ace ending up face-up on top. As the Ace emerges, say, “Even when someone steals all your tarts, just remember that, for a happy marriage, all you really need is love!”

Take the Ace in your right hand, place the deck on the table, and use the Ace to scoop up the other four cards on the table.

Display the face cards by using a Flushtration or Orion Count, as you say, “Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. A Royal Flush in Hearts. You really are a winning couple!”

Cleanup & Reset

No cleanup is required. To reset, place the cards on top of the deck in the correct order (QH-AH-JH-10H-KH; remember the 10H and KH should be face up).

Performance Tips & Additional Ideas

The success of the Christ Force relies on casual timing. Do not rush the moment when the participant touches a card. Treat it as a genuine attempt at cartomancy. When the bride touches a card, pause and look at her. Ask, “Are you happy with this choice, or does your intuition pull you elsewhere?” This conversational delay disconnects the selection from the subsequent mechanics, making the force virtually undetectable.

When reciting “The Queen of Hearts”, resist the urge to speed up your physical actions to match the natural rhythm of the poem. It is better to recite a line, pause to let the words sink in, and then execute the magical production (the spread, the catch, or the cut). This prevents the sleights from looking hurried and ensures the audience understands the connection between the lyrics and the cards appearing on the table.

Once the King and Queen have been found by the couple, the Ten, Jack, and Ace should be produced in quick succession. This helps provide a big finish to the routine.

If the one-handed Charlier Cut production feels too knacky or doesn’t match your style, you can use the Benzais Spin-Out (also known as the Pop-Out Move). This creates a visual “pop” that matches the energy of the Two-Card Catch.

At a wedding, the “Royal Flush” kicker is strong, but you can soften the gambling terminology if it feels out of place. Instead of calling it a “winning hand”, you might refer to the cards as the “Royal Wedding Party” instead. You can then gift the five cards to the couple as a souvenir. If you have a permanent marker, you could even have them sign the Ace of Hearts (the “Love” card) or write their wedding date on it after the performance.

It may be possible to develop a longer routine that involves reciting the whole, more unsavoury poem while producing the other Kings, Queens, and Jacks. This, however, would change the tone of the piece, making it much less romantic!

Final Thoughts

This enchanting routine possesses a romantic charm that makes it especially suitable for weddings and engagement parties, or as a feature performance piece in a Valentine’s Day magic show. 

The core appeal of this routine is further enhanced by its easy method. This makes it accessible to a wide range of practitioners, from absolute beginners just starting their journey in card magic to more seasoned card magicians seeking an elegant, high-impact piece with minimal technical difficulty. 

Give it a try; I have great confidence that you will discover it to be an effective, memorable, and crowd-pleasing piece of card magic, perfectly designed to captivate and delight an audience with its romantic narrative.