Four Ace Production…

Here’s a little four ace production I thought of a few nights ago.

I have a feeling the book Principa by Harapan Ong led to this, it feels like several of the ace productions in that book.

The work is pretty simple, you need the four aces on top of the deck. They alternate face down and face up, with the uppermost ace face down.

Take the deck and slip cut two cards (a face down and face up ace) off the top of the deck on the lower have. Do a faro shuffle, it only needs to be a perfect faro for the first four cards and leave the cards outjogged (don’t complete the shuffle).

Your left index finger pops the top card off the top forward half and the thumb on your other hand does the same with the top card of the inner half. When you do that the four aces will be face up.

It’s it the best, or most practical four ace production? Probably not.
Was it fun to play with? yes

Do what you want with this new knowledge!

Ace Production…

In yesterday’s blog post I wrote about a four ace production that I saw on social media and why it wasn’t good. This morning I’m going into my social media and found a four ace production from about a year ago. If I remember correctly this is from Principia by Harapan Ong.

Here’s why the is a better trick that the one that I shared yesterday:

  • I’m talking, it fills the dead space a bit better
  • No procedural shuffling
  • You get an ace production right away
  • The final ace production is magical and puts an punctuation on the trick

Is the ace trick that I did the best? No, however it’s way better than the one that I shared yesterday. Think about what you’re sharing before you put it out there.

Finishing a Book…

After starting to read the book Principia by Harapn Ong about a year ago, I finally finished it. It’s a book that I’d read a bit of it, then put it down and pick it back up a month later. It’s a great book, and there are a couple things in it that I’ve used … Continue reading “Finishing a Book…”

After starting to read the book Principia by Harapn Ong about a year ago, I finally finished it. It’s a book that I’d read a bit of it, then put it down and pick it back up a month later. It’s a great book, and there are a couple things in it that I’ve used throughout the year.

Pricipia by harpan ong

card magic book

Near the end of the book there are a couple of essay’s on the Trick That Cannot Be Explained. These are fantastic! There’s some great theory in them, not just on the card trick, but on tricks using multiple outs.


Also near the end, there’s a trick where the cards get mixed face up and face down. You find their selected card, and no the cards don’t all magically fix themselves. The cards not fixing themselves is what I think makes this trick great, and something that I think is going to go into my impromptu card magic toolbox.

If you do card magic, check out this book!

Do As I Do…

There are certain “plots” in card magic that I’m really not a fan of. One of them is the Do As I Do type of tricks. These are typically very procedure heavy and the payoff isn’t that great. Usually it ends with you and a spectator finding the other person’s card. Last night I was … Continue reading “Do As I Do…”

There are certain “plots” in card magic that I’m really not a fan of. One of them is the Do As I Do type of tricks. These are typically very procedure heavy and the payoff isn’t that great. Usually it ends with you and a spectator finding the other person’s card.


Last night I was reading Principia by Harapan Ong and came across his trick called Perspective.

What makes this Do As I Do trick great is that it’s not a “pick a card” type trick. It’s a color change type of card trick, but the cards change for both you and the spectator! Best of all there’s no procedure! The top cards on both halves of the deck keep changing, it’s great!

I love encountering tricks that change how I feel about magic plots!

Newly Acquired Taste in Card Tricks

One of the books that I’m reading right now is Principia by Harapan Ong.  It’s a card magic book, and while I’m only about 50 pages into it, I think it’s a really good, modern card magic book.  One of the books selling points is that there is internet video of Harapan doing all of … Continue reading “Newly Acquired Taste in Card Tricks”

One of the books that I’m reading right now is Principia by Harapan Ong.  It’s a card magic book, and while I’m only about 50 pages into it, I think it’s a really good, modern card magic book.  One of the books selling points is that there is internet video of Harapan doing all of the material in the book.  Unfortunately I’m in a position where I don’t have internet access fast enough to stream video, so I haven’t watched them.


One thing that surprised me was there was an “elevator” card trick that I actually liked.  I think I was introduced to the elevator plot when I was a teenager reading the big Alex Elmsley books.  I never really liked the plot simply because there always seemed to be either too much process or too much proving.  The Michalevator routine in the book doesn’t have much process and doesn’t over prove…and I like it.


I don’t know if I’ll ever actually use Harapan’s elevator trick in an actual show or not, but it’s been fun to play with.  I’ve said it before, but it’s important to still play with magic.  That’s how we learn, through play.