Spectator Cuts to the Aces

Spectator Cuts to the Aces is a classic card routine where the spectator cuts the deck to locate the four aces.

This routine makes a very efficient opener for a four ace routine.

History

This plot was proposed by Bob Veeser in 1956 in a letter to Ed Marlo, with three possible solutions.

There have been many many variations developed over the year with various procedures. Some are self-working, some requiring a gaffed deck or setup, and some allowing the spectator to do all the cutting and turning the cards over. Later kicker endings were added in which not only the aces are on top of each pile, but the kings are also on the bottom.

A similar premiss in which after cutting the deck in four packets, the spectator moves some cards from packet to packet was published in The Dragon Magazine (Vol. 8, No. 6) in June 1939. Written up by Oscar Weigle, it was created by Steve Belchou and called "A Four Aces Set Up" (Belchou's Ace).

Variations

• A Poker Players Picnic in Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard & Fred Braue (1948) (Belchou's trick)
• The Weigle Aces from John Scarne on Card Tricks by John Scarne (1950) (Belchou's trick)
• A Spectator Finds the Aces By Harvey Rosenthal in Genii 1963 October.
• A Problem Posed by Ed Marlo in The New Tops, (March 1965). (Reprint in M.I.N.T., Vol. I, 1988). Extensive work on this plot.
• Spectator Cuts to the Aces by Allan Ackerman in Magic Mafia Effects (1968).
• Another Spectator Cuts The Aces by Edward Marlo in The Unexpected Card Book (1974)
• Frank Garcia & George Schindler's Women's Lib from Magic With Cards (1975)
• Harry Lorayne's Double Take in Quantum Leaps (1979).
• Swindle Cut Aces from The Elegant Card Magic of Father Cyprian by Frank Garcia (1980).
• David Williamson Spectator Cuts To The Kings in Williamson's Wonders by Richard Kaufman (1989)
• Gary Ouellet's Three-Second Wonder from Close-Up Illusions (1990)
• Shigeo Takagi's version in The Amazing Miracles of Shigeo Takagi by Richard Kaufman (1990)
• Directed Verdict by John Bannon in Smoke and Mirrors (1991)
• Roberto Giobbi's The Spectator Cuts the Aces from Card College, Vol. 1 (1995)
• Cutting to the Aces from Tom Ogden's Complete Idiot's Guide to Magic (1998)
• David Regal's Deep Guilt Aces in Constant Fooling 2 (2002)
• John Bannon's Final Verdict from Dear Mr. Fantasy (2004)
• Kipp Sherry's Riverboat Shuffle (2006)