Fabulous Four Ace Routine

Henry Christ's Ace trick is familiar effect by most cardmen which was inpsired by Dai Vernon's Cutting the Aces.

The four Aces are placed into different parts of the deck and magically found one at a time in four different ways.

According to Howie Schwarzman, it was to be part of the original Stars of Magic series before it stopped. Schwarzman later published it in Professional Card Magic (1961) under the title, "Henry Christ's Fabulous Ace Routine." It includes patter for a detective who investigates to find the four aces. Supposedly, the method for secretly reversing a card was not the one Christ really used.

Eventually what was purported to be Christ's original handling was published in Epilogue No. 20 (March 1974). Another handling appeared in The Vernon Chronicles, Volume 2 (1988).

In Chronicles Volume 2, Stephen Minch says that Dai Vernon was inspired by Mr.Christ's trick to create "Aces to Order".

Publications and Variations

• "Henry Christ’s Fabulous Ace Routine" in Green's Professional Card Magic (1961) pp. 48-54.
• "H.C. Aces" in Karl Fulves' Epilogue No. 20 (1974)
• "Henry Christ's Pinnacle Four Ace Trick" in Frank Garcia's Exclusive Card Miracles (1980)
• Simon Aronson's "Meditations on the Christ Aces" in Sessions (1982)
• Fabulous Four Ace Routine in The Commercial Magic of J.C. Wagner (1987)
• Henry Christ's "The Christ Ace Trick" in Minch's The Vernon Chronicles, Vol. 2: More Lost Inner Secrets (1988), pp. 242-245.
• "Arab Roto-Pack" in Stephen Minch's The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Volume II (1994).
• Beyond Fabulous in Looking Glass (Spring 1996) and again in Dear Mr. Fantasy by John Bannon (2004)
• The Christ Aces Redone by Larry Jennings in Jennings '67 (1997)
• Study for Four Aces by Giobbi in Card College, Vol. 5 (2003)
• Bob Farmer's version of the Christ effect in Genii 2009 January as "Alex Cutting The Christ Aces"
• Spectator-Cut Christ Aces in Paul Gordon's Card Marvels (2009).

DVD

• Christ-Aronson Aces by Simon Aronson in Sessions with Simon Aronson, DVD Vol. Three (2006) (also http://www.simonaronson.com/christ.htm)

References

• Denis Behr's database
• http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=40106&page=1
• http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=237600#Post237600