Help us get to over 8,748 articles in 2024.

If you know of a magician not listed in MagicPedia, start a New Biography for them. Contact us at magicpediahelp@gmail.com

Jordan Count

From Magicpedia, the free online encyclopedia for magicians by magicians.
Revision as of 16:29, 14 June 2008 by Jpecore (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

A false card display showing four cards as four, hiding the fourth card.

After the count, it leaves the cards in perfect order to do an Elmsley Count.

Variations

  • Double Jordan by David Evans, X cards as five count, only 3 faces seen, Apocalypse Vol. 7, N° 3, march 1984, page 895.
  • Modified Jordan Count by Larry Jennings, for five cards, Larry Jennings on Card & Coin Handling.
  • McCount by John McClure, accomplishing the same as Jordan Count, Apocalypse Vol. 20, N° 9, september 1997, page 2835.
  • Jorback Count by Phil Goldstein, mates the Back Count (aka Flustration Count) with the Jordan Count using the Biddle Grip, The Linking Ring, October 1982.

History

First published by Charles Jordan in Thirty Card Mysteries (1919) under his Phantom Aces trick. Also described in "Charles Jordan's Best Card tricks" (1992), compiled by Karl Fulves.

It was brought back to light again in 1963 by the British magician Francis Haxton.1

Fred Lowe recently pointed out that the Phantom Aces in "Epilogue N° 9, july 1970, page 72, Karl Fulves " that "Jordan Thirty Card Mysteries anticipated by nearly a half century the Four-As-Four or Ghost Count in use today."

Many have also recreated this slight over the years. Ed Marlo created it as the Flexible Count and publishing variations in The New Tops. 2

"Modified Elmsley Count" by Norman HOUGHTON in Hugard's Magic Monthly, Vol. 21, N° 3, november 1963, page 18 describes the Jordan Count.

Marlo and Houghton both quote Elmsley but not Jordan. Why only Houhgton gets the benefit of the doubt ?

1Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks by Karl Fulves, page 247.

2 Excerpt from The New Tops, December 1963 : "(This count) embodies the elements of the Elmsley Ghost Count, increases the application of the Ellis Satnyon Count, as well as the Elmsley, in that it can be done with a greater number of cards because of a controlled dealing action."

References