Ambitious card
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The Ambitious Card, or Elevator Card, is a magic effect in which a playing card seems to return to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere in the middle of the deck.[1][2] This is a classic effect in card magic and serves as a study subject for students of magic. Most performing card magicians will have developed their own personal Ambitious Card routine.
The effect is often credited to French magician Gustav Alberti, in the mid-1800s.[3] However, there is a related idea in Ponsin's Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilée, published in 1854, that might precede that.
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Effect
The magician lifts the top card and shows it to the audience. It then appears that the magician has placed the card in the middle of the deck. The card appears on top of the deck at the magician's command.
Variations
Variations to this trick can be linked together to create routines. Many magicians perform the same routine every time, though the trick is structured such that one is able to link these variations in random order to produce a completely different routine at each performance. This is one factor which has earned the Ambitious Card the status of a classic effect.
Variations of this effect include:
- The magician has the spectator sign the card to prove there is no double.
- The spectator is handed the "ambitious card" and asked to put it in the middle, then asked to hold the deck and do some type of magic move, essentially calling the card to the top of the deck himself.
- The spectator marks an X on the back of an indifferent card at the top of the deck, only to see the same X appear on the back of the "ambitious card" after it has risen to the top.
- The "ambitious card" is bent so that it is seen to be physically different from all the other cards, making it clear that it is placed into the middle of the deck, and increasing the amazement of the spectator as it is seen to rise to the top.
Methods
The magician lifts the two top cards (a double lift) showing the signed card, but concealing the actual top card behind it. The top (indifferent) card is placed into the middle of the deck; the audience is led to believe that the signed card was placed in the middle.[4][5] In another method, the selected card is in fact placed in the middle of the deck, but then secretly returned to the top using the Pass or a side steal.[6]
There are many methods for accomplishing the basic effect of a card inserted in the middle appearing on the top. These can be found in books such as Royal Road to Card Magic,[7] The Expert at the Card Table[8] and Card College.[9] Many magicians have come up with their own methods of performing this effect. Dai Vernon is an example of someone who has done this and his Ambitious Card Routine can be found in the book Stars of Magic.[10]
References
- ^ kammagic. Ambitious Card Routine Kamm. You Tube. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. One of many versions of the Ambitious Card Routine available on internet video.
- ^ Wilson, Mark [1975] (1988). Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic. Courage Books. ISBN 0894716239. The Elevator card, p. 85
- ^ Who Invented It?. Magic Tricks .com. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. “Alberti ... French magician, late 1800's, said to have invented Ambitious Card.”
- ^ Ambitious Card. Magic Hat. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. “Ambitious card explained; still photos.”
- ^ Teo, Melvin. The Ambitious Card. Card Trick Central. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. “Ambitious card explained.”
- ^ Giobbi, Roberto [2000]. Card College, Illustrated Ed., Seattle, WA: Hermetic Pr, Vol 3, pp. 758-763.
- ^ Hugard, Jean; Braue, Fredrick [1999]. Royal Road to Card Magic, 1st Ed. reprint, Dover. ISBN 978-0486408439.
- ^ Erdnase, S. W. [1995]. The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation, 1st Ed. reprint, Dover. ISBN 978-0486285979.
- ^ Giobbi, Roberto [2000]. Card College, Illustrated Ed., Vols 1-5., Seattle, WA: Hermetic Pr.
- ^ Tannen, Louis [1961]. Stars of Magic, 1st Ed., New York: Louis Tannen Publishers.
