Ethereal Jump

Type: close-up, walk-around

Skill Level:

Retail Price: $10

Effect: This is a packet trick that's a tribute to Alex Elmsley. Show four cards (lets say four aces) and four blank cards. The magician places them into two piles, one of aces, one of blanks. He marks each pile with an appropriately marked poker chip. The magician then takes one of the aces and puts it in the blank pile and one of the blanks and puts it in the ace pile. The cards are then shown to have jumped back to the original piles. The magician then does this again, this time using two aces and two blanks. And again the cards have jumped back to their original piles. The magician does it a 3rd time using three aces and three blanks...and again the cards switch back. The magician then places an ace on the bottom of the blank pile, only to have it jump to the top. He places another ace in the middle of the blank pile again to have it jump to top. Again this is done with another ace...and finally the blank pack is merely dropped on top of the last tabled ace with the same results..the ace jumps to the top.. All can be examined before and after the effect.

Performance Time: three minutes

Reset Time: none

Angles:

Quality: This comes with NO props, you must supply your own cards...and your own poker chips. The 15 page booklet is translated from Portuguese and at times difficult to follow.

Dr. Mitch: OK...I got this booklet and I was skeptical. I read it...and didn't quite follow. As luck would have it, I broke my ankle and was laid up in bed for a bit. So..I opened the booklet, got together the cards and some poker chips and was determined to understand what was going on. AM I GLAD I DID !!!!! Once I understood the mechanics and worked out a nice little patter to go along with it, I said to myself.."Self, this is actually quite good". Then, I started performing it on my "test" audiences. They all flipped. Then, I took it to the magic clubs...at first my fellow magicians wanted to know what kind of gaffs were on the cards....then I gave the cards out for examination. Then, came the nods of appreciation. (High praise at the Magic Club). Then, I KNEW this was a good effect. Okay, there are some drawbacks...the poor translation, the lack of patter and the fact that it doesn't come with any of the cards (I broke up 4 decks). The entire routine uses only ONE Sleight...I won't say what it is...but if you cannot do a GREAT Elmsley count..forget it. Mike asked me, "Dr. Mitch, do you really like it ?" Heck NO...I LOVE IT !!!!!

Mike Maione: Well, once again I don't agree with Mitch. I give it a thumb's down for all the "drawbacks" cited by Mitch and two more important ones. First, it's way too looooong. Over and over, again and again, cards go from one pile to the other following a poker chip??? It's overkill. I get the idea. You move a card from here and it goes back over there. Also it's missing a climax or kicker at the end. After seeing the effect of a card move from one packet to the other no less than five times you get a little numb....the trick needs something from out of the blue that hits you square in the head....like the finish of Color Monte. This doesn't have it.

But, if you have a good Elmsley, cut this routine down by one third, come up with some clever patter and a better ending, well then you might enjoy this trick.

BTW...the only place we know to get this is directly from the author. Here's his address:

Alexandre Figueiras
Av S. Joao de Deus, 43-2' Esq.
8500 Portimao
Portugal

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