by Kirk Edwards

Effect:
A spectator removes her ring, which the magician holds and smiles at "good, this will should work perfectly." He places it back in her hand and has her hold it tightly. A second spectator is asked to select a card from a deck, which he does. The selected card is the seven of diamonds, which is in turn signed with a sharpie and returned to the center of the deck. The magician then hands the deck of cards back to the spectator and asks them to please be sure the card is securely and randomly lost in the deck. When the spectator continues to claim that his card is no longer in the deck, the magician states that there is something terribly wrong with that situation and that sometimes cards act on their own accord without the magician having to do a thing! The second spectator is asked to bring over the hand with the ring in it. As they open their hand, there rolled up as a cigarette and sitting nicely inside the ring is a rolled up card, face out. The spectators start to get nervous a wee bit as they can’t quite make out the card, but they see it as red and diamonds. The highly esteemed conjuror removes the ring from her paralyzed hand and slowly pushes out the card and sets the ring down. Slowly unraveling the diamond faced card it is indeed the signed, seven of diamonds.


Tools:
Regular deck of cards, scissors, rubber cement.

Preparation:
Although any suit can be used for this effect I will continue with diamonds. I’ll say ahead of time, the persons signed card is a forced card –this being said the pre set up with make much more sense.

Choosing diamonds, use a denomination in the range of 7-10. We will use the 8 of diamonds.

Take the 8 of diamonds and cut off about an inch from either side of the card vertically. Just enough so that the number 8 is gone.

Sure it’s a warped card, but no one will tell the difference as you now roll the card up as though it was cigarette. And remember, face outwards. Begin rolling it on the end that still has its number, so that the number is concealed within the roll and the cut edge overlaps on the top.

Glue just enough rubber cement to the inside edge so that the card stays in this position nice and firm.

Method:
So now you have a rolled up card, which has no number whatsoever on it and is rolled up so tightly that all anyone can tell about the card is its red, has diamonds on it and lots of them. So logic tells us, force a card that’s red, diamonds and has lots of them on it!

Begin by palming the rolled up card. It may be tedious for me to describe the handling for some of you, but the most efficient way to accomplish the palm is to curl the fingers in the hand, place the roll in your palm and rest it firmly on the fingers so that it holds at a loose 45 degree angle to your palm. This way at an upfront angle the fingers may be spread apart, if you so dare!

Continue on with whatever patter you want for the obtainment of the ring, simply ask for it and say something like “ah yeah, this ring will work just fine.” Continue to ask the lady to hold her hand palm down out towards you. I typically demonstrate this with the hand palming the rolled up card so as to make some use out of it.

3. Move both hands quickly, and at an equal pace towards her outstretched hand. Move the ring and the card together at the same time once you are under the cover of her hand, and note: you needn’t perform this in contact with her hand, only beneath it. Just push it through the hole and push up into her palm with your right hand as your left quickly closes her fist tightly. Be sure not to hurt her! But do emphasize that great pressure is somehow a must. The beauty of it is, some will not feel the card whatsoever. Others just might feel the card, but no worries. If you flat out told them you put a card in their hand, the trick would still end perfectly sound and probably a bit more bizarre. The point is, it’s a mystery to both spectators. “What the hell did he just put in my hand?” and “Why on earth is he making her hold her own ring like that?” Now, although the guidelines call for the hand to be placed behind her back, let me speculate a subtlety: If she is asked to keep it in front for all to see, she will not fidget with it and is less likely to ease up her tense grip, therefore feeling the texture of a card lodged in the ring.

Now, take the deck and force in any way that suites you either the 7, 9 or 10 of diamonds. The fact that it could 1 of 3 cards makes this a great illusion to use classic force. Say you force the 9 of diamonds, to me it doesn’t matter if you see the card or not, in my opinion if you go ahead and show it to everyone it takes the stress off of them to watch your every move and causes them to wonder “so what could possibly happen if this isn’t another find-your-card trick.” Turn the card on its side and motion for their signature to be placed horizontally along the top.

Whatever way you have in your repertoire, force the card to the top during a shuffle/false shuffle/whatever. Direct the attention to the ring as you restate whats happened. “You mam have your ring tightly clenched in your hand” As you direct attention to the hand, palm off the signed 9 of diamonds and set the deck down. “And you have chosen a card, signed it, and we have lost it in the center of the deck. Now please check for me to be sure as to whether or not your card the 9 of diamonds is sufficiently scrambled into to the deck so where as I would have no clue to where it is.”

I tend to ask both spectators to fish for the card, as I try to encourage participation so as to cultivate the fact that its not in the deck. As their eyes run through the deck it is easier done than said to roll the palmed card with one hand in cigarette form. Simply bend it in half, not to where there’s a crease, but just so there is a slight bend. Clip the card with the thumb and bend it into yet another quarter, hold down the card with your thumb and roll the bottom portion with your fingers. Now continue the palm as you did in the first place with the decoy card only a bit firmer as this is not glued in position.

At the somewhat climax of their realization that the card is not in the deck their eyes will go crazy in looking for the card. The table and unfortunately your hands. A quick way to reroute this thought process is to loudly point out “Please open your hand with the ring in it.” As this is done their realizations and instinct will be utterly confused as they see some lone card in the center of the spectator’s ring. Take the ring and hold it in the fingertips of the hand which is concealing their actual card. As you apparently reach over to pull out the decoy card, concealed by your hand's action you motion the decoy downwards into your palm as you press their actual card up through the ring. The ring is a brilliant idea for this switch! It gives total and complete cause for the switch. As a side joke I take the ring and act as though I place it in my pocket, while ditching the decoy card. I’ll then take it out and say “no I wouldn’t do that to you!” as I set it down on the table and slowly unfold the card to reveal that it is indeed their signed 9 of diamonds.