Description

Original 1990 copy of this highly sought after book in very good condition complete with original dustjacket. This copy is inscribed by Ken Krenzel.

When I think of Krenzel, I think of knuckle-busters and obscure handlings of the pass, don’t you? For sure this book has its share, but it also has a surprising amount of practicable material for us duffers as well. Think of it as _Krenzel Without Tears_, i.e. plenty of crying if you look for it, particularly towards the end.

Contents:

i – Introduction (Ross Bertram)
iii – Forward (Minch)
v – Credo (Krenzel)

3 Chapter 1: Relaxed Miracles
3 Soft Cards: Visual penetration of one card through another, simple to make gaff. Topological puzzle.
6 Bust-Out Aces: one-at-a-time production of the 4 aces using the same gimmick from the previous trick, EZ.
8 Second method: ungimmicked version of B-O Aces, not so EZ.
10 Thrust and Parry: variation of classic “U-Find-It”. Spec selects card, loses it in pack, then behind his back
thrusts a 2nd card, face up, into the deck. Ribbon spread to find the face up card next to the selection.
Magi doesn’t touch deck once it’s in the spec’s hands.
12 Double S’Entendre: Two specs, each with her own deck; each selects and loses a card in her own deck,
then cuts to the other spec’s selection. Simple, and effective.
15 The Haunted Jacket: strange things happen to a deck when dropped into the magi’s jacket pocket. An
expanded version of Krenzel’s “Half-Passed Histed” from _NY Magic Symposium, Vol 4._ Clever indeed.
20 The Shifting Sands of Tutankhamen: Clever (but over-long) dealing/counting puzzle.

25 Chapter 2: A Matched Pair
25 The Matchbook Dervish: An ordinary book of matches comes to life in your hands, is then examinable. Eerie.
28 Turn-Tail Match: impromptu; wooden matchstick is pushed through a tunnel formed from fingers of your hand.
En route, it does a 180.

33 Chapter 3: Pasteboard and Silver
33 An Estranged Exchange: in-the-hands exchange of card and coin, a la Harris’ “Very Strange Exchange” from
_Close Up Fantasies Finale_. (Krenzel kicked-thru vanish; Goldin change)
36 The Hollow Card: vanish/production of coin from single card; uses same gaff from Soft Cards (p.3)
38 The Coin of Mycroft: Borrowed, marked coin vanishes, reappears next to spec’s selected card – with the
deck in the card case.

43 Chapter 4: Ace Effects and Other Tricks for the Shelf
43 Condensed Aces: two handlings of Paul Harris’ “Las Vegas Split” – one impromptu, the other utilizing
gaffed cards and Krenzel’s Subterranean Shelf (variant of Marlo’s shelf, closer to Scott’s Bug).
49 Subterranean Shelf and Related Ideas: as a packet switch; in the Curry Open Prediction effect; Joint Futures,
spec cuts to mates of two predictions.
52 Krenzel on the Cavorting Aces: K’s handling of the Herrmann Pass and Dr. Daley’s plot from _Stars of Magic_.
57 Passe-Deux Aces: 4-ace production a la “Passe-Passe Aces” (_Expert Card Technique_), two at a time. Nifty.
59 There and Back Again: Progressive 4-ace trick aces instantly return to their starting piles. Gaffed cards.
64 Penthouse Progression (With a Foreclosure): ungimmicked version (Benzais cop).

71 Chapter 5: Mental
71 Open and Shut Case: any-card-at-any-number, clever and feasible, but not simple. Easy to make
gimmicked card case helps.
74 Case of the Missing Link: a thought-of card is found missing from an otherwise normal deck. Card is
produced from wallet, pocket, whatever. Uses same gimmicked case as previous effect memorized deck.
76 Ruse et Noir: 8 card version of Curry’s Out of this World plus thoughts on Fulves’ Vector Switch.
80 Milk Run: psychological stop trick with an out using Max Katz’s switch when you miss.
82 Reversed Decision: Spec thinks of a card he sees in a shuffled, fanned deck. Magi openly reverses one
card, which later proves to be the thought-of card. Uses Henry Christ’s spread switch (from Vernon _Inner Secrets_).
85 Naturalized Brainwave: Magi inserts unseen red back card reversed in a blue deck. Spec names any card,
which is found to match the odd backed card. Ungimmicked(!)
88 Thought Bridge: Rubber-banded deck, tossed out, you find the peeked card behind your back.

95 Chapter 6: Physical
95 Going Up: Ambitious card move.
98 Bouncer: Ambitious card move for banded deck.
100 Rebound: Another banded deck ambitious move.
102 The Doppelgänger Deck: Benzais cop poker routine.

107 Chapter 7: Visual
107 Up She Rises: three ungimmicked handlings for ACNR (any-card-named-rises). None particularly easy.
113 Protean Rise: a fourth ACNR, this one using the gaffed case from chapter 5.
114 Cardapult: flourishy revelation – card flies from the face-down deck, lands face up.
115 Royal Headache: cute amorous story for an extended version of Krenzel’s eerie spin-out (from Card Classics of KK).
118 Witch’s Spit: similar animated card effect, different story (no sexual allusions).
120 Inversion Revision: Two-phased version of “Inversion” — face up card left protruding from face down deck, deck
instantly reverses to face-up.
124 The Profoundly Flippant Reverse: (one-handed!) Spectator’s peeked card instantly appears face up on top,
then turned face-down on top, vanishes to appear face up in center.
127 The Hammock Change: Another one-handed color change.
128 Two in a Hammock: X card changes to one selection, then to a second selection, then both vanish.
133 The Organic Tunnel Change: an away-from-the-deck color change

139 Chapter 8: Tunnel
139 Tunnel Visions: five-phase extended version of “The Card Tunnel”
148 Tubemogrification: Packet of four queens passed at right angles through the deck, one named by spectator
reverses and has odd-colored back; other three Queens change to Aces
152 The Thought Stealers: Two jokers inserted into the deck emerge having captured a thought-of card.
154 Cul-de-Sac: A card is inserted at right angles between two cards; instead of emerging, it vanishes, then
reappears on the other side of the tunnel. Two versions, one improptu.

161 Appendix: Original Card Sleights and Their Applications
161 The Relativity Two Step: A two-card push-off double lift.
163 The Finger Servante: (stand-up) Vanish of a small item (e.g. cased deck) being tossed in the air.
167 Chopper: An Overhand False Shuffle.
169 False Dovetail Shuffle: in-the-hands full-deck false shuffle, akin to Marlo’s Roman shuffle.
171 The Fan Lift Addition: Use of the Vernon double-lift-from-fan to secretly add cards to a packet.
173 The Non-Contact Optical Toss: Tossing two cards to the table, one is secretly switched out.
175 The Dorsal Cull: Spread cull that puts culled cards to the top of the deck (or 2nd, 3rd, 4th)
instead of the bottom. Akin to Marlo’s moveable card pass.
177 Free-form Peek Control: A scrupulously fair looking control for spectator peek.
180 Slide Steal: fast handling of the side-steal, akin to a couple of Marlo handlings among others.
183 The Top-Card Middle Pass: Secretly passing cards from top to center of the deck, with several
applications.
186 The Flexi-Deal: false deal handling for 2nds or centers(!).
188 The Gravity Bottom Deal: a bottom deal in which gravity helps keep the deck aligned, thus avoiding
the need for a complicated LH grip.