TiVo Transpo

When I first saw David Blaine do that crazy transposition, with the “Shapeshifter
change” on his first TV special I said, “What! … There’s no way.” I admit that I
was fooled. Shortly thereafter I was enjoying frying spectators with that great
change. By the time Blaine’s third special appeared I was stumped a second
time, not by technique but intrigued by possibilities found in transposition effects.
I was now aware of more methodology and had developed some of my own. A
few months later Dave and I came up with the following applications.

Until recently, the thought of using dupes in a deck made me queasy. But more
real world performing experience has shown me how gaffs can deliver maximum
impact on the foolery. As a dedicated practitioner of the art, I still enjoy devising
methods with an unfortified, 52-card deck. I offer you my “very clean looking”
method for the transposition with NO duplicates.

Method: Have a card freely chosen. As Marry Jane (spectator) looks at the card
get a break under the top two cards. Execute a Bluff Pass bringing MJ’s card
(4♣) third from top. If you don’t know a Bluff Pass here is a brief description.



The simplest method for the Bluff Pass is to riffle down the left edge of the

deck with your left thumb asking Marry Jane to call out “Stop” for her
selection. Pretending to take the upper packet, remove only top two cards
in a deep right hand Biddle grip, tipping the packet slightly forward and
down to hide the true thickness of the two cards. Have MJ place her card
in the center. Gently slap the two cards down as if it were a packet. Timing
and confidence is the key.

Execute a triple lift to show Marry Jane her card has jumped to the top. A small
twitch of the hand before the triple works well as sort of a magical gesture.
Return the triple face down, thumb off and place the top card, out-jogged and
angled to the left, in the center of the deck.

Marry Jane now thinks her card is protruding from the deck. Turn the top card
over (2♠ in our example) and execute Ben Harris’s “Super flip change” [originally
published in New Directions (1985), later in Off the Wall (1988) and recently in
Mr. Gadfly 1 (2001)]. A brief explanation of the ‘Super Flip Change’ is as follows:



Turn the top card face up and hold the cards in an “off centered” Biddle

Grip, that is, your middle finger and thumb must be to the right of the
middle of the cards. Apply a small amount of pressure to the cards by
pushing down with your index finger (curled on top) and up with your
thumb and second finger, thus bowing the cards in a convex position.
Dribble the cards into your other hand but retain the last two cards. On
holding-back these two cards apply a firmer downward pressure with your
index finger and release the grip with your thumb and second finger. The

end result will have caused the two cards to flip 180° over and therefore
change the card into Marry Jane’s selection.

A simpler method of doing this would be to obtain a break with your thumb before
going into the dribble. Done this way you wont have to worry about holding back
two cards, which, I hate to say, but takes lots of practice.

The situation: MJ’s 4♣ is face up on top and the 2♠ is face down second from
top with an indifferent card protruding from the deck. Take MJ’s card off with your
right hand and execute the following simple bluff display:

You will appear to turn your left hand over, revealing the transposed card (2♠). If
you were to really do this you would show an indifferent card. To accomplish this
bluff, three things happen at once:



Rotate your wrist palm down:



Using your index finger, push the out-jogged, indifferent card flush with the

deck:



Your thumb pushes the top card forward to an out-jogged position, angled

to the left, replicating the former position of the indifferent card.

BOTTOM VIEW

Remember that these actions are one fluent motion; the turning over of the hand
to reveal the card provides enough cover for the switch. The three actions of the
Bluff Switch, I should also point out, occur as you hand MJ her selected card, a
nice bit of misdirection for this bold move. Your attention then returns to the deck
(by this time the switch has already been made) and strip the card out from the
center.

The above method plays big in the real world (where distractions occur) but for
those times when cleanliness is imperative, we offer a second method. The use
of duplicate cards makes this effect much easier. (Please realize the ungaffed
method, when smoothly performed, flies just as true).

Duplicate card method
Place 2 duplicate cards on top of the deck (J♠ & J♠), have a card selected, lets
say it’s the 4♥. Bluff Pass to get the chosen card third from top. Execute a Triple
Lift to show their card has jumped to the top, turn the triple over and place the top
card out-jogged in the center of the deck, angled to the left. Now turn the top card
over (J♠) and perform the Super Flip change. The J♠ changes into their card
(4♥) and the out-jogged card is the other J♠.

Another possibility:

Two like-cards method
Place 2 like cards on top of the deck (K♥ &K♦), have a card selected. Perform a
Bluff Pass to get the chosen card third from top. Triple Lift to show their card has
jumped to the top, turn the triple over and place the top card out-jogged in the
center of the deck, angled to the left. Now turn the top card over, mentioning it as
a King without reference to suit. Perform the Super Flip change. The King
changes into the selected card and the out-jogged card will be a red King; a
surprising but logical exchange. The discrepancy between the red Kings passes
unnoticed with the startling appearance of their selected card.

For those who are interested:
The mentioned “Shapeshifter Change” by Marc DeSouza can be found in The
Trapdoor #48 (1993) and DeSouza’s DeCeptions-The Magic of Marc DeSouza
(2001).