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BalVallaBel
by Werner Miller

Werner Miller is a retired teacher of mathematics, whose hobbies are recreational mathematics and magic. A magical inventor and writer, Werner has produced a prolific volume of work, mostly what he calls “semi-automatic” card tricks based on mathematical principles. He is the author of "Fast von selbst", "Alles Miller oder was", "Ratatouille", more than 300 trick contributions to various magazines and web sites and more than 30 related computer programs. In addition, Werner is also a staff member of the German magazine "Magische Welt", a columnist for the British magazine "The Magician", and regular contributor here at Visions. Werner's first English-language book, Ear-Marked, is available here.

This routine combines ideas from Ed Balducci, Jean-Pierre Vallarino and Steve Belchou.

Effect
The performer cuts to the four aces. One ace is selected. Now all the other cards of that suit are produced: first the three court cards, then the 7, 8, 9 and 10 (see Fig. 1). (I use a Skat Deck. Skat is a popular German card game. In this game there are no 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's and 6's.)

Preparation
Decide on any suit, say Spades. Sort out the 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K of that suit, and the four aces.
Arrange the cards as follows: (top) AH, AS, AD, AC, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, balance of the deck, JS, QS, KS (bottom).

Presentation
1. Use Balducci's "Cut Deeper"-Force to cut to the four aces: Cut off approx. one third of the deck, turn that portion face up and place it back on top. Cut off about half the cards, turn them over and place them back. Thumb off the face-up cards, turn them face down and place them at position "I" (see Fig. 2).

Deal the four top cards of the remaining packet face up side by side in front of the spectator: the four aces (same order as in the set-up: AH, AS, AD, AC).

2. Ask the spectator for a number between 1 and 4. Use this number to count openly to the AS. (Start either on the left end or on the right end of the row.) Place this "selected" ace face up at position "A". Turn the remaining aces face down, and insert them halfways into three different parts of the deck - the standard starting gate position for a multiple shift. Use Vallarino's "Staircase Control" (see Genii, Vol. 57, No. 1, Nov. 1993) to bring them to the top: When pushing the protruding cards flush into the deck, have your thumb resting on the top ace laying up against the edge of the deck, so that your thumb pushes back the block above the top ace and simultaneously every card from the bottom ace up is pushed back as a block. Strip out the entire block protruding from the rear of the deck (7S on top) and place it on the table, at Position "J". Deal the remaining cards (aces on top) rotationally at "B", "C" and "D". Turn the top card of each packet face up: JS, QS, KS (in any cyclical order).

Take each packet, table the top card and turn the packet over showing an ace. Place the aces face up at "E", "F" and "G". The remaining cards place face down at "I".

3. To produce the last four cards a variation of "Belchou's Aces" is used (see Martin Gardner, Mathematics, Magic and Mystery, p.27). Cut off the upper half of the packet "I" and place it to the left (at "H"). Cut off the upper half of the packet "J" and place it to the right (at "K").

Situation check: Four face-down packets, the top card of the fourth packet ("K") is the 7S.

Pick up the first packet ("H"), deal three face-down cards on the spot it formerly occupied ("one for the jack, one for the queen, one for the king"), and then deal one card face down upon each of the other three packets ("I", "J", "K"). The remaining cards are replaced at "H" (on top of the three cards).

Repeat this procedure (three cards down, one card upon each of the other three piles, remaining cards back) with the three remaining packets "I", "J", "K".

Turn the top cards of the piles face up: 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S. (Fig. 1)

Have fun!

Werner Miller