Easy Float

Copyright © 1995, 2001 by Steve Fearson and DOWNLOADMAGIC.COM

EFFECT: A selected card levitates freely above the deck! You can wave yourhand over and around the card, and even wave another card underneath it proving no support! The card descends back to the deck and is immediately offered for examination! Afterwards, you are completely reset and ready to do it again and again! REQUIREMENTS: To make the special deck used to perform this effect, you will need the items shown in photo one. A deck of cards, preferably Bicycle Rider back, an x-acto or razor knife and a thumb tack. You may also want to use the templates included with this manuscript. You may want to print that page out before you begin.

photo 1

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CONSTRUCTION: Begin by shuffling deck. Now, you must cut a hole through half the deck. If you use the Bicycle brand deck, you have your work cut out for you, since you can use one of the circles

photo 2

on the back of the deck as your guide. (photo 2) If you are using a different style back with no circle, refer to the template included with this manuscript. You can cut out the circle in the template and trace it onto your card. I highly suggest using the Bicycle cards though as it makes the job much easier.

photo 3

In photo 3 you can see how the hole shold look. You have to cut 26 of the cards this way. Be patient, because you only need to do this once, and the deck will last you a long, long time!

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When you’ve finished with the 26 holes, you’ll have half a deck with a large hole all the way through the center.

photo 4

Figure 4 shows this situation. Square up those cards and put them aside for now. The other half of the deck is secretly gimmicked also. You need to put a dimple, in other words a tiny bump in the exact center of the rest of the cards. You should use the included template to find the exact center of the card. Don’t rely on the back pattern to show you the center because they are almost always printed off center.

photo 5

Place the template on the back of the regular cards. Be sure it is perfectly squared and then press the thumbtack into the dot in the center of the template. You want to actually penetrate the first and maybe second card. Photo 5 shows this action. Once you have done this, use the top EasyFloat

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card, the first you punched, as the template to do the rest of the stack.

photo 6

You should be able to make a nice dimple in 2 or 3 at a time. Don’t make a huge hole through the card since that will be too visible during the performance. The ideal dimple should look like the one in photo 6. If you can’t see it, that’s fine. You’re going to have to feel it, not see it. And... that’s it for the construction! SETUP: The deck is preset in the following manner. Square up all the cards with dimples, they will make up the bottom half of the deck. On top of that, place the cards with the hole through them. Now take one of the dimpled cards from the bottom and put it on top to cover the hole. Photo 7 shows this situation, with the top card pulled back for clarity. Now you are ready to perform.. but first let’s practice a bit!

photo 7

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PERFORMANCE: Begin with the deck in the case. Remove the deck and begin to spread through it face down as if you are offering for the

photo 8

spectator to select a card. If you handle them as in photo 8, the holes will not be exposed. Now, act as if you’ve changed your mind and turn the deck face up. Begin spreading through the face up deck instruct the spectator to select a card. You’ll see that this handling really looks and feels very natural and open. Just don’t spread through the deck further than halfway!

photo 9

By doing this, you have seemingly displayed all the cards and combining this with the selection from a face up pack really makes it seem to the spectator as if they could’ve picked any card in the deck. In reality they are restricted to only half the pack.

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After they have selected a card, take it back and lay it on the top of the deck, as you slip the card beneath it out. In other words, you openly

photo 10

switch their card for the card on top. (photo 10) Hand them the card that was on the top of the deck and tell them to wave it ever so lightly in the air, and you will attempt to do something amazing. Say that you only really need about half the deck to perform the experiment, and cut off the bottom half of the deck, all the cards without holes, and lay them aside. To make sure you get every one, just look into the deck as you riffle down the back end, as if you are trying to get close to exactly half.

photo 11

Now hold the remaining cards as in photo 11. Slip your left index finger into the hole underneath. Using your right fingers, slide the selection forward about 3/4 inch until you can feel the dimple from underneath, through the hole with your left index finger. The dimple is used EasyFloat

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to locate the center of the card, or the balance point. Once you have located the balance point, you can begin to slowly press upwards

photo 12

with your index finger, and the card will levitate. (photo 12) Be sure you have it balanced perfectly before you begin the levitation. Make it rise just a little at first and if it isn’t perfect, let it go down to the deck again and readjust your fingertip. The longer you take, the more the suspense will build. Make the card levitate an inch or so, and then slowly settle back down to the deck. Extend your hand to the spectator as if asking for the card they are hopfully still holding, and switch it for the top card as you did before, handing them their card in return this time for examination. At this point you could casually spread the cards, vanish them, throw them in your pocket or run away. Really though, you shouldn’t have to run since the deck has been shown so openly nobody would suspect the gaping hole through the center!

photo 13

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ADVANCED MOVE: Once you get the basic handling down, give this move a try. During the levitation, you can gently lift the card underneath it and seemingly wave it back and forth under the floating card.

photo 14

Pinch the card at the corner and pivot it counterclockwise as in photo 13. Don’t overdo this move and it can be very effective. AFTERTHOUGHTS: The tougest part of this routine is the angles. It is best performed for one or two people at a time, and they should be very close. Rather than letting the angles be a restriction though, maybe you can use them to your advantage. You can handle this trick in a “Balls Over the Head” manner. Meaning that you can perform it for one person, directly under their nose while the rest of the group sees the secret. And if you let the spectator in on it at the end by letting them pluck the floating card from the air, revealing your finger poking through the deck it makes for a hilarious finish! WWW.DOWNLOADMAGIC.COM Click the link above to visit Steve Fearson’s DownloadMagic Magic tricks, videos and more available for download 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

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