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Hi guys. I recently got the Red Gaff deck from Ellusionist and along with the Army of 52 dvd, i have learnt/come up with my own ideas for using the cards. My main concern however is getting the cards to the deck.

I have the option of stacking the deck so that i can do several tricks with the deck. But then once finished with the gaff tricks, im left with a completely dirty deck! I couldnt go on to any other tricks without removing them first which would look a suspicious.

On the other hand, i could palm the cards from my pocket and add them as i go along. But then, im left with the problem of maybe palming the wrong cards and ruining the trick. And even if i got it right, its not that easy as sometimes i may need to put the cards in a particular order.

Can anybody give me any tips on how to incorporate these cards without looking suspicious? Or maybe im looking at it the wrong way completely! If anybody can help, i'd appreciate it muchly!!

Thanks, Rich

Firstly, the Army of 52 DVD teaches tricks with only a few of the cards from the Gaff Deck so don;t expect to find uses for everything. if the DVD is leaving these cards to your own imagination then why not trust your own creativity and skip on the DVD altogether?

Secondly, the DVD teaches a few routines / tricks that rely on the decks being set up. Not once is there any discussion or event a hint of suggestion as to how you can get these cards into the deck. It all assumes that you're going to approach people with a stacked deck and do one trick as you're then generally stuck with the gaffs if you want to do another trick.

I havee nothing against gaff decks personally, it's just that in my view the DVD sucks.

I bought the dvd to get some ideas on how to start using the cards and to get my imagination going. And it did. I also use some moves that are taught there to because i didnt know about them before.

I agree that it assumes that you go out with a stacked deck, but is that really feasible? i know that i wont be doing just the gaff tricks when im performing.

I like the designs of the cards in the gaff deck, and i do have ideas for them, but im beginning to think that theyre a bit more of a hassle than theyre actually worth.

If you got some ideas for performance then good for you and it's possibly money well spent in your eyes. Many won't have your vision and will rely solely on what's offered from the DVD.

I think that you've answered the question in the point that you make. it's not really feasible to got out everytime with a stacked deck (stacked with gaffs that is) if ou're also going to perform other card tricks that require other gaffs or not. The set up makes the whole process tedious for you and for your audience.

It's true that some of the Gaffs are nice and that some have more possibilities than others, and effects with oine gaff are easier to handle than some that use multipple gaffs so ditching or hiding isn't so much of an issue.

These gaffs and other gaffs in general are more of a tool for an experienced card magician who can handle them without attracting heat, but then many of the experienced cardies tend to stay away from gaffs anyway.

A bit of a cach 22 or a great piece of marketing from Ellusionist. I saw the Red Gaff Deck preview video on a web site and if I ever felt like sticking four fingers down my throat it was after watching it.

To be honest, it does seem a bit like he wants the cards to be his next wife or something doesnt it!

But also, it may be feasible to simply carry another normal deck to switch in. Thats a possibility i hadnt thought of!

Thanks for your words of wisdom dat!

trickyricky wrote:But also, it may be feasible to simply carry another normal deck to switch in. Thats a possibility i hadnt thought of!

It's what I have done in the past. No need for moves, just put one deck away, then bring the other out, after a suitable delay. You'll need a good reason to pause, of course, such as doing a coin trick, or something else entirely different.

Hey, i bought Modern Coin Magic last night! I love it when a plan comes together! With help of course! Thanks!

I load 3 pockets.. twocoat pockets and on inside pocket with gaffs, one pocket per gaff. memorise which gaff is ineach pocket and then I normally onlyuse one gaffed trick per spec ( to avoid suspicion ) and usually go into it at the end of a routine, after ''pocketing the deck'' before you leave then bring it out for one last trick, otherwise, use one gaff mid performance, pocket the deck to do a cooin routine or mentalism or something else, then bring out the deck *gaffs. Just naturally spread the cards to arrange them. No one will think you are fixing the deck if your being so blatant about it. Youca setup under their nose I havefound. when you perform one gaf,, put the deck ina different pocket and again, ''remember'' a cool thing you were contemplating last night and wonder if it will work!!

trickyricky wrote:I recently got the Red Gaff deck from Ellusionist and along with the Army of 52 dvd...

I bought the same a few weeks ago. Don't you just hate the fact that the DVD shows only ghost deck tricks, and some of them you can't do with the red deck? The reason is that some of the cards in the Ghost deck are not to be found in the red deck and vice versa. Actually they say you can do most of the tricks shown on the DVD with the red deck, but not all

I don't know how your setup is, but if you have an open briefcase where you store your stuff and reach into it for each new trick, you could reach into it to get the gaffed cards you need to keep on with your routine. It's ideal for switching decks too and people don't even notice it if you are casual about it. But, it depends on how your routine is and if you are not surrounded.

If I remember correctly, there is a pretty decent card load in one of the art of astonishment books. Think it's called 'free ride'. Might be worth checking out if you have them. Where do you have to have the gaffs set up in the deck? I have a few loads I use for top, second from top, face and second from face etc. It's always worth working on this as the effect with the gaff will have much more impact if the speccy has handled the cards in a previous effect. Of course a simple deck switch would work, but unless you are also using coins, rope, sponge balls etc it's pretty redundant. If you are only using card effects it's odd to put away a deck and then produce it again, especially if the 're-produced' deck contains a gaff. Hope this makes sense!!

I personally try to keep my routines as gaff free as possible, only using them for the last trick or two. That way, you've had a clean deck from the start, it's been examined and scrutanised plenty so there will be no suspision from the specs.

I made a little gimick (as shown in Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic) with a safety pin and paper clip that stores my gaffs up the back of my shirt. If you want to get the card, just give your back an innocent scratch when chatting and bring the card on and on top of the deck.