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I'm in the proccess of creating a new effect. i have the routine down basically, all sleights covered etc.

however, it comes down to the patter. i have none. for the first portion of the routine there is a small...30 second long ACR. i've never liked them to be honest, but it works well with the routine because it guides people into the climax.

i really dislike the general "but when i snap my fingers it jumps to the top" patter for them.

does anybody have any suggestions on patter for an ACR.

many thanks.
mike.

One option I toyed with was playing up the opposite of that - so the card would go into the middle of the deck and I'd then say "You know that trick where the card jumps to the top of the deck?" as I took the top card - of course they all expect it to be the selection, so after a beat I flick it over to show it's an indifferent card before continuing: "Well this isn't one of them - I thought I'd like to try something a little bit different, you know, where the card goes into the middle of the deck and it stays in the middle of the deck", and as I say this the indifferent card, face-up on top of the deck becomes the selection. The whole thing then became me trying to keep the card in the middle of the deck, with me eventually relenting. With a bit of a rejig with the patter to suit your moves it could play well.

Alternatively you could play up any audience chatter there may be; if someone says something to their friend, or makes a comment about the magic, exclaim "No!" and go onto explain how you whenever anyone says those words it causes the card to inexplicably jump to the top of the deck and build it up from there.

Really though the kind of patter you'll use depends upon the context. What has gone before and what will come after the ACR should determine the route you take with it.

I'm not a big fan of the snap to top patter as well. Here's an idea i've been mulling around for a while. I've never seen this anywhere else so I'm claiming it my own.

You could use travelling back in time as a theme.

You can start by putting the card at the top of the deck. Get a spec to use a stopwatch. Explain that it's simple to use but give complicated instructions on how to reset. Explain that your deck can travel back in time, but only by seconds. Now, before you reveal the card ask how much time has elapsed and then ask the spec to reset the stopwatch. You can even get another spectator to monitor his timing. You should be able to keep repeating this until you finish your ACR.

It's a great way to misdirect a crowd bigger than 3.

If anyone else thinks they've seen this before please tell me.

Could you give a bit more info about the overall routine? That would help in figuring how the patter should be developed.

I'm also working on an effect that begins with an ACR routine - so perhaps if you'd like to pm me, we can discuss the details more there?

The patter I use is that the card they chose becomes a slave to them ( the spec ).

I say '' Whats a magic word you know '' Whatever they say, I reply '' thats all it takes '' and show the card to be their selection.. I insert it back into the middle and then I say '' if I say *specs magic word* does the card reply? NO!! '' and show and indifferent card.. then I ask them to wave their hand over the deck and say their word.. '' Of course, the selection is your slave and responds only to you..

Ill tell them if I want to control their card I have to work really hard and then do a two card transpo or whatever showing the ''great skill'' it takes for me to be able to control their card otherwise it wont respond ( thats where indifferent cards come in ) and it always replies on to them..

Then for the finale I do torn or paperclipped to show how even though it might be a slave to them.. Im the magician and ultimately, it my deck of cards and I only I can do ''magic'' with it!!

Not sure whether this fits the rest of the routine but how about a possessed card?

ham it up a bit (depending on your style) around finding the deck, and coming to the conclusion that there's a possessed card i.e. the card forced/chosen e.g. Ace of Spades. Maybe culminating in a palm and a spec check of the deck to reveal there's no Ace of Spades, if possible in grand scheme of your routine.

I'm not taking first dibs on this idea, I'm sure I picked something like this up on TM somewhere.

Cheers

Lee.