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I'm currently in love with this sleight. Does anyone else use it, and have you come up with your own routines based around or including it?

It's basically Benjamin Earl's playing card variation of Bill Simon's 'Business Card Prophecy' move which allows you to transpose top and bottom packets under the guise of turning over an outjogged card in the deck. This can allow for a lot of rather fiddly and complicated effects, but also a lot of very simple and effective ones.

I've currently started developing a really neat little take on the standard sandwich effect, where I demonstrate what the effect is normally like (by performing it), and then when I ask a spec to participate and place their finger on the back of any playing card I say something along the lines of "This time the trick is over before it's even begun, since that card is already between the two red aces" and show it to be so.

So, yeah... and cardies out there equally impressed with the move?

Yeah, it's a beautiful little move. There's an effect in Michael Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles Volume 3, called Opening Stab (Steve Beam), which utilises the prophecy move. I believe it also features in volume 5 of the same series of DVDs.

Our very own bananafish has also come up with a nice little effect that uses the prophecy move. You can read all about it here...

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic2726.php

(There are some fabulous effects in the TM archives; The Lost Boy is just one of many).

I like Ben's work, and for the first time in his life, he credited somebody!

Not studied the move intently yet, but I shall start soon!

I like this move aswell. If I have a pack in new deck order I'll usually do Darwin Ortiz's Against All Odds but with Ben Earls handling of the Prophecy Shift.

And regarding the sandwich idea, I have done the same aswell. I'm starting to take a fancy to doing the "instant" sort of sandwich effects. The one I like most is the Bill Goodwin sandwich thingy that is on the Trilogy, taught in Deja Vu I believe.

And Lenoir in Ben Earl's defence, I believe he credited everything on the third disk of his Past Midnight DVD. I have heard people say this a few times, yet have never been bothered to slip the disk in a check for myself, so I could be wrong..

...I genuinely believe his handling of Bill Simon's Prophecy Move is an over complication of what is already a simply beautiful move in every respect! Bit controversial I know, but there it is! Only my opinion!
That said, Ben Earl flows, man!

DGMagic

dgmagic wrote:...I genuinely believe his handling of Bill Simon's Prophecy Move is an over complication of what is already a simply beautiful move in every respect! Bit controversial I know, but there it is! Only my opinion!
That said, Ben Earl flows, man!

DGMagic

If I'm honest, the same thing could be said about a lot of Ben Earl's work. Although he doesn't perform it much and some of it is truly lovely to appreciate it does fall into the "magical masturbation" category. How many Collectors/Hofzinsers do we need?

But hey, we all search for a breakthrough.

[quote="Lenoir"]I like Ben's work, and for the first time in his life, he credited somebody!

Hah! That made me chuckle There's a bit of truth in that. I hope Ben doesn't stumble across Jerry Sadowitz in a dark alley, Jerry's not too pleased with him