But, I haven’t seen other people’s justification for WHY it’s important that the card rises to the top (why should they care?) rather then the bottom, or seventh from the face (which was Vernon’s original idea before the version he published in SoM… I can’t prove that though).

Tony: Don’t worry, I wasnt offended at all, I was just explaining that you can indeed (and that I do) meld together a ACR with something else. Personally (although I may be repeating myself here) I cant stand the standard ACR. To me there’s something un-inspiring about ending the routine just because it got the most visual or impossible as possible. For me, there has to be a reason to end the trick there, otherwise I feel that the end of the first trick should be routined into the next one which will eventually lead to a conclusion.

When I perform, I basically have a bunch of mini-routines; a bunch of tricks that all flow into each other making a small routine of a few tricks. The reason this is done this way is from table hopping. I had to be able to end my session whenever it was called for, and still leave my audience with the closure of an ending. If you just do an ACR and walk away, while impressive, to me, there’s something missing there, you know?

Granted, you’re talking about a straight ACR and how to make that better. For me, the only logical way to end it IS to change it into something else. End it with a deck vanish, or SOMETHING. Otherwise there’s no closure, and in my opinion, there’s no way to get that closure without routining it into the next trick. Personal opinion here of course.

Glad you like reading my ramblings haha

That it mind-
1. card shown in center- shift it second from the top. Double to show on top.
2. Double turned over, placed in center. Show it’s returned.
3. Place face-up into middle using tilt. Use “The Ripple” plus a one hand top palm to show on top.

Fazoom!

You get the fast rise for first phase (presented like dingle’s opening- how far down is it? 24? Lets try this a little slower…), second slow and open, third kick-in-the-face visual.

If that won’t get you laid then you’re doing some wrong- which doesn’t surprise me.

Oh, here’s three phases with the double setting up the end:
1. Card signed, use Ricky’s Cherry Control (shout out!), show on top.
2. Second deal, place in center. Turn over double to show its on top… and it’s changed to an indifferent card (ha ha!- so damn clever!). Color change. Back on top.
3. Vernon’s pop up move. Or, if you wanna be a little different… Check out the rising sequence in New Era. Good enough it could be a theory 11 download.

Ben
p.s.
Don’t want the color change? Just do tilt instead of the second, or a bluff insertion to second from the top, then continue except minus the change.

The card to mouth is fun. I like how you make it into something else. I just put this challenge up to make people think a little.

Your inputs here are always welcome and it always gives me something to think about.

I guess I just hate the belief that every kicker has to be some dramatic twist. It’s like how M. Night Shamallama made the twist ending so damn popular again, EVERYONE has to do it to the point where people expect a twist, which is kinda counter-intuitive isn’t it?

Of course the other end of the spectrum is “well, when do you stop?”

I think you stop when you’re at the peak. To me, the pop-up card is quite a peak. Twist endings are fun but I don’t think they’re a necessity for every trick, y’know?

You could also take it too far. Like Daryl’s routine. “Sleight-of-hand proofing the deck by tying a rope around it?” Are you fucking kidding me? Like, sorry… I would file that under visual noise.

The way you frame your CTM routine makes a lot to sense to me though. Reminds me of the routine Williamson does!

I guess it all comes down to how you present it!

Tony, you ask what the link between the card ending somewhere else, and so I gave you my version. What I generally use after the first “surprise” CTM is something along the lines of “I jsut wanted to make sure you were paying attention” from there it becomes the rest of my CTM routine. I’m basically performing 2 routines, but linking them together.

One of the better ideas I’ve seen for concluding a routine and what not would be Tyler Wilson’s Compost It from Dominatricks. The routine is based on the idea that a post it not with the word “Top” and their signature on it makes their card rise to the top (that’s a very simplified explanation, it’s much better then I make it sound.) But the way he concludes it is by adding an S before “Top” on the post it; effectively making it say “Stop.” At which point the deck vanishes with only their card and the post it left.

It’s a nice little routine, fairly logical in it’s…illogicality?

The pop-up card is it. Even if you wanted to go on, spectators are usually too busy freaking out to allow another phase.