The Wild Card effect has been one of my favorite packet effects from as far back as I can remember and is indisputably one of the best card packet effects of all time. Unfortunately, in its original form, it does not meet my concept of good magic. It does not answer the basic audience dilemma – “Why does he do it ?”
I know transformations (anything that changes) are part of a magic effect, but there ought to be some reason for it. If a performer changes blank paper to currency notes, that’s logical, it’s something everyone in the audience would like to do. If he changes a silk to an egg, it is mystifying, and entertaining, when the egg is required for the Egg Bag routine to follow. But what reason would a wonder-worker have to change (say) eight Three of Clubs and a Queen of Hearts to 9 Queen of Hearts? A clever item, and pretty to watch, but why?
When I started performing the effect, I realised the end transformation did not have to be the same card – you could end with all different cards. The effects in this manuscript are an extension of that concept. When you change 4 Jokers (the original Wild Card) and an Ace to a perfect Royal Flush, it has the same impact as a Wild Card routine, with some logic behind it. For the more leisurely presentation, there is a “Bridge” hand variation with a Grand Slam hand.
There is a routine for the kids, where watering some seeds produces a variety of pretty flowers, and for adults where a variety of “drinks” magically appear in empty glasses with the help of a Genii Bartender.
I thought I would put them in a manuscript for you to make and use. I have made every one of these effects, and what you need to make them for yourself is here. Just print the templates given, cut and use.
There are performers who have no time, inclination or aptitude for any D-I-Y props. This manuscript is not for them. There are performers who love tinkering with odds and ends to produce something they are happy to use, and when asked after a performance at the local “Houdini get-together” where they got it, can proudly claim “Oh, I made it!” And of course, there is the security of knowing that when a set spoils, (as all card items eventually do) or is lost, you could rig up another in minutes.
After you have made and used an idea or two, you will probably have ideas of your own. So I have also included the “templates” I used, which will enable you to rig up your own ideas with minimum effort. All you need to make and use these effects, (or make a variety of your own) are detailed in this manuscript. Your only other requirement is a color printer and some card stock.
1st edition 2024, PDF 29 pages.
word count: 4504 which is equivalent to 18 standard pages of text
Download at : https://www.lybrary.com/wild-card-variations-p-926435.html?affid=16293