If handed a shuffled deck of cards and asked to perform a trick, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better effect than the Ambitious Card. Rather than dive into the intimate details of my Ambitious Card routine—since I’m sure you already have your own—this month’s column will focus on a few ideas and touches that might enhance your existing routine.
There’s something so satisfying and magical about doing a double turnover, placing the top card into the middle of the deck, and then revealing it has jumped back to the top that I often find myself doing it just for my own amusement when fidgeting with a deck by myself. However, I’ve always felt the moment of magic needed a stronger visual element to sell the card’s “travel.” I experimented with snapping my fingers (nonsensical), twitching the deck (unsatisfying), and even Lee Asher’s “Riding The Ripple,” which is great but requires holding the deck in a manner inconsistent with the rest of my routine.
A few years ago, I developed a solution I now sheepishly call “The Elbaum Pop Move.” It’s a simple yet subtle technique that makes it appear, visually and naturally, as though the selected card “pops” to the top of the deck before you reveal it. It’s like a more subdued version of the Braue Pop-Up Card (more on that later)—only without bending the card.