I love ace assemblies as there is simply something pleasing about their structure. I have explored many approaches over the years. There is a phylum of solutions that have at their center the fact that everything that needs to be secretly done is done during the laydown. This can be effective, but perhaps it’s best to say that this approach is as effective as the laydown is convincing. The sleight-of-hand solution offered below possesses an overall feeling of innocence—there are no “magician poses” that sometimes frame add-ons or switches, and the pace is leisurely throughout.
This sequence comes down to learning two moves, the first of which involves an extension of one of my favorite card stratagems—secretly reversing a card against my body. Those who have not explored this technique might suppose it is too exposed a maneuver or too unrefined a method, but in practice it is an astonishingly efficient (and invisible) way to accomplish seemingly moveless card changes and additions. To do it well involves an understanding of staging and timing, beats and off-beats, in addition to the physical performance of the move.