ThanksThis work on my stack would not have seen light without the immeasurable support by many magicians, both morally and otherwise.I’d like to specially thank Luigi and Fran (Ronda) for “forcing” me to rewrite this new edition.Also to Roger and Javi (Sea Bull), for always being there.Miguel Puga a
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Thanks
This work on my stack would not have seen light without the
immeasurable support by many magicians, both morally and
otherwise.
I’d like to specially thank Luigi and Fran (Ronda) for “forcing”
me to rewrite this new edition.
Also to Roger and Javi (Sea Bull), for always being there.
Miguel Puga and Angel Azar (for their collaboration on the first
edition).
Juan Escolano (for his great help)
Especially to Woody Aragon for bringing me closer into this
fascinating world of the mirrored deck and for lending me
reference materials, which, without a doubt, have influenced this
work.
Finally, to Juan Tamariz, for his fascinating work MNEMONICA,
which have influenced my studies of the stacked deck so much.
5
Table of Contents
THANKS.....................................................................................................................................................4
ABOUT THE FIRST EDITION ...............................................................................................................8
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE ........................................................................................................................ 10
A FEW NOTES BEFORE BEGINNING ............................................................................................... 11
THE DAORTIZ STACK......................................................................................................................... 14
STACKING THE DECK ............................................................................................................................................. 14
Stacking by anti-‐faro........................................................................................................................................14
Stacking by faro..................................................................................................................................................16
UNDERSTANDING THE STACK............................................................................................................................... 22
Knowing the Order............................................................................................................................................22
The 3’s and J’s: .....................................................................................................................................................24
PRACTICE EXERCISES............................................................................................................................................. 26
STACK PROPERTIES (TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE DECK’S STRUCTURE) ......................... 27
ODD SEQUENCES OF COLOR (1,3,5)................................................................................................................... 27
SEQUENCES OF DISTINCT VALUES........................................................................................................................ 29
VALUE OF THE CENTER CARD.............................................................................................................................. 30
SEQUENCE OF 4 (ASCENDING ORDER)............................................................................................................... 31
The Quad count...................................................................................................................................................32
Finding cards – version 1 – Mnemonic System .....................................................................................32
THE MOST OFTEN NAMED CARDS ........................................................................................................................ 34
STACK PROPERTIES (USING CALCULATIONS)........................................................................... 35
LOCATING CARDS – VERSION 2 – ARITHMETIC SYSTEM ................................................................................. 35
TO KNOW THE QUANTITY OF CARDS IN A PACKET............................................................................................ 37
KNOWING THE CARD AT A DETERMINED POSITION (PART 1)........................................................................ 38
KNOWING THE CARD AT A DETERMINED POSITION (PART 2)........................................................................ 40
ACAAN (ANY CARD AT ANY NUMBER) ............................................................................................................ 40
DECK PROPERTIES AFTER MODIFICATION................................................................................ 42
CHANGING THE 3’S AND JACKS (DIRECT SYSTEM)............................................................................................ 42
Alternating Colors Red and Black...............................................................................................................44
Alternating Suits ................................................................................................................................................44
CHANGING THE VALUES 3/J (AUTOMATICALLY WITH TRICKS) ..................................................................... 45
The travel of the 3’s and J’s............................................................................................................................45
Cutting at the 3’s and J’s: ................................................................................................................................51
BEING IN “3/J SWITCHED STATE” (IN TWO PARTS)......................................................................................... 53
The Three References.......................................................................................................................................53
Following the three...........................................................................................................................................56
DECK PROPERTIES (RETURNING TO NEW DECK ORDER)........................................................ 58
RETURNING TO NEW DECK ORDER...................................................................................................................... 58
Using the Anti-‐faro............................................................................................................................................58
Using Faros...........................................................................................................................................................59
THE PALINDROMIC MIRROR STACK (FROM DANI’S DECK).................................................... 61
ADAPTING TO A MIRRORED PALINDROMIC DECK.............................................................................................. 61
MIRROR STACK WITH PALINDROMIC SEPARATION OF SUITS.......................................................................... 61
MIRROR STACK WITH MIXED SUITS (ASIDE FROM STANDARD MIRROR STACK WORK) ............................. 63
A FEW MIRROR STACK PROPERTIES .................................................................................................................... 64
6
ARITHMETIC “DAORTIZ STACK” PROPERTIES APPLIED TO MIRROR STACK................................................ 65
Sequence of 4 (ascending order).................................................................................................................65
Search for Cards .................................................................................................................................................65
Alternating Suit Sequences............................................................................................................................65
NEW PROPERTIES FORMED BY THE “DAORTIZ MIRROR STACK” .................................................................. 66
Internal property of the mirror stack: “sum of 9”................................................................................66
Internal property of mirror stack: “Difference of 3”...........................................................................67
SEPARATING SUITS WITH A MIRROR STACK....................................................................................................... 67
ARRIVING AT NEW DECK ORDER.......................................................................................................................... 70
By faros...................................................................................................................................................................70
RETURNING TO DANI’S STACK............................................................................................................................. 71
By anti-‐faros: .......................................................................................................................................................71
By faros: .................................................................................................................................................................71
A FEW TRICKS WITH THE MIRROR STACK .......................................................................................................... 72
THE FLYING CARD.................................................................................................................................................. 72
“PEEK” FOR ENGBLOM .......................................................................................................................................... 75
LUCKY CUT............................................................................................................................................................... 81
POKER EXHIBITIONS ......................................................................................................................... 83
RETURNING TO PRE-‐TRICK ORDER...................................................................................................................... 83
PREPARING A CHOSEN TRIO, FOR 5 PLAYERS. ................................................................................................... 85
TWO PAIR CALLED BY AUDIENCE, FOR 4 PLAYERS. .......................................................................................... 90
POKER BY CHOICE, FOR 5 PLAYERS ..................................................................................................................... 92
STRAIGHT OF CHOICE............................................................................................................................................. 96
CHOSEN STRAIGHT FOR 4 PLAYERS, WINNING WITH STRAIGHT ROYAL FLUSH........................................... 97
ANY CALLED HAND OF POKER USING “MIRROR STACK ORDER” ..................................................................... 98
Pairs:........................................................................................................................................................................98
Two-‐pair (two 8’s and two 2’s photo 109): ............................................................................................99
Three of a kind (3 queens photo 110):......................................................................................................99
Full house: (Queens/Jacks – photo 111):.................................................................................................99
Poker (four 5’s):..................................................................................................................................................99
Straight of a color (whichever is asked for):....................................................................................... 100
Low straight (photo 114):........................................................................................................................... 100
Medium straight (photo 115):................................................................................................................... 100
Royal Straight (photo 116): ....................................................................................................................... 100
SPELLING TRICKS (USING DAORTIZ STACK) ...........................................................................103
THOUGHT OF CARD SPELLED TO AND FOUND (CLASSIC VERSION) ..............................................................103
SPELLING A COMMAND AND THE CARD APPEARS (I) .....................................................................................103
SPELLING A COMMAND AND THE CARD APPEARS (II)....................................................................................104
DECK IN ORDER I (TAMARIZ/DAORTIZ).........................................................................................................106
DECK IN ORDER II (THE SPECTATORS ORDERS) .............................................................................................107
DECK IN ORDER III (WITH CHOSEN CARDS AND SURPRISES) .......................................................................108
THE INFORMANT CARDS (I)................................................................................................................................110
INFORMANT CARDS (II) – WITHOUT MODIFYING 3’S/J’S.............................................................................112
COINCIDENCES ...................................................................................................................................115
WITH THE DAORTIZ STACK ...............................................................................................................................115
Chosen card matches its’ mate (in two phases)................................................................................. 115
Chosen card matches its’ mate (in the spectator’s hands)............................................................ 117
Super “one to the side” (prediction/coincidence?)........................................................................... 118
WITH THE MIRROR STACK ORDER.....................................................................................................................124
7
Casual Intuition ............................................................................................................................................... 124
Chosen card finds it’s mate (III) ............................................................................................................... 126
Small routine of coincidences.................................................................................................................... 127
Chosen card coincides with it’s mate (…and IV)................................................................................ 132
8
About the first edition
After a few months of being fed up with my computer, today I
started a fresh attempt to organize my thoughts. Speaking of
organization, my intent is to rewrite Mi Baraja Personal, which I
baptized six years ago. To start at the beginning we must go back
12 or 13 years ago, when into my hands fell a tiny book bearing
the title MODERN ILLUSION. I found within its pages the fascinating
world of stacked decks. I had already heard talk of the stack
before, including of course whisperings of – at the time -‐ the
yet to be published MNEMONICA by Juan Tamariz.
The system that was in MODERN ILLUSION was the well-‐known “Si
Stebbin’s.” During the long period of time I worked with this
stack, I found obstacles when doing tricks where the deck was
exposed to the spectators in context of the classic memorization
of the deck type effects. Anyone familiar with the method will
know exactly what I am referring to: the order consists of four
identical sequences. Further still, the cards alternate suits and
colors.
These conditions lead me to think perhaps the stack could be
improved if it was restructured slightly. This was the first step
in constructing my own stack. I became fixated on modifying Si
Stebbin’s and tried a thousand and one variations, but lost too
many of the Si Stebbin’s properties in each attempt. I tried
inserting jokers, changing sequences, getting rid of cards... all
these attempts were futile.
A few weeks later, hundreds of sheets of paper filled my trashcan
with useless equations all in an attempt to achieve my objective.
Finally, after much thought and work, the DaOrtiz stack was
conceived. I worked with it for a few years, improving it bit by
bit. All of the benefits and uses of the deck were kept in some
notes entitled MI BARAJA PERSONAL on my computer. Years later, a
desire to show my work and the enthusiasm of a twenty year old
kid inspired me to publish my book. It was Juan Escolano who took
me seriously and financed the project allowing this book to see
the light of day.
On many occasions I have pondered whether or not it was an error
to publish the work in which I explained a new system of cyclic
9
deck use over 200+ pages. There were many reasons I wrote and
published that first edition, which six years later I look back
on as incomplete. Each day I am more sure that it has too much of
some concepts and misses others entirely. However, the first
edition explained the essence of the deck perfectly, so it wasn’t
an error to write about my stack and its workings
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