Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 19: Issue #19

Issue #19 finds Annemann 14 weeks into his nightclub tour, mid-dispute with Frank Lane, and with strong opinions about dealers writing in the margins of subscribers' copies. The effects this issue include a rapid calculation piece that fools people who already know the original, a thought-of card found without a single question asked, a behind-the-back stop trick dressed up as muscle reading, and Annemann's most personal contribution to the Jinx so far — a billet routine 15 years in the making.

Effects Covered

[0:55] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann opens with a genuine question to readers about whether sponsored free floor shows undercut working magicians, then surfaces a practical flash paper idea for the living-and-dead test — four slips vanish instantly, one survives — that Jay admits is actually kind of cool even if the theme isn't. The Frank Lane dispute from Issue #18 reaches its conclusion when Annemann produces the citation proving he credited Stanyan back in 1934, and closes the matter. He also describes a stacked deck used as a secret message carrier, a soft-pencil locator card that catches the eye only when the deck is fanned, and addresses dealers who have been writing comments in the margins of subscribers' copies — with a promise of replacement issues for anyone affected.

[3:43] The Addition of the Age — Charles Nagel A 25-square grid, five two-digit numbers from the helper, five more from the performer, and a diagonal row filled in by the helper with whatever numbers they choose — and the performer's total, written before anyone has added anything up, is correct. The method involves a complementary relationship between the two columns of numbers that locks the arithmetic in place regardless of what goes in the diagonal. Annemann notes the filling of the squares can be varied each time so it never looks the same twice.

[5:01] Letters to the Jinx / Business Card Pictures — Theodore Annemann A selection of reader letters and a page of period business cards from magicians of the era — both worth a look at jinxnavigator.com.

[5:10] The Scarny Thought Card — John Scarny The deck is riffled vertically so the cards flash by, the helper simply thinks of one they see, cuts the deck themselves, and deals face down while counting silently to their card's number — and the card at that position is the one they thought of. No questions, no elimination, no obvious force. Scarny notes that with practice the riffle can be timed so the cards of interest pass clearly while the rest flash by too quickly to register.

[6:13] Another Stop — Paul Curry The deck goes behind the performer's back, a helper calls stop during a riffle, notes the card, then shuffles the deck — and the performer names it. Curry's preferred presentation frames it as muscle reading, slowly approaching the correct card in a face-up spread while appearing to read the helper's reactions. The method uses a short card and a small setup that can be put in place in seconds, and the muscle reading frame keeps the method invisible even to people who know card work.

[7:11] A Version of the Al Baker Three-Billet Trick — Theodore Annemann Annemann's most personal contribution to the Jinx so far — a routine tracing back to Al Baker's original, through Annemann's 1924 acquisition of the method, his 1929 development of billet switches allowing slips to be returned after reading, and a significant discovery about shuffling a stacked deck without destroying its usefulness. Three helpers each select or think of a card through three different procedures, three slips are written and collected, and the performer reveals all three one at a time — saving the most impossible for last: the card that was only thought of, never written, until after the revelation had already begun. Annemann closes with a point Jay finds worth quoting directly: there's no method that compares to having a helper genuinely think of a card, and that point alone is what makes the trick worth doing the way it's described.

[9:03] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #20 — featuring Conrad Bush's coin effect, Silver or Copper.

Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 18: Issue #18

Issue #18 finds Annemann fresh off nine weeks touring 117 nightclubs, mid-argument with a Boston magician who called him a cock-eyed liar, and with enough opinions about magic publishing ethics to fill half an editorial. The issue also delivers the Jinx's first collected improvements column, a pantomime cigarette production, a card spelling effect built around the performer's own name, and a press piece involving a named dead person that Jay is pretty sure would still get into a newspaper.

Effects Covered

[0:49] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann opens in the middle of a dispute with Frank Lane over the origin of a billet card effect — Lane called him a cock-eyed liar, Annemann offers him a dozen life subscriptions if he can prove he's wrong, and notices Lane is now wearing a question mark ring just like the one he admired on Annemann's hand. The bulk of the editorial covers nine weeks on the road with the Green River Review, including a week at Grand Central Palace where the show was recorded with applause gaps that audiences declined to fill on cue. He closes with a sharp statement on publishing ethics: any magazine that takes advertising money from dealers known to copy, fail to deliver, or ship shoddy merchandise is doing its readers a disservice. He uses the word "pediculous" and helpfully defines it: lousy.

[3:14] The Miracle Speller — Vincent Dalban A helper silently spells their own name, dealing one card per letter, and notes the card that falls on the last letter. The performer — without knowing the helper's name or the card — spells out his own name and turns over the last card: it's the chosen one. The method uses a single gimmicked card and a name chosen in advance that's one letter shorter than the performer's own, and that relationship locks everything in place regardless of how long the helper's name turns out to be.

[4:20] The Phantom Cigarette — Lou Brent Pure pantomime: the performer mimes taking out a cigarette case, removing a cigarette, tapping it, tucking it between the lips, then reaching for a match — and when both hands come away from the lighting action, there's a lit cigarette actually in his mouth. The cigarette has been hidden and pre-lit in a small holder under the coat, with the steal covered by the match-lighting move. Annemann adds his own note on the retrieval sequence, describing a slightly different handling he's found more reliable in practice.

[5:32] Improvements — Theodore Annemann The Jinx's first collected improvements column — reader-submitted refinements to effects going back to Issue #1, tested and selected by Annemann. Highlights include: the Supreme East Indian needle trick gets a cleaner load with no faked spool needed; the lemon and the dollar gets upgraded to three different fruits so the performer can identify at a glance which bill is out; the divination with matches gets loosened so a mostly-full borrowed matchbook works; and 20th Century Cards gets a full apparatus upgrade with a small display stand and nickeled rod so the ribbon production plays to the whole room.

[6:56] Thoughts in General — Theodore Annemann Annemann's notebook column returns with practical ideas rather than polished routines, owing to four shows a night on tour. The card-on-ceiling effect gets a thorough treatment — wool co-paste from Woolworth's in a small tin, last-minute dovetail shuffle, and the specific rotary spin when throwing the deck that makes the effect reliable rather than hit or miss. Other items: make tube apparatus from square cardboard so it folds flat for a suitcase, learn lip reading for close-up work, and perform card tricks with three specific cards removed from the deck so that if a helper names any of those three, it can be produced from the pocket.

[8:51] Death Flight — Tom Sellers A named dead person travels invisibly between two sealed, initialed envelopes — one helper ends up with six blank cards where there were seven, and the other ends up with eight where there were seven, with the written card right there among them. The entire method happens during two brief seemingly casual envelope-handling moments, and by the time the helpers are initialing their envelopes, the outcome is already decided. Jay's verdict: it's a cool effect — just do something other than a dead person.

[10:14] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #19 — featuring Annemann's version of the Al Baker three-billet trick.

Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 16: Issue #16

Issue #16 rings in 1936 with Annemann reporting from a turbulent SAM club night, closing the Burling Hull matter with two words, and delivering a book test built on a pocket index, a magic square from a birthday, a comedy coin-to-candy-cone switch, and a thought-of card transposition that Annemann couldn't crack until Dr. Jacob Daly figured out the core method in about five minutes of conversation.

Effects Covered

[0:58] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann skips the standard SAM club night recap in favor of what other reporters missed — including Cardini spending the final three minutes of a magnificent eleven-minute act doing a deliberate expose of a rubber band trick, which Annemann says ruined everything that came before it. He closes the Burling Hull dispute with a two-word response: "I apologize." He also welcomes Percy Abbott's new monthly publication The Tops with measured skepticism — though Jay notes from the future that it ran for 21 years, relaunched, and ran another 33.

[3:05] A Visible Cigarette Vanisher — Lou Brent A cigarette holder of the kind actual smokers carried in the 1930s is shown openly with the cigarette seated inside — then both vanish. The prop never registered as apparatus because it looked like an ordinary accessory, which Annemann notes is exactly how magic props should look. He adds a practical tip: adhesive tape inside the holder keeps the cigarette firmly seated during the vanish. Jay suggests the principle adapts naturally to vaping, with an obvious presentational angle ready-made.

[4:15] Again, a Prediction — Doc Mifflin A card is freely chosen from a mixed deck, the helper opens a small book of poems to the matching page number, finds the word at that same position, and the prediction already in the cup matches it exactly. The method requires thirteen outs and a pocket index — and Jay points out that if you have a pocket index collecting dust and never knew what to do with it, this is the answer.

[4:59] The Lucky Number Magic Square — Royal V. Heath A helper names their birth date, the performer writes it above a blank 3x3 grid, the helper makes two apparently free choices along the way, and the completed grid is a magic square — every row, column, and diagonal adding up to the same total. That total reduces to the helper's personal lucky number, the whole thing fits on the back of a business card, and Jay notes in the comments at jinxnavigator.com there's a free crash course on numerology readings to pair with it.

[6:10] Burr — Otis Manning A borrowed nickel vanishes under a handkerchief and reappears as a candy ice cream cone, handed to the helper as an even trade. The cone was a one-cent candy counter item in 1936 that passed for the real thing at three feet, and Annemann notes the second laugh when the helper realizes it's candy is just as good as the first. Jay acknowledges his earlier snarkiness about nightclubs and handkerchiefs and admits the effect has genuine promise — and suggests there are plenty of modern substitutes for the candy cone worth exploring.

[7:27] The Acme Thought Card Pass — Dr. Jacob Daly and Theodore Annemann Two people each silently think of a card from a packet held in the audience — both packets are sealed in envelopes, one pocketed by a helper, one kept by the performer. The thought-of cards travel invisibly: the helper's envelope comes up two short, the performer's has two extra, and both named cards are right there. Annemann had been trying to crack this with unprepared cards for a long time; Daly solved the core method almost immediately when the subject came up in conversation, with the preparation built entirely into an ordinary stack of envelopes.

[8:46] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #17 — featuring Otis Manning's Finger Exercise.

Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 15: Issue #15

Issue #15 is a compact but well-stocked issue — a three-way out envelope used for real election-night publicity, a self-working spelling effect updated for American audiences, a coat-mounted ball retriever that takes Jay on a nostalgic tour of his heavily rigged performing jackets, and a parlor effect that Annemann calls the best drawing-room conception he knows. The editorial is sharp, covering glowing promotional eyes, a handwriting expert working a crystal ball act, and Annemann's blunt thoughts on how the magic community handles exposers.

Effects Covered

[0:52] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann opens with a photo of Otis Manning landing a three-column front-page picture — full details promised next issue. He covers a lobby display trick using luminous paint on a promotional photo, a crystal ball act secretly backed by a handwriting expert sending personalized notes about audience members, and a practical tip about writing predictions on your own business card so people keep them. He closes with a pointed editorial on magic exposers — formal expulsion doesn't work, he argues, and watching the community immediately surround a known exposer asking to see his latest stuff proves it.

[3:42] An Original Faked Envelope with a Publicity Angle — Theodore Annemann A three-compartment envelope that opens to a different compartment depending on which end is trimmed — content simply falls into the helper's palm, no fumbling required. Annemann describes using it during a local election: writing a prediction, having a newspaper editor sign it, apparently having second thoughts and sealing a new envelope, then returning after the results came in to verify it — leaving the clean original on the table and pocketing the faked one. Clean entry, clean exit.

[5:21] A Different Card Spelling — George C. Hannemann A refinement of a spelling effect from Gibson's Houdini's Magic, updated for American audiences who don't call Jacks "knaves" or 2s "duces." A helper spells out their card's suit and lands on a matching suit, then spells the value and lands on a matching value — two separate arrivals, both exactly on cue, with no sleight of hand. Nineteen cards in a specific order near the middle of the deck, and the trick essentially runs itself. Hannemann also offers a handling that avoids a force entirely.

[6:42] An Original Ball Dropper — Otakar Fischer A coat-mounted device that delivers a palmed ball with nothing more than a slight lowering of the arm and two fingers of gentle pressure — gravity does the rest. Fischer's key note is that the hand stays completely still throughout, and the dropper lies flat against the body once empty. Jay takes a nostalgic detour through his performing jackets of 40-some years ago, which apparently housed doves, pinned cards, a vanishing candle, and a giant card against the breast pocket simultaneously.

[7:57] Diabolical Influence — Harris Solomon The performer writes a prediction, covers it with an initialed sticker, and leaves the room — from outside, he directs a series of apparently free choices: a card at a counted position, a named card, three random numbers. He returns, peels the sticker, and the prediction matches the card at the counted position. Two more cards match the other selections. The three numbers add up to the sum written under the sticker. The pocketed card is named, the deck shown complete. Annemann calls it the best parlor and drawing-room conception he knows, and Jay says he's going to try this one.

[9:31] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #16 — featuring Doc Mifflin's "Again, a Prediction."

Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 13: Issue #13

Issue #13 arrives with two black cats overhead and Annemann unbothered — he notes the cat should be the worried one. The issue delivers practical stagecraft from a Viennese theater veteran, a publicity stunt involving a postage stamp and a ceiling, a newspaper prediction with mentalism flair, and a self-working eight-ace routine that Manning insists should be performed as one unbroken sequence.

Effects Covered

[0:56] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann opens with a genuine pet theory: magicians do too many things in threes, and the third repetition risks nullifying the mystery entirely. Jay pushes back slightly — he's fine with threes, but argues that if you repeat something, at least vary what the audience perceives. The editorial also covers a bird cage update tracing Robert Heller's version, a recommendation for U.F. Grant's one-way deck booklet, a cigarette vanish by Calvert Cole that fooled Annemann completely, and Andrew Brennan's follow-up to last issue's shrinking dollar — which ends with a large souvenir penny and the punchline that the secret of 59 cents is that they have bigger cents.

[4:21] An Original Tie for Loads — Otakar Fischer A practical stagecraft solution from a man who spent 12 consecutive years performing two-hour shows at a magical theater in Vienna. The device is a simple endless loop of cord with a ring and a dress hook — a load secured diagonally releases instantly with a single upward motion of the hook, and the heavier the load, the more securely it holds until needed. Twelve years of professional use is about as good a recommendation as it gets.

[5:17] Higher Magic — Theodore Annemann A wet postage stamp pressed to a half dollar and thrown at the ceiling with a particular motion — the coin comes back down, the stamp stays up. Annemann's best version involves a card name written in ink on the back of the stamp, placed on a hotel ceiling during one visit and confirmed by forcing that card on a return visit. Practical notes: use ink not pencil, small stamps work best, and for a walking advertisement, have gummed stickers printed with your name instead.

[6:35] The Super Slates — Anonymous A two-slate effect where both slates are openly numbered on all four sides before anything happens — and when opened, there's chalk writing on the inside of each one. The method involves a precisely timed sequence of flap handling woven around the numbering procedure. Jay's honest take: lay audiences probably aren't going home wondering why only one slate had writing on it, but if you want to fool the folks at the next magic club meeting, this will do it.

[7:51] Cards and a Newspaper — Arthur Johnson A helper shuffles and cuts a deck into four piles, cards are moved between them, and the top card of each pile turns up a page number, column, line, and word — which matches a prediction written before anything began. The underlying card principle is one magicians will recognize from the classic four-aces location, but Johnson's repurposing of it as a newspaper prediction shifts the feel entirely toward mentalism. Jay notes it would work just as cleanly as a book test with a small adjustment to the presentation.

[8:58] Aces of Eight — Otis Manning Eight aces — two from each suit — are mixed and cut by a helper, and the performer produces them from behind his back in a sequence of escalating phases: matching suits, then matching colors, then a spelling sequence, then finally both hands emerge with reds in one and blacks in the other. No conventional sleight of hand — the work happens behind the back through arrangement and one simple repeated move. Manning's instruction is to learn it smoothly and perform the whole thing as one continuous unbroken effect.

[10:04] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #14 — featuring Annemann's Thoughts in the Air, an almost-impromptu two-person mentalism effect.

Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 12: Issue #12

Issue #12 is an all-Annemann affair — editorial, notebook column, a stacked-deck solitaire hustle, and a stage four-aces routine built for maximum fairness. He's also bottle-feeding a puppy, which explains a few things about the issue's more notebook-jottings character.

Effects Covered

[0:48] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann blames August heat and an eight-day-old bird dog for a lighter-than-usual issue, then pivots to a genuinely frustrated observation about magicians who ignore published effects until someone else does something brilliant with them — at which point the whole community suddenly discovers it's great. He closes with a word about the late dealer Sam Bailey and goes to feed his puppy.

[2:22] Thoughts in General — Theodore Annemann Annemann's occasional miscellany column covers a card puzzle involving 25 cards and five poker hands, a betting proposition hidden in a fanned shuffled deck, an improved handling of the Seven Keys to Baldpate built with Robert Thrasher, a shrinking dollar bill stunt with Roosevelt-era patter, a canary-in-a-lightbulb variation using water, and a pointed note to anyone still using cop-and-robber patter in 1935. He also digs into the history of the vanishing bird cage and cards from the pockets, and closes with a practical angle for secretly loading an object into a helper's pocket using a card trick as cover. Jay notes that put-pocketing, it turns out, is not a new idea.

[5:03] The Solitaire King — Theodore Annemann Annemann discovered that the Eight Kings stack, applied to the solitaire game Canfield, produces a win nearly every time — and built a presentation around it for card parties. After a few card tricks, you offer to demonstrate how you can always win at solitaire, false shuffle the stacked deck, lay out the game, and it plays itself to a win with one decision point in the middle. Annemann is modest about it: he didn't invent either piece, he just noticed they fit together.

[6:06] Four Aces on the Stage — Theodore Annemann A classic close-up effect gets a full platform treatment. Four volunteers each find an ace themselves, cover it with three cards, and one packet is chosen at random — the rest go back into the deck, which gets shuffled, rubber-banded, and tossed into the audience for someone to search. No aces anywhere. The chosen volunteer spreads their cards: all four aces. The method uses a short-card deck and three extra aces, with the key moves happening precisely when every eye in the room is on the volunteers or the audience member searching the deck. Jay — confirmed non-card-guy — says this one sounds genuinely fun to both perform and watch.

[7:37] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #13 — featuring Arthur Lloyd Johnson's Cards and Newspaper.