Ring Report
April 18, 2010

Minutes for this meeting.

The theme for April was the fifth annual Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge. Contestants were given a deck of cards whose design had been kept secret by Contest Official Danny Baker, and had up to ten minutes to perform card magic.

Alex Turanski riffle-shuffled the deck with half the cards reversed. He pushed the Jokers through the deck, then showed that all the cards had been turned the same way. He removed the four Aces, then spread them evenly through the pack. He had a card selected and returned to the deck, then riffle-shuffled the deck with half the cards reversed. He cut the deck with a snap; the selected card popped out and all the cards turned the same way. He pushed the selected card into the deck and it rose to the top, three times. He then produced the four Aces using a series of dramatic revelations.

Gary Jewell shuffled the deck in an odd way, turning some cards one way and some the other. When he was finished, he spread the deck, showing that the only cards reversed were the four Aces. He dealt two black Aces to one side of the table and two red Aces to the other, then showed that the red and black Aces had traded places. A volunteer selected a card, and Gary found it by mind-reading. Another volunteer selected a card and returned it to the deck. Gary spread the deck and used the volunteer's hand as a dousing rod to locate the card.

Dr. Wilson had members of the audience select twenty cards and show them to him while describing imaginary locations to hide the cards. He then asked them to name either the name of the card or the location. If the card was named, he gave its location; if the location was described, he named the card.

Prashant Srivastava shuffled the deck, then had a volunteer select a card and return it to the deck. He turned over a card to discover the color of the selected card, then another card to discover the suit of the card, and a third card whose value told the location of the card from the top of the deck. He placed one card face down on the table, removed the four Aces from the deck, then had a card selected and signed. He placed the signed card with the four Aces, then showed that it had vanished. He turned over the tabled card to show that it was the signed card. He returned the signed card to the deck, and it rose to the top of the deck. He returned the card to the deck, but then it appeared across the table on the card box. He showed five cards, the Ace through the five, making the Ace rise to the top of the packet. He discarded the Ace, then showed a card reversing itself in the packet. He discarded all but the last card, which changed into the card signed earlier.

The winner was selected by a vote of all I.B.M. members present. Prashant Srivastava was declared the winner, becoming the first person in the five-year history of the contest to successfully defend the title.

Full details of the business meeting, photos and videos can be found at www.ibmring362.org.