Ambitious Card

The Ambitious Card, or Elevator Card, is a magic effect in which a playing card seems to return to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere in the middle of the deck.[1][2] This is a classic effect in card magic and serves as a study subject for students of magic. It is also known as the "Trick that Fooled Houdini", as Harry Houdini was unable to determine how the trick was done when it was performed for him, multiple times, by Dai Vernon.[3] Most performing card magicians will have developed their own personal Ambitious Card routine.

The effect is often credited to French magician Gustav Alberti, in the mid-19th century.[4] However, there is a related idea in Jean Nicholas Ponsin's Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilée, published in 1854, that might precede that. Many magicians base their routine on Darryl Martinez's version, as he issued a comprehensive VHS tape on many variations of accomplishing this effect.

  1. ^ kammagic. "Ambitious Card Routine Kamm". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-01-05. One of many versions of the Ambitious Card Routine available on internet video.
  2. ^ Wilson, Mark (1988) [1975]. Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic. Courage Books. ISBN 0-89471-623-9. The Elevator card, p. 85
  3. ^ Wood, Graeme (June 13, 2011). "Hand of Fate – Card Trick that Stumped the Great Harry Houdini". chambermagic.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Who Invented It?". Magic Tricks .com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-05. Alberti ... French magician, late 1800s, said to have invented Ambitious Card.