Easy Does It: Refined Robbers
Learn several ways to improve one of the world's oldest card tricks by watching these videos from English television magician Paul Daniels.
Welcome to the second instalment of Easy Does It, a regular column about simple magic tricks that are easy to perform, enabling you to concentrate on your presentation skills. In this article, we’ll examine a classic card trick involving the four Jacks. We’ll also explore multiple ways to perform the effect, taking ideas and inspiration from the famous English magician Paul Daniels (1938-2016).
“The Four Burglars”—also known as “The Four Robbers”, “The Four Bank Robbers”, or sometimes “Cops and Robbers”—is one of the most well-known card tricks among the general public, right after “The Twenty-One Card Trick”. It can be found in many beginner magic books, which is why experienced magicians tend to overlook it. However, this classic card magic plot is still thoroughly entertaining when executed correctly. I’m not alone in this assessment. In his book, 21st Century Card Magic, American mystery author and magician James Swain said:
“The Four Robbers is one of the oldest plots in card magic. It also happens to be one of the best.”1
In “The Four Burglars”, the magician displays four Jacks, or sometimes four Kings, calling them “burglars”, “thieves”, or “robbers”. He tells a story about them breaking into a house, hotel, or bank, represented by the deck. The Jacks are distributed in different locations throughout the pack. Each location represents an entry point—such as a back door or window—or a room or floor in the building. This popular trick has two common endings: all four Jacks magically gather in the centre of the pack, or they assemble on top of the deck. In most variations, the four criminals escape from law enforcement by fleeing across the rooftops or flying off in a waiting helicopter.
In this article, we’ll concentrate on what has become the more popular ending: the four robbers rising to the top of the pack. We’ll also only look at the standard handling and how to improve it without radically changing the method or effect.
Three Versions of The Four Burglars
Learning new magic tricks is undoubtedly crucial to being a successful magician. However, crafting an engaging presentation is the real secret to captivating an audience. Magicians who weave amusement, intrigue, or even simple curiosity into their acts have the power to truly entertain. One of the big benefits of “The Four Burglars” is that it comes pre-packaged with an interesting story that enhances the magical effect, making it easier for you to deliver a compelling performance that lingers long in the memory.
Paul Daniels, the much-loved English magician and television presenter, was a popular figure in the entertainment world. He understood the inherent power of “The Four Burglars”. In fact, it was the very first card trick that he learned as a boy.
A few years ago, he started uploading videos on YouTube to help novice magicians enhance their performance and presentation skills. In three of these videos, Paul performed three slightly different versions of this classic of card magic. But why did he focus on such a simple trick, found in many beginner magic books, when he had so many other impressive tricks up his sleeve? The reason was that he wanted to show that the performance itself is what truly matters in magic. “The Four Burglars” is a story trick that explores themes of criminal activity, which people find naturally intriguing. You only have to look at the popularity of murder mystery novels, true crime podcasts, and crime-based thrillers on the silver screen to know that this theme resonates with many people. By using this trick as an example, Paul was able to highlight the importance of storytelling in magic in these three videos, which I’ve included below.
Paul was uncomfortable sharing secrets on YouTube, so I’ve included some notes beneath each video to help you learn the method. Even so, his YouTube channel is full of useful guidance, advice, and performance tips for aspiring magicians. Sadly, Paul Daniels died in 2016 of an incurable brain tumour. The last video he uploaded was, you guessed it, a performance of “The Four Burglars”.
Version 1: The Classic Method
In his first video on the trick, Paul performs “The Four Burglars” using the classic method: hiding three indifferent cards behind the four Jacks. The cards are preset in this condition before the performance.
This method is effective for video performances or situations where you can surreptitiously arrange the cards without your audience noticing. However, the major issue with this technique is that you need to pre-arrange the cards and hold them in your hand until you are ready to perform the trick. In most situations, this isn’t very practical.
Version 2: FASDIU
It would be much more advantageous if you could perform the trick from a shuffled deck in use (FASDIU). This is something that Paul demonstrates in his second video about “The Four Burglars”.
Paul devised an elegant solution to the problem. In the video, he steals the three indifferent cards from the face of the deck and then rearranges the cards in a vertical spread. This way, the concealed cards are placed second, third, and fourth from the top of the face-down packet. The only drawback of this method is that you have to place the deck on a table to adjust the Jacks. If you’re not careful, you might also accidentally reveal the hidden cards while sliding the Jacks into place, particularly if the cards are new and a little slippery.
To avoid these issues, try the following: steal the three indifferent cards from the face of the deck, taking the seven-card packet in right-hand end grip. Using your left fingers and thumb, rotate the rest of the deck face down. Peel the first Jack onto the top of the deck with the pad of your left thumb, then use the rest of the cards in your right hand to flip it face down. Immediately, perform a one-handed deal, thumbing the top card of the pack onto the table (or into a spectator’s hand).
Peel the next two Jacks onto the deck, flipping them both face down in the process. This leaves you holding three cards, squared as one, in your right hand. Temporarily clip this triple card against the top of the pack, keeping the block sidejogged. Using your right hand, flip the cards face down as if it were a single card. The three Jacks should be flipped face down onto the deck in quick succession.
This handling achieves the same end result as the one used by Paul in the video but circumvents the need to readjust the Jacks in the packet before placing the cards on top of the deck. This provides better economy of motion, although there is nothing wrong, per se, with the way Paul does it.
Although I have no problem displaying the Jacks in a vertical spread, I know some dyed-in-the-wool cardicians, in particular, dislike this display because they feel it looks unnatural. Luckily, there is another way to reorder the Jacks while keeping the three indifferent cards hidden: After stealing the cards from the face of the deck, reverse count the cards into your left hand, creating a small fan and holding the last four cards as one in right-hand end grip. Next, grip the top two Jacks, including the three indifferent cards hidden between them, with the fingers and thumb of your right hand. Slide these cards, as a single unit, underneath the two cards held in your left hand and square up. This display is, arguably, more natural-looking than a vertical spread. It also has the added benefit of shielding the thick edge of the packet with your right fingertips. You can also briefly display two Jacks in each hand before placing the right-hand packet under the two held in your left hand. This gives the display a clarity and openness that is lacking with the vertical spread.
Version 3: The Doorkeeper Subtlety
In his third video on the trick, Paul adds a further improvement that I’m calling the “Doorkeeper Subtlety” (I’ll explain why in a moment).
In the video, Paul uses a duplicate card, an Ace of Clubs, to make the secret addition of the three indifferent cards psychologically invisible. To use Paul’s idea, put the following cards on the face of the deck: Ace of Clubs, Indifferent Card, Indifferent Card, and Ace of Clubs.
Say to your audience that you’re not going to do “yet another four Ace trick” as you call attention to the Ace of Clubs on the face of the pack. Hand the four Jacks to a spectator and ask them to take a look at the “burglars”. As they do this, casually spread through the face-up deck and, as you square up, establish a break below the top three cards. In other words, hold a break above the second Ace of Clubs. Take the four Jacks back, keeping them in a messy, unsquared condition. Next, temporarily place the Jacks on the face of the pack and square everything up. Immediately lift all seven cards above the break off the deck in right-hand end grip. Place the deck on the table, flashing the face of the duplicate Ace of Clubs as you do so. You’re now in the correct position to complete the trick as Paul does in the video above.
Note: Paul uploaded a fourth video on “The Four Burglars”, which was shared earlier in this article. It features another performance of this particular handling. In it, he uses a duplicate Five of Spades rather than an Ace of Clubs. The video is worth watching (if you haven’t done so already) because it better showcases Paul’s presentation of the trick.
This is a clever concept because it makes it seem impossible for you to have extra cards hidden behind the four Jacks. This handling may even fool someone familiar with the classic method. However, it would be wiser to use the Ace of Diamonds because this card is symmetrical, so you do not need to worry about the relative orientation of the two duplicate cards. Cards that are not perfectly symmetrical, like the Ace of Clubs, can cause visual inconsistencies when you perform the steal (if you look closely, you can see this happen in Paul’s video demonstration).
I call this concept the “Doorkeeper Subtlety” because, given the story connected to the trick, it makes more sense to use two identical Jokers rather than an Ace, and call them “doormen”, “doorpeople”, “doorkeepers”, or “security guards”. This enables you to openly remove the two Jokers from the shuffled pack and put them on the face of the deck. If you’re going to take this approach, I’d suggest that you tell a story about four burglars breaking into a high-end hotel, the type that would have doormen or porters. The patter below was inspired by the infamous 1972 Pierre Hotel robbery, which is still, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest, most successful hotel robbery in history.
Explain to your audience that the two Jokers are the doormen for an upscale hotel in New York City. Casually spread the cards between your hands. As you square up, catch a left little finger break below the top four cards of the face-up deck. Lift all four cards off the pack and, using the pad of your left thumb, pull the face card of the packet (a Joker) back onto the face of the deck. Keeping the remaining three cards squared as one, place them on top of the deck, maintaining a left little finger break between the three-card packet and the rest of the cards. You’re now in a position to steal off the three cards behind the four Jacks. Your audience will assume that both Jokers are still on the face of the deck when, in actuality, only one remains.
For the purposes of this explanation, we’ll assume that the cards are in the following order from the face of the packet: JC-JH-JS-JD-Joker-X-X. Begin by saying, “This a story about four burglars, all called Jack. They decided to rob an upscale hotel in New York City. You know it’s a posh hotel when it has doormen.”
Next, readjust the packet, as described above, displaying two Jacks in each hand, then replace the right-hand cards under the ones held in your left (see Version 2: FASDIU). Call attention to the Jack of Hearts on the face of the packet and say, “The leader of the gang was known as ‘lumberjack’ because he always carried an axe to help him break into properties.” Turn the packet face down and drop it on top of the pack. As you continue to talk about the four burglars and their nefarious plans to rob the hotel, reverse count the top four cards into right-hand dealer’s grip and then slide them back on top of the pack. Done casually, this should look like you’re simply emphasising the number of burglars involved in the hotel heist. I usually clip the packet against the top of the deck, keeping it sidejogged, after completing the reverse count. You can then regrip the packet in a right-hand end grip and flash the Jack on the face of the packet (the Jack of Spades, in this case) before dropping it back on top of the pack.
Situation Check: The cards should be in the following order (from the top of the deck down): Joker, Indifferent Card, Indifferent Card, Jack of Spades, Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Jack of Hearts, and then the rest of the deck.
To continue with the trick, slide the first “burglar” under the deck (actually a Joker). This, fortuitously, positions the second Joker where it is supposed to be: on the face of the pack with the other Joker. Say, “The first burglar went to distract the doormen…” Next, push the new top card (an indifferent card) into the lower third of the deck as you say, “…as one of the other burglars snuck in through an open window on the ground floor. He went straight to the hotel’s vault and started breaking into the safety deposit boxes.”
Push the third burglar (another indifferent card) into the top third of the deck as you say, “Another climbed the fire escape, broke in through an upper floor window and started ransacking empty rooms for valuables, such as watches and jewellery” Finally, turn over the top card of the pack to display the Jack of Spades or, as you call him in the story, the “lookout man”. Continue by saying, “He carried a whistle, and his job was to stand on the roof and watch for the police."
Next, turn to your audience and say, “The doormen heard some suspicious noises coming from the building, so they called the police. The lookout man saw the police cars approaching, so he signalled his accomplices. All four of them ran up the stairs to the rooftop…” Riffle the cards and then say, “…and made their escape.” Turn the top four cards over one at a time to reveal the four Jacks. Turn the cards face up and ribbon spread them across the table to prove to your audience that there are no extra Jacks in the deck.
Braue Burglars
Performing a standard Braue Addition2 is another way to get into the correct position to perform “The Four Burglars”. In fact, this is one of the simplest and most sensible ways to perform the trick.
For readers who are not familiar with this basic card move, here’s a brief description of it: Begin with the four Jacks face up on top of the face-down deck. For the purposes of this explanation, we’ll assume that they’re in the following order (from the top of the deck down): Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Jack of Hearts, and Jack of Spades.
Spread the cards to display the Jacks on top of the deck. As you square up, catch a left little finger break below seven cards (the four face-up Jacks and three face-down indifferent cards).
Next, grasp the seven-card packet from above in right-hand end grip. Using the pad of your left thumb, pull the Jack of Diamonds onto the top of the deck, keeping the card sidejogged slightly. Use the cards remaining in your right hand to flip the Jack of Diamond face down. Do exactly the same thing with Jack of Clubs and Jack of Hearts. As soon as the Jack of Hearts is face down, drop all of the cards, as one, on top of the deck. Immediately flip the final Jack, the Jack of Spades, face down with the aid of your right fingers and thumb.
The move isn’t difficult but requires practice to perform smoothly and without any hesitation. In an article published in Hugard's Magic Monthly (Vol. 3 No. 3, August 1945, page 145), Corporal D. M. Amann from India proposed an improvement to the Braue Addition. The technique involves dropping the three extra cards onto the third card just after it is flipped face down on the deck, leaving you with a single card. This way, the fourth card can be handled in the same way as the previous three, rather than dropping the entire packet onto the deck and flipping over the last card. I encourage you to try the move both ways and see which handling suits you best.
Jack in the Attic
Another idea that I’ve experimented with is to have the final Jack, the “lookout man”, enter the “attic” or “penthouse” of the building. To do this, you need to perform Vernon’s Depth Illusion, better known as Tilt, inserting the card below the three Jacks already on top of the deck. The best way to do this is to raise the Jack to chest height and make some comment about it, e.g. “Look, he’s holding a whistle so he can warn his companions if the police arrive.” I use the Jack of Spades as the “lookout man” because in most traditional French-suited packs, he is holding a non-descript object that could be interpreted as a whistle (or maybe binoculars). As you do this, perform a one-handed Tilt get-ready. If you are unfamiliar with this move, here’s a brief description: Establish a left-hand little finger break below the top three cards of the pack using a Pinky Pulldown. Next, release the top card from the fleshy base of your left thumb, extending the break across the full width of the card. Insert the final Jack into the break, then allow the break to collapse as you riffle the front edge of the pack.
Another slightly easier approach is to insert the four “burglars” into the front edge of the deck. When inserting the final card (actually a Jack, this time), thumb count three cards and then slide it into the break to place it fourth from the top. If you decide to handle the final card in this manner, you must insert all four “Jacks” (?) into the front end of the deck, for the sake of consistency.
Final Thoughts
Despite its venerable age, “The Four Burglars” remains a delightful and baffling piece of card magic. The accompanying story adds another layer of intrigue while the effect unfolds with surprising simplicity, leaving the audience in no doubt about the impossible outcome.
In these three videos, Paul has gifted us with some wonderful improvements which will enable you to perform “The Four Burglars” at a moment’s notice using any shuffled deck. As I tend to keep two identical Jokers in each of my packs, my personal preference is to use the “Doorkeeper” handling because it strengthens the psychological subtlety that Paul developed.
If, however, I don’t have access to duplicate Jokers, I tend to perform the trick using a Braue Addition.
I hope you enjoy performing this age-old piece of prestidigitation!
Yours Magically,
Marty
P.S. I have more ideas related to “The Four Burglars”, including several ways to extend the routine. These will appear in a future edition of Corrupting the Classics.
James Swain, “The Four Robbers,” 21st Century Card Magic, n.p., 60.
The Braue Addition, also known as the Braue Add-On, is a popular technique employed in card magic. It was first introduced in Hugard's Magic Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 12, May 1945, page 119, and was originally named “The Secret Addition”. In this technique, the packet of cards starts face down, requiring each card to be flipped face up and face down again. However, a more efficient method was later published in Hugard's Magic Monthly, Vol. 3, No. 2, July 1946, page 135, which eliminates the need to flip over the cards twice by beginning with the packet face up. This handling has become the commonly accepted way to perform the Braue Addition. It should also be noted that Ed Marlo claimed to have invented this technique circa 1944 and that it was leaked to the underground card scene before being published and claimed by Frederick Braue.