Monthly Update #41 (May 2026)
Redundancy, resolve and a self-working card trick worth understanding.
Apologies once again for the monthly update arriving late in your inbox. The difficult situation at my day job has, well, become even more difficult. This has made it hard for me to find the time (or the headspace) to write for the Ruseletter. While I don’t intend this edition to become a self-indulgent pity party, I imagine some readers will be interested in this side of my life.
I’ve now been told that my role is at risk of redundancy (it no longer appears in the proposed restructure shared with me a couple of weeks ago). Although I had a feeling this would happen, it still came as a shock, especially given that I’ve worked at the University for more than eighteen years.
It strikes me that most people don’t understand the terrible financial pressure universities are under at the moment. Understandably, they assume we have plenty of money from fat research grants and extortionate student fees—I’ll let you in on a little secret: we don’t. For example, where I work, we’ve just made approximately twenty per cent of the academic workforce redundant (the same is scheduled to happen to support staff, which is where I sit). These financial difficulties are forcing good people to make bad decisions out of necessity. By the end of the year, I may well find myself out of a job, much like some of my friends working in the higher education sector in the UK, the US and Canada, who have already lost their livelihoods through no fault of their own.
For this reason, I’m making more concrete plans to become a part-time pro, something I mentioned in Monthly Update #40. I’ll also be creating some beginner courses on magic, starting with one called Classic Card Conjuring: Folk Card Magic. These will be very different from what’s currently available because I’m designing them as if they were university courses. I’ll be using proven and effective learning design principles to ensure students can progress more quickly and successfully through the material. I’m doing this for two reasons: the first is to address the many shortcomings I currently recognise in the modern methods used to teach magic; the second, to quote S. W. Erdnase, is that “if it sells it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money.”1 The courses will feature a mixture of new and old material (some already published on my blog). I also plan to use a mix of modes to deliver the teaching. Every trick will have a full-text explanation accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations (no AI) and a video demonstration of the effect, so you can see how the magic is meant to look.
Don’t worry, though: I’m still intent on continuing to write this newsletter, along with the articles on my blog. I’m not yet earning enough from the Ruseletter to absorb the shock of losing my day job—that was never the point of writing it, anyway. But the small amount I do make genuinely helps, and it helps more now than it has before.
Which brings me to a thank-you. To everyone already supporting the Ruseletter as a paid subscriber: thank you. It means a great deal, and even more this year than most. If you’ve been reading along for free and found something worthwhile here, becoming a paid supporter is a quiet way to help keep the work going. The free edition isn’t going anywhere, and there’s no pressure—but if you’re in a position to, I’d be grateful.
Now, on to more cheerful topics. In this update, I’ll share my thoughts on a very clever, almost self-working card trick I learnt from Matt McGurk’s YouTube channel—and on my attempt to work out why it works.
Super Sixteen
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across an excellent video, thanks to the YouTube recommendation system (something I have a love-hate relationship with). In it, professional magician Matt McGurk teaches a semi-automatic trick that I’ve dubbed “Super Sixteen” (Matt doesn’t give it a name in the video):
The method uses a very old mathematical principle that pops up in lots of classic card tricks, most notably “Mathematical Finder” in Scarne on Card Tricks (see page 55). I also use the same principle in a trick of mine called “Pythagorean Prediction” (you can learn it on my blog). However, I’ve never seen the principle used in this particular way to locate a four-of-a-kind. The method uses 16-modulus maths to eliminate the need for the magician to perform any hidden mental arithmetic, make precise placements or adjust the pack to ensure the final card appears in the correct position.
The Mathematics Behind the Magic
With tricks like this one that rely on an underlying mathematical principle, I think it’s wise to understand why they work. If you don’t, it’s easier to bungle the procedure. Understanding the fundamental mathematics also makes it easier to repurpose the method in other tricks and routines.
Note: You’ll need to watch Matt’s video for this explanation to make sense.
Let’s call the values of the three randomly chosen cards v₁, v₂ and v₃. When the spectator counts from a card’s value up to 16, they are dealing out a specific number of cards: 16 minus the chosen card’s value (16 − v). After dealing that pile, the chosen card is dropped face up on top, which adds 1 more card to the group. So the total number of cards in that sequence is:
(16 − v) + 1 = 17 − v
When the talon is dropped onto that completed pile, it acts as a cut. You are taking the block of (17 − v) cards and moving it from the top of the deck to the bottom.
This process is repeated for the other two selected cards. The total number of cards moved to the bottom of the deck is therefore:
(17 − v₁) + (17 − v₂) + (17 − v₃)
Simplified, that comes to 51 − (v₁ + v₂ + v₃). Still following me?
Now let’s use S to represent the total sum of the three selections (S = v₁ + v₂ + v₃). This means the process shifted exactly 51 − S cards from the top to the bottom of the deck.
Because a standard deck has 52 cards, it operates as a continuous closed loop. Shifting (51 − S) cards from the top to the bottom is mathematically identical to shifting the remainder of the deck from the bottom to the top, i.e. 52 − (51 − S) = S + 1.
Note: At the beginning of the trick, your setup placed two Kings on top and two on bottom. The final King found begins second from the bottom of the deck.
Because the dealing process effectively shifts S + 1 cards from the bottom to the top, the Kings are all carried upward in the pack. Consequently, the final King lands exactly at position S from the top of the deck. The other three Kings end up in positions (S + 1), (S + 13) and (S + 19), directly above the face-up cards in each case.
Note: When you spread the deck to remove the three face-up cards and the Kings next to them, it doesn’t break the mathematical method. Because of how the blocks were shifted, those cards are all physically located below your target Kings, so removing them leaves the top of the deck completely undisturbed.
This also means you can use my additional subtlety for “Gemini Twins” with Matt’s trick. I shared it last year in my routine “Simplex Soulmates”; it lets you remove the cards above and below the face-up selections, adding another layer of deception (just make sure you replace the rejected cards onto the bottom of the deck, not the top). It uses Edward Victor’s E-Y-E Count as a simple force. See Easy Does It #7 to learn this devious idea.
If the above explanation confuses you, try working through the trick with cards in hand as you read it. I’d also suggest putting the Kings face up in the deck, so you can see where they eventually end up. The only thing that changes each time you perform the trick is the number of cards above the final King (the value of S).
Finally, the biggest issue with tricks like this is that, without a compelling presentation, the mathematical method becomes painfully obvious. Next month, I’ll be sharing three presentations for this trick: one based on a real-life story of unbelievable luck, another on the biblical story of the Magi (the three wise men) and one inspired by Satan himself (well, the folklore surrounding him, at least)! 🍀👑👑👑👿
Who Invented This Trick?
If you know where this trick was originally published, please let me know. Although I think Matt’s YouTube tutorials are excellent, he has a bad habit of failing to credit the relevant people in his videos—something that really irritates me because it costs nothing and shows respect for the magicians who shared their ideas in the first place. Even with this misgiving, his content is well worth your time—his instructional videos on YouTube are among the best.
New on MBOT: A Magic Manifesto
Despite the difficulties at work, I managed to publish a new article on Marty’s Bag of Tricks. In it, I’ve tried to articulate my personal philosophy on the art and craft of magic. I was motivated to write it to better understand my own thoughts and feelings about how best to teach magic.
While I’ve called it a manifesto, quite a few people have pointed out that the word carries unhelpful baggage—it tends to conjure images of unhinged bombers and untrustworthy politicians.
In truth, the piece is closer to an apologia: a formal, reasoned defence of one’s opinions, actions or beliefs. Not to be confused with an everyday apology—which involves an expression of regret or an admission of guilt—an apologia is a statement or written work aimed at justifying, explaining or vindicating a stance. This is what I set out to do with the manifesto, so I may well reframe it as an apologia when I inevitably publish an updated version.
In the meantime, here are my incomplete thoughts on magic as a hobby:
Satyr Aces 🐐
I’m still not decided whether I’m going to continue to write detailed magic reviews. While I think that they’re a valuable resource for magicians, especially amateur magicians who might have a limited budget to spend on magic, I can’t help but shake the feeling that they’re also part of the problem with the overconsumption and hypercommercialisation of magic as a hobby.
Even so, I wanted to highlight a brilliant new packet trick from Cameron Francis and Big Blind Media (BBM) that I recently bought. I’ve long been a fan of Cameron’s work; he used to release self-published e-books, and I always bought them because the quality of the material and his clever thinking never disappointed me.
“Satyr Aces” is no exception; it’s based on “The G.O.A.T.” (Greatest of All Transpositions) by Alex Linian (see Penguin Magic for details). It’s a multiphase packet trick that blends Marlo’s Elevator Cards plot with an off-balance transposition. Unlike its inspiration—which is an excellent trick in its own right—“Satyr Aces” uses a packet of standard cards that can be removed from your working deck, making it more appealing to my tastes.
If you like the trick, you can buy it as an instant download from BBM. The video is clearly a recording of Cameron teaching the trick to Biz over Zoom, so the quality isn’t up to BBM’s usual high standard (where’s Owen with his big camera when you need him?!). But it is perfectly adequate for learning the routine, which shouldn’t take long to master if you’re familiar with the standard false counts and multiple turnovers used in this type of packet trick. This one is thoroughly recommended, especially if you’re as obsessed with packet tricks as I am!
Three Videos Worth Watching
And, as usual, here are three videos I watched this month that I think you should watch, too.
Tim Travels Through the Magic Trapdoor
Duration: 5 minutes
Another wonderful video from Tim “the Toyman” Rowett and his Grand Illusions YouTube channel. In it, he demonstrates several versions of Bob Neale’s “Trapdoor Card,” including “Stargate” by Terri Rodgers.
On Second Thought with Paul Draper
Duration: 55 minutes
An insightful interview with Doug Conn and Paul Draper, in which the two experienced entertainers discuss Paul’s new book, On Second Thought.
Kevin Parry TED Talk
Duration: 14 minutes
This one’s not magic-related, but the storytelling principles Kevin discusses here apply to presenting magic in all its forms.
Kevin also writes a regular blog that is worth reading, particularly if you are interested in animation, filmmaking and social media.
I may not know what my day job will look like by the end of the year—or even whether I’ll still be working in higher education—but I know what I’ll be doing in my spare time: making magic, as always. I hope you found this monthly update worthwhile. Until next month, keep practising, rehearsing and performing!
Yours Magically,
Marty
P.S. I also managed to finish off writing up my “Duty Aces” three-trick card set. You can learn it on my blog.
S. W. Erdnase, The Expert at the Card Table (Chicago: self-published, 1902), page 3, https://sites.google.com/view/erdnase/preface.