The best card manipulator I've ever seen. That opening bit, believe it or not, is not switched decks or any other similar tricks but merely the ability to shuffle exactly the way he wanted the cards to come out. As he said, "It's an acquired skill." Years and years of practice every day for 10 or more hours every day.
quote the best card mechanic ive ever seen, (who had %10 of Ricky Jay's skill) "In the time it took me to learn this, i couldve been a doctor or a lawyer, or both."
I had never heard of him, face familiar however. The man was a genius in sleight-of-hand, super intelligent, a scholar/historian of the craft and associated crafts, and a genuine performer master story teller. The centuries-old trade he plied in so well entertained the masses, who bloody well needed it. And he didn't use his manipulative power for evil, but for pure entertainment. Most excellent. RIP Ricky Jay.
He wasn't actually stressed out, he acted over-the-top angry because the trick relies on allowing him to have the last cut, and one of the participants was trying to undo that. It is a classic con-artist tactic, to act overly aggressive toward anyone savvy enough to ruin the con. Most people will back down in the face of that.
It actually wouldn't have ruined the trick. I can do exactly the same effect and it really doesnt matter as long as I can keep track of 1 specific card.
My wife just rewatched House of Games so I could see it because she's a fan of Mamet, but I knew nothing about Ricky Jay. This is absolutely fascinating.
The combination of precision and speed is a joy to watch. His hand motions are perfect. And then... there's that look into the camera when he's done with you. Man, I love this guy and his work.
The most under-rated statement: "Magic is a performance art". Gamblers, card sharps, cheaters, hustlers, con men - they all know this. What people don't realize is that half of this particular kind of performance art is the ability to act. Notice Ricky, when Peter wasn't being cooperative out of being swindled out of his money, began to act. He really wasn't upset with Peter, he was acting to get the result he wanted - to take their money. Performance art.
I know how the trick is done during the "Correctly Constructed Drama" and I've done it a few times. Not one time have I done it as well as Ricky Jay. Brilliant.
i know the trick is forcing the 8 to assure a hand that will always lose no matter what, but how the hell do you get them to always take the 8 card when everything is out of your control?
youre looking at it in the wrong way. hes switching cards always look at his hands and his misdirects whatever card he switches with will make him win the 10 cards are specifically chosen to give his switch a win.
Decker 187, Ricky Jay is an actor and this is just one of many things he's in. My point was that this clip doesn't in any way represent what he is like in real life. He's playing a part here. Simple as that. m.imdb.com/name/nm0419633/filmotype/actor?ref_=m_nmfm_1
hes an actor hes been appearing in movies and sitcoms. the last trick is a demonstration of a hustle the title itself says "Correctly Constructed Drama" he inflicts confusion by spiking emotion. with this he cloaks his trick. leaving no room for the "victim" to question him or the rules however when the camera pans away ricky is switching cards out from his left hand pocket. the 10 cards are chosen specifically so that the permutation of whatever card he takes and switches with gives him the upper hand.
His shuffling is another language. The trick is almost just punctuation. (Almost) And his eye contact pushes you into another dimension! His patter is next level. He’s so funny, upset, it’s so complicated. Bamboozled I am mystified and in awe.
32:35 I haven't seen him laugh before, or be silly in just "normal day" mode. Neat. (Not saying anything on his personality, I just have only seen his performances, and him speaking eloquently, and on Conanl
Yes. He’s wonderful. He had the two on the opposite side each time he had the people take cards from their side. I’m not sure how he did the end. But I know how he got the two in the last four. He’s brilliant.
Simple. He made them focus (through insistence and the set dressing of the Lone Wolf & Cub story) on THEIR choices when in fact he always had control of the NEXT step. When she picked two of the last four, HE decided what was done with them.
I see these fuzzy videos and think "Oh! Right! I can select a higher quality" And then I become very, VERY sad as I realize that this is at least 20 years old, and so, fuzzy of it's own accord. But thank you for posting this.
This video, from the beginning to the end presents all of the sides of Ricky. As Zinman said there are 3 Ricky Jays. The card shuffling is probably one of the best things I can think of in the video. Second thing is the cups and balls. My personal belief is that Ricky is the best cups and balls performer alive to this day. Third is the drama at the end, along with the look which comes up after yelling to Peter (you've just fucked with the wrong person) at 42:35
Along with all the other skills that Ricky Jay listed when he was describing Matthew Buchinger he failed to mention that Buchinger was also an accomplished artist. And the self-portrait that was engraved by Buchinger(Position 11:28 - 11:37) is so detailed that if you were to examine the picture close up, then you would see different biblical verses embedded in the hair. Buchinger had more dexterity than most people ever realized which probably enhanced his sleight of [hand] skills. Katalyzt
at the end, 40:00, he appears to make the deck three 7s, three 9s, three queens and one eight. As long as the sucker gets the eight, there is no way he can win. Ricky will have full house vs trips, trips vs two pair two pair vs one pair. Ricky only has to watch and control the eight. That is why he has to control the cut and why once the sucker has the eight he doesn't care how the cards are dealt out. Being angry must just be to confuse and fluster the mark.
Occamskatana, knowing, and doing in front of a live audience so well it gets you both recognized as a master and on television are different things. Lots of people "know." Very few "do."
Ricky Jay is the man for sure.. I loved the Showdown.. Even when those guys saw the cards they could have won... but odds are not in the favor but.... I cant believe they didnt learn it after the 1st 2 games. that was awesome to see and learn , now im going to use it...
Oh, dear goodness, people! The attitude in the last segment is all part of the con! This is apparent, and I have no expertise. The con is often based on emotional manipulation of which part may be intimidation.
Not only that, but you can actually use the first guy as a "plant" to get the next guy in a more agreeable position. You basically make others trust you by acting in an untrustworthy manner. A man's a fool.
Jay was a genius and a skilled manipulator of cards....and people. I mean him no disrespect when I say that an important part of his magic was a very particular type of misdirection, where there is a lot less magic and card manipulation than you think. That first ordered deck trick is itself a con, as there's an edit in it. You can't shuffle cards that well and end up with an ordered deck. Another classic demonstration is his centre-dealing display, but he isn't pulling cards from the centre - he only says he is and only appears to be placing the aces into the middle of the deck. He's actually dealing off the top, where he really put the aces. The con-man's con-man, and though many try, he'll never be replaced.
Whatever the ten card poker controversy, it's not hard to figure out after several hands, so I found it fun to watch. I didn't know magicians went on tilt, but the guy was not being a cooperative participant. Gambling is part of the trick, but it is not important to it.
I'm not sure how the end of that first trick goes, but I know that the initial elimination sequence was far from random. It was designed to keep the top few cards in play.
i think they revealed it on scamschool, there is a bad card which whichever player has the rotten card loses. Here ill try to explain as best as i can. There are three sets of three of a kind and a indifferent high card. whoever gets the indefferent high card loses, no matter what. But what i think ricky does is he leaves the indefferent card on top and being amazing sees through the other players shuffling where it goes. Do you sort of get it, obviously he does it better than anybody
That guy Peter was a complete ass and played the victim. I can understand why Ricky was so upset and rightfully so. Props to Ricky for finishing the scene at all.
How much more famous could he get? As an actor, he is known for his roles in the films Heist, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia, as well as on the acclaimed HBO series Deadwood. He is a consultant. A performer. A lecturer. A Broadway star. A collector and historian of note. He has several documentaries about him, INCLUDING THIS ONE. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM HIM?
To all you gits who want to tell us how it's done, after seeing the trick in slow-mo, from every angle, 10k times. Walk yourself into an unknown bar, with a handful of sponge balls, and bet the patrons where the ball is. Let me know how that goes. Believe it. Knowing HOW it's done ain't the same as doing it well enough not to get your hand broken. Or worse.
At first i thought he was on some wicked speed or coke..but then at the very end i got the sense that he might have been reacting in frustration at some people's persistent hounding to play him...finally he just said "fuck it let's do this!"
I have only met Ricky once he was very nice when I met him. This was many years ago mind you. Keep in mind that since he rejects being around most of the magic comminity doesn't not make him rude or an asshole. Nor does the fact that he isn't open with teaching others magic other than a select few. There isn't anything wrong with him being that way. Granted maybe he has turned into an ass I don't know as I said I have only met him once and he was fine back then.
He was actually good buds with Garcia. Even made it into a music video with Jerry when they did the acoustic 'Grateful Dawg' duo with David Grisman in the early '90's. Jerry loved the strange and the occult...what a trip to have been around when those two hung.
I think it was maybe to keep them unbalanced. Its a real simple trick when you know how it works. And he was playing so many hands with them, he didn't want them to notice. Basically there is one poison card, that isn't duplicated in the group of 10. Example K 999 777 QQQ Usually a high one like a King or something. So when you give them the choice (like toward the end), they will want to keep it. All you have to do is make sure that poison card isn't in your hand, and you will win. Notice that if you have the King, your best possible hand is QQQ, and the opponent will have a full house. Also if something really fucked up and they gave him the card, he could have gone ballistic, and demanded someone new, before the cards were shown and he actually lost. Gotta to keep up appearances after-all :D The man is a genius, and has gone to extreme lengths to do some truly amazing things. More power to him.
Barney Smith Thanks for the explanation. In other words he hustled them for a few hundred bucks ;-) Gotta make a living and since noone would be letting him into a casino (I am just assuming here).
Shroomeryslearyfan That piece was titled "Correctly Structured Drama", it was part of the act. No one could think straight in the presence of that energy, vis. drama.
Oh yeah. He is a successful author, too. He is very famous in the country he lives and works in. What more do you want? Your country is full of problems, innit? Anyway, you got that BBC doc on Mr. Jay. Go to MagicBunny for the link. Pay him to perform if you want him there more often. The movie "DECEPTIVE PRACTICE: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay" is now playing in thirteen cities around the US. He was recently on The Simpons, 60 Minutes and in Wired Magazine.
I respectfully disagree. Your personal lack of talent or dedication cannot serve as a marker for the rest of us. Although I share your opinion that he is extremely smooth, he has never done a trick I didnt understand the mechanics of, And his smoothness is not something I find unreachable at all. Sorry but, I dont know what you have been doing the past 20 years, but Ive only been into magic for around 5 years.
+ngzbblax Maybe the cameramen thought him describing an act while going downstairs was a good thing so he was made to walk back up and continue the rest of the story while walking down the stairs.....
His story about Jay turning a one dollar bill into a 100 dollar bill is not accurate. Jay turned two one dollar bills into one two dollar bill. How he did that without preparation is a mystery.
When he caught the 3 between the 4 and 5, I thought "That's a great finish". But no, he had to keep going, and going, and going until he'd presented the entire deck.
I just heard of this guy a couple of days after his passing. What a talented and entertaining individual. I've watched a couple of hours of him on RU-vid now, and my appreciation of his art continues to grow. Great sense of humor, with a friendly smile and a twinkle in his eye, but I don't think it required much acting for him to pull off the hard-ass bit at the end. And as to the "Correctly Structured Drama", I couldn't help but notice that Peter, the guy who wouldn't go along with the premise and kept asking questions and got thrown out, was the only player who didn't lose any money.
Indeed. At the same time, at least to me, the anecdote "I once got expertly hustled for a hundred bucks by Ricky Jay in a hotel room." is much more juicy and entertaining than "I once had the opportunity to watch a master at work, but I didn't want to pay him, so I left."
The card manipulation that he does at the beginning is so beautiful it hurts. I've dabbled as an amateur / hobbyist close up magician since I was a child (roughly 20 years at this point) and though I consider my knowledge to be respectable and my skill to be at the very least passable in most circles, I can never conceive of being as silky smooth as that opening demonstration. I have a great love for magic, but that level of skill is a mark of someone whose life IS magic.
