It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of David Berglas. In a very Berglas-appropriate coincidence, he is featured in this article, which we have left as written save for the painful decision to change present tense to past tense. Magic has truly lost a titan.

It’s been fun doing this series. There’s just a few things left to cover for now, and then Jazz in Social Magic will go dormant for a while.

Regarding the first post, “The Greatest Jazz I Ever Played,” there is something important to say about the odds there. It is noted that the seven of hearts was “about five cards left of the center of the spread” from my perspective.

This means, from the participant’s perspective, the target card was positioned center-right. This is ideal if they are right-handed, and likely to reach out with their right hand to touch a card. This was luck, but in the future if I were doing this trick, I might do it with an edge marked deck so I could cut the card to the ideal position before spreading.

In “Rhapsody in Marked Blues,” it is mentioned that you could hold out the 7H, even though a study showed Aces and court cards were more common. You might ask why you wouldn’t just pocket an Ace or a court card, if they’re more commonly named than the 7H.

Here’s the thing. You know what happens if somebody names the AS or the QH and you pull it out of your wallet or pocket? “Oh, everybody must name that card.” They might not say it, but they’re thinking it. You should pocket the five of clubs before the ace of spades.

You might also ask why you can’t just have more than one card held out on your body, and here’s the thing. It’s so much stronger if you’re able to empty your pockets, show your wallet free of other cards, etc. If you absolutely want to have two, you need to pick very clever spots for both of them. But I’d recommend against it. Then you can have your card in an obvious place, instead of two cards in hidden places.

It’s not as if that’s your only reveal. You can have another as a reveal on the box, for example, rather than compromise your 7H (or whatever card you choose) by having another card on your body. You could plant a card under a houseplant or something. Just don’t have more than one on your body.

Personally, I tend to hold out a slightly less likely card, like the 3 of Diamonds, so that there is no concern about this at all. This means, of course, that it is named less, but that’s fine by me as there are still plenty of reveals available with the marked cards.

PRACTICE THE TRICK THAT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED! Sit there alone with a normal deck of cards, decide on a target card, legitimately shuffle the deck, and get going! You can read Vernon’s original thoughts in More Inner Secrets of Card Magic on Lybrary for 12 bucks, Eugene Burger also has a great essay on it in Final Secrets. Roberto Giobbi has released work as well. There is no better way to get good at jazz magic than to practice that trick. It’s the progenitor of all the jazz magic that came after it. Not to mention, it goes perfectly with social magic. Even a professional will tell you they only perform TTTCBE in social situations or for other magicians.

Finally… Social magic and jazz magic, not just TTTCBE, go together like peanut butter and jelly. (Like fish and chips, if you’re in the UK.)

So many possibilities open up with jazz magic when it’s in a social setting. As I said above, you can plant a card under a pot. You can stack a deck your friend has in their own home, before doing a trick with it days later. You can set up your own home to be conducive to jazz magic. You can pay off a waiter. You can do a trick with a 10% success rate as a throwaway, knowing it’s not being filmed and they aren’t paying, so it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work, and if it does? It’s a damn miracle that you couldn’t have done working as a pro!

Just think of how many decks of cards David Berglas must have had hidden around his house, waiting for the right combination to be called for a truly perfect, no turning over the deck miracle.

Social magic and jazz magic make sense together. Mr. Berglas thought so too.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Berglas.