As a possible alternate for any of these three I like Sidewalk Shuffle. As someone who has purchased almost every version of the Three Card effect, I still think this is the best. True, it does come with confusing (almost indecipherable)
instructions, but it is the most well thought out routine available. My friend, Hank Moorehouse, turned me on to this years ago and I remember seeing him perform the routine with cards that sported dollar signs ($) instead of the more customary pasteboard pips.
Since then I have discovered a talented local artist who has made for me dozens of Sidewalk Shuffle sets with various corporate logos instead of Clubs or Spades. I have Pepsi-Cola, Oldsmobile, This End Up and many, many more. The cards she makes are much larger, too. They are the size of the cards used by Supreme Magic for their Clever Ace. Each has a Bicycle back, is very stiff and is laminated in clear acetate. I also have an Ace of Clubs set, for regular shows.
Since I have mentioned Mr. Moorehouse, I must include the Pom Pom Prayer Stick on my list. I have developed a routine far different from Hank's well-known "do nothing" patter, but the prop is a favorite with both of us. I currently own two of these: the standard Kovari model as available from Abbotts with the plastic tube and an "executive" model produced by Twin Cities Magic in St. Paul, MN. This one features a polished, metal tube. It looks a little more professional but it is not weighted as well as the standard version.
And then there's one of my routines that Hank (Moorehouse) enjoyed: The Multiplying Bottles. I owned a set of these in my teenage years - and went nowhere with them. That set was sold off, probably, almost twenty years ago. By March of 1977, though, I bought this effect again. My second set came from Peter Diamond and Company in England. At that time they cost about one hundred dollars, including air mail postage. With help from friends David Michelson and
