Jay Sankey has bent, torn and otherwise mutilated no small number of playing cards over the years, all in the name of magical entertainment (not to mention material fiction). XL is his latest perversion of the wholesome pasteboard, a surreal illusion in which a chosen card is sandwiched face up between any two face-down cards, then stretched until each end is protruding from the sandwich by half an inch. Finally, unlike Peter Kane’s seminal version of the plot, the stretched card is then handed out for examination and could actually be left as a souvenir, if you were willing to incur the expense.

Jay provides a number of ways to achieve this effect that will give you an opportunity to learn a Hofzinser force (the basic version - Ed Marlo’s improved handling is also worth tracking down), the Wichita Slip (Jay’s deceptive and relatively easy alternative to the Botop Change), the Hindu Shuffle, a Riffle Force, a Gene Maze card change and more, but my preferred versions are The Classic Handling and Spanish Inquisition, both of which can be performed while standing, require a minimum of sleights and are practical for any close-up, walkaround conditions.

As a rule, magic that results in the creation of an impossible (or at least unusual) object tends to have both immediate and lasting impact. XL is no exception and delivers exactly what the ad promises.