Also, if you have any youtube flourishes or flourish teachers' channels (i.e. Tobias Levin), plz tell me about them.

Okay, Tobias Levin is at www.youtube.com/wwwtobiaslevincom

And Miquel Roman has a full free DVD up on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj9eQaR4IgQ)
Just follow the annotations for a full DVD like experience. He has a few really neat variations on Sybil that are easy to learn and look great.

Apart from that, another of my favorites on YouTube is 'The Stag' by Jason Soll. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGCKSULBeDY)
Its another one of the less complex flourishes that looks awesome and allows you to retain the top stock.

If you're interested in buying a DVD, I would recommend Solo by MJ at T11 and Dangerous (Motion) by Daniel Madison. But be warned, they might not be the easiest DVDs to master. Solo is more original in comparison IMO. I think you would have seen the trailer for Solo, but here's an uncut performance of the entire DVD by MJ himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaORbkSli-o

Feel free to snoop around YouTube as well. If you find a move you like, learn it.
PileSpiral on YouTube has a few intriguing tutorials as well. (http://www.youtube.com/user/PileSpiral ) 
JoeyFX has a few (but cool and easy) cuts on his channel. (http://www.youtube.com/Denkste144)

EDIT: How could it slip my mind! Get the 'Trilogy', seriously, you can't go wrong with that one. Most of the flourishers have learnt from it. 

But I haven't really spent much money on flourishing in general apart from the cards I use. There's a lot of material on sites like Kardistry and the Tutorial Section of UC. There's more than one can handle as a matter of fact.
I don't own 'The System' or 'Papercuts' etc. Although they do have several positive reviews, I can't comment.

Two more cool sites are miquelroman.com and thecuso.info, Miquel's site seems down for now. TheCuso hasn't really been updated for some time now, but the amount of material on that site is H-U-G-E. (http://www.thecuso.info/category/Tutorials)

Ok, my prototype idea was ridiculous since the card was signed. I think there's a slit in the "sealed" box. That's why when he showed Penn there "wasn't a slit on either side", he did so very quickly. He probably had a method of sliding the card in the right spot with just one hand (I know a gimmick that allows me to do that), then removed the gimmick and covered the slit in one way or another. He then does the deck switch, and voila.

Saurabh, what was your idea?

I agree with you here Nathan. My theory follows your essential idea that he had a slit. Although a gimmick would not be feasible since the pack including the box was handed to P&T for inspection after the trick.

My theory is based completely on observation and behavioral patterns in the course of the effect. I could be very far off, but what the heck, I'll post what I think.

There are three moments in particular which I noticed.
1.) When Shawn is showing the sealed box to Penn to stress that it is sealed, there is a slight glitch in Penn's response. He looks at the top and vehemently proclaims 'There is not'
Next he looks at the bottom in the same pace but misses a beat. His confidence, although there is slightly down. and he goes for a meek 'Not that I can see'. And uses the same phrase for the other sides.

Now there is an anomaly here.
It is natural for a human to use the same tone and sometimes the same phrasing to convey the same emotion if it is to be said again and again. Penn has a sharp change of tone and phrase b/w the top and bottom of the box and uses the same phrase for all the other sides except the last one (a simple no is acceptable).
This means there was something different which changed his tone.

What I conclude from this is that there was something different that caused a change of mood. There was perhaps a slit on the bottom or the cello looked 'stuck'. But Penn didn't really point it out because he thought it was a slight aberration, nothing to make a molehill of.

2.) The second (or chronologically first) moment is when Shawn inserts the 7 into the deck right before he says '...that's the pen.'
Any normal card handler let alone someone as seasoned and learned as Shawn Farquhar does not look at the pack would not really look at the pack in a normal insertion but he looks down for a beat. Then rapidly looks up to gain attention. Now, any card magician looks at the deck only if he wants the spec to look at the deck. So, this makes me feel he didn't do a tilt. It would've been caught and Penn would've seen the steal as a consequence.

He put the card in fairly.

3.) The moment when Penn opens his hands. Notice that the pack is back up, i.e. the Bicycle logo is facing Penn's palm. When he's taking the cards out, the backs of the deck were on the same side as the Bicycle logo.
Ergo, when he inserted the card, he was inserting a face down card into a face up pack.

Conclusion: In conclusion, here's what I think he did.
He forced the card. Had it signed while he switched the pack. The pack was obviously in the box, but had a small slit in the cello at the bottom and the flap somehow held a break at the right position. He covered the box up with a joker to make it look like a real deck.
Then, he inserts the signed card into the break (at the right position), then under the pretext of squaring up, he pressed onto the flap which caused it to dislodge from the break and at the same time, stuck the cello which has some light glue on it. That done, he put the entire apparatus into Penn's hand. Stole the joker as a cleanup. And then, the rest was clockwork.

Tell me what you guys think.
 

at 4:22, he's just opened the box and he reaches into the box to partially extract the cards from the box BEFORE dumping them into Penn's open hands.  His hands very cleverly conceal the box at that moment.  He could have slipped in the signed card at that moment.

If for a moment I agree that he replaced the card at that moment, clearly if couldn't have gotten it at the right spot. How then did he reveal it at the end by simply turning over? Penn would've seen any funny stuff if he switched the card in the fan.

@Joshua Robinson there's nothing to break up here. Its just a healthy debate not a duel to the death. :-)

Alex, that's what it seemed like to me as well. I also know how he forced the card. Yet, this force is only 95% effective, and maybe 75% effective on magicians that know it. So to catch Penn with it must have been real hard. Also, I think Penn would have seen it if there had been a deck switch. Finally, when Mr. Farquar showed the trick on Ellen, he did indeed show that both of the cards he was putting in his pockets were the jokers. Unless he is really good at hiding the 9 behind the jokers, we would have seen it. Maybe Penn noticed none of this, didn't know how resealing a deck was possible, and/or wanted to be fooled so let it be. I wonder if it's possible to ask USPCC to print a prototype for a Bike deck with no jokers or ad cards and 1 face up card in its correct spot. He could have done that as well. Whatever it was, it is a nice trick and was nicely executed.

On a side not, I just hit 1,800 posts. Wow.

Penn and Teller did in fact see the deck switch. But the producers of the show demand complete explanation as a constituent to getting 'not fooled'. If he did get a prototype, how did the signed card get in the deck?

My guess is that he forces the card. How? I have no idea, because he fooled Penn when he did it. He was watching his hands like a hawk.

Since my theory does nothing to reveal sleights, technique or anything like that, here it is:

I believe the set up for the trick was to take two identical decks. Deck 1 he opened and removed the ad cards, Joker and the Nine of Diamonds. Resealing a deck to look exactly like a store-bought one takes just several hours of practice, and is definitely the easiest part of the trick. Depending on his forcing method, I don't know if he opened the second deck, but again that's not a problem to do.

During the performance, Penn opens the second deck and the nine is forced on him. Shawn removing the ad cards from this second deck in front of Penn seems to just be misdirection, and gives him an excuse to do something later. During the performance, Shawn places the signed 9 into his pocket with the other ad cards. He switches the deck in Penn's hands for the first, sealed & modified deck in his pocket. He has Penn open that deck but note that he does not have Penn look through the cards just yet. Instead, he points out how this deck is missing the ad cards at the top, and says that's because they're in his pocket. With those cards, he takes out the signed 9 and places it back into the cards in Penn's hands.

NOW he has Penn fan out the cards and show the audience.


I may be spot on or very, very far off.

I don't think that's the method because
a) Its the 7 that goes into the pack, he did not switch the 7. The deck switch was already done at the time he was inserting the 7 of Diamonds into the pack.
b) He does not add any cards to the deck (or touch them) when he pours the cards into Penn's hands.

I can follow the switch and the 'insertion' if you will, but I don't get how he sealed it brand new. Any help?

I like it. Its very original to say the least.

I like the design of the KoH and QoH as well. As for the back, maybe a suit of armor, a crown or two blades crossing each other? Just a suggestion. Interested to see how this turns out. 

Crown and Swords would be very redundant don't you think? I mean with the Crown decks and the Centurions and all. I think this raw look makes this design rather unique.

Do you feel naturally drawn to mentalism? If not, then don't do it.

I'd say choose a path and stick to it. Either magic or mentalism.

Is no. 6 a Made in China aviator?
No. 9 looks like an aviator as well.

I give up on the last two.

I'm not gonna 'Quote' Don because there's it might get confusing. But I'm replying to him.
Deck #1 - Taking a wild guess here, Black Rider Back?
Deck #2 - Patriotic Series - Air Force
Deck #3 - Aviator?
Deck #4 -
Deck #5 - Carlton Aviator?
Deck #6 - Its not even English for crying out loud!
Deck #7 - Apex BOM (Beveled, One-way, Marked)
Deck #8 - EmPower Magic Bar, Ginza, Tokyo
Deck #9 - ?
Deck #10 - Could be a Tech-Art Bee.
Deck #11 - ?
Deck #12 - ?

is it me or does the deck look like the blue one

Its supposed to look like the 'blue one'. The only difference is that its sensitive to UV (black light).

Most people who begin palming try to hold the coin. Don't do that. Don't apply force on the coin. Try to trap the coin so it doesn't fall. Its almost like mechanics' grip. Keep it really loose. That serves two purposes. First, it'll be easy to do and will not strain or tire your muscles. Secondly, it makes the hand look more natural. If you apply pressure on it, it will look like you're 'working' if you know what I mean. But the loose grip really makes your hand be a lot more fluid.

I remember when I first learned the coin palm, I palmed a coin through one entire day putting it in my pocket only to write and eat. So, don't worry, if you don't use too much force, you'll be fine.

You know what would be epic? Flourishing 'Underwater' maybe in a pool.

I'm selling a brick of Split Spades Lions.

7 X Black
3 X Blue
2 X Sepia Box

Decks are all sealed, with cello in perfect condition. I can provide pictures upon request.
I'm based at New Delhi, India. Shipping will be calculated according to buyer's location.

PM me your offers. Will sell for no less than $180 plus shipping. Will also give you a shipping quote.
Decks will be packed in a hard cardboard box with bubble wrap. And I will ship within 24 hours of receipt of payment through paypal.

Shipping for the US is $23 with delivery in 4 days and live online tracking. PM for other countries