The Worlds Greatest Magic

$2 Bill Tear  by Bert Jacques & Gene Keeney

Expansion of Texture by Dai Vernon & L'Homme Masque

The $2 Bill Tear is really visual magic that is the perfect type of effect to carry around in your pocket or wallet at all times.

I worked out this particular handling after hearing about the effect of turning a $2 bill into two $1 bills. Assuming it must've been done with a tearing action, I worked out what I thought must be the method. Later I discovered my handling was a bit different than the original, which was accomplished by just folding and unfolding the bills.

Here’s what you will experience when you perform this effect… People will watch pretty close as you show and fold the $2, but no matter how slowly you move, they will still be surprised when the effect happens so quickly. Then, when you open and show both sides of both $1’s, they assume the effect is over. Clearly - they assume - at this point, the $2 is long gone and they’ve completely missed the boat… Because they’ve convinced themselves the $2 is gone, they end up doubly surprised when it suddenly reappears!

So the handling you'll find here has some interesting touches, such as how to end up by resetting the effect right in front of the spectator as an ending to the routine. This effect has really stood the test of time for me.... I've been doing this the exact same way for over 40 years!

Expansion of Texture, as you probably know, has a royal pedigree - coming from Dai Vernon & L'Homme Masque. It was one of the effects from Stars of Magic I was fortunate enough to have learned directly from the Professor himself, Dai Vernon. This is an interesting effect even in todays world, but when the Professor was young this was considered a great classic of close up magic because men and women always carried a handkerchief. So the ability to do something really cool with this everyday object was worth its weight in gold. There aren't as many handkerchiefs around today, but you can find cloth napkins in restaurants, so if you do this in the right place at the right time, this effect is just as good today as it ever was!

These were original featured on "Easy To Master Money Miracles Volume 2" DVD.