Mike Powers on the Redford Stack

I have known Patrick Redford for quite some time now. Besides being a first-class performer, Patrick is a creative force to be reckoned with. When he sees potential in a concept, he is relentless in squeezing out the maximum effect. In “Temporarily Out of Order”, Patrick has focused his laser sights on the memorized deck. He wasn’t satisfied with just stack independent routines, although there are many in the book. He set out to create a stack that can be created from new deck order and that can mutate into Si-Stebbins through a simple series of straight runs of cards. Amazingly, the exact same sequence returns the deck to Redford order from Stebbins!

Furthermore, the stack looks random and yet has many features built in. There are poker deals, blackjack deals, spelling effects, coincidence effects and much more. Faro shufflers will delight in a routine where the black kings which are widely separated, first come together and then, with another shuffle, sandwich a selection. After one more shuffle, two more selections have been sandwiched. Finally, after a couple of faro shuffles, the deck is returned to stack order. There’s an entire section of Faro routines.

There’s also a “Tossed Out Deck” routine using a full 52 card deck that ends with the deck in order once again. One of the standouts for me is the title effect, “Temporarily Out of Order”, a five-phase coincidence routine that ends with the deck in new deck order in the spectator’s hands.

“Temporarily Out of Order” is filled with gold. There are many ways that you might mine this gold. Here are some thoughts:
You can mine the most gold by putting in the work to memorize the Redford stack. Patrick provides a “peg” method for memorization. I used such a system to memorize the Aronson stack. It works. However, there’s plenty of gold even if you don’t do memorized work at all.

I would recommend that before you begin to look through the routines, you put the deck into Si-Stebbins order. (Patrick even provides an efficient method for accomplishing this from new “Bicycle” deck order.) Then try out the “magic” formula for moving from Stebbins to Redford Stack. Now run the formula a second time and see that you’re returned to Si-Stebbins. How cool is that!

At this point you should look over the routines for something to test out. I’d recommend staying away from “Any Poker Hand Called For” until you have explored other areas. To really be prepared for any hand takes a lot of work and memory. Try out the two-phase poker deal, called “Partner Poker.” It resets to stack order at the end. So you’re instantly ready to jump into another routine.

Also try “Cast Off” if you do memorized deck work. It’s not stack dependent and it maintains stack order. This is a killer effect. “Progressive Poker” is another excellent poker deal that easily resets to stack order.

If you faro shuffle, check out “King Me.” After the second phase where two more selections are sandwiched, you can get back to stack order with a couple of faros. Patrick has been meticulous in creating routines that get back to stack.

All the routines are audience tested and most have scripts that have been tuned to optimize the flow of the routine. You can modify the presentations, but you should carefully read the rationale for particular phrasing and timing. Trust that Patrick knows what he’s talking about.

Now it’s time for you to dig in and experience the features of the Redford Stack. Start with some of the easier items and ease into those that require more work. Memorize the stack for maximum usefulness, but be aware that there’s plenty of gold to be mined without putting in that work. Research more routines that use Stebbins and Stay-Stack. The ease at moving from Redford to Stebbins and back is an incredible feature of Patrick’s creation. And remember, these items are meant to be performed. Get ready to blow some minds!

Mike Powers, February 2017

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