I've been practicing the piece by piece torn and restored card. I pretty much have it down, except for the presentation. Why do I want to tear up a card, only to restore it?

I haven't been able to come up with anything that isn't real lame.

Any suggestions?

Do it with a borrowed deck. Have a spec pick a card and return it to the deck.

"Now the Great Bill is ready to reveal your card! THE FOUR OF CLUBS! uhh. . .no? Sorry. . .THE SIX OF DIAMONDS! no, not that either? Okay, Okay, bear with me. . . THE KING OF HEARTS! (spectator now laughing at your distress) NOT THE KING OF HEARTS??? WELL WHAT IS IT? OH, THE NINE OF SPADES WAS IT? YOU MEAN THIS WAS YOUR CARD? (you pull out the card from the deck) I HATE THIS CARD. I'M SO MAD, IT ******ME OFF! (and you tear the cards to bits!) I don't care if I ruin my deck! Oh. . this was your deck. . .umm. . . I see. . .yeah. . ."

And you take it from there. . .

Hope this helps,
landmark

On Easy to Master Card Miracles, Vol. 5, Michael Ammar uses patter similar to the following:

"In World War II, they used playing cards as means of identifying secret agents. Pull out a card. Sign your code name on it. They would tear off one corner from that card to give to the secret agent. Then later on, when it matched up with the rest of the card, they would know it was the right guy. But sometimes, an enemy agent would get ahold of the card and rip it to pieces. Even though the ally spy had a corner, the rest of the card was ripped to pieces. The CIA was smart enough to hire a magician to restore the card in case an enemy was to rip it up."

That is for J.C. Wagner's Torn & Restored Card, which leaves one corner torn. You may have to find other patter if the torn & restored card routine you use restores the entire card.

Perhaps you could take the corner and then say, "they would even sometimes restore that corner so the card could be used again by another agent."

This is the patter that I am using now. Very commercial.

Great ideas, thanks guys!

Michael Rubenstein has a nice coin routine (in his book "Intermediate and Advanced Coin Magic") with an Okito box wherein he simulates the Sub-Trunk illusion at the close up table.

The torn and restored card could be your poor magician's sawing a lady in half illusion...