The great thing about publishing online is that you can edit and update posts. So, here be an updated handling that only requires one dupe instead of two like before. You also use Henry Christ’s ‘Stop When Ready’ with a little twist at the end. I’ll walk you through it now.

Set up is: two indifferent cards, x-card, dupe of x-card, rest of the deck.

To start, you can choose to either force the stack or just randomly cut to it. Whatever you fancy. You’re going to execute a double, table the top card, execute another double and leave it face and get a break below top three cards. Then up jog the triple by touching the middle of the card with your index finger and placing your thumb right under the index finger and against the short end of the card, and use your thumb to push the triple forward. You want about half of the card out-jogged.

Next, you’ll do Stop When Ready to spell CHANGE. Simple take the next face down card (which the bottom half is exposed due to the triple being jogged forward) and place it face up on top of the triple BUT jog it forward by a tiny amount- about half of the pip number. Do the same with the next card.

This cascade is cover for when you get to the third or fourth card, you’re going to use the index finger of the hand holding the deck to push the bottom card (one of the dupes) of the out-jogged packet forward slightly. You may need to hold onto the whole packet with your other hand in order to keep it stable to allow the card to slide. This will come in handy in a sec.

After you spell CHANGE, reveal that the tabled card has changed by picking it up to show and then placing it face up on the out-jogged packet. Now, pick up the packed in an over hand grip AND get a thumb break above the bottom card. This will be easy because the bottom post card is misaligned and jogged forward slightly. You’ll easily lift everything but the bottom card first, and then using the tip of your thumb to grab the bottom most card.

Now you’re going to switch the top face up card with the bottom face down card using card ping chien. Basically a han ping chien except with cards. Peel off the top card and use the packet to flip it over face down onto the deck. Then use your thumb to push it over to the side so it’s now under the packet, and do the first half of a rub-a-dub and retract the card onto the deck (and get a pinky break under it) as you release the card below the break from the packet held over hand.

You’ll continue to peel off the face up cards and turn them face down one at a time to spell PLACES. BUT as you peel off the next card, you steal the top card of the deck underneath the packet. Make sure the count for all the cards are uniform. When you get to the S, you’ll have a triple left: face up dupe, face up indifferent card, face down selection.

As you emphasize that you’ve spelled “change places”, execute the shapeshifter with the packet and drop it onto the top of the deck, ditching the double. Reveal the card on the table has changed places with the shapeshifted card.