mechanicus somebody can fix something an
ottoman
body mechanic is a professional killer
I’m a car
I can fix a card game let’s see what you
have in the pocket let’s have 10 what’s
up so the card you cut to you just
walked out with a million and a quarter
100% used means they kill you when
they’re done with you
you know those Middle East alarm and he
said they own half the world he said we
own the other half you’re not one of the
best you are the best there’s a big
difference y-you know what I consider
the worst disability of all
procrastination and laziness is your
ability or talent attract us an
interesting audience right oh and tell
her if I perhaps fooled you you want to
communicate with me my right ear reads
lips I said for thousands a lot of money
so it’s not for a judge he says now if
you ever want to have your wife killed I
so look before we get right into the
interview there’s gonna be reveal here
with my guest Richard Turner in about
ten minutes maybe which you probably
will flip out when you find out what the
reveal is but I want to say a couple
things to you I watched his documentary
last night it’s called dealt only two
documentaries have brought tears to my
eyes and you know I love documentaries
one was Sena and the other one is his
life story which is one of the most
emotional yet inspirational
documentaries I’ve watched in my life in
the world of magicians and card
mechanics he’s not recognised as one of
the best he’s recognized as number one
you know you’re number one when the best
come and asked you for an autograph and
picture that’s who we’re talking about
just to announce couple the things that
he said recognition wise he was a 2015
and 2017 close-up magician of the year
from the Academy of magical arts he’s in
the Hall of Fame at the Magic Castle and
on top of that in 1982 Siegfried and Roy
honored him with a Golden Lion award in
magic so with that being said again
there’s gonna be a surprise of revealing
about five to ten minutes but I want to
introduce to a very special guest
Richard Turner Richard thanks for being
on with us you’re my tainment I am so
honored to be with you here today
Patrick it’s very cool I’ve been so
excited about this interview so excited
about this interview because I am a
product of like studying people and
there are some that you study that you
see why this person really took their
game to a whole
the phone level but you’ve been able to
do it in your profession and your
personal life in parenting in your
health in so many areas and I want to
get into topics of you know Dai Vernon
obsession you know some of the
experiences with your sister which we’ll
get into maybe a little bit of Phil Ivey
on what happened with him at UK when you
know the ten million dollar issue that
he had I think was seven point two
million pounds you know which one I’m
talking about maybe we’re into a little
bit of that but and then some other
topics which will happen after the
reveal but prior to doing I want you
once you kind of do a little bit of your
work and show us what you got
okay and what I am is a card mechanic
and you mentioned that term and
generally the public don’t card McCain
you mean car McCain no card mechanic and
and the term goes back like fifty years
before the invention of the automobile
and a card mechanic is somebody who can
fix a card game in other words I can
make anybody win or lose under just
about any set of circumstances you set
before me and on just about any type of
card game which is different than a
close-up or card magician magicians
learn certain tricks for the purposes of
fooling and entertaining but those
tricks will not give them any advantage
at the card table the techniques for the
card table or literally thousands of
times more difficult to develop there’s
thousands of very good card magicians
there’s a dozen half dozen top
world-class card mechanics card shark
card shop there’s a bunch of slang term
for it but the bottom line when you play
poker blackjack bridge whatever the game
you want to make sure the cards that
evilly make start off with so you have a
deck yes I do yeah okay so in the
casinos they give you about 20 seconds
to give the deck three shuffles got in a
series of cut so give your deck a few
cuts or cuts or show okay okay let’s go
just go right into it shuffle then this
is basic casino procedure riffle riffle
and then you have to give what’s called
a running cut and give it another riffle
and a cut that’s basic casino procedure
so the deck should be pretty evenly
mixed yes yep yes hold your cards in
your hand off the table okay this is
that look pretty even are you kidding me
do we have H 2 3 4 5 6 yes I step on
back in a perfect quarter yes what do
you know that we did it okay now I’m
going to do what’s called us casino
watch it I’m doing it face up and that’s
for the purposes
camera can see that the cards are being
scrambled because magicians will have
what are called shaved taper cards with
the different sizes and they can feel
stick out and so this will ruin that now
I want you to take you give that deck a
shuffle okay and just set it right here
we’re just gonna shoot okay and oh okay
cut the deck in half just cut the deck
cut off half cut off half yeah give me a
oh you don’t think I had you cut give me
a random number three four five six
seven seven seven one two three four
five six seven and what’s that card ten
of spades
okay tens are wild because in poker
games they have like deuces are wild
someone I’m Trey’s a wild baseball have
multiple wild cards so 10 throughout
have had a past you shuffle that deck
that switch with me now okay
shuffle shuffle it now have you ever
played blackjack
I have 21 yes I have you see the movie
am I about the 20 my MIT students they
took on the casinos anyway I thought the
interview you’re talking about the movie
with Kevin Spacey you talk about the
actual interview you did with MIT I was
on a TV show where one of these
world-renowned card counters was going
to demonstrate how he can beat the house
and what he didn’t know if they brought
me as the dealer for that second we felt
two hours never won a single him he was
so if you’re a big dealer at a home game
on a house game I should weigh their
luck okay but burn a card but I’m gonna
reverse instead of me taking the money
all the way around I’m going to reverse
it how many players should we have at
this table five five players where do
you want to sit one two three four or
five I’ll sit at for number four one two
you’re at Betty venues place you’re
right here number four player five
player six Benny Binion will let you
make any a bet for any amount you like
okay one two three and you chose for it
now watch this before I take your card
and this is the burn card I’ll hold it
back mix it do something with those
cards very quickly make some shuffle
them I’ve suffered one time put them
back on there a burn card okay and
you’re right here number four yeah
what’s your first card ace of spades
what’s that card Queen of Hearts
bingo you just walked out with a million
and a quarter but you just shuffled you
just cut you chose five players and
chose to sit at number four and you
messed those cards up right before I
took your card and I took care of
business for you see that’s what a
mechanic does I fix the card game I made
you how does Vegas feel about you about
oh they love me I’m a legend over there
they’re very the people that are in
charge of catching cheaters are all very
good friends of mine so let me ask you
the opposite question the guys that go
and play do casinos cheat against the
players know the safest place to play in
the casino in the world now are in the
casinos particularly the upright ones
though you know in the in our in the
States because of gaming rules there
whether they’re gaming licences are so
valuable that it’s not worth risking
their license to to try to cheat
somebody now you go back before the
1980s when the mob was more in control
that wasn’t necessarily the case
now when the corporation’s have come in
it’s probably really the safest places
again we are in the casinos because the
security that I am is interesting sky
all the stuff they have is it keeps it
pretty safe didn’t mob ever contact in
280 saying hey Richard can we strike a
deal together do some oh you already
want you know yeah I have so many bombs
do you really I want to get into it why
don’t you share a couple them with us
okay well it started in about 1981 okay
in 1982 I was on a show called that’s
incredible so people saw me all over the
world and then the mobs mob people sorta
thinking skills dollar signs this one
guy first approached me and he wanted me
show him what I can do he was a mechanic
and I showed him he said I’ll give you
$1,000 state can work for me this is
1982 so I saw thousand Oh a date with
good money back then then I said no
thanks he said two thousand a day again
I politely refused then he said how much
will it cost to buy it
that was actually that’s exactly what I
said how much would I cost to buy it and
I flashback to my memories of the movie
Godfather were you know the guy wakes up
with a horse’s head he made a bad deal
he couldn’t refuse
and so I I said no thanks and that guy
followed me around for about six years
trying to get me to work for him and
then twice I watched him on the news
with
he and one of his New York partners
hauled off to jail because one of their
operations were were was raided another
offer came from the Middle East started
off with a phone call very strongly
accented voice wanted to talk to me
about doing business and I said meet me
aboard the boat where I was the nightly
entertainment I get aboard a boat and
there was five men of Middle Eastern
descent only one spoke English the
interprets at hear the boss and then
three other guys didn’t say anything and
they said they threw a stack of bills on
my table so let’s see what you knew of
those cards so I sat down on his
starters showing how I could win and
some of the things that you and I were
doing and then he says we give you
$10,000 a week come to the Middle East
and play cards for all money because
apparently there was a lot of Texans
that played deal would have boiled
involve involvement with the oil
business obviously and there was a lot
of high state games they were playing
they wanted me to control which
direction the money went and I said no
thanks you go he was irate with me
somewhat you’re turning down ten
thousands of dollars a week I said yep
we argued he talked to his boss his boss
was mad at him he’s mad at me and so and
they’re arguing back and forth then he
said how about twenty thousand a week
and I said nope
they argued again now his boss is
getting really mad at him for not
securing a deal he goes thirty thousand
finally said how about a million dollars
now he didn’t say if that was by the
week but I did say no and they were so
irritated they had just received their
food they threw down their forks there
pull threw down their napkins and threw
another stack of bills on my table and
left and when I got when I got the bills
I thought they’re all like Ones or fives
it was a stack of $100 bills so I still
had a good night didn’t have to
compromise myself another person very
wealthy very successful and we were in
his beautiful mountaintop mansion and I
was telling him about this offer I had
from the Middle East to spend you know
if I had from release and he told me
don’t take it he said in a situation
like that you’ll be a hundred percent
used you said you understand what I’m
trying to tell you Richard and for those
that know a hundred percent used means
they kill you when they’re done with you
I told him I know what it means he said
you know those Middle East dillamond he
said they own half the world
he said we can arrange to have these
card games take place in the United
States and we’re back here and you know
I thought to myself that one I thought
wow I’ll be 100% used amount be buried
in that foreign dirt now if you want I
can even tell you the scariest offer but
it’s gonna take a couple minutes I want
to hear it tell us I’m on a flight
headed to performance and he was paper
rattling next to me also this guy lowers
his paper says hello mr Turner I want to
talk to you about doing a little
business together and I thought how this
kind of what flight I was on how did he
know what seat I was sitting in anyway
he was a diamond broker from Sun City
South Africa and he wanted to offer me
two to three hundred thousand dollars to
play cards in these games there’s a jar
at large Jewish community he was his
mother was Jewish his father was Italian
and he wanted me playing these games to
once again control the direction of the
money and we had a conversation and it
was nice to be flat he was flattered to
have someone recognize you and talking
in the plane landing I thought that was
the end of it that was just a beginning
I’m in a hotel I just finished do we did
a lot of media I just finished some
television appearances and then I let my
show and now I’m in my hotel and the
phone rings answer the phone he goes
Richard it’s me diamond I’m downstairs
let me buy you dinner I I nicknamed a
mr. diamond because he was a diamond
dealer so I I called our chauffeur his
name was IRA and he took me he said take
me down to the restaurants rest home
tells restaurant go down there and he
said Richard have a seat he didn’t offer
to stand or shake my hand he just have a
seat in it
IRA left he held his hand up in front of
my face said I know your version duh
well you know shaking hands and I
thought how did he know I didn’t like to
shake hands it wasn’t because I was
weird or quirky is because the moisture
sweat from other people’s hands affects
my touch with the cards so you know if
someone was sweaty or whatever that
would that would diminish my touch so
that’s what was the reason how did he
know that well not even half a dozen
people know that so then he said hold
out your hand and he handed me a five
carat diamond pinkie ring
back then the gamblers were these big
old pinky when he’s a mr. the first guy
mentioned he had a big old giant wannabe
as a marble he says we’re $70,000 is
it’s a gift a token of my good faith and
I knew if I accepted that ring I would
be owned by him I gave it back said
thanks but I’m not all that hot on
jewelry and so then I’m on the road
again I’m in another hotel I walk in
another place at of a city walk into
this bar sitting at the bar again is
diamond he goes Richard let me buy you a
dream that’s how did he know I was gonna
be I didn’t know I was gonna be walking
in here so we sat talked we sat us that
what the little were those little – man
booze he’s across and he he goes now
you’re in the martial arts how did he
know us in the martial arts and he
casually put his hand on my shoulder
he said now if you reaches across there
like it was a small table
he put his out on my shoulder if you and
then you – as you take the punk then
I’ll say grab my head but you know
behind me my head it went – just drive
my my nose into his forehead
this is what you do is you think your
thick skull and you drive it in the
punch nose call it what you want Glasgow
kiss West Texas takedown he says
sometimes if you’re lucky the punk could
bite through their own tongue and now
I’m scared of this guy and then we were
getting ready to leave you said here
you’re in the entertainment business
perhaps you’d like to be on The Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson take this this
is Johnny Carson’s business number his
personal number in this third number is
an answering service just leave a
message that you called and I’ll get
back to you I had no way of directing
him comfort directly so I got home and I
went to a friend of mine who was
involved with our cried school’s name
was Chuck Curtis and he was the captain
of one of most successful SWAT teams in
the history of law enforcement he dipped
down a number of serial murders included
David Allen Lucas and he said with these
mobsters being following you need to be
able to protect yourself and you need to
have a high handle a gun and of course I
was looking for a leery of guns
so anyway ever it speed up the story for
you so he had me for six months out on
the sheriffs firing range he’d throw a
rock at a target I’d aim and fire in the
army with a Walther PPK James Bond
another choice and then I realized I
can’t take the gun on the plane I had to
check that back then you had to put it
in a lock
case that the airlines have the key to
and then that would be very
dysfunctional so I’m in another city and
again diamonds there invites me to have
dinner with them and he goes you know he
tells me how it cost him four hundred
thousand dollars to buy off a judge for
a murder he had committed and that’s
that for thousands a lot of money says
not for a judge he says now if you ever
want to have your wife killed I can
arrange for that I can make that happen
for you he did he said there’ll be an
accident he said there’d be an explosion
boom he said no one would know you were
behind to kill it he said I just want to
let you know that’s another service I
can provide now I was route this guy
really scared me but that’s half the
story the rest of the stories you get
more interesting but I told too much
already didn’t take it too much time Wow
so your your ability or talent attract
to some interesting audience right there
yeah and that’s that’s that’s four out
of a dozen interesting stories I think
this may not be a bad time for us to
make the reveal what do you think if we
kind of let the audience or do you want
to wait a little bit is that okay we
thought why not want to make the reveal
well I see with my mind and my fingers
it was 1963 I was told you will
eventually lose all your sight he had an
eye disease suddenly can’t do anything
about my vision started going south when
I was nine my sister Laurie and I both
got scarlet fever and we don’t know if
this is what caused it but it was the
only thing that was the commonality
between the two of us and then my retina
first my macula started to dissolve and
which is the center part of the retina
was so within or overnight within
minutes almost there was like a hat in
front of my face oh and then out of the
hole when I started losing the blood
started not going to the rest of the
retina and so the my best corrected
vision out of the corner was 20 over 400
which is twice as low as what’s
considered a legally blind then that
hold the eventually encompass my entire
retinas or the whole retina has been
destroyed and so that’s why my touch is
so fine is the neural network that went
to the visual cortexes now
focused on the touch areas of the brain
so that’s a kind of the cool thing now
what are the odds of you and your sister
though and both of you took your life
and you you didn’t use that as a crush
to say hey because it is I’m doing this
you still push the envelope so I’ve read
a lot of stories mythical stories about
Bo Jackson right just go Jackson jumped
over 40 you know foot this and jabo
Jackson ran a 40 in this fast and Bo
Jackson did this when he was a kid some
of the stories I hear one of your
friends was talking about the stories
that you were buying a motorcycle and
you would go and you would go climb in
and he want you to tell my some of the
whomp things you did a grown up I’ve had
a bunch of surgeries because of my high
impact living well I’ll tell you the
motorcycle story I came up with a great
idea
for the blind and deaf driver so I
bought a motorcycle and I had a friend
named Jim plows and had another friend
who was deaf named Roy ottoman he was my
auto mechanic he would sit on the back
and say big old strong guy but the high
speaking voice look like green light and
one day we were pulled over for
suspected armed robbery there was a
Winchell’s donor shop that was held up
and we fit the profile
and so we’re pulled over and then there
were there was only one small
discrepancy with us being the suspects
the getaway driver wasn’t blind his
accomplice wasn’t deaf and once we
proved to the cop that we couldn’t see
the lights flashing to hear the siren
blasting I received a ticket for driving
while blind he let us drive away and
then he says you better hope you get
judged Lord then when I went to court
they switched judges right when it was
my kitchen I was scared this last time I
motor rode my motorcycle
about what am I gonna do of it and I
went up to judge Church I’m so sorry I I
can’t get a license because I can’t see
because what you can’t see to get a
license well-paced dismissed I thought
it totally looked at the point of view
yelling what are you driving a
motorcycle when you can’t see we’re on
this technique you might well you can’t
see well case dismissed
anyway so and then I yeah I started the
martial arts March
1971 and we had one of the toughest
karate schools in the country actually
and anywhere in the world and to get a
black blood under my crotch instructor
John Murphy you had to fight a 10-round
bout with a fresh opponent each round he
figured if a boxer can go 10 rounds with
the same guy he’s gonna do the same
thing except you’re gonna have a fresh
fighter every round so it’d be like
alley going Fraser Holmes Foreman and so
on and they’re all black belt or going
up it’s a jet black belt and they come
fresh to you 434 for those around a four
three minutes each one exactly and so it
took me 13 years and three months of
training before I was ready to take on
the ten fighters but to start off with
my foot won in my first test I had to
fight five two-minute rounds and he had
his testing across the border in Tijuana
because he didn’t want to deal with
lawsuits mm-hmm
and so’s across the border because it
wasn’t really my almost like
cockfighting you know to be perfectly
frank and put it enough there because it
was very radical and we’re bare fisted
and there was very very few rules we
respected the knees or any place we
didn’t shoot were the knees and we
worked up in a mouthpiece anyway so my
green belt test which I had fight ten
too many guys and I was it was August
2nd 1973 it was 105 degrees outside with
a 90 plus percent humidity in the dojo
was this solid brick building blocks the
Met block building 30 by 50 foot no
windows no air conditioning not even a
fan one door to go in and out and there
was like 75 statistics sadistic
spectators all crammed on benches
because they always like when these
blood baths came you know they came
there to watch the bloodbath and I got
so beat when I was done I was drinking
out of a Tijuana toilet and I my fine
comes in it was their attention for his
black belt that day he goes you realize
you drinking out of a toilet and I’m
going gasping for Erick’s I couldn’t
breathe I didn’t care but so anyway that
caused me to realize okay if I’m gonna
overcome asthma because I had asthma and
fear can trigger an asthma attack you
can’t fight it if he can’t breathe so I
started putting myself in crazy
positions and Jim Bowers is the
therefore a lot of it as was a whole lot
of other friends you I’ve climbed
thousand foot cliffs we climbed the tops
of split mountain 80 hundred miles
outside of San Diego in the desert there
and that was there’s a whole bunch of
stories just there I learned to swing on
the trapeze Bob your kiss very dear
friend wonderful man he’s 86 years old
I’ve done more stunts in anybody in the
history of Hollywood and he had a whole
circus in his backyard and I lived with
him in the early in the 1973 73 74 75 76
in that time frame I learned to swing on
the trapeze take high high high falls ID
tightrope around the rim of multi-story
building tightrope tightrope Oh
tightrope aha would you like this prior
to being blind or did this happen this
oh no this is after this is our task is
were you pushing the envelope your
entire life from the day you born I was
this is not a new thing you were wired
like this from day one you want to push
the envelope when I was five years old I
got a lot of attention because I have a
debt Achmed photographic memory there’s
no such thing as a photograph but I have
a genetic memory and I took that I did a
picture that I saw in National
Geographic with a pay finger pay and
they’re going look what he did they were
all stunned and so I’ll first second
third grade that was my kind of my
identity was my ability to paint draw
and and so I always pushed it and I
always wanted to be good at whatever was
then of course when the vision started
oneself then obviously couldn’t paint
draw anymore
and that kind of you know at first there
was some rebellion that took place and
but then I joined I graduated high
school early and I joined a theatre
company and my director was a man named
Steve Terrell he was a TV and movie star
back in the fifties early sixties one of
the Stephen King his late wind was later
latest books at 11/22/63 about the
assassination of Kennedy he references
the movies that Steve Terrell were in in
his late his book called drag strip girl
starring Steve Terrell Steve would sit
there and watch me well first of all he
taught me how to play the part of a
sighted person because I’d be on stage
and I’m interacting with another actor
and I’m looking like this because I had
no forward vision so play here’s the Hat
so I’d have to go like this
and look out of the corner of my eye to
even see where your silhouette was yes
and so any goes in here in the director
oh he was the director here and whether
assistant directors we’re going you
vacuum time it doesn’t look right to
Dancy Rick Rick can you look at the
you’re the person you’re talking to
because from the audience point of view
it doesn’t look make sense why you’re
talking this bushy looking over here so
he taught me how to play the part of his
father’s watch what are skill to learn
and I had and I had to learn it in
different ways because there’s different
visions there’s close-up vision there’s
you know so if I’m if I want to focus on
something that’s five feet away that’s a
different look than if you’re looking at
something that’s 50 feet away yo there’s
you know your your eyes or just so I had
to train myself to give that impression
when I’m looking at somebody that’s five
and half foot away like you are versus
somebody that’s ten foot away anyway so
and then he would see me watch be before
and after who scenes I’m sitting there
practicing moves all the time and he
goes you love cards he said if you
become the best card man in the world
you will earn the respect of others and
that will open doors for you when you
her earned their respect doors will open
he quoted the old papaw so Paul who said
run the race to win become the best so
are those words stuck in my head and so
that really kind of was one of the
foundations for my obsessive focus so I
started putting in an average of 10 to
20 hours a day a day a day and I average
practice day was 14 to be perfect for
honest mode day would be 10 hours
average was 14 but every day I get up at
60 go to bed at 3:00 and I would have
practiced for a full 20 hours 21 hours
the only time I was not practicing is
when I was training or fighting that’s
the only time their cards were not
working or even when I shower I had
water proof cards when I be in the
Pacific Ocean
I had cards with me well your wife told
a funny story she she told her friend
which which this is one of the funniest
part of the documentary she said one
time you know Richard and I were making
love and while we’re making love in the
well my hand with that one hand was free
so you know what why wasted opportunity
to release one hand practice so so the
the obsession I’m curious if we get into
a little bit of obsession maybe you know
what before we get into once you show
one more do you wanna show one of yours
okay this deck has been shuffled a bunch
of times here we deal my favorite game
which is seven-card stud I’ll show you
how far I can push the envelope okay
give me another okay we moved out here
oh those cards out of your way how many
players should we have 5 5 players where
do you want to sit one two five one five
and one so right out of the chute this
is you one two three four five you chose
this one number one mm-hm
now watch this I want you to take these
cards I want you to mix them up okay and
then pull out a stack and hand them to
me I don’t want you to give me the old
deck back guy and I’ll have you do this
each time we go around the table to make
this as impossible as possible so just
mix it up and then pull out a stack and
put them on my hand okay and I think we
left one we have player two player three
player four player five now we have the
door cards what’s that card jack of
spades take them back mix them up you
have the whole deck books maximum with
retic the whole deck with that yes and
then hand me any part of the deck you
want so you could do everything you can
to make this like I said as impossible
as possible and the point is people say
how can you tell what card is in this
case even if they were face-up and you
can see every card coming off the deck
to control it in this instant what’s
that king of clubs post cards go
together mix them up have me any part of
the deck you want and we will see what
we can here we’re playing seven standard
we always play what’s called hi Chicago
that means high Spade in the hole splits
the pot I have me a random stack of
cards again and we have player two we
have player three player four player
five player what is you what’s that
Queen of Spades Jack Queen King how are
you doing this I’m doing pretty good so
yeah but you’re how you making it happen
I have no idea because I’m doing this is
actually pretty interesting cuz this is
different if you have control of it the
entire time that’s one thing but you are
doing everything you kind of screw
things up and we have player two player
three player four player five you chose
number
what’s that come on what does it come on
it’s a sub diamond how did you do that
come on go Patrick go oh my gosh hand me
a stack there you go oh he’s getting
stingy that’s three cards less than last
time
okay we have player 2 layer 3 layer 4
player 5 now the last card they called
the expression down-and-dirty this is
where it came from this game one two
three four put that last card with the
rest of the stack okay once again you
shuffled you cut you chose five players
you chose to sit at the first position
and you shuffle each time and hand me a
random part of the deck after you mix
them we’re playing seven stud high Spade
in the hole splits of pot let’s see what
you have in this hand again what’s that
card ace of dollars what’s that Queen
what’s that King what’s that Jack so
you’re sitting on what we would be the
equivalent of an inside strike only one
way would fix it what’s that King of
Spades pair of kings that’s good
what’s that ten of clubs ten Jack Queen
King ace ace high straight we were
playing high Spade in the hole splits
apart with that base of the pot but you
shuffle do you cut you chose how many
players you chose where you wanted to
sit especially with this money involved
my gosh so you did everything you could
just to try to mess me up and sorry but
you were the big winner so you should be
happy yeah but this is insane this is
insane here am i and my mentor was a man
named die Vernon I mean die Vernon die
Vernon is the guy that he he tried to
Dini
his wife right and her wife at his
showdown the card or you know and right
the by the way this is what he said
about you having seen countless number
of card experts execute for over 80
years
I consider Richard Turner to be by far
the most skillful he performs the most
difficult moves with the greatest ease I
doubt if anyone can equal him he does
things with cars that no one in the
world can do no one this is diver Anna
saying this about you you I know it’s
pretty darn cool I have to say and and
and for those in the business know who
he is for a century the whole 20th
century he was the most influential
person in the whole area of magic
sleight of hand close-up magic gambling
work
he kept making it come back to the top
okay take all these cards turn in one
direction turn in one direction with
them or to them or okay yeah and and put
the rest of the cards back with them but
in other words put the deck back
together you want me to turn the cards
or no leaving turn more faced up make
sure all of one direction yes okay okay
yeah Dai Vernon had very nice things to
say about you yeah and he was born in
1894
yep you lived to be almost 100 years old
my wife is him and I threw him his 98th
birthday in 1992 you want the cards up
face up or no why not face up okay name
a card chink apart take out the Kings
okay take out the four cubes okay you
know while you take out a king all the
but yeah anyway Vernon took a liking to
me back in 75 and I became the recipient
of a century worth of his most guarded
card-table artifice you got your kings I
did yes and what he would do and which
was kind of unique and brought to my
attention later hand him to me face up
what’s your favorite suit spades what
take this bait okay okay I’m just
pronounced even sit there for a minute
okay so he would uh when he would
describe moves to me because I couldn’t
see what he was showing me mhm
he tricked me he didn’t scribed them to
me in the way that he could do them or
the way that anyone else has ever been
able to do them but he believed in
naturalness in doing things in a way
that you don’t think something that’s
happening and so he described them in a
perfect manner and he would say Richard
this is how it’s done and put the deck
in my hand and and in his hands he
needed and I’d get his really close and
try to get an idea and then I’d touch
his hands and so he showed me this is
how it should be done and oh and I spent
thousands of hours tens of thousands of
hours working on many different moves
techniques controls and it wasn’t until
years later that he admitted to me that
he made them up he did not think they
were possible to do that way he did it
just to see what this obsessed kid would
come up with because he would see that I
would put in ten fifteen twenty hours a
day and then every time he’d see me
he would uh he would go that’s it and
what you just saw there when I first
would the 100 I wedges still that said
it’s done him I was worth the Magic
Castle in Hollywood and I said professor
what do you think about combining this
with this and this because I thought
this is the ultimate this is the most
deceptive ultimate way to control the
game and he goes it’s not possible I
said your brain can’t work that fast
your hands can’t be that sensitive you
break rhythm it won’t work it can’t be
just say that that’s we said to be and
I’m standing I’m standing he’s sitting
at the at the bars the magic house I’m
standing there going and I was depressed
I said that I was I was going Oh bummer
he says it can’t be done but it’s the
ultimate it’s perfect yeah so for about
10 minutes I was depressed then all of a
sudden I thought hold it but I can do it
I said professor come watch my show and
so he came to them we watched my show at
the castle there and they came on goes
rats are like the how are you gonna now
I don’t understand what the hell you’re
gonna I said remember when you said you
can’t do this that’s what I mean hurry
up and go back in anyway for the next 18
months everybody that came out came over
mats come out watch this max watch it
shuffle the cards how many players rail
and he would go on and on it over and
over and then two years that later he
goes oh you can do that and it even
knows exactly what I’m doing
he can’t do what you’re doing no no
seriously he came that diverting
couldn’t do what you did almost
everything I do in my show the
techniques and the methods that I’m
using it’s very exclusive there you
won’t see it done you know Wow I’ll show
you some moves see that there’s your
King of Spades yes now I want the King
of Spades this is one of the one of the
things that Professor show to be we deal
we deal cards around the table
watch face up so the card stays as the
second card is down but see this
particular second deal it’s actually
named after me it’s called Turner sweep
second but what I have to do is my left
thumb must apply the precise amount of
pressure to push over exactly twenty two
point six thousandths of an inch and
that is the and that’s the caliper of
the two cards see exactly two cards and
so and then my right thumb
it only has a 60 64th of a second as its
sweeping across the deck here to engage
that second card and then deal it out
judges it’s only that blink of a moment
now I’ll do it see what you know because
you figure what type or bottom which is
that second card it’s the second card
your your other kings are still on the
bottom saying and here I’ll do it Mike
yeah I’ll do it real slow really be to
slow it down get some more cards back so
all right you are with the math guy and
nothing I do is based on math it’s all
based on finger control fingertip
control and touch see that card you king
let’s see if I do this really really
this is this is one of the first second
deals that I that I came up with whether
you do it really really really slowly
you turn it face up so you can see more
clearly see but you have to deal the
card second card is neatly see learn
would talk about real relaxed grip with
natural grip and see here’s here’s
one-handed now when the cards face down
see when it’s face down it’s hard to
tell that you’re being taken but that’s
that’s dealing seconds anyway so he kept
showing me move after move after move
and and he would describe them to me in
a way and so I developed them only to
find out that he couldn’t do him that
way and others people could do him that
way and a lot of the times he just
thought they were it was flat-out not
possible to do it that way say number
ten to twenty ten to twenty yeah pick a
number
okay seventeen okay I’m going to try cut
with one hand seventeen cards come on
come on
well we kind of will find out
on two three four five six seven eight
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
come on okay come on I mean how could
you do that okay we one-handed I just
said a one-second game into me we try
this for intent do you have our numbers
at the same time one two three I got
that one see flash ten cards one two
three four five six seven eight nine
okay put them back on the deck face down
okay now take the deck and cut it cut
half the deck and put the other half on
top cut it and finish it okay now
because people are always asking why
would you waste your time develop on a
touch like that I’ll show you why the
purposes give me a number of players in
the carnival three four five picking up
for you and my partner you want sit at
one two three or four to four and two
okay and once again as we mentioned
earlier the way you’re allowed to
shuffle in the casinos the deck has to
stay face down on the table riffle
shuffle and it’s because you know it’s
the hardest way to control if you’re
going to control for players second
position take the deck so you don’t
think I’m doing anything dirty
do you like card off the top face up
player one right here okay and I think
you chose Kings and your player number
two face up with card right here what’s
that card that’s king of clubs for Drina
parts player three right here and player
four start here again player one number
two is you that’s at card three okay
player four okay keep circling the table
player one tell us what number two is oh
my king again they start very big time
there how she makes the last one ten
well the next deal the next card out of
curiosity
kinga space I missed so let me let me
explain what half I shuffle your cards
back in the deck exactly where you chose
every fourth position starting at number
two but I missed one of those shuffles
by the thickness of eleven point three
thousandths of an inch and that’s why
that one card was off by one that one
car was out by one card so I explained
how and what happened there so listen
obviously a lot of our viewers they’re
entrepreneurial but you’re also not
preneur yourself because as an artist
you found a way to monetize this and
this is what you know for living for
many many are so hard to find a way to
monetize your ability and and monetizing
a close up act is different than like
David Copperfield because he can put ten
thousand people in an audience before
mine it’s intimate
nowadays we have video projections so
when I toured China where we mentioned
you know they had the most I was in the
most beautiful theaters in the world I’m
in the screen that my show was projected
on was four stories hall and tall and
five storeys wide but how I made it
viable for me is I became an asset an
added asset to my performing venues in
other words I was hired to entertain but
as an added bonus I got them what is
known in the industry has earned media
you probably know what that means I got
them I got their name mention in
primetime television worldwide
television newspaper figures magazine
cover stories so I would have long-term
running engagements I had one engagement
that went 2100 90 days in a row that’s
seven days seven nights a week
performing six years straight it is
because whenever I got them Wow Ripley’s
that’s incredible I was at and I always
made sure they mention the places I was
performing in and on those shows or all
the different media so they got very
expensive advertising just because I was
there and I replicated that in a number
of different places too over the years
and that’s how I made it more viable and
of course now with projection now I
don’t need to do that so much I had
people say there’s no way you can make a
living and they were they were looking
they were looking down at me he wanted
you’re crazy if you think you can make
him adjust by the decade call it make a
living with a deck of cards and so I had
I actually had it all calculated out
probably two or three years before I
actually did what I did when I got that
first long engagement from 1979 to 84 on
that riverboat and that changed the game
not changing
there was a story saying how when you
were seven years old you liked to watch
the show maverick because the guy would
do magic tricks and you would sit right
in front of TV and your mom would say
hey what are you doing Richard and is
that word the fascination came from for
you from that movie watch is that what
it was for you yeah it was a TV show
called maverick starring James Garner it
was a West
and he was a gambling he was a card
player a card shark and sometimes there
would be people at the table trying to
cheat him he had out cheat the cheaters
and I thought he was so cool and so I
wanted to be a gambler like maverick we
were very poor we had four games we had
monopoly checkers chess and a deck of
cards and I was the oldest one thing
about the oldest I had this thing about
I didn’t like to lose so when we play
cards for M&Ms when we get a nickel and
we’re able to get a deck a pack of M&Ms
so we’d play cards for M&Ms and the red
being the most valuable the brown being
the least valuable and I wanted all
those M&Ms for my sisters and so we
played cards and I started noticing if I
tell myself one extra card I increased
my percentages like by 20 percent and so
I started coming up with these ways of
giving creating an advantage and that’s
kind of where the obsession started in
my sisters we’re told her four
girlfriends
my brother’s so good he never loses and
that just encouraged me to keep
developing more and more things your
sister she said she lost her vision a
year and three months after your son oh
yeah yeah hers was a couple years after
my but we both I was nine she was five
when we both got scarlet fever what did
the odds of that by the way like
whatever doctor said when that happened
what our whole in elementary school was
in quarantine and they gave them an
antidote or and we had to take something
else and we don’t know and the thing is
that’s the only thing that they can
figure that cause the vision to go south
because of the exact same thing happened
to both of us and for me I was in my
fourth grade class teachers ride and
mrs. Gaston riding on the chalkboard and
all of a sudden the chalk just got like
someone took a racially smeared it it
was just and I’m going I’m trying to I
and then I looked down at my book and I
couldn’t see the pram one and I gasps
and I’m sorry I can’t see the chalkboard
and sent me to the nurse and so that’s
what happened with me and my sisters
same thing within 60 seconds it’s like
the lens on a camera just went fuzzy
Anya you know I noticed one thing is
when I sit with people that become the
best at what they do not just one of the
best but the best at what they do like
you’re not one of the best you are
the best there’s a big difference right
almost every one of them that I talk to
there was something happened that was
extremely painful growing up and I think
it happens to a lot of us right when it
happens imagine God if you believe in a
higher power or you know if you believe
in Greek mythology like you’re being
tested to see how you’re gonna react
because this is your chance for the
world to know that it could be the best
at something every one of these guys has
a very difficult story in that moment
when were being tested
you shared a few them in a documentary
what would you say some of them were I
know you said one of them your mother
wants you had a book so close to your
eyes you were reading and your mom said
do you have to put the books up close to
you and you remember that when you
explained that how many more of those
instances happen that stayed with you
well a number of one of them that stayed
with me was we were forced to watch a
movie called Lord of the Flies back in
second grade third grade fourth grade it
was about a group of boys that were
stranded on an island and they be they
became savages and there was one kid on
the one kid on the island called piggy
he was chubby wore glasses and he had
asthma and the other kids end up they go
off in teams and they end up taking kid
piggy and they end up killing him and I
was always afraid of turning out like
piggy you know cuz I would except I was
skinny blind and had asthma and then
there was another show called lost in
space
Jonathan Harrison playing mr. Smith and
he was always the coward hiding behind
this rock while this goofy looking
monster would come up while their little
ten-year-old Billy Mumy goes and saves
the day and I was always afraid that I
was gonna be like that coward and I in
the same thing with Tarzan movies I’d
watch Tarzan movies and they’re always a
scene where they’re going across a tree
that fell across you know some Kang and
that’s a thousand feet below and then
someone always stop go whatever you do
don’t look down and then there’s always
the one person that stops and looks down
you know screaming to their death what
if I’m that coward and so it was because
of the fact I can’t I can’t see how am I
going to be able to deal with things Oh
how’s a woman you gonna want to deal
with want to be with a guy that can’t
see and it caused me to flip and just go
all the way to the other extreme and I
took extreme risks wrestling seven-foot
sharks – oh I well did you say wrestling
7 foot show
yeah you want that story give it to me I
love shark hunting and we go out off
nine mile island which was about well
nine miles off of the San Diego point in
the Mexican waters you would pour blood
in the ocean and I was always the pool
man I’d have a Marlin pulse Marlin pole
with a 12 foot steel lead 120 40 pound
steel leader under 20 pound line and the
shark starts circling and then they
would grab your bait and take off they
not to pull the rest of the 12 feet by
hand because he couldn’t go through the
other thing then another friend we
called him gaffer he would gaff the
sharks in my van tranh D dick he was our
shot shoot his shooter he would shoot if
she can’t kill a shark once it’s on the
boat and we had these red snapper heads
and guts tied onto the back of the boat
in this seven foot blue you start
chomping on those things so we pull that
that rope in grabbed a gaff and gapped
him put a bullet in him but he’s not
dead because he only put it in the
middle so I said hang on to him so he’s
holding that shark by the head and I
reach in and I grab him I figure if I
can get a noose around his tail we won’t
lose him so I’m sitting at this day and
I’m sitting there trying to muscle the
darn thing with one arm who lives the
other hand I’m trying to tie a noose on
his David I thought it’d take a 30
second thing without six or eight
minutes and finally got a noose on his
tail we shot him pulled him on onboard
the boat and then started chewing on our
gas lines so he’s sitting there chomping
away and Randy goes somebody better stop
that and we’re not gonna be out of you
get home because we’re like many miles
from shore and so I said give me my
softball back I grab my softball back
and I went BAM went down and you know
you hit that shark hard enough and he’s
finally settled down then about five
minutes later there he is again mouse up
and down shoot you getting ready to chop
our gas lines and I the second time when
you know you did it so the eyes pop out
and anyway the shark stopped I relate
plummy not at that level with you what
you’re doing but the idea of somebody
said you couldn’t do it the idea of
somebody tried to feel bad for you you
grow up poor people give you money they
say oh poor you
oh poor this and you don’t even want to
get help look I remember I had a
challenge asking for help for a long
time mm-hmm it was kind of like I don’t
want you to I don’t want you to help me
I don’t want you to help me I don’t need
anybody’s help seems like that’s
little bit of a positive thing but also
it’s a little bit of a Achilles heel
because it limits you to how much you
can grow because yes you want to prove a
point that you don’t need anybody so
because growing up you had something but
then eventually if you want to do
something big and be able to do it for a
long time you need help from other
people how did you overcome that and in
what was the processing was it your
sister talking to you was it your wife
talking to you how did you go about
saying I don’t care I’m okay getting
help now when I was first to ask me on
the show called that’s incredible at the
time it was one of the biggest shows on
television and they wanted me to walk
with a white cane I’m not gonna do that
that’s a tip-off you know the blind
people do that I get in their face
sometimes and I wasn’t I wasn’t too
polite about it because I wanted my
stuff to stand on his own the thing is
as the years went on the vision kept
going south and before I could I could I
could when I fight I can least see how
the corner my where my cell their
silhouette of my target I have a very
rare condition it was first documented
1760 calls charbonneau syndrome is
French English is Charles bonnet
syndrome and dr. Oliver Sacks he’s a
best-selling author he’s written a
number of books on this topic one was
called hallucination the other one was
called the mind’s eye and that he calls
this scene with the mind’s eye so my
condition is where other people that
have lost their seat just see black they
lost her sight they say I don’t see
nothing I see a 360-degree kaleidoscope
of beautiful vivid every shape of royal
blue blues reds greens every every shape
of and then when I’m in the red spectrum
every shape of royal red down to the eo2
everything in the red spectrum and and
then sometimes they will intermix with
each other and then in amongst all this
is every subconscious image because he
just float around so just picture
yourself underwater with a light shining
and breaking down the prism the light
spectrum and in the water is just
thousands of things floating around
that’s my normal state and you can block
me in a vault with no light of any
source and I’m still these things these
these colors as they are just as vivid
and the cool thing is I can I can zoom
in on any particular image
zoom it up I take my beautiful wife in
zoom
her around in her bikini and whatever
you know and then or or I’ve designed
houses I built decks and I would
engineer my wife and watch I was sitting
there chair and I watch I’ll watch the
whole thing I could through it’s like
living in virtual reality ok I need 12
12 4 by 12 so it’s bean and they’ll have
to be anchored over here and I’ll
engineer a big giant project without a
single piece of paper my at that time my
dad was my cutter I say dad this and the
board needs to be 192 and a quarter
inches we cut it we built this three
giant oh I don’t know how many Scorpio
giant deck all different layers levels
and all without a single piece of paper
and all engineered with this CBS Charles
bonnet syndrome now all of a sudden I I
couldn’t see anything anymore anything
that’s real and see I could look like
this I put my hand in front of my face
and I will see a digitized I guess I’d
be like something that’s not flesh
lookit I don’t see things flesh on it
wood bit but I will see something go
back and forth like a pendulum okay I
close my eyes I see the exact same thing
with the colors just as vivid and so I
was no I would go like this and I
couldn’t tell that there was nothing
left now there was out of the corner of
my eye I could not see my hand moved
because and I didn’t know that I had
lost the rest of my side because my CBS
created the vision that I had so then
now I’m running into everything under
the Sun I my wife were sitting there
recliners at night in the phone rings I
– to answer the phone I ran square into
the corner of the wall I split my head
wide open
she looked from her up from a book and
she said now that one had to hurt when
when you get off the phone
don’t forget to wipe up the blood so in
our family me running into things is par
for the course happens every month I
either have a big split face or a black
eye and sadly it’s almost always before
I do an interview somehow I managed to
not have one for you and anyway so yeah
she kept trying to get through to me you
need help you need to have you need
someone to walk with you need to touch
somebody you know cuz I just kept
hurting myself and so finally I realized
that nothing what that I was seeing was
real
and that for me was that was as a big of
loss to me as if you just went from year
2020 to zero how that would be to you
what little I had meant as much to me is
what you have means to you because I
went from a independent disabled person
to a dependent disabled person in that I
now needed somebody to touch as I walked
I needed somebody that touched me or I
touched them to keep me from walking off
cliffs which I’ve done fallen down
really my wife and I were were she we
rollercoaster junkies were we’ve climbed
giant mountains seven foot seven mile
high mountains in Montana and whatever I
do she’ll do whatever she does I’ll do
she’s a man she’s man fantastic you’ve
been mayor what 28 years 28 years 28 you
have a son which is your name so the
name of your son can you talk about that
I mean obviously you came up with the
name no you claim my son’s our son’s
name is ASA spades spelled AAS a like
King ASA from the Old Testament and King
David’s great-grandson was King ASA and
the Bible says and ASA did what is good
and right in the eyes of the Lord his
God he was one of the good Kings and she
and she said it means physician or
healer then my wife said and his middle
name could be spades and I thought he
sustains that’s perfect that’s the
perfect set name for the son of a card
structure he goes no no we’re not naming
our son yes she stepped in it and once
she stepped in it she couldn’t famous
because of his name people tell him all
over the world because and they think I
would kill for Richard Turner son’s name
he’s got the coolest name in the world
and he doesn’t go by Richard or asa
turner you after his father and her
mother he goes ASA spades
it goes by the name of ASA spades you
see people that do very well on their
career side with some you know not
necessarily family and then kids and all
that out so that kind of becomes
complicated and difficult to do for you
you you become the best at what you do
here your
marriage 28 years and you guys seem like
you’re having a blast together and then
your son going to where he’s at and he’s
you know good kid doing the right things
for himself your sister so you become
the best at this but your sister which
is fascinating is she you said she ran
the largest construction company and I
don’t in the state of Idaho yeah at one
time they laid more found more concrete
than any other consonant construction
she doesn’t Ram it she ran and was the
owner of it and her name was draught
draught dairy construction they built
big dairies and then it just became
draught construction because they you
know she works on very very large
project 10 20 50 million dollar projects
that’s amazing what values and
principles that your parents passed on
to you and your sister what were if you
were to say my parents or my mom or dad
always said these three things what were
those things well my dad was just
nothing but a positive influence on my
sister I we always said we had the best
dad in the world my bro all of us by my
brother says the same thing because he
loved us unconditionally
you know there’s in the Greek there’s
different types of love I got your eros
agape store GUI which is the family love
arrows philia which is a frantic friend
family love and agape as they like a God
love unconditional type love he loved us
with no conditions conditions and he
just he literally gave everything for us
and to us and he was just he was just
nothing but an encouragement and here’s
here’s how he was he’d kill hey yo cheat
and that’s how my dad addressed his son
be hey yo cheat and you said it with
affection and and he was so proud you
know and so I got my nickname was
Richard Turner the cheat so I went by
that four years if you look at old
publicity things it was always Richard
Turner that cheatin quote so you’d say
the number one thing from him was the
passing I love to you guys and and and
his the way he did things he did things
to perfection he was he had a seventh
grade education and became one of the
top engineers for a number of big big
big big companies yeah and he was just
start off as a welder but he would
engineer things and he would do work on
projects you work on the Alan Shepard
jungle in the first spacecraft all the
way up to the first space shuttle
and he would work on things and the
nuclear-nuclear area and button he would
come up with ideas but because he was
working for them they got the rights of
the patent he got the pat on the back if
he wasn’t you know he could have been a
wealthy man but money meant nothing to
him and whatever he did he did it to
such perfection
and I would watch him growing up he
would somebody would come over and they
wanted to build an engine or whatever he
would he would do it and then I would
just be so amazing I thought wow I wish
I could do that wish I had talent like
that and then when they would want to
pay him and he spent all the whole week
into it he would he move never would
take a dime so we we talked about Phil
Ivey briefly earlier so what do you
think I talked to Phil Hellmuth and I
was asking questions about him as well
obviously you’re in the world so you see
a lot of the poker and all these other
things that happens what do you think
about what happened would Phil Ivey in
London well I think he is owed that
money because there’s what’s called
advantage play and if the casinos are
dealing a game where if they have
something that there’s a flaw in their
game with their cards and and you
capitalize on that that is not
considered cheating legally or ethically
and and you know he they he was playing
according to their rules and everything
was wide open and now for them not to
pay him I think it’s wrong he deserves
to be paid so so I want to wrap up with
a quote you said at the end of the
documentary I know one thing that I
heard from the variety is the
documentary is now leading to a movie
that they’re doing on your life and the
people who were the people that came up
to you that are doing the movie on your
life after watching Belt mark ortisky
and Jane Fleming there with Court v he
was the executive producer of the Lord
of the Rings trilogy he won 17 Oscars
off that one trilogy alone those three
movies and he’s produced you know 60
major motion pictures and they took a
liking to delt and they they were in the
development stages of moving towards a
narrative you said something a
documentary you said I think the loss of
my vision ended up becoming a blessing
it made me who I am and
I am thankful for it I like the way I
see how long did it take you to say that
and believe it 100% well that came from
my beautiful wife Kim it gets back to
your earlier question when I had to face
things she would she would say you gotta
get over yourself you gotta let accept
help from others you are you you are yes
you’re Richard Turner the blah blah blah
you know you’re not you’re not
impervious you’re not Superman even
though I like to think I am sometimes
but I’m not anyway she said you can’t
fate you can’t deal with what you’re not
willing to confront if you’re not
willing to confront something you can’t
deal with it and so she told me
basically get over yourself
accept help from others and you know
when I what what heck I don’t need it
I’m old now I don’t care what people say
about me I’ve made my mark
and yeah so it’s been good 25 years but
it okay so it’s been a long time it’s
yet alone yeah
so Richard any final thoughts for
entrepreneurs out there I know you’re
you’ve talked that MIT and you said the
two curse words are hard working on
teller you mentioned the fact that the
biggest did two biggest disabilities in
the world are lazy and procrastination
once you talk a little bit about the
mindset of how you think to get yourself
to the point of being the best of the
best I say don’t let anyone tell you
something’s impossible you know have a
healthy disregard win someone says
something’s impossible I say take
possible out of impossible you know I
understand that time to time we’re Delta
Betty handed to that’s how we approached
that hand if we choose dough fold wine
quit sit on a pity pot a lot of people
do or take your disadvantage whatever it
is turn it into an asset become like a
soldier and you know become a warrior
and go all-in like we’re talking about
with Phil Ivey Ivey go go all-in
that’s what separates losers from the
winners you know don’t let anyone stop
get in your way
and don’t don’t hit him or knock him
down on the way smile at him and you’ll
you know I had a you know I was kind of
like this
a large part of my job now you’re right
I am a blind bat but let’s go have some
fun that’s a great you know for for some
some of us you know we make the lamest
excuses to say well you don’t understand
what I went through and what I did this
and what I did that and we use that as a
crutch and I get to the next level and
you’re a prime example of somebody that
can go out there and take all the
excuses away by the way we’re gonna talk
on a side note about looking at your
calendar on your availability next year
for inviting you to our conference cuz
that loves you guys perform for our guys
so they can see I’m sure after seeing
this interview people gonna be
fascinated by the story but you also get
invited to do a lot of functions right
so how do we get a hold you do they
contact your agent do they go on your
website
yes my manager Kim at Richard Turner 50
do calm my website is Richard Turner 52
that’s how many cards are calm but Kim
at in front of that and you get right to
my manager and you know I speak and
perform all over the world I just got
invited to do a television special in
Japan that I’m we’re negotiating the
contract on that and I’m that next week
I’ll be with Apple and anyway so it is
really fun I enjoy speaking and for some
reason people are inspired or encouraged
when I do even though all I wanted to be
was a performer but now I’m a speaker
performance so I do my car stuff within
my speaking so it’s also entertaining ya
know your message is multi-dimensional
it’s not one dimension you have a
multi-dimensional message that can
inspire what’s already entertain a lot
of people I think your story can also
inspire tens of millions of people
around the world as well if it hasn’t
already yeah when I did I had a special
for Japan they said I’ve been seen by
over a billion people now 214 billion
people it’s amazing I know it’s creepy
that is amazing it’s creepy I think to
me to think about that a people to see
my mobli old mug mug so by the way ugly
old mountain mug you look like you
belongs in a movie you look like a Chuck
Norris slash like a Burt Reynolds
good-looking model that should have been
in Hollywood doing movies you had you
had the whole thing if you if you see
this documentary you’re gonna see his
physique and you’re not gonna believe
he’s got the chest of a bodybuilder he’s
got the arms of a bodybuilder a fighter
by the way there’s a couple things I
want you to do if you watch to see you
were inspired you gotta go watch two
cumin or to really understand the story
in the scope of things because there’s
stories videos of him some of this thing
we didn’t get into in this video here
today in this interview today
so do that too if you do want to book
him reach out to his manager send that
email over and then three comment below
on what you took away from this
interview and if you haven’t subscribed
click on the subscribe button to join
value taemin and if you have to have a
lower button click on that as well to
join a notification squad so with that
being said Richard thank you so much for
being on value timing here with us truly
thank you for coming out my pleasure and
here’s one thing here’s something you
never do when you play for money never
shuffle a deck any chance
we’re so honored to be one day thank you
so much that coming up 20 thank you okay
I’m sure you played in different types
of poker games I have where the deck is
passed around the table you know where
it’s D or deal deal it goes around you
just handed me a shuffle deck so it’s my
deal now watch I’m going to use casino
procedure what I just showed you and I’m
gonna try to do what’s called call a
slug riffle riffle you do a running cut
okay
and another riffle and a cut now we’re
gonna deal the hand to hold them you
choose after the fact you can tell me
how many players five six seven how many
over at this table six six okay hold you
have to put your card there you go
perfect 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 burn and
we have a flop what are those 3 cards 9
of clubs king of spades 10 of clubs and
the 10 is wild remember yeah it’s a
while you chose what’s that look
what’s that Jack of Hearts so right now
they’re with the wild card there’s
possible straight what’s that enough
space so there’s two wild cards that
table now you’re my partner sitting over
here and hand number 5 just casually
raising the limit let’s see what you
have in the pocket was that 10 what’s
that
so the card you cut to I took care of
business so with that other and well a
thing that you would have had a Royal
Flush actually would had five of a cup
oh my gosh we’re in the wrong business
maybe we got a goal I can’t get around
that some casinos in Europe but then
they already know what yeah everybody knows you’re big time
ottoman
body mechanic is a professional killer
I’m a car
I can fix a card game let’s see what you
have in the pocket let’s have 10 what’s
up so the card you cut to you just
walked out with a million and a quarter
100% used means they kill you when
they’re done with you
you know those Middle East alarm and he
said they own half the world he said we
own the other half you’re not one of the
best you are the best there’s a big
difference y-you know what I consider
the worst disability of all
procrastination and laziness is your
ability or talent attract us an
interesting audience right oh and tell
her if I perhaps fooled you you want to
communicate with me my right ear reads
lips I said for thousands a lot of money
so it’s not for a judge he says now if
you ever want to have your wife killed I
so look before we get right into the
interview there’s gonna be reveal here
with my guest Richard Turner in about
ten minutes maybe which you probably
will flip out when you find out what the
reveal is but I want to say a couple
things to you I watched his documentary
last night it’s called dealt only two
documentaries have brought tears to my
eyes and you know I love documentaries
one was Sena and the other one is his
life story which is one of the most
emotional yet inspirational
documentaries I’ve watched in my life in
the world of magicians and card
mechanics he’s not recognised as one of
the best he’s recognized as number one
you know you’re number one when the best
come and asked you for an autograph and
picture that’s who we’re talking about
just to announce couple the things that
he said recognition wise he was a 2015
and 2017 close-up magician of the year
from the Academy of magical arts he’s in
the Hall of Fame at the Magic Castle and
on top of that in 1982 Siegfried and Roy
honored him with a Golden Lion award in
magic so with that being said again
there’s gonna be a surprise of revealing
about five to ten minutes but I want to
introduce to a very special guest
Richard Turner Richard thanks for being
on with us you’re my tainment I am so
honored to be with you here today
Patrick it’s very cool I’ve been so
excited about this interview so excited
about this interview because I am a
product of like studying people and
there are some that you study that you
see why this person really took their
game to a whole
the phone level but you’ve been able to
do it in your profession and your
personal life in parenting in your
health in so many areas and I want to
get into topics of you know Dai Vernon
obsession you know some of the
experiences with your sister which we’ll
get into maybe a little bit of Phil Ivey
on what happened with him at UK when you
know the ten million dollar issue that
he had I think was seven point two
million pounds you know which one I’m
talking about maybe we’re into a little
bit of that but and then some other
topics which will happen after the
reveal but prior to doing I want you
once you kind of do a little bit of your
work and show us what you got
okay and what I am is a card mechanic
and you mentioned that term and
generally the public don’t card McCain
you mean car McCain no card mechanic and
and the term goes back like fifty years
before the invention of the automobile
and a card mechanic is somebody who can
fix a card game in other words I can
make anybody win or lose under just
about any set of circumstances you set
before me and on just about any type of
card game which is different than a
close-up or card magician magicians
learn certain tricks for the purposes of
fooling and entertaining but those
tricks will not give them any advantage
at the card table the techniques for the
card table or literally thousands of
times more difficult to develop there’s
thousands of very good card magicians
there’s a dozen half dozen top
world-class card mechanics card shark
card shop there’s a bunch of slang term
for it but the bottom line when you play
poker blackjack bridge whatever the game
you want to make sure the cards that
evilly make start off with so you have a
deck yes I do yeah okay so in the
casinos they give you about 20 seconds
to give the deck three shuffles got in a
series of cut so give your deck a few
cuts or cuts or show okay okay let’s go
just go right into it shuffle then this
is basic casino procedure riffle riffle
and then you have to give what’s called
a running cut and give it another riffle
and a cut that’s basic casino procedure
so the deck should be pretty evenly
mixed yes yep yes hold your cards in
your hand off the table okay this is
that look pretty even are you kidding me
do we have H 2 3 4 5 6 yes I step on
back in a perfect quarter yes what do
you know that we did it okay now I’m
going to do what’s called us casino
watch it I’m doing it face up and that’s
for the purposes
camera can see that the cards are being
scrambled because magicians will have
what are called shaved taper cards with
the different sizes and they can feel
stick out and so this will ruin that now
I want you to take you give that deck a
shuffle okay and just set it right here
we’re just gonna shoot okay and oh okay
cut the deck in half just cut the deck
cut off half cut off half yeah give me a
oh you don’t think I had you cut give me
a random number three four five six
seven seven seven one two three four
five six seven and what’s that card ten
of spades
okay tens are wild because in poker
games they have like deuces are wild
someone I’m Trey’s a wild baseball have
multiple wild cards so 10 throughout
have had a past you shuffle that deck
that switch with me now okay
shuffle shuffle it now have you ever
played blackjack
I have 21 yes I have you see the movie
am I about the 20 my MIT students they
took on the casinos anyway I thought the
interview you’re talking about the movie
with Kevin Spacey you talk about the
actual interview you did with MIT I was
on a TV show where one of these
world-renowned card counters was going
to demonstrate how he can beat the house
and what he didn’t know if they brought
me as the dealer for that second we felt
two hours never won a single him he was
so if you’re a big dealer at a home game
on a house game I should weigh their
luck okay but burn a card but I’m gonna
reverse instead of me taking the money
all the way around I’m going to reverse
it how many players should we have at
this table five five players where do
you want to sit one two three four or
five I’ll sit at for number four one two
you’re at Betty venues place you’re
right here number four player five
player six Benny Binion will let you
make any a bet for any amount you like
okay one two three and you chose for it
now watch this before I take your card
and this is the burn card I’ll hold it
back mix it do something with those
cards very quickly make some shuffle
them I’ve suffered one time put them
back on there a burn card okay and
you’re right here number four yeah
what’s your first card ace of spades
what’s that card Queen of Hearts
bingo you just walked out with a million
and a quarter but you just shuffled you
just cut you chose five players and
chose to sit at number four and you
messed those cards up right before I
took your card and I took care of
business for you see that’s what a
mechanic does I fix the card game I made
you how does Vegas feel about you about
oh they love me I’m a legend over there
they’re very the people that are in
charge of catching cheaters are all very
good friends of mine so let me ask you
the opposite question the guys that go
and play do casinos cheat against the
players know the safest place to play in
the casino in the world now are in the
casinos particularly the upright ones
though you know in the in our in the
States because of gaming rules there
whether they’re gaming licences are so
valuable that it’s not worth risking
their license to to try to cheat
somebody now you go back before the
1980s when the mob was more in control
that wasn’t necessarily the case
now when the corporation’s have come in
it’s probably really the safest places
again we are in the casinos because the
security that I am is interesting sky
all the stuff they have is it keeps it
pretty safe didn’t mob ever contact in
280 saying hey Richard can we strike a
deal together do some oh you already
want you know yeah I have so many bombs
do you really I want to get into it why
don’t you share a couple them with us
okay well it started in about 1981 okay
in 1982 I was on a show called that’s
incredible so people saw me all over the
world and then the mobs mob people sorta
thinking skills dollar signs this one
guy first approached me and he wanted me
show him what I can do he was a mechanic
and I showed him he said I’ll give you
$1,000 state can work for me this is
1982 so I saw thousand Oh a date with
good money back then then I said no
thanks he said two thousand a day again
I politely refused then he said how much
will it cost to buy it
that was actually that’s exactly what I
said how much would I cost to buy it and
I flashback to my memories of the movie
Godfather were you know the guy wakes up
with a horse’s head he made a bad deal
he couldn’t refuse
and so I I said no thanks and that guy
followed me around for about six years
trying to get me to work for him and
then twice I watched him on the news
with
he and one of his New York partners
hauled off to jail because one of their
operations were were was raided another
offer came from the Middle East started
off with a phone call very strongly
accented voice wanted to talk to me
about doing business and I said meet me
aboard the boat where I was the nightly
entertainment I get aboard a boat and
there was five men of Middle Eastern
descent only one spoke English the
interprets at hear the boss and then
three other guys didn’t say anything and
they said they threw a stack of bills on
my table so let’s see what you knew of
those cards so I sat down on his
starters showing how I could win and
some of the things that you and I were
doing and then he says we give you
$10,000 a week come to the Middle East
and play cards for all money because
apparently there was a lot of Texans
that played deal would have boiled
involve involvement with the oil
business obviously and there was a lot
of high state games they were playing
they wanted me to control which
direction the money went and I said no
thanks you go he was irate with me
somewhat you’re turning down ten
thousands of dollars a week I said yep
we argued he talked to his boss his boss
was mad at him he’s mad at me and so and
they’re arguing back and forth then he
said how about twenty thousand a week
and I said nope
they argued again now his boss is
getting really mad at him for not
securing a deal he goes thirty thousand
finally said how about a million dollars
now he didn’t say if that was by the
week but I did say no and they were so
irritated they had just received their
food they threw down their forks there
pull threw down their napkins and threw
another stack of bills on my table and
left and when I got when I got the bills
I thought they’re all like Ones or fives
it was a stack of $100 bills so I still
had a good night didn’t have to
compromise myself another person very
wealthy very successful and we were in
his beautiful mountaintop mansion and I
was telling him about this offer I had
from the Middle East to spend you know
if I had from release and he told me
don’t take it he said in a situation
like that you’ll be a hundred percent
used you said you understand what I’m
trying to tell you Richard and for those
that know a hundred percent used means
they kill you when they’re done with you
I told him I know what it means he said
you know those Middle East dillamond he
said they own half the world
he said we can arrange to have these
card games take place in the United
States and we’re back here and you know
I thought to myself that one I thought
wow I’ll be 100% used amount be buried
in that foreign dirt now if you want I
can even tell you the scariest offer but
it’s gonna take a couple minutes I want
to hear it tell us I’m on a flight
headed to performance and he was paper
rattling next to me also this guy lowers
his paper says hello mr Turner I want to
talk to you about doing a little
business together and I thought how this
kind of what flight I was on how did he
know what seat I was sitting in anyway
he was a diamond broker from Sun City
South Africa and he wanted to offer me
two to three hundred thousand dollars to
play cards in these games there’s a jar
at large Jewish community he was his
mother was Jewish his father was Italian
and he wanted me playing these games to
once again control the direction of the
money and we had a conversation and it
was nice to be flat he was flattered to
have someone recognize you and talking
in the plane landing I thought that was
the end of it that was just a beginning
I’m in a hotel I just finished do we did
a lot of media I just finished some
television appearances and then I let my
show and now I’m in my hotel and the
phone rings answer the phone he goes
Richard it’s me diamond I’m downstairs
let me buy you dinner I I nicknamed a
mr. diamond because he was a diamond
dealer so I I called our chauffeur his
name was IRA and he took me he said take
me down to the restaurants rest home
tells restaurant go down there and he
said Richard have a seat he didn’t offer
to stand or shake my hand he just have a
seat in it
IRA left he held his hand up in front of
my face said I know your version duh
well you know shaking hands and I
thought how did he know I didn’t like to
shake hands it wasn’t because I was
weird or quirky is because the moisture
sweat from other people’s hands affects
my touch with the cards so you know if
someone was sweaty or whatever that
would that would diminish my touch so
that’s what was the reason how did he
know that well not even half a dozen
people know that so then he said hold
out your hand and he handed me a five
carat diamond pinkie ring
back then the gamblers were these big
old pinky when he’s a mr. the first guy
mentioned he had a big old giant wannabe
as a marble he says we’re $70,000 is
it’s a gift a token of my good faith and
I knew if I accepted that ring I would
be owned by him I gave it back said
thanks but I’m not all that hot on
jewelry and so then I’m on the road
again I’m in another hotel I walk in
another place at of a city walk into
this bar sitting at the bar again is
diamond he goes Richard let me buy you a
dream that’s how did he know I was gonna
be I didn’t know I was gonna be walking
in here so we sat talked we sat us that
what the little were those little – man
booze he’s across and he he goes now
you’re in the martial arts how did he
know us in the martial arts and he
casually put his hand on my shoulder
he said now if you reaches across there
like it was a small table
he put his out on my shoulder if you and
then you – as you take the punk then
I’ll say grab my head but you know
behind me my head it went – just drive
my my nose into his forehead
this is what you do is you think your
thick skull and you drive it in the
punch nose call it what you want Glasgow
kiss West Texas takedown he says
sometimes if you’re lucky the punk could
bite through their own tongue and now
I’m scared of this guy and then we were
getting ready to leave you said here
you’re in the entertainment business
perhaps you’d like to be on The Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson take this this
is Johnny Carson’s business number his
personal number in this third number is
an answering service just leave a
message that you called and I’ll get
back to you I had no way of directing
him comfort directly so I got home and I
went to a friend of mine who was
involved with our cried school’s name
was Chuck Curtis and he was the captain
of one of most successful SWAT teams in
the history of law enforcement he dipped
down a number of serial murders included
David Allen Lucas and he said with these
mobsters being following you need to be
able to protect yourself and you need to
have a high handle a gun and of course I
was looking for a leery of guns
so anyway ever it speed up the story for
you so he had me for six months out on
the sheriffs firing range he’d throw a
rock at a target I’d aim and fire in the
army with a Walther PPK James Bond
another choice and then I realized I
can’t take the gun on the plane I had to
check that back then you had to put it
in a lock
case that the airlines have the key to
and then that would be very
dysfunctional so I’m in another city and
again diamonds there invites me to have
dinner with them and he goes you know he
tells me how it cost him four hundred
thousand dollars to buy off a judge for
a murder he had committed and that’s
that for thousands a lot of money says
not for a judge he says now if you ever
want to have your wife killed I can
arrange for that I can make that happen
for you he did he said there’ll be an
accident he said there’d be an explosion
boom he said no one would know you were
behind to kill it he said I just want to
let you know that’s another service I
can provide now I was route this guy
really scared me but that’s half the
story the rest of the stories you get
more interesting but I told too much
already didn’t take it too much time Wow
so your your ability or talent attract
to some interesting audience right there
yeah and that’s that’s that’s four out
of a dozen interesting stories I think
this may not be a bad time for us to
make the reveal what do you think if we
kind of let the audience or do you want
to wait a little bit is that okay we
thought why not want to make the reveal
well I see with my mind and my fingers
it was 1963 I was told you will
eventually lose all your sight he had an
eye disease suddenly can’t do anything
about my vision started going south when
I was nine my sister Laurie and I both
got scarlet fever and we don’t know if
this is what caused it but it was the
only thing that was the commonality
between the two of us and then my retina
first my macula started to dissolve and
which is the center part of the retina
was so within or overnight within
minutes almost there was like a hat in
front of my face oh and then out of the
hole when I started losing the blood
started not going to the rest of the
retina and so the my best corrected
vision out of the corner was 20 over 400
which is twice as low as what’s
considered a legally blind then that
hold the eventually encompass my entire
retinas or the whole retina has been
destroyed and so that’s why my touch is
so fine is the neural network that went
to the visual cortexes now
focused on the touch areas of the brain
so that’s a kind of the cool thing now
what are the odds of you and your sister
though and both of you took your life
and you you didn’t use that as a crush
to say hey because it is I’m doing this
you still push the envelope so I’ve read
a lot of stories mythical stories about
Bo Jackson right just go Jackson jumped
over 40 you know foot this and jabo
Jackson ran a 40 in this fast and Bo
Jackson did this when he was a kid some
of the stories I hear one of your
friends was talking about the stories
that you were buying a motorcycle and
you would go and you would go climb in
and he want you to tell my some of the
whomp things you did a grown up I’ve had
a bunch of surgeries because of my high
impact living well I’ll tell you the
motorcycle story I came up with a great
idea
for the blind and deaf driver so I
bought a motorcycle and I had a friend
named Jim plows and had another friend
who was deaf named Roy ottoman he was my
auto mechanic he would sit on the back
and say big old strong guy but the high
speaking voice look like green light and
one day we were pulled over for
suspected armed robbery there was a
Winchell’s donor shop that was held up
and we fit the profile
and so we’re pulled over and then there
were there was only one small
discrepancy with us being the suspects
the getaway driver wasn’t blind his
accomplice wasn’t deaf and once we
proved to the cop that we couldn’t see
the lights flashing to hear the siren
blasting I received a ticket for driving
while blind he let us drive away and
then he says you better hope you get
judged Lord then when I went to court
they switched judges right when it was
my kitchen I was scared this last time I
motor rode my motorcycle
about what am I gonna do of it and I
went up to judge Church I’m so sorry I I
can’t get a license because I can’t see
because what you can’t see to get a
license well-paced dismissed I thought
it totally looked at the point of view
yelling what are you driving a
motorcycle when you can’t see we’re on
this technique you might well you can’t
see well case dismissed
anyway so and then I yeah I started the
martial arts March
1971 and we had one of the toughest
karate schools in the country actually
and anywhere in the world and to get a
black blood under my crotch instructor
John Murphy you had to fight a 10-round
bout with a fresh opponent each round he
figured if a boxer can go 10 rounds with
the same guy he’s gonna do the same
thing except you’re gonna have a fresh
fighter every round so it’d be like
alley going Fraser Holmes Foreman and so
on and they’re all black belt or going
up it’s a jet black belt and they come
fresh to you 434 for those around a four
three minutes each one exactly and so it
took me 13 years and three months of
training before I was ready to take on
the ten fighters but to start off with
my foot won in my first test I had to
fight five two-minute rounds and he had
his testing across the border in Tijuana
because he didn’t want to deal with
lawsuits mm-hmm
and so’s across the border because it
wasn’t really my almost like
cockfighting you know to be perfectly
frank and put it enough there because it
was very radical and we’re bare fisted
and there was very very few rules we
respected the knees or any place we
didn’t shoot were the knees and we
worked up in a mouthpiece anyway so my
green belt test which I had fight ten
too many guys and I was it was August
2nd 1973 it was 105 degrees outside with
a 90 plus percent humidity in the dojo
was this solid brick building blocks the
Met block building 30 by 50 foot no
windows no air conditioning not even a
fan one door to go in and out and there
was like 75 statistics sadistic
spectators all crammed on benches
because they always like when these
blood baths came you know they came
there to watch the bloodbath and I got
so beat when I was done I was drinking
out of a Tijuana toilet and I my fine
comes in it was their attention for his
black belt that day he goes you realize
you drinking out of a toilet and I’m
going gasping for Erick’s I couldn’t
breathe I didn’t care but so anyway that
caused me to realize okay if I’m gonna
overcome asthma because I had asthma and
fear can trigger an asthma attack you
can’t fight it if he can’t breathe so I
started putting myself in crazy
positions and Jim Bowers is the
therefore a lot of it as was a whole lot
of other friends you I’ve climbed
thousand foot cliffs we climbed the tops
of split mountain 80 hundred miles
outside of San Diego in the desert there
and that was there’s a whole bunch of
stories just there I learned to swing on
the trapeze Bob your kiss very dear
friend wonderful man he’s 86 years old
I’ve done more stunts in anybody in the
history of Hollywood and he had a whole
circus in his backyard and I lived with
him in the early in the 1973 73 74 75 76
in that time frame I learned to swing on
the trapeze take high high high falls ID
tightrope around the rim of multi-story
building tightrope tightrope Oh
tightrope aha would you like this prior
to being blind or did this happen this
oh no this is after this is our task is
were you pushing the envelope your
entire life from the day you born I was
this is not a new thing you were wired
like this from day one you want to push
the envelope when I was five years old I
got a lot of attention because I have a
debt Achmed photographic memory there’s
no such thing as a photograph but I have
a genetic memory and I took that I did a
picture that I saw in National
Geographic with a pay finger pay and
they’re going look what he did they were
all stunned and so I’ll first second
third grade that was my kind of my
identity was my ability to paint draw
and and so I always pushed it and I
always wanted to be good at whatever was
then of course when the vision started
oneself then obviously couldn’t paint
draw anymore
and that kind of you know at first there
was some rebellion that took place and
but then I joined I graduated high
school early and I joined a theatre
company and my director was a man named
Steve Terrell he was a TV and movie star
back in the fifties early sixties one of
the Stephen King his late wind was later
latest books at 11/22/63 about the
assassination of Kennedy he references
the movies that Steve Terrell were in in
his late his book called drag strip girl
starring Steve Terrell Steve would sit
there and watch me well first of all he
taught me how to play the part of a
sighted person because I’d be on stage
and I’m interacting with another actor
and I’m looking like this because I had
no forward vision so play here’s the Hat
so I’d have to go like this
and look out of the corner of my eye to
even see where your silhouette was yes
and so any goes in here in the director
oh he was the director here and whether
assistant directors we’re going you
vacuum time it doesn’t look right to
Dancy Rick Rick can you look at the
you’re the person you’re talking to
because from the audience point of view
it doesn’t look make sense why you’re
talking this bushy looking over here so
he taught me how to play the part of his
father’s watch what are skill to learn
and I had and I had to learn it in
different ways because there’s different
visions there’s close-up vision there’s
you know so if I’m if I want to focus on
something that’s five feet away that’s a
different look than if you’re looking at
something that’s 50 feet away yo there’s
you know your your eyes or just so I had
to train myself to give that impression
when I’m looking at somebody that’s five
and half foot away like you are versus
somebody that’s ten foot away anyway so
and then he would see me watch be before
and after who scenes I’m sitting there
practicing moves all the time and he
goes you love cards he said if you
become the best card man in the world
you will earn the respect of others and
that will open doors for you when you
her earned their respect doors will open
he quoted the old papaw so Paul who said
run the race to win become the best so
are those words stuck in my head and so
that really kind of was one of the
foundations for my obsessive focus so I
started putting in an average of 10 to
20 hours a day a day a day and I average
practice day was 14 to be perfect for
honest mode day would be 10 hours
average was 14 but every day I get up at
60 go to bed at 3:00 and I would have
practiced for a full 20 hours 21 hours
the only time I was not practicing is
when I was training or fighting that’s
the only time their cards were not
working or even when I shower I had
water proof cards when I be in the
Pacific Ocean
I had cards with me well your wife told
a funny story she she told her friend
which which this is one of the funniest
part of the documentary she said one
time you know Richard and I were making
love and while we’re making love in the
well my hand with that one hand was free
so you know what why wasted opportunity
to release one hand practice so so the
the obsession I’m curious if we get into
a little bit of obsession maybe you know
what before we get into once you show
one more do you wanna show one of yours
okay this deck has been shuffled a bunch
of times here we deal my favorite game
which is seven-card stud I’ll show you
how far I can push the envelope okay
give me another okay we moved out here
oh those cards out of your way how many
players should we have 5 5 players where
do you want to sit one two five one five
and one so right out of the chute this
is you one two three four five you chose
this one number one mm-hm
now watch this I want you to take these
cards I want you to mix them up okay and
then pull out a stack and hand them to
me I don’t want you to give me the old
deck back guy and I’ll have you do this
each time we go around the table to make
this as impossible as possible so just
mix it up and then pull out a stack and
put them on my hand okay and I think we
left one we have player two player three
player four player five now we have the
door cards what’s that card jack of
spades take them back mix them up you
have the whole deck books maximum with
retic the whole deck with that yes and
then hand me any part of the deck you
want so you could do everything you can
to make this like I said as impossible
as possible and the point is people say
how can you tell what card is in this
case even if they were face-up and you
can see every card coming off the deck
to control it in this instant what’s
that king of clubs post cards go
together mix them up have me any part of
the deck you want and we will see what
we can here we’re playing seven standard
we always play what’s called hi Chicago
that means high Spade in the hole splits
the pot I have me a random stack of
cards again and we have player two we
have player three player four player
five player what is you what’s that
Queen of Spades Jack Queen King how are
you doing this I’m doing pretty good so
yeah but you’re how you making it happen
I have no idea because I’m doing this is
actually pretty interesting cuz this is
different if you have control of it the
entire time that’s one thing but you are
doing everything you kind of screw
things up and we have player two player
three player four player five you chose
number
what’s that come on what does it come on
it’s a sub diamond how did you do that
come on go Patrick go oh my gosh hand me
a stack there you go oh he’s getting
stingy that’s three cards less than last
time
okay we have player 2 layer 3 layer 4
player 5 now the last card they called
the expression down-and-dirty this is
where it came from this game one two
three four put that last card with the
rest of the stack okay once again you
shuffled you cut you chose five players
you chose to sit at the first position
and you shuffle each time and hand me a
random part of the deck after you mix
them we’re playing seven stud high Spade
in the hole splits of pot let’s see what
you have in this hand again what’s that
card ace of dollars what’s that Queen
what’s that King what’s that Jack so
you’re sitting on what we would be the
equivalent of an inside strike only one
way would fix it what’s that King of
Spades pair of kings that’s good
what’s that ten of clubs ten Jack Queen
King ace ace high straight we were
playing high Spade in the hole splits
apart with that base of the pot but you
shuffle do you cut you chose how many
players you chose where you wanted to
sit especially with this money involved
my gosh so you did everything you could
just to try to mess me up and sorry but
you were the big winner so you should be
happy yeah but this is insane this is
insane here am i and my mentor was a man
named die Vernon I mean die Vernon die
Vernon is the guy that he he tried to
Dini
his wife right and her wife at his
showdown the card or you know and right
the by the way this is what he said
about you having seen countless number
of card experts execute for over 80
years
I consider Richard Turner to be by far
the most skillful he performs the most
difficult moves with the greatest ease I
doubt if anyone can equal him he does
things with cars that no one in the
world can do no one this is diver Anna
saying this about you you I know it’s
pretty darn cool I have to say and and
and for those in the business know who
he is for a century the whole 20th
century he was the most influential
person in the whole area of magic
sleight of hand close-up magic gambling
work
he kept making it come back to the top
okay take all these cards turn in one
direction turn in one direction with
them or to them or okay yeah and and put
the rest of the cards back with them but
in other words put the deck back
together you want me to turn the cards
or no leaving turn more faced up make
sure all of one direction yes okay okay
yeah Dai Vernon had very nice things to
say about you yeah and he was born in
1894
yep you lived to be almost 100 years old
my wife is him and I threw him his 98th
birthday in 1992 you want the cards up
face up or no why not face up okay name
a card chink apart take out the Kings
okay take out the four cubes okay you
know while you take out a king all the
but yeah anyway Vernon took a liking to
me back in 75 and I became the recipient
of a century worth of his most guarded
card-table artifice you got your kings I
did yes and what he would do and which
was kind of unique and brought to my
attention later hand him to me face up
what’s your favorite suit spades what
take this bait okay okay I’m just
pronounced even sit there for a minute
okay so he would uh when he would
describe moves to me because I couldn’t
see what he was showing me mhm
he tricked me he didn’t scribed them to
me in the way that he could do them or
the way that anyone else has ever been
able to do them but he believed in
naturalness in doing things in a way
that you don’t think something that’s
happening and so he described them in a
perfect manner and he would say Richard
this is how it’s done and put the deck
in my hand and and in his hands he
needed and I’d get his really close and
try to get an idea and then I’d touch
his hands and so he showed me this is
how it should be done and oh and I spent
thousands of hours tens of thousands of
hours working on many different moves
techniques controls and it wasn’t until
years later that he admitted to me that
he made them up he did not think they
were possible to do that way he did it
just to see what this obsessed kid would
come up with because he would see that I
would put in ten fifteen twenty hours a
day and then every time he’d see me
he would uh he would go that’s it and
what you just saw there when I first
would the 100 I wedges still that said
it’s done him I was worth the Magic
Castle in Hollywood and I said professor
what do you think about combining this
with this and this because I thought
this is the ultimate this is the most
deceptive ultimate way to control the
game and he goes it’s not possible I
said your brain can’t work that fast
your hands can’t be that sensitive you
break rhythm it won’t work it can’t be
just say that that’s we said to be and
I’m standing I’m standing he’s sitting
at the at the bars the magic house I’m
standing there going and I was depressed
I said that I was I was going Oh bummer
he says it can’t be done but it’s the
ultimate it’s perfect yeah so for about
10 minutes I was depressed then all of a
sudden I thought hold it but I can do it
I said professor come watch my show and
so he came to them we watched my show at
the castle there and they came on goes
rats are like the how are you gonna now
I don’t understand what the hell you’re
gonna I said remember when you said you
can’t do this that’s what I mean hurry
up and go back in anyway for the next 18
months everybody that came out came over
mats come out watch this max watch it
shuffle the cards how many players rail
and he would go on and on it over and
over and then two years that later he
goes oh you can do that and it even
knows exactly what I’m doing
he can’t do what you’re doing no no
seriously he came that diverting
couldn’t do what you did almost
everything I do in my show the
techniques and the methods that I’m
using it’s very exclusive there you
won’t see it done you know Wow I’ll show
you some moves see that there’s your
King of Spades yes now I want the King
of Spades this is one of the one of the
things that Professor show to be we deal
we deal cards around the table
watch face up so the card stays as the
second card is down but see this
particular second deal it’s actually
named after me it’s called Turner sweep
second but what I have to do is my left
thumb must apply the precise amount of
pressure to push over exactly twenty two
point six thousandths of an inch and
that is the and that’s the caliper of
the two cards see exactly two cards and
so and then my right thumb
it only has a 60 64th of a second as its
sweeping across the deck here to engage
that second card and then deal it out
judges it’s only that blink of a moment
now I’ll do it see what you know because
you figure what type or bottom which is
that second card it’s the second card
your your other kings are still on the
bottom saying and here I’ll do it Mike
yeah I’ll do it real slow really be to
slow it down get some more cards back so
all right you are with the math guy and
nothing I do is based on math it’s all
based on finger control fingertip
control and touch see that card you king
let’s see if I do this really really
this is this is one of the first second
deals that I that I came up with whether
you do it really really really slowly
you turn it face up so you can see more
clearly see but you have to deal the
card second card is neatly see learn
would talk about real relaxed grip with
natural grip and see here’s here’s
one-handed now when the cards face down
see when it’s face down it’s hard to
tell that you’re being taken but that’s
that’s dealing seconds anyway so he kept
showing me move after move after move
and and he would describe them to me in
a way and so I developed them only to
find out that he couldn’t do him that
way and others people could do him that
way and a lot of the times he just
thought they were it was flat-out not
possible to do it that way say number
ten to twenty ten to twenty yeah pick a
number
okay seventeen okay I’m going to try cut
with one hand seventeen cards come on
come on
well we kind of will find out
on two three four five six seven eight
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
come on okay come on I mean how could
you do that okay we one-handed I just
said a one-second game into me we try
this for intent do you have our numbers
at the same time one two three I got
that one see flash ten cards one two
three four five six seven eight nine
okay put them back on the deck face down
okay now take the deck and cut it cut
half the deck and put the other half on
top cut it and finish it okay now
because people are always asking why
would you waste your time develop on a
touch like that I’ll show you why the
purposes give me a number of players in
the carnival three four five picking up
for you and my partner you want sit at
one two three or four to four and two
okay and once again as we mentioned
earlier the way you’re allowed to
shuffle in the casinos the deck has to
stay face down on the table riffle
shuffle and it’s because you know it’s
the hardest way to control if you’re
going to control for players second
position take the deck so you don’t
think I’m doing anything dirty
do you like card off the top face up
player one right here okay and I think
you chose Kings and your player number
two face up with card right here what’s
that card that’s king of clubs for Drina
parts player three right here and player
four start here again player one number
two is you that’s at card three okay
player four okay keep circling the table
player one tell us what number two is oh
my king again they start very big time
there how she makes the last one ten
well the next deal the next card out of
curiosity
kinga space I missed so let me let me
explain what half I shuffle your cards
back in the deck exactly where you chose
every fourth position starting at number
two but I missed one of those shuffles
by the thickness of eleven point three
thousandths of an inch and that’s why
that one card was off by one that one
car was out by one card so I explained
how and what happened there so listen
obviously a lot of our viewers they’re
entrepreneurial but you’re also not
preneur yourself because as an artist
you found a way to monetize this and
this is what you know for living for
many many are so hard to find a way to
monetize your ability and and monetizing
a close up act is different than like
David Copperfield because he can put ten
thousand people in an audience before
mine it’s intimate
nowadays we have video projections so
when I toured China where we mentioned
you know they had the most I was in the
most beautiful theaters in the world I’m
in the screen that my show was projected
on was four stories hall and tall and
five storeys wide but how I made it
viable for me is I became an asset an
added asset to my performing venues in
other words I was hired to entertain but
as an added bonus I got them what is
known in the industry has earned media
you probably know what that means I got
them I got their name mention in
primetime television worldwide
television newspaper figures magazine
cover stories so I would have long-term
running engagements I had one engagement
that went 2100 90 days in a row that’s
seven days seven nights a week
performing six years straight it is
because whenever I got them Wow Ripley’s
that’s incredible I was at and I always
made sure they mention the places I was
performing in and on those shows or all
the different media so they got very
expensive advertising just because I was
there and I replicated that in a number
of different places too over the years
and that’s how I made it more viable and
of course now with projection now I
don’t need to do that so much I had
people say there’s no way you can make a
living and they were they were looking
they were looking down at me he wanted
you’re crazy if you think you can make
him adjust by the decade call it make a
living with a deck of cards and so I had
I actually had it all calculated out
probably two or three years before I
actually did what I did when I got that
first long engagement from 1979 to 84 on
that riverboat and that changed the game
not changing
there was a story saying how when you
were seven years old you liked to watch
the show maverick because the guy would
do magic tricks and you would sit right
in front of TV and your mom would say
hey what are you doing Richard and is
that word the fascination came from for
you from that movie watch is that what
it was for you yeah it was a TV show
called maverick starring James Garner it
was a West
and he was a gambling he was a card
player a card shark and sometimes there
would be people at the table trying to
cheat him he had out cheat the cheaters
and I thought he was so cool and so I
wanted to be a gambler like maverick we
were very poor we had four games we had
monopoly checkers chess and a deck of
cards and I was the oldest one thing
about the oldest I had this thing about
I didn’t like to lose so when we play
cards for M&Ms when we get a nickel and
we’re able to get a deck a pack of M&Ms
so we’d play cards for M&Ms and the red
being the most valuable the brown being
the least valuable and I wanted all
those M&Ms for my sisters and so we
played cards and I started noticing if I
tell myself one extra card I increased
my percentages like by 20 percent and so
I started coming up with these ways of
giving creating an advantage and that’s
kind of where the obsession started in
my sisters we’re told her four
girlfriends
my brother’s so good he never loses and
that just encouraged me to keep
developing more and more things your
sister she said she lost her vision a
year and three months after your son oh
yeah yeah hers was a couple years after
my but we both I was nine she was five
when we both got scarlet fever what did
the odds of that by the way like
whatever doctor said when that happened
what our whole in elementary school was
in quarantine and they gave them an
antidote or and we had to take something
else and we don’t know and the thing is
that’s the only thing that they can
figure that cause the vision to go south
because of the exact same thing happened
to both of us and for me I was in my
fourth grade class teachers ride and
mrs. Gaston riding on the chalkboard and
all of a sudden the chalk just got like
someone took a racially smeared it it
was just and I’m going I’m trying to I
and then I looked down at my book and I
couldn’t see the pram one and I gasps
and I’m sorry I can’t see the chalkboard
and sent me to the nurse and so that’s
what happened with me and my sisters
same thing within 60 seconds it’s like
the lens on a camera just went fuzzy
Anya you know I noticed one thing is
when I sit with people that become the
best at what they do not just one of the
best but the best at what they do like
you’re not one of the best you are
the best there’s a big difference right
almost every one of them that I talk to
there was something happened that was
extremely painful growing up and I think
it happens to a lot of us right when it
happens imagine God if you believe in a
higher power or you know if you believe
in Greek mythology like you’re being
tested to see how you’re gonna react
because this is your chance for the
world to know that it could be the best
at something every one of these guys has
a very difficult story in that moment
when were being tested
you shared a few them in a documentary
what would you say some of them were I
know you said one of them your mother
wants you had a book so close to your
eyes you were reading and your mom said
do you have to put the books up close to
you and you remember that when you
explained that how many more of those
instances happen that stayed with you
well a number of one of them that stayed
with me was we were forced to watch a
movie called Lord of the Flies back in
second grade third grade fourth grade it
was about a group of boys that were
stranded on an island and they be they
became savages and there was one kid on
the one kid on the island called piggy
he was chubby wore glasses and he had
asthma and the other kids end up they go
off in teams and they end up taking kid
piggy and they end up killing him and I
was always afraid of turning out like
piggy you know cuz I would except I was
skinny blind and had asthma and then
there was another show called lost in
space
Jonathan Harrison playing mr. Smith and
he was always the coward hiding behind
this rock while this goofy looking
monster would come up while their little
ten-year-old Billy Mumy goes and saves
the day and I was always afraid that I
was gonna be like that coward and I in
the same thing with Tarzan movies I’d
watch Tarzan movies and they’re always a
scene where they’re going across a tree
that fell across you know some Kang and
that’s a thousand feet below and then
someone always stop go whatever you do
don’t look down and then there’s always
the one person that stops and looks down
you know screaming to their death what
if I’m that coward and so it was because
of the fact I can’t I can’t see how am I
going to be able to deal with things Oh
how’s a woman you gonna want to deal
with want to be with a guy that can’t
see and it caused me to flip and just go
all the way to the other extreme and I
took extreme risks wrestling seven-foot
sharks – oh I well did you say wrestling
7 foot show
yeah you want that story give it to me I
love shark hunting and we go out off
nine mile island which was about well
nine miles off of the San Diego point in
the Mexican waters you would pour blood
in the ocean and I was always the pool
man I’d have a Marlin pulse Marlin pole
with a 12 foot steel lead 120 40 pound
steel leader under 20 pound line and the
shark starts circling and then they
would grab your bait and take off they
not to pull the rest of the 12 feet by
hand because he couldn’t go through the
other thing then another friend we
called him gaffer he would gaff the
sharks in my van tranh D dick he was our
shot shoot his shooter he would shoot if
she can’t kill a shark once it’s on the
boat and we had these red snapper heads
and guts tied onto the back of the boat
in this seven foot blue you start
chomping on those things so we pull that
that rope in grabbed a gaff and gapped
him put a bullet in him but he’s not
dead because he only put it in the
middle so I said hang on to him so he’s
holding that shark by the head and I
reach in and I grab him I figure if I
can get a noose around his tail we won’t
lose him so I’m sitting at this day and
I’m sitting there trying to muscle the
darn thing with one arm who lives the
other hand I’m trying to tie a noose on
his David I thought it’d take a 30
second thing without six or eight
minutes and finally got a noose on his
tail we shot him pulled him on onboard
the boat and then started chewing on our
gas lines so he’s sitting there chomping
away and Randy goes somebody better stop
that and we’re not gonna be out of you
get home because we’re like many miles
from shore and so I said give me my
softball back I grab my softball back
and I went BAM went down and you know
you hit that shark hard enough and he’s
finally settled down then about five
minutes later there he is again mouse up
and down shoot you getting ready to chop
our gas lines and I the second time when
you know you did it so the eyes pop out
and anyway the shark stopped I relate
plummy not at that level with you what
you’re doing but the idea of somebody
said you couldn’t do it the idea of
somebody tried to feel bad for you you
grow up poor people give you money they
say oh poor you
oh poor this and you don’t even want to
get help look I remember I had a
challenge asking for help for a long
time mm-hmm it was kind of like I don’t
want you to I don’t want you to help me
I don’t want you to help me I don’t need
anybody’s help seems like that’s
little bit of a positive thing but also
it’s a little bit of a Achilles heel
because it limits you to how much you
can grow because yes you want to prove a
point that you don’t need anybody so
because growing up you had something but
then eventually if you want to do
something big and be able to do it for a
long time you need help from other
people how did you overcome that and in
what was the processing was it your
sister talking to you was it your wife
talking to you how did you go about
saying I don’t care I’m okay getting
help now when I was first to ask me on
the show called that’s incredible at the
time it was one of the biggest shows on
television and they wanted me to walk
with a white cane I’m not gonna do that
that’s a tip-off you know the blind
people do that I get in their face
sometimes and I wasn’t I wasn’t too
polite about it because I wanted my
stuff to stand on his own the thing is
as the years went on the vision kept
going south and before I could I could I
could when I fight I can least see how
the corner my where my cell their
silhouette of my target I have a very
rare condition it was first documented
1760 calls charbonneau syndrome is
French English is Charles bonnet
syndrome and dr. Oliver Sacks he’s a
best-selling author he’s written a
number of books on this topic one was
called hallucination the other one was
called the mind’s eye and that he calls
this scene with the mind’s eye so my
condition is where other people that
have lost their seat just see black they
lost her sight they say I don’t see
nothing I see a 360-degree kaleidoscope
of beautiful vivid every shape of royal
blue blues reds greens every every shape
of and then when I’m in the red spectrum
every shape of royal red down to the eo2
everything in the red spectrum and and
then sometimes they will intermix with
each other and then in amongst all this
is every subconscious image because he
just float around so just picture
yourself underwater with a light shining
and breaking down the prism the light
spectrum and in the water is just
thousands of things floating around
that’s my normal state and you can block
me in a vault with no light of any
source and I’m still these things these
these colors as they are just as vivid
and the cool thing is I can I can zoom
in on any particular image
zoom it up I take my beautiful wife in
zoom
her around in her bikini and whatever
you know and then or or I’ve designed
houses I built decks and I would
engineer my wife and watch I was sitting
there chair and I watch I’ll watch the
whole thing I could through it’s like
living in virtual reality ok I need 12
12 4 by 12 so it’s bean and they’ll have
to be anchored over here and I’ll
engineer a big giant project without a
single piece of paper my at that time my
dad was my cutter I say dad this and the
board needs to be 192 and a quarter
inches we cut it we built this three
giant oh I don’t know how many Scorpio
giant deck all different layers levels
and all without a single piece of paper
and all engineered with this CBS Charles
bonnet syndrome now all of a sudden I I
couldn’t see anything anymore anything
that’s real and see I could look like
this I put my hand in front of my face
and I will see a digitized I guess I’d
be like something that’s not flesh
lookit I don’t see things flesh on it
wood bit but I will see something go
back and forth like a pendulum okay I
close my eyes I see the exact same thing
with the colors just as vivid and so I
was no I would go like this and I
couldn’t tell that there was nothing
left now there was out of the corner of
my eye I could not see my hand moved
because and I didn’t know that I had
lost the rest of my side because my CBS
created the vision that I had so then
now I’m running into everything under
the Sun I my wife were sitting there
recliners at night in the phone rings I
– to answer the phone I ran square into
the corner of the wall I split my head
wide open
she looked from her up from a book and
she said now that one had to hurt when
when you get off the phone
don’t forget to wipe up the blood so in
our family me running into things is par
for the course happens every month I
either have a big split face or a black
eye and sadly it’s almost always before
I do an interview somehow I managed to
not have one for you and anyway so yeah
she kept trying to get through to me you
need help you need to have you need
someone to walk with you need to touch
somebody you know cuz I just kept
hurting myself and so finally I realized
that nothing what that I was seeing was
real
and that for me was that was as a big of
loss to me as if you just went from year
2020 to zero how that would be to you
what little I had meant as much to me is
what you have means to you because I
went from a independent disabled person
to a dependent disabled person in that I
now needed somebody to touch as I walked
I needed somebody that touched me or I
touched them to keep me from walking off
cliffs which I’ve done fallen down
really my wife and I were were she we
rollercoaster junkies were we’ve climbed
giant mountains seven foot seven mile
high mountains in Montana and whatever I
do she’ll do whatever she does I’ll do
she’s a man she’s man fantastic you’ve
been mayor what 28 years 28 years 28 you
have a son which is your name so the
name of your son can you talk about that
I mean obviously you came up with the
name no you claim my son’s our son’s
name is ASA spades spelled AAS a like
King ASA from the Old Testament and King
David’s great-grandson was King ASA and
the Bible says and ASA did what is good
and right in the eyes of the Lord his
God he was one of the good Kings and she
and she said it means physician or
healer then my wife said and his middle
name could be spades and I thought he
sustains that’s perfect that’s the
perfect set name for the son of a card
structure he goes no no we’re not naming
our son yes she stepped in it and once
she stepped in it she couldn’t famous
because of his name people tell him all
over the world because and they think I
would kill for Richard Turner son’s name
he’s got the coolest name in the world
and he doesn’t go by Richard or asa
turner you after his father and her
mother he goes ASA spades
it goes by the name of ASA spades you
see people that do very well on their
career side with some you know not
necessarily family and then kids and all
that out so that kind of becomes
complicated and difficult to do for you
you you become the best at what you do
here your
marriage 28 years and you guys seem like
you’re having a blast together and then
your son going to where he’s at and he’s
you know good kid doing the right things
for himself your sister so you become
the best at this but your sister which
is fascinating is she you said she ran
the largest construction company and I
don’t in the state of Idaho yeah at one
time they laid more found more concrete
than any other consonant construction
she doesn’t Ram it she ran and was the
owner of it and her name was draught
draught dairy construction they built
big dairies and then it just became
draught construction because they you
know she works on very very large
project 10 20 50 million dollar projects
that’s amazing what values and
principles that your parents passed on
to you and your sister what were if you
were to say my parents or my mom or dad
always said these three things what were
those things well my dad was just
nothing but a positive influence on my
sister I we always said we had the best
dad in the world my bro all of us by my
brother says the same thing because he
loved us unconditionally
you know there’s in the Greek there’s
different types of love I got your eros
agape store GUI which is the family love
arrows philia which is a frantic friend
family love and agape as they like a God
love unconditional type love he loved us
with no conditions conditions and he
just he literally gave everything for us
and to us and he was just he was just
nothing but an encouragement and here’s
here’s how he was he’d kill hey yo cheat
and that’s how my dad addressed his son
be hey yo cheat and you said it with
affection and and he was so proud you
know and so I got my nickname was
Richard Turner the cheat so I went by
that four years if you look at old
publicity things it was always Richard
Turner that cheatin quote so you’d say
the number one thing from him was the
passing I love to you guys and and and
his the way he did things he did things
to perfection he was he had a seventh
grade education and became one of the
top engineers for a number of big big
big big companies yeah and he was just
start off as a welder but he would
engineer things and he would do work on
projects you work on the Alan Shepard
jungle in the first spacecraft all the
way up to the first space shuttle
and he would work on things and the
nuclear-nuclear area and button he would
come up with ideas but because he was
working for them they got the rights of
the patent he got the pat on the back if
he wasn’t you know he could have been a
wealthy man but money meant nothing to
him and whatever he did he did it to
such perfection
and I would watch him growing up he
would somebody would come over and they
wanted to build an engine or whatever he
would he would do it and then I would
just be so amazing I thought wow I wish
I could do that wish I had talent like
that and then when they would want to
pay him and he spent all the whole week
into it he would he move never would
take a dime so we we talked about Phil
Ivey briefly earlier so what do you
think I talked to Phil Hellmuth and I
was asking questions about him as well
obviously you’re in the world so you see
a lot of the poker and all these other
things that happens what do you think
about what happened would Phil Ivey in
London well I think he is owed that
money because there’s what’s called
advantage play and if the casinos are
dealing a game where if they have
something that there’s a flaw in their
game with their cards and and you
capitalize on that that is not
considered cheating legally or ethically
and and you know he they he was playing
according to their rules and everything
was wide open and now for them not to
pay him I think it’s wrong he deserves
to be paid so so I want to wrap up with
a quote you said at the end of the
documentary I know one thing that I
heard from the variety is the
documentary is now leading to a movie
that they’re doing on your life and the
people who were the people that came up
to you that are doing the movie on your
life after watching Belt mark ortisky
and Jane Fleming there with Court v he
was the executive producer of the Lord
of the Rings trilogy he won 17 Oscars
off that one trilogy alone those three
movies and he’s produced you know 60
major motion pictures and they took a
liking to delt and they they were in the
development stages of moving towards a
narrative you said something a
documentary you said I think the loss of
my vision ended up becoming a blessing
it made me who I am and
I am thankful for it I like the way I
see how long did it take you to say that
and believe it 100% well that came from
my beautiful wife Kim it gets back to
your earlier question when I had to face
things she would she would say you gotta
get over yourself you gotta let accept
help from others you are you you are yes
you’re Richard Turner the blah blah blah
you know you’re not you’re not
impervious you’re not Superman even
though I like to think I am sometimes
but I’m not anyway she said you can’t
fate you can’t deal with what you’re not
willing to confront if you’re not
willing to confront something you can’t
deal with it and so she told me
basically get over yourself
accept help from others and you know
when I what what heck I don’t need it
I’m old now I don’t care what people say
about me I’ve made my mark
and yeah so it’s been good 25 years but
it okay so it’s been a long time it’s
yet alone yeah
so Richard any final thoughts for
entrepreneurs out there I know you’re
you’ve talked that MIT and you said the
two curse words are hard working on
teller you mentioned the fact that the
biggest did two biggest disabilities in
the world are lazy and procrastination
once you talk a little bit about the
mindset of how you think to get yourself
to the point of being the best of the
best I say don’t let anyone tell you
something’s impossible you know have a
healthy disregard win someone says
something’s impossible I say take
possible out of impossible you know I
understand that time to time we’re Delta
Betty handed to that’s how we approached
that hand if we choose dough fold wine
quit sit on a pity pot a lot of people
do or take your disadvantage whatever it
is turn it into an asset become like a
soldier and you know become a warrior
and go all-in like we’re talking about
with Phil Ivey Ivey go go all-in
that’s what separates losers from the
winners you know don’t let anyone stop
get in your way
and don’t don’t hit him or knock him
down on the way smile at him and you’ll
you know I had a you know I was kind of
like this
a large part of my job now you’re right
I am a blind bat but let’s go have some
fun that’s a great you know for for some
some of us you know we make the lamest
excuses to say well you don’t understand
what I went through and what I did this
and what I did that and we use that as a
crutch and I get to the next level and
you’re a prime example of somebody that
can go out there and take all the
excuses away by the way we’re gonna talk
on a side note about looking at your
calendar on your availability next year
for inviting you to our conference cuz
that loves you guys perform for our guys
so they can see I’m sure after seeing
this interview people gonna be
fascinated by the story but you also get
invited to do a lot of functions right
so how do we get a hold you do they
contact your agent do they go on your
website
yes my manager Kim at Richard Turner 50
do calm my website is Richard Turner 52
that’s how many cards are calm but Kim
at in front of that and you get right to
my manager and you know I speak and
perform all over the world I just got
invited to do a television special in
Japan that I’m we’re negotiating the
contract on that and I’m that next week
I’ll be with Apple and anyway so it is
really fun I enjoy speaking and for some
reason people are inspired or encouraged
when I do even though all I wanted to be
was a performer but now I’m a speaker
performance so I do my car stuff within
my speaking so it’s also entertaining ya
know your message is multi-dimensional
it’s not one dimension you have a
multi-dimensional message that can
inspire what’s already entertain a lot
of people I think your story can also
inspire tens of millions of people
around the world as well if it hasn’t
already yeah when I did I had a special
for Japan they said I’ve been seen by
over a billion people now 214 billion
people it’s amazing I know it’s creepy
that is amazing it’s creepy I think to
me to think about that a people to see
my mobli old mug mug so by the way ugly
old mountain mug you look like you
belongs in a movie you look like a Chuck
Norris slash like a Burt Reynolds
good-looking model that should have been
in Hollywood doing movies you had you
had the whole thing if you if you see
this documentary you’re gonna see his
physique and you’re not gonna believe
he’s got the chest of a bodybuilder he’s
got the arms of a bodybuilder a fighter
by the way there’s a couple things I
want you to do if you watch to see you
were inspired you gotta go watch two
cumin or to really understand the story
in the scope of things because there’s
stories videos of him some of this thing
we didn’t get into in this video here
today in this interview today
so do that too if you do want to book
him reach out to his manager send that
email over and then three comment below
on what you took away from this
interview and if you haven’t subscribed
click on the subscribe button to join
value taemin and if you have to have a
lower button click on that as well to
join a notification squad so with that
being said Richard thank you so much for
being on value timing here with us truly
thank you for coming out my pleasure and
here’s one thing here’s something you
never do when you play for money never
shuffle a deck any chance
we’re so honored to be one day thank you
so much that coming up 20 thank you okay
I’m sure you played in different types
of poker games I have where the deck is
passed around the table you know where
it’s D or deal deal it goes around you
just handed me a shuffle deck so it’s my
deal now watch I’m going to use casino
procedure what I just showed you and I’m
gonna try to do what’s called call a
slug riffle riffle you do a running cut
okay
and another riffle and a cut now we’re
gonna deal the hand to hold them you
choose after the fact you can tell me
how many players five six seven how many
over at this table six six okay hold you
have to put your card there you go
perfect 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 burn and
we have a flop what are those 3 cards 9
of clubs king of spades 10 of clubs and
the 10 is wild remember yeah it’s a
while you chose what’s that look
what’s that Jack of Hearts so right now
they’re with the wild card there’s
possible straight what’s that enough
space so there’s two wild cards that
table now you’re my partner sitting over
here and hand number 5 just casually
raising the limit let’s see what you
have in the pocket was that 10 what’s
that
so the card you cut to I took care of
business so with that other and well a
thing that you would have had a Royal
Flush actually would had five of a cup
oh my gosh we’re in the wrong business
maybe we got a goal I can’t get around
that some casinos in Europe but then
they already know what yeah everybody knows you’re big time
Please follow and like us: