"If you're like me, you have performed the original Emerson & West "Color Monte" a thousand times. I know... why mess with it if it aint broke, right? Well, I'll tell you! I perform close-up in a lot of different places and, as much as I like the original trick, I would regularly find myself gigging in a bar with less than bright lights and it wasn't easy for the laypeeps to make out the difference between the "blue diamond" and the "red diamond." Also, even though I like packet tricks (small amount of cards + BIG punch!) sometimes when I would take out the Emerson & West cards people would immediately say they were "trick cards" either because of the back design or as soon as they saw "diamonds on blank-faced playing cards."

"But there is one more big reason I sweated and jammed for months trying to come up with an improved routine for the Monte original trick. For me, the whole "this guy I met" and "you owe me fourteen dollars" patter line always sounded a little corny. I bet with another performer it would probably fly, but with me the patter never really felt super comfortable or cool." -- Oliver Clark