TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTO - SPLIT THE SUABIAN TWIST AURA BEST EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY THE PallaD PRINCIPLE WALTON'S "WARM-UP" THE DEMONIQUE DEAL THE DIARY Of EXPECTATION SOLID GOLDE - EASY ACTION SUBCONSCIOUS POKER FOR TWO QUANTITY SURVEYOR PET SYMMETRY IDEAL HOLMES ALL SQUARE FORECAST DITTO NUMB..ers THOTOVER EIGHTSUM WALTZ WITH THE DEVIL SURE THING A BRAINSTORM IN GLASGOW

Copyright (c) September 1994 PETER DUFFIE

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTO - SPLITA mysterious double card revelation, where a spectator manages toseparate the colours of the cards with the exception of two selections.Interestingly, you never touch the cards!

Set the top sixteen cards of the deck -in strict red black alternatingsequence. The number of cards needn't be sixteen, you can use any evenquantity. 1 wouldn't use less than sixteen.

WORKING

1. With two able spectators at hand, shuffle the deck retaining the top stockthen push off 16 cards and hand the packet to spectator 'A' and asking himto give it a few cuts. Next ask him to deal out two hands as in the game ofBrag, with three cards in each. The first card will be dealt to spectator 'B' ithe deals according to the rules of play. It he happens to deal the top card tohimself, then simply re-label the spectators 'B' and 'A' as we go. Thebalance of the packet is left on the table.

2. Ask both spectators to pick up their three cards and hold them facedown. Now ask 'A' to mix his three cards, keeping them face down, then tospread them and remove the middle card. He now looks at this card andremembers it. Finally he replaces it between the other two then drops hispacket back on top of the tabled balance.

Originally I had the top card noted then replaced between the other two. 1have Iain Girdwood to thank for suggesting the foregoing and eliminatingwhat could be construed, in retrospect, as a possible placement by anyonlooking magicians.

Now spectator 'B' does exactly the same with his three cards.

It is essential that you instruct the spectators clearly so that they don't turnany other cards over. If all three cards are seen, it would be apparent thatthey are all of one colour.

3. Ask spectator 'B' to give the tabled packet one complete cut then to takeup the packet into his hands. Instruct him to deal the complete packet intotwo piles, again dealing alternately as in a two handed game. As hecompletes the deal, say, "I think you made a couple of mistakes there,but I can't be sure....never mind, it's only a card trick!"

Ask each spectator to name his card. Finally turn over each dealt packet inturn and spread to reveal that all the blacks are in one pile, and the reds inthe other, with two exceptions, and these are the two selections. As you

Auto-Split

remove the two selections, say, "I told you that you made two mistakes!... but they were pretty good ones!"

 

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Auto-Split

THE SUABIAN TWISTThere have been several combinations of Dai Vernon's 'Twisting theAces' and 'The Hofzinser Ace Problem' over the years. If the followingversion has any merit, it is the simple means by which the one at atime reversal is accomplished.

WORKING

1. Have a card selected, returned, then control it to the top of the deck. Nowhold the deck face up and immediately glimpse the selection at the rear,then Spread through and transfer the four aces to the rear of the deck,turning each face down as you do so, and transferring the ace of the samesuit as the selection first. If the selection happens to be an Ace, use Kings.

Close up the spread then turn the deck face down to bring the tour Acesface up on top.

2. Spread over the four aces plus the first face down card then close up thespread and lift off the top five cards. Place the balance of the deck to oneside as it is no longer needed.

Point out that the Aces represent all four suits, but only one matches thespectator's card. As you speak, remove the top ace, turn it face down, thenplace it to the bottom. Repeat this action with the next two Aces, then flipthe last Ace face down on top of all, then obtain a break below the top twocards.

3. Secretly reverse the lower three cards by any half-pass, then obtain abreak above the bottom two cards and retain it. 

Explain that every time you shift an ace from top to bottom, somethingmagical will happen which will in turn, eliminate an Ace. Demonstrate whatyou will do by removing the top card and apparently putting it to the bottom,really inserting it into the break above the bottom two cards, then drop thebreak.

Now you start the process for real:

a) Remove the top card and apparently place it to the bottom, in fact youbuckle the bottom card so it goes second from bottom. An ace will appearface up on top. Name the suit of this ace, then say that you will eliminate it.Place the ace face up on the table.

b) Transfer the top card to the bottom (genuinely) to cause a second ace toappear face up on top, then eliminate it by placing it face up on top of thefirst Ace in an overlapping spread.

The Suabian Twist

c) Transfer the top card to the bottom to cause a third ace to appear, andagain eliminate it, by buckling the bottom card and lifting off the top TWO asone and placing them on the table.

Finally have the spectator confirm that the remaining Ace(?) is indeed thesame suit as his selection (logically it must be), then dramatically cause it tochange into his selected card.

 

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The Suabian Twist

AURA BESTThis is a fairly puzzling routine based on Paul Curry's 'The WhisperingJoker'. In this version there are no cards out of the deck before youstart.

WORKING

1. 1 usually reserve this for magicians, and therefore I use their deck. Havethe deck shuffled then take it and holding it so that the audience can seethe faces, spread through and stop when you come to the Ace of Spades.Raise both hands as you split the spread, but, take the Ace with the righthand and thumb off the indifferent at the face of the left section face downonto the table and remember this card. This is hardly a move and is donewhilst saying the following;

"Some people believe that every human being has an aura .... aninvisible something which surrounds each and every one of us .... wellthere is one playing card that has such a thing.... the most prominentone in the deck, the Ace of Spades .... I'll leave it here for the moment.... if you stare at it you can almost see it glow.... (pause) .... wellmaybe not."

2. Hand the deck to a spectator and ask him to shuffle it as you turn yourback on the proceedings. Tell the spectator to look at and remember thebottom card. There is a one in fifty one chance that this will be the AS .... if itis the gaff is blown! However, it a small chance worth taking.

Now instruct him to drop the deck square on top of the Ace of Spades onthe table then to give the deck several complete cuts.

Next ask him to pass the deck to another spectator. Tell this spectator tospread through with the faces towards himself, and look for the Ace ofSpades and to up-jog it then close up the spread. Finally he removes theAce and places it onto your palm as you turn to face the front again.

3. Explain that the Ace has left its aura behind and as it was next to theselection, the aura now surrounds that card.

I recommend that you now take the risk (another one!?) of asking thespectator who is holding the deck to shuffle it. It is an easy matter to cut theshuffling short by simply carrying on talking and holding out your hand forthe return of the deck.

Spread the deck face up across the table as you ask the first spectator toconcentrate on his card but to make no indication as to its whereabouts in

Aura Best

the spread. Also ask him if he can see the aura(?).

Finally, move the Ace along the spread and stop abruptly and insert it rightnext to the selection - easy, because your key card is in front of it. Takeyour bow.

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Aura Best

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORYThe following was inspired by Simon Dixon's 'Paradox Aces' whichappeared in Abacus, V61.2 N6.11, which in turn was based on MartinGardner's 'Paradox Papers' (Pallbearers Review, page 429).

WORKING

1. From a shuffled deck remove any sixteen cards and place the balance toone side. Have the packet shuffled then take it back and have a cardselected, noted, returned and controlled to the top.

2. You now have to secretly reverse the chosen card. There are numerousways of accomplishing this, but here is a straightforward and standardmethod:

Hold the packet face down and execute a double lift leaving the card(s) faceup on top, as you enquire, "Your card isn't on top by any chance?" Itisn't, so you now turn the packet face up to show the face card, saying,"How about the bottom card?" Leave the packet face up and remove thelowermost face down card and replace it back on the bottom face up. itappears that all the cards are back as they were - in fact the selection isnow reversed second from the bottom of the face up packet.

Keeping the packet face up, push off the upper eight cards then turn thenover, square both packets and weave them together. This must be perfect,so you might want to carry out a one by one riffle shuffle instead. With onlyeight cards in each packet this is very easy. Finally have the packet cut afew times.

3. Take the packet and dealthe cards into four rows oftour to form a square. Thecards should be dealtaccording to the numberingin the diagram. So you willdeal the first row from left toright, then the second rowfrom right to left and so on,always starting the next rowfrom where you finished theprevious.

3. Take the packet and deal the cards into four rows of tour to form asquare. The cards should be dealt according to the numbering in thediagram. So you will deal the first row from left to right, then the second row

Every Picture

from right to left and so on, always starting the next row from where youfinished the previous.

4. You now explain that with the cards laid out thus, a complete picture hasbeen formed. The spectator is now allowed to 'fold' the picture in apparentlyany way he wants by nominating any outer row or column. You then flip allthe cards in that row completely over and onto the next adjacent row orcolumn, just as if you were folding a sheet of paper. 

This is continued, folding the nominated rows or columns inwards until allthe cards are together in one pile. 

Finally spread the cards to reveal that, "every picture tells a story," onlyone card is now reversed, the selection.

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Every Picture

THE PallaD PRINCIPLEA strange series of transpositions occur as a spectator deals a packetof cards. Once set in motion, the principle employed is bothautomatic, and perpetual. The idea of using a third packet as a leaderwas suggested to me by Roy Walton.

WORKING

1. Run through the deck and remove the Ace through Five of Clubs and Acethrouah Five of Hearts. Arrange both sets in numerical order with the fivesat the face of each.

Take one packet face up in each hand, Clubs in the left, and Hearts in theright, and openly alternate the colours by thumbing off the upper card fromthe left packet (5C), then the upper card from the right (5H), and so on untilall ten cards are in a face up pile on the table.

2. Next take the deck again, and with a disregard to suits, remove an Aceand place it face down on the table, followed by a Five, Three, Four then aTwo on top of all. Call this the 'Control Pile'.

Place the deck to one side then pick up the 'control pile' and give it a falsemix if you wish, then replace it face down.

3. Pick up the main packet and hold it face down in dealing position in theleft hand, saying, "I am going to demonstrate a strange affinity thatexists between certain playing cards....let me demonstrate what youhave to do."

Deal the packet into two piles, dealing alternately as in a two handed game,and second dealing on the Seventh card. This is the only move in the entiretrick. Now turn the top card of the ‘control pile' face up and place it on thetable. This will be a Two spot. Call attention to its value.

Pick up the right hand pile (reds), turn it face up and show the cards bycasually counting them from hand to hand to reverse the order, as you say,"Because of this strange affinity the Twos transpose." As you count thecards the audience will see the odd coloured Two (black among reds).Place the packet in a face up spread on the table then turn over the otherpile and spread (do not count) to show the same result (red among blacks).

4. Drop the reds on top of the blacks then turn the pile face down. Fromnow on everything works automatically. Hand the packet to a spectatorsaying, "Now you do exactly what I did....deal the cards into two piles."

PallaD

When he has done this turn the next card of the 'control pile' face up toreveal a Four spot.

Now turn both of the dealt packets over and spread to reveal that the Fourshave now transposed.

Drop the reds on top of the blacks and repeat the procedure three moretimes, turning over a control card prior to each phase, and you will see theThrees, then the Fives, and finally the Aces transpose.

END NOTES

For a simple test of five people as a lead-in to something deeper, you candispense with the 'control pile' and use only the two suit set.

Set both packets in 5-1~3-2~4 order from top to face. If you now carry outthe full procedure as outlined, the cards will transpose in order Ace to five.

By numbering each spectator accordingly, you can appear to test ,theircompatibility for the main experiment to follow, with each proving suitable astheir respective numbers behave in a very unusual manner.

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PallaD

WALTON'S "WARM-UP"Here is a further idea from Roy Walton which turns the previousprinciple into a commercial routine, and adds an excellent climax.

Before commencing, remove two Royal flushes, set each in A-K-Q-J10order, then alternate them. Place this packet on top of the pack.

WORKING

1. Remove the two sets of Ace through Five and arrange both in the5-A-3-2-4 order. Explain that the professional card cheat needs some timeto warm up before 1moving~ in a game, and offer to demonstrate.

Alternate the two packets as described and drop the packet face down ontop of the deck. Carry out step 3 as above, dealing two hands of cards andSecond Dealing on the 7th card.

Display the hands as explained in step 4, reversing the order of one, etc.Point out that the Aces have transposed.

2. Drop the packet on top of the deck, and deal two hands fairly. Show theTwos have now transposed, saying, "He's starting to warm up now."

Repeat the deal two more times, causing the Threes, then the Fours totranspose, each time emphasising that the gambler is getting warmer as thevalues increase.

Drop the packet on top of the deck for the final deal but retain a break belowit and carry out an immediate pass, then deal out two hands. Suddenly stopand look directly at the audience and say, "Actually, he's warmed upnow!" as you turn over both hands to reveal, not the transposed fives, butthe two Royal Flushes!

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Walton's Warm-up

THE DEMONIQUE DEALA staggered (not staggering) version of the classic Daley(?) MentalPoker effect. Four people should be seated at the table.

WORKING

1. Hand the deck out for shuffling then have someone deal out tour handsof FIVE cards so that each has five cards in front of them. Ask each to pickup his hand, mix the cards, then hold the packet face down in readiness foryour next instruction.

Before proceeding, audibly give each spectator a number ONE to FOURfrom left to right.

2. Turn to spectator ONE and say, "As you are number one I want you tolook at the FIRST, or top card of your packet, remember it, thenreplace it."

Move along to spectator TWO and say, "As you are number two you willlook at the SECOND card down in your packet, remember it, and leaveit there."

Turning to spectator THREE, say, "And as you are number three you willlook at and remember the THIRD card down in your packet."

Finally turn to spectator FOUR and say, "And last, but not least, beingnumber four you will look at and remember the FOURTH card down inyour packet."

3. The packets are assembled as follows: Spectator four places his packeton top of number three's. Number three places both on top of number two's.Number two places the group on top of number one's, who in turn handsyou the combined packet.

As you take the packet glimpse the bottom card and remember it.

4. Drop the packet on top of the deck then carry out a few convincingshuffles that retain the top stock. Now say, "There is one 'GHOST' card inthis deck, the (name the card you glimpsed) that acts like a spiritmedium, and has the ability to reach into your mind and extract yourinnermost thoughts in this case the card you are merely thinking of."

Deal out four hands of five cards once again, but this time the fourth hand isdealt to you.

Demonique Deal

Pause, then turn over the top card of your hand to reveal the ghost card youjust named. Finally ask each spectator in turn, starting with number one andworking round in sequence, to name their card. As they do so, turn thecards in the pile over one by one to reveal each 'mental' selection in correctorder.

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Demonique Deal

THE DIARY OF EXPECTATIONInspired by Ted Danson's 'It's a Date,' the following simple rendition ofthe classic diary prediction uses one diary and one regular deck. Theprinciple used is the well known 14/15 stack.

a) Remove the Aces of Spades and Hearts then set the deck in thestandard 14/15 force arrangement as follows (value only):

A-K-2-Q-3-J-4-10-5-9-6-8-7-7-8-6-9-5-10-4-J-3-Q-2-K

A-K~2-Q-3-J-4-10-5-9-6-8-7-7-8-6-9-5-10-4-J-3-Q-2-K

b) Next take a pocket a diary and write "ACE OF SPADES" against the 14thof every month, and "ACE OF HEARTS" against the 15th. Now write thenames of random cards, excluding the two Aces, against all the other dates.

c) Finally prepare a two-way prediction which can show either ace. I simplyglue two jumbo Aces back to back and seal the double card in an envelope,with Spades flap side up.

WORKING

1. Introduce the diary and hand it to a spectator, saying, "This diarycontains the names of every card in the deck, scattered randomlythroughout .... please examine and confirm that this is the case." Thediary can withstand a close scrutiny at this point. The spectator now placesthe diary into his pocket.

Place the prediction envelope on the table and ask another spectator toguard it.

2. As the diary is being looked at, bring out the deck and casually falseshuffle. As the stack can be cut, a series ot single chop style overhandactions can be used.

Hand the deck to a second spectator and ask him to give it a few cuts thento turn over the top card, saying, "We will use the value of the card youcut to to give us the MONTH.... if you happen to cut to a King you willcut again as kings have a value of 13 and are therefore invalid as thereare only 12 months."

3. The deck is now passed to another spectator, to whom you say, "Nowyou will give the deck another cut to determine the day of the month(he cuts the deck once) so as to give us a wider scope, please turnover the top TWO cards and add their values together." The total will beeither 14 or 15.

Diary Trick

So let us presume that the first card was a five spot and the other two cardstotalled 14. This would represent May the 14th.

Ask the spectator with the diary to look up the date and read out the cardwritten therein. It will be the Ace of Spades.

Finally open the envelope and remove the prediction with the correct sideuppermost to conclude.

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Diary Trick

SOLID GOLDE - EASY ACTIONThe following is a variation of Roger Golde's "The Favorites" whichappeared in V61.17, No.2 of Apocalypse. The principle used wasdevised by Bob Hummer.

The trick can either be set in advance, or you can openly remove the cardsas you patter. I'll describe it the latter way.

WORKING

1. Run through the deck with the faces towards yourself, and, using theC-H-a-S-e-D mnemonic to assist you, transfer the following eight cards tothe face one at a time, with the Eight of Diamonds finishing at the face:

AC - 2H - 3S - 4D - 5C - 6H - 7S - 8D

Next run through and transter each of the matching partners to the face,again in Ace to Eight order, with the Eight of Hearts finishing on the face.This time you only need to remember them as Black-Red-Black-Red, etc,so it can be done quickly.

Having done that, spread over the first set of eight cards and place themface down on the table, then place the second set face down beside thefirst. Place the balance of the deck aside.

2. Say, "Because of the cut-backs due to the recession, the policehave resorted to using playing cards in order to identify suspects ....you look dubious? .... well allow me to demonstrate."

Ask a spectator to pick up any one of the piles and to give it severalcomplete cuts, however, before he starts, pick up the other pile and by wayof demonstration, cut the top TWO cards as a unit, the bottom, then cutTWO more to the bottom. You have thus transferred the top FOUR cards tothe bottom, a process which is essential to the working of the trick.

Once he has stopped cutting his packet, tell him to remove either the top orthe bottom card, and, without looking at it, to place it aside on the table.Casually take the remaining seven cards from him and drop them on top ofthe deck, glimpsing the bottom card of the packet as you do so.

Let's assume that the card you glimpsed is a Five spot. Add one to thisnumber, to give you 6. Remember 6 as your 'KEY' number. (For 8,remember 1 as your 'key' number).

3. Continue, Saying, "We now have an unidentified suspect, and youare going to use this other group of cards here to discover his identity

Solid Golde

all we know is that the suspect has TWO distinct characteristics hissuit and his value." You can introduce a Isuit, gag at this point, although ifyou are like some magicians I have seen, you will already be wearing it.

As you are talking, you spread the packet and flip two cards face up,apparently at random, in fact as you spread the packet, you count alongfrom the top and flip over the card that occupies the same position as your'key' number, in this case you reverse the SIXTH card from the top andleave it in position.

4. You now thumb over one card, then flip over the next card. So the simplerule is, that you flip over the card at the same position as your 'key', thenmiss one card and flip over the next.

If your 'key' was SEVEN, you flip over the 7th and the TOP cards. If yourwas EIGHT you flip over the 8th (Bottom card) and the 2nd card from thetop.

As you flip the two cards over, continue saying, "....for example, this mightbe the same value as the suspect, and this one might be wearing thesame suit .... or indeed visa versa.... but at this stage we have no ideaof knowing so I am going to ask you to change the condition of thecards quite radically.... like this."

Here you demonstrate the Hummer procedure for as many times as it takesthe spectator to grasp it. This is briefly as follows:

You cut the packet then flip over the top two cards withoutchanging their order, cut again, flip over two, and continue doingthis until the spectator has fully grasped what is required.

Hand the packet to the spectator and ask him to carry out the turn two andcut procedure as demonstrated.

Once the spectator is happy that the cards are in a mess, ask him to finishthe mixing, by dealing the cards into two piles, as in a two handed game(alternately), then turn any one of the two resulting piles completely overthen drop either pile onto the other to complete the packet again.

5. Pick up the packet and spread it very slightly with one hand, justsufficient for you to be able to see it the main body of the packet is face upor face down. There will SIX facing one way, and TWO facing the other.You want the two reversed cards to be face down, so it necessary, turn thepacket over, then spread the cards on the table, saying, "Well, after all thatmixing, it looks like we're back where we started, with only two cardsreversed but looks can be deceptive."

Solid Golde

Remove the two face down cards and hold them in your left hand. One willbe the same VALUE as the selection, and the other the same SUIT. Youalready know the value because it's same as your 'key' number, so you canturn the cards over and confidently draw attention to the two correctcomponents, making a single card, in this case, the Six of, either Hearts orDiamonds.

Finally have the spectator turn the selected card over to reveal that theinformation is 100% correct, proving that there's more to the 'pasteboarddetection' than at first seemed likely!

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Solid Golde

SUBCONSCIOUS POKER FOR TWOThe following is a variation of Joseph K. Schmidt's "SubconsciousPoker Il" which first appeared in Pallbearer's Review, andsubsequently in his excellent book, Modern Close-up Card Problems.

Prior to performance, remove the Royal Flush in Hearts, and the RoyalFlush in Clubs.

Place the Hearts Flush face down on top of the deck with the Ace secondfrom the top. The order of the other tour cards is irrelevant.

Place any five cards face down on top of the Heart Flush, then place theClub Flush face down on top of all, with the Ten on top, and keep this cardin your mind for later. Again the order of the other tour cards is irrelevant.

WORKING

1. With a spectator sitting across the table from you, false shuffle retainingthe top stock, then deal out five hands of cards with five cards in each hand.

As you deal, ensure that hand number two falls directly in front of thespectator. If their are several people around the table, You will use theperson who is sitting naturally at position two.

2. Ask the spectator to pick up hand number 2 and to look at and rememberthe middle card, then to replace the hand face down on the table. Hismiddle card will be the Ace of Hearts.

You appear to do likewise with your hand (No.5) but in fact it is simply apretence, and you ignore the cards.

Explain that you will demonstrate how the professional card cheat canmanipulate the cards if things aren't quite going his way.

3. Gather the hands together, by picking up your hand (No.5) and placing iton top of hand number one, then continue in a clockwise direction pickingup the hands below the accumulating pile until all 25 cards are together.

Double Cut the bottom two cards to the top of the packet, then drop it on topof the balance of the deck.

4. Carry out a Push-through False Shuffle, as you ask, "The middle cardof my hand was the Ten of Clubs, what was your middle card? (he saysAce of Hearts) "The Ace of Hearts? Well, that's a better card than mine,so I will attempt to restack the deck so that I will receive your cardsthis time ... and you will be dealt mine!"

Poker for Two

Carry out a second Push-Through Shuffle, acting as if this second shufflewill change the order of the hands. A simple Overhand Jog Shuffle can beused in place of the tabled Push-throughs.

Once again deal out five hands of five cards.

5. Ask the spectator to turn over the middle card only of his hand, that ishand no.2 again, to reveal your card the Ten of Clubs. Now turn over themiddle card of your hand to reveal HIS card the Ace of Hearts.

Acting as if the demonstration is over, say, "So you see, the methods ofthe card cheat can allow him to win every time .... incidentally, whatare the other four cards in your hand?"

He turns them over to reveal a Royal Flush in Clubs.

With a puzzled look on your face, and as if to excuse your apparentmistake, say, "Well, I didn't say the method was one hundred percentsure fire!" As you speak, pick up the tour face down cards in your handand glance at them, then as your look changes to surprise, conclude with asmile, saying, "Shall we settle for a draw?"

Drop your cards face up on the table in order beside the Ace to reveal thesecond Royal Flush, this time in Hearts.

END NOTES

When working from a shuffled deck, you can cull any two Royal Flushes tothe top during a previous effect. All you have to ensure is that the value ofthe top card of the deck is lower than the value of the second card in thesecond flush, that is, if you adopt the given presentation.

You then introduce the effect by loading five cards between the two flushesduring a riffle shuffle, then proceed.

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Poker for Two

QUANTITY SURVEYORThe following came about while playing with a reverse stack principlebelonging to Howard Adams. However, only the actions of the Adamsidea remain as the principle now used is much older. I'll leave thepresentation to the individual.

Set the top 26 cards of the deck in the order: King to Ace - King to Ace.Only the values are of importance. (See End Notes)

WORKING

l. Carry out a Jog Shuffle to retain the top 26 cards, then cut oft the stack(an ace will be at the face of the upper section) and set both halves facedown on the table side by side.

2. Push the lower half towards spectator A and ask him to pick it up andshuffle if he wishes. He now cuts off less than half and hands the largerbalance to another spectator (B), who retains the packet between hishands.

3. Ask spectator A to count his cards then to place them out of the way asthey are no longer needed (into the card case is fine). As he does this, pick up thetabled half deck and cut it at the mid point and set both quarter decks backon the table side by side. Again this cut is aided by the fact that there will bean Ace at the face of each half.

4. You now ask spectator A to concentrate on his secret number and tocount to it as follows:

He is to transfer a number of cards from the top of thetabled piles to the bottom equal to the number he isthinking of, however, he can move from pile to pile atrandom. So he might transfer two from top to bottom in onepile, then one from top to bottom in the other, then back tothe first and so on, and stopping once he has transferredthe same number of cards as the number he is thinking of.

5. Finally turn over the top card of each pile and draw attention to theirvalues (King, Queen and Jack equal 13, 12, and 11 respectively). Addtogether the two values and announce the total. Finally ask spectator B, forthe first time, to count the cards he has been holding from the outset one ata time out loud to reveal that he has been holding the same number of

Quantity Surveyor

cards as the two values arrived at by random.

END NOTE

By using the Roy Walton double stack ploy, you can ask spectator A to pickup any half and shuffle to begin. To allow this, you simply have the bottomhalf set the same as the top. The drawback to this is that a full deck falseshuffle is required.

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Quantity Surveyor

PET SYMMETRYHere is a handling of the Hamilton/Finnell Free Cut Principle in whichthe relevant sections are never placed back together again once theselections have been made and the cut off portions dropped on theopposite piles. 

The idea came about while experimenting with a Klondike methodexplained in Gene Finnell's booklet The Free Cut Principle. This is alsorelated to Alex Elmsley's Penelope's Principle (See "Penny Plain" in TheCollected Works of. Vol.1), which demonstrates how closely linked manyprinciples are!

NOTE: Since publishing this in 1994 I discovered that Gene Finnell hadalready discovered this idea and included it in his larger book The cardMagic of Gene Finnell.

WORKING

1. Have a spectator shuffle the deck then deal two equal piles. inperformance you would turn your back so that you cannot know how manycards are dealt. There should however be at least ten cards in each tomake this worthwhile. The balance of the deck is discarded after the deal.

Invite a second spectator to participate, we will refer to the spectators as 'A'and 'B'.

2. Ask both spectators to each pick up a pile, shuffle it then replace it on thetable. Now tell them to each cut off a section from their respective pile, lookat the card at the face of the portion they have cut, and remember it. It isrecommended that you ask one to cut high and the other to cut low so that itis obvious that both cards are from different positions.

Now tell 'A' to replace his portion on top of B's balance, and 'B' to place hisportion on top of A's balance.

3. At this point you would normally place one of the piles on top of the other,which would set both selections equidistant to one another in relation to thetotal number of cards, e.g., if there were initially ten cards in each pile, bothselections would be ten cards apart once the piles were combined.However, in this instance the piles are not placed together, which at firstmight appear to be a problem. The problem is solved by using the KlondikeShuffle.

Pick up either pile and give it a quick Klondike, which is:

Hold the packet from above with either hand, then with the

Pet Symmetry

other hand pull off top and bottom cards together and dropthem face down on the table. Repeat with the next pair,dropping them on top of the first, and continue doing thisuntil all the cards are in a pile on the table. If you are leftwith a single card this is simply dropped on top of all.

Now repeat the above procedure with the other pile.

Both selections now rest at the same position from the, top in each pile. Youcan now finish with a coincidental match-up, or any other effect which callsfor this situation.

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Pet Symmetry

IDEAL HOLMESThe effect of the following was inspired by Steve Hamilton's 'ThinkingOut Loud' (see The Crimp, No.10, and Roger's Thesaurus, by RogerCrosthwaite and Justin Higham). However, the principle employedstems from an observation made by Tom Sellers' in "A Trick with theSi Stebbins Pack" in Card Tricks That Work.

The pack is set in the standard Si Stebbins arrangement, which is simplythat each card is three ahead in value than the previous, and with the foursuits rotating throughout, i.e.,

AC-4H-7S-10D-KC-3H-6S-9D-QC-2H-SS-8D-JC-AH-4S-7D- and so onfinishing with the JD at the face. The stack can be cut.

WORKING

1. False shuffle, then carry out a couple of genuine cuts. Now spread thepack between your hands and have a card freely selected by a spectatorwho places it directly into his pocket without looking at it. As he is doing this,give the pack a complete cut at the point where the card was drawn andsquare up.

2. Turn to a second spectator and say, "You will now discover the secretidentity of the hidden card, first the suit and then the value.... however,you will need some help to do this .... so let's call upon the greatestdetective of all time, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, to help you to identify theSUIT."

Hand the pack to the spectator and ask him to spell the nameS-H-E-R-L-O-C-K by dealing one card for each letter in the name into a facedown pile on the table.

Turn over the top card of the tabled pile to indicate the suit.

3. Next say, "OK, so that's the suit taken care of, but the value is muchmore difficult ... even for Mr. Holmes, and I think we will need to use alittle MAGIC now."

You now ask the spectator to spell the word M-A-G-I-C in the same way asbefore but dealing into a separate pile. Turn over the top card of this fivecard heap to indicate the value.

Finally announce both the value and suit together thus completing the nameof the card then have the spectator remove the card from his pocket to findthat it is in fact that very card.

Ideal Holmes

END NOTES

The above will also work with a FOUR lettered word followed by a nineletter word. I use CARD DISCOVERY for an instant repeat, by replacing theused cards atop the deck and having a second selection made from theundisturbed stack, but not from the bottom 13 cards, saying, "Of coursethis is really a CARD DISCOVERY, so let's use those very words andsee what happens?"

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Ideal Holmes

ALL SQUARE FORECASTStewart James seems to be among the first to realize the truepotential of the magic square when applied to individual cards ratherthan simply having figures on a grid. While the following adaptationof the idea requires duplicates, it does render a very strong doubleprediction for the formal occasion.

Over and above your deck, you require three extra duplicate high cards(say three Kings of Hearts) and three extra duplicate low cards (say threetwos of spades).

Set the top 16 cards of the deck as follows - the X cards are any mixedvalues above a two and lower than a king. From top down:

2 – K – X – X – K – X – X – 2 – X – X – 2 – K – X – 2 – K- X

WORKING

1. False shuffle retaining the top stock then place the deck in front of aspectator who we will call 'A.'

Take two pieces of paper and write the name of a force card on each thenhand the low value prediction to spectator 'A', and the high valueprediction to a second spectator, 'B.'

2. Pick up the deck and ask both spectators to watch. Deal out four handsof four cards in each in the normal way. Now ask spectator 'A' to gatherthe hands together in any order. Drop the balance of the deck into yourpocket out of the way.

He now deals the packet into tour hands as you did. Next he picks up anyone of the four hands and hold it in front of him.

Ask him to think of the lowest valued card in his hand.

Finally he drops his cards back on the table face down.

3. Ask spectator 'B' to gather together the four hands in any order, then hecan cut the packet and deal the out four hands again.

He now picks up any hand and holds it in front of him, then he thinks ofthe highest valued card in his hand.

Finally he drops his cards on the table and all the hands are gatheredtogether by yourself and dropped into your pocket with the balance of the

All Square 4Cast

deck.

Have each spectator name his mental selection, then have them turn overand read out the predictions to conclude.

Naturally you will have a second deck in your pocket which you will nowbring out if you wish to continue!

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All Square 4Cast

DITTOThis magi-comedy mental item is based on Phil Goldstein's 'Preoction'from his 1985 Madrid lecture notes. It also bears some resemblance to'Potty Prediction' and other like effects. A little initial preparation isrequired but if you are a performer then I think you will consider thatpart trivial.

You require two blank faced playing cards and seven Jokers with matchingbacks.

On one of the blank facers write the words, "THE SAME AS HIS" thenplace this card below the other blank - both face down.

Take two squares of white card (predictions) and write the same four wordson one of them. Place the blank square on top of the other (writing sidedown), then place the two blank playing cards face down under thepredictions. Hold the cards in place by placing a bulldog clip over the frontedge of the package.

This package is placed inside a suitable pocket and the seven Jokers are inyour breast pocket with the backs outwards.

WORKING

1. Introduce the Joker packet and hand it to spectator A for shuffling, askinghim to keep the faces of the cards hidden as it is important that no-one isinfluenced by the cards.

Now take the packet face down in your left hand then bring out theprediction package from your pocket, the two race down cards concealedunderneath. As you are talking, remove the clip and allow the twoconcealed cards to be added to the top of the packet. Now place the upperprediction in front of spectator A (blank) and the other in front of spectatorB.

2. Hand the packet (now nine cards) to spectator B and instruct him clearlyto carry out an UNDER/Down deal. He places the final card face down infront of his prediction.

Spectator A now picks up the packet (eight cards) and does the same thenplaces his final card race down in front of his prediction. The remainingseven cards are dropped to one side for the moment.

3. Point out that the cards were thoroughly shuffled and generally build upto what appears to be a double prediction of two playing cards.

DITTO

Ask spectator A to turn over his prediction. Look puzzled that there isnothing written on it, saying, "It's incredible but I have forgotten to writethe damn thing!" Now ask B to turn over his prediction, saying, "Don't tellme yours is the same?" He turns the prediction over to reveal the words,"THE SAME AS HIS."

4. At this stage it will be assumed by the audience that the whole thing is agag, but now you turn over spectator A's selection to reveal that it is blank.After a pause, turn over B's card to reveal the same message that is on theprediction.

Allow the effect of this to register then as an afterthought, say, "And youexpected a card trick? Well, that would have been no good becauseyou'd both have picked Jokers!"

Finally turn over the rest of the packet to reveal all Jokers!

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DITTO

NUMB .... ersA George Sands/Shigeo Futagawa principle is combined with that ofthe magic square matrix to arrive at a insoluble number prediction.Interested readers may wish to compare this with "A Sense ofFreedom" that appeared in my manuscript Ulterior Motifs.

Unlike "A sense of Freedom," the arrangement required to accomplish thisis almost impossible to forget! So, with cards in hand, set the top 20 cardsas follows, from top down:

A-2-3-4 * 3-4-5-6 * 5-6-7-8 * 7-8-9-10 * 9~10-J-Q * rest ofdeck.

You simply remember the stack as a straight numerical run with each fourcard group jumping back two before restarting. Easy!

WORKING

1. Write the number "26" on a piece of paper and leave it on the tablewriting side down.

2. False shuffle keeping the top stock intact then deal out four hands withfive cards in each, dealing rotational as in a game.

3. Ask a spectator to pick up ANY pile and transfer ONE card from the topto the bottom, then place the pile back on the table. He now selects anotherpile and this time transfers TWO cards from top to bottom, the replaces thepile on the table. Of the two remaining piles, he selects one and transfersTHREE cards from top to bottom then replaces the pile on the table. Finallyhe takes the last pile and transfers FOUR cards from top to bottom and setsthis pile beside the others.

Emphasise the free choice of piles he is given during the above.

4. Now turn the top card of each pile face up and leave it on its pile. At thisstage the total of these four cards will always equal twenty-two, however wenow go one convincing stage further before revealing our prediction:

Ask the spectator to turn ANY TWO of the piles completely over to furtherrandomize the numbers showing on top.

5. Now assist the spectator in adding together the values of the four cardsshowing on top. The total will be twenty-six. Conclude by revealing your

Numbe - ers

correct prediction.

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Numbe - ers

THOTOVERThis effect originally appeared in Abacus V61.2 No.6. It is basically atransposition of a very simple construction. Since its publication Ifound a related idea by Tom Sellers in his booklet Card Tricks thatWork. This one works too.

Before commencing you will have to arrange the top thirteen cards of thepack so that every card spells with twelve letters. There are only fourteensuch cards in the pack, and they are as follows:

3-7-8-10 CLUBS * 4-5-9-J-K HEARTS * 4-5-9-J-KSPADESWORKING

l. Shuffle the pack retaining the top stock, then casually push oft the topthirteen cards, pushing off in groups so that you don't appear to becounting. Place the balance of the pack aside.

Show the faces of the cards to the audience then hand the packet to aspectator and ask him to shuffle the cards.

2. Next ask him to cut the packet twice then to look at the top card andremember it and replace it back on top.

Take the packet from him, saying, "I'll do exactly the same as you did."Carry out the actions of a Double Undercut except that you do not transferany cards, in other words it is a False Cut.

Next, execute a Double Lift and turn-over, leaving the double face up on topof the packet, and draw attention to the face up card, saying "This isn't perchance the card that you're thinking of? .... no?.... good!...well in thatcase I'll place it into my pocket and we will use it as a 'thoughtlocator'."

Match your words by turning the double face down again then removing thetop card and placing it partially into your breast pocket ensuring that theface is not seen.

3. Hand the packet back to the spectator and ask him to spell the name ofthe 'thought locator' - the card just shown and apparently now in yourpocket - by transferring one card at a time from the top of the packet to thebottom for each letter in the name.

Accompany his actions by spelling out the name of the card nice and

Thotover

slowly, and out loud, thus avoiding mistakes.

4. Now say, "Let's see what card the 'thought locator' has located forus...turn over the top card." When he turns over the card, look surprisedthat it is in fact the 'thought locator', saying, "I could have sworn that Iplaced that card into my pocket?"

Have him name the card he is 'thinking of' then conclude by removing thecard from your breast pocket and turning it round to reveal that it is now thatvery card.

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Thotover

EIGHTSUMThe following item is based on Lewis Jones' 'Happenstance' whichappeared in issue Number 5 (May 1994) of Apocalypse.

Here I have combined Jones's idea with one I utilised in a previous trick ofmine entitled "Baker St. Branch", which appeared in Ulterior Motifs (1992).This secondary principle allows you to change the final total of the cards atwill, therefore permitting the spectator a choice of six possible numbers.

Arrange the top thirteen cards so that they run Ace through to King of mixedsuits, with the Ace on top of the deck and the King thirteenth. Also have asheet of paper and a pen at hand.

WORKING

1. Take a sheet of paper and tear it into sixths. Now write the followingnumbers, one on each, and place the pieces or paper in a row, writing sidedown: 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38 (See illustration below).

2. Hold the deck in your hands and casually Overhand Shuffle, retaining thetop stock. Ask a spectator to slide any one of the papers to one side withoutlooking at the writing.

Mentally number the papers ‘0 - 5' from left to right (See illustration below). 

As soon as you see which paper has been selected, carry out another

8Sum

overhand shuffle, but this time lose a number of cards from the top of thedeck equal to the number of the selection. So if he slides out the third one,you note this as ~number 2', therefore you lose TWO cards during theshuffle, for the first paper you retain the complete stock, and so on.

3. Hand the deck to the spectator and ask him to deal off 8 cards into a facedown pile on the table, then to place the balance of the deck to one side.

As he is dealing, casually pick up the five remaining papers in a randomorder to break up the obvious sequence, then show the various numbersbriefly to the audience, before crumpling them up and placing them in yourpocket.

Allow the spectator to mix the eight cards by dealing the packet into twopiles, dealing alternately as in a two handed game. He now drops onepacket on top of the other, and repeats this process for as many times as hewishes.

You could mix the cards yourself using the Reverse Faro, but as bothmethods look equally contrived, it's as well to let the spectator do it. At leastyou haven't touched the cards.

Now ask the spectator to deal FOUR cards into a face down row on thetable, then to deal again so that there are four pairs. it is important that thisdeal follows the course of the first.

4. The spectator now makes what appears to be a random selection ot tourcards by taking one from each pair as follows:

a) Ask the spectator to pick up any pair, discard the top card,and place the remaining card face down in front of him.

b) He next selects any one of the three remaining pairs, discardsthe bottom card, and places the remaining card face down infront of him beside the first.

c) From the two remaining pairs, he picks one, discards the topcard, and places the other in front of him.

d) From the last pair he discards the bottom card and keeps theother, to give himself tour randomly chosen cards.

Have the tour cards turned face up and the values totalled.Finally have the selected paper turned over to show that thetotals agree.

END NOTE

8Sum

You might find it easier to add an extra card to the top of the initial set-upand then mentally number the papers 1-6. A small point, but some might findthis preferable in performance.

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8Sum

WALTZ WITH THE DEVILWhat follows is a more logical presentation for 'Dance with the Devil'which I published in the final issue 18 of Profile. The principle used isKarl Fulves' "Self-Correcting Set-Up" (Epilogue, issue 3, July 1968.) Inmy original presentation, the number fourteen was used instead of thepreferred thirteen. This has now been rectified.

A set-up of the pack is required, a necessity, otherwise there would be noset-up to self-correct!!

With a disregard to suits, arrange the pack in the following four 13 cardgroups, reading from the top down, and with each group in strict numericalorder:

Ace to King (all red)-King to Ace (all black)-Ace to King (all red)-King to Ace(all black).

WORKING

1. False shuffle as you patter about the unlucky aspects of the number '13',and conclude by saying, "There are only four single cards in a deckwhich represent thirteen and these are of course the Kings...so I'llremove them completely before continuing." Do this, placing themaside.

Hold the pack so that you can see the indices, and cut off the upper 12cards (Queen at face) and place them on the table in front of the spectator.Cut off the next 12 cards (Ace at face) and lay them beside the first. Cut theremaining cards at midpoint and place these two 12 cards groups in front ofyourself.

2. Ask the spectator to riffle shuffle his packets together. As he does this,pick up your two packets and Faro them together.

Place your half pack face down in front of you, and the spectator doeslikewise. Explain, saying, "No matter how a pack is shuffled, there areALWAYS pairs of cards which will total 13, a phenomenon which hasyet to be explained."

Both you, and the spectator remove the top two cards of your respectivepiles. The spectator turns his pair face up, you keep yours face down. If thespectator's cards total 13, drop you two cards face down on top of his andplace the four cards to one side on the table.

If they do not total 13, leave them on the table beside your packets to forma discard heap, then turn over the next pair. Continue doing this, settingaside the joint pairs that total 13, and leaving the others in the discard pile in

Waltz with the Devil

front of you.

Finally, turn over each of your face down pairs in turn, to show that not onlydo your cards also total 13, but that in every case, your two cards are theperfect matching partners to the spectator's face up pairs!

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Waltz with the Devil

SURE THINGThe following prediction was partly inspired by Alex Elmsley's"Mexican Prediction" which appeared in The Collected Works, Vol.II.However, the method here uses the standard one ahead to achieve itsgoal.

Before you start remove the four Aces and set them in your right outerjacket pocket in such a way that you can remove any suit back outwardswithout fumbling.

Now set the top stock of the deck as follows (value only):

Any card - any card - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - J - QWORKING

1. Shuffle the deck maintaining the top stock then set it face down on thetable. invite a spectator to cut the deck into two piles, and remember whichis top and bottom.

Keeping the attention on the spectator, say, "I want you to merely think ofany card in the deck, but don't make it an obvious one like an Ace, infact I've actually taken one of the Aces out, so go ahead and mentallycreate any playing card."

Push the BOTTOM half of the deck towards the spectator and tell him topick it up. Turn your back and instruct him to spell the SUIT of his card bytransferring a card for each letter from the top to the bottom, then to replacethe packet on the table. You have no worries it he misspells because thispart is meaningless.

Now tell him to pick up the other half and to transfer a number ot cardsequal to the VALUE of his card, pointing out the relevant values of the courtcards. (He should manage this!)

2. Turn round and casually assemble the deck by picking up the top halfand placing it onto the bottom, however, as you do this, palm the top card ofthe upper half into the right hand.

Explain that you made a prediction of both the suit and the value of a card,and that you believe that it will match the card in the spectator's mind.

Reach into your right pocket and bring out the palmed card, stating that thiscard is the SAME SUIT as the thought of card then place it face down onthe table. By way of confirmation ask the spectator to name the suit.

Now reach into your pocket and extract the Ace ot that suit and hold it face

Sure Thing

towards you, stating that the card is the SAME VALUE as the thought ofcard.

You now show the card on the table as being the correct suit by flipping itover with the Ace in hand and executing the 'Mexican Turnover'. Finally askfor the value then turn the card in hand around to reveal that is the correctvalue. If it happens to be the card (one in four chance) build this up beforeshowing it.

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Sure Thing

A BRAINSTORM IN GLASGOWThis started off rather basic with the two Jokers trapping a quantity ofcards equal to the value of the face card of a freely cut packet, usingthe natural properties of the Down/Under Deal. I would like to thankGeorge McBride for adding the suit divination, and Roy Walton formaking the removal of the selection from the packet possible. Now it'sa good trick!

Set the following eleven cards in order from top to face:

4S - 2S - 3D - 6D - 7S - 3S - 4H - 6H - 7C - 4C - 5DWORKING

1. Casually show the cards to be of random values then turn the packetface down and false shuffle. Drop the two jokers face up on top, then handthe packet to a spectator.

2. Ask the spectator to cut the packet a tew times so that any face downcard is on top. He deals this card face down onto the table, or places itunseen into his pocket.

3. Instruct him to place the top card onto the table, then place the next cardto the bottom, and continue doing this until all the cards are in a pile on thetable. Naturally you will keep a watch on his initial actions as he proceeds toensure that he is following the instruction correctly, however, what hedoesn't know is that you secretly count the number of cards that go to thetable before the first Joker. Once this is established you can turn your headto one side (if you wish to take the risk).

This number tells you the SUIT of the selection as follows:

1 = CLUBS2 = HEARTS3 = SPADES4 = DIAMONDS5 = SPADES

On the one occasion where there are NO CARDS dealt before the firstJoker, he took the original face card the Five of Diamonds, but a Joker willbe on top anyway so you will know immediately.

4. Point out that the Jokers have in fact been trained to spy on your behalf,and they will now reveal the card to you. First they transmit the colour

A Brainstorm in Glasgow

(which you name after some concentration, because you know this) - thenthe SUIT (again you already know this so you can name it) then explain thatthe Jokers will reveal the value physically spread the packet and drawattention to the quantity of cards between the Jokers - have them countedand this will equal the value of the card.

Finally piece together the three components just revealed to arrive at thecomplete card. Have the selection turned over to conclude.

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A Brainstorm in Glasgow