"You can fool ALL of the people SOME of the time,
and you can fool SOME of the people ALL of the time,
but you can't fool ALL of the people ALL of the time."
- Abraham Lincoln
"... but you can try..."
- Goodman Livingwell
FAVORITE CARD TRICKS:
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"You can fool ALL of the people SOME of the
time,
and you can fool SOME of the people ALL of the time,
but you can't fool ALL of the people ALL of the time."
- Abraham Lincoln
"... but you can try..."
- Goodman Livingwell
FAVORITE CARD TRICKS:
1. PILLOW-CASE TRICK
2. GUESS TOP CARD in MULTIPLE PILES
3. CARD on CEILING
4. DISAPPEARING CARD.
5. FACE-CARD ESP
6. THREE-CARD MONTE... or TWO-CARD...
7. TWISTED SISTERS (16 Queens)
8. "CARD MIRACLE" -->>
SHUFFLED BEHIND BACK, EYES CLOSED, CARD SECRETLY
CHOSEN, THEN WITH PRAYER TO GOD TO PERFORM A MIRACLE AND REVEAL THE CHOSEN CARD,
THE UNKNOWN CHOSEN CARD SUDDENLY APPEARS IN OTHER DECK, UPSIDE DOWN, AND WITH DIFFERENT
COLOR BACK!!! ... and even the magician appears astonished!!!
9. Favorite Trick Decks = Stripper Deck... Invisible Deck... Brain Wave
Deck... Cheek-to-Cheek Deck... Svengali Deck... and Twisted Sisters
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1.) PILLOW-CASE TRICK. One person selects a card, unseen to the
magician, and shows it to everybody in the room... then it is placed on
the middle of the table... then the other 51 cards are divided into a little
pile for everyone in the room to hold (2 or 3 people are enough)... One by one
they give their piles to the magician, who places them into the pillow case...
the selected card is handed (face down) to the magician, who also places it into
the pillow case, and finally the rest of the cards are handed face down and they are ALL placed into the pillow case, and the magician shakes it up...
Make sure everyone sees that you cannot see the card, and that it is face
down. When the magician puts the selected card in by itself, he
gently BENDS the corner... Then shake em all up... shake em real good... and
then pull em out of the pillow case... they'll look all mixed up...
in rearranging them, you will easily come to the bent card, which you quickly
place face down on the BOTTOM of the pile,... you put all the cards
face down, and SHUFFLE the deck, but make sure the bottom card stays on the
BOTTOM. You can shuffle from one to ten times, and just make sure
the bottom card stays on the bottom. Then do a hand-to-hand shuffle,
bringing the BOTTOM card to the TOP. If you do this right, it looks
like those cards are so thoroughly mixed up, it could ONLY be by luck that the
top card is the selected card!!! You have to do this quickly for the
best shocking effect, otherwise the longer time you take, the more it looks
like you're trying to manipulate something.... The whole trick is to make
it look like you're doing everything to mix up the cards and then shuffle
them... just do it quickly, shuffle several times, but rapidly come to the
end... Viewers will say it's impossible, unless they know your trick.
************************
#2) Guess the top card, 3 piles...
You can do 2 piles, or 10 piles,
it makes no difference. You shuffle the cards, as in number one
above... When you split the deck before a RUFFLE, you can usually see at
least one bottom card of the two piles you make. That's the
bottom card... Somebody else can shuffle the deck before you, but you the
cut the deck and make a ruffle-shuffle or two, keeping track of the bottom
card. The reverse-shuffle, from bottom to top, using right hand to
throw cards into the left hand., About 5-10 cards at a time slide
off the top of the sending hand, while those top cards then become the bottom
bunch in the other hand. Finally the last card (from the BOTTOM of
the deck) is tossed into the receiving hand, and of course lands on the TOP of
the deck. So that's how you get a card from the bottom of the deck
to the top. Then, you know which card is on the TOP of the
deck. You ask anyone in the audience to make 2, or 3, or 4, or 5
piles (not more, but actually i think 3 piles works the best magic).
More than 3 gets confusing, while less than 3 makes it too simple and almost not
a "trick"... I use 3 piles. You know which card is
on the top of one of the piles (which was the top card of the deck, which was
previously on the bottom of the deck). You START GUESSING with
either of the other two piles. Now always take your time, like at least 2
or 3 seconds per pile, then GUESS the card, and THEN lift it up (for your eyes
only), and say to yourself "correct" and then place the card down
where no one can see it... You start with one of the unknown cards, but
you GUESS IT AS the one and only card you know (the card that was on the bottom,
which you shuffled to the top, and IS, IN FACT one of the three cards you're
trying to guess. So you guess the card you know, you turn over
the unknown, ands now you know ANOTHER ONE... So when you guess the NEXT
card, you say it was the one you SAW on the previous
"GUESS." Finally, you name the the last card from your
private viewing of the previous "guess." You have lifted the
three top cards off the tops of 3 piles. Hold the cards tight, and
when you release them, make sure they are in the ORDER you picked them...
To do that most surreptitiously, you only need to slip the LAST card you picked
(which was the one on the bottom of the deck, you brought to the top), which
you NAMED after FIRST card you picked... so instead of slipping it in behind
#1, and #2, you have to slip it in in FRONT OF #1 an d #2... that's why i say
hold the cards tight... Viewers who don't know how you do this trick are AMAZED
that you can shuffle the cards, the divide into 3 even piles, and you can
quickly and easily guess the top card on each pile... But you have to make it
LOOK like you're thinking when you guess, although there's NO GUESSWORK; it's
all a "trick"...
*************************
#3) Card on ceiling. i did this once for one of my kids.
right before i did the trick i took the card (in this case an 8 of hearts, it
was my daughter's 8th birthday)... i got another matching deck, and put
the 8 of hearts on the ceiling, using a little saliva... also a tiny bit of wax
glue would also work... The kids come around, the birthday girl (my
daughter, my shill) picks "ANY" card (yeah right!)... she picks the 8
of hearts (she's part of the "trick")... I ask her to show it to
everybody in the room... She does... Then the card is placed back in the
deck, shuffled real good, and then the deck is suddenly THROWN UP into the air,
to hit the ceiling, and all the cards come falling down... Except one, that
stuck on the ceiling... I ask the kids: Is that the
card? They are stunned...
*************************
#4) DISAPPEARING CARD... pick a card, any card... Magician
turns his back to everyone "SO HE CAN'T SEE" (this is all smoke and
mirrors, because while he turns his back so he can't see, he cuts the deck in
half, and spreads saliva from his longest finger onto the top card of the bottom
pile. He asks if you're ready, he turns around and says put the card
BACK IN THE DECK, and just opens the salivated opening a little bit, quickly
and firmly pressing the cards together, after aligning all 4 sides... The 2 cards are
now as though glued together... Magician shuffles the deck
loosely several times... Then goes through the deck, trying to guess the
card... He turns the cards over one-by-one, quickly, and keeps telling the
audience NOT to say anything if they SEE their card, which they WON'T see...
Keep telling the audience: "Don't say anything if you see you're card." They'll
NEVER see their card... You turn over all 52 cards quickly, one-by-one... it's not
there... we do it again, shuffle em this time... still not there... try
again... shuffle again... still not there... It'll stay stuck with
one
good dose of saliva all across the back of the card you lay it onto...
(Best to use a brand-new deck). Eventually you can feel the card yourself, and place it on the BOTTOM of the
deck, and then SHUFFLE the bottom card to the top (as previously described
how)... and voila: the card that nobody could find is SUDDENLY the top
card... (Or you can find the card with your hands behind your
back...) Lots of variations.
**************************
#5). Face Card ESP... Select 16 face cards from deck, using K, Q, J,
and Ace of all suits, divided into 2 equal piles in colors and suits and
denomination... TRICK: Show 8 of these, and ask one participant (only at a time) to mentally select a
card (and whisper it to everybody in the room)... The other 8 face cards are already in your shirt pocket,
unbeknownst to the participant... After the participant mentally
selects his or her card, you place the 8 cards into your shirt pocket while you
try to "guess" the card, using ESP... A small business card in your
pocket, separates the 2 sets of cards... You think for about 10 or 15 seconds,
then you pull out the 8 cards (looking into your shirt pocket, one at a time,
saying "This isn't it, i know that..." "This one also
isn't the one..." "I'm pretty sure it's not this one
either." "And it's not this one
either..." Or you can show them, one by one, saying "It's
not this one... it's not this one... it's not this one..." They'll ask you to do it again. Choose a
different participant... Put the 8 face cards back into your pocket, and pull
out the original 8 again, not showing them... but shuffle them for about a
minute to confuse the participant before showing them again... Sure enough, the
original card that was selected is there... and do it the same way... but don't
do this trick too many times in a row, or else someone will notice that the 8 cards are different than the
8 you show originally... Just do it once or twice per participant... any
more than this, and you're likely to give away the trick...
**************************
#6). THREE-CARD MONTE, or TWO-CARD...
Use 3 cards -- two Queen of Hearts (or 2 red Queens, or 2 red deuces) and an Ace
of Spades... As you mix em up, you say: "Case it...
Chase it... Find out where i place it... Black card you win... Red one you
lose... Pick any one you choose." Takes a little
skill to learn to throw top card of 2 held in hand... Bend cards in center a
little, along long side... i pick up and hold with just 2 or 3 fingers... I had
to practice this 100's of times before getting right...
Now for 2-card Monte... After doing same trick with 2 Ace of Hearts, take same
two Ace of Hearts and mix together with Ace of Diamonds in middle... same
concept, except just 2 cards... I like to show 2 Ace of Hearts at bottom
of deck after i do 3-card Monte... (behind one of the Ace of Hearts is an
Ace of Diamonds, so the diamond is in middle)... Trick goes like this -- take
from bottom of deck the 2 cards you just showed, 2 Ace of Hearts, but actually
it's an Ace of Diamonds and an Ace of Hearts... Now show Ace of Hearts
twice... using one diamond and one heart... show it again... same 2 hearts...
show it again, same 2 hearts... Do it again, so the viewers are convinced
they've seen 2 Ace of Hearts, which they saw just moments ago, on the bottom of
the deck, after you did the last trick with 2 Ace of Hearts... Now, after
showing 2 Ace of Hearts, pick em up in reverse order, so Ace of Diamonds is on
bottom, and put em up your sleeve !!! especially if you have a loose
fitting sleeve... Now remove same two cards, and hold arm down and shake your
sleeve, so it's obvious any loose cards would fall out... (This is all
"Smoke and Mirrors")... Now show 2 Ace of Diamonds... Easy to reverse
again (back into sleeve) and then 2 Ace of Hearts...
Variation on same: With Three-Card Monte (black ace and 2 queen of
hearts), you can easily show 3 queen of hearts, or 3 ace of spades, or 2 ace of
spades and one queen of hearts.. Actually, you have only Ace of Spades and 2
queen of hearts, but by knowing where the Ace of Spades is, you can either
show it or not, at will, at any time you want... This can be very confusing
to viewers, who don't know how you do this trick, but do NOT do this trick
more than 2 or 3 times in a row to any one person, or they're likely to
figure out what you're doing... Putting the cards up the sleeves adds
a new twist, because most magicians are accused of having extra cards up their
sleeves... I invented this trick with just 2 cards... it's quick and
easy... especially if you're at the end of a bar... (right side of bar for
right-handed person)... Two Ace of Hearts... then suddenly, same 2 cards
become 2 ace of diamonds...
***************************
#7. "TWISTED SISTERS" -- This is a card illusion, invented by David Blaine... What i've done to improve it, is to use 16 cards, instead of just 8 cards... At the beginning, i explain that i have 16 Queens, which i lay face down in 4 piles... Four red-backed Queens (upper left), four blue-backed Queens (upper right), and then 4 more blue-backed Queens (lower left), and 4 red-backed Queens (lower right). Using the Elmsley Count, i slowly and deliberately count the real red-backed Queens, "one, two, three, four" and then spread them out, face-up, showing all 4 Queens (hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs)... I do the same slow and deliberate count for the adjoining pile of blue-backed Queens, "one two, three, four" and then spread them out, face-up, showing 4 Queens of all 4 suits... This is all mis-direction, to reinforce the belief that the 2 other piles are also Queens (which i say they are)... Then, i do the same Elmsley Count on the other 2 piles, but i do NOT turn them over face-up... I ask the spectator to think of one red Queen (hearts or diamonds) and one black Queen (spades or clubs), which they then name out loud..., and then, i explain that i am going to make the two Queens (one red queen, and one black queen -- which they named) to flip over, face-up, and also at the same time, make them switch piles... I explain that i will make the named red Queen jump from the other pile to this pile, and the named black Queen jump from this pile to the other pile (make sure you know which piles are which), and also BOTH Queens will get flipped over at the same time... Instead of asking for the magic word, i say a devout prayer, asking for this miracle, and voila... (I think it's best, at the end, NOT to show that the other cards are jokers -- in fact, i use all QUEENS)... You can find "Twisted Sisters" online... You need to order the special cards (only 2 special cards are needed for this amazing illusion)...
***************************
#8). "CARD MIRACLE" --
my BEST trick of all...
In my newest card "trick," which i sort of invented by combining two other tricks into one, this is what APPEARS to happen >>>
Before i start this trick, i usually do a quick "shuffling" routine with my
"Electric Deck," while i ask: "Would you like to see some card magic?"
If they say "yes," i remove 2 other decks from my pocket, in their
respective boxes... One box of cards is red, and the other box is blue...
They both have rubber bands around them... I
ask the spectator to choose whichever box he or she wants (red or blue box)...
It doesn't make any difference which deck they choose, although it makes it
appear to them that they had some choice in the matter.
Depending on which deck they choose, you tell them either that their
selected card will appear in THAT deck, or that you will let them secretly
select any card from THAT (the other) deck...
First, i
tell people this is no "trick" and it's not "magic"
-- it's a "miracle"...
I tell the
audience that i'm NOT using marked cards, and i explain how to tell if a
deck of cards is marked... but i also add that it makes no difference, even
if the deck WERE marked (which it isn't), because i'm going to do this
with
my eyes closed, and shuffle the deck behind my back, with my eyes closed,
and i'll never even look at the chosen card -- front or back...
So then i begin to shuffle the cards behind my back, and keep doing
this, while i turn around, so the cards are facing the audience, and they
can see me shuffling them behind my back... I turn the cards over once or twice, and keep
"shuffling" them, and i point out how well i'm "mixing" them,
right in front
of their face...
I ask them to cut the cards once... or twice... and to do
so, i whiffle the cards slowly, and a spectator from the audience can stick
his or her finger into the deck as i whiffle, anywhere they want... I
ask them if they want to do it (cut the cards) again... After
they have had a chance to cut the cards once or twice or three times, i tell them to watch
my face, as i have my eyes closed, head pointed in one direction (with eyes
closed), while i lift the cards over my head with the opposite hand... and then
i hold the mixed deck above my head,
with my eyes closed, and spectators can see all the cards, and
then any one person secretly selects any one card of their choice --
it's all done with my eyes closed, cards held above my head, after
i shuffled them behind my back... I tell them there is no way i can possibly know
which card is selected...
I instruct them to select their card by pulling it up halfway, and then i ask them (with my eyes
closed, cards above my head) "Is THIS the card you selected?"
"Are you sure THIS is the one you want?" "Did
i force you to choose THIS card?" Then i tell them to
take it out of the deck, and don't let me see it, neither front or back...
Then, I take the other (different-color) deck out of its box (which has been in plain view all along, with 2 rubber bands around it, in 2 directions), but this other deck has a different color on its back... I hold the deck facing down...
Instead of asking for the magic word, i say a devout prayer (in English and Hebrew), asking God to perform a MIRACLE and REVEAL the chosen card, because there is no way in the world that i could possibly know the chosen card, since the other deck was shuffled behind my back, and i had my eyes closed the whole time ... I even ask that the selected card stay completely hidden from me the whole time, so i cannot see its front or back...
As i say the Hebrew prayer ("Baruch
atoh adonai, elohaynu melech
ho'olam, mi oseh nesim," and translate it: "Blessed
art Thou, oh Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who makes Miracles"),
I spread the other deck face down... This is the other deck, which has a
different color on its back, and which had the rubber bands around it, and
was in plain view, during the entire time...
I also ask Jesus for a MIRACLE -- to REVEAL the
secretly chosen card... and as I spread the cards
FACING DOWN, suddenly only one card appears FACE
UP -- which is, of course, the secretly chosen
card, which i couldn't possibly know ...
At this point, even i ask quizzically: "Is THAT your
card??... Really?!!??"
... and even i act totally astonished ...
Then i note that this MUST REALLY be a MIRACLE -- because, when the spectator pulls out the ONLY FACE-UP card (to compare it with the one they secretly selected from the other deck), they discover that it also has a different color on its back!!!
That "trick"
came to me in a sudden brainstorm about 2 months ago, while i was sitting on
a beach in Florida.
Now, here's how i do it >>>
The first card selected is known by the magician -- due to a trick called "mind-reading with cards"... and then, with the other deck (an " Brainwave Deck" (or "Invisible Deck" slightly different effect -- i prefer the "Brainwave Deck" which you can get from www.PenguinMagic.com -- about $10...
You show that only one card has been turned upside down (if "Invisible Deck"), or one card is facing up, when all others are facing down ("Brainwave Deck")... If using an "Invisible Deck," when they pull it out, it matches the one they selected... In the "Brainwave Deck" (which i prefer), they see it immediately (face up) matching the one they selected (and ALSO, only with the "Brainwave Deck," it also has a different color on its back).
I wrote the following explanation, mainly for using the "Invisible Deck" as part two of this same trick, but actually, since i originally wrote this, i decided i like the "Brainwave Deck" better (for this trick)... It's easier, and the spectator sees their card (facing up) immediately, and also in the "Brainwave Deck," it has a different color on its back.
You have to know your cards, and the 2 separate "algorythms" for the Mind-Reading trick, and also for the Invisible Deck, (but NOT for the Brainwave Deck)..
For example, after the first card is selected, i cut the deck, and while i put the rest of the deck back into the box, i notice the bottom card, which, after the cut, was the card right above the selected card...
So let's say, randomly, that this bottom card is the King of Hearts... Then you know that the selected card was the 3 of Spades (using CHaSeD )... CHaSeD = Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, in that order... and every succeeding card is arranged 3 numerals higher...
So if the top card (deck facing up) is Ace of Clubs, the next card is the 4 of Hearts, and next card is 7 of Spades...
You need to pre-arrange the first deck in this order, and when you show it, it looks totally mixed up, and you can cut it as often as you like, as fast as you like, and the spectator can also do the same, endlessly, and it NEVER changes the order!!!!
When you are "shuffling" and "mixing" the cards behind your back (with your eyes closed), you are actually doing neither... you are only "cutting" them, over and over and over... but you must tell the spectator that you are "shuffling" and "mixing" them, which is what it APPEARS to the spectator, who is standing just a foot away (turn your back so the spectator can see exactly what you're doing, but MIS-DIRECT them with your words...
It's easy to memorize: CHaSeD... Clubs, Hearts, Spades Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds... CHaSeD...
Remember to SAY that you are "shuffling" the deck, behind your back, with your eyes closed, but you're NOT really "shuffling" -- although that's what i SAY i'm doing... All i'm really doing is "cutting" the deck, over and over again...
But you have to be good at "lying" in card tricks like this, which is actually known as "MIS-DIRECTION."
You ask the spectator to pull up the selected card HALF-WAY -- that's so you know exactly where it is located -- and then, ask him or her: "Is THIS the card you want??? ... Are you sure??" When the spectator says "Yes," you ask the spectator to THEN remove the card (and to show it to everyone else), but to NOT let you see it, front or back... and to hide it from your view...
Now you know exactly WHERE the selected card came from, with your two hands holding the deck above your head (with your eyes closed)... At this point you quickly cut the deck, before putting it back into the box (with your eyes closed)... A cut is simply putting the top of the pile on the bottom, or the bottom on the top.
What you do is you place the top cut onto the bottom of the deck, or front of the deck on the back... and as you put the deck back in the box, you quickly open your eyes, just for a second, and look at the bottom card ...
I usually fumble around (intentionally, with my eyes closed), looking for the box, which gives me a reason to open my eyes, just for a second -- to look for the box -- and that lets me read the bottom card -- and then i quickly close my eyes again, as i pick up the box and insert the deck back into the box (with my eyes closed)... and i reiterate that i've had my eyes closed the whole time, and i have absolutely no way of knowing what the selected card is... (This again is more "mis-direction.")
I intentionally remind the audience that my eyes have been closed the ENTIRE time, so there is NO WAY i could possibly know which card was selected ... I remind them again, that i shuffled and mixed the cards behind my back, and i did it all with my eyes closed...
... and that is some major MIS-DIRECTION... Say it slowly, like you mean it, like it's the truth... because that's EXACTLY what APPEARS (to the audience) to be happening... So when you tell them exactly what they appear to be seeing, it reinforces the ILLUSION...
In case the spectator selects either the top or bottom card (the card at EITHER END of the deck), then (in that case only) you do NOT cut the deck -- but you still look at the bottom card, as the key card to determine the selected card...
Assume you saw the bottom card was the King of Hearts... so therefore, you know the selected card was the 3 of Spades (using CHaSeD), you then slowly say the magic words over the other deck, ("abracadbra" or "please and thank you," with your eyes closed -- but now i use the Hebrew prayer instead of the Magic Word (see above), while i figure out what the card is, and thus what card to look for in the other deck (which has been in plain view all this time with a double rubber-band around it)...
In the other deck, if using an "Invisible Deck" -- which you can make from any regular deck simply by spraying the backs with "roughing fluid" (which is also available from www.PenguinMagic.com), you know that underneath the 3 of Spades is the 10 of Hearts... (because Spades matches Hearts, and vice versa, and 13 minus 3 is 10)...
Like i said, I now prefer to use a "Brainwave Deck" for this trick, instead of the "Invisible Deck" -- as the "Brainwave Deck " is easier, and actually more effective, and it is also more amazing, because the chosen card -- which the magician couldn't possibly know -- suddenly appears facing up (when all other cards are facing down), and when removed, it also has a different color on its back...
So (using an "Invisible
Deck" -- which is sort of the reverse of a "Brainwave
Deck"), you take out the other deck, removing it from the box
-- with the even numbers facing up (you'll know which side is odd, and
which side is even, according to the outside of the box -- and
same with the " Brainwave Deck" -- you'll know by
the front of the box which side is hearts and diamonds, and which
side is spades and clubs)... I arrange it so if the chjosen card
is a red one, i pull the cards out of the box with the Red heart on the
box facing up... (You'll understand the need for this, when you get the
Brainwave Deck, which is actually made from 26 cards -- spades and clubs
-- with a blue back, and 26 cards -- hearts and diamonds -- with a red
back)...
On the other hand, if using an "Invisible Deck", you'll see all the even-numbered cards of every suit, although
it appears like the whole deck
is being fanned, because there are all sorts of numbers,
different colors, and picture cards, all mixed together...
You fan the cards to the 10 of Hearts, when you shove sideways its mirror card, or attached card... and you note that "only one card in the whole deck is facing down."
Originally, i explained that i had already arranged it like this, "because i'm psychic," and knew ahead of time that it would be the card they selected from the other deck... Now, instead, i say a PRAYER before fanning the cards, and i ask God for a MIRACLE, which is what it appears to be... (This is even yet more "misdirection" -- ion the form of a prayer).
Ask the spectator to remove that one card that's facing down, and sure enough, it's the exact same card he or she selected from the other deck... (That's if you're using an Invisible Deck, but in the Brainwave Deck, the selected card (from the first deck) will appear facing UP, when all the others are facing down...
If you need to order
an "Invisible Deck," or a "Brainwave Deck,"
go to
www.PenguinMagic.com
... and search for "Invisible Deck." Or just buy a
can of "Roughing fluid" from Penguin, which will do the same for several
decks, for about the same price... about $5, maybe a little more...
Using "Roughing Fluid," you can do this trick using any regular deck
of cards... I always tell people that i got "ALL my cards for
this trick" from Walmart (which is true, if you use Roughing
Fluid on them)... I don't say "both decks," but instead i
say "ALL my cards" -- because the 52-card "
Brainwave Deck" alone requires 2 decks of
different colors, just to make one
deck... However, an "Invisible Deck" can be made from
just one deck...
But
please do NOT
tell anyone how to do this... As i
said, i myself sort of "invented" this new
combination of these two tricks into one, and it's my best and favorite
trick, which i say is a "MIRACLE" (since i invoke the assistance of God,
through prayer)...
Everybody who sees it is stunned... because
it seems
impossible, but is really very very simple... First of all,
#1) how did i know what card they selected from
the first deck??? and secondly, #2) how did i
turn it upside down in the other deck??? and #3) using the "Brainwave
Deck" -- how did the selected card appear in the second deck,
facing up, but also with a different color on its back???? This
is why it is so amazing...
But you must practice the
art of MIS-DIRECTION... That's very important in this
trick... Just look at the audience in the face, and explain what you are
doing (but actually, you are NOT really doing what you say you are
doing)... Same with the prayer at the end... If you pray for God's
assistance in performing a MIRACLE, to REVEAL the chosen card, the
prayer should contain the words: "... because there's no way in
the world that i could possibly know the chosen card..."
#9.
Basically, same as above, but replace CHaSeD deck with Stripper deck...
Good to alternate Stripper Deck with CHaSeD, because with Stripper, you
can shuffle with both a whiffle-shuffle as well as an overhand-shuffle,
which you CANNOT do with CHaSeD. Ideally, keep two
identical-looking card boxes (same color) in 2 separate pockets... You
can shuffle alternatively "behind your back," and with the other deck by
overhand or by whiffle... With stripper, i don't let the spectator pull
the card out, but just tell the spectator to touch the card, and i do
the pulling out, with eyes closed, etc. I reverse the deck
slowly during the Hebrew prayer... The spectator(s) remain focused
on the prayer, while you surreptitiously do the "magic."
Once you understand the general theory, there are various ways to
execute this same effect, or trick, or magic, or miracle...
Remember, when the same card appears in the other deck, you must act
equally as excited, because you had "no
idea" what card was chosen or selected from the other deck.
#10.
Another variation on the above = Using a normal deck, let the spectator
hold the deck and shuffle it, and select any card, and show it to at
least one other person ("to confirm its identity"), while you turn your
back, and explain that while they are selecting any card of their
choice, you are also selecting a card which will match theirs, and to
prove it, you will turn it over, and place it back in the pack in your
hands... They select their card, with your back turned, and return it to
their deck, and shuffle their deck... Then you ask the 2 spectators to
"name" the card ("name it" because it takes 2 people in this trick, to
"confirm" the selection)... and (in your hand) using either a Brainwave
Deck or Invisible Deck, you immediately show their chosen card was also
the same card you chose -- which is now facing the opposite direction of
all the other cards in your deck... You should always act
ASTONISHED at your own abilities, when you see that you got it right...
I usually explain: "I'm just psychic... although ex-wife
says psycho."
#11.
In the trick where you appear psychic (using either a CHaSeD deck or
Stripper Deck), it appears to the spectator that there is NO
POSSIBLE WAY that you know what card was selected... So the
trick works in 2 ways: #1) You can say that you ACTUALLY DO
KNOW the card ("only because you're psychic")...
or #2) you point out that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY you could know...
You see, these two possibilities are OPPOSITES... so
the same trick can be used for 2 opposite effects...
Once the spectators are convinced that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY
you know the chosen card, (which you admit), and you have NO IDEA
what card was selected, and it looks like it to the spectator, then you
reproduce it in another deck ("Brainwave deck" or
"Invisible deck")... and of course, at the end, you have to fake
your own surprise (because you had "NO IDEA" what
card was selected)...
#12. TELEKINETIC TUSHY TRANSFER... As in #8, #9, #10, and
#11, cards (CHaSeD stacked deck in BLUE box) are "shuffled" behind back,
and holding cards behind back, spectator selects ANY card, unknown to
magician... Spectator then places the secretly selected card into
magician's back pocket, and everyone can see and feel it is there -- in
magician's back pocket... Magician then takes the other deck (a
BRAINWAVE deck, in its own RED box), and rubs the other card box (full
of cards) against his back pocket, and recites the Hebrew prayer,
(Blessed art thou, o Lord our God, King of the Universe, who makes
miracles, and who transfers the card from my back pocket into this other
deck), and voila... Magician then opens the other deck (in the RED box),
and voila -- the chosen card (apparently UNKNOWN to the magician) is
right there, upside down in the other deck... Immediately thereafter,
the magician shows that his back pocket is empty!!!!!
This requires a false pocket, which can be sewn in, and removed from
pocket, appearing inside-out... This just takes a couple of stitches on
each corner, to attach the false pocket inside the real pocket (leaving
about a quarter-inch margin around the false pocket, so it fits snugly
inside the real pocket) ... While everybody is amazed, and the
magician appears to be stuffing the removed empty pocket back into his
pants (but actually, the magician is now removing the original chosen
card, which is surreptitiously placed onto the other deck)... This just
takes a couple seconds, and nobody notices, because they're amazed that
the card jumped from the back pocket into the other deck, and it looks
like the magician is simply putting the pocket back in place... So far,
no one has caught me doing this... As soon as i remove the original card
from my back pocket, i say: "That Hebrew prayer is amazing,
isn't it... Look -- the pocket is empty," and then i SQUEEZE the
back pocket, to provide further evidence that the card "jumped" out of
the back pocket... Remember, when the spectator placed it in the back
pocket, spectators were told to look and actually touch the back pocket,
to be sure the card was placed in the pocket... The card APPEARS to have
jumped out of the pocket, and into the other deck... It is no longer in
the back pocket... This "trick" involves numerous ILLUSIONS...
Good luck in performing this one... Before performing, practice it
first, many times, to be sure you can do all the motions smoothly...
#13. CARD UNDER BASEBALL CAP, ESP. Using
same stacked CHaSeD deck (as in #8, #9, #10, #11, and #12), cards are
"shuffled" behind back, and ANY card is selected (also behind back), and
placed under hat, facing down... Magician uses his ESP to deduce which
card it was... Assuming the selected card was the TEN of HEARTS...
Magician says: "I see a red card... It's not a diamond, i
don't think... So therefore it's a heart... It's a high number, not a
picture card... It's a high number... It feels like a number between
about 10 and 7... I'll stick with my first hunch... Taking a WILD GUESS,
i'm gonna say the TEN of HEARTS???" (say it MEEKLY and
HUMBLY, like it's just a WILD GUESS)... With that, i bend my body
forward, and remove my hat, showing clearly the TEN of HEARTS inside my
baseball cap, facing up... The magician must now ACT TOTALLY EXCITED...
I say, excitedly: "DUDE!!! DUDE!!! Look!!!
It's the Ten of Hearts!!! ... I did it again!!!!! ... Check it out!!! ...
I am three-for-three today... I'm 100% accurate today...
I am sooooo psychic!!!... I can't believe it!!!!"
Again, you need to use MIS-DIRECTION and learn to be mis-leading...
You must ACT like you yourself are TOTALLY SURPRISED
that you GUESSED the right card.
#14. QUICK TRICK... This is the quickest one of all,
same basic trick as in #'s 8-13 (described above)... I walk up to a
stranger, and tell the stranger that i'm doing an experiment to see
if i'm psychic... I explain that when i saw the person from a
distance, i felt a psychic connection with that person... I explain that
i use a deck of playing cards to determine if i'm psychic, and of course
the odds of "guessing" any chosen card is 1 in 52,
although (i explain) most people choose any one of these 4 cards:
Queen of Hearts, King of Diamonds, Ace of Spades, or Jack of Clubs...
"So tell me which card you're thinking of..." If
they say they want ME to show the card i turned over FIRST (before they
tell me their card), i explain that i already turned over one card, so
they have to tell me FIRST, "...otherwise you could say it isn't
the card that i already turned over." I ask
them to concentrate, and/or to read my mind, and to name the first card
that makes a strong impression in their mind... No matter which
card they say, i then act giddy and excited, and say:
"I can't believe it!!!! ... I can't believe it!!! ... I got it
again!!!!!!!!" I then say excitedly: "That's
EXACTLY the card i JUST turned over two minutes ago!!! ... Can you
believe it?!?!?!.... I can't believe i got it right again!!!!"
... and then i proceed to pull the cards out of the card box, and i fan
them, showing that their one chosen card is the ONLY card in the
whole deck that is facing upside down... Then i say:
"That makes me two-for-two today!!!!" or to be more
conservative (and appear more legitimate), i could say:
"That's 5 out of 7 that i guessed correctly, just in the last 2 days!!!
... I am sooooo PSYCHIC!!!! ...although my ex-wife says
'PSYCHO'..." This trick is very quick (the
entire thing, from meeting the stranger, up to showing the card turned
over in the deck, can be done in just one minute or so, sometimes in
less than a minute.... It's quick, it's simple, and it's done right in
front of their face... Suggestion: It's good to have 2
identical-looking boxes, so you can do it with a "different" deck, in
case they want you to "do it again." I say,
OK, but let me use this other deck this time... The problem with
repeating to use the SAME box over again, is that they may choose a RED
card one time, and a BLUE card another time... With two different boxes
to use, they won't suspect anything if one time you show cards with a
RED BACK, and then if you do it again (with a different/ identical
deck), you show cards with a BLUE BACK... Depending on how you set it up
initially, RED card (hearts and spades) can appear either way against a
RED-BACKED deck, and vice-versa... But to limit your own confusion as
magician, BOTH decks should be uniform to YOU (the magician)... Bicycle
decks usually have an Ace of Spades on one side of the card box... I use
this marking (on the card box) to determine which way to turn the card
box before pulling out the cards...
#15. AUDIENCE SHUFFLES THE CARDS... Normally, i don't
let anybody shuffle my cards, or else (i explain) the cards might lose
their "magic touch." But in this case, i explain that i'm
going to let the audience shuffle one of my decks (a regular deck of
cards), while i turn over one card in the other deck, and i will force
the spectator (who shuffles the other deck) to land on the exact same card... Best not to
explain everything in this trick, but just let the spectators follow along...
I let the spectator shuffle the cards, while i turn my back and select
one card from the other deck (which i turn upside down)... This looks
best if the spectator does a quickly repeating overhand shuffle the deck, with
cards facing up, so everyone can see the cards being mixed up (except the
magician, whose back is turned). I ask the spectator to "shuffle
slowly, so i can sense where my chosen card is, in the deck you're
shuffling." To start, the magician (me) secretly
turns over just one card in my deck... After i place one card
upside down in my deck, i carefully examine the cards in the spectator's
hands (for about 10 seconds), and i remind the spectator to "please
try to shuffle slowly, so i can keep track of them." After 15 or 20 seconds of
shuffling, with my back turned, i say: "STOP!!! right there... and take the bottom
card." Or the top card, whichever seems most
baffling, or confusing, or mysterious -- just remember, the moment i say
"STOP" is not supposed to be
random, and the magician must appear to be "sensing" where HIS card is in
the spectator's shuffled deck... (Remember, the magician has had his back turned, while
the spectator shuffled the cards). As magician, i
obviously can't SEE the cards, front or back side, my eyes are closed,
and my back is turned, and someone else, probably a complete stranger,
is shuffling the deck!!! I suddenly say STOP, and ask
for the top card, or bottom card... Whatever card it is, we both
look at it, and immediately i act excited, and i almost
scream from astonishment that i got it again... I shout out: "Oh,
dude!! dude!! (or) Oh my God!! Oh my God!! ...
That's
EXACTLY the card i just turned over!!!! ... Look here..." >>> ... and
then i immediately and eagerly fan through the deck, which is facing upside down, and voila, exactly
one card, and one card only, is turned face side up, and lo and behold,
it's the exact same card as the spectator shuffled to, when i
said STOP. If you understand the above, about how to use
the Brainwave Deck, you'll quickly learn how to do this one... I
like this one, because there's audience interaction, and a random
spectator can shuffle the deck all they want...
#16.
Same as above, except 2 regular decks of cards are
shown... The magician asks the audience to examine and
shuffle both decks... and choose one deck to start, either the
red box or the blue box... If the audience chooses the blue box, they
shuffle it again, and magician shuffles cards in the red box... If they
choose red box, then magician asks that audience then shuffles the other
deck too... Audience always ends up with blue box... Then, magician
instructs audience to turn their back, and with eyes closed, select one
card in the deck, and turn it upside down, so it is unknown both to the
audience, as well as unknown to the magician. Magician says he will do
the same with his deck (red box)... After one card is secretly selected
by both the audience and the magician (both with their backs turned and
with their eyes closed), the cards are put back into the boxes. Putting
them back into the boxes is important. Then, magician rubs 2 card
boxes together, says the Hebrew prayer, and hands the blue box back to
audience, and asks audience to pull cards out, facing DOWN, and spread
them... Lets say the audience/spectator finds that he/she has turned
over the Ten of Hearts... Then, the magician opens up his card box, with
same suspense, and lo and behold -- to magician's surprise -- the
magician turned over the EXACT SAME CARD, ten of hearts!!!!!
How it's done (#16 above): This requires a third
deck (a "BRAINWAVE DECK" -- which itself is composed of 52 cards from
two other decks)... The card boxes, and back of cards must ALL be the
same (i use Bicycle cards), except i use 1 blue box and 2 red boxes (one
for the BRAINWAVE DECK)... The BRAINWAVE DECK (inside one of the RED
boxes) is kept in my shirt pocket... So when i turn my back, to secretly
turn over one card at random with my eyes closed (so that neither myself
nor the audience can see which card i choose), i just pull out the
BRAINWAVE DECK from my shirt pocket, and slip the other red box (with
the regular cards, which the audience has already examined and
shuffled)... Then i take the 2 card boxes, rub them together with my
Hebrew prayer over card magic, and voila!!!!! The audience has seen
and examined and shuffled the red box, so when i turn around, it looks
like the exact same deck of cards (Make sure all card boxes are the same
age, besides same manufacturer)... If you don't understand how the
BRAINWAVE DECK works, you need to go back to #8 above... In this magic
act, since i have no idea which card i chose, i don't act all excited
before showing the card, because it's supposed to come as a surprise to
me too... Once i see that i also chose the exact same card "with my
eyes closed," i usually ask the audience if they also chose theirs with
their eyes closed... I did this trick at the beach yesterday, using
brand new Bicycle cards, and my BRAINWAVE DECK also in a brand new
Bicycle card box... The new Bicycle card box actually has the Ten of
Hearts showing on the back of the card box... The spectator by chance
(with eyes closed) chose the Ten of Hearts... and of course, so did i...
and then we both noticed that the Ten of Hearts was also on the card
box... I think this left the audience totally mystified... and so was i...
Look below, and you'll see that even the animation shows the Ten of
Hearts... Of course, the audience could have selected ANY card in the
deck...
#17.
Same as
#16 above, except that the AUDIENCE selects one card from BOTH
decks, which is unknown to them, because they do it behind
their back, and it always comes out same card!!!
My newest card trick -- i invented spontaneously, and demonstrated, for
the first time ever, on the beach.
I show 2 regular decks
of Bicycle brand playing cards. One red box, one blue box.
I let the audience
take the cards and examine them, touch them, and shuffle them.
Then, i ask one person
in the audience to take one of the decks, and look at the cards
carefully, to make sure they're not all the same exact card, and then
ask the person to hold the cards behind his or her back, and select one
card (unknown) and re-insert the chosen card upside down, compared with
all the rest, and then to put the rest of the cards in the box...
The same spectator (or
possibly a different spectator) does the same with the other deck... He
or she looks at them carefully, to be sure they're all different cards,
and not all the same card... This person is also instructed to hold them
behind his or her back, and select one card, which they are then to
re-inserted back into the deck (all this is done behind their back, so
even they don't know which card they've chosen).
Both decks are put
back in their respective boxes, and i rub the 2 card boxes together,
while i say the Hebrew prayer... and then, i take one box (cards facing
down) and go through them one-by-one, until we find which card was
turned over in the first deck...
Then, we go to the
other deck, and examine it, the same way... and VOILA!!!! in BOTH
decks, the EXACT SAME CARD was turned over!!!!
I have done this about
a half-dozen times so far (since Sunday, 2 days ago)...
I can use the same person to turn over the cards (behind his/her
back) in both decks... and i have used two different people to
each turn over one card in each deck... (They can be strangers to me,
and even strangers to each other, or even friends of each other)...
Also, the same can be done with one spectator (and me) both
turning over one card (behind our backs) in each deck... We each do it
to one deck... or: the same spectator can do the same thing in each of
two decks...
The result is always
the same: The exact same card is turned over in BOTH decks!!!!
At the beach on
Sunday, someone kept challenging me -- so i told him that he could turn
over the card in BOTH decks... He looked at both decks, examined
both decks, and shuffled both decks... and he turned over one card
behind his back in each deck, one deck at a time, and when
we examined the decks, they BOTH had the exact same card turned
over!!!!! This newest feat of magic came to me spontaneously... I
had never done it like that before!!!!
... and of course, i
always end my card tricks (i mean "magic") with my final act of mis-direction
-- in which even i (the magician), act surprised and impressed... Of
course, when i see the card in the first deck, it's simply ANY card...
but when i see the EXACT SAME CARD turned over in the second deck, i
exclaim: "Ho!! ... Ho!!! ... Ho!!! ... Do you see
that?!!!!???!!! The SAME EXACT CARD was turned over in both
decks!!!!!... Ho!!!!"
(I don't know
what "Ho" means, but it's just my fake way of uttering my
surprise, and acting surprised). It's like i'm out of breath, or
about to faint...
How it's done: I simply have a Brainwave deck (in a
red box) concealed in my shirt pocket... I switch decks when they're not
looking, and even right in front of their eyes, no one has caught me
yet... Remember, i use two RED boxes... I give them the red box first
(with real cards in the red box), which they then give me back to hold,
while they take the blue box... Then, while they're fiddling with the
cards in the blue box, i switch red boxes... At the end, i spread
the cards in the blue box first... Then i go to the red box (which now
contains my Brainwave deck), and VOILA, i "discover" -- to my shock and
surprise -- that the one chosen card in the red box always matches the
chosen card in the blue box!!!!
