\flritten by Richard Osterlind o Editing, layout 6c design by Jim Sisti o Photographs by Lisa Osterlind Osterlind ffiqx *$( www.osterl i nd mysteries,com
First Edition O2012 by Osterlind Mysteries All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means is strictly prohibited. Cover design - Jim Sisti
IDnnrcarron I would like to dedicate this book to all my girls, Lisa, Cathy, Ruth, Rachel, Brittany, Megan, Kadence Raine and Alanna Skye, who is on the way!
OorunBNTs FOBElryOBID EIAIUID$ OFf' ,7 ,9 Bffeet ..........o.o..................ooooo...o........ I llflethOd ......................................o..... H.{D PresemtatlOn .....o...o........o.o............. EE A Few lWou:e llhounghts ssP tss a- ,q@ H6 w7 EE 2B DlffeCt o..........oooooo............oo.o............. lllethOd .........o.o...o...o........ooo.o..o....o... Pnesentation A f'ew Llono Thounghts IryANTBID: IDEAID OB ALIYE ........ P5 Dffeet .......o.o..........o..........o.o..o....... .. 26 flethOd ......................o...o..o........... ... 27 Presentatlotrl .........o.......o....o.....o. ... 29 A Few' D[@tr@ Thounghl,s &2
POOB MAN'E BOOHT TD$T Dffeet ..o.o..o................o...o.o....oo......... lDE< aua, qDH EDQ9 ffiethOd ........oo.o........o....oo.......oo.o...... S6 SetUnp .o.....o...oo.......o.....o..o...o............. &6 PUteSemtatiOil .........o.....o................. SG ALTEOST BBAL PBDIDICIIIOTI .....4S Dffeet ......oooo....o..............oo............... 4& lWethOd ...............o..oo......o....oo.o...... ... 4L4e SOtUnp ...................o.................o....... .. 4,4u PUteseratatiOm ......o......oo.................. 44 A Few lWone Thoun$hts ..........o....5€D PBRI'ECTEID AtrDtrD.A.NUTIBER... 58 Dffeet ......o..o.........o.......o.o.oo.......o..... 54 trflethOd ........ooo.o...oo...........o.o.....o.o. ... 64o Appana!,UnS ....oo......o..o.....o................ 64 Basie Presemtatlom ......5t Advamo@d Pnesentatlom 64 ['I]UAL TEIOUGEI'TS ..... qi?
ftonnwoBrD This collection of effects was created with a number of goals in rnind. First and foremost, I wanted to give the reader strong and direct material which is suitable for professional entertainments. When a client pays good money for a show, they expect, and deserve, to see something special. Routines must be suited for the general public, not for our friends, families, or fellow magicians. In keeping with that desire, I next wanted ro analyze the way normal people think and what is and is not important. These routines are designed to impart maximum effect without the need for unnecessary proofs or indirect maneuvers designed to avoid situations that will never arise. A perfect example of this approach can be seen in the treatment given to the Jack London classic, Almost Real Prediction. Although the handling is almost unchanged from the original, the slight bits of mental misdirection make all the difference in the world. Ruses that try to cover the secret or hide the working with protracted presentations, resulting in detractions from rr direct effect, become unnecessary. I also wanted to provide a diversity of routines especially through the use of different props. Variety in performance is very important. To keep your attention solely centered on effects can lead to a very boring show. I have seen performers do two or three routines in a row using small, folded pieces of paper. Although the premises ,rnd revelations were different, everything tended to look the same. Conversely, you can successfully display your powers of telepathy .rll night long if the look of things, in regard to the equipment used, is unusual and interesting. I designed this collection of material to be readily available to cveryone, both in the props needed and the skill necessary to accomplish each item. Although some mentalism apparatus is necessary it is standard equipment that you should already possess. Like-
wise, the skills needed are not of the finger-flinging type, but rather are of presentation that require you ro sell the powers that you are demonstrating. I have tried my best ro sreer you in the right direction, but each performer must decide what type of approach is best for him. With that in mind, I have not filled these pages with parter and presentational ideas which are doomed to failure if performed by anyone other than myself. Rather, I have tried to impart what the effect on the audience should be and leave it up ro you to best decide how to play rt. Finally, I have tried to teach a certain amounr of stagecraft between the covers of this book. I have been taking this approach more and more lately. As I have said before, please do not think me egoistical when I talk about these matters. Having been behind a microphone for most of my life, I have hopefully learned a thing or two about stage presence. IJsually these lessons came from dismal failures on my part that I wouldn't wish on anyone. My professional materials constantly talk about the many companies that repeatedly use my services year after year.They do not, however, talk about clients I have lost for doing stupid things! The greatest accomplishment I can achieve in my books and DVDs is to save others from making foolish mistakes. As I read over this manuscrip t,I realized rhat some of this writing may seem redundant, but I would rather err on the side of overexplaining than leave the reader unable to understand what he is supposed to do. Over the years, I have learned that things thar seem very clear to me when I write them can be vague or confusing ro some readers. So, I often use nouns redundantly, instead of pronouns, just to be sure you will know it is a card, and not rhe case, for instance, that is turned olrer on the table. It is my firm desire that this material makes you shine! I want to hear back from you about how you fried your audience! As with all my products, I am here to help you. My Facebook page and email is open to everyone. Never hesitate to write with any questions or problems you might experience. Good luck and God bless. Richard Osterlind Falmouth, KY May 2012
Slaups Onn I am very hrppy with this effect. One of the problems I face is choosing new material to actually use in my shows. I only do one or two card effects in each performance and the ones I already have, such as those using my Breakthrough Card System, Radar Deck or Dynamo Deck are yery strong. Consequently, it is unusual for me to add a new card effect to my repertoire. Hands Ofl however, fits the bill. It is different from anything else I do and really hits hard. I use the pack much in the same way as my Radar Deck: that is, I have a duplicate, ungimmicked deck in my pocket ready to switch in after the effect. Even if I don't follow this up with another card rourine, I will often casually change our the gimmicked deck for the regular one and leave it on the table. Bnnncr The mentalist openly shows a pack of playing cards and gives them a casual shuffle. He then hands them over to the specrator ro cut in his hands. This is repeated a number of times until the spectator is satisfied and wants ro srop. The performer tells him to look rt the top card and then to slide it into the middle of the deck. After concentrating, the performer, who is standing several feet away, and who has never touched the deck, announces the chosen card is at the 17'h position in the deck! The spectator deals the cards face-up onto the table counting the cards as he goes. When he reaches the 16'h card, the performer asks him to stop. He says, "The only way I could do this is if I first read your mind to learn the card you thought of and then somehow figured out where the card is in the deck. Right?" \7ith that, the performer names the chosen card!
Then he has the spectator turn over the next card, the 17'h, and there is that very card! L[ntmon To create such an astounding and clean effect, a special deck of cards is needed. It is made up of 3 identical banks of 17 cards set in an order that you know. You therefore will need 3 decks of cards to make up one Hands Off deck (Photo 1). I personally use the first 17 cards from my Breakthrough Card System repeated 3 times, but feel free to use any memorized cards or system you are familiar with. You can use a simple stack like the 8 Kings or Si Stebbins, but the problem is that an asrure spectaror might notice the repeating nature of the colors or the order of the suits as he deals the cards face-up on the table. If you decide to use one of these stacks, you might consider changing the routine by having the cards dealt face down. A bit of effect is lost this way, but t0
you can always turn over the dealt cards afterwards (spreading them in bunches) to show them all different. It is still very strong. This deck can be cur any number of times without altering the outcome. This may sound strange, but the deck is really just like a cyclical stack. After you make one up, you can play with it and see that it works. With such a deck, after it has been cut a number of times, if the top card is looked at and slid into the middle of the deck, a duplicate of that card will appear 17 cards from the top. Additionally, if rhe order of the cards is known to you, the identity of the chosen card can be learned from the 16'h card or rhe one before it. The deck is placed in the case with the two Jokers on the face. PnnnoBUraNCD Bring the deck forward and remove the cards from the case. l)lace it on the table and slide off the two Jokers on the face of the dcck. Toss them down next to the case. Note: I always leaoe the Jokers in the deck. For some reason, it just scems to me to imply the dech is a normal one. The extra cards also help keep the decbflat. Give the cards a false shuffle or two. As always, I use the Riffle Iralse Shuffle found in the first volume of the Thrbell Course in Magic on page 255, which I use on all my DVDs. Show the cards by spreading them face-up in the normal way f or the first dozen or so cards ,rnd then spread more rapidly in order to casually show the rest of the deck. If your attitude is nonchalant, no one will be suspicious of the deck. Note: tbis is one of those mooes thatmay seem so elementary tbat you might be tempted to skip ooer ?racticing it, Tbat zr;owld be a mistabe! Please take the time to rehearse spreading the Hands Off deck caswally so thatyow are comfortable witb the mooe..Watch out thatyou don't accidently spread off a duplicate of a conspicuous card. suclt as tbe Ace of Spades. Simply look at the cards yourself and know tbat tubat yow see is wbat your spectator sees. Again, practice this simple move to tbe point that yow neoer r!)orry dwring tbis pbase of the rowtine. Turn the deck face-down, give it another false shuffle and end ll
with a cut or two. Then hand the deck to the spectator and have him cut the face-down deck in his hands. After verifying he is cutting the cards correctly, slowly walk away, turn your back and ask him to cut it once or twice more. Note: I want to interrwpt this explanation bere to explain an important point. I baoe often been asked why no one eoer seems to zodnt to shwffle tbe cards ruben I hand tbem tbe deck in a routine like this. It is becawse, wben I do tbis, I don't care! I really belieoe in my mind tbe cards are ordinary and there is notbing to be fownd. See, the mindset I explained in my Trilogy abowt believing in your own magic applies w;ith equal importance to situations libe tbis. Yow also haoe to belieoe in your oun innocence! If yow have any apprebension tbat your assiswrn tbe d a are lost. ly t he will is normal and you are doing erLeryttbing fairly and abo,ue board. 'Wben you cdn acbieve this belief in your own blamelessness, here and in all of yowr magic, worlds of possibilities zaill open up to you! After the spectator is satisfied with his cutting, you instruct him to look at the top card, remember it and slide it into the center of the deck. Note: It is important to gently stress tbe word "center." You haae much leeway bere as the card only bas to go near the center and not within tbe wpper 17 cards. Stressingtbe word center, or near tbe middle, will assure tbis. You turn around and stare for a moment ar him and the deck. Look like you are doing something hard! Remember, you are standing across the room and have not touched the deck. Then announce the card is - hesitate - the l7'n card down in the deck! Don't be surprised if everyone is looking at you like you are kidding. Put yourself in your audiences'position. This is about as impossible as it gets! You instruct the spectaror to deal the cards face up onto rhe table and to count the cards out loud as he does so. Make sure he doesn't deal too quickly. Slow him down a bit if he does. When he gets to rhe 1.6'h card, tell him ro srop dealing. Say the line I akeady wrote in the explanation: "The only way I could do this is if I first read your mind to learn the card you thought of and t2
then somehow figured out where the card is in the deck, right?" Make sure he agrees. Then suddenly look at him and say, "Is the card you thought of the Ace of Spades (pr whatever rhe card is) ?" Your spectator and the audience should almost fall over at this point. You were across the room when the card was chosen. But then you say, "Turn over the next card." When he does and it is his card, you are a King! Don't rush to take back the cards, but don't delay too long, either. \When you retrieve them, just turn the face-up cards over and put them on top of the deck. Don'r try ro show the deck again as it will only raise suspicion as there is no reason ro prove anything. Just put them back in the box and put them away. A Fnw Llonn Trroucrrrs This effect can be used on stage with a nice table and Jumbo cards. There is nothing in the handling that would hamper the effect with the larger cards and the ability of the whole audience to see the cards as they are dealt makes this as powerful as a large illusion. The numb er 17 is a good force number. The proper wording is important. Say to a person, "Name a number between 1A and 20. To make it harder, make it a rather high number. Name it out loud now." Given that phrasing, you will very often get the number 17. You can change the force number by using banks of 18 or 16 cards. With three banks of 18 cards, your deck will be 54 cards strong. \With three banks of tO cards, it will be 48 cards. Neither one should arouse suspicion with a normal audience. You may think that an asture spectaror may norice that he placed the card in the middle of the deck and now it is at the 17,h position. This is magician thinking! Only magicians estimate ho*, ir. down cards are and view effects with an eye on learning the secret. The everage person slides a card somewhere into the deck and is satisfied that it is 17'h from the top. Just try the routine on a normal person (not a magician!) and you will see the truth in this. Finally, I would like to address the issue of using playing cards in mentalism. I have often talked about this and won't reiterate all those arguments again, but let me point out that perhaps that sen13
timent stems from a vision of a cards and doing seven tricks with sastrous, but to do just one card ceptable, especially if the effect is like Hands Off is! performer taking our a deck of them! I agree thar would be dieffect in a show is perfectly actotally unlike a typical card trick t4
ssP I have always loved routines with ESP cards. One of my favorites, from a long time ago, was a marketed effect called Uni-Minds which I bought at Tannen's for the princely sum of $4.00! ft was a three-part routine which I performed for years. Recently, during a DVD production, I performed a routine out of Annemann's Practical Menwl Effec* calledYggdrasil. (In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree on which the nine worlds existed.) Again, this was a three-part routine. It occurred to me to put together my own three-phase rourine with ESP cards. As I pondered what effects I could incorporate into my mini-act, it occurred to me that the average person doesn'r think at all like we mentalists do. \X/ith ESP cards, we instantly take into account that there are five cards repeated five times and so we try to devise effects that use multiple cards to create the effect. But the typical spectator Iooks upon the cards with intrigue and, unless we bring mathematical facts into our explanations, is quite amazed to see us guess or match even a single card. Pondering this, I realized that some amazingcard effects which use secret duplicate cards could be created with ESP cards without having to hide anything! After quite a bit of trial and error, rhe effects I decided to use to create my rourine were the Al Koran Five Star Prediction, an elaboration of Any Card ar Any Number, and finally a takeoff on my own Dynamo Deck's Cards from Pocket. Of all the routines in this book, I have given this effect the most attention as far as routining. \flhat I am most proud of is that each phase flows right into the next in a very natural manner. It is not necessary to set anything using extra moves during the lull between phases and the whole routine can be done under the closest scrutiny. I predict that of all the material you read here, you will probably do this routine first. Have fun!
Bnnncr Phase One: The mentalist introduces two decks of ESP cards. He removes both decks from their cases and casually fans through each. He shuffles one deck and places it face-down in front of the spectator telling him that is his deck. Then he picks up the other deck, secretly looks through it, and removes one card which he places face down on the table. He instructs the spectator to pick up his deck, hold it face down, and to begin to slowly deal the cards face down into a single pile on the table. After he has dealt a few cards, the mentalist tells him he can stop whenever he wanrs. When he does stop, the mentalist asks him to turn over the card where he stopped and place it face up on the table. It is the Square symbol. At this point, the performer shows that if he had stopped a card earlier or later, it would have been different. Fair as all this is, when the performer's face-down card is turned over, it is also the Square symbol! Phase Tho: The mentalist reassembles both decks. Then he shuffles the spectators deck, hands it back to him, and tells him to start dealing cards again and to srop somewhere about the middle of the deck. \While he is doing this, the mentalist asks someone else to name a number between 1 and 25, the number of cards in the deck. That person says, for instance, 17. When the first person has finished dealing cards, the mentalist instructs him to pick up the cards dealt off and to deal them into a number of piles from 1 to 5, as there are 5 ESP symbols in the deck. Let's say he decides on 4. So he is instructed to deal all the cards he holds into four piles, one card at a time. \flhen he is done, he is asked to touch the top card of any pile. That is turned over and shown to be a Star. The second spectator is instructed to pick up the performer's deck and count down to the 1,7'h card, the number he chose earlier. When he gets to that card he turns it over and it is also the Star vard! Phase Three: The mentalist takes back the cards in the second 16
spectator's hand and drops them on the cards dealt off. Then he shuffles the cards and gives them to the first spectator to put into his pocket. Next he picks up the other deck, looks through them and puts three cards face down on the table. He instructs the person with the deck in their pocket to quickly reach in and remove a card. This is placed face up next to the first prediction card. Again he is instructed to remove a card and this is placed face up nexr to rhe second prediction card. One more time the procedure is repeated and the third cardwithdrawn is placed next to the last prediction card. Fair as all this seems, when the three prediction cards are turned over, they all match the cards chosen! lWntnron The methods used take advantage of the fact that ESP cards are duplicated throughout the deck, making the workings of each effect relatively easy. Although you may think the effects would seem diminished because of that fact, a general audience doesn't see it that way. You are still matching individual cards and that, to rhem, is all that matters. Once yo:u try this routine out in the real world, you will certainly see what I mean. Setup: You will require two normal decks of ESP cards. For the first deck, you set up the cards as follows: Take the five Star cards and place them on top. These are followed by the five Square cards with an indifferent card in between each. The set-up from the top is STAR, STAR, STAR, STAR, STAR, SQUARE, indifferent, SQUARE, indifferent, SQUARE, indifferent, SQUARE, indifferent, SQUARE, rest of deck. The setup for the second deck is the standard one of CIRCLE, CROSS, \fA\Y LINES, SQUARE, STAR, repeated through all 25 cards Refer to Photo 2 for the proper set-up of both decks. When they are arranged as shown, you are the ready to begin. t1
C,T ,lt v {'dv* d?,/ \" |}r, C: lti( . ltxffT J d PnnnoB[rarucD Phase One: Take out both decks from the cases and casually show their faces. There is not too much to be concerned about here except for making sure you don't expose the five STAR cards on the top of the spectator's deck. Give that deck a false shuffle and place it down in front of the spectator. A good shuffle to use here is to simply take the deck and shuffle some cards off the face of the deck, throwing them back on the face after you are finished. Since the spectators can see the cards being mixed, it looks very fair. You must only be careful not to shuffle more than ten cards so you don't accidently go into your setup. Remember, this is not a card trick, it is an ESP experiment. Any card handling should be rudimenrzry and not looked studied. Just pick up the deck, run a few cards off the face and toss them back on the face and set them down. l8
Nowyou pick up the other deck and spread through them. Find a SQUARE card and cut the deck so that it is on top. Take it off and place it face down on the table. Place the rest of your pack aside. Have the spectator pick up his deck and start to deal the cards face down slowly into a single pile. If he starts to go too fast, slow him down. You don't want him dealing so quickly that he is likely to go on too far later. After he has dealt off four cards, and as he is dealing the fifth, you casually say to him, 'And you can stop dealing whenever you want." Since you have made sure he is not dealing too fast, you can be sure he will stop relatively soon. You must keep track of where the SQUARE cards are during this process. I usually just say in my head, "Yes - No - Yes - No," saying Yes for each SQUARE card. You can also secretly use your fingers by bringing your forefinger and thumb together for each SQUARE card and separating them for the indifferent cards. \flhen he stops, there will be two possibilities. He will either have just dealt off a SQUARE card and it will be the last one dealt, or he will be holding the deckwith the SQUARE card on top of his pile. Either way, you take whichever one is the SQUARE card as though this is what you intended to do all along. You say, "OK, you stopped on this card," and take either the card on the table or the one on top of the pile in his hands. You turn over the card, show it to be a SQUARE, and place it face up on the table next to your face-down prediction. Now you will use an important convincer. You show the card before the SQUARE and the one after it saying, "You could have stopped here or here," showing indifferent cards on either side. Then you turn over your prediction card to show thar it is also a SQUARE! This is a killer as you appear to give the spectator about as much freedom as possible. To end, turn your prediction card face down and drop the rest of your pack on it. Then take his stopped-at card, turn it face down, drop it on top of the cards he dealt off and finally drop the rest of the cards still in his hands on top of everything. These simple moves set up the next phase of the routine cleanly and without raising any suspicions. The casual handling actually helps cement the impossibility of the second phase. t9
Phase Two: Pick up the spectator's deck and shuffle off the cards face down, running off the last of the cards one at a time. This is a real shuffle, but sets the deck with the five STAR cards back on rop right under everyone's nose. Place it down in front of him. Note: here again is an example of bow we cdn take adoantage of a regwlar audience's tbinking. The first spectdtor deah throwgh the cards stopping wbeneoer be wanted. When that effect TDds over, you dppeared to casually gatber up the cards zoithout pdying attention to what went where. Finally, the obvious fair shuffle signals ro rhe audience there is no way you could know the location of any cards. All that, coupled with the selection procedure about to be explained, makes this an unfathomable mystery. Hand the cards back to him and tell him ro srarr dealing cards off into a face-down pile just like he did before. Tell him to deal about half way through the cards. \flhile the first person is doing this, pick up your deck and casually hold them in your hands as you ask a second person ro name a number somewhere between 1 and 25. What you wanr is a middle number like 15 or 16. If that person tries to be smart and says something like 1 or 25 or any other number too near the top or bottom, tell them that is too easy and they should name a number more in the middle. I know that sounds cheeky, but it works. Now you have a bit of work to do, but it is very easy. You musr set the deck so that one of the STAR cards lies as the number named. This is easier than it sounds and the move occurs at a place in the routine where nothing is happening and before the first specraror even chooses a card. Also, the moves are all face down and casual so rhat it doesn't appear as though you could do anything sneaky. Since there is a STAR card on top of the deck, the other four STAR cards lie at positions, 6, 1 1 , 1 6, and 2l . But, rather than think along these lines, instead, just consider the deck as made up of repeating groups of five and the STAR card is at the number one position of each group. If you'Il refer to the chart at the top of the following page, this will ali becomes verv clear. 20
Think of the cards in the standard ESP card numerical order: Circle= 1 7234s 67891,0 11,1,21,3 1,415 1617 1,81,9 20 21 22 23 24 25 51,234 51234 s1,234 51234 51234 Cross=2 Vavy Lines=3 Square=4 Star=5 So when a number is named, let's say 18, you immediately know you have to get the top STAR card to position number 3 on top of the deck. If 22 were named, you would need to get it to the 2'd position. The number 9 would require you get that STAR card to the 4'h position. See? If 6, tt,1.6 or 21 are named; you don't have to do anything! You might have to think about this for a few moments, or even play around with your stacked ESP deck, but it should all become very clear. By setting the top STAR card, you automatically set every other STAR card at its respective position in its group of five. How you do this is up to you, but the simpler the better. Once I find out how many cards I need to get on top of the top STAR card, I simply pick up a break under the necessary number of cards on the bottom of the deck and give the cards a double cut in my hands. Let me give an example. Let's say the person says 13. I know I need to ger two cards transferred from the bottom of the deck to the top. So I pick up a break under the two bottom cards, swing cut half the deck to rhe bottom and give the deck a double cut to the break, bringing the two bottom cards to the top. You can, of course, use whatever method you are comfortable with. Again, the whole process should look nonchalant as though you are simply toying with the deck. As soon as you make rhe move, the cards are placed down on the table. You turn back to the first spectator who should be done dealing by now. Take the cards in his hands, show them face up, and remind everyone that he could have stopped dealing wherever he wanted. Place those cards aside. 2t
Now have him pick up the dealt-off cards and name a number between 1 and 5. You really don't wanr number 1, but it can work with that. It's much better, however, to rry to get 3,4 or 5.If 1 or 2 are named, you can mention that a higher number will give him more choices later. Just let it go at that. So let's say he names the number 4.Have him deal off the cards into four piles one card at a time into each pile. It doesn't matter if the dealing stops in the middle of the row of piles, there will still be a STAR card on the top or each one. Have the person touch the top card of any pile and remove it. You gather up all the rest of the cards destroying all the evidence. Now have him turn over the card he chose. It will, of course, be the STAR. Have the other spectator pick up your deck and counr down to the number he named. Once again, when he turns it over, it will be a matching STAR card! If anything, this phase plays even stronger than the first phase! Before moving on to the third phase, ask the first person to pick up his deck and shuffle it. As he does that, you turn over the face-up STAR card from the second deck, place it on top of the dealt-off cards and drop the rest of the cards on top of it. Phase 3: Now comes the climax of the whole routine and I am particularly proud of this. Pick up the second deck, your deck, and casually run off five cards from the face of the deck. Throw the rest of the cards on top of these five cards. What you are doing is reversing the bottom five cards of the deck to the top of the deck. Try not to even look at the cards during the shuffle, but you do look at the bottom card of the deck as you turn it face down. Hand this deck to the first spectator and tell him to put the deck into his pocket. Now you take up the other deck, and fan through it to remove three prediction cards. These cards will be the bottom card of the deck and the two following it in standard ESP card order. In other words, if you spotted the \flAVY LINES on the bottom of the deck, you would put down the WAW LINES, SQUARE and STAR cards onto the table. Here is the position. You have three prediction cards on the table. The person with the deck in their pocket has these three cards, 22
in the right order, on the top of the pack and the same three cards, in reverse order, on the bottom! You tell that person, when you count to 3, to quickly reach into his pocket, remove one card and place it face-up next to your first prediction card. He repeats that with a second card and your second prediction and finally with a third card and your last prediction. Let me explain here what will happen .90% of the time, the person will take cards, one at a time, off the top of the deck. His cards will match yours! But, if he takes the cards off the bottom of the deck, which does sometimes happen, he will still get the right three cards ! The only way you can go wrong is if he switches in the middle and that will never happen if you have a non-magician. Make the most of this incredible ending by slowly turning over your prediction cards to show they all match! A Fnw NIonn 'TsoucErrs I love this routine. It is some of the srrongest mentalism you can do with ESP cards. There are so many diabolical throw-offs that no one can follow the handling and yet it is totally easy to do! Because of that reason, this is a wonderful routine to help teach performers transitioning from magic to mentalism rhe proper mindset mentalism requires. In magic, much is made of doing moves that are fasr, covered or misdirected, but in mentalism, most moves should be done right out in the open without any cover. It is much more important to not covey guilt than to keep a maneuver covered. To do this takes audacity and nerve and that can scare off the novice mentalist. That is also why so many mentalism performances by younger members of the craft, look more like magic performances with a mental theme. However, 3SP will teach you the proper principles that will stand you in good stead whether you are doing close-up or stage mentalism. I almost en\y you the discovery you are abour to make when you start performing this routine for the first time! 23
IVanrpn3 EDnan oB Al,rvn This effect is the culmination of combining two Living and Dead routines from Annemann's Practical Mental Effects. The first, Dead or Alive, created by Annemann, can be found on page 45. The second, Dead, by Orville Meyer, is on page 49. I want to show here, before we get into the actual routine itself, how classic principles can sometimes be combined to come up with something completely new. Let me do that by explaining each of the original plots and then what I see as the shortcomings of each. I know I risk criticism from some for tampering with classic ideas, but I leave it to your own judgment as to whether or not my points are valid. In the first of the two routines, Dead or Alive, one spectaror writes a dead name on a blank card and 4 others write living names. These are mixed up and slid into an envelope. The mentalist holds up the envelope to his head and divines the name. The cards are removed, mixed up face down and the mentalist is able to deduce which of the five cards is the one with the dead name. Now, don't get me wrong. This is a fine routine that is srrong, but I find two things I have trouble with. The first is the method. I have tried long and hard to use a slit envelope in the manner thar Annemann describes and cannot get the working smooth enough for me to be comfortable with it. Perhaps it is my dry hands or some flaw in the materials I am using, but I cannot get it to work right. It may just be my problem. The second difficulty I have is that the name divination comes first. Certainly that is the stronger of the two effects. Finding the right card afterwards is a bit of an anti-climax. Yes, the routine could be changed so that first you deduce the right card and then get the name after they pick it up, but then you have to ask, if you were doing it that way, why would you put the cards in the envelope in
the first place? I feel this is a case where the method, or secrer, of the effect dictates what the plot will be to the audience. Although creating effects that way can somerimes work, it is far better to decide what you want to do first and then figure out how to do it. The second routine, Dead, has as its appeal that it can be done impromptu. It is quite clever, but also has, in my humble opinion, some illogical moments. The effect is that five people write names on papers. four are living names and one is a dead name. The papers are folded, tossed into a hat or some type of container, and mixed. The mentalist withdraws one, holds it up, announces it to be a living name, opens it, reads it silently, refolds it and gives it to someone else to open. They then read the name aloud and return it to the writer. This is repeated a second time. Finally, on the third name, the mentalist announces it to be the dead name and hands it himself to the writer. Then, with suitable concentration, he announces the name. ngaln, Agi, thisnls 1Sls strong, ano gooo actlng can cover a lot ofI the superfluous moves, but you have to question why the mentalist and good actlng would open a slip, read it silently to himself, refold it and then give it to someone else to immediately open again and read aloud? Wouldn't the mentalist just hand the opened slip to the other person? This is another example of the method dictating the plot of the effect. You should know that I offer these criticisms after having actually performed both of these routines for audiences. tWhenever I read a classic piece of mentalism, I always assume it has been used in real shows and that they work. Again, it might very well be my own shortcomings that make me find fault with these ideas, but the good part is that I have come up with a slightly different take. If you agree with me, you have an alternative. And, if you don't, you still have the two original routines at your disposal! Dr'Fnct The mentalist removes an envelope with five of his business cards in it. He hands a card to a spectatoq along with a pen, and has him write the name of a person who has passed on. Next, the men26
talist hands the other four cards to four other audience members who write a living name on each. The spectators collect the cards themselves and mix them up. They are rhen handed ro the mentalist who gives them another quick mix and slides them back into the envelope. That envelope is shown on both sides to be unprepared. Reaching into the envelope, the mentalisr withdraws one card and holds it face down. He concenrrates and announces it to be a living name. He hands it to someone who turns it over, reads the name aloud and hands it back to the writer. This is repeated a second and third time with each name being a living name. Finally, on the fourth card, the mentalist announces that he is getting a cold feeling and says it is the dead name. He hands it to the person who wrote it and he acknowledges it as his card. The mentalist then asks the spectator to think of the person. With due concentration, he gets the name and announces it out loud. The final card is withdrawn from the envelope and handed to the last person. lWn,rmon All the items used are ungimmicked but there are rwo secrets involved. The first is one of the cards has to be marked on its face so you know which one is the dead name. I always use a slight scratch or nick in the card instead of a pencil or pen dot. Let me tell you why. Years ago, I used to perform the Paul Fox Miracle Gimmick. This is an incredible effect where five people in the audience just think of a card and you are able to name them all. It uses a deck of cards with a special gimmick and, as the instructions said, I put a pencil dot in the corner of five of the cards. The first time I did the effect, even though the working is super clean and the secret of the effect is very profound, one of the spectators came up to me afterwards and said, "I know how you did it!" I was stunned and asked, "How?" He said, "I saw you had a pencil dot on the back of one of my cards!" And that was all he needed to explain my effect!
That incident taught me a valuable lesson. A scratch or nick in a card or piece of paper doesn't attract attention, but an extraneous dot or mark will. So, just mark one of the cards in such a way rhar you can't miss it if you know where to look. The other items necessary for the effect is a simple white coin envelope size 2 % by 4 /+ and a black gel pen. Again, I have to explain the nature of these items and how they work. Gel pens, which arevery popular these days, write with a heary black mark. If you write on a business card, place it inside the envelope and press the side of the envelope against the writing, you can see it through the envelope! The interesting thing is, unless the side of the envelope is pressed down, it looks totally opaque. Even more interesting is the secret is only increased if you use five cards. The sides are held completely away from the writing and all looks perfectly legitimate and yet you can see through the envelope whenever you want to! Note: Many yedrs dgo, when I wsed to see and, talb to Al Mann all the time, we would get on quests concerning dffirent mentalism swbjects. One time it might be Center Tbars, another time it wowld be prediction boxes and one time it was trdnspdrency methods. We came up zoitb all dffirent ideas, rnany of rohicb roere not practical at all! Bwt some zoereoery useful and did worb. If you can find tltem, you can research many of tbese in Al's books. I pwblished one stdge message-readingrowtine and later explained it on my DVD ser, No Camera Tricks, Abbougb the transparenqt method is certainly not nert (tbe Menal Die Box in my Sneaky Pete Magic Sbora kit I got for Christmas when I was 6 years old used the metbod!), it is not really used all tbat mwch in mentalism. Before you write to tell me you cannot buy white coin envelopes anywhere, let me explain they can be ordered from most wholesale office dealers. But, if you don't wanr to wair or don'r want to buy a box of 500 envelopes, there is an alternative. You can make your own! Number 3 Kraft envelopes, which are the right size, are readlly available. You probably have a box in your mentalism supplies. Carefully unglue one and lay it down on top of a piece of white 281b, copy paper (201b is too thin). Trace it, cur it out and glue it together. You now have your envelope! Since it is not destroyed in 28
this routine, it will last you a long time, but I would still make up a few just to be on the safe side. As far as the pens go, you might wanr to try a few different types to make sure you get one that works just right for your needs. As I mentioned, Pilot G-2 pens work fine for me and they come in a variety of point sizes. Sharpies, which magicians are so fond of, certainly work, but the method might be too obvious as rhey write so thick. You need a pen that is just dark enough to give you a clear image of the writing without prematurely showing through. I have used a black ball point pen and that worked, but the gel pen was slightly better. You might consider having two or three pens in your pocket to speed things along. Note: Lighting is important. Yow need tbe light to shine on tbe envelope, not through it. Try to maneuoer your position so tbat some ligbt is coming oner your shoulder. Most performing situations will baoe enougb light or tbey wowldn't be able to see you! On a feut occasions ooer tbe years, I baoe found myself in a walk-around sitwation u;ltere the ligbting in certain parts of tbe room ut)as not good. My solwtion was alr-uays to mooe into the better light, explainingto people they need to see what I am doing. Once people find owt there is a mind reader in tbe crowd, tbey will come to yow! Put the cards into the envelope and put it into your pocket with the pens. PnnnoBLlaNCB May I suggest that, if you are going ro use a Living and Dead theme, you follow the example that I use when doing this routine. I usually begin by first talking to my audience and explaining I would like to show them something that was popular a number of years ago. As I am talkinE,Itry to find someone who is willing to think of someone who has passed on. I always make sure thar thinking of this person will not cause my spectaror any duress. I usually say something like, "Is there an older person who passed away some time ago, such as a grandparent or aunt or uncle, who you wouldn'r mind thinking of ?" \When you find someone who agrees, it is only then that you take out the envelope and remove the cards. Hand the one that is 29
marked to the spectaror and have them print the first name of the person they are thinking of on the back of the card. Note: If yow band tbe person the card so the printed side is right side up on tbe bach, you will knoza how to put the card into tlte enoelope to make it easier to read later,'While tbe first spectator is writing tbe dead nAme, band owt the other fowr cards to other spectdtors. If yow baae a fero pens, you can haoe tbem begin r.nriting rigbt d.@ay. Make sure tbey alL wnderstand they are to write names of lioing people wbo they bnow and talh to all tbe time. \When everyone is done writing, have someone collect all the cards with the writing face down and then have them mix up the cards. When they are through you take them back face down. It is now perfectly fine for you to look at the cards as you arrange them with all the designs going the same way. This allows you to find your marked card and cut it to the bottom of the stack of five cards. Slide the stack into the envelope, making sure everyone can see you are not trying to peak at any of the writing. Close the flap and hold the envelope at the top. You can show it from all sides and mention it is impossible to see through (Photo 3), Make 30
no arrempr at this time to read the name on the bottom card. Now you are ready to begin. Holding the envelope in the left hand, reach in with your right fingers and remove the top card. Holding it face down, concentrate and announce it is a living name. Hand the card to someone nearby and have them read the card aloud. You ask the person who wrote that name to verify it is a living person and the card is returned to him. It is during this time that you turn over the envelope in your hand and spot the hidden name. This is accomplished by pressing on the opposite side of the envelope with your fingers (Photo 4). N ote: If for some reason you can't quite read tbe ndme at this time, or if yow feel there is any heat on yow, don't lporry about it. You ltat,e two more names to go before you get to the dead name. That is one of tbe nice points abowt tbis test. Yow baoe plenty of time to peeb and can do it when all attention is off you. An easy wdy to accomplish this is to haoe eacb person r-uho wrote a lioing name stand zphen theirs is called. That instantly draws attention to them and gioes yow all the time in the world to peek, down at your enoelope. 31
This is repeated with a second and third person. On the fourth name, draw out the one from the bottom of the stack. Make sure you react in some way while you are holding it. Change.the expressio" 9"19"1 face and make it known that you are receiving some kind of feelings. Then announce that you are holding the dead name and hand the card to the person who wrote it. In order that you don't have the person blurt out the name ahead of time, you say this: "I believe this is the name of the person who has passed on. Would you take this card and just tell me by saying yes or no if I am right?" After he responds, say you will ty to take it a srep further. Ask him to concentrate on the name. If you are any good at cold reading, such as I have explained in my Center Tear instrucrions, now is the time to use that abiliry. You know the person is older and has passed on, so you can be on pretty safe ground. End by getting the name! You can then dump out the final card from the envelope and hand it to the last person. A f'nw llEonn TnroucErr$ All my life, I have been reading that Living and Dead Tests were distasteful and they needed to be changed into other presentations. Recently, because of certain events, I have had to perform a few in their original form. Far from being something to shy away from, I found the Living and Dead plot to be quite effective. All that is necessary is to make sure the particular name used doesn't have great emotional meaning for the person used, but the plot of separating out a dead name from living ones is quite strong. However, I do understand these are my feelings and others may want to go another route. Finding alternatives is really easy if you just give it a little thought. You might ask one person to write down the name of a married person and all the rest to write down single people. You might have someone write down the name of a relative and everyone else just writes down friends. What about having everyone write down the name of a stranget but one person writes down the name of a loved one? \7ith a little thought, you can certainly 32
tailor a presentation to fit your performing style. I would like to end by talking about one more point you might be concerned with. What happens if, for some reason, you can'r read the writing? Maybe the light suddenly goes bad, or your eyesight takes a sudden turn for the worse, or your pen suddenly writes lighter? It's OK. You can always end with just giving back the right card. It's not as strong an ending, but it is an ending. I tell you rhis nor because any of those things can possibly happen, but because you might have reservations about trying the effect due to the method or it being new I just wanted to reassure you that you can end it without giving the name. This will also make you feel less stressful about getting that peek. When you ger to the point where you have to get your peek, you will realize it is child's play. \7ith that in mind, I certainly hope you try this out. 33
Poon lWau's Boosr Tnsn I can't say that Irv Weiner ("M.. Fingers") was a close friend, but I was able to see him perform both on stage and up close and talk to him a number of times. He was a wonderful man and a tremendous performer. This book test is similar in concept to one Irv marketed many years ago. I had already bought the manuscript when Irv did it for me. It was incredible and totally mind-blowing. But I never did it. I didn't have the presentational skills at the time needed to make it work. So that is the task I am going to address here. This book test can be done any.where and at anytime. You can use any book, but a paperback is preferred. It uses a gimmick you probably alreadyhave in your pocket, but if you don't, you can Ber one in minutes. It looks totally fair and is about as direct as you could wanr. Done correctly, it will fool anyone and there is nothing to find at the end. Intrigued? Bnnncr The mentalist shows a book which can be a borrowed one just handed to him. He lets it be examined and then holds it up and riffles the pages. A spectator says "srop" whenever he wants. There is no force and the mentalist does stop at the point the spectator chooses. Furthermore, the performer lets the spectator decide if he likes that page or wants to change it. When the spectator is happy, the mentalist tells him to remember the first word or two on the page. His head is rurned away and there is no way for him to see anything in the book. Once the spectator has seen the page, the book is immediately closed and it can be seen there are no breaks or anything amiss.
The mentalist recaps what a fair choice this all was and asks the spectator to think of his word. With that, the mentalist names the word! The book can immediately be given back as there is nothing to find. Wnnrron I call this the Poor Man's Book Test because the entire effect is accomplished with nothing more than a penny! The following explanation will show how the penny is palmed in the right fingers, how it is dropped into the page to mark where the spectator stopped, how that page is glimpsed right under the spectaror's nose and, finally, how it is retrieved at the end of the effect. This test represents exactly what is meant by great magic being accomplished by the simplest means possible. While there are book tests that sell for hundreds of dollars, how many of them can use a borrowed book under these conditions? This is real-world magic. This is the art of magic where the performance doesn't really depend on what you own, but rather what you know and can do! Snrup Make sure you have a penny in your pocket! PnnonrrrHTroN Your first reaction upon reading the method might be to think this book test is designed for impromptu demonstrations or perhaps smaller gatherings and not for alarge stage show. Do not think that way! Some of the best mentalism effects rely on the most elementary principles. Karrell Fox was certainly one of the premier entertainers of all trme.InAbraKfox,he describes a book test called Right to the Point that is even more basic than this one! The test is, in Karrell's own 16
words, "absurdly simple." And yet, he presented it in college shows where he would have a rolling hbrary book shelf filled with over a hundred books to choose from. That same idea could be presented here. Or, you could have a stack of adozen or so different books on your table. For TY you could have someone go into a store and buy a new book and then you do the test with that. Please don't sell this short because it's simple. So now you have a book. As mentioned, a typical paperback book is the best and easiest to work with. I suggest you srick ro that until you really get the handling down. Then you can try out the idea with larger, hardcover volumes. Pass the book around and have it looked over. As this is being done, you need to casually reach into your pocket and get the penny in a finger pinch between your first and second fingers (Photo 5). Take back the book and hold it in your left hand by the spine. With the penny still pinched between tire fingers, riffle ih.or.rgh th. pages asking your spectator to say "stop." This is the standard way of having a page chosen and is the exact handling used in Larry 37
Becker's fine book test, Flashback (see Photo 5). The first time you do this you will be worried that the penny will show. It won'r. You will feel that way because it is only inches away from their eyes! But, it is hidden and the fact that your hands are right in their face only helps with the idea that nothing underhanded is going on! After they say "stop," make sure you ask them if they are sure or if they want to keep going? Most of the time they will not change, but if they do, it doesn'r marter. Just continue riffling or srart again. \Mhen they do have a firm selection, let them look at the first word or two on the page you are holding up. That is the top line of the book's left hand page. Make sure you look away so no one will think you are trying to ger a peek ar anyrhing. I should point our that in certain book tesrs, when you have a page chosen like this, you need to look at the upper right hand page of the book to get your cue word. For this effect, please do not look anywhere near the book! You must make it plain that you have no clue as to where or what the page is. As soon as they have seen their word, /ou allow the page to 38
close, releasing the penny into the book as you do this. The move, if you can even call it a move, is to slightly lower the front edge of the book as it closes. Your fingers with the coin pinched between them, slide into the closing page and release the coin. It is important you slide that coin into the center of the book and not near either the top or bottom. Then your right fingers grasp the closed book on the side opposite the spine and hold it. Because the penny is so thin, there will not be any openings or gaps in the pages to give away its presence. You can transfer the book from hand to hand as you talk without any worry about the coin falling out. As a matrer of fact, I am going to have to explain a move later that allows you to get the coin back. Now you must glimpse the word they saw right under their nose. This is the part that took me years ro learn the proper handling for. I will do my best to teach it to you. It is not hard; it just requires the right handling and timing. First, transfer the book to your left hand holding it, once again, by the spine. You talk about how everything was so fair. You might mention that you never saw the book before or that it is a current best-seller or anything that pertains to the book itself. In the process, you absent-mindedly riffle the edges of the book a few times. Then you mention how large it is andl-rse your right fingers to bend brck the rear cover ,o ,f,o* the last pri. ,.rd ih. page number on it. You make sure ro show rhis to the spectator. Transfer the book so that the right fingers are now holding the spine and use your left thumb to quickly riffle through the whole book, rear to front, as you talk about how they could have stopped you anlnvhere. You will probably feel a slight break at the coin, but just keep going. Do it again, but this time slightly lift the book towards yourself and stop for a split second at the break. You are looking righr at the book so you can instantly see the first word or rwo on the left hand page, then you continue running through more pages (refer to Photo 7). As you do. you lower the book so they can see the pages going by. You can even stop a few times to show different pages. Then transfer the book back to your left hand. holding it with your left fingers on the spine, your left thumb opposite on the pages, and
',. iNr your left forefinger on the front cover. Ask them to concenrrate. Knurlyour brow, swear a little and then name the word! They will, oI course, reactl If you are using your own book. you only need to put it away and continue on with the show. But if it is a borrowed book or you want to put it into someone's hands, this is the perfect time to retrieve rhe penny. You have the book in position in your left hand. Riffle the pages with your left thumb to the break. The right fingers are under the back edge of the book, as in Photo 8. Simply tilt the book slightly towards your right hand and bend back the pages a bit. The coin will slide out of the book into a righthand finger palm. Continue riffling the book to the end, close it and let it slide over the finger-palmed coin and take it away with your right hand. You can now hand the book back while retaining the coin in the palm. Drop it back into your pocket at your leisure to get ready for the next time you do the Poor Man's Book Test! 40
"larq}eur i u*:.a eoJ
Al,nrogt Rnal, PnnucrroN The manuscript, Almost Real Prediction, was originally pur out byJack London in 1973.I bought it way back then and have used it in my shows many times since. It is truly a classic and, for that reason, the basic plot has been both revisited and used in other effects. Larry Becker, David Berglas, Ray Carlyle and Karl Fulves, among others, have given Almost Real Prediction their own rrearmenr. I respect and have great admiration for all of the above authors and their ideas. This chapter does not reflect on anything they, or anyone else, have contributed. Instead, whar I want to show is that the original handling does not suffer in any way. Even though the secret of Almost Real Prediction sits our rhere right in the open for everyone to see, the routine can be handled so that it doesn't matter. There are classic methods in mentalism to srructure a presentation that cancels what some may think is a big obstacle right out of the picture. Just like Al Koran took a simple principle and created The Trick That Fooled Einstein, a work of genius, the right kind of thinking and logic can work wonders with our art. It is the little touches that make all the difference. Often, elements of amagical presentation may seem so slight that they aren't even noticed and yeL at the end of the day, they are responsible for an incomprehensible mystery. I sincerely hope what I present here illustrates that small particulars, like the individual notes in a symphony, are the basic building blocks of a masterpiece. Dnnncr Three people are asked to remove their wallets and take our a credit card. The mentalist walks around and commenrs on each card, but they are nor taken and are left with the spectators.
The mentalist asks each person ro srare at their card and he is seen figuring on a large pad. Finally, he announces he has a prediction. He writes it on a new sheet, tears it off, and places it aside where it cannot be changed. Now, the performer holds up rhe pad and has each specraror call out a single digit from different parts of their cards. This is repeated over and over again until an addition column is formed. Finally, the numbers are totaled in plain sight of the audience. There can be no switches.The performer takes up his prediction, unfolds it, and it is the exact same number as rhe total! illn,nrron The mentalist notes, when first looking at each person's credit card, a set of four numbers from each one and totals them. He then uses these totals ro construct his prediction. Each person then calls out one of his four numbers one at a rime to form the addition problem. Since each person's four numbers end up in the same vertical column, the sequence they are called off in is unimportant. Only the totals count. The number has to add up ro rhe performer's prediction. As mentioned earlier, as a mathematical problem, the secret might be very transparent, but if certain tactics are used and certain explanations given, the obvious solution becomes cancelled out and a true mystery is created. That is the job of the mentalist. Snrup The apparatus to achieve this effect is extremely simple. You need only a large pad and aheavy marking pen. PnnsnlrrHTroN You begin by explaining that credit cards have become quite fancy and many have some very interesting designs and pictures on
them. You ask if some audience members can take out their cards for you to use in your demonstration. This actually will get some laughs as most people arevery protective about their plastic. \7hen a number of people have taken out their cards, you choose three people, sitting a bit apart, to work with. Approach the first person and ask them to hold out the card. You are going to commenr on what type of card it is and how it looks but, at the same time, you are going ro surrepritiously look at the first set of four numbers, total them up and remember that number! Now, that probably seems like a daunting job especially in the heat of the battle of a show! And, you have to do it, not once, but three times! Yet, this is the crux of the first subtlety I wish to talk about here. See, if the audience believes that you never looked ar rhe numbers on the three cards, or that you didn't have enough time to memorize them, or that you weren't close enough to see them, then the mathematical solution we talked about earlier can't apply. Even if the formation of the addition problem looks a bit contrived, and we will deal with that too, how could that solution work if you don't know the numbers in the first place? See? So, that is the impression you have to make. Now remember, ar this time in the routine, no one knows what you are going to do, so that plays in your favor. You can later alter the impression of what happened to your advantage, but you also have ro be aware of the fact that the situation can work against you. If it isn't made clear at this point that you didn't memorize the numbers, rhen the audienc may misremember what happened and assume you did! So. your goal here is to instantly see and compure the numbers you will need to make your prediction, do it in such a way rhar it doesn't seem possible you could have done so, and do it in a memorable way so that the audience will remember that you didn't! \fle need to deal with each step separately. Note: Tbis is the proper reay to attack, magical problems. The first, and seemingly most intimidating, problem is really not as scary as it may first appear. Like most obstacles in life, using the right approach means everyrhing. Most people, if told they need to look at a four-digit number, add the digits rogerher, and compute the total, will wanr to srare ar the number while this is all go45
ing on in their heads. I suppose it is the fear that you might forget some of the digits that drives this desire. But it is much easier, and infinitely much quicker, if you just glance at the numbers and simply repeat them in your mind as you turn away. A four-digit number is really easy to memorize. That's why credit card companies divide the long numbers up into groups of four. -When you have to give your number over the phone, isn't that how you call it off? So let's say you walk over to the person with the first card, glance at it, and see the first grouping is the number 3376.Your mind is likely to say, "Oh, no. I will never compute that one!" But don't let it do that. Instead, just see and say "3376" in your mind uhile twrning away and backing off. Ask the person to stand and hold up the card. It takes everyone a few seconds for him to do this and that gives you enough time to think, "3376...1et's see. A 3 and 7 make 10. And 3 and 6 make 9. That's l9!" Ifyou add two digits at a time, it is a cinch, especially if you can find multiples of 10. But, if not, just work with two digits, then the other two digits, and then the two totals. I have purposely given you a harder number to start with, but any four- digit number is easy to compute. Some will be extremely simple such as 0402, which becomes 6 almost as soon as you look at it. But, even numbers with bigger digits like 1977 become easy if you work in multiples of two digits. 1977 becomes, 1 and 9 is 10 andT plus 7 is 14 so it ts 24.It is taking me more time to type this than to think it. Here is another one8597. There is no 10 multiple so I see 13 plus 16 almost instantly. And, that means 29 rs my number. If I see 4067,I almost think 17 instantly.1298 becomes 20. It is easy and fun to practice. Just take out some credit cards and start to look at the groupings. But remember, and this means eoerytbing, don't stare at the numbers as you figure. Memorize the numbers and turn away. Then figure it out! It actually is easier and so much quicker. And for our purposes here, it makes the effect. OK, so back to the routine. You have already looked at the first person's card, memorized the first grouping of 3376,and computed 19 while the person is standing up. Just remember the 19 and forget about everything else! And, by now, you are far enough away from him so way you cannot see anything on the card. Ask him 46
what kind of card it is and how long he has had it. This implies you really didn't see it very well or weren't close enough to make out details. It also gives you a little more rime, if you need it, to work out the math. Often, people will make clever jokes about the cards saying things like, "This was maxed our two years ago!" and stuff like that! That's wonderful as its fun and entertaining. Let the audience help your show whenever possible! By now, you are looking over the other people with cards. Try to pick one sitting some distance away whose card looks unique or colorful. Even if it is only different because it is a gold American Express card or some other type of gold card, rhat's fine. \Walk over to the person, lean over for a second and look at the second grouping of four digits. Let's say it is 0250. Your mind will probably already be thinking 7 asyou ask him to stand and talk about his card for a momenr. If you get a Platinum card, or some other high-class plastic, you can joke about the person being a "big shot!" So now you have 19 and 7 as yott look for the third person. Again, try to find someone ar a distance and look for a card that is a bit unusual. Walk over ro someone and look at the tbird grotping as you ask them to stand. You see 4502. Again, as they srand, you are figuring4 and 5 are 8 and2 is 11. So nowyou have 19, 7 and11. That was simple! And please remember this. At this point you have not said you are going to be dealing with the numbers on rhe cards. So far, you have only talked about the different kinds of cards each person has and what makes them unique. It should look like you have only been looking for colorful cards and that you certainly never had enough time to scrutinize any numbers. Also, if you can look at each new card while still talking about the last person's card, the misdirection is very powerful. You now walk over to your table and pick up your pad and marker. Tell all three people standing that you simply wanr them ro stare at their cards without looking at anything in particular. Just say you want their eyes to roam over their cards. You have three numbers in your mind from your left to right. Write down the first one with two zeros after it. So you write 1900. 47
Then, under that, you write the second number with one zero after it. This is 70. Finally, you write down the last number under that. 11. So what you have is: 1900 70 11 Add them up and your get: 1900 70 't 1, Total 1981 That is your prediction. Tear off you computarion sheet and write 1981 inbignumbers on the next sheet. Tearit off, foldit and put it someplace conspicuous where everyone can see it. Keep the pad and marker in your hand. Now you say to your three spectarors. "These days there are all kinds of credit card frauds. I don't want to compromise any of your cards so I will try this test in as random a manner as possible." "Do you each have four sets of four numbers on your cards?" Obviously, they do. But asking that here implies that some cards may not and that you didn't see their cards in the first place! When they all answer that they do, you continue. 'OK. I think certain groups of numbers mean certain things in the banking industry but I have no idea what they are. Bur, just to be safe, you look at the first set of four numbers on your card, you look at the second set of four numbers on your card, and you look at the third set of four numbers." As you say this, you are, of course, pointing to each spectaror one at a time. This further impresses the audience that you could never know what those numbers are. See, the average person would think (if they even went with this logic) that you would have had to memorize the entire sixteen digits on each card and then pinpoint the specific numbers that each person is using. Going even further, this is the type of memory people have later when thinking 48