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The Unexpected Wild Card Then rotate both hands, left palm up and right palm down, and flick the face-down card in the right hand along its left side with the left thumb. ... and there’s nothing on the back. Finally, place the right hands Queen face up to the table. Next, youll deal the other three face-up cards onto the table one at a time, using a modified Rhumba count* as follows. Keep the two lowermost cards squared in the left hand and push over the top card slightly with the left thumb; take it into the right hand, thumb on top and fingers below. With the face-up card held in the right hand, but still in contact with the left-hand cards, use the right fingertips to turn the two left-hand cards face down, being sure to keep them squared. Audibly snap the face of the right hands card with your left thumb, emphasizing its singularity, and rub its face with the right thumb: Nothing comes off the front... Jean-Pierre Vallarino, wReal Wild Cards/' Apocalypse, Vol. 15, Issue 12 (1992), pp. 2151-53. 187

The Doors of Deception Table the right hands card onto the other card there. ... and nothing on the back. Keeping the cards squared, take them with the right hand, thumb at the face and fingers at the back, and rotate the wrist away from you to show the one at the front of the pair. Just as the packet turns over, push the now bottom card off to the left and use the right fingertips to roll it face down into the left palm. Rub the face of the card in the right hand with your right thumb. 188 With your right fingertips rub the back of the double in your left hand.

The Unexpected Wild Card And nothing extra, either. Back... With a bit of a flourish, rotate the final card in the left hand, using the left thumb to lever it over and then use the fingertips of both hands to rotate it, showing the back and front freely. Then, give the card an audible snap off the right thumb. With the card face up in the left hand, scoop up those just tabled and, taking two in each hand, brush the cards against each other a la Ascanio. Front... Table the card in the right hand. Begin to rub the back of the card in the left hand with the left thumb. 189

The Doors of Deception Table these four cards slightly fanned in front of you just to the left 〇f center. Card 5 Nancy, may I? Take back the Queen that you handed out for examination at the beginning, and use it to scoop up the two remaining tabled Nines. You will now change the last two using the final sequence from Mr. Wonders fabulous routine. As you lift the three cards off the table, allow them to spread a bit so that you can take the Nine that's in the center into the left hand by peeling it with the left thumb. Take the Queen and the other Nine in the right hand and immediately turn them over onto the face-up card in the left hand. You do not need to worry about these cards being completely squared as the double is turned; just execute the turnover briskly. This is one of the more beautiful benefits of using double-faced cards. 190

The Unexpected Wild Card Place the right fingers onto the top card and rub it against the others, effecting the change. With the thumb below and fingers above, take the top card into the right hand. Turn the right hand palm up to show that this card has also transformed into a Queen. Card 6 Take the top Queen from the left hand, holding it jogged to the left under the other card in the right hand. Next, take the Nine that is in the left hand and move it to the top of the two cards in the right hand. 191

r The Doors of Deception Place the three cards into left-hand dealing position, immediately turn over a double, then massage the face-down card on the other two. Turn it face up, showing a final Queen and place it to the bottom. We will now count these last three cards onto those already tabled with a false display invented by Eddy Taytelbaum that will seem to show a back on each card.* The sequence must be swijft, smooth, and graceful. With the left fingertips, hold the cards horizontal by their left sides. Take the top card into the right hand by its respective side and as it comes off to be dealt to the table, lift the left hand slightly so that a back can be seen. * Eddy Taytelbaum, Apocalypse, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May 1983), pp. 778-79. 192

The Unexpected Wild Card Once the right hand tables its card, bring the two remaining cards horizontal again and transfer them to the right fingertips, which take them at their right sides. Take the top card into the left hand and begin to deal it to the table; as its being dealt, lift the right hand so that another back is shown. Bring the left hand back and, finally, twirl the last card over end-for-end at the fingertips of both hands and finish by using this card to scoop up all the others. Widely spread everything between your hands, showing that each and every Nine of Spades has magically transformed into a Queen of Hearts. Square everything and turn the cards face down. 193

The Doors of Deception Now that the trick is over, you can casually push off two cards here showing the backs of three. Take the top card and place it aside. This is the one that belongs to my pack. * Afterthoughts To reset, turn the remaining cards face up, and fanning them from left to right, take two in the left hand and four in the right, and fold them together, bringing them face to face. Of course, be careful not to expose the Nines now at the face. Im just going to put these away; act like you didn't mess up, and move on, Nancy. I didn’t see anything and neither did you, okay? * * This is not technically true, at least not in this case, because youve rung in the Octopus Deck; but if you werent using the Octopus Deck, it would be true. Either way, this is the one Queen that does not belong to the Wild Card set. 194

The Unexpected Wild Card Replace the packet into the left side jacket pocket, and you re ready again. I didn’t see anything, did you? How ’bout them Bears?...

Break on through to the other side — The Doors THE OCTOPUS DECK Guyot ♦ Walsh ♦ Hull ♦ Galasso ♦ Abbott Fanning the deck before two participants, the magician asks them to think of any card they can see. With very little byplay, he instantly names the fwo freely thought- 〇f cards. Pushing the phenomenon further, he wraps the deck with rubber bands and tosses it to someone across the room, who pulls open the pack and peeks at a random card. Another person takes the bound deck and does the same. Without any questions, the magician tells each person individually and specifically which cards they have locked in their minds. Then in a flurry of pseudo-psychic energy, the wonderworker begins to pick up on birthdays, secret thoughts, and hidden questions from others in the room. Bill Abbott has been a wonderful friend for many years. While I was working on this book, he recommended that I include my presentation for an effect of his that I performed as part of the closing segment for my show at The Mirage. Гш honored hes allowed me to include his marvelous Octopus Deck in this collection. It is one of the most cunning tools of pasteboard legerdemain to have come down the pipeline in recent years, and its a hell of a lot of fun to perform. Its a real-world workhorse that can quickly and effectively demonstrate, with a handful of participants, some quick no-nonsense mind reading. By coupling this straightforward approach of a pump bank with peek forces (which are sure-fire) and cold reading techniques (which are much looser), its a multiphase mind-reading routine that is hard to beat. As you 11 see, Ive made some modifications for my own purposes and have also deviated from Bills original routine, replacing his last phase with my own ''Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards.” 197

The Doors of Deception Max Maven has written that there are essentially four effects in the world of mentalism: 1. Telepathy—communication between two minds; 2. Clairvoyance—the reception of information that is unknown to everyone present; 3. Precognition—having knowledge of future events before they happen; and 4. Psychokinesis—physical manifestations of mental energy.* Maven goes on to state that to accomplish these four effects, you must utilize one of three basic actions: 1. Forcing—manipulating a spectator into saying, doing, or thinking what is supposedly a free choice, when in fact you have maneuvered his or her activity into a restricted choice; 2. Stealing—obtaining information that is supposedly not being given to you; and 3. After-facting—seemingly showing evidence of a prior commitment in the form of a prediction, when in fact that evidence has been introduced after the information has been obtained. Abbott s goal with the Octopus Deck was to have a tool in your pocket that would accomplish as many of these effects as possible. Excluding psychokinesis, all the other effects in mentalism are possible with the Octopus Deck. In fact, every method in Mavens list is used to accomplish these effects. Lets take a look at what this deck is actually comprised of. The Octopus Bank The Octopus Deck uses a six-card bank consisting of one low-numbered red card and a low-numbered black card; a medium/high-valued red card and a medium/ high-valued black card; and lastly, two court cards, one red and one black. These are the cards in order from the face of the deck: Eight of Hearts, Jack of Spades, Two of Hearts, Nine of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, Three of Clubs 卞 This bank is repeated once. * Phil Goldstein, The Blue Book of Mentalism (1976), p. 2. t These cards are a slight variation of Bill s original. Hearts and Diamonds have been transposed, i.e., 2D, 8D, & QH -♦ 2H, 8H, & QD. 198

The Octopus Deck The Octopus 1-0-1 The other major component of the Octopus Deck is a simple version of the 1-0-1 principle; every other card is a force card—but, as all the force cards are the same and shortened, it is also akin to the Svengali Deck. However, by using divided cards, two cards can be forced, one from each end. So, twenty-four identical divided cards are carefully trimmed short at one end, and then the two corners are rounded. Each force card is adhered across the middle onto the back of one of the twelve bank cards, as well as onto each of twelve random cards. On each of the divided cards, the borders of one end are carefully marked at both of the corners (similarly to the border marks on the Queen of Hearts and Nine of Spades from the main deck). When these markings are all facing upward, a spectators peek will reveal the King of Diamonds, when the markings are downward, the peek will reveal the Seven of Clubs. An Ace of Spades remains unaltered, and it will, in performance, come to the face of the pack. Constructing the Octopus Deck To build the Octopus Deck, you will require the following items: • A regular decks of cards, plus 6 extra bank cards (described above) with matching backs • 24 divided cards • Clear double-sided tape • An X-Acto knife or scissors • A straight edge • A corner trimmer • A marker • A pencil 199

The Doors of Deception With the marker, carefully mark the back of each divided card by crossing through the white borders at both corners on the King of Diamonds end. Using the X-Acto knife, cut one-sixteenth of an inch o£F one end of each of the divided cards.* Using the corner trimmer, carefully round the corners of each divided card. Assemble two sets of the Octopus Bank cards: the Eight of Hearts, Jack of Spades, Two of Hearts, Nine of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, and Three of Clubs. These twelve cards will be used to create the bottom half. Now remove twelve random cards from a regular deck (excluding the King of Diamonds, Seven of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, and Ace of Spades). These dozen cards will be used to make the top half. Further, the twelve pump cards and the random dozen may need to have each of their corners rounded (so as to match the ends of the cards theyre attached to), keeping the deck as uniform as possible. You are now going to adhere the trimmed divided cards to the backs of the twelve-card bank (the bottom half) and the twelve random cards (the top hal〇 as follows. Place one regular card face down on the-table, and place a strip of double-stick tape across the middle of the back of this card. * Due to a decline in printing standards, borders today are rarely even; its best to cut from the end with the widest border. 200

The Octopus Deck Then place one of the prepared divided cards face down on top of this card, lining it up with one-thirty-second of an inch of the bottom card showing at both ends. Repeat this process until all of the pairs are adhered. Now place the cards in order (the twelve random double-cards on top, followed by the twelve bank double-cards, in the order given above), and place a regular (ungaffed) Ace of Spades at the face, with its pip oriented to the King of Diamonds end.* With a pencil, mark a dot on the back upper-left and lower-right corners of the Three of Clubs, which is placed near the center of the deck. * Mnemonically, its easy to remember that the Ace of Spades is pointing toward the King of Diamonds end of the divided cards; its a visual marker to the highest value, which you must consider later when the rubber bands come into play. 201

The Doors of Deception Before each performance, make sure that all of the markings are at the same end of the deck. To fully prepare, place the Ace of Spades a few cards from the bottom, leaving the Eight of Hearts at the face, to match the Main Deck.* Grab two rubber bands of one color (or thickness) and two bands of another color (or thickness). Box this pack， and you’re all set. Deck Switch： Enter the Octopus1 So, in the big picture, youVe just put away the Wild Card set into the left jacket pocket and are left with a Queen of Hearts and four rubber bands on the table. To ring in ccHie Octopus Deck,55 simply reach into the pocket they watched the deck go into and remove it. What could be more straightforward? Method & Presentation In this script you will see how the cpumpw is performed, how to properly utilize the divided force cards, and how (and when) to execute the next deck switch. Obviously, I dont assume you will use this exact script in your own performances, but you should feel free to utilize anything in this routine that strikes your fancy. Most of my performances follow the pattern laid out in this book, beginning with displays' of classical magie, then making a transition to mind reading. Of course, there are moments that blur edges, but I do believe it is best to signify to our audiences that such a dichotomy exists and the line is being crossed. Are we having fun yet? I sure am! * This will later help to single out the Ace and move it to the face (where it will then act as a cover card for the later deck switch, too). t Youll need double this number of bands if youre going to do the next deck switch, as these “same” bands vvdll need to be on the “Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards” pack, too. ф Although this description reveals the way I perform and choreograph the routine, much of Bill Abbotts text is excerpted (in an edited form) throughout, until ^Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards," which replaces Bills original finale. 202

The Octopus Deck This stuff IS fun. I love everything about it: the lying, the sleight of handy the audience management, but some of us take it further. What I mean by that is there is a deeper style of magic. It's not about the cards, or money, or any of the other props; it's about two minds coming together in unison.* As youll see, this is the part of the show where if you really wanted to mess me up you could, and it’d be pretty easy, but Гт hoping you dont. Phase 1 ： Up Close On et purely human level, we communicate verbally through conversation and non-verbally through body and sign language. The number of ways that we communicate beyond the average conversation has increased a lot recently through cell phones, emails, text messages... What Fd like to explore here are some truly alternative forms of communicating—ways of communicating that you’ve probably never heard of, let alone experienced. Namely, contact mind readingy artificial telepathy, and clairvoyance. For legal and moral reasons I have to tell you that what you are about to experience is not supernatural. It’s because these phenomena are natural that they are mysterious and beautiful. Obviously I cant perform mind-to-mind communication alone. We need two people to assist me up here~~a couple of people who are open-minded, well-rounded, cooperative, good natured, and who are familiar with the names and faces of playing cards. * Cf. Derren Brown, Absolute Magic (2001), p. 59： K. . . I say the words, !As a few of us get deeper into magic and move away from the sleight-of-hand end of things.5 This subtly trivializes mere trickery, which in turn suggests that I am doing something altogether more real. And rare, for only a £ few of us’ go so deep.” 203

The Doors of Deception Scan the audience for two cooperative people. Invite them to the front Have a lady stand to your left and a gentleman to your right. Thank you two for helping me. And your name? Olivia, thank you. And yours? Peter, thank you, too. Olivia and Peter, I trust you are familiar with the names and faces of the cards in a deck? Remove the deck from the box. Being careful not to disturb the pump cards in the lower half (theres also the corner-dotted Three of Clubs in the center as a marker), give the top half of the deck an overhand shuffle. Fifty-two different cards. Lift and fan the upper half toward the audience, showing all these cards as distinct (which they are). What I’ll have you do is look at and remember any card you see. Well, except for one. So, before you do this, I will let you know ... Turn the faces toward yourself and spread the pack until you get to the Ace of Spades. Without disturbing the remainder of the cards, move this Ace to the face; remember that its placement on the face should be oriented according to the King of Diamonds end of the pack. ...that the Ace of Spades is the card MOSTpeople choose. Remember in the movie Reservoir Dogs how everybody wants to be “Mr. Black” and no one wants to be “Mr. Pink”？ I think 204

The Octopus Deck it's kinda like that. So, dont make it easy and pick this oney okay? In fact, let’s try this. Olivia, do you like red? Good. What I’d like you to do is just think of any red card you see then， and Г11 have you， Peter, think of a black one. You see， although it would be cool if you happened to both think of the same card, it’s just not what Гт going for here. I really want to try something more challenging. Pick up the tabled Queen of Hearts (which remains from the Wild Card routine) and add it to the top, requesting:* And dont think of this one either; that would probably be obvious, too. Ready, Olivia? Begin by fanning over the top half of the deck and glance for the pencildotted Three of Clubs in the center; this is the first card in the pump. Once you see this card, push it and all the cards above it haphazardly squared into the right hand and lift, spreading as many cards as you can between here and the bottom of the pack as you look away. Do you have one in mind, Olivia? Good. Gather the spread and square the cards in the left hand. And you could see they were all different? * Its best if you shuffle before ^reintroducing55 the Queen to the deck; that way you wont have to search for it when you later reset. Also, the Queen can play a misdirectional part later when you switch decks for “Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards.” 205

The Doors of Deception So, with all those choices, just lock the image of that one card in your mind for me, okay? I’ll come back to you in just a minute. Addressing the spectators: Now I hope you noticed that I was looking away so that I could not possibly even try to track her gaze. * Repeat the procedure with the other participant, who will think of a black card. Peter, I want you to do the same; just look at and remember any black card that you see here. Fan the faces toward him using the same actions above while you look in the opposite direction. You have one, too? Good. Close the fan and sqtiare the deck into the left hand. At this point you know the color of the cards that each spectator is thinking of. Now we continue, but this is where the routine deviates from the pumps put forth in Bill s manuscript. Vigil’s Pump Sequence Ask the participants to concentrate on their cards. Eventually, your ^fishing' will not even be construed as questions, just impressions. We will, of course, start with the lady. Under other circumstances there would be a high probability of her thinking of the Queen of Diamonds, but since the Queen of Hearts was selected earlier (and since we just cautioned her * From Paolo Cavalli s pump section in Bill s original write up. 206

The Octopus Deck against going for it again), theres now a good chance that she will go for one of the red spot cards, which are Hearts. Plus, there are two of those and only one Diamond. So, you will begin with a technique thats been aptly called ^fishing for the majority.”* Pump 1 Гт sensing what seems to be a Heart... A. Affirmative Reaction Good, but Im just warming upy okay? Maybe I just got lucky with that; it's only fify-fifyWell now use a subtle ploy of Senator Crandalls by continuing with: Again， don’t say anything; just look at me. In your mind, just say the name of it over and overy like, (<Two of Hearts, Two of Hearts If youVe hit, shell respond; if not, without missing a beat, finish off with: Ah, wait, there it is. Thank you. I see and hear it now. Yes, an Eight... ... The Eight of Hearts! Thank you for sharing your thought with me today. B. Negative Reaction Okay, well Im just warming up. Please, dont say anything to give it awayy Olivia. Just concentrate... * See Orville Meyer, <£The Principle of the Majorities,55 Magic in the Modern Manner (1949) pp62-66; see also Bob Farmer, £<Tsunami,> (1987). 207

The Doors of Deception ...Ah, there it is, plain as day. I see it now. A Queen, yes? The Queen of Diamonds! Thank you for sharing your thought with me today. Pump 2 Moving along, you now turn to the second participant and his thought-of black card. There is a very high probability that he is thinking of the Jack of Spades; it was the only Spade and court card available. This can make for a very nice direct hit: Peter, look at me—right here, in my eyes ... ... The Jack of Spades! If the gods have failed to shine on you, no problem, you will take it in good stride (after all, you did just score a hit a moment ago with Olivia). Chuckle, shaking it off, and continue: Damn! That would have been good, though, huh? That was just a guess, but Im not here to guess; Гт here to read minds. Heres where the methods could be juggled. If Olivia didnt make you use the Crandall stratagem, you still have a perfect opportunity to use it here; if, however, you did need to fall back on the good Senators dodge, then youll have to take another route to open both options: the Three or Nine of Clubs. Don’t say anything, just look at me and let me see what I can pick up on. 208

The Octopus Deck Size him up again and, after a brief pause, definitively say: Ah> okay! Now Гт getting it. In fact, it wasn’t a Spade at all; it's actually a Club you re thinking of! Here, hold your hand at waist level, wiggle it at the wrist for emphasis, and say: You’re not thinking of a low card, are you?* A. Affirmative Reaction That's exactly what I thought. Would I be correct in saying... ...The Three of Clubs?! B. Negative (or Uncertain) Reaction I didn’t think so. No, not at all. In fact, it’s very high. ...The Nine of Clubs! No matter what, I like to reach out and shake this participant s hand. You re pretty hard to read. I didnt know if I could do it! Peter, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, too. Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without you. Let's give both of my helpers here another big round of applause as they make their way back to their seats! * Of Т.А. Waters, “Trionic， ”, Mind, Myth & Magick, （1993)，pp. 69-86. 209

The Doors of Deception Phase 2: Furthur / dont know how many of you believe in telepathy or E.S.P., but Гт sure that everyone s had some type of experience that they feel is strange or unexplainable. Were going to attempt a very risky demonstration by pushing this further, or} should I say, farther?... Wrap the rubber bands around the cards at both ends, about a half-inch down from their respective ends of the deck+ The red (or thick) bands should go at the end with the marked corners (i.e., the King of Diamonds end), but just rely on the Ace of Spades5 center pip to guide you. Then place the blue (or thin) bands around the other end. After all, it*s one thing when the people Гт working with are right next to me; it’s something altogether different if someone is far away. Гт sure you’ve heard of a mother having a feeling about her child being hurt， and later it’s shown to be true， like they were connected in some way. In a moment, one of you will get an image of a random playing card. To be sure that I have no possible way of knowing what card you will see, I would like to use someone far'ther away from me. Fve heard some people can do this sort of thing at distances so great that they require being on the telephone; but in my investigations into these phenomena, Fve found those practitioners to be nothing but fakes. To someone a bit away: Would you mind helping me with this? * "Furthur" was a bus driven by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters (thank you for your outstanding service and commitment). t I have found that the tighter the bands are around the Octopus Deck during phase 2, the better. When the bands are tight, there is almost no chance that the spectator will get a glimpse of a duplicate card. The tighter bands will also make sure that the deck is not manhandled by a spectator and potentially damaged. 210

The Octopus Deck You dont have to come up here or anything, you can stay right where you are at. Thanks, and your name? Quentin, heres what Fd like to happen. To get a random image locked in your mind, take the deck in your hand—like this— keeping the backs toward me at all times ... Illustrating his upcoming actions, hold the deck in the left hand, faces toward you and say: Open the deck wherever you d like... With your right index finger, continue to illustrate what you want him to do by engaging the top edge and pulling toward you, causing the pack to break open slightly. Take a peek at the card there, and then immediately let the pack close upy allowing the image to settle in your mind. Quentin, I will throw the deck to you. Can you please stand? Gently toss the pack to the participant. Quentiriy open the deck, get a quick peek, and then let that image fill your mind. 211

The Doors of Deception While he is doing this, note the position of the red (or thick) band on the cards. If it s on the upper half, he s looking at the King of Diamonds. If it s on the lower half, he will have the Seven of Clubs in his mind. As he finishes, say: Good. And just concentrate on that for me， because that’s what Im going to be picking up on: the image. Have the deck returned and, on making your way back to the center area, act as if you happen to pick up an extra thought from another person. Ah, key, what’s your name? Ross, I picked up on that. To the audience: You see, I was getting the impression that he is wondering if I can work with him, too. You arent asking for this persons confirmation here, but people can infer you are correct and most will make that assumption. Yes, Ross. Yes, I can. Could you please stand, too? If you need to, casually turn the deck, bringing the other force cards end facing upward. The rubber bands, remember, will guide you. Here take the cards just as Quentin did, like this ... Again, show and tell this next participant how youd like him to proceed, placing the deck directly into the 'peeking5 position in his left hand. Ross, Гс1 like you to do the same. Open the deck wherever youd like and then take a peek at a card; then concentrate on it for me by keeping that image locked in your mind.. 212

The Octopus Deck After he takes his peek, retrieve the deck and turn to face the first participant. Peek Revelation 1: Letters in a Word Let's start here with baby steps, and then well build toward something more complicated. Quentin, just concentrate on the value of the card for me. You know every card is like the something of Hearts, or whatever. Now dont say anything; just in your mind start with that. Great. Now spell it just in your mind for me—not out loud, in your mind. Like, if it's a six, spell S-I-X. Okay, itfs coming in. Now concentrate on one of the letters in the middle there for me... You’re funny! It’s like you thought of one letter there then changed your mind to another. Not only do I tell people what they think; I tell them how they think. Do you want me to tell you the first letter or the second letter youre thinking of? Notice how this works no matter if they have the Seven or the King. And, again， you aren’t going to ask if you’re correct or not. Im not exactly sure about this, but I seem to be picking up on a “V” and an “E.” You’re thinking about a Seven. or The two letters I seem to be getting are the “I” and an “N.” This is a King. See Banachek, Psychological Subtleties (1998), pp. 32-35. 213

The Doors of Deception Either way, ask: Right? Having built the momentum, continue: Concentrate on the suit of the cardfor me, Quentin. People ask me how this works, and you know, we spend millions of dollars each year trying to figure out how to move information from one place to another—like with radio waves. In my mind Im trying to focus my dial and tune in on the signals hes sending to me. Let’s keep going! Send me the suit... now! After a moment, raise the back of your hand up in front of the closest audience members: Look! Can you see the way the hair on the back of my hand is standing up? That’s the signal coming through, and if I was to decipher it right now, I’d say you’re concentrating on a Club. Quentin, would I be correct in saying that your card is .. . The Seven of Clubs?! Incredible! Deck Switch: For "Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards" Walk in the direction of the remaining participant. While making this journey, ditch the deck in your left rear trouser pocket. This will go unnoticed, mostly because you are in transit; there are, however, several other things to consider as this deck switch is beginning. First, you will split the attention by disrupting the audiences ability to focus on exactly which side of the body the deck is going. Specifically, hold the The hair on the back of ones hand is always standing up, at least to some degree. Sneaky! 214

The Octopus Deck banded deck in left-hand dealers grip and bring the right fingers over the front for cover. Push the deck back a little, taking it into gamblers cop. Next, move both hands simultaneously to their respective rear sides of the trousers, depositing the deck in the left pocket.* Youre not really hiding where its going; you re just not making a big deal out of the entire action, and, again, the audience should hardly notice. Because the cooler (which you will soon ring in) has the same appearance, with the Ace of Spades on the face, Queen of Hearts on top, and identical rubber bands around it, the audience will “not even suspect, let alone detect”卞 that the pack is different. Peek Revelation 2： Windows to the Soul Ross, we’re going to do the same， but a little bit different. Every time I attempt something like this Im always trying to take it further. Addressing all: And as I attempt to gather and filter what he’s sending to me, the rest of you concentrate on a birthday， perhaps the name of a friend, or even a question or concern you d like an answer to. Ross) face me, I want to look directly into your eyes and you look directly into my eyes ... NOW! The spectator looks at you while you study his eyes intently. You’ve probably heard the line—it’s been misattributed to Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, and even the Bible: “The eyes are the windows to the soul. w * Because I perform several effects that require easy access to the pockets, one thing I do to all the pants I perform in is to remove the pocket buttons, if the pants have them. When wanting to move as smoothly as possible, having a hang-up on a button can be something that, while behind your back and not seen, can and will arouse unwanted suspicion. t S.W. Erdnase, The Expert at the Card Table (1902), p. 83. 215

The Doors of Deception / want you to know the first thing I seem to be picking up on is something about travel, like youve just gone somewhere or you re thinking about going somewhere. Does that make sense?* Гт also picking up on a namey a womans name; Im not sure, but it may start with the letter “M.” And—this is weird— something about a squeaky door. Time to put the afterburners on and crank it up. Remember, you arent stopping to ask whether you re right or wrong when you add these little coldreads; and you ahvays back them up with some type of hit concerning the cards they are thinking of. In other words, after bulldozing through the above, and before they have a chance to respond, you tidy everything up with: Now, Im going to go out on a limb here, and if Im right all I want you to do is sit down—but dont do it just to make me look good. I s this card you have in mind . . . the King of Diamond ?! He sits. Yes, great. Thank you. Astro-Logic* Now youll use a bit Ive used for many years to seemingly end my shows—just before coming over the top with the encore. Г11 let Bascom Jones set up the idea; then follow with the way I specifically handle this crafty presentational ploy. For many years, mentalist David Hoy, as Dr. Faust, closed his routine with a series of staccato-like verbal predictions of coming events. He literally hurled headlines from the future to the audience. Hoy depended upon his spectators remembering the chance ones that might hit and forgetting the many more that missed. Here is a powerful variation that has the advantage of being both more immediate and personal. Heretofore, I have revealed this to only a few close acquaintances. It employs the same dynamic approach and lightning-quick delivery. And, like the Hoy concept, it is designed to provide you with a fast-paced and powerful exit. You have completed your final and strongest effect. Suddenly, you pivot and point toward a spectator on your left. . * How could you possibly be wrong? Honestly, in countless performances I've never had someone answer in the negative here. *Bascom Jones, <tAstro-Logic,M Magick, Issue 63 (1972), pp. 312 & 314. 216

The Octopus Deck Here I diverge slightly from Bascoms write-up. Though Ive kept much of the script, I do not combine the zodiac sign with the readings as he did.* Instead, I like to stagger both of these so that the astrological signs and readings are not linked. This affords me more leeway; of course, we should use whatever information that becomes available to us if it can be spun into a mystery. Many times, though, Гш walking into a room cold; so, this is how I might handle it. Continuing from Bascoms write-up, say: Here, beware! Beware! BEWARE! For the course of action upon which youve embarked is leading you over thin ice. I urge you to use caution, pvepavation， and common sens。 Then, apparently point to some other particular people farther back in the room, but actually just gesture into the crowd. There! Scorpio! And next to you, Aries! To a specific woman, I might say: You are going to receive important communication soon. I am not sure if it's a phone conversation, perhaps email.. . it may even be something overheard, but what I sense more than anything is that it will bring change. Possibly as soon as a week and definitely not more than ten days! Gesturing to a further side of the room (but not pointing to anyone in particular), say: And Virgo! And you re an Aquarius! * Dont dismiss this here though, because with social media it is so convenient to be able to hot read even one or two people wholl be in attendance; and with these you can have a few direct hits intermixed with the cold readings. Peppering your revelations with a few verbal affirmations can be very powerful. t Let me stress that I am not a fan of taking advantage of people or leading them astray with socalled psychic entertainment, and I know full well what Ггп doing when I include these lines in my show. There is a thin line between good-natured fun and charlatanry; therefore, I execute these readings with a twinkle in my eye so that they are taken as innocuously and innocently as a message in a fortune cookie. No one is told about relationships, where to put money, or anything else as drastic—merely, “be carefiil， ” “be open,” and “think.” Good advice for us all. 217

The Doors of Deception Single out a gentleman: This man here doesn’t believe a word Гт saying and， although he doesn’t trust me as far as he can throw me, he still loves the way I lief Then to the crowd, while raising your own hand, go for a Hail Mary and ask: Who is it that Гт picking up on that’s concentrating right now， one on the name James and the other is Mary?^ This is either a friend or family member, Гт not sure. Quickly notice if anyone responds. If no hands are raised, its time to bluff by randomly pointing out into the crowd, as if someone did respond, by nodding or gesturing to two spots in the room. Yes. Okay. Indicating a few more: And here, Taurus! And over there, Sagittarius! Turning and pointing toward a spectator in the center, exclaim: And you, the answer is yes! Yes! YES! But you must use judgment. Your timing will become of utmost importance for the fruition of this endeavor. And that answers the question you have in your mind, doesn’t it? * This (along with the 3-card monte, the safety pin, Copper/Brass/Silver, etc.) IS the disclaimer, folks. If someone is still a ^believer5 after these effects have been performed, then they have problems I cant fix. Besides, as IVe stated in the past, are we going to create and perform magic to make the smartest among us dream or are we going to play the game to keep stupid people safe? I dont believe these people (or anyone) should, nor do I want them to, measure our circumferences. Honestly, contrary to popular opinion, I doubt any magician has caused anyone to really change their beliefs, though many of them certainly wish they could. t These are the two most popular names from 1916 to 2015. Play the odds! 218

The Octopus Deck He’ll say, “Yes.” I’ve never had anyone say otherwise. Bascom concludes: The effect is that you know the birthdays of all in your audience, as well as know significant events affecting each of their lives. People like to be told secret things about themselves. And gossip columnists from coast to coast know that other people like to listen in!* I couldnt agree more. Dont be surprised when people come up afterward and ask you，too, “How did you know my birthday?” Afterthoughts Rubber Bands: Warning: when performing “the peek” in phase 2， always have the rubber bands around the ends of the deck. This includes during rehearsals and when you are simply toying with the pack. The double cards are held together with permanent double-stick tape and are adhered securely; however, any excess pulling down on the cards without the rubber bands around the ends of the deck will separate the double cards. Also, always be sure to replace the rubber bands after you have performed with the Octopus Deck several times. The bands, worn thin over time and use, may accidentally break during a performance causing the deck to fall to the floor, revealing the secret. Card Guard： It is advised to have a metal card guard around the deck when you are not performing with it. During the second phase, the cards will get bent when the participants peek at them. By keeping the deck secure in the card guard between shows, the cards will be straightened. If you live in an exceedingly humid environment, it is best to keep the deck with the card guard on and in a Ziplock bag. Before a performance remove the card guard so that your audience does not see it—removing a “normal” deck of cards from a bullet-proof metal container is sure to excite the wrong kind of curiosity. Choosing Participants: Because the Octopus Deck performance relies heavily on audience participation, you must select your helpers wisely. It is best not to select a volunteer who wants to be the life of the party. This type of person can be very entertaining at times, but they re usually more interested in what people think of them than in complying with your instructions. EasyBascom Jones, <<Astro-Logic,,> Magick, Issue 63 (1972), p. 314. 219

The Doors of Deception going, pleasant, and compliant individuals are best. Also, be very clear when you are instructing spectators on stage. If your spectators make a mistake or mess up the effect because of your muddy communication, there is no one to blame except... Unwilling Participants: Occasionally, I have encountered spectators who do not want to reveal what they were thinking or answer any questions during the pumping sequence. If it is a paid gig and this happens, I will politely tell the spectator that I will no longer be needing their assistance and escort them back to their seat and bring someone else up to assist. I dont have time to play games when there is money involved. If Гт at a party or out with friends, and someone doesn’t comply, I will get the audience to coerce them into participating. I usually do this by saying, aWell, if you dont answer me I cant continue . . . and I think most people here want to see what happens next/5 Further Thoughts Bill’s Phase 3: In Bills original Octopus Deck routine, he uses the third phase to make some divinations. The Octopus Deck is switched for a two-way forcing deck (with an Ace of Spades on the face for consistency) that has a short card in the center to facilitate their separation; this short card also functions as a cover card when the deck is cut. Two participants are invited to each place one half of the d^ck into their pockets. They are then each asked to take one card from the middle, without looking at its face, and move it to another pocket. The remaining pocketed cards are gathered and boxed. Since no one knows the selections, the magician cannot resort to reading minds; he instead writes his impressions on a couple of slates. The cards are removed from the pockets and the divinations are revealed to be exact matches. Tossed-Out Deck: The Octopus Deck can be used for a standard Tossed-Out Deck routine. Using the Octopus Deck instead of the standard three-way forcing deck has two advantages. The first is that you can slowly fan it toward the audience to show “all different” cards. The second advantage is that during the peeking sequence you can keep an eye on which force card is being seen by the participants (as described in phase 2). You can then make direct statements about their particular cards: e.g., if someone saw the Seven of Clubs, you can say, “I see a number card that’s somewhere in the middle; a black card if 220

The Octopus Deck they see the King of Diamonds, you can say, <cYou are thinking of a red card; it s a picture card, too; by that I mean a Jack, Queen, or King . . .,5 Strolling Performances： The Octopus Deck is great to use in a walk-around situation because it has no reset and can be used with or without the deck switch. Because the top half of the deck is made up of indifferent faces, you can casually fan the top half to show that the cards are ccwell mixed and different from one another.w A casual overhand shuffle of the top half of the deck a couple of times during the routine is also a good habit to get into if you dont need to preserve anything because it indirectly proves the deck is normal and in no particular order. The Premonition： Six duplicates of the six-card bank, with backs contrasting the Octopus Deck, are placed in your regular wallet or in one side of a Himber wallet if you want to get really sneaky. After the questions are asked, and you know what their card is, you can remove your wallet, explaining that you had a premonition of the card they would think of. Remove the duplicate from your wallet and place it on their hand. Ask them to name their card, and then you can dramatically turn the card over. With the Himber wallet you can now cleanly replace the card into the empty side of the wallet, too. Two Minds with But a Single Thought: Seat a couple from the audience in two chairs on stage facing one another. Shuffle the Octopus Deck and then wrap the rubber bands around the ends of the pack. Hand the pack to one person to peek at a card, noting which card he peeks at by the positions of the bands. When you pass the deck to the other participant, simply turn the deck end for end and place it into position in her left hand and have her peek at a card. In opposite pockets you have indexes from a jumbo deck that match your force cards. Finger palm one of them and position yourself behind the participant whom you know is thinking of that particular card. Ask the significant other in the opposite chair to look deeply into her lovers eyes. Now you hold your hand with the palmed index so that she can clearly see the cards identity. When this happens you need to accompany the physical action with a line such as, £CYou should clearly see one card on his mind but dont reveal it yet.55 You can then slowly get her to divulge the card in stages: color, suit, and value. You can then do the same with the other spectator. A nice cheesy concluding line for this routine is “There is no greater truth than love!” 221

The Doors of Deception Ultra-Mental Deck (a.k.a. Invisible Deck): H ave an Ultra-Mental Deck sealed in an envelope and hand it to a spectator for safe keeping. Have another spectator look at any card in the Octopus Deck (showing the bank of six of course). After the pumping sequence, when you know the card he has selected, tear open the envelope take out the deck, show that there is one card reversed, and place it face down on the participants open palm. Ask him to name his freely thought-of playing card. It is a match! Devano Rising Cards: You can have a telekinetic ending to the Octopus routine using a one-way force deck and Hie Devano Rising Cards. Have a duplicate of the force card uready to rise>, in your Devano Deck, which should be in the card case and in a pocket that is not being used for the Octopus routine. Once you have performed phases 1 and 2 (and having rung in the one-way pack), have the spectator remove a card from the middle, and place it face down on the table or his hand. Remove the prepared Devano Deck, and have the spectator hold the open box in his hand. Slowly, the card will rise out, and then you can dramatically reveal that it matches the card he chose. A History of Influences： From the Bank to the Pump The Octopus Deck is something Bill developed over several years. Those who influenced the construction of the Octopus Deck include Richard Osterlind, David Hoy, Max Maven, Ted Lesley, T.A. Waters, Juan Tamariz, David Ben, Audley Walsh, A1 Baker, Gene Grant, Docc Hilford, Theo Annemann, and Edme-Gilles Guyot. Many people believe that it was Edward Bagshawe who first published the concept of the “banked” deck: Bagshawe used a bank of thirteen cards repeated four times, and the cards were marked on the backs with numbers 1 through 13 (Ace = 1, King =13, etc.). However, Denis Behrs Conjuring Credits database shows that over a century and a half earlier Edme-Gilles Guyot described a trick that relies on a deck made up of six cards repeated six times.-*- A three-bank force deck made of blank-faced cards with the names of cards written on them is described in KThe Prophetic Billets55 from R.P. s Ein Spiel Karten (1853), p. 34 of the Pieper translation. This deck also contains a group * Edward Bagshawe, UA Spirit Divination Mystery/1 Exclusive Problems in Magic (1924), p. 43. t Edme-Gilles Guyot, Nouvelles recreations mathematiques et physique^ Vol. 3 (1769), p. 221; William Kalush has found earlier mentions of banked decks in several sources, but his research is, as yet, unpublished. 222

The Octopus Deck of mixed cards on the face to suggest the deck has an assortment of card names. This type of forcing deck is sometimes attributed to Tarbell due to its inclusion in The Tarbell Course in Magie, Vol. 1 (1941), p. 264. It is clearly much older. The next influence is Audley Walsh’s effect, “The Magician’s Dream.”* What was revealed in this effect is the concept of the Kpump,M because you are pumping the information out of the spectator like a detective cpumps， 5 a suspect or informant. Juan Tamariz attacks the banked deck with appropriate gusto in his ''Miracle Divination (a la A1 Koran) Tamariz has interesting suggestions regarding the choice of participant for the pumping deck. The person you choose for the trick will directly affect how hard or easy it is to derive the selected card from a the pump.55 For example, an experienced poker player will give you a harder time—maintaining a poker face during your questioning. A girl who is too expressive (always laughing, making comments, etc.) might unintentionally make it too obvious for the rest of the group that she is helping you. She may even name the card! Tamariz says that you should select a female assistant, if possible, who is compliant and also someone whom you have uwon over” with your confidence. T.A. Waters’ “Trionic” has some terrific work on how to execute the pump.* Waters notes that the pumping sequence is about asking the spectator questions, but it shouldnt seem like it. According to Waters, you must adopt a relaxed, confident attitude and not be in a hurry. His first approach is one of the best in the literature. KYoure not thinking of a red card, are you?J， It is the inflection of this question that is so important. You must ask it, as Waters states, as if you are saying, aYoure not trying to pull one over on me are you?55 With this inflection, the question can be taken either way and interpreted as a statement. Waters goes on to explain that the responses to your “pump” by the participant will be either positive or negative but will not always be verbal responses. In many cases you will go by facial reaction, or lack thereof. Richard Osterlind’s “Radar Deck” was marketed as a small pamphlet and more recently was performed and explained on volume one of his Mind Mysteries DVD set produced by L&L Publishing. The beauty of Osterlinds routine is in the brevity of the questions/statements during his pumping sequence. This is due to Osterlind s clever handling at the outset of the routine when he has three spectators stand and tells them to think of any card that they * John Northern Hilliard, Greater Magic (1938), p. 346; see also Theodore Annemann, The Jinx., No. 43 (April 1938), pp. 297 & 298 and J.G. Thomson, My Best (1949), p.l 19. t Juan Tamariz, The Magic Way (1987, 2014), pp. 71-79. ф T.A. Waters, uTrionic,,> Mind, Myth & Magick (1993), pp. 69-86. 223

The Doors of Deception see; then, in Osterlinds words, a . . . to reduce the chances that you could think of the same card, I would like you [participant one] to think of a red card, you [participant two] are to think of a black card, and you [participant 3] are to think of a red card.” This completely eliminates the first question of the pump (red or black), and by using several people, Osterlind is able to make one statement and then watch the reactions of all three spectators to deduce what cards they have in mind. More pertinent to our concerns here, Osterlind goes on to explain that using several people negates the idea that you are using stooges or that you are using a trick deck of cards. Ted Lesley has a wonderful section on the banked deck in his book Paramiracles entitled wDream Decks,and he has a lovely handling tip for its use. He states, you can £<begin by casually fanning it and turn the face of the fan toward the audience. Keep it in unhurried but continual motion as you make a sweeping display from one side to the other . . . When the deck is kept in gentle motion as described, all one can perceive is a somewhat blurred impression of mixed cards.” Cards 1-0-1 The 1-0-1 Deck is a deck of cards in which indifferent cards alternate throughout repeating banks of four different force cards. Duplicates are eight cards apart and the deck can be dealt face up (even onto a spectators palm) without the alternating four-card bank being discovered. While often attributed to Koran, the 1-0-1 Deck S^as actually invented by Harry Lorayne (although it is based on ideas that go back at least as far as the 1920s). Lorayne first published the idea in a trick called KFive Star Miracle,5 in his Best of Bill-Fooled (1958), p. 44 and later redescribed it in The Himber Wallet Book (1998), pp. 27-31. The Tel-O-Matic Deck and the Psychomatic Deck are marketed peek decks that are both used to force a card. The Tel-O-Matic is made up of pairs of cards glued together in the middle with the back card of each pair being all the same while the face cards are all different. The back card is longer and extends beyond the indifferent cards at each end (which is the opposite of a Svengali Deck). If you riffle or lift a card on either end, you will see the force card. The Psychomatic Deck is also made up of pairs, but they are glued together at one end of the deck. The deck can be riffled from one end and shown all different, but when a spectator peeks at a card from the other end of the pack, they are all the same. * Ted Lesley, Paramiracles (1994), pp. 117-20. 224

The Octopus Deck The fact that these decks are glued, and not constructed using roughing spray, means they can be overhand shuffled quite easily, even by a spectator. In A1 Bakers effect, wDouble Thought,w* the cards can be overhand or riffle shuffled face up so that the cards can be seen as completely different. The spectator takes the pack in his own hands and while the performer turns his back, or leaves the room entirely, the spectator opens the deck anywhere he likes, looks at one card, and squares the deck. The magician gives the deck to a second spectator who does the same, noting another card. The ability to have the deck openly shuffled and two cards forced, rather than just one, is the real breakthrough in this forcing deck. A final influence on the Octopus Deck is Docc Hilfords Cassandra Deck, which utilizes a bank and the 1-0-1 principle in a fantastic way. In his booklet Fem Fatal.. 64 Sinful Secrets of the Cassandra Decky Hilford outlines several terrific routines that can be used with a banked deck. This deck and booklet are well worth investigating. The Divided Card The use of divided gaffed cards is quite old. Research shows that one of the earliest indications of its use for sleight of hand purposes was in 1593, and again, not long after, in 1612+ You also find this type of gaff described in the popular book Les Secrets de la Prestidigitation by Robert-Houdin (1868) in his famous routine “Protean Pack of Cards.” Brilliant magicians like Professor Hoffmann, Ed Mario, Jon Racherbaumer, Allan Ackerman, Bruce Cervon, John Thompson, Karl Fulves, and Roy Walton have also played with this type of card gafF. Youre urged to seek out their work, and be inspired by their smart thinking. And now we move into the grand finale, the coup de grace, the magnum opus, the piece de resistance ... * A1 Baker, The Secret Ways of Al Baker (2003), pp. 411-12. t Magic Christian, Non Plus Ultra, Vol. 2. (2013), p. 69 [citing Horatio Galasso, Giochi di carte bellissimi di regola, e di memoria (1593) as a 16th-century work featuring divided cards]; see also Sa Rid, The Art of Juggling [or Legerdemaine] (1612), p. 26 (using divided cards to cleverly transform Kings into Aces). 225

Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game -The Rolling Stones SYMPATHY (FOR THE DEVIL) CARDS or Cartas con Simpatia Diabolica Adams ♦ Curry ♦ Milton A participant cuts a random packet from a shuffled deck, and the magician divides it into two piles. He may need to add or take away a card, but even this decision is left to the random whim of an audience member. One of the piles is chosen and several people rearrange it with a series of random decisions. Despite the apparent chaos, the magician shows the two piles are mysteriously in the same order. To push the mystery even further, the magician has someone select either pile. He takes the chosen packet and allows members of the audience to mix it even more, using one random decision after another. Once they’re satisfied with the disorder they’ve created, the performer asks one of them to enter the first ten values into his cell phone and hit "call." It seems impossible, but the magician’s phone begins to ring. It started out with a phone call from Bill Goodwin. In his research he had come across a devious and obscure idea and thought I might be able put a presentation to it. He went on to describe Howard Adams’ DEALFLIPDROPCUX卞 and he was right: the simple principle was devilishly deceptive and needed nothing more than an engaging presentation to unleash its fiill power. Around the same time, John Thompson had given me a handful of Paul Currys material to review. This combination of material prompted me to develop the following routine. The Sympathetic Cards plot comes from the mind of Herbert Milton. His routine first appears as “Sympathetic Clubs” in Greater Magie, where it is mistakenly attributed to Nate Leipzig.^ Since then many versions have seen print, * * Or, as dubbed by The Great Tomsoni, KVigils Sympathetic Cards (Sans GafRis).,> * Howard Adams， OICUFESP ф John Northern Hilliard, Greater Magic (1938), pp. 562-63; but see Theodore Annemann, The Jinx, Issue 53 (February 1939), p. 380 (giving credit to Milton); see also Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernons Tribute to Nate Leipzig (1964), pp. 176-80 (citing an Ellis Stanyon effect as a precursor). 227

The Doors of Deception notably those by Derek Dingle， * Larry Jennings, J6rg Alexander Weber， * James Swain夕 and Helder Guimaraes.* * * § ** * ** However similar it may be to its predecessors, the routine below feels more like an experiment in Jungian synchronicity than a card trick. After removing the rubber bands from the deck (which apparently has been examined and shuffled throughout the rest of the show), the magician performs a stunning piece of sympathetic magic. By the end he has proven his opening premise: the mystery maker has controlled the thoughts, decisions, and physical actions of every participant. The Order of Chaos Lets go over the main principle for the initial phase right now. I think this will be easiest to grasp if you take an Ace through Ten of any suit and put them in sequential order. For this trial run it will not matter if they are ascending or descending; it will work either way. Adams5 principle originally called for the cards to be dealt, flipped, dropped, and cut; hence the title. For this routine you will use only part of that sequence, specifically, the DEALFLIPDROP portion. The CUT part is strong, but it doesnt quite fit here; therefore, you will exclude it. Get ready! Youre going to fool yourself the first time you try this. Start with the ten cards face down and deal a few, one at a time, to the table in a pile. This can be any amount you wish. When you stop,/flip the remaining cards face up and drop them brito the tabled cards. As you can see， you have created a break in the sequence, and its location was determined by your own free will. Pick up the pile and repeat the process, first by dealing to the table as many cards as you wish. You can see this process is not only breaking the sequence, its also mixing the cards face up and face down. After youVe dealt soiyie cards, flip the remaining cards over and drop them on the pile of dealt cards. * Richard Kaufman, ^Sympathetic Cards,M The Complete Works of Derek Dingle (1982), pp. 150-53. t Mike Maxwell, t£LJ. on Leipzig s Sympathetic Cards/5 The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings (1986), pp. 201-05. ф Thomas Fraps & Helge Thun, c<The Sympathetic Ten/5 The Book, or Dont Forget To Point, (1998), p. 92. § James Swain, ^Sympathetic Thirteen/> 21st Century Card Magic (1999), pp. 131-34. ** Helder Guimaraes,<cDeepest Sympathy,>, Ontology Project (2011). 228

Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards Go through the procedure a third time, executing the DEALFLIPDROP sequence. You now have completely mixed the cards in every possible way. No one could possibly know the order, right? Well, I do. Some cards are face up and some are face down, but they re in the same order they started in. Setup For the following explanation I will presume that your cell phone will act as the final prediction * For this, place the cell phone in your front right trouser pocket and have the cards stacked accordingly. The order of the deck is predetermined by your final prediction, whether its a phone number, the combination to a lock, a calendar date, or dictionary entry. I have a cell phone number that happens to have two duplicates in it, which is perfect. If your number has a digit repeated, it will work as long as the number appears no more than twice: the decks four mates can represent each value twice; zero, represented by the pair of Jokers, however， can appear only once.卞 If you want the ending order to be, for example, 3-2-1-4-5-6-9-8-7-0, the cards would be placed, from the top down, in this order: X, X (these can be any mates),+ 3H, 3D, 2S, 2C, AC, AS, 4D, 4H, KH, KD, 6D, 6H, 9C, 9S, 8S, 8C, 7H, 7D, Joker, Joker, followed by about ten more pairs of mates (in any random order), leaving about a dozen mixed cards on the face. Because the cards remain in the same order, you can have these come out as any type of prediction you want; simply use the amount of cards that correlate with your predicted numbers. Using this with a phone number works well because the revelation requires only twenty-two cards (ten pairs for the phone number and two cards for the pair that will remain in the wine glasses). This gives you a buffer on the audiences initial cut from between twenty-two cards to around forty (as the bottom dozen cards are not paired, so that you can subtly display the deck as shuffled before the effect begins). Placing the cards into separate wine glasses slightly to your left and right creates a beautiful framing. Using the cloth from £<The Phantom ReturnsJ， to cover one of the glasses is, as you 11 see, also a nice presentational touch. * 5^ Luke Jermay, aPhone Prediction,Walls & Bridges (1998). t The only other exceptions are the numbers 5 (which can be represented six times) and 7 (which can be used four times). Because J and K on the dial pad of a phone are on the 5 key, Fives can be represented by: the black Fives, the red Fives, the black Jacks, the red Jacks, the black Kings, and the red Kings. Because Q on the dial pad of a phone is on the 7 key, Sevens can be represented by: the black Sevens, the red Sevens, the black Queens, and the red Queens. Ф As you 11 see, I choose the red Queens (for purely aesthetic reasons). 229

The Doors of Deception If youre following the big picture, you'll have apparently ended the show with a dazzling series of mind-to-mind communications. At an opportune moment (during applause or right before “Astro-Logic”)， ring in the “Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards” pack from the right rear pocket. As in the ditch above, there are a few things you should consider in completing this time-misdirected deck switch. For instance, one subtlety to use is to apparently pat down your pockets, as if youVe forgotten where you placed the pack; then move both hands to their respective rear pockets. Bring out the cooler from the right pocket, but while the hands are still behind your back and under cover of the jacket, transfer it to the left hand before its apparent reappearance. Practice this maneuver until it becomes second nature. The actions of the earlier ditch and current retrieval are practically identical, and the packs are perfect mirrors for one another. The matching rubber bands and the Aces of Spades on both decks5 faces add visual shade and misdirection to convey the perceptible consistency.* Just do it. Dont try to be sneaky. During the ditch, the audience should be interested in how you are revealing the last participants thought-of card and not in the deck itself. Moments later, the show is apparently over. Youll be wrapping up all the loose ends: thanking your participants for their help and the rest of the audience for their attention, wishing everyone a continued good evening and safe travels to wherever they may be going next,/etc. This is more than enough misdirection f^r the clandestine retrieval. Place this newlyintroduced pack onto the table. Then, check the time on your watch: By a round of applause, is there time for one more? Of course there is! Youre so generous. And this is perfect. Fve had a chance to show you some magie， and I’ve had a chance to show you what looks like mind reading, but before we part company, what I’d really like to do is just leave you with a little piece of mystery) * If you really feel the heat is on, you can even flash the top card (the Queen of Hearts) as you re expounding. 个 A lovely transitional line from my friend Chris Korn. 230

Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards Method & Presentation If things turn out as I expect they will, everything that has happened so far tonight will be very relevant when we get to the end. Indeed, we may get an answer to the question I asked earlier. Do we really have freedom in the decisions we make? I would like us to examine this question, which scholars and philosophers and ... hairdressers have asked for centuries. In other words, is life controlled by fate or is there anything we can do to alter lifes course? Let's try a brief experiment* Remove the rubber bands from the pack, take the deck face up, and spread over about a dozen cards as widely as possible, showing their random and mixed condition. You dont know the order of these cards, do you? Close the spread, you 11 now want to give the deck a false shuffle (that follows in look and feel those that have come before): Kopf's False Shuffle or The Double Optical Shuffle I favor a variation of the Optical Shuffle*' by Jared Kopf. Briefly, begin by holding the cards in overhand shuffle position in the right hand. Chop off about a third of the cards into the left hand. In the second action of the shuffle, chop off another third into the left hand but simultaneously steal back the initial third of the deck. These stolen cards will naturally not align completely with the right hands cards; their position, however, will be invisible from every angle but the performers. From this position perform three or four false running peels, i.e., with your left thumb, mime the action of peeling cards into the left hand but dont actually take any. During one of the false peels, throw the right hands rear packet (the cards that were previously stolen back) on top of the left-hand packet. Without pausing, perform a few more false peeling * These latter lines, as well as a few others in this presentation, are adapted from Rick Maues wonderful routine “FATE”（2005) and appear here with his kind permission. t See e.g., Jared Kopf, Nothing But the Family Deck (2013, 2016), pp. 9-11; cf. John Northern Hilliard, Greater Magic (1938), pp. 167-68 and 189 (describing a similar shuffle and control by R. W. Hull). 231

The Doors of Deception actions. Then, as youre making the final toss of cards, rotate both the right and left packets face up, throwing the remainder in the right hand face up onto the face of the pack. The deck is in the same order in which it began. Once finished, place the pack face down onto the table. There is no way that anyone could know. Larry, you shuffled them. You did, too, Michael. Really, with what Im about to show you, it wouldnt matter if I knew their order. I point this out for those who are mathematically inclined: because of the shuffles, you know that the cards have probably never been in this order before, nor will they ever be in this order again ... at least in all likelihood. As you can see, I try to use as many people as I can, and Im not here to make fun of anybody, or make anyone look bad; and I haven’t used you yet. Whafs your name? Hi, ， Steven. Part 1 ： My Condolences I’d like to show you a piece of synchronicity. In case you don’t know, synchronicity is a coincidence which I control. * Let me start off by having you cut about half the cards to here. Mime cutting some cards off the deck and setting them to the side. The participant reaches over and does just that. Perfect! Since the phone number is ten digits, and because you also have the pair of cards that will remain in the wine glasses at the end, the participant must cut at least twenty-two cards here; hence your request for him to cut 'about half.55 * These lines are from Dan Harlan, ^Natural Selection,Premium Blend Set, Vol. 1, Totally Mental (2003). As the ever prolific Mr. Harlan relays to me: KI just wanted a line that set up the need for the ‘procedure.’” As you can see, so did I. 232

Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards How many cards would you say you cut there? The spectator answers with a guess. Well, I can tell you exactly how many you cuty Steven. Do you want to know? Exactly as many as I wanted you to! Should we find out? Take the pile of cut-ofF cards and count them face down to the table, reversing their order. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 24, 25, 26 and 27! Perfect! That’s about half. See, as I said， “Exactly as many as I wanted you to.” Mark my words. I know that sounds ridiculous right now， but when all is said and done, I will prove myself correct. To tell you the truth, I am not concerned with how many cards you cut. You see, we are going to play a little gamey and I dont want you to accuse me of not playing fairly. What's important here is that we have an even amount of cards to play with. If an even amount of cards has been cut, you will not need to say the next few lines. In our example here, however, weVe assuming an odd number has been cut from the pack. So, you would say: Youve cut off twenty-seven cards. So, now you get to make another very important decision. To make this pile an even amount, do you want to take a card away or add one to your pile? If he takes one away, it gets rid of the stranger on top. If he decides to add one instead, he will still create a mated pair on the top of his cut-ofF pile because the pile was reversed during the previous count. Let Steven decide and then respond with: Ha! That’s funny. That’s exactly what I thought you would say! 233

The Doors of Deception All this is doing is setting up red herrings——bombarding the spectators with trivial details and inconsequential choices, which only seem important. You now have a complete pile of mates, and it has come together through the participant s free, but frivolous, decisions. Set the remainder of the deck aside. You will not be using it in the rest of the composition. Pick up the mated pile, hold it face down in dealing position, and deal the cards alternately, forming two even piles on the table. Usually, when you play a game, the cards would be dealt back and forth. As you can see I am dealing them left and right because you are going to make yet another very important decision. Once you finish dealing, say: Before you decide which pile you would like to play icthe game' withy I want you to know that this isn’t a trick question. Whichever pile you touch is the one you get to play with, and as with your previous decisions, you have a completely free choice. Soy which one do you want to play with? Finish by nudging either one of the two piles a little closer toward the participant, making him feel as if this is the pile you want hjim to choose. As before, all of this is smoke tp get people focused on seemingly important details, which really will have no effect on the proceedings. As soon as he touches one, say: Excellent! I knew that you were going to pick that one. You can just leave your pile there on the table for a moment. Please let me explain what you are about to do next. First Steven, you are going to get a chance to mix the cards. DEALFLIPDROP Take the pile of cards he didnt choose and hold it face down in dealing position. To do that, I want you to take the cards and deal like this... 234

Sympathy (for the Devil) Cards Deal four or five cards face down to the table while you continue: ...until you feel happy. And Гт not happy until you re happy. Just deal until whenever you want. . . and then stop. Wherever you decide to stop, I want you to simply take whatever is lefi, flip them over， and then drop them on top. Easy, right? Following your instructions, flip over the remaining cards in your hand and drop them on top of the pile you dealt. But, Steven, we wont stop there. Oh, no no, because then well have someone else mix them, too. Pick up the cards without turning them over, and hold them in dealing grip. Whoevers next will do the same thing and mix them by dealing down until he feels like stopping. Then hell take whatevers left, turn them over, and drop the rest on top. Suiting actions to words, deal about three or four more cards down to the table, turn the rest over in your hand, and drop them on top, too. Notice that you have explained the DEALFLIPDROP procedure twice, but in a moment the participants pile will go through this process three times (possibly more). And then, maybe, we will let someone mix them too. Pick up the tabled pile youve just cmixed55 and place it into the wineglass on your right. Its important that you pick it up by its far end, and let the packet pivot so that the end closest to you can slide into the wineglass glass first; in other words the top card here goes to the back (nearest you).* I will not touch these again. Take out your handkerchief and cover the cards in the glass. * This exact placement will allow you to control the drama of the final revelation by having the last cards back pointed toward the audience. 235

The Doors of Deception And neither will you. While this covering of the cards is not crucial to the workings of the effect, I do believe that it is necessary. Why? Because it will allow a moment for the magic to occur. If these cards are not covered, even for a moment, I feel the effect becomes more of a coincidence and less a display of some kind of power you may have. Let Steven pick up his chosen pile and begin the DEALFLIPDROP sequence. Once Steven has finished, you will request that he indicate someone in the room hes never met. This next person (lets call him Terence) comes forward and he, too, “mixes” them with the DEALFLIPDROP procedure. Once Terence has finished, ask him to select a person he does not know. This third person (say, Ulysses) comes forward and also 'mixes55 the cards for what should be the last time (though, if someone else insists, its no problem, as you will see). I've used the following lines for a number of years to keep open the possibility of one more person “mixing” the cards, and yet to effectively stop the procedure from continuing. If there is anyone left in this room who doesn’t believe these cards have been brought into a random order, now is the chance to satisfy yourself. Or may I move on? / You will pick up their pile and place the cards into the empty wine glass, but the orientation of how you put them in will depend on if the cards were mixed three or four times. On the (very) slim possibility that someone does demand to go through the sequence another time (and happens to bring the total to four <<mixes， ， )> then the packet will have to be placed into the glass in the orientation opposite to the one above. To place their cards correctly, take the pile by the outer end and place it into the glass, thus positioning the bottom card of the tabled pile closest to the audience. Lets call this contingency “EVEN.” The mnemonic I use is EVEN=IN: because the procedure was performed an even number of times, the top card should face in. Thinking of their pile as either ODD or EVEN makes it easy to keep track of its orientation. The total of DEALFLIPDROP procedures affects this binary, as does the pile being flipped, which may inadvertently happen as it is passed from one spectator to another; either of these actions will require you to switch your mnemonic from ODD to EVEN and vice versa. As the cards are being 236