50 Modern Card Tricks

50 Modern Card Tricks

50 Modern Card Tricks by

Glenn Gravatt

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50 Modern Card Tricks Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Ambitious Card No Sleight Method ............................................................................................ 7 The Professor’s Card Trick ............................................................................................................ 7 Cards and Dice ................................................................................................................................ 8 Kosky’s Automatic Placement ...................................................................................................... 9 Marlo’s Automatic Placement ...................................................................................................... 10 Mathematical Card Trick ............................................................................................................... 11 Mathematical Card Trick No. 2 ..................................................................................................... 11 Add a Pair ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Perfect Force .....................................................................................................................................12 Numerology .................................................................................................................................... 13 Before Your Eyes ............................................................................................................................. 13 Easy Reverse .................................................................................................................................... 14 Think of Any Card .......................................................................................................................... 14 Easy Follow The Leader ................................................................................................................. 15 No Questions Asked ....................................................................................................................... 16 Deckspert ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Congregation of The Aces ............................................................................................................. 17 The Sixth Card ................................................................................................................................. 18 Find Your Own Card ...................................................................................................................... 19 Australian Aces ............................................................................................................................... 19

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50 Modern Card Tricks New Australian Deal ...................................................................................................................... 20 The Perfect Self-Working Discovery ............................................................................................ 20 Contrived Coincidence .................................................................................................................. 21 Contrived Coincidence No. 2 ........................................................................................................ 22 Adding The Digits ...........................................................................................................................23 Berg’s Revelation ............................................................................................................................. 24 Divining The Number of Cards In Pocket ...................................................................................24 Combination of Chosen Card and Cards In Pocket ................................................................... 25 Matching Card By Numerology ................................................................................................... 26 X-Ray Eyes ....................................................................................................................................... 26 Back In Place .................................................................................................................................... 27 Perfect Location ............................................................................................................................... 27 Impromptu Card To Pocket ...........................................................................................................28 Impromptu Detection ..................................................................................................................... 29 Impromptu Out of This World ......................................................................................................29 Gravatt’s Miracle Card Trick ......................................................................................................... 30 Davenport’s Extraordinary Divination ........................................................................................ 31 Faces Up and Faces Down ............................................................................................................. 32 Improved Clock ............................................................................................................................... 32 Matching Card for Card ................................................................................................................. 33 Perplexity ......................................................................................................................................... 34

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50 Modern Card Tricks Impromptu Prediction ................................................................................................................... 34 Divination Supreme ....................................................................................................................... 35 Curious Brudge Hand ................................................................................................................... 36 Transposition In Reverse ............................................................................................................... 36 Out of This Room ............................................................................................................................ 37 Fantastic Revelation ........................................................................................................................ 38 Two Minds But With a Single Thought ....................................................................................... 39 Two Card Discovery ....................................................................................................................... 39 Gravatt’s Detective Card ................................................................................................................ 40

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50 Modern Card Tricks

Introduction In an early issue of The Bat the publisher, Lloyd E. Jones, wrote: "There are fellows who would like to do a few card tricks, nothing elaborate, but simple tricks that can be done at any time. There are so many good tricks available that it seems a shame that most people who like to do tricks and even those who call themselves magicians are at a loss when handed a strange pack of cards. They fumble, they hem and haw, perhaps they can't think of a single thing to do, perhaps they have no time to prepare their especially wonderful trick, perhaps they have left that prepared deck at home.” Here then is the answer, card tricks that work themselves, no set ups, no sleights, no fake cards, tricks that are really impromptu, so that you can borrow a deck, ask someone to shuffle the cards and start right in doing tricks. Recently I read a book labeled "Impromptu Card Tricks" but some depended upon decks that were pre-arranged, some required forcing, palming and other sleights, some required waxed cards and needle punctured cards, one even required a newspaper with a secret pocket. This is not my idea of "impromptu." Here is a feast for the card gourmet. In the nearly 40 years that have gone by since I wrote the original "Encyclopedia of Card Tricks" I have made notes of tricks that have come to my attention from many sources and in a variety of ways, so that sufficient material has been accumulated to fill another Encyclopedia. The best impromptu effects were drawn from that material for this book. Here are some of the finest creations of such noted magical inventors as Gerald Kosky, Bob Hummer, Eddie Joseph, Stewart James, Ed Marlo, Ralph Hull, Jack Miller, Francis Carlyle, Frank Garcia, George Dean, Sid Lawrence, Scalbert, Tom Sellers, Ned Rutledge, Percy Bee, Rufus Steele, Paul Kahn, and others, including of course some of Glenn Gravatt. Sometimes two originators get the same idea. There is no way to prove who thought of it first, so while assignment of credits cannot be guaranteed to be correct, credit has been given where known. However in many of these cases I have taken the liberty to make changes, hoping that my efforts might improve the original. In preparing this book I tried out all the tricks to see if they actually worked as they were supposed to. They worked but I was amazed to discover how effective they were, more wonderful than they sounded by just reading them. In many cases simple mathematics are converted into little mysteries, disguised with misdirection, and the magician has little to do but direct the proceedings. Too many so-called self-working card tricks call for long drawn out procedures involving endless counting and dealing. They may be mystifying but they can be very boring, and your primary purpose is to ENTERTAIN. I have tried to avoid this fault. There is of necessity a certain amount of counting and dealing but this has been kept to a minimum and is very limited. No counting is lengthy and no dealing is excessive. So while some of this is inevitable only tricks have been used that are not too time consuming.

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50 Modern Card Tricks There are a great many card tricks that are so old and have appeared in print so often that many laymen are familiar with them. These have been omitted. Likewise many have been published apparently for the beginner or rankest amateur because they are easy to do but are so simple you could hardly hope to fool anyone with them is these sophisticated times. These also have been omitted. No one likes to read long winded' descriptions so those in this book are purposely brief, the way in which the trick is presented being left to the good judgment of the performer. The wise magician will use showmanship to put an effect over and cloak it with suitable patter, some of which is designed to mislead the onlooker away from the real method employed. Also a good performer will not just simply run through the deck to find a chosen card, but reveal it is some dramatic manner. It hardly needs to be mentioned that in all cases where you reveal a chosen card you keep it face down until the spectator names his card, then you turn it over. Out of all the tricks that follow, there are only one or two where perhaps it is not feasible to use a borrowed deck. There are only four or five where a spectator cannot shuffle the pack at the start, and even a shuffle is possible with these few tricks if you are able to sight the top or bottom card afterwards. You will find all of them really impromptu, easy to do, no skill needed, mystifying and entertaining.

GLENN GRAVATT

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50 Modern Card Tricks

Ambitious Card No Sleight Method Effect: A card is shown, then placed in the middle of the deck with half of it left protruding. The card is then pushed flush with the deck and a moment later is shown to have come to the top. This effect is usually accomplished by sleight of hand but Frank Garcia has devised a very clever method, one that is so easy anyone can do it, yet beautiful to watch and very confusing even to professional card men. Take the deck and state that you will remove a card. What you do is to fan the pack before you, square up any 2 cards in perfect alignment, and remove them as one. You can remove the top 2, the bottom 2, or whatever happens to be easiest for you. Now this is far different from the sleight commonly known as the "Double Lift," which requires practice and is difficult for some. You merely remove 2 cards from the deck keeping them evened so that they appear as one. This is quite easy. You hold these in your right hand while retaining the pack in the left. With the right hand display the 2 cards as one, asking them to pay particular attention to it (front one of the 2) so that they will recognize it when they see it later, that it is very important for them to remember it. Place the card (cards) on top of the pack, immediately pushing the top card forward so that it projects a couple of inches from the narrow edge of the deck. The placing of the cards and the pushing out of the top card is all done in one action, and without hesitation. The projecting card is of course the indifferent one but is presumed to be the one just shown. Hold the deck slanting downward so they cannot see the face of the projecting card. Now comes a beautiful move. Cut the deck about in half, bringing the TOP half of the deck, in the right hand, over and on top of the protruding card. About half of this card extends from the center of the deck at the outer edge. The protruding card, buried half way down in the deck, is pushed home by the left index finger so that it is flush with the rest of the cards. The pack is squared up. The magician snaps his fingers, then turns over the top card to show that the card he inserted in the center of the pack has come to the top in a mysterious fashion. Very effective.

The Professor's Card Trick Start by saying: "I once knew an old professor who did a trick that went like this: First he had someone shuffle the deck. (Have a spectator do this.) Then he turned his back because if he didn't he might be accused of peeking. (Turn your back.) Now turn over the top card and lay it face up. If it's a picture card, discard it. They drag the problem out too much.”

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50 Modern Card Tricks “Now notice the number of spots on the card. Deal that many face down on each side of it. For instance, if it's a 3,spot, deal 6 cards, 3 on each side. The face up card in the middle is your des, tiny card. Please remember it. Turn it face down and deal 9 cards on top of it. Nine is a number of great portent. Pick up that center pile and give it a good shuffle. Now pick up the other 2 piles, put them together, and shuffle them. Put all the cards together and shuffle the whole batch.” This done, you turn around and take the cards. Continue: "The professor would look over the cards, looking for one, your destiny card. He always gave the impression he was hard at work on a tough problem. " You imitate the professor looking at the cards. What you actually do is to count them. Deduct 10 from the total. Half of the result gives you the value of his card, that is, the number of spots. For instance, if 18 cards, 18 less 10 leaves 8. Half of 8 is 4, indicating a 4, spot. If there is but one 4-spot in the group, toss it out face down. Have him name the card he remembered. Turn it up to show you have discovered it, notwithstanding all the shuffling. If there are 2 fours, or whatever, put one on top and one on bottom. Square the packet. When he names his card show the correct one. Either is equally effective. If there are 3 of the same (unlikely in a small group) put one on top, one on the bottom, and turn the other face up in the center. While doing this, turn your back, stating that you have found his card and are placing it in a distinctive position. Finish by saying (with tongue in cheek) : "I sure would like to know how the old professor did that trick. I could never figure it out.” Note: You may prefer to have 7 cards dealt on the "destiny" card instead of nine. This number fits in well because, as you tell the spectator, the number 7 has always been considered a mystical number, in all ages, and especially in biblical times, and has been thought of as a "lucky" number. In such case, subtract 8 from the total number of cards and divide the remainder by 2, giving you the correct number of spots on the "destiny" card.

Cards and Dice A spectator, after shuffling his pack, is handed a pair of dice. While your back is turned he makes a pile of 13 cards, discarding the rest of the pack. He is then to roll the dice, add the 2 numbers on top, count that far down in the 20"'card heap, and to note and remember the card at that number. He then totals the 2 numbers on the bottom of the dice, counts to this second number from the top of the pile and notes that card. Thus he has selected 2 cards by chance, his choices governed by the roll of the dice. He then conceals the dice or changes them so you will have no clue when you turn around.

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50 Modern Card Tricks If desired 2 spectators may take part. One notes a card as far down in the heap as the total of spots on top, the other does the same with the total of spots on the bottom of the dice. You turn, take the cards, and place them behind you. State that you will divide the cards into 2 piles, find both cards, put one in each pile and at exactly the same position, all without looking at the cards. Count off 6, reversing them in the process, that is, reversing the order by putting one atop the preceeding and so on. Bring these 6 forward and place on the table. Bring forth the 7th card and lay it beside the 6...card pile. Bring forth the remaining 6 cards (without reversing their order) and lay them beside the others so that you have two 6-card piles with a single card in the center. Ask him to name his cards. This done you turn up the 2 top cards, both at the same time, using both hands. Place them below the other heaps, face up. Turn up the next pair, and continue until his 2 cards appear. They will both turn up at the same time, verifying your statement you would put each one at exactly the same place in it's respective pile. Should the top numbers of the dice be 7, the bottom will also be 7. Thus he would only note 1 card instead of 2, but he says nothing about this to you. In such case his card will be the center one, the single one between the 2 piles of 6. When you have turned up all 6 of both piles and haven't seen his card, it is the single one in the center. However, before you start turning cards you ask him to name them. Since he can name but one you immediately turn up the single center card which is still more wonderful since you have apparently separated it from the other 12. You may wish to use 3 dice. In such case use 20 cards. The procedure is much the same except that when you put the cards behind you, you count off the top 10, reversing their order, bring these out and place on the table. Lay the other 10 down beside them without reversing them. Thus you have 2 piles of 10 cards each. Since the number of cards used is even, there is no center single one.

Kosky's Automatic Placement Gerald Kosky's method of automatically bringing a noted card to any position in the deck you wish, originally issued under the title: "No Clue." A spectator shuffles his pack and while you turn your back he removes a small amount of cards, any number up to, say, about 15. He counts them, puts them in his pocket, counts down from the top of the deck to that number and notes and remembers the card at that position. He then deals from the top of the deck, a card at a time, FACE UP, merely calling out whether the card is red or black. He does this until you stop him. The dealt off face up pile is turned face down and the rest of the deck put on top. You know where his card lies and can reveal it in any way you wish.

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50 Modern Card Tricks To bring his card to any desired position subtract the number you want the card to be at from 52. Suppose you wish his card to be 30th from the top. Subtract 30 from 52, "giving 22. Therefore you have him deal off 22 cards from the top of the pack into a face up pile, at the same time calling out their color. When he has dealt 22, say "stop." The 22-card pile is turned face down and the cards left in the hand placed on top of that. The calling of the colors is simply misdirection and a ruse to have him cut or transfer 22 from the top to the bottom of the pack.

Marlo's Automatic Placement There are a number of ways whereby you can automatically bring a card noted by a spectator to any position in the deck you wish. Knowing its location you can then reveal or produce it in any manner you please. This is Ed Marlo's version. A spectator shuffles his deck and while you turn your back removes a bunch of cards which he silently counts. He pockets these or puts them out of sight as they are to be discarded and no longer used. He then notes the card as far down from the top of the deck as the number of cards he removed. If he took 10, then he looks at the 10th card from the top. You turn and take the cards. Emphasize that you have no idea as to how many he discarded, therefore you cannot possibly know where his card lies in the pack. Nevertheless you intend to find it. Holding the deck facing him, show him the top card, asking him to watch for his card but to give you no indication when he sees it, just watch for it, and perhaps you will get the proper vibrations. Pass the next card to the other hand, then the next, and so on. In doing this do not reverse the order of the cards. That is, each successive card as it is passed from the top of the deck to the other hand goes in front of the previous card, maintaining the original order. When you have shown him the faces of 22 cards (you count silently as you pass them) ask if he has seen his card. Of course he has because originally he was asked to remove a "small" bunch, to count them, and look at the card at that number. Put the 22 cards at the bottom of the deck. In other words you have simply cut 22 off the top and transferred them to the bottom. Having him look for his card is just an excuse to transfer the proper number. The card he noted will now be 30th from the top. You can reveal it in any way you please. It will be 30 because you cut 22, and since there are 52 cards in the pack, 22 from 52 leaves 30. In the same way you can automatically bring his noted card to any position in the pack, depending upon the number of cards you transfer from the top to the bottom. To put his card 32nd, cut off 20. 52-20 equals 32. To put his card 27th, transfer 25. And so on. Eddie Joseph has a similar method called "Dumfounder." Spectator first calls any number between 25 and 40. The trick proceeds as above. You then cause his noted card to appear at the very number he called. You simply subtract that number from 52, and cut the resulting

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50 Modern Card Tricks number from top to bottom, using the ruse of running the cards from hand to hand while he watches for his.

Mathematical Card Trick Admittedly old, in fact so old as to be brand new to the present generation. It is too good a feat, considering the ease with which it can be accomplished, to be lost to present day performers. As another excuse for describing it here, a few unique twists have been added. Like many good tricks many have tried their hands at devising variations to make this one still better, and splendid methods have been published by Lloyd E. Jones, G. W. Hunter, and others including Professor Hoffman (Angelo Lewis.) First remove 6 cards from a pack, without revealing their number, and place them in your pocket. While you turn your back have a spectator shuffle the deck. Tell him to deal 3 heaps of cards, any number he wishes, just as long as the heaps have the same number of cards. In order not to prolong the trick he should not deal too many, neither too few, say any number from 5 to 12. Having done this, you tell him to take 2 cards from each outside pile and put them on the center pile. This done, he is to return the entire left hand pile, what is left of it, to the main deck. He is now to count the cards in the right hand pile and remove that number from the center pile, putting them back with the main deck. Lastly he puts what remains of the right hand pile back with the main deck. You state that you have no way of knowing how many he dealt in the first place, or how many he returned to the deck, so there is no way to tell how many he still has on the table before him. However, if he will hand you the deck while you still keep your back turned to him, you will show him and the rest of the audience how quickly you can tell how many are missing from the deck. He hands you the deck. Take it in one hand. Hold it close to your ear, and riffle the corner with a riffling sound audible to all. Say "there are 6 missing, therefore you have 6 cards on the table." This action will invariably produce a laugh, as it always did in connection with another trick by the very funny "Amazing Ballantine. " The spectator must admit you are correct. You then state further that you knew in advance just what he was going to do and to prove it you pull out the cards you placed in your pocket and count them aloud for all to see. There are 6.

Mathematical Card Trick No.2 Bruce Elliott credits this to Jack Miller. A spectator shuffles his deck and while you turn your back he deals 2 small piles of cards, not so many as to prolong the trick, but as many as 11

50 Modern Card Tricks he wishes, and silently so you can have no way of knowing the number dealt. Each pile must have the same number. Ask the spectator to return one card from the left hand pile to the main deck. Ask him how many he would like to discard from the right hand pile. Suppose he says 3. Remember that number. Spectator returns 3 to the main deck from the right hand pile. Now tell him to take as many cards as are left in the right hand pile from the left hand pile and put them back with the main deck. This done, you remind him you did not know how many cards he dealt in the first place so could have no idea how many remain. Yet you call the correct number, in this case, 2. Sure enough, he has 2 cards left. The answer must always be one less than the number he called out. In the case assumed he called 3, so the answer is 2 cards left.

Add a Pair Hand pack to spectator. Turn your back to him. Tell him to remove any 2 spot cards and add the spots together. A 7 and a 5 would total 12. So he puts his 2 chosen cards to one side while he deals a pile of cards equal to the total of their spots, in this case, 12. He then deals another heap of the same number. He assembles these 2 heaps into one, then puts his 2 chosen cards on top of the combined heap. Finally he puts the balance of the pack on top of all. Cards are face down at all times. You turn, take the cards, stressing that you do not know the 2 cards chosen, therefore you could not know the number dealt. Likewise you could not know where his 2 cards lie in the deck. He must agree. Fan the pack face up in front of you, passing the cards from one hand to the other, counting from the face of the deck. Begin your count at O. Count the first 2 cards as 0, the second pair as (41," the 3rd pair as "2," the 4th pair as "3" etc. Removing them 2 by 2, when you arrive at a pair of cards, the spots on which total the same as your mentally counted number, those will be the 2 selected cards. In this case the spots on a pair of cards will total 12 as you mentally count 12. Credited to Torn Sellers.

Perfect Force World's easiest force. Only trouble, you need more than one spectator. Top card is the force card. Put pack on left fingers, out near fingertips. With left hand held out flat, go to "A." Ask him to

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50 Modern Card Tricks cut the deck. He cuts off'the top portion. You motion with your right hand for him to put the cut-off part on your palm, (back of bottom portion.) Move on to "B," picking up the bottom portion at the fingertips with the right hand. Hold left hand out, with top part on its palm, saying "Will you please take the card that Mr. A cut to?" B takes top the force card, This is the force used by Percy Bee in England but is not generally known.

Numerology Begin by telling a spectator that in numerology everyone's personality is represented by 2 numbers, the numbers being different in each instance. Say: "Just by looking at you, I would guess that your numbers are 5 and 3. Let's see if I'm right." Ask him to count off any 8 cards. Have him hold these 8 behind his back in order to shuffle them behind him. Say: "Shuffle these without looking at them." As you put the cards in his hands held behind him, just turn the bottom card face up. Doing this behind his back, he can't see it. Say "After you've mixed the cards behind you, turn the top and bottom cards face up. Next, shuffle them again, and again reverse the top and bottom cards. Repeat this as often as you wish. When you finish spread the cards on the table. Since your numbers are 5 and 3, you should have 5 cards facing one way and 3 the other. Note: Have your spectator stop at either 3rd, 5th, or 7th time they do this, as it is not probable, it is possible to undue your 5/3 spread and you will end with a 7/1 spread, as you did at the start of the routine. The chances of it happing are low, but it can happen. Your prediction proves correct. The trick works automatically. This is credited to Bob Hummer.

Before Your Eyes A spectator cuts off a small bunch of cards, say a dozen or so and retains them, discarding the rest of the pack. He fans the small packet of cards before him and decides upon one certain card, remembering it, and also counting how far it lies from the top of the packet, meaning of course, when the cards are face down. You take the packet and say you will cut the cards to lose the one he chose so that neither of you will know where it lies in the small bunch of cards. You cut a small bunch off the BOTTOM and place them on TOP of the packet.

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50 Modern Card Tricks It makes no difference how many you cut off except you must know the number. Let us suppose you cut 4 cards from the bottom and transferred those 4 to the top of the packet. Hand back the packet to him. Ask him to put the cards behind his back where you cannot see them and to transfer his number from the top to the bottom, that is, the same number his card was from the top of the packet when he first decided upon it. This done, he returns the cards to you. Without looking at their faces you immediately find his card. It will be as far down from the top of the packet as the number you cut from the bottom to the top. If you cut 4 cards, then his card will now be 4th.

Easy Reverse A spectator shuffles his deck and deals 2 piles of 10 cards each. He picks up either pile and from it chooses a card which he puts on the table face down. He then deals this pile on top of his card, dealing the first card face down, the next face up, the third face down, and so on, alternating. He deals the other pile on top of those 10, dealing the first card face up, the second face down, and so on. He cuts the 20-card packet to lose his card, then hands the packet to you behind your back. You put the top card between thumb and first finger, the second card between first and second finger, the third card between thumb and first finger, and so on with all 20. Finally you take one group (either one) and turn it over, then combine the two groups into one. Bring the cards into view and ribbonspread them across the table. All cards will be facing one way while the chosen card will be reversed in the spread.

Think of Any Card A spectator shuffles his deck, then thinks of any card. You take the deck and state that you will match the suit and the value of the card he is thinking of by dealing 2 face up piles and finding 2 cards to match his, one face up on each pile, leaving the packjust as he has shuffled it and without changing the order of the cards. He now names his thought-of card. Suppose it is the 7 of Hearts. You start dealing and before all the cards have been dealt, there appears a 7-spot of some suit at the face of one pile, and a heart at the face of the other.

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50 Modern Card Tricks No matter what card he may mentally choose, you succeed in matching it with the 2 significant cards. Secret: There is nothing for you to do. The trick works by itself. It might fail once in a hundred times but it seldom happens. You do not claim that the first card dealt to a pile, say that on your left, will combine with the next card dealt, that on your right. What never occurs to the spectator (and might not occur to you) is that you have 2 chances for every card dealt. Deal slowly. Suppose, as before, the 7 of Hearts is thought of. Suppose, further, that somewhere in your deal, a heart is dealt onto one heap. The card on the other heap may be a 7, and you are through. But assume it is not a 7. You deal a card on it (dealing to each heap in turn) and perhaps a 7 will then appear. You therefore have had 2 chances instead of one. And so on throughout the deal.

Easy Follow The Leader No Sleights There is an old trick usually known as "Follow The Leader" wherein one red card and one black are laid out face upward to be used as "leaders" or guides. A packet of red cards is placed under the red leader, and a packet of black under the black. No matter how often the leaders or the packets are exchanged, the cards follow the leader, the blacks always turning up where the black leader is, and the reds where the red one is. A number of different methods have been printed but they require sleight of hand and a degree of skill. The method to be described is simple and easy, using no sleights of any kind, yet very effective. This once appeared in a magazine, usually the burial ground of much worthwhile material. Its name, and that of the originator is omitted here, not intentionally, but because of lost notes. Deal 6 black cards face up to your left and 6 red ones to your right, openly. Put the left (black) pile on the right hand pile. Hold the 12 cards face down in the left hand. Run 8 cards from the left to the right hand, counting aloud as you do so "1, 2, 3," etc. After 8 have been counted, spread the 4 in the left hand, saying "and 4 makes 12." Casually add the 4 to the bottom of the pile in the right hand. Thumb off the top 6 without reversing their order, turn the packet face up, squared, and place it at your left. Say "the blacks go here. The red ones go here." Put the others face up at your right. Remove the top card of each pile as a "leader" card, placing it face up above its own pile. Turn the 2 five...card piles face down under their leaders. State you will show how the cards play the game, "Follow the Leader." Transpose the 2 face down piles, putting each where the other was. Remove the top card of each pile, showing it has followed its leader. Place them face up on top of their leaders. Transpose

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50 Modern Card Tricks the face down piles again. This time remove the bottom cards of the piles and add them to the leader piles face up. Again transpose the face down piles. Remove the top cards and add to the leader piles. The next time, instead of moving the face down piles you transpose the 2 face up leader piles'! Turn the top cards of the face down piles and add them to the leader piles. Finally, transpose all cards (all 4 heaps) criss cross or diagonally, interchanging the left hand face up cards with the face down card at the right, and the face up cards at the right with the face down one at the left. Turn over the remaining face down cards. Thus, in spite of the continual changing, all cards have followed the leader.

No Questions Asked A Glenn Gravatt simplification of an involved Eddie Joseph creation. A spectator shuffles his pack, and while your back is turned, deals 15 cards in a pile FACE UP. He is to select anyone of the 15 cards and remember it. Also he must silently count the cards as he deals and remember both the card and its number. He then deals a pile of cards to the right of the face up pile, this time dealing them face down. This pile is to contain his secret number, that is, as many cards as the number on which his chosen card fell. The rest of the cards are placed down at the left. He has 3 piles, his card being in the center one. He takes this center pile, turns it face down, and puts it on the pile at his right. He then puts the pile at his left on top of all. Thus the deck is complete once more. You turn and take the pack. Stress the fact that you do not know his secret number or the card he looked at, and will ask no questions. Put the deck behind your back turn it face up, and count to the 16th card from the FACE. That will be his card. The above saves time but if you want to do it another way, without putting the deck behind your back or turning the cards face up, his card will be 37th from the top. (Quite naturally, since it is 16th from the bottom.) You can therefore locate it with the cards face down, silently counting to the 37th card. In such case it should not be obvious to the spectator that you are counting. You can use any pretext for passing the cards from hand to hand, such as feeling the spots with your "sensitive fingertips" or any other ruse.

Deckspert

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50 Modern Card Tricks One of Stewart James' creations. A spectator shuffles his deck, and while your back is turned, cuts off about a third or so of the cards. He then makes 2 piles of the ones cut off, and puts one of these piles in his pocket. He counts the cards in the other pile, then counts to that same number in the main deck, noting and remembering the card that far from the top. You turn, take the main deck, and assert you will try to locate the card he looked at without once looking at the cards. Put the deck behind your back where you appear to be feeling for his card. What you actually do is to count the cards, easily done by sliding them off with the thumb from the top into the other hand. Bring forth the pack, stating you have found his card and will now do a surprising thing with it, that you will put it as far down in the pack as the number of cards in his pocket, even "though neither he nor you know how many he put in his pocket, as he did not count those. Mentally subtract the number of cards you counted from 51 (not 52 as you might think.) If the result, say, is 15, you reverse the order of the top IS cards, simply running them off from one hand to the other, each going on top of the preceding one, until you have reversed the order of the required number. Then restore this packet to the top of the pack. This is done openly as you are apparently placing his card (which you pretend to know) at a specified position. It is now a fact that the card he noted will be at the same number down in the pack as the unknown number of cards in his pocket. You can reveal it by having him count the cards in his pocket, then count to that number in the deck. Perhaps a more dramatic revelation is for you to have him remove the bunch from his pocket, and slowly deal cards on the table while you deal off the pack in unison. When he is all out of cards, you turn over the last one dealt from the pack, showing that it is the very card he noted.

Congregation of The Aces This book would not be complete without a "four ace trick." There are a great number of these, practically all of them depending either upon sleight of hand or fake cards. The following, devised by Ralph Hull, is ridiculously easy to perform, packs a terrific wallop, and strangely, seems to be very little known. Remove from a pack the 4 aces and any other 12 cards, doing this quite openly. Discard the rest of the pack. Place 3 indifferent cards face up and an ace on top. Repeat with the other cards so that you have 4 piles of face up cards, an ace on top of each. Now place all 4 piles together into one. Stress the fact that there arc 16 cards and that every 4th one is an ace. Therefore, when you deal the cards face down into 4 piles, the four aces will be in the fourth pile. Turn the packet of 16 cards face down and deal the first 4 in a row, counting aloud: "1, 2, 3, 4." Right hand takes the next card from the packet in the left and starts to place it 011 the card to your left, saying "1" as if starting to count to 4 again. Hesitate. Gesture with the card in your hand to the fourth card, the one at your right. "Remember, the aces will go in this pile."

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50 Modern Card Tricks “I'll show you," you continue, replacing the card in your right hand at the BOTTOM of the packet in your left, and immediately turning the ace at the end of the row up, showing it, then turning it down again. This is misdirection, but no sleight. Spectator's attention is focused on the ace turned up and does not realize the top card in your left hand has been transferred to the bottom. You merely act as though trying to convince your audiecnce the aces actually do go onto the pile at your right. Say: "1," putting the top card of the packet on the card at the left. Say "2," putting the next on the second from the left, and soon, counting "3" and"4". Repeat the 1, 2, 3, 4 count untill all 16 cards have been laid out into 4 piles. Say: "Since the aces are in the fourth pile, there will be none in this one." Turn the first pile (the one to your left) face up and spread out on the table. "And of course there will be none in this pile." Turn the second pile face up. Say "that leaves one pile of aces and one pile of odd cards. I'll turn one of each face up so you won't forget where they are.” Reach under the third pile, removing the indifferent card from its face, and place it face up, just above that pile. Do the same with the fourth pile, removing its lone ace from its face and placing it face up just above that pile. Continue: "Now here is the strange thing. If I exchange these 2 face up cards, their companions will follow them. Invisibly, of course. You can't see them go." Place the face up ace above the original third pile, moving the odd card over to what was originally Pile No.4. All that remains is to turn the 3 face down cards of both piles face up, showing that the other 3 aces have followed their companion, the fourth ace.

The Sixth Card After a spectator shuffles his deck, turn your back so as not to witness the proceedings and tell him to deal 2 small piles of cards, the same number in each, and to save time, not to deal too many, say from 5 to 15. He deals silently so you can get no clue as to the number dealt. This done the spectator is to take 3 cards from the right hand pile and place them on the left hand pile. He counts the number remaining in the right hand pile and returns them to the main deck, after which he removes the same number from the left hand pile, also restoring them to the deck. He shuffles the remaining cards, looks at and remembers the one at the face of the packet when the shuffle is completed, then places the packet on the deck. The performer turns, takes his cards, and reminds the spectator that since at no time did he know the number of cards used in the various transactions he could not know the position of the noted card. You can reveal the card in any manner you wish, as it will always be the sixth card down in the pack. You could simply run off the top 5, toss the 6th face down on the table, ask him to name his card, then turn it over.

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50 Modern Card Tricks A more dramatic finish is to spread about a dozen of the top cards in a row or ribbonspread across the table. Have the spectator hold out a hand with his index finger extended. Take hold his hand and run it back and forth over the spread, finally dropping his finger down" on the back of the 6th card. He names his card, then turns it over.

Find Your Own Card Bob Hummer's version of the "Australian Deal" from the land of "Down/ Under." A spectator shuffles his pack and removes 10 cards. He fans the deck before him and decides upon a particular card, noting the number at which it lies from the top of the packet. We will suppose he chooses the Ace of Spades and that it is third from the top. You take the packet, telling him you will cut the cards so he nor anyone else will know where his choice is, as you will bring it to a new position. Spread the cards face down and transfer 4 form the bottom to the top. Hand him back the cards and have him transfer, one at a time, cards from the top to the bottom equal to the number his card was originally. Since in the assumed case it was third, he would move 3 cards singly from top to bottom. You explain that he is to do the "Australian Deal," that since Australia is commonly known as the land of Down Under, he is to deal the top card of the packet DOWN, that is, down on the table, the next one UNDER, that is, underneath the packet he holds, and to continue in this manner until he has but one card left. To keep all straight he is to call "down" when he deals to the table and "under" when he deals or transfers the top card to the bottom. When but one card remains in his hands he turns it up. It is the very card he selected. He has found it himself.

Australian Aces Originated by Glenn Gravatt. The 4 aces are laid out on the table. You say that from the earliest of times the number 7 has been considered a mystic number, that it appears dozens of times in the Bible. There were dreams of 7 lean years and 7 fat years, the river Jordan was crossed 7 times, etc. Therefore 7 cards are dealt on to each ace These 4 piles are combined into one. A false cut at this point, while not necessary, increases the mystification. Ask the spectator to take the packet of cards and to do the "Australian Deal." Tell him it is sometimes known as the "Down Under" deal, that if he isn't familiar with it it is simply this:

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50 Modern Card Tricks He lays down the top card of the packet on the table, saying "Down." He transfers the next card to the bottom of the packet, saying "Under." He lays the third card on the table, saying "Down." He puts the next card at the bottom, saying "Under." He repeats this until he has but 4 cards left. They are turned over, and prove to be the 4 aces.

New Australian Deal Originated by Glenn Gravatt. A spectator shuffles his own deck, then, while your back is turned, deals cards in a face up pile, counting and stopping on any card. To speed up things and not have a long drawn out procedure, he should not deal more than 12. He notes the card he stops at, and remembers the number. For instance he might deal 5 cards and stop. The 5th card might be the Ace of Clubs. So he remembers the Ace of Clubs, and the number, 5, after which he returns the 5 cards to the top of the deck. You now turn and have him deal off 12 cards on to your palm. Since he stopped with 12 or less, the packet will contain his card, but you have no idea where it is or what it is. Cut 5 cards off the top and transfer them to the bottom. This is easily done by spreading the cards slightly, and simply re-moving the top 5. Now his card is lost somewhere in the packet. Hand him the cards and ask him to transfer his number (the number he dealt off in the first place) from the BOTTOM to the TOP of the pack. Then ask him to do the "Australian Deal." Explain that this is sometimes called the Down Under deal. So he deals the top card down. (On to the table.) He deals the next one under. (Under the packet he holds.) He deals the 3rd down, the 4th under, and so on, until he is left with but one card. It is the very card he noted.

The Perfect Self-Working Discovery A quick and easy revelation of a chosen card. A spectator shuffles his own pack, then lays out 3 heaps of 6 cards each. It doesn't matter whether they are dealt, pushed off in a packet, or how. Magician stresses he doesn't know any of these 18 cards and will not look at them at any time. He thereupon turns his back. Spectator then chooses any 1 of the 3 piles, picks it up, fans it before his eyes, and merely thinks of any card in the fan. He closes the fan, then combines the 3 piles into one, sandwiching the pile with his card between the other 2 piles, so it will be buried somewhere in the middle.

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50 Modern Card Tricks The magician turns around, takes the l Svcard packet, and deals them into 3 piles, 1, 2, 3, and over these 4, 5, 6, and so on. He picks up each heap in turn and fans them widely before the eyes of the spectator, warning him to give him no indication of the card itself but merely telling him whether or not the pile contains his card. The magician combines the 3 piles into one, with the pile containing the spectator's card on top. He asserts that without further ado he will find the card the spectator thought of, and without looking at any of them. He removes the top card and transfers it to the bottom. He removes the next one from the top and places it at the bottom He takes the third one from the top and puts that also at the bottom. “Well, that does it. I've come to your card, the one you thought of, and without a single question," says the performer. At the same time he tilts the packet in his hand so he can see the bottom card. "What was your card?" asks the performer. When the spectator names it, the card is tossed out on the table face up. It will always be either the top or bottom one. If he names a different card than the one you noted at the bottom, take off the top card and show that you found it, having removed the correct number of cards to come to it. If he names the one at the bottom, simply turn the packet face up to show you placed it at the face of the packet. Whether top or bottom, the finish is equally effective, as it appears you found it and purposely placed it at that position. For those who dislike dealing, all dealing may be omitted. After spectator shuffles, take deck, quickly push off the top 6, then the next 6, then the next. When he has noted a card and combined the heaps, take packet in right hand, push off top card between thumb and forefinger of left, second between first and second fingers, the third between second and third fingers. Start over, putting the fourth card between thumb and first finger, and so on, with all the cards. Now the 6 cards between each 2 fingers are shown separately to ascertain which group contains his. This can also be done behind your back. Just state you are mixing the cards a bit or that you are putting his card in a certain position which he will see shortly.

Contrived Coincidence Spectator shuffles his deck. You take the deck and state you will do a trick in reverse, that instead of you guessing a card a spectator might choose you will try to have him guess one of your choice. You say you are thinking of one particular card and that you will place it aside for future verification. Fan the deck faces to you to look for your thought-of card.What you do is to note the top and bottom cards. If, for instance, one is the 2 of Clubs and the other the 5 of Hearts, you quickly run through the pack to locate whichever comes first, the 2 of Hearts or the 5 of Clubs. In other words you find a card of the same suit as one and the same value as the other.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Should the top and bottom cards happen to be of the same suit or the same value, close up the pack and have it cut, apparently as an afterthought. When you find the card you place it on the table face down without showing it. Ask spectator if he can name it. Of course he can't. You tell him perhaps he may be able to reveal it in a way he never dreamed of. State that you want him to insert a finger, a knifeblade, a nail file, or something similar anywhere between the cards. This done, you lift off the cards above the separation with the right hand, holding the lower part of the pack in the left. Stretch the arms far apart, asking him to notice that you separate the deck at the very spot chosen by him and that there are no quick moves to deceive him. A slight pause and a little talking at this point causes him to forget which half is which. Place the top half in the right hand face down on the table and lay the other half across it crosswise to mark "the place in the deck he selected." This is the basis of an old force. The previous top and bottom cards are thus brought together. Spectator never notices the deception but thinks the separation marks the place he cut to. Now show your card for the first time. Then separate the two halves of the deck where they criss cross, turning the top part face up and the top card of the bottom half face up. Show the spectator that he has unconsciously designated your card in this manner. If your card was the 5 of Hearts, you say: "See, you cut the deck at a 5-spot and at a Heart." A similar effect with a prearranged deck called "Controlled Coincidence" was invented long ago by Victor Farelli. The above impromptu method was devised by Glenn Gravatt, although others have been mistakenly credited with it.

Contrived Coincidence No. 2 Spectator shuffles his deck. You take back the cards and state that you are thinking of a certain card which you will remove before the trick starts. Fan the faces of the cards toward yourself, noting the top 2 cards, the suits and values of which should be different. I f alike hand deck back to be cut, as if by an afterthought. If for instance the top 2 should be the 3 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds, look for either the 3 of Diamonds or the 5 of Clubs, whichever happens to come first. Remove it and lay it on the table face down without showing it. Hand the pack to spectator, asking him to deal off cards into a pile and to stop whenever he pleases. This done, he is asked to pick up the small heap dealt off and to deal it into 2 piles, a card at a time alternately. This will result in putting the 2 cards you first noted at the top of the respective heaps. (Cards of course are dealt face down.) You now display the card you chose. Suppose it is the 5 of Clubs. Ask him to turn up the top cards of the 2 piles. He does so and finds one is a 5-spot, the other a Club. Glenn Gravatt.

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50 Modern Card Tricks

Adding The Digits A spectator cuts the deck into 2 parts, having been told to cut fairly near the center although the parts do not have to be equal. Your object is to have him take at least 20. He is now to choose either portion and count to see how many are in it. Suppose he counts 23. He adds the 2 digits, in this case 2 plus 3 makes 5. He turns his chosen portion face up and counts to that number from the FACE of the packet. In the assumed case he would count to the 5th card and remember it. He places the portion cantaining his card on the unused portion, thus assembling the complete deck. You can find his card because it will be 19th from the top. Another way of using this principle of adding digits is to use 2 decks. The spectator shuffles them and retains one, giving you the other. Both do the same thing. Each of you cut off about a third of the pack. That is to keep the number under 20. Each counts his cards and adds the digits. Meanwhile your back is turned. If the spectator holds 17 cards, he adds 1 and 7, making 8, and deals 8 from his packet onto the table, or in his pocket. He looks at the face card of those remaining in his hands, then puts the packet on the main deck. All the while you pretend to be doing the same thing but your actions are for misdirection only. You exchange decks with the spectator, asking him to find the duplicate of the card he noted io your deck, and you will find the duplicate of the one you noted in the same way in his deck. When the 2 cards are removed and shown they prove to be identical. Apparently you both chose the same card. When you take the spectator's pack you note the 9th card, which will be the one he noted. He removes its duplicate from your pack. Still another method of the digit adding device is this: From his shuffled pack spectator removes a number of cards from 10 to 20. He counts them and adds the 2 digits. If he has 17, he adds 1 and 7 making 8. So he returns 8 to the deck. All this time your back is turned. Now you have him start at the top and call out the names of the cards. Keep track of the number. When the 9th is called stop him. His card is always 9th. Should you have him cut off a batch containing 20 or more and the same procedure undergone, his card will be 18th. Another trick using this principle is this: Layout an Ace and an 8--spot face down without showing them. Spectator makes the deck into 2 piles and takes one. He counts the cards in his chosen pile, adds the digits and deals the number of cards so arrived at on the other pile. Thus he will be left with either 9 or 18 cards in his hands, depending upon how many he took originally. If he took 15, added 1 and 5, and removed 6, he would be left with 9. If he took 23, added 2 and 3, and removed 5, he would be Ieft with 18. Have him count the cards remaining, then show your 2 prophecy cards to prove you knew this in advance. If he has 9, add the Ace and 8-spot to make 9. If he has 18, show that the Ace (one) and the eight, represent the figure, 18.

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50 Modern Card Tricks

Berg's Revelation The old principle of counting a batch of cards, adding the digits, etc. is cleverly used by Joe Berg as follows: While your back is turned a spectator cuts off a bunch of cards from a deck he has just shuffled, any number at all. He counts how many cards he has, adds the 2 digits and discards that number of cards from the bunch, putting them back with the deck. For instance, if he has 24, he adds 2 and 4, totaling 6. So he removes 6 cards. He is now asked to think of any number from 1 to 9, and again discard some cards, returning to the deck a number corresponding to the number he decided upon. This done, he counts to his thought-of-number (from 1 to 9) in the packet of cards remaining in his hands, and looks at and remembers the card lying at that position. He then hands you the cards which you keep behind you as you turn to face him. Without disturbing their order count them behind your back. Whatever their number, subtract that number from the next highest multiple of 9. The result gives you the position of his card. If you have 11 cards, subtract 11 from 18, the next multiple of 9, giving you 7. Thus his card lies 7th in the heap. If there are 24 cards, subtract 24 from 27 (the next highest multiple of 9) giving you 3. So his card lies 3rd in the heap. If there are 7 cards, subtract 7 from 9, giving 2. So his card is second. Emphasize the fact that at no time have you asked a single question. At the start he helped himself to an unknown number of cards, that is, unknown to you. He added the 2 digits and discarded that number unknown to you. And finally he discarded some more, this time having free choice of the number discarded, a number which was never announced. He then noted a card at this freely chosen number. Remove the correct card and place it face down on the table. Ask him to name his card. He does so. You turn it up. Marvelous!

Divining The Number of Cards In Pocket A Gerald Kosky improvement on a subtle mathematical principle used in several tricks. A spectator shuffles his deck and while your back is turned, cuts off a bunch of cards, any number at all. You do not know the number cut off, and you never ask, but he counts them to himself to ascertain the number he cut off. The balance of the deck is discarded. He then adds the 2 digits of the number counted. He removes that many from the cut-off portion and places them on the table. If he cut off 17, then 1 plus 7 makes 8, so he would put 8 of the cards he holds on the table. If he cut off 20, then 2 plus 0 equals 2, so he would put 2 on the table. Finally he removes any number of cards from 1 to 10, and puts those in his pocket. You, with your back still turned so you can see none of his actions, ask him to call out the colors of the 24

50 Modern Card Tricks cards he has left from the packet he originally cut off, some of which have been placed on the table, and some of which are in his pocket. One by one he calls out red or black. This done, you immediately tell him how many cards he put in his pocket, which is amazing because at no time did you have any idea of how many cards he was working with. You pay no attention to the colors called. This is a subtle device originated by Gerald Kosky for the purpose of misdirection only. What you do is simply to keep track of the number of cards. Whatever that number is, subtract it from its next highest multiple of 9, and the result gives you the number of cards in his pocket. For instance, if he calls out the colors of 7 cards, 7 from 9 leaves 2, so he has 2 in his pocket. If he calls the colors of 14 cards, 14 from 18, the next highest multiple of 9, gives 4, so he has 4 in his pocket. Should he call out the colors of 20 cards, then 20 from 27 (the next highest multiple of 9) would give 7, therefore he would have 7 cards in his pocket. Throughout you stress the fact that you did not know how many cards he cut off the pack in the first place, therefore it follows you could not know how many he laid out on the table, andfinally, you could not know the number he selected to put in his pocket. The outcome therefore is the result of your powers of divination.

Combination of Chosen Card and Cards In Pocket A good mathematical principle (or any other principle for that matter) may be disguised and used in different ways so that many tricks, all apparently different can evolve from the same base. The counting of a group of cards and adding the 2 digits resulting from that count has been used to divine how many cards a spectator has concealed or hidden in his pocket. It has also been used to name or reveal a card noted and remembered by a spectator. In this trick, the two effects are combined, resulting in a double climax, although no more effort is needed than performing just one of the two. Here you not only tell a spectator how many cards he has removed and put in his pocket, but you also locate a card he has looked at. Begin by having a spectator shuffle his pack. Turning your back, invite him to cut off a quantity of cards, count them sccretly, add the digits and discard that many cards. Thus, if he cuts off 23, he totals the 2 digits making 5, and removes 5 cards and puts them back with the deck. He is then to think of any small number and to remove that number of cards from those in his hands and put them in his pocket. If he thinks of the number 7, he puts 7 cards in his pocket. Tell him to count down to the card at this same number among the cards remaining in his hands and make a mental note of the card. In this instance he would remember the 7th card. You turn around and take the packet of cards from him. Without glancing at their faces, slowly pass the cards one by one before his eyes, asking him to watch for his card but to give you no

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50 Modern Card Tricks indication when he sees it, you want to catch his mental vibrations, mysterious waves emanating from the brain which may tip you off. What you really do is count the cards. Suppose there are 11. Subtract the number from the next highest multiple of 9, which would be 18. If the number is less than 9, subtract it from 9. A remainder of 7 is left. This is the number at which the noted card will be found from the top of the packet. It is also the number of cards he put in his pocket. Toss out his card (the 7th in the case assumed: and dramatically announce that he has 7 cards in his pocket.

Matching Cards By Numerology Glenn Gravatt uses an old principle to produce an entirely new effect: A spectator shuffles his own pack. You take the cards, assert that you are thinking of a particular card, which you will first remove frorn the deck. Fan the cards before you and rapidly count (silently of course) to the tenth card, noting it. Suppose it is the 7 of Clubs. Keep on until you find its mate, the 7 of Spades, that is, the card that matches it in color and value. Remove the matching card. Place it face down on the table without showing it. Ask the spectator to call out any number between 10 and 20. He does so. We will assume he calls 13. Deal off 13 cards. This just to reverse their order. Put them back on the deck. Tell him that in the science of numerology, with which he is doubtless familiar, a low number is always arrived at by adding the two digits of a higher number. In this case he selected 13, so 1 and 3 make 4. Therefore he will get the 4th card: Deal to the 4th card and toss it out face down. Turn up the card. It will be the one that was originally 10th, in this case, the 7 of Clubs. Reminding him that he might have chosen any number, turn over the card you removed "before the trick began:' It is the 7 of Spades. "The two black sevens," you say, "what a strange coincidence.”

X-Ray Eyes Secretly glimpse the bottom card of the pack. Hand pack to a spectator. Ask him to square up the deck face down on the palm of his hand. Tell him to pull out the center third of the deck and drop it on top of the pack. Ask him to mark his .initials lightly on the back of the top card (the top one of the middle section he pulled out.) He is not to look at its face.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Ask him to give the pack a single cut, then another one or two. He then ribbon spreads the cards in a long spread on the table, face up. You note the card immediately above the bottom card you noted earlier. Mark your initials on its face. Ask him if he can find his card. Of course he can't because he never looked at its face. Tell him that if he can't find his own card, there is no way that you can find it except to look at their backs and locate the one with his initials. Turn over the cards. Pick out the one with his initials on the back. Show that it is the very card on which you wrote yours on the face. Credit to Ned Rutledge.

Back In Place A spectator shuffles his deck, thinks of a number between 1 and 10, then looks at the card at that number from the top. He now transfers the Same number of cards from the bottom to the top. You sec none of this as your back is turned. You now take the deck and place it behind your back. You stress the fact that since you do not know the number he thought of, and since it is no longer at that number inasmuch as some were transferred from the bottom on top of it, you wiII attempt the impossible. That is, with no knowledge of his number you will find it and restore his card to its original position. Behind your back count off 20 from the top, placing the first between a thumb and first finger, the second between the first and second finger, the third on the card between thurnb and first finger, the fourth under the card between first and second fingers, and so on, until you have dealt 20. Now put the 10 that are between the first and second fingers on the 10 that are between thumb and first finger, then place all 20 on top of pack. Bring pack into view. State that you have located his card and placed it back in its original position. Ask him his number. Suppose he says 7. Count down to the 7th card and toss out. Ask him the name of his card. He says, for instance, the 3 of clubs. Turn the tossed-out card face up. Sure enough, it is the 3 of clubs.

Perfect Location Perhaps the closest approach to the perfect card location, as the spectator does everything with the deck in his own hands. Hand deck to spectator. Have him shuffle. Ask him to remove any card, to note and remember it, then put it face down on the table. Tell him to cut the rest of the deck into 3 piles ABOUT EQUAL. Tell him to put his card on anyone of the 3 piles, then take the pile with the chosen card on top, turn the whole pile over and put it face up on either of the other 2 piles. He then puts the

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50 Modern Card Tricks remaining pile face down on top of all. Thus the pile with his card will be face up sandwiched between 2 face down piles. Ask him to give the deck one riffle shuffle. After this he may give the pack a complete cut or two. The cards will consequently be well mixed, some face up, some face down. Take the deck and turn it over. Run through the deck and you will find a few face up followed by a few face down cards, then a whole batch of face up cards. The rest of the pack will consist of small batches of face up and face down cards. The first face down card after the big batch of face up cards will always be the selected card. You can then reveal it in any manner. In seeking his card, what you do is to look for the longest run of face up cards. His card will be the one immediately following this run. Pointers: Make sure the 3 piles are nearly equal. For the riffle shuffle, make sure the pack is cut as nearly in the center as possible, then riffled.

Impromptu Card To Pocket No Sleights Hand a spectator the pack and turn your back to him. He is asked to cut a small packet of cards from the top of the pack. He counts his cards silently, then puts them in his pocket. He then turns the deck FACE UP and looks at the card from the face of the deck corresponding to the number pocketed. Thus if he removed 5 cards, he will note the 5th from the BOTTOM. Spectator cuts the pack so that his noted card will be brought to a now unknown position. When you turn around you take the pack and rapidly deal 26 cards onto the table, explaining you intend to use only the half containing his card. Spreading these 26, ask the spectator to see if his is among them, and simply to say yes or no without indicating the card. It is not there. You say then the other half obviously must contain it. You fan the rest of the pack face up but he still doesn't see his card. You then produce it from your pocket. And no sleight of hand is involved. The method was devised by the renowned Scalbert. The only preparation-in advance is to shorten one card (any card) by taking scissors and snipping off a very tiny strip clear across one end. This short card is placed 27th from the top. At the point described above where you turn to take the deck, you say "you lost your card by cutting the pack, didn't you?" and while talking, give it a cut yourself. What you actually do is to cut at the short card which is easy because when you riffle the end the deck will snap open there. Cut the short card to the top. I have omitted stating that after spectator cuts the deck and before you turn around to take it from him, he returns the cards in his packet to the top, so that the 52 card deck will be complete.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Once you cut the short card to the top, the chosen card becomes 27th from the top. As outlined above, you say you will divide the pack in half. So you deal off 26, This leaves his card right on top of those left in your hands. Hold these in your left hand while you lean forward to turn those on the table face up and spread them with your right. The balance of the pack comes naturally over the opening of your left coat pocket. At the moment you turn over the cards on the table you thumb the selected one into the pocket. Thumb just slides it off from the rest. This misdirection is absolutely perfect. When spectator cannot find his card, you turn over the other pile. When he vainly seeks it there, you produce it from your pocket for a surprise climax.

Impromptu Detection A spectator shuffles his own deck, thinks of a card, removes the thought-of card, and puts it face down on the table. Take the deck and without looking at the cards, put them over the chosen card, saying: “Your card is at the bottom of the deck. Just cut the deck so that your card will be lost somewhere in the middle of the pack." The spectator does this. You square the cards and say you will try to find the card while holding the deck behind your back. You put the cards behind you and soon bring forth one. He names his card. You show the card you have brought forth. It is his. While he is looking for a card to remove from the deck you turn your back to him "so you wont get an accidental glimpse of the card." This gives you a chance to put the tip of your right forefinger to your mouth and obtain a little saliva. When chosen card is put on table, turn around, take the rest of the cards, and while putting deck on top of chosen card, pass the moistened fingertip across the bottom card of deck. When deck is cut and squared the two cards stick together. It is easy to find the chosen one behind your back by feeling for two cards stuck together. Separate the two and bring the chosen one forward. Attributed to Paul Kahn.

Impromptu Out of This World No Set Up Remove 2 red and 2 black cards from a deck and lay them on a table face up, from left to right, black, red, black, red. Remove 15 red and 15 black cards, and give them to a spectator to shuffle thoroughly, so that the reds and blacks will be well mixed.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Take back this 30 card packet. Call attention to the 4 cards on the table face up which you say arc guide or marker cards. You wish to try a little experiment. The object is for the spectator, without seeing any of the cards, to try to guess which is red and which is black, and at the finish you will see how successful he has been. Spread the cards with their faces toward you and away from spectator. Remove a black card from the fan and holding it face down, ask the spectator to guess what color it is. If he says black place it on the first black guide card, the one at the extreme left. (Your left.) If ye says red place it on the first red guide card, the one second from the left. Remove another black card and without showing it place it on either No. 1 red, or No.2 guide card, according to which color he calls. It might be mentioned that you don't cover the guide cards, but place cards on them so they overlap half way, and one half the guide cards can be seen at all times. Or if you prefer, simply place cards BELOW the guide cards. Continue until blacks are exhausted. The same procedure continues but now you use the 3rd and 4th guide cards, placing all 15 reds on either the 3rd guide, which is black, or the 4th guide, which is red, according to the color named. When all the cards are on the table, pick up the 4 heaps in the following order, but leave the guide cards where they are. Pick up No.2 pile and put on top of No.3 pile. Put these 2 combined piles on No.1. Finally pick up No.4 pile and put on top of the other 3. Spread the guide cards, which are in a row, farther apart. Turn over the packet in your hands, and spread them face up in a ribbonspread underneath the guide cards. It will be seen that a group of black cards is under the first black guide card at the left, followed by a group of red cards beneath the second red guide card, then the remaining black cards in a group under the 3rd black card, and finally the last of the red cards under the 4th red guide card. Miraculously the onlooker is proved to be 100 per cent perfect in his guesses.

Gravatt's Miracle Card Trick Originated by Glenn Gravatt. Spectator shuffles his own deck and hands it to you. Place a small piece of note paper on the deck, using the latter for a backing, and write the following prediction: "You will think of a card which will be as far down in the deck as any number of cards you may put in your pocket." While writing, make a pencil dot on the top card of the pack at one corner. Fold the slip of paper and lay it aside or give it to someone to hold. Ask the spectator to THINK of anyone card and remember it while you show the cards to him. Run cards one at a time from one hand to the other or simply deal them face down on the table, showing each to him as you do so. You can turn your head away so there is no chance of your seeing any of the cards. In running the cards from hand to hand, each successive card goes behind the preceding one.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Count silently. After counting 22 ask if he has thought of one. He surely has by now. Put these 22 back on the deck. This brings the dotted card 22nd from the top. Hand him the deck. Turn your back to him. Ask him to remove his card and place it on the table face down. This done, the dotted card will now be 21st from the top. With your back still turned and the pack face down on the table in front of the spectator, ask him to cut off some cards from the top, preferably not more than a dozen or so, and put them in his pocket. Neither of you know how many at this stage. He then cuts a few cards from the bottom of the deck and places them aside. Now that cards have been removed from both top and bottom, there can be no such thing as "key" card, some, thing some laymen are familiar with. He now puts his card on top of the deck, then cuts the deck to lose it. You turn around and take the deck. Fan the cards back uppermost, quickly locating the pencil dot. Cut the deck so the dotted card becomes the face card of the pack. Tell him you will show him the cards again and he is to watch for his card but to give you no sign of any kind when he sees it. Hold the deck with faces toward him and pass the bottom cards one at a time into the other hand, beginning with the face card of the deck. The second card is placed behind that card so that the order of the cards remains unchanged, and so on, until you have silently counted off 21 cards. Place these 21 on top of the deck. Now ask him to read your prediction. Now for a most remarkable coincidence and climax. He removes the cards he has in his pockets and counts them. For the first time their number is known. He then counts down that number in the deck, as mentioned in the prediction, and turns up the very card he thought of!

Davenport's Extraordinary Divination The secret of this trick, once sold by Davenports of London, is no longer dealer's item and is available for publication here. Effect: A spectator takes the pack and while your back is turned deals as many cards as he likes face down, stopping whenever he pleases. He looks at and remembers the card on which he happened to stop, then replaces the dealt off cards on top of the pack. He then cuts the pack. You take the pack, fan it, and remove 2 cards, placing each face down. Spectator chooses either of the 2, turns it up, and sees it is his card. You ask him how many cards he dealt off. He replies, for instance, 10. You turn up the second card and it is a 10-spot. Method: Before handing spectator the deck memorize the top and bottom cards. Spectator deals, counting to himself the number of cards he deals. When he decides to stop ask him to pick up the LAST CARD DEALT and remember it. He puts this card on top of the remainder in his hands, then puts the dealt off pile on top of all.

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50 Modern Card Tricks When you take the pack you quickly run through it, faces to you. First, locate the former top card. The one in front of it will be the chosen one. Remove it and put it face down on the table. Now silently count all the cards behind the former top card until you come to the former bottom card. Include both in your count. Suppose you count 10. Remove a 10-spot and lay it with the other card. Ask him to choose either card. If he takes his own card proceed as above. Should he take the other, show it to represent the number of cards he dealt, then show the remaining one as his card.

Faces Up and Faces Down Used successfully by George Dean although he does not claim to be the originator. You must know what the top card is. Hand deck to spectator. While your back is turned he cuts the cards and turns the top portion face up. He notes and remembers the card to which he cut, that is, the card at the face of the top portion. Now, keeping the cards just as they are, some face up and the rest face down, he shuffles the 2 portions together, shuffling them well, so that there is a resulting mixture of face up and face down cards. Make sure, incidentally, that he riffle shuffles. If he doesn't, ask him to. He then gives the pack as many complete cuts as he cares to. You turn and take the deck, spreading or fanning the cards to look for the one originally on top, your "key" card. It will be face up among the face down ones. The next face up card which may happen to follow after several face down ones will be the spectator's card. Reveal it in any manner you choose. George Dean spreads the cards across the table in a wide ribbonspread. He has the spectator extend his index finger. He takes the spectator's hand and guides it back and forth across the spread to get the proper vibrations and finally brings his finger down upon the correct card.

Improved Clock A selection of "The Club" presented by Magic Limited. Effect: Any hour on the clock is thought of. Spectator transfers that number of cards from the top of the deck to the bottom while performer's back is turned. Performer now takes deck and deals 12 cards to form a clock dial. He asks spectator to note card at the hour he mentally thought of. Now the cards, which have blue backs, are picked up one at a time and placed aside. Only one card is left on the imaginary clock dial. This is the card and hour spectator is thinking of. Further, when turned over it has a RED back, the only redbacked card among all the other blue backs.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Preparation: In a blue backed deck place a red card 16th from the top, removing of course the duplicate of that card from the deck. Spectator moves his number of cards. You take the deck and in asking if he did as directed, you transfer 3 cards from top to bottom. Now slide off 12 cards in a bunch, turn them face up and deal them to form a clock dial. You know the name of your card which was originally placed 16th, so you note where it falls in the clock dial. You therefore know the number (hour) he thought of, and you also know which card he will select. Hence a double climax when you remove the cards, leaving ONLY the one at the hour he thought of, and in conclusion turn it over to show that it's back is a different color from the others.

Matching Card for Card Chic Schoke once called the attention of magicians to the fact that a few cards placed at the bottom of the deck would stay in exactly the same order in which they were placed even though the deck was given 3 genuine riffle shuffles. Glenn Gravatt thereupon wrote an article, published in Genii magazine, his idea being to use 2 decks, placing the 4 aces in the same order near the bottom of each deck. Two spectators assisted. Each riffle shuffled his deck, turned it face up, and dealt off cards, tossing out the aces. When one man found an ace, he waited until the other found one. Both were the same. This continued with all 4 aces, each time the cards matching. A hitherto unpublished idea, based on this principle is as follows: Use 2 decks. Stack the 4 Kings at the bottom of one and the 4 Queens at the bottom of the other, placing and indifferent card at the face of each pack. The Kings and Queens are arranged in the same order according to suit. Two spectators assist. Each is given a pack and asked to give it 2 or 3 riffle shuffles. The fact that the spectators shuffle their packs themselves makes the final outcome seem miraculous. You state that they are to assist in playing a little game known as "The Royal Marriages." The purpose of the game is for Mr. A to deal the Kings just as he comes to them and for Mr. B to deal the Queens just as they lie in his shuffles deck. The object is to see if they can match one pair out of four. Both turn their shuffled decks face up. When the first man deals and comes to his first King he places it aside face up. The other doe? the same with the Queen. Strange to say, on their very first attempt, Mr. A lays out the King of Clubs and Mr. B lays out the Queen of Clubs. The deal continues until all 4 Kings and Queens have appeared. The mating of the Kings and Queens is 100 per cent perfect, all 4 of the Royal Marriages coinciding. The performer congratulates them on accomplishing such an unheard of feat.

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50 Modern Card Tricks

Perplexity Say you will use only 20 cards. Deal that many. Mr. A looks through them and notes a card, also its number from the top, for instance the 3 of Diamonds, 8th. Mr. B does the same, noting, say, the 4 of Spades, 15th. You then take the cards. What you intend to do, you tell them, is to find both cards and reverse their places, that is, you will put Mr. A's card at Mr. B's number, and vice versa. Run the cards from hand to hand, each card going on the preceding one, thus reversing their order, except for the last card, which is left on the bottom where it was. Now ask for the 2 numbers. If they total more than 20 openly deal the extra amount from the pack onto the 20 cards. I f the 2 numbers total less than 20, say 11, remove 9 cards from the 20, so that the number left equals the total of the 2 numbers of A and B. If the 2 numbers total 20, go ahead without further ado. In the above instance A's number is 8 and B's is 15. Since 8 and 15 total 23, you deal 3 more on the 20. Count to the 8th card and turn it up. It will be Mr. B's, the one originally 15th. Continue counting until you reach 15. Turn up that one. It will be Mr. A's. Apparently you have located the cards of each and put them in each other's position, a little miracle. Trick is automatic and self working.

Impromptu Prediction Spectator shuffles his deck and gives it to you. You state you will make a prediction by removing a certain card, the significance of which will become apparent later. Fan the faces of the cards to yourself and note the top card. Suppose it is an 8--spot. The suit is immaterial. Quickly count from the bottom (face) of deck to the 8th card. Suppose it is the 5 of Clubs. Run through the deck to find its mate, the 5 of Spades (same value, same color.) Remove the 5 of Spades (or whatever) and place it face down on the table without showing it. Turn the deck FACE UP and start dealing off cards into a pile. When you have dealt, say, 7 or 8, ask the spectator to stop you whenever he feels like it. Continue dealing. When he stops you, you turn both sections face down, that is, the dealt off group and the main deck. Have spectator turn over the top card of the deck. It is an 8--spot, so he is to count down to the 8th card in the pile dealt off. I-Ie does so and removes the 5 of Clubs. You turn up the card you took at the start, the 5 of Spades, showing a magical coincidence, both matching in color and value. The above is Rufus Steele's version. Following is Frank Garcia's method for accomplishing the same effect.

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50 Modern Card Tricks The same procedure is followed up to the point where the magician removes his card. Deck is then given to spectator for him to cut it in half. The bottom half is turned face up while the top half is left face down. Spectator is asked to look at the top card of the face down pile. He does so and finds it, for instance, to be an 8-spot. So he counts down to the 8th card in the face up pile and comes to, say the 5 of Clubs. You show that he has matched your card by turning it face up and revealing the 5 of Spades.

Divination Supreme You must know the top card of the pack. You can ascertain this quite openly and without suspicion merely by fanning the cards face up for a moment "to show that it is a regular, ordinary pack well mixed," etc. Hand pack to spectator and turn your back to avoid seeing his actions. Tell him to deal off a small pile of cards, but silently so that you cannot know their number, and to avoid prolonging things, not too many, say any number up to 15. This of course will bring the card you noted to the face of the dealt-off packet. So far this is an old subterfuge. But now comes a procedure, the idea of Walter Gibson, designed to cause the spectator to forget this, taking his mind off it altogether. He is asked to divide the rest of the deck into 2 nearly equal piles, then to shuffle each of these 2 piles separately. This done, he is to pick up the dealt...off heap, square it, look at and remember the bottom card, then sandwich it between the 2 shuffled parts of the main deck. In this manner you have "forced" the top card of the pack, the one you noted. Now you tell him to shuffle the entire deck. Many laymen know the principle of the "key" card, the card lying next to a noted one, and this shuffle will be sure to throw them off. You can now finish in any manner you choose, naming the card by your powers of divination, or you can locate it in the pack. Note: At the start you may wish to have him first think of number, say, between 5 and 15, then have him deal that number of cards. This will plant the suggestion that the number dealt has something to do with it and that you intend to ask for that number later on. Of course you never do. Simple as this appears to be, the solution never occurs to the spectator.

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50 Modern Card Tricks

Curious Bridge Hand This is based on the fact that the A, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 of Clubs, Hearts and Spades, plus the 7 of Diamonds, can be turned to point one way, up or down. Thus if all are arranged to point the same way and one card is turned end for end, it can be picked out at once. The principle is old, having been explained by Glenn Gravatt in his original Encyclopedia of Card Tricks. The beauty of the present trick is that it needs no prearrangement, no advance separation of the cards and the turning of them in one direction. Simply take anyone's shuffled deck and state that it contains 13 cards that comprise a curious bridge hand, a hand that once a player receives it, he can do wonderful things with it. You say you will demonstrate. Fan the deck to yourself to find this "curious bridge hand." Just run through it and remove the first 13 cards you come to that point in the same direction, that is, the first 13 of the "pointer" cards. Or if you like, 12 pointer cards and 1 court card. Spectator shuffles the 13 cards. Such a small packet can only be shuffled overhand so there is no danger of his reversing any of the cards. He then fans the cards before him and selects anyone, which he places on the table. With the rest of the cards still held fan-wise, have him place thefan of cards on top of the chosen one, covering it. You now even up all the cards, the chosen one being at the bottom of the packet. Have him pick up the cards and again shuffle them. You then take the packet and remove the chosen card. Under the conditions it seems impossible. But the spectator has automatically done it all. When he removes a single card from the fan and puts it face down on the table, he reverses it end for end. When the fan is laid on top of it, these cards stay as is. Therefore, using the "pointer" principle, his card is easy to locate. If using 12 pointer cards and 1 court card, and you find none of the 12 reversed, then naturally he chose the court card.

Transposition In Reverse Probably the easiest and most effective of all "reverse card tricks" is this one originated by Francis Carlyle. The secret was once sold by dealers and later appeared in a magic book or two. The trick is so good it was felt it must be included here. A spectator shuffles his pack, cuts it into 2 fairly equal portions, retains one half and gives you the other. You tell him that while your back is turned he is to look at his cards and decide upon one, and you will do the same. He is to hold his chosen card face down in his right hand, his half pack in the other. You turn your back and quickly take the bottom card of your portion, look at it, remember it and replace it FACE UP at the bottom of your face down packet. The right hand takes off the top card of the packet and holds it aside while the left hand turns over the entire packet so 36

50 Modern Card Tricks that the noted card is on top of all the others which are face up, the noted card now being face down. You need not look at the card you hold in your right hand as you need not know it. When the spectator has chosen a card and is holding it separate from the rest of the deck, turn to face him. Insert the indifferent card in your right hand into the center of his packet. Take the card he is holding and insert it into the center of your packet. Even it up. Place half of his packet face up on top of your packet, the other half face up at the bottom of your packet, so that yours is sandwiched between the 2 halves of his packet. Even all the cards. Say you will give the pack the magic turn, which consists of turning it 3 times. Turn it over 3 times, which will bring all the cards face down except his and the one you noted. Call out the name of your card. Ask him to call out his. Give the pack a wide ribbonspread across the table. It is seen that all the cards have righted themselves, all now being face down except the 2 chosen cards, yours and his, which are face up, a dramatic revelation. It is well to use cards, the backs of which have white borders so that when you insert his card among your face up cards no accidental glimpse of white background will reveal that the cards are not face down.

Out of The Room Tell a spectator you will step out of the room to avoid the suspicion of seeing what he does, but will stay within speaking distance so you can give him instructions. Step out of sight. Tell him to shuffle the pack and to deal cards face up into 2 piles, a card at a time alternately, but not to deal over a dozen or so, in order to save time. He is to stop whenever he wishes, ending on either pile. While he is doing this you take pencil and small pad from your pocket ready to jot down a few notes. That is the real reason why you adjourn to the next room. Tell him to cut as many cards as he pleases from the top of the face up left hand pile, and to place them on top of the right hand pile, first noting and remembering the card at the bottom of the cut...off portion (the first card to go on the right hand pile.) This procedure may also be handled in another way. He can choose any card he wishes from the left hand pile, place it on the right hand pile, then cover it with as many cards as he cares to from the left hand pile. In either case his card is buried somewhere among the cards in the right hand pile and you remind him there is no way you can possibly know where it lies, that is, how many cards are above it. State that you will ask him no questions at any time, but you must know what cards he is using. Ask him to first read you the names of the cards in the left hand pile, starting at the one at a time. He does so.

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50 Modern Card Tricks You need not know their names. This is misdirection. But you know how many, which is important. Suppose there are 3. down the figure, 3. Now have him do the same thing with the left hand pile. This time jot down their names in order, using initials, as 7C for seven of clubs, AS for Ace of Spades, etc. Almost as soon as he has finished you call out the name of the chosen card. You merely add the number in the left pile (3) to the number in the right pile, say 13. Divide the total (16) by 2, which tells you the location of his card. Since, in the above case, there were 3 in the left hand pile, and 16 divided by 2 equals 8. Therefore his card is 5th in the right hand pile. That is to say, the 3 cards in the left hand pile subtracted from 8 gives you 5. If the number of cards in both piles together is an odd number, simply add I, and divide by 2. Suppose at the finish he has 3 cards in the left pile and 12 in the right. Both together have 15. Add 1, making 16. Divide by 2, leaving 8. Subtract the number of cards in the left pile (3) from 8, signifying the chosen card is 5th from the top of the right hand pile. Since you jotted down the names of the cards in the right hand pile you have only to consult your list, find the correct position, and name the card at that number.

Fantastic Revelation A simplification of a rather complex trick by Bob Hummer. A spectator shuffles his deck, after which you ask him to call out a number, say from 10 to 25, or if you wish from 15 to 30. Whatever he chooses, he deals off that many cards. He puts the rest of the deck to one side. From those dealt off he takes a bunch and puts them in him pocket. Neither you nor he know how many he has in his pocket, as he does not bother to count them. He shuffles the cards he dealt off, notes the bottom or face card of the packet, then puts these cards on the main deck, remembering the noted card. You remind him that since he has an unknown number of cards in his pocket neither of you can know how far down his card is. You take the deck and reverse the order of a number of the top cards by passing them one at a time off the top of the deck into the other hand, each card going on top of its predecessor so that the order is reversed. The number you reverse depends upon the number originally called out by the spectator. The only requirement is that you reverse enough to include his card. Therefore if the number 20 was called, reverse 20 cards. This procedure should not be obvious, the best method being to show him each card in turn, asking him to watch for it but give you no sign when he sees it, that you merely hope to catch the proper mental vibrations when he sights it. This puts his card at a known location (to you) providing you put the batch of cards you reversed at the BOTTOM of the deck. In other words you have not only reversed a bunch but have cut them from top to bottom. This trick was originally sold as a dealer's item and as far as

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50 Modern Card Tricks is known has only been published once, but due to a printer's error, the important point of putting the bunch at the bottom was omitted, so the trick as printed did not work. In any event, whatever number was originally chosen, subtracted from 53 (not 52) gives the location of the noted card. If the spectator decided upon 23, his card would now be 30th from the top (53 minus 23 leaves 30.) Reveal it as you please. It is the placing of an unknown number of cards in the pocket, leaving a different number to work with than the number originally called, and the fact that neither the spectator nor the magician have to know how many are left after some are pocketed, that throws even well informed magicians off the scent.

Two Minds With But a Single Thought This has been credited to Sid Lawrence. Two spectators assist. Each cuts a small packet of cards from a shuffled deck. Your back is turned to them. Each counts the number of cards in his heap, after which they put their cards together combining them into one bunch. You turn and take the combined heap, stressing the fact that while you could ascertain the total number taken by the 2 men simply by counting the cards, there is no possible way you could know the exact number each took. You pass the cards from hand to hand one at a time showing their faces to Mr. A. He is to silently count and watch for the card that appears at his number and remember it, but to say nothing when he sees it. You run through the entire packet. The same procedure is followed with Mr. B, who notes the card which falls at his number. Mr. B removes his card and puts it face down on the table. Mr. A then names his card. Mr. B turns up his card. It is the same as Mr. A's. The same card turned up at each one's number notwithstanding that each had a different number. A strange coincidence. Method: Packet is held in one hand with faces toward spectator. Transfer the cards slowly from one hand to the other to show them to Mr. A. The cards are placed one behind the other in the other hand EXCEPT FOR THE LAST CARD which is put in front of the packet. The trick is automatic and self working.

Two Card Discovery One of numerous tricks based upon an old principle. Mr.A and Mr. B assist. Either shuffles a pack, then, with the cards in their own hands, each selects a card and lays it aside. Your back is turned so you see none of the action.

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50 Modern Card Tricks Ask Mr. A to remove a small bunch of cards, preferably not more than a dozen so as to speed up things. He is to count them, then remove a similar number of cards and give them to Mr. B. Mr. A places his chosen card on top of the pack. Mr. B does likewise. Mr. A puts his small packet on top of the 2 chosen cards. Mr. B pockets his cards or keeps them hidden so you cannot know the number. Turn and take the deck. Stress the fact that since you don't know how many cards were taken off and how many were put back on top of the chosen ones there is no way you can find them except perhaps by magic. Say you will attempt to find the 2 chosen cards without looking at them, in fact, while they are out of sight. Put the pack behind your back and quickly run off 12 cards (the maximum you designated at the start), one at a time, thus reversing their order, each going on its predecessor. Then restore them to the top of the pack. Bring forth the deck, saying you believe you have discovered them and will consequently produce them. To make the deck complete, have Mr. B put his small packet on it. With cards face down quickly run them off the top, silently counting as you do so, but the counting should not be obvious. Toss out the 11th card in front of Mr. A. Toss out the next one, the 12th, face down in front of Mr. B. Ask each to name his card. When he does so, turn them up to show that you are correct.

Gravatt's Detective Card Glenn Gravatt considers this as one of the best impromptu card tricks he has devised. This opinion is concurred in by several magical authorities, including Temple C. Patton, author of "Card Tricks Anyone Can Do." It uses a principle that is not new, that of the 26th card in the pack serving as a "key" card, but in such a way that no other trick based on this principle can remotely approach for ease of working and effectiveness. Heretofore you had to place a certain card 26th in the pack, therefore the trick was not impromptu. Further, the pack could not be shuffled. Some such tricks depended upon your ascertaining the identity of a card in the middle of the pack while in full view of the audience. Jean Hugard recommended this be done "while toying with the cards." But it is feared the audience would wonder what you were doing. The "detective" card furnishes a logical subterfuge making it possible for a spectator to shuffle his own deck, then proceed at once to doing the trick without recourse to sighting a card unobservedly. When the spectator has finished shuffling the deck, the performer takes it and explains that it contains a certain card which he has dubbed his "detective card" because it possesses an uncanny ability to track down and detect other cards. He says: "I'll show you the card, and demonstrate how it works.”

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50 Modern Card Tricks Fan the deck to yourself, spreading the cards from hand to hand as if searching for your "detective" card. What you really do is count the cards. When you reach the 27th from the bottom or face of the pack, you remove it, separating the cards slightly at that point, Whatever it is, label it your "detective" card and display it to all, then reinsert it in the pack, only this time reversed so that it faces one way while all the other cards face the opposite direction. You explain that with all the other cards face down the detective card will remain face up so that everyone can easily keep track of it. Square the pack and place it on the table face down. Ask a spectator to cut off about a third and put these aside, then to remove the bottom third or so, leaving the middle third as is. He shuffles the top and bottom portions separately, selects any card from the bottom portion, remembers it, and puts it on the top heap. What was originally the bottom part is put on top of that. You emphasize that the chosen card lies buried between 2 shuffled heaps of cards. To complete the deck you add the original center portion either to the top or bottom, it makes no difference. Deck is then cut. Notwithstanding the shuffling the chosen card is not lost. It is a number of cards away from your detective card and you know that number. All that remains is to reveal it in a dramatic manner. Here you have several choices. One method is this: Rapidly deal the pack into 4 piles of 13 cards each, one pile at a time. If the detective card (easily seen as it is face up) falls, say, 5th in Pile No.1, then the chosen card will be 5th in Pile No.3. If it is, say, 3rd from the bottom of Pile 4, then the chosen card is 3rd from the bottom of Pile 2. Always skip a pile. Each pile is dealt in an overlapping ribbon so that the face up detective card is visible. Pick it up. Pass it over the 4 piles 1 at a time, toss it on the pile containing the chosen card. Discard the other 3 piles. Spread the remaining 13 cards more widely apart. Pass the detective card over those, finally dropping it on the card you know to be the spectator's. Ask the spectator to name his card. Then turn it over. The detective has found his man. Another method is this: Instead of dealing the pack into 4 piles, thumb off the top 26 without reversing their order and place in one pile, the remaining 26 in another. You will see which pile the face up card lands in. Take that pile. Ask the spectator to take the other. You each deal cards in unison, or rather, he deals a card and you follow at once with yours. These are discards. Continue until you come to your detective card. He deals a card (it will be the chosen one) and you deal your face up detective card on it. The other cards are pushed aside and this pair, one face up, the other face down, are held momentarily while he names his card. You turn up the face down card. It is his. Your detective card has found it.

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