Jim_canaday - The_wizard_on_steroids

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the WIZARD on STEROIDS by JIM CANADAY THE EFFECT

You are at a party and someone wants to see a trick. Unfortunately, you forgot to bring anything with you. Your host has a deck of cards, but it is one of the “magician’s nightmare” decks, grubby, stained, and with puppies on the back. Fortunately, you learned The Wizard on Steroids before you went to the party! Have someone shuffle the deck, name any card of his or her choice, and remove it from the deck. It is put back into the middle of the deck (no breaks) and the deck is cut several times. You give the spectator a phone number. You never touch the phone. They call the number, starts naming the cards from the top down and stops wherever they wish. Your assistant on the phone then reveals the selection!

BACKGROUND and METHOD

I recently purchased the wonderful book “Magic by Phone” by Deej Johnson and it really got me to thinking about the subject. We all remember learning the telephone trick “The Wizard” back in our formative years. Then I ran across a telephone trick in the July 1947 issue of the Pentagram called “Western 1248” by Victor Peacock. He was coding the selected card to his confederate using what he referred to at the 1-2-4-8 principle, which, of course, is now known as the binary system. His system seemed needlessly complicated and I thought it could be simplified as follows:

CODING: Actually the system is opposite the binary system. You code the cards left to right, while the binary codes from right to left. The card in the first position equals one, the second equals two, the third equals four, and the fourth equals eight. Left to right simplifies the process as we are trained to read left to right. Using this system, any value from 1-13 can be coded using four cards. Since the system is only zeros and ones,

I will use a black card as a "1" and a red card as a "0." I will code the suit in the second card with A-3 = Clubs, 4-6 = Hearts, 7-9 = Spades and 10-K = Diamonds. Since this is the ChaSeD system and each grouping (except for the last) is exactly three cards, it makes the system easy to remember! The second card is the only position for which you need a specific number. The other cards only need to be the right color. This not only eliminates a lot of searching for the value you need (it can be any of six cards, red or black as needed), it will speed up the process, thus removing the suspicion of coding.

EXAMPLES

If you need to code the "Nine of Clubs," nine in the binary system would consist of an "8" and a "1" and is written out "1001." Since black is "1" and red "0," this would translate to black, red, red, black. Since the suit is Clubs, the second card would have to be a red A-3. So, here is a possible setup: KC, 2H, 9H, 5S. Get these cards in the proper order to the top of the deck, do a Jog Shuffle

to retain the top four cards in the proper order, and maybe throw in a few false cuts. "Seven of Hearts" consists of a black card in the first, second, and third positions (1+2+4=7) and a red card in the fourth position. The first and third positions could be any black card. Since the second card is the indicator and the suit is hearts, the black card could be any 4, 5 or 6. A possible setup for this would be 7C, 4S, KC, AD.

ROUTINE MECHANICS

The most efficient way to perform The Wizard on Steroids is to ask your spectator to name a card. Ribbon spread the cards and ask them to remove the card they just named. While they look for their card, it should give you sufficient time to locate a group of three cards with the proper color setup to match the first, third, and fourth card. Then look for the card that would go into the suit indicator spot (second card) pull it out, show it to your spectator and say “You could have picked any card. For instance, you could have picked

(name the indicator card you just took out), but you named (their card).” Slide the indicator card into the proper position, cut the spread one card lower down (right where your fourth card sequence begins). Turn the lower portion face down, then the right hand portion on top to bring your four-card sequence to the top of the deck. Let the spectator replace his card anywhere in the deck they wish (with the exception of the top four cards). Shuffle and cut to your heart’s content using whatever technique you wish, but keep the top four cards in place. If you have good spectator control, you might hand them the deck and walk them through an Ose Cut, thus supposedly giving him more control. After your spectator has chosen a card, give them your confederate’s phone number. After they answer, have the spectator start naming the cards from the top of the deck down. After a few cards, tell them they can stop whenever they're comfortable. Obviously, your confederate only writes down the first four and will know the name of the card at that point. By letting the spectator choose when to stop, it makes them feel

that they have more control over the outcome. Your assistant reveals the chosen card however they like!

PRACTICE TIPS

1) Think of any card. Ribbon spread and look for a block of cards that matches the pattern of the three cards that you need. Then look for the indicator card. Practice putting it into position, cutting the cards and turning them over to leave your grouping on top. 2) Shuffle the deck and pull out four cards at random. Turn them face up in a spread. Figure out which card they represent. The faster you can do these, the faster you will be able to perform the effect. When practicing, just make sure your calculations are accurate.

Although this is a math based effect, the method is well hidden and your spectator should never suspect the method!

PHONE[LESS] VERSION

If you don't feel like using a phone (or one is not available), have your assistant go into another room. Do the setup per standard procedure. Put the deck into the box and have someone volunteer to take the deck into your assistant. (You don't see them or talk to them). They can do a ribbon spread in front of witnesses and pull out one card. The selection!

ABOUT the AUTHOR Jim Canaday lives in New England and has run The Magic Portal web site since 2001. He also periodically releases a newsletter that has featured a number of tricks, including "The Wizard - On Steroids." You can reach Jim at [email protected] or visit The Magic Portal at http://mysite.verizon.net/jhcanaday/

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