Wayne Dobson - Lucky Card The Definitive Guide Extra

Lucky Card I first published this trick a few years ago in my book ' Special Effects' but since then I have been performing this trick on a very regular basis. I have now improved the effect so that every ' Out' is equally as strong! I am ashamed to say that Dai Vernon’s fantastic effect ‘The Trick That Cannot Be Explained’ (Dai Vernon's More Inner Secrets of Card Magic - written by Lewis Ganson page 76) is an effect that I was not aware of until a few years ago when a friend of mine completely fooled me with it. This was a trick that I really wanted to perform, but due to my physical disability I found it difficult to do the effect justice. This was very frustrating until I eventually worked out a method that is totally ‘hands-off’. I have used this trick on a very regular basis for the past few years and both magicians and laymen alike are always completely fooled. I am not saying that I have improved it; I am just offering you a simplified version. My routine is like the Vernon original inasmuch as you have to improvise, but nearly every ‘out’ is focused on variations of the phrase ‘Lucky Card’. Required: A prediction card that has been made to look old, or you could do as I do... use a single card from a ‘Bicycle Faded Deck’. Let’s assume it is the Two of Clubs. You also need a regular deck of cards which could be borrowed if you wish, but be honest... have you EVER borrowed a deck of cards before? I thought not! Performance: Start by placing your prediction card face down on the table and explain that you have had this card for many years and that it has always been your ‘Lucky Card’. State that you will never touch the deck throughout the whole routine from this moment on. You then ask a spectator to thoroughly shuffle the cards. You then instruct them to spread the cards face up across the table, Note: I ask the spectator to place the cards face up in front of me to my left, and when you get them to spread them to the right it will take the longer to spread them than normal because spreading them that way is not the way they would normally spread them therefore it takes them longer, and it gives you more time to spot the 2 of clubs. You stress how important it is that they spread the cards so that they can see each and every single card. You then ask them to agree that the deck is well mixed. By now you will have spotted where in the spread the Two of Clubs is. You will have plenty of time to visually locate the card due to the fact that the spectator is spreading the cards out across the table and making sure that every card is visible. If the Two of Clubs is not somewhere in the first or last quarter of the deck (which is

where you want it to be) act as though you forgot to ask the spectator to cut the cards. You now instruct them to scoop up the spread of cards and give the deck one complete cut, with the cards face up, at around the centre. So long as the cards are cut approximately in the centre the Two of Clubs will be repositioned into the first or last quarter. In the unlikely event that the cards are not cut around the centre just get them to cut a second time. You again ask the spectator to spread the cards out, faces up, as before. Visually locate the Two of Clubs and remember how many cards from the nearest end of the spread it lies. What you are about to do now may seem daunting at first – believe me the first few times it is, but after a short time the process becomes so addictive that you won’t want to stop doing it. Have the spectator scoop up the cards and hold onto the deck face down. Depending on where the Two of Clubs is located you now proceed as follows: Let’s assume that it is somewhere in the top quarter of the face down deck. You now explain that everybody has a lucky card and to find their lucky card they are to do as follows: If the Two of Clubs is the top card – have them turn the top card over and get them to turn your ‘Lucky Card’ face up to show... a perfect match! If it is the 2nd card down - have them spell the word L–U–C–K–Y dealing one card for each letter and turning the cards face up as they deal. Ask them to place the deck to one side and to pick up the five cards on the table and to turn them face down. You are now going to get the spectator to do a 'Down Under' deal as follows: You ask them to deal the top card on to the deck and the next card underneath the packet they are holding. The next card is dealt onto the deck and the next card is placed underneath the packet. This process is repeated until they have one card remaining in their hand – it will be the two of clubs! If it is the 3rd card down - exactly the same as if it was the second card except this time they start by dealing the first card underneath the packet. The last card remaining will be the two of clubs! If it is the 4th card down - explain that the card has always brought you luck then ask that they spell the word l-u-c-k (dealing a card for each letter) and turn over the 4th card! If it is the 5th card down - explain that the card has always been lucky for you then ask that they spell the word l-u-c-k-y and turn over the 5th card!

If it is the 6th card down - they spell l-u-c-k-y and turn over the next card! If it is the 7th card down - explain that you'd like them to spell m-y-c-a-r-d then turn over the 7th card! If it is the 8th card down - they spell m-y-c-a-r-d-i-s and turn over the 8th card! If it is the 9th card down - they spell l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d and turn over the 9th card! If it is the 10th card down - they spell l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d and turn over the next card! If it is the 11th card down - they spell m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d and turn over the 11th card! If it is the 12th card down - they spell m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d and turn over the next card! If it is the 13th card down - they spell m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d-i-s and turn over the 13th card! If it is the 14th card down - they spell m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d-i-s and turn over the next card! Now, you may think that you won’t be able to ‘lock’ all the above different procedures into your mind, but I can assure you that with just a few run-throughs you will. However, for those of you who want an instant 'no memory' version... you could table a £20 note at the very start of the routine, saying that if you fail it’s theirs. Unbeknownst to the spectator you have the crib (below) stuck to the underside of the note. If you don’t want to risk the £20 note, the crib could be on the underside of your tabled card case. Please note that the procedures for the force card being on top, 2nd or 3rd are not listed on the following crib, as these are easy to remember. 4th: l-u-c-k = last card. 5th: l-u-c-k-y = last card. 6th: l-u-c-k-y = next card. 7th: m-y-c-a-r-d = next card. 8th: m-y-c-a-r-d-i-s = last card. 9th: l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d = last card. 10th: l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d = next card. 11th: m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d = last card. 12th: m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d = next card. 13th: m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d-i-s = last card. 14th: m-y-l-u-c-k-y-c-a-r-d-i-s = next card.

When the time comes, you only have to lift the £20 note, as you remind them that if you fail it’s theirs, read the required line from the crib and... you’re home and dry. Now, the other possibility is that you spot that the Two of Clubs will be in the lower quarter of the deck when the spectator is holding it face down. If this is the case... You perform the required action above with the deck face up. Note: the only exception is if the card is second from the face and as the spectator deals the cards they are asked to turn them face down – this effectively brings the two of clubs second card from the top. If you perform with the deck face up... After they have shuffled and tabled the deck face up, and you spot that the force card is on the face of the deck. In this eventuality you would NOT ask them to spread the cards face up across the table. You would ask them to flip your ‘Lucky Card’ face up and show that it matches the face card of their shuffled deck! All the other possibilities are the same in that the Two of Clubs will either turn out to be the last card dealt, after the spelling, or the face card of those in their hand after the spelling. Notes: Above I have given you a solid method for performing this routine. However, these days I get a great deal of fun jazzing my way through it. I always get the full name of the person who comes up to help me. Sometimes I spell their entire name or just their first name and turn over the last card dealt or the one on the top of the deck after the dealing. By the way, I always have them make the cut (if it is necessary) with the deck face up. This means that I can instantly see if they cut the force card to the face of the deck. Also, if the force card ends up either four (or five) cards down from the top of the deck or four (or five) cards down from the face, these days I usually ask them to think of their favorite four-letter word. I then ask them to whisper it to me. Once they've done this I make a comment about how depraved they are. I then have them spell the word (not out loud) as they deal the four cards. They then either turn the 4th card face up or the 5th.