Should I merely say “force” a card anymore when describing a trick, guns would roar and moans be heard for a long time (that’s because I suffer easily and to excess). Not satisfied with my head bending efforts when I put together 202 Methods of Forcing the customers wreck vengeance upon me everytime I mention ‘force’ and do not include a variation or new twist to those that have gone before.

With that trite excuse I reveal an honest-to-goodness pet of mine and one that I’ve used constantly for nearly three years. It’s only a combination of two known principles but I am sure I have eliminated the faults of each by the combination. It was only a few years ago in 1921 or 1922 that Conrad Rheiner of Philadelphia printed his Touch of Mephistopheles. This was the much copied behind the back force of a single card. Having the force card on the bottom to start and with the deck behind his back, the performer would have a spectator cut off a bunch. Turning, the performer would mention the impossibility of his knowing how many had been removed and during this interval he would shift the bottom card to the top of his packet. Turning back the spectator would be asked to take off the next card and keep it. Later this method was varied by allowing the deck to be shuffled and the card added to the lower half from under the belt where it had been secreted. Then Larsen and Wright improved it a few years later by palming off the top card behind back in the right hand and holding this palm under and against the back of the left hand which was holding the deck. After shuffling and placing on hand, the working continued as above.

My variation isn’t new by any means. I found that the one fault of the above methods was that when the performer turned for the important second it was impossible to shift the card without a visible motion of the arms. They always know something has been done. Outside of that, the turn is all right. I figured to eliminate the fault by operating with one hand.

Next comes to mind the force in which half of the deck is turned over, bringing the halves face to face. Cards ‘to go’ are on under side. Cards are counted to one less than a number named, the deck is secretly turned over and the next one taken. Vary by having a portion cut off and the next card (after turning) from the lower half chosen. The fault here is the turning over move. It’s one of those things that just can’t be done without it being apparent that ‘something’ has taken place.

Even wild arm swings and ‘haywire’ gestures won’t hide this fact to the onlookers.

We now combine the two and intrigue as well as fool the audience and the magi.

Have the selector stand on your right. You face the audience and he does the same. Take the deck and shuffle. You must have the card to be forced on top or bottom but must wind up with this single card on the bottom and turned face up against the bottom card. The deck can still be given a dovetail shuffle or two without revealing the turned over card. Lay the deck on the left hand and tell the spectator that a card is to be selected and neither he nor yourself will see anything that is done. Putting your left hand behind your back, he is told to reach behind your back with his left hand (he can’t see what he is doing) and cut off a bunch of cards. He does so and as he brings them out you say “You know how impossible it is for me to know how many you have cut off. Now reach back again and take the next card for yourself.” But during the interim you have merely turned the deck over and he gets the forced card. Immediately he has this one card. You turn the deck back and the left hand comes out with it and tosses it on the table.

The whole manoeuvre is executed with one hand and there isn’t a bit of lost motion. And after the selection there is nothing to do in order to fix the deck, turn over extra cards, or monkey with to make it unprepared.

It is.