The performer borrows any deck and proceeds to deal four piles of eight cards each. The onlooker selects any one of these piles, and picking it up, the performer has him think of a card when they are fanned face outward. The four piles are grouped together and again dealt into four piles. Fanning each pile for the spectator to glance at, the performer asks him to state when he sees his thought of card. The others are discarded and this pile dealt into two rows of four cards, one under the other, and with all of the cards face down. The spectator indicates a row, then two cards in that row, and finally one card. He names his card thought of, turns the one left on the table, and it proves to be the one!

Operation

This effect practically works itself with the exception of a simple bit of information which the performer gains at the outset. Follow the above primary manoeuvre in the effect. Have one of the four piles selected. Pick it up and fan four of the cards face down in your left hand and four in the right. Now ask the spectator to think of just one card that he sees. Lift the two fans together, hold them for a second and lower them again. You won’t miss once in a hundred times of knowing in which of the fans the card has been noted. When you drop the fans, put the one in which the noted card lies under the other. Reassemble the piles, putting one on top of the one in hand and drop this packet on top of both remaining piles. This routine is always followed. The cards may now be false shuffled and cut provided the order is not changed. Deal a row of four cards face down, on top of these another row and so on until the 32 cards are again in four piles of eight cards each. Pick up each of the piles and fan towards the spectator. When he sees his card he says so, whereupon the other three piles are discarded. Now deal this pile of eight into two rows of four each from left to right and face down, one row under the other. The selected card will always be in the lower left corner. Have the spectator indicate a row, then two cards in that row, and finally one of the two left. In each case, the well known dodge of either leaving or discarding the row of cards selected is resorted to and the last card left on the table is the one which turns out to be the spectator’s thought of card. This effect, smartly worked, is clean cut and although it may not sound so great in print, a trial will convince the performer as to its value as an impromptu table trick.