Quite a few years have passed since a forcing deck was placed on the market. Back around 1921 and through 1926 there was hardly a month but what saw a new type of deck make its appearance. All of these packs had a main fault. It was necessary to force the same card or cards always, and the only way to change was to buy another deck. The following deck can easily be made by anyone, and will admirably serve the purpose of forcing a card under certain circumstances. And, best of all, the card may be any one of the 52 which you may desire forced at the moment.

The deck consists of 26 ordinary cards; and ten cards a trifle shorter, to each of whose backs is glued at one end a card a little shorter yet (the two are glued face to face), and also four cards of the same length as the shortest, anyone of which may be the forced card, the other three being discarded. The above takes care of an entire deck, but it will be seen that by using any other card from another deck of the same back design, that card may be the one for the forcing.

To force, say the queen of hearts – have the glued ends of the double cards all one way. Put nine of them (shortest card uppermost) on top of the face down balance of pack. The queen of hearts, face up, is placed on next and on it the tenth double card with shortest card up. Show all cards different by fanning front part of pack towards audience, then close and riffle at free end from back to face, only the faces of cards being seen.

Now hold deck in left hand facing right palm. The right hand cuts and brings away the ordinary cards at pack’s face (easy owing to greater length) and shuffles them in an ordinary overhand shuffle onto the prepared cards. The deck is placed face down, the double group on its face, and you can cut it if you know a good false cut.

Anyone names a number between ten and twenty-five. You mentally subtract ten from the number named, and begin dealing from top of pack onto table, counting as you do so. As you remove the final card of your number, left hand secretly turns the pack upside down, the double backer causing it to appear unchanged. Continue dealing the double cards, counting on as you do so. The queen of hearts being tenth of these, naturally appears at the number named and is thereby forced.