I realize now how so many tricks are printed and then passed up by magi until they actually see them performed. On paper, the following effect didn’t seem very strong to me, but after holding it for a time, I had the good fortune of seeing it done. Then I came to and started doing it myself to get the angles before I used it in these pages. It is a cute impromptu effect that can be done at any moment and should find favor with not a few.
Deal out six heaps of five cards each face down. The spectator now picks out any two cards from the rest of the deck and places them on the top of any two of the heaps. He then writes down the names of the two cards on a piece of paper, which is placed on the table writing side down. As he is doing the writing, you gather up the six heaps so that two of the five-card heaps go on each of the six-card heaps.
Remarking that you will select two cards from those picked up, you run through them and note the sixth and twenty-second cards from the face of the pile. Writing the names of these two on another paper, you place it writing side down on the opposite side of the table.
Now deal out the cards in two face-down heaps, one card at a time, beginning at your left and alternating. The heap on your left now contains the spectator’s cards, and the right hand has your cards. Tell the spectator he is to choose either your pair of cards or his, which will be finally left on the table. If he names his, discard the right-hand packet, and picking up the left pile, deal out the cards in the same manner, each time discarding the right-hand packet. Continue this until only two cards remain on your left, and these will be the ones the spectator wrote down.
Should he want your two cards to remain, discard the left-hand heap and go through the same procedure, except that in this case, you discard the left-hand pile throughout until you have but two cards left, which are the ones you wrote down.
Beginning this, emphasize that free choice is given. If he points to the slip that contains the names of his cards and points to the heap containing yours, tell him that the two cards as on the slip will be the ones left behind and that he chooses to discard the right heap, so all through the effect you will discard the cards that go to the right. No matter how his choice goes, you have him beaten.
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