With pack in hand, note the bottom card - then request a spectator to deal three cards from the top of the pack onto the table, thus : (1) (2) (3), about three inches apart. Do this yourself by way of illustration. Now gather up the cards and shuffle the pack, bringing the bottom card, which you had previously noted (we shall call it the six of clubs) to second from the top. Now hand the pack to the spectator who you have chosen to carry out your instructions, and request him to deal the three top cards in the…
Being constantly asked "Show me a simple card trick I can show my friends", or, "How is it done ?" is a burden that must continually be carried by the exponents of our art. We've all had to flatly refuse to divulge a method at one time or other whereby incurring displeasure, even to the point of being dubbed "a poor sport". This routine can be presented impromptu with a borrowed deck and is designed to show how a selected card can be found in four different ways, and still not expose anything. You have apparently complied with their request…
The effect IS the thing, and this effect IS different. Three books or magazines are shown and one selected by choice. The performer has three piles of envelopes, each of a different size so they can be nested one within the other. From the smallest pile he gives a spectator one into which he puts a blank piece of paper and seals. The envelope is placed into one of the next size larger and the spectator writes his name across the flap. This marked set of two envelopes is now sealed in the last and largest size of the three.…
There are several such effects like this, accomplished by the use of an extra card, or a double faced or double backed one. Others make use of the one handed pass as the deck is given spectator behind his back. Mulholland, Farrelli, and McAthy each describe a method using this pass. (See Editrivia. Ed.) I never could do the one-handed pass well enough to make use of it. Another disadvantage of that pass is if the spectator accidentally (?) brings deck to front he sees that the top card is face up. In my method a deck is shuffled and…
:: SYMMYST :: This is Symmyst, and it identifies a person who has been initiated into the Mysteries. A great favorite of mine since released in 1931 by Annemann has been what was called The One Man 'Genuine' Magazine Test. Peter Warlock, in a biography for The Magic Circular, referred to it "I cannot call to mind in any modern magical literature, any subtlety producing so great an effect." Only once was I "caught", by an alert friend, whose "flash of wisdom" one of those recurrent telepathic ideas gained no doubt from a guilty conscience, gave voice to the correct…
Effect: The performer writes predictions on two blank cards and seals each one in separate envelopes. A spectator steps forward and seats himself at a card table. He cuts a pack of cards into three heaps according to the directions of the performer. Then he cuts the center heap into two piles, but before the cutting is completed, one envelope is placed between the sections so that two cards are touching, one above and one below. The spectator then removes these cards, shows them to all, and reads the sealed prophecy. It is correct. A second person is asked to…
Natural looking methods for the selection of a book page and word are seldom seen. With the following method, the principle of a recent illusion, and an older die and frame trick, has been brought into play, and provides a most perfect way of getting to the proper page. Some of the complicated methods seen should always be performed in a show where there is an intermission. Then one could start the selection before intermission, during intermission perform all of the intricate and complicated means of selecting the page, and after the intermission finish the test. By doing this, the…
Using two decks of cards, one is handed to the subject and the other kept by the performer. The performer shuffles and so does the subject. The performer now covers his deck with a handkerchief and the spectator cuts off a portion by lifting them through the cloth. The card below this cut is laid aside or given to another person. Turn about is fair play, so the spectator now is asked to cover his deck with the handkerchief. The performer cuts off a portion and the spectator himself removes the card below the cut and places it with the…
And now comes a variation of the card principle just explained but in an entirely new dress for those who have children's shows with which to contend. One boy and two girls from the audience assist. The performer explains he is going to teach them a kissing game. One girl is given a picnic plate painted red and bearing two dozen candy kisses in red wrappers. The second girl is given a white plate with two dozen candy kisses wrapped in white paper. A third plate, half red and half white, is placed on the stage at the center. The…