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My new creation

Dane

Scholar
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Joined
Nov 12, 2003
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65
Here is an effect that I'm working on (mentalism with cards)

Spectator freely picks any card from a deck. Card is memorized and placed aside. Another deck is taken by spectator and shuffled any amount of times, and then given to magician who gives the deck a single legitimate riffle shuffle to thoroughly mix the deck. The deck is spread out on the table face-down. The spectator is told to pick a place in the deck in which to split the cards. Spectator points to area of the spread, and magician splits them apart slightly, into two sections. Spectator is told to choose the section to keep. Then, with the section being kept, the process is repeated, splitting the remaining spread roughly in half where the spectator chooses until there are two cards left. Spectator chooses which card to keep, and other card is ditched. Magician turns the last remaining card over, revealing it is the same card as the freely chosen card from the separate deck. An alternative is to have the two remaining cards, one having written on it, "THIS IS NOT YOUR CARD" and the other one being the correct card. Then you turn them both over.

This effect relies heavily on the magician's ability to stay in control, but no sleights are required, only continual focus and learning some suggestion. I so far haven't been able to make this 100 percent foolproof. It works about 98 percent of the time with me though, at this point. Tell me what you think of it if you don't mind. Please, no guessing at the method used. As far as I know, there are completely new principles used here. I only happened to run across it while I was fiddling with cards.

Dane
 
I won't guess methods, but a couple possibilities come to mind.

That being said, it's extremely unlikely, though of course not impossible, that you have actually created something original; it is more likely something with which you simply are not familiar.

Enough of that. The effect could be impressive depending on:

The presentational skills of the magician and

The experience of the audience.

Something like this, even if done via a completely original method, is prone to the audience thinking they know how it's done.

For instance, even if not true, the idea of a Magician's Choice would be hard to shake.
 
I do know where you are going with that. Without myself giving away more than I should, I can tell you that it isn't similar to any effect I've seen, especially the method. I make it quite clear that the spectator can choose any section to eliminate.

Actually, last night while I was thinking, I came up with an alternate presentation. After spreading the cards, I tell the spectator to make 6 different sections with the spread. Then I tell the spectator, "choose one spread". The spectator does this. I ask the spectator if they want to keep those cards, or eliminate them. If the spec wants to keep the cards, we will use those to finish the effect with two cards, or we eliminate those cards and move on to the next until the spectator decides to stick with a certain spread.

At first I thought I'd need either duplicates, or to do an initial force for the chosen card, but now neither are used.

This may be the final product of the effect, but I am now working on letting the spectator pick out 5 cards from the spread and eliminating them one by one, revealing the same card as the chosen one. Still going through ideas with that, but I think what I have now is good. Actually, from what I've done for the spectators, no one ever thinks they know how it's done, because I present it as if I have no bearing on the trick, and they are free to eliminate all the cards until they find the card they want. Of course, before they turn it over, they never imagine it could be the same card as they chose before, but it always is. Any more thoughts are welcome, as well as a new idea for presentation.

Dane
 
"Scarne on Card Tricks" describes and explains a similar trick, performed by some dead guy. Houdini, I think his name was.
 
Lol, yes well I know some similar effects to this one, including the one in the Scarne on Cards. But really, when you see it in person, you see that it is quite a bit different, including methods and cleanness. I'm willing to accept that my creation is not unique, but I haven't found anything like it yet. If I find it is indeed unique, I'll market it. It's incredibly useful. Helps to be good in psychology though..

Dane
 
Dane said:
I do know where you are going with that. Without myself giving away more than I should, I can tell you that it isn't similar to any effect I've seen, especially the method. I make it quite clear that the spectator can choose any section to eliminate.

Actually, last night while I was thinking, I came up with an alternate presentation. After spreading the cards, I tell the spectator to make 6 different sections with the spread. Then I tell the spectator, "choose one spread". The spectator does this. I ask the spectator if they want to keep those cards, or eliminate them. If the spec wants to keep the cards, we will use those to finish the effect with two cards, or we eliminate those cards and move on to the next until the spectator decides to stick with a certain spread.

At first I thought I'd need either duplicates, or to do an initial force for the chosen card, but now neither are used.

This may be the final product of the effect, but I am now working on letting the spectator pick out 5 cards from the spread and eliminating them one by one, revealing the same card as the chosen one. Still going through ideas with that, but I think what I have now is good. Actually, from what I've done for the spectators, no one ever thinks they know how it's done, because I present it as if I have no bearing on the trick, and they are free to eliminate all the cards until they find the card they want. Of course, before they turn it over, they never imagine it could be the same card as they chose before, but it always is. Any more thoughts are welcome, as well as a new idea for presentation.

Dane
Click to expand...

dane make life simple buy a ONE WAY FORCE DECK (use this as the pack they cut and split up) now use the regular deck and force whatever card the one way force deck is made up of (slap say a 2 of diamonds on the front of the one way force deck hand it to them face up) tell them to lahy the on the table facedown and mix them up spread them ask them to select one using gut feelings as gut feelings are usually more fact based than facts) on a plus note you would have to be an unlucky b****** to have them pick the only 2 of diamonds out of a one way force deck as the possibilitys are 1 in 53 lol anyway with them seeing the 2 o diamonds face up when tney turn it face down and pick out the card (whatever card the deck is made up of) this is all th reassurence they need to say all the cards are different trust me there
 
I guess the trick here is how you keep your audience entertained whilst doing such a repetitive trick. Personally for me, a bad card trick leaves me not caring how it was done but more why it was done. The kinds of tricks that fall into this category are usually the "we're going to go through all these stages that are basically the same" (I'm guessing that in the OP's trick the splitting and choosing would have to happen at least 5 or 6 times to get down to two single cards) kind of tricks.
So to me, the clincher as to the effectiveness and entertainment value would be 'one liners' and messing with the audience whilst it was happening.
 
i dont much use card magic in my set as a mentalist (i was a close up entertainer for years)this is how i would perform the above effect (if it was my own)... i would walk onto the stage with a sealed envelope then throw it into the audience the person who catches it comes up i then let them examine a deck of cards place a elastic band round the pack 'after explaining about mass odds of the lottery blah blah i tell them im going to replicate these odds' tell the volunteer to throw out the deck of cards whoever catches it is to peak at a card and repeat this process 10 times in total and now anyone who has looked at a card to stand (10 people stand) and the volunteer rips open the envelope, the audience are then told if there card is named out not to make any noise or move a muscle, the volunteer calls out 10 playing cards. i then state if your card was named please take a seat everyone sits... this would be a suitable presentation no one way forced deck used (cards are examined and theyare not svengali cards)
 
Bob Klase said:
It appears that Dane has made life even simpler by not even posting here in almost 7 years so there's probably not much point in offering him advice.
Click to expand...

yeah i kinda figured that after i posted it schoolboy error on my part lol
 
DRturner said:
i dont much use card magic in my set as a mentalist (i was a close up entertainer for years)this is how i would perform the above effect (if it was my own)... i would walk onto the stage with a sealed envelope then throw it into the audience the person who catches it comes up i then let them examine a deck of cards place a elastic band round the pack 'after explaining about mass odds of the lottery blah blah i tell them im going to replicate these odds' tell the volunteer to throw out the deck of cards whoever catches it is to peak at a card and repeat this process 10 times in total and now anyone who has looked at a card to stand (10 people stand) and the volunteer rips open the envelope, the audience are then told if there card is named out not to make any noise or move a muscle, the volunteer calls out 10 playing cards. i then state if your card was named please take a seat everyone sits... this would be a suitable presentation no one way forced deck used (cards are examined and theyare not svengali cards)
Click to expand...

I'd do this the same way only in my version, I have 52 people pick cards and then the assistant reads from the sealed envelope a list of 52 cards. It's long, sure, but works every time.
 
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