By Bob Farmer
Before releasing this ebook, I sent a copy to Bob Farmer, ostensibly to make sure what I wrote about his Farmarx system was correct, but secretly to get him to contribute a great trick. Also to make sure the word ostensibly means what I thought it did.
My plan worked to perfection. Bob originally created this trick using a gaffed deck—it was called AGAOG, but I don’t know what that means—then ten years later created the marked deck version you are about to read.
Instead of me telling you how great this is, just read the effect.
Effect
Three spectators assist: Alex1, Alex2, and Alex3. You hand a deck to Alex1 and turn your back. Alex1 shuffles the deck freely, then chooses any card and hides it in a pocket without looking at it.
Hand the deck to Alex2 and repeat this process, again with your back turned. Alex3 does the same.
Now, while your back is turned, the spectators memorize their cards.
Each spectator now shuffles their card freely back into the deck. While your back is turned! Now you take the deck and spread it face down across the table. Asking the spectators to concentrate, you wave your hand over the spread, picking up the psychic vibrations from the cards.
Now, you get two quick impressions about the chosen cards, i.e. two of you are thinking of red cards, right? Two of you are thinking of odd numbered cards, right?
Right and right.
Finally you turn to Alex1 and name the card he or she selected. Ditto with Alex2 and Alex3. You are correct every time!
As Bob says: No sleights. No memorization. Never fails. No outs. The spectators cannot screw you up. The cards are genuinely shuffled and you have absolutely no idea what the cards are or where they are until you get your impressions. No confederates. No union soldiers.
The Method, Basically
The spectators make their selections from a marked deck, but they return their cards to an unmarked deck (don’t worry—the switch is easy). When you spread the deck, you find the three marked cards and learn what they are. Then Bob has a great thing where you can tell who has which card.
The Details
Set up by putting a marked deck in any handy pocket on your right side and an unmarked deck—minus any three cards—in the same pocket on your left.
Take out the marked deck, and do a few tricks with it. This is a closer.
Hand the deck to Alex1, and turn your back while he or she shuffles, picks a card without looking, and hides it. Now you take the deck and hand it to Alex2 for the same process. Repeat with Alex3. Your back is turned while all the important actions are happening, but you occasionally turn back as needed to help out with the basic procedure. The spectators will simply remember that your back was turned.
After Alex3 is done, you take the deck and give instructions that all three spectators should wait until your back is turned before they look at their selections. As you are turning your back, casually put the deck in your right pocket. Wait a few seconds, then ask if everyone has memorized their card. When they say yes, take the deck from your left pocket and hold it, behind your back, so Alex1 can take it. Direct the three helpers through the replace-and-shuffle-freely procedure.
Like all good deck switches, this is based on boldness. But it’s covered by strong misdirection. When you put the deck in the pocket, all attention is on the selections.
And there’s time misdirection between putting the deck away and taking it back out.
Take the deck and make a very wide face-down spread across the table. Do this smartly and don’t stop to read the marks—just notice where the marked cards are. Now you go back and adjust the spread in a couple of places, as if you are making sure each card is equally exposed. This is when you read the marks.
Stare at Alex1 and wave your right hand over the length of the spread, pretending to feel a psychic vibration. Don’t forget this part—the pretending. Actually pretend to feel a psychic vibration. How does this feel to you? Is it weird, or are you used to it by now?
Is it slightly uncomfortable? Answering these questions will make this moment more effective.
Whatever you choose, repeat with Alex2 and Alex3.
At this point you know the names of the three selections, but you don’t know who chose which. You’re going to get this information using Bob Farmer’s Impromptu No Nos Fishing system. Basically you announce something that is true about two of the three cards, and when the spectators confirm that you are right, that tells you where the third card is. You make a different statement that uses the same principle to isolate one of the other cards, and when you know where two of the cards are, this tells you where the third card is. It’s easy, but you have to figure it out on the fly, so you’ll have to practice a few times to feel comfortable. Here’s a typical example:
Let’s say the three cards are the Two of Clubs, Three of Diamonds, and Four of Hearts.
That’s two red and one black, so you say “I can tell that two of you are thinking of red cards. Who’s thinking of a red card?” Let’s say Alex1 and Alex3 raise their hands. This tells you that Alex2 has the two of clubs. Now you say that “two of you have even numbered cards, is that right? Who has an even numbered card? Alex1 and Alex2 raise their hands. Since Alex2 already has the Two of Clubs, Alex1 must have the Four of Hearts, and that means Alex3 has the Three of Diamonds.
Now that you know who has which card, look each of your spectators in the eye and dramatically read their minds.
Notes
Bob’s Impromptu No Nos Fishing is great, but the need to improvise makes it seem a little uncertain for some people. Really the process is both simple and foolproof. Just remember that the audience does not know that you are planning to make two statements. If you have to make a third statement, go ahead. Or if you can’t figure it out, just announce the names of the three cards, and say “if I named your card, sit down.”
This is a fine and miraculous ending.
But you should never need to. Since you are never wrong, every correct claim you make will seem like a magical event. By the way, when you are thinking of these statements, you are apparently concentrating on using your mental powers to read psychic vibrations. So don’t worry if you have to pause to think, as that is completely in line with the presentation.
Update v1.1
This is a practical trick, since all you need is your marked deck and a matching unmarked deck. But if you can dedicate a specific deck to take the place of the unmarked deck, you can easily make this trick easier, cleaner, and stronger.
Take the matching unmarked deck and corner short every card, using a $10 corner rounder you can buy at any office supply or craft store. This way, after the spectators
get them to the top by doing a casual overhand shuffle, holding back the selections by their extended corners. This is very similar to using a stripper deck. Read their identities, then put the deck in your pocket.
Now you have a double finish. First, the original climax: do your no-nos fishing, and name the cards. Follow this by reaching into your pocket and pulling out just the three selections!
While the audience is reacting, you reach into your pocket to remove the rest of the deck, but of course you pull out your marked deck. You are now reset: the three selections go back in the marked deck and the corner shorted deck is in your pocket.
This corner-shorted deck is only used for this one trick, and will last a long time. It’s really very practical, and the effect! They shuffle, they choose cards themselves, they shuffle them back into the deck. You put the deck in your pocket, divine the selections, and pull them out blind. It’s a closer.
Watchman
Update v1.1
This is the first trick I added to the book in the year or so since it first came out. It’s my new favorite trick—if someone asks me to show them a trick, this is the one. The method is so simple, but there is an irresistible throwoff built into the presentation that makes everything completely impenetrable to the audience. And after the amazing climax, an even more amazing second one.
Effect
You take the Jack of Diamonds out of the deck, calling it the Watchman. Alex shuffles, after which the Jack is put into the deck face up.
With your back turned, Alex cuts the deck, looks at the card freely cut to, and loses it back into the deck.
You remove Jack and hold him to your ear. Jack names the chosen card—and announces where it is in the deck!
Method
Take the Jack of Diamonds out of the deck and while Alex is shuffling, explain that Jack is the Watchman.
Take back the deck and say that you are going to insert Jack face up. Let the audience see that the Jack is going in face up, but when you do the actual insertion, hold the deck so no one can see where it goes. This is done openly—it should be clear that the audience isn’t supposed to see where the Jack goes. In fact, slide the Jack under the deck so it is face up on the bottom.
Hand the deck to Alex and turn away. You’re going to give some instructions which Alex needs to follow precisely, but you want to make it seem like it’s all very casual. As mentioned previously, you don’t have to use my exact wording, but whatever you do say should be figured out in advance. This is a bad time to wing it. Also make sure to act out with your own hands exactly what you want Alex to do.
“Cut off about half the deck and put it on the table. If you cut to the Jack, just put the cards back and try again. (pause) Done that? Okay—the cards in your hand, just peek up the corner of the top card and memorize it. (longer pause) Really memorize it. Done?
(wait for a yes) Okay, now, take the cards in your hand, and give them a cut, so your card is buried in the middle. Now put your cards on top of the deck. Pick up the entire deck and give it a cut.”
At this point you turn back to Alex. “Now I couldn’t possibly have seen your card. But Jack was face up. He saw everything.”
Spread through to find the face up Jack and cut it to the top. Read the mark of the card below the Jack. That’s the selection—again we’ll use the three of clubs as an example.
“The Jack tells me your card is the three of clubs.”
Pause.
“What’s that? He says it’s the 12th card down.”
Reverse count 12 cards into your right hand and slam the entire packet face up on the table. The three of clubs is on the face!
Notes
The dodge of reverse counting the packet and slapping it on the table is very old and most magicians disdain it because they know it. But it works terrifically well on real people, especially if you follow the basic principles of misdirection: Count twelve cards, pause while you ask Alex to confirm the name of the selection, then put the packet down, saying the name of the selection again. Asking Alex to confirm the selection provides more than enough of both time misdirection and mental misdirection.
However if you are working for fellow magicians who might know that bit, you can use the Sylvan CAAN to find the card at the 12th position. I’ve tried that and it’s a bit cleaner, but at this point in this trick, I don’t need nor want to focus on the cleanliness of the handling. The revelation of the selection is so remarkable—given how fair the selection process was—that if you count briskly and put the packet down with a triumphant attitude, no one will notice. For this trick I choose pace over cleanliness.
I can’t urge you enough to give this a try. The revelation of the identity is really very stunning, and calling the number explodes people’s minds in a very pleasant way. At least, it’s certainly pleasant for you.
Alternate Ending
This works if Alex is sitting down and you are standing or sitting to the right. When you spread through to remove the Jack, hold the jack in front of Alex’s face for a moment, lightly resting your left hand on Alex’s chair as you do. Now place the Jack on the table, and thumb off the top card of the deck as you do. The selection will slide down to the seat cushion behind Alex.
Announce that Jack told you the card, reveal its name, and bask in the miracle. During this time your left hand casually comes off the chair, so that by the time attention
returns to the deck it is in front of Alex. Now announce that Jack is telling you the card is gone from the deck. Deal the cards face up one at a time onto the table next to the Jack
—there will be 50. Pick up Jack and announce “51—the Three of Clubs is gone.”
At this point you pretend to hear something from the Jack which you are holding. “Jack says you will find your card if you stand up.” When Alex does, say “He says you should look at what you were sitting on.” When Alex stands up the card will have fallen flat on the cushion, where everyone will assume it was before Alex stood up.
More Alternate Endings
1) After you cut Jack to the top, put it on the table. Square the deck, palm the selection off the top, and put the deck down. You can now proceed as above but with the Jack appearing anywhere—well, anywhere you can load it from a palm, at least.
2) You can have the Jack change into the selection. When you take the face-up Jack off the deck, do a double lift. Reveal the name of the selection, then do any of a number of moves to change the Jack into the selection. The age-old Snap-Over Change—where you rub the card(s) on your arm and flip it over—is a natural. Many years ago Al Leech taught Tommy Wonder, and Tommy taught me, and I’m telling you: this move is both easier and more magical when you do it under your arm rather than over. There are many variations of this move, including ones where you hold the card(s) at the corners to keep them aligned, and ones where the cards aren’t even taken away from the deck.
You can even do Looy Simonoff’s Flippant without taking the Jack off the deck.
The Original Ending
Although these alternate endings are fun, it’s worth considering that they have nothing to do with the basic premise of the routine, which is that the Jack sees everything. The original ending is plenty impossible and the most consistent with the basic premise of the routine. Many magicians don’t care too much about that, but I do. It’s at least worth considering.