Knowing which hand the spectator is holding the note in doubles the strength of the original effect for knowing who is holding the note. This sure fire method allows you to have a guaranteed hit to fall back on in case the first reveal doesn’t work.
After explaining to both spectators that one will be a liar and one a truth teller, you ask the owner of the note to hold it in their hand while the other spectator holds their hand above the note. It’s up to the person holding their hand above it as to whether or not they take it.
Regardless of whether they take it, it’s at this exact point in the routine you know which hand the note will be in when you know who is holding it. Confused? Let me explain.
If the owner of the note is standing to your right and the other subject is on your left, for the owner of the bill to hold their hand out with the note in it, chances are they will hold it in their left hand stretched out. It also makes sense for the other subject to use their right hand to hold above the note, as it is naturally closer. This means that when I look away and someone takes/keeps the note, if the person on the right has it they will have it in their left fist and if the person on my left has it, they will be holding it in their right fist.
The reason this is guaranteed is that first of all, you’ve only said you are going to be working out who is holding the note, so they think nothing of where it is being held.
Secondly you ask them to quickly take the note or leave it and then say, “I’m going to turn around now, so hold both fists out in front of you and make sure the note is hidden!” This quite simply doesn’t give either of them time to even think before they raise both fists up. It really doesn’t matter which hand the note is held in or above by both subjects, it’s only important that you remember which hand both used (although from my experience, it will be the same layout as described above).
This part of the routine is the easiest, so to make it more exciting for you, in the reveal section you will read a little update I have been using to add to the perception of the routine.
Reveal 1
This part of the routine is the original “Prevaricator” technique; you will simply be watching both subjects for their reaction to the question “do you have the note?” Having studied what Patrick has told you to look for this will already be the portion you are most familiar with.
As I’ve mentioned already, should this first part of the routine not go as planned, you still have two more sure-fire reveals to fall back on to solidify the routine in the minds of your audience.
Simply asking each person “do you have the note” and watching for the interest levels, you will now know who has the note. So you now want to play up the fact that you are reading each person as you interact with him or her. I also recommend involving the rest of the audience as much as possible so that they ALL feel a part of the effect. Simply saying “Did you notice that?” when they say yes you can then decide what they are saying yes to.
Let me explain. If you ask, “Did you notice that?” and they respond positively, you can then continue to say, “You actually nodded slightly when I asked if you had the note.” You then turn back to the audience member you are speaking to and state, “It was really noticeable wasn’t it?” At this point they are in a bind and have to agree with you as they have already partially agreed with you. Most of the time though, the subject holding the note will do something slight, and all you will have to do is pick up on it and use that as the reason for working out it was them holding it!
Get confirmation that they are the subject holding the note, but quickly stop them revealing where the note is.
Reveal 2
You now want to establish where the note is being held. Obviously you know which hand it is in, so again you want to present this portion as you are trying to figure out where it is, while at the same time, allowing the routine to build in impossibility.
Say, “This time, I don’t want you to even answer out loud, I simply want you to think the answers, but for this to work you’ve got to be honest both times. There’s no need to lie now! This time I will ask you if you are holding the note in your right hand, then I will ask if you are holding it in your left hand. Simply think the honest answers.”
Again, you will ask both questions out loud and pause for the subject to think the answers. Similar to the first time, you will now apparently be looking for some subconscious cue as to where the note is being held. Again you can play up the fact that you have spotted a non-verbal clue that allowed you to work out which hand the note was in.
After a few practices you will now get to this point in the routine with absolute accuracy. So to make it more exciting for you, I have a little gambit you can add which, while still keeps the routine sure fire, does require strong audience management.
As you know which hand the note is in (let’s say it’s being held in their left hand) you can ask for them to put their hands behind their back and allow them to switch the note around. You are still able to state with accuracy where the note is being held. This is because you don’t actually say to mix the note around, the exact phrase you will say is “Put your hands behind your back and switch the note to the other hand... or leave it where it is and bring your hands back out now.” The timing here is important. When you say, “Switch the note to the other hand,”
watch their shoulders so you know if they’ve done it (the motion is very noticeable and is something you can practice in the mirror to distinguish). Continue saying (at the same pace), “Or leave it where it is and bring your hands back out now.” So they don’t have a chance to switch back. Even if they do switch it back, you know what to look for and you’re keeping track of it, so you know where it will be. Again this is just something you can add to spice up your performances and with the right people in the right groups it just adds that extra layer of impossibility to the routine.
Reveal 3
By this point in the routine, people will be convinced you know how to read people, which is certainly how I like to play it, however I explain that now I know how they are thinking I can work out what they are thinking.
This whole game is almost as if I have calibrated to their thinking. So I now ask them to unfold the bill and look at the serial number of the note. The inspiration for this portion of the routine comes from a photograph of Alain Nu that I saw on his website with both his hands at either side of his head. This image really does convey that he is deep in thought about something nd gives the impression of him concentrating to reveal a piece of information. This was the impression I wanted to give for the final part of the routine. I wanted to imply that given everything I have already learned about the subject, this now allows me to work out exactly what they are thinking.
I have them stare at the serial number and then count out loud from zero to ten. I then state that I think I know a few of the digits in the serial number, however as some were said a little deeper than others, I think they may be repeated a few times (as will be the case with most serial numbers).
Lets imagine the serial number was 876398. I would say that I thought there was a 3, a 6, a 7, a few 8s and a 9 in the number. After asking if this was correct, I would then go on and get the correct sequence. This does two things; firstly it provides a double whammy for what should be one reveal. Secondly it seems more plausible that, like in the first few phases, you are piecing the information together as you go.
Final Thoughts
Once you have played with the routine a number of times and become confident with “Prevaricator,” you no longer need to add the process of asking each person to choose who is going to play which role. You simply need to explain that you are going to ask both people if they have the note, the person who has the note MUST tell the truth; the person without the note MUST lie. In theory, this means both people will say the word “yes”, however I don’t spell that out for them, otherwise I’m giving them the answer all they have to do is repeat it. The psychology therefore remains the same. The person with the note will still look at the liar to check that they do indeed answer correctly.
Should the liar get confused and say “No”, you still know who has it at this point. However instead of this ruining the effect, I use it to my advantage and say “Ah, you’re both trying to catch me out, this does make it more exciting. I’m going to have to do this for real... just THINK the answers.” This not only saves the effect, it also makes it stronger.
One of the earliest memories I have of performing this routine was on my very first trip to London. There I am standing in a theatre with Ian Rowland, Marc Paul, Joe Atmore and Drew Mcadam. This was my first meeting with Ian and Joe, so obviously I’m doing my best to make a good first impression. The conversation turned to the recent release of “Prevaricator” to which I expressed my positive opinion of the routine, so Ian asked for a demonstration. I went straight into the routine as described above and it worked perfectly.
I asked Marc to remove a note from his wallet and fold it up. Joe was to hold his hand over it and either take it or leave it. After correctly stating who had the note, I then revealed which hand it was in and finally the exact serial
number. Two pieces of feedback came from it though, which I will pass on to you for your benefit.
The only phase they felt uneasy with was the second phase where you reveal what hand it’s in, as they felt it was very bold. Now that’s from two performers who obviously knew the original routine so knew where I was going with it, most audiences will not. However it does highlight the point I’ve been making that the presentation of any routine you will do is what sells it. Since then I came up with the piece of switching hands again to make it seem even more impossible.
The second piece of feedback was when Marc asked if I wanted to switch our bills back, until I reminded him I hadn’t touched it, which I think goes a long way to demonstrating how powerful the time misdirection is between the start of the effect and the conclusion and how spectators remember what actually happened!