Peter Duffie - Mind Blasters

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(2) Introduction Welcome to Mind Blasters: England Goes Mental. Following the success of England Up Close and Miraculous Minds: Scotland Goes Mental, I decided to embark on a follow-up, the result is Mind Blasters. The enthusiastic response from those I contacted has resulted in a really superb collection of Mentalism, Mental Magic and Bizarre Magick. To navigate this ebook, simply go to the Contents page (next page) and click on a name. The hyperlink will take you straight to the desired chapter. Where a chapter contains more than one effect, you can click on the name of a trick to go straight to it. At the end of each effect & chapter you will see an uparrow. . Clicking on any arrow will return you to the Table of Contents.. While this electronic book is copyright © Peter Duffie, each chapter is strictly copyrighted by the contributor. No extracts may be taken from this publication without the permission of the copyright holder. I would like to thank Jeremy Kurtz for designing the excellent cover for this book. So, I will leave you now to enjoy this collection of serious Mind Blasters!. Peter Duffie. Copyright.© Peter Duffie 2008 No part of this publication may be copied, translated, transmitted or re-sold in any way whatsoever without the permission of the publisher and copyright holders..

(3) Table of Contents – Click on a chapter, name, or trick title. Chapter 1. Marc Paul. AAA Serial Number Divination / Shuffle Challenge Too. Chapter 2. John Archer. Back to the Future. Chapter 3. Wayne Dobson. Fluke. Chapter 4. Stephen Tucker. 58 to 1 / ACAARN. Chapter 5. Paul Hallas. Still Battling Along. Chapter 6. Christopher Williams. Ungaffed Entourage / Predictext. Chapter 7. Abracadaver. Con-Flatulation. Chapter 8. Les Johnson. Remote Viewing Magic. Chapter 9. Harold Cataquet. The Knight’s Tour / Seeing & Believing. Chapter 10. Andy Nicholls. Borderline Location / Out of the Ordinary. Chapter 11. Shiv Duggal. A Good Year / Frequency. Chapter 12. James Ward. What’s in a Word? / Sentimental Journey. Chapter 13. Stephen Jones. 1812 / Titanic. Chapter 14. Russell Hall. The Blackwood ESP test. Chapter 15. Roni Shachnaey. The Inquisition. Chapter 16. Lewis Jones. Concord. Chapter 17. Scott Creasey. The Eternal Triangle. Chapter 18. Barry Cooper. Are you a “real” mentalist? / The ABC of ESP. Chapter 19. Al Smith. Tryangle / Friendly Persuasion. Chapter 20. Roger Curzon. The Devil Rides Out. Chapter 21. Andrew Brown. The Living & the Dead / The Clairvoyant Card. Chapter 22. Anthony Brahams. Cabin Book Test. Chapter 23. Dominic Twose. Drawing Close. Chapter 24. Justin Higham. Double Minded. Chapter 25. Mike Hopley. Two-Person Book Test / A Card in Motion. Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter. Roger Ferriby Todd Landman David Britland Walt Lees Andi Gladwin Chris Hare Chris Wardle James Brown Olly Crofton Paul Gordon Steve Cook Stephen MacRow Mark Elsdon John Holt Doug Segal David Penn. The Ghost of the Ferry Boat Inn My Ching Fooler’s Gold – T. A. Waters Ring Master Mentalist’s Luncheon Crab P.S. Dark / Caught 3 Times Three Thoughts Twin Peeks / Thought Stealer Rethought Balls 2 / Barefaced! Brain Fry! Bottle Capped / Best Telephone Trick / Brainwave-2 Absolutely Positive I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Cluedo Drawing Duplication – A Video Bonus!. 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41.

(4) AAA Serial Number Divination (Anytime, Anywhere, Any banknote) Marc Paul I have a philosophy that as mentalists we should have in our arsenal of effects some that are what I call “Triple A”. They can be performed at Anytime, Anywhere and without Any advanced preparation or special props. So far I have released my AAA Book Test (a book test with any borrowed book), AAA Phone Mystery (a reworking of Annemann’s classic “Telephone Drama”) and an AAA Lie Detector test called “True Lies”. What follows is a serial number divination that fulfils the triple A criteria. I have always liked the serial number divination and have used many different versions over the years. But I longed to do it table hopping or whilst strolling. The idea of being able to do such a strong piece of mentalism at the tables really appealed and no one that I knew was doing it. And there was good reason why no one was doing it! Most methods involve the switch of the borrowed banknote for one that has had its serial number memorised by the performer. This obviously creates problems in the table hopping world. I couldn’t exactly ask for that note back so that I could use it on the next table! I considered the idea of doing a follow up routine that used the bank note again and in the course of that routine switch it back so that I had my original note back, but this would be no good, what if they looked at the number later? I considered having a different note for each table. I might do 10 tables which would require 10 banknotes and 10 different serial numbers to memorise…no that was not the way I wanted to go. Next I considered some sort of note pad that had all the serial numbers written down and a mini index to ensure I had the right note in play. The index / notepad version worked well but then occasionally some one from another table would watch a performance and when I got to their table they had already got a banknote out and looked at the number…humm. That created another problem. Now I knew why it was never really performed as a table hopping piece! So I threw out everything and started again. What follows solves all of the above problems. Effect The performer borrows a banknote; he requests that it is handed to him with the Queen’s head facing downwards. Before it is handed to him he turns his head way. He points out that in this position it is impossible to see the serial number that is printed on the queen side of the note as it faces the floor…also his head is turned away! The performer slowly folds the note into a very small packet so that the serial numbers are sealed inside. This is clearly evident to the audience. Now that the numbers are secured from view the performer turns his head back, he gently feels the outside of the folded packet and instantly says “ JD90” The spectators are asked to make a note of this with a paper and pencil or just to remember (each spectator is asked to remember say two digits / letters). The performer gently feels the note again with his finger tips and suddenly blurts out “686….625” The note is handed to a spectator who unfolds it, everyone is amazed to find that the serial number is JD90 686625..

(5) Working There is no difficult memorisation, no indexes and no switches only the one borrowed banknote is used, which pretty much should tell you how it’s done! The numbers are glimpsed in real time. This is a very bold procedure but I assure you it works and it works well. Basically I have discovered a way of folding English banknotes so that an adaptation of Millard Longman’s wonderful Acidus Novus can be performed. The glimpse is performed in two stages so that there is no difficult memorising…in fact you can almost be doing the glimpse as you blurt out the numbers, although it is probably safer to put a bit of time between the glimpse and the reveal. So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. The fold that I’m about to describe will work for all English banknotes except the new £20 & £50. I’ll talk about them later. All other English notes have two serial numbers (both identical) printed on the Queen’s side of the note the one on the left is horizontal and the one on the right is vertical. The fold genuinely puts the serial numbers inside the note but positions one of them so that the first part (two letters and two numbers) can be glimpsed. The second one is positioned so that the last 6 digits can be glimpsed. This is one of the elements that make it so deceptive for an audience; the packet is so small it appears that there is no way to gain access to the serial numbers. You don’t. You gain access to bits of the numbers. Hold the note so that the queen side is facing the floor. The side facing you is the right way up and is not upside down. See figure 1.. Fig.1.

(6) Fold the note in half so that the right side goes under the left. The note should now look like figure 2.. Fig.2. Fold the note in half again but this time fold the bottom half down and under the top half as in figure 3.. Fig.3.

(7) Finally you fold it in half again folding the right side under the left side. The note will look like figure 4.. Fig.4. You now have to give the note a quarter turn clockwise. That’s it you’re done. As you can see the folding is very natural and logical. The serial numbers never come into view and are now concealed inside the note, but they are both in very specific positions. If you slide your thumb under the first corner of the note that is facing you, you will see the first part of the serial number. It is vertical but is easy to read. See figure 5. You only need to be able to see the first two letters and the first two numbers.. Fig.5.

(8) The second part of the number is even easier to read. Allow the note to naturally spring open as in figure 6.. Fig.6. Now insert your right thumb above the third corner. You will now clearly be able to see the remaining six digits of the serial number (Fig.7).. Fig.7.

(9) During performance all you have to do is insert your thumb in those two positions and call out what you see. As I mentioned it is best to make the glimpse and then close the note and delay a moment or two before revealing what you have just seen. The way I have described the glimpse is intentionally crude. Those that are familiar with Acidus Novus will know exactly how to do the move from what I have described. But more importantly they will apply the subtlies that go along with the move. If you are not familiar with Acidus Novus then you should find a copy and study it carefully. Millard Longman’s Acidus Novus was first published in 1979 by Al Mann as part of a manuscript called “Acidus Plus”. Or you can see it performed and explained by Richard Osterlind as part of his watch routine which appears on his Mind Mysteries DVD Volume 1. Please note what the effect is on the audience in this particular version of the serial number divination, it is a “seeing with the finger tips” type of routine. It is NOT a mindreading effect. It could be performed as a mind-reading effect by asking the spectator to first look at the number, but this I feel would be a serious mistake. This method although practical and solves the problems I described at the beginning has another problem, by its nature the performer has to handle the note a lot. The plot of seeing with the finger tips allows for this. I think that this is crucial. It would be totally inconsistent to have someone look at the note then take it, fold it up and caress it before you reveal what they are thinking! This must be done as “seeing with the finger tips” and as such is enhanced if the performer is blindfolded. And that is your reward for reading this far. By placing a blindfold on, you have all the time in the word to perform the glimpse. The routine is very strong without the blindfold, but with the blindfold it becomes a miracle. Just put the blindfold on before the note even comes out of the pocket, by the way I’m not talking about a special fancy blindfold that only a magician would use, I’m talking about just a simple hanky and a simple down the nose peek. You now have two methods in play that very neatly cancel out all possible solutions. Done in this way the routine always creates a very strong audience reaction. The New £20 & £50 Note I have a confession to make…I just don’t use the new £20 or £50. If someone starts to pull one out of their wallet I ask for something smaller or I perform a different routine. I have been doing the above serial number divination for quite a few years now and I’m very use to the handling. When the new £20 came out I noticed that the serial numbers were in different positions and they are on the Adam Smith side, not the Queen side! I tried figuring out a fold that would work with the new note and came up with several possibilities; however they all felt awkward to me as I was so use to the existing handling, so I just don’t use them. Of course you are not so set in your ways, so please feel free to experiment. I will tell you that there is a way of folding the new £20 & £50 so that one complete serial number is available to glimpse on the inside of the very first corner. Have fun discovering it. And Finally A Word About Other Currencies I have never used this routine abroad but I feel confident in saying that I’m sure what ever currency you have there will be a way of folding it so that you can glimpse all or part of the serial number, enjoy experimenting. If you are interested in Marc’s other AAA effects please visit www.marcpaul.com.

(10) Shuffle Challenge Too Marc Paul To an audience this appears to be a really impossible mental card effect. The inspiration for it came from an effect in Stephen Minch's book Mind Novas called 'The Sure-Fire Shuffle Challenge'. In the original, Minch used ESP cards and a completely different method, but it was the effect that intrigued me, so here is my version. Effect The performer shows a deck of cards to be all different. These he then shuffles and sets in front of the spectator, he does not touch them until the end of the effect. The spectator is asked to think of a number between 1 and 52, this number is a free choice and is never revealed to the performer. While the spectator is concentrating on their number the performer makes an open, verbal prediction of a playing card, let’s say the Five of Clubs. The spectator now shuffles the cards and then they deal down to their secret number. When they turn over the card that they randomly arrived at it is the Five of Clubs.. Working Before I reveal the secret, think about it for a second, try and figure it out, the points to remember are: The performer does not touch the cards until the end. The spectator never reveals the number, and they have a free choice. The verbal prediction seems to prevent any opportunity for 'outs'. The spectator shuffles the cards themselves. If someone really did this then maybe you would have to consider the possibility that they were genuinely psychic! Of course you don't have to be psychic to do this all you need is a pack of cards consisting of 26 indifferent cards and 26 all the same, in this case the Five of Clubs. All of the Five of Clubs are subtly marked on the back. I use a blue or red ink pen to fill in a small area of white on the back of each card. Start with all the Fives face down on top of the face down indifferent cards.. Working 1. With the cards in this condition you can casually and genuinely shuffle the top half of the pack without changing the order, because they are all alike! You can casually show the faces of the cards to the spectator by cleanly spreading up to half the deck, OR you can shuffle them with the faces towards the audience, they will see loads of different cards being mixed up, this is the subtle approach and the one I tend to use..

(11) 2. Place the deck face down in front of the spectator and ask them to think of a number between 1 and 52. At this stage you openly announce your prediction as the Five of Clubs. The spectator is now asked to cut the cards into two approximately even piles and to Riffle Shuffle the two piles together. During your other effects you have observed someone who normally shuffles in this way. The nature of the Riffle Shuffle ensures that the Fives are regularly distributed throughout the pack, it won't be perfect but it will be close. 3. The spectator now deals to their secret number and when they stop you need to observe the backs of the cards, looking for a marked Five. With luck you won't have to do anything. There may be one on the pile of discards or there maybe one on the pile still in the spectators hands. If not you simply may have to do a Double or Triple lift with either pile it all depends on how good the shuffle was - you have to be on your toes at this stage so that you can act accordingly without hesitation. Sometimes you will be able to reveal the card on either side of the five as being different which makes a nice convincer. This effect was originally published in Volume 3, Issue 3, Feb 1998 of the now defunct The Conjurer Magazine. Since then I have had some further thoughts: What is the effect on the audience? This is a rather unusual effect. I was never quite sure how to present it. It could be framed as a prediction or even as telekinesis; you mentally move the card to the right place! I perform it now as a demonstration of the power of the spectator’s unconscious mind and the amazing things it can do. I explain that they have just seen me shuffle and display the deck, subconsciously they are now aware of the location of every card (this subtly reinforces the fact that all 52 are different). I get them to riffle shuffle the cards and explain that even though they have just shuffled, their unconscious is still aware of roughly where every card is. I say “Let’s put it to the test. Tell me roughly where you think…say the…Five of Clubs is?” The beauty of this presentation is that if you are unlucky and the shuffle has not been particularly even, you can be a few cards out and the effect still seems amazing to the spectator…after all they did it. This is now my favourite way of performing the effect. It is a clear plot that has an amazing conclusion. Exactly what a good effect should be. Website: www.marcpaul.com.

(12) Back To The Future John Archer An envelope is placed on the table in front of the spectator it simply has the word ‘Future’ printed on it. The magician explains that they are going to take an imaginary journey back to the future. The imaginary bit is easy, they have to imagine that they have a pack of invisible cards in their hands. They are to imagine that the cards are in order ace to king in each suit with the red suits on top and the black suits on the bottom. The spectator is now instructed to follow the magicians actions and place the imaginary deck behind their back (This is the Back bit...) Imaginary cards are now removed behind the back and eliminated. Starting with colour, then suit and finally narrowing the choice down to one imaginary card. The magician then removes one real card from the envelope which matches the imaginary choice. Card and envelope can be examined. __________________________________ The main thing you need to perform this effect is a lot of guts and a decent acting ability. If you have that you will have a very strong little effect. It was inspired by playing around with possible card index effects and then realizing that no card index is required if the presentation is right. You need to have an empty opaque envelope with the word ‘Future’ printed on it and the flap tucked in. Half a deck of cards (I suggest the Clubs and Spades but Hearts and Diamonds are just as sweet). You also need to be wearing a pair of trousers with two back pockets. Before you begin place the Club cards in one back pocket and the Spade cards in the other. These cards should be in order from Ace to King. Have the envelope handy in a jacket pocket.... Go to drama school for three years then begin the routine.. Working 1. Place the envelope in front of you in full sight but don’t make too big a deal of it, just do it as you begin to explain that they are going to take an imaginary trip back to the future. Don’t miss this out, it is this phrase that justifies (albeit ridiculously) the following actions. You now have the spectator imagine that they have an invisible deck of card in their hands. These are placed behind the back. It is important during this process that you do the same as them as if instructing them at each stage. You must try to make the process look real and ask them to try to be as real as possible too. Later in the routine you will need to be really handling cards behind your back so try and mimic that in the early stages. 2. Cards are now going to be eliminated and the process will appear fair throughout though you are going to force the black cards. So first ask the spectator to separate the cards into reds and blacks behind the back and when they have done that to bring one.

(13) half to the front. You ask them what they have brought forward. If they say red say, “Me too, good throw them away and separate the blacks into suits behind your back.” If they say black say, “Me too, good, drop the reds on the floor, put the black cards behind your back and separate them into suits.” As this happens you mime their actions too, and keep it as real as possible. The same process is now used for the choice of suit. One suit (Clubs or Spades) is brought to the front. You must eliminate the suit in the same way as you had to for the colour, either drop the suit brought forward or the ones behind the back. Since it doesn’t matter what suit is chosen you just match the previous procedure. At this point you also say “Me too!” You are giving the impression in a comedic way, that you are matching their actions. 3. The spectator is now left with one suit which is (or should be placed) behind their back. The procedure now changes slightly as you explain that the cards they have behind the back are now going to be thrown away one at a time from the face starting with the Ace you will do the same they can stop any time they like. At this point when you place your hands behind your back you need to remove the appropriate suit of cards from its pocket. I have found that if you use the opposite arm to the side of the pocket to take the cards out it eliminates the tell tale sign of the elbow sticking to the side too much. So if the cards are in the rear right pocket, reach behind with both hands but remove the cards with the left hand, and vice-versa. So ask them to take the top card behind the back and say, “Do you want to throw away that Ace?” if they say yes ask them to bring it out front and throw it away and you both continue. If they say no you palm your Ace and bring it out (hidden) as you pretend to hold an invisible Ace, again saying, “Me too!” (That’s the gutsy bit I mentioned) Tell them to throw away the rest of the cards behind their back (You actually slip yours back into a rear pocket) You now appear to remove the Ace from the envelope (more on that later). If they do choose to eliminate the Ace, have them place their hands behind the back and take the Two. You place the Ace to the back of your secret packet. Again they are asked if they would like to eliminate the card in the hand (the Two) and if so, it is brought forward and thrown away. This continues until they say, no, they want to keep a card at which point you palm yours off the packet and bring it out as suggested with the Ace. The remaining imaginary cards dropped or in your case secretly placed back into a pocket. 4. Now to load the card into the envelope; actually it doesn’t go into the envelope it is just made to appear to come out of it. So assuming you have the card palmed in your right palm, look up and speak to the spectator as you casually pick up the envelope in your left hand and place it into the right hand covering the palmed card. This is done as the right palm starts to turn palm up. The envelope should now be in your right palm, flap side up with the opening towards the spectator (thumb side). The left fingers now open the flap and then re-grip the envelope on the bottom edge.

(14) gripping the palmed card against the envelope from underneath and freeing the right hand (Fig.1 with Fig.2 showing an underview).. Fig.1. Fig.2. The right thumb now goes inside the envelope as the fingers go underneath the envelope and contact the card (Fig.2). The right hand is now drawn away quickly bringing the card with it giving the illusion that it was removed from the envelope (Fig.3).. Fig.3. Fig.4. The above paragraph is done as you explain that they really did match your actions though you did it a while ago and placed your card into the envelope for future use.... It really was an imaginary trip back to the future. Website: www.john-archer.com HTU. UTH.

(15) Fluke Wayne Dobson A red and a blue deck are removed from your pocket, both in their boxes. The red deck is given to a spectator for safe-keeping. You ask this person to THINK of any number from 1 to 52 and then NAME it. Let's assume that they say 27. You open your blue card case, remove the deck, saying that you reversed a card in this deck earlier. You spread the cards face up across the table. One face down card is seen in the middle. Flipping it over it proves to be the Four of Spades. Turning back to the person with the red deck, you ask which number they thought of earlier - he replies that he thought of the number 27. He now removes the cards from the red card case and counts down to the 27th card. Miracle of miracles... the 27th card is ALSO the Four of Spades! This routine first appeared in Wayne’s excellent booklet Dobson’s Choice 2. ______________________________ Before we start, you'll need one red and one blue backed deck of Bicycle cards plus a Bicycle blue/blue double backer. Set-up Set the red backed deck in the order shown on the playing card sized crib-sheet printed below. Please note that, on the crib-sheet, X represents the value 10. This means that XC represents the 10 of Clubs). Once the red backed deck is set... case the cards. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 2H XC AD AS 2C KC 3S 9S 7C 7S 8H AC JS 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 JD 6S QC XH QS 8C 4H KD 5C 6D 5S 8D 5H 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 4S 9C 4C JH 7H QD 3D XD KH JC 3C 3H XS 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 5D 9H 2D 7D 8S KS 2S QH 9D 4D AH 6C 6H. Set the blue backed deck in ANY order then insert the blue/blue double backer near the centre. Case the deck then photocopy the crib-sheet, printed below, and glue it to the back of the blue card case. Pocket the cased decks side-by-side so that, when you later remove them, the crib-sheet will be hidden by the red card case..

(16) Working 1. Remove and show the two decks. Separate them and hold one in each hand, with the crib-sheet toward you. 2. Hand the cased red deck to someone on your left to hold or pocket for the moment. Ask this person to THINK of any number from 1 to 52 and then NAME it. Let's assume that they say 27. As you open the blue card case and remove the deck, you have ample time to spot the card on the crib-sheet which lies at position 27 in the red deck. In this case it is the Four of Spades. Table the card case, crib-sheet side down, to one side. 3. Spread the blue deck face up across the table and point out that you have previously reversed one card and one card only. The double backer shows up in the otherwise face up spread. You should now be looking for the face up Four of Spades. Don't panic if you don't spot it immediately. You have plenty of time, as you prove that there are no other reversed cards in the deck. You do this by separating any small groups of cards to make sure that each and every face up card is seen. Once you spot the Four of Spades, push the reversed card out of the spread, away from you, and scoop up the rest of the cards (starting at the face card of the spread) up to and including the Four of Spades. Pause, and then use these cards to scoop up the rest. The required card (in this case the Four of Spades) is now at the bottom (rear) of the face up deck. Flip the deck face down, pick up the double backer and set it momentarily on top then immediately make a double turnover. The Four of Spades appears to have been the card you previously reversed and the double backer coalesces with the rest of the face down deck, making everything appear as it should. 4. Toss the Four of Spades face up to one side, then case the rest of the cards and pocket them. Turn to the person with the red deck and ask which number he thought of earlier he replies that he thought of the number 27. Ask him to carefully remove ALL of the cards from the red card case and count down to the 27th card. The 27th card is also the Four of Spades! End Notes At the finale, when the spectator deals (in this example) to the 27th position, you could ask that they deal the cards into a face up pile (looking all the time for, in this example, the four of spades) as they deal. This not only builds suspense, it allows you to re-set the deck for your next performance as follows... Once the 27th card has been dealt onto the face up tabled cards and the routine successfully concluded, you only have to take back the face down cards from the spectator, pick up the tabled cards and place them, face down, onto the cards in your hand. The deck is now completely re-set! Website: www.waynedobson.co.uk.

(17) “58 to 1” Stephen Tucker Someone thinks of one of the 58 locations, and … you reveal it! Requirements: A sheet of paper containing 58 different locations from an imaginary land as shown at the end of this chapter (Fig.1) I would suggest that you have this laminated and it will then last you forever. You will see that the letters ‘F’, ‘O’, ‘R’ and ‘T’ run across the top and the letters ‘O, R, T, H, E, S, W, A, G, C, L, I, M, B, U and P’ run down the left edge. By using the normal ‘cross-references’ associated with maps, any location can be represented by two of these letters, one from the vertical and one from the horizontal. You will later call out these letters in the order just given. This can be done by glancing at the map or... memorizing the phrase "FOR THE SWAG, CLIMB UP." Example: The location ‘Ten Fresh Graves’ can be represented by the two letters ‘O’ and ‘W’. In other words, if you trace downward from the letter ‘O’ until it meets the horizontal column ‘W’, the location at this intersection will be ‘Ten Fresh Graves’.. Working 1. Have any location thought of by a spectator and have him copy the name of the location on a piece of paper or card to enable him to easily remember its spelling. Your patter explains that the laminated sheet containing 58 different locations from an imaginary land, and someone is to now imagine that they are hiding at the location of their choice. You will now attempt to pin-point their location. 2. With suitable acting, call out the letters from the memorized phrase in the following fashion: “I can see a letter ‘F’ in the location?” – spectator says, YES or NO. If YES carry on... “and a letter ‘O’?” You continue to call out the letters until you are told that you are wrong. Note you will be told this within the first three letters unless his location is in the ‘T’ column! If you have called out the first three letters and not received a NO reply, you immediately know that his location is one of those in the ‘T’ column. On the other hand, if you receive a NO reply within the first three letters, his location is one of those in the column that received a NO reply!.

(18) Note: If they don't call out stop after the first three letters F, O and R, you do not need to call out the letter T, as you know that his location is in the vertical T column. In this instance you can skip "T" and call out H, E. etc. This means that you will only receive one "No!" from the spectator. By the time you reach the 4th column, you should be remembering which of the four vertical columns his location is in. Continue to call out the rest of the letters in the phrase until you receive a 2nd NO reply. This tells you in which of the horizontal rows his location is. Now cross-reference the two NO letters and you have his location! Either reveal it verbally or, if you have had the sheet laminated, circle the location with a dry wipe marker pen then erase it later.. End Notes ”58 to 1” is a version of Stephen¹s own Mind-Map, which was inspired by the late Terri Roger¹s “Word of Mind¹ routine, which, in turn, was based on one of Bob Hummer¹s effects. Mind Map (using a full colour map version of "58 to 1", drawn by an artist) is still available from my website—see end of chapter for the URL. Fig.1.

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(20) Stephen Tucker¹s... ACAARN Any Card At A Revealed Number! Stack your Bicycle deck as shown in Fig.1, but then place a joker and an advertising card on top, and a second joker and a second advertising card on the bottom - giving you a 56 card deck, which will still fit into a card case. The advertising cards should have back designs.. 1) K♥ 2) A♠ 3) K♦ 4) A♣ 5) Q♥ 6) 2♠ 7) Q♦ 8) 2♣ 9) J♥ 10) 3♠ 11) J♦ 12) 3♣ 13) 10♥. 14) 4♠ 15) 10♦ 16) 4♣ 17) 9♥ 18) 5♠ 19) 9♦ 20) 5♣ 21) 8♥ 22) 6♠ 23) 8♦ 24) 6♣ 25) 7♥ 26) 7♠. 27) 7♦ 28) 7♣ 29) 6♥ 30) 8♠ 31) 6♦ 32) 8♣ 33) 5♥ 34) 9♠ 35) 5♦ 36) 9♣ 37) 4♥ 38) 10♠ 39) 4♦. 40) 10♣ 41) 3♥ 42) J♠ 43) 3♦ 44) J♣ 45) 2♥ 46) Q♠ 47) 2♦ 48) Q♣ 49) A♥ 50) K♠ 51) A♦ 52) K♣. Fig.1. Table the cased deck and have someone name ANY value from ace to king inclusive. Whatever value they name... multiply it by 4 and write this total on the back of one of your business cards, then table it prediction side down. Next ask them to name any suit... clubs, hearts, spades or diamonds. If they name a club: Remove the deck from its case face down, toss the top two joker/advert cards face up to one side, then have the spectator deal down to the required position as predicted on the back of your business card dealing cards into a tabled face up pile as he does so. The final card will be the one freely named! Drop the face up dealt cards face down onto the undealt cards, replace the joker/advert cards and you are reset. If they name a heart: Remove the deck from its case face up, toss the face two joker/advert cards face up to one side, then have the spectator deal down to the required position - dealing cards into a tabled face down pile as he does so. The final card will be the one freely named! Drop the face down dealt cards face up onto the undealt cards, replace the joker/advert cards and you are reset. If they name a spade: Remove the deck from its case face down, leave the top two joker/advert cards where they are, then have the spectator deal down to the required.

(21) position - dealing cards into a tabled face up pile as he does so. The final card will be the one freely named! Drop the face up dealt cards face down onto the undealt cards and you are reset. If they name a diamond: Remove the deck from its case face up, leave the face two joker/advert cards where they are, then have the spectator deal down to the required position - dealing cards into a tabled face down pile as he does so. The final card will be the one freely named! Drop the face down dealt cards face up onto the undealt cards and you are reset. End Notes The stacked deck does not appear random, but the cyclic H, S, D, C order should not be noticed as they are too busy dealing and counting as they do so. The K, A, K, A, Q, 2, Q, 2 etc. pattern should also not draw too much attention. Memory Hooks: I visualise a CLUB being REMOVED from DOWN a hole, as this reminds me that, for a club, the cards must be face DOWN and the top two REMOVED. I visualise a HEART being REMOVED and lifted UP out of a patient's chest, as this reminds me that, for a heart, the cards must be face UP and the upper two REMOVED. I visualise a SPADE being LEFT DOWN a hole, as this reminds me that, for a spade. The cards must be face DOWN and the top two LEFT in position. I visualise a DIAMOND UP high on a crown being LEFT there, as this reminds me that, for a diamond, the cards must be face UP and the top two LEFT in position.. Website: www.stephentuckermagic.co.uk.

(22) Still Battling Along Paul Hallas ‘Battle of The Sexes’ was an effect of mine some may be familiar with from my Mind Stuff’ DVD. Here is the same overall effect which doesn’t require a gaffed alphabet deck as the original did. Of course the price paid means the count procedure is not quite so direct, but for a more intimate performance the ‘examinable’ deck conclusion may be preferred. Effect The performer proposes an unusual experiment involving names and someone is invited to assist. An alphabet deck is placed on the table and then two packets of cards are shown, one containing female names and one containing male names. It is stressed that no ambiguity will be used, whichever sex the person decides upon, those will be the names used for the experiment and the others will be placed away. Once this is done four people give single digit numbers and each is used to count down to a letter card which is placed to one side. The selected name is now revealed, and the alphabet letters arrived at from the counting are turned over to show that they spell out the selected name. Requirements An alphabet deck of some kind (usually consists of two alphabets, unless you are using a game such as Lexicon etc.). Two packets of blank faced cards to write your male and female names on (these could even be written on the backs of your business cards). Preparation Same as with the original, I use names which spell with four letters (other ideas will be discussed later), but you don’t have to think of many since most of the cards are duplicates! Assume there are ten cards for each packet. Let's also assume our force names are going to be Mark and Jill. The male pile consists of eight Mark cards, with a Paul added to the face and a John added to the back (Fig.1). Place an elastic band around this pile..

(23) For the female pile have eight Jill cards with an Anne card added to the face of the packet and a Judy added to the rear (Fig.2). Band this pile.. The alphabet deck is set from the top down: Any ten letter cards, M,J, any ten letter cards, A, I, any ten letter cards, R,L, any ten letter cards, K, L, any remaining letter cards (Fig.3).. Working 1. The name packets are held up one in each hand with the face of the packets facing the audience so the names can be read by those nearest. One is fairly selected and the other disposed of into your pocket. The remaining packet has the elastic band removed, and turned face down is given a little overhand shuffle, but in reality what you do is shuffle the top card to the bottom and the bottom card to the top. Spread the cards and request someone to pick out one of the name cards but not to look at it just yet. Straighten the remaining name cards and put the elastic band around it flashing the bottom (different) name card in the process. These too, are then placed away. The procedure is the same for either packet selected. Since you KNOW which packet was selected, you know how to proceed with the alphabet deck, or at least, you will when you continue reading. 2. The force used with the deck is Terry LaGerauld’s “Countdown Force”, something I’ve used before, though inspiration to use it in this manner came after reading how it was used in the last Nick Trost book. The spectators are not actually asked to name numbers initially, merely think of a number from one to nine. Though you ask them not to use one as it's too simple (thus, eliminating it from the selection procedure)..

(24) Let's assume we are using the female name. You instruct the first spectator thinking of a number you are going to start a countdown , and when you reach his number he is to call out ‘Stop.’ As you start the countdown you deal cards onto the table from the deck until you are stopped. You start the countdown at 10 for the first card dealt, 9 for the second card dealt etc. Assume he stops you on eight (it really doesn’t matter). You confirm his number, “You were thinking of 8? Okay, I will eliminate eight cards and place the next to one side.” Deal the next eight cards - counting as you do so from one to eight then place the next card (it will be the J no matter what number is thought of due to the count back, count forward procedure). The cards just dealt to the table can be left there or picked up and replaced under the deck in hand. The procedure is repeated another three times to give you the remaining three letters of the name Jill. Note, as the cards are dealt to the table to arrive at a number they can be dealt face up, it doesn’t really matter. In fact, it looks more fair. 3. The procedure differs for the male name, there is a fraction more work, after the first letter. For the male name the number thought of is actually used, so you don’t suggest elimination this time. Let’s assume we are stopped on eight in the countdown procedure the same as before. You confirm eight is the number they are thinking of, then say you will count down and remove the eighth card. You do so, this will be the letter M. You are going to use the actual number in this manner for all the male letters. However, this means displacing a card prior to each of the remaining three countdowns so that the cards are positioned correctly. This is accomplished by double undercutting the top letter card to the bottom of the deck. 4. The top card is cut to the bottom as you request a second person to think of a number, since the action is done before the number is revealed it is of no relevance . This is repeated for the other two participants. At the conclusion you recap male or female names might have been used, and yet four numbers merely though of led to the selected name. Related Thoughts a) You could use three letter names as the force names to shorten the proceedings should you wish, Tom and Sue spring to mind. The non force names could be longer. b) Those familiar with my ‘Fortune’ force might use that as a method for the two name packets so everything ‘could’ be left available for examination. Those not familiar with it, check out my Fortune DVD out late in 2008 or details and ideas for it in Small But Deadly. c) You could use a “Spectator Cuts The Aces” method to arrive at a forced name. Here, the force names would be Gary or Mary. Top of deck is M, A, R, Y, G. If male names are selected lose the top card with a slip cut after a shuffle which has left the top 5 cards in place. Pam and Sam are shorter names which could be used in a similar manner. d) A single packet of mixed male and female names could be used and the well known 10/11 force used to get either the male or female name. e) By using force names that share all but one of the letters like Gary and Mary (or Bill and Jill) the effect can be done as initially described but reducing the double undercutting down so it is only done once. Set up the deck with any ten cards, G,M, any ten cards, A, any ten cards, R, any ten cards, Y, rest of cards. For the female name simply undercut the.

(25) top card to the bottom before the initial countdown force (or even leave that card in the card box as the cards are removed). For the male name, do the undercut of the M to lose it after the first countdown force. f) By having four glasses that will each hold a card or a small stand it makes the revelation of the name arrived at more visible.. Email: [email protected].

(26) Ungaffed Entourage Christopher Williams The four Queens are placed face down between two face up Jokers. A spectator names any one of the Queens. They can change their mind if they want, but they are to settle on one eventually. Once they have one, e.g. the Queen of Spades, they eliminate three of the face down cards one-at-a-time, leaving just one face down Queen between the Jokers. When this card is turned over it is seen to be the freely named Queen of Spades! Proving that you knew this in advance, you turn over the other three cards eliminated to show three Aces! Finally, the Queen of Spades magically changes into the fourth Ace leaving you with all four Aces and no Queens! _______________________________ Obviously this trick is based on the fantastic Gordon Bean effect ‘Entourage’. I used this for many months professionally. However, as most of my work is bar work and club work, I had repeat viewers. At one stage, I didn’t have these cards on me, and someone remembered it and wanted to see the effect…and completely on the spot, I created this effect, just without the final change, and using the Bilis switch. After a great reaction, I worked on it and worked on it, and eventually came up with what it is now. This routine was first released on my first DVD Bright Ideas and received many positive comments. Soon after this, John Bannon got in contact with me stating that he had also come up with an un-gaffed handling. While our routines had quite a few similarities, the ending of the routine was tackled completely different. Set up All that is required is to have the four Queens on top of the deck in a known order. I have then CHaSeD order (Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds), so Queen of Clubs is top. You also need two Jokers in your deck. This isn’t essential, but I find it better than using two random cards.. Working 1. Shuffle the deck, retaining the order of the top four cards. When ready to perform, up jog the two Jokers and remove them, placing them face up on the table. Then, hold the cards up towards you and remove the four Aces, saying “Bear with me for a moment while a remove a few cards…” Don’t let the spectator see what the cards are. Now place the four cards face down between the two face up Jokers (Fig.1). Only at this point do I tell the audience they are the four Queens. Fig.1.

(27) 2. With the deck face down in left hand dealing grip, ask the spectator to name any Queen. And if they want, they can change their mind, but finally they are to settle on one of the Queens. Once they name the Queen, e.g. Queen of Spades, you immediately know the position of this Queen from the top of the deck. If they name Clubs, it is on top, Hearts, second from top, Spades is third from top, and Diamonds is fourth from top. You need to get the named suit to the top of the deck. So in this example, Spades, you need to lose two cards to leave the third card on top. We will do this in a moment. Meanwhile, ask the spectator to eliminate three of the “Queens” one-at-a-time by sliding them out from between the Jokers until only one card remains. While they are doing this, casually cut the top two cards to the bottom of the deck as you toy with the cards. There is no heat as no-one will be watching you at this point. 3. You now have the named Queen on top of the deck, and one Ace face down between the Jokers (which the audience assume to be a Queen). You now get the named Queen under the Joker packet, as follows: Obtain a break under the top card of the deck as your right hand scoops the three cards off the table. Square the packet against the left thumb and secretly pick up the broken card. Your left hand now places the deck on the table. Alternative: When I showed this to my friend Tyler Wilson, he suggested cutting the named card to the bottom of the deck, then copping the card off as you place the deck down, and adding the copped cards to the Joker/Ace packet). Position Check: So, you are in the position from top to bottom. Face up Joker, face down Ace, face up Joker, face down named Queen. 4. You now need to get the Queen under the face down Ace, and between the Jokers. Sounds hard…it is sort of, but not in mechanics, more in logic. Many a night myself and friends, including some of the worlds top card men have thought about this, and we have yet to come up with anything revolutionary. Perhaps you can! I do it as follows: Thumb over the top card and take it into right hand Biddle grip. Then push over the face down card taking it under the first card in right hand Biddle grip, but side jogged to the left for about half an inch. Now take the remaining double side jogged to the left under the first two for about half an inch (Fig.2).. Fig.2.

(28) Now your left hand comes over to take the bottom Joker, and as it does, it pushes/slides the Queen underneath it to the far right, undercover of the spread (Fig.3 shows view from below). Show the Joker front and back in a gesture, saying, “So, there is one card placed between these two Jokers,“ and then replace the Joker where it was and then square up. This places the cards in the necessary position. Fig.3. 5. Now do a mini-Ascanio spread. With the left thumb on top and second finger beneath, apply pressure to the middle of the top and bottom cards, while the right hand holds the cards in Biddle grip at the right edges. If you now pull the left hand back slightly at a 45 degree angle, the two face down cards come out as one from the outer right corners of the Jokers (Fig.4). Leave them in this position very briefly, pinching the two Jokers in the left hand which keeps the face down double squared as the right hand need not be there. Then, raise the left hand up so the spectator can see it is their named card (Fig.5). This should get a big reaction! As the reaction starts to calm down, square the cards up and do the Christ/Anneman Alignment move. Basically:. Fig.4. Fig.5. Holding the cards in left hand mechanics grip, the right second and third fingers are positioned just below the white border at the top of the Joker, and the thumb is resting right on the short edge closest to you of the four card packet. Apply a small amount of pressure to drag the top Joker back about an inch, a face down card will show (Fig.6). The second and third fingers move now to the back of the face down card, as my right hand pushes forward. What will happen is due to the right thumb being at the back, the Joker is pushed square with the rest of the cards, but as I move forward, the right second and third fingers automatically move the face down card forward for about an inch, leaving it out jogged (Fig.7). The spectators believe this is the Queen..

(29) Fig.6. Fig.7. Take the card out, and drop it in a separate pile from the three previously eliminated. 6. Slide the bottom Joker out with your left fingers, showing two Jokers – the right hand is holding a double, including the face down named Queen which the spectator thinks is on the table. The double is dropped onto the face down deck casually, followed by the other Joker. This gets rid of the dirty business! Now all that is left to do is explain you knew they would name that Queen, which is why the other three Queens were really Aces. At this, slowly turn each card over to reveal three Aces. Finally say, “What good are three Aces…let's just try this…” as you pick up the last face down Ace, the one you switched in, and wave it over the other Aces. Turn it over to show it has now changed into fourth Ace. And you are done! End Notes If you don’t want to do the kicker ending with the Ace, then you can just use the Bilis switch as I used to…but I just loved the ending of the final Ace, so that is why I use the handling I do. There are so many levels the overall effect plays on. First off, they eliminated three and the one left was their card…reaction number one…secondly, the other three they eliminated were Aces…reaction number two…and finally, the card they named that was between the Jokers, Magically changed into the final Ace!.

(30) Predictext Christopher Williams The Magician sends a prediction to the spectator’s phone. A deck of cards is then shuffled and the spectator takes the deck, cuts it and shuffles it themselves before dealing out four random piles of cards. The Magician has done likewise and the Magician asks if the spectator would be impressed if the top cards of the truly random packets matched…needless to say…they don’t…but! …there was a prediction at the start. The spectator checks their phone and sees you sent the EXACT four cards they would cut, shuffle and deal to! And they now have your business card details! Set up There are two minor set ups that are needed…first with the phone, secondly with the cards. But, they are highly worth it! This effect came about one day when I didn’t have my Business cards one night whilst performing. I completely forgot them, and when I was asked for my details, I suggested I text them my details. After which, an effect was added to get my details out as well! Phone set up In the text message section on my mobile phone, and after speaking to a lot of friends etc about this to check, they all have the same folder…called ‘Templates’. Go into Templates, and you will either have the ability to edit or add new templates. In here, you place what you are going to predict. Now, for me and this effect, I have a template set up like this:. 4C QH JS 9D Christopher Williams Close up Magician www.magicman13.co.uk. So, this is going to predict the Four of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, Jack of Spades, and Nine of Diamonds. I also have my name, what I do and my website there. I don’t put my number on there as when I text them the prediction, they will automatically get my phone number onto their phone! Cards Set up You need to get the four cards you are going to predict on top of the deck. They can be in any order. You can set this up before hand, or casually cull the cards whilst playing with the deck. To help this, I usually cut one of the cards to the top, and then spread through and cull the other three, meaning I only cull three instead of four..

(31) That is the set up done. Now onto the performance.. Working 1. First off, I bring my phone out and explain I have a prediction on my phone, that I would like someone else to have. Then I ask if anyone has a mobile phone I can send the prediction to. I don’t ask anyone in particular, I simply ask if anyone has a phone I can send something to. Everyone has a phone these days, and someone will say yes. If they don’t want to, and I have never had this, then open the template and leave it on your own phone and give that to someone to keep hold of without looking at it. Alternatively, save your own phone number on your phone as Mystic prediction, and send yourself the message with your business card details on it. Then when the time comes, open that message up and leave it with someone. However, when someone says they have a phone you can send it to, whilst they are getting their phone, get your phone out, open templates and get ready to send the prediction. When the spectator has their phone, get them to put it on the table or in their hands with the screen facing down. Ask the spectator for their number or to key it into your phone, and then send the prediction. It gets a little exciting for them when they hear the prediction hit their phone, as they know it is there and that they are personally involved. 2. You will now perform Chad Longs shuffleboard effect, but in this version you legitimately shuffle your packet, rather than control the bottom cards. So, give the cards a Riffle Shuffle retaining the top four cards. Then give the cards a Jog Shuffle, ending with a False Cut. Then get the spectator to cut the deck roughly in half. The four prediction cards are on top of the half they are holding. Hold onto the bottom half. Ask the spectator if they can Overhand Shuffle. Even if they can or cant, explain there is an art to it, so to follow you. Run the top card singly in an overhand manner, then the next one, then the next two, running off a total of four cards singly, then run one more. The spectator should have followed you doing this, and this will have placed the four prediction cards on the bottom of the half they are holding. They are setting the trick up for you! How perfect a trick is this! After the first four or five have been shuffled off singly, you can then shuffle off the rest of the cards, as can the spectator. When doing this, it is important that you shuffle off one, then the spectator, then you, then the spectator etc for the first few, as else they will want to shuffle off themselves if they are competent at that shuffle in the first place. This is why usually I pick a woman to perform to. This is not sexist or rude, but I have found females would rather not shuffle, so follow instructions precisely. Males want to show off and do things themselves. Ok, so, now the spectator has shuffled the prediction cards to the bottom. Now comes the strip out shuffle as you call it, where you take a few cards from the middle, strip them out and place them on top. And as long as the spectator doesn’t take from the bottom four, you are sorted. 3. As you are not controlling cards in your packet, you can really concentrate on watching the spectator and make sure those cards don’t get lost. If at any point the spectator does lose them by accident, it is ok. Give them your packet to shuffle, as you take theirs, and casually strip the cards out with faces towards you (Looks like what they are doing to them), and then shuffle them back to the bottom, and then switch back packets. Simple, yet effective. Don’t call attention to them if they do accidentally lose the cards, just pretend the switching of packets is part of it..

(32) 4. At this stage the spectator must surely believe the cards are well and truly shuffled. Now you are on the home stretch! With the cards face down, deal out four cards in a row from left to right, and get the spectator to do the same. Then do the same again…and again…and again, until all your cards, and the spectators cards, are exhausted. Now they will have the prediction cards on top of each of their four packets, and you have…you have no idea what you have…but it doesn’t matter. Now ask the spectator if they would be impressed if the cards they freely cut, shuffled and dealt matched mine…I have never had someone say no here…so I turn the top card of each of my packets face up one at a time. Then get the spectator to do to the same…this gets a laugh, as 98% of the time I would say, none match. They think you have gone wrong. The very first time I performed this, and this is not a word of a lie, the first three cards they turned over were the mates of mine! I was more impressed than they were at this stage! But the final one didn’t match…anyway, sidetracking there… 5. By this point, the distractions of the shuffling, dealing, and getting it wrong have detracted away from the prediction. I then make it seem as if I remember about the prediction, and get the spectator to open up the message I sent them…then they look and read out what my prediction says and see they match, as they then become completely amazed! End of routine!. End Notes This has long been a favourite routine of mine. I always loved shuffleboard, but I didn’t like the Kings and Aces ploy, so I used to use indifferent cards that matched. Then I added writing down what indifferent cards would be produced in the end, and this used to get killer reactions. Then I found it was the perfect effect to add to the phone prediction. I used to have a picture on my phone of four packets with the top cards turned over, and send that to the spectator, but there were times when signals were poor and they didn’t received the picture I sent them in time. In this instance, I just had to show them the picture on my phone, so I opted away from this. However, if you get the spectator to use their phone and take a picture, and match the two, that could work as well. If you want as well, you could sketch the prediction, but I really like the use of the phone…here is why. First off, it doesn’t cost anything to print. Secondly, it uses technology which everyone loves, and I use the gag of pulling the Bluetooth out of their phone with blue D’lites at the end of the routine as a throw away. Also, do spectators keep our cards after they have one? Not all of them, and so when they want a Magician, they don’t have our phone number to call us should they want us to perform for them. This way, we know they have their number on their phone, and a reason to keep it there as they were part of it. You can predict anything this way, from just a force, all the way to Paul Vigil’s Sympathetic Cards (Which is the other effect apart from this one that I have set up on my templates). The other neat thing is…you have their phone number! You can add this to a wizard effect or anything you like, or reveal it etc in anyway at another stage..

(33) I was going to release a manuscript at one stage with all my effects and routines I had with this utility, as that is mainly what I want you to get from this. A Utility to know that the spectator has your details and a reason to keep it. With that you can predict anything you like. I have missed some details out with this, but I believe with this you have the standing base to perform one of my pet effects. Any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to get in contact! Website: www.magicman13.co.uk.

(34) Con-Flatulation Abracadaver Abracadaver is a busy professional who, as a successful presenter of mind mysteries, prefers to remain mysterious. Now, over to Abracadaver… Con-flat-ulations you’ve made it to one of my favourite effects in mentalism. The premise is simple enough, but the outcome is very strong. A volunteer or number of volunteers name contributing factors to a story, and would you believe it?! Those same factors are mentioned in a letter sealed away in a wallet or envelope. This effect contains no artificial additives. No: * Carbon * Double writing * Gaffed pens * Stooges To perform this, you will need the following: * 1 Pack of index cards * 1 Pen * Card to wallet / envelope (optional) * Scissors * An idea for a theme * Balls of steel—if these are unavailable guts will do. Set up Take your pack of index cards and trim one of them approximately 25mm shorter on a long edge and a short edge. Voila, one short index card. Fold this short card into quarters then open back out, it doesn’t have to be flat. This short card is going to be the second index card in your packet. The first card is a regular blank index card. The third card (the one behind the prefolded short card) is filled with a list of three items, these do not have to be real words just ghtouth sodufu and eohrh for example. This card will be adding to the psychological deception later..

(35) Holding the packet in your hand now, the order facing you and working back through them is. * Regular blank index card * Prefolded short index card * Pre-filled regular index card * Followed by the rest of the index cards. Fig.1. I will not stoop so low as to force-feed you a routine for this as it is such a versatile effect that I am sure that you are intelligent enough to construct a premise yourself. For the purpose of explanation our story is simply going to be Animal, Vegetable and Mineral. Your set up now is.... Your card to wallet/envelope ready to go in your pocket. A pad of index cards ready for performance. A pen.. Working: 1. Begin weaving your story. 2. Demonstrate what we are going to do by writing an example list on the first index card. [The regular blank index card] when finished, flash it to the audience (Fig.2). This is creating an anchor in their mind. Now simply discard that example. 3. You now have a prefolded short index card staring at you in the face, this can be filled in leaving blank areas for you to fill with the relevant information in a moment. 4. Tell your story and ask a volunteer for an Animal. Write it down on the prefolded card. Fig.2. prefolded card.. 5. Ask a volunteer for the Vegetable, Write it down on the. 6. Ask for the Mineral and write that on the prefolded card also. [Your ‘prediction’ is now filled in completely and staring you in the face..

(36) 7. As you reiterate to the audience the items selected you begin folding the card back into quarters. This is done invisibly by using your pen as a pointer. “I asked you for an Animal...you said_____” Your pen now pushing against the top of the next card (Fig.3).. Fig.3. 8. “I asked you for a Vegetable, you said_____” Your pen moves downwards, folding the filled card in half. (Fig.4). Fig.4. Fig.5. 9. “And I asked you for a Mineral, you said_____” Your pen moves across, folding the card into a quarter size (Fig 5). 10. You now have a quarter folded card in the bottom corner and have therefore revealed the next card in your prepared packet. The Pre-filled index card. (Fig 6). Fig.6. Fig.7.

(37) 11. Remove the quarter folded card and palm, whilst turning the pad in the other hand to flash a list of items. These are the non-descript words that from a distance could be anything. But due to the anchor they must be the items called out by the audience (Fig 7). 12. Load the folded card into the wallet / envelope and you are set for your revelation. What you have seemingly done is, 1st: Demonstrated what the experiment is. 2nd: Had items called out, while you listed them. 3rd: Re-iterated what those items were thus continuing and strengthening the story. 4th: Pulled out your wallet or envelope to find that those items match a prediction sealed away. There you have Con-flat-ulation: An easy but deceptive routine with a killer climax. Email: [email protected].

(38) Remote Viewing Magic Les Johnson A packet of eight cards depicting different scenes is shown and then Charlier shuffled face down. A spectator has a completely free choice of one of the cards and he keeps this hidden from anyone in the audience so a confederate cannot be used. The backs of the cards are not marked as in a marked deck where you can tell any card. You talk to him about "remote viewing" which has been widely publicised over the years. You place the rest of the cards back into the box and leave it in full view. You now turn your back and ask him to look at his chosen card and concentrate on the picture on it. You then ask him to place the card in his pocket so you cannot see it and then turn around. You say you can now divine his card by means of "remote viewing". You describe the scene and then get him to show the card around to the audience. This routine was inspired by an effect called 'By the Numbers' from Leo Boudreau's excellent book Psimatrika'. Working This uses a binary principle where the backs of the cards representing Ones are minutely marked but the Zeroes are not. They are set up in 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0 sequence (Fig.1) and 5, 6, 7, 3, 1, 0, 4, 2 sequence on the faces but the pictures are keyed to you by these numbers as will be explained next.. Fig.1. Having noted whether the chosen card represents a one or a zero, you note the next two cards and add the numbers in the binary system order of l–2–4. So if the chosen card is a One, the second is a One and the third is a Zero (1–1–0), this represents one plus two plus nil and gives you a total of Three (Fig.2). I suggest you make up a rough set with the numbers on so you can practice learning the system..

(39) Fig.2. Another example: The chosen card is a Zero, the second is a One and the third is a One (0 – 1 – 1), this represents nil plus two plus four and gives you a total of SIX (Fig.3).. Fig.3. I prefer using blank backs rather than patterned ones but it is up to the individual how you mark the backs of the cards but the comers could be trimmed differently or the cards could be laminated and be on a slightly different slant and so on. Some performers who like the idea may decide to use post card size or even larger on stage. Most people know a little bit about snooker and therefore can associate each coloured ball by its score number. White is 0, Red is 1, Yellow is 2, Green is 3, Brown is 4, Blue is 5, Pink is 6 and Black is 7. See figure 4. However, instead of coloured numbers, you substitute pictures.. Fig.4. The type of picture can be recalled by the equivalent colour but you must not mention the colours as this could give a clue to your method. For example: White can show a snow scene. Red can show a hospital scene (recalled by Red Cross or Blood). Yellow can show.

(40) a sunlit sandy beach. Green can show a picture with grass and trees. Brown can show a brownish car (a car has four wheels). Blue can show a seascape or lake with a boat on it. Pink can show a celebration party because of pink champagne. Black can show a storm and so on. Obviously this is down to your individual choice and the pictures should have various details on them so you can describe them in a number of sentences. You now proceed as outlined in the effect above..

(41) The Knight’s Tour Harold Cataquet This effect is not for everyone, and certainly not for every venue. But if you choose the right time and the right place, this is an amazing feat of mental calculation. Or at least that’s the way that I present it; others de facto seem to present it as a thinly disguised memorization of 64 numbers. If you turn to Step 3 (Mnemonics and Mental Systems) of Tony Corinda’s Thirteen Steps to Mentalism, you will find his knight’s tour path. Every mentalist that I have asked uses this tour as the basis of his presentation. I find this fascinating, because there is nothing special about Corinda’s chosen path. There are better paths and in this note, I present what I think is the best. If you are not familiar with the effect, the performer displays a chess board. For simplicity, the squares are numbered from 1 to 64 as shown in the left side diagram below. Technically, the exact numbering method isn’t that important – you can rotate and reflect the board to arrive at 16 equivalent numberings. A spectator is then invited to choose any number between 1 and 64, and the performer places a knight on that square. The performer then proceeds to call out numbers which are a knight’s move away from the current square. The procedure continues until the knight has travelled to all 64 squares. Most importantly, the knight never lands on the same square twice.. The Numbered Board. Corinda’s Path. Corinda’s path is shown in the right diagram above. If a spectator were to name a number – say 53 – the performer simply repeats the next number in the row. Starting at 53, the performers next moves are 43, 33, 27, 44, 61, etc. When you finish one row, you move on to the next. When you get to the bottom of the table, you go back up to the first row. Because the path is closed, if the spectator chose 53, the last move in the sequence will be the previous number (38). Alternatively, you could go backwards, and read the table from right to left instead of left to right. So, after 53, the performer could have chosen 38, 28, 13, 30, 36, 26, etc and finish with 43. In 1862, Carl Friedrich Andreyevich Jaenisch wrote his seminal Treatise on the Mathematical Applications of the Analysis of the Game of Chess. In that three volume masterpiece, he documented many tours, but the most important of these is shown on the following page..

(42) 5 60 35 30 19 46 17 48. 15 50 52 13 25 40 2 63. 32 33 58 7 10 55 12 53. 22 43 41 24 4 61 27 38. 39 26 51 14 21 44 37 28. 56 9 57 8 6 59 47 18. 62 3 42 23 16 49 64 1. Jaenisch Tour (1862). 45 20 36 29 31 34 54 11. The path is closed, so after square 11, you go back to square 5. You will notice that 10 numbers are in red. These are the key numbers. If the spectator chooses one of these numbers and you follow the sequence, then the resulting tour is a semi-magic square. In a semi-magic square, the rows and columns sum up to 260, but the diagonals do not. No tour exist which is a magic square, so semi-magic squares are the best you can generate. Jaenisch’s tour is the best tour because it has the most number of possible starting squares (10) that generate a semi-magic tour (the next best only has 8). If any of you are interested in the knight’s tour, then it is sufficient that you memorize the above table. You have a 7.8125% change (5/64) that the spectator will choose one of your ideal starting squares. However, if you really want to impress, then you can take this to a much higher level. Specifically, with the Jaenisch tour, you only have 10 starting squares that produce a semi-magic square (shown below on the left). However, by numbering the board after the square has been specified, you can get 48 starting squares that end up producing a semi-magic square. The possible starting squares are shown below on the right. In my impromptu presentation, I dismiss the four corner 2x2 squares by telling the spectator not to choose a corner square because that makes it too easy. If they do choose one, you can still use the sequence, but the resulting tour isn’t semi-magic.. Starting Squares. Possible Starting Squares. The secret to getting the extra squares is to use rotations and reflections. If we rotate the board 90, 180, and 270 degrees, and/or flip the board vertically, then you get a total of eight different boards (sixteen if you number them backwards). These eight mathematically equivalent boards are shown on the next page. I have kept the numbers in their original positions so that you can see how I arrived at them. Given that there are 10 starting squares, and the board is rotated and/or flipped to create 8 different boards, you may notice that some squares can be valid starting squares for more than one board. For example, square 11 on board 1 is also square 54 on board 3… I admit that memorizing all.

(43) eight boards is incredibly difficult, but if you did, you could perform a magic square from virtually any freely selected starting square (albeit some of the numbering sequences might appear unusual to the audience). One solution is to simply rotate the board before you start writing the numbers, so that effectively you only have to remember two boards (board 1 and board 5).. Board 1. Board 2. Board 3. Board 4. Board 5. Board 6. Board 7. Board 8. The Eight Possible Board Numberings However, I do it a different way. I will only briefly mention my method, as when I have explained it in detail to others, they think that it’s easier to memorize the two different boards, and rotate the board before you write down the numbers. Nonetheless, the benefit of my approach is that I don’t have to memorize two different boards; I just memorize the moves and then remap the interpretation. As a result, the board can be numbered as in board 1 from the beginning (i.e., the board is numbered before a square has been selected), and I think that is a much more streamlined presentation. What I do is remember the moves from a given position, not the number of the next square. From a central position, the knight can move to one of eight squares (the diagram on the left below).. Possible Moves. The Memorized Sequence. Let’s assume that we start at square 5 on the chessboard, the next moves in the Jaenisch tour are 15, 32, 22, 39, 56, 62 and 45. These moves correspond to 4, 7, 4, 4, 6, 8 and 5 in.

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