R

OBER
TO GI
OBB
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ROFESSIONALCARDMAGIC
WITHOU
TSL EI
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Card College
Light
Photo by Zakary Belamy
 LYBRARY
www.lybrary.com
preserving magic one book at a time
Originally published in German as Roberto Light
by Magic Communication Roberto Giobbi.
Copyright © 1988 by Roberto Giobbi.

English-language edition copyright © 2006

by Roberto Giobbi and Stephen Minch.
Ebook Mastering by Lybrary.com

Ebook published by Lybrary.com.

It is the digital version of the book published by
Hermetic Press, Inc., Seattle: ISBN 978-0-945296-54-6

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American

Copyright Conventions.

ISBN 1-59561-011-1
 Contents
Thanks xiii
Foreword xv
The Presentation of Sleightless xvii
Card Tricks
Routine 1 1
T.N.T. The magician reveals two cards chosen in a way
that would seem to make this utterly impossible. 3
Intuition. Through the power of intuition, two spec-
tators are able to separate the shuffled deck into 9
red and black cards.
The Telephone Trick. The performer’s medium is
called and is able to discern over the telephone 14
the card freely selected from a shuffled deck.
Routine 2 19
Thot Echo. Someone selects two cards under the
fairest conditions, and the magician succeeds in 21
finding them.
Royal Flush. Ten cards randomly chosen by a spec-
tator are thoroughly shuffled by him and then
dealt into two poker hands. The magician’s hand 27
is shown to be a royal flush!
 Roberto Giobbi

The Waiwiki Shuffle. A subconsciously controlled

swing of a pendulum reveals to the performer the 35
identity of a chosen card.
Routine 3 39
Fingertip Sensitivity. The magician guesses the
actions a person performs with a packet of cards 43
under the table.
Muscle Reading. Someone chooses any card, then
shuffles it thoroughly into the deck. Thanks to
the magician’s ability to read this person’s uncon- 49
scious muscle impulses, he is able to successfully
find the card.
The Lie Detector. Someone notes a card and
shuffles it back into the deck. She next takes
seven indifferent cards, keeps them hidden and
calls their names to the magician; but for one
of the indifferent cards she calls the name of 57
the card she selected. Because the magician
possesses the sensitivity of a lie detector, he is
able, unbelievable as it may seem, to discover
the woman’s card!
Routine 4 63
The Circus Card Trick. After the audience has
become convinced that the performer has failed to
find a selected card, he manages to save the situa- 67
tion in a surprising and amusing way.
The Fingerprint. A freely chosen card is replaced
in the deck by the spectator, under the strictest
conditions. In spite of this, the magician is able 76
to find the card by means of the “fingerprints”
left on it!
 Card College Light

Magical Match. The magician twice determines,

in an inexplicable manner, the exact number of 81
cards the spectator has cut from the deck.
Routine 5 87
Cards Never Lie! Someone selects a card and shuf-
fles it back into the deck. The magician asks three
questions about the card, and his subject either
lies or tells the truth. Nevertheless, the performer 93
is able not only to ascertain the chosen card, but
he also immediately produces the other three
cards of the same value!
Digital Dexterity. A chosen card is shuffled back
into the deck by the person who selected it, and
the deck is placed into the magician’s pocket. With 100
seemingly unbelievable dexterity, he is able to fish
the chosen card out of the deck!
Think Stop! Someone freely selects a card, then
shuffles it back into the deck. Nevertheless, the
magician is able to find the card through that 104
person’s silent thought-command alone.
Routine 6 109
Card Caper. Two spectators each select a card from
a deck that they shuffle themselves. They further
shuffle their cards back into the deck. Neverthe- 111
less, the magician is able to find both spectators’
cards in an astonishing manner.
In the Hands. Someone from the audience shuffles a
deck of cards and remembers two of them, which
he himself loses back into the deck. In spite of 118
these impossible conditions, the magician is able
to locate both noted cards.
 Roberto Giobbi

Back to the Future. The magician transports him-

self into the future, memorizes what happens
there, returns to the past, and then predicts the 122
occurrence in the present: a confusing story with
a clear effect.
Routine 7 127
Manto. The magician writes a prediction and places
it inside the card case, which a spectator guards.
An audience member and the performer mix the
cards face up into face down, throwing the deck 129
into a chaotic condition. Nonetheless, the predic-
tion states how many cards lie face up and how
many of those are black and how many red!
Vernon’s Miracle. The magician finds a card selected
under the fairest conceivable conditions. 136
That Is the Question. The magician asks no ques-
tions, yet he answers them while guessing and 141
finding a freely and fairly thought-of card.
Afterword 145
A list of recommended books on card magic.
Notes 147
Further background on the tricks.
Card College
Light
 Dedicated
to the members of the
Magic Club of Vienna (1908–88)
on the occasion of the eightieth birthday
of that club, and to all participants in the thirty-third
Congress of Austrian Magicians in Vienna, July 1988.
In memory of Peter Heinz Kersten (1929–2003),
an enthusiastic interpreter and great promoter of magic.
 Thanks
As always, as in all of my books and writings, thanks go
first and foremost to my wife and friend, Barbara, for her
excellent illustrations. These serve as oases in a desert of
type, and they always say more than many words can.
I am grateful in many ways to Peter Kersten, who
unfortunately died too soon: first of all, for his lovely
foreword; second, for commissioning the original edition
of this work, which he did as president of the Magic Club
of Vienna for the Vienna Jubilee Congress in 1988, as a
gift for Congress participants; but above all for always,
through his friendship, encouraging me in my work.
I would like to thank Dave Shepherd, who undertook
the task of translating my German text with enthusi-
asm and painstaking precision. In my opinion, he has
admirably succeeded in adapting my words to the
cultural idiosyncrasies of the English language while
maintaining my “voice”—neither of these things being
a self-­working feat.
I also owe a debt of thanks to the three devoted and
knowledgeable gentlemen who carefully proofread this
text before the ink could set: Jason England, Mike Henkel
and Newell Unfried.
xiii
 Roberto Giobbi

Last but not least, great thanks go to the best of all

publishers, Stephen Minch of Hermetic Press, who once
again undertook the risk of publishing a card book where
there are already too many. His suggestions on historical
annotations, technical detail and writing style make this
book easier and more pleasurable to read.

xiv
 Foreword
Vienna, the city in which J. N. Hofzinser laid the founda-
tion for modern card magic, has always been a good home
for this subtlest form of magical activity. Roberto Giobbi is
certainly one of the most competent practitioners working
in this area today. His profound knowledge of the relevant
literature, his contact over the years with prominent experts
in this genre, as well as his quality as an entertainer special-
izing in card magic, guarantee you routines and effects that
have withstood the test of performance.
Moreover, his way of explaining the most difficult sleights
and trick sequences, so that they can be understood by any
reader, distinguishes him from many other authors in this
area. Therefore, it is not only my great pleasure, but also my
fondest wish, to be able to present this book to you. I very
much hope that as many as possible of you might adopt
tricks from these pages into your own magical repertoire!
Peter Heinz Kersten
Vienna, July 1988
xv
 The Presentation of
Sleightless Card Tricks
I like the outwardly simple, that hides
great inner complexity.
Miguel de Unamuno
The German edition of this book is now almost twenty
years old. Published in 1988, it was my second book and
appeared four years before the first volumes of Card College,
my course on sleight-of-hand card magic. The widespread
success of this early effort in Europe has been highly grati-
fying. I wrote the work now in your hands before tackling
Card College because of my abiding fascination with struc-
turally simple tricks that, if properly performed, have great
impact. I’m also fascinated by the ability of simple secrets
to offer enough complexity to make the piece challenging.
These ideas were verified in several lectures I gave for magi-
cians, in which I was consistently able to entertain and fool
many of them with such tricks.
xvii
 Roberto Giobbi

For whom is this book intended? For beginners, of

course—but by no means in total. This book was written
for everyone who has always wanted to perform card tricks,
but who didn’t have the time necessary to learn complex
routines, or the years necessary to master difficult tech-
niques. In this age of calorie consciousness, we should not
have to live without a low-tech diet of card magic. The rou-
tines presented here are easily digestible, to be sure; but for
the public—and at times even for audiences of magicians—
they are rich delicacies.
So, yes, this book is certainly meant to give the beginner
great tricks, to reveal to him or her the incredible world of
card magic, to provide an appreciation of the elegance and
complexity that lies behind the craft, to instill a desire to
xviii attain more, or—if content to stay at this level—to teach
some of the best material, so that the student can do so in
a dignified manner.
However, besides the beginner, this book is also directed
at those who are already proficient in the craft. I will risk
seeming immodest, though I hope not arrogant, by saying
that Card College Light is in a class apart from other books
that focus on sleightless card tricks. Although some of these
books may occasionally feature material that is more origi-
nal, when it comes to artistic considerations—in which the
goal is to make the trick deeper, not wider, through inter-
pretation, staging, communication and psychology—these
books seldom even recognize such concepts. Card College
Light strives to remain as simple as possible, but (as Einstein
recommended) not any simpler, and at the same time to
identify concepts and to open doors for those who look and
listen. The sleightless trick is put into the context of artistic
 Card College Light

card magic. Other books give card tricks that are “easy to
do”, “self-working”. Although these books and Card College
Light consider the same type of material, their approaches
to it are clearly dissimilar.
Thus, the tricks described here are meant to serve not
only the beginner, but also—or perhaps especially—the
advanced and established card-magician who wishes to
include in his performances from time to time a trick
wherein the audience can stare relentlessly at the fingers
without discovering a thing. It is precisely in technically
challenging performances that a thoughtfully constructed
sleightless trick (that is, one that is not recognizable as
such) fits especially well. And then there are those spec-
tators who can see every double card, or who look the
performer in the eye and say that he is hiding a card in his xix
hand. These persons are the very ones who can be thrown
completely off the trail by a clever and competent sleight-
less trick. These people then can be convinced that you
really can “make magic”.
In selecting these tricks, I have consciously avoided any-
thing that smacks of endless counting, adding of digits and
other such abominable mathematical practices. In this
regard, the respected American card-magician Dr. Jacob
Daley once remarked, “If you take a card trick with three
sleights, and replace the first sleight with a subtlety, you
get a better card trick. If you replace the second sleight
with another refinement, you get a small miracle. But
when you replace the third sleight, then you usually get a
mathematical atrocity.”
I would like here to emphasize one thing: I have not
assembled these routines simply to sell books; rather,
 Roberto Giobbi

most of these come from my active repertoire. Infre-

quently, yet from time to time, I am successful in fooling
even the most competent magicians with these tricks.
This might be due in part to the fact that my magician
friends expect technically difficult card manipulations
from me; and they are consequently baffled when I never
touch the deck.
“When a strong man uses weak methods, then weak
methods can become strong—but when a weak man uses
strong methods, then strong methods become weak!” In
this Chinese proverb there is a grain of truth. For this very
reason, the sleightless card tricks presented here can above
all enrich the repertoire of the well-versed card technician;
the handling of a true master can breathe life into a math-
xx ematically lifeless procedure. When a violin virtuoso plays
the simplest beginner’s etude on a Stradivarius, it sounds
completely different from the performance of the same
piece by a beginner. For everyone who takes this book in
hand and reads it, it is my wish that he might discover the
Stradivarius of the magical arts: the deck of cards.
It is in this spirit that you will find frequent commen-
taries in sections I have called “Lest I Forget...” The reader
who has certain basic techniques of card magic at his dis-
posal will find that the addition of an occasional false cut
or false shuffle can help to conceal the secret of the trick,
and can increase its effectiveness considerably. I wrote my
five-volume series on card technique, Card College, with the
intention of showing the interested reader the high road to
sleight-of-hand card magic, and in that series, those who
are interested can discover the tools for making the mate-
rial in this book even more deceptive.
 Card College Light

I have chosen each of these tricks so that it can be pre-

sented with any deck of cards of average quality. Most of
the tricks can be performed under all performance condi-
tions and at any time, without preparation.
Some of these tricks are in fact so baffling that even
magicians may assume you are using a gaffed deck. For
this reason, it is advisable, whenever possible, to use a bor-
rowed pack. This not only lends the performance more of a
magical quality, it also proves you to be a flexible magician,
everywhere and always “ready”—should this be important
to you. By performing these sleightless tricks, you can easily
create for yourself a reputation as a magician who can really
make magic, since you are not dependent on your own
props, but instead can do amazing things with any object
at any time. xxi
This book contains a number of tricks in which a specta-
tor must remember a card that is later found. Such tricks
are frowned on by some magicians, but I have found these
are usually “magicians” who present “tricks” rather than
artful magic. To have a card chosen and possibly signed is in
fact one of the most direct ways of getting a spectator emo-
tionally involved in what is happening. Moreover, most of
these tricks are dressed in a story that arouses interest, and
they guarantee that the person will experience more than a
simple “pick-a-card” trick.
Instead of describing the tricks individually, I have put
them together in groups of three. In this way they can be
more easily memorized and can be presented without
having to spend a lot of time thinking about them. Further-
more, each routine runs for the “correct” length of seven
to ten minutes. Always bear in mind that the spectator will
 Roberto Giobbi

hardly be as enthusiastic about card magic as you are. If you

place excessive demands on your helpers and don’t know
when to stop, your performance will achieve exactly the
opposite effect, and the spectator will say to himself, “Well,
I’ve had enough of these tricks for a while.” If, after perform-
ing a routine, you have the impression that the spectators
want to see a couple more pieces, you can still present a
second routine as an encore.
In each routine, I have endeavored to assemble tricks
that contain different types of magical phenomena. This
will provide variety and ensure that the spectators do not
become quickly bored.
I encourage all readers to modify the combinations in
these routines at their discretion, as well as to find their
xxii own staging and to develop their own scripts. It is not my
intention to sell pre-packaged programs, or to give the
impression that everything must be done in this way and
no other. I do not believe in dogma, certainly not when it
comes to art. I have, however, described the entire staging
along with a script, because certain principles, concepts
and procedures are often imbedded there, and can, I
believe, be better recognized in context. Once you search
for and understand these principles, you can introduce
them into tricks in your own repertoire. When you then
study new pieces, you will recognize problems and will
be able to formulate elegant solutions. This is one way to
turn tricks into art. But one always needs to apply practice,
thought and passion.
As I look, all these years later, through the newly typeset
English text of this book, I still think the tricks are excellent
and that I manage to open many doors to presentation and
 Card College Light

psychology that are necessary to protect the simple work-

ings of these tricks while amplifying their effectiveness. In
doing this, I instilled into these tricks much of my ­philosophy
about what constitutes good magic, and many of my own
interpretations and those I have learned from my masters,
in life and in books, with the intension of teaching how
good tricks with seemingly simple methods can be raised
to a professional level of mystery and entertainment.
And now I wish you a fruitful study of the following pieces
and principles.
Roberto Giobbi
Basel, June 1988 and
September 2006

xxiii
1
ROUTINE
 T.N.T.

T his trick carries all the potential power suggested by

its title. It was created by the Spanish magical genius,
Juan Tamariz.1 After you have read the description
and, ideally, have performed the trick, you will cer-
tainly agree with me that it is one of the best in this
book! It is an ideal opener for our first routine.
Effect
The magician reveals two cards chosen in a way that
would seem to make this utterly impossible.
Preparation
The deck is arranged in advance, with the red and
black cards alternated.


 T. N. T.

The deck needn’t be complete, but the number of black

and red cards must be equal.
Staging and Handling
Set the deck on the table and have it cut by a someone. It
can be cut again by the same person or another. Ask, “Do
you agree that no one here can know what card is on top?”
Wait for your helper to answer. “Of course not, because you
yourself cut the deck several times.”
Turn to someone sitting on your left. “Please take the top
card and thoroughly memorize it. Perhaps you can show it
to some of your neighbors.” It is always advisable to have a
chosen card noted by several spectators. This is insurance
against forgetfulness or an occasional hostile intention. For-
tunately, both of these happen rarely.
 Wait until the card has been noted. Then turn to some-
one on your right. “And you, please: Take the next card,
memorize it and show it to your neighbors.” While your two
helpers are noting their cards, turn away, your body lan-
guage making it clear that you are not interfering with the
procedure or manipulating anything. As a matter of fact,
you do not touch the deck until the end.
Turn again to your first helper. “Please place your card
back on top of the deck.” Turn toward the second helper.
“And you place your card on top of that one.”
You have just accomplished the only maneuver required
for the success of this trick: You have exchanged the posi-
tions of the two top cards in a clever and subtle way that
won’t be perceived!
Ask your two helpers, “Is there anything I could know
about your cards?” If you have presented everything in a
convincing manner, the audience will have no choice but to
 Card College Light

answer, “No.” You immediately respond, “Wrong! I do know

something. I know that the two cards are on top of the deck.”
Look your helpers in the eyes and smile. “Therefore, I’d like to
ask you to cut the deck once more.” Wait until one of them
cuts the deck and completes the cut.
“Now I can’t know anything else about your cards, can I?”
Wait for confirmation and reply immediately, “Wrong! I know
that they are approximately in the middle of the deck.” The
audience will have to agree. “So I will turn away—you can
keep an eye on me—and now please cut the deck again. Cut
off a larger or a smaller packet—and complete the cut.” After
this has done, turn once again to the audience.
“Good. Now I certainly can’t know anything about your
cards, do you agree?” The spectators will nod affirmatively.
“Wrong! I know that the two cards are together in the deck. 
So please pick up the deck and deal the cards onto the table,
alternately to the left and the right, making two piles.” Your
helper does this.
“So we now have two piles, and each of these must contain
one of your cards, mustn’t it? And I absolutely cannot know
where your cards are in each pile, right?” Wait for the answer
and then exclaim again, “Wrong! I know that the two cards
must be at about the same level in each packet. If one of
the cards is at the tenth position, then the other card must
certainly be at the ninth, tenth or eleventh position, yes?” The
perplexed spectators will have to grant the truth of this.
Your audience by now will probably find your excessive
honesty a little eerie. Most who have followed the action will
already accept that the cards are lost. For those who think
you could still exercise some control over the selections, the
following will completely destroy any possible theories.
 T. N. T.

Turn to your two helpers who noted the cards. “There-

fore, I would like to ask each of you to take a packet and
shuffle it thoroughly.” They do so.
To help everyone remember, long after the perfor-
mance, that the cards were mixed by members of the
group, you can ask them to shuffle over their heads or
behind their backs. This is a psychological touch Juan
Tamariz often uses, and one that distinctly improves the
remembered effect. Many people will later swear the
cards were shuffled both beforehand and afterward. That
is the intention.
“Are you now convinced that the cards are thoroughly
mixed? Good. Still, I will find your cards lightning-fast—that
means, with approximately the speed of lightning.” Take the
 first packet of cards and fan it with the faces toward you.
It will consist wholly of cards of a single color, either red
or black—with one exception. This exception is the first
selection. Remove it from the packet as fast as lightning, as
you have promised, and lay it face down on the table. Lay
the remainder of the packet aside, face down. Pick up the
second half of the deck, locate the second person’s selec-
tion in the same rapid manner and lay it face down beside
the first selection.
You now only need to ask your helpers to name their
cards, and then, in a dramatic fashion, very slowly turn the
two cards face up, first toward yourself, then toward the
spectators. They are the two cards chosen earlier!
If you now put the deck together by laying, say, the black
cards onto the reds, the cards are separated into reds and
blacks! Of course, you will put each of the two selections
back into the half of the deck matching its color.
 Card College Light

Lest I Forget...
1. This trick is a prime example of how one can use an
intelligent construction and a thoroughly thought-
out script to fool even an informed spectator.
2. The only risky moment occurs when the deck is
dealt into two piles. If your assistant deals two
cards instead of one, or fails to deal alternately to
the piles, the whole trick goes down the drain. It is
therefore preferable to give the deck to someone
who can handle cards competently—a card player,
for example—and to observe the dealing. Or you
can deal the cards yourself. This last option has the
added advantage that the dealing will go faster and
that you can make a remark or two to the audience

while doing it. When you must count or deal cards,
it is always important to keep the level of interest
and dramatic tension high, to avoid any boredom
during the procedure.
3. At the beginning of this trick, it is always better, of
course, if you can give the deck a false shuffle. Since
it does not matter where individual cards are, but
only that the black-red alternation is maintained,
an advanced magician can use any of a number of
false shuffles and cuts to preserve this arrangement.
Perhaps the simplest method is to hold the deck in
position for an overhand shuffle, and in seven shuf-
fling motions run seven single cards from the top
into your left hand, then throw the remainder of the
deck onto the seven. Running any odd number of
cards, done in the action of shuffling, will retain the
 T. N. T.

alternating order. It is best to follow this shuffle with

another short one, in which you simply pull off about
half of the deck and throw the rest on top. Immedi-
ately do a third shuffle in which you pull five single
cards into your left hand and throw the rest on top.
Finally, drop the top half of the deck onto the table
and lay the remainder on top, which constitutes a
simple cut. During the whole shuffling process, you
should not look at your hands, but at the audience
instead, while saying something appropriate. This
false shuffle is simply a temporary solution for the
beginner. With just a bit more effort, it is possible to
learn more convincing false shuffles. (Perhaps one
 of the simplest complete-deck false shuffles is the
G. W. Hunter false shuffle in Card College, Volume 2,
page 259. A somewhat more difficult but com-
pletely deceptive method is the “Optical Shuffle” in
the same book, page 260.)
 Intuition

T he arrangement of cards at the end of the previ-

ous trick makes possible this next one. No one will
think at this point that the deck could be arranged.
After all, the cards were shuffled by the spectators!
The following version of Paul Curry’s great classic
“Out of This World” was created by the American
magician John Kennedy.2 After performing it for
many years, I have introduced some of my own
handling touches.
Effect
Through the power of intuition, two spectators are able
to separate the shuffled deck into red and black cards.
Staging and Handling
Ask two spectators other than those who partici-
pated in the previous trick to help you with the
next. One should be seated on your left, the second
on your right.

 Intuition

“This is in fact an experiment. I would like to give you the

opportunity to test your intuition. Of course, I don’t know
how it will turn out.” Hold the deck face down in your left
hand. If you’ve followed the procedure in the previous trick,
the black cards are on top, the reds are on the bottom. If
you like, you can give the deck a false shuffle that keeps the
colors separated (see point 3, page 7).
With your right hand, take the deck into position for
cutting and drop the bottom portion face down into
your open left hand. You should drop about a third of the
deck—roughly twenty cards—but in any event, less than
half, and give the cards in your left hand to your helper on
your left. This is easy to remember: The participant on the
left gets the red cards (just as in politics, yet completely
10 different). Now drop a bit less than a third of the deck
into your left hand, and give the cards remaining in your
right hand to the helper on your right. This person will
thus get approximately the top twenty cards, all of which
are black.
The two participants should shuffle their packets thor-
oughly, but not look at the faces or expose them to anyone,
since they would immediately see the cards in each packet
are all the same color. In a pinch, you could ask that they
shuffle their packets under the table. Accompanying them,
you shuffle your cards, and then fan them face up. Everyone
will see the mixture of red and black cards. “Each of us has
approximately a third of the deck.” In fact, your helpers each
have about twenty cards and you have maybe a dozen. No
one will notice this, and in any case, it is irrelevant; but it is
desirable that the spectators have more cards than you do,
as it makes for a more impressive final picture.
 Card College Light

“We can assume that each of us has about as many red

cards as black ones. Perhaps one has more spades than
another, and perhaps the other has more hearts. Statistically
speaking, this would be a coincidence.” This is actually no lie;
but in this case, statistics are on your side.
Turn toward the helper on your left, whom you know to
have the red cards. “I’d like you now to take the cards one at
a time face down into your other hand. Through pure intu-
ition, I’d like you to decide whether it is a red card or a black
one. If you think the card is red, place it onto the table. But if
you think it is black, place it here in my hand.”
Give the same instructions to the other helper, with one
difference: He is to place onto the table the cards he thinks
are black, and places the cards believed red into your hand.
To aid in making their tasks clearer, place a red card from 11
your packet face up in front of the left-hand helper and a
black card in front of the right-hand helper. They will thus
once again see the mixed condition of your cards and will
assume that theirs are in the same condition. Lay your packet
casually aside, face up, without squaring it, so that the cards
can be seen to be mixed, should anyone look at them.
 Intuition

The helpers follow your instructions, placing cards onto

the table or into your hand. In our example, all the cards in
the left-hand helper’s packet are red, all those in the right-
hand helper’s packet are black, and those in the packet in
your hand are a mixture of colors.
Once all the cards have been dealt out, turn the packet
in your hand face up. “No one could have known beforehand
which cards you were holding and which cards you would
place into my hand. As you can see, there are cards of prac-
tically every value here. And the red and black cards also
happen to be completely mixed. It couldn’t be any other way.
But if you have done everything according to your excellent
intuition, your cards are all one color, and your cards are all
the other color!” With these words, turn both packets face
12 up and spread them on the table, ending the trick with
an amazing climax. Congratulate the spectators on the
remarkable intuition they have revealed and continue right
on to the next trick.
 Card College Light

Lest I Forget...
Although, to one who knows it, the method might
appear somewhat obvious, it can be largely concealed
through intelligent construction. A synergistic effect of
the whole routine is brought to bear: Remember, the
spectators themselves mixed the deck in the previous
trick. If at the finish you do not give the spectators
too much time to think, and continue immediately to
the next trick, you will find that they will be unable to
reconstruct the sequence of events accurately.

13
 The Telephone Trick

T ricks done over the telephone are particularly baf-

fling, and in this age of cell phones they can be
performed practically any time and any place. Most
effects of this type demand a well-rehearsed team
and a complex code that can only be mastered
through constant practice. The following version3 is
so easy a child could do it. It can be rehearsed with
your partner (who is called the “medium” in the
description) in as little as a minute.
Effect
The performer’s medium is called and is able to
discern over the telephone the card freely selected
from a shuffled deck!
Preparation
You will need a previously briefed medium who can
be reached by telephone and who knows the simple
code explained below.
14
 Card College Light

Staging and Handling

Have the deck thoroughly shuffled while you explain that it
is but a small step from the intuition just displayed by your
two previous helpers to telepathy. A member of the audience
takes any card. The selection procedure should be as dramatic
as possible, so that it is totally clear to the audience that this
is a free choice that could not have been influenced.
If enough people are present, the deck (or a portion
of it) can be distributed among them. Then a person is
chosen at random. For example, you can point to some-
one, who then points to someone else, and that person
points to a third.
I often do it this way: I have the cards spread out face down
on the floor. One person walks around on the cards while
another whistles a melody. The instant the tune ceases, the 15
pacing individual freezes in place. The card on which he is
standing at that moment becomes the selection. Of course,
there are countless other impressive methods.
“I have a friend who is a fantastic mind-reader. If she were
here she could tell you which card you are thinking of, just like
that. But she also has the ability to read thoughts from far
away. We’ll call her now and ask her whether she can guess
this freely chosen card.”
Having made this statement, go to the telephone and
call the medium. As soon as the person on the other end
picks up the receiver, I would say, “Good evening. This is
Roberto Giobbi, the magician. Could I please speak with the
medium?” This is the cue for the medium to name the four
suits: “Hearts—spades—diamonds—clubs.” As soon as
you hear the correct suit, say, “Hello, is this the medium?”
The medium then names the thirteen card values, with
 T h e T e l e p h o n e Tr i c k

a very short pause between

them: “Ace-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-
Jack-Queen-King.” When you
hear the correct value, you
interrupt the medium, “One
moment, please.” Hand the
receiver to someone who, at
your prompting, explains the
situation and asks the medium
whether she can guess the
chosen card. Of course, this
is just a dramatic delay, since
the medium already knows
the card.
16 The medium will, of course, not name the card straight
out, but rather in steps, showing greater and greater intu-
ition as she comes closer and closer to the identity of the
card. If the chosen card was the Ten of Hearts, the dialogue
might sound like this: “Please point the face of the card
toward all the audience members, so that they all can see
it for at least two seconds. This will allow everyone to create
a mental picture of the card. Thank you, that’s enough. I feel
certain that it is not a black card. Is that correct? All right,
then it is a red card. I believe the suit has a round shape—a
heart—there is a lot printed on the card—it looks like a pic-
ture card; a Jack or...no, wait...it’s not a picture card, but I
am seeing a high spot card—no, it’s not an eight, it’s not a
nine—yes, I see it quite clearly now—it’s a Ten of Hearts!”
It is important that the person repeat each of the medi-
um’s statements loudly and clearly to everyone present. By
doing this he will take on the role of a missing loudspeaker
 Card College Light

that, if there were one, you could not turn on, at least in the
beginning, due to the method of the trick. If the telephone
has a speaker function, its use could “occur to you” after
you have handed the telephone to your helper. From that
point on everyone can listen in.

Lest I Forget...
It is, of course, better if it seems you do not know
the card when you telephone the medium. There
are, after all, always spectators who think you would
use a code to convey the identity of the card to the
medium. For this reason a well-versed card technician
will have the card noted with a peek and then secretly
glimpse it. Emphasize that the person is merely think-
ing of a card. For this reason, no one else should see 17
the card. Give the deck to your helper and signal the
name of the glimpsed card to the medium, as has
been explained. When your helper is on the telephone
with the medium, have him take his “merely thought-
of” card out of the deck and hold it so that it can be
seen by everyone in the room. One can also force the
card, which eliminates the need to glimpse it, but the
force must be very convincing. It is best to use the clas-
sic force. (A detailed description of this force can be
found in Card College, Volume 1, page 217.) Presented
in this way, the trick becomes an inexplicable miracle
and serves very well as the climax of our first routine.
2
ROUTINE
 Thot Echo

T his trick is undoubtedly one of the most baffling

location effects one can perform. The basic underly-
ing idea was created by the American magician Sam
Schwartz.4 This trick has never failed to fool every
magician I’ve performed it for who did not already
know the secret. The method is exceptionally clever.
The fact that a bit of preparation is necessary puts you
a few steps ahead of the game from the very start.
Effect
Someone selects two cards under the fairest condi-
tions, and the magician succeeds in finding them.
Preparation
Remove the thirteen spades from the deck and place
them in numerical order on top, so that the Ace of
Spades is the first card, followed by the Two of Spades,
the Three of Spades and so on. The King of Spades is
thirteenth from the top. Next place any eleven cards
21
 Thot Echo

on top of the arranged spades. The Ace of Spades is now

twelfth from the top, and you can begin the presentation of
this extraordinary location effect.
ds
ar
nc
ve
ele

Staging and Handling

Set the prepared deck face down in front of a spectator. To
avoid confusion during this explanation, let’s assume you
22 and he are seated on the same side of the table, so that
“left” and “right” are the same for both of you. During actual
performance, it is usually better for communication if you
sit opposite your helper.
Ask him to cut off about a third of the deck and to place
it to the left of the remaining two-thirds (from his point of

A
C
B
 Card College Light

view); in our description we will refer to this packet as A.

Once he has done this, ask him to cut off about half of the
larger pile and to place this packet, which we will call B, to the
right of the two piles on the table.
Your helper has thus divided the deck into three approx-
imately equal piles, with the bottom portion of the deck
(C) in the center, the upper portion on the left (A) and the
middle portion (B) on the right.
Point to Pile A and explain, “This was originally the
upper part of the deck. If I were to ask you to remember
the top card of this packet, you could say I knew the card
in advance.” Point to Pile C. “This was originally the bottom
part of the deck, and I could also know some cards in that
part.” Finally, point to Pile B: “But this packet is from the
middle of the deck, which you have cut yourself. Is that 23
right? So there is no way I could know how many cards are
there—and I also cannot know which card is on the top or
the bottom, isn’t that true?” Wait after each question for
your helper to confirm your claims. Have him now take
Pile B—the one to his far right (the original middle por-
tion of the deck)—and ask him to remember the top card.
We will assume this is the Six of Spades. Have him show
this card to several persons around him. Next ask him to
put this card anywhere in the middle of Pile B, and then to
thoroughly mix this pile. When he has done this, have him
put the packet back on the right end of row.
What has happened? If your helper has cut the deck into
three packets of approximately equal size, the bottom part
of the spades sequence will be uppermost on the packet
cut from the center (B). Accordingly, he will have noted the
lowest-value spade in this packet.
 Thot Echo

Point to Pile A and observe to another person that this

was originally the top part of the deck, and that it might be
possible for you to know the top card. For this reason she
is now to take Pile A and thoroughly shuffle it. When she
has done this, tell her to “Please note the card that random
chance has brought to the top.” After she has memorized
the card, have her return it to the top and place the packet
back on the left end of the row. We will assume she has
noted the Two of Hearts.
Continue by giving your helper the following instruction:
“Please pick up this pile [indicate C]. That was originally the
bottom part of the deck. Perhaps you think I could know a
card in this packet. For that reason I would like you to shuffle
those cards thoroughly. I can’t know how many cards there are
24 in the packet, since you cut the deck. And I cannot know the
position of any card, since you have just shuffled the packet.
Place that packet on top of this pile [indicate A], which has
the second noted card B

on top of it—a card that

is now being hopelessly
lost in the deck.” Finally
ask her to place Pile B C
onto the rest, reassem-
A
bling the deck.
If you like, and if the situation allows it, you can at this
point remind the audience how entirely fair the selection
procedure was, as well as the loss of the two cards back into
the shuffled deck. In any case, emphasize that your helper
shuffled each packet herself. (True!)
Pick up the complete deck and fan the cards from left to
right with their faces toward you. In the upper third (the
 Card College Light

leftmost part of the fan), look for the lowest spade among
those spades you find there. (In our example it was the Six
of Spades.) This will be the first noted card. Lay it face down
on the table in front of the first helper.
To find the second card, you must add ten to the value
of the spade you have just laid down. In our case, the result
of this addition is sixteen (6 + 10 = 16). The sixteenth card
from the face of the deck must be the second chosen card.
Remove this card from the deck in the same fashion you
did the first and lay it face down beside that card. While you
have been looking for these two cards, secretly bring the
five cards of a royal flush in spades (the Ten, Jack, Queen,
King and Ace) to the top. (The order is unimportant.) This
is easy to do and can often be accomplished with a simple
cut, since the spades were earlier together in order. 25
Have your two helpers now name their cards in a loud,
clear voice. After a short pause turn the two cards face up.
They are the selections!

Lest I Forget...
1. It is advisable to have the cards chosen by two help-
ers to avoid forgetfulness or confusion. In addition,
you should always have the cards shown to others in
the audience.
2. This clever trick is best suited for a performance
before a smaller group, since you must have full and
continuous control of the audience’s attention. In
this sense, it is a difficult trick. The wordiness of the
presentation is necessary, in my opinion, to guide the
audience’s thoughts in certain directions, to elimi-
nate possible solutions in advance and to lead the
 Thot Echo

spectator to the conclusion that he has just expe-

rienced something that was absolutely impossible.
And is it not the goal of magic to elicit in the mind
of the spectator this emotion of the impossible, per-
haps even of a miracle?

26
 Royal Flush

A lthough this trick has a poker theme, it can be

performed for an audience that has little or no
knowledge of this game. The impossibility of the
climax is so visually obvious that the effect is
strong for everyone. The basic principle was pio-
neered by the American magician Bob Hummer
and has multiple uses.5 (This trick was shown to
me by the late lamented Larry Jennings during my
visit at the Magic Castle in June of 1986.)
Effect
Ten cards randomly chosen by a spectator are
thoroughly shuffled by him and then dealt into
two poker hands. The magician’s hand is shown
to be a royal flush!
Staging and Handling
At the end of the previous trick the cards com-
prising a royal flush in spades are in a random
27
 Royal Flush

order on top of the deck. Hand the deck to ­ someone

and ask him to count ten cards, one by one, into a face-
down pile.
The rest of the deck can be set aside, since it will not
be used for this trick. Make sure the five cards of the
royal flush are well distributed in the packet. Usually it
is not sufficient to have the packet merely shuffled. An
overhand shuffle, which is what laypeople usually use
with a small packet, will not mix the cards sufficiently.
For this reason you should scatter the cards on the table
and ask your helper to mix them completely.

28

When he is convinced that the cards have been thor-

oughly mixed in this way, have him push them back
together and hand you the packet.
“We will now shuffle the cards in an even crazier way,
so that they really are completely mixed up.” With these
words, turn the packet face up and spread the top three
 Card College Light

or four cards to the right. No matter what the random

order of the cards, you will lay out five pairs of cards
haphazardly. But what is not haphazard is that the
spades in the royal flush are arranged in back-to-back
pairs, and that the indifferent cards are paired face to
face. You will be able to do this twice. There will be one
pair left over, consisting of an indifferent card and a card
from the royal flush. Holding these two cards face up,
lay the royal flush card onto the indifferent card and
drop them onto the eight dealt cards, either face up or
face down—it doesn’t matter.
To clarify the procedure, let me play out an example for
you. Let’s assume these are the ten cards you are holding
after your helper has mixed them, from the face to the
back of a face-up fan: Ten of Spades, Queen of Hearts, 29
Eight of Diamonds, King of Spades, Ace of Spades, Three
of Hearts, Nine of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Queen of Spades
and Four of Clubs.

Begin to spread the cards in your hands and place the

Queen of Hearts and the Eight of Diamonds face to face
by taking the top two cards together into your right hand,
turning that hand palm down and pushing the Queen of
Hearts (now the top card) face down onto the face-up
 Royal Flush

Eight of Diamonds. Then slide the Ten of Spades, held in

your right hand, face up under the Eight of Diamonds and

30

drop the top pair of cards onto the table. The Ten of Spades
is now on the face of the left hand’s packet, followed by
the King of Spades. Put these two cards back to back and
drop them onto the pair of cards you have just set on the
 Card College Light

table. It doesn’t matter which spade is on top and which

is on the bottom. Continue spreading and set the Three
of Hearts face to face with the Nine of Clubs, which you
then drop onto the four cards on the table. Set the Ace of
Spades and the Jack of Spades back to back and set this
pair onto the tabled pile. The Queen of Spades and the
Four of Clubs remain in your left hand. Keep the Queen
face up on top of the face-up Four. Drop this last pair onto
the tabled packet; it makes no difference whether it lands
face up or face down. You are finished.
You can now have the packet cut by a spectator any
number of times. For example, you could do this: Set the
packet in front of someone and ask him to cut it. Complete
the cut, turn the packet over and set it in front of another
person, whom you ask to cut it again. This changes nothing, 31
of course, but it looks very convincing.
If you have mastered the Charlier false shuffle, you could
use it between each cut. Here is a brief description: Hold the
packet in left-hand dealing position. With your left thumb,
push three or four cards to the right and take them into
your right hand. Separate your hands and with your left
 Royal Flush

middle and ring fingers, push some cards from the bottom
of the left hand’s packet to the right and take them on top
of the cards in your right hand.

32 Continue by pushing about half the cards from the top of

the left hand’s packet to the right and take them under the
right hand’s cards. Place the rest of the cards on top of the
cards in the right hand. With this shuffle, you have merely
given the packet a single cut. You may repeat the shuffle
a few more times, always remembering not to look at the
cards, but to keep talking as you look at the audience. It is
best if you turn the packet over after every shuffle, so that
the packet is “shuffled from both sides,” which looks even
more haphazard. Although a nice addition, this shuffle is not
absolutely necessary.
Now ask your helper to take the packet and deal the cards
alternately left and right, into two piles. Next turn over the
pile containing the face-up royal flush cards and have your
helper riffle shuffle it into the other pile. The cards can now
be shuffled with either an overhand or a riffle shuffle, as many
times as you like. This all takes place under the pretext of
 Card College Light

mixing the cards even more ­thoroughly. Since this shuffling

procedure is in fact completely free, the spectators will later
remember that they themselves shuffled a group of randomly
chosen cards from the deck in a totally chaotic manner. This
makes the following double effect even stronger.
Hold the ten-card packet so that the royal flush cards (which
thanks to Bob Hummer’s parity procedure now all face the
same direction) are all face down. Turn to a spectator and say,
“With these ten cards, which you yourself took from the deck
and have shuffled several times, we are going to play a game of
poker. Which cards would you like, the face-up ones or the face-
down ones?” No matter how he answers, deal the face-down
cards into one pile and the face-up cards into another.
The first effect consists of the fact that, in spite of all the
shuffling, exactly five cards are face up and five are face down; 33
that is to say, one hand is showing and the other is hidden.
After pointing this out, you remark, “Although you may not be
so astonished by this situation, I assure you that a configuration
like this is mathematically very improbable.” This is true. Com-
ment on the hand of face-up cards. Usually it will not contain
anything significant. If a good hand is showing, in spite of
expectations, play up the situation as an additional effect
and congratulate your helper on choosing and shuffling such
good cards. “Recently, someone said to me, ‘I wouldn’t like to
play poker with you.’ I know exactly why....” With these words,
lay out the royal flush in spades.
 Royal Flush

Lest I Forget...
As with all tricks of this type, a false shuffle and false
cut at the beginning, before your helper counts ten
cards onto the table, can be very convincing. You can,
of course, choose any other suit for the royal flush;
however, in my opinion spades look best because of
the large Ace pip. Moreover, many laymen have the
false belief that spades rank highest in poker. Since
we are polite, we will not refute this; instead, we will
merely exploit it.

34
 The Waikiki Shuffle

T he following trick is both an unusual and an origi-

nal method of locating a chosen card. The principle
used in this trick is called the “Waikiki Card Loca-
tion”, and was invented by Bill Murata.6
Effect
A subconsciously controlled swing of a pendu-
lum reveals the identity of a chosen card to the
­p erformer.
Staging and Handling
Borrow a ring from a female spectator and tie it to
a thread or a string. In trade, give her the deck and
request that she shuffle it thoroughly. When she has
done this, have her cut the cards into three ­packets

35
 The Waikiki Shuffle

of approximately equal size, laying them out in a row in

front of her.
Turn your head away and ask her to note the top card of
one of the three piles, and then to replace the card onto the
same pile. Let’s assume she chooses the middle pile and that
the card she looks at is the Four of Spades.
Ask her to turn the other two piles (those not containing
her card) face up.

Then have her gather the

36 piles, burying that with her
card face down between the
other two, and to square up
the deck.
After she has done this, ask her to cut the deck near center
and to riffle shuffle the halves together. This will result in a
mixture of face-up and face-down cards, and your helper’s
selection seems impossibly lost.
If she is unable to do a riffle shuffle, you can do the weave
for her and let her push the interwoven cards together
at the end. Later, when thinking back over the course of
events, she will at least remember the feeling of have shuf-
fled, which is associated with pushing the cards square. Of
course, the trick is far more effective if your helper does
everything herself, while you turn your back.
She can now make and complete as many simple cuts as
she likes.
 Card College Light

Turn toward the audience again, take the deck and ribbon
spread it from left to right. You will notice a long sequence
of face-up cards in the spread. The first face-down card to
the left of this sequence is the selection!
selection

It is possible that your helper will separate the sequence 37

of face-up cards as she cuts the deck. If this occurs, there
will be a smaller sequence of face-up cards on the left and
right ends of the ribbon spread. In this case the chosen card
is, logically, to the left of the face-up sequence on the right
end of the spread.
Now hold your improvised “pendulum” (your helper’s
ring on the string) over the spread and use it—along with
“the power of your subconscious and your latent ideomo-
tor sensitivities”—to divine her card.

Lest I Forget...
1. Once you understand this principle, you can spread
the cards in your hands, rather than in a ribbon
spread. In this instance, even an extremely attentive
spectator cannot notice that you take the first face-
down card after a long face-up sequence.
 The Waikiki Shuffle

2. Here is another clever way to handle this location:

As you take back the deck, turn it over and ribbon
spread it from left to right. The selected card will now
be the first face-up card to the right of the longest
face-down run of cards. You can see it as you are still
spreading the cards. Immediately mix them up with
both hands on the table and ask several spectators
to help you. You can even ask them to turn bunches
of cards over as they are mixed. In the end, the audi-
ence will remember that the card was selected and
replaced under the most impossible conditions. You
can now gather the deck, turn it so that the selection
is face up and, since you know the card, proceed to
38
reveal it in any way you please.
3
ROUTINE
I n this routine a partially arranged deck is used, the
arrangement of which is concealed by a time delay.
It is more than understandable that even magicians
cannot follow this stratagem.
Preparation
Remove all the hearts from the deck and place them in
any order on top of it. Memorize the top heart. It will
be your key card. For this explanation, we will assume
it is the Queen of Hearts. Place three indifferent cards
on top of the Queen.

Q♥

41
 Fingertip Sensitivity

I n “Royal Flush”, above, we used a clever principle by

Bob Hummer, known as the CATO principle (Cut And
Turn Over).7 The first trick in our third routine is based
on the usual handling of this principle and is another
excellent example of how one can achieve a baffling
effect with very little effort.
Effect
The magician divines the actions a person performs
with a packet of cards under the table.
Staging and Handling
Take the deck and fan it with the faces of the cards toward
you. Let’s assume a red card is on the face of the deck. In
such a case, you take one of the nearest black cards and
place it onto the red one. Spread the cards a bit further
and take another red card, which you place onto the black
card at the face of the deck. Continue this way until you
have at least twelve cards that alternate red and black.
43
 Fingertip Sensitivity

Count twelve cards from the face of the deck into your
right hand and lay the rest of the deck aside; it will not be
used in this trick. (On top of the deck, undisturbed, are the
sixteen cards you arranged beforehand, which you will need
for the next trick.)
44 If arranging the cards on the face of the deck is difficult
for you, you can place red and black cards alternately into a
face-down packet on the table. It is perfectly all right if the
spectators see that you take particular cards from the deck.
Pick up the packet and have it cut several times. If you
have mastered the Charlier shuffle, you may certainly use
it here (see page 31; you will also find a more detailed dis-
cussion in Card College, Volume 5, page 1110). The only
important thing is that the sequence of alternating colors is
not disturbed. The identities of the cards play no role, and
it doesn’t matter whether the sequence begins with a red
or a black card.
Explain to the person sitting across the table from you:
“Hold the packet of cards under the table, cut it anywhere
and complete the cut. Turn the top two cards face up, leave
them face up—and cut the packet again. Now once more
turn the two top cards over and cut the packet. Repeat this
 Card College Light

procedure again, a couple of times. Now please turn the entire

packet over and turn the two top cards over. Cut the packet
and turn the top two cards over again. Keep doing this until
you are convinced that no one could know how many cards
are face up and how many are face down.”
After your helper has done all this, have him hand you the
cards, which you, too, hold under the table. While taking
the cards, turn your head clearly away from the action, so
that no one can accuse you of secretly noticing the number
of face-up cards.
“You must admit that I cannot know where you cut, I
cannot know how many times you cut, and I certainly cannot
know exactly which cards you turned over. Nevertheless, with
the special sensitivity of my fingertips, I will try to make a
statement about the condition of your cards.” 45
While you are saying this, you hold the cards in left-hand
dealing position and push the first card into your right
hand, which takes it into reciprocal dealing position.
 Fingertip Sensitivity

Turn your left hand palm down and, with the left thumb,
push the next card onto the first one in the right hand. This
turns the card over. Turn the left hand again palm up and

46

push the next card onto the right hand’s two cards. In this
way, alternating the left hand palm up and palm down,
transfer all the cards from the left hand to the right.
Place the packet onto the table. “Now there are exactly
six cards face up and six cards face down.” With these words
count the cards onto the table, laying the face-up and face-
down cards into two respective rows.
 Card College Light

Wait until the effect has sunk in; then remark, “Moreover,
I have found all the red cards.” If the black cards are face up,
change your claim accordingly. Wait a couple of seconds,
since there will certainly be one or two spectators who
think you took nothing but red cards from the deck in the
beginning. At exactly the moment the uncharitable have
formulated this impolite notion, turn the six face-down
cards face up and show that they are in fact six black cards!

47

We now come to the second phase of the trick, which

presents an even more inexplicable event. Have your helper
pick up all twelve cards and shuffle them. Next, take the
cards from him, hold them under the table and push them
alternately face up and face down into your right hand, as
explained above. When the cards have been “prepared” in
this way, bring them above the table and hand them to the
helper, asking him to put them again under the table.
His next actions are truly governed by chance. “Cut the
packet and turn the top two cards over. Just as before, you
may do this as long as you like. Then turn the entire packet
over and do the same thing on the other side.” Your helper
does this. “Now cut the packet again. Hold the cards so that
 Fingertip Sensitivity

you can see them under the table. Now there are two pos-
sibilities—either the top card is face up or it is face down. If
it is face down, turn it face up, remember the card, leave it
face up on the packet, and cut the packet once. If it is face up,
remember the card, turn it face down onto the packet and
cut the packet once. When you have done this, you can give
me the cards.”
Hold the packet once more under the table, push the
cards alternately face up and face down into your right
hand, as previously explained, and place the packet onto
the table. Ask your helper to name for the first time the
card he remembered. Snap your fingers and spread the
cards face up on the table. A single card is seen face down.
Turn it over—it is the freely chosen card!
48

Lest I Forget...
1. The basic mathematical principle in play is so
astounding, you will probably fool yourself the first
time you try it.
2. In the context of this routine, all the red cards will
be diamonds, since the entire hearts suit is on top of
the deck, awaiting the next trick.
 Muscle Reading

H ave no fear; in this trick (my interpretation of a bril-

liant location by California’s Jack McMillen 8) you do
not really have to know how to muscle read. How-
ever, it serves as a thoroughly plausible pretext for
the staging of the trick. I will leave to your judgment
and your style of performance as to whether you
wish to present the phenomenon of muscle reading
as “real” or with a wink. Those who represent it as
genuine may make a stronger impression; those who
present it with humor will often come across as more
likeable. No matter which style you choose, I believe
it necessary that the audience finds you interesting
as an individual—and this is one of the most impor-
tant objectives one can achieve with simple cards
tricks, presented well and with talent. If the audience
thinks you are interesting, you can perform practi-
cally anything—as long as you present it well.
49
 Muscle Reading

Effect
Someone chooses any card, then shuffles it thoroughly
into the deck. Thanks to the magician’s ability to read this
person’s unconscious muscle impulses, he is able to suc-
cessfully find the card.
Staging and Handling
Take the portion of the deck you set aside earlier and drop
it onto the twelve cards you’ve just used in “Fingertip Sen-
sitivity”, making the deck once more complete. Reach into
your pocket and take out two imaginary dice.
“I would like to give you this pair of dice. They are imaginary
dice. You can only see them if you have a good imagination.
Whoops, you dropped one. I’d like you to roll the dice once
and add up the numbers they show.” Ask your elected helper
50 for the result, which we will assume is eight. Have her roll
the invisible dice again and name the result, which we will
say is five. “You see, they aren’t loaded. They produce different
numbers every time you roll them.”
The dice are a good method for limiting the choice of a
number between two and twelve in a natural way—exactly
what we need. This is much better than simply asking the
person to think of a number between two and twelve with-
out any justification for the limited range.
Retrieve the dice and demonstrate what your wish your
helper to do next. “For example, if you roll a two and a one,
the result is three. You will then take the deck and deal three
cards, one by one, into a pile on the table, look at the top
card of the deck, and put the dealt cards back on top of
the deck.” With these words you have dealt off the three
indifferent cards above the sequence of hearts. Point to
the top card of the deck without looking at it; you do not
 Card College Light

want the ­spectators to believe you could know a card. Pick

up the pile and point to the deck with it to indicate that
the pile of dealt-off cards should be placed back on top of
the deck. However, instead of putting these cards onto the
deck, you insert them into the middle as you explain, “In
this case, I’ll put them back into the deck, since we have used
them already.”
You have thus not only elegantly brought the arranged
section of thirteen cards to the top of the deck, in readiness
for the trick; you have also used a demonstration to assure
that your helper understands exactly what he is to do. In
tricks of this kind, this is an instructive factor you must not
overlook. Here is a situation check: The Queen of Hearts
should now be on top of the deck, followed by the remain-
ing twelve hearts. 51
Hand the deck to your helper and have her roll her
imaginary dice, noting the resulting number. Let us
assume it is nine. Turn away beforehand, saying, tongue
in cheek, that you do not wish to know the number she
rolls. With your head still turned, have her quietly deal a
quantity of cards equal to her rolled number (nine) face
down onto the table. She then notes the next card on the
deck and places the dealt cards back on top, burying her
selection. Your key card—the Queen of Hearts—thereby
ends up directly above the chosen one. And your helper
has done all this for you. This is true teamwork; that is, she
has done all the work, and you get the credit, the applause
and maybe even a fee!
Ask your helper to give the deck a riffle shuffle: “Just like
the riverboat card cheats.” If she cannot do this, have her give
the deck to someone who possesses this skill. Once the deck
 Muscle Reading

has been shuffled, have someone else cut it. Allow each of
several spectators to give the deck a single cut. This looks
good and it doesn’t interfere with your trick at all. “But once
is not enough,” you wittily remark. “Therefore, I would like you
to shuffle the deck again.” The helper gives the deck a second
riffle shuffle. At this point anyone who does not know the
underlying principle must be totally convinced that the
selected card is hopelessly lost.
52 In the event that no one in the audience can riffle shuffle
(this has never happened to me, and I live in Switzerland!),
then you may shuffle the deck yourself; but do not forget to
point out that the cards are much more thoroughly mixed
by this kind of shuffle. This is somewhat true, since an over-
hand shuffle merely cuts the deck into several packets. If you
riffle shuffle the cards yourself, don’t push the interlaced
cards together. Instead, use an extension of a psychological
subtlety used in “The Waikiki Shuffle”. (There, the extension
we are about to use was not practiced because the method
for that trick would have been exposed.) Ribbon spread the
cards in their interwoven condition and have your helper
push the cards together. She will later remember that she
shuffled the cards herself. (This subtlety was independently
invented by Paul Curry and Juan Tamariz.)
Take back the deck, turn it face up and ribbon spread
it from left to right, so that the indices are facing you. In
 Card College Light

this way, you can normally spot the selection more quickly
than the spectators can. While you are spreading the cards,
keep an eye out for the Queen of Hearts, your key card,
and find the closest heart to the right of the Queen. It is
possible that the two cards will lie next to each other, but
it is more likely that the riffle shuffle has placed some cards
between them. The heart to the right of the Queen is the
card your helper selected!
How is this possible? In riffle shuffling twice, the deck is
divided into two “chains” that run in a cycle (and are there-
fore also undisturbed by cutting). Since the hearts are all
bunched on top of the deck, the heart cycle is interrupted
by indifferent cards, but the positions of the hearts remain
unchanged in relation to each other. This ingenious prin-
ciple can be used in many other tricks.9 53
Briefly summarize the situation once again and point
out how impossible it is to discover the selected card.
Turn to your helper and explain the principle of muscle
reading in a few words. “No matter how impossible it
is by normal means, through the principle of muscle
reading I will be able to find your card. I’d like you to
merely think of it, that’s all. Thoughts activate ideomo-
tor impulses; that is to say, unconscious muscle twitches,
which can be perceived by a sensitive person.” Gently
grip your helper’s wrist and move her hand over the
ribbon of cards. After moving her hand back and forth a
few times, stop hesitantly above the chosen card, pause
dramatically—and finally push the card out of the
ribbon spread while you say with certainty, “And that
is your card, isn’t it!” Your innocent partner, astonished
and enthusiastic, will agree.
 Muscle Reading

54

Lest I Forget...
1. If you know something about muscle reading, and
if it matches your style, you can, of course, embel-
lish the script with pseudo-scientific explanations.
It is certainly advisable in such presentations to
know more than you actually say in performance.
Sometimes, a person in the audience may know
something about the topic, and it is never good to
be at a loss when faced with a knowledgeable ques-
tion. Audiences can form just as strong an opinion
about the magician and his magic in moments after
a performance as they do during it.
2. When I find myself with a fun-loving audience, I
sometimes present the following gag immediately
 Card College Light

after this trick. Spectators often believe I really do

have the ability to read unconscious muscle move-
ments. When they say as much, I answer, “That isn’t
so difficult. You can do it yourself. Try it with me once.”
I hand the deck to someone and instruct him to offer
me a card. I take one at random, which I then look
at, remember and show everyone but my helper.
Now I return the card to the deck and do several
riffle shuffles. As I am doing this, I observe that the
card is shuffled back into the deck in the fairest way,
just as before, and I emphasize how impossible it is
for the performer to find the card. Pointing out this
condition reinforces in retrospect the effect just pre-
sented. I ribbon spread the deck and ask my helper 55
to hold my wrist and move my hand over the cards.
When it is over my selection, I suddenly jerk so vig-
orously that I nearly fall off my chair. With the right
audience, this can be very funny. Of course, as with
all jokes of this type, it’s important to be sensitive
and to exercise good taste in judging whether and
how to include it. Performed with tact, the gag is
witty and humorous; without tact it is just a boister-
ous bar-stunt.
3. Here is yet another presentational approach, in
which you seem to read the thoughts of your helper
without touching the deck—at least this is how it
will remain in the memories of the audience. When
she has shuffled the deck and you take it for the first
time, turn your head, so that you are presenting your
profile to her, and say, “Please look at me and think of
 Muscle Reading

your card. I see that you are thinking of a red card—

not a black one; not a club, not a spade—it is clearly
a red one—and it isn’t a diamond; no, it’s a heart. Yes,
I’m now clearly seeing it right in front of me. I will place
it here onto the table to prove what I am saying.” If
you play this correctly, the audience will already be
convinced that you have “mentally” divined the
selection, even before you look at the cards—and
that is a very good effect, isn’t it? Only now do you
take the deck, fan it with the faces toward you, locate
the Queen of Hearts and lay the heart to the right of it
face down on the table. Ask your helper to name her
card in a loud voice. You then reveal the card slowly,
56
first turning its face toward yourself, then toward the
audience. You can be certain this will arouse great
astonishment and appreciative applause.
 The Lie Detector

T he theme of this trick is, as the title has betrayed,

that of lie detection. Lying is something everyone
has done, at least in childhood; and some people
continue the practice, even into adulthood; espe-
cially those who pursue a career in politics. But we
will spread the cloak of silence over this inconve-
nient fact; one must remain loyal to one’s fellow
illusionists. In any case, most people are delighted
at the chance to lie to a magician, a person who
is perceived by many as “lying” in the broadest
(artistic!) sense. This is why the lie detector is
such a popular theme in magic—and especially
in card magic.
The following version of this theme offers the
advantage that you do not have to learn any com-
plicated formulas. Nevertheless, it produces an
incredibly good effect.
57
 The Lie Detector

Effect
Someone notes a card and shuffles it back into the deck.
She next takes seven indifferent cards, keeps them hidden
and calls their names to the magician; but for one of the
indifferent cards she calls the name of the card she selected.
Because the magician possesses the sensitivity of a lie detec-
tor, he is able, unbelievable as it may seem, to discover the
woman’s card!
Staging and Handling
Have someone shuffle and cut the deck. Take it from her
and ribbon spread it face up as you say, “A deck of cards,
which you have shuffled. You must admit that the cards
are in a completely random order, aren’t they?” While your
helper affirms this, unobtrusively note the top card of the
58 deck, which we will assume to be the Jack of Spades. Gather
the deck, square it and place it face down on the table.
“Please cut the deck somewhere in the middle.” She cuts
off about half the deck and lays it on the table. You imme-
diately take the bottom half
and lay it crosswise onto the
upper half.
This does not need to be a precise cross, because you
simply want to mark the position where your helper cut
the deck. Handle the cards very casually.
“In this experiment, I want to test whether the theory of the
lie detector can also be applied to the practice of card magic.
You all have surely heard of a lie detector, which is able to
determine when a person is lying. To do this, the test subject
is asked some questions. When the questions are answered,
it can be determined whether the person is lying, by means
of the voice, the voltage of the skin and so on.” Turn to your
 Card College Light

helper. “If you don’t mind, I would like to test it once with you.
Of course, this is just a game. And in this game we need first
to determine the truth. It is doubtlessly true that you have
shuffled the deck, right? And that you cut it at any spot you
wanted, that’s also right, isn’t it?”
Lift the uppermost of the two packets and ask her to
take the top card of the lower packet—that is, the Jack

59

of Spades, which you noted at the beginning of the trick.

“Good. Then please take the card at the point you cut and
carefully remember it. Perhaps you can show it to some of
the others, but please don’t let me see it. The card is the truth
about which you must later lie.”
The purpose of this rather long exposition is not just to
present the idea of the presentation and to arouse interest
in the audience; it also consumes a bit of time after the cut-
ting of the deck. When your helper takes the top card of the
lower packet and notes it, she will hardly remember which
part of the deck was on top and which was on the bottom.
In this simple but subtle way, you have compelled her to
take a card that you knew in advance—or to use magicians’
language, you have forced the card.10
 The Lie Detector

Ask your helper to return her card anywhere in the deck;

then shuffle the cards yourself. After a few seconds, give the
deck back to your helper as you ask her to thoroughly shuffle
it a second time. I strongly recommend this procedure of
shuffling the cards first yourself, and then giving them to a
spectator to shuffle, following a force. If you have the deck
shuffled by your helper immediately after she replaces her
card, it might create suspicion of a force, due to the total free-
dom allowed. If, however, you first shuffle the cards, and then,
on second thought, hand them to the helper for another
shuffle, it looks more casual and therefore seems innocent.
“And now we come to the lie detector. Please take seven
cards from the deck, and make sure your card is not one of
them.” As you say this, turn away from your helper, since
60 you do not want to see which cards she takes. When she is
done, have her set the deck aside, as it is no longer needed.
“I would like you to spread the seven cards in a fan facing
yourself, so that only you can see their faces. Tell me the names
of the cards you are holding one at a time. But at some point,
call out the name of your card. Of course, it’s important that
you do not allow any change in your voice or a twitch of
your eyelid to give away the identity of your card. In fact, I
will deliberately turn away, so that you can’t reveal your card
to me through body language. If you like, you may pause for
a few seconds between cards, so that you don’t signal your
card through hesitation.” As always, you should find words
that match your manner of speaking and that reveal your
personality. My scripts should be thought of as examples,
designed to highlight the most important content. In this
case, the person should be made aware that you do not use
any of the methods you mention.
 Card College Light

It matters not at all when she names her card, since you
know it already. Therefore, wait until she has named all the
cards, and then look her in the eye: “I think you lied once.
You did it very well, I’ll grant you, but I believe your voice gave
you away. You chose the Jack of Spades!” Name the card you
forced and bring this impressive experiment to an end.

Lest I Forget...
There are, of course, many subtle techniques for learn-
ing the top card at the beginning of the trick. If you
know one, by all means use it. (Some good techniques
for glimpsing can be found in Chapter 23 of Card Col-
lege, Volume 2, pages 353–9.) However, if presented
casually, and in a relaxed manner, the procedure
described above will certainly serve the purpose. 61
4
ROUTINE
I have constructed the routines in this book so that they
can be performed with a borrowed deck. You do usu-
ally need cards of fairly good quality and condition.
However, the following routine can be performed
with an entirely “suboptimal” deck; that is, a deck that
has survived generations or that is passed across the
table at a bar or restaurant. (The term “suboptimal
cards” was coined by members of the German Card
Workshop and was one of the themes of the 1987
Card Workshop.)

65
 The Circus Card Trick

T he title refers to the fact that this trick was primarily

used at circuses and horse-race tracks to separate
unsuspecting customers from their money. It was
thus originally a con game. Nowadays, it is occasion-
ally used as a bar bet, played for a free beer. But our
intention is to present it as an entertaining piece of
card magic.11
Effect
After the audience has become convinced that
the performer has failed to find a selected card, he
manages to save the situation in a surprising and
amusing way.
Staging and Handling
Give the deck to someone and ask him to thoroughly
shuffle and cut the cards. When he has done this,
take them back from him and hold the deck in your
left hand in open dealing position.
67
 T h e C i r c u s C a r d Tr i c k

With your right hand, grasp the deck from above by

the ends (which is called “end grip”) and let small pack-
ets fall into the left hand. As you do this, ask your helper
68
 Card College Light

to say “stop” at any time. To get him used to this selec-

tion procedure, you can demonstrate by first dribbling
the whole deck into the left hand, then square up the
deck and start over.
When he calls “stop”, pause. It really does not matter
where he stops you, but ideally he should stop you some-
where below the midpoint.
Look at him and ask, “Here? Good. You now have two possibil-
ities. Would you like this card, or this card here?” Under cover of
these words, secretly note the bottom card of the right hand’s
packet. Let us look a bit closer at this procedure.
When you say, “You now have two possibilities,” everyone
will understand that you mean either the bottom card of
the right hand’s packet or the top card of the left hand’s.
Pause here for two to three seconds, so that your helper 69
can begin following this train of thought. Continue: “Would
you like this card...” Use your left middle finger to tap the
face of the bottom card of the right hand’s packet, without
showing it.
 T h e C i r c u s C a r d Tr i c k

Both packets are held horizontally and below eye

level the entire time—except for the brief action of the
glimpse you are about to take. During your question,
the helper’s attention is directed toward the right hand’s
packet. Again briefly pause. He will automatically con-
tinue thinking and will anticipate your next statement,
since you earlier mentioned two possibilities. We need
this pause, so that the helper’s attention lingers, though
not openly prompted, on the packet in your left hand.
You fulfill the expectation that has been created when
you tap the top card of the left hand’s packet with your
right forefinger: “...or this card here?”
You will have noticed that during this tapping your
right hand has to move forward for a second or less. In this
70 movement, the packet is briefly held slightly tilted and the
bottom card can be glimpsed. This glimpse works best when

both packets are held somewhat farther from the body than
usual. This allows you to catch a brief and subtle glance at
the bottom card of the packet while it is tipped forward
very slightly. Bring the right hand’s packet immediately back
to a horizontal position and look your helper directly in the
 Card College Light

eyes, waiting for his answer. You have just noted your key
card, which we will assume is the Queen of Clubs.
If he chooses the bottom card of the right hand’s packet,
show it to him, turning your head away, and then put the
deck back together. You know his selection: the Queen of
Clubs. And if he chooses the top card of the left hand’s
packet, again turn your head away and ask him to take that
card, which you hold out for him. As soon as he has noted
it, have him replace it on the packet. Drop the right hand’s
packet onto the left’s as you turn your head back and look
once more at the cards. You want the spectators’ attention
to settle on the deck at this moment, as it is being squared
up in a clean and fair way. The key card is now directly above
your helper’s selection.
Separate the placement of the key card from the revela- 71
tion of the selection by introducing a brief delay, during
which you summarize the situation. “You shuffled the deck
yourself and called stop at a place of your choice. So I cannot
know which card you looked at, and I also cannot know
where your card is in the deck.” Almost everything you say
here is true; and it is entirely true if he looked at the card on
top of the left hand’s packet. However, since you do know
his card or the key card immediately above it, you are in
control! For this explanation, we will assume the selection
is the Five of Hearts and it is in the bottom half of the deck,
immediately below your key, the Queen of Clubs. (I will
explain later what you must do if the selection is in the top
half of the deck.)
“Under these conditions it is not humanly possible to
find your card. Nevertheless, I will try, with the help of my
intuition!” Hold the deck face down in left-hand dealing
 T h e C i r c u s C a r d Tr i c k

position. Begin dealing one card after another from the

top of the deck face up into a pile on the table. Secretly
count the cards as you deal them, because you will use the
twenty-sixth card as a “sunken” key in the next trick (“The
Fingerprint”). We are again applying the principle of syn-
ergy in the construction of routines, setting up in one trick
elements required for the next.
Your dealing should be brisk, to keep this process from
becoming tedious to your audience. However, to assure you
do not lose your place while counting, and to create dra-
matic tension, I suggest pausing a moment after you have
laid down the tenth card. Look at the audience, moving
your gaze from left to right, and say something like “My
intuition tells me the next card I turn over—no, I don’t think
72 that’s it yet.” Resume dealing the cards at a spritely pace, and
make another comment after the twentieth card. Continue
right on, until you get to the twenty-sixth card, which you
remember as your key card for the next trick. Let’s assume
it is the Eight of Spades.
Without hesitating, keep turning cards over until you
come to the Queen of Clubs, your key card. The next card
you turn over is the Five of Hearts, which is the chosen card.
Without batting an eyelash keep turning cards over, making
sure that everyone can see the selection for at least a full
second. It is best to deal the last few cards so that the index
of the selection can still be seen.
After having dealt a few cards past the chosen one, pause
again. “My intuition tells me the next card I turn over—no,
wait a minute....” Deal two or three more cards and then
finally stop with a confident expression and body language,
as you assert with certainty, “Yes, it is very clear now. My
 Card College Light

selection
in view

73
intuition tells me that the next card I turn over will be yours.
Do you believe that is possible?” With these words, take into
your right hand the card from the top of the deck, hold-
ing it in the same fashion you have held every other card
you have turned over. Direct your question to the whole
audience, and wait for someone to confirm that it would
indeed be impossible. When someone says this, calmly
place the card in your hand back onto the deck, take the
Five of Hearts out of the face-up pile, and turn it face down.
You have done exactly what you said you would: You’ve
turned over the selected card! As you do this, say, “And yet
it is possible after all.”
Make sure you mention turning over the next card several
times during the dealing. This will cause the spectators to
associate the wording with the action of turning over cards
and eliminates any misunderstanding of your ­ statement
 T h e C i r c u s C a r d Tr i c k

just before the punch line. Even skeptical persons (as well
as magicians who know this trick in its simple form!) will fall
for your verbal subterfuge.
When, at the end, you say, “And yet it is possible after all,”
do not look directly at the audience, but instead look at an
imaginary spectator. In this way, you make no one feel fool-
ish, since everyone present will be thinking about a single
spectator who does not exist, but who “is stupid enough to
fall for that trick.” (This idea, which can be used in many so-
called “sucker tricks”, is a psychological stratagem created
by Nate Leipzig. Dai Vernon wrote about this approach
many times in his Genii column “The Vernon Touch”.)
If the selection is in the upper half of the deck, because
your helper stopped you a bit later in the dribbling of the
74 cards, simply deal cards into a pile until you have placed the
twenty-seventh card (as earlier, we’ll presume it is the Eight
of Spades) face up on the pile. When you take the chosen
card from the face-up pile you’ve dealt, there will be exactly
twenty-six cards left on the table. The uppermost card of
this packet, the Eight of Spades, will be the key card for the
next trick.

Lest I Forget...
1. Pay attention to the subtle linguistic deception. This
basic principle can make many effects more deceptive.
2. This trick contains another very useful principle that
has a wide range of application. The performer can
use the trick to determine the identity and position
of one or several cards in the deck. The clever thing
is that this information is not used immediately, but
in the next trick—or even later. This concept of using
 Card College Light

delayed information completely separates the cause

from the effect and thereby protects the method in
a most effective and elegant manner.

75
 The Fingerprint

T he following trick uses a sophisticated form of the

very old principle of the key card. The key-card con-
cept can be found in European magic literature as
early as the sixteenth century. Here, however, the
concept is used in a far subtler form, often known
as a “sunken key”. This sunken key principle can be
used in many ways.12
Effect
A freely chosen card is replaced in the deck by the
spectator, under the strictest conditions. In spite of
this, the magician is able to find the card by means
of the “fingerprints” left on it!
Props
In addition to a deck of cards you will need a
magnifying glass, which you can carry in an easily
accessible pocket. The trick can also be performed
without this extra prop.
76
 Card College Light

Staging and Handling

If you perform this trick immediately after “The Circus Card
Trick”, you already know the twenty-sixth card from the top
of the deck (we earlier elected the Eight of Spades for this
position). This is your key card.
Place the deck in front of someone and ask him to cut
off about two-thirds of it to his right. Then have him place
about half of this cut-off top portion—about one-third of
the deck—to the left of these two piles. In the drawing,
shown from your helper’s view, Pile A is the bottom third,
Pile B is the middle, and Pile C is the top third. Due to the
nature of this cutting procedure, our key card, the Eight of
Spades, is somewhere in the middle of Pile B.
C
A
B 77

Point to Pile C and remark, “That pile was originally the

top part of the deck. If I were to ask you to look at the top
card, that wouldn’t be anything special, since I could already
know that card. So please shuffle that pile thoroughly, until
you’re convinced that no one could know the top card.” When
he has done this, ask him to look at the top card. It is best
if several onlookers note the card, in case your helper for-
gets it later on. Next, ask him to put his card on top of the
packet and place the packet back on the table.
Point to Pile A and say, “That was originally the bottom
part of the deck. I wouldn’t want you to think I could know
any of those cards. So please shuffle that pile completely and
lay it on top of this pile containing your card.” When this has
 The Fingerprint

done, have your helper complete the assembly of the deck.

It doesn’t matter in which order the two remaining piles
are placed onto each other, since a cut does not change the
cyclical order of the cards.
Summarize: “You will certainly agree that I have not touched
the deck this entire time.” The rhetorical form of this question
demands a positive answer, quite apart from the fact that
what you are saying is true! Continue: “You have cut the piles
yourself, so no one can know which or how many cards were
in each one.” Wait for your helper to confirm both assertions.
“Moreover, you also thoroughly shuffled the packets.” As you
say this, mime a shuffling motion in the air to make it easier
for him to remember, and nod your head.
“You have to admit that it would be a stroke of pure luck if
78 I were to find your card now.” Pause. “Nevertheless, I will find
your card—using your fingerprints! Your card is the only one
whose face you have touched. May I please take a look at your
fingerprints?” Look closely at your helper’s right thumb, as if
you were remembering the design of his thumbprint. If you
have the magnifying glass with you, use it, and the moment
will seem even more genuine.
Spread through the deck with the faces toward you, until
you come to the key card. At the same time, keep looking at
 Card College Light

your helper’s thumb. As soon as you come to the key card,

begin counting, starting with the card immediately to the
left of it. The twenty-fifth card to the left of the key card is
the selection. (If you count the key card itself, the selection
is the twenty-sixth card. This may be easier to remember.) If
you come to the end of the deck before you have counted
twenty-six cards, just close up the spread and keep counting
from the face of the deck until you come to the chosen card.
This takes advantage of the cyclical order of the cards.
Lay that card face down on the table and ask your helper
the name of his selection (say, the King of Hearts). When
he names it, look at the tabled card again, briefly lifting its
inner end.

79

Hesitate briefly, and then announce triumphantly, “I will

now enhance this trick by transforming your King of Hearts
into an Ace of Spades!” Here you first name the chosen card
and then any indifferent one. Wait a few seconds for the
spectators to react; then continue innocently, “Or would
you rather have your King of Hearts?” With these words,
turn the card over on the table—it is the King of Hearts!

Lest I Forget...
1. If you leave the key card and the selection face up
while you practice, you will soon understand the
 The Fingerprint

subtle principle on which this trick is based. The deck

does not need to be complete, and you could use
European decks with thirty-two or thirty-six cards. In
this case you would note either the sixteenth or the
eighteenth card, respectively, as a key card. The key
card may be placed at any position; the only impor-
tant thing is that it ends up in the pile that is cut from
the middle section, when the deck is divided. The
sunken-key principle is not only very clever, but also
adaptable to many situations. Perhaps you can think
of several applications right now?
2. If for some reason you do not want to perform “The
Circus Card Trick”, you can determine the twenty-
80 sixth card in this way: Force a card known to you,
using one of the methods described in this book;
for example, the crisscross force taught in “The Lie
Detector” (page 58). Have your helper shuffle the
deck. Then spread it with the faces toward you. Note
the bottom card, which will be your key card, and
spread twenty-six cards further. Cut the deck at this
position, and keep spreading until you come to the
selection, which you now effectively reveal in some
way to the baffled spectator. In any case, your new
key card is in the required position, and you can go
straight into “The Fingerprint Trick”.
 Magical Match

T he basic principle of this trick once again dates back

quite far in the history of magic. It is ingenious in its
simplicity, and it is nearly impossible to figure out.13
Effect
The magician twice determines, in an inexplicable
manner, the exact number of cards the spectator
has cut from the deck!
Staging and Handling
The deck is given to someone to mix, who then sets
it face down on the table. You remark, “You have
thoroughly shuffled and cut the deck, so no one can
know the order of the cards. Would you please cut
a packet off the deck. In principle, you could cut off
as many cards as you want, but perhaps you could
take about a quarter of the deck or so; otherwise, the
procedure will take too long.” With these words, you
can almost always assure that your helper will cut
81
 Magical Match

off about a quarter of the deck. As long as she doesn’t cut

off more than half the cards, the trick will work. In the rare
event that she takes more than half the deck, simply ask her
to put a few cards back.

82
When she has done this, you also cut off a packet, being
sure to take more cards than she has. The exact number
doesn’t matter—all that is important is that you take more
cards than she holds.
“I will now turn away, so that you can count your cards.
Please do so quietly and to yourself, so that there is no way
for me to know how many cards you have. Meanwhile, I will
count my cards.” Suiting actions to words, turn away, count
your cards as quickly as possible, and also note the top card
of your packet. This card will play a role in the second phase
of the trick. It is best if you finish before your helper. Let’s
assume you have counted twenty-four cards and your top
card is the Three of Clubs.
Turn back to your helper. “Have you counted your cards
and remembered the number? Good. I have counted mine as
well. I will now make three statements. First, I have exactly
 Card College Light

the twenty-fourth card,

your key

as many cards as you. Second, I have three more cards than 83

you have; and third, I have exactly enough cards left over
to add to your cards and make twenty-one.” Except for the
last one, these statements will be the same for every perfor-
mance. You get the last number by subtracting three from
the number of cards you have counted in your packet. In
our example, 24 – 3 = 21. That is all; the rest is automatic.
“Let us now count our cards onto the table at the same
time.” Your helper and you do this, counting the cards one
at a time into face-down piles, so that everyone can hear.
(By the way, this also puts your key card, the Three of Clubs,
at the bottom of your pile.) Let’s assume she has fifteen
cards. When she has finished counting her cards into a pile,
you note, “You see, first of all, I have exactly as many cards as
you.” Pause for one second, “Second, I have three more cards
than you do.” Set aside three of the cards remaining in your
hand. “And third, I now have enough cards left over to add
 Magical Match

to your cards and make twenty-one!” With these words you

count the rest of your cards onto your helper’s pile, begin-
ning with sixteen and continuing, per your prediction, to
twenty-one, which exhausts the cards you hold. If you can
understand the principle in the explanation that follows,
you will spare yourself all the memorization.
This trick works, very simply, because your packet con-
tains more cards than that of your helper. The three cards
are merely subtle misdirection; if you were simply to say that
you had enough cards left over, when added to your help-
er’s cards, to total twenty-four, the basic principle would be
transparent. However, presented as taught above, it is very
difficult to penetrate the secret; yet the effect is clear and
baffling. What more could one want?
84 If you wish, you can ask your helper to count her cards
again, to double-check, in case she doesn’t believe there
really are twenty-one. In fact, I recommend this.
Meanwhile, quietly pick up the three cards you set aside
earlier, place them onto your pile of fifteen and place this
assembled pile onto the rest of the deck. Finally, take your
helper’s twenty-one cards and place them on top of all. Your
key card is now thirty-ninth from the top (fifteen plus three
cards from you, plus twenty-one cards from your helper, is
thirty-nine—it could hardly be simpler). You have just set
up the second part of the trick in a subtle and indetectable
way that, you can be sure, will cause many a magician to
rack his brains.
“But maybe you think that this was a coincidence. Let’s
repeat the experiment. Please cut off a packet of cards, this
time perhaps a larger one—about half the deck or a little
more.” This time you do not need to estimate how many
 Card College Light

cards your helper removes. The only important point is that

she doesn’t cut off more than thirty-nine. If you use the
words given above, this should never happen. It goes with-
out saying that you turn away while she cuts off the packet.
Before you turn around, say, “Place your free hand on top of
your pile, so that I cannot see how many cards you have.”
Let’s say that this time twenty-two cards have been cut
off. Turn back to your helper and cut off enough cards from
the balance to assure that your key card, the Three of Clubs,
is among them. This is not hard: You must merely cut off a
big enough packet and leave just a few cards on the table,
since you know that your key card was at the thirty-ninth
position from the top.
Just as before, both of you count your cards quietly and
privately, turning away to do so. You begin by spreading 85
your cards face up until you come to your key, the Three of
Clubs. Only when you spot it do you begin to count cards,
counting the key card as number one. Assume that you’ve
counted seventeen cards, including your key. Because your
key card was originally thirty-ninth from the top, if you
merely subtract seventeen from thirty-nine, you will get the
number of cards your helper has just cut off. In our case,
thirty-nine minus seventeen is twenty-two.
Now quickly spread the first few cards and determine how
many lie over the Three of Clubs. We will assume there are
eight. Adding this number to the seventeen cards you have
from the Three of Clubs on, gives you the total number of
cards you are holding: twenty-five. If you work through this
once with cards in hand, you will see that this is very simple
and completely logical, upon which you will immediately
understand the logic of the whole process.
 Magical Match

Turn back toward your helper, whom you know to be

holding twenty-two cards. You are holding twenty-five. “I
have twenty-five cards,” you say, naming the number of cards
you hold. “If I place three cards aside...” You do so. “...I have
exactly as many cards as you do.” Once again, you and your
helper each count loudly and clearly your own cards, and
you both arrive at twenty-two—a truly magical match!
In this example, I have assumed that you took more cards
than the helper. If you take fewer cards, you change your
pronouncement (assuming you have, say, twenty cards): “I
have twenty cards. If I take two more cards...” You take two
additional cards from the remainder of the deck. “...then I
am holding exactly as many cards as you.” End the presenta-
tion as described above.
86
Lest I Forget...
I have often found that even knowledgeable col-
leagues in magic to whom I have explained the secret
have needed some time to understand the principle
on which this trick is based. You should, therefore,
try to get the method completely clear in your mind.
Once you understand it, the trick requires practically
no memory work at all.
5
ROUTINE
I t is sometimes desirable to perform a trick that requires
a more complex arrangement of cards. Stacked-deck
tricks can often achieve an enormous effect with
little effort. However, such tricks are all too often seen
through, even by lay audiences, when the magician
simply takes the deck out of its case and begins the
performance without shuffling the cards.
It is much better to first perform a few tricks with
a deck that can be randomly mixed, and then secretly
exchange it for another deck in the course of a routine.
If you then perform a trick with an arranged deck, its
arrangement won’t be suspected, since you are appar-
ently using cards that were completely shuffled by
members of the audience.
Tools
You need two decks of cards and a piece of cardboard
that is somewhat larger than a deck. You should also
be wearing a jacket for this routine.
Preparation
Perform your miracles with the visible deck. The other
deck is arranged as follows: In a deck of fifty-two cards
there are exactly twenty-two that have a “one-way
face.” These cards are:
89
 Act 5

A♥–3♥–5♥–6♥–7♥–8♥–9♥–A♠–3♠–5♠–6♠–
7♠–8♠–9♠–7♦–A♣–3♣–5♣–6♣–7♣–8♣–9♣
Take these cards from the deck and set them in a face-
up pile.
Let’s first examine the principle of the one-way face. We
will consider the first card, the Ace of Hearts. You will notice
that this card is given a “direction” by the asymmetrical heart
symbol, and that it looks different when it is turned end for
end. The spade and club pips have a similar orientation; and
the pip between the two columns of pips on the Seven of
Diamonds is set off center. Any cards other than this Seven
and the Aces have multiple pips, and the orientation follows
that of the majority of the pips. We will make use of the right-
side-up and upside-down attribute of these twenty-two
90 cards. Turn them so that they all point in the same direction.
It takes very little practice to be able to tell on the spur of the
moment whether a card is right-side up or upside down.

all cards
arranged to
point upward
 Card College Light

Set these twenty-two cards, in random order, on top of

the deck, so that even a close examination will not reveal
an arrangement.

91

Now place any other card, say the Four of Hearts, on top
of the one-way group and put the deck into your left-side
jacket-pocket, the face of the deck turned toward you. Place
the piece of cardboard next to the deck on the side nearest
your body. This provides a separator that assures that you
do not later confuse this deck for the second one.
 Cards Never Lie!

L ay audiences find the first trick of this routine exceed-

ingly effective. It was taught to me by my friend in
Strasbourg, France, Richard Vollmer. Richard tells me
he encountered the basic idea in a trick by the Ameri-
can bar-magician, J. C. Wagner.14
Effect
Someone selects a card and shuffles it back into the
deck. The magician asks three questions about the
card, and his subject either lies or tells the truth. Never­
theless, the performer is able not only to ascertain the
chosen card, but he also immediately produces the
other three cards of the same value!
Preparation
The top seven cards in the deck are arranged as fol-
lows: Jack of Hearts, Jack of Spades, Jack of Diamonds,
King of Diamonds, Ten of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds,
Jack of Clubs. The Jack of Hearts is the top card,
93
 Cards Never Lie!

while the Jack of Clubs is seventh from the top. After you
have gone through the trick once with the cards, you will
understand the significance of the individual cards and,
with very little to remember, will be able to get them into
the correct order.
Staging and Handling
You first must force the top card, the Jack of Hearts, with-
out changing the order of the other six cards of your stack.
I recommend the crisscross force, described in “The Lie
Detector” (page 58). Briefly: Have the deck cut by someone
and set the bottom portion of the deck crosswise on the
top portion.

94

For the time delay necessary for this force to be con-

vincing, you could use the following as a prologue: “This
is my most modern trick, because it uses the principles of
artificial intelligence to find a card. I am referring to a so-
called computer-controlled lie-detector program. But first,
we need a card. Please take the card you cut to.” With these
words, indicate to your unsuspecting subject the top card
of the lower packet of the deck (the Jack of Hearts). Have
her remember the card and show it to the group while
you turn away.
Lay the bottom portion of the deck onto the top por-
tion and square the cards. This returns the six remaining
cards of your stack to the top of the deck. With your palm-
down right hand, grip the deck from above, taking it into
end grip, and with your right index finger lift and swivel
 Card College Light

­approximately half the deck to the left...

95
and into your left hand. Have your
helper place her card onto this
portion of the deck, after which...

you drop the remain-

der of the deck from
your right hand onto
the cards in the left,
hopelessly losing the
selection.
 Cards Never Lie!

To emphasize this condition, you can spread the face-

down deck in a ribbon across the table. In reality the Jack
of Hearts has been simply placed on top of the other six
cards of your stock.
“The lie-detector program runs on a new seven-bit system,
which means I need exactly seven cards to start the pro-
gram running.” Of course, this is all fiction, but those who
know nothing about computers won’t be able to question
your statements; and those having more knowledge will
either be amused or may actually believe there is a new
operating system.
Fan the cards with the faces toward you and cut the Jack
of Hearts to the rear. Turn the deck face down and place the
top seven cards (your setup) onto the table without revers-
96 ing their order. Then set the deck aside, as it will not be used
for the duration of the trick.
Turn to the person who took the card. “I will now ask you
some questions directly related to your card. You can answer
these questions truthfully—but you can also lie. You will see
that it makes absolutely no difference whether you lie or tell
the truth, since the lie-detector program will find the truth no
matter what you say.”
This challenge offers strong emotional intrigue, which
guarantees that you will have and maintain everyone’s atten-
tion from the very beginning. It is the sum of moments such
as this that form the backbone of dramatic presentation.
After this declaration, you ask the first of four questions.
“Was your card a red card or a black one?”
When your helper has answered, pick up the packet
of seven cards and hold it face down in left-hand ­dealing
­position. Deal the top card face down onto the table.
 Card College Light

Place the next card under the remaining five in your left
hand; then deal the next card onto the card on the table,
the next one under the remaining cards, and so on, until
you are down to a single card in your hand.

one card down

97

one card under

 Cards Never Lie!

Turn this remaining card face up—it is the Ace of Dia-

monds. “Aha, a red card, which proves you lied, since you
took a red card.” If your helper told the truth, you should
of course change your statement accordingly.
This is admittedly a rather unusual dealing procedure
(known to magicians as a “down-under deal”), and is justi-
fied by saying, “Just like every modern computer, this one is
encoded in the binary system.”
Now ask the second question: “Since it was a red card,
it must be either a heart or a diamond. Was it a heart or a
diamond?” After the person answers, repeat the “binary cal-
culation procedure” described above, dealing the first card
to the table, slipping the next one under the packet and so
on, until one card remains. Turn this card face up—the Ten
98 of Hearts. “The Ten of Hearts tells me your card must have
been a heart.” True.
Ask, “Was your card a spot card or a picture card?” Per-
form another down-under deal, until one card is left, the
King of Diamonds. “This proves your card was a picture card.”
Up to this point, the step-by-step revelation of the chosen
card will astonish your audience since, after all, they believe
you are using seven cards taken randomly from the deck.
You will now see why it is important that all the spectators
see the card when it is chosen: The more people who know
the selection, the greater the reaction will be each time you
turn the remaining card over.
You now change the procedure slightly. “Now please tell
me, for the first time, the truth, the whole truth and nothing
but the truth, so help you your memory: What was your
chosen card?” Your helper will have to answer, “The Jack
of Hearts.”
 Card College Light

Repeat the down-under dealing process described

above. This will leave you holding the Jack of Hearts—
and on the table are the other three Jacks. First, slowly
turn over the Jack of Hearts—first climax. Then declare,
“You know, cards never lie!” Now turn up the other three
Jacks—second climax!

Lest I Forget...
The accomplished sleight-of-hand magician will wish
to use the classic force to force the Jack of Hearts, or
if he wishes to play it safe, the riffle force. (Both these
forces are described in detail in Card College, Volume 1,
pages 215–26.) The forced selection can then be
brought to the top of the deck using advanced meth-
ods, without looking through the cards, after which 99
the deck can be given a false shuffle. This makes the
discovery of the chosen Jack, and the production of
the other three Jacks, even more astonishing.
 Digital Dexterity

I n the course of this trick, the deck in use will be

exchanged for the prepared deck in your pocket. The
concepts that inspired this trick are a Card at Any
Number method that dates back to at least the early
1850s and an idea of the American master Al Baker.15
Effect
A chosen card is shuffled back into the deck by the
person who selected it, and the deck is placed into the
magician’s pocket. With seemingly unbelievable dexter-
ity, he is able to fish the chosen card out of the deck!
Staging and Handling
Give the deck to someone for shuffling and cutting.
Take the deck back and spread it face up, from left
hand to right, as you remark, “If I were to ask you to
take a card like this, you certainly could let yourself be
influenced by one card or another that appealed to you
more.” While making this statement, you have ­spotted
100
 Card College Light

the Four of Hearts in the spread. Separate the deck one card
to the left of the Four and place the left hand’s portion of
the deck onto the right hand’s portion, bringing the Four of
Hearts second from the rear of the deck.

“To assure your choice is a random one, I would like you to 101
cut the deck like this.” Turn the deck face down and place it
on the table. Lift off about a third of the cards, turn them
face up and return this packet to the face-down deck. Now
grasp the deck a bit lower and lift about two-thirds of it.
Turn this packet over and set it on the remaining third.
“After cutting the deck in this way, at two random places,
look at the first face-down card.” Demonstrate this by ribbon
spreading the deck. “In this case it would be the...” Turn up
and name the first face-down card.

4♥ indifferent card
 Digital Dexterity

“Of course, it will be a different card every time.” While

you say this, drop the displayed card you are holding onto
the face of the ribbon spread, turn all the face-up cards
face down, and use them to scoop up the rest of the deck.
This brings the Four of Hearts to the top.
Now hand the face-down deck to the person you’ve
been explaining all this to, so that he can choose and look
at a card in the way you’ve just demonstrated. He will note
the Four of Hearts, the card known to you long ago. (This
method of forcing was invented by the American magician
Ed Balducci. The psychological subtlety of producing a dif-
ferent card during the initial demonstration was added by
the astonishingly prolific American card-expert, Edward
Marlo.16) Once your helper has looked at the card, have him
102 return it anywhere in the face-down portion of the spread
deck, right the face-up cards, so that all are face down, and
give the deck several cuts.
Take the deck back from him and give it a brief shuffle. “I
will now try to find the card you selected, using pure dexterity.
You know what? Why don’t you shuffle the deck again—really
mix it—so that I really can’t know where your card is?” With
these words, directed to a second person, hand the deck to
her for shuffling.
“To make the trick more difficult, I will perform it in the dark
and without looking—using only the advanced sensitivity of
my fingertips!” With these words, take the deck, look for a
good place and finally put it into your left-side jacket-pocket,
positioning it on the side of the piece of cardboard nearest
your body. Your stacked deck, with the Four of Hearts on
top, lies on the other side of the cardboard partition, safely
separated from the shuffled deck.
 Card College Light

After an appropriate dramatic buildup, reach into your

pocket and take out the top card of the stacked deck.
Without showing its face, place this card face down on the
table. Now ask the person who chose the card to name his
selection. Then turn the card face up on the table. It is his!
While the audience is applauding, reach into your pocket
and calmly take out the prepared deck. The cardboard will
make this considerably easier. In the course of a truly baf-
fling trick you have imperceptibly exchanged one deck of
cards for another—practically under the audience’s noses.

Lest I Forget...
1. If you prefer, the deck can be exchanged in one of
your inside breast pockets. The presentation remains
essentially the same. You will perhaps be a bit safer 103
doing it this way, if you have aggressive spectators
who insist on reaching into your pockets to see what
might be there. If you use an inside breast pocket,
which is almost an “intimate area” of your body,
such behavior is less likely.
2. When the arrangement of the cards is inconspicu-
ous, as it is here, at the end of the trick you can
spread the cards face up on the table and say, “And
of course there is no other Four of Hearts in the deck!”
This should satisfy even the skeptics.
 Think Stop!

T he handling of this trick, which is based on a very

old principle of card magic, can be traced back to
the efforts of the respected American professional
Bruce Cervon, a student of the great Dai Vernon.17
This is an intelligent, yet very easy handling of a clas-
sic method for locating a selection. In this form,
even magicians are puzzled by the trick, something I
can confirm, based on countless performances!
Effect
Someone freely selects a card, then shuffles it
back into the deck. Nevertheless, the magician is
able to find the card through that person’s silent
thought-command alone.
Staging and Handling
Spread the deck between your hands and ask some-
one to take a card. For the trick to succeed, your
recruit must choose one of the top twenty-two.
104
 Card College Light

This goal should be achieved without fail if you spread the

cards relatively slowly and assume a relaxed attitude.
When a card has been taken, have your helper remember
it and, just to be safe, have her show it to others nearby.
Respread the deck between your hands to have her
return her card, but this time spread the cards a bit more
quickly as you ask her to put her card back. In this way, you
will have already spread through half of the deck before she
can move to comply, assuring that her card is replaced in
the bottom portion. Square the deck at your fingertips and
drop it into left-hand dealing position. Thus, the card has
been selected in a clearly fair manner, and is put back into
the deck in a fashion just as fair and clear.
Even people who know the principle of the “one-way
back” or “one-way face” will wait in vain for you to turn the 105
deck around, while your helper notes her card. The secret
reversal of the deck does not happen until after any suspi-
cion of it has evaporated!
To accomplish this reversal, the deck is given a swivel cut as
follows: Take the deck into right-hand end grip, and with your
right thumb form a break at the near end, around center. This
is the simplest and surest way to pick up at least twenty-one
cards. Place your left index finger at the near left corner of
 Think Stop!

the upper packet and pivot this packet forward 180 degrees.
106 The first phalanx of your right middle finger serves as a pivot
post. Let the cut-off packet fall into left-hand dealing posi-
tion and drop the right hand’s packet on top.
Cutting in this fashion causes the chosen card, which was
originally in the bottom half of the deck, to be the only card
of all the one-way cards that points in the opposite direc-
tion. And you did everything with a casual, easy cut, which
looks elegant as well.
The cards can now be mixed with an overhand or
a riffle shuffle that does not turn cards end for end in
the process. Nevertheless, you are capable of finding the
selection at any time. As I mentioned in “The Lie Detec-
tor” (page 60), I suggest that you first give the deck a
quick shuffle after the cut, and only then hand it to your
helper for mixing.
When she has done this, retrieve the deck, hold it face
down in left-hand dealing position and begin dealing cards
 Card College Light

into a face-up pile. Ask your helper to say nothing, but to

think “stop” when she sees her card. To eliminate any pos- 107
sibility of your determining the card from a change in her
facial expression (you claim), you will not look at her, but
will keep your gaze fixed on the cards. She, on the other
hand, should look at your profile and observe the cards.
“This way, I will be able to hear when you think ‘stop’.” This
presentation was frequently used by American past-master
Jimmy Grippo, and it is very effective.
You now simply deal until you come to the first of your
one-way cards. You will immediately see the direction the
card is pointing. Keep dealing until a one-way card turns up
that points in the opposite direction. Take the next card,
but suddenly pause before turning it over. Put the card
back onto the deck and look at your helper. “I believe you
have thought ‘stop’—at this card, the Seven of Diamonds!”
With these words name the selection, remove it from the
dealt pile and set it in front of your helper!
 Think Stop!

Lest I Forget...
As with any trick beginning with an arranged group of
cards on top of the deck, you can false shuffle and false
cut the cards as much as you like, as long as the top
twenty-two remain undisturbed on top.

108
ROUTINE

6
 Card Caper

T his trick relies on an ancient principle, one that has

become rather well-known even to the public: the
divided stack. However, instead of arranging the
deck into red and black banks, the use of even- and
odd-valued cards, as well as the handling and pre-
sentation, transform an “old chestnut” into a trick
that will deceive even expert magicians.
Effect
Two spectators each select a card from a deck that
they shuffle themselves. They further shuffle their
cards back into the deck. Nevertheless, the magician
is able to find both spectators’ cards in an astonish-
ing manner.
Preparation
Separate the cards into odd and even values. When
doing this, think of Jacks as eleven, Queens as twelve
and Kings as thirteen. One packet will thus contain
111
 Card Caper

the following values: Ace, Three, Five, Seven, Nine, Jack and
King. The second packet contains these values: Two, Four,
Six, Eight, Ten, Queen. Notice that the first packet contains
four more cards than the second; this will go unnoticed, as
the difference in the two portions is insignificant.
Shuffle each of the two groups, so that the various values
are randomly distributed. Then memorize the card on the
face of the packet consisting of odd values. We will assume
it is the Ace of Hearts. This is your key card. Place this packet
on top of the packet of even valued cards. After preparing
the deck this way, place it into its case.
Staging and Handling
Remove the deck from its case and ribbon spread it face up.
Without your mentioning it, the spectators can see that it
112 is a shuffled deck of fifty-two cards. “For this trick I need the
help of two volunteers. Would you, sir, and you, miss, assist
me?” As you say this, point to two persons sitting near you.
“I would like each of you to take any card from this deck.”
Gather the spread cards and hold them face down in left-
hand dealing position. “But I’d like you first to shuffle the deck
yourselves. Each of you shuffle part of it; it will go faster that
way. We call this a ‘job sharing shuffle’.” As you are deliver-
ing these lines, turn the deck again face up and spread it in
your hands until you come to your key card. Separate the
deck here, giving one helper all the odd-valued cards and
the other all the even-valued ones.
Notice how you have humorously justified the division of
the deck between your two helpers. Do not invest any par-
ticular importance in the separation of the deck; it’s best
if you look at the spectators as you speak to them. With a
little practice, you will easily be able to recognize your key
 Card College Light

card from the corner of your eye. In point 2 in the Lest I

Forget section below, you will find two additional sugges-
tions for making this separation.
Have your helpers thoroughly shuffle their packets—
first behind their backs, then over their heads, and finally
with eyes closed. This humorous interlude guarantees that
everyone later remembers the process of this thorough
shuffling. During this unusual procedure, a few cards may
even be dropped, making it even more memorable. The
more grotesque their shuffling becomes, the more firmly
it will remain fixed in everyone’s minds. In addition to the
apparatus of perception and our strategies of thinking, gaps
in human memory are responsible for our ability to deceive
audiences with tricks based on simple principles. We should
pay just as much attention to the manipulation of the mind 113
as to the manipulation of the cards, as sleight-of-mind and
sleight-of-hand are tools of equal importance.
Now ask each of your two helpers to remove any card
from those they hold, to look at and remember it, and to
show it to others nearby. This precaution, as has been men-
tioned before, ensures against a helper forgetting which
card was taken. Make a point to turn your head away as the
noting and displaying is being done. Then ask your help-
ers to insert their cards upside down into their own packet;
that is, the selection goes face up into the face-down packet.
The helpers now thoroughly shuffle their packets again.
Only now, after the cards have been shuffled and squared,
should you turn once more to face your two assistants.
Take the first packet and set it face down in front of you,
in position for a tabled riffle shuffle. Place the other packet
to the right of the first, but face up, and riffle shuffle the two
 Card Caper

into each other. It is important that you once more turn your
head away, “so I can’t accidentally see the reversed card.” If you
know that a member of the audience is able to riffle shuffle,
ask him to do the honors; in which case you don’t have to
touch the deck at all. Have the deck shuffled again by some-
one sitting nearby. He can use an overhand or a riffle shuffle.
Take back the deck and ribbon spread it. If you now
examine all the face-up cards, you will see that they all have

114

even values—all but one—and that one is the first selec-

tion. Depending on which side of the deck is up, the reverse
could be the case: Among all the odd-valued cards is a
single even-valued one.
To excuse your rather intense inspection of the spread,
explain, “It is, of course, quite easy to find your card. It is the
only card you have touched several times, so it has your fin-
gerprints on it!” You can enjoy a little byplay here by looking
at your helper’s fingerprints and then taking his card out
and setting it in front of him. That is the first card.
 Card College Light

Gather up the spread, turn the deck over and ribbon

spread it again. Once more look for “fingerprints on the
cards”, this time belonging to the second helper. After some
hesitation, slip a card from the spread and place it in front
of her. It is, indeed, her card!
While the spectators are recovering from this astonishing
feat, you have enough time to right the reversed cards. The
best way to do this is to spread the deck in your hands and
push each face-down card about halfway out of the spread.

115
 Card Caper

When you have finished doing this, you can pull the face-
down cards from the deck and flip them face up onto the
rest of the cards.

116

Lest I Forget...
1. To understand this rather subtle principle better,
separate the deck into red and black cards. Then go
through the individual steps of the trick with this
color-segregated deck. The method will become
immediately clear to you.
 Card College Light

2. This trick is even more effective if, before beginning

it, you mark your key card by holding it face down
and bending one of its corners downward a bit.
This is called a “crimp”. You can separate the deck
at this crimped key without having to look at the
faces of the cards. With a light touch and a bit of
practice, you can cut at the crimp quite elegantly.
Here is another good approach: Ribbon spread the
deck face up in the beginning and, as your left hand
begins to gather the spread, place your left thumb on
the Ace of Hearts. As you finish gathering the cards,
you can form a break above the Ace of Hearts while
you square the deck. Retain this break as you turn
the deck face down and take it into dealing position. 117
After a brief delay, cut at the break and hand the top
portion of the deck to one helper, the bottom por-
tion going to the other.
 In the Hands

T his trick has an incredibly strong effect on a lay audi-

ence, because everything happens in the helper’s
hands without the magician ever touching the deck.
The following was inspired by a trick that appeared
in one of Frank Garcia’s famous books.18 Its origin
seems unknown. My handling is completely different
from the original, and its execution much surer.
Effect
Someone from the audience shuffles a deck of cards
and remembers two of them, which he himself loses
back into the deck. In spite of these impossible condi-
tions, the magician is able to locate both noted cards.
Staging and Handling
Give the deck to someone with the request that he
thoroughly shuffle and cut it. “When you are con-
vinced the deck is well mixed, please cut off about half
the cards and place them face up onto the face-down
118
 Card College Light

half.” If your helper follows your instructions correctly, he

will be holding a deck that consists of about twenty-six
face-up cards followed by the remainder face down. Note
the card visible on top of the
deck. This is your first key
card; in our example it will be
the Seven of Hearts.
Ask your helper to spread
the deck between his hands
and to look at and remem-
ber the last face-up card. To
do this he should bring the deck to a more or less verti-
cal position, since he doesn’t want you to see his card. This
precaution will, however, allow you to see and secretly
memorize the card on the bottom of the deck; let’s say it is 119
the Two of Spades. This is your second key card. As soon as
you have noted this card, turn your back to your helper.
 In the Hands

You now have all the information you need to success-

fully perform the trick—and before the effect has even
begun! You are two steps ahead of your helper, a principle
that later makes it very difficult for your audience to recon-
struct the secret.
When your helper has noted this first card, have him
square the cards and turn over the whole deck. Ask him
to spread through the upper cards, newly turned face up,
and again to note the last face-up card. You then tell him to
turn the face-up cards face down onto the rest of the deck,
so that all the cards face the same way. It doesn’t matter
here which portion he places on the other—nothing can go
wrong. Your subject has just placed your second key card
onto the first card he saw.
120 “Now please cut the deck once more and complete the cut.”
Wait until he has done this. Then ask him to cut the deck
yet again. In this way, your first key card is placed onto his
second selection.
It is important not to tell your helper that he can cut
the deck several times, as some people will then cut several
small packets onto the table, and you run the risk of your
key cards being separated from the selections.
All you need to do now is to take the deck, ribbon
spread it and find both cards with “hyper-hydraulic permo-
 Card College Light

dynamic powers,” as the late, great Rolf Andra used to put

it. Each of the two chosen cards lies to the right of your two
key cards. You might, here, introduce a pendulum and find
the cards after asking your helper his zodiac sign.
Lest I Forget...
1. If you follow the described presentation faithfully,
you should achieve the impression that you turn
your head away at the very start, and thus could not
possibly have received any hint whatsoever regard-
ing the chosen cards.
2. When I present this trick, I always casually ask the
person to shuffle the deck briefly. If you choose
someone who is standing or is not sitting close to
the table, he will almost invariably do an overhand
121
shuffle. In this circumstance, it is very unlikely that
the key card will be separated from the selection. The
extra effect you gain by doing this far outweighs the
small risk you run (especially with magicians)! You
can, instead, false shuffle the deck yourself, which is
safer and almost as convincing.
 Back to the Future

T his trick is the creation of Chicago magician Al

Leech.19 You will be hard pressed to find a simpler
one in this book. It has the advantage that it can
be performed with a borrowed, shuffled deck at any
time and under all conditions.
After the previous two location exercises, this con-
cluding prediction effect offers a welcome change. I
independently came up with the idea of presenting a
prediction in the following form, as a time conundrum.
Effect
The magician transports himself into the future,
memorizes what happens there, returns to the past,
and then predicts the occurrence in the present: a
confusing story with a clear effect.
Staging and Handling
Someone is asked to shuffle the deck, cut it and place
it face down on the table. Meanwhile, the magician
122
 Card College Light

says, “When we talk about a prediction, most people mean an

extrasensory gift or power. But that isn’t quite correct, because
in reality it is purely a question of time. What I mean is, I only
need to transport myself into the future, see what happens there,
and then return to the past in order to say something about the
future in the present. So I will now take a very short trip....”
Briefly close your eyes and open them again a few sec-
onds later, while stating, “The fact that I am once again here
proves that everything is working, doesn’t it? All right, then.
You have been shuffling the deck all this time, and thus you
have gotten it into an order that is mathematically completely
random and that no one could know. From that thoroughly
shuffled deck I will remove a card I have already seen in
the future.” Suiting your actions to words, fan the deck with
faces toward you and note the top two cards. These cards 123
must have different values and suits. If this is not the case,
simply cut the deck at two appropriate cards. Let’s assume
the two cards are the Five of Hearts and the King of Spades.
Remember the suit of the first card (heart) and the value
of the second (King). From this you get a “combined” card,
combined to make
the King of Hearts

ng
Ki
+
a rt
he
 Back to the Future

the King of Hearts. This combinational card could also be

the Five of Spades, if you were to use the value of the first
card and the suit of the second. We’ll stick with the King of
Hearts for this explanation. Find this card in the deck and
place it face down on the table as your prediction; or put it
into the card case (which provides an even more dramatic
effect). As you do this, say, “Please be very careful that no
one touches this card too soon and thus confuses the future.”
Reassemble the deck and square it, keeping the two
known cards on top. Then hand it to someone and ask him
to hold it face down. “Please place the first card face down
on the table, the second one onto that one, and so on.” He
begins to deal one card after another face down into a pile
on the table. As soon as he has dealt three or four cards,
124 continue, as if it had always been your intention to say
this, but you just hadn’t managed yet, “You can, of course,
deal the cards from the bottom or even from the middle; it
makes absolutely no difference.” When your helper has dealt
another two or three cards, add, “And please shuffle the deck
a few times as you do this.”
Wait until he has dealt a few cards from every position
in the deck, and shuffled it several times. When he has
dealt about a dozen cards or more in this fashion, give him
another set of instructions: “You may stop at any time—
whenever you wish—it doesn’t matter where you stop.” The
earlier he stops, the shorter the next phase will be.
“Good. Now we need two packets of about the same size.
Please set the deck aside and pick up the cards on the table.
Deal one card here, the second one there, the next one here
on the first one, the next one there on the second one, and so
on until the cards are dealt out into two piles that are about
 Card College Light

equal.” As you say this, point to two spots on the table

where your helper is to deal the cards, one at a time, into
two piles. If he does everything correctly—and, of course,
you are very concerned that he does this!—the two cards
you previously noted are now on top of the two piles. It
doesn’t matter if he makes one or several mistakes during
the dealing—this is actually desirable, to misdirect from the
mathematical nature of the action—as long as each of the
two piles receives one of the last two cards.
Summarize: “Since you yourself shuffled the cards when we
began, you took the cards from different places in the deck
and shuffled the deck a few times along the way, you must
admit that no one could know which cards lie here on the
table.” Wait for your helper’s confirmation.
In reality, you already know the top cards of the two 125
tabled piles; in our example, they are the Five of Hearts and
the King of Spades, which started on top of the deck. Due
to the synchronization of words and actions, in addition
to clever scripting and the subtle nature of the deception,
hardly anyone will suspect that the statement you have just
made isn’t entirely true.
“Let’s see which cards have randomly come to the top.” Ask
your helper to turn over the top card of one pile. It doesn’t
matter which; let’s assume it is the Five of Hearts.
“This card gives us information about the suit. Since it is
the Five of Hearts, the suit is hearts. Please turn the top card
of the other pile face up.” This will be our King of Spades.
“The King of Spades gives us information about the value,
so it is a King. Hearts for the suit and King for the value gives
us the King of Hearts. This is exactly what I saw in the future.
So the future has become the present. And if that is true, I can
 Back to the Future

prove it with this card. And remember that I never touched

the cards and that you have done everything yourself.” Allow
your helper to turn the King of Hearts over himself, prov-
ing your claim correct. You can here deliver this concluding
one-liner: “So we have proven that, in this instance, we have
gone back to the future.”

126
Lest I Forget...
1. In this trick, it is genuinely true that you have only
to handle the cards very briefly in the beginning to
make the effect possible. By all means, you should
emphasize this hands-off condition, without men-
tioning, naturally, your initial handling of the cards.
You can also underline this factor with body lan-
guage, deliberately taking a few steps back from
your helper and instructing him from a distance.
This important detail leaves the audience with a
lasting and vivid impression.
2. I always encourage that you create a completely dif-
ferent script that suits your personality. In any event,
try to find a novel concept, so that your audience
has more to remember than a mere prediction.
RO U T
INE

7
 Manto

Y ears ago, my friend Richard Vollmer from Strasbourg

showed me this brilliant trick. It is based on a math-
ematical principle discovered by the supernaturally
clever Bob Hummer.20 This is somewhat different as
card tricks go, in that no card is chosen; nevertheless,
an audience member plays an active role in events.
Effect
The magician writes a prediction and places it inside
the card case, which a spectator guards. An audi-
ence member and the performer mix the cards face
up into face down, throwing the deck into a chaotic
condition. Nonetheless, the prediction states how
many cards lie face up and how many of those are
black and how many red!
Props
Along with a deck of fifty-two cards, you will need a
pen and a piece of paper for the prediction.
129
 Manto

Preparation
Note and remember how many red and black cards lie
among the top twenty-one cards of the deck. We’ll assume
there is a mix of eight black cards and thirteen reds. In addi-
tion, remember the twenty-first card from the top, which
we’ll nominate as the Queen of Diamonds.
Incidentally, this trick can also be performed impromptu.
A method for doing this will be given in point 1 of the Lest
I Forget section.
Staging and Handling

Before you begin the effect

proper, take out the paper
130
and pen and announce that
you will write a double pre-
diction. In the middle of the
paper write, “8 black cards,
13 red cards”.

Fold the paper in half,

with the writing inside,
and write on the outside,
“21 cards lie face up.”

Fold the paper in half in the other direction, the fresh

prediction folded inside (which later will be the first one
read). Place the paper into the empty card case and ask
 Card College Light

someone to put the case into

his pocket. Make sure no one
sees your predictions.
Spread the deck face up from left to
right on the table. “I would like you to
take some cards from the deck—about
this many—and I will take these cards.”
Separate the spread at your key card

131

and give the top twenty-one cards to your elected helper,

while you keep the rest for yourself. Use a free and relaxed
attitude when making this separation, without staring at
the deck, so that the dividing of the cards looks uncalcu-
lated and casual. The spectators must not suspect that you
know the makeup or number of either portion.
Turn your part of the deck face down and thoroughly shuf-
fle it, while having your helper to do the same with his cards.
Both of you next square your packets and set them face
down on the table. You each then cut off a portion of your
 Manto

pile, large or small, turn it face up and set it onto the face-
down remainder of the other’s pile. You both now shuffle
your own parts of the deck again, mixing the face-up cards
with the face-down ones. Square the packets and set them
on the table.
Once again, both of you cut off a packet, turn it over and
place it onto the other’s portion of the deck. Then both of you
shuffle your cards, square them and set them on the table.
One last time you each cut off a packet from your own
portion, turn it over and place it onto the other’s packet.
Throughout this process of mixing, which is in fact com-
pletely free, all you must make sure of is that your helper
doesn’t turn his packet over when he places it onto the
table to cut off another portion. If this happens, just unob-
132 trusively turn your packet over, too. Setting the two parts
of the deck onto the table each time guarantees better con-
trol of the action and minimizes the risk of error.
Just as you did each time before, each of you shuffles your
portion of the deck, which now contains an unknown number
of face-down cards and face-up cards. As you complete an
overhand shuffle of your packet, tip the upper edge of the
packet to the left and into your left hand, which receives it
in dealing position (see drawings opposite). This subtly turns
your cards over, under cover of a completely natural action.
Ask your helper to set his cards onto the table, and you
drop yours on top of them, reuniting the deck. He can now
shuffle and cut the deck once again, until he is completely
convinced that no one could know the order of the cards.
Emphasize this fact. What you do not mention, though, is
that it is the orientation of the cards; not their order that is
important. And their orientation is not changed by either an
 Card College Light

133

overhand shuffle or a riffle shuffle. To impress on everyone

that you really have been shuffling the entire time, you could,
while giving the cards a riffle shuffle, say something like “Now
we will shuffle once more, like the casino dealers do.”
 Manto

Summarize: “You must admit that the deck has been shuf-
fled face up and face down more than completely. No one
could know which cards are up and which are down, and no
one could know how many of these there are. You cut your
cards wherever you wanted, and you shuffled them yourself.”
Your helper will hardly be able to deny this.
“Nevertheless, I have predicted the outcome.” Hand the
deck to your co-shuffler and request that he fan the cards
and set all the face-up cards to one side. While he does
this, count these face-up cards aloud and ask the rest of
the group to count along. If everything has been done cor-
rectly, there should be exactly twenty-one cards.
Ask the person with the card case safe in his pocket to
bring it out, remove your prediction, unfold the first fold of
134 the paper and read your first prediction. It is correct—there
are twenty-one cards!
Now have your helper separate the red cards from the
blacks, forming two piles, and ask him to count the red
cards aloud as he does this. Then have him count the black
cards. He will count eight black cards and thirteen reds.
When the person with your prediction reads the second
part of it aloud, everyone will be astounded at your again
knowing in advance the seemingly random makeup of the
thoroughly mixed cards!

Lest I Forget...
1. If you wish to perform this trick impromptu, you can
secretly note the twenty-first card in the course of
doing “The Circus Card Trick” (page 67). You then
only need to spread the deck face up from left to
right on the table while you write your prediction.
 Card College Light

While ­waiting for “inspiration”, you have enough time

to count either the red or the black cards, whichever
there are fewer of among the first twenty-one. You
can usually estimate the less frequent color with a
glance. It is best to begin with the twenty-first card,
which, after all, you know, and count to the left end of
the spread. As soon as you have this number (in our
case eight black cards), subtract eight from twenty-
one to get thirteen reds. These two numbers become
your prediction. From here on, the trick continues as
taught above. You can also fan the cards face up, so
that the spectators can see them, under the pretext
of showing that the cards are fairly and freely mixed,
secretly counting one color as you make this display. 135
2. You can mark the twenty-first card with a corner crimp
(see page 117) and note the number of red and black
cards beforehand. Then give the deck a false shuffle
that doesn’t change the order of the top twenty-one
cards. Next, cut the face-down deck at the crimp.
Your helper receives the top portion and you take the
bottom one. This enhances the deception, since you
don’t need to spread the cards face up.
3. While this description may seem a bit long, due to
the necessary explanatory details, in performance it
proceeds briskly. The trick calls for constant specta-
tor-participation, which always increases interest.
This piece belongs to a rather rare category of effects
in card magic, since topological configurations play
a part; nevertheless, this simple but striking trick
doesn’t look at all like a mathematical puzzle.
 Vernon’s Miracle

T hose two words say it all. This trick is a creation of

the Canadian master, Dai Vernon, the Professor, and
is every bit as good as the title suggests.21
Effect
The magician finds a card selected under the fairest
conceivable conditions.
Staging and Handling
Hand the deck to someone for shuffling and cut-
ting. Turn your back to the audience and give the
following instructions: “After you have shuffled the
deck, place any card face up onto the table.” Let’s say
the card chosen is the Seven of Diamonds. “Please
lock this card in your memory. Now, to the left of your
card, deal a number of cards equal to its value. For
example, if you chose a Four, you would deal four
cards into a pile; with a Five you would deal five, and
so on. Aces will count as eleven.”
136
 Card College Light

Make sure a higher-valued spot card is selected. If a court

card or a low spot card is taken, simply ask that a different
card be chosen.
“Now deal exactly the same number of cards as you just
did into a pile to the right of your card.” Wait until your
helper has done this.

“Take one of the two piles and shuffle it completely. When

you have done this, place your chosen card face down on top
of the packet and cut it one time. Set down that packet and
pick up the second pile. Shuffle it just as thoroughly—and
push the first pile into it at some spot.”
Although these instructions may sound complicated, it 137
doesn’t matter at all whether your helper does something
wrong. The instructions serve primarily to lure her (and
possibly magicians, as well) down a false trail. You only
need to make sure that she deals the correct number of
cards into the two piles to the left and right of her selec-
tion. The remaining procedure, as you will see, is almost
completely automatic.
Turn back to the spectators for the first time, since to this
point you have been standing with your back to them. “You
know what? Before you give me the cards, please shuffle the
whole packet once again very thoroughly.” By now even an
informed spectator will wonder how you will find the card,
since he will normally try to reconstruct how you could be
guided by the position of the card. In fact, it is the number
of cards that will give you information about the identity of
the selection, a principle that is seldom used in card magic.
 V e r n o n ’s M i r a c l e

“Please think of your card. Yes, I believe I have it. To be com-

pletely sure, I will show you the cards once more. Please think of
your card as soon as you see it.” Make a point of looking away,
and spread the cards with the faces toward your helper.

138

As you are doing this, secretly count the cards—in our

example, you will count exactly fifteen, since the chosen
card was a Seven. Subtract one from the number you have
counted and divide the result by two (15 – 1 = 14, and
14 ÷ 2 = 7). You now know the value of the card.
The reason this works should be obvious: Your helper
has dealt double the value of her card, plus the chosen
 Card College Light

card itself. Although this seems quite obvious, the secret

is well concealed by misleading presentation and the sub-
sequent location.
You now know that your helper is thinking of a Seven.
“Yes, I see it very clearly.” This statement suggests that you
have already guessed her card. In reality, you still have to
figure out its suit! Spread the cards, faces toward you, and
look for the Seven, which you set face down on the table in
front of your helper.
Naturally, there may be more than one Seven in the
packet. If this proves the case, bring one Seven to the top
and one to the bottom. Then ask your helper to name the
identity of her card and, depending on her answer, either
turn over the top card or turn up the entire pile.
If there are three Sevens in the packet, bring one to the 139
top, one to the bottom and place the third face down on
the table. Remember which Seven is where. Cut the packet
and mark the place by putting the Seven on the table diag-
onally between the two portions.

Once again ask the name of the chosen card and react
accordingly. If it is the card above the Seven left sticking out
of the pile, say, “And that is why I marked the deck exactly at
your card.” While saying this, use the protruding Seven to flip
 V e r n o n ’s M i r a c l e

the upper portion face up, revealing the card at its face. If it
is the protruding Seven itself, simply turn it over. And if it is
the third Seven, separate the packet at the dividing Seven
and turn the top card of the bottom portion face-up.
If you should find yourself in the unlikely position of
having all four Sevens in the packet, you will have to “fish”
for the selection as you are spreading through the cards.
140
Your phrasing could sound something like this: “Yes, I have
your card. It was a red card, wasn’t it?” If your helper agrees,
bring one red Seven to the top and the other to the bottom,
and proceed as described above for two cards, asking her to
name her card in a loud, clear voice, and then revealing the
appropriate top or bottom card. If your helper denies that
her card is red, turn your statement into a gag by pointing
to the red backs of the cards (assuming you are using a red-
backed deck). “I hate to disagree with you, but all the cards in
the deck are red.” But now you know that she chose one of
the two black Sevens, so bring one to the top, the other to
the bottom, and proceed as taught for the red Sevens.
 That Is the Question

T he following trick was shown to me by my imagi-

native friend in magic, Richard Vollmer. He took an
ancient and well-known mathematical principle and
dressed it in new clothes, which makes the modus
operandi virtually impenetrable.
Effect
The magician asks no questions, yet he answers
them while guessing and finding a freely and fairly
thought-of card.
Staging and Handling
Have someone shuffle and cut the cards. Turn around
and ask him to think of a number between ten and
twenty. This done, have him deal that many cards one
at a time from the top of the deck into a pile. Then have
him hide the pile under the table mat or between his
hands, giving you no way you can see how many cards
he has dealt. Let’s assume the number is seventeen.
141
 That Is the Question

With the pile out of sight, you turn back to him and say,
“You have thought of a two-digit number. All magical num-
bers have only one digit. Therefore, I would like you to add
the two digits of your number together to make a single-digit
number. If you are thinking of twelve, you would add the one
and the two to get three; if you are thinking of sixteen you
would get seven, and so on.”
We are trying to avoid using the phrase “the sum of the
digits,” since that smells of a mathematical trick. Since the
person helping in our working example has dealt seventeen
cards, he will arrive at the number eight.
“I will now show you about a dozen cards. Please remem-
ber the card that you see at your thought-of number.” Take
the rest of the deck (your helper is still hiding his cards),
142 show the top card, count “one” aloud and set this card face
down on the table. Take the next card from the deck, show
its face, count “two” and drop it face down onto the first
card. Continue in this manner with the next eight cards.
You have just dealt ten cards from the deck into a pile on
the table, reversing their order in the process. Your helper
has noted the eighth card you displayed, as he is thinking of
eight. Let’s say it is the Six of Hearts. Take this dealt pile and
replace it on the deck.
Now ask your helper to cut his packet into two packets,
keeping one and giving you the other. Place this packet on
top of the deck.
“You must admit that neither of us can know how many
cards you gave me and how many you kept. We also cannot
know where your thought-of card lies in the deck!” These
two statements are true, but they are only half-truths
that disguise the larger picture. We are behaving just like
 Card College Light

­ oliticians before an election, except our motives are

p
nobler and bear more pleasant consequences.
Deal the top nineteen cards from the deck onto the
table, making a row of overlapping cards that form a ques-
tion mark. The nineteenth card is the dot of the question
mark. “A question thus presents itself. Which is the card you
are thinking of? The question is symbolically represented by
this question mark.

eighteen cards form

143
the question mark

the nineteenth card

“Now, for the first time, count the number of cards you
have left.” Your helper does this and finds, in our case, seven.
Starting at the dot of the question mark, count to the
 That Is the Question

144

s­ eventh card. Push this card face down toward your helper
and state, “If you had held onto four cards, we would have
come to this card.” Point to the fourth card in the question
mark. “If you had kept ten, we would have come to this one.”
Point again to the corresponding card. “But we ended up
exactly on the card there in front of you. Now, for the first
time, please name in a loud, clear voice the card you are
thinking of.” After he does this, have him slowly turn over
the card in front of him. It is his thought-of card!
 Afterword
“Everything should be done as simply as ­possible,
but not more simply.”
Albert Einstein
Dear Reader,
Every trick in this book can be performed without any
sleight-of-hand at all—no glides, no double turnovers, not
even the simplest double undercut. I have endeavored to
make all explanations self-contained, so that you do not
need to refer to information elsewhere to successfully per-
form the pieces described.
But perhaps you have read my Lest I Forget notes at the
end of many of the tricks and have come to the conclusion
that a few well-placed sleights can considerably increase
the deceptiveness and power of some effects. For those of
you who would like to expand your knowledge and try your
hand at some more challenging and advanced card magic, I
happily recommend the following titles, which are an intro-
duction to the bright universe of card magic. Read them in
the order given.
Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Hermetic Press, Seattle
1999–2004. This is a five-volume introduction into the
techniques, themes and theories of the fine art of card
145
 Afterword

magic. I suggest beginning with the first two volumes,

which are a comprehensive introduction to the princi-
ples of card magic. No previous knowledge is required,
and you are guided step by step through the fascinat-
ing world of card conjuring, accompanied by over five
hundred illustrations. The principles are illustrated with
top-flight card tricks. If you master the material in these
two books alone, you can do more things with cards
than ninety percent of the magicians who do card magic
on this planet.
Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernon’s Inner Secrets of Card Magic, Dai
Vernon’s More Inner Secrets of Card Magic, Dai Vernon’s
Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic and Dai Vernon’s
Ultimate Secrets of Card Magic. These four books were
146 originally published by Harry Stanley and Supreme Magic
in England, and are now available from L&L Publishing in
the USA. They contain some of the Professor’s best cre-
ations, and each item is a masterful lesson in the art of
card conjuring.
Frank Garcia, Million Dollar Card Secrets, New York, 1972;
and Super Subtle Card Miracles, New York, 1973. These
were the cult books of the 1970s. Excellent tricks from
the repertoire of numerous pros, crisply described, ideal
for studying, developing and performing.
Harry Lorayne, Close-up Card Magic, New York, 1962; and
Reputation Makers, New York, 1971. These are engagingly
written books, which will convey to you the author’s
enthusiasm for card magic. Both books contain excellent
performance pieces.
 Notes
1. First published in Spanish: Juan Tamariz, Magia Potagia,
Vol. 3, Madrid, 1985. An English translation appeared
some years later in Harry Lorayne’s magazine Apoca-
lypse, Vol. 10, No. 7, July 1987, page 1369. It was also
published in English, under the title “Neither Blind Nor
Silly”, in Tamariz’s book Sonata, Madrid, 1991, page 211.
2. “Red and Black”, published in Genii, Vol. 52, No. 9, March
1989, page 560.
3. The coding method used here was first published by
Howard Savage in the June 1929 issue of The Sphinx,
Vol. 28, No. 4, p. 136. Mr. Savage’s code was used in a
book test using a booklet of poetry. The application of
his code to playing cards seems to have been made by
William McCaffrey (see John N. Hilliard’s Greater Magic,
1938, page 566). This information was kindly supplied by
Max Maven.
4. First published in The Pallbearers Review, Vol. 9, No. 5,
March 1974, Teaneck, page 715.
5. The Hummer principle referred to is commonly known
as CATO. We will be using the standard CATO proce-
dure two tricks ahead. (Also see note 6 below.) While
the handling used in “Royal Flush” is different from that
147
 Notes

of the standard CATO procedure, the same parity prin-

ciple is involved.
6. Murata marketed this location as a single-trick manu-
script in 1945, under the name House of Magic, in
Waikiki. This excellent control might have been for-
gotten, were it not for Eddie Fields’s adaptation of it
to a telephone trick, which was featured in The Artful
Dodges of Eddie Fields by Jon Racherbaumer, New York,
1976, page 30.
7. Hummer published the first tricks using the CATO
principle in a 1946 manuscript titled Face Up Face
Down Mysteries.
8. The original McMillen trick, “The Mind Mirror”, can be
found in Hugard and Braue’s Expert Card Technique,
148 Minneapolis, 1940, page 223. And if you wish to explore
the actual technique of muscle reading, good sources of
information are Dariel Fitzkee’s Contact Mind Reading
Expanded, Oakland, 1935; Robert A. Nelson’s Hellstro-
mism, Calgary, 1945; Chapter 5 of The Mental Mysteries
and Other Writings of William W. Larsen, Sr., Los Angeles,
1977; and Corinda’s Thirteen Steps to Mentalism, New
York, 1968, page 50. An easily understood article on
the theory and practical application of muscle reading
can also be found in Martin Gardner’s Encyclopedia of
Impromptu Magic, Chicago, 1978, page 392. This book
is in general so good, I will simply recommend it with-
out reservation.
9. The principle was first recorded by C. O. Williams in Stan-
yon’s Magic, Vol. 13, No. 12, Sept. 1913, page 100, item 14.
Charles Jordan elaborated on it in his booklet, Thirty Card
Mysteries, 1919, page 7 of the second edition.
 Card College Light

10. This subtle force was first published by Max Holden

in Bagshawe’s The Magical Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 10, July
1925, page 199.
11. Descriptions of this trick can be found in several sources,
among them in Hugard and Braue’s Royal Road to Card
Magic, New York, 1949, page 150.
12. The basic version of this trick, which includes the use of
the “Circus Card Trick” as a method of setting up, first
appeared in Hugard and Braue’s Expert Card Technique:
“The Twenty-sixth Location”, New York, 1940, page 397.
Very recently, David Ben, the Canadian professional,
discovered in correspondence evidence that places
this trick (like so much of the uncredited material in
Expert Card Technique) at Dai Vernon’s door. The pre-
sentational premise of fingerprints that we use in this 149
effect is borrowed from another trick that Vernon per-
formed for many years, “The Fingerprint Card Trick” in
The Vernon Chronicles, Volume One by Stephen Minch,
Tahoe, 1987, page 136.
13. Apart from a few personal modifications, I have taken
the handling explained directly from Greater Magic by
John Northern Hilliard: “A Matter of Debit and Credit”,
Minneapolis, 1938, page 157; a reprint was published in
1994 by Kaufman and Greenberg. This book is without
doubt one of the great works of magic’s literature, and I
highly recommend a careful study of it. The section on
card magic is excellent. According to Paul Stadelman, in
his 1934 booklet Sandu Writes Again (Hopkinsville, KY,
page 5), the second phase of this routine is the idea of
R. W. Hull. (My thanks to Max Maven for pointing out
this reference.)
 Notes

14. See “Would I Lie to You?” in Mike Maxwell’s The Com-

mercial Magic of J. C. Wagner, Tahoe, 1987, page 141.
15. I first learned the Card at Any Number trick in El Pres-
tidigitador Optimus by Joaquin Partagas: “La carta en el
bolsillo”, page 42. However, the trick appears in much
earlier works, such as Ein Spiel Karten by R. P., pub-
lished in Prague in 1853. The effect is this: Placing the
deck into his pocket, the magician asked someone to
name any number. He counted down in the deck to
the number requested, removing the cards one by one,
and produced a previously chosen card at the specified
number. The secret was deceptively simple: The selec-
tion was controlled to the top of the deck, and all the
cards counted were taken from the bottom, until the
150 chosen number was reached. When I read this, I imme-
diately saw an excellent opportunity for a deck switch.
Later, I learned that Al Baker had long before pioneered
the general idea of accomplishing a deck switch under
the pretext of openly placing the deck into a pocket as
part of the presentation for another effect. Baker first
described this idea in one of ten tricks making up an
exclusive manuscript sold by him in the 1920s for the
then extraordinary price of $25.00. It was later included
by Jean Hugard in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks, New York,
1937, page 190; see the fourth method for “Switching
the Deck”. It can also be found in The Secret Ways of Al
Baker, Seattle, 2003, page 467.
16. See “Another Spectator Cuts the Aces” in Marlo’s The
Unexpected Card Book, Chicago, 1974, page 209.
17. A version of the trick very similar to that taught here
was first contributed by Cervon to Charlie Miller’s
 Card College Light

famous “Magicana” column in Genii magazine, Vol. 50,

No. 8, February 1987, page 577. Cervon’s trick was in
turn inspired by another Vernon protégé, Harry Riser,
in the same magazine, four issues earlier.
18. Super Subtle Card Miracles, New York, 1973; see “Con-
vention Card Location”, page 130.
19. See “The Spectator Does a Trick” in Leech’s Cardman-
ship, Chicago, 1959, page 6. Leech seems to have been
the first to conceive of this double-dealing principle.
20. Called the “cancellation combination principle” or the
“self-cancellation principle”, it first appeared in “Face
Up Prediction”, a trick included in Bob Hummer’s Half
a Dozen Hummers, Chicago, 1940. Simon Aronson’s
“Shuffle-bored” (published in a monograph of the same
name, Chicago, 1980) is the best-known trick using the 151
principle. My version is based on a trick called “Topsy-
turvy”, first published in Richard Vollmer’s Antologie des
tours automatiques, Strasbourg, 1986, page 90.
21. I recorded this trick, ascribed to Vernon, years ago in
one of my notebooks, and have since been unable to
locate the source where I originally read it.