Sympathies
•A Great Deal
•Low Profile
•Coincidental
S
ympathetic reactions and coincidence effects can be powerful weapons in your arsenal. Part of the appeal of these effects is that it often seems as if the spectator did them himself! This makes you look like a good guy, in addition to making your assistant even more befuddled!H
ere is my solution to problem number four, "A Lucky Deal," from the Connoisseur Conjuring Website. It is very easy to do, gets a strong reaction from laymen as well as some pretty well in- formed magicians, and is open to a number of variations.Effect: The deck is shuffled and cut and Walt selects a card (say the three of hearts). This card is tabled
face down. He begins to deal cards in a pile onto the table next to his selection, stopping any time he wishes. He is given the choice to add or subtract some cards from this pile. When he is satisfied, the re- mainder of the deck is set aside. His selection is now turned over. "Since your card is a three," you say,
"take the cards you just dealt and deal them into three piles." He
does this and then turns over the top card of each pile, revealing the three of clubs, three of diamonds and three of spades!
Method and performance: Get the four threes to the top of the
deck, keeping a break below them. Top palm the cards above the break as you hand the deck to Walt for shuffling.
Alternatively, you can remove the threes ahead of time, keeping them in a pocket until you're ready to do this trick, and as Walt is shuffling, procure the packet in right hand classic palm. Make
sure that Walt shuffles thoroughly and cuts the deck a few times. Take the deck back in left dealers grip, replacing the palmed packet on top as the right hand comes over the deck (photo 1) so you can square it with both hands.
Slip Force (see notes) the top card (say, the three of hearts) on Walt. Table this card face down at the cen-
ter of your surface. Give the deck to Walt, asking him to begin dealing the cards in a pile.
After he's dealt ten or so, tell him he can stop at any time. When he stops, allow him to add or subtract a few cards if he'd like. When he’s satisfied, set aside the rest of the deck.
Have him turn over the selection (3H) and then pick up the pile he dealt. "Since the card you picked is a
three, please deal that pile into three piles, just as if you were dealing in a game of cards."
Because the three mates of his selection started at the top of the deck, and due to the fact that he dealt the cards one at a time in a pile, they are now at the bottom of the packet he holds. Therefore, when he deals them into three piles, the mates will always end up on top of the three piles.
Have Walt turn over the top card of each packet, revealing the three mates to his selection.
Variations: You could have the four aces with any four above them on top of the deck. Palm them and
return them as above. Force the four and then have four piles dealt after following the procedure above. The top card of each pile is turned over revealing the four aces!
Or, have a royal flush palmed with the ace at the top. This time, after you force the ace, set it on the table face down without showing its face. Again, have Walt deal as many cards as he would like, then deal that packet into four piles. Turn over the top card of each pile revealing the ten, jack, queen and king. Finally, turn over the "selection" to reveal the ace for a perfect royal flush.
A GREAT DEAL
Notes: The principle of reversing the order of the cards by deal-
ing a pile and then dealing multiple piles to bring them to the top is a very old one. What’s nice about this routine is that you are holding out the force cards, which you add on after the spectator shuffles the deck, making it very difficult for him to backtrack.
The Slip Force: Hold the deck in left-hand dealers grip. Riffle
down the outer left corner with the thumb, asking a spectator to stop you somewhere. When he does, perform a slip cut at the break as follows: Bring the right hand over the deck in Biddle Grip, the left middle, ring and pinky fingers curl over the right side of the deck onto the top card (photo 2). As the right hand pivots the top portion away from the bottom portion, the left fin- gers hold the top card back (photo 3, exposed) and both hands turn palm up, the left forefinger pointing to the face card of the right packet (photo 4). Explain that, had he stopped you one card earlier, this exposed card would have been the selection. Turn the hands palm down and give him the top card of the left-hand packet as his “freely chosen card.” This is the original top card— the force card.
Photo 2
Photo 3
T
his is my solution to a problem posed in Profile magazine. I didn’t meet all the conditions of the problem, but this handling has been very effective in real-world performance.Effect: A borrowed deck is shuffled by Abe, who then cuts off about half the cards and replaces them
face up on the face down lower half. The deck is spread and Abe selects a card from the face up half. He then selects a card from the face down half. This second selection is the mate of the first selection!
Method and performance: Give the deck to Abe for shuffling. When he is done, ask him to table the
deck, cut off about half the cards and turn them face up, replacing them up on the tabled face down half (photo 1).
Ribbon spread the deck on the table as you begin to verbally review with Abe the procedures he has just followed.
Meanwhile, look for any mates in the face up half (for example, the red queens—photo 2).
Square the deck, pick it up and spread it again between your hands as you patter that the cards that are face up were determined by his random shuffles and cuts.
Cull the top queen under
the spread to the right and as you patter: Your left thumb comes down on the card above it (photo 3).
The thumb slides the indifferent card to the left, past the edge of the card you want to cull (photo 4).
This provides cover for your right fingers to slide the desired card to the right until it comes free of the card below it (photo 5, bottom view). The right fingers begin to move this card to the left under the spread, as you extend your left fingers to the right under the
LOW PROFILE
Photo 1
Photo 2 Photo 3
spread, to contact the surface of the card (photo 6, bottom view). Once the left fingers can reach the card, they take over for the right fingers and slide it under the spread to the left to the bottom of the deck (photo 7, bottom view).
Then close the spread, getting a left little finger break above the other red queen (photo 8).
Explain to Abe that he will make two more random choices. "I'm
going to spread through the cards and have you touch a face up card and then a face down card. Don't consciously choose a card; rather, just touch a card at random each time."
Spread through the face up cards, classic forcing the red queen. The classic force is more a matter of timing than anything else. Basically, you spread through the cards, timing your speed so that the spectator’s hand arrives at the force card as it reaches the deck. This is easier to do when you have them simply touch a card as opposed to take one. It is also easier to do face up, as they assume you couldn't possibly force a card on them while they are looking at the faces. Gary Ouellet has some excellent advice on the classic force in his book, Close-up Illusions, and I highly recommend Paul Green’s video on the classic force.
Set the queen on the table near Abe. Remove all the face up cards, placing them aside. "Now I want you to touch a face down
card."
Bring your right hand over the left hand's packet and half pass (page 30) the queen on the bottom, turning it face down. Tell Abe that you now want him to touch a card in the face down packet. Though he apparently has a free selection, you actually execute the Hofsinzer Spread Force:
Holding the packet in your left hand, bring the right hand to the edge of the packet to begin spreading it between the hands. The thumb goes on top of the
packet and the fingers at the edge of the bottom card (photo 9).
The left thumb pushes a couple of cards to the right as the right fingers “pinch” the bottom card of the deck and under the spread as displayed in photo 10.
Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 9 Photo 10
The spread rides above the force card (photo 11). As the left thumb continues to spread the last few cards, the right fingers covertly move the force card under the fan to the right, almost even with the top card (photo 12).
When Abe touches a card, separate the spread by removing all the cards below the touched card with the left hand, such that the selection is the bottom card of the right packet (photo 13). Turn the right-hand packet sideways and tap it against the table to square it (photo 14), as you ribbon spread the cards in the left hand.
"You could have chosen any one of these cards. But you chose this one." Slowly and dramatically turn the
right-hand packet face up, tabling it next to the face up red queen (photo 15). Abe apparently intuitively chose the mate to his first selection!
Photo 11
Photo 13 Photo 12
I
n his book, Sonata, the incredible Juan Tamariz has a wonderful effect called, "Total Coincidence." It uses two decks. I wanted to adapt it to one deck, to make it shorter and less cumbersome to carry. The first phase of my routine is from "Jumbo Coincidence" by my good friend, Aldo Colombini. The set up seems very extensive, but once you understand it, you can do it in less than one minute.Effect: A series of unbelievable coincidences, where Vandella and Walt seem to have
ESP and the cards seem to have a life of their own, changing in sympathetic reaction!
Set-up: Separate the deck into suits. Shuffle the hearts, then
ribbon spread them face up. Arrange the diamonds into the same sequence as the hearts. For example if the hearts run 4, 9, 6, 8, J, 5, 3, A, 7, Q, 2, K, 10, then the diamonds should be arranged: 4, 9, 6, 8, J, 5, 3, A, 7, Q, 2, K, 10. Follow the same procedure with the spades and clubs.
So the hearts and diamonds are separated and the two suits are in the same value order, and the black suits are separated with matching value-order as well (photo 1).
Now switch five or six cards between the two red packets and five or six cards between the two black packets, replacing them so that the values between their respective packets are still in the same sequence but each packet has a mix of two suits (photo 2). Straight cut one red packet and one black packet. Assemble the packets in red, black, red, black order.
Method and performance: Pick up the deck and spread through
it, facing you. Use caution not to allow the audience to see the faces of the cards. Separate the deck where the colors meet at the center (photo 3). Set one half down.
Separate the other half where the colors meet (photo 4). Place these two packets in front of Walt, asking him to riffle shuffle them (mime doing a
riffle shuffle to help explain what you mean). Pick up the other half, separate the colors, and ask Vandella to riffle shuffle them. It is
absolutely imperative that the cards are shuffled only once and it must be a riffle shuffle! Photo 1 Photo 3 Photo 4
COINCIDENTAL
Photo 2Allow them both to give their packets as many straight cuts as they'd like.
Pick up Walt's packet, turning it face up. Spread through it, openly outjogging all the red cards (photo 5). Strip out the red cards (photo 6) and set the black cards down.
Give the red cards a Charlier Shuffle (see notes) and then set them face down in front of Walt. Have him give them a straight cut or two.
Pick up the packet and as you square it, glimpse the bottom card (say, the ten of diamonds) and then table this packet to your far left.
Turn your attention to Vandella and point out that she, like Walt, has shuffled and cut her cards as much as she wanted.
Notice this wording! "... shuffled and cut as much as you
wanted." In fact, she cut as much as she wanted, but only shuffled
once. You don't actually say, "... shuffled as much as you
wanted." The latter would be a lie and she would recognize it as
such. The former wording is ambiguous, and in its ambiguity lays truth. Because of this wording, a seed is planted which may cause her to later remember that she did shuffle as much as she wanted. Most of the time, that's exactly how she does remember it!
Pick up Vandella's cards and separate the reds as you did with Walt’s packet a moment ago. Table the black cards face up. Spread through the reds to show that there are no blacks among them and casually cut the ten of hearts to the face. Set the red packet face down to your far right.
Have Vandella give her face up black packet a few straight cuts. When she is finished, remember the card at the face (say, the eight of spades). Turn this packet face down and table it in front of you, just to your right.
Pick up Walt's black packet and spread it face up, pointing out that the cards have been thoroughly shuffled and cut, and casually cut the eight of clubs to third from the face (photo 7).
Turn this packet face down and spread it between your hands. Ask Vandella to just touch, but not remove, a card. When she touches one, outjog it. Close the spread (leaving the selection outjogged), getting a left pinky break two cards below the
selection (photo 8). Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7
Take all the cards above the break with your palm up right hand (photo 9). It appears that you’re holding the selection at the bottom of this packet, when actually, there are two cards below the selection.
Turn the packet counterclockwise 90 degrees and clamp the outjogged card down on the left packet with your left thumb (photo 10). Place the right hand cards on top of the packet, leaving the selection protruding sideways near the center of the packet (photo 11). Place this packet on the table just to the left of the other black packet.
Using both hands, simultaneously begin dealing the cards face up from both packets into two piles in front of their respective packets (photo 12). None will be mates. When you reach the selection (photo 13), set it aside with the corresponding card from the other packet (photo 14). Finish dealing the rest of the two packets face up simultaneously onto their respective piles. Point out that none of the pairs matched and pick up the left packet. Spread it face up and casually double
undercut (page 35) two cards from the face to the rear. Table this packet face down. Pick up the two cards you set aside and show that they are mates! Drop the selection face down on the face down packet (photo 15). Photo 9 Photo 11 Photo 12 Photo 13 Photo 14 Photo 15 Photo 10
Drop the mate face up on the face up packet (photo 16). Pick up the face up packet and double undercut the top card to the bottom.
Riffle shuffle the face up packet into the face down packet (photo 17), then ribbon spread the cards (photo 18).
Ask Walt to touch any face up card. Beginning at the end of the spread nearest the selection, mentally count the face up cards to the selection.
For example, assume Walt touched the two of spades, and that it is the fifth face up card from the right end of the spread (photo 19). Slide out the two of spades as you mentally count to the fifth face down card from the left end of the spread (photo
20). Get a break above this card as you pick up and square the
packet, leaving the 2S face up on the table.
Classic force the card below the break as you ask Walt to touch any of the face down cards. Everyone will be amazed that he chose the two of clubs, the perfect match to the two of spades! Spread the cards between your hands, outjogging all the face up cards. Strip them out and set them face down to your right. Set
the packet in your left hand face down to the left.
Pick up of the two of spades and two of clubs. Place them face up in front of the two piles. Deal the cards from both packets simultaneously with both hands into two spreads to show that
every pair is now a
perfect match (photo
21)!
Wait quietly while everyone is reacting. Usually, someone will eventually say, "Can
you do that with the red cards?" If someone does, Photo 16 Photo 17 Photo 18 Photo 19 Photo 21 Photo 20
respond, "Well, I doubt it! The black cards weren't good enough?
But, since you asked so nicely..." (If nobody says anything, I
sometimes remark that they may be wondering about the red cards, or sometimes I just end the effect without going to the red cards. For explanation purposes, we’ll continue.)
Slide the two red packets beside the black packets. Deal the red packets face up into two spread piles, simultaneously with both hands as before. Indeed, every red pair is also a perfect match (photo 22)!
The response from the audience will be everything you could hope for! Just one quick a piece of advice: Only use this trick as a closer or encore—it simply cannot be followed!
Notes: For those of you who don’t do the classic force, you can
alter the handling slightly to eliminate it. To refresh your memory, the classic force is used in the phase where the black