One-Way Back Design
T
HIS term is applied to cards the backs of which are so patterned that if after they have been arranged exactly the same way of the reversal of a card, end for end, can be detected by the difference in the pattern. The principle is by no means a new one but Charles Jordan was probably the first to apply it extensively. Annemann and others have also devised some very striking effects that can be done by its aid. Probably the best cards for its use are the Bicycle League Back cards No. 808. In the center of the backs of these cards there are three wings forming a sort of triangle.
Holding a card one way the center wing points to the right, but on turning the card around the other way the wing points to the left. The difference is plain to anyone looking for it, indeed a reversed card can be detected at a distance of several yards, yet it will never be noticed by the uninitiated. It will at once be seen that having a pack with this mark pointing the same way on all the cards any card placed in the pack after it has been reversed can be found with ease no matter how much the pack has been shuffled.
Many of the modern bridge cards can be used in the same way as long as the pattern is not too strikingly a one-way design.
It would be impossible to include all the tricks that have been devised upon this principle. From the following selection the reader win no doubt be able to select many that will appeal to him and perhaps devise others himself, which after all is the most fascinating part of card magic.
Subtle Method Of Setting The Pack Openly
AnnemannHERE is a way to set a pack, which may have been borrowed, right in front of the spectators. Have a card selected, noted, returned and secretly pass it to the top. Bring it to the bottom with an overhand shuffle and sight it, then send it to the middle with a riffle shuffle.
State that you will deal the cards one at a time and instruct the person that when he sees his card he is to think 'STOP,' but if you should pass it by, he is not to say a word. Hold the pack face down and deal the cards on the table one by one, turning them face up and here is where the trickery lies. Suppose that the first card has its indicator at the outer end of the card, turn the card over sideways in placing it face up and turn all the cards that follow with the indicators at the top in the same way, sideways. When you come to a card with the indicator at the inner end, turn it endwise as you lay it face up and treat all other cards pointing inwards in the same fashion. When you turn the chosen card you give no hint that you know it is the card the person selected but you turn the next card in such a way that its indicator will be reversed, and when the whole pack has been dealt it will be the only one reversed.
Confess you have failed and spread the cards out face down, spot the reversed card and running your forefinger along the line thrust it down on the next card above, the chosen card. You have merely to set the one reversed card right and the pack is all set for one-way effects.
Divination SupremeTHIS trick depends on a principle that is very little known even by magicians and should he particularly noted.
Hand a one-way pack, properly arranged, of course, to a spectator to shuffle. This done give him the following instructions: 'Fan the cards with their faces towards you, remove any card that you please and put it
face down on the table. Close the fanned cards and place them on your left hand. Square the pack and put it on top of your card. Cut the cards and complete the cut. Finally take the pack and shuffle it again, then hand it to me.'
If the reader will follow these instructions with the cards in hand he will find that the action reverses the chosen card. The final discovery of the card can be made in any way you please. You may let the spectator deal all the cards in rows and note the position of the reversed card. Cover the cards with a newspaper, observing a headline or paragraph that comes over the chosen card. Then with your eyes bandaged with a folded handkerchief it is a simple matter to stab the chosen card with a penknife. In this case you do not touch the pack from first to last and the feat is a perfect mystery.
The Phantom StabTHE well-known and popular method of discovering selected cards by stabbing them with the point of a knife, becomes a simple matter by the use of one-way cards.
With the pack set with all the cards pointing in one direction give it a thorough overhand shuffle. Allow a free selection to be made by fanning the pack from left to right. As soon as a card is taken, close the fan by putting your right hand on the left side of it and sweeping it to the right, the action reverses the pack with a perfectly natural action. Have the card replaced and again shuffle the pack. Proceed in the same way for the selection of as many cards as are to be used. Finally have the pack shuffled by a spectator while you borrow a penknife and a pocket handkerchief. Place the pack on the table, have the folded handkerchief tied over your eyes, let someone hand you the knife with the open blade and have the point directed to the back of the pack. Remember you are supposed to be unable to see anything. Flick the cards off the pack one by one, when you see a reversed card jab the point into it and hold it up for verification.
After taking a stabbed card off the point of the knife remember to feel for the location of the pack with your left hand before resuming the flicking of the cards from the top. Use any artifice to strengthen the impression that you really cannot see anything.
With this method the cards have to be found just as they come, you do not know to which spectator they belong. The next method remedies this defect.
Five-Card Stabbing Mystery
AnnemannIN BRIEF the effect is that five cards are freely chosen from a shuffled pack, the performer, blindfolded, finds them in regular rotation after the shuffled pack has been spread on the table.
The cards Mr. Annemann recommends for this trick are Bicycle Rider Backs. The distinguishing mark is near the upper left corner. There is a loop which ends in a curl at one end of the card and a white dot at the other end.
With the cards all set the one way the pack is first thoroughly shuffled, then five cards are freely selected by as many spectators. Ask each person after noting his card to hold it against his body so that no one can possibly see the face. This tends to prevent any chance of the cards being turned round. Before the cards are returned turn the pack end for end. Have the first card replaced about the middle, and at once square up the cards very openly. For the second card fan the pack, locate the reverse mark and have the card replaced immediately below the first selected card. Again square the pack in such a way that it is plain that the card is really lost (as all think) in the middle. Continue with the others in the same way.
Call attention to the blindfold and state that the cards will be spread on the table and you spread them out in a long row. Then pick them up by scooping them from right to left until the first reversed card is reached. Square this half of the pack and drop the cards on the table, then gather the remainder in the same way, square them and drop them on top of the others. Now the five selected cards are on the top in order of selection. Leaving the pack on the table for the moment have a spectator blindfold you, either with a regular blindfold or a folded handkerchief. In either case you can see down the sides of your nose all that is necessary to be seen.
This done ask a spectator to hand you the pack, do not pick it up yourself, you are supposed not to be able to see anything. Give the pack two genuine riffle shuffles. This is the puzzling feature of the trick even to magicians. The fact is that the first riffle merely distributes the five cards in the upper half of the pack without altering their relative order and the second riffle sends them in the same way throughout the whole pack still in the same order.
Spread the cards and ask spectator to hand you a penknife, which you had borrowed previously and laid with a blade opened on the table. You can now locate each card with ease, stabbing it and lifting it on the point of the knife as you state whether it is the first, third or whichever it may be.
Instead of spreading the cards you may just flick them off the top of the pack stabbing the cards as you come to them. An effective feint to introduce is to stab nothing once and hold up the knife as if it had a card on it. Hold it till told you have nothing there. Most packs of this brand come with the backs in regular order in which case the feat can be done straight away with a new pack. It is advisable to run over the backs and see that this is so first.
This feat is undoubtedly one of the best card-stabbing effects that can possibly be performed.
A Thought Card ProdigyWITH the one-way pack set with the patterns in order, have the pack shuffled by a spectator. It is well to indicate that you want an overhand shuffle to be made.
Take the pack and allow the spectator to make a free choice of three cards, then tell him that from the three he is to choose one and concentrate his thoughts on it, foregoing the other two entirely. Let him replace them in the pack, which you have reversed in the meantime, the first somewhere near the top, the second in the middle and the third near the bottom. Square the pack, tapping the sides and ends on the table and make a false shuffle.
Tell the person it is absolutely necessary that he shall have a clear picture of the card in his mind and ask him to take another look at it. Spread the pack before his eyes and when you get several cards past the first reversed card ask him if he has seen it. If not, continue in the same way till you pass the second one and again ask him if he has seen his card. If not you know it must be the third but you continue fanning to the last card.
In this way you know which of the three he has chosen and to reveal it you deal the cards face down until you reach the reversed card you know is his. Make several pretended efforts to lay this card down but it appears to cling to your fingers. Have the spectator name his card and turn it over.
The Five SensesFROM a one-way pack which has been thoroughly shuffled have five cards freely selected and noted. Under plea of having the cards replaced, widely separated, go to the last person with the pack face down on your left hand, having first turned it end for end. Lift off all but about six cards and have him put his card on top, drop six or eight cards from the bottom of the pack on it and have the next card replaced, drop some more on it and continue in the same way up to the last card. Square the pack very openly and give the pack several false shuffles and cuts.
Announce that you will find the cards by using the five senses, seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. You noted how many cards you dropped before the first person replaced his card, so put the pack behind your back, count to the card and bring it forward, finding the card by sense of touch. The rest of the trick is obvious, do not find the cards in the exact order they were replaced. For instance, you may find the fifth card next, then the second, the fourth and lastly the third. When you pretend to find a card by hearing riffle the pack-at your ear, removing small packets till on the last riffle the card is on the top of those left and comes next your ear.
Premo Detection
JordanTO PREPARE for this location arrange a pack of one-way cards so that every alternate card is reversed.
By way of satisfying the spectators that the cards will be well mixed deal out any number of heaps of varying numbers of cards but each heap containing an even number. Let anyone assemble the pack by picking up the piles in any order he pleases.
Spread the pack from left hand to right and have a card freely selected. As the card is taken lift the card that was below it so that it becomes the face card of the packet in the right hand. Keep the packets separated and have the card replaced on top of the left-hand packet. Openly drop the cards in the right hand on it. Lay the pack on the table and have the spectator cut it as often as he pleases with complete cuts.
To locate the card run over the backs until you find two cards facing the same way, following them will be two more cards facing in the reverse direction, the first card of this second pair is the chosen card, waiting for you to reveal it in any striking way you like.
Thought In Person
AnnemannFROM a one-way pack which has been thoroughly shuffled fan off five cards in the right hand, turn the rest of the cards face down and hold the pack with its outer end pointing to the right.
Hold the fanned five cards with their faces towards a spectator and ask him to mentally select just one card. This done, turn the fan face downwards and insert the cards one by one in different parts of the pack. The action has reversed the five cards. Hand the pack to the spectator for another shuffle.
Take the pack back and holding it in your left hand run cards from the top into the right hand counting them as you do so. Watch for a reversed card and as soon as one appears, run several more cards, lift off the packet, fan the cards, noting the bottom card of the fan, hold them faces towards the spectator and ask him to say whether his card is amongst them. If it is not drop the packet face down on the table and take. off another fan repeating exactly the same actions. When the spectator sees his card, square that fan and drop it on the other cards on the table remembering the number the reversed card occupied in the fan. Finally drop the remainder of the cards from the left hand on top noting the bottom card as you do so.
You know just how many cards the chosen card is below the card just sighted so that by fanning the cards towards yourself you can pick it out at once. If there happen to be two reversed cards in the fan, put one on the top and the other on the bottom. Have the thought card named and show top or bottom card as the case may require.
Think Stop
AnnemannA PACK of one-way cards, Bicycle Rider cards, for preference, in which the mark to be noted is near the upper left-hand corner.
The trick is presented as a purely mental feat and you take pains to apparently eliminate all possibility of trickery. After having the pack shuffled hold it behind your back for the choice of a card. Keeping the pack behind your back and impressing on the spectator the necessity for him to have a clear mental impression of the card, riffle shuffle the cards, turning them round in the process. The card is returned to the pack and the spectator shuffles the cards.
Taking the pack slowly riffle it before the spectator's eyes asking him to make sure his card is still somewhere in the pack and so getting an opportunity of learning its approximate location in the pack as you watch for the reversed card to show up.
Tell the spectator you will pass the cards slowly before hi s eyes and he is to think 'Stop,' as the card is passed to your right hand. Hold the pack level with the eyes and push the cards off with the left thumb, taking them in the right hand one by one. If the reversed card was well down in the pack turn your head away until you know you are coming near it.
Slightly spread three or four of the top cards and glance at them as you take a card, if the card is not amongst them, turn your head away again, if it is there note if it is second, third, or fourth and turn away. So that when the card is taken off you are not even looking at the back. Take the card, hesitate, say that you feel you are compelled to stay right there and ask if it is the selected card.
The Pack That Isn'tTHIS is a further refinement of the one-way principle but its only practical use is to 'foot' a spectator who knows and is looking for the one-way set-up. To prepare for it first put all the cards in the one-way order. Next separate all the red cards from the black, turn the pile of red cards end for end and riffle the two piles together. All the red cards will have their indicators pointing one way while those of the black cards point in the other direction.
Thus prepared have the pack shuffled and have a card freely selected and noted. Reverse the pack and have the card replaced. Square up and have the pack again shuffled.
Take the pack face down in the left hand and deal the cards face up, telling the spectator to think 'Stop' when his card appears. You watch the designs on the backs and note which way the different colored cards point. When you reach a card which points in the other direction to the rest of the cards of that color you know that it is the selected card and accordingly you obey the mental command to stop.
The method can be used for several cards at the same time.
Twentieth-Century Sorcery
JordanTHIS is a special feat possible only with one make of cards, the Bicycle cards, blue thistle backs, air cushion finish. In packs of this brand there is not only a clearly defined difference in the designs at each end of the backs but two cards are always reversed in packing the cards in their cases. The two cards are the AS and the 2D, the marks to be noted are the vertical lines to the right of the left shin of the capped brownie, there are two at one end but only one at the other.
With such a pack, hand it to a spectator unopened. Write names of the two cards, AS and 2D on a slip of paper, fold it and hand it to someone to place in his pocket. The pack is taken from its case and shuffled. Deal it face down into a number of irregular heaps but you take care to end one heap with one of the reversed cards and begin another heap with the other. In assembling the packets pick up the cards in such a way that the cards become the top and bottom cards of the pack. If you can, now make a false shuffle and cut. Take the Joker which should have been discarded at the outset, place it on top and have a spectator make one complete cut.
Instruct the spectator to turn the pack face up and take out the card preceding the Joker and the one following it. They are the AS and the 2D. Have your slip produced and read.
(Editor's Note.) We cannot say whether the Thistle Back cards used in this trick are still available but we are including the trick because it is one of the earliest descriptions of the reverse principle and shows the ingenuity of Mr. Jordan. The idea of the trick is excellent and with a little thought and prearrangement can be worked out with one of the modern packs.
The Four-Pile Location
AnnemannTHE trick is based on the same principle used in an older feat in which six cards of one suit are placed on the top of the pack and six others on the bottom. Four cards being discarded, including the thirteenth of the selected suit, the remainder are dealt into six piles so that there is one card of the suit at the top and bottom of each pile.
In this case, however, the one-way principle is used to attain the same end in a very subtle manner. The one-way pack is first shuffled. Take it and, to show the spectator what he is to do, deal four cards face down in a row and another four cards on these. Change the pack from one hand to another, reversing it in the process. Scoop up two of the packets and drop them on top of the pack. Put the other two packets together and drop the pack on them.
Hand the pack to the spectator who deals four piles in regular succession one card to each pile, while your back is turned. There will now be four piles of cards having a reversed card on the top and the bottom. He is instructed to take a card from the middle of any packet, note what card it is, place it on top of any other packet and assemble the packets in any order he pleases. The result will be that one pair of reversed cards will have a strange card between them, the selected card. You have only to reveal the card in as striking a manner as you are able.
It will be noted that in nearly all these 'impossible' locations the card is merely picked out and shown. Once the card has been discovered it should be revealed in some magical manner thus enhancing the mystery.
The Cut Pack Location
AnnemannTHE one-way pack is thoroughly shuffled and placed face down on your left hand which you hold outwards a little to the left and your head is turned towards the right. Invite a spectator to cut the pack anywhere and note the bottom card of the cut.
As he does this turn farther to the right and your left hand swings around so that you hold the packet behind your back. The cut is then replaced and the pack is taken by the spectator, put on the table and cut several times with complete cuts. (Before the cut was made you noted and committed to memory the bottom card of the pack.)
The halves of the pack now point in different directions, the selected card is thus the last card of one of the halves or the one before the next card that is turned the opposite way.
Remembering the original bottom card that you noted, take the pack and deal the cards into a face-up pile and watch the back of the pack in the left hand. When you see the next card reversed the card dealt will either be the original bottom card or the selected card. If the first, continue dealing until another reversed card appears when the card just dealt will be the selected card.
The conditions in this feat are just about as strict as can be devised for a location.
A Card Is Found Once More
AnnemannTHIS is one of the subtlest methods yet devised for the use of the one-way pack.
Have the pack shuffled, take the pack back and cut it about the middle. Cut by the ends, holding the cut cards between the right thumb and second finger. Put the left-hand packet face down on the table, turn the right hand over bringing it palm upwards, take the packet in the left hand and put it face down beside the other packet. The action has reversed the cards. One packet has the backs of its cards pointing in one direction, the other in the opposite way.
Turn away and instruct a spectator to take one card from either packet, note it and put it in the opposite packet. This done, turn round, pick up the packets with the fingers of each hand at the outer ends and riffle the two packets together. This will bring all the cards pointing in the same direction except the one the spectator changed over from one packet to the other.
You can now reveal the card by having the spectator think 'Stop' as you deal the cards face up, or in any other way you may fancy.
Odd Or Even
AnnemannFOR this feat with a one-way pack the Joker must be discarded and the full fifty-two cards used. Arrange the cards so that the back designs point alternately up and down. By this arrangement you can tell instantly if a number of cards cut off is even or odd. Note the way the design on the back of the top card points, if the top card of those remaining in your hand after the cut points in the same direction an even number of cards has been taken off and vice versa.
Do this twice, allowing a spectator to cut freely. Count the cards without disarranging them and drop them back on top. Put the pack face down on the table and invite a spectator to cut a packet, laying it alongside and from this another few cards so that the three piles lie side by side. Thus you have the bottom part of the pack, the middle portion and the top part, call them 1, 2, 3. Touching each packet you state whether it is odd or even.
By comparing 1 and 3, you know 1: 1 and 2, you know 2: 2 and 3, you know 3. If the points agree the cards are even in number, if they disagree it is odd.
In proving your statements by counting the cards one by one, begin with the left packet, count the second packet on top in the same way and lastly the packet to the right. The cards are then again in the same order.
Follow this with the next feat.
The Alternate Detection
AnnemannWITH the one-way pack alternated as in the last trick, cut it several times and place it face down on your left hand. Turn your head away, hold out your left hand and have a spectator cut the pack and complete the cut. Tell him to take the top card and note what it is. As he does this invite a second spectator to take the next card and look at it. Have the first card returned face down on the top of the pack and the second one on top of that. Cut the pack once and hand it to a third person.
Instruct him to deal the cards face up into two packets, one card at a time alternately. One of the chosen cards will be found reversed in each packet. The two who took cards having watched the deal know which packet contains their card. Asking the first to hand you the packet with his card in it, shuffle it thoroughly, overhand method, and work the 'Stop' effect. Do the same with the second card.
The preceding trick and this one make two very effective openers for a series of one-way tricks.
A New Kink
AnnemannTHIS is an undetectable method for getting a card reversed in a one-way pack.
Let a spectator make a free selection from the pack and immediately hand the pack to a second spectator to hold while the card is returned to it. He then shuffles the cards overhand style and hands the pack to you.
Nothing could appear to be fairer yet you find the card since the mere action of handing the pack to the second spectator has reversed it.
Eight In A Row
AnnemannTHIS trick can be worked with any one-way pack without having to arrange them all the same way.
Hand the pack to a spectator asking him to thoroughly shuffle it and then deal a row of cards face down. Now you can only turn cards over in two ways, either sideways or endwise. The first keeps the cards pointing in the same direction, the other reverses it. Bearing this in mind turn over the eight cards to show their faces and, in turning them, bring them all pointing in the same way.
Invite a spectator to select one card and turn it face down. Note which method he uses in turning the card and turn all the others over with the other method. Slide all the cards together and have the spectator mix them, then deal again in a face-down row. Let your forefinger drift over them back and forth, then suddenly drop it on one card. Turn it up, it is the card.
When doing it with a borrowed pack having a one-way design pattern boldly assert that all cards can be read from their backs and prove it by doing the trick. This will always start an argument especially amongst card players.
Gardener's Unique Principle
One-Way LocationsTHIS is a new idea which can be applied only to one-way cards, the designs of which extend to the edges of the cards, that is the backs must have no borders. When the cards are fanned it is possible to tell which way each back pattern faces by looking at the exposed left edges. Nearly all the modem bridge-size packs are suitable for the use of this principle. The one-way idea is employed in a very novel and undetectable fashion as will be seen by following explanation of the three tricks following.
I. Second Card Location
A suitable pack being in use it is not prepared or arranged in any way and may be thoroughly shuffled by a spectator to begin with. Take the pack in the left hand and with the thumb fan it slightly so that the left edges of all the cards are exposed. Look at these edges and quickly locate the largest section of cards facing the same way.Let it be assumed that the cards have either light or dark edges according to the way they are facing. Look for the longest run of either light or dark edges, this group will be referred to throughout as the 'run'. If the desired run does not show up cut the cards and this may bring about the desired result by bringing the top and bottom cards together in the middle.
Usually an obvious run will occur somewhere in the pack but if not you can do several things. You may do some other trick and try for a run after it. Or you can hand the pack to someone else for further shuffling. Again, if there is no run which is obviously the longest there will always be at least two or three runs of about the same size. In this last case use the run that is farthest to the right but until some practice has been had with the system it is safest to wait until one long run makes its appearance.
Let us suppose that you have located a fairly long run. Fan the cards so that the spectator must make a choice near the top or the bottom of the run, or you may force the top card of the run. If, however, the spectator takes a card from another part of the pack, maneuver so that it is replaced either inside the run or within a card or two of it. All you have to do then is to remember the position of the card in relation to the run. For instance, third card inside the run on the left, or third card outside the run on the right, or as the case may be. Close the pack, square it very openly and have it cut as often as desired, with complete cuts of course.
To locate the card takes an instant only. Simply fan the cards, note the run and you can pull out the card at once or deal with it as you please. In case the spectator insists on pushing his card in at some point remote from the run, you will remember its location by counting, not the single cards, but the groups of cards of the same color as the long run. A little practice will make the process quite easy.
II. Long Distance Location
A card having been selected, noted and replaced either just inside the run or just outside, have the pack squared and cut as in No. 1; do not take the pack. Instruct the spectator to stand some distance from you and fan the pack widely, backs to you; he is then to pass his finger slowly over the top of the fanned cards. When his finger is above the card you call 'Stop'. Knowing just where to look for the card it will show up quite plainly.III. The Super Spread
IN this case the principle allows of the location of a card under conditions which cannot be duplicated by any other method. Let a spectator shuffle and spread the cards on the table. Look at the edges and locate your run. Invite spectator to touch a card and just lift a corner to note what card it is, as he does this count to the nearest edge of the run by groups of cards as above. Spectator gathers up the cards and cuts as often as he pleases (complete cuts).Take the pack for the first time and fan it with the faces towards the spectator. Locate the card and then move your finger above the fan until it is over the card, then stop.
You must watch the way the spectator spreads the cards. If he does it the same way that you do all is well, but if he makes his spread the opposite way you must either do the same or turn the cards around before spreading them. Or again you may use the opposite color in your calculation. If when the spectator spreads the cards the run was of light color, when they are spread the opposite way it will be a dark color.
The run may be located by merely pushing the cards a little off square. All you have to see is the edges of the cards so that the colors show up. You can then cut the pack at the selected card.
Simple Triple Location
GrantSHUFFLE the pack overhand and fan the cards, inviting several persons, say three, to choose cards. As each one draws a card tell him to look at it and hold the card close to himself so that no one else may know it. (This prevents them turning the cards round.) In the action of closing the fan, or shuffling, turn the pack end for end and have the chosen cards replaced; thus these few cards will be reversed and easily found no matter how much the pack may now be shuffled. You can disclose them in any number of ways to suit your fancy. For instance, spread the cards face down and stab them with a knife-blade. This is just as easy to do while blindfolded by peeking down along the nose-and much more effective.
No Dice
GrantOPENLY remove from the pack two series of cards, running from 1 to 6, and in doing so set them all one way and shuffle without disturbing this feature. A spectator removes any two cards and if he gets a total of 7 or 11 he wins, as in the regular dice game. If other than these totals he keeps drawing-two cards at a time--trying to make his point. If he draws a total of 7 before making his point, he loses, according to the usual rules. Then he shuffles the cards (overhand) and you draw two cards, say they are a 5 and 4 making 9 for your point, in replacing the cards reverse them. Now, no matter how much the spectator shuffles. you can reach in and remove these two cards at any time, making your point and winning the game.
The Vanishing Mirror
GrantREMOVE the four A's from the pack remarking that you will expose how gamblers cheat. Show the A's Ad replace them in the pack reversed and hand the cards to be shuffled. Explain that gamblers have been known to use a small mirror concealed behind something on the table. 'For example,' you say, 'we will hide the mirror behind this book on the table.' Pretend to place a small something behind the book. 'Now, as the gambler deals the cards he is able to tell the identity of each card, and when he comes to an ace he deals it to whichever hands lie wishes, like this.' while talking pretend to see the faces of the cards in the mirror behind the book, and when you come to the A's toss them to one side; you know them by the reversed back pattern, of course.
Show these cards to be A's and for the climax, remark--'But if one is a magician he goes the gambler one better... will someone remove the book?' And to their surprise there is no mirror there.
The Marked Pack
GrantWHEREVER card games are played you are likely to find a pack of Bicycle League cards in use. If the game is Bridge most of the modern Bridge packs are one-way designs. Noticing this to be the case you remark that most packs of cards are secretly marked by the manufacturer and, while talking along this line, run through the cards, apparently studying the backs but really sorting them so that all the cards are one way except the A's which you leave reversed. Hand the pack to be shuffled, take it back and as you deal it face down you pick out the A's. There will be plenty of folks to offer you all kinds of money to teach them to read any cards from the backs. This stunt is quite sensational, creates good publicity and provokes a lot of favorable comment.
The Fingerprint Discovery
GrantHAVE a card selected, noted, and returned to the pack reversed. Hand the pack to be shuffled and then spread the cards face down on the table. With a remark about the importance of fingerprints in the detection of crime, open your pocket-knife and have the spectator press his thumb on the blade. (A table knife will do.) Now pretend to study the fingerprints on the knife, then look over the backs of the cards, making comparisons. If you have a pocket magnifying glass use this to build up the deception. Finally pick out the reversed card.
Living And Dead Test
GrantDEAL a dozen cards all one way. Ask someone to select one card and write the name of a deceased person on the face. Have it replaced in the group in reversed position and have the packet shuffled. Borrow a hat and put it on the table crown downwards. State that you will endeavor to determine the card with the inscription by the sense of touch. Hold the packet in the left hand, take off the top card and show its face then put it in the hat. Repeat this operation without looking at any of the faces yourself, until you come to the reversed card, which you recognize by the reversed back pattern, and lift two cards as one so that the spectators see the face of the indifferent card. As you put the two in the hat, as one card, flip the upper card face up in the hat so that you can steal a glance at the name written on it. Before placing all the cards in the hat, act as if you had failed and start all over again.
Remove the cards from the hat and put them on the stack again, shuffle and again show one card at a time and drop them into the hat. When you come again to the reversed card, hesitate, concentrate and then say, 'This is the card of death and the spirit from beyond answers to the name of ..............
A Count Down Discovery
GrantREVERSE the top card of the pack. Shuffle, retaining the to card, hand the pack to a spectator and turn your back. Instruct him to deal any number of cards he desires face down on the table, look at the top card, remember it and replace the dealt cards. Tell him to square up the pack and give it one complete cut. Face the spectators, pick up the pack and fan it with the backs towards yourself. Tell the person to think intently of his card and you will discover it by psychic force or what you will. Close your eyes and run your first finger over the top edges of the top cards, suddenly stopping upon the very card that was chosen. On trial you will find that you can apparently close your eyes, yet the lids are not completely closed and you can still see enough to spot the location of the reversed card. This is the locator card and the card the spectator looked at will be just below this reversed card.
Siamese Twins
GrantHAVE the top card of the pack reversed. Allow a spectator to select any two cards, take one and place it on the top of the pack reversed; the other, also reversed you put somewhere near the bottom. Do this openly, calling attention to the fact that the cards are widely separated. Square up the pack and make one complete cut. Hold the pack face down in the left hand and draw out the cards from the bottom, one by one, placing them face down on the table in a pile. When you deal the first reversed card (the indifferent card that you had reversed on the top at the start), draw back the next card and continue dealing, retaining it at the bottom. When the next reversed card appears, draw out the one you have held back and deal it on top, thus bringing the two selected cards together. Finish the deal, then inquire the names of the two chosen cards. Sweep the pack out face up on the table with a dramatic gesture and show that the two cards have come together in some mysterious fashion.
Your Card, Your NumberFROM a one-way pack, arranged in order, allow a spectator to freely select any card, note what it is and push it back into the pack at any point, you, of course, having first turned the pack around. Shuffle overhand and have the pack cut several times.
Announce that you have such control over the cards that by simply riffling the ends you can find the chosen card. Holding the pack in your left hand face down and close to your eyes, riffle the cards slowly with your right thumb releasing them one at a time. As soon as the reversed card appears, stop, pick up that card and the one below it, remove the two cards, as one, and show with an air of triumph the face of the indifferent card. The spectator denies that the card is his, so you put the two cards, still as one, on the top of the pack.
To retrieve your lost laurels state that you will make the card appear at any number the spectator calls. Suppose he chooses 8. Stand with your left side to the front, hold the pack face down on the left hand with the fingers curled over the right hand side. With the right thumb and fingers lift the two top cards as one as if opening a book-the right hand revolves to the right, showing the face of the card. Count 'One,' and point to the card with the left forefinger (the chosen card is at the back of this card). Bring the right hand down again and take off another card in exactly the same way bringing it against the face of the first, count 'Two.' Continue in the same way up to the seventh card, as you lift this one, the left fingers press against the chosen card at the back of the packet and as the right hand turns, they pull this card on to the top of the pack.
Have the spectator name his card and slowly turn it face up. The moves should be made very slowly and openly. Smoothly done the slip cannot be detected.
Elimination ExtraordinaryEFFECT. A pack of cards is handed to a spectator who shuffles it thoroughly and retains possession of it (the magician does not touch the pack from first to last). Performer writes a prediction on a slip of paper which is placed in an envelope and held by a spectator. The cards are dealt into a number of piles until after a process of selection and elimination by the person who deals, one card only is left face down on the table. The prediction is read, it is the name of the very card that has been left on the table.
METHOD. The pack used is a one-way pack in which all the cards have been set the one way with the exception of one which is reversed. It is the name of this card which the performer writes on a slip of paper and seals in an envelope. The pack is shuffled, overhand fashion, and cut as often as the spectator may wish. He is then instructed to deal the cards into a number of face-down piles. The performer has simply to note in which pile the reversed card falls and by playing upon the words 'take' and 'leave' interprets the spectator's choice in such a way that that pile only remains, the others being eliminated. The cards in the pile are again dealt into several heaps and again he notes which contains the reversed card. The process is continued until finally one card only, the reversed card is left on the table.
The trick should be carried through in a breezy style, without giving the spectator too much time to think.
Reading The Cards
C. O. WilliamsTHIS combination of one-way cards with a prearrangement is strengthened by the fact that a genuine shuffle is made, and yet the cards can be read while they are face down.
To prepare: first set the cards in one-way order, then separate the D's and C's from the S's and H's. Call the first packet A and the second B. Arrange the A cards by putting the KD face up on the table, on it the 10C, 7D, 4C, AD, and so on, the suits alternating and the values of the cards being three lower with each card.
Turn the cards of packet B so that the indicators point in the opposite direction to those of packet A, then place the KH face up on the table, on it the 10S, and continue the series in the same manner as in packet A. Place packet A on top of packet B and the pack is ready for the trick.
The originator recommends that this prepared pack be substituted for the one in use after several tricks in which the cards have been well shuffled. Then by splitting the pack at the lowest card of packet A, execute a rifle shuffle in a very open fashion, and have the pack cut several times. The arrangement of each series is not interfered with, the cards follow in regular order but the cards of one series are interspersed between cards of the other series. You know which series a card belongs to by the direction in which the indicators point.
In picking up the cards after the last cut sight the bottom card, suppose it is the KD if the indicator tells you that the top card belongs to the same series, you know at once that the card is the 10C, and that all the other cards facing in that direction follow in regular order. When the first card of series B appears a good plan is to take it off and hand it for examination to prove there are no marks on the cards and sight it. You are then set for the cards of that series as well.
Ne Plus Ultra Location
WimboroughTO PREPARE for this effect, first arrange the one-way pack in proper order, that is with the indicators all in the same direction, then reverse thirteen cards on the top and thirteen cards on the bottom.
With the pack in this condition hand it to a spectator, turn your back and instruct him to cut the cards and complete the cut, making it impossible for you to know the position of any card; then to take a card from the middle, remember it, put it on the top and finally cut the pack several times, completing the cut each time. This done you turn, take the pack, and locate the card.
This is made possible by the fact that almost invariably the pack is cut very near the middle so that when the cut is completed the two packets of cards that were reversed at the top and bottom are brought together in the middle, and again at the top and bottom there will be small packets reversed. Therefore if a card is taken from the middle, placed on the top and the pack again cut, it will be amongst a number of cards pointing in the opposite direction.
It has to be admitted that the trick is not infallible but the odds are in favor of success. It is for the reader to decide if he cares to run the risk of a possible failure.
One In Ten Detection
AnnemannTHE one-way pack is first set in proper order. To begin the trick, shuffle the cards thoroughly with an overhand shuffle and then cut at about the middle. Lay the packets side by side with one of them pointing in the opposite direction. To do this use the move described in the trick 'A Card is found Once More' in this chapter.
Ask a spectator to think of a small number and, when you turn your back, to transfer that number of cards from one heap to the other, and square both packets perfectly. This done, turn round, pick up the packets with your fingers at the outer ends and riffle shuffle them together. All the cards with the exception of those transferred will point in the same direction. Shuffle the cards overhand as you tell the spectator that you will deal the cards face up, and that each time he sees a card with the same number of spots as the number he thought of he is to say to himself 'That's my number.' Explain that as this will be repeated four times you are sure to get the right impression by the repetition.
Deal the cards and count the number of cards reversed, then pick out a card having that number of spots and place it face down on the table. When he names his number, let him turn the card himself.
Uni-Mentality
AlbrightTHIS version depends on the use of a one-way pack. With the pack arranged, the cards being all the same way, let the spectator shuffle it overhand and ask him to think of any card he pleases as he does so. Take the pack and telling him you have an impression of the color but need a stronger impression of the card, spread the faces of the cards towards him and have him take out five cards, the thought-of card to be one of them. As he looks at these to impress the card on his mind, quietly reverse the pack, and have him place the five cards in different parts of the pack. Give the cards a genuine overhand shuffle. Again have him remove five cards with his card amongst them-the one with the pattern reversed will be his card. Fan these five widely before his eyes with the reversed card in the middle, turn the lower left corner and read the index. Replace the cards in the pack and finish by announcing the color, suit and value of the card in the usual hesitating manner as if reading his mind.
Challenge Of The Year
AnnemannTHE Bicycle League Back cards No. 808 should be used for this subtle effect since the reversed card can be detected at a distance of from fifteen to twenty feet.
With the pack in its case you invite two spectators to assist. We will call them No. 1 and No. 2. Take the pack from its case and shuffle overhand. Hand it to No. 1 and walk away. Instruct him to also shuffle overhand, spread the cards in a fan and allow No. 2 to pick out a card and note what it is. He is then to turn his back, hold the pack behind him for No. 2 to push his card back amongst the others. Spectator No. 2 then takes the pack and he shuffles it overhand.
Again you have No. 1 take the pack, stand opposite you, hold the cards face down, lift them one by one and look at each card for a second, then lay it aside.
From a distance of from fifteen to twenty feet the reversed wing can be sighted and this makes the trick a very strong one as any possible suspicion of there being a mark on the cards is thereby erased and the trick is left a complete mystery.
You can finish by calling 'Stop,' or by having No. 2 also watch the faces of the cards and pretend to tell by his expression when the card arrives.
Card Location SupremeTHIS location can only be used satisfactorily with one-way cards that have the distinguishing mark somewhere near the top left-hand corner so that it can be located when the cards are fanned from right to left, the natural way. The advantage is that the cards do not have to be set all the one way.
After having such a pack shuffled by the spectator to his satisfaction spread the cards and allow him to take any card he pleases and note what it is. When he returns his card, by pushing it in the spread, quickly note the way it and five cards above it lie, starting at the fifth card above it and mentally saying to yourself 'Up, down, down, down, up, down,' or whatever the combination may be. Push the card flush, close the spread and square the pack. Put it down and have it cut several times with complete cuts. You can then locate the cards by turning away and running over the cards till you come to the sequence or deal the cards on the table locating it as you do so. There may possibly be a similar sequence by coincidence, in which case you place one of the cards at the top the other at the bottom. Have the card named and show it accordingly.
You can repeat by having the spectator name any number between ten and fifty-two then deal that number of cards face down and note the top card of the pile when the number is reached. In this case mentally subtract five from the number chosen and when that card is dealt memorize its position and the five cards following it. The rest of the pack is dropped on top, the pack squared and cut. In this case as the sequence is reversed, you must either turn your back to find it, or deal the cards with them face up in your left hand, turning them face down as you put them on the table.
When the card is located it is a weak finish to simply hand the card out. Produce it in some magical fashion.
Hummer Detection
JordanANY pack with a one-way pattern may be used and it is not necessary for it to be arranged with the backs in order. A borrowed pack will do provided it has the one-way back pattern.
Hand the pack to a spectator to shuffle, remove any card, note and replace it while your back is turned. Two other persons each take a card and retain them. This done turn and take the pack. Deal it into two piles, in one pile place all the cards pointing in one direction, those pointing the other way in the second pile. Remove any card, hold it with face towards yourself, from whichever pile the spectator points to. Ask him to name his card and without showing the card you hold, say 'Correct,' and put it face down on the table. 'Now for the next one.' Put the two piles together so that they all point in the same direction. Have the second person's card replaced, reversed square the cards and shuffle. Run through the faces of the cards, find the first spectator's card and put it on the top. Then turn the pack face down and find the second card by its reversed pattern, put it also on the top, sighting its face as you do so. 'Good.' Name it and ask if you are right, 'Good. Then I'll just place it face down on the of naming the first spectator's card and suiting the action to the word.
Treat the third person's card in exactly the same way as the second, locating it by the reversed back pattern, naming it and putting it on the other two. Pick up all three, as you say, but really there are four, and put them on the top of the pack. Turn them over one by one, naming them as you do so. The misdirection employed with regard to the first card must be carried through smoothly and without the slightest hesitation. Well done the trick is a very puzzling one.
Instant Mind-ReadingTHE trick is nothing more than the location of a card replaced reversed in a one-way pack. To make it effective a great point must be made of having the cards thoroughly shuffled by a spectator before a card is selected and after it has been returned. To do this with the least possible risk of failure hand the pack to someone who habitually shuffles the cards with the overhand method. Have him select a card. Reverse the pack for its return, square up very openly and let him again shuffle to his heart's content. If all has gone well and the cards have not been disarranged, you have merely to hold the pack in your left hand and riffle the ends with your right thumb. When the reversed card appears note what it is and finish the riffle as being a mere flourish.
Take the spectator's hand, put it to your forehead and tell him to concentrate on the name of his card. Finally name the card, color first, then suit and finally the value.
A Counter LocationIN A one-way pack with its back patterns all facing the one way, reverse the tenth, twentieth, thirtieth and fortieth cards.
Thus prepared, make several false shuffles and cuts, then spread the cards face down on the table. Invite a spectator to look the cards over making a mental selection of a card, then to merely turn up the index corner and ascertain what it is. This done instruct him to gather up the cards, square the pack and hand it to you. You locate the card at will.
The secret is simple. As the spectator looked at the index corner you had ample time to count the number of cards between his card and the reversed card above it. When the pack is handed to you, a couple of overhand shuffles in which you run off the right number of cards will bring his card to the top to be dealt with as you wish.
A Principle In Disguise
Harry VosburghTHE following clever idea is taken from the Jinx, Summer Number for 1935, by the kind permission of Mr. Annemann.
Arrange your one-way pack so that one half the cards have the patterns pointing one way and the other half pointing in the opposite direction. Have a card freely selected from one half and have it returned to the other. Now cut the pack at the point where the two sections join, and riffle shuffle the halves together bringing the cards all pointing the same way. Then regardless of which half received the card. it will now be the only one reversed in the pack.
Again you may reverse and remember the bottom card, all the other cards pointing in the same direction. Allow a spectator to choose a card freely. As. he notes what it is, give the pack an overhand shuffle bringing the bottom card to the top, square the pack and have the selected card pushed in at any point. The direction of the top card of the pack thus jibes with that of the returned card so that if the spectator has any suspicion that the one-way principle is being used he will be thrown right off the track.
The Perfect Guesser
LarsenFOR this effect use a one-way pack and arrange all the black cards pointing one way, the reds the other way. Now put the black and red cards alternately. The cards can then be cut as often as may be desired, with complete cuts, of course. By sighting the bottom card, as you put the pack down, you learn the color of the top card; if the bottom card is red, the top one must be black and vice versa.
Let anyone call for a color and give him a paper knife to thrust into the pack. Slide the cards above the knife to one side far enough to note which way the card below it lies. Then you allow him to look at that card or the one above the knife as may be necessary.
Red or Black
AnnemannA WELCOME departure from the eternal 'Please take a card,' type of trick, this depends for its effect mainly on subtle misdirection. A pack of one-way cards properly arranged is required.
Have the pack shuffled by a spectator and then instruct him to turn the cards face up and deal them into two packets-one of red cards, the other of black ones-side. by side on to the table. Pick them up one in each hand, fingers at the outer ends and thumbs at the inner, and riffle shuffle. This will set the reds and the blacks with the back indicators pointing in opposite directions. A further overhand shuffle may be made and the pack cut several times with complete cuts. Ask a spectator to cut the pack about the middle and take one of the piles.
You do not know which way either of the colors lie but you say that you will turn up a card from your packet and that from it you will tell the color of the corresponding card in his packet. Turn your top card and name Red or Black by guess. You have a 50-50 chance, and wrong or right, you now have the key to the remaining cards. You merely pretend to consult your cards, really noting which way the cards of the spectator's point and name them accordingly.
Do not continue the effect for more than ten or twelve cards at the outside.
Transcendental VisionTHIS feat depends on the use of a one-way pack prearranged as to the suits and values of the cards.
With all the cards set one way lay out the following heaps:
- 8S, 10S, 8H, 9H, JC, QC, KC, Call this D. Value 8.
- 4S, 6S, QS, KS, 4H, 5H, 7D, Call this C. Value 4.
- 2S, 7S, JS, 2C, 10C, 3D, 6D, Call this B. Value 2.
- AC, 7C, 3H, KH, 5D, 9D, JD, Call this A. Value 1.
- Any seven cards.
- Any seven cards.
- Any seven cards.
Reverse the fourth heap, we will call this A: and turn the seven heaps face down. Pick up a card from each heap in rotation, beginning with heap No. 1. Add the three cards left over and the Joker.
Thus prepared, begin by discarding the Joker and the three top cards. Have the pack cut and dealt into seven piles, each pile will then be made up of the prearranged cards as above. Let the spectator shuffle each heap separately but have them replaced on the table in the same order. You find heap A since its cards are reversed, heap B will be the next one to the right, C and D following in order. If any one of the heaps happen to be the last in the row, continue the count from the first heap.
Invite the spectator to merely think of any card in an imaginary pack, then show him the heaps in this order: A, B, C, D, asking each time, 'Do you see a card of the same value as the one you are thinking of?' And then, 'Do you see a card of the same suit here?' Ignore the heaps not containing the value of his card but add together the numerical equivalents of those that do: eleven signifies a J; twelve a Q; thirteen a K.
If his suit is not in A, it must be Spades; if not in B, Hearts; if not in C, Clubs; if not in D, or if in A, B and C, it is Diamonds. For instance, value is present in A, C, D, but suit is not in B, the card thought of is the KH. The three discards are merely to be used as blinds.
Find The Lady
GrantREMOVE two K's and a Q, reversing the Q. Hand the three cards to a person to shuffle together so that neither he nor anyone else can know which is the Q, then have them put face down in a row. Borrow three envelopes and hand one of these to a party telling him to take the first card and slide it in so that nobody knows what card it is. You know the Q by the reversed pattern on the back and when you hand out an envelope for the insertion of this card, secretly mark it with your thumbnail. The closed envelopes are then mixed up while your back is turned. Turn and put the envelopes to your forehead one by one. When you get the marked one announce dramatically, 'There is a feminine vibration here.' Toss the envelope to someone to open and remove the Q.
Call Me Up Sometime
GrantASK someone to name the four digits comprising their telephone number. Turn the faces of the cards towards yourself and pick out four cards with spot values to correspond with the digits called, but as you do this, secretly bring the four Q's to the top of the pack and reverse them. Toss the four number cards to the table and hand the pack to be shuffled.
Take the pack back, fan it out and apparently place the number cards in the fan haphazardly, really placing them next below each of the reversed Q's. Let the cards protrude a little so that all may see that they go into different parts of the pack. Close the fan and cut. Remark, 'Let's see what kind of a phone number our friend has.' Turn the cards face up and fan them out. Find the number cards one by one and show that each one has located a Q. You say, 'That sure is a good number.'
(Editor's Note): Have the number cards replaced face up in a face-down fan, one above each reversed Q. Let spectator cut the pack, then re-fan the cards backs to the audience so that the number cards stand out. Now have spectator pick out the face-up number cards and at the same time withdraw the face-down card below each, and lay them on the table without looking at the bottom card. Finish as above by dramatically turning up the Q'S.
A Miracle
AnnemannHAND the pack to a person telling him first of all to shuffle 'like this', indicating an overhand shuffle. Then fan out the pack and allow any other person to freely choose a card.... That's right! ... Now put the pack behind your back and let him replace his card where he likes and push it in flush. This action will have automatically reversed the card.
Now instruct the person who drew the card to take the pack and remove one card at a time, looking at each one. You watch the backs of the cards as he does this. You can place your hand over your eyes, pretending intense concentration, but you can see through your fingers. When he holds the reversed card to his eyes call 'Stop'. Continue. . . 'I have an impression that you are now looking at the very card you have in mind.' Very effective, from first to last you do not touch the cards.
Thought Transference
GrantAN EXCEPTIONAL mystery for two people. Your assistant leaves the room. Any spectator deals sixteen cards face up in four rows of four cards each. He points out any one card and the entire audience is asked to concentrate on that card. You turn the cards face down. Assistant returns and immediately calls the name of the card.
This is done by means of a code as follows: Starting at the upper left-hand corner of the group the cards are numbered, mentally, 1, 2, 3, 4, from left to right of the first row; 5, 6, 7, 8, in the second row; 9, 10, J, Q, in the third row. The last row signals the suit thus, C, H, S, D. For example, suppose the card was the 5C. You would turn all the cards sideways in putting them face down except the first card in the second row and the first card in the fourth row, turn these endwise. If a K is chosen, reverse a card for the suit only. All the assistant has to do, therefore, is to note the positions of the reversed cards and then announce the name of the chosen card as dramatically as possible.
Say When
GrantWITH the one-way pack in your hand go into the audience and borrow a hat. On the way back secretly drop three cards into it face down. Place the hat crown downwards on the table. Hand the pack to be shuffled and then have fifteen cards counted on your hand. From these have three cards selected and noted, reverse the packet and have them replaced. Have the packet again shuffled.
Step back to the hat, count the cards off into the hat one by one so that they go right on top of the three cards already there. Each time you come to a reversed card drop it to one side of the pile in the hat. Reach in and remove the packet, leaving the three reversed cards, the chosen cards, behind. Recount the cards showing there are fifteen.
Ask anyone to call out any number from one to fifteen. Count to that number slowly and openly and drop that card into the hat beside the three already there. Gather the packet together and again have a number called, count to it and drop that card in, proceed in like manner with a third number. Lay stress on the point that three cards have been selected by numbers freely called by spectators and reach into the hat and bring out the three reversed cards, throwing the remainder of the packets on top of the three in the hat. Have the cards named and show the faces. For club work use an easel to display the cards, putting them face down first then turning them as they are named.
The Drunk Plays Bridge
AlbrightMOST Bridge packs are natural one-way patterns, which makes possible an excellent impromptu Bridge trick at the conclusion of regular play.
As you gather up the cards to replace them in the host's card case, set all the pack one way except the thirteen cards of the S suit, which you reverse. Now, at the psychological moment say that you will demonstrate how 'some of the boys played Bridge the other night. They were slightly tipsy, but one more so than the others ... in fact he was practically drunk and everybody thought he didn't know what was going on. So it came to his turn to deal and he shuffled the cards like this.' At this point remove the pack from its case and shuffle, acting the part of the drunk. 'Then he started to deal out four hands, but he got all mixed up and dealt to the wrong hands and everything, something like this.' Still acting drunk, you deal the cards to South, East, North and West, sort of at random instead of in correct rotation. Secretly though you manage to give each man his proper thirteen cards and deal to yourself all the cards with reversed backs. The patter and acting drunk covers this operation perfectly and gets a laugh all the time. 'In the end everybody looked at their hands and would you believe it, the drunk had a grand slam.' Turn over all the hands and show yours to be all S's for the climax.
Incomprehendo
JordanTHE effect depends on the prearrangement of a one-way pack. First take out the following cards and make one packet of them in any order, 2, 3, 7, 8, Q of H and S; and the A, 6, 10 of D. Make a second packet of the 4, 5, 9, J, K of H and S and the 2, 3, 7, 8, Q of C. Divide the remainder of the pack into two equal parts and place the first packet at the bottom of the other. Bend the two portions of the pack in opposite directions and place them together. All the cards must have their pointers in one way.
Thus prepared, first cut at the bridge, reverse one packet and then riffle the two together. Shuffle as evenly as possible and the stacked cards will all lie at the bottom, the unprepared cards at the top. Cut about twelve cards from the top to the bottom. Spread the faces to show the cards are well mixed.
Fan the pack for the selection of a card but count twelve cards first and hold a break there, then allow a free selection from the cards in the middle. Note which way the indicator points so that you know whether the card belongs to group No. 1 or group No. 2. If it is from No. 1 the card will spell with thirteen letters and you have only to cut at the break, have the card returned and drop the twelve cards on it. Hand the pack to the spectator and tell him to spell the name of his card, dealing one card for each letter, and turn up the card on the last letter.
If, however, the card is taken from group No. 2 you must drop one card from those separated by the break, so that eleven cards only will be dropped on the selected card. The cards in group No. 1 all spell with thirteen letters, those in group No. 2 with twelve letters. Spell 2, 3, J thus: deuce, three, Jack, not two, trey, knave.
The One-Way Key
SellersAFTER arranging a pack with their one-way backs all pointing in the same direction, reverse one card. Shuffle the cards freely, overhand fashion, and allow a spectator to select a card freely. As he notes what it is, spread the cards and locate the one reversed card. Split the pack for the return of the card so that it goes just underneath the key card. A short overhand shuffle will not separate the two cards, so that by locating the key you have the selected card under control.
One-Way PacksTHE following makes of cards are all of the Bicycle Brand, manufactured by the U. S. Playing Card Co. and all have one-way backs.
Rider Backs. There is a small curl in the upper left-hand corner near the top. At one end this curl ends in a white dot, at the other end it has none. This fact is fairly well known to magicians.
Emblem Backs. A reversal of one of these cards is easily detected by the position of the handlebars or the pedals.
Wheel Backs. In the center of the back there is a circular design in which are three wings. The difference will be noticed at once on reversing a card.
League Backs. This is the best for the purpose. The reversal of a card alters the position of one of the wings in the center design and the difference can be detected at a distance of fifteen to twenty feet.
Bank Note Back made by the Russell Playing Card Co. The clue lies in the small white dot in the border of small circles surrounding the bank note back.
With a fine pen and blue or red ink it is a very easy matter to make a slight alteration in any design of back that will be perfectly plain to you but unnoticeable to anyone else.
In closing this treatment of the one-way principle I quote from Theodore Annemann who has devoted more time to, and has probably devised more subtle principles with cards, than anyone else. He says, 'I have yet to find a card man using this principle (one-way cards) who doesn't make apparent his scrutiny of the backs in waiting for a card to turn up.'
It follows from this you cannot disguise the fact that you are using one-way cards from anyone who knows the principle even if he doesn't know the particular marking upon which you are relying, and you furthermore run the risk of putting even a layman wise to the method. The best plan would seem to be to 'doctor' your own cards, as suggested above, making the tell-tale mark near the top left-hand and bottom right-hand corners and so plain to you that you can detect it easily with a very slight spreading of the cards. Such a mark will never be noticed by a layman and will enable you to handle the cards without a too noticeable and fatally suggestive scrutiny of the backs.