Module 2 – Part 4: Impossible coincidences become downright EASY with this tool…
Benji
Impossible coincidences become downright EASY with this tool…
- The Coincidental.
Create moments that are ‘impossible coincidences’.
Cards appear at randomly chosen numbers, the spectator freely chooses cards that exactly match yours, and so many more instances of ‘fate’ that can only be explained by magic (or, y’know, a memorized deck.)
Sometimes it feels like the memorized deck was devised with this category of effect in mind—because it makes it so EASY to create stunning coincidences with barely a finger lifted.
NOTE: When I say ‘coincidence’ I mean it in the strongest possible sense of the word. In fact, it’s a good idea to imagine that every time I say ‘coincidence’ I’m really saying ‘an impossible coincidence that simply couldn’t have happened…but it did.’
Here’s a great example of that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alfwdvQaLIE
Alright, the first effect in that video doesn’t need a memorized deck—but it’s so funny I figured I’d keep it in there anyway 🙂
The routine we’re here for is the one Juan uses to close this act—the ‘Any Card At Any Number’ (ACAAN.)
Now, there’s a lot going on in this effect that we won’t go into right now. Don’t worry, we’ll be talking about ACAANs later on in the course…and maybe even later in this module after a fashion 😉
What I’m concerned with is not so much the method as it is the EFFECT.
The effect is a perfect example of what I call ‘coincidental’ magic. Where two things line up that the magician surely had no control over—such as a playing card and a freely named number.
The ‘coincidental’ isn’t just limited to ACAAN though. Not by a country mile.
Here’s another example of a stunning effect that appears to be a sheer, mind boggling coincidence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zYLyjFwagk
That clip is one of the most satisfying of all the magic videos I’ve seen. Again, it uses a memorized deck to create a stunning ‘coincidence’ on Live TV!
It’s also a wonderful example of improvisation using a memorized deck, but again—more on that later.
There are so many more possible ‘coincidences’ you can do with a memorized deck. Here’s one of mine…
Our Official Effect: Per Capita
The memorized deck lends itself very well to coincidences between the magician and the spectator. Here’s a great example of that I devised.
Background:
I first discovered the beauty of the ‘one ahead’ principle in a magic book from the early 1900s titled ‘the Art of Modern Conjuring.’
While the effect was never a knockout one, it was so easy that it quickly became one of my go-to routines when I was feeling particularly ‘lazy’ but needed to perform something.
Now, I’ve updated the handling and adapted it for the memorized deck. The result, I’m sure you’ll agree, is quite spectacular.
Effect:
The magician chooses three cards from a face-down deck. The spectator does the same. The spectator gets a free choice each time, but the end result is a perfect match!
Method:
Here’s the ‘bare bones’ method. The presentation is entirely up to you!
As ever, if any of the below doesn’t make sense, follow along with cards in hand and you’ll soon see what I mean.
Here it is:
One of the decks is stacked. The other has card #1 of the stack on top, but the rest can be shuffled freely. Move the card #1 in your stack to the center, but leave it outjogged so you can spot it easily.
Give the spectator the unstacked deck and ask them to shuffle it. After they do, take it back and remark on how well mixed it is as you run through it. In the process, find the card #1 of your stack and cut it so it’s the first card of the deck.
(it’s imperative this is done while talking to the spectator and distracting them from looking too closely at the cards.)
Spread the deck with the outjogged card #1 face down in front of you, and the other deck face down in front of the spectator.
Now, you’re going to select one card ‘at random’ from your deck. You run your fingers along the cards, and stop over the outjogged card (which should be outjogged enough for you to notice, but not the spectator. Alternatively, you could mark the card with a light pencil dot in the top left corner. Either way works!)
You remove this card. It’s card #1 in the stack, but they don’t know that.
Let’s say we’re using the Tamariz stack. Card #1 is the 4 of Clubs (4C.)
Lay the 4C face up in between the two spreads.
You ask them to try to sense and slide out the 4C from their deck.
Wherever they stop, make sure they simply slide that card out of the deck. You take it and look at it. You nod at the spectator and congratulate them on finding the 4C.
At this point, they won’t believe you, and they’ll be itching to see the card.
Lay it face down overlapping the 4C already on the table, promising you’ll get back to it.
Now, you’re going to remove another card at random from your deck and see if they can repeat the feat. If they do, it’ll be even more impressive!
What you’ve actually done prior to this is note the identity of the card they selected. Let’s say it’s the 2 of Diamonds (2D.)
Since you’re working with a stacked deck, you know exactly where the 2D is in the spread. In the Tamariz stack, it’s usually 19 cards down.
In this case, we already removed the 4C (card #1) so the 2D is card #18.
We’re simply going to count 18 cards deep while we run our finger over the spread.
(Note that this is easier to do with the cards spread widely so the distinction between each card is easier to see! If you’re still struggling, using a marked deck can help—you know roughly where each card should be, and you can use the marks to ‘hone in’ that estimate)
Once you do, don’t stop immediately, just note that position and perhaps outjog the card a little. Act as if you’re deliberating over it and outjog a few others in other positions, before and after the 2D but far enough away you’ll know the spot. Come back to #18 and remove the 2D.
Show them the 2D, lay it face down to the right of the 4C, and ask them to find the 2D in their spread.
What they don’t know is that they’ve already found it, and whichever card they pick now will be the card we choose in the final phase!
Do you see why this is called the ‘one ahead’ principle? You’re always ‘one step ahead’ of your spectator, without them realizing it.
Once they’ve found what they think is the 2D, you pick it up and look at it. Again, you congratulate them on their impressive skill.
Let’s say they just picked out the 7 of Hearts.
We know this card is the 42nd card in our stack. But rather than count all the way there from the start (which if you REALLY wanted to, you could – making sure to account for the fact you’re now missing two cards from the stack, the 2D and 4C) we can just count backward from the end.
We simply start at the other end and count back from 52 until we’re at 42. Follow the same selection procedure as before and display the 7 of Hearts to your spectator.
Lay it face down beside the other cards.
Situation check:
From left to right, you have – 4C (face up), 2D (face down), 2D (face up), 7H (face down), 7H (face up).
You just need one more card from the spectator.
(NOTE: Since writing the following, I’ve developed an even easier handling. I’ll let you read my original thoughts, and then share the new method with you.)
We now need to ensure that no matter what the spectator actually picks, the card we lay down is the 4C (the one card we need to create 3 sets of pairs.)
The 4C, thanks to your earlier cut, is at the top of their deck.
Occasionally, they might pick the top card. If this happens, try not to laugh in glee.
If they don’t, here’s what you do.
You take their card as usual, but don’t look at it. You square up your spread with one hand and place the deck to the side (this is natural, we’ve finished the selection procedure and no longer need the cards.)
You do the same with their cards but hold onto them in your left hand in regular dealing grip.
You say to them:
“Are you sure you want this card? So far, you’ve had two perfect matches, but if you mess this one up—the whole effect is ruined.”
If they say they DO want another one, place the card in your right hand back into the deck, spread the deck on the table and let them select a new card. Square up the deck, hold their new card in your right hand, and you’re back where you started with the 4C on top and the selected card in your right hand.
If not, don’t do anything.
All of this is designed to justify you holding their deck in your hand. Because, in a moment, we’re going to need it.
We essentially need to switch the selected card in the right hand for the card on the top of the deck.
If you have a favorite method for switching a card, now is the time to use it.
If not, I’d recommend either using a Top Change, a Second Deal (I know, I know—just a thought) or the following:
Lay the card in your right hand on top of the deck. Perform a double lift with your thumb at the bottom and middle finger at the top of the deck. You lift with the thumb as your left wrist rotates and brings the deck to a vertical position.
This will enable you to turn over the card and lay it on the deck without the spectator seeing it (they will just see the bottom card of the deck since it’s in a vertical position.)
Now remove the 4C and turn it face down. Rotate your left wrist so the face up card below the 4C is facing the floor. Place the deck down, hiding the face up card at the bottom of the pile.
That might sound tricky, but it’s not!
You slide the face down 4C on top of the face up 7H.
You’re pretty much ready for the reveal. All you need to do is move the top card to the bottom.
Here’s how I recommend doing that:
Pick up the piles from left to right, each one going on top of the previous.
We now have the face-up 4C at the far left, followed by the face-down 2D, the face-up 2D, the face down 7H, the face-up 7H, and the face-down 4C.
Hold the spread in your hands. With your right thumb, contact the face-up 2D. You’re going to break apart the packet at this point. This will leave you with three cards in each hand.
You say:
“Let’s see how you did.”
You now flip the packets vertically so that the faces of the face-down cards are visible to you (make sure you rotate the packets toward YOU, not the spectator.)
Now spread from left to right with the left thumb and right to left with the right thumb as you bring the packets back together.
That sounds complex, but it isn’t.
At this point, your work is done. Square up the cards and deal them down in twos, face up. The cards will all be perfect matches.
As I said, please do follow along with the cards in hand and you’ll soon see how simple all this is!
So there’s an example of the kind of marvelous coincidence you can create using a memorized deck.
UPDATE:
Here’s a far easier way of handling this whole thing.
We’ll pick up just before we had to switch the card previously.
Situation check:
On the table, from left to right, you have – 4C (face up), 2D (face down), 2D (face up), 7H (face down), 7H (face up.)
You’ve just asked them to pick the 7H. They reach in and pick a card from somewhere in their spread. It doesn’t matter what this card is, they’re never going to see it.
Once they do, we say something to the effect of:
“Congratulations! You did it. Now, square up your cards—we won’t be picking anymore.”
We do the same with our spread.
Now, we slide the face up cards out from the center of the table as we say:
“Remember, I asked you to pick THESE cards.”
We spread them in our hands and place them, face up, on our deck.
Now, we slide together the facedown cards on the table as we say:
“Let’s see how you did.”
As we slide them, we make sure the leftmost card is the bottom card, and the rightmost card is the top card. This is, of course, their true order—we just want to make sure we maintain it.
In other words, the facedown 2D should be on the bottom, then the face down 7H above that, then the facedown indifferent card above that.
We place that three-card spread on top of their deck and place the two decks in the center of the table.
We point at the first face up card.
“I wanted you to pick the 7H. And…you did!”
As we say this, we pick up their deck and do a double lift to show the 7H. We then turn the double over and place both cards at the bottom of the deck.
“I also wanted you to pick the 2D. And…you did! No…really. You check!”
Now that we’ve done the one piece of dirty work—the double lift—we’re free to hand the deck to the spectator to let them reveal the next couple cards.
“And of course, I wanted you to pick the 4C. Did you? You did!”
They can turn over this card too.
As they reveal each card, we have them place it on the bottom like we did with the double. At the end, we can spread from the bottom up and cleanly show the bottom three cards are the three cards we wanted.
Isn’t that just much more economical?
With ONE move (rather than three or four) we can create a very clean looking finish.
NOTE – you could do this with both decks stacked, but I think in this case the shuffling makes the effect MORE deceptive and EASIER. That’s because, since it doesn’t matter what cards the spectator picks, there’s no need to use a stack. In fact, using a stack might create a visual pattern where you seem to be picking cards from the same position as them.
NOTE: The original routine would work with just one deck—by first glimpsing the bottom card, then spreading cards on the table and noting where that bottom card went. We then ask the spectator to choose random cards—starting by asking them to pick the card we know is the bottom card, and then asking them to pick the card they just picked out in the previous phase. We’d end it by saying ‘I’ll try too. I’ll find [the card they just picked out]’ and picking out the bottom card instead. In the end, we’d just need to move the bottom card to the top and we’d be able to show the match. Don’t worry if that doesn’t make complete sense—you won’t be using that method now that you have this one. 😉
Perhaps the biggest benefit this has over the original routine is that the card choices are JUSTIFIED. In the original routine, you would call out cards for them to pick ‘at random.’ But there was something fishy about looking at the card they chose, then naming a random card—the whole thing had something ‘off’ about it. This one, on the other hand, is totally motivated. The card choices are random because you yourself are supposedly picking ‘random’ cards.
Another benefit is that in the original routine, it ended with YOU picking a card—which is always going to be suspect. In this one, they pick the card every step of the way.
NOTE – feel free to come back to this routine after Module 3 and you might spot a couple of opportunities to make it even more deceptive (hint – rhymes with ‘halse muffles’)
Note – an effect similar to this you should play around with is found on page 211 of Mnemonica.
Let’s move into my ‘guilty pleasure’ —the Technical…