Here’s what this week’s effect looks like:
Your spectator freely chooses ANY number. You hand the deck out to various members of the audience and let them shuffle. Next, another spectator chooses a card. You count down to the freely chosen number, in the shuffled deck, to find…
…the chosen card!
How does this work?
As some of you may have noticed, this is of course a version of the ‘SCAAN’ (Shuffled Card at Any Number.)
The method was inspired by the effects I’ve been putting out over the last couple of weeks.
This one is actually perhaps the easiest yet, but uses a very clever principle I picked up from Pit Hartling that makes the whole thing a lot of fun.
Let’s get into the method…
Method:
You’ll need two decks for this effect, both of them set up in stack. I’ll be using Mnemonica for the purposes of this explanation, but any stack will work just fine.
If you haven’t learnt the stack yet, remember you have free access to our method titled ‘The Babylon Secret’, click here to learn:
Let’s dance our usual dance with the step-by-step breakdown…
- Your spectator freely chooses ANY number.
Your spectator can genuinely choose any number. Once they do, you’re going to do the ONE thing that makes this whole thing work like clockwork.
Weighing the cards with the unforgettable shuffle stuff
Get a break BELOW the card at that position in the stack.
For example, if they name 33, you want to get a break below the 8C (#33rd card in the Mnemonica stack.)
To do this, just riffle up the side of the deck in the general area you know this card is in, before ‘honing in’ and getting the break.
The break doesn’t have to be some super subtle thing—you can even play this whole thing as simply deciding where to cut the deck, since you’re going to be handing the deck out to various spectators.
- You hand the deck out to various members of the audience and let them shuffle.
Now, I recommend doing this with as many spectators involved as possible. The more people shuffling, the more chaotic the whole thing feels, and the less control you seem to have.
Our method is so simple: we’re going to hand out the entire deck, and simply focus on one spectator—the one who gets the packet directly below the break.
For example, let’s stick with the number 33. We have a break below the 33rd card.
We hand the first 15 or so cards to Spectator #1. We hand the next 10 or so cards to Spectator #2. Then, we hand everything above the break to Spectator #3.
(The 33rd card is the bottom card of this packet.)
Now, we have the remaining cards in our hand.
We hand the next 10 or so cards to Spectator #4. We hand the next 10 or so cards to Spectator #5, and then hand whatever is left to Spectator #6.
Now, we have in our head two distinct groups of Spectators.
Spectators 1-3 have the cards 1-33, and Spectators 4-6 have the cards 33-52.
This means we can actually let Spectators 1-3 swap their packets within themselves, and the same for 4-6. They can change the order of the cards in their packets, but they can’t change the overall distribution—33 cards to Spectators 1-3, and the rest to 4-6.
However, don’t just say “swap packets!” because that will incite a feeding frenzy of packet swapping that will likely mess up all your hard work.
Instead, I would suggest simply telling one or two of the spectators at some point:
“Spectator 1, does that seem pretty shuffled? Great. Now how about you swap with Spectator 3 and shuffle HIS cards?”
Once everyone is convinced that the deck is entirely shuffled (which it is), start taking the packets back.
This is the important part.
We’re going to reassemble the deck from bottom to top (keeping the cards facedown.)
We take the packet back from Spectator #6 first. Then #5. Then #4.
Then, when we get to #3, we do the only other sneaky move required.
We glimpse the bottom card.
A simple all-round square up glimpse will work just fine for this.
Once you’ve glimpsed this card—you know this card will be the 33rd card.
How?
Remember—we gave the first 33 cards to Spectators 1-3. Therefore, the bottom card of their combined packets MUST be the 33rd card. Additionally, since Spectators 4-6 had all the cards BENEATH 33, whichever card goes above them must be the 33rd card.
We take back the packets from Spectators #2 and #1, and square up the deck.
Do you see how this works?
Think of it this way:
1
2
3
4
5
6
Imagine each of those numbers is a packet of cards. Thanks to our earlier work, the card on the bottom of packet 3 is the 33rd card.
Which means:
1 + 2 + 3 = 33
The combined total of the first 3 packets must be 33.
Therefore, even if they swap packets between themselves and shuffle, when we reassemble them:
2
3
1
5
6
4
The packets 1-3 are still the top half, and still include 33 cards.
Therefore, even if Spectator 1 gave his packet to Spectator 3, it doesn’t matter. We don’t care who has which packet. We only care about the bottom card of the COMBINED packets—because that card will be the 33rd card.
Alright, I think you get it.
(most of you probably got it from the beginning, and I just spent a bunch of time drawing diagrams for no reason.)
We now know what the 33rd card is, even though the spectators shuffled the entire deck.
NOTE: Although it doesn’t look much similar, the person who prompted this idea is Pit Hartling, and his excellent shuffle procedure in the routine ‘Unforgettable.’
Let’s say the card we glimpsed was the 6H.
- Next, another spectator chooses a card.
This is where our second (stacked) deck comes in handy.
We’re going to force the 6H in this deck—which we can easily do by cutting it to the top and prepping for the dribble force/riffle force/classic force.
Once we’ve forced this card, we’re ready for the next step…
- You count down to the freely chosen number, in the shuffled deck, to find…
…the chosen card!
This is all just showmanship at this point.
The card is in the position, so you can let them count to it.
When they do, sit back and enjoy!
Oh, and one more note…
Like I pointed out last time, if you were REALLY feeling it, you could have a third deck (also stacked) in a card case on the table.
Once they think the effect is over, pull the cards out from that deck and simply cut the deck once to place the 6H in the 33rd position.
(6H is 23 normally, so cut 10 cards from bottom to top.)
Then show that not only did they get the right card and number in the shuffled deck…they guessed the position of the card in a deck that was on the table the entire time!
Heck, you could even flip the order in which you reveal this. I don’t know. FIgure out which one is harder hitting, and do the reveals in such a way that has dramatic progression—from strong to even stronger. If this second reveal isn’t stronger, just stick with the original routine.
Alright.
That’s it for today.
A neat little SCAAN for you guys.
I’ll be back with more exclusive content next week.
Your friend,
Benji