Card Tricks > Key Card - Card Trick
Lie Detector
In the next effect, the key card principle is cleverly masked behind a
number of diversionary moves. Also the fact that the spectator must
miscall a card and do this without alerting the performer to his
falsification tends to focus attention on this aspect of the card trick
and away from any probing of the audience into the actual working of the
trick.
Presentation
The performer explains that he will attempt an experiment in lie
detection wherein a deck of playing cards will serve as the detection
equipment. A spectator is requested to cut off a packet of from fifteen
to twenty cards from a thoroughly shuffled deck. The performer then
takes this cutoff packet and proceeds to outline how the test is to be
conducted using this packet.
The spectator is to first mentally select a number that is less than
half the number of cards in the cut-off packet. He is then to deal off
this number of cards to form a face down pile and note the last card
dealt. This being done, the rest of the packet he holds is to be placed
as a unit on the dealt out cards to lose his memorised card in the
packet.
To illustrate the procedure, the performer arbitrarily picks some number
( say three) and deals this number of cards, one at a time, face down on
the table. He points out that it is the last card ( third) that is to be
secretly glanced at and remembered. He then places the undealt part of
the packet on the face down three-card pile and gathering them together,
hands them to the spectator with the request that he now carry out this
exact routine using his own mentally selected number.
While the spectator does this to one side, the performer explains that
lie detection is related to the emotional reaction that occurs when a
truthful person tells an untruth. Such a reaction is nearly always
accompanied by a change in the physical response of the person to the
lie such as a tremor in the voice, the twitching of some minor facial
muscle, or by some other indicator of internal stress. In the present
experiment, the detection of the false statement will be based on a
voice change.
Following this explanation, the performer turns to the spectator and
being assured that the necessary card routine has been completed,
requests that the spectator deal off cards, one at a time, from the top
of the face down packet to form a face up pile ( the performer turns his
back to this dealing sequence). While carrying out the deal, the
spectator is instructed to give the name of each and every card in a
truthful manner except for his memorised card. This one card is to be
announced as some other card when it appears. It is this lie that the
performer will attempt to catch and thereby prove his lie detection
ability. The spectator names the cards in turn but the only falsely
represented card is unerringly identified by the performer.
Method
In illustrating the dealing routine, the performer will automatically
have a chance to look at the last card he deals ( the third card ). This
is his key card. Later when the spectator is dealing out the cards of
his packet and announcing the value of each card, the performer listens
for the announcement of this key card.
Once called out, the performer
starts a count of one with the next card and continues to count silently
up to the number of cards used in his earlier illustrative dealing
routine (three in the example given). Once this number is reached, he
stops the spectator's deal and announces that this is the spectator's
card that is being incorrectly represented.
Explanation
Let the number selected by the performer for his illustrative countdown
be x. At the end of this countdown deal, there are then x face down
cards in a pile on the table and of these the top card is glimpsed and
remembered by the performer as his key card. He places the remaining
undealth cards of the packet as a unit on the dealt pile on the table and
hands the assembled packet to the spectator for the actual dealing
routine. At this stage, the performer's key card is positioned as the
xth card from the bottom of the card packet.
The spectator now follows the performer's illustrative dealing routine
using his own mentally selected number. He notes and remembers the last
card he deals and then places the remainder of the packet on top of the
dealt cards on the table. In so doing, however, note that he
automatically positions the performer's key card as the xth card above
his own observed card. Hence when he starts announcing the names of the
cards in turn, he arrives first at the performer's key card. When called
out, the performer then immediately knows that the spectator's card will
be the xth card below it and works the rest of the card effect to take
advantage of this knowledge.
Comment
In working this trick, be sure to restrict the spectator's choice of a
mentally selected number to a figure that is less than one-half the
number of cards in the spectator's cut off packet. Thus if there are y
cards in the packet removed by the spectator, his mentally selected
number should be less than y/2. The performer should also observe this
same precaution. An additional bit of misdirection can be introduced by having the
spectator give his packet several single cuts before he starts to deal
off the cards and announce their values. However, in this case, the
packet of cards may become exhausted before the performer's number count
is completed. In this situation, the performer instructs the spectator
to pick up the face up pile, turn it over, and repeat the dealing
routine. The performer for his part continues his secret count with the
next number in sequence for the top card of the second deal. This time
the performer is able to disclose the falsely identified card of the
spectator.
Card Tricks > Key Card - Card Trick
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