Card Tricks > Mathematical Treatment Card Tricks
Number Please
Presentation
The performer hands a shuffled deck of cards to a spectator with the
request that he think of a number between five and fifteen and then
secretly remove this number of cards from the face down deck. The
spectator is then instructed to shuffle the packet of cards he has just
removed, glance at and memorise the value of the bottom card of the
shuffled packet, and then replace the packet face down on the deck so
that the memorised card is buried in the pack.
The performer now takes the deck and putting the cards behind his back
asks for a number between one and ten from a second spectator. This
being given, the performer explains that he will now take the first
spectator's card and move it to a new position corresponding to the
second spectator's number. He carries out this transfer behind his back
after which he brings the cards forward and requests the first spectator
to count down to his card number to verify that his card has indeed been
shifted to a new location. The first spectator does this and fails to
find his memorised card at its former position. The second spectator is
now handed the pack and asked to count down to the number that he had
previously communicated to the performer. The memorised card of the first
spectator is revealed as the last card to which the second spectator
counts.
Method
The performer follows the procedure exactly as given under the
presentation except for one important interpolation. At the point where
the performer explains that he is removing the first spectator's
memorised card and transferring it to a new location ( behind his back
), he actually counts and transfers cards from the bottom to the top of
the deck equal in number to the number given to him by the second
spectator. From this point on the trick becomes self working
x+ y
(or y+ x)
cards
y cards; equal in number to the number
T.- given to the performer by the second spectator. It is this number of
cards that the performer transfers from the bottom to the top of the
pack when he holds the cards behind his back.
x cards; the packet of cards earlier shuffled by the first spectator and
equal in number to his thought of number
Card selected and noted by first spectator that was originally at the
bottom of his shuffled packet of x cards
Arrangement of cards after performer has secretly transferred y cards
from bottom to top of pack. Note that the first spectator's selected
card is now positioned exactly x+ y (or y+ x) cards from the top of the
face down assembled deck.
Explanation
Let x equal the number of cards removed by the first spectator. These x
cards are shuffled and the spectator memorises the value of the bottom
card. On restoring this packet to the main deck, this card becomes the
xth card from the top of the face down deck. Let y be the number that is
given to the performer by the second spectator. In subsequently
transferring y cards from the bottom to the top of the deck ( behind his
back ), the performer buries the spectator's card deeper in the deck by
y cards so that it becomes the (x+y )th card from the top. The
disclosure of this card can now be accomplished by dealing off either
x+y cards or y+x cards. A dealing off of the performer's y cards and
then the spectator's x cards would not be a very magical order ( y+x ).
Hence the alternate ( x+y ) order is used and under the guise of having
the first spectator actually verify that his card has been shifted, x
cards are removed. By then immediately handing the depleted deck to the
second spectator and having him continue the dealing down to his yth
card, the ( x+y )th card is finally arrived at and the first spectator's
memorised card is mysteriously revealed as the last card to which the
second spectator counts.
Card Tricks > Mathematical Treatment Card Tricks
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