Card Tricks > Mathematical Treatment Card Tricks
Twentieth Century Mind Reading
In this card trick, the audience at all times control the exact
number of cards that are to be involved at any point in the card routine
in the first place. In the second place, the performer never sees the
face of any card nor does he ask any question to assist him in locating
the card in question. Furthermore, the routine is so apparently broken
up that any calculation by the performer normally becomes ruled out as a
possible method for working the trick. Yet the performer unerringly
locates the correct card.
Presentation
The performer remarks that whereas it is somewhat difficult to read a
single mind, the task becomes less arduous when a given thought is being
held by a group rather than an individual. With this in mind, he
explains that he will now attempt a mind reading experiment in which at
no time will he see the face of the card. Also the audience will
designate and control the number of cards that are involved at any point
in the card effect. Despite this limiting restrictions, the performer
states that by proper concentration he should be able to name the card
being concentrated on by the audience.
Few cards will be removed from the deck at the very beginning to give a
deck with less than 52 cards. The performer can start to deal out cards
one at a time and request that he be stopped at any point by some
designated spectator. In either case he is left holding a pack of cards
that is less than 52 in number. To prevent any accusation that a false
count has been made, they can spread the cards out to one side on the
table for inspection and don’t touch the cards again during the whole
presentation.
A spectator is asked to come up and secretly cut off a packet of cards
ranging anywhere in number from one to twenty cards. Then let him count
the number of cards in the packet he has just removed and for
verification to pass along the packet to some second spectator to check
the correctness of his count. This number is discretely conveyed to
other members of the audience so that several spectators will know the
secret number. This packet will be retained in the possession of the
audience so that the performer will have no clue as to how many cards
have been taken from the deck.
Once the key number has been established in the minds of the audience, a
particular card selection will be made by the audience by the following
procedure based on the secret number. The performer picks up the
remaining cards and proceeds to count them across from one hand to the
other in numerical order. The performer counts across twenty cards, or
if the audience so stipulates, he can be stopped short of twenty or
somewhat over twenty depending on their whim.
This being done, the performer explains that he will now sandwich the
cards he has just counted between the remaining cards. However, to allow
the audience a voice in the matter he will let them stipulate how many
cards are to be placed above and below the counted packet. He proceeds
to deal out the remaining cards, one at a time, face down until told to
stop. After being stopped, the performer places the counted packet on
top of the dealt out cards and then the few remaining cards that are
left over are placed on top of the counted packet to complete the card
assembly.
Let the performer recapitulate what has been done and stresses the many
times that members of the audience have dedicated the number of cards to
be used at any point. Thus the cards removed at the very beginning; the
packet of cards removed by the spectator; the cards that the performer
counted across from hand to hand; and the number of cards that were used
to 'sandwich' the counted packet between the remaining cards were all
stipulated by the audience. Yet despite this audience control, the
performer will attempt to pick out the one particular card that the
audience will be concentrating on when it is held up with the other
cards for inspection and concentration. The performer does this by
holding up a small number of fanned cards in turn and requests that only
when the members of the audience see their secretly selected card are
they to exert an especially intense concentration. They can appear to
concentrate on any other card but the actual mental application of the
mind must be reserved for the key card.
With the assistance of the audience, the performer succeeds in picking
out the audience 'concentration card', a startling effect that serves as
one more bit of proof that mind reading is actually possible. The
performer, of course, injects whatever showmanship he deems necessary
for the card revelation.
Method
The method of working this puzzling effect can be carried out by
anyone who can count up to 52 with minor interruptions. The first part
of the count starts and coincides with the counting of the cards from
one hand to the other as the audience is asked to identify and remember
the one card that corresponds to this secretly held number. The rest of
the 52 count must be done silently. The second part of the count
coincides with dealing out with the cards on which the 'counted across'
packet will be placed. The third part of the count involves the cards
that were taken off the pack at the very beginning. They are secretly
added to the total of the first two counts. The final count to 52 is now
started and made coincident with the holding up of a series of fanned
cards. This count continues with the top face down card of the assembled
pack as the next number and the 'audience' card will be the 52nd down
from the top as the count is completed. Fanning the cards in group of
five simply aids in arriving at the critical 52 count with accuracy.
As an example of how an actual count might be made, assume the following
sequence:
- Let five cards be removed from the 52 card deck at the very
beginning;
- An unknown number of cards are then cut off by a spectator and
this number of cards is secretly made known to the audience.
- Of the remaining cards, let the performer count across twenty
cards to give a 'counted' packet of 20 cards.
- Of the handful of cards left, let six be dealt out in a pile
after which the 'counted' packet is placed on top of these six cards
and the pile is completed with whatever cards are left over.
Based on the above sequence the performer would start his count with the
first twenty cards under ( c ), continue with another six cards under (
d) making the count 26, add on another count of five under (a ) making
the count 31, and complete the count to 52 starting with the top card of
the packet assembled under ( d ) as card 32.
Explanation
Let n equal the number of cards removed from the 52 card deck at the
very beginning. This gives a depleted deck of 52-n cards from which the
spectator counts off a packet of say x cards. This leaves the performer
with a pack of 52-n x cards. The audience is then asked to identify and
remember the xth card of the pack held by the performer counting down
from the top of the performer's face down pack. The selection of card X
is made as the performer passes y cards from one hand to the other
without disturbing their order. After y cards have been counted across,
the performer has a packet of y counted cards in one hand and a residue
of 52-n-x-y cars in the other hand. From the residue packet he now deals
out z cards, one by one, at the discretion of the audience leaving
52-x-y-z cards left over and still retained by the performer. The pack
is now reassembled with the z dealt out cards at the bottom, the counted
packet of y cards in between, and the left over 52-n-x-y-z cards on top.
The performer adds these three known numbers together to give n+y+z. In
the presentation he actually does this addition by counting the cards,
one by one, in numerical sequence since this procedure avoids numerical
error and is probably the easiest way for most people to arrive at a
total. The 52nd card is the 'concentration' card. This is equivalent to
counting down to the (52-n-y-z) the card from the top of the face down
pack.
Now whereas the key card X was initially the xth card from the top of
the face down counted packet, it automatically becomes placed deeper by
52-n-x-y-z cards when the left over cards are placed on top of it during
the final pack assembly. This means that it becomes the (52-n-y-z)th
card. But this is exactly the number that the performer counts down to
in completing his 52 card count. Hence in completing his count to 52,
the performer automatically arrives at the audience concentration' card
X.
Comment
This card effect requires a rather lengthy explanation but actually
it can be made to move along with zest. The final card location is
completely baffling for at no time does the performer see the face of a
card and the packet of cards removed secretly by the spectator remains
with the audience to the end of the trick. It would be interesting to
know whether the same mind reading demonstration could possibly be
carried out by using sleight-of-hand as the method of operation.
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