Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
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Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 21st, 2003, 1:08 pm

I am mulling over a routine during which an audience member is selected to "be the magician" and performs a card trick for his fellow spectators with nothing but some verbal prompting from the magician.

I need a card trick that is "self-working" in the broadest sense. The real magician NEVER handles the cards after giving them to the spectator-magician. The spectator-magician has no idea what he/she is doing and will, ideally, be just as surprised at the outcome as the audience.

Since the trick can't depend on any critical "audience management" or conscious misdirection on the part of the performer my first thought is to use some kind of stacked deck. It also occurs to me that -- if a card needs to be forced -- a deck with half a dozen "breather" crimped duplicates would allow an audience member to cut the deck and "freely" select a card.

I'm not looking for someone to provide me with a complete "solution", just suggestions for tricks that might lend themselves to adaptation. Any suggestions?

Grant McSorley
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Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Grant McSorley » November 21st, 2003, 2:07 pm

Daryl has an effect where you'd be the spectator and the spectator becomes the magician. It does depend on some management, but it's covered by you explaining to them how to do the trick. It's on one of his lecture tapes, and the patter is about a card coming to you in your dreams last night. Maybe someone else can give proper crediting.

Grant

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 21st, 2003, 2:14 pm

Hi

Here is some idears for you, all done with a pack freely mixed by a spectator.

If working for people believing Crystal's or a pendulum ....
Then let one of them be the magician, you are the spectator. Let them mix the cards before and after and find your card using the Pendulum.

There are a lot of other versions posible, like having some one cut out a number of packets, and another person select one of the packets, and your card is one top. Or at a chosen position.

Making a double mind reading effect, where you and the spetator is thinking on a card each, and she is finding your card, and you are finding her card.

Send me an e-mail on jra-magi@get2net.dk and I tell you the secret.

Best Jakob

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Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Ian Richards » November 21st, 2003, 3:44 pm

The Daryl effect that Grant mentioned above is "Untouched". It recently saw print in Aldo Colombini's "Easy To Do Impromptu Card Magic". I believe that it is also on one of Michael Ammar's "Easy To Master Card Magic" videos. I would also highly recommend this.

John McDonald
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Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby John McDonald » November 21st, 2003, 4:09 pm

This is without doubt a real killer of a self worker and all done in the spectators hands. Highly recomended.
Best John

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 21st, 2003, 4:59 pm

You might want to check out David Acer and Jay Sankey's CrossRoads lecture notes, they contain two tricks of this type, Count on It and Come Together.

In Count on It you have the spectator become the Magician using just ten cards, you select a card, and it vanishes from the packet and appears face up in the deck.

In Come Together, the spectator offers the cards to you and another spectator, you each pick a card and place them back into seperate parts of the deck, the spectator does the magic, and makes them come together.

Two very easy self-workers with a big impact.

Rich.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Richard Kaufman » November 21st, 2003, 7:27 pm

I haven't seen anyone mention the best self-working trick I know: Jack Miller's "Lazy Man's Card Trick" (which is what Harry Lorayne called it in Close-Up Card Magic). This is a truly stunning and mystifying trick, and you never have to touch the deck once you set it on the table and the trick starts.
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Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 21st, 2003, 7:41 pm

Daryl's "Untouched" can also be found in Magic for Dummies under a different name.

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Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 21st, 2003, 7:41 pm

Some of the greatest card tricks in existence are self workers.
Do as I do, It Goes Double (Anneman-I love this one) and of course the greatest self worker of them all-Out of This World.
My favourite is Poker Players Picnic. I showed this to Prince Phillip once. Not that I am the bragging type of course.

Still, here is one that is self working and fits the spectator as magician concept.The effect is amazing.

I suppose the set up is not really self working although it can be. You should really do this after performing a spelling trick of some sort. I usually use "Gray's Spelling Trick" in the Royal Road to Card Magic and other places.

You have to set up one card is position to be spelled out by dealing from the top of the deck. You could set it up beforehand but then you do not have the ability to do it after you have performed a spelling trick. The effect will be diluted considerably if you don't precede with a spelling trick.

I use a method which I think will only suit me as it relies on my natural absentmindedness. There is also a little sleight of hand so it gets away from the self working aspect. I think the best bet for most people is to openly toy with the deck after you have done the spelling trick and set the card up that way.

How you do it is up to you. However, once the thing is done the effect truly works itself.

I will give the patter. You will be able to work out the effect from that. I have already told you the method. Or part of the method. The other part is that you miscall a card. I know you will all figure it out.

"Would you like to know how that was done?(The spelling trick) OK I'll teach you.You can be the magician. Ask me to take a card. OK.I've got one. I'm not going to let you see it. Ask me to put it back in the deck. Not like that. You have to say it with showmanship! All Magicians have showmanship. OK. Now you have to find the card.

You don't know how to find it? All Right-I'll give you a clue-it was the 8 of clubs. Now find it.

No! You musnt't look through the deck for it! That would be cheating and magicians don't cheat!

No! Try spelling it just like I did. E-I-G-H-T-O-F-C-L-U-B-S. Turn over the last one you dealt.
You got it!"

I hope the rest of you got it too. It is a stunner and in fact gets a stronger reaction than the first spelling trick you do.

One more for you: I don't know if this is truly self working since you have to somehow slip a card into someone's pocket beforehand. There are ways to do this that I have no time to explain. Best to wait for an opportune moment.

Same as last trick. Spectator acts as magician.Magician takes card just like last trick and miscalls it just like last trick. Only this time he does not get the spectator to spell out the card. No. He makes the spectator remove the card from his pocket just like a real magician would do. The spectator will be shocked, I promise you.

There. Don't say I never give you anything.

Mark Lewis
www.marklewisentertainment.com

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 21st, 2003, 7:49 pm

Richard is correct about Lazy Man's Card Trick. It is a truly wonderful trick and I do it all the time.
The funny thing is that it is hidden away in the Royal Road to Card Magic and it comes across as a tedious mathematical stunt the way it is described. I bet people will be surprised to even hear that it is actually in this book. And it was published way before Harry's book.

Yet Al Koran's presentation of Miller's trick (as described by Harry) is what makes it come alive. Proof that presentation can transform what seems to be a mediocre card trick to a miracle.

For those of you that doubt my statement that the trick is in the Royal Road check out the "arrangements" chapter. You may get a surprise.

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 22nd, 2003, 10:25 pm

"Untouched" is one of the best two completely self-working card tricks I know. It is based on the same principle used in Maurice Fogel's Triple Prediction (the principle, I am reliably informed by Max Maven, is much older), which is another excellent answer to Muscarella's question. You can find Eugene Burger's handling of Fogel's trick in Mastering the Art of Magic.

The other is "Gemini Twins," found in Karl Fulves' More Self-Working Card Tricks. I like Gemini Twins because of the presentational possibilities with two spectators involved.

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 23rd, 2003, 8:27 am

Jim Steinmeyer's book Impuzzibilities has of number of self-working / interactive effects including "The King Mystery" and the venerable "Nine Card Problem". The latter being one of the all time greats.

Weigle Aces (et al); the age old Spectator Cuts to the Aces with " 3 on the bottom and one on top of each pile" sounds like it would fit your bill as well.

MS

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 23rd, 2003, 3:59 pm

Jim Steinmeyer also thinks highly of the principle of the "Piano Card Trick" where cards are placed between the spectator's (or in this case, your) fingers and one card transposes from one side to the other. It's rarely done and worth a look around the literature for. Look in Downs & Hilliard's "Art of Magic" for starters. --Asrah

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 23rd, 2003, 6:01 pm

Asrah,

The Piano Trick is in George B. Anderson's Magic Digest. Although the trick reads as dull, it in fact can play really well, and you made a fine recommendation in it.

Jon

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 23rd, 2003, 6:10 pm

The piano trick is a terrific effect. It looks novel too, with all the cards sticking out of the spectator's hands.

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 23rd, 2003, 6:38 pm

Originally posted by Psychic:
The piano trick is a terrific effect. It looks novel too, with all the cards sticking out of the spectator's hands.
Marlo's Supercount routine ends with the piano trick. After all the false counts and palms, Marlo recommends ending the thing with the piano trick. Enough said.

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 23rd, 2003, 7:36 pm

It is always good psychology to mix in sleight of hand with self working subtleties.

If you are doing a move every 30 seconds or so it is very bad psychology. Audiences aren't stupid.
They will get a feeling that although they don't see what happens they know something has happened.

Marlo himself said that if you cut down on the sleights a bit it is not a bad idea.

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Ryan Matney
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Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Ryan Matney » November 23rd, 2003, 9:25 pm

I love the piano trick. I was wondering if anyone else used it.

Muscarella, Check your email for something from me.
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Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 26th, 2003, 10:37 am

How about the 4 ace trick from RRTCM. Get the 4 on top at the start (maybe a palm after another spec shuffles for added effect), hand over the deck. They do the cuts and the 3-to-the-botton-1-to-each-pile deal thing and the effect is done.

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 26th, 2003, 7:35 pm

That is Poker Players Picnic that I mentioned previously. It really is a very strong effect.
If fact it is the STRONGEST of the "spectator cutting the aces into four piles" tricks.
Magicians try to improve on it and think that the dealing and cutting is extraneous. They try to cut this out. However, they are wrong.
Why? Because in every other version the magician has to touch the cards for a moment.
Not here.
The effect is stunning.

Roy McIlwee
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Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Roy McIlwee » November 27th, 2003, 9:41 am

Ryan,
Check out Roy Walton's "Play It Again Sam" on page 74 of The Complete Walton Volume #2. It is a great version of the Piano Card Trick. Roy

Guest

Re: Need a TRULY "Self-Working" Card Trick

Postby Guest » November 27th, 2003, 2:03 pm

Do you have any books at all? Just about every book from The Amateur Magician's Handbook (Hay), Hugard (Encyclopedia of Card Magic) and Gardner to Scarne or Fulves have printed books with self working card tricks. Many more books aimed at young readers (i.e., kids books) have self working ones as well. I cannot imagine anyone having the knowledge of knowing about this website not having a book with at least a dozen possibilities (or video or DVD). Blow the dust off your bookshelf and find one that appeals to you. I am looking at my Tarbell course... man, they are jumping out at me! I hesitate to tell you that this website has one of the best ones around...if you can find it. I have every confidence you will find more than you need.

But if you have $29.95 I am sure you can buy at least one more item to satisfy your quest.


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