Today, I was at a New Years gathering with family and friends. Several of those present, while not magicians, are magic lovers and devotees. They are devout followers of Fool Us and have typically sought out magic as their number one choice of entertainment, when in Vegas and New York, or even locally here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They have seen me perform countless times over the years. They are sharp, intelligent people who have seen a lot of magic, and I am always grateful to receive feedback from them, be it positive or negative.
For an effect that I recently devised, I needed to force a card. Prior to today, I had never performed the effect, which (to put it somewhat immodestly) I believe is a very good one. I wanted something quick in the way of a force, but decided against the classic Hindu Shuffle force. Instead, I opted to go out on a limb and try something different. Somewhere in my memory banks was a force I had read about in one of Larry Becker's books many years ago, although I cannot recall which book it was at the moment. Larry's effect required the forcing of (I believe it was) 4 cards, and it may have been the aces, but I'm not sure. I seem to recall Larry writing that he had devised the force, himself, and having not researched it, I have no reason to doubt his proclamation. But, for all I know, someone came up with it centuries ago...Until today, I had never tried it.
So putting aside all fear, worry and trepidation that it might be seen through, I contrived to get the force card on top and, after bringing to the bottom and back to the top with an overhand shuffle, I flipped the deck face up and commenced a face-up Hindu Shuffle, asking Jane, one of the more magically savvy family members, to say "stop" whenever she liked. Of course, this is the typical modus operandi used in the classic face-down Hindu Shuffle force. When she said stop, I simply flipped over the face-up packet of cards remaining in my right hand with a casual half-turn of my wrist, so that the packet was now face-down with the force card being face down on the top of the face-down packet. Then, with my left thumb, I peeled off the top card of that now face-down packet (i.e. the force card) and handed it to Jane, and I turned completely around as I asked her to show it to the company. I breathed a sigh of relief, when I realized there wasn't the slightest sign of suspicion or skepticism at this procedure (and believe me, these are people who would not hesitate for a second to call me out if there was even a grain of suspicion that I forced the card, or otherwise engaged in any chicanery, subterfuge or even irregularity). I was even convinced the card came from the center of the deck.
The bottom line, it whizzed right by them, and there was absolute conviction all around that the card was freely selected at random. This is something you can just "feel" based on experience - shall we say a long track record of both successes and failures. It doesn't take much to make me happy, and this did. The trick was then brought to a successful (and very surprising) conclusion, and the reactions were exceptionally strong. As I reflected upon this afterward, I felt convinced that the face-up Hiindu Shuffle force was substantially more convincing than the classic method, and I am thrilled that this will be a powerful magical weapon in my card arsenal going forward - at least that is my belief until if and when it is proven otherwise.
I was wondering if any of the members use or have used this method, or at least have tried it, and what kind of success (or lack thereof) they have had with it? Or, if anyone can offer anything in regard to the history of the effect, variations on it, or subtleties that might be used in connection with it, that would be wonderful too.
PS If this somehow appears on YouTube as a "tutorial" or trick "revealed," the perpetrator will be tracked down by a team of Pit Balls and Rottwielers and brought to (a very un-poetic) justice.
