Al Mann - 50 Miracles With the 5 Star Miracle Deck

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(201 ) 431-2429" POSTOFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

SO ~L f 4 A""A. A~'itJ.L", Copyright by Al Mann~~C1~~~,. r~ ~~ Exclusives (1985)

7~e 5'-St~~ ?R,/ut,ete lJ~~k1. THE CLASSIC EFFECT: The Mentalist seals an unknown playing card inan envelope which remains in full sight. A spectator is given a deck ofcards and told to deal the cards face up on a table, one over the other andto stop anywhere he wishes. The card the spectator stops at is the duplicateof the card sealed in the envelope!

The effect on the lay audience is profound! The audience assumes thefollowing: That the deck is ungimmicked and made up of 52 different cards.That the spectator has a free choice of anyone of the 52 cards. That there isno trickery possible! Some spectators assume that the person doing the dealing is a stooge. The rest assume that the Mentalist is a Miracle Worker andcan control the actions of the spectator as he deals.

THE 5-STAR MIRACLE DECK:

5, " ,

1 'I

~ '-~Fig. 1

The deck is composed of 48 cards (more may be added as desired by theperformer). 24 of the cards are indifferent cards while the other 24 are'force' cards (key cards) made up of four different cards repeated six times.

Fig. 1, shows part of the deck. The 'key' cards are: The Ace of Diamonds,the 5 of spades, the nine of hearts and the Queen of Clubs. These key cards arealternated all through the deck with indifferent cards in between.

TO PREPARE you must make two coin size double-envelopes and one lettersize double envelope. The key cards Ace of diamonds and five of spades aresealed in one double coin envelope so that the Ace goes into the front compartment while the five goes into the back compartment. The envelope must beprepared with a 1/4 inch strip of glue at the top and bottom, so that when thetop of the envelope is cut off, only the five comes out (the high card). Andif you cut off the bottom of the envelope, only the Ace (low card) will comeout. This loaded coin envelope is sealed into the front compartmentof the double letter envelope. The letter envelope should then appear to beempty. But it is not sealed. The letter envelope is left unsealed for the

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THE SSM

THE CLASSIC EFFECT c on t ,

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

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~ presentation. The second double coin envelope is prepared by sealing into thefront compartment, the nine of hearts and this envelope is left unselaed.

THE PRESENTATION: Show the unsealed coin envelope and tell the audience thatyou are going to seal one card, sight-unseen, in it. Then take, say from a redbacked deck of cards, the Queen of Clubs, without showing it to the audience,and seal it in the back compartment of the double-coin-envelope and then sealthe coin envelope into the back compartment of the letter envelope and give theletter envelope to some one to hold.

Give the 5SM deck (blue backs) to anyone and tell them to deal cards faceup on the table, one over the other and to stop anywhere they wish. If theystop on a key card, call attention to it and also to the fact that the nextcard or two are different and also the previous cards. Emphasize that theycould have stopped at any card. If they stop dealing on an indifferent cardtell the spectator to discard them and then to look at the next card on the deck.The next card is of course a key card.

Next take the letter envelope and open it to the correct compartment. Youhave also prepared the letter envelope with a 1/4 inch strip of glue on the leftand right sides so that if the right side of the envelope (the seamed side isfacing you), is cut open with a pair of scissors, only the back compartmentwith the high cards, 9H and QC, in the double-coin envelope will come out. Ifthe left side of the envelope is cut off, only the coin envelope with the lowcards will emerge. Say that the spectator stopped at the Queen of clubs.You must then cut open the right side of the letter envelope, shake it and onecoin envelope will come out. Take the coin envelope and cut off the top edge andonly the Queen of Clubs will come out, (the high card).

THE DOUBLE ENVELOPES are made simply by cutting out the address panel with flapattached from one envelope and inserting it into a whole envelope and glueingthe top flaps together, after you have placed the desired card into the frontcomaprtment (and of course, you have also placed the strips of glue on thecorrect sides of the insert). What you have in essence, is a nest oftwo envelopes that will produce anyone of four different cards!

The above is the Mind-Shattering Five-Star-Miracle effect. There aremany variations and methods of producing the key card and many effects are possible.

Credit for the principle used in the 5SM has been givento Audley Walsh. But perhaps the credit really belongs to Burling Hull who in1909 released the secret of the Svengali deck in his 'Sealed Mysteries.'

A hard look at the 5SM deck will reveal the fact that it is only an elaboration of the Svengali principle. Whereas the Svengali deck (usually) forcesonly a single card, the 5SM deck forces one of four different cards.

After the release of the Svengali principle, every magician in the worldbegin toying with it and amazing audiences. It was noted, however, that the fabulous effects possible with the Svengali deck could not be repeated since theforce card was always the same. So some enterprising magicians prepared Svengali decks that forced two cards! The top half of the deck forced one card whilethe bottom half forced a different one!

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THE 5SM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

A HISTORY cont.

Jean Huggard referred to this in the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (1937Max Holden edition), see page 247, paragraph 5, under 'Simple Effects.'

Speaking about the Svengali Deck, Hugard says, "Naturally the use ofthis pack makes a sure fire force. It can be used to force two cards by havingtwo sets of 13 similar cards instead of the usual 26."

Eventually the SVengali principle was used with the 'tossed out deck'and as many as three, four, six and twelve 'key' cards were used.

Credit for bringing the 5SM to the attention of the modern Magi, reallybelongs to two persons, (besides Audley Walsh and Ai Baker, both of who useda deck of 12 different cards repeated four times) Richard Himber, who usedthe principle with his 'Billfooled' Wallet and gave the name of Five StarMiracle to the effect, and to Al Koran, who did such a fabulous presentationof the 5SM that many today know the deck as the 'Ai Koran Deck!'

ADDED CARDS: Some performers prefer doing the 5SM with the deck face-up. Tothe face of the deck four more indiffrent cards are added. The deck is given tothe spectator face-up! and is told to deal cards onto the table, one over theother and to stop anywhere he or she wishes. The spectator sees 12 cardsbefore any repetition may be noticed. Actually, by the time the Performer hasfinished his instructions, the spectator has dealt the first four indifferentcards and then has eight more cards to deal, but as experience shows, thespectator stops long before the twelfth card is dealt. Try it!

2. WITH WALLETS: In effect, the Mentalist shows a playing card that he hasplaced in his wallet. The wallet is given to anyone to hold. A spectator istold to deal cards face up and to stop at anyone. The card stopped at is theduplicate of the one in the wallet!

THE HIMBER WALLET: As in the previous effect, two double-coin envelopesare used. One envelope with the low cards, AD and 5S, is plsced in the "A"compartment of the wallet, while the second envelope with the 9H and QC isplaced into the "B" compartment of the wallet.

Say that the AD is chosen. The wallet is opened to the "A" compartmentand the envelope is cut at the bottom so that only the Ace of diamonds comesout, (the low card).

WITH THE DIPLOMENTAL POUCH: Mentalist places one card into thewallet in compartment 1. When the card is chosen, the DIM Pouch is openedto the correct compartment which shows only onecard (without envelope).The spectator is allowed to remove the card to verify the prediction.

WITH ORDINARY WALLETS: Usually four different wallets are used, orfour identification cases. If the wallet is given out to the audience, thena 4-way envelope must be used as in the previous effect.

QC

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Fig.2

3. WITH DOUBLE-FACE CARDS: Two double faced cards are used. These can bespecially printed cards or simply two cards cemented back to back. One cardshows AD-5H, and the second card shows 9H-QC. These cards are then sealed intoa single double-coin-envelope.

Fig. 2 shows the front and back of the prepareddouble-coin-envelope. It is secretly marked asshown to avoid mistakes. In Fig. 2A, the ADis facing the seam side of the envelope whilethe 5S faces the address side as shown in Fig. 2B.

A B

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THE SSM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

WITH DOUBLE-FACE CARDS cont.

In order to produce the Ace of diamonds, the operator must cut off thebottom of the envelope and make sure that seam side of the envelope is facingup as he dumps the card into the palm of his hand so that only the Ace sideof the double-face card will show. Ai Koran made a masterpiece out of thismethod of presentation. The card is then placed into the performer's breastcoat pocket, and the envelope is crumpled and discarted for the dramatics.

IF the Himber flip-over wallet is used, then the double-faced cardsare sealed in separated unprepared coin envelopes. After the revelation, theenvelope is left behind or thrown to the floor.

The presentation where only a single envelope is used and left in anyone's hands is the best.

Fig. 4

Fig. 3

4. WITH DOUBLE-ENDERS: Fig. 3 shows ~ ~

two double-end cards. They show onecard from one end and a differentcard at the other.

The good point about thesecards is that they can be handledfreely simply by covering thebottom pip with the left handfingertips as the card comes outof the envelope. Since the backsof the cards have a regular back design, there is no dangerof flashing them. It is obvious that if the two cardsshown in Fig. 3 are to be used, then the key cards in yourdeck must be the 6H, 8H, 7S and 8s.

If two envelopes are used, the cards are inserted intothe envelope so that the high numbers on the card are up. If the spectatorchooses the 8S, the correct envelope is cut at the top and the card is shownas in Fig. 4. The card can then be taken out of the envelope by taking itwith the left fingertips at the lower left corner as the card comes out.

S. WITH ONE CARD ONLY! THE CARD MUST OF COURSE BE A DOUBLE-ENDER-DOUBLE-FACECARD! Simply take the two cards shown in Fig. 3 and cement them back to back.Mark the envelope on the outside secretly so that you know how to remove thethe card correctly. If someone notices that there are too many pips on thecard, simply take one off !?

(NOTE: The two cards shown in Fig. 3 are part of the Fa-Ko cards sold bymagic dealers.)

6. Eight KEY cards! Using two double-coin envelopes and four double face cards,in a Himber Wallet, the SSM deck can contain eight Key cards!

7. Sixteen KEY cards! Use two double-letter envelopes, each containing twoungimmicked coin envelopes with a double-end-double-face card and an Al KoranHimber Wallet. Both the letter envelopes and the coin envelopes can be markedwith dbts or any system desired by the operator so that the envelopes can beopened to the correct side. You will then be able to make up a SSM deck with16 KEY cards, 10 of which are repeated once making 26 KEY cards and 26 indifferent cards.

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B." CUTTING THE CARDS: A fast and dramatic presentation can be made by simplytelling the VIP to 'cut the cards!' The VIP is cautioned that he has an absolute free choice. "You may cut high, low or wherever. The choice is yours,but you will only get one chance."

The deck is placed face up on the table, making sure the face card isan indifferent card. Then have the VIP turn the cut portion face down and crossit on the lower face-up portion as in Fig. 5. If the face-up card showing isa KEY card you call attention to it. Otherwise tell the VIP to look at thetop cut of the face down portion which is a KEY card.

Fig. 5

By trimming the KEY cards on their long sides to makethem narrow cards, the deck can be placed face down on the table and every time the deck is cut, the top of the bottom halfof the deck will be a KEY card.

If, also, the indifferent cards are trimmed at the endsto make them short cards, the deck can be riffled to showthat all the cards are different! The fastidious mag~c~an

may also want to use marked cards so that he can tell the identityof any card. The cards can also be treated with the rough and smooth principle.

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

9. THE TOSSED OUT DECK! Using a 5SM deck with short indifferent cards, thedeck can be wrapped with a rubber band and tossed out to the audience. Anycard peeked will be a KEY card.

For THE PRESENTATION, the performer states that he has sealed one card inan envelope which is placed on display or shown in a wallet. He states that heis going to throw the deck out into the audience and that whoever cathces itmust peek at one card and one card only. The deck is thrown back to the Performer who then shows the one card in his wallet or envelope!

If the four KEY cards are sealed in one envelope, it can be passed outto anyone in the audience. The deck is then thrown out and four persons aretold to peek at cards. They may all see the same card or may all see differentcards BUT they will all acknowledge that their peeked card is in the envelope!

THE TELEPATHIC DECK: Harlan Tarbell takes credit for inventing the Telepathic Deck by cementinga short indifferent card to a long KEY card as in Fig.6. This deck was marketed under the name of the Telomatic Deck. Variations of this 'Peek' principle werealso sold under the name of the PEEK DECK and thePSYCHOMATIC DECK. These decks were used as the tossedout deck by wrapping a rubber band around the centeror ends of the deck.

The 'Tossed Out' deckis a very old idea. HenryHardin advertised it in hiscatalogue in 1907 and hadalready been in use fordecades! His catalogue wascalled "Memorandum of Magic."

(see The Tarbell Course#4 and Jinx #97)

THE SSM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

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10. THE BOTTOM DEAL: This method sometimes has a surprisereaction. Give the SSM deck to the spectator and tell him orher to deal from the bottom, one card at a time face-up, oneon top of the other on the table and to stop anytime.

If the top face-up card is a KEY card, fine. Otherwise tell the spectator to look at the face card atthe bottom of the cards he or she is holding.The spectator must turn his hand over to see thecard. "If you had dealt just one more card, Iwould have failed in my prediction." You say as youshow the card in the envelope or wallet. Fig. 8

11. UNDER THE SILK: Cover the deck with a handkerchiefand have the VIP cut it. The method is a conversation piece!They will remember the handkerchief.

12. Have them cut the deck into three piles or more and then they are tochoose any pile and a card is chosen from that pile by cutting, etc.

13. THE THIRD EXTASIE: Have the deck cut into several piles and have themchoose one pile. The loaded envelope is placed over the chosen pile as yousay, "The third card from the top of this pile will match the card in theenvelope." When the third card is glimpase, the envelope is opened to thecorrect card. (NOTE: The use of narrow cards will cut to a KEY card every time)

If the KEY cards are marked then you can tell if the top card is a KEYcard. If it is not then you say, "Deal three cards from the top and the nextcard will rna tch my card."

Another conversation piecethat will be long remembered. Stabbing thedeck is just another way of cutting it, BUTto the lay audience it is different. The deckcan be placed on the table face-up or facedown. The act in itself misdirects the mindso that you can call attention to the top cardor the bottom card of the cut!

Fig. 9.

15. TOP CARD STAB; Have the VIP cut the deck several times and then look atthe top card. If it is a KEY card use it, otherwise instruct the VIP to usethe card to stab the deck with.

16. BUSINESS CARD STAB: Borrow a business card from the VIP and write thefollowing on it: You will place your business card next to the same card asthe card in the envelope. Then tell the VIP to stab the deck anywherewith his business card. He may read the message before stabbing the deck.

17. ENVELOPE STAB: Give the loaded envelope to the VIP to stab the deck with.If you use the Double-ende-double face card, then the VIP can feel that theenvelope contains only one card. "I have one card sealed in this envelope.Wouldn't it be amazing if the card in the envelope is the same as the cardyou cut to?" Of course!

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18. ELIMINATION: Give the SSM deck to theVIP and tell him to deal two hands of eightcards each after he cuts the deck severaltimes. He deals one card to the left and thenext one to the right until the two handsare dealt. You will now have two piles ofcards, one of which is made up of KEY cardsand the other of indifferent cards. Putthe rest of the deck away.

Give the VIP a magician's choice of oneof the piles. "Say, "We are going to eliminateone pile. Please point to one." The chosen Fig. 10pile is either eliminated or kept while theother one is eliminated. PLACE THE PILE OFINDIFFERENT CARDS TO ONE SIDE MOMENTARILY. Next have the VIP deal two rowsof cards as shown in Fig. 10. One row at a time. EACH ROW WILL BE COMPOSED OFTHE FOUR KEY CARDS. Have one of these two rows eliminated and PLACE THEELIMINATED CARDS ON TOP OF THE EIGHT INDIFFERENT CARDS THAT WERE PUT ASIDE.

Now have one of the four cards chosen in any dramatic fashion like tossinga coin, etc. Show that the other three cards are different. THEN PICK UP THEOTHER 12 CARDS THAT WERE PUT ASIDE AND SHOW THE BOTTOM EIGHT CARDS BY FANNINGto show them all different. For the climax reveal your prediction in the envelope or wallet.

19. PROPHESY: Write the four names of the four KEY cards on four businesscards, one card to each message. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have written fourpredictions that I will pass into the audience. You may read them and show themto your neighbors but do not let them out of your hands. Please note that Ihave written these predictions before anything else is done."

Then proceed as in the above effect. The last four cards are turnedaround and the business cards are collected and read for the benefit of thewhole audience.

Fig. 11

11111[11111 11111

20. ISOLATION: Flash the faces of thedeck to the audience to show they areall different, then spread the deckribbon fashion on the table and say,"Out of all these cards, we are goingto isolate just one." Have some oneturn one card over. Chances are goodthat a KEY card will be turned over.The performer will be amazed that a KEY card is turned over causing bafflementto the audience. If a KEY card is turned over as in Fig. 11, make the most ofit. If not, say, "It is amazing that you should choose to turn over thatcard from the many. Now you are going to see something even more amazing. Youhave a free choice to turn over a card to the right or left of it, but youmust skip one card so that we can totally isoloate one card from the deck. Soplease count two cards to the left or to the right of the face up card. Youhave a free choice."

Fig. 12 shows the finalpicture. Have the VIP remove thethree cards, two face up and oneface down. Show that the othercard to the other side would havebeen different.

Fig. 12

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Fig. 13

21. IN TIME: If you own an old railroad pocket watch that hastwo solid covers, one for the face and one for the back, youhave the tools to perform a 'little' miracle! Justmake two double-faced miniature cards to represent the fourKEY cards in your 5SM deck. Place one double-faced cardwith the low numbers in the back of the watch. Say thatyour key cards are AD-5S-9H-QC. The ACE faces the watchwhile the FIVE. faces the cover in the back of the watch.The other double-faced card goes under the front coverwith the NINE up and the QUEEN down. Usually thefront cover opens when the stem wheel is pushed in while theback cover must be pried open with a pen knife of thumb nail. A little practiceis needed to know how to open the watch to reveal the correct card. If the FIVEis chosen, you simply open the BACK cover, slowly and carefully upwards.While if the ACE is chosen, the BACK cover is opened slightly and then thewatch is turned over and opened to reveal the ACE nested in the cover.

If the NINE is chosen the front cover is opened slowly, in order not toflip over the card and the NINE is revealed facing up, while if the QUEEN ischosen the front cover is opened slightly and then the watch is turned over.

The miniature cards should be held together with wax in case the VIPwants to keep it, in which case the two cards are secretly separated.

22. IN A NUT SHELL: A dish full of walnuts sit on the table. VIP chooses anynut which is placed on the table next to the deck of cards. A KEY card is thenforced and the· walnut is split open to reveal a duplicate in miniature of thechosen card. You have or course prepared four walnuts by splitting themcarefully and placing a miniature card in it and then glueing them together.The nuts are secretly marked. You have these four prepared nuts on your lap.After the KEY card is revealed you simply palm the correct nut and switch itfor the one on the table. Give the VIP a nut cracker to open the nut.

23. THE BET: Place a coin on the table as you tell the VIP that you willfind the card before he chooses it and that you bet him the value of the coin,etc. After a KEY card is forced, you simply secretly stick a miniature duplicate under the coin.

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Fig. 14

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24. MINIATURE STAB: Attach the correct mi-niature duplicate to a kitchen knife as inFig. 14. The VIP has already chosen aKEY card and replaced the cut. Now tellhim to stick the knife anywhere in thedeck. "NOW will you please look a t thecard under the knife." You say. IT MAY BE THAT THE VIP HAS ACTUALLY CUT TOHIS CHOSEN CARDl If not, you say, "You looked in the wrong place." And thenyou show him the miniature card attached to the knife!

NOTE: Miniature cards are available. They are sold in Magic shops andnovelty stores or you can make your own by reducing them in a copying machineto any desired size.


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Fig. 16.

Doing CONTACT-MINDREADING with the 5SM deck is aseasy as falling off a thumbtip. Use two decks, one red-back and one blue.Say that the blue deck is the 5SM deck. The other deck is prepared by sim

'ply separating the KEY cards widely with about 10 indifferent cards betweeneach KEY card and a few cards added to the top and bottom.

The VIP gets a secret peek at any KEY card in the blue deck. You say,"Please note that I will not touch your deck." You then spread the red deckface up in a long ribbon on the table.

The VIP takes your left wrist with KEY CARDShis right hand as you tell him to ~~-__"WILL" you in "the direction of his b / - ~ ~ ~

chosen card. YOU CANNOT MISS! ~I.;Im9All you need to know is the general ..••• •. •• tt ~"••

area of where his chosen card is. You :.:.will then know the exact card! Fig. 15 g

26.

Just a little more effort and you can do theabove test NON-CONTACT! Cse the same two decks. Give the VIP a secret peek ata Key card. Spread the red deck as above. Tell the VIP to stand in front ofyou across the table facing you and looking intently at your hands AND NOTAT YOUR EYES. Using both hands place the finger tips in the general areawhere one of the KEY cards is. Place one finger tip on the KEY card and therest elsewhere. Then look up and watch the VIP's face as you push out the KEYcard. IF the VIP smiles and looks at you you know that that is the card. Ifnot simply proceed to another card as you tell the VIP to 'will'you intentlyto the card. And the VIP may even be instructed to look intently at the card!NOTE: In order to give the VIP a secret peek at a KEY card, you must use a deckthat has the KEY cards trimmed narrow so that the VIP can cut anywhere and lookat the top card of the lower section which should be a KEY card.

27. THE BILLET KNIFE: Xerox your four KEY cards to make them paper-thin. Ifyou wish you can also enlarge them. Then fold them into billets to fityour billet knife. You can load the billet knife secretly in front of theVIP or you can simply prepare four billet knives if you own that many. Thebillets are found inside a sealed envelope for the climax.

28. GIANT CARDS: You can enlarge xerox copies of the KEY cards to any size,say 8~ by 11 inches or bigger if desired. These sheets can then be neatelyfolded and placed in your DiploMental Pouch or Himber Wallet and producedfor a dramatic climax. The same can be done with envelopes.

29. WITH BILLETS: A most impressive presentation of the 5SM can be done bythe use of billets. The magician cannot place a card face down on the tableto predict which one of the KEY cards will be chosen unless the card isconcealed in an envelope or wallet BUT the Mentalistcan place a written folded billet on the table!

You of course prepare four billets which youhold on your lap. One billet is written during theshow and folded and placed on the table, Fig. 16.After one of the KEY cards is forced, if the billet does not predict the chosencard, the Mentalist switches it! If you know The Test of Thoth Billet test

THE SSM

WITH BILLETS cont.

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you can then perform a most profound effect. After the chosen card is revealedyou simply push the billet to the VIP saying, "read what I wrote before youchose your card!" Fig. 16 shows the pencil under the billet. Ifyou reach for the pencil with your left hand while taking the billet withyour right hand, the action makes perfect cover and misdirection, ALTHOUGHonce you have done the Test of Thoth several times you will need no cover.

30. 25 FACES SOUTH!: This method duplicates the classic card effectcalled "51 Faces North" from a Paul Curry idea. In the original effect, theVIP deals the cards face up on the table But placesanyone card aside face down. The chosen card is ofcourse predicted by the Magician.In this test the VIP is given the SSM deck and told todeal the first card face down and the next card faceup until the entire deck is dealt. He is then to pickanyone of the face-down cards and put it aside.

You must make sure that the top card of the SSMdeck is a KEY card. After the cards are dealt, all theface-down cards are KEY cards. For the dramatics, theperformer turns over any three cards to the left orright of the chosen card to show that any other choice would have a differentresult.

31. PUMPING: In presenting effects with the SSM deck, the operator mustkeep in mind that his audiences is not aware that they only have one choice_infour. They assume that they have one choice in 52! The choice of the KEY cardcan there fore be divined by pumping information from the VIP.

If the VIP tells you that he is thinking of a red card, he assumes thathe is not giving you too much information. You therefor ask the VIP if he is'thinking of a cherry color card' with the some-cherries-are-black angle.After that, let us assume that the VIP is thinking of a red card and that theKEY cards include the AD and 9H. So you say, "You are also thinking of a lownumber and for this purpose we will count the ACE as a low number card."If the VIP says "YES!" you are in business and tell him the card. The Magician must never underestimate the inpact of this effect, as the VIP has noway of rationalizing the results.

32. MAGICIAN'S CHOICE: Here is another startling effect for the lay mindyet very simple and for that reason many magicians will overlook it.Any KEY CARD CHOSEN IS PREDICTED BY THE Magician. The VIP is given a pen andcard to write out his choice. He is then directed to read the print on thepen or pencil. The pen or pencil have been specially prepared by printingthe name of one of the cards on it. OR the VIP is directed to open a cigarbox resting on the table. The cigar box is empty except for one card whichis the duplicated of the chosen one. OR after the VIP writes out the nameof his card on an index card, he is directed to turn the index card overwhich contains a written prediction of the chosen card. OR the VIP may bedirected to turn around a blackboard which has a large message on the otherside predicting the card. There surely are dozens of dramatic ways to climaxthe effect.


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CounC"el,l'!J, : .7 Card effects where the VIP ~s told to deal cards toa thought-of number have both the elements of suspense and surprise. The VIPdoes not believe that you can control his count and is very surprised whenhe discovers that you did.33. A favorite of Harry Lorayne: Tell the VIP to deal as many cards ashe wishes and then to take the next two. He then gets a magician's choice ofthe KEY card. If the VIP does not like the two cards, he can discard them andtake the next two!34. Spelling!:' A personal touch is added when the VIP is told to think of hisbeloved and to spell her name by dealing one card for each letter.

35. FREE CHOICE: (Shades of David Berglass) Place the deck on the table andsay, "Please note that from now on I am not going to touch the deck. I wantyou to choose any number from one to 52." After the VIP chooses the number youthen say, "That's great. Now I am going to give you one further choice, sinceyou are a very nice person. I want you to take the deck in your hands andcount either from the top down or from the bottom up, the coice is yours."

Have the VIP deal the cards face down one on top the other BUT when hehas eight cards to go, assuming that his number was greater then eight, say,"Now to show you that all the cards are well mixed please deal the next fewcards face up and stop at your chosen number." You of course either forcethe last card dealt or the one remaining on top of the deck.

36. Tell the VIP to think of a number from 1 to 10 but to not disclose it.He is then told to cut the deck into four equal piles and to choose one pileand count off cards to his number.

A veryprofound andsensationaltest with newspaper headlinescan be donevery simply withthe 5SM deck.

Prepare a 5SMDeck so that it

spectator how to cutsome indifferent


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, 38.p~keJr,!: In this effect only one prediction envelope is used. Itis ungimmicked and can be given to anyone to hold. In EFFECT: A spectatorchooses one card from a deck of 52 that will give him or her a winning pokerhand! Prepare a 5SM deck with the following KEY cards:

Ace of Hearts, Two of Spades, Five of Hearts, Nine of Hearts.

Your prediction envelope contains four cards, the 10, J, Q and K of hearts.Plus a prediction paper that reads, "I predict that you will choose a card thatwill give you a winning hand. in Poker." Then you instruct the VIP and tellhim that the T~o of Spades is a Wild card.

So now no matter which one of the four KEY cards he chooses, he willget a winning hand: A flush, a straight flush or a Royal Flush! Suspense canbe built up by having the VIp turn over one card at a time. Anyone of thehands can be dramatized to the hilt. With the flush you say, "Well you chosethe 5 of hearts and now with the ten of hearts you haven't got much." But onthe next card, the Jack of hearts, you say, "Now you got something, a possibleflush." And you build up the expectations and suspense to the last card. Thesame goes with the other hands except that now the VIP will get either astraight flush or a Royal flush. If the VIP chooses the wild card, 2 of spades,the performer can realy build up the suspence.

,39. FOUR-OF-A-KIND: Performer counts our three cards, showing the backsonly and seals them in an envelope and places the envelope into his walletor into a larger envelope. He then spreads a deck of cards on the table saying,"Someone here is going to choose a card that will match the three cards in mywallet-" He then has anyone choose two cards and discard one. The VIP isgiven the three cards in the envelope and together with the chosen card theymake four-of-a-kind! TO PREPARE: You have four envelopes each loadedwith three cards to match the four KEY cards. If the KEY cards are a Ace, fivenine and Queen, the envelopes contain the other three Aces, Fives, Nines andQueens.

40. FIND THE ACE: Performer shows one spectator in the audience three cardssaying, "Don't forget what I showed you. The three Aces! Right?" Performerseals the three aces in an envelope and places it in his wallet etc.

The VIP is then told to choose a card by cutting the deck. The performershows that if he had cut deeper he would have gotten a different card and evena different ACE! The chosen card, say the Ace of Spades is then added tothe three aces in the envelope to make the four ACES of the deck: AS, AD, ACand AH. TO PREPARE: You will need three aces for each offour envelopes. Each of the four envelopes is missing only one ACE each ofa different suit. One envelope is missing the ACE of Spades, the next is miss-ing the ACE of Diamonds, etc. The 5SM deck has the four Aces as KEYcards. Once the Ace is known that is chosen, the performer knows what envelopeto open. NOTE: When the three Aces are shown to the first spectator theyare only flashed before his eyes. All he or she remembers is that there werethree ACES.

41. IN A PHOTOGRAPH: Performer shows a foto of himself holding a jumbo sizedplaying card. But it shows the back. "I .. ill turn the card around soon and showyou what the face of the card is." The photo is sealed in an envelope and placed

THE 5SM

IN A PHOTOGRAPH con t ,

13


on the table. A card is then chosen from ais opened it shows the same picture but iffoto of the chosen card.fotographs that are double-faced. That is,side while the other side shows the face.

deck by cutting. When the envelopeit is turned around, it shows the

TO PREPARE: You must make fourit shows the back of a card on oneThe fotos match the KEY cards.

Fig. 19

Fig. 20

42. DESIGN DUPLICATION: For this' effect youneed to prepare a 5SM deck made up of MentalPictoria cards, Fig. 19. PREPARE bydrawing the four designs on large paper, say8~ by 11 inches and then fold each sheet neatlyand sealed it in your nest of envelopes or placeit in your special wallet. Remember your KEYcards in alphabetical order, like BUG, Knife, Nailand Triangle. The deck is shown and it appears to be made of many designs. Forthe dramatics you can have the chooser draw his chosen design on a large slate!

43. BY THE NUMBERS: This amazing problem isworth bothering with as it works most of thetime, often enough to cause a profound effect.

You tell a person to choose a number between1 and 50. It must be a number of two digits. Bothdigits must be odd and different. "You cannot picka number like 11." You say, "Because it is made upof two odd numbers but they are alike." Thatlast statement is supposed to make the VIP shoot upto the 30's so that he will either pick number 35 or37. BUT of course he could also pick number 13, 15, 17, 19, and 39!Amazingly the numbers 35 and 37 are favorites for the lay mind.

So you prepare four key cards of numbers for a number deck. Three ofthe cards are double-faced say, the 13-15, 17-19 and 37-39 plus a single facecard with number 35. These four cards you seal in coin envelopes and placein your wallet or nest of envelopes.

Your 5SM number deck should be made up with the seven key cards of theabove numbers. Then you can have some fun. Have someone choose a key cardfrom the deck by cutting or dealing but tell him not to inform the audiencewhat the chosen number is. Then you tell the audience, "Can anybody tell mewhat this number is1 1 111 give you a clue. It is made up of two digits. Bothdigits are odd and different-" No matter what the chosen number is the climaxwill be a good one. The audience may call the same number as chosen. Or they maycallout numbers 35 and 37. You produce a prediction that predicts the numberchosen (from the wallet) and also the number that will be called by the audience!

You'll have fun. Try it. Ask "How many of you thought of the number 357And how many of the number 377 etc. etc. Many hands will go up!

For predicting the number called by the audience, you just write in largenumbers on an art board the number 35 and/or 37.

44. THE TAPE RECORDER: "I predict that you will choose the ACE of diamonds!I knew it! I knew it! I'm wrong! It will be the five of spades! NO! Waita minute. I have never been wrong twice. You will pick the nine of Hearts!-- I can't believe it. But now I have it you picked the Queen of hearts!!!!!!

14


45. IN THE POCKET: "1 want you to notice that these cards are well shuffled.Now please put them into your coat pocket (cards go in facing his body). Ihave no control over tha cards, you must agree. I want you to stick your handinto your coat pocket and choose only one card from anywhere in the deck andbring it out." "Isn,t it amazing that the very card you chose is inmy pocketbook which has been in sight at all times?" That is what yousay if the VIP picks out one of the KEY cards. If not, say, "Please turn thecard around and imagine that it is a knife and stab it into the deck"and bringthe deck out. The deck is spread facedown on a table and the Performer pointsto the one faee up card saying, "You had no control of where you would stickthet card, did you?" "Please take to two cards next to the face-up card."any two cards will do and the VIP is given a magician's choice of the KEY card!

Fig. 21

A"

D

46. FOUR AHEAD: Two decks are used. From one deck theMagician places four cards face down in a row on the table as he says, "Please notice that I am putting downthese cards before anything else is done. These are my'FATE' cards." Performer places down row "A" as inFig. 21. He then instructs the VIP to pleasecut his deck anywhere, "You have a free choice as towhere to cut the deck, high,low or in the middle."

"Now please deal the first card face down and thenext card face up to make two rows." as in rows "B" and"c" in Fig. 21.

Pointing to rows A and C, the performer says,"It would surely be a miracle if these four cards of mine

match your four face up cards! Wouldn't it?""I am also going to try to match your four face

down cards!" Performer then places down row "D." He then picks up his cardsina bunch (all eight of them) and holds them in his hand and says "Pleaseturn over your face down cards." Then the performer throws his cards atthe VIP saying, "Check'em yourself while I sip my coffee." Climax!

The first four cards of row "A" are of course the four KEY cards, whilethe last row put down are the duplicates of row "C".

47. BOARDED: A Headliner effect that was performedby the Svengalis during Vaudeville days was the r-------~~

card found nailed between wooden boards.The boards were first shown clean on bothsides and then nailed together. A chosen cardappeared when the boards were separated.

THE METHOD: Boards were about 1/2 inch thick by a footsquare. When the first board is shown clean with the left hand by turning itover, it was placed momentarily on the table where it picked up a card byglue or magnet. The second board was shown in like manner with the righthand and then the two boards placed together, the right hand board goingunder the left hand board and then nailing the boards together. The cardwas then forced. With the use of the SSM deck, an envelope is placed between the boards, either secretly or openly- and then the VIP is given a freechoice of any card by cutting. The envelope contains two double face cards!

"-oJ


48. MIRACLES AHEAD!: This is the ONE-AHEAD-SYSTEM using the 5SM deck!Place the deck on the table in front of the VIP who is sitting across the

table from you. Tell him to cut the deck anywhere he wishes when you turn yourback and to complete the cut and then to place the deck under the table sothat you can not see it. OR he may cut the deck under the table!

"I am going to put a card down ahead of you, remember it please."You put down anyone of the KEY cards face dwon from another deck. Then

tell the VIP to take the top card from his deck and place it face up next toyours. If the VIP places the same KEY card as yours, you have a miracle. BUTif not continue by putting down a second card face dwon next to yours. Thissecond card is a duplicate of the one showing. You continue in this fashionuntil the VIP.puts down the KEY card that you originally placed down. Thenpick up your cards in a bunch and reveal them to match all of the VIP's cards!

The number of cards put down by the VIP will be from one to seven!If you are using 'readers' then the VIP can place his cards face down!

the VIP that you have two cards in yourshown to the VIP. When he cuts you removethe top section. Voila! Another Miracle!

to.

Fig. 23

~~:~

Original~bottom card

49. CRISS-CROSS: This ancient gem startleseveryone who sees it. It can be done withany deck. The deck may be shuffledand cut, but the bottom card mustbe known. Say it is the two of hearts.

The VIP cuts the deck and criss crosses it as in Fig. 23. The Psychicwithout looking at the deck, points a finger at the VIP as says, "You cutto the deuce of hearts, and (He reaches over and picks up the top card of thetop section and looks at it, say it is the six of clubs) the six of clubs!"

The Psychic next takes out the bottom card of the top section and flipsboth cards over in front of the VIP.

The effect is presented fast and decisive and it hits the onlooker likea bolt of lightning. Later however, the VIP surmises that you read thebacks of the cards.

By using the 5SM deck, all deductions fail!To PRESENT with the 5SM deck, you must know the bottom card which must be

an indifferent card and you must have four duplicates of it. Load your Diplo/Mental pouch or your Himber wallet with the four KEY cards of the deck and eachKEY card is paired by a duplicate of the bottom card. So that no matter whatKEY card shows up at the cut, you can always open the wallet to the KEY cardand the indifferent bottom card.

Before the deck is cut, you showwallet or envelope. Only the backs arethe card cut to and the bottom card of

Su. poi~'t 13e4,ule ,/EFFECT: The Mentalist shows the audience four sealed envelopes. He tells

the audience that each envelope contains one single playing card. The foursealed envelopes are given out to four persons who are told to sign their nameson the outside of the envelopes and that the envelopes must not be exchanged.

A deck of cards is then placed on the table and anyone chooses fourcards. The four cards are shown to the audience and then given in a bunch tothe four persons holding the envelopes. They are told to each take an envelope in no particular order. Each person is then told that they may exchangethe cards with each other. The Mentalist then approaches the first person

THE SSM

POINT BLANK cont.

16


and again asks him or her if he or she wants to exchange envelopes with anyone.Finally the Mentalist takes the envelope and opens it and shows the card thatwas inside and it is a duplicate of the card the person is holding. BOTH THEENVELOPE AND THE CARD ARE LEFT WITH THE PERSON TO INSPECT OF KEEP!

THE SAME PROCEEDURE IS FOLLOWED WITH THE OTHER THREE PERSONS. They areall given chances to exchange their cards but no matter, the cards in theenvelopes always match the cards held.

If the reader can present the above test effectively and dramatically, hecan concider himself to be a Master Mentalist.

THE SECRET: The four sealed envelopes contain D-E-D-F cards. These arethe double-enders-double-face cards mentioned in effect number 4. These cardsare not hard to come buy. The Fako cards sold by Magic Dealers contain twogood ones as in Fig. 3. So you will need to buy four decks of Fako cards.Unless you can make the cards yourself. The Fako cards are also veryeasy to handle. Simply by marking the outside of the envelope with dots of1, 2, 3 and 4 to designate the four KEY cards of the SSM deck you will use.In this case the KEY cards will be 6H, 8H, 7S, 8S.

Each sealed envelope contains one D-E-D-F card. The four sealed envelopesare given to four persons who are told to sign them, or the Mentalist may writethe names of the four persons on the envelopes. The sealed envelopes are leftwith the four persons.

Then the SSM deck is introduced and the four KEY cards are forced asdetailed in effect number 18, page 7, "ELIMINATION."

For the revelation the Mentalist approaches each person and takes thesealed envelope and opens it at the correct end and shows the card inside,see Fig. 4. The card that the person holds is now taken and placed against theenvelope to show the audience that they match. The Mentalist then removes thecard from the envelope covering the lower pip with his left fingers and theright hand takes the envelope and the other card and holds it high in the airwhile holding the D-E-D-F card against his chest. Mentalist then returns thestraight card and envelope to the person to inspect or keep!

While approaching the second person, the Mentalist is still holdingin his left hand the D-E-D-F card, so he just drops it in his coat pocket.

At the end you will have a room full of very puzzled people and thefour participants will be holding ungimmicked cards and envelopes with theirsignature.

The D-E-D-F cards are just as easy to handle as double-face cards. Youwill need some practice and you mus watch your angles. The less you move thebetter and then stick the cards in your inside coat pocket! Perhaps you mayfeel better if you have another set of KEY cards in your pocket whic~ you bringout later.

For Success

/~/}II}; 1(j/~J tt.' -

vY~

Documents

Al Mann - 50 Miracles With the 5 Star Miracle Deck