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LeveragePooling The ConfederateParallax

-1-

Simple Ciphers

After being in magic 72 hours, it occurs to every

novice that by employing a confederate for certain

tricks, he gains an immense advantage; the method be-

comes invisible.

The confederate is usually a layman friend or

fellow magician. The main qualification for the job

hasn't changed in centuries; the confederate must en-

joy intrigue and be content to remain on the sidelines,

the unsung hero of the moment. In other words, he must

be content to remain invisible.

If you and the confederate decide on a spoken or

silent code, whereby he will code to you, say, a card

chosen by a spectator, the classic impasse is reached;

every code requires memory work, and usually a lot of

it.

This is fine if you use the code constantly. The

secret work gets to be so automatic that it is almost

like real mindreading. But if you don't use the code

on a regular basis, part of it is going to be forgot-

ten. Worse, it may be remembered, but incorrectly, so

that the wrong signals are sent or the wrong interpre-

tation given to the signal received. Then the code has

to be re-memorized. At that point the chore becomes so

great that the code is abandoned.

All of the above is easily proven. Every magician

can remember at least a fragment of some code. When

asked why he can't remember the rest, he will tell you," . ..because I don't use it." Then too, and especially

in the area of the silent code, the code mechanisms

follow no standard form. If you doubt the truth of

this, try and think of a universally accepted silent

code. There is none.

Because I had the same trouble memorizing codesand then keeping them in mind (Neilsen and I workedconstantly on the subject), I devised a series ofabsolutely simple codes that could be learned, not ina day or an hour or even in five minutes, but in30 seconds, even by a 10-year-old.

One such system is given in this ms. The strengthof this system is that even if you and the confederateforget the code (amnesia not being uncommon in thefraternity), you know the form so you will be able toreconstruct the code easily.

There is a bonus. This ms. will likely be read bymagicians across the country. Anyone reading this text-anyone- will know the form of the code. This means thatif you travel anywhere in the country and meet a mag-ician who has read what you're reading now, you canimmediately set up a series of tricks in the miracleclass, because you both know the code.

You can code a chosen article, or tell a spectatorwhich pocket he's hidden a coin or a key. You can codeESP symbols or any card in the deck, and it all workswith the same basic code. The code is silent, but itis so simple that the confederate can even set up thespectator so that he codes the name of his own card.

All of this will be covered in the following pages.The order in which the tricks are described is the ap-proximate order in which I do them. At times I will doonly one or two tricks. If audience interest is ob-vious, I'll continue with other tricks. The number oftricks you perform depends on audience reaction.

Without doubt, the most difficult person to con-

vince to use a confederate is the magician who wouldnot hesitate to label himself a purist. There isprobably no point in trying to reason with the purist,but perhaps one of the following two arguments will atleast persuade him to try the system discussed here.

If you work at parties or with a group of peopleat the bar or in a restaurant, you know that a singletrick in the miracle category will add lustre to allof the other tricks you perform. If you are lookingfor the one stunning trick that cannot fail to boostyour reputation, it is likely to be of the type thatis contained in this ms.

The other argument is from a different point ofview. If you engage your wife, your son or your daughteras the confederate, they will be likely to take a fargreater interest in your magic than they have thus fartaken. Not only are they actively engaged, but becausethey are viewing the trick from the inside, they cansee how the intrigue evolves, how spectators are ledastray, how devastating a simple secret can be whenused properly.

If you don't have a wife, son or daughter, and livealone with no family, you can still set up a waiteror bartender as a confederate. On occasion, when I'mhaving dinner with two people, and one leaves the tableto buy a pack of cigarettes, I will convey the completecode to the other dinner guest- usually in less than 30seconds. Thus, when the other party returns to thetable, I can perform a simple trick that has absolutelyno explanation.

What you do with the information in the followingpages is up to you. Whether you are a purist or someoneless likely to quibble over the method used to achievethe desired end, you might find the information, thetricks, and the techniques, somewhat different from

the usual run of magic tricks.

Part Two of this ms. is related to, but differentfrom, the material on The Shamrock Code. Used in con-junction with the Shamrock Code, it will fool the veryconfederate who is helping you with the trick. It isa system of Totaling, and while the concept is as oldas playing cards, the method used here is new and hasfooled magicians familiar with published forms of thesystem.

If you switch from the totaling system to theShamrock Code and back again, using the two systemsin conjunction with one another as well as separately,you will find that the results generate offbeat magic.

Jan. 16, 1979 Karl Fulves

The Enciphering TechniqueIf you bought this ms. it is assumed that you can

read. The point is important because the concept ofthe code has to do with the way you read, i.e., fromleft to right and from top to bottom of the page.

There is no reading involved in the code. Butthe concept rests on the fact that you "read in" thecode from left to right and from top to bottom, notof a page but of a drinking glass.

This is why, in my notes, the code is referred toas a saloon code because your confederate must be hold-ing a drink to work the code. Once the concept isgrasped other objects can be used. But if you do thetrick at a party or while standing at the bar, it iscompletely natural for the confederate to hold a drinkin his hand. Thus the means used to transmit the codeis so natural as to be visible but unseen.

Remember that the format is the same as readinga page. It goes from left to right and from top tobottom. Now for the essentials.

The Shamrock CodeIn the easiest application, the spectator places

five objects in a row on the table. Assume the objectsare a key, a coin, a match packet, a ring and a watch.

The spectator places his or her hand over one ofthe five objects while the performer has his back turn-ed. Then the spectator takes his hand away.

The performer faces the spectator. He places hishand over each object, hoping to detect a sympatheticvibration or psychic echo when his hand is over thecorrect object. Naturally the performer correctly re-veals the chosen object.

Since you know that a code is used, you know moreor less how the trick is done. Therefore your firstquestion will not be, "How'd he do it?" but more likely,"This fools people?" There's no way to convince youuntil you try the trick yourself, but you will findthat even in the absense of counts and phases and moves,this trick fools people. Further,it is likely to makemore sense to them than traditional tricks, becausepeople relate more naturally to talk of psychic echosthan they do to talk of Leader Aces.

Now the method. The confederate is seated at thetable. On the table before him is a glass of water. Theconfederate waits for the spectator to make a choice.Once an object has been decided upon, the confederatepicks up the glass. Throughout all of this, the per-former has his back turned, so the confederate's actionshave no particular importance attached to them.

It is when the performer turns around that he getsthe coded information at a glance because the confeder-ate tips off the chosen object by the way he holds theglass of water.

Looking at the row of five objects from the con-federate's left, if the spectator chose the object atthe far left end of the row, the confederate picks upthe glass at the upper left side as shown in Fig. A onthe next page.

If the spectator chose the second object from theleft, the confederate picks up his glass at the farupper right side, designated as Fig. B on the nextpage. Note that in going from "A" to "B" you are goingfrom left to right.

If the spectator chose the third or middle objectin the row, the glass is picked up at the lower left

side near the bottom, Fig. C.

If the spectator chooses the 4th object in therow, the confederate picks up the glass at the lowerright side, Fig. D.

Note that in going from A-B to either of the sit-uations depicted in C-D, the position of the hand has

moved from the top to the bottom of the glass. Once a-gain, the format is like reading a page; you move fromleft to right across the top, then from left to rightacross the bottom. Just remember left to right, top tobottom, and you have the code.

If the spectator chooses the fifth object in therow, that is, the object at the far right, the confed-erate does not pick up the glass. He leaves it on thetable.

That's the code. Except for an added detail inthe coding of playing cards, you have all the infor-mation you need to code objects, ESP cards, colors,and dozens of other applications.

There's a sometimes fine line between methods thatare simple and methods that are simple-minded. It de-pends on the type of approach that appeals to theindividual, on individual perception of the practical-ity of a particular approach. As time goes on I findthat cunning, ingenious methods have their place, butthat simple methods are ultimately the ones I rely on.That's the case here. Having used this code for years,I know the pitfalls and think that most have beenironed out. They are covered in the following para-graphs.

Tips On The Handling1. Before the trick begins, the confederate takes

up a position near the participating spectator. If youare seated at a table, fine, the confederate is alreadythere. But if in a more fluid setting, such as a party,make sure the confederate is situated where he canclearly see the participating spectator.

2. The confederate's glass is on the table. Hishands are free. He acts like any other spectator andquietly watches the trick as it unfolds.

3. After the spectator has chosen an object theconfederate does not pick up his glass. The reason is

that the spectator might change his mind. This wouldmean that the confederate would have to shift theposition of the glass, and this is a tip-off. Theconfederate has to handle the glass as if it were aglass and not a signaling device. People rememberany slight discrepancy. It may mean nothing at thetime, but later they do recall that one spectatorseemed more animated than he should have been.

So, the confederate wait until the spectator set-tles on an object. The performer asks the spectator ifhe wants to change his mind. Ultimately he will settleon one object. It is only then that the confederatepicks up his glass.

4. The confederate does not pick up the glass withone hand and trasnfer it to the other. He picks it upin the correct position to signal the chosen object.Then he takes a sip from the glass, and then he remainsmotionless.

5. It is only at this point that the performerturns around. He does not glance at the confederateas he turns. This is a certain tip-off that the con-federate is more important than the spectator. Whenturning, the performer focuses his attention on theparticipating spectator, then on the objects in therow, and only later on the confederate. Since the codeis completely open and is not concealed in any way,the performer can almost always catch it from the cor-ner of his eye. Thus there is no need to look at theconfederate at any time.

6. This next point is the most important. Al-most always I set up a layman as the confederate. Heknows nothing about magic, he may be a bit nervous,and almost certainly he won't know how to act (or react)should something go wrong. For these reasons I want tomake his task as easy as possible. In teaching the code

91 SenseThe spectator places a penny, a dime, a nickle, a

quarter and a half-dollar on the table in no particularorder. If he doesn't have a half-dollar he can use an-other coin.

Turn your back. The spectator quietly gathers fourof the coins into his left hand and one in his righthand. You turn around and announce the total amount ofchange in his closed left hand.

Although there are only five possible totals, it isnot the total that the confederate codes to you. He takesthe easy way out and codes the value of the coin in thespectator's right hand.

If the spectator gathered all five coins into hisleft hand, the total would be 91. Since only four of thecoins are in that hand, subtract the value of the right-hand coin from 91. Then announce the total of the coinsin the spectators left hand.

Note the spectator doesn't arrange the coins in arow. It does not matter how he arranges the coins. Youand the confederate need only agree beforehand that thepenny (lowest value) represents 1, the nickle 2, thedime 3 and so on in ascending order according to the valueof the coins.

In the 5-object test on pg. 5 you & the confederatecan agree to mentally order the objects alphabetically.I don't recommend it because it can cause confusion.(Sup-pose a cigarette lighter is one of the objects; you maythink of it as a lighter, but the confederate thinks ofit as a cigarette lighter. For you it's an object begin-ning with the letter "1" but for him it begins with "c".)If the spectator isn't certain, he's likely to panic orcode the wrong information. Obviously, if he's someone

to the confederate I stress that the reference pointis always from his left. When counting to an objectin a row, when tipping the identity of a chosen coin(the next trick in this ms.),when coding a playingcard or anything else, the reference point is ALWAYSfrom his left. If he has to count to an object in arow, he starts at his left, not mine or the spectator's.

This gets rid of the single most common point ofconfusion; when you say count from the left, do youmean your left? His?,The spectator's? If it's to bedone from your left, is it your left when you haveyour back turned, or when you face the spectator?

All of these questions are done away with if youclearly state that the reference point is his left. Heis stationary, whereas you may turn around, pace backand forth, constantly change your position in relationto the confederate. You don't want him to feel that hehas to shift the glass from hand to hand in a franticeffort to match your movements, and you don't wantconfusion. The only way to cut through to the simplestapproach is to agree at the beginning that the referen-ce point is his left.

7. This leads to the technique of deciphering thecode. After you have turned around to face the partic-ipating spectator, you will sooner or later glimpsethe coded information. Remind yourself that it's beingtransmitted to you from the confederate's left andyou will have no trouble . In the simple case offinding an object in a row of five, there is no prob-lem, but later, in the matter of coding a playingcard, despite the simplicity of the method, it is wiseto have a clear idea of the information you have ob-tained. You can't study the confederate's glass andyou don't want to glance at him more than once, sobefore you go on with the revelation, stop and recallthat it all works from his left.

who clearly knows how to handle such situations, andif you work together often, then you can devise anyvariations on the code you care to. The same appliesto the means used; a lit cigarette can replace thedrinking glass. So too can many other objects.

Plaintext CardsIf, before doing a few tricks using the Shamrock

Code, I've done one or two tricks with cards, then itis natural for a deck of cards to be readily available.Assuming spectator interest warrants it, I then proceedwith a few card effects using the Shamrock Code. Thefirst goes as follows.

The spectator removes any five cards from a well-shuffled borrowed deck. These five cards are placed ina face-down row on the table.

While the performer turns his back, the spectatorturns any card face-up, concentrates on it, and thenturns it face-down. The five cards are gathered in a pac-ket

The performer then faces the spectator. Picking upthe packet, the performer locates the chosen card.

Method: The performer knows something about the chosencard because the confederate signals the value of thecard to him. The code is the same as the one alreadydescribed, but the meaning of the cipher has changed.

Referring back to pg. 7, if the confederate holdsthe glass as depicted in "A", the chosen card was eitheran Ace or a Two. If the glass is held as in "B" the card

is either a Three or a Four. If the glass is held asin "C", the confederate is signaling the fact that thecard is either a 5 or a 6. If the glass is held as in"D" the card is either a 7 or an 8.

Finally, if the confederate doesn't pick up theglass, the card is either a 9 or a 10.

(The question of coding court cards will be dealtwith later. The method is simple,but since the spectat-or is unlikely to choose a court card, we'll deferdiscussion for the present)

When you begin the trick,ask the spectator to re-move five different cards from the deck. The spectatoris not likely to remove two of the same value. Whileyour back is turned, the spectator then chooses one ofthe five cards. The cards do not have to be dealt intoa row, they can be dropped in a random pattern on thetable when the spectator deals them out face-down.

After turning his chosen card face-up and concen-trating on it, the spectator turns the card face-down.The five cards are gathered in any order and given tothe magician. When the performer turns around, he mightsee that the confederate is using signal " C" This in-dicates the card is either a 5 or a 6.

Performer says nothing. He fans the cards andlooks for the Five or the Six. If the packet containsboth a Five and a Six, the performer asks, "I'm havingtrouble getting a clear mental picture. Was your cardan odd-value care? " That one question should nail downthe chosen card immediately.

There's a reason for keeping the test simple. Youwant the confederate to get used to the idea of coding

-14- -15-

a playing card. Note that each element of the cipheris ambiguous; a glass held as in "A" signals that thecard could be an Ace or a Two. Thus, each signal nowcarries two possible interpretations.

Center DeceptionThis is the first card effect to use the complete

deck. Any borrowed well-shuffled deck may be used. Nopreparation and no force.

While the performer's back is turned, a spectatorremoves any card from a spread face-down deck. The deckis gathered and squared.

The spectator turns the chosen card face-up.Say it'sthe 9D. He turns this card face-down and inserts it inthe center of the face-down deck. Then he squares thedeck.

Performer goes thru the deck and finds the chosencard.

Method: In the case of a chosen card being a 9 or a 10,the confederate doesn't pick up the glass (another wayof saying that in 15% of the cases, the confederatedoes nothing).

YOu thus have two important pieces of information.you know the chosen card is either a 9 or a 10, and youknow it is at or near the center of the deck.

Pick up the cards, spread them with the faces towardyou, examine the cards near the center of the deck, andfind the 9 or 10 that will be located there. If you findmore than one, even if you find a 9 and a 10, it will

be a rare event. As before, a question as to whetherthe card is odd or even, red or black, etc. will nar-row it down to a single card.

Enciphering Court CardsIn my experience, people choose picture cards so

seldom (if given a free choice of any card) that it isnot worth it to bother expanding the code to accountfor court cards.

But if you want to include the Jacks, Queens andKings into the code, there is a simple way to do it.I tried many systems. In one, the confederate wouldpick up the glass between thumb and first finger ifthe chosen card was a Jack, between thumb and secondfinger if the chosen card was a Queen, between thumband first two fingers if a King.

Except for the fact that the back of the confed-erate's hand must be toward you for a clear glimpse,there is another factor that must be dealt with. Howdoes the confederate grip the glass when the chosencard isn't a court card? He can grip the glass withthe thumb and all four fingers. But this means that adifferent fingering must be used for every card andto me that implies confusion.

There are many approaches. The one I found mostreliable was this. In A-B-C-D on pg. 7 the confederateplaces his hand either at the top or the bottom of theglass. It seems reasonable then to say that if thespectator chose a court card, the confederate would gripthe center of the glass.

The only question is, what is the center of theglass. The confederate looks down at the glass,so hisperceptive is different from yours. It can't be leftas a matter of judgement, but by the same reason, itmust be simple, something that can be done at a glance.

The approach I use- the one method that is simpleand surefire- is to arrange things so that the confed-erate holds half a glass of water (or any drink). Ifhe grips the glass above or below the level of theliquid, he is using the code on pg. 7.

But if he grips the glass at the level of the topof the liquid, it is obvious to him where this levelis, and it is clearly evident to you where it is.

Thus, if he grips the glass at the liquid levelusing the left hand, the chosen card is a Jack. Ifhe grips it at the right side (that is, with the righthand) the chosen card is a Queen, or a King. If youget this latter code, a simple question ("Was it anodd or even value card? Remember that Jacks have avalue of 11, Queens 12, and Kings 13.") It is early inthe trick and the question seems innocent.

As mentioned, I don't bother with this aspect ofthe code. It means more work for the confederate andI want his job as easy as possible. When presenting thetrick, I ask the spectator to think of a card that iseasy to remember, one that has not too many spots onit. As an alternate, you can ask the spectator to thinkof a number from 1 to 10 inclusive and to add a suitto it to give him a completely random choice of playingcard.

A good way to eliminate the idea of a confederate

is to ask one spectator to think of a number and an-other to think of a suit. They exchange information,so that one contributes a number- say 8, and theother a suit- say Clubs. Thus the composite card isthe 8C, a card arrived at by an obviously randomprocess.

Suit InterrogationTo this point you have all the information needed

to perform several impressive feats with borrowed ob-jects, coins and playing cards. The final test shouldinvolve the revelation of a, randomly chosen card, andthe revelation should include both the value and thesuit. Further, this revelation should proceed withoutthe performer touching the deck.

The reason why the Shamrock Code is so simple isthat the suit is not coded to you by the confederate.You arrive at it by a simple interrogation process.This process is old and I don't know who invented it.I do know that it appeared in cardician-type articleswhere credit is always carefully "established" and his-tory always carefully ignored,but as to the firstappearance in print, I don't know the source.

After the value of the card has been coded to you,and we'll assume here the code shown in Fig. C wasflashed, you turn and face the spectator. You know thecard was either a 5 or a 6.

Ask, "Was it odd?" If he says yes, you know it wasthe 5. If no, the card was even.

"A red card?" If yes, proceed with the next ques-tion, "A Heart?" If yes, you know it was the 5H. Ifthe answer is no, the card was the 5D.

Your first two questions are always, "Was itodd?" and "Was it red?" If the spectator says yes tored, you ask if it was a Heart.

If the spectator says no to red, ask, "Was it aSpade?" If he says yes in our example, the spectatorchose the 5S. If he says no, the card was the 5C.

You always ask just three questions and the firsttwo are always, "Odd?" and "Red?"

Even if the spectator answers no to all threequestions, you still know the card. Say the card wasthe 6C. The questions would proceed as follows:

"Was the card odd?" The spectator says no.

"Was it a red card?" The spectator says no.

"Was it a Spade? " The spectator says no.

It appears as if you are in trouble, but in factyou can now name the card. If the card wasn't odd andit wasn't red and it's not a Spade, then in our exampleit must be the 6C.

This is the strongest feature of the code, thefact that the work is split up between you and the con-federate. Since he does only half the work, his task iseasy and he can relax and enjoy the trick. Since youmust do half the work, there is no chance of your makingthe trick look too easy.

The questions you ask are exactly the questionsany psychic would ask in gaining a mental impression.Since you do not in fact know the exact identity ofthe chosen card until the very end, your " acting" isreal enough and it helps make the performance appear

genuine.As a rule the series of tricks using the Shamrock

Code end here. You can do tricks with geometric symbols,numbers and the like, but this- to me- would appear tobe stretching things too far.

The final trick, where the exact identity of a cardis revealed, is done as follows.

X-Ray VisionWhile your back is turned the spectator shuffles

the deck. He turns it face-up and slides it out of thedeck. The balance of the deck is shuffled, squared upand turned face-down.

The spectator places his card face-up in the centerof the face-down deck. He carefully squares the deck.You turn around and appear to look thru the deck a cardat a time until you mentally "see " a face-up card. Youthen go on to name the card.

That's the effect and of course you already knowthe method. In going thru the jazz about x-ray vision,I sometimes say, "I can see a few cards, there's a 4and a 7 together.... Further on I see a 9. Oh yes,and there's your card, the...let me see..an odd card,wasn't it? I'm trying to count the spots. Was it odd?"

Note the business about seeing a 4 and a 7 to-gether. The odds are well on your side that there willbe a 4 and a 7 together somewhere in the deck, so ifthe spectator later checks, he will have further veri-fication that you do indeed have some form of x-rayvision.

This is a good place to end the series of fourtricks. You've done one with objects, another with

coins and two with cards. Note that in both cardtricks you have the card replaced in the center ofthe deck. But in the first trick you handled the deckyourself, whereas in the second you did not handlethe deck at all.

There are other types of card tricks, the two-deck trick for example, which gain from the use ofsilent codes, but I think it best to stop here. Indoing any trick with a silent code, it is wise toavoid making the trick appear too miraculous. Thereason is, first, that the spectator will begin tosuspect a confederate, and second, that he will ac-cuse the confederate of being a confederate. If heaccused you, or any seasoned professional, there areways out of an otherwise awkward situation. But theconfederate is likely to be a layman who does notknow how to distract the spectator; he will probablybecome flustered,and, as they say, his cover will beblown. The point is that the tricks are miraculousenough as they stand. Don't make them too much forthe audience to want to accept.

Finally, note that if you are working in a moreor less professional atmosphere, with you on a plat-form and the spectators in the audience, variationsof this same code work extremely well if your confed-erate is seated where you can see him.

"Turning" The SpectatorWhile the spectator is usually a loyal member of

the audience, you can turn him into an unwitting con-federate. To explain how, I'll have to back up a bit.

In using the Shamrock Code, I will sometimes playthe part of the confederate. If we are at dinner and anovice magician there wants to impress his girlfriend,things can be quickly arranged so that he plays thepart of the magician, getting the signals from me.

The object used to code the necessary informationneed not be a glass. It can be, for example, a playingcard. You either hold it at the upper left,upper right,lower left, or lower right corner, and you can conveyall of the information depicted on pg. 7.

There's no reason for me as the confederate tohold the card. Better to have the spectator hold it.But it is always possible to give the card to the spec-tator so that he or she must grip it at the proper cor-ner. That means that when the magician turns around andhe sees his girlfriend holding a card, back to him, he"reads" the code simply by the way she holds the card.

If she doesn't grip the card quite right, I thenpick up a glass of water and hold it the proper way.Now the magician knows to disregard the way she holdsthe card and get the code from me.

The way to convert the spectator into a confeder-ate is to have her pick a card from, say, a row of fiveon the table. She shows the card around. Then I say,"Wait, can I see that card again? I forgot what itwas. " I take the card from her, nod my head, show thecard to the others again, and then grip the card sothat only the proper corner is available for her totake. Then I hand the card to her in such a way thatshe has to grip it by the proper corner.

This won't always work, and if you see her hesi-tate, forget this method. Let her take the card any wayshe wants because hesitation at this point is a deadgiveaway. If she does take the card the correct way, allis fine. Excuse yourself, saying you want a fork from

the kitchen or another cup of coffee from the diningroom. Either way, you are out of the room when theperformer turns around and names the card. Your friendgets credit for Big Powers Of ESP, and you get creditfor your demonic ability to handle audiences.

Fooling The ConfederateNothing is sacred, not even the confederate. He

may even at times be bored with the same card tricksusing the same code with the same predictable ending.He is, in other words, ready to be sabotaged.

When doing a trick like "X-Ray Vision," and youwant to give him something that will haunt his thinkingfor weeks, give him this.

Have the deck shuffled and cut. Then have twocards chosen. Have one chosen from the face-up deckand one chosen from the face-down deck. Both cards arereplaced in the center, one face-up and one face-down.

The confederate knows the face-up card and hecodes it to you. He doesn't know the face-down card,but you still reveal it at the finish of the trick.How it's done is the subject of Part Two.

The Date ProblemThe interested reader may wish to tackle the

problem of coding a spectator's date of birth, notin devising a code, but in devising an absolutelysimple code. It's an intriguing challenge.

From time to time magicianstake re-newed interest in thecard plot that goes like this;

a spectator removes a card fromthe deck, whereupon the magician

deals all of the remaining cards in-to a face-up heap and then announces

the card in the spectator's possession.

The method requires that you add the spot-valueof one card to the spot-value of the next card, andthat to the spot-value of the next card, and so on.The result should be 364. It will be less, and theamount less tells you the value of the card in thespectator's possession.

Somewhere along the way a bright mind realizedthat you could discard 13's. That is, each time thetotal exceeded 13, subtract 13 from the total. Thencontinue adding until the total exceeded 13 again.This way you would not have to carry large numbers inyour head because the largest number would never bein excess of 13.

All of this is or should be well known. About 1974or 1975 Randi described a system in which you do notadd to 13, you add to 10. Randi's system appeared inM. Kaye's "Handbook of Mental Magic," and of this sys-tem the author says, "Also, thanks to Randi for con-tributing one of the finest mental magic effects inthe entire volume."

Since, in this system, you deduct 10 every timethe total exceeds 10, Jacks have a value of 1, Queensa value of 2, and Kings a value of 3.

The system is easy, but what is to follow shouldmake it even easier. Also, a magical element will beadded. The reason I say this is that after trying thetraditional approach, where I go thru the deck andthen name the missing card, laymen remark, "You justnoticed what card was missing," or, " You rememberedwhich card was missing." Thus, they give me creditfor having a good memory, but not for doing good magic.I think it safe to say that no one has been fooled bythis type of trick. They may be puzzled at the speedwith which you go thru the cards, and they may admireyou for knowing a clever system, but that is not thesame thing as being fooled.

As was said, the 10's system is easy, but there isa way to make it even easier. Taking just the standardtrick, where the spectator removes a card, you go thruthe deck a card at a time and tell him which card ismissing- taking just that trick, there is an easier ap-proach which I'll describe first.

Clocking The DeckThe Aces thru 9's each have their face value, as

in previous systems. Since you will deduct 10 each timethe total exceeds 10, it is obvious that the 10-spotswill have a value of zero. This is another way of say-ing that 10's are not counted. When you turn up a 10,ignore it.

Also, adding 9 is the same asis easier to subtract 1 from yourit is to add 9. If the total is 4

subtracting 1. Itthanup a 9,

runningand you

totalturn

don't think 9 + 4 = 13, deduct 10 and remember 3.That's too much arithmetic. If the total is 4 andyou turn up a 9, simply subtract 1 from the total.Since the total is 4,at 3. This is the same

if you deduct 1 you arrivebyresult you would arrive at

the roundabout way of adding 9 to 4 and deducting 10from the result, but it is much faster. Just rememberthat when you hit a 9-spot, deduct 1 from your total.

The above is not new either. But there is a wayof making a simple system even simpler and it comesabout in the handling of the court cards. Let theJacks have a value of 1, and the Queens a value of 2.There is no decree which specifies that the Kings musthave a value of 13, or, in our 10's system, 3. So wetake the easy way out and give the Kings a value ofzero.

Now there are two cards we don't need to count,the 10's and the Kings. This means there are a totalof eight cards in the deck we ignore. Later on we'llomit one more card, which means that fully a quarterof the deck will be zero-count cards. But for the mo-ment, let's see what we have.

The RundownUsing the new system, where 10's and Kings have

a value of zero, if you count thru the entire deck,deducting 10 each time your total exceeds 10, you willfind that the " value " or "index " or "total " for theentire deck is 2. Let's apply this to the entire deckto see how it works in the traditional trick.

Spectator shuffles the deck, removes and pockets

a card. He gives the deck another shuffle ("forluck") and hands the pack to you.

You turn the deck face-up and deal cards off theface into a face-up heap on the table. As you dealyou keep a mental count. Say the first three cards area 6,a 5, and a 9. You know that 6 and 5 are 11, andwhen you deduct 10 you have a count of 1. It is easierto add 6 and 5 and think 1. In other words you knowthe total is going to exceed 10, so drop off the ten'sdigit and remember the other digit.

Your total is 1. The next card is a 9. You knowthat when you hit a 9-spot you will subtract 1 fromthe running total. In this case, we subtract 1 from1 and arrive at zero. Our total thus far is zero.

The next card is a 4, the next a King, the nexta 3 and the next a 10. Adding 4 to zero gives us 4,we ignore the King (because it's value is zero), addthe 3, giving us 7, and ignore the 10. Thus far ourtotal is 7.

We continue this way thru the deck. Suppose thetotal we get is 8. How does this tell us the value ofthe chosen card? It's easy; subtract the total from12. The result is the value of the chosen card.

If the total is 8, we subtract 8 from 12 and ar-rive at 4. We know that the chosen card is a 4. Thereis no need to look back thru the deck to find out which4. Just use the Suit Interrogation method on pg. 17 todetermine the suit.

To do this, ask, "Is it a red card?" If the spec-tator says yes, ask, "A Heart?" If he says yes, you

know the card is the 4H. If he says no, you know thecard is the 4D.

When you ask him if the card is red, if he saysno, ask, "A Spade?" If he says yes, it's the 4S. Ifthe answer is no, it's the 4C.

All of the above is more or less standard. Thenew angle is the idea of letting the Kings have a val-ue of zero. This speeds up the count process signifi-cantly. There is a way to speed it up even more, butfirst we have to deal with a technical problem.

Ambiguous TotalsIn the above system, both Aces and Jacks have a

value of 1. This means that if you arrive at a totalof 1 when you've clocked the deck (added together thevalues of all cards except the spectator's card) andarrived at a total of 1, if you subtract 1 from 12,you arrive at 11. But no card in the deck has a valueof 11.

The alternate procedure, that is, the generalapproach, is to subtract your total from either 2 or12, whichever produces a value that corresponds withthe value of some card in the deck.

In our example, if you clock the deck and comeup with a total of 1, subtract it from 2, and you areleft with a result of 1. But since either the Ace orthe Jack has a value of 1, you must ask the spectator,"Was it a picture card by any chance?"

If he says yes, it was a Jack. If no, it was anAce. If you clock the deck and it totals 2 you knowthe chosen card was either a Two or a Queen. A questionto the spectator will clear up the ambiguity.

Finally, if the clocked total is 0, the chosencard is either a 10 or a King. Ask if the chosen cardis a picture card. The spectator's answer nails downthe value of the selected card.

Now we'll speed up the count even more.

Suppressed FivesIt happens that the 5's are self-cancelling. Any

pair of 5's total 10, and since, in our system, 10 isthe same as zero, it follows that two 5's add to zero.So do the other two 5's.

This means that when we count cards, we can ignorethe 5's. This may seem like taking a chance. Supposethe spectator chooses a 5? But the chances are only 1in 13 that he'll choose a five spot, and this slimchance is far outweighed by the benefit we gain; byignoring 5's, as well as 10's and Kings, we ignorefully a quarter of a deck in our count.

You have only to try this approach a few times torealize how much time is gained by erasing 5's from thecount. Not only is it faster, but the mental figuringis easier.

Still, there will always be that small, naggingvoice which insists, "Yes, but suppose he chooses a 5?"What happens is that the clocked total for the deckwill be 2. You know he chose either a 10 or a King,and you ask if the chosen card is a picture card. Thespectator says no.

Go thru the Suit Interrogation to determine thesuit. Suppose it's Clubs. You say, "Sometimes there's

a double vision. Did you choose the 10C? " If the spec -tator says yes, fine. If he says no, remark, "That'sthe problem of double vision. You double every mentalpicture. It must have been the 5C." The spectator ag-rees.

True, it is not an incredibly brilliant presen-tation, but considering how few are the cases whereyou miss, and how much you gain by blocking the 5'sout of the addition process, on balance it seems worthit.

After saying all of this, it is still true thatthe demonstration gives more credit to memory than tomagic. If the spectator says, "You just noticed whichcard was missing, " he does in a way account for theentire method. He may, by implication, be grantingyou tremendous powers of concentration, but it is notmagic. What follows is a different approach, one thatperhaps hints at magical application.

The Deuce SubtractedBefore we begin, take a full deck of 52 cards,

remove a deuce- any deuce- and pocket it. This deucewill not be used in any of the tricks to follow.

The clocked total of the deck has now been re-duced from 2 to zero. It is not a big change and itdoes not take a giant brain to do clock arithmeticanyway, but it makes our work easier. Since such asmall adjustment makes the work easier, it seemsacceptable. Because of the nature of the system weare about to begin working with, the work will bemuch easier.

TheParallel PrincipleCut off about 20 cards from the top of the

deck. The exact number of cards is not important.Obtain the clocked total of this packet. Say it is8.

Go thru the packet, find any 8, and place the 8-spot on top of the other packet. If your packet hasno 8, get any two cards that total 8 (a 2 and 6 forinstance) and place these two cards on top of theother packet.

You have now reduced the clocked total of yourpacket to zero. But you have also reduced the totalof the other packet to zero!

That's the principle at work here. Withouttouching the larger packet, you know the clockedtotal of that packet.

As simple as this principle is, it can be ex-ploited to produce impressive card effects. Here'sone. It also shows you how to handle the cards ina logical manner so that it is not apparent you arecounting or totaling the cards.

The Parallel LocatorFrom a borrowed shuffled deck, and keeping in

mind that this is after you have removed and pocketeda deuce, say the 2D, cut off about 20 cards.

Beginning at the face of this packet, go thruthe cards and total them as already described. You

ignore 5's, 10's, and Kings. On the average you willthus ignore 25% of the packet or about 5 cards. Thisin turn means that you will only have to total about15 cards. The process can be accomplished at greatspeed, but there is no need to go thru the packet asfast as possible.

When you've gone thru about half the packet, re-mark to the spectator, "I think there's a card miss-ing, the 2D. Would you see if it's in the other partof the deck?"

While he picks up the other packet and looks forthe 2D, you complete the totaling process with yourpacket. The spectator's attention is distracted, sogreat speed in adding numbers is not necessary.

Say your total is 6. Cut a 6-spot to the top ofyour packet. Then say to the spectator, "I can't findthe deuce but maybe we can try something with an in-complete deck. Shuffle your cards."

When the spectator has done this, say to him,"Remove any card from your packet and look at it. Takeany card. I'll do the same wtih a card from my packet."

Openly remove the top card of your packet. Inso doing, you have reduced the sum of your packet tozero in a subtle way. Insert the 6-spot into his pac-ket. Then have him insert his card into your packet.

Say, "If I looked thru my packet for your card,I'd probably find it eventually. Let me try somethingharder. I'll look thru your packet. Even though yourcard isn't there, it sometimes leaves behind a shadowof itself."

Pick up his packet and total it. Again ignore

5's, 10's, and Kings. Whatever the total, deductit from 10. If you should, for example, arrive at4, deduct it from 10, giving you 6. You know thespectator chose a 6.

Use the Suit Interrogation technique of pg. 17to get the suit, and then go on to reveal the chosencard. If this reads as something rather prosaic, con-sider this question; having never handled the spec-tator's packet until after he has removed a card,and if you didn't know the Parallel Principle, howelse would you find his card?

True, there are other methods (a peek being theobvious one) and there are always other methods, butyou might find it difficult to find a method that al-lows for as clean a handling of the cards.

There are two points regarding the handling thatshould make your task even easier:

1. It is of course not necessary to secretly re-move a deuce from the deck. When you cut a packet ofcards off the deck and begin clocking the packet, sim-ply ignore one deuce in the packet. Then proceed withthe effect exactly as described above.

2. Be sure to cut off less than half the deck.You have fewer cards to total so your work is that mucheasier. Also, when asking the spectator if the Two of_ is in his packet, name the deuce you ignored inyour packet. If you ignore the 2H as suggested in Note 1,then say to the spectator, "I think there's a cardmissing, possibly a deuce. Is the 2H in your packet?"The spectator won't find the 2H of course, and he will

almost certainly re-check by going thru his packetagain. This gives you all that much more cover foryour mental totaling process.

MatchlockIn this trick you find two freely chosen cards.

Anyone who knows how to clock the deck knows that itis impossible to find two cards. The process describedhere is not the only one, but it is easy and impress-ive.

Since you know the effect is the location of twocards, and since you more or less know the method, itis only required to detail the handling.

1. Use any 52-card deck freely shuffled and cutby a spectator. Cut off about 20 cards. Mentally totalthe cards. As you do, say, "I just want to check thatthere are no Jokers in the deck. Would you check theother half of the deck?"

2. A spectator picks up the larger packet andchecks that there are no Jokers. In the meantime youclock your packet, arriving, say,at a total of 9.

3. You want to reduce the total to zero, so youremove any 9-spot from your packet. Say, "I want eachof you (addressing two spectators) to choose a card."Use the card in hand as a selection.

4. "Each look at your card. Then place your cardback here. " Now drop your card, the 9-spot, on top ofthe larger packet. At that point the clocked totalof each packet is zero, (Always remembering that thisholds true only if you discard or ignore a deuce inthe count)

5, Hand the smaller packet to spectator A, andthe larger packet to spectator B. Ask each party toshuffle and cut his own packet.

6. Have each person pick a card from his ownpacket. Then have "A" drop his card on top of B'spacket. Have "B" also drop his card on top of thispacket. Finally, have "B" cut the packet and completethe cut. This packet is the larger one, the packetyou have not touched until this point.

7. Pick up B's packet and arrive at a clockedtotal. You have time here because you are looking fortwo freely chosen cards. Thus, even if you hesitate,there is a reason- you are looking for cards chosenunder true test conditions.

8. The clocked total of B's packet at Step 5 waszero. But since "A" put his selected card into thepacket, the total is no longer zero. It may be 8. Butthis is the value of A's card.

9. Knowing the value of A's card, simply lookthru the packet for an 8-spot. If there's more thanone, a question regarding color, suit, etc. will naildown the right card.

10. Knowing A's card, and assuming you arespreading the cards from left to right with the facestoward you, B's card is immeditely to the left of A'scard. By this very simple procedure you know bothcards.

It's true that a similar effect can be broughtabout if you crimp A's packet prior to Step 5. Then

A's card becomes the only crimped card in B's pac-ket. It acts as a locator, allowing you to easilyfind it. But in Step 5 "A" shuffles his packet, andhe could shuffle the crimp out of the packet.

The point of all this is that while there arealternate methods that can produce the same generaleffect, the Parallel Principle allows for an except-ionally clean handling of the cards.

Expanded SumHere are a few simple variations on the Parallel

Principle. The first is easy but you will find iteven easier if you know how to do the faro shuffle.

Cut off about 20 cards from a well-shuffled deck.Remark that you want to be sure there are no Jokers.Take the clocked total of the 20 cards. In the mean-time the spectator checks the balance of the deck forJokers. Have him place one Joker aside.

Have him shuffle your packet and you then lethim shuffle the larger packet. In-faro the smallerpacket into the larger packet.

Hand him the deck. Ask for a number, but tellhim it should be a mental choice, say between 5 and40.

When he has it, ask if it's odd or even.Havehim count to the card while your back is turned. Hecounts by dealing cards one at a time off the top ofthe deck into a face-up heap. If his number is even,he remembers the card at that number. If his numberis odd, he remembers the next card. Either way, hetake the card and pockets it. He then puts the Jokerinto the position his card was at, thus substitutingthe Joker for the card removed from the packet.

Have him pick up the face-up tabled heap, turnit face-down and replace it on top of the deck. Hehands you the deck. You run thru it and name hiscard.

The method comes down to this. When you get the20-card packet totaled, say the total is 3. Removeany 3-spot to reduce the total to zero. This is notnecessary but it makes the simple arithmetic a littlesimpler.

You've casually looked thru 20 cards for Jokers,but you give the spectator a choice between 5 and 40.The reason of course is that you faro the clockedpacket into the balance of the deck. This gives thespectator an expanded choice of numbers.

The card he arrives at and pockets comes fromthe clocked packet. When the deck is reassembled andhanded to you, begin with the second card from the topand take the clocked total of every other card untilyou have totaled 18 (you started, say, with 20; youremoved a 3 .4-spot to reduce the clocked total to zero,so now you have a 19-card packet; then the packet wasreduced by one more because the spectator pocketed acard).

If your total now is 4, subtract 4 from 10 andyou know the spectator chose a 6-spot. Go on from herewith Suit Interrogation (pg. 17) to reveal the identityof the pocketed card.

Future KeyIn " Matchlock " spectator A's card was a locator

even though its identity and position were unknownwhen you started. It was only after you clocked B'spacket that A's card evolved as a locator. The sameprinciple is as work here.

It should be mentioned that the packet need notcontain exactly 20 cards, and you don't have to beginby cutting off a packet of cards. You can start atthe face of the deck and total cards until you ar-rive at a total of zero. If the zero-total is arrivedat somewhere around the 20th card of the pack, justcut off that group, hand the other group to the spec-tator, and ask him to check if there are Jokers inthe larger packet of cards.

Also, you can arrive at the clocked total dur-ing the course of some other trick. In this case,remember the last card of your total as a key. Cutto the key when you are ready to perform any of thetricks in this section. All that has been said aboutthe Parallel Principle still holds true; knowing theclocked total in one part of the deck, you automati-cally know the total in a part of the deck you'venever touched.

We'll assume from all of the above that you havea packet of about 20 cards and that the clocked totalof this packet is zero. Proceed as follows.

Ask the spectator to shuffle the smaller packetand then spread it face-down on the table. Neitheryou nor he know the value or location of any card inthis packet.

The spectator then shuffles the larger packet.Ask him to remove any card, tell him not to look atit, and have him insert it anywhere in the spread

-39--38-

tabled packet (the clocked packet). He inserts thecard so that it is outjogged for about half itslength, and he does this while your back is turned.

Ask him to look at and remember the card directlyabove this card. He does not remove any cards fromthe spread. He just peeks the indice of the card di-rectly above the outjogged card.

With your back still turned, ask him to push theoutjogged card square with the other cards. Then hegathers the spread, squares it, gives it a cut andcompletes the cut.

The packet is handed to you. Obtain a clockedtotal for the packet. It may be 7. You know that thecard he inserted into this packet is a 7-spot. Simplynote the card directly behtfldthe 7 and you know theselected card.

Note: You may feel the trick is more puzzlingif he removes a card from the clocked packet and in-serts it for half its length into the large!- packet,the one you haven't touched. Then he notes the cardabove the outjogged card. The reason why I don't doit this way is because the packet is larger and ittakes a bit more time to arrive at the clocked total.The excuse, in other words, is laziness.

Again note that the random card inserted intothe packet is a locator even though its identity andlocation are unknown to you. It is only after theclocked total for the packet is arrived at that thiscard becomes a known key. I've evolved many patterand plot ideas around this aspect of the ParallelPrinciple because the idea of a key is offbeat andwell-concealed.

Note 2: If the clocked total for the packetdoesn't change it means that the future key has avalue of 10, i.e., it's either a 10-spot or a King.Similar remarks hold if the clocked total changesby 1 (the key is either an Ace or a Jack) or by 2(the future key is a Two or a Queen).

BlockingThis is the most elementary application of the

speed method of clocking the partial deck. With 10'sand Kings set to equal zero, and with 5's erased, youcan speed-clock a packet of, say, 13 cards in just afew seconds. Here is the handling.

1. When the borrowed, well-shuffled deck is givento you, perform a trick that does not require a full-deck control. A red/black trick on the order of Oil& Water is fine. Turn the deck face-up, start at theface and mentally total the first 13 or so cards asyou come to them. The number isn't important. Justremember the face card of the deck and the last cardyou clocked. Say the clocked total is 9.

2. Upjog four reds and four blacks beyond theclocked packet. Then perform your favorite Oil & Watertrick. Two versions that I use can be found in NotesFrom Underground, pg. 3, and Methods With Cards (thetrick called "Calculated Colors " ).

3. Replace these cards on top of the deck. Thengive the deck a riffle shuffle that retains the bot-tom stock. At the finish of the shuffle, cut off a-bout 20 cards from the top and complete the cut.

4. The known block is now in the center of thedeck. Invite the spectator to cut off about halfthe deck, remove the card cut to and replace thecut.

5. After he's done this, have him cut off a-bout a dozen cards from the top of the deck, inserthis card into the packet, shuffle the packet, dropit back on top of the deck,then cut the deck and com-plete the cut.

6. He hands the squared deck to you. Locate thetwo key cards (the original face card of the deck plusthe last card you clocked). Mentally total all of thecards between them plus, of course, these two cardsas well. Say your total is 6.

7. Here's how to figure the value of the specta-tor's card. Whatever total you get in Step 6, subtractit from 10. Then add this result to the clocked totalyou got in Step 1.

8. In our example you subtract 6 from 10, arriv-ing at 4. Add 4 to 9 and you get 13. Since no cardin our system has a value of 13, deduct 10 (alsoknown as casting out 10's)and you know that the chosencard was a 3-spot. Use Suit Interrogation to naildown the exact identity of the chosen card.

Note: If you're familiar with transfer work thenyou can see the possibilities here. A selected cardcan be worked into the transfer block during the rif-fle shuffle. Examine the block after the shuffle andyou know the chosen card. Since the card is actuallyin the block, you can identify it easily.

It's true that a similar result can be achievedwith a memorized block, but that is where the strengthof this system lies; using any deck and no set-upyou need merely determine a partial sum, that is, thesum of a small block of cards, to produce effectivecard locations. To those unfamiliar with the princip-les described here, the tricks would appear to haveno explanation.

I'll again stress that you can, it is true, dup-licate some of these tricks with crimp work, nail-nicked packets, and the like, but I don't think thesame result can be achieved with so easy a method.Also, when doing tricks like Follow The Leader orOil & Water, there is nothing to stop you from men-tally summing the cards used in those tricks. Youthen have new clocked packets to work with, and theyderive from totally unrelated tricks.

Blocking With The FaroThis is "Blocking" done with a different principle

attached. I worked out the principle about 1960 andwrote a few people about it. Apparently it appearedin print a few years later, though under another in-dividual's name.

1. Obtain a clocked total for the bottom 13cards of the deck. After you have done this, obtaina break between this packet and the balance of thedeck.

2. With the deck face-down, drop off the bottom13 cards into a heap on the table. Allow about 13 morecards to fall into a second heap, 13 more into a thirdheap, and the balance of the deck into a fourth heap.

3. Invite a spectator to shuffle each heap. Thengather the heaps so that the original packet is backon the bottom.

-42 - -43-

4. Cut about 20 cards off the top and completethe cut. This centers the 20-card heap.

5. There has to be a Joker nearby. Ask the spec-tator to cut the deck at about the center. He cantake the face card of the upper packet or the topcard of the lower packet.

6. After he has taken and pocketed the card, askhim to put the Joker in its place. Then he squaresthe deck. The deck still contains 52 cards, but theJoker has replaced a random selection.

7. Cut the clocked packet to the top via a previ-ous crimp. Perform two faros. Then cut the Joker tothe bottom of the deck.

8. Push off the top 4 cards without reversingtheir order. Turn them face-up as a unit and dropthem onto the table. Remember the face card.

9. Push off another 4 cards. Turn them face-upand drop them onto the tabled cards. Remember theface card and add its value to the value of the cardyou remembered in Step 8.

10. Continue this way. You are keeping a clockedtotal of the face cards of the packets as they comeoff the deck. These cards, unknown to the audience andto most magicians, were in the original 13-card packet .you clocked in Step 1.

11. After you have dealt off the 12th packet, you .have arrived at a clocked total for the original pac-ket minus the chosen card.

12. Say, " The Joker hasn't turned up yet. It mustbe in this last packet. By looking at it I can tellyou that the card it replaced was the... Here youuse the method of the previous trick, Steps 7 & 8, to

get the value of the card. Then use the Interroga-tion method of pg. 17 to get the suit. Then turnthe final packet face-up, gaze at the Joker, and re-veal the selected card.

LeverageAlthough this routine uses a confederate, it

does not employ a code. The confederate must be ableto clock a packet of 20 or so cards. In other words,he must be familiar with the system described inthis ms.

You are then able to present this trick. Theangle that appeals to me in the construction of rou-tines like this one is that even if the spectatorsuspects the confederate of being a confederate, itwill get him nowhere.

The handling is this. Cut off about 20 Cardsand give them to the confederate. Give the balanceof the deck to the spectator. Each person shuffleshis own packet.

Each party now looks thru his packet and decideson a card. The confederate takes this opportunity toclock the packet in his possession. Say he arrivesat a total of 8.

He chooses any 8-spot. The spectator has in themeantime chosen a card of his own. The spectator in-serts his card into the confederate's packet. Theconfederate inserts his card into the spectator's pac-ket.

The magician, who has had his back turned un-til this point, picks up the spectator's packet,fans thru it and mentally clocks the packet. Say hearrives at a total of 7.

He subtracts this total from 10 and that is thevalue of the spectator's card. In our example, themagician subtracts 7 from 10 and arrives at 3. Thespectator chose a 3-spot. Go thru the usual businessto arrive at the suit.

To finish, go thru a bluff revelation of theconfederate ' s card. Actually, he will simply say yesto any color, suit and value you name.

As to how it works; when the confederate clockshis packet,he mentally ignores one deuce. This is thesame as removing a deuce from the deck before thetrick starts. If the clocked total of the packet is8, and the confederate removes an 8-spot and placesit into the spectator ' s packet, he has reduced bothpackets to a clocked total of zero.

When the spectator removes a card from his ownpacket and transfers it to the confederate's packet,this deficit will show up when you clock the specta-tor's packet.

Note that the method is self-concealing. If thespectator assumes the use of a confederate, he stillcan't see how this matters. The confederate choosesa card before the spectator, the confederate neversees the spectator's card, and finally, the magiciannever handles the confederate's packet. There is nocode because the confederate has no information worthcoding. Must be mindreading.

Fooling The ConfederateThis routine uses a code, specifically, the

Shamrock Code. Since the code is so simple, theconfederate can be a layman.

In some previous trick, get a clocked total fora group of about 20 cards. Reduce this total to zero.There are two ways to do it. You can add a card tothe packet, bringing the total to ten; or you cansubtract a card from the packet in order to reducethe clocked total to zero.

Hand this packet to spectator "A" and the bal-ance of the deck to spectator "B". Neither of thesespectators is a confederate.

Have each party shuffle his own packet. Thenask one party to turn his packet face-up and shuffleit into the face-down balance of the deck. After hehas done this, he can give the deck several moreshuffles and cuts.

Have him spread the deck on the table. Somecards will be face-up and some face-down. Ask "A"to choose a face-up card and ask "B" to choose aface-down card. "B" looks at and remembers his cardbut he does not turn it face-up at any time. Onlyhe knows the identity of his own card.

Tell the confederate to square up the deck, turnit over, and re-spread it. "A" replaces his card (stillface-up) and "B" replaces his card (still face-down).Then the deck is gathered, squared, and given severalmore riffle shuffles.

Finally, the pack is handed to the magician. Hegoes thru the cards, locates A's card, and then re-veals B's card.

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Since B's card is never known to anyone except"B", the confederate will be puzzled as to how yourevealed it. The reason is that he codes A's cardto you, but A's card is the only one that's known atany time.

The secret is this. After the face-up,face-downshuffle, have the deck spread on the table. Note anycard, say the AS. This is only for references purposes.Then turn your back. Ask "A" to pick any face-up card.The confederate sees this card and codes it to you viathe Shamrock Code.

"B" chooses any face-down card and peeks thecard to note its identity. After this has been done,the confederate gathers the deck, openly turns itover and re-spreads it on the table. You want theconfederate to do this because the handling must beright.

"A" inserts his face-up card anywhere in thedeck. "B" then inserts his face-down card anywherein the deck. Have the deck gathered, squared and givenseveral riffle shuffles and cuts before you turn andface the spectators again.

As soon as you face the spectators, you get thevalue of A's card via the code. Take the deck andspread it between the hands. Look for the AS. If itis among the face-up cards, fine. If not, square thedeck, flip it over and re-spread it.

You are now looking at the face-up group fromwhich A's selection was made. Ask him if he chose anodd-value card. Whatever his answer, you then knowthe value of his card because of the code.

Mentally clock the face-up cards, adding in thevalue of A's card. You will arrive at a value in excess

of zero. But this excess is the value of B's card.Since B's selection is among the face-up cards youare looking at, it is a simple matter to nail downthe actual selection. Thus, on the basis of a micro-scopic piece of information transmitted to you bythe confederate, you are able to reveal the identityof both cards. The bonus is that in the process youfool the confederate as well.

ParallaxThe final trick in this ms. It is also the

easiest application of the Parallel Principle, and,in my experience, one of the most impressive.

Take any deck and perform any trick that re-quires your looking thru the cards. As an example,you are going to perform a four-Ace trick, so youturn the deck face-up and upjog the Aces as youcome to them.

But in the process, clock the first ten or socards at the face of the deck, and remember the lastcard of the clocked count. Say it's the 5C. Becauseyou are using the speed-clocking system already des-cribed, and because you are clocking only about tencards, the count is done in seconds.

Remember the clocked total. Say it is 6. Gothru the deck, upjog the Aces and perform the intend-ed 4-Ace trick.

Return the Aces to the deck at the finish ofthe trick. Give the deck several riffle shuffleswhich retain the bottom stock. There's a good methodin Card Control, pg. 102, called "Bottom Stock BlindRiffle." Forget the part about bridging the cards anddoing the triple cut. Just use the opening shuffleand cut. -

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Spread the deck facedown on the table. Specta-tor removes any card, looks at it and places it face-down on the table. Then he squares the deck and putsit on top of his card.

Deal cards off the top of the deck one at atime into a face-up heap. Since your remembered to-tal was 6, start with 6,then keep a running totalas you clock the deck.

Stop when you've turned up the 4H. Don't includethe 4H in your mental total. Whatever the total is atthis point, that total is the value of the spectator'scard.

Note that you haven't gone thru the entire deck.There are about ten cards on top of the selected card.Remark that parallax vision allows you to see thru thecards to the face card of the deck. Then go on toreveal the selected card. You're right in concludingthat this is a simple trick,but because of the speedwith which you get the original clocked total, theeffect seems to border on the impossible.

Suggested ReadingFor other systems, you may want to acquaint your-

self with the various methods of casting out 9's, 10's,etc. Mathematics, Magic & Mystery is an excellent bookto start with. For a trick using digital roots, seethe James " Remembering The Future " in Gardner's 2ndBook of Mathematical Puzzles, pg. 48. If you have

Mo r s Miracles, check the trick on pg. 6 and the faneffect on pg. 9 for other avenues.

Free catalog available on request. For a copy, writeKarl Fulves, Box 433, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666.

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