Business Cards Effect by Gerard Zitta

December 8, 2017 | Author: Karl V | Category: Playing Cards, Gaming Devices, Ephemera, Languages, Leisure
Share Embed Donate


Short Description

business cards magic...

Description

1/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

copyright Gerard ZITTA 2013 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means , without the prior permission of the author.Manufacturing rights reserved

2/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

« EFFECTS with BUSINESS CARDS »

By

Gerard ZITTA

V1.2

3/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Release notes : - 1.1 March 2013 : Initial release - 1.2 April to November 2013 : Added other sleights that may be used in place of the GZ control. Corrected some typos. Rewording . Added more references to ebooks that were published since the initial release.

4/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

CONTENTS 100% Impromptu : (All you need is business cards and a pen) - « The Roman prediction » - « Chair'Z » - « Witness » - « Invisible Book test » - « Men desiring women » - « Elimination » - « Nice to meet you 2 » - « Happy hour » - « Money transfer » - « Hands off my lady » With 3 , 4 and 5 business cards - « Guess my card » - « Take my order » - « Love it or Hate it » - « The lie detector » - « Dead or alive » - « ADDITION V 2 », and the new « GZ control » : This variation is perfect for mentalists and blank business cards . 99% impromptu : You need a little bit of preparation or an additional prop with you, but otherwise it will look impromptu to your audience. - « Janus V3 » a novel two-way out + ideas of effects around it (« Honeymoon »,« Heads or Tails without coins »,« Red or Black »,« Lottery »,« Gift »,« Winner ») - « Scam ACAAN » - « The universal detector » - « The Hypnosis system (V1) » - « The universal gift » Consider the following one as bonus, as it requires to get some more props : - « Invisible Heads or Tails »

5/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

INTRODUCTION Imagine you are anywhere but on stage ,and you are unprepared .Somebody asks you to do a « Magic trick » (yeah, they know who you are ! ). You answer you would like to,but you have nothing with you but a pen and a few business cards. You take out your business cards holder or box, and you start amazing your audience Now, imagine you would take a deck of cards .It would be all different … Nobody would believe you are unprepared ! This ebook is a compendium of Gerard ZITTA's effects, that can be done with business cards.They all « look » impromptu, and most of them are indeed impromptu as long as you have your business cards . The effects have been organized in two categories : - Effects that are completely impromptu . No preparation is required. In most cases , all you need is a pen and business cards, sometimes blank on both sides . - Effects that require either some setup or an additional prop .The preparation is simple, and the prop easy to find. Finally, nothing is difficult in this ebook . Only one sleight will require a bit of practice but it can be replaced by a simpler one. Otherwise,most of the effects will be hands off , or just require common sleights such as « double lifts » or turnovers. They are mainly mentalism effects.

6/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

PART I 100% IMPROMPTU

7/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

THE ROMAN PREDICTION

Introduction This is a hands off effect you can do anytime,anywhere and without any sleight of hands. It does require some memorization and practice instead, but as you'll see, it is easy. Effect : You produce a stack of blank business cards and you write numbers on one side, and drawings (or symbols ,letters,etc.) on the other side. You shuffle the cards and give three of the cards to the spectator, drawing side up. Without showing the spectator, you align your 3 cards on the table but hidden with a napkin or under beer mats. Now, the spectator aligns her cards in front of yours ,drawing side up. Your cards are revealed and they match your prediction . Secret : Different principles are used : - A logic/math principle - Ambiguity or duality : The number of lines of the drawings/numbers/symbols used on one of the two sides is 8/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

important . - Multiple outs : There are multiple outs, but only one prediction is needed to cover 50% of the odds ,or no prediction at all ! I'll start with a version that requires a prediction written somewhere. And then another one that does not require anything, but that works only with Roman numerals and normal digits. Preparation : The following setup can be done on the spot. You will need a bunch of business cards and a pen. If possible a red one and a black one, or business cards with different colors . I will describe the effect with numbers, but it is versatile. Instead of I, II and III you can use symbols . For instance : O , X and /// or a TRIANGLE,etc. The number of lines for the symbols you use ,should be 1 , 2 and 3 lines. For instance : O has 1 line X has 2 lines ( or + ) /// has 3 lines ( or 3 wavy lines ,etc) On one card, write the prediction : « THE TOTAL WILL BE 4 » This is needed only for this version. Hide the card under the stack of business cards or in your wallet ,or shirt pocket. If you are in a pub, you can write it secretly under your beer mat, or hide the business card under it. 50% of the time, you won't need it to produce this business card.. With the Black pen, prepare the following cards : 2 on one side 3 1

III on the other side I II

With the Red pen, make the following cards : 1 on one side 3 2

9/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

II on the other side I III

- Business Cards -

Gather the black cards with 1,2,3 face up , and the red cards with I,II,III face up . Note : Instead of changing the color of the pen, you can use three other business cards that have a different design or color.They can be borrowed as long as all three are identical. On the photographs, I used ORANGE business cards for my cards, and WHITE business cards for the spectator's cards. Here is a view from one side :

And here is a view of the opposite side :

10/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Presentation : Show the black cards with 1,2,3 and the red cards with I,II,III,and ask the spectator to choose either ones.Let's suppose you get the black/orange ones. You align your cards on the table, in the order 2,3,1 and cover them with a napkin or you hide them under beer mats or anything you like. Now ask the spectator to shuffle their business cards in their back or under the table ,and to align them as they come, below your own cards, from left to right or vice versa .Completely free choice.... Remove the cover on your cards and reveal. For instance , the result will be :

Of course, your revelation will vary according to the spectator's result. It has to be done WITHOUT HESITATION . There are only six possibilities. Case 1 : II , III , I Do nothing (Your cards and her cards will match) Case 2: III , I , II : Turn over your cards (The numbers on your backs will match) Case 3: I , II , III Turn over the Spectator's cards (The numbers on her backs will match) Cases 4 : I , III , II , 11/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

II , I , III or III , II , I : - Business Cards -

Use the prediction . Here is the detail ; I , III , II Turn over either your cards , or her cards : the total will be 4 II , I , III Do nothing . The total will be 4. III , II , I Turn both cards (hers and yours) : the total will be 4. Additional thoughts : - The effect can be repeated with different symbols . - Instead of 2,3,1 , you can use 3,1,2 under the napkin . - For your cards, you can use I,II,III ( or symbols with 1,2,or 3 lines) instead of the digits 1,2,3 - You will need to practice in order to avoid any hesitation for the revelation. As soon as the spectator has aligned her cards, you should know what you are going to do . Before removing the napkin , make sure you know what to do , and announce it . If the prediction is needed for the « out », show it, but face down ,before removing the napkin. Turn it face up only after having revealed the right combination . - In case of doubt , you can retrieve easily what is under YOUR cards by adding « 1 » to the face, modulo 3. For instance, you have 2,3,1 for your cards , face up. 2+1 = 3 : so you have a three lines figure or drawing on the back 3+1=4 : 4 modulo 3 is 1 actually , so you have a one line drawing on the back 1+1=2 : so you have a two lines drawing ,or a roman II, on the back. - Instead of having a single out , you could have three « outs » : one for each combination. (I , III , II) , ( II , I , III) or (III , II , I) - And finally, here is another solution that allows you to avoid the 'out' ,by saying at the beginning of the experience : « In order to make it more complex, none of your cards should match with mine. For instance a « 2 » cannot be under a « II » . So, if the spectator positions any of the following combinations :

(I , III , II) , ( II , I , III) or (III , II , I) just tell him : « As you can see, one of your cards is matching with one of my own cards » . 12/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

« Please swap the matching digit with any of the two other ones. It is your choice .Pick any one you want. » The result will be either « 231 » or « 312 » , and we are back to one of the previous cases . Here is a summary of this second solution :

Summary : Assuming the initial position of the performer's business cards is 231 (or III, I , II on the backs) : Spectator's business cards | Left Center Right

Action to take :

I

II

III

Turn both (your cards AND spectator's cards)

I

III

II

Tell the spectator to move the III (*)

II

I

III

Tell the spectator to move the II (*)

II

III

I

Do nothing

III

I

II

Turn your cards over

III

II

I

Tell the spectator to move the I (*)

(*) Depending on the spectator's choice, you will end up with either : ( I, II , III ) or ( III, I, II ) Note that in both cases, you will have to turn your own cards over. On the same topic, you notice that in all cases actually, you will have to turn your cards ! ( except of course, for the case where you have already II, III, I) Due diligence : I believe this little trick is original.I previously published a chair test (called « CHAIR'Z ») ,which was based on the same principle. Here it is.

13/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

CHAIR'Z

Introduction : This is my take on a classic effect ( « The chair test »). Here, it is a very simple version, that can look very impromptu . It is very practical too , and can be performed at a restaurant table , a dinner party , on stage, etc. Effect : Three Spectators select a number 1, 2 or 3. Then, they select a chair after swapping with others as they want. They cannot seat on their initial chair. At the end, the prediction reveals their final choice. Secret : The selection procedure is very clever.Although it appears very fair and random, there will be only two possibilities : 231 or 312 The prediction is then revealed with your favorite two-way out system. Setup : Just setup your two-way out system with two predictions ;

« Spectator 1 will select chair 2 14/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Spectator 2 will select chair 3 and Spectator 3 will select chair 1 » and

« Spectator 1 will select chair 3 Spectator 2 will select chair 1 and Spectator 3 will select chair 2 » on the other one. Presentation : The Performer invites three Spectators on stage. (Or you are at a restaurant or a dinner table, and propose an experiment to three hosts who are neighbours at the table. Same thing in a pub,sitting at the bar). Ask the audience , which chair they want to be the first one . For instance, the one on the left , and chair 3 the one on the right. The one in the center is obviously chair 2. Write « Spectator 1 » on a business card, « 2 » on another one and « 3 » on the last one. If you are in a pub, this can be done on beer mats. Shuffle the cards and ask each Participant to select one of the cards (or they can decide on their number themselves). Ask them to remember their initial position and carry this business card in full view (they keep it in their hand for instance). If you are performing at a table, you can also give business card 1 to the host sitting on chair #1, business card 2 to the host sitting on chair #2 and business card 3 to the host sitting on chair #3. In any case, make sure everybody understands the initial positions : Spectator 1 sits on chair 1 Spectator 2 sits on chair 2 Spectator 3 sits on chair 3 You continue by explaining the rules : « You are now going to mix you up all together and sit down to another seat. Nobody can sit on his own initial chair. Please stand up and sit down wherever you want as long as it is not your seat. » Here is another way : « Who wants to start ? » A Spectator raises his hand. For clarity of the expanation we will suppose it is Spectator #1. « You are going to change places with either host 2 or Host 3 . Please decide which seat you want to choose. » For instance, he selects chair 2. therefore Host 2 goes to chair 1. 15/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Now, ask Host 3 : « Now it is your turn. Please swap places with any of the other two participants. It is Your decision. » For instance, he will go to chair 1 and the host on chair 1 will go to chair 3. « You are now all mixed . You coud have been sitting anywhere ,but this is your final choice. » “Do you want to change one more time” ( If they say YES, make sure they do not seat back to their initial seat.) « Please open the prediction » ( or you open yourself the prediction, depending on the kind of two-way out system you use) . The prediction is opened and it predicts exactly the position of each Participant... Explanation : 1. If Spectator 1 decides to switch first . He switches with Spectator 2 or 3 - If he switches with Spectator 2, the position will be : 2 1 3. Spectator 3 needs now to move from his chair .He can swap either with 1 or 2. The final result will be either 3 1 2 or 2 3 1 . - If he swiches with Spectator 3 , the position will be : 3 2 1 Spectator 2 needs now to move from his chair .He can swap either with 1 or 3. The final result will be either 3 1 2 or 2 3 1 . 2. If Spectator 2 is the one to switch first . He switches with Spectator 1 or 3 - If he switches with Spectator 1, the position will be : 1 3 2. Spectator 1 needs now to move from his chair .He can swap either with 2 or 3. The final result will be either 3 1 2 or 2 3 1 . - If he swiches with Spectator 3 , the position will be : 3 2 1 Spectator 2 needs now to move from his chair .He can swap either with 1 or 3. The final result will be either 3 1 2 or 2 3 1 . 3. If Spectator 3 decides to switch first . He switches with Spectator 2 or 1 - If he switches with Spectator 2, the position will be : 1 3 2 . Spectator 1 needs now to move from his chair .He can swap either with 2 or 3. 16/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The final result will be either 3 1 2 or 2 3 1 . - If he swiches with Spectator 1 , the position will be : 3 2 1 Spectator 2 needs now to move from his chair .He can swap either with 1 or 3. The final result will be either 3 1 2 or 2 3 1 . CONCLUSION : THE FINAL RESULT CAN ONLY BE : (3 1 2) or (2 3 1) . All you have to do is remember which side is 312 and which one is 231 in your two-way out system... Two way out: You can just have a business card always prepared in your pocket with 231 for instance, and during the performance, you write on another one 312 as your prediction ,and put it in the same pocket as the other one,but close to your body for instance, in order to know which is which. You can also use a Himber wallet instead of your pocket. Another solution, is to fold the predictions in a billet , and do a billet switch if required at the end. I will also describe another solution that I like very much, but you will need some special business cards and a VELLEDA pen or dry erasable ink marker.This solution will allow you to have the prediction left in full view all the time during the performance. I suggest to use a prepared business card and the X-PERT pen by Neil Tobin.The X-pert looks like a normal Sharpie.You can also do it yourself... Laminate the business card, or stick some plastic sheet for white boards ,on one of the sides .You can find some rolls in stationery stores .They are used to build your own white board and are usually sold with a VELLEDA marker or other brand. The business card will act as a white board : you can write on it and erase it with your fingers . On the “plastic side”, write : SPECTATOR# : S1 S2 S3 CHAIR # : 2312 Depending on the outcome, you will secretly erase the 2 on the left or the 2 on the right, in order to get 312 displayed, or 231 . If you want, you can prepare business cards already written with a normal Sharpie : SPECTATOR # : S1 S2 S3 CHAIR# : (Leave it blank on the last line) 17/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

You can show this business card freely during the performance, have it signed with a normal Sharpie and say that you are going to complete it with your prediction.Still using the normal Sharpie, you write : 3 1 , under « CHAIR# ». without letting anybody see what you write of course. Put the normal Sharpie in your pocket and grab the Xpert , take it out and pretend to make a correction to your prediction . Of course, with your Xpert Sharpie this time, you write 2 on the LEFT of the previous 3 and 1 , and you write 2 on their right. NOTE : To make it more impromptu ,during meals or in pubs for instance , I simply write 2312 with the Xpert ,on a blank and prepared card, and explain the order on my prediction will be from left to right for spectators 123.

Recommended readings: 18/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

- “X” by Kenton Knepper, - « X-PERT » by Neil Tobin, - “Wipe out” by Terri Rogers. Examples of other two-way out systems : - HIMBER wallet - Systems with envelopes - Z wallet - « Ultimate Positive Negative » – by John CESTA inspired by Rick MAUE - « Broken Wings » - by Christopher DEE - My own systems : « James BOND principle » « JANUS V1 » “JANUS V3” (with Xpert pen) « CHAMELEON principle » They are described in some ebooks and sold as individual effects on http://www.untouchedmagic.com etc. - If you perform on stage , there are other systems you can use... - You can also perform a switch ( Visit www.amirasideas.com or buy « Switchcraft » by Elliott J. BRESLER for instance )

WITNESS 19/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Effect : A spectator examines and shuffles a stack of business cards blank on both sides. The performer asks her to think of a common object , for instance something she has in her kitchen. Without asking anything, the performer draws something on one of the business cards and puts it face down on the table. He hands the stack to the spectator and asks her to draw the object and to turn the drawing face down. The performer asks her to focus again on her drawing and draws a second drawing ,then puts it on the table as well. This time, the ressemblance will be very good. Explanation : You need two pen . Although this is not mandatory, it will be an additional convincer during the performance .  A normal one  A black sharpie or a marker, that is thicker and has a darker ink than the previous one. To experiment, draw a circle for instance with the first pen, and write over it with the sharpie. The second drawing must cover entirely the first drawing. You will need to know either what I call the « GZ control » , or the LePaul bluff pass. (the easiest one) , or the « Venus trap » by Chris Brown .There may be other sleights you can use. Presentation :

20/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

You hand the stack of business cards and the pen to a spectator. After the spectator has examined the business cards and thought of one object (without drawing anything ), you take them and draw anything you want on the first business card but with a sharpie.It doesn't really matther what you write, but you can draw some universal shapes ( most of the objects in a kitchen are circular for instance or have round shapes, the most commonly thought cards are the Queen of Hearts or Ace of Spades, , ) . You can refer to the « Psychological subtleties » books by Banachek for some ideas. I also did a study in one of my ebooks ( « FAIR MYSTERIES » ) You put your drawing on the table face down. Now, you hand the stack to the spectator and say : « I am committed. This is not necessary but ,please draw your object with your own pen,as a proof ,or just in case the experience doesn't work . I will turn my back if you want . » « Then, you will turn your drawing face down on top of the pile ,.Make sure nothing can be seen through the card. and place your hand on top » The participant executes your instructions and after a short while, you declare : « I can see more details now. Please have a last look at your drawing to help me. » You take the stack and execute the « GZ control » for her to look at the card. Her drawing is now second from the top, but everybody thinks it is the first one. Ask her to take her drawing and to hide it somewhere under an object without showing her drawing of course, or do it yourself very openly . Now here is the difference with the previous versions : Instead of doing a double lift, you just turn the top card ( the spectator's drawing ), without showing the drawing on it of course. Instead of using the same pen as the spectator , you are going to use the sharpie (as for the first drawing you did) ,or a thicker and darker ink pen. You pretend to draw something . In reality, you write OVER the existing spectator's drawing ,and just modify it slightly, or add minor details to it. Those details should be similar to ,or remind of your first drawing , if possible. Now, you ask for a witness : Invite another spectator to have a look at your drawing, and to put it face down on the table. Ask your witness to take the first drawing you did , and ask him/her to describe out loud what he sees . Before he starts, take the business card that was hidden previously (the supposedly spectator's card) and look at it , like if it was a nice surprise, without showing that it is a blank card actually ! Put the card in your pocket and let your witness describe the first drawing . Then ask him to reveal the second drawing, or to describe it first , if you want to keep some suspense ! NOTE : It is not mandatory to do a second drawing . Here is another way to present this effect : Just ask the spectator to draw something simple on the first business card , and then to turn 21/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

it face down. Take the stack ,execute the « GZ control », and ask her to focus on her drawing. You take your own sharpie, turn the top card without showing her drawing ,of course, and write over it , modifying it slightly .Then you give everything to your witness and declare : « In a few seconds, you are going to describe what I drew on this card. Let me first have a look at the spectator's drawing. » You take the first drawing that was put under an object and look at it with a big smile ! Look at your witness , put the card in your pocket casually ,and say : « Go ahead ! Please tell everybody what I have drawn. » It will be a big surprise to the audience as everything looked very fair. Look at the first spectator and say : « If my drawing is similar or very close to yours, please ask everybody to applaude ! » Don't let anybody ask for the drawing you put in your pocket.Immediately move to another effect or run away (- :. Honestly, you won't have to ! The heat will be on the final drawing ,not on the spectator's one. You even used a witness .No switch was possible . NOTE : You can also fail to find it by looking inside your pockets. If somebody wants to look inside your pockets,here is a little subtlety : invite him (or her (- ; to search. All they'll find is a few drawings done with different writings and pen , supposedly done by other spectators.Of course, you already put them in your pockets in advance . This never happens., believe me . Just propose a second experience and proceed with another completely different effect .

22/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

THE INVISIBLE BOOK TEST

Effect : You hand an immaterial book to a spectator. (Or you can use a real book,newspaper or magazine, that can be borrowed and freely selected by the spectator. Absolutely NO FORCE.) Ask her to open it at any page and remember any word on that page , then to write them on a business card as a proof, and turn it face down , so you cannot see anything. You take a blank business card and start describing letters and numbers, but the spectator must reveal nothing ,whether you are right or wrong. A witness can watch you . Ask her to concentrate a last time on her word and you do some corrections to your initial guess on the business card. Give this business card to a witness and ask her to reveal its contents. It will be the right word and page number ! Presentation : Hand a normal pen to a spectator with a stack of business cards .Ask the spectator to write the secret word and the page number on a business card , and then to turn it face down. NOTE : The pen should easily be covered later by a black sharpie .It is better to use one 23/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

that has a thin lead to write with,and if the pen has a different ink color than black. Take the stack ,execute the « GZ control » (See Appendix) , and ask her to focus on her word and page number .While doing the GZ control, show it as well to a witness from the audience.Leave the top card under an object on the table ( supposedly her drawing ,but in reality a blank card ). You take your own sharpie, turn the top card without showing her drawing ,of course, and write over it , modifying it slightly . NOTE : Here is a little subtlety . Before doing this,just put the stack of business cards on the table. You are now going to do some « cold reading » and guess some letters loudly, but the spectator has to say absolutely nothing,whether you are right or wrong. You can say for instance : « I can see a « E » ,a « N » , etc. ( Just announce the most commonly used letters in your language.In most languages ,they will be E and N.) Then take the stack, turn the top card over (hiding the writing on it of course), and start writing some of the characters you just said .Cross one or two characters that were wrong , like if you did some mistakes , or changed your mind. Then , you give everything to your witness and declare : « In a few seconds, you are going to describe what I wrote on this card. » « I am not going to touch it anymore, I am committed » « I am giving everything to you , right now . There is no way I can change my mind . Give the card to your witness, and say : «Before you describe what I wrote , let me first have a look at the spectator's page and word. » You take the first drawing that was put under an object ,and look at it with a big smile ! (without showing anybody of course that it is a blank card) . If you want, you can also make funny face, like if you missed your trick ! Look at your witness ,and say : « Go ahead ! Please tell everybody what I saw for the word and the page . » While he does it, casually discard the card in your pocket . Everybody will forget about it ! It will be a big surprise to the audience and to the first participant, as everything looked very fair. Look at the first spectator and say : « If my drawing is similar or very close to yours, please ask everybody to applaude ! » 24/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

or « Sir, is it correct ? » , and turn to the audience to get a big round of applause ! Appendix List of the most common letters in ENGLISH : ETAOINS ( From wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_frequency ) List of the most common letters in FRENCH : EAINORSTL or ESAITNR ( From WIKIPEDIA - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9quence_d %27apparition_des_lettres_en_fran%C3%A7ais )

Rang 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Lettr e e s a i t n r u l o

Nombr e 225947 121895 117110 115465 111103 108812 100500 96785 83668 82762

Pourcentag e 14,715 7,948 7,636 7,529 7,244 7,095 6,553 6,311 5,456 5,378

Here is the frequency for some languages :          

25/117

French: 'esait nrulo'; Spanish: 'eaosr nidlc'; Portuguese: 'aeosr indmt' Italian: 'eaion lrtsc'; Esperanto: 'aieon lsrtk' German: 'enisr atdhu'; Swedish: 'eantr slido'; Turkish: 'aeinr ldkmu'; Dutch: 'enati rodsl'; Polish: 'aoiez nscwr';

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Notes on the revelation : After the GZ control ,you are now with a stack of business cards in hand, and the top card contains the spectator's word and page number. The rest of the trick is just presentation. Just turn this card over ,making sure you do not flash its back. Step away from your witness spectator, as if you wanted to concentrate . Look at the first spectator in the eyes,asking him to concentrate on the word . Take your Sharpie, and write over the spectator 's word , changing the appearance of the writing to disguise his writing style. Add also the letters E and N (for instance), the same way that you wrote them previously during your first « cold reading ». Then , ask him to think of the page number. Again, you write over his number, changing a little bit the style of the digits.Sometimes, you can even change one of the digits to another number ,cross it ,and write underneath the correct number. For instance a 1 can be easily transformed into a 4 , a 5 or a 7. A 2 can be changed into a 3. A 3 into a 8 . A 6 into a 9 (or vice versa). Just pretend later on, that they look similar ! Etc. This is a little subtlety that plays big and reinforces your act... For instance, the spectator wrote 153 and OVATION :

You can easily transform this into something like :

26/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Notes on the cards: Instead of business cards, you can use double blank cards .The « GZ control » will be easier. Otherwise, make sure you practice with business cards. There are some differences : - Size - Corners - Slippery It is preferable to have blank business cards made with similar paper material as playing cards, One way is to do them yourself. Take a bunch of double blank cards and cut them at business cards dimensions … Otherwise, make sure both sides of the cards are slippy and that you don't have a « Rough and smooth » effect .Test the orientation of the cards.One side may slip well ,while the other side may stick to the card underneath .This is sometimes used in some tricks to have two business cards stick together .

27/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

MEN DESIRING WOMEN

Introduction : This is my version of a classic effect that is based on a mathematical principle .It is automatic. I will also explain how to create your own sentences . Effect : Four MEN and four WOMEN are displayed, and reassembled in one single heap . The spectators cut it freely , face down.Then, four cards are put in one pile and the other four in another pile. The men represent four guys who decided to place an ad in a newspaper to seek for ladies for Valentines's day. The ad is spelled with the two piles and amazingly the men and the women end up paired by suit. Presentation : For this presentation, it is better to have four ladies or four men as participants.We'll suppose they are four ladies. Write the four participants names on four different business cards. Ask them to name four male names they know, or take the names of four men in the audience.Write those names on four other business cards . The eight business cards should all have the same back. For the explanation, we'll call the four male names the « Kings » and the four female ones, 28/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

the Queens. Show the four Kings and four Queens . Reassemble them ,turn the heap face down and have it cut (and completed cut) by the spectators. Take the first four cards and deal them on the side, to make a separate pile. « Here is a little story about four guys . The week before Valentine's day, they decided to place an ad in their local newspaper. The ad was just : « Men desiring women ». « They received a lot of replies and selected four ladies .Here they are ! The next step was to decide which lady for each guy ! This was the most difficult part as they were all very pretty! So they decided to play a random game by spelling the ad. » Ask one of the four participants : « Which pile do you want to start with ? Now , spell « M » and deal the top card to the bottom of that pile. The second letter is « E ». Which pile do you want to choose ? OK . Spell « E » and deal the top card to the bottom . The third letter is « N ». Which pile ? Spell « N » and deal the top card of that pile to the bottom. » « We have finished spelling the first word. The result is completely random. Please take the first cards that ended up on top of each pile and put them together on your side, face down . This will be the first couple.Maybe it is two men or two women, who knows !» Now, ask another participant to run through the same process for the word : DESIRING At the end, have the top card of each pile put on her side, face down. And finally, ask another spectator to do the same with the word : WOMEN Again, the top cards are put on her side face down. Ask the fourth spectator to take the two remaining cards .This will be the fourth couple. « All the couples have now been decided randomly and it was your free choice . Please have a look at the result. Remember , it can be two Queens or two Kings ! We don't know. Let's hope the result will match your sexual preferences whether you are hetero or bisexual !» Each spectator will have a paired KING and QUEEN of the same suit each time ! Secret : The effect is automatic.Just have the men's names and the ladies'names arranged in the same suit order (for instance CHSD for the Kings, followed by CHSD for the Queens). The heap can be cut many times, it does not matter. After the cut, the four top cards just need to be reversed : Just deal them one by one in a separate pile .Then follow the procedure and it will always end up with four matched pairs. The other part of the secret is the spelling sentence. Each word needs to have a special 29/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

number of letters to make it work. Explanation : For a pile of N=4 cards , we need 3 words (N-1). The first word must have N-1 , or 2N-1 , or 3N-1 , etc. letters . The second word must have N-2 , or 2N-3 , or 3N-4, etc. letters The third word must have N-3 , or 2N-5 , or 3N-7, etc. letters. ( Actually, the last word is the easiest one ,as it can be made of any odd number of letters ) For N=4 : Word 1 = 3 , 7 , etc. For instance : MEN = 3 Word 2 = 2 , 5 , 8 , etc. For instance : DESIRING = 8 Word 3 = 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 , etc. For instance : WOMEN = 5 Generalisation : I have never seen the explanation anywhere.Here it is. This effect will work with any number of cards . For N cards (N = number of cards in one pile – Both piles must have the same number of cards ) , we need (N-1) words .  WORD 1 : N-1 or N-1+N=2N-1 or N-1+N+N=3N-1 etc. 

WORD 2 : N-2 or (N-2)+(N-1)=2N-3 or

N-2+N-1+N-1=3N-4 etc.



WORD 2 : N-3 or N-3+N-2=2N-5 or

N-3+N-2+N-2=3N-7 etc.



WORD 5 : N-4 or N-4+N-3=2N-7 or 3N-10+N-3=4N-13 … etc

N-4+N-3+N-3=3N-10 or



WORD 5 : N-5 or N-5 + N-4 =2N-9 or 4N-17 or 5N-21 ….etc

2N-9+N-4=3N-13 or



WORD 6 : N-6 or N-6 + N-5=2N-11 or 4N-21 ou 5N-26 … etc.

2N-11+N-5=3N-16 or



WORD 7 : N-7 or N-7+N-6=2N-13 or

2N-13+N-6=3N-19 etc.



WORD 8 : N-8 or N-8 +N-7=2N-15 or

2N-15+N-7=3N-22 etc.



WORD 9 : N-9 or N-9+N-8=2N-17 or

2N-17+N-8=3N-25 etc.



LAST WORD : Any odd number : 1,3,5,7,9,etc.

30/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

APPENDIX N Word 1

2 1

3

5

7

9

11

13

15

17

19

N Word 1 Word 2

3 2 1

3

5

7

9

11

13

15

17

19

N Word 1 Word 2 Word 3

4 3 2 1

7 5 3

11 8 5

15 11 7

19 14 9

23 17 11

20 13

23 15

26 17

19

N Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4

5 4 3 2 1

9 7 5 3

14 11 8 5

19 15 11 7

24 19 14 9

23 17 11

20 13

23 15

26 17

19

N Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4 Word 5

6 5 4 3 2 1

11 9 7 5 3

17 14 11 8 5

23 19 15 11 7

24 19 14 9

23 17 11

20 13

23 15

17

19

N Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4 Word 5 Word 6

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

13 11 9 7 5 3

20 17 14 11 8 5

23 19 15 11 7

24 19 14 9

23 17 11

20 13

23 15

26 17

19

N Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4 Word 5 Word 6 Word 7

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

15 13 11 9 7 5 3

23 20 17 14 11 8 5

23 19 15 11 7

24 19 14 9

23 17 11

20 13

23 15

26 17

19

31/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

References : Bob Longe – Hocus pocus pairs . Easy card tricks/Howard Adams Ramasee principle (OICUFESP series of booklets)/ Larry Becker – Stunners plus – Computer dating / Harry Lorayne – Apocalypse / Paul curry - Karl FULVES – new self working tricks/ Paul Harris secrets of Astonishing executive (1991) The break- room boredom buster/ Jon Rachenbaumer 11/7/2000 , Pink sink / Ammar business card miracles / Match maker (cardworker 1999) - Mick Ayres (which ones will we match?)...

32/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

ELIMINATION « Predict anything without writing anything ! »

Effect : A prediction is given to hold to a Spectator in his pocket. 51 cards are eliminated randomly .Only one is left . The prediction is opened : it is the same card. 100% impromptu. Secret : Very simple ! The color is forced. Then the Suit and then the Value of the card. There are many ways to force but the beauty of this effect is the MATSUYAMA force. Setup : With the MATSUYAMA force, the effect is 100% impromptu and you don't even need a deck of playing cards. All you need are a bunch of normal business cards. They can be borrowed. Alternatively, you can use pieces of newspaper, playing cards,beer mats, flyers, etc... 33/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Presentation : The patter will vary according to the information you want to force. This principle can also be used in other routines . Here we'll do a card effect without cards !This is perfect if somebody is asking you for a card trick ,or if somebody tells you that he doesn't like card tricks or cards . « Ladies and gentemen, I am going to present you a card effect without cards ! » « Also, I am not going to ask you to select a card. You are going to eliminate 51 cards ! » « I know, the result is the same, but doing this way is longer and we have plenty of time ! » « All I need is a bunch of business cards. Can you please give me your card, and you too... » Do this until you have 20 or 30 business cards. If needed, take your own cards , give them for examination and add them to the ones you collected from the audience. If you are in a pub, just use beer mats. If there is a newspaper handy, or a magazine, tear pages into small square pieces. Take a business card and write the card you want to predict (for instance the QUEEN of DIAMONDS) Give it to a Spectator to put into his pocket without looking at it. « We are now going to eliminate 51 cards. We'll first eliminate the reds or the blacks. Then depending on the result, we'll eliminate either CLUBS/SPADES or HEARTS/DIAMONDS ,then SPOT or FIGURE CARDS , and so on. The process of elimination will be done with these business cards. » ( or else). Give the business cards to a Spectator . RED or BLACK : For instance, let's say you want to force RED . Ask the Spectator to take any number he wants without showing you . Ask him if he wants to start with RED or with BLACK. If he says RED : Tell him to take the top card and put it on the bottom . Say « RED » Then to take the next card and put it on the table, saying «BLACK» Then to take the next one and put it on the bottom, saying «RED» Then to take the next card and put it on the table, saying «BLACK» and so on, until only one card is left : it will always be RED in this case. If he says BLACK: Tell him to take the top card and put it on the table, saying «BLACK» Then to take the next one and put it on the bottom, saying «RED» 34/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Then to take the next card and put it on the table, saying «BLACK» and so on, until only one card is left : it will always be RED in this case. HEARTS or DIAMONDS : You have forced RED. The suit can therefore be HEARTS or DIAMONDS. Let's say you want to force DIAMONDS for instance . Ask another Spectator to take any number of cards , or else ,he wants without showing you . Ask him if he wants to start with HEARTS or DIAMONDS. If he says DIAMONDS : Tell him to take the top card and put it on the bottom . Say « DIAMONDS » Then to take the next card and put it on the table, saying « HEARTS » Then to take the next one and put it on the bottom, saying « DIAMONDS » Then to take the next card and put it on the table, saying « HEARTS » and so on, until only one card is left : it will always be DIAMONDS in this case. If he says HEARTS : Tell him to take the top card and put it on the table, saying « HEARTS » Then to take the next one and put it on the bottom, saying « DIAMONDS » Then to take the next card and put it on the table, saying « HEARTS » and so on, until only one card is left : it will always be DIAMONDS again. SPOT or FIGURE Now, we need to force a FIGURE card. Ask another Spectator to add or remove business cards again , without showing you. Do the same procedure as before .Be consistent with the previous procedure. If you started by dealing on the table previously , say SPOT and deal the card on the table first. If you started by dealing on the bottom, say FIGURE and put the top card on the bottom. Anyway, you have now forced FIGURE and DIAMONDS. VALUE Now you need to force the Value. To make it short, we have forced a figure. So the card can only be a Jack, Queen or King. If you want to force the Queen, just redo the procedure and say MALE or FEMALE . When you deal the cards to the bottom, make sure it is always when you say FEMALE, and you will always end up with FEMALE in your hand ( or the Spectator's hands). If you want to force the JACK for instance, then you need to add another pass. First force MALE. Then force JACK by saying JACK and KING. At the end , you will have determined a card : for instance the QUEEN of DIAMONDS in our example. 35/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

REVELATION : Summarize and reinforce the fact that you didn't know everytime what the number of business cards was,if it was odd or even, etc. The elimination procedure was completely fair. Ask the Spectator to take the prediction out of his pocket and read it aloud. Final thoughts : You can use this principle for almost anything. - OBJECTS : BIG or SMALL ROUND or SQUARE LIGHT or HEAVY TRANSPARENT or NOT etc. - ANIMALS BIG or SMALL PET or WILD etc. - CELEBRITIES LIVING or DEAD MAN or WOMAN NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL A STAR or POLITICIAN etc. Due diligence : The force used in here is from Mitsunobu MATSUYAMA Any other suitable force can be used .

« NICE TO MEET YOU 2 » 36/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

A match maker principle

Introduction : Here is a principle you can use for different effects ( color sensing , matching/coincidence , etc.) Effect : The Performer makes two piles of four business cards . For instance one pile with movies and another pile with their director or main actor . One with KINGS for instance and one with QUEENS . Or one with husbands and one with wives. Or one with 4 colors and the other one with objects(or fruits,flowers,etc.) of the same colors Or one with rate exchanges ( for instance , on four business cards, you write 1$ , 1€ , 1£ and 1 Brasilian real. , and on the other four cards, you write the rate exchange in dollars . For instance 1 for the dollar, 1.3 for the EURO , 1.5 for the British Pound, and 0.5 for the Real) The Spectator selects which pile goes on top and cuts as much as he/she wants. The Performer reassembles the pairs just by sensing the cards with his fingers. Explanation :

37/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The effect is automatic and mathematic . The secret is very simple. The business cards just have to be arranged at the beginning in THE SAME order . Cutting the deck will not alter, the order and « spacing » , of the cards of same suit (or of same color). At the beginning, the business cards will have a « distance » of 4 cards. Then, for the second pair, there will be only 6 cards , so the distance will be 3 . etc. I will explain the principle with KINGS and QUEENS of Clubs, Hearts, Spades and Diamonds . For instance arrange the KINGS in CHSD order (or else, it does not matter).Then the QUEENS, in the exact same order for the suits.Put one pack on top of the other.You or the spectator , can cut any times you want. To find pairs of the same color : Behind his back, or under a napkin or under the table, the Performer simply divides the packet in half and takes the TOP card of each half . Those will be cards of the same suit. Personnally, I do not like doing effects under the table or behind my back. Here is a better way (furthermore, it is hands off) : have the spectator ribbon spread the cards (face down) and show you one of the cards with his finger . Mentally count the number of cards divided by 2. Count to this number , counting 1 on the next card,, and have the spectator turn over this card.It will be a matching card. Example : 8 cards : B R B R B R B R (B=Black , R=Red ) 1 2 3 4 56 7 8 For a color sensing effect, they are just indifferent black and red cards. For a matching effect, they are red queens and black kings for instance. The Spectator selects card number 3 , for instance. There are eight cards on the table : 8 divided by 2 is 4. Count to 4 starting from card 4, from left to right, you woul end up on card number 7. If you count from right to left, you will end up on card 3 ( the same card.) Card 7 has the same suit as the selected card 3. Remove the two cards and reassemble the cards, without disturbing the order. Have the spectator cut again the cards as many times as desired , and you are ready to start again with six cards.This time, mentally count to 3 ( 6 divided by 2 is 3) instead of 4. And so on... NOTES :

38/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

- For sensing the matching business card, You can also use the gimmick I called « Universal detector » . (Available in this ebook and in « PK Mysteries » as well .There is an extra method in PK mysteries, but it does not use a business card .). - Color sensing : Instead of Kings and Queens, you can just use Black and Red ( or other colors) You can also use any number of cards as long as there are as many Black cards, as red cards.Therefore the number of cards must be even. The setup can be impromptu.You need an even number of cards with as many black cards than red cards. Just write « RED » or « BLACK » on the business cards. For instance, make two piles in the following way ,apparently picking the cards randomly: Put a red card ,face down, for instance in pile 1 and a red one as well in pile 2 Then another red card in pile 1 and same for pile 2. Then you can put a black one in both piles. Then a red one. And so on.No matter if it's red or black as long as long as it is the same in both piles. Then you can assemble the piles and have them cut many times. You can do a Charlier false cut, or the Paul ROSINI false cut, etc. With this simple setup you can perform a color sensing effect. Just ask the Spectator to cut the packet and to remove the face card without showing you. You will divine his color just by peeking the middle card. One simple handling is to casually cut the business cards in the middle and peek the bottom color . Due diligence : I think the basic principle is from Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 - December 6, 1985) .

39/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

« HAPPY HOUR »

Effect : The Performer takes some business cards out of his wallet ,and writes some money values ( e.g 50 $ , 100 $ , etc. ).Then he gives some of the cards to a Spectator, to count how much he's got. Explain that if he answers right to two questions , he/she will win 50 Dollars. The Performer asks the Spectator to put 100 Dollars and hide them under a beer mat or else. « How much is under the beer mat ? » . Easy ! « 100 dollars ». Now, more difficult. The Performer adds 100$ from his own money under the beer mat. « How much is now under the beer mat ? » . Easy again ! « 200 dollars ». The Spectator checks and indeed there are 200$. « So you won 50$. Give me 150$ and you keep the 200$ .» « Now put them inside your pocket with your other cards». « Now watch, one of the 100$ cards is going to travel invisibly from your pocket to mine. » The Performer approaches his hand close to the Spectator's pocket without touching it ,and moves it inside his pocket. « Count how much you have got now in your pocket» Indeed, 100$ are missing from his pocket ! They have disappeared in the most mysterious way.Watch the Spectator's face ! It always works. Even if they realize afterwards , they will enjoy this scam . Setup:

40/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

You need 15 business cards . Why 15 ? It is just to get ready for the second part of the routine. Write money values on one side of the business cards. Any currency : I will use dollars in the description, but you can use € or else . Any values ,except for four of them which are mandatory : You will need three 100$ bills and one 50$ bill. The other bills can be a mixture of other values X$ (10$,20$,50$,100$,...) I suggest to use high values to get the effect more interesting . NOTE: Instead of 100 and 50 , you can use 10 and 5 , or 1000 and 500 , etc. Presentation : Give 8 business cards, for instance 100$+50$ + 100$ + X$ + X$ +X$ +X$ + X$ to the spectator All you need is to keep at least one 100$ card for you . The other 6 ones can be indifferent . Try to give a simple amount of money (for instance the total should be 300$ ,(not 305 for instance) « Imagine these business cards are dollar bills. Please count how much you have got and write it down.Let somebody else check as well » (Let's say he's got 300$) « As it is « Happy hour » ,I am going to ask you two questions . If your answers are right to both questions you will win 50 Dollars ! ». The Performer asks the Spectator to put a 100$ bill and hide it under a beer mat or else. Ask the first question : « How much is under the beer mat ? » It's easy ! The Spectator will (should!) reply : « 100 dollars ». « Are you sure ? » « Do you want to check ?» (Make them doubt ! ) Now, more difficult. The Performer adds 100$ from his own money , under the beer mat. « How much is now under the beer mat ? » . Easy ! « 200 dollars ». « Are you sure ? » « Do you want to check ?» The Spectator checks and indeed there are 200$. « So you won 50$. Give me 150$ and you keep the 200$ » « Put all your cards inside your pocket ». « As you won 50$ you've got now 350$ in your pocket.» « Now watch, one of your 100$ cards is going to travel invisibly from your pocket to mine. » Fake to take a business card invisibly between two fingers and to put it in your stack. « Count how much you have left now »............ 41/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The Spectator will count and find out he now has got only 250$ ! Indeed, 100$ are missing from his pocket ! NOTE: instead of using the pockets, you can just keep the business cards in hands or on the table. Explanation : Just follow the instructions and it's automatic. It's your wording that fools the audience.. When the spectator takes the 200$ , there is actually 100$ from his own money. So he actually gives you 150$ and « wins » actually only 100$. So in fact, he looses 50$ ! So, let say he has 300$ at the very beginning. He puts 100$ on the table. He has now 200$ left. He gives you 150$ . He now has 50$ . He takes the 200$ . He now has 250$ instead of having 300$ + 50$ . (In the Spectator's mind, He/She won an extra 50$ , so they think they have now 350$ .But actually they have only 250$ . This is why during the performance, I make a 100 $ card travel ( 350 – 250 = 100 $ ). You can follow up with « MONEY TRANSFER ». Read on.

42/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

“MONEY TRANSFER”

Effect: It can be a follow up to the previous effect. The Performer takes the cards back .He puts pairs of bills in the spectator's hands.For instance 4 pairs in his left hand and 3 pairs in the right hand. He then adds only 1 bill in the right hand, to make an incomplete pair. The Performer (or another spectator) takes the left-hand bills and counts pair by pair in 2 heaps. Then he takes the right hand bills and counts also pair by pair on the 2 previous heaps. There will be of course an extra bill. The Spectator is asked in which heap he wants to add the extra bill. The Performer again,says that the extra bill is going to travel invisibly from one hand to the other. The spectator checks by counting the cards and indeed , the extra bill is now in the other hand ! Key points :

43/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The Performer doesn't have to touch anything and doesn't do any suspect move . Setup : Use the same fifteen cards as in the previous effect « Happy hour ». Presentation : Ask the Spectator to show his hands wide open and palms up. The Performer takes the fifteen business cards , and deals them in pairs in the spectator's hands (or on the table) .For instance you will end up with four pairs in his Left hand and three pairs in his Right hand. But when you count, just say: “one pair” , “another pair” , “another pair” , etc. He then adds the last bill in the right hand,. Point out that “there is now , an incomplete pair in the right hand”. Ask another spectator : « Please check by yourself and re-count the business cards . Deal the Left-hand cards in two heaps» The Performer or the spectator takes the left-hand bills and re-counts pair by pair in two heaps. Now you say: « Do the same with the right-hand business cards .Deal them on the two existing packets» The Spectator (or the Performer) takes the right hand cards and counts also pair by pair on the two previous heaps. There will be of course an extra business card. The Spectator is asked in which heap he wants to add the extra business card. It doesn't matter which heap is selected . The Performer again,says that the extra card is going to travel invisibly from one hand to the other. Fake to take a business card invisibly between two fingers and throw it in the other heap. The spectator checks by counting the business cards and indeed , the extra card is now in the other hand ! Explanation : It's an odd/even mathematical principle known as the “piano trick”. Just follow the instructions above. The effect is automatic.Again, It's your wording that fools the audience. ADDITIONAL IDEAS : 44/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

As an introduction , you can talk about the Mystery of the vanishing dollar puzzle : 3 friends go to the restaurant.The bill totals 25$ . They each give a 10$ bill (total 30$) and the waitress comes back with the change (5$) . Each one gets 1$ back and they decide to leave 2$ for tip. So each one paid 9$ , which makes 27$+ 2$ tip = 29$ instead of 30$ they originally paid .. Where is the missing dollar ??? Explanation: the addition and substraction are done at the wrong time above. Actually, each one paid 9$ ( initially 10$ , and each one got 1 dollar back . ). But the tip is already included in there ! It's actually 25$ for the meals + 3$ change + 2$ tip = 30$ Due diligence / Bibliography : - For the first part , I have no idea of who invented this scam . I learned it in a pub from a crook ! - The second part is based on the « piano trick », a classic in magic (probably 100 years old ). It is in Martin Gardner book “Math and Magic” for instance. This routine can be followed by my « SCAM ACAAN » effect involving money too. It is explained in this ebook .

45/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

HANDS OFF MY LADY !

Introduction: This effect is based on the classic « Find the Lady » plot. It can be done , not only without touching the cards but also without looking, on the phone , remotely ,etc . It can also be done with many spectators simultaneously , or be pre-recorded . You will get three methods : With 3 , with 4 , and with 5 business cards. On the business cards , you will have to write or draw the indifferent cards or symbols, and the winning one (« the money card » or « the Lady » ) For explanation purposes , we will call the indifferent business cards : the BLACK cards and the Money card : the RED card. METHOD 1 : WITH 3-CARDS Effect: The Performer does not look . The Spectator takes two BLACK BUSINESS CARDS and a RED one .

46/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

He aligns the cards as he/she wants . The Performer instructs the Spectator to move the business cards and eliminate two of them. The remaining one is the RED CARD . Setup : Just borrow three business cards (or take your own) and write RED , BLACK1 and BLACK2. You could also write WIN , LOSE1 and LOSE2 for instance, or GOAT1,GOAT2 and FERRARI . I will explain the method with two blacks and one red. Secret : The second card you swap will always be the remaining card . Read on... Presentation : The Performer shows the two Black cards (BLACK 1 and BLACK 2) and a Red Queen . He explains the rules and turns his back. NOTE : It is very important that you explain the moves before turning your back. More specifically, explain clearly that if there is no card on the right (or on the left) for instance, the Spectator will have to do nothing. The Spectator shuffles freely the three business cards, and aligns them in any order from Left to Right, face up. The Performer now gives the following instructions , without seeing anything : INSTRUCTIONS 1 1 – Swap black card 1 with the card on its RIGHT 2 – Swap the RED QUEEN with the card on its LEFT ***** THIS IS THE KEY MOVE *** 3 – Swap black card 2 with the card on its RIGHT 4 – Eliminate the card on the RIGHT SIDE 5 – Swap the two remaining cards 6 – Eliminate the card on the left 7 - The RED QUEEN will always be the remaining card. Summary : Swap VALUES : POSITIONS :

BLACK 1 Right – Queen Left – BLACK 2 Right / Eliminate Right - swap – Eliminate Left

INSTRUCTIONS 2 47/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

If you have to repeat the effect, reverse the order : 1 – Swap the Smallest BLACK with the card on its LEFT 2 – Swap the RED QUEEN with the card on its RIGHT ***** THIS IS THE KEY MOVE *** 3 – Swap the Highest BLACK with the card on its LEFT 4 – Eliminate the card on the LEFT SIDE 5 – Swap the 2 remaining cards 6 – Eliminate the card on the RIGHT Summary : Swap VALUES : POSITIONS :

Small Left-Queen Right-High Left Eliminate Left – swap - Eliminate Right

METHOD 2 : WITH 4-CARDS For this version you will need three black cards and a red card . Ask the Spectator to shuffle the four cards and align them in a row. For the explanations, we will assume the Spectator is in front of the Performer. « I am going to turn my back and when I tell you , you will swap the RED CARD with the card on its right or on its left. If there is nothing on its right, then you have no other choice than swapping with the one on its left of course. » The Performer turns his back. SECRET: For this variation, you do not need to differenciate the Black cards .You can just write Black on all of them. Before turning , all you need to remember is the position of the RED card from your RIGHT. When you are facing the cards : (Your LEFT) 4 3 2 1 (Your RIGHT) When you will have your back turned, your LEFT and your RIGHT will be the SAME as the Spectator's. Here are the instructions : 1. Swap 2. swap 3. Swap 4. Swap 5. Swap 48/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

NOTE : At this point, you know that if the RED business card was in a EVEN position, it will now be in and ODD position ( 1 or 3) And vice versa, if the RED card was in an ODD position, it will now be in an EVEN position ( 2 or 4). At this point, there are 2 cases : CASE 1 : The RED business card was in an EVEN position at the beginning: 6. the RED card ends up in 1 or 3 : Ask the Spectator : « Remove the card on your RIGHT. » This is the fourth card. NOTE : The LADY is now at one of the ends of the row (either on the left or on the right, it does not matter) 7. « Swap again the LADY with any of the adjacent card. » NOTE : The LADY will now be in the MIDDLE . 8. « Remove the card on the Right » 9. « Remove the card on the Left » CASE 2 : The LADY was in an ODD position at the beginning 6. the LADY ends up in 2 or 4 : Ask the Spectator : « Remove the card on your LEFT. » This is the 1rst card. NOTE : The RED card is now at one of the ends of the row (either on the left or on the right, it does not matter) 7. « Swap again the RED card with any of the adjacent card. » NOTE : The RED card will now be in the MIDDLE ! 8. « Remove the business card on the Right » 9. « Remove the card on the Left » SUMMARY : To remember and to clarify : - Remember the initial position of the RED card (ODD or EVEN) . - Always ask to remove this position : If the card was EVEN , remove the card in position 4 (even) As you have your back turned, position 4 will be the card on your RIGHT hand side (same as the Spectator) If the card was ODD , remove the card in position 1 (odd) As you have your back turned, position 1 will be the card on your LEFT hand side (same as the Spectator) 49/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

METHOD 3: WITH 5-CARDS Effect: Five cards are aligned on the table by the Spectator . The Performer does not look .The Participant thinks of one of the cards . She mixes the cards . The Performer turns back and reveals the thought card . Setup : None. Secret : After the two first instructions , the thought card will always be the one in the middle . Presentation : Write five different cards (or else : objects, first names,etc.) on five business cards.The Spectator is asked to s to align them in a row ,in any order She wants. “Please number the cards from 1 to 5, you can start from the right of from the left . Which one is number 1 ?” Point to the next card and say: “ So this one is Number 2, this one 3, this one 4 and this one 5 , right ?” « Please write 1,2,3,4,5 on them » The Performer turns his back so he does not see and say: “Please think of one of the 5 cards, don't tell me . Remember which number it is. If you want,point with your index to show the card to the audience.” “We are now going to mix the business cards”. “Take the first business for instance and move it to the other end of the row.” “Take the next card, and move it to the other end of the row.” “Now let's make it more difficult . I don't know which Number was your card, so please move that many cards to the other end of the row. For instance, if your card was Number 4, move 4 cards, one by one or all together .” NOTE: At this point, the Spectator's card will always be the one in the middle ! So now it's a matter of continuing to mix without moving this card from the middle.For instance, you can say:

50/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

“Now , if you want, you can swap the two cards at each end ,either the ones on the right or the ones on the left .Do not make any noise so I can't tell what you are doing”. “If you want ,you can do the same with the two cards at the other end “. “Now, if you want, you can swap the cards at each end ( 1 and 5 or 1 and 4) “Or maybe you prefer switching 2 and 5 ? or 2 and 4 ?” If you don't want to do it , just leave it like that. It is your free choice .” Now, turn back towards the Spectator but DO NOT LOOK AT THE CARDS.Watch her straight in the eyes .Do not be tempted to look down immediately. You will have plenty of time to look at them. You can reveal the card with your favorite presentation . Personnally, I like to use the « Universal detector » . Inspirations : The methods employed are not new! They are classics ,based on pure logic. According to the Magic Cafe Forum ,here are similar effects. Mind Monte ( Bob Hummer) , David Lees /Peter Duffie « miraculous minds » but I am sure every mentalist/magician has his own version based on one of these.

51/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

« GUESS MY CARD »

Effect : The Performer thinks of a card and the Spectator guesses it . Secret: In this method, I use a combination of : - 2-way out . For instance my JANUS V1 or V3 , or Max Maven (« Positive/Negative » ), John CESLA Ultimate Positive/Negative, Scott Guinn « Assertive / Positive » , Pablo Amira's method , Himbert wallets , etc. - One ahead principle - Double lifts (very easy as you have only three business cards in hands). The “two-way out” principle is used for the first question of the one-ahead cycle. The Double lifts allow to have the three cards in the right order at the end. Setup: You will need three BLANK business cards or pieces of rigid paper . Or you can use anything else that has the same design on both sides and enough empty space to write on it. METHOD For the description, I will use three BLANK business cards . 52/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Borrow another business card ,blank on one side, and put it on the table with a pen. “Let's try an experience . I am going to think of a card in my head, and you are going to try to guess it ! as well as its position in an imaginary deck of 52 cards . ” “Imagine you are in a dark room . In the middle of the room, there is a deck of card.” (This is a Ran PINK's idea). Ask the Spectator to think of a color , RED or BLACK. Now ask him to light the lighter and to turn over the first card and tell you what is the color of the first card he sees : Is it a red card or a black card ? Depending on his answer you will say: “OK so I will think of a RED card for instance.” ( assuming he answered: RED) Write on the business card you put on the table: RED 1. VALUE 2. NUMBER 3. SUIT Take the 3 blank business cards , with a pen as well. “I am now writing the VALUE of the card (ACE to KING). When I am done you will try to guess which one I have written,and you will write it on your business card but only after me”. Write on your first business card ,so that everybody can see .: 1. VALUE Now do a double lift while you say: « Now please don't look. I don't want you to see the VALUE I am writing» Actually, you will write according to Max MAVEN “Positive/Negative” on the business card and « IT IS xxxxx » Replace xxxxx by : - Hearts for instance if the color was RED . - Spades if the color was BLACK . NOTE: If you don't know the POSITIVE NEGATIVE secret, don't worry. Just write HEARTS if RED and SPADES if BLACK. If you are wrong, it will actually look as if the Participant was wrong ! And it will make the effect more realistic if it fails. One fail in three is not too bad after all Do a double lift again and put the two first business cards as one to the bottom. Ask the Spectator to light the lighter and tell you which value he thinks I wrote . Ask him to write it on his business card so that everybody can see. Remember this Value. « Now I am going to write a NUMBER between 1 and 52 .» Write : 2.NUMBER on your top business card,so that everybody can see. Again, do a double lift while you say: « Now please don't look. I don't want you to see the NUMBER I am writing» and write on the back the VALUE you just learned. 53/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Do a double lift again and put the 2 first business cards as one to the bottom. Ask the Spectator to light the lighter and tell you which number he thinks I wrote . Ask him to write it on his business card so that everybody can see. Remember this Value. « Now I am going to think of a SUIT » Write : 3.SUIT on the business card, so that everybody can see. Do a double lift while you say: « Now please don't look. I don't want you to see the NUMBER I am writing» and write on the back the NUMBER you just learned. Turn the two cards as one but , THIS TIME , DO NOT put the two first business cards to the bottom. Just let them on top and put your stack on the table . They will already be in the right order. Say: “I am done” Ask the Spectator to light the lighter and tell you which suit he thinks I wrote . Ask him to write it again on his business card , in front of 3. This time you don't need to see what he writes. Revelations : Ask the Spectator to align your three cards himself ,without looking at the back yet. “We are now going to check the results” Turn the VALUE card slowly and compare with the Spectator's card. Then the NUMBER . For the SUIT, take the card yourself, look at it , make a funny face as if this one was wrong and show it finally to everybody. This is just to make sure you hide the « NO » at the top or not, depending on the suit you see on the last business card .It will also create some suspense for the final revelation! NOTE: As a mnemonic, I use VENUS ( V for Value, N for Number and S for Suit).This helps me to remember in which order I should ask the questions.

54/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

“TAKE MY ORDER”

This is another effect based on the same principle as in “GUESS MY CARD””. Imagine you are in a restaurant, approaching a table. « I am your waiter. Are you ready to order ? » … « Actually my name is … , I am a Performer » « Do you want to try a weird experience? Imagine you are the waiter and I am the customer ! I want all of you to guess what would be my order ! » Put your notepad on the table with a pen (an order notepad like in restaurants) Write : « 1. STARTER :.......................... » « 2. MAIN COURSE.................. » « 3. DRINK................................. » Ask one of the guests: « You Sir, for instance, what do you think I would order as a starter? Think about it for now, without telling anybody.» « Before you tell us my choice ,I am going to commit and write it here ». Write « 1.STARTER » on the business card Make a double lift and write actually : « WATER IS FORBIDDEN HERE! » without showing anybody of course. NOTE : Due to the ambiguity of the message , it will work in both cases for the last question. Do a double lift again and put the two top cards on the bottom. ( or bring the bottom one to the top) « ok , I am committed. Please tell everybody here what you think I chose and write my STARTER on the order notepad for further reference ». « Now, I am going to write my choice for the MAIN COURSE on the second business card. » Write « 2. MAIN COURSE » on the top business card and show it to everybody. Make a Double lift , and write actually the STARTER you heard previously. Do a double lift again and put the two top cards on the bottom as one ( or bring the bottom one to the top) . « ok , I am committed. Please tell everybody which main course you think I chose . Let's write it on the notepad as a proof for later ». « Now , I am going to write my choice for the DRINK on the second business card. » Write « 3. DRINK » and show it to everybody. 55/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

“Do you think I will order WATER or WINE ?” Make a Double lift , and write actually the MAIN COURSE you heard previously. Do a double lift again BUT THIS TIME, do NOT put the two top cards on the bottom . Just leave them on top. The three business cards are in order 3,2,1 from the top. Put the stack of three business cards on the table. « ok , I am committed. Please tell everybody which DRINK you think I chose . Again, please write it on the notepad ». The Spectator writes the drink on the notepad . « Now turn over the first card and check......Congratulations, you guessed my STARTER ! Turn the second one.....Congratulations, you guessed my MAIN COURSE too ! And finally turn the last one ….... THANK YOU LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ! ENJOY YOUR MEAL !». Due diligence: - One ahead principle . But I wanted a way to get the billets in the right order at the end. Double lifts or turnovers simply solved the problem .

56/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

LOVE IT or HATE IT

Here is a principle that may be useful to you to. It is impromptu . All you need is nine business cards . Effect : Some words are written on business cards . The Participant selects one of the words and keeps it secret .He then spells whether he likes it or not ( He can lie , he can select the words he wants to spell). The Performer finds the word just by listening to his voice . You can also use this as part of cold reading . Explanation : I will explain the effect with nine playing cards but it can be adapted to business cards with words, or numbers, etc). The Spectator chooses 9 cards and makes 3 piles of 3 cards.He/she selects one pile and looks at the card in the center of this pile.The piles are reassembled and the Spectator is asked to spell his first name ,one by one on the table ,and to put the rest of the pack on top. Then he spells «LIKES» .( or HATES ) And finally he spells any word he likes ( less than nine letters) The Performer then divines the chosen card. 57/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The effect is automatic and mathematic . The secret is that the selected card must begin in second position from the top . Then the spectator will spell (less than 9 everytime) and put the rest of the cards on top. 1rst spell : For instance his/her first name . This is free choice as long as it is less than 9 letters 2nd spell : This one has to be always 5 letters ( for instance : «WANTS » or « LOVES » or « HATES » , « LIKES » , « SINGS » , « BEATS » etc.) 3rd spell : Again, this is free choice as long as it is less than 9 letters. This way, the selected card will always end up third from the FACE ( or seventh from TOP) Presentation: The patter and presentation must hide the mathematical aspect of the trick. The sentence you will spell has to be justified . First you have to decide what will be the first word . It can be a first name for instance. Then depending on the situation , you can adapt for the second word. The only restriction is that it must be 5 characters long. For instance, if you are at a restaurant , you can use « LIKES » for the second word and for the third word either the name of the restaurant, or the name of a dish ,vegetable , meat, or the name of the city , etc. (any word less than 9 letters) If you are at a wedding , use the maid's names. If it is for a trade show , use company names In a pub, use drinks or cocktails names etc. Once you have decided on the sentence ( For instance : « Helen loves Paris » ) , you have to justify the 9 cards and the 3 heaps . If there are 9 people at a table , it's easy. Or if your sentence is about cities , just say « Imagine 3 countries like UK, France and Brazil . And 3 cities in each country like Paris, Rio, London , etc. ». The words you will write on the business cards, must be less than 9 letters each.That's the only restriction. Example of presentation: The Spectator chooses 9 cards , shuffles them and makes 3 piles of 3 cards. We must control the selected card in 2nd position from TOP. Here is one way to do this : He/she selects one pile and looks at the card in the center of this pile.Then he puts his pile on top of the two other ones The piles are reassembled and you know the selected card is second from the top . You can do a false shuffle if you want. 58/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The Spectator is asked to spell his/her first name ,one by one on the table ,and to put the rest of the pack on top. For instance : « HELEN » Then « LOVES » is spelled and the rest of the packet put on top. And finally « PARIS » is spelled and the rest of the packet put on top. Now, you know that the selected card is : 3rd from the FACE or 7th from the TOP The revelation can be done as you want , according to your presentation. You can ,for instance , ask the spectator to visualize famous places ( e.g Eiffel tower, Big Ben, etc.) Or you can spell a word that is 6 or 7 letters long and you spell from the top, face down. Or a word that is 2 or 3 letters and spell it with the cards face up. Due diligence: I have no idea where this old principle comes from. If somebody knows, please drop me a mail and I will add the references here.

59/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

THE LIE DETECTOR

Here is an effect based on the previous principle. Effect : Ask the spectator to write on the business cards ,one thing she likes very much and ,on the other ones, things she does not like or that she likes less , without giving you any clue. This can be what she likes the most in a man , or cocktails. It can be general stuff like LOVE , MONEY , HEALTH , WORK , FAMILY , FREEDOM , HAPPYNESS , SUCCESS , FRIENDS etc. Let's call the spectator Mary. You ask her : « Tell me what you like ,but you can lie if you want ! » For instance , she replies : MONEY ( of course (-: ) You are going to guess her thought, by spelling the following sentence : « Mary likes money »

60/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Secret : When you hand the cards to the spectator, you secretly mark the card with your nail .Or you secretly make a dot with the pen. You ask her to write the thing that she likes on this card. Then, she writes the other words . You ask her to shuffle the cards and to let you have a look at the words she wrote. You take the cards and ask her to think of the word she likes , while you show them to her one by one. When you're done, it's a simple matter to rearrange the cards and casually position the marked card in second position from the top ! Go through the spelling procedure ,as explained above, and reveal her thought word...

DEAD or ALIVE Same as above , but you ask the spectator to write the name of one person you don't know, that she likes very much .You ask her if this person is still alive . If yes, you ask her now to write the names of other persons who are dead. If no, you ask her to write the names of other persons who are still alive. (Of course, you should not know those persons ) You are going to guess the person with the following sentence : « Mary likes xxxxx . » (replace xxxxx by one of the names she wrote )

61/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

« ADDITION V2» The addition principle,with a new twist

Introduction I called this method « Addition » because it adds a card on top of the spectator's card .This is what I use to peek any information written on a business card (or to peek a chosen card during a card trick). It can be used for pre-show or for a drawing duplication ,for any type of divination, for cold reading,etc. Effect : The Spectator examines some business cards .While the performer turns his back, he draws anything he wants ( object , number, word, etc.) on one of them , and turns the card face down on the stack. The performer shows the card to the audience (without looking) and gives it to the spectator to guard in his pocket or under an object on the table, etc..He does all this without looking of course. The performer then duplicates the drawing on a blank card. Method : It is based on a sleight I called the « GZ control ».It moves a selection from first to second position . If you know of another way to accomplish the same thing and move the spectator's card in second position when it is replaced in the deck , that's fine.But it has to look VERY FAIR and nothing « fishy » . There are other moves I am sure, but this is the one I use all the time, and I can guarantee you it is very deceptive and nobody has ever suspected anything fishy. Another sleight that would work, is « the Venus trap » by Chris BROWN . He mentions a pass by Chris Kenner in « Out of control », and a 1949 substitute for the double lift by George Pughe. A great performer and cards expert ,Julien MANRY ,told me that Lennart GREEN and Guy PARDILLOS also had moves that can be used instead of the « GZ control ». The boldest way would be the LePaul « Bluff pass », but you cannot use it for all the effects. 62/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Here is a link to get more ideas : http://forums.geniimagazine.com/viewtopic.php? t=24729#p170430 The new GZ control : I will teach in this ebook another way to do the GZ control.This is the one I use with business cards or for mental card tricks. Here is the new move : Have a stack of thirty business cards or so, (or double blank cards cards). Here is a bold ,but very useful idea : I bought a lot of double blank Bicycle decks and had the cards cut at a dimension slightly bigger than business cards.You just need to have the long sides cut actually . They look like blank business cards, but are easier to manipulate than business cards (those have a tendency to stick together and are not easy to manipulate...) The participant can examine them. Hand him a pen and turn your back. Ask the spectator to sign on the top half of the business card , and to draw or write something under the signature. When he is done, he has to turn the card over, in order to have his drawing face down.He can check that nothing can be seen through the card . After some talk, take the stack back and without looking , you are going to execute the «move ». You can close your eyes too, if you want . Hold the business cards in your left hand, with the thumb on top.

63/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Push the top card with your left thumb.

Now, here is the change from the other method : Take the card with the other hand, and show it openly in full view to the audience or to the spectator. While you do this, slightly push the top card with your left thumb :

64/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Move a little bit upwards , your left your index and main finger :

The right hand now inserts the business card between the index and the main finger :

65/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The two left fingers will serve as a guide to insert the card inside the tiny gap.

The right hand just has to push down the card and you are done !

66/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Back to the starting position :

The top card is now an indifferent card and the second card is the spectator's card . 67/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

You can now turn your head back towards the spectator and push the indifferent top card face down on the table, very slowly ,so that everybody sees it is really the top card .They are convinced it is their card. You can also just put down the whole stack on the table, and ask the spectator to do it. Practice this simple move to make it smooth and natural . It is KEY to success,and you will have a killer weapon ! The full view peek : You are now with a stack of business cards in hand, and the top card contains the spectator's drawing. The orientation of the drawing may or may not be the right one, depending on how the spectator handled the card, but it does not really matter to duplicate it. Like in « twin peeks » , the same methods can be used to see the drawing. But here is a new one for you : - Variation 4 : Shuffle the stack of cards , cut it, or have it cut by the spectator . Casually spread the cards to show they are all blanks. Turn the stack over : If you spread the cards briefly and widely toward you , the drawing will appear .Cut the stack of cards to bring the drawing to the rear. Spread again all the cards casually, except a few bottom ones in order not to flash the drawing.Again, all the cards are blank . You do all this while you are talking . I talk about the cards, complaining that I have no clue and that I am in « deep cheat » (- : as this is not a normal deck of cards , there is no way the cards can give me a clue as they are all blank, and I wished they were real playing cards .It would be much easier to find a card ! Then, turn over again the whole stack. The spectator's card is face down on top. NOTE : Other methods are possible ,using sleights like the « KM move » or the « Kelly bottom replacement » or « Ovette Master move » . Finale : Here is another difference with the previous methods revealed in « Twin peeks » : Here, you are going to do your drawing(or else) on the BACK of the spectator's drawing ! You can ask for a witness to watch you , while you are now going to try and read the mind of the other spectator .Make sure you SIGN the card as well .Have the witness sign it as well if you want ! 68/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Draw a shape that is similar , or write a word which is very close or the same as the one you peeked. But use small characters if the spectator used capital letters or vice versa .If it is a drawing, add details that are not on the spectator's drawing (for instance ,if it is a house, add a tree or a chimney , or the sun ). And when you are done, just put it face up on top of the (supposedly) spectator's drawing on the table. The spectator should be very surprised , and his reaction should be enough to close the effect! Thank the participant for opening his mind so well , and for making this experience successful . Casually do a false Mexican turnover ,or use misdirection just after you reveal your drawing, to simply turn over both cards at the same time and reverse their order to bring the drawing on top. They will see a blank card (supposedly the back of your drawing) and the spectator's drawing with his signature . Take both cards away and put them casually in your pocket . Do not put them back on top of the stack and you are clean...You can have the stack examined . Proceed with another effect or redo the same one ,but use a completely different presentation and method . ( use one described in « Twin peeks » for instance that would allow you to leave them with the drawings as a souvenir.)

69/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

INTENTIONNALLY LEFT BLANK

70/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

PART II 99% IMPROMPTU

71/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

JANUS V3

Introduction Janus V3 is a very simple and practical two-way out system.It is impromptu as long as you have a number of business cards and a wide elastic band (Although this could be replaced by a gimmicked clip or piece of metal , or a ribbon.). You actually predict whether it was right or wrong. It can also be used to hide a secret message. Ideas for effects : With this system, for some of the effects , you can « reverse » the prediction . I mean that the spectator has to guess what you have written and not the opposite. Some examples : - Honey moon This effect was published in « Love Mysteries 1 ». A lady names two places where she thinks you (or she) would like to go for your honeymoon. You write your place on a business card (that can be borrowed and examined) .When she reveals her thought, you amazingly predicted it ! - Heads or Tails 72/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

An invisible coin is tossed and the spectator must guess whether it is heads or tails.Whatever he says, the prediction will always be right. - Red or black The performer writes a prediction. The spectator shuffles a deck of cards and selects a card face down. The performer predicts whether the card was RED or BLACK. - Lottery The spectator has to guess which prize you would like to win at a lottery. - Sports game You predict which team will win . Can be any game with two opponents or teams of course. Etc. Secret : Here is the « Honeymoon » effect in more details . This is the one I will use for the explanation. For the other effects, I think it is obvious ,but I will give some brief explanations later. You present some business cards and give them out for examination.They could be borrowed.The lady names two places in the world where she (or yourself) would like to go for her honeymoon. « Now try to guess in your mind which one I am going to choose. » You have the lady examine and sign one of the business cards . You write one of the two places under her signature and put it face down on the table ;. You declare : « I wrote the place where I would like to go myself. ». « Which place dis I write on the business card in your opinion ? » When she reveals her thought, you predicted what she would say,whether it is right or wrong . Explanation : You know the old OTL (« Out To Lunch ») principle. It is probably more than 100 years old.This is what inspired me... But you do not have to prepare anything.All you need is a pack of normal business cards ( 20 or 30) and a wide rubber band. The number of cards will depend on the size (circumference) of the rubberband. The second part of the secret here is Max Maven « Positive / Negative ». If you don't know the secret , it is on Video Mind Volume 2. Here is how JANUS V3 works : You have the pack of cards surrounded by a wide rubberband after everything has been 73/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

examined.

Ask the lady to sign the upper part of the business card ( above the rubber band).

When you write your prediction, you secretly write also , the « Positive/Negative » information under the wide rubberband (just pushing the rubberband with your thumb , or « rolling » it). Write it on the left hand side of the business card. And, on the lower part of the business card, you write either one of the two places she named, it does not matter which one.

74/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

If the lady then says she thought of the same city as the one you wrote , all is fine . Just turn the pack of business cards over. If the lady says the other place, remove the bottom business card and give it to her as a souvenir.

But how can you give your business card in the first case as well ? There are two possibilities : either you write the hidden information with an erasable ink marker and rub it off with your thumb,when it is not needed, before handling the business card , or you use a subtlety : You say : « Let me give you the card as a souvenir .» You then remove the business card (without showing the secret inscription of course) and say : « I sign it for you with my name on it. » (or whatever you decide to hide the « NO ») 75/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

You write « Anonymous Magician ! » around the secret writing to hide it .That's it. It is bold but it works , and it ends your act logically and in a humourous way or else depending on your style. If you redo the effect , you can change the end by using another out for disguising the « NO » Instead of writing ANONYMOUS, you can write something else, as long as it hides the NO and suits your patter. For instance : UNKNOWN xxx, KNOWN xxxx , SNOOPY , NOW , WOW ! ,NOON , NOT xxx, NOTE : xxx, TEL. No ! , My Name is := , etc. NOTE : You can enlarge the possibilities , depending on how you write the « NO » (with capital characters or small, style, spacing between the N and the O , style/font , etc.) you can create different words . I have exagerated the writing in the photograph below. Note that the «exclamation mark « ! » was not necessary and should have been avoided. It is just here for the demo.

76/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Handling : To « disguise » the « No » , you have two possibilities : - Either you move the rubberband up. ( Photo A ) - or you slide the business card down. ( Photo B ). This solution is easier if you use a ribbon instead of a rubberband. - Or you « roll » the rubber band ( Photo C ) Photo A :

Photo B :

Photo C :

77/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Rubber band : You can find all sizes for wide rubber bands in office supplies stores (but they are difficult to find in my city) , or on the web.The width should be 10 mm .The length (when laid flat) should be between 50 to 80 mm depending on the number of business cards you want to carry with you. It is called « L.A.P » in French , standing for « Longueur à plat » .So if you cut the rubber band and you measure it , it will be approximately two times the « L.A.P » You can also do it yourself with a bike inner tube . Just cut it with scissors at the right dimension ( about 0.5 inch or 10 mm )

Instead of a rubber band you can use curling ribbon (used for wrapping gifts), but you have to justify it. For instance you can wrap your pack of business cards like a gift and the spectator must guess which prize you would like to win at a lottery or as a present. For instance : 1 Million dollar cash or 20k$ per month for the rest of your life .If you want to play a joke : a Ferrari or a goat ? .

78/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Other ideas : - You may find also rubber bands for hair - You can build a gimmick with a piece of metal that you bend around your business cards. - You can sew a band of elastic sold in mercery shops for fabrics . - You can use velcro bands - Watch when you go to buy vegetables .Sometimes they are attached with large rubber bands. Final thoughts : - Instead of writing like in « POSITIVE/NEGATIVE », you can write : « YES, it will... NOT be NICE,in France . » The « NOT » is hidden under the rubberband.With this idea, you can better allow the spectator to win all the time.The « YES » or « CONGRATS ! » will make it look like a WIN You can also write words like : WITH or WITHOUT ,etc . - Variation : The secret information hidden by the rubberband , can be written with an erasable dry marker ink and you would erase it or not during the performance depending on the spectator's answer.(I suggest you order an Xpert pen from Neil Tobin.) 79/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

This implies that you are using glossy or laminated cards to write upon ,prior to the performance .You woud still have an impromptu effect if you prepare your business cards : Buy a roll of Velleda film and glue it on one side of the business cards.(You can also order special business cards, as suggested in the Xpert manual.) On all those business cards write the secret information with your erasable marker ,and attach them with the wide rubberband over it. During the performance, just use a regular Sharpie of the same ink color ,to have the card signed , and to write your prediction. This solution, allows you also to give away the business card without having to « disguise » the secret information. Just rub it off with your thumb, when it is not needed ,while you remove the business card to give it away .Everything is left examinable at the end. The drawback is that it is not examinable at the beginning and you cannot use standard business cards. Recommended readings : Terri Rogers - « Wipe-out » Neil TOBIN – Xpert ( http://www.necromancerevents.com/ ). Kenton KNEPPER - « X factor » Scott GUINN - « Assertive positive/negative » Max MAVEN - Videomind Volume 2 I will now briefly explain some other effects you can present with Janus V3 .

Heads or Tails without coins Effect : An invisible coin is tossed and the spectator must guess whether it is heads or tails.Whatever he says, the prediction will always be right. Explanation : Write : « No » (under the rubberband) « The coin will be HEADS side up »

80/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Red or black Effect : The performer writes a prediction. The spectator shuffles an immaterial deck of cards and thinks of a card . The performer predicts whether the card is RED or BLACK. Explanation : Write : « The card will « not » (under the rubberband) « be RED »

Lottery Effect : The spectator has to guess which prize you would like to win at a lottery. Explanation : Write : « No » ( under the rubberband ) « I would like to win « …. » ( write here one of the two prizes )

Gift Same as above. It can be two presents for any occasion ( a birthday , Christmas , wedding, etc.)

81/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Winner Effect : You predict which team will win at a sports event for instance. Can be any game with two opponents or teams , of course. Explanation : You will write : « Team A » « will » « not » ( under the rubber band ) « win »

82/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

SCAM ACAAN

Effect : The Performer puts a prediction enveloppe on the table with a deck of cards .He will not touch them again . He takes some business cards with big money values written on them.They will represent bank notes . The performer then asks the Spectator to THINK of a SUIT , then a VALUE and finally of a NUMBER between 1 and 52.Each time, the Performer bets some money on the table and tries to guess the spectator's replies.. At the end, the Spectator opens the enveloppe and it contains the card and the number thought by the Spectator ! The card is also revealed in a surprising manner with the « money business cards » that were used to bet. Optionnally, the deck is then counted and the card is found in the deck . Secret : The old one-ahead principle of course. But the presentation is really nice. You'll see.

83/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Preparation : - A deck of cards . I will come back on this one . The deck is not mandatory .The effect is as good just with a prediction enveloppe. - A normal enveloppe - Inside, put a business card with on one side all the cards ,and on the other side, all the numbers from 1 to 52, either printed or handwritten . - A minimum of twenty business cards that represent bank notes . On one side of the cards, write big money values ( 50 , 100 , 200 , 500 ) On the back of the business cards , write : OF on the first business card CLUBS on the second one etc. : HEARTS SPADES DIAMONDS ACE 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 JACK QUEEN and finally, KING on the last business card. NOTES : The following ideas are just for information . - Instead of business cards, you can ,of course, use dummy bills . Prepare them on their backs , as above , and laminate them .That way, they do not take much space in pockets and you are always ready to perform , without ruining them. I also write the value of the bill in case the back of the bills is not printed . That way, I can « play » and hesitate for which bill I am going to bet. This gives me time to look for the right card or to look on the crib sheet ). 84/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

- This other idea is out of context for this ebook ,I know, but I still mention it for those who want to do some more advanced setup : For writing on the backs , you could also use invisible ink ( visible with UV / Black light ) and memorize the order of the bills .At the end, you will need a UV flashlight to reveal the writing on the bills. - Optional : On another bill , write a crib sheet to help you finding the position of the card in a stacked deck.This is in case you want also to reveal the card in a real deck of cards. Add two blank bills without inscription on them , on top of the prepared bills and two on the bottom . Put a rubber band around the stack and put everything in your pocket with the enveloppe (and a deck of cards if needed for the optional phase ). Presentation : I will describe the effect without the deck of cards first. Place the envelope on the table away from you ,or give it to a member of the audience to guard. Take the stack of business cards (or bills),unwrap the rubber band and say : «Who wants to earn some money ! » (You should get some positive reactions !) « I need only one person please !! » Hopefully, one Participant will lie the idea of earning some money and join you for the experiment (- : «The goal of this experiment, is to test our mental capabilities through telepathy. I am going 85/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

to ask you to think of a card, and I will have to try and guess it. To make it more interesting, I will bet some money . If I win, I keep it . If I lose, you'll get it. So you see, you have nothing to lose on your side. I will just ask you to make my publicity if you enjoyed this game !» « Here are some business cards . I have written some money value on each .As you can see, they are big bucks. » « First, think of a SUIT ( CLUBS, HEARTS, SPADES or DIAMONDS) , but do not say anything . » . You seem to think for a moment, looking in the Spectator's eyes.Then you look at the bills and take the one with OF written on it ( without showing anybody of course.You place the bill on the table ,written face down. « OK, I bet that much money that your SUIT is HEARTS ! » You should get some reactions . If the Spectator says YES !!!! all is fine . Otherwise,if he says NO , tell him that the important thing is the prediction you put on the side inside the enveloppe . If the Participant does not want to tell you, say that you need to know as well as the audience to check later on that he did not change his mind or cheat ! At the end of this first phase, you should know the SUIT .(For instance DIAMONDS) You continue. « Now...Think of a VALUE , but do not say anything .Just think. » Same as before. You concentrate and finally, put a banknote UNDER the first one. This time you choose among your bills, the one that is written with the SUIT selected by the Spectator during Phase 1. « OK, I bet that much money that the VALUE of your card is a QUEEN ! » Whether you are right or not, it does not matter . At the end , you need the Participant to tell everybody what the VALUE was .( For instance an EIGHT ) For the last phase, you ask : « Now, you are going to imagine the position of your card in the deck. It should be between 1 and 52 ….Think of a Number between 1 and 52 . » One more time, you are going to play to guess the number thought by the Spectator, You look at your bills and seem to hesitate on which value you are going to bet .Of course you are looking for the crib sheet and for the position of the card that now you know is the 8 86/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

of DIAMONDS . Once you know its position, look for the banknote that has the « 8 » written on it, put it on the table ON TOP of the previous bills. Make sure you do not flash the writing on the bills. « This time , I bet a … dollar bill. » « I think your number is ... » (Announce the real position of the card you just peeked on the crib sheet. ) I suggest to write your number on a beer mat or a business card or piece of paper , and NOT to ask the Participant to write down his own number.Do not even ask him about his number . You are now reaching the final phase. « At the beginning of the game, I placed this enveloppe here and haven't touched it . You have freely chosen a card and a number. If your card and your number are NOT on the prediction, you keep all the money . But, if your card and your number are on my prediction , then I take my money back . Is that fair ? » « OK, let's check ! Please open the enveloppe and look at my prediction. » Depending on which side the card is extracted from the enveloppe, you could say : « You thought of the 8 of DIAMONDS . Is the 8 of DIAMONDS printed on the prediction ? » Of course, it will ! « And you thought of number xxx. Check on the back . It is also printed . » « So I keep my money ! » Everybody will be disappointed as you started with a serious experiment and end up with a gag … Wait for the right moment, with a smile and point to the bills on the table. Ask somebody to turn over the banknotes.They will see 8 …... OF ...… DIAMONDS written on the three business cards. It is always a big surprise ! You don't even need to continue with the final phase, as everybody forgot about the number ! Try it and you will see. 87/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

If you still want a finale with the deck of cards, here it is . Look at the piece of paper with your number on it and say : « What about the numbers ? Let's see who is right ? What was yours ? » The Participant will tell you his number. Let's call your number N0 and the Spectator's number N1. Take the smaller number and ask the Spectator to count to this number face down, and put the counted card aside. Then to continue counting to the other number and put this card on the side as well. « Please, turn your card and I will turn mine » Of course ,yours will be right . NOTES : The simplest way is to arrange the prediction deck in Si Stebbins order , or in your favorite stack order . In that case you don't even need a crib sheet on the bills.As soon as you know the card, you can calculate its position in the prediction deck . There are many other ways to do the finale with a real deck. I am of course thinking of other effects of mine ( « The Simplest ACAAN in the world ! » , « ACAARTN », « ACAAD », « ANTI-ACAAN » , « The CARNIVAL principle », etc.) or ebooks (a CAN of MYSTERIES 1 and 2, ACAAN 'Z compilation of ACAANs…) But there are other ones of course. Be creative ! Below you'll find an appendix to create your own GAG prediction card . Stephen TUCKER has a nice one in his ebook called « ACAAN » ( http://magiclibrary.co.uk/products/acaan-stephen-tucker/ ) You can also buy one here for instance (or in online magic shops) : http://www.mimesis-magic.com/catalog/item/1945289/1917951.htm Disclaimer : The author has no relationship or interest with those sites . Inspiration/Bibliography : I just love the ACAAN plot and tried to adapt some old principles or methods to it. ACAAN inspired me of many other effects. As well as the one ahead principle. - ACAAN : Mr David BERGLAS was the first one to present this effect in the mid 70's I believe. - One-ahead principle : Apparently it is an old principle ( 1693 ? ) http://themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=474029&forum=133&2&start=0#1

88/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

APPENDIX The GAG card 1 2 3 13 14 21 22 29 30 37 38 45 46

4 5 6 15 16 23 24 31 32 39 40 47 48

7 8 17 25 33 41 49

9 10 11 18 19 26 27 34 35 42 43 50 51

12 20 28 36 44 52

CLUBS : A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K HEART A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K SPADE A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K DIAMOND A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K Just print ,cut and glue to a business card .

89/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

UNIVERSAL DETECTOR

Effect : A business card is borrowed , and torn in half by the Spectator . Both halves are superposed and pre-bent to form a « divining rod ». The Performer uses it then to detect alcohol (for instance). The business card bends by itself when approaching a glass of wine ,a pint of beer , etc. , but not a glass of water ! It can be used as Ethylotest , Metal detector , water-divining rod , magnetic field detector , heat sensor , etc. Can be done with beer mats, cards, business cards, post cards , etc. Use your imagination ! Explanation : The secret is that one half of the business card is secretly glued. By holding the other half between two fingers, it will be very easy to bend the glued part just with a slight move of the two fingers that are holding the business card . All you need is a sticky prop (removable « glue dots », magician wax , double side scotch tape , etc. ) that you can keep in your pocket .My favorite one is « Blu -Tac » or similar . You can also have prepared cards in advance ,handy in your pocket ( or beer mats, playing cards , your own business cards , …) . In order to be allowed to give it away for examination, you can use removable glue dots. 90/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Here are some photographs that explain the simple principle : Borrow a business card , a card, a beer mat, etc...

Have it folded in two (long side) :

Have it torn in two parts :

91/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

During the presentation you will stick your glue dot on one of the two pieces ( above the thumb on the photograph approximately )

Align the two pieces together . They will stick together , where you applied the glue dot ( On the photograph ,I put a paper clip to show the halves that will stick together ). Of course, do not use a paper clip in performance !

92/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Now fold yourself the two pieces (short side) :

Hold everything between your thumb and index finger , at the unglued side :

93/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Hold the card with the thumb on top, and the index finger underneath : Move slightly the index finger towards you : the card will bend.

I have exagerated the move for you, to better see the principle.

94/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Do it in the opposite direction and the gimmick will unbend. That's it ! Presentation : PHASE 1 : Preparation of the props Ask for a business card. Have the spectator prepare the card by folding the long side and tear it in two pieces :

During that time, prepare the glue dot (or else) , and stick it to your second finger.( in your right hand for instance) PHASE 2 : Preparing the gimmick Take one part of the business card with the unprepared hand (your left hand). Ask for the second piece. Before doing that, in order to free your left hand, give the half you 95/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

are holding in your left hand to your right hand. Stick secretly the glue dot to the piece taken in your right hand. PHASE 3: Finishing the gimmick Assemble the two pieces and press them together .Then, you fold them in the middle.

The gimmick is ready . It has been done under the Spectator's eyes ! PHASE 4 : Presentation Now it is just a matter of rubbing slightly the index and the thumb to make the gimmick bend. For instance , let's suppose you prepared a beer mat as above .Say this is an alcohol breath analyzer ! Hold the gimmick between the index and thumb, and move it above a glass of water. Do nothing, the gimmick will stay straight.

Now , move slowly your hand towards a glass of wine or a pint of beer . While approaching the glass, move slightly your index finger under the gimmick to make it bend down as you move above the glass.

96/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Move the index finger in the other direction, while you are moving away from the glass , to reverse the gimmick to its original position.

NOTES - With practice, you will know where to apply the glue dot to get the maximal bending with a minimal movement , and to get a minimized gap between the two pieces when they bend . - I like very much this « universal detector » principle using apparently normal objects . I use them in some effects when I need to sense something or discover a card for instance. Sometimes I use it for gags. I spread the cards on the table and ask the Participant to think of her card . I move the gimmick along the cards and when approaching the selected card, I will make the gimmick bend . - Instead of preparing the gimmick on the fly, I like to have prepared gimmicks : One made with a beer mat , to use as alcohol breath analyzer Various ones made with blank business cards . I just write or draw on the business card, on the fly during the performance : METAL for instance, if I want to detect metals, MAGNETIC if I want to detect magnetic fields , DIVINING ROD , if I want to detect water 97/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

SPOON drawn after or before a spoon bending effect ! Etc. It is up to your imagination ! - You do not need to have the cards fully prepared. Just apply the temporary glue ( I like to use 2-way glue ) or doublesided scotch tape , glue dot, rubber cement,etc.. on one quarter of the business card(s) and protect it with a plastic sheet or with the paper used on envelopes for instance to protect the sealing. During the performance, just take one prepared business card (remove the protection in your pocket) and prepare it yourself as described .It will make the effect more impromptu.

98/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

THE HYPNOSIS SYSTEM - V1 “ Make the Spectator forget “

Effect : A spectator signs a business card where a few signs/objects/suits/names/etc. are written. This Spectator must memorize their order . The signed business card is given to another Spectator. The performer suddenly “hypnotizes” the first Spectator ( by clapping his hands for instance or whatever) The First Spectator must repeat what he saw on the business card but he will always forget one of the objects ! Much fun watching the reactions of the audience and of the “victim”! EXPLANATION : The secret is … the old « OUT TO LUNCH » (O2L) principle . PREPARATION : Have a bunch of business cards hold together with a large elastic band.(Actually I prefer to use a normal rubberband and roll it 3 times around the pack of business cards .) 99/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Cut another business card in half . Write on its blank side for instance 3 suits : Diamonds Clubs on top and Spades under, in the middle (as in the photo below) .

On another business card , write in a similar fashion ( same pen, same drawings or writing,etc.) : Diamonds Clubs on top and Hearts Spades below.

NOTE : You can prepare many cards like this one for instant reset .

100/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Put this card under the elastic band and the half card on top.

NOTE : instead of writing 4 items on the second card, you could just write 3 items : the 2 first identical to the half-card, but the third one being different.

PRESENTATION « I would like to try an experiment with somebody (preferably a lady) who has some good memory. » NOTE: In the particular case of SUITS, you could just say :: « I need somebody who plays cards » or “Does anyone play Pocker ?” Take the pack of business cards out of your pocket with a pen or a Sharpie. You can borrow the pen as well. « Without telling me, can you remember what are the 4 different suits in a deck of cards ? » Show the Lady what's written on the top business card of the pack , without showing the other Spectators. 101/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

« Please memorize the order of the suits on this card.»

Hand the pen to the Lady and ask her to sign the business card on the lower part ,under the drawings .

Take the pen back with the pack of business cards ,writing side towards you, and remove the signed card without showing anybody .For this move , it is better to turn the business cards upside down.

Give this card to another Spectator without showing the writing side to the Lady. « Please hold on the card and hide it in your hands. » Turn back to the Lady and suddenly clap loudly in your hands. « I want you now to slowly name the suits in the right order you just memorized.» Look at the other Spectator : « And I want you to check if it's ok »

102/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Look back at the first Participant and say: “Please tell the first suit.” The Lady will say « Diamonds » The Spectator should say « Right » The Lady will then say « Clubs » The Spectator should say «OK» But for the next suit, the Lady will say « Spades » . The Spectator should then react and say « NO ! » This should now be a big surprise ,and fun ! The Lady and Spectator may start to argue ,etc. The Lady won't believe it and the Spectator should show her if it is her signature ... Just let the audience and the “victim” argue! It is always fun ! OTHER PRESENTATIONS Depending on the items drawn or written on the business card, you can play many different presentations. Just to name a few :  ESP Symbols  Playing cards  coins  countries  objects  Love, Money, Health ( and Sex as the « forgotten item »!)  Dates . If you know the year of birth of the Lady, make her forget her own birthday !  Etc. INSPIRATION - Out-to-lunch principle : It was already used in the 19th century . William Larsen Sr., "Finger Prints" in the July 1923 _Sphinx_. Clare Cummings and Bob Ellis marketed a trick in the mid-1940's . etc.... There are so many effects using this principle but this is really a fun way to apply the O2L principle , very easy and practical to perform anywhere and anytime (as long as you have the prepared business cards with you).

103/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

THE UNIVERSAL GIFT A way to reveal a secret message with two business cards

This is a nice way to get remembered , or for parties like Birthdays, weddings, etc. where everybody gives a present. This is a gift that won't cost you anything ! This idea came after the JANUS V3 principle ,using a ribbon instead of a rubber band to hide some secret information under it. Take from your pocket the two prepared business cards. (See further for the explanation.)

Show both sides casually.They simply are empty. From side 1 ( as in the photograph above) , slide the vertical ribbon towards the left « Here is side 1 » Turn the cards to show side 2 with the « 2 » on the bottom right side. « Here is side 2 » Slide the horizontal ribbon out of the way. Take the top business card and turn it over to show it blank on the both sides . « Here is side 3 » Put it under the other card ,showing at the same time that it is blank too. « and here is side 4 ». Turn both cards over as one showing again a blank side ,and finally, display the message by taking a card in each hand. This will be a surprise as the four sides were just shown empty. 104/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Here is how to prepare the cards : Take two blank index cards or light colored cardboard. Have some nice and wide ribbon. Take one of the cards, and write « 1 » on the bottom right hand side. Then apply the ribbon where you want to write the hidden message and draw 2 lines with a light crayon .This will help you to write the message inside the lines so that it won't be seen out of the ribbon. Write the message ( « I love you ! » , « Happy Birthday ! » , « All the best ! »,etc. ) and erase the crayon markings.

On the back of side 1, write 3 :

105/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Take the other card and write « 2 » on the bottom right side. And on the back of side 2 , write « 4 » . Here is the result when you put both cards side by side and then turn them over on the other side :

Now, assemble the cards : Place side 4 visible on the table.On top of it, put the other card with side 1 and the message visible. 106/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

The final step is to attach two ribbons around them. First ,attach a ribbon horizontally to cover the message. The knot should be on the opposite side of the message :

Here is a view of the other side :

107/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

After that, attach a vertical ribbon. For this one, the knot should be on the message side :

Here is a view of the other side :

That's it !

108/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

BONUS The two last effects require some specific props, and I didn't want to include them for this reason. So, look at them like a BONUS .You may like the principle and the idea/gag behind using invisible objects and invisible predictions !

INVISIBLE HEADS or TAILS

Effect : Put a business card on the table. Hand an invisible coin to a spectator.Ask her to toss the coin and say whether it is Heads side up or Tails. Ask her to turn the card over herself : There is nothing written on it ! You say that she has to believe you .Everything is invisible in this trick but you really predicted the right outcome ! Finally you show her that the right prediction was indeed written on the card ! The secret : The secret is ... « Multiple outs » ! ….... BUT.......not in the « normal » way . Instead of multiple predictions , you use multiple « revelators » . I called this : « The James Bond principle » ! Setup : There are many ways to do the effect . This depends on the types of UV light objects you can find or have . I will teach you the effect with the following 3 objects : - A lighter - two special pen - A business card A LIGHTER that has a UV light . (or just a UV lamp , or a pen with a UV light , etc.) 109/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

A SPECIAL PEN ( GIOTTO COLOR or RENART COLOR SPLITZ for instance, but other pen may work .).This one will be used as the revelator for the PAPERMATE pen.

or

A business card for the prediction. White color work the best . The paper should be porous and not glossy . You may have to test a few types of papers . Be careful ...Experiment first :  The UV ink should be invisible to the eyes under any normal light.  The UV light must be invisible when covered by the GIOTTO or the RENAR COLOR SPLITZ pen.  The PAPERMATE (or other brand) ink should be invisible under UV light. You will also need to prepare the prediction with the following pen and a white business card:

110/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -



A WHITE PAPERMATE pen



A UV (black light) pen

or one that looks like a normal pen

111/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

Prepare the paper in the following way : Above the center , write «HEADS » with the WHITE PAPERMATE pen. Below the center, write «TAILS » with the UV pen. Remember :

HEADS = PEN TAILS = LIGHT The explanation is obvious now : If the Spectator says HEADS, you will reveal the prediction with the GIOTTO pen (or the RENAR COLOR SPLITZ pen) If the spectator says TAILS, you will reveal the prediction by using the UV light PROPS : You can buy the props in stationnery shops or on the web . I just give you some links . Note that I have NO interest in these brands . It's just that I know they work . Same thing for the websites .They are here to help you if you have problems to get them locally. Some links to get some props : Note : The author has no responsibility and relationship with the following sites. If the links below do no work anymore one day , do not complain to me ! Just search on GOOGLE for :

112/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

GIOTTO TURBO MAGIC PEN REYNOLDS PAPERMATE SUPER MAGIC + RENAR COLOR SPLITZ THE PROPS : GIOTTO TURBO MAGIC PEN http://english.fila.it/brands/giotto/products/fibre-pens/giotto-turbo-magic.aspx

You will not use the WHITE pen. Instead, use the PAPERMATE pen. The colored GIOTTO pen will be used to reveal the ink of the PAPERMATE pen. RENAR COLOR SPLITZ Only the color pen will be used . They will reveal the PAPERMATE WHITE PEN. The COLOR SPLITZ pen can be used in place of the GIOTTO pen. http://renart.jupitercolour.co.uk/index.php/color-splitz/

113/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

REYNOLDS PAPERMATE SUPER MAGIC +

You will just use the WHITE end . This end is usually used to erase the blue ink. But for the effect you will use the white end to write the secret message . It will be invisible on the paper and can be revealed by the GIOTTO MAGIC PEN or the RENART one . Note that there are many brands providing this type of eraser-rewrite pen. They can also be found for very cheap in dollar shops.

114/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

OTHER PROPS : For the other props, you can use this site. This is the one I got my props from. It is cheap . http://www.miniinthebox.com (Free shipping worldwide) You can probably find also on http://www.shopping.com http://www.miniinthebox.com/mini-uv-light-led-flashlight-keychain_p87966.html

http://www.miniinthebox.com/invisible-ink-uv-pen-purple_p199022.html

http://www.miniinthebox.com/two-uv-led-flashlight-windproof-metal-oil-lighter-withgreen-flame_p84283.html

115/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

http://www.miniinthebox.com/multifunctional-poker-card-gas-lighter-with-ultravioletflame_p254038.html

*THE END * « I sincerely hope it opened doors, and you found something useful you'll add to your act... » . Gerard ZITTA

116/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

KEEP IN TOUCH [email protected] MORE IDEAS ON : http://www.untouchedmagic.com

117/117

Gérard ZITTA 2013

- Business Cards -

View more...

Comments

Copyright ©2017 KUPDF Inc.
SUPPORT KUPDF