Jon Racherbaumer - Tri Psi

TRI PSI

Jon Racherbaumer March - 2000 © 2000 by Jon William Racherbaumer

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CONTENTS

Hull-Scam Hull-Quik

Into The World Bright Future

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HULL-SCAM This is a variation of the R.W. Hull trick where an unknown card is placed aside, a spectator thinks of any card in the deck, and later the unknown card turns out to be the mental selection. In this variation, two selections are made. One is mental, the other, physical. The performer finds the physical selection—say, the Ten of Hearts—then rubs it against the unknown card, which turns out to be the mental selection. First, the bad news: There are two drawbacks in my procedure: (1) The physical selection comes in contact with the unknown card, creating an causal link; (2) The reason for putting the two cards together is weakly justified. The good news is that the physical selection is shown before and after the unknown card is disclosed and is ostensibly the same card. This dispels the suspicion that a switch is made. This fact may be lost to lay persons, but it throws magicians for a loop. Marlo added a physical selection to the Hull presentation, an approach independently devised by T.A. Waters. This eliminates the dubious "magneticinfluence card" and makes the second card a logical part. The either-or forcing idea comes from Max Maven. Requirements: A duplicate card that matches the deck in play. If you secretly add it to a borrowed deck, retrograde analysts will be further stymied. Suppose the duplicate is the Ten of Hearts. Set-up: Start with both Tens of Hearts on top of the deck. Method: Introduce the deck and perform a few shuffles. Retain the two Tens of Hearts on top. Ask, "Are you familiar with the mind-body problem?" Casually run the two Tens of Hearts to the bottom in an Overhand Shuffle and shuffle off. Table the deck in front of a likely victim. Address the spectator: "Do you mind if I use your mind?" Ask the spectator to cut off about two-thirds of the deck, then have him pick up the remainder and hold it face down in a dealing position. Say, "Notice I'm also using your body. Please deal the cards face down to the table. Alternately deal them into two piles." When the spectator finishes the dealing process, the top cards of the two packets are the Tens of Hearts. Say, "You must pay close attention. I want you

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to physically choose one of the packets and to peek at its top card. I don't want any ambiguity here. The one you choose is the one we’ll use. Choose with deliberation." Needless to say, the spectator is forced to pick one of the Ten of Hearts. Have the spectator pick up the chosen packet and peek at the top card. Ask him to shuffle the packet. In the meantime, pick up the other packet and drop it face down on the talon. The duplicate Ten of Hearts remains on top. Casually shuffle the talon, but retain the duplicate Ten of Hearts. Say, "As you mix your cards, a weird impulse has seized me. I'm going to place another card on the table. It doesn't matter which card. In fact, I'm not even going to look at it!" Deal the duplicate Ten of Hearts face down in front of the spectator. Hand the talon to the spectator and ask him to shuffle all the cards, saying: "The more you physically handle the cards, the more they’re integrated into your subconscious thoughts." Take back the deck and spread the cards with the faces towards you. Say, "Please name the card in your mind." Suppose he names the King of Clubs. Immediately say, "I knew that! Nobody believes me, but it's true. I also know which card you physically picked." Casually cut the other Ten of Hearts to the top, then quickly locate the King of Clubs and outjog it. Do not let anyone see it. Say, "Don't tell me the name of your physical selection!" Place the King of Clubs on top, close the spread, and flip the deck into a face-down, dealing position. Add, "No doubt about it!" Grasp the top two cards in a right-hand Biddle Grip and flash the face of the card(s), saying: “Don’t say anything. If this is your physical selection, just nod your head!” Immediately replace the card(s) face down on top and say, “I knew it!” Take the top card (King of Clubs) face down into your right hand. Place the deck aside and say, "You see, persons born on Wednesdays always pick the Ten of Hearts!" The audience thinks you are being facetious. Say, "If I rub the Ten of Hearts against this card. . ." Use the face-down King of Clubs to scoop up the tabled Ten of Hearts, then quickly shift the two cards around by transferring them from hand to hand, ducking one under the other each time. Keep track of the Ten of Hearts, then after several shifting maneuvers, turn the Ten of Hearts face up and continue the shifting business. Continue the patter line: ". . .it exerts a strange influence." The audience, including the spectator, will lose track of which one was originally held. When they see the face of the Ten of Hearts, they think everything is okay; nothing tricky has happened. Eventually table the King of Clubs and retain the face-up Ten of Hearts in your right hand.

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Pretend you forgot the name of the mental selection by asking, "By the way, what's the name of the card you merely thought of?" As soon as the King of Clubs is named, use the face-up KH to flip the King of Clubs face up and add, "I told you I knew the names of both cards. You see, I was born on the fourth day of the eighth month in a non-election year. It was a Monday!" As the audience contemplates what ostensibly happened, palm off the duplicate Ten of Hearts from the top of the deck. You are now clean. Or, if you are synergistically-minded, use the duplicate in subsequent tricks.

HULL-QUIK This has elements of the Hull Trick because you work One-Ahead; however, it is quicker and convenient. Any deck can be used. Leave your duplicate cards at home. Effect: The magician removes a card from a borrowed, shuffled deck and places it face down on the table. He asks a spectator, “Just guessing, what’s the name of this card?” The spectator names a card -- say, the Two of Spades -- then the magician asks him to select a card from the deck. The deck is shuffled and another card is removed. The magician asks the spectator to name his selection. Suppose he names the Nine of Diamonds. The magician shows the removed card -- It’s the Nine of Hearts. He says, “Close enough, but no cigar! You, on the other hand, have the power!” The card tabled at the outset is turned face up. It’s the Two of Spades! Method: Take the shuffled deck and glimpse the bottom card. Suppose it’s the Ten of Diamonds. Say, “I’m going to remove a card, any card.” Spread the cards with the faces toward you and quickly locate the mate of the Ten of Diamonds. Remove the Ten of Hearts and place it face down on the table. Ask the spectator, “Just guessing, what’s the name of this card?” Suppose he names the Two of Spades. Add, “I also want you to think of a card.” Hold the deck face down in your left hand and grasp the inner sides with your right thumb and fingers. This is the grip used to perform a Hindu Shuffle.

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Say, “I’m going to randomly shuffle through the deck...” Demonstrate by performing a quick Hindu Shuffle, placing the last few cards back to the bottom. Repeat the shuffle and say, “When I do this, just say ‘stop’...” When you are asked to stop, show the face (bottom) card of the remaining stock to the spectator. He will see the original bottom card (Ten of Diamonds). With your head turned away, say: “Please remember this card.” Drop the remaining stock face down onto the sloughed-off section and hand the deck to the spectator. Have the cards shuffled, then take them back. Say, “Sometimes I’m good at this.” Spread the cards with the faces toward you and remove the Two of Spades, he card named earlier by the spectator. Do not show its face, but look at it and say, “You chose a red card...a low red card.” This teasing miscall is important. Hold the Two of Spades face down in your right hand as your left hand tables the deck. Look at the spectator and use the Two of Spades to scoop up the tabled card. Ask, “What’s the name of your card?” Take the top card (10H) and immediately toss it face up in front of the spectator. Say, “Close enough, but no cigar!” Hand the face-down Two of Spades to the spectator and say, “You, on the other hand, have the power!” Ask him to turn his (?) card face up to cap this quickie. Credit: This method is by Terry Lagerould. The excuse of having a second card in play is convincing. Making the spectator look better than the magician at the outcome is a winning strategy. Although the magician does not find the actual selection, he comes close by removing its pseudo-mate. He shows fallibility (a sympathetic quality), while showing partial powers. The spectator steals all the thunder.

INTO THIS WORLD

This is another synergism. It applies a routine of locations by Edward Marlo to suggest in a subtle way that the deck is mixed. After these locations are performed, the handling nullifies any suspicion that the deck is set-up. In this case, the Divided Deck arrangement of reds and blacks is retained. As most of us know, location tricks are merely puzzles, primarily designed by cardmen for the amusement of other magicians. They are not commercial fare. Here they provide an atmospheric prelude, a demonstration to ostensibly discover "psychic affinities" that may exist between the magician and another 6

spectator. As mentioned at the outset, its secret strategy is to subliminally convince the audience that the cards are thoroughly mixed. More important, a spectator does most of the mixing. This is decidedly different from a magician false shuffling the deck Set-up: Arrange the deck into Reds and Blacks (Divided Deck). Method: Say, "I'm looking for someone who's mentally compatible. Somebody with the right affinity." Position the deck for an Overhand Shuffle and perform the Ireland Red-Black Shuffle by casually shuffling off small blocks until you reach midpoint, whereupon a few cards are run-off one at a time, followed by shuffling off to the end. This retains the Red-Black separation. Suppose the colors are in the following order from the top: Red-Black. Table the deck and cut it into three equal packets by cutting from left to right. Leave the lower third at the left, leave the middle section to its right, then place the top third further to the right. For the purpose of this explanation, mentally number the packets from left to right 1-2-3. Packet 1 consists of Black cards. Packet 2 consists of Red-Black cards (a mini Divided Deck). The Red section is at the top. Packet 3 consists of Red cards. Hand Packet 1 to a spectator on your left. Say, "You look like a perfect candidate. Please shuffle this cards, then note and remember the bottom card." Point to the top of Packet 2 on the table and add, "Place your packet on top of this packet." Hand Packet 3 to a spectator on your right and say, "You look like a winner." Repeat the instructions, then have him replace his packet onto the tabled portion. So far, the procedure looks absolutely fair. Using key cards seems unlikely. The keying in this case is color-separations. Pick up the deck and glimpse the bottom card. Suppose it is the QH. Have one of the spectators perform several straight cuts. Take back the deck and spread the cards with the faces towards yourself. Quickly locate the QH and cut it back to the face (bottom). The deck is divided into four Color groups. Their order from the face is Black-Red-Black-Red. Ignore the first Black-Red group. The first Black card of the third Group is the first spectator's selection and the first card of the next Red group is the second spectator's selection. Separate the spread at the first selection, leaving it at the face of the left-hand portion. Turn your left hand palm down and thumb off the selection face down to the table. Turn your left hand palm up and feed the left-hand Black cards onto the face of the right-hand section. In other words, Black goes onto Black.

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Stop when you reach the second (Red) selection. Separate the spread at this point and thumb off the second selection face down. When your left hand turns palm up, replace its Red cards under the right-hand cards. The deck is now restored to its divided, Red-Black condition. Reveal the selections and say, "Yes! Both of you are great subjects." Repeat the process if you wish, saying: "Some skeptics say it's a trick! Others say its dumb luck. Let's try it again." This time make the three packets by dribbling cards in accordance to the spectator's wishes. Hold the deck in a right-hand Biddle Grip and dribble or release cards from the bottom. Let them fall to the table and say, "When I do this, say stop." By this time, all the cards have been released. When you pick up the deck and start to dribble the cards, the first spectator will stop you before you reach midpoint. This ensures that only one color is in the first packet. Dribble some more cards, timing their release so that you pass the midpoint. The rest is obvious. Repeat the selection-shuffling process and then reveal the two selections to successfully end the second phase. Afterwards the cards are still in a Divided Deck condition, yet you have subconsciously implanted an important impression: all the cards are mixed. This is a passive, indirect way to inculcate the impression which is absolutely convincing. As David Williamson says, "There's a difference between belief and conviction." In this case, the spectator is convinced that the cards are mixed. You are then set to entertain with a version of “Out Of This World” or “Blown Away.” Check out Marlo's version in Marlo's Magazine - Volume 6 (1988).

BRIGHT FUTURE This is an abbreviated version of Marlo's "Double Proof Triple Prediction" published in Marlo's Plus Package (1983). Initial inspiration came from Jack Vosburgh's "The Future Deck." Effect: Three cards are placed face down on the table and the magician says, "I've written a prediction of the face of each card." The deck is held face up and cut into three face-up packets. The packets are tabled and the spectator selects a card from each one. Each selection is placed with one of the prediction cards. When the pairs are exposed, the predictions match the selections. Requirements: (1) A regular deck of cards; (2) A Sharpie pen.

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Preparation: Choose three prediction cards. Suppose they are the QC-2H-9S. Remove them from the deck and take out the AD-JS-4H. These will be the “covering” cards, which also key the groupings of the prediction-cards. Take the remaining forty-six cards and divide them into three groups of 15-15-16cards. Make certain each packet is comprised of a varied mixture of values and suits. Using the Sharpie pen, print "Queen of Clubs" on the right (white) side-margin of the first 15-card packet. Place the unmarked AD at the face of this packet. Print "Two of Hearts" on the side margins of the second 15-card packet in the same manner. Cover it with the unmarked JS. Finally, print "Nine of Spades" on the side margins of the third 16-card packet and cover it with the unmarked 4H. Notice that the covering cards use the same keying system as the Ultra Mental Deck. That is, a Heart keys a Spade and vice-versa; and the values of both cards total 13. Therefore, in this effect the 4H keys the 9S, the JS keys the 2H, and the AD keys the QC. Set-up: Place the 9S-packet onto the 2H-packet and place these combined packets onto the AD-packet. The assembled deck now has the 9S at the face (bottom). Place the unmarked QC-2H-9S face down on top of the deck. The top card should be the QC. Method: Introduce the deck and hold it face down in your left hand. The printed side of the prepared cards should be on the right. Say, "I've written three predictions on the faces of three cards." Deal the top three cards face down from left to right in a row. The QC should be at the left, the 2H in the middle, and the 9S at the right. Turn the deck over end-for-end and ribbon-spread the cards face up. The printing will be hidden and the cards look normal. Say, "Three cards will be freely chosen." Scoop up and square the deck. Hold the cards face up in your left hand and position it for an in-the-hands Faro Shuffle. The left side should be towards you. Add, “Let me divide the cards into three approximately equal packets.” Riffle this side with your right thumb to sight the three key cards (AD-JS-4H), each in turn as you cut and divide the deck into three face-up packets. Place the AD-packet face up and aligned under the face-down QC. Place the JS-packet face up and aligned under the face-down 3H. Place the 4H-packet face up and aligned under the face-down 9S. Pick up the first packet on your left and fan them to show a mixture. The printing remains concealed. Close the fan, using a reverse action. This puts the printing to the left. Flip the cards sideways and position them for an Overhand Shuffle. Retain the unmarked AD on the bottom. 9

Spread the cards face down between your hands and ask the first spectator to touch one. The printing is on the right. Outjog the selection and remove it with your right hand. Slide it underneath the face-down QC and say, “Terrific choice…” Square the cards and turn them over end-for-end. Immediately ribbon spread them from left to right and add, “These are the other possibilities.” Square the cards and leave them tabled face up. (The printing is on the right.) Repeat the above actions with the second and third packets. Assemble the faceup packets and ribbon-spread the deck from left to right. The printing remains hidden. The printed predictions are now paired with their matching, unmarked card. All that remains is to reveal the three pairs to show matches. Scoop up the deck, add the matching cards, and put them away. This is the expedient version of Marlo's handling. You may prefer to pretend to write something on the three unmarked cards, using a dried-out Sharpie pen. This slows the presentation at the outset, but adds verisimilitude to the marking process. Sometimes I use another, previously marked card—say, a Joker—and place it on top of the preset deck. At the beginning, remove the dried-out Sharpie and the top four cards of the deck. Hold the cards face down and transfer the Joker to the face. Hold the packet with the face Joker towards yourself, then pretend to write a prediction alongside its side. Trace the previously inked portion and blow on it as you feign drying the ink. Show the face of the Joker and explain, "I'm going to write a prediction on each one of these cards. . .like this. . ." Turn the face of the packet towards yourself again, then toss the Joker aside. Say, "Since I've just exposed one of the predictions, let's begin again." Next pretend to write on each card, feigning the writing and blow-drying.

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