Pablo Amira-Perceptive Openness ACAAN

Perceptive Openness History

For many, a “holy grail” is the “Any Card at Any Number” with strict criteria’s. Popularized by David Berglas and by my friend Peter Turner in the modern era, this card effect is a dream to many. In this version you will use a very simple and direct procedure that looks completely natural and interesting to cover all the needed work.

Outer Reality

The Mentalist invites a member of the audience to believe, imagine and open his perception to see new ideas and images. A closed deck of cards is used as focus point and, thanks to the apparent mysterious new perception, the participant just thinks in a card and in a number. The participant itself takes the deck from the case and counts card until he reaches his freely decided thought of number. For the first time he names his thought of card and the mysterious connection arrives to the final destination!

Inner Reality

This routine mixes several techniques and ideas to arrive to this interesting result of ACAAN, in which neither the card or the number are named outloud until the end. At the core of the method, we will use a David Hoy-Tossed Out Deck style deck (One-way force pack with a different card on bottom) and a secret gimmick that will allow you to secretly communicate a card to your participant.

The gimmick is just a corner of the card that you have repeated in your deck. This gimmick is double-face (I just did it with a normal 2 of Diamonds, taking both corners and glue them together). This is because no matter how you take it, it will always be ready for your participant to secretly peek. So as you can imagine, we are using also the wonderful concept of “Dual Reality”. Your participant will experience a different effect from the audience. Your participant will understand that you invite him to be part of the experience with that secret cue, but he will STILL experience mystery for the thought-of-number location. Now, the audience will experience something even more deep, because they are not aware of the gimmick, they will observe the reality in a different way. Both thoughts are apparently completely free. I suggest you to add a different card on the deck that is completely contrasting. In my own deck I use the Queen of Spades. Keep your gimmick in your right pocket, the deck in your left pocket, and you are ready. Invite your participant and while he joins you onstage, take the deck of cards and the gimmick, secretly palmed in your right hand. After some conversation with the participant and a short ritual that symbolize his new short-term ability, you will say:

“Relax for a moment. That’s right, now look this and allow just single thought to appear. For some reason you will get a playing card. Can you think in one, correct?” Your participant will understand those words like “Think in the card that I am showing you secretly” and your audience will perceive your instruction just like a dramatic process to think in any card.

Now that your participant has his thought of card in mind, you now can place the deck in your left hand and while you pass behind the participant, you can ditch the gimmick in your right pocket. Now comes the 2nd part of the procedure and for the audience will look the same as before, but now your participant will have a completely free choice of number. “Now you will do something similar, but with a number. Completely free thought…now…, from 1 to 52… Do you have one?”

The idea of a “completely free thought….now…” will be perceived by the participant as “NOW you will have a free choice”, but for the audience the word “now” will mean “do it now”. This fantastic concept comes from my mentor Kenton Knepper. Now all the methodological aspects are done, so just add drama to the revelation and enjoy the moment. As you can see, a very simple and direct procedure that demands stage presence and some boldness. The

good thing is that this needed characteristics are FREE or charge. You need time to invest in yourself so you can realize the power that you already have. After this, your charisma and presence will be with you everywhere

Extra Ideas

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Sometimes I limit the number from 1 to 30 for example, so the counting doesn’t become too extended. If you do that you can use just a half-way forcing deck, in which 30 cards are the same and the rest are indifferent. Also if you want to can write a number to the gimmick, so you will also force the particular position. In this situation the effect becomes an “Instant Stooge” based routine. If you want also you can write in whiteboard marker the playing card in the deck´s cellophane. Then you can erase it you’re your thumb.

Inspiration and References

The inspiration obviously comes from David Berlgas and Peter Turner for all his work in this “legendary” piece. My mentor Kenton Knepper and George Anderson for the different ideas in how to structure a “secret cue” for the participant onstage.

Pablo Amirá,2018