Paul Wilson - Out of Your Mind

Out Of Your Mind R. Paul Wilson A few years ago I distributed several email files that I called “Re-Thinking” where I approached older effects from a fresh perspective. The most successful of these experiments was Roy Walton’s Overworked Card and Dai Vernon’s Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind. OOS, OOM is, without a doubt, one of the finest card tricks ever invented. No doubt borrowing heavily from existing mind-reading tricks, Vernon constructed an effect of such simplicity that it has stood the test of time and still ranks as one of the best “think of a card” tricks available. How then, can it be improved? Well, dare I say it, the original handling left a little to be desired. The shuffle used to set the cards was complicated and lengthy and it left you in a situation that limited the next phase of the routine. Vernon himself had other approaches to his effect. A riffle-shuffle version may be found in the Vernon chronicles and I am reliably informed that he had many ways of setting the cards after one had been mentally selected. What I offer here is my own work on this routine. Parts of it have appeared in other places, such as Genii Magazine and on the Net. Here you will find my complete approach to the problem – how I have the cards selected – how I shuffle and “set” the deck – how I handle the re-show and how I complete the effect. I will then describe two other ways of performing this effect – one is eminently practical while the other is extremely interesting as a solution to certain problems. Before I begin I would like to recognise the work of Bob Farmer and Max Maven, who have both spent a lot of time working with Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind. Out of Your Mind Begin by having any deck of cards thoroughly shuffled. Take the deck and table it (it is a simple matter to do this without a table – either use their hands or perform the following sequence with the full deck). By now you have probably seen how magicians like to have cards selected. They ask you to cut… Cut off about half of the deck with the right hand. Place these cards into left hand dealing position. …or they ask you to pick one like this…

Spread the cards into the right hand as if you were about to have a card selected. Spread the cards singly or in groups of three so that the right first finger can apply pressure to the face of the ninth card. The rest of the packet is spread but are not allowed to go under this finger. This is a pressure break – essentially the top nine cards are being pinched (in a loosely fanned state) between the finger and thumb as the rest of the deck is spread under them (Fig. 1). Notice how the right second, third and fourth fingers extend to support the balance of the spread.

Because of this break it is an easy matter to close the spread by moving the right hand to the left, the left hand receiving the cards. The right hand can raise slightly to create a break under the nine cards it holds. The left pinkie takes a break under these cards and the right first finger withdraws, allowing the top nine cards to be squared with the deck (Fig. 2).

This very brief spread allows you to catch a break under the top nine cards – this is an important subtlety. …personally I think these are perfectly good ways to have a card selected but what if I could ask you to just think of any card you see? Pause a few seconds then say: You shuffled these? When they confirm this say: Good – I want you to just think of any card you see… Raise the left hand bringing the face of the packet towards the spectator. The right hand meets the left hand on the way up to eye level and widely spreads the cards above the break. Thanks to the pinkie break you took earlier this is an instantaneous spread and will seem as though you just spread the whole packet. •

Why is it important to spread the cards this way? When I learned OOS,OOM I used to spread nine cards in front of the spectator, stop and ask them to think of any card. Problem was that sometimes people would ask to see more cards – they were conscious that I could go further than I already had. Snapping a spread out like this has a different feel – they are immediately presented with what seems like a lot of choices and asked to think of one. No options are given – they are simply instructed to think of any card they see. Notice that by reducing the deck by half there is less of a block in front of the spread. With a full deck there is a block of over forty cards to deal with – here there is less than eighteen. I have toyed with ideas that completely conceal this block (centre spreads, bottom spreads etc.) but practicality won over ingenuity.

Say: Think of any card you see. It is important to make this instruction clear. They will suddenly be presented with many choices. As soon as they start to look over the spread lower your hands slightly as if about to withdraw the cards from view. This is very subtle but it encourages them to fix a card in their mind quickly rather than examine the spread too closely. An important point here is to look away as you show the cards. This is a strong feature of the routine often neglected by performers. Point out that you won’t even look as they think of a card and they will remember this. I also present the spread so that the middle three cards of the nine are almost directly in front to of their eyes but slightly to the right. In other words the spread is across their eye-line. This is something I always try to ensure. I cannot be sure if this influences their choice in any way but I can confirm that I almost always find their card amongst the lower six cards of the spread – why

this is better will soon become clear. Another reason for this is to ensure that the block of cards is not right in front of them! After a couple of seconds ask: Do you have one? Turn back to face them as you say this and begin lowering and closing the spread. They will almost always have a card by now. If they do not they will think of one as the cards are withdrawn. These points of audience management have been learned the hard way! Clarity in your instructions combined with authority (leave no room for questions or guess-work on their part) is the key. Watch Max Maven perform any effect and you will see that every instruction given to the audience is extremely clear and concise – this is a good lesson in audience management. Square the cards into the left hand and take them in biddle grip with the right hand. The right first finger lifts half the packet at the front and hinges it to the left (Fig. 3).

This upper half is taken by the left hand. The remaining cards in the right hand are tapped against the left hand – the left long edge hitting the top of the left packet (Fig. 4). Immediately drop the right hand cards onto the balance of the deck on the table then take the cards from the left hand and drop those on top of all.

This false cut is extremely convincing but it is difficult to credit the inventor. Dominique Duvivier claims it but I originally learned it as the Bobby Bernard false cut. Bobby says he came up with it in the forties but it may date back further than that. I am certain Bobby invented it independently. You have now apparently cut the cards and added them to the rest of the deck. In actual fact the nine cards you showed are still on top of the deck. You are now able to perform a series of false shuffles retaining that nine-card block. I leave it to you to choose which shuffles to use. Personally, I combine in-the-hands riffle shuffles with overhand controls. Plenty of good false shuffles may be found in the standard texts. It is vital that you learn to shuffle the cards as if everything is perfectly fair. The shuffle I am about to describe will set the nine cards in groups of three, distributed throughout the deck. It is quick and extremely efficient but its main advantage is that it allows the preceding false shuffles. The feeling that the cards are genuinely mixed adds greatly to the overall effect. As the deck is shuffled I like to cement the effect in the spectator’s mind: Because you did not take a card but merely thought of one, it means I must rely solely on your thoughts and my instincts. Obviously if I could read your thoughts I would simply tell you right now what card you were thinking of and we all know that’s impossible. Instead I am going to rely on a single impulse from your mind to mine. The above is said as you perform the initial false shuffles. Near the end of this patter you glimpse and remember the bottom card of the deck (I do this as I complete a false shuffle) and perform the following overhand shuffle sequence to set the cards.

The deck is face down in left hand dealing position. Draw the left fingers under the deck bringing the deck up to a vertical overhand shuffle position (Fig. 5).

The right hand lifts slightly less than half the deck as the left thumb retains the top card, slipping it onto the lower half (Fig. 6).

The right hand descends, continuing the overhand shuffle action so the left thumb can run two more cards. The next card is taken as the left fingers apply pressure to the face of the right packet, pulling the face card onto the left packet under the card taken by the left thumb (Fig. 7). You must hold a break under these two cards with the left pinkie.

Run two more cards from the right packet onto the left then drop the balance onto the left packet taking care to maintain the left fourth-finger break. Cut the deck at the break and complete the cut. The original nine cards are now distributed as follows: From top down – three cards, half of deck, key card (glimpsed prior to shuffle), three cards, balance of deck, three cards and an odd card on the face. See figure 8. The face-up cards represent the possible selections – the key card is turned at a right angle for illustration only.

I am going to show you the entire deck. It is important that you see your card but please don’t make any noise or give me a clue to its location. Raise the deck to their eye level and begin spreading cards (Fig. 9). The left thumb pushes cards from the top of the deck to the right. It is important to give the instruction before showing the deck. If their card is in the top three they will often miss it while taking in what you just said. Again, look away as you spread.

Continue spreading until you are approaching the middle of the deck. There are two ploys that I use here. First I look back to see if they are still obviously searching for their card. Remember I was looking away up until this point and it is unlikely that they will pretend to look for their card. If they are still obviously looking for their card I turn away and continue spreading. If I am not sure I say: You haven’t seen it yet have you? If I think they have seen their card I say: I get the feeling you have seen it. Correct? These statements will tell me whether or not their card is in the top three. If they have seen it, it is one of those three cards – if not, it must be one of the other six (we have not spread that far yet). Note that by saying nothing (when they seem to be still searching for their card) you are taking a risk but I have found it to be a worthwhile one! It their card is in the top three, false shuffle (keeping them on top) and continue as described later in this text.

If it is not amongst the top three continue spreading all the way to bottom but do not spread the bottom four cards. Close the spread and square the deck asking: You saw your card, right? This question tells you everything you need to know. If they saw it, their card is in the middle three under your key card. If not, it’s one of the three above the bottom card! If they did not see their card you need to re-spread the deck. Note the bottom card and remember it. Overhand shuffle the deck so that the bottom four cards are centralised then ribbon spread the deck on the table and look away. Once their card is noted, pick up the deck and continue as described. It is important to remember that the three cards are above your new key card. Whichever group their selection is in, cut it to the top of the deck as you quickly run through. Memorise the values of the three cards as you cut them to the top in reverse order – in other words you remember the third, then the second, then the first. If the top three cards were ace, two and three (ace on top) you would memorise three, two, ace. If there are duplicate values amongst the three you should also note the suits. Turn the deck face down in your hand. Pick up a break under the top card with your right thumb as the right hand takes the deck in right biddle grip (Fig. 10). Release the lower half of the deck back into the left hand so that the right is left holding the upper half with a break beneath the top card.

The left hand now turns it’s half face up and places it onto the top of the right half (Fig. 11).

The face up half aligns with the balance of the deck until it too is held by the right hand. The face down half beneath the break is now released into the left hand (Fig. 12) and this packet is also turned face up but is replaced beneath the cards in the right hand.

The card that started on top of the deck is now reversed in the centre! This is Fred Braue’s reversal. This sleight is performed as you say: One way of finding your card is to cut randomly and see if you react to the cards I cut to – it could be this one (first half is reversed and slid on top of upper packet) or it could be this one (second packet reversed – its face card shown – and replaced under balance of deck) but that would be very risky and

not too impressive. I think it would be more interesting to try to locate the card in your mind by instinct… As you say that last line, the deck is turned face down in the left hand. Double undercut the top card of the deck to the bottom as you say: If I cut like this no-one can see the card that I cut to – agreed? Be careful not to expose the reversed card as you perform the double under cut. •

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The double under-cut is a standard move. If you don’t know it, check out the Royal Road To Card Magic. A simple description would be: Pick up a break under the top card as you did for the Braue reversal (with the right thumb) and drop the bottom half of the deck into the left hand. The left hand slides it’s half on top of the half in the right (as in Fig. 11 but the left hand cards are not reversed). Half of the packet below the break is now taken by the left hand and placed on top. Finally everything below the break is taken and placed on top and the deck is re-taken by the left hand. The result is that the top card of the deck is transferred to the bottom under cover of a false cut. Note that after the double under-cut I force the spectator to agree that I cannot see the card I am cutting to. This subtly reinforces something I may come to rely on in a moment.

After the double under-cut (which must be performed openly and slowly) set the deck on top of the card box (cross wise so the deck is easy to pick up) on the table (or firmly in their hands) and step back. This must be done firmly as if you have committed to something. Performing the double under-cut slowly is extremely important as this is the moment they must remember when you did something to create the final outcome – it replaces the dealing procedure in the original Vernon routine. Okay – I’m going to stop right there and set the deck down. I won’t touch it again. I have a very good feeling about this. Remember you shuffled these cards before we started, right? Let them answer. Then you merely thought of any card, right? Let them answer again. Note that this is a slight exaggeration, but this is a good thing! I often mime holding up the deck the way I did for them earlier but this must be done in a casual, off-hand manner. You didn’t take one or point to one you just decided on one in your own mind? This is the final re-enforcement that, for me, seals the deal in their mind. Now they really know how impossible this is. Too many people just throw the effect

away and reveal the thought of card without allowing their audience to appreciate what is about to happen. For the first time, tell everyone what card you thought of. Another important subtlety is to ask them to “tell everyone”, not just you. This reminds everyone else that they don’t know what card they’re thinking of either! It also helps to avoid situations where they refuse to tell you their card. When they name their card you instantly know where their card is thanks to the cards you memorised earlier. If, as in our example, you had memorised “Three, Two, Ace” then the Three would be on top, the Two is on the bottom and the Ace is reversed in the middle. If it is on top or on the bottom you say: Remember, there was no way I could see which card I cut to, right? Instruct the spectator to turn over the top card if their card is on top or pick up the deck and show the bottom card if it is there. Notice that either card is logical thanks to the presentation used earlier. Also, because the deck was placed on top of the card box, it is much easier for the spectator to pick up the whole deck without fumbling. If the card is face up in the centre, say: Remember it is impossible to know which card is which with the cards face down – but sometimes one card stands apart from the others… Ribbon spread the deck to show their card face up in the middle. If their card was not the reversed card you will need to clean up. There are many ways of doing this but I often perform a version of topsy-turvy cards from Royal Road To Card Magic. This is the very first trick in the book and is an amusing magical stunt BUT it leads beautifully into any kind of Triumph effect. Simply cut the reversed card to the bottom and continue as described in Royal Road. OOS,OOM is a difficult effect to follow in most cases and simply putting the cards away is probably the best way to clean up! Alternative Approaches I have a great deal of work on this trick. The above method is what I use the most but the following ideas might interest you. Easily Out Of Sight Show twelve cards and keep them on top as you false shuffle. Push three cards to the right with the left thumb, take them in the right hand and drop them on the table. Repeat three times to make three piles of three.

Continue this, taking random groups of cards (two, three, four – whatever) distributing these randomly on the four piles until the deck is exhausted and you are left with four piles of cards – three cards from the original twelve on the face of each pile. You now ask the spectator to indicate any pile. Pick it up and run three cards to the bottom under cover of a brief overhand shuffle. Spread the cards and hold them up in front of the spectator – the idea is to make sure that the three possible selection cards are right in front of their eyes. This means (thanks to the brief shuffle you just gave the cards) that there will be three odd cards to the left of them and the balance of the packet spread to the right of them (as you see it). Ask them to check if their card is there. Allow them to respond. If it is there say “Great” and continue with this packet – if it is not then say “Don’t tell me I want to see if I can feel when you see it”. Have them choose another packet and repeat the above sequence. When you spread the cards, notice how they look at the lower six and then the balance of the packet. If they see their card in front of them they will scan the cards quickly but are not looking for anything (Fig. 13 shows the position of the three potential selections).

If they look for their card after checking the three possible cards in front of them you say “I didn’t get anything – I don’t think it’s here”. If you feel they did see their card say “I felt something – I think you saw your card!” Whether you are wrong or right you will be able to bring the trick to a successful conclusion once you know what group it is in.

Pick up the packet with their card in it and cut it so the middle card of the three is on top, one is on the face and the third is under the top card. Toppalm the top card and remember the other two. Place the packet in their hands and have them name their card. Reveal it according to its location. The very best effect possible here is to produce it from your pocket. Please Sir, Can I Have More Cards? This is easy to do but I feel it is unnecessary. To show 12 cards: After you have false shuffled, holding the 12 on top the shuffle to set them is exactly the same but you run four cards, milk top and bottom, run three then throw on top. Once you know which group the card is in, memorise the values and cut three to the top, one to the bottom. Palm off the top two and table the deck. Either produce the card from top or bottom of the deck or from your pocket (leave the other card in the pocket). You can go up to fifteen cards by reversing one in the middle and setting one on top, one on bottom and palming two. The shuffle for this would be: run five, milk two, run four, throw on top and cut at break. This can go on and on. Essentially I think twelve is enough. It’s not about actual numbers but the effect perceived. Other Ideas I have many ways of completing this effect but Vernon’s original dealing procedure (performed as Vernon instructed) is excellent. The ending given here was designed so I could table the deck and stand back before the card was actually named. I have also toyed with other ways of getting down to the correct group of cards. Some of these are very hokey but the general rule is that the more questions you need to ask or the more you need to show cards to the spectator, the less effective the overall effect. Here is one idea that has fooled some pretty knowledgeable magicians and flies right by the most suspicious spectator. What if you could have a card thought of then simply hand them the deck and ask them to look for their card? This was the challenge I set myself.

When you begin, place the card box in your right jacket pocket. Have the deck shuffled. You must now glimpse and remember the top three cards (values are usually enough unless there are two of the same value). Shuffle three cards on top of the three just memorised under cover of a false overhand or riffle shuffle. The three memorised cards are now fourth, fifth and sixth from the top. Show top nine to spectator asking them to think of one. Double undercut top three to the bottom of the deck – top palm the top three cards and retrieve the card box from your right jacket pocket, leaving the three cards behind (take care not to disturb their order). Place deck on top of box and recap that they have thought of any card etc. Take deck and riffle shuffle, setting a random card on the bottom, beneath the three potential selections and one on top above the other three. Do not shuffle into either of the three-card blocks. These shuffles should be easy for anyone familiar with Royal Road. Hand the deck to them and ask them to spread through and make sure their card is there. If their card is near the bottom they’ll see it right away and you’ll know by the way they pretend to look over the rest of the deck that it’s there. Often they won’t even spread all the way to the end. If it’s on top they’ll spread all the way before confirming they saw their card. Congratulations – you know exactly which group their card is in! Finish the effect any way you like. If they do NOT see their card – expect them to re-spread the deck to double check. Ask them what card they chose then remove it from your pocket (this is why you memorised the order of the three earlier), leaving the other two behind. Finally… Another excellent way of having the spectator look for their card can be found in Inspirations by Sadowitz and Duffie. Check out Jerry Sadowitz’ “Out Of Order” to find out how he ribbon spreads the cards face up for the spectator to find their own card…