Open Prediction – Paul Ingram
Effect:The ‘Open Prediction’ plot must be one of the most popular tricks for spurning limitless variations amongst magicians. In his book ’Simply Simon’, author Bill Simon offers his variant based upon the MC spread double lift technique and a double faced card. The patter, presentation and method employed by Bill Simon is outstanding and worthy of investigation by anyone interested in the plot. My offering was inspired directly from the Simon method but, uses a straight deck.
The open prediction plot in general is as follows:
The performer predicts a playing card i.e.: the two of clubs. This prediction is made out loud before the effect commences. The spectator takes the deck and is instructed to deal the cards face up one at a time until the two of clubs appears. However, at any time during the deal one card is to be dealt face down. Following this the rest of the deck is continued to be dealt face up. The prediction does not make its appearance during the deal. The one face down card turns out to be the predicted two of clubs.
This is the effect in its most pure form, the conditions of which are to be met as closely as possible. Obviously some chicanery has to take place in order to switch the actual predicted card for the lone, face-down card. There have been countless approaches to the plot, this is my offering…….
Hand the deck out for shuffling, when it is returned glimpse the card second from the face whilst spreading the cards face up to display their randomness. Turn the deck face down and make your prediction (name the card just glimpsed). Hand the deck back to the spectator and request that they are dealt into a face up pile. Instruct the spectator to watch for the predicted card. After approximately 15-20 have been dealt face up instruct the spectator that at any time one card is to be dealt face down. After this has been done, have the spectator turn all of the cards she has left face up and drop them atop the rest of the cards.
The deck is now face up on the table with one card face down somewhere in the pile. The card you have predicted is still second from the face. You now pick up the deck and turn it face down. The face card of the deck has to be shifted out of play. Don’t make a move of this, simply remove the face card and use it to illustrate the fact that one card is lying in the deck reversed. After this simply replace the card on top of the deck face down. The deck is lying face down in your hand, you now turn the deck face up except for the bottom face card of the deck. This stays in position while the deck revolves face up on top of it. The situation now is that one card is face down somewhere in the face up deck and your prediction is face down at the rear.
Obtain a pinkie break above the two bottom cards of the deck. Begin spreading the deck whilst stating that you are looking for your prediction. When arriving at the face down card somewhere near the middle, up-jog it for about an inch and continue spreading. When you reach the rear of the deck the last two cards can be held as one due to the break you obtained earlier. The predicted card will not have been seen. Close the spread leaving the face down card out jogged a little. You are now going to apparently turn the out-jogged card face up onto the deck as follows.
Take hold of the face down card between the thumb and first finger and at the same time contact the bottom card of the deck with the second finger. Pull the face down card and the bottom card away from the deck at the same time, once clear turn them both inwards and face up atop the deck. This is basically a double lift with the out-jogged card and the bottom card of the deck. If done correctly, it will appear that the out-jogged card was simply turned face up and is the card which you had predicted earlier.
On a psychological note, after spreading through the face up deck looking for your prediction and not finding it, the spectator will have reached a psychological climax. This means, they will see the end of the trick coming and are expecting the lone face down card to somehow be the prediction. In most circumstances this psychological situation would not be desired but, where there is a final switch of a card as in the ’Card in Box’ Kapps type of routine, it puts you at a distinct advantage. The reason being is that the spectator has already sold himself to the conclusion of the effect. This renders less heat on the final sleight as the spectator is only looking for conformation of his expectation and is not suspicious of a sleight.
Be careful when performing the final sleight, right handers will have a bad angle to the left side of the deck. To overcome this, try to have the spectator in front and slightly to the right.
I have described the routine to conform to the conditions of the ‘Open Prediction Plot’ however, this is not the way that I perform the routine. I dislike dealing tricks of any nature. For that reason I have the spectator shuffle the deck and then with the cards held behind his back, I request that he turn a card face up anywhere in the deck. Whilst this is being done I predict a card (the bottom card of the deck). He then hands the deck back to me and I proceed to turn the deck face up except for the bottom card . From there, proceed with the routine as described earlier. This cuts out the dealing and allows one to proceed to the climax with less clutter.
The technique of removing the out-jogged card along with the bottom card can be used in other ways. It makes an effective force of the bottom card. Simply spread the deck and request the spectator to touch any card. Outjog the selection, square the deck and perform the sleight to force the bottom card. Other ideas involve the spectator choosing the only blue card in a red deck, I will leave you to work the details out! Any problems, just ask me at the meeting. The original Open Prediction plot belongs to the genius of Paul Curry.
Paul Ingram, March 2000
Amazing Knowing Cards – Professor Pushp, Mumbai
Effect:Two spectators each look at a card, magician then takes the deck, shuffles it and keeps it in his pocket. As each spectator thinks of his card, the magician produces it from his pocket.
Required:Any 26 cards from one pack and the same 26 cards from another pack, but back should be same. Arrange the cards into pairs, in any order.
Method:Cut and complete the deck before spectators.
Turn the deck face up, show it mixed by casually lifting off the cards in batches of two, three or four cards near the center and cut between the two cards of that pair, holding a half deck in each hand. Comment that the cards are well mixed, then complete the cut. The top and bottom cards are now the same.
Square the deck and hold it face down in the left hand. Ask a spectator to name any number between one and fifteen, explaining that you will use his number to select his card.
Whatever number he names deal that number of cards face down into a pile on table. Show him the card at an even numbered position. Suppose 10 is named. Deal 10 cards and show the spectator the last tenth card dealt, asking him to remember it. Replace the noted card onto the dealt cards. Then drop the rest of the deck on top.
If an odd number is named, however, say 9, deal nine cards and show him the next tenth card. The noted card is dropped onto the dealt Two spectators each look at a card, magician then takes the deck, shuffles it and keeps it in his pocket. As each spectator thinks of his card, the magician produces it from his pocket.
Think Of A Day – Arun Bonerjee
Set-Up:On a paper write down the following chart :
SPELL ORDER OF DIGITS (1 THROUGH 7)
7 lettered name 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
6 lettered name 2-3-4-5-6-7-1
5 lettered name 3-4-5-6-7-1-2
4 lettered name 4-5-6-7-1-2-3
Fold chart, keep it aside.
Get 7 blank faced cards, taking one using pencil, mark 2 dots on the back of the card,one at top left, one at bottom right corner. This is going to be a key card. Add it to the face of the packet, place it into one compartment, folded chart into a second compartment of your wallet, which you then keep in your pocket.
Presentation:At the place of performance mentally select a person for whom you intend to perform this trick, select a person whose first name spells with 4-5-6-7 letters.
Let us say you select your friend CHRIS present on the occasion, whose name you find spells with 5 letters. Thus, at a quiet corner take out chart from wallet, look at it noting order of the digits for a 5 lettered name. You find it to be “3-4-5-6-7-1-2”. Remember same. (Simply remember first digit ‘3’, other digits follow in cyclic order).
Fold chart, return same to wallet, which you then place back in your pocket. As time comes for showing some tricks, be seated at a table. Your friend CHRIS should be sitting opposite to you at the table.
Take out packet of cards from wallet, fan the cards face up in your hand. Mix the cards well except face. Casually, tell your friend CHRIS, here you have got a packet of computer code cards, each bearing infinite number of computer codes for 7 days of week! In fact you will use the packet to divine a single thought in his mind, as he will be thinking of a day of the week.
Thus explaining, ask your friend to think of a day of the week, remember same. Your friend doing so, tell him, now you will turn your back to the table, leaving face up packet in your hand.
He has to then quietly shift the cards face to back of the packet, as per his mentally selected day. Of course for this he has to remember that week starts on Monday. So if he is thinking of Monday then he has to shift a single card, face to back of the packet (shift the marked card face to back of the packet). On the other hand if he is thinking of Tuesday, he has to shift 2 cards. (shift 2 cards, one at a time, face to back of the packet).
Then ask your friend how many cards you have to shift for Wednesday, obviously he says ‘Three’. Tell him, he is correct! As an after thought further comment, similarly for Thursday he has to shift 4 cards. (shift 4 cards, one at a time, face to back of the packet, thus bringing back marked card to the face.)
Further verbally classify, then for Friday he has to shift 5 cards, for Saturday 6 cards, while for Sunday he has to shift 7 cards, cards to be shifted one at a time face to back of the packet. After that he has to place the packet face down on the table, only then you should be called to face front. Thus explaining, hand over face up packet to your friend, turn your back to the table.
Behind your back your friend carries out above instruction as per his mentally selected day, places packet face down on the table, ask you to face front. As you do so, pick up face down packet in your hand. Tell your friend, he did feed some data to the computer packet, so you have to data process same! (You are more or less telling the truth!)
Thus commenting loudly spell your friend’s name, C-H-R-I-S, simultaneously shift a card for each letter, top to bottom of packet, every one obviously looks amused!
After that deal the cards one by one face up on the table, dealing cards from your left to right in a row on the table. However, as you do so, mentally count the cards, till you locate the marked card, say 7th card from top of the packet. So remember ‘7’.
Next, take out pen from your pocket (or borrow one). Hold it by the top of the cap between right thumb and first finger, holding it vertical. Go on passing the pen over the row of the cards, left to right, right to left and so on.
Actually, while doing so, remembering 7 (present position of marked card in the row from your left), mentally recollecting order of the digits as “3-4-5-6-7…..”, you futher mentally note that 7 is the 5th digit in the order that tells you — your friend’s mentally selected day is FIFTH DAY OF WEEK, i.e., FRIDAY. Thus, suddenly flicker the pen over any card other than marked one. Repeat this business once or twice, then exclaim, you are receiving strong impulse from that particular card!
Thus, return pen to pocket (or to the lender!), pick up particular card, check it minutely, then triumphantly tell your friend, you can clearly read his line of thought printed on the card, as he is thinking of FRIDAY!
Obviously, your friend looks completely surprised, then smiles, thus revealing to one and all, his mentally selected day being FRIDAY….. turns the card on the table, your close-up viewers may check minutely, but of course they do not find any clue to mystery, so they look more intrigued!
NOTE: Above trick is based upon variation of a mathematical principle, same as my earlier creation “A DRINK FOR YOU” (Nov.’99 ORBIT). Try this out, possibly you would also find it to your liking!
A tip from J. Reilly
Arun Bonerjee sent a copy of a letter of Magician J. V. Reilly (Editor – Magicana, New Zealand).
In his letter Mr. Reilly has given a nice tip on Electro Fun’s Color Changing Magic Wand. He writes, “Thank you for the Color Changing Wand. It is very good and works well. I think a small amount of “Fanning Powder” on the red wand, polished, will make it extra smooth to operate.
I also throught that a thumb tip with red glitter confetti in it would add to it in a stage act. On the hand which slides across making the change then flip it off into fist, turn over and let it flutters to the floor. Just a thought.”
Thank you Mr. Reilly for a nice idea.