Magic Touch

Amazing Card Trick
Theodore Annemann. One of the true geniuses of magic and mentalism. Here is one of his more stunning pieces of mindreading. If done correctly, this can be one of the strongest effects in all of magic.

EFFECT: Your back is turned. The spectator shuffles the deck. The
spectator cuts the deck, peeks at the card s/he cut to and replaces it anywhere in the deck. You turn around and name the card.

No gimmicked or marked cards. It’s almost as if you pluck the thought right from the spectator’s head.

How’s that for simple and direct? That’s the genius of Ted Annemann.

Here’s the demonstration video again:

SECRET: This effect uses a stacked deck. It seems impossible to have the spectator shuffle a stacked deck and still make the trick work, but I’m going to tell you how.

It doesn’t matter which stack you use (I like the 8 Kings stack) just as long as you know the order of the entire deck.

METHOD: This trick must be done when someone asks you to do a trick. It cannot appear set-up in any way…it MUST appear impromptu.

First, hand the spectator the stacked deck. Appear to be thinking of a trick that you can do, “Um, okay let’s try something….something with a deck of cards….okay, I have an idea. I don’t know if it will work, but let’s give it a try.”

“When people are tested for psychic ability, scientists use ‘test conditions’ to make SURE that the person is really psychic. In other words, they eliminate all other explanations except genuine paranormal activity.”

“Let’s try a test like that right now. We’ll use the deck of cards, so take them out of the box. Now in a minute I’m going to ask you to shuffle the cards and cut them.” (IMPORTANT: As you say “shuffle the cards” mime with your hands as if you were doing an OVERHAND shuffle. This will suggest to the spectator that is how you want him/her to shuffle the cards. If they riffle shuffle, then the trick won’t work. So plant the seed and subtly encourage them to do an overhand shuffle.)

Now you turn your back and continue, “I don’t want to see anything. Now after you shuffle, I’ll ask you to cut the cards, complete the cut, look at the top card, memorize it and re-insert it back anywhere in the deck.” (Pause here for a beat.)

“Have you shuffled yet?”

Of course, you haven’t asked the spectator to start yet! This will make the spectator feel hurried so that they don’t spend too much time shuffling the deck. That’s what you want. You just manipulated the spectator’s actions. You sneaky devil.

When they say no, you say, “Well once it’s shuffled, set it on the table and give it a cut into two piles. When gamblers play cards, they always have someone cut the deck to make sure everything is fair and square. Since this is ‘test conditions’ we need to make sure everything is fair too.”

“Now look at the top card, which is the card that you cut to. Memorize it and slide it back into the deck. Make sure the deck is perfectly square and that your card isn’t poking out anywhere.”

You will now turn back around to face the spectator and you will begin your “wind-up”. A wind up is the dramatic setup before the climax of the trick. A good wind up will make ordinary tricks much more impressive.

“Now think about what we’ve done. YOU took this deck of cards, YOU shuffled it, YOU cut it, YOU picked a card, and YOU replaced it back in the deck. All while my back was turned! Is it pretty fair to say that there is no way I could possibly know the card that you’re thinking of?” (As you say ‘this deck of cards’, pick up the cards and gesture with the pack in your hands. Casually Glimpse the bottom card.

Your spectator’s card is the NEXT card in whatever stack you’re using. For example, in the 8 Kings stack, if you glimpse the 3 of diamonds, that means your spectator’s card is the ten of clubs.)

An overhand shuffle is basically a series of small cuts. All it does is move around groups of cards. Sure sometimes the trick won’t work, but more often than not it will. This principle should be applied to every trick that you do with a stacked deck.

All that’s left is to reveal the selection however you’d like.

If you don’t think this trick sounds too amazing, try it out on someone. Check out their reaction and then come back and talk to me. If you do this trick right, and with the proper wind-up, it KILLS.

Red and Black
Michael Curtis, another memory enthusiast, suggests this interesting game: “All it is is that, rather than memorise each card in a pack’s exact details, you just memorise if cards are red or black.
“You can have an image [peg word] to represent any combination of 4 cards:

an image for red, red, red, red,
an image for red, red, red, black,
etc..

“Then you can look like you are just counting through the cards but you can, I think, with a lot of practice, memorise the cards’ colours/colors quickly; then do some sort of mind-reading magic trick or just a memory stunt.
” I thought the first 2 colours could indicate a person – so there would be 4 people. Red, Black would be maybe someone called Ruby. Then the remaining 2 cards would indicate one of 4 items special to Ruby – a handbag, etc..

“Then, when you look at 4 cards, you can think of a person after reading 2 of the cards, and think of a specific item when you read the next 2 cards. There would be 16 specific items in all.”

[Michael Curtis' Trick used by permission.]

Juliana Chen was born and raised in the Hunan Province of the People’s Republic of China. Her parents were proud when, at 10 years of age, she was selected for specialized training at the Hunan Academy for the Performing Arts.

At first she was trained in ballet, then later she moved on to acrobatics and juggling. As a teenager, she toured internationally with the famous Gungzhou Acrobatic Troupe.

After a couple of accidents which injured the same leg, she was advised by doctors to give up foot juggling. While she was recovering she saw the famous Japanese magician Shimadaon television. She was fascinated by the way he had integrated magic into his Asian culture. He was both unique and outstanding in his performance.

The Gungzhou’s troupe manager encouraged Juliana to develop as a magician. She also took a closer interest in the skill of the troupe’s magician. Secretly, she began practising her skill with cards and ping-pong balls–the easiest props for her to find at the time.

The ambidexterous Juliana had the ability, ambition and determination to succeed. Some four years later in 1986, she was recognized as the best magician in China when she won the All-China Best Magician competition.

Her desire to take her magic to the international level led her to apply for permission to study English in Canada. In 1988, she left China for Vancouver, Canada. There was not much work for magicians so she got a job in a furniture store while she studied English. Later she started her own graphics business.

In 1990, Juliana met a friend who introduced her to the local magic stores and The Vancouver Magic Circle–the largest magical society in Canada. Two years later, after winning a major international award in Salt Lake City, Juliana sold her graphics business to concentrate on her career as a magician.

Over the next four years, she won numerous magic competitions in Europe. Then in 1997, Juliana won the world title for Manipulation (sleight-of-hand) at The World Congress of Magicians in Dresden, Germany. Juliana became the first woman, and first magician of Chinese heritage, to a world title for a solo act in the 50-year history of The World Congress of Magicians. She was now The World’s First Lady of Magic.

On her return to North America, she was featured on the cover of MAGIC magazine and included in The World’s Greatest Magic IV, an NBC-TV special which is still seen in different countries around the world, A year later, Canada’s leading TV current affairs program, The Fifth Estate, featured Juliana in a 12-minute profile. They called her “The hottest new magician around.” That same year, ABC Television featured Juliana in a special called Champions of Magic hosted by Princess Stephanie of Monaco.

At the request of NHK Television, Japan’s public broadcaster, Juliana was invited back to the 2000 World Congress of Magic in Lisbon as a guest performer. Two days later in Buffalo, New York, eleven hundred magicians gave her a standing ovation at the annual convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

In the fall of 2002, Juliana moved to Las Vegas to take her career to the next level. That October, she was awarded the Chavez Memorial Cup. She was recognized for her professional excellence by the Chavez Committee of the Society of American Magicians’ Hall of Fame and Museum in Hollywood. The award was established in the memory of Ben and Marion Chavez founders of the world-famous Chavez Studio of Magic which trained some of the world’s leading magicians.

In the Spring of 2003, Juliana was nominated for Stage Magician Of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood. That summer Juliana was the subject of a four-page cover story in Saturday Night, Canada’s oldest-established magazine. She became the first Canadian magician to be featured on the cover of a national magazine since the late Doug Henning in the mid-seventies.

Since winning the world championship, Juliana’s career has blossomed around the world particularly in Europe, Asia and the USA. She has played traditional variety theatres like the London Palladium and the Princess Grace Theatre in Monte Carlo, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Tiger Palast in Frankfurt, NHK theatre in Japan, and the Berlin Wintergarten.

David Blaine (born David Blaine White on April 4, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American illusionist and stunt performer. He made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic.

David Copperfield (born David Seth Kotkin) is a multi Emmy Award winning, American magician and illusionist best known for his combination of illusions and storytelling. His illusions include making the Statue of Liberty “disappear”, “flying”, “levitating” over the Grand Canyon, and “walking through” the Great Wall of China.

• Place all the cards of one suit in order on top of the deck
• Riffle to finger break under the last card of the suit
• Let volunteer pick a card from the finger break and have them keep the card
• Split deck from the finger break and place the remaining 12 cards from the finger break onto the table
• Turn deck over and cut a third and place it on the table face up
• Turn deck again and place half on the table face down
• Turn deck one more time and place remaining cards on the table face up
• Riffle Shuffle the finger break pile with the first face up pile
• Start with the face up pile and end with the finger break pile
• Spread pile to show that some cards are face up and some face down
• Turn mixed pile upside down and shuffle with the next face down pile
• Turn the pile again and shuffle it with the next and last face up pile
• End the last shuffle with the face up pile
• Turn the deck over again and spread the cards
• Count the cards starting from Ace and when you get the missing card as the volunteer to reveal their card.

Are you interested in adding birds to your act?

I had 2 doves years ago! Magic and Diamond I named them… They travelled with me to South Africa and the price of the tickets,visas,vet fees etc surpassed the original price I paid for the birds.  

However the revelation of a white bird being produced from a black silk – The beauty experienced is priceless.  

On December 15th 2006 I purchased 4 Java Doves to add some fresh animation to the act.  Finding magicians doves definately proved to be a mission.  There are various breeds of dove for example the Ring-Neck and since the Dove is within the Pigeon family their colors and sizes vary.  The Java dove is most suitable for magic due to its smaller size and docile temperament.

 I was initially recommended to seek advice from Scott Penrose  who when I called had just returned from doing some work with the Cirque Du Soliel team.  He recommended Enfield Bird Farm as a good source.  Upon following up this lead I contacted the breeders to find that they had no birds available and they took my contact details! Weeks later I’m still waiting to be contacted.

 I eventually remembered a contact that I had, a pet shop owner in South-East London. I gave a friendly visit and sure enough the following week there were 4 Java Doves in his shop waiting for me!  The price was £40 pounds a pair!  £80 for four birds I felt was reasonable pricing.

So the training begins.

 Sources of information for Dove Care and Training as follows:

Encyclopedia of Dove Magic – Marion Chavez

Shimada Dove DVD

Doves 101 DVD Andy Amyx