Hello.

Could someone describe this effect to me exactly as the audience sees it, and possibly give me a reference for where to find it? I have seen it referenced on these forums before and am somewhat interested.

Cheers.

You'll will find it on page 27 of Self-Working Close-Up Card Magic: 56 Foolproof Tricks
by Karl Fulves.

Paul

Sorry, I forgot to describe the effect. Basically, the spectator chooses a number and finds the card at that position of the deck, which is then cut. The magician then picks up the cards, scans the faces for a moment to memorize the order of the cards. Placing the cards down, he asks the spectator the name of the card, which he is able to instantly reveal its new position from the top. After this is verified, he then asks the spectator for his original number, which he tells the name of the card now occupying that position.

Paul

Thank you.

If you type in Self-Working Close-Up Card Magic "memory expert" and search in Google books you will find preview of the book and in it this very routine (and few others).
Note that this is completely legal, Google offers this kind of preview for any book, and you only get to see few pages of the book, should you wish to buy it. Btw, this book has some real gems and I recommend buying it!

Memory Expert effect is not bad, but this kind of effect has a big drawback, at least for me. If you claim to have such an impossible ability like memorizing deck of cards some people WILL challenge you and ask you to repeat it. There are MUCH stronger items in the book then this one, IMO.

Thank you Picard, you saved me $6.95! (Though strangely, one was going for $55.54 on amazon) - But anyway. I was only really after the book for that routine so until another reason presents itself I think I will leave it.

As for the effect, I think it suits me perfectly so I'm gonna try it out on a few friends!

Cheers again mate.

I'm glad you liked it. I've been going through the book again lately after a long time and I'm amazed how I missed some effects when I read it for the first time. I am only half-way through and have found 3 effects that I instantly added to my repertoire. (and it happens rarely that I add new stuff because I already know and do lots of different effects)

Anyway, regarding Memory Expert, those few times I performed it (quite some time ago) it has gone well. But as I said, since the premise is you memorizing the whole deck you can expect to be challenged to repeat it or to do something else to prove your claim. Depends largely on who you perform too, but friends will usually always ask for a repeat. So my suggestion would be not to over-emphasize that you are memorizing the deck and also to pretend that it's really difficult for you before you are about to reveal a number where there card lies. Act a bit weak and insecure about your success and they won't feel the need to challenge you. If you act super confidently and just do it automatically like it's the easiest thing in the world you can expect to be challenged much more often then not, and asked for a repeat. Of course you will never repeat it but it will lessen the effect.

Thanks for the advice man. To be honest, since this is the sort of effect in which the outcome is thoroughly plausible (however difficult it may seem, it is completely believable compared to any effects which openly employ 'conjuring' and sleight of hand) I feel that selling it will be the main part of performance to eliminate the spectators feeling like they need to see it again and again, so yes - I feel the same way.

As well as this is the fact that when one slows down and really takes time with a routine it has a double advantage. The first is that it actually has more impact as you have more time to build the tension and set the scene properly beforehand, and secondly it means that if the routine has lasted double as long they're less likely to push to see it again.

Peace.