As Valenine's day nears, I was thinking of an Invisible Deck routine that had the woman of the couple pick a card from a regular deck, while the male picked one from the invisible (true love indicator?) deck.
In the end the male, (lets face it, we need all the help we can get) has chosen the same card in the ID that his sweetie picked indicating a true connection heart and soul.

Just check to make sure they're not brother and sister first.

Unless you're perfoming in Arkansas.

Matt

I love a lot of the thinking that is going on here so I'll throw in my two cents... but I want change back.

I've taught this subtlety when using the Invisible Deck to do it a second time on the same person. First, DON'T have him call out a card and then immediately fan out the deck again to show the card reversed... that will only prove that the deck does the work. So before you do it a second time pretend to do something to the deck as if you are preparing another card to be predicted.

Okay, now for the subtlety: If you still do the Invisible deck theme the second time, what you would do is ask him to name the card he is thinking of... let's say he says, "3 of Clubs". You now say, "Okay, so we can find it easier this time, let's put your 3 of Clubs upside down next to the 10 of diamonds". Well, for those that are following along, when you fan out the cards the face down card will be next to the 10 of diamonds and it all happened when you both were apparently playing with an invisible deck.

I'm sure those that own the deck will understand how this subtlety works without further explanation.

Have fun.
Greg Arce

BTW, guys-
I've added a marked deck to the routine, so the card is never named. Also, it is never seen, until the final moment that both cards are revealed. The reactions that I get from this, are way too good. This is why we do magic. It may not work for y'all, but I love this routine, SOOOO much.

Bob King invented a great new effect called New Wave Prediction. It's an invisible deck type of an effect where the spectator never has to name his card. Of course the spectator has to do something, but considering by the end of the effect, the prediction appears to have been made in advance, it goes over like real mind reading. They'll forget they did anything. Check out the slightly overpromising description at, I believe, Hank Lee.

I wrote about this idea in another thread, as I think these strings of posts are called:
"Double Invisible"--From the first deck that can't be seen take the card the spectator picks andf put it in your wallet or checkbook. Then do the regular ID routine. In the end pull the (now visible) card out and put it "back" into the first (now visible) deck. For the other deck I use airline cards or cards with special backs to seal the idea in all of our minds that the card is going back into it's original home.
--alan

OK then. What about an entire routine based on invisible things?

Worth checking out is a routine which appears on the Dessert Brainstorm video with an invisible deck.
Briefly, a card is selected and reversed in the pack and held by one spectator, a second spectator is given a pad and pen and draws the image of a thought of playing card. The face down card is removed from the pack and matches the drawing.
My explanation doesn't do it justice ... so go and buy the video! (I think a version of it appears somewhere in Mind Myth and Magic???)

Regards

Steven King

Great ideas! I like to use routines where a spec selects a card from a real deck, then I match it with the ID.

The impact of Steven King's idea above just hit me. It is absolutely wonderful.
If I am imagining it right, though, first a card is reversed and replaced in the deck by a spectator without looking at the face; then the picture is drawn; only then do we see that they match.
This is really cool.

Another thing to keep in mind about the invisible deck is that any card can be shown to be MISSING. This provides other applications...

--alan

It's worth buying the Dessert Brainstorm Series of videos for that one much overlooked effect. In fact in someways I'm glad its overlooked ... leaves the good stuff for me!!

Its a gem Alan!

Regards

Steven King
http://www.steven-king.co.uk

I've been tinkering with a similar effect to Matt and Steven's...different delivery:

I give a brief description of the Schrodinger's cat problem (enough to suit the purpose of the trick, anyway), and fault Schrodinger's theoretical experiment with the point that the cat inside the box would be able to observe at least one of the states, so Schrodinger's illustration of superposition is flawed. The only way to perform the experiment is to use inanimate objects.

I ask a spectator to pick a card without looking at the face (to preserve the integrety of the "experiment") and place it back into the deck. I shuffle the deck. I tell the spectator that since no one knows which card has been picked, that there is a great probability that the card could be any one of the 52 cards in a standard poker deck and a minute possibility that it may not (an obvious red herring to the conclusion), and that it exists as all those possibilities until it is observed.

I set the deck aside and ask another spectator to join us. As I pick up the deck, I mention that at some point, there is a good probability that someone will observe the chosen card. I also state that it makes absolutely no difference what order the events of this experiment take place since the second spectator knows, at some point in time, which card is eventually revealed. I ask her to name the card that the first spectator chose. Once she says the name of the card, the ID is picked up, and the card is revealed, matching her "revelation."

The beauty of using "probability" patter is that it makes everything seem logical until a split second after they actually see the card the second spectator chose. It also doesn't hurt that the conclusion of the trick is not obvious to the audience until the last minute.

Any suggestions for making it better?

Triple Coincidence? (Using the I.D.)
Here is an idea I have used and gets great results.

There is a mathematical effect wherein 2 people each have a deck of cards. One Blue, one Red. Each person shuffles the deck thoroughly. The patter is about ‘when the stars are in alignment and that my birth-sign is in the international house of pancakes etc., then this may just work’. All the time the I.D. is laying on the table wrapped in a sandwich bag with rubber bands around it and a post note saying "Prediction" written on it.

Both spectators shuffle their decks (no jokers) and then, holding the decks in dealing position, start dealing them face up one at a time together. (so that the cards are exposed face up on the table together). I don't know how or why this works but you will get a match of two identical cards. (sometimes not, and the cards are re-shuffled)

The second time you will get a match or sometimes you will get two perfect matches. When you get two or even three, have them decide on which card they want. When decided, leave the 2 matching cards on the table and then remove the I.D. from the plastic sandwich bag and show the 3rd perfect match.

This is very strong....
Try it...
(P.S. I still don't know what makes the cards match)
enjoy.
Marien Hopman..ala..Magicdog...

Magicdog's 2-deck coincidence idea is very nice, but could take a while.

What if you said the first time the suit matches it would be the suit to use, and the first time the value matches, that would be the value to use... mathmatically this should happen fairly quickly but still be random.

Ok, got a question for you all.

I saw a magician perform an invisible deck routine in a very odd way!! He had a spectator on stage randomly think of a card, say.. the 10 of diamonds. Then he removed a new deck of playing cards from a brown paper bag, still in the plastic wrap and tossed it to another member of the audience.

When the new deck was opened, by the audience member, the audience member fanned through the cards to reveal the 10 of diamonds the only card face down in the deck!!!

The deck was not gaffed. I was watching from below and the audience member was a friend of mine, so I know he was not a stooge.

Anyone heard of this? I am stumped on the method. Great trick though!!

Later
Tom

The trick Steven is referring to is Christopher Caldwell's "Auto Brainstorm" on Vol. 3 of the Desert Brainstorm series. Steven's right - it's great!

The variation in MMM that he mentioned is "Automanticard" (page 214).

When I first started using ID, I was stressing because my brain wasn't working quickly enough for me to perform smoothly, so I started using a whole different story line that gave me more time; now I just use it because I like it. I take the ID and hold it upright in the palm of the spec, holding it by the top of the pack (in the box, obviously). I ask the spec to imagine they have x-ray vision, and can see through the deck to any card they choose. I get them to tell me the card. I do some back and forth, emphasizing the "visual" nature of what they are doing (i.e., "you see that the card is red, the number three in each corner, the hearts running down the middle"). Once they have confirmed that they can clearly see the card of their choice, I tell them to imagine that their vision can not only see the card, but can "grip" the card like a tractor beam. I tell them that I'm going to turn all the other cards around, but they will hold their one card in place as it passes through all the others. I do a little vocal sound effect as I slowly turn the deck 180 degrees, finally "snapping" it in place reversed from its original orientation. I say, "now if we did this right, the three of hearts should be the only card reversed in the deck, right?" All that remains is the revelation. I have been pleased with this approach...what do you think?

Here is a thread about that principle.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......9&60

I think it is not wise to have spectator select one pair in case two or more pairs match. Just stop dealing and proceed to show third match.

Hideo Kato

Here is my routine.

I bring out the deck, and place it on top of a glass, or have someone put it in their pocket, or just place it on the table. Then I start by asking the audience if they've noticed that card effects seem to all start out the same, a card is chosen, placed back in the deck, shuffled, etc. Doesn't it make more sense if I were to take out a single card first, lay it face down on the table as a prediction before anyone chooses a card? As I say this, I pull out a single, opposite colored back card from my pocket, and lay it on the table. Now I milk it for all it's worth. Have a spectator put their finger on the card. Wouldn't everyone agree that this would be the fairest conditions? Then I have a spectator name any card. Once again I milk it, making sure they have a totally free choice, the ability to change their mind, etc. etc. Then I ask them to name their thought of card.

Turning the card over, it is the gaff card with all 52 cards printed on the face, which always gets a laugh. Then, of course, turn attention to the ID deck that was in full view during the effect and reveal their card.

This routine always has a strong impact. It dispenses with the akwardness of asking the spectator to name their card first, as your prediction card is on the table. Also, when spectators think back, they seem to forget the gaffed card joke, and only remember you putting a single card on the table, them naming any card, and turning it over and it matching.

Jason

Although I was not impressed when I read MR2Guy's post first the time, I found it was a good use of 52 cards when I tried it.

A joke with 52 cards relaxes spectators' guard, and make the reverse in ID more powerful.

I also reconfirmed Maigc is to control spectators' mind to have them feel samll things bigger.

Thanks for the inspiration. I will try this strategy for other tricks.

Hideo Kato

P.S.
I recently started to think Magic is like Hypnotism. If audience is under magician's control, he can impress a trick more effectively.

Thanks Hideo

You are right, it kinda looks bland on paper, but I've been doing the routine for years, and it's a worker's effect, and I wrestled with sharing it, but this forum is so positive, what the heck.

One note if you are going to use this, after revealing the single 52 card gaff, you must immediately pull the spectator's attention on the ID, to them, the trick is over, and was just a joke. As in all effects, timing is crutial.

Jason