There's a great effect mentioned in "Self-Working Mental Magic" by Karl Fulves. It is called "Money Sense" and is the first effect in the book.

If you have a small group of people gathered (and can check for crooked noses before hand) and pull this off repeatedly, you can call the odds after each success.

(1/2)^n is the standard means of computing the odds for this trick.

Get one right, you've got a 1 in 2 chance. Get two, 1 in 4. Three yields 1 in 8. Etc.

The effect becomes VERY impressive if you can successfully do it 9 or more times in a row.

Of course, this often DEMANDS another "trick" be performed! I go with the neutral-colored pachyderms in Northern Europe schtick after this. That floors 'em!

If you like that one, you might also find one by Dale Hildebrandt interesting. It is called Psychotaps and it's in his ebook titled, "Risk and Reward." You have a person think of a number between 1 and 10. They say nothing. You start tapping your finger on the table as you count, starting at the number one. When you stop tapping, it is at the number that they are only thinking about. Again, nothing is said and nothing is written down. LIke your example, this relies upon a subconscious factors. I won't say more so as not to reveal the secret. This ebook is found at http://www.magic-notes.com
Nicholas

Thanks Nicholas!

I've got to buy that book! Looks like a winner!

Mentalvic,
Also, if you go to this website: Click here!
Darren Brown has several performance video clips. In one, he asks someone to tell him several things about one topic. Three of the things they say are to be then truth. One should be a lie. He tells them which story is the lie. Then, he explains how he does this. Again, it is based upon the mentalist reading the unconscious responses from the participant. You might like checking it out. The other clips are of interest as well.
Nicholas

Mentalvic,
I have tried this for years and have never had much success.

Nicholas,
I bought the ebook and so far have not been impressed.
Perhaps I am not as observant or intuitive as you guys.

When practicing Psychotaps, give yourself an out...perhaps using a NW. Then, run through the entire set, tapping 1-10. If you don't get an impression, try again. It's ok if it takes some doing. After all, real mindreading really does take some doing! If you still can't pick up on any response, just turn it into a written prediction, etc. That way, you can practice without having to worry about blowing it. The fact that you used this odd tapping procedure to pick up on a mental impression is just as valid as anything else you might do to "tune in." Also, I'll just mention that to do this, you need to really externalize your conscious awareness. A number of years ago, when I got into hypnosis, I came to realize how internally aware I was most of the time...and particularly during performances. There was a time when, just about the only thing I was aware of (in terms of the audience) was whether or not they clapped at the end of a piece. I mention this because, even now, I must always work at being externally directed...and to pick up on every nuiance...how the audience is reacting to every word...and pause...and implication or body language. With items like those mentioned above, it is particularly critical to be externally focused. I just mention this because it was something that made a big difference for me...yet...I don't hear it discussed as a performance factor that much.
Nicholas

I've got Mark Jenest's "Magicard" and that's got 3 possible mentalism effects on it. Fits in your wallet so you can't pack flatter than that. Great thing to have on you.

Hello,

This is something that can take a lot of practice to develop. Once you have the skill, it still won't always work. For me, it tends to work more often than not now that I've done it for quite a few people.

Remember to not tell the person what you are about to do before the effect or how it works or else you will make it that much more difficult on yourself.

What you are looking for when doing this effect can be very hard to detect without a lot of sensory awareness. This means paying more attention to the person in front of you and not paying as much attention to hoping the effect works.

Remember, if a horse can do something like this, you can do this with enough practice!

Sincerely,
Dale A. Hildebrandt

P.S. If you have any specific questions about any routine in the book, feel free to PM me or to email me and I will do my best to help you. (If the question is too general, I will assume that you don't own the book and are looking for a free hand-out, but SPECIFIC questions I will do my best to answer). Thank you.

Hi Dale,
Thanks.
I will PM you with my questions.

I nice instant mentalism effect can be found in The Art Of Astonishment set by Paul Harris. I believe its called "Nudist" it involves a series of magicians forces and a clever first line.It has worked well for me.