Hi,

I have a card trick that uses 17 cards cut in half ( 34 half cards). You have two assistants and show the first one all the cards one by one and then you show the other assistant all the cards one by one. They each take their card out and both half’s of the card match.

I have just found a set I made for this and cannot remember exactly how it goes or what it is called.

Does anyone know the name of this trick or how it is done please as I have forgotten and I always liked this?

Many thanks,

Mike

Are the cards "treated" in any special manner?

Maybe it is something akin to Bob Haskell's Half & Half or Split Deck. I THINK Split Deck was Haskell's(sp?) trick.

Julie

Hi, The cards are just cut in half , not treated in any way

What do you mean by "they each take their card out?"

Could it be the trick where the spectator gets to decide whether you deal two cards or switch the two before putting them down?

This sounds like "Half Cut Coincidence" from Paul Daniels Adult Magic, written by Barry Murray. I don't have the book to hand at the moment, but I remember performing it a few times. My memory of it is the same as what you describe. The book is still available on the second hand market. It's a great read and worth buying.

Marty

It's better known as "will the cards match?" Done with 5 cards cut in half. The halfs are divided into two equal piles. Then the spectator is asked to spell the quoted words and shift a card from top to bottom of one pile or the other, their choice. The cards remaining on top of each pile will then match (if the secret is followed in the set up).

Marty is right - it's "Half Cut Coincidence" from Paul Daniels Adult Magic. I read the book recently. In the book he says to uses 17 cards; but it seems to me the exact number doesn't matter.
Also you could do it with whole (uncut) cards if you had matching pairs, but I guess the halves make it more interesting. Another option might be to use a Pinochle deck.

You're correct. The exact number doesn't matter. You can perform the trick with a regular deck of fifty-two cards cut in two. You can also perform "Gemini Twins" by Karl Fulves with the same half-card set as a strong follow-up effect. See the video tutorial from Brian Brushwood (featuring Joe Diamond) for details; note that using ripped cards rather than cut ones actually strengthens the "Gemini Twins" principle.



You could also do this with whole cards, but I think the half-card approach is stronger because of how the two half-cards come together to make a complete card. This is a much more memorable final image to leave your audience with.

However, I have occasionally used the trick with a set of "Snap" cards (the well-known children's game) when I notice some lying around.

Jon Racherbaumer also has a beautiful routine called "In the Pink Sync", built around Larry Becker's "Last Two Cards Match" (better known as "Will the Cards Match"). It was published on his website circa 2000. He later republished it under a different name, "Sync Ho", in his ebook Grifty Business Memes to Quicken (2001). Instead of just five pairs, this routine matches seven half-cards in an increasingly impossible manner. Again, this works well when performed directly after "Half Cut Coincidence".

Finally, perhaps the most impressive and shocking trick using half-cards of this nature is "Split Decision" by Joe Riding and Jerry O'Connell. Jerry used to make a lovely leather case to store the half cards in. Prop Dog revived the trick a few years ago, but it is currently difficult to get hold of, which is a shame. Here's a performance for those interested:



Marty

I liked it!
Cute and very simple to do, but a good mental magic gaggish piece.
Thanks!

Mark

Hi Marty,

This may sound pedantic but as a good mate of Joe's, I just want to put the record straight.

'Spilt Decision' was Joe Riding's trick - it wasn't 'by' Joe AND Jerry O'Connell. All that O'Connell did (as you've alluded to) was to design a case to hold the half cards. He then went on to sell the complete trick - without Joe's permission.

Joe first released 'Split Decision' in 1981, with TV Rights reserved. The only performer that he ever gave the nod to, to use it on TV, was Paul Daniels.

Nothing ever surprised me with O'Connell though. Lest we forget that his popular Card to Wallet design was just basically a complete rip-off of Eric Mason's BETA Wallet.

O'Connell also included a routine within the instructions for his 'No Palm Card to Wallet' that was a complete knock-off of Ken Brooke's marketed effect - David Howarth's 'Absolutely Impossible Wallet'.

No offence as you may not have been aware. However, there are still some of us old farts around with bloody good memories.

Hey Barry,

This isn't pedantic at all. I care that any credits I mention on the Magic Cafe, my blog, or my Ruseletter are correct. I appreciate it when people try to help me correct my mistakes!

I naively believed that "Split Decision" was Jerry's version of Joe's trick. Thanks for putting me straight on this matter. It is sad and disappointing to hear that Jerry was not an ethical magic producer.

Joe was an outstanding magician and performer and deserves credit for his tricks and inventions.

I naively assumed

I have a Split Decision and if I remember correctly, the instructions did credit Joe Riding with the trick. Jerry took credit for the wallet.

Thanks, Wravyn.

Well, that's good to know. I think the real issue, however, was that Jerry didn't have permission from Joe to sell his trick, with or without a wallet. This is a shame because I know the quality of Jerry's products was good.

Marty

I recall the idea from "Smith's Myth" in Hen Fetsch's Five O Fetsch. Correct?