Royal Road to Card Magic The

sequence, though they may affect its starting point.
    When the chosen card was replaced in the pack, it was not placed at the point from which it was taken; therefore, in order to find it, look for one card of that suit which is out of sequence. Let us say that you find that the diamonds run in the following order:
    4 - 5 - 6 - K - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - J - Q - A - 2 - 3
    The chosen card is the king, the only card out of sequence.
    7. Remove the king and place it face downwards on the table. Rub it gently with the tip of your right second finger and have the selected card named. Turn the card face upwards showing that you have the correct card.
    This perplexing feat may also be performed with the pack in hand. With the diamond sequence at the centre, spread the cards and have one removed, making certain that it is taken from among the diamonds, an easy enough matter. Have it replaced at a point other than that from which it was taken. The rest follows as in the out-of-hand method.
    Mirror of the Mind
    This is another method of performing the preceding effect, but here the necessary preparation is made more quickly. The method is not so clean-cut, but we give it as an alternative procedure.
    1. Place the thirteen cards of one suit, say, hearts, in any order on top of the pack. Note and remember the top card, which we shall assume is the six of hearts.
    2. Take the cards out of the case and make the overhand shuffle control, retaining top stock, thus retaining the hearts on the top of the pack.
    3. Hand the deck to a spectator, turn your back and move away a pace or two. Request him to deal any small number of cards, from one to twelve, face downwards on the table, urging him to do this silently so that you cannot count the cards dealt. When he has done this, tell him to look at and remember the next card and replace it on the cards he still holds, then pick up the packet of dealt cards and place it on top of all. The bottom card of this packet is your key card, the six of hearts, the first card dealt, and it is now directly above the chosen card.
    4. As in the preceding feat, have the pack riffle shuffled twice, with a completed cut after each shuffle.
    5. Take the pack and spread the cards face upwards on the table from left to right. Have the spectator grasp your wrist, then pass your hand over the line of cards from end to end, urging him to concentrate upon his card. When you see your key card, the six of hearts, look for the next heart to its right. This will be the chosen card. Move your hand away from this card and then abruptly, as though drawn by a strong magnetism, place your forefinger upon it and push it out from the spread.
    Ultra Card Divination
    There is a fascination in the thought that the future can be foretold. This trick capitalises on this interest in divination, but is actually purely mathematical. You write down the name of a card on a slip of paper and place it to one side. A card is selected and this is the one you prophesied.
    1. Borrow a pack of cards and, holding it face upwards, count the cards into your right hand, reversing their order in the count, under pretence of making sure that it is a full deck. Note the thirty-fourth card and remember it, because this card which will be thirty-fourth from the top of the pack after the count, is the one you will 'predict'.
    2. Take a slip of paper and on it write the name of the thirty-fourth card. After writing the prediction, fold the slip twice and then stand it on the edges with the pencil underneath it (figure 19).

    3. Cut off about half the pack, but not more than twenty-six cards, and have these shuffled and spread face downwards on the table.
    4. Address a spectator, saying, 'Kindly push a card out of the spread.' When he has done so, have a second and third spectator also push out a card. Gather the rest of the cards and replace them on the pack.
    5. Hand the deck to yet another spectator and have him turn the first of the three cards face upwards. Instruct him to deal as many cards below it, face downwards, as may be needed to bring its value to ten. For example, if the card is a 7, he will deal three cards. If a 2, he will deal eight cards. But if the card is a court card it is arbitrarily called a 10, and in this case no cards are dealt because none is needed.
    6. Have the same done with the other two cards.
    7. Now tell the spectator to add the values of the three cards which were selected and deal that number of cards from the pack and