Royal Road to Card Magic The

at the sides near the inner corners.
    2. Let the packet remaining in your left hand fall on to the palm and extend that hand for the replacement of the chosen card on top.
    3. Immediately drop the right-hand packet on it and square the deck very openly, thus placing your key card above the chosen card (figure 48). Be careful to hold the right-hand packet face downwards and do not glance at it. Some performers take a glimpse of the bottom card at this time, but this is a very bad practice widely open to detection.

    Key Undercut Shuffle
    The purpose of this shuffle is to mix the cards without separating the key card from the card that it keys. It should be used after the key undercut whenever possible.
    Lift the whole pack and freely shuffle off about one-third of the cards, let another third of the cards fall in a block and then shuffle the remaining cards freely. Thus the two cards at the centre must remain together.
    A genuine overhand shuffle is not likely to separate the cards, but the above method makes their juxtaposition a certainty.
    TRICKS WITH THE KEY CARD
    Do As I Do
    There are some good tricks that stand head and shoulders above others and the following is just such a trick. It has everything a good trick should have - a good plot, ease of execution and a terrific impact on those who see it. We have mentioned that the wise magician never reveals his or her methods to the curious, and in describing this trick we reiterate this counsel, because once you have told how simple the trick is, you have lost the use of a superb feat of card magic.
    This is the plot. A spectator thinks of a card and you think of one. You each show the card of your choice. They are the same!
    1. You will need two packs, with backs of contrasting colours, say red and blue. Invite a spectator to choose one of the two packs. You take the other and shuffle it. 'I want you to do everything I do. Please shuffle your cards.' Turn your pack with the face towards yourself a little as you square it after shuffling, and remember the bottom card as your key card.
    2. Hand the spectator your pack and take his. 'I'll take your pack and you take mine,' you say. Ribbon-spread your cards face downwards on the table from right to left and instruct him to do the same with his cards.
    3. 'Remember, you must do everything I do. First of all, each of us will take a card from his pack. You will take one from the pack that I shuffled, hence you cannot possibly know beforehand which one you will take. Similarly, I will take one from the pack that you shuffled, and I therefore cannot know which one I shall get.' Run your right index finger back and forth over your line of cards and insist that he duplicate your actions exactly. After a moment, touch a card in the centre of the spread and have him touch one in his spread. 'Take out the card you touched, look at it, but don't let anyone else see it,' you say. You say this because you do not want any of the others standing around to see the card you draw. Look at it but forget it, for it plays no part in the trick.
    4. Place your card face downwards at the left end of your spread of cards and have him do the same with his cards. Gather your cards without disarranging them and have him do the same. Make one complete cut; this places the key card that you noted in step 1 above his chosen card.
    5. 'Let's exchange packs again,' you say, taking his pack and giving him yours. 'Now I'll find my card while you find yours.' Run through the pack you now hold until you come to your key card, then take the card below it and place it face downwards on the table. Try to have your card placed on the table before he finds his card.
    6. When he removes his card, have him place it face downwards on your card, but at right angles. Take the rest of his cards and place them at right angles on your pack, both groups of cards facing downwards. Do this deliberately and neatly, adjusting the cards until you are satisfied that they are placed exactly as you want them. This is window dressing, but it is important.
    Now recapitulate what has been done. 'You will remember that you did exactly as I did. You shuffled my pack and I shuffled yours. We each took a card and remembered it. I have placed my card on the table and so have you. Would you be surprised if we both took the same card?'
    7. The spectator admits that he would indeed be surprised. Do not say anything further, but slowly pick up the two crossed cards and drop them face