Royal Road to Card Magic The

pulling off a small packet into your left hand, then lift your right hand, bring its packet to a vertical position with the bottom card facing the audience squarely. Lower the right hand, continue the shuffle by pulling off a few more small packets from the top, and again lift the right-hand packet, showing the five of hearts. Repeat the same motions until only the five of hearts remains in the right hand. Drop it on top of the packet, square the cards, and palm it in your right hand.
    8. Pick up the second packet by drawing it back towards yourself, and in the action add the palmed card to the top. The second person's card is on the bottom of this packet, and you show apparently that all these cards are jacks of clubs by using the moves detailed in step 7, with the following difference. In the first movement, draw off the top card only - the five of hearts - into the left hand, so that when the action is completed it will be the bottom card of the packet. When you have apparently shown that all the cards are jacks of clubs, drop the jack on top of the packet as in step 7. Square the packet and palm the jack in your right hand, placing the rest of the cards on the table.
    9. Pick up the first packet with your right hand, adding the palmed jack of clubs. Force it on the first spectator by means of the lift shuffle force. 'These cards are all five of hearts,' you say. 'Take one and put it face down on the table.'
    10. Put the packet down, take the second packet, shuffle the five of hearts to the top, and force it on the second spectator by the backslip force. He places it face downwards on the table before him.
    11. The trick is done. It only remains to bring out the climax as strongly as possible. On turning their cards face upwards, each spectator finds he has the other man's card. Then with a flourish you spread each packet face upwards, ribbonwise, and all the cards are seen to be different, making up a regular deck.
    Ewephindit
    Suitable for close-up and impromptu work, this fast revelation of a chosen card has a spectator locating his own card without knowing how he did it.
    1. Have a card drawn, noted and returned to the pack, bringing it to the top by means of the Hindu shuffle.
    2. Overhand shuffle, taking the card to the bottom.
    3. Spread the cards, remove one at random and hand it face upwards to the spectator, saying, 'That's not your card, is it? It's not? Good, then we'll use it for the trick.'
    4. Spread the cards in a fan between your hands, in readiness for the sliding key move, drawing the chosen card under the fan with the right fingers. 'Kindly push that card into the pack, face upwards, anywhere you like.'
    5. When the card has been inserted in the spread, place the chosen card above it as you would if you were placing a sliding key card above a chosen card.
    6. Square the pack, saying, 'There is only one chance in fifty-one that you placed the marker card next to your chosen card.' Run through the cards until you come to the face-up card. Turn the card above it, showing the chosen card. 'And that's exactly what you did!'

CHAPTER 16

The Force

    Forcing a card is the act of making a spectator remove from the pack a card that you wish him to take, although he believes that he has a free choice.
    The Classic Force
    Of all the methods evolved for accomplishing this, the classic force is the oldest and still the best. In this method you spread the deck and invite someone to draw a card. You place the card you want him to take under his fingers at the moment they touch the pack. He removes this card, confident that his choice has not been influenced.
    1. Let us say that you wish to force the ace of hearts and this is at the top of the pack. Give the cards an overhand shuffle, taking the card to the bottom and back to the top.
    2. Next take the force card to the middle of the pack in the following way. Give the pack another overhand shuffle by undercutting the lower half, injogging the first card and shuffling it off. Turn the left hand so that the pack is horizontal, with the backs of the cards uppermost. Place the right hand over the pack, with fingers at the outer end and the thumb at the inner end. Place the tip of the thumb under the inner edge of the injogged card, pressing it upwards and inwards, so that when it is pushed flush with the pack there will be a small break under it and above the card to be forced. Hold this break with the right thumb, then shift the left hand so that it holds the