Royal Road to Card Magic The

your plans. This is very important for you, because the knowledge that failure is not going to prove a disaster will prevent tenseness, which spoils more forces than any other single factor.
    A final word on the matter of experience. To get experience, make it a practice to attempt to force a card in every trick you perform, whether it calls for a force or not - if, of course, the nature of the trick permits this. In that way you will get invaluable experience and learn the timing of the force, and if you fail in the first few attempts it is a matter of no consequence. You should never, however, force the same card repeatedly simply to show how clever you are, for this is tantamount to revealing a method which you should keep secret.
    One-Hand Force
    Few modern card conjurors use this force, although in some respects it is more convincing than the classic force.
    1. Shuffle the cards, and in doing so take the card to be forced to the middle of the pack, holding a break above it with the left little finger by using the method given in the classic force.
    2. Shift the cards above the break a little more than 6 mm (½ in) to the right, the right hand making this adjustment, so that there is a step between the two packets (figure 115). The topmost card of the packet below the step is the card to be forced.

    3. Take the pack in the left hand and with the right hand spread the cards in a fan, contriving to expose a little more of the surface of the force card than of any other.
    4. Extend the fan and request someone to take a card. Because the force card is more accessible than the others, it is almost invariably taken. Further to assure this, the slightest movement of the left hand to the right or left will place the force card directly under the spectator's fingers as they reach the pack.
    As with the classic pass, the preliminary shuffle makes the force easier, since the spectator believes the cards to have been well mixed, and hence the particular card he removes seems to be of no great importance. However, care must be taken not to expose too much of the force card or the device will be obvious. If it is exposed 6 mm (¼ in) more than the others, this will be sufficient.
    The one-hand force is useful for forcing a number of cards one after the other without closing the fan.
    Bottom Force
    Place the card to be forced at the bottom of the pack and make an overhand shuffle, retaining it there. Follow this shuffle with a false cut or fourth method.
    1. Grasp the deck at the ends with the right fingers and thumb, and place it on the left palm, holding it as for dealing.
    2. Move all the cards, except the bottom force card, forwards 50 mm (2 in) with the right hand.
    3. Pat the outer end with the right fingers, bevelling it inwards from bottom to top until the bottom protruding card is covered (figure 116).

    4. Request someone to remove as many cards from the bottom of the pack as he wishes, and point out that the sloping end makes this possible.
    5. He will remove a number of cards from the bottom, but he cannot remove the bottom force card, which is beyond his grasp. The cards above those he removes drop on to the left palm and on the bottom force card. Immediately square these cards by rapping on the inner end with the right knuckles. Invite the spectator to look at the bottom card 'to which you cut in the fairest possible manner' and have him show it to everyone as you turn your head.
    6. Have him shuffle his packet, then hand him the remaining cards and have him shuffle the whole deck. Knowing the card, you can find it and dispose of it as required for the purpose of the trick in hand.
    Slide-out Force
    The card to be forced is at the bottom of the pack.
    1. Shuffle the pack, running the bottom card to the top and back to the bottom.
    2. Make the key undercut, dropping the lower half of the pack on top, but inserting the tip of the left little finger between the two packets to hold a break. The force card is now the card just above the little fingertip.
    3. Hand a spectator a table knife and ask him to thrust it into the pack as you riffle the cards. Place the right hand over the pack and riffle upwards from the bottom, contriving to have the blade thrust into the outer end below the break.
    4. Tip the outer end of the pack upwards a little, and grasp all the cards above the break at the ends, between the right thumb and middle finger, shifting these cards outwards 25 mm (1 in) beyond the outer end of the pack.
    5.