The spectator writes a piece of personal information on a random playing card which is then shuffled and lost in the deck. The deck deck is spread spread toward towards s the spectat spectator or and they they confirm their card is indeed lost somewhere in the deck, which is then closed and placed face down onto the table. And yet, you will always be able to peek what was written, in the fairest manner possible. Thanks to the structure and psychology of this peek you will ill always be in a posi osition to be able to obtain the inform informati ation on effort effortle lessl ssly, y, withou withoutt any any out of place place moves moves and with zero heat on the moment. It literally takes a few seconds and all of the moves look and feel exactly how they would if you were in fact, doing nothing! Their is no rush or pressure to get your peek as you will be doing it right in front of your spectators but thanks to the psychology it will be hidden in plain sight! This really is as clean clean and simplified as as it sounds. Any deck, Any time, gimmicks! "til "tiliz ize e a full full peek peek of the the play playin ing g card card to easi easily ly obta obtain in name names, s, word words, s, star star sign signs s and and draw drawin ings gs ma made de by your your spectator spectator as well as multiple multiple pieces of informatio information n # at the same time! $raser will also teach his %ustification for a use of a deck of cards in performances of &entalism. This is different to what what $raser has released released in the past.
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It re'uires a beginner level knowledge of basic sleight of hand. The following is my solution to obtaining a peek, in the fairest manner possible.
The (ragon )eek I wan wanted to be able ble to pee peek info inform rma ation tion writ writtten on a playing card, effor fortlessly and without any seeming ing compromise. I didn*t like the fact you would usually need to create a %ustification for the moment you peek that was separate from the move itself, when utilizing other peek methods that use playing cards and business cards. I wanted a way to peek the information efficiently and then to never have to return back to the stack of cards for any reason # such as taking out another card from the stack for you to write your reveal. I wanted to have the choice to reveal the information verbally and to even use this peek in a pre+show capacity if I so desired. I imagined the perfect solution. The spectator writes on a card and places their card face down on the table and you now know the information. f course, this is practically imposs impossibl ible. e. The next next step step away away from from this this ultima ultimate te peek peek would be to have the spectator return their card to the deck of cards, it to be shuffled and lost in the deck and without any out of place moves or strange compromise be able to easily peek the information. The first attempt at this was published as a bonus pdf to my now now out out of print print limi limite ted d book book The Book Of Angels . It was was a nice nice bold bold way way of read readin ing g the the spec specta tato tor* r*s s writ writte ten n info inforrma mati tion on in pla plain sigh sightt, with withou outt seemi eemin ngly gly doin oing
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anything tricky. This was not perfect and was very bold but I found I was able to get away with it. I even tried to create the ultimate peek with playing cards by making a gimmick I believe believe is original to myself # I split the face of a playing card and used spay adhesive to stick it to acetate cut to the same size and shape as the playing card. This allowed you to control the spectator*s written on car card secon econd d to botto ottom m of the the deck eck of cards, rds, with with the the gimmick on the face of the deck and due to the slightly transparent nature of the face card, you would be able to see see thro throug ugh h the the bott bottom om card card of the the deck deck at what what was was written on the card underneath. ou would obtain your peek in the process of placing the deck away in the box, face up whilst allowing the spectators to see the indifferent card on the bottom of the deck briefly, as indirect proof their card was truly lost in the deck. This method was eventually abandoned in favour of what you are about to read due to the fact, the following uses a normal deck and uses psychology to make it work instead of a fake card that has to be added and removed from the deck during the course of a performance. The un+gimmicked version in my opinion, is much more elegant a method and because it can be performed with such ease, why wouldn*t you do it this way Thanks to the way it is structured and the psychology at play, it looks and feels natural as well as being entirely fooling. The easiest way to teach this procedure is to explain it in order and break down each of the moves as I go.
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$irst of all we have a deck of normal playing cards with the okers still left in the deck /this is not essential as you will see but is how I personally use it0. I turn the deck towards myself and spread through the cards until I find one of the okers and then casually cut the deck at this point, so that the oker and all of the cards below are cut to the face of the deck. I do this under the pretence of looking for a card that the spectator can write on. I now cut half of the deck fro from the face and spread through this half of the deck face up, until I find a card with a blank middle section, such as the 1 of hearts or 2 of clubs. ou can use other red playing cards such as the 3 of hear hearts ts if you you begi begin n to run run out out of avail vailab able le card cards s after fter performing this multiple times during a performance. The important important factor is you will be able to easily read whatever whatever the spectator writes in black 4harpie marker, in a moment. The other half of the deck is discarded to the side of your performance space. ou will only be using the half deck with the oker already on its face. The reason for this is to make the handling easier as well as allowing you to end clean after the peek /more on this later0. The spectator will not find the use of half of the deck odd as it serves the same purpose as would using the full deck. I take this card out of the deck and hand it to the spectator, directing them to write their thought clearly in the middle of the card, as I table the half deck in my hand face down, on the table in front of myself. 5et*s say they are thinking of the name of someone close to them I would say the following.
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“I will look away, just write the first name of this person in the the middle of the card card and then place place the card face down down on top of the packet (pointing (pointing to the half deck on the table containing containing the oker on it its s face!"# If you prefer you can give additional instructions for the spe specta ctator tor to wri write the the name large arge and bol bold with with the the %ustification that we may need to look at it later on as proof that you were able to pick up on the correct thought. I find I can usually read their writing without this stipulation due to the the fact fact the the thic thicke kerr ma mark rker er will will forc force e them them to writ write e slightly larger and neater than usual as well as the fact ther there e is no pres pressu sure re when when it come comes s to peek peekin ing g whic which h means you will be able to take a few seconds to ensure you can easily read their writing. ou look away as they write on their card and only look back once they confirm the card has been returned to the top of the half deck /which I will now refer to as the deck0. I pick up the deck from the table and begin to shuffle the deck with my head turned slightly away from the deck, as I say the following.
“Okay, so we need to lose your card card somewhere in the deck $" The reason for turning your head away slightly is to indir indirect ectly ly sugges suggestt you can*t can*t someho somehow w look look at their their card card face during your shuffle. f course, this is a false shuffle. I perform the shuffle in the following specific way in order to place their thought of card fifth card from the top of the deck, whilst whilst at the same time retaining the oker on the bottom of the deck. 5
verhand $alse shuffle I perform an overhand false shuffle retaining top stock, running two cards before the %og and cutting the remainder of the cards below the %ogged card, whilst at the same time holding the oker on the face of the deck with the friction of my third, fourth and fifth fingers, as they stay in contact with the bottom card. I then repeat the above moves running another two cards in the process. This causes their written on card to be placed fifth from the top of the deck with the oker still on the bottom. This for all intense and purposes, looks exactly like you are casually shuffling the deck in a standard overhand and natural manner. The sloppier you can make this shuffle look the better. I perso erson nall ally, act as if I am not very ery good good at handli dling play playin ing g cards rds, thr through oughou outt my per perfor forma man nce and and thi this indirectly suggests I also couldn*t be using anything akin to sleight of hand to make what I do work. I now say the following as I lift the deck faces towards the spectator.
“I want you to just conf conf irm your card card really is in the deck but don%t gi&e away where it is"# This last line ensures the spectator doesn*t verbalize when they see their card, in a moment and in doing so, make it obvious where their card is within the spread. I begin to spread the cards through my hands from the face card towards the top of the deck. Thanks must go to 6
my good friend 6avi &ayar for suggesting spreading the deck this way, as opposed from the top towards the bottom of the deck. It is it better this way psychologically, due to the fact the spectator will see their card after already seeing a lot of indifferent cards and this will suggest their card really is lost somewhere in the deck, as opposed to it being too obviously resisted at the start of the spread, as only being four or five cards from the top. ot only is it better for this rea reason, on, spr spreadi eadin ng the the deck eck this this way also also ma mak kes the handling of the subse'uent control of their card easier to perform, as well as practically automatic due to the fact you will already be set up in the natural natural position to execute the sleight, after you have spread through the entire deck. I spread a few cards from the face and then point with my left hand at the face card, sight unseen, as I remark7
“'ou%re card doesn%t doesn%t happen to to be on the bottom of the deck, does it" The spectator will now reply with a 8no9 whilst at the same time subconsciously memorizing the card on the bottom of the deck. :hat is nice about asking this 'uestion is it seems off the cuff and as if you are simply making sure you won*t be able to see their card easily but have also caused the spectator to memorize this card in an indirect fashion. This will be important later on but for now we will continue. I continue to spread the deck, faces towards the spectator slowly, as if meaning to deliberately show a portion of the face of each card as I spread. I go through the entire deck in this fashion taking note of where the fifth card falls in
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the spread. ;ere I finalise the spread of the deck by further spre spread adin ing g the the top five five card cards s even evenly ly betw betwee een n my hand hands, s, whilst naturally and secretly allowing my fingers to get into the correct position to perform a )of*inser spread cull , in a moment. ;ere your right second, third and fourth fingers will gently rest on the bottom right edge of the force card, at the bottom corner in the spread whilst, your left thumb rests on top of the card directly above their force card, which is to the right of the force card in the spread. This is an extremely easy move to perform and will fly by completely unnoticed by those watching you perform. In fact, with these finger positions, I have found the move is practically self working. I say the following to the spectator as I bring my hands down towards the table and at the same time perform the )of*inser spread cull .
“+o you%re card is somewhere in the deck"# This 'uestion acts as a form of misdirection and cover for the move due to the fact, the spectator has to think about their answer and will naturally look at you in the eye at the same moment you ask this 'uestion and perform the move, meaning they will have no chance at catching the move. I do this as an additional safety net but don*t feel it is even necessary as the cull is so deceptive I feel you could do it whilst being burnt and still get away with it. aturally, the rest of the audience if performing for a group will also look at you or the spectator whilst you ask this 'uestion as this is the natural flow of attention, at this point in the routine.
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(ue to the fact, they are answering this 'uestion based on the facts they have %ust witnessed with their own eyes they will confirm a reality that will in fact, be incorrect, after the move /unnoticed by those watching your performance0 has been been per perfor formed med. This his will will con confir firm to the rest of the audience the spectator*s card is well and truly lost at some random position in the deck. As I look at the spectator and ask this 'uestion I simply perform the )of*inser spread )of*inser spread cull , as follows. I allow the larger action of moving my hands from a spread deck position cards spread towards the spectator%s face to to a lower, lower, closed closed deck deck positi position on nearer waist height and held parallel to the table to cove coverr the the smal smalle lerr actio ction n of the the sleight. As I am mid+way through the previous larger movement I simply move my third, fourth and fifth fingers to the right
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This is a beautiful position position to be in. The seemingly innocent 'uestion also helps to psychologically cancel out any shifting of the position of the the car cards, ds, incl inclu udin ding the writt ritten en on card, rd, even even bei being possible. ou will now be in a position where the spectator*s written on card is actually on the face of the deck, even though everyone watching will believe it is still lost somewhere in the deck. If you prefe preferr not to have to perform perform the )of*inser spread cull /although I would recommend you do so0, you could always %ust dead cut the cards towards the right of the spread including the force card to the bottom of the deck as you close up the deck and allow the misdirection of your 'uestion and the larger movement towards your waist to cover the move. I will leave it to you to decided what you can get a way with. This is where the previous use of indirection, in order for the the spec specta tato torr to with withou outt reali ealizi zin ng they they are doi doing so, so, remember the bottom card of the deck, comes into play and the psychology of the routine comes full f ull circle. It is the structure that makes this so deceptive. Thanks to what has come before, you are now in the perfect to position to peek their card without any heat on the moment, whatsoever.
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I now simply lift the deck from the table, gripping it on its long long edge edges s whil whilst st keepi keeping ng it in a lands landsca cape pe orient orientat atio ion, n, towards myself # # as if checking the bottom card is not their card yourself and in the process, secretly peek the entirety of their card as you miscall the actual card on the face of the deck.
“+o the card on the bottom is $ the oker "# ;ere it is important to wait until you can see the face of the bottom card before miscalling the oker to stay congruent to the fact, you are not supposed to know the identity of the bottom card. I then turn the deck down and leave it face down on the table as I finish my previous statement.
“ so you are happy you%re you%re card is safely safely hidden from &iew, somewhere in the deck"# They will answer in the affirmative, as everything from thei theirr pers perspe pect ctiv ive e will will appe appear ar comp comple lete tely ly fair fair and and abov above e board. The fact you shuffled the deck previously, without seeing any of their faces, implies you couldn*t know the card that was was on the the bott bottom om of the the deck, eck, of whic which h the the spec specta tato torr subse' subse'uen uently tly rememb remembere ered d and and you could could there therefor fore, e, not state what card should now still be on the bottom of the deck, unless it truly was still on the bottom of the deck. The spectator will have to assume the card on the bottom of the deck is still the one they noted earlier # otherwise, you wouldn*t have been able to say its identity and this will indirectly confirm to the spectator that all is as it seems. They will therefore, also have to assume there is no way for 11
you to see the face of their card # as it is for all intense and purpose, still hidden from view in whatever position in the deck they noted it to be in earlier. (ue to the fact, the oker is seemingly still on the bottom of the deck and the deck is closed when you turn it towards yourself. The spectator will have to believe their car card is comp complletel etely y obs obscur cured from rom your your view view and and will will therefore, confirm your last statement to be true and in the proces process s fool fool not only only themse themselve lves s but every everyone one watchi watching ng into believing the false reality of the situation. This is beautiful as everything appears as it should outwardly as well as, the process of peeking is over before you have seemingly done done anything. It takes literally a few seconds and you are now free to concentrate on presentation. Also, the structure and psychology of this routine allows you to obtain your peek without any pressure and without you needing to feel rushed due to the fact you can perform the peek right in front of everyone, as you casually check the bottom card of the deck. aturally, you will need to ensure others don*t also see the face card of the deck as you turn it towards yourself to get your peek. This is easy to manage as your angles will already be very good. Anyone who has performed close up using cards will know how easy it is to obscure the faces of card cards s from from othe others rs view view,, simp simply ly by ensu ensuri ring ng they they stay stay parallel to your own line of sight. I mentioned previously that I always arrange for the oker to end up on the face of the deck /as the convincer for the spectator0.
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This is so that I don*t have to remember anything and ensures the spectator can easily remember the face card without having to be asked directly to do so # they are much more likely to remember a card that already stands out to them, such as the oker or an Ace of 4pades. ou could %ust remember whatever card happens to be on the face of the deck by using an all around s'uare up or any other glimpse that allows you to know the identity of the bottom card of the deck before going into your false shuf shuffl fle es and then then misc misca all thi this card at the the end end of the the process, instead. I hope that you can see the value of the structure and psy psychol cholog ogy y of this his peek and the the beau eauty of how eac each element cancels out each other so that this becomes much greater than the sum of it*s parts, despite its simplicity. I feel it is this simplicity that gives the process its power. This really does fulfil my ideal for a perfected peek with a deck of cards. I also mentioned that I perform this peek using half of the deck deck of card cards. s. This his is so that that the the mov moves are are easi easier er to perform but also so you can place the half deck back onto the rest of the deck if you so choose, in order to truly lose their card in the deck to stop the spectator from being able to turn turn over over the the half half deck deck them themse selv lves es and and expo expose se the the secret, in the process. The way I %ustify the use of a deck of cards is with proper labelling in order to provide a context for their use that makes sense in a performance of &entalism.
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I do this at the start of my set or whenever I need to introduce the deck itself by stating the following.
“I ha&e a deck of cards# cards# I%m not &ery good at handling handling these but I use them in a similar way to to a psychic as a way of carrying around fifty-two fifty-two different symbols that more easily allow me to to get in-tune with other people%s thoughts"# thoughts"# ot only have you suggested that you can*t perform sleight of hand and ad%usted their expectations away fro from someone who performs tricks with a deck of cards, you have also suggested what you may be doing may be real in some way by comparing the way you use a deck of cards with that of a psychic. This is how I personally %ustify the use of cards in performances of &entalism. I*m sure you will be able to easily come up with your own statement that fits your own performance style. Those who feel playing cards can*t be used in &entalism, only have to refer back to past greats in the art # such as >anasta, Tarbel, ?erglas, @enton, @oran and realize that they in no way appeared any less real, using a deck of cards. I also act as if the reason I am using the cards to write on, is for convenience # we already have a deck of cards in play, so we may as well use them to write on. I feel this in some ways, is more natural then having to take out billets, business cards or paper to write on. o n. If we already have a deck of cards in use then we may as well use those. 14
&ultiple pieces of information ou can also use this peek to obtain multiple pieces of information. aturally, you will need to be able to read these at a glance to not cause any suspicion due to the inconsistency between the time it would take to 'uickly read a the identity of a playing card and the longer amount of time it would take to read two or three pieces of information. I would therefore, suggest only trying to read two two pie pieces ces of infor forma mattion ion with with one one of tho those pie pieces ces of information perhaps being something instantly recognizable at a glance such as one out of the twelve star signs. "sing the peek this way would also mean the spectator writin ting on areas of the card with printing ing. I would ther theref efor ore, e, sugg sugges estt usin using g the the red numb number er card cards s when when utilizing utilizing this techni'ue. techni'ue. This will allow you to obtain obtain a full peek of the card area due to the fact the black 4harpie marker will be able to be easily read, against the lighter coloured printing no matter where they write on the card.
)re 4how This peek could also be used in pre+show. To do so, I would obtain the information in the usual way and place the half deck on top of the rest of the deck
“I%m struggling struggling to tune in with your thoughts thoughts at the moment, so take your card card from out of the deck don%t let me see what is written and place place your card somewhere safe, so that it stays hidden from &iew"#
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“I will try to pick up on this this thought later on so if if I ask you to focus on .the name of someone close close to you/ later on, this is the .name/ I want you to focus on, okay" f course, you would change the scripting in brackets to fit with whatever target information you are trying to divine. I also add on the following line as a safety.
“0eep the card hidden hidden from e&eryone%s &iew &iew and don%t take it out until you get home this e&ening"# This will ensure the spectator doesn*t albeit innocently, blow the pre+show by taking out the card with their writing on it after the reveal, as proof of your success at divining their thought of information. i nformation.
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