Converted to PDF by FRe@K Contents Part 1: Seeing with fingertips Effect Background Development aims The Method Method part (a): Preparation Method part (b): Detection Method part (c): Disguising the detection Presentation and routine Additional throw-offs Afterword on the SWIFT Challenge Extending the SOT system Detecting suit and value Sherwood's Two-Phase Routine Diminishing the challenge element Leoni's Touch Part 2: Related effects Interlude: Of marks and methods SOT with Blank Cards Hot Or Not A Touch of Graphometry Lover Hater SOT with Printed Cards Tel-ESP-athy Self-ESPression Tarot Touches SOT with custom-made card designs Chromatouch Bonus Idea from Phanthomas: A Softer Touch Final notes Using someone else's deck or cards Patter Protecting the Secret A note about originality Credits Appendix Sales Boost Section
Sense of Touch Part 1: Seeing with fingertips Effect Sense of Touch is a versatile principle, rather than one particular effect. To illustrate its potential, I will first of all describe a 'test conditions' routine which I have performed for many years, called the SWIFT Challenge ('SWIFT' = Seeing With Finger Tips). The performer offers to demonstrate 'seeing' with his fingertips, and gives a pack of cards to a spectator. While the performer looks away, the spectator chooses a handful of red and black cards and mixes them. The performer takes back this face down packet of cards. By lightly feeling the face of each card with his fingertips, he is able to tell whether it is red or black. The performer senses that the spectators are not very impressed. They may suspect the cards are marked on the back or that other 'trick' methods are in use. The performer offers to repeat the demonstration under any conditions the spectators want to impose. He does so and is still 100% successful. The performer is also able to differentiate high cards from low, or odd from even, or court cards from spot cards, using his fingertips to 'see' or 'sense' these differences. The spectators may impose any controls or conditions they want. yet the performer is always successful (or as successful as he wants to be). The effect can be repeated as often as required. Everything - including the performer's hands and the cards - can be examined at any time. The performer can even give the cards away at the end. In Part One of this booklet, I will explain the SWIFT Challenge routine in detail. Later, in Part Two, I will describe related effects which use the Sense of Touch principle but do not use playing cards. Please read Part One before reading Part Two.
Background I have long been fascinated by psychic and paranormal claims. Occasionally, writers covering these subjects describe an impressive 'psychic' feat and then add a comment to the effect that 'there was no possibility of trickery'. In some cases, the writer lacks any specialized knowledge of deception, but is assuming that shrewd and intelligent observation alone is sufficient to preclude trickery. This is untrue. Skeptics sometimes illustrate this point by demonstrating a particularly baffling magic trick. Opponents tend to dismiss such demonstrations, arguing that magic tricks only work when the magician controls the procedures, whereas 'genuine' psychics subject themselves to independent controls. This is not entirely accurate, but the point about magic tricks has some validity. In virtually all magic tricks, the magician has to control the conditions and procedures involved - at least at critical points. Fascinated by this theme, I wanted to devise a close-up 'psychic-flavored' illusion where the spectators could impose any controls or conditions they want. Sense of Touch is the result. It is not perfect, but it will do until something better comes along, Development aims I set myself the following aims:
1. the effect is easy to follow and pseudo-psychic in nature 2. it can be repeated as often as desired, under close scrutiny 3. the spectators can impose any conditions or controls they wish 4. everything can be examined, at any time, and to any extent 5. no stooges or confederates 6. it is easily carried around, and always ready to perform 7. it is low-tech with nothing to go wrong Once I had hatched the Sense of Touch principle, I discovered it has many uses beyond debates about psychics. It provides the basis for some first-rate and very entertaining Mentalism. Please guard the secret well. and resist the urge to share it with every other deceiver you know.
The Method
Sense of Touch is a very subtle marking system. It does not rely on visual marks, but on marks you can detect by sense of touch (hence the name). These marks allow you to tell red cards from black by touch alone. You can use the same marking method to differentiate high from low values, or to tell even values from odd (we will look at further possibilities later). The marking system is very well hidden. I suppose it would be wrong to say I can guarantee that no spectator will ever detect the secret. What I can say is that over the past twelve years I have performed Sense of Touch countless times to lay audiences, mentalists, magicians, specialist card-workers, scientists, reporters and fairly drunk people at parties. None has ever discovered the secret. In fact, the secret is so well-hidden that - in my experience - even if people suspect the cards are marked, and want to examine them closely for precisely this reason, they still never discover the marking system. When you have marked a deck using Sense of Touch, you can use it for any other purpose including other card tricks (although it will be best to perform the other tricks after Sense of Touch, rather than before). To explain how it works, 1 will assume for the time being that you are going to perform the SWIFT Challenge effect described earlier. In Part 2 of this booklet we will look at other possibilities, including routines for those of you who would rather saw your right leg off than use playing cards. I will explain the method in three parts: (a) preparation: how to mark the cards you are going to use (b) detection: how to detect the marks using a secret move (c) how to disguise the secret detection move
Method part (a): Preparation You will need: • • • •
a brand new deck of cards some spare, unwanted cards to practice on a clean white wax candle a clean dry cloth Ideally, choose a brand of cards that will be well-known and easily recognized by your spectators. Let me emphasize this point. Usually when I'm performing close-up magic I use 'Bicycle' playing cards, like countless other magicians. However, here in the UK these cards are not on general sale and hence are unfamiliar to most lay audiences. Therefore when I perform Sense of Touch I tend to use 'Waddingtons No. 1' cards which, in an impressive testament to the marketing skills of Waddingtons Games, are sold on every high street in the land. Whichever cards you use, they should be of reasonable quality but cheap enough to give away.
The cards must be brand new. This is partly because new cards will give the best and most reliable results. Another reason is that during the SWIFT Challenge you encourage spectators to examine the cards for any kind of 'secret marks'. Cards pick up all sorts of marks and blemishes through normal wear and tear, and spectators tend to seize upon these as somehow being part of the secret. It can be very difficult to persuade them that this is not the case! The candle must be white wax. It should be about half an inch in diameter and fairly hard at room temperature. Beeswax is too soft. Sorry to sound like your mother, but before you start you should wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Marking the first practice card
To learn the marking method, first try it out on some spare cards or unwanted jokers from another deck.
Take your first practice card. Hold it face down, lengthways, as shown. Your fingers should extend almost to the far short edge of the card, but stop a little way short. You must not buckle or bend the card at any time. At the end of the marking process, you still want the card to look like it is brand-new. Touch the short edge of the card to the surface of the candle, about one third of the way along the card's short edge (measuring from the corner nearest you). I'll call this the 'one third point'. Apply just enough pressure to register the card against the candle's surface. Do not apply so much pressure that you bend or buckle the card. Now move the card
away from you at a moderate pace, applying even pressure, so that you deposit a thin layer of wax along the card's edge from the 'one third point' to the corner. (Note that the arrow in the photo is showing the card moving, not the candle). The wax only extends from the corner about one third of the way along the short edge, as indicated by the black line. You do not want any wax on the card's face or back. The wax is only applied to the card's edge. To check this, scrape along the card near the waxed edge with your left thumbnail on top (the card's back) and left forefinger nail underneath (the card's face). Scrape away any wax which may have ended up on the face or back of the card. Do not pinch the card too tightly when you do this - remember the card must still look brand-new once you have finished. Study the card closely to make sure you have removed any stray wax on the face or back. Turn the card end for end, still face down. so that you can repeat the identical procedure along the other short edge. Mark it with the wax, then make sure no wax has adhered to the card's face or back. Congratulations - you have marked your first card! This first one probably took a while. Do not worry. Once you get the hang of the procedure, it will not seem quite so time-intensive. Having had lots of practice, I can usually mark up all 26 red cards in about 20 minutes. You may want to prepare several practice cards before proceeding to the next page.
Method part (b): Detection Make sure both your hands are clean and dry, especially the pads of the fingertips. Hold your marked card face down in your right hand (obviously you can adjust these instructions to suit your own handedness and preferences).
Place the pad of your left forefinger tip against the short edge of the card, approximately half-way along, as shown. There is no wax at this point. Apply just enough pressure to keep the pad of your fingertip in contact with the card's edge. Now slide your finger smoothly along the card's edge, all the way to the near corner. I will call this action the 'detection move'. The action should be a single smooth stroke, taking less than a second. You are trying to detect the difference as your finger passes from the non-waxy section to the waxy section. You should detect a distinct difference in friction. This difference tells you the card
is marked. If you simply press your finger against the edge of a card, without moving it, you cannot tell whether wax is present or not (at least not without plenty of practice). You can only detect the marks if you apply the correct action. This is an important part of the secret. You may need to spend some time practicing the detection move. Do allow time for your fingertips to get accustomed to it. You need to reach the stage where you can successfully perform the detection move in a single, fairly swift stroke.
Practicing the detection move
Mark up a few red cards to practice with, and mix them up with some un-marked black cards. Practice the detection move. Practice using both ends of the cards. Use your forefinger (or middle finger) when trying to detect the waxy markings across the top edge.
Use your ring finger (as shown) or pinkie (little finger) when trying to detect the waxy markings across the lower edge. You will soon find which fingers work best for you. You need to be confident that you can detect the markings at either end. Why mark both short edges? First of all, so you can double-check if ever you are unsure as to a card's color. Secondly, so that the detection move works no matter which way round the card is handed to you.
Marking the cards for performance After practicing on spare cards, you are ready to mark the actual cards you will use in performance. Take your time and do a good job! Although you will speed up with practice, never sacrifice accuracy for the sake of speed. After marking about half a dozen cards, move to a different section of the candle. Otherwise, you will tend to carve a 'groove' on the candle into which the card will sink. If you let this happen, you will tend to leave wax on the card's face and back instead of just the edge. When preparing the cards, remember to always handle them very gently. You want them to still look and feel brand-new when you have finished.
Method part (c): Disguising the detection
So far, we have seen how to mark red cards with an invisible trace coating of wax along part of the short edges. We have also looked at the detection move, which relies on the difference in friction as your finger runs along the edge from 'non-waxy' to 'waxy'. Now we will look at various ways of disguising the detection move. When you read the following directions, you may feel the detection move is rather blatant. In fact, I find it slips past spectators like a ship in the night. I have used all these variations in front of real spectators, some of them burning my hands with attention. Not one has ever spotted the detection move. In all the following variations, the detection move is always part of a perfectly legitimate action which is consistent with your claim. This is a key point. For example, in some variations the detection move is camouflaged by stroking the face of the card or turning it around to try and 'sense' clearer vibrations - both things which you would do (or might do)
if you genuinely possessed the ability you are simulating, Hence it is true to say that although you obviously do not wish to draw attention to the detection move, you never really need to conceal it either. Practise handling each card as if you only ever touch its face to "sense the vibrations". This is what you claim to be doing, and the more successfully you act out the deception, the more successful you will be. Two-handed top-end turnaround Start with the card held as shown. The right hand holds the card lightly at the near corner, while the left fingers lightly 'sense' the face of the card. (Adapt the handedness to suit yourself.) Do not be afraid to take your time. You are presenting an amazing psychic-flavoured experiment for your audience to observe and enjoy. You are not under any pressure to produce a quick result. (I'm referring to the SWIFT Challenge presentation. Later we will look at other presentation; where a pacier, more dynamic effect is required.) 10
You now simply turn the card around, end for end, so that your searching fingers have a chance to 'sample the vibrations' all over the card's face. To do this, grip the card near the top edge with your left hand, chiefly between the thumb on the side near you and your second and ring (third) finger on the card's face. The left forefinger is positioned so it is ready to perform the detection move.
With your left hand holding the card. you can now move your right hand up to the top corner.
With your right hand, rotate the card clockwise. As the same time. allow your left fingertip to perform the detection move. This only takes a fraction of a second, and the move is part of the perfectly open and legitimate action of rotating the card
Complete the rotation of the card, as shown in the final two photos in this sequence. Having rotated the card end for end, carry on as before, gently 'sensing' the card's face colour. You may like to turn the card end for end once more, without performing the detection move, just to throw people off the scent.
After some concentration, hesitantly arrive at your verdict. Leave plenty of time between the detection move and announcing your decision. Nine times out of ten, the first detection move will tell you the card's colour. If in doubt, double-check by using the detection move again on the card's other short edge. It is not hard to convince people that you only ever feel the face of each card. If you are an experienced performer, with strong close-up skills, you rr\a\ be tempted to try and provide temporary cover or misdirection as you execute the detection move. There is no need! The detection move is never noticed, and the open nature of the handling is one of the strengths of Sense of Touch. The spectators should be satisfied that you can tell the card's colour even though the card remains in full view at all times - with no misdirection, no distraction and no momentary cover.
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Two-handed turnaround
near-end
This is very similar to the previous move, in that it involves turning the card end for end. In this case, however, you perform the detection move with the ring finger of your right hand as the card is rotated. The photos should make this clear. We will assume that you have started off exactly as for the previous variation, by 'sensing' the face of the card with your left fingers. Move both hands to the near edge, ready to rotate the card clockwise. Position your right ring finger along the near edge, ready for the detection move. The left hand performs most of the actual rotation of the card, while the right ring finger skims along the lower edge, thus detecting the 'wax' or 'no wax' signal. Afterwards, you can carry on gently touching the face of the card for as long as you like (within reason) before revealing your verdict.
One-handed turnaround
top-end
It is almost as easy to rotate a card, and perform the detection move, with one hand as with two. I tend to do this using my left hand, but you can of course swap left for right if this suits you better. Grip the card near the top edge with the thumb and forefinger. Stroke the face of the card with your second and third (ring) fingers as if 'sensing' the colour vibrations. Transfer the grip to thumb and middle finger, with support from the ring finger if you need it. This frees the forefinger so that it can rest on the top edge ready to perform the detection move. Execute the detection move as you manipulate the card with your thumb and fingers to make it rotate clockwise.
You can then carry on for a little while longer 'sensing' the card using the same one-handed style with which you began.
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One-handed near-end stroke This variation uses the detection move at the near-end, and does not involve rotating the card. Start by gripping the card near the centre, thumb on top and forefinger underneath. Stroke the face of the card with your second and ring fingers as if 'sensing' the colour. (The smaller photos, below, show this action from below for added clarity.) Repeat this stroking action several times in a relaxed manner. Do it again, but let the ring finger slip on to the near edge, so that you can perform the detection move. Then revert to the 'regular' stroking action, and eventually announce whether the card is red or black.
Two-handed top-end stroke This two-handed version stroking action is simple yet deceptive. Hold the card in your right hand at the near corner. With all your left hand fingers except the forefinger, lightly stroke the face of the card in a right-to-left motion. Let the forefinger come close to the top edge without actually touching it. Repeat a few times. During any one of these repeats, simply allow your forefinger to make contact with the top edge. It is as simple as that!
Lateral stroke - near ring version This is the first of two detection moves which involve holding the card 'laterally', as shown.
In this version, the left hand simply strokes the face of the card a few times. It has nothing to do with the detection move. At any convenien moment, you can perform the detection move with the right-hand rinc finger, which moves along the near edge as shown by the arrow.
This is in some ways the most subtle variation of all, since the left har tends to steal all the attention while the right hand performs the mov<
Lateral stroke - top end version This is the alternative 'lateral' stroke detection move. With the Oat fingers of the left hand, stroke the face of the card several times as shown on the right. To perform the detection move, let your pinkie rest on the edge of the card as shown below. Done!
The McAdam Method Journalist and mentalist Drew McAdam evolved a one-handed method which does not involve rotating or re-positioning the card. Pinch the card reasonably tightly at A, between the thumb and middle joint of the forefinger. With the tip of the forefinger or middle finger, touch the lower edge of the card at B. See if you detect the 'cold, greasy' feel of the wax or the dry, sharp feel of unwaxed card. This requires only the tiniest movement of the finger tip. This method may suit some readers more than others. I personally prefer a detection move which relies on feeling the transition from 'non-waxy' to 'waxy'. However, Drew feels this handling works better for him, and he has used it very successfully under 'test' conditions.
Final Notes on the Detection Move This completes our look at the detection move and its many variations. If you work through them, you will soon develop your own preferred moves and variations. I hope it is clear that (a) it is easy to perform the detection move, and (b) there is no reason for spectators to ever notice it. It only takes a fraction of a second, need not draw any attention to itself, and is naturally disguised as part of a perfectly open and legitimate action. Of course, you do not have to use just one preferred variation at all times. Once you have experimented with the different variations, and found the ones you like best, you can use several different detection moves during the routine to compound the mystery,
Presentation and routine So far we have seen:
- how to mark the cards - how to detect the marks with the detection move, and - several ways to disguise the detection move Now we can look at the SWIFT Challenge routine described at the stan of this booklet. Even if you never intend to present this particular routine, please read through it to get the gist of the structure. (May I insert another reminder that we will look at other routines, and non-can variations, in Part 2 of this booklet.) The basic structure is this; (a) you intentionally give a rather weak and unimpressive demonstration. This establishes the theme, and invites the spectators te think and participate. (b) you encourage the spectators to be sceptical, and to impose whatever conditions or controls they want (c) the spectators gradually eliminate all their theories, and are left with an impenetrable mystery! You can decide for yourself what patter to use, and how to adapt the routine to suit your own style. The following notes just concern the psychological structure of the routine.
(1) Establish the theme Introduce the main theme by saying, for example, "Have you heard those stories about people who can apparently read with their finger tips? 1 seem to have a limited ability along these lines. Of course, sceptical types always think it can't be done. What do you think? Is it possible? Or totally impossible? Or does the truth lie somewhere in between?" Let this theme sink in. You want the emphasis to be on assessing an extraordinary claim, rather than watching a card trick. Give people time to choose: is it possible, or is it impossible?
(2) Give first (intentionally weak) demo Show the cards. Say that so far you can only manage simple demonstrations, such as telling whether cards are red or black-Spread the cards face up on the table in front of one of the spectators. Look away and ask her to pick up any card, red or black, and to turn it face down. Turn around and take the card face down in both your hands. Openly look at the back of the card (as you might do if the cards were marked on the back), and at the spread of face up cards still on the table (as you might do if you were relying on a stacked deck). Then handle the card as if sensing the colour with your fingertips. Take your time, perform the detection move, and eventually announce the colour. Repeat with one more card. This first demonstration is intentionally unimpressive. Spectators will easily think up various methods you could be using: - the cards are marked on the back - the deck is stacked and you can work out which card you hold - you are using a 'shiner', reflector or mirror of some kind - you took a simple 50/50 guess - someone present is a confederate giving you signals The purpose of this first demonstration is to establish the nature of the demonstration and to encourage the spectators to voice their suspicions. Openly encourage this discussion.
(3) Give ^ight unseen' demo At least one spectator will probably ask if you have to see the card. For the second demonstration, give the deck to one of the spectators. Turn 19
your back and ask her to select half a dozen cards, some red and some black. Ask her to hold this packet where neither you nor anyone else car see the cards (e.g. under a table, thick handkerchief or coat). Turn around, reach under the table or coat or whatever, and take the packet of cards in both hands sight unseen. Take your time. Work on the first card, announce its colour, and bring it into view to show you are right. Repeat with two or three more (no neec to do the whole packet). This is a stronger demonstration, but spectators will still have pet theories. Encourage open speculation! This can be a lot of fun. Some spectators may play tricks on you during this demonstration (e.g. having some cards face up instead of face down, or selecting all cards of one colour). You will still succeed. With the cards out of sight, you can check both short edges, then turn the card over and check both edges again. This will make it perfectly clear whether the card is red or black. |
(4) Tackle the 'any cards?' question At this stage someone usually asks if you can work with any cards, or just your own. Get this question out in the open! Do not duck from it, do not hide - the truth will not diminish the effect one iota. Admit quite openly that it only seems to work with your own cards. You can say something like, "1 only seem to get results with my own cards, 1 guess because these are the ones I practise with, and 1 perhaps get attuned to them". You can compare the situation to a concert pianist who insists on performing with one type of piano, or a top golfer who only uses a certain brand of golf clubs. Obviously, you can base your 'justification' on your own character and personality, particularly if the people watching know a bit about you. Fc example, if I'm performing the SWIFT Challenge for friends, most of them will know I play guitar. I might say, "It's kind of like playing the guitar. 1 can always get the best sound, the best results, out of my own guitar that I use all the time and practise with", Or, in other cases, I might be performing for people who have seen me indulge my taste for card spinning (also known as 'card shooting' or 'card flying'). I can spin cards all day, but it works much better if I use c deck that 1 have 'broken-in' and which feels right to me. In other words just offer the justification that works best under the circumstances. Above all, do not worry if you the think the justification for only using your own cards sounds a little 'hollow' or 'flat'. It makes no difference, because even if some people suspect the cards are marked some way,
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they will never solve the mystery. They will have every opportunity to test their 'marked card' theory, and will eventually have to conclude they were led astray by their own suspicions.
(5) Give the 'nothing to hide' demo By this stage, various opinions will have been voiced. Say, "Look, I'll do it so you can all see I've nothing to hide". Face away from the spectators. Ask anyone to hand you a mixed packet of red and black cards face down behind your back. Remain facing away from the spectators, holding the cards behind you at roughly waist height. The spectators can see your hands and the cards. Take the top card off the packet, and go through the usual handling. If your first detection move leaves you uncertain, use the other short edge for verification. If you are still not sure, try turning the card over (as if from face up to face down) and check again. This will eliminate any doubts. In my experience, it is unlikely the spectator will hand you the cards face up to try and outwit you. If you suspect this may have happened, just double-check your decision before you announce your verdict. By this stage, most spectators will suspect the cards are marked in some way you can feel by touch. This is what you want them to think. The commonest alternative theories I have come across are (a) someone present is a stooge who signals the colour somehow (b) I can glimpse the card or see a reflection in some way. Allow the spectators to impose whatever conditions they want to test their theories. This can be fun, and should be! It can be especially interesting to watch a group of spectators try to devise a way to prove that none among them is a stooge.
(6) Give the one-handed demo Do the same as for (5), but only use one hand. This is not much harder than the standard 'two-handed' version. For some reason, spectators seem to find it more impressive. I'm not sure why, but they do.
(7) Deal with illegitimate challenges During the SWIFT routine, you make it clear the spectators can impose any constraints or conditions they wish, or control the procedure in any way. You can do this with perfect confidence, provided you remember the precise nature of your claim. You are claiming you can determine a
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card's colour by touch alone. This is exactly what you are doing, therefore you can pass any tests consistent with your claim. Some spectators may suggest conditions which are inappropriate or illegitimate - either because they don't understood the claim, or they want to fox you. I once had someone place a card face down on the table, cover it with his hand and challenge me to name the colour. Another time, someone challenged me to put on thick leather gloves! If an illegitimate challenges comes up, keep calm. First, wait to see if one of the other spectators points out that the challenge is unfair, in the sense that it is inconsistent with the claim you are making. This often happens. If not, politely explain the point to the whole group. Say, "I doubt that would work. After all, what do you think I am... psychic? But seriously, listen to me. Remember what I said at the start. I can sometimes tell a card's colour with my fingertips. Obviously, if I cannot touch the card's surface, I can't do it. I never claimed I could." (8) Conclude and give cards away By this stage, all suspicion tends to focus on the cards themselves. This is the crucial part of the trick. I cannot tell you exactly what to do or say, but let me clarify the message you want to convey. You do not want to convey this message: "Yes, the cards are marked, but you will never discover how". You do want to convey this message: "You suspect the cards are marked somehow? I can understand your suspicions, but actually there is another explanation you have overlooked. Don't take my word for it! Please check the cards for yourselves. Examine them any way you like". If a spectator thinks he has spotted the solution, let him try to reproduce the effect. He may get one or two cards right by luck, but he will eventually concede defeat. Be gracious, and congratulate him on his efforts. Eventually, your spectators will start to abandon the 'marked cards' theory. Now you can enjoy the sweetest moment of all. Give the cards awav! Say, "Here... keep the cards. They're yours, as a small gift from me to you. Play cards with them. Do whatever you want. You can keep them as a souvenir of an interesting experience." This concludes the SWIFT Challenge routine. If all has gone well, you have treated your spectators to a stimulating and fascinating voyage into an experience that simply defies explanation, and which they will never
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forget. You have encouraged them to address a fundamental question -'What is possible, and what is not?' - and to discover that the truth may be far more elusive than we often suspect it to be. I'd like to add two points which are worth noting if you are interested in presenting the SWIFT Challenge routine. (1) Remember this very curious demonstration is more or less unique. Very few routines work in this way, so it is highly unlikely anyone will have experienced anything quite like it before. Take care to extract maximum benefit from this! Save the routine for those occasions when the right people, in the right frame of mind, are in a position to gain me most from it. (2) If you get maximum value out of the SWIFT routine, you will genuinely give those present some food-for-thought, and open their minds to the fact that assessing what is 'possible' or 'impossible' can be very difficult. This is a very good prelude to any other 'experiments' you wish to present in similar vein. You may find that by having pre-conditioned the group in this way, other effects win an even better reception than normal. This has certainly been my experience in recent years. I have found that some of my pet mental effects, which I can usually rely on to get a good reception, get an even better reception after the SWIFT routine. It seems that after the SWIFT Challenge routine, many people feel more 'open' to the fact that some extraordinary things just may be possible... even if they seem contrary to reason or common sense. Additional throw-offs There are three ruses which can lend an extra twist to the SWIFT Challenge routine. They are by no means essential, but I include them here for completeness. First is the outright guess. Save this for a later part of the routine, when you have already successfully demonstrated your ability. Take a card, touch its face lightly without performing the detection move, and simply guess. If you are wrong, a single error will not matter too much. Just chide yourself for "not concentrating hard enough", and carry on with your 100% accurate demonstrations. Do not allow yourself more than one outright guess. Second is the fake prediction. This too should be saved for the later part of the routine. Say you sometimes get the 'vibrations' even before you
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touch the card. Write "black" on a piece of paper and give it to someone. Go on to the next card. If your prediction turns out to be correct, this adds extra spice to the mystery. If not, just ruefully admit you got it wrong. After all, your 'precognitive' ability is not the main issue. Experienced magicians will know there are countless ways to 'help' this prediction, and to make sure it always comes out correct. Personally, I think you should just take a 50:50 guess. The prediction is just an addec 'throw-off, and it is nice if it works. However, it is not the point of the demonstration, and you should not be tempted to make this into a prediction trick. A third ruse is to apply special marks to the court cards (Jack, Queen, King) such as a single wax smear in the centre of each of the four edges These cards, of course, feature red and black ink. If I detect the special marks, I say, "I'm confused, this card feels as if it is red and black. How can that be?" Eventually 'realise' that it must be a court card, and show you are right. From that point on, ask the spectators to stick to spot cards. This is a cute little wrinkle which has the merit of being consistent with your claim. (For more options which involve extending and refining the marking system, see 'Extending the SOT system'.)
Afterword on the SWIFT Challenge... Preparing the cards At the risk of labouring the point, whenever you use Sense of Touch, do take your time applying the wax to the cards. It may be time-consuming. but the results are worth it. Some correspondents have suggested various ways of marking up blocks of cards, using clamps and vices and similar kit. However, it is difficult to do this securely without leaving some sort of evidence that the cards have been worked on. It is also hard to make sure each card is coated evenly. I prefer to take the 'sure and safe' route of carefully marking the cards one at a time. This helps me to feel 100% confident that the effect will work reliably. I suggest that you do not try and use the same deck for more than one performance of the SWIFT Challenge routine (even if you do not give the cards away). In my view, it is never 100% reliable a second time. I believe you really must mark up a brand new deck for each occasion.
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Checking the cards Whenever I have marked a deck ready to perform the SWIFT Challenge, I conduct a final check as follows. Mix the red and black cards together, but not by shuffling. I do this by gently dealing the cards at random into several piles, then re-gathering and re-dealing. Any normal form of shuffling will involve handling the edges of the cards, and at this stage you want to keep the edges as pristine as possible. Make sure your hands are clean and dry. Put the mixed cards face down on a clean surface in front of you. Take the top card, and see if you can determine its colour just by touch. If you get it right, put it to one side in the 'tested' pile. If you get a red card wrong, re-wax it and replace it among the cards still to be tested. If you get a black card wrong, it must have accidentally picked up some wax that should not be there. Carefully rub its short edges along a dry cloth to remove whatever trace of wax it has picked up, then replace it among the cards to be tested. Eventually, you will have a complete deck of 52 cards, and be confident that you can identify the colour of every card by Sense of Touch alone. Put the cards in their card case and you are all set.
Extending the SOT system It is possible to extend the SOT marking system to code more than just a card's colour. I have often added a second set of marks to code another characteristic, such as high or low value (as shown in the photo). Of course, you can use the SOT markings to code any characteristics you want: to tell even cards from odd, or court (picture) cards from spots. You are not restricted 10 marking the deck into equal halves. You could, for example, mark just the cards of one particular suit (e.g. spades). In performance, you could force this choice of suit and then offer to try and use your Sense of Touch to detect only the cards of this 'chosen' suit. I tend to use the second set of markings as a reserve. I go through the standard SWIFT presentation and 'prove' I can tell red cards from black. At this point, I am happy to end the demonstration. However, if the
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mood is right, I casually announce that I can sometimes also tell whethe' cards are low or high in value. Having defined my terms (e.g. low = ace to seven) I then give one or two more demonstrations, further compounding the mystery.
Detecting suit and value Journalist and mentalist John Sherwood was among the first to suggest extending the Sense of Touch marks to code a card's suit and value. He suggests the following. On the narrow edge of a face-down card: - marking the 'left third' indicates hearts - the 'middle third' indicates clubs - the 'right third' indicates diamonds, and - no mark at all indicates spades Of course you mark the other short edge of each card in the same way. A similar pattern of 'thirds' applies down the long edges: - the absence of preparation indicates an Ace - the 'bottom third' indicates 2-3-4 - the 'middle third' indicates 5-6-7 - the 'top third' indicates 8-9-10 For a Jack, Queen or King, mark the two 'corner thirds', leaving the centre portion clean. To guess a card's value, always state the middle of the 3 possible values (3, 6, 9 or Q) so you can only ever miss by one. John is the first to acknowledge this coding has its drawbacks. It only works with the card face down, and yiou may feel it requires too much handling of the card, or too fine a touch, to be practical. However, it is included here as a possible system. John adds it may help to use poker-size cards, which have a wider 'short' edge than bridge-size cards.
Sherwood's Two-Phase Routine John was one of several correspondents who suggested that the SWIFT Challenge routine could lead naturally to Paul Curry's 'Out of this World'. (I assume the reader is familiar with OOTW. If not, see the Appendix). John's suggested two-phase routine runs as follows. With a deck marked as above, prepare by removing the court cards and sorting into reds and blacks. Mark the Queen of Hearts with pencil dots on the back (or a faint crimp). With the court cards face UP arrange them as follows, from the face of the packet to the rear:
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- JD, QS, KH, JC - all remaining blacks -QH - all remaining reds Put this packet of 12 cards on the face of the deck. You're all set. Display the deck and introduce the SWIFT Challenge routine. Say the :ourt cards are confusing, as they feature red and black ink, and so you A/ill remove them. Remove the packet of 12 court cards, and fan the top 1- or 5 slightly (JD, QS, KH, JC seen most clearly). Clarifying the point, :ake out the KH and show that it is a 'red' card but features plenty of ^lack ink. Casually replace it under the packet of 12 with the rest of the •eds. Do the same very briefly with the JD. Turn the whole packet face iown and set aside. Vith the remaining 40 cards, demonstrate the usual SWIFT Challenge outine. As you call red and black cards successfully, discard them on the able into two haphazard but separate groups. n the course of the routine, identify one spectator who would make a 'ood subject for Out Of This World. Ask her to give you the next card. ^s you touch it, act startled and exclaim, "Wow! I got a sudden flash! )o you already know what it is?" Perform the detection move and say, You have an unconscious projective ability, and I got a very clear "npression. I'm almost positive it's the six of clubs — or very near." Sepeat this fuller identification no more than two or three times with this erson. Say, "Can we try a more personal test of your ability?" >ssemble the two groups of 'tested' cards on the table, false shuffle and 3lit the red and black blocks. Take the set-aside court cards and insert iem in the deck, red side to red block, black side to black block. You re then ready to perform 'OOTW with the QH marked as your 'half-ay point' for crossing over the colours. ote: During the SWIFT phase, someone may try to fool you by iduding one of the set-aside court cards. You will be able to tell scause of the secret marks. If this happens, act confused and then 'alise' what has happened. Chastise the culprit, and then invite him to st touch the face of the card. Then read his mind and name the card! -us can be stunning, especially if you are blindfolded. f course this is merely one way to combine a version of Sense of Touch ith a version of OOTW. Several people sent me others, and you may ime up with your own.
Diminishing the challenge element While the SWIFT Challenge routine can be highly entertaining, the 'challenge' aspect may not always be appropriate. For example, if you often perform in bars or restaurants, you may want to diminish the 'challenge' aspect. For one thing, it is probably too slow for these venues, and you may want to avoid encouraging your spectators to 'challenge' you so openly - in case they start taking the same attitude to your other material! Enrico Leoni is a seasoned performer with plenty of experience t presenting magic and mentalism in bars, nightclubs and restaurants. To diminish or avoid the 'challenge' element, he suggested an alternative presentation, which I now call...
LeonPs Touch
Enrico suggests that as you present the routine, you provide a light-hearted commentary in which you yourself raise various suspicions the group may have. You can even make it sound as if the suggestions are coming from the group, rather than from you. For example, after the first demonstration, you say, "Look at Jane... a die-hard sceptic! I Doesn't believe a word of it! You think I'm cheating, Jane? Tell you what, just for you, let's cover the cards up altogether..." Followed by: "What was that? You think maybe Jane's in on it, and helping me? Would she do a thing like that? Actually, looking at her, maybe she would! Okay, someone else pick the cards. Anyone. I'll do fl so you can all see the cards and I can't. I'll turn my back... I hope you'K all still here when I turn round again...". Followed by: "Looks like you're still not convinced. What do you want.-blood? Some people think I've a camera up my sleeve. Wanna frisk me. Jane? No? Shame, I thought my luck had changed. Look, sleeves rollec up. No cameras or trapdoors. I tell you, I can't figure it out either. Ma;. I really can tell red from black by touch alone. I'll do it one-handed, slow-motion, no funny stuff." And so on. This approach is faster and more dynamic. It gets around thai 'challenge' problem, since you are very much still in charge, and it also provides plenty of scope to involve the group of spectators. Yet the miracle still happens, and you can, of course, still give the cards away if you wish.
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Part 2: Related effects So far we have looked at the Sense of Touch principle as applied to a regular deck of cards and the SWIFT Challenge routine. However, it can be used in countless other ways. This is good news for magicians who like a little variety, and for those mentalists who would rather chew a cactus than touch a deck of cards. The only limit on applying the Sense of Touch principle is your own imagination which, given that you had the wisdom to purchase this booklet, is probably near limitless. At the very least, Sense of Touch can be used with - blank cards (e.g. blank business or playing card stock) - other printed cards (e.g. ESP or tarot or zodiac cards) - your own custom-made card designs In the rest of the booklet, I offer some ideas to get you started. They are not as good as the ones you will dream up for yourself. But first, a brief interlude concerning marks and methods and Sense of Touch.
Interlude: Of marks and methods There are two kinds of 'marked cards' and hence two families of routines which employ them. The first kind are cards which secretly convey their identity - suit and value - to the performer. Adding 'code' marks to the back design of a deck is as old as the hills, or at least as old as gambling. There have been countless twists and variations, and new ones emerge on a regular basis. The excellent Ted Lesley Working Performer's Marked Deck has been one very popular addition. The Ted Lesley system, as marketed by Martin Breese, comes with a truly excellent booklet of instructions, ideas and routines. I think this booklet says more or less everything worth saying about marked cards and how to use them wisely. At the time of writing, this booklet is still available (see the Appendix). Sense of Touch is not a 'marked card' system in this sense, since it is not primarily intended as a way of coding a card's content (even though it can be used this way, see 'Extending the SOT System'), Sense of Touch properly belongs with the second kind of 'marked cards' i.e. cards secretly marked so the performer can distinguish one card or one set from another card or set which seems identical. Such marks may be either visual or tactile. As every mentalist knows, a tiny pin-prick 'bump' on a card's surface is practically indetectable if you do not know it is there. Yet to the performer who knows where to feel for the bump, it
screams its presence with perfect clarity. Every marking method has its pros and cons. It is true that a smart and determined spectator, given sufficient time and opportunity, could discover pin-prick cues, or the Ted Lesley system, or almost any other marking method. This is not usually a problem. It is very rare to encounter such spectators, and there is seldom any need to engage with their ultra-inquisitive tendencies or grant mem the opportunity to pursue their suspicions. However, there are some occasions when different priorities apply. In some cases, the mentalist may wish or need to use a method offering the strongest possible deceptive resilience. For example, he may be the type to make strong claims of the "This is not a trick, and what I am doing is real" variety. Or he may choose to perform for exceptionally sceptical or challenging audiences, such as psychic researchers or prominent sceptical authorities, and he may wish to indulge their desire to scrutinise anything and everything to the hilt. More commonly, the mentalist may wish to present his material as if he relies not on 'psychic' ability but on various semi-plausible ways of achieving his results: body language, non-verbal communication, face-reading, psychology, neuro-linguistic programming, awareness of laten' primitive senses which amount to 'intuition', subtle cues deriving from l contemporary human physiology... and so on. This is something of a trend in mentalism (at the time of writing), and there is no doubt fl plays well. I would suggest that in these cases, where strong deceptive armour-plating is crucial. Sense of Touch is a powerful ally. It allows you, as tht performer, to encourage and accommodate any amount of suspicion. investigation and scrutiny. Over the past twelve years or so I have presented the SWIFT Challenge routine to many different audiences, | even inquisitive sceptics trained to detect and expose psychic-flavoured trickery. No-one has ever come close to discovering the method, even though granted every opportunity to explore every suspicion. All have j confessed themselves lost for an explanation. ' I accept that not every mental routine requires a marking system as subtle as Sense of Touch. Where pin-pricks, bends, crimps and other marks will suffice, I use them. Otherwise, I use Sense of Touch, and hai had a lot of fun doing so. I hope you will do the same. Now let us look at some other effects which exploit the SOT principle.
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SOT with Blank Cards You can get blank business card stock from any printer or print-shop; blank playing card stock from most magic dealers; and blank filing card stock from any office or stationery supply store. Use whichever card stock you prefer, so long as you can write on it, it is opaque, and it will take the Sense of Touch markings. You are all set to have fun presenting miracles. Hot Or Not Consider the standard 'Living and Dead' routine. You hand out blank cards to several spectators. While you look away, one writes down the name of someone deceased and the rest write names of people still breathing. The cards are gathered, mixed and returned, and you amaze all and sundry by somehow discerning the 'dead' name. There are countless variations and methods, some relying on secretly marking the one card on which the 'dead' name is written. The Sense of Touch principle is one marking option. On the presentational side, I feel that 'Living and Dead' is a good theme if performing for the local branch of Macabre Depressives Anonymous, but otherwise best avoided. Here's an alternative. One of the most popular websites ever created was based on the theme of 'Hot or Not'. People posted photos of themselves (or friends) to the site, and visitors voted on their attractiveness on a scale from 1-10. Why did people do this? Why was this so popular? I have no idea. But it does give us a nice, modern twist to the traditional 'Living and Dead' test. Take five blank cards and mark the first in the usual SOT way. Hand the five cards to a female spectator. On the first, while you look away, she writes the name of a famous movie star whom she considers sexy and attractive. On the other four, she writes the names of other popular actors whom many women may adore, but whom she personally doesn't like. She mixes up the cards and hands them back. Say you will use your skills at reading her character, plus subtle nonverbal clues, to guess which actor she considers 'hot'. You proceed to evaluate each of the five names while telling her to try and avoid giving you clues. For example, you might say things like, "Okay, who do we have here? Tom Cruise. Let me say that name again while I look at your face: Tom Cruise'. Right, now the pupils of your eyes didn't change, nor did I see any subtle change in the blood flow to the cheeks - which is another classic sign of arousal. Besides, I think you're actually quite a
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thoughtful person, even if you don't always advertise the fact. And Tom. well, great movie star and all, but not many people's idea of Mr Intellectual. Frankly, I doubt he fits your notion of a soul mate. So, hot or not... I'm pretty sure that in your book, he's a 'not'." Carry on in this vein until two names remain. Say you're having trouble making your final evaluation, so you will have to simply try and read her mind, or at least her heart. Gaze deeply into her eyes. Invite her to imagine watching the sunrise in the arms of the actor she actually fancies. Invite her to visualise the scene, "... and to feel the warmth of that special, magical moment when your lips are kissed by... " and you insert the correct actor's name. There is immense scope here for fun, entertainment and thinly-veiled flirting. (At the risk of stating the obvious, if the flirtatious element is not right for you or your audience, avoid it. If it will give offence in any way. to anyone present, avoid it. Otherwise, have fun with it!) Read up on body language, 'face reading', NLP and similar subjects to provide fodder for your assessments.
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A Touch of Graphometry 'Graphometry' being a blend of 'graphology' and 'psychometry', of I course! You hand out blank cards to five spectators. Each provides a sample of their handwriting. Cards are gathered, mixed and returned. Looking at each card, you give a 'graphology' reading and return the card to its correct owner. This is standard repertoire, offering many presentational options. All you need is some way to secretly mark the five cards in a 1-5 sequence, and remember which spectator gets which card. The rest is just acting, presentation and cold reading. There are many ways to secretly mark the cards, and SOT is one more option. For example, you could apply the wax markings as follows: - short edge, one end = 1 - short edge, both ends with central gap = 2 - long edge, one end = 3 - long edge, both ends with central gap = 4 | - no marks = 5 May I add just one small suggestion about the pseudo-graphology routine. If you just invite people to 'write anything', you can hit small snags. Some people 'freeze' and cannot think what to write. Others write things which provide clues as to the writer, hence defeating the object o'
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the exercise. (This can happen no matter how strenuously you beg people to avoid making this mistake.) To avoid these problems, tell your spectators what to write, and to get them all to write the same thing. What should you get them to write? It can be any word or phrase you like. However, why not get them to write something like, 'John Smith read my mind and [ enjoyed it', obviously substituting your own name. This is as good a 'text sample' as any other, plus you get free advertising for as long as they keep the card which, if you make it a memorable occasion, they may well do. Lover Hater In 'Hot or Not' we marked one card in a set. In 'A Touch of Graphometry' we marked each card in a distinct way. Another option is to have two sets of cards, one set all marked and the other all unmarked. If a card from either set is transferred to the other, you will be able to tell which is the 'stranger'. This principle can be disguised in many ways. Here is just one option. Take eight blank cards, and divide them into two groups of four. Mark one set using Sense of Touch (e.g. add wax marks half way along each short edge). Leave the other set unmarked. You are all set. On the first set of four cards, invite a spectator to write the titles of four songs she loves. On the second set she writes four songs she hates. All this is done without you seeing. Invite her to swap any card from the 'Love' set with any card from the 'Hate' set. If you are now given either set of four cards, you will easily be able to tell which is the stranger, thanks to Sense of Touch. The presentation is up to you. One option is to sit facing the spectator. Start with the 'Love' set, one of which she actually hates. Hold up each card one at a time with the writing facing towards her and away from you. She can read what is written on the card, you can only see the blank back. You can now apparently tell whether she is looking at a song she loves or hates purely by studying her facial expression - even though you tell her to 'keep a poker face'. Everyone will suspect you rely on pupil dilation, this being a common piece of 'body language' folklore. However, you can demonstrate that it still works even if she puts on sunglasses, or half-closes her eyes, or tilts her head down, Ibu can structure the actual revelation however you wish. For instance, 3ive each of the four cards a quick evaluation. Extract some gentle -lumour from the four choices. Eliminate two of the choices. Hold the -wo remaining cards to yourself so no-one can see which is which. Ask -he spectator to hold out her hand. Take out the card which you know is
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the stranger, the 'Hate' card, and place it face down on her palm. Say you are confident this is the song she hates. She names it. Invite her to turn the card over. Applause all round! You can now repeat the effect with the other set of four cards. Say this will be harder, because the spectator has now had some practice at concealing her emotions. You can also vary the subject matter. Instead of songs, you can base the routine on movies, places, TV shows, celebrities, ice-cream flavours or anything else you think has potential. Another option, which will not be to everyone's taste, is 'embarrassing activities'. On set 1 the spectator lists four embarrassing things she has done, and on set 2 she writes four she has not done. This offers rich scope for rather unsophisticated humour, derived from (a) what she considers 'embarrassing', (b) what she admits to having done, and (c) her friends' doubts as to her veracity As I said, not to everyone's taste... but for some groups, on some occasions, this plays very well indeed.
SOT with Printed Cards By 'printed cards' I mean any kind of readily available pre-printed cards other than regular playing cards: ESP cards, tarot cards, zodiac cards, alphabet cards, number cards and so on. Tel-ESP-athy Using the Sense of Touch principle, it is very easy to mark 5 ESP cards so that you can tell which is which by touch alone. You could use a 1-5 code such as that used for 'A Touch of Graphometry'. Alternatively: - no marks = circle - short side, corner marked = cross - short side, middle marked = waves - long side, corner marked = square - long side, middle marked = star With five ESP cards marked in this way, if someone hands you one face down you can mentally 'divine' which one it is. You would never actually do this, of course, because it is wretchedly dull and unimaginative. A better alternative is to have two sets of ESP cards, both marked as above. The spectator takes either set, and you take the other. He holds his cards out of view under the table and you do the same. Invite him tq mix his cards while you pretend to do the same (actually keeping them
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in a known order). The spectator chooses any of his cards and hands it to you face down under the table. You say you will choose one of yours at random. Take his card, work out which one it is (via the secret marks) and find its twin among your cards. Place this pair face down on the table. Repeat four times, pretending that this is an experiment in coincidence, or synchronicity, or mind rapport, or telepathy, or remote cause and effect... or whatever theme you care to wrap yourself in. At the end, show that all five pairs match. If the spectator looks at his own cards each time he chooses which one to hand over, this looks like a test of mind-reading. Alternatively, if he hands you cards without himself knowing which is which, then it looks like clairvoyance or strange coincidence. Another variation on the above is to involve two spectators who have some connection they work together, are in a relationship, are related, have interests in common etc. The first takes one set of the five cards. You hold your set of cards in a known order under the table. When Spectator 1 makes his choice of card and hands it to you, invite Spectator 2 to name any number from 1-5. Say you will simply count down to that number in your packet, and pretend to do so. Of course you simply match the appropriate card as before, but it seems as if the spectators are actually making all the choices. Self-ESPression Using an approach similar to the above, you can seemingly help a spectator demonstrate her own innate ESR Here is one way to go about this. A word of preamble. There is an 'alternative' diagnostic procedure called Applied Kinesiology (AK). Suppose you have five seemingly identical opaque containers, four containing something healthy (e.g. orange juice) and one containing a solution of rat poison. You do not know which is which. You hold these in your left hand one at a time while the AK 'Operator' tries to depress your outstretched right arm. According to fans of AK, when you hold the 'healthy' substance, you have 'normal' or 'healthy' strength, and it takes a certain amount of force to depress your arm. When you hold the 'unhealthy' substance, such as poison, your muscles are weaker and it takes less force to depress your arm. Hence the AK 'Operator can tell which is the 'poison' container - even though you yourself do not know what is in each container when you hold it. This is a wonderfully powerful theme for a mentalism routine. Use one set of five ESP cards, marked so that you can secretly tell which is
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which. Nominate any spectator (preferably female) as the Subject for the experiment. Show the ESP cards and have anyone else mix them face down. Face the Subject, hold your right hand face up and invite her to rest her left hand very gently on it, palm to palm. Ask the Card Mixer to hand you one of the five ESP cards at random, keeping it face down so that in theory no-one knows which one it is. Take the card in your left hand, holding it flat and parallel to the floor or table. Invite the Subject to reach under the card with her right fingertips and gently stroke its face. Invite her to try and 'sense' which one it is, as you gently recite the five options over and over: "Circle, cross, waves, square, star." Take your time, and secretly determine which card you are holding. Rotate the card if you have to (under the guise of helping the Subject gain a clearer impression). All you have to do now is pretend to detect some sort of subtle reaction which suggests the Subject herself is somehow sensing the card's identity. Make up anything which sounds sufficiently plausible. I suggest you draw on the kind of jargon associated with non-verbal communication, body language, face-reading, neuro-linguistic programming or any other fashionable trend of the day. For example, you might say, "Ah... there! Did you notice that? The last two times I said 'Cross' your whole body leaned forward very slightly, indicating some sort of approval. It was almost imperceptible, but at some instinctive level you seem to be responding to 'Cross'. Let's see if you're right." And of course she is as right as you want her to be. For an extra convincer, try this. Offer an initial assessment as above, but do not go straight to the revelation. Instead, having told the Subject that you think she is responding to 'Cross' for some reason, repeat the process of reciting the five possibilities. It is now very likely that she really will respond to 'Cross' in some way, simply because you have planted that suggestion. Then you can proceed to the revelation. This is powerful magic that can seriously tinker with what a person believes is real or possible. This either makes it worth doing, or worth avoiding, depending on your point of view. You can of course use a routine of this kind in conjunction with any other ESP card effect. See the Appendix for suggestions. Tarot Touches By this stage I hope you are beginning to see that Sense of Touch has countless uses as an all-purpose, sure-fire, indetectable way of secretly
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obtaining information. It can be used in place of many traditional marking methods, either as a simple preference or because you want the deceptive subtlety that the Sense of Touch principle provides. Many routines that can be done with regular cards or ESP cards can be done equally well with tarot cards. For example, take any five of the 'major arcana' cards which are easy to recite as a set. You can then perform 'Self-ESPression as above. Instead of reciting 'Circle, cross, waves, square, star' as the five choices, you might say. 'Sun, moon, star, world, lovers'. Different wrapper, same effect. Or you can take the 1-5 of two tarot suits, e.g. 1-5 of Swords and 1-5 of Coins, and perform 'Tel-ESP-athy'. If you want to revert to the SWIFT Challenge type of routine, but use tarot cards instead, then try this. Select five of the major arcana cards which are named after human figures, such as Emperor, Empress, Lovers, Fool and Magician. Use the Sense of Touch principle to mark these. Add the 1-5 of Swords, but leave these un-marked. Introduce the ten cards and have anyone mix them up. Say you will try to differentiate between "the animate and the inanimate, the human energy aura and thai which is unliving". You are then all set to demonstrate that you can somehow differentiate the two kinds of cards - animate and inanimate -by touch alone. This is at least as interesting as sorting reds from blacks, and lends itself to countless presentational dressings. [f you want to use more than five cards of either type, you can. You just have to guard against potential confusion. Of the 22 major arcana cards, 9 are named after human figures (Fool, Magician, Priestess, Empress, Emperor, High Priest or 'Hierophant', Lovers, Hermit and Hanged Man). However, all 22 tend to depict human figures except for the Tower and the Wheel of Fortune. For example, 'Justice' is usually depicted as a woman holding a sword and scales. The precise details may vary from ane tarot design to another, and it is your call whether 'Devil', for example, constitutes a human figure. SOT with custom-made card designs ^t the risk of stating the obvious, you can get some blank card stock and draw or print anything you want on them. to suit any theme under the sun. There are many ways of going about this. You may have sufficient artistic talent to draw your own designs directly on to card stock, or you may find a graphic artist to do it for you. another option is to prepare your designs and find a print shop which ;an 'silk screen' them on to blank card stock for you. This can be just
about affordable, especially if you dream up a set of designs so good that other magicians will happily buy a set from you. Alternatively, it is not hard these days to find a computer with some graphics software and a colour inkjet printer. With such tools it requires no great artistic merit to produce worthwhile designs and print them on to blank card stock. Unfortunately, inkjet ink on blank card stock tends to stay wet and smear. The most practical solution I have found is to print on to transparent inkjet labels and then affix the blank label, bearing your design, to the card. (Note: Home and office printers are improving all the time. A few years from now the above may seem laughably archaic, as we all happily use hand-held 3-D full-colour holo-burners to emblazon anything with any image instantly. But at the time of writing, it is fairly sound guidance.) Whatever design cards you create, the Sense of Touch marking principle can be applied to them. The sky's the limit! Here is just one example of what you can do. Chromatouch Mentalist and Gothic Magician Ben Whiting suggested a Sense of Touch routine based on colours and personality. He got the idea from the Luscher Color Test (see Appendix for more about this). Ben's idea lends itself to a routine similar to 'Self-ESPression' but based on colour. Get eight pieces of blank card stock. On each, print a different coloured square (Dr. Luscher's colours were grey, blue, green, red, yellow, violet, brown and black). On four of the cards write a desirable trait pertaining to psychic ability, e.g. 'Intuitive', 'Insightful', 'Perceptive' and 'Open-minded'. On the other four cards write less desirable traits e.g. 'Negative', 'Closed-minded', 'Uncaring' and 'Shallow'. You can leave the backs blank or give them a neutral design. Use Sense of Touch to mark the four 'desirable' cards. Place the eight cards in any suitable container such as a slim card box. On the back of the box glue four coloured squares (but no words), the colours corresponding to the four 'desirable' cards. These four squares form your prediction. To present, talk about the psychological research into colours and inner personality. Take out the card box without flashing the four prediction squares on the back. Remove the eight cards, and set the box aside so the prediction squares remain out of sight. Show the cards, call attention to the colours but say nothing about the words. Explain that the 'normal way to do the test would be to look at the colours and make choices,
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but that you want to try a different approach - using the inner eye! Select one of the women in the group to be the Subject. Let's suppose her name is Jane. Sit facing Jane. Lay your right palm face up on the table, and ask Jane to place her left palm face down gently on top of it. Have someone thoroughly mix the eight cards face down and hand one to you. Hold this in your free left hand. Invite Jane to use her right fingertips to reach under the card and stroke its face while you hold it, and try to sense if she feels 'sympathetic' to it or not. Explain that as Jane touches the unseen colour, you will try to detect very subtle clues which indicate whether she is 'sympathetic' to that card and its colour, even though no-one yet knows which colour it is. Thanks to the marks, you know whether the card is 'desirable' or not. If it is, pretend to detect some 'clue' that Jane is sympathetic to that colour. For example, "Actually, I don't know if you noticed, but your hand actually relaxed very slightly, indicating some rapport with this colour, whatever it turns out to be". If not, say something like, "Ah... now you may not have realised it. but your breathing has increased slightly and so has your pulse, which is an innate response to threat or hostility, so for some reaison you are rejecting this colour". Work through all eight cards, making sure the four 'desirable' cards get chosen as the four to which Jane is most 'sympathetic'. Time for the double climax. Turn over the four 'rejected' cards and show that they correspond to generally 'negative' traits. Then turn over the other four, [o show what wonderful intuitive gifts they denote. Finally, express the Jiew that Jane may be even more intuitive than she realises. Invite her :o put the cards back in the box. She does so... and discovers the four :oloured squares which directly correspond to her choices. Gasp, applause and paradigm shift. f you are going to present 'Self-ESPression' and 'ChromaTouch', you •nay like to read up on things like Applied Kinesiology' so that your aatter has that satisfying ring of authenticity. Bonus Idea from Phanthomas: 'A Softer Touch' Austrian magician and mentalist Phanthomas was one of several people vho provided invaluable feedback on Sense of Touch prior to )ublication. He also reminded me of a very different and highly ieceptive method which can be used for similar effects. -et us assume you wish to present any effect in which the basic aim, rom the performer's point of view. is to detect one card which is lifferent from the others. For example, going back to the 'Hot or Not'
routine, you may want to detect the one card on which the 'Hot' name is written. To prepare, lay the card you want to mark on the table, with the back uppermost. Now bend the top left corner up and down several times. Do not bend the corner so much that you leave any creases or other signs that the corners have been bent. Phanthomas suggests that 15-20 gentle back-and-forth bends are about right, but you will have to experiment with the cards or card stock you are using. Do the same with the diagonally opposite corner. You now have two corners which can be felt as softer. Merely by picking the card up and laying it down again, you can feel whether or not the corner is 'softer'. This tells you all you need to know. Suppose you are performing 'Hot or Not' and you have five cards, one of which bears the 'hot' name. Phanthomas suggests that one by one, you lay each of the cards down on the table or on the assisting spectator's hand. In performing this simple action, you can tell whether or not the corner is 'soft', so you already know if it is the 'hot' name or not. Hold your right hand two inches above the card, and place all the emphasis on this action as if the right hand seemingly senses the correct 'vibrations'. Once you have 'assessed' these vibrations, announce your verdict and move on to the next card. This method, somewhat under-used by mentalists, is subtle and deceptive yet very dependable. A version of the same idea features in Step 2 of Corinda's 'Thirteen Steps to Mentalism' where it is called the Sujan Location. Corinda suggests that it still works even if the cards are placed inside envelopes. My sincere thanks to Phanthomas for mentioning the possible application of this principle to the kind of effects featured in this section.
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Final notes Using someone else's deck or cards By carrying a small length of candle round with you, you can of course mark up any cards you come across, provided they are in good enough condition. This makes it possible to perform Sense of Touch routines using someone else's deck! For example, if you are staying with friends you may find it possible to grab half an hour to yourself and secretly mark up their deck of cards. Drew McAdam, one of my Sense of Touch 'test pilots', prepared a deck and then planted it with a co-operative local shop-keeper. The shop concerned was just across the street from a local newspaper office. Drew went to see a journalist at the paper, and among other miracles offered to show his new 'skill' of touch reading. The journalist needed only slight encouragement to nip across the road and "buy a new pack of cards" -naturally ending up with the prepared deck! Giving the same idea an extra twist, perhaps you know someone whom you see regularly, and who keeps a stack of her business cards on or in her desk. During a sneaky covert moment, help yourself to 5 of her business cards. Take them away, and use Sense of Touch to secretly mark them 1-5. At a suitable opportunity, re-load the marked cards where you found them, and offer to try an experiment in ESR Take the five business cards, and on the blank side draw the five Zenner symbols using the customary association (l=Circle, 2=Cross, 3=Wavy Lines, 4=Square, 5=Star). Given that you can tell which card is which by Sense of Touch alone, you can now perform miracles of telepathy, eyeless sight or whatever!
I have deliberately avoided saying much about patter. This is something you can only really decide for yourself, to suit your own style. However, 1 would emphasise that as with all mentalism. good patter can greatly add to the flavour of any of the effects mentioned. For example, during the SWIFT Challenge, you could take the line that red cards feel 'warmer' or 'brighter', or that black cards feel somehow negative and 'unfriendly'. Little touches like this can greatly enhance a given theme, and make the effect more memorable. I have seen at least one performer take the line that black ink is denser and feels very slightly 'heavier' than red ink! Rather surprisingly, at least
one very intelligent onlooker considered this plausible. Which patter line is an acceptable embellishment to the effect, and which is too preposterous to utter in front of intelligent people, is a judgement you can only make for yourself. Protecting the Secret I think it would be nice if the Sense of Touch principle were to remain a well-kept secret. I assume you feel the same way, since you paid for it. There are many places on the internet where people discuss magic. Some forums, like the Magic Cafe managed by Steve Brooks and his team, are admirably well-run by people who care about magical creativity, and who protect magic secrets. Other internet forums are possibly less careful. Suppose some person blabs about SOT on the internet and happens to mention the secret. I suggest you join in the same forum or newsgroup, and post a reply. In a friendly, polite and respectful way, point out that this person got it wrong, and that SOT actually works in a different way. To back up your point, say that you have the actual SOT manuscript right in front of you, as purchased from lan Rowland's delicious website, and offer to quote directly from it. Then you quote from any one of the paragraphs below. You will be telling the truth, because you really will be quoting from this manuscript! As it happens, the paragraphs below are complete nonsense. After one person has responded in this way, another of you can respond in a similar fashion saying that both the explanations given have been incorrect, followed by quoting another of the nonsense paragraphs below. Remember: only quote one of the daft explanations below at any one time. If we all protect SOT in this way, we should at least lay enough smoke and mirrors down to keep the true secret hidden for a little while. And maybe we will have some fun at the same time! Here are the nonsense paragraphs to quote from. None of them have anything whatsoever to do with the real secret, and some are more nonsensical than others, With the Chroma magnet applied as described, you will note that it responds only if a red card is in the vicinity. Black cards have no effect. The silent vibrations tell you all you need to know. The Chroma magnet, which is not really a magnet at all in the true sense, works over a range of 18-24 inches, depending on performing conditions.
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Having mixed the SOT chemical solution as instructed, apply to the pad of your forefinger and allow to dry. If you experiment with some spare cards of your own, you will note the way it reacts to the red ink of red spot cards, whereas it does not react at all to the black inks typically used in playing card manufacture. The reflection gimmick provided is the first of its kind, being entirely invisible and transparent from every angle. However, once you have practised using it, as detailed in section C, you will be ready to exploit its remarkable optical properties to perform the Sense of Touch effect. As a few experiments and trial runs will show, the specially modified Thumb Cap, unlike a thump tip, is literally indetectable, even at very close quarters with people physically examining your hands. Yet the mechanism inside will unfailingly tell you the colour and value of the card when used as described. The colour sensitive plastic material, which was developed in the aeronautical industry, has never before been exploited in this way. As you will discover when you play around with it, following diagrams 3-7, you can readily mold the pliable material around your hand, thumb or finger, and then readily be able to distinguish red from black, or high cards from low ones, even if only a small portion of the plastic material is used. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that scent has been applied in this way to the divination of a card's value or suit. The fact that there is, quite literally, nothing to smell, and that nothing needs to be applied to the cards themselves, is what makes the principle so deceptive. The peculiar acoustic properties of the material provided, which should be enough for many hundreds of performances, will allow you to determine the face value of the cards even though you can't see them, as detailed in pages 4-5 of this manuscript. Do be careful, however, not to give away the fact that you are listening for the information. What to do in noisy environments? See the appendix on page 12.
A note about originality To claim to have invented something 'new' in magic is generally either very brave or very foolish. However, to the best of my knowledge Sense of Touch is effectively new and original. More specifically, the originality lies in the fact that it is: a. a tactile marking system b. applied to the edges of cards, which is c. invisible once applied, and d. only detectable by applying a specific action, and which e. can be used to code any card characteristics you wish Less crucial to the 'originality', but worth mentioning, are the facts that Sense of Touch requires no special kit or equipment, works with any cards or card-like items, and is inexpensive. I circulated Sense of Touch to several friends prior to publication, including Darwin Ortiz, David Britland, Jack Avis, Lewis Jones and others. They all provided useful feedback, and the consensus view was either that Sense of Touch could be described as 'new', or that at the very least I had managed to re-discover a principle so little-used and little-known as to be effectively 'new' to the vast majority of today's magicians and mentalists. Of course, magicians have been secretly marking cards ever since there have been cards and magicians to mark them. However, there have been very few tactile edge marking systems, and none (as far as I can tell) which fit the criteria listed above and offer the same possibilities as Sense of Touch. For completeness, let me mention the relevant precedents I have been able to come up with since I first hatched SOT, or which kind friends discovered for me. Hoffmann's 'Modern Magic' (1876) includes the item 'To Distinguish the Court Cards by Touch', which employed tiny abrasive edge ridges. Gus Southall's 'Card Puzzle' in 'Abra' #456 (1954) explored this same theme. The item named 'A Sticky Solution' in 'Vernon's Chronicles: More Lost Inner Secrets' used diachylon to render certain cards detectable by touch alone, as did Jack Groom's 'Acme Spirit Test' (1929). The Vernon book also refers to wax as a tactile marking system used by Ralph W. Hull in his Argus Wonder Cards', which it seems was being advertised and marketed by the 1930s. A.D. Livingstone's book 'Dealing with Cheats' has a comprehensive chapter on marked cards, and refers to 'pegging' (a subtler form of pinprick marking) and 'nailing', a form of edge marking, but nothing which matches the characteristics of Sense of Touch. The slim but fascinating
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volume, 'Koschitz's Manual of Useful Information', dating from 1894 but reprinted in The Gambler's Bookshelf series, discusses a wide variety 3f marking methods, including some edge-marking methods. However, ->one of these match Sense of Touch, and the booklet seems to have ittle faith in the edge-marking methods it details, warning that these -nethods can usually be detected by any suspicious observers! Friction is a deceptive ally is nothing new - the 'slick' card is well-known, and Sob Hummer's 'Magic Carpet' (1945) is one of several tricks to exploit he principle.
4ax Maven and David Britland were both very helpful with their time nd expertise, and found most of the precedents listed above. I wish to ilace on record my sincere thanks to them both. Jack Avis and Ben Vhiting also came up with relevant reference material, and I thank them oth for their assistance. •en Whiting. Enrico Leoni. John Sherwood. Phanthomas, Lewis Jones nd Drew McAdam all provided practical and constructive feedback. I lank them and my other "test pilots' for their contributions to this lanuscript. pecial thanks to Martin Breese for sound advice, guidance, contacts, ispiration and fun. [an Rowland. London, April 2002, Jblished by lan Rowland Limited. This booklet is only available from ww.ian-rowland-com.
Appendix
Paul Curry's 'Out of This World* 'Out of This World' was published by Paul Curry in 1942, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest card tricks of all time. Although it has since appeared in many magic books, I think anyone interested in this classic effect should read Curry's own manuscript which, among other places, appears in 'Paul Curry's Worlds Beyond' (Hermetic Press, 2001). This is a truly outstanding compilation of Curry's best material which I recommend unreservedly. It is available from Stephen Minch's Hermetic Press or your favourite magic dealer. Numerous writers have added their own twists and variations to the 'standard' OOTW effect. Curry himself wrote some follow-up pieces about his famous creation, including The "World" Revisited', 'Best of Possible Worlds' and 'A Show of Hands', this last being a trick using the same basic principle to achieve very different ends.
Tricks with ESP cards I imagine there are almost as many tricks with ESP cards as there are magicians. Picking and choosing can only be an exercise in personal preference. One which I like is Larry Becker's 'ESPITOME' from 'Larry Becker's World of Super Mentalism Vol. II'. I may add that in my opinion pretty much anything by Larry Becker is worth knowing about. Another excellent item is Paul Curry's 'Matchmaker', which is found in 'Paul Curry's Worlds Beyond' and also turns up in Paul Harris, 'The Art of Astonishment' Vol. 3, where it is re-titled The Break-Room Boredom Buster'. This superb and near self-working trick can be done with almost any cards, but two sets of 5 ESP cards would be a good choice. David Britland's 'Zennerphobia' and 'Consumer Control' are two more excellent ESP card effects, and both can be found in his superb book 'Psychomancy', which I recommend highly. 'Zennerphobia' has the distinctive merit of being an ESP card trick for which no actual ESP cards are needed, since the spectator simply makes mental choices. Last but not least, I must mention the excellent 'Mind Novas' by Stephen Minch, a book entirely devoted to tricks and routines with ESP cards. Like everything produced by Stephen Minch, it is well worth reading and studying.
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An Interesting Book If you are going to present any Sense of Touch routine, you may like to get a book called 'How to develop and use psychic touch' by Ted Andrews (LLewllyn Publications. Minnesota). Subtitle: 'Learn to "see" through touch'. I am not making this up! It is a real book from an author ^ho apparently believes one can cultivate the ability to see through touch alone. The book itself might provide some useful material for aatter, and leaving a copy lying around could prompt an opportunity to demonstrate your gifts. Maybe it will teach you how to do it for real!
rhe Luscher Color Test mentioned Ben Whiting's idea for a routine loosely inspired by the -uscher Color Test. The LCT was published in 1969 by Dr. Max -uscher, a Swiss professor of psychology. It is a personality analysis tool )ased on sequential colour preferences, and was sold as a book with 8 :oloured cards. It seems to be out of print at the time of writing, but ;opies can be found lurking in second-book stores. Incidentally, the >ook is a wonderful treasure chest of lines, themes and statements for iny mentalist interested in cold-reading or routines based on personality. )r. Luscher's follow-up book. The 4-Color Person, is one of those how-3-live-a-wonderful-life books, offering a "passport to a new life... and a ew you!".
led Lesley Marked Deck booklet t the time of writing, Martin Breese markets the Ted Lesley Working erformer's Marked Deck and still supplies with it the excellent booklet 'hich says more or less everything worth saying about marked cards nd how to use them well. Martin's website is: www.abracadabra.co.uk .
Sales Boost Section The current best-seller lists (here in the UK) are dominated by books devoted to cookery, gardening, interior design, DIY, pets and royalty. I have therefore decided to add this section in case it helps this booklet to sell. While preparing your Sense of Touch cards, why not also prepare some tasty Leek & Potato Soup? Take lib leeks (sliced), 2 diced carrots, 1 large potato (diced), a handful of split red lentils, vegeterian stock cube, and seasoning. Place all in a large saucepan with water to cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 mins while you go back to preparing your deck of cards. Once the soup has simmered, cool and put in a food processor and blend as required. If you prefer tomato soup, why not grow your own? Remember, if you crowd your tomato crop, you will get reduced yields. Each large indeterminate plant needs a 3 foot spacing in the row with the rows at least 2 feet apart. Smaller determinate plants can stand a 2 foot spacing in the row with the rows held at 2 feet apart. The room where you practise Sense of Touch and other tricks probably contains carpet. Before purchasing a carpet, consider the following points: How is the room going to be used? Will it have heavy or light traffic? Is there direct access from outside, or will the carpet be away from entrances? Will the carpet receive direct sunlight? If the room also needs redecorating, here's a tip: don't throw away old hardened paint brushes. They can often be salvaged. Try soaking them in hot vinegar and then combing through with an old fork. You can also simmer them in boiling vinegar and wash in hot soapy water. If the room has electrical cords in it, you may find your cats chew them. Try putting the cords into a cardboard tube such as a mailing tube. There is no instance of Sense of Touch being performed for members of the British royal family. We do know, however, that in 1863, Edward, son of Queen Victoria, married Princess Alexandra, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. Published by lan Rowland Limited. This booklet is only available from www. ian-rowland-com.
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