BRIDGE AND POKER DEMONSTRATION

By W. F. (Rufus) Steele

Here is a demonstration which I have used in a great many of my lectures. It creates considerable talk and yet is so simple you are always ready for any occasion.

The principle is taken from other effects which I have witnessed. I have added the idea of other peoples' tricks to in- clude one big demonstration that will take in both Bridge and Poker. At this time I am interested in giving you my version of Contract Bridge and Poker.

When I commence the trick I usually have four cards selected and call attention to the fact that a gambler trains himself on memory and quick glances at several items and then checks up to see how many he really was able to see and remember. The gambler usually practices on downtown show windows, but not being able to demonstrate this feat at this time, we will demonstrate with a deck of 52 playing cards.

Four persons are requested to select and remember four different cards, one card to a person. Each person is handed a portion of the deck (12 cards) and told to place his selected card on the bottom of his packet.

The selected cards are placed on the bottom of their packets. The performer asks each person to give him a quick flash of his bottom card as the performer says "three" at the same time saying "Please turn your packets face toward me for just a second, don't try to help me, make my demonstration hard".

This being done the performer says "That is fine, I think I caught a glimpse of all four cards, so shuffle your cards for this demonstration." Then, "As each of you hold a group of cards, I shall call for cards in a haphazard manner, trying to avoid calling the same card more than once." Y

ou then re- quest forty-eight different cards, which leaves four cards, one in each spectator's hand, you call off the last four cards, which are the four cards selected at the beginning of the trick and were flashed at you. You then add "so you see friends, if you really concentrate you could remember a full deck of cards instead of only four".

Having demonstrated a feat of memory, you call attention to the popular games of the day, Bridge and Poker, and ask what they would like to have you demonstrate (force Bridge as the first demonstration) .

You go into the question that is asked you a great many times, "How can a gambler cheat in Bridge?" and you answer "Brother, Bridge was made for the gambler; I could write a book, and a big book on the different methods used. If you think it is diffi- cult to cheat at Bridge, let us deal a hand.

A gambler knows in a game of Bridge that his opponents must play their hand whether they like it or not, so his only concern is the cards held between his partner and himself.

All the opponent can do is "Pass" until the cheater arrives at the final "contract," so with that you deal four hands. You state, "we won't bother to look at the opponent's hand, as here I have dealt a "seven no trump" hand the unbeatable hand of Bridge." Show your hand and it contains all the honor cards of the game. My Bridge stack consists of twenty cards:

KD - KC - KH - KS - AC - AD - JC - AS - JD - QC - QD - QS - QH.

Now we have a 13 card stack, but you must be prepared for the Poker demonstration, so you add to your stack JH - AH - JS - 10H - IOC - 10D - and 10S. These cards are stacked for your partner by adding six more indifferent cards to them. When the four hands of Bridge are dealt, all you have to do is place your 13 card stack on top of his 13 face down cards and there is your stack for a four handed poker game.

You then go on "of course in Bridge every hand must be played, but in Poker you can play or not, as you see fit. What do you say to a little game of four handed poker?" You deal every player a pat hand, a straight and you the dealer take the best hand, a Royal Flush in Spades. Pick up the hands from left to right, starting with the hand at your left, placing each hand face down in your left hand.

This stacks for the next deal. Again deal four hands. Remark, this time it will be Stud Poker" but deal as you would for draw — five cards face down.

The player on the left has a pair of Queens, the next player has a pair of Jacks and the player on your right has a pair of Aces. You are still running to form and have an Ace high straight.

Pick up cards again, deal left to right but leave the cards face up in your left hand. Turn the cards over, deal out four more hands.

This time you are playing draw. You deal out two pair of Aces and Queens, the next player has three Jacks and the next hand has four Tens, but you are the boss with four Kings.

Now, pick up the cards again from left to right, leave them face up in hand. Turn cards over and say "I have a date with my girl, this will have to be the last hand" and with that you deal yourself a Royal Flush and three other pat hands.

This may seem a bit long for your program, but I can assure you it will hold plenty of interest throughout the demonstration.

If you can false shuffle and false cut, it will help a lot.

At the start of the trick have four bottom cards of your stack in your pocket and let each spectator shuffle the deck, now add the four cards and just force or pass them out. Either is all right. By reversing the pick up you can deal the second hand in stud.

Here is my stack and should you desire more information, write me:

2H - 9C - 4H - QH - 4D - 5D - 3S - QS - 7D - 8C - 5S - QD - 9D - 8H - 6H - QC - 4S - 9H - 3D - JD - 9S - 7H - 7S - AS - 6D - 10S - 2S - JC - 8S - 10D - 6S - AD - 5H - IOC - 2D - AC - 8D - 10H - 3C - KS - 2C - JS - 7C - KH - 3H - AH - 6C - KC - 4C - JH - 5C - KD.

The last four cards are the force cards. The top card of your deck should be Deuce of Hearts and the bottom card the King of Diamonds. 

MISSING DEUCE

By Bert Allerton

This is an old idea that might be new to some of you. Anyway it fits well in any close up work with cards. It has a sleight but not a hard one to master.

Effect: A deck is shuffled and a card is selected and placed on top of cut pack. Now performer turns deck up and shows a deuce on bottom of deck and asks spectator to re- member same. The deck is turned over and the deuce is laid on the table.

The deck is again turned face up and the second deuce shown, again the deck is turned over and a card is laid on top of the first deuce.

Now a third card is taken from bottom of the deck and shown, it is another deuce. Again a card is taken from the bottom of the deck and shown and it is the fourth deuce.

Now the spectator has looked at four different deuces Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. The four cards are placed on the spectator's hand as they are taken from bottom of deck.

The top card is laid on the table face up, re- member a deuce, the second card is laid on the table face up, remember another deuce.

The third card is laid on the table face up, remember another deuce.

Now we have three deuces face up on the table and one card face down on spectator's palm. Ask spectator "what deuce is missing" when he tells you its name just say "and by the way what was your selected card". When he turns the card over in his palm it is the selected card.

Secret: At the start of the trick we have two deuces on top of the deck and two deuces on the bottom of deck.

Now the cards are shuffled (not disturbing the deuces, of course) a card is selected and as you square cut the deck the selected card is placed on top of two deuces and there will be two deuces on top of the selected card. The four deuces and the selected card are brought to the bottom of deck.

Now you turn deck over and show the bottom card which is a deuce (2 of Spades). Ask spectator "to hold out his hand" and turn deck over and draw out the deuce and lay it on his hand face down. Now turn the deck over and show second deuce (2 of Hearts) turn the deck over and this time you glide back the deuce and take out the selected card and lay on spectator's hand.

The next card you draw out without turning deck over show it to the spectator (2 of Clubs).

The fourth card is also removed without turning deck over, show it to spectator (2 of Diamonds).

The reason for not turning the deck over the last two times you show a deuce is because you must not show the two of Hearts which you pulled back.

Now take the cards off of his palm and turn packet face up calling attention to the two of spades on the bottom. Turn deck over again and instead of taking out the two of spades use the glide and draw out the spectator's selected card and place same face down on his palm.

Now the next card you take out is the two of Clubs which you show and place face down on his hand.

Now you draw another card out, the two of Diamonds and show it and place on top of pile in spectators hand.

Now the last card you take out is really the Deuce of Spades which you showed first, so don't give him anymore than a flash of it.

Now you place the top card on the table (two of Spades) face up.

The next card turn face up on the table the two of Diamonds.

The next card you turn face up on the table the deuce of Clubs.

Now spectator has one card left face down on his palm (selected card) . Ask "what deuce is missing?" The deuce of hearts, says spectator. "Please turn it over", and instead of the deuce of Hearts on spectators palm we find the selected card. I have had people swear they saw the four deuces.

You might add a little to this effect by locating the deuce of Hearts and as you point to the last card and say "what deuce is missing?" and spectator tells you, say, "no here is the deuce of Hearts, that card must be the selected one." 

ROYAL FLUSH 

A great many times I ask a spectator what hand he would like to see in Poker and I usually get a "Royal Flush" for my answer and, with that answer, I spread the cards face up to show they are well mixed. I then ask "how many hands will I deal?" If they give me three hands, that is fine — I just count off 15 cards and then say "to get the Royal Flush all I have to do is remember a certain combination of numbers" and, with that, I lay a card aside, face down, on the table and pick up the cards and say "you give me a number, any number between '10 and 20';" say I get "17", I count off that many cards and again lay one card on the table and then after I have repeated this routine three more times I have five cards laying on the table, face downward, and make the remark " and there folks, is your 'Royal Flush' from your own number of cards."

Secret: First count off nine cards; then place your Royal Flush, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th card from the top of the deck, counting your nine cards directly on top of your 5-card Royal Flush.

Now, get any number between 10 and 20 and count that number onto the table, one at a time. (I usually say, "how about dealing a three handed draw poker game"). This amounts to 15 cards in all. I then deal 15 cards, face down on the table, one at a time.

Then I pick up the cards and add the two digits of 15 together, which gives me "six". I then deal five cards, one at a time on to the top of the deck, and when I come to the sixth card I just toss it aside and place the re- maining ten cards on top of the five already placed on the deck.

Right here I ask a spectator to give me a number between 10 and 20, and whatever number he gives me I count that many cards on the table, one at a time face downward. Say he said "11", I count eleven cards down and add the two digits, which makes a total of two, and place the top card of my pile of eleven cards on the deck and the second card I toss aside and place the remaining nine cards on top of the deck and ask for another number. Say I get "19"— I count off that many cards face downward on the table; total the two digits, which gives me a total of 10 — one at a time I count off from my pile of 19 cards and place them on the deck until I reach nine, and the 10th card I toss on the table and the rest of the cards are placed on top of the other nine cards on the deck.

This is repeated twice more, and when I have 5 cards on the table I say "Believe it or not, there is your 'Royal Flush'" and turn the cards face up.

If you spread the cards face up, calling attention to an or- dinary deck without preparation your 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th card will go unnoticed because they are so far down in the deck.

NUMBER TRICK

By Van Osdol 

This trick is an old timer, and one of the best tricks for fooling a crowd I have ever handled.

Effect: Use any deck and after the same has been shuffled thoroughly you ask spectator to divide the same into two equal heaps. Give performer whichever heap he chooses. Spectator now counts his cards and when he arrives at his total, add the two digits to his total together. Suppose he cut the deck equal, then he would have 26 cards in his pile.

The two digits total eight. Count off eight cards from his pile and give same to performer who places them in his pocket with the other half of the deck. (When spectator gives me my half, I usually place same in my pocket as this adds a bit more mystery to the effect) .

Performer now asks spectator to think of any number between one and ten, remove that number of cards from his pile and give them to performer, who places them in pocket with rest of the cards.

Suppose spectator thought of the number six. Have spectator, after he has finished shuffling the pile, look at the sixth card in his pile, remember same, square up the pile and pass it to the performer. The performer locates the card spectator looked at.

Secret: When you receive the cards from spectator, just count the cards one at a time, placing the first card on bottom of pile, each card following thereafter. This reverses the order of the cards as you are counting. When you come to the ninth card the first time, just pass it up. Start counting again until you reach the nine the second time and this is the spectator's selected number card. Should there only be nine cards in spectator's pile, you know his selected number must have been nine and turn the bottom card over. 

PREDICTION

By Doc Roberts

Many prediction tricks have been performed under the same idea of finding a certain card, but in my opinion, the following method is probably the best of the lot and the easiest to do.

Effect: The deck is shuffled and spectator removes any four cards he sees fit and places them in a row face downward on the table. He then takes the denomination of the first card (say it is a four spot) and adds enough cards to it to make a total of twelve, in other words, eight cards are placed on top of the four spot.

This is repeated with the second card (if a nine spot he adds three more cards so that this card will total twelve). Two more packets are used in the same way. Face cards are counted as ten and two cards would be added to make the total of twelve.

When the four piles have been completed we have that many piles with a total count of twelve in each pile. Using the bottom card of your pile you start the count. The total spots of the bottom four cards are added to- gether.

After receiving the total you have your prediction read and the cards counted to this number, arrived at by adding the values of the four bottom cards, which card is turned faceup, and is the predicted card.

Up to this point the method used might be a bit old to some of you since it has been used as a locator for some time, but the method of presenting the trick is just a bit different.

Secret: Upon starting the trick steal a card from the deck and remember its denomination.

When spectator has shuffled the deck and made stacks of "twelve count" you show the spectator how you want the cards counted, at which time you do your timing as you secretly palm the card in your pocket while showing how you want the spectator to work.

As you turn the cards over on the table you secretly add the palmed card from the pocket to the pile and then find the total of the bottom card.

This being done with the first heap, have the spectator turn over the second heap and add the total of the bottom card to that of the bottom card of the first heap.

Place this second packet on top of the first heap face up-wards.

Spectator turns over the third heap and adds the total of the bottom card to the first and second heap and places the third packet on top face up-wards, he does likewise with the fourth heap, obtaining his grand total from the four bottom cards of the four packets.

Now the pile of face-up cards is turned over face-down, and leaves your predicted card on top of the packet. The remaining cards of the deck are placed on top of your packet and when spectator counts to his grand total, he finds the card the performer wrote down while spectator was shuffling the deck in the beginning of the trick.

I believe you will like this effect when used on a crowd of friends. It will make them think a bit. 

MAKING IT STICK 

This is an effect that I have watched Gene Bernstein do many times for large crowds and it always impresses me. The trick is a old one but few have the secret of working it.

Effect: A card is selected by some spectator and the performer asks the spectator "to stand close to the wall or door." Spectator is now asked to try and place the card upon the wall or door with a request "Stick there." Spectator trys same and it fails to work.

Now the performer states he will hypnotize the spectator so that the card will stick there. Performer standing some distance away, advances toward the spectator with the usual gestures.

Upon touching the spectator or taking hold of his hand with a request for the card to stick there. And it sticks. Now the performer steps away from the spectator and the mystic power has disappeared as the card will not do spectators bidding.

Secret: Static electricity inducted thru the body of the performer by slightly shuffling feet across carpet or rug, as he advances toward spectator, the card will stick just by touching the spectator. This effect can be produced in any location where static electricity can be generated from a carpet or rug. This demonstration can be used on several other articles. 

MENTAL THOUGHT

By Bill Bowman

This effect was shown me some years back by my old friend Bill Bowman of Seattle, who probably is one of the best handlers of the pasteboards in the Northwest. When opportunity arrives, use it. I am sure it will pay a good dividend in publicity for it does come under the heading of impossible.

Effect: Spectator is requested to take any deck of cards (if possible use a brand new deck). He is to take the deck some distance away from any person, shuffle same and then scan through the cards face up, center his thoughts on one of the 52 playing cards.

When he has done so, he is to write the name of the card on a slip of paper so it cannot be read by any- one present. By "name" is meant identity of the card. He is told not to write the full name but to use two letters or a figure and letter.

For instance, if he has selected the King of Hearts for his card, he is to write K.H. or K and a heart figure.

After that has been done, he is instructed to place the slip in his pocket, return to the group where the performer holds forth.

Once the card is thought of, the deck is shuffled and set aside.

Spectator, after returning to the group is asked by performer "if you thought of a certain card and if he wrote that name down on a piece of paper and there would be no way of the performer knowing at the moment what the card was that spectator thought of or wrote down on the piece of paper, what would you think?" and upon receiving a reply performer goes over to the table, scans the deck for a moment, then tears off a piece of paper and writes the initials of some card on the paper, folds the same and returns to the group, handing the piece of paper to some spectator, asking him to hold same for a moment.

Performer then turns to the spectator who thought of the card and wrote its initials on a piece of paper which he now has in his pocket and asks him to produce this slip of paper and read aloud the name of the card selected. Upon doing this the performer asks the spectator holding his slip of paper to read the name of the card written on it. To the amazement of all, the two slips tally and the selected card is revealed as though it was strictly a mind reading test.

Secret: The effect sounds too good to be true, but nevertheless it is very simple and easy to do. The whole secret is in a prepared newspaper which performer carries in his pocket, or is close by the table when the trick is being performed.

When you leave home, carry some talcum powder in a little box, and sprinkle a little on the inside of the white border of your newspaper. Rub it in well and be sure there is no surplus powder on the surface of the newspaper.

With the corner of the newspaper prepared, you tear off a small piece and lay it in front of spectator and tell him "when he has mentally selected a card he is to write its initials on this slip of paper" and then he is to put same in his pocket. Be sure you always use a polished table or desk top, or any glass surface.

With a very light touch the initials of the card will be transfered through the paper to the surface upon which the writing is done. It is always a good idea to plan the trick from where the writing will be done.

Many times, when doing it for the ladies, I have used their black patent leather bags. In closing the trick, you approach the desk or table and in scanning the cards you are actually looking for the impression of the initials of the card spectator wrote down.

Once you spot the initials, you tear off a piece of paper from the same newspaper, write these same initials on the paper and while doing this, wipe off the talcum marks on the table so no one will get your secret.

This feat can be built up to a very wonderful effect and will be the cause of much comment and publicity.

There will be many requests to "do it again" and many will think that the spectator and you were working together, so try and build the act so that they can't believe this thought.

I build it up out of a clear sky and offer it as a demonstration of mind reading, insisting that they go out and get a new deck of cards. Give it some thought and once you try it, it will be in your program of mental effects forever. Bowman has them believing he is one of those people who can read your mind. 

REVELATION

By Bob Oswald

This effect was shown me by Bob Oswald in Casper, Wyoming, he said it was an effect his uncle studied up. It was new to me and I liked it so well that I am passing it on for your approval.

Ask for a deck of cards and after shuffling same count off a pile of 15 or 20 cards, in a heap — let us say 18 cards is the total.

Performer now steps away from table and asks spectator to follow his directions.

Please remove some of the cards you have on the table so as I will not know the total of cards you have in your pile.

Now give the cards a shuffle and divide same into two piles, about even, or as even as you like.

Now pick up the deck on the table and shuffle same; upon doing this pick up either pile on the table and look at the bottom card of that pile and remember same.

Now place this pile on top of the remaining deck, which you have just shuffled and squared up the cards — this leaves you with a big stack of cards and the small stack you had when you divided your cards a moment ago.

Now, on this small stack, I want you to deal from the larger stack a number of cards one at a time onto the small stack, a number of ten or more cards.

Now again, shuffle the larger stack and place it on the small stack on table, square up the deck. Let us say the card you looked at on the bottom of the first heap you placed on the large heap was the "King of Hearts".

The performer now takes the deck and starts turning the cards face up on the table, one at a time, and after doing that for a short time says, "This card tells me how far down in the deck your card is", and it is there.

Secret: As you count off the cards, start with the number you originally counted on table, 18, and the first card will be 18 - 19, and so on until you reach the number 40, and the card he sighted on the bottom of his stack "King of Hearts" will be 13 cards further down.

When you get to 39, you start with King, Queen, Jack, etc., so if the 40th card you turned up should be a King, just say that card tells me your card is 13 61 cards down, you probably will strike a King or Queen or Jack, or 10, in your 40th, 41st, 42nd, or 43rd, and sometimes you go right down to the card and just turn it over — you can find several ways for presenting the effect. 

TEN CARD EFFECT 

Here is an old timer that I dug up in my relics of old days gone by. You might like to add it to your present day list of tricks.

Effect: Ten cards are used in this trick, and the spectator is asked to concentrate on one of the ten and remember how far down in the packet it is.

The packet is now handed the performer who looks through same and tells the spectator he is not concentrating hard enough and for him to take the number his card was down in the packet and put that number of cards one at a time on the bottom of his packet.

This the spectator does, and the performer patters about the number. Say it was six cards down. Performer now adds, "For good measure put four more cards on the bottom of the packet."

Now the packet is handed to the performer who holds it for a second as though he had overlooked some point and hands packet back to spectator and says, "I forgot. Please remove your card." The spectator looks and the card is not there. Performer asks what the card was and produces same from pocket.

Secret: When the packet is first handed performer he transfers the five cards to the bottom of packet and hands packet back to spectator telling him he is not concentrating.

Spectator now places the number of cards he thought of on the bottom of the packet and four more cards for good measure. Now this places the selected card on top of packet.

When performer receives packet he palms off top card and gives spectator back the packet asking him to "remove his card." Of course he can't as performer has the card (which he palmed) now in his pocket.

POKER STACK FROM NEW DECK

By Bill Salisbury

Set deck in the following order from Ace down to the Deuce in Clubs then do likewise with Hearts, Spades and 62 Diamonds. Place- this setup back in the case. You are now ready to do this trick. This is the setup of a new deck.

Remove the cards from case and false shuffle. Have spectator cut the cards. Be sure you cut to an ace on bottom of deck.

Deal twice around to six people then slip the next (13th card) to bottom of deck. Now deal the next two rounds and slip the next card (25th card) to bottom of deck. Deal the fifth round and you have given each of the six hands a full house. Now deal yourself five cards, and you have a Royal Flush. If you wish to deal the next five cards to someone else, you will have dealt them a straight flush. 

IN THE MIDDLE 

This is an effect a friend of mine brought back from Australia some years ago and I think it very catchy, though you use a duplicate card.

Effect: Two cards of the same denomination, say Jack of Hearts and Jack of Diamonds, are laid on the table, face up. Spectator is requested to select any card from the balance of the deck.

This card is placed between the two Jacks, which are now turned face down. Performer states "I don't know the name of your card, but I do want you to remember mine —this bottom card (say Ace of Spades) " You turn the deck over and show the card on the bottom of the deck (the Ace of Spades).

Now state "I will place this card in my pocket" and upon so stating turn the deck over, slide out the bottom card and place in your pocket, without showing same to spectator. You then state "I will put one of my Jacks on top of the deck, your selected card on top of it and the other Jack on top of your selected card."

When this is done the deck is given a square cut, the cards are turned up one at a time, until you come to one of your Jacks, which is laid aside face up, the next card is taken off the deck and placed face down on top of your face-up Jack, and a third card is taken off the deck, which is another Jack, and placed face up on top of spectator's card.

You now patter about what has taken place, show the Ace of Spades is now between the Jacks and the card spectator se- lected is taken from your pocket.

Secret: The secret of the trick is that you have a duplicate (say Jack of Hearts) which is placed third from bottom 63 of the deck.

The spectator selects a card and you call attention to the fact that you do not know his card but you would like to have him remember your card, which is this card on the bottom of the deck (say Ace of Spades) .

You then state "I will place this bottom card in my pocket" and you resort to a small sleight. You slide back the Ace of Spades and take out the second card from the bottom of the deck, you do not show the card but place it in your pocket.

Pick up the Jack of Hearts (this card is important) and place on top of deck face down. The spectator's card is placed next and now the Jack of Diamonds on top face down. The deck is cut (square cut) which places the Ace of Spades on top of the Jack of Diamonds and the duplicate Jack of Hearts on top of that.

The first key card you turn face up is the duplicate Jack of Hearts which you lay aside.

The next card off the deck is the Ace of Spades which you do not show but place on top of the Jack of Hearts.

The next card off the top is the Jack of Diamonds which you place face up on top of the turned down Ace of Spades. This leaves on top of the deck the Spectator's chosen card, which you palm off while spectator is removing his supposed selected card. You have plenty of time so don't hurry. You now show the cards have changed places.

When I wish to expedite the trick a bit, when spectator cuts the deck I say "here, give this pile another cut, it will shorten the effect!"