End a Card Force Trick
These impressive endings all involve the same set up... you appear to "fail" at the trick, then miraculously and unexpectedly produce the card
Contents
Steps
The First Ending
- This involves preparing by storing away the same card from another deck. -(This is simple, if you know ahead of time which card you'll be forcing, which is easily done, but may involve some knowledge of deliberate shuffling, another magician's stand-by.)-
- Let the victim completely shuffle the deck to their satisfaction, since you don't need the actual chosen card, then make a ridiculous claim such as "When I say these magic words, the card will jump to the top of the deck" Then state what ever gibberish that comes out of your mouth but sounds mysterious
- Have the victim check. Of course, the card has done no such thing.
- Become unsure of yourself, and stammer "maybe it was the bottom of the deck (insert random gibberish here)” Of course, the card will not be there either.
The first finish to this finish
- This is to store the card in your wallet, and brag that you'll bet a dollar on your ability to do the trick. Stammer, hem and haw, then produce your wallet to pay up, at the last moment, draw the card from your wallet and amaze everyone!
- In a large venue or somewhere where betting is not appropriate, take the pre-arranged card from a jumbo deck (available at most joke stores) and tape this card to your shirt at the breast or on the back, beneath a sweater or suit coat. Again, stammer and appear nervous. ...this time, get a little "hot under the collar" and remove your outerwear, revealing the card to great effect!
- If you cannot present the forced card tell them to pick a number from one to ten (and tell it to you) This will not work if they pick “one”, but rarely happens, if however it does simply say “very wise number, please do pick one more to complete this trick” or to that extent and completely ignore their first number.
Example
- Say in this example that they choose five, deal out four cards face up in piles left to right, counting "1, 2, 3, 4" as you turn over the cards. If the forced card is one of the four you have dealt, see the next step for a conclusion, If not, say "5", deal the fifth card in it's own pile, and then begin turning over again on top of the same piles (so that you have a number of piles equaling the number selected by the victim.)
- Once the card appears in the first four (or however many) cards and is sitting face up on the table, you'll notice your victim's excitement as he assumes failure on your part. -If you plan to do this ending, in fact, you should have the victim show the card to the audience during the force.-
- Continue dealing to the fourth card and pause before turning over the fifth. Inform the victim "The next card I turn over will be your card" ...obviously, the victim has reason to doubt. Ham it up, but then in stead of turning over the card on the deck, turn the already face up card face down, impressing everyone.
The "Hard of Hearing" failure
Let's say the card you forced is the eight of spades. You will have reshuffled the deck so that the ace of spades is the top card, and the eight is the second card. Now, have your victim tell everybody his card. You pretend to mishear, and say, "Aha! Just like I thought, the ace of spades!" and show the top card. When the victim and audience claim you got it wrong, look confused, and then pick up the second (correct) card. "I'm sorry... I meant the eight of spades!"-
How to do it
- This ending requires two decks (which will both be ruined because cards from each deck will be destroyed), however the effect is worth it.
- Take a planned forced card and mail it to the subject.
- Force the card on the day that the mail should arrive. As the victim is looking at the card, put a thin layer of glue on the top of the deck you are still holding, set it down on the table, and tell them to put the card on top of the deck.
- Tell the victim to put the deck back into its box and hold it out to them. Now, if you want some fun, make a few incorrect guesses before acting confused and telling the subject that you don't think their card is even in the deck. Let them look for it - the card is gone! Give up and move on to another trick. They will get their card in sealed predated mail. This can (and should be) varied in many ways, and gets great results. For the sake of shortness, this ending only explains one possibility. Use your imagination - you will figure out more!
Another Ending For Younger "victims"
This is a great ending with kids (and doesn't really require a card force)
- Have the child pick a card at his will from anywhere they please.
- While the child shows his card to his friends, turn over the entire deck but leave the bottom card faced down so that it's back shows.
- Now,have the kid stick his card anywhere in the middle. (In effect, he's inserting his card upside-down in the deck.)
- Take the deck flip it over and reset the bottom card so it is facing correctly.
- Stumble a few times, picking a card at random (not the selected card), shake your head and put it back. Your audience will giggle at your "failures."
- Now for the dramatic effect: Shake your head as if you are giving up, and then suddenly get the idea to get some help. Calmly hand the deck to a parent or somebody that wasn't part of the audience. (Your spouse is usually a good partner in this or a child's parent or someone all the children know.)
- Tell them to look through the deck and see if they can figure out what the selected card is. Your partner will see the upside-down card, and if they are good at keeping secrets, will even keep your secret safe.
- Watch with amusement as somebody who seemingly wasn't in on the trick announces the card!
Tips
- The impressiveness of these endings is directly related to the degree you "sell" your "failure". If they don't believe you're in trouble, it just looks cornball.
Warnings
- If you fail do your best to sidetrack them and switch it to another trick or accept defeat.
