Home Entertaining: Amusements for Every One

by William Eastman Chenery

Detection by Smell. This may be played upon some one who will take no offence at the result. Allow the person to shuffle the cards, and then to select any one card, returning the pack to the performer. Ask the person to remember the card and to show it to the audience. While this is being done, the performer turns his back, stating that he does not want to see the card or get any clue as to what it is. While in this position, the bottom card of the pack is turned up—and the top card turned down. Turning around, he asks the person who selected the card, to hold it for a few seconds between the hands, saying that the card will be found by the sense of smell. The performer now asks some one in the company to procure a hat. Place it, crown down, a little distance from any one.

Holding the pack tightly, the person holding the card is now asked to thrust it into the pack wherever he likes. The performer now puts the pack in the hat and, taking out a few cards, commences to smell of each one. Pushing the cards around, the chosen card will be seen with its back the wrong way. When ready, take this card, smell of it, with appropriate remarks show it, as the chosen card.

For a sensational conclusion, you may bring the discovered card to the top of the pack, and ask the person who selected the card to grip the pack tightly by a corner, between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, the thumb extending about half-inch and the finger more, and turn the cards face uppermost. The selected card is now, of course, at the bottom or lower portion of the pack. Suddenly hit the pack a strong downward blow, which will knock all the cards on the floor, except the one selected, which will be left in the grip of the party who selected it, staring him in the face.

Naming a Drawn Card. The conjurer, having shuffled the cards, asks a member of the audience to abstract any card he pleases, to look at it, and impress it firmly on his mind.

While he has been talking, the conjurer has been squaring up the cards, and he now holds up the pack between the thumb and second finger of his left hand. Any other way than this of holding the cards will do equally well so long as the audience can see that the cards are properly squared up. The chooser now returns his card to the pack.

The conjurer then places the cards behind his back, draws away three, throws them on the table, and asks the chooser if his card is among them. The answer is “No.” The process of throwing three cards at a time on the table is repeated until the chooser says that his card is among the three exposed cards. The conjurer then names the card.

The explanation is that when the card is returned to the pack, the conjurer is careful to notice where it was returned, whether near the top, middle, or bottom of the pack. We will suppose that it was near the middle. The conjurer places the pack behind his back and draws off three cards at a time from the top of the pack until he has shown—say eighteen cards. He will know that the selected card was not among them. He then draws the top card and the two bottom cards of the pack for the next three, and he continues in this way until the chooser says that his card is among the three. The conjurer then knows at once that it is the top card of the three, because the other cards have come from the bottom of the pack, and the chosen card has been replaced near the middle of the pack. If the chosen card is inserted near the middle of the pack, several cards from the top may be immediately placed on the bottom of the pack to save time.

Grouping the Kings. Select the four kings from a pack, and also two jacks. The kings you arrange in the shape of a fan, and place behind the second one the two knaves, therefore they are hidden from view. You show the cards by holding them towards the audience, so that they may be satisfied that the cards really are kings. Square them together so that one king will be on top, then the two jacks and then the three kings, and place them on the top of the pack. You may remark, “Ladies and gentlemen, I propose to separate these kings, the first (which you hold towards them), I will place at the bottom of the pack, the second, (which is a knave) I will place a little higher up, the third (also a knave) higher up still, and the fourth (which you again exhibit, for it is really a king) I will leave on top.” The kings are now three, on top, and one at the bottom of the pack; consequently, a single cut will bring them together. After a little unnecessary pressing, etc., one of the company can cut the cards, and kings will be found to be in company.

Detecting a Turned Card. The picture cards have commonly a narrow strip for the border; this border is usually narrower at one end of the card than it is at the other. Place three or four of the picture cards in such a manner that either all the broader or all the narrower borders are placed uppermost. Request a spectator to invert one of the cards while you are not looking. When done, observe the cards and you will easily see which card is turned, as its narrower border now lies on a level with the broader border of the other cards. If they try to mystify you by turning none of the cards, you will easily see that this is the case. If the performer has a good memory, the border may be placed any way, taking due care to remember the positions.

Telling the Number of Transposed Cards. The performer allows a spectator to cut a pack of cards into two heaps. Now, while the performer’s back is turned, the spectator is requested to transpose any number of cards up to ten, from one pack to another. Place the two packets together and square up the cards. The performer deals from the top of the pack about twenty cards, throwing them face downward on the table. The performer now asks the number of cards transposed, and after the spectator has replied, the selected card is turned over, and the number of its spots corresponds to the number of cards transposed. Thus if three cards were transposed, a three-spot would be turned up.