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This should be a welcome addition to anyone's impromptu repertoire. No "taking a
card," no cutting, shuffling, etc. Good even for a platform stunt if presented properly as
"the trick that Einstein performed for the Czar of Russia," etc. Although it is a simple
calculation, a good performer can make it very amazing indeed. "The Play's The Thing."
Some will mess it up with improvements – so I'll give them a starter. 1. Mark all the
black cards for touch. 2. Do it over the phone for your friend in Podunk or London (have
him name remaining cards, disregard names and remove cards from your own deck to
match colors of those called.) 3. Or again hand the cards to your blindfolded medium
(trick blindfold), etc., etc., and so on.
However, I prefer the method given herein as it is IMPROMPTU. Performer need not
see or touch spectator's own cards until the intriguing denouement. SERMON: I wonder
how many professionals realize how very many spectators are REALLY impressed only
with this type of mystery?? It's nice to be prepared for these cultured people – also for
the un-cultured so and sos who bother you after a stupendous show to perform their
pet trick called WHICH PILE IS IT IN NOW?#$!? HISTORICAL QUESTION: WHEN did
WHAT Monarch give WHAT handsome jeweled gift to WHAT Magus for showing him
WHAT mathematical card trick??? ANSWER: I'll tell you this much – he obviously was of
the intelligent type referred to above.
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HUMMER'S LITTLE STRANGER
Sometimes when I see someone with a 52-card deck – I ask him if be knows any alge-
bra. Regardless of his answer, I turn my back toward him and have him remove the top
15 cards from his pack, just as they come. From these 15 cards he is to remove all of
the black cards and put them in his left pants pocket. The remaining red cards he must
place in his right pants pocket. Simple? Next he takes a few more cards from the main
part of the deck – the number to correspond with the number of red cards in right pants
pocket. If there were 7 red cards then he would pick up 7 more and so on. He does
the same thing with these few cards, i.e. separates the blacks from the reds. The black
cards to go into his LEFT back (hip) pocket and the reds into his RIGHT hip pocket. And
that's ALL he does! Clean cut?? I now turn around and take the remaining cards of the
pack from him and say "my teacher asked me to kindly inspect these remaining cards
and try to figure out the DISPOSITION of the cards in his 4 pockets. Although it's simple
arithmetic it made me scratch my skull so vigorously that my own DISPOSITION was
ruined until this very day! Never-the-less I shall try it again now."
HOW DO I DO IT??
ANSWER: First fan the remaining cards and carefully count the black cards present.
Subtract 11 from this number and you instantly have the number of cards in his right hip
pocket. (Believe it or not!) Suppose you had 14 blacks, you then know that there are 3
red cards in his right hip pocket. DON'T disclose this knowledge as yet. NEXT count the
cards one at a time face down on the table, right under his nose. The secret is that you
count FIRST card dealt as 3 (or whatever the number of reds is in back pocket.) Count
under your breath – FIRST CARD as 3 (in this case), the next 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc., until
the packet is exhausted. Suppose the last card dealt was number 31. Say to yourself
– how many more cards would I need to make it 36? In this case you would need 5.
This means that there are 5 black cards in his left hip pocket. SOOooo AT ONCE you
say "There are 5 black cards in your LEFT hip pocket – 3 RED cards in your RIGHT
hip pocket – 8 reds are in your RIGHT pants pocket (5 plus 3) and naturally you have
7 blacks in your LEFT front pocket!!! (Since he picked up 15 cards to start with and 15
less 8 equals 7.) Well, that's the QUICKEST and EASIEST way to do it! Just count your
black cards carefully as two might be stuck together, etc., and you'll be amazed how
rapidly you can throw the dope at him. NOTE: If you counted 11 blacks – then 11 from
11 would leave 0 – or NO CARDS at all in his right hip pocket. Then you would count
the first card dealt as zero and the next as ONE, etc. The two things you can't forget are
eleven (not Evelyn?) and thirty six. And – IF this is too difficult – leave the cards in the
case and take up Astronomy, which I have been doing lately. A truly macro-cosmic hob-
by. Remember, this experiment is FOOL-PROOF (excluding yourself, of course!)
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Spectator cannot cheat you and get away with it, since you can check on his pockets
and see if he has complied with the stipulations.
P.S. You can help tremendously by recommending this little impromptu to other worthy
magi, BUT please do not pass on to your friend for FREE. This discourages the deal-
ers as well as cutting down on my dog food! If he is your friend – he may be mine too.
Thank you sincerely for this purchase, and farewell 'til we meet again...(I hope)
Bob Hummer
TIP: If the spectator does not have four pockets, you can have him hold the cards that
would otherwise go in his "hip" pockets in his right and left hands instead. These can be
held behind his back or under the table, so you cannot see them.
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