Trickshop - Eddie Joseph's Premonition

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Eddie Joseph’s Mental Card Miracle

Premonition

© Copyright 2001 by TRICKSHOP.COM INC. eBook Version

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PremonitionEddie Joseph's Mental Card Miracle

Introduction

Eddie Joseph was one of magic’s most prolific authors of the last century. In addition

to authoring books on specialized subjects, such as coin magic, pick pocketing, etc.,

he was especially adept at developing mind-boggling Mental Card magic premises and

methods. PREMONITION was his most widely acclaimed release in this area and is

considered by many to be one of the most amazing feats of Card Mentalism ever

conceived. From the audience’s standpoint, PREMONITION appears to be nothing less

than a genuine demonstration of extra sensory perception. Indeed the fairness of the

handling and apparent lack of any opportunity to manipulate the outcome seems to

preclude any other possible explanation.

The Effect

ANYONE in the audience is asked to name ANY card. The person naming the card is

asked to come forward and pick up the deck of cards on your table. This person

now removes the deck from its case and deals out every card in the pack but fails

to find the one he named. He is now told to count the cards and finds only 51.

ONE CARD IS MISSING AND THE MISSING CARD IS THE ONE JUST NAMED ALOUD. The

magician reaches into his pocket and without the slightest delay brings out the very

card named by the spectator. At no time does the magician touch the deck. There is

no force of choice. This miracle works 100% of the time, since the element of chance

plays no part.

4© Copyright 2001 by TRICKSHOP.COM INC.

Eddie Joseph's Premonition

Patter

“Have you ever felt something was going to happen and then it did? It’s called a

‘PREMONITION’ and it just means a ‘sense’ or ‘forewarning’ of impending events.

Sometimes these events are good. Sometimes they are not.”

“Like most people, I get PREMONITIONS from time to time. The reason I bring it up is

that I believe I had one this morning. But I can’t really be sure, so I would like to prove

to myself now whether or not it was a genuine PREMONITION.”

“First, I would like someone to think of a card. Will the gentleman in the audience who

is thinking of the card kindly raise his hand? Do you have a card in mind? Now for the

benefit of the rest, will you please name the card you are thinking of aloud? The TWO

OF CLUBS? As this is not a trick, but a genuine test in PREMONITION, I would like all

to be satisfied that the gentleman who just named the Two of Clubs is not in collusion

with me. If anyone has reason to doubt this, he or she is at liberty to speak up now

and think of any other card.”

We will assume the Two of Clubs is maintained as the selection and agreed

to by all. Note, one way to avoid any appearance that you might be using a

shill or confederate, is to utilize the contemporary mentalist technique of tossing

a ‘Nerf’ ball or other lightweight object into the audience. Many performers will

turn their back to the audience and toss it over their head into the crowd. This

reinforces the fact that the person has been chosen completely at random. Of

course, when performing PREMONITION for a few friends or colleagues, this

will not be a concern.

“So all are satisfied with the Two of Clubs, a card randomly thought of by a gentleman

whom I do not know? Now will the gentleman who just named the Two of Clubs please

step forward and take the cards out of their case? Sir, please deal the cards face up,

one at a time. When you get to the Two of Clubs, please set it aside.”



The spectator deals all of the cards, but fails to locate the thought of card.

“You cannot find the Two of Clubs? Sir, please count the cards SINGLY and ALOUD. How

many cards are there? 51? I am not at all surprised. There is one card missing and the

missing card is the Two of Clubs.”

“This is not just a coincidence, but definite testimony that my latest PREMONITION

proved correct. Remember, I told you before we started that I had a PREMONITION this

morning? I had a strange sense that when I asked someone to think of a card, he would

pick the Two of Clubs. That’s why, I removed it from the deck and put it in my pocket.

Always respect your PREMONITIONS!”



The Secret

This ASTOUNDING effect requires THREE packs of cards. The whole thing depends upon

a very SUBTLE and ORIGINAL set-up. I shall first explain the arrangement and then

detail the working:

Sort the first two packs separately into Suits. Stack 26 cards from the first pack as

follows and lay each on the table, FACE UP:

6D - QC - 7H - AS - 4C - KC - 6H - JD - 3D - 5S - 10D - QS - 10H - 2H - 4S -

AC - 3H - 9C - 8S - 7D - 9S - 2D - 5C - KS - 8C - JH

Now take the second pack and discard the AS and AD from it. Take out the duplicates

of the above 26 cards and stack them in exactly the same order on top of the first 26.

It will be seen that you will now have a pack of 51 cards. With the exception of the AS

every card will have its duplicate 26 cards away. Place the cards in the case and we

shall call this PACK NUMBER ONE.

You will now have 26 cards remaining from the first and 25 cards from the second pack.

You now build up your second pack from these, following this arrangement:

6S - QD - 7C -AD - 4H - KH - 6C - JS - 3C - 5H - 10S - QH - 10C - 2S - 4D -

AH - 3S - 9H - 8D - 7S - 9D - 2C - 5D - KD - 8H - JC



Now follow these 26 cards with their duplicates (with the exception of the AD) in exactly

the same order. In this instance, too, every card will have its duplicate 26 cards away

with the exception of the AD. This pack is also returned to its case and we shall call it

PACK NUMBER TWO. Once set there is no need to re-set again for repeat performances,

as you will see later that the cards are not disturbed at all during the demonstration.

Now take the third pack and separate the suits. This is stacked differently. Start with

the CLUBS. Take the Ace and lay it on the table FACE UP. Follow this with the Two,

Three, Four and all the way up through to the King of Clubs. Now take the DIAMONDS.

Place the KD on top of the KC. Then continue with the Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, all the

way down to the Ace of Diamonds. In other words, the first suit (CLUBS) is set-up, face

up in ascending order and the second suit (DIAMONDS) is stacked on top of this (also

face up) in descending order.

Now follow this same procedure with the HEARTS and SPADES. The HEARTS are

arranged face up in ascending order just as you did with CLUBS and the SPADES face up

in descending order like the DIAMONDS.

The Set-up

Place the packet of 26 CLUBS AND DIAMONDS “loose” in the left trouser pocket, and

the other packet of 26, the HEARTS AND SPADES “loose” in the right trouser. PACK

NUMBER ONE in its case is placed in the left coat pocket, PACKET NUMBER TWO, also in

its case, goes in the right coat pocket.



The Presentation

Refer to the Patter on pages 3 and 4. Invite someone to THINK of a card and then

name it. Be sure to have everyone agree on the card because the effect is far too

strong and unbelievable. You must avoid the slightest suspicion that you are employing

a confederate. When all AGREE on the card, ask the person to come forward. Casually

reach in pocket and bring out the OPPOSITE pack and toss it on table. When performing

on stage, the correct pack must be lying on table BEFORE assistant arrives. For close-

up work, just remove the deck from your pocket in a relaxed manner. Remember, if you

do not treat it with importance, neither will your audience. I shall explain later how to

bring out the correct or OPPOSITE pack without having to think about it.

We shall suppose that the named card is the 2C. Ask spectator to remove the cards

from their case and deal them, face up, in a pile until he comes to the 2C. DO NOT

TALK ABOUT THE MISSING CARD AT THIS POINT. After the spectator deals all of the

cards and fails to find the 2C, ask him to pick up the pack and hold it in his hand.

If he holds up the pack, backs up, well and good. Otherwise, tell him to hold it the

right way. Now ask him to count the cards. When he finishes, ask how many cards he

counted. His answer will be 51.

At this point, you reach into your pocket and bring out the missing card.

However, here is one IMPORTANT detail - it is vital that you appear to ONLY have a

SINGLE CARD in your pocket. This is essential. The key is to get the card into position

before you need it. As soon as the spectator picks up the deck for the first time, place

your hand into the appropriate pocket - left pocket for a Club or Diamond or right

pocket for a Heart or Spade.



The cards are arranged so that you can quickly and easily locate the selected card. At

the most, you’ll have to count down 13 cards to reach it. To locate a Club, you count

down from the TOP. To locate a Diamond, you begin the count from the BOTTOM. The

same rule applies for Hearts and Spades - for a Heart count from the top, for a Spade

count from the bottom. The important thing is that the right card is picked and placed

upon the top of the packet inside the pocket, and your hand is withdrawn empty while

the spectator is still looking for his card.

At the most you have to count down only 13 cards, whereas the spectator must count

51 cards TWICE! Your hand will be out of the packet before he ever reaches the middle

of the pack. There’s plenty of time to casually do the dirty work. And remember, there’s

no “heat” on your actions whatsoever, since the spectator is handling the deck. When

the time finally comes to withdraw the MISSING card from your pocket, you do not

have to fumble. You just reach into the correct pocket and bring out the top card. The

inference is that you ONLY had one card in your pocket - the ONE you told the audience

you removed from the deck earlier.

How to Locatethe Right Pack

If you look into the cards for both packs - NUMBER ONE and NUMBER TWO, you will

find that they do not conform to any known principle in card magic. This arrangement is

based on a mathematical peculiarity, and had to be specially WORKED OUT. I shall not

complicate matter by going into its intricacies but will come straight to the point.

Now when a card is named you must be able to withdraw the right pack INSTANTLY

from the coat pocket. That pack must be tossed casually on the table long before the

spectator arrives. This is how you find almost simultaneously with the naming of the

card, which pack to withdraw.



Divide the value of the card by 2, and the QUOTIENT will tell you in which of the two

coat pockets is the correct pack. If the QUOTIENT is ODD, and the card named BLACK,

then you take out the pack from the LEFT coat pocket. This means PACK NUMBER

ONE. If QUOTIENT is EVEN, and card BLACK, take out the pack from the RIGHT cost

pocket - PACK NUMBER TWO.

In the case of a RED card, it’s exactly opposite. If QUOTIENT is ODD, take out PACK

NUMBER TWO from RIGHT pocket. If EVEN, then take out PACK NUMBER ONE from

the LEFT pocket.

Another way is to memorize the conditions which govern the packet. Let’s say, PACK

NUMBER ONE in the left coat pocket. In this pack, the cards are Black ODD and Red

EVEN. This is easily remembered by the acronym, “B.O.R.E.” If it doesn’t conform to

these conditions, then you know at once the card is located in PACK NUMBER TWO in the

right pocket. Another way to remember this is PACK NUMBER ONE is ODD (Black) and

PACK NUMBER TWO is EVEN (Black). And just the opposite is true if the card is Red.

Naturally, at first reading, all of this will sound somewhat complicated. However, once

you understand the basic system, locating the right pack should be become almost

automatic and require very little thought.

Let’s talk a little more about card values. The Ace is one, all of the subsequent spot

cards are their face value, the Jack is 11, the Queen 12, and the King is 13.

Let’s say, as per our earlier example, the card named is the Two of Clubs. You divide

2 by 2 and get a QUOTIENT of 1, which is ODD. The Club is a Black card and the ODD

QUOTIENT means PACK NUMBER ONE in your left pocket. So you remove this deck,

since the Two of Clubs will be missing from it. If the Three of Clubs was named, then

you would still withdraw PACK NUMBER ONE, since the QUOTIENT of 3 divided by 2 is

still 1 (remainders are always ignored). If on the other hand, the Four of Clubs was

named, the QUOTIENT would be 2 (Black EVEN), so you would take out PACK NUMBER

TWO from the right pocket.



Next, we’ll look at a few examples with Red cards. Suppose the Six of Hearts is named. 6

divided by 2 is 3, an ODD number. Instantly, we know Red ODD is PACK NUMBER TWO in

the right pocket. This pack will NOT contain the Six of Hearts. On the other hand, if the

Eight of Diamonds is named, the QUOTIENT (8 divided by 2) is 4 making it Red EVEN. As

a result, you would withdraw PACK NUMBER ONE in the left pocket.

A “0” (zero) QUOTIENT is treated as EVEN. The only time this will happen is if an

Ace is named, since an Ace is 1 and the QUOTIENT of 1 divided by 2 is 0. Let’s say

the Ace of Spades or Clubs is named. The result would be Black EVEN, so you would

take out PACK NUMBER TWO from the right pocket. Conversely, if the Ace of Hearts or

Diamonds were named, it would be Red EVEN, so you would take out PACK NUMBER

ONE in the left pocket.

If after some practice, you are still having a problem remembering which deck to choose,

Eddie Joseph offers yet another memory device which may help. Instead of calling your

decks, PACK NUMBER ONE and PACK NUMBER TWO. Consider the deck in your left

pocket as Black “ONE” or “ODD,” and the deck in your right pocket as Red “ONE” or

“ODD.” Now, if a Black card is chosen, left is ODD and right is EVEN. And if a Red card is

chosen, right is ODD and left is EVEN.



Observations

You may be thinking that permitting a spectator to freely handle a deck consisting of

duplicates is a risky move. Actually, you need not fear any problems in this regard. It

is a psychological fact that the mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time and

to divide concentration is to lose it. The spectator’s entire attention will be focused

solely on the matter at hand - namely, finding his card in the pack. In the case of

our example, his thoughts and that of any spectators will only be upon locating the

Two of Clubs.

A perfect example of this last point is best illustrated by a story Eddie Joseph used to

tell. As it goes, on one particular occasion, he was invited to perform for a local magic

society. He performed PREMONITION. One of the magic society members named the

card and then, every one assembled watched intently as the face of every card was

dealt. After the demonstration, the unanimous conclusion of the group was that Joseph

employed a confederate to achieve this remarkable effect. They could not fathom any

other explanation of what they had witnessed and certainly had no clue that there

were duplicate cards in the pack. Such is the power of PREMONITION on knowledgeable

magicians experienced in the ways of deception. Imagine the impact on a lay audience.



Final Thoughts

One nice touch, which can be added to further enhance this effect, is to have a small

coin envelope with a dab of wax on the edges. It is a simple matter to slip the card

inside the envelope when it is first located and press down the flap, while the spectator

goes through the cards. Eddie Joseph personally felt this was a bit of overkill, however

we leave it to your discretion.

Finally, one other variation, which adds no difficulty to the handling is to sign the face

of the cards which are divided between your pockets. In this way, when you produce

the MISSING card, you can prove that you knew what card the person would think of

because you had signed it beforehand. To take this idea a step further, the promotion-

minded magician can give this signed card away as a souvenir to the helper.

Good Luck!

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Trickshop - Eddie Joseph's Premonition

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