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TRICKS WITH CARDS-PART ONE
sometimes three, sometimes five, and so on. It seems impossible for the magician to make his prediction without knowing the number of cards taken by the spectator. Method: It is not necessary for the performer to know the number held by the spectator. He simply makes sure that he takes more cards than the other person. He counts his cards. ]n the example given, he has twenty. He then arbitrarily picks a small number such as 4, subtracting it from 20 to get 16. The statement is worded, "I have as many cards as you have, plus four extra cards, and enough left to make sixteen." The cards are counted, as previously explained, and the statement proves to be correct. The method of counting seems to involve the spectator's number, though actually the magician is simply counting his own cards, with the exception of the four which are placed aside. Varying the number to be set aside each time serves to impress the spectator with the fact that somehow the formula is dependent on the number of cards he is holding.
TRICKS USING THE NUMERICAL VALUES
Findley's Four-Card Trick A deck of cards is shuffled by the audience. The magician places it in his pocket and asks someone to call out any card that comes to mind. For example, the Queen of Spades is named. He reaches into his pocket and removes a spade. This, he explains, indicates the suit of the chosen card. He then removes a four and an eight which together total 12, the numerical value of the queen. Method: Previous to showing the trick, the magician removes from the deck the Ace of Clubs, Two of Hearts, Four of Spades, and Eight of Diamonds. He places these four cards in his pocket, remembering their order. The shuffled pack is later placed in the pocket beneath these four cards so that they become the top cards of the pack. The audience, of course, is not aware of the fact that four cards are in the magician's pocket while the deck is being shuffled. Because the four cards are in a doubling series, each value