Mentalivity

In this puzzling feat the card of which one person thinks is found at a number thought of by a second person. You cannot have known either number beforehand.

1. Have the pack shuffled and returned to you.

2. Request spectator A to think of a number between one and ten and, as you count the first ten cards, to remember the card which falls on his number. Show him one card at a time, counting them aloud, until you have shown ten cards. Replace them on the top in the same order.

3. Invite spectator B to think of a number between ten and twenty. Gaze at him intently, nod your head knowingly; then turn and gaze at spectator A, as if divining his thoughts. Again you indicate that you have succeeded in an abstruse calculation.

4. Place the pack behind your back. Silently remove the top twelve cards and place them at the bottom but in reversed position, that is to say, in the same order but face upwards. As you do this, explain, "I shall attempt to read your thoughts and prove that I have done so beyond a shadow of doubt."

5. Bring the pack forward, its outer end sloping downwards so that the reversed cards at the bottom cannot be seen, and ask spectator A to name the number of which he thought. Let us say that he thought of six. Deal five cards face downwards on the table and show the sixth card, saying, "Your card is no longer in the sixth position."

6. Turn next to spectator B, saying, "Kindly name the number of which you are thinking." When he names it–say it is fifteen-nod affirmatively. "I thought so." You now make a simple calculation, in which you deduct six from fifteen, giving you a key number of nine. Whatever may be this key number, which you arrive at by deducting A's number from B's, you must deal this number of cards from the top of the pack, turn the deck over, and continue the deal to the required number with the cards then at the top.

You do this in the following manner: Say to spectator B, "I was confident that you would think of the number fifteen, and I have placed this gentleman's card at your number." Deal the key number of cards from the top of the pack (nine in our illustration), counting each one aloud. Pause, pick up the last card dealt, turn it face upwards, saying, "The ninth card sometimes.., that isn't your card, is it?" to spectator A. You do this to supply misdirection. While all eyes are on this card drop your left hand to your side, place your thumb under the pack and turn it over. This brings the reversed cards at the bottom uppermost.

7. Now continue the deal with these cards until you come to spectator B's number, fifteen. Remove this card, saying, "This is the card at the number of which you are thinking. That is correct?" He states that it is. Turn to spectator A: "Now, for the first time, will you name the card of which you are thinking?" He names the card, say the ace of clubs.

8. Recapitulate briefly what has been done: "You will remember that you thought of a card at a certain position in the pack. This gentleman thought of another number and I have placed the card at his number before all of us. Would you be surprised if this card should prove to be your ace of clubs? You would. Then let us see if it is."

9. Turn the card face upwards, showing that it really is the required card.

To right the reversed cards which are lowermost in the pack, pick up one of the packets of dealt cards and drop them face upwards on the table as you talk with those about you. Drop the pack on them in an absent-minded manner. In a moment, pick up all the cards. Remove all the reversed cards at the bottom, right them, and replace them. It will seem that in gathering the pack you absently made an error and corrected it.