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Bob Wallace / Magic
← The Royal Road to Card Magic
Jean Hugard & Frederick BraueContents

Pulse Trick

You will be surprised at the number of pseudo-scientific explanations which will be offered to explain this trick, in which you name a selected card by reading a lady's pulse, and she in turn reads your pulse and names a card you have selected.

1. Force a card on a lady and, after she has noted its value, have her place it to one side face downwards.

2. Say, "It is an interesting fact that the principle of the so-called lie detector has been used by magicians for over a century. For instance, it is entirely possible for me to name the card you have chosen by reading your pulse."

3. Hold her wrist so that you can feel the pulse. Say, "The lie detector measures physical reaction to stimuli, as we all know. When a significant question is asked, no matter how well the subject may discipline his emotions, his body reacts abnormally. To show you how magicians have used this principle in the past, I shall call out ace, two, three, and so on, and, no matter how well you dissemble, I shall know the value of your card when I name it. I will ascertain the suit in the same way."

4. Count, "One, two, three, four," and so on up to "king." Immediately say, "When I counted five, your pulse jumped. Your card was a five." Of course you name the value of the forced card.

5. Repeat this with the four suits, naming the proper one, and have the card turned to prove that you are correct.

Usually there will be some discussion of this phenomenon, and after a moment you offer to prove that what you say is so.

1. Take the pack and shuffle it, withdraw a card and note its value. Place it face downwards to one side without letting anyone see it

2. Have the lady feel your pulse and instruct her to call the values and suits as you did. Press the tip of your middle finger firmly against the tip of your thumb, and when the value of your card is named slide your thumb inward on your finger tip for a fraction of an inch. The muscles of the wrist tighten and this is felt by the lady taking your pulse. When, at the end, you ask her to name the value of your card, she names the proper one.

3. Repeat this with the suit, have it named, turn your card, and show that she has named it correctly.

Since you have mentioned "jumping pulses," the lady in many cases is prepared to swear that your pulse jumped!

Book contents

Front matter

  1. Title Page
  2. Preface

The Overhand Shuffle, I

  1. The Overhand Shuffle, I
  2. The Overhand Shuffle
  3. Using the Overhand Shuffle
  4. Overhand Shuffle Control
  5. Overhand Shuffle Practice Routine
  6. Tricks With the Overhand Shuffle
  7. Introduction
  8. Topsy-Turvy Cards
  9. A Poker Player's Picnic
  10. A Pocket Discovery
  11. Telepathy Plus
  12. Thought Stealer
  13. Pinkie Does It
  14. A Card and a Number

II. The Riffle Shuffle

  1. II. The Riffle Shuffle
  2. The Riffle Shuffle
  3. Riffle Shuffle Control
  4. Riffle Shuffle in the Air
  5. Tricks with the Riffle Shuffle
  6. An Instinct for Cards
  7. Mirror of the Mind
  8. Ultra Card Divination

III. Flourishes

  1. III. Flourishes
  2. Introduction
  3. Displaying the Top Card
  4. The Ruffle
  5. The Click
  6. Spread and turnover
  7. Springing the Cards
  8. A Flourish Count
  9. Throwing a Card
  10. Waterfall Shuffle
  11. The Fan
  12. One-Hand Fan
  13. Thumb Fan
  14. Pressure Fan

IV The Glide

  1. IV The Glide
  2. The Glide
  3. Tricks with the Glide
  4. Design for Laughter
  5. The Observation Test

V The Glimpse

  1. V The Glimpse
  2. Introduction
  3. Bottom-Card Glimpse
  4. Top-Card Glimpse
  5. Fan Peek
  6. Tricks with the Glimpse
  7. Gray's Spelling Trick
  8. Round and Round

VI The Key Card

  1. VI The Key Card
  2. Introduction
  3. The Key Undercut
  4. Key Undercut Shuffle
  5. Tricks with the Key Card
  6. Do as I Do
  7. The Three Piles
  8. The Twenty-Sixth Card
  9. A Meeting of the Minds
  10. The Non-Poker Voice
  11. Intuition with Cards
  12. Sliding Key Card

VII The Palm

  1. VII The Palm
  2. Introduction
  3. Top Palm
  4. Palm Glimpse
  5. Replacing Palmed Cards
  6. Tricks with the Palm
  7. Card in the Pocket
  8. Now You See It!
  9. Grab-Bag Card
  10. Good-Luck Card
  11. Do It and Fail
  12. Gathering of the Clan
  13. Spring Catch
  14. A Vested Interest
  15. Piano Trick

VIII The Backslip

  1. VIII The Backslip
  2. The Backslip
  3. Backslip Force
  4. Backslip Control
  5. Tricks with the Backslip
  6. Lightning Card
  7. The Tantalizer
  8. Under Your Hat

IX The Overhand Shuffle, II

  1. IX The Overhand Shuffle, II
  2. Injog and Break
  3. Overhand Break Control
  4. Overhand Lift Shuffle
  5. Lift Shuffle Force
  6. Spread and Break
  7. Holding a Break
  8. Spread and Break Control
  9. Tricks with the Overhand Shuffles
  10. The Sevens
  11. Obliging Aces
  12. Leapfrog
  13. Spectator's Card Trick
  14. A Poker Puzzle

X False Shuffles and Cuts

  1. X False Shuffles and Cuts
  2. Optical Shuffle
  3. Charlier Shuffle
  4. The Cut
  5. Palm Cut
  6. Tricks With the Shuffles and Cuts
  7. An Incomprehensible Divination
  8. Circus Card Trick
  9. Black Jack, Detective

XI The Double Lift and turnover

  1. XI The Double Lift and turnover
  2. The Double Lift and Turnover
  3. Double-Lift Glimpse
  4. Double-Lift Card Reverses
  5. Tricks with the Double Lift
  6. Rapid Transit
  7. The Trey
  8. Ambitious Card
  9. Throughth and Consequences
  10. Insidious Dr. Fu Liu Tu

XII The Pass

  1. XII The Pass
  2. Introduction
  3. The Pass
  4. Riffle Pass
  5. Spread Pass
  6. Spring Pass
  7. Tricks with the Pass
  8. Off Agin, On Agin, Finnegin!
  9. Kangaroo Card
  10. Righting a Wrong
  11. Blindfolded Pack
  12. Double Speller

XIII Miscellaneous Flourishes

  1. XIII Miscellaneous Flourishes
  2. Color Change
  3. Double Color Change
  4. The Changing Card
  5. Self-Cutting Deck
  6. A Pretty Cut
  7. Pop-Up Card
  8. A Bit of Byplay
  9. Charlier Cut
  10. Acrobatic Aces

XIV The Reverses

  1. XIV The Reverses
  2. The Reverses
  3. Reversed Location
  4. Tricks with the Reverses
  5. Spellbound
  6. A Tipsy Trick
  7. Double Reverse
  8. Mentalivity
  9. Mountebank Miracle

XV The Hindu Shuffle and Other Controls

  1. XV The Hindu Shuffle and Other Controls
  2. The Hindu Shuffle
  3. Hindu Shuffle Control
  4. Hindu Shuffle Force
  5. Hindu Shuffle Glimpse
  6. The Step
  7. Natural Jog
  8. Twelve-Down Riffle
  9. Tricks with the Hindu Shuffle
  10. All Change Here
  11. Ewephindit

XVI The Classic Force

  1. XVI The Classic Force
  2. The Classic Force
  3. One-Hand Force
  4. Bottom Force
  5. Slide-Out Force
  6. Two-Card Force
  7. Riffle-Break Force
  8. Sliding-Key Force
  9. Double-Lift Force
  10. Cut Force
  11. Tricks with the Force
  12. Justice Card Trick
  13. Fours of a Kind
  14. Pulse Trick

XVII Top and Bottom Changes

  1. XVII Top and Bottom Changes
  2. Top Change
  3. The Changing Card
  4. Top-Change Byplay
  5. Bottom Change
  6. Top and Bottom Changes

XVIII Arrangements

  1. XVIII Arrangements
  2. Arrangements
  3. Tricks with Arrangements
  4. The Selective Touch
  5. A Future in Cards
  6. Jacks Wild
  7. Think Stop
  8. Deal Away
  9. The Educated Cards
  10. Reds and Blacks

XIX Routines

  1. XIX Routines
  2. Routining Card Tricks
  3. A Table Routine
  4. A Rollicking Routine
  5. Card-Discovery Routine
  6. Razzle-Dazzle Routine

XX Platform Tricks

  1. XX Platform Tricks
  2. Conus Ace Trick
  3. Ladies' Looking Glass
  4. Everywhere and Nowhere
  5. Egyptian Pocket
  6. Cards to the Pocket
  7. Enlarging and Diminishing Cards
  8. Three Cards Across
  9. Everybody's Card, I
  10. Everybody's Card, II