2. THE CARDS TO THE POCKET
No better trick than this could be proposed as a test of a performer’s ability in the presentation of a trick with cards. It is a perfect experiment for the learner to study. The only preparation required is to have a half dollar in the righthand trousers pocket.
Effect. Ten cards, freely taken from any pack, pass one by one from the performer’s left hand, up his sleeve, and down into his right-hand trousers pocket.
Method. Begin by inviting two spectators to come forwards and seat themselves, one on each side of you. Invite one to shuffle a pack of cards, cut it into three heaps, and choose one of the heaps. Take the chosen pile, count off ten cards, and have all the other cards placed aside. Turn to the man on your left and say, “It is necessary for you to memorize these ten cards, so that you can satisfy yourself that I use these cards only in my experiment.” Run the cards very rapidly from hand to hand before his eyes and say, “Now you will remember the cards, won’t you?” Turn to the other assistant and repeat the rapid spreading of the cards and say, “Will you do the same? Now that you both know all the cards we will proceed.” Of course, they haven’t been able to distinguish even one card clearly and the audience is amused at their discomfiture.
“I was too quick for you? Perhaps, after all, it will be better if I call the names of all the cards for everyone to follow.” Spread five cards in the left hand and call their names; then do the same with the other five cards in the right hand. Place the two packets together in the left hand and slip the tip of the left little finger between them.
Continue, “To understand my experiment you will have to exercise a little imagination. I want you to think that these ten cards”—bring the right hand over the packet and square the cards lightly—“are certain packages of goods”; palm the top five cards in the right hand and take the remaining five cards in the same hand by the outer corners between the thumb and the first and second fingers, keeping as much of the packet in view as possible (Fig. 30). “And this hand”—tap the left palm with the cards in the right hand—”is a dispatching station”—replace the five visible cards in the left hand—”from which they will pass up my sleeve, across my chest, down into my pocket (the receiving station)”—gesture accordingly with the right hand, passing it up over the sleeve and across the chest into your right trousers pocket—”which, by the way, is quite empty. No, I quite forgot I still have a half dollar.” Seize the coin with the tips of the thumb and fingers and pull the pocket out. Show the coin, thus covering the half-closed condition of the hand; then push the pocket in and leave the coin and the five cards inside it.
“Now let us try the experiment”; snap the right fingers on the back of the cards in the left hand, incidentally showing that the right hand is empty. “Ten cards here. First card . . . pass.” Bring out one card from the pocket, being careful to straighten the card by bending it the opposite way; do the same with the others in turn. “Here is the first card, the . . . of . . . Only nine cards left.” Take the five cards from the left hand, spread them very slightly, and replace them in the left hand. “Number two . . . pass.” Snap the packet, showing the right hand empty as before, and bring a second card from the pocket. “Eight cards here now.” Take the packet and spread it slightly as before. Repeat these maneuvers, exactly, for the third card.
“There should be seven cards left. I’ll count them.” False-count the five cards as seven, order one card to pass, and bring another card from the pocket. “Four cards have passed; How many should I have now?” you ask, turning to the man on your left. “Six? Perfect. Right, first guess.” False-count the five cards as six. Continue, to the same man, “Will you hold the ends of the six cards tightly? Fifth card . . . pass. Count them onto my hand.” Hold out your left hand, palm upwards, and the cards are dealt one by one onto it. “Five cards only; one has gone.” Turn to the man on your right, “Will you put your hand into my pocket and take the card out?” He does so, and you take advantage of this surprise to palm three cards in the right hand. “Wait a moment.
I forgot I had a half dollar in that pocket.” Thrust your hand into the pocket, leave the three palmed cards, bring out the coin, and show it. “It’s nice to meet an honest man.” Make a gesture of replacing the coin in the trousers pocket; then, with a sly look at the audience, put it in a vest pocket.
Hold up the two cards in the left hand, squared together. “Five cards are left. I’ll send two at once to save time. Pass. Pass.” Let your right hand be seen empty, casually not ostentatiously, and bring two cards out. “That makes eight and you can see there are just two cards left.”
Take one card in each hand and show them; then take them by the ends, face outwards, in the right hand, the thumb on the lower ends, the second finger on the upper end, and the forefinger pressing on the middle of the back (Fig. 31). Turn to the left; snap the cards into the left hand and immediately turn that hand over, half closed.
Look rather slyly at the audience; then, with a shake of the head, continue, “Oh, no, they haven’t gone yet.” Take them in the right hand—thumb on the bottom, fingers on the top edges—and repeat the gesture of putting them in the left hand; but, this time, press the tip of the left first finger against the middle of the face and snap the two cards back into the right hand (Fig. 32), at once turning the left hand over—half closed, just as before. Raise the left hand diagonally to the left, following it intently with your eyes and pointing to it with the right forefinger. A moment later snap the left thumb and fingers, turn the hand and show it empty, thrust the right hand into the pocket, and bring the cards out one at a time.
The last operation is the only difficult part of the trick. The action in the feint and the actual palm must appear to be exactly the same and to have the same sound as the cards snap against the left palm the first time and the right palm the second time. A little practice before a mirror will soon enable you to get the right result. The trick appears to be a bold one, and most performers are afraid of it; but if proper attention is given to the misdirective moves detailed in the explanation, the reader should have no difficulty in adding this brilliant trick to his repertoire.
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