TRIVIAL

THOUGHTS
Toby Hudson

Copyright 2015 by Toby Hudson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced in any form without written
permission from the author.
For further information, please contact me at:
cardtrick212@gmail.com

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

PLAYING CARDS
Out of Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vanishing Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The Choice is Yours . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Radish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Buried Treasure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Simple ACAAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BILLETS
ThinkTank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lunch at Gerris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Memory Lane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Think Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Simple Peek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2

PIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction
3

Ill begin by saying that Im not very good at

introductions, so Ill try to keep this brief.
What youve just invested in is a small book
of some of my favourite ideas and effects
from performing magic and mentalism for
over 5 years now.
As Im mainly a close up kinda guy, all the
effects within these pages use playing cards
and billets, items that are readily available. I
know there are already hundreds of effects of
this nature available already, but I hope Ive
explored some new ideas and concepts.
I hope you enjoy these pieces and take the
time to practise and perfect them as I have
and experience the wonder that mentalism
can have on people.
Id like to thank everyone at the Magic
Lounge in Sheffield for taking me in 3 years
ago and exposing me to the world of magic.
Steve Brownlee, Roger Curzon, Russell Hall,
Brandon Ellis, the list could go on and on and
I couldnt have come up with any of this stuff
without them. Thanks guys, it really means a
lot.
Id also like to thank my mum, dad and sister
for enduring all the tricks Ive shown you over
4

the years (even the crappy ones) and pushing

me to always do what I love.
Best wishes,
Toby Hudson x
April 2015

Routines

Out of focus
Effect
The spectator is shown a card and asked to
commit it to memory. He then closes his
eyes and the Mentalist proceeds to replace
the card with a mystic black haze, wiping
away any memory of the card!

Presentation
Someone is asked to come up on stage and
assist the Mentalist. His name is Roger. He
is asked to close his eyes.

You know how it is when you go into a

room and completely forget what you
were going in for. Its natural, us as
human beings have a way of filtering
out information that isnt vitally
important to us so we can concentrate
more on other things. However, some
people who have experienced amnesia
claim that they see sort of a black haze
and they cant remember anything
because of it. A weird concept, I know,
but I want to try something with just
that idea.
7

A deck of cards is removed and a card

chosen at random. The card is shown around.
(e.g. 7 ) Richardson is then asked to open
his eyes and lock the card in his mind. The
card is placed in full view and the subject is
asked to close their eyes again.

Ok, so what I want you to do is keep

the card you saw locked in your mind.
Imagine all the intricacies on it, see it
all clearly in your mind. Now, imagine a
black haze starts to cover the card. You
try and look around it but you cant. It
keeps covering the thought until it has
completely gone. As you look at the
black cloud, its get closer and closer
to you until
The Mentalist taps the subject on his
forehead. He awakes with a start. He is
asked what he remembers seeing. All
Richardson says is that he can remember a
black mist and he claims he has no
recollection of the card. Mysterious

Credits
This effect is based on a routine of Patrick
Redford called The Forgotten. It really is an
excellent routine and I recommend you track
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down his DVD Glemme for some good

presentational ideas and great thoughts on
amnesia effect in general.
I think that the basic handling at work here
can also be credited to the effect R.G.M from
Luke Jermays booklet 7 Deceptions. Another
highly recommended product.

Concept
In its most basic form, what youre doing is
showing the spectator a completely black
card and making it appear as though the
black is just in their mind. Its a bold idea,
but used with a lot of hidden subtleties, can
really appear like amnesia. Id also like to
add that this routine will still work if for some
strange reason, the volunteers name doesnt
happen to be Roger.
9

What you need to do is make up a playing

card with a regular back and a completely
black face. You could print one up on a
computer, or do what I do which is take a
blank card and a sharpie and get to work.
This has the added bonus of looking quite
rough, and cements the idea of it being a
cloud.
Set up by placing the 7 followed by the
black card on top of the deck face down. I
always use the seven because it allows you
to supposedly make them remember the card
again afterwards if you so desire it. I dont
always use this last phase as I dont always
think its needed, but if you want to use it, go
ahead.

Performance
Begin by getting someone up on stage and
talk about the cloud that people with
amnesia suffer from. If you really want to go
all Derren Brown on them, talk really fast and
tap his shoulder every so often. If any
mentalists are in the audience, this may
throw them off the method and believe you
really are using suggestion.

10

Another nice thing about this is that the

cloud you mention actually exists, so if they
were to go home later and Google it, (which
they wont) they would find that many
amnesia sufferers do claim that a mysterious
black haze blocks off their memories.
Anyway, have them close their eyes. Now, for
the first time, bring out the deck. Its very
important NOT to say well use a deck of
cards for this effect. To the audience, it will
be clear youre using playing cards, but if the
helper knows, they might get confused as to
why they didnt see a card.
Just say something like well use these for
the experiment and remove the cards. Pick
up a double and hold it quite close to the
spectators face. Tell him to open your eyes
and commit whatever you see to memory.
Holding the cards near his face is nice
because when he thinks back, he might just
remember the blackness and nothing round
the edges.
If you are afraid they may speak out that
theyve seen something unusual, just add in
the line at the start I dont want you to talk
now until the end of the trick to let the full
11

amnesia take effect. However I find its not

always needed. The next part is just
presentation and how convincing you can be
supposedly inducing hypnotic suggestion.
Place the double on the deck, take off the top
card singly and show it around. Talk about
the cloud covering the card (Note: At this
point, you can refer to it as a card) and as
you do, let your voice get louder and louder.
Then, pause a beat and tap the participant
on the head.
Dont hit him TOO hard, just maybe a little
more forcefully than normal. Usually at this
point, his eyes will snap open and hell look
somewhat confused. This is perfect. Quickly
ask him use one word to sum up what you
saw. He will either say black or better yet
nothing. Ask him what he remembers
seeing.
What you want to do here is twist whatever
he says slightly to make it appear as though
the black was only in his mind. For example,
if he says the card was completely covered
in black you could say so it was covering
your view, almost as if you cant remember
the card at all? As you do, nod your head
12

and he will nod too, making it appear as

though thats what he saw.
The clincher is when you pick up the card
from the table and say so you dont
remember seeing the 7 at all? He will
invariably say no so congratulate him and
send him to his seat. If he looks worried
make sure to tell him that the amnesia wont
affect him anymore and that he has no worry
of forgetting anything again. (Note: If you
want to continue with the second phase,
dont show him the card.

Phase 2
If you want to, you can bring the card back.
Have him close his eyes again and imagine
the cloud lifting. Have him call out what
colour he thinks the card is. He will say red
9/10 times, but if he says black use the line
no, I think thats the BLACK cloud blocking
your view again. He will then, of course have
to switch to red.
Hearts is the most commonly chosen suit.
Whichever suit he says, dont say anything.
Then have him call out a value from 1 10.
Psychologically, 7 is the most common
response. If he says a number considerably
13

lower, just ask him to try again. 3/4 of the

time youll get the card bang on, whereas
other times youll maybe get the suit wrong,
or off by one or two.
Whatever he ends up with, congratulate him
and say something about as its your first
time, you cant be expected to get it bang on.
Show him the card and send him back to his
seat.

Alternative
This is quite a bold and cheeky way to have
him remember the card again. As soon as
youve tapped him and hes opened his eyes,
start talking about the cloud. Then say so
you dont remember seeing this card? Here,
all youre doing is showing him the card. He
will say no. Place it back down and have him
close his eyes again.
Spend a minute or so talking about the cloud
lifting to allow some time misdirection to
unfold. Then say to him thinking back now,
what card did you see? Of course now he will
say 7 and you can send him off to his
seat. You showing him the card briefly flies
past the audience and they wont remember

14

it, even if they watch the effect multiple

times.

Final Thoughts
I really like this effect, and it really plays well
with audiences big and small. I always have
the black card in my pocket so that I can
whip it out whenever I want to do this effect.
It also leads nicely into any other
psychological effects that you may do in your
repertoire.
You can also frame this effect as forgetting
an important piece of information. You can
have a business card which has the black
face. The spectator closes their eyes, and
you write something like their name on
another business card. You can show it
around and then switch for the black card
and show it to the spectator. Then, you can
frame it as them forgetting their name or any
personal information. I havent really tested
this idea fully, but hopefully you can see the
possibilities this idea could have if
developed.

15

Vanishing point
Effect
A deck of cards is borrowed and shuffled in
an extremely fair manner by the participant.
They then merely peek at a card, yet the
Mentalist can nail it every time!

Presentation
The Mentalist asks for a participant to help
him with his next cardboard creation. A deck
of cards is borrowed from him (lets call him
Steve) and the cards split into four random
piles.

Ok, so you look like a smart guy. You

probably know all the tricks using key
cards and secret helpers and that sort
of crap. So what Ive done is split the
deck into four piles. Pick em up on at a
time and shuffle to your hearts
contents.
The helper does just this. He shuffles the
packets on at a time. The packets are then
gathered and squared.

Right, so Im going to turn my back and

what I want you to do is lift up a
16

section of cards anywhere, peek at the

card, then slap the deck back together
and thoroughly shuffle. You done?
Good.
The Mentalist should have no inkling as to
what the card is. He stares into Steves eyes.

Im getting a red card, yes. Look at me

please, its a heart yes? Ok, now think
about whether or not its a picture or a
number card...its a number card. Now
for the value. Its high card, is it not? I
thought so. Look at me here, the 8, no
9 of hearts yes? Thank you very much.
Steve confirms this is the card and the deck
is fully examined, and there are no gimmicks
or stacks to speak of. What I love about this
routine is that it is totally impromptu and can
be performed at the drop of a hat. I like to
use this effect with the move monkeys as it
really confuses them.

Concept

17

18

Thinktank
Effect
Three spectators each think of a different
thought and write it down. Somehow, the
Mentalist manages to divine all three, before
showing that he knew way in advance what
each of them would pick.

Presentation
Three mini slips of paper are shown, with a
number 1, 2 or 3 written on each. They are
mixed and three spectators (Brandon, Nathan
and Gaz) take a card each and remember
their number. The slips are then torn up.

Ok, so right now each of you is thinking

of a number. If you thought of number
19

1, think of a simple geometric shape

like a square or circle, nothing too
complex like a star. If you thought of
number 2, think of any playing card for
me, but not an ace as theyre too easy.
Finally, if you thought of number 3,
think of any two digit number from 1 to
50 for me. Please, no decimals or
recurring fractions.
Each spectator writes their thought down on
a billet. These are unmarked and completely
normal. The Mentalist is blind folded and is
handed the billets.
He proceeds to correctly divine all three
thoughts perfectly, (e.g. 19, triangle and Q
) before giving a short but extremely
specific character reading on all three
participants.

However, I have to admit something to

you. I had a feeling as to what your
thoughts were going to be a week ago.
I gave you (indicates spectator 1) a
deck of cards 2 weeks ago, and I
asked you to bring it along with you
tonight. Could you please get it out?

20

The spectator takes out the deck, and with

shaking fingers, removes the card from the
box. He is asked to count down to the 19th
card. It is turned over. Sure enough, its the Q
, and scrawled across the face of it, is the
word TRIANGLE in big black lettering. The
Mentalist never handles the deck, and it is
completely ungimmicked.

Credits
If you havent already guessed it, this effect
makes use of the brilliant Hoy Principle by
David Hoy. Some noteworthy effects using
this idea are Daves Pin from Michael
Murrays book A Piece of My Mind and Luke
Jermays Touching on Hoy from Coral Fang.

21

Concept
The basic idea at work here is the famous
Hoy Principle by David Hoy. What this means
is that all three participants are actually
thinking of the same thought without realising
it.
To set up, take a deck of cards and write the
word triangle across any card. Lets say the
2 . Then place this at position 36 in the
deck. It doesnt matter what card and what
number you use, as long as you know them.
You can then put the deck away and send it
to a participant of the effect weeks in
advance.
You will also need a small stack of business
cards that are blank on one side. Draw a
medium sized rectangle in the middle of each
card. In one, write the number, in this case
36, and in the other, write the card, in this
case the 2 .
Place these two cards on the bottom of the
business card stack face down in any order.
You will also need five mini slips of paper. On
three of these, draw a big number 1 on it,
and then write 2 and 3 on the other two.

22

Make sure the ink doesnt bleed through.

Youre now ready to perform the effect.
When ready to perform, place two of the slips
that have a 1 on them on your lap so you can
access them easily.

Performance
If you saw the presentation at the start, its
should be clear that I dont really have a set
presentation for this effect. Sometimes Ill
talk about premonitions and act serious
about it, or sometimes Ill present it as a
exposing the psychics routine and do it quite
tongue in cheek. Its up to you really.
To begin, introduce the effect and say that
youll need three random thoughts. Show the
three slips of paper freely and have them
examined. As this is happening, get the two
slips in your lap, ready to be palmed. Youll
now perform a simple switch to swap
numbers 2 and 3 for the ones on your lap.

Switch
Take the slips back so that number 1 is on
top. Hold them face down and get a break
under the top slip. Youre going to let the two
23

below it to slip onto your lap as you place the

two palmed on top.
Bring your hands together and as you do,
briefly dip your hands below the table and
drop the two slips below the break onto your
thighs. Bring your hands back up as they
meet and drop the two palmed slips onto the
other hand.
Grab all three with your right hand and spread
them on the table. To the naked eye, it
should appear as though you just transferred
the slips from one hand to the other and
spread them on the table. Little do they know
the slips now all have 1 written on them.
What fools they are.

Performance
Spread them out on the table and have the
spectators take one at random and
remember the number. Make sure to tell
them not to show anyone else what number
they got. This will ensure no one will see that
all are the same. Take the slips back and
dispose of them.
Now follow the presentation written at the
beginning. If you word is as shown, then all
24

three of the participants should be thinking of

triangle. Each of them also thinks that the
other two are thinking of a card or a number.
Take three business cards (careful not to
disturb your stack) and draw boxes in the
middle identical to the ones drawn earlier.
Hand one to each participant and have them
write down their thoughts in the boxes. Again,
caution them not to let anyone else see what
they write.
Blindfold yourself and take the three cards
face down. Mix them up and hover your hand
over them one at a time to pick up the auras
the cards are leaving.
You can now proceed to supposedly receive
the thought one at a time. Im getting a
shape coming through here, quite pointy, a
triangle maybe? Dont react anyone, dont
give anything away. Next, the number. This is
quite central, like 36? And finally the card.
Oh thats easy, the 3 .no 2 of hearts!
Remove your blindfold and say quick yes or
no, did I get yours? Ask them one at a time
in quick succession and they will all say yes.
Pick up the three cards and set them on top

25

of the stack casually. Relax a little here and

soak up the applause.
Pick up the business card stack and transfer
the top card to the bottom and turn over the
whole packet. Deal the three face cards onto
the table. This is discrepant but will fly past
the audience.
Even though youve just switched out two
cards, everything should appear normal. Each
spectator will see their thought and what they
presume are the other two peoples thoughts.
Youre now going to do a quick handwriting
analysis and cold reading (Note: see the end
for an alternative for this) Ill just explain this
briefly as it should be pretty obvious. Begin
by saying ok, the way youve all written and
drawn your answer is very interesting to me.
Well try this with the triangle drawer first.
Dont say who you are, as this might give me
a clue, but what Im getting from you is
Give a brief reading with the usual Barnum
statements. When youre done, move
straight onto the second person who wrote
the number. As this is no one, you can be as
specific as you want as no one can verify it.
The same with the last person.
26

Now ask each of them what percentage of

the information that I just gave would mean
something to you? As all three got the
reading with Barnum statements in, their
answer will differ, one maybe saying
Because youll get different percentages, this
cements the idea that all the readings
applied to only one person each.
Finally, all you need to do now is say that you
knew what they were going to pick and go
into the final reveal with the deck of cards.
Make sure you NEVER go near the cards so
that any watching mentalists dont accuse
you of switches.

Alternative
Here is an alternative to the second phase,
the cold reading bit. After youve revealed all
three thoughts, all the face down cards still
say triangle so you can have them mixed as
much as possible, yet you can identify which
card belongs to which person, as they will
always get a card with their thought written
on it!

Final Thoughts

27

I know this might read a bit dull on paper, but

as long as you keep them captivated and
involved, theres no reason for them to be.
People love themselves, so as long as you
keep it centred on their thoughts and ideas,
theyll be hooked!
After showing this effect to a friend of mine,
they said that they liked it but they thought
that revealing that you knew what they would
think in advance kind of ruined the mind
reading phase, as it was now clear that you
werent reading their thoughts.
This is a good point, but I think that as long
as you focus more on the cold reading
aspect and less on the mind reading. This
shouldnt really pose an issue, Make it look
as though the mind reading was just a casual
extra to the main event (the readings.) But if
you just want to reveal the three thoughts
with no deck ending, you can.
Finally. Im sure some pessimists out there
will be thinking what if a participant doesnt
pick the triangle? What if is all goes horribly
wrong? The simple answer is that if youve
built up good rapport with your spectators
beforehand, then they wont try and trick you
28

and they will go for the triangle. Plus, what

other shapes can they choose? Theres really
nothing to worry about!

29