HIGH 5 By Paul Vigil OOOO PAUL: Simon Aronson published Gimme Five in the August 2009 issue of MAGIC. His routine is an incredible version of Dr. Jacob Daley’s Blindfold Poker Deal, a plot attributed to Daley by Edward Marlo [Let’s See the Deck, 1942]. The simple version described below is one I've used for the last few years in my professional performances. I hope you find it streamlined and effective. One tip: only do this effect if you have four or more spectators watching. EFFECT: Five hands of poker are dealt, one to each of the four participants and one to the performer. All are asked to note that their hands of cards are different, to shuffle and cut, then to think of one card in their hand and finally lose it in the deck wherever they choose. The cards are shuffled, cut, and one more round is dealt. By asking each spectator only one yes-or-no question, the magician states, “I now have all the information I need!” ‘The pack is gathered and one card is tabled in front of each of the four partici- pants. Only three of these prove to be correct; yet, dramatically, the performer's dem- onstration ends with a process of prop-less, direct mindreading with the one remain- ing participant, bringing the effect to a successful conclusion. PERFORMANCE: Have a spectator shuffle the cards and then take back the deck and deal out five draw-poker hands, with five cards in each. When the last card is dealt, set the remaining cards aside to your left. For now, think of the spectators as being numbered from 2 through 5. You are Per- son 1, the spectator immediately to your left is 2, and so on. I thought it best to num- ber yourself 1 here; later, when you might forget some details, you'll still remember that you always begin with yourself. “Listen to me carefully. First, look at your cards and notice that they're all different.” Do this yourself and notice the most easily remembered card in your hand; this will be your key card. For ease of explanation, let’s assume that your key card is the Ace of Spades. Here, your actions will follow your words, and you must be very precise, without sounding too specific. You want to be very clear, so later you're not forced to correct your spectators. In other words, you want to avoid having to say “No, not like that...” or “No, like this...” Corrective language like this can be very detrimental to your effect; it will betray the fact that procedures are required for your method. Always make your instructions clear, precise, and as loose as possible in the beginning. “Next, I want you to shuffle.” Move your key card to the center of the five-card hand and begin an overhand shuffle by peeling one card at a time, simply reversing the order. This way, as long as you run all five cards singly, from top to bottom, your key card will remain centered. “Now, if you don’t know the order of your cards, there’s no way that I could know the order, right? Perfect.” “Each of you, hold your cards just like this.” Show the spectators your cards face down in a left-hand dealers’ grip. “Good.” “Then, I want you to reach over (bring your right hand over the cards in end grip) and cut (with your right thumb, drop two cards into your left hand, leaving three in the right; then look at the face card of the upper packet, which is your centered key card) anywhere you want in the middle, but don’t let anybody else see. Then, look at the card you've cut to and remember it, but do not bring your hands back together.” “What I want you to do is place your card here...” To demonstrate, place the cards in your right hand onto the tabled portion to the left. “... with the rest, then place whatever you have left on top of that.” With your right hand, retrieve the left-hand cards and slap them on top with conviction. “This way, there is no way that I could know how many cards you cut, and there is no way I could know how many cards under that you'd bury it, right? Can you do that? Good.” ‘To Person 2 (the spectator directly to your left): “Go ahead. Yes. Cut, look at it and then place those here (extend the deck). Perfect. Now the rest on top. Thank you.” To Person 3 (moving clockwise): “Please, just the same. Excellent.” To Person 4 (again, moving one step clockwise): “There you go. Don’t forget your card, and place the rest on top.” To Person 5 (the spectator directly to your right): “And you, too: cut, look — remember it — and place the rest. Thank you.” Give the deck your best false shuffle and false cut. “Each of you, please, continue to concentrate on your card.” Again, synchronizing actions to words, “I’m going to deal out just one more round — just leave the cards in front of you.” As you deal again, deal five hands, starting at Person 2, dealing yourself the fifth hand. “Now, as I show each of you these cards, do your very best not to give yourself away. I'm going to be looking for any types of clues that I can use to help me discover what your hidden thoughts are.” Leave your hand (the fifth) in place. Pick up the hand in front of Person 2 (the spectator to your left) and say; “I’m only going to ask you one question: Do you see your card?” Fan the cards toward Person 2, and stress that you will never look at the cards yourself. Ask, “Do you see your card?” This is a question with only one answer: “No.” It can’t be in that person’s hand, because it already resides in yours — as does every other selection. Shuffle the cards and hold the fan up to the spectator a second time, apparently looking for clues. “One more time, look at the cards. Look at me. Yes, right there.” Take Person 2’s hand and drop it onto Person 3’s cards, then pick up the combined packets. Fan the cards toward Person 3 and say, “Please look at the cards. Do you see @ card that’s the same value as your card? For instance, if you're thinking of a Seven, do you see another Seven? Look at me; one more time, look at the cards, look at me. Thank you.” Give the packet a quick overhand shuffle, because you can. Now, drop the combined hands of Persons 2 and 3 on top of Person 4's cards. Pick up the combined packets and fan the cards toward Person 4. “Look at the cards. Per- fect. Can you see them all? Great. Do you see a card that’s the same suit as the one you're thinking of? In other words, if you're thinking of a Diamond, do you see another diamond? Look at me. Okay, you're a little harder to read.” Take the combined hands you now have — 2 through 4 — and drop them on top of Person 5’s cards. Pick up the combined packets and fan the cards toward Person 5. “Please look at all the cards carefully. Do you see a card that’s the same color as yours? Look at me. Thank you.” Again, shuffle the cards. Drop the combined packets on top of the hand in front of you, Person 1. Pick up all of those combined packets and add them to the top of the previously tabled deck. “Thave everything I need!” And you do, because each of the mentally selected cards is now under your key card, the Ace of Spades in our example, and they're in the proper order. Now, you want it to look as if you've already picked up on each person’s thought before you glance through the deck. Look at Person 2 and then quickly thumb through the cards until you find your key card, the Ace of Spades. The card directly to the right of the key card belongs to Person 2. Place that card in front of Person 2 and look at him. while you cut a small amount of cards from the face of the deck to the rear. This will make it so that each card is not coming out of the same spot in the pack. Moving on to Person 3, look through the pack and remove the next card to the right of your key card. That will be Person 3’s card. As you remove it, remember what Person 4’s selection is. Let's say it's the Queen of Hearts. Place the removed card in. front of Person 3 and then give the deck a small cut. Look at Person 4 and feign disappointment. Say, “I may kave trouble with you. Hmm, I thought I might.” You will now go through the cards and have one of two outcomes. Either you'll first run into the mate of, or a card one value off from, Per- son 4's card — the Queen of Diamonds, or the Jack or King of Hearts — or you'll first get to your key card and Person 5's selection. If you reach a one-off card for Person 4 first, remove it and place it in front of him. If you reach your key, take out Person 5’s card and place it in front of him; then go back and find a one-off card for Person 4 and table it in front of him. To Person 2: “And what was the card you were merely thinking of?” Take the tabled card, while he answers, and lift its edge for a glimpse. Again feign disappointment. “Did you change your mind?” When he responds negatively, reply “Neither did IP” ‘Turn the selection over and take your applause. Again, look at Person 4, the one you previously stated youd be worried about. Say, “If I don’t get you, please don’t hold it against me. Actually, having got even one af you makes me feel like this is a success.” Coming back to Person 3: “And yours?” Turn over the tabled card over and say, “You were easy. I read you like an open book. But you (again to Person 4) — I'll come back to you in a moment.” To Person 5: “Please, loudly and clearly.” When he responds, say “Perfect!” Turn over the selection slowly and let it sink in. “Now, if I get three out of four, that wouldn't be bad, would it?” Back to Person 4: “Don’t tell me what your card is, just tell me, yes or no, if I'm close.” Reveal the tabled card. This will elicit a positive response, because you are indeed “close.” “It’s close, but it’s not spot on, is it?” This will get a negative response. Place this incorrect card back into the deck with all the rest of the previous selections. “Well, as I said, three out of four isn’t bad, is it? I still think it’s pretty incredible that I even got you (point to Persons 2, 3, and 5). But, you know, sometimes we magi- cians have to take it a step further, and it doesn’t have anything to do with these types of props (referring to the cards). All it really has to do with is one mind and another mind coming together in unison. Can we try to see if we can take these ideas, link them together, and then see just how far we can push it?” Remove the playing cards from the table by placing them in your pocket. Now it’s your time to shine. This will feel like direct mind reading. Say to Person 4, “Look at me.” Pause for suspense. And name the final card.