Effect:

A card is freely selected, signed across its face, and placed back into the
middle of the deck. With empty hands, the magician removes his wallet, where a
card can be seen inside the netted driver’s license cover. The magician removes the
SIGNED card, places it onto the table for all to see. The card is very cleanly shown to
be the spectators own signed card. And then can be given to the spectator as a gift for
them to keep.

Preparation:
To perform this effect, you need a double backed card and a wallet (one with
either a netted licence pocket or at least a clear pocket). Place your double backed
card into the clear netted covering in your wallet that is used to hold your drivers
license.

Presentation:
With the wallet set up with the double backer in it, in your back pocket, you’re
ready to go. Take a deck of cards, allow them to be examined, and have a spectator
freely take one out. No force. A way I like to do this is have them THINK of a card,
and then go through and remove their card, that way they will know that it’s
impossible for the card to be forced on them. After they’ve taken their card, hand
them a permanent marker, and have them sign the face of it, in BIG, BOLD letters.
It’s very important that they sign the card. If they don’t, the effect is much, much,
MUCH less powerful. After they’ve signed it, you need to pretend to put the card
back in the deck, while actually you control it to the top. I’m sure you have a
favourite way of controlling a card to the top, and if you do, use it…in case you don’t,
I’ll teach you my favourite way.
With the deck in your left hand, take their card back with your right hand. With their
card jab it into the middle of the deck with one of the corners, causing a few cards to
protrude out from the front, and also making it look like you’re having trouble getting
the card in the middle of the deck. As soon as this happens, tilt the deck up
SHARPLY, and simply slide the card onto the top of the deck, and bring the deck
back down into a normal position. Done properly, it looks like you just placed their
card into the middle of the deck.

Kevin Cunliffe © 2004

www.kevincunliffe.co.uk
Now, show your right hand completely empty, as you reach for your wallet. Make
sure they can see that your hand is empty; otherwise they’ll think you just palmed the
card and put it back there!!! As they’re doing this, and as all their attention is on your
right hand, use this opportunity to get a break under the top card of the deck (their
card).

Take out your wallet, drawing attention to the card inside. With your right hand,
remove the card, and quickly bring it over and lay it on top of the deck, reach over,
and turn the top two cards over as one, showing that the card in your wallet was their
card. The beauty of the double backed card is that now, you can cleanly slide their
card off the top of the deck and hand it to them.

Alternative handling:
Within certain scenarios the use of a double backed card isn’t possible for
example if your performing impromptu, using a borrowed deck, or if your using a
specially printed limited edition deck. Within any of these examples the use of a
double backed card will prove to be difficult however there is a solution to this minor
problem, if you use an indifferent card in place of the double backed card (I recommend
using a joker if possible), now when it comes time to reveal the card within the wallet
simply remove the extra card and perform the double lift turnover and replace the
cards on the face of the deck before handing out the single signed card to the
spectator, another variation is instead of the use of the double lift you may wish to use
a second deal or even a top change in order to hand the card seemingly straight to the
spectator as it comes from the wallet.

Kevin Cunliffe © 2004

www.kevincunliffe.co.uk