EUGENE BURGER (GROWING IN THE ArT oF Macic| VoLuME 7 Logo reprinted from Eugene Burger's website http://www.magicbeard.cony An Entertaining Card Discovery Eugene Burger Originally published in M.U.M., March, 2004 ‘When I was appearing at Biggs restaurant in Chicago in the mid 1990s, this was actually one of the most requested of my routines. That may surprise many readers, yet people returning to the restaurant with friends almost al- ways asked to see “the little robot who did card tricks.” While, on the one hand, it was all very simple for me to accomplish; on the other hand, it was also great entertainment and fun. The robot provided a delightful off-beat interlude in my show. EFFECT A. card is freely selected and returned to the deck which is set on the table, I explain: “You might think that I have no idea where your card is but the truth is that I do have a general sense. Since the deck has not been cut or shuf- fled, using simple estimation I could guess that if I cut the cards right here (performer cuts a group of cards from the top of the deck and places them to the side), I’m quite sure that your card is one of the top five or six cards.” Here, I pause, smile and confess: “But I don’t know which one. That's the problem. Fortunately, if I fail to find your card, unlike brain or eye surgery, there’s never any litigation. So, what shall [ do? I think the best thing would be to turn to the men of science.” I introduce the small plastic wind-up toy robot figure. The top five cards from the packet in my hand are dealt face-down in a row on the table. I wind the robot and place it at the end of the row. The robot walks over the cards and stops over one card. The selected card is named and the spectator is invited to remove the card from under the robot. It is the selected card. ARCANUM In the late 1980s, a non-magician friend gave me a small wind-up toy robot figure. When wound, it would make noise and walk across the table and, if you weren’t paying attention, walk right off the edge and fall onto the floor. My friend suggested that I might be able to use the robot in my magic. It seemed like an interesting idea but, as often happens, the little robot remained in a box for many years before I found it again and began experimenting with it—and then made a rather interesting discovery. First, I made a mark with a Sharpie pen across the robot's winder knob (figure 1)*. This allowed me to turn the knob with an exact number of revolutions. I discovered that if I wound the knob with two and one quarter com- plete turns, the robot would walk to the third card and stop. IfI wound it with three complete turns, it would walk to the fourth card. It was that simple, * Robot is drawn from images on googleFie 1 PERFORMANCE Before spreading the cards for the spectator’s selection, I crimp the bottom card as in figure 2. As the card is being shown to the audience I casually get a break under the top two cards of the deck as in Figures 3, 4, and 5, Tic 3Inow have a crimped card third from the bottom of the deck. To replace the selected card, I use a Hindu Shuffle which puts the deck’s bottom stock directly above the selected card. The deck is set on the table. Inow need only cut deck at the crimp and deal the top five cards onto the table. I deal them in a row, so their long edges are touching. (See figure 8). FIG 8 The selected card is in the third position. I wind the robot two and one quarter complete tums. When winding the robot, place your fingers under the feet to keep it from unwinding prematurely. Place the robot at the end of the row, So that it is touggine the edge of the end card as in figure 9. The robot now walks to the selected (third) card and stops. SUBTLETY What makes this effect so effective for bar and restaurant work—where there can be a repetition of a performer's effects before people who have seen them previously—is the fact that the robot does not always need to walk to the same position. If the effect is being performed for people who have seen it before, the robot can walk to the fourth position (with three complete turns of the winding knob). FINDING TOYS Look for wind-up toys that walk in a straight line. Look for toys that might express a plot and that work with your own personality. Some experimentation may be required but by marking a line on the toy’s winder knob, you will be able to calculate how far your particular toy will walk. You may also, for example, experiment with placing the cards in a row so their short ends touch, rather than their long ends. After only a little experimentation, I think you will discover the correct number of winder knob revolutions your toy needs to walk to at least two positions in the row. If you work with this, I think you will be surprised at the responses you will receive,