By Andrew Gerard Effect: The performer gives a spectator his/her business card folded up and asks them to place it in their pocket for later. Then a game of “which coin in the hand” is played 5 times in a row and a score is kept of the spectator’s hits and misses. The performer asks the spectator to remove the business card that’s been in their pocket all along. They open it without the performer ever touching it and it matches their score!STREET CENTS The ability to predict the outcome of random events has long been a theme in the world of mentalism. While most methods rely on multiple outs or switching of predictions, this routine involves controlling the outcome of “random events” thereby eliminating the tampering or switching of the prediction giving you a super clean ending with no heat during the process. You have been supplied with a simple gimmick to make all these routines happen. Amazing, but true. Do not be fooled by this dime/penny gimmick. Some of the best effects done with a deck of cards are powerful because of the effect, not the cards! When you read through these effects you will look at the power of a simple gimmick in a whole new light...small, but powerful. STEP 1 Secretly obtain the gimmick in your right hand while putting your wallet or pen away. This will be the easiest coin you will ever hide. STEP 2 You start off by giving a spectator. one of your business cards with the following on the back (SEE FIGURE A). FIGURE A I fold the business card up so they do not get a glimpse of what's on it. Ask them to place it in their pocket. Give them another blank business card and a pen. Tell them they are going to keep score of a game you will play with them. They are to keep score of their hits and misses by marking an x if they are wrong or a check mark if they are correct. Copyright 2008 Andrew GerardSTEP 3 Explain you are now ready to play a little guessing game. You can ask them if they have some change, like say.... A dime and a penny? If they do, borrow them with your left hand. If they do not, take a regular dime and penny from your left pocket and place them in your left hand (from this point these 2 coins will never leave your left hand). STEP 4 Place both hands behind your back and tell them you will randomly bring one forward...bring forward your RIGHT hand, which holds the gimmick. Open your hand a bit to take a peek (you do not have to hide this). Simply tell them to guess at which coin you took. They will answer and using the “Twist or Turn” move (see next page) you will make them correct/incorrect to match the prediction on the card in their pocket. Place your hands behind your back again and bring the same hand with the gimmick forward again. Ask them to guess again and use the “Twist or Turn”. Match their guess to the prediction. Repeat the procedure 3 more times...every time matching their guess to the prediction. NO heat is on anything at this point, as you will see. At this point ask them to bring out the prediction from their pocket, this gives you plenty of time to ditch the gimmick as you put your coins back in your pocket, or hand them back their change if you borrowed it. Reveal the prediction to match...this insinuates you MUST have been influencing them all along. Copyright 2008 Andrew GerardTWIST OR TURN MOVE The moves to open your hand and show either side of the gimmick are important. You want to remain relaxed and confident; any fumbling will arouse suspicion so practice these moves until they are flawless and natural. The Twist: Hold the coin in your hand loosely with the penny side against your fingers (SEE BELOW). You should be able to peek inside to see which side is facing up. To show the dime side you will open your hand by twisting your wrist clockwise until your fingers are straight. This is done in one smooth motion. The Turn: Quite simply start off with the penny side towards your fingers and turn your closed fist over, reversing the coin, and open your fingers to show the penny side of the gimmick.BONUS / IDEAS NON CENTS This anytime anywhere effect is fun to perform, as the outcome is different every time! You will reach into your pocket and fumble around a bit (not too much), bring out the gimmick and peek at the orientation of the coin so you know which side is up. You will say the following line at the beginning of ALL THREE outcomes, as you will not know what the spectator will say: “Let's play a little game of imagination, okay? I want you to imagine I have in my hand a penny, a dime and a nickel... I want you to tell me which one to remove.” They will now answer with one of 3 coins. We will deal with the 3 possible outcomes one at a time. If they say: The DIME Reach into your closed hand and remove the gimmick with the dime side showing, and say “The dime... that was fair right?” They must agree. Place the dime in your pocket as you say, “I feel bad, that was not fair at all... I cheated; I only had the dime for you to choose from.” Slowly open your hand to show it empty. The PENNY Reach into your closed hand and remove the gimmick with the penny side showing, and say “The penny... that was fair right?” They must agree. Place the penny in your pocket as you say, “I feel bad, that was not fair at all... cheated; I only had the penny.” Slowly open your hand to show it empty. The NICKEL Reach into your closed hand and pull out an invisible nickel, look at it and smile and say, “Remember you have to use your imagination.” Place the invisible nickel into your pocket. Then ask, “Please do it again, name another one.” Whichever they say (dime or penny) reach into your hand and bring out another invisible coin...leaving the gimmick in your hand saying “that leaves us with ONE coin left right?” They will agree. Open your hand to show the correct coin left saying, “Now THAT'S reality.” Copyright 2008 Andrew GerardCHAIR CENTS — STAGE Use 5 chairs on stage each with an 8x10 inch piece of cardboard. Each piece should be numbered 1 through 5 in thick felt pen on the front. The back of each piece of cardboard should be marked with a BIG GREEN CHECK, or a RED X to match your scorecard. Ask five people to join you on stage and sit in any chair. Play the game with each of the five people. Give a 6” person a large pad and pen to keep score. Play the game once with each person, matching their guesses to the back of the cards on the chairs...make sure the scorekeeper gives them their x or check. Recap the situation...that they sat in any chair and had a free choice of the dime or penny... Turn the cards around to reveal a perfect match (for a working stage mentalist this piece is worth much more than you can imagine)! Tips/Notes e You can nick the gimmick on one side with a rock or sharp object to feel which side is which if you want to eliminate the peek. e Always carry the gimmick in the opposite pocket of your regular change. If you accidentally spend it, you can buy one from any magic shop. ¢ Congratulate the spectator for being able to pick up on your subconscious suggestions... make the effect about THEIR ability not yours. e Whatever they say act as if that is exactly what you wanted them to say. This leaves them with the feeling you were controlling their decisions. Credits and references: Max Maven - Positive Negative Doc Hilford - Nightmare Coins Bryn Reynolds- Business Coin Prediction Richard Busch - A Coin in Mind There are so many effects of this nature. These are just a few of the great ones. Sincerely, Andrew Gerard Copyright 2008 Andrew Gerard