The Two Tenners


Introducing The Subconscious Switch 


by Alexander Marsh




The participant is invited to take part in a wager with The Mentalist. They are asked to put a £10
note in the kitty; the mentalist does the same and is seen to quickly write something on his note.

The two tenners are set-aside while the bet takes place. The wager is the classic pseudo-strategic
guessing game of Rock Paper Scissors. The Mentalist and the participant play a best-of-three game
and the Mentalist of course wins. He goes on to say that he feels bad for taking the participant’s
money so graciously says that they can keep their own £10 note and just give The Mentalist his
back.

“My note has my signature on it, so you’ll know it’s mine”

The participant looks at both notes and clearly sees that one note has The Mentalist’s signature
scrawled across it and dutifully returns it. As he takes back the note The Mentalist proposes one last
bet:

“I bet I can tell you something that even you don’t know by asking three simple questions; I
bet I can tell you the serial number on your £10 note”

Using his own note to demonstrate what and where the serial number is, The Mentalist asks the
participant to conceal their note behind their back while he asks them three questions: what they do
for a living, where they live, and what they had for lunch today.

He reveals what he believes to be the serial number of the participant’s bill and is of course shown
to be correct.


















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The Method, Handling, etc.

I always feel a serial number divination works best when there is a reason and motivation for paper
money being used in the routine, such as a wager or a bet. I also feel that the revelation of the
number needs to come as a surprise kicker to the preliminary routine; adding an extra punch of
impossibility to a preceding simpler effect.

A classic example of this might be that of borrowing a note from the participant, having them place
it inside an envelope which is then mixed with other identical envelopes containing blank paper.
Envelopes are then eliminated and destroyed one-by-one, leaving the participant with only one
which thankfully contains their note. Of course, the note has actually been switched, via something
like Ted Lesley’s Teleport Envelope for example, which allows you to divine the serial number... for
some reason.

The money is justified by the jeopardy needed for the routine, even if it is a little hackneyed, and
the revelation of the number is a kicker ending to the whole routine.

However, what I wanted was a snappier preliminary routine that motivated the money being
involved as a wager; essentially this preliminary routine would be what the bet was based on and
therefore be the reason to have money involved.

I wanted this to be a game that most people are familiar with, not a game the performer has
invented, and also has the potential to be the kind of game you’d think a mind reader would be good
at. It’s also a chance for the participant to have a battle of wits with The Mentalist, something the
public often enjoy.

For me, Rock-Paper-Scissors fits the bill perfectly. I’ll talk more about the why and how later, but
for now we’ll get back to the serial number divination.

The money being a wager in a bet means the money becomes secondary; the focus is on winning
the task and thus winning the bet, most people will assume that there will be some sort of trick to
the bet which means Mr Mentalist can’t lose. All of which means there is little attention on the
actual bank notes, pushing their importance and relevance out of consciousness early on.

For this to work properly the money has to be organically in play; so placing it an envelope you just
happen to have, or a suspiciously empty matchbox is out of the question. Which only really leaves
sleight based bill switches but as this would be a wager, i.e. I put £10 in and you put £10 in, I would
need to have two bills on me; one to be my wager, that the audience is aware of, and one with a
memorised serial number to be switched-in. I’d also have to get the participant to fold their bill in a
particular way, several times, all of which was more trouble than it was worth for what is supposed
to be a simple wager.

Eventually, I stumbled on a very simple but bold idea: if I can convince the participant that their
£10 note is actually my £10 note, then they will naturally assume that my £10 note is actually theirs.
In essence they will do the switch for me in their own mind. I have audaciously dubbed this ruse
The Subconscious Switch.

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The Swami Swindle & The Subconscious Switch

As the title suggests, not only will you need a £10 note of which you know the serial number, but
you will also need a swami gimmick. My preference in general and for this routine in particular is a
China-Marker Lead in a Thumb Tip style writer.

You may have noticed in the Effect’s description it reads; “The Mentalist takes out his £10 note and
is seen to quickly write something on it” and that later The Mentalist points out which £10 is his by
explaining that he signed it.

This is the crux of the ruse; casually and nonchalantly you are seen writing ‘something’ on your £10
note as the participant approaches the stage. In reality you won’t write anything on the note by
using a pen that has had its ink source removed, or by simply placing the tip of your index finger
over the nib so it never actually makes contact with the note.

It is important that you don’t make a big deal out of apparently signing your note and don’t verbally
state what you are doing; just let it be seen that you took out a pen, quickly scribbled ‘something’ on
your £10 note, put the pen away and greeted the participant. All of this will be happening as the
participant is making his way to the performance area.

I also feel it’s important that the moment you apparently signed the note happens on stage in front
of everyone and not before the show. That way when you tell the participant, and the audience at
large, that you signed your note they can think back a few minutes ago and remember seeing you
write ‘something’ on your note: ‘Ah, he was signing it.’

At this point in the routine, the participant has just joined you on stage and you are putting away
your pen after writing ‘something’ on your note. As you place your pen in your pocket you will
secure your Swami gimmick. I personally use a Sharpie to apparently sign my note, hence my
preference for using a China Marker Swami but a pencil or whatever preference for nail-writing you
have will work perfectly well.

Place your own £10 note in the same hand that wears the Swami so that the note hides the swami
from the audiences view. Using your free hand, take the participants £10 note from him and place it
in-front of your note, nearest your body, so your thumb and the Swami gimmick it is wearing are
touching the participants note ready to write on it.

As you take the note from the participant, say something along the lines of:

“I’ll take your money and my money and place it in the kitty over here. This will be our
prize fund.”

As you say ‘...and place it in the kitty’ move over to a nearby table or stool, wherever is convenient,
and place the money there. If working in a parlour show setting, give the money to a trustworthy
spectator to look after.

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It is in the action of moving over to the table or spectator that you will nail-write your signature
onto the participants note; the larger motion of you moving from one place to another will hide the
smaller action of the Swami work. I don’t advise that you hold the notes for too long, and don’t
directly look at them; be casual in your actions. It doesn’t even have to be your real signature just
something that looks like a signature; a collection of loopy, joined-up letters will do just fine.

The entire action should only take two seconds and should look exactly how it is supposed to look;
you are taking the participants money and your money from one place to another.

The serial number part of the method is pretty much finished as the participant will perform the
switch for you; not physically but subconsciously. All you need to do is perform the wager part of
the routine, which in this case a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, and no matter who wins, tell the
participant he can keep his £10 note adding that “You’ll know which is mine because I signed it.”

The participant will naturally look at the two tenners in front of him, see that one is indeed signed,
which of course must be yours, and unconsciously assume that the other unsigned note is his. He
will then hand you what in reality is his own note with a swamied-scribble on it, and keep your note
with the serial number you have previously memorised believing that it is actually his. This, dear
reader, is The Subconscious Switch.

So now let’s discuss the game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, or RPS for short. I will disappoint you now
and say that I do not have a method for this part of the routine; I just play RPS. Sometimes I win,
sometimes I lose, but either way we have the kicker serial number divination to finish with.

So if I win RPS, I look like I’ve used my Mentalist powers to do so but because I’m a nice guy, I let
the participant keep his money, which, incidentally, I bet I can tell you the serial number of.

If I lose RPS then the participant looks good because he has outwitted Mr. Mentalist but obviously I
don’t want to lose my money so I propose one last bet; that I can tell him the serial number of his
bill. Of course we’ll know which one is theirs because I signed mine.

Playing a best-of-three game of RPS is quick and snappy, even with some jokes and amusing patter
thrown in about how ‘men always start with rock... every time... without fail’ or how ‘intergalactic
ray gun is not allowed’ or even referencing the alternate version played in the television show Big
Bang Theory.

Having a quick and simple game that relies on audience banter suits my style and means we can get
to the more interesting feat of divining the serial number sooner. For you however, this could be a
series of genuine bar bets that you beat the participant with, only to conclude with not really taking
his money but to teach him, and everyone else, how they work. You then perform one last
seemingly impossible feat; the serial number divination.

Another alternative might be to use a gimmicked Coin in Which Hand effect with the coin in one
hand and the notes hidden in the other. Whatever you choose to use for the preliminary routine my
advice is to keep it a wager based effect, keep it fun, and keep it simple so the serial number
divination comes as a real kicker ending.

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Alternative Handling: The Peek Method

This is an alternate, and personal favourite, handling that does not require you to have a Swami
gimmick, so it is suitable for more informal and impromptu situations. You will, however, still need
a £10 note of which you have memorised the serial number.

This method requires both you and the participant to fold your respective £10 notes in the same
way, that way being as follows:

Begin by holding the £10 note so the serial number is facing you. Obviously the serial number
kicker is a surprise ending, so rather than telling the participant to have the numbers facing them,
tell them to make sure the Queen’s head is facing them.

Then fold the note in half from left to right, in the same way you would close a book.

Then fold it in half again, from top to bottom.

You will now be able to peek the last few digits of the serial number using a modified Acidus Novus
peek. I am not at liberty to discuss the workings of Acidus Novus here but the following instructions
should be clear to anyone familiar with the technique. If you are not au fait with this essential billet
peek then stop what you are doing and learn it now.

In performance you will give these folding instructions to the participant while demonstrating with
your own note; he will very kindly be preparing his note for you to peek whilst you are preparing a
duplicate.

In a similar manner to the Swami variation you will take his now folded note from him and place it
with yours in an impromptu kitty. As you take his note, insert your thumb slightly into the folds in
the appropriate way allowing you to peek the last three digits of his notes serial number and
memorise them for later. Use your note to cover his from the audiences view by placing his note
behind yours, i.e. his note is nearest your body, and peeking the numbers as you point at them with
your free hand asking a nearby spectator to ‘keep an eye on the prize fund’.

I personally feel it’s very important to strongly motivate having the participant fold their note in
such a particular way. Saying something like ‘we need both notes to look the same’ isn’t good
enough for me, so instead I recommend you make the folding and following of your actions part of
the wager itself. Explain that this is the bet; if he can copy your actions exactly he wins your £10.

Begin by holding the £10 note so the Queen’s head is facing you and see if he is copying you
exactly, he might need some guidance to begin with. Then rotate your note over 360 degrees and see
if he copies you. Once he has got the idea fold your note in half as if closing a book and then fold it
up so it is now in fourths, exactly as described previously. The participant will naturally follow your
actions because it is apparently part of the bet.

You then explain that this was just a warm-up and to make things harder you place both hands
behind your back, along with your £10 note, and explain that you will put the note in one hand and

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bring them both out in clenched fists. All the participant has to do is put his note in the same hand
as you. Of course without seeing which hand you put it in he can’t possibly know; it’s a fifty-fifty
gamble.

You can get a bit of playful banter out of this part of the game by saying some quasi-psychological
lines such as ‘I should tell you that every time I do this, I always put it in my right hand. Every
time.’

You may find the participant gets it right first time, so you do it again, this time wondering aloud if
you should put it in the same hand again. If he is correct again then the third time I would
personally cheat and secretly put the note in my pocket and reveal both hands to be empty.

“That was unfair so let’s try one more thing. You’ll need both your hands free for this…”

This is the moment you take his note from him and peek the last three digits of the serial number as
descried previously. The money is now safe in the kitty but we need some time misdirection
between when you briefly touched the money and the big reveal.

To do this I then get everyone involved by doing the well known stage routine ‘You Can’t Do As I
Do’, sometimes known as ‘Thumbs Up’, which can be found in Body Magic and even Magic for
Dummies. Trust me, you know the routine I’m talking about – the one where the entire audience can
not turn their hands over so their thumbs are pointing up but the Magician can.

With the money safely in the kitty, invite everyone in the audience to get involved in this last part of
the bet, including the participant on stage, to copy your actions exactly.

Begin, in the usual way, by demonstrating and asking them to hold their arms out in front of them,
cross them over, turn their palms to face each other and interlock their fingers - so their thumbs are
pointing down - and then ask them to turn their hands over so their thumbs are pointing up. If you
know the routine I am referring to you will know that none of them will be able to do this except
you.

It follows on nicely from the first part of the bet with the £10 notes but gets everyone in the room
involved, which also means you are not just bullying the participant and tricking him; everyone fell
for it this time.

After everyone has reacted to not being able to twist their hands around, I usually make a joke about
all of them now owing me money which draws attention back to the £10 notes.

“I am going to give you your money back but before I do, I want to try one last thing. The
point of these games and bets was not to trick you or win your money; it was a chance for
me to see how you think. Having had that opportunity I think I can now tell you something
that even you don’t know, a seemingly impossible bet; I bet I can tell you the serial number
on your £10 note.

Do you know what the serial number on your £10 is? No.
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 I know that the last three numbers on mine are 123 (or whatever number peeked earlier), so
person-with-the-money-now, take a look. My one ends in 123, but I assume his does not…”

The spectator with the money will unfold both notes and look for the one that ends in 123.

They will confirm that ‘your’ note does indeed end in that number but the ‘participant’s note’ does
not; the subconscious switch has taken place and you are now free to reveal the unique serial
number of what is apparently the participant’s note.

Further Thoughts

One final thought on The Peek Method: Instead of asking just one spectator on stage to copy your
actions of folding the note, ask everyone in the audience to stand up and copy your actions with
their own note.

After folding the notes, you can eliminate people by asking them to sit down if they put it in the
wrong hand during the Which Hand section.

You then choose one of the remaining spectators, someone with the same denomination that you
have, to join you on stage to take part in a wager. You helpfully place both your notes somewhere
safe and either perform the Thumbs Up routine or Rock-Paper-Scissors before revealing the serial
number.

Feeling Bold?

Now you really understand the subconscious switch I can tip my favourite Peek Method. It’s bold,
organic, and best suited to more informal performance situations. In the past, knowing that I have a
pre-memorised £10 note in my wallet, I have asked someone to take out their own £10 note as I do
the same. I take both notes, placing theirs in front of my own so their serial number is now facing
me but I don’t look at it, yet. I begin to fold the notes together as one. Naturally I briefly and
nonchalantly look at my hands to do this and as I do catch a quick glimpse of the last three digits of
the participant’s serial number and commit them to memory (I told you it was bold) whilst asking
an innocuous question.

I give the now tightly folded bundle to the participant and ask them to hold it tightly in one hand. I
ask them a few seemingly random questions about their day: if they got the money from an ATM or
as change. If the former then how much did they take out in total, if the latter whet did they buy and
from where. All these questions do is allow for some time misdirection before I ask: ‘Did you know,
every bank note has a unique serial number? My £10 note ended in 123, and if you take a look
yours almost certainly doesn’t…’etc. etc. I then continue to say that I am pretty confident I can
guess most if not all of the numbers on their bank note, and if I’m wrong they can keep my £10.
You can probably guess how the rest of the effect goes.

Page 7 of 8
 Alexander Marsh is the pen-name of professional
mentalist Alex McAleer, who has been a working
performer since 2007. As well as performing at the
usual private parties and corporate events, he has made
countless television appearances around the world
including ITV’s Good Morning Britain (UK), Seven
Network’s Today Tonight (Australia), and NBC’s
Access Hollywood (USA). In 2019 Alex appeared on
BBC’s Blue Peter, the worlds longest running
children’s television program.
In 2014 Alex took his one-man show to the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe and three shows to Australia’s Perth
Fringe World Festival in 2016 and 2017 where he was
nominated for the cabaret award. Since 2014 Alex has
toured extensively with the ensemble illusion show
‘Champions of Magic’ completing 6 UK tours
including a run in London. The show has toured North
America in 2017 and 2018. Under his pen-name he has
written and contributed to several mentalism books
including works by Jerome Finley and Banachek.

Also by Alexander Marsh

Available from www.alexandermarshmentalism.co.uk

Hybrid Mentalism

Alexander Marsh’s Three Envelope Test (OOP)

Head Wired

Smart Alex (Lecture Notes)

Available from Penguin Magic


Delusion by Alexander Marsh (Instant Download)

Transfer by Alexander Marsh (Instant Download)

[PDF] Published Spring 2019

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