THE MEMORY METHOD

EFFECT
You hand the deck to the spectator and ask them to shuffle it as thoroughly as possible to the best
of their ability. You may be turned around as they do this and explain to them while they are
shuffling that you will attempt to memorize the entire deck in a matter of seconds, with the help
of a little bit of magic of course. After they are done, you turn around and take back the deck.
You proceed with a ribbon spread and claim to now be memorizing the order of this shuffled
deck, inviting the spectator to attempt to do so as well and showing that every card is different
and legitimately shuffled. You then instruct them to cut the deck one final time to make it even
more challenging for you.
Next, you spread through the cards slowly and instruct the spectator to touch the back of any
card, giving them the option to even change their mind multiple times. You place that card they
have finally decided upon face-up on the table and come back and have them- or another
spectator- touch a second card in the same manner, which you again table face up in front of you.
Explaining that these two randomly chosen cards will then generate another card, making the
selection process even more fair and random, the spectator then picks the value of either card,
then the suit of the other, making a unique card based on their choices, you emphasize. Focusing
on the deck, you then proceed to name the exact position of that card, handing the deck to the
spectator and allowing the audience to count down the number themselves. With a dramatic
pause before the last card is revealed, you again remind them of their free choice and the
impossibility of your feat as you flip over the card at that position… their card.

METHOD
This trick makes use of the mnemonica stack and the stack markings on the backs of the DMC
elites V5s, as well as many other ideas and methods included in the V5 passport. First, you will
begin by giving the spectator the deck to shuffle, however, another deck in mnemonica stack
order will be needed. To do this, have the stacked deck in your pocket, and as you take the deck
back from the spectator, mention that you will need to take out the Jokers- you will not need
them- going through and placing them at the face of the deck. Then, you dip your entire hand
into your pocket as if you were only ditching the Jokers, where in reality, you are executing a
Dip Switch described in Toolkit: Deck Switch. Be sure to talk about the trick and what you will
be doing- memorizing the deck- as you do this deck switch to make it as inconspicuous as
possible. Then, you will do as described in the performance and pretend to memorize the deck,
while also allowing the spectator(s) to try to do so as well. 
Next, you will have the spectator give the deck one final cut to make it more difficult for you and
be sure to emphasize this last moment as this cut will actually require more mental work from
you. After they cut the cards, make sure to clock the top card of the deck and note its position in
the stack. Five cards will not work with this trick, so if you note 11, 17, 23, 27, or 45 as the top
card, just ask the spectator to cut again, or you can use the workaround explained later.
Then you will take the deck back and have the spectator choose two cards- which are in reality
the two bottom cards. The selection force I prefer using is the Underspread Cull force where I
take the bottom card, riding it under the spread, as I am spreading through the deck for them to
choose one. No matter which card they touch, you lift up and square the deck at that position,
placing the culled bottom card in front of the card they actually touched as you go ahead and
raise up your right hand. For the second card, instead of closing up the spread and going through
again, you can just continue the spread, pulling the bottom card out, and have another card
touched near the bottom half of the deck, forcing the bottom card again. If the first spectator is
being difficult and wants a card from the bottom half (we all have those people), then it is okay
to close up the spread and going through again for the second card. The reason for my preferred
use of the Underspread cull force is that both cards can be chosen without disturbing the rest of
the deck, thereby retaining your stack. 
Next, you instruct the spectator to look at their cards and explain to them to pick the value of one
of their cards, and the suit of the other. For example, if their two cards are the 7D and the 2H,
then the spectator can either create the 7H or the 2D. This is also why 11, 17, 23, 27, or 45 as the
top card will not work, since the two bottom cards you will be forcing will have the same suit
and will not be able to create a different card. If this is the case, you may just ask the spectator to
pick either value and any suit of their choice that is different from the two cards they chose. For
example, if the top card is the JS which is at position 45, then the bottom two cards the spectator
will choose will be the 9C and the AC, and in this case, have the spectator choose either value
and a different suit, so they can pick the 9S, the 9H, the 9D, or the AS, the AH, or the AD. 
Finally, the location process. This is by far the most difficult part of the trick and will require
some mental math. If you are not yet comfortable with the mnemonica stack or are dissuaded by
the math involved, then you may skip the step of allowing the spectator to cut the deck after you
pretend to memorize the deck. This will mean that you will always be forcing the 9D and the AH
with the deck in standard mnemonica order and will only have to remember the position of two
cards- the AD at position 39, and the 9H at position 17. However, this method, albeit easier, will
have some discrepancies as the spectator may see and remember the bottom two cards as you
ribbon spread, and notice the same cards during the selection process. Again, another
workaround will be mentioned later.
To locate any card the spectator creates first clock the top card again (we will call this the T
card). If the spectator creates a card (we will call this the X card) that happens to be at a position
lower than the top card you will subtract the position of X card from the position of T card. This
new number will then be subtracted from 52 and then added by 1 to give you the final position,
which you can then name for the spectator to count to.
However, if the position of T card happens to be smaller than the position of X card, then you
will do the opposite and subtract the position of T card from the position of X card, and then by
adding 1 afterward, will then give you the final position. Either way, with both cases, you will
subtract the smaller number from the bigger number.
To give an example for both cases, let us say the spectator chose the KH and the 10S. This
means the top card is the JC, which is in position 36. If the spectator creates the KS, which is in
position 31, then we will perform 36 – 31 = 5. Subtracting 5 from 52 then gives us 47, and
adding 1 will give you 48, which is the number you name and is where the KS should be.
However, if the spectator names the 10H, which is in position 38, greater than the position of the
top card, our JC, then we will perform 38 – 36 = 2. Then, 2 + 1 = 3, which is then the position of
the 10H that you can name for your spectator.
This, in conclusion, is the trick The Memory Method, and shall leave the spectators completely
in awe of your memorization and magical skills if presented correctly.
 
VARIATIONS
If you do not want to go the trouble of having the deck cut by the spectator, but also want to
avoid the bottom cards discrepancy, then this is what I shall suggest. First, instead of allowing
the spectator to shuffle the deck, you will take the deck yourself with the two Jokers on the
bottom and execute a couple of full deck false shuffles. I recommend DMC’s false shuffle as
presented in Toolkit: False Shuffle and be sure to not bring too much attention to your shuffle
but do let the audience remember this moment. Then, you shall again ribbon spread the deck, and
because of the Jokers at the bottom, they will help cover the bottom cards from sight. Finally, as
you take the deck back, take notice of the Jokers and make a comment of not needing them as
you slide them off and put them off to your side or in your pocket.
With the selection process, if you are not comfortable or quite advanced enough for the
Underspread Cull force (although I highly recommend it), you can still just as well do the Cross-
cut force with the bottom card twice as you are talking. Be sure that if you do happen to use the
Cross-cut force, do not flash the second-to-bottom card as you are taking the bottom card out the
first time, again, to avoid any discrepancies. Both the Underspread and the Cross-cut force allow
the deck to be reset instantly and should not disturb the stack if done correctly.

Card before top card:

(Top card # – X card original – 1) = result
52 – result = X card new location
Card after top card:
(X card original – Top card + 1) = X card new location