Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could Hypnotize people and make them do exactly what we wanted them to do? Well, this card trick will make people think you really can!

The Effect

The magician says he is a great Hypnotist and can prove it. The magician then writes something on a piece of paper and gives it to a spectator to hold. The magician then places two piles of cards in front of the spectator and asks him to choose one pile. When the spectator opens the piece of paper, he finds that the magician has correctly predicted which pile of cards he has chosen!  

Preparation

Make up two piles of cards. The first pile consists of the four sixes. The second pile consists of six cards. Once you have done that place both piles on top of the deck. You will also need a pen and a piece of paper.

How To Perform The Trick

Tell the spectator that you are a great Hypnotist and that you will prove it to him. Take the piece of paper and write on it “You will choose the six pile.” Then fold it into quarters and give it to him to hold.

Take the deck and place the four sixes face down, in a pile, on the table. Then take the six cards and place them face down in a pile on the table.

Tell the spectator that you are going to hypnotise him so you can influence his choice. Wiggle your fingers in front of his face and then tell him he is now hypnotised. He may not feel any different but, nevertheless, he will do anything you ask him to.

Tell him to point to one of the piles of cards on the table. If he chooses the pile with the four sixes, then turn the cards face up and show them to be sixes. Turn over the other pile and show them to be indifferent cards. Then get him to open the paper, which will prove he picked the pile you hypnotised him to take – “the six pile”.

Alternatively, if he points to the pile containing six cards, then spread them face down on the table and show the pile to have six cards. Then spread the pile with the four sixes face down on the table and show it has only four cards. Get him to read the piece of paper and prove you have influenced him to take “the six pile”.

When he is reading the paper, replace the four sixes on the deck and give it a shuffle. This will get rid of the incriminating evidence in case he tries to turn over the four sixes.


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Here is more Magic from Scotland to add to your growing collection!

Finding the four aces from in a deck of cards is one of the great classic tricks of Magic. Here is an easy version which will enhance your reputation as a Magician.

How The Trick Appears To The Audience

The Magician hands a pack of cards to a member of the audience and asks them to shuffle the deck thoroughly.

He then asks them to cut the deck several times.

The magician takes the pack and puts it in his pocket.

He says he is going to try to find four special cards.

He reaches into his pocket, and after a bit of searching, removes one card and places it face-down on the table or someone’s hand.

He does not allow anyone to see the card.

The Magician keeps on doing this until he has removed four cards.

He asks the audience if they believe in Magic.

Regardless of the their answer, he turns the four cards face up, one by one.

Each card is an ace!

How The Trick Is Done

Like all good tricks, the secret is simple. However, it is also very bold, so you must carry it off with confidence.

Before you do the trick, you remove the four aces and place them in your pocket with the faces towards your body. This is important because you will want to bring them out face down when you are performing the trick.

When you are ready to do the trick, hand someone the pack of cards and ask them to shuffle and cut the deck as much as they want to.

Do not mention anything about the aces.

Then take the pack and place it in your pocket in front of the four aces. The pack is next to your body and the four aces are on top of the pack.

Say you are going to perform a very difficult trick and your are going to try and find some special cards in the deck.

The audience will be left wondering what you intend to do and it all adds to the suspense.

Reach into your pocket and after a bit of pretend searching, remove the top card of the pack and place it face down on the table.

Repeat the same procedure with the other three aces.

You are now ready for the big finale.

Tell the audience that one of the most difficult tricks in the world is finding the four aces in a pack of cards.

Turn the cards over one by one and watch the expressions on all their faces!

They will be absolutely amazed and shocked.

If you perform this trick well, you will get the reputation of being a great Magician.


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This is an old favourite with many Magicians in Scotland. In this baffling trick you appear to be able to predict how many cards a spectator has cut from a deck.

How It Looks To The Audience

The Magician asks a spectator to cut a small amount of cards from the top of the deck and count them. He is told not to tell the Magician how many cards he has.

The Magician then cuts a larger amount of cards from the top of the deck for himself.

The Magician then counts his cards to himself and says that he has as many cards as the spectator has, plus four extra cards, and enough cards left to add up to sixteen.

When the Magician counts his cards, this is shown to be correct – even though the Magician could not possibly have known how many cards the spectator has.

The trick can be repeated again and again, with different results – but each time the Magician’s prediction is correct!

How The Trick Is Done

The good news is that you do not know how many cards the spectator has taken. All you have to do is make sure that you take more cards than the spectator. To do this, just watch how thick the packet of cards the spectator takes and ensure that you take a thicker packet.

This is why you ask him to cut a SMALL packet of cards from the top of the deck. If he took more than half the pack, then the trick would not work.

So, let us say when you count your cards, you have twenty. Silently, pick any small number from 1-5 and subtract that from twenty. For example, let us say you choose four. Now deduct four from twenty and that leaves sixteen.

You can now say to the spectator that you have as many cards as he has, plus four extra cards, and enough cards left to add up to sixteen.

You now ask the spectator how many cards he has. Let us imagine he says he has eleven cards.

You then count eleven cards, out loud, onto the table, in a pile. You then deal the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th cards to one side without including them in the count (these are the four extra cards).

You then deal the 16th card and call it 12, the 17th card is 13, the 18th card is 14, the 19th card is 15, and finally you call the 20th card 16.

So, in the manner you dealt the cards, you had eleven cards, plus four extra cards, and enough left to add up to sixteen.

You can then repeat the trick. However, when you do it again you pick another small number to deduct from the cards you hold. For example, you could select two. So, if you have twenty-five cards, deduct two and that will give you twenty-three.

You can then say to the spectator that you have the same amount of cards that he has, plus two extra cards, and enough left to add up to twenty-three.

You can repeat this trick two or three times because it becomes more baffling with each repetition.


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Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It has now been 33 years since the untimely, tragic death of America’s greatest running legend and its greatest middle distance runner, Steve Prefontaine, and his legacy continues to grow as the void he filled remains open. It is rare but true to say that his legacy may never be matched again.

“Pre”as he would become known to the world beyond Coos Bay, Oregonwas not only unbeatable on American soil but he captured the hearts of runners and spectators. Fans still swear upon pain of death that many times when Pre would step onto the Hayward Field track at the University of Oregon, the sun would burst through the overcast skies, as if announcing that something great was about to happen.

And happen it did because Steve Prefontaine was there to not just win a competitive race, he was there to entertain his faithful, who could expect a superlative effort as well as a victory.

Pre never thought of himself as the fastest runner in the race, but there is no record of a runner who ever faced him that doubted that he was the toughest, most courageous runner ever. That list included some world-record holders and his most intense rivals.

Like a lot of 5-foot, 100-pound athletes who were 8th grade benchwarmers in the more popular sports like football, Pre turned out for the cross-country team as a freshman and discovered his place in the world.

By the time to graduated from Marshfield High School, he had won 2 state cross-country titles, won state track titles in the mile and 2 mile twice, run a 4:06.0 mile in the Golden West Invitational, and set the national high school record in the 2 mile with a sensational 8:41.5 time.

As an 18 year old he qualified to represent the United States on an international tour and finished 3rd in the 5000-meter run in Europe. His 13:52.8 time was faster than any ever run by the legend of the previous generation, the great Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia. He held his own against the world’s best, and had yet to begin his collegiate career at the University of Oregon.

In his first 3-mile race against Washington State in a dual meet at Eugene, Pre won in 13:12.8, the 7th-fastest time ever by an American and the fastest time by a U. S. runner in two years. After 21 straight collegiate meets without a loss, he was the hot-shot prodigy, on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a freshman. No one could have known that he was just getting started.

“A strange camaraderie grew up at the time among those of us who lost continually to Pre,” said Don Kardong of Stanford. “We were united in our belief that no one should have the success coupled with pride that Pre had. We really wanted, I think, to see the big tree fall.” But for Pre, his competitors seemed to not even be on his radar screen.

After his freshman year, Pre never lost a cross-country race, winning 3 individual NCAA championship titles. He would win 4 NCAA 3-mile titles in track, becoming the first runner to ever win 4 consecutive NCAA titles in the same event.

After his junior year at Oregon, he qualified for the U. S. Olympic team in the 5,000 meters and would finish 4th in 13:28.3 as Lasse Viren of Finland won in 13:26.4. The field literally plodded through the first two miles and sprinted the last mile. Pre would take the lead at one point but could not hold it in the end.

In preparing for the Olympic 5,000 meter, Pre had run four 1320s and three 1 milers with decreasing times. His 1320 times were 3:12, 3:09, 3:06 and 3:00, then he came back with the cut-down miles. For sharpening, he ran a solo mile under 4:00; he just walked to the line in practice, got set, then clicked off a 3:39 mile with no competition. He was ready, but he was not as experienced as the world-class runners he was facing.

Because of his relentless front-running, Pre was non-stop, and many of his opponents set personal records in losing against him.

Think about his personal best times: a 1,500 in 3:38.1, a 3,000 in 7:42.6, a 5,000 in 13:21.9, a 10,000 in 27:43.6, a mile in 3:54.6, a 2 mile in 8:18.4, a 3 mile in 12:51.4, and a 6 mile in 26:51.8, all accomplished by 1975. At his best, Pre once held every America record in the middle distance events from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters.

Alberto Salazar, the former American-record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and marathon, had this to say about Pre: “He would not take second effortit was not acceptable . . . I think it comes down to pride in the end. Not proud, necessarily, that you are better than everyone else, but that you are tougher than anybody else. That if you lose, you are going to make whomever you are running against pay. And that is what Pre did.”

John Gillespie, a coach and fan, said “He had charisma. That wordthere is something about somebody when you tell people you are going to do something, and then you go out and do it. I know of no single person who could draw people like he did.”

Wendy Ray, the Hayward Field announcer for all of Pre’s races there, said “He just had whatever that isI don’ t know, actors have it. Singers have it. Some people have it, some people don’t. Most people don’t. He had a lot of it.”

Tom Jordan, a writer for Track &Field News in the early 1970s, said “Pre would fix you with a steady gaze and give the impression that you were the most important person in his life at that instant, and that the things he was telling you were known by few others.

“It was an enormously flattering and appealing trait,” said Jordan, “and contributed greatly to what came to be called his charisma.”

Pre ran every day of his athletic life. He was up at 6 a.m. and out the door, running again in the afternoon at workouts. Perhaps even more incredible than the records he set and championships he won was the fact that he never missed a single day of practice or a single meet during his 4-year career at the University of Oregon. He was a force that no one wanted to reckon with, or run against.

On May 30, 1975, 24-year-old Steve Prefontaine was killed in a tragic auto accident. A memorial marks the spot of his death in Eugene, Oregon, and attracts runners and admirers to Pre’s Rock, the roadside boulder where he died. Like a flame that refuses to be extinguished, Pre lives on.


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This is a real baffler from Scotland. It appears that you use very clever sleight of hand. However, it is very easy to do.

How it looks To The Audience

The Magician counts two even piles of cards onto the table. He then takes an odd card and asks the spectator which pile he would like it added to. With a mysterious wave of the hand, he causes the odd card to jump from one pile to the other!

How The Trick Is Done

This is a very effective trick and it all depends on suggestion and the way the cards are counted.

STEP ONE

Ask the spectator to place both hands flat on the table, as though he is playing a piano.

Take two cards from the deck and hold one in each hand, face down.

Say ‘Two cards, a pair, always even’ and place the two cards between the little and third fingers of the spectator’s left hand. The spectator clips them between those fingers, so the cards are held vertically.

Take another two cards from the deck and hold one in each hand, face down, and again say ‘Two cards, a pair, always even’. This time place the two cards between the third and second fingers of the spectator’s left hand.

Continue placing two cards between all his fingers (including first fingers and thumbs) until you reach the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand. Then take one card and say ‘one card, always odd’. Place the card between his fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand.

STEP TWO

Remove the first pair of cards and place them side by side on the table, saying ‘two cards, a pair, always even’. Continue doing this until you reach the single card. The position at this stage is that you have two piles of cards on the table.

Hold the single card and say ‘one card, always odd’.

Ask the spectator which pile he would like you to place the odd card, then do so.

STEP THREE

Tell the spectator that you will cause the odd card to jump from one pile to the other. Wave you hand over the cards and them take the pile that the odd card was added to and count them out in pairs again (two cards, a pair, always even). The pile will come out even with no odd card remaining.

Take the other pile and count them out in pairs. After all the cards are dealt, you will be left with one odd card. The odd card has apparently jumped across!

A FURTHER EXPLANATION

There are seven pairs of cards and when they are dealt into two piles there are seven cards in each pile. So each pile is odd to begin with. However, by saying ‘two cards, a pair, always even’ all the time, you suggest to the spectator each pile is EVEN.

When you add the single card to either pile it will make it even, so the trick is self-working.


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In Scotland, Magic is an excellent way of entertaining your friends and family. It is also very useful in business and can be used as a great “ice-breaker” when meeting new business contacts.

In this trick, you will make a coin vanish under impossible test conditions!

How The Trick Appears To The Audience

The Magician rolls up his sleeves and holds a coin in his hand, so everyone can see it.

Apart from the coin, it is apparent that his hands are empty.

He then drapes a handkerchief over his hand and the coin.

He asks several people to reach under the handkerchief and verify the coin is still there.

He then asks someone to tie the ends of the handkerchief around wrist.

The Magician then says he will attempt to make the coin vanish into thin air.

With his other hand, he makes some mysterious gestures above the handkerchief.

He asks someone to untie the handkerchief and remove it from his hand.

When they do, everyone can see the coin had completely disappeared!

The audience can examine his hands and the handkerchief, but there is no clue to how this miracle was performed.

How The Trick Is Done

The trick is a good example of how the simplest of tricks can be made into a minor miracle with a good presentation.

Unknown to the audience, one of the spectators is a confederate of yours.

When you ask several people to feel under the handkerchief, you make sure that he is the last person to do so.

When your confederate reaches under the handkerchief, he secretly removes the coin by concealing it in his hand.

If your confederate does this in a relaxed manner, he will not arouse suspicion.

You can then have someone else tie the ends of the handkerchief around your wrist.

Only at this point do you say that you will attempt to make the coin vanish.

With a suitable dramatic build up and some magical gestures with your free hand, have someone untie and remove the handkerchief from your hand.

The coin has vanished!

Your audience will be extremely amazed and have absolutely have no idea of how you did it!

This trick is extremely baffling and the audience will think you are a great magician.


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In Scotland, Magic is a very popular hobby and is an excellent way of entertaining your friends and family. It is also very useful in business and can be used as a great “ice-breaker” when meeting new business contacts.

This series of articles will teach you some simple tricks, that you can perform anywhere, without any special equipment.

These types of tricks are called ‘impromptu’ by Magicians and are considered to be the most powerful and effective type of Magic you can perform.

The Perplexing Coins

This little novelty seems more of a puzzle than a trick. However, with the right audience and presentation, it can cause quite a stir.

How The Trick Appears To The Audience

The Magician points to three coins on the table.

He asks everyone to watch carefully as he counts them.

Rapidly, he picks them up one at time counting one,two,three.

He them lays them down on the table one at a time counting four, five, six.

He picks up one counting seven and another counting eight.

He pushes the remaining coin on the table aside and, without pausing, lays down the two coins in his hand one at a time, counting nine and ten.

This is seems simple and very easy to follow. However, when the Magician hands the coins to a friend, then they cannot do it, no matter how hard they try.

Even though you show them several times, no one can duplicate your actions.

How The Trick Is Done

It is done with an interesting bit if psychology.

The trick count will only work if you start the count with the three coins lying on the table. If you start with the three coins in your hand, then it is impossible.

So, you play a crafty trick on your friend. After you finish your count, you pick up the coins and hand them to him.

Because the coins are in his hand at the start, he will unwittingly start the count with the coins in his hand and get it wrong.

But, of course, you do not tell them that the starting position is important. You act as though it makes no difference where the coins are started to be counted from.

When performing the trick, do it quickly.

When he gets it wrong, pick up the coins and put them back in his hand and encourage him to try it again.

Do not give him time to think.

If someone else wants to try, then put the coins in their hands and ask them to do it.

A Variation

The secret of the trick can be concealed even more if you use someone’s hand instead of a table.

So, your starting position would be to place the three coins in his hand and then start the count.

The act of counting the coins from his hand to your hand makes it even more confusing.

Psychologically, it does not seem important whose hands the count starts from – but, of course, it does.

Practice this trick well before showing it to anyone.

If Someone Does Gets It Right

Congratulate them and ask them to do it again. Very often they cannot. However, if the do get it right a second time, then don’t worry. Ask them to keep it a secret and hand the coins to someone else for them to try. The person who was successful will feel flattered you are letting him in on the trick.

You will have a lot of fun with this.

N.B. You do not have to use coins. You could use matches, small packets of sugar in a restaurant, or any other small objects that are handy.


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