So I got lucky today. Really lucky. I'm a teacher, and I usually perform a brief magic effect for the students that are there before the bell. This is what happened today.
I was doing a really simple one. One student shuffled the cards, then I ribbon spread them on the table. I let another student pick whichever card he wanted. Then I asked him if he wanted to change his mind. He did. I asked him if he wanted to change his mind again. He did. When he had finally settled on a card and looked at it, I had him replace it and peeked the key card above it. I cut the cards a few times and one student pointed out that they still weren't really mixed. So I did a false shuffle and a few more cuts. Then I did the ribbon spread turnover so that I could find the key card and the identity of the spectators card.
I realize that at this point, this must seem like nothing special. That's because, in and of itself, the key card identification plot is something so simple and basic that we have all almost forgotten about it. But today I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to turn it into something more.
The card the spectator had picked was the 4 of Clubs. This was complete chance. The 4 of clubs is my favorite card, and I have one from an alternate deck propped up on my desk. So I didn't reveal that I knew what it was. I asked someone to go get the card from my desk to show that it matched. I reminded them that he had been able to change his mind, and had, TWICE. The reactions were excellent. Then we went on with class.
During class, we were looking at artwork on the Google Cultural Institute. One of the paintings they showed was "The Cardsharps" by Caravaggio. It depicts two people cheating at cards. It was painted in 1595. And one of the cheaters is pulling the 4 of clubs out of his back pocket. Total coincidence that this opportunity presented itself, but I of course brought up the strangeness of that scenario, taking credit for re-arranging the past.
I've been spending a lot of time studying Vernon's TTCBE, and I think this approach is where I am trying to take my magic. I have also spent a lot of time thinking about the essay "Inducing Challenges" by Pit Hartling. Opportunistic, organic magic can be incredibly powerful. I wanted to share this story because the opportunity presented itself to me today, and I was lucky enough to see that possibility and exploit it. I'm wondering if other people have had similar experiences that they might share.
I was doing a really simple one. One student shuffled the cards, then I ribbon spread them on the table. I let another student pick whichever card he wanted. Then I asked him if he wanted to change his mind. He did. I asked him if he wanted to change his mind again. He did. When he had finally settled on a card and looked at it, I had him replace it and peeked the key card above it. I cut the cards a few times and one student pointed out that they still weren't really mixed. So I did a false shuffle and a few more cuts. Then I did the ribbon spread turnover so that I could find the key card and the identity of the spectators card.
I realize that at this point, this must seem like nothing special. That's because, in and of itself, the key card identification plot is something so simple and basic that we have all almost forgotten about it. But today I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to turn it into something more.
The card the spectator had picked was the 4 of Clubs. This was complete chance. The 4 of clubs is my favorite card, and I have one from an alternate deck propped up on my desk. So I didn't reveal that I knew what it was. I asked someone to go get the card from my desk to show that it matched. I reminded them that he had been able to change his mind, and had, TWICE. The reactions were excellent. Then we went on with class.
During class, we were looking at artwork on the Google Cultural Institute. One of the paintings they showed was "The Cardsharps" by Caravaggio. It depicts two people cheating at cards. It was painted in 1595. And one of the cheaters is pulling the 4 of clubs out of his back pocket. Total coincidence that this opportunity presented itself, but I of course brought up the strangeness of that scenario, taking credit for re-arranging the past.
I've been spending a lot of time studying Vernon's TTCBE, and I think this approach is where I am trying to take my magic. I have also spent a lot of time thinking about the essay "Inducing Challenges" by Pit Hartling. Opportunistic, organic magic can be incredibly powerful. I wanted to share this story because the opportunity presented itself to me today, and I was lucky enough to see that possibility and exploit it. I'm wondering if other people have had similar experiences that they might share.