Spread and Square - Has it been done?

Oct 25, 2017
3
1
Spread and Square - by GuitarString

Hello fellow magicians! Recently, I've developed a new card trick and I'm planning to create a tutorial out of it (Also, this would be a first video tutorial and magic performance). However, I am not sure if this trick has been done by others or not. Are there any similar tricks like this one? If not, I will create a tutorial of this simple trick.

Side note, I am not counting down a number of cards that have been dealt by the sound of the card dealing.

Thanks,
GuitarStrings
 
Oct 12, 2016
114
57
25
Utah
First of all, welcome to the forums! I hope they'll be a helpful resource to you as you begin your journey into the world of magic.

Yes, there are all kinds of ways that this effect can be done, though most would use the same basic principle. It's pretty much the most basic beginner's card trick. Which isn't a bad thing, it's a good starting place, and presented right, it can make a great trick.

I'd also like to note -- since you're not counting down the number of cards, why do you have the spectator return the card that way? That's the explanation that will immediately jump to their mind. It doesn't matter if they're wrong, it still isn't magical to them. This is true even when their "easy" explanation wasn't even possible, but in your case it's very clearly possible, and would actually be pretty easy for just about anyone to do. Better to have them cut the deck themselves, place their card in the middle, and complete the cut. Then maybe do a few more cuts so no one really knows where it is. That will seem a lot more fair to a lay person.

Rather than trying to come up with your own effects right now, I'd suggest you pick up Royal Road to Card Magic and study that. There's a lot of good material in there right off the bat that will soon have you performing cleaner, more convincing versions of the effect you're trying to achieve here.

On another note, lay people don't really care how they pick their card. If you do something strange to have them select it, they'll assume that you're trying to cover something sneaky, even if you aren't. If you want to make it obvious that it was a completely free choice, I'd just hand them the deck and have them remove a card themselves. Through the methods you'll learn in Royal Road, you'll be able to have them return the card to the deck in a much more natural manner to set up this effect, in addition to learning the fundamentals in other areas of card handling.

Finally, the effect of turning over cards face up until you stop on their card just isn't that interesting, to be honest. Royal Road, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, Card College, Expert at the Card Table -- these books will help you learn effects that have more engaging, fun ways of revealing the chosen card. Some of these you'll be able to start performing right away, others will require some practice.

If you are going to perform this type of effect, one way you can make things more interesting is throwing in a simple "magician in trouble" plot. When you see their card, don't stop. Count past it a few cards, and then slow down, and say confidentially that the next card you turn over will be their card. They'll assume you mean the next card in the deck, and depending on the person, they'll either feel bad for you, or they'll think this is hilarious. You then reach to the pile of face up cards you've dealt, pull out their card, which you noted earlier, and turn it face down onto the table. A lot of people will have seen this version of the trick as well, but it's still a more engaging presentation.
 
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Reactions: Maaz Hasan
Jan 26, 2017
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Virginia
First of all, welcome to the forums! I hope they'll be a helpful resource to you as you begin your journey into the world of magic.

Yes, there are all kinds of ways that this effect can be done, though most would use the same basic principle. It's pretty much the most basic beginner's card trick. Which isn't a bad thing, it's a good starting place, and presented right, it can make a great trick.

I'd also like to note -- since you're not counting down the number of cards, why do you have the spectator return the card that way? That's the explanation that will immediately jump to their mind. It doesn't matter if they're wrong, it still isn't magical to them. This is true even when their "easy" explanation wasn't even possible, but in your case it's very clearly possible, and would actually be pretty easy for just about anyone to do. Better to have them cut the deck themselves, place their card in the middle, and complete the cut. Then maybe do a few more cuts so no one really knows where it is. That will seem a lot more fair to a lay person.

Rather than trying to come up with your own effects right now, I'd suggest you pick up Royal Road to Card Magic and study that. There's a lot of good material in there right off the bat that will soon have you performing cleaner, more convincing versions of the effect you're trying to achieve here.

On another note, lay people don't really care how they pick their card. If you do something strange to have them select it, they'll assume that you're trying to cover something sneaky, even if you aren't. If you want to make it obvious that it was a completely free choice, I'd just hand them the deck and have them remove a card themselves. Through the methods you'll learn in Royal Road, you'll be able to have them return the card to the deck in a much more natural manner to set up this effect, in addition to learning the fundamentals in other areas of card handling.

Finally, the effect of turning over cards face up until you stop on their card just isn't that interesting, to be honest. Royal Road, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, Card College, Expert at the Card Table -- these books will help you learn effects that have more engaging, fun ways of revealing the chosen card. Some of these you'll be able to start performing right away, others will require some practice.

If you are going to perform this type of effect, one way you can make things more interesting is throwing in a simple "magician in trouble" plot. When you see their card, don't stop. Count past it a few cards, and then slow down, and say confidentially that the next card you turn over will be their card. They'll assume you mean the next card in the deck, and depending on the person, they'll either feel bad for you, or they'll think this is hilarious. You then reach to the pile of face up cards you've dealt, pull out their card, which you noted earlier, and turn it face down onto the table. A lot of people will have seen this version of the trick as well, but it's still a more engaging presentation.
What he said :D

Also, I think you need a bit of patter. The performance got kind of boring, but if you add a story, it gets more engaging.

Cut out all the unnecessary things. If I were to perform this, it would be like this:
Have a card selected
Give them the deck, and have them cut their card into it.
Ask them to shuffle
Find their card in an interesting way, as opposed to just dealing
 
Oct 25, 2017
3
1
What he said :D

Also, I think you need a bit of patter. The performance got kind of boring, but if you add a story, it gets more engaging.

Cut out all the unnecessary things. If I were to perform this, it would be like this:
Have a card selected
Give them the deck, and have them cut their card into it.
Ask them to shuffle
Find their card in an interesting way, as opposed to just dealing


Alright! Thanks to Maaz and Lindel! I will attempt to make a story and I think I have figured out a way to remove the counting part but it's probably obvious to magicians but hey, it's all about the performance!~ Gonna try and take another shot at it :D
 
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Reactions: Maaz Hasan

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
I hate to break it you you but this is a beginner trick that has been taught all over the place. It is basically a version of "Think Stop" without any of the presentation that makes it a good trick.

Every card trick needs a premise. Why are you doing this trick for this person?

If you want to leave an impression you need to be aware of what the audience is seeing. How do you want them to think that you have found the card? Can you smell their DNA? Can you read their thoughts? Just saying that you found the card with magic doesn't count. If Harry Potter did this trick what would it look like? How do you think he would find a selected card?

Finally, there is a lot of process (dealing, shuffling and so on). This can work but there has to be a reason, even if it is just implied. Lennart Green might have a card selected from a mess to sell that he can hardly handle a deck of cards. Someone else might do it to underline the fairness of the procedure. In your video I didn't see a reason for the difference.

Lastly, what Lindel said about Royal Road is spot on. In fact I believe a much better version of this trick (that will fool magician and lay people) is taught in Royal Road. Check it out.
 

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
To answer the main question of this thread, yes this trick has been done before. I'm just keeping it real and mean this completely respectfully, it has been done thousands of times.
 
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