In stage magic, a force is a method of controlling a choice made by a spectator during a trick. [1] Some forces are performed physically using sleight of hand, such as a trick where a spectator appears to select a random card from a deck but is instead handed a known card by the magician. Other forces use equivocation (or "the magician's choice") to create the illusion of a free decision in a situation where all choices lead to the same outcome.
Equivocation (or the magician's choice) is a verbal technique by which a magician gives an audience member an apparently free choice but frames the next stage of the trick in such a way that each choice has the same end result. [2]
An example of equivocation can be as follows: A performer deals two cards on a table and asks a spectator to select one. If the spectator chooses the card on the left, the performer will hand the card to the spectator. If they pick the card on the right, the performer will take that card as his own and have the other card be the spectator's. In either case, the spectator receives the intended card.
The effectiveness of equivocation involves the "information gap" between what the spectator knows and what the spectator thinks he knows. In the magician's force, the spectator does not know anything about what will happen to the two cards he initially selects. However, the spectator thinks that he is making a free choice in an otherwise scripted sequence of moves.
Equivocation tends to lose its effectiveness if repeated in the same context, since the spectator gains more information from one performance to the next, thereby shrinking the information gap. For example, a spectator may wonder why his choice was kept in some cases and discarded in others.
Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.
In the card game contract bridge, the Losing-Trick Count (LTC) is a method of hand evaluation that is generally only considered suitable to be used in situations where a trump suit has been established and when shape and fit are more significant than high card points (HCP) in determining the optimum level of the contract. The method is generally not considered suitable for no trump or misfit hands; also, the trump suit is generally considered to require at least eight cards in length with no partner holding fewer than three.
Sleight of hand refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing. Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic; however, it is a separate genre of entertainment and many artists practice sleight of hand as an independent skill. Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, Derek DelGaudio, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Norbert Ferré, Dai Vernon, Cardini, Tony Slydini, Helder Guimarães and Tom Mullica.
Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some of the most recognized names in this field include Dai Vernon, Tony Slydini, Ed Marlo, S.W. Erdnase, Richard Turner, John Scarne, and Ricky Jay. Before becoming world-famous for his escapes, Houdini billed himself as "The King of Cards". Among the more well-known card tricks relying on card manipulation are Ambitious Card, and Three-card Monte, a common street hustle also known as Find the Lady.
A trick deck is a deck of playing cards that has been altered in some way to allow magicians to perform certain card tricks where sleight of hand would be too difficult or impractical.
Out of This World is a card trick created by magician Paul Curry in 1942, in which an audience member is asked to sort a deck into piles of red and black cards, without looking at the faces. Many performers have devised their own variations of this trick. It is often billed as "the trick that fooled Winston Churchill" due to a story describing how it was performed for him during World War II. The method behind the trick is simple and essentially self-working, and can be enhanced by the presentation of the performer and the use of other principles of magic.
Card throwing is the art of throwing standard playing cards with great accuracy or force. It is performed both as part of stage magic shows and as a competitive physical feat among magicians, with official records existing for longest distance thrown, fastest speed, highest throw, greatest accuracy, and the greatest number of cards in one minute.
This is a glossary of conjuring terms used by magicians.
These terms are used in contract bridge, using duplicate or rubber scoring. Some of them are also used in whist, bid whist, the obsolete game auction bridge, and other trick-taking games. This glossary supplements the Glossary of card game terms.
The Twenty-One Card Trick, also known as the 11th card trick or three column trick, is a simple self-working card trick that uses basic mathematics to reveal the user's selected card.
Spelling Bee may refer to one of several card tricks that revolve around the spelling of card types, audience member names, or words suggested by the audience. Many make use of decks prepared in advance in order to provide the illusion of spelling card names in a particular sequence. Jean Hugard's Encyclopedia of Card Tricks lists a number of such spelling-based tricks, many of which are considered to be self-working.
The Circus Card Trick is a self-working card trick where the performer uses verbal misdirection to prompt the participant into betting that the performer has failed to execute the trick correctly. The performer exploits the ambiguous wording of their patter to win the bet in a manner unexpected by the audience. It is often recommended for beginning magicians due to its entertaining and self-working nature.
A bridge maxim is a rule of thumb in contract bridge acting as a memory aid to best practice gained from experience rather than theory.
Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends is a 1987 direct-to-video program hosted by magicians Penn & Teller. Produced by The Mofo Video Corp. and released by Lorimar Home Video, the tape features seven different swindles or tricks that the home viewer can use to fool their friends. The tape was a companion piece to their best-selling book of the same name, released two years later. All of the tricks involve using a portion of the videotape.
Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic is a book on magic written by magician Mark Wilson. The book is a popular reference for magicians and has been in print since its first issue in 1975.
Brother John Charles Hamman S.M. was a close-up magician and Marianist Brother. The tricks he invented are still an integral part of many close-up magician's repertoire. Hamman was world-renowned in the magic community. His initial interest in the art started as a child. As he recuperated from polio, he spent hours learning, practicing and inventing card tricks and other magic involving sleight-of-hand. In many cases, he "reinvented" classic maneuvers or streamlined them. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Catholic Magicians' Guild and the Society of American Magicians.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
The book test is a classic mentalism demonstration used by mentalists to demonstrate telepathy-like effects. The name refers to its early use as a test of mental powers.
Kostya Kimlat is a Ukrainian-American magician, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and business consultant. With the use of magic tricks, Kimlat helps companies train employees. As a speaker, he lectures on the importance of perception in daily life through magic and sleight of hand.
The Rising Card is a popular category of magical illusion in which the magician causes randomly selected playing cards to spontaneously rise from the center of a deck. Many variations of this trick exist and are performed widely. The effect can be accomplished using a variety of methods and techniques, ranging from pure sleight of hand to complex electronic and mechanical solutions.
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