MIND PARADE

Toby Hudson

Copyright 2015 by Toby Hudson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without written
permission from the author. Basically dont scan
it and put it on Scribd!
For further information, please contact me at:
cardtrick212@gmail.com

CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Principles
Reverse Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Mood Swings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Mentalism
ThinkTank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I Can Guess Passwords! . . . . . . . .
Vanishing Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...............
Memory Lane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Essays
But is it Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Eternal Struggle . . . . . . . . . . . .
2

Bonus Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Closing Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INTRODUCTION
Let me begin by saying thank you for purchasing
this little book. And that although I've sat here
for 15 minutes trying to think of something witty
and clever to write here, my mind is blank.
So, let me keep it simple. The idea for this book
came about while at the Magick Lounge in
Sheffield. A friend of mine Steve Brownley
suggested I should write up some of my effects,
so I did. This is my small offering to the
mentalism community, and hopefully you can
get something worthwhile from it.
One thing that really annoys about mentalism
books is spelling errors, so hopefully there won't
be any of them in this boock. (See, that's the
best I could come up with...) And finally, I feel
like this goes without saying, but all the effects
within here are of independent creation. Except,
of course, the trick that lies in Roger Curzon's
1992 unpublished notes, but that's another story.
Have fun,
Toby (May 2015)

PRINCIPLES

REVERSE READING
This first chapter revolves around a new idea
that can be used alongside normal readings,
whether you do tarot reading or cold reading.
While its not an actual full system, it can be
used before going into a full reading of any kind.
There is also a lot of versatility within the
concept and can be applied towards effects
within mentalism itself. So, here we go!

What is reverse reading?

Reverse reading in its simplest form is to have a
tarot card selected sight unseen and you peek it,
before leading the spectator towards it and
making it appear as though they chose it
themselves. Although this sounds a bit odd, lets
take a look at how to start the reverse reading
and set it up. The first step is to have a tarot
card chosen supposedly sight unseen, but you
need to know what it is. Here are a few ways to
do that.

Learning the selected Tarot

There are many ways in which you can do this,
but here are a few different ways. I think that the
simplest is to set the deck up in a cyclical stack,
so that when a card is selected, you can tell
6

what it is by looking at the next card. Once the

deck is in a stack, remove it and perform a sly
shuffle, retaining the order of the deck. Have the
spectator cut the cards anywhere and to deal a
card face down onto the table. As you square up
the cards, peek the bottom card and this will tell
you the face down card.
Another way to do it using the stack is to have
the spectator cut, then deal one card face up,
and the next face down. Begin by performing a
regular reading with the face up card, before
going into the reverse using the face down card.
You should be able to tell what the face down
card is using the face up one, as both fall next to
each other in the stack.
The method that I use most often is a peek.
Have the deck cut and one card dealt face down
into your hand. Indicate for the spectator to
place their hand palm up and as you do, tilt the
card towards you and simply peek it. There is not
much to this, and done in a nonchalant manner,
will arouse little suspicion. Once done, place the
card in their hand and return to the reading.
Another way to peek it to as you place the card
to the table, you hook your thumb underneath it
as though doing the move to show both sides of
a card the same. As you do, the card will flash in
7

your direction as you lift your thumb up and

leave it on the table.
Anyhow, all you need to know is the selected
card.

Influencing the Tarot

Lets say that the person you are going to read is
extremely quiet and nervous or the complete
opposite, then Id influence the tarot. What I
mean is that I dont want a shy person to select
the fool for example, as the reading may go
astray and embarrass them. In this case, you
may want to force a certain choice upon them,
so as not to ruin the reading. I wont insult your
intelligence and go over how to force a card, as
Ill leave that up to you.

Performing the Reading

Once you know the card, place it on their hand,
or just on the table and say that youll come
back to it a little later. Youre now going to begin
to do a standard reading, but what you want to
do is theme all the points you make around the
selected tarot. For example, if the fool has been
selected, you would do your reading, but keep
coming back to the idea that they can be quite
silly sometimes of that they can be daft at
inappropriate times. You can even mention the
8

word fool if you like. Below are a list of the

themes that I would use if certain cards come
up. Ive only used a few examples from the
major arcana, as you can probably work most
out for yourself:

The Lovers: Keep referring to how considerate

they are as a person and how they care and
metaphorically give love but dont receive it
back and so on.
The Hermit: Talk about how they feel closed off,
and different from everyone else (who doesnt
from time to time?) how they always find a way
to separate themselves from the crowd.
The Hanged Man: Explain that they always feel
like a scapegoat, as though they are on trial and
under pressure from everybody else.
Whats great about this is that because youre
otherwise using generalised phrases, they cant
say no, so whatever you say will fit to them,
even with the added themes!

Revealing the Card

Once youve done the reading, youre going to
get them to name their chosen card. Lets say
theyve selected the fool. What I like to say is
from the information, Ive just received, and I
think that three cards fit you and your
personality better than the rest. The Three of
Coins, the Fool and the Chariot. Which of these
do you think best described you, from what Ive
learnt? What you want to do is name their
selected card in amongst two lesser known tarot
cards, as this stop them from naming either of
the other two.
Also, the fact that you say they are to choose
one based on the information just given means
that they are likely to pick the one you want
them to, rather than one that most described
their genuine character. Once theyve named the
fool, reiterate that they picked any card, free of
choice and that all the information you received
was correct. They also had a final choice to pick
one they felt was truly right, so if the tarot is
correct, then there can be no reasonable
explanation. Have them slowly turn over the card
and reveal it to be the fool!

10

Cold Reading
Now that you understand the basic idea, this
technique can be used in all sorts of ways. Here
is a way to apply it to cold reading in a slightly
different form. Before you begin doing anything,
grab a billet and say youre receiving a thought.
Scribble the words right brained on it and place
it face down on the table.
During the reading, get a sense of what type of
person they are. This may be creative, logical or
whatever, but keep a mental note of it. You can
easily find this out just by asking them about
their hobbies or job, but be warned that job isnt
that reliable as a lot of people seem to work at
jobs they dont like! Id say that hobbies is your
best bet.
Say you discover they are a very logical person.
When you reach the end of the reading, almost
as an afterthought say Oh I almost forgot. Its
been scientifically proven that people are of a
certain type of brain. Left, right or centre. I think,
if I remember, left brain people are very creative
and imaginative, centre brain people are very
closed off, and right brained people are
extremely logical. Which would you say you are?
All youre doing is saying their traits when you
supposedly tell them what right brained people
11

are like. Theres no reason for them not to

believe you. They will, of course, say right
brained. Have them slowly turn over the billet
and show that you sensed it before the reading
even began!
If for some strange reason, they say that theyre
left or centre brained (which they wont) simply
acknowledge it and forget about the billet. As
you never draw attention to it when you ask the
question, it will appear as though you are just
wondering out of curiosity.
Another way to fit information like this is to write
down, for example, the words 1:2 personality
on a billet and place it sight unseen in full view
for the show. When ready, take an impression
device and have them write down any
object/person, peek the info. If they wrote
Spatula, say something like people with a 1:1
personality will often go for a bedroom
appliance, a 1:2 would usually go for a kitchen
item and a 1:3 tends to lean more towards
recreational equipment. Which personality do
you think you are?
When they say 1:2, show the billet before
continuing to read their mind of the specific
thought.
12

Playing Cards
Again, the technique used here is slightly
different from the above two, but I think its
important you get to see all the different ways in
which this idea can be used. This effect can also
be done completely impromptu. Begin by having
someone think of any playing card, something
not too obvious. Its important they dont go for
an obvious card as you will use this to your
advantage later.
Stare into their eyes and scribble the 7 down
and fold the billet up and leave it on the table.
Have them name the card out loud, say the 3 .
Go to open the billet, and then as an
afterthought say actually, you seem quite
responsive you lets try something else as well.
Three other cards I picked up from your
subconscious as well were the Q , the 7 and
the 5 . If you just want to think of one of those
as well
Remove a second billet and write down the card
that was originally thought of. Fold the billet and
pick up both in your hand, mixing them around.
Have them name their thought of card from
three. If they say the 7 , which they usually will
due to it being psychologically appealing, open
13

the billet you wrote the 7 on and show it, before

showing the other as well.
If they thought of one of the other two, not the
seven, say that it was just a silly experiment.
Show you got it wrong before showing them you
nailed the original thought of card. I love the one
ahead principle, and I think combining it with the
reverse idea makes it an absolute killer.

Wallet Prediction
Have a card to wallet set up and ready to go in
your pocket. You wil also need a billet that has
'37' written on it, palmed in your hand. Have
someone think of any animal, or anything at all,
and pick up a billet. Write on it 'Check the wallet,
you fool!' or any words to that equivalent and
fold it and leave it on the table. Have them tell
you what they thought of (in this case a lion) and
smile in a confident manner.
Say that as they are so receptive, you'll try it
again. Have them think of either the number 10,
37 or 93. Pick up a second billet and write on it
the word 'lion.' As you apparently put it on the
table, switch it for the one in your hand that says
37. As soon as you put it down, go to place the
pen in your pocket and at the same time, load
the billet that says 'lion' on it into the wallet.
14

First open the number billet and show you either

got it right or wrong. Shrug it off as fruitless if
you got it wrong. Then, open the first billet to
what they expect will say lion. It actually says
check the wallet, and when they do, it looks as
though you knew what they were going to pick
before they even did! There are so many ways to
use this. Have a play around, and if you have
any ideas, Id love to hear your thoughts. After
all, two heads are better than one! Unless one of
the heads is made of lettuce. (My, what a wit I
have!)

Credits
Ive been told that Ken Dyne has some similar
ideas like this in one of his published routines,
and Colin McLeod has some thoughts of this kind
of thing in his latest book Divine. Credit also
goes partially to Cog by Ben Seward, with his
effect The Trip which inspired the playing card
phase of this idea.

15

MOOD SWINGS
Lets talk about colours for a bit. Or, more
specifically, colour rings. These rings can be
found extremely cheaply on the internet or in
little gift shops, and apparently measure your
mood depending on what colour they go. This
idea came about after a conversation with Iain
Dunford on the Mystery Performers forum. I hope
you enjoy!

Rings to Use
What you want to do is buy the band type of
mood rings that are round in shape and fit over
the finger. Any ring that is known as a gothic
mood ring and has a huge stone on the front of
it will not work as well. These band rings can be
bought in bulk from EBay or any seedy internet
site.

Change the Colour

Once you have purchased the rings, there are
many ways in which they can be used in a show
or as an effect within themselves, each of which
usually involves changing their colour. After I
have explained a few key ways to do this to
them, Ill outline a few effects that use the rings
to great effect:
16

Heat: The main way in which the rings change

colour is through the use of heat, and when they
are heated up on the finger. If you take a ring
and breathe upon it, it will turn blue/purple.
Alternatively, cooling them down by blowing on
them will turn them brown, and then eventually
black.
Varnish: You can use nail varnish for a more
secure change. Take a ring and apply a small
amount of nail varnish of the desired colour on
the ring and slowly rub it round so that the whole
ring smudges into that colour. Dry the varnish
and when done, you will have a ring that is
permanently one colour. This means you can
switch a normal ring for a doctored one and so
on.
Ok, so now that you understand how to change
their colour, lets look at a few ways to use them.

Readings
If you use the colour of the ring as a guide, you
can perform extremely powerful readings. Have
them hold the ring in their hand and see what
colour it changes. Then, do a reading on the
colour of the ring, talking about how red
represents blood or deep love, or whatever
colour it goes. You can also show the ring and
swap it for a permanently red ring. Have them
17

hold it in their hands and say that you feel that

they are the sort of person who might make the
ring go red. When they open their hand, it will
be.
If you wanted to fit it in with a reading, I think
though that you have to make it something other
than just a ring. A friend of mine Roger Curzon
always says that when performing mentalism
that teeters on the edge of bizarre, you cannot
make the items you use look like props. If you
were to use it in a reading, put it in an old box
and dress it up as you're dead uncle Albert's
wedding ring or something. If they think, that
like the tarot, you can influence it in any way it
turns from a reading into a magic trick.
It is also a great decorative piece that can be
worn on your finger and never used, but to
rather build up an image that you want to
portray. It can also be dangled over tarot cards
to pick up certain vibes and the like. Sometimes I
use it in conjunction with my aforementioned
'reverse reading' technique.

Pendulums
If you tie the ring to a piece of string, then you
have a very pretty make-shift pendulum that can
be used at a moments notice. I have found that
sometimes they can be a bit light, so if you see
18

this as a problem, a small blob of blu tack or

something in the ring will weight it down
sufficiently.
You can also get the ring to turn colour as it
spins, which is a nice touch. If you breathe on
your hands and hold them close to the spinning
ring, you will see a slight colour difference that
can be used as a 'change in the aura' or to prove
that their mind is causing the pendulum to
change colour. Read on for an effect that uses
this idea.
As well as changing it's colour, simple letting it
reflect off light surfaces as it spins can give off a
dazzling effect and enhance an effect by a mile. I
think that many pendulum effects are self
explanatory so I won't delve too deep into this
section.

19

MENTALISM

20

RULE OF THREE
Lets begin with a favourite of mine. Why not?
This effect is really strong and can, in the right
settings, appear completely impossible. Best of
all, all you need is a deck of cards and a small
stack of blank business cards.
This effect makes use of the brilliant Hoy
Principle by David Hoy. Some noteworthy effects
using this idea are Daves PIN from Michael
Murrays book A Piece of My Mind and Luke
Jermays Touching on Hoy from Coral Fang.

Basic Effect
Three spectators each think of a different
thought and write it down. Somehow, the
Mentalist manages to divine all three, before
showing that he knew way in advance what each
of them would pick.

Presentation
Three mini slips of paper are shown, with a
number 1, 2 or 3 written on each. They are
mixed and three spectators (Brandon, Nathan
and Gaz) take a card each and remember their
number. The slips are then torn up.
21

Ok, so right now each of you is thinking of a

number. If you thought of number 1, think of a
simple geometric shape like a square or circle,
nothing too complex like a star. If you thought of
number 2, think of any playing card for me, but
not an ace as theyre too easy. Finally, if you
thought of number 3, think of any two digit
number from 1 to 50 for me. Please, no decimals
or recurring fractions.
Each spectator writes their thought down on a
billet. These are unmarked and completely
normal. The Mentalist is blind folded and is
handed the billets.
He proceeds to correctly divine all three
thoughts perfectly, (e.g. 19, triangle and Q )
before giving a short but extremely specific
character reading on all three participants.
However, I have to admit something to you. I
had a feeling as to what your thoughts were
going to be a week ago. I gave you (indicates
spectator 1) a deck of cards 2 weeks ago, and I
asked you to bring it along with you tonight.
Could you please get it out?
The spectator takes out the deck, and with
shaking fingers, removes the cards from the box.
He is asked to count down to the 19th card. It is
turned over. Sure enough, its the Q , and
22

scrawled across the face of it, is the word

TRIANGLE in big black lettering. The Mentalist
never handles the deck, and it is completely
ungimmicked.

Concept
The basic idea at work here is the famous Hoy
Principle by David Hoy. What this means is that
all three participants are actually thinking of the
same thought without realising it.
To set up, take a deck of cards and write the
word triangle across any card. Lets say the 2
. Then place this at position 36 in the deck. It
doesnt matter what card and what number you
use, as long as you know them. You can then put
the deck away and send it to a participant of the
effect weeks in advance.
You will also need a small stack of business cards
that are blank on one side. Draw a medium sized
rectangle in the middle of each card and in one,
write the number, in this case 36, and in the
other, write the card, in this case the 2 .
Place these two cards on the bottom of the
business card stack face down in any order. You
will also need five mini slips of paper. On three of
these, draw a big number 1 on it, and then write
2 and 3 on the other two. Make sure the ink
23

doesnt bleed through. Youre now ready to

perform the effect.
When ready to perform, place two of the slips
that have a 1 on them on your lap so you can
access them easily.

Performance
To begin, introduce the effect and say that youll
need three random thoughts. Show the three
slips of paper freely and have them examined.
As this is happening, get the two slips in your
lap, ready to be palmed. Youll now perform a
simple switch to swap numbers 2 and 3 for the
ones on your lap.
Take the slips back so that number 1 is on top.
Hold them face down and get a break under the
top slip. Youre going to let the two below it to
slip onto your lap as you place the two palmed
on top.
Bring your hands together and as you do, briefly
dip your hands below the table and drop the two
slips below the break onto your thighs. Bring
your hands back up as they meet and drop the
two palmed slips onto the other hand.
Grab all three with your right hand and spread
them on the table. To the naked eye, it should
appear as though you just transferred the slips
24

from one hand to the other and spread them on

the table. Little do they know the slips now all
have 1 written on them. What fools they are.
Spread them out on the table and have the
spectators take one at random and remember
the number. Make sure to tell them not to show
anyone else what number they got. This will
ensure no one will see that all are the same. Take
the slips back and dispose of them.
Now follow the presentation written at the
beginning. If you word is as shown, then all three
of the participants should be thinking of triangle.
Each of them also thinks that the other two are
thinking of a card or a number. I like to follow
this script to the letter as it seems as though you
are putting restrictions on the number and card,
as well as the shape.
Take three business cards (careful not to disturb
your stack) and draw three boxes in the middle
identical to the ones drawn earlier. Hand one to
each participant and have them write down their
thoughts in the boxes. Again, caution them not
to let anyone else see what they write.
Blindfold yourself and take the three cards face
down. Mix them up and hover your hand over
them one at a time to pick up the auras the
cards are leaving.
25

You can now proceed to supposedly receive the

thought one at a time. Im getting a shape
coming through here, quite pointy, a triangle
maybe? Dont react anyone, dont give anything
away. Next, the number. This is quite central,
like 36? And finally the card. Oh thats easy, the
3 .no 2 of hearts!
Remove your blindfold and say quick yes or no,
did I get yours? Ask them one at a time in quick
succession and they will all say yes. Pick up the
three cards and set them on top of the stack
casually. Relax a little here and soak up the
applause.
Pick up the business card stack and transfer the
top card to the bottom and turn over the whole
packet. Deal the three face cards onto the table.
This is discrepant but will fly past the audience.
Even though youve just switched out two cards,
everything should appear normal. Each spectator
will see their thought and what they presume are
the other two peoples thoughts.
Youre now going to do a quick handwriting
analysis and cold reading (Note: see the end for
an alternative for this) Ill just explain this briefly
as it should be pretty obvious. Begin by saying
ok, the way youve all written and drawn your
answer is very interesting to me. Well try this
26

with the triangle drawer first. Dont say who

you are, as this might give me a clue, but what
Im getting from you is
Give a brief reading. When youre done, move
straight onto the second person who wrote the
number. As this is no one, you can be as specific
as you want as no one can verify it. The same
with the last person.
Now ask each of them what percentage of the
information that I just gave would mean
something to you? As all three got the first,
general reading, their answer will differ, one
maybe saying 60%, then 80 and so on.
Because youll get different percentages, this
cements the idea that all the readings applied to
only one person each.
Finally, all you need to do now is say that you
knew what they were going to pick and go into
the final reveal with the deck of cards. Make sure
you NEVER go near the cards so that there cant
be any back tracking possible.

Alternative
27

Here is an alternative to the second phase. After

youve revealed all three thoughts, all the face
down cards still say triangle so you can have
them mixed as much as possible, yet you can
identify which card belongs to which person, as
they will always get a card with their thought
written on it!

Final Thoughts
I know this might read a bit dull on paper, but as
long as you keep them captivated and involved,
theres no reason for them to be. People love
themselves, so as long as you keep it centred on
their thoughts and ideas, theyll be hooked!
After showing this effect to a friend of mine, they
said that they liked it but they thought that
revealing that you knew what they would think in
advance kind of ruined the idea that previously I
had read their supposedly read their minds.
This is a good point, but I think that as long as
you focus more on the readings and make it
appear as though getting the thoughts was
merely an experiment, this shouldnt really pose
an issue; make it look as though the mind
reading was just a casual extra to the main
event (the readings.) But if you just want to
reveal the three thoughts with no deck ending,
you can.
28

Finally. Im sure some pessimists out there will be

thinking what if a participant doesnt pick the
triangle? The simple answer is that if youve
built up good rapport with your spectators
beforehand, then they wont try and trick you
and they will go for the triangle. Plus, what other
shapes can they choose? Theres really nothing
to worry about

29

I CAN GUESS
PASSWORDS!
Although I dont perform this routine much as it
doesnt really fit my style of performance, Im
still pretty proud of how it turned out and how it
all wraps itself up neatly. Theres a lot of nice
little ideas in this routine and I hope you enjoy!
Credits for this routine go to Luke Jermay for the
idea of gathering two pieces of information or
more during the action of getting someone to
write it down.

Basic Effect
Two spectators form a PIN and the mentalist
proceeds to reveal it, before passing on him
amazing gift to one of the other two spectators!

Presentation
The mentalist begins by inviting a spectator up
on stage and hands him a small billet. After a bit
of by-play, Roger introduces himself and the
Mentalist hands him a billet.
What I want to talk to you about now is
something that I find quite worrying in todays
modern society. And that is, passwords. If you
30

think about it, theres only one small word

keeping all of your bank details, and accounts
safe. So, Id like to try something with this
concept. Just think of any password you use
every day. You can change some of the letters a
bit if you want to keep your password safe. So
Roger, just fill out the billet and write the
password on it, if you dont mind.
The password is then written down on the billet
and hidden somewhere on the spectators
person. The mentalist claims that they will get
back to it a little later. Another spectator, Les, is
invited up on stage.
Ok, so what I want both of you to do is think of
the last two digits of your birth year, as the first
two digits will be 19 of course. Now, write each
of your digits on this billet and keep the billet
close to your chest so no one else except you
two can see the digits.
The spectators comply with the demands.
Ok, Im getting an 8. Look at me theres
another 8 as well. The third digit that Im getting
is is, try and project it to me pleasea 4?
Ok, the last one is a big harder so keep
repeating it over in your mind like 3, 3, 3yes?
Very good.
31

The numbers are confirmed to be correct. The

mentalist then claims that he will pass his ability
onto the second spectator. He stares into his
eyes for a moment and passes them a billet. The
other billet that contains spectator ones
password is removed and ripped up. The two
stare into each others eyes and the second
spectator gradually gets the password.
So you see, passwords arent as secure as they
seem. Thanks for helping me out tonight and
wait a minute, do you have a mobile phone?
Yes? Well Id consider changing the code on it
from 5 2 9 3 to something a bit less obvious!
Thanks for helping me out!

Concept
There are quite a lot of little ideas hidden within
this routine, but what I like is that at the end,
everything ties itself up in a neat way. The first
stage will be a peek and some common sense,
the second phase an instant stooge.
Begin by writing PLAY ALONG, THE PASSWORD
IS _________ on a billet and place it face down on
the bottom of the stack. Then, take a piece of
card and on it write Date of Birth __/_/____ and
Password _______. Writing the D.O.B in this
fashion ensures they will write down their birth
year as well. The lines represent a blank area
32

where the participant will input the required

information.
Finally you will need to set up a peek. This can
be done any way, but the simplest way that I like
to do it is to cut a hole in the back of an
envelope. I also have a normal sealed envelope
in my pocket which I will switch out.

Performance
Begin by inviting two spectators up on stage.
Once youve introduced the effect, ask the first
spectator to think of any password that they
currently use on their computer. Hand them the
billet and youre now going to use some clever
wording to appear as though they are only
writing the password down. Point at the D.O.B
and say fill this in for me then point at the
password section and say and write your
password there as well. A bit of DR here
ensures that no one realises the date of birth has
been written.
Take out the envelope with the hole in it (careful
not to flash it) and load the billet in face down.
As you speak, casually seal the envelope and
hold it up so you can see the information. Now in
the action of searching for your pen, you can
easily switch it for the other envelope in your
pocket. I wont go into too much detail about this
33

as you can probably figure out your own method

being the experienced performer you are
Have them sign what they believe is an envelope
that contains their password. Alternatively, you
could just peek the information and not switch
the envelope, but I think you get a bit more
freedom this way. Say that you will get back to
the password a little later.

Phase 1
Now, you want to have a second spectator come
up on stage, but it is essential that they were
born in the same DECADE as the first person. For
example, they were both born in the 80s or
whatever. After youve seen your peek, you
should get a better idea as to what age youre
looking for.
Choose your second spectator and ask that both
of them create a four digit PIN by using the last
two numbers of their birth year. Have them write
these four digits in any order on a billet. But the
sneaky thing is that you already know 3 of the
numbers. You know the two peeked ones and
you know that one of the second spectators
numbers will match the firsts! Lets say the first
spectators digits are 84, then you know that one
of the second spectators numbers will be 8, as
34

youve picked two participants from the same

decade!
Pick up the stack of billets, turning them over as
you do so you are facing the card that will be
used for the instant stooge. Write the password
in the gap, but then act as though youve
changed your mind and put the stack back down
and move the billet to the back of the stack. Its
also nice to not write it exactly correct, so that it
has more credibility at the end. Begin by saying
that youre getting two numbers coming
through. Have them repeat the numbers in their
mind, and name the two numbers you peeked, 8
5 on the billet. Make sure you tell them not to
react. Youre now going to get the other two. Of
the remaining two, have spectator one
remember the highest of the two numbers, and
spectator two the lowest. This has no impact on
the effect, but I like to make it look as though
both spectators are sending me a number
separately.
You can reveal the first one as being an 8 in any
way youd like, but for the unknown one, you can
go about this a number of ways. Begin by using
the old Derren idea of saying repeat it over and
over in your mind, like 3, 3, 3 and so on. If you
hit, perfect, if not carry on. Then say this number
hasnt already been said, has it? If they say yes,
35

say I thought so. It will either be an 8 or 5 again.

If they say no, then I just guess. It its right,
great, if its not, shrug if off and ask for the
number, before re-iterating that you already got
three of the numbers and that it isnt an exact
science. There are, as you can probably think,
hundreds of other ways of getting the last digit.
If you want to, you can further this by psychically
diving who each of the numbers belonged to.
See more about this at the end of the routine in
the Final Thoughts section.

Phase 2
Youre now going to supposedly pass on your gift
to the second spectator, and they will somehow
divine the password of the first spectator. What
you want to do is first stare into spectator twos
eyes and tell them you have passed over the
gift. As you talk, pick up the billets and casually
move the top card to the bottom.
Now, making sure no one else can see the face
card of the stack, wave them in front of
spectator two and tell them just to imagine a
word appearing in the air just about here. As
you do this, they will get a clear view of the
password. A sly wink here seals the deal. Add
whatever presentational touches youd like (i.e.
asking spectator 1 whether its just a word or a
36

number as well.) Hand spectator two a billet and

pen.
Ask spectator one if there is any way anyone can
see through the envelope. Whatever they
respond, say it doesnt matter anyway and
promptly rip up the envelope and throw it on the
floor. This is psychologically a very strong
moment, as it now appears as though there is no
possible way that you should know anything and
youve destroyed the only paper that had it
written on.
Have the two spectators stare into each others
eyes and when spectator two feels a connection,
he is to write down whatever he feels. Ask
spectator one to reveal what hes written. Of
course, spectator two will react and of course,
there is the end to your routine. Thank both
spectators for helping out and send them back to
their seats as you soak up the applause.

Phone Code
You may have noticed in the presentation that at
the end of this routine, I reveal spectator twos
phone code as he makes his way to his seat. The
reason I do this is because it kills the stooge.
Technically, the final phase wont impress him,
so if you nail his phone code at the end, it
completely throws them off the method.
37

The way I do it just guess and Ill hit once every

100,000 times.
Not really, that was a lie. If you have the
iUnlockYourMind app by Myke Philips then you
could use that to harvest the code, or perhaps
the simplest (and cheapest) way is just to
wander about before the show looking at people.
No one is particularly secretive about their
phone code, and so you will get loads of
opportunities to gather the information you
need. Then, when both spectators are walking
off stage, casually ask if spectator two has a
phone, and then use the line about changing the
code. Super simple!
Another idea which is quite bold but means you
dont have to peak any numbers is to as theyre
walking off stage casually say something like
you have a phone, yes? Well Id consider
changing the digits to 5698 as theyre not as
obvious at those. It doesnt make perfect sense,
but said quickly, will give the impression of
saying their code out loud. Obviously youre just
saying any random numbers.

Final Thoughts
38

I thought I might just cover a few little things I

mentioned earlier in the explanation:
Divining Numbers. After the first phase, youll
see it says that you can then divine whose
numbers belong to who. I would only do this if I
hadnt hit the fourth digit bang on. What youd
then do is say Ok, what Im now getting is that
your numbers are 8 and 5, yes? And yours are
are3 and 8! Make sure to reverse the order of
the second two numbers to make them appear
more random.
Star Sign: You may have realised that after
youve peeked the birthday, you get a great
opportunity to reveal a star sign along the way. If
you know youre signs, then you can incorporate
it into the routine. Also see Zodique later on
within this book for a way to reveal star signs.
And thats all there is to it!

39

VANISHING POINT
I wasnt even going to publish this effect, but I
was convinced by a couple of friends that it was
good, so here it is! Credits for this go to
American card magician Jason England for a
culling idea.

Basic Effect
A deck of cards is borrowed from a member of
the audience and shuffled thoroughly by anyone
who wishes to mix them. A card is merely
peeked at, but somehow, the Mentalist always
knows!

Presentation
The Mentalist asks for a participant to help him
with his next cardboard creation. A deck of
cards is borrowed from him (lets call him Steve)
and the cards split into four random piles.
Ok, so you look like a smart guy. You probably
know all the tricks using key cards and secret
helpers and that sort of crap. So what Ive done
is split the deck into four piles. Pick em up on at
a time and shuffle to your hearts contents.

40

The helper does just this. He shuffles the packets

on at a time. The packets are then gathered and
squared.
Right, so Im going to turn my back and what I
want you to do is lift up a section of cards
anywhere, peek at the card, then slap the deck
back together and thoroughly shuffle. You done?
Good.
The Mentalist should have no inkling as to what
the card is. He stares into the participants eyes.
Im getting a red card, yes. Look at me please,
its a heart yes? Ok, now think about whether or
not its a picture or a number card...its a
number card. Now for the value. It a high card, is
it not? I thought so. Look at me here, the 8, no 9
of hearts yes? Thank you very much.
Steve confirms this is the card and the deck is
fully examined, and there are no gimmicks or
stacks to speak of. What I love about this routine
is that it is totally impromptu and can be
performed at the drop of a hat. I like to use this
effect with the move monkeys as it really
confuses them.

Concept
41

This effect is extremely simple, and there are no

hard moves at all within this routine. The basic
idea is that at the beginning, you separate the
deck out so that one pile contains all of the cards
of one suit, and from there, its just fishing.

Performance
To begin, have any deck of cards borrowed and
shuffled. It isnt crucial that it be a full deck, but
it will make the effect easier to do. After it has
been examined, pick it up and spread the deck
with the faces towards you.
As soon as you spread the deck, upjog the first
two cards. You now want to upjog the values one
to ten of the same suit as the second card. For
example, if the second card is a heart, all of the
hearts would be upjogged except the picture
cards. This is all done so only you can see the
faces.
Strip out the upjogged cards and place this
packet face up on the table. You can slightly
spread the top card of the packet to show red
and black cards. With the rest of the deck, do the
same action but this time, really do remove
random cards. Repeat this two more times. You
should now have four packets that supposedly
contain random cards, but the first packet is
42

actually full of hearts and the five of clubs, which

will act as a cover card to hide all the hearts.
Turn all the packets face down. Have the
spectator mix the four piles one at a time until
they are happy the cards are all mixed. Of course
it doesnt matter how they mix them as all the
hearts will stay together in one pile. Gather up
all the packets making sure the hearts is on top.
Now, you want to cut the cards to centralise the
hearts packet. However, if youre doing this for a
woman, cut the cards do that the hearts are
bang in the centre. If, on the other hand, youre
doing it for a man, place the hearts a little lower
down in the deck. The reasoning behind this will
become apparent in a moment.
Place the deck face down on the table. Now, to
the audience, the deck should appear
completely shuffled. Say that in a minute, when
you turn round, the assistant is to cut the deck
about the middle and to peek at a card. As you
do this, you are going to demonstrate what they
are to do by cutting off a quarter of the deck and
flashing the face card. This is just to show the
assistant what to do so that they are one
hundred percent sure.
Square the deck and turn around. As you do, say
so cut off ABOUT HALF and remember the card.
43

Nine times out of ten, they will hit the hearts

packet. I will cover outs of they dont later. With
your back still turned, have them square and
shuffle the deck.
The reason for placing the hearts in slightly
different positions depending on their gender is
because Ive found from experience, when asked
to cut about the middle women will go right for
the centre, but men will cut a bit deeper.
Obviously, this is not an exact science, but it
does make a difference.
Ok, so you now know that the card is a heart, but
youre going to present this as three hits. Have
them place the deck down and stare into their
eyes to receive their thoughts. Again, see
presentation at the end for all of this. First reveal
that its a red card, then a heart, then a number
card. Now all you need to do is fish for the value.
Begin by saying Im not getting a high card, am
I? If they say yes, reply with yeah I thought
so but if they say no reply with no I didnt
think so This is an old technique but does the
job perfectly. Lets say it was a high card. Look at
them and call out the values five to ten, as
though studying their facial expressions. Now
say this is quite high, is it not? If they agree,
you can assume its the nine or the ten. If they
44

say not really, its a six or seven. If they have

trouble answering, its the eight. The same
applies with the low values, but ask, this is quite
low, isnt it?
You should now have a choice of two values.
Simply call either out. If they react, finish here. If
they dont, immediately click your fingers and
say eliminated, because your card was the
and say the second value. And thats all there is
to it. Obviously, there are a lot of other, quicker
methods out there, but I like fishing as I think it
works well.

Outs
Ok, lets be frank here. This effect doesnt
always work. Once every so often youll get a
spectator who misses the block, and gets a
different card. And, although this section is
called outs, I dont really have one. So, when it
does happen, and you get the colour or suit
wrong, I will say something like: sorry, there are
just too many thought going on in your head.
Could you write your card down on this piece of
paper for me? Then just resort to a centre tear.
Not too clever, I know, but as it happens so
rarely, I dont have an out.
Also, the spectator may have cut to the cover
card, in this case the five of clubs. Always
45

remember the cover card and you can use it as a

second resort.
You could, of course, try and fish your way out,
but you must be ready with lots of double
meaning sentences such as the value, it isnt
high is it? and so on.

Final Thoughts
One final tip I would like to add is that if the
spectator looks a little confused when you say
the sentence about whether the value is high or
low, it means they have selected the five.
Dont be put off by the simple method behind
this, as it really does work. What I also love is
that it creates a double bluff moment. After the
effect, magicians will approach me asking the
method, and theyll always begin with I know
that the four packet splitting was just bluff But
it isnt! I love things like that!

MEMORY LANE
46

This routine is based on an effect by Roger

Curzon from his booklet The Lost Papyrus of
Imhotep. The effect, Emotional Catharsis, is
very different to my effect, but when I first came
up with this, they were quite similar. However,
over time the routine has been adapted into the
piece youre about to read.
Ive also been told that it is similar in principle to
an effect by Docc Hilford, called The Richie
Technique. Ive had a look at this effect and the
two routines are based on the same idea, but
carried out differently.

Basic Effect
The spectator thinks of three memories that set
off different emotions, and one by one, the
Mentalist receives all three thoughts, before
tapping into the mystery of love.

Presentation
Three billets are placed out onto the table and a
volunteer is chosen to help who has a good
memory. A rather annoying spectator by the
name of Tom makes his way on stage.
I would like to try something with you Tom, but
not with the psychical, but rather the mental.
What I want you to do is think of a happy
47

memory, a time when you felt genuinely

emotional, and concentrate on how that made
you feel.
The first billet is picked up and the Mentalist
stares into his eyes and quickly scribbles
something down. He folds it in half and writes
the word HAPPY on the front. The assistant is
then asked to confirm her memory out loud.
This is then repeated two times, one with
SORROW and one with FEAR. Obviously,
nothing too extreme, just a time when they may
have felt uncomfortable. One at a time, very
fairly the envelopes are gathered up and
opened, and the mentalist was bang on with at
least two of the three billets!
However, there is one emotion we havent
touched on yet, but is probably the most
important of all and that is love. If you dont
mind, I would like to try something quite
personal with you. If you dont want to partake
in this, then now is the time toyou WILL help
me? Excellent. Hopefully, at the end of this, you
will take away not sadness, but happiness, as
love can provoke both feeling within us.
The mentalist gets his helper to think of a
beloved person who has passed away. He directs
their attention to a billet that has been folded
48

with a heart drawn on it. They open it and

silently read it to themselves before confirming
that you know who they are thinking of.

Explanation
This effect is in two parts really. The first three
billets and the last billet. You can perform the
first part without the second if you feel that the
situation isnt right, but Id recommend doing the
full effect for the person to receive a fully
personalised experience.
Begin by folding three billets in half and writing
the words SAD, HAPPY and FEAR on them.
Leave these writing sides DOWN on the table, in
the same order as written. At no point are the
audience going to suspect there is already
writing on these. You must also use the same
pen you wrote these words with for the trick. As
you have probably guessed, this trick relies on
the old one ahead principle, but in a slightly
different way which makes for a clean ending.

Performance
Begin by talking about emotions and talking to
your participant. I think when you do an effect
49

with a touchy subject such as emotions, its nice

to get to know the spectator a bit and really
connect with them. It also means that you can
gather more information for a reading later on.

First Three Billets

Anyhoo, when youre ready to begin, pick up the
billet on your very left, careful not to flash the
word on the back. Start by talking about how
memories can trigger certain emotions within us.
This is a really nice time to billet should have
SAD secretly on it. As you do, hold it up towards
you but make sure the writing is hidden. Ask the
spectator to think of a HAPPY memory.
Get them to picture it and study them carefully,
as if receiving a thought. Now write down on the
billet Loss, disappointment, maybe family? Pet?
Not reaching a specific goal? Fold the billet in
half and write HAPPY across the blank portion,
again keeping the other word hidden. Place it on
the table with the word HAPPY for everyone to
see. Ask them what their memory was. Act
intrigued by what has happened.
Pick up the second billet and have the spectator
think of any memory when they were scared or
feeling fear. (Make sure they dont pick anything
too upsetting.) Again, keep the writing hidden
and write on the billet the happy memory the
50

spectator just told you. Dont make it too

accurate of they will suspect something is up.
Fold it in half and write FEAR on it for everyone
to see.
Have them tell you the memory. Pick up the final
billet, and have them think of a sad memory.
However, on this one, act as though the thought
isnt coming through clearly. This is to cover you
for the vague statement on the first billet. Write
the fear memory on it before folding it up and
writing SAD on it. You should now have three
billets on the table. Pick them up from left to
right so that SAD is the top of the pile. Now here
is the sneaky bit. If you turn the three billets over
secretly, the memories will now perfectly match
with the words that are uppermost. Dont make
anything of this move; just casually turn over the
billets as you talk.
Say that the SAD memory was a bit fuzzy. Have
them tell it you and open the top billet. Hopefully
their memory will fit with one of the statements
you wrote in the first billet. If it does, make sure
to play it up, but if it doesnt shrug it off and
carry on. The other two should match perfectly.
Always make sure that the writing on the other
side of the cards is hidden at all times. I do
realise this probably reads pretty quick, but if
you give it a good presentational hook and really
51

go into depth about our connection with

emotions, this can be really powerful to your
spectator and can bring it out to about 10
minutes in total.

The Fourth Billet

This is basically an ambiguous statement that
can apply to anyone. What you want to do is
write the following phrase on the billet: This
person was very close to you and was always
there when you needed someone to turn to.
When they departed, it felt like you couldnt live
without them for a while, but you used their love
as a way through. I want you to understand that
even though they cant be with you, as long as
you keep them in your heart, they are never
truly forgotten.
If you know a relative has passed away recently
or you do a little pre show, you can mention their
name at the end. All you need to do is replace
they are never truly forgotten with _____ will
never truly be forgotten putting in the relatives
name. Always remember to be careful with this
as you dont want them to feel upset when the
routine is done.
Have this billet on the table from the beginning
in plain sight. When you have finished the first
part of the routine, say that there is one emotion
52

that is probably more powerful than any of the

ones already mentioned, and that is love. Have
the participant think of a close relative who
passed away recently. Show them the billet and
have them pick it up and read what it says to
themselves silently.
This is where the word play comes into action.
Instead of asking them do you know what I
mean? or something like that simply say do you
understand? If you look in the text, it says as
long as you UNDERSTAND that they will never
so to the assistant it will appear as though you
are confirming that they understand what to do,
whereas to the audience, it will appear as though
you know who the relative is. Only slight DR
used here, but it can have a really lasting effect.
If you have the text written up on a really nicely
designed card, you can give it to them at the
end and you will find that it makes a beautiful
souvenir for them that they will remember for
years to come. It also takes the heat off the
other three billets.

Alternative
Here is an alternative that isnt as bold with the
last billet and doesnt deal with the touchy
subject of emotion. I used to do this before
coming up with the above version.
53

Its very simple to understand. Instead of using

emotions, use three pieces of information such
as job, house number and middle name. You
need to acquire the knowledge of one of these
bits of info. Lets say you know their job. Write
the names on the back of the billets and have
them in this order: job, middle name, house
number. Pick up the first billet and have them
think of their middle name. Actually write the job
on it. Fold it in half and write middle name on it.
Have them tell it you.
Do the same, next getting them to think of their
house number. Write their middle name on it and
so on. Then when you secretly turn them over at
the end, you get three perfect matches! I would
only do this as a demonstration before going into
a longer, more substantial piece.

Final Thoughts
As some of you may have realised, there is a
great opportunity to do a cold reading in this
effect. The assistant has already given you three
memories and told you they are an emotional
person, so what more could you need? When
wanting to do a reading, Ill usually insert it right
between the two phrases. Dont make this too
long, but just a brief summary of the information
youve gathered.
54

This is just a nice little convincer to make it

appear as though you can really read their mind!
Lets say that the happy memory is when they
last walked their dog. Pick up the happy billet
and act confused. Then say out of interest, what
was the dogs name? Presume they say
Whiskey. Say something like oh, now I get it and
place the billet back down. Then, when writing
the happy memory on the next billet, never
mention dog but put something like Drink?
Alcohol? Pet? Then when you reveal all at the
end, it looks like you not only picked up the
memory but also the name of the dog, which
they were probably thinking of during the
memory! Simple!
Finally when asked to pick a scary memory, 80%
of people will say watching a scary movie, as
you tell them NOT to think of an emotion that is
too upsetting. You can, if you feel confident
enough that they will go for some sort of choice
like this, instead of writing vague statements on
the first billet, swap the order around and use
the first billet as the FEAR emotion, and write the
horror movie on it. It's not 100 percent, but if
you never take risks, you'll never know!

55

ESSAYS

56