R
eplacing
Mnemonics with Rules
As we have seen, memorized decks have been a topic in many books on magic during the past century. Thinkers such as Nikola, McCaffrey, and Aronson have proposed stacks to memorize. Others, such as McEvoy and Zufall, have developed or suggested methods to memorize stacks. These methods are based on the use of mnemonics. An alphabet, both phonetic and numeric, is used. A series of fifty-two words is associated with stack numbers from 1 to 52. Another series of fifty-two words is associated with the fifty-two cards. Then, by grouping these words two by two, fifty-two pictures are associated with the cards and their stack numbers. These fifty-two linking pictures must also be memorized. Unfortunately, these methods require a great deal of time and energy to train one’s memory and master the deck. The method proposed in the following chapters is different. No mnemonics are involved, although some will say that “numeric mnemonics” are used. Do you remember the rules of multiplication that we learned in school? Well, the method proposed here to memorize the fifty-two cards in a stack calls for rules. Don’t worry, these rules are few and simple. The “numeric alphabet”, the fifty-two words associated to stack numbers, the fifty-two words associated to cards, and the fifty-two pictures associated with the stack-number-and-card correspondences, are simply replaced by fourteen rules that are easy to learn and especially easy to remember.
The Difference Between a System and a Memorized Deck In the previous chapters we have examined the differences between card systems and a memorized deck. Among these differences is one overriding distinction. With a system, mathematical formulas or a memorized sentence provide you with the correspondences between a card and its stack number. In other words, given a stack number, a relatively simple calculation allows you to identify the card there, and vice versa. But with a memorized deck, you need no formulas to allow you to
Looking at the Stack
57
translate a stack number into a card or a card into a stack number. The memorized deck, as its name indicates, is simply learned by heart. The stack-number-to-card correspondences are committed to memory and therefore come to mind automatically. No system is as powerful as a memorized deck. As pointed out by Simon Aronson in The Aronson Approach (p. 113), the energy and time required by the translations of cards into stack numbers, as minimal as they may be, are too demanding and too distracting for the magician. This energy and time must be saved to be used where it is needed: for the eventual calculations required by the card trick, and particularly for its presentation.
Memorization Methods In Chapter 4 it was pointed out that there are two basic methods for memorizing a stack of fifty-two cards. The first consists simply of learning the order of the cards by rote memory. The stack-number-to-card correspondences are simply recited out loud until they are learned by heart. The second method uses mnemonic pegs, a system that employs associated words to recall stack numbers and cards. A mnemonic is a kind of helpful memo. An example of a mnemonic is the word “chased”. Thinking of this word immediately brings to mind the suit order Clubs–Hearts–Spades–Diamonds. The advantage of the mnemonics method is that it can serve other purposes as well. The memorized words can indeed be used to remember all sorts of lists, to produce effects of mentalism, or to perform exceptional feats of memory. It is even possible to memorize the order of a freshly shuffled deck of cards. In Greater Magic (p. 902) and in Abbott’s Anthology of Card Magic, Volume Two (p. 68), H. Adrian Smith explains how this is achieved. Eddie Joseph explains a similar procedure in Greater Card Tricks (p. 94). With this book, a third method of memorization joins these traditional two: memorization with the help of rules. This must not be confused with systems that use mathematical formulas to translate stack numbers into cards and vice versa. Far from it! It is simply a memorization tool that allows you to remember easily and quickly a stack of fifty-two cards. Research by Samuel Renshaw on memory is the subject of an article in the June 1948 issue of Hugard’s Magic Monthly (Vol. VI, No. 1, p. 433). Renshaw maintains that the best way to remember something is to create a structure or model in which you can house this information. He shows that everyone has the capacity to memorize a deck of cards that has just been shuffled. According to him, methods using mnemonics weaken our capacity to memorize. He suggests that we use our subconscious minds and let our memories do their work naturally. In this same article, Fred Braue agrees that methods based on mnemonics hinder more than help your memory.
58
The Six-Hour Memorized Deck
The results of this 1948 research can of course be argued and must not be taken as a final authority. Many other papers on the subject have been written since. It is nevertheless interesting to note that the rule method proposed in this book stands halfway between pure memorization and methods using mnemonics. In a way, the rules that will be proposed shortly make up the structure recommended by Renshaw.
Popular Memorized Stacks Popular memorized stacks like Nikola’s, Ireland’s, Aronson’s, and Tamariz’s make it easy to perform gambling demonstrations (poker deals, bridge deals, and others). The Aronson stack even facilitates the performance of the ten-card poker deal and spelling effects. These stacks can be examined for a long time without revealing any regularity of arrangement. This is perfectly understandable, as there is none. The stack proposed in this book can also be examined extensively without risk of divulging a setup. Though no gambling demonstrations have been developed with it to date, it perfectly meets the requirements of card magic. In addition, it requires a very short time to commit to memory. This is its strength!
The Joyal Stack Before going any further, take a look at Figure 1, which illustrates the stack we will be learning. Examine it closely. Try to find a hidden setup in the cards, any apparent logic, or any other clue that would lead you to believe it is an ordered stack. You will see that the cards seem to be perfectly shuffled.
Figure 1–The Joyal Stack From top to bottom
J 6 6 4 10 A 7 4 9 5 Q A K ♥ ♣ ♥ ♣ ♦ ♦ ♣ ♥ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ 7 10 4 J 9 K 5 7 2 Q A 10 6 ♥ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♠ ♠ ♣ ♣ ♥ ♥ ♠ 9 7 Q 5 K 4 3 3 10 9 Q 3 3 ♠ ♦ ♦ ♥ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♥ ♣ ♦ ♠ ♠ ♦ 2 8 2 J 2 8 8 K A J 5 8 ♥ ♣ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♣ ♦
6 ♦
62
The Six-Hour Memorized Deck Figure 3– Comparison of the Mnemonic and Rules Systems Mnemonic System for Memorizing Fifty-two Cards and Their Stack Numbers 1. Memorize the mnemonic number-alphabet (L = 1, N = 2, M = 3, etc.). 2. Memorize fifty-two mnemonic words that represent the fiftytwo stack numbers (heN = Stack No. 2, haM = Stack No. 3, etc.).
Rules System for Memorizing Fifty-two Cards and Their Stack Numbers 1. Memorize fourteen basic rules. Total Information to be Memorized: 14 Rules
3. Memorize fifty-two mnemonic words that represent the fiftytwo cards in a deck (SuN = Two of Spades, SuM = Three of Spades, etc.). 4. Memorize fifty-two pictures that link each mnemonic card-word with a mnemonic stack-numberword (the sun eating a ham; a hen pecking a calculator to arrive at a sum; etc.). Total Information to be Memorized: Number Alphabet 104 Mnemonic Words 52 Mnemonic Pictures
so that they conform to your needs. It is preferable to choose an order of suits with alternating colors (black-red-black-red or red-black-red-black), as such an alternation will assure that black cards and red cards will be distributed more evenly throughout the stack.
D
eception,
More Deception, And Nothing but Deception Have you ever noticed that when we perform magic, we spout a lot of B.S. Indeed, our entire goal is to make the spectators believe things that aren’t true. We exaggerate elements we want noticed, and we ignore those we want to hide. We are nothing but liars. But not just any liars. We are professional liars, highclass liars, expert liars in the art of deception. A good liar chooses his audience. He puts on a whole show. He tells stories that catch the attention of the audience. A liar knows very well the strengths and weaknesses of his lies. He emphasizes the former and doesn’t tarry on the latter. A good liar believes in his lies. He is confident. He proceeds step by step. There is a plan and progression to his lies. He starts with small deceits, moves on to medium ones, then plunges into the big deceptions. The liar, like the magician, relies on principles and methods that allow him to disguise his trickery, to draw information secretly, to make his victims believe that his choices are random, etc. He befuddles them so thoroughly that no one can recall exactly what was said. A good liar is also a good salesman. He sells his stories, his deceptions. He makes his audiences dream. He charms them and makes them believe what he wants. It’s all in the presentation, in the art of selling. One might think that the magician’s product is magic and that he sells only his tricks. But that is false. The real product you must sell is yourself. And this is an essential point. A magician must first sell himself. The magician must make his spectators like him, charming them with smile, voice, expressions, and personality. Once he has sold himself successfully, the trick is done, he has won the game. He can then tell all the lies he wishes as he performs the wonders of his choice.
Mesmerizing with the Stack
Red, White, and Blue
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x
Any Card at Any Number is an effect that has haunted magicians for at least a century. A number of ingenious solutions have been devised, and the memorized deck features prominently in several of the best methods. Many of those same methods also require the services of a stooge. So the search continues for the ideal method, sans confederate, in which both the number and card are freely selected. Added conditions that enrich the broth and provide further difficulties are that the deck is shuffled to everyone’s satisfaction, and that a spectator, rather than the magician, counts the cards. The following is my contribution to the ongoing search for the perfect method. This trick was devised to baffle an audience of from ten to fifty people.
Effect After explaining about a childhood lucky charm, a red, white, and blue ball, the magician introduces three decks of cards: one with red backs, one with white backs, and one with blue backs. The cards of the red deck are shown and given to the audience to be shuffled by anyone and by as many as wish to. While this is done, the cards with white backs are shown on both sides. The backs of the cards are pure white. The faces bear the numbers from one to fifty-two. A spectator freely selects a card, and thus a number, which remains unknown to the magician. The backs and faces of the blue-backed cards are shown to the audience, and a second spectator is invited to name any card and to watch for it in the deck. When he sees it, he is to fix its image clearly in his mind. The red deck, now thoroughly mixed, is retrieved from the audience. A third spectator is invited to deal cards from this deck, counting to the previously selected number. Even though the deck has been truly shuffled, the choice of number and card are absolutely free, and the magician is unaware of the number chosen, the card found at the selected number in the shuffled deck proves to be the one freely nominated moments earlier!
Preparation You will need three decks of cards with their cases, one red backed, one white backed, and one blue backed. Each deck is prepared as follows:
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196
A Well-Shuffled Deck Suppose that you shuffle the deck again for several minutes—and after this shuffling, the cards are found back in perfect order, from Ace to King for each suit. You would be astounded! No one would believe you had just shuffled the deck. Indeed the probability of getting such a result is one in millions and millions. On the other hand, the probability is much higher of getting a sequence that has no recognizable or useful order of colors, suits, and values. It is precisely the absence of this sort of order, or if you like, this apparent disorder, that makes us say that the deck is shuffled. Would it be possible to weigh the disorder of a deck? Perhaps, with the help of a ShuffleMeter!
The ShuffleMeter The ShuffleMeter is an instrument founded on leading-edge technology. It allows you, in less than a minute, to analyze how well a deck of cards is shuffled. Unfortunately, such a device exists only in my dreams. With a bit of imagi nation, though, it is possible to use it. Being magicians, our imaginations are always flowing! Figure 1 on the next page illustrates the control panel of this remarkable instrument. Six of the buttons provide different analyses, the results of which are displayed on a screen. A slot on the side of the ShuffleMeter allows you to insert the deck of cards. The cards button displays all the cards contained in the stack, from top to bottom. The spread button displays bar graphs showing how the colors, suits, and values of the fifty-two cards are spread out. The permutation button shows the different card-combinations in the stack, which is divided into thirteen packets of four cards. The distribution button shows how the colors and suits are distributed in the stack. The group button displays all the color groups, the groups of suits, and the groups of values in the stack. The break button shows the number of breaks in the pattern of colors, suits, and values. Let’s insert into the ShuffleMeter a deck arranged according to the Stebbins System in chased suit order. After pressing the cards button, an illustration of all the cards in the stack appears on the screen (Figure 1).
197
Appendix B: The ShuffleMeter Figure 1 SHUFFLE INDEX
ShuffleMeter Model 1611
142
NUMBER OF CARDS: TOP CARD: BOTTOM CARD:
6 ♣ 6 ♥ 6 ♠ 6 ♦
9 ♥ 9 ♠ 9 ♦ 9 ♣
Q ♠ Q ♦ Q ♣ Q ♥
2 ♦ 2 ♣ 2 ♥ 2 ♠
52 6 OF CLUBS 3 OF DIAMONDS
5 ♣ 5 ♥ 5 ♠ 5 ♦
SPREAD
PERMUTATION
POWER
CARDS
8 ♥ 8 ♠ 8 ♦ 8 ♣
J ♠ J ♦ J ♣ J ♥
A ♦ A ♣ A ♥ A ♠
DISTRIBUTION PROCESSING
4 ♣ 4 ♥ 4 ♠ 4 ♦
7 ♥ 7 ♠ 7 ♦ 7 ♣
10 ♠ 10 ♦ 10 ♣ 10 ♥
K ♦ K ♣ K ♥ K ♠
3 ♣ 3 ♥ 3 ♠ 3 ♦
GROUP
BREAK
STOP EJECT