TM
The $100 Deck That was Kept Secret for Four Years!
Cassandra Deck
The Cassandra Deck"! is revolutionary. It was designed from Gene
Grant's Psvchorama in his wonderful book, Phantini's Mental Key (circa
1951). After developing this deck. Jack Dean informed me that although she
contains some elements of the Koran Deck and the Himber Deck. The Cassan-
dra Deck'"! is quite original. The pumping deck  although addressed by
Phantini. as well as Waters, Chelman. Corinda and others  dates back to the
late Nineteenth century. You have a utility deck that will fool both magicians
and you. Guard its secret carefully.
How it works: The Cassandra Deck"! consists of 52 cards plus a
Joker. There are 10 force cards. 5 red and 5 black. These cards are repeated
2.6 times to make a half deck of 26 force cards. Twenty-six mixed indifferent
cards separate the 26 force cards.
The Set-up: The force cards are all regulation size. The pump is based
on a  stranger card formula. The suits in your deck may vary, but the force
cards in this example are JH-2H-3C-QC-5H-6C-7C-8H-9S-IOD and remain in
a fixed order for dealing tricks. From the top (back) of the deck down is a
group of 10, another group of 10 identical force cards in the same order, a
Joker, and an incomplete group of slightly more than half (6) of the force cards
group; combined with six indifferent cards known as the "Bottom Twelve".
Your deck must be assembled in this order: JH-x-2H-x-3C-x-QC-x-5H-x-6C-x-
7C-X-8H-X-9S-X-IOD-X-JH-X-2H-X-3C-X-QC-X-5H-X-6C-X-7C-X-8H-X-9S-X-
10D-Joker-JH-x-2H-x-3C-x-QC-x-5H-x-6C-The black ace (on the bottom).
The Joker (which can be trimmed to be a short card) appears before the
bottom twelve cards. This helps you when handling the deck, and by breaking
the pattern, helps deceive the eye when the cards are ribbon spread. It is not a
necessity after you become comfortable with The Cassandra Deck"!.
The indifferent cards arc all trimmed short and none of them are re-
peated anywhere in the deck. They arc specially selected to resemble, but not
duplicate, the force cards. When spread face-up, the force cards become invisi-
ble because of I he randomness of the indifferent cards between them. A small
crib sheet to queue you on the order of the force cards [Fig 1], is stuck on the
inside flap of the card box.
A tip is to secretly mark each indifferent card with a pencil dot on the
back corner. This allows YOU to at least see that all is in order when you fan
the deck. The black ace is at the bottom. If the deck is cut, you can re-cut it to
starting position at any time by cutting at the black ace. This keeps the
"Bottom Twelve' at the bottom. You may switch the black ace with the Joker if
you prefer to have the Joker at the bottom face of the deck.
How to display: Hold The Cassandra Deck"! face-down on your left
palm. Pick up the deck with your right hand; fingers on one narrow end and
your right thumb on the opposite narrow end. Place the nail of your right in-
dex finger against the back of the deck and apply some pressure. Allow cards
to slide off under your thumb and back into your left palm.
This is the same display as done with a Svengali Deck and allows the
spectators to see only force cards, plus the indifferent bottom card (the black
ace). Tell the spectator not to select the bottom card, as it is too obvious.
If you repeal the above procedure with the cards oriented face-up in
your left hand, only the indifferent cards will be seen as they fall face-up into
your left palm. When displaying the cards, go slow enough for the spectator to
mentally select a card. However, don't go so slow as to reveal the fact that any
cards are repeated.
How to cut: The indifferent cards being trimmed short assures that the
spectator must cut to a force card on the bottom of the portion cut.
Hold the deck face-down in your left palm. Keep your left fingers and
thumb along the wide sides of the deck. This forces the spectator to grab the
deck by its narrow ends. He will be able to only touch the edges of the force
cards. The spectator lifts up a group of cards and looks at the bottom card of
that group. That is a force card.
How to shuffle: The same principle allows you to dovetail shuffle The
Cassandra Deck"!. Cut the deck and tap the far ends on the table to expose all
the long edges of the force cards. Shuffle with your thumbs touching the nar-
row, inside, ends of the cards. The cards will fall in pairs of one force card and
one indifferent card. This jumbles the order of the force cards, but doesn't
disrupt the working of the deck. A single shuffle wilt not put duplicate force
cards together, but repeated shuffles may.
How to re-set the deck: If your deck gets jumbled  either by acci-
dent or design during a shuffle  it is an easy matter to re-set it. Separate the
long and short cards and simply re-assemble the deck using the crib on the
flap of the card box.
Four Tricks with The Cassandra Deck"!
What follows arc only six of the 64 different tricks possible with The
Cassandra Deck"!. If you like; these tricks, it is highly suggested you
obtain a copy of Fem Fatal- 64 Sinful Secrets of The Cassandra Deck.
Think-a-Card
A spectator is told to think of any card in a regular deck. So she can
pick one at random, and not one that most people pick, you offer a visual aid.
She remembers one she sees in a deck. The deck is quickly shown to the spec-
tator and put away. You make a series of correct statements about her card.
Finally, you name the thought of card.
Method: Each set of ten force cards can be divided by the fact that they
are either red suits or blacks. Each set of five (either all red or all black) has a
series of "stranger" cards. Four are the same suit: one is a "stranger". Of the
four, three are not face cards, one is a "stranger"' (a face card). Of the remain-
ing three, two are odd if black (or even if red) and one is a  stranger . Of the
two cards left, one is a high card (above seven) and one is low valued.
By a series of positive statements, you are able to reveal the mentally
chosen card while appearing as if you are not asking any questions. And you
are never wrong!
Yon will make statements about:
1. The color
2- The suit
3. The court card
4. A low value
How to make correct statements:
On the inside of the card box flap is your crib. The top row of five is all the red
force cards. The row below is all the black force cards. The number above or
below the card's initials indicates the order in the group stack. [Fig. 1] The
value of the force card also indicates its position in the group. Please note that
the jack is 1 and the queen is 4. This helps break any visual pattern.
The cards arc listed in the order of the statements you will make. Al-
ways make a statement based on the majority cards. NOT the "stranger" card,
(with the exception of the court card  as explained later)
When making your state-
9 4 6 3 7 ments aim to get a response from the
9S QC 6C 3C 7C spectator's facial expressions only
and not a verbal answer The force
10D JH 5H 2H 8H cards are specifically selected to help
10 1 5 2 8 in this. Your statements are timed
FIG 1 with a pause so that you can correct
yourself if needed after seeing the
spectator's facial response.
For example: The first statement you will make is. "Your card s not be
red, is it?" This is an ambiguous statement. You seem to be correct no matter
what the spectator's answer.
If the response (either facial or verbal) is "Yes' you know to make your
statements about the red force cards on the bottom row of your queue list. You
add. "I thought so."
If the response is "No" you know to make statements based on the top
row of black cards. You say. "I didn t think so." With either response you
affirm that you knew what the response would be.
We will assume she smiles or nods her head, which tells you the re-
sponse is 'Yes', her card is red. You secretly look at the crib list. The first red
card on the list is the first "stranger" card of the red set, the Ten of Diamonds
(10D). The remaining majority of force cards on the bottom list are hearts.
Continue your statements about the majority cards. Say, "Your card is
a heart..." leaving your voice hanging. There is a 4 to 1 chance you are cor-
rect.
If she frowns or looks blank, the response is 'No' and you immediately
know her card is the Ten of Diamonds. You finish your statement with, "...or a
diamond. Yes, it is a diamond The Ten of Diamonds." You have correctly
identified her card quickly and directly.
If the response is 'Yes' go on and make your third statement.
The next card on the list is the Jack of Hearts (JH). Say. "I see a picture
of your card. Please mentally count the Hearts on your card."
If she looks puzzled because it is impossible to count spots that aren't
on a face card, you know for certain that her card is the Jack of Hearts.
Quickly add. "There are two in the corners, but I see lots of hearts all over the
card. It's a picture card. The Jack of Hearts!"
If she seems to be counting the spots, you know she does not have the
jack in mind, go to the next statement.
The next card on the list is the Five of Hearts (5H). Say. "I believe
you're counting an even number of spots on your card..." You have made a
statement about the majority force cards both of which are even in this exam-
ple.
If the facial clue is 'No' you instantly know her card is the Five of
Hearts. You immediately add. "...don'l say anything! .... The card is shaped
like this." drawing a five shape in the air. "I'm not certain whether it is a five
or a two. There seems to be an odd number of spots. Hmnm. it is a five. The
Five of Hearts." You have re-stated your position on the number of spots and
hidden it under the action of drawing out the number.
If the response is "Yes" to your statement about an even card, go on to
your final statement before the revelation.
The next two cards are lower and higher than seven, (the black set of
force cards contains a seven as high card and the red set contains an eight.)
The high cards (seven and eight) are confusing to the spectator because they
arc not usually thought of as high valued cards. In this example the high card
is the Eight of Hearts. Say, "Your card is a low valued card..."
If the response is "Yes" you immediately know her card is the Two of
Hearts.
If she looks as if she's not certain whether her card is actually a low
card- you know her card is the Eight of Hearts. You add. "... low and even.
like a four, six or eight. It is the Eight of Hearts." You have made five correct
statements before revealing the card.
If you gel an oral "No" responsec you correct it with, "Lower than a
nine or ten", and immediately reveal the card. Each time you seem to be cor-
rect.
The same procedure is used with the black suit set of force cards with
appropriate adjustments to your statements.
In performance, the basic effect should give the appearance of real
mindreading. The audience should forget that a deck of cards was ever used. It
should be emphasized that a card was simply thought of and never touched.
Because the deck is handled for about ten seconds at the beginning and put
away, later, many will remember your ability to read minds, not your clever
handling of cards.
It is important to practice the way you make the statements. You must
avoid sounding as if you are merely eliminating groups of the entire deck.
You stress that each statement is true. You are not fishing. Be bold!
Juliet and her Romeo
Effect: A woman thinks of any card she sees in a deck of cards. A man
is asked to think of any card he sees, as long as it is different from the
woman's. She is not to tell him the card, just name aloud the color of her
card's suit. The man looks for a card of the opposite color. This ensures tlhat
both cards are different.
You make statements about each card. All statements are true. Eventu-
ally, you reveal both cards.
Method: The same procedure as the basic effect is used. But in this
presentation, you already know the color of each person's card. You have
eliminated one possible negative response. You make the statements based on
the force card crib and identify the mentally chosen cards.
This is quick, concise and easy to follow. Really, it's the perfect mental
card trick!
Tossed
The Cassandra DeckIM can be used for David Hoy's Tossed Out Deck
trick. The original used a single card force deck. Subsequent methods have
used a three way force deck or other multi-card decks. The Cassandra DeckIM
makes possible the best presentation of this classic effect
Effect: A deck of cards is spread face-up in front of a spectator for a
moment and then closed. A heavy rubber band is snapped around one of the
narrow ends of the deck. The audience is shown how you want them to lift up
some of the cards with their thumbs and look at a card.
The deck is tossed out into the audience. The person who catches the
deck lifts some cards, peeks at one card and tosses the deck to someone else.
That person pecks at a card and losses the deck lo another person. Three to six
people are allowed to peck at cards. They toss the deck back to you.
You ask all who saw a card to stand. Individually, you reveal each per-
son's card.
Method: Displaying The Cassandra Deck"! face-up will not disclose
it s secret. When the deck is closed, give it a tap on a flat surface such as a
table to knock all the card ends to one end. This ensures a good long/short
relation at the other end. Place the rubber band around the flush end.
By following your instructions the spectators can only peek at force
cards because the force cards are longer than the indifferent cards.
After the spectators see a card each, tell them that you are receiving
many thoughts at once. Ask all who are thinking of red cards to stand. We
will assume that four of six participants stand.
Look at your crib. Address the four standing spectators and have those
who are thinking of a "non-stranger"' suit - Hearts ~ to raise their hands. We
will assume that two raise their hands. Those two who are standing and have
not raised their hands have the same red card - that is the "stranger" suit card
- the Nine of Hearts. You will reveal that fact later. Have the two with known
red cards (who did not raise their hands) sit down. Let the others put their
hands down also, but remain standing.
Continue with the two standing spectators. Make statements as in the
basic effect and reveal both cards. Have them sit. Perform the basic effect with
the two spectators who arc thinking of black cards. Remember that if one of
them is thinking of the stranger suit or card you instantly know his card. Save
this revelation for the climax.
As a finale", have the last two spectators stand again. You know their
cards and you know they arc thinking of the same card. Reveal this fact in as a
dramatic way as possible. You apparently have not asked them any questions,
because you distance yourself from the queries about color and suit, You
dramatically reveal that the cards thought of are the same cards and name the
card.
Of course each situation will differ from the example given here, but in
performance you can move rather quickly. Spectators selecting the same card
happen rather often in actual performance and the audience loves it.
Tomorrow's Thought
Many amazing predictions can be performed with The Cassandra
Dcck. This is one, based on an idea from Clayton Rawson's (a.k.a. Don Di-
avolo) Tomorrow's Card trick published in the Jinx.
Effect: You write something on a slip of paper, fold it and put it in an
empty coffee cup. A deck is handed to a spectator. Another person is asked to
call out any number from 1 to 52. The spectator
deals that many cards face-up off the top of the
deck and a card is set aside, face-down.
The spectator takes the slip of paper from
the cup. He opens and reads the paper. It says the
name of the card just set aside! Proving you knew
in advance the card that would be selected.
Figure 2
Method: There are only ten cards that
can be forced. Write the names of these cards
on ten slips of paper and fold them into billets. Put the first five card names in
a matchbook [sec fig.2| and put it in your right pocket. Place the last five card
names in another match book and put it in your left pocket.
The easy version, or The "Soft" Formula, is used to determine which
force card is at the chosen number. It is based on whether the announced
number is odd or even. First, move the black ace from the bottom to the top of
t he deck.
If even: the chosen number (n) is divided by 2 and use the last card
dealt (a).  (Even=(n)/2=a)
If odd:. the chosen number (n) plus 1 is divided by 2 and use the next
card(b}.  (Odd=(n+1)/2=b)
If you get a two digit number as your sum, discard the first digit (for
example: 23 is thought of as 3). This single digit number is the same as the
force card value. It is also on your crib inside the card box flap. (There is
an even better and faster formula at the end of this book. )
Let's assume that the spectator called 18. Eighteen is even so you di-
vide by 2 to get 9. Deal nine cards off the deck and look at the last card dealt.
It is the card numbered 9 on your crib (9H). Notice that the force card position
matches the card's value.
When you make your prediction be certain to fold the slip the same
way as the index slips are folded. As you place the folded prediction in the
cup, you actually finger-palm it out again and the cup remains empty.
While the spectator is dealing the cards, casually put your hand in the
appropriate pocket and find the correct billet You have plenty of time to palm
it out and add it to the cup while moving the cup closer lo the spectator. Do
this before the dealing is over and no one will notice you ever touched the cup
The audience will remember that the spectator removed the slip.
I always deal the cards face-up. But if you're worried about the one or
two dupes being seen, deal face-down if the number is higher than 22. The first
21 cards have no duplicates, so always deal them face-up.
The Harder hut Better Secret Formula:
To figure out what force card is at any position called without having to
move the bottom black ace to the top uses a different formula than earlier
stated.
The top card is the first force card (J).
If Ilic number called is even, add 2 and divide by 2. Use the next card
(b). (E=(n+2)/2=b)
If the number called is odd, add 1 and divide by 2. Use the last card
dealt (a). (O=(n+l)/2=a)
The previous formula was described because it is a little easier to
understand. However, it is preferred that the black ace remains on the bottom
of the deck To facilitate this, you must use The Harder but Better Secret
Formula.
Important!
It is suggested that you own the book. Fern Fatal - 64 Sinful Secrets of The
Cassandra Deck"!, II is a must for anyone using (his deck. In it you will
learn:
* A Tossed Out Deck where you name each person 's card correctly!
* A method for learning REAL contact mindreading!
* Poker and Blackjack demonstrations.
* A Cards Across where thought of fly across the room!
* Any Card at Any Number and you predict both the card AND number!
* A Card in Cigarette with a thought of card!
* ...And 57 more ways to learn pocket writing, swami writing, sound read
ing, pencil reading, plus book tests. billet tests. cold reading effects, etc!
There are also other formulas for instantly calculating what card is at which
position in the deck.
It is 64 pages and is available at magic stores or from the author and sells for
$35. It is truly the only way to learn the wonderful possibilities of The Cassan-
dra Deck"!.
Fem Fatal will be sent to you Priority Mail at no additional cost to you
Send $35 to:
Docc Hilford
10275 Collins Ave
Suite 824 Bal
Harbour, FL
33154
the Cassandra
The $100 DECK that was Kept Secret for Four Years!
the Cassnadra deck
has these important features:
In 1999 magic history was made
* The deck can be ribbon spread
Less than 5(1 professional mentalists were
on a table to show all 52 cards.
invited to own a new special deck. For this
v There are no specially printed
honor they paid $100! After the 50 decks
cards, nothing added or stolen.
were gone, many pros tried to get one of
these wonderful decks, but were turned
* Each card can be chosen by
away. The secret to the stunning deck was
hand or examined by the
to be kept exclusive for four years. Now,
spectator.
that time is up and you can own the same
* You know exactly where any
deck for much, much less!
thought of card is in the deck.
The deck is unlike anything ever
* The deck can be cut and
be tore invented. Here is two of the many
shuffled repeatedly.
effects explained in these instructions:
The spectator never has to write
You write a pre-
diction on a slip of paper anything.
and place it aside.
A The effects can be repeated with
The deck is different cards mentally chosen
slowly shown to a specta- each time.
tor. She sees that every
* Very easy to do! No
card is different. It is
memorization or difficult slights.
riffled toward her again and this time she
silently remembers any card she sees.
the
You are able to tell her exactly
which card she mentally chose! And better
than that, written on the slip of paper is the
name of the same card!
The best version of the Tossed On!
Deck is explained. The cards are shown to
be all different, are rubber banded and
onl
tossed into the audience. Any number of
people can peek at cards and you identify
each person's card! Not all the cards at
once, but one at a time!
And for 64 completely different tricks with The Cassandra Deck, get the
book
Docc Co. - 10275 Collins Ave. #824 Bal Harbour, FL 33154 -
[e-mail]
How to construct Cassandra Decks ----
How it works: The Cassandra Deck"! consists of 52 cards
plus a Joker. There are 10 force cards, 5 red and 5 black. These
cards are repeated 2.6 times to make a half deck of 26 force cards.
26 mixed indifferent cards separate the 26 force cards.
The Set-up: The force cards are all regulation size. The pump
is based on a "stranger" card formula. They are JH-2H-3C-QC-5H-
6C-7C-8H-9S-10D and remain in a fixed order for dealing tricks.
From the top (back) of the deck down is a group of 10, another group
of 10 identical force cards in the same order, a joker, and an
incomplete group of slightly more than half (6) of the force cards
group; combined with six indifferent cards known as the "Bottom
Twelve". This is the order of the full deck: JH-x-2H-x-3C-x-QC-X-5H-X-
6C-X-7C-X-8H-X-9S-X-10D-x-JH-x-2H-x-3 C-X-QC-X-5H-X-6C-x-7C-x-8H-
x-9S-x-10D-Joker-JH-x-2H-x-3C-x-QC-x-5H-x-6C-Aceof Clubs.
The Joker (a short card) appears before the bottom twelve
cards. This helps you when handling the deck, and by breaking the
pattern, helps deceive the eye when the cards are ribbon spread. It
is not a necessity after you become comfortable with The Cassandra
Deck"!.
The indifferent cards are all trimmed short and none of them
are repeated anywhere in the deck. They are specially selected to
resemble, but not duplicate, the force cards. When spread face-up, the
force cards become invisible because of the randomness of the
indifferent cards between them. The indifferent, or x, cards are: AD-
3D-6D-7D-9D-QD-3H-4H-6H-7H-9H-QH-KH-2S-5S-8S-10S-JS-KS-
2C-4C-5C-8C-10C-JC-AC-JOKERand should be mixed before
assembling the deck.
It takes five decks to make The Cassandra Deck"!, but if
you vary the suits of both the force and the indifferent cards, you
can make four decks from the five. The easiest way for me to
explain this is to say get out a piece
of paper and write down the ten force cards. Under this list, write
a second list with duplicate values but substitute the suits. That
is, wherever there is a club on the original list, put a heart on the
second list, a spade on the third list, and a diamond on the forth
list. Wherever there is a heart on the original list, put spade on
the second list, a diamond on the third, and a club on the fourth.
Wherever there is a spade on the original list, put diamond on
the second list, a club on the third, and a heart on the fourth.
And wherever there is a diamond on the original list, put a club
on the second, a heart on the third, and spade on the fourth.
The indifferent cards are two full decks, both cut short.
Make certain your indifferent cards are not duplicating any force
cards for the other decks. You will find that the indifferent cards
listed here will work with the force cards that have the Jack of
Diamonds and the other 26 indifferent cards will work with the
force cards that contain the black jacks.
Now, you can construct four deck out of the five needed.
Note: Whenever performing for just one person, you can begin
by using Derren Brown s equivoque method of saying,  I want
you to concentrate on your card and repeat it to yourself
MENTALLY over and over, like this& .nine of spades, nine of
spades, nine of spades&  If spectator smiles broadly or starts
laughing or screaming, you know you hit their card and stop
right there. But, if spectator doesn t register any connection,
then keep talking as you say,  & or whatever the name of your
card is.
Now you can use the  You are thinking of a red card statement
and if they deny it, you say,  they are all red! And spread the
cards showing the backs are all red.