SET PHASERS TO KILL!!
A stunning effect using a brand new deck
by Aaron Fisher
based on the work of the late great Stewart James
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This is based on a Stewart James trick that appears in Allan Slaight s mammoth work on
Canada s favorite reclusive magic genius. The effect is the same as Vernon s Trick That
Cannot Be Explained  except it always works, and the performer always knows it will
work. You will always know precisely how to find any card your spectator names.
The answer is a full deck set up. Wait! Don t stop reading. I know most of us don t want
to employ a full deck stack simply to reveal a thought of card, but in this case, it s worth
the effort. Why? Because I ve reconfigured the James trick to work from a brand new
pack. I ve been using this constantly and it gets a fantastic response. I hope you enjoy it.
And after you do, go buy the James file  and some new load bearing furniture to support
it.
Effect  The performer opens a brand new pack of cards. He mixes them behind his back
and then makes a prediction by reversing one card in the center of the deck. No matter
what card the spectator names, the reversed card leads directly to it. Your audience s
minds will be fried; your fingers will be left unmolested!
Open up a brand new pack of cards. First place one of the Jokers aside  you won t be
needing it. Now begin to spread through the deck. Ostensibly, you are on a quest to find
and remove the repressive advertising cards and Texas Hold  em rule book ads. As you
spread through the pack take the first group of cards, up to and including the six of
spades, in the fork of your right thumb. Continue spreading, and as you come to the king
of spades, down-jog it. Then, as you come to the seven of clubs, use the right second
finger to secretly crimp down the lower right corner of the card. Make sure you carry out
these secret actions in a slow and unhurried manner. Remember, you have just opened a
new deck and are looking through it to make sure everything is in order. As you come to
the end of the pack, hold all the cards momentarily with the right hand as you use the left
hand to set aside the advertising cards you ll find at the back of the pack. Now the hard
part is over.
Explain to the audience that you will mix the cards secretly, so that no one will have any
inkling as to the order of the cards. As you patter catch a left fourth finger flesh break
below the down-jogged king of spades and a third finger flesh break below the block held
in the fork of the right thumb. Once the pack is square and you securely hold the two
breaks, drop the deck beneath the table or behind your back. Once the cards are hidden,
transfer all the breaks to the right thumb as you slip cut the joker onto the cards below the
lower break. That is, directly above the ace of diamonds. Immediately set the right hand
cards back on top of the left hand cards and transfer the uppermost break to the left fourth
finger. Allow any other breaks to collapse.
Now use the left thumb to push over all the cards above the fourth finger flesh break.
Take them in the right hand, fingers beneath and thumb on top. Push over the top card of
the left hand talon, the seven of spades, and use the right thumb to peel it on to the face of
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the cards in the right hand. Now take all the cards in the right hand and place them to the
back of the pack.
Now cut the cards at the crimped seven of clubs and reverse it without changing its
position. For those who despise the crimp, feel free to dead cut to your seven of clubs
behind your back. The card lies at the exact center of the 53 card deck, so this isn t very
difficult. When push comes to shove, I simply bring the right hand half of the deck in
front of my body for a moment and openly look at the face card without letting anyone
else see it. Since the cards are in order, I now know precisely how far away I am. I cover
this bold move by proclaiming my intent to make a prediction.
Whether you use the crimp or you do the setup on the fly, this preparation takes but a few
moments and happens under the guise of mixing the cards and setting the stage. When I
first started performing this James effect, I would execute all of these actions openly, in
plain view. I made the moves under the guise of a shuffle. Then, I would execute
elaborate false shuffles to further simulate the illusion that the pack had been well mixed.
By placing the deck behind your back, you will eliminate all of these secret actions.
Further, you ll make it easier for the audience to imagine the cards have been mixed. In
reality of course, the deck lays perfectly indexed in an order closely related to its virgin
state!
As you proclaim that your prediction is made, make no mention of a reversed card. This
trick uses fifty two outs, so it will take a few tries to learn how to proceed after hearing
the name of the selection. The real key is to continue the performance without a hitch the
moment the spectator names the card. It must appear as though you always find the card
in the same way.
After a card is named, explain that you have turned one card in the deck face up, and that
this card will reveal the selection. Spread the cards on the table to reveal the seven of
clubs and proceed as follows:
If the named card is red, add its value to that of the reversed card
If the named card is black, subtract its value from the reversed card. Or if the named card
is larger than seven, subtract seven from it.
Now you have a value which will lead directly to the named card.
If the card is a heart, count from the top of the pack.
If the card is a diamond, count from the bottom of the pack.
If the card is a club, count from the reversed seven in the middle of the deck. The 6
through ace are above the reversed seven of clubs. The 8 through king lay below the
reversed seven.
If the card is a low spade, from 6 to ace, count from the top of the pack.
If the card is a high spade, from 8 to king, count from the bottom.
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Alright  a quick example. Let s suppose your spectator names the six of hearts. You
spread the pack face down and feign surprise.  That s not your card! Now, since the
selection was red you say,  What s seven plus six? The audience answers 13. And since
the card is a heart, you know the selection lies thirteen down in the pack. You deal
thirteen cards off the top of the deck, and reveal the six of hearts at that location! Of
course, you must always proceed without hesitation, as though the same formula always
leads to the selection. Performed with the proper attitude, the trick seems truly
impossible.
The two exceptions are the joker and the 7 of spades. In either case begin by revealing the
face-up seven in the center of the pack. Now if the selection is the Joker, simply remove
six cards from the bottom of the pack and reveal that the seventh is the Joker. In the case
of the seven of spades, simply count down six from the top of the pack, and reveal that
the seventh card is the named card, the seven of spades.
Last week I performed this trick for a magician, and he named the seven of clubs. The
first time this happens to you, you will have a hard time not giving away the secret with
your enthusiasm.