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SQUARE DEAL
(Simon Aronson)
While Square Deal is quite powerful and surprising in its own
right, my main reason for posting it here is because it has
become my favorite application of another of my effects, Signs
(Simply Simon, page 271). That effect uses a special
utility that I call the Cross Index Index (see the chapter by
that name, also in Simply Simon). I’ll first describe
Square Deal as a stand-alone effect; then in Comment 2 I’ll
explain how it can be enhanced in combination with Signs.
EFFECT
The performer offers to give a “fortune telling” reading.
The spectator, Ginny, freely cuts off a packet, and the magician
haphazardly lays out a rectangular pattern of cards, dealing
from whatever point Ginny cut. The layout is used to
deliver a humorous reading. The reading includes telling
Ginny her “lucky number.” When she counts the packet of
cards she initially freely cut off, surprisingly it exactly
matches her lucky number. For the climax, the performer
then shows that the rectangular card pattern is in fact a magic
square, with every direction totaling Ginny’s freely cut lucky
number!
SET-UP
The trick depends on a prearranged stack of 26 specific cards.
It helps to think of the stack as comprised of two sections.
The first 14 cards constitutes section A, from top down: Joker,
AC, 2S, 3D, 4S, 5D, 6H, 7D, 8H, 9C, 10S, JC, QS, KC (crimped).
The remaining 12 cards of the stack comprise section B, from top
down: 8C, JH, QH, AD, 6C, 4D, 10D, 5C, 2H, 7S, 9H, 3S.
Set-up the entire deck (from top down): 21 x cards, section A,
section B, and finally the remaining 6 x cards.
WORKING
1. False shuffle. The top 21 cards offer leeway, since
they can be mixed. Approach Ginny, asking, “I want
you to cut off half the deck. It doesn’t have to be
perfect, but please try to make the halves fairly equal.”
Ginny’s cut must be anywhere from between 21 to 31 cards
inclusive, no more, no less. You’ve got wide leeway
surrounding the midpoint of the deck, but if she cuts far off,
have her replace them as you explain that fortune telling
requires the piles be approximately equal. (While not
essential, I generally mark the first eleven cards of Section A
(Joker through10S) each with a small pencil dot. That way, as
long as you see a pencil on top of the lower portion, you’ll
instantly know you’re OK). Ginny keeps the packet she’s
cut off, at the side of the table.
2. You’re now going to deal cards face down from the balance of
the deck, to form a 4 x 4 rectangular grid or layout.
It will appear as if the cards are just dealt or dropped onto
the table haphazardly, but in fact they will be laid out in a
particular order (which is always the same). Here’s an
overview of the layout procedure: the 16 card rectangular
pattern will be formed by first dealing off four consecutive
cards from the place where Ginny cut. (These four cards
will always come from section A; let’s refer to these four cards
as the four “Keys,” because they’re the ones that will determine
the Magic Square’s total, in all directions). After
laying out the four Keys, you’ll pause and casually cut the deck
at the crimp. This will bring Section B to the top of the
packet you’re holding. The 12 cards of Section B will then
comprise the rest of the layout and will always be laid out in
the same order, and in the same positions in the grid; they are
the ones that form the basis of the “canned” reading.
That’s the overview. Now, here’s the detail. Imagine
a 4 x 4 grid on the table. Pick up the balance of the pack
(after Ginny’s cut) and lay out the top four cards (A,B,C,D) in
order into the specific spaces A,B,C,D (shown on Fig. 1) making
these four cards appear randomly placed. (Here’s how I do
this. With the pack held in my left hand, I thumb over A
into my right hand and drop A onto the table, in its position in
the grid, as simultaneously my left hand, still holding the
deck, drops card B into position. Then I quickly deal C
and D.) After laying out these four Keys, pause and ask,
“Have you ever had a gypsy tell your fortune?” During this
pause, casually cut at the crimp, bringing all the cards above
the crimp to the bottom (thus getting rid of the rest of stack
A).
Then, continue to layout the next 12 cards (which comprise stack
B) in a casual, seemingly haphazard order. In fact, I’ve
preset stack B so it looks as if you really were just filling up
the empty spaces. The next two diagrams depict 12 numbers.
These show the ORDER in which you lay out the cards. Start
by thumbing off the top card (it will be the 8C) into your right
hand, and simultaneously drop it into space #1 as your left
hand, still holding the deck, drops the next card (the JH) into
space #2. Then move down to the next (second) row and drop
off the next two cards simultaneously into spaces #3 and #4, and
so on for the third and fourth rows. (You will have
quickly filled up eight spaces, and they are easy to remember,
because at each row you’re simply filling in the two leftmost
empty spaces. See Figure 2).
Now, fill in
the last four empty spaces, by quickly dealing the cards from
top row down to the bottom row (into spaces 9, 10, 11, and
finally 12, as in Figure 3). I don’t pay much attention to
the grid, and act as if I’m just filling in whatever few spaces
happen to remain.
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Put the rest of the deck aside. As mentioned, the above
numbers in the layout represents the ORDER in which you fill in the
cards. When you’re finished, the layout should look like
Figure 4 (with all the cards still face down).
3. I then begin my “reading” as I turn over all the cards in the
grid face up, starting with the bottom row (nearest me). I
point to the relevant cards as I mention them. Here’s a
rough script of my reading:
“The four different suits reveal your fortune about four topics:
travel, career, money and romance. Look, Clubs indicate
travel, and the Five of Clubs means high-class travel: 5 star
hotels and restaurants, and visiting fancy clubs. On the
other hand, it might mean Europe on five dollars a day, and
drinking only club soda. You have a few clubs, which means a
moderate amount of travel.
Spades stands for work, you know, digging. Good, here’s the
Seven of Spades. Seven is a lucky number, and indicates
success at work – although it could also mean you’ll file Chapter
7. Most of the Spades are low, small numbers, which means
only a moderate emphasis on work. You’ve got other areas you
value more highly.
Diamonds stand for material wealth. You know what they say
about diamonds and women. You’ve got the Ace, which is the
highest value, so that suggests a fair amount of material success,
and there’s quite a few Diamonds, so you should be fairly
comfortable. Diamonds sparkle, and that may indicate that
your sparkling personality is your most valuable asset.
Finally, we get to the real reason everyone wants her fortune
read – the area of romance and love. The Hearts are
concentrated, which shows you narrow your focus, and don’t spread
it all over. You’ve found a specific partner [point to
either JH or QH, as appropriate] obviously the right man/woman.
Someone who wears his/her heart on his/her sleeve.” (Additional
optional lines: “I hope this doesn’t mean he’s/she’s two-faced.
Be careful when meeting strangers. This man’s carrying an
axe. [Point to 2H] Looks like you’ve got a little twosome on
the side.” I told you they were optional.)
4. At some point during the reading, announce to Ginny that the
cards reveal that her lucky number is ___. You’ll instantly
learn this number, by adding “18” to whatever the value is at Key
D (Jokers are 0, Kings are 13). For example, if the value of
the Key card at D happens to be a 5, you’d announce that her lucky
number is 23. Continue, “At the very beginning, you
cut off some cards. And your lucky number is 23 [or
whatever]. Why don’t you count the number of cards you cut,
on the long shot...” Let Ginny count her cut-off pile. It
will exactly equal the lucky number you told her. That’s the
first climax, and it’s a shocker.
5. “That’s amazing. __ really is your lucky number. In
fortune telling, the values of the cards are important. The
number cards are self-explanatory, and Jacks are 11, because
they’re one higher than 10, Queens are 12, Kings are 13.
Look, if we add up this row of cards, the total is __ – your lucky
number. And ...” [in an increasing crescendo, reveal
that all the totals (of the columns, the rows, the diagonals, each
of the four corner quadrants, and even the four outer corner
squares, each add up to Ginny’s lucky number.].
“Fortune telling is clearly in the cards.”
* *
*
COMMENTS
1) Background and Credits. The original Magic Square
stack is the creation of Bob Parrish and Bert Allerton (from Rufus
Steele’s The Last Word on Cards (1952), p. 46). The Parrish
stack used values only, because that’s all that mattered for the
Magic Square; I devised the pre-set “reading” and revised the
stack to incorporate specific suits, so that the fortune layout
would always fit my reading. This guarantees that the layout
always includes the right cards to prompt the canned lines.
Parrish’s procedure required an overhand run shuffle, during which
you would count to eliminate the balance of the A stack; I
substituted a single cut at a crimp. I also revised the
stack order, to let you apparently place the layout haphazardly,
instead of dealing all the cards in order. Ted Lesley first
told me about this effect; it was Ted who incorporated marked
cards to confirm you were in the stack, and he added the idea of
doing fortune telling with the layout. Ted had the spectator’s
lucky number appear in a date book (using a nailwriter).
Ted’s full routine appears in M-U-M, March 2002, p. 26.
2) Combination of Square Deal with Signs. I’m not
going to re-describe Signs here, so the following will only make
sense to those who are already familiar with the Simply Simon
material. Briefly, it utilizes a secret index of small
wallet charts which list the twelve Zodiac signs and set forth
data and information about each one. But by a special system
of cross-indexing, any of twelve different numbers can be “shown”
to be the unique lucky number associated with any of the Zodiac
signs. There’s much more to these charts, but that’s enough
to give you an idea of what’s involved.
This combination allows you to apparently predict the spectator’s
own Zodiac sign, and other personal information. Moreover it
appears as if her lucky number was apparently fixed and determined
by her own Zodiac sign, even before she freely cut the deck!
Here’s a bare bones summary of how I incorporate “Signs.” As
additional preparation, I mark the Section A cards with specific
marks, so that as soon as Ginny makes her initial cut, I can look
at the new top card and know exactly how many cards she’s cut off.
I also have my wallet handy, set up with the twelve Signs charts,
per Simply Simon.
At the outset I ask Ginny to merely think of her Zodiac sign as
she cuts the deck. The marks tell me how many cards she’s
cut (i.e., her lucky number) and I then immediately cast out 12’s,
to get a remainder between 1–12. This remainder tells me
which variable sequence I’m working with. Thus if she’s cut
off 27 (as an example), I cast out 12’s and wind up with a
remainder of 3, which tells me that the applicable Signs sequence
I’ll be using is 27 – Green -
⌂
- Earth.
I then start to deal out the rectangular grid, but after I’ve
dealt out the four keys, I pause to make a prediction. I
take out my wallet, remove my business card and write something on
the back and leave it face down in front of Ginny. In fact,
I draw the design
⌂.
This pause actually provides excellent cover
for the casual cut at the crimp, and I then proceed with the
balance of the layout, and the fortune telling. During my
“reading” I do not announce her lucky number, but I do work in the
remaining two variables (Color and Planet) e.g., in this example I
might casually mention that “The
cards indicate that Green is your dominant color. Green
governs your moods and emotions,”
and later “Certain
of the heavenly bodies govern our actions, and this suggests that
your decisions are ruled by the planet Earth.” Of course, these comments mean nothing to Ginny –
but they will soon.
After I finish giving the reading about Love and Romance, I ask
Ginny “for the first time” to tell us her Zodiac sign.
Suppose she answers Leo. I now have all the information I
need to apply the Signs formula, so I can remove the correct chart
from my wallet index. I hand this chart to Ginny, and now
begins a rapid fire series of revelations, that gradually
convinces Ginny that something very weird has been happening.
Here’s my patter script, from this point: “Hallmark
gives out these wallet cards, at gift shops. It tells a bit
about each Sign. Leo the Lion ... here, you can check.
What is Leo's
dominant Color? [She looks, and acknowledges it’s Green.]
Really? and Leo's
Ruling Planet [She checks the chart under Leo, and acknowledges
it’s Earth.] Could that be just coincidence? Well, way
before we began, I stuck my neck out and committed myself by
writing something on this card, remember? Every zodiac sign
has a particular constellation symbol, and it also has its own
unique geometric symbol. What does that chart say is the
symbol for Leo? That little house? And no other Sign has that
symbol does it? Well, then it's
more than coincidence, because I drew this. [Show the
prediction]
Something's
definitely at work here, and I'm
not sure what it is. Let's
take it one step further. Each zodiac sign has its own
unique lucky number. What is the lucky number for Leo? [She
looks at the chart, and says Leo’s lucky number is 27.] And no
other Sign has that lucky number, does it? At the very beginning,
you cut off some cards, while you thought of your sign. And
your lucky number is 27. Why don't
you count the number of cards you cut, on the long shot...”
Then reveal the magic square for the climax.
While it is a lengthy routine, the combination is quite strong.
I performed this effect in the show at the 2003 TSD Convention.
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