Here is a little somthing anyone can do, not really a card trick, and not really a mental demonstration, but kinda profound in a way. I have used it when someone in a group implies that I must be psychic ...

Indicate the deck he/she has been shuffling and ask that he name any 'rank' of cards, like "two's" or "Kings" He does, perhaps "five's". Now you ask that he hold the deck tightly in his hands while you "get in touch". You now haltingly name two other "ranks" -- say "eight's" and "Jack's". He now looks through the deck and discover that one or more of your 'inuitive' cards is sitting next to his, (top and boitton touching. Repeat at will.

I can't do the exact math, but it is a virtual certainty -- like you will miss one in twenty times. If that happens, ask that he hold the deck tighter and try and clear his mind from distractions -- and try again.

Arghh!!! That's crazy!!

As soon as I read that I had to pick up a deck and give it a try. And yes, with any combination there was a "touching card" nearly every time. Sometimes it occured several times.

I will have to work out the probability on this. This could be great for one of those impromptu situations where you just want to have a bit of fun.

Thanks for pointing it out.

Thanks, great, but tried it 4 times and only hit 2 of 4...

I read something like this once a long time ago. No idea where. (Possibly Dummies guide to magic now that I think about it, but maybe not.) It involved the spectator naming any two ranks, and the claim was that the odds of finding a pair of those ranks was pretty good. I actually worked out the math of it once. The napkin is long gone, but I think the odds with just two ranks was a bit less than 50/50.

Your suggestion of giving two possible ranks that the spectator's rank could match agains would obviously improve the chances a lot.

-Rd

Hmmm... that is interesting. I need to work out the probabilites to see how often this would occur.

Very interesting I'll have to give that a try.

Thanks a lot funsway. This is a very cool mental effect!!!

LOL. I don't get it about the setup

I love it. Thanks Ken.

I used to use that one so long ago I had forgotten all about it. I believe I read it in Scarne on Card Tricks, but can't be sure. Thank you for the reminder.

There's a similar gag in one of the Garcia & Schindler books, I believe. It works out pretty well. In theirs, they say that if the cards aren't touching they'll be at most 1 card away, and suggest giving a disclaimer at the beginning about that in your own style.

Seen this effect taught in one of the youtube videos. I think people will really think that you are a magician. ( The effect is so clean ) However, they might figure it out after a while.

It is a good effect though...