This is a dumb question, maybe, and long overdue, but, Scott, do you have any advice as to how to locate a number in a phone book that has the same digits as a number that can be forced using the Predict Perfect principle? Do you just have to determine what some of those numbers are and then do a treasure hunt through the phone book for an appropriate phone number? I guess I'm lazy, but that sounds like hard work that could take a long time. Is there a better way to do it?

Hushai,

I believe Meir Yedid's "Predict-Perfect" came with a list of
the 198 possible totals (along with the arrangements necessary
to arrive at any given possible total.)

Unfortunately, "Predict-Perfect" appears to be
"temporarily out of stock" at Meir's website:
http://www.mymagic.com/yedtricks.htm (scroll to bottom of page.)

You can email Meir through his website. He might know of dealers
who "stocked up" on this trick before Meir's supplies ran out.

You still have to do a bit of hunting...but all of the possible
totals range from 774 through 2556, so ignore all four digit
combinations outside of this range.

Aren't there phone books that have the numbers in order? I'm pretty sure there are. Would this help?

Excellent idea, Slim!

http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/

(Right column, near the top: reverse phone number.)

Thank you, Slim and Stan. These ARE good ideas.

Time to resurrect an old thread.

Actually there is a reason for me linking my post to this golden chestnut of a thread.The thread caught my attention when I was in the midst of doing a search for anything on the forum concerning Bill Simon's "64 Principle".

The first time I tried this principle with 8 cards I fooled myself. I had to do it again and again as it was so counter intuitive.

Many ideas now come to mind.Getting a royal flush chosen for you by a spectator.A game of "win and lose" where the spectator chooses the four lose cards and you end up with the four win cards. Same premise with "Rock and Gold".

Any number of cards can be used as long as the total number of cards is to the power of two. I am going to experiment with the possibility (?) of being able to offer a choice of three cards rejecting two cards to go under the stack each time and using 12 cards in total.I wonder if things would still work out with this principle? Does anyone know?

Is anyone familiar with this principle? What applications do you have for it? I am already familiar with the effect '6 degrees of freedom' and 'Upstairs,downstairs'

'Upstairs downstairs' is clever in that the eight cards can be randomly chosen for you from a spectator shuffled deck. Your prediction is always right.

Here is the original link.Hope you enjoy it.

C:\Documents and Settings\Torana\My Documents\My eBooks\cardcolmdegreesofseparartion.htm

With Best wishes Andy.

Sorry linked it via hard drive rather than directly to the website.The following should work.

http://www.maa.org/columns/colm/cardcolm200604.html

Another idea has just afew seconds ago come to mind utilising the tarot. Force via this principle the following four cards

for the spectator:-
The Tower, The Hanged Man, Death, The Devil.

and for you:-
Justice, Strength, The Stars, The lovers,

Theme=The Gypsy Queen.A dastardly crime has been commited.
Story in summary=The gypsy queen's silver has been stolen. Two suspects have been dragged before her. One is innocent, one guilty. Using the occult power of the tarot the queen orders one of the men (the spectator acts the part) to "freely" choose four card for a tarot reading which will look into his heart and decide his fate. Obviously the other four cards "rejected" go to the other suspect (you play this part)

The judgement=First pick up your face down cards. Show in their above listed order as the patter flows. "The cards have determined that you have a just heart. You are blessed with good health and wisdom. May you go in love." (or a patter to that effect utilising the cards)

Then pick up the spectator's chosen face down cards. Show in their listed order."The cards have determined that you are guilty. Your sentence is that you will be taken to a tower and hanged until death. May you go to Hell!"

Ha Ha Ha (Evil laugh)

Sorry Jeff when you say "stack" what do you mean by this? The strength of the principle is that the cards are not simply dealt out after a false shuffle but are choosen 'freely' by the spectator. The spectator is making the choices.They are not passive in the process.Am I misunderstanding you?

Having written my last post I think that I now understand what you are saying-that a stack can utilise a mathematical principle (eg B.C.S).Stacks have a myriad of devious uses.

One of my favorite math principles relates to a stack of 10 cards that take the following form: XXXYYYZZZC. If you subject this stack to straight cuts and then you deal two poker hands, then the only hands that will ever turn up are: XXYZZ and YYXZC. They are the only two hands possible, which makes the principle rather useful for predictions. Here is an example with playing cards, but the principle is just as useful with Zener and Tarot cards.

I write the following prediction on a slip of paper: “I will win with a pair of 3’s and a pair of 8’s. You will lose with a pair of Queens.” I fold the slip and leave it on the table. I take a deck of cards and shuffle it without disturbing the 10 cards on top, which I loaded there earlier. They consist of 3, 3, 3, Q, Q, Q, 8, 8, 8 and a crimped card, in that order from the top down. The suits are unimportant. After shuffling, I hand the deck to a spectator and ask him to deal 10 cards into a pile. He gives the pile any number of straight cuts, after which he deals two poker hands. He is then free to pick either hand for himself. The other one goes to me.

Whoever has the crimped card at this point has the losing hand with a pair of Queens. If I have it, I let the spectator open the prediction. If I don’t, I open the prediction. The prediction is accurate in either case.

Leo, many thanks for all your fantastic contributions.

I'm not quite sure why you have restricted the set-up that way. Couldn't you have ABCDEFGHIJ, so regardless of where it is cut the two hands will always be ACEGI and BDFHJ? No restrictions about duplicate values, just any two hands you desire.

/Tomas

Tomas, you’re right of course, putting it more generically. But the Poker demonstration may be followed up immediately with a second phase. The spectator may pick up the 10 cards, shuffle them and deal two more hands of Poker. The shuffle obliterates some of the information but not all of it. Once again, whoever gets the crimped card loses the round. The winning hand will consist of either a full house or two pairs. The losing hand will consist of either three of a kind or a single pair. This aspect of the XXXYYYZZZC set-up may also be exploited.

Very good thinking combining it with the classic 10-Card Poker Deal. You have quite a routine there.

Thanks again for sharing,

/Tomas

I don't think this follows. Reminds me of a bit from a Smullyan book...he mentions a kid who asks him what the best movie (?!) ever was, and finishes the question by saying, "and I don't want you to tell me which one you think is the best; I want to know which one really is the best."

I'm fully prepared to accept (even to assert) that Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is a better song than Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell, but between the two, Heaven and Hell is my favorite. Thoughts?

Oh, put me down for Gilbreath Principle, too.

I included much re: the 9 principle in Mathematical Wizardry, plus so much more. Including shortcuts for finding the squares of 2-digit numbers, plus so much more. I go into magic squares, including my version, and so much more. How would you like to have someone give you a 3-digit number, which you write twice; then take other 3-digit numbers with which to multiply them. Then you look at the two multiplication problems for a moment and write a number, saying that you want to really showoff for them; you're going to try to mentally do the two multiplication problems, then add the two answers. The spectator (using a calculator, of course)does just that - gets the answers for the two multiplication problems, adds those answers - and sees that it matches the number you wrote, etc. How would you like to have a spectator give you a long number which you call "the answer." Then immediately write out an addition problem (five numbers) that add exactly to that "answer number? These are two effects that just came to mind that I did on stage (and close up) for decades. They're in Mathematical Wizardry, plus so much more - calendar tricks, number forces, matrixes, and so much more. And for those who are going to scream and yell about me plugging my own books (and you know there will be those!) - try getting a copy of Mathematical Wizardry; it's out of print at the moment, so I'm not trying to sell you a thing! Best - HARRY LORAYNE.

I, personally, don't really have a favorite mathematical trick. Anyone else?

I a memorized deck so I really like Marlo's Chain Calculator. I also really like Sal Piacente's Memory Opener.

I have NINE of them.

I highly recommend Philemon's book called NINE. Lots of great presentations for math-based effects.

Greg