Over a year ago I had an idea that would enable me to tell how many fingers someone was holding up. It was too complex and didn't work well on most people, so I eventually discarded it. However recently I realized a different but similar method that would allow me to accomplish this with ease.

The mentalist asks the spectator to think of something. It can be a time, the spectator's star sign, a birth date, a thought of number or card, a street number, a name, a color, or anything else within a set. The mentalist then asks the spectator to place his hand(s) behind his back and indicate the desired item. For example, the spectator could raise 2 fingers behind their back to indicate the number 2.

The mentalist then knows which item the spectator is thinking of. This effect is entirely impromptu and will work in almost all conditions with almost all people. It's quick to learn and needs virtually no practice, and absolutely no memory work to begin performing. There is no dual reality, no instant stooging, nothing written or spoken or in any other way consciously communicated to the performer. The performer at no time sees behind the spectator's back; indeed he doesn't actually need to see the spectator's hand at any time. There are no reflectors or confederates relaying the information. The effect needs absolutely nothing in the way of gimmicks. It can easily be applied to almost any known mind reading effect, or to aid in any form of information gathering, such as during a reading, as it can easily be combined with a palm or aura reading if one so desires.

I love performing this because it doesn't require any props, and can be done pretty much any time, anywhere, on pretty much anyone. The spectator and audience are never aware of the method. I've been playing with this more and more and it just keeps on hitting. My favorite presentation for it at the moment is with colors, as I follow it with a brief color reading based on their thought of color.

Perhaps one of the better things about it is that the concept is easy to understand, although a plethora of subtleties are included as the book progresses, and after just 15-20 minutes of reading, with no memory work you could perform it right away with little to no practice at all.

I'm going to be offering this for free to 5 reviewers over the next 24 hours. If you would, please PM me a creative use for such a system and I will decide based upon your ideas.

Kind Regards,

DekEl

Sounds good,and thanks for the offer to Café !

-G

You are coming out with more and more creations, great stuff!

Thanks for the support. I've gotten some really great ideas to include. Sending out some copies in a few minutes.

134 views and only 3 replies ,that surprises me ...

Well ppl are supposed to pm Dekel so I think that might be the reason for so many views and so few posts.

One copy remaining.

All copies have been sent.

Another great presentation for this is a simple way to always win Rock Paper Scissors. I really like this presentation. Will have to give it a shot. Could be a great way to win bets when I need to.

Update: I grabbed a friend to try this (RPS) on and gave it a go. It worked. It was very simple and he was quite impressed.

RPS, what a great idea! I will be back here to add comments on Digit soon, stay tuned.

This is a great (and simple) tool that can work stand alone or as a means of getting information for a larger effect. In its simplest form, you know how many fingers someone is holding up behind their back; no stooges (or helpers of any kind), no mirrors, nothing beyond you and your victim. THEY are signaling you, and they won’t even realize it.

There are some (not many) caveats that you’ll need to keep in mind, but I think you’ll usually be able to make this work. For me the most important thing was lighting. (I believe it’s important to mention this because we all work in different environments.)

It is genuinely impromptu, requires no props, and once you understand the method, you will be able to start using this immediately (practice first! )

(Personal experience: as soon as I finished reading, I tried this out with my 11 year old son. I missed the first two tries, but after an “aha” moment, started hitting it every time.)

The e-book comes with several ideas for routines that cover a wide range of situations: revealing PIN numbers, Astrological signs, Rock/Paper/Scissors and more.

A brilliant idea that I think almost anyone will find extremely useful.

I would love to read this, looking forward to a release. I love 'Visions' and 'Perceptions', some great work in those. Still need to get psionics and air writer...

Looks like an interesting premise

Would be interesting to know how other ppl got along with the method (their hit rates, etc).

David

Thank you DWRackley, for sharing your honest thoughts. The effect continually surprises me by how many uses it can be put to that "make sense" (e.g. combining a sympathy routine with palmistry, or playing RPS with it, or using the ESP Symbols). There are so many things that revolve around the number 5, and so many things that involve the hand. You can perform pretty much anything alongside this effect, or just perform it by itself.

At the moment my two favorite applications for Digit are Sympathy and RPS. The sympathy routine comes from OTTOMEZZO.

So far the applications in the book include:

# Basic 1-5 routine
# Numbers, PIN numbers, etc.
# Words, thought of and in books
# PK Time
# Auras and Colors (I really enjoy using the colors routine)
# Cards
# Dead or Alive
# Star Signs
# ESP Symbols
# Menu Items/Cutlery
# Rock Paper Scissors
# Monopoly pieces + a personality reading based on their choice (DWRackley)
# Sympathy by OTTOMEZZO

I first missed beginning with wife. It was dark and I had to open the blinds. It was not a good go then. This is simple and reminds me of when I heard a laymen say how Blaine did a mind reading effect on one of his specials.

Dirt easy and simple which is what we all urn for in an effect. I plan on trying this out again when I get back to work.

Decomposing with Digit

Thank you, Decomposed, for sharing your honest thoughts and experiences. As I explain in the book and as DWRackley and you mentioned, good lighting is necessary, but easy to find. And as you said, it is very easy to learn and use.

Not only does Digit work well as a stand alone effect, but it can work splendidly for gaining rapport with a spectator, using the Sympathy routine. In order to test a connection with the spectator, the mentalist and the spectator both place a number of fingers behind their back, and then the mentalist brings out his hand followed by the spectator, and the number of fingers matches.

Just a note, Digit is now available from my website, with a full description here: http://www.getmindtricks.com/?page_id=180 and it will soon be on MindShocks, MagicShop.co.uk, and Lybrary.com.

Kind Regards,

DekEl

Another heads up, Digit is also available from Chris Wasshubber's wonderful service at Lybrary.com, here: http://www.lybrary.com/digit-p-119599.html

Kind Regards,

DekEl

Any other reviews?
I'm curious about real world practicality and deceptiveness...
Also wonering if the person needs to be wearing short sleeves?