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The patter supplied with Overkill in the Art Of Astonishment books doesn't work.

When I say that, I mean the spectators do not understand their instructions.... I ask them to think of the card at their secret number, that number being the number of cards they are holding. I then later ask them to think of their card, and almost every time, they say "What card?"

I have tried other patterlines, but they are so descriptive (As they basically need to be) that the spectators are confused in a whole other way.

Anyone know how to help this? Thank you!

Mike?

I quote Paul on this:

"Direct the spectator to cut a small packet of cards off the top of the deck... direct the spectator to count the cards by quietly dealing them face down one on top of the other..."

That's a CLEAR instruction. They will get a NUMBER... i.e. the number of cards they cut from the pack.

Then...

[after the magician has placed a row of cards face-up, and begins counting out loud along the row from left to right, tapping with the finger...]
"remember the card at your secret number..."

That's ANOTHER clear instruction. There will be a CARD at the NUMBER they thought of. They are now to remember the CARD which falls at their chosen position.

Those are pretty much the EXACT words from the trick's description. If you can't make a spectator choose a card from those instructions, and remember it, then there's no hope mate.

seige wrote:Mike?

I quote Paul on this:

"Direct the spectator to cut a small packet of cards off the top of the deck... direct the spectator to count the cards by quietly dealing them face down one on top of the other..."

That's a CLEAR instruction. They will get a NUMBER.

[after the magician has placed a row of cards face-up, and begins counting out loud along the row from left to right, tapping with the finger...]
"remember the card at your secret number..."

That's ANOTHER clear instruction.

Those are pretty much the EXACT words from the trick's description. If you can't make a spectator choose a card from those instructions, and remember it, then there's no hope mate.

Well, seige, ithat is EXACTLY what I do, but they still do not get it! Any patter modificationsthat could be made?

Right... let's look at the effect...

Your aim is to get the spectator to select a card. To do this, they need a small amount (10-15 cards, which just happens to be about a quarter of the deck) cut from the top to count.

Make this CLEAR at the start of the effect. I would suggest:

"For this trick I need you to select a card, but we'll do it a little differently. I will turn my back, and I want you to cut about a quarter off the top of the deck. The amount you take will be important, because that number will help you make your choice..."

[they do]

"Now, count the cards you have, face down, one at a time onto the table. Count in your head, so I can't know the amount. Done? Good. So, now you have a number... Looks like you have no more than 20 or so cards there, so, I will take a cut roughly the same and place the cards in a row, face up..."

[you do]

"I will now count along this row of face up cards. When I get to the number you have in your head, FORGET the number and INSTEAD REMEMBER the card which falls at that number. For instance, if you have '2' as your number, you will remember the card at position number '2'. I will carry on counting until the end... just remember the card at YOUR number, but don't let me know when I get there... keep it a secret!... OK, here we go..."

[you tap each card in turn...]

"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, ... NINETEEN, TWENTY... that's it. Did you remember the card at your number? Good. Don't tell a soul!"

Michael Kras wrote:

seige wrote:Mike?

I quote Paul on this:

"Direct the spectator to cut a small packet of cards off the top of the deck... direct the spectator to count the cards by quietly dealing them face down one on top of the other..."

That's a CLEAR instruction. They will get a NUMBER.

[after the magician has placed a row of cards face-up, and begins counting out loud along the row from left to right, tapping with the finger...]
"remember the card at your secret number..."

That's ANOTHER clear instruction.

Those are pretty much the EXACT words from the trick's description. If you can't make a spectator choose a card from those instructions, and remember it, then there's no hope mate.

Well, seige, ithat is EXACTLY what I do, but they still do not get it! Any patter modificationsthat could be made?

If that's the case, Kras, it may not be your fault at all. You may just have a dumb audience.

But you do want to make sure that you speak clearly and slowly so as not to rush it by them in your anxiety to complete the effect.

Ill have to say it is either dumb audience or your are overlooking something mike.

Ive done that trick a couple times and the audience had no problem following what i asked them to do(well expect one difficult spectator didn't count the cards right, damn family!)

i got my patter from Michael Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles series. and its very similar if not the exact same as to what seige said

In siege's example you can help the spectator understand what it is you want them to do. By saying something like: "If you counted 3 cards, you will remember the card at the third position...as I go along. Or. if you counted 7 cards, you will remember the card at the seventh position. (Stop here for a beat) Do you understand?"


By reinforcing the instructions to the spectator, giving them an audio/visual association...may help you get the desired results.