talkmagic.co.uk

I'm working out a three effect mental card set with a borrowed shuffled deck. Nothing groundbreaking at all, just sorting out an informal "go to" sequence that I can perform for people should I be presented with a deck.

I'm putting the deck into a particular order under the guise of counting the deck to ensure it's complete. I then begin to shuffle the deck, change my mind, and offer it to be shuffled.

I'm keen, for reasons that will be apparent to some, for the deck to be given a decent, single-pass, overhand shuffle, and employ a number of suggestions to nudge the participant towards this outcome. However, I realise that the ability to shuffle cards in any way at all seems to be getting increasingly rare. To that end, if I suspect the participant may be a ham-fisted card killer, I intend to ask "do you shuffle" (while miming an overhand shuffle). This has the delightful benefit of not pressuring the participant to shuffle the cards if they are not confident in doing so. It also removes an apparent control from the effect, which diminishes the magic a little. A spectator may, of course, infer from the offer that they could have shuffled the cards had they wanted to, but this inferrence is still weaker than if they'd shuffled the cards themselves.

So what would/do you do? Allow them a backdoor exit from having to shuffle the cards, or directly ask them to shuffle and have them suffer the indignity of a graceless deck breaker?

As a sidenote, if you start shuffling the cards, reconsider, and ask the participant "Would you like to shuffle the cards?" with the emphasis suggesting that you have previously asked them to shuffle the cards, and they declined, and you are now making the offer for a second time, then they are more likely to stick to their guns and not shuffle, because they know their own minds, thank you very much.

I've not tried that as yet, but used a similar ploy when working in an art shop, and asking the question "Would you like a bag?" which would leave customers struggling bagless to get out of the shop with their ungainly gains. Evil? Me?

What I usually do when I want someone to do an overhand shuffle is start with a trick where it doesn't matter if the deck is shuffled, I then ask if anyone would like to shuffle and if anyone does I can see what type of shuffle they do.

Of course the great thing about card mentalism, especially the psychological version is that you can rearrange the cards right in front of them, after all your either anticipating their actions or influencing their decisions, so it makes sense that you'll need the cards in a particular order.

True enough. It's not the end of the world if the shuffle is more chaotic than anticipated; just looking at how to make my life easier.

Suggestive language over physical interaction works great as the trick is being presented but is not likely to be remembered by the specs at a later time. You are almost guaranteed that they will remember if they were directly involved by shuffling.

I use the approach of demonstrating twice and then handing them the deck to be shuffled. The first demonstration is slow with clear instructions. Tell them exactly what they need to do and avoid joking around about what not to do. Second demonstration goes faster. Hand them the deck.

This can work hugely in your favor. If you are using legit shuffles then the deck truly is random. If you are teaching a false shuffle of sorts... surely they'll be convinced that the cards are mixed since they have been shuffled three times, last of which by them. You can also use the demonstration to ring in a stacked/memorized/gimmick/etc. deck. Hand the legit deck to the spec and pull out your new deck. Demonstrate the shuffle with your new deck, being sure to use jogs, runs, breaks, etc. to return it to original order.

I hate that shops now want to save money by not giving us bags and then claiming "it's for the environment".

tell them to cut the deck
or do that 3 piles on the table shuffle and tell them how to do it

Otherwise one day you'll meet someone like the woman i met who launched straight into a one handed faro shuffle with some wierd over the back of the knuckle freestyle BMX card or whatever they call it thing as she'd been a dealer in vegas for 9 years in her youth. Yeah, cheers.

In a city as diverse as London you cannot possibly know what a random spectator will do, so I always ask them: Who has the safest pair of hands? Who is best at choosing? Who is the most neat and tidy? ....or in your case: Who is best at shuffling?
It means you will get someone who at least understands the concept of what you want them to do.

Thanks guys. I think what I may do is say "do you shuffle" with the mimed overhand shuffle. If they say yes, all well and good. If they say no, I will show them how to do an overhand shuffle with half the deck.

If I do get faroed to death by a participant, it will only effect the final phase, so I shall substitute it with something else instead.