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Iain sugests that you give the one way deck to the spectator to shuffle.. I would go one further.

you shuffle the one way deck, and then just give it to the spectator to hold.

If you give something to a spectator,in an as matter of fact way as possible, they NEVER question it. nor will they shuffle it, or look through the cards.
the reason being, you are not putting any importance on the deck. And in their mind, if there was anything special, you would not let them touch it.

Its all down to audience management.

Jean Eugene Roberts wrote:

kolm wrote:

IAIN wrote:just give them the one way deck to shuffle...

What he said

Sorry but I disagree, not every layman shuffles the same way and all it takes is for them to drop even one card or do a fancy shuffle to make that deck useless, or even just look through the deck before shuffling.

1) It doesn't matter what kind of shuffle they do - it's a one way force deck, not a stacked deck
2) Audience management. Show them how you want them to shuffle it, make the faces of the cards as dull as possible so that they're convinced that if they was to look at the faces of the cards, they'd die of boredom instantly

This is all great stuff folks so a huge thank you, as always your suggestions point me in a direction I'd not previously considered!

The reason I use a deck switch is purely down to personal preference (and fear of a one way getting rumbled!) I'm quite happy with my current technique but I think it's important to constantly review your act - I'm still a novice in a lot of ways!

I'm realy excited by some of the suggestions given and a special thanks to Dale for his thoughts - I just don't think I'm ready for that level yet but I will always be considering it as that part of the routine comes up!

I will let you all know how I get on!

if you're worried about the one way shuffle (not a euphamism) - then mix them all across the table and smooooooooosh them together...

are you doing this on a stage with a volunteer?

Does the audience member shuffling the deck add anything to this effect in particular?

I love how on 'Get Nyman' Andy just says, if they notice, they notice and you look like an idiot. Like the others have said though, theres no reason for them to be suspicious. I gave out Nyman's Kick in the Head deck the other day, they didn't notice a thing!

The routine is a parlour routine - 20 - 40 audience in a semi circle around a table with a small "stand up performance area" in front of the table and a space behind the table as well.
The start of the routine begins with me handing out a few items to various members of the audience that all come together as the show progresses/ends so...
Madam! Please have a look at this deck of cards and give them a mix up, whilst this gentleman here looks after this locked aluminium briefcase and this lady here looks after my hotel room keyring etc...
Now that your happy and the cards are all nicely mixed would you please come and assist me [as she gets up and "follows" me around to to the rear of the table I switch the deck].
This is obviously not the script and the pace and timings ebb and flow a lot better in life than they read, but you hopefully get the idea.
I realsie that there are many different handlings using a 1way deck but because I'm giving multiple things out to be examined/looked after it makes sense for the deck to be part of that too(?)
- and to pre-empt anyone YES, I don't have to use a 1way I could use a force of some sort to the same effect but the way you can force with the 1way adds to the fluid "open" feel to that part of the routine and I'm keen to keep it in. I quite like the dynamic movement of relocating to the rear of the table masking the switch but I have always wondered if there was a cleaner way plus I often have to worry about the angles.
Phew! a bit wordy I appreciate but the advice you guys and gals are offering is genuinly helping me with the thought process in this (and other) routines.

phillipnorthfield wrote:I love how on 'Get Nyman' Andy just says, if they notice, they notice and you look like an idiot. Like the others have said though, theres no reason for them to be suspicious. I gave out Nyman's Kick in the Head deck the other day, they didn't notice a thing!

Haha love it - but my nerves would take a hell of a battering and my ego may never recover from looking that stupid

why not use a mirage deck instead? you can show the faces as different, shuffle them yourself...have them cut to a card, you let them look at it...and off you go...

mirage decks are your friend...

I'm not familiar with a mirage deck but for the purposes of the routine the cards are ribbon spread on the table and the spectator with outstreched arm selects a card (this physical action is important for setting up a later part of the routine) would the mirage deck still apply/work?

as long as you ribbon spread them, yes...

or, just use a sven deck? then its either the card they select - or the very next one...

but think about using the cut-deeper force instead, it looks/works quite nicely on a table... more audience interaction that way...

a person points somewhere, all the cards are gathered up and rotated etc

http://www.cards4magic.co.uk/acatalog/x ... _Size.html

How do you feel about a mirrored glass or deck servante? Both would allow for multiple switches without any kind of reset and would free up the topit for other uses.

Kind of agree with Iain. Use a rough and smooth forcing deck, and hand it out to be shuffled. It's my favourite card force. You have them shuffle the deck, then table it, then take the uppermost card.

I don't perform professionally, but do this often and have never been discovered save by Greedo, who is a magician and doesn't count. Britland suggests marking the backs of the force cards as an extra bit of security. If they shuffle and table the deck, and you see that the top card isn't forced, then you can ribbon spread for selection, or just pick them up, fan them, and have the spec touch the back of one of the cards. Lots of options for what is really a fairly rare occurence.

Alternatively, I think Peter Duffie has a device. Further to that, I think Greedoniz bought one, so he should be able to put flesh on the fragile bones of my impoverished memory.

EDIT - wrong Duffie/Duffy. http://www.world-of-magic.co.uk/Deck_Dr ... i23339.asp

Personally I wouldnt advise spreading a mirage deck on the table for a selection. To anyone who uses cards at all it is obvious that theyre not seeing a full deck. In my opinion this is a major weakness in the original Brainwave presentation aswell.

Jackleg, have you considered a 50/50 forcing deck ? The cards can be quite convincingly shown ''regular''. Simply cut the stack to the centre and spread the cards (on the table) in an arc for the selection.

jim

Thanks for all the suggestions folks!

You'll be pleased to hear I finaly roused the courage and handed out the 1way (I think my hands were shaking as I did it)
And as much as I love to say it You were right!
Another very very valuable lesson learned in audience management and audience perception... Why say its an ordinary deck? why ask someone to "check them out and make sure they're all different"??? I just gave her the deck and asked her to hold onto the pack.
Simple as that.
And guess what .... She did exactly as I'd instructed.
To the audience - nothing going on. To me - well I was chuffed!
Thanks again folks