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Hello all,
im new to this fantastic forum and i hope im not breaking any newbie rules by jumping straight in with a question, but i really need some help with something magical!
Im currently trying to find a way to either force or magically come up with the number 19 for a card routine.
let me explain, the trick itself appears to be incredibly fair and the spec handles the cards the entire time, the only problem i have with it is that you need to ask the spectator to deal off 19 cards at one point, and although it probably doesn't matter really, i feel it kind of detracts from the fairness of the effect a little. ive never had a problem performing it and it always completely blows minds, but i want to make it as fair as possible and give the impression that the magician never did anything to influence the spec.
its probably one of those times when i should realise that if its not broke, don't fix it, but if anyone has any ideas, id love to hear them.
cheers,
magical regards,
Ben.

Dani daortiz has some great ideas for forcing the number 18, I've used it several times to good effect(but not enough to be certain). Maybe that could be adapted? He explains it on his utopia DVDs, and also on his acaan video from grupokaps store.

I'm sure there are better methods of forcing a specific number, also perhaps your method will allow for incorrect numbers, changing the procedure slightly to fit... Depends what the trick is...

Couldn't you simply put a ten card and a nine card on top of the pack and force them both. Add them together and voila......19

thanks for the great replies so far, ill definitely look into daortiz's DVDs and see if i can use the method, also ive thought about simply putting those two cards together and forcing them, but for this particular routine it wouldnt really be practical and would somewhat detract from the effect i feel. i look forward to more ideas,
Ben.

Have a friend think of a number between 1 and 9.
Then, ask them to multiply this number by 9.
Next, tell them to add the digits in their answer, if their answer had
more than one digit.
And finally add 10.

Pretty long winded but it gets the number ha

You've been given several decent ideas but I think you may want to grab a few books that deal with forces as well, especially the Annemann book in that it will answer most of your questions by giving you solutions to this kind of issue.

If you know the person's name and the spelling, you can (if you are good at mentally doing basic math) use their name along with a "slogan" or magic word so they spell out a given thing that removes 19 cards for an example. You'll see an example of this in Eddie Joseph's MAIL MENTALISM routine.

Do you know the force used in Further than That? (This is clearly my trick of the day...). Some kind soul might be able to tell you the actual name of this force! I have a feeling that one of the DaOrtiz forces will be similar, just with a different set of numbers.

Ask them to start dealing cards from the top. When they get to the tenth card, stop them and say that, actually, you don't want any accusations that you have influenced them, so you will turn your back while they think of a number. Then do the force.

WOW, you guys are all fantastic, so many great ideas and directions to look into, i like Craigie's suggestion as its quite simple and doesnt require me to use cards (as the entire trick uses cards already, dont particularly want to OVER-USE the cards) and also it is a great way to add variety to the effect itself without drawing away from the fairness of the trick. the thinkng of a number between 1-9, then multiplying it by 9, finally adding the digits together is great, ill have to rack my brains for a way to come up with the extra 10, but its a great start!!
im also looking into a few of Daortiz's and Anneman's forces, im sure they will be a massive help in quite a lot of my routines!!
Thanks everyone, you are all brilliant, and what a welcome to this amazing site too!!