Card Tricks Below...

Chapter IV.

The "Thurston" System of Expert Card
Manipulation.

IN this chapter I propose describing a system of Card Manipulation originated by myself a few years ago. I am, however, indebted to my friend, Mr. Si Stebbens, of America, for many valuable suggestions and ideas with regard to its conception.

The series of tricks about to be described are specially recommended to professionals, amateurs, and novices alike, as they are all absolutely new.

The whole system can be thoroughly learned in an hour, and when once this is done, the performer can exhibit tricks with cards which, to the uninitiated, seem altogether to transcend human ability.

A few effects to be obtained with the aid of this system are as follows:

Seven or eight cards are selected (not forced) in a bunch from a previously shuffled pack. The per-former can instantly name the chosen cards.

The artist first shuffling the pack, a spectator is then asked to name any card, whereupon the per-

former states its correct position in the pack, and, to corroborate his assertion, immediately proceeds to cut the pack at the desired card.

Three cards are selected by a member of the audience, and, without looking at same, are placed by himself in his pocket. The performer now calls out the name of a certain card, which we will suppose is the eight of diamonds, and requests the spectator to take one of the three cards from his pocket, which, upon examination, is shown to be the eight of diamonds. This is repeated with the remaining two cards.

The foregoing are but a few of the many brilliant and bewildering tricks possible of performance by the method I am about to describe.

I have for some time past been accustomed to present this series of tricks at all my private engagements, and I can, without hesitation, emphatically state that for parlor or drawing-room work there are no better card-tricks extant.

The principal secret of the whole of the tricks herein explained lies in a novel prearrangement of the pack of cards used.

The cards should, in the first place, be laid out on the table in the order as shown on following page.

The second card (the four of spades) should now be placed on the first one (the ace of clubs), then the third one (the seven of hearts), and so on to the end.

It will be observed that each card is three higher

HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS. 41

than the one immediately behind it, the arrangement of the suits being: Clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds. The precise arrangement of the suits is practically immaterial, and it would, perhaps, be as well for the student to adopt a system of his own. The arrangement of the Court cards is: jack-11, queen-12, king-13, so that supposing the bottom card of the pack was the jack of clubs, the performer would instantly know that the next card beginning at the top of the pack is the ace of spades.

The performer should, by means of his pocket or otherwise, exchange the pack he has been previously using, for a similar pack, prepared as just described.

For stage or drawing-room purposes, a very ingenious little piece of apparatus has recently been devised to enable the artiste to indetectably change one pack for another, and as it would be most useful in this case, I think I cannot do better than give my readers a description of it.

The principal part of this piece of apparatus consists of a metal ring, 6in. or 8in. in diameter, to which is attached a black cloth bag. To the ring is soldered a flat strip of metal, having riveted to it a spring clip. By means of a sharp point protruding from the rear, the apparatus can be easily and quickly attached to the back of a chair by pushing the point into the woodwork (see Fig. 28). In the clip is inserted a pack of cards arranged in the order I have explained, which the performer

42 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

must substitute for an ordinary pack by means of the following ruse:

With the pack in the right hand, he takes hold of the chair in such a manner that the thumb only is visible to the audience, the pack and the fingers being hidden by the back of the chair.

FIG. 28.

The left hand now takes hold of the seat of the chair, which is set on one side, as if it were in the way. During this operation the pack of cards is dropped from the right hand into the bag, and the duplicate pack removed from the clip. If this is done neatly and without undue haste, the audience will never suspect that a change has been accomplished.

A more simple change, but which will answer the purpose quite as well, especially for an im-

promptu performance, is to simply place the pack which you have been using in your coat pocket, and an instant later take out from the same pocket the prepared pack.

The performer next proceeds to make what is known as a false shuffle with the prepared pack. As this is a most useful adjunct to many beautiful experiments with cards, I will describe two of the methods employed in its execution.

FIRST METHOD.

This is one of the very many deceptive sleights originated by the celebrated Professor Charlier, and is undoubtedly the best false shuffle in existence, but owing to the great amount of practice required for its successful accomplishment, it is rarely made use of except by professionals, but if thoroughly mastered the performer can deceive experts.

The pack is held in the left hand, and throe or four of the top cards are passed into the right. Now pass the remaining cards in small parcels alternately above and below these, but the cards that are passed below are taken from the top of the left-hand packet, and the cards that are placed above

44 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

are passed from the bottom of the left-hand packet, this being exactly the reverse of the ordinary movement.

To pass the cards from the top of the left-hand packet to the bottom of the right-hand packet is fairly easy, they being pushed forward with the left thumb, but it is the reverse movement that is difficult.

I recommend this style of false shuffle to the lover of deceptive sleights, but for those who do not care to devote sufficient time for its indetectable execution I herewith describe a very easy, but at the same time effective, false shuffle originated by myself.

SECOND METHOD.

The pack is held in both hands, as in Fig. 29. The lower half of the pack is now removed with the right hand, but in doing so a few of the hinder-most cards of the pack in the left hand are left slightly protruding, as in Fig. 30.

The parcel in the right hand is now replaced on the front of the pack. If this is repeated with rapidity, the effect to the audience will be that the cards are thoroughly mixed, whereas in reality they are only cut.

HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS. 45

Armed with the prearranged pack, and the ability to execute one of the false shuffles, the per-

FIG. 29.

former is now ready to present the following series of tricks :

46 HOWARD THURSTON’S CARD TRICKS.

TO INSTANTLY NAME ANY CARD
CHOSEN.

The pack is spread out fanwise to a spectator, with a request for him to select a card. When

FIG. 30

this is done, the performer, in a casual manner, cuts the cards at the point where the chosen card was removed, thereby bringing the card that was next above the selected one to the bottom of the

pack, and the artiste has simply to catch a glimpse of the bottom card, which tells him the name of the chosen one. For instance, suppose the bottom card was the six of spades, the performer knows that the selected card must be the nine of hearts, because hearts follow spades, and, therefore, the next card (the one drawn) is a heart, and it will be remembered in the arrangement of the pack that each card is three higher than the preceding one. Therefore, if the bottom card is the six of spades, the selected card will be the nine of hearts,

TO TELL THE NAMES OF ANY NUMBER
OF CARDS CHOSEN.

A spectator is asked to take out a few cards in a bunch-eight or nine, or in fact as many as he likes. The cut is now made, and the bottom card noted, and the performer is able to instantly name the chosen cards. When this has been done, if the cards are replaced on the bottom of the pack one by one in the order as chosen, the pack will still be in the correct condition for further tricks.

When naming the cards selected, so as not to give any astute member of the audience a chance to observe that each card is three spots higher than

48 HOWARD THURSTON^’S CARD TRICKS.

the preceding one, it is advisable not to call them out in their exact order.

Supposing the cards selected were the jack of spades, ace of hearts, four of diamonds, seven of clubs, ten of spades, king of hearts, three of diamonds, and six of clubs, the performer could name them in the following manner, thereby eliminating all suspicion of prearrangement:

Jack of spades, ace of hearts, then pass the four of diamonds and call the seven of clubs, then call the four of diamonds. But in placing the four of diamonds on the bottom of the pack, be sure to get it under the seven of clubs so as not to upset the order of arrangement. The performer will now have the seven of clubs on the bottom, so will instantly know that the ten of spades is the next card to be called.

In performing this trick I generally ask three or four members of the audience to each select a number of cards-all in bunches-from the top of the portion of cards held in the left hand.

It is well to ask those who have selected cards to mix them before starting to call out their names, as this disarranges the order of the cards they hold, otherwise they might note that the cards in their possession were called in the order they held them.

HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS. 49

 

TO TELL THE EXACT POSITION IN THE PACK OF ANY CARD NAMED BY THE AUDIENCE.

The following explanation will require a little study, but if the rules are followed just as stated below, the student will soon comprehend the idea

FIG. 31

I intend to present, and I dare say will be greatly pleased with the result. In my mind it is the key to the greatest combination of card tricks in existence.

To begin with, the card is named by the audience, the artiste so holding the pack as to see at a glance, and note the last four cards, as seen in Fig. 31. These last four cards are: Ten of

50 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

hearts, king of diamonds, three of clubs, and six of spades.

Say the card named is the three of spades. Now, according to table No. 1, you subtract the given card (three of spades) from the first card of the suit (six of spades), which leaves three. Next multiply by four-twelve; therefore, the three of spades is the twelfth card from the top. Now cut the cards as near as possible to what you think is twelve. Should you cut at the eleventh card-which would be the king of clubs--you immediately know the card following a club is a spade, and if you cut at the king of clubs, the next card is three spots higher-the three of spades-so you open at the next card. Or, should you cut the pack at the thirteenth card, which in this case would be the six of hearts, you know a heart is preceded by a spade, and if you have the six of hearts, the card before it is the three of spades.

TABLE NO. 1

The following table should be thoroughly learned and memorized.

We will suppose the performer has effected the

change of packs and is ready to find any given card in the pack, therefore he proceeds as follows:

Subtract the given card from first card of suit from the bottom of pack. Now multiply it by four, and deduct the number of cards following the first card of suit.

We will refer again to Fig. 31.

Say the given card is the five of hearts, subtract five from first card of suit (which is ten of hearts) -five.

Now multiply by four-twenty, less the number of cards before the first card of suit from the bottom, which is three, which, deducted from twenty leaves seventeen. Therefore, the five of hearts is the seventeenth card from the top.

TABLE No. 2.

If the card named is higher than the first card of suit from the bottom, subtract the given card from thirteen.

Now add the number of first card of suit, then multiply by four, less the number of cards following the first card of suit, and you will have the exact number of the given card from the top of the pack.

52 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

In Fig. 31 the last four cards are the ten of hearts, king of diamonds, three of clubs, and six of spades.

We will say the five of clubs is named, the three of clubs being the first card of suit.

As it is impossible to subtract five from three, you deduct it from thirteen (as explained in table No. 2), which leaves eight. Now add the number of first card of suit, which is three-eleven; multiply by four - forty-four, less the number of cards following the first card of suit (which is one)-forty-three. You will upon examination sow find that the forty-third card is the five of clubs.

With a little careful practice the student will soon become familiar with the arrangement, and that which now appears somewhat difficult will be-tome very simple and easy.

I can, within the space of three seconds, cut the pack to any given card.

MIND OVER MIND, OR THE MARVEL-
LOUS WILL POWER.

A spectator draws three cards from the pack, not forced, and without looking at them, or the performer touching them, places them in his breast pocket, from which he has previously removed the contents. The performer now calls out the name of a card, and requests the spectator to hand him

HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS. 53

one of the three cards from his pocket. Upon this being done, the card is found to correspond with the one previously named by the performer. This is repeated with the other two cards.

This is a vast improvement on the old method of performing a very similar trick, and is highly commended.

The performer asks a spectator to select three cards (making sure that the three cards are selected in a bunch). He then cuts the cards as usual, bringing the card just above the three chosen to the bottom.

The three cards chosen must now be placed in the pocket with the faces toward the person, which is the natural way of doing it. The performer now notes the bottom card of the pack, which enables him to know the names of the chosen cards. Sup-pose the bottom card was the five of hearts, the first of the three cards would be the eight of diamonds. Therefore, the performer asks the gentle-man to place his hand, as quickly as possible, into his pocket and hand him the eight of diamonds, which nine times out of ten will be correct, for this reason: In the act of the spectator placing his left hand in his right inside breast-pocket, owing to it being done quickly, he will seldom, if ever, place more than his four fingers in the pocket, the thumb remaining on the outside. For this reason the only card possible for him to take from the pocket in this condition is the top one, which is the eight of diamonds. If the reader will try this

54 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

experiment with himself, he will readily catch the idea.

After the first card is produced, the performer calls for the next, which is the jack of clubs, and as there is but one remaining card there can be no mistake, as the performer asks for the ace of spades.

I find this trick always has a great effect on tilt audience, and causes a considerable amount of excitement and interest.

TO CAUSE A CARD SELECTED BY A SPECTATOR TO BE NAMED BY THE AUDIENCE.

A card is selected by a spectator and laid on the table without its face being seen. The performer now states that it is impossible for any one to know the name of the card, but that he will cause the audience themselves to name it.

The modus operandi employed for this experiment is not absolutely new, but fits in well with the series of tricks in my system, and I, therefore, include it.

Supposing the card selected was the eight of hearts, the performer secretly ascertains its name

in the same manner as explained on page 53, and forthwith addresses the audience as follows:

"Ladies and gentlemen, there are four suits in the pack : hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs. I shall ask some gentleman to name either two of them. Thank you, sir. The gentleman says hearts and spades, therefore it must be a heart or a spade. Now, will some one kindly name one of these. A spade! Thank you, sir; that leaves a heart, therefore it must be a heart."

To explain the above. The artiste knows, in the first place, that the card is a heart, and he interprets the _,answers from the audience to suit his own purpose, in the following manner: Had the audience said diamonds and clubs in place of spades and hearts, the performer would have said: "Very well, sir; that leaves hearts and spades.^" Now, with regard to the heart and the spade, had the audience said hearts instead of spades, the reply would have been: "Very well; it must be a heart.^"

Example: There are two cards left-hearts and spades. The performer wants the audience to name hearts. Suppose the audience names spades, the reply is: "Very well; that leaves a heart."

Should they have named a heart, the reply is: "Thank you; we will make it a heart,^" and thus the performer practically forces the card on the audience.

Now, to continue the trick and cause the exact name of the card to be called, which is carried out

56 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

on the same principle, the performer continues:" The suit is a heart, there are thirteen cards in a suit, and it must be one of the thirteen. We will divide the thirteen into odd and even numbers. Will some one kindly say either odd or even? Odd! Thank you; that leaves even. The even numbers are two, four, six, eight, ten, queen. We will divide them into two parts, above or below seven. Will some one kindly name above or be-low seven? Above seven! Thank you, sir. It, therefore, must be either the eight, ten, or queen. Will some gentleman kindly name two of these three? Eight and queen! Thank you. Now, will some one select either the eight or the queen? Queen! Thank you. That leaves the eight of hearts. Will the gentleman kindly turn up this card? "

A suggestion as to the tone of voice in naming these cards will be of great advantage. For in-stance, suppose the queen and eight are left, the performer, wishing the audience to name the eight, says : "Will some one name the eight or the queen? "with a strong accent on the eight, and nine times out of ten, if the words are properly spoken, the desired card will be selected.

HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS. 57

A NEW MIND-READING FEAT WITH
CARDS.

I wish to tender my sincere thanks to my friend, Mrs. Hartley Milburn, of London, for the idea of this splendid trick.

One or more cards should be selected by a spectator, and the pack laid on the table.

A lady or gentleman sitting on the opposite side of the room (without even as much as a look from the performer) immediately informs the drawer the number and the names of the cards chosen.

This trick, which can, if desired, be presented as an exhibition of genuine mind-reading, will create a profound sensation.

The medium, or second party, to this experiment must be thoroughly acquainted with the order in which the pack is arranged, and should be seated on one side of the performer.

After the card or cards have been selected, the pack is cut, and the card that was above those selected brought to the bottom. In the act of laying the cards on the table, the bottom card is momentarily exposed to the view of the assistant, thus enabling him or her to name the selected card, this, of course, being easily accomplished when one thoroughly understands the arrangement of the pack as set out on page 40.

With a judicious addition of one of the false

58 HOWARD THURSTON^'S CARD TRICKS.

shuffles described in this present chapter, two clever people can perform tricks on the above principle that not so many years ago would have caused them to meet the fate of a sorcerer.

Sincerely,

Richard Dean
rich@ebookgeneralstore.com

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