Copy These Secret Methods
Learn three practical use cases for a fooling technique used by successful magicians.
Magic principles are not easy to package and sell commercially. They're not toys you can perform on yourself in your bedroom. The best-kept secrets demand to be performed, and as such, few know of and use them.
One Ahead has written about dual reality in the past, but now is the time to share some incredibly actionable use cases for the everyday magician.
In simple terms, dual reality refers to a method in which two sections of the audience experience different versions of the same trick.
Usually, the majority of the audience experiences the better and more fooling version of the trick. The minority of the audience is none the wiser that everyone else has a different experience.
There are variations of dual reality, such as a dual force, in which a force upon a spectator involves more information than is understood by the wider audience.
A use case for a dual force is a good starting point. Still, by the end of this article, you'll learn three different actionable use cases, including a drawing duplication and a card match that takes place over the phone.
Trick One: Knowing which playing card a spectator chooses is simple. So the magician tells the group that one spectator is going to choose a playing card and think of a random animal. The magician shows everyone the entire deck of cards and asks the spectator to select one.
The magician then perfectly names the card they chose – plucking it from the deck and showing it to the spectator and the group.
Now it's time for the animal. The magician reads their minds and already knows they're actually thinking of two different animals. The magician asks them to ignore the first one that came to mind and focus on the second one. The magician correctly reads their minds to tell them they're thinking of a wombat. Amazing.
The Method: Before the trick, the magician writes two different animals on fifteen of the playing cards with a marker pen. The magician then uses a simple playing card force to guarantee the hero spectator selects the correct one—the four of hearts with "Lama" and "Wombat" written on it (one word on top of the other).
Fifteen cards have animals written on them, so you can spread through the deck and show all of the options to the hero spectator when you say that you're going to ask them to choose a playing card and an animal – this makes the process feel natural to them.
When you fan the cards to show the audience at large, a simple cut moves the cards with animals to the back of the pack—and you only show them cards without markings on them.
One final subtlety to enhance the effect is to include an additional four of hearts with no marking at the top of your pack of cards. When you retrieve the chosen card from the deck, show it to the hero spectator, then top change it when you show it to the audience, switching it for the card with no animals written on it.
Trick Two: The magician performs a drawing prediction in which the spectator and the magician miraculously draw the same animal (perhaps a Wombat). Not only did the magician draw the same animal, but when the two drawings are held alongside one another, we see that they match perfectly in every way – they're the same shape and scale. Incredible!
The Method: It's essential to write the name of the animal below your sketch. In this instance, it's the word "Wombat." Writing this word in your handwriting is key to the method when you consider what happens next.
