Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

You may vary the trick by taking the cards upright between the second finger and thumb of the right hand, and requesting some one to say, “One, two, three!” at the word “three” drop all the cards save the card chosen, which its projecting edge will enable you to retain when you relax the pressure upon the other cards. Another mode of finishing the trick is to request any one present to put the pack (previously well shuffled) in his pocket, when you proceed, with his permission, to pick his pocket of the chosen card. This is an effective trick, and, if you are proficient in sleight-of-hand, may be also performed with an unprepared pack of cards. In the latter case, when the chosen card is returned to the pack, you make the pass to bring it to the top, palm it, and immediately offer the cards to be shuffled. (See Fig. 15.) The pack being returned, you replace the chosen card on the top, and when the pack is placed in the pocket you have only to draw out the top card. The feat of cutting at the chosen card may also by similar means be performed with an ordinary pack. For this purpose you must follow the directions last above given up to the time when, the pack having been shuffled, you replace the palmed card on the top. Then transfer the pack to the left hand, and apparently cut with the right. We say apparently, for though to the eye of the spectator you merely cut the cards, you really make the pass by sliding the lower half of the pack to the left, the fingers of the left hand at the same moment opening a little to lift the upper packet, and so give room for the upward passage of the lower packet. The cards remaining after the pass in the left hand, which the spectators take to be the bottom half of the pack, are in reality the original upper half; and on the uppermost of such cards being turned up, it is found to be the one which was chosen.