Bruce Bernstein – Separation Anxiety

Format: PDF

“Elegant. The trick of the year.” – Barrie Richardson

“This is about as clean and fast an ‘Out of this World’ effect as you can get. It’s 16 pages of unmitigated sneakiness and I highly recommend it to one and all.” – Bob Farmer

“This is a lean, direct, powerful, and easy-to-do version of the classic Paul Curry effect. If you’ve read his landmark book, UNREAL, you know that anything with Bruce Bernstein’s name on it is, sight unseen, well worth getting!”

This effect features participants astonishingly separating red and black cards using just twenty cards. Drawing inspiration from Brad Henderson and Jon Armstrong, who themselves were influenced by Martin Gardner and Paul Curry, this version stands out for its simplicity and effectiveness. It begins and concludes cleanly, allowing for performance with a borrowed deck in impromptu settings. The use of only twenty cards addresses concerns about the effect’s duration, as the entire stack is handed to the participant for separation, creating a seamless hands-off presentation. Cleanup is straightforward, enhancing the overall experience. While inspired by Jon Armstrong’s “Out of This Blah Blah Blah,” Bernstein introduces unique elements that elevate this effect to new heights.

“I’ll also note that Bernstein includes a second variation which allows for the effect to be repeated. It is rather amazing as it features a powerful prediction that’s quite a shocker to the layman. This is highly recommended.” – Jheff

“I never thought I needed another card effect in my repertoire until I saw Separation Anxiety. Now I know better. It’s definitely going into my repertoire.” – Christopher Carter

“Bruce Bernstein is in creative mode and has traveled to a new solar system. On the heels of the groundbreaking ‘TABOO’ comes a refined take on the always intriguing ‘Out of this World.’ Only the mind of Bernstein can both simplify method and expand impact at the same time. This is a routine not to be overlooked by any worker who presents miracles of only the highest quality.” – Ross Johnson

“With ‘Separation Anxiety’, Bruce has taken a well-loved plot (‘OOTW’), added a dollop of ideas from others, and then worked his well-known magic, streamlining the action, removing the dead time and false actions, clarifying the display, simplifying the mechanics, and topping the whole thing with a killer ending. A tiny, elegant masterpiece and one of the few ‘card tricks’ I perform.” – Doug Dyment

“In Bernstein’s ‘Separation Anxiety,’ you will find about the cleanest answer to Paul Curry’s ‘Out of This World’ to date.” – Alain Nu

Over the years, I have developed numerous versions of the classic OUT OF THIS WORLD effect. My first release, COUPLES, was praised by Paul Curry himself, who offered to market it, calling it the best variation he had seen. This encouragement sparked my journey into the fascinating world of mentalism.

Now, after many years, I present an incredibly straightforward, hands-off, two-phase routine that employs deeply layered methods, making it a standout in the realm of mentalism. The impact it has on both lay audiences and fellow magicians is a testament to its power and clarity.

Experience this remarkable effect that captivated audiences at the prestigious MEETING OF THE MINDS and has astonished some of the top minds in the field.

The following is a detailed description of the routine as performed. This is not a simplified version; it reflects the actual presentation without multiple outs or double realities.

PHASE 1: You introduce an experiment to test your ability to influence an audience member’s choices.

The participant receives a small pack of playing cards and is instructed to deal them into two roughly equal piles, guided solely by her intuition.

Once the cards are dealt, you reveal that she has exactly twenty cards — ten red and ten black.

“Let’s see how you’ve done.”

You pick up one pile and count the cards aloud as you place them on the table.

There are precisely ten cards!

“That’s a good sign — a very promising beginning.”

Next, you simultaneously reveal the top card of each pile, showing one red card and one black card.

This process is repeated, consistently revealing one pile with only red cards and the other with only black cards.

“I think you see where this is going,” you say, as you dramatically reveal that all cards have been sorted correctly by the spectator!

(It’s that clean and direct. You can perform this in under a minute, and its impact is astonishing. Importantly, you never touch the cards during the spectator’s sorting process.)

PHASE 2: “O.K. — that’s pretty cool, isn’t it? You are remarkably intuitive — you’re great to work with.” As you say this, you gather and square the cards.

“Let’s try something a little more difficult.”

You produce another playing card from your pocket, revealing it to be the Ace of Spades.

“What color is this card?”