Introducing the Svengali Fooler by Devin Knight

Experience a groundbreaking effect from Devin Knight’s latest East Coast lecture tour. This illusion utilizes a specially gimmicked Svengali deck in a way that will astound fellow magicians. To perform this trick, you will need to own or purchase a Svengali Deck and prepare it accordingly. Bring this to your next magic club meeting and leave everyone puzzled!

EFFECT: The magician presents a deck of cards and shuffles them. A spectator is invited to stop the performer at any point as cards are dealt face down. There are no limitations on when they can stop. Once they say “stop,” the performer reveals the card at that position to both the spectator and the audience, ensuring he does not look at it. This allows everyone to see the color of the card. The card is then returned to the deck, which is shuffled and cut, truly losing the card within the deck.

Next, the performer asks another spectator who witnessed the card to think of any card of the opposite color without revealing it. For instance, if the first card was a black card like the 5 of Clubs, the spectator should think of any red card.

The performer spreads the deck while the spectator visualizes their chosen card. Without any fishing or leading questions, he confidently selects a card and places it face down on the table, claiming it to be the thought-of card.

He then instructs the first spectator to concentrate on their card. The performer asserts that he will attempt to position the thought-of card next to the selected card. He takes the card he believes to be the thought-of one, inserts it into the deck, and squares the cards.

For the first time, he asks the spectator to name their card aloud. As he spreads through the deck (without any culling or sleights), the thought-of card and the spectator’s card are revealed together.

The performer turns the thought-of card around, concealing the other card behind it. He asks the spectator to state the card they viewed, and as the two cards are displayed, it is clear that the card behind the thought-of card is indeed the spectator’s selection. The performer has successfully placed a card merely thought of beside a chosen card, creating an illusion of genuine mind reading!

This is one of the most astonishing mental card tricks you will ever encounter, performed without any sleights, culls, or controls. It truly resembles real mind reading.

1st edition 2017, 5 pages.