Cards in Principle by Peter Duffie (PDF Download)

Twenty-one card tricks by one of the most creative card man alive.

1st edition, 1994.

AUTO - SPLIT: A mysterious double card revelation, where a spectator manages to separate the colours of the cards with the exception of two selections. Interestingly, you never touch the cards!

THE SUABIAN TWIST: There have been several combinations of Dai Vernon's 'Twisting the Aces' and 'The Hofzinser Ace Problem' over the years. If the following version has any merit, it is the simple means by which the one at a time reversal is accomplished.

AURA BEST: This is a fairly puzzling routine based on Paul Curry's 'The Whispering Joker'. In this version there are no cards out of the deck before you start.

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY: This effect was inspired by Simon Dixon's 'Paradox Aces' which appeared in Abacus, V61.2 N6.11, which in turn was based on Martin Gardner's 'Paradox Papers' (Pallbearers Review, page 429).

THE PallaD PRINCIPLE: A strange series of transpositions occur as a spectator deals a packet of cards. Once set in motion, the principle employed is both automatic, and perpetual. The idea of using a third packet as a leader was suggested to me by Roy Walton.

WALTON'S "WARM-UP": Here is a further idea from Roy Walton which turns the previous principle into a commercial routine, and adds an excellent climax.

THE DEMONIQUE DEAL: A staggered (not staggering) version of the classic Daley(?) Mental Poker effect. Four people should be seated at the table.

THE DIARY OF EXPECTATION: Inspired by Ted Danson's 'It's a Date,' the following simple rendition of the classic diary prediction uses one diary and one regular deck. The principle used is the well known 14/15 stack.

SOLID GOLDE - EASY ACTION: The following is a variation of Roger Golde's "The Favorites" which appeared in V61.17, No.2 of Apocalypse. The principle used was devised by Bob Hummer.

SUBCONSCIOUS POKER FOR TWO: The following is a variation of Joseph K. Schmidt's "Subconscious Poker Il" which first appeared in Pallbearer's Review, and subsequently in his excellent book, Modern Close-up Card Problems.

QUANTITY SURVEYOR: The following came about while playing with a reverse stack principle belonging to Howard Adams. However, only the actions of the Adams idea remain as the principle now used is much older. I'll leave the presentation to the individual.

PET SYMMETRY: Here is a handling of the Hamilton/Finnell Free Cut Principle in which the relevant sections are never placed back together again once the selections have been made and the cut off portions dropped on the opposite piles.

IDEAL HOLMES: The effect of the following was inspired by Steve Hamilton's 'Thinking Out Loud' (see The Crimp, No.10, and Roger's Thesaurus, by Roger Crosthwaite and Justin Higham). However, the principle employed stems from an observation made by Tom Sellers' in "A Trick with the Si Stebbins Pack" in Card Tricks That Work.

ALL SQUARE FORECAST: Stewart James seems to be among the first to realize the true potential of the magic square when applied to individual cards rather than simply having figures on a grid. While the following adaptation of the idea requires duplicates, it does render a very strong double prediction for the formal occasion.

DITTO: This magi-comedy mental item is based on Phil Goldstein's 'Preoction' from his 1985 Madrid lecture notes. It also bears some resemblance to 'Potty Prediction' and other like effects. A little initial preparation is required but if you are a performer then I think you will consider that part trivial.

NUMB .... ers: A George Sands/Shigeo Futagawa principle is combined with that of the magic square matrix to arrive at a insoluble number prediction. Interested readers may wish to compare this with "A Sense of Freedom" that appeared in my manuscript Ulterior Motifs.

THOTOVER: This effect originally appeared in Abacus V61.2 No.6. It is basically a transposition of a very simple construction. Since its publication I found a related idea by Tom Sellers in his booklet Card Tricks that Work. This one works too.

EIGHTSUM: The following item is based on Lewis Jones' 'Happenstance' which appeared in issue Number 5 (May 1994) of Apocalypse.

WALTZ WITH THE DEVIL: This is a more logical presentation for 'Dance with the Devil' which I published in the final issue 18 of Profile. The principle used is Karl Fulves' "Self-Correcting Set-Up" (Epilogue, issue 3, July 1968.) In my original presentation, the number fourteen was used instead of the preferred thirteen. This has now been rectified.

SURE THING: The following prediction was partly inspired by Alex Elmsley's "Mexican Prediction" which appeared in The Collected Works, Vol.II. However, the method here uses the standard one ahead to achieve its goal.

A BRAINSTORM IN GLASGOW: This started off rather basic with the two Jokers trapping a quantity of cards equal to the value of the face card of a freely cut packet, using the natural properties of the Down/Under Deal. I would like to thank George McBride for adding the suit divination, and Roy Walton for making the removal of the selection from the packet possible. Now it's a good trick!