Hidden Agenda | Cold Deck & Key Card Placement

From Hidden Agenda, April 16th

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Cold Deck and Key Card Placement May 9th

This uses the dynamics of Dai Vernon’s Cold-deck Cut (Card College Volume 2, p. 389) to force a card or to use the force card as a key card, in case the force fails.

You know the bottom card and keep it on the bottom in the course of a few false shuffles and false cut. Alternatively you can let the spectator shuffle and cut the cards, and then replace a held out known card, or glimpse the bottom card as you get the deck back.

Do the first movement of the Cold-deck Cut. Move the right hand forward, drop the lower packet and then drop the third packet diagonally in front of it. You have three packets on the table with the force card on the bottom of the middle one. Have the spectator choose one of the packets.

If he chooses the center one, simply pick it up and show him the bottom card as you turn your head away. Place the force card aside, or deliberately reassemble the deck, leaving the selected packet in the middle, and hand out everything for shuffling.

If he chooses one of the other two packets, ask him to pick it up, shuffle it and then look at the top card. Tell him to drop the central packet on top to bury his card; this will bring your key card directly over the selection. Finally, have him complete the deck anyway he likes, and then give the deck several straight cuts.

All entries from this series come from Roberto Giobbi's Hidden Agenda book.