New magic tricksMagic booksMentalism
Browse magic
MasterclassVI ExclusivesBlogPodcastPerformance style
Props & accessories
Product type
New to magic?
Easy mentalism and mind reading tricks are some of the best magic tricks for beginners. While we love card tricks and magic tricks, we have always been fascinated by the art of mentalism. What better way to get started with mentaloism than with some free tricks that are really easy to do?
The ability to see into the future, also known as precognition, is an essential tool the arsenal of any mentalist. Despite how impossible it looks, it’s actually super easy to learn to predict the future. You can learn this easy mentalism trick in minutes and use it to amaze friends and family.
You don’t need superhuman powers to unlock the secret to predicting the future. Instead, you just have to know how to secretly guide your volunteer toward a specific outcome without them knowing. This is called a “force” and there are so many ways to do it.
Today, we learn one of our favorites. It’s called the PATEO Force and it’s one of the best forces in magic for beginners. Essentially, it allows you to perfectly predict the outcome of a game you’ll be playing with your volunteer.
To start, you’ll need to gather up 7 different objects (you can even let the audience help you). Cell phones, wallets, scissors, house plants…anything that can fit on the table. You could even use different color crayons, or various flavors of candies or sodas. Secretly write down one of these objects without anyone seeing, fold the paper and place it on the table (or text it to a friend and tell them not to look at their phone until the end of the trick).
Lay the items on the table, choose a volunteer and explain how you’re both about to go back and forth eliminating items. You start by pointing to two of the objects and allowing them to eliminate one. That item is moved to the side and the roles are reversed. They choose two and you eliminate one. Keep alternating until just one object is left, which impossibly matches your prediction.
The secret to the PATEO Force is that you’re always secretly in control of what item ends up being the last on the table. PATEO actually means “pick any two, eliminate one.” To make this work, all you need to do is make sure you never point to your predicted object when offering up your choices for elimination. If your volunteer offers you the predicted object as a choice for elimination, just make sure to choose the other object.
As long as you choose the first two objects for elimination, you’ll always end up being the “eliminator” on the final turn. This means you’ll always be able to guarantee that the predicted object is last on the table.
This is the best mentalism trick for beginners because it’s so easy to do. In fact, many professional magicians and mentalists still perform it regularly. But, you also have to remember that the secret is just one small part of the equation. How you present this easy mentalism trick is equally important.
To really sell this amazing magic trick, you’ll need to pretend like your focused hard on your choices. Don’t immediately eliminate items as if you know what’s going to happen. You have to act like everything is happening for the first time and you’re reacting in the moment. This is especially true on the last choice when you’re the one determining which item will be the last on the table.
After the final choice is made, you’ll want to recap everything before reading your prediction. Remind the audience that 7 random objects were chosen. Your volunteer had completely free choices of any object and the game was totally fair. You are left with just one object and your prediction has been on the table since the start. This 30-second recap not only helps build up dramatic tension, but also makes it more likely that the audience will forget you even made the last choice.
Want to learn how to read minds? Here is an easy mind reading trick that can be done anywhere. Try it on yourself as you read through.
Have everyone around you think of a number between 1 and 10 in their head (remind them not to say anything out loud). Ask them to multiply it by 9. If the result is a 2 digit number (like 63), they add those two digits together to create a totally new number (6+3=9).
Instruct them to subtract 5 from this number (9-5=4) and then take whatever number they get and think of the letter associated with it. For example, “1” is “A”, “2” is “B”, “3” is “C”, and so on.
Once they’ve confirmed they have a letter, tell them to quickly think of a country that starts with that letter. They should then think of the second letter in that country and think of an animal that starts with that letter. Tell them to create a really vivid image of this animal in their head, including its color.
Despite the fact that nobody has said anything out loud, you somehow can read their minds and know they’re all thinking of a Gray Elephant in Denmark.
The secret to the classic Gray Elephant in Denmark mind reading tricks combines a bit of math magic with human psychology.
Even though everyone may start with a different number, they’ll always end up with the number “4” due to some fun mathematical concepts. This mean everyone also winds up on the letter “D”.
This fun mentalism trick relies on the very high probability that most people will think of “Denmark.” The second letter of this country is “E”, which will also result in most people thinking of “elephant”.
Of course, all elephants are also gray. But, you’d be surprised at how many people give you credit for also correctly guessing the color (grey) that they “thought of.” These free “wins” will pop up occasionally during your mentalism journey. Soak them up!
The Gray Elephant in Denmark is one of the best ways to read minds at any dinner party, birthday party, bar or social gathering. When possible, it is best to perform this for a group of people instead of one person. So, if someone thinks of something different, you’ll still be right with a majority of the group. Some mentallists actually prefer to get an occasional “miss” since it makes them seem more believable and human than fake psychics like the Long Island Medium or John Edward.
The best way to increase your success rate though is to keep the trick moving at a steady pace. Don’t give people too much time to overthink or change their mind.
If you like this mentalism trick, make sure to also check out the Red Hammer and Triangle Inside Circle tricks that use similar concepts. You can learn them in this guide on how to do easy mentalism tricks.
Don’t let the simplicity fool you either. These classic mentalism tricks are classics for a reason. Even psychic detective Patrick Jane performed it on the hit tv show The Mentalist. (p.s. find out if the TV show The Mentalist is real.)
This easy mind reading trick is an impossible prediction that can be learned in seconds. It’s what magicians and mentalists call “self-working”. Essentially, all the hard work is taken care of for you as long as you just follow the simple steps.
It uses a ton of incredible mathematics to work, but you don’t need to understand any of them to perform it. Just follow along and try this amazing mentalism trick on yourself.
Tell someone to think of a 3 digit number in their head. To ensure it’s a unique and tough number, tell them that every digit should be different (e.g. 375). Then, telll them to reverse the number in their head (e.g. 375 would become 573).
Now have them open the calculator on their phone and subtract whichever number is smaller from the bigger number. This will give them a new number (573-375=198). Nothing should be said out loud yet.
Tell them to reverse this new number (198 becomes 891) and add the two numbers together. Despite the fact that they never said anything out loud from the start, you somehow know they got the number “1089.”
That’s because, as long as they start with a 3 digit number with 3 distinct digits, the trick will always work. There are so many different number combinations, that this seems impossible. But, try it for yourself. It’s true. As long as you follow the instructions above, it will always work!
The only thing you’ll ever have to worry about is the fact that, due to how the math works, there is a small possibility someone may end up with the number “99” after subtracting the smaller number from the bigger number in the second phase. Because of this, you will want to say this after they subtract:
“If you ended up with a 2 digit number, that’s completely fine.
But, to ensure this is a truly difficult and incredible mind reading experiment,
we’ll want to use 3 digit numbers. So, if you have a 2 digit number, just add a 0 in front.”
This gives them 099 which, when reversed in the next step becomes 990. Add 099 and 990 together and you get 1089!
The 1089 Trick is one of the most popular mentalism tricks in the world. Professional magicians and mentalists like the 1089 Trick is because it can be done anywhere and presented in so many ways. You can use it as a mind reading trick or prediction. Some mentalists have even gone as far as getting “1089” tattoos to use as their prediction.
Go out and try these easy mind reading and prediction tricks on your friends and family. We know you’ll love them as much as we do.
When you’re ready to take the next step in your journey, we’re here to help. Brush up on your history of mentalism, read the best mentalism books for beginners or check out all the mentalism tricks available to buy in our magic store.
If you ever have any questions, feel free to contact us!
Stream downloads instantly, or join Masterclass.
Stream downloads instantly, or join Masterclass.