Monthly Update #28 (April 2025)
Read about the magic of colour perception, a hidden gem by Paul Daniels, and the Rashomon Concept.
Welcome to the 28th Monthly Update from Marty’s Magic Ruseletter, where we celebrate a truly magical milestone! In nuclear physics, 28 is one of only seven known “magic numbers” (along with 2, 8, 20, 50, 82, and 126)—these special values correspond to the number of protons or neutrons needed to fill an atom’s shell.
But the magic of 28 doesn’t stop there! In mathematics, it’s the second “perfect number” (where 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28). It’s also a triangular number (imagine building a triangle with dots: 1 dot at the top, 2 in the second row, 3 in the third... by the 7th row, you’d have exactly 28 dots in total).
Incidentally, 28 happens to be my birth date and favourite number. Coincidence? I think not! Do you believe in coincidences? I do, too!
What does this have to do with magic tricks? Well, nothing really (and I don’t honestly believe in the mystical power of numbers). However, knowing facts about various numbers can help improve your presentations, especially those for self-working tricks that utilise various mathematical curiosities to function. Although I think arithmomancy, numerology, and angel numbers are complete nonsense, these mystical ways of looking at numbers can justify all kinds of odd mathematical procedures (see my trick Pythagorean Prediction for a good example). A degree of care is required when imbuing numbers with symbolism; many people want to believe this stuff and make important life decisions based on such woo-woo and mysticism. This is similar to the unintended consequences we must consider when performing Tarot card readings for entertainment purposes. Still, I find these personal systems of faith based on numbers fascinating and a good source of inspiration for magical presentations.
Anyway, let’s move on to this month’s updates. 333 🪽 (You know, just in case I’m wrong! 😉)
Colourful Hijinks 🃏🃏🃏🃏🌈
Reading time: 9 minutes
This month, I shared a fun variation of “Jinks” by Gordon Bean, a friend and Ruseletter subscriber. “Jinks” is a fantastic packet trick using a bunch of colourful Jokers. In it, a group of standard, blue-backed Bicycle jokers suddenly bloom into glorious colour on both their backs and fronts. However, the cards that Gordon printed lend themselves to many other uses. Sadly, “Jinks” is currently unavailable. While my variation works best with one of the “Jinks” cards for the final revelation, you can use any Joker with a multicoloured back or even a purple or green-backed card instead.
The presentation includes several dad jokes, making the trick particularly suitable for young children. However, I’ve found that adults enjoy these silly jokes, too (in a so-bad-they-’re-good kind of way).
Read Packet Trick Paradise #10: Colourful Hijinks 👈
The full write-up includes the complete method, handling, and my original presentation. You’ll need to read it to understand the alternative presentation ideas I propose below.
Alternative Scientific Presentation
While the comical dad-joke presentation in the full write-up works brilliantly, I’ve been developing a more educational alternative that explores the fascinating world of colour science and the peculiar nature of colour perception. This approach adds educational value while maintaining the trick’s magical impact.
Here’s how it works: As you display the four red-backed cards, you explain that our eyes perceive red because it has the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum. This scientific framing helps justify the multiple turnovers required in the routine. When you reveal the blue cards, you mention that blue comes from much shorter wavelengths, providing a conceptual reason for the transition between colours.
For the finale, you can introduce “the purple puzzle.” This explains how our brains create purple by combining red and blue inputs, literally making it “a pigment of our imagination!”
Why is purple so perfect for magic? Unlike other colours in the rainbow, purple (or magenta) doesn’t exist as a single wavelength of light. It’s “non-spectral”—our brains invent it when stimulated by red and blue light. Ironically, while we use the word “spectral” to describe ghostly apparitions, purple is non-spectral, yet it appears as real to us as any other colour. Like a well-crafted illusion, it exists only in perception! 👻
There are other “imaginary colours”, such as “forbidden” or “impossible” colours that our visual system isn’t designed to perceive. Two fascinating examples are “reddish-green” and “bluish-yellow”, combinations our brains usually can’t process because of how our visual system works. Our colour perception relies on opponent processes—cells that respond to either red-green or blue-yellow pairs, but not both simultaneously. That’s why we never see a “greenish-red” or a “yellowish-blue” in nature. But magicians know all about exploiting the impossible! Using techniques like binocular rivalry (showing different colours to each eye) or rapidly alternating colours, scientists have managed to trick people into temporarily “seeing” these impossible colours (also known as chimerical colours). Much like how we can make spectators see something that isn’t there, our brains can be coaxed into creating colours that shouldn’t exist. Isn’t that the essence of magic—making the impossible seem momentarily possible?
The Colour of Magic
“It was octarine, the colour of magic. It was alive and glowing and vibrant and it was the undisputed pigment of the imagination, because wherever it appeared it was a sign that mere matter was a servant of the powers of the magical mind. It was enchantment itself. But Rincewind always thought it looked a sort of greenish-purple.” — Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic
These impossible colours have also captured the imagination of fiction writers. Terry Pratchett, in his Discworld novels, famously described an eighth colour of the spectrum called “octarine”—the “colour of magic” (which became the title of his first Discworld novel). Pratchett described octarine as a “fluorescent greenish-yellow-purple”, only visible to wizards and cats. It’s a perfect example of how impossible colours can add a sense of wonder and otherworldliness to magical contexts—something we’re trying to achieve in our performances too!
Since all colours are essentially created by our brains interpreting different combinations of wavelengths, this provides a perfect premise for our magic: we’re not changing the physical nature of the cards—we’re altering how the spectator’s brain perceives wavelengths. We’re manipulating the spectator’s mental image of the world!
For dramatic effect, I like to proclaim “Trānsmūtātiō Spectrālis!” (Latin for “Spectral Transmutation”) as the cards change colour. The phrase has that Harry Potter-esque quality, similar to “Wingardium Leviosa!”
When your audience examines all four cards at the end, they’ll recognise your scientific explanation was both educational and playfully tongue-in-cheek. This “plausible presentation” approach maintains the core handling of the original trick while adding intellectual depth. It strikes an excellent balance between education and entertainment.
The challenge, of course, is keeping the presentation concise. You don’t want it to feel like a lengthy physics lecture. And yes, keeping a few strategic jokes is a good idea—audiences still enjoy them, even if accompanied by good-natured groans!
Note: While “Colourful Hijinks” doesn’t involve a purple-backed Joker in the original handling, you could incorporate one for the final revelation. Just be aware that purple card backs can be difficult to distinguish from blue ones in low-light conditions (that’s why yellow is a better option in this respect).
Professor Sydney Lawrence’s Two-Card Forcing Procedure
One of the first magic books I read when I was young was Barry Murray’s Paul Daniels Adult Magic. It was one of the few magic books available at my local library.
Despite its unfortunate title, this volume serves as an excellent general-purpose manual of magic for amateur magicians wanting to perform for an adult audience. Hidden on page 144 is a gem called “Half Cut Coincidence”—a card trick that has remained among my favourites for years.
The Origin: Lawrence’s Forcing Procedure
Even though I learned this trick as a teenager, I only recently discovered the origin of the concept behind the effect. While Paul Daniels popularised it, Professor Sydney Lawrence created the underlying principle, publishing it as “Controlled Thoughts” in his self-published manuscript Ten Self Working Master Miracles (circa 1954).
Lawrence’s ingenious method is deceptively simple: two spectators each cut off packets from a deck and secretly count how many cards they have. After combining the packets, you show the cards individually, asking each spectator to remember the card that falls at their secret number. The mathematical principle ensures that both spectators recall the same card without realising it.
The Smith Myth and The Rashomon Concept
This forcing procedure became the foundation for Fred Smith’s “The Smith Myth”, published in The Five O Fetsch: A Quintette of Card Miracles in 1956, a collaborative effort with Hen Fetsch. Smith extended Lawrence’s procedure with an additional phase in which two seemingly different cards magically match positions when the deck is divided, despite being freely shuffled.
Phil Goldstein (Max Maven) and Jon Racherbaumer later termed this the Rashomon Concept (inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon). This is when two or more participants experience the same event but interpret it differently based on their limited perspective. Or, as Goldstein described it, the Rashomon Concept is a principle of ambiguity of informational distribution! The illusion that the two spectators chose different cards is preserved as long as they do not compare notes afterwards.
“The Smith Myth” has become a significant milestone in mathematical card magic, spawning numerous variations by luminaries like Ed Marlo (“Smyth Bliss”), Dave Solomon (“Smith Without the Myth”), and Thomas Baxter (“SmythLed”).
In “Half Cut Coincidence”, Lawrence’s principle is cleverly disguised through the subtle use of the Rashomon Concept. The routine uses 17 halved cards. It creates the illusion that two spectators freely select the matching halves of the same card when, in reality, they both see the same half-card.
Split Decision Card Prediction
I recently stumbled upon a clever variation that adds a prediction element to Paul Daniel’s trick. However, it employs five whole cards instead of 17. The exact number of cards used is not crucial. That said, I prefer to use more than 10 half-cards, as Paul Daniels suggests in Adult Magic. A sensible choice is 13 whole cards, resulting in 26 half-cards. This minimises counting and dealing while providing the two participants enough cards for a thorough shuffle.
A memorable way to perform the trick is to use all the Hearts from an old deck and tell my two participants it is a “compatibility test”; it’s a fantastic romantic trick for couples or newlyweds. 💞
You can learn “Split Decision Card Prediction” for free from Trickshop.com. I’ve attached the PDF instructions below:
Sixpence Ceremony
Playing with “Half Cut Coincidence” prompted me to return to another card trick using half-cards. In my latest Ruseletter column, Easy Does It #4: Sixpence Ceremony, I explore how to breathe new life into Larry Becker’s classic self-working card trick “Will the Cards Match?” by combining it with coin magic and weaving in the rich folklore of the British sixpence. This silver coin, steeped in centuries of tradition, has been used in wedding ceremonies, Christmas pudding rituals, fortune-telling, and even witch-hunting!
My “Sixpence Ceremony” presentation draws primarily from the British wedding tradition of placing a silver sixpence in the bride’s left shoe for good luck and prosperity. 👰🏻👠🪙 It connects the mathematical card matching effect to Hofzinser’s “Royal Marriages” plot. The routine uses ten cards (cut in half to create five matching pairs) and several sixpence coins, creating a multifaceted performance that combines card and coin magic while engaging audiences with compelling cultural references and romantic symbolism.
I’ve also written a longer blog article on the trick that digs deeper into the folklore surrounding the silver sixpence coin. If you’re interested in superstitions and folklore, I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading it.
I first encountered “Will the Cards Match?” and the principle behind it (the Ramasee Principle by Howard Adams) in a Marvin’s Magic collection of packet tricks. The version in the set I owned, which came in a very cool draw box resembling a magician’s sleeve, was called “United Nations of Magic” and used five half-cards with flags printed on them. Instead of using the usual phrase “Will the cards match?”, the presentation used “Will the flags unite?”, which I’ve always thought was a good alternative. Note: If you want to perform this version, which is more memorable than performing the trick with regular playing cards, it is still available as part of Marvin’s Magic Fifty Greatest Card Tricks set.
I believe I acquired this kit in the mid-1990s, but I can only find information online about a 2002 version, so perhaps I’m misremembering (or there was an earlier version of the same set). The set was called “Party & Parlour Magic Tricks: Classic Card Tricks (Act Four)”—I’d love to get another copy of this kit for nostalgic reasons. There were four kits in total. I had one on Money Magic (Act Three) and one on Escapology (Act Two, I think). I’m not entirely sure what was in the fourth one.
Three Videos Worth Watching
And once again, here are three more videos worth watching.
Iain Bailey’s Trick Clinic
In this video, professional magician Iain Bailey revisits a magic product from the past in an attempt to update it for modern times. In this episode, he takes another look at Jay Sankey’s “Magus Capsule” and finds a prop to replace the metal pill-shaped tube included with the original DVD.
This is a fantastic idea for a series of videos; I hope Iain continues to produce them. I enjoy revisiting old magic tricks to see if they can be revitalised (that’s one of the reasons I love old magic manuscripts, magazines, and periodicals).
If you’re interested in finding a cylindrical gift box like the one Iain uses in the video, these boxes are sometimes known as a “Butt Jointed Tube Box” or a “Shoulder Tube”. They consist of three parts: an inner tube, called a spigot or shoulder, the body, and the lid. When assembled, the tube has a flush finish. These paper containers often store pencils, loose tea leaves, or coffee. I’ve also seen them used as packaging for deodorant, cosmetics, and essential oil bottles. Search for “paperboard kraft tubes”.
What’s great about this prop is that, unlike a metal chop cup, it’s inexpensive, allowing you to buy several and modify them in different ways. They also come in various sizes. You could place a sticker on one to make it appear as if you’re recycling packaging for some speciality tea leaves (or cosmetics). Or use an empty cardboard tea caddy after enjoying the contents. Then, perform a one-cup routine with the tube and a teabag, switching it for one filled with loose tea leaves as a final load.
If I remember correctly, the metal “magus capsule” that Jay Sankey sold was “chopped”. Since these containers are made of cardboard, adding a magnet to the lid would be relatively easy. I’ve often thought about performing a Cups and Balls routine with a tea theme (I’m British after all), and this prop would provide me with an interesting and practical tool to use in such a routine.
5 Easy Forces with Jay Sankey
I recently searched for various methods to force a card and found this video by Jay Sankey. It teaches five fairly easy yet distinctly different forcing procedures.
Sankey’s relaxed handling of the cards is delightful to watch. His execution of Frank Garcia’s Topper move is superb. This is a good place to begin if you’re looking for alternative ways to force a playing card.
7 Ways to Use a Blank Card with Biz
Here’s another excellent tutorial video from Biz (Elisav Bizau) and Big Blind Media. I’ve always liked effects that use blank-faced playing cards. In this video, you’ll learn seven interesting ways to perform card tricks using one or more blank cards.
I think Biz is doing a fine job creating learning content for the BBM YouTube channel. However, I do wish his crediting was better. In this video, he’s teaching a minor variation of Nick Trost’s “Eight Card Brainwave” and doesn’t even mention Nick. Come on, Biz, you can do better than that!
That’s your lot for another month. I hope to have more tricks written by the end of May and publish some more reviews on Marty’s Bag of Tricks.
Yours Magically,
Marty