The Card Activist by Peter Duffie

A New Collection of Card Magic 
by Peter Duffie

Hyperlinked.
Fully Illustrated 
with Photographs.

CONTENTS

Auto Hue
Two spectators each select a card from a packet. The selection procedure happens in the hands of the spectators, you have no influence over the procedure. First, the cards separate into reds and blacks. Then the selections magically appear among the cards of opposite colour. All this happens without the performer touching the cards.

Not Wrong
You offer to demonstrate your ability to cut to certain cards with great accuracy. You give the deck a couple of cuts, and reveal the Ace of Hearts face up on top of a face down quarter of the deck. This is repeated and you produce the Two of Hearts. And then again, to reveal the Three of Hearts face up on top of the third pile. So far, so good. Finally you cut the remainder of the deck, however, instead of the Four of Hearts, you produce the Ace of Spades. You appear to have failed at the final hurdle. To remedy this mistake, you now flip over the first three piles revealing the Two, Three and Four of Spades.

Stretch & Catch
A spectator freely selects a card and this is lost back into the deck. You show the Joker and insert it into the outer end of the deck, leaving it outjogged slightly. You state that the Joker is a shape-shifter and will find the chosen card. First, you pull on the Joker and it visibly stretches to twice its length. Then you say that it will now split/sever itself in half — at that, the Joker reverts to normal size. When you spread the deck the two Jokers are seen face up in the middle with one face down card between them. This proves to be the selection.

Ace Cutter
A few simple cuts produce the four Aces.

Flash Triumph
You cut a deck in two halves — turn one half over, and then Riffle Shuffle the halves together. A spectator cuts the deck, looks at the card he cut to, and leaves his card in the middle. Without any further cuts or adjustments, you pick up the deck and instantly cause all the cards to appear face up. A wide fan reveals that only one card remains face down. This is the selection.

Careless Whispers
A spectator removes any four of a kind and gives these four cards to you. They might be the Kings. Now, with the deck still in his grasp, he selects any card, ensuring that you never see its face. You hold the Kings and invite the spectator to slide his card among them. Instantly, his card becomes invisible. You hold the invisible card up and correctly name it. You offer to perform another trick using the Kings. You ask the spectator to take the main deck and cut it into two halves — one for you and one for him. You now show the red Kings and place them on top of his half, then you show the black Kings and drop them on top of your half. Immediate, you turn over your top two cards revealing that you now have his two red Kings. “If I have the red Kings … what do you have?” you ask. “The black Kings of course,” he might say. But no, on top of his half he now finds his selection, perfectly visible again!

Scopic
You remove the Joker from the deck, then a spectator selects a card and it is lost back into the deck. You say you will demonstrate the powers of the Joker. You remove three easily remembered cards, such as the Ace, Two and Three of Clubs. You add the Joker to the packet and it changes into each of the three cards, one by one. Finally, the selection is named, and the Joker reveals the card in a completely unexpected manner.

Task Force
An easy way to force a card as you spread the deck from hand to hand. 

Task Force Finders
Two cards are selected; one face up (seen) and the other face down (unseen). Taking the “seen” card, you spell its name. It might be the 2C, so you would spell: T-W-O O-F CL-U-B-S, forming a separate pile for each word. You turn over the top card of each pile to reveal three Jacks. When you turn over the face down card (unseen) it proves to the fourth Jack.

Auto Sandwich
You remove the two black Jacks and then a spectator selects any card and signs his name across its face. The signed card is cleanly placed reversed between the two Jacks. The spectator can do this if you wish. After showing/emphasizing the position of the cards, you place the three-card sandwich on the spectator’s outstretched palm. You ask the spectator if they felt anything happen? Regardless of what they say, you ask then to spread the cards and turn over the middle card. Instead of their selection, they find a card with a message written on it. You ask the spectator to read it aloud: “MY CARD IS IN YOUR POCKET.” “Really?” you utter. Then with a look of puzzlement you reach into your pocket and bring out the signed card.

Basement Jaxx
The Four Jacks are placed at the bottom of the deck. Three cards are selected and these are placed face up on top of the deck. The three selections instantly vanish and are found interlaced between the four Jacks at the bottom of the deck. 

Phantom Stab II
An invisible card (phantom card) is tossed into the deck and finishes between two previously selected cards. And, the performer hardly touches the deck throughout.

Double Agents
The four Kings are used to identify and capture images of two selected cards. Finally, you say, “Now that I know what your cards look like, I think I should be able to find them myself …” And this you do by making one selection instantly appear face up on top of the deck, while the other selection is produced from your pocket.