Paul Curry invented this effect when he was just 25 years old. It is one of the most well known and probably most often performed card effects today. A classic through and through. An incredibly strong effect paired with a most simple method. You can't find much better card tricks.
The effect as Curry describes it:
The performer shuffles a pack of cards and starts to deal them into two piles - the red cards in one pile, the blacks in the other. After a few cards have been dealt into each pile the deal is stopped and the performer explains that were he to continue to deal in this manner it would merely be a question of time until all the red and black cards in the pack were segregated. The cards just dealt, with the exception of two, one red and one black, which are left face up on the table at some distance from each other, are shuffled back into the pack.
Handing the deck to a spectator the performer instructs him to deal the cards into red and black piles, as demonstrated, but to do so with the cards FACE DOWN - WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE FACE OF A SINGLE CARD! "Since, under those conditions, you won't know the red cards from the blacks" he continues, "You will have to guess at the colors. On this card" he explains, pointing at the face up red card on the table, "You are to deal all those cards you believe to be red - while on the black card you are to deal those cards you think are black". The only stipulation the performer makes is that the cards be dealt singly.
After about half the cards have been dealt in this manner by the spectator the performer stops the deal and places a red card face up on the supposedly black pile and a black card face up on the red pile. The performer explains that to prove conclusively that the spec¬tator is being unconsciously controlled the deal will now be guided by the two new face up cards. In other words the spectator will now deal those cards he believes to be red onto the pile previously reserved for the cards he believed to be black - while the cards he believes to be black will be dealt onto the "red" pile. The spectator shuffles the cards yet to be dealt and completes the deal.
We don't believe we are exaggerating when we say that up to this point the spectators will be skeptical as to the outcome of this rather fantastic undertaking. The surprise then, when the two halves are dealt thru to disclose that the spectator has actually separated the two colors, is astounding to say the least! For each of the two face up "guide" cards in each half is found to have above it a group of cards of the corresponding color!!
Curry includes several wonderful touches in the presentation - convincers which will make the effect look impossible. If you don't know Curry's original description here is your opportunity to learn how Curry intended this miracle to be performed.
Paul Fleming wrote:
This is the fifth printing of a five-page pamphlet, size 8 1/2 by 11 inches, reproduced by the offset process from typewritten copy. It explains a single card trick, entitled Out of This World, which has enjoyed immense popularity among magicians ever since its introduction in 1942.
Described briefly, the trick consists of having a spectator deal all the cards from a shuffled pack, face down, on top of either a red or a black card (which serve as "guides"), without looking at the face of any card! "Since, under these conditions, you will not know the red cards from the black," says the performer, "you will have to guess at the colors! On this card," he explains, pointing to the face-up red card on the table, "you are to deal all the cards you believe to be red, and on this black card you are to deal the cards you think are black." When about half the cards have been thus dealt, the performer suggests that the spectator shuffle the rest of the deck, and thereafter deal on what has hitherto been the "black" pile the cards he believes to be red, and on the "red" pile the ones he supposes to be black. When all have been dealt, it is demonstrated conclusively that the spectator has actually succeeded in separating the red cards from the black.
This matter-of-fact description gives but little idea of the extraordinary effect produced by this straightforward little trick. It has the simplicity of plot that is a characteristic of most great feats of magic, and is apparently wholly beyond any possibility of control by the performer; and yet the astounding result, as outlined above, is attained with speed and certainty. We have seen expert magicians completely flabbergasted by this seemingly inexplicable trick. The secret, though simple, is exceedingly well concealed; and the trick does not require any special skill on the part of the performer.
Out of This World is a feat for which almost every magician, at some time or other, should find good use. We recommend it enthusiastically, especially in this fifth printing which includes variations and improvements by Milbourne Christopher Ralph Read, Sam Horowitz, and others.
1st edition 1942; original 3 pages.
word count: 2093 which is equivalent to 8 standard pages of text
