Gerard Zitta

Just a gag! But with all those which hand tricks, it's a change. It can be an opener or a closer to a more serious which hand routine, or in case somebody asks you to redo a which hand trick, or if somebody is giving you a hard time with methods that are not 100% safe.

Effect:

You ask a spectator to put a small ball in any hand while your back is turned, and then, to put their hands on each side of your head, behind your back. You will guess in which hand they hold the ball.

• Very direct
• No question asked
• You see nothing, You can be blind-folded
• 100% hands off
• No accomplice
• You...

Get ready for Halloween (and all year long)! With this little creature and story, you will scare people to death as it will look realistic and credible. It is based on a true story. You will have to buy a little gimmick (around 1$).

1st edition 2015.

This is a funny little trick and a very simple plot. You can carry it in your wallet and always be ready, anytime, anywhere, or you prepare it in larger format, and perform it for larger audiences.

Effect:

You show an image of three ladies. The spectator selects one of them, and it was predicted on the back. It is also a funny visual gag. Very entertaining, simple, direct, easy to do, instant reset, and practical.

1st edition 2015.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes daughters and mothers look similar, not only because of genes, but also the way they dress, their hair style or colour, their glasses, etc. Same thing with pets, especially dogs. Sometimes, they really look like their owner.

In this ebook, you will find some ressources to use this idea in packet tricks, using images instead of playing cards. The impact on your audience will be much bigger and entertaining.

Example of effect:

You show a bunch of photos in one pile, and you show another pile face down, without showing the photos. "There is a sosie...

This is one of my favorite routines with fingers.

Effect:

"Please tell us a color." The freely named color is written on a single business card (or somewhere else). "Interesting... I bet I can influence you now to choose a certain finger for instance." You take a bill from your wallet. (The participant can bet as well.) You show your hand (or you draw a hand on the business card or another one): "Please point to any finger." The spectator freely points to a finger, and of course, this is the one you wanted her to select.

• It is that direct: They announce their choice, and you conclude....

The "Bill trick", "Fred trick" or "Phil trick" (Paul Marcus, Fred Lowe, Trevor Duffy, Phil Goldstein,...) is so strong and funny, that it can be a closer, or even a standalone trick if you want to impress somebody, or get some booking.

For those who do not know it, here is a summary of the effect: A deck of cards is placed on the table. A spectator is asked to merely think of any card. The performer says: "The name of your card is Phil!". The deck is shown to have different names printed on the back of every card, and the named card is found to have the name Phil printed on the back!

This...

This is a different approach to the Zodiac sign topic, with somebody you have never met before. It is not a sign divination. It looks like an improvised and casual prediction of a complete stranger's Zodiac sign.

What the audience sees, or will remember:

You show them a business card with all the Zodiac signs on it. You ask a participant to name their sign, and on the back of the card, his or her sign was already drawn.

You will need a one-time preparation with index cards and a jacket, (or a wallet) to carry it. It does not require pre-show work, pocket writing or dual-reality.

...

This is a hands-off and impromptu card effect.

This effect should be presented as a mental experience rather than a card trick. The patter could be around complementarity or duality. You can talk about Yin and Yang, Black and White, Heads and Tails, Male and Female, etc. At the end of your introduction, you explain that in a deck of cards, this is represented by the two colors RED and BLACK.

A Spectator shuffles the cards and cuts it in two piles. He thinks of a color RED or BLACK and counts secretly how many cards of this color are in his pile (for example 7), while your back is turned....

Although it does not meet all the criteria of a 'perfect ACAAN', this method still has many advantages:

• 100% impromptu and examinable
• deck is normal - it can be borrowed and shuffled by the participant
• ideal for close up and table hopping
• Very direct
• Very practical in live performance
• Strong impact on the audience
• Very simple to perform (from beginner to advanced but requires sleight-of-hand)
• Can be done with different sleights for the card control and for the counting. This allows you to repeat the effect.

• it is actually an 'Any Selected Card At Any Number', or what...

Three unusual gimmicks for PK mysteries.

MELTING SPOON

This is Gerard's take on the classic bending spoon effect, but just between two fingers: the spoon visually melts. You will need to buy something you won't find in magic stores. (It will cost you just a few dollars.)

UNIVERSAL DETECTOR

A borrowed beer mat is torn and folded in half by a spectator. The performer writes "ALCOHOL BREATH ANALYZER" on it. The beer mat will bend when approaching a pint of beer or a glass of wine but not with a glass of water for instance! Very versatile method that can be very useful and bring something...

A practical and easy two-way out system.

Janus V3 is a very simple and practical two-way out system. It is impromptu and everything is examinable before and after. It allows you to leave your business card.

To describe it, we can compare it to another system by Scott Guinn called Assertive positive/negative.

• The reader must also know another principle by Max Maven (in Videomind Volume 2) but the method and presentation are completely different.
• It also uses business cards (or jumbo cardboard cards).
• It can be done anytime with no setup. It is impromptu if you have a 'little something' with you (It is not a gimmick, it...

This clever mathematical principle allows you to find a thought item among any number of items, even though you do not know the initial order. You don't even need to know what they are. You see nothing. It is entirely hands off and improvised, and can even be done over the phone. It works with any number of flat objects (cards, index or business cards, coasters, etc.) or usual objects (key, coin, lighter, pen, etc.).

Two practical examples are provided, but it is so easy that you'll be able to improvise your own mentalism effects with borrowed objects or cards, or with your own business...

A classic mathematical principle with two piles.

This is an old mathematical principle used in many card effects. Most of the effects were done with 52 cards. But the principle works with any number of cards (or business cards). This manual explains the principle in detail and generalizes the principle. It allows you to predict the last card that will be left after dealing two piles and eliminating the same pile every time. After reading this ebook, you will be able to use any number of cards. The original pile can be any size, the discarded pile can be chosen, and the final card can be...

The Monty Hall problem is a famous one in probability. It is based on a TV game from the USA called "Let's make a deal" (1963). It is named after the original host of this show. Inspired by this game, here is an original effect and a great plot for stage, parlour or close up. This unpublished method is easy to do and costs nothing. There is no maths or memorization or difficulty of any sort. It does require some one-time preparation, but just with some index cards, a sheet of paper (for the list of prizes), and a normal pen, nothing else. It can be adapted to your style, venue, weddings, birthday...

[Note: This effect was already part of Mentalism games.

Effect: A spectator names any card, and you immediately produce it from your pocket.

Or: You write two cards on two business cards, put one in each pocket, and the spectator has to guess at least one of them. (It can be repeated right away if you want).

The method is 100% surefire and practical. There is no math, no probabilities, a little bit of memorization, but it is almost "intuitive". It is not difficult but needs a bit of rehearsal at the beginning, like for everything. It looks casual, completely impromptu, or even improvised, but you will have to do a onetime preparation with...

This powerful utility will transcend a simple magic effect, or allow you to innocently bring something mental, emotional, strange, during a normal conversation, or an act.

• It seems to bring a plausible explanation to people's choices.
• It will provide misdirection or a logical disconnect, or another layer of deception.
• It will prepare your audience for a bigger "surprise".

[Note: This effect was already part of Mentalism Games.]

From the audience point of view, this effect will look completely improvised as you present it with nothing. Just their fingers and yours. It really blows people's minds (laymen and magicians alike).

Finger burn: Ask a spectator to show you any finger; and put it over a candlelight or an invisible lighter. Your same finger will carry a blister even though your hands were apparently in full view all the time.

Voodoo finger: A variation to give away your business card.

1st edition 2015, 13 pages.

This is a useful effect for those who don't like tricks with smart phones, computers, etc. or if you perform for an audience who doesn't like them either. But it works very well also for computer addicts.

Effect:

You place a prediction in a glass or in full view. You write a list of activities (For instance: Reading, Play Music, Work, etc.). The participant chooses one of them (There is absolutely no force).

And now the "crescendo":

• You show your prediction and it was right (this one is an optional gag, or pretext for getting your audience involved).
• On the pen there was another...

This effect is a variation of an effect called ACAT (Any Card At Any Time), extracted from CLUE ebook. It can be presented with playing cards, or special cards (like the Vernet PSImbol deck, or movies (like Directors's cut or Screen test), French postcards, etc.), or just with blank index cards or your own business cards (with drawings, symbols, words, numbers, etc. on the back). It is not a card trick, but rather a mystery or paradox.

It is hands-off, automatic, self-working, can be done over the phone or sight unseen, stand up, close up or stage (with jumbo cards). It is easy, practical, and...

An improvised month divination

Month ID is an original method to secretly gain knowledge of a stranger's month of birth. (Actually, any information among twelve possibilities...) It can be done independently, anytime, anywhere, without any preparation at all, or props.

Basic Effect:

You ask a person you just met: "Do you know your zodiac digit? It is a digit between 0 and 9 that is influenced by the season, the climate, the month of birth and other factors. Here is how to calculate your ZODIAC DIGIT: Think of your birth month and do the following ... " (Very simple, just a couple of...

Here is another close-up (or parlor) version of the Monty Hall problem. It can be a standalone effect, or a premise, or a follow-up to other versions ( "V1" , "V2" , "V3", "Transaction" ), again with a completely different method. It helps to demonstrate that a player should always switch, but in a very baffling way. In the first phase, you show that the spectator should switch the two doors in order to win. But in a second identical phase, they will always loose.

• Not a "puzzle", no logic involved. (Actually, a real mystery that looks completely illogical, mind-blowing and disturbing.) ...

A simple chair test.

A very simple and practical chair test with three participants.

• It can be performed close-up, at a restaurant or dinner table, a bar, etc., or even on stage or TV
• Impromptu
• Easy reset
• OK for strolling too

[The basic effect is included in Pocket Mysteries, and in Cool Hot Pocket Mysteries.

Watch Max Maven perform a very similar effect. (Max Maven never published his method thus his method could be different how Gerard does it.):

1st edition 2016, 17 pages....

"I think your routine is very good. I may use it a couple times myself." - Brian T. Lees (a.k.a. Topper)

Effect:

You produce a deck of cards and hand it to a spectator. (You will not touch it or see it any more). The spectator shuffles the deck, selects a card, folds it and puts a rubber band or a paper clip tight around it. Despite these lab conditions, you try to guess their card! And believe it or not, you will always succeed. Their card can be given back as a souvenir. It does...

Some nice easy effects based on a rather recent force that is already widely known among mentalists. Some new ideas, some old ones probably, but most importantly, some new ideas for predictions and presentations, that make sense (and can be used for other forces).

CONTENTS

• The FULL FORCE and HALF FORCE
• Properties
• Effects:
  • "Elephant": A spectator as mind reader plot.
  • "Influencing images": An influence plot.
  • "1 Chance in 1000": A prediction plot.
  • "Confabulation": A confabulation plot "à la Schroedinger".
  • "1 Chance in thousands": Another prediction plot.
  • "Unlock my phone, please!":...

This effect is a variant of the Card at Any Number plot, but with a full routine and a very commercial and entertaining presentation, with gags, a prediction, or divination, with a puzzling final surprise revelation, and more potential. It can be adapted for any events like Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Halloween, weddings, carnival, birthdays, conventions, etc.

It needs a one-time preparation that you can keep in your wallet or jacket, and can be used as an opener or a closer, for strolling, close up, parlor or stage.

1st edition 2017, 15 pages.

This ebook is an exploration of a clever principle rarely used by mentalists or magicians, and probably known by just a few. It can use four to a dozen of flat objects (that can be borrowed): cards, jumbo cards, business cards, index cards, coasters, postcards, banknotes, photographs, billets, lottery tickets, coupons, poker chips, etc.

Effect (Example)

You can have your back turned:

You show a number of postcards, for instance, with different cities or countries. The spectator mixes them and puts the one she prefers, on the table. Then, she is instructed to put the other ones on top...

"Hidden": A secret hidden in most decks of cards. You already have it. It can be used for magic or mentalism effects as it will add something "bizarre" or intriguing to your card tricks. Or as a double kicker. YOu will use it in your existing routines or invent new ones. Guaranteed. A typical example is "The Fine Print" by Jay Sankey. The difference is that you can do it impromptu, without buying a gimmick, and with some touch of mentalism.

"You remove a playing card from a deck of cards and leave it face down on the table as a prediction. A spectator then selects a card from the deck, but...

Have you ever played "Which hand" with somebody, and they hid the coin behind their back? Here is a way to overcome this problem.

Effect:

A spectator takes one of his coins, and puts it in any hand behind his back. You won't look either. They can even hide it in their back pocket, or on the chair, if they decide to cheat. You find out where the coin is (which hand, or which pocket).

100% improvised and hands-off.

(The method here is different than in Coin Games or in Bluff.)

1st edition 2014, 7 pages.

Here is another ploy to the Monty Hall problem, one of the most unexplored plots in magic and mentalism.

In this version, the mentalist plays the role of the candidate, and the participant plays the role of the host. As many people nowadays know the Monty Hall paradox or can search for it on the net, the game is made slightly more complex, in order to avoid any probabilities: The player can also play the role of a corrupt presenter if they wish. He can secretly steal the prize behind the third door, making it impossible for you to win the Ferrari! All this will allow you to mix mentalism...

Effect:

Somebody hides a coin in one of their hands, and the mentalist has to guess or predict which one: Left or Right?

This method uses classic techniques and is probably the simplest, the most direct, the safest, and probably the boldest one! It can be done separately, or embedded with other methods, or used as an out. Its major advantage is that it will not be perceived as a logic puzzle, and will really leave an impression of free choice. It will kill all previous solutions of potential methods (logic, electronic, gimmicked, etc.) that Cartesian spectators might suspect.

Another...

Before re-designing your business cards, check this out. It will save you hours and money for trials and errors, in looking for a practical and simple way to make business cards useful for your mentalism effects. Clever business cards can become a very powerful secret weapon you will always carry with you. They can also replace expensive props or effects, and allow you to create your own and personalized routines. Not to mention that your business cards are a wonderful marketing tool, as well.

The "system" described in this e-book, will allow you to improvise many mental effects, that use...

Two effects for one low price.

THE HYPNOSIS SYSTEM
"Make the Spectator forget something they just signed"

A spectator signs a business card where a few signs/objects/suits/names/etc. are written. This Spectator must memorize their order. The signed business card is given to another Spectator. The Performer suddenly "hypnotizes" the first Spectator (by clapping his hands for instance or whatever). The First Spectator must repeat what he saw on the business card but he will always forget one of the objects! Much fun watching the reactions of the audience and of the "victim"!

THE DIE IS CAST
"Make the Spectator lose...

A bunch of numbers from 1 to 52 are presented to a spectator. Some are written in red, some are in black. From now on, the performer will not look or touch anything. A spectator thinks secretly of one of the numbers, and has to lie when she names the color of the number among a few other ones. There is absolutely no force.

Then she shuffles a deck of cards (that can be borrowed or even imaginary!), and deals the cards face up, just saying if they are red or black. When she reaches her card, she has to lie. The performer immediately stops her at this card, even though he did not look or touch...

An improvised book-test with a borrowed newspaper.

There are dozens of newspaper tests or predictions, but this one is different, improvised, and will be remembered as hands-off.

• There are no newspaper tears or cuts, no center tear, no peek, no counting, no secret writing, no sleights, no weird procedure, no complex maths or logic or convoluted stuff, etc.
• All you need is a normal borrowed newspaper. No gimmicks, no other props, cards, swami, pens, etc. Nothing else, except ...you... and the secret.

An improvised technique for the HEADS or TAILS plot, or else, as it can be done with any flat object, like an index card or a piece of paper for instance with a different information on each side (that can be different than HEADS or TAILS, and allow a more captivating story than a binary game or a bet).

Effect (as perceived by the audience):

• "Please take a coin, toss it, and watch secretly which side is up"...
• "There is no way anybody here can know if you lie or tell the truth"...
• "Now, if you want, you can turn the coin over. You can do it covertly, as many times as you want."

Effect: A spectator looks at a card in a borrowed shuffled deck. You eliminate cards and the last card is their selection.

Key points:

• 100% impromptu and improvised.
• Any borrowed deck with any number of cards
• Hands off
• The cards are shuffled many times during the routine
• No accomplice, no gimmick, no setup, no dual reality, no sleight of hands, no fishing, 100% surefire.
• OK for stand-up, walk-around, parlor and why not stage.
• You do not have to touch or see anything
• You just need to know a couple of devious principles (some are new).
• Baffling and cannot be reverse-engineered due...

9 Hands off effects you can do completely naked

Elimination: A card prediction without cards

The bills trip mystery

• "Happy Hour"
• "Money transfer"

• 3 card monte
• 4 card monte
• 5 card monte
• all hands off

Take my order: Imagine you are performing in a restaurant, you approach a table.
"I am your waiter. Are you ready to order?"
"Actually my name is …, I am a Performer"
"You are the waiter and I am the customer!...

A selection of lovely effects for weddings, Valentine's day, couples, etc. that will open hearts and doors...Most of them are impromptu.

Valentine day
A two phase 10' routine where two cards, randomly chosen face down at the beginning, will help to find two other cards. Each phase can be played independently.

ACAAN for couples
A perfect ACAAN for couples. Impromptu.

Men desiring women
This is Gerard's version of a classic spelling effect (impromptu), based on a mathematical principle. He will also reveal how to personalize it with your own words ...

Nice to meet you
A nice way...