Gerard Zitta products: page 1

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 This unpublished method is easy to do and costs nothing.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...

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...

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.

...

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.

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...