Gaukelwerk with Cards by Dr. Hans-Christian Solka

‘Clocking’ a deck of cards means applying some kind of counting method to identify one card that has been removed from the deck. The idea is very old and dates back to at least 1708 (Jaques Ozanam’s Recreations Mathematical and Physical). Typically one makes two passes through the deck. The first to identify the value of the card, and the second to identify the suit. The key in making this method deceptive is to be very fast in your counting, which is dependent on the details of the counting procedure. Dr. Solka offers a new method, which has the potential to make counting a lot faster. If it is indeed faster will depend on the individual performer, because personal preference plays a big part in such matters. But at the very least you have here a new method that may work much better for you, as it does for Dr. Solka.

Table of Contents:

• I – The Mingau Location
  1. A Bit of History
  2. Problems
  3. Key Aspects
     1. Card Count Values
     2. Count Value Examples
     3. Missing Card Detection
     4. Wasshuber’s Suit Addendum
  4. Detection Examples
     1. Red Card Detection 1, Half-Deck
     2. Red Card Detection 2, Half-Deck
     3. Black Card Detection, Half-Deck
     4. Red Card Detection, Whole Deck
     5. Black Card Detection, Whole Deck
     6. Any Card Detection, Whole Deck
  5. Color Detection
  6. Values for Digit Cards Only
  7. Mingau’s Values of the 32-Card Skat-Deck
• II – The Mingau Cull
  1. Application
  2. Technique
  3. Example
  4. The Langmark Cull
• III – The Hans False Shuffle
  1. Handling
  2. Alternative Handling
  3. Silent Vision
  4. Flop a Lop
• IV – The Solka Location
  1. Original Method
     1. Card Count Values
     2. Count Value Examples
     3. Missing Card Detection
     4. Detection Examples
        1. Red Card Detection 1, Half-Deck
        2. Red Card Detection 2, Half-Deck
        3. Black Card Detection, Half-Deck
        4. Red Card Detection, Whole Deck
  2. The Wasshuber Method
  3. Refurbished Method
     1. Card Count Values, First Run
     2. Card Count Values, Second Run
     3. Detection Examples
        1. Red Card Detection, Half-Deck
        2. Black Card Detection, Half-Deck
        3. Any Card Detection, Whole Deck
     4. Spot Cards Only
        1. Clocking Process
        2. Spot Card Detection
  4. Bonus – The Easter Egg Location
     1. Card Count Values
     2. Count Value Examples
     3. Detection Examples
        1. Red Card Detection, Half-Deck
        2. Black Card Detection, Half-Deck
        3. Black Card Detection, Whole Deck
  5. Method Comparison
• V – Cues for the Professional
  1. Bullet Marked Cards
  2. Jack Shalom’s Memory Aid
  3. The Vision App by Eisele
  4. Refreshing Older Approaches
     1. Fulves’ Parallel Principle
     2. Kato’s Moved Card
     3. Negative Court Cards

1st edition 2020; version 1.15 2021, PDF 50 pages.
word count: 12421 which is equivalent to 49 standard pages of text