Gerard Zitta – Strangers

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 ebook is not about this amazing card trick itself (the method(s) will not be revealed), but rather an alternate presentation with a second climax as well, that makes it much more powerful and mysterious. Instead of just a gag, you elevate it to a mental masterpiece. The second climax is, at least as strong as the “normal” one: At the end, it leaves a strange feeling and makes the audience think…It gets great reactions, congrats, and applause.

Of course, you will need a Phil deck for two of the examples provided in this ebook. But the simple and impromptu principle in use can be applied to other effects where you force something, not only a card, and with or without a Phil deck. Your juice will start flowing when you learn it, and you’ll be amazed, despite its simplicity, by the extra reactions you’ll get when you add it to your existing routines. (To illustrate this, there is an impromptu/improvised bonus example that does not require a Phil deck or cards or anything special).

[This effect was already included in Mentalism Games, but with a different method for the Phil deck. Here it uses a standard blank Phil deck.]

1st edition 2015, 10 pages.
word count: 3142 which is equivalent to 12 standard pages of text