Kato on Estimation by Hideo Kato

My Days in Magic

MINI-HISTORY OF ESTIMATION

FINAL SPLIT 

The spectator cuts the deck and places the upper packet on the table. He then looks at and remembers the top card of the lower packet. Now, he places the selection on top of the tabled packet, puts the remaining cards on top of it, and squares the deck. The magician cuts off a packet of cards, states that the selection is not among them, and places them aside. He repeats cutting off packets of card and discarding them until only one card remains. The last card is the selection.

BY THE CHANGE OF HIS VOICE 

Magician finds spectator’s card by his change in intonation while counting.

PLEASE MAKE A MAGICAL PASS 

The spectator shuffles the deck and places it face down on the table. He cuts the cards and looks at the face-card of the cut-off packet and then replaces it on the bottom half. The spectator selects the number; four, five, or six and deals the cards into that number of piles. The spectator picks up the pile contains his selection and discards the other piles. Up until this moment, the magician’s back has been turned. Now, the spectator deals cards on the table. During the first dealing, nothing happens; but he deals the cards a second time and the magician calls “STOP!” at some point. The spectator names his selection – turn the last dealt card face up. It is the selected card.

TELEPATHIC TRANSMISSION 

The magician receives the shuffled deck from the spectator and starts to dribble cards onto the table very slowly. Ask the spectator to call, “Stop.” When stopped, he points to the top card of the dealt pile and asks the spectator to look at and remember the top card. After the card is noted and replaced on the pile, the magician dribbles the remaining cards onto the tabled packet and squares the deck. The magician confesses that he can’t find the selected card by magic, but he can use telepathic transmission instead, and asks the spectator to picture his selection in his mind. The magician concentrates and finally reveals the selected card.

MEMORIES OF FOUR ACES 

The magician removes the four Aces and divides the deck into four piles. He places the first Ace on the rightmost pile and the spectator cuts several cards from the second pile and places them on top of the first Ace. The second Ace is placed on the second pile and several cards are cut from the third pile and placed on the second Ace. The two remaining Aces are handled similarly. The piles are gathered together and the deck is cut a few times. The four Aces are obviously lost in the deck. The deck is placed on the table. The magician cuts about a quarter of the cards from the top of the deck and spreads the cards. He pulls a single card out of the spread and places it face down on the table. He cuts another group of cards and pulls out another card. Two more cards are pulled out in the same way. The magician never seems to count cards nor search for anything. The four cards are turned face up – they are the four Aces.

BEHIND MY BACK 

The deck is face down on the table and the spectator cuts off a portion from the top. He shuffles these cards, looks at and remembers the top card of his packet. Now, he picks up the tabled-packet and places it on top of the packet in his hand and squares the cards before handing the deck back to the magician. After cutting the deck a few times, the magician holds the deck behind his back. He states that he detected the selected card and places it in a special position. The magician hands the deck to the spectator and turns his back to him. The spectator deals the cards onto the magician’s extended hand behind his back. The magician calls, “Stop,” and turns around to face the spectator, who names his selection. He names his selection and turns over the top card of the packet in his hand. It is the selection.

FORCED STABBING 

The spectator shuffles the deck and places it on the table. He cuts off a packet and looks at and remembers the face-card of this packet. He replaces the packet on top of the tabled packet. The magician riffles the inner end of the deck and throws the Three of Clubs face up into the deck. He spreads the cards with the faces towards himself and asks for the name of the selected card. He then ribbon spreads the cards on the table, and count three cards from the face-up Three of Clubs and pulls out the third card – it is the selected card.

BLIND SPREAD 

A shuffled deck is place face down on the table. A spectator cuts the deck and picks up the top card of the lower half. He replaces the cut-off portion on the lower half retaining the selection in his left hand. He looks at and remembers the selected card, replaces it on top of the deck, cuts the deck and completes the cut. The magician picks up the deck an