MoreMagic 52

I have no grudge against the spelling tricks. In fact, I believe that a good spelling trick, if presented properly, appropriately, and in an entertaining manner, can be a great showstopper. One of the tricks I included in my 20-minute formal close up set was a simple spelling trick from Semi-Automatic Card Tricks, Vol. 3, which involved the entire audience spelling and chanting with me until the selection is found.

Which brings me to the topic of spelling trick using “computer” as a presentational hook.

For those who are unfamiliar with them, there was a surge of spelling tricks built around the idea that a deck of cards could function like a computer, with the magicians “programming” the deck by spelling certain words in order to locate the chosen card.

As someone born and raised in the 1990s, the idea of using a deck of cards as a computer and “programming” the deck has always sounded a little absurd to me. While it may have been intended tongue in cheek, the patter itself feels rather lackluster and not particularly believable (as Jerx would say).

While I understand that computers probably felt just as impressive at the time as AI does to us now, seeing this kind of presentation still popping up in a magic book published in 2022 feels very dated. That being said, I thought AI, especially a language model such as ChatGPT, could be a much better alternative for this kind of card trick.

I first came across the trick Polygraph in George McBride’s The Glasgow File, where the original presentation uses the idea of programming a computer and eventually spelling the word IMPOSSIBLE to arrive at the chosen card.

As mentioned above, I have never really been sold on this kind of presentation, because the procedure itself does not have much to do with a computer, and I also never quite understood the connection between the word “impossible” and the computer premise.

So here is the small change I made to the presentation. I am in no position to explain the trick itself, and The Glasgow File is a great book that I would strongly recommend everyone picking it up.

This is what the spectator sees:

1. A card is selected and shuffled back into the deck.
2. The spectator nominates roughly half of the deck, and the other half is discarded.
3. Using the nominated half, magician explains that the packet would be “programmed” so that it behaves a little like a ChatGPT language model. Magician takes the packet and spell, one card at a time onto the table, AI CHATGPT TEST. Drop the remaining cards onto the dealt pile.
4. The packet is handed to the spectator and they are asked to name any card they like and spell it, one card for each letter, onto the table. Drop the remaining cards onto the dealt pile after the card is spelt.
5. Magician takes the combined packet and spell AI CHATGPT RESULT, with the final card landing on their selected card.

Simple, direct, and far more in tune with the way people actually think about technology nowadays.

If you really wanted to extend the routine, you could probably do something with the other half of the deck and produce the mate of the selected card, or add some further revelation. But I think that would be overkill. Why would you want to do that in the first place?

The Glasgow File is a great book, by the way, and if you have it, also check out Lucky 21 within the book, which I consider one of the better Mystery Card plots with great blackjack presentational hook.