A Quick-Force Tweak

[This post is an example of the concept of Fencing, which I wrote about last year.]

I tend to like card forces that take some time, involve a few different steps, and allow the spectator to make multiple free choices along the way. I call this Slow Forcing.

But that doesn’t work in many tricks where the selection isn’t the primary focus. It would just seem like a weird interruption of the effect.

It makes sense to spend 15 minutes picking out the best spatula if you’re buying one as a gift for a friend. It doesn’t make sense to spend 15 minutes picking out the best spatula if you’re in the middle of making pancakes.

Similarly, if the selection and reveal are the whole trick, a Slow Force is the strongest option. But if the selection is just one step in a larger trick, you want to get a “random” card into play quickly.

Here’s a technique I’ve been using for months in those situations that’s very effective. I get the sense that it feels more fair to the spectator. And it definitely feels more natural to me—as opposed to immediately presenting them with a less-than-free choice.

Here’s how it works. Any time I need to quickly force a card, I say, “Okay, now I’m going to take a card at random. It doesn’t really matter.” I spread through the cards a bit. “Actually, why don’t you say stop as I flip through?” Or I hand them the deck: “Actually, why don’t you just cut the cards for me.” Or I spread the deck and say, “Actually, why don’t you touch the back of one?”

Almost anything seems more fair than me taking out a card “at random.” So any option you give them—“Actually, why don’t you name a card between, say, 10 and 20?”—now feels like a step up in fairness from what they thought they were going to get.

This gives the moment a feeling of loosening restrictions. Their freedom isn’t being judged against a completely free selection. It’s being judged against what they thought was about to happen: me taking out a card myself. You’re not giving them a free choice. You’re giving them a freer choice than the one they thought they were getting.