This page is a continuation of Volume 2 of BAKNER, a book that extends far beyond its last page. Here you will find occasional additions, reflections, routine ideas, or new principles.

Hand Game

On stage, a lectern displaying three giant cards: PAPER – ROCK – SCISSORS and three names: ALBERT – BRUCE – CHARLES.

Also on stage is a board with four instructions:

Move the PAPER panel with the one to its LEFT.

Move the ROCK panel with the one to its RIGHT.

Move the PAPER panel with the one to its LEFT.

Move the SCISSORS panel with the one to its RIGHT.

An envelope containing a prediction and a smaller envelope containing a second prediction.

The mentalist stands behind the lectern to follow the spectator's instructions. The spectator places the three PRS panels in the order of their choice in front of the three names. Then they move to the Instructions panel to read them one by one… The mentalist follows the instructions given by the spectator.

Once the four instructions have been read, the first prediction is read: everything matches. Once the first prediction is read, it's time for the second prediction, and again everything matches.

First prediction

ALBERT WILL WIN AGAINST BRUCE BUT LOSE AGAINST CHARLES

BRUCE WILL WIN AGAINST CHARLES BUT LOSE AGAINST ALBERT

CHARLES WILL WIN AGAINST ALBERT BUT LOSE AGAINST BRUCE

Second prediction

ALBERT WILL HAVE THE PAPER

BRUCE WILL HAVE THE ROCK

CHARLES WILL HAVE THE SCISSORS

That's all. Just follow the instructions and open the envelopes. It's 100%.

BASED ON THE SAME PRINCIPLE

With colored Scrabble tiles, you can spell three-letter words like END.

And thus conclude your close-up (or stage) show.

BASED ON THE SAME PRINCIPLE

You can write a word as a rebus:

BASED ON THE SAME PRINCIPLE

You can perform a Free Will.

Since you know the final order of the three objects, you can conclude by saying: "Would you like to take the objects at both ends? Keep one for yourself and give me the other." All you have to do then is read (or have read) the prediction for everything to match.

I WILL HAVE THE WATCH

YOU WILL HAVE THE PEN

THE COIN WILL REMAIN

BASED ON THE SAME PRINCIPLE

We can think about anagrams of three-letter words, allowing for two different outcomes.

ART / RAT

AMI / MAI

UNE / NUE

BASED ON THE SAME PRINCIPLE

With two spectators and two sets of six cards (2 of each color).

First effect: the two sets of three colors end up in the same order.

Second effect: the cards are flipped. A name appears corresponding to the prediction: SPI – ROU.

Two hundred fifty-eight

With a magnetic two-euro coin featuring General de Gaulle and a coin detector (Which Hand), you can conclude with this quote from de Gaulle himself*:

"How can you govern a country with 258 varieties of cheese?"

* It's this kind of small detail that may seem insignificant but transforms the feeling of a routine.

Two against one makes three

Tomorrow is another day

Just erase

With the "open display st" font, a permanent marker, and a dry-erase marker, it's easy to go from "Face" to "Pile." All you need to do is write "PACE" with some strokes in permanent marker and others with the dry-erase marker to be able to show a prediction with the word "face" or "pile," depending on your choice.

Fruit Slot Machine

A completely automatic free will.

Preparation

You need three cards representing: CHERRY – PLUM – LEMON. Note that CHERRY and LEMON are spelled with six letters, and PLUM with five letters. You will position your three cards in the following order: cherry, plum, lemon.

Routine

The magician places a prediction on the table, then turns around. He then asks a spectator to point to a card with their right index finger, then spell the name of the designated fruit by moving their index finger one card at a time.

They can start wherever they want and move however they want, going from card to card. They will start their spelling on the card next to the designated one. If they reach the end of the line, they must go back.

Thus, no matter which card is initially designated, they will finish this first spelling either on CHERRY or on LEMON (never on PLUM). Tell them to take this card and place it in front of them.

Tell them to do the same with the two remaining cards. Here again, they will end up with the other six-letter card (never on PLUM). Tell them to place this card in front of you.

One card will remain on the table, which will be the PLUM card. The magician turns around and, depending on the configuration, will read or have read the following prediction placed on the table:

"I WILL HAVE THE LEMON, YOU WILL HAVE THE CHERRY, THE PLUM WILL REMAIN"

The fruit of chance

The mentalist offers his audience a divination experience in which he proposes to guess the name of a thought-of fruit.

To do this and to add a touch of chance to the experience, he entrusts a coin to the spectator. The spectator must hide the coin in one of their hands, then extend both closed fists. The mentalist is then able to identify which hand contains the coin. My preferred method for this is the little finger method. Others exist, notably in The Secret published by Mindbox.

From then on, the mentalist will force a single fruit into the spectator's mind. This forcing will take place in two stages.

First stage

The mentalist will say (pointing to the hand he has identified as containing the coin):

"If the coin is in this hand, I will ask you, later, to think of a simple fruit (known to everyone) with a pit."

Then he will continue (pointing to the hand that does not contain the coin):

"If the coin is in this hand, I will ask you, later, to think of a simple fruit (known to everyone) with seeds."

Second stage

The mentalist asks the spectator to change (or not change) the hand holding the coin.

Then he continues by saying:

"If the coin is in this hand, I will ask you to think of a fruit starting with a vowel."

Then he will continue (pointing to the hand that does not contain the coin):

"If the coin is in this hand, I will ask you to think of a fruit starting with a consonant."

From then on, the mentalist knows the fruit thought of.

Indeed, apricot is the only fruit with a pit (known to everyone) and starting with a vowel.

Plus

You can replace the coin with an electronic die like Marc Antoine's. You would then talk about even or odd numbers.

You can also use Luc Apers' coin. You would then talk about heads or tails.

To vary

Orange is the only fruit (known to everyone) with seeds and starting with a vowel, but it comes to mind less directly than apricot.

Note that the method goes further than those proposed to date. Indeed, the magician does not offer a choice between a DOG or a CAT, then between two colors RED or YELLOW, to finally say:

"You are thinking of a yellow dog."

No, here, the spectator has the choice between several fruits with PITS or SEEDS and between several fruits starting with a vowel or a consonant. It is the fact that they can only find (and therefore think of) a single fruit with a pit starting with a vowel or a single fruit with seeds and starting with a vowel (APRICOT or ORANGE). This particularity significantly changes the impact of the trick. I think we could find other themes than FRUITS to achieve this same particularity.

Dictionary

Some time ago, I described a kind of book test for children with a mini book with thick cardboard pages.

With this type of book, it is easy to see where the child opened the book (given the number of pages and their thickness). Then, you ask them if they prefer the right or left page and finally describe the drawing on the chosen page: "You made a good choice with the frog. I would have made the same choice."

Using the same idea but modified, I wondered if one could do the same with a normal book… the answer was "No" until I had the idea of using a dictionary.

Indeed, since the words are in alphabetical order, one can have a vague idea of whether the spectator opened the book in any of its four quarters or its six sixths, etc.

But that wasn't enough… it was impossible to know which word the spectator would look at… unless they named it.

Hence the idea of naming the chosen word and naming two other words.

While testing this idea, I realized that the spectator always named two other words that had nothing to do with the chosen word and, furthermore, words with spellings completely unrelated to the chosen one. As if, unconsciously, they wanted to complicate your task, when in fact they were going to make it easier for you.

Example: the spectator chooses the word IMAGE (roughly in the middle of the book) and gives you the words REPTILE, DENTIST, and IMAGE; you will immediately know the chosen word.

Of course, it's not 100 percent, but it's effective enough to dare to try the experience.

Try it, it's completely unsettling for the spectator.

PLUS: when presenting this trick, you will notice that the two named words can be recognized quite easily compared to the chosen one. Indeed, if the spectator names the words PURSLANE, HAT, and FLOWER, you will deduce that the word PURSLANE did not come to their mind spontaneously and that it is therefore the word read in the dictionary.

A buttonhole carnation (virtual magic)

The mentalist asks his audience to write the words CARNATION – MIMOSA – JASMINE on three pieces of paper.

Then he asks them to mix these three pieces of paper (backs visible). Then to turn the three papers face up. The word written on the first paper will be spelled out, letter by letter, and each spelled letter will be moved from the top of the packet to the bottom of the packet.

After this spelling, a new paper (or the same one) will be face up on the packet. This new paper will be eliminated and set aside. It will no longer be used. The two remaining papers will be mixed together and the same procedure will be carried out. Only one paper will remain, and it will be "CARNATION" regardless of the mixes performed. The trick is automatic.

MIMOSA and JASMINE have six letters.

CARNATION has seven letters.

You can replace one of the two six-letter words with a twelve-letter word like RHODODENDRON.

THE PREDICTION

You will have a setup allowing you to make a fake carnation appear in your

buttonhole at the desired moment.

George VI (and his two daughters, Margaret and Elizabeth)

The magician takes out a penny coin showing the profile of George VI.

He explains that George VI loved to gamble.

The magician then suggests playing heads or tails with the coin.

THE COIN

It has been beveled on the edge so that it always lands HEADS up when spun.

SPINNING THE COIN

The coin is placed on its edge, on a hard, smooth surface.

The magician holds the coin with his left index finger (placed on the top of the edge).

He will flick the coin with his right index finger to spin it.

Since the edge of the coin is beveled, it will stop showing its HEADS side up.

THE ROUTINE

The magician spins the coin and states: "If the coin lands HEADS up, you will take the

coin in your right hand. If the coin lands TAILS up, you will take the coin in your left hand."

The coin will necessarily be in the right hand.

The magician asks the spectator to extend both fists forward and announces where the

coin is located.

BUT…

When the spectator extends both fists, the magician will take the opportunity to observe whether the little finger

of the hand containing the coin (i.e., the right hand) is slightly retracted or not *

*This is an involuntary indication from the spectator. Generally, the little finger of the hand containing the coin is slightly retracted compared to that of the other (empty) hand. This is not 100 percent, and that is why you should check if this is the case here. If it is, you will continue the routine.

If not, you will stop the routine here. See "The Secret" book for more information on this method.

CONTINUATION OF THE ROUTINE

The magician asks the spectator to take the coin again and hide it in one of their

two hands. The spectator extends both fists forward as before, and the magician

observes (thanks to the retraction of the little finger) where the coin is located. The magician will say: "If the coin is here (pointing to the hand containing the coin), you will think of Elizabeth." and "If the coin is here (pointing to the hand not containing the coin), you will think of Margaret." The magician will not reveal the location of the coin but which of the two daughters the spectator is thinking of.

Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin

A rather peculiar free will

FOUR CASINO CHIPS CORRESPONDING TO THE VALUES BELOW

The chips are placed on the table as shown in the photo.

The magician invites a spectator to place their index finger on one of the 4 chips, then to spell its value: TWO, TEN, FIVE, or TWENTY by moving their index finger from one chip to the nearest chip (right or left) and also starting their spelling on the nearest chip (right or left).

Once the spelling is complete, the magician states that the spectator's index finger is not on the "20" token. This will always be true.

The magician then asks them to remove this token and set it aside.

The magician continues the experiment by asking the spectator to move their index finger to the nearest token(s). The spectator complies...

Their index finger will, in all cases, be on the "10" token.

All that remains is for the magician to show that they predicted this outcome.

It works on its own. The trick is completely automatic.

ADDITIONAL TIP:

On the back of the "2" token, you will write the letter "T".

On the back of the "10" token, you will write the letter "E".

On the back of the "5" token, you will write the letter "N".

Thus, you will simply turn over, one by one, the three remaining tokens to display the word: TEN corresponding to your prediction.

It's a small extra but adds a final twist to the routine.