Sey On
by Werner Miller

Werner Miller is a retired teacher of mathematics, whose hobbies are recreational mathematics and magic. A magical inventor and writer, Werner has produced a prolific volume of work, mostly what he calls “semi-automatic” card tricks based on mathematical principles. He is the author of "Fast von selbst", "Alles Miller oder was", "Ratatouille", more than 300 trick contributions to various magazines and web sites and more than 30 related computer programs. In addition, Werner is also a staff member of the German magazine "Magische Welt", a columnist for the British magazine "The Magician", and regular contributor here at Visions. Werner's first English-language book, Ear-Marked, is available here.

This trick has its roots in the so-called "Josephus Problem", an ancient counting-off puzzle named after Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian living in the 1st century, who - as the legend goes - saved his life by such a stratagem.

Experimenting with various numbers of objects I found out that the number eleven is special: no matter whether every second or every third object drops out, in both cases you will end up with the seventh object.

Let's use this for revealing a card by spelling "yes" (3 letters) or "no" (2 letters).

The spectator shuffles the deck, counts off eleven random cards and discards the rest. He deals the count-off cards back and forth into two piles until he is left with one single card. He notes and remembers this card, drops it on top of either pile, puts the other pile on top and squares the cards.

Take the packet and give it two Reverse Faros each time shifting the outjogged cards as a block to the bottom (or deal the cards back and forth into two piles, drop the 5 card-pile on top of the 6 card-pile, deal again back and forth into two piles, and drop the 6 card-pile on top of the 5 card-pile).

Deal the cards singly into a neat row, from left to right. The spectator's card will be the one fifth from the left.

Ask the spectator a (serious or silly) question which is to be answered "yes" or "no", but stress that the spectator is free to lie or tell the truth.

Use the answer to openly locate the spectator's card by spelling continuously "Y-E-S" resp. "N-O" tapping a card with each letter (start at the right end of the row and proceed to the left, thinking the row as an endless closed loop). The cards indicated by the last letter of each spell are discarded.

After ten runs only the spectator's card remains. Turn it face up. If your question was regarding this card you know now whether the spectator has told the truth or not, and you can make a suitable remark.

Slightly modified, the trick can be done with 14 cards as well: the spectator deals them into two equal piles, notes and remembers the top card of either pile, and drops the other pile on top.

You give the packet two Reverse Faros, each time shifting the outjogged cards as a block to the top (or deal them singly and alternately into two piles, each time dropping the left packet on top of the right packet), thus changing the position of the spectator's card from no. 8 to no. 2.

Continue as in the 11 card-version, but when the answer is "yes" start the spelling at the left end of the row.

Werner Miller