Card force

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A card force is one of any number of methods used in close-up magic to apparently offer a subject a free or random choice of card, when in fact the magician knows in advance exactly which card will be chosen. This can then be revealed later in the trick.

A large variety of card forces exist. Most are based on sleight of hand - itself a misdirection, since many spectators will assume that the trick is performed via mentalism.

Many tricks using card forces are amongst the simplest tricks to perform, and the classic card trick of the magician divining which card a participant has selected is approaching hackneyed status. It is perhaps for this reason that card forces are among the tricks most frequently exposed by professional magicians: Penn and Teller exposed several on television, and Paul Daniels included explanations of a large range of forces - including ones that he continued to use in TV and stage performances - in a children's card magic set published in the 1980s.

[edit] Forcing decks

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Trick deck. (Discuss)

Spoiler warning: The following section reveals a magic secret.

Although a card force can be performed by a skilled magician using sleight of hand, gimmicked decks are available that allow the force to be completely self-working. The simplest forcing deck is one in which all cards are identical. In this instance, the magician must be careful to prevent the spectator from seeing the faces of the cards.

A two-way forcing deck will consist of two sets of identical cards, one set comprising the top half of the pack and the other the bottom half. A deck of this nature can be used to force two different cards on two spectators. Similarly, a three-way forcing deck is comprised of three different sets of identical cards.

A 50/50 forcing deck is a deck in which the top half is made up of the same card and the bottom half is composed of indifferent cards. Providing he only shows half of the deck, the magician can fan the cards face-up to supposedly demonstrate that all cards are different. When offered to the spectator for selection, he must ensure that he or she selects a card from the top half.

A Svengali deck can also be used to force a card.