INVISIBLE DECK For the first time ever, | will now reveal the actual method that | used for my Invisible Deck effect before | contracted multiple sclerosis, which up until now has been a closely guarded secret. Set Up: Take the 13 cards of one suit [say clubs] and, with a scalpel knife, score on the back of each card, very lightly, a central cross from edge to edge. On the back of each card, with a Sharpie, write its value in the white border area of all four comers. Now that you have done this, you will be able to one-hand-fold any of the cards into a quarter sized packet like a dream (this tip was given to me by the late Tommy Wonder). With the cards thus prepared set them unfolded as follows... face up ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, face down king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8. Place the 13 cards in your right side jacket pocket. You'llalso need a purse-frame, which can be either bought from your favourite magic dealer or.. made by tearing away the fabric from a regular purse. Place the purse frame into your left side jacket pocket and you are ready to perform. Performance: Explain that you have an invisible deck of cards. Reach into your left pocket and remove the purse-frame. Continue that the cards are inside this ‘almost’ invisible purse. Open itand mime the removal of a deck of cards. Toss the deck out to someone as you hold onto the purse-frame. Now you can enjoy all the old gags normally associated with the invisible deck routine, such as... when they shuffle the deck, “You might like to take them out of the card case first!” etc.Explain that the deck is,as you click your fingers, new back in new-deck-order. In other words... each suit runs from ace to king. Have the spectator look through the cards to verify this! Ask him to hand you either the red cards or the black. If he says that he has handed you the reds... toss them up into the air, then ask him to hand you the clubs and spades. If he says that he has handed you the blacks... tell HIM to toss his cards up into the air, then ask him to hand you the clubs and spades. Either way, apologise saying that you'll need the red cards for your next show. Ask him to pick them up and hand them to you. if you're really feeling cruel... you could say that he’s missed one and have him pick that one up too! Mime taking the reds from him with your right hand, then mime placing them away into your right side jacket pocket. Ask him to now take either the clubs or the spades from you. If he says that he’s taken the clubs... You toss the spades up into the air, leaving him with the clubs. If he says that he has taken the spades... have HIM toss the spades up into the air, leaving you with the clubs, which you then hand to him. Apologise again and have him pick up the spades from the floor (did he miss ‘one again?) and hand them to you. Mime pocketing them, with your right hand, into your right side jacket pocket. I find that his method of conjuror’s choice works superbly well when there are no actual objects involved! As you can see... he is always going to be left holding the 13 clubs. Ask him to finally toss the 13 clubs into the air, and as they descend, ask him to grab just ‘one. He does this and tells everyone which card he has grabbed. Let’s assume that he has grabbed the 5C. Ask him to fold the card in half and then in half again. Don't forget to have him pick up the discarded clubs from the floor and hand them to you. Mime pocketing them, with your right hand, into your right side jacket pocket. BUT... this time your right hand locates the 5C and quickly one-hand-folds it into a neat face down quarter sized packet. It does this bypicking up the packet of cards, thumbing off the ace, 2,3 and 4 backinto your pocket, holding onto the 5 and dropping the remaining cards into the pocket with the rest, before folding the 5C up. The right hand now emerges from the pocket with the folded card fingerpalmed. Your left hand opens the purse frame, ask the spectator to drop his invisible folded 5Cinside. Pass the purse into your right hand, as you patter about what has happened. “YOU decided if we should use the reds or the blacks... YOU decided on the blacks. YOU decided if we should use the clubs or the spades... YOU decided on the clubs. YOU decided which of the thirteen clubs we should use... YOU decided on the 5C, and then you folded it up and dropped it into this ‘almost’ invisible purse.” With your obviously empty left hand reach into the purse and remove the fingerpalmed folded SC. Hand it to him to unfold, confirm it is his card, and then show it to the audience... APPLAUSE!!! If you are wondering why | asked you to write the value of each card at all four corners... this is so that you too can experience the elation, on spotting the marking, that you have actually fingerpalmed away the CORRECT card from the pocket index! It might sound crazy, but if you have fingerpalmed away the wrong card, you'll know and can now dip your hand in your pocket, dump the wrong one and try again. This won't happen, but now that | have mentioned it... it probably will!