Long Forcing (Another Revelation Pro-Tip)
/I believe it was noted philosopher Obi-Wan Kenobi who said, "Use the force… and make that shit long, bro."
When you're doing a trick that consists of a force and a revelation, do your best to make sure the force takes at least 30 seconds.
Why?
Because the structure of the trick suggests a force, so we have to do what we can to eliminate that idea. How can we do that? You can't do it through the cleanliness of the force itself. The only selection procedure that people can't conceive of as a force would be one with no procedure, and a borrowed deck, done in the spectator's own hands. Even then, some would say, "he must have made me pick this card somehow."
How can we eliminate a force as an answer?
The only real way to do that is to give them the option to change their mind *after* the card has been selected.
This is not a new idea. I've been doing it for decades. Riffle force > "The 4 of Spades. Happy with that, or…? Okay, so if we look at the mustard stain on my shirt, you'll notice something a little interesting."
The problem with doing it like this is that often people didn't remember I gave them a choice because I would rush past it in hopes they wouldn't take me up on it. That's how magicians suggested you do it. You blow past the choice so they don't really have the chance to take you up on it, but later you can mention that you gave them the opportunity.
But remember, speed kills magic. So about 15 years ago I started slowing down and giving them an obvious, fair opportunity to change cards. I made it clear that in a moment something would happen that would have them saying I must have made them choose that card. So if they wanted they could switch for a different card.
The problem with slowing things down in this way is that a lot of people took me up on the offer. Maybe 20-25% of people.
And why not? It took two seconds to pick a card before. And did I really stop riffling the deck exactly when they said stop? Why not spend another two seconds just for some certainty?
What I realized was I needed to make the selection procedure longer so that the idea of starting over again was much less attractive. This is something I first explored on this site back in the Reverse Psychology Force post.
Spectators don't mind a little foreplay before they get to the climax. They don't mind a little 'procedure' on the way to the payoff. But almost none of them want to go backward. They've invested something—time, decisions, mental energy—and starting over means losing all of it. No one wants to re-experience the set-up for the trick. They want to see the return on their investment.
So if you do a longer selection procedure (one you can frame as "ensuring the selection is random") you can confidently give them an unrushed choice to start over and be fairly certain they'll say no.
Think of something like the 51 Fat Chances trick by John Bannon that I've written about the past few months. This is essentially just a forcing procedure. But one that takes time—with the spectator shuffling, cutting, dealing, and making decisions along the way. After all of this, spectators will want to see what happens next. But if you make the option to change their mind incredibly explicit, they'll remember they could have had something altogether different. How could that be when there was clearly only one card tattooed on your baby's forehead?
Now, here's the Pro-Pro-Tip.
Give them the chance to start over with the force card face-down—before it’s revealed. If they're a "problem" spectator, they'll take the opportunity at this point, and you can just shuffle the card back into position and force it again. If they're someone who wants to see where this is going, they'll say they're okay with the card. Here you can turn it face-up and give them another seeming choice. "Okay, so the Queen of Clubs. And you're good with that?"
I'll walk you through the full process:
[Selection procedure narrows us down to one face-down card.]
"Okay… In about 30 seconds you're going to be convinced that I somehow made you pick this card. And I want you to be able to enjoy this, so right now, before we go any further, I want to give you the chance to change your mind. We can put this card back, shuffle up the deck, and start over again from the beginning. [beat] You're good with this one? Okay, just remember I gave you that chance."
Turn the card over.
"The Queen of Clubs. You're okay with that?"
"You're okay with that?" This again sounds like we're giving them the chance to change for a different card. And we are giving them that chance. But at this point they have to imply that they are somehow "not okay" with whatever random card they got, which, I think, seems silly for most adults. So they always say they're good. But now you can go back and point out you gave them two opportunities to change for a different card. Once before and once after the card was revealed.
This is something they almost always comment on after the reveal. "But I could have changed for a different card." It fully blows up the "force" explanation.
I've been doing this for years, and I've never had someone ask to change for a different card at this final point along the progression. Will it ever happen? Possibly. But it's still not an issue. You just start over and go into a different trick with whatever card they do end up with. Sure, you tattooed your baby's head for nothing. But it's not like your friends will know that. So your dignity is intact.
