How To Force A Card - Part 1

How To Force A Card - [Part 1]

This is the first part of an ongoing series

You will learn:
- You will learn:
- What is a card force?
- Why force a card?
- The basic routine?Cross Cut Force
- Four Card Force
- Spelling Force
- Handkerchief force
- Classic Force

For these instruction I will use a blue deck of cards and for the force card I will use a red back joker to make it easy to follower the moves. 

Cross Cut Force
In this case we will force the top card. So place the card you a are going to force on top of the deck. 

Shuffle the cards but make sure the force card i is the last card that falls during the shuffle. 

Ask the spectator to cut the deck into two piles then complete the cut. 

Patter for a few seconds about how he had a free choice of where to cut. 

Mark the place of the cut by turning the former bottom half of the pack 90 degree and placing it on the top half crosswise.

Patter a little bit more that you've marked the cut and you're now going to ask the spectator to look at the card that was cut to.

The reason for all the patter is because you want to make them forget which half of the pack is which. This is called time misdirection.

Originally they don't know that you are going to select a card, you just asked them to cut the deck.

Lift the top half of the deck and ask the spectator to take the top card of lower half. This will be the force card.


Four Card Force
Start with the force card second from the top. Shuffle the cards but make sure the top two cards stay on the top of the deck. 

Deal the four cards to the table while you keep track of the force card.

Ask the spectator to touch any two cards. Your goal is to keep the force card in play for the next round.  If one of their fingers is on the force card, say OK, we will get rid of the other two cards. Then remove them from the table. If neither of their fingers is on the force card,  ask them to remove the two cards they touched and we will use the other two cards. 

In either case, only the force card and one other card will remain on the table. 

Now repeat the process using only one finger. If they place their finger on the force card say OK, we will use that card. If they place their finger on the other card say OK, get rid of that one and we will use the card left on the table. 

With only two moves, you have forced them to pick the selected card. 


Spelling Force
Place a 4, 5, 9, J, and K in any order on top of the deck.
Place the card to be forced immediately under them.
Shuffle the deck but keep these six cards on top of the deck. 

Take the top five cards and fan them allowing the audience to see that they are different.

Mix these five cands and have one freely selected.
Place the remaining four cards on top of deck.

Again shuffle the cards but keep these five cards on the top of the deck. 

Have the value of the chosen card named and spell it as you deal one card for each letter.

Ask the spectator to pick up the next card. It will be the force card because the values of the five cards given above only spell with four letters. 

This one can never fail.

Handkerchief Force
I will use a clear sheet of plastic to represent the handkerchief. 

Placed your force card on the top of the deck. Place the deck in your left hand.

As you drape the handkerchief over the hand holding the cards, secretly turn the deck over and ask the spectator to take the deck through the handkerchief then drop as many cards as they want into your hand.

Under cover of handkerchief, turn the lower half of the deck over.

Remove that part from under the handkerchief and ask the spectator to take the top card.

Learn how to do magic card tricks.
A magic tutorial on how to force a card.


learn the Classic Force used my magicians when doing magic card tricks.

The classic Force is probably one of the easiest magic card slights to understand but one of the most difficult magic tricks to learn. It is all about timing. 

Ask a spectator to shuffle the deck and return it to the magician.

Note the bottom card of the deck. This is the card you will force the spectator to select. 

Cut the cards to bring the bottom card to about the middle of the 
deck. Hold a slight break at this spot.

This is where the timing comes in. Ask the spectator to take a card as you fan the cards from the left hand to the right hand. When you reach the card to be forced, expose this card a little more than usual, then continue and say, "Just take any one you please." You have to raise the force card that is exposed a little more then the others at the same time the spectator reaches for the card so they meet just as the spectator tries to take a card. This timing takes a little practice.