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Hey guys.

There are tricks which I call "the dove pans of magic". These are effects that appear so transparent, that to try to pull them off with a straight face would be impossible.

Paul Green's "Odds Against Me" (sometimes called 'Option Call') and Daryl's "Untouched" are "dove pan card tricks".

Here are two effects that when I read them I assumed they were painfully obvious and wouldn't fool anybody. Perhaps it's magician thinking, but to me neither of these tricks seemed very deceptive and certainly wouldn't fly to perform as a piece of strong magic to a lay audience.

However, I decided to put them to the test. I have now done both effects numerous times, and while from MY perspective they seem completely transparent, to my delight they get very good reactions. I now permanently carry the prediction card for the Green effect in my wallet to do at a moment's notice.

Does anybody else have experiences with these 2 card tricks which use the Double Deal technique?

I suppose what I am trying to say is that tricks that use the Double Deal (Double Count) technique might be reverse engineered by an intelligent spectator.

It's important to present them well to gently manipulate their ability to accurately recall the selection procedure.

The same can be said about Cross Cut force. Eugene Burger had some good advice about that. He said most magicians make too much of a "thing" about the cut. He said it's not wise to say to a participant after they've made the cut, "Fine. Right there? Are you sure? Okay, I'm going to mark the exact place where you decided to cut the deck by placing this half on top."
All that talk just serves to draw attention to the proper orientation of the cut.

He said it's far better to complete the cut (on an angle of course) and not say anything about it all. Simply move on to briefly discussing another part of the effect or recapping what went on, before using the card freely(!) cut to.

Like Corinda said, "it's not the trick that matters one fifth as much as the way you do it."

A well presented technique combined with good patter when used with Cross Cut or Double Count can hide a multitude of sins.