Spackle: The Atomic Deck
/Spackle is a new feature here at the site. One of the most common types of emails I get is someone saying, “Do you do this trick? I like this trick, but I don’t like this one part of it. How would you handle this part?”
So, much like Spackle fills holes and cracks, I will tell you how I would fill these perceived or potential “holes” in an effect.
Two notes:
You may disagree that these are even issues in the first place. They may not be. I might just be answering them as a thinking exercise, not because I necessarily agree that the issue is an “issue.”
I’m not suggesting I have all the answers. I’m just speaking from my perspective. Especially if there’s some way to engage the Carefree Philosophy when possible.
GJ writes:
I picked up Craig Petty’s Atomic Deck at Blackpool. While the deck is cleverly constructed, I can’t say I like either way of accessing the crib needed. One option is to take a detour onto a dull website of “stats” that no one cares about and doesn’t really make sense. The other is to enter the information they give you into your “notes” app apparently so the specky won’t forget it which is completely unmotivated here. Will you be getting this trick? If so, how will you handle this part? With the website or the notes app?
First, no. I won’t be getting this. It looks like it has a really clever method built into the deck, but I just don’t really care all that much about ACAANs and wouldn’t likely carry around a fully gimmicked deck just for that trick.
While the Atomic Deck doesn’t give you complete freedom regarding what cards and positions can be named, it does allow a lot of apparent latitude to the spectator in regard to those choices. The downside here is that the magician has to deal.
My personal philosophy is that I would rather have more restrictions on the selection process and then allow the spectator to deal. I can hide or disguise the restrictions on the selection process (often in a way that makes it seem more fair). But I can’t hide or disguise the fact that I’m the one holding the deck and dealing through it. In my experience, me manipulating the deck in some way is going to be people’s first instinct, regardless of how cleanly I handle it. So my priority is to not have the deck in my hands.
But that’s just a personal preference.
As far as the crib goes, it’s going to have to be a digital crib due to how extensive it is. That’s why you’re given these two options (the stats website or the “notes” app). It’s not the sort of thing you could palm on a little card or something like that.
First the bad news, then I’ll get to the good news.
I don’t really like the stats website version either. What’s nice about it is, with that version, the spectator never has to name the card they’re thinking of. But it just doesn’t make any sense to me. I would have a hard time passing this off as anything legitimate.
Like… huh? Almost seven percent of the respondents said the 5 of Clubs and position #8. 1 in 14 people? Or the card is in that position 7% of the time? Either way, it’s inane.
Also, the notion of a “study” on commonly named cards and number combinations is bonkers. And the fact that the decimal goes out that far would mean that they must have conducted one of the largest research studies in history to get that granular. Who the fuck is funding this survey? And… to what end?
“We did it, everyone! We learned the most common card and position possibilities. Where do we pick up our Nobel Prizes?”
The notepad version is a little more reasonable. It doesn’t involve a fake, purposeless study of 100,000+ people that came up with unbelievable data.
But if you watch that clip, you’ll see the notes version is a little weird. “I’m going to write down the card and number you named, in case you forget it.” And then you immediately start counting down that number to the card?
I realize that people do forget cards sometimes, but usually there has been some time between the time the card was picked and the point they forget it. In this version, the only thing that happens between you getting the card and the number and you using those pieces of information, is you writing those things down. The time you take to write it down is the only chance they could have to forget the information. It doesn’t make logical sense to write it down. If the person you’re performing for is so disengaged, disinterested, or dementia-riddled that they might forget two pieces of information they literally just gave you a second ago, they’re probably a poor audience for this effect.
“Name a card and a number.”
“4 of Spades and 32.”
“Okay, just so you don’t forget that, we’re going to write it down.”
“Write what down?”
“The 4 and 32.”
“No. It’s 6:15.”
“No, I mean the card you named and the position you named.”
“A card and position? Uhm…. American Express and reverse cowgirl. Who are you? Where am I?”
But here’s the good news…
While both of these methods of accessing the crib aren’t great, and may come off as suspicious or phony, no one is going to be able to tie either of these things back to the method of the trick. They’re just too disconnected. So they may make for a somewhat awkward presentation—depending on the audience—but they’re not going to ruin the deceptiveness of the trick.
The other good news is this. You don’t have to say, “Let’s write these in the Notes app so we don’t forget them immediately.” You just need an excuse to open your phone and look at something on your phone.
It would probably make more sense to say that you’re writing it down so YOU don’t forget it. Like for some reason you want to return to their response later and you don’t want to have forgotten it at that point. This is more rational than, “I don’t trust you to remember the thing you said two seconds ago.”
I would likely go in that direction.
Or I might go in, get the information quickly, and the go into my camera to have them record the rest of the effect. So they just see me doing something on my phone and then handing it to them with the camera open.
But any excuse to use your phone would work. Remember how the first guy who won Who Wants To Be A Millionare used his lifeline to call his dad and tell him he was about to win?
You could “call your dad” to tell him you were just about to nail that trick you two had imagined together 20 years ago.
Or maybe your dad told you that you’d never be good enough to do that trick and you call him to tell him, “Kiss my ass, old man.”
Either works.