I am not a huge fan of card magic. Yeah… I probably should be… but I am not. I do not really enjoy performing it or watching it. “Pick a card” has been done to death. That being said, I do enjoy some packet tricks. Nick Trost is the king of packet tricks. In his multi-volume book series Subtle Card Creations, he covers a lot of material, but my favorite part is the Appendix of Vols 1 & 2. They both have a lot of packet tricks in them.
Brainwave has been one of my favorite packet tricks since my mentor taught it to me many years ago.
The Effect
A stack of cards is spread. The spectator selects one card. The backs of the other cards are shown to be either red or blue, and the selected card will be only card of a different color.
The Secret & The Setup
The secret of this trick is deceptively simple. Quite simply you have 8 or 10 cards of alternating colors. By using the Olram Subtlety you can show the pack to be all “one” color, and their selection is the only odd color card. I will go over the handling and the Olram Subtlety in a moment.
For this example, I will use red & blue backs. The setup is very easy. I use 8 cards for my setup but I have seen it done with 10 as well. Take 4 cards from a red deck, and 4 from a blue deck. They can be any random cards you want. If you have any old decks, decks missing cards, etc… just pull random cards from those. I always have numerous old decks laying around (in my supply box).
Put the cards in red/blue/red/blue order. I try to make sure I do not have too many of the same pip or face cards. It really does not matter; I just like to make it look like a good random selection (which it honestly is).
Performing the trick
Spread the deck and offer the helper a true free choice of cards. There is no force and it does not matter if they pick a red or blue backed card. When they name their selection cut the pack to set their card on top. For this example, they selected the Ace of Diamonds. It happens to be a red backed card. By moving the cards above the Ace to the bottom of the stack you will maintain the red/blue order.
Place the Ace on the table (or their hand). Tell them that it is interesting that selected that card because all the cards are blue backed. Begin showing the cards front and back – using the Olram Subtlety – and it will appear to be true. Then show their card to be a red card.
The Olram Subtlety
Ok, what is the Olram Subtlety ? It is a common way to mis-show the backs of cards (I have seen it done with the fronts, but it is not as believable). When you set the Ace on the table and the cards that were above the Ace get put to the bottom of the stack you are maintaining the red/blue stack. The top card is blue, the bottom card is blue. As you begin to show the deck you will display the front of the top card, and the front of the 2nd card. Then you show the back of the top card and the back of the bottom of the stack. Both are blue.
You then set the 1st and 2nd card in a stack on the table. You never showed the back of the 2nd card, but they will remember seeing it – when you showed the bottom of the stack. You then show the front of cards 3 & 4. Show the back of card 3, and the back of the bottom of the stack again. Yes, again. Place cards 3 & 4 on top of cards 1 & 2.
Continue until only the bottom card remains. Turn over the bottom card by itself and add it to the stack. You only showed the backs of half the cards, but they will remember seeing them all. This sounds like it would not work, but if handled well, it is really a good fooler.
My sleight skills are almost nonexistent but even I have never been busted on this move. When I first learned it I knew it would not work. I was wrong. I am glad I was wrong.
NOTE – I originally wrote this blog and called the Olram Subtlety the Flustration Count, because when I was taught this trick, my mentor called the flustration. Later, when I read Nick Trost, I saw that it was in fact the Olram Subtlety. The moves are similar, but definitely different.
Continuing the Trick
After you show “all” the cards to be blue backed, you then turn over the Ace (their selection) and show that it is the only red backed card.
Place the ace either on the top or bottom of the stack and the trick is ready to be performed again. The Olram Subtlety maintains the red/blue stack so there is not reset needed on the trick.
Routine Ideas
Brainwave is a good opener. It is fairly strong, very visual, and gets some audience participation. I like to use 2 or 3 tricks in each phase of my set. Using 2 different color changing chip tricks, and Brainwave makes a very strong and fun color change themed opener for a set. The 3 tricks build on the theme and go together well.
My first trick is a simple 2 chip color change. The two chip tricks are marketed gimmicks so I will not go into detail, but they are not hard to figure out. I show the 2 chips that are 2 different colors. I place them together and make my magic moment, and both chips changed colors. It is a very quick visual trick. Nothing very complex but it gets their attention.
The 2nd trick uses 6 chips and a prediction envelope. The chips start face down, and they select one chip. They get a true free choice of any chip. Turn over the other 5 chips, showing them all to be various colors. Then open the envelope to show your prediction. Turn over their selected chip – and you have correctly predicted their choice.
Then I will perform Brainwave. I like the flow of the 3 tricks together. The build in complexity, but retain the color changing theme.
From there you can go into a longer middle trick. A good 10-minute trick like cups & balls, sponge balls, a bigger card trick, maybe a rope routine. Any good strong middle routine will do.
To see a performance and explanation video please check out the video on my YouTube channel –
