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Lazy Man's Card Trick
Lazy Man's Card Trick is a "find a card" routine in which a card is selected by a spectator and then proceeds to cut the deck as many times as they wish. The whole deck is turned upside down and cut again several times. When the deck is turned back to face down position, the magician knows the position of the selected card in the deck.
The effect became popular after published by Harry Lorayne in his book Close-Up Card Magic (1962).
History
In Close-Up Card Magic, Harry Lorayne notes that Al Koran taught him the trick and that the original concept came from Prof. Jack Miller. Koran published his version in Abra No. 450 (September 11, 1954) as The Lazy Magician Does A Card Trick.
It seems the method took its inspiration by an idea of Jack McMillen. In Marlo's Magazine, Vol. 3 (1979), page 329, we can read:
"Before proceeding the closest method to the four value cut and count appeared in a Larsen and Wright manuscript. This was a contribution by Jack McMillen in which, while he did not use it to have the spectator arrive at the four Aces, it was used to force one of four kings. ... McMillen's basic idea later underwent a change ... was used and adapted to an Annemann effect "Count Your Card". Still later .... was then used in an effect more closely resembling McMillen's approach in that the spectator cuts the deck: however, this cutting was done with the deck face up until the spectator cut to a card of the required suit after which the deck was turned face down and the value of the now bottom card was used to count from the top of the deck to arrive at a previous selection or at a predicted card. Now as far as I know the use of a run of cards to arrive at a specific card was first recorded by Jack McMillen but if anyone finds a source previous to the Larsen and Wright manuscript, I would like to know."
This manuscript seems to be The L.W. Card Mysteries (1928) and the McMillen's effect The Prophesied Leaper
Publications
- Count Your Card in The Book Without a Name by Theodore Annemann (1931) "..a far cry from originality but I consider it rather a novel effect from the presentation standpoint."
- That Number Down by Doc Miller in 50 Tricks You Can Do, You Will Do, Easy to Do compiled by Rufus Steele (1946)
- Think Stop in Royal Road to Card Magic page 241 (the mechanics of the trick; no attribution) (1948)
- The Lazy Magician Does A Card Trick by Al Koran in Abra No. 450 (September 11, 1954)
- Lazy Man's Card Trick in Close-Up Card Magic by Harry Lorayne (1962) - which he notes that Al Koran taught him the trick for the book and that the original concept came from Prof. Jack Miller.
- Laziest Man's Card Trick by Ed Marlo in New Tops, Vol. 31, no. 4 April 1991, page 40. Same trick with no set-up.
- Lazy Man's Card Trick in Lorayne: The Classic Collection (2005) which he mentions that he was told after the fact that basic mathematical component of the effect first appeared in Royal Road to Card Magic.
