Just based on the laws of probability, there will be times when the last person down the line

names the original card Veronica selected. It isnt because everyone repeated the correct card, but rather because of those rare one-in-fifty-three chances when the named card happens to match up with Veronicas selection. Cherish these moments. As soon as the proper card has been miraculously named, change course and mention nothing about working backwards to deduce the original selection (this is, in fact, why the opening remarks are vague in terms o f whats going to happen later). Ask a spectator near the m iddle of the group what card she passed along. This is to simultaneously ensure the correct card wasnt being named the entire time, as well as to let the rest of the group know that m ultiple card names were in play. Addressing the final person, remark, "So with the name o f the card changing at each junction, you made the very distinct choice to name the Five o f Diamonds. You could have changed it to any other card you liked, bu t you chose to name the Five o f D iamonds." Shift the focus to Veronica, asking, "W ould you please show everyone your card?" This Telephone premise can be adapted to other routines as well, and in fact my buddy Ryan Pilling has done just that. He has started to use it with the Invisible Deck. Beginning with a regular pack, he has a spectator select a card, remember it, and insert it face down in the face-up deck. He then cuts the deck a few times and cases it. W hile the spectators are playing Telephone, he switches the pack with an Invisible Deck from his pocket. When the final spectator names the card, he proceeds to show that the original selection the only reversed card in the deck has now magically changed into the newly named card. Pretty cool.

Vanni Bossi has traced the idea of prearranging a deck of cards into a specific stack order back to Horatio Galassos Giochi di Carte Bellissimi de Regola, e di Memoria (1593). Mr. Bossi republished the book in its native Italian language in 2001, and later lent his commentary to be included in the English translation of Mr. Galassos book that appeared in the Summer, 2007 issue of Gibeciere (Vol. 2, No. 2). The Aronson Stack in particular was published in Simon Aronsons A Stack to Remember (1979), and later in his collection, Bound to Please (1994). The game o f Telephone is based on the principle of cumulative errors. It is also known under the name Chinese Whispers in British countries. The concept o f estimation goes all the way back to Reginald Scots Discoverie o f W itchcraft (1584), in the trick, How to tell one what Card he seeth in the bottom , when the same card is shuffled into the stock: Another way to do the same, having your self indeed never seen the Card. Johann Hofzinser used the idea of estim ating the location o f a card in a memorized deck and then bringing it to the to p via a Pass in several of his routines in Hofzinsers Card C onjuring (1910, English translation 1931), written by O ttokar Fischer and translated into English by S.H. Sharpe. The deadly com bination of
te c h n iq u e s g a in e d p o p u la rity w h en Laurie Irela nd p u b lis h e d th e id ea as In s ta n t C a rd I o ra tio n in his

booklet, Ireland Writes a Book (1931).

T he Pass can b e fo u n d in N o u ve lle s Recreations Physiques e t M athem a tiq ue s (1740, E nglish translation by Jean Hugard 1941), w ritten by Gilles-Edme Guyot. A better and more accessible description can be found in S.W. Erdnases Expert at the Card Table (1902). As well, Gary O uellet has an entire book dedicated to the subject, aptly title d The Pass (1994).

For Top Change references, please see Sweeotch. Edward Marios Bottop Change was published in his book, The Cardician (1953). The Secondfrom thetop Change was published in Richard Kaufmans C ardm agic (1979) but was first

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