Hey guys, I'm looking for a mentalist effect that can force an answer of the number 5, any ideas?

There are many methods in the literature for forcing just about any card or number.

For example, force #150 from Annmann's "202 Methods of Forcing" will force the number 5.

This particular book is available in downloadable electronic form for only $2 from http://www.lybrary.com

Good luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of magic!

An overlooked method to force 'just' a number is to use any card force and force the five of any suit. Simply note that you will be using just the 'number' of the card selected and go from there. This is quite a nice method as the method itself puts you a kind of 'one remove' from the how, etc. Since the card itself is not really the focus it takes heat away from the method used to do the force. Best,

An excellent idea!

Mark.

Thanks guys!

I have a couple of mentalism tricks where any number from 1-10 can be used, and they aren't really all that impressive by themselves. But I use a deck of cards for the same reasons Brad mentioned, and suddenly it seems more like "magic" and less like math. Mentalism is impressive, but if you don't have a good lead in, it just feels cheesy. Using the cards to help them pick a number, ties it in to other effects you may be using. So, if you can force a 5, then I would definately reccomend taking Brad's advice.