So what is your favorite effect using a mathematical principle?
It doesn't mean that this is your favorite effect, and it might be a lousy one (like majority of mathematical based effects, if not hidden correctly).

my top 2 are:

The Gilbreath Principle
The Kruskal Count

nir

Get Richard Busch's "Number... Please?" if you want to learn the best math effects and applications!

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat
AB StageCraft
Supplying Unique Mentalism and Magic World-wide
(Ask me about our new specials this month)

thoughtreader (paul)

I don't want to LEARN math tricks applications, just asked what are your favorite ones...

nir

I would say The Gilbreath Principle. I am not familiar with The Kruskal Count. Could you explain what it is?

Nir,

If you re-read my last post, it does answer your question. If I say that the BEST math effects and applications are in" that book, and if I feel theyare the best, then they must also be my favourite. Why bother askign what other's favourites are if you are not interested in learning the ones you are not familiar with? And if you want the names of the effects in case you may alreayd know them, I can assure you that if you have not read "Number...Please?" that you are not familiar with the effects in that book.

Mind over Number is one of the few commercially released tricks that I like too.

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat
AB Stagecraft
Supplying Unique Mentalism and Magic Worldwide
(Watch for our new web site coming very soon)

I would also add that the in and out faro shuffles form a group (in the mathematical sense) generated by combinations of the permutations that they create. 8 out shuffles or 52 in shuffles will get you back to your original deck order. If you assign the number one to the in shuffle and 0 to the out shuffle and do a sequence of faros the 1s and 0s will form a binary number (reversed)which will give you info as to where a card will wind up at the end of the shuffles.

just type in "kruskal count" in google.
the mathematical analysis of this effect is not so easy btw.
nir

Thanks,
I am familiar with this principle but didn't know the name. I saw a large model of this trick at the Exploratorium in San Francisco many years ago.

The nice thing about this is to do it for a large group.
I once did it for 15 people or so, having them all shout their chosen card at the end.
The impact was amazing - try it.

Paul,

I have to agree with you.

The latter effects listed in "Number...Please?" are great. I particularly like "In Search of the Unknown Force" and "Think of Any Number".

"Reversal of Fortune" is not bad either but, IMHO, is not as "strong" as the other two effects.

I'm still trying to evaluate "Digits" so I will not comment on this effect at the present time.

Quite frankly, IMHO, I believe each of the effects in this manuscript is stronger than any of the effects that preceded it in the manuscript. Richard (Busch) does a good job of starting you out "crawling" and then taking "baby steps" before allowing you to "walk" and then "run". A good teaching strategy as each effect seems to build off of the preceding ones.

Turk

My favorite mathematical effect is the use of a calculator to generate a number, which I use as a book test. A spectator types in, say, any three digit number then multiplies it by any other three digit number then presses the equal key to produce an answer which leads to the page, line and word in a book. The number is of course one I've pre-selected. Please message be privately if you'd like to know how to do this (you need a scientific calculator to do it).

Brian.

The Gilbreath principle is not an effect but there are many fine effects based on that principle. There are also lots of tricks based on the Ramsese and Hummer principles.

I like a lot of the stuff in RedivideR, especially "Revolt Lover." This involves a principle and a sleight. Also "Paws Swap" is a favorite from that book. If I wanted to force a number, I would consider using the methods in RedivideR.

A Gilbreath trick I think is very clever is Mayhew's handling of the Marlo-Gardner Poker Deal from "Angels May shuffle but the Devil Still Deals."

Would you consider a 26th card key card a mathematical principle? If so, the 26th Card from RRTCM is good.

So much quality material in Card Concepts by Arthur Mactier (a compilation of all mathematical principles applied to cards the author has found over the years) and the absolute classic Martin Gardner's Mathematics, Magic and Mystery.

What is this principle?

If I have a deck set up so the first 26 cards mirror the second 26 exp:
1. 6D 26. 6C
2. 4H 27. 4D
3. JS 28. JC

The mate is always 26 cards away.

What and who invented this principle?

Thanks

Jeff Pierce

I think this is the Rusduck Stay-stack principle. invented/discovered in 1957 by John Russel Duck.

While not a great mathematical principle I think the Gene Finell Free Cut principle is amazing and is used in Ortiz's Cull Control effect.

No, it's not Stay Stack. Stay Stack would be a,b,c,d,e ........ e,d,c,b,a.

I am not 100% sure, but I think it is called a Cyclic Stack and also a Repeating Stack.

Hideo kato

P.S. Today, I just posted a trick based on Free Cut Principle in Secret Session.

a b c d e ... e d c b a
is a palindromic stack, can be read the same way from top or bottom. A cyclic stack is a stack that doesn't lose its properties when cut (it forms a circle) for instance Richard Osterlind break through card system stack.
nir

On a simpler note, Overkill by Paul Harris is pretty cool, & Paul Gertner's Unshuffled. Both rely on nice principles.

Hideo,
This makes sense as I originally was using the Si Stebbins cyclical stack when I realized that I could use a more random stack to achieve the same effect.

Thanks all for the input.

Jeff Pierce