Magic Lessons #36 – Hindu Force

Is this your card?
The Hindu Force is an extremely versatile card force. It can be used as a force – remember a card force is where you seemingly allow your audience to have any choice of card in a deck when, really, you are dictating a pre determined card that they will choose – or it can be used to create effects such as colour changing decks.
The Hindu Force magic trick is very similar to the Hindu shuffle the difference being that you stop mid shuffle to show the audience the card when they indicate you to stop shuffling the cards. It’s similar to an optical illusion, a very good one at that, it gives the appearance of being clean and fair.
The handling is simple and it will work with all hand sizes. The shuffle brings a real flow and rhythm that people enjoy when practicing and performing the hindu force.
Hindu Force Effectiveness:
Some people say that the Hindu Force shuffle looks weird to non magicians and for this reason it is thought to raise suspicion among the audience that something fishy is going on. My experience has been vastly different and I have never had anyone point out that I was trying to pull a sneaky card on the audience. I always thought that just saying “would you like to see a card trick” would raise enough suspicion by itself.
If it’s good enough for top professional magicians to use in their award winning routines, then it’s good enough for me.
If you end up watching some of Bill Malone’s DVD’s you’ll see him use this technique to great effect. The same can be said about Michael Close and Simon Lovell, two great magicians that I suggest you check out. These magicians can do some of the hardest card moves and they see the value in the simplicity of this utility card sleight.
Two tips to Improve the Hindu Force:
- When the audience says to stop, hold the break as it gives off the impression that the card they have chosen comes from the break when in reality it doesn’t.
- When you are showing the bottom card that they will have to remember, make sure to turn your head away and say, “I don’t want to see the card.” You already know what the card is but it helps strengthen the impression that you are unsure of the random card they have picked.
Did you enjoy this Hindu Force Trick? To learn more simple magic tricks Click here!