Encased by Mark Strivings (PDF Instruction)

Limited to 30 Units!  A Reputation Maker – Nothing Less…  What you’re getting is an interactive crowd-pleasing, field-tested ‘routine,’ by respected Mentalist Mark Strivings. – Neal Scryer

You have 4 decks of cards. The spectator names any card, and any number for the deck (1-4). There is NO FORCE of any kind.  Nevertheless, that will be the deck in which the selected card appears reversed!  Give that some thought…. That’s the power of Encased! 

“OMG is this devious. I LOVE IT. Mark, you have outdone yourself this time. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for making this available.” – Wendy Wylde

I am having a lot of fun with Mark Striving’s Encased – magicians just can’t work it out and it plays big! – Allan Karasavas

Picture this. The performer points to someone in the audience and says they are about to be shown four objects and to pick one, #1, 2, 3 or 4. Let’s say they pick 2. There is no force. They then point to someone else that they do not know. That person is instructed to name a playing card. Any card can be named, it’s a free choice. Let’s say they select the Seven of Clubs. There are potential visual gags that can accompany these selections and are included.

The performer produces a small lock box. Upon opening it, it is shown to contain four decks of playing cards coinciding with positions 1, 2, 3 and 4. The number that was selected was 2, and that deck is set aside in plain view. Deck #1 is then uncased and the audience is instructed to look for the selected card, the 7C. The performer spreads slowly through the cards, showing each and every card. When he reaches the end of the deck he turns it over and spreads once again, showing the back of each and every card to be blue. Once done, he inquires if anyone saw the freely named card. Everyone in the room acknowledges that they did indeed see it. Then the performer asks if anyone in the room saw the back of the 7C and once again everyone acknowledges they did. This invariably gets a chuckle. This procedure is then repeated with deck #3, showing every single card in the deck as well as its back, and acknowledging that everyone saw the freely named card. This procedure is then repeated one more time with deck #4, showing front and back of every card, and everyone seeing the 7C.

Finally, the performer uncases deck #2, the chosen deck. Once again he spreads the cards slowly from hand to hand, instructing everyone to look for the freely named card, the 7C. Suddenly in the middle of the deck a single reversed card is found. This is placed aside in full view, and the spreading of the deck continues, showing every single card in the deck. The deck is then turned over and the back of every single card is shown to be blue. But something is different! When asked if everyone saw the freely named card, no one did! It wasn’t there. PLUS there was a single reversed card in the deck. BUT then the performer points out that when the backs of every single card in all four decks was shown, they were all blue, and this single reversed card has a RED BACK!

It is only then that performer reveals that before he came to the show he removed a single card from one of the four decks and replaced it reversed with the very same card from a completely different deck! Not only did the spectators pick the only deck of the four that had anything different (reversed card and the freely named card is missing) but when the single red back card is turned around, it’s THE SEVEN OF CLUBS!

It is with infinite thanks to my dear friend Paul Noffsinger that I am able to present this incredible effect to you.

On the surface this appears to be an extension of the classic ‘Brainwave’ and ‘Invisible’ decks. And indeed it is, sort of, a little bit, kinda, but not really. This goes MUCH further than either of those classics effect has ever gone. The great Dai Vernon created ‘Brainwave’ and Joe Berg created the ‘Ultramental’ deck (aka the Invisible deck), but I am quite certain that if either one of these creative geniuses were to witness ‘Encased,they would be floored.

Carefully consider the following. With ‘Encased’ there is:

• ZERO sleight of hand of any kind

• You show both sides of every card in all four decks

• Only one card is reversed and it is always the selected card, from a different deck altogether

• Any card can be chosen, there is no force of any kind

• Any number for the deck (1-4) can be chosen, no force of any kind, and that will be the deck in which the selected card appears reversed

• If you can spread a deck of cards from hand to hand you can do this trick

• This is an easy effect to perform. You will be able to do it within 20 minutes of opening the package, although you really should rehearse

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