If you’re a practicing mentalist looking for ways to improve your skills, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll discuss 4 mentalism “secrets” all mentalists should know. With this, you can incorporate it into your performances for an even more mind-boggling trick.
So let’s get started learning the secrets!
Mentalism Secret #1: The Swami Gimmick
If you haven’t already heard of the Swami Gimmick a.k.a. Swami Writer, it’s a prop used by many mentalists and magicians.
The prop consists of a small pencil lead held in a clear plastic sleeve that you can fit over your thumb. No one will be able to see this.
With this, you can secretly write information down on the spot.
Let’s say, for example, you do a mentalism prediction trick. You pretend that you wrote a prediction (when in reality, you didn’t write anything yet). By the end of the trick, when your spectator reveals his/her answer, you get out your prediction, all the while quickly writing the answer with the Swami Gimmick.
When considering using the Swami Gimmick, the first thing you must do is decide which type of swami writer will suit you best. The most common writer types are:
- The Undernail Writer
- The C-Type Writer
- The Band Writer
- The Thumbtip Writer
- The Color Writer
- The Ball Pen Ink Writer
- The Liquid Ink Writer
- The Stylus Writer
- The White Swami Writer
- The Toe Writer
Here’s a review of the Undernail Writer for you to get a better picture:
Looking for a Swami Gimmick? You can find it in most magic shops.
Mentalism Secret #2: The Different Card Grips
Before you can do any fancy card flourishes, the first thing you want to learn is how to properly hold a deck of cards.
Now, there are several card grip secrets that mentalists should know. Let’s look at the 3 most common ones:
Biddle Grip
For this type of grip, you’ll want to hold the deck with your dominant hand positioning your thumb in the back, your pointer finger curled on top, and your remaining three fingers in the front.
The Biddle Grip is good for shuffling the cards and/or cutting the cards, ensuring none of your cards fly out of your grip.
Dealer’s Grip
With Dealer’s Grip, you hold your cards in your non-dominant hand and you put your thumb on the side, your pointer finger on the top, and your last three fingers on the other side of the deck. It should look like your deck is being cradled in your hand.
Dealer’s Grip is used for flourishes like spreading the cards. It’s also a “cool” way to hold your cards while you’re explaining the mechanics of a trick to a subject or audience.
Mechanic’s Grip
The Mechanic’s Grip is quite similar to the Dealer’s Grip, where it requires you to put your cards in your non-dominant hand with your thumb on the side and pointer finger in the front.
The only difference is, instead of having all three remaining fingers cradling the other side of the deck, you displace your pink and put it at the bottom or backend of the deck, so now all four sides of the deck are encased.
This offers more stability and allows you to get a firmer grip on your cards. It’s great for flourishes like the card spring and/or fanning the cards.
Mentalism Secret #3: Switching Card Packs
There are several ways you can switch card packs, but we’ll be talking about the technique that Tony Corinda uses in his book “13 Steps to Mentalism.”
Let’s say you’re in the middle of a trick and you’ve just finished showing your subject a deck of cards. You want him to hold it, but at the same time, you want to switch the deck out with a different one that you have stored in your pocket.
Here’s what you can do.
Tell your subject, “Now, I want you to take the cards and place them in your left jacket pocket, like this…”
Act out your instructions, as if showing your subject what to do. While your hand is inside your jacket, drop the deck into your pocket and switch it out with your secret deck. Once you have a secure grip on your cards, hand them to your subject.
If done correctly, you should be able to get away with the switch easily.
Mentalism Secret #4: The Carbon Prediction Envelope
Prediction tricks can be done in several ways using different techniques — the carbon prediction envelope is one of them.
The method is simple.
You have a specially prepared envelope and inside is a sheet of black carbon paper. Make sure the paper goes on the address side with the glossy side facing outwards. This way, when you put a card in the envelope and impress from the outside, you can easily duplicate the writing or drawing on a separate card inside.
Pro Tip: Dress up the story a little bit by adding simple details. For instance, instead of just having a drawing or a number written on a piece of paper or card, you should consider adding a properly worded letter or prediction above or below the drawing.
Be careful how you space your prediction, otherwise, you could give away your entire trick by mistakenly impressing your “prediction” over your own words.
The Bottom Line
There is no shortage of mentalism “secrets” that mentalists can tap into to improve their tricks and performances.
Some are easy and others may take time to learn and master. The important thing is that you do your due diligence and learn from the masters that have come before you. From Theodore Anneman to Banacheck — study their techniques and methods. Then build on what they already know.
We hope these 4 mentalism “secrets” all mentalists should know helps you on your journey.
Stay tuned for future articles on the top mentalism secrets every mentalist should know.