Mind reading tricks are some of the most common tricks in any mentalist’s handbook. That said, it still doesn’t stop people from feeling stumped after they get hit with a number prediction trick.
Now, there are several ways you can perform a mentalism number prediction trick. And today, we’ll be teaching you mentalism number prediction – 3 ways you can guess someone’s number. Plus, we’ll throw in a few tips to improve your overall technique.
So let’s get started!
3 Ways to Guess Someone’s Number
The secret to a successful performance is all in the execution. The smoother your technique, the easier it is to pull off your trick!
Confidence also plays a huge part in selling your act. The more sure you are of yourself, the easier it will be for your audience to trust you and open themselves up to you.
Master both execution and confidence, and you won’t have trouble performing the tricks that we’ll be introducing to you below.
Here are 3 ways to guess someone’s number without them telling you.
1. Using the Swami Gimmick
This trick is simple but complicated to achieve. You need to have ample experience with the Swami Gimmick as well as some knowledge of sleight of hand.
Don’t know what the Swami Gimmick is?
It’s simply a tiny lead pencil that you attach to your thumb. The result will be that you can write something without anyone knowing.
Now, back to the trick.
You start by randomly choosing a person from your audience. You have them climb up on stage with you. With a pen or pencil and a pad of paper in hand, instruct your subject to think of their phone number.
Say this, “I want you to confirm with everyone that this is the first time we’ve ever met, so there’s absolutely no way that I could know your phone number.”
Ask your subject to think about the first digit of their phone number clearly in their mind. While they do that, write the first number on your pad. When you’re through with all seven numbers, ask your subject to hold the pen or pencil for you.
Let them recite their phone number. Once they’re done, show them your notepad and sure enough, you’ve written the exact same combination.
How did that happen?
While asking your subject to think of his phone number, you’re not actually writing anything on the notepad… yet.
When you give him your pen and pencil, that confirms that you can’t make changes to your notepad. But what they don’t know is that, while they recite their phone number, you’re using the Swami Gimmick to write it on the notepad.
Again, you’ll have to practice this to not give it away.
2. Calculator Trick
This trick works great when you’re trying to get someone’s number but you also want to make a cool first impression.
Ask if you can borrow their phone for a trick. If they give in, hop on to their calculator and tell them, “I can guess your phone number using only this calculator.”
Now, instruct them to enter the first three (3) digits of their phone on the calculator. (Make sure to tell them not to include their area code, otherwise, this won’t work.)
Have them multiply those three digits by 80 then add 1. Remind your subject to press equals before a new calculation to avoid losing progress.
After they’ve added one, ask them to multiply the result by 250. Now, say, “I know it’s looking like a big number right now, but I want you to add the last four numbers of your phone number to the result.”
Have your subject add the number again a second time, then ask them to subtract 250 from the result.
At this point, they’ll have a strangely long number that doesn’t resemble their phone number in any way. You can make a whole show out of it by asking to borrow their phone saying, “I’m sorry, I guess I couldn’t read your mind right.” But when you hand them back their phone, their number should be scrawled on the top screen.
Or, to present it another way, you can look at the long number in the calculator and start quoting their phone number.
How did that happen?
At the end of the trick, when you ask your subject to borrow her phone, you divide the final result by two. This should leave you with seven digits which are your subject’s phone number.
This trick will work no matter what number you get, as long as you exclude the area code. Make sure you tell your subject not to include it during the trick.
Don’t believe us? Try it on yourself!
Note: if you want to reveal the phone number by just quoting it, make sure to delete the calculation in the phone before handing it back.
3. Math Magic
The final trick we’re teaching you is a simple 10-step trick to “predict” someone’s phone number.
Once again, you’ll need a calculator for this trick. The one on your phone should be fine but you can do this with any type of calculator available.
Have your friend hold the calculator and ask them to enter their area code into the calculator. Multiply that number by 40.
Multiply the result again by 25. Then add the next three digits of their phone number to the result.
Multiply that number by 50. Then add 1 to the result.
Multiply everything by 400 and add the last four digits of their number to the result.
Ask them to add the last four digits of their phone number to the result one more time.
Note: remember to tell your subject to always press equals every time they place a new calculation.
Tell your friend to recite the number for you. It should be waaay off from their actual number.
You can act like you’re disappointed by the results, say “Man, I really thought I’d get your number with that last combination!”
After a few moments, ask your friend to divide the final result by two. What should come up is his seven-digit number plus his area code.
How did this happen?
The numbers are fixed to give you the exact digits of a person’s phone number, regardless of what they put in.
Note: of course, you can decide how you want to reveal their phone number. The ones I wrote in this article are just suggestions.
Wrap Up
These are just 3 of the easiest ways you guess someone’s number.
There are so many other mentalism number prediction tricks out there.
But before that, master these 3, with great execution and confidence, and you’ll be able to do the harder number prediction tricks in no time.
Good luck!