Midnight Sessions

2025
Written by Unnamed Magician, Salomon Vainstein
Work of Unnamed Magician
308 pages (Hardcover), published by False Anchors Productions
Illustrated with photographs
Language: English
41 entries
Cover photograph
Creators Title Comments & References Page Categories
Salomon Vainstein A Preliminary Note on reading the book as a challenge to come up with methods after the effect descriptions
 		1
Salomon Vainstein Midnight Sessions
2
Three Pile Locations
5
Unnamed Magician Three Pile Location: A Classic Improved adding an honest riffle shuffle before locating the card(s) in classic 26th-card location, DURS Principle
  • Main Method (One Selection)
  • Variant Method (Two Selections)
 		6
Unnamed Magician The Distance Unaffected by a Riffle Shuffle (DURS) Principle application of interlocking chain principle with one-way cards
Related to 22
Unnamed Magician Do It Yourself one-way faces by scratch marks
Related to 29
Unnamed Magician Three Pile Location: On Steroids version of three pile location in which all three piles can be shuffled, and also the deck at the start, DDSD Principle
  • Variant Method
Inspired by 30
Unnamed Magician The Divided Deck from a Shuffle Deck (DDSD) Principle on using one-way feature for divided deck effects
Related to 43
Unnamed Magician The Secret Move seven suggested ways to turn a packet secretly end-for-end
 		46
Tommaso Guglielmi Secrets End-for-End Turnover
50
Unnamed Magician Three Pile Location: On Meth handling of 26th-card location in which the selection is placed onto center pile which can be cut
  • Variant Method (DURS Principle)
Inspired by
  • "The Sunken Key Again" (Geoffrey Scalbert, Abracadabra, Vol. 12 No. 310, 5. Jan. 1952)
 52
Unnamed Magician Dual Control divided deck two-card location with a riffle shuffle before the location, extension of Trost's "Lost and Found"
  • Variant Method 1 (DDSD Principle)
  • Variant Method 2 (DURS Principle) (for three selections)
  • Variant Method 3 (DURS Principle) (for four selections)
  • The Dual Control Principle
Inspired by
  • "Waikiki Card Location" (Bill Murata, marketed 1945)
Related to 		71
Unnamed Magician Rain Man spectator cuts off pile and counts it, loses it and shuffles deck, performer apparently remembers card and then names card at chosen number
  • Variant Method 1
  • Variant Method 2
Inspired by
  • "Wayneman" (Wayne Dobson, Marked 4 Life ebook, 2013)
 97
Tommaso Guglielmi Reverse Si Stebbins Formula calculating the position of any card in reverse Si Stebbins
 		106
Unnamed Magician Simple Memorized Stack does not look shuffled
Related to 109
Spectator Locations
113
Unnamed Magician Spectator Locates Magician's Card deck shuffled, performer and spectator each select a card from half the deck under the table, performer's selection is written down, they find each other's card
Inspired by 114
Unnamed Magician Spectator Locates Magician's Card Again deck shuffled, performer and spectator each select a card from half the deck, performer's selection is written down, they find each other's card
Inspired by 126
Unnamed Magician Spectator Locates Magician's Card Yet Again deck shuffled, performer and spectator each select a card from half the deck, they find each other's card by cutting under the table and taking top card
  • A Last Word on the "Spectator Locates Magician's Card" Plot (comments on the three methods)
Inspired by 136
Unnamed Magician An Unfathomable Premonition three decks, spectator deals one deck and stops at any card to generate a value, the second deck is cut to generate a suit, the combined card is predicted with the third deck, 1-0-1 stack
  • Main Method (Three Decks)
  • Variant Method 1 (Two Decks)
  • Variant Method 2 (Two Decks)
Variations 147
Behind the Back Locations
171
Unnamed Magician Behind the Back Location behind the performer's back the spectator cuts off a pile, remembers bottom card and loses packet in middle of rest, performer turns around, deck is shuffled by spectator, performer locates card behind his back
 		172
Unnamed Magician Behind the Back Location Again behind the performer's back the spectator cuts off a pile and turns it face up onto the rest, remembers face card and removes it, turns face-up cards over again and selection is lost in the deck, performer turns around, deck is riffle shuffled by spectator, performer locates card behind his back
  • Variant Method (different selection procedure without back-top-back cut)
Inspired by 182
Short Card & Riffle Shuffle two cards stay together
Related to 188
Unnamed Magician, Joe Berg, Hideo Kato Peeking a Card from Behind the Back secretly peeking a card with deck held behind the back
  • 1. (sleeve method, Joe Berg)
  • 2. (placing card behind and turning over)
  • 3. (palm method, Hideo Kato)
  • 4. (open peek ruse)
  • 5. (phone/camera method)
Related to 190
The Vernon Touch making of scallop short card, also on all four sides
 		200
Unnamed Magician Behind the Back Location Yet Again behind the performer's back the spectator cuts the deck into three pile, remembers top card of middle pile and places selection in top pile and shuffles that, center pile is shuffled, all assembled, performer turns around, deck is shuffled, card located behind the performer's back
  • Main Method (Early Peek)
  • Variant Method (Late Peek)
Inspired by 202
Unnamed Magician An Essay on "Behind-the-Back" Locations on other options and procedures
 		218
Totally Impossible Locations
223
Unnamed Magician Totally Impossible Location deck shuffled, packet cut off and shuffled, top or bottom card remembered and put into remaining pile, riffle shuffle before location, Waikiki
  • Main Method (One Selection)
  • Variant Method (Two Selections)
Inspired by 224
Unnamed Magician To Waikiki and Beyond on the shuffle procedure used in the "Waikiki Card Location" and its connection to the Dual Control Principle
Related to 231
Unnamed Magician Totally Impossible Location Again deck shuffled, packet cut off and shuffled and card chosen from it by cutting it and remembering the bottom card and replacing it, all assembled and riffle shuffled twice before location
  • Main Method
  • Variant Method (DDSD Principle)
Inspired byAlso published here
  • Variant Method as "In the Eye" (Christian Grace's "Magic Monthly" membership)
 236
Unnamed Magician The One Way for One-Way on using the one-way principle in locations
 		248
Unnamed Magician Signed Behind the Back Location behind the performer's back the spectator shuffles a borrowed deck, cuts the deck into two piles and signs and remembers the top card of the bottom pile, all shuffled again, performer locates card behind his back, stranger key card
 		251
Long Distance Telepathies
265
Unnamed Magician Long Distance Telepathy: Under Test Conditions two decks, spectator deals one deck and stops at any card to generate a value, the second deck is cut to generate a suit, the combined card is divined by a phoned medium, 1-0-1 stack, range force
  • Main Method (Two Spectators)
  • Variant Method (One Spectator)
  • Further Variant Methods
Inspired by 266
Unnamed Magician Long Distance Telepathy: Under Test Conditions Again spectator deals through deck and stops at any card, a medium is phoned and spectator removes five indifferent cards and tells them to medium which divines stopped-at card
Related to 284
Unnamed Magician Long Distance Telepathy: Under Test Conditions Yet Again deck with two dozens drawings is shuffled and spread face up, spectator chooses any drawing, medium is phoned which divines the chosen design after the order of the deck is read off, not explained in book but in companion online pdf
  • Main Method (Playing Cards)
  • Variant Method (Picture Cards)
Related to
  • "Televoyance" (Lewis Jones, Person to Person, 1991)
  • "Person to Person" (Stewart James, The Linking Ring, Aug. 1957, p. 77)
 294
Unnamed Magician Concluding Remarks
300
David Britland Afterword
302
Unnamed Magician From the Desk of the Unnamed Magician
306
Data entered by Denis Behr, September 2025.