156 entries in Cards / Effect Themes / Spelling / Lie Detector (with spelling)
Creators Title Comments & References Year Source Page AA Categories
Martin Gardner Gardner's Card Speller answer to three questions is spelled, spectator can lie, still the card shows up at the end
Related toVariations 1937 3
Martin Gardner Improved Lie Speller with two cards
Inspired by
  • Martin Gardner's version in "Here's More Magic" (Joe Berg)
Related toVariations
1940 22
Jerry Sorensen That's the Way They're Done four cards are found, one with Martin Gardner's "Lie Detector Test"
1945 33
John Scarne Scarne's Lie Speller No. 96
Related toVariations 1950 182
Bob Somerfeld A Pack of Lies first questions are answered truthfully, then spectator can decide
Variations 1951
Ireland's Yearbooks (Issue Yearbook 1951)
20
Jack Avis, Larry Jennings To Lie Or Tell The Truth see also p. 840 for idea by Cushing Strout
Related to
  • p. 179 for further references
VariationsAlso published here
May 1968 175
Bruce Cervon Perfect Speller
VariationsAlso published here Dec. 1968 227
Harry Idanov The Lie Detector impromptu
Related toVariations 1968 46
Jon Racherbaumer Notes on the Lie Speller credit information, see also page 162 for comment by Cervon & Jennings
Variations Winter 1969
Hierophant (Issue 2)
57
Allan Slaight Repeat Perfect Speller simplified
Inspired byAlso published here June 1969 264
Martin Gardner Repeat Lie Speller see p. 289 for reference
Oct. 1969 288
Roy Walton The Inconsistent Liar
VariationsAlso published here 1969 53
Aldini Lie Detector Deck
1969 12
Simon Aronson "Lie Detector" Speller
Summer 1970
Hierophant (Issue 4)
173
Roger Smith The Liar Strikes Again without stack
Inspired by Dec. 1970
Necromancer (Vol. 1 No. 5)
1
Jon Racherbaumer Liars Fortune
Fall-Spring 1971
Hierophant (Issue 5-6)
298
Jack Avis Four Tricks: Random Speller
July 1975
Epilogue (Issue 24)
225
Nick Trost Automatic Lie Speller Lie Detector with verification
VariationsAlso published here 1976 12
Bob Ostin The Lie Detector variation to Lie Detector in Fingertip Fantasies, only fragment of routine
Inspired byAlso published here 1976 ca. 3
Karl Fulves Riffle Shuffle Control Placement for Perfect Speller
Inspired byRelated to 1978
Interlocutor (Issue 23)
89
Karl Fulves Perfect Speller spelling random things
Inspired by 1978
Interlocutor (Issue 27)
106
Jerry K. Hartman To Spell the Truth Lie speller, inspired by Martin Gardner
Also published here 1978 41
Martin A. Nash Unkown Speller's Central four card set-up
1979 415
Bruce Cervon The Perfect Speller credit information on Lie Speller
1979 14
Bruce Cervon, Karl Fulves R/S Plus P/S Riffle Shuffle Control plus Perfect Speller, placement of card
Related to 1979 18
Harvey Rosenthal HR's Speller Lie Speller with two selections
Inspired by 1979 18
Karl Fulves Speller Note brief note on Cervon's "Perfect Speller"
Related to 1979 20
Andrew Galloway The Fib Finder
1980 39
Roy Walton The Inconsistent Liar
Also published here 1981 45
Allan Slaight Continued combined with Stud Poker and Lie-Speller
Inspired by May 1982
Apocalypse (Vol. 5 No. 5)
633
Bob King Programmed Lie Detector full deck
1982 263
Philip T. Goldstein Manhattan Transfer lie speller with automatic control, credit information for Lie Spelling
Inspired byAlso published here 1982 5
Stephen Tucker Who's the dirty rascal? Lie detector effect, spectator spells "red/black" etc., finds selection at the end of the spelling, but rest of the deck is revealed to be blank
1984 2
Philip T. Goldstein Manhattan Transfer lie speller with automatic control, credit information for Lie Spelling
Inspired byAlso published here 1984 1
Jack Avis To Lie or Tell the Truth No. 12, impromptu
1984 16
Martin Lewis Martin's Computer Cards Nine special "computer" cards used as lie detector and divines identity of card
Variations 1985 105
Peter Duffie Tarradiddle Spelling Lie Detector effect. Full deck stack. Answers to questions spelled from deck, correctness revealed and card as well
Inspired byAlso published here 1986 9
John C. Wagner Simplex Lie Speller six card set-up
1987 138
Bruce Cervon Perfect Speller featuring Cervon's lie detector strategie
1988 29
Stewart James 3 Little Words
  • Two Pile Lie Speller: The Roots
  • Two Pile Lie Speller: The Trick
Related to 1988
The Chronicles (Issue 32)
1379
Harry Lorayne Simple Lie Detector faro
1990 140
Bruce Cervon Lie Speller brief
1990 28
Nick Trost Psi Stebbins Lie Speller
1990 169
Alex Elmsley Liars' Club with spelling, setting up in front of spectators
1991 284
Jerry K. Hartman Fall Force in context of a lie detector routine
1991 80
Jerry K. Hartman To Spell the Truth Lie speller, inspired by Martin Gardner
Also published here 1991 332
Allan Slaight I Cannot Spell A Lie
Also published here 1992 806
Marty Kane The Best Lie Detector faro
Variations Feb. 1993
Apocalypse (Vol. 16 No. 2)
2173
Ken Simmons Who's Lying? lie speller
Inspired by
  • Automatic Speller Placement Principle (Jim Steinmeyer, The New Invocation #43)
Variations
1993 28
David Neighbors Who's Lying? - Second Handling lie speller
Inspired by 1993 29
Jon Racherbaumer Dunbury Lie Speller - Eighteen-Card Version
Inspired by 1993 30
Allan Slaight I Cannot Spell A Lie
Also published here 1993 20
Tom Craven Super Speller not with full deck
Inspired by
  • "Remote Control" (Jim Steinmeyer, The New Invocation #43, Feb. 1988)
1993 22
Peter Duffie Fault Finding
1993 28
Jon Racherbaumer Dunbury Lie Speller
Variations May 1993
Magic (Vol. 2 No. 9)
58
Vicente Canuto 2.- El Detector de Mentiras
1993 354
Marty Kane Better Than Best Lie Speller simplified
Inspired by 1994
Facsimile (Issue 2)
31
Marty Kane Simplex Lie Speller
Variations 1994
Facsimile (Issue 2)
32
Marty Kane Complex Simplex Lie Speller
1994
Facsimile (Issue 2)
32
Die Zuschauer zaubern spelling routine with eight cards
Related to
  • Roy Johnson routine in Abacus, ca. 1993
May 1994
Intermagic (Vol. 18 No. 3)
105
Peter Duffie Truth Serum
Inspired by 1995 90
Harry Lorayne Apocalypse Variations Or Additions
Inspired by Nov. 1995
Apocalypse (Vol. 18 No. 11)
2579
Martin Gardner Hand-Held Pasteboard Prevarication Detector credit information
  • Phase One: Guessing the Selected Card
  • Phase Two: Detecting Lies
  • Phase Three: Testing for ESP
1995
Arcane (Issue 14)
188
Edward Marlo Mental Lie
  • First Method (memorized deck)
  • Second Method (stay stack)
Inspired by 1995
Facsimile (Issue 3)
45
Doug Canning Telephone Lying spelling lie detector over the phone
Inspired by
  • "Remote Control" (Jim Steinmeyer, The New Invocation #43, Feb. 1988)
Related to
1995 14
Karl Fulves The Lie Detector No. 4, eleven-card packet, red or black spelled from top to bottom and next card put down, continued until one card remains which is selection
1995 5
Cushing Strout 3-D Further Than That
Also published here July 1995
Magic (Vol. 4 No. 11)
64
Paul Cummins Prevarication Detection
1996 14
Michael Close The Lie Detector Lie Speller Plot, with prediction
1996 7
Bruce Cervon The Cervon "Perfect Speller"
1996 11
Bob King, Jim Steinmeyer, Jon Racherbaumer Tele-Mental
Also published here 1996 23
Harry Lorayne, Jim Steinmeyer Spel(l)egant small packet
Related to Apr. 1997
Apocalypse (Vol. 20 No. 4)
2773
Nick Trost Automatic Lie Speller Lie Detector with verification
Related toVariationsAlso published here 1997 155
Peter Duffie Divided We Lie Lie Detector with two selections in two piles, kicker where selection is different color from rest of the packet
Inspired by 1997 48
Peter Duffie The Lie Detective Lie Detector effect with one selection, identity of cards determine if spectator is telling truth/lie (e.g. spot/court, suit)
Inspired by
  • "Forces Favourite" (Ed Ward, Abacus Vol. 3, No. 11)
1997 50
Ron Bauer The Lie Detector three packets, selection is found on top of remainder, impromptu version
Inspired by 1997 1
David Solomon Steinmeyer's Nine Card Problem with Seven Cards
Inspired byRelated to
  • "Remote Control" (Jim Steinmeyer, The New Invocation #43, Feb. 1988)
Variations
1997 19
David Solomon A Telephone Mystery telephone version
1997 21
Bob White Lie Detector
Also published here 1997 20
Jerry K. Hartman Lied and True Steinmeyer Count Principle
Related toAlso published here Winter 1998 159
Gene Gordon Lie Detector With A Surprise lie speller with packet, at the end the selection is odd-backed and other cards blank
Inspired by Oct. 1998
Onyx (Issue 5)
35
Rajneesh Madhok, Alain Nu Business Sense Solomon's effect done with seven business cards
Inspired by Oct. 1998
Magic (Vol. 8 No. 2)
73
Bob King, Jim Steinmeyer, Jon Racherbaumer Telemental
Also published here 2000 20
Allan Slaight Strout Fellow
Inspired byAlso published here 2000 20
Jerry Mentzer Lie Detector Test
2000 54
David Regal Compounding a Lie nine card problem
  • Handling No. 1: Red-handed (odd-backed)
  • Handling No. 2: Nothing But the Truth (other cards blank)
Also published here July 2000
Genii (Vol. 63 No. 7)
57
Karl Fulves Guiding Light diminishing speller with packet
Variations 2000
Discoverie (Issue 2)
20
Philip T. Goldstein Forked Tongue first questions are answered truthfully, then spectator can decide
Inspired by 2000 17
Roy Walton Cardputer card thought of from five-card packet, cards spelled out according to color and other characteristics
Inspired by
  • "1st Experiment" (Peter Duffie, from his website)
2000 45
Simon Aronson Truth-Sayer Lie Detector effect with Aronson (four versions)
2001 245
Terry LaGerould Cardboard Lie Detector with packet, Nine Card Problem
2001 50
David Regal Compounding A Lie nine cards from deck
  • Version One - Red-handed (odd-backed)
  • Version Two - Nothing but the Truth (other cards blank)
Also published here 2002 12
Karl Fulves Could You Spell That? spelling ideas from Si Stebbins stack
  • Si Spell
  • Die Spell
  • Sly Spell
  • Lie Spell
Inspired by 2002 260
Marty Kane Single Decker Spell Checker
2002 82
Marty Kane The Anna Graham Scam with letters on the back to form words
Related to
  • Marty Kane's "Anna Graham's Magic Spells" in "Precursor" #76.
2002 83
Robin Robertson, Peter Duffie Lie Decktector four of a kind as climax, using the Matsuyama Force
2002 89
Andi Gladwin Lie Deck-Tector "yes" or "no" spelled as answers to questions, next card is the selection, followed by three mates
June 2002
Ego (Vol. 1 No. 12)
17
Simon Aronson Self Control Lie Speller spectator cuts off pile and counts, remembers card at same position in rest while reverse-counting them, assembles everything
  • Self Control Location Procedure
  • Lie Speller Revelation (à la Bruce Cervon)
Inspired byAlso published here 2003 8
Simon Aronson Self Control Lie Speller spectator cuts off pile and counts, remembers card at same position in rest while reverse-counting them, assembles everything
  • Self Control Location Procedure
  • Lie Speller Revelation (à la Bruce Cervon)
Also published here 2003 2
Cushing Strout The Gypsy Foretells Further Than Farther with credit information
Inspired byRelated toVariations Feb. 2004
The Penumbra (Issue 7)
7
Grace Ann Morgan The Card Trick That Has No Explanation challenge presentation for Cervon's speller
  • The Spelling Procedure
Inspired by 2004 5
Peter Duffie Tarradiddle answers to questions spelled from deck, correctness revealed and card as well
  • Notes by David Britland
Inspired byVariationsAlso published here 2004 68
John C. Wagner, Jim Steinmeyer Packet Lie Detector #2
Inspired by 2005 26
Cushing Strout Further Than That and the Lie Detector Combine Further Than That with lie detector plot

Also includes variation based on The Nine Card Problem, and Alex Elmsley's Tell Me Three Times
Inspired by 2005 20
Bob White Lie Detector
Also published here 2005 36
Bob Ostin Improved "Lie Detector" variation to Lie Detector in Fingertip Fantasies, only fragment of routine
Also published here 2005 90
Peter Duffie Here Lies the Truth hands-off spell lie detector
Also published here
  • Best of Alchemy Card Magic (compiled by Paul Halls, 2002)
2005 42
Jack Avis Lie or Tell the Truth
Also published here 2006 88
Jack Avis Tell Me a Lie - Truth will Out "Using my Double Side Deal"
2006 92
Marty Kane Triple Lie Detector two selection are found by spelling and down-under deals, spectators can lie while spelling
2006 82
Michael Powers The 7 Card 21 Card Trick
  • Telephone Method
Inspired by 2006 125
Michael Powers The Money Game card signed and lost, seven envelopes with money, lie detector and answers are spelled with envelopes, remaining envelope contains selection
Variations 2006 168
Roger Crosthwaite Polygraph impromptu, ends with plunger pushing until selection remains
Inspired by
  • "Computerised Lie Detector" (Gary Plant, Precursor XVIL)
Also published here
  • Abacus magazine
2006 58
Jerry K. Hartman Lied and True spectator selects card and loses it in packet through series of mixes and many “lie-detector-question” deals, in the end the selection is found
Inspired by
  • "Acme Lie Detector" (Marty Kane, private correspondence)
Also published here
2007 337
Justin Higham, Kevin Baker The NoBo Lie Detector "No" = Bottom
  • First Version
  • Second Version (Kevin Baker)
  • Third Version (Kevin Baker)
  • Fourth Version (Kevin Baker)
  • Fifth Version
  • Sixth Version
  • Seventh Version
  • Eighth Version (Kevin Baker)
  • Ninth Version
  • Tenth Version (Kevin Baker)
Inspired by
  • Blackstone's Modern Card Tricks, pp. 130-133
Related toVariations
2008 57
Roy Walton Liar's Guide lie speller with ten-card packet to locate mate
Inspired by 2008
Prolix (Issue 4)
214
Steve Beam Sunny Side Up Killer Count variation that produces a certain card at any number, card or packet or both can be face up
  • Basic Concept
  • In Name Only
  • To Tell The Truth
Inspired by 2008 65
Bruce Cervon Perfect Speller
Also published here 2008 47
Allan Slaight Slaight Refinement of "Perfect Speller"
Also published here 2008 49
Allan Slaight I Cannot Spell a Lie
Also published here 2008 118
Allan Slaight Strout Fellow
Also published here 2008 156
Cushing Strout As Far As You Want To Go
Inspired byRelated toAlso published here 2009 45
Burton S. Sperber The Ten-Card Trick
2010 103
Harry Lorayne Nine To Twelve a few cards including selection taken and a series of tricks performed
  • Reverse Faro Ending
  • Spel(l)egant
  • No-Force Lorayne Force
  • Telekinesis
Related to 2011 98
Karl Fulves Black Diamonds lie speller variation in which answers to questions are chosen by random notes on paper
Related to 2012
Prolix (Issue 10)
673
Nick Trost Eight-Card Lie Speller thought card revealed with eight-card-packet as computer
Inspired by 2013 695
Nick Trost Lie Speller - An Easy Method three answers to questions are spelled out from deck and lead to selection, credit information for lie speller plot
Also published here
  • Cardman's Packet, 1964
2013 697
Tomas Blomberg L-I-A-R Lie Detector effect using blank-faced cards where it is written either "True" or "False". The cards are able to detect when the spectator is telling the true about a selected card, ending with the selection appearing in the packet
Variations 2014 191
Max Maven La Baraja Mentirosa Despite the deck lying, the magician uses it to determine the color and value of the selection, and to locate the selection.
Inspired by
  • "My Own Particular Way" (Ryan Matney, Card Jones, 2004)
  • "Spell of Mystery" (Stewart James, marketed, 1929)
Also published here
2014
El Manuscrito (Vol. 7 No. 27)
915
Doug Conn Impossible Speller Mentally selected card revealed by spelled to it.
2015 21
Steve Beam Facade version of Lewis Jones effect where questions are asked and the true or false answers are spelt/dealt into piles on the table, ultimately producing a royal flush.
Related to 2015 72
Max Maven Lie-Decker Despite the deck lying, the magician uses it to determine the color and value of the selection, and to locate the selection.
Related toAlso published here 2015 39
Steve Beam Si-Decker despite always lying, the deck provides the color, suit, and parity of the selected card, and then helps to locate it
Inspired by 2015 41
Marty Kane Tri-Detector After spelling the characteristics of his card (color, parity, spot or court) during which he can lie or tell the truth, he produces his card.
Variations 2015 177
Karl Fulves The Reject Deck lie speller in which one deck is used to spell spectator's claims (color, suit, ..) and another deck used to spell the other option, posed as a problem
2015
Errata (Issue 1)
10
Karl Fulves Note 1 notes on Target Practice
Related to 2015
Errata (Issue 1)
11
Gene Anderson, Dennis Loomis, Nick Trost The Lie Speller
Inspired by 2016 223
Adrian Vega, Jim Steinmeyer Código Secreto lie detector with two sets of eight cards
2017 55
Eugene Burger Telephone Magic card from seven-card packet is chosen and found by spectator himself, Nine Card Problem
  • Spanish Language Version
Inspired by 2017 125
David Solomon Reverse Count Lie-Speller
Inspired by 2018 135
Doug Canning, Steve Beam Freedom Speller
2018 77
Steve Beam, Doug Canning The New Deal
2018 78
Steve Beam The Simple Truth spectator tries to guess selection, similar to the lie speller plot
2018 80
Steve Beam Base Ten using the 9-principle
Inspired by 2018 83
Alberto de Figueiredo, David Solomon Detector Solomónico
Inspired by 2018 237
Harapan Ong You Can't Handle the Truth Lie detector, spelling
Inspired by 2019 66
Helder Guimarães Liar's Truth "The Consequences of Intentions"
card chosen, then spectator lies about it and this liar card is spelled to and shows up, then it changes into original selection
Inspired by 2019 230
Michael Powers The Lying Traveler three packets, selection travels from packet to packet, lie speller finale
Inspired by 2019 21
Michael Powers The Money Game Revisited card signed and lost, seven envelopes with money, lie detector and answers are spelled with envelopes, remaining envelope contains selection
Inspired by 2019 280
Patrick G. Redford, Nick Trost Semi-Automatic Lie Detector Reworking of Nick Trost's classic Lie Detector
Inspired by 2019 194
Jim Steinmeyer The Lie That Tells the Truth
Inspired by 2020 18
Eugene Burger Perfect Speller
Inspired by 2021 141
George McBride Polygraph puzzling placement
2022 74
Roy Walton All Lies from 1980s correspondence
2022 100
Donny Orbit Poly-Deck lie detector/spelling effect with forcing deck
Also published here
  • MAGIC, Mar. 2009
2022 842
Gary Plants, Dai Vernon Dai Vernon's Lie Detector answers to several questions are spelled out, at the end one arrives at the selection
2023 17