Thought-of Cards

108 entries in Cards / Effect Themes / Spelling / Thought-of Cards
Creators Title Comments & References Year Source Page AA Categories
Theodore Annemann A New Thought Card Spelling Effect
1931 The Book Without A Name 14
Mental Spelling progressive spelling set-up
 		1935 Mental Magic with Cards 17
Theodore Annemann Magic vs. Mindreading two decks, spectator puts one in pocket, from the other he selects a card mentally, card is spelled in both decks and the last card is the thought of
Also published here 1935 Complete One Man Mental and Psychic Routine 5
James Kater Thompson Kater's Improved Spelling Trick No. 28, one from a bank thought of and then spelled out
 		1935 Card Tricks that are Easy to Learn, Easy to Do 29
Bob Hummer The Puzzling Speller progressive set-up, dealing placement
Related toAlso published here 1936 The Jinx (Issue Winter Extra 1935/36) 83
Thought Spelling progressive set-up, three spectators
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 53
Quadruple Spelling progressive set-up, four spectators
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 54
Theodore Annemann Another Thought Spelling progressive set-up
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 54
Jimmy Kater Improved Spelling Trick progressive set-up
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 55
Think It - Spell It progressive set-up with eight cards
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 55
Theodore Annemann Think of a Card one of eighteen, card spelled out, short card
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 65
Henry Christ Spell Me! thought-of card, progressive set-up
Related toVariations 1937 The Jinx (Issue 30) 195
Commander Slayton Spelling a Card merely Thought Of: Commander Slayton's Method
Variations 1938 Greater Magic 315
John Northern Hilliard J.N. Hilliard's Method thought-of speller, ten-card set-up
 		1938 Greater Magic 317
Theodore Annemann Magic versus Mentalism thought of card is spelled to from two decks, progressive spelling set-up
 		1939 The Jinx (Issue 52) 363
Alphonso Much Thought three thought-of cards found by spelling, two decks, progressive spelling set-up
 		1939 The Jinx (Issue Winter Extra 1938/39) 367
Simultaneous Magic four decks, four people think of a card and later spell it (progressive spelling set-up)
 		1939 More Card Manipulations (Issue 2) 41
Multi-Spelling Trick "The repeat Spelling of Mentally Selected Cards"
Variations 1940 Expert Card Technique 347
Val Evans The Auto Repeato Speller divided deck spelling stack, card thought of from one half
 		1941 Stacks and Stacks Of Cards 21
Eddie Joseph The Final Speller a few cards chosen, one of them though of, it is spelled to without adjustments
 		1942 Greater Card Tricks 39
Frederick Mosteller Bravo! five decks, multiple phase mental speller, suits spelled and values counted (count-spell), see Back Room reference for corrections
Related toVariations 1943 The Phoenix 1-50 (Issue 49) 200
Frederick Mosteller Encore! spelling to the thought of card, gaffed deck, count-spell
Inspired byVariationsAlso published here 1944 The Phoenix 51-100 (Issue 58) 236
Theodore Annemann Magic vs. Mentalism two decks, spectator puts one in pocket, from the other he selects a card mentally, card is spelled in both decks and the last card is the thought of
Also published here 1944 Practical Mental Effects 265
Frederick Mosteller, Frederick Braue, Orville Wayne Meyer Encore Spelling to the thought of card, gaffed deck, three versions, count-spell
Related to 1945 My Best 103
Thought Stealer progressive set up
Variations 1948 The Royal Road to Card Magic 23
Vern Schoneck Spellbound two variations of a speller, spectator thinks of a card in the deck, performer puts cards on by one on spectator's hand, who spells his card in his mind, the last letter is his card
 		1948 The Phoenix 101-150 (Issue 142) 570
Ronald B. Edwards X-Spell-I-Mental mental speller
 		1948 The Phoenix 151-200 (Issue 161) 648
Bob Haskell Psychic Spell six cards on the table, spectator thinks of one, cards are mixed face down and performer touches them one by one as spectator spells his card in his head, selection is touched on last letter
 		1949 52 Amazing Card Tricks 6
Cardini Cardini's Mind Reading Card Trick No. 16, one of six cards thought-of, shuffled back in half the deck, then spelled to, six duplicates and progressive spelling set-up
 		1950 Scarne on Card Tricks 33
Gerald Kosky Tricky Mentalist thought-of card is spelled to
 		1953 The Phoenix 251 — 300 (Issue 276) 1103
Dai Vernon Mental Spell progressive set-up
 		1957 The Dai Vernon Book of Magic 177
Lin Searles Doublethink Speller as Lynn Searles, cut deck in three piles, cards are mentally selected and found by spelling
 		1958 Ireland's Yearbooks (Issue Yearbook 1958) 33
Russell "Rusduck" Duck Tele-Mental one to four spectators get cards, think of one, mental speller
 		1958 The Cardiste (Issue 7) 8
Edward Marlo Mental Spell is this Paul Rosini's? Fingertip peeked at card is spelled to, progressive spelling set-up
 		1962 Estimation 49
Dai Vernon Mental Spell one of ten, multiple out, setup??
 		1967 Ultimate Secrets of Card Magic 41
Paul Swinford Duo-Spell two thought-of cards, sixteen card set-up
Related to 1968 Faro Fantasy 30
Edward Marlo Speller Presentation thought-of spelling with progressive set-up and optional prediction (billet index)
 		1968 Expert Card Conjuring 86
Paul Swinford Duo Spell two mentally chosen cards spelled out, see p. 206 for references and mention of Swinford & Cairy's "Computer Cards"/"Cyberdeck"
Related toVariationsAlso published here July 1968 The Pallbearers Review Vol. 1-4 (Vol. 3 No. 9) 194
Edward Marlo Multiple Mental Spell four spectators spell down to mentally selected cards, stack, second method with bank of twenty-four duplicates (page 182)
 		1969 Expert Card Mysteries 179
Roy Walton The Helensburgh Speller
Also published here 1969 The Devil's Playthings 56
Joseph K. Schmidt JKSpell packet, progressive spelling set-up, see also p. 864 for credit information
Inspired by
  • "Magic Spell" (Dai Vernon, Hugard's Magic Monthly, Oct. 1946, p. 259)
 Feb. 1975 The Pallbearers Review Vol. 9-10 (Vol. 10 No. 4) 861
Roger Smith Think-Spell - And the Great Invisible Pass thought-of card spelled to, then put in center and comes back to top, progressive set-up
 		1975 Smith's Mini-Lecture Notes No. 1 5
Alex Elmsley, Frederick Mosteller another encore red & black card thought of, they are spelled to after some shuffling (see Legendary Kabbala for Elmsley credit)
Inspired byRelated toVariations 1976 Kabbala — Volume 3 (Vol. 3 No. 12) 153
Thought Speller No. 30, card from small packet thought-of, later found when another spectator says stop as cards are removed from pocket one by one
 		1976 Self-Working Card Tricks 48
Roger Smith, Steve Saunders, Ron Hicks The Spell of a Good Magician three thought-of cards spelled to, they then change to Aces to match a fourth card, faro
 		1977 Innovative Magic No. 1 9
Harry Lorayne Cast and Instant Spell progressive spelling set-up
 		1977 The Magic Book 151
Tan Hock Chuan Spell your Card Spectator thinks of one card from a group of six, spells to find it
 		1977 The Magic of Tan Hock Chuan 13
Allan Slaight Slaight's Sequel mental speller
Also published here 1978 The Chronicles (Issue 6) 1116
Ken De Courcy Mental Choice
1980 Super Spell 7
Bob Hummer The Puzzling Speller progressive set-up, dealing placement
Also published here 1980 Bob Hummer's Collected Secrets 1
Jeff Altman Short and Sweet progressive set-up
 		Sep. 1981 Apocalypse (Vol. 4 No. 9) 532
Max Abrams Max Abrams version for puzzling speller and highlighting mistake in original description
Related to 1981 Bob Hummer's Collected Secrets 112
Roy Walton The Helensburgh Speller
Also published here 1981 The Complete Walton — Volume 1 48
Derek Dingle Miracle Mental Spell to two freely thought of cards, count-spell principle
Related to 1982 The Complete Works of Derek Dingle 169
Charles T. Jordan Speaking of Pink Elephants ad from 1916 with color changing deck, glued pairs, later 1919 variation with glued pairs and also normal cards in between like in Menetekel, also with spelling and across phase
 		1983 A History of the Brainwave Principle 15
Edward Marlo Mental Spell spelled to thought-of card card
 		1984 Marlo's Magazine Volume 5 242
Stewart James Doublethink spelling trick with story line, works with Si Stebbins
 		1984 Epoptica (Issue Yearbook) 282
Paul Swinford Duo Spell No. 84, two mentally chosen cards spelled out
Also published here 1984 More Self-Working Card Tricks 126
Frederick Braue Mental Telepathy Stack four spectators think of a card from a group, they're spelled out, progressive spellers (1935)
 		1985 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 1) 1
Thought Card Detection (1938)
 		1985 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 2) 19
Frederick Braue 2) Mental Speller
1985 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 4) 13
Edward Marlo A Spelling Miracle spectator spells to freely thought of card
 		1988 Marlo's Magazine Volume 6 301
Sam Leo Horowitz Mental Spelling progressive set up
 		1989 The Vernon Chronicles — Volume 3 xvii
Jerry K. Hartman Hot Spell thought of card is mentally spelled, duplicates
 		1991 Card Craft 662
James Swain Shocked prediction card in pocket finds one selection by spelling and matches another thought of selection
Inspired by 1992 Don't Blink 37
Frederick Braue The Card You Took eight cards, progressive spelling, using Braue Memorized Deck
 		1992 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 6) 3
Frederick Braue The Thought Stealer one of six cards, progressive spelling, using Braue Memorized Deck
 		1992 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 6) 4
Frederick Braue, Dai Vernon Vernon Plus Braue thought-of cards from eight-card packet found via a spelling and down-under procedure
Related to 1992 The Fred Braue Notebooks (Issue 6) 4
Edward Marlo Predicted Mental Spell spelling effect with predictions on billets
 		1993 The Olram File (Issue 16) 3
Philip T. Goldstein Spellastic Aces lost, one thought-of, Jack of Clubs appears reversed in deck and thought-of Ace is spelled from there
 		Dec. 1993 Profile (Issue 17) 1
Peter Duffie The Psychic Speller with packet of ten cards
 		1993 Card Selection 9
Tom Daugherty Under your Spell one card is thought of
Variations Feb. 1994 Apocalypse (Vol. 17 No. 2) 2326
Paul Rosini Paul Rosini's Spelling Trick with a Mentally Chosen Card progressive set-up
 		1994 More Greater Magic 1205
John Northern Hilliard Hilliard's Spelling Trick with a Mentally Chosen Card progressive set-up
 		1994 More Greater Magic 1205
Al Saal Addition to Commander Slayton's Spelling Trick
Related to 1994 More Greater Magic 1225
Jean Hugard, Roberto Giobbi, Arthur Finley Thought Stealer spectator spells name of his thought of card, progressive set-up
Inspired by 1995 Card College — Volume 1 49
Peter Duffie Spell Or Deal, It's Up to You! Spectator thinks of any card in packet, magician divines it, then choose to either down/under deal to it or spell to it.
 		1997 Effortless Card Magic 118
Marty Kane Part Three - Using 6 Target Cards
  • The Spell of Royalty
  • Variation #1
  • Variation #2
  • Pellmell Spell
  • Variation #1
  • Variation #2
  • Variation #3
  • Spelling and Think-King
  • Variation #1
  • Variation #2
  • Parallel Spell
  • Variation
  • Clientele Under Your Spell
  • Variation
  • Monthly Spells
  • Variation
  • Blanking Out Spells
  • Variation for Two Spectators
  • Variation for Three Spectators
Related to 1997 The Trapdoor — Volume Three (Issue 66) 1325
Barry Levy Impossible Revelation reprint of instructions, first marketed in 1978 by Tannen
card thought of and then spelled to, using a deck with seventeen double enders, progressive spelling
Related to 1997 The Fine Print (Issue 5) 98
Peter Duffie Elucidation one of thirteen thought of
 		1997 N.D.E. — A Near Deck Experience 11
Joe Rindfleisch Mental Spell packet routine
 		Oct. 1998 Onyx (Issue 5) 24
Michael Skinner, Alex Elmsley Masterful Mosteller red & black card thought of, they are spelled to after some shuffling
Inspired by Nov. 2000 Genii (Vol. 63 No. 11) 37
Simon Aronson Worker Bees Spelling trick to three selections (two chosen and one thought of) using UnDo Influence
Related toVariations 2001 Try the Impossible 37
Al Baker To Spell Mentally Chosen Card stacked deck
 		2003 The Secret Ways of Al Baker (Issue Notebooks) 738
Steven Youell Dead Solid Perfect card thought of from a group, progressive set up, made impromptu
Inspired by 2004 Weapons of Mass Destruction 18
Juan Tamariz Spelling a Thought-of Card
2004 Mnemonica 44
Joseph K. Schmidt Computer Virus Killer "A Novel Revelation of Two Thought Cards"
two spectators think cards from a five-card and six-card group, involving virus gag card
  • The History (credit information and references)
Inspired by
  • "Brain Twister" (Ben Braude, Hugard's Magic Monthly, Oct. 1946)
Variations 		2005 Latter Day Secrets (Issue 10) 429
Karl Fulves Virus Variation
Inspired by 2005 Latter Day Secrets (Issue 10) 431
Robin Robertson, Peter Duffie R & D's Count Spell Extra composite card, count-spelling to any card composed by suit and value separately chosen
 		2006 Prolix (Issue 2) 101
Gordon Bean The Perpetrator thought of card spelled to, count-spell
Inspired by
  • "Evolution of a Dream" (Stewart James, The James File)
Also published here
  • "Perpetual Notion" (Stewart James in Print, p. 67)
 Aug. 2006 Genii (Vol. 69 No. 8) 73
Stewart James The Robot Deck Stack that allows you to do seven routines in a row

Mental Spell, Straight Poker, Stud Poker, Blackjack, Bridge, Scrambled Spelling Bee, Prophetic Card Discovery
 		2007 The Essential Stewart James 53
Stewart James The Clincher Spelling to thought of cards with a poker theme
Also published here
  • typewritten instructions, Aug 1947
 2007 The Essential Stewart James 71
Jack Parker Gut Feeling one of four poker hands chosen, card thought of, everything collected and thought-of card is spelled to
VariationsAlso published here
  • The Second Deal website, Nov. 2002
 2007 The First Five 21
Jerry K. Hartman Princesst spectator A thinks of card in packet, spectator B randomly picks card from packet and loses it in deck, spectator A’s card is seen to not be in packet anymore, it is in correct spelling position in deck
 		2007 Card Dupery 365
Jerry K. Hartman Spells and Spear-Its two spectators think of a card in deck, first spectator mentally spells out his card as magician deals and final card of spelling is his card, second spectator stabs cocktail sword into deck next to his card
Inspired by
  • "Hot Thought" (Jerry K. Hartman, After Craft, 1995, p. 265)
 2007 Card Dupery 373
Allan Slaight The Eclectic Deck stack for seventeen effects
  • 1. one of five cards thought of and located
  • 2. card location
  • 3. face-up deal stopped, value used to count to selection
  • 4. spelling to thought-of card
  • 5. open prediction
  • 6. card from packet to pocket
  • 7. two-card transposition
  • 8. card from hand to pocket
  • 9. Aces stacked, then Royal Flush dealt
  • 10. five good hands dealt
  • 11. blackjack demo with rubber-banded deck
  • 12. bridge demo with all Spades
  • 13. three-way transposition
  • 14. two selections reverse
  • 15. card chosen, spelled to and some matching cards found
  • 16. Ace assembly (not explained)
  • 17. Mind Mirror challenge location
  • Final Thoughts
  • Closing Credits (credits for all effects)
Also published here
  • Ibidem #32, July 1967
 2008 Spins & Needles 36
Allan Slaight Slaight's Sequel mental speller
Also published here 2008 Spins & Needles 63
Allan Slaight Group of Seven stack that allows a stop trick (1-0-1 credit information), spelling to thought-of card and Ten Card Poker Deal
Also published here
  • Linking Ring, Sep. 1988
 2008 Spins & Needles 104
Woody Aragón The Cheerleader thought of card from a pile of cards is spelled to
 		2011 A Book in English 107
Tom Gagnon Double Miracle card thought of from a group, another card selected, one card spelled to and the other found at named number, using Versatile Spread Control
 		2011 Avant-Cards 58
Doug Conn Impossible Speller Mentally selected card revealed by spelled to it.
 		2015 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 10 21
Max Maven Composite Speller Deck is cut and half given to each of two spectators. Each thinks of a card in their half. The value of one card is combined with the suit of the other. The deck is reassembled and the composite card spelled. It turns up at the final letter.
Related to 2015 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 10 155
Bob Farmer Another Psychological Discovery card thought of and card selected, thought-of card is used to spell to selection
Inspired by 2017 The Bammo Gaffus Maximus 3
Bob Farmer Gaffus Maximus thought-of card is named and spelled to, it's the only odd-backed card
Variations 2017 The Bammo Gaffus Maximus 19
Steve Beam Spellbreaker mentally constructed card is spelled and found
 		2018 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 11 101
Steve Beam Ballistic Spellbreaker mixture of Spell Weaver and Spellbreaker
 		2018 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 11 104
Sylvain Juzan The Winning Triplets three cards thought of from packet, three more cards selected and lost, thought-of cards are spelled out without actually finding them, other three selections are then on top, using Triple Dealing Principle (with credit information)
 		2021 Every Card You Take 53
George McBride Computer Cards count-spell of a thought-of cards from
Inspired by 2022 The Glasgow File — Volume 1 32