A.R.C.A.A.N.E

I was trying to come up with a name so that I could call this trick S.H.I.T.C.A.A.N but I couldn't think of something that fits. So 'A Random Card At Any Number, Easy' it is, although I reserve the right to change this because I'm still not in love with the name. I've only performed this twice but I got great reactions both times. I'm sure I'm not the only person to do this, in fact I would be shocked if I was. Still, I feel like this is something that could be overlooked. Give it a shot.

If you were buying this trick, the ad copy might look something like this:

A deck of cards is shuffled. The spectator can shuffle if they choose. The spectator selects a card, changing their mind several times if they wish. The card is returned to the deck and shuffled again. A number is named between 1 and 52 and the cards are slowly dealt to the chosen number, where the spectator's selection is found! No memory work, no forces, no complicated sleights, no instant stooges, or assistants! Perform this in minutes!

 A performance for my wife went pretty much exactly as described above. I shuffled, she touched any card and I gave her the chance to change her mind. I shuffled again, had her name a number and dealt down (I believe it was 17) cards to find her selection. She was very impressed,

A performance for a friend who's always asking if I'm working on anything new went the same way. If anything, he was more impressed.

The secret is exactly what you think it is. A one-way forcing deck. As I said, I know I'm not the first person to do this because it's probably the first thing someone does when they pick up one of these. It works (or at least worked in two isolated cases) though so it might be worth messing around with. If anything else, it could work as an opener (or what I'm going to call a "pre-out" because I have a specific scenario in mind that I'll write about in the future and I don't know if there's already a term for it) for a real ACAAN.

Let me know what you think if you give this a shot. Whoever's reading this. I'm just screaming into the abyss at this point.

- Andster