Performing mentalism mind tricks takes a lot of practice before you can actually show them to an audience. The amount of preparation carried out by people like Derren Brown, Criss Angel, Dynamo and other leaders in this field is phenomenal. That’s how they can perform seemingly impossible tricks. And you need to do a lot of preparation in order to get the same kind of “How did you do that?” reaction! And remember that no matter how much pressure you’re put under by your amazed friends you should never reveal how you’ve done your tricks.

Guessing the playing card over the phone

This one is fun but you should only play it once in a given mentalism session.

You’ll need a friend on standby – you’re going to phone them when the card has been chosen.

Get someone from your audience to pick any card from a pack of playing cards. You then say that your friend will be able to tell them which card has been picked, even though they haven’t seen the card and are nowhere near the room you’re performing in.

Once the card has been picked, phone your friend. They will pick up the call fast because they know you’re doing the trick and will start counting through the pack – ace, two, three, etc. As soon as they say the right number, you say “Hello John” (or whatever their name is). They will then go through the four possible suits – clubs, diamonds, etc. To your subject the short gap will sound as though they’re just saying “hello” back to you. As soon as they say the correct suit, you tell them that you’re performing a trick and will are about to pass the phone onto the person who’s chosen the card.

You pass the phone across and they tell them the precise card as if by magic.

Spoon bending trick

You may not be Uri Geller but that doesn’t stop you performing this neat trick.

Use spoons that you don’t care about – ones from old cutlery sets or charity shops are a good idea.

You’ll need to prepare your spoon beforehand by bending it back and forth where the bowl of the spoon meets the handle. If you get over enthusiastic at this point then you’ll need to start on a new spoon.

When you’re done, make sure that the spoon looks to be its normal shape and also make sure you can identify it.

If you’re feeling brave, pass the spoon around your audience. Suggest that they tap it on a table or glass to prove that it’s intact. Distract them if they start trying to bend it – keep it going round your audience like a game of pass the parcel.

Then pick the spoon up and hold the weak spot you created earlier between your thumb and first finger.

Rub the spoon gently until it becomes warm and therefore malleable.

Gently hold the bowl of the spoon in your other hand and allow it to bend without your apparent help.

Then place the spoon on the table in front of you, allowing it to cool down whilst your audience clap and ask how you’ve managed this mentalism trick.

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