Extension to ‘Miko’
It was a typical day in the Magic Inc. store. De Yip Louie was washing his chicken, Jay Marshall was delivering obscenities to the printing machine and Frances was writing a book, cooking a meal, minding the store and stock-taking. It was 1966 and I was in the Seventh Heaven occupied only by those magicians who have ever been let loose in a magic store.
A Germ!
During my potterings, I came across six of the 3 1/2 Clubs, BUT, in the same drawer, there were some Fourteen of Spades. I gathered up six of these also. In a small box (with some title like “Dizzy Dice” on the label), I found a normal die and a mis-spotted die. The germ of an idea came to me and I carry the results with me most of the time now.
A Double Kick!
“Miko” is a wonderful trick for close-up. By adding to it as I shall explain, we get a double-kicker at the end and leave people a bit more baffled.
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I lay out twelve cards in two rows of six. They are face-down so nobody knows the top row consists of Three-and-a-Half of Clubs and the second row is all Fourteen of Spades. Somebody is given the normal die and asked to throw it. The number, you say, will indicate which card they are to have in the top row. Naturally, whatever they throw they get the Three-and-a-Half of Clubs.
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 Another person takes the die, throws and gets the Fourteen of Spades. They are cautioned not to look at the cards. The rest of the cards are swept up and held by the magician. The next throw of the die, by some other spectator, will indicate the number of spots on the cards by a simple mathematical system. When you turn your back, they throw any number. They add that to the number directly underneath, facing the table.
In the case of the first spectator’s card, DIVIDING that number in half will denote the number of spots in his card, and MULTIPLYING it by two will give the spots on the second card. As you turn your back, you slip the cards in your hand into your pocket and remove a matching back set of ten indifferent cards (or, for a different pay-off switch to ten blank-faced cards!).
Turning back to the table, you will find there is an argument going on about the results of these mathematics. Join in and finally, point out how ridiculous it is that the numbers arrived at happen to be 3 1/2 and 14. Finally, decide they must turn over the cards. As they do this, you quietly pick up the die and switch it for the mis-spotted one.
Having gained the laughs and surprise, they start the postmortem. First of all, some bright person will tell you that all the top row were 3 1/2s and all the bottom row were 14s. By then you have laid the cards on the table which you have switched. They will reach forward and turn them over…and get one helluva shock!
Next, you will be told that all dice add up to seven, top and bottom. “Do they?” you ask. “Show me!” They pick up the die which you have left on the table and they start to show you.. It is one of those daft situations where you get as many laughs from the spectators telling you how the trick is done as you get from the trick itself.
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