Number of the Brain-Rotten Beast!
Late last year, I published a card trick based on the silly “6-7” Internet meme. I called it “Brain Rot” (if you’d like to learn the trick, you can still do so for free). While I still like and perform this trick, the seventeen-card setup is a little unwieldy, making it somewhat impractical for many performance situations. Therefore, I’ve developed a new trick using a completely different method, called “Number of the Brain-Rotten Beast”.
 |
| Image Credit: Marty’s Bag of Tricks. |
I was inspired to develop this handling after watching a video by Elizabeth Etcetera, a US-based “mumfluencer” who’s been sharing down-to-earth card-trick tutorials on social media. Elizabeth is a mum of four and shares digital content on family games, casual looks (I guess that means fashion tips) and easy recipes. I know some magicians frown on people sharing card tricks this way on social media, but I think it’s fine. Elizabeth presents her card tricks as “parenting hacks”—they take a few minutes to learn, keep the kids entertained, and make you look way cooler than you really are. As a “girl-dad” of three, I can’t argue with that logic!
 |
| Photo Credit: Elizabeth Etcetera via Facebook. |
In fact, I’m fascinated by these “folk card tricks” that escape the weird (and very insular) world of magic and enter the mainstream consciousness. The best-known of these are the Twenty-One Card Trick (see Corrupting the Classics #1) and the Four Burglars (see Corrupting the Classics #3).
One of the videos Elizabeth shared featured a fun “6-7” card trick using a subtle card-placement principle that I think is great (you can watch the video on Facebook Reels). I like this particular handling because it allows a spectator to make several free choices during the procedure, but it requires dealing four piles of cards, so you need a lot of table space to perform the trick. While all four Sixes are successfully matched to the four Sevens, the method makes it unlikely that the suits will match. This isn’t a problem per se, but I wanted to devise a streamlined version that reduces the amount of dealing and ensures that each pair’s suit is the same. I also wanted to develop a presentation that would be more appealing to an adult audience (especially parents) without tipping the “6-7” ending. My solution is “Number of the Brain-Rotten Beast”.
Here’s what happens:
You shuffle and cut the cards. As you do so, you mention that there’s one hand in poker with a sinister reputation: the three Sixes, also known as “The Beast”, “Lucifer” or the “Devil’s Area Code”! As you mention this funny fact, you produce the Six of Hearts, Six of Diamonds and Six of Spades with a magical flourish from the deck.
A spectator places these three cards face up, one at a time, into three random positions within the deck, deciding exactly where each card is placed.
The cards are spread, and the three Sixes are removed, along with the two face-down cards on either side of each face-up card.
Each three-card packet is then reverse-counted until the spectator calls out “stop”, at which point the top two cards of the packet are spread and dropped onto the table. The bottom card, the reject, is turned over to reveal an indifferent card, which is then returned to the deck.
The face-down card on the Six of Diamonds is turned over; it’s the Seven of Diamonds. The face-down card on the Six of Spades is also turned over—it’s the Seven of Spades. Finally, the face-down card on the Six of Hearts is turned over; it’s the Seven of Hearts. Six-seven, six-seven, six-seven—the number of the brain-rotten beast!
The majority of the method is self-working, so the trick is suitable for almost any magician, regardless of experience.
Unlock the Full Secret 🔓
I’m keeping this one as an exclusive perk for paid subscribers to Marty’s Magic Ruseletter—my regular magic email newsletter published on Substack. The complete “Number of the Brain-Rotten Beast” tutorial—including setup, handling, presentation script, variations, and performance tips—is available exclusively to paid subscribers.
For just $5 per month (or $50 annually with two months free), you’ll gain access to this entertaining effect, along with a boatload of similar easy-to-perform miracles. 🚢
Become a Paid Subscriber - Just $5/month 👈
Of course, if you don’t like my handling (as it does require a small amount of sleight of hand), you can adapt the method Elizabeth uses in her video to my presentation; just get your spectator to deal three piles of cards to match three Sixes with three Sevens. The method works in exactly the same way, and the dealing is reduced by approximately one quarter.
Call the Police! 👮🚨
I also appreciate that I’ve taken a family-friendly card trick and given it a satanic theme that’s unsuitable for children. My bad! One approach you might prefer is to use the number “911” (a black Nine and two black Aces) or “999” (in the UK, where the emergency services number is different) to locate three of the four Kings (policemen). With a slightly more sophisticated method, it would also be possible to produce the fourth King (an idea I might explore in the future).
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoy playing with some of these ideas. The “6-7” meme may be meaningless nonsense, but the joy on a person's face when those Sevens are turned over is not. That kind of wonder is worth more than any meme—and it lasts a good deal longer.
Yours Magically,
Marty
Comments
Post a Comment