EZTZ

One of my favourite card tricks is "The Tantalizer" from The Royal Road to Card Magic. If you're unfamiliar with the trick, here's the description of what happens (taken from the book):

In this trick there is an element of sly humor which should be capitalized upon. A card is selected and returned to the pack. The whole pack is dealt into two piles, one of which you keep.

The spectator cannot find his card among those dealt him, hence you deal your pile into two piles in the same way as before; but he still cannot find his card among those given him. This continues until what you are doing dawns on him—and, sure enough, when only one card remains this is the chosen card.

What makes the trick so appealing to me is the inherent humour of the situation. However, I prefer a different method than the one described in the book. Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, the co-authors of The Royal Road to Card Magic, recommend using a key card along with a visible displacement to position the chosen card in the required location (twenty-second from the top of the deck). While this approach is certainly a practical one, it requires the magician to look at the faces of the cards. "EZTZ", pronounced "Eee-Zee-Tee-Zee", enables you to position the chosen card in the correct location without looking at or even touching the cards! This makes the trick much more puzzling. In fact, as the method is completely self-working, it can be performed entirely in the hands of a spectator. 

The original version of "The Tantalizer" also requires the entire deck to be dealt out, which can be tedious for both the performer and the audience. However, this method uses a unique "Piquet pack" with only thirty-three cards, reducing the amount of dealing by twenty. This makes the trick more efficient and engaging while still retaining the humorous, repetitive nature of the original.

"EZTZ" is the fourth trick in the Piquet Pack Series.

JUMP AHEAD

On This Page

Effect
Background & Credits
Requirements & Preparation
Method & Presentation
Performance Tips & Additional Ideas
Afterthoughts

Effect

A member of the audience selects a card, which is subsequently lost in the pack. The deck is divided into two piles, one for the participant and one for the performer. The participant looks through her pile but cannot find her card. The cards are then dealt out again. She still cannot find her card, so the performer continues to deal the cards back and forth. The participant is still unable to locate her card and begins to suspect that the magician is teasing her. 

After the cards have been dealt out several times, both the performer and participant are left with only one card. Finally, the magician reveals that he has the participant's selected card!

Background & Credits

The history of "The Tantalizer" and its associated "elimination deal" dates back to 1926, when a magic routine called "Der gefesselte Wunsch" was featured in the German publication Magie. Coincidentally, this routine involves selecting two cards from a thirty-two-card "Piquet pack". Although the trick was not credited, Ottokar Fischer later claimed it as his own. The fact that the elimination deal was used with a thirty-two-card pack suggests that the principle probably originated in Europe (possibly France, where Piquet was once the national card game).

"The Tantalizer", as most magicians recognise it today, can be located on page 112 of The Royal Road to Card Magic and is a technical variation of "Last Chance" by L. Vosburgh Lyons, which was printed in the March edition of The Jinx in 1939.

Denis Behr, a renowned German card magician and recipient of the 2023 Allan Slaight Award for Sharing Secrets, has authored a compelling article titled "Origin and Versions of The Tantalizer: Sphinx, Jinx & Other Thinx". Denis provides valuable insights into the history and evolution of this timeless card trick. This article is an excellent learning resource if you're keen on exploring this fascinating card plot.

Requirements & Preparation

To perform "EZTZ", you will need a unique deck of thirty-three cards. The first step is eliminating all high cards, the Nines, Tens, Jacks, Queens, and Kings, from the pack. This will leave you with only the Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes, Sevens, and Eights in every suit. Finally, add a single Joker to complete your personalised "Piquet pack". This will result in a deck containing thirty-three cards, allowing you to perform this and other card tricks in the Piquet Pack Series. The exact cards included in the pack are not important. However, I like this arrangement because it better suits some of the other tricks in the series.

If you prefer, you can use a legitimate Piquet pack comprising the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, and Seven in each suit (along with an additional Joker). So long as there are thirty-three cards, the trick will work.

Method & Presentation

To perform the trick, ask someone to shuffle the deck thoroughly. Then, divide the deck into three piles of eleven cards each. Have the participant choose one of the piles, pick it up and cut it somewhere in the middle. The card on the face of the top portion is the participant's chosen card. Tell them to drop the cut-off portion on top of one of the remaining two piles on the table. Then, add the unused pile on top of the combined pile. Finally, request that your participant drop the cards remaining in their hand on top of all. Even though this cutting process feels random, the participant's chosen card is now twenty-two cards down from the top of the deck. 

Deal the cards into two piles, one for you and one for the participant. The participant will not find their chosen card in their pile. Have them discard that pile and deal the remaining cards into two piles again. The participant will still not find their chosen card. Repeat this process until only one card is left in front of you. This card will always be the chosen card!

Performance Tips & Additional Ideas

The classic way to perform this trick is to have the participant look through their pile after each round of dealing. This adds a lot of humour to the routine, as the participant becomes increasingly frustrated as they cannot find their card. 

However, you can add a twist to the trick by progressively increasing the size of the participant's pile by adding the cards to it during each round rather than discarding them. This will leave you with a single card, the selection, in front of you, while the participant will have a pile of thirty-one cards in front of them!

This approach enables you to frame the trick as a nonsensical gambling game in which the participant must guess which pile contains their chosen card (this is how Denis Behr presents the trick). By giving them all but one of the cards, you are increasing their chances of winning exponentially. However, most people will realise that this is a ruse and that the single card in front of you is the chosen one, even before it is turned over.

I'm still deciding which way is the most effective. Try both approaches to determine which one suits you better.

Afterthoughts

This is a classic example of a self-working card trick, meaning you do not need to do any sleight of hand to make it work. The trick relies on a simple mathematical principle: no matter where the participant cuts the deck, the chosen card will always be twenty-two cards down from the top. Consequently, once the elimination deals are complete, you'll always end up with the chosen card in front of you.

If you enjoy performing this trick, you might also like "Tiny Tantalizer", another streamlined approach to this classic card plot, which only uses fifteen cards!