The Match Box by Kent Bergmann

Effect: The performer produces a deck of cards and explains “As you may know, with many card tricks, the magician will ask you to select a card. Then he, or she, will somehow lose your card in the deck, and then for the finale, the magician will somehow identify and produce your chosen card. Well, we are going to do something completely different. First I am going to ask you to pick a card from this deck. Then, for the finale, I am going to somehow identify and produce your . . . um . . . chosen . . . Okay, maybe it doesn’t sound like it will be different, but I promise you, it really will be.”

The spectator’s card is selected and is placed face-down on the table and the spectator returns the rest of the deck of cards into the card box and then places the box on top of the selected card.

The performer then displays a wooden box and asks “Are you familiar with the term “shoe” when referring to gambling or card playing? A shoe is the apparatus used to help house and deal the deck, or decks, of cards when playing Blackjack, Baccarat, or Poker in a casino or card house.

The performer removes the lid of the shoe to reveal a tray with two compartments in it. Each compartment hold one half (literally cut in half) of a miniature deck of cards which matches the regular deck used to select a card. The performer then explains that he will not only determine what card the spectator chose . . . anyone can do that. The performer will attempt to go one step further and produce two halves of a card which match the spectator’s chosen card.

First, the performer explains and demonstrates how the shoe works by placing two half cards into the bottom of the shoe and letting the spectator look into the shoe to observe. The performer then deals the cards from the shoe as the spectator watches the two half cards slide from the inside bottom of the shoe out the card exit slot on the slide of the shoe and drop onto the table.

Next, the performer removes the two halves of the miniature deck from the tray and allows the spectator to look at and mix them up if they wish. The two halves are placed into the shoe and the tray and lid are replaced. The performer then shakes the shoe to mix up the half cards and continues to shake, or deal, two card halves from the shoe. The two halves exit the shoe and fall face down onto the table. The magician slides the two halves in front of him, face down, and puts them together. Then the chosen card is slid on the table, face down, from under the card box right next to the two half cards. In a serious tone, the performer states, while looking at the back of the cards, “it is a perfect match”. The spectator looks at the performer, obviously not impressed. The performer realizes this and decides to turn one of the half cards over, “so far, so good”. Then he turns over the other half card. The spectator starts to chuckle because the two halve are obviously from two different cards and do not match. The performer explains that he does not know what went wrong and would like to see how close he did get. The original regular sized card is turned face up to reveal, to everyone’s unexpected surprise, a split-face card that matches the two halves perfectly.

The entire “Match” Box is handcrafted in zebrawood with a natural, oil-rubbed finish. The box with the decorated lid on it measures approximately 3.25” x 3” x 2.25”. Also included are the regular deck of playing cards, the matching, cut in half, miniature deck of cards and the special split-face card.

NOTE: This is only one use of the “Match” Box, obviously you may choose not to use the split-face card and use only regular cards.

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