Phil Trick

Effect A deck of cards is set down on a table. A spectator is asked simply to think of any playing card, and the magician says he will name it. After a moment of thought, the performer declares, "The name of your card is Phil! You know, short for Phillip!" The audience is understandably a bit surprised. The pack is removed and then shown to have different names printed boldly on the back of every card. When the deck is turned face up and the card named by the spectator is found, it is the one and only card named Phil! (Not Rough and Smooth!) Only One Deck Is Used! Instantly Reset! No Force of Any Kind! No Sleight of Hand! Any Card Can Be Named! Historical Note: The basic plot of this routine goes back to Fred Lowe's "Christened Reverse." Over the past few decades, many methods have been devised. It turns out that Trevor Duffy reinvented a version that was created by Phil Goldstein in the early 1980s, entitled "Final Fred." That routine had its debut in a lecture at the 1985 FISM convention in Madrid. The issue of this prior invention has now been discussed by Duffy and Goldstein, along with the ironic coincidence of its title, and we are pleased that an equitable arrangement has been made, and this item is being marketed with Phil Goldstein's approval.