The Cursed Seven Experiment

THE CURSED SEVEN EXPERIMENT

Seven ...

The number of stars in the constellation of The Big Dipper

A highly symbolic number in the Torah, alluding to the infusion of spirituality and Godliness into the Creation.

Yahweh or Jehovah is the divine name, whose letters' places alphabetically equal 70, a product of the divine number 7.

In the genealogy in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is 77th in a direct line.

Seven is the number of heavens in Islamic tradition.

Buddha walked 7 steps at his birth.

Seven is the number of gateways traversed by Inanna during her descent into the underworld.

Seven Lucky Gods exist in Japanese mythology.

James Bond's agent secret number is 007.

Seven is also the number of external holes in the human head.

It's the number of chakras

The number of points on a sheriff's star.

The number of spots on a common ladybug, and tradition says that one's wish is granted if a ladybug lands on oneself.

Seven is a mystical, powerful number.

With all this in mind, remove five positive, happy, Tarot cards, something like "The Sun" and "The Lovers". Then remove Death and The Devil.

Mix them well and place them face down in a line ahead of you.

In a moment you will be turning over three of those cards. If you dare.

After 7 deep hours of meditation, I have cursed this particular experiment for all those bold enough to try it, and unless you are very strong in your sensibility and intuition, you will, out of the seven cards ahead of you, turn over the DEVIL or the DEATH card, if not both!

Turn over three cards now...

Were you strong enough to not turn over Death or The Devil? Or were you unable to get away?

This is the Cursed Seven Experiment.


For the skeptics, keep in mind that the so called "odds" are in the participant's favor as the first draw is 5 to 2 (five "nice" cards and the two "bad" ones); the second draw is 4 to 2 (or 2 to 1 if you like) in the participant's favor because there will be four "nice" cards and the two "bad" ones left; and the last draw is still in the participant's favor as far as "odds" are concerned by 3 to 2 (three "nice" and the two "bad"), so ... there must be some other kind of power at work here.


































Many of you reading this will be "above" this type of effect, but it can be fun for those new to magic and also introduces the importance of presentation. I tried a similar presentation on the Cafe years ago in the "New to Magic" section using regular playing cards (I used five red cards and the two black Aces instead of Tarot cards). Some people really enjoyed the interactivity of it, a couple of others couldn't help but ruin it by demonstrating how "smart" they are, "correcting" my odds, insulting me for being stupid mathematically, etc, and I was further attacked for trying to preserve the "fun" of the experiment, but that's beside the point. I place the "odds" business here because if you perform this for people "live", when you say it casually, it actually sounds true and helps with the presentation. If you have any further ideas with this particular presentation, please share. It's not the strongest thing in the world by any means, but I think it's a cool little thing using a really old "gambler's sucker bet" idea. Hope you can have some fun with it. At the very least you learn about interesting associations to the number 7.

I have another one of these I placed on the Cafe some time ago that works really well and I will post it here later. It's called the King/Seven Experiment where I am able to mysteriously influence the relationship between two cards in an honest to goodness scientific experiment across space and time.

Alex - video seems to have gone!

There was no video here, Chris, I just left the huge space to create some distance between what is supposed to be part of the routine and an explanation.

I'm not sure why this is down here in this section, and I'm not sure where it should go.

It's not a good effect, I know, it's just my attempt at demonstrating a different presentation to this old hustler's sucker bet. It works on a lot of people but maybe it should be removed, I don't think it's needed here on The Moon.

It may be an old trick but it's a good way of presenting it. Most people are scared stiff when it comes to numbers and most maths teachers won't say anything just in case they're wrong (other than the one Christopher knows). Cheers.



One. I'm at a loss trying to work out why some posts are where they are and trying to find others I had intended getting back to too. Two. I thought it was just me and my sleepless daze.

Only numbered because I wanted to get to, too and two consecutively. Honest, I've not had a drink in days. Maybe that's the problem.

So I am math challenged at this level .... what are the real odds on this? You know I love this little bit of work and i use it, so not trying to rain on anything, I'm just curious for my own satisfaction.

Seems to me that the odds start out at 5 to 2, or 2 1/2 to 1 which is somewhere around 60% in the specs favor. I reason that the odds of the game don't change over time - but the fact that you actually 'play' three times is what kills as even with a 60% advantage you are likely to 'lose' by three picks.

Am I even close in my logic here?

LOL

There's the other betting one you can do as well, although it won't apply to the number 7, but to the number 9. There's a whole bunch of esoteric and interesting nines out there too.

Then do the same thing, remove two bad cards, and then 7 good ones. In that way I suppose you get the seven in there as well. Shuffle them and deal them face down into a square of three rows of three, discuss the mystical meaning of three should you want to. Then have the participant turn over and row of three, most likely they will turn over one evil card.

Just a thought,
Daniel

I DID warn you people I'm a math geek...

Way back when (before I joined this forum), demper asked

Quote :

So I am math challenged at this level .... what are the real odds on this?

I'll initially keep this simple and just answer the question without the boring derivations. Take seven cards, any five "happy" cards plus the Devil and Death, and turn three over randomly. 5 out of 7 times the participant will turn over the Devil, Death, or both. So about 71% of the time, the participant "loses". If you prefer odds, that's 5 to 2 that the Devil, Death, or both will be turned over.

If anyone is suffering from insomnia, just ask and I'll send you the mathematical details...

Daniel, I've seen that one as well, I like it though I haven't played with it.


Anyone, any thoughts on improving the above effect or presentation?

Just some thoughts that tinker around the edges...

I'd present the "odds" for the skeptics before any cards are selected. Turning the cards over should be the end, and a coda about odds would seem anticlimactic to me.

In a similar vein, I'd have the participant select and push forward the three cards before any were turned over. Otherwise, if the first card turned over is one of the two "bad" cards, the rest is anticlimactic again. I also might have the two "bad" cards marked some way so that I can ensure that the "bad" card is turned over last, or adjust my presentation before revelation for the times when all "happy" cards are selected.

Hello everyone, this is my first time here. I like this idea. I (personally and speaking as a performer) am not "above" anything. I'll use whatever works! Sometime I am VERY surprised at what actually works for the laymen audiences I perform for. I do like the idea added that the bad cards could be subtly marked so that they could be the final revealation. I'm going to play with this one and I sure won't let mathmatical accuracy stop me. Thanks for the ideas, everyone.


Darke Parlour

Excellent twist on probability games.
You probably already know that you can get similar odds coin spinning.

Take a UK penny or 2p ( I think it's the same for US pennies) that is either newly minted, or at least hasn't been battered about. Give it a spin on a flat surface so it goes round like a top.

It's about 4 to 5 that you will get heads.

This happens due to the stamping procedure in the mint, the edge is not quite perpendicular I believe.
Try it and see what you think.