Easy Mind Reading Tricks  

Have you ever watched a mentalist doing a mind-reading trick and wondered how he pulls it off? Well, wonder no more. For, in this quick guide, we want to show you how easy it is for magicians to trick people into believing that their choices are independent. Yes, that’s what mind reading tricks do. In reality, the magician is forcing the subject to think in a certain way, to achieve a specific outcome. Still, not convinced you can pull one off on your own? Here are easy mind reading tricks you can try right away: –

Using the Magician’s Force

Suppose you met a magician using cards for his tricks. He shows you a yellow, green, and red card, with black on the opposite sides. And, you verify all the colors. Then, he turns all cards to face down, with the black surface on top. Next, the magician asks you to pick a yellow card. And, without you telling him, he tells you the exact color of the card in your hand. Did he read your mind? If not, how else did he do this?

Here is the secret. The magician will try to make it most probable for you to pick the yellow card. Still, if you select an alternative card, he will change them and ask you to pick them again. You may think that you chose the yellow tag on your own accord. In the real sense, you are selecting the card that he wants you to pick.

Using Mathematical Tricks

 

Often, mind readers rely on mathematical logic to pull a trick on the subject. Here is an example: –

• Step 1

Ask your subject to think of a number between 0 and 9. For example, let’s pick 4.

• Step 2

Let them multiply the number by 2. In our case, multiply 4 by 2 to get 8.

• Step 3

Then, ask them to add 5 to their answer above. Thus, add 5 to 8. The answer is 13.

• Step 4

Next, multiply the results by 5. 13 multiplied by 5 gives us 65. Ask the subject to remember this last answer before picking a second number. So, the person should have the number 65 in mind. We can choose number 2 as our second number.

• Step 5

Now let the subject add the second number to the answer in step 4 above. Hence, add 2 to 65. We get 67.

• Step 6

Ask the subject to tell you the answer. Then, you will go ahead and confirm to the person the two numbers that they picked. For our case, the subject will reveal that the answer is 67. And, we’ll straight away let them know that the two numbers they chose were 2 and 4.

What Is the Secret to the Trick?

When you reach step 6, without saying it loud, subtract 25 from the answer the subject tells you. For our case, we subtract 25 from 67. Our solution is 42. What you get as the answer are the two numbers that your subject picked.  For demonstration, 42 represent the two digits the person used. That is, 4 and 2. Hence, the person will think that you read their mind. In real sense, it is pure mathematics.

Law of Probability – The Grey Elephant in Denmark Mind Reading Trick

 

Another mathematical trick that relies on the law of probability is as per below: –

• Step 1

Ask the subject to think of a number between 1 and 10. For our case, let’s pick 5.

• Step 2

Multiply your number by 9. Our demo answer is 45.

• Step 3

Is your answer a two-digit number? If so, add the two digits. So, in our case, we add 4 and 5 to get 9.

• Step 4

Subtract five from your answer. Hence, we subtract five from 9. We get 4.

• Step 5

Ask the subject to think of an alphabet letter that corresponds to the number he has. For our case, number 4 corresponds to the letter D.

• Step 6

Ask the subject to think of a country whose name starts with that letter.  Let the person spell this name in his head.  For our case, it is Denmark.

• Step 7

Ask the subject to think of an animal whose first name starts with the second letter in the country’s name. For our demo, the second alphabet in the word Denmark is E. And, an animal whose name starts with letter E is the elephant.

• Step 8

Ask the subject to think of the animal’s color. Our elephant is color grey.

• Step 9

Pause. Then, act like you are concentrating on reading the subject’s mind. Then, tell the person that there is no way that there is a grey elephant in Denmark!

This mind-reading trick is for fun purposes. It can only fail if you mess up with the arithmetic. Or, if the subject thinks of a far-fetched country like the Dominican Republic. Otherwise, the trick always works. For, most people think of Denmark. Then, unless, they mention an eagle or an eel, most persons think of an elephant right away. Hence, this trick relies on the fact that most people will pick these common answers most of the time.

Ashes on the Arm Trick

Ashes on the Arm Trick is a simple mind-reading trick that makes the subject think that the magician can pick on his thoughts. It uses a bunch of cards, a piece of paper, and a glue stick. The most important thing is to keep your subject preoccupied as you talk and do the trick. Here are the steps: –

• Step 1

Pick the card you want to use for the trick. Use a glue stick to scribble the number and letter of the card on the inner side of your arm. That is, between your elbow and your wrist. You’ll refer to this writing towards the end of the trick.

• Step 2

Look for the card that you chose. Then ripple through a deck of cards while holding this one card at the base. Ask the subject to pick a card. Once picks one, switch the cards with the one you are having at the bottom of the pile.

Show the card to the subject. It should be the same card whose number and sign you wrote on your hand. Note, the person should not show you the card. Instead, you promise to read his mind and tell him the identity of the card.

• Step 3

Pretend to guess the number and symbol of the card. Your first attempt should get it wrong. Hence, write an incorrect card number and symbol on a piece of paper and show it to the subject. At this point, the person will say that you are wrong.

• Step 4

Take the piece of paper and burn it to ashes. Ensure you use a small piece of paper so that you don’t spend too much time waiting for the paper to burn and the ashes to be cold. Then, pick up the ashes and rub them against your hand, where you had scribbled the card’s identity. The ashes should stick to the glue, and the letters and symbols of the card become visible.

• Step 5

Ask the subject to reveal the card. At the same time, show the person your arm with the number and symbol on it.

Conclusion

Anyone can do a mind-reading trick. For, it is a mind game. Hence, you can start with the four methods presented above. Use them to wow your friends and loved ones on your magical prowess. Go on, try them.