1st Edition

Mathematical Card Magic Fifty-Two New Effects

By Colm Mulcahy Copyright 2013
    380 Pages 128 Color Illustrations
    by A K Peters/CRC Press

    380 Pages 128 B/W Illustrations
    by A K Peters/CRC Press

    Mathematical card effects offer both beginning and experienced magicians an opportunity to entertain with a minimum of props. Featuring mostly original creations, Mathematical Card Magic: Fifty-Two New Effects presents an entertaining look at new mathematically based card tricks.

    Each chapter contains four card effects, generally starting with simple applications of a particular mathematical principle and ending with more complex ones. Practice a handful of the introductory effects and, in no time, you’ll establish your reputation as a "mathemagician." Delve a little deeper into each chapter and the mathematics gets more interesting. The author explains the mathematics as needed in an easy-to-follow way. He also provides additional details, background, and suggestions for further explorations.

    Suitable for recreational math buffs and amateur card lovers or as a text in a first-year seminar, this color book offers a diverse collection of new mathemagic principles and effects.

    Colm: Cool and Collected by Max Maven

    Hit the Deck Running

    Tips of the Trade

    The Ratings Game

    Principles

    Convention Center

    Low-Down Triple Dealing
    Three Scoop Miracle—Done Magic Before?
    Any Card (and Any Magician)
    Triple Revelation
    Ace Combination

    For Richer or Poorer
    Alphabetical Triple Addition
    Subtler Bracelet
    From Alpha to Omega
    Volunteer Four Hours

    Poker Powers
    Ditch the Dud
    Worst-Case Scenario
    Full House Blues
    Poker with Any Ten Cards

    More Additional Certainties
    Little Fibs
    Consolidating Your Cards
    Matching Interest Rates
    Any Two Cards (No Fibbing)

    Off-Centered COATs
    Celebrity Selection
    Never Forget a Face
    Oddly Enough
    My Lucky Number Is Seven

    Gilbreath Variations
    Easy as Pi
    Lucky Number between One and Thirteen
    Unadditional Love
    Tapped Out

    Word Row
    The Biggest Names in Magic
    Twisting the Knight Away
    Easy as Tau (I Prefer Pi)
    Intrinsically Disordered

    Bligreath and Beyond
    Matchmaker Instincts
    The Guessing Game
    Flushed with Embarrassment
    Wholesome Threesomes

    Flipping Miracles
    I’ll Be Lucking Out for You
    Coprime Twins
    Royal Flush at the Eleventh Hour
    Any Mathemagician

    Red, Black, Silver, and Gold
    Double Location
    Top Twenty Hit
    What’s Black and Red and Red All Over?
    Gold and Silver

    Slippery Slopes
    Ten Soldiers
    Slippery Enough
    Erdős Numbers
    No Drama Queen

    Hamming It Down
    A Horse of a Different Color
    Multiple Personality
    Poker-Faced
    And Now for Something Completely Different

    The Hidden Value of Cards
    Fitch Cheney’s Five-Card Twist
    Eigen’s Value
    Ups and Downs
    Fitch Four Glory

    Coda

    Acknowledgements

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Colm Mulcahy is a professor of mathematics at Spelman College. Over the last decade, he has been at the forefront of publishing new "mathemagical" principles and effects for cards, particularly in his long-running bi-monthly Card Colm for the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). He also blogs at the Aperiodical and the Huffington Post. Dr. Mulcahy has been a recipient of the MAA’s Allendoerfer Award for excellence in expository writing. His interests are broad, ranging from algebra and number theory to geometry. He earned a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in mathematical science from University College Dublin and a PhD from Cornell University for research in the algebraic theory of quadratic forms.

    "… a very innovative and detailed overview of the mathematical principles behind card magic tricks. The author begins with simple card tricks and continues with more complex ones. Each one is illustrated with pictures and detailed explanations throughout the book. However, the aim is not to teach the reader how to do the tricks in front of an audience, but instead to teach the reader why these tricks work the way they do. The necessary combinatorial and mathematical notions are explained and proofs or solution to each presented card trick are always provided. Whenever applicable, the history of each card trick is presented. In total, 52 card tricks are featured, including several created by the author. The presentation of the mathematical background at the beginning of each trick, which is then translated into a card magic trick, also demonstrates how new card tricks can be created. This high-quality, full-color edition concludes with a very useful bibliography and index."
    —Efstratios Rappos, Zentralblatt MATH

    "[This book] did not disappoint. … wonderfully organized … Mulcahy has a conversational tone throughout. However, by no means is there a loss of rigor, as he proves many of the principles that he uses. In fact, this book would make an excellent addition to any math club library, and it would provide a fun way to introduce important mathematical concepts. … wonderful, entertaining book."
    Math Horizons, November 2014

    "This book is a well-written window into the mathematics behind 52 new card tricks as well as an introduction to performing such tricks. The mathematics is presented clearly enough for even the novice mathematician to follow. At the same time, the card tricks are explained thoroughly enough for even a novice magician to perform. … This book will bring out the mathemagician in every reader. … a must read for anyone looking for ways to get students of all ages interested in mathematics."
    —Brittany Shelton, Mathematical Reviews, April 2014

    "Mathematical Card Magic is a great reference for aspiring magicians who are curious about the mathematics behind card tricks. I am not a magician, nor am I an aspiring magician, but I enjoyed this book nonetheless. What I liked best was taking a peek behind the scenes of the card trick setup. … most tricks are a combination of careful dealing, careful shuffling, an astute memory, distracting the audience, and mathematics. I liked the way the book is organized. Every trick is scored on the sophistication of the underlying mathematics, how entertaining the trick is for the lay audience, how much setup is required, and how hard the trick is to perform. The author is clearly a seasoned pro. He is a skilled mathematician and an expert magician. He also has an easygoing way of explaining clever card tricks, combined with careful diagrams so that the reader can master every trick."
    —Kara Shane Colley, MAA Reviews, November 2013

    "Printed on glossy paper with many colour illustrations, it is not only fun, but also a pleasure to read. The apprentice magician will have a lot to practice on but even the professional magician will find many things to think about while mastering this wonderful calculus of the card deck."
    —A. Bultheel, KU Leuven, The European Mathematical Society, November 2013

    "Reading Colm Mulcahy’s book on mathematical card tricks is a lot of fun. It's clever, instructive, and clear. Learn some tricks. Learn some math. Impress your friends."
    —John Allen Paulos, Mathematician and Author of Innumeracy, A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, and other books

    "Mathematical Card Magic is filled with many original ideas that will keep mathematicians and magicians busy for a very long time."
    —Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College, and author of Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

    "Colm Mulcahy has produced a stimulating collection of novel card magic tricks that not only form a wonderful introduction to important ideas in combinatorics but also contain some very nifty magic effects as well. By reading this book, the reader will be well rewarded in both disciplines."
    —Ronald Graham, University of California, San Diego, and co-author of Magical Mathematics

    "Colm has invented many important and practical mathematical principles and tailor-made them for card magic. He’s a skilled teacher and creator, and with his book in hand you’ll be able to construct lots of new effects. A must for your magic library."
    —Lennart Green, 1991 World Champion in Card Magic, Sweden

    "This is an amazing volume! Prof. Mulcahy has left one mystery for his readers to solve: Is it a really good math book, using card tricks to explain the math, or is it a really good magic book, using math to explain the magic? Either way, there’s not a wrong answer to this question."
    —S. Brent Morris, PhD, author of Magic Tricks, Card Shuffling, and Dynamic Computer Memories

    "In the early 1900s there began a new blossoming of mathematical magic, via such brilliant inventors as Charles T. Jordan, Stewart James, Robert Hummer and Martin Gardner. You’ll meet the above-mentioned people, plus many other worthwhile thinkers, in the book that you are about to read. Colm Mulcahy has joined those ranks. His bi-monthly Card Colm has appeared on the website of the Mathematical Association of America since 2004 … If you have been a Card Colm reader, you already know the quality of his imaginative output. You will find much of the best material from that column here in this collection, revised and improved. You will also encounter a wide variety of previously unreleased material, with some lovely surprises."
    —From the Foreword by Max Maven, Magician and Mentalist

    "… fantastic [book]! There are so many principles and ideas in it that it is one of those rare books that I will continually look through, study, and use as a reference for as long as I do card magic (which means the rest of my life)."
    —Mark Setteducati

    "In this delightful book, the author of the bi-monthly online articles Card Colm for the Mathematical Association of America shows just how magical mathematics can be. The mathematics ranges from simple to deep and the magical effects range from subtle to stunning. Most of the mathematical principles underlying the effects are original, and many are appearing in print for the first time in this book. I’m looking forward to using this material to intrigue and inspire young people to learn both mathematics and magic!"
    —Neil Calkin, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University

    "This is an amazing book! Like a magician’s well-stacked deck of playing cards, the 13 chapters are packed with 52 punchy effects guaranteed to amaze and amuse. Each chapter deals generously with mathematicians and professional magicians alike. Bursting with new effects, the chapters detail the method and Colm’s favoured presentation—each is ‘pick up and use’ perfect—but also provide a springboard for readers’ imagination to create their own presentations. Those with a more mathematical interest won’t be disappointed either; reading further into each chapter is a fascinating exploration of the mathematical questions underlying the effects. This is a magic book that will get you thinking and entertaining in equal amounts, in essence a perfect shuffle."
    —Peter W. McOwan, Vice Principal Public Engagement and External Partnerships, Queen Mary, University of London

    "Colm not only provides lucid exposition of how certain mathematical principles work, but he also clearly describes subtle performance pieces that entertainingly illustrate them. Then, to boot, he drills down as to why they work. In other words, he gives you the ‘body’ of everything, plus its ‘x-ray.’ Highly recommended."
    —Jon Racherbaumer, Preposterist and Author

    "In his book Mathematical Card Magic, Colm Mulcahy, PhD '85, shows that performing card tricks can be as easy as pi. Through visuals, detailed instructions, and a few math lessons, the Spelman College professor explains the mathematical basis of various card tricks, teaching readers to become so-called ‘mathemagicians.’"
    —Lyndsay Isaksen, Cornell Alumni Magazine, January/February 2014