Forcing decks: all cards identical

A forcing deck makes a spectator take the card you want because nearly every card in it is that card. A one-way forcing deck repeats a single card; two-way and three-way decks repeat two or three cards. The method is self-working. The craft is in never letting anyone see the faces together, and in getting an ordinary deck into play afterwards.

Why use a forcing deck at all?

Plenty of card tricks start with “take any card,” and the trick only works if you already know which one it is. You can do that with sleight of hand, like the cross-cut force or the methods in our post on overhand, Hindu and cut forces. Those take practice and some nerve.

A forcing deck takes the nerve out of it. The spectator can take their time, change their mind and pick from anywhere, and they still get your card. That freedom is exactly what makes the moment convincing. In our guide to trick decks and which to buy first, it’s listed as one of the easiest decks to use. Here’s the deeper version.

What is a forcing deck?

Professor Hoffmann described the “forcing pack” in Modern Magic (1876). If the knave of hearts is the card to be drawn, the whole pack consists of knaves of hearts, so the drawer can try to choose freely, but “the card which he draws will certainly be the knave of hearts, and no other.”

Today the main styles are:

• One-way forcing deck. Nearly every card is the same card, sometimes with one or two different cards at the top and bottom.
• Two-way and three-way forcing decks. The deck is made of two or three different force cards. Hoffmann describes this for forcing several cards, as in the rising cards: one third of the pack one card, one third another, and the rest a third, “the cards of each kind being together.”

Don’t confuse the name with a one-way deck, which is about the direction of the back design. And unlike a Svengali deck, a forcing deck has no built-in way to look ordinary when you show the faces. It simply must never be shown face up.

How does a forcing deck work?

There’s no hidden mechanism. The force is guaranteed by what the deck contains. All the skill goes into how you present the choice and what happens to the deck before and after.

• Spread the backs, not the faces. Hoffmann’s instruction is to spread the cards before the person, “allowing him perfect freedom of choice.” Freedom is the point. Let them touch, hesitate and pick.
• Control the look. Only the chosen card is ever seen face up, and usually only by the spectator.
• Switch out. Hoffmann describes secretly exchanging the pack you have been using for the forcing pack, and in another trick exchanging the forcing pack for a prepared one. The simplest modern habit is to put the forcing deck away and bring an ordinary deck out for anything that follows.
• Multi-way logic. With a two-way or three-way deck you know the card is one of two or three. The ending has to work for each possibility, or be built for several people choosing different cards.

When should you use one?

• Predictions. A written or sealed prediction matches the card someone chose.
• Card to impossible location. The chosen card turns up in a wallet, an envelope or a sealed box.
• Several spectators at once. Hoffmann’s rising cards trick has three people draw cards, all forced with a pack of three repeated cards.
• Stage and parlour. Where the spectator is the only one near the deck, a forcing deck is fast and certain.

How do you learn to use one?

This is one of the easiest gimmicks in magic to start with. The honest catch is that it can’t survive careless handling, so the practice is about habits.

1. Practise the spread. Spread the deck face down in your hands smoothly, without flashing the faces underneath.
2. Script the choice. Decide exactly what you say so the spectator never handles or shuffles the deck.
3. Plan the exit. Know where the forcing deck goes once the card is chosen, and where the ordinary deck comes from.
4. Rehearse with a friend. Ask them to try to see the faces. Wherever they succeed, fix that moment.

Which products help?

• One Way Forcing Deck (Colored Joker only) is a blue one way forcing deck where the force card is the joker, which suits routines where the joker is the reveal.
• Two Way Forcing Deck is a red two way forcing deck, for routines that need two outcomes or two spectators.
• Three Way Forcing Deck Bicycle is red, and its cards come in random values that cannot be specified, so build your routine after you see which three you have.

What are the common mistakes?

• Flashing the faces. One glimpse of three identical cards ends the trick.
• Letting someone shuffle. A spectator who shuffles the cards will see the faces.
• Leaving it on the table. After the force, the forcing deck should go out of sight, not wait to be picked up.
• Repeating the force. If two people get the same card, the audience works it out. Use a multi-way deck for that.
• Over-proving the choice. Saying “completely free” over and over makes people suspicious. Let the spread do the talking.

Frequently asked questions