Palka Face Card Magic Trick

Palka Face Card Magic Trick is a simple magic trick that will surprise the spectator by revealing to him his own face in the center of a card he has just chosen. No physical cards are necessary. The viewer just names one of 52 cards in a deck and you reveal on your smart phone his picture inside the card of his choice. You make his card “rise to the surface”. Afterwards you can email the card to him.

The trick is done in three steps: (1) You take a photo of the spectator or you select a photo of him from a gallery. (2) You wipe the screen clean to reveal his chosen card with his picture in the middle. (3) You email him a picture of the card.

A good approach would be to go around the room taking pictures of people on your smart phone. Then on your smart phone, launch Palka Face Card and select from the gallery the photo you just took of a certain spectator. (It’s a good idea to have his email address in your smart phone.) When you approach him, it looks like the app is just starting with the main screen showing the girl inside the heart. Ask him to choose a card from an imaginary deck of 52 cards. If he suspects that voice recognition is being used, have him write it down. Rub the screen and his card appears with his picture in the center. Afterwards, press the button which says “Select Recipient”. Choose his email address from the list and send off the email with his card as an attachment.

Embedded in the app are two techniques which are easy to learn. Voice recognition is not used at all. The two techniques employ a simple version of “Chased” and similar “Si Stebbins” ordering, which are common to magicians. The app has a pull-down menu item that reveals the instructions in detail with screen-capture illustrations and text. It also has a graphic overlay for learning the techniques.

Palka Face Card uses face detection to position the viewer’s face on the card.

Both the opening screen and the emailed card can be modified ahead of time to add personal information by the magician.

This app has no advertisements since advertisements would interfere with the atmosphere of the trick.