On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:17:26 -0400, I said, "Pick a card, any card"
and "Josell Paredes" hotmail.com> instead replied:

If the friend is the one you perform it for, he surely wouldn't be a
stooge. That solution is not even close. Try getting a copy of Larry
Becker's book Stunners Plus and you'll find lots of effects that
will show you the solution. That book costs around $150.00. Or you
could just shell out the $30.00 for the one you saw.

I have a few mentalism effects that I can do over the phone. Nothing
impresses a booking agent for an event more than my being able to do
magic during a phone call. The mail is just another nice way to
ensure that things aren't tampered with at all.

Do you know what Intercessor is? Gaeton Bloom is a genius. I use it
to tear a corner from my business card right in front of them and
hand them the card minus the corner. I burn the corner. Then I ask
them to open an envelope I sent to them last week which I asked them
to have with them when I arrived. Inside is the corner. Perfect
match. Sometimes I singe the edges just a bit to really make it
bizarre. It's never failed to get me a booking.

Buy the effect and use it the same way. The first booking you get
will pay for the item. And then some.