[Enrico Varella is the founder and editor of The Quantum Ring, the official newsletter of IBM 115, Singapore since 1995. He has been published in The Linking Ring, and The Encyclopaedia of Card Forces (by Lewis Jones). He has received credit for his creation, the Tiepit (a jacket-less topit) in Bob Fitch's The Topit Workshop 3-DVD set (Kohler Magic). He is currently completing his omnibus of his Tiepit principles and application.]

In my last essay, which was more a summary of Bob Chua's Close-Up lecture on Misdirection Principles and Applications (3 February 2007), I briefly mentioned some specific principles of misdirection. I also introduced the concept of a 'System of Integrated Deception'.
 Integrated Deception, my own jargon for the 'Misdirection Package' (coined by close-up magician, David Williamson), is a holistic combination of method, influence and applied psychology. Tommy Wonder wrote in his Book of Wonder (Hermetic Press) that 'we cannot perform magic unless we understand human psychology'. Human communication, and thus psychology, combine verbal and non-verbal language.

Sound Misdirection (Misdirection using sound)
Drop a fifty-cent coin on the floor (own up that you do - as you practise your coin moves!), and people around you notice it. Why? Hearing is one of our major senses that we rely on in daily matters. The Click Pass (from Bobo's COIN MAGIC) works specifically on the sound produced as you drop one coin on another. The use of the Coin Rattle disguises the sound of your coins effectively in that hand. Steve Bedwell uses sound misdirection to suggest that a folded card is in an empty card-case which has been in full view throughout (IBM GOLD CUP 'THE WALKMAN ACT').

Other applications of sound misdirection include:

• Chris Korn in his version of ExTROYdinary (Troy Hooser) bites a coin, and you can hear the audible 'crack'
• The use of a 'Bang gimmick' to simulate a pistol (John Carney, CARNEYCOPOEIA under Bullet Catch)
• The popular Riffle Shuffle Pass utilizes the riffling sound as a 'shade' for the actual procedure (just keep it to a gentle purring sound, and not an annoying crackle)
• Jay Sankey mimics the sound of a card tearing as he rips it into quarters

Light Misdirection
Lighting is used extensive in stage illusions. The sudden burst from a flash-pot, the combustion of flash-paper, and direct spotlights at your eyes attempt to achieve one thing - BLINDING YOUR EYES. This causes our eyes to shut, and miss the execution of a secret move. The 'retinal burn' is much stronger than the best Retention Vanish you can do. Rocco Silanno uses flash paper a fair bit, as a prelude to producing objects. The warm and ethereal glow provided by Rocco's D'lite can also be used to attract our eyes. When Danny Koh 'plays' with fire, he mesmerizes us as moving lights just arrests our visual attention. 

Ahead/Behind Principles
This is a useful principle that deceives us by working on the unimportant. You can state a certain number of coins are in your hands, when you don't. This can be linked closely to Sound Misdirection and Conditioning. Mike Powers (Coins Across from his 'Close Up Variety Pack') and Jay Sankey (Cartesian Coins) involve the One- or Two-Behind Principle. Most well-known in recent years is Chris Kenner's 'The Deep' (from TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL) which begins with a two-ahead for the first and second surprise revelations. The flying of the coins is also HORIZONTAL MISDIRECTION, as we can't really distinguish exactly how many coins there are as you toss it into the other hand. 
If you pretend to take or place a coin on/from your hand, does this apply the ahead/behind principles?

Vertical/Horizontal Misdirection
This is visual misdirection at its best. Our eyes are trained to respond to animation, or movement. Our peripheral vision (looking from the corner of our eyes) is acute; little passes by our eyes unnoticed. Large movements, whether horizontally, vertically, and even diagonally directs our eyes. Knowledge and application of the Cartesian Coordinates (x-, y-, and z-axes) positions our actions in our 'performance space'. Some examples include:

• Loading a signed card under a drinking glass (on your left) AS you spread your cards from left to right (as in Derek Dingle's Card Under the Drink, Dr Steve Bedwell in his IBM GOLD CUPS ACT) - HORIZONTAL MISDIRECTION
• Dr Bedwell also mimics the actions of his other hand as his leading hand cuts the deck into several piles (also utilizes CONDITIONING) for his repeat load above the cardcase
• Executing the 'Gambler's Hop' by Harry Lorayne as a means of controlling the upper packet of a deck. The falling packet causes the eyes to focus on it - VERTICAL MISDIRECTION
• Juan Tamariz's application of 'Crossing the Gaze' utilizes the SEEING Principle - DIAGONAL MISDIRECTION
• The 'arrival' of the ball as you lift the cup (vertically upwards) using Charlie Miller's 'Drop Through Move'; also, during the reveal of the ball under the cup we nudge/kick the ball out with the lip of the cup

Misdirection by Conditioning
We have Ivan Pavlov to thank for his observations about Conditioning. Alright, we'll have to thank his dog, too for his salivating confirmation.

Early in the performance, you can condition your audience to something that is (seemingly) important, but in effect isn't. Once your audience begins to think little of a move (like moving a deck aside on the mat), it becomes unimportant to them. The next time, you move the deck you can load a card on it (recall Uncle Bob's demonstration in his lecture?) or underneath it. You can integrate the Ramsay Subtlety into your natural gestures like pointing. You can also show the audience you have four coins, and emphasise (occasionally) the relevance of these 'four coins' until you carry out your procedure. I have a misdirection dictum: 'What is relevant to them is relevant to us. What is irrelevant to them is still relevant to us.'

Sleights work best if we can mimic the exact actions for a natural move. That is, what would a hand that is holding a coin look like? Now, pretend that the coin is in your hand - is it convincing? If you pretend to take a coin from one hand into the other, does your other hand look convincing? Are your fingers held in similar fashion? Any inconsistencies may mar your efforts. Master of Misdirection, Slydini used conviction as one of his tools of misdirection. If you believe that the coin is there, it is there. Look at the 'hidden coin' without placing too much importance on it. Now, this is totally different from hand-washing 'acquitments' where you pretend to show the hand empty. Sometimes, the over-proving destroys the validity of the conditioning. To paraphrase Al Baker: 'Don't run unless you're being chased!'

Showing a sneak peek of two coins behind your partially-closed hand suggests that these were the two same coins you used earlier, when you could have replaced one for another larger or smaller coin.

Misdirection on the Off-beat
When your audience laughs, it is accepted human behavior to roll their eyes to the back of their heads as they toss their heads rear-wards. This is the time when they lower their guard, and their focus on your technique becomes secondary. You can, literally, carry out your secret move without anyone (who is laughing) noticing. British card-extant, Guy Hollingworth does talk about using the 'offbeat' to orchestrate his concert of procedures in his well thought through routines in DRAWING ROOM DECEPTIONS. His second phase in his 'Waving the Aces' routine (on The World's Greatest Magicians TV series) accentuates the 'offbeat'. He pulls off the revelation of the face-up king, casually. When I execute Earnest Earrick's (BY FORCES UNSEEN) One-Handed, Motionless Bottom Palm of four signed cards, I do it on the offbeat. It can also be done openly as there is enough cover for it, and the thought of single-handedly (no pun intended) retrieving four, signed cards seems incredible. My published effect, Punch & Truly (October 2003, Card Corner, The Linking Ring) was a response to a politically-correct, card-stabbing done, post-9/11.

Equivoque
This topic is covered extensively by Eric Mead in his long-awaited book TANGLED WEB. Equivoque can be used to misdirect, and students of magic may want to consider this verbal principle in applications other then Magician's Choice. Max Maven, Docc Hillford and Kenton Knepper have written a fair amount on this subject using Sleight-of-Mouth techniques. As a common example, there is a difference between asking a spectator to 'touch a card', 'point to a card' and 'pick a card'. The bestselling packet effect, B'Wave (by Phil Goldstein) utilizes basic principles of equivoque. Nique Tan, author of WORKING THE CROWD is highly competent in this field of influence especially in his walk-around mentalism.

Misdirection by Questions
As an addendum to Equivoque, we can misdirect by asking questions. In the research into eidectic movements (eye movements) we may have noticed that when asked a question, people do tend to look in various directions. Eye accessing cues (link between eyes and thinking) are not conclusive, however the fact that a spectator may shift their eyes when asked a question gives us ample opportunity to execute a sleight, or perform a procedure without being detected.

Misdirection by Accident
Seemingly dropping cards, or having one or two left in the card-case as you remove them, may be ploys to initiating your effect. As long as it appears 'accidental' and not contrived, this can misdirect your audience to think nothing much of it. Allan Ackerman in LAS VEGAS KARDMA refers to such a ploy as a means to achieving a card arrangement (in Gemini Bills). I believe he credited Dean Dill for this idea. David Williamson has dropped a packet of cards onto a messy spread in order to clean up.

These are but a sample of many of the exquisite principles of misdirection available for our study and edification. They are by no means exhaustive, however should lead you down another Garden Path of possibilities. My thesis is to incorporate more than one principle of misdirection when you perform for, as a combination, they may be far greater in impact when you present strong magic.