The July #hermitmagicchallenge

and create a trick that fulfills the criteria of combining the

classic six-card repeat with a poker deal!

The winner will receive a trick in the mail from regular Hermit contributor Michał Kociołek!

All the information is below.

Sometimes, new magic routines can be created by combining two disparate, pre-existing plots. As a magician that enjoys this type of exercise in creative thinking, I will sometimes find that I have identified the plots that I want to combine, and even settled on the presentation for the routine before I come up with a useful, workable handling or method.

This is the case with the challenge this month. I've had the idea to combine these two plots for years now, without being able to find a workable solution that truly satisfies me. I have a few ideas, but I'm missing that "aha!" moment of realization that will bring everything together.

This month, I hand the idea over to you.

Create a method, routine, or presentation that combines a poker deal with the concept of the classic six-card repeat. The premise should follow this framework:

The magician deals a round of draw poker to any number of players. It is disclosed that although the magician knows how to cheat at cards, they seldom do. That said, it is revealed that the magician has accidentally dealt themselves an extra card, and all six of the cards in the magician's hand are shown to their opponent.

To correct the misdeal and make it a fair game, the opponent is allowed to select which card is removed from the magician's hand. They then look at their own hand, and select up to three cards to discard (as in draw poker).

The magician then reveals that there's been another mistake—they still have six cards in their hand! The magician shuffles their six cards face-down, and then throws one away into the discard pile, apparently at random.

Continuing on, the opponent is dealt the number of cards required to complete their own hand, but then it is immediately noticed that the performer is still holding a hand of six cards! The magician still appears to be cheating.

This discarding of cards only to fail to reduce the amount of cards in the magician's hand goes on for multiple phases, until the magician gets fed up and declares that they will discard two cards, to get ahead of this problem. This appears to work, as the magician is left with just four cards.

The hands are finally revealed, and the magician wins with all four aces, beating their opponent's five-card poker hand.

To submit to this challenge, share your method

and/or routine with The Hermit by either sending a written explanation or video in an email to:

hermit@hermitmagic.com

or by tagging @hermitmagicmag on social media. The winner of the challenge will be the magician who submits the most creative, interesting, and practical solution to the posed concept.

The winner of this challenge will have their thinking published in

The Hermit Magazine, and will also receive a special trick in the mail from Hermit contributor Michał Kociołek.

In Michał's effect Misdeal, ten face-down cards are spread in a row, unknown to both the participant and the performer. The performer and the participant play a game of 10-card poker, taking turns to select cards until each has a five-card hand.

The participant’s hand is revealed to be all blank faced cards. The performer’s hand is also all blank faced cards, but apparently the cards are marked, and the participant lost to the performer's four Aces. To prove this ridiculous claim, the performer’s hand transforms into four aces, with the fifth card turning into a fifth Ace, so no one wins and no one loses.