Are you still stumped by Mickael Chatelain Cigarette Through Card trick?
How the cigarette could penetrate through the playing card, without using the usual sliding flap with elastic threads to hide the hole.
This flap-method is commonly used in many other cigarette-thru-card trick, as shown is this tutorial video.
But Mickael Chatelain Cigarette Through Card trick ad says:
A cigarette through a card in the deck … no flaps!
So how it is done without a sliding flap to conceal the round hole in the playing card?
By the way, this Cigarette Penetrating Card trick revealed was included in one of my earlier published posts.
I have taken it out, updated it more details, and also explained the psychology behind this penetration trick.
Welcome to another post from the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.
Watch the demo video of Mickael Chatelain doing the Cigarette Through Card trick:
Cigarette Through Card Trick By Mickael Chatelain Secret
In the video clip, the performer does not show the card face with the penetrating cigarette.
He only displays the back and the side view of the card with the penetrating cigarette.
The only time he shows the face or the front side of the card is, at the beginning of the trick at 0:42, and after the cigarette has taken out from the hole at 0:36 and 1:12.
Simply because it will exposed the gimmick of the trick.
In the video clip, when he shows the reverse side of the Six of Spades card right to the camera at 0:32, you can see the round hole outline.
This is where the well-camouflaged hole at the reverse side of the Six of Spades card.
Penetration Hole Inside Card Pip
At 0:36 when he turns the Six of Spades card to its face, you notice the hole must be right inside this Spade pip.
At 0:24, when he is twisting the cigarette, you can see it shifts position slightly is because of the hole.
To see it clearer, slow down the playback speed to 0.25.
For the Ten of Diamonds card, at 1:10 after pulling out the cigarette, when he turns the card around, the hole is exactly inside this Diamond pip.
Likewise when he turns the Three of Spades card around at 1:34, the hidden hole is exactly inside the topmost Spade pip.
By the way, from this underneath view, you can see the cigarette penetrating at the top pip of Three of Spades card at 1:28.
From these pictures above, it means the penetration hole is inside the card symbol or pip.
How Cigarette Through Card Trick Is Done
Let’s take a closer look how the Cigarette Through Card trick by Mickael Chatelain works.
I cannot see how his finger controls the gimmick for the Six of Spades card.
It is because it does not face the camera.
So, let’s focus on the other two cards.
Before I show you the detailed card gimmick, we see how he maneuvers it.
Ten Of Diamonds Card:
At 0:43, his right hand middle finger goes under the card, getting ready to open this concealed hole at the top Diamond pip.
Look carefully, you can see the slightly irregular edges of the cut-out hole of this particular Diamond pip.
It is because it is a diamond-shaped cut-out hole, which I would show you soon.
His middle finger under the card, pulls back the gimmick to open the hole, so he can insert the cigarette.
To remove the cigarette, at 1:11, again using his right middle finger to push the gimmick back to close up the hole at the Diamond pip.
When the cigarette is out from the card, at 1:11 you can see the hole underneath it as shown below.
You can even see the tiny tattered edges around the hole on top of the card.
At 1:12, when he is in the midst of turning the card around, you can the hole is still not fully closed up.
To see it clearer, slow down the playback speed to 0.25.
Three Of Spades Card:
Again look carefully at his middle finger controlling the card gimmick at 1:23 when sticking in the cigarette.
Then again when removing the cigarette from the card at 1:32.
Similarly, at 1:41 you can see the ragged edges of the cut-outs of the Three of Spades symbol below.
Mickael Chatelain Cigarette Through Card Gimmick
Like all my other magic exposé articles, I do not own or have seen the actual trick props.
They are just my speculations or guesswork based on just viewing the demo videos.
The key idea is the pips are are cut-outs or holes, just like Mickael Chatelain’s Phantom trick.
Ten Of Diamonds Gimmick Card
This is what I assume how it probably looks like:
This column of Diamond pips are cut-outs.
These diamond-shaped holes are backed with a red color paper strip which is inside the card.
NOTE: The lighter shade of red in the illustration, is actually solid red pip color.
This red strip color has a round hole on top, and it is concealed on top of the card.
This hidden red strip can be slide up and down.
At 0:43, he places his middle finger at the third Diamond pip cut-out, to push the red strip downward, thus sliding the round hole into the top pip.
Then he pushes the cigarette butt through the round hole, which is inside the top Diamond pip.
After pulling out the cigarette at 1:11, you can see his middle finger pushes the gimmick forward to close the hole, before he turns the card around.
Three Of Spades Gimmick Card
This is what I think how the gimmick card of Three of Spades looks like:
Just like the Ten of Diamonds card, the three Spades pip or symbols are holes or cut-outs.
This is the concealed gimmick.
NOTE: The gray color strip in the illustration is actually black color.
Again, the black color strip can be pushed up and down.
This is when his middle finger is at the second Spade pip sliding the black strip forward to close the hole inside the first Spade pip at 1:37.
This is what I think how Cigarette Through Card trick by Mickael Chatelain is done with a gimmick card.
Psychology Of Mickael Chatelain Cigarette Through Card Trick
The only psychological phenomenon of this conjuring trick is optical illusion.
What we see does not correspond to physical reality.
Remember what we see and what we think we see are different things.
Our brain merely creates perceptions.
We see a solid going through a solid (cigarette penetrating a card), which is logically impossible.
If we do not know the method of the trick, then we experienced something mysterious or magical.
Free Book Conjurers’ Optical Secrets
For those who like to learn more about using optical principles in magic tricks, read 1985 book by Sam H. Sharpe, “Conjurers’ Optical Secrets”.
To read this book free online, go to this website.
DISCLAIMER: This post is only for informational purposes. The book is copyrighted to its respective owners.