Have you cracked the secret of the zig-zag bill magic trick CRACK by Mickael Chatelain?
Yes, it is a classic cut and restored magic effect.
The secret of this trick is similar to Mickael Chatelain’s Zig Zag 1 (one plate) & Zig Zag 2 (two plates).
There is a concealed piece hidden inside the plate.
The visual concept of CRACK echoes Robert Harbin’s famous Zig-Zag Girl stage illusion.
Just like all the other zig-zag magic tricks, be it the splitting girl, banknote, or card, they seem to come apart, but they are still intact.
👉 Read Zig Zag By Jay Sankey trick secret revealed.
Mickael Chatelain CRACK Trick Exposed
Welcome to another post of the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.
Where I answer the popular question: how are magic tricks done?
How magic tricks work, or what is the secret behind magic tricks?
The magicians refer to it as the method; the secret technique uses to create the illusion of a magical effect.
I am going to explain the method of Mickael Chatelain trick and also the psychology behind it.
Disclaimer: This explanation is based solely on video analysis and product images. I do not own or have access to the original prop.
In addition, I accompany my explanations with relevant pictures, illustrations and video snippets.
Mickael Chatelain CRACK Trick Routine:
- A banknote is folded lengthwise.
- Two flat plates are stacked together.
- The folded bill is inserted so its edge appears between the plates.
- The bill is slowly slid upward.
- The note visually “splits,” with one section staying at the bottom.
- The bill is slid back down, rejoining the lower section.
- The note is removed and unfolded—fully restored and unharmed.
Watch the demo video of the CRACK by Mickael Chatelain:
Mickael Chatelain CRACK Trick Secret Explained
Let’s explore and see whether my speculation of this zig-zag bill trick secret is correct.
Bill Under Both Plates
For a start, the two-fold bill goes underneath both the plates, and not between them.
Careful viewing of the demo videos reveals a key detail:
The folded bill is actually positioned behind or underneath both plates, not between them.
From this video, at 0:38, and then at 0:47 you can see the folded bill moves behind the pair of plates.
In other words, the folded bill is at the back of the two plates, and it is not linked to the short piece bill at the bottom.
Incidentally, the edited scene in the video using the 1000 Yen note is intentionally misleading.
The bill goes between the pair of plates at 0:43.
CRACK Trick Used Two Separate Bills
The split illusion relies on two unconnected pieces:
The main folded bill, which stays intact throughout
A short bill piece, which appears to “split” from the main note, is actually comes out from the edge of the right plate.
Visual clues confirm this Mickael Chatelain trick:
The short ten Euro note piece has a stain-like mark (indicated), but not on the original note.
These pictures are captured from Ludovic Magic’s video, where the original bill has a creased corner (indicated), but not at the short piece.
Mickael Chatelain CRACK Short Bill Single Layer
I am not too sure about this part.
It appears the short separate bill piece that slips out from the edge of the top right plate is single layer, and not two-fold.
You can also fold the bill into quarters in insert into the secret narrow compartment in the plate.
At the beginning of the video at 0:08, you can see the two layers of the folded bill.
This allows it to slide smoothly through a narrow hidden slot in the gimmick plate.
Early demo footage showing a folded short piece appears to be a deliberate act and then edited to fool the viewers.
It needs to be a thin piece, so that it is easier to come out from the narrow edge of the gimmick plate.
I think this is the opening slot where the short piece bill exits from.
Compare to the above picture, it is the same wood bark lines where the top part of the short bill is.
Now, let’s see how the CRACK come apart-and-restored bill trick works.
Gimmick Plate Hidden Bill With Magnet
When they slide the bill and picture, there are jerking and pulling movements of the short bill and the girl’s head picture respectively.
This jerky, snapping motion of the protruding bill strongly suggests magnetic interaction.
I guess Mickael Chatelain CRACK trick uses magnets, like many of other creations.
You can see the abrupt motions in Mickael Chatelain’s demo video, at 0:31 and 0:47.
Similarly, they also occur in Ludovic’s video, at 0:38 and 0:48.
They are also seen in Magic Patagonia’s video clip at 0:30 and 0:40.
I believe the short piece of bill or picture has a magnet at one end, concealed inside the right plate, as illustrated below:
CRACK Bill Fixed With Paper Clip
The performer likely embeds a tiny paper clip inside the folded bill, as shown below.
This is where the paper clip is embedded inside the ten Euro bill taken from Mickael’s demo video.
Here is another close-up view of the hidden paper-clip inside the note.
Likewise these are visuals of the gimmick bill captured from Ludovic Magic’s video clip.
When he is demonstrating at 0:23, the paper clip inside the bill got stuck momentarily between the plates.
In the actual trick, the performer places the two-fold bill beneath the pair of plates.
For Magic Patagonia, the paper clip is concealed at the upper left arm of the bikini-clad girl picture.
All the paper clips are embedded just after the center of the bill.
Thereby it matches when the concealed bill coming out from the plate.
When the performer slides the folded bill or picture underneath the plates, the hidden metal attracts the magnet and pulls the short gimmick piece into view.
When they slide the folded bill or the picture upward, the short piece jerks abruptly because the magnetic pull.
A second magnet at the top of the plate holds the bill briefly, making it appear clamped between the plates.
This is my view how Mickael Chatelain CRACK trick works.
Psychology Of Mickael Chatelain CRACK Zig-Zag Trick
This close up zig zag trick is a psychological puzzle.
They perceive the bill or picture as one solid object, then watch it separate and rejoin as a single piece.
If the viewers do not know the method of the trick, it does not make sense.
In the demo video at 0:08, Mickael purposely places the folded USD 20 bill between two plates.
He then moves the bill up and down the plates to suggest that is how the trick works.
Then again at 0:41, when he pulls the 1000 Yen note from between the pair of plates.
The CRACK zig-zag trick works because it exploits several core principles of human perception and attention.
Three Key Psychological Reasons
First, object permanence causes the audience’s brain to treat the folded banknote as one continuous object the moment they see it.
From that moment on, viewers mentally “lock in” this assumption and stop questioning it.
Second is expectation bias.
By briefly showing the bill apparently placed between the plates, the performer sets a clear expectation of how the trick should function.
Even when the method changes, the audience’s mind continues to fill in the gaps based on that initial belief. People see what they expect to see, not what is actually happening.
The magic trick also uses selective attention and cognitive load.
The audience focuses on the moving plates and the dramatic separation, leaving little mental capacity to analyze the exact positioning of the bill.
Subtle details—such as where the bill truly sits—go unnoticed.
Finally, the moment of apparent separation creates cognitive dissonance.
The brain knows a banknote cannot split and remain intact, yet the eyes say otherwise.
To resolve this conflict, the mind accepts a magical explanation.
This psychological tension, followed by the clean restoration, is what makes the CRACK trick feel visual, impossible, and deeply mystifying.
Sneak Preview Of Gravity By Mickael Chatelain Trick Secret
Probably Mickael Chatelain’s Gravity levitation bill with a card trick uses the similar method.
The gimmick card with a concealed magnet, and the bill with a metal piece, as shown below.
The back of the gimmicked card:
The metal piece is embedded here.
Not long after I published this post, the Mask YouTube channel presented a very similar explanation of how Mickael Chatelain’s CRACK works, and both explanations are likely correct.