Have you nailed the secret of the Nail Through Card trick by Mickael Chatelain, also known as PIC?
How the sharp iron nail could go through the Seven of Diamonds card, apparently without leaving any hole on it.
By the way, this PIC by Mickael Chatelain secret exposé was included in one of my earlier posts.
I have taken it out, updated it with more relevant details, together with the psychological principles behind the trick.
This is another post from the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.
Effect:
Take a card from the deck, then with a sharp iron nail, you puncture right through it.
Show both sides of the card to the viewers, to assure them the nail really has penetrated it.
Then pull the nail out from the card, and mysteriously there is no hole on it.
Watch the video of PIC/Nail Through Card trick below:
Nail Through Card Trick Secret Revealed
This is the secret of the PIC by Mickael Chatelain close up trick.
The iron nail is normal, but the card is gimmicked.
It doesn’t use any flap or elastic thread, but magnets to accomplish the penetration trick.
There is a technical reason why he uses this particular card suit: Seven of Hearts.
Then there is another good reason, why Mickael spins or twirls the card in the air in the video.
I would explain them real soon.
Hole In PIC By Mickael Chatelain
According to its ad, “the card is unbroken ! No Hole ! NOTHING !! like new ! Show the card back and front, this is a totally regular playing card“.
Definitely there must be a hole in the playing card to make the penetration effect possible.
Just like the classic Penetration Frame, which has a hole in the transparent piece, but hidden behind the surrounding frame, as shown below.
Now, take a closer look at the back of the card or the reverse:
There is a small round hole on the back of the card where the iron nail goes through.
To be exact, it is well-hidden above the bicycle wheel of the Cupid Rider picture.
These images captured from the PIC by Mickael Chatelain demo video at 1:25. and 1:32 respectively
This is taken from John Cardella’s video clip at 1:20.
Closed-up view of the same picture as above.
No Hole On Face Of The Card?
How come there is no hole on the front side of the card, where the nail has gone through, as seen in the picture below?
It is because the nail did not go through that top empty space of the card.
The hole is at the bottom part of the card, and it is hidden behind the center Diamond pip.
Separate Movable Diamond Pip
Yes, the nail hole is blocked by the center single Diamond pip or symbol.
This particular center Diamond pip is NOT printed on the card, like the other six pips.
It is a cut-out piece, and it is magnetically attached to the card.
In other words, this small piece of Diamond-shaped card can be shifted up and down the playing card.
At the onset of the act, the hole is concealed by the center Diamond pip.
Before he inserts the nail, he moves the magnetized Diamond cut-out piece down to between the other four pips.
In the video, you can see Mickael’s left thumb moving behind the card, as he is about to insert the nail; most probably shifting the magnetized Diamond pip piece.
When he is pushing in and pulling out the nail, his fingers have to block the hole, under the pretext of supporting the card.
After pulling out the nail, the Diamond cut-out piece is shifted back to block the hole.
At 0:59, Mickael has already pulled out the nail, yet he continues to block the hole, because he has yet to close it up properly.
Nail Thru Card Trick Magnetic Pull
Watch the card carefully, you notice the card quivers when he is pulling out the nail, because of the magnetic pull.
Again at 1:23, when he is pulling the nail out from the card.
Let’s explore why this Nail Through Card trick uses the Seven of Hearts suit card.
PIC Seven Of Diamonds Card Positions
When you rotate the card up or down, the center single Diamond pip will either be at the top or the bottom of it.
Most, if not all of the viewers would not take this movement of the pip for granted.
This is the key secret of this PIC or Nail Through Card trick.
Watch the videos carefully, you would notice the center single Diamond pip. changes its positioning.
When John Cardella shows the face of the card to the camera at 0:35, the single Diamond pip is at the top.
Then he directly revolves the card around, and inserts the nail at the top middle section.
So the nail must be piercing through the center Diamond pip at the top of the card, right?
But when he turns the card back, strangely the center Diamond pip is now at the bottom.
Instead the pierced nail is through the blank space of the card.
So, how could that center Diamond pip is now at the bottom of the card?
Unless he must have moved the center Diamond pip downward, before he thrusts the nail into the card.
In short, that center Diamond pip is adjustable.
To confirm what I have just described, watch this short scene from 0:35 until he turns the face card back to the camera.
From Mickael’s performance, it’s slightly more difficult to spot this turning-card-around maneuver.
It is because he is constantly turning or spinning the card around in his presentation.
It may appear he adds pizzazz to his presentation, but actually it is part of the trick.
I would elaborate this more detail in the psychology of this trick below.
Anyway, if you are patience enough, you can spot the displacement of the center Diamond pip.
Different Diamond Shape Pip
I think the center Diamond pip is a gimmick because of its shape.
Look carefully at all the other six Diamonds pips or symbols on the front of the playing card.
The four sides of the Diamond symbol are slightly curved in or rounded.
But the four sides of this Diamond cut-out piece is rather straight.
This little difference is not that noticeable to the average viewers’ eyes, which I am going to explain now.
Psychology Behind Nail Through Card Trick
In this penetration trick, it mainly plays with the viewers’ visual perception and assumption.
Mickael Chatelain keeps showing the card with the white empty space at the top to the viewers.
That is where the nail is supposed to stick through it.
But as we know now, the hole is actually at the bottom, but hidden behind the Diamond pip.
By repeatedly showing that spot, it can confuse the audience’s perception, making them believe that is where the penetration occurred.
Another thing is we assume it is a common printed playing card, but as I have revealed the center Diamond pip is not printed on.
Our mind will see what it expects to see, and magicians know how to exploit our expectations.
We expect things to happen a certain way, because that is what our mind have previously experienced.
Then there is this phenomenal known as inattentional blindness (looking but failing to see).
The displacement of the center Diamond pip position, when he turns the card up and down.
Most viewers would miss this inconspicuous positioning.
The reason why he keeps spinning, twirling or rotating the playing card, is not purely to jazz up the trick.
He wants the viewers to avoid remembering the positioning of the center Diamond pip in the card.
In conjuring magic tricks, that is the principle of misdirection, or some prefer to call it direction.
Misdirection or direction is a subtle, deceptive art of diverting an audience’s attention away from the method or mechanics of a trick.
Used effectively, misdirection can affect not just what we see, but how we reason and remember.
We always say we cannot trust our eyes, but the truth is that we cannot always trust our minds.