If you're familiar with Werner Miller's work, you're in for another treat from him!

If you're not familiar with Werner Miller's work, you're in for several treats!

For those not familiar with him, he's a creator of mathematical magic from Germany. What makes his work so special is his knack for ingeniously and effectively disguising the mathematical principles used in his routines. If you haven't already done so, go back through this site to explore some of his other effects. You'll quickly get an appreciation for his style of thinking.

Last October, he released the first two volumes in a new series called Sub Rosa (Latin for in strictest confidence). Earlier this month, Werner Miller released two new books in the series, Sub Rosa 3 and Sub Rosa 4.

Thanks to the math involved, none of the routines require any difficult sleight-of-hand. For example, one of the routines from Sub Rosa 4 is titled, “ESPecial Countdown,” and performed with ESP cards. After the ESP cards are mixed, an audience member chooses a card. This card is set aside face down, and no one, not even the audience member, knows which ESP symbol was chosen.

The performer then removes 8 cards, and asks for a number (8 or less) from which to countdown. The performer then runs through a procedure in which the cards are counted down. When the countdown reaches 0, the card at that position is removed. Interestingly, it proves an exact match for the card previously chosen by the spectator.

Generously, Werner Miller has allowed me to reveal the method to “ESPecial Countdown” here on Grey Matters. The method is explained below, and the PDF can be downloaded via this link.



I'd like to thank Werner Miller for his generosity in letting me share this routine with you. If you'd like to show him your thanks as well, you can buy Sub Rosa 3, Sub Rosa 4, and his other works over at Lybrary.com.