Hofzinser Fan Force

The Hofzinser Fan Force, also Hofzinser Spread Force or Hofzinser Touch Force, is a method for forcing a card, invented and used by J. N. Hofzinser. It appears as if the performer merely fans the pack, has a card pointed to, and separates the pack at that point, showing the selected card to the audience. In reality, the performer has forced the bottom card of the pack.

The principle of the move has also been adapted to a spread between the hands. In fact, this might be the more common handling seen today.

Dai Vernon's Fan Force was published in Lewis Ganson's Vernon card trilogy in the late fifties. And Harry Lorayne's version, The Lorayne Force, was explained in many of his books, starting with 1962's Close-Up Card Magic. His easy techniques for the move enabled many magicians to learn it for the first time, and the Lorayne Force became widely popular. Ron Bauer also published a finessed handling in the early eighties.

It's unclear when the principle was first applied to a spread between the hands, but an early development was by Ed Marlo, who published a way to start with the force card in the center of the deck. Some of the more recent Spread Force innovations include techniques by Fred Robinson, Tony Miller, and Michael Close.

Publications

• Hofzinser Fan Force: J. N. Hofzinser and Ottokar Fischer, tr., Hofzinser's Card Conjuring (1931, pp. 136-137, 167).

• Forcing, The Touch Method: Victor Farelli, Farelli's Card Magic (1933, pp. 40-41).

• Hoffingser Force: Arthur Buckley, Card Control (1946, p. 79).
  • Hofzinser Fan Force: Arthur Buckley, Principles and Deceptions (1948, p. 169).

• Imperfection Force: Edward Marlo, Marlo in Spades (1947, pp. 8-9).

• Fan Force (Dai Vernon): Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernon's More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1959, pp. 73-74).
  • Dai Vernon, The First California Lecture (1976, p. 6).
  • Pressure Fan Force (Bruce Cervon): Stephen Minch, Bruce Cervon Hard-Boiled Mysteries (1998, pp. 81-82).
  • The Greek Force (Bruce Cervon): Stephen Minch, Bruce Cervon Hard-Boiled Mysteries (1998, pp. 83).

• The Lorayne Force: Harry Lorayne, Close-Up Card Magic (1962, pp. 169-171).
  • Harry Lorayne, Lorayne: The Classic Collection, Vol. 1 (2005, pp. 123-125).
  • Lorayne Fan Force Handling (Martin Nash): Stephen Minch, Ever So Sleightly (1975, p. 109).

• Hofzinser Touch Force (Ron Bauer): The New Tops, Vol. 22 No. 3 (March 1982, p. 27).
  • Ron Bauer, The Chick Trick, Ron Bauer Private Studies Special Edition (2002, pp. 16-18).
  • The Hofbauer Force (Ron Bauer): Jon Racherbaumer, Card Finesse II (1992, pp. 116-120).

• Down-And-Out Force (Tony Miller): Apocalypse, Vol. 6 No. 8 (August 1983, p. 809).
  • Out-And-Down Force (Len Hollyman): Apocalypse, Vol. 6 No. 8 (August 1983, p. 810).

• The Under-the-Spread Force (Fred Robinson): Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Vol. 1 (1994, pp. 189-190).
  • Ultimate Force (Fred Robinson): Peter Duffie, The Magic of Fred Robinson (2009, pp. 125-127).

• Spread Force: Michael Close, Workers 5 (1996, pp. 9-10).

• Fan Force (J. C. Sum): The Linking Ring, Vol. 79 No. 3 (March 1999, pp. 89-90).

• Ultra Fan Force (Joseph K. Schmidt): Discoverie, No. 6 (2002, pp. 82-83).