Equivoque, also known as the Magician’s Choice, is a psychological and verbal technique used in magic and mentalism to create the illusion of free will while covertly guiding a spectator toward a predetermined outcome.
Through carefully crafted language, ambiguous phrasing, and quick thinking, the performer ensures no matter what choice the spectator makes, it aligns with the magician’s intended result. The Equivoque method relies on exploiting the spectator’s lack of knowledge about the trick’s structure and the performer’s skill in making the participant believe each answer always results in the same outcome.
In practice, equivoque involves presenting choices that seem open-ended but are subtly manipulated through verbal cues or recontextualization of outcomes. For example, if a magician places two cards on a table and needs the card on the right to be selected, the performer might casually say, “Hand one card to me.” If the spectator hand the magician the correct card, the magician smiles as if he’s proud of the spectator, he holds the card up high and proceeds as if the spectator understood this was an important decision.
If the spectator hand the magician the wrong card, at this point many unskilled performers draw attention to the wrong card by saying, “We’ll set this one aside,” or “That eliminates this one.” According to mentalist Jon Finch, it is more deceptive to put all focus onto the correct card, “That’s fine. Keep the card you chose, hold it close.”
This adaptability makes equivoque a versatile tool for forcing outcomes in both simple and complex routines. The success of equivoque depends on delivery, persuasive language, and maintaining an atmosphere of unpredictability. Repeated use within a single performance can diminish its effectiveness as spectators may begin to notice patterns.
Equivoque is one of the most powerful tools in mentalism, despite being propless and requiring no pocket space. Equivoque is valued in mentalism for its ability to create a compelling illusion of mind reading or prediction while preserving the spectator’s sense of agency.
Equivoque is a deadly weapon in the right hands. Many magicians who use Magicians Choice in their acts have been fooled by the same method when performed by mentalists such David Berglas and Derren Brown.
The three best books on Equivoque (Magicians Choice) are listed below.
Verbal Control, by Max Maven
Paralies, by Joshua Quinn
E’voque, by Docc Hilford
The mentalism books Verbal Control and E’voque are dedicated to Equivoque. The book Paralies has many mentalism routines. Joshua Quinn dives deep into Equivoque in the Deckquivoque chapter, where he teaches the propless force of a playing card using Equivoque.
