Kolossal Killer, by Kenton Knepper, is a widely acclaimed and widely criticized trick. It has a little to offer, and plenty to hate.

So then, let’s do a little equivocal thinking.

A complaint people often have is that the “suboptimal” outcome happens two-thirds of the time. A common counterpoint is that the “optimal” outcome is actually more suspicious, since they will rightly wonder what you aren’t showing them, and wonder if the other side is a different card.

Remember, the person you’re showing it to doesn’t need to figure out more than 10% of the trick to feel like they’ve figured out 90% of it.

Really, neither outcome is very optimal. But with a little tweak, two out of three times it could be.

Consider the difference between a note that reads “Off by one!” or one that reads “One before!”.

The benefit of this is clear: The former directly indicates two cards… Is it the 2 of clubs or the 4 of clubs? Nobody knows, as Max Maven might say. (RIP) On the other hand, one before? Well, that has a clear meaning. It’s obviously predicting that the card they would name would be one before the card you pulled out. Or, it predicts that your card would be one before the card they named.

Then you just say “I was so close, but in the end I/you chose the card that was… (Here you turn around the card with a shit-eating grin) One before!”

One after, of course, is also an option. Comes down to taste.

In the end, in that 2 out of 3 best case scenario, you take out the card, show that it’s “off by one”, then solemnly say “I got so close, but in the end you chose the card that was… One before!” as you turn around the card with a shit-eating grin on your face.

Or, “I got so close, but in the end I chose the card that was… One before!”

Get the idea? Good, now we can be done with this.

So, is Kolossal Killer a good trick? No. Is it one I would ever perform again? Probably not. But, my friends, this is how I performed it when I did perform it, and now you can too.

Until next time, killer.