Bar Magic - Nine Coins

This simple but effective bar trick will amaze and entertain anyone who sees it. And unlike most magic, you can repeat this trick as many times as you want without anyone discovering how it works.

Right, you'll need nine coins, and an accomplice with a bottle of beer and a beer mat, or some other subtle reference point. Don't worry, all will be explained.

It doesn't matter what type of coins you use. Just collect nine coins that are in your pocket or lying around on the bar.

And the coins don't all have to be the same. In fact, it will add more mystery to the trick if you use a variety of different coins, as some of the more inquiring people in your crowd will try looking for patterns of coin use that just don't exist.

Take the nine coins and lay them on the table in a square, three rows of three.

The trick begins with you claiming that you can guess which coin someone touched last.

You can wrap this basic premise up any way you want, by claiming that you can see, hear, smell or even feel the psychic every surrounding the coin.

All that matters is that you make it entertaining and mysterious.

Once you've decided who will be choosing a coin, leave the room, perhaps to go to the bar or the toilet, and give them a few moments to make their choice.

After you return, take your time and consider each of the coins in turn. After a few seconds, point to the coin that was selected and wait for the looks of disbelief on the faces of your audience.

How did you do it?

Easy!

This is where your accomplice earns his free drink. When you leave the room, make sure that your accomplice knows what to do and is sitting in a place where you can subtly look at them without arousing suspicion.

As you leave the room, your accomplice should take a drink from his bottle and keep a close eye on the coin selected. Then, it's just a case of subtly placing their bottle on a certain part of the beer mat or other reference point that will indicate the chosen coin.

Right in the middle indicates the middle coin. Each of the corners represents a corner coin and the middle of each side of the mat correlates to the remaining four coins.

As soon as you return, you'll be able to tell at a glance with coin was selected. From that point until you reveal the answer it's just a case of putting on a good show. Do whatever you have to in order to increase the suspense, for example, pretending to sense the psychic waves emitted by each of the coins etc.

Once you reveal the right coin, the buzz from your audience is amazing. They'll be convinced that you somehow say the person making their choice, or that you noticed that one of the coins was moved etc. Just don't be surprised if you have to do the trick again...and again, as they try to work out how you managed to outwit them. But they won't.

With careful timing, subtle actions and a lot of theatrics, you can do this trick as many times as you want and nobody will ever suspect a thing.

And if you want to further reduce your chances of being found out, make sure that your accomplice subtly picks up or moves his bottle as soon as he knows you've seen it. Make sure that they act naturally and pretend to be as amazed as the rest of the crowd when you choose the right coin. But whatever happens, make sure that they don't overdo it, as an over-reaction is just as much of a giveaway as an under-reaction.