THE “PAPPY” SYSTEMHow to amaze yourself and

impress your friends!

The proposal…

Do you want to astound yourself by accomplishing something you never dreamed possible?

Would you like to impress your friends and coworkers?

Wanna win big bucks in Las Vegas?

With minimal effort, you can memorize the precise order of a full deck of newly shuffled playing cards. From any starting point, you will be able to predict the next (or previous) card with 100% accuracy.

How the system works

1. Translate playing cards to mental images using a simple character substitution mnemonic device

2. Combine the images to create spectacular stories

3. You will naturally remember your fantastic story

4. Recite an entire deck of cards- in order- simply by translating the mental image back into the card suit and number

5. “Voila!”… fame and fortune are yours!

The suits

♠ ♣ ♥ ♦S C or K H D

The numbers

Number

card

Consonant letter/ sound

association

Memory jogger

2 N Turn 2 on it’s side to resemble “N”

3 M Turn 3 on it’s side to resemble “M”

4 R Final letter of “f o u r”

5 L Hold up left hand… notice the “L” shape between your index finger and thumb

6 j, ch, sh, soft g

Flip the “6” backwards and it resembles the letter “J”

7 K, hard C, hard G

Using two “7”s flip one backwards, and prop it next to the first, to create a rough “K” shape

8 F, V “8” looks like a cursive, lower case “f”

9 P, b Flip the “9” over to become a “p”

10 Z, S, soft C Disregard the 1 and think of the “Z” in zero

A T, D Ace functions as “1”; then add a cross-bar for a “t”

The face cards

Facecard

Letter/ Sound

association

Memory jogger

J none For the Jack cards simply use the image of the

suit itself… ♦ ♠ ♣ ♥Q “een” Add the “een” sound to the first letter

determined by the suit. (Example: Q♥ = Halloween)

K “ing” Add the “ing” sound to the first letter determined by the suit (Example: K♠ = Sing)

Making mental images Suit determines the first letter/sound Number determines the last letter/sound Combine the letters above to create a

short, single-syllable word with a distinctive visual image

Physical object nouns make the best images (rather than concepts, colors, emotions, etc.)

= D ___ K =

Practice creating images

= S ___ N =

= H ___ T =

= C ___ M =

Don’t just place each item next to each other on a mental conveyor belt…

Instead… Create a memorable “storyline” in the way you connect the images…

“The is blazing brightly. Slowly, the sky

darkens and I realize that an enormous has

completely covered the sun. And then I notice that

tucked inside the hatband is my long-lost .”

Linking mental images

≠

=

Sample Images

The images on the following pages are the ones that work for our family. Feel free to substitute, if desired, for images that work for you.

For example, the 2♦ simply has to be our beloved Uncle Den… but you may wish to substitute.

♥ 5♥

10♥

A♥

6♥

J♥

2♥

7♥

Q♥

3♥

8♥

K♥

4♥

9♥ ♥

Halloween

half

hair

handspringhoop

♣ 5♣

10♣

A♣

6♣

J♣

2♣

7♣

Q♣

3♣

8♣

K♣

4♣

9♣ ♣

call

case

♦ 5♦

10♦

A♦

6♦

J♦

2♦

7♦

Q♦

3♦

8♦

K♦

4♦

9♦ ♦

“dot”

“ding”

“Den”

“Dopey”

♠ 5♠

10♠

A♠

6♠

J♠

2♠

7♠

Q♠

3♠

8♠

K♠

4♠

9♠ ♠

Acknowledgements

In 2010, John ”Pappy” Langdon introduced his amazing card trick to the third generation of our family. Using hefty sterling silver coins as a reward, he tutored Taylor (age 8) and Garrett (age 5), week after week, until they both knew the system and could wow their friends.

While Jennifer initiated “The Pappy System” documentation, Taylor and Garrett quickly took over… commanding PowerPoint and navigating Google Images with ease.

We all learned the joy and pleasure of delayed gratification by keeping the project a secret until Christmas.

We love you, Pappy!