Magic Stories

What are the Odds? Giovanni Sits Next To Me — And Doesn’t Ask to be Moved?

I was on a plane flying somewhere ? which made sense at the time ? and by pure chance was seated right next to Giovanni Livera. Giovanni is from Orlando and I was from Orlando ? another pure coincidence. I knew Giovanni from the IBM Ring meetings in Orlando where he displayed his incredible talent and taught with the patience of a saint. He had no recollection of me.

This only proves that coincidence holds up only so long.

Giovanni was gracious and willing to show me trick after trick during our flight. We discussed the tremendous success he had as one of the two founding magicians and overall fun-makers (not at all like the Mentos ?fresh makers?) that revolutionized the NBA with stunts and events.

Wait, what?s the point of this story?

The point is determining odds ? figuring out the chance of something happening.

Giovanni explained to me that he had just figured out how to use a faro shuffle ? a perfect faro shuffle ? eight times to arrange a brand new deck into an incredible poker deal and how to use the same perfect faro shuffle two times to arrange it into a Si Stebbens order. Giovanni did not claim discovered this system, only that…

I was on a plane flying somewhere ? which made sense at the time ? and by pure chance was seated right next to Giovanni Livera. Giovanni is from Orlando and I was from Orlando ? another pure coincidence. I knew Giovanni from the IBM Ring meetings in Orlando where he displayed his incredible talent and taught with the patience of a saint. He had no recollection of me.

This only proves that coincidence holds up only so long.

Giovanni was gracious and willing to show me trick after trick during our flight. We discussed the tremendous success he had as one of the two founding magicians and overall fun-makers (not at all like the Mentos ?fresh makers?) that revolutionized the NBA with stunts and events.

Wait, what?s the point of this story?

The point is determining odds ? figuring out the chance of something happening.

Giovanni explained to me that he had just figured out how to use a faro shuffle ? a perfect faro shuffle ? eight times to arrange a brand new deck into an incredible poker deal and how to use the same perfect faro shuffle two times to arrange it into a Si Stebbens order. Giovanni did not claim discovered this system, only that he was recently taught it.

He spent the rest of the flight trying to teach me the statistics behind the shuffles. I tried so hard to follow him and even nodded at the right places. I failed statistics in college but my professor was also my academic advisor and kindly gave me what they call in the South ?a gentleman?s C.? In fact, when Giovanni asked me what I thought the odds were that we would be sitting together on this plane, I told him it was probably about fifty-fifty ? we either would or wouldn?t.

He smiled and laughed as if I was making a joke.

Since that flight, I have looked everywhere for something that reveals the logical mechanics behind a series of shuffles. I have also worked on my faro shuffle technique and am proud to say that on this day, two years ago, I did a perfect faro shuffle. It was a teasing taste of the perfection I still fight to attain. I can?t even do a perfect faro with just two cards.

It turns out that Giovanni was correct. There is order in the universe. I found this article on Poker Mag.

As we say in the Junior League, ?Oh, you simply must check this out.? I understood the first paragraph and then glazed over like a Honey Baked Ham on a hot sidewalk. Maybe you?ll be able to use it. If you can, you?ll no doubt fool the heck out of me.

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