Double-2-Block System for Memorizing Cards (2x676 images)

Mike4 · November 20, 2023, 7:20pm

Introduction:
This is a complete description of a system for memorizing 2 cards per image. It is an alternative to those who find the Ben System too big or the Shadow System (SS) too complex. The former requires 2704 images while the latter requires only 1352, but has multiple rules and can’t be implemented with any 3-digit list.

The Double-2-Block System (D2B) converts any pair of cards into a 3-digit number, which can be memorized using the system of your preference. It could be a list following the Dominic System, the Major System, the Ben System, or any other.

Instructions:
To apply D2B, you will need two 3-digit lists, but only 676 images of each will be used, so there will be only 1352 in total. I’d recommend having a list containing only people and another containing only objects to ensure they are distinguishable enough.

First, the 16 suit-pairs are divided into two blocks of 8 suit-pairs. People are used to representing pairs of cards of the same color; otherwise, objects are used. Second, each block is divided into two groups of 4, based on whether it starts with red or not. Just like in SS, those combinations will be differentiated using the variable-locus strategy created by Johannes Mallow. Finally, A number between 0 and 3 is chosen to represent each quadruple of suit-pairs. The following image summarizes these ideas:

To encode the ranks, a different strategy is implemented, depending on whether or not the card is a picture card (PC). If it is a number card, then the number of the rank represents the card (A = 1 and 10 = 0). If it is a PC, then the card has a primary and secondary number:

Primary and Secondary Numbers of the Picture Cards

Whether the primary or secondary number will be used depends on where the PC is in the pair. If there is a number card followed by a PC, then the primary number will be used to represent the PC. If either the first card or both are PC, then only secondary numbers will be used. (Edit: didn’t you find this intuitive? Me neither. I later changed the system to make it even more didactic. You can find the post containing the new version here)

To determine the order of the digits, you only need to follow two rules:

PC has priority over suit-pair;
Suit-pair has priority over number card.

The following is an image exemplifying all possible combinations:

(“#” means number; “# Card1” and “# Card2” mean the number of the first card and number of card 2, respectively; “Suit” refers to the number of the suit-pair; the orange and green colors represent whether the primary or the secondary number was used, respectively)

Examples:

Q - 3 would be represented by an object of number 723 (Q-Suit-3)
8 - 8 would be represented by a person of number 388 (Suit-8-8)
J - K would be represented by an object of number 592 (J-K-Suit)
4 - 7 would be represented by a person of number 147 (Suit-4-7)
5 - Q would be represented by an object of number 615 (Q-Suit-5)
10 - 6 would be represented by a person of number 206 (Suit-10-6)
J - J would be represented by a person of number 550 (J-J-Suit)

After creating your image, you need to put it in your memory palace. To do this, the variable-locus strategy is implemented. In brief, if the first card of the pair is red, you should put the image in the current locus and move to the next one; otherwise, you should put the image in the current locus and stay.

During recall of the suit-pair, follow the reasoning in the opposite direction: if it is the last image of the locus, then the suit-pair starts with a red suit; otherwise, it starts with a black one. If the image is a person, then both suits have the same color; otherwise, they have opposite colors. Afterward, decode the suit number into the precise suit-pair.

The variable-locus strategy has a downside: sometimes loci will get crowded or almost empty. To understand why this is not such a big problem, I recommend you to read Alex Mullen’s post. He uses SS, but his arguments apply to D2B as well.

To illustrate the system even better, the following are flowcharts/decision trees describing the encoding and decoding processes of cards.

Encoding: transforming pairs of cards into images

Decoding: transforming images into pairs of cards

(“1st #,” “2nd #,” and “3rd #” mean first digit, second digit, and third digit, respectively; “Suit #” means the number of suit-pair; “[0,3]” means the interval of numbers between 0 and 3, including 0 and 3)

Advantages:

It has only 1352 images, making it smaller than the Ben System and equal in size to SS;
It has far fewer rules to learn than SS, so it will likely be learned very quickly;
It is not restricted to any particular number system, like Major, Dominic, or Ben. In fact, I created D2B because my Major System is inconsistent with SS;
It is not necessary to create extra images for it if you already have a 3-digit system;
It is not exclusive to the English language, like the Ben System, so, for example, you can take words from any tongue without worrying about the vowels.

Disadvantages:

I haven’t used it yet, so I don’t know if it truly works.

The reason why I’m posting D2B now before even applying it is twofold:

To possibly receive feedback before I start practicing intensively;
Since it will take a long time for me to finish my 3-digit objects list, I wanted to write down all instructions, for I’ll have probably forgotten most details of D2B until then.

This system was developed after discussing a previous idea with @TheHumanTim in another post on the forum. His help was essential, and he coined the name Double-2-Block System.

If you have any question or criticism, please don’t hesitate to share it here!

fred2 · November 22, 2023, 7:01am

I am going to give this post a thorough reading with a view to seeing if you’ve found the so-called “holy grail” of playing card memorization.

Just one question I do have though, does the Double-2-Block System allow for multiple decks being shuffled into one another, or can it only be used to memorize decks of playing cards that are not mixed into each other? To explain what I’m asking a little better, if one is say wanting to memorize 5 decks of playing cards shuffled into each other, it is possible (although ‘improbable’) to have a sequence of 5 Ace of Hearts following one another.

Could you clarify this important point for me please.

If you are looking to develop 3 digit Major words then check out this valuable link below, if you are not already familiar with it?

Mike4 · November 22, 2023, 9:28am

Yes, it allows for memorization of shuffled decks. For instance:

J - J would be represented by a person of number 550 (J-J-Suit)
8 - 8 would be represented by a person of number 388 (Suit-8-8)
(Just added these to the examples list. Thanks for pointing out this case)

In this respect, D2B would work like the Ben System, the Shadow System, or any other 2-card system; namely, it would be possible, but you would have two repeated images. You would divide the cards into pairs and memorize one after the other.

The sequence: A - A - A - A - A - [next card] would become 3 pairs

A - A would be represented by a person of number 011
A - A a person of number 011 as well
A - [next card] depends on what the next card is

This repetition wouldn’t pose any problem both because it’d be extremely rare and because there wouldn’t be many repeated images.

Thanks for the link! I’ve looked at this website a few times when I was filling my 3-digit list of people. However, now I’m filing my objects list, which will only contain Portuguese words (my mother language), so this list won’t help much anymore. Thanks for your thoughtfulness, though!

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

TheHumanTim · November 22, 2023, 10:53am

Fun fact:
If I’ve mathed correctly… the odds of shuffling 5 decks of cards together and drawing a specific 5 card sequence is about 1 in 9.5 Billion.

This is less likely than being attacked by a shark while getting sucked up by a tornado while scratching off a winning lotto ticket while getting struck by lightning.

But strangely, more likely than you ever finding that sock you lost in the dryer.

Either way, D2B has got you covered even in this improbable scenario!

Mike4 · November 26, 2023, 12:38am

I thought of making a few changes. The idea of primary and secondary numbers for picture cards is essential to D2B; however, the criteria for using each was not very good (primary number if the first card is a number & secondary number if the first or both are picture cards). These two rules were mostly inspired by the Shadow System, but there is no reason why D2B should follow them. In fact, I wish to make it a little bit more intuitive and didactic.

The two rules could be changed into one: use the primary number if the picture card is in the first place and the secondary number if it is in the second place. Isn’t it much more intuitive and easier to grasp at first?

Here’s the table of primary and secondary numbers:

To determine the order of the digits, you now need to follow three rules, instead of two as before (but don’t worry, the additional rule is very straightforward):

PC has priority over suit-pair;
Suit-pair has priority over number card;
If there are two PCs, the primary number has priority over the secondary.

The following is a table exemplifying all possible combinations:

(“#” means number; “# Card1” and “# Card2” mean the number of the first card and number of card 2, respectively; “Suit” refers to the number of the suit-pair; the orange and green colors represent whether the primary or the secondary number was used, respectively)

If you compare this new table with the old one, you’ll see that now the primary and secondary digits are equally common. This makes the system easier to learn, not only by its intuitiveness but also by practicing both types of numbers often.

Old examples after change:
Q - 3 would be represented by an object of number 623 (1#Q-Suit-3)
8 - 8 would be represented by a person of number 388 (Suit-8-8)
J - K would be represented by an object of number 492 (1#J-2#K-Suit)
4 - 7 would be represented by a person of number 147 (Suit-4-7)
5 - Q would be represented by an object of number 715 (2#Q-Suit-5)
10 - 6 would be represented by a person of number 206 (Suit-10-6)
J - J would be represented by a person of number 450 (1#J-2#J-Suit)

The encoding and decoding flowcharts changed a little bit as well:

Encoding: transforming pairs of cards into images

(“1# PC” and “2# PC” mean primary number and secondary number of picture card, respectively)

Decoding: transforming images into pairs of cards

(“1st #,” “2nd #,” and “3rd #” mean first digit, second digit, and third digit, respectively; “Suit #” means the number of suit-pair; “[0,3]” means the interval of numbers between 0 and 3, including 0 and 3)

Please, let me know if you didn’t find this to be more intuitive.

TheHumanTim · November 26, 2023, 2:59pm

Reformatted a couple of tabs from my Shadow System document to work for D2B.

There’s a full card combo grid that can be filled in with your words and also method writeup tab that explains the system. Check it out, @Mike4 and let me know if there are any errors!

Mike4 · November 26, 2023, 6:16pm

That’s great! Even more material for others to understand D2B.

Btw, are you intending to use it instead of your Shadow System?

The explanations and observations are correct. You made very good points!

TheHumanTim · November 26, 2023, 7:31pm

I don’t think so at this point. My 1352 images are very fast now. I may add objects to shadow and take that next level to remove the 2block element entirely. I love the D2B idea for someone who want to try a 2-card system though!

Mike4 · November 26, 2023, 10:23pm

Is it because you think that 2block systems, like SS and D2B, take longer than true 2-card systems? At first, I believed that, but the performance of mind athletes like Alex Mullen are making me seriously doubt it.

It’s very nice of you to create a spreadsheet explaining something you probably won’t even use. Thanks a lot, Tim!

TheHumanTim · November 27, 2023, 12:12am

I think its the logical next step progression. Big draw would be to eliminate the 2 block aspect so I can drop a set amount of elements per loci and not worry about screwing up the stacking. It eliminates the random luck of the draw that sometimes leads to long runs that are really tough to chain at a single loci.

I don’t think that one is significantly “faster” or “slower,” its all about practice and comfort level. I just see a true 2704 2-card system as a quality of life upgrade to what I have now, albeit with a big tradeoff in time needed for acquiring it.

I’m at about 150 hours of fluency training with my current Shadow images. Honestly, if I had just spent 150 hours practicing a 2-digit / single card PAO, I’m almost positive I’d be consistently hitting times under 1 minute easily. Don’t regret it though, a big part of the appeal of the Shadow project for me was to just challenge myself and see if I could do it.

Mike4 · November 27, 2023, 10:03am

Do you think that the strategy of inevitably moving forward after 5 images is still problematic?

You aren’t that far from this goal at all, though; you already got great speed.

TheHumanTim · November 27, 2023, 1:52pm

I just don’t like it too much. Its a lot to keep track of in the middle of memorizing. It works fine for some people though.

Thanks, I’m close! I’ve been a huge slacker almost all summer/fall with actually attempting personal best runs. I think if I had been more disciplined, I’d have hit sub60 months ago. I just mean that given the same effort poured into a 156 element system, I think I’d be even farther along.

Mike4 · December 19, 2023, 1:23am

For the sake of completeness, I thought of expanding Double-2-Block System to encode jokers as well.

In order to do this, we’re gonna use 2-digit numbers. In other words, the joker is the only card that doesn’t have a number associated to it.

Since the joker has only two colors, we can use the suit-pair number to encode the joker’s color and its position in the pair. The variable-locus strategy and the person/object division are still used. The following table shows the combinations:

Just like with the picture cards, when the number is even, the joker is in the first position; when the number is odd, the joker is in the second position (the primary number of PCs are even while the secondary ones are odd).

Given that we are using the suit-pair number to encode the joker’s position, the main rules of D2B still work:

PC has priority over suit-pair;
Suit-pair has priority over number card.

Examples:
Black Joker - 10 would be represented by an object of number 00
7 - Red Joker would be represented by an object of number 17
K - Black Joker would be represented by a person of number 83
Red Joker - J would be represented by a person of number 52

Notice that every time a picture card appears, one digit will be even while the other will be odd because even means it is in the first position (primary number) while odd means it is in the second position.

If both cards are jokers, then you have absolutely no digit, so you need to have a person and an object that don’t have consonants from the Major System in their names. For instance:

Dreamworks’ character Yi

Yoyo

fred2 · January 3, 2024, 5:38pm

Are there any tutorials on Youtube explaining the Shadow System or Double-2-Block System or even the Ben System for memorizing multiple card decks? I have looked at postings by @TheHumanTim and @Mike4 but I am confused as to how one actually goes about learning such complex systems like any of these. I know the old saying that one eats an elephant one bite at a time but the systems appear superhuman to my limited knowledge of card memorization. Wonder if I’m alone in my apparent ignorance. I do understand that 52 cards (Jokers excluded) can be paired in 2 704 possible different ways. I also don’t really understand how palaces are used to accomplish this remarkable feat either? I don’t think everything is best learnt necessarily from a book, although to be honest, I don’t even know if any author @metivier or similar has published on this memory feat??

TheHumanTim · January 3, 2024, 6:13pm

This is the way. There’s no secret, its just starting with a small subset of the total possible pairs, consistent practice time, and adding new sets / ramping the recognition speed up incrementally to get to a point of fluency with them all.

No palaces used for me. That not only would be incredibly unweildy, but would be creating extra unwanted associations that would waste time both in the learning and application process. Anki flashcards and direct association practice to get up to speed was all I used to learn the system.

I don’t know of any detailed video tutorials, but if you check out the following doc, I explain in my own words how Shadow and 2-block systems work. All of the phonetics for suits and values in Shadow are explained and there are worksheets that lay out every possible card combo and what the phonetic options are for each. Additionally, there is a tab with a suggested schedule for adding new card pairs to learn and target speeds to achieve with the goal of getting to under one minute in 52 weeks. (I actually believe that someone could reach that target MUCH sooner if they practiced applying the system from day one.)

In a nutshell, Shadow and Ben systems both work off of a phonetic substitution structure where the card pair provides three sounds with which to construct a word and subsequently associate an image. Shadow is based on Major System consonants and requires 1352 images because each image represents 2 different card pairs. These pairs are differentiated by using the 2-block approach, explained in the doc.

Ben also uses the suit pair and two values to represent sounds, but this system also includes vowels and ends up generating a unique image for all 2704 possible card combos. Ben is a consonant-vowel-consonant system which allows for each card pair to generate a unique single syllable which becomes the basis for the image association. The advantage with a “Ben-style” system is less time subvocalizing when reading the card and being able to have consistency with how many images compose each scene per loci. Also the way the cards are “read” is the same regardless of the presence of picture cards. Its always suitpair-value1-value2. The “cons” to this system compared to Shadow is that you need to learn twice as many associations and if you already are very used to classic major phonetics you’ll need to to relearn them with slightly altered associations to account for the extra values past 10.

(You also realistically could make Ben into a 2-block system using the same suitpair combos as Shadow and applying VIS to differentiate. You lose the benefit of having a single image per pair but it may be an easier system to learn vs. Shadow.)

Systems of this size can be very intimidating, but they really are attainable by a relatively new memoriser (I can personally attest to this fact!)

There is a large time commitment needed and (at least in my case) there needs to be a consistent and well considered plan to attack it to avoid discouragement and burnout, especially early on.

I thought of it this way… Learning a 2-digit PAO requires getting fluent with 300 associations. Shadow required 1352 associations. Thats only 4x what I did with PAO. I learned my PAO associations well enough to use it pretty well after about a month, so I figured it would take about 4 times that to learn the associations for Shadow. That turned out to be pretty accurate.

If you commit to the effort, you could absolutely learn one of these systems!

Mike4 · January 3, 2024, 6:35pm

This video explains the shadow system, but I don’t know any that explains the Ben System for cards. The Double-2-Block System is too young to have any video on it, and I’m probably gonna be the only one using it in the next years (if not ever). In fact, I haven’t actually started to apply it since I still gotta memorize my 3-digit list of objects.

I can’t add any tip beyond what Tim said, but I wanna tell you that you aren’t the only one who thought that. The first time I saw 2-card systems like the Ben System and the Shadow System, I couldn’t believe what I was reading, especially the shadow system. They indeed sound super complex at first, but after a while the rules start to make sense.

Btw, one of my goals in creating an alternative to the Shadow System was to make something easier for people in general to understand. It’s still more complex than the Major System, sure, but I believe it’s the simplest 2-card system out there at the moment. If you don’t understand any of its rules, feel free to ask a question here. I would be glad to clarify anything that seemed confusing to you.

fred2 · January 3, 2024, 7:48pm

Are the Double-2-Block System and Shadow Systems one and the same thing. I totally get the 2 704 associations that the Ben System would use with his C-V-C system but if we halve that (2 704 divided by 2 = 1 352) which is the number that @TheHumanTim mentions above with reference to Shadow requiring only 1 352 images. How does this halving of images from 2 704 to 1 352 actually work?? Perhaps both you and Tim could answer that question for me and hopefully between the two explanations given, I may come a long way further towards fully appreciating the difference between the two systems?

In summary, (excluding the Coloured and Black-and-White Jokers):

Ben System = 2 704 images
Double-2-Block System = 1 352 images
Shadow System = 1 352 images

Do I at least have that part of it understood?

TheHumanTim · January 3, 2024, 8:15pm

Nope! The only real similarity is that they both use a single element to encode a pair of cards.

You’ve got the totals correct!

A “2-block” system is just a way to have a single encoded element represent two different card pairs, typically one with a black suit in the first position and the other with a red card first. This cuts the number of elements to learn down from 2704 in a true two-card per element system to “only” 1352 images.

For example [2 A ] is represented by the same image as [2 A ] (in my Shadow list this is “SaNTa.”) By doing this, you only have to learn 1352 images and then the technique for differentiating the pairs that start with red cards from the pairs that start with black cards. This is done via the variable image stacking technique where you continue to add elements to a single scene at a single loci until you encounter a red-first pair. This is the signal to finish the scene and begin a new scene with the next pair. When you go to recall mode, you’ll know that logically the last pair represented at any loci will be it’s red-first version.

In Shadow, each of the 1352 images are built from 1352 unique phonetic structures. Double2Block builds its 1352 images from just 676 unique phonetic structures.

Double2Block does what its name says, it doubles the 2-block technique which provides a way for a single NUMBER to represent four different card pairs. The goal of D2B is to limit the word structure to those that can be read via 3-digit numbers. It does this by requiring 2 images per number and giving each of those images two card pairs each to represent. (Black/Black or Red/Red pairs for People, Black/Red or Red/Black pairs for objects.) The variable image stacking requirement is the same. So for this there are two conversion steps when encoding/decoding. Is the image a person? Then the colors of the pair are the same. Is it an object? Then the colors are different. Is it the last pair at a loci? Then the pair starts with a red card.

The big positive for D2B, and where it differs from Shadow and Ben is that it allows the user to take ANY 3 digit numerical technique and transfer the images from those number associations directly to card associations. You still need to create words/images for 1352 card pairs, but it uses a clever way to structure the phonetics to only need the equivilent numbers that fall into a 3-digit structure. So if you have a pre-existing 3-digit PO list, you can basically just import those images directly into the structure of D2B. The con of D2B is the extra conversion step to distinguish whether a pair generates a person or object element.

Shadow is based on Major System phonetics with some additions and modifications, so if you don’t use Major or have already learned a different number system, you’ll need to learn a new language essentially to read cards via shadow/major. It also requires use of some phonetic structures that fall outside of a 3-digit numerical translation (some 2 digits, some non-standard-major phonetics including a couple hundred “4-digit” structures.)

Hope that clears most of it up?

fred2 · January 4, 2024, 6:26am

And presumably no place for Dominic System users in all of the above. It sounds very much like it will all only work in Major System?

TheHumanTim · January 4, 2024, 9:27am

Not at all.

D2B is compatible with any 3-DIGIT system that can give you two distinct categories of elements (traditionally people and objects.)

If you could generate those elements from 3-digit numbers via Dominic, then it would work great. Dominic is not generally considered “3-digit friendly” because its format of basing people on initials would typically restrict its use to encoding only two digits per person.

This lack of future-proofing is one of my main strikes against the Dominic system if ones eventual goal is expansion into a larger system.

I don’t think there is an easy way to translate Dominic structure to Shadow or Ben. They are phonetic systems, not letter/initial systems.

Keep in mind though that if all you have is a 2-digit list (via any system) you’ll still need to come up with over 1000 new image associations to use any of these three systems. There’s no way around that really, its just the cost of entry.