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Johannes Mallow

3-minute read • Memory Techniques Wiki

Johannes Mallow is a Mental Athlete from Magdeburg, Germany.

Be sure to check out Memory Sports TV!

Victories

  • 2012 World Memory Champion
  • 2012 Memory Champion of Germany
  • 2011 runner-up at Memory Championship of Germany
  • 2010 runner-up at World Memory Championships
  • 2010 Memory Champion of Germany
  • 2009 runner-up at World Memory Championships
  • 2008 Memory Champion of Germany
  • 2008 Memory Champion of North Germany
  • 2007 World Memory Champion in the discipline of Historical Dates
  • 2007 Memory Champion of North Germany
  • 2006 Memory Champion of North Germany

World Records

  • Memorize 132 Historical Dates out of 140 in 5 minutes (September 25, 2011 in Gothenburg/Sweden at the Swedish Memory Open Championship 2011)
  • Memorize 385 Abstract Images in 15 minutes (September 16, 2011 in Heilbronn/Germany at the German Memory Championship 2011)
  • Memorize 1320 numbers in 30 minutes (September 16, 2011 in Heilbronn/Germany at the German Memory Championship 2011)
  • Memorize 420 numbers in 5 minutes (March 12, 2011 in Magdeburg/Germany at the Memory Champion of North Germany 2011)

Johannes Mallow’s Memory Techniques

This was originally described on the Yahoo Memory Sports group in 2007:

I thougt a lot about how to improve my card-memory skills without making so much new images. I have a good working 1000-images system for 000-999 and I tried to find a way, how I can use this system.

After a short calculation I came to the conclusion that Ben’s code for 1Image/2cards with 2704 images is the minimum number of images you can have for this. Less images are not possible.

But how much images you minimal need if you want to put 3 of them in one location to code just 5 cards? There are round about 380 Mio combinations for this, so you need in the best case 725 different images. I did not found a way to use my System for this case but I think I found a way to code 3 cards in one location with 2 images. Here you need minimal 375 images.

Ok the idea is the similiar to the ideas i read before here in the forum. You have to separate the values from the suits. So there are 64 combinations for the suits and 2197 combinations for the values of three cards. Now the trick is to transfer some informations from the values into the suits-code to increase the 64 and decrease the 2197.

First you code the values of the 3 cards like this to use your 1000-images-system. ( I use the phonetic system)

A = 0 = s,z
10 = 1 = t,d
2 = 2 = n
3 = 3 = m
...
9 = 9 = p,b

and now:

again!:

J = 9 p,b
Q = 1 t,d
K = 7 k,g

now for a card value combination of 734 you use your image for 734.

The information if the 7 is a 7 or a King is given in the suits code of the three cards:

diamond(A-10) = 1
hearts(A-10) = 2
spades(A-10) = 3
clubs(A-10) = 4

If there is a picture Jack, Queen or a King you use:

diamond(J,Q,K) = 5
hearts(J,Q,K) = 6
spades(J,Q,K) = 7
clubs(J,Q,K) = 8

It doesn’t matter if there is a J,Q or K just the picture is important. Now you have the missing information about the 7 or K!

Example:

Kh 3d 4s = 734 (values) and 613 (suits) the 6 gives you the information about the value of the first card it must be a picture/hearts and the 7 gives you the K!

Advantages:

You can use your 1000-images system without making new images! You can directly “read” out your image from the numbers! You code 3 cards in 1 location with only two images so you need 35 images for one deck of cards! In the most cases you can reproduce the order of the two images if you forgot it:

734613 is possible but 613734 not! (7 tells you first card must be a picture/spade, but it is a 6!)

See Also

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