Card Trick: A Trick That's Almost Too Good To Teach

Skill with a pack of cards is one of the benchmarks of class. A man who can handle his liquor and handle his cards, is a man to be reckoned with. A good card trick is as socially valuable as a good joke.

The following card trick conveys great skill, but actually requires none. I have worked very hard to make it that way. That is my gift to you. Thank me later. Because no skill is required, your mind will be free to fully concentrate on your acting. Like everything else, presentation is critical. Remember back in high school when you had a leading role in the school musical? That time was not wasted. Awaken that little actor within you, pull a pack of cards from the inner breast pocket of your suit jacket, and say, "would you like to see a card trick?"

(What nobody knows, is that you have secretly prearranged the bottom thirteen cards of the deck. The bottom card is the Ace of Clubs. Second from the bottom is the Two of Clubs, followed by the three of clubs, an so on, all the way through the King of Clubs, which will be thirteenth from the bottom. Clear?)

Remove the cards from the box and place the box to the side. Treat the box nicely, as if it were a violin case. Hold the deck face up (the Ace of Clubs should be staring at you). You will now push the cards, "spreading" them from one hand to the other. So as not to reveal any of your "stack" you will first push over a large clump of about 20 or so cards, and then begin spreading normally. As you do this, show the faces of the cards to some of your charming audience and say, "The cards aren't in any particular order."
(Hi. Me again. Italics guy. I just want to make sure everything's clear so far. You didn't let them see the Clubs did you? They'll see the Ace of Clubs, of course, but other than that, all they should see is a moving blur of some of the randomly mixed other cards. Clear? I hope so. It's much easier to do, than to explain.)

Now, the big break for the little actor inside you. As soon as you say, "the cards aren't in any particular order," let about 20 or so cards from the middle of the spread slip out of your hands and fall to the floor. People will laugh. You will look slightly stupid, but it is worth it. This will teach you humility. This is setting them up for the kill. Then say, "Well, at least, not anymore." Another laugh. Now they have realized that you are also clever. And humble.

Square up the cards that have remained in your hands (you didn't drop any of the Clubs did you? You'd better not.) and flip the pack face down. Bend over quickly, collecting the dropped cards, and return them, face down, to the top of the pack. This whole "drop the cards" charade, not only gets a laugh, but it also convinces your audience that the cards are haphazardly mixed, even though you have not disturbed the order of the bottom thirteen cards. And all it took was a little bit of good acting.

You are now holding the deck face down in your hand. The Ace through King of Clubs should still be in order on the bottom of the deck. (Why clubs? Because nobody ever notices the poor little clubs). The audience now thinks that the cards are mixed and that you are an idiot. But you are no idiot. You are several steps ahead of them. They are suckers. Spread out the deck in a straight line on a table or other flat surface. The cards should remain in order and continue to overlap. This spread should be somewhere between 12 and 24 inches long. (Again, this is very easy to do and hard to explain. Just spread the cards out a bit.) As you do, say "maybe I shouldn't even hold them." And then instruct one of the people to remove any card they wish.

As they reach for a card, hope that they don't choose one of the bottom 13 cards. You can improve your odds with the following two tactics:

Don't spread the bottom cards very much. (This is the exact same dodge as you did in your hands a few seconds ago, only now it is face down and on a flat surface.)

Spread the cards in such a way that the person selecting the card is located nearer the top half of the pack.

Those tactics, along with the fact that people gravitate toward the center, anyhow, should keep you safe. If they do choose from your bottom stack, you'll have to do a different trick, which I'll call "plan B." But for now, let's assume they've chosen from the upper three quarters and continue with "plan A."

Tell the person to look at his or her card and show it to the other lovely people in the room. Scoop up the deck and hold it face down in your hand. Avert your eyes so as not to see the chosen card. When the person has finished showing his or her card, cut about half of the deck onto the table. Tell the spectator to place the selection on top of that pile. When that task has been completed, place the remaining cards on top of that. It will appear that the chosen card has been lost in the pack. But all is not lost, because you know the identity of the 13 cards above the selection.

Pick up the deck, extending it toward another spectator, and say "will you please cut the deck?" He or she will cut off a pack of cards. Instruct that person to place the cards on the table. Make an estimate of how many cards were cut. Say that number out loud as you complete the cut, for example, "17" or "34." Make sure the number that you name is between 1 and 52 (for obvious reasons, I hope) and roughly corresponds to the size of the packet that was cut. It takes a knack to do this quickly, but you do not have to be right. You only have to be believable.

Continue this process three or four more times. The chosen card will seem hopelessly lost. They will not believe that you can really estimate the number of cards being cut. They are correct. But they are unaware of your 13 card secret weapon.

Now we enter the endgame. Have the deck cut once more. Complete the cut and pick up the cards. As you are squaring the pack, look at the sides of the pack and state your estimate. It will appear as though you are looking at the sides of the pack, which you are. (Secretly you are also taking note of the bottom card. You will literally "steal this glance." And nobody should ever notice this action.) You will repeat this sequence until the bottom card is a Club.

The bottom card will tell you the location of the selection. If the card is the Ace of Clubs, the selection is on top of the deck. If the bottom card is the two of clubs, the selection is the second card, and so on, all the way through the King of Clubs, which would indicate that the selection is the thirteenth card in the pack. (Queen indicates the twelfth position, Jack indicates the eleventh.) Now you are way ahead. You know the position of the selection, but they don't believe that you could.

Ask questions such as "Do you believe that I was really able to count how many cards were cut each time?" They will give a response along the lines of, "No." They have taken the bait. Say, "But if I could tell you right now that so-and-so's card is the ninth card, and we counted down nine cards and so-and-so's card was right there, would that be a good trick?" They will give a response along the lines of, "Yes!"

Then say, "so-and-so's card is the ninth card." (Repeat the same number that you named a few seconds ago. Obviously, that number will vary based on the value of the bottom card.) The audience will remain skeptical.

Slowly and fairly, count nine cards onto the table.

Say, "What was your card."

So-and-so will say, "Four of Diamonds" (or some other non-club card).

Gesture toward the pile of cards and say, "Turn it over."

The spectator will do so, and be shocked to find the selected card. The audience will be impressed, charmed and fooled badly. They will clap and laugh and scratch their heads. Have a sip of your bourbon. You've earned it. Next lesson: "Plan B."

(Note: The principal of using a number of arranged cards to "locate" the selected card is an old one, and tricks of this nature are generally named, "The Lazy Man's Card Trick.")