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Easy Card Tricks |
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Easy Card Tricks |
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Kids of all ages tend to enjoy card tricks, but it can be difficult to perform the sleight-of-hand which many card tricks require. The tricks below require no sleight-of-hand at all, and this makes it easy for kids to learn and perform them. Since they are "self-working" or "mathematical" card tricks, it can be a fun and educational exercise for kids to try to figure out why the tricks work! When I was a teenager, one of these card tricks totally stumped my friend and me because we couldn't figure out why it worked every time. After doing the trick over and over I finally had that Aha! experience when I "saw" what makes it work. Here's a hint for you: To help figure out how a card trick works, do the trick with all of the cards face-up. Then you can experience the thrill of that Aha! moment when you unlock the mysteries of the card trick!
To give you a taste of that Aha! experience, try the card trick at this website: Zeek's REAL Magic Trick. If you can't figure out why this trick works, send me an email at dave@Layhands.com. I won't tell you how it works, but I'll give you a hint which will help you to "see" what's happening so that you can experience that Aha! moment.
Have fun with these card tricks, and use them for good, clean family fun if you have kids. If you know of any good, easy card tricks which are not described here, please send them to me at dave@Layhands.com. Thanks!
Keep in mind that most of these tricks require a full 52-card deck in order to work properly.
The first 5 card tricks go well together, and the reason is because trick #4 requires you to secretly place all 4 Aces on top of the deck without the spectator knowing that they are there. By doing the first 5 tricks in the order that I have described them, the 4 Aces will be on top of the deck for trick #4, and the spectator will probably have no clue that they are there. This prevents you from having to do any sleight-of-hand to put the Aces there. However, if you don't particularly like all 5 of these tricks then you don't need to do all of them.
1. "The Rebecca St. James Concert"
This is a great one for young kids to learn! Can you figure out why it works every time?
First, go through the deck and pull out all of the Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks. It's okay for the spectator to watch you doing this. Lay the rest of the deck aside, face-down. It won't be used for the rest of this trick.
Here's the basic "patter" for you to say, and you can adjust it in whatever way suits you. The parts which are in square brackets are instructions for you, so don't say those parts.
Say, "The Ace family went to a
Rebecca St. James
concert."
[now lay the 4 Aces face-up on the table next to each other, as in the following picture]
Say, "Then the King family went to the
Rebecca St. James
concert and chatted with their friends, the Aces, before the concert started."
[lay the 4 Kings face-up on top of the 4 Aces so that the Aces and the Kings are all visible]
Say, "Then the Queen family went to the
Rebecca St. James
concert and joined up with their friends, the Aces and the Kings, before the concert started."
[lay the 4 Queens face-up on top of the 4 Kings so that the Aces and the Kings and the Queens are all visible]
Say, "Then the Jack family went to the
Rebecca St. James
concert and joined up with their friends, the Aces and the Kings and the Queens, before the concert started."
[lay the 4 Jacks face-up on top of the 4 Queens so that the Aces and the Kings and the Queens and the Jacks are all visible]
Say, "Now it's almost time for the concert to start, so the 4 families head off to their seats."
[Turn all of the stacks over so that they are face-down]
[Pick up the first stack and place it on top of the second stack. Then pick up that new, bigger stack and place it on top of the third stack. Then pick up that new, bigger stack and place it on top of the fourth stack]
Say, "Cut the cards by taking a group of cards off of the top of the stack and placing them on the table, then put the remaining cards on top of the stack. Cut the cards as many times as you want."
[Let the spectator cut the cards a few times, then deal the first 4 cards face-down next to each other, then deal the next 4 cards on top of the first 4 cards, and so on (just like when you first dealt them out, except that this time they are face-down), until all 16 cards have been dealt]
Say, "Okay, now each family is sitting together, enjoying the worship!"
[Turn each stack over and see what happens!]
If you plan to do trick #4 (which needs to have all 4 Aces on top of the deck) then pick up the Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks and drop them face-down on top of the deck. It doesn't matter what order you pick up the Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks, as long as you make sure that the 4 Aces are on top (and try not to make this obvious to the spectator). The deck is now "stacked" (with the 4 Aces on top) and ready for trick #4, but first we'll do two more card tricks so that the spectator will forget about the cards that you dropped on top of the deck.
2. "The 3 by 7 Trick"
This is an old classic which works every time! Can you figure out why?
First put the deck of cards face-down on the table, then cut the deck by picking up the top part of the deck (make sure that you only pick up less than half of the deck) and putting it face-down on the table next to the bottom part of the deck. Then pick up the bottom part of the deck to use for this trick. The purpose of this is to preserve the 4 Aces which are on top of the deck (from the previous trick) so that you'll be ready for trick #4. If the spectator asks why you're only using the bottom part of the deck then simply say, "That's just how I learned this trick" (which is true).
Deal 3 cards in a row face-up. Now deal 3 more cards on top of the first 3, overlapping them so that you can see the values of all of the cards. Continue dealing in this way until you have 7 rows of cards in 3 columns:
Now put the remaining cards in a stack face-down on the table, and put the rest of the deck on top of that stack. Remember, we're trying to keep the 4 Aces at the top of the deck. Set the deck aside (face-down) because you won't need it for this trick.
Ask the spectator to mentally pick one of the cards which you have dealt (but not to tell you what it is), and then ask him to point to the column (1, 2, or 3) which contains his card. Now pick up each column, preserving the order of the cards in each column, but make sure that the column he pointed to is in the middle. So if he chose a card in the 3rd column, you could pick up the 1st column of cards, then put it on top of the 3rd column of cards, then put all of those on top of the 2nd column of cards. Now you have a stack of cards with his column of cards in the middle of the stack.
Hold the stack face-down in your hand, and deal out the 3 columns and 7 rows exactly as you did before. Ask the spectator to point to the column which contains his card, and then pick up the cards again with his column in the middle (just as before). Repeat this process one more time.
At this point, his card is in the exact middle of the stack. It doesn't matter which card he chose or which column it was in to begin with, his card will always end up in the middle of the stack! Can you figure out why?
Since we know exactly where his card is, all we need to do is to reveal the card in an interesting way. In this trick I'll describe a technique called a "force," and in some of the other tricks we'll see some other techniques. Sometimes it's a fun and creative challenge to invent your own techniques of revealing the spectator's card!
In a "force," you will force the spectator to choose the right card, but he thinks that he is choosing it himself. First deal 3 cards onto the table, face-down, one on top of the other so that you have a small stack of 3 cards on the table. Then deal another stack of 3 cards, then another, and so on, until you have dealt all 21 cards:
The spectator's card will always be the middle card in the middle stack (the 4th stack that you dealt). Make sure that you keep track of which stack has his card! Now comes the "force," where you will force the spectator to choose his own card.
Say, "Now you're going to start getting rid of some stacks, like this." Move the last stack off to the side, and then ask him to point to 3 of the remaining stacks. There are now two possibilities:
-- OR --
Ask him to point to 2 of the remaining 3 stacks. There are now two possibilities:
-- OR --
If there are 2 stacks left then ask him to point to 1 of the remaining 2 stacks. There are now two possibilities:
-- OR --
Notice that you are letting him choose any stacks he wants, yet you are slowly forcing him to keep the stack that contains his card!
Now there is only one stack left, and his card is the middle card. Separate the cards so that all 3 cards are next to each other, still face-down. Ask him to point to 2 cards. At this point there are two possibilities:
--OR--
Now there is only 1 card left. The spectator doesn't realize that you knew exactly where his card was, and he thinks that he chose all of those stacks at random, but the whole time you were forcing him to choose his card. Ask him what his card was, then tell him to turn over the card that he "chose," and it will be his card!
This trick might sound complicated, but you'll quickly get the hang of it when you practice it a few times.
If you are going to do trick #4 then pick up the 21 cards from this trick and use them as the "deck" for the next trick (so that you don't touch the 4 Aces which are still at the top of the main deck of cards).
3. "10 Cards"
This is another mathematical card trick which works every time. Can you figure out why it works?
Ask the spectator to pick a number from 1 to 10, without telling you what it is. Tell him that you are going to show him 10 cards, and he should memorize the card which is at the number that he had picked. In other words, if he picked the number 7 then he should memorize the 7th card that you show him.
Pick up the top card from the stack of 21 cards (from the previous trick) and say "one" and show it to him for a moment, then put it face-down onto the table. Show him the next card for a moment and say "two," then place it face-down on top of the first card. Show him the next card for a moment and say "three," then place it face-down on top of the stack. Keep doing this until you have shown him 10 cards.
Now pick up the stack of 10 cards that you just dealt and hold it face-down in your hand, then ask him what his number was. Move the bottom card to the top of the stack, then move the next card from the bottom to the top of the stack, etc., while you silently count up to his number. In other words, if he picked the number 7 then you will move 7 cards (one at a time) from the bottom of the stack to the top. After you have silently counted to his number while moving the cards from the bottom of the stack to the top, keep going so that you move 3 extra cards to the top.
Now give him the stack of cards, face-down, and tell him to deal one card face-down onto the table, then he should move the next card from the top of the stack to the bottom of the stack, then he should deal the next card face-down onto the stack on the table, and so on. Make sure that he perfectly alternates between putting a card onto the stack on the table and putting the next card on the bottom of the stack in his hand, and tell him to stop when he is holding the last card. When he stops, ask him what his card was and then tell him to turn over the card that he is holding. It's his card!
Gather up the cards that you used for this trick and place them face-down on the table, then put the rest of the deck on top of those cards. The 4 Aces are still at the top of the deck, ready for trick #4.
4. "Find the Aces"
This is a nice card trick, but it requires a "setup." First you need to secretly pull all 4 Aces out of the deck and then put them on top of the deck without anyone knowing that they are there. This is a good trick to do just before the "14-15-15" trick (trick #5, below), because that card trick uses the 4 Aces as well.
If you did the previous 3 card tricks the way I described them, then the deck is already setup for this trick! However, sometimes it is not too difficult to pull out the 4 Aces while nobody is looking, or else you can put the 4 Aces at the top of the deck and put the deck back in the box in advance, and then do this card trick first.
To make this trick even more surprising, you can "false shuffle" the cards a few times before beginning the trick. This takes a little practice, but you simply do a normal shuffle without letting it affect the 4 Aces on top of the deck. Don't point out to the spectator that you are shuffling the cards, because you don't want him to watch you too closely. If you don't think you can shuffle the cards while leaving the 4 Aces on top of the deck then don't worry about shuffling the cards.
Put the deck face-down on the table. Pick up the top half of the deck and put it face-down on the table to the right of the bottom half of the deck:
The 4 Aces are on top of the stack on the right. Now pick up the top half of the stack on the left and put it on the table (face-down) to the left of the bottom half of that stack:
Now pick up the top half of the big stack on the right and put it on the table (face-down) to the right of the bottom half of that stack:
Now you have 4 small stacks next to each other, and the 4 Aces are on top of stack #4 (the farthest stack to the right).
Now pick up stack #1 and move 3 cards (one at a time, face-down) from the top of that stack to the bottom. Then deal from the top of that stack and put one card face-down on top of the other 3 stacks, then put the stack back down where it was. Now do the same thing with stack #2, then stack #3, then stack #4 (the one that has the Aces on top of it).
Now for the "reveal." Here are two ideas:
-- OR --
5. "14-15-15"
When I was a teenager, this card trick had me stumped because I couldn't figure out why it worked every time. It was fun to finally get that Aha! when I "saw" how the trick worked. Can you figure it out?
First pull out all 4 Aces from the deck (it's okay for the spectator to see you doing this) and set them aside, face-up. Now deal the top 3 cards face-down next to each other:
Deal the next 3 cards onto the tops of these 3 cards, and continue dealing out the cards onto these stacks until the first stack has 14 cards, and the second and third stacks both have 15 cards. Place the remaining 4 cards face-down next to the last stack:
Say, "Shuffle the first stack and then put it back [point to the stack which has 14 cards]. Now put one of the Aces face-down on top of that stack. Shuffle the second stack and then put it back. Now pick up as many cards as you want from the second stack and place them face-down on top of the Ace on the first stack. Now put another Ace face-down on top of the second stack. Shuffle the third stack and then put it back, and then pick up as many cards as you want from the third stack and put them face-down on top of the Ace on the second stack. Now put another Ace face-down on top of the third stack [turn the 4th Ace face-down on the table for now]. Shuffle the fourth stack and then put it face-down on top of the third stack."
When the spectator has done these things, there are now 3 stacks. Pick up the third stack (the last one which the spectator had put an Ace onto) and put it on top of the second stack, then put both of those on top of the first stack. Say, "You shuffled all of the stacks and you buried the Aces with as many cards as you wanted to. I have no idea how many cards you used to bury each Ace, but I'll bet I can find all of the Aces!"
Pick up the deck and then deal two cards face-down next to each other. Deal the next card face-down on top of the first card on the table, then deal the next card face-down onto the second card on the table, and continue alternating as you deal all of the cards onto the 2 stacks.
Now pick up the first stack and deal the top card face-down onto the top of the stack on the table. Deal the next card face-down where the first stack had been, and continue alternating stacks as you deal out all of the cards.
Repeat that process by picking up the first stack and dealing the top card face-down onto the top of the stack on the table. Deal the next card face-down where the first stack had been, and continue alternating stacks as you deal out all of the cards.
One more time: Pick up the first stack and deal the top card face-down onto the top of the stack on the table. Deal the next card face-down where the first stack had been, and continue alternating stacks as you deal out all of the cards.
Now pick up the first stack, which should have 3 cards in it. Drop those 3 cards face-down on top of the Ace which you had set aside earlier. Say, "You buried the Aces, but I found them!" Now turn over the 4 Aces.
6. "The 7 by 7 Trick"
This trick works automatically and is similar to the "3 by 7" trick above, but in this card trick there is a secret move that you will do behind your back for the surprise ending.
Hold the deck out and ask the spectator to pull out any 3 cards. Now say, "Okay, we're not going to use those cards!" (that usually gets a chuckle from the spectator).
Deal 7 cards in a row face-up. Now deal 7 more cards on top of the first 7, overlapping them so that you can see the values of all of the cards. Continue dealing in this way until you use up all of the cards. This is identical to the "3 by 7" trick (#2 above) except that instead of having 3 columns and 7 rows you will have 7 columns and 7 rows.
Ask the spectator to mentally pick one of the cards which you just dealt (but not to tell you what it is), and then ask him to point to the column which contains his card (just like in the "3 by 7" trick above). Now pick up each column, preserving the order of the cards in each column, but make sure that the column he pointed to is the 4th column that you pick up (because you want it to be in the middle of the deck, just like in the "3 by 7" trick above). Now you have a stack of cards with his column of cards in the middle of the stack.
Deal out the 7 columns and 7 rows exactly as you did before. Ask the spectator to point to the column which contains his card, but this time pick up his column of cards first (so that it will be on top of the deck after you pick up all of the cards). Make sure that you preserve the order of the cards in each column.
Put the deck behind your back (face-down) and move 3 cards from the top to the bottom. Now turn over the top card so that it is face-up. Cut the deck by taking the bottom half of the deck and putting it on top of the deck. Bring the deck out in front again and place it face-up on the table.
Say, "I don't know what card you chose, but I'll spread out the cards and see if I can find your card." Spread out all of the cards (face-up). His card will be the only face-down card in the deck! Say, "Hmmm, now which card is yours? Maybe it's this one!" Slide the face-down card out of the deck and ask him what his card was, then turn the card over.
7. "Twins"
This is one of several self-working card tricks in which you find the "twins" of the spectator's cards. Can you figure out why this trick works?
Say, "You're going to randomly choose 2 cards, but first I'm going to try to guess which 2 cards you will choose. I will pull out the "twins" of those 2 cards so that my 2 cards will have the same number and the same color as the 2 cards that you randomly choose."
Now hold the deck in front of you so that you can see the values of all of the cards (the spectator can only see the backs of the cards). Look at the bottom card, and then go through the deck until you find the "twin" of that card. In other words, if the bottom card is the 3 of Spades then find the 3 of Clubs. When you find the "twin" of the bottom card, place it face-up on the table. Now look at the top card in the deck and find the "twin" of that card. Pull out the "twin" of the top card and put it face-up on the table to the right of the other card that you had put on the table. Throughout this trick, make sure that the spectator never sees the cards which are on the top or the bottom of the deck!
Hold the deck face-down in your hand and say, "Pick a random number from 1 to 20 and tell me what it is." When he tells you the number, deal that many cards face-down onto the table, one on top of the other (to make a stack). Don't let the spectator see what those cards are. Say, "The card that you randomly picked is on top of the stack, and I am going to place my card on top of it. Now my card is next to your card." Now pick up the "twin" that's on the left (the first one that you had pulled out of the deck) and place it face-up on top of the stack that you just made, then put the rest of the deck face-down on top of that stack.
Say, "Pick another random number from 1 to 20 and tell me what it is." When he tells you the number, deal that many cards face-down onto the table, one on top of the other (to make another stack). Don't let the spectator see what those cards are. Say, "The card that you randomly picked is on top of the stack, and I am going to place my card on top of it. Now my card is next to your card." Pick up the other "twin" and place it face-up on top of the stack that you just made, then put the rest of the deck face-down on top of that stack.
Say, "You picked two random cards by choosing two different random numbers, and I had no way of knowing what those numbers would be, right?" Now, with the deck face-down on the table, start spreading out the cards (starting with the top of the deck) until you get to the first face-up card in the deck:
Say, "Here is one of the cards that I chose," then square up all of the cards which were above that face-up card so that they are stacked up:
Now turn that stack over (face-up) and say, "And the card that you chose by picking a random number is the 'twin' of my card!":
The card which is now showing on top of the stack on the right is the "twin" of the card that was face-up in the deck! Move the stack on the right and the face-up card (the 7 of Spades in the picture above) over to the side and then start spreading out the remaining cards until you get to the other face-up card. Square up the cards which were above that face-up card so that they are stacked up, and then turn that stack over. Once again the 2 "twins" have found each other, even though the spectator thinks that he had randomly chosen his 2 cards!
8. "The Spectator Finds the Twins"
This is another "twins" trick, only this time the spectator performs the trick.
Say, "Okay, you're going to do this trick. First shuffle the cards, then tell me to pick 2 cards."
When the spectator gives you the deck after he shuffles it, hold the deck facing you so that you can see the values of the cards (and the spectator can only see the backs of the cards). Look at the top 2 cards and then go through the deck and find the "twins" of the top 2 cards. For example, if the top card is the 10 of Diamonds then pull out the 10 of Hearts (i.e. find the card which has the same number and the same color as the top card in the deck). When you find both "twins," put them face-down in a stack on the table, in the same order as the top 2 cards.
Give the deck back to the spectator and say, "Deal as many cards as you want (up to 10) face-down into a stack. Now deal as many cards as you want (up to 10) face-down into a second stack. Now deal as many cards as you want (up to 10) face-down into a third stack. Give me the remaining cards [set them aside, you won't need them for the remainder of the trick], and put the second stack on top of the third stack to mix them up, then put them on top of the first stack. Now pick up the stack and deal the top card face-down onto the table, and deal the next card face-down next to the first card. Deal the next card on top of the first card, then deal the next card on top of the second card, and keep alternating as you deal all of the cards onto the 2 stacks. Let's see if you can find the "twins" of my cards."
When the spectator has dealt all of the cards, take the top card which you had pulled out of the deck and place it face-up in front of the stack which received the very last card. Then pick up the other card which you had pulled out of the deck and put it in front of the other stack:
Say, "You randomly dealt out some cards, then you randomly dealt out some more cards, then you randomly dealt out some more cards, then you mixed them up a bit, and if you did the trick correctly then you found the "twins" of my cards. Turn over the top card in each stack and see if you did the trick right!"
9. "Count Up to 13"
This trick doesn't exactly have an exciting "reveal" at the end, but it's one of those old classic tricks, and it's an interesting puzzle for junior detectives to solve. Why does it work?
Lay the top card face-up on the table (let's pretend that it's a 7). Now deal more cards face-up on top of that card, counting until you get to 13. So if the first card is a 7, you would mentally say "seven," then lay another card face-up on top of the 7 and mentally say "eight" (no matter what the value of the card is), then lay another card face-up on the stack and mentally say "nine," then "ten," then "eleven," then "twelve," then "thirteen."
Now lay the next card face-up on the table next to the stack that you just dealt. If it's a 2, for example, then mentally say "two" and then deal cards face-up onto this stack as you mentally count up to 13.
As you do this, keep in mind that a Jack counts as 11, a Queen counts as 12, and a King counts as 13. Keep repeating this procedure until you don't have enough cards to count up to 13. Pick up those remaining cards (which don't count up to 13) and hold them in your hand.
After you have dealt all of the cards, turn all of the stacks over (face-down), and ask the spectator to pick any 3 stacks. Whichever stacks he did not choose, pick up those stacks and add them to the deck in your hand (it doesn't matter what order the cards are in that you are holding in your hand).
Say, "You randomly picked 3 stacks, and now I am going to try to predict what the values of the top cards in each stack are, in a special way." Now deal 3 cards face-down onto the table, next to each other. Then deal 3 more cards on top of the first 3, then 3 more on top of them. Deal one more card on top of any stack that you choose (the purpose is simply to deal out 10 cards without making this obvious), then put those 10 cards aside.
Say, "Now I'm pretty sure that the cards in my hand add up to the values of the top cards in the stacks which you randomly chose!" Ask the spectator to turn over the top card in the first stack that he had chosen. If it's a 4, for example, then deal 4 cards from the deck in your hand, face-down, in front of that stack, counting out loud so that the spectator can see that you are dealing the same number of cards as the value of the card that he just turned over.
Now ask him to turn over the top card in the second stack that he had chosen, and deal that number of cards from your hand, face-down, in front of that stack (counting out loud as before).
Now do the same for the last stack which he had chosen, and when you deal that number of cards then you should have no cards left over.
Alternate Ending #1
Here is an alternate ending that you can use, if you prefer. After the spectator has turned over the top cards of the first 2 stacks and you have counted out the cards (as described above), count the remaining cards in your hand. Let's say that there are 6 cards remaining in your hand. Now announce that the top card of the last stack is a 6, then turn the top card over.
Alternate Ending #2
In Alternate Ending #1 you count the remaining cards in your hand before turning over the top card of the last stack. If there are 6 cards left in your hand, for example, then you know that the top card of the last stack is a 6, but you don't know what the suit is. Tell the spectator to pick up the top card of the last stack and look at it, but not to let you see it. Now gather up all of the cards (except the card that the spectator is holding) and look through them until you find the other three 6s in the deck (the spectator is holding the last 6, in this example). If you find the 6 of Spades, 6 of Diamonds, and 6 of Clubs in the deck, for example, then say, "Your card is the 6 of Hearts!"
10. "Pick a Number from 1 to 9"
This one should be fairly easy for junior detectives to figure out.
Turn around so that you can't see what the spectator is doing. Tell him to pick a number from 1 to 9, but not to tell you what it is. Then tell him to deal that many cards face-down onto the table, one on top of the other to make a stack, but he should do it quietly so that you can't hear how many cards there are.
Now tell him to look through the rest of the deck and pull out a card which has the same number that he picked (it doesn't matter what the suit is). In other words, if his secret number is 7, then he should pull out the 7 in any suit and memorize it, then put the rest of the deck face-down on the table.
Tell him to put his card face-down on top of the deck (which is on the right in the picture above), and then tell him to cover it with the stack that he had dealt.
Now tell him to deal the cards from the top of the deck onto the table (face-down), and to call out the name of each card as he deals it. Ignore the first card, then mentally count "one," "two," "three," and so on, as he calls out the cards. When he calls out a card which has the same number as your mental count, then memorize that card. For example, if he calls out "7 of Spades" and your mental count is at "7," then memorize the 7 of Spades. Let him call out a few more cards (and keep mentally counting) until he has called out at least 10 cards, then tell him to stop. With your back still turned towards him, say, "Your card is the 7 of Spades" (or whatever card you memorized).
Sometimes there will be more than one card that he calls out which matches your mental count. When you tell him what his card is, if he says that you're wrong then tell him the other card which matched your mental count.
11. "12-Card Prediction"
This is an interesting self-working trick in which you write down a secret prediction, and the spectator will choose the card that you predicted! Why does it work every time?
Tell the spectator to shuffle the deck, then tell him to spread out the cards face-down on the table. Tell him to pick out any 12 cards at random from the deck (it's okay for you to watch him doing this). When he has pulled out his 12 cards, tell him to shuffle them well, and while he is doing this, pick up the rest of the deck and secretly memorize the bottom card as you straighten up the cards. Say, "I am going to try to predict which card you will randomly choose," then write down on a piece of paper the card that you memorized (but don't let him see what you have written).
Now tell him to pick any 4 cards out of the 12 that he had pulled out of the deck. Tell him to lay those 4 cards face-up on the table next to each other, and then to place the rest of the stack face-down on the table.
Place the rest of the deck face-down on top of the stack of 8 cards, then pick it up again (including the stack of 8 cards).
Now deal some cards face-down in front of each of the 4 cards that he picked, until you reach a value of 10 for each one. For example, if one of the cards that he picked was a 4 then deal 6 more cards in front of it. If one of the cards that he picked was a 10, Jack, Queen, or King then it already equals 10, so don't deal any cards in front of it.
Now ask him to add up the values of the 4 cards that he had picked (remember that a 10, Jack, Queen, or King equals 10). For example, if the 4 cards are the 4 of Diamonds, the Queen of Spades, the 2 of Hearts, and the 9 of Spades, then the total is 25. Count down in the deck to the 25th card, and place the 25th card face-down on the table. Say, "You shuffled the deck, then you chose 12 cards at random, then you shuffled them, then you chose 4 cards from those 12, and I had no idea which 4 cards you would choose. Now we have added up the values of your 4 cards, and we have counted down to that exact card in the deck. There's no way I could have known in advance how many cards to count down in the deck, but now let's look at my prediction." Show him the prediction that you had written down before the trick. Turn over the card that you had placed on the table (the 25th card in this example), and it will match your prediction!
12. "Deal and Double Deal"
This a quick and simple trick which seems amazing the first time it's done, and it should be easy for junior detectives to figure out how it works.
Pull out all of the cards in one suit (such as all of the Spades) and put them in order from Ace to King. Show the spectator that the cards are in order, then hold them face-down in your hand. Say, "I'm going to deal the cards onto the table, and you're going to help me mix them all up. If you say 'Deal' then I will deal one card, but if you say 'Double Deal' then I will switch the next two cards and deal them both together. Help me mix up the cards, and then we'll see how well you did."
If he says "Deal," then deal the top card face-down onto the table. If he says "Deal" again then deal the next card face-down onto the first card to make a stack. If he says "Double Deal" then take the top card and slide it under the next card in the deck (to reverse the order of the top two cards), then place both cards face-down on top of the stack. This is not meant to be sleight-of-hand, let him see what you're doing so that he knows that you're mixing up the cards when he says "Double Deal."
In order to clarify what you would do when he says "Double Deal," let's imagine that you're holding the stack of cards in your left hand, and let's imagine that the card on top of the stack is the Ace of Spades, and the card beneath the Ace is the Two of Spades. So the top card is the Ace and the next card is the Two (in reality you won't know what the top cards are). If the spectator says "Double Deal" then you would slide the Ace from the top of the stack and take it with your right hand (face-down). Then slide the Two (which is now the top card on the stack) so that it is sticking out on the right side of the stack, and place the Ace (which is in your right hand) under the Two on top of the stack. Take both cards and hold them in your right hand. Your right hand now has a face-down stack of 2 cards, with the Two on top and the Ace on bottom. Drop these 2 cards face-down onto the stack on the table. You have now done a "Double Deal" by reversing the top 2 cards.
After all 13 cards have been dealt onto a stack on the table, say, "Okay, let's see how well you mixed up the cards." Turn the stack over, and tell him that he did a lousy job of mixing up the cards because the cards are still in order! You can do this over and over, but the cards will never get mixed up.
It is easy to figure out why this trick works, so if you make a game out of telling him to go faster and faster as he decides whether to say "Deal" or "Double Deal," then this might help keep his mind from examining what's going on as you do the trick.
13. "Predicting How Many Cards the Spectator Has"
This is another self-working trick which isn't exactly spectacular, but can you figure out why it always works?
Say, "First you're going to pick up a random number of cards from the top of the deck, and even though neither one of us knows how many cards you have, I will predict how many cards you picked up. Now pick up a small number of cards from the top of the deck." After he picks up some cards, say, "Now I'll predict how many cards you have by picking up some cards myself." Pick up some cards from the top of the deck, but make sure that you pick up more cards than he did.
Say, "Now I'll turn around, and we'll both count our cards." Turn around and count your cards, then turn back to him after he has counted his cards. Now subtract 3 from your number of cards, so if you have 15 cards then your new total would be 12, for example. Say, "I have the same number of cards that you have, plus 3 more, plus enough to bring the total up to 12." If you had 23 cards then you would subtract 3 and say, "I have the same number of cards that you have, plus 3 more, plus enough to bring the total up to 20."
Now ask him how many cards he has (let's assume that he has 5 cards). Say, "I've got as many cards as you," and deal that many cards from your stack onto the table (counting out loud: "one, two, three, four, five"). Then say, "Plus 3 more," and deal 3 more cards from your stack (counting out loud: "one, two, three"). Then say, "Plus enough to bring your total up to 12 [or whatever your total was]," then deal your remaining cards (counting out loud starting from his total: "six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve").
14. "Slap the Cards Out of His Hand"
This is a self-working trick with a nice surprise ending.
Tell the spectator to pick any card out of the deck, then to memorize his card and place it face-down on top of the deck.
Deal the top 2 cards face-down onto the table, next to each other. Now deal the next 2 cards on top of the 2 cards on the table, and continue dealing the cards onto the 2 stacks (as if you're dealing out the cards for a 2-player card game). Keep dealing until each stack contains 6 cards. Then deal an extra card on top of the first stack (the one on the left, which has the spectator's card on the bottom). Now place the first stack (which has the extra card) on top of the second stack.
Pick up the stack and hold it face-down in your hand. Deal out 4 stacks face-down onto the table again, just like you're dealing the cards for a 4-player card game. The first stack will end up having an extra card, so say, "This stack has an extra card, so we won't use it," and set the first stack aside.
There are now 3 stacks. Put the third stack on top of the first stack, then put the second stack on top of the other two. Now deal out 2 stacks face-down onto the table just like you did with the 4 stacks. The first stack will end up having an extra card, so say, "This stack has an extra card, so we won't use it," and set the first stack aside.
Now you have a stack of 4 cards. Tell the spectator to hold his hand out, palm up. Place the stack face-down onto his palm (don't let him see any of the cards), and tell him to place his thumb lightly on top of the cards to hold them in place. Alternating with both of your hands, gently but quickly slap the top 3 cards off of his hand (this might take a little practice). Ask him what his card is, then tell him to look at the card in his hand. It's his card!
15. "Pull Out Both of the Spectator's Cards"
This is a quick trick which has a nice surprise ending. See trick #20 below for another trick with the same ending.
Tell the spectator to look through the deck and pull out the Ace of Spades. Then tell him to shuffle the deck and deal out 14 cards, face-down, onto a stack on the table (set the rest of the deck aside). Tell him to hold the stack in his hand and then stick the Ace of Spades face-up into the stack. Now tell him to memorize the card just above the Ace of Spades and the card just below the Ace of Spades, but not to disturb the order of the cards. Say, "Those are the cards which you have randomly chosen, and I have no idea what they are."
Now take the stack from the spectator (with the Ace of Spades still in the stack) and deal the top 3 cards face-down onto the table next to each other. Deal the next 3 cards on top of those cards (as if you're dealing out the cards for a card game), and keep dealing in this way until you have dealt out all of the cards in the stack. Put the last stack on top of the middle stack, then put that new, bigger stack on top of the first stack. Repeat this 2 more times.
Now hold the stack in your hand, face-down, and look through the stack until you find the Ace of Spades (which should be face-up). Separate the stack at the Ace and move the top part of the stack to the bottom of the stack (so that the Ace of Spades is now on top of the stack). Give the Ace of Spades to the spectator and tell him to insert it face-up into the stack again.
Say, "Okay, here are your 2 cards!" Hold the stack in your hand with your thumb underneath and your fingers on top of the stack. Loosen your grip just enough to let the cards fall to the table, then tighten your grip again. With a little practice, the top card and the bottom card (his cards) will remain in your hand, and if you do this with a little flourish then the spectator will be amazed that you "pulled" both of his cards out of the stack!
16. "The Rising Card"
This is another trick which has a nice surprise ending.
Deal the top 5 cards face-down onto the table next to each other, then deal the next 5 cards on top of the first 5 cards (as if you're dealing out the cards for a card game), and continue dealing until you have 5 stacks with 5 cards in each stack. Ask the spectator to point to a stack, then pick it up and fan the cards so that he can see them. Ask him to memorize one of those cards, but not to tell you what it is.
Put the stack in your hand face-down on top of one of the stacks on the table, then put the other stacks on top of it. Deal out the 5 stacks again, just as before. Now pick up each stack and fan it so that he can see the cards, and tell him to let you know which stack contains his card. When he tells you which stack contains his card, put it down and then pick up 2 of the other stacks and hold them together in your hand, face-down. Pick up the top card from his stack and place it on top of the stack in your hand, then slide it towards you about halfway. Pick up the new top card from his stack and place it on top of the stack in your hand so that it is lined up with the rest of the stack. Now pick up the new top card from his stack and place it on top of the stack in your hand, then slide it towards you about halfway. You now have 2 cards which are sticking out of the stack in your hand, with 1 card in between them. Pick up the rest of his stack and place it on top of the stack in your hand, so that it is lined up with the rest of the stack in your hand. Now pick up the other 2 stacks and place them on top of the stack in your hand, so that they are lined up with the rest of the stack in your hand. At this point you are holding all 5 stacks in your hand, and in the middle there are 2 cards which are sticking out.
Hold the stack so that the spectator can see what the last card in the stack is, and so that the 2 cards are sticking out from the bottom edge of the stack (i.e. so that those two cards are pointing down). Say, "You don't see your card, right? That's because this is your card!" When you say the word "this," hit the bottom edge of the stack with your other hand. In other words, as you hold the stack so that the spectator can see what the last card in the stack is, quickly bring your other hand up towards the two cards which are sticking out of the bottom edge of the stack and quickly push them up until they are flush with the bottom edge of the stack. This will cause the spectator's card to stick up out of the top edge of the stack! This takes a little practice, because you don't want to grip the stack too loosely or too tightly.
17. "Add Up to 10"
This trick was shown to me by a 14-year-old named Mike. Thanks Mike!
Ask the spectator to pick any card except for a 10, J, Q, or K, without letting you see what it is.
Deal out 3 rows and 3 columns of cards (i.e. 9 cards in a 3x3 layout), face-up:
If any pair of cards adds up to 10 (such as the 9 and A above) then deal 1 card face-up on top of both of those cards. In this example I dealt a 4 of Spades on top of the A of Clubs, and I dealt a Q of Diamonds on top of the 9 of Spades:
If any pair of the top cards are a 10, J, Q, or K (such as the 10 and J above) then deal 1 card face-up on top of both of those cards. In this example I dealt an A of Spades on top of the J of Hearts, and I dealt an A of Diamonds on top of the 10 of Hearts:
Notice that you always deal out new cards two at a time.
If at any point you don't have a pair of cards that you can cover up, then deal 2 more cards face-up:
You should now be able to find two cards that add up to 10 (or any pair of 10, J, Q, or K). If not, then deal 2 more cards face-up.
Continue covering up pairs of cards in this way until you have dealt out the entire deck.
Now you have 9 or more stacks of cards. If the top card of one stack plus the top card of another stack add up to 10, then pick up both stacks and hold them in your hand. If two stacks have a 10, J, Q, or K on top (such as one stack with a 10 on top, and one stack with a Q on top), then pick up both stacks and hold them in your hand. Continue doing this until there is only 1 stack left on the table.
Now you can figure out the spectator's card, because his card plus the top card of the remaining stack will add up to 10. Pick up the remaining stack so that you have all of the cards in your hand except for the spectator's card.
Let's pretend that we have figured out that the spectator's card is a 7. How should we end the trick? Here are some ideas:
Idea #1
One way to end the trick is simply to say, "Your card is a 7!" However, it's not a very impressive ending.
Idea #2
An alternate way to perform the trick is to tell the spectator that he will do the trick and figure out your card. Then you choose a card from A to 9 (i.e. not a 10, J, Q, or K). Tell him how to do each step of the trick, and when he gets to the end and has only 1 stack left, ask him what card you have (the number, not the suit). By then he should have figured out that everything adds up to 10, but if not then you can give him a hint.
It's still not an impressive ending, but the spectator might have that satisfied feeling of having done a card trick and figured out your card.
Idea #3
Here's an ending that I came up with, and my kids thought that it was pretty cool.
Since I know that the spectator's card is a 7 (for example), I quickly scan through the rest of the deck looking for the other three 7s. At this point I know that his card is the 7 of Hearts (for example). I quickly scan through the deck again, and I place the 6 of Hearts face-down on the table, then the 5 of Hearts face-down on top of the 6, then the 4 of Hearts, the 3 of Hearts, 2 of Hearts, and A of Hearts, all in a face-down stack. I tell the spectator to put his card face-down on the table, then I drop my little stack of 6 cards on top of his card, then I pick up all 7 cards and drop them face-down on top of the deck.
Now I ask him what his card was. When he says "7 of Hearts," I say, "Okay, now let's count out 7 cards, and the 7th card will be your 7 of Hearts." Then as we count from 1 to 7, I deal out the A of Hearts face-up, then the 2 of Hearts next to the A, then the 3 of Hearts, then the 4 of Hearts, then the 5 of Hearts, then the 6 of Hearts, and then his card, the 7 of Hearts. Seems like a fairly impressive ending!
If he had picked a low card such as the 2 of Hearts, then I would pull out the 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 of Hearts, and we would count from 9 down to his card.
Other Ideas
Have some fun coming up with your own amazing ways of revealing the spectator's card, and send them to me!
18. "Spell Out All of the Cards"
This is my version of a trick that I have seen in a few places on the Internet (thanks to David Eilering who told me about it).
Go through the deck and pull out all of the Spades (let the spectator see you do this). Hold the stack of Spades in your hand so that you can see the numbers on the cards, and deal the cards face-up onto the table as you tell the following story. As you say the underlined words and numbers in the story, deal those cards onto a face-up stack on the table. Here's how the story begins:
"387 years ago there lived A Queen who was 64 years old. She had 2 children named Jack and King. One was 10 years old and the other was 9 years old, and they were both in the 5th grade."
Now pick up the stack and hold it face-down in your hand. The top card should be the 3, followed by the 8, 7, A, Q, 6, 4, 2, J, K, 10, 9, 5 in that order. Now continue with the story:
"The Queen used a deck of cards to teach her children how to spell. First she taught them how to spell ACE."
Now spell out the word "ACE," and with each letter move the top card to the bottom of the stack (keeping the card face-down). After you have spelled out A-C-E (and you have moved 3 cards one at a time from the top to the bottom), deal the new top card face-up onto the table. It is the Ace of Spades! Continue with the story:
"Then she taught them how to spell TWO."
Now spell out the word "TWO," and with each letter move the top card to the bottom of the stack (keeping the card face-down). After you have spelled out T-W-O (and you have moved 3 cards one at a time from the top to the bottom), deal the new top card face-up onto the table. It is the 2 of Spades! Continue telling the story by describing how the Queen taught her children how to spell each of the cards in order, all the way through the JACK and QUEEN, and then just drop the King onto the stack.
19. "The Reversed Card"
This trick was invented by a 12-year-old named Christopher. Thanks Christopher!
Before you show the deck to the spectator, hold the deck face-down in your hand and secretly flip the bottom card over so that it is face-up.
Hold the deck in your hands, and spread out some cards (face-down) and ask the spectator to pull one out and memorize it. Don't let him see the bottom card! While he is distracted by looking at his card, secretly turn the deck over. The deck will look like it is still face-down because earlier you had flipped the bottom card over. Ask the spectator to push his card into the deck face-down, anywhere he wants.
Now put the deck behind your back and turn the deck over (so that it is now face-down again). Flip the bottom card over so that it is face-down again. Bring the deck in front of you and place it on the table, then slowly spread out the cards and his card will be the only face-up card!
20. "Pull Out the Cards that the Spectator Named"
This trick was invented by a 13-year-old named Tyler. Thanks Tyler!
First you prepare the deck so that it has a random card on top, followed by an Ace, a 2, a 3, etc., all the way up to a King (they don't need to be in the same suit). On the bottom of the deck, the bottom card is a random card, and the card above it is an Ace, and the card above the Ace is a 2, and the card above the 2 is a 3, and so on, all the way up to a King (they don't need to be in the same suit). Now the deck is prepared (don't let the spectator see you preparing the deck!).
Ask the spectator to name two cards (but not the suits). If he says "2 and Jack," for example, then deal 2 cards onto the table (face-down) from the top of the deck, and deal 11 cards onto the table (face-down) from the bottom of the deck. Now do the same ending as in trick #15 above: Say, "I had no idea what cards you would pick, but here are your 2 cards!"
Hold the stack in your hand with your thumb underneath and your fingers on top of the stack. Loosen your grip just enough to let the cards fall to the table, then tighten your grip again. With a little practice, the top card and the bottom card (the cards that he named) will remain in your hand, and if you do this with a little flourish then the spectator will be amazed that you "pulled" both of his cards out of the deck!
21. "Your Selected Card Is"
Hand the deck of cards to the spectator and ask him to shuffle it, and then he should cut the cards into two face-down stacks which are about the same size (the two stacks don't need to have exactly the same number of cards, but they should have almost the same number of cards). Ask him to choose one stack and count how many cards are in the stack, then he should add the two numbers together to get the "magic number" (but he shouldn't tell you what the "magic number" is). For example, if the stack has 29 cards in it then the "magic number" is 11 (i.e. 2+9).
Tell him to memorize the top card in his stack. Now he should move the top card to the bottom of the stack (face-down), and continue moving cards one at a time from the top of the stack to the bottom until he reaches his "magic number." So if his "magic number" is 11 then he should move 11 cards from the top to the bottom, one at a time. Then he should give the stack back to you.
Say, "Now I'm going to find out what your selected card is by spelling out: 'YOUR SELECTED CARD IS'."
As you spell out "YOUR SELECTED CARD IS," deal one card face-down onto the table with each letter (ignore the spaces between the words). After you have spelled out "YOUR SELECTED CARD IS," turn over the top card and it will be the spectator's card!
22. "Stuck to Your Forehead"
This is a combination of three different card tricks that I have seen.
Tell the spectator to pick any card out of the deck, then to memorize his card and place it face-down on top of the deck.
Set the deck face-down on the table. Tell the spectator to pick up a stack of any number of cards in the top half of the deck and turn the stack over and put it back face-up on top of the deck:
Now you do the same thing, but pick up a stack of cards which is bigger than the spectator's stack (in other words, pick up more than half of the deck). Turn your stack over and place it face-up on top of the deck, just as the spectator did.
Say, "Now that we have mixed things up randomly, we'll get rid of the face-up cards. I hope none of them are yours!" Slide the face-up cards off of the top of the deck, and let the spectator verify that his card is not one of the face-up cards. At this point, the spectator's card is face-down on top of the deck, but he doesn't know that.
Hold the deck against your forehead (under your hair, if your hair is long) so that the spectator can see the bottom card of the deck:
Say, "Hmmmm....now what card did you pick?," as if you are trying to think of his card. Relax your grip on the deck and slowly lower the deck. If it works properly, the spectator's card will stick to your forehead!
It helps if you gently rub the deck back and forth slightly on your forehead so that the skin oils on your forehead get a good grip on the card.
If the card won't stick to your forehead, here is an alternate ending.
Ask the spectator to say a number between 10 and 20 (let's pretend that he says "15"). Say, "Here's what I want you to do. Deal the cards face-down onto the table one at a time like this until you have dealt out your number of cards." Demonstrate what you want him to do by dealing out 15 cards (or whatever number he had chosen) face-down one at a time onto the table to create a small stack of cards. Don't let him see the faces of the cards as you deal them, because you don't want him to see his card. Say, "Then turn over the top card, like this," and turn over the top card of the stack that you just dealt (so that the top card is face-up). Now that you have demonstrated what you want him to do, turn the top card face-down again and place it back on top of the stack. Pick up the stack and place it on top of the deck, then hand the deck to the spectator. Tell him to deal 15 cards (or whatever number he had chosen) one at a time face-down onto the table just as you had demonstrated. When he turns the top card of his stack over, it's his card!
23. "Memorize the Bottom Card"
This trick was shown to me by a 13-year-old named Eric. Thanks Eric!
Tell the spectator to pull any card out of the deck and memorize it. Hold the deck in your left hand, and lift up the top half of the deck with your right hand. Tell the spectator to place his card face-down on top of the face-down stack in your left hand. As he is doing this, hold the other stack so that the bottom card is visible to you, and take a quick peek and memorize the bottom card (let's pretend that the bottom card is the Ace of Spades). Now place the stack in your right hand face-down on top of the stack in your left hand, so that the spectator's card is buried in the middle of the deck.
Place the deck face-up onto the table, then spread out the cards and look for the card that you had memorized (the Ace of Spades in our example). Pull out the card immediately to the right of the card that you had memorized (so in this example you would pull out the Two of Hearts in the pictures below), and say, "Here is your card!"
Alternate Ending
Here is an alternate ending that you can use, if you prefer.
Spread the cards face-up on the table until you see the card that you had memorized (the Ace of Spades in our example). Push that card up a little bit so that it is sticking out of the deck:
Push up the card immediately to the right of the Ace of Spades (this is the spectator's card, which is the Two of Hearts in this example), but don't say anything yet. Keep pushing a few more cards out of the deck, one at a time:
Now say, "The next card that I push up out of the deck is your card." The spectator will think that you did the trick wrong because you have already gone past his card (in this example, he will think that you are going to push up the Queen of Spades next), but then you surprise him by going back and pushing his card up out of the deck!
Consider visiting some of my other websites!
You'll find a Christian ministry with dozens and dozens of articles and answers to many questions that I have received over the years (please feel free to send me your questions and prayer requests!); plus a bunch of amazing/funny/fascinating/interesting videos from around the Web which are all clean and family-friendly; plus lots of reviews of numerous fun and educational (and free!) computer games that you can download; plus instructions and pictures which show you how to tie dozens of the most useful rope knots; plus a huge collection of cool science tricks and other fun stuff to try (using things around the house), and more!
For a complete list, go to http://www.Layhands.com/DavesWebsites.htm.
Hope you like 'em!
Modification History
| 02/13/2007: | Simplified trick #14 ("Slap the Cards Out of His Hand"). Added trick #22 ("Stuck to Your Forehead"). Added trick #23 ("Memorize the Bottom Card"). Added a link to my new page called "Dave's Websites." |
| 09/22/2006: | Added tricks 18 through 21. |
| 04/14/2006: | Added trick #17 ("Add Up to 10"). |
| 04/13/2006: | Modified the description of trick #5 ("14-15-15") to make it clearer. |
| 07/27/2004: | Modified the last paragraph in trick #16 ("The Rising Card") to make it a little clearer. |
| 09/01/2003: | Added a clarification to the "Deal and Double Deal" trick. |
| 08/22/2003: | Added 8 new card tricks (#9 through #16). |
| 06/24/2003: | New website. |
Dave Root
Houston, TX, USA
Send e-mail to: dave@Layhands.com