Mathematical Card Tricks

8/15/2019 Mathematical Card Tricks

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Mathematical Card TricksBruce Elliott credits this to Jack Miller. A spectator shufes hisdeck and while you turn your back he deals 2 small piles o cardsnot so many as to prolon! the trick but as many as

"# Modern Card Tricks$2he wishes and silently so you can ha%e no way o knowin! thenumber dealt. Each pile must ha%e the same number.Ask the spectator to return one card rom the le t hand pile to themain deck. Ask him how many he would like to discard rom theri!ht hand pile. &uppose he says '. (emember that number.&pectator returns ' to the main deck rom the ri!ht hand pile.)ow tell him to take as many cards as are le t in the ri!ht handpile rom the le t hand pile and put them back with the main deck.

This done you remind him you did not know how many cards hedealt in the *rst place so could ha%e no idea how many remain.

+et you call the correct number in this case 2. &ure enou!h hehas 2 cards le t.

The answer must always be one less than the number he calledout. ,n the case assumed he called ' so the answer is 2 cardsle t.Add a -airand pack to spectator. Turn your back to him. Tell him to remo%e

any 2 spot cards and add the spots to!ether. A / and a " wouldtotal $2. &o he puts his 2 chosen cards to one side while he dealsa pile o cards e0ual to the total o their spots in this case $2. ethen deals another heap o the same number.e assembles these 2 heaps into one then puts his 2 chosencards on top o the combined heap. 1inally he puts the balance othe pack on top o all. Cards are ace down at all times.

+ou turn take the cards stressin! that you do not know the 2cards chosen there ore you could not know the number dealt.ikewise you could not know where his 2 cards lie in the deck. emust a!ree.1an the pack ace up in ront o you passin! the cards rom onehand to the other countin! rom the ace o the deck. Be!in yourcount at 3. Count the *rst 2 cards as # the second pair as 45$ 6the 'rd pair as 62 6 the 5th pair as 6'6 etc.


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(emo%in! them 2 by 2 when you arri%e at a pair o cards thespots on which total the same as your mentally counted numberthose will be the 2 selected cards. ,n this case the spots on a pairo cards will total $2 as you mentally count $2. Credited to Torn

&ellers.-er ect 1orce7orld8s easiest orce. 3nly trouble you need more than onespectator. Top card is the orce card. -ut pack on le t *n!ers outnear *n!ertips. 7ith le t hand held out 9at !o to 6A.6 Ask him to"# Modern Card Tricks$'

cut the deck. e cuts o:8the top portion. +ou motion with yourri!ht hand or him to put the cut;o: part on your palm 4back obottom portion.<Mo%e on to 6B 6 pickin! up the bottom portion at the *n!ertipswith the ri!ht hand. old le t hand out with top part on its palmsayin! 67ill you please take the card that Mr. A cut to=6 B takestop the orce card This is the orce used by -ercy Bee in En!landbut is not !enerally known.)umerolo!yBe!in by tellin! a spectator that in numerolo!y e%eryone8spersonality is represented by 2 numbers the numbers bein!di:erent in each instance. &ay> 6Just by lookin! at you , would

!uess that your numbers are " and '. et8s see i ,8m ri!ht.6Ask him to count o: any ? cards. a%e him hold these ? behindhis back in order to shufe them behind him. &ay> 6&hufe thesewithout lookin! at them.6 As you put the cards in his hands heldbehind him @ust turn the bottom card ace up. oin! this behindhis back he can8t see it.&ay 6A ter you8%e mi ed the cards behind you turn the top andbottom cards ace up. )e t shufe them a!ain and a!ain re%ersethe top and bottom cards. (epeat this as o ten as you wish. 7henyou *nish spread the cards on the table. &ince your numbers are" and ' you should ha%e " cards acin! one way and ' the other.)ote> a%e your spectator stop at either 'rd "th or /th time theydo this as it is not probable it is possible to undue your " 'spread and you will end with a / $ spread as you did at the starto the routine. The chances o it happin! are low but it canhappen.


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+our prediction pro%es correct. The trick works automatically. Thisis credited to Bob ummer.Be ore +our EyesA spectator cuts o: a small bunch o cards say a doDen or so and

retains them discardin! the rest o the pack. e ans the smallpacket o cards be ore him and decides upon one certain cardrememberin! it and also countin! how ar it lies rom the top othe packet meanin! o course when the cards are ace down.

+ou take the packet and say you will cut the cards to lose the onehe chose so that neither o you will know where it lies in the smallbunch o cards. +ou cut a small bunch o: the B3TT3M and placethem on T3- o the packet."# Modern Card Tricks$5

,t makes no di:erence how many you cut o: e cept you mustknow the number. et us suppose you cut 5 cards rom thebottom and trans erred those 5 to the top o the packet.and back the packet to him. Ask him to put the cards behind hisback where you cannot see them and to trans er his number romthe top to the bottom that is the same number his card was romthe top o the packet when he *rst decided upon it.

This done he returns the cards to you. 7ithout lookin! at theiraces you immediately *nd his card. ,t will be as ar down rom

the top o the packet as the number you cut rom the bottom tothe top. , you cut 5 cards then his card will now be 5th.

Easy (e%erseA spectator shufes his deck and deals 2 piles o $# cards each.e picks up either pile and rom it chooses a card which he putson the table ace down. e then deals this pile on top o his carddealin! the *rst card ace down the ne t ace up the third acedown and so on alternatin!.e deals the other pile on top o those $# dealin! the *rst cardace up the second ace down and so on. e cuts the 2#;cardpacket to lose his card then hands the packet to you behind yourback.

+ou put the top card between thumb and *rst *n!er the secondcard between *rst and second *n!er the third card betweenthumb and *rst *n!er and so on with all 2#. 1inally you take one


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!roup 4either one< and turn it o%er then combine the two !roupsinto one.Brin! the cards into %iew and ribbonspread them across the table.All cards will be acin! one way while the chosen card will be

re%ersed in the spread. Think o Any CardA spectator shufes his deck then thinks o any card. +ou take thedeck and state that you will match the suit and the %alue o thecard he is thinkin! o by dealin! 2 ace up piles and *ndin! 2cards to match his one ace up on each pile lea%in! the pack@ustas he has shufed it and without chan!in! the order o the cards.e now names his thou!ht;o card. &uppose it is the / o earts.

+ou start dealin! and be ore all the cards ha%e been dealt thereappears a /;spot o some suit at the ace o one pile and a heartat the ace o the other."# Modern Card Tricks$"

)o matter what card he may mentally choose you succeed inmatchin! it with the 2 si!ni*cant cards.&ecret> There is nothin! or you to do. The trick works by itsel . ,tmi!ht ail once in a hundred times but it seldom happens. +ou donot claim that the *rst card dealt to a pile say that on your le twill combine with the ne t card dealt that on your ri!ht. 7hat

ne%er occurs to the spectator 4and mi!ht not occur to you< is thatyou ha%e 2 chances or e%ery card dealt.eal slowly. &uppose as be ore the / o earts is thou!ht o .&uppose urther that somewhere in your deal a heart is dealtonto one heap. The card on the other heap may be a / and youare throu!h. But assume it is not a /. +ou deal a card on it4dealin! to each heap in turn< and perhaps a / will then appear.

+ou there ore ha%e had 2 chances instead o one. And so onthrou!hout the deal.Easy 1ollow The eader)o &lei!hts

There is an old trick usually known as 61ollow The eader6wherein one red card and one black are laid out ace upward to beused as 6leaders6 or !uides. A packet o red cards is placed underthe red leader and a packet o black under the black. )o matterhow o ten the leaders or the packets are e chan!ed the cards


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ollow the leader the blacks always turnin! up where the blackleader is and the reds where the red one is.A number o di:erent methods ha%e been printed but they re0uireslei!ht o hand and a de!ree o skill. The method to be described

is simple and easy usin! no slei!hts o any kind yet %erye:ecti%e. This once appeared in a ma!aDine usually the burial!round o much worthwhile material. ,ts name and that o theori!inator is omitted here not intentionally but because o lostnotes.eal black cards ace up to your le t and red ones to yourri!ht openly. -ut the le t 4black< pile on the ri!ht hand pile. oldthe $2 cards ace down in the le t hand. (un ? cards rom the le tto the ri!ht hand countin! aloud as you do so 6$ 2 ' 6 etc.A ter ? ha%e been counted spread the 5 in the le t hand sayin!6and 5 makes $2.6 Casually add the 5 to the bottom o the pile inthe ri!ht hand. Thumb o: the top without re%ersin! their orderturn the packet ace up s0uared and place it at your le t. &ay6the blacks !o here. The red ones !o here.6 -ut the others ace upat your ri!ht.(emo%e the top card o each pile as a 6leader6 card placin! itace up abo%e its own pile. Turn the 2 *%e...card piles ace downunder their leaders. &tate you will show how the cards play the!ame 61ollow the eader.6

Transpose the 2 ace down piles puttin! each where the otherwas. (emo%e the top card o each pile showin! it has ollowed itsleader. -lace them ace up on top o their leaders. Transpose"# Modern Card Tricks$

the ace down piles a!ain. This time remo%e the bottom cards othe piles and add them to the leader piles ace up.A!ain transpose the ace down piles. (emo%e the top cards andadd to the leader piles. The ne t time instead o mo%in! the acedown piles you transpose the 2 ace up leader piles8F Turn the topcards o the ace down piles and add them to the leader piles.1inally transpose all cards 4all 5 heaps< criss cross or dia!onallyinterchan!in! the le t hand ace up cards with the ace down cardat the ri!ht and the ace up cards at the ri!ht with the ace downone at the le t. Turn o%er the remainin! ace down cards.


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Thus in spite o the continual chan!in! all cards ha%e ollowedthe leader.)o Guestions AskedA Hlenn Hra%att simpli*cation o an in%ol%ed Eddie Joseph

creation. A spectator shufes his pack and while your back isturned deals $" cards in a pile 1ACE I-. e is to select anyone othe $" cards and remember it. Also he must silently count thecards as he deals and remember both the card and its number.e then deals a pile o cards to the ri!ht o the ace up pile thistime dealin! them ace down. This pile is to contain his secretnumber that is as many cards as the number on which hischosen card ell. The rest o the cards are placed down at the le t.e has ' piles his card bein! in the center one. e takes thiscenter pile turns it ace down and puts it on the pile at his ri!ht.e then puts the pile at his le t on top o all. Thus the deck iscomplete once more.

+ou turn and take the pack. &tress the act that you do not knowhis secret number or the card he looked at and will ask no0uestions. -ut the deck behind your back turn it ace up andcount to the $ th card rom the 1ACE. That will be his card.

The abo%e sa%es time but i you want to do it another waywithout puttin! the deck behind your back or turnin! the cardsace up his card will be '/th rom the top. 4Guite naturally since

it is $ th rom the bottom.< +ou can there ore locate it with thecards ace down silently countin! to the '/th card. ,n such case itshould not be ob%ious to the spectator that you are countin!. +oucan use any prete t or passin! the cards rom hand to hand suchas eelin! the spots with your 6sensiti%e *n!ertips6 or any otherruse.eckspert"# Modern Card Tricks$/

3ne o &tewart James8 creations. A spectator shufes his deckand while your back is turned cuts o: about a third or so o thecards. e then makes 2 piles o the ones cut o: and puts one othese piles in his pocket. e counts the cards in the other pilethen counts to that same number in the main deck notin! andrememberin! the card that ar rom the top.


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+ou turn take the main deck and assert you will try to locate thecard he looked at without once lookin! at the cards. -ut the deckbehind your back where you appear to be eelin! or his card.7hat you actually do is to count the cards easily done by slidin!

them o: with the thumb rom the top into the other hand.Brin! orth the pack statin! you ha%e ound his card and will nowdo a surprisin! thin! with it that you will put it as ar down in thepack as the number o cards in his pocket e%en 6thou!h neitherhe nor you know how many he put in his pocket as he did notcount those.Mentally subtract the number o cards you counted rom "$ 4not"2 as you mi!ht think.< , the result say is $" you re%erse theorder o the top ,& cards simply runnin! them o: rom one handto the other each !oin! on top o the precedin! one until youha%e re%ersed the order o the re0uired number. Then restore thispacket to the top o the pack. This is done openly as you areapparently placin! his card 4which you pretend to know< at aspeci*ed position.,t is now a act that the card he noted will be at the same numberdown in the pack as the unknown number o cards in his pocket.

+ou can re%eal it by ha%in! him count the cards in his pocket thencount to that number in the deck. -erhaps a more dramaticre%elation is or you to ha%e him remo%e the bunch rom his

pocket and slowly deal cards on the table while you deal o: thepack in unison. 7hen he is all out o cards you turn o%er the lastone dealt rom the pack showin! that it is the %ery card he noted.Con!re!ation o The Aces

This book would not be complete without a 6 our ace trick.6 Thereare a !reat number o these practically all o them dependin!either upon slei!ht o hand or ake cards. The ollowin! de%isedby (alph ull is ridiculously easy to per orm packs a terri*cwallop and stran!ely seems to be %ery little known.(emo%e rom a pack the 5 aces and any other $2 cards doin! this0uite openly. iscard the rest o the pack. -lace ' indi:erent cardsace up and an ace on top. (epeat with the other cards so thatyou ha%e 5 piles o ace up cards an ace on top o each. )owplace all 5 piles to!ether into one.&tress the act that there arc $ cards and that e%ery 5th one isan ace. There ore when you deal the cards ace down into 5 piles


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A ter a spectator shufes his deck turn your back so as not towitness the proceedin!s and tell him to deal 2 small piles ocards the same number in each and to sa%e time not to deal toomany say rom " to $". e deals silently so you can !et no clue

as to the number dealt. This done the spectator is to take ' cards rom the ri!ht hand pileand place them on the le t hand pile. e counts the numberremainin! in the ri!ht hand pile and returns them to the maindeck a ter which he remo%es the same number rom the le t handpile also restorin! them to the deck.e shufes the remainin! cards looks at and remembers the oneat the ace o the packet when the shufe is completed thenplaces the packet on the deck. The per ormer turns takes hiscards and reminds the spectator that since at no time did heknow the number o cards used in the %arious transactions hecould not know the position o the noted card.

+ou can re%eal the card in any manner you wish as it will alwaysbe the si th card down in the pack. +ou could simply run o: thetop " toss the th ace down on the table ask him to name hiscard then turn it o%er."# Modern Card Tricks$L

A more dramatic *nish is to spread about a doDen o the top cards

in a row or ribbonspread across the table. a%e the spectator holdout a hand with his inde *n!er e tended. Take hold his hand andrun it back and orth o%er the spread *nally droppin! his *n!erdown6 on the back o the th card. e names his card then turnsit o%er.1ind +our 3wn CardBob ummer8s %ersion o the 6Australian eal6 rom the land o6 own Inder.6 A spectator shufes his pack and remo%es $#cards. e ans the deck be ore him and decides upon a particularcard notin! the number at which it lies rom the top o thepacket. 7e will suppose he chooses the Ace o &pades and that itis third rom the top.

+ou take the packet tellin! him you will cut the cards so he noranyone else will know where his choice is as you will brin! it to anew position. &pread the cards ace down and trans er 5 orm thebottom to the top.


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and him back the cards and ha%e him trans er one at a timecards rom the top to the bottom e0ual to the number his cardwas ori!inally. &ince in the assumed case it was third he wouldmo%e ' cards sin!ly rom top to bottom.

+ou e plain that he is to do the 6Australian eal 6 that sinceAustralia is commonly known as the land o own Inder he is todeal the top card o the packet 37) that is down on the tablethe ne t one I) E( that is underneath the packet he holds andto continue in this manner until he has but one card le t.

To keep all strai!ht he is to call 6down6 when he deals to the tableand 6under6 when he deals or trans ers the top card to thebottom. 7hen but one card remains in his hands he turns it up. ,tis the %ery card he selected. e has ound it himsel .Australian Aces3ri!inated by Hlenn Hra%att. The 5 aces are laid out on the table.

+ou say that rom the earliest o times the number / has beenconsidered a mystic number that it appears doDens o times inthe Bible. There were dreams o / lean years and / at years theri%er Jordan was crossed / times etc. There ore / cards are dealton to each ace

These 5 piles are combined into one. A alse cut at this pointwhile not necessary increases the mysti*cation. Ask thespectator to take the packet o cards and to do the 6Australian

eal.6 Tell him it is sometimes known as the 6 own Inder6 dealthat i he isn8t amiliar with it it is simply this>"# Modern Card Tricks2#e lays down the top card o the packet on the table sayin!6 own.6 e trans ers the ne t card to the bottom o the packetsayin! 6Inder.6 e lays the third card on the table sayin!6 own.6 e puts the ne t card at the bottom sayin! 6Inder.6 erepeats this until he has but 5 cards le t. They are turned o%erand pro%e to be the 5 aces.)ew Australian eal3ri!inated by Hlenn Hra%att. A spectator shufes his own deckthen while your back is turned deals cards in a ace up pilecountin! and stoppin! on any card. To speed up thin!s and notha%e a lon! drawn out procedure he should not deal more than$2. e notes the card he stops at and remembers the number.


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1or instance he mi!ht deal " cards and stop. The "th card mi!htbe the Ace o Clubs. &o he remembers the Ace o Clubs and thenumber " a ter which he returns the " cards to the top o thedeck.

+ou now turn and ha%e him deal o: $2 cards on to your palm.&ince he stopped with $2 or less the packet will contain his cardbut you ha%e no idea where it is or what it is.Cut " cards o: the top and trans er them to the bottom. This iseasily done by spreadin! the cards sli!htly and simply re;mo%in!the top ". )ow his card is lost somewhere in the packet.and him the cards and ask him to trans er his number 4thenumber he dealt o: in the *rst place< rom the B3TT3M to the

T3- o the pack. Then ask him to do the 6Australian eal.6 E plainthat this is sometimes called the own Inder deal.&o he deals the top card down. 43n to the table.< e deals thene t one under. 4Inder the packet he holds.< e deals the 'rddown the 5th under and so on until he is le t with but one card.,t is the %ery card he noted.

The -er ect &el ;7orkin! isco%eryA 0uick and easy re%elation o a chosen card. A spectator shufeshis own pack then lays out ' heaps o cards each. ,t doesn8tmatter whether they are dealt pushed o: in a packet or how.Ma!ician stresses he doesn8t know any o these $? cards and will

not look at them at any time. e thereupon turns his back.&pectator then chooses any $ o the ' piles picks it up ans itbe ore his eyes and merely thinks o any card in the an. ecloses the an then combines the ' piles into one sandwichin!the pile with his card between the other 2 piles so it will beburied somewhere in the middle."# Modern Card Tricks2$

The ma!ician turns around takes the l &%card packet and dealsthem into ' piles $ 2 ' and o%er these 5 " and so on. epicks up each heap in turn and ans them widely be ore the eyeso the spectator warnin! him to !i%e him no indication o the carditsel but merely tellin! him whether or not the pile contains hiscard.

The ma!ician combines the ' piles into one with the pilecontainin! the spectator8s card on top. e asserts that without


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urther ado he will *nd the card the spectator thou!ht o andwithout lookin! at any o them.e remo%es the top card and trans ers it to the bottom. eremo%es the ne t one rom the top and places it at the bottom e

takes the third one rom the top and puts that also at the bottom.7ell that does it. ,8%e come to your card the one you thou!ht oand without a sin!le 0uestion 6 says the per ormer. At the sametime he tilts the packet in his hand so he can see the bottom card.67hat was your card=6 asks the per ormer. 7hen the spectatornames it the card is tossed out on the table ace up. ,t will alwaysbe either the top or bottom one. , he names a di:erent card thanthe one you noted at the bottom take o: the top card and showthat you ound it ha%in! remo%ed the correct number o cards tocome to it. , he names the one at the bottom simply turn thepacket ace up to show you placed it at the ace o the packet.7hether top or bottom the *nish is e0ually e:ecti%e as itappears you ound it and purposely placed it at that position.1or those who dislike dealin! all dealin! may be omitted. A terspectator shufes take deck 0uickly push o: the top then thene t then the ne t. 7hen he has noted a card and combinedthe heaps take packet in ri!ht hand push o: top card betweenthumb and ore*n!er o le t second between *rst and second*n!ers the third between second and third *n!ers. &tart o%er

puttin! the ourth card between thumb and *rst *n!er and so onwith all the cards. )ow the cards between each 2 *n!ers areshown separately to ascertain which !roup contains his. This canalso be done behind your back. Just state you are mi in! thecards a bit or that you are puttin! his card in a certain positionwhich he will see shortly.Contri%ed Coincidence&pectator shufes his deck. +ou take the deck and state you willdo a trick in re%erse that instead o you !uessin! a card aspectator mi!ht choose you will try to ha%e him !uess one o yourchoice. +ou say you are thinkin! o one particular card and thatyou will place it aside or uture %eri*cation.1an the deck aces to you to look or your thou!ht;o card.7hatyou do is to note the top and bottom cards. , or instance one isthe 2 o Clubs and the other the " o earts you 0uickly runthrou!h the pack to locate whiche%er comes *rst the 2 o earts


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or the " o Clubs. ,n other words you *nd a card o the same suitas one and the same %alue as the other."# Modern Card Tricks22

&hould the top and bottom cards happen to be o the same suit orthe same %alue close up the pack and ha%e it cut apparently asan a terthou!ht. 7hen you *nd the card you place it on the tableace down without showin! it.Ask spectator i he can name it. 3 course he can8t. +ou tell himperhaps he may be able to re%eal it in a way he ne%er dreamedo . &tate that you want him to insert a *n!er a kni eblade a nail*le or somethin! similar anywhere between the cards.

This done you li t o: the cards abo%e the separation with theri!ht hand holdin! the lower part o the pack in the le t. &tretchthe arms ar apart askin! him to notice that you separate thedeck at the %ery spot chosen by him and that there are no 0uickmo%es to decei%e him. A sli!ht pause and a little talkin! at thispoint causes him to or!et which hal is which.-lace the top hal in the ri!ht hand ace down on the table and laythe other hal across it cross; wise to mark 6the place in the deckhe selected.6 This is the basis o an old orce. The pre%ious topand bottom cards are thus brou!ht to!ether. &pectator ne%ernotices the deception but thinks the separation marks the place

he cut to.)ow show your card or the *rst time. Then separate the twohal%es o the deck where they criss cross turnin! the top partace up and the top card o the bottom hal ace up. &how thespectator that he has unconsciously desi!nated your card in thismanner. , your card was the " o earts you say> 6&ee you cutthe deck at a ";spot and at a eart.6A similar e:ect with a prearran!ed deck called 6ControlledCoincidence6 was in%ented lon! a!o by ictor 1arelli. The abo%eimpromptu method was de%ised by Hlenn Hra%att althou!hothers ha%e been mistakenly credited with it.Contri%ed Coincidence )o. 2&pectator shufes his deck. +ou take back the cards and statethat you are thinkin! o a certain card which you will remo%ebe ore the trick starts. 1an the aces o the cards toward yourselnotin! the top 2 cards the suits and %alues o which should be


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di:erent. , alike hand deck back to be cut as i by ana terthou!ht., or instance the top 2 should be the ' o Clubs and the " oiamonds look or either the ' o iamonds or the " o Clubs

whiche%er happens to come *rst. (emo%e it and lay it on thetable ace down without showin! it.and the pack to spectator askin! him to deal o: cards into apile and to stop whene%er he pleases. This done he is asked topick up the small heap dealt o: and to deal it into 2 piles a cardat a time alternately. This will result in puttin! the 2 cards you *rstnoted at the top o the respecti%e heaps. 4Cards o course aredealt ace down.<

+ou now display the card you chose. &uppose it is the " o Clubs.Ask him to turn up the top cards o the 2 piles. e does so and*nds one is a ";spot the other a Club. Hlenn Hra%att."# Modern Card Tricks2'

Addin! The i!itsA spectator cuts the deck into 2 parts ha%in! been told to cutairly near the center althou!h the parts do not ha%e to be e0ual.

+our ob@ect is to ha%e him take at least 2#. e is now to chooseeither portion and count to see how many are in it. &uppose hecounts 2'. e adds the 2 di!its in this case 2 plus ' makes ".

e turns his chosen portion ace up and counts to that numberrom the 1ACE o the packet. ,n the assumed case he would countto the "th card and remember it. e places the portion cantainin!his card on the unused portion thus assemblin! the completedeck. +ou can *nd his card because it will be $Lth rom the top.Another way o usin! this principle o addin! di!its is to use 2decks. The spectator shufes them and retains one !i%in! youthe other. Both do the same thin!. Each o you cut o: about athird o the pack. That is to keep the number under 2#.Each counts his cards and adds the di!its. Meanwhile your back isturned. , the spectator holds $/ cards he adds $ and / makin!? and deals ? rom his packet onto the table or in his pocket. elooks at the ace card o those remainin! in his hands then putsthe packet on the main deck. All the while you pretend to bedoin! the same thin! but your actions are or misdirection only.


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+ou e chan!e decks with the spectator askin! him to *nd theduplicate o the card he noted io your deck and you will *nd theduplicate o the one you noted in the same way in his deck.7hen the 2 cards are remo%ed and shown they pro%e to be

identical. Apparently you both chose the same card. 7hen youtake the spectator8s pack you note the Lth card which will be theone he noted. e remo%es its duplicate rom your pack.&till another method o the di!it addin! de%ice is this> 1rom hisshufed pack spectator remo%es a number o cards rom $# to 2#.e counts them and adds the 2 di!its. , he has $/ he adds $ and/ makin! ?. &o he returns ? to the deck. All this time your back isturned. )ow you ha%e him start at the top and call out the nameso the cards. Neep track o the number. 7hen the Lth is calledstop him. is card is always Lth. &hould you ha%e him cut o: abatch containin! 2# or more and the same procedure under!onehis card will be $?th.Another trick usin! this principle is this> ayout an Ace and an ?;;spot ace down without showin! them. &pectator makes the deckinto 2 piles and takes one. e counts the cards in his chosen pileadds the di!its and deals the number o cards so arri%ed at on theother pile. Thus he will be le t with either L or $? cards in hishands dependin! upon how many he took ori!inally. , he took$" added $ and " and remo%ed he would be le t with L. , he

took 2' added 2 and ' and remo%ed " he would be ,e t with $?.a%e him count the cards remainin! then show your 2 prophecycards to pro%e you knew this in ad%ance. , he has L add the Aceand ?;spot to make L. , he has $? show that the Ace 4one< andthe ei!ht represent the *!ure $?."# Modern Card Tricks25

Ber!8s (e%elation The old principle o countin! a batch o cards addin! the di!itsetc. is cle%erly used by Joe Ber! as ollows> 7hile your back isturned a spectator cuts o: a bunch o cards rom a deck he has

@ust shufed any number at all. e counts how many cards hehas adds the 2 di!its and discards that number o cards rom thebunch puttin! them back with the deck.1or instance i he has 25 he adds 2 and 5 totalin! . &o heremo%es cards. e is now asked to think o any number rom $


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to L and a!ain discard some cards returnin! to the deck anumber correspondin! to the number he decided upon.

This done he counts to his thou!ht;o ;number 4 rom $ to L< in thepacket o cards remainin! in his hands and looks at and

remembers the card lyin! at that position. e then hands you thecards which you keep behind you as you turn to ace him.7ithout disturbin! their order count them behind your back.7hate%er their number subtract that number rom the ne thi!hest multiple o L. The result !i%es you the position o his card., you ha%e $$ cards subtract $$ rom $? the ne t multiple o L!i%in! you /. Thus his card lies /th in the heap. , there are 25cards subtract 25 rom 2/ 4the ne t hi!hest multiple o L< !i%in!you '. &o his card lies 'rd in the heap. , there are / cardssubtract / rom L !i%in! 2. &o his card is second.EmphasiDe the act that at no time ha%e you asked a sin!le0uestion. At the start he helped himsel to an unknown number o cards that is unknown to you. e added the 2 di!its anddiscarded that number unknown to you. And *nally he discardedsome more this time ha%in! ree choice o the number discardeda number which was ne%er announced. e then noted a card atthis reely chosen number.(emo%e the correct card and place it ace down on the table. Askhim to name his card. e does so. +ou turn it up. Mar%elousF

i%inin! The )umber o Cards ,n -ocketA Herald Nosky impro%ement on a subtle mathematical principleused in se%eral tricks. A spectator shufes his deck and while yourback is turned cuts o: a bunch o cards any number at all. +oudo not know the number cut o: and you ne%er ask but he countsthem to himsel to ascertain the number he cut o:. The balanceo the deck is discarded.e then adds the 2 di!its o the number counted. e remo%esthat many rom the cut;o: portion and places them on the table., he cut o: $/ then $ plus / makes ? so he would put ? o thecards he holds on the table. , he cut o: 2# then 2 plus # e0uals2 so he would put 2 on the table.1inally he remo%es any number o cards rom $ to $# and putsthose in his pocket. +ou with your back still turned so you can seenone o his actions ask him to call out the colors o the"# Modern Card Tricks


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2"cards he has le t rom the packet he ori!inally cut o: some owhich ha%e been placed on the table and some o which are inhis pocket. 3ne by one he calls out red or black.

This done you immediately tell him how many cards he put in hispocket which is amaDin! because at no time did you ha%e anyidea o how many cards he was workin! with.

+ou pay no attention to the colors called. This is a subtle de%iceori!inated by Herald Nosky or the purpose o misdirection only.7hat you do is simply to keep track o the number o cards.7hate%er that number is subtract it rom its ne t hi!hestmultiple o L and the result !i%es you the number o cards in hispocket.1or instance i he calls out the colors o / cards / rom L lea%es2 so he has 2 in his pocket. , he calls the colors o $5 cards $5rom $? the ne t hi!hest multiple o L !i%es 5 so he has 5 in hispocket. &hould he call out the colors o 2# cards then 2# rom 2/4the ne t hi!hest multiple o L< would !i%e / there ore he wouldha%e / cards in his pocket.

Throu!hout you stress the act that you did not know how manycards he cut o: the pack in the *rst place there ore it ollows youcould not know how many he laid out on the table and*nally youcould not know the number he selected to put in his pocket. The

outcome there ore is the result o your powers o di%ination.Combination o Chosen Card and Cards ,n -ocketA !ood mathematical principle 4or any other principle or thatmatter< may be dis!uised and used in di:erent ways so thatmany tricks all apparently di:erent can e%ol%e rom the samebase. The countin! o a !roup o cards and addin! the 2 di!itsresultin! rom that count has been used to di%ine how many cardsa spectator has concealed or hidden in his pocket. ,t has alsobeen used to name or re%eal a card noted and remembered by aspectator.,n this trick the two e:ects are combined resultin! in a doubleclima althou!h no more e:ort is needed than per ormin! @ustone o the two. ere you not only tell a spectator how many cardshe has remo%ed and put in his pocket but you also locate a cardhe has looked at.


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Be!in by ha%in! a spectator shufe his pack. Turnin! your backin%ite him to cut o: a 0uantity o cards count them sccretly addthe di!its and discard that many cards. Thus i he cuts o: 2' hetotals the 2 di!its makin! " and remo%es " cards and puts them

back with the deck.e is then to think o any small number and to remo%e thatnumber o cards rom those in his hands and put them in hispocket. , he thinks o the number / he puts / cards in his pocket.

Tell him to count down to the card at this same number amon!the cards remainin! in his hands and make a mental note o thecard. ,n this instance he would remember the /th card.

+ou turn around and take the packet o cards rom him. 7ithout!lancin! at their aces slowly pass the cards one by one be orehis eyes askin! him to watch or his card but to !i%e you no"# Modern Card Tricks2

indication when he sees it you want to catch his mental%ibrations mysterious wa%es emanatin! rom the brain whichmay tip you o:. 7hat you really do is count the cards.&uppose there are $$. &ubtract the number rom the ne t hi!hestmultiple o L which would be $?. , the number is less than Lsubtract it rom L. A remainder o / is le t. This is the number atwhich the noted card will be ound rom the top o the packet. ,t is

also the number o cards he put in his pocket. Toss out his card 4the /th in the case assumed> and dramaticallyannounce that he has / cards in his pocket.Matchin! Cards By )umerolo!yHlenn Hra%att uses an old principle to produce an entirely newe:ect> A spectator shufes his own pack. +ou take the cardsassert that you are thinkin! o a particular card which you will*rst remo%e rorn the deck.1an the cards be ore you and rapidly count 4silently o course< tothe tenth card notin! it. &uppose it is the / o Clubs. Neep onuntil you *nd its mate the / o &pades that is the card thatmatches it in color and %alue.(emo%e the matchin! card. -lace it ace down on the tablewithout showin! it. Ask the spectator to call out any numberbetween $# and 2#. e does so. 7e will assume he calls $'. eal


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o: $' cards. This @ust to re%erse their order. -ut them back on thedeck.

Tell him that in the science o numerolo!y with which he isdoubtless amiliar a low number is always arri%ed at by addin!

the two di!its o a hi!her number. ,n this case he selected $' so$ and ' make 5. There ore he will !et the 5th card> eal to the 5thcard and toss it out ace down.

Turn up the card. ,t will be the one that was ori!inally $#th in thiscase the / o Clubs. (emindin! him that he mi!ht ha%e chosenany number turn o%er the card you remo%ed 6be ore the trickbe!an>8 ,t is the / o &pades. 6The two black se%ens 6 you say6what a stran!e coincidence.KO;(ay Eyes&ecretly !limpse the bottom card o the pack. and pack to aspectator. Ask him to s0uare up the deck ace down on the palmo his hand. Tell him to pull out the center third o the deck anddrop it on top o the pack. Ask him to mark his .initials li!htly onthe back o the top card 4the top one o the middle section hepulled out.< e is not to look at its ace."# Modern Card Tricks2/

Ask him to !i%e the pack a sin!le cut then another one or two. ethen ribbon spreads the cards in a lon! spread on the table ace

up. +ou note the card immediately abo%e the bottom card younoted earlier. Mark your initials on its ace. Ask him i he can *ndhis card. 3 course he can8t because he ne%er looked at its ace.

Tell him that i he can8t *nd his own card there is no way that youcan *nd it e cept to look at their backs and locate the one withhis initials. Turn o%er the cards. -ick out the one with his initials onthe back. &how that it is the %ery card on which you wrote yourson the ace. Credit to )ed (utled!e.Back ,n -laceA spectator shufes his deck thinks o a number between $ and$# then looks at the card at that number rom the top. e nowtrans ers the &ame number o cards rom the bottom to the top.

+ou sec none o this as your back is turned. +ou now take the deck and place it behind your back. +ou stressthe act that since you do not know the number he thou!ht oand since it is no lon!er at that number inasmuch as some were


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ace up cards. is card will be the one immediately ollowin! thisrun.-ointers> Make sure the ' piles are nearly e0ual. 1or the rifeshufe make sure the pack is cut as nearly in the center as

possible then rifed.,mpromptu Card To -ocket)o &lei!htsand a spectator the pack and turn your back to him. e is askedto cut a small packet o cards rom the top o the pack. e countshis cards silently then puts them in his pocket. e then turns thedeck 1ACE I- and looks at the card rom the ace o the deckcorrespondin! to the number pocketed. Thus i he remo%ed "cards he will note the "th rom the B3TT3M.&pectator cuts the pack so that his noted card will be brou!ht to anow unknown position. 7hen you turn around you take the packand rapidly deal 2 cards onto the table e plainin! you intend touse only the hal containin! his card. &preadin! these 2 ask thespectator to see i his is amon! them and simply to say yes or nowithout indicatin! the card. ,t is not there.

+ou say then the other hal ob%iously must contain it. +ou an therest o the pack ace up but he still doesn8t see his card. +ou thenproduce it rom your pocket. And no slei!ht o hand is in%ol%ed.

The method was de%ised by the renowned &calbert. The only

preparation;in ad%ance is to shorten one card 4any card< by takin!scissors and snippin! o: a %ery tiny strip clear across one end. This short card is placed 2/th rom the top.At the point described abo%e where you turn to take the deck yousay 6you lost your card by cuttin! the pack didn8t you=6 and whiletalkin! !i%e it a cut yoursel . 7hat you actually do is to cut at theshort card which is easy because when you rife the end the deckwill snap open there. Cut the short card to the top., ha%e omitted statin! that a ter spectator cuts the deck andbe ore you turn around to take it rom him he returns the cards inhis packet to the top so that the "2 card deck will be complete."# Modern Card Tricks2L

3nce you cut the short card to the top the chosen card becomes2/th rom the top. As outlined abo%e you say you will di%ide the


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Mathematical Card Tricks

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