Easy Tricks (N to R)
Nice and Easy
Shuffle deck. Let someone choose any card, memorise it and place on TOP of deck. Behind your back, flip THAT first card over and bring out the whole deck. Hold deck upright, so they see bottom card - don't let them see theirs. With the bottom of the deck showing, ask if that's their card, to which they say no. At the same time you can see what THEIR card is, because you've flipped it over and it's now facing you! Put deck behind your back (be careful they don't see.) Flip their card over again and put it anywhere in deck. Bring out the deck, shuffle it or get them to shuffle, and now you can find their card!
Numbers Game
Effect: Through math, you can find out two cards that a person has chosen.
Preparation: Make sure all Tens, Jacks , Queens, and Kings have been removed from the deck. (Aces serve as one.)
Trick:
Have the person you are showing the trick shuffle the cards. Take a group of cards and hold them in your hand, spread out in a fan shape. Ask him/her to pick a card from among them. Tell the person to remember it and to put it back in the deck.
Ask them to double the value of the card they picked, then to add 5. Now have them multiply that number by 5. Tell them not to forget this number.
Instruct them to look at another card in the deck, and to add its value to the total that they had computed before. They are to tell you the final total of everything.
In your head, subtract 25 from the total. The two digits you get are the same as the two cards they chose. Example: they choose a Five, then a Three.
5(doubled) = 10 plus 5 = 15. Multiply times 5 = 75.
Three added to total = 78. You subtract 25 = 53.
They picked a Five and a Three!
Editor's note: try this a few times to get the feel...
Obedient Colors
Effect: Two columns are created, a black one and a red one.
Cards are drawn one at a time from the bottom of the deck and an audience member
chooses whether to put it face down on the red or black column. The column
colors are then switched and more cards are placed by the audience. At the
conclusion of the trick, all the cards are flipped over and all the colors in
each pile are together.
Step 1: Place two random cards, one black, one red, face up next to each other.
Step 2:Have the bottom of the deck facing you and draw the first red card, ask
the spectator if they want it to go on the "Black" or "Red" pile. Place it face
down on the pile they choose.
Step 3: If the bottom card is black, just tell the spectator you don't like that
one, and place it on the top of the pile.
Step 4: Continue this practice with as many red cards as you wish. I usually
stop when I run into a big section of black cards.
Step 5: Take out another red and another black card and place the black card
face up on the "Red" pile and the red card on the "Black" pile. The "Red" pile
is now the "Black" pile and vice versa.
Step 6: Take a few cards off the bottom of the deck making sure they are all
black and ask the spectator which column to put it on. Remember to now move the
red cards to the top of the pile in your hand.
Step 7: When you feel you have enough cards on the table (I usually strive for a
total of around 12 - 15) take the very top face-up black card and flip it face
down to the bottom of its pile. This puts it with all the other black cards.
Step 8: Square up the piles making sure not to mess up the order, and flip the
the cards over in order showing the audience that they are all in color order.
If you so choose you can have the spectator flip over the second pile. When
flipping over the piles, just leave the face up cards face up, they will match
the colors.
On Tap
Effect: You lay nine cards onto the table, in a three by three pattern. You ask an accomplice to leave the room, then have a spectator choose one of the cards. When your accomplice returns you will have him identify the exact card chosen by the spectators!
Preparation: Get an accomplice, and tell them the trick.
1. Ask your accomplice to leave the room or area.
2. Turn nine cards face down, three by three.
3. Have the spectator(s) pick a card.
4. Once they have chosen a card, have someone tell your accomplice to return.
5. Now you make a series of taps on the cards, anywhere from five to twenty. (You can always change the amount to fool your spectators.) The signal you give your accomplice is where you tap the first card. This tells him/her which is the chosen card. If you tap the first card in the middle, that signifies the middle card in the three by three setup; if you tap the first card in the upper right corner, it signifies the card in the upper right of the setup, and so on.
6. Now all that is left is for your accomplice to amaze the spectators by choosing the exact card.
Editor's note: since you are the magician, you might want to perform this as a test of your "mental powers." You say that you will cause someone else to find the correct card.
Opposite Decks
1. Before doing this magic trick you need to separate the cards into red and
black. The black cards should all be together and the red cards should be
together, making them like two small decks.
2. Separate the decks and lay them face down.
3. Ask a spectator to take one card randomly out of each "deck", making sure
he/she doesn't look at the deck.
4. Ask the spectator the memorize the cards, then put each one back in the
opposite deck from which they took it.
5. Have the spectator shuffle each deck separately.
6. Take the decks up and tell them you will now find their cards.
7. Simply look through the red deck up and find the only black card in it. Same
for the black deck.
Pick for Me
Shuffle a deck of cards, getting a look at the bottom card. Don't be obvious. Spread the cards out all over the table, face down. Keep your eye on where the bottom card ends up. Then, you ask the spectator to find for you whatever card the bottom one was. Tell them not to pick it UP, but just to point at the card they think it is. For instance, if the bottom card was a Queen of Hearts, you would say: "Pick for me the Queen of Hearts." (Of course, you don't TELL them you know it was the bottom card!)
The spectator will point to a card, and you pick that one up, not letting the audience see what card it really is. Then, depending on the card you really picked up, tell the spectator to now choose that one. If it was a 9 of Clubs, you would tell them to pick the 9 of clubs. They choose another card, and you pick it up.
Now you say that YOU will choose a card, and say the name of whatever card you just picked up. Pick up the original bottom card (Queen of Hearts, in our example.) Show the audience the cards you are holding, and they will be amazed. Don't tell them how to do it, a magician never reveals her secrets.
Editor's Note: if the spectator accidentally picks your bottom card, it doesn't ruin the trick, it makes it better! If they pick it on the first try, just have them turn the card over. They seem to have found it, all by themselves! If they pick it as their second card, just show both cards, and announce that they found them both. Very impressive!
Psychic Solution
Effect: You tell a person to pick the top card of the pile and to memorize it,
then to put the card back into the pile. Taking the deck, you act like you are
trying to get "psychic" messages from it. While they concentrate on their card,
you name it.
1. Take an ordinary deck, and ask the spectator to shuffle it.
2. Spread the cards like a fan, face up, telling the spectators that the deck is
in no particular order. While doing this, look at and remember the top card.
3. Have the spectator cut the deck into three piles. Be sure you keep an eye on
the card that was on top of the deck. Arrange the piles so the first cut pile
(the top of the deck) is in-between the other piles.
4. Ask them to look at the card on top of the middle pile, and to memorize it.
Then they are to put it inside one of the piles. (You already know what this
card is.)
5. Put the deck back together and shuffle the cards.
6. Have the spectator concentrate on the color of the card they picked, you tell
them the color. Have them concentrate on the suit, you tell them the suit. Then
the number, you tell them the number.
The trick is done; you should have them stunned at your psychic abilities.
Re-appearing Aces
Effect: You show the audience four aces, which you put on top of the deck.
Then you pick up the four Aces and give a spectator the four cards underneath.
When you show the audience your cards they will not be the four Aces; the four
Aces will be in the spectator's hand.
Card Trick:
1) Before you start your trick, gather the four Aces. Behind the first Ace put
four other cards.
2) Show the audience your four Aces, spread out in your hand, like a fan.
(Remember to hide the four cards behind the first Ace.)
3) Place all eight cards on top of the deck.
4) Take the first four non-Ace cards, but do not show them to anybody.
5) Give the spectator the next four cards (which are the Aces.) Ask him not to
look at them, just yet.
6) While the audience thinks you have the four Aces, turn your cards over
revealing that they are four other cards. Tell the spectator to turn over their
cards, revealing that they have the Aces.
The trick itself is very simple, but believe me it gets the audience's brains
tingling.
Editor's note: You need to put the cards onto the deck before you give some to
the spectator. So that this isn't too suspicious, you can pretend that you "just
remembered" that you wanted to give them to the audience member.
Reverse The Card
Start by putting one card face up on the bottom of a face down deck. Spread the
cards like a fan, and have a card chosen and memorized by a spectator. Make sure
they don't see the face up card at the bottom.
While they are looking at their card, turn the entire deck over. This will show
a face down card on top of a face up deck, which will look as if the cards are
all face down. Square up the deck and have the spectator put their card, face
down, anywhere in the middle of the deck. Be careful not to move the top card
and expose the face up cards underneath. Put the cards behind your back and turn
the top card back over. Bring the deck out again. Show the spectator that their
card has magically turned face up in the center of a face down deck.
If you practice, you can find other ways of turning the card over, besides
putting the deck behind your back. One way is to start the trick standing up.
After the card has been put back into the deck, drop your left hand (with the
deck in it) to the side of your body. With your thumb, push the top upside-down
card to the right as if you were going to deal it. Brush the deck downward
against your leg. The top card will hit your leg and flip over. Practice this
until you can do it quickly. You will need to do some mis-direction to take
attention away from this move. (Have someone spill a drink, sneeze, etc.) Or you
may prefer to do the behind the back move. Either way the trick is very
confusing to the spectator.