Home › Contents › Tricks with Cards

Tricks with Cards

In accordance with the previous rule, the principal stress is laid on card tricks that require no apparatus, and may be performed with ordinary cards. 1. TO MAKE THE PASS.

This is a necessary beginning for card tricks. "Making the pass" is the technical term for shifting either the top or the bottom card to any place in the pack that you like. It is almost impossible to describe it, and I can only say that it will be learnt better in five minutes from a friend, than in as many hours from a book. As, however, a friend is not always to be found who can perform the pass, I will endeavour to describe it. The cards are held in both hands, right hand underneath and left acove, as in the engraving, where, as the bottom card is to be raised to the top, the little finger is seen between that card and those above it. By a quick movement of the right hand, the bottom card is slipped away towards the left, and is placed upon the top card, under shadow of the left hand, which is raised for the moment to allow of its passage.

This movement must be assiduously practised before it is exhibited in public, as nothing looks more awkward than to see it clumsily performed, in which case two or three cards generally tumble on the floor. 2. TO TELL A CARD BY ITS BACK.

While shuffling the pack, cast a glance at the bottom card, make the pass, and bring it to the top. Continue to shuffle, and lay upon it by degrees as many cards as you like, say six. Then lay the pack on the table, face downwards, and divide it into seven heaps, beginning at the bottom, and leave the seventh heap larger than any of the others.

When you have done this, take one card from the top of the seventh heap, appear to calculate, and lay it, face upwards, on one of the other heaps. Do so with five more cards, thus leaving your slipped card at the top of the seventh heap. You then announce that by the aid of the six cards you will name the seventh. You name it accordingly, after carefully studying the other cards, and on asking a spectator to take it up, it will be seen that you are right.

If you place five cards above the slipped card, you will lay out six heaps, and if eight cards, there will of course be nine heaps. 3. THE CARD NAMED WITHOUT BEING SEEN.

As in the last trick, cast a glance at the bottom card, say the ace of spades. Lay out the pack in as many heaps as you like, noting where that one is laid which contains that bottom card. Ask any one to take up the top card of any heap, look at it, and replace it. You then gather up the heaps apparently by chance, but you take care to put the heap containing the bottom card upon the card which has been chosen. You then give any one the cards to cut, and on counting them over, the card that immediately follows the ace of spades is the card chosen.

If by any accident the two cards should be separated when cut, the upper card of the pack is the chosen one, and can be picked out with seeming care. 4. THE CARD TOLD BY THE OPERA GLASS.

Make out a table, such as is given on the next page, Fig. 1, and place it in an opera-glass, so that the figures will be visible when you look through it. For convenience, I have made mine as seen in Fig. 2, the numbers 1, 2, 3 in each series being understood. The best plan is to write the numbers, or cut them out of a book, and paste them on a circular piece of cardboard, which must then be soaked in oil, so as to make it semi-transparent. The light will then easily pierce through it, and the figures will be better visible than if it were opaque.

It will be seen that Fig. 2 contains as much matter as Fig. 1, and that two-thirds of the figures are saved by it.

These preliminaries being arranged, tell any one to take any twenty-seven cards out of a pack, and to think of any one of them. Deal them into three heaps, and ask him in which heap it is, and what number from the top he would like it to come after the third deal. Suppose he chooses it to be the twenty-sixth card, you take up your opera-glass, and look for the number 26. This you will find last but one, arranged thus,--26. 213. The meaning is, that if the chosen card is to be the twenty-sixth, the heap in which it was found must be for the first time placed second, the second time first, and the last time third. So you pick up the cards, taking care to keep that heap number two. You again deal them in three heaps, and this time you place the heap in which is the chosen card at the top, being number one. Deal them a third time, and on gathering up the heaps, place it at the bottom. Then, on counting from the top, the chosen card will be found to be the twenty-sixth. 5. THE FOUR KINGS.

Take the four kings out of a pack of cards, and also two other court cards, which are not to be shown. Spread out the kings before the spectators, but conceal the two court cards between the third and fourth kings. Lay the cards face downwards on the table. Take off the bottom card, which is of course one of the kings; show it as if by accident, and place it on the top. Take the next card, (which is one of the court cards,) and place that in the middle of the pack. Take the third card, (i.e. the second court card,) and place that also near the middle of the pack. There will then be one king at the top and three at the bottom. Ask any one to cut the cards, and to examine them, when he will find all four kings together in the middle of the pack. It is better to use court cards to place between the third and fourth kings, because if the cards should slip aside, they would not be so readily distinguished as common cards.