An Instinct for Cards

The purpose of the riffle shuffle is to mix the cards thoroughly, its very essence being that after a genuine shuffle the position of any particular card cannot be known. You may therefore find it hard to believe that a card unknown to you can be placed anywhere in the deck and the cards then genuinely riffle shuffled and cut, yet you can infallibly find that card and reveal it. The secret is so ingenious, and still so simple, that this is one of the few feats which can be repeated without fear of discovery. The only skill required is the ability to riffle shuffle the deck.

Preparation. Place the thirteen cards of one suit, say diamonds, in sequence from ace to king, at the top of the deck. Put the deck in its case and the case in your pocket.

Procedure. Here are the steps in this trick:

1. Take the case from your pocket and remove the cards and shuffle them, retaining the diamond sequence at the top by means of the overhand shuffle control , retaining top stock. Cut off about two- thirds of the deck and complete the cut. The sequence of diamonds will then run from about the twentieth card, the ace, to the thirty- third, the king.

2. Place the pack before a spectator, request him to cut it, remove the card he cuts to, replace the cut, and square the deck perfectly. You may add, "Better cut somewhere near the middle, so that I cannot possibly know the card to which you cut." But even without this admonition most people will cut somewhere near the middle, between the twentieth and thirty-third cards; thus they are sure to remove one of the diamonds. Turn away and move a pace or two from the table so that no one can suspect you might see the card.

3. With your back still turned, instruct the spectator to show the card to everyone; then cut the pack anywhere he likes, replace the card at that point, square the deck, and give it a riffle shuffle .

It is most effective to have the spectator himself make the shuffles and cuts, but if there is no one present who can shuffle cards neatly you may make the shuffles yourself. In such case call particular attention to the genuineness of the shuffles.

4. Next have the spectator cut the pack and complete the cut, riffle shuffle again, and finally cut again and complete the cut. Under these conditions you will find that everyone will be confident that you cannot possibly discover the selected card.

5. Turn around and take the pack, run through it slowly, glancing at the spectator from time to time as though studying his expression. You will find that despite the shuffles and cuts, which seemingly mix the cards indiscriminately, actually the diamonds have been distributed among the other cards in sequence , with each succeeding higher value to the right. This is because the first shuffle distributed them through half the deck and the second shuffle throughout the entire deck. The cuts, of course, do not have any effect upon the sequence, though they may affect its starting point.

When the chosen card was replaced in the pack, it was not placed at the point from which it was taken; therefore, in order to find it, look for one card of that suit which is out of sequence . Let us say that you find that the diamonds run in the following order:

4-5-6-K-7-8-9-10-J-Q-A-2-3

The chosen card is the king, the only card out of sequence.

6. Remove the king and place it face downwards on the table. Rub it gently with the tip of your right second finger and have the selected card named. Turn the card face upwards showing that you have the correct card.

This perplexing feat may also be performed with the pack in hand. With the diamond sequence at the centre, spread the cards and have one removed, making certain that it is taken from among the diamonds, an easy enough matter. Have it replaced at a point other than that from which it was taken. The rest follows as in the out-of- hand method.