In the chaos of a shuffled deck, the magic is not in the randomness, but in the unseen order, waiting for the perfect reveal.
In these pages, I am sharing an effect using a method in card magic that many magicians these days do not use. This effect is capable of deceiving not only laypersons but also fellow magicians who are unfamiliar with the method used, and due to the nature of this routine, this effect will probably fool magicians who have a basic understanding of its application.
- No gimmick or gaff cards are needed.
- Easy to perform, if you know how to shuffle cards.
- Uses a standard deck.
- The magician doesn’t peek the selected card.
The effect starts with the magician placing the deck face-down on the table and telling the spectator that the cards can be in a specific order. To disturb this order, the magician says that the cards will be shuffled, and to make it more challenging, the cards will be shuffled face-up into face-down.
The magician then spreads the cards face-up to himself, cuts some cards, flips them face-down, and shuffles them into the remaining face-up cards many times until the spectator is satisfied that all the cards are shuffled.
Following this, the magician asks the spectator to cut anywhere in the deck. If he/she cuts to a face-up card, the spectator should cut again until he/she cuts to a face-down card. Then, the spectator looks at this card without showing it to anyone. The spectator can change his mind and choose a different card.
The magician then will ask the spectator to insert his/her card anywhere in the spread deck, but before inserting the card, the magician will tell the spectator that it is possible to notice the location of this card once inserted back into the deck and maybe somehow the identification of this card will be known. So, the magician shuffles the cards together many times, then takes some of the cards, flips them then shuffles them into the other pile. The magician then spreads the cards on the table so the spectator can insert his selected card anywhere in the deck.
Following this, the magician shuffles the cards together many times, takes some of the cards, flips them, and then shuffles them into the other pile to ensure that no one can know if the selected card is face-up or down. The magician then takes the whole deck and spreads it on the table so the spectator can easily see the chaotic arrangement of cards.
Finally, the magician deals the cards on the table until he stops at a specific card, then the magician asks the spectator, "What card did you select?" Once he/she answers, the chosen card is revealed to be the selected card.