How It Looks To The Audience
The Magician asks a spectator to cut a small amount of cards from the top of the deck and count them. He is told not to tell the Magician how many cards he has.
The Magician then cuts a larger amount of cards from the top of the deck for himself.
The Magician then counts his cards to himself and says that he has as many cards as the spectator has, plus four extra cards, and enough cards left to add up to sixteen.
When the Magician counts his cards, this is shown to be correct - even though the Magician could not possibly have known how many cards the spectator has.
The trick can be repeated again and again, with different results - but each time the Magician's prediction is correct.
How The Trick Is Done
The good news is that you do not know how many cards the spectator has taken. All you have to do is make sure that you take more cards than the spectator. To do this, just watch how thick the packet of cards the spectator takes and ensure that you take a thicker packet.
This is why you ask him to cut a SMALL packet of cards from the top of the deck. If he took more than half the pack, then the trick would not work.
So, let us say when you count your cards, you have twenty. Silently, pick any small number from 1-5 and subtract that from twenty. For example, let us say you choose four. Now deduct four from twenty and that leaves sixteen.
You can now say to the spectator that you have as many cards as he has, plus four extra cards, and enough cards left to add up to sixteen.
You now ask the spectator how many cards he has. Let us imagine he says he has eleven cards.
You then count eleven cards, out loud, onto the table, in a pile. You then deal the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th cards to one side without including them in the count (these are the four extra cards).
You then deal the 16th card and call it 12, the 17th card is 13, the 18th card is 14, the 19th card is 15, and finally you call the 20th card 16.
So, in the manner you dealt the cards, you had eleven cards, plus four extra cards, and enough left to add up to sixteen.
You can then repeat the trick. However, when you do it again you pick another small number to deduct from the cards you hold. For example, you could select two. So, if you have twenty-five cards, deduct two and that will give you twenty-three.
You can then say to the spectator that you have the same amount of cards that he has, plus two extra cards, and enough left to add up to twenty-three.
You can repeat this trick two or three times because it becomes more baffling with each repetition.
Michael Breck is a professional Magician and runs an Entertainment Agency in Scotland called The Magic Agency. He has been entertaining at weddings and booking entertainment for weddings for over twenty years. For more ideas about wedding entertainment go to Scottish Wedding Bands in Scotland or Magical Entertainer For Weddings In Scotland
