Do a 21 Card Card Trick

The magician has three rows of cards. An audience volunteer picks a card in his or her head and tells the magician what row it's in. The magician does that three times and on the third time tells the volunteer what their card was.

Steps

1. Take any 21 cards out of a 52-card deck.
2. Lay out the cards, three across and seven down. It is important that you do this correctly. You have to lay down the cards row by row, not column by column.
3. Have someone silently pick one of the cards and tell you what column it is in. (There are only three columns.)
4. Push together each column and place the group of cards in the selected column in between the other two groups of cards.
5. Imagine that the volunteer secretly chose the King of Hearts and then told you that their card was in the middle column. You would pick up the columns and would make sure the selected column was placed so that it was in the middle of the deck.
6. Lay out the cards again in the same way, three across and seven down (row by row).
7. Ask the volunteer where the card is now.
8. Pick up the columns again (second time), as before, making sure the column with their card is in the middle of the deck.
9. Lay them out again, the same way. :)
10. Ask the volunteer which column the card is in now (third time).
11. Pick up the columns again, as before, making sure the column with their card is in the middle of the deck.
12. If the trick is performed correctly, the chosen card will always be eleventh (if the cards are face-down).

Alternative method

1. Do steps 1-12 as mentioned above.
   
   
2. Instead of just showing the audience volunteer the eleventh card, forcing them to pick it creates a more magical effect.
   
   
3. Begin to deal the cards out and select any four (including number eleven) and have them face-down.
   
   
4. Remember to keep track of where you placed the card.
   
   
5. Ask the volunteer to point to two cards.
   
   
6. If one of the cards they select is the eleventh card, then leave the other two on the table. However, if neither of the two they select are the eleventh card, then remove those two.
   
   
7. All that should be left now is the eleventh card and another random card.
   
   
8. Ask them now to point to one card.
   
   
9. If they point to the eleventh card, then remove the other. If they point to the other, remove it anyway (it has the same effect either way).
   
   
10. Ask them to flip over the card and enjoy the look on their face as they see it.
    
    

Tips

• Make sure you practice a lot before you actually do the trick with someone.
• Make sure to emphasize to the volunteer not to lie about their card's whereabouts, otherwise the trick won't work. State it positively, as in "Be honest now, or the trick won't work!"
• It's okay if you mess up a few times. You'll get better at it soon. It's a good idea to trial it on understanding friends and family first though.
• If you did the trick right, you'll never have to worry about the two or three cards in the same row.
• Secondary "trick": After picking up all the rows with the volunteers selected row in the middle for the third time, turn the cards over face down and turn them over face up one at a time into a pile on the table in front of them. Count to yourself and make a mental note of the 11th card that you turn over. After turning over a few more cards on top of the eleventh card, say out loud "I'll bet you the next card I turn over is yours". After you make a small wager, go back into the pile to the get the eleventh card and turn in over face down next to the pile! This works especially well if you leave a little bit of the eleventh card showing in the pile on the table so they know definitively that you have gone past their card in the pile.
  • Also, after you go past the eleventh card and place three or four more on top of it, slow down and hold the next one in your hand without turning it over and "think" about that next card before you make your bet.
• Another alternative: Follow the suggestions above remembering where the eleventh card is on the floor or table. Then ask the volunteer to draw a line through the middle of the cards and you take away the half that does not include the eleventh card. Keep asking the volunteer to draw a line with their finger to divide the cards while you keep removing the side that does not include the eleventh card. After several times, there will be just a few cards left and when they draw a line leaving only the 11th card on the table or floor, you magically turn over their card.

Things You'll Need

• 21 cards
• A table
• A volunteer

Related Articles

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• Do the This'n'that Card Trick
• Do the Svengali What Is Your Name Trick
• Riffle and Bridge Shuffle

See also

• Perform a Fake Shuffle (With a Deck of Cards)
• Do the Salty Card Trick
• False Cut Cards
• Perform the "Drunken Shuffle" Card Trick
• Do a Cool Disappearing Card Trick
• Do the Twenty One Eleven Card Trick
• Perform an Easy and Convincing "Guess Which Card" Trick
• Build a Tower of Cards
• Make a Card Come Back to the Top of the Deck
• Do Magic

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What links here

• Do the Cops and Robbers Card Trick
• Perform the "Drunken Shuffle" Card Trick
• Do the Salty Card Trick