LEARN AT AN EXPERT LEVEL
I have been performing card tricks for over 20 years and know how to blow minds. Here are 5 easy card tricks that anyone can do that will fool your spectators and leave them Mind Blown!
What makes all of these card tricks easy:
- Can use any standard deck of cards
- Spectator can shuffle the cards
- No set up of the deck
- No skill needed
- No practice necessary
- No sleight of hand
- Not complicated or confusing
Presto Reverso Card Trick
EFFECT: Spectator shuffles the cards. They pick a card, look at it, show it around, and place it back in the deck. You take the cards behind your back for 2 seconds, bring the deck back out, spread through, and their card is the only card face down in the pack.
HOW TO DO IT
Have your spectator shuffle the cards. Take the deck back and spread the cards for them to take one. Spread the cards as best as you can using both of your hands. If you practice this for a few minutes you can get a nice spread yet this is not necessary.
When they take out a card close the deck up and hold it in one hand. Tell your spectator to look at their card and show it around. Tell them you will turn around so you don’t see their card. When you turn around you will do two things
- Flip the whole deck over so it is face up in your hand.
- Flip the card you are looking at face down.
Turn back around. It will look like you did nothing. This secret action is quick and easy and no one will suspect anything. Keep the deck squared up tightly and press the top face down card against the deck with your thumb so nobody sees any face up cards. Tell the spectator to push their card face down into the center of the deck.
Push the card all the way in so the deck is squared up. Tell your spectator you will take the deck behind your back and you want them to count to 2. This gets them involved. Bring the cards behind your back and flip over the top card. That is it! Bring the deck back out. Spread the cards again and their card will be the only face down card in the pack.
PRO TIPS
When you turn around in the beginning to flip over the deck and flip over the top card don’t rush. Nobody is watching and the actions are quick and easy. Make sure to keep the deck squared up and tight at all times so nobody sees any reversed cards.
The great thing about this card trick is that you do not need a table to perform it. Many card tricks require a table yet you don’t always have one. This is a real bonus that makes this awesome card trick even better.
Mind Reading Card Trick
EFFECT: Spectator shuffles the cards. You show that the cards are all different. In a very fair way your spectator picks a card. You read their mind and tell them what card they are thinking of.
HOW TO DO IT
Have your spectator shuffle the cards. Take the cards back and turn the deck face up. Spread through the cards showing they are all different. Remember the card that is 2nd from the top, that will be their card.
Square up the cards and turn the deck face down. Tell your spectator that you want this trick to be impossible so you will bury the top card and the bottom card. Take the top card and place it into the center of the deck. Then take the bottom card and place it into the center of the deck. Your force card is now on top.
Tell your spectator to lift off a small group of cards, about 10 or so, flip them face up, and place them back onto the deck. Tell them to do this again yet this time lift off a larger group of cards. There will be a group of face up cards on top of the deck.
Spread the face up cards until you get to the first face down card. Tell them to look at this card and remember it. This is the card you remembered, the force card. Turn all the face up cards face down on top of their card so their card is buried in the deck.
You need to build up this trick a little bit. Here are some things you can say:
- I didn’t know how many cards you would lift off
- You lifted off packets of cards twice which was pretty random
- There is no way I could know your card
THE REVEAL: You could just tell your spectator their card. Yet in my opinion it needs a little mystique to make this a great trick. Tell your spectator to think of their card and concentrate. You could even act as if you aren’t sure. Take a few seconds. Tell your spectator to silently in their mind say their card over and over. Finally tell them the name of their card.
PRO TIPS
In the beginning, after your spectator shuffles, be casual when spreading through the cards face up. Don’t make a big deal of it. Your reason for doing this is to show that they are all different. Memorizing the 2nd card as opposed to the top card will fool a lot of people. This is a real nice touch that can be used in many card tricks.
This is another great trick that does not require a table. Strong tricks like this are rare and great to have in your arsenal. This trick can be repeated since the card is always different. I would not do it for the same group more than 2 times.
To learn an Amazing 4 Ace Trick that I use at my professional events click here.
Spelling Card Trick
EFFECT: Your spectator shuffles the deck and takes out any nine cards. They place them onto the table in 3 piles of 3 cards each. They choose any pile and look at the bottom card. They reassemble the piles into a small packet of cards. They spell the name of their card, dealing one card face down for each letter. You take the packet back and slowly deal the cards. You stop on one card and flip it over. It is their card.
HOW TO DO IT
Have your spectator shuffle the cards and take out any 9 cards. Have them place the cards on the table in 3 piles of 3. Tell them to look at the bottom card of any pile and then place this pile on top of either of the other piles. Have them place this 6 card pile on top of the last pile.
Tell the spectator to pick up the cards and hold the packet face down. Explain that they should silently spell the value of their card, dealing one card face down for each letter, into a pile. So if their card was a 2 they will deal 3 cards face down onto the table, T-W-O, and place the rest of the cards on top. If their card is a queen they will deal 5 cards onto the table, Q-U-E-E-N, and place the rest of the cards on top. You don’t need to turn around here, just look away for a second.
Tell your spectator to pick up the packet. Have them spell the word “of”, O-F, and place the rest of the cards on top. So they will deal 2 cards face down into a pile and then place the rest of the cards on top. Here you don’t need to look away. Have them pick up the packet of cards.
Have your spectator spell the suit of their card, dealing one card face down into a pile for each letter. Clubs, hearts, spades, or diamonds. Same procedure here, again you should look away.
The cool thing is no matter what their card is it will now be 5th from the top. Here is where some showmanship comes in. This will make this card trick awesome. Take the packet back and tell your spectator you will try to get some magic vibrations of their card. Tell them to concentrate on their card. Slowly deal cards face down, onto the table, one at a time. Act as if you are focusing and feeling the energy of each card.
When you get to the 5th card pause for a second. Then slowly flip it over revealing their card.
PRO TIP: I never ask the name of their card. It puts them on the spot. Truth is there is kind of a long procedure here and they might forget their card. This is ok. When you flip the card face up they will recognize it and remember their card and confirm it was theirs.
You never know what card they pick. You only know its location. This card trick is a real fooler. Even performing it you will fool yourself.
Changing Their Card Trick
EFFECT: Spectator shuffles the cards. They pick a card, look at it, show it around, and place it back in the deck. You run through and take out their card. It is the wrong card. You wave over the card and it changes into their card.
HOW TO DO IT
Have your spectator shuffle the cards and then hand you back the deck. You will be using a very strong card principle here called the Key Card. This is when you know the bottom card of the deck. The important point here is that the spectator has no idea that you know the bottom card. There are two ways to accomplish this.
Many times a spectator will shuffle the deck and flash the bottom card to you as they hand it back. If this happens, excellent, move on to the next part of the trick. You will be surprised how often your spectator will flash the bottom card without even knowing they did.
If you need to peek the bottom card you must do it in a way that the spectator doesn’t see. For this you will do the All Around Square Up. Hold the deck face down. Basically you will rotate the deck 180 degrees clockwise. You will do this very casually. As you rotate the cards you will look at the bottom card. It will appear as if you are just adjusting the cards in your hands. Nobody will suspect your actions.
Hold the deck face down in your hand. Bring your other hand over from above. Rotate the deck forward moving the inner edge to the outer edge. As you do this slightly tilt the bottom of the deck up just enough so you can see the bottom card. The spectator will not see the card.
Spread the cards and have one selected. Square up the deck. Tell your spectator you will deal piles and whenever they want they should put their card on top of the pile. Lift off a small group of cards from the deck and place them on the table. Repeat this until they put their card on top. When they do place the rest of the deck in your hands on top. This will put your Key Card on top of their card.
Pause for a second. The cards are on the table and their card is somewhere in the middle. You have no control of the cards. This is a very strong moment. Tell your spectator to concentrate on their card. Pick up the deck and hold it so the faces are toward you. Run through and find your key card. Their card is the one under it. Take out their card without them seeing it. Hold it so they cannot see the face of the card.
You are going to do a miscall. Let’s say their card is the King of Hearts. Hold up the card and say, “Your card was the 2 of Spades.” They will say no. Act as if you messed up. Then act as if you have an idea. Wave your hand over the card and now turn it over showing it is their card. Act as if you changed the wrong card into their card.
PRO TIPS: You could look at the bottom card before the trick starts and not have the spectator shuffle the cards. This might be ok depending on the situation. You could do the All Around Square Up right after they select a card. This is a good moment. Make sure they do not see the faces of the cards when you run through to take out their card. A little acting at the end will go a long way. They will remember that you changed a card into theirs.
Double Prediction Card Trick
EFFECT: Spectator shuffles the cards. You write down a prediction on a piece of paper and place it on the table. They take out two random cards. You deal cards face down into a pile. Whenever the spectator wants they say stop and place a card face up on top of the pile. You repeat this procedure. You spread the cards on the table and take out the cards right next to the face up cards. These cards match your prediction.
HOW TO DO IT
Have your spectator shuffle the cards. Take the deck back and turn the cards face up. Spread through the cards showing they are all different. Or you can spread the cards on the table. I recommend using a magician’s close up pad when working on a table, it makes card tricks much easier. Here is a link if you want to check out my favorite close up pad.
Have your spectator remove any 2 face up cards, these cards don’t matter. Take a look at the the 2nd card from the top and the 2nd card from the bottom. Square up the deck and turn it face down. Tell your spectator that you are writing down a prediction. On a piece of paper write down the two cards you looked at.
Tell your spectator you want this to be random so you will bury the top card and the bottom card. Take the top card and push it into the center of the deck. Take the bottom card and push it into the center of the deck. Your force cards are now on top and on bottom. Burying the top and bottom card is a very strong convincer and will make this trick a true fooler.
Deal cards one at a time, face down, off the top of the deck into a pile. Tell your spectator to say STOP at any time. When they say stop have your spectator place one of the face up cards on top of the last card you dealt. Put the rest of the deck you are holding on top. Pick up the deck again.
Repeat this dealing procedure. Again they say STOP and place the other face up card on top of the last card you dealt. Place the rest of the deck on top. Spread the cards either in your hands or on the table. Take out the face down cards directly on top of the face up cards. Explain that they could have stopped you any time, this was pretty random.
Turn the 2 cards over showing what they picked. Have them take a look at your prediction. It matches.
PRO TIPS: You could use business cards or napkins instead of 2 face up cards. Everything is the same. This trick is good to do for two people so they each get to say stop.
