How to do a card trick that fools everyone

Learn a simple but impressive card trick that will amaze family and friends of all ages.

  1. What you'll need. You'll need a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Any deck will work, but cards that aren't too worn or bent will be easier to handle smoothly. Make sure you have a flat surface to work on, like a table or the floor.
  2. Setting up the trick secretly. Before your audience arrives, you need to secretly prepare the deck. Find all four Aces and place them on top of the deck. Then place any three other cards on top of the Aces. Your deck now has three random cards, then four Aces, then the rest of the deck. Practice this setup until you can do it quickly and naturally.
  3. Presenting the trick to your audience. Tell your audience you're going to find the four Aces in a magical way. Hold the deck face-down and deal the top four cards (which are actually three random cards plus one Ace) into a face-down row. Don't let anyone see the faces of these cards yet. Then deal the next twelve cards, placing three cards face-down on top of each of the four piles. You now have four piles of four cards each.
  4. The magical reveal. Now for the impressive finish. Pick up the first pile and turn over the top three cards to show they're not Aces, then dramatically flip the bottom card to reveal it's an Ace. Repeat this with all four piles. Each bottom card will magically be an Ace, even though you never looked at the cards or did anything that seemed like cheating.
  5. Why this trick works. The secret is in your setup. When you dealt the first four cards, the bottom three were random cards, but the fourth was an Ace. When you dealt three more cards on each pile, you put the remaining three Aces on top of the other three piles. The audience thinks you're dealing randomly, but you've actually placed each Ace exactly where you need it.
  6. Practice tips for success. Practice the setup until you can arrange the cards quickly without counting obviously. Work on your presentation - act surprised when the Aces appear, even though you know they'll be there. Practice dealing the cards smoothly and confidently. The more natural you look, the more impossible the trick will seem.