Great "card magic" with torn cards...

[mjr]

I am SO adding this to my repertoire...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LNLiwxdU4I

[Ironclad Alibi]

That was fun to watch.

I like the Sam The Bellhop Magic Card Trick.

[Kristev]

Well, that was interesting.

[Kittish]

Ok that was cool. We've got some old decks laying around, I think I'm going to see if I can get that to work.

[mjr]

Ok that was cool. We've got some old decks laying around, I think I'm going to see if I can get that to work.

There's a slightly different version you can do without tearing cards, but I don't think it has quite the same effect.

Basically, you shuffle the full deck, spread them facing you, and look at the card on the "bottom" of the deck (the rightmost card as you spread them facing you). Let's say it's the Jack of Spades. You can develop some patter saying that "each card has a partner/paired card" or whatever. But in this instance, you'd find the Jack of Clubs, and pull that from the deck, essentially "forcing" the card on the spectator. Give that card to the spectator, and have them place it on the table. Then as you're dealing cards face down to the table, tell them to tell you when to stop. When they tell you to stop, have them place their card (the Jack of Clubs, in this instance) face up on the pile on the table. Remember, the Jack of Spades is on the very bottom of the pile you're holding. Then, place the pile in your hand face down on top of the pile. The two black Jacks are now facing one another.

Spread the deck out, and find the "face up" Jack (Jack of Clubs). Remove it, and the card immediately above it. Create patter about "Wouldn't it be neat if you found the pair for this card??" (or whatever). Turn the face down card over, to reveal the "paired" Jack, and ta-da! Trick complete!

[mjr]

Ok that was cool. We've got some old decks laying around, I think I'm going to see if I can get that to work.

If you're interested in learning more, there's all sorts of YouTube videos, and I have a DVD set called "Complete Card Magic" that's good as well!

[Kittish]

I'll look into those, mjr. I've got a deck of "Perfectly Ordinary Cards" (seriously, says so right on the box!) from Penn & Teller. Are they marked you ask? Hell yes! Though for some reason, even if I hand people the box they don't even think about the cards being marked. It's funny to blow people's minds by handing them the box, asking them to pick out a card and hold it up so I can't see what it is, then I tell them exactly what it is. Then usually explain how the marking works for that deck.