How to Force a Card During Magic Card Tricks
Card tricks are a staple for a magician's bag of tricks. Though the tricks, through slight of hand and practiced skill, may appear to be purely magical and works of chance, there are actually very precise maneuvers used to successfully pull of a trick. One of these maneuvers is forcing a card.
One of the most classic and simple card tricks involves identifying a seemingly totally random card from a shuffled deck without having any knowledge of its location in the deck. The secret to successfully performing this trick is to force a particular card from the bottom of the deck.
Items Needed:
- Deck of Cards
- Participant
Instructions:
- Shuffle your deck of cards. During shuffling, note which card is at the bottom of the deck. The best shuffling method to accommodate this is to hold the deck in one hand and divide the cards with the other. This will allow you to subtly check the bottom card without being overly conspicuous.
- Place the deck in your left palm, face down. Your thumb should be on the bottom with your other four fingers over the deck.
- Pull the top cards slowly toward you a few at a time. Tell your participant to "say when."
- When your participant indicates "when," take all of the top cards that you had pulled and slide them off the deck completely while also pulling out that bottom card using your thumb. Practice this important move to look seamless and unnoticeable. The bottom card should now be positioned at the bottom of the small stack of cards you pulled from the top of the deck.
- Show the bottom card to your participant.
- Tell your participant the name of the card.