Blackstone's Card Trick Without Cards
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Blackstone's Card Trick Without Cards is a card trick.
A spectator is instructed to think of any card (other than the joker). The magician then gives the following instructions:
- Aces count as 1, Jacks as 11, Queens as 12, and Kings as 13.
- Take the value of the card the spectator is thinking of.
- Double it.
- Add 3.
- Multiply by 5.
- If the card the spectator is thinking of is a heart, add 1.
- If the card the spectator is thinking of is a spade, add 2.
- If the card the spectator is thinking of is a diamond, add 3.
- If the card the spectator is thinking of is a club, add 4.
- Tell the magician the number the spectator is now thinking of.
The magician then names the card the spectator is thinking of.
The magician subtracts 15 from the number the spectator tells him. The last digit of the result indicates the suit (1, 2, 3, or 4). The digit or digits before the last digit indicate the value.
For example, if the spectator thinks of the four of diamonds, he would:
- Double it -> 8
- Add 3 -> 11
- Multiply by 5 -> 55
- Add 3 (since it's a diamond) -> 58
The magician subtracts 15, giving 43. The 3 tells the magician that the card is a diamond, and the 4 tells him that it is a four.
If the spectator selects a 10, Jack, Queen, or King, the final number will have three digits. The first two will indicate the value, and the last one will indicate the suit. For example, if the final number is 129, the magician subtracts 15 getting 114, so he knows the spectator is thinking of the Jack of Clubs.
[edit] Literature
- Harry Blackstone, Blackstone's Tricks Anyone Can Do ISBN 0-8065-0862-0
- John Scarne, Scarne on Card Tricks ISBN 0-486-42735-8
