Easy card trick

Learning to perform card tricks is a great way to exercise children's cognitive thinking as well as build their self-esteem. This magic trick is the easiest card trick around!

What you need:

• A set of playing cards

Number of players:

Activity:

Without moving your mouth to show you are counting, count out 20 cards off the top of the pack and set those 20 aside on the table in front of you. This will be pile 2. The other pile will be pile 1.

Offer the other half  of the pack (pile 1) to your spectator. Ask him to choose a card.

Tell him to memorise it.

Ask him to give it back to you.

Slip the card beneath pile 2 (the 20 cards you set aside at the beginning).

Place pile 2 on top of pile 1.

Turn the cards over to face you: so that you can see the front of each card.

Count from the back of the pile until you get to the 21st card. That will be your spectator's card.

Ask your spectator, "Is this your card?"

They will be amazed!

Tips and hints:

• Counting exactly is very important in this trick.
• Practice counting in your head, without moving your lips so that no one knows you are counting the cards.
• When you first separate the pack into two piles, try to make it look like you are simply cutting the pack.
• If you are not confident, try setting your pile 2 aside before anyone is watching you.