Scarne on Card Tricks

1950
Written by Dr. Ben B. Braude, John Scarne
Work of John Scarne
308 pages (Hardcover), published by Crown Publishers, Inc.
Illustrated with drawings
Language: English
170 entries
This publication has been reviewed by
Cover photograph
Creators Title Comments & References Page AA Categories
Publisher's Introduction
3
John Scarne A New Era in Card Tricks
5
John Scarne Calling the Cards No. 1, Shuffled deck spread face down on table, performer able to divine identity of freely selected cards with X-ray vision
Related to 9
Bottom Glimpse
9
John Scarne Aces from the Pocket No. 2, Shuffled deck placed in pocket, performer able to pull out four Aces
Variations 11
Francis Carlyle The Upside-Down Deck No. 3, spectator and performer each select card from half the deck and exchange it, then faced-deck Triumph without shuffle
Related toVariations 11
Charles Nagle, Stewart James Traveling Aces No. 4, Ace assembly (with a touch of Follow the Leader), effect and method identical to Simplicity Four Ace Trick by Stewart James
Also published here 13
Joseph Dunninger Dunninger's Mental Card Trick No. 5, Image of card appears in crystal ball, which matches previously unseen pocketed card
Related to 15
Magician's Choice one out of three
 		15
Carmine Laino Behind the Back Card Trick No. 6, "A favorite trick of magician Carmine Laino", deck cut behind performer's back, card remembered at bottom of cut portion, performer divines identity
 		17
John Scarne Scarne's Predicto No. 7, Business card with prediction placed randomly in deck, predicts which two cards it is placed in between
Variations 18
John Scarne The Four Royal Flushes No. 8, Performer removes high cards (Ten, J, Q, K, A) from shuffled deck, deals out four hands of Royal Flushes (Interlocking Chain Principle)
Variations 20
Paul Clive Egg a la Card No. 9, name of card appears written on hard-boiled egg after it is peeled
 		21
The Ten-to-Twenty Force
21
John Scarne The Turn Around Cards No. 10, Spectator secretly turns some cards around from a row of eight cards, performer can divine which were turned (Pointer principle)
 		22
Martin Gardner, Bill Simon It's a Natural No. 11, Spectator tears out matches from matchbook, performer uses number of matches to select card from seven-card packet, which is correctly predicted
VariationsAlso published here 23
Al Altman The Talking Card No. 12, ten card row, spectator moves cards from one end of row to another, performer divines the number of moved cards repeatedly by turning over card with the same value
 		25
You Do as I Do No. 13, Standard Do As I do effect with two decks, spectator / performer selects same card coincidentally
Related to 27
Bottom Glimpse
28
Al Baker, Dr. Ben B. Braude You Do as I Do (Using one pack of cards) No. 14, Do As I Do, performer picks out spectator's card, asks spectator to take out similar card and is able to divine it
Variations 29
Royal Vale Heath, John Scarne Heath's Master Speller No. 15, Ace to king packet arranged, random card cut to, value spelled repeatedly to get Ace to King in sequence
 		31
Cardini Cardini's Mind Reading Card Trick No. 16, one of six cards thought-of, shuffled back in half the deck, then spelled to, six duplicates and progressive spelling set-up
 		33
Bob Hummer, John Scarne Sensitive Fingertips No. 17, Performer unmixes a packet of cards that has been shuffled face up/down. Shown to have odd number of cards in packet
 		36
John Scarne Separating Red and Black Cards No. 18, Performer separates face up/down packet into reds and blacks
 		38
John Scarne Sympathetic Aces No. 19, Ten-Twenty Force to locate all four Aces one by one, minor variation included to locate Royal Flush
 		39
The Ten-to-Twenty Force
40
John Scarne The Four Packs No. 20, Spectator deals deck into four piles, remembers the top card of each pile, assemble the deck, performer divines the four cards
 		40
Steffi Storm The Wizard No. 21, Spectator freely selects card, performer calls friend over phone who announces name of selection
 		42
John Scarne Reverso No. 22, Two selections magically reverse themselves after deck is held behind back
 		43
John Scarne The Dean's Poker Deal No. 23, Credited to "The Dean", a gambler from New Jersey, simple Jonah card poker deal
Related to 45
Charles T. Jordan The Memory Test No. 24, Spectator removes card from previously "memorized" packet of twenty-six cards, performer able to tell which card was removed
Related toVariations 46
John Scarne Spectator's Magic Count No. 25, performer thinks and writes down name of card, spectator deals down to any number and finds thought-of card on second try, re-count
 		47
Bob Hummer Topsy-Turvy Deck No. 26, Deck of face up/down cards split into two by performer, each half has equal number of face up cards
 		49
John Scarne Finding a Selected Card No. 27, Performer divines two selected cards using secretly red/black separated deck
 		50
Howard Wurst Thought Control No. 28, Ten cards chosen and written on slips of paper, along with number. One paper is chosen, dealing down to number reveals that card
 		51
Cliff Green Magic in Your Own Hands No. 29, spectator names a number between five and ten, card of that value produced and selection found at that number
Related toVariations 53
John Scarne Mathematical Finder No. 30, mathematical, piles of cards formed by counting to ten
Related to 55
John Scarne Swimmers No. 31, Deck is cut into four, cards are moved around in long procedure, reveal four Aces. Procedure repeated, reveal four Kings.
Related toVariations 56
Oscar Weigle The Weigle Aces No. 32, Procedure like Poker Player's Picnic until last packet reveals a Three, count down to face up Ace
Related to 58
Dr. Jacob Daley The Mathematical Card Trick No. 33, Two cards selected from shuffled deck, deck split into two, when dealt down, both cards turn up at the same time
VariationsAlso published here 59
Joseph Dunninger Nomenclature No. 34, Spelling trick with names
Also published here 62
Joseph L. Barnett Hands-Off Miracle No. 35, Spectator cuts to, remembers bottom card, and replaces packet. Magician is able to cut to selection. (Salt location)
Variations 63
Russell Swann The Photographic Match No. 36, card is selected, match is lit and when extinguished, name of card appears on head of match
Related to 65
Count-Force spectator names small number, counts to that card and uses its value to count to force card
 		65
George Delaney Perplexity No. 37, Selection is placed face up in deck, reappears face down between two black Aces in middle of deck
VariationsAlso published here 67
Cardini, Dai Vernon, Nate Leipzig, Francis Carlyle, Martin Gardner, John Scarne The Initials Will Tell No. 38, Initials of chosen card appears on spectator's palm (sugar + pencil)
 		68
John Scarne Double Duty No. 39, Spectator secretly transfers a number of cards (one to ten) to magician's packet, magician produces card with same value
 		71
John Scarne The Love Birds No. 40, performer and spectator each select a card and lose them in different parts of deck, later both cards show up next to each other
 		72
John Scarne Hit the Deck No. 41, performer holds deck, spectator hits deck away, selection is left in performer's hand
 		73
Bottom Glimpse
73
John Scarne The Betting Card Trick No. 42, "The next card I turn over will be your card" sucker gag
 		75
Jack Spalding The Card That Tells No. 43, Mathematical trick, divine how many cards spectator pocketed
 		76
Max Holden Mind Control No. 44, location with key card
 		77
One Card Glimpse
79
Ladson Butler The Whispering Card No. 45, Card "whispers" name of three cards to performer
 		79
Bob Hummer The Stubborn Card No. 46
 		81
Oscar Weigle Color Scheme No. 47, Cards mixed face up/down, spectator separates face up/down, as well as red/black
VariationsAlso published here 83
Clayton Rawson Magic Scheme No. 48, Mathematical prediction
 		85
Larry Klunck The Acrobatic Card No. 49, Deck is thrown across table, selected card physically flips face up
 		87
Lu Brent Flighty Aces No. 50, Ace Assembly, aces travel from envelope to join leader ace in other envelope
 		89
Dr. Ben B. Braude Braude's Mental Card Trick No. 51
 		91
Jack Miller The Magic Number Trick No. 52, Mathematical card trick
 		93
Cliff Green Instanto No. 53, Card produced from pocket
 		94
Walter B. Gibson Switcheroo No. 54
Variations 96
George Starke Quadruple Coincidence No. 55, Do As I Do with four climaxes, three cards and number of cards of a cut-off packet match
Related toVariations 97
Top and Bottom Glimpse
98
Dr. Al Berndt, Peter Musto The New Deal Poker Hand No. 56, Poker deal from new deck order, draw poker
 		100
Harry Houdini, Alexander Herrmann, Dr. Jacob Daley, Sam Leo Horowitz Houdini's Double-Talk Card Trick No. 57, Weird divination routine for up to ten people, each selecting two cards
 		101
Theodore Annemann Locatrix No. 58, Divine card behind back
 		104
John Scarne, Bill Simon Double Prediction No. 59, Basic routine with Business Card Prophecy move, predict where business card is placed, for credit information see Scarne reference
Related to 105
Bill Simon Business Card Prophecy Move
Variations 107
Bob Dunn Card Counting Extraordinary No. 60, Weighing cards
 		107
Bill Simon Double Surprise No. 61, card remembered at chosen position, card not found by counting to the value of another card, then card shows up reversed in deck
Related to 108
John Scarne, Joseph Prieto The Stapled Card No. 62, Card transposition with card stapled to a Joker
Variations 110
Bert Allerton, Henry Christ Allerchrist Card Trick No. 63, Mathematical
Inspired byVariationsAlso published here 114
Sidney Margulies, H. G. Cleveland, Carlton King, Ira Zweifack The Triple Deal Card Trick No. 64, Mathematical trick
 		116
Jack Chanin, John McArdle, John Weiss, Al Flosso The Spelling Bee No. 65, Packet of Ace to King, if spell correctly you get the card, if incorrect spelling you get indifferent card
Related to 118
Herb Runge, George Pearce, Ande Furlong Double Revelation No. 66, divine selection and number of pocketed cards
Related to 120
Bottom Glimpse
122
Audley Walsh Walsh's Long Distance Card Trick No. 67, Divine number of pocketed cards over phone
Also published here 123
John Scarne Scarne's Drunken Poker Deal No. 68, Poker hands dealt from deck shuffled face up/down, final poker hand transformation (drunk man presentation)
Variations 124
Chester Morris Perfect Prediction No. 69, Mathematical procedure
 		127
Bob Short The Puzzler No. 70, Mathematical Procedure, add up to twelve
 		129
John Scarne, Johnny Albenice Selected Card Vanishes to Pocket No. 71, Essentially identical to Lazy Man's Card to Pocket
Related to 130
Stewart James James's Miracle No. 72, two numbers from one to ten, chosen values lie at reversed chosen numbers
Related toVariations 132
Nat Bernstein, Morty Zuckert The Obedient Cards No. 73, uses two named numbers to locate card
Variations 134
Jack Miller The Traveling Card No. 74, Ace to King stack
 		135
Oscar Weigle Personification No. 75, Spell spectator's name to find selection
 		137
Bill Simon My Lucky Card No. 76, card cut into the the deck by the spectator, ends up between two cards that match its value and suit separately.
Variations 138
Frank Garcia, George Schindler The Poker-Face Card Trick No. 77, simple card divination with lie detecting premise
 		140
Top Card Glimpse Top card of packet is glimpsed while showing it to spectator.
 		141
Louis Zingone Winning Poker No. 78, two-phase poker deal using faced deck
Variations 142
John Scarne, Alan Barnett Scarne's Follow the Leader No. 79, 12-Card Follow the Leader Routine using just one displacement
Related to 143
Harry Lorayne, Clayton Rawson, Norman Jensen The Great Poker Demonstration No. 80, Three Jacks Deal with four-of-a-kind climax
Related toAlso published here 145
Dai Vernon Up and Down No. 81, Prediction cards give final positions of two selections after mixing procedure
Related to 148
Paul Morris, P. C. Sorcar The Magic Four-Spot No. 82, Prediction effect using two different mathematical forces
 		150
Frank Garcia Garcia's Card Location No. 83, deck is prepared by scratching one corner of every card
 		152
Larry Arcuri, Bill Pawson, Howard Wurst, Ken Krenzel, Frank Kelly Breath Control No. 84, magician locates card by apparently recognizing breath imprint
 		153
Dai Vernon, Carmen D'Amico Vernon's Three-Card Assembly No. 85, handling and presentation for three Jacks deal from a shuffled deck
Variations 155
John Scarne Scarne's Twenty-Two Card Trick No. 86, deck is placed in pocket, cards remove, and the selection appears when the spectator gets to the number 22 and calls stop.
 		157
Nick Navarino Jack Goes to Town No. 87, Story deck trick about a farmer's son
 		160
Art Lyle Lyle's Four of a Kind No. 88, Mates to selection are found by dealing a shuffled deck into three piles.
 		163
John Scarne, Cardini Cardini's Color Discernment No. 89, magician apparently guesses the number of red and black cards in two different-sized packets
 		165
Stewart James Miraskill No. 90
Also published here 168
Harry Lorayne Lorayne's Mind Reading Card Trick No. 91
 		170
Milton Berle The Quickie Card Trick No. 92, The Trick That Fooled Einstein with cards
Variations 172
John Scarne Scarne's Birds of a Feather No. 93, performed with the cards under the table
 		174
Martin Gardner Five Nine King No. 94, card is freely selected, and its mates are found by cutting the deck.
Related toVariations 176
Otis Manning, Phil Sevush, Charles Nyquist, Jack McMillen The Eight Ace Routine No. 95, multi-phase routine using 2 duplicate sets of aces
 		179
John Scarne Scarne's Lie Speller No. 96
Related toVariations 182
John Scarne Scarne's Tappit No. 97, uses just odd-valued cards of a numerical stack
Related to 185
Nate Leipzig, Dai Vernon, John Mulholland, Francis Carlyle The Piano Card Trick No. 98
 		187
Martin Gardner, Johnny Albenice, Bert Feinson Cross Suits No. 99, two cards reverse in the center, then travel back to the top
Related to 189
Johnny Paul, Howard Thurston, Richard Du Bois The Card on the Wall No. 100, card is forced using partial numerical stack (even values only)
 		191
Milbourne Christopher Variation on Card on the Wall No. 101, the card case is tossed in the air with selection remaining in hand.
 		194
John Scarne Scarne's Red and Black Speller No. 102, performer locates red and black cards in packet by spelling its colour
Related to 194
John Scarne, Joseph Linman Scarne, Please Help Me No. 103, card is found after spelling "The Chosen Card is Here" and "Scarne, Please Help Me"
 		196
Francis Carlyle Carlyle's Migrating Decks No. 104, two decks change places except for the two selections
 		197
Paul LePaul, Louis Zingone, Edward Marlo, Albert Cohn, James F. Herpick Buckle Up No. 105, performer finds face-up selection among face-down cards sight unseen
Variations 200
Bill Nord, Sol Stone Double Empathy No. 106, performer and spectator find each other's selections
 		203
John Scarne Scarne's Six-Way Baffler No. 107, Magician can divine number of cards, and red and black cards in two spectators' packets
Related to 206
George G. Kaplan Variation on Six-Way Baffler No. 108, simplified version of trick
Related to 210
Howard Thurston, Oscar Weigle Dice Will Tell No. 109, selection found by roll of two dice
Variations 210
Harry Houdini, Nate Leipzig, Harry Levine Affinity in Numbers No. 110, after some mental calculation, the two digits of the total match the values of two selected cards
Variations 212
Martin Gardner Gardner's Sympathetic Cards No. 111, Two-deck Do-as-I-Do
 		214
Harry Houdini, Stewart Judah The Last Two Cards No. 112, two-card version of the Tantalizer
Related to 216
Warren Wiersbe, John Scarne Three-In-One Card Trick No. 113, standard version, but ending with cross-cut force for the last card.
 		217
Howard Albright, U. F. Grant The Drunk Plays Bridge No. 114, drunken bridge deal
 		221
John Scarne Scarne's Phone Miracle No. 115, spectator locates card thought of by magician
Also published here 223
John Scarne Scarne's Knockout Card Trick No. 116, cards in a mixed packet all right themselves leaving only the selection reversed
 		224
Charles Nyquist, Edward Dart The Stopper Mind Reading Trick No. 117
Related to 227
Harry Blackstone Cardology --or, A Card Trick Without Cards No. 118, magician divines thought-of card after spectator follows mathematical procedure and announces the result
 		229
Harry Houdini, Howard Thurston, Harry Blackstone, Max Malini, Louis Nikola, Carl Rosini Card on Ceiling No. 119
 		231
The Ten-to-Twenty Force
233
Frank Garcia, Clayton Rawson, Paul Fleming Variation on Card on the Ceiling No. 120, Variation using pre-loaded card
 		233
Nate Leipzig Leipzig's Pocket Card Trick No. 121, performer finds spectator's selection and divines number of cards in spectator's pocket
 		235
Howard Thurston Thurston's Card Mystery No. 122, performer with back turned divines number of cards remaining on table
 		236
John Scarne Scarne's Miracle Card-Finder Trick No. 123, Spectator finds performer's thought-of card
 		237
Audley Walsh, Jerry Lukins The Spirit Card Trick No. 124, haunted pack using salt
Inspired by 239
John J. Crimmins Jr. Double Location No. 125, two-card impossible location
 		241
Russell "Rusduck" Duck, Chester "Dr. DeMille" Miller Ribbon Spread No. 126, card is hidden, spectator and performer remove a card each from the face up deck, when all cards are removed the missing card is named, unorthodox clocking, as Rusduck
Also published here 243
John Scarne, Bruce Elliott The Odd Will No. 127, story trick
 		244
George Karger The Uninvited Joker No. 128, performer spells to cards, but when the spectator tries, he always ends up with the joker
Related toVariations 247
Martin Gardner The Impossible Location No. 129
 		249
Nate Leipzig The Complementary Cards No. 130, card with same suit and cards who add up to the value as thought-of card are produced from performer's pocket. Uses A,2,4,6 (instead of standard A,2,4,8).
Related toVariations 250
Bert Feinson Behind My Back No. 131, impossible location using two key cards
 		252
Si Stebbins Si Stebbins' Master Memory Test No. 132, Memory demonstration
 		253
Si Stebbins Si Stebbins' Master Tricks No. 133, multi-phase routine using Stebbins.
 		257
George Schindler, Bob Condon The Mishap Poker Deal No. 134
Inspired byAlso published here 259
Martin Sunshine The Twenty-One Card Spelling Trick No. 135, 21-Card Trick using Spelling for Revelation
Also published here 261
Jack Vosburgh The Future Deck No. 136, prediction written on a playing card matches selection, gaffed deck with cards already written on the faces, related to Curry's "Touch"
Also published here 262
Nate Leipzig Leipzig's Sympathetic Cards No. 137, from two decks placed under handkerchiefs, performer removes matching cards
 		265
Charles Roe Thoughts Ablaze No. 138, ashes on arm for card revelation using ten-twenty force
Also published here 266
Oscar Weigle Add Lib No. 139, Selected card moves to position named by performer
 		268
Ed Costello, Bill Simon Seeing Through the Deck No. 140, Spectator cuts deck into two piles. Magician correctly divines a card from each pile, and repeats the feat.
 		269
John Scarne General Arnold's Master Speller No. 141, magician spells to all the spades cards.
 		271
Louis Tannen The Psychic Number Seven No. 142, Spectators picks one out of seven random cards, and names six on the phone. Person at other end divines the selection.
 		272
Eddie Joseph On the Square No. 143, magician divines number of face-up cards in spectator's pocket
 		275
John Scarne Scarne's Sympathetic Card Trick No. 144, coincidence effect using different-sized packets of cards from two decks.
 		278
Paul Rosini, W. F. "Rufus" Steele The Second-Guess Card Trick No. 145, magician fails and then succeeds in locating selection
 		281
Audley Walsh The Atomic Location No. 146, impossible card location
 		283
John Scarne Scarne's Power of Thought No. 147, selected card matches previous prediction.
Related toVariations 284
Harlan Tarbell, Jimmy Grippo The Card Through Handkerchief No. 148
 		287
Bill Pawson, Howard Wurst The Card in the Wallet No. 149, Two cards are selected. One appears reversed in the deck, while the second appears in the performer's wallet.
 		291
Bill Pawson, Howard Wurst, John Scarne The Card Clock No. 150, after a card is selected and lost, 12 cards are dealt in a circle and eliminated via an unorthodox mathematical procedure until only the selection is left.
 		292
John Scarne, Frank Garcia Automatic Pencil Writing No. 151, pencil lead is crumpled in paper ball. Card is selected and its name appears on the crumpled paper.
 		294
John Scarne, Frank Garcia The Four Deuces No. 152, magician and spectator each place half the deck behind their backs. They each take out two cards, which are revealed to be the four Twos
Variations 296
John Scarne, Henry Christ Wild Bill Hickock's Hand No. 153, poker hands are dealt, and spectator chooses one hand, and one card. After being lost in the deck, the magician finds the selected card by spelling procedure, and then re-deals the spectator's original hand.
 		298
Warner Perry, Edward Dart, John Scarne Einstein and the Magician No. 154, novel and unorthodox prediction of a playing card using a substitution cipher.
 		301
John Scarne Scarne's Color Control No. 155, variation of Out of this World using four packets
 		304
Data entered by Harapan Ong & Derrick Chung, December 2015.