97 entries in Cards / Effect Themes / Gambling / Red-Black & Matching Games
Creators Title Comments & References Year Source Page AA Categories
Karl Fulves The Rue Morgue Problem cards riffle shuffled by spectators and dealt in pairs to players, they remove red or black poker chips according to red-black distribution, chip values and cards added, the total is 28 and predicted
1968 54
Karl Fulves The Compleat Gamester proposition bets
  • Birthday Bet (see p. 292 for Mel Stover comment)
  • Red And Black (Martin Gardner)
  • License Plate Poker
  • Ace-Deuce-Jack Variations
  • Black And White
  • Coin Swindles
  • 3-Card Poker
  • Odds On Favorite (Omega Bet, card pushed in reversed and pairs dealt off)
Related toVariationsAlso published here July 1969 272
Martin Gardner The Compleat Gamester Addition red-black betting game with eight cards
Inspired by Mar. 1970 324
Paul Swinford The Match Game spectator looses always
1971 40
Karl Fulves Ghost Of A Chance selection disappears from hat, betting theme, two methods
1973 75
Karl Fulves Odds on Favorite Omega Bet, betting game in which a reversed card is part of a same-colored pair or not
Related toVariationsAlso published here 1973 79
Edward Marlo, Karl Fulves Pointed Up Wager proposition plot (problem by Fulves): one black card in a packet of red cards, spectator cuts to single black card, six methods
1974 102
Robert Connelly "Say Red" betting game whether next card is red
Jan. 1974 702
Peter Kane, Gustave Southall Gil's Game spectator cannot win in red-black game in which he has to select groups of one color
Related to
  • New Pentagram, June 1970
VariationsAlso published here
1975 4
Peter Kane, Gustave Southall Gil's Spiel spectator cannot win in red-black game in which he has to select groups of one color
Also published here June 1975
Intermagic (Vol. 2 No. 4)
84
Nick Trost Odd Man Wins!
Also published here 1975 5
Red and Black Wager five red and two black cards, performer fails to turn up three red cards in several tries
1975 16
Tic Tac Toe Bet with red and black cards
1975 17
Nick Trost Color Match-up spectator able to colors of ten pairs of cards
1976 10
Ken De Courcy Bet 5 proposition bet about finding a black card when turning over any three cards of a seven card group with two blacks
1976 5
Ken De Courcy Bet 6 proposition bet about having a black card in a random row or column of a 3x3 matrix with only two blacks
1976 6
Martin Gardner The Red-Black Swindle two red and two black cards under table, one brought out, proposition bet about the next card matching
1977 168
Roy Walton It's a Set Up several cards dealt in hands of five, performer is able to guess if cards are red or black from chosen hand
Also published here 1979 8
Roy Walton It's a Set Up several cards dealt in hands of five, performer is able to guess if cards are red or black from chosen hand
Also published here 1981 171
Karl Fulves Impromptu Faro Box red black betting game
1983 29
Karl Fulves Why You Can't Win No. 43, deck riffle shuffled and dealt into four piles, top cards turned over by player simultaneously and red-black outcome used for betting game
1984 55
Karl Fulves The Omega Bet No. 73, card pushed face-up in center and deck dealt in pairs, pair with face-up card matches or not, multiple phases
Related toVariations 1984 107
Russell "Rusduck" Duck Ein Spiel'chen gefällig? seventeen three-card packets, red-black game, left-over card gives clue
Jan. 1984
Intermagic (Vol. 10 No. 3 & 4)
122
Deine Seele ist mein twelve red and twelve black cards used
Jan. 1984
Intermagic (Vol. 10 No. 3 & 4)
123
Karl Fulves The Diagonal Relationship after riffle shuffle spectator takes pairs, turns one over and guesses color of other card, performer is always right
1986 2
Dai Vernon The Third Color spectator looses when guessing on color of third card repeatedly, double deal
Related toAlso published here 1988 180
Roy Walton Game Law deck mixed face-up/face-down, deck riffle shuffled twice by spectator, groups of four cards each are dealt, spectator never gets a packet with four cards in same orientation
  • Elaboration (an alternative presentation)
Also published here
  • Ibidem
1988 56
Roy Walton Second Thoughts On Gilbreath color matching routine in which the spectator and performer deal cards alternating
Also published here
  • Ibidem
1988 130
Roy Walton Second Thoughts On Gilbreath "Again" color matching routine in which the spectator and performer deal cards alternating
  • Alternative Presentation (no seconds required)
Also published here
  • Ibidem
1988 134
Roy Walton The Honest Cheat spectator tries to match suit distribution of a poker hand that is set aside, spectator is allowed to cheat but loses, performer wins
Inspired byRelated toVariationsAlso published here 1991
Swindle Sheet (Issue 4)
41
Karl Fulves Winning Streak red/black betting game, multiple phases
  • The Streak System
  • Winning Streak
  • The Paradox
  • System Notes
  • S'Martingale
Also published here 1991
Swindle Sheet (Issue 8)
92
Martin Gardner Red-Black Paradox three cards dealt, a matching pair turned up, color of third card is bet on
1991
Cheat Sheet (Issue 9)
84
Roy Walton Fair Play pairs taken from two halves, pairs of same suit give a point, performer wins, reverse Gilbreath
Variations Sep. 1992
Opus (Vol. 4 No. 5)
10
Robert E. Neale Casino three red and three black cards are used for betting game, with bills
Inspired by
  • "Random Walks and Gambling" (Martin Gardner, Mathematical Circus, 1981)
1992
Cheat Sheet (Issue 10)
99
Steve Beam Gentleman's Bet bet, red / black or pairs, performer wins always, gilbreath
Variations 1993 7
John Riggs Unbeatable red / black or pairs, performer wins bet all the time, is able to let spectator win on his demand, gilbreath
1993 9
Steve Beam Color Vision performer always guesses color of cards correctly
Related toVariationsAlso published here 1993 11
Karl Fulves Guess Again eight cards are placed outjogged into tabled spread, cards dealt in pairs, color matches with outjogged cards
Related toVariationsAlso published here 1993
Rigmarole (Issue 5)
55
Karl Fulves Guess Again explanation of the principle at work, with variation in which five cards are put into five packets, packets dealt in pairs and color matches are found
Related to 1993
Verbatim (Issue 5)
43
Steve Beam Color Vision performer always guesses color of cards correctly
Also published here 1993 14
Karl Fulves Red Square guessing color of next card, spectator has chance score, performer all correct
1994 51
Bob Farmer Deck Genuflect betting game with ten red and black cards
Dec. 1994
Magic (Vol. 4 No. 4)
64
Simon Aronson Point Spread red/black game in several phases played by two spectators, performer predicts difference between number of red and black cards, repeat, shuffle-bored finale
1995 3
Bob Driebeek Das Tarot-Spiel three spectator select a suit from a Tarot deck and then cards are turned over, depending on the same suits and the rules each spectator can win round, winner is predicted
1996 53
Nick Trost The Penney Paradox sucker bet
Related to
  • Trine (Lewis Jones, 2002)
  • "Penney-Ante" (Walter Penney, The Journal of Recreational Mathematics, Oct 1969)
  • "On the Paradoxical Situations that Arise from Nontransitive Relations" (Martin Gardner, Scientific American, Oct 1974)
1997 89
Nick Trost Odd Man Wins! presentation by Mack Picknick
VariationsAlso published here 1997 93
Nick Trost, Al Thatcher The Omega Bet - Updated Multiple prediction of whether selected cards matched color, last phase uses Gilbreath
Inspired byRelated toVariations 1997 96
Karl Fulves Charlie Cheats No. 10, number of reds and blacks in packet determine who wins, two phases
Related to 1997 17
Peter Duffie Acquiescence two spectators lay out pairs, red-black matching total predicted
Variations 1997 1
Steve Beam Color Vision performer always guesses color of cards correctly
Also published here 1997 18
Karl Fulves Crystal Persuasion red-black guessing game with two spectators, one gets everything right, the other according to chance
1998 36
Karl Fulves The Black Sox Scandal red-black game with twelve red and eleven black cards
1999
Discoverie (Issue 1)
11
Simon Aronson Oddly Enough Simple game as bet, magician keeps winning
Inspired by 2001 179
Karl Fulves Guess Again No. 67, eight cards pushed in deck by spectator and left out-jogged, all cards are paired with odd-colored card when cards are dealt off in pairs
Also published here 2001 101
Karl Fulves Backwards Bet No. 22, RBBR-RBBR-... set-up, performer guesses color composition of certain pairs after seeing other pairs
Related to 2001 45
Karl Fulves Don't Bet On It game in which the spectator eliminates cards based on color distribution in pairs, he always ends up with one card
Inspired byRelated to 2001
Charlatan (Issue 6)
74
Karl Fulves Survivor game in which pairs of an odd number of cards are eliminated until one card remains, it is the card of the color that had an odd number of cards in the original packet
Related toVariations 2001
Discoverie (Issue 6)
74
Lewis Jones Trine guessing game of color sequence of three consecutive cards
Related to 2002 117
Lewis Jones Rack and bled starts with shuffled deck, deck set up in preliminary phase, gambling presentation
Related toVariationsAlso published here 2002 162
Steve Beam The Omega Particle multi-phase betting game
Related toVariations 2002 186
Bob King Matching Wits spectator pushes card face-up in deck, performer knows whether paired card matches in color when cards are dealt off in pairs, repeats, then several spectators push in cards, only performer's matches, alternating set-up, "very old gambling scam"
Related to 2003 9
David Williamson Aunt Mary's Terrible Secret three-phase red-black game combining Miraskill and Magnetic Colors
  • History
  • Credits
  • Requirements
  • Method
2003 3
David Williamson Aunt Mary's Terrible Secret three-phase red-black game combining Miraskill and Magnetic Colors
  • History
  • Credits
  • Requirements
  • Method
2003 5
Karl Fulves Bet On It deck riffle shuffled once, top twenty-six cards taken, both halves shuffled, dealt off simultaneously, performer bets that more black pairs then red pairs show up
Related to 2003
Off The Books (Issue 5)
76
Peter Duffie, Robin Robertson The Hustler cards mixed face-up/face-down, pairs brought forward from behind back, wager whether orientation of the pairs match, Aces finale, faro
Inspired by
  • face-up/face-down idea in Nick Trost's "Card Problems" (1964)
2003 90
Karl Fulves Head Start three players get a card and hold it against forehead so that only other can see it, players bet whether the own color matches one of the other players
2004 10
Karl Fulves Grudge Match Miraskill type bet with red-red, black-black and mixed pairs done with about half the shuffled deck, winner still known
2005 61
Karl Fulves The Greek's Game color of twelve cards named by magician, betting presentation, see also p. 99 for further notes
2005 13
Karl Fulves A Trick Of Memory red-black even-money swindle
2005 29
Karl Fulves The Russian Test performer guaranteed to get better than average score in color sorting without seeing any faces at all, see also p. 104 for further notes
2005 55
Lewis Jones Rack and Bled second phase with updated handling from the routine in Ahead of the Pack
Related toAlso published here 2006 90
Bernard Weller Color Injection card is turned over in packet, matching pairs win
Inspired by 2006 213
Roberto Giobbi Dollar Deal red-black betting game, bill is inserted in deck and pairs taken, color that comes with bill can be predicted
Also published here Oct. 2007
Genii (Vol. 70 No. 10)
19
Karl Fulves The Odds Get Even roulette red-black betting system illustrated with six cards
  • Bet Noir
2008
Prolix (Issue 5)
345
Lennart Green The $26.000 Bet bet with matching or un-matching pairs
2008 32
Lennart Green The 4 Card Bet shuffled deck dealt in four piles, bet on whether the top cards have one of each suit, four-category Gilbreath
2008 33
Per Strandberg Matchmaker deck riffle shuffled face-up/face-down, dealt in pairs, only pairs with one face up and one face down cards are kept, those are used for red/black matching game
Aug. 2009
Genii (Vol. 72 No. 8)
19
Nick Trost Dr. Rhine, Outdone! red/black color matching and guessing
  • Phase One - Matching Test
  • Phase Two - Spectator's Test
  • Phase Three - Telepathy Test
Related to 2009 342
Joe Anderson Color Match gilbreath
Inspired by 2010 287
Stephen Jones, Jerry K. Hartman, Robin Robertson Dubai Roulette card(s) pushed face-up in center and deck that is openly red-black alternating, dealt in pairs, pair with face-up card matches or not, five phases
Variations 2010
Prolix (Issue 7)
425
Jerry K. Hartman Ladies First two Kings and Queens pushed face-up in center and deck dealt in pairs, pair with face-up card matches color or not
Inspired by 2010
Prolix (Issue 7)
427
Karl Fulves No-Win Situation packets sorted into reds and blacks, number bet, two spectators get the same number when taking difference of red and black cards
2011
Prolix (Issue 9)
570
Nick Trost Gil's Game Revisited spectator cannot win in red-black game in which he has to select pairs of one color
  • Another Presentation
Inspired by 2011 645
Karl Fulves Winning Streak red/black betting game, multiple phases
  • The Streak System
  • Winning Streak
  • The Paradox
  • System Notes
  • S'Martingale
(PDF bonus effect from October 2012 with introductory page and reproduction of original description)
Also published here Oct. 2012
Real Secrets (Vol. 1 No. 7)
1
Dai Vernon The Third Color spectator looses when guessing on color of third card repeatedly, double deal
Also published here Oct. 2013
Genii (Vol. 76 No. 10)
44
Michael Weber, Tim Trono Color War game presentation for Miraskill
Nov. 2014
Real Secrets (Vol. 3 No. 32)
1
Pit Hartling Game of Chance color of every third card used in multiple phase gambling game
Inspired byRelated toAlso published here 2016 232
Roberto Giobbi Dollar Deal red-black betting game, bill is inserted in deck and pairs taken, color that comes with bill can be predicted
Related toAlso published here 2016
Hidden Agenda (Issue Apr 16)
111
Lennart Green Red & Back Card Bet percentage game
2016
Hidden Agenda (Issue Nov 15)
328
Roberto Giobbi, Ramón Riobóo Card Roulette analogy between cards and roulette table
2016
Hidden Agenda (Issue Dec 2)
345
John Hostler Bar Bits Triskadequadra Application #1
as bet about the suits
  • Swindle #1
  • Swindle #2
2016 64
John Hostler Alligator ten red and ten black cards shuffled, pairs dealt according to rules, outcome predicted and added value of chosen pair divined
Inspired by 2016 116
Roy Walton The Honest Cheat spectator tries to match suit distribution of a poker hand that is set aside, spectator is allowed to cheat but loses, performer wins
Also published here 2016 21
Roy Walton Steven's Choice red-black matching game is announced, performer gets all red cards
Also published here 2016 128
Roy Walton Lilac Time spectator matches up red and black pairs
2016 184
Roy Walton Steven's Choice red-black matching game is announced, performer gets all red cards
Also published here 2022 337
Pit Hartling Game of Chance color of every third card used in multiple phase gambling game
Also published here 2023 22