Unique Tricks to Stump Friends with Playing Cards

The art of magic is a special thing. As a kid, we truly believed that magicians and other tricksters were bending reality to suit their whim of tricking and astonishing us, but as we grow older, the luster of the unknown realities wears off once we realize that card tricks, among other types of magic, are simple tactics with explainable processes.

Still, the illusions we see don’t fail to mystify us just because there’s a realistic explanation, they’re still quite impressive especially when you don’t know how to do it yourself. It’s also another facet of the world of magic that a magician never reveals their tricks, but there’s no harm in showing you these 4 unique card tricks that are sure to stump and impress your friends. 

Infrared Cards 

If we’re talking pure “magic” card tricks, this one isn’t it, but if we’re talking about the magic of science and technology to help further the illusion of magic, then infrared cards fit the bill. Outfitted with a special luminous ink only visible with infrared contact lenses, which comes in handy for various reasons. The first is that you can use it to predict any card someone shuffles out of a deck, and secondly, you could game your friends out of some money in poker. We’re not advertising the use of magic to grift, but the possibility is there.

Amazing Aces Trick

In the more traditional sense of showman-style card tricks, the Amazing Aces card trick is a classic. All it requires is your participant, most likely your friend, to slowly deal out each card in the shuffled deck into 4 piles. The kicker is that before you do this, you put all four Aces on the bottom so that when they get to the end, all Aces will be on the top of the pile when then flip them over. 

Three Card Monte

Three Card Monte can be played in many ways, as long as you have three of something or three cups to hide a ball, coin, etc. to do it. You’ve likely passed someone on the street performing this hustle. The point of a Three Card Monte is to keep your eye on the center card, which you’ve made them shuffle among the three cards while your back was turned. The trick of this trick, ironically, is that you’re using them as bait to reveal which card they’ve chosen. 

Pick a Card

Pick a card, any card, is one of the most uttered and famous phrases in magic history, along with abracadabra or presto, too. It also happens to be one of the simplest tricks that still manages to garner a great response. All you have to do is split a deck into red and black portions before your friend chooses one, then when they place it back in the deck, it becomes easier to find due to the fact that it stands out on the wrong side. It’s simple, but it’s still effective, as card tricks should be.

For any amateur or professional magicians, trickster poker players, or street hustlers, sorry for spoiling some of your favorite go-to’s, but the fact is that everyone can have a little fun with some harmless magic when it comes to card, so the more, the merrier.