A Poker Player's Picnic
You shuffle a deck of regular cards and hand them to the spectator. The spectator cuts the deck into 4 piles. He picks up the first pile and fools with the order of the cards, then repeats this action for the other 3 piles. When you turn over the top cards of each pile, the spectator sees
that they are all aces.
First say this or something like it to the spectator: "You know that cheating at poker is really very easy, don't you? You look like a good poker player. I'm sure you are able to cheat pretty good, right? Well, let's see if we can uncover your hidden talent."
1. Before you begin, place all 4 aces on top of the deck
2. Shuffle the deck a few times, using a fake overhand shuffle or any other fake shuffle that will protect the top 4 cards.
3. Give the cards to the spectator and have him cut the deck into 4 piles (one of which contains all 4 aces).
4. Label the 4 packets A, B, C, and D (D containing the 4 aces).
5. Tell the spectator to pick up packet A, take 3 cards from the top and place them on the bottom, then deal a card from the packet he is holding onto each of the other three packets (B,C,D).
6. Repeat step 5 for the other 3 packets.
7. Remark that you have in no way manipulated the cards and the spectator cut the deck himself into 4 piles.
8. Finally, turn over the top card of each pile and to his astonishment, each card is an ace.
Tell him that you knew he was a good poker cheater all along and leave him in awe.
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